Where the Wild Rose Blooms (5 page)

"God was smiling on Robert Langley the day he found you, Eddie Fontaine."

"That's what my mother says."

"And she's right." Clayton suddenly flipped his watch out of his pocket. "I've got to run. I told Milly I'd give her a lift home. Would you like a ride?"

"No. I have to get to the store."

"Good day to you then, Miss Fontaine."

Eddie threw him a beaming smile and swung away. Clayton placed his hat back on his head, climbed aboard the wagon, and swung the team toward the schoolhouse on the hill.

Milly and Danny left the schoolhouse still talking. They had hardly noticed each other before lunch, but once they had returned to class both realized that they sat just two seats away from each other. When Miss Bradley told the class they could pair up for a reading exercise, Danny immediately looked to Milly who slid over on her bench so the younger girl could join her. Jackie had ended up sitting with Susie, and both girls looked miserable.

But now the day was over, and many of the students hit the door running. Miss Bradley had been strict but fair, and in her fairness she had warned them that she was an unyielding disciplinarian. She did not believe God had created stupid children, which meant if they were not learning, then they were not trying, and that meant the strap if you were a boy or the ruler if you were a girl. Punishment would be meted out at the front of the room, but that would be the end of it. No staying after class or writing sentences for the better part of the day. Miss Bradley had no doubt that a session with the strap or ruler would be more than enough impetus to learn your lesson or alter your behavior.

"Here's Clay," Milly said as the girls gained the warm afternoon sun. "He told me he'd come for me. Hey, Clay," Milly called as she approached, "can we give Danny and her sisters a ride home?"

"Sure," the young man responded readily enough. "Hop in."

Danny, Lexa, and Sammy scrambled aboard with Milly, but Jackie, who had just come upon the scene, stopped short. Claytons amused gaze swept over her affronted features.

"Are you going to join us, Miss Fontaine?"

That chin went into the air.

"Come on, Jackie," Sammy urged hen "Get in."

"No, thank you," she said with a regal air. "I'd rather walk." With that she turned, her skirts swirling around her, and started home.

Clayton grinned and raised the reins to slap the team, but Paddy hailed him from the schoolhouse steps and he stopped. The younger man had a question and a message from his father that he'd forgotten to tell Milly. The two talked together for a few minutes. The girls took no notice but spoke of the day and made plans for the week.

By the time Clayton moved his team down the road, Jackie was far ahead of them. He slowed the team ever so
slightly as they came abreast of her, and Clayton smiled to himself when he felt the wagon bounce slightly. The unapproachable Jackie Fontaine had climbed aboard. Clayton pulled up in front of the Fontaine home less than ten minutes later, and the three younger girls scrambled out with calls of thanks and goodbye. Jackie remained silent. Clayton deliberately turned his handsome blond head and watched her. Jackie caught his look and tossed her chestnut curls.

"Not going to thank me?" he murmured softly and watched as she flounced into the house. She shut the front door a little too hard and said to the entryway at large, "I hate that Clayton Taggart. I tell you, I do."

No one in her family commented, and Jackie stormed up the stairs telling herself that when her sisters saw what a colossal conceit he had, they would feel the same way.

In the meantime, Milly had come up beside her brother on the wagon seat, and as they pulled away, she commented, "I don't think she spoke to anyone all day."

"Jackie?"

"Yes."

"Maybe she was afraid."

Milly shook her head. "I don't think so. She thinks she's better than the rest of us."

"Her sisters aren't like that."

Milly thought about that. The Fontaine sisters were all so much alike in looks, but like night and day in
temperament. Sammy and Danny were both warm and friendly, but not quite as lovely as Lexa and Jackie-
They
were the beauties of the family, their eyes rimmed by dark lashes and framed with perfect brows—a perfect foil for the burnished mahogany hair that was the hallmark of the family. Their attitudes, however, were much more guarded, making them seem standoffish and conceited.

"No, they're not all like that," Milly finally agreed. "Which is something of a miracle, since they're all pretty."

They fell silent, busy with their own thoughts, and the ride was quiet for the last hundred yards home—quiet, that is, until they spotted their fathers horse. Kevin Taggart had finally come home.

Milly was in bed, and Clayton and his father sat together at the kitchen table. They had talked about the mine he'd been surveying and now they discussed the next jobs.

"I've got a letter out to McBride about his newest mine, but Paddy O'Brien told me today that his father is laid up with a leg injury. I didn't have time to go see him, but that means the Moonbeam #3 is going to
be
open for a surveyor."

"The Moonbeam is set in horrible terrain," Kevin commented.

"That's probably why Cormac O'Brien is laid up."

"At least it's close," Kevin put in. "I'm weary of the trail."

"Tell me about it," Clayton said softly, and his father laid a gentle hand on his shoulder.

"Still have that dream?"

"I sure do. I think that's why I'm so eager to pick Milly up from school. Every once in a while her dress will smell like chalk and all the other classroom smells combined. I can just see myself there, at the front of the class, chalk in hand."

Elaine had poured them all cups of coffee in heavy, dark mugs and had taken a place at the table. She looked across and smiled at her son.

"God will show you the way, Clay. You believe that, don't you?"

"I do, Mom, but I must admit that at times I chafe at God's timing. I want this now, while I'm still young.

"You are getting old," his father said, and it was clear where Clayton gained his sense of humor. "We'll find a way, Clayton." He turned serious just that fast. "Trust and keep on here. We'll find a way. "

Clayton nodded, and Kevin's gaze swung to his wife. His eyes caressed her face and dark blonde hair before he reached for her hand. Clayton slipped away from the kitchen with a very soft good-night to his parents, but they barely noticed.

"Welcome home," Elaine said lovingly.

"Thank you." He continued to study her. "Tired?"

"Not a bit," she told him.

Kevin's gray eyes warmed perceptibly, and as their fingers locked they leaned simultaneously, their lips meeting, warm and familiar. It was lovely to be home.

The week moved on with a strong pattern. Kevin took Milly to school, but Clayton picked her up. Each day the Fontaine sisters rode with him. Jackie never thanked him or even spoke to him, but he could get a rise out of her with just one look. And that was the confusing part. If she hated him, why did she look at him? If she had simply ignored him and gone her way, she'd have never seen the amused glance that set her blood to boiling. Clayton mentally shook his head in wonder because she did it every time. He had started to say "You're welcome" even though she hadn't uttered a word, and instead of snubbing him, she looked into his eyes every time. One time Clayton even winked at her and then watched her turn red with fury, her eyes flashing ominous fire before she flounced away to the house.

In the midst of this was Milly. Milly loved her brother, and she loved her new friend Danny, but Jackie was more than she could handle. Jackie didn't speak to the kids at school or show a drop of the kindness offered to her by various classmates, and in Milly's opinion she just wasn't worth bothering with. Milly was not comfortable with her own attitude, but she didn't know what to do. One day she even discussed it with Danny, who simply said, "I'm sorry its so strained between the two of you, Milly, but anything I would say would only sound like I'm making excuses for Jackie."

"Does she get along with anyone?"

"Oh, yes, but she doesn't like school and doesn't make friends easily."

"I couldn't stand not to have friends."

"But she does have friends," Danny told her
gently. "She has her sisters, especially Eddie. They're very close, and Jackie loves Eddie more than anyone."

Milly looked at the younger girl with new respect. If she had a sister that Clayton loved more, Milly knew she would be absolutely crushed, but Danny was accepting and even seemed glad for Jackie. Danny had gone on to say that her father and Lexa could be just as prickly, and that sometimes a person could be aware of a problem but not be able to do anything about it except pray.

Had Danny only known what was taking place at the store, she would have been amazed at how closely her words echoed those of her mother. Addy was talking with Mitch while Morgan was busy with the books.

"I can talk to Eddie and Danny—even Sammy—but not Jackie or Lexa. They're just as prickly as Morgan."

"Has he shown any signs of interest, Addy?"

Addy smiled gently at her brother-in-law. "That's just it, Mitch. He thinks he is a believer. He thinks he's very interested. He goes to church, he believes in God, he cares for his family, so of course he's going to heaven."

"But, Addy, what does he do with verses that say without God's plan we are lost?"

"He would say he has God's plan, and that he does believe in Jesus Christ."

The two fell silent for a moment. It had come as a great surprise to both of them to discover that they both had come to a saving knowledge of Christ, but it had been a tremendous letdown for Mitch when he realized his brother had never made that step.

"I keep praying, Mitch, but I also must thank God. I know Morgan loves me, and when I think of how it could be, I praise God for His grace and provision."

"I'm not sure what you mean."

"Only that he is a wonderful father and husband. He adores the girls, and even though he can be very dictatorial, he always acts in our best interest. So you see, I have much for which to give thanks."

Mitch nodded and also expressed his own heartfelt thanks. His brother had married a wonderful woman who honored him and was making a strong attempt to raise her girls to understand God's greatest gift. A sudden pang stabbed through Mitch's heart as he thought of his own Clara. Mitch himself had not realized his need for Christ until after her death. He had no idea where she was spending eternity, and all he could do was rest in God's sovereignty.