The Brides of Chance Collection (64 page)

Five quick, lopsided strides to the girls. Diddle, diddle dumplin’, my son John… How did that go? He forgot what Polly said next, but “one shoe off and one shoe on” rang in his mind. She’d be tickled at seeing him like this. Might make her perk up.

Polly’s clear, high voice carried through the door, “Ginny, put your hand on your mouth when you cough. Do it like this.”

Dan grinned as he opened the door. Polly was a bossy little bit of goods, but she did a nice job of trying to teach her sister things. His smile faded immediately.

“What are you doing here?”

Chapter 3

L
ovejoy Spencer stood by the dresser with clippings that amounted to half the forest piled all over the top of the oak piece. Swirling a pie tin over the glass chimney of a kerosene lantern, she said matter-of-factly, “Your lassies are a-barking. Figured they could use an elixir to soothe their throats and loosen up the phlegm.”

“Miriam keeps medicaments at the main house.”

“I imagine she does. Problem is, the few a body cain get from the mercantile that actually are healthful pack a far too powerful kick for wee ones. Most of ’em are worthless and are little more than likker.”

She hadn’t said a thing he could disagree with. As she spoke, she rotated her wrist in such a way as to keep the liquid in the pie pan whirlpooling. A surprisingly pleasant aroma emanated from the affair. Even so, that didn’t prove that she had any idea of what she was doing.

“The wrong plant can cause harm. I don’t want my daughters to—”

“Right you are. But I’ve had me plenty of training and experience. I’m a grannywoman. I don’t mean to sound puffed up, but I do have a knack with yarbs and such.”

Yarbs? That did it. Daniel decided he wasn’t going to trust his precious children to this backwoods woman.

“Neither of them’s runnin’ a fever, so I didn’t add in willow bark. You’ve got gracious plenty out there, but seein’ as how it’s bitter, I’m just as glad not to add it in.”

Everyone knows willow bark works for fevers and tastes bitter. It’s going to take far more than that to convince me—

“But God be praised, it bein’ summer, elderberries are ripe. I clumb up and got a wee bit of honeycomb, and out in your verra own garden, I found a hip on your dog rose. Fancy that, will ya? Don’t normally find them till autumn’s on the way. God provides, I say. We’ll have your girls feelin’ tiptop by the time they sit down to breakfast.”

“I’ll have Miriam give them what they need.”

Just then, Ginny Mae let out a brace of coughs.

Lovejoy looked down at her with compassion, but Daniel refused to let his heart soften. His babies’ safety rated far above this strange woman’s feelings. “Come here, Ginny.”

She poked out her bottom lip. “I want juice.”

To his surprise, Lovejoy petted Ginny’s hair a single stroke then gave her a gentle nudge. “Honor your father. Obey him. He loves you.”

He lifted Ginny and tried to ignore how Lovejoy blew out the lantern and put down the pie tin. Wordlessly, she swiped all the leaves, berries, and twigs into a burlap bag. He hadn’t meant to hurt her feelings, but she shouldn’t have stuck her nose in where she wasn’t invited.

“Daddy, the lady fried Sissy’s socks on the stove.”

A flush of embarrassment heated his neck. He’d forgotten to wash that sock again last night. Here it was, clean, dry, and fresh smelling on his daughter’s leg. Her little shoes were tied, and the girls’ bed was made up smart as a one-buck hotel’s with the blankets all snug, then the sheet folded fancylike to peep over the top with something on each pillow to finish the effect.

“We’d better get on over to breakfast.” He snagged Polly as she scampered past.

“I wanna take my mouse.”

“Mouse?” He looked about. Vermin did manage to get in on occasion, but borrowing Delilah’s Shortstack always worked. For being a little gimpy, that cat still knew her job and took it seriously.

“Miss Lovejoy made my mouse.” Polly wiggled from his grasp. “See?” She pulled the little decoration off the pillow and galloped back over. A scrap of light brown cloth in her hand was knotted and twisted to form a creditable-looking mouse.

“I gots babies in a blanket, Daddy.” Ginny pointed to the blue scrap on her pillow.

A draft swept across the room, then the door shut. Daniel stared at the far wall. Lovejoy Spencer had tried to do nice things for his girls, but he’d just put an end to that by rejecting her efforts. He didn’t want her to be prying into his business or inviting herself.

Tryin’ to do right ain’t the same as doin’ right
. Widow Hendricks’s words echoed in Lovejoy’s mind as she stashed her gathering bag into the cabin. She’d wanted to help, but she’d overstepped. Daniel Chance was a good father, and he protected his daughters. Stumbling into a stranger first thing in the morning was good cause for him to be wary. Too bad, though. The lassies needed something for their coughs.

Tempy lifted her head from the pillow. “You trying to beat the rooster on coaxing the sun up?”

“There’s no time like dawn to take a bit of a walk. It’s good for the soul to spend time appreciatin’ what God made and gave. You gals hop to. Don’t take too long sprucin’ up, because these folks could be chasing me for the rooster’s job.” She left them and headed for the main house, sure she could lend a hand there.

Miriam answered her knock. “Good morning.”

Before Lovejoy could respond, the door on the nearest cabin banged open. Delilah dashed out and around the corner.

“What was that all about?” Miriam wondered aloud.

“Don’t rightly know.” Lovejoy held a suspicion, but it wasn’t for her to voice such a thing.

Miriam’s brows furrowed. “I wonder….” Her voice dropped to a mere whisper. “You’d be able to tell, wouldn’t you? Eunice said you’re a midwife.”

Lovejoy avoided the topic. “Menfolk are gonna be hungry. I’m happy to holp make breakfast.” She walked into the house, went over to the stove, and stoked it. Her first order of business was to start two big pots of coffee while Miriam began to mix up a batch of biscuits.

Bryce toted in a big basket of eggs.

“Now looky there! You must have plenty of fine layin’ hens to have so many eggs.”

“Got us five dozen,” he declared proudly.

“And he’s named every last one,” Logan tacked on as he brought in a brimming milk can. Daniel and the girls followed in right after him.

Lovejoy started cracking eggs into a big, green-striped earthenware bowl. “You men eat one egg or two at breakfast?”

“Four apiece, ma’am.”

Shocked at his answer, she smashed the egg on the bowl’s rim and felt the goo rush out over her fingers. “Four?”

“Well, the gals don’t eat that much,” Logan mused.

“Miriam?” Gideon sauntered out of the bedroom with a baby on his shoulder. “Caleb’s got a rash.”

Lovejoy wiped her hands on a dishcloth. “What kind of rash?”

“He’s prone to diaper rash.”

She tugged the baby from Gideon and cuddled him. “I’ll be happy to scorch some flour. Got any zinc?”

“Zinc?”

“If we add it to the flour, it makes the rash heal faster.” Titus scooted past Daniel and headed to a wooden box on top of the pie safe. “I don’t know about zinc. I’m just hoping we’ve got Barne’s Remedy in here.”

“I have some in my satchel if you don’t.” Lovejoy held baby Caleb in one arm and started cracking more eggs. These men looked hungry, and Miriam was the only one here who seemed to have any idea as to what needed to be done to get a meal on the table. “Your belly givin’ you fits?”

“Not mine. Alisa’s.”

“She oughtn’t have Barne’s. It’s got rye malt. If the rye is harvested moist, it cain have ergot that’ll put her into early labor. I’ll make her soda biscuits and ginger tea.”

Gideon poured himself a mug of coffee. “I wish we would have known that for Miriam.”

Miriam nodded. “My first few months with Caleb were rough.”

Tempy, Lois, and Eunice arrived. They jumped right in and helped set the table, make gravy, and scramble eggs. Freed up, Lovejoy got water to boiling for tea. She turned as Delilah came in. No one seemed to mind the gimpy, brown-spotted white kitten that dodged at her hem.

Lovejoy took one look at how pale Delilah was and suggested, “How ’bout you having a sit-down?”

“That’s a good idea,” Miriam chimed in as she led Delilah to a chair in the corner. “Lovejoy, why don’t you bring Caleb over to her?”

Lovejoy caught Miriam’s wink.

“I don’t know what got into me,” Delilah said vaguely as Lovejoy approached.

Lovejoy tucked Caleb into her arms and murmured under her breath, “Green as you are, I’d venture you got a baby into you.”

Delilah gave her a flummoxed look. “I thought it must be something I ate.”

“Alisa’s belly’s tipsy today, too.” Miriam smiled at her sister-in-law and tacked on, “But everyone ate the same meal last night.”

“No one else is sick,” Delilah said. Her eyes widened, and her face flushed. She looked around the bustling room.

Miriam whispered, “Want to step outside with Lovejoy for a minute? I’ll keep the men busy in here.”

Delilah nodded. As soon as they were on the front porch, she whispered, “I can scarce believe….Could I ask you a few questions?”

“You go on ahead.”

It wasn’t but a few moments later that Delilah let out a weak laugh. “I’d better get out a needle and thread. Paul’s going to pop every button off his shirt. We’ve only been married six weeks.”

Paul exited the house and shut the door. Concern lined his face, and he wrapped his arm around his wife’s shoulders. “You okay, sweetheart?”

Lovejoy swiped Caleb and walked back inside. Some moments were meant just for two. A quick glance as she shut the door showed Paul enveloping Delilah in a hug and smiling like a coon in a henhouse.
If Mike treats Tempy half this good, Lord, I’ll be eternally thankful
.

During breakfast, Polly and Ginny Mae’s coughs left Daniel frowning. The only thing Miriam had that the kids could safely take was horehound, and that hadn’t helped one bit. Lovejoy knew the right stuff for Caleb’s rash, had nixed letting Alisa use Barne’s Remedy, and got both Alisa and Delilah’s stomachs settled enough that neither gal looked quite so green.

“Those young’uns of yourn have a case of the barks, don’t they?” one of the redheaded gals across the table asked.

“Lovejoy’s good with yarbs and such,” the other redhead said. “She could fix you up right quick with something.”

One last look at Polly made his resolve crumble. Daniel cleared his throat. “Mrs. Spencer brewed something for them earlier, but it was too hot.”

“It smelled pretty.” Polly’s eyes lit up at the realization that she might get some.

“Would you mind if I fetched it now?” Lovejoy asked the question without the smallest hint of gloating.

Daniel nodded.

A few minutes later she reappeared with a pale pinkish liquid in the bottom of a canning jar. Each girl drank her share, then the healer reached into the pocket of her apron and handed Daniel a tube.

He broke out in a cold sweat. “Nitroglycerin?”

Chapter 4

N
o need to get riled. It’s the cough elixir. That there’s enough for each of your lassies to have another dose.”

“This glass vial—”

“Oh, they don’t use ’em for the nitroglycerin anymore. Onc’t that man in-vented his dynomite, the mine stopped using blast juice. Asa Pleasant back home said he knew a company that had a heap of these glass tubes. He got me two crates, and they’re right useful.”

“You emptied them?” Titus asked the question, but he’d stolen the words out of Daniel’s mouth.

She looked at him like he’d taken leave of his senses. “They wasn’t never used. I got ’em afore they ever held a drop of anything.”

Miriam patted Lovejoy’s arm. “You’ll have to forgive them. The Chance men are protective.”

“Ma’am, seems to me you’re blessed as cain be to have such a fine passel of men as kin.”

“Speaking of kin…” Paul covered Delilah’s hand. “We suspect the family’s due to see another addition.”

“Already?” Bryce blurted out.

Daniel left the table and headed straight for the barn. Five years ago he and Hannah had made that announcement. It had been one of the best days of his life. The day they’d revealed they’d be blessed with a second child was just as sweet.
What kind of brother am I? Paul’s thrilled, and I’m slinking away, licking my wounds
. But it hurt—seeing the wedded bliss his brothers enjoyed when he’d been robbed of his beloved wife.