Love Finds You in Daisy, Oklahoma (26 page)

On the other hand, perhaps neither held him captive like Rena now did. The emotion pouring out of her eyes clued him in to the fact that Molly’s words had stung. Well, then, he would be the salve on the wound.

Offering her his arm, he said, “Ladies, your carriage awaits.”

Heads high, they all marched through the door.

Rena did her best to brush off the pain caused by Molly’s sharp words back at the general store. She wanted Sadie’s visit to be perfect. Nothing would get in the way of that. Gene—God bless him—seemed to pick up on her concerns. He closed up shop at the jail and drove them all back to the children’s home, where the boys and girls greeted Sadie in their usual boisterous way. Thank goodness they didn’t pull any pranks, though they delighted in telling the story of how they’d greeted Rena on her first day.

Sadie responded with laughter and smiles, which only served to endear her to the children. Before long, she was telling all sorts of stories about Rena, stories that brought Rena a bit of embarrassment in front of Gene.

They enjoyed a wonderful dinner together, followed by Sadie’s favorite dessert, cherry pie. Afterward, the children followed on Sadie’s heels as she made her way into the parlor, Charlie still following at a comfortable distance. Gene offered to help Rena clear the dishes from the table, as always. She enjoyed their playful banter as they worked and wondered if he might sneak in a word or two about his feelings toward her. He did not, but she felt—on at least one occasion—that he would have, if not for his mother’s occasional presence.

Once the table was cleared, Gene offered to help his mother in the kitchen so that Rena could spend time with her niece. She thanked him and made her way to the parlor, following the sound of the children’s laughter. Once there, she found all of the girls marching across the parlor with books on their heads.

“What have we here?”

“She’s teaching us to be real ladies, Miss Rena!” Josephine’s book slid off and landed on the floor with a
thump.
“Ladies like her.”

“And what about me?” Rena asked. “What am I?”

“A lady too, of course.” Callie smiled.

“Ooh, but Miss Sadie is young and pretty and such a fine lady and…” Josephine clamped a hand over her mouth. “I’m sorry, Miss Rena. I didn’t mean to be rude. You’re very pretty too, of course.”

“No offense taken. Sadie is lovely, isn’t she? I’ve thought so from the time she was a little girl.” Rena paused and signaled for the children to draw near. She sat on the sofa and slipped her arm around Lilly’s shoulders. “When Sadie was little, I would teach her the same things she’s now teaching you. Manners, posture, sewing…oh, we had such fun.”

“That’s right,” Sadie said. “Aunt Rena taught me how to set the table, how to speak to adults, and how to fix my hair. I learned so much from her.”

“Why didn’t your mama teach you?” Lilly asked. “Is she dead like my mama?”

Sadie paused, deep tenderness in her expression. “No, honey. My mama lives in Mississippi.”

“Then why didn’t she teach you those things?” Callie asked. “I mean, that’s what mamas do, right?”

“Sometimes mamas are too busy,” Sadie explained. “My mother was in charge of several committees—at the church, the women’s society, the missions society.… Why, it’s because of women like my mama that this children’s home exists. She wanted to make sure you were cared for.”

“But not you?” Lilly asked, her eyes wide with innocence. “She didn’t care about teaching you to cook and sew and other lady-stuff?”

Sadie sighed and shifted her gaze to Charlie, who hadn’t taken his eyes off her from the moment she started talking.

“She did teach me quite a few of those things. I was just saying that Aunt Rena was a big part of my life too. My point is that sometimes the Lord uses other folks—besides our mamas, I mean—to teach us what we need to learn.”

“Is that why He brought you here, Miss Rena?” Callie asked. “So you can be like a mama to us?”

“That’s right.” Rena felt an inexplicable joy fill her heart.

“And you too, Miss Sadie?” Josephine asked.

“Why, I suppose so. Though I’ll be leaving in a few weeks to go back to college.” She paused and the girls sighed. “But let’s not worry about that just yet. Let’s enjoy the time we have together, all right?”

“Yes.” Rena rose as she heard the teakettle whistling from the kitchen. “And let’s start right now, with tea. Carolina’s been kind enough to prepare it. Sadie, would you like to show the girls what I taught you about serving tea and cookies to guests?”

“Who are our guests?” Josephine asked.

“Ooh, I know!” Sadie rose and called for the boys to join them. By the time Rena returned from the kitchen with the tea tray and cookies, the boys were seated around the dining table once again, all smiles.

Rena leaned over to whisper her thoughts into Sadie’s ear. “You’ve come just in time. How can I ever thank you?”

Her niece swung around, a mischievous look on her face. “I can think of one way,” she whispered in response.

“Name it.”

Sadie’s lips curled up, revealing her dimples. She nodded toward the young deputy and whispered, “Invite Charlie to Christmas dinner?”

Rena looked back and forth between them, suddenly very aware that sparks were flying. She could only hope neither would get burned.

T
IPS FOR
D
EALING
WITH U
NRULY
Y
OUNG
’
UNS
—
My Christmas memories are fuzzy from the age of fourteen on. I’m pretty sure I blocked out many of them after the death of my parents. That’s why I feel so strongly about giving the children of Daisy the best Christmas ever, because I know the pain of facing the holidays without a mother or father. They deserve a carefree holiday filled with good cheer and wonderful gifts. My tip for dealing with unruly children during the holidays? Share the real reason for the holiday and give them memories that will last forever.

—Rena Jewel, Director of the Atoka County Children’s Home

The final days before Christmas were spent decorating the house, visiting with Sadie, preparing food, wrapping presents, and sewing outfits for the children. Many times Rena would sew well into the night with Sadie at her side, pinning and pressing the various dresses or slacks. They giggled and talked until exhaustion set in. Then they tumbled into bed, slept a few hours, rose…and started the whole thing over again. All in preparation for the big day: Christmas.

A host of gifts arrived the week before Christmas—many from the missions organization, but a handful from some old friends Rena hadn’t thought about in a while: the trio of sisters from the train. Along with a substantial monetary gift, they sent toys in abundance and a note saying that they were praying for the children and thinking often of Rena. Rena responded with a lengthy letter, updating them on the goings-on around Daisy. She left out the part about Molly, of course. And the mayor. Thank goodness, neither had presented much of a problem since that awful day at the general store when Sadie first arrived.

On Christmas morning, Rena awoke with butterflies in her stomach. Before they could attend the morning service, the children would open their presents. Chief among them were the outfits she had made.

Rena woke the boys first. She’d no sooner said “Merry Christmas!” than they were up, jumping on the beds, raring to go. The girls sprang to life at Sadie’s joyous “It’s Christmas morning!” proclamation. Minutes later, still dressed in their night attire, the children gathered around the tree in the parlor. Sadie served up hot cocoa and shortbread—an unusual breakfast for the children, but one they would never forget.

“Ooh, Miss Rena!” Lilly gazed up at her from the floor, eyes wide. “There are presents under the tree?”

“When did those get here?” Henry asked. “There were no presents last night.”

Rena stifled a yawn and thought about how late she and Sadie had stayed up and how many trips they’d made up and down the stairs with wrapped gifts in hand. She had added to the donations with a few presents of her own, which made for quite a stack.

Before long, wrapping paper was flying and children were squealing. Tree was delighted with his wooden train, and the girls loved their rag dolls. The other boys had a wonderful time with their marbles, checkers, and dominoes. Henry’s eyes grew wide as he opened the new pocket-knife, and Oliver jumped for joy at his copy of
Oliver Twist
, which he claimed had been written just for him.

Finally the moment came to open the new clothes. Rena thought she would burst with excitement. She started with Lilly, who ripped open her package. The beautiful red dress complete with white lace was prettier than anything store-bought. The child held it up and primped.

“Oh, Miss Rena, it’s beautiful! Is it really for me? Really truly?”

“Really truly. You can wear it to the Christmas service at church.” Out of the corners of her eyes, she caught a glimpse of Callie looking on. “Now it’s your turn, honey.”

Callie opened her package and began to squeal with delight as she saw a dress in the same red velvet but with a slightly different design. “Ooh, we match!”

Josephine’s dress nearly brought down the house. The crushed green velvet was beautiful, of course, but the antique ivory lace added just the right touch. The youngster looked up at Rena with tears in her eyes. “Oh, Miss Rena! This reminds me of a dress my mama bought for me when I was little.”

“Does it now?” Rena smiled. “I’m so glad. You’re going to look like a princess when you wear that dress to church.”

The boys opened their packages one by one, revealing new slacks, buttoned-up shirts, and socks. Most were overcome with joy, but Henry grew silent as he gazed at the coat and trousers Rena had made him. She drew near and whispered, “Do you like them?”

He nodded. “Never had anything like ’em.”

“Now it’s your turn, Miss Rena.” Josephine tugged at her hand.

“Oh?”

“We made you something.” The little girl gave her a crudely wrapped gift, which Rena opened right away. Inside, she found a little plaque, hand-carved, that read “F
OR
I
WAS AN HUNGRED, AND YE GAVE ME MEAT
: I
WAS THIRSTY, AND YE GAVE ME DRINK
: I
WAS A STRANGER, AND YE TOOK ME IN: NAKED, AND YE CLOTHED ME
: I
WAS SICK, AND YE VISITED ME
: I
WAS IN PRISON, AND YE CAME UNTO ME
” (M
ATTHEW
25:35–36).

Rena felt the sting of tears as she clutched the plaque close to her heart. “Oh, you sweet, sweet children. Thank you so much. This must’ve taken weeks.”

“Nah.” Henry gave her a sheepish look. “I’m pretty fast at whittlin’ and such. Didn’t take no time a’tall.”

“Still, it’s beautiful. I will cherish it.”

After a moment’s pause, Josephine said, “Miss Rena, there’s another gift for you too. We found it on the tree a little while ago.”

“Yes.” Oliver pointed at the tree. “See there? There’s an envelope with your name on it.”

“An envelope?” She grinned, realizing that the boys and girls must have written her a special note. She took the envelope in hand and opened it with care. Her heart raced the moment she unfolded the letter inside.

My darling Rena
,

I hope you have the most wonderful Christmas ever. I know that mine will be perfect because I plan to spend it with you.

Gene

She shoved the letter back inside the envelope, doing her best to avoid Sadie’s stare and the animated expressions on the faces of the children.

“What is it?” her niece asked, drawing near.

“Oh, just a note from a friend. Nothing important.” Still, she could hardly stop the trembling in her hands. Rena glanced at Henry, who shifted his gaze back to his new clothes. “You children go on upstairs and get dressed,” she said.

They gathered up their packages, and she did her best to stay focused. On the outside she managed a calm, quiet demeanor. On the inside she jumped up and down. Gene’s letter had sent a delicious shiver through her. He was looking forward to spending the day with her. Oh, and she felt the same! She could hardly wait, in fact.