Jeremy stared at her. Surely Caroline hadn’t had the money to help the church. She’d looked so sad when she hadn’t been able to contribute to the offering on Sunday.
“It wasn’t me,” she blurted out. “I don’t have any money.”
Mr. Dalrymple released her, but he kept beaming at her. “Now, there’s no need to be humble. It had to be you. I know all the members of my flock and what they offered to give. The money that appeared at my door yesterday afternoon came with a note saying to use it for good. I just wanted you to know that we will.”
“But…” Caroline started.
Ma rose. “Let me get you some tea, Mr. Dalrymple.”
He held up a hand. “No need. I won’t take any more of your time. I need to notify Mr. Henshaw that we’ll accept his kind offer. And I can’t wait to telegram my wife. With a house already built and furnished on the property, she can come out and join me after Easter.”
“It will be a pleasure to welcome Mrs. Dalrymple,” Ma said, walking him toward the door. “You must come to dinner as soon as she arrives.” She sent Jeremy a pointed look as she passed.
What, did she expect him to wring a confession out of Caroline? He felt as at sea as Caroline looked.
She sank onto the closest chair. “But it wasn’t me,” she protested.
“And so you told him,” Jeremy assured her, taking the chair nearest hers. “If he insists on giving you the credit, that’s his issue.”
But it quickly became their issue.
They never did reach the drop that day. First, Ma insisted on an explanation. By the time she was convinced it was all a mistake, Pa and the others started coming in, and Caroline had to explain all over again.
“Someone will claim credit on Sunday,” Pa predicted. “This is merely a tempest in a teapot.”
And just when Jeremy thought he might extract her, the skies opened, and the rain poured down, destroying any chance of a leisurely ride. He would have gladly kissed Caroline in the rain, but somehow he doubted she’d be quite so enamored by the idea.
Jack and Jacob kept patrolling, regardless of the weather. He supposed rustlers might still strike in a storm, but it seemed unlikely. His other brothers and Ned holed up in the barn with the horses. His mother organized a sewing circle to make clothing for Mrs. Larsen’s baby. Since Ma wouldn’t hear of him leaving Caroline’s side, he found himself in the parlor, darning a sock.
“This is good experience for you, Jeremy,” Jane said when Ma and Jenny had gone to check on the bread and begin the dinner preparations. “You can do the mending while Caroline is working with the cattle.”
“And I thought I was the tease,” Jeremy quipped.
“I’d like to learn more about the cattle,” Caroline said as if speaking to the tiny shirt she was sewing. “Perhaps you’d be willing to teach me, Jane.”
“Happy to oblige,” Jane said, taking a stitch in a little cap. “It’s not hard.”
“Stay away from either end,” Joanna agreed, untangling some yarn. “You’ll be fine.”
“Caroline wouldn’t have to help with the cows,” Joy put in, trying to knot her thread, “if we had a dog.”
“We’re not getting a dog, Joy,” Jane said. “You heard Pa.”
“People can change their minds,” Joy insisted. “It just takes a while to sit and think. Right, Jeremy?”
Jeremy raised his brows. “I’m not usually the sit and think sort of fellow.”
His littlest sister frowned. “Yes, you are. That’s why you haven’t married Caroline yet. Ma said you had to sit and think.”
Caroline regarded him at last, dark eyes as stormy as the day. “Is that what it takes?”
“No,” Jeremy said. He gave it up and tossed the sock to Jane, who caught it. “Ma wants Caroline and me to court, Joy. If painting barns, washing dishes, and darning socks isn’t courting, I’m apparently doing it wrong. I should help Jack with the cows.”
He strode out of the room, feeling as if a pack of Joy’s dogs was nipping at his heels.
***
Caroline heaved a sigh as Jeremy disappeared out the door. Not only had she not received a proposal, but she was starting to fear she never would. At least not from Jeremy. And that thought made her ache all over.
“Maybe he needs to walk and think instead,” Joy said, though her round face was puckering.
“He’ll come around,” Jane predicted, setting aside the sock Jeremy had tossed at her. “He likes you, Caroline. Anyone can see that.”
Several young men in Cincinnati had claimed to enjoy her company. They hadn’t proposed either. And none of them had made her smile the way Jeremy did. None of them had looked at her with a mixture of admiration and awe like he did. And none of them had made her tingle all over as if Christmas had come early.
“Joy,” Joanna said, winding the yarn into a ball, “I left my best needles upstairs on the dressing table. Would you fetch them for me?”
Joy hopped off the sofa. “Happy to oblige.” She skipped from the room.
Joanna leaned back and craned her neck as if to make sure she’d gone. Then she looked to Caroline. “I can explain what you saw in the barn.”
This was the first they’d had a moment to talk after that kiss Jeremy’s sister had shared with Ned.
Jane frowned. “What happened in the barn?”
Joanna kept her gaze on the yarn as the ball slowly grew under her fingers. “I was asking Ned about his travels, and one thing led to another and…” Her hands stilled. “I kissed him.”
Caroline dropped the shirt she’d been sewing. “You kissed him?”
“Oh, Joanna,” Jane said.
Joanna’s head came up at last, silvery gray eyes flashing. “Don’t you scold me, Jane Wilhemina Willets!”
Jane flinched, but not entirely at the use of the middle name, Caroline thought. “I wasn’t scolding. I’m just worried for you.”
So was Caroline. Ned could be charming when he set his mind to it, but her brother was in no situation to think about taking a bride. And some would have harsh words for a young lady who kissed and didn’t marry.
But she could hardly mention the fact when she was in the same position!
“You needn’t worry,” Joanna said, returning to her work. “It was an aberration. I don’t intend to kiss every handsome wanderer who happens upon the ranch.”
And what about her brother? He’d had a hand in all this too. Caroline found her voice. “Unless I’m much mistaken, Ned kissed you back. He obviously admires you. After you left, he claimed he was brave enough to show a woman how he felt. If you have any doubts about my brother’s intentions, I’d ask him.”
Jane nodded, her own work clearly forgotten. “Wise advice. I’m sure you’ll do the same with Jeremy, Caroline.”
Caroline swallowed as both sisters watched her.
“Perhaps I will,” she said.
When she had an opportunity with no audience!
***
That Sunday was the Abercrombys’ turn to host services. Their farm stood to the north of the Jumping J. It only took a quarter hour for the horses to carry the wagon along the muddy road toward Puget City and up the track that led to the sprawling, single-story farmhouse, but Ma liked to arrive early so she could chat. That meant an early rising, a hurried breakfast, and helping with the harness and tack.
At least the rain held off while they bundled the ladies into the wagon bed. They all wore coats over their good dresses, and bonnets on their hair, but Ma insisted on tucking quilts around them as well. Joshua and Jason rode on the bench with Pa, and Jeremy, Jack, and Jacob rode their own horses. After a hushed conversation with Caroline, Ned had also mounted up and rode with them.
Jeremy hadn’t been able to find the right time yesterday for a proposal, but he was more hopeful for today as he nudged Quicksilver closer to the wagon. Jason had fashioned that collar from his mink pelt. It sat on Caroline’s coat now, the fur brushing her neck. She looked flushed and happy, her face turned up to a stray bit of sunlight spearing through the clouds.
“No sunbeam will ever look as pretty as you, Miss Cadhill,” he told her.
She tossed her head. “Like your sister, I recognize the butter boat too, Mr. Willets.”
He would have been discouraged if she hadn’t fluttered her lashes at the same time to show she was teasing. He grinned.
Pa turned the horses onto the Abercromby drive, only to be met by a pack of barking dogs. Quicksilver didn’t so much as pause, but Jacob had to calm his mount.
Joy reached down a hand as if hoping to catch one of the pups.
“Keep all parts on yourself in the wagon, young lady,” Ma ordered her, and his littlest sister settled back with a martyred sigh.
They pulled in among the other wagons. Jack set about taking the team to one of the pastures to wait with some of the horses. Jeremy came around to help the ladies down. Jane cast him an arch look before making way for Caroline.
He lifted her to the ground, holding her a moment longer than necessary—they were courting, after all. She peered up at him as if hoping for more.
“Miss Cadhill,” Mr. Abercromby said, shouldering his way into their midst. “Good to see you again.”
Caroline turned to smile at him. “Good to see you too, Mr. Abercromby. I stayed longer than either of us expected.”
Jeremy wasn’t sure what she meant, but the farmer was already motioning to someone else, and his son edged forward. He was only a few months older than Joshua, all gangly arms and legs, with pimples vying with freckles to take up the most of his square face.
“This here’s my boy, Tom,” Mr. Abercromby said, patting his son fondly on the back. “You didn’t get a chance to meet him last Sunday, but since young Jeremy here hasn’t popped the question yet, I understand, I thought you’d want to get to know him. Say your how-de-dos, Tom.”
Tom grimaced, face reddening, as he stuck out his hand. “How do you do, Miss Cadhill?”
“Very well, Mr. Abercromby,” she acknowledged. “Thank you.”
Before she could ask after Tom, Jeremy took her hand as they disengaged and tucked it into his arm. “We wouldn’t want to be late to services. Excuse us.”
He deftly led her back into the center of his family.
“Surely he didn’t expect his son to court me,” Caroline murmured, glancing back at their host, who was following as close as propriety would allow.
“Doesn’t matter,” Jeremy said. “You’re with me, until you tell me otherwise.”
She frowned, but he was relieved she didn’t protest as he led her into the house and secured them a spot.
The Abercrombys didn’t have as many members of the family as the Willetses, or chairs, so they’d had to improvise for seating. They’d set planks across logs to make two rows of pews across the top of the room, with more chairs lined up behind. Mrs. Abercromby had left one chair and a side table at the front for Mr. Dalrymple.
Jeremy put Caroline at the end of one of the rows and sat next to her, preventing anyone else from getting close. Jane, Jacob, and Jenny filled the rest of the pew. Ma, Pa, and some of the others settled behind them. Ned made sure to sit next to Joanna. Jack made sure to sit next to Ned.
Mr. Dalrymple rose to start the service.
“Before we begin,” he said, “I want to thank the good Lord for His provision. Because of the kindness, nay, I say, excessive generosity, of one of our members, we have enough money to purchase the Henshaw property and build our church!”
Applause broke out, along with a few whistles. Jeremy tensed, but the minister did not mention their benefactor’s name. Instead, Mr. Dalrymple launched into the opening prayer, then began leading a hymn. Jeremy relaxed.
Still, as the service progressed, he spotted more than one gaze directed Caroline’s way, and all from gentlemen. He edged a little closer and stretched his arm around her shoulders. She started, but she didn’t pull away. In fact, she fit against him so perfectly they might have been made for each other.
“We haven’t had a parade since the Centennial celebration last July,” Mr. Dalrymple said when it came time for his sermon. “Many of you attended that to-do in Puget City. The children marched waving flags, and Bill Egbert pounded that drum of his for all he was worth.”
Several chuckled. Like Jeremy, they must remember the storekeeper’s pride and utter lack of rhythm.
“The crowds were no less enthusiastic as they accompanied our Lord into Jerusalem,” their minister continued. “They waved palm branches and marched to the chant, hosanna in the highest. And they didn’t need anyone drumming.”
A few folks nodded. Caroline was watching in that avid way she had, as if she was considering each word.
“Now, I think we all agree that we’re still friends with old Bill even though many months have passed,” Mr. Dalrymple said with a smile that quickly faded. “But that wasn’t the case with this crowd. The same people who praised the Lord as He entered the city called for His death only a week later!”
Caroline shivered and dropped her gaze. He understood. At times, he’d said something or done something in jest, only to have his family fail to appreciate his wit. It had felt like a betrayal. How much worse the Lord must have felt, even though He’d predicted just such a calamity.
“Fickle,” Mr. Dalrymple said with a shake of his head. “Fair-weather friends, their affections blowing away at the first hint of a storm.”
Caroline fussed with the button on her coat. Jeremy swallowed. Did he seem like a fair-weather friend to her, kissing her one day and then not proposing the next? How could he explain his conflicted feelings without hurting her further?
The local bachelors were more devoted. Even though Jeremy put himself between them and Caroline after services, they crowded to meet her once more. As if in defense, Caroline latched onto Jane as well.
“Tell Ma we’re leaving,” Jeremy said around Caroline to his sister. “I’ll bring the wagon back once I know Caroline is safe.”
“Ma won’t like it,” Jane predicted. “She’ll think Caroline’s popularity will only make you jealous.”
And she wasn’t far off. Already he wanted to shout at that one, shove another out of the way.
“Tell her if I don’t take Caroline home now, she’ll be engaged to someone else by dinner.”
Jane grinned. “That ought to do it. Meet you at the wagon.”
She barreled through the men, leaving a gap that quickly closed in her wake.
Somehow, Jeremy managed to get Caroline out of the house without punching anyone.
“I thought they understood I was courting you,” she protested as he helped her up into the wagon bed. “Why do they persist?”
“Crows,” Jane proclaimed, joining them. “Anything new and shiny attracts their attention.”
Still, her admirers persisted. Sunday afternoon, Monday, and Tuesday, they showed up from just after dawn until nearly dusk, giving him and Caroline no moment alone. Ma acted as hostess to the many callers, but she soon had to enlist Jane’s and Jenny’s help as well.
He had to own himself perplexed. Local men, men who could see her in services, he understood. But he hadn’t met half of the callers. They came from Puget City to the north, Olympia to the southwest, and Tenino to the south. Some, like Tom Abercromby, were young enough to be her little brother. Others, like Mr. Ballus, were old enough to be her father. Both had renewed their interest, despite Jeremy’s presence at her side.
By Wednesday, he and Jane were forced to stand just inside the parlor door, because there wasn’t a seat left open. Ma was on the sofa with Jenny. Caroline had chosen one of the chairs, and Tom Abercromby had stationed himself as close as possible, with Mr. Ballus on her other side. A Mr. Turner and a Mr. Pence from Tenino filled the remaining seats, with two more men leaning up against the opposite wall. They wore the sawdust-flecked trousers that proclaimed them millworkers, most likely from Puget City.
Jason bumped past Jane and Jeremy, bringing in two of the chairs from the dining room for the visitors.
“I don’t recall the parlor ever being this full,” Jeremy murmured to his sister, “unless it was for a church service.”
Jane scowled, arms crossed over her chest. “And where have they been before now? I’ve been old enough to marry for three years, Jenny for one, and Joanna for a few months.”
The man nearest them glanced back over his shoulder. “But you’re not an heiress. Any lady that can afford to buy a ranch on a whim is a lady I want to meet.”
Caroline must have heard him, for she rose. Most knew enough about manners that they popped up as well, though a couple were slow in copying them and looked around as if mystified.
“Gentlemen, I keep trying to explain, but I don’t think you’re listening. I’m not an heiress. My father isn’t dead, and he’ll have nothing to leave me when the time comes.”
“Because he already gave it to you for your dowry, I heard,” Ballus put in. “Mighty generous, just like you.”
“With that kind of money, you can do better than a ranch hand,” one of the men from Puget City assured her.
Jeremy pushed off from the wall. “Better than a millworker too.”
Caroline hurried to his side and clung to his arm, gaze imploring. “I don’t think I could do any better than my intended. I have no reason to look for another husband, do I, Mr. Willets?”