Daisy (Suitors of Seattle) (10 page)

She fixed a special meal that day of fried chicken and mashed potatoes with cream gravy.  He loved her fried chicken, and she didn’t make it nearly often enough to suit her husband.  She made a special cake as well, wanting her news to be celebrated the best way she could.

Eli walked in the front door with one hand behind his back.  When she turned to him, he pulled a small bouquet of daisies from behind his back.  She took them with wide eyes.  “Thank you!  My flower.”  Her eyes filled with tears.  She loved her namesake as much as her sisters loved theirs. 

He pulled her into his arms and kissed the tip of her nose.  “Did you have a good day?” he asked.  He knew she’d been keeping busy with spring cleaning and the house was shining from top to bottom.

She nodded happily.  “I did.  I need to go for supplies tomorrow.”  He’d been letting her go into town without him since the snow had melted, and though she’d missed him, she was pleased to have the freedom.

“I can’t take the time tomorrow, so you’ll need to go without me.  Spring is my busiest time.”

“That’s fine.  I don’t mind.”  She set the platter of chicken on the table and hurried to put the potatoes and gravy beside it. 

“This looks delicious.  What did I do to deserve this?”

She laughed.  “I’ve cooked this for you before.”

“But not every night like I asked,” he frowned.
  It was the only thing she’d refused that he’d asked of her. 

“I’m not cooking any one thing every night.”  She sat down across from him and waited while he prayed.  She’d put the daisies into a vase and they decorated the center of the table which thrilled her.

“I wish you would,” he said petulantly.  He was finally getting used to having her around.  Someone who cared about what he wanted and needed in life and not someone who just made whatever she wanted.  He loved it.

“I have something I need to tell you,” she told him.  “I really want to go see my sister in June like we talked about, and I hope you’ll still let me go...” she trailed off, biting her lip.

Eli gave her a concerned look.  “What’s going on?  Why wouldn’t I let you go?”

She put her hand to her stomach.  “I’m expecting.  Amaryllis’s husband wouldn’t let her take the train while she was expecting, and I really want to go out there and see the baby.”

He looked at her with surprise.  Why would she tell him that way?  “Expecting?  A baby?”

She nodded, her face lit up with a smile.  “A baby.  You’re going to be a father.”

“Seriously?  Do you know when?”

She shrugged.  “I think probably
November.  I’ll see a doctor while I’m in town tomorrow.”

He frowned.  “I need to go with you then.”

“Of course, you don’t.  I can drive the team just as easily as I could last week before we knew I was expecting.  I’ll drive them just as easily next week.  Don’t worry about me.”

“Of course, I’m worried about you.  That’s my baby you’re carrying!”

“I’m fine.  It’s not going to hurt me or the baby for me to drive into town and do a little shopping.”  She smiled, glad he was concerned about the baby if not her.

He shook his head.  “I’m still going with you.  I don’t want you to have to worry about anything until after the baby is born.”

*****

The whole time they were driving toward town the next day, Eli could think of nothing but Daisy and the baby she carried.  He wanted that child with everything inside him, which surprised him a great deal. 
He’d never given much thought to being a father…Sure he wanted an adult son who would help him on the ranch and inherit someday, but he found he liked the idea of having a beautiful little girl who looked just like her mother.  They could name her Ivy or some such nonsense.

He pulled up in front of the mercantile and hurried around to help her down.  While she went into the shop, he rushed over to the doctor to see if he needed to bring his wife to see him.  “Doc, my wife is going to have a baby.  Do you need to see her, or do we just need to find the midwife?”

The elderly doctor smiled and clapped Eli on the shoulder.  He’d seen Eli once when he’d sliced his hand open trying to cook for himself.  “I wouldn’t mind checking her and making sure she’s okay, but I think a midwife is probably your best bet.  They have a lot more experience with childbirth than I do.”

Eli loaded the supplies into the wagon before leading Daisy over to the doctor’s office.  “I don’t know if I want you planting a garden this spring.  It might hurt the baby.”

Daisy sighed.  He was going to be overly worried about everything she did.  “I’m fit.  I’m a healthy woman.  There’s no need to worry so much!”  She smiled when she met the doctor. 

“This is my wife, Daisy.  Daisy, this is Dr. Ashe.”  Eli stood looking between them as if he felt completely out of place.

“It’s nice to meet you, Mrs. King.”  The doctor was in his mid-fifties and had silver at his temples. 

Daisy smiled.  “You too.  I’m not sure why I’m here, but if it makes Eli feel better, I guess you can examine me.”

The doctor smiled and opened his door wide.  “Come in.”  He looked over at Eli.  “This will only take a few minutes.  Go get yourself a drink of something.”

Eli watched as the doctor closed the door in his face.  He wasn’t a drinking man, so he wasn’t about to go to the saloon.  Instead he wandered over to the mercantile and thought about what he could do to make Daisy’s pregnancy easier.  He spotted the commode and bathtub in the corner of the store, and asked how hard it would be to install. 

By the time Daisy was finished with her appointment, Eli had gotten help loading both things into the back of the wagon and had a book telling him exactly how to install them in his hands.  He rushed over when she left the office, wanting to hear everything from the doctor himself.  “Is she doing all right, doc?”

Dr. Ashe smiled.  “She’s doing just fine.  Baby should be here around the first of November.”

“Does she need to take it easy?”

The doctor shook his head.  “She’s fine to do everything she did before you knew she was carrying.  Don’t coddle her.”

Eli nodded carefully.  “I’ll make sure she doesn’t do really heavy work, though.”

“Well, she shouldn’t lift anything heavy, but other than that, she’s fine.  She needs to keep active to make the delivery smoother.” 

Daisy just shook her head.  “I’m healthy, Eli.  The baby isn’t in danger.”  She patted his arm to emphasize her words. 

“Thank you, doc.”  Eli paid the amount of money the doctor asked for before leading Daisy back to the wagon.  He carefully helped her up onto the wagon seat. 

“Do you feel better now that you’ve talked to the doctor?” she asked.

Eli shrugged.  “Not really.  He obviously doesn’t know what he’s talking about.  We’ll see the midwife as soon as we can.”
  How could the doctor not see how delicate Daisy was?  There was no way she was going to be able to handle the housework while she was pregnant.

Chapter Six

The bathroom was in, and Daisy was just starting to show when June came.  She’d put in a garden, against his wishes, and was out in the hot sun weeding it every day.
  Working in the garden was something she found particularly joyful, and she found time to be out there every day.

Both the doctor and the midwife assured Eli over and over that Daisy was safe to travel to Seattle in June, so Eli finally gave in.  Secretly he hoped that he’d be able to get her mother to back him up, so she would stop working so hard all the time. 

He walked into the house and saw her on her hands and knees scrubbing the floor and ran over to help her up.  “You can’t do work like that!”  Didn’t the crazy woman know she was expecting?

Daisy sighed.  “I want the house clean when we come back from Seattle.  I don’t want to come home to a mess.”  They were leaving the following day, and planned to spend a full week in Seattle.  They’d be gone for eleven days total, and she didn’t want to have to worry about anything when she got home except the garden.

He sighed and patted her slightly burgeoning stomach.  “I don’t want to risk you or the baby for a clean house.”  He shook his head.  “I like when the house is clean, but the baby is so much more important than that to me.”

She took his face in her hands.  “Look here, Eli.  I appreciate the concern, but this baby and I are healthy as horses.  There’s nothing to worry about.”
  She didn’t add that she was going to finish scrubbing the floor as soon as he turned his back, but that’s exactly what she planned to do.

He frowned at her.  “I’m going to talk to your mother about how hard you’re working when we get to Seattle.  I bet she never worked this hard with her pregnancies.”

Daisy laughed.  “Sure she did!  With all three of her first pregnancies.”  She shook her head.  “My mother has lots of stories about how hard it was to come west on a wagon train.  You should ask her about it sometime.”  He really had some funny notions about her family.

“Your mother hasn’t always been wealthy?” he asked with surprise.  She’d looked at his house as if it were beneath her.  Why would she do that if she hadn’t always been rich?

“Not at all.  Her parents were farmers.  She wants ‘better’ for her children and grandchildren, but she understands what it’s like to live on the edge of poverty.” 

“Is that why she seemed to hate my house?  And why she complained?”
  It seemed Mary had done nothing but complain the entire time she’d been in Montana.

Daisy nodded.  “She didn’t want me to have to live here, but Amaryllis spent her first months of marriage in a house with no bathroom as well.”
  She shrugged.  “I don’t think it really matters to her that much as long as she believes that we’re marrying good men.”

Eli sighed.  “Well, I wish you’d told me that.”

“What would it have changed?”

“Just my feelings about forcing you to live a life of poverty compared to the life you’ve always lived.”

Daisy laughed.  “I actually enjoy housework.  I like to cook, and I don’t mind cleaning.  I’m very happy here.  I miss my family, but I think that’s just normal.”  She wrapped her arms around him.  “I have a good life here.”

He sighed.  She really didn’t understand why he felt so guilty for taking her away from her life in Seattle.  He couldn’t imagine anyone choosing a life on a ranch with him over a life of ease with people she obviously loved.  Being uncertain of whether or not she would return to the ranch with him made the trip to Seattle so much harder.  “Well, you’ll be seeing them all in a couple of days.”

She all but bounced as she washed her hands at the basin.  “I can’t wait!  I haven’t told Mama or any of my sisters about the baby yet, but I plan to when we get there.”

His eyes drifted to her stomach.  “I don’t think you’re going to have to tell anyone much of anything.”

She swatted his arm and laughed.  “I did start showing very quickly.”  She was proud of the bump her baby made, though, and she wasn’t at all embarrassed.

“Everyone will be very surprised to see you.”

*****

The long train ride to Seattle was so much better with Eli at her side than Jasmine.  They talked more on the train than they had in a long time.  He talked of his plans for the ranch, and she talked about how much she wanted to get done before the baby was born.  “I haven’t even started sewing for him yet.”

Eli shook his head as he listened to her talk of the gardening and canning she wanted to do for the next winter.  “That’s too much work while you’re pregnant.”  Why couldn’t she see she was working herself too hard?

Daisy shrugged.  “I can get everything harvested and maybe Clara and Natalie will come over to help when it’s time to do the canning.  I’d love to have them over, and that’s as good of an excuse as any.”

“I wish you’d forget about the garden and the canning this year.  We can afford to pay for canned vegetables at the mercantile.”  He didn’t like to spend extra money on things like that, but her health was more important than keeping a tight rein on spending.

She shook her head.  “But I want to do it!  I love knowing that something I planted in the ground will feed us all winter.”
  Her eyes were bright with excitement as she talked about her plans.

“I’d rather know you and the baby were all right.  Plant a garden next year.”

“I’ve already planted one this year.  Why are you so convinced that I can’t do it?  Other women plant gardens and work while they’re pregnant all the time.”  Did he think she was some kind of a wilting flower that couldn’t handle the work of being a ranch wife?

“Other women aren’t carrying
my
baby!”

Daisy sighed.  He wasn’t backing down and hadn’t from the moment she realized she was carrying.  “
How about I see a doctor in Seattle, and if he agrees with both the doctor and the midwife at home, you stop worrying?”

“I plan on you seeing a doctor in Seattle.  It won’t stop me from worrying, but another opinion is never a bad thing.”  He’d known too many boys on the streets of New York who
had lost their mothers in childbirth to not worry about Daisy.  She was too slight to be able to carry a child and work as hard as she did.

They had sent letters ahead saying when they would arrive, and Daisy was thrilled to see that her mother was waiting for her at the train station.  She ran straight to her and hugged her tightly.  Mary looked her up and down, and her face lit up when she saw that she was expecting.  “Another grandbaby!”  She looked at Eli over Daisy’s shoulder.  “I guess she seems fit.”  Mary held her hand out to Eli.  “Welcome to the family.”

Eli’s eyes widened, but he nodded.  “I wasn’t part of the family before?”

“Not until I knew how you’d treat my daughter, you weren’t!”  Mary led them out of the station to where Fred sat in the family’s buggy.  “Fred, help our new son-in-law with
the luggage.” 

Fred got down out of the buggy obediently, but he hugged Daisy instead of immediately going off to get their luggage.  “Are you happy?”

Daisy nodded, her eyes twinkling.  “I married a good man, Papa.”

Fred looked at Eli and held his hand out to him.  “I’m Fred Sullivan.”

“Eli King, sir.  It’s nice to meet you.”  Eli seemed nervous to finally meet her father, and Daisy wanted to giggle.  Her mama was a force to be reckoned with, but unless someone mistreated one of his daughters, Fred was very easy going.

“Well, let’s go get luggage, son.”  Fred walked off toward the baggage area leaving Daisy standing in the street with her mother. 

“Have you been sick?” Mary asked immediately.  She’d had easy pregnancies herself, but her daughters hadn’t been as fortunate as her so far.  None of the pregnancies had been particularly difficult, but they weren’t easy either.

“Not really.  I’ve been a lot hungrier than usual, and I finally feel the baby kicking, but that’s the only way I even know I’m expecting.”  Daisy rested her hand on the mound that was her baby, feeling a kick in response.  “Eli’s certain the baby is going to kill me.  He’s doing everything he can to make my life easier.  You’ll be happy to know we now have an indoor bathroom.”
  She sighed, wishing she could put into words how odd he’d been about her working while she was expecting.

“It’s about time!  He should have started that before I was on my way back to Seattle,” Mary complained.

Daisy rolled her eyes.  “I did fine without it, Mama.  I don’t need a bathtub with running water now.  It’s nice to have, but I don’t
need
it.”

The men came back with the carpet bags and tucked them under the seats.  Eli carefully helped Daisy into the back seat of the buggy before climbing up beside her
, his arm automatically wrapping around her shoulders.

Fred drove through the busy streets, and Daisy looked around her for any change
s that had taken place in the six months she’d been gone.  He took a turn she didn’t expect and Daisy started to ask where they were going, and then it clicked.  He was taking her to Amaryllis’s house.  When he stopped the buggy, she jumped down without help and ran to the door.

Eli watched her run from him, breathing a sigh of relief when he saw th
e house she’d run to.  Somehow he’d pictured something much larger and grander from the way she’d talked about her upbringing.  She knocked on the door and he watched as a young woman with blond hair opened it and threw her arms around his wife.

“This isn’t your house?” he asked Fred.

Fred laughed and shook his head.  “No, this is Alex and Amaryllis’s house.  I knew the girls would be dying to see each other.”  He tied off the horses and set the brake before climbing down and helping his wife.  “Those two are each other’s closest companions and confidantes.”

Eli got down and smoothed his sweaty palms over the thighs of his pants.  He felt funny about meeting his wife’s favorite sister, and Daisy had made it very clear Amaryllis was her favorite.  The girls had just stopped hugging when he stepped up behind Daisy. 

Amaryllis smiled at him.  “You must be Eli.  I’ve heard a lot about you.”

Daisy had written every worry she had about her marriage to her sister, and she was thankful Amaryllis was too circumspect to bring them all up.  “Eli, this is Amaryllis, who you’ve heard way too much about as well.”

Amaryllis opened the door wide.  “I was just about to put the baby down for his nap, but I’m sure he’d love to meet his Aunt Daisy first.”

Daisy rushed to the bassinet in the parlor and picked the baby up from his bed.  “Little Amos!”  She cradled him against her breast smiling down at him as her eyes searched his face to see who he looked like.  “He has Alex’s coloring, but
the shape of his mouth is all yours, Rilly.”  She looked at her sister and grinned.  “You did a good job with him.  He’s beautiful.”

“I think he’s Alex through and through.”  Amaryllis stood calmly by while her sister snuggled her baby.  “When is yours due?”

“Beginning of November,” Daisy answered, her eyes shining with excitement.

“Why didn’t you tell us?”

Daisy shrugged.  “I knew I was going to be coming here, and thought it would be better to tell you in person.”  She winked at her sister.  “Surprise!”

Mary walked in and took the baby from Daisy’s arms.  “That’s my grandson you’re holding there!”

Daisy sighed, knowing she’d lost baby-snuggling privileges for a while.  She took a seat on the worn red sofa and patted the spot next to her.  Amaryllis sank down beside Daisy, and the two of them began talking as if they’d never left off.  Daisy told all about the ranch and how much she loved Montana, while Amaryllis told her sister how odd it was to have a little person so totally dependent upon her.  They talked over each other so much that it was hard to tell whose voice was whose after a little while.

Eli stood watching the two sisters
, feeling completely left out of the conversation.  Mary took one of the armchairs with the baby, and Fred took the other.  That left him to sit beside Daisy on the small sofa.  She was completely turned away from him as she talked excitedly to her sister.

After a moment, Amaryllis peered around Daisy.  “So how do you feel about being a papa so soon?”

Eli shrugged uncomfortably.  “I’m thrilled I’m going to be a father of course, but I’m sure Daisy is doing too much.  She needs to rest more.”  He didn’t care if he had to shout it from the rooftops.  Someone had to listen to his concerns.

Amaryllis chuckled.  “Alex and I had the same fight.  He wanted me to quit working the day we realized I was expecting.”

“But you didn’t?”

Amaryllis shook her head adamantly.  “I’m going back to work next month.”

Daisy looked at her sister in surprise.  “What will you do with the baby?”

Amaryllis smiled.  “Iris is going to mind him while I work.”

Daisy raised an eyebrow at that.  “Iris?  You trust her with Amos?”

“She’s fabulous with him.  She’s fourteen now, so she’s old enough, and he likes her better than me even.  I think if he didn’t need me to eat, he’d want to spend all his time with his Auntie Iris.”