Pearl (36 page)
‘‘No.’’ Opal made a face. ‘‘But I sure miss her.’’
‘‘We all do.’’ Daisy took a cookie too. ‘‘Milly’s one tough cookie to carry that tray, make change, and keep a smile on her face. She doesn’t look real strong, but you two girls are doing a great job.’’ She stretched, kneading her back with her fists. ‘‘Guess I better get back to my ironing.’’
‘‘I’ll go get the things off the line.’’ Opal headed out the door, whistling for Bay at the same time. ‘‘You lonesome, girl?’’
Ruby watched out the window as Opal got to the fence at the same time as the mare. ‘‘Those two sure got to be friends fast.’’ Ruby marveled at that every day.
Pearl smiled wistfully. ‘‘Doesn’t happen often, but like with people, sometimes you meet someone and you feel like you’ve known them all your life. I felt that way by the second day I was here.’’
‘‘Me too.’’ Ruby turned from the window. ‘‘I better get out there and stir that load of tablecloths. I think Milly did far more work around here than any of us gave her credit for.’’
Before a week passed, Milly was much more like herself, even though she didn’t know who she was.
‘‘Don’t you remember going fishing?’’ Opal asked.
‘‘Do I know how to fish?’’ With the lessening of the headaches, Milly had gone back to doing the laundry after someone showed her how.
But when Rand showed up with Baldy in tow, Milly turned white and dashed into the hotel faster than a rabbit chased by a coyote.
‘‘What’s the matter?’’ Ruby turned from mashing the potatoes. ‘‘That man with the horse . . .’’ Milly stuttered, her eyes round as teacups.
‘‘That’s Rand Harrison, a good friend of yours. And you love to ride. You and Opal rode all over the place, went fishing, strawberry picking.’’ Ruby made sure her voice stayed even and friendly. The terror on Milly’s face told how well she wasn’t doing. Now that she thought about it, Milly had made a wide detour around the pasture and Bay. If she can’t remember anything else, how does she know to be afraid? She’d panicked when they had another thunderstorm too, hiding under the covers when the lightning flashed.
‘‘Hey, Milly, how ya doin’?’’ Rand took off his hat as he entered the kitchen. ‘‘Brought your friend back. Would have come sooner, but we been putting up hay.’’ He glanced at Ruby when Milly backed away, shaking her head.
Ruby moved the mashed potatoes to a cooler spot on the stove. She held out her hand. ‘‘Come on, Milly, let’s go see how Pearl is doing with the beets.’’ She nodded to Rand to join them.
Even before noon, the sun was baking the land. Hammers and saws and men shouting could be heard from across the river. The frame was up on the marquis’s new home on the bluff.
‘‘My land, look at that.’’ Cimarron pointed to the pile of lumber and building materials they’d unloaded from the train that day. Now that a siding had been finished, the engineer would back a car or two off on that before the train itself headed west.
Ruby sucked in a deep breath, remembering the day she wanted to shoot Rand for forcing Opal to get back up on the horse after she fell off.
Milly had to do the same.
Ruby kept Milly’s hand locked in her own. ‘‘Milly, dear, I’m going to ask you to do something that might be hard, but I believe it is very important.’’
‘‘What?’’
‘‘We’re going to walk over to the horses now so you can remember how much you love horses and love to ride.’’
‘‘I-I can’t.’’
‘‘Sure you can. I’m right here on your other side.’’ Rand took her other hand and wrapped it around his arm, tucked tight against his side. The smile he sent Ruby made her heart skip a beat and then pick up at double time.
‘‘Good for you, Milly.’’ Opal joined them, sticking a carrot in Milly’s hand. ‘‘You always give Baldy a carrot. He likes them. So does Buck, so I brought him one.’’
Bay nickered.
‘‘She wants one too, but I already gave her some.’’
Standing at the hitching rail, Rand reached out to rub Baldy’s neck while Opal fussed over Buck.
Milly shivered. ‘‘I-I think I’m going to faint.’’
‘‘No, you’re not. We won’t let you. Besides, you’re not the kind who faints.’’ Opal lifted Milly’s hand to give Baldy the carrot. He whiskered her palm as he took the carrot right in the middle, with greens hanging out one side of his mouth and half the carrot the other. Twitching his upper lip, he tried to shift the carrot around.
Milly giggled, a tiny breath of sound at first but definitely laughter.
Opal laughed out loud. ‘‘You silly horse.’’ She grabbed the green stalk and handed it back to him.
Baldy sniffed Milly’s arm and shoulder, then nodded as if he approved.
‘‘See, he likes you.’’
Milly leaned against Ruby, hiding her face in her shoulder. ‘‘Then why did he dump me off and run away?’’ Tears and sobs burst forth, and she buried her face in Ruby’s chest as Ruby put both her arms around her and gathered her close. Pearl walked over from the garden to lend support.
Please, God, let the healing begin.
Ruby covered her prayer in tears of joy. ‘‘Go ahead and cry it out now. Let it all out.’’
Opal, ever tenderhearted, left her tears on Buck’s neck. ‘‘She remembers. Thank you, Jesus, she remembers.’’
When the crying storm passed, Milly still leaned against Ruby. ‘‘How did I get home?’’
‘‘Four men from the cantonment brought a sling out and brought you in.’’
‘‘Rand came and found us when Baldy ran back to the ranch.’’
‘‘What happened to all our fish?’’
Pearl was the first to burst out laughing, but the others all joined in.
‘‘Oh, Milly, here we’re all worried about you remembering, and all you care about is the fish.’’ Cimarron clasped her hands together. ‘‘You are a real trooper.’’
‘‘Speaking of troopers, Opal, you want to ride Buck on down and give our good news to Private Stone?’’
Opal unwrapped the reins and, flipping one over Buck’s neck, grabbed the saddle horn and stirrup and swung herself aboard. ‘‘You want to come along?’’ she offered Milly.
Milly shook her head and clung closer to Ruby.
‘‘You’re going to ride Baldy, aren’t you, darlin’?’’ Cimarron took Milly’s hand. ‘‘You want someone to ride with you?’’
‘‘I-I don’t want to ride.’’
‘‘I know that, but when you fall off, you got to get back on. That’s just the way it is.’’
‘‘Ruby?’’
‘‘I’ll walk beside you, and Cimarron lead, so Rand can walk on your other side. No way you can fall. You ready now?’’
‘‘No-o-o-o.’’
Rand put both hands on her waist, and with one smooth motion, she was sitting in the saddle, clenching the pommel till her fingernails made indents in the leather.
‘‘The stirrups are just right for you, so we’ll help you get your feet in.’’ Rand did one and Ruby the other.
Fear emanated in waves from the girl on the horse. Her jaw was clamped so tight, she was sure to have cramps in it later. Her eyes scrunched shut, one tear tracking down her cheek.
‘‘All right, push your feet against the stirrups so you can stand up a bit.’’
Even though she shook her head, Milly did as told.
‘‘Good. Now sit back down and snuggle against the back of the saddle so you feel more secure. You can move around if you like. Baldy doesn’t mind.’’ Again she did as he told her. ‘‘You can open your eyes now.’’
‘‘I-I’m dizzy, and my head hurts.’’ The whisper came somehow from between the clenched lips.
‘‘Now we’re going to walk real slow and easy, so let yourself move with the horse. You are a good rider, and your body will remember what to do.’’ Rand continued to give her instructions in a slow, gentle manner.
Please, Lord, let him be right. If something happens now . . .
Ruby kept a hand on Milly’s thigh as they started up the path to the street. She could feel the girl’s body gradually relax, like wax melting in a can, becoming warm and pliable. For sure there’d been enough heat applied here.
Ruby’s own shoulders relaxed, and she patted Milly’s knee. ‘‘You are doing just fine up there. Braver than I would be.’’
‘‘I’m . . . not . . . brave.’’
‘‘You sure fooled me. Real courage is when you do something you’re terrified of but do it anyway. That’s what you are doing.’’
‘‘You sure are. If we were Indians, we would have to give you a new name. Brave Heart or She Who Fears Nothing.’’ Rand patted Baldy’s neck as he spoke.
‘‘Or Little Badger.’’ Cimarron turned and looked over her shoulders. ‘‘Badgers are the fiercest fighters.’’
Milly picked up the reins that were crossed over Baldy’s neck. When they returned to the hitching rail, she dismounted and patted the horse’s neck and turned to Ruby. ‘‘So when another thunderstorm comes, are you going to throw me outside to get over my fear of storms too?’’
Ruby gulped, swapped a glance over the horse’s back with Rand and, when Cimarron broke into a mighty laugh, did the same.
Buck and Opal loped back up and stopped to watch. ‘‘Hey, Buck, I think they’ve all lost their minds.’’
Milly turned. ‘‘I still want to know what happened to all our fish.’’
‘‘We ate the ones I brought home,’’ Opal said, ‘‘and I guess something else ate the strings you had. By the way, Private Stone asked me to tell you he is coming by tonight and hopes you will have time to go walking with him.’’
‘‘Oh my.’’ Milly put her hands to her cheeks. ‘‘I’m a mess.’’ The bewildered look she wore when the rest of them laughed only made them laugh more.
Tomorrow would be only the second day of school, and already she was dreading it.
‘‘Is something wrong?’’ Ruby turned to Pearl after supper was cleared away.
‘‘I . . . I . . . no, it’s nothing.’’
‘‘You’ve been awfully quiet.’’
‘‘I know. What do you know about the older Grady boy?’’
‘‘Nothing. The family is brand-new to the area. Just came this summer. Atticus is so much bigger than all the other children though.’’
‘‘And he doesn’t want to be in school.’’
‘‘Oh. Can he read at all? Do arithmetic?’’
‘‘He’s never spent a day in school. He doesn’t know his alphabet or his numbers. I would think his family needs him out on the farm.’’
‘‘Usually that’s the case. Hard to get the older students to go to school at all, or for their folks to let them go.’’ Ruby handed Pearl a cup of tea. ‘‘You look like you need a sit-down. How did the room work?’’ Together they stepped out on the porch and sat in the rocking chairs.
‘‘Fine, thanks to Charlie and Mr. Hegland for the benches they made. We put Atticus at a table by himself.’’ She leaned back and watched the color changing in the clouds above them. From pinks to oranges and reds and back to lavender. ‘‘Just sitting out here brings peace to my soul.’’
‘‘I know. Maybe he won’t come tomorrow.’’
‘‘I should be so fortunate. And yet I feel so sorry for anyone who cannot read.’’
‘‘There are a lot of people like that out here.’’
‘‘Mrs. Robertson has done a good job with her girls, just as you have with Opal. And now Opal is passing her learning on.
Do you know how amazing that is?’’
‘‘At the Brandons’, where we came from in New York, the children always loved to play school. That’s how Opal started learning to read when she was barely five. But then we had been reading together before then. We loved
David Copperfield
and
Oliver
Twist
.’’ Ruby watched a bird dipping and fluttering for insects. One of the horses nickered. A dog barked somewhere. Cat rose from her evening ablutions and came to wind herself about Ruby’s skirt, becoming more insistent in her pleas.
‘‘All right, come on up.’’ Ruby patted her lap. Cat leaped up and, kneading Ruby’s upper legs with her paws, finally settled in, her purr rivaling the saws that were now silent after the building of the day.
‘‘I love this time of day and this time of the year. This is my second fall in Dakotah Territory, and what a difference.’’
‘‘What brought you here?’’
‘‘A letter from my father telling me to bring Opal and come west for our inheritance.’’
‘‘Dove House?’’
‘‘Yes, but things were a lot different then. The dining room was a saloon, gambling all over in here. And we walked into that just before he died.’’