Chapter Six

Dirk didn’t wait to hear Gretchen’s reply. “Katiann!” he called as he came through the back door.

“Oh great,” he heard his daughter mutter. “Now I have to explain about Mrs. Escalante.”

He came into the kitchen and found Gretchen wearing a colorful pinafore apron over a peasant blouse and cotton skirt. “I didn’t know you’d be here,” he said, hoping to put her at ease.

“Katiann was concerned that you wouldn’t have a hot meal for supper. Wasn’t that thoughtful of her?”

Katiann beamed up at him as if she’d just saved trapped puppies from a fire. “I know you like to have supper when you get home from work.”

“Yes, but why couldn’t Mrs. Escalante fix my supper?” He looked down at the child with a knowing glance.

Katiann held her hands in the air. “It wasn’t my fault. Well, it was, but Mrs. Escalante just worries too much. You know how she is.”

Dirk sat on one of the kitchen chairs. “What did you do, Katiann?”

She pursed her lips and cocked her head, then gave a little shrug. “I climbed out of my window onto the roof.”

“I see. And why would you do that in the rain?”

This time she gave a more exaggerated shrug. “Because I’d never done that before.” She made it sound as if it were the most logical thing in the world.

“Weren’t you afraid of being up so high on the slick roof?” Gretchen asked.

“No. It wasn’t that high, and it wasn’t slick. I thought it was really nice. I’d like to sleep out there some night.”

“You might roll right off, and then you’d get hurt. You might even break your arm or leg,” Gretchen countered before turning back to the stove.

“Katiann, Mrs. Escalante quit, and now you have no one. What am I supposed to do?” Dirk asked.

“Daddy, don’t worry.” Katiann crawled up onto his lap and put her arms around his neck. She knew how to worm her way into his good graces. “Gretchen and I have been talking about it. She’ll come over and cook supper every night so you don’t have to be hungry.”

“That’s not the part I’m worried about. We can eat at the Harvey House or even at Mama Rosita’s café. I’m worried about you, Katiann. The rain is causing flooding, and you know how bad that can be. I can’t have you here by yourself. If the river floods, you could get trapped.”

“I’d just crawl out on the roof. See, it’s a good thing I already know how!”

An exasperated sigh escaped Dirk’s lips. He glanced at Gretchen, who seemed to be gauging his response. Shaking his head, he turned his attention back to Katiann. “You don’t understand how much you mean to me. If something happened to you, it would break my heart.”

Katiann put her hand against his cheek. “I’m sorry, Daddy. What can I do? I got Gretchen to cook so that you wouldn’t miss supper. I promise I’ll be good. I love you, Daddy.”

“I need your obedience. That’s how you can show me love. In the Bible, Jesus tells His disciples that if they love Him, they should keep His commandments.”

The child’s expression grew sorrowful, and tears came to her eyes. “I know. And Ephesians says, ‘Children, obey your parents in the Lord: for this is right.’ I’m sorry, Daddy. I try to obey. But you never said I couldn’t climb out on the roof.”

“No, I didn’t, but I did say that you weren’t to do anything that would cause Mrs. Escalante extra worry.” He gave her a smile. “Look, it seems supper is nearly ready. Why don’t you go wash up and dry your tears? We can talk about this later after Gretchen goes home.”

Katiann kissed his cheek, then jumped off his lap. “I promise I’ll do better.” She scurried away, leaving Dirk to shake his head.

“She’s got a good heart,” Gretchen said.

“I know. She’s a good kid but way too curious for her own good.” He looked up at Gretchen and smiled. “It was good to come home and find you here.”

She flushed and turned back to the stove. “Supper is ready. If you want to wash up, now would be the time.”

Dirk got to his feet. “What I’d really like to know is how you answered Katiann’s question.”

Gretchen whirled around. “What question?”

“I overheard her ask if you had any interest in marrying me.” The kitchen seemed to grow smaller around them. “But maybe more important is to know whether or not you can forgive me for what I did to you—to us—all those years ago.”

“Of course I can forgive what happened. What you did . . . well, that was quite honorable. I know how much your brother meant to you.”

“Still, I shouldn’t have married Katiann’s mother. I didn’t love her. I loved you. I’ve only ever loved you.”

Gretchen bowed her head. “I never loved anyone but you.”

“I’m back!” Katiann declared. “I’ll set the table now, Gretchen.”

Dirk fixed his gaze on Gretchen’s face and smiled. “I’m still interested in your answer.”

Gretchen felt like she was all thumbs as they shared supper. It was almost as if they were a real family. Dirk told them about his day at work and concerns about the river flooding, while Katiann and Gretchen threw out the details of their day.

“This is the best meal I’ve had in years,” Dirk told Gretchen. “Who knew chicken, rice, and black beans could taste so good together?”

“It’s my oma’s recipe. Nobody cooked like she could.” Gretchen smiled. “And she taught me everything I know about cooking.”

“Can you make flan pie?” Katiann asked.

“I can. Have you ever had pumpkin flan pie? Oma used to make it and pile lots of whipped cream on top.”

Katiann’s eyes grew wide. “Can you make that for us?”

Gretchen chuckled. “Of course. I wouldn’t have mentioned it if I couldn’t.” She got to her feet. “I should get back to the house. The girls may need me or have questions about tomorrow. And . . . the house mother is due back in another day or two. I need to make sure everything is ready for her.”

Katiann frowned. “Are you going away?”

Gretchen didn’t like to think of leaving. “Well, I was only supposed to be here for a couple of weeks. I’m sure the Harvey House back in Santa Fe needs me.”

Katiann wrapped her arms around Gretchen’s waist. “I don’t want you to go. I want you to stay here and be my mama.”

Gretchen hadn’t expected this outburst. Embarrassment washed over her. She wondered what Dirk was thinking. She gave Katiann a hug, then pulled away. “We can talk about this tomorrow, Katiann. Right now you need to help me gather the dishes so we can get everything cleaned up.”

“Katiann can handle it herself, since she’s the cause of Mrs. Escalante leaving so abruptly,” Dirk said. “Maybe she’ll appreciate having someone more if she has to manage the work for a while.”

“But I want—”

Dirk’s expression turned stern. “Katiann, you need to obey me.”

“Yes, Daddy.” She sighed and left Gretchen’s side to start collecting plates.

“I’m sure I’ll see you both for breakfast at the Harvey House. I’ll save you a nice spot,” Gretchen promised.

She headed for the front door, still feeling overwhelmed by all the evening’s talk about marriage. She loved Dirk and had come to love Katiann. Marrying into this ready-made family would suit her just fine. But was that what God wanted for her?

“I want to thank you again for supper,” Dirk said, following her to the door. “It made the unpleasantness of losing Mrs. Escalante much easier to bear.”

“I hope you won’t be too hard on Katiann.” Gretchen paused and glanced out the screen door. “It’s still raining.”

“Gretchen, do you think—”

“Mr. Martinez!” An overall-clad man rushed up the walk. “You’re needed at the shops. Telegraph came, and the Rio Grande’s flooding. Superintendent said you needed to come immediately.”

Dirk frowned and looked at Gretchen. “Katiann.”

“She’ll come with me. I’ll take her back to the Harvey House after we clean up.”

“Forget about that, ma’am,” the older rail worker declared. “The women and children are to get to high ground.”

Gretchen caught the worry in Dirk’s eyes. “I’ll take her with me. I need to check in at the Harvey House and see what’s to be done. Is there anything here that we should move to the second floor?”

“I can’t think clearly. I suppose pack a bag for Katiann and one for me. I’ll come get it when I pick her up.”

Gretchen nodded. “I’ll see to it.”

“What’s going on?” Katiann asked, joining them.

Dirk knelt down. “Darling, this is one of those times when absolute obedience is required. Can you give me your word that you’ll do what Gretchen tells you?”

“Sure, Daddy, but what’s wrong?” She looked from face to face of the adults standing around her.

“The river is going to flood, and we need to get to safety. I have to go help with the railroad’s things. Gretchen is going to take care of you. You stay with her and do exactly what she says. Understand?”

“Yes, Daddy. I promise.” Katiann hugged him tight. “You won’t get hurt, will you?”

Dirk glanced over his daughter’s shoulder at Gretchen. “No. I’ll be just fine.” But the worry in his expression belied his words.

“Don’t worry about a thing, Dirk,” Gretchen said, trying to reassure him. “We’ll head up to San Geronimo rather than leave on the train. You can find us there. I’ll keep her safe.”

He straightened and surprised her by pulling her into his arms. “Keep yourself safe too. I have plans for you.” He kissed her hard and much too briefly. Then he was gone.

Katiann put her arm around Gretchen’s waist. “I’m scared.”

Gretchen looked down at the child and nodded. “Then we should probably pray.”