Love in Independence (Holiday Mail Order Brides) (9 page)

Winnie laughed as she stood. “I thought you prayed for them,
and then moved on to the next name on your list.”

“Far from it
; I do whatever I can to help in the short time I’m there.”

“Who else goes to help?”

“No one.”

She stared at him in shock. “Why not?”

“Usually because they don’t know any thing’s wrong. Folks here are proud, and don’t like asking for help. It’s not so bad if I do it; sort of goes with the whole preacher thing.”

“How do you know when they’re in trouble?”

“I can tell something’s wrong by the simple fact that they don’t show up in church. The last time Mrs. Edmonson didn’t show up, which was a couple of Sundays ago, she’d just had the baby. Mr. Edmonson came last Sunday, and told me the house was in chaos.”

“Oh dear
, what should I expect?”

“Work,
and lots of it; but between the two of us, we’ll get it done. You sure you’re up to it?”

She nodded.

“Good, let’s go.” They left the church and headed down the road out of town. He brought a small Bible and a sack of candies he’d purchased from the mercantile the night before. He knew the candy would serve them well once they got to the farm. The older children could be counted on to handle a few things, but the younger ones often needed coaxing.

Once they reached the farm, it was evident
that he’d guessed right. Laundry was strewn around the yard; the two youngest children, a boy and a girl, were running naked around a tree; and a loose horse galloped out of the barn.

“Oh
, my goodness!” Winnie cried. She raced for the toddlers and scooped them up just as the horse slowed to a trot and came upon them. It stopped, put its head down, and began to munch the tender grass near the base of the tree. Winnie spun to Luke. “What happened here?”

He shrugged,
and then held his arms out wide. “Welcome to the Edmonson farm.”

She gasped as she looked around. “Where are the other children?”

“Inside the house would be my guess. C’mon; let’s get these two dressed.”

“Pastor Luke!” a voice called from the barn. “Is that you?”

“Sure is, Gabe!” Luke called back. He turned to Winnie. “Gabe is the oldest.”

She stared at the boy as he approached
; a rope in his hand. “He can’t be more than ten or eleven.”

  “Nine
actually. He’s tall for his age.”

She tightened her grip on the toddlers in her arms,
and gaped at her surroundings.

“Dag-blasted horse got away from me again!” the boy lamented. He went to the horse,
which spun away and trotted a few feet away. “See what I mean? If he don’t want to be caught, he does this!” He threw the rope to the ground and stomped his foot. “Ma’s gonna kill me if’n I don’t get to town.”

“What is it you need?”

“We done run out of sugar, flour, lard, you name it. I figured it would be quicker to ride than walk.”

“How is your mother today?”

Gabe notice Winnie, looked her up and down, and turned back to Luke. “You done up and get yerself a wife?”

Luke laughed. “Hardly.” He glanced at her, and noted the tight s
et of her jaw. “But one day …” He watched out the corner of his eye as she relaxed.
Well, what do you know …

“…Maybe I’ll find myself one as pretty as this, if I’m lucky.”

Gabe studied her. “This one looks all right
; why don’t you marry her?”

Winnie’s cheeks flushed pink, and Luke found he couldn’t resist. “Hmmm, that’s an idea…” Her face brightened to a furious red as her mouth dropped open. He fought to keep from laughing, and felt a tiny prick of guilt. “But I’d never get that lucky …” he said as he stared into her eyes. He took a deep breath and turned away. “
Now, tell me about your mother.”

Nine

Winnie held her breath, the children still in her arms, and followed Luke and the boy into the house. What did he mean by saying such things? Sure, she knew he was teasing; but what she didn’t expect was the way his words hit her like a rock. They stung, and made her feel like packing up her things and leaving. What was she doing here? Whatever had possessed her to stay in this madcap scheme? She was an idiot to think Luke Adams would fall in love with her! He didn’t want a wife; heck, he wouldn’t want her as an assistant once the Fourth of July celebration was over. For one, she had the church office already organized. What would he need her for?

“Mrs. Edmond
son?” Luke called as they entered.

Gabe went ahead of them
, down a hall to the back of the house. Winnie was distracted from her thoughts by the ominous silence. She’d expected chaos, not a tomb. But, as luck would have it, chaos came in many forms. “Oh!” she cried and stopped up short, almost dropping one of the toddlers.

They were
now in the kitchen. Everything was covered in flour. Three young children were sitting in the middle of the floor, dipping their hands into a sugar jar. Luke stood, hands on his hips, and glared at them. “Looks like someone’s not going to get any of the candy I brought.”

The three gaped at him with sugar
-and-flour-covered faces. “Pastoh Wuke!” a little girl said as she pushed herself up from the floor, her eyes glued to the sack in his hand. “Candy?”

He sighed. “Elizabeth
Edmonson, just look at you.”

Winnie, her arms tired, set the toddlers down. Elizabeth wasn’t much older
; she guessed the girl was no more than three. “Look at this mess.”

Luke turned to her. “Meet the children
; Elizabeth, Lily, and Eldon. The two you were carrying are the twins, Cole and Charity.”

Winnie watched as the twins toddled over to their siblings
, and sat in the mess on the floor. “Is this all of them?”

“Except for Ella. She’s upstairs in the bedroom with Ma,” offered Gabe.

“Looks like we have our work cut out for us,” Luke said as he put a hand on Winnie’s shoulder.

She felt warmed by his touch, and had a sudden
vision of being married to him, with a house full of children such as the ones before her. She swallowed hard, closed her eyes against the thought, and took a deep breath. “We’d best get started then.”

 
He gave her shoulder a light pat. “You take care of this down here; I’ll go check on Mrs. Edmonson and the baby. Coming, Gabe?”

Gabe nodded. “I still need to go to town. Now ya know why.”

“I can see that. Let’s take care of your mother first, and then you can go.”

The boy nodded, his face red, and led Luke from the kitchen
to see his mother. Winnie released the breath she’d been holding and again took in the scene before her, trying to figure out where to start.

“Who are you?” Elizab
eth asked as she stared up at Winnie with her big brown eyes.

Winnie smi
led and noticed that the child’s dark hair was matted at the back of her head. “I’m Winnie; I came to help out today.”

Elizabeth looked to the floor,
and then pointed to her brother and sisters. “They made a mess.”

“They certain
ly did,” Winnie agreed and bent down to the child’s level. “You wouldn’t happen to have helped make it, would you?”

Elizabeth looked at the floor again, and said nothing.

“I thought so,” Winnie said as she stood. “Well, how would you like to help me clean it up?”

Elizabeth raised her face, tears in her eyes. “No switch! No switch!”

Winnie noted the fear in her eyes. “I’m not going to take a switch to you, sweetie.”

The child sniffed. “Pa will.”

“Not if we get this cleaned up. Now let’s get started.”

Elizabeth went to a small wo
rktable, reached up and, standing on tiptoe, pulled a dishrag from its surface. She turned and held it up to Winnie. “This helps.”

Winnie smiled. “Yes
, it does. Thank you.” She took the rag from the child. “Do you know where your sister and brother’s clothes are?” She pointed to Cole and Charity, who had just spilled the remaining sugar onto the floor. “Oh my …”

“Bad babies,” offered Elizabeth.

“Indeed. What should we do about it? Get them dressed?”

Elizabeth shook her head.

“No? What do you mean no?”

“Switch!”

“Switch? What about pants?” Winnie suggested as she pulled the twins out of the mess. “Now, where are your clothes?”

Elizabeth raced out of the room and disappeared. Winnie blew a wisp of hair out of her eyes and
, guessing the child was trying to help, followed her.  Sure enough, she found her in the parlor where various pieces of clothing were scattered. “Good work, Elizabeth. Let’s get them dressed.”

“They always taking their clothes off,” said Elizabeth.

Winnie sat on a chair and slipped a worn dress over Charity’s head. It was a hand-me-down that had seen better days. She then took care of Cole. “Do they have shoes?” she asked her little helper. Elizabeth shook her head no. It was then that Winnie noticed she hadn’t any shoes, either. Before she could ask her if she owned any, Luke came down the stairs.

“Here you are. Oh, I see you found their pile,” he said
, indicating the children’s clothing.

“I
take it this is a regular occurrence?”

“You have no idea,” he said with a smile. “Elizabeth, d
o you think you can play with Cole and Charity while my friend and I get the kitchen cleaned up?”

Elizabeth nodded, and sat on the floor next to her younger sist
er. Winnie set Cole down and stood. “We’re missing some.”

Luke
glanced around the room. “Ah yes; Lily and Eldon.”

“Good
heavens! I didn’t even notice they’d left the kitchen.”

“They’re the quiet, sneaky ones. I bet I know where they are.” He left the parlor, went down the hall past the kitchen, and into a small bedroom. Winnie followed. The two missing children were both sitting on the bed, still covered in flour, looking at a book. “How did you know where to find them?” she asked.

“Easy, I followed their tracks.”

Sh
e turned and looked at the footprints that went from the hall into the room, and laughed. “Of course; how else?”

He chuckled. “These two will be fine
; let’s go rescue the kitchen. Ready?”

“As ready as I’ll ever be. Lead the way,” she said.

And he did …

* * *

They worked side-by-side for the next two hours; cleaning, scrubbing, and chasing children. Elizabeth was a big help, and talked constantly to the twins, keeping them occupied. The two older siblings, Lily and Eldon, kept to themselves in the other room for the most part until Gabe got home. After that, they all filed into the kitchen.

“Ah, here you all are,” Luke announced. “Line up for inspection.”

“Inspection?” Eldon asked. Winnie guessed him to be about seven, Lily five or six.

“Yes
, now that we’ve cleaned the kitchen, it’s time to clean all of you,” Luke told him.

Eldon’s eyes went wide, and he looked ready to bolt.

“Oh, no you don’t,” Winnie said as she stepped around him to block the door. “You children are going to get washed up before your father gets home.”

“Where’s mama?” Lily asked.

“Upstairs with your new sister,” said Luke. “She’s very tired, so let’s not disturb her, okay?”

Lily frowned and said nothing. Winnie sighed at the action. “Don’t worry
; she’ll be down for dinner.”

Together
, they made sure the children were cleaned up before Winnie started a pot of soup. There wasn’t much food to work with; a few potatoes, carrots, and an onion, and she wondered if the family had any stores other than what she’d scrounged up from the larder and root cellar. She couldn’t imagine feeding this army once they were older.

Once the soup was simmering, she took the new flour Gabe
had brought home, and began to search for the other ingredients she needed in order to make biscuits. The meal was a simple one, but filling, if she could make everything she wanted.

“What are you looking for?” Luke said from behind her.

She turned and let out a tiny gasp. He was standing right in front of her. He had her pinned between his body and the dry sink. “Luke!” she breathed. “You startled me.”

He looked down at her, a smile on his face. “I’m sorry.”

She returned the look. “What are you smiling about?”

He shrugged. “I don’t know
; I guess I forgot what it was like to hear my name.”

She shook her head, not understanding him.

“Without the ‘Pastor’ in front of it,” he explained.

“Oh, I see.” She felt her cheeks burn. She’d never been this close to a man. “How long has it been?”

“Seems like ages.” He gazed at her face. “I think I like it.”

Her blush de
epened. “Well, I shall try to remember to refer to you as simply Luke.”

His eyes never left hers. “
It’s hard for everyone to do, but I’d like it if you would.”

“Really
?”

He shifted his weight, bringing him closer. “Yes,” he said with a nod. “I believe I would.”

“Some will think it improper.”

“Not if we keep it between
us … Winnie.”

Her body went hot and she leaned back to put
more space between them. “Wha, wha, wha … ohhhh, no!”

His face screwed up in confusion. “What’s the matter?”

“No …no … no …” She sucked in a lungful of air. “Nothing.”

“Are you all right?”

“No … I mean yes … I mean, I have to bake biscuits!” Her last word came out a squeak as she released the breath she was holding.

Luke put his hands on his hips. “What is
wrong
with you?”

Winn
ie waved her hands at him and tried to push him out of the way. “Fine, I … I …” She took another breath. “… am fine!”

He gaped at her as she moved past,
and then scratched his head in confusion. “Fine,” he said waving her past.

She was on the other side of the kitchen by now, and had located the butter crock. “Biscuits?” she said through gritted teeth.

“Whatever you think they’ll like.”

She smiled and nodded enthusiastically, not trusting her stutter to stay calm, and turned from him.

Her tactic didn’t work. Within seconds, he was behind her again. Closer. “Is there enough butter?”

She jumped. “Oh!”

He laughed. “Someone sure is skittish today!” He put a hand on her shoulder and turned her around to face him. When she did they both stood stock still as their eyes met. What happened then, neither of them could explain. It wasn’t an impassioned heat that passed through her body, but a presence, a distinct energy he emitted, and it went right into her soul. It was then, that Winnie’s knees gave out.

“Winnie!” Luke croaked as he caught her. “What’s wrong?” Not waiting for an answer, he scooped her up in his arms and carried her into the parlor where the twins still played. They looked at
Luke as he set his load on the settee, then went back to the toys in their hands. “Winnie?” Luke asked again, his voice laced with concern. “Are you all right?”

She stared at him, mortified. No
, she was
not
all right! But she couldn’t tell him that! Good Lord! She’d nearly fainted because of him! What was happening to her?

“Winnie?”

She closed her eyes. What was she going to tell him? “I … don’t understand … what happened.” There, that was as close to the truth as she could get.

“You’ve worked hard today, very hard. I’m sorry
; this is all my fault.”

“No, I’ll be fine
. It’s not your fault.”

He knelt next the settee
, and took one of her hands in his own. She shivered at the contact and stared at him. “I’ll make it up to you. I promise.”

“It’s not your fault,” she whispered.

“It …” he stopped, his eyes roaming her face as he slowly repositioned himself, bringing him closer. Much closer than was proper as his eyes came to settle on her mouth. “It is …”

“No …”

“Winnie …”