Page 13 of Beyond Montana's Sky
With a speculative gleam in her faded blue eyes and a wave of a floury hand, the old woman beckoned Edith closer. “I’m Anna Anderson, but please call meMormor. Everyone does.”
Hearing almost the exact same wordsFarfarhad used made her smile. The old woman sounded American, not Swedish, with a hint of New York, and Edith wondered how she ended up in Montana.
“And this—”Mormorleaned sideways to drop a kiss on the top of the girl’s head “—is my great-granddaughter, Sharon-Signe.”
The girl bobbed a curtsey, teetering on the stool.
The odd combination of double names puzzled Edith.
Her expression must have conveyed her thoughts, for the older woman chuckled. “We have a tradition in the Anderson family. The first name is to celebrate being an American and the second to acknowledge their Swedish heritage.”
The sound of booted footsteps came from behind her. “That tradition leads to a lot of nicknames,” Cai quipped, coming to stand next to Edith. “Let me take your coat.”
She shrugged off her coat into his hands and handed him the scarf.
Mormorlaughed. “But we weren’ttheAndersons, in those days. Somehow, Cai’s parents Rhys and Aeron, and my husband and I had a little run-in with thieves, and we all ended up rescuing each other.” She smiled, although her eyes looked distant, as if remembering a special memory. “Even though my husband barely spoke a word of English, somehow Ole and I fell in love. We came to Sweetwater Springs with the Driscolls.”
“As I told you before, they produced a litter of sons,” Cai said in an irreverent tone.
“Cai Driscoll!”Mormorpicked up the rolling pin and brandished it. “You may be too big to turn over my knee, but—”
Laughing, Cai held up his hands in surrender. “They ended up producing sevenfinesons.”
Mormornodded sharply and set down her rolling pin, the edges of her mouth curling up. “That we did. I’m proud of every one of them.”
“And now they have a passel of grandchildren.” Cai folded down his fingers as if ticking off numbers. “What was it at last count? One hundred and seven?”
Edith gasped and did a quick math division. “Fifteen each? No, that can’t be. Some families would have more children and some less.”
Mormorshot Cai a chiding glance. “Forty-eightliving. And a half-dozen great-grandchildren, although none of those sweet babies live here in Sweetwater Springs.”
“Goodness!” Edith exclaimed. “That’s still a lot. How do you keep them all fed?”
Cai waved in the direction of the barn. “Everyone has their own houses in the Anderson village that I told you about. Except for Sunday dinner when they crowd in here, they usually eat at home. Later, I’ll show you the place.”
Mormorpatted Sharon-Signe on the shoulder. “Run along, child, and tell your mama and aunts we have company.”
“Really—” Edith held out a hand as if to stop the girl “—I can’t stay to socialize, much as I’d like to.” But she was too late, for the girl was out the door. With a mental shrug, she opened her reticule and pulled out the envelope. “You must wonder why I’ve dropped in unannounced. I’m only here to give you all the invitation to my brother’s wedding. I’m sorry for the short notice. For weeks we left the invitation in the Driscoll Ranch mailbox at the train depot….”
“We don’t go to town much.”Mormortook the envelope and glanced at the outside. She moved over to the hutch and propped the invitation in front of a tin plate. “We have most of what we need right here,” she said with pride. “’bout once a month or so, I send someone to town for a big order of supplies.”
“Then, yesterday—” Edith, who never in her adult life had eventhoughtof acting mischievously, couldn’t help the impulse to turn the tables on Cai and see if she could getMormorto wield her weapon again “—Mr. Driscoll refused to accept the invitation when I tried to give it to him in town.”
Cai raised his hands in protest. “Now, wait a minute—”
At the same time,Mormorgrabbed her rolling pin and pointed one end at Cai like a sword. “You made Mrs. Grayson drive all the way out here? I’m mighty ashamed of you, Cai Driscoll.”
Out of their line of sight, Edith smirked.
“I wasn’t thinking straight,” he protested. “The death of Ahab’s sister and all. Then I saw this beautiful woman, and the sight of her fair bowled me over.”
The old woman narrowed her eyes and jabbed his side with the rolling pin.
Cai danced out of the way.
“He’s at it again,Mormor.” Edith couldn’t help but chuckle and threw more oil on the flames, slanting him a teasing glance. “He was rather…flirtatious.”
AlthoughMormortried to look disapproving, the corner of her mouth turned up. “Like his father that way and his grandfather Rhys. All three are too handsome for their own good.” She lowered her weapon.
