RR05 - Tender Mercies (24 page)

“She ain’t ready.”

“I know that, but he can buy her, and we can finish her off, say it take another week?”

“At least.”

The two of them went out the door, Manda cramming her old fedora down on her braids.

Manda took the filly through her paces under saddle and the harness. “She’s just green broke,” she told the man.

“I know. Yer pa already said that. You don’t have another young one to team with her?” When Zeb shook his head, the man studied the filly. “What you asking for her?”

Zeb named a price that even raised Manda’s eyebrows. “And we’ll need another week at least to finish training her.”

“That’s high.”

“She’s worth it. Not many young horses, flashy like this, trained to both saddle and harness.” Zeb winked at Manda. “You don’t take her, I got someone else coming next week.”

The man felt down the filly’s legs and looked at her teeth. “You wouldn’t try to cheat me now?”

“Mister, you ain’t got enough money to make it worth me trying to cheat you.” Zeb tipped his hat back. “Seein’s you’re not interested, I’ll have Manda put her away.”

“Now don’t go gettin’ in a rush here. Man’s got to make up his mind.”

At Zeb’s nod, Manda led the filly around the corral again.

The man offered a hundred dollars less than the asking price.

“Put her up,” Zeb said to Manda, stepping away from the corral. Then he told the would-be buyer, “Come on back sometime when you’re really in a buyin’ mood.”

The man increased his offer by fifty dollars. Zeb shook his head. “You know, I was in a mood to dicker some, but you blew that away. Four hundred cash or nothing doing.”

“All right!” The man dug in his pocket. “Half now and half when you deliver her.”

“No, half now and half when you come get her.”

“Mister, you sure drive a hard bargain.”

“Didn’t have to be that way.” Zeb looked out across the pasture where the rest of his horse herd grazed the last of the green pasture.

Grumbling, the man slapped some bills and a gold coin and some change in Zeb’s hand. “She better be worth that, or I’m bringing her back.”

Zeb counted the money, looked at the man, and shook his head.

“I’m not sure I want such fine horseflesh going to a man who can’t appreciate it.” He made to hand the money back, but the man backed up, brushing away the offered bills with shaking hands. “No. I said I want her, and that’s that.”

When the man mounted his horse and loped out of the yard, Manda came to stand beside her pa. “He don’t deserve her.”

“Maybe not, but we got a hundred dollars more than I’d thought. He just got my goat, he did.” He folded the money and put it in his pocket, then pulled some bills out of the other pocket. He handed Manda two dollars.

“What’s that for?”

“You did the training, so you get paid.” Zeb dropped an arm over her shoulders. “Come on, let’s go see if your ma has any more of that pudding left.”

“B-but . . .” Manda stared at the money. “I . . . I ain’t never had that much money in my whole life.”

“ ’Bout time then.” He pulled her with him. “Come on, girl. They might eat it all without us.”

That afternoon, Kaaren Knutson knocked on the door of the pastor’s soddy, the book on sign language clutched to her chest. If he was gone, she’d have to come by later, but Thorliff had been after her to talk with him.

“Why, Mrs. Knutson, what a pleasure. Come right on in.” He stood back and held the door open. “You are out on such a blustery day.”

“I know. I have some things to take to Penny for the store, but I wanted to show you something.”

“Can you stay for coffee?”

She shook her head. “Not today, thank you. Here, this came several weeks ago.” She handed him the book several weeks ago.” She handed him the book
“Can you sit down for a minute at least?”

“All right, so I can show you what I’ve been learning. I wanted a way to help Grace talk with other people besides reading lips, which she is getting very good at, by the way. She never misses the word ‘cookie,’ for example. But then Mr. Gould, Ingeborg’s friend from New York, sent me this book.” She pointed to the one in his hands. “It tells how to talk with sign language.”

Pastor Solberg studied the cover. “Hmm.” Opening the book, he studied the pages, quickly flipping from one to another. “Amazing.” He looked some more. “And you say you have been practicing this?”

She nodded. “Every day. I started with the alphabet. This is Grace.” Her fingers quickly formed the letters. “Grace knows that too, as do Sophie and Trygve. Lars says his hands weren’t made for talking, but he is trying.”

“There are signs for some words too.” She signed and smiled at him.

“What did you say?”

“Hello.” Her fingers moved again. “Good-bye. See how simple it is?”

“So, why did Thorliff want you to show this to me?”

“Because he said if all the children learn it, then when Grace comes to school, they will all be able to talk with her. I had thought I would have to teach her at home and had no idea how to get Sophie to come without her. This is truly a gift from God and just at the right time too.”

“His gifts usually are.” Solberg continued flipping pages in the book. “If we were to do this, would you come and teach it? I don’t see where I have time to learn it myself, let alone teach it. I need another helper as it is.”

I want to teach again. I could help you
. Her reaction caught her by surprise. She’d thought she was over that desire to teach. Besides, how could she do it with four small children and another on the way? Surely Ingeborg would take them while she did this. Or Bridget.

“Maybe I could do this one afternoon a week? After I learn more myself.” She sat quietly for a moment. “If this is God’s will, it will work out, right?”

“That’s right. I hear you were a very good teacher.”

“I hoped so. I do love teaching the children. I did so in our soddy for a time, before we could form a school. Things are so much easier now than when we first came here.” She paused again. “I suppose this is like teaching another language. Only with hands.” She stared down at her own callused fingers. “Agnes and I taught English classes too, you know?”

“So I heard. I have a feeling you are a natural born teacher, and now God is providing you with another way to teach. Who knows what will come of this?”

“Ja, who knows?” The cat purred and wound along the side of her skirt. Kaaren leaned over and ran her fingers along the cat’s back and rubbed behind his ears. His purring filled the room and brought another smile to her face. “Well, I best be going. Thank you for your time.” She stood and reached for her precious book. “Maybe I better learn to draw fingers and signs too, you know. For the schoolchildren.” Even she could feel the lightness in her step.
I’m going to be teaching again. Please God, let it be so
.

“Thank you for coming and say hello to Mrs. Bjorklund for me. Tell her to save me a hunk of cheese if she has any in.”

“She will have when I get there.” Kaaren nodded toward the baskets in the wagon. “I’m the delivery woman today. You want some eggs? I’ll get them for you.”

“No, that’s . . .” But at the look on her face, he changed his mind. “I’d love some, but no more than six, thank you.”

After delivering the eggs, Kaaren clucked her horse forward, waving good-bye to the man in the doorway. Her heart sang at a pace the horse couldn’t begin to match.

“What brought the stars down to your eyes?” Penny asked when Kaaren carried the two baskets into the store.

“I may get to teach again.” Kaaren set the goods up on the counter. “I showed the book to Pastor Solberg, and he said we could teach signing at the school to the children if I would teach it.”

“So Grace will go to school like all the other children.” Penny slapped her hands on the counter and did a quick toe and shuffle step. “Yes, Lord, you
do
have a plan for that child.”

“Ah, Penny, I been thinking. Maybe I could trade eggs and butter for my payment for a sewing machine.”

Penny shook her head. “I don’t know how we could do that, since you send your payment right in to the Singer Company in Boston. Sorry.”

“Oh well. It was just a thought. But then with teaching and all, I probably wouldn’t have much time to sew on it anyway.” But Kaaren’s gaze strayed back to where the sewing machine was set up. Set up just waiting for someone to come along and buy or at least try it.

“Maybe after harvest next year Lars will let me buy it.” She turned her back on the machine. “I need a packet of needles, and Ingeborg needs a pound of coffee and peppermint sticks for the children. I’m going to ask her to keep my three while I teach signing, but oh my, I have so much to learn first.”

Penny weighed their goods in and their groceries out.

“Oh, and Ingeborg said to tell you she is trying a new kind of cheese. One that is soft, so it doesn’t take so long to cure. You know she would raise goats to make goat cheese too, if we would let her. That woman . . .”

“I know. She’ll try anything. But even if she produced twice as much cheese, I still don’t think we could keep up with the customers. They come off the train begging for that Bjorklund cheese.”

“She’s making the well house bigger, with a huge long trough for the cold water. Lars said we could keep live fish in there, it will be so big.”

Penny chuckled with her. “Now, if we can get Metiz to bring in more smoked fish, that would be good too. After Bridget gets the boardinghouse up and running, I’m thinking of making sandwiches here and perhaps pie or cookies. Quick things.”

“You could put things like that on a tray and take it out to the train.”

Penny stared at her. “What a wonderful idea.” She nodded, nibbling her bottom lip. “Some people are afraid to get off the train, like they might get left. We could most likely go right into the cars.” She grinned. “Wait until I tell Hjelmer this!”

“And those who want a full meal can go to Bridget’s, just like they came here.”

“Kaaren, you’re a genius.” Penny finished wrapping the bundle. “And now, what else can I get for you?”

“Nothing, I guess, unless you want to throw in the sewing machine.”

“I can invite you in for a cup of coffee.”

Kaaren shook her head. “No, I better get on home. But thanks.” She gave the sewing machine another longing look before she went out the door.

Penny ran back to where Goodie sat sewing away. “I could hardly bear it.” She clapped her hands over her mouth to stifle the giggles.

“Now what?” Goodie stopped pumping the treadle.

“Kaaren tried to buy a sewing machine with her egg and butter money, and Lars has already bought her one for Christmas.”

“So what did you say?” Goodie fitted the words in among her chuckles.

“I said that since she had to send the payment to the Singer company, eggs and butter might not get there in very good shape.” Penny exploded with laughter. “I didn’t lie. Not really.” She wiped her eyes with her fingertips. “I can’t wait for Christmas to see her face.”

“Oh, such fun this will be.” Goodie shook her head. “Sure glad it wasn’t me she was asking. I can’t think that fast and would have given the whole thing away.”

“Well, I have some good news and some bad news,” Kaaren said after she’d greeted her children and been greeted by all those gathered at Ingeborg’s. Metiz smiled from the end of the kitchen table, where she sat pulling a tanned rabbit skin back and forth over the table edge to soften the pelt.

“Let’s have the good news first.” Ingeborg laid down her wool carding paddles.

“God willing, I will be teaching signing one afternoon a week, as soon as I learn enough to do so.” Kaaren clasped her hands to her chest. “I will be teaching again. Such a dream come true.”

“You’ve been helping with the English classes. Isn’t that teaching?” Bridget asked, her spindle continuing to turn.

“Ja, but not really. I love teaching the children.” She sighed. “Thanks be to God.”

“Now, the bad news.”

Leave it to Ingeborg to want to get the hard part over with. “I . . . I asked Penny if I could buy a sewing machine with my butter and eggs, but she said the money has to go to Boston to the Singer Sewing Machine Company. So I guess I will have to wait until after harvest, like Lars said.”