“Bobbie broke her glasses and I fixed them.”
“That Bobbie sure is a hard worker.”
“I made an agreement with Bobbie.”
Rigg, who was reading the newspaper at the kitchen table, exchanged more than one glance with Kate over the top of Jeff’s head. Everyone in the family assumed that Jeff and Sylvia were serious about each other. No one had ever taken the time to ask Jeff; it was just something they took for granted.
Jeff hadn’t done much dating in the recent years, and it was nice to see him doing things and going places with Sylvia. It might also take a little adjustment if in fact they really weren’t serious.
Jeff took his leave right after Kate finished with his hair, and Kaitlin and Rigg were then able to talk. They didn’t come to any solid conclusions about Jeff, but they did understand that the Lord wanted them to pray about him, Sylvia, and Bobbie.
Bobbie sat down that night and wrote to her aunt and uncle. She told them all about her first days of work and how it was to settle into home again. Troy was having supper at Carla’s that night and her parents had retired early. She wrote about what happened with her glasses that morning, and then realizing just how tired she was, went to bed herself. Bobbie fell asleep so swiftly she didn’t have time to talk over the day with her heavenly Father.
“Thank you, Mrs. Gordon. I’m sure your package will go out this week.”
Bobbie shut the office door as the woman strode swiftly down the street. Another day at the shipping office was complete and Bobbie was amazed at how swiftly time flew. It had been a great day, though. Jeff had scored a major victory by walking in with his new haircut. Bobbie had been surprised speechless, just as he had hoped. But Bobbie was rarely at a loss for words, and before it was over she had the Taylor men laughing the workday away.
No one was around when Bobbie was ready to leave, so she let herself out and shut the door. Her walk home was uneventful—in fact, it was very quiet. Entering the house, Bobbie was intent upon asking her mother what was going on in town. She found her in the kitchen throwing provisions in a large basket.
“Oh Bobbie, I thought I was going to have to leave a note. Your dad and Troy have already left for the Micklesons’. Their barn is on fire and the wind is blowing it toward the house. Gather some quilts and get them to the wagon. Your dad hitched the horse for us and I’m almost ready to leave.” All of this was said with an air of urgency, but no panic.
Bobbie reacted in kind, racing to do as she was bid but with no hysteria or confusion. Within five minutes the Bradford women were on their way. Maryanne handled the horse and wagon efficiently and they arrived on the scene minutes later, joining Mrs. Mickleson and a few other ladies from the church. May Taylor was among them.
The women embraced and then talked. “Mic always lights a lamp in the barn but he’s always so careful. I can’t think how this could have happened.”
Information on how the fire started was going to have to wait. Right now all the men were occupied with putting the flames out, or at the very least directing them from the tall farmhouse that loomed in the sky some 50 feet away.
The women who had come on the scene offered their help in one form or another. May offered to take the Mickleson children back to her house for supper and to spend the night. Lu Mickleson accepted gratefully and Bobbie offered to help round them up.
Mrs. Mickleson pointed out ten-year-old Brian standing at the corner of the house and Bobbie headed in that direction, only to have him move before she got there.
The heat from the barn hit Bobbie full in the face as she rounded the house and her eyes squinted against flames. She prayed for safety for her family and the others working. Brian had moved close to the fire and Bobbie called to him, hesitant to go further. Her shouts went unheeded and she knew she was going to have to go and get him.
She was only a few feet away from catching him by the back of the shirt when he darted away from her to circle the burning barn. Determined now, Bobbie followed without thought.
She hadn’t gone ten steps when a pair of strong arms literally lifted her off the ground and bore her toward the house. Jeff began to shout the moment he put her on her feet.
“What in the world do you think you’re doing?”
“I have to get Brian. Your mother is taking him and all the kids to your house.” Bobbie’s voice was equally as loud.
“Stay here!” Jeff commanded and ran toward the flames. He was back in less than a minute holding Brian’s arm and walking so fast that the ten-year-old had to run to stay on his feet.
“Brian,” Bobbie said sharply in her anxiety, “your mother wants you! Go to her immediately!” The boy left without a word and Jeff waited only a moment before once again letting Bobbie see his anger.
“That was incredibly stupid!”
“It was not stupid. I had to get that boy and I noticed you didn’t hesitate to run right toward the flames!”
“That’s different!”
“It is not!”
“Yes, it is. You’re just too mule-headed to see it.”
“How dare you call me a mule—” Bobbie’s furious tirade was cut short by a flash of lightning, an unusual occurrence in Santa Rosa. The crowd in the yard and around the Mickleson barn only had time to look up before the deluge began.
Cheers of “hallelujah” and “praise the Lord” were heard from every corner. Their anger forgotten, Jeff and Bobbie looked at each other and laughed. Jeff scooped the small blonde into his arms once again and swung her around. They were still laughing when he set her on her feet.
“Bobbie,” Maryanne called as she approached, “are you all right?”
“We’re fine. Where are Dad and Troy?”
“They came over when it started to rain and I started to worry when you didn’t come back.”
Maryanne had a quilt in her arms and put it around her daughter.
The group stood, over 30 of them, a cold but grateful mass, until the flames were little more than smoking timbers. About half the barn would have to be rebuilt, but no animals were lost and no one had been hurt while fighting the fire.
Pastor had come on the scene to help and he led the group in a prayer of thanksgiving for God’s protection and for the rain that minimized the loss and possibility of injury.
Maryanne took the food she had brought into the Mickleson home and then rejoined her family at the wagon. The rain had slackened. Both Bill and Jeff were there talking with Bobbie, who sat in the back with Troy.
“Jeff tells me you’re chilled to the bone. You get right into bed when you get home.”
“I always knew Jeff was a big tattletale.” Bobbie tried to joke, but her shivers were nearly rattling her teeth out.
“I mean it, Bobbie. I don’t want you coming down with something. If you feel a cold starting just stay in bed. If I don’t see you by 8:00, I’ll know you needed rest.”
Bobbie was too cold to argue and Bill left before she could say anything. Jeff peered a bit anxiously into the back of the wagon.
“If you don’t come in tomorrow I’ll come by and see you.”
“Thanks, Jeff.”
“Good night,” Jeff said to the family in the wagon and then watched as they disappeared into the dark.
fifteen
Bobbie felt great the next morning and was on the job at ten to eight. Bill questioned her closely until he was satisfied that she was really feeling well. Bobbie’s smile was a bit indulgent as she answered his questions.
“All right, Bobbie,” he said when he caught her look. “Just humor me. You’re under my care now and I take my responsibility seriously.”
“I know you do. That’s why your sons keep taking packages from me that I’m perfectly capable of lifting.”
Bill was surprised that she was aware of their watchful care, but was quick to recover. “Like I said, humor me.”
They smiled at each other and then Bill told Bobbie that he would be uptown for most of the morning.
&nbs
p; Gilbert didn’t come in until close to 9:00. He arrived to find the shipping office packed with clients. Nearly 20 people sat on the benches and milled around the windows. The morning stages were late and these people were the overflow from the small stage office next door.
The stages arrived within minutes of each other and Jeff showed up to meet them. He and Gil helped unload and load both passengers and packages before heading back to the empty shipping office. Bobbie had taken a seat at the desk and was working on the never-ending stream of paperwork.
“I didn’t think I was going to see you today.” Jeff had taken one of the two chairs that sat opposite the desk.
“You sound like your dad,” Bobbie commented as she laid her pencil down and removed her glasses. Jeff watched as she rubbed the little marks left by her spectacles on the bridge of her nose.
“Do they always leave those marks?” Jeff asked, leaning close now.
“Not always, but they do pinch some.” Bobbie continued to rub her nose. When she replaced the glasses she found Jeff watching her with concern.
At some point in the last few days they had become friends. It felt wonderful, Bobbie thought, to know that Jeff was her friend. He cared about her and liked working with her, and she felt the same about him.
Bobbie smiled at Jeff’s concerned look and his thoughts moved in the same direction as her own. What a good friend Bobbie was turning out to be. She was fun and kind, and he genuinely enjoyed being with her.
Jeff and Bobbie were still sitting and talking quietly with each other when the office door opened.
“Well, hello.” Sylvia’s voice came from just inside the door and both Jeff and Bobbie turned to greet her. Jeff, knowing her well, noticed instantly that she was upset about something.
“Sylvia, come in.” Jeff smiled solicitously and offered his chair, but Sylvia’s look was frosty. Jeff sighed. He wondered what he was in trouble for now. A mental run-down of the last few days told him he hadn’t forgotten any more dates with her and it wasn’t her birthday. He figured he’d have to wait and see. Sylvia never kept her anger to herself for very long, so he was certain to hear the cause before the day was out, and quite possibly within the hour.
“I can’t stay. I just stopped in to say hello. It’s good to see you, Bobbie.”
“You too, Sylvia. How have you been?”
“Fine, and yourself?”
“Fine,” Bobbie answered with a smile.
The question was sincere and so was Sylvia’s, but that was only because seeing Bobbie was such a relief. She wasn’t beautiful. In truth, she wasn’t even pretty. Oh, her hair looked better and she was no longer straight-up-and-down, but the glasses were just the same and she wasn’t a bit taller. She still had the soft aura of a child.
The thought made Sylvia relax. That must have been why Jeff was staring at her so intently when she came in. Jeff thought of Bobbie as a little sister.
“Well, I’m headed uptown so I can’t stay.” Some of Sylvia’s irritation with Jeff returned when he didn’t beg her to stay longer or offer to go with her.
“I’ll walk you to your buggy.”
“You don’t have to,” Sylvia assured him, but was pleased when he followed her.
“‘Bye, Sylvia,” Bobbie called, and the older woman gave her a smile and a wave. Bobbie sat back down in her desk chair.
“Wow!” Was the only word that would come to mind, and she said it out loud.
“What’s wow?” Gil wanted to know as he came from his father’s office where he had been working.
“Sylvia,” Bobbie answered. “I thought she was pretty when we were kids, but now—” Bobbie let the thought hang, and Gilbert watched her as she stared off into space. She was still just sitting when Jeff returned.
“Did you think she wouldn’t be as pretty?” Gil wanted to know.
“No, but I didn’t think you could improve on Sylvia. I mean she was always the most beautiful girl in school, but now she looks like an actress you’d see on the stage. Her hair and eyes are more wonderful than ever.”
Both men noticed that there was a tiny note of envy in Bobbie’s voice and the thought saddened them. Sylvia was attractive and they were among her admirers. But both of them found Bobbie delightful, and the idea that she would wish herself to be anything other than she was made them both regretful.
Bobbie realized just then that the Taylor brothers were staring at her. “Have I said something wrong?” she asked cautiously.
“No, no,” they rushed to assure her. Neither one had any idea how to tell Bobbie how they felt about her, so she was left in some confusion over their odd behavior.
Bill came back an hour or so after lunch. No one had taken any time to eat so he sent his sons and Bobbie out of the office.
“I don’t want to see you back here for at least an hour.” With these words he saw them out the door and shut it behind them.
“Well, I guess he told us,” Bobbie laughed. “Now, I brought my lunch today, but, Jeff, you still owe me lunch out and, since you have such a poor memory, I think you should treat Gilbert too.”
“Is that right?” Jeff’s hands had come to his hips and he stood regarding the sassy little blonde beside him.
“Yes, that’s right. Don’t you agree, Gilbert?”
“I’ll agree to anything for a free meal.”
Jeff could see that he was outnumbered and gave in gracefully. Once at the hotel, they all ordered the special of the day and the men finished their meal with pie. Sipping her coffee as they made short work of dessert, Bobbie told herself to make time for the post office before she returned to work. The rule in the Bradford family was simple: Anyone who had time to get to the post office brought home the mail.
Bobbie told her lunch companions that she would see them back at the office, but when she told them where she was going, they decided to go with her. Bobbie had two letters from Jenner, one from a girlfriend and the other from Cleve.
They were back at the office before Jeff realized she had received mail from a man. He couldn’t resist teasing her, even though he was well aware of her engagement. The letter was lying unopened on her desk, and when things were quiet, Jeff spotted it.
“What’s this?” Jeff said with delight. “You’re not getting mail from a man, are you, Bobbie?” Jeff had picked up the letter and was examining it closely. “What’s his name now? Oh, Cleveland. Hmm, what do you suppose he has to say?”
“Does the word ‘busybody’ mean anything to you, Jeffrey? Now give that back to me.” Laughing, Bobbie had come out of her chair. She reached for the letter but Jeff sidestepped her. He held it behind his back.
Bobbie stood with her arms folded across her chest, her foot tapping the floor. “Are you going to give me that letter?”
“Just like that? Give it back when I’m having such fun teasing you?” Jeff brought the letter out and waved it in the air like a trophy. Bobbie made a grab for it and felt her fingernail scrape against his hand.
“I’ve scratched you!” Bobbie was aghast. She had never done such a thing before.
“It’s all right.”
“No it isn’t. I’m going to cut these nails right now.”
“No,” Jeff nearly shouted as Bobbie headed for her handbag. “I’m fine, Bobbie, don’t cut your nails on my account.”
“Jeff, I scratched you!” Bobbie repeated herself as if that explained everything.
“It’s nothing. Look.” Jeff thrust his hand out and Bobbie saw that he was right. It was a tiny mark on the surface of the skin that would probably disappear if he rubbed it.
“Please don’t cut your nails.”
“It could have been much worse, Jeff. I really shouldn’t keep them so long. And really, Jeff, I can’t believe it even matters to you.”
“I just think your hands are very pretty and that it’d be a shame to cut your nails.”
Bobbie was not sure why, but having Jeff tell her that her hands were pretty made her inordinately happy. It also mad
e her blush. To hide her embarrassment Bobbie turned away and sat back at her desk. But Jeff had seen the flushing of her cheeks, and as he set the letter back on the desk and stopped his teasing, he understood with sudden and complete clarity why someone would ask Bobbie Bradford to marry him.
sixteen
The Micklesons’ barn fire was the talk around town for the next few days and on into Sunday. Pastor Keller announced that weather allowing, there would be a “barn-building day” on the following Saturday.
The Micklesons were descended upon after the service with promises of attendance and help. Bobbie was thronged also. She couldn’t believe how many people came up to hug her and welcome her home. It felt wonderful. When the people surrounding her finally cleared, Bobbie looked down to see Marcail at her side.
“Hi, Bobbie.”
“Hi, Marcail. How are you?”
“I’m fine. I want you to come and meet my sister.”
Marcail grabbed Bobbie’s hand and was led to the Riggs’ wagon. Kate was already seated.
“Katie, this is Bobbie. Bobbie, this is my sister Kate.”
“Hello,” Bobbie greeted Kaitlin with a smile, and Kate responded to the warm friendliness she saw there.
“It’s nice to finally meet you, Bobbie. Marc has been planning this meeting for two days. I’m sure she told you I was expecting.”
“Yes, she did. Congratulations.”
“Thank you, but I’m afraid it’s been a disappointment to Marcail that I haven’t come to the shipping office to meet you. The truth is, I’m tired all the time and I just wasn’t up to it. She finally figured out we would see each other here.”
Nathan Taylor came on the scene just as Kate finished talking, and whatever reply Bobbie was going to make was cut short.
“Hi, Nate,” Bobbie greeted him cheerfully. “I forgot to tell you yesterday that a girl came in looking for you. She said she’d see you Monday, and I think she said her name was Brenda.” Bobbie had given this message softly so as not to embarrass Nate, but his face flamed nonetheless.