the job. He’d asked William if he could work from ten in the morning until four in the afternoon, and William had agreed.
“You ladies wouldn’t happen to know of any young ladies who would be willing to watch the girls while I work, would you?” He hoped the change of subject would sidetrack them enough to drop the idea of him marrying Miss Rodgers.
Mrs. Orson sighed. “You got a job?”
“Why, yes, ma’am, I did.” He looked directly at the sour-faced woman.
She shook her head. “I see. The only lady I know of who is home during the day and able to keep up with two small children would be Miss Rodgers.” Mrs. Orson looked to the other women for agreement. “Emily Jane gets home around eight thirty every morning. Isn’t that right, ladies?”
The group nodded. He could see the spark of joy and scheming in their eyes. William couldn’t believe he’d walked right into their plans for him and Emily Jane. Well, hiring the woman to watch the girls and marrying her to watch the girls were two very different things.
Rose began to fuss at standing in place too long. Ruby decided it was time to join her sister in the protest, and she too began whining and trying to push out of his arms.
“If you will excuse me, ladies, I need to get these wiggle worms home.”
William took a step but stopped when Mrs. Green called to him.
“Mr. Barns, you will check with Emily Jane about watching the girls, won’t you?” she inquired.
“She is really good with young children. After all, she has had lots of practice,” Mrs. Harvey prompted.
They were an insistent bunch, he’d give them that. He grinned at Mrs. Harvey. “I’ll ask her, and thank you for the recommendation.” William hurried down the sidewalk toward home but could still hear them as he walked away.
“He really seems like a nice young man.”
“I think he and Emily Jane would make a nice couple, don’t you, Lois?”
“I do hope those girls settle down soon. I need my sleep,” another grumbled.
“Well, after a woman gets her hands on them, I’m sure they will become little darlings, and Emily Jane is just the woman for the job,” Mrs. Orson said in a no-nonsense tone.
Their voices faded as William hurried toward the house. As soon as he started walking again, the girls quieted down. They were already little darlings. He really didn’t see that having a woman in their lives would change them that much.
Each girl laid her little head on his shoulder. It was a short walk to his grandmother’s house, now his and the girls’ new home. He reached for the doorknob and found a small cloth bag hanging on it.
William ignored it; even though his curiosity was stirred, his hands were full. He carried the girls inside for a morning nap. After changing their diapers, he put them in their cradles. Thankfully, they curled up and went to sleep almost immediately.
Tiptoeing from the bedroom, William sighed and closed the door. His gaze moved about the sitting room. Thanks to Miss Leland and Miss Rodgers, the house now looked and smelled fresh. Once they’d started cleaning the night before, they hadn’t stopped until the whole house shone.
He remembered the bag on the front doorknob and went to retrieve it. The sweet scent of sugar and spice filled his nostrils. William pulled it open and saw two cookies inside. Had Emily Jane brought them over? Or perhaps another neighbor. Until he found out, William decided not to give them to the girls.
After the racket the girls had made last night, it wouldn’t surprise him if one of the neighbors put a sleeping draft in the cookies. He grinned at the silliness of his thoughts. Still, he’d wait on giving them to the girls until he was sure they were safe.
He walked over to a big chair and sank into its cushions, laying the cookie-filled bag on the side table. A yawn stretched his mouth wide. Nap time for the girls was one of his favorite times of the day. Often at night, one or both of them would wake up fussy. When was the last time he’d gotten a full night’s sleep? As his eyes drifted shut, William’s thoughts went to Emily Jane Rodgers. Would she watch the children? If so, he silently prayed she could get the girls into a regular sleeping routine.
* * *
Emily Jane pulled a fresh batch of oatmeal raisin cookies from the oven. She never tired of the baking smells that filled the kitchen. This recipe was no exception. She’d played with the ingredients a bit and liked the results. A pinch of this and a pinch of that had been her mother’s motto, but Emily Jane liked the results of being precise with her measurements. She wrote everything down as she went, and if the dessert turned out well, she could fix it over and over again without adjusting anything.
She put the cookies on a cooling rack and sat at the table to sip her coffee. All morning she’d been thinking about the neighbor ladies. How could they be so mean? Yes, children were noisy, yes, they cried, and, yes, the twins’ voices did carry on the night breezes, but that was still no reason to wish them gone. A smile teased her lips as she thought about how they would have reacted if they’d lived near her family. Her five brothers and six sisters were far from quiet.
Living out in the middle of nowhere pretty much explained why she and her sisters Sarah and Elsie had never married. There were no boys nearby to marry. Anxiety spurted through her. Had twenty-two-year-old Sarah and twenty-one-year-old Elsie been forced to answer mail-order-bride ads, too? Emily Jane hoped not, but then again, if it worked out as well for them as it had for her, maybe it would be the best thing for her sisters.
She thought over her own experience as a mail-order bride. Thanks to her father’s decision to lessen the mouths he had to feed, Emily Jane had answered an ad. She’d arrived in Granite, Texas, expecting to be courted by Levi Westland. His mother had written to Emily Jane and two other women telling them to come to Granite. She’d promised Emily Jane that if Levi didn’t choose her as his bride, then she’d help her find a husband.
Emily Jane shook her head as memories flooded her mind. She hadn’t wanted a husband then but wanted to be obedient to her father’s wishes and had come to Granite. It had been a relief when Levi had chosen Millie Hamilton as his new wife.
After Levi and Millie’s wedding, Bonnie Westland had offered to make good on her promise of a husband, but Emily Jane had assured her she was happy without one right now. Thankfully, Bonnie had understood but still assured Emily Jane that, should she change her mind, she’d be willing to help her find the perfect man. As if there were such a thing as a perfect man.
Emily Jane walked to the sink and placed her coffee cup in the hot soapy water. She hadn’t written her family since she’d arrived in Granite. The last thing she wanted was for Pa to tell her to come home and start the husband hunt all over again.
Still, she often thought about her siblings. Her sense of loss was beyond tears. She missed their laughter; she missed her sisters whispering in bed at night so as not to wake their parents. She found herself listening sometimes for their voices. And the little ones—tears welled within her eyes—how she missed cuddling their bodies close, burying her nose in their necks and smelling the powdery softness. Her lips pressed shut, so no sound would burst out. It had been a long time since she’d felt such a strong urge to cry. She straightened her shoulders and dared the tears to fall. Yes, Ruby and Rose made her homesick to see her family again, but her time of grieving the loss
