Jessie (11 page)

Cassidy was still praying when the pain eased and she made her way to the living room. She knew Trace would help her upstairs when he returned and for the moment let herself be lazy.

“Cassidy?” Trace suddenly called, having gone to the bottom of the stairs on his return.

“Over here,” she said on a laugh. “I don't know how I didn't hear you come in.”

“Why are you in here?” Trace asked, sitting on the edge of the sofa.

“Because I'm being lazy and want you to carry me upstairs.”

“I can't lift you when you're this big,” Trace said, and laughter burst out of Cassidy. It was such an outrageous thing for him to say and completely unexpected. “And besides,” he added, eyes twinkling, “you haven't done the dishes.”

“I was working on them when I had a contraction.”

“How long ago?”

“I don't know,” Cassidy said, looking drowsy and content, something that didn't last for more than ten minutes. She didn't end up going directly upstairs as the pains were slow in coming, but Cassidy was right: This was the day. A baby girl was born just before midnight.

Jeanette Fulbright's buggy headed out of Token Creek and to the Holden Ranch first thing Monday morning. She had received word the day before that Cassidy was in labor, and when no word came before bedtime about a birth, she headed that way in the morning.

It was cold out, but the wind was calm and that made a difference. Not until she pulled under the wooden archway that said Holden Ranch did Jeanette realize she would be glad to get indoors. Swinging past Brad and Meg's house, Jeanette stopped in front of Trace and Cassidy's, pleased when her nephew came right out.

“A girl!” he said, his face beaming.

“Oh, Trace!” Jeanette cried, the two hugging before Trace could even give her a hand down. “How is Cass?”

“Doing great. Settled in the living room under a pile of blankets.”

“Already out of bed?” Jeanette asked, looking concerned as the two headed inside.

“She feels good, and I carried her down.”

“What does Joey think?”

“You'll have to see for yourself.”

Jeanette headed into the living room to find Cassidy on the sofa, her legs on a hassock. Beside her and holding his sister was Joey. Trace followed Jeanette inside, and before she could even greet the family, Cassidy spoke. “Come in and meet Jeanette Theta Holden,” she invited.

For several long minutes Jeanette could not speak. She came near to the sofa, her eyes on Cassidy's lovely face, before swinging to Joey and the baby. Even then she couldn't find words.

“Joey, can you tell Grandma what we're going to call the baby?” Cassidy invited, using the name they had decided the children would call Trace's aunt.

“Netty,” the little boy said.

Jeanette put her arms around Cassidy and simply held her. Cassidy hugged her back, giving her time to collect herself.

“She crying?” Joey suddenly asked.

“Yes,” Trace said, taking this question, “but she's not sad. She's just happy and excited about the baby.”

Trace knew that Joey had no idea what that meant, but in time he would learn. He didn't question his father again, but Trace could see he was growing a bit restless. Jeanette was just containing herself when Trace tucked the baby into the crook of one arm.

“Sit here, Jeanette.” Trace invited her to take the spot Joey had just vacated. “Someone is waiting to meet you.”

Jeanette could not stop smiling as she held the newest family member in her arms. Tiny and adorable, with dark hair and brows, Netty Holden had a rosebud mouth and a round face. Her face was a little red in places, but everyone knew that would fade.

“Netty,” her mother spoke softly, “are you going to wake up and meet Grandma Jeanette?”

Everyone smiled when she made absolutely no move of any kind. Jeanette watched her for a moment more and then began to talk to Trace and Cassidy.

“So how was it?”

“Long,” Trace said, his voice dry. “I thought the second time around went faster.”

“I tried to tell him that wasn't always the case,” Cassidy put in.

“It has been with Meg,” Trace said, “and she didn't spend much time with Savanna or Cathryn. Brad will be afraid to leave her alone for the next one,” Trace said.

“Have they been here?” Jeanette asked.

“Just before you came.”

Joey climbed back onto the sofa then, standing in stocking feet next to Jeanette. He had a toy to show to Jeanette, and she was careful to give him her full attention.

Netty never did wake up, but Jeanette stayed for a long time, enjoying each child. She still missed her sister, the real grandmother to these children. But not a day went by that if Theta Holden had to be gone, Jeanette didn't thank God that He'd left her in her place.

“Is Grandma coming?” three-and-a-half-year-old Savanna asked her mother when Jeanette's carriage could still be seen at the other house.

“I'm sure she'll stop in,” Meg said, cleaning two-year-old Cathryn's hands and face. She had just given them a late breakfast and was working on the dishes. Brad had already headed to the barn and quite possibly out to the range.

“When will we see Netty more?”

“Maybe this afternoon. I think Joey might come here for his nap again, and then we can see Netty when we take him home.”

Savanna went back to the wooden horses she was playing with, and Meg kept an eye on Cathryn to see where she would end up. The toddler's attention was suddenly taken with the butter churn in the corner, and Meg knew that would keep Cathryn busy for a time.

Meg took full advantage, even going so far as to work on dinner and make plans for supper. If Jeanette was coming this morning and Joey this afternoon, she had plenty to get done in the meantime.

“Tell me everything,” Heather, who lived with Jeanette, invited as soon as Jeanette arrived home.

“A girl! And wait until you hear the name: Jeanette Theta. They'll call her Netty.”

Heather looked as pleased as she felt. She was the woman Jeanette had hired more than ten years ago to see to Brad and Trace's mother. She had even written a book about Theta Holden after she died. So far no one had wanted to publish it, but since it was also a book about the things she learned from caring for Theta and the way she'd grown in her trust of God, it didn't bother her. Just writing it had made for a time of healing, and that was all that mattered to Heather.

“What did I miss?” Becky asked, coming from the kitchen. She had been cooking and taking care of the house for Jeanette for more years than anyone could remember.

“A girl!” Heather said. “Jeanette Theta.”

Tears filled Becky's eyes, and that started the other women. Whenever Becky cried it made them all cry as tears were a rather new thing for the cook. Just a few years earlier, Bri Jarvik had come into their lives when she was still Bri Matthews. Her new faith in Christ and love for all had touched Becky in a way she'd never known before. After years of watching Jeanette and Heather go off to church, she suddenly wanted to join them. The change had gone all the way to her heart. For the first time Becky admitted her need for a Savior and repented to God.

“Is Cassie all right?” Becky finally managed.

“Yes. She's already downstairs, comfortable in the living room. And you won't believe how close I came to forgetting the food!” Jeanette remembered. “Trace came out to meet me when I got there, and then I was seeing the baby, and then I went over to Brad and Meg's, and I came within an inch of bringing it all back home.”

Heather and Becky laughed at her expression before Becky said that dinner was almost on. Over the meal Jeanette told the women each and every detail, not just about the baby but about Joey and about Brad's girls too. By the time she was finished, they felt almost as if they'd visited the ranch with her.

Bri was at the mercantile first thing Tuesday morning, Danny in tow. Jessie was in the rear but called a greeting. As soon as she heard Bri's voice, she came to the front.

“Hi, Danny,” Jessie greeted, wasting no time in taking the baby from his mother. “How are you?” she asked fondly, kissing his round cheek as she removed his hat. “Hi, Bri,” Jessie finally remembered to add, and that woman laughed.

“You become invisible when you bring a baby into the room,” Bri said dryly. “Have you ever noticed that?”

“Try being Clancy's mother. That child draws attention like flies.”

“She's a charmer,” Bri agreed.

“Big list today?”

“Not bad, but I'm out of a few things.”

“Do you want help?” Jessie offered. Bri had worked for her in the past and knew her way around the store.

“Not if you want to keep holding Danny.”

Jessie only smiled, and Bri got busy. She stacked things on the front counter where Jessie kept a list going, and then put them in her bag.

“Do you miss the girls when they're at school?” Bri asked on one trip to the register.

“By the end of the day, yes. It's nice to have the morning to get things cleaned up and organized with no interruptions, but by afternoon I can't wait to see them.”

“Summer will be here before we have a chance to blink.”

“That's certain. We'll change from cries of ‘too cold' to ‘too hot!' ”

“It's always hard to imagine too hot on a day like this,” Bri added, heading back down the aisles.

“The girls are going to be sorry they missed you,” Jessie said to Danny as he tried to put a box of yeast cakes into his mouth.

“Come for supper,” Bri invited, still gathering items.

“I just put a pot of soup on. Why don't you three come here?”

“All right,” Bri said, arriving back with her last item. “What time, and what shall I bring?”

The women put the details together for the night before Bri paid and gathered her son and bag. Much too soon it was time to head back out into the cold.