Joe's Wife (27 page)

Whatever the means, the end result pleased all. Tye's playing added a dimension to the worship service that had been missing before. Smiles and pleasant salutations greeted Meg and Tye after the service, and Meg reveled in the change of attitudes.

Tye, on the other hand, seemed reluctant to trust their change of heart. He spoke politely and smiled, but Meg had the impression that he held back.

But she had the impression he held back with her, too, so maybe that was just his way.

She'd started preparation for dinner the night before, and by the time the Telfords arrived, the trestle table was set with the good china and the kitchen smelled of beef and rich gravy.

Edwina looked the table over and glanced about the room. She'd only been there a few times while Joe was alive, and each time she'd criticized the lack of amenities. This time she held her tongue.

Meg knew there was a world of difference between this functional kitchen and the lovely wood-paneled dining room the Telfords ate in on the Sabbath. But she wasn't ashamed of the difference.

Edwina wandered through the other room and returned. "Meg, you have a veranda!"

Meg smiled inwardly. "Tye built it."

"The chairs and the swing, too?"

"Yes."

"Isn't it a busy season? I'm surprised he took the time away from the cows and whatever else it is you ranchers do to build something purely for enjoyment."

Meg stopped mashing the pan full of potatoes for a moment to look up in consideration. "Yes, it has been busy. He worked on it in between other things. When I asked him why, he just said he'd done it because I wanted a porch."

The fact that Joe had never built her a porch remained unspoken but not unconsidered.

"Sounds pretty romantic to me," Gwynn said with a sly smile.

Meg ignored the teasing comment and whipped her potatoes.

Ten minutes later, she rang the bell, and hungry men and children hurried into the house. Eve scrambled up onto her bench near Tye's chair and, eyeing the strangers, leaned so far toward him Meg thought she'd fall off onto the floor.

She found a stool in the pantry and seated Eve on it so she could be closer to Tye. He allowed her to snuggle his shirtfront while fixing her plate and his own.

Everyone paused while he said a brief and appropriate blessing, and then bowls and platters were passed. Meg was proud to have plenty of food to serve her guests, and pleased that they'd come.

Gus and Purdy had dressed in their best shirts and pomaded their sparse hair. Purdy's handlebar mustache was a work of art.

Forrest accidentally dropped a crockery bowl with green beans and bacon remaining in the bottom. Harley started to reprimand the boy, but Tye held up one hand, stood and strode to the door.

Major bounded in and Tye picked up the unharmed bowl and pointed to the mess on the floor. The dog eagerly licked up the treat, and the adults joined the children in a gale of laughter.

"Is that what you used to do with your food?" Meg asked him, leaning in to whisper.

"Only one biscuit—ever," he replied.

She laughed.

"Gus used to eat part of it when you weren't looking, though," he admitted.

She squeezed his arm … and met Gwynn's twinkling gaze. Heat rose up her cheeks.

After dinner, Gus chased the women onto the porch and took over the cleanup.

"Does Gus always do that?" Edwina asked, wide-eyed with amazement.

"On Sundays," she replied. "He helps with meals every day, though. And does nearly all the cooking on the range during roundup."

"My goodness, it's like having your very own live-in help," Edwina gushed.

"It's more like having another member of the family," Meg corrected easily. "I pay Gus and Purdy so little, I think of them as family. They've been here since Joe bought the place, and stayed with me all through the war."

"How is your garden doing, Meg?" Gwynn asked.

"My beans have grown clear up the poles," she replied.

"Let's go have a look."

Meg and Gwynn excused themselves from Edwina and Wilsie and the children, donned sunbonnets and walked out to survey the plants.

"I didn't know you were interested in vegetables," Meg said with a lift of one eyebrow.

"New growing things always fascinate me," she replied with a secretive smile.

Meg pointed out her beets and turnips and carrots, and the watermelon and pumpkin patches Tye had planted himself.

"How long are you going to keep it a secret, Meg?"

Meg glanced from the wide leaves and vines to her one-time sister-in-law. "Keep what a secret?"

"Come on, Meg. The baby, of course."

Meg looked at her curiously. "What baby?"

Gwynn's entire expression changed. Amazement flooded her fair features. "You don't know."

"I don't know what? Tell me?"

"The dizzy spells you've been having—you've probably been sick several times. How long since you had your monthly?"

Meg's head whirled with the implication. "I thought it was just the heat, but it never affected me like that before. I haven't had it for … for I don't know how long."

"Doesn't your body feel different?"

Meg thought about the heaviness in her breasts. "Yes."

"You're going to have a baby, Meg."

Meg stared at Gwynn until her face blurred. She blinked and glanced at the bright blue sky. A baby? Could it be true? Already she was carrying a baby? "Oh my goodness," she whispered, blinking back tears.

Gwynn hugged her. "He loves you very much."

"Tye?"

"Of course Tye, you silly!" She laughed. "Who else? It's so obvious that even Edwina has to recognize it."

"It is?"

"He looks at you like you're some kind of princess. He's attentive, and he built you a porch. Why, I almost think I'm jealous of such a love as you have."

"Harley loves you."

"Yes, he does now. But he married me because I was from the right family."

"Tye didn't exactly marry me for reasons of passion," Meg replied.

"But he feels it, you can't deny it."

Meg thought over her relationship with her husband. No, she couldn't deny it.

And a baby.

The growing realization elated her.

The rest of the afternoon passed pleasantly. The children played games and took turns riding the good-natured Shetland who'd immediately adapted to his new surroundings.

Meg showed Wilsie the dress she was making for Eve, and Wilsie asked if she could add a lace underskirt.

Edwina enjoyed the swing and the lemonade and conceded that the fresh air was good for the children.

Tye and Harley spent some time with the horses, and then joined the children in the yard. By the time the Telfords climbed into their buggy and rode off, Meg was glad for the quiet.

On the porch, Eve played with her doll, and Tye and Meg sat on the swing, watching the sunset.

"Thank you for the porch, Tye. I don't think I ever thanked you properly."

"You're welcome," he replied easily. "Did you enjoy their visit?"

"Yes. It pleases me that they've accepted you."

"I wish they'd have accepted me before the fire."

"So do I. But it took the fire to show them what kind of person you are. Harley has good breeding, but did you see him run in there after his son's horse?"

"He's not as foolish as I am, obviously. Didn't you say that was foolish?"

"It was brave. It was who you are."

"Foolish. I lost my hat."

She grinned. "It was a great hat. But you can buy a new one." She studied the tangerine sphere on the distant horizon. "Let's go into town tomorrow and see about the loan for the packing plant. You have plenty to put down now to get started, and we can use the cobs as collateral."

"Is that what you want?"

She nodded. "It's what I want."

Everything had gone better than she could have hoped. The horses were an asset she'd never hoped for. All her hopes and dreams had fallen neatly into place. The ranch was more secure than it had ever been. The mares carried foals that would make them even richer the following spring.

And Meg had a wonderful secret.

She'd hung on to Joe's ranch, and Tye was turning it into a profitable business. The repairs were done, the stock was healthy. And now she'd have her very own child.

All the dreams she and Joe had started out with had come to pass.

The sun disappeared and the sky wore a dark cloak. A sudden stab of possessiveness startled her. Why did she feel that she didn't want to share any of this happiness with Joe? What had come over her?

Meg studied her shadowed porch with loving eyes. Joe had never built her a porch. He'd thought the stock and the barns more important than their house, and she'd gone along. But had she really agreed, or was it only so she didn't feel slighted?

She'd spent so much of her energy feeling guilty over her passion for Tye that she hadn't appreciated it fully. Joe hadn't set her skin and her body and her mind on fire. Tye had done all that and then patiently taught her it was not wicked to feel that way.

And Tye had given her this baby. This baby was theirs and theirs alone.

She placed her hand on his arm, and in the semi-darkness he glanced over. She smiled. She couldn't wait to tell him.

Eve approached the swing and Tye slowed to pick her up and arrange her on his lap. Meg studied them contentedly, amazed that could she love two people so much. Her heart's desire had changed completely, but it had never been more clear. Her greatest longing was to be a wife to Tye and a mother to Eve … and a good mother to this new child. Tye reached for Meg's hand and held it.

One of the stallions whinnied from his pen.

A whippoorwill called its mournful cry.

"Remember that baby you asked about, Eve?" Meg said softly.

"What baby?" she replied, her head against Tye's chest.

"You wondered when God was going to give us a baby."

"I remember."

Meg's heart fluttered as though she stood atop the barn roof ready to leap. "Well, God gave us a baby just like we talked about."

"He did?"

"Mmm-hmm."

"Where is it?" she asked, her eyes wide and her amazed expression endearing.

"It's in my tummy. It will take a while to grow big enough to be born."

Tye's fingers convulsed on hers. He turned his face to see her eyes.

"Is it a boy baby or a girl baby?" Eve asked.

"I don't know. We'll have to wait and see."

"Meg," he said, his voice hoarse.

She couldn't see him for the tears that filled her eyes.

He pulled her hand to his mouth and pressed his lips against the backs of her fingers. Meg followed her hand and leaned into him, raising her face.

In order to reach her, he crushed Eve between them, pulling Meg close so he could kiss her. Eve squirmed and hugged them both.

"Meg," he said again, his voice disbelieving. "A baby?"

She nodded, her forehead now against his.

"Will the baby be mine, too?" Eve asked.

Meg kissed the top of her head. "It will be your brother or sister since we are your legal parents now."

"But I don't have to call you Mama," she said quickly.

"No, you call me Meg if you like. I know you have a real mama, and it's okay." And it was, it really was. Eve had loved her own mother very much; it was unfair of Meg to think she could easily forget her or not resent the fact that she was gone.