Chapter Five

Katiann came into the Harvey House as she often did, but this time she plopped down at the lunch counter and gave a heavy sigh. “I’m in a snit.”

Gretchen raised a brow. “A snit?” She forced back a smile. “Why are you in a snit?”

“Mrs. Escalante quit.” The child planted her elbows on the counter. “And for no good reason.”

Knowing Katiann’s rambunctiousness and ability to try the patience of everyone around her, Gretchen could imagine many good reasons for the old woman to give her notice.

“Why don’t I get you a piece of pie, and you can tell me about it?” Gretchen went to the pie case and chose Katiann’s favorite custard pie. She put the huge Harvey House-sized slice in front of the child, then grabbed two forks. Since no one else was in the dining room, she decided to break the rules and eat with Katiann before the next train filled the house with hungry passengers.

Katiann picked up the fork. “It’s just not fair. Daddy is going to be so mad. He made me promise not to aggravate this one.” She took a bite of the pie and shook her head.

“Well, sometimes the things we think are acceptable . . . aren’t. You know that Mrs. Escalante likes to know where you are at all times, and still you run off. Like right now, I bet she doesn’t know you’re here.”

“She doesn’t care ’cause she quit,” Katiann said around a mouthful of pie.

Gretchen ate a bite and tried to figure out how to soften the consequences for the child. She hated to think of Dirk punishing her.

“The worst of it is that Daddy is going to come home from work, and there’ll be no supper. He hates that. He likes to clean up and then have supper right away. I think it’s ’cause he doesn’t always stop for lunch. But now Mrs. Escalante is gone, and there’s no supper. Just chicken sitting in the icebox.”

“Well, how about this? I complete my work in about an hour. Then I can come over to your house and fix supper.”

Katiann’s entire face lit up. “Do you know how to cook chicken?”

“I do. In fact, I can make quite a few dishes using chicken. So, finish what you want of this pie.” Gretchen grabbed another quick bite for herself. “The train is due any minute, so it would be best if you took it to the kitchen and ate there.”

Katiann nodded, picking up the plate. “Thanks, Gretchen. You saved my bacon.”

Gretchen felt her lips twitch. “‘Saved your bacon’? Where’d you learn to talk like that?”

Katiann shrugged. “The Horney Toad men, of course.”

“Well, I wouldn’t get your hopes up completely. Your father will still have something to say about all of this. After all, who’s going to fix supper tomorrow?”

“Why can’t you? I mean, if you can really cook.”

Gretchen rolled her eyes. “I can really cook, but I have a job here, and your father will need someone to care for you.”

“I’m old enough to take care of myself. I can do just about anything if I have to.”

“I have no doubt, Katiann. No doubt at all.”

Dirk wrote out Mrs. Escalante’s last paycheck. “I do wish you’d stay. It’s going to be almost impossible for me to find someone to take care of Katiann, especially on short notice.”

“Especially if they know her reputation,” the older woman muttered.

Realizing he wasn’t going to convince her to change her mind, Dirk signed the check and handed it over. “Well, thank you for coming to tell me in person. The last three just left me a letter with their forwarding address.”

Mrs. Escalante took the check and hurried to his office door. “I must go. The train leaves in ten minutes.”

He stared after her a moment, then put his checkbook away. What in the world was he supposed to do now? He knew Katiann could fend for herself well enough, and it wasn’t like he was that far away. She often stopped by the office, and he supposed he could just make it a rule that she had to come by at certain times each day to check in. They could take all their meals at the Harvey House for a time.

“Lose another nanny?” his clerk asked, bringing Dirk a stack of papers for his signature.

“I’m afraid so. I didn’t even hear why. She was so bent on catching the train that she didn’t want to discuss it.” Dirk shook his head. “It’s going to be a long August. Maybe I could talk them into starting school early.”

The younger man chuckled. “Doubtful.”

“Especially knowing Katiann will be there.”

Dirk’s clerk smiled.

The rest of the afternoon passed quickly. It was raining again, and from the sounds of it, there were concerns about flooding. This area was notorious for flooding. Deluges of water often came crashing downstream to drive the river out of its banks. Given that the railroad tracks ran right along the Rio Grande, this often spelled trouble for the Santa Fe.

The government had seen the problem and had even begun to rectify it by building dams. Elephant Butte Dam had been completed in 1921, but even as it was finished, a horrible flood had inundated the San Marcial area, destroying homes and railroad facilities alike. Some folks said it was the river’s last showdown, but everyone knew that probably wasn’t the case. Even the state officials were leery and sent workers to bolster the levees along the river. This new fortification appeared to be working, but there were always concerns.

Despite needing to get home to see what sort of trouble Katiann had gotten into, Dirk stopped at the railroad shops to hear the gossip from the men who had been up Socorro way. If anyone knew what the real threat was, it would be the old-timers.

“It’s raining to beat all,” one of the old engineers said. “Gonna flood for sure.”

“Even though they have the new levees in place?” Dirk asked.

The old man nodded. “That’s the only reason it ain’t flooded yet. That and the dam. But the dam is full, as I hear tell.”

“I heard it too,” one of the other men replied. “They told me when I was up there yesterday to be ready to get as much equipment as possible loaded up and shipped north to wait out the situation.”

If Santa Fe was already quietly telling the workers to do that, Dirk knew they figured a flood was coming. He made his way home, wondering what he should do about Katiann. He didn’t want her in danger, but without a nanny, he could hardly send her away.

As he approached their small house, Dirk heard laughter coming from within. It wasn’t just Katiann’s either. He recognized Gretchen’s lyrical laugh as well. He paused under the kitchen window. Apparently they were making supper. The aroma of grilled peppers and onions wafted on the air.

“Okay, it’s your turn. Ask me a really hard question,” Katiann declared.

“Very well. Earlier, when we were cutting the chicken, you said you thought I was God’s answer to your prayer. What did you pray for?”

“That’s not hard. That’s the easiest question in the world.” Exasperation lined Katiann’s reply, but Dirk had to admit he wanted to hear the answer. “I prayed for a mama, and God sent you.”

“Wait a minute, Katiann, you don’t know that,” Gretchen protested.

“Sure I do. I prayed for a mama, and God answered me. You like me and I like you, right?”

“Yes, that’s true.”

“Don’t you like my daddy?”

Dirk held his breath as he waited for the answer.

“Of course I like your daddy. He’s a very nice man.”

“I know you knew him a long time ago. Last week Daddy told me all about how you were together and that he planned to marry you.”

Dirk wondered what Gretchen would think of his openness with Katiann. He hadn’t intended to use his child in wooing Gretchen back, but now that she was in the thick of things, very few people could resist Katiann’s charms.

“I figure since you two were going to get married anyway, you could get married now. Wouldn’t that be great?”

“It’s not a matter of whether or not it’s great, Katiann. Marriage is a very important thing. Two people should never just jump into it without thinking it through.”

“Yeah, that’s what Daddy did when he married my mama.”

Dirk frowned. Where had that come from? He didn’t have long to wait for an answer.

“My grandma told me that he and Mama weren’t supposed to get married. That they both were in love with someone else.”

Why had his mother told Katiann that? His mother had died just after Katiann’s seventh birthday. What would have prompted such a conversation?

“Grandma said they got married because they were so sad about my uncle David dying that they needed each other.”

“I’m sure they did, Katiann. Losing someone you love hurts a lot. You must have felt really sad when your grandma died. I know when mine died, I cried for days.”

Dirk hated to think of Gretchen mourning her loss without him at her side. He knew how much she had cherished her grandmother.

“I do miss her sometimes. Grandma was always fun to be with, and she smelled like vanilla.”

Gretchen chuckled. “Mine smelled like cinnamon. Oh, speaking of which, would you please get the cinnamon for me?”

Dirk heard movement in the house and figured the conversation would turn toward food. He started to leave, but Katiann’s next comment made him pause again.

“That wasn’t a hard question at all, but now it’s my turn to ask you one.”

“All right. What’s your question, Katiann?”

“Do you think you might still like to marry my daddy?”