Her Heart's Desire (24 page)

“
You don’t see him?” Sally
asked her brother, glancing at the tree not too far from them where
Joel hung from one of the large branches.

Tom followed her gaze and stomped his
foot on the ground. “How was I to know to look up? He’s usually
hiding somewhere lower.”

“
It’s amazing you can find
your boots in the morning,” Joel snickered, swinging back and
forth.

“
That boy ought to get down
from there,” Rick’s mother murmured to his father. “By the way he’s
acting, he’s going to fall and break a bone.”

“
He’s just having fun,”
Rick said.

“
He can have fun without
being reckless. You never did anything so foolish,” she argued,
shaking her head. Looking at Sally, she added, “Your mother
approves of that?”

Not sure of how to respond for any
reply would undoubtedly displease her, Sally offered a weak shrug
and turned her attention back to Tom and David who went to unhitch
the horses to they could put them in the pasture. Beside her, Rick
sighed but didn’t say anything.

Sally’s father came out from the barn
and hurried over to greet them. “Good to meet you,” he said,
cleaning his hands on a handkerchief. He held his hand out and
shook Rick’s father’s hand before nodding a greeting to his mother.
“I hear you’re moving to Omaha.”

“
Yes, yes we are,” Rick’s
father said.

“
Did you find a house
yet?”

“
Not yet, but I’m sure
we’ll find something soon.”

“
There’s plenty to choose
from. It won’t be long before you’re settled in.”

Sally resisted the urge to grimace.
Had her father said those words before she met Rick’s parents, then
it wouldn’t have stung as much as it did.

Jenny went over to the tree and placed
her hands on her hips. “Joel, get on down from there. We’re about
to eat.”

Sally’s pa laughed. “That boy is
something else,” he told Rick’s parents. “He can find his way into
any nook or cranny.”

“
Don’t you worry he’ll hurt
himself?” Rick’s mother asked.

“
Nah. He knows what he’s
doing.” He motioned for Joel to come down. “Come and meet Rick’s
folks.”

Sally gave a cautious look in Rick’s
mother’s direction and noticed the way the woman closed her eyes
and shook her head, another silent testament that she wasn’t
pleased with the way Sally or her family did things.

The front door swung open and Sally’s
mother called out, “Come on over to the porch! Jenny and I will
bring out refreshments!”

“
I’ll help!” Sally quickly
offered before her mother could go back into the house. She excused
herself from the group and hurried to her mother. What luck! Her ma
gave her the perfect reason to get away from Rick’s
parents.

Once Sally was on the porch, her
mother patted her arm. “Sally, I didn’t mean you had to help. I’m
sure you want to get acquainted with Rick’s parents.”

“
Oh, I saw them at supper
last week,” she whispered.

Her mother’s eyebrows furrowed. “I
take it that the supper didn’t go well.”

“
No,” she
admitted.

When Jenny reached the porch steps,
their mother told her, “Sally and I will get the tea punch, Jenny.
You can help everyone find a seat on the porch.”

Thankful for a moment to be alone with
her mother, Sally followed her into the house where everything was
quiet. The two went to the kitchen, and Sally reached for the
glasses while her mother stirred the tea punch.

“
What’s troubling you,
Sally?”

Sally placed six glasses on the table
and turned to retrieve four more. “I don’t know if I should tell
you.”

“
Why not? Is it a private
matter?”

“
Well, no. I can tell you,
but I’m afraid if I do, then you won’t see things as they truly
are.” Sally knew that was vague, but she didn’t know how else she
could explain it. She purposely didn’t tell her family her
misgivings about Rick’s parents in case she was imagining their
displeasure with her. And now that his parents were here, she
didn’t dare mention it when her mother was about to see the
situation for herself.

Her mother tapped the ladle with her
fingers. “Is this something concerning you and Rick? Are you two
having problems?”

“
No. Rick’s a wonderful
husband. Better than I thought he’d be. We’re very happy
together.”

“
Then is it his
parents?”

She bit her lower lip. Just how much
did she dare say? “Ma, I want your opinion on something, but I
can’t tell you until after supper. Is that alright?”

Her mother hesitated before nodding.
“I think I understand, but yes, I’ll wait.”

Relieved, Sally gathered the rest of
the glasses and helped her mother fill them with tea punch. She
placed five glasses on her tray while her mother placed five
glasses on the other. “I’ll go after you.”

Her mother nodded and carried her tray
out of the house. Sally carried hers, praying she didn’t drop it.
That was all she needed—for Rick’s mother to think she was clumsy
on top of everything else. While her mother went to Rick’s parents,
Sally went in the other direction of the porch and offered her
glasses to Jenny and David first, knowing they wouldn’t fight over
which one they got. When she went to Tom and Joel who were sitting
next to each other, she set the tray down on the small wicker table
and handed them each their glass.

Joel took his but frowned. “Is that
yours?” he asked, pointing to the remaining glass on the
tray.

“
Yes,” she
replied.

“
I think there’s more in it
than there is in mine.”

She glanced over her shoulder where
her pa was talking to Rick’s parents. Good. They were distracted.
Turning her attention back to Joel, she said, “I filled them up so
they’re all the same.”

He stood up and placed his glass next
to hers. “No, you didn’t. Your glass has this much more in it.” He
held his finger and thumb close together and looked pointedly at
her.

She groaned. “Half an inch? You’re
upset over half an inch?”

“
Well, I got thirsty
running away from Tom out there. Sure, it’s easy to outwit
him—”

“
Hey!” Tom protested, his
glass halfway to his lips.

Ignoring him, Joel continued, “But I
get thirsty doing it. All you did was ride out here in a carriage,
and for all I know, you already had a whole glass in the
kitchen.”

“
Because I no longer have
to live in the same house with you, I’ll let you have my glass.”
She picked her glass up and exchanged it with his.
“Satisfied?”

He grinned and sat back down in his
chair.

“
Joel, I think you have
more than me,” Tom said, lifting his glass and glancing between his
and Joel’s.

Deciding she’d had enough of their
nonsense, she grabbed the tray and headed over to where Rick sat
with their parents. Once she reached them, her mother took the tray
and motioned for her to sit while she set the tray aside on the
porch floor. Despite her unease, she sat next to Rick on the porch
swing and sipped some tea punch.

“
You must be proud of
Rick,” her father told Rick’s parents. “We knew right away that
he’d be a good husband for our girl.”

“
We tried to raise him
right,” Rick’s father said, looking pleased.

“
And you did,” her father
added. “Course, it was hard letting our girl go, but really, she
isn’t a girl anymore. She’s a young woman, and the two took to each
other right away. We’re proud of her, too. She’s always had a good
head on her shoulders, and she chose a fine young man.”

Sally almost spit out her drink, but
she managed to save herself the embarrassment by quickly swallowing
it, an action which made her cough.

“
Are you alright?” Rick
asked.

Their parents stopped talking to look
over at her, and her cheeks grew warm. She cleared her throat and
nodded. “I’m fine. The drink went down the wrong way,” she lied and
coughed again for emphasis.

Her mother nodded and turned back to
his parents. “I hope you like beef stew. Tom caught a large
buck.”

“
Makes for fine eating,”
her father added.

“
Mrs. Larson makes
excellent stew,” Rick told his parents. “You won’t be
sorry.”

His father smiled. “I’m sure we
won’t.” He glanced at his wife, and if Sally understood his
expression right, he was pleading with her to comply.

His mother nodded. “If Rick says it’s
good, then it must be.”

Sally forced down another swallow of
tea punch. So far, his mother was being nice to her parents. She
wasn’t sure what to make of it. For the most part, his mother
refused to make eye contact with her.

Sally’s mother finished her drink and
stood up. “Supper’s almost ready. Sally, would you like to help me
set the table?”

Eager for something to do besides sit
there, she jumped up. “Sure, Ma.” Without looking back, she
followed her mother into the house.

Once the storm door was shut, her
mother gave her a sympathetic smile and walked with Sally to the
kitchen. “I can’t remember the last time you were so
quiet.”

“
What’s there to say?
Everyone loves Rick.” She shrugged and placed her glass on the
worktable.

“
Considering the fact that
you love Rick, too, I don’t see what the problem is.” Her mother
lifted the lid on the large pot which was on the cook stove and
stirred the contents in it.

“
Nothing’s wrong with it.
It’s just an observation.”

“
Well, it’s a good one. You
want everyone to get along.”

“
Yes, I do.” And the key to
that was the word
everyone
, which was supposed to
include her. She retrieved the plates from the shelf near the
window. “What do you think of his parents?”

“
I haven’t had a chance to
get to know them, so I can’t make a judgment, good or
bad.”

Though she was disappointed, she
realized her mother had a point. It was too soon. “I suppose I
should set the table.”

“
I’ll get the food ready
while you do.”

Tapping the plates with her fingers,
Sally hesitated a moment, watching as her mother set the ladle by
the stew before she opened the oven door to retrieve the biscuits.
She reminded herself that it was better to talk to her mother after
the meal and hurried to set the table, hoping her mother would shed
new light on the situation with Rick’s parents.

Chapter Eighteen

Even with her family at the dining
room table, Sally was aware of how quiet Rick’s mother was. Not
that Sally was speaking either. There were several times she wanted
to jump in and say something, but she managed to keep
quiet.

Her parents sat at the ends of the
table, and she sat by her mother. Next to her was Rick, then it was
his mother, and then his father. On the other side of the table
were Jenny, David, Tom and Joel. And Tom and Joel were directly
across from her.

Worse, at this specific moment, Tom
and Joel whispered something to each other, glanced her way, and
snickered. She paused, the fork full of blueberry pie halfway to
her mouth. What did they find so amusing?

“
This is a good pie,”
Rick’s mother told her ma. “I have trouble making blueberry pie, so
it’s a treat to eat this one.”

Sally’s face grew hot. So her cooking
was adequate, but her mother’s cooking met up to his mother’s
standards? Granted, Sally agreed her mother cooked better than her,
but she thought it was strange Rick’s mother would point that
out.

“
Thank you,” Sally’s mother
replied. “I could give you the recipe if you’d like.”

“
I’d love it if you did,”
his mother said with a warm smile.

Her appetite gone, Sally placed the
fork back on her plate and sighed.

“
Oh, cheer up, sis,” Tom
said after he swallowed his piece of pie. “You’ll get the hang of
making a pie.”

“
Tom, that’s unnecessary,”
their mother admonished, shooting him a look that left no room for
argument.

“
Sorry, Ma,” he replied. “I
just didn’t want Sally to feel bad.”

“
While that’s a thoughtful
gesture, I think it’s best you wait until you’re alone with her to
say it.” Their mother turned to Rick’s parents and gave them an
apologetic smile. “A full house is often a busy and noisy
one.”

“
But a happy one, too, I
bet,” Rick’s father said and turned his attention to Sally’s
father. “I bet it helps when managing this farm.”

“
It does,” her father
replied and reached for his cup of coffee. “I’m going to miss the
help once these boys are out and on their own, but it’s one of
those things a parent must do. Sooner or later, children need to
start lives of their own.”

“
Not such an easy prospect
to a parent,” her mother added softly. “First, Richard. Now,
Sally.” She looked at her other children and tears sprung in her
eyes. “Time passes much too fast.”