Truly Yours Historical Collection December 2014 Read online

  “Yes, suh.”

  Harry nodded. “All right. I’ll come back midmorning. If Mr. McEwan can’t see me then. . .”

  Zeke said quickly, “Miss Sadie, she can do business just like her papa. That gal can ride like the best, and she’s not afraid of work. She’s had it hard these last few weeks, with the bad news and all, but she’s strong, Miss Sadie. She’ll get through this trouble.”

  Harry smiled at his enthusiasm. “Yes, she’s got character. I expect she’ll weather the storm.”

  Five

  “What are we going to do?” Sadie asked, watching from the parlor window as Harry rode down the lane. Was she also bereft of Harry now? Her sadness weighed on her, a heavy burden pressing on her heart.

  “I dunno, Miss Sadie.” Tallie stood next to her, holding the lace curtain back.

  “I just wish I knew what Papa would do.”

  “Why, he’d sell that gen’leman some hosses, of course,” Zeke said from the doorway.

  They both turned toward him.

  “You think so?” Sadie faltered. Never in her life had she been called upon to make important decisions. Could she go forward, as her father would have, do business, and bring in money to keep the farm going?

  “I know so. This gen’leman said he prayed and asked God to show him where to buy. Seems like you’re the answer to his prayer, and he might be the answer to yours, too.”

  “What do you mean, Zeke?” Sadie felt a blush coming on. Was Zeke implying that she should pursue Harry? Was a husband the solution to her problems?

  “I just mean you need cash right now, Miss Sadie. You know your papa already spent most of what he got for that colt last month. You’ll need some money to get you through the winter.”

  She gulped. “Do you think I can stay here alone?”

  “Child, you won’t be alone.” Tallie slipped her arm around Sadie’s shoulders. “You’ve said before we’s your family. Well, now is the time you need us. It’d be different if you had kin close by, but you don’t.”

  Sadie nodded. “Oh, Tallie, what would I do without you and Zeke?”

  “Likely you’d be just fine, Miss Sadie. But you’s better with us here.”

  “That’s so.”

  Zeke smiled down at her. “Don’t forget your heavenly Father, Miss Sadie.”

  “Of course not.”

  “That’s right,” said Tallie. “You talk to Him every day, and He’ll tell you what to do.”

  Sadie sighed. “Right now everything seems so jumbled that I don’t know where to begin. And you shouldn’t have lied to Mr. Cooper. You know that, Zeke.”

  “It wasn’t a lie,” Zeke said, his eyes wide in surprise.

  “Listen to you!” Tallie scowled at him with evident disapproval.

  “I said Mr. Oliver is restin’. Well, he is. Permanently.”

  Sadie felt she was helpless to change Zeke’s way of looking at things. She looked to Tallie for support.

  “You just should have told him straight out,” Tallie said, shaking her head.

  “I think it’s better this way. We don’t know Mr. Cooper very well.”

  Tallie arched her back and glared at him. “That man is a gen’leman, and you know it!”

  “Well, I do like Mr. Harry.” Zeke scratched his chin. “I don’t expect Miss Sadie needs protectin’ from him.”

  “I should say not!” Tallie was not mollified, Sadie could tell. The woman had appointed herself Harry’s champion, and besides that, she was obviously disappointed he hadn’t stayed to dinner.

  “When he comes back tomorrow, I’ll tell him the truth,” Sadie said. “If he doesn’t want to do business with me, I can’t help it, but I won’t continue this lie, Zeke.”

  Zeke had the grace to look down at the floor. “I’m sorry, Miss Sadie. I didn’t mean to deceive. I did tell Mr. Harry you’ll be speakin’ to your Father tonight about his business deal, though.”

  “You what? Zeke, how could you do that?”

  “Easy now, missy.” Zeke held out his hands beseechingly. “I just thought you’d be talkin’ to your heavenly Father. You know you’re on good speakin’ terms with Him.”

  “Well, of course. But—”

  “So I put Mr. Harry at ease. He was askin’ for particulars on Mr. Oliver, and I cogitated he’d feel better about the whole thing if I told him that.” He looked up at Sadie and said quickly, “And it weren’t no lie. You will be asking the Almighty what to do, won’t you, Miss Sadie?”

  “Well, of course.” She looked uncomfortably at Tallie.

  “The truth, Zeke,” Tallie said. “The truth is always the best. You know that.”

  Zeke shrugged, and his wife sighed in exasperation.

  “Fine,” Zeke said. “I just thought that poor Miss Sadie didn’t need to be tellin’ menfolk who aren’t much more than strangers that she’s got nobody here to protect her now. And we don’t know what will happen to Mr. Oliver’s property, with Mr. Tenley gone and all. It just seemed to me that until she finds out what will become of the estate—”

  Tallie’s dark eyes threw defiant sparks at him. “We can take care of Miss Sadie! Whatever happens to her, she has us and the good Lawd!”

  ❧

  After a mediocre dinner at the inn, Harry settled into a tiny attic room under the eaves. He’d chosen this accommodation over sharing a larger, more comfortable room on the second floor with a team of surveyors.

  A deafening bolt of thunder cracked as Harry reached his room. He blew out the candle the landlady had given him and stared out the window. He was glad he’d found the livery stable and seen to Pepper’s care early. His horse shouldn’t be too uneasy, although the high winds worried Harry a bit. A few scattered papers blew about the street below, and as he watched, a limb was torn from a large elm tree across the way. It was early for the trees to shed their foliage, but the wind whipped the leaves so hard that many loosed their hold and flew with the maelstrom.

  A scattered pattering of rain on the roof above him became a roar as the clouds dumped their load and millions of drops pounded down on the shingles. His room had no ceiling, just the underside of the boards of the roof, and Harry eyed them speculatively, wondering if the shingles on top would hold their places. The rain pummeled the street, turning the powdery dust to muddy soup in minutes, and a change in the wind sent a torrent of water against his window, sheeting down the glass before him.

  Harry sighed and stretched out on the rickety cot. He wondered how the folks at McEwans’ were doing. He ought to have stayed there. With Oliver so ill, Zeke and Pax would need help with the chores and making certain everything at the farm was battened down before the storm.

  Sadie would be right out there with them, helping secure the livestock, he was sure, and Tallie would be in the kitchen. No matter what the weather, Tallie would conjure up a huge, tasty meal, one much better than the poor fare he’d found at the inn. Miserable excuses for biscuits they had here, and the stew was composed of overcooked vegetables and some unidentifiable meat. It was worse than what had come out of the galley of the Swallow. The more he thought about it, the more certain he was that Pax, the half-grown servant boy at McEwans’, had eaten much better than he had this night. Yes, and he probably had a cozier berth, too.

  Harry was too restless to sleep, and the intermittent thunder and surges of rain would have kept him awake anyway. He got up and stood at the window again. Great. Pepper would probably have to slog through five miles of mud in the morning. But he knew it was more than Tallie’s cooking and more even than the four superior mares he was buying that drew him to the Spinning Wheel Farm.

  Sadie, his heart cried out. Lord, I don’t know what it is about that gal, but I truly believe You engineered our first meeting. Something inside me is mourning with her. I want to see her carefree and eager for life again.

  His anticipation had grown all summer and had peaked as he approached the farm that afternoon. But his eagerness had dissipated when he saw her again, and his brief m
eeting with Sadie had been a disappointment. Something was wrong there, very wrong.

  Of course her father was sick, perhaps fatally so, and it was only a few weeks since she’d learned of her brother’s death. Still, he couldn’t forget the wariness and melancholy in Sadie’s eyes today. She was not the cheerful, outgoing girl he’d remembered and dreamed of all summer. In fact she’d seemed almost frightened of him today. She hadn’t been that way in May. Had he imagined the spark in her eyes back then and the secret smiles they had shared over a simple game of dominoes? No, it was real. She had regretted the parting as much as he had.

  He lay down again, determined to catch some sleep. As soon as it was daylight he would go for Pepper and head back to the farm. If she still held him off, he would pay for the mares and leave. But he hoped. . . .

  Harry sighed. What did he hope exactly? That Oliver would be well enough to see him, of course, and that their business would be concluded satisfactorily. But that was secondary, he knew, to his longing to see Sadie’s eyes light up. He had hoped to deepen his acquaintance with her—there was no denying it. If he were honest, he would admit he had hoped he would find her receptive to his interest. A courtship even? It would have to be either a short one or a protracted one conducted long distance.

  But he knew he had at least hoped for encouragement, and he hadn’t gotten that today. He closed his eyes. There was only one place to turn when things weren’t going the way he planned. After all, God was in charge of these events, from the long-decided battle in Mexico to the storm that tore at the inn and made the timbers shudder.

  ❧

  Sadie sat up in bed, shivering. She fumbled in the darkness to light her bedside candle. The thunder didn’t frighten her exactly, but she didn’t like being alone in the big house during the violent storm. She felt isolated and vulnerable.

  Tallie and Zeke were battened down in their little house beyond the big barn. The house had been two slave cabins in the old days. Zeke and her father had torn them apart and made one snug little dwelling from the lumber years ago, before Sadie was born. Zeke and Tallie had raised their five children there, and Sadie had played with them all. The girls had kept watch of her while her mother was busy. Pax, the youngest, was the only one left in their home now, and Sadie knew he was warm and dry in his loft above his parents’ small bedroom.

  A sharp crack made her jump, and she heard lightning strike nearby. She threw back the covers and hurried to the window, gazing out over the yard. She couldn’t see anything amiss, but she wished Tallie had stayed in the big house with her tonight.

  As she stared out into the darkness, she made out rivulets of water coursing across the barnyard and down the lane. The trees near the pasture fence tossed fitfully. The booming of closer lightning strikes now and then drowned out the rumbling background of thunder.

  She reached for the woolen coverlet her grandmother had woven and pulled it around her. It was chilly, but she knew that if she stayed in bed she would only toss and turn.

  She thought back to the event that had consumed her mind today. Harry Cooper was in town. He would be back in the morning. Tears filled her eyes as she realized how the long-awaited day had turned to ashes. She would have only one brief chance to set things straight with him. She wanted to, but she wasn’t sure how he would receive her news.

  And when he had gone, what would become of her then? She had to think beyond Harry’s visit, to tomorrow and the next day and the rest of her life. Would she be forced to leave here soon? Did she even have a right to be here now? Would she have to seek a new place to live and a way to support herself that did not include the farm?

  Dear Lord, she prayed silently, there’s so much I need Your help with. Please give me wisdom and show me what to do.

  She felt calmer and a bit more optimistic. She sat watching the flickering lightning and began to pray for those she loved, although that circle had grown quite small.

  Thank You, Lord, for Tallie and Zeke. Thank You for—

  Crack! Her eyes flew open, and she jumped from her chair. The sharp lightning strike was followed by a ripping, tearing crash that rocked the house.

  Six

  Harry reined in Pepper and stared at the McEwans’ house. A huge tree had apparently been torn from the towering oak tree on the south side of the house and was now wedged in the upper story. The roof had been torn open, exposing the interior of one of the bedchambers. Unless he was mistaken, it was Tenley’s room where he had spent a comfortable night last spring.

  Harry spurred his gelding into a gallop and tore up the lane, searching all the while for movement amidst the rubble. There was Zeke, climbing over the debris. Relief swept over Harry, and he halted Pepper once more.

  “Zeke! Hey, Zeke!”

  The black man straightened and peered down at him from between the branches of the oak. His face opened in a wide grin, and he waved with enthusiasm.

  “Mr. Cooper! Hello, suh!”

  “Anyone hurt?” Harry called.

  “No, suh. The good Lawd was choosy about where He dropped this limb.”

  Harry smiled and dismounted. “I’ll put Pepper in the barn and come help you.”

  “No need, suh. I’ll send my boy to tend him.” Harry saw then that Pax was also in the shambles with his father, pulling at the wreckage.

  “No, I’ll do it myself; then I’m coming up there to help you.”

  Zeke grinned down at him. “As you say, Mr. Harry. Just make yourself to home, suh. We’ll tell Miss Sadie you’re here, and she can see you in the dinin’ room when you come in. The parlor window’s broke, but that’s all right. Won’t take much to fix that.”

  Harry relaxed then, knowing Zeke had accepted his presence. He led Pepper toward the large barn, stepping around the biggest puddles.

  “All right, fella,” he said, opening the half door to the first empty stall he came to. “I know you’re muddy and tired, but you’ll be all right in here for a while.” He noted with satisfaction that the manger was filled with hay. “I’ll bring you some water in a while and clean you up.”

  Pepper whinnied and poked his head out over the Dutch door, snorting when another horse stuck his head out of a stall farther down the aisle.

  Sadie met him at the door to the house.

  “Mr. Cooper, it’s good of you to offer to help us, but Zeke can—”

  Harry brushed her protest aside and stepped into the entry. “Nonsense, Miss McEwan. Your roof is severely damaged. It will take days to clear out the mess and make it weather-tight again.”

  Sadie hesitated, and he smiled down at her.

  “Please let me help. I’m here, and I’m strong. There’s no way I’m leaving without lending a hand. Let me do what I can today.”

  She bit her bottom lip and nodded. “All right. Thank you. I admit, it’s too big a job for us.”

  He saw she was wearing a patched apron over a worn gray dress. The hemline and sleeves were a bit shorter than was customary, and he guessed she had put on an old, outgrown dress so she could join in the work. A suggestion of plaster dust tinged her rich hair where it peeped out from beneath a cotton scarf. Harry looked into her blue eyes and felt the same spark of joy he’d known in May when he’d first seen her. She was the same Sadie, after all, even with all the trials she had encountered.

  Her long lashes swept down over her eyes, and she stepped aside with a sudden air of shyness. “Let me show you upstairs. Zeke can tell you best what needs to be done. There’s a lot of water damage. Tallie and I have been getting out the bedclothes and rugs to try to salvage them.”

  He followed her up the stairway, questions flooding his mind. “Was your father’s bedroom damaged?”

  “No.” She stepped up into the second floor hallway and turned partway toward him. “Mr. Cooper, Father is—” She looked at him then away.

  “He’s not injured then?”

  “No, but—”

  She turned away, bringing one hand quickly to her lips, and Harry wished he
hadn’t spoken. Apparently Oliver was no better today.

  “I’m sorry, Sadie,” he said softly.

  She gave him a watery smile and seemed about to speak again when Zeke clumped out of the wrecked room in his rough boots.

  “Mr. Harry, I have to say I’m glad to see you, suh!”

  He smiled and extended his hand. “I’ll be glad to help any way I can.”

  Zeke hesitated, looking at him with a question, and then clasped his hand. “I thank you, suh.”

  “Since Mr. Cooper insists, I suppose we’d be foolish to turn down his offer of help.” Sadie pushed aside an oak branch and wriggled into the room. “Zeke, I think we can dismantle the bedstead and take the pieces out of here.”

  “We’ll do that, Miss Sadie, soon’s we cut a few more limbs away. Whyn’t you and Tallie see if you can find a sheet of canvas to hang over that parlor window. I misdoubt we’ll be able to go for glass today. Too much to clear away up here.” He nodded sagely at Harry. “Good thing you spent the night in town, suh.”

  “Truly spoken.” Harry looked at the bed in grateful awe. The heavy oak branch must be a third part of the ancient tree. It had smashed through the roof and front wall of the room diagonally, crushing the armoire that had stood near the window and cracking at least one of the bed rails. The heaviest part lay across Tenley’s bed, and a gnarled limb gouged deep into the mattress where Harry’s chest would have been if he had slept there.

  Zeke placed a saw in his hand, and he set about cutting the smaller branches off the huge fallen limb. He put Sadie out of his thoughts and concentrated on the job. Zeke sent Pax down to the lawn in front of the porch to gather up the wood they threw down and stack it around behind the house near the kitchen door.

  The tear in the roof extended over the bedroom and a storage room, but the ridge pole seemed solid, and Harry agreed with Zeke that only the east half of the roof’s front side would need replacing. The outer walls of the bedroom would need new framing timbers, and the plaster would have to be redone, as well. The sashes and glass in two upstairs windows were destroyed, in addition to the parlor window below, and the whitewash would need to be freshened when the repairs were completed.