Mail Order Misfortune (9 page)

They finished their cookies and talk turned to the townsfolk while they worked.  Anna told Julia how terrible Mr. Hanson had been to her and about how Jesse had stood up for her.  They sewed while they talked, and when Julia stood up to go, she folded an almost finished church shirt for Ernie.  "You just need to do the buttonholes."  She leaned forward as if to impart a secret.  "I hate buttonholes."

Anna smiled.  "I think all women do!  I'll get them done, though."  She put the finished pants on the table.  "I can do those up after supper tonight, and he'll have new clothes for church on Sunday." 

"You're going to be a great mother to him," Julia said as she headed for the door.  She turned and hugged Anna tightly.  "I'm so glad we're friends.  I needed someone here who I could really confide in."

"Oh, me, too!  I've never really had a close girl friend.  All of the others at the orphanage paired up with best friends, but I was so quiet, that I really never did quite fit in." 

Julia's eyes danced.  "From what you've told me, I don't think Jesse finds you quiet at all."

Anna grinned.  "I turn into something of a fishwife around him.  I'm not quite certain why."  She watched as her friend walked away, stopping to wave when she reached the road.  Closing the door, she walked to the stove and the pot roast that had spent the afternoon cooking.  She just needed to peel some potatoes for mashed potatoes and add a jar of carrots for a vegetable.  The bread she'd baked while she worked on the cookies that morning still smelled wonderful.

She quickly washed the dishes from her time with her friend and set aside her sewing.  She'd hav
e Ernie try everything on after supper to make certain she'd fitted it to him correctly, but she was pretty certain the clothes would fit well.  Good.  She needed to show Jesse she was a good wife, no matter what he may think.

*****

Anna waited until after breakfast the following morning to take Ernie aside and ask him a question.  "What did your parents like to do together?" she asked.

Ernie looked at her with surprise, obviously not expecting that question.  "I don't know.  They did parent stuff, I guess."

Anna sighed.  "Well, did they go for long walks together?  Did your ma sing for him?  Did they dance together?"

Ernie studied her with a blank look
for a moment, and then his face lit up with understanding.  "They liked to go for long rides.  They'd leave me with my grandma, and they'd ride for hours.  Mama was a great horsewoman."

Anna nodded thoughtfully.  "Okay, thank you."  She'd never been around horses much, and really was more than a little afraid of them.  How was she going to be a good horsewoman?  She needed to find someone
who could teach her to ride.  There were enough men around the ranch that could do it, she was certain, but how would she get up the courage to talk to one of them?

Ernie left with his father, and soon after he'd gone, Anna saw the same man she'd met the first day she'd come to the ranch.  She was washing the dishes and
staring out the window, as she often did, watching what was happening on the ranch.  The cowboy looked as if he'd been born in a saddle, and she wondered if he'd teach her.  She didn't remember his name, and truthfully couldn't remember if she'd ever known it.  She dried her hands on her apron and rushed out the door to where the man was in the stable, feeding the horses.

"I'm afraid I didn't catch your name the other day," she said, startling him away from his work. 

He looked at her for a moment before continuing to feed the horses.  "I caught yours.  Mrs. Hoover, boss's wife.  Whatcha need?"  He kept his words short and to the point, obviously not wanting to get caught talking to the boss's new bride.

Anna smiled.  "I want your help in doing something to surprise my husband," she answered softly.

"What would that be?"

"I want to learn to ride.  I've never been on a horse."  Truthfully, she'd never touched one.  She'd only driven a wagon once, and that was just that week.  Riding a horse wasn't something she'd even contemplated.  It seemed too complicated to her.

He eyed her up and down for a moment.  "How's the boss feel about it?"

She shrugged.  "I want to do it as a surprise for him.  He likes to ride and it's something we can do together."

He looked skeptical.  "I dunno.  I don't want to get in trouble.  He's a good man, and I don't need to lose my job."

"You won't lose your job.  I promise."

He sighed.  "Well, if you want to learn to ride, I do have a mare you could use.  She's old and docile."

"She sounds perfect!  I can't pay you extra, but I'll bake you some cookies," she offered.
  She could probably find some money to pay him as well, since she still had her savings, but because he'd be doing it during work hours, she didn't think that would be right.

He nodded.  "That'll do."

"When can we start?  I was thinking maybe we could do it after lunch in the afternoon while my husband is on the range.  He never comes back in the afternoon until it's time for supper."  She smiled at him cajolingly.  "Oh, and I need to know your name.  I don't know that I caught it that day I first came here."  She was ecstatic to have found someone to help her.

"It's Ace, ma'am."  He looked up into the rafters of the stable, as if he was contemplating her words. 
"Yeah, I'll do it.  I'll start coming by as soon as I see him leave in the afternoon, and we'll work for an hour.  No longer than that, because I've got other chores to do."

She held out her hand to shake his.  "That sounds perfect, Mr. Ace.  Thank you."

He spit into the dirt at her feet before taking her hand and shaking it.  "Not Mr.  Just Ace."

She nodded and hurried into the house, knowing that she had a lot to do as well.  She didn't want Jesse to think that she wasn't doing everything she could to give him a full day's work.

As soon as lunch was over, she rushed out to the corral beside the stable and met Ace there.  He looked nervous as he stood holding the reins of a thin looking horse. 

Anna approached slowly, more than a little nervous.  She reached out a tentative hand to stroke the side of the horse's head.  "What's her name?"

"It's Chili.  When she was younger, she was really fast, but she's too old for much of anything any longer."

Anna took a moment to get close to the horse, learning the feel of her.  "What do we do first?"

Ace eyed her skeptically.  "I think today all we're going to do is get her used to you and you used to her."  He handed her the rope that was tied to Chili's harness and gestured with his hand.  "Just walk her slowly around the corral.  Let her get used to being guided by you, and you get used to having her close."  He watched as Anna did what he told her.  "Next time you might want to bring her a sugar cube or an apple.  Even a carrot.  She loves them all, and they're special treats."

Anna was nervous as she walked in slow circles, eyeing the huge animal over her shoulder.  Were all horses this big? she wondered.  She'd only really been around them when she was in a carriage or on a board walk on the side of the road.  No one had ever asked her to walk with one before.
  She felt more than a little intimidated.

After her hour was up, Ace took the reins from her.  "That's enough for today.  Remember to bring her a treat tomorrow."  He walked off while Anna watched, wondering if the man remembered that she was really the boss in this situation.

Every afternoon that week, they worked with Chili for precisely one hour.  Anna would start out walking her and then get onto her back.  Anna shook every time she got onto Chili's back and Ace would stand beside her shaking his head.  "She can smell your fear."

"I don't know how to just stop being afraid," Anna would retort.  She just wasn't comfortable on the horse's back.  It was Friday afternoon, and he'd let her get on the horse's back and he would guide her around the corral with the rope, but he never let her try and ride on her own.  She was always with him every step of the way.

After she'd dismounted she looked at Ace, who was ready to rush into the stable with Chili.  "When are you going to let me ride her on my own?"

Ace shook his head. 
"Not until you quit shaking every time you climb on her back.  She's going to throw you as sure as I'm standing here if you don't start showing a little gumption."  He spit on the ground on his way into the stable, effectively dismissing her for the day.

Anna hurried into the house and washed the horse smell off of her before she fixed supper.  She'd managed to finish three pairs of pants and three shirts for Ernie, and was going to have to start on Jesse's clothes next.  She wished the riding lessons were going as she wanted them to, but she was too afraid to really do anything. 

Her dream was to one day ride out over the land to where Jesse and Ernie were working and ask Jesse if he'd like to go for a ride with her.  She somehow knew that if he saw her on a horse, his eyes would fill with love, and he'd forget all about Deborah.  She sighed.  She had to figure out how to stop being afraid first, though.  Ace wouldn't even let her walk the horse around the corral without him being right there.  She just wasn't ready.

Chapter Eight

After supper that evening, Jesse leaned back in his chair, watching his tiny little wife move around the kitchen doing the dishes.  He had to admit
Anna was the best cook he'd ever known.  Even his ma didn't hold a candle to her in the kitchen, and she had finished up Ernie's clothes faster than he'd have ever imagined.  His house was spotless now, and everything in it was well-run and organized.  His new wife was a wonder.  He was glad he had her.  He just hoped he could keep from breaking her heart.

While she moved, he noticed she was moving slower than usual.  She seemed to be a bit sore.  "What happened?  Did you fall?"

She shook her head, continuing about her work, not willing to answer him.  She was sore from the time spent on horseback that week, although she knew that she couldn't tell him that.  She didn't want him to know about her surprise until she'd actually gotten good at riding.  "Nothing happened."

"You working too hard?"  She was such a tiny little thing, and she worked like an ox.  He'd never seen a woman do the kind of work that his wife did.  She seemed to roll out of bed in the morning with a frying pan in her hand, and go to bed with a needle in her fingers.  She never stopped, and she accomplished a great deal.  One thing he couldn't deny was her work ethic.

She shook her head again.  "I'm used to hard work." 

"Then why do you look sore?"

She shrugged, her eyes not meeting his.  She couldn't tell him about the horse.  She wouldn't tell him no matter what.

Jesse's eyes narrowed when she wouldn't meet his gaze.  She was obviously up to
something, and he needed to find out what it was.  He wondered if she was entertaining men in the house during the day while he was gone. 

As soon as the words entered his mind he dismissed them.  There was no way she'd do that.  She wasn't the type at all.  Still, she was hiding something from him.  He'd have to start coming home during the day to find out what.  He didn't like the idea of his wife hiding anything.

*****

After church on Sunday, Anna was talking with a small group of ladies that included Julia when she heard the scream of a little girl.  She immediately closed her eyes and said a silent prayer that it wasn't Ernie making her scream.  She knew better, though, because it was always Ernie making the little girls scream.  Would he ever start behaving as he should?

She glanced over and saw Ernie a few steps away from a crying Susie, a frog hopping away from the hysterical girl.  It didn't take a genius to realize that Ernie had put a frog into the girl's pocket. 
Why?  Why would he do that on such a fine day?
She had just started to feel like she was respected within the community, and Ernie did something like that. 

She excused herself politely, ignoring the knowing glances of the women she'd been speaking with.  She walked over to where Ernie stood, apologizing, his face red.  "I'm sorry, Susie.  I didn't mean to scare you."
  Ernie was obviously contrite for his behavior, which actually surprised Anna a great deal.  He was usually rather proud of his mischief.

Susie ignored him, continuing to wail now that she realized she had an audience.  One of the first things Anna had learned about Susie was that if she injured herself, she needed to be ignored or it would be made into something
much worse than it actually was.

She approached, her hand going to Susie's shoulder.  "Susie, calm down.  Ernie is sorry, aren't you, Ernie?"

Ernie nodded emphatically.  "I didn't think the frog would scare you.  I heard you say that you wanted a pet, and I thought maybe you'd like a frog for a pet."

Anna turned back to Susie.  "There, you see?  He didn't mean to upset you."  She put her arm around Susie to walk her back to her mother, planning to have a talk with Ernie as soon as they returned home, which they
would do immediately.  They needed to talk about it as soon as possible.

She spent a minute talking to Susie's mother, who had twin sons in her arms, and seemed a bit exasperated by the whole thing, and turned just in time to see Mr. Hanson disappear around the corner of the church with Ernie in tow, pulling the boy behind him.

Anna didn't know if Jesse had seen, but she didn't trust Mr. Hanson to be gentle with her new son, so she ran as fast as she could through the small crowd gathered outside the church, her dress hitched up above her ankles, showing a great deal too much of her calves.  She was panting when she reached them.

Mr. Hanson had backed Ernie against the back of the church and was leaning over him yelling at him.  "You will not continue to terrorize the girls in this community.  I don't care if your father doesn't know how to raise a boy or if your new mother is a harlot.  You will not behave this way!" He pulled his belt out from the belt loops as he spoke, holding it in his right hand as if he were about to use it on the boy.

Anna hurried over and caught his arm.  "You will not strike that boy!"

Mr. Hanson turned to her, his face scarlet with anger.  "It's none of your business what I do.  This boy is a menace, and he'll be disciplined for what he's done!"

Anna was shaking, but she refused to back down to the horrid man.  "He will be disciplined, yes, but he will be disciplined by people who love him.  His father and I will deal with him, and you'll not touch him ever again.  Do I make myself clear?"

The man raised the belt toward Anna, and she flinched as she watched it start to fall.  Jesse jumped between them, the blow that was meant for Anna catching his arm.  He easily took the belt from the older man, his eyes flashing with anger.  "You won't find it so easy to intimidate me."

Mr. Hanson shook his head.  "Mr. Hoover, both your son and your wife are causing nothing but problems in this community.  Why you married that harlot is beyond me, but you need to find a better role model for your son."

Jesse dropped the belt and used his fist to hit Mr. Hanson in the nose, causing blood to spurt everywhere.  The older man dropped to his knees, and Jesse took a step toward him.  "Get back on your feet and fight me like a man."

Anna rushed forward, grabbing Jesse's shoulder.  "No, Jesse.  You can't hit him while he's down."  She moved between the two men, facing Jesse, her eyes imploring him to listen to her.  "We need to go home now."

Jesse was shaking with anger as he stared down into her blue eyes.  He knew she was right, but he didn't care.  He wanted nothing more than to beat the other man to within an inch of his life.  Finally, he nodded, turning to leave the churchyard with his wife and son trailing behind him. 

Anna kept her arm firmly around Ernie's shoulders as they walked to the wagon.  "We'll talk when we get home," she whispered.

Jesse said nothing as he drove them back to the ranch.  His face showed that the anger hadn't left, and Anna noticed that the knuckles of his right hand looked a little skinned. 

When they got home, she sent Ernie upstairs to his room while she carefully used witch hazel on his knuckles.  "I wish you hadn't hit him," she whispered.  She wasn't telling the whole truth, of course, because seeing Jesse's fist connect with Mr. Hanson's face had been nothing short of glorious in her eyes.  She had been thrilled to see it happen, and she was glad she'd been there to witness it.  She was just as glad that no one else had witnessed it.  She didn't want Jesse to get a reputation for brawling. 

Jesse stared at her in surprise.  "He called you a harlot."

Anna nodded.  "He did.  He's an evil old goat, but I still wish you hadn't hit him.  I don't think violence solves anything."

"Sure felt good!" Jesse said with a grin.

Anna stifled a giggle. "I'm sure it did."  She walked to the stove and served the beans she'd had cooking at a low temperature the whole time they were at church.  "Call Ernie, and we'll have some lunch."

While they ate, Anna questioned the boy.  "Were you trying to scare Susie?" she asked.

Ernie shook his head emphatically.  "No, ma'am.  I really did hear her say last week after the service that she's wanted a pet for a long time, but her ma won't let her have one because she's afraid that the twins will get hair all over them.  So I saw that frog while I was playing before church today, and I stuck in my pocket to give her after church."

Anna bit her lip.  "And she didn't like it as much as you thought she would?"
  It was obvious the boy hadn't had a female influence in his life for a long time.

Ernie sighed.  "I'm not sure what I did wrong.  I went up to her, and put the frog in her pocket and whispered, 'There's your pet.'"  He looked at Anna with a confused expression.  "Why did she scream?"

Anna thought carefully about how to answer him.  "Well, girls are a little bit nervous about frogs and lizards and such.  They don't like snakes either.  She wants a kitten or a puppy as a pet."

"But her ma won't let her have one of those!  So a frog should be perfect."

Anna nodded.  "I can see how you'd think so, but not really.  Girls just aren't partial to frogs the way boys are.  I'm sorry."  She looked at Ernie who had his head bowed sadly.  "Do you think Susie is pretty?"  She knew there had to be more to the story.

Ernie nodded.  "I think she's the prettiest girl I ever saw, so I wanted to give her something she'd like, but I did it wrong."

Anna smiled, her hand going out to stroke his arm.  "You didn't do it wrong.  You just didn't know she would be like that about the sweet pet you found for her.  Don't worry about it, Ernie."  Her eyes met Jesse's for a moment.  "You know, next time you should get her a bouquet of flowers.  I bet she'd like that better."

Ernie's face perked up a little.  "But
men do that when they court a woman.  I'm too young to court her."

Anna nodded.  "You are too young to court her, but you're not too young to take her flowers to apologize for scaring her."

Ernie grinned.  "I can do that.  Thanks, Ma!"

Anna stared at him for a moment, stunned.  It was the first time he'd called her anything but Anna, and usually it was more of a 'hey you' type thing with him.  She knew he wasn't even aware he'd said it, but when her eyes met Jesse's, she could tell that he'd noticed.

After lunch Ernie ran out to play, and Jesse watched her clean up the kitchen.  He'd been planning on working that day, but she'd been so kind to Ernie over his little mix up with Susie, and she'd rushed to his defense with old Mr. Hanson.  He realized she'd done exactly what Deborah would have done in the same situation, and he was thrilled with her.  She was proving to be not only a good wife, but a good mother.

"Thanks for standing up for Ernie today.  I appreciate it."

Anna smiled.  "I couldn't have let that mean old goat hurt him.  He's such a sweet boy."  She certainly hadn't thought she'd be saying something nice about Ernie to his father two weeks before, but after getting to know him, she realized he was a good kid.

Jesse smirked at her words.  "That's not what you were saying when you were the schoolteacher." 

Anna laughed softly.  "Well, he's better behaved now.  It must be having a woman's influence in his life."  She barely refrained from sticking her tongue out at him, but she knew it would be horribly childish. 

"Must be.  Whatever the reason, I appreciate it.  You've done more for him than I ever imagined you would when we agreed to marry."

Anna dried the last dish and put it in the cupboard before turning to him.  "What did you think I would do?"

Jesse shrugged.  "I'm not sure.  I guess I thought you'd just do your cooking and cleaning and leave raising the boy up to me."

Anna walked over to take the seat at the table that Ernie usually sat in.  "Are you glad I'm helping with Ernie?  Or do you wish I'd back off?"  She didn't want to overstep her bounds, but she cared for the boy and wanted to help with him as much as she could.

He thought about it for a moment, not quite certain how to answer that.  "You know, I like that you're so gentle with him.  I needed the help.  I certainly needed the help with his clothes."  He shook his head.  "The housekeeper I had back East kept telling me that he was hopeless, and he was going to end up in jail someday."

"That's terrible!"

Jesse nodded.  "I thought so, too.   I figured you'd put up with him the same way she did, because you had to.  I'm glad you're kinder to him than that."

Anna nodded, her heart hurting for Jesse.  "I wish you'd had someone else who could be a mother to him after Deborah died.  What about your mother?"

"She helped for a bit, but she was already sickly.  She died within a year of Anna."

"I'm so sorry.  You've seen a lot of loss."

He studied her for a moment, overwhelmed by her sweetness.  He'd at least had the opportunity to love people, something she'd never really had.  "I have, but I've had the opportunity to love a lot of people as well.  I can't complain."  It was then that he realized he couldn't.  Yes, he'd lost the woman he loved, but he'd had her for years.  He'd lost his parents, but he'd been raised by them and learned about life from them.  They were good people.  She had no one that she'd known her entire life except people in an orphanage.  He suddenly felt very sad for her.