A Chance at Love (18 page)

Dede picked up the story. “So Rebecca does it every other Saturday and she puts the oil in it. She says it helps hair grow.”

Grow what? Flies?
Loreli thought. “Well, Rebecca doesn't have to do your hair anymore. You heard your uncle say so.”

Dede turned her face up so she could see Loreli, then asked, “And we won't have to use her oil?”

“Nope.”

“Good.” A pleased Dede turned back around.

After unbraiding both heads, Loreli and the twins went to the pump.

Loreli let them use bars of her fancy scented soaps to
wash away the grime and Rebecca's grease. Soon they smelled heavenly. The twins took turns having their freshly washed hair oiled and braided by their new mama. When both heads were done, the girls happily patted their new dos and smiled.

Loreli wiped her hands on the towel across her lap, then stood. She couldn't help but be moved by their smiling, gleaming faces. She'd parted their hair neatly down the front, so as to showcase the twin French braids that ended with brand-new, multicolored ribbons. Both girls had a fairly good grade of hair and just needed someone to teach them how best to care for it. The slop Rebecca called hair oil had done nothing but weigh down their tresses with a thick layer of sticky, stinky grease. Loreli's oil, made of lemon and orange, bergamot and vanilla had given their hair shine and vitality.

 

Jake was in the cornfield ostensibly to gauge the health of his crop, but in reality he was trying to will himself back to calm. His blood was still humming from the short heated encounter in his bedroom, and his manhood was thick and throbbing with desire. He wanted more of her; there was no denying that, and therein lay the problem. He wasn't supposed to be wanting her this way. Remembering the softness of her skin and the way her nipples burned against his hands only heightened the memories and increased his need. She'd warned him early on that finding a woman to replace her wouldn't be easy and he now understood what she'd meant. Where in the world would he find someone as vibrant, as brave and as outrageous as Loreli? Even though he'd only touched her twice, he knew without a doubt that any woman he did find would have to be
as spirited as she seemed in the bedroom, yet he couldn't imagine a
real
wife displaying or dispensing such passion.

Jake continued his walk through the chest-high wall of corn, pausing to search through some of the stalks for worms and other pests. The few he found he tossed to the ground and crushed under his boot. If only his wanting of Loreli could be eradicated so easily, he thought. He'd began their relationship by vowing to keep her at arm's length, comfortable with the knowledge that he wouldn't be attracted to her. But now, less than a week later, all he could think about was cupping her breasts, kissing them, and hearing her sighs. Things weren't supposed to work out this way, he groused inwardly; he was supposed to be in control of the situation, not hard as gun metal and twice as hot.

Admittedly Jake was both, and his noble pledge to refrain from all further intimate activity until the wedding night would be kept. Yet after kissing her lips and feeling her warm skin beneath his hands, the wedding suddenly felt years away.

Jake walked back up to the house and found the girls admiring their reflections in an ivory and gold hand-held mirror, which he assumed belonged to Loreli. The change in their appearance made him pause. Gone were the thick unkempt braids that were so tangled near the roots he could barely draw a comb through.

“Do you like our hair, Uncle?” Dede asked excitedly.

He ran his eyes approvingly over their neatly done braids. Their faces were bright and clean. “I sure do. Looking mighty pretty, Miss Dede. You too, Miss Be.”

Bebe grinned and told him, “Loreli said we don't have to use Rebecca's old stink oil on our heads anymore.”

He drawled. “Good. It'll probably cut down on the flies in the house.”

The girls giggled and Loreli looked at him as if she'd never met him before. Reed making jokes!

He must've seen her face because he asked her, “What's wrong?”

“That was funny, Reed.”

“Yes, it was.”

“You have a sense of humor.”

“That so surprising?”

She searched his mustached face. “I'm not sure.”

He eyed her. “You may find me full of surprises before it's all said and done.”

Loreli cocked her head. “Oh, really?”

He turned to find the girls watching them intently. “Yes?” he asked them.

Both shook their heads. “Nothing.”

“How about you take the mirror back inside and we can unpack my trunks,” Loreli told them.

The girls did as instructed, leaving Jake and Loreli alone on the porch.

“Were you serious about the wedding night?” she asked.

“Yes.”

She turned back and studied him for a moment before admitting, “Never met a man like you before, Jake Reed.”

“Good,” he told her softly.

She chuckled. “Good?”

“Yes.”

“Why?”

“Because you'll remember me.”

Loreli went still. She searched his face. She would re
member him, and a jumble of emotions filled her at that moment; emotions she couldn't name because she'd never experienced them before. Was she falling in love with this man? Lord, she hoped not because there was no future in it. That the question had been raised was disturbing, though. The last thing Loreli needed was to find herself pining after a man determined to replace her as soon as opportunity allowed. No, she wasn't falling in love with him; she couldn't allow it.

Jake, still waiting for her response, wondered what she might be thinking. She made her living keeping her face free of expression, and she was doing that now. “What's the matter?”

Loreli shook herself free. “Nothing. I-I'm going in to help the girls.”

As she went inside, Jake wondered if it was his imagination or had she really retreated. It certainly seemed that way. But what had he said wrong this time? He sighed and went to feed the hogs.

 

With the help of the twins, Loreli unpacked her many trunks and hatboxes. Most of the items had been stored away since she'd left Chicago with the wagon train just over a month ago. To her dismay, some of her gowns had gotten wet during the trip and were now covered with mold and mildew. They were unsalvageable. Others however, though creased and wrinkled, just needed airing and a good ironing. These she had the girls take outside into the sunshine and drape over the porch rail. While they were outside, she lined up her hats and shoes along the walls of the parlor. The room now resembled a department store back East, Loreli mused.

In the course of the work, the girls tried on everything of hers that they could: hats, gloves, jewelry. They opened up little cosmetic pots and smelled her perfumes. She put tiny spots of rouge on their cheeks and little dabs of scent behind their ears. “You're both too young for all of this, but we're just playing,” Loreli told them.

Grins creased their twin brown faces.

Jake came in and his silent looming presence made Loreli and the girls look up. He scanned the clothes set about the room before settling his attention on the lightly painted faces of the girls. “Supper's almost ready. Go wash your faces and hands.”

Hearing his disapproval, they nodded sadly. “Yes, Uncle.”

After they were gone, Loreli drawled, “You certainly know how to ruin a party.”

“They're too young to be all painted up.”

“Which is what I told them when I put it on. We were just having a little fun. Goodness, do you have to view everything so seriously?”

Tight-lipped, he looked away.

Loreli told him bluntly, “I won't have you constantly looking over my shoulder or second-guessing me. Either you let me be the mother I think I can be, or get someone else.”

Jake had already pondered that impossibility.

“You're going to have to trust me, otherwise this won't work,” Loreli added.

He met her eyes. “I agree.”

Loreli had been expecting more of a fight. “Why are you surrendering so easily?”

He chuckled. “You'd rather argue?”

“No, not really, but—”

“You made your point. I do have to trust you. Forgive me if I overreacted.”

Loreli asked very seriously, “Who are you, and what have you done with the real Jake Reed?”

He shook his head and grinned. “Uppity woman.”

“The uppitiest you're ever going to meet.”

“No doubt in my mind about that.”

“Well, since this uppity woman is blessed with a man in her life who can cook, what's for dinner?”

“You over my knee if you don't behave yourself.”

She shot him a saucy look, “Really?”

Jake was filled with the urge to kiss that sassy mouth of hers, but he'd made a pledge not to touch her again until their wedding night.

“Having a little trouble with that vow you made?” she tossed out.

He raised an eyebrow. “Oh, now, you read minds too?”

“Yes.”

“Then you know I meant what I said.”

“No one need know you broke your pledge,” Loreli offered.

“I will, so stop tempting me.”

“I like tempting you. Never been around a man with real morals before. Takes some getting used to.”

Their eyes met and held.

He told her solemnly, “I realize I'm not as worldly as some of the men you might have known before. I'm just a Kansas farmer—probably bore you to tears before the year's out, but I'll protect you and respect you to the best of my ability.”

Loreli was very moved by his simple declaration. “That's all a woman can ask of any man, Jake.”

“Then let's go eat.”

She nodded and they went inside the house.

W
hen it was time for the girls to go to bed that evening, Loreli found an old pair of cotton stockings amongst her belongings and fashioned them into nightcaps for the girls. The lightweight caps would keep their hair from being mussed while they slept.

The twins beamed upon receiving this new gift. “Aggie sleeps in a stocking cap too,” Bebe said.

Loreli grinned. “Does she?”

Bebe nodded like a horse. “So does her sister, Charlene.”

Jake wondered how something as simple as a stocking cap could bring two little girls such joy. He supposed that was why God made mothers, to take care of things like that. “Okay you two, let's hear your prayers.”

“Now that Loreli's living with us, can she hear our prayers too?” Dede asked him.

He looked at Loreli.

Honored by the request, Loreli said, “I'd like that very much.”

The girls were already kneeling beside the bed.

Dede went first. “Dear God: Thank you for my sister, and Uncle, and Loreli. Thank you for Emily's new kittens. And for Suzie, and Pal and Rabbit…”

Loreli had no idea who these folks were, but kept silent.

“Please say hello to our Mama,” Dede continued. “Tell her we love her and we miss her, and thank her for sending us Loreli. Amen.”

Loreli felt emotion fill her heart and throat.

“Dear God,” Bebe began. “Thank you for my sister, my uncle Jake, and for Loreli. Please bless all the sick animals, and Aggie, and her sister Charlene, and Carrie. Tell Mama we're being good and that I'm glad she sent us Loreli too. Amen.”

Loreli had never been privy to anything like this, and except for her wagon mate, Belle, it had been a long time since anyone had sent prayers up to heaven on her behalf. She wanted to cry.

The girls were now scooting under the thin blanket, and Jake bent down and kissed them on the forehead. “Good night,” he whispered.

He stepped aside. Loreli bent to bestow her kisses as well. “Good night, pumpkins. Sweet dreams.”

“Good night, Loreli.”

“See you two in the morning,” Jake said.

“Good night, Uncle.”

He blew out the lamp, and he and Loreli tiptoed out, then they stepped onto the porch. The sun was dying in a blaze of vivid reds and oranges.

“Never had anyone pray for me that way before,” Loreli said.

“Children's prayers are very special.”

“I'm finding that out. Do you listen to their prayers every night?”

Jake nodded. “Didn't your father listen to your prayers before you went to sleep?”

“No, my daddy lost his religion when my mother died. He said he never had much use for God after that. I prayed sometimes anyway, even went to church with the sisters a couple of times.”

He wondered if she realized that he could hear the pain in her voice. Did it mean she was dropping her guard? “Well, my father heard our prayers whether we wanted him to or not, but I promised myself that when I grew up I wouldn't force my children to pray the way my father forced us.”

“Explain,” Loreli prompted.

“He told us what to pray for.”

“I don't understand.”

Jake sighed.

“The only thing my sister and I were allowed to pray for was the redemption of our souls.”

“I see.”

“He wouldn't have stood for the girls praying for the animals or their friends. Redemption was all you were supposed to ask for.

“Are you really Catholic?”

Loreli chuckled. “If you can become a Catholic after only six days, I am.” She then explained her short stint with the nuns in New Orleans. “Just wanted to give Rebecca something else to chew on.”

“Well, she took the bait.”

“That she did. How long has her father been a preacher here?”

“Five years or so. He took over after old Reverend Pease died.”

“How many churches does this place have?”

“One.”

“So I should expect some hostility tomorrow?”

“I wouldn't doubt it.”

“Won't be anything new for me. Those old biddies can hiss at me as loud as they want, but I will call them out if they start in on the girls.”

Jake smiled at the fight in her tone. “Let's just wait and see how it goes before you start strapping on weapons.”

“I'm warning you, Jake. I won't put up with any shenanigans from Rebecca or her friends.”

“I don't expect you to.”

“Good.”

He eyed her with a mixture of humor and wonder. “Have you been this fearless all of your life?”

“No, but after my daddy died, it was either learn to be fearless or spend the rest of my life on my knees. I chose to stand and fight.”

“Must've been hard being on your own.”

She thought back and said quietly, “Harder than anyone will ever know.”

Jake wanted to ask her to explain but he didn't feel comfortable delving into something that sounded so personal. If she had the desire to share her life's journey with him, he knew she would in her own time.

Loreli didn't want to discuss her past, mainly because she wasn't certain how he might respond, so she changed
the subject. “Tell me about this union business.”

Jake sensed she wanted to talk about something else so he didn't question her change in topics. “It's a national movement that's trying to bring workers, farmer, and trade unionists together to form one voice.”

“The Knights of Labor?”

“They're involved, but there are also farmers' alliances and grangers in the ranks too. Ideally, we could become strong enough to form a pretty powerful third political party, and that's been discussed as well.”

“A third political party?”

“Sure. We can't look to the Democrats for relief. Their main concerns are disenfranchising us as quickly as possible, and restoring the Confederacy. The Republicans may as well be Democrats for all the good they're doing the race these days. So why not form a third party to carry forward the issues of the workers and the poor?”

Loreli admittedly paid very little attention to politics, but even she knew that the Republicans were no longer supporting the rights and issues of the race, and that the nation's Black newspapers were howling with outrage over the lack of commitment by the party of Lincoln.

“With all this industrialization going on and the factories being built,” Jake said, “people are being paid less for working more. Skilled workers like shoemakers are being replaced by machines that can make hundreds of shoes a day, and run by people who are rendered mindless by the sheer repetition of their jobs. If we can get all of the factory workers and farmers and the trade unionists to unite, we could get the mortgage mess cleaned up, demand that folks be paid what they're worth, and make sure the money they are paid is worth something.”

“Sounds pretty grandiose.”

Jake shook his head.

“I don't think so. This country owes it to the farmers to make sure we stay afloat. After all, the nation's getting bigger every day and folks have to be fed, but the way it stands now, all of the tariffs and taxes seemed designed to break us, not build us up.”

“I can't see the bankers and capitalists wanting to change things.”

“Of course not. They're getting fat. They don't want to have to tighten their belts just so children won't have to work in their mines fourteen and fifteen hours a day, or so that the thousands of women working in the garment factories can make more than a few pennies a week in wages. No, the rich want to preserve the status quo and they're doing everything in their power to stop us. Some organizers have been killed.”

Loreli found that disquieting, “You said that before.”

“Yes.”

“Have you been threatened?”

“Not so far.”

“Do you think you may be?” she asked.

“Anything's possible.”

“Well, I'm an excellent shot.”

He gave her just the ghost of a smile. “I figured that.”

“Well, let's hope Rebecca and her friends figure that out before church tomorrow. I'd hate to have to give them a demonstration.”

Humor lit his eyes. “Let's hope that won't be necessary.”

As the sun disappeared below the horizon, dusk rolled in. Loreli stared at the view. “What was it like growing up here?”

“Not bad, though it wasn't called Bloody Kansas for nothing.”

“What do you mean?” she asked.

“Lots of fighting between Free Staters and the Missouri border gangs who wanted the territory to be proslavery. Blood was shed on both sides before it was all decided.”

“Wasn't John Brown from Kansas?”

“He was born elsewhere, but Kansas became his home. He and my father were good friends. They were both Old Testament men—all hellfire and brimstone, and an eye for an eye.” Jake paused for a moment as the memories flooded his mind. “Mr. Brown had the coldest blue eyes I've ever seen on a man—had ten children too.”

Loreli didn't know that.

“I remember him and pa sitting on this very porch, planning and plotting their holy war against slavery—and in their minds it
was
a holy war. Even though my father claimed to be a man of the cloth, both he and Brown helped the Jayhawkers—”

“What's a Jayhawker?” Loreli interrupted.

“Members of a guerrilla band of Kansas Free Staters commanded by Captain James Montgomery.”

“I've never heard of a jayhawk. Is there really a bird by that name?”

“Supposedly. A jayhawk is an Irish bird that hunts smaller birds and shakes them to death the way mousers do rats, but the Kansas Jayhawks hunted proslavers.”

“And your father knew these men?”

Jake nodded. “Yes, he even rode with Captain Montgomery for a while, as did Mr. Brown.”

“It sounds odd to hear you refer to him as Mister
Brown. I'm so accustomed to hearing him called by his full name.”

“I was what, nine, ten years old when I first met him? Being a youngster, I had to address him that way.”

“Makes sense, but never thought I'd be standing on the same porch that he once stood on.”

“Wanting to eradicate slavery made him fearless, but my mother swore he was unbalanced,” Jake said.

“Why?”

“She called him a zealot, and sometimes zealots do things that god-fearing folks wouldn't.”

“Such as?”

“Back in 1856, proslavery Missourians sacked and burned Lawrence. Many of the citizens were murdered. Mr. Brown was living over near Pottawatomie Creek at the time, and when he heard what had been done in Lawrence, he became so enraged and so filled with vengeance he kidnapped five of his proslavery neighbors.”

“Were these neighbors involved in the Lawrence fight?”

“No.”

“What did Brown do after he kidnapped them?”

“He and his sons killed them. Split their heads open with broadswords.”

Loreli was surprised. “My. So that's what you meant by an eye for an eye.”

“Yes.”

Loreli had never heard that story before, but figured that since slavery was unbalanced, it seemed only fitting to pit a man like John Brown against it. “What was your mother like?”

“Timid but loving. She didn't want anything out of life but to go to church and raise her family. She thought her dream had come true when she married my father. He was a simple preacher, and she was proud that he was a Jayhawker and an abolitionist, but finding out he was an adulterer turned the marriage into a nightmare and broke her heart.”

“When did she die?”

“During the last year of the war. My father was away fighting for the Union at the time.”

Loreli's voice softened. “My daddy died that same year. September 20, 1865.” She would never forget the date nor the horror that befell her in the hours immediately following his death. She changed the subject again. “How long have you been doctoring animals?”

“Most of my life. Started with an eaglet I found when I was about ten. I went to Howard College, hoping to learn enough to get a certificate, but I quit after three months and came home.”

Loreli was surprised. “Why? You're certainly smart enough to have done well.”

“Thanks, but I missed the land. Missed the sunrises and the sunsets. Back East was too noisy and crowded. I'm a country boy—all that rushing around wasn't for me. So, I left Washington and came home.”

“Was your father angry?” Loreli asked.

“Of course, but I didn't care. Didn't care about anything he had to say back then.”

“Why not?”

“I blamed him for my mother's death. Bonnie did too. He never treated her right. Left her home for days, some
times weeks at a time. When he wasn't off Jayhawking, he was out saving sinners or coveting his neighbor's wife. She begged him not to join Lincoln's war back in '62. I remember the argument they had the night before he left again in '64. She told him then she wasn't well and didn't want to be apart from him, but he told her fighting slavery was more important than any mortal's health. He left her and us the next morning.”

“How old were you?”

“Just turned seventeen. I wanted to fight. I'd already signed my name, but he made me stay and take care of my mother and Bonnie. He said it was a fight for men, not boys.”

“Maybe he just wanted to protect you,” Loreli offered.

“Maybe he just wanted to leave his family to see what was on the other side. He never seemed happy at home.”

“Well, I've had restless feet all of my life too, I can't fault him for that.”

“But you don't have a family and two children. You didn't leave in the middle of planting season and assume your children and wife would somehow survive without a means of support.”

“But it was the fight against slavery, Jake. Everyone left families behind.”