Bonus Material from the Nebraska Series Page 9

  Ruth: A person like Emily? Could you elaborate on that?

  Eva: Emily’s never been the type to adhere to what’s expected of her in society. I mean, she dresses up as a man in order to go hunting with Isaac, Wiley, and Clayton. What kind of respectable woman does that? Never mind that she’s lying about being a man so they won’t know her true identity. The real scandal is that she’s alone in a wooded area with three men! I’d die of shame if that were me.

  Ruth: Granted, in the 1890s, this behavior wouldn’t be appropriate.

  Eva: It shouldn’t be appropriate in any time period!

  Ruth: Well, be that as it may, this issue isn’t why you and Emily got into a fight. The actual fight had to do with an assignment you gave Emily. She was supposed to write down her thoughts about a book she read.

  Eva: Yes. The school board wanted me to demonstrate that Emily is learning while under my guidance, and they gave me a list of things they’re looking for in her report. While I agree she understood the moral implication of the book she chose, I can’t bring them a report on a book that contained so much violence. They’d assume I’m not doing my part to encourage Emily to become a proper young woman. She completely missed the point in why I told her I couldn’t accept the report.

  Emily Craftsman: No, I didn’t miss the point. I just don’t think a woman has to read boring books to protect their “delicate sensibilities”. I can handle mature subject matters in my books.

  Eva: Which is why you indulge yourself in dime novels. *rolls eyes*

  Emily: Dime novels are fun to read. Not all reading has to be for learning. It wouldn’t hurt you to have fun once in awhile.

  Eva: I have plenty of fun.

  Emily: Looking at paintings and trying to decipher what the artists were thinking is not fun.

  Eva: It most certainly is. Art is highly subjective. Two people can look at the same thing and have two different interpretations of it.

  Emily: Which is boring. I seriously don’t think Ruth can write a romance featuring you. Why, I can see how the book would go. Eva was looking at paintings. The hero, whoever that poor guy turns out to be, happened to say he saw the artist’s anguish in the painting, and the two bored each other to sleep. The end.

  Eva: Why can’t you just be glad you got Isaac?

  Emily: I am glad I got him. Even you can’t bring my mood down. We’ll be eloping soon.

  Eva: Then I should send him my condolences. I can only imagine all the improper behaviors you’ll be teaching your children.

  Emily: What? Like that they should think for themselves instead of letting their teacher tell them what they believe?

  Eva: You see how difficult she is to work with, Ruth? I don’t know why you paired Isaac up with her.

  Ruth: Don’t worry, Eva. I will write your story, and the man you’ll end up with will be a much better match for you than Isaac is.

  Emily: Are you saying that Isaac isn’t the best hero you created?

  Ruth: I’m saying that he isn’t the right hero for Eva. He’s the perfect one for you. It’s all about matching up the right personalities together.

  Emily: Okay. I guess that sounds logical.

  Eva: See what I mean about Emily being difficult to work with? I hope she doesn’t show up when you do my book. Having gone through this one with her is enough grief to last me a lifetime.

  Emily: Eva, I’d tell you where to stuff it, but for the sake of the people reading this, I won’t.

  Eva: You know some colorful cuss words, do you?

  Emily: I spent a lot of time around the farm hands while growing up.

  Eva: The more I learn about you, the less I want to know. Is this interview over yet?

  Emily: Yes. Is it, Ruth? You have some extra minutes tonight and you finished all your word counts. That means you can work on the scene where Isaac convinces me to elope with him.

  Eva: *rolls eyes* Convince you? I’d be shocked if you don’t drag him to the preacher.

  Emily: You know, Eva, I can act like a woman, contrary to what you think. Just because I go against the norm in some things, it doesn’t mean I sacrificed my feminine side. It just means I’m an independent thinker.

  Eva: You’re rebellious.

  Emily: That’s what the British thought about the colonists before they lost the American Revolutionary War. See? I did learn something in school.

  Eva: Too bad you didn’t do a report on George Washington or Thomas Jefferson.

  Emily: Few things are more boring than biographies. You would’ve loved to have killed me through boredom, wouldn’t you?

  Eva: I need another Aspirin.

  Ruth: Well, I think we’ll end the interview on that note.

  Eva: Thank goodness. Please never bring me back to talk to Emily.

  Emily: I agree. She’s hogging up my space with her whining. Next time feature me and Isaac!

  ***

  Deleted Scene from Isaac’s Decision

  (Blog post made on 10/13/2011)

  This scene happens right after Neil finds out Emily is interested in Isaac. This scene never made it into the final draft of this book, but for fun, I thought I’d add it in this one. Things ended up a lot different than I planned. Dave wasn’t as hostile in the final version as he is in this scene.

  The next day, Neil led his horse up to Dave Larson’s property and noted the way his gut twisted. He hadn’t set foot on this land ever since Dave made it clear that if he did, he ran the risk of being shot at. Given the circumstances, Neil couldn’t blame Dave for making the threat, but that was almost eighteen years ago. Certainly, Dave would understand that given the passage of time, Neil’s request was a reasonable one. And Dave wouldn’t want to stand in the way of his son’s happiness any more than Neil wanted to stand in the way of Emily’s. Dave was a reasonable man. Surely, they could bury the hatchet and do what was best for their children.

  All of this ran through his mind as he approached the blue house with white trim. Neil pulled back on the reins of his horse and slowly exhaled. The good news was he was right in front of Dave’s house and no gunfire had erupted yet.

  Sliding off his horse, he walked the steed over to the post and tied the reins to it. With a quick pat on the animal’s neck, he turned his attention to the front door. This was it. He hadn’t said more than a couple words to Dave since that day at the train station when Dave let him have it for abducting Mary. Not that Neil could blame him. Dave had every right to hate him for what he did. He just hoped since he acted rashly in the past, he didn’t make it so that Emily couldn’t be with Isaac.

  Straightening his back, Neil headed up the porch steps, careful to stomp the snow off his boots so he wouldn’t track it on his way to the door. Before he could talk himself out of it, he knocked on the door and forced himself to stand still so he wouldn’t bolt for his horse and get out of there.

  The door opened, and Mary’s concerned expression came into view. “Is something wrong?” she asked him. “Is Sarah alright?”

  “No, nothing’s wrong. Sarah’s fine,” he replied and then cleared his throat. “Actually, I came to speak to your husband. Is Dave here?”

  “Yes. Come on in.” She held the storm door open for him and motioned to the parlor. “Dave’s upstairs. Why don’t you have a seat, and I’ll get him.”

  “Thank you.”

  He stepped into the parlor and smiled at the twin three-year-old girls who stopped playing with their dolls to look at him. If he hadn’t been so nervous, he would have asked them what they named their dolls. As it was, he was too tense to do anything but remain standing in the middle of the room. He doubted Dave would let him sit on his furniture, let alone be happy to find him standing in his house. Shifting from one foot to the other, he went over the words he planned to say when he saw Dave. The girls continued to stare at him, but he hardly noticed.

  From upstairs, he could hear Mary’s soothing voice as she told Dave to give Neil a chance before throwing him out. Neil grimaced. This was turn
ing into a disaster before it even started. He took a deep breath and reminded himself he was doing this for Emily. The footsteps grew louder as Dave and Mary made their way down the stairs. Neil squared his shoulders back.

  Dave entered the parlor first, a scowl on his face. “Get the children out of here,” he told Mary, not taking his eyes off of Neil.

  “Let’s get something to eat,” Mary said, holding her hands out to the girls, who stood up. “Take your dolls.”

  They got their dolls and glanced from their father to Neil. Dave motioned for them to go with their mother, and they hurried to obey.

  When they were out of the room, Dave turned his attention to Neil. “You’re not welcome here.”

  Neil took another deep breath and chose his words carefully. “I know I’m not, and I don’t blame you for being upset.”

  “You’re right, I am upset. I thought I made it clear to you what would happen if you got near anyone in my family.”

  “I’m not here for anyone in your family. I just wanted to talk to you.”

  Dave crossed his arms and glared at him, and Neil felt as if they were right back at the train station all over again. “Mary might think I should listen to you, but I don’t have that kind of patience for people like you.”

  Despite the surge of irritation Neil felt at the insult, he forced it aside. He was here because of Emily, not to save his pride. “Look, Dave, this isn’t about me. It’s about my daughter. I came here to work out some kind of truce so that our children can be happy.”

  Eyebrows furrowed, Dave asked, “What do my children have to do with this?”

  “It’s Isaac. Emily and Isaac have fallen in love and—”

  “Oh no, he hasn’t. Not my son!”

  Neil blinked and stared at Dave for a moment. He knew Dave wouldn’t be happy about the situation, but he didn’t expect him to be so vehemently opposed to it. Clearing his throat, Neil said, “They are. I talked to Emily last night, and she said that she and Isaac want to be together.”

  “Over my dead body.”

  At that, Neil laughed, not sure why he was laughing because it wasn’t funny, but his nerves were just about shot from the whole night he’d spent worrying about how today would go—and now things were going as bad as he feared. “Dave, you can’t punish our children for what I did. I apologized at the train station, and I’m apologizing again. I’m sorry. I was wrong to try to take Mary from you. But that has nothing to do with Isaac and Emily. I’m not looking for forgiveness. You have a right to distrust me. We can work something out where we don’t have to be in the same place at once. Isaac and Emily can take turns seeing us on the holidays. We can work something out so they come here for one holiday and then come out to my house the next. Just because they’ll get married, it doesn’t mean I have to be in your life.”

  “Married?” Dave shouted, his face bright red.

  “I assume that’s where things are headed. Emily hasn’t been interested in any of the young men who’ve been wishing to court her, but she’s taken a liking to Isaac so I think—”

  “It doesn’t matter what you think! They aren’t getting married. I don’t know what gives Emily the idea that my son would marry someone like her, but he’s not.”

  In an instant, Neil’s mood switched from nervous rambling to being offended. “What is that supposed to mean?”

  “You know what it means, Craftsman.”

  “No, I don’t.” He brought himself to his full height, which was just a bit taller than Dave, and narrowed his eyes at him. “It sounds like you insulted my daughter, but I know I couldn’t have heard right because she’s innocent in all of this.”

  “You know what they say: the apple doesn’t fall far from the tree.”

  Before Neil had time to think, he drew back his fist and punched Dave in the jaw. Dave staggered back, but returned Neil’s punch with one of his own. Neil toppled onto the coffee table, which broke in half under his weight. Neil quickly got up and rammed into Dave until they both fell to the floor.

  “You can talk about me anyway you want to, Larson, but you have no right to talk about my little girl that way!”

  Dave shoved Neil off of him and got to his feet. “You keep that little girl of yours away from my son.”

  Mary ran into the room and gasped. “What are you two doing?”

  “Get out of my house!” Dave ordered Neil, pointing to the front door.

  “You can’t stop two people from being together,” Neil said as he stood up, rubbing his sore cheek.

  “What two people?” Mary asked.

  “No two people,” Dave quickly replied. “No one’s getting married.”

  Her jaw dropped. “Married?”

  Dave groaned. “It’s nothing. Neil just came over to create trouble because that’s what he’s good at. Will you please go back to Rose and Harriett while I throw him out of here?”

  “There’s no need,” Neil muttered as he stormed by them. “You have a rude awakening coming to you, Larson, and the sooner you deal with it, the better off your son’s going to be.”

  Dave’s lips formed a thin line as he headed in Neil’s direction, so Neil strode to the front door and flung it open. Unbelievable. Nothing changed. In eighteen years, nothing changed! Neil shook his head and hurried down the porch steps.

  As he untied the reins to the horse, he glanced back at the house. By the worried look on Mary’s face, he was sure she was asking her husband what was going on. Neil hopped on his horse in time to see Isaac coming out of the barn. Isaac’s gaze went from Neil to the house and then back to Neil.

  “Good luck,” Neil told Isaac with another glance at the house. “You’re going to need it.”

  Then Neil hurried off the property.

  ***

  Interview With Dave Larson and Neil Craftsman

  (the fathers of the groom and bride in Isaac’s Decision)

  (Blog post made on 10/16/2011)

  Ruth Ann Nordin: Tonight, I managed to get Dave Larson and Neil Craftsman in for an interview. Sadly, Dave is in a little bit of denial tonight…

  Dave Larson: I’ve been thinking over where you went wrong in this story. What Isaac needed was to have was an epiphany, a moment where it dawns on him that Eva Connealy is the right one for him. I think we need to back up to the scene where she comes over for supper. Instead of Isaac taking her home with Rachel and Adam, here’s what we’re going to do. We’re going to have him take Eva back alone. That way Rachel and Adam won’t be in his way. Then we’re going to have him accept her father’s invitation to go inside the house where they can talk. From there–

  Ruth: Dave, hold on. What are you doing?

  Dave: Rewriting your story. I’ll deal with the beginning where Isaac’s misled into thinking he’s attracted to that Craftsman girl. But the plot is going to change so that he realizes Eva is a much better match for him.

  Neil Craftsman: That Craftsman girl? Is that how you refer to Emily?

  Dave: I don’t believe this concerns you.

  Neil: Oh, it concerns me a lot since your son is eloping with my daughter.

  Dave: No such thing is going to happen. I have a copy of what Ruth wrote so far and have deleted everything up to the time when Isaac is about to take Eva back home. I’m going to write the rest of the story as it’s meant to be. Don’t worry, Ruth. You can still claim the story as yours. I don’t want any credit for it.

  Neil: *rolls eyes* How noble of you.

  Dave: Stay out of this, Craftsman. This has nothing to do with you.

  Ruth: I’m not rewriting the story, Dave.

  Dave: Oh, I know. You have that policy where your first draft is pretty much how the story is going to go because you hate going back and rewriting anything. Lucky for you, I don’t mind rewriting anything, so I’ll do all the work. There’s no need to worry about it. I got it all under control.

  Ruth: Dave, I know this is hard for you to accept, but Isaac and Emily are going to end up together. I decided that back w
hen I was writing Eye of the Beholder.

  Dave: But you’ve said yourself that stories change as you write them. This is one of those stories. Isaac needs a good girl from a good family who will bless him. He’s only seventeen, so he doesn’t know the right one to pick. As his father, I have his best interest at heart.

  Neil: Sounds to me like you’re trying to control a situation that can’t be controlled.

  Dave: Why is he still here?