Buckeye Dreams (33 page)

“That is very kind, but Reverend Warren has already looked very carefully and could discover nothing. I cannot imagine her wandering over to our farm all the way from Delaware.” Adele looked down at the girl, and Jonah could tell Dr. Harris’s offer bothered her as she stroked the girl’s strawberry-blond hair.

Later he, Daniel, Dr. Harris, and Jacob walked around while Adele stayed with Anne. The little girl had fallen asleep as she tended to do in the afternoon.

Dr. Harris strolled over to Jonah while they looked over the purebred sheep. “I hope I didn’t upset Adele,” he said.

“She’s become very attached to Anne over the past couple of months,” Jonah said. “For her sake, I pray we’ll be able to keep her.”

“I understand.” The professor looked thoughtful for a moment. “I wonder, Jonah, if I might have a word with you and your brother.”

Daniel came up just in time to hear what his old mentor had said, and he smiled knowingly. “You have our full attention.”

The older man looked down and stroked his graying beard. “Well …” he said. “Well, I’ve been calling on Mary—I mean, Mrs. O’Neal—for several months now, and I thought it only proper, since you both are her closest male relatives, to ask you for her hand in marriage.”

Jacob came up just then. “What’s going on?”

“The professor here is asking to marry your aunt Mary,” Jonah said. He laid a hand on the boy’s shoulder. “Should Uncle Daniel and I give him permission?”

Jacob gave the professor a long look. “How do you plan on supporting her?” The sudden burst of laughter from the three men caused the boy to jump.

“Where did you hear that?” Jonah asked. He drew a deep breath and let it out again. He laughed so hard there were tears in his eyes. It had been years since he had found something so funny.

“Will told me Miss Williams’s pa asked him that,” Jacob replied. Will had asked for Clara’s hand last Sunday and had clearly regaled Jacob with the whole tale. “Isn’t that what you’re supposed to ask?”

“Not in this case,” Jonah chuckled. Like Daniel, Dr. Harris was a professor at Ohio Wesleyan, so there was certainly no concern that he could not support a wife. He turned to the professor and shook his hand. “You have our blessing.”

As Daniel gave the older man a warm embrace, Jonah saw Ben Carr not far off at the horse stalls. He nudged his brother and nodded toward the young man. They exchanged glances. In his last letter to his brother, Jonah had mentioned his run-in with Ben Carr, and the two agreed they both needed to talk to the young man. Telling Jacob to stay with Dr. Harris, the brothers made their way over.

Ben saw them approach and frowned. “Mr. Kirby, Dr. Kirby,” he said coldly and started to step away. His frown deepened when Jonah laid his hand on his arm.

“Please, Mr. Carr,” he said. “I’ve come to apologize.”

The young man pursed his lips but stopped and looked at them.

“First of all, I’m sorry for misjudging you. I had no right to say the things I did. Will Reid is one of my hired hands, and he says you’re one of the most fair-minded men he’s ever met.” Jonah looked down. “Secondly, I should have treated your uncle better. I was taught to love my enemies, but I guess I didn’t learn that lesson very well. Looking back now, I guess I was kind of a pain in the neck.”

“No more than my uncle must have been,” Ben said. “I’m well aware of what his faults were. My ma says that’s why we left for the Kansas Territory. My pa couldn’t stand to watch Uncle Eli’s greed eat him alive.”

“Mr. Carr,” Daniel said, “I feel I should apologize as well. I thought the same way about your uncle.” Jonah noticed his brother glanced at him before continuing. “I shouldn’t have offered to sell him the Kirby farm and then backed out at the last minute.”

“No need, Dr. Kirby. As I said, I know how bad Uncle Eli behaved.”

“That still doesn’t excuse how we acted,” Jonah said.

Ben nodded. “I suppose.” He offered them his hand. “Why don’t we put this all behind us and start fresh?”

“That sounds like a good idea,” Jonah said as he, Daniel, and Ben shook hands. “But I hear you’re leaving soon. Headed back to the Dakota Territory?”

“Yes,” the young man replied. “I’ve got most of my uncle’s land sold or rented.” Ben paused for a moment. “The fields adjacent to your farm are the only ones I still hold. I would like to give them to you.”

Jonah blinked in surprise. “What for?”

“I really feel I should make amends for what my uncle did.”

“You weren’t responsible for his actions. And I have more than enough land of my own.”

“No, I insist,” Ben said.

Jonah hesitated. He didn’t really need more land. What would he do with it? An idea suddenly came to mind, and he smiled. “Fine, I accept. My lawyer’s name is O’Conner, Edward O’Conner.” Out of the corner of his eye, he saw his brother’s eyebrows rise. “He has an office here in Delaware.”

“Thank you,” Ben replied as they shook on the deal. “I’ll be sure to see him before I leave.”

“When will that be?” Daniel asked.

“Sometime next week. With the money I’m getting from the land here, I can finally start my own business.” Ben looked down for a moment, a half smile on his face. “And I hope to marry and start a family.”

“We’ll pray everything goes well for you,” Jonah said. “Be sure to write us. We’d like to know how things go for you.”

“What on earth are you going to do with more land?” Daniel asked as they watched the young man walk away.

“Those fields border the land Will is renting,” he replied with a smile. “A couple of those acres will be a perfect wedding present for him and Miss Williams. I’ll rent out the rest of it to someone who needs it.” Jonah raised his eyebrows at the frown on his brother’s face. “What’s wrong? I think it’s a good idea.”

“No, it is a good idea,” Daniel said. He looked away, but Jonah caught the guilty look in his eyes. “I never really apologized to you for trying to sell the farm. I’m sorry.”

Jonah reached out and squeezed his shoulder. “Don’t worry about that. You did think I was dead.”

“But still …”

“Oh, come on.” Jonah slapped him on the back. “They’re judging Jacob’s calf soon. Why don’t you and Dr. Harris take him over to the livestock stalls while I go fetch Adele and Anne?”

“Sure,” Daniel said, and Jonah was glad to see the guilt leave his face.

As he made his way through the crowds, Jonah hoped Anne would still be asleep. Ben’s talk of marriage and family had him eager to talk to Adele alone, even if only for a few minutes.

A
dele had brought some mending along, anticipating that Anne would sleep after dinner. She found her thoughts turning to Jonah as she worked. She wondered at the look he had given her just before she won first place for her quilt. It was not one that worried her. It just seemed as if the way he was looking at her—especially over the past week—had changed. It reminded her of how Nathaniel would gaze at her when they were courting.

Her needle slipped and jabbed her thumb. Sucking the blood away, she dismissed the silly thought.
How ridiculous! He is just grateful for the way I helped him
. The thought lingered, even though she stubbornly continued to brush it away, trying her best to think on something else. She almost cried out with relief when she heard her name being called.

“Adele Kirby.” She looked to see Fred Decker’s cousin, Ruth, walking up with her newly married daughter, May Hamilton, behind her.

Adele rose and hugged them both. She had not seen either of them since her marriage to Jonah. “Ruth, May, it is so good to see you. I miss seeing you both when I go to town.” She invited them to sit down. She noticed Ruth looking at Anne, who was still sleeping peacefully in a little ball.

“Now, who do we have here?” the woman asked. “Is she a relative of yours?”

By the time Adele explained how Anne had come to them, the little girl woke and decided to pick some of the clover growing in little white clusters across the field.

“Why, the poor thing,” Ruth said. “May, you haven’t heard of a child missing lately, have you?”

“No,” May said as she went to help Anne pick clover. “But we live so far from Ostrander, I can’t see how she could be from all the way up in Radnor.”

“I suppose not.” Ruth’s face brightened “Why, here comes Jonah.”

To her surprise, Adele’s heart suddenly began to pound as her husband came into view. She took a deep breath and schooled it back to a normal rhythm.

Anne caught sight of Jonah and ran up to him. He smiled and knelt down to hug her.

Adele glanced at Ruth, who was smiling at the pair.

“Jonah Kirby, if you don’t mind me saying so, you look like a new man,” she said.

“I don’t mind at all. Thank you, Mrs. Decker. The Lord has been working on me,” he said, picking up the little girl.

“There. You even sound more like yourself,” the older woman said with a broad smile.

Noticing Jonah was not sitting down, Adele looked up at him. “Is it almost time for them to judge Jacob’s calf?”

He nodded.

“We’ll help you with all this,” May said.

While Adele gathered her mending and put it and the dinner leftovers in the basket, Ruth and May folded the blanket. She took it from them and handed the basket to Jonah. Their hands brushed, and Adele jumped.

“Are you all right?” he asked.

“Yes, I … must have caught my thumb on the basket. I pricked it while I was mending.”

Jonah set the basket down and reached for her hand. “Let me see.”

“No. It is nothing. It will be fine.” She busied herself arranging the blanket over her arm and wondered what on earth was the matter with her.

“I am sorry we had such a short visit,” Adele said to Ruth and May.

“Oh, don’t worry about it,” Ruth said as she embraced her. “We don’t want to keep you.”

May hugged Adele as well and then laid a gentle hand on Jonah’s arm. “I hope you don’t mind me saying, but I think it’s just wonderful the way you are taking care of Adele for Nate. I always admired your friendship with him. It reminded me of Jonathan and David in the Bible. How loyal you both were to each other. Well, we have some place to be, too! I hope Jacob does well.”

Adele watched the two of them disappear into the crowds with a smile. She would have to write to the young woman and thank her for her kind words. She turned to say so to Jonah but stopped at the pensive look on his face. “What is wrong?”

“Nothing,” he said quickly. “We should get over to the cattle stall.”

Guilt was nearly strangling him as they stood in the cattle stall along with Daniel and Dr. Harris. What had he been thinking? How could he have thought even for a moment that Adele could be completely his? He glanced at her then quickly looked away.
No. I’ve already half broken the promise I made to Nate. I won’t break it all the way
.

Since the moment Nate and Adele had become engaged, it had been a struggle for Jonah to hide how he felt. But when he refused to read the thirteenth chapter of First Corinthians at the wedding, Nate had wanted to know why. He pushed and prodded until Jonah finally admitted he was in love with Adele. Nate had been so hurt and angry that Jonah promised then and there never to tell her how he felt.

Jonah looked up to see the judges moving toward the calves. Anne gave a little sigh and laid her head on his shoulder.
All this belongs to Nate. Not me
. But when the judges awarded the first-place premium to Jacob, he could not help but feel pride for the boy.

With a dumbfounded smile, Jacob walked over to them and gave the money he’d won to his mother. “Save it for me, Ma.”

Jonah looked at him curiously. “What are you saving money for?”

“School,” he replied, looking at Daniel.

“School.” Jonah glared at his brother. Through their letters the past few weeks, he’d become closer to him than ever. While the farm had not been their chief topic of conversation, Jonah thought Daniel would know that he didn’t want Jacob lured to Ohio Wesleyan or any other school. “He’s not going off to school like you did.”

“It’s not like that, Jonah,” Daniel said raising his hands. “Let me explain—”

“Professor Kirby.” They turned to see a young man pushing his way through the crowds.

“Isn’t that one of your students?” Dr. Harris asked.

Out of breath, the young man stopped in front of Daniel. “Sir, it’s your wife. Mrs. O’Neal sent me to come get you.”

Any anger Jonah felt toward his brother vanished as he watched his face whiten. “The baby?”

“She says it’s coming.”

“But it’s too soon,” Daniel said as he took off, his student and Dr. Harris not far behind.

Adele gripped Jonah’s arm, and his chest tightened at the fear he saw in her eyes. “Jonah, I might be able to help. Please take me to Katherine.”