Love's Enduring Promise (Love Comes Softly Series #2) (21 page)

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Chapter 42

Life Moves On

Missie was in her last year at the local school, and as her school days ended, Luke's would begin. Clae had promised the school one more term and then it was hoped that Missie would take over, for she, too, had decided to get her teacher's training.

Clae lived back at the Davises, and it was plain to see that her heart was not totally in her teaching. Marty decided that she would make a fine parson's wife. Though the Davis household got a lion's share of the young parson's calls, he did not neglect the rest of his parishioners. Only a few of the neighborhood young ladies felt any disturbance at the frequency of his calls on the Davises.

Marty dreaded the thought of Missie going away to school. Somehow it seemed even harder than it had been to let Clae go. For one thing, Missie was younger than Clae had been, having started school at six, where Clae had been older and even with doubling up on a lot of her grades, she was older when she finished.

Clark spent the winter months hauling logs to the mill across the creek. He was well pleased with the progress he was making and could see no problem with building the promised new house by the next year.

Nandry's baby girl had arrived. They named her Tina

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Martha after her two maternal grandmothers, Nandry said, and Marty felt her eyes mist.

Fran and Tommie's baby arrived about the same time. A solid boy, whom they named Ben.

Sally Anne gave birth to her third child, but little Emily lived only three days, and a tiny fresh mound was made in the cemetery by the church.

Rett Marshall was now handling a team of horses 'most as good as a grown man. He loved creatures, tame or wild, and even had a young jackrabbit for a pet. A strange boy, people were saying, but now there was admiration in their voices.

Marty remembered the conversation that she had overheard long ago between Mrs. Vickers and the doctor.

"I often wonder, Doctor, how a man feels when he sees what his skill has done. Do ya ever wish thet maybe ya hadn't--well--hadn't fought quite so hard-like?"

The doctor had looked at her evenly, sternly.

"Oh, course not," he finally answered. "I didn't make that life--the Creator did--and when He made it, I expect that He had good reason for doing as He did--and what that reason is, is His business."

Marty thought of this each time that she watched the boy whistle a bird down or make friends with a prairie dog. She thought of it, too, when she saw the love in Wanda's eyes or heard Cam's proud boasting.

The LaHaye farmstead didn't resemble anything that had ever belonged to Jedd Larson. Zeke LaHaye was a good farmer who knew land well. Under his care the fields produced and the farm prospered. New buildings were erected and a new well was dug. Neat rows of fencing encircled the holdings. Still, for all of the prosperity of the land, Mrs. LaHaye remained in poor health. Nathan married a girl from town and moved her into the big house with the family. She was a pleasant girl and was able to take over much of the care of the home and was a great source of comfort to the senior Mrs. LaHaye.

All around her, Marty saw change. New neighbors moved in. There was very little farmland now that wasn't taken. New buildings sprang up in town, almost overnight it seemed, as

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new businesses were added. The town had even built a church of its own and had brought in a parson to care for the people. There was a sheriff's office and a bank for those who needed them. All this nearby, and in their small community they felt almost self-sufficient.

They had their church, they had their school, they even had a doctor they could call for. Marty didn't feel much like a pioneer anymore.

The next summer saw Clae and the young parson joined together in marriage. Instead of bringing in a parson to do the honors, the young couple went out. Parson Joe was anxious to introduce Clae to his family and also eager to have his former pastor and dear friend perform the ceremony. The Davises hated to miss the event but made plans instead for a supper to honor the couple upon their return.

A daily stage now ran between the local towns, and Clae and her bridegroom were able to travel by stage rather than on horseback.

The school board had agreed to rent them the teacherage for a modest amount, as Missie, upon commencing her duties, preferred to live at home.

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Chapter 43

Learnin' the Cost

In spite of a bad accident with an axe, Clark met his log quota the following winter.

He had been cutting logs alone on the hillside when the axe blade glazed off a knot and spun sideways slicing deeply into his foot. He had bound his foot as best as he could, packing moss against it and tying it tightly with a strip of his shirt. He was trying to make it home on one of his new work horses, Prince, when Tom Graham found him.

Prince was not used to being ridden, and Clark had his hands full trying to handle the excited horse in his weakened condition. He lost a lot of blood and was quite content to be helped from the skitterish horse to Tom's wagon box where he could lie down.

Tom pressed the horses forward in an effort to get Clark home as quickly as possible. He threw the harnesses on the fence and took his own horse, Dixie, to go for the Doc. Dixie was used to being ridden bareback.

Marty nearly fainted at the sight of Clark. He tried to assure her that he would be fine, but his face was so white and his hands so shaky that she wasn't convinced. Marty got him to bed where she fussed and fretted over him, hardly knowing what should be done.

"If ya see no fresh blood," Tom had admonished, "best ya leave thet foot alone 'til the Doc gits here."

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Marty studied the foot for signs of fresh blood, but thankfully none seemed to appear.

Being a woman, her thoughts went to food.

"Could ya eat a little broth iffen I fixed it? Yer gonna need yer strength, ya know."

It didn't seem to appeal much to Clark, but he shook his head in the affirmative, then cautioned, "Not too hot--jest warm."

Marty complied. The hours until the doctor came seemed endless, but at last Marty heard a horse approaching. She stayed out of the room while the doctor cleaned and sutured the cut. A couple of times she heard Clark groan, and her knees nearly buckled beneath her.

"And you," the doctor caught her by surprise, "you are most as white as he is. You best sit you down and have a cup of hot, weak tea with some honey in it."

"Gonna take him awhile but he'll be fine. He's young and tough. He'll make it. Your big job is going to be to keep him off the foot until it has a chance to heal proper-like. Have a notion that your job won't be an easy one. Can't you put him to mending or piecing a quilt?"

There was humor in the doctor's eyes and Marty laughed outright. The thought of Clark sitting contentedly with a little needle in his big working hand, matching dainty pieces for quilting, was just too much.

In spite of the deepness of the cut and the loss of blood involved, the foot healed neatly and quickly. Clare and Arnie took over the chores and were quite able to handle them.

Soon, Marty's biggest problem was to keep Clark down as the doctor had ordered. He chaffed at not being able to be up and busy as he was used to being.

Parson Joe came as often as he could for a game of checkers. He usually brought Clae along. Other neighbors dropped in now and then. They informed him that the logs that had already been felled would be hauled to the mill before spring thaw, just as he had planned. Clark accepted their kindness with deep appreciation.

Missie brought home books for him to read, which helped him pass many hours.

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Finally, the long ordeal was over and Doc declared the foot well enough to be stepped on again. Clark hobbled, but at least he was again on his feet--a fact that each member of the household was truly thankful for. He never did completely lose his limp, and Marty noticed that on some days it seemed to be a bit worse than others. "It must still bother 'im," she said to herself. But he never did comment on it.

The house was empty of little ones, they all being in school, and Missie was enjoying her teaching.

As soon as Clark was able he was at the logging again. The neighbor men, true to their word, had hauled out all the logs he had previously cut, but according to his calculations, he would still need another four wagon loads.

Marty watched him go with a feeling of anxiety and breathed a silent prayer of thanks when he returned safely at the end of the day.

Marty looked forward to spring. This was the summer of the promised new house. And having the building begun would take on special meaning, for once it was started, it would mark the end of Clark's daily trek to the woodlands.

It was an eventful summer. Marty watched as the new clapboard house took shape. It was even bigger than she had dreamed. There were a number of windows. A fieldstone fireplace graced not only the family living room and the parlor but the master bedroom as well.

Clark had obtained two men from town to assist with the building, so that even when he was busy in the fields, the work went on. Marty measured the windows and bought material for the curtains so that they would be ready to hang when the house was completed.

The house would not be ready by fall, but they planned to have their next Christmas in their new home. Nandry and Josh with little Tina, and a new family member by then, as well as Parson Joe and Clae would all be home to share the Christmas turkey with them. They could even stay the night if they wished, and body would not be tripping over body.

It was something grand to look forward to, and Marty spent many hours planning and dreaming.

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Chapter 44

Thet Willie

Missie closed the exercise book she had been marking and heaved a contented sigh. It was hard to believe that she was already into her second year at the local school. She loved teaching. True, she had some rascals in her classroom, her own young brother Luke being one of them; but all in all she was glad that she had chosen to be a teacher.

She piled the books neatly together and got up to clean the chalkboard. Her back was to the door, so she didn't see the figure move stealthily in, and when a pair of hands circled 'round to cover her eyes, she screamed in alarm.

"Hey, hey, it's okay," a voice said, realizing that he had unintentionally scared her half out of her wits.

"I didn't mean to fright ya, only surprise ya like."

Missie looked into the face of Willie LaHaye. Through her mind flashed the dead mouse, the grasshopper, and the other pranks that Willie had played in the past. Her fright turned to anger and she swung around, stomping one small foot.

"Willie LaHaye!" she exploded, "when are you ever gonna grow up?"

She wanted to bite her tongue as soon as she had said it, for her eyes assured her that Willie LaHaye had indeed grown up--at least on the outside.

Broad shoulders rippled with muscles as he moved, bushy

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sideburns showed what his beard would be were he not clean shaven, and Missie had to look up a good way in order to throw her fury into his face.

Willie only grinned, the same maddening, boyish grin. Missie spun around on her heel.

"Well, now that you've had your fun, you can be leaving."

"But I came to see the new school marm," he said, not at all perturbed by her anger. "I think thet I could use a little help on my A B C's.

"A is for apple, B is for bait, C is for coyness--E is for Eve, and thet's about as far as I can git."

"You're not funny--besides you missed D."

"D," said Willie, "D--about the only thing thet I remember that started with D is--dear."

Missie was so angry that she considered throwing the chalk brush she discovered was still in her hand.

"Willie LaHaye!" she started.

"I know," said Willie, "I'm not funny. Actually I stopped by to give ya some good news."

"Like?" prompted Missie.

"Like--I'm leavin'."

"Yer what?"

"I'm leavin'. I'm goin' on further west." Willie was suddenly very serious.

"To where?"

"Not sure. Ya know when Pa settled here, he had been planning on goin' on further. Hadn't been fer Ma gettin' sick we would have gone on. Well, I always was a mite disappointed. I'd sorta like to see what's over the next hill. Pa's all settled in here now, and Nathan is married and settled in too, an' I suddenly got to thinkin' they don't need me around atall."

Missie had cooled down some and was willing to talk if Willie would be sensible.

"What does your pa think?"

"Haven't told 'im yet."

"When would you go?"

Willie shrugged. "Don' know--that depends on a few things."