Jessie (22 page)

It took some doing to get the girls in bed and settled down. They were wound up from their time with Danny and just wanted to keep talking about him. Jessie finally got them calmed and for a while sat in the living room with one lantern burning.

Her thoughts could not settle on any one thing as her mind went over the evening. She saw the way Rylan treated Bri. It was nothing new to her, but with Seth back in town, it was hard to watch. There had been a time when she had been that happy with Seth, but then the fights had begun. She knew that Rylan and Bri had been married for a while now, and she had never seen them quarrel or be unhappy with each other.

Jessie had a sudden desire to see the girls. Taking the lantern with her, she slipped into the bedroom and looked down at them while they slept. For a moment she wanted life as it had been before Seth returned, but then she remembered Seth with Clancy that night. She saw his hand on her hair and the way she leaned close and looked up at him, her little eyes alight with pleasure just to be near him. Hannah had been the same. Already both girls were more drawn to him than Rylan, and it had just been a few days.

You can stay, Seth Redding,
Jessie's heart whispered inside of her,
but only for the girls. Only because they need you.

Jessie's needs were not on her mind at the moment, but she was being prayed for right then. Seth had gone to his room as soon as he arrived back, lay across the bed, and begun to pray. He didn't know exactly what he'd seen in his wife's face tonight, but Seth knew she needed a Savior. He didn't pray for himself or for the girls, just for Jessie.

For almost two hours he asked God to save Jessie, to open her eyes and soften her heart to her need. When he did rise to ready himself for bed, his heart knew peace. The peace did not hold a guarantee that God would say yes to his prayer, but he knew that Jessie's salvation was out of his hands and he had done all he could by casting his heavy heart on God.

“We're going somewhere today,” Jessie told the girls at breakfast.

“Where?” they asked, both rather quiet in light of this revelation.

“Somewhere fun.”

“What about the store?” Hannah asked.

“Seth is going to keep the store. The three of us are taking the day off.”

“Can't Seth come with us?” Clancy asked.

“No,” Jessie said, having anticipated this. “Someone has to mind the store, and he volunteered.”

“Where are we going?”

“You'll see. Now finish your breakfasts. We'll be going as soon as Seth arrives.”

Thankfully the girls were almost done eating because almost nothing else went in their mouths. They speculated with each other and continued to ask their mother about the destination, but she would not answer them.

Jessie gave them instructions about cleaning the table and their hands and faces before slipping downstairs early. She hoped Seth would be a little early, so it was satisfying to open the door and find him in one of the rockers. The questioning, almost vulnerable look on his face as he stood and came her way was a little hard on her heart, but she made herself stick to business.

“The girls and I will be taking the day off.”

“All right,” Seth agreed, adopting her formal tone.

“We'll be back at closing, but probably not before then.”

Seth nodded and waited for any special instructions she might have. He half-expected to be reminded about not moving things around, but Jessie said nothing. Seth, however, had a question.

“Should I assume you want me to check with you each day about work, or should I just plan on working?”

“You can just come to work,” Jessie said, her voice slightly more friendly.

“I'll plan on that.”

Seth would have taken his coat off and rolled up his sleeves, but Jessie was staring at him. He stood still, knowing she had more to say but certain they would be interrupted at any moment. He was wrong.

“You shouldn't have left,” she said, almost in a whisper.

“No, I shouldn't have. I'm sorry, Jess.”

He hadn't called her Jess yet, and certainly not in that tone that used to melt her heart. At the moment it was almost too much for her.

“Maybe I shouldn't have come back,” Seth made himself add. “Maybe it's going to be too hard for you.”

Jessie shook her head. “I'll get used to it, and the girls do need you, Seth. I mean that.”

“I'll do all I can to help you, Jessie. It was never my intent to make things hard or to make you miserable.”

Jessie was nodding when the girls arrived.

“We're going somewhere with Mama!” they tried to tell him, each girl talking over the top of the other as well as finishing each other's sentences.

“How fun.” Seth got excited with them, seeing the smile on Jessie's face as she watched them. He hunkered down to their level before asking, “Where are you going?”

“We don't know.”

“A mystery,” Seth said slowly. “That is fun.”

“We want you to come,” Hannah said.

“I'm sure I would enjoy it, but someone has to mind the store.”

“Can you do it by yourself?” Hannah asked.

“I think so,” Seth said, realizing she would question him for some time on this topic if he let her. He knew a distraction was needed. “I forgot to tell you that you both look very pretty in your dresses today,” Seth said, fixing Hannah's collar. “The next time I see you, you can tell me all about what you did. Have a good time today and take good care of your mother.”

“She takes care of us,” Clancy said, her brow furrowed in seven-year-old logic.

“Yes, she does, but you can take care of her as well, don't you think?”

The girls didn't know what to do with this. They stared at their father and then looked to Jessie, but she told them only to bid their father goodbye and go wait for her in the rocking chairs out front. Both girls hugged Seth, having no idea the effect this had on him, and then headed out.

“Will you be all right on your own?” Jessie asked him.

“I think so. Have a good time.”

Jessie hesitated, not sure how to say what this meant to her. She wasn't altogether happy with his presence, but at the moment this summer day away from the store with the girls was like a dream come true.

“Thanks, Seth.”

“You're welcome.”

Jessie slipped away before either of them could speak again. Seth walked out behind her to watch them walk away, wishing he could have known exactly what Jessie had been thinking.

Chapter Eleven

“W
HERE ARE WE GOING?
” Hannah asked for the fifth time. Jessie had planned to ignore her but had suddenly had enough.

“First of all,” Jessie said as she stopped walking, forcing the girls to stop with her, “you're going to stop asking questions of me.
Any
questions.”

“Why?” Hannah asked.

“That's a question, Hannah. I will answer it, but it will be my last one. I want you to just come along with me and enjoy the day. I have plans, but they might change. Whatever we do, we'll have fun, and that's all you need to know. Do I make myself clear?”

The girls nodded, and Jessie continued down the street. They both wanted to ask questions, and a few did slip out, but Jessie kept them on task. The bank was the first stop and then the livery. The Wheeler women were headed out of town.

“How is this, Mrs. Potts?” Heather asked that lady, presenting the skirt they had finished for her.

“Very nice,” Mrs. Potts said, fingering the fabric and then taking it to the mirror to hold in front of her. She smiled at what she saw, causing Jeanette and Heather to smile as well. The women finished taking care of that lady and seeing her out the door and then went back to work.

Jeanette had not been lying in wait for Heather, but she had thought long and hard about whether or not she should say something. Telling herself not to have Nate on her mind, she tried to open the conversation.

“Heather, have you ever longed for a husband?”

“I have,” Heather admitted, “many times.”

“Why have you not married, do you think?”

“I think I'm picky, Jeanette.”

“In what way?”

“Well, he would have to be just the right one.” Heather stopped suddenly with her sewing, her head tipping in thought. “I'm not sure I'm the marrying kind. Men don't seem to notice me.”

“What if someone did?”

“Well, I'd certainly be complimented, but he'd have to be just the right one.”

“Tell me about the right one.”

Heather was all ready to do this, but someone had come to the door. It was a man this time. Jeanette had seen him around town, but they'd not met. He was looking only for prices on shirts and not ready to order anything that day, but by the time he left, it was time for the women to take turns with their dinner breaks. Not until after Heather left to eat dinner did Jeanette remember they hadn't finished their conversation.

The girls had done a pretty good job. It wasn't often that they went to the bank with their mother, and Jessie didn't think she had ever hired a rig and taken them out. They were wild with excitement as she sent the horse and buggy out of town, and when she turned in under the archway that said Holden Ranch, Jessie was sure their screams of delight could be heard all the way back to town.

“Now, girls,” Jessie said, slowing the rig and working to get their attention. “I haven't talked with Meg, so I don't know if she has time for company. This might be a very short visit.”

The girls barely looked at her, and she knew it was no use. No matter how long they stayed, the girls would want more.

“Well, Jessie!” Meg was suddenly there to greet her, coming from the house, Cathryn on her hip as the buggy pulled up to the porch.

“Hi, Meg,” Jessie called back. “Are you up to a little company?”

“Certainly,” Meg said before the two hugged. “I'm working on my baking. Come to the kitchen, and we can visit there. Hi, girls.”

Hannah and Clancy did greet her but went right back to making Cathryn smile. The five of them trooped indoors to find Savanna waiting, and in very short order the children were playing in the living room, leaving the women on their own in the kitchen.