A Husband for Margaret (13 page)

“
You weren’t sure about
him?” Doug wondered.

“
Well, I wasn’t sure if I
could handle taking care of all of you. But it’s worked out, hasn’t
it?”

“
It has,” Bob eagerly
replied. He patted his stomach. “And we’ll get cookies for scaring
off Miss Potter, right?”

She chuckled. “Right.” Shaking her
head, she started down the porch steps. These boys would do
anything if it meant they could have a treat.

The walk down the block to the business
district was a pleasant one. The weather was breezy and the sun
warmed things up nicely. It was one of those days where she’d love
to sit outside and watch the boys play. And she figured if the plan
went smoothly, she would be able to do just that soon
enough.

“
Bob!” she called out to the
boy who started across the street without looking both ways. “Get
back here and wait for the rest of us.”

“
Oh, sorry.” He returned to
the edge of the street and waited for them to catch up to him.
Looking both ways, he hollered, “No one’s coming!”

“
Then we can go,” she
replied.

Holding on Ben’s and Charles’ hands,
she followed Bob and Doug across the street and motioned for the
boys to go left. She smiled at Jessica who waited for
them.

As soon as Margaret was in front of the
mercantile, Jessica said, “Debra’s at Mrs. Lonny’s
house.”

“
Is she almost done cleaning
it?” Margaret asked.

“
I think so. I asked Mrs.
Lonny when I could come over for tea, and she said fifteen minutes.
That was ten minutes ago.”

“
Good. Then it shouldn’t be
a long wait.”

Bob tugged on Margaret’s arm. “Can we
get a piece of candy?”

“
I already promised cookies
when we’re done,” she replied.

“
I know but I need something
sweet now.”

With an inspired look on his face, Doug
added, “We’ll make sure it’s sticky and touch her with dirty
fingers.”

“
Yeah,” Bob agreed. “This
will be even better than the time we left those fingerprints for
you to clean up on the walls.”

“
What?” Jessica
asked.

“
Two days ago, they got
syrup all over the hallway walls,” Margaret told her. “That stuff
isn’t easy to clean up.”

Bob shrugged. “We forgot to wash our
hands after breakfast.”

“
Because you were in a hurry
to go outside to play,” she added, good-naturedly. “You didn’t even
help me with Charles or Ben.”

“
Because we know you can do
it.” Bob patted her on the arm. “You’re good at being a ma
now.”

“
Yep,” Doug agreed. “But
we’ll try to help too.”

Margaret figured it was because they
were comfortable with her now and took it as a compliment for that
reason. But even so, she made sure to add, “Yes, you will still
need to help me.”

“
We can help if we have
candy,” Bob said, looking up at her with wide, hopeful eyes. “Miss
Potter doesn’t like sticky fingers.”

“
I see your point.” Margaret
dug into her purse and handed each boy a small coin. “This better
be good.”

“
It will be.”

The two boys took the coins and ran
into the mercantile. Charles looked as if he was ready to cry, so
she called out, “Get something for Charles too!”

That’s all she needed. A
screaming child
before
she got to Debra. She knew she was asking for messy children
and lots of clean up, but it’d be worth it to get the woman away
from her and her family.

Jessica turned from the entrance of the
mercantile and offered a wicked smile in Margaret’s direction.
“I’ll go pay Mrs. Lonny a visit.”

Margaret nodded. It was time to put her
plan into action. As she waited for Doug and Bob to return so she
could walk by the boarding house where Debra was staying, she
peered into the mercantile. Just what could be taking those boys so
long?

“
Hi there, honey. Did you
come to do some shopping?”

She spun on her heel, surprised to see
Joseph pulling up a horse and wagon in front of the building.
“Isn’t today the day you work at the paper?”

“
It was supposed to be but
Alan’s no longer sick, so I’m back to part-time work over there.”
He pulled the brake before getting down. “I’ve been running all
over the place, making deliveries and such.” He glanced up and down
the boardwalk as he stepped onto it. “Where are the oldest
two?”

“
Oh. Um...Getting candy.”
Her face flushed. Running into him hadn’t been a part of her plan.
In fact, she hadn’t told him anything about it. She didn’t think
he’d be pleased, but she couldn’t think of any other way to get rid
of Debra.

“
Pa!” Ben held his hands
up.

Joseph bent down and picked up him.
“Hey there, peewee.”

She glanced back into the store where
Doug and Bob were sorting through the candy display with eager
eyes. Just how hard could it be for them to pick out something
sticky?

“
If you want to shop, I can
put your purchase in with the other goods I need to deliver and
take you and the boys home,” Joseph said. “They might like a wagon
ride.”

“
Yay!” Charles agreed, as if
on cue.

“
Oh, that’s alright,” she
quickly replied, her mind anxiously trying to think up a good
excuse. “Actually, we were going out for a walk. It’s such a lovely
day. It’d be a shame to waste it.”

“
It is a beautiful day,” he
agreed. “I bet I could take a lunch break and walk with you
all.”

“
What?” Her eyes grew
wide.

“
Our house isn’t that far.
I’ll have some leftovers. It’ll save on time.”

“
But...”

“
Podder,” Charles
said.

She shot the boy a startled look. If
she wasn’t careful, the kids would rat her out! “I thought I’d go
see Jessica. She’s in town today, and we already ate so you should
get some of that great pot roast over at the restaurant down that
way.” She pointed in the opposite direction of the way she expected
Debra to be coming.

His face fell. “I suppose I could. You
already had lunch?”

“
Yes. You didn’t miss
anything. They were just sandwiches. Boring and bland.” She waved
her hand and shook her head. “It’s not worth the walk home
for.”

“
I don’t think your
sandwiches are boring or bland.”

She inwardly groaned. “Well, these are.
I don’t put anything good on them. Just a slap of
cheese.”

“
And tomado,” Charles
added.

“
You mean like the sandwich
you made on Monday? That was good,” Joseph said. “You even baked
the bread.”

She resisted the urge to put her hand
over Charles’ mouth so he wouldn’t cause her anymore
problems.

“
But if you have plans to
meet your friend, then I can have one of your delicious sandwiches
some other time,” Joseph said, setting Ben on his feet. “I’ll see
you when I get home.”

Overwhelmed with relief, she laughed.
“I’ll make you something better than a sandwich.”

Giving them a smile, he nodded and went
into the store where Doug and Bob were finally paying for their
pieces of candy from an amused looking Ralph Lindon who waved to
Joseph as soon as he noticed him.

She tensed. Would Doug and Bob give her
plan away? She purposely held off on telling them what she wanted
until Joseph left for work that morning. Only, he was supposed to
work at the paper, not at the mercantile! Otherwise, she would have
picked a different street to walk down.

She bit her lower lip and glanced down
the street. No sign of Debra yet. This whole plan was going to go
awry if those two boys didn’t get out of that store
soon.

Doug and Bob talked to their father,
and Bob pointed to Margaret and smiled excitedly. Her heart beat
frantically in her chest. Oh no. This couldn’t be good. Not with
the way Bob patted his stomach and pointed to his piece of candy.
He was giving her away. She just knew it! And that was when she
learned the cold, hard truth. Kids didn’t know how to keep a
secret.

Chapter Thirteen

Joseph looked over his shoulder and
gave her a look of disbelief. Then he said something to the two
boys and the three of them headed in her direction. Her hold
tightened on Charles’ and Ben’s hands. Her stomach tensed. She
glanced down the street. No sign of Debra Potter.

As soon as Joseph and the boys exited
the place, she blurted out, “I can explain.”

“
I won’t allow my children
to be with Debra,” he said, his tone unusually firm.

She blinked and it took her a good
moment before she came up with the perfect response. “Well, these
are my children too. That means half the decision goes to
me.”

“
What?”

“
When I married you, I
became their mother, and that means I get half-rights to deciding
what will and will not happen with them.” She narrowed her eyes at
him, daring him to challenge her.

He placed his hands on his hips and met
her challenge. “I will take care of Debra.”

“
So I keep hearing, but she
still makes it a point to come by the park or find me in town to
bother me.”

“
Ignore her. That’s what
Hannah did.”

“
Well, I am not Hannah. If
you wanted a woman who would handle things Hannah’s way, then you
should have married someone just like her.”

He gave a low grunt and looked at the
boys who watched them in open fascination. Sighing, he dug into his
pocket and gave Doug and Bob one coin each. “Get some more
candy.”

“
Yes,” Margaret quickly
agreed. “And make sure it’s nice and sticky for that horrible Miss
Potter.”

“
Margaret,” he said through
clenched teeth.

Paying no mind to the warning in his
tone, she added, “Make it bright too. Something that will show up
on a nice dress and be hard to wash out.”

Bob grabbed Doug’s hand and dragged him
into the store. “We can get a whole bunch with this
coin!”

“
But I want to see who’ll
win,” Doug argued, unable to stop Bob from shoving him into the
doorway.

“
Ma, of course.”

Not hiding her smile, she said, “That
decides it. We’re doing this my way.”

Taking her by the arm, Joseph led her
and the other two boys to a spot further down the boardwalk where
they could have some privacy. She continued to hold onto Charles
and Ben, taking small comfort in the contact. This was her first
confrontation with her husband, and even though she didn’t enjoy
it, she was not going to let this issue go. Debra had to be removed
from her life, and the sooner, the better.

Appearing as if he had to think over
his next words with great care, Joseph finally said, “Debra is my
problem. I’ll deal with her.”

“
Fine. What are you going to
do?”

“
I’ll do what I did before.
I’ll tell her that you and I are happy and that I will not leave
you. Then I’ll suggest she return to Ohio.”

“
That’s such a great plan,
Joseph. I wonder why it didn’t work the first time?”

“
Must you be
sarcastic?”

“
In this instance, you
bet.”

He looked exasperated.

“
So Hannah ignored her, and
Debra still bothered her, correct?”

He shrugged. “Not so much once the
children were born.”

“
But I bet she made her life
miserable. And before you argue with me, remember that I am a woman
and know what it’s like when a woman is after her
husband.”

“
I never cheated on Hannah
and I won’t cheat on you.”

“
You’re missing the point. A
woman like Debra is a thorn in my side, and the only way to deal
with a thorn is to remove it. She won’t go as long as we’re nice to
her. What she needs is some shaking up.”

His eyes grew wide. “You’re not going
to hurt her?”

“
Oh, of course not. I am a
lady, after all.” Sure, she’d had her not so ladylike moments in
the past, but she never physically attacked anyone. “What I’m going
to do is let the kids at her. They can cause a lot of trouble when
they want, and I suspect once she gets time with them, she’ll run
off screaming.”

He cringed. “But they’re my
children.”

“
Our children,” she
corrected him. Then, realizing this tactic wasn’t working, she
opted for another. She gave a slight shrug. “Alright. Fine. I’ll
forget the whole thing.”

He seemed unsure. “Really?”

“
Yes. I mean, sooner or
later, she’s bound to leave you alone. Someday you’ll die. For
sure, she’ll give up then, even if she does stalk your tombstone.
At least you’ll be dead and unaware of it. Or I could die. Then you
could either post an ad for another wife or search for one like you
found me. You know how well moving to another town works. Go for
that. Maybe next time, she won’t follow you.”