Sarah My Beloved (Little Hickman Creek Series #2) (24 page)

"He's ar uncle, not ar father," Rachel said, making it her
duty to clarify.

"Of course he is," Mrs. Winthrop huffed, back going
straight. "But the two seem quite suited to each other. It must
be nice for him to have a little boy around the house again,
what with him losin' his own like that." The woman cleared
her throat then angled her gaze at Sarah. "Of course, I'm sure
it's a challenge, having to deal with an instant family."

Maintaining her Christian witness with Iris Winthrop was
a chore, particularly when the woman sniffed, then turned
and looked down her long nose at Rachel.

Sarah forced a smile, then put her hand on Rachel's thin
shoulder to draw her in. "We are making out just fine, thank
you.

At that, Sarah pointed the girl toward the wide selection of
fabrics. "Show me what you like best, Rachel," she said, pleased
when the child seemed eager to help. In the end, they chose
enough material to fashion curtains for every window, a fine
tablecloth, and matching napkins. Add to that the colorful
readymade rugs and fresh new kitchen towels they'd discovered at the back of the store, and they had quite an assortment
to haul to the front counter.

"How lovely that you are handy with a needle, Mrs. Callahan," the meddlesome storekeeper remarked, flashing Sarah
a rather peculiar look as she began the job of tallying up the
purchases. "Wherever did you learn the craft?"

"A dear friend in Massachusetts taught me," Sarah
reported, unwilling to tell her it was the live-in housekeeperturned-nanny. Mrs. Winters, a lifelong friend, had been more
a mother to her than her own flesh-and-blood mother had. Even now, Sarah mourned the loss of Clara Winters. When the
woman had fallen ill and died shortly after Sarah's seventeenth
birthday, Sarah had grieved deeply, even though her mother
had taken the loss in stride, having hired a replacement within
the month because she said she couldn't abide having to take
over the housework herself.

Just as Mrs. Winthrop rang up the last of Sarah's items,
the bell above the door announced another customer. To Sarah's delight, it was Liza Broughton and her two stepdaughters,
Lill and Molly. She held tightly to the hand of the younger
child, Molly, who looked eager to touch everything in sight.
Lill, however, walked close beside Liza, a bright smile on her
face when she spotted Rachel.

Liza's own face brightened when she glimpsed Sarah.
"Hello. I'm so glad to have run into you. How have you been
feeling?"

"Much better, thank you. Doc Randolph says I'm well
enough to resume my duties."

"That's wonderful news. Benjamin ran into Rocky at the
livery. That's how we knew to find you here." She looked over
Sarah's purchases. "Rocky said you planned to make several
things for the house. By the look of things, you will be a very
busy lady."

Sarah laughed. "I enjoy sewing, and I intend to employ
Rachel's help." At that, Rachel gave a look of delight. "Besides,
you saw yourself how sparse our place looks."

Liza giggled. "I swear I didn't look that close, but I will
admit that it could use a woman's touch. I'm sure Rocky let the
housework slide while he was without a wife."

Mrs. Winthrop cleared her throat, eager to be included.

Liza smiled, though sparingly. "Good morning, Mrs. Winthrop."

"Good day to you," she said, forcing a smile.

While the women exchanged a few cordial words about the
weather and such, Rachel and Lill eyed each other with open
excitement. "I wonder if we might set up a time for Lill to come
over and play," Sarah suggested.

"Oh, what a lovely idea," Liza exclaimed. "Lili's been so
bored since the school burned down." Both girls' heads shot
up, but it was Lill who squealed, causing Molly to shriek with
open delight herself.

"And I understand she's not alone. We just spoke to Gus
Humphrey at Johansson's Mercantile," Sarah said. "I suggested
he let his sister know that Rachel would enjoy meeting her. He
seemed to think his sister would like that."

"Oh, Lenora Humphrey is my friend," Lill chimed. "I wish
I could see her again, but Papa says he don't have much time
for running me back and forth."

Liza's smile widened even more, this time with sudden
inspiration. "Oh, wouldn't it be fun to have a party for the
children? It's been a dreary time for them since that awful
fire."

Mrs. Winthrop fiddled with stacking several papers in a
neat pile. "If it hadn't been for that heathen, Clement Bartel,
why, the school would still be standing," she murmured.

A deep frown replaced Liza's smile. "It's true. He started
the fire-after he tied me to a chair inside the school."

Sarah gasped. She'd wondered about the details of the fire,
only hearing snippets here and there. "I'd heard the young
man died."

Mrs. Winthrop harrumphed. "We're better off without the
hooligan."

Liza pursed her lips and gave the woman a scorching look.
"I'm sorry to say he was a very troubled young man. Fortunately, Rufus Baxter, one of my students, entered the building
soon enough to distract Clement. A fistfight ensued." Liza's
face took on another dimension, as if the simple retelling of
the story were painful. "Just when I thought I had breathed
my last, Benjamin bounded into the building and hauled me
out, chair and all. Then he went back in for Rufus. He couldn't
locate Clement, poor boy. They found him later near the back
door. He was not much more than a heap of ashes by then."
She shuddered and hugged little Molly close.

Mrs. Winthrop heaved a weighty sigh. "And because of
that stupid boy, the town is out a school and a church. Clyde
and I put in a good share of money for that beautiful school
building, you know." It seemed important to the woman to
make that fact known. "I'm not sure we're ready to do that
again.

Sarah's heart leaped at the prospect of being able to help
the town financially, but she wasn't sure her husband would
approve. He still had no idea of the extent of her wealth, and
if she didn't approach the subject with caution, his stubborn
pride might very well stand in the way.

"Well, I'm certain something will work out one day soon,"
Sarah said.

Iris Winthrop unleashed another loud breath. "That
remains to be seen. Not many folks have offered financial
assistance, even though we've held a few fund-raising events."

"Times are rough in the winter, Mrs. Winthrop. Perhaps when warmer weather arrives, the men will get the fever to
start building," Liza said, "and the town can begin talking it
up.

"Spring is planting season," Mrs. Winthrop put in, sticking out her chin.

Liza nodded. "You're right, of course. I haven't been a
farmer's wife long enough to know all the aspects of farming.
However, I do know that Benjamin and several other men will
be willing to give of their time and energy, even if they don't
have a good deal of extra money in their pockets."

That seemed to silence the gruff faced woman, and so
Sarah and Liza took up once more with the discussion of how
to go about arranging for a children's get-together. "It could
be a winter fair of sorts," Liza suggested with eagerness.

"Oh boy," Lill cried, "could we have a cake walk and maybe
some foot races and other games?"

Sarah and Liza both laughed. "Why not?" Liza said. "We'll
advertise around town. I'm sure other families will be in favor.
After all, these children are used to going to school every day.
No doubt their restlessness is growing wearisome for the parents."

Sarah thrilled at the idea of meeting others around the
town of Little Hickman, particularly the wives and mothers.
"I'll do whatever I can to make it happen," she said, looking
from Liza to Lill, and then to Rachel. Much to her delight,
Rachel wore a smile. It would do the girl good to make new
friends.

Seth's chatter filled the air on the trip home. He spoke of the horses he'd seen in the livery, all the saddles and tack
hanging from the walls, and the assortment of carriages and
wagons. Rocky found it hard to refrain from smiling, something about the boy's lightheartedness rubbing off on him.

On the other end of the wagon seat, Sarah held her widebrimmed hat as the wagon jostled along, contenting herself
with listening to Seth, eyes fastened on the miles of farmland
on either side of them.

Ever since the episode in which he'd embarrassed her in
front of the Broughtons, things hadn't been quite the same
between them. Oh, he'd apologized profusely the next day, but
since then most of the smiles she had doled out had been for
the children.

"There's going to be a town party." Rachel interrupted
Seth's nonstop prattle to make the announcement.

"Party, you say?" Rocky asked, curious. "What sort of
party?"

"Don't know exactly. Mrs. Broughton and Sarah were talking about it."

"That so?" Rocky asked, angling his head at Sarah.

The chilly breeze toyed with her hair, sending strands of
it flitting across her cheek. She lifted a hand and tucked them
back behind her ear. Rocky coaxed the horses into a faster
canter, waiting for her to speak. "Liza and I were discussing
that it'd be nice to plan something for the children," she said
with a touch of excitement. "Most haven't seen each other since
the fire, and it will give Seth and Rachel the chance to meet
some children their own age."

It sounded like a good idea. Rocky wondered if Rachel
would join in the festivities or hang back. Lately, Seth had grown more independent of his sister, somewhat lessening
Rachel's role as caregiver, and he wondered if that didn't contribute to her morose state of mind. Not for the first time he
admonished himself for his lack of sensitivity where the girl
was concerned.

"When is this so-called party?" he asked.

Drawing in a breath, Sarah said, "Just before planting
season." Then, eyeing him with particular care, she added, "I
volunteered our barn. I hope that meets with your approval."

The announcement set him back a bit. It'd been a good
long while since he'd hosted any kind of gathering. Hester
used to enjoy inviting folks over, but since living on his own,
he'd pretty much kept to himself. He valued his privacy. Now
his wife was planning a town get-together on his property, and
he wasn't exactly sure how he felt about that.

Slowing the horses at a bend in the road, then veering them
toward the final leg of the journey, he set his gaze on Sarah's
hopeful expression, and just like that, he had his answer.

Casting her a smile, he said, "Now that I think about it,
Mrs. Callahan, I'd say it's about time we hosted a shindig."

n the weeks that followed, Sarah and Rachel worked on
the new curtains, Sarah instructing Rachel how to stitch
a simple hem in one panel of curtains while she cut out material for another pair. Rachel delighted in learning the craft,
and Sarah thrilled at watching her dive into an activity apart
from reading. At least she couldn't hide behind her sewing in
the same way she could a book cover.