The Reaper's Song (44 page)

“Well, I’ll be.” Zeb tipped his hat brim back with one finger. “I s’pose you’ll be tellin’ me old Anner is the manager of the bank by now too.”

“Close. He’s taken over the bookkeeping. For both the bank and the store.”

“So what other news have we missed out on?”

“Bridget is planning on building a boardinghouse this fall. And, let’s see . . .” She tapped her cheek with one finger. “Kaaren had a baby boy June fifth. They named him Samuel. Sam fits him perfectly.”

“That’s wonderful.” Katy sneaked a peek at her husband. “Shall we tell her?” At his nod, she turned to Ingeborg. “We’re in the family way too. Or at least I’m pretty sure.”

“Wait until your mor hears that. She’ll be over the moon with joy.” The three linked arms and meandered up to the house. They waved at Metiz coming across the field and gratefully sank down on benches in the shade of the house.

“Fields look like it will be a good harvest,” Zeb said, stretching his hands over his head. “We got back just in time.”

“Ja, Haakan and Lars plan on starting here next week. Joseph already began cutting.”

“And here I was hoping to go get us a heavy stallion before harvest begins.”

“You should be able to do that. A couple days each way on the train. Joseph has a cousin near Cincinnati, Ohio, who raises draft horses. He’s got everything all laid out for you, just waiting to make sure that’s what you still wanted to do.”

“What he’d really like to do is go homestead some of that Montana country.” Katy leaned close to Ingeborg. “We saw valleys that were break-your-heart beautiful. Maybe someday we will do that.”

Ingeborg wanted to ask if Zeb had ever confided his secret to his wife, but she refrained. That smacked of being downright nosy.

That next night after the children were in bed, the Bjorklund families, the MacCallisters, and the Wolds gathered around the table at Ingeborg’s house. After Zeb and Katy regaled them with tales of rounding up wild horses, silence fell for a moment.

Zeb cleared his throat. “Well, I talked with Anner, and we are set to buy his place. He’s agreed to let me get a team trained and sold to make the down payment. Then he’ll take a portion of every harvest to pay it off.”

“That sounds real fair,” Lars said.

Murmurs of agreement came from the others.

“Also I talked with Joseph, and I’ll be leaving to get the stallion
soon as I can get things moved over to the other place and settled.”

“I can take care of everything else once we get the horses moved,” Katy said.

“You need a bigger corral. They’ll go right through a barbed wire fence, don’t you think?” Hjelmer asked.

“You’re probably right.” Zeb sucked in a deep breath.

“We can get that corral enlarged in a day or so.” Olaf looked to Lars, and he nodded.

“Got the poles all cut. Was going to make a new one at my house, but it can wait.”

“I’ll replace ’em for you.” Zeb nodded and ticked off another finger. “Looks like I can leave on Saturday, if all goes well.”

Again nods of agreement circled the room.

“That brings us to the girls.”

Ingeborg clamped her teeth together and shut her eyes. She’d hoped he’d—they’d changed their minds. Andrew would be heartbroken again. First Ellie and now Deborah.

“I wish we could get that thing about their homestead straightened out. Sure hate to see them lose that.” Kaaren continued rocking Trygve, who would rather sit and watch than go to sleep as he was supposed to.

“I thought about going back and raising horses there, but—”

“But I didn’t want to leave all of you if we didn’t have to.” Katy spoke up, her voice as soft and gentle as the looks she sent her husband.

“If we could get a clear title to the place, then you could sell it and bank the money for the girls’ future,” Hjelmer said.

“So speaks our resident banker.” Olaf’s smile took any sting from his words.

“Ja, that is a good idea,” Haakan agreed. “But we don’t seem to get answers to the letters Penny has sent.”

“Maybe that is a job for the banker.” Hjelmer rolled his eyes.

“Get on with you.” Bridget nudged him with her elbow, but the look she gave him spoke of her pride, even though she still thought he made a better blacksmith than banker.

Haakan nodded. “Maybe so, but it will have to wait until after harvest.”

Again sounds and nods of agreement.

“I can write another letter, though. Maybe they’ll pay attention this time. I’ll warn them that we are thinking of turning the matter over to a lawyer,” Penny added.

“A lawyer!” Bridget’s tone shouted horror.

When the chuckles quieted, Zeb leaned forward. “So we all agree that Manda and Deborah will come to live with me and Katy?”

“If they want to.” Ingeborg held out a last bit of hope, even though she knew it was futile.

“Yes. If they want to.”

The next day Zeb brought the subject up to Manda.

“You mean we’d live with you and Katy forever?” Manda turned a suspicious eye on Zeb. “You won’t be going off to Canada?”

Zeb nodded. “We are buying the Valders’ place.”

Manda looked from Ingeborg to Katy to Zebulun and back to Ingeborg. “You want us to stay here?”

“Yes, if that is what you want. You will always have a home here with us.”

Manda scratched her chin. She shifted from one foot to the other. “What I want most is to go home to see if my pa came back.” She watched Zeb shake his head. “I knowed you’d say that. Sure them folks said he’d left for home, but nobody ever saw his body or nothing. Maybe he got hit on the head and forgot where he was going.”

Ingeborg shut her eyes.
Heavenly Father, how well I know how she feels. Help this girl to accept that her pa is gone just as I had to accept that Roald would never return. Give me the words to help take her hurt away.

But no words came to her mind, so she kept silent. Another time perhaps.

“I got one condition,” Manda said.

Zeb rolled his eyes. “Dear Lord preserve us.” His mutter brought a smile to those around.

“Now don’t you go takin’ the Lord’s name in vain, or I ain’t goin’.”

“Manda Norton, I wasn’t takin’ the Lord’s name in vain. I need every bit of strength He’s got to send.”

She studied him, checking to see if he was teasing. When she seemed assured that he was serious, she cleared her throat. “We will come live with you if . . .” She paused. Cleared her throat again. “If when my pa comes, we can go with him.”

“Oh, land, of course you would go with him.” Katy reached out and gathered the girl into her arms. “But in the meantime, we can pretend you and Deborah belong to us, all right?”

Manda nodded and finally relaxed her shoulders.

With four men and the boys digging postholes and erecting the corral fence, they finished in one day. While the men did that, the women scrubbed the already clean house from roof to cellar. They laid pallets in the upstairs bedroom for the two girls and hung their clothes on wall pegs.

Someone gave the new family a table, and Olaf promised to help build chairs when he had time. Meanwhile, Haakan nailed together two benches. That was the extent of their furniture. Finally, Katy brought in her trunk that had carried her things from Norway.

“Thank God they left the cookstove here.” Katy gave the cast-iron range a last polish with the blacking rag.

“Let’s go see how the corral is coming.” Ingeborg stepped out onto the front porch. Andrew and Deborah sat together on the top step.

“Now, you got to show that biddy who’s boss,” Andrew was saying. “I ain’t here to do it for you.”

“You could come on the horse.”

“No, you got to do it.”

“I will. But I don’t like being pecked.”

“Then ask Katy to help you, but—” He turned to look up at his mother. “You tell her, Mor.”

“You have to move fast, Deborah. Just go right up to the nest and grab her and throw her off. Unless you want her to set, you know. Then you’ll get chicks if she has eggs under her. We brought a rooster too.”

“And he’ll chase me.” The little girl propped her elbows on her knees. “I wish we didn’t have no chickens.”

“Maybe Manda will help you.” Ingeborg sat down by the children and, reaching over, brought them close to her side with a loving arm.

“All Manda wants to do is work with the horses.” Deborah leaned closer. “Maybe I could go back and stay with you.” She looked up at Ingeborg, hazel eyes trusting.

“Then who will stay with Katy if Manda is so busy?”

“Oh.” Deborah thought a moment. “She could come to your house too.”

Katy laughed and sat down on the other side of Andrew. “Moving is hard, I know, and you two been through a lot together. But I heard Olaf say that a lady on the other side of town has a little dog that
needs a home. Maybe you and me could ride over and see about it. What do you think?”

“We had a dog at our real house. But it run off after we left.”

“Manda said it stayed at a farm where you rested for a few days.”

Deborah nodded. “I forget some stuff.”

“That’s ’cause you were real sick.”

“Yup.” Deborah leaned some more against Ingeborg. “Just me and you get the dog?”

“Yup.”

“Guess I better stay, then.”

The next day they brought the horses over.

“Keeping them fed and watered is your job,” Zeb told Manda. “When I get back we’ll see about getting a cow.”

Manda looked at the twenty-some head of horses that nearly filled the corral. “That’s a lot of hay and water.”

“I know.” Zeb leaned on the corral rail. “I fixed the leak in the water trough so you don’t have to go in the pen. They might look peaceful right now, but they’re still wild horses.”

“I know.” Her lower lip stuck out and a wrinkle appeared between her eyebrows.

“Just reminding you.” He let the silence stretch. “I’m glad you chose to come live with us.”

She brushed a strand of hair back from her cheek. “You better pick out a good stud if’n you want heavy workhorses.” She glanced up at him from the corner of her eye. “My pa always wanted a good team.”

“Dinner’s ready!”

The two of them walked up to the house together. Manda matched her steps to his.

Zeb arrived in Cincinnati on the morning of the third day. He had almost arrived later, since he’d given in to a desire to see his sister and had telegraphed her from Fargo to meet him at the Cincinnati station. He’d barely made his train in Fargo because of it.

With the ease born of long practice, he scanned the crowd on the platform, looking to see if there was a familiar face. His gaze stopped for a moment at a woman who had turned the other way. Did he know her? More importantly, did she know him?

He nearly knocked a child over in his haste to get to her side.
By the time he’d righted the youngster, apologized, and looked up, the woman was gone. Then suddenly he heard a familiar voice.

“Zeb! Zebulun MacCallister, I’m over here!”

He looked toward the voice and saw Mary Martha standing on a bench by the wall, waving her handkerchief and ignoring the stares she’d earned. He quickly strode on over to his sister. “What’s the matter with you? You want everyone in the world to know I’m here?”

“Poo, you don’t have to worry anymore.” She flung herself into his arms. “The Galloway brothers are dead and gone. I’d have written to you if I knew where you were. Your telegram was a real answer to prayer.” She hugged him close. “Ah, Zeb, we have missed you so. We weren’t even sure you were still alive.”

“Wait a minute. Back up.” He looked down into her merry face. “You’ve lost me, so let’s go back to the beginning.”

She locked her arm in his and led him into the station. “We can sit down for a few minutes here.”

“Or we could find a place to eat. I’m starving.”

She looked him up and down. “Don’t look like you’ve gained any weight since you left home. Mama would want to put some meat on your bones first thing.”

“Mary Martha MacCallister.” The threat in his voice stopped her chatter.

“Oh, all right. There’s a cafe right around the corner. Come on.”

Once seated, she propped her elbows on the table and her chin on her hands. “Now, ask away.”

“Did the Galloways ever inform the law that I’d shot their father?”