Choices of the Heart (19 page)

“Mama, there’s a Ford comin’ up the drive.”

Rosie banged the door shut behind her as she went back out on the porch, interested in the visitor. Bobby and Charlie were napping, and Reese was somewhere out in the field. They weren’t expecting any visitors, but it wasn’t unusual for people to come for a visit. Since they’d settled in, she’d received more meals and wedding gifts than she could count. The townspeople were far nicer to her than she’d ever expected. They welcomed her back without criticism or censure, at least to her face. And thankfully, her father hadn’t shown his face at the farm, despite being released from jail.

Chloe stopped washing dishes and walked out onto the porch, wiping her hands dry on her floral apron. Rosie had been right; there were men visiting. It was Mr. Jacobson with another older gentleman, dressed in a fancy black suit. This didn’t look good. Chloe swallowed and tossed her wet apron on one of the rockers.

“Hello, gentleman,” she called out from the porch.

Rosie stood at Chloe’s side, gripping the folds of her dress in one fist, as if she, too, sensed tension in the air.

“Mrs. Lloyd.” Mr. Jacobson nodded, looking apprehensive.

Still unused to her new name, it took a minute before Chloe realized he had addressed
her
. “Mr. Jacobson, how are you?”

Before he could respond, the back door of the auto opened, and three young boys crawled out. Chloe frowned. Trouble was definitely brewing.

“Michael!” Rosie bolted down the three stairs and into the arms of the tallest boy.

Her brothers?

Chloe sat heavily on the porch step. The man was either there to leave the three boys or take her baby Charlie and Rosie away. Chloe had no idea if Reese would let either happen, but she knew she had to have him here, and now.

“Mr. Jacobson, would you go on down to the southern-most forty and see if Reese is still out walking the rows?”

“You bet, Miss Chloe.” He turned to the suited man. “I’ll be back in a flash.” He hopped back into his auto to find Reese.

The other gentleman, a man of fifty or so, walked forward and extended a hand. “Rudolf Clements, ma’am.”

“To what do I owe the honor?” Chloe asked, shaking his hand. She didn’t know what to do, whether to stand or stay right where she was planted.

Rosie was crying, and all four children were hugging each other, smiling, clearly happy to be reunited.

“Can we speak inside, Mrs. Lloyd?” Mr. Clements asked her.

“I’m not in the habit of entertaining strange men in my house.” She would wait for Reese to decide how to handle this.

“Of course not. I appreciate your apprehension.” He backed away. “I’m sorry.”

“You’re welcome to sit on the porch until my husband arrives. Maybe you and the boys would like some lemonade?”

“That would be just fine.” He smiled and followed her up the steps to the porch, where the rockers sat empty.

Chloe looked back at Rosie playing with her brothers. “Are the boys hungry?”

“I reckon we could all do with a little something.”

She took another look at the children before walking into the house. From the icebox, she pulled out cold cuts, cheese and bread. She threw the sandwiches together as fast as she could then carried them outside.

“I’ll be right back with the lemonade,” she said, setting the tray of food on a low table near the rocking chairs.

Grabbing the lemonade from the icebox, she took the whole pitcher—plus five glasses—outside to her guests.

As she stepped back onto the porch, she noticed Jacobson’s car speeding up the driveway, with Reese in the passenger seat.

Reese opened the door before the auto even stopped. He glanced at Chloe as he shut the door and then at each of the boys, who looked at him with hopeful faces. They were so skinny, their clothes hung off their shoulders, and an air of sadness swirled around them.

“Hello, boys.” He walked up to them and threw his arms wide. “Welcome home.”

Chloe watched in awe as they slowly exchanged looks with each other and then walked forward and let Reese hug them. Rosie was jumping up and down like a grasshopper, clapping her hands and cheering.

Chloe felt her jaw drop. How could Reese make a decision like this without at least asking her?

“Well, I guess that answers my questions.” Mr. Clements sighed. “The eldest boy found their mother dead in her bed,” he said quietly. “Accidental overdose. A mix of alcohol and pills.”

“What about the other daughter?” Chloe asked. Rosie had told them she had a sister and four brothers.

“We haven’t found her, ma’am,” he answered. “She was the eldest of the six. I reckon she was near about thirteen.” He sipped his lemonade. “She may very well have ended up on the streets.”

“Will you look for her?” Chloe pressed.

“Of course we will,” Mr. Clements answered.

Unfortunately, Chloe didn’t believe him for a minute.

Reese left the boys and Rosie and came up on the porch.

“Excuse us for a moment, Mr. Clements.” Reese placed a hand on Chloe’s back and led her in the back door of the house.

“It’s what you want to do, isn’t it?” Reese asked her once they were inside.

“Little late to ask, isn’t it?” She chuckled.

“Well, when Jacobson said they were here… I can’t explain it, Chloe, I just got so excited, so happy.” His smile reached from ear to ear. “When we left Chicago, I felt as if we were letting them down by leaving them behind with her. It seemed like something was missing here. If you can handle a few more shirts to wash and people to love, I say we keep them.” He rested his hands on her shoulders.

“Well, I refuse to break their hearts,” Chloe told him through the tears that suddenly clouded her eyes. “Especially since they just lost their mother.”

“Sorry I didn’t ask you first.” He caressed her cheek, making her smile. “We did talk about it when we left Chicago, though.”

“Another three children to care for, Reese,” she said. “I don’t know if I am up to it.”

“But these three are older,” he reminded her. “They can about care for themselves. I would guess they’ve been pretty independent for the past few years. They just need your soft, loving touch, Chloe. Look how Rosie and Bobby and Charlie have already blossomed. They can help in the field, too, help me grow this farm like I always wanted.”

“You’re right.” Chloe nodded. “They’ll stay. There really wasn’t ever a question but that they would.”

“It will be fine.” He seemed so confident. “You’ll see, honey.” He pulled her into his arms and held her tightly. “Let’s go tell Mr. Clements that we’ll keep them, find out what he needs us to do from here on out.”

Reese led her outside. Together, they told the social worker of their decision.

“I can’t tell you how glad I am to hear it.” Mr. Clements reached out and shook Reese’s hand. “Older children are often not adopted. Certainly keeping them together would be about impossible.”

“How did you know how to find us?” Reese asked.

“The police found some papers in the kitchen of the boy’s home. Your name and address were on one, papers indicating their mother gave Rosie and Charlie to you on another.” He shrugged. “We figured she saved them just in case. I reckon it was a fine idea too, else we would never have found you.”

“What about their father?” Chloe asked. Rosie mentioned the man more than once, and the mother said she didn’t know for sure where the man was.

“For all we know, he’s dead.” Clements spoke quietly, either so the children couldn’t hear or out of respect for those who passed. “He was involved in illegal bootlegging between Chicago and Milwaukee.”

“Ready, Mr. Clements?” Jacobson called from the running auto. “I gotta get back to the store; someone might be needin’ something.”

“Here are some legal papers.” Clements handed a large envelope to Reese. “The birth certificates for all of them. I kept the one for Lucille, in case we locate her in the future. I have your address, know how to get a hold of you. I recommend having an attorney set up official documents naming you as their parents.”

“That’s a fine idea,” Reese said. “Anything else?”

“Not that I can think of.” He shook his head and handed Reese a card. “Here’s my information if you need anything. I work for the State of Illinois in the child welfare department.” He gave them a lopsided grin. “You wouldn’t want to take any more children would you?”

“No!” Reese and Chloe said at the same time and then laughed.

“We’ve been married six weeks and have six children, Mr. Clements. At this rate, we’ll have fifty-two in a year and that is simply too many.” Reese laughed again.

“Mr. Lloyd, would you help me unload their cases?” Mr. Clements asked.

“Sure thing.” Reese followed the older man down to the car.

Once the luggage was on the porch, he said goodbye, and Reese and Chloe, along with four of their new children, watched in silence as the man from Chicago climbed into the vehicle and Wally drove them away.

“Well, the size of the school has just increased.” Chloe laughed. She didn’t know what else to do, the situation was so fantastic. She’d been worried she wouldn’t be a good enough mother for Bobby, and now she had five other children to care for, as well. Incredible!

“We’ll need a couple more beds,” Reese said, sitting on a rocker.

“Mattresses, at least,” Chloe agreed.

“We’re in for quite a ride, Chloe Anne, quite a ride.”

“Just like that first horse you had me ride. Lifted me up, smacked the horse’s behind and off we raced.” She smiled at the memory. “Can’t be scarier than that. Just wish I felt more prepared for this parenting thing. I don’t have any good experience from my own family, so I hope your mother is ready to dish out a lot of advice.”

Bobby came out on the porch, rubbing the sleep from his eyes. He crawled onto Chloe’s lap. And when his eyes finally adjusted to the bright sunlight, he caught sight of the new boys.

“Who are they?” He pointed at them.

“Your new brothers,” Reese told him.

“Huh?” He wiggled off Chloe’s lap and ran down to the lawn where the boys and Rosie were playing tag.

“You and Rosie are sure outnumbered, honey. Six boys, two girls.”

“Oh, that’s okay,” Chloe said, “I’m sure Rosie and I will be able to handle you men just fine.”

As if to emphasize her point, Rosie snatched one of her brother’s blue bandanas and raced off, with him shouting and chasing at her heels.

“I guess I’m through in the fields for the day. I was almost done when Jacobson came down to get me.” Reese stood and stretched. “You need me to do anything?”

“Check on Charlie, would you?” She reached up and grabbed his hand.

“Sure thing.” He bent and kissed her. “I’ll put the sandwiches in the icebox. We’ll have them for supper. I don’t think the boys are hungry at the moment.”

They were, in fact, running around like crazy beings. Long travel on the train was probably a lot to ask of three young boys. Reese went inside, and Chloe heard him rummaging in the kitchen. Maybe it was a good thing he’d been a bachelor for so many years. He was used to seeing to things around the house.

“Okay children, come up here now,” Chloe called and clapped, feeling like a schoolteacher instead of a mother.

She herded them into the house and made them sit at the kitchen table where she could see all of them.

They would definitely need more chairs; at the moment there was only one unused.

“I’m going to get my husband. No one move.” She pointed to each one. “We’ll be right back.”

She walked upstairs where she’d last heard Reese’s footsteps. He was rocking Charlie, softly singing to him. The baby was gurgling, enjoying the attention. She cleared her throat, gently breaking into the room.

“Hi.” Reese stopped rocking and stood up. He held out the baby. “I changed him already. He’s ready to go.”

“Let’s go downstairs and meet our boys, shall we?” She took Charlie in her arms and cuddled him to her breast.

“I’ll change out of these smelly clothes and be down.”

When she reached the kitchen, it was deserted. She held on to the anger brewing inside and went out the door to find the little rascals. She didn’t have to go far; they were all sitting in a circle on the porch.

“What are you doing out here?”

“When Ma was drinkin’, we would all sit in a circle and hold hands. Our grandma told us that God would listen if we prayed together. She was right, but then she died, too. But we found you and your man, so we’re thanking God now.”

How does a person argue with that?

She waited as they went around the circle, each chiming in with something they were thankful for. When they had each had their chance, she asked them to join her back at the kitchen table.

She and Reese exchanged glances, but neither said a word as the children scrambled inside. Chloe waited until they were seated and silent before starting. She had no idea what to say, where to start. She supposed she should at least get their names and ages.

“Welcome to our home, boys. I want you to know that this is now your home, as well.” She met each of their eyes and then smiled. “Rosie has done very well with us, and so has Charlie. You three will be happy here, too.” She hoped. She had no idea how to make young boys happy.