Isaac's Decision Read online

  “Nah ah,” Jacob said. “Mrs. Ritter is expecting and works at a factory.”

  “That’s because her husband died. She wouldn’t be working otherwise,” Rachel replied.

  “The ideal is for a woman to stay home,” their father inserted as he buttered his roll. “A man needs to make enough to support his family. Mrs. Ritter’s case is tragic.” His gaze met their mother’s. “We should consider doing something for her.”

  Their mother nodded.

  “We had a collection for her at the church I go to last Sunday,” Eva said once she swallowed her food. “She is a good woman. Losing her husband the way she did is most horrible.”

  “How did he die?” Adam asked.

  “He went up on the roof to fix a hole and lost his balance,” Eva quietly answered. “He was only twenty. He was an apprentice at the paper where my father works.”

  Everyone grew silent for a moment before their mother said, “We’ll keep Mrs. Ritter in our prayers.”

  The others nodded and returned to eating their meal, but Isaac noted the mood was somber compared to the cheerfulness that had gone before it. Toward the end of supper, his father resumed his questions to Eva, this time focusing on her family.

  “Your parents are friends of my brother Tom’s family,” he began. “If I remember right, your mother has been friends with his wife since they were children.”

  “You are correct,” Eva said. “In fact, Daisy and I are good friends.”

  At the mention of Tom and Jessica’s youngest daughter’s name, his eyes lit up. “You are? I wonder why Tom never mentioned it.”

  “He probably didn’t think about it,” his mother filled in. “How often do you tell people Isaac, Clayton, and Wiley are friends?”

  “I see your point,” he conceded. “But all the same, it’s nice to hear that you’re friends with my niece.”

  Eva shrugged and pushed her glasses up her nose. “The bond that links us together is our mutual appreciation of literature and art. We adore the library.”

  As she rambled on, Isaac ate the rest of his pot roast. He couldn’t imagine why going to the library was, as Eva put it, stimulating. It sounded like a boring way to spend a pleasant afternoon, but he supposed that was why she agreed to be a teacher. She enjoyed that kind of thing.

  He glanced at his father and noticed how attentive he was to every word Eva spoke. Looking at his mother, he saw that she focused on the twins and helping them when they needed it. Currently, she was buttering one of their rolls. Across from him Rachel chewed on her potato and Adam rolled a carrot around on his plate, appearing to be as bored as Isaac felt. Isaac couldn’t imagine doing this for the rest of his life. Not that he’d have dinner at his parents’ every night, but he’d be stuck with Eva and would have to participate in the conversation.

  From beside him, Jacob lightly kicked him and snickered. Knowing he was going to regret it, Isaac’s gaze shifted to his brother who pursed his lips as if he was going to kiss someone. With a roll of his eyes, Isaac went back to ignoring him. He was not going to kiss Eva. Ever. There was no way he could do it. He wasn’t attracted to her at all. If only she was Emily…

  Isaac swallowed the last bite of his food and drank the rest of the milk in his glass. He watched as his father nodded and smiled as Eva went on and on about the artwork she and Daisy had seen. Since when did artwork interest his pa? Ever since Eva showed an interest in it. What was more frustrating than anything else was knowing that if it had been Emily sitting next to him, his father wouldn’t have showed the slightest interest in what she said. And all because of something that happened before he was born?

  His mother stood up and went to the kitchen to get the pies she made for the occasion. One thing Isaac looked forward to was her apple pie. If nothing else, it made the rest of the meal bearable. Afterwards, it was time for Isaac to take Eva home, and he was relieved when his mother insisted that Rachel and Adam go along.

  “Isaac can take her by himself,” his father argued as his mother collected the dishes from the table. “Rachel should stay and help you while Jacob and Adam help me in the barn.”

  “It wouldn’t be right for Isaac to take Eva back to town without someone with him. People might talk,” she gently reminded him.

  Isaac breathed a silent prayer of thanks for her quick thinking. Thankfully, Rachel and Adam could talk plenty during the ride.

  “What about me?” Jacob asked, looking upset. “Why can’t I go?”

  “Because someone needs to stay here and help your pa in the barn,” his mother said.

  Jacob’s shoulders slumped but he didn’t protest.

  Unable to resist the opportunity to bug his little brother, Isaac nudged him and smirked.

  Jacob narrowed his eyes at him and shook his head.

  Relieved that supper was finally over, Isaac went to get the sleigh ready for the trip into town. Once he pulled the sleigh up to the house, he helped Rachel, Adam and Eva into it, noting that his father looked way too happy about the whole thing. Reluctant, Isaac waved to his pa and got into the sleigh.

  During the ride into town, Isaac couldn’t think of anything to say, which probably worked to his advantage since he didn’t want to mistakenly encourage Eva. His pa had done a fine enough job of that already. He could only hope Eva didn’t think he was going to ask to court her because of this.

  When he reached the Connealy residence, he got out and assisted Eva as she stepped out. He only had to speak to Eva on the way to the front door. As long as he kept it light and pleasant, everything should be alright.

  “I had a lovely time,” Eva said with a smile that made him nervous. “Your parents are most kind.”

  “Yes.” He cleared his throat and dug his hands into his pockets. “They enjoy having company over.” There. Hopefully, she would assume that having young ladies over for supper was a common thing at his house.

  But she didn’t seem the slightest bit disturbed. Instead, she chuckled and said, “I can tell that by the way your mother decorated the dining room. I’m rather flattered she used her fine china just because I was there. My mother rarely uses hers.”

  The reason his ma did that was because his pa insisted on it. His father claimed it was a special event because they might be entertaining their future daughter-in-law. Just remembering their conversation made Isaac cringe.

  “Is something wrong?” Eva asked.

  Clearing his throat, he said, “Oh, um, the wind. I think it’s picking up a bit.”

  “Really? I don’t think it’s any different from earlier.”

  Finally! They reached the porch steps. As they went up the stairs, he said, “Maybe I’m imagining it.”

  “Perhaps it’s cooler out than before. The temperature can drop at a moment’s notice in Nebraska.”

  “Perhaps.” Good. They reached the top of the steps. Almost there. “It’s hard to predict what the weather will be like.” Fine. So he was restating what she said, but it filled in the time to the door and that counted for something.

  “I’d invite you in to talk to my parents, but I don’t want the foot warmer to lose its usefulness.”

  It took him a moment to understand she meant the foot warmer in the sleigh, and when he did, he nodded. “Oh, right. Yes. I should check on the coal to see if I should add more or not.”

  She opened the front door and waved to Rachel and Adam who returned the gesture. “Thank you, and be sure to thank your family for their kindness.”

  “I will.”

  Before he could hurry out of there, Eva’s father walked up to the door and called out a greeting to him.

  “Good evening, sir,” Isaac replied, tipping his hat.

  “Would you like to come in and warm up by the fire before you head back?” her father asked.

  “He can’t,” Eva answered for Isaac. “Rachel and Adam are waiting in the sleigh.”

  “You can bring them in. We still have some games from when our children were younger,” he told Isaac.<
br />
  With an uneasy smile, Isaac shook his head. “We can’t, Mr. Connealy. We need to get back home and help with the chores. But thank you for the invitation.”

  “The offer stands next time you come by.”

  Isaac nearly blanched at the thought of going through another supper with Eva, but he managed to hold his smile. As long as he didn’t agree to anything, no one could accuse him of making her or her father believe something was going to happen when it wasn’t.

  Eva entered the house and her father wished him a good evening before shutting the door. Breathing a sigh of relief, Isaac turned to the steps and hurried back to the sleigh.

  Chapter Seven

  The next day after church, Emily went to Alice’s house and changed into Elmer’s clothing. “Thank you for letting me do this here,” she said as she put the wig on and tucked her hair into it. “My parents wouldn’t understand, even my pa and you know he’s pretty lenient on what I should and shouldn’t do.”

  Alice watched Emily from where she sat on her bed. “How do you know where Isaac goes to church?”

  “His brother told my brother who told me.” Emily applied the mustache to her face. “I’m glad your parents like to stay at church and talk so we have the house to ourselves.”

  “And it’s nice that your parents let you stay here for the afternoon.”

  “Well, I did tell them after you get married, you’ll be with your husband and I’ll be left alone. I don’t have any friends besides you. At least ones who don’t feel threatened by me. I don’t know why other women assume I’ll want to be with the men they want. There’s only one that I hope for.”

  “Ah, but they assume the men they are interested in will ask to court you once they meet you. You’re far too pretty, Emily.” Alice winked and jumped off her bed so she could join Emily at the mirror. “You are greatly cursed.”

  Though Emily rolled her eyes, a smile tugged at her lips. “I don’t ask for the attention when I pass men by.”

  “I know. That’s why you’re cursed. And,” she continued as she handed the hat to Emily, “the irony is, the one you want is so hard to reach, you have to become a man to find out why. How long do you think it’ll take before he tells you why he ignores you?”

  “I’m not sure. Right now, I’m more concerned about Eva Connealy.”

  “I wouldn’t worry too much about her. She doesn’t have a way with men like you do.”

  Trying not to show how much she feared it, she said, “Maybe that’s what Isaac likes about her. He might see her as the type who’d make a better wife and mother than me.”

  “Stop that, Emily. You’ll be a good wife and mother. Just because your real mother used her beauty and charm for selfish reasons, it doesn’t mean you do.”

  “But does Isaac know that?” She took the hat from her friend and put it on her head. “His family values sincerity and honesty. And what am I doing? Pretending to be someone I’m not.”

  Alice took Emily’s hand and patted it. “What you’re doing is for a good reason. You’ll spend the rest of your life regretting it if you don’t try to find out what Isaac’s thinking. If he was more forthcoming, you wouldn’t have to resort to this. So, if anything, he’s forcing you to do this.”

  Laughing, Emily hugged her. “What would I do without you to lie to make me feel better?” She pulled away from her and inspected her reflection. “I think that’s it.”

  “You look handsome, Elmer.”

  With a wry grin, Emily led the way to the back door. “You’re sure no one will see me leave or come back?”

  “Not with all the trees in the backyard.”

  “Good. I don’t want the groom-to-be to think you’re taking another suitor.”

  “Let me know how everything goes.”

  “I will.” Emily opened the door and made sure she had enough privacy with the trees lining the backyard. “I plan to be back in an hour.”

  Alice nodded and Emily stepped outside. Shutting the door behind her, she scanned the area and made sure no one was around before she slipped around to the side of the house and hurried down the side of the dirt road that led to more houses. She turned down another street and made it to the heart of town. It took her five minutes to reach the church the Larsons attended. She’d made it just in time, too, since people were emerging from the front doors.

  She took a deep breath and closed her eyes. She could do this. Opening her eyes, she waited to the side of the church lawn, trying to blend in with some of the members who stood around to talk. She spotted Rachel first. She was laughing at something her cousin Emma said. If she recalled right, Emma was Owen and Jenny Russell’s youngest child. There were so many family members in the Larson family tree that it wasn’t easy to remember who was who, but Rachel and Emma were in school, so she recognized them.

  Emily wove through the crowd, peering over shoulders and around backs until her gaze fell on Isaac who came out with Clayton and Wiley. This was it. She straightened her coat, hoping the binding did as good a job at pressing her breasts down as Alice and Bertha said it did.

  As she approached them, she passed by Isaac’s mother who was talking to Isaac’s aunts. She knew who Jenny was, but she didn’t recognize the other three. Bringing her hand up to shield her face from Isaac’s mother, she hurried by them. When her back was to them, she lowered her hand and strode over to Isaac and his friends. From their conversation, she gathered they were talking about hunting the following weekend. Well, that was easy enough. She could hunt with the best of them. All she needed to do was find a way to invite herself along.

  Without waiting for them to notice her, she lowered her voice and asked, “Does anyone know where the post office is?”

  The three stopped talking and looked at her.

  She held her breath. Did they recognize her?

  Finally, after what seemed like the longest moment of her life, Wiley pointed down the street. “You take a right and then a left at the second street on your right.”

  Relieved, she tipped her hat. “Thank you.” Pretending she was going to leave, she stopped and turned back to them. “Say, I just remembered the post office isn’t open on Sundays.”

  Clayton chuckled. “You planned to go there today.”

  “Not anymore.” The three smiled at her joke, and she relaxed. This might be easier than she hoped it would be. Encouraged, she continued, “I couldn’t help but overhear that you plan to go hunting on Saturday.”

  “You got good hearing,” Wiley said.

  She shrugged. “I was born that way. One time when I was a kid, my brothers had a contest on who could hear better: me or the dog. I was this close to winning.” She held her index finger close to her thumb and then snapped her fingers. “But just like that, he bolted for the rabbit I didn’t even know was hiding in the bushes.”

  “You mentioned your brothers,” Isaac began, “but I don’t recognize you. I’m guessing you’re not from here if you don’t know where the post office is.”

  “No, I’m not,” she lied. “I’m from Oklahoma.”

  “Really?” Wiley asked. “I have relatives there. Where did you grow up?”

  Hedging her bets that they wouldn’t catch onto her ploy, she said, “No kidding! You got family who live there? Then you know it’s beautiful country.” Or at least she assumed it was. “Maybe I’ve met them. Where do they live?”

  “Tulsa.”

  “What a shame.” She shook her head. “I’m from Oklahoma City.” That ought to work. It should be big enough that even if a family member of his knew someone from there, she could easily deny ever meeting that person.

  “So what brings you here?” Isaac asked.

  “Oh, I came to look for a job,” she replied.

  “Don’t they have jobs back in Oklahoma City?”

  “Sure they do. Jobs pop up all over the place down there,” she said with a laugh. “But I wanted to be somewhere different. You know, to span my wings and fly.”

  “You said
you’re looking?” Clayton asked.

  “Yes. I haven’t found anything yet. I don’t expect it to be too hard, though. There are some good opportunities here,” she replied, digging her cold hands into her coat pockets. She hoped she got an invite to hunt with them soon. Standing out in the chilly weather without her layers of female clothing was starting to get to her.

  “My pa could use someone at the paper,” Clayton offered. “Even if you don’t have any experience, he has someone who can train you. I’m being trained, and it’s not that hard.”

  “Oh,” she said, surprised Clayton could think of someone other than himself. Who was to know he had a generous side to him when he made it a point to hog all the praise in the schoolhouse when he was a student? Now she knew why Isaac put up with him. Clearing her throat, she said, “I appreciate the offer. Really, I do, but I don’t want to work at a paper. I’m more of an outdoors person.”