Chapter 12

Chapter 12

Madeline smiled at Violet. It was nice having her to take care of. For the past two weeks the two were together day and night. After morning chores, they got busy sewing a new dress for Violet. Madeline took apart one of her old, worn out dresses and used it as a pattern, showing Violet how it was done.

Elijah had worked for the mercantile owner after his fiasco with stealing. He learned his lesson and had been compliant for the last few weeks, trying hard to please everyone. She had even sent him to school this past week. Between the two children, Madeline was happily exhausted.

She had attended church on Sunday and met Olivia, who was the organizer of the orphan train runs. Olivia informed Madeline that she was having a hard time right now finding families that wanted an eight year old boy. All of the families she had on her list wanted babies right now. Olivia had told Madeline the next orphan train wasn’t due for three months from now.

Elijah is welcome to come to the church in Mill Ridge when the orphan train comes in and see if anyone will take him. I just hope it isn’t too disappointing for him if no one shows up. Like I said, they all want babies lately. Or, older teens so they can work them on the farms for a few years then send them on their way.

Madeline kept hearing those words in her head for the last few days. No one wanted to take in Elijah. He would be so heartbroken. She wasn’t sure what to do. For now, he was staying right here with her. She knew sooner or later someone from the orphanage would be sent to check on all the children who were placed in homes from the orphan train.

She had sent a letter to Miss Periwinkle the first week she got here, explaining that Elijah hadn’t been chosen, but she was hopeful the perfect family would come along and she would stay by his side as his guardian until he was placed. Hopefully, Madeline had plenty of time until a representative made their rounds. It was a one time visit from the orphanage they set up. They always sent a letter out ahead of time to the families to prepare for the visit. The problem with that was the representative almost always got there before the letter did.

Since Madeline had taken the time to write to Miss Periwinkle the situation she had found herself in, the orphanage knew where she was. They knew exactly where to find Elijah.

They knew she worked for Mr. Adams, and she was housing Elijah here. At any time they could come to this house and take him back to the orphanage. It kept her awake some nights worrying about what they would do when Miss Periwinkle told the board he hadn’t been placed.

A knock on the door caused her to look up from where she had been sitting at the table sewing. They had made the dining room table a temporary sewing table where all the material and sewing items had been placed. The pattern was laid out in the center.

“Madeline, someone is at the door. Shall I get it?” Violet looked frustrated. She was concentrating so hard on her sewing that she didn’t seem to want to get up, not even to answer the door.

“I’ll get it, dear. You keep working.”

A huge smile crossed the girl’s face. She loved sewing and was actually pretty good at it. Madeline had been so pleased with her progress. She had to sit with her while Violet sewed to make sure she didn’t get overwhelmed. As she made her way to the front door, she noticed the reverend’s wife outside standing on the porch.

The door swung open. “Hello, Catherine. Come inside.”

“I wish I could come in and visit, but I’m due at Doc Owen’s office in ten minutes. I just came by to see if I may pick up the children this evening for a few hours? The Book Lady is having a special children’s story time hour, along with a treat afterwards. She just got a newly published book called Heidi and wants to share it with the children. It’s about the adventures of a five-year old who is sent to live with her grandfather in the Swiss Alps. I thought that Violet and Elijah would enjoy it.”

“How lovely to offer. I’m not sure Violet will stay put long enough though. Perhaps I should come along,” Madeline told her.

Catherine shook her head. “No. It’s not that I don’t want you there, but you’ve been with these two children non-stop for weeks now. I am perfectly capable of handling Violet and if she needs more attention then I’ll send someone to fetch you.”

Madeline thought it would be nice for a few hour break. At the orphanage she had the weekends to herself. Here, she hadn’t had a weekend off since she had arrived, which was of her own doing, of course. She nodded. “Okay. I’m not sure if Robert, er, Mr. Adams will approve. Although, he has been allowing me to make some of the decisions concerning Violet.”

Catherine laughed. She whispered as if he was right around the corner. “Robert already knows about it and told me to ask you permission to take them.”

Madeline was surprised that he didn’t give the okay then inform her when he returned home from work. “Well, that’s interesting. I’ll let Violet know right now and tell Elijah when he gets home from school.”

The rest of the day was quite exciting trying to contain Violet from bursting out of the house to go to the bookstore ahead of time. Madeline learned a lesson today. From now on she’d wait until it was almost time to go before telling the girl.

By the time Catherine came knocking for the two children, Madeline had to admit she was quite ready for a break. She had made simple sandwiches for supper since they would be getting a treat later and she didn’t want to overfill their bellies with too much food. Then it would be harder for them to sleep tonight.

When Robert came in the door, the house was quiet. She was sitting in the parlor on a rocker in front of the pot belly stove enjoying the silence. It had been starting to feel damp, so she lit the stove so the house was warmer when the children got home. Texas never got too cold, not like back home, but the stove took the chill off.

“Good evening, Madeline, er, Miss Emmett.”

She smiled. “You may call me Madeline. Everyone else does.”

“Madeline. I’ve been meaning to ask if I could call you that for a few weeks ever since Elijah told me at the mercantile that I should.”

A small chuckle escaped her lips. “Elijah is my protector. He’s come a long way since he came to the orphanage. Please, sit down and envelope yourself in silence. It’s wonderful.”

He sat on the settee that was alongside the rocker she sat on and stared at the pot belly stove like she had done.

“Do you hear it?” she asked.

He reached over and laid his hand over hers. She was startled at first and almost pulled hers away, then decided not to. He did it so naturally that she didn’t think he was trying to behave like a scoundrel. This was a moment they were sharing and if it was improper to hold hands, then no one would know but the two of them. Madeline found that quite interesting. She was a bit of a dare devil herself at times.

“I hear complete silence. How beautiful.”

She laughed softly. “It’s been this way for almost an hour. I’m not sure how long we will be able to enjoy the silence.”

He laid his head back against the cushion, watching her. She felt those blue eyes on her and turned. They were mesmerizing. This moment was so real and yet seemed like a fool’s game. She was pretending to be the lady of the house and he was her man. How foolish of her.

When the children’s home decides to act upon the information Miss Periwinkle gives them, she was certain they would send someone for Elijah.

He tilted his head and watched her before speaking. “What’s on your mind, Madeline? You look perplexed.”

She thought it was quite interesting that he could read her thoughts like that. “I am worried about Elijah. I sent Miss Periwinkle a letter when we arrived informing her about Elijah’s situation that he hasn’t found a family yet. Even though I took it upon myself to become his guardian until a new family can be found, I’m afraid they may send someone here to take him back.”

He nodded in understanding and squeezed her hand. “You are a good person, Madeline. Here you are with time on your hands to be idle and all you can think about is what will happen if the home decides to take Elijah from you. I’ve gotten to be quite fond of him myself. Do you really think they’ll send someone here?”

She shrugged. “I’m not sure. All I know is they are not fond of me. If you want the truth when I came to you for work, it was not only a way to keep Elijah from finding out that no one wants him, but I lost my position at the orphanage. They were tired of my shenanigans, as they call it.”

“What did you do to deserve losing your job? You’re wonderful with the children? Unless you are an axe murderer and plan to kill us in our sleep.”

She shot him a stern look and he laughed out loud. “Dear, dear, Madeline. I’m joking.”

“Of course you are. If I were an axe murderer, I’d need an axe. Maybe I’m a shameless woman who plans to poison your supper and take your house and everything you own.”

He put a hand in front of his face. “Please, no! I’ll never eat another bite of food again!”

She giggled at his silliness. This was a part of Robert she hadn’t seen yet. He was always laughing at the children, but he never tried to be entertaining himself. It was refreshing. “Speaking of food, I made you two sandwiches for supper. Since the children went to the bookstore for a night of adventure, I didn’t want to overfill their bellies.”

“I’m good with sandwiches.”

She got up and tugged his arm. “Come on, lazy bones. I’ll get it ready for you.”

He followed her reluctantly to the kitchen, complaining that she forced him to move his lazy bones. She ordered him to sit, then took his sandwiches from the counter and set them on a plate. Madeline poured a glass of lemonade from the pitcher she had made earlier and took them to the table where he was sitting.

She turned to let him eat when he caught her hand. Pulling it towards him, he placed a kiss on the top of one of her fingers. It made her heart melt a bit and she swore it fluttered so fast it took her breath away. “Sit with me,” he told her.

She didn’t hesitate, but sat down while he ate. His moans at each bite made her giggle and his eyebrows moved up and down whenever he took a bite. He was doing that on purpose but it made her laugh so she knew he was enjoying entertaining her. Madeline didn’t want this night to end.

*****

Robert was mesmerized. Madeline had asked him if he’d like to have tea on the porch and wait for the children with her. He hurried to finish his sandwich and carried the tray with their drinks. She had a small box with her and surprised him again with a cupcake from the sweet shop.

“This is the second time you’ve gotten me one of these fancy cupcakes. What’s the topping on it?”

She handed him a cupcake. “You’ll have to guess.”

He wasn’t going to argue. Taking a huge bite, the sweet melted in his mouth. He groaned so loud she giggled. “It’s lemon. So good,” he said, moaning again and took another bite. When he was done, he licked his fingers like a five year old. “That was so good.”

“Would you like more? I’m afraid half is enough for me.” She handed him what was left of hers and he ate it in one bite.

“I could live off of them.”

“Hmm. Are you sure you’re not worried they may have poison in the lemon?”

“Nope. You want the same thing I do. I’ve figured that out, Madeline.”

It was her turn to tilt her head. “Oh? Whatever do you mean?”

He watched her eyes lighting up when he mentioned they wanted the same thing. Was it possible she’d want to stick around Cooper’s Ridge even after she found a home for Elijah? Or, would she go back to her hometown and forget all about him and Violet? He wasn’t sure, but he wanted to see if they had the chance of a future together. “I think we both want a good steady home to raise children in.”

She nodded. “I was raised in the orphanage where I worked prior to coming here. I never had a home like this one. It’s a wonderful feeling and makes me want one even more now that I’ve experienced this.”

“I was an outlaw.”

“What? Are you serious?”

He was concerned that would change things for Madeline, but she didn’t look too upset at his out of the blue admission. He gazed into her eyes and didn’t see any fear that he was not a good man at one time. “I did my share of being rebellious and running with the wrong men. After a few fights, I wound up in a jail cell in Dallas. Cooper Murphy came and got me out. Promised me Cooper’s Ridge was here if I wanted to start over.”

“Have you told Elijah this story? He needs to hear it.”

“I haven’t told anyone except for you. Most people here don’t talk about their past because we all have one. Once we start over, there’s no sense in speaking up about it again. I only told you because, well, I’m not sure why.”

“Because you like me, maybe?”

“Of course I like you, Madeline. You take good care of Violet. Elijah trusts you and I, well, I think you’re special.”

She picked up her cup of tea, needing to do something with her hands. No one had ever told her they cared. She knew that’s what he was trying to say without really saying how much he liked her. That’s what he was doing, wasn’t he?

He began to lean forward, pulling her gently towards him. She was helpless when he tried to get closer. Because she wasn’t sure about all of these feelings going on inside of her. Robert was the first man who ever held a spark of interest in her as a woman. “I’d like to see where this friendship of ours leads?”

She sighed. At least he was willing to give her time to get used to a man wanting to like her like this. “I’ve never had someone interested in just me before.”

He lifted his other hand to her cheek and looked into her eyes. “I think we should spend more time together without the children. I like getting to know you outside of your position.”

“I like the idea of getting to know you outside of you being my boss,” she told him, unable to turn away. He was pulling her closer and she went willingly. Without realizing it, she found herself so close to Robert all he had to do was press his mouth to hers. She closed her eyes, wanting to feel his mouth touching her own.

“Madeline! Robert!”

They both moved away from each other as if there was a raging fire that started on the porch. A red flush covered her face. She felt it more than she saw it, moving quickly to the steps where the children were.

Catherine stood back a ways, watching to make sure the children got to the porch safely. “Hello!” the reverend’s wife called out. Her husband walked with her and waved.

“Sorry to ruin your nice evening,” he told them, chuckling before he took his wife’s arm. “I’ll stop by the shop, Smithy. I got some more work for you.”

“Good night, then,” Robert told him, his voice a bit gruff. He was barely able to speak. He welcomed Violet with a hug and tousled the boy’s hair while listening to them talk excitedly about the book lady and their night out.

He turned to see the reverend shaking his head. “Looks like a family, don’t you think darling?”

Catherine nodded, then turned her head to place a kiss on her husband’s cheek. “Mind your business, Cooper. They’ll figure it out sooner or later.”

“Yes, ma’am,” he told her, pulling her closer as they disappeared up the street.

Robert stared after them, then turned to see Madeline listening to the two children. Her face was glowing and she was so excited for them. Even if they had almost kissed a moment before, she had pulled herself together as if nothing had happened.

He needed more air. “I’ll be back in a few minutes,” he told Madeline. “I forgot something at the shop.”

He left the porch and headed towards his blacksmith shop. Robert had some serious thinking to do and he couldn’t think at all when Madeline was smiling like that at everyone.

He was afraid that he was in deep.

He wasn’t sure if that was a good thing or not.