Page 6 of A Groom for Heather
“The next day perhaps?” Bea looked hopeful.
Heather nodded. “That would be nice. Come in the late afternoon and have supper with us.” She gave a light slap of the reins on the horse’s backside and waved to Beatrice as they headed down the road. As she turned into her property, she ignored the Pastor’s buggy riding by. As good as it felt to give the interfering pastor a piece of her mind, she was embarrassed about causing a scene in front of all the women. Those women were her friends and she didn’t want any of them to think ill of her.
Once she had parked the buggy and put the horse in its stall, she walked outside and looked around. It was still cold. Even though there were signs of Spring around the corner, there was still a chill in the air.
The barnyard was empty. All their animals had been butchered to feed the town, apart from a milking cow. There were a few chickens that scratched in the hard dirt looking for bugs that were close to the surface. Cecily should have collected the eggs already.
Cecily and Arthur Poole lost their parents in the blizzard. Mr. Pool was with Jackson, Red Eagle, and the other men hunting for winter meat. Mrs. Pool was found frozen in the local park with a baby in her arms. She had tried to get to the schoolhouse to find their children, but was unsuccessful, as were many of the parents in town.
Cecily and Arthur came to live with Heather until arrangements could be made to find additional relatives that could take them in. Heather had grown very fond of the two children and considered them her family now making plans to adopt them.
Thankfully, Last Chance had an attorney!She was glad she waited. It saved her from having to ride to Grande Platte. It wasn’t a priority, but Heather wanted it done. Heather sighed.So many things to take care of.
She pulled her wrap tighter around her and headed towards the house; the glow from the lantern through the flour cloth curtains calling her. The curtains needed to be replaced. They were tattered and worn.That wasn’t a priority either.When she arrived in Last Chance, Heather found Jackson’s home so charming she refused to change a thing. As things started to wear, she was so busy tending mothers-to-be that she just didn’t have time to get everything done.
“Mama Heather!” Cecily called as Heather pushed through the door. “You’re home.”
Cecily was small in stature for being eight years old. She had pale blonde hair that Heather spent hours combing knots out of, every single night.How that child managed to tangle her hair so badly, Heather had yet to figure out. Dark lashes surrounded large blue eyes that shone brightly against her pale skin. A small nose, rosebud lips, and two rosy cheeks that Heather just wanted to squeeze rounded out the child’s features.
Arthur came running up and threw his arms around Heather’s legs. “I’m glad you are back.” Where his sister was blonde, six-year-old Arthur had brown hair and large brown eyes. His cheeks were red from sitting so close to the stove.
Heather handed her bag to Cecily, then knelt in front of Arthur. Kissing the boy’s warm cheek, she ruffled his hair. “I’m glad I’m back too.” Cecily took Heather’s doctoring bag and placed it near the settee. The bag was always stored in the same location in case Heather ever had to run from the house in a hurry because someone was about to have a baby. “Have you started supper yet, Cecily?”
Cecily gave Heather a quick hug. “No. I was fixing Miss Poppet’s hair.”
Cecily held up the doll she kept tucked under her arm for as long as Heather had known the child. Heather gently took Miss Poppet from Cecily and examined the doll. Miss Poppet had a soft body and face with two small black button eyes. The doll was dressed in a gingham dress with a tear in the front, revealing two small, padded legs. When Heather suggested making the doll a new dress, Cecily broke down and cried, as her now-deceased mama made the dress for Miss Poppet from an old tablecloth.
“What happened to Miss Poppet?” Heather asked fingering the torn dress.
“Arthur tried to cut her hair.”
“Did not,” Arthur replied, crossing his arms.
“Did too,” Cecily said, sticking her tongue out at her younger brother.
“We’ll have none of that,” Heather gently chastised. Turning the doll over she could see a large patch of yarn hair was missing from the back of the doll’s head. “Well, it appears that Arthur created a mess of this.”
“You gonna punish me?”
Heather looked at the small child. “Why would I do that? You know what you did was wrong. I want you to apologize to your sister and then we are going to go to town to get some yarn. Miss Poppet needs some new hair.”
“What about supper?” Arthur asked. Heather heard the boy’s stomach rumble loudly.
“Why don’t we go to see Miss Hollie at the diner?”
“Really?” Arthur asked, rubbing his belly.
“Really,” Heather concurred. She turned the boy around and gave him a slight swat on his padded bottom. “Now go wash your face and hands and change your shirt. I need a cup of tea and then we can go.” She pointed at Cecily. “You as well. I need to talk to both of you about something important.”
Cecily hugged Miss Poppet closer and ran to the room she shared with Heather to get changed. Heather sighed as she took off her hat and placed it on the settee, along with her heavy wrap. She walked to the stove and placed her hands close to the side of the kettle. It was hot, which meant it would only take a few minutes to boil. Heather lifted one of the burners and placed a few sticks of kindling inside. Once the wood caught fire, she returned the burner and moved the kettle over the heat.
As she placed a cup and a tea tin on the table, she saw Arthur racing by with a wooden bucket. He slammed the door as he ran out onto the porch and then once more when he raced back inside. Water sloshed over the side of the bucket as he disappeared behind his bedroom door. Heather chuckled. Two children certainly made life interesting.
Her tea was brewing as the children came from their rooms. Cecily had on a blue calico dress with a pinafore covering the front. Arthur had changed into his church-going shirt, but he had on the same dirty pants and scuffed boots. Heather made a mental note to get the children some new clothes.
“I couldn’t tie it,” Cecily said, presenting her back to Heather. Arthur scrambled on a chair and sat looking at Heather.
“Do you want some milk?” Heather asked as she tied Cecily’s bow. Arthur nodded. She patted Cecily’s shoulder. “Go grab the hairbrush and I’ll work these knots from your hair.” As Cecily ran to get the hairbrush, Heather poured two glasses of milk and handed one to Arthur. She poured her tea and added a splash of milk from the pitcher on the table.
