Her Heart's Desire (27 page)

“
Well, your mother
isn’t!”

“
Does she need to
be?”

She placed her head in her hands and
groaned. He didn’t understand it. The way everything happened, the
way he explained it, the way his mother had to have taken it… It
all spelled disaster.

Putting her hands down, she turned to
face him and said, “There’s only one thing we can do. You’ll have
to tell them to go back to Vermont.”

He laughed. “What?”

“
I’m serious, Rick. Your
mother will never think well of me. It’ll always be awkward between
me and her.”

“
No, it won’t. I told her
you’re wonderful.”

“
Which she doesn’t
believe.”

“
You didn’t let me finish.
I also told her she’s going to have to be nice to you and get to
know you. I made it clear to both of my parents that if they don’t
give you a chance, then they can’t be around us. I told them that
my life is with you, and if it comes to the point where I have to
choose between you or them, I’ll choose you. My father was nice to
you yesterday. Didn’t you notice that?”

“
Yes, but it didn’t work
for you mother.” And why would it? His mother had to think the
worst of her, and she didn’t see any way she could rectify it. “Why
can’t you tell them to go back to Vermont?”

“
Because where they live is
up to them.”

“
But don’t you see how
awkward things will be? Yesterday might not have been tense for
you, but it was for me. I had to stay quiet almost the entire time,
and that’s not easy for me. What happens when I want to say
something and she doesn’t approve of it?”

His smile faded. “Do you think I’ll
stand by if she criticizes you?”

“
That’s just it. She’s
going to keep finding fault with me because she already thinks I’m
a bad wife.”

“
Give it time. You’ve only
been with her twice.”

She inwardly shuddered. “And how many
times must I be with her before you understand things won’t get
resolved?”

He sighed. “You’re making this into a
bigger problem than it is. My mother’s not
unreasonable.”

“
I’m sure she’s not when
people aren’t manipulating his son to do their bidding.”

“
I wouldn’t have married
you if I didn’t want to. Nothing you could’ve done would have
worked if I didn’t fall in love with you.”

“
But she doesn’t think
that!”

He ran his hands through his hair and
groaned. “I don’t know what you want me to do. I’m sorry I told
them anything at all. I should’ve just said I decided to marry you
instead of Ethel Mae and not explained why.”

“
Well, it’s too late to
change things.”

“
So what do you want me to
do?”

“
Tell them to go back to
Vermont.”

Rolling his eyes, he shook his head.
“I’m not doing that. They’re my parents, and even if things are
tense right now, I don’t believe they will always be that way.
They’re not unreasonable people. And I like having them nearby.
When we have children, I want them to do the things I never got to
do with my grandparents. I want them to go fishing with my father,
and I want my mother to be able to tell them stories she used to
tell me when I was a child. My grandparents died before I was born.
I would have liked to have known them. I think them being in Omaha
is wonderful.”

She rubbed the area between her eyes.
Arguing with Rick was giving her a headache. Why couldn’t he see
how much this whole thing was hurting her? She’d always envisioned
getting along with her future husband’s parents, but it wasn’t
turning out to be anything like she’d hoped. And now she was
supposed to let her children spend time with her mother-in-law who
detested her?

“
You need to give it time,”
Rick quietly said. “It was my mistake because I didn’t tell them as
soon as I became interested in you. I was so excited to be with you
that I didn’t think about it. I’m sorry.”

Dropping her arms at her sides, she
thought over her options and decided she needed the advice of
someone who always knew the best way to handle any situation. “I
need to see my ma. She’ll know what to do.”

He nodded. “Alright. Next Saturday,
we’ll—”

“
Next Saturday? I want to
go out there tonight.”

“
But it’s six.”

“
I need her help right now,
Rick. I can’t wait for Saturday.”

“
But tomorrow’s Monday. I
need to go to work. I can’t do that if I take the time to go out
there and come back here tonight.”

“
You don’t have to go with
me. I can take a buggy out there. I’ll just rent one from the
stable.”

“
This is ridiculous. Just
wait until next Saturday, and I’ll take you there.”

She shook her head. “I don’t want to
wait. I want to get the matter resolved as soon as
possible.”

“
I have a better idea,”
Rick began. “I’ll bring my mother here, and we’ll all sit and talk
about it.”

“
I need to ask my mother if
that’s a good idea or not.”

“
You need to ask your
mother? This doesn’t involve her.”

“
Which is why her opinion
is so important to me. I need someone who isn’t involved in this to
steer me in the right direction.”

“
I don’t like you bringing
someone else into this, Sally.”

“
Why? Because you think my
mother won’t like what your mother’s doing?”

He stiffened. “That’s not fair. I
don’t agree with my mother’s estimation of you, but she’s still my
mother. I keep telling you that she’ll come around to seeing what a
wonderful lady you are, but you don’t listen to me.”

“
You don’t know that she’ll
accept me, Rick. She might tell you she does because you’re her
son, but she might not mean it.”

“
She doesn’t
lie.”

“
Everyone lies at some
point, Rick!”

“
Like you lied to me about
Ethel Mae liking someone else or that I needed to pretend to like
you in order to get her attention?”

Bristling, she crossed her arms again.
“Or like you knowing what I did and pretending you
didn’t?”

“
So you’re right! We all
lie at some point.”

She wasn’t sure what to say to that.
It almost seemed wrong to point out that even if people did lie,
his mother lying to him about accepting her was far worse than the
little white lie she told him. It wasn’t like she was hurting
anyone when she told her lie, and besides, Ethel Mae didn’t want to
be with him. And he knew full well what she’d done when he asked
her to marry him so what was the harm? Unless… “Do you regret
marrying me?” she asked, almost afraid of his answer.

“
No.” He stood up and
walked over to her so he could put his arms around her. “No, I
don’t. I might not have realized you were the right one for me if I
didn’t get to spend time with you because of Ethel Mae.”

Relieved, she hugged him
back.

He gave her a kiss and asked, “Would
it really help you feel better if you talked to your
mother?”

“
Yes. She knows how to
handle these situations, and I want to make sure I do the right
thing.”

“
Alright. And in the
meantime, I’ll talk to my mother.”

She nodded and thanked him.

“
I’ll take you to your
parents,” he whispered and kissed her again. “And before you ask, I
know I said I didn’t want to go all the way out there and back
because I have to work tomorrow, but I want to make sure you get
there safely.”

“
My ma can bring me
back.”

“
When will you be
back?”

“
Tomorrow before supper.
All I really need to do is talk to her.”

He nodded and slipped his arm around
her waist. “At least you’re only leaving me for one
night.”

Amused, she smiled at him. “I’m not
leaving you, Rick. I’m happy with you.”

He returned her smile and squeezed her
waist. “Hopefully, we can keep it that way.”

Feeling much better since she knew her
mother would know exactly what to do, she left the house with
him.

Chapter Twenty

“
Sally, what are you doing
here?” her mother asked that evening as she opened the front
door.

Joel peered around their mother and
narrowed his eyes at Sally and Rick who stood on the porch. “You
can’t give her back, Rick. She’s your problem now.”

“
Joel, hush,” their mother
admonished.

Sally glared at him. “It’s not sunset
yet. Shouldn’t you be helping Pa, Tom and David in the barn or
fields?”

He gawked. “I was thirsty, so I came
to get a drink of water.”

“
Must you always use that
as an excuse?” she asked.

“
Ma’s water tastes
better.”

Just as Sally was about to protest,
their mother cleared her throat and motioned for Sally and Rick to
come into the house. “Let’s not keep Rick waiting. We’ll get you
something to drink and eat before you head back to town,” she told
him.

“
No, thank you, ma’am,”
Rick replied as he entered the house and set Sally’s carpet bag on
the floor. “I need to get home so I can get a good night’s sleep.”
He gave Sally a kiss on the cheek.

Joel gagged. “I hope you don’t make it
a habit of doing that all the time.”

Amused, Sally gave him a triumphant
grin. “Don’t worry, Joel. When you’re older, you’ll be kissing
young ladies.”

“
I don’t think so,” he
protested. “I don’t do disgusting things.”

Their mother’s eyebrow rose. “Oh? You
tried to bring a snake into the house the other day.”

“
That’s not disgusting.
Snakes eat mice. They’re the perfect indoor critter.”

Their mother blanched and pressed a
hand to her throat. “Do we have a mouse in this house?”

“
No, not yet. But do you
want to take your chances on one getting in?”

With a sigh that was a mixture of
relief and frustration, she gestured for him to go outside. “Go
help your pa and brothers.”

Though he grumbled, he
obeyed.

Sally shook her head. “I thought he’d
never leave. Why do you let him in here so much when he should be
out there working?”

Her mother shrugged. “I don’t know.
He’s the last child I’m going to have, and he likes being with me.
Your other brothers pretty much run out of here as soon as they’re
done eating, so I don’t see them a lot during the day.”

“
He’s only in here to avoid
working. I’m telling you that boy is lazy. I don’t know if he’ll
ever get a good job.”

“
Sure, he will.”

“
For your sake, I hope
so.”

Rick patted the small of Sally’s back.
“I better go home.”

After they said good-bye to him and he
left, Sally shut the door behind her and sighed. “You’re much too
nice to that boy.”

“
Who? Rick?” her mother
asked.

“
No! Joel.”

“
Sally, when you’re a
mother, you’ll understand. Children grow up so fast. I have six
children, and only four are still living at home. Why, look at you
and Richard. You’re already married. It won’t be long before Tom’s
married and living on his own. You can’t begrudge a mother for
letting her youngest spend a little time with her during the long
day when everyone else is out in the fields.”

“
You have
Jenny.”

“
Yes, but she likes to
spend most of her free time sewing instead of talking to
me.”

Sally smiled at her mother. “But when
she is an adult and married, you know she’ll always come home when
she needs your wise advice. You’re the perfect person to talk
to.”

“
So there’s a reason you
wanted to see me other than missing me?”

“
I did miss you, but yes, I
need your advice, too.”

“
Well, take that carpet bag
up to your old bedroom, and we’ll talk in the kitchen.”

Sally nodded and retrieved her bag and
hurried up the steps to her old room, not surprised to see that
Jenny was sitting in the rocker by the window and sewing a
shirt.

Jenny looked up at her. “Don’t tell me
Rick got rid of you already.”

Feigning indignation at her sister’s
teasing tone, Sally said, “He wouldn’t dare do such a thing! I’m
too wonderful.”

Giggling, Jenny pulled her needle
through a sleeve. “Is everything alright between you
two?”

“
Yes, it is.” She walked
over to her old bed and put the carpet bag down. “I just need to
talk to Ma tonight. I’ll be going back home tomorrow.”

“
What do you need to talk
to Ma about?”

“
Never you mind. It’s about
being married.”

She sighed and jutted out her lower
lip. “That means it’ll be a good conversation. I wish I was older
so I could hear the interesting things women say when they’re
together.”