three

Bobby Joe wasn’t surprised to find all three of his brothers waiting for him at the front door of their home. The Aaron brothers were all large men, like their big brother, and they had similar features. But their hair was another matter. While Billy Ray had lighter brown hair than Bobby Joe, Tommy’s hair was so blond it was almost white, and Daniel’s hair was a deep auburn. All three of them were staring at him, with arms folded and eyes narrowed.

“So what’s this we hear about you courting Susannah Butler?” Billy Ray asked first.

“Yeah! We didn’t think you even liked her!” Daniel accused.

“What I can’t figure out is when you’ve had time to court anyone! You’re either in the house or at the mill, unless. . .” Tommy’s eyes widened as he was struck with a thought. “You haven’t been sneaking out at night, have you?”

Bobby Joe had figured this would happen. He hadn’t been exaggerating when he’d told Susannah that this would be all over town within minutes.

Sighing, he pulled off his hat and slapped it against his pants leg. “No, Billy, I’m not courting Susannah. But I do not dislike her, Daniel. And for your information, Tommy, if I decided to court a woman, you can bet your boots I wouldn’t resort to sneaking out at midnight to do it!”

The brothers looked at each other with sheepish faces and then turned back to their eldest sibling. “Well, how were we supposed to know? Zeke made a special trip out here to tell us about it. Says it’s big news around town,” Billy Ray defended.

Bobby Joe rested his hands on his hips. “Zeke wasn’t even in church.”

Daniel shrugged. “He heard it from Nancy Will’s brother.”

“Now there’s a reliable source,” Bobby Joe said dryly as he pushed past them and entered the house.

“Aw, come on, Bobby Joe. Where are they getting it, then? What’s up with you and the schoolteacher?” Daniel persisted.

Bobby Joe sighed and turned to them with a serious expression on his face. “Before we get into that subject, I need to ask you boys a question about Leanna.”

All three of them looked at Bobby Joe with more than a little surprise, and for a moment, no one spoke.

Finally, Billy Ray broke the shocked silence. “Bobby Joe, I thought we were never to mention her name,” he said hesitantly.

Bobby Joe ignored him and continued. “Did any of you see Leanna display strange behavior before she left?”

Tommy and Daniel, both Billy Ray’s elders, shrugged their shoulders. “We weren’t in the house that much, big brother,” Tommy told him. “If she had been acting funny, I didn’t even notice.”

Bobby Joe nodded with a deflated sigh. He started to tell them what happened with Susannah, when Billy Ray spoke up.

“I noticed, Bobby Joe. She cried a lot and seemed to be troubled. She didn’t know that I knew, but I would see her when I came home from school.” He had only been fifteen when she left.

Bobby Joe’s insides twisted at the thought of his late wife suffering alone. He wondered again why she kept everything to herself—why she wouldn’t let him help her through that scary time.

He took a breath, then he revealed to his brothers everything that Susannah had told him.

Billy Ray blew out a big breath of air. “So that means Susannah and her father had nothing to do with Leanna’s leaving!”

Daniel smiled at his brother innocently. “Yeah, that means you can court her if you want to.”

Bobby Joe ignored his brother and addressed Billy Ray’s comment. “That’s right, Billy. That’s why I went to church this morning. I wanted to meet up with her to apologize.”

Tommy looked at Daniel and nudged him. “Has Bobby Joe ever apologized to us for anything?”

“Naw, he only apologizes to the women he’s sweet on,” Daniel drawled.

After fixing them with a narrowed look, Bobby Joe moved past them, and, tossing his hat on the rack beside the door, he made his way back to the kitchen, where he knew his daughter would be. She liked to sit and talk with their cook and housekeeper, Lucy Martin.

Just before he made it to the kitchen door, he stopped and turned back to his brothers when Daniel, in his usual kidding manner, made a flippant statement.

“Since the whole town thinks you’re courting one another, why don’t you just go ahead and do it?” He laughed as he winked at Tommy and Billy. “She’s already practically family, being Leanna’s sister and all.”

A shocked quiet settled quickly over the group as the words slipped out of Daniel’s mouth. It was a stupid thing to say, and the brothers all knew it. Tommy and Billy glared at Daniel, who flushed guiltily as he looked at his eldest brother, preparing to apologize.

But the words never made it out of his mouth.

Bobby Joe wasn’t angry; he wasn’t even irritated. It was like a seed had been planted in his brain and refused to go away! And because this showed on his face with the lift of a thoughtful brow, his brothers could do nothing but stare.

Thanks to Daniel, an idea was taking shape in his mind, and it seemed to be the answer to all his problems. Susannah was practically family, and she did seem to love his daughter. And despite his efforts to keep them apart, Beth liked her aunt, too.

But Bobby Joe wasn’t considering courting Susannah, he was thinking about striking up a deal with her—a deal that would give his daughter the mother she needed and his home a much-needed female influence.

Marrying Susannah made sense. Not for romantic reasons or any such nonsense. He’d already been through that and didn’t want to suffer from love again. No. A marriage of convenience would suit him better.

The more he thought about it, the more he liked the idea. He smiled a satisfied smile as he looked up at his brothers.

They were staring at him like he’d just grown a couple of horns.

“What?” he asked innocently.

“You ain’t really thinking of. . .” Tommy drifted off, the words seeming too ludicrous to utter.

“You know, I believe he is,” Daniel commented incredulously. “I was only kidding, big brother.”

“Y’all are crazy,” Billy Ray scoffed. But upon looking at Bobby Joe more closely, he became less sure. “Uh. . .they are crazy, aren’t they, Bobby Joe?”

But Bobby Joe was never much of a talker. He just shrugged his shoulders and walked into the kitchen, leaving his brothers with confusion written all over their faces.

❧

Susannah’s short walk home turned out to be the longest she’d traveled in a while! Everyone in Springton seemed to have chosen to be in town that afternoon, just so they could talk to her—at least that’s how it appeared.

Oh, they were clever about it. First they would ask her how she’d been, then they’d slowly turn the conversation to having seen her either sitting with Bobby Joe in church or at the restaurant. Susannah kept telling them that it was nothing, that Bobby Joe was just her brother-in-law, nothing more.

Not a soul believed her.

She’d gotten so tired of being stopped and plied with polite conversation (which was, in fact, just a cover for nosing around in her business), that she practically screamed at one man.

He came up to her and began, “Pardon me, but—”

“Look, mister!” she interrupted. “Bobby Joe is just my brother-in-law, okay? You really shouldn’t listen to gossip!”

The man blinked and took a step back. “I. . .I was only going to ask you where the stables are located,” he stammered, causing Susannah to blush with embarrassment.

She hurried on down the street, but everywhere she looked, groups of women, young and old, were standing around talking, whispering, and giggling, all of them looking in her direction as she walked by. Didn’t these folks have anything better to do with their day?

Apparently not.

When she walked by the mercantile, Addie, the recently married storekeeper, came running out to greet her. Addie was never one to beat around the bush.

“You and that Aaron boy courting?” she asked point blank.

Susannah shook her head with exasperation as she stared at the wiry little lady. “Miss Addie, not you, too! I was just talking to the man, now everyone has me practically married off!”

Addie pulled out the pencil that was stuck in her gray hair and tapped it against her cheek. “Oh, but you couldn’t do better than Bobby Joe! He’d make you a fine husband!”

“But I’m not interested in—”

“Who’s getting married?” Harold Ray, Addie’s new husband, asked as he walked over to the women.

“No one’s getting married!” she said defensively, but they were looking at her as though they didn’t believe her. “Oh, never mind!” she huffed and started walking off.

“Be sure and send us an invitation, ya hear?” Harold Ray called after her, causing Susannah to groan and walk faster.

After the fiasco in town, Susannah wasn’t surprised to find both Patience and Rachel Stone knocking on her front door just minutes after she returned home. The three of them had become good friends in the past few months, and Susannah cherished their friendship. At the moment, she could really use their advice!

“Okay,” Patience began without preamble as soon as she walked in the door. “We want to know what’s going on!”

Rachel planted her hands on her hips and shook her head. “I was under the impression that you and Bobby Joe weren’t getting along!”

Susannah bit back a smile and drawled, “Well, I do declare! It’s certainly good to see y’all, too. And I’m doing just fine by the way. I know you would have asked me if you’d thought about it!”

Patience rolled her eyes and took Susannah’s hand, while Rachel took the other one. As they pulled her to the sofa, Patience told her, “That Southern belle act isn’t going to work, Suz. We want the facts!”

Susannah laughed as they playfully shoved her down on the sofa and pulled two chairs close so that they could sit directly in front of her.

“Y’all are making the silliest fuss for nothing! There’s nothing going on between Bobby and me!”

Rachel looked at Patience. “She’s calling him Bobby,” she observed, as if this were a major clue.

Susannah sighed. “All right, let me tell you what happened. But you’ve got to promise that this information will not leave the room.”

Both ladies readily agreed, and Susannah told them the whole story.

After Susannah was finished, Rachel had tears in her eyes. “Oh, Susannah! What your poor sister must have been going through.”

Patience, who was dabbing her own eyes with a lace hankie, asked, “How did Bobby Joe take it when you told him?”

“At first he didn’t believe me. He’s been carrying around bitterness for both my family and Leanna for so many years that he couldn’t believe circumstances might not be what they seemed. But when we met today, he seemed more at peace, and he even apologized for ignoring me all these months.”

Patience reached over and gripped her hand. “That’s wonderful, Susannah. I know how you’ve been hurt by his actions.”

Susannah shook her head. “He thought I’d talked his wife into leaving him. It wasn’t his fault.”

Rachel looked at her friend with keen eyes. Because of the hardships that she’d endured in her young life, she was more attuned to the feelings of others. “Susannah. . . ,” she began, then she took a breath and continued. “Do you have feelings for Bobby Joe other than friendship?”

Susannah blushed and smoothed an imaginary strand of hair behind her ear. “Well. . .I. . . ,” she stammered helplessly. She looked up at both of them and confessed, “Yes, I guess I do. I’ve tried not to, but I just can’t seem to help myself. And I know he hasn’t been a church-going man, but this may change things for him. He doesn’t seem to blame God anymore. . .or me for that matter.”

Rachel continued to look worried. “I hope that’s true, Susannah, but you may need to give him more time.”

Susannah forced a laugh. “You all are assuming that Bobby Joe would want to court me, which he doesn’t! The man couldn’t stand to look at me until yesterday!”

Patience made a tsk-tsk sound. “Now, I don’t want to hear that! You are the prettiest girl in town! Who wouldn’t want to court you?”

Susannah smiled at Patience gratefully. “Thank you, Patience.” A thought suddenly crossed her mind and she frowned. “I may have another problem, though.”

Rachel patted her on the knee. “You know what my husband always says! You can do all things through Christ!”

Susannah swallowed hard. “Well, I’m surely going to need His help, then, because I’m afraid I have another secret under my bonnet. This one Bobby Joe might not so readily forgive.”

Patience waved away her concern. “Awww, it can’t be that bad.”

“You haven’t heard it yet,” Susannah answered faintly. “You see, I didn’t come to Springton because of the teaching job. I came because my father sent me here to find a way to take Beth away from Bobby.”

Both women gasped. Rachel spoke first. “Oh, that can’t be true!”

“You’re not really going to—” Patience blurted out.

“No!” Susannah quickly interjected. “You know I couldn’t do a thing like that! I just went along with it because my father will not take no for an answer. And when he told me that I’d be teaching, I knew I had to come. Teaching has been my lifelong dream.”

Patience frowned. “How much time did he give you to do this?”

“A year. I’ve already been here ten months.”

“Oh dear,” Rachel cried softly. “You’ve only got two months left! What will he do then?”

Susannah buried her face in her hands. “I don’t know. I’ve ignored all his telegrams and letters, and I’m afraid he’ll try to come here.”

Rachel sat back in her chair and folded her arms. “Well, I don’t think that will matter. You simply tell Bobby Joe the truth, and when your father arrives, let Bobby Joe deal with him. There’s no way that he can take Beth anyway.”

Susannah dropped her hands. “I’m afraid you don’t know my father, Rachel. He can be ruthless when he wants something. Believe me, he’ll find a way.”

All her life Susannah had been in awe of, and a little bit afraid of, her father. And for the first time in her life she felt free. Free of his dictates and free of having to live up to his impossible standards. She tried not to think about being reunited with him; she could only pray that God would work it out.

Rachel seemed to read her thoughts, because she reached out her hands to both girls. “Why don’t we say a prayer? I know God can give you the answers you need.”

So together the girls bowed their heads, linked hands, and prayed. When they were finished, Rachel repeated her earlier advice, “Please let Bobby Joe know about your secret, Sus-annah. He’ll take it better if it comes directly from you.”

Susannah had her doubts about whether he’d take it well under any circumstances, but she nodded. “I’ll just have to find the right time to do it, I guess.”

“You’ll do just fine, Suz,” Patience comforted.

The three of them spent another half-hour together as Susannah served them coffee and cookies that she’d baked earlier. But when a knock sounded at her door, their conversation skidded to a halt.

“Well, for goodness sakes! Who can that be?” Susannah thought aloud.

“Oh, it’s probably one of my children!” Rachel told them, getting up from her chair. “Just stay where you are and I’ll go and check.”

Patience and Susannah smiled at one another as Rachel raced to the front door. She and the reverend helped run an orphanage, and when Rachel referred to her “children,” you never knew if she meant the orphans or her own three children.

They’d continued to chat, figuring Rachel would be away for a while, but were surprised to see her come back into the parlor.

“Uh. . .it wasn’t my kids,” she said with a secret smile playing about her mouth. “You have company, Susannah.”

She stepped further into the room, and right behind her came Bobby Joe with his daughter, Beth.

“Beth! It’s so good to see you!” Susannah exclaimed, jumping up from her chair and giving her niece a quick hug.

“Hi, Aunt Susannah. I couldn’t believe it when Daddy told me we were coming to visit you, but I wasn’t about to argue! I sure didn’t want him to change his mind,” Beth said with her usual candor.

Susannah looked up at Bobby Joe and saw him wince. He had exchanged his dark suit for a neatly pressed white shirt and jeans. His hair was slightly jostled from the ride into town. To Susannah, he looked more handsome than she’d ever seen him. Maybe it was because he was standing in her house and smiling down at her.

“Hi, Bobby,” she said, finding herself, for once in her life, at a loss for words. She felt like her tongue was tied in knots.

“Hello. I hope you don’t mind us dropping by. I didn’t know you’d be entertaining,” he said hesitantly, looking at the other two women.

“Oh, don’t worry about us!” Patience told him brightly as she scooped up her bag from the chair. “I was just on my way out, and Rachel was coming with me!”

“Oh! Yes! That’s right. Patience and I were just leaving,” Rachel added, suddenly understanding what her friend was up to.

“But. . .but I thought. . . ,” Susannah sputtered as she followed them, suddenly nervous about being left alone with Bobby and his daughter.

The two women were already opening the front door. “We’ll see y’all tomorrow!” Rachel told her as the door shut firmly behind them.

Quiet descended over her little house, and Susannah took a deep, fortifying breath. Gathering all her courage, she turned around with what she hoped was a believable smile and walked back into the parlor.