Silas sat at the head of the table with his back to the windows and Amy took the other end near the kitchen door. As soon as Amy was seated her eyes quickly scanned the table to see if anything was wanting before looking to Silas in expectation of the prayer. His prayer was simple and heartfelt as always, and Amy raised her head to smile at him.
But the smile died on her lips as her gaze took in Clovis and Levi and the looks on their young faces. Hungry children. No, not just hungry children—starving children.
Her gaze moved slowly to the other side of the table to find their sisters in the same state. All five of them stared at the platters of meat, bread, and cheese as though they’d never eaten. She saw Clovis’ tongue run over his lips, and it was almost her undoing.
Her eyes flew to Silas’ and his look told her he hadn’t missed any of their faces including her own, which had gone very pale and then flushed all in the space of a few seconds.
“Amy,” he said almost sternly to rescue them both. “Please fill the glasses as we start the platters around.”
“Oh, certainly,” she said a bit too gaily and jumped up with her cheeks red and her eyes a little dazed. But the children took no notice. Their eyes were on the food, such bounty as they’d never seen before.
Amy barely made it through the meal. She vacillated between horror at her own stupidity over not realizing how hungry they must have been when they arrived two hours ago, and worrying that they would make themselves sick by overeating. She wanted to assure them that there was plenty of food and that they need not store up, as she watched the boys swallowing almost without chewing, but she kept silent and just asked God to intervene on behalf of these little ones for more than just their physical appetites.
Mandy and Carrie pitched in with the dishes without being asked and cleanup was quick and easy. Silas played the piano and told the younger children a funny story. It was still early when he announced bedtime, but no one complained. Without too much confusion Amy helped settle Rebecca into bed; Silas took care of the boys and all were asleep within 15 minutes of the lamp being blown out.
After Silas’ final check on the younger ones, he went to his own room to find his wife lying across the bed trying to muffle her sobs against a pillow. He immediately lay down beside her and put his arm over her without moving her. Believing she needed to cry, he said nothing to coax her out of her tears, only wishing to comfort her with his presence.
She was physically and emotionally spent when the tears stopped and Silas, with gentle hands, helped her with her gown, took the pins from her hair, and put her under the covers.
Amy fell asleep with her head on his shoulder and Silas, a bit drained himself and knowing tomorrow would be just as busy as today, fell quickly asleep. His mind was on the kids meeting all the nieces and nephews and how much his grandmother was going to love these additions to the family.
6
Silas said nothing the next morning but he knew the exact moment Amy awakened. She shifted close to him, seeking the warmth she’d moved from in the night. Knowing he was always awake first, she immediately began to talk.
“Do you think they slept well?”
“Oh, sure.” The answer was much too casual.
“How many times were you up, Si?”
“Three.”
Amy was chagrined at not having known any of this, so heavy a sleeper was she. “You can’t do that every night. You’ll be exhausted.”
“I’m fine. You know how fast I fall asleep.”
That was quite true. Silas always fell asleep quickly but was a light sleeper. Amy, as a rule, took longer to fall asleep, but when she did, a steam train through the room could not disturb her.
“I was so surprised when Mandy called you Mr. Cameron, and then when Carrie used Mrs. Cameron, well, I felt like an antique.”
Silas’ laughter vibrated the bed. “I can’t say as I blame them for not being sure. You forget, I’m 10 years older than you. Levi, Clovis, and Becca could easily be my own.”
“Well, no matter. They know now that you’re Silas and I’m Amy.”
“How should we introduce my family?”
“Well, Gram is Grandma Em to everyone. Luke and Christine and the rest can be Uncle Luke or whatever, just like they are to all the nieces and nephews.”
“You’ll have to write your dad and tell him he has suddenly become a grandfather five times over. I sure wish I could see his face when he reads those lines.”
Mandy, just waking up the next morning, took a moment to figure out where she was. She sat up quickly and then fell back onto her pillow with a small laugh over how hard her heart was pounding.
Until now, she had never thought what it might be like to sleep alone in a bed. Sharing a bed was just a way of life, but as she stretched luxuriously without bumping into anyone she thought how nice this was.
Of course it wasn’t bad sleeping with Carrie and Becca—they lay still for the most part and were good cuddlers. But sleeping between Levi and Clovis was another matter. They always woke up in a wrestling match on top of her. Whereupon she would leave the bed in a huff and tell them she would never sleep with them again, not that she ever kept her threat. The next time they were scared or restless she would crawl in between them, always with the intent of returning to her own bed when they were asleep but invariably falling into slumber herself, only to be awakened in the morning by a fist in her middle or a foot in her face.
Actually she’d half expected to wake up and find the entire gang in here with her. They must have slept hard or they surely would have joined her, taking for granted their welcome.
Mandy looked around the wonderful bedroom with a feeling of unreality. Yesterday she woke up in the only house she had ever lived in and remembered instantly that her mother was gone. She wanted so hard to go on as normal and take care of things, but she wondered if it were really possible, even for Becca’s sake, to keep up such a front.
The first thing she had done was check her mother’s bed. It was empty—the undertaker had seen to that. None of them had slept in it because it felt funny and because there was a slight chance their pa would return. But the bed had not been slept in.
Mandy had been okay until just before lunch when she cried hard, starting everyone’s tears. By the time she had them settled enough to have lunch, if you could call it that, she was so tired she wanted to sleep forever.
When the wagon pulled up out front she wasn’t afraid of why they’d come, just uncertain, until Pastor Chad’s words sent her already foggy mind spinning.
And now this morning.
Mandy pushed out of bed and stepped softly across the floor. She stood in the middle of the rug, so soft beneath her feet, and did a slow circle, attempting to take it all in.
Next to her bed was a table made of a dark, rose-colored wood, the same as the bed, and on the table was an oil lamp made of pink glass. She’d never seen anything like it.
The walk-in closet at the end of the room was spacious and her few items of clothing looked almost lonely on the empty shelves and hooks.
A dresser with a wide mirror above it stood against the wall opposite the closet, but Mandy wasn’t interested in her reflection this morning. Her feet, with almost a mind of their own, moved to the place between the two windows where a bookshelf stood.
Mandy went down on her knees before it and simply stared for long minutes. Finally, moving hesitantly as though someone would slap her hand, she reached to lightly touch the books. Her fingers skimmed over the bindings with reverence and something akin to awe.
Amanda Jackson loved to read.
She hadn’t always felt that way. With pain she remembered the teacher’s dark looks when she struggled long after everyone else her age had understood that mysterious art, despairing of ever catching on and being able to read with the ease of breathing, as her teacher did.
But then one day, very close to her eleventh birthday, it became clear, as though a light had been turned on in her mind. Th
e world of letters, words, and sentences became startlingly clear and Mandy read with a voracious appetite from that moment.
Anyone watching her in the bedroom at the Cameron house this morning, would have been confused by her actions and the tears of joy on her face at just being able to touch these precious volumes. They would have wondered at the way her heart pounded at just the thought of asking Amy if she could read them, hoping she could make her see how careful she would be with each and every one.
Yes, anyone watching her would have been confused unless they understood life in the Jackson household. There had never been enough money for food, let alone anything as extravagant as books, no matter how loved or coveted.
Mandy was startled out of her position on the floor when someone knocked.
“Come in.”
“Hi,” Amy spoke as she came through the door. “I wasn’t sure if you were up. We’re about ready to eat.”
“I better wake everyone.” Mandy spoke uncertainly from her place by the shelves.
“Everyone is downstairs, dressed, and Becca tells me, starving.” Amy informed her good-naturedly.
“Oh, I’m sorry you had to wait on me.”
“Don’t apologize, you have time. I just wanted you to know that Silas will be in from the barn in about ten minutes and then we’ll be ready to eat.”
“Thank you. I’ll be right down.”
Mandy threw herself into her clothes and rushed down the hall to Carrie’s room for the hairbrush. Her hair was thick but not very long, falling only to her shoulders, enabling her to have it brushed and pulled back with a ribbon in a matter of seconds.
Not until she returned the brush to the dresser did she notice how nicely the room was picked up. She walked back down the hall past her own room to the boys’ to find it as orderly as the girls’, with even the quilt hung perfectly across the bed.
Amy.
While swiftly making her own bed she was amazed to realize she was not jealous of her hostess stepping in to help the kids last night as well as this morning.
Mandy couldn’t remember the last time she’d awakened without a list of jobs and duties as long as her arm hanging over her. How nice it felt to have someone else in charge, and Amy seemed to genuinely enjoy it.
Well, she thought as she descended the stairs, best enjoy it, for it certainly won’t last.
7
“Father in heaven, I thank you for the beauty of this day and the bounty of this food. Bless us, our conversation and surround us with Your love. Amen.”
Silas was well aware of the eyes watching him as he served himself some eggs and then passed the bowl to Mandy. The children were a little less hungry this morning, whereas last night their concentration on food had made them much too preoccupied to be aware of a man thanking God for the meal.
The four youngest Jacksons fell on the food with renewed hunger, but Mandy ate a little more cautiously. Silas, watching her surreptitiously, thought she seemed like an animal who had been teased and baited at every meal and forced to beg before being rewarded with food.
He had the feeling that if he suddenly snatched her plate from in front of her, she would accept it docilely as though the few mouthfuls she’d taken were all she deserved.
“I’m headed back out to the barn after breakfast, if anyone would like to come.”
“What’s in the barn?” Clovis wanted to know.
“Horses.” The word was said matter-of-factly, but the response from the boys was the first glimmer of behavior beyond the perfect.
“Horses—did you hear what he said?” The words were shouted. “Can we ride? I know how!”
“You do not, Clovis!”
“I do so, Levi. You just shut your mouth!”
“You shut your own mouth or I’ll do it for ya!”
“Oh yeah, just try!”
Mandy was embarrassed over their behavior and had just opened her mouth to shout over them when Silas’ voice cut through their words like a whip.
“Boys! That’s enough!”
The room was instantly silent. He had not really raised his voice but his deep tone and the authority punctuating every syllable was more than enough to make the boys sit up in their seats, their mouths closed, eyes wide open.
“We will not be riding any horses today.” His voice sounded loud in the still room. “And if I don’t have your word about not shouting in the barn, you’ll not be going. Have I made myself clear?”
“Yes, sir.”
“I won’t shout in the barn.” The words were said in little more than a whisper and came from Rebecca.
“Would you like to go, Becca?”
“Is it just for boys?”
“No, you can come.”
Her smile was Silas’ thanks and he felt his heart melt in the glow of it. She was the only one of the five that looked as if she’d been fed decently, with her round face and almost pudgy little hands. She shared the same shade of brown hair and hazel eyes with the rest of her family, but the freckles she had were out over her cheeks and not just on her nose.
“I think everyone should go,” Amy suggested.
“No,” Carrie spoke. “Mandy and I will stay and help clean up.”
“I appreciate the offer, girls, but there will be many dishes in the days to come. Go with Silas while he has the time to take you.”
Amy’s words were still on Mandy’s mind as they walked toward the Cameron barn. She made it sound like they were going to be staying for a while and Mandy hadn’t expected that. She didn’t know what she did expect but this constant barrage of kindness and hospitality was not it.
Maybe her pa would return. He never stayed for very long and any money he had would go toward the bottle he’d enjoy in one of Baxter’s bars. It was too much to hope that he would be at the funeral tomorrow.
They had come to the barn and Mandy, deep in her own thoughts, didn’t realize Silas was holding the door for her.
“Are you okay?” Silas asked.
“What?”
“You seemed a little far away. If you’d rather not come in, that’s fine. Maybe you’d like some time to yourself.”
“No, I better stick with the kids. They don’t always obey Carrie.”
“Maybe not Carrie, but I don’t think I’ll have any trouble.” Silas said this with a smile and Mandy actually smiled back at the big man.
Why she’s lovely! he thought in honest surprise.
But the smile disappeared as quickly as it had appeared and her question told him where her thoughts had been. “Do you think the sheriff will find my pa?”
“I don’t know, Mandy. I’m praying he will.”
Mandy moved into the barn then, her thoughts in confusion over her host’s last statement.
8
“Luke, I thought you were going to the barn.”
“I am, but Si took the Jackson kids out there and I wanted him to have some time with them. Hey, Christine. Do me a favor and give me their names again.”
“Okay, let’s see—Mandy, Carrie, Levi, Clovis…or is it Clovis, Levi…well anyhow, then Rebecca.”
“Mandy, Carrie, Levi, Clovis, Rebecca?”
“That’s it, I believe.”
Luke let out a low whistle and shook his head. “That’s quite a family to acquire overnight. Sometimes I think I won’t hold up with two.”
“Yes, who would have thought when Pastor Nolan came to Gram’s yesterday it was to tell all of us that Si had just taken the Jackson children home for an indefinite period of time.”
“It was a surprise. But if anyone can handle it, Si and Amy can. I’ve never seen a couple so ready for children of their own.”
“Speaking of children—what do you mean you can barely hold up with two? How about three?” Christine’s hands went to her hips and Luke smiled at the movement for it made her very pregnant stomach stick out that much farther.
“Oh, I’ll love three.”
“As much as you love the first two?”
“
Yep.”
“As much as you love their mother?”
“No-o-o, I don’t love their mother. I just keep her around to cook and clean.”
“Luke Cameron!” Christine cried in outrage as she swung a dishcloth at him. He sidestepped it easily and kissed her cheek on the way by. But the teasing smile fell from his face the instant he saw the tears in her eyes.
“Christie, you know I don’t mean it.” His voice was repentant, all teasing gone.
“I know,” she sniffed, “but when I’m pregnant—”
“You cry all the time,” he finished for her and put his arms around her. “Forgive me, I won’t tease you again.”
“You probably will and I’ll cry all over again and you’ll be sorry and I’ll…”
“Have I been that bad?” Luke asked.
“No, I’m just—”
“Pregnant.” He finished for her one last time and they both laughed. Luke looked out the window then and saw Silas leaving the barn.
“You sure you’re okay?”
“Umm hmm.”
“Okay, I’m headed out now.” He kissed her lingeringly and looked into her eyes to gauge how she really was. “If you need me, send Josh.”
“Well, how was the barn?”
“Big.” Mandy and Carrie answered in unison and Amy laughed.
Both girls used the washbasin without prompting, and Mandy went to the bread dough waiting to be kneaded. Carrie picked up a wet skillet and a drying towel.
“Where are Becca and the boys?”
“Silas was showing them the swings in that big tree.”
Amy knew the place of course. Most of the trees on the Cameron acres were bunched together, such as the oaks near their house, but there was one oak, a real beauty, that stood alone by the barn. From it hung two swings with thick ropes and wide wood seats that let a person soar with the birds if they could pump that high.