Providence (15 page)

Kate’s heart skipped a beat. Jo
seldom spoke of Caleb. Sometimes she wondered if her daughter had any memories
of his short life with them. “He’s with God now, sweetheart.”

“I know, and daddy, too,” Jo
spoke slowly, but she did not cry.

“Do you think about them often?”

“Um-hmm. Do you think God has a
big rocking chair, like the one you used to rock the baby in?”

“I don’t know, but I’ll bet he
does.” Kate looked over at Jo, who was staring straight ahead. “Did you know
that Caleb would have been three years old today?”

“Really? Then today would have
been daddy’s birthday, too!”

 “That’s right.” Will had
been so proud to share his birthday with his son, and he had been so
brokenhearted when the baby died mysteriously only a month later. They had
cried and clung to one another, until they were able to lay their son and their
grief to rest in God’s peace.  The following year’s birthday had been a day
of quiet celebration, not only of birth, but of the peace God had given them,
and the sure knowledge that their son was in His care.

Her early morning visit to the
small graveyard had been her only plans to celebrate this year, the first one
since Will’s death, but now that it was out in the open, her grief given over
to her Heavenly Father, she felt like sharing her joy, “What do you say we have
cake and ice cream at the Hotel today, kind of our own little birthday party?”

“Oh, yes, momma!” Jo clapped her
hands together in delight. “Daddy would have liked that. I’m going to have
chocolate cake, that was his favorite. Do you think they would put a candle on
it if I asked them?”

“I’m sure they will.”

“Look, I can see the town, we’re
almost there!”

 A few minutes later, they
were pulling up in front of the mercantile. Jo jumped down, and dashed inside
while Kate made sure the mare was tied securely at the hitching rail. Reaching
into the back of the buggy, she pulled out the baskets of eggs and jars of
preserves that Nana had sent. Entering the store, she found Jo sitting on the
counter engrossed in conversation with Martha while Lars was busy stocking
shelves behind them.

“Well, don’t you two look mighty
cozy!”

“Kate, it’s so good to see you,”
Martha said, coming around the end of the counter to embrace her friend.

“You, too.” Kate smiled.
“Business first!”

“All right, whatever you say.”

“First, I have four dozen large
brown eggs, I hope you can use them, and there are six pints of blackberry jam,
and six of strawberry.” She unpacked the glass canning jars from one basket,
and opened the lid on the basket of eggs for Martha to inspect them.

“Hmmm, Nana’s preserves always
sell quickly. I can give you fifteen cents apiece for the jams, and fifty cents
for the eggs.”

“Great. Put it to my account,”
Kate agreed, closing the basket. Turning to her daughter, she said, “Jo, come
over here. I want you to try on these shoes.”

“New shoes?”

“Yes, it’s about time you had
some that fit for a change.”

 Jo tried on shoes until
they found a pair that suited them both, shiny tan leather, high button shoes
that were just large enough to offer growing room, but still comfortable for
now. Jo preferred the white ones, but Kate adamantly refused, choosing
practical black ones instead, until they finally compromised on the tan.
Placing the shoes on the front counter, they turned next to the numerous bolts
of calicos and ginghams, flannels and woolens that lined the far side of the
store. She longingly fingered a beautiful deep blue satin, imagining the way it
would feel and drape if she were to make it up into a dress. Sighing, she
selected four bolts of practical calicos in shades of blues, yellows and greens
and a bolt of white muslin.

Looking around for Jo, she found
her near a small display of a china doll and tea party dishes. Her heart ached
for the little girl, but there was just no way that she could afford something
like that right now. If everything went well, perhaps she could have enough set
aside to get something special for Jo’s birthday in October.

“Jo, are you ready?”

“Yes, momma. Aren’t they pretty?”

“They’re beautiful.”

Jo placed her small had in her
mother’s and they walked to the counter to pay for their purchases, but Kate
couldn’t help noticing Jo’s gaze returning to the display.

“I need two dress lengths of the
yellow and one each of the others, Martha.”

“Are you going to be doing some
sewing?”

“Between Nana and I, we manage to
get it done,” Kate laughed. Her sewing skills were not her strong suit, and Martha
knew it. “How much will I owe you after you take off for the things I brought?”

 “Let’s see, four dollars
and seventy-five cents.”

Kate quickly calculated what she
had brought, saving out enough to give Jo the promised treat at the hotel. “In
that case, give me three men’s shirts, and a small shirtwaist, Nana’s size.” Jo
had wandered over to the candy display. “And how much is that tea set and
doll?” Kate asked in a hushed whisper.

“That would be five dollars and
fifty cents.”

Kate’s heart sank. It was far too
much, with everything they needed, that little luxury would have to wait.
“Maybe this fall.”

“Okay.” Martha nodded.

Their purchases wrapped and
stowed safely in the buggy, the two women and Jo went to Martha’s house for an
early lunch, leaving Lars in charge of the store.

***

Martha’s kitchen was light and
airy. Delicate lace curtains hung in the many windows. The table was polished
white ash, as were the chairs. Lunch was served on beautiful fine china, hand painted
with a blue willow pattern, and matching pieces lined the shelves along the
wall. The women savored small cucumber sandwiches on thinly sliced bread spread
with fresh butter, and sipped honey sweetened sassafras tea. After lunch, Jo
found the trunk filled with picture books and toys that Martha kept in her
living room, and busied herself with those, while the women sat at the table
enjoying another cup of tea and generous slices of rhubarb pie.

 Martha’s dark eyes danced
with anticipation as she and Kate sat together. “So how is he working out?”

“You mean Luke?” Kate asked.

“No, I mean the man in the moon!”
Martha bristled. “Of course I mean Luke.”

Kate laughed. “Better than I had
hoped,” she relented. “I had my doubts, but I think he’s going to be fine. He
certainly has the rest of my family under his spell!”

“So he and Jake are getting
along?” Martha inquired. “I admit I was a bit worried about Jake feeling
usurped.”

“Jake thinks the world of him. I
actually believe that Jake is relieved to have someone there to share the
burden, and Luke does it in such a way that no one feels like they’re being
overlooked or edged out.” Kate paused a moment, pondering, “Somehow Luke
manages to set things in motion, get things done, and he involves everyone, yet
it never seems like he takes charge. I just can’t explain it.”

“Well, it’s about time you had
some competent help out there!” Martha smiled.

“As though I’m not competent?”

“Oh, that’s not what I meant at
all! But you cannot do everything all by yourself, and you know it, Kate!”

Kate’s face softened, “I know,
and having Luke there these last few days has really made me realize that, in
ways you can’t even begin to imagine.

 “Speaking of not being able
to do it all myself, there’s something I need to talk to you about.” Kate added
quietly with downcast eyes.

“Whatever is it?”

“Well, spring branding needs to
be done, and soon! Even with Luke there, we can’t do it all by ourselves,” Kate
spoke quickly now before her courage could fail her. “Luke thought - that is,
we decided - Oh, bother! Do you think that you and Lars and some of the other
men from town could come out a week from Saturday and help with the calves? I
wouldn’t ask, but...”

“Of course we will! Now you just
stop fretting. That’s what friends are for.” Martha’s tone was comforting, and
she grabbed Kate’s hand in a gentle squeeze. “You just leave it all to me.
We’ll come, and I know Bert at the livery would do it for you, and Mike Hall -
his oldest boys could help out, too - then there’s Jim Kelly, and...”

“Stop! You’re going too fast for
me.” Kate laughed, her head spinning. “Oh, Martha, do you really think this
will work?”

“Yes! Now, are you and Nana going
to cook? I can get the womenfolk to bring pies and cakes, preserves and such
like, if you’ll supply the main course.”

“We thought we’d dig a pit and
roast a steer, what do you think?”

“Can you afford it?”

 “It’s well worth it to me
if we can this branding done!” Kate exclaimed.

“Then it’s settled. You get the
calves in and leave the details here in town to me,” Martha bubbled with
enthusiasm and plans.

“So, I see Luke has things pretty
well in hand out there! Is he taking charge of anything else?” Martha asked
with a deliciously wicked smile and a twinkle in her eye.

“Martha!”

“Well, c’mon, Kate, he
is
very handsome, he seems intelligent and well educated for all his rough
appearance, and he’d sure beat old Matt Johnson hands down, if you ask me!”

“How did you know?” Kate gasped.

“Oh, honey, he’s been going all over
town letting it be known that you are now ‘his property.’ Please tell me that
it isn’t so?” she pleaded.

“He asked me to marry him.”

“And?”

“And what? I didn’t tell him
anything. Obviously, I’m going to have to talk to him, tell him something, aren’t
I?”

“Yes, the sooner the better!”

“Is he really so very bad?”

“Worse than you think! Why I even
heard that he has Little Dick West working for him!”

“You mean the man that rode with
Bill Doolin?”

“The very one!”

 “But I thought they were
all killed or taken in after the big jail break in Guthrie last year!”

“No, Dick West and one other
escaped. The other one was killed later, but they never got Little Dick, and I
heard he was working for Matt. In fact, I saw him here in town with Matt just
last week!”

An image of the charred receipt
she and Luke had found flashed through her mind.
Richard We...
was all
of the name she had been able to make out, Richard West? Little Dick West? But
if Martha had seen him with Matt just last week, then he was still working for
Matt when the fence had been cut. A feeling of fear and anxiety rose within
her, constricting her chest, threatening to cut off her very breath.

“Martha, are you absolutely
certain?” she managed to say at last.

“Yes, of course I am. You
remember the pictures of him that were printed in the Guthrie papers after the
jail break. I know it was the same man.”

Kate nodded, unable to speak.

***

As Jo and Kate prepared to leave,
Martha pressed a small parcel into Kate’s hand. “Here, I want you to have this.
It’s just a little something for each of you.”

“Martha, I can’t...”

“Yes, you can, or you’ll really
hurt my feelings!”

 “Thank you.” Kate said
hugging the small woman fervently. True friends were so hard to find, and
Martha had been through so much with Kate, and still stood by her, a true
friend. “I love you, Martha.”

“And I you!”

“Bye, Mrs. Jansen, thank you for
lunch. I had a very nice time,” waved Jo, as they turned the corner of the main
street and headed for the hotel.

“Are we still going to have our party,
momma?”

“Of course we are. I promised,
didn’t I?”

“You just seem kind of worried
about something. I thought maybe you were too sad after all,” Jo said with an
insight and wisdom beyond her tender years.

“Oh, baby, I’m sorry, of course I
want to have our party. Why, it will be just the thing to make all these
worries go right away!” Kate said cheerfully.

“Good!”

 They entered the large
hotel dining room. Kate carried the package that Martha given her. She decided
it would be just the thing to add presents to their small birthday celebration.
They were seated at a table near the large front window. It had a white table
cloth and large linen napkins. Jo had never seen such finery before and was
suitably impressed. Kate smiled at her daughter. She had taken these things for
granted at Jo’s age, but living the way they did now, she realized that Jo was
far more comfortable with the simpler pleasures of life.

She ordered two slices of
chocolate cake, a cup of coffee for herself and a glass of milk for Jo. As they
waited for their cake to arrive, Kate produced the package.

“What’s this?” Jo’s eyes grew
round in anticipation.