[ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]
hardscrabble land for farming.
But not for breeding horses. Excitement lit his face. If you agree
to sell, Pru, I ll pay you half up front and the rest when the corn crop
comes in. All you need do is take your personals. I ll buy all the rest.
It sounds fine to me, Pru said slowly. But you d need to make
sure Pa s partner doesn t have a problem with that. He has a part
interest in that crop.
Stony clapped his hand on his thigh. I ll talk to him this morning.
Is he in town?
No, he s& Her gaze drifted Paul s way.
You?
Paul watched the flickering emotions on Belle s face as he nodded.
He d give anything to know what was on her mind that very moment.
Surely she d have something to say, some questions to ask. Instead,
after what seemed a lifetime, she went back to gathering the dishes.
Stony clapped him on the shoulder. Well& what do you say?
Paul tore his gaze from Belle. He d made a mess of things these last
few minutes, opening his mouth to say the first stupid thing that came
162
THE MARRIAGE COMMITTEE
out. So much for hoping the right words would come, and there wasn t
much he could do to correct the problem now.
I d say it s a deal. When the crop is harvested this fall, we ll split
the money three ways. I think Pru will agree your work should earn you
something.
Stony let out a whoop that scattered the chickens. Wait till Daisy
hears. I m gonna send her a telegram right now.
What about the sweet corn? Pru asked Paul. Pa planned to
deliver those bushels to you by week s end.
Cal cocked back his chair. What in the world were you going to do
with one hundred fifty bushels of corn?
I was taking it as part payment. The Cyruses bought half for the
store and the boarding house. The rest will go to some of the families
who are having a hard time of it.
Laden with dishes, Belle dashed into the house. Paul swore he saw
tears in her eyes, but for the life of him he couldn t figure out what he d
done wrong this time.
Stony scratched at his whiskers. I can get it picked, no problem.
But I don t know if I can get it to you by the end of the week.
Cal laced his fingers together and cracked his knuckles. We ve
already lost a good start on the morning. I can t see that one more day
will matter. If we all pitch in, we can get the corn done by the end of
the day and take it with us tomorrow.
It was a good plan. What surprised Paul was that it came from Cal.
Pru nodded. A smile followed, then an outright laugh. Goodness.
What in the world am I going to do in a big town like Cottonwood
Bend?
Well, ma am, I suspect Belle s gonna be needing your help at the
boarding house what with Daisy leaving and all, Stony said with a
hearty chuckle.
She glanced toward the cabin. Do you think she d let me?
163
THE MARRIAGE COMMITTEE
She s going to have to hire someone. Might as well be her kin.
Pru fanned her fingers against the base of her throat. Hire? You
mean I ll be making money? I m going to talk to Belle right now. As
sad as I m feeling, this is still a wondrous day.
Stony shook his head and laughed as she ran off. If she thinks your
little town is the big city, what s she going to do when she sees
Austin?
Cal watched her hurry away. Lord telling, but I d sure like to see. I
bet she d be like a little girl in a candy store.
And who could blame her? In the space of a few short minutes,
Pru s whole life had turned around. The world s weight slipped from
her frail shoulders. Now if only he could find the magic words to turn
Belle around. Obviously, they didn t involve Paul speaking his mind.
While he longed to please her, he couldn t be something he wasn t.
That wasn t fair to either of them and they needed to straighten that out
pretty quick.
* * *
Belle plunged her hands into the water and hauled out another dish
for Charity to dry. Susannah and Charity s chatter wasn t enough to
take her mind off Paul. A part of her wanted to cry, but she honestly
didn t know if it was from despair or joy.
She didn t know what to think& or feel. Just when she d thought
the worst of him, she discovered his soft side once more. She didn t
understand any of this and she certainly couldn t begin to understand
him. He had more colors to him than a chameleon.
To think he had put in his own money to help her family out. Then
to give again to others less fortunate. It swelled her heart to bursting.
How could she not love him? How could she not want to spend the rest
of her life with him?
She pulled the wandering emotion to a halt. There was still the other
Paul to consider. The one who minutes before had reared his manly
164
THE MARRIAGE COMMITTEE
head. It was all too much to deal with.
Pru danced into the cabin. Words tumbled from her so fast Belle
couldn t keep up. Not that she had to. She understood all too well what
it felt like to finally be free of the burdens this farm laid at a person s
feet.
Susannah s eyes brightened. What about me, Belle? I m a hard
worker. Can I work there, too? She clapped her hands and did a little
jump. I can take care of the vegetable garden.
Belle let their joy chase away her doldrums. This was the chance of
a lifetime for them. She wiped her hands on her mother s threadbare
apron. There s plenty of work for both of you. And it sounds like
plenty of work to do before we can leave. I ll take care of things here.
The rest of you get to the cornfield. By the time you re done, I ll have
supper waiting.
The three snatched their bonnets from the nail by the door and ran
out as they tied them in place. Taber shuffled along behind them. The
little smidgen of joy she felt went with them.
She watched them load into the wagon around the bushel baskets.
Paul glanced her way, setting her heart to racing. For a second or two
she thought he would walk over. Instead, he climbed up and took the
reins.
Mason tugged at her skirt. How many do they have to get?
One hundred and fifty.
His eyes widened. That will take forever. [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]
zanotowane.pl doc.pisz.pl pdf.pisz.pl fopke.keep.pl
hardscrabble land for farming.
But not for breeding horses. Excitement lit his face. If you agree
to sell, Pru, I ll pay you half up front and the rest when the corn crop
comes in. All you need do is take your personals. I ll buy all the rest.
It sounds fine to me, Pru said slowly. But you d need to make
sure Pa s partner doesn t have a problem with that. He has a part
interest in that crop.
Stony clapped his hand on his thigh. I ll talk to him this morning.
Is he in town?
No, he s& Her gaze drifted Paul s way.
You?
Paul watched the flickering emotions on Belle s face as he nodded.
He d give anything to know what was on her mind that very moment.
Surely she d have something to say, some questions to ask. Instead,
after what seemed a lifetime, she went back to gathering the dishes.
Stony clapped him on the shoulder. Well& what do you say?
Paul tore his gaze from Belle. He d made a mess of things these last
few minutes, opening his mouth to say the first stupid thing that came
162
THE MARRIAGE COMMITTEE
out. So much for hoping the right words would come, and there wasn t
much he could do to correct the problem now.
I d say it s a deal. When the crop is harvested this fall, we ll split
the money three ways. I think Pru will agree your work should earn you
something.
Stony let out a whoop that scattered the chickens. Wait till Daisy
hears. I m gonna send her a telegram right now.
What about the sweet corn? Pru asked Paul. Pa planned to
deliver those bushels to you by week s end.
Cal cocked back his chair. What in the world were you going to do
with one hundred fifty bushels of corn?
I was taking it as part payment. The Cyruses bought half for the
store and the boarding house. The rest will go to some of the families
who are having a hard time of it.
Laden with dishes, Belle dashed into the house. Paul swore he saw
tears in her eyes, but for the life of him he couldn t figure out what he d
done wrong this time.
Stony scratched at his whiskers. I can get it picked, no problem.
But I don t know if I can get it to you by the end of the week.
Cal laced his fingers together and cracked his knuckles. We ve
already lost a good start on the morning. I can t see that one more day
will matter. If we all pitch in, we can get the corn done by the end of
the day and take it with us tomorrow.
It was a good plan. What surprised Paul was that it came from Cal.
Pru nodded. A smile followed, then an outright laugh. Goodness.
What in the world am I going to do in a big town like Cottonwood
Bend?
Well, ma am, I suspect Belle s gonna be needing your help at the
boarding house what with Daisy leaving and all, Stony said with a
hearty chuckle.
She glanced toward the cabin. Do you think she d let me?
163
THE MARRIAGE COMMITTEE
She s going to have to hire someone. Might as well be her kin.
Pru fanned her fingers against the base of her throat. Hire? You
mean I ll be making money? I m going to talk to Belle right now. As
sad as I m feeling, this is still a wondrous day.
Stony shook his head and laughed as she ran off. If she thinks your
little town is the big city, what s she going to do when she sees
Austin?
Cal watched her hurry away. Lord telling, but I d sure like to see. I
bet she d be like a little girl in a candy store.
And who could blame her? In the space of a few short minutes,
Pru s whole life had turned around. The world s weight slipped from
her frail shoulders. Now if only he could find the magic words to turn
Belle around. Obviously, they didn t involve Paul speaking his mind.
While he longed to please her, he couldn t be something he wasn t.
That wasn t fair to either of them and they needed to straighten that out
pretty quick.
* * *
Belle plunged her hands into the water and hauled out another dish
for Charity to dry. Susannah and Charity s chatter wasn t enough to
take her mind off Paul. A part of her wanted to cry, but she honestly
didn t know if it was from despair or joy.
She didn t know what to think& or feel. Just when she d thought
the worst of him, she discovered his soft side once more. She didn t
understand any of this and she certainly couldn t begin to understand
him. He had more colors to him than a chameleon.
To think he had put in his own money to help her family out. Then
to give again to others less fortunate. It swelled her heart to bursting.
How could she not love him? How could she not want to spend the rest
of her life with him?
She pulled the wandering emotion to a halt. There was still the other
Paul to consider. The one who minutes before had reared his manly
164
THE MARRIAGE COMMITTEE
head. It was all too much to deal with.
Pru danced into the cabin. Words tumbled from her so fast Belle
couldn t keep up. Not that she had to. She understood all too well what
it felt like to finally be free of the burdens this farm laid at a person s
feet.
Susannah s eyes brightened. What about me, Belle? I m a hard
worker. Can I work there, too? She clapped her hands and did a little
jump. I can take care of the vegetable garden.
Belle let their joy chase away her doldrums. This was the chance of
a lifetime for them. She wiped her hands on her mother s threadbare
apron. There s plenty of work for both of you. And it sounds like
plenty of work to do before we can leave. I ll take care of things here.
The rest of you get to the cornfield. By the time you re done, I ll have
supper waiting.
The three snatched their bonnets from the nail by the door and ran
out as they tied them in place. Taber shuffled along behind them. The
little smidgen of joy she felt went with them.
She watched them load into the wagon around the bushel baskets.
Paul glanced her way, setting her heart to racing. For a second or two
she thought he would walk over. Instead, he climbed up and took the
reins.
Mason tugged at her skirt. How many do they have to get?
One hundred and fifty.
His eyes widened. That will take forever. [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]