Her Heart's Desire (6 page)

Chapter Four

The afternoon passed much too fast for
Sally’s liking. As the three stood around the front door to say
good-bye, Rick turned to Sally. “Can I talk to you for a
moment?”

Surprised, Sally glanced at Ethel Mae
whose eyes grew wide. Clearing her throat so her voice wouldn’t
betray her excitement, Sally agreed and grabbed her hat. “I’ll be
back shortly,” she told her friend as she followed him out the
front door.

“
Would you like to go for a
walk?” he asked.

This was a good sign. He wanted to
speak to her for longer than a couple minutes. Stopping herself
from cheering, she smiled, counted to three, and nodded. There. She
was calm. He wouldn’t know how much his words affected her. She
joined him down the porch steps and turned with him down the
street. “What’s on your mind?”

“
Well, I wondered what you
thought about what happened in the parlor. Did I do
alright?”

“
Alright?” she asked,
wondering what he meant.

“
By pretending to be
interested in you.”

“
Oh.” Forcing a pleasant
smile on her face to mask her disappointment, she added, “Of
course. You did a real good job. Anyone would believe you were
genuinely interested in me.” And that wasn’t a lie either. He was,
without a doubt, a good actor.

“
I think I overdid it a
bit, though.”

She shrugged and clasped her hands
behind her back. “Not to the point where Ethel Mae noticed. Did you
see how she seemed more interested in you today than she was last
time?”

“
Yes, as a matter of fact,
I did.”

“
Then the plan is working.
We should keep it up.”

“
I agree. So, how do I get
to your family’s farm?”

Her eyes grew wide. “I thought you
only told Ethel Mae that to make her jealous.”

He gave her a wry grin. “Well, I did,
but I planned to go out there, too, if that’s alright?”

“
Of course, it’s alright!”
She mentally cursed herself for being too eager. That wasn’t a good
thing to do. After all, he had to think she was pretending to be
interested in him. Clearing her throat, she added, “It’s an
excellent idea you had. Brilliant even. This way when you tell her
about my family, she’ll know you were really out there.”

“
Yes. I figure she knows
them, so if I could come back with some stories regarding the
antics of your little brothers, it might give her cause to worry
that she could lose me.”

“
It is a good plan,” she
replied.

They reached the end of the block and
turned around. “I appreciate that you’re willing to help me instead
of Larry.”

“
Oh, think nothing of it.”
Considering there was no Larry, it was an easy decision to
make.

“
It means a lot to me. I
admit it’s an unconventional way of doing things, but I can see
it’s working. Ethel Mae actually seemed interested in me
today.”

“
That’s because she
was.”

“
I know better than to
question something that’s working, so if you have any other
suggestions, I’ll pay attention.”

She chuckled. “Now I feel like a
teacher.”

“
I’d say in matters of the
heart, that might be an accurate statement,” he said in a teasing
tone. “So, how do I get to your family’s place?”

As she gave him the directions, she
told herself not to be too excited. He, after all, wasn’t coming
out to court her. He was doing this for Ethel Mae. But, she
reminded herself there was a good chance he’d be able to spend more
time with her, especially if she could get her mother to distract
Tom and Joel for a while. Perhaps he might find her more to his
liking and dismiss the idea of courting Ethel Mae altogether. Her
heart swelled with hope. She’d love nothing more than to have him
talk to her about sharing a romantic sunset together and mean
it.

“
Is that it?” Rick
asked.

Breaking out of her thoughts, she
cleared her throat. “Oh, I’m sorry. My mind wandered off. Where was
I?”

“
You said when I come to a
four-way break on the trail, I should stop.”

“
Oh yes! Take a right and
go out five miles to your left. That’s our house.”

“
It sounds easy to find.
What time should I be there?”

“
Well, we have supper at
five, so maybe you should come at four? You know, so you can see my
brothers in action.” Hopefully, they’d be distracted and leave her
and Rick alone to talk in the parlor, but why let him know what she
was planning?

They stopped in front of Ethel Mae’s
house and he tipped his hat to her. “Thank you, Sally, and if you
ever need a favor, don’t hesitate to ask. I owe you
one.”

With a smile, she said, “You’re
welcome.”

“
I look forward to seeing
you on Saturday.”

“
I look forward to it,
too.”

As he headed down the street, she
sighed. It suddenly occurred to her just how long it was going to
be until she could see him again.

***

That Saturday, Sally was on pins and
needles as she helped her mother and Jenny get the house ready for
Rick. It didn’t help that Joel kept finding a reason to come back
into the house while he was supposed to be out working with his
brothers and pa. As she wiped down the table in the parlor, Joel
took off his boots in the entryway and trudged down the
hall.

Irritated, she followed him to the
kitchen where her mother was cutting vegetables to put in with the
roast. “Why aren’t you outside?” Sally asked, her hands on her
hips.

Joel rolled his eyes. “I’m
thirsty.”

“
Can’t you get some water
from the well outside?” she demanded.

He grimaced. “But there aren’t any
clean cups out there. Ma, can I please have a cup of
water?”

Sally groaned. He was loafing on
purpose. She just knew it!

Their mother smiled at Joel. “I’ll be
happy to give you a clean cup of water.”

As their mother turned to grab a cup
off one of the shelves, Joel smirked at Sally. Sally rolled her
eyes. He was spoiled and knew it, and worse, he milked it for
everything it was worth.

“
It’s just a cup of water,
Sally,” their mother said as she poured the water from the pitcher.
“Then he’ll go right back out and help his pa and brothers, right
Joel?”

“
Sure, Ma,” he said,
nodding.

Sally remained skeptical that he
really was going to work when he went outside but kept her thoughts
to herself. “Just don’t track any dirt through the house. I already
swept the floors.”

“
I took my boots off,” he
protested, pointing to his socks.

Their mother handed him a cup. “If he
makes a mess, I’ll clean it up.” Walking over to Sally, she put her
hands on her shoulders and smiled. “I know you’re nervous, but I
promise you that Joel will be on his best behavior tonight.”
Glancing at him, she added, “Right, Joel?”

“
Of course, I will, Ma. I
know it’s time Sally got married, and she won’t unless the man
wants to come back.”

Sighing, Sally whispered,
“It’s not Joel I worry about. It’s Joel
and Tom
.”

“
I’ve already spoken to
Tom, and he understands he needs to be on his best behavior, too,”
she assured her daughter.

“
You have more faith than I
do,” she muttered as she turned and left the kitchen.

“
You make the best water
around, Ma,” Joel said as Sally made her way down the
hall.

Sally bit back a reply that no one
could “make” water and continued on her way to the parlor. As she
finished dusting the furniture, Jenny came in from outside and
peered around the doorway.

“
The porch is all clean,”
Jenny said.

Sally smiled. “I know I’m being
paranoid, but I want everything to look good when Rick gets here.”
She looked at the clock and took a deep breath. “We only have a
half hour left.”

“
I don’t mind, Sally. I’m
just glad I don’t have to take care of the animals.”

After a moment’s consideration, Sally
pulled out the couch and said, “Let’s get the dust from back
here.”

Even as she chuckled, Jenny brought
the broom to the couch and handed her sister the dustpan. “I’ll
sweep, you collect. Then when Rick inspects under the couch, he’ll
be awed by your housekeeping prowess and ask you to marry
him.”

Amused at her joke, Sally laughed. “If
only it was that easy.”

Sally placed the dustpan on the floor
and waited as Jenny swept the dust bunnies her way. Once she was
done, Sally took the dustpan outside and dumped the contents on the
grass. Heading back inside, she passed Joel who dragged his feet
down the porch steps. She swore she’d never seen anyone who was
lazier than her youngest brother. What woman was going to want to
marry someone who didn’t want to do his part to provide for the
household?

Deciding it wasn’t—thankfully—her
problem, she closed the storm door behind her and inspected the
parlor. She glanced at Jenny who returned the couch to its proper
position. “Can you think of anything else we should
clean?”

With a shake of her head, Jenny said,
“We got everything. The only thing left is to help Ma get supper
ready.”

She handed the dustpan to her sister
and hurried to the kitchen to do just that. Helping to prepare the
meal proved to pass the time faster than cleaning had, so she was
glad for the reprieve from glancing at the clock every
minute.

Her mother chuckled as the half hour
came to a close. “I sure hope that boy does marry you because
you’ve got it bad.”

“
Got what bad?” Sally asked
as she picked up the vase of flowers to put in the middle of the
dining room table.

Mashing the potatoes, she shot her a
pointed look. “You know what.”

Yes, she did, and that might be a
problem if Joel and Tom picked up on it. She could only hope that,
being male, they wouldn’t take notice of her interest in Rick.
After all, how observant could they possibly be? Whenever they
played one of their card games in the parlor, she could be in the
room, talking to them, and they didn’t notice her until she yelled
at them. Then they’d look at her as if they didn’t even know she’d
been telling them to do something. Truly, she felt sorry for the
women who would end up with them. Their wives could be flagging
them down and they probably wouldn’t even realize they were being
talked to. So she stood a decent chance that they wouldn’t see how
much it meant to her that Rick enjoy this evening. Because if they
knew… She shivered. She didn’t even want to think about
it.

As Sally grabbed the plates from the
china cabinet, Joel ran into the kitchen. “Someone’s here! I think
it’s Rick Johann.”

Sally’s heart raced and she set the
plates on the work table.

Their mother chuckled. “That’s Rick
Johnson.”

He shrugged. “Anyway, he’s coming up
in a buggy, which is strange when you think it’s just him.
Shouldn’t he come out on the horse?”

“
He’s a judge, not a
farmer,” Sally replied. “I’m sure he’s wearing a suit.”

Joel narrowed his eyes at her. “How
did you know?”

She shot him a pointed look. “Because
he’s a judge, and judges look nice wherever they go. It’s part of
their job.”

“
Because they don’t get
dirty while they work,” their mother added and scanned Joel’s
hands. “Wash your hands.”

He glanced at his hands. “They’re not
that dirty.”

“
Because you’ve been hiding
in the barn loft instead of working?” Sally asked.

With an indignant expression, he
huffed. “I’ll have you know that I was working.”

“
Figuring out a way to
avoid doing a job is not working.”

“
That’s enough,” their
mother interrupted before Joel could make a clever retort. “Go wash
your hands, young man.”

Sighing, he left the
kitchen.

Sally let out a squeal. “I can’t
believe Rick actually came!”

Her mother laughed. “You could’ve
fooled me by the way you’ve been fussing over the house all day.
One would think you knew for sure he’d be coming.”

“
Oh, I know, but there was
always that lingering doubt in the back of my mind, you
know?”

“
Yes, I do. Well, go on and
greet him. You don’t want to overwhelm the poor man by sending a
bunch of your brothers his way.”

“
Isn’t that the
truth!”

Sally took off her apron and hurried
down the hallway, her shoes clacking on the hardwood floor as she
went. When she reached the storm door, she stopped and took a deep
breath. True. Rick wasn’t here to see her as much as he was to
learn enough about her family to prove to Ethel Mae he’d been out
here, but even so, she hoped something wonderfully romantic might
happen between them today.