The Complete Oregon Series, page 66
A potato slipped from Hendrika’s grasp and skidded across the floor. She shook her head in protest.
“Oh, thank you, Mama.” Nattie danced around the kitchen table and hugged her. “Thank you, Hendrika.” She hugged the startled Hendrika too and then rushed up the stairs, no doubt looking for her best dress.
Nora chuckled at the pole-axed expression on Hendrika’s face. “She can be a force of nature, can’t she? I hope you don’t mind going to the dance with her. If you really don’t want to go, I can probably talk Amy into it.” In fact, she should talk Amy into going, no matter what. Amy needed to be around people who didn’t think hoof thrush was a perfectly fine topic of conversation over supper.
“It’s all right,” Hendrika said while she scrambled to pick up the escaped potato. “I’ll go with her. If we don’t like it, we can come back early.”
Oh, that’s what you think. Now that Nattie was going to the dance, she wouldn’t be home before it was time to milk the cows. Nora smiled warmly. “Of course, dear.”
Amy flicked the reins without any enthusiasm, urging the horses toward the schoolhouse. Next to her, Nattie bounced on the wagon seat. “Sit still, or I’ll make you walk through the mud in your good dress,” Amy said. She peeked around Nattie at Hendrika, who rode along in silence.
She was wearing one of Amy’s dresses—one that Amy had never liked anyway. Not that she liked any of them. At least not when she had to wear them. On Hendrika, she loved the dress. The dark blue fabric contrasted nicely with the soft, pale skin and made her eyes look even darker. When Hendrika lifted her head and looked over, Amy snatched her gaze away. Stop looking. You thought she was rather plain-looking, remember?
She tugged on her bonnet, aware of the paler patch of skin above the line where her hat’s sweatband normally rested. Her hands curled to hide the scars on her palms and the black rims that remained under her fingernails, even after careful scrubbing.
The sounds of an accordion and at least one fiddle drifted down the hill.
“They’ve already started.” Nattie clapped her hands. “Oh, and look! There are Hannah and Josh.” She waved wildly, and the small button at the cuff of her dress got tangled in Amy’s bonnet.
Nattie struggled to break free.
“Hey!” When the ribbon beneath Amy’s chin tightened, she grunted.
Hendrika reached over and freed the button.
Amy’s gaze met hers, and she didn’t hear the music anymore. She cleared her throat. “Thank you.”
“You’re welcome,” Hendrika answered.
Old Jack and Little Jack slowed when they reached the other horses tied in front of the schoolhouse, jerking Amy out of her daydreams and her gaze away from Hendrika.
She tightened the reins and wrapped them around the brake. Then she jumped down and rounded the buckboard to help Hendrika down. After two steps, she stopped. What are you thinking? Women didn’t help other women down from the wagon. You are not her beau. Let her climb down on her own before people start wagging their tongues about your unnatural behavior.
Nattie hooked her arm through Hendrika’s with a familiarity that Amy didn’t dare. “Come on. Let’s go in.” She looked over her shoulder. “You coming, Amy?”
“Go on. I’ll take care of the horses and be right in.” She took her time making sure Old Jack and Little Jack were comfortable and could reach the tufts of grass next to the school, then greeted the mare she had trained for Bernice Garfield. “Hey there, Rhubarb. How are you doing?”
“Except for that name you gave her, she’s just fine,” Bernice said from behind her. “I remember you came up with the funniest names for the horses when you were a child. What was the name of that mare of Luke’s? Smallpox?”
“Measles.”
Bernice chuckled and looked around. “Your mother isn’t with you?”
“No. She says that dancing with other men is just not the same as dancing with Papa.”
Bernice’s lips twitched. “I can imagine,” she mumbled. Then her smile returned. “What about you? Are you up for a night of dancing?” She pointed at the schoolhouse. “Alex Tolridge has been on the lookout for you. I think that young man is a bit enamored with you.”
Alex Tolridge? The son of the local doctor couldn’t even stay on a horse. Gosh, he’s nothing but a big baby. Once, when they had gone to school together, she had shown him a snake she had caught and he had run away screaming. “I might not stay long enough to dance with him. It’s still foaling season and Mama is alone on the ranch, so I might leave early.”
An affectionate half smile darted across Bernice’s face, and she shook her head. “Sometimes I think you’re too much like Luke.”
Luke. Bernice never said “your father,” as everyone else did. Amy wondered about it since she had first noticed it. “Too much like Papa? That’s not possible.” Being like Papa was the biggest compliment in her book. Sometimes she envied the tall, dark-haired Nattie for looking so much more like Papa than she did.
“So Luke’s a good father, then?” Bernice asked.
Amy furrowed her brow. “Why do you keep asking me that? You’re almost like family. You know Papa. He’s the best father and a wonderful man.”
A strange expression darted across Bernice’s face. She coughed, then patted Amy’s arm. “Yeah. I didn’t want to imply otherwise. It’s just that...I worry about you. You’re not like all the other girls.”
Heat flashed through Amy, followed by an icy ripple of fear. Had Bernice noticed how much time she used to spend with Hannah? She clenched her fingers around a fold of her skirt. “W-what do you mean?”
“Everyone else has been looking forward to the dance for weeks. Some of them have come from thirty miles away—and you would rather go home and check on your mares.”
Her tense fingers let go of the skirt. Bernice didn’t suspect how different Amy really was. “Why is that bad?”
“It’s not. It’s just that—” Bernice trailed off. “Forget what I said. Go on. Don’t let an old woman’s strange worries keep you from dancing. And come by later for a piece of my apple pie.” She shooed Amy into the schoolhouse.
“You might want to loosen Rhubarb’s cinch,” Amy said over her shoulder.
When the door closed behind her, she was engulfed by music. A fiddler drew his bow across the strings, keeping time with an accordion and a mouth harp. Booted feet pounded the polished wood floor in rhythm to the music, and the first couples danced to the catchy tune of “Turkey in the Straw.”
Laughter and loud conversations drifted between little groups. Amy hadn’t seen so many people in one place for many months. She didn’t understand it, but she often heard the women complain about the loneliness out on the ranches and farms. The Hamiltons’ nearest neighbors lived miles away, and sometimes they didn’t see them for weeks. That was just fine with her; she felt much more isolated standing in the schoolhouse than riding the range with no one else for miles.
The school’s benches and desks had been removed except for a few seats along the walls. Young mothers sat, bouncing toddlers on their knees in time to the music and handing out pieces of pie. Laughing children weaved between the dancers.
Amy wanted to cover her ears and walk out into the silent night, but she’d promised Mama she would keep an eye on Nattie and Hendrika. When she craned her neck, she found Nattie talking to the pastor’s son, her cheeks flushed with either excitement or embarrassment.
Amy’s gaze skipped over the dancers and the women admiring the pies. Hendrika was nowhere to be seen.
Then she discovered her in a quieter corner, talking to... Oh, no. Hannah. She couldn’t say why, but a feeling of uneasiness settled in the pit of her stomach. It was too noisy to hear what the two women were talking about, but she noticed the easy way Hannah touched Hendrika’s arm while she talked. She used to do that to me.
Hendrika didn’t return the friendly little touches, but she didn’t shy away either. She probably didn’t even notice. Amy had always been overly aware of those touches. Annoyed, she directed her thoughts away from that topic and focused on the two young women. With their dark hair and brown eyes, they looked a bit alike.
Is that why I’m having the same reactions to her that I used to have around Hannah? But other than their hair and eye color, Hannah and Hendrika had nothing in common. Unlike Hannah, who laughed often and talked to everyone around her, Hendrika didn’t search out conversation and she rarely smiled. She’s not comfortable here, among the townspeople. We have that much in common at least.
Hannah looked up and saw her. “Amy!” She waved enthusiastically.
Now Amy couldn’t avoid joining them. She trudged over.
“I thought you wouldn’t come.” Smiling, Hannah reached out and hugged her.
Heat raced over Amy’s skin, more because she knew Hendrika was watching than because of Hannah’s warm greeting. “Yeah, well, Mama talked me into it.”
“Hello there, little man,” Hendrika said next to them.
Amy followed her gaze downward.
Hannah’s two-year-old son was clutching Hendrika’s skirt. Now he stared at her with wide eyes. His bottom lip quivered, and he let go of Hendrika’s skirt to grasp Hannah’s.
“Oh.” Hannah laughed. “I think he mistook you for me from behind.”
Hendrika’s lips parted in a smile, revealing a slight gap between her front teeth.
Amy stared, aware that she had never seen Hendrika smile. That smile transformed her face from ordinary to beautiful.
“I’m not your mama, little one.” Hendrika bent down to be at eye level with the boy. “My name is Rika.”
Rika. Amy tasted the name on her tongue. How nice that sounded. Why was no one on the ranch allowed to call Hendrika by that name?
Hannah’s son grinned at Hendrika, losing his shyness under her friendly smile. He reached out his little arms, and Hendrika picked him up and settled him on her hip without hesitation.
“You are so good with him,” Hannah said. She ran her fingers through the boy’s dark hair.
“I’ve had a lot of practice.” Hendrika bounced him, making the boy giggle. “I helped raise my half siblings.”
With shame, Amy realized she had lived with Hendrika for a week yet didn’t know anything about her. She was distracted when Hannah’s son glanced at her and, after a moment’s hesitation, reached out his arms in her direction. “Um, I don’t know how to...”
Hannah laughed. “Just imagine he’s a young colt, and you’ll be fine.”
“You want me to halter-break your son?”
This time, even Hendrika laughed, and it softened her stern features and put a sparkle in her eyes.
Amy couldn’t help staring.
Elam Cooper, the saddle maker’s son, walked over and held out his hand toward Hendrika. “May I have this dance?”
“Oh, I’m afraid I have my hands full at the moment.” Hendrika lifted the boy higher in her embrace, hiding behind him.
Hannah stepped forward. “Give him to me.”
Within a moment of reluctantly handing over the child, Hendrika was whisked away to the dance floor.
“Why the frown?” Hannah asked.
“Hm?”
“You’re frowning.” She touched her finger to Amy’s forehead. “Everything all right?”
Amy dragged her gaze away from Hendrika and her dance partner. “I’m fine. I just wonder if it’s proper for her to dance with Elam. She is Phin’s betrothed after all.”
“And you think that will stop them?” Hannah pointed at the bachelors who already eyed Hendrika with interest. “There are four times more men in here than women. They’ll ask every woman to dance. Even Mrs. Fuller’s rheumatism won’t stop them from dragging her to the dance floor.”
“Sounds like I won’t be able to escape unscathed either.” Amy sighed.
“No.” Hannah grinned at something behind Amy. “No escape before dawn.”
When Amy turned around, a grinning Alex Tolridge held out his hand. “May I have this dance?”
Suppressing a groan, Amy followed him to join the other dancers.
Nattie plopped onto a bench next to Rika. “If I have to dance with one more man, I’ll kill him.” Her eyes were shining, though, and Rika had no doubt that she was enjoying the attention of her admirers.
“Oh, no, you don’t.” Rika tucked her swollen feet beneath her skirt. “If they throw you in prison for murder, your flock of disappointed admirers will want to dance with me instead and my feet can’t take that.”
A girlish giggle erupted from Nattie’s lips. “It’s nice, though, isn’t it?”
Rika gave a vague nod. The crowd of people was a bit much for her, but the rhythm of the music sent her heart pounding with joy, and she had to admit that the attention of Baker Prairie’s men was flattering. Here in the West, it didn’t matter that she was plain, poor, and without a family. If Phineas refused to marry her, she should have no problem finding another husband. But she found no comfort in the thought.
“At home, everyone treats me like a child,” Nattie said. “Phin, Amy, and my parents try to protect me all the time. For once, it’s nice to be treated like an adult.”
Envy flickered alive in Rika. No one in her family had ever protected her. “Be grateful. A family like yours is rare.” She couldn’t quite keep the sadness out of her voice.
Nattie searched her face.
“Who’s that with your sister?” Rika asked to stop Nattie from inquiring about her own family. “Is that her sweetheart?”
Nattie turned and craned her neck. “Oh, no, that’s just Gary Snyder, the son of a local horse breeder. Amy doesn’t have a sweetheart, and I bet they’re talking horses.”
Rika watched Amy gesticulate, her cheeks flushed with the heat in the schoolhouse. So far, she had thought Amy wasn’t interested in people, but she seemed to get along well with Gary Snyder. So is it just me she doesn’t like? Being liked had never mattered to her, but for some reason, what Amy thought about her did matter.
Two young girls settled down on the bench next to them. “Are you the mail-order bride?” one of them asked.
Gracious, it seems I’m already famous in town. She gave a hesitant nod. “Hendrika Bruggeman.”
One girl arched an eyebrow. “You came all the way from Germany to marry a man you don’t even know?”
“She’s Dutch, Ella, not German,” Nattie said before Rika could answer.
“Oh, don’t start with your geography lesson. No one here is interested in that.” Ella didn’t even deign to look at Nattie. Her gaze was fixed on Rika, who tried not to squirm. “I wonder what self-respecting woman would sail across the ocean to marry a stranger.”
“A desperate one, with little backbone,” her friend answered.
The words cut deep. I am desperate, and I am a liar with little backbone.
“Leave her alone,” Nattie said. “We’re just sitting here, minding our own business, and you have no right to insult Hendrika.”
But the young women from town didn’t retreat. Their gazes hit Rika like hail, and she hunched her shoulders.
“Finally!” Amy used the musicians’ break to evade two bachelors looking for a dance partner and walked over to Bernice, who was arranging pastries and pies on a table. “Bernice? Can you do me a favor?”
Bernice turned, her smile full of affection. “Of course. What is it?”
“I want to leave now, but Mama told me to keep an eye on Nattie and Hendrika, so...” Amy directed a pleading glance at Bernice. “Do you think you can...?”
“Sure,” Bernice said. “You know I always looked after you and Nattie as if you were my own. I’ll have Hannah and Josh escort them home safely.”
“Thank you.” Amy squeezed Bernice’s hand and went to let Nattie and Hendrika know she was leaving.
A small crowd of townspeople formed around Hendrika, but this time, it was Ella Williams and her friends, not young men eager for a dance. Were they talking about dresses, marital prospects, and other things Amy didn’t understand?
Then she saw the look on Hendrika’s face and Nattie’s rigid pose. She glared at the silly gooses. As long as Hendrika was living on the ranch, she was part of the family. No one was allowed to corner her. Amy stormed over just in time to hear Fanny Henderson’s cutting words, “A desperate one, with little backbone.”
“I see you’re talking about your favorite topic of conversation, Fanny,” Amy said, shouldering past Ella. “Yourself.”
A collective gasp interrupted the sudden silence, and somewhere, a girl giggled.
“I-I certainly wasn’t!” Fanny sputtered. “We were just wondering why a respectable woman would go and answer an ad in a newspaper.”
Amy often wondered too. Oh, nice. Now I do have something in common with the stuck-up girls in town. “And? Did you ask her before rushing to judgment?” Like I did. She tried to catch Hendrika’s eye for a silent apology, but Hendrika averted her gaze. “Or did Ella convince you to come over and harass her because she has something that Ella wants for herself?”
Ella lifted her head up high and grazed Amy with a look as if she were the runt of the herd, not worthy of her attention. “And what, pray tell, might that be?”
“Phin,” Amy answered.
A strangled laugh escaped Ella. “Phineas Sharpe? Oh, please! As if I would be interested in a simple ranch hand who is too dumb to even know how to read or write.”
Nattie stepped forward, almost nose to nose with Ella now. Her eyes hurled daggers at Ella. “Phin isn’t—” she started, but Amy shot her a look.
“Don’t bother denying it, Ella,” Amy said. “Phin told me all about your attempts to catch his attention.” Phin had never been interested in Ella or any of the girls in town, and Amy had been afraid that he was holding out for her, as he often joked. “Of course, he wouldn’t be interested in a girl who’s too dumb to even know a good man when she sees one.”
