A Groom's Promise Read online

  Little did she know how wrong she was. But there was no reason to tell her that. She’d find out soon enough.

  “What do you think of the chicken?” she asked.

  Since he hadn’t eaten it yet, he hurried to take a small bite, especially with her watching him. He quickly swallowed then smiled. “It’s g-good.”

  She smiled in return then asked him and her pa what they’d like her to make tomorrow. Archie, thankfully, answered, saving Jack from having to come up with a reply. From there, Archie started talking about taking Hugh into town, and Jack further relaxed, assured it was safe to eat the rest of his meal.

  Chapter Five

  The next morning after breakfast, Maybell watched as Pete pulled the buggy up to the front of her home. Ada was holding Fred, and Maybell couldn’t help but let out a soft sigh of anticipation. Someday, it’d be her who’d be holding her child in her arms while her husband drove the buggy.

  She glanced around the property, wondering where Jack was. He had come in for breakfast, but since her pa gave him a list of chores to do, he hadn’t stayed long. The poor thing was awfully shy. It took a lot of questions to get him to say anything, but it’d be rude to eat at the same table with him and not talk to him. Not that she needed such an excuse to say something to him. She’d be delighted just to sit in silence with him if that’s what he wanted.

  Of course, it would be easier if he didn’t have a habit of hiding all the time. She suspected the only reason he came in for breakfast at all was because her pa got him. Otherwise, who knew if he’d venture into the house? Well, in due time, he’d know he was welcome here, and with any luck, he’d open up to the idea of being with her.

  Her gaze went back to her friends, and she hurried down the steps. She reached them in time for Pete to help Ada down from the buggy. “I’m glad you made it,” she told Ada then ruffled the boy’s hair. “Nice to see you again.” Turning her attention to Pete, she waved and signed she was glad he came.

  Pete returned the signs but added more to them.

  Maybell glanced at Ada. “I only caught the first part of that.”

  “He’s been learning so many new words,” Ada said. “He said he’s looking forward to meeting Jack. Will you take Fred, so I can sign what you say to him?”

  “Sure.” Maybell took Fred. “I’m glad you can do it for me. Don’t get me wrong. I enjoy learning new signs. It’s just that you two learn so much faster than me.”

  “We’re married,” Ada replied. “We need to know the signs more than you do. And you shouldn’t be hard on yourself. You’re doing fine.”

  Pete tapped Ada’s arm, so she turned to him and signed some words. All Maybell could make out was her name and the word learn.

  Glancing at Maybell, Ada explained, “He wants to know what we’re talking about.”

  “Oh.” That made sense. Now that he knew how to communicate, he showed a lot of interest in knowing what everyone around him was saying. “Ada, will you ask him if he’ll tell Jack how happy he is to be married?”

  Ada giggled. “You didn’t want to go for the subtle approach?”

  “Well, if it comes from Pete, it’ll mean more. You know how men are. They listen to each other more than wives or daughters.”

  “Sadly, you’re right.” Ada turned to Pete and signed what Maybell asked.

  Pete’s eyebrows furrowed, and he replied with a couple signs of his own.

  “What’s wrong? He won’t do it?” Maybell asked.

  Ada chuckled. “He doesn’t understand why he needs to convince Jack marriage is good. He thinks all men are eager to get married if they’re single.”

  “I wish that was the case, but it’s not. The last four men who came to help Pa didn’t want to be tied down to a wife. They wanted to move on to the next town and sow their wild oats.” Before Ada could sign to him, she stopped her. “No need to mention the wild oats part. Just tell him a nudge toward matrimony never hurt anyone.”

  “Alright.”

  After Ada signed to Pete, Pete nodded, though he still didn’t seem to understand what the big to-do was all about. Ada had been lucky. She got a man who wanted to be married. But to Ada’s credit, she was willing to help her out, and Maybell appreciated that.

  Ada turned to her. “Where is this husband-to-be?”

  “Um…” Maybell glanced at the bunkhouse then the barn. “I think my pa asked Jack to muck out the stalls while he went to the fields. Will you come with me?”

  “Of course.”

  Still carrying the boy, she led them to the barn where, sure enough, Jack was. And what luck! He was just about done raking the hay and manure from the first stall out the backdoor.

  “Hi, Jack,” Maybell called out.

  Jack almost tripped as he shoved the last of the first stall’s contents out the door.

  She chuckled and walked over to him. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to scare you.”

  His gaze went from her to Fred and then to Ada and Pete, who came up behind her.

  “These are my friends,” Maybell said. “This is Ada and her husband Pete. This here is their son, Fred. Pete doesn’t hear, so Ada signs. Well, Pete signs, too. It’s how they talk to each other. And us. But I don’t know as many signs as they do.”

  “It’s a pleasure to meet you, Jack,” Ada greeted then signed to Pete.

  Pete nodded and signed in return.

  Ada blinked for a moment, shook her head, and signed back. This, in turn, resulted in them signing quite a bit, something Maybell couldn’t understand. What might Pete have signed that seemed to startle Ada so much? As much as she wanted to ask her friend, she didn’t dare. Not in front of Jack. It probably had something to do with him, and she didn’t want to embarrass him.

  Glancing at Jack, who looked as if he’d just been asked to ride an irate bull, Maybell asked, “See what I mean? They sign the same way you and I talk: fast. I can’t make out a word they’re saying.”

  “You don’t want to know,” Ada told her friend. Then after a few more signs, she added, “Pete offered to help Jack with cleaning the stalls.” Before anyone could say anything, she grabbed an extra rake off the hook and handed it to Pete. Then she signed a simple thank you to him. She turned to Jack. “Pete can’t hear, but if you mimic an action, he can pick up on what you want.”

  “That’s true,” Maybell agreed. “He’s smart.” Then, in case Jack thought she didn’t think he was equally smart, she added, “Just like you.”

  “We’ll get you men something to eat and drink,” Ada said while signing. “When you’re done, come into the house.”

  Pete nodded, but Jack only paled.

  The poor man. Maybell had no idea how she could help relieve him of his shyness. Hopefully, he wouldn’t always feel this way. She’d hate for him to be running away when their children came up to him.

  “I made peach pie,” Maybell added. If Jack was anything like her pa, the promise of a treat could lure him into the house.

  But he didn’t look all that interested. In fact, he looked as if he was about to faint. Well, perhaps she shouldn’t say anything else. Pete would bring him in. She hoped. With a smile, she turned back to Ada, and the two left through the front of the barn.

  “When you said Jack was shy, you weren’t joshing,” Ada said.

  “Now you see why I needed you and Pete to come out,” Maybell replied, rubbing Fred’s back as they crossed the lawn. “He’s a sweet man. I just know he is. But I’ve never come across anyone so timid.”

  “Then it’s good for him you’re here.”

  “You think so?”

  “If anyone can put someone at ease, it’s you. It might take a while for him to be comfortable, but you have the patience for it. Just look at the way you welcomed Pete when everyone thought he wasn’t smart. That made both Pete and me feel right at home. You’ll do the same for Jack.”

  “I hope so.”

  “I have no doubt about it.”

  “Ada,” Maybell asked as they walke
d up the porch steps, “what was Pete signing back there in the barn that you didn’t want to tell Jack?”

  Ada rolled her eyes but chuckled. “He wanted me to tell Jack that he will enjoy the bed much more if you were in it with him.”

  Maybell gasped. “He didn’t!”

  “Now you know why I didn’t say anything to Jack about it.”

  “Yes, it would have been awful for you to have told Jack that.”

  And Jack didn’t need to be thinking it anyway. At least not until their wedding night. As they reached the front door, Maybell glanced back at the barn, wondering how things were going for the two men.

  ***

  Jack watched as Pete opened the second stall door and started raking the hay and manure into the middle of the barn. What was he supposed to do? Did Maybell expect him to muck out the stall with him, or was he supposed to do something else?

  Pete stopped and turned to him. He waved him over to the stall. As silly as it was since there was no one else in the barn, Jack glanced around to make sure Pete was gesturing to him. After an awkward moment, Jack walked over to him.

  Pete pointed to the pile he’d raked into the middle of the barn then motioned for Jack to rake it out of the barn. Oh. That’s what he wanted. Jack nodded that he understood and did as Pete wanted. If nothing else, this would make the task go faster.

  The two worked in silence, and Jack found that it was actually nice. Since Pete couldn’t hear, he didn’t have to worry about trying to think of something to say. He could simply do his job. Too bad it wasn’t like this with everyone else. Everyone else felt the need to say something, and when they said something, that meant they expected him to say something in return. But not Pete. Pete was content to let him just work.

  All too soon, the task was done, and Pete was gesturing for him to go with him to the house.

  Jack held onto the rake, reluctant to part with it. “Um…well…” When Pete’s eyebrows furrowed, Jack stopped talking. Of course. The man couldn’t hear. After a long moment, he shook his head.

  Pete made a gesture that didn’t make sense to Jack, but having watched Ada sign to Pete, he recognized only one of the signs Pete was doing.

  Jack shook his head again, and when Pete didn’t seem to understand him, he shrugged to show Pete that he didn’t know what the signs meant.

  Pete’s eyes lit up with understanding, and he tapped his head, indicating he should have remembered.

  This made Jack chuckle. They were both at a loss for words and trying to figure out how to best communicate with the other. This was the first time someone else experienced the same uncertainty Jack had, and because of it, Jack found himself relaxing. It wouldn’t matter if he stuttered around Pete. Pete couldn’t hear him, and more than that, he suspected Pete wouldn’t care if he could hear. Pete struck him as someone who could accept him as he was, faults and all. Up to now, only Hugh, their mother, and their grandpa had been able to do that.

  Maybe Maybell brought Pete over for this reason. Maybe she sensed he and Pete would get along.

  Pete came over to him and took the rake then put it on the hook on the wall. He waved Jack toward the house.

  Jack released an uneasy breath. If Pete knew how hard it was for him to talk to people, he wouldn’t be insisting he go to the house. Jack pointed to his mouth and shook his head.

  Pete pointed to his ears and shook his head.

  Well, that wasn’t exactly what Jack was trying to tell him. Jack wasn’t mute. But how could he explain that?

  Pete tapped his foot on the floor for a couple moments then snapped his fingers. With a smile, he made the outline of a woman—emphasizing large breasts—and winked.

  Jack didn’t catch on right away, but when he did, he was sure his entire face turned bright red. Pete, in a not-so-subtle way, was suggesting Jack go into the house to see Maybell.

  Pete let out a chuckle and took him by the arm, propelling him toward the house. And, too shocked to stop him, Jack couldn’t help but join him.

  Chapter Six

  Maybell peeked out the window and saw Pete and Jack heading for the house. Finally! “I didn’t think those two would ever come,” she told Ada, who was putting her son in the highchair Maybell’s father had kept from when she was little.

  Ada giggled. “Sooner or later, men get hungry, and when they do, they manage to find their way to the kitchen.”

  “I know that’s true for my pa, but I don’t know if it’s true for all men.”

  “It is. I have enough brothers and a pa to know it. Their minds were ruled by their stomachs.”

  Maybell grabbed a pitcher of lemonade and set it at the center of the table. “You think Jack might fall in love with me if he likes my meals enough?”

  “He won’t need your meals to fall in love with you,” Ada said, giving her a kind smile. “All you have to do is be yourself.”

  “I tried that with the other hired hands, but it didn’t work.”

  “That’s because they were on their way further west. Jack’s here to stay.”

  Maybell wished she could believe that, but in her deepest heart, she knew if any of them had cared about her, they would have decided to stay. And who knew if Jack wouldn’t find some other lady he preferred over her? She bit her lower lip as she considered making him do so many chores he wouldn’t have time to go into town. Then he couldn’t come across anyone else he’d rather be with. But that was wrong. If he’d rather be with someone else, she’d have to step aside and let him be with the other lady.

  “What’s wrong?” Ada asked, coming over to her.

  “Nothing.” She took the apron off and hung it on the hook. “I’m just hoping all the single ladies around here will stay away from him. I don’t need the competition.”

  “You’re a lovely person, Maybell. You’re beautiful, sweet, and cheerful. Men can’t help but be attracted to those things.”

  Well, there were a lot of beautiful, sweet, and cheerful women, but Maybell forced aside the comment since Pete came into the house, followed by Jack.

  “I know you have more chores to do,” Maybell told Jack, “but it doesn’t hurt to have something to eat and drink to keep your energy up.” She gestured to the table where she’d set out a bowl of stew and a slice of pie for everyone. “There’s plenty more pie, so don’t hesitate to ask for more.” The longer he stayed, the better. She’d give him pie all day if he wanted. Remembering Ada and Pete, she turned to them. “The same is true for you, too.”

  “We know,” Ada assured her.

  Maybell motioned for Jack to sit, and she made sure she was sitting next to him. She hoped she didn’t look too eager to be with him. Her pa had warned her men liked to be the ones pursuing women, not the other way around. But Jack was so shy, she didn’t know how else she was going to get to know him.

  Using what little signs she knew, Maybell accompanied them with her next sentence. “I hope you enjoy this simple meal.”

  Pete laughed, and Ada, who’d been about to eat her stew, set down the spoon and quickly signed something to him.

  “What is it?” Maybell asked.

  Pete signed to Ada, only laughing harder.

  Ada shooed him away with her hand and turned to face Maybell. “Nothing. He thinks he’s funny, but he’s not.”

  It must have been one of the signs she used. Since Pete couldn’t hear, there was no way anything she said could have amused him so much. She thought over the signs she’d used and realized one of them had been home instead of food. Her face went warm with embarrassment. Thankfully, Jack didn’t know sign language because if he did, he would have realized she told Pete to enjoy eating the house.

  “Sign language takes time to learn,” Ada said. Then turning to Jack, she added, “Some signs are close in meaning to others. Just one little slip, and you’re signing something different. Pete finds these mistakes humorous, but he forgets how much he messed up when he was learning.”

  Pete tapped her arm and signed to her.


  Ada shook her head. “He wants me to tell him what I just said.”

  He tapped her arm again and signed.

  With a sigh, she signed to him. This turned into quite the discussion since they spent the next minute signing back and forth with him shrugging twice.

  Maybell glanced at Jack, but just as soon as he looked at her, his face went red, and he looked away. She wondered what that meant. When he’d done it before, she assumed it was because he was shy. And he was shy. He was very quiet around her pa, too. But what if there was something else to his blush, something that indicated he liked her?

  Ada finally said and signed, “That’s enough, Pete. I’m not going to talk about this anymore.” She picked up her spoon. “I’m sorry. We don’t always agree on things, even though sometimes they’re silly.”

  “I think that’s normal with anyone,” Maybell replied. “My pa and I don’t always agree either.” Then, hoping to include Jack so he wouldn’t feel left out, she added, “I’m sure it’s the same with brothers.”

  He glanced over at her again and, after a moment, nodded.

  “See?” Maybell continued. “Besides, if we agreed on everything, life would be boring. Just imagine if we all wanted to do things the same way. We’d all have the same clothes, horses, houses, and…and... Well, we’d probably like the exact same things the same way. Who knows? We might even look alike and be alike. Life would be boring if that happened, don’t you think?”

  She looked at Jack, who seemed surprised she was expecting an answer from him. Maybe she shouldn’t have singled him out. He was shy enough as it was.

  What if he found her annoying, just as that one hired hand had? Sure, he hadn’t come right out and said it, but she’d overheard him talking to the other one. The last thing she wanted to do was give Jack a reason to think the same. She quickly turned her gaze to Ada and Pete, hoping Ada might answer her.

  Thankfully, Ada hurried to reply. “I agree, Maybell. I wouldn’t want Pete to be just like his brother. I like him the way he is. Sweet and patient. Well, I shouldn’t say patient. He has his moments, but compared to his brother, he is patient.”