Love Finds You in Daisy, Oklahoma (10 page)

The sheriff reentered the room and reached for several more plates. She stood to help him, but he gestured for her to sit. “No, please. It’s the least I can do.”

Rena nodded and sat once more.

Carolina reached over and patted her hand. “Don’t fret over the cooking just yet, honey. I’ve put together a list of ladies from the church. They’ll come by to help you over the first couple weeks until you learn your way around the kitchen. And Jenny Jamison, our teacher, will help, too. She’s a peach. I just know you’re going to love her. Besides, I had a feeling you would need time to adjust.”

Rena was struck with an idea. “Do you suppose you could spend a little time helping me with the meals the children love most? I’d like to cook the things they enjoy, but I’ll need a bit of assistance.”

“Of course. Happy to do it. I’m at home in the kitchen, as are most of the women in town.”

A wave of relief washed over Rena. “Thank you so much. And what about the laundry? Do I…I mean, am I responsible for…” The words sounded ridiculous even to her own ears. Still, she’d barely laundered her own clothes, let alone the clothes of others.

“Mr. Kovach, the laundry man, comes around on Saturdays to pick up the week’s laundry. He sends a bill every month, but the missions society covers it. The children know to put their laundry in the bin on Saturday mornings. You can do the same with your personal items, but be advised that Mr. Kovach often loses things, so hand-wash anything you might be attached to.”

“I will do that.” Rena leaned back in her chair, feeling a mixture of exhaustion and relief. She wouldn’t have to handle all this on her own, at least not yet.

“Just relax, Rena,” Carolina said. “Your primary task here is to make sure that the children are cared for. I think it would also be a lovely idea to train the little girls to be ladies, if such a thing is possible.” She paused. “And the boys…they need attention, lots of attention. Most of all, they need your love, as you will quickly learn.”

“That, I can give them.” Rena smiled, feeling more hopeful than she had since her arrival. “I’ve plenty of love to give.”

“I’ve sensed that about you,” Carolina said with a reassuring smile. “You strike me as someone who has a full heart, spilling over. You must be well versed in the Scriptures, to have such a sweet countenance.”

Unaccustomed to such flattery, Rena felt heat rise to her cheeks. “I’ve had plenty of time on my hands, since I’ve not had a family of my own to raise. So, yes, I’ve spent a great deal of time studying the Scriptures. My brother is a reverend, and so was my father.” A lump rose in her throat as she mentioned her father. “We have a great love for the Bible and for those less fortunate.”

“Then surely you know the verse about tending to the widows and orphans.” Carolina put her hand on Rena’s arm. “What you’re doing—sacrificing your time, your plans, your own personal life—is admirable. It’s also biblical. If you ever feel like running for the hills, remember that caring for the orphans has always been something God smiles upon.”

Rena nodded, suddenly feeling better about her situation. If, indeed, God was smiling on her situation, then surely He would give her the wherewithal to see it through. Another yawn escaped.

“Sweet girl, I can tell you’re exhausted.” Carolina rose and gestured for her to do the same.

The sheriff appeared just in time to help Rena with her chair. She gave him a shy smile, and he responded with a crooked grin. She couldn’t have sketched a finer portrait for the cover of her novel.

Not that he would ever know she penned stories. Oh no. She would hide that fact from everyone in town, just as she’d done back home.

Home.

There was that word again.

Oh well. No time like the present to start thinking of Daisy as her home away from home. What else could she do, really?

Gene noticed the shy smile from Miss Jewel and responded with a grin. Her gaze lingered on him for a moment longer than he expected, and he found himself feeling a bit unnerved. Was she working up the courage to quit already? Would he end up hauling her bags back to the train station before morning?

With his mother leading the way, the ladies walked into the front hall. Gene lagged behind in the dining room, knowing that he should finish clearing the tables. Still, there was one thing he needed to do first.

“Miss Jewel?” He called her name and she turned his way.

“I want you to know that we’ve heard from another interested party—someone who is willing to come in May to take over the orphanage full-time.”

“Ah.”

Not much of a response, really, but he could read the relief in her eyes.

“Yes.” He nodded. “I would’ve written to tell you, but I’ve only just learned myself.”

His mother took Miss Jewel’s hand and gave it a squeeze. “It will be your choice, of course, dear. We just wanted to give you the choice to go, should you decide to.”

A hopeful shimmer lit her eyes, which gave Gene the courage to continue. “No doubt your family back home would be thrilled to have you back before summer.”

“No doubt.” A look of sadness swept over her briefly, and he wondered if she was already battling homesickness. “Oh, and speaking of my family, I wonder if you could tell me how to go about telephoning my brother to let him know I’ve arrived.”

“There’s a phone at the jail. I’d be happy to make the call tomorrow.”

“I would be grateful.” Her shoulders slumped forward, and he thought for a moment that she might fall asleep standing up. Instead, she offered him a weak smile. “And thank you for doing the dishes, by the way. I’m sure things will settle down before long.”

She’d no sooner spoken the words than the herd of buffalo above took to stomping and screaming again. A couple of the boys—likely his—had taken to fighting at the top of the stairs.

Gene bounded up the stairs once more, took William and Jacob by the collars, and led them back down downstairs. “Sit in the dining room until we’re ready to leave,” he said. “I don’t want to hear a peep out of either of you.”

“But, Pa, he called me a sissy.” William scowled and crossed his arms over his chest.

“I’ve told you a thousand times to treat each other as you would want to be treated.”

“That’s the Bible’s way,” Rena added. “‘Do unto others—’”

“Before
they do unto you.” Jacob punched his brother again. “I always do things the Bible’s way.”

Rena looked stunned by their behavior. “Doing what’s right isn’t easy,” she said. “But we’re to do unto others as we would have them do unto us. That means we treat them kindly if we want to be treated kindly.”

William muttered, “He don’t want to be treated kindly, trust me,” before slugging his brother back.

Jacob doubled up his fists and put them in the air, but Gene pressed them down. “Enough. Go. Sit.”

The boys retreated to the dining room, and he glanced at Miss Jewel. The weariness in her eyes spoke volumes. She wouldn’t last long. Just like Mrs. Wabash. And the director before her. And the one before her.

“Well, I guess I’d better tuck in the children then head to bed myself.” She stifled a yawn. “These last couple of days have been exhausting.”

“Just one thing before you go up,” he said, reaching out and touching her arm.

She gazed at him, her brow wrinkled. “Yes?”

“Thank you. From the bottom of my heart, thank you.”

It took the better part of an hour to get the children settled down. Rena had enough trouble keeping all their names straight: Lilly, Josephine, Wesley, David, Oliver, Callie, and at least a dozen more. However would she remember them all?

No time to worry about that now. She went about settling disputes, one on top of another. She then picked up at least a dozen articles of clothing from the floor in the boys’ room. From the top of the stairs she offered an exhausted good-bye to the sheriff and his mother, who headed home with the sheriff’s two boys in tow.

By the time she retreated to her bedroom, Rena could scarcely think straight. She felt the sting of tears but pushed them away, determined not to give in to the emotions. Instead, she dressed for bed, spent a few minutes unpinning her hair, and stared at her exhausted reflection in the mirror.

“Ugh.” No woman thirty-eight years of age should have bags under her eyes.

Still, she’d earned them, hadn’t she?

She walked over to the dresser, wondering if she should take the time to unpack her clothes and put them away. Determined to get the job done before settling into bed, she pulled the handle on the top drawer. It fell off in her hand. She reached for the handle on the second drawer. Same thing. The third worked, but as soon as she pulled the drawer open, its contents fell out all over the floor with a loud clatter.

“What in the world?”

Someone had put the drawer in upside down. She knelt on the floor to have a look at what had fallen and nearly lost her breath when she found several marbles, which rolled across the uneven floor and under her bed. She scrambled to fetch them, but it was no use. Though they were out of sight, she could still hear them rolling.

From outside her door, Rena heard giggling and realized that the perpetrators were nearby.

“Get back in bed,” she called out. “I mean it.”

A scuffle of feet against the wooden floor convinced her they’d headed down the hall. Still, she could hardly compose herself. Now, seated on the floor, she began to cry. Her tears fell—slowly at first and then with abandon. So much for thinking she would unpack tonight. After a few deep, cleansing breaths, she willed herself to settle down. And after a few moments, she found herself wrapped in a quiet calm. Finally.

Reaching into her bag, she came up with a carefully wrapped teacup and saucer. She unwrapped the layers of dish towels surrounding the pieces and then put the precious items on the dresser. Willing the tears not to return, she fingered the hand-painted saucer. Silly, she knew, to care so deeply about a teacup and saucer. But they had belonged to her mother. Oh, how she missed her.

Rena stuck her hand into her bag and came out with the china doll, one her mother had given her as a youngster. It, like the cup and saucer, had survived the house fire that had taken her parents from her. A lump rose in her throat as she clutched the doll to her chest. The tears started again.

Not tonight, Rena. You have enough on your mind without going there.

Composing herself and settling into the four-poster bed, Rena’s thoughts began to tumble. The sheriff’s words replayed themselves in her mind:
“We’ve heard from another interested party—someone who is willing to come in May to take over the orphanage full-time.”
Could she possibly manage until then?

“It’s only for seven months,” she whispered, before rolling over in the bed. “It’s only for seven months.”

T
IPS FOR
D
EALING WITH
U
NRULY
Y
OUNG
’
UNS
—
When it comes to child-rearin’, the Bible is filled with pertinent advice. We’re taught to train up our children in the way they should go and when they’re old they will not depart from it (Proverbs 22:6). We’re instructed to diligently teach our children, talking about God’s precepts as we come and go (Deuteronomy 6:7). We’re told to not provoke our children, lest they become discouraged, and we’re instructed to bring them up in the nurture and admonition of the Lord (Ephesians 6:4). Most of all, we are to love them as we want to be loved. This is, perhaps, the hardest commandment of all, particularly in the town of Daisy.

—Reverend Thomas Harding, Pastor of Daisy Community Church