Early Sunday morning, Audrey waded through mud to feed the stock. The judge had a milk cow, chickens, and an old pig, and now the horse had been added. Rain and thunder charged the air, the barrage endless. Finishing the stable chores, she hurried back to the dry house.
Stomping mud off her boots, she turned the door handle and entered the kitchen, shaking water off the judge’s old hat. Arms crossed, Willow stood staring morosely out the window at the watery deluge.
“Why aren’t you dressed for services?”
“You and Copper go on to church. I don’t want to leave Wallace alone this morning. He was so confused when I took him his breakfast.”
“No, I’ll stay. You go on,” Audrey insisted. “Folks enjoy your music so much.”
Willow spent enough time in this house looking after the ailing judge, and the congregation would be greatly disappointed if she didn’t show up to play the new organ Silas Sterling had so generously donated. “You and Tucker need time together. I don’t mind the least sitting with the judge.” A missed opportunity to see Eli, but perhaps Willow would invite him to dinner.
Copper came into the room, positioning a hair comb. “Both of you go. I’ll stay home with the judge.”
Willow let the curtain drop back into place. “I don’t want either of you to stay home because of me, but I admit, I would dearly love to play this morning, and a couple of hours with Tucker without worrying about leaky roofs and Uncle Wallace would be heaven.”
Copper sighed. “Then go. I’ll fix one of those nice fryers running around the yard. My hair frizzes something awful in this weather. Bring Tucker and Caleb back to dinner with you.”
“And Eli,” Audrey echoed.
When the two women turned to look at her, she shrugged. “It wouldn’t be polite not to invite him and his son.”
A heavy knock sounded at the front door, and Willow turned to answer. Audrey heard voices, and Willow came back trailed by Deet Jackson, one of the retired mill workers.
“Morning, ladies.” His gaze swept the kitchen, apparently looking for a place to hang his dripping hat. “Think it’ll rain?”
Audrey smiled at the humor attempt and took the hat from him and hung it on the back of a chair close to the oven heat.
Willow smiled. “What brings you out this morning, Deet?”
“It’s Sunday.” Deet hefted the coffeepot and filled a cup. “Thought you ladies might want to attend church.”
Willow’s face lit expectantly. “We do, but there’s Uncle Wallace.”
“That’s why I’m here. I’ll be right glad to stay with Wallace.”
“Oh, Deet, that’s nice of you, but I don’t want to be a bother.”
Audrey lifted a brow when Willow whirled, heading upstairs to change dresses before the conversation ended.
Deet shuffled to the coffeepot. “Nothing wrong with bothering your friends once in a while, and me and the judge go way back. Now, I ain’t taking no for an answer. You ladies skedaddle. Go put those pretty frocks on while I sit and enjoy my coffee. Service starts in thirty minutes, and I’ll be expecting lunch afterwards.”
Deet was more than six feet tall, with a mop of silvery gray curls that needed a good combing, and more likely than not that was a tobacco chaw in the left side of his mouth. Audrey accepted and followed Copper upstairs.
Later, the women gathered back in the kitchen. Audrey noticed none wore her Sunday best. They were garbed in everyday calico and sturdy boots. No fancy slippers or frilly lace for this worship service. Delicate footwear would be ruined before they took a dozen steps in the reddish mire waiting outside the door.
Deet nodded his approval. “Dressed for the weather. Mighty smart. I heard the church roof is holding, no leaks yet. That’s more than you can say for three-fourths of the houses in town. Got a real mess on our hands, we do.”
“My hair looks like a rat’s nest,” Copper groused.
Audrey tied her bonnet tightly. “Your hair looks fine. And when have you ever encountered a frizzy rat’s nest?”
“By the time we get to church, you’ll see one, I guarantee.”
Willow opened the door. “No one will notice. We’ll be late, and the congregation will undoubtedly be focused on our tardiness.”
Audrey stepped into the gloomy church vestibule and shook rain from her cloak. A mouse scurried past her, and she stepped to the side. A scant few had braved the dreadful weather to worship God, and those scant few were mostly sitting in the back pews.
Cordelia and Horace Padget swept past moments before the singing began. Cordelia’s eyes met Audrey’s for a frosty moment. She tilted her chin and tightened her lips, and her features corkscrewed as though she’d caught a distinctly obnoxious odor. The woman had an air about her. An uppity stance.
Horace nodded, and Junior stuck out his tongue.
Audrey’s hand itched to administer a swift swat on the youngster’s backside. Right here in the house of the Lord. Spare the rod, spoil the child. Proverbs. Yet she’d never struck anyone in her life and she certainly didn’t intend to start with Cordelia’s son. Poor Willow. The fire, the finger pointing associated with the accident, looking after her ailing uncle’s needs. Audrey was certain she’d had no time to think about teaching this fall, nor prepare for the event. She glanced at Junior. And that child would be in her classroom. Would events settle down so Willow could concentrate on what she was here for: to be the new teacher? She wondered.
Junior crushed a woman’s foot, and the woman let out a responsive groan.
Six long, excruciating hours.
Eli and Tate arrived, drenched to the bone. Father and son stood in the doorway while Eli’s eyes scanned the empty pews. Tate spied Audrey sitting on the aisle and ran to greet her. His face was shining in welcome. “Miss Pride!”
She hugged him, luxuriating in the child’s amicable greeting. He leaned to whisper, “You got those cookies baked?”
“Not yet, but soon, I promise.”
Eli paused beside her pew, and she glanced up to meet his guarded eyes. For a moment she thought she saw recognition in their depths, but then he reached for Tate’s hand. “Come on, son. Services are about to begin.”
“No!” The boy wiggled closer to Audrey.
She sent the child a warning look, but he ignored the silent signal. “I want to sit with Miss Pride.” He sprang up to squeeze between Audrey and the aisle armrest and settled on the bench.
Eli frowned and motioned for them all to scoot over and he sat down beside his son. He appeared considerably discomfited by the circumstance. Audrey forced her eyes to the pulpit. Copper elbowed her, grinning. She tolerantly closed her eyes, praying for strength. If Copper were ever to guess just how much she liked this man, her plan would go down in flames. Eli would be frightened off like a scared rooster.
Willow slid behind the organ keyboard as the song leader approached the podium. “Shall we sing, ‘Showers of Blessing’?”
Germaine Howard spoke up from the all-men’s choir. “We’ve been blessed about enough. Ain’t there any songs in that book about dry ground?”
The song leader’s face colored. “Well…ah…does anyone have a more appropriate offering?”
A second man spoke. “How about ‘Dem bones, dem bones, dem dry bones—’”
Willow cleared her throat. “Excellent suggestion, Mr. Rice, but I don’t have the music. Shall we try page forty-seven?”
The congregation rose to their feet and joined in the singing, bolstering the men’s voices. Caleb and Tucker stood tall and handsome in the choir, as did Eli, who had left his seat to join them. He stood behind a portly gentleman in the tenor section, and Audrey fancied she could hear his harmony above all the others. When the song service ended, Eli returned to the pew and Tate. Judging by his dark expression, he’d about as soon sit on a cactus in the far corner than have the church members catch him sitting almost beside a woman.
Reverend Cordell approached the podium and opened his Bible. “Let us pray.”
Audrey focused as he asked God’s blessing on the congregation, on the church, and then his prayers seemed to deepen spiritually as he offered up a heartfelt thank-you for the rain, and then even more pleading for it to end. Hearty amens echoed through the small sanctuary. Audrey’s included.
During preaching, she couldn’t keep from sneaking a glance at Eli, only to find him looking at her. Heat tinged her cheeks, and she directed her attention to Reverend Cordell for the remainder of the service.
After church, the congregation filed out into a cloudburst. Most trudged off on foot, avoiding miniature lakes of standing water.
Tate grabbed Audrey’s hand. “I want to go with you.”
Eli squashed the thought. “Tate. That’s not possible.”
“Oh, Eli, come to dinner with us.” Willow, arm through Tucker’s, grinned at the child. “We’re having fried chicken.
We haven’t had a good visit in ever so long.” Glancing up at Tucker, she said, “And of course, you’re invited.”
“I’d better be.” He returned her grin.
Caleb pulled his collar closer in the driving downpour. “Is your eyesight bad? What about me?”
Copper caught Audrey’s eyes and playfully mimicked, What about me? Audrey glanced away. “You’re invited too, Caleb.”
His grin widened. “Why, thank you, Miss Pride. How can a man refuse a warm and heartfelt invitation like that? I’d be most happy to come.”
“Sorry, Willow, but Tate and I can’t make it.” Eli said stiffly. “Maybe another time. Ma will be waiting dinner for us.”
Audrey mentally sighed as he led a fussy Tate away. Eli Gray could stand a good lesson on manners. She firmed her lips and pulled her cloak more tightly over her shoulders.
When the small group reached the house, Deet stood at the window and peered through the frosty pane. “What a mess. Roads are washed out, and felled trees and brush are beginning to clog the river.”
Audrey shook out her cape, hung it to dry, and then set plates and silverware on the table. The men, other than Deet, settled in the front parlor. Deet settled at the dinner table.
“Bunch of us men gotta go clean out the river after dinner.”
“Sounds risky. Tucker isn’t going, is he?”
“Yep. He’s the one that set it up.”
Audrey’s hands paused. “Maybe we shouldn’t mention it to Willow. Just let Tucker tell her.” Willow was a worrier, and there was no reason to upset her. Man’s work was often dangerous.
“It could be treacherous,” Deet agreed. “But we aim to be careful.” He tucked his napkin under his chin. “Eli able to get to services today?”
Audrey thought back to the excruciating preaching hour. She’d never been more uncomfortable or more conscious of a man’s anxiety than she had been during that service. “He and Tate were there.” She started on the potatoes and made swift work of the task.
“He and the boy not coming to dinner?”
“He was invited, but he declined the invitation.”
“Fine man.”
“He is at that.” She peeled the last potato and tossed it into the pot, her mind reliving Eli’s coolness this morning. He was going to be a hard one to attract.
“Shame about his wife dying while he was off fighting the war.”
Audrey turned to look at him, distracted. “Who?”
“Eli.”
She nodded. “That must have been a terrible experience.”
Willow breezed into the kitchen, dumping canned corn into a pan. She glanced at Deet perched at the table. “Dinner will be a while, Deet. Hope you don’t mind.”
“Don’t mind at all. I’ll jest sit here and visit.”
The old man leaned back in his chair. “Funny how those three boys are all so different. If Tucker had lost a wife, now, he’d get upset, but he’d get over it. He’d know he didn’t have a choice. Caleb, now, he’d turn it over to God, do his grieving, and keep on trusting. Eli, he’s different. Always been more sensitive. Things bother him. Keeps his problems bottled up inside.”
Audrey set the pan of potatoes on the stove to boil. “How so?”
“Well, Eli, now, he blames himself. Feels he let Genevieve down. Felt like he should have been here when she had the young’un, and he wasn’t.”
“He was fighting for freedom. He was a long way from here,” Audrey argued.
“That’s the way you and I see it. Eli, now, he sees it differently. In his mind he let her down.”
“Do you think he’ll ever get over it?” Willow entered the conversation.
“Can’t say. Maybe if the right woman comes along and tears down those brick walls he’s built around his heart.” His shrewd eyes bored into Audrey. “I figure she’d have her work cut out for her, though. Bringing that one around will be a right smart chore. It’ll take one of those Proverbs 31 women, for sure.”
Audrey winced. Well, she wasn’t a saint. Far from it, but with enough time, hopefully she could chip away his defense.
She sat quietly through dinner, eating and ignoring the chatter going on around her. Not a word was mentioned about the men’s planned afternoon work clearing the river. Audrey kept quiet. If Tucker didn’t want to worry Willow, then she had no right to intervene. Sometimes she wondered if men ever longed to rid themselves of their expected and sometimes hazardous roles.
By late afternoon, the men had gone and the weather had worn thin with Copper, who was never known for her patience. “If this blessed rain doesn’t stop I’ll never get to Beeder’s Cove. School is supposed to start in a week, and here I am stranded in Thunder Ridge.”
“You’re such a fusspot. If it’s raining this hard in Beeder’s Cove, and word is that it is, you wouldn’t be able to do anything except sit in the kitchen with the Widow Potts and drink tea.” Willow got up to close the damper on the stove.
“I’d rather be here with you than stuck there, but I’m anxious to start the new position.”
A muffled explosion rattled the windowpanes and interrupted the conversation. Audrey started and whirled to look out the window. After a continued silence, she twisted around to face the women. “The men must have blown the logjam.”
“I hope no one was hurt,” Willow said.
Copper patted her hand. “Don’t worry. I’ve been praying for Tucker’s safety.”
Willow frowned. “Tucker? Why? He’s home, isn’t he?”
“Uh…” Audrey glanced at Copper.
Slamming her palm on the table, Willow flared. “What!”
Audrey winced. “Well, I didn’t want to say anything for fear you’d react this way, but Tucker, Caleb, Eli, and some other men are clearing debris out of the river. It’s blocking the water flow.”
“Great day in the morning.” Willow turned ashen. “He didn’t mention a word to me. I thought they were all in the barn.”
“Maybe he didn’t want to worry you,” Audrey defended. “He didn’t want you to be concerned.”
“Didn’t want me to be concerned? Of course I’m concerned. I love the man!”
It occurred to her that Eli had occupied most of her thoughts this afternoon. Had she been worried about his safety?
Copper gave a philosophical smile. “Ah, love. We sure are obsessive about those who are most important to us. The best thing we can do this wretched afternoon is to rest. If anything goes wrong, someone will let us know. Until then, it would be a waste of time to pace the floor and fret ourselves into frenzy. Let’s nap.”
“Nap? With Tucker standing waist-deep in roiling water? Are you addled?” Willow sprang to her feet. “Audrey, are you coming?”
Copper’s jaw dropped. “You’re going out there?”
“Of course I’m going out there. I have to see if he’s all right.” Willow reached for her cape.
Sleep eluded Audrey. Though she wanted to go with Willow, her concern would be too obvious, so she remained with Copper, but she couldn’t nap. While Copper and the judge snoozed upstairs, she draped a piece of tarpaulin around her shoulders to keep out the rain and went for a walk.
She turned a corner and ran smack into Eli. He caught her shoulders to steady her. Their gazes locked, and she swallowed. “You’re all right.”
“Beg pardon?”
“You’re all right. Willow…she was concerned about Tucker—and you, of course.”
“Concerned? Why would she be concerned?”
“Oh, you know women. Clearing the river and all…”
“It’s clear for the time being.” He looked up. “It’s starting to come down harder. You best get inside.”
They fell into step and hurried toward the judge’s house. Audrey assumed Eli was heading home.
They hadn’t gone far before Audrey paused and pointed. “Junior’s at it again.”
Horace Junior was stomping a puddle dry. Off to the side sat a large black dog, watching. Suddenly the dog bounded to its feet, tail wagging, and raced toward Junior.
“The dog’s going to knock him down,” Eli predicted. “And we’ll get blamed.”
“Get away, you dog, you!” Junior yelled. “Go on, scat!”
The dog hit the water and Junior screamed, arms flailing. Barks and shrill screeches filled the air as he fell flat on his back. Eli gave a sharp whistle and waved his arms. “Go on, scat!”
The dog bounded out of the water and stood watching, tail wagging, and tongue hanging out. Eli grabbed Horace Junior by the collar and hauled him to his feet. “Why don’t you stay home and out of trouble?”
Junior wiped water from his eyes. “It’s boring there.”
“But why play where you know you’re not supposed to?”
“Because I want to. Ma won’t let me go anywhere, and you won’t let Tate play in the cellar today.”
“You tell your ma I pushed you again, and I’ll dust your britches.”
The boy smirked. “I’m not afraid of you. You can’t touch me. Ma said so.”
“One more fib and you’ll find out how hard I can touch the seat of your britches.” He collared him onto the path.
Audrey trailed behind him and the boy as they trudged toward the Padgets’ back door.
Cordelia flung open the door and glared at Eli. “What is it now?” Her eyes scanned the muddy child.
Junior opened his mouth and then glanced at Eli. For a long minute he was silent, and then he said, “A big, bad dog knocked me in a mud puddle.”
She gasped. “You were attacked by a beastly animal?”
Removing his hat in the driving downpour, Eli explained. “It wasn’t beastly. It was a dog. The animal wanted to play.”
Junior’s mother’s lips thinned to a tight line. “Your dog?”
“Never saw the dog before. It was a mutt.”
She eyed him. “I’m grateful, of course, but I do wish you and that boy of yours would stop encouraging Junior to be such a ruffian.” She pulled the child inside and firmly closed the door.
With a resigned sigh, Eli put his hat on. “Encourage him? Encourage him? That woman is a—”
“She is, indeed,” Audrey said before he made an unkindly comparison.
“The next time I see that boy in trouble, I’ll let him be.”
“You won’t do that.”
The muscle in his jaw twitched before he recovered. “I won’t. But it’s mighty tempting. That child is going to grow up and work in his daddy’s bank someday. Downright scary, isn’t it?”
They reached the judge’s house and paused. Audrey smiled. “Would you care to come in?”
“Thanks, I need to get home.”
“Surely. Some other time?”
He didn’t respond.
He left on his way, and she went inside the house.