The Brides of Chance Collection Part 5

Real soon.

Moments after his brothers had gotten up, they started grumbling. Paul finally stuck his head around the bedroom door. "Where the...uh, t.i.tus and I can't find our s.h.i.+rts, and Bryce's britches up and disappeared."

"I'm responsible for the missing garments," Miriam confessed. Her tone was so conciliatory, Gideon knew he'd underestimated the scope of the problem. This woman had her heart set on staying, and she'd give in, make sacrifices, and bend over backward to convince his brothers that she belonged here. A shy smile flitted across her face as she continued. "When I took the laundry off the line last evening, I kept out the articles of clothing that require mending. Could you possibly make do with what you have? I'll be sure to catch up on the mending today."

After Paul managed to shut his gaping mouth, he stammered, "That's right kind of you, ma'am. I mean, miss. We'd all be obliged. Much obliged. Truly. None of us is any good with a needle."

At breakfast, she set stuff on the table the likes of which Gideon and his brothers hadn't tasted in years. His brothers were voluble in their appreciation and approval. Mama loved to cook like this; Hannah had made fair meals but never much pushed herself past doing plain fare.

Miriam hadn't just scrambled eggs and made biscuits. She hadn't gone the extra step and whipped up a pan of white gravy. Oh, no. Miss I'm-Here-to-Stay pulled out all the stops. She'd chopped up bits of ham, onions, and tomatoes into the eggs. As if that wasn't enough to make all of their taste buds take notice, she opened the door of the oven and pulled out a pan of coffee cake. The aroma steaming off it had Gideon reaching for a piece as soon as she put it on the table.

An hour later, trying to forget about breakfast and concentrate on work, Gideon remembered the way she'd fleetingly rested her hand on his shoulder so she could refill Logan's and his coffee cups. Her touch had been innocent and brief as could be, but when she moved on toward Paul and t.i.tus, he'd wanted to yank her back and check to see if he'd been imagining the sweet smell of flowers clinging to her.

Disgusted at himself, Gideon pulled on his left glove and muttered under his breath, "Half-wits. My own brothers are a bunch of no-good, belly-rubbin' half-wits. If she thinks she's gonna buy her way into this family on our just-mended s.h.i.+rtsleeves or through our stomachs, she's got another thing a-comin'!"

Dinner reinforced her good standing with his brothers. She'd made corn bread and fancied up the beans she'd been soaking with hunks of side meat. She'd picked cabbage from the garden, sliced it into thin shreds, and mixed all sorts of stuff with it. The stuff could coax every last apostle out of heaven for want of a taste.

She didn't eat with them, either. She and Polly had held a tea party a short while earlier. While the men ate, Miriam lifted Polly up on a chair. The puzzling woman pulled a measuring tape from the sewing bag she'd brought in her trunk. Tan his sorry hide, Logan had unearthed a stack of feed and flour sacks, and Miriam went so far as to promise Polly she could choose whichever she fancied for her new dress. While she and Polly chattered like magpies about a pretty new frock, Daniel's eyes shot sparks that could ignite a forest fire. All of the other brothers lapped up the food like a pack of starving wolves.

Gideon knew he had to do something-quickly.

Gideon stepped into the cabin for supper, unsure whether to antic.i.p.ate or dread what was to come. Miss Miriam had missed her calling in life. The woman could plot until she had a man twisting in circles. Had she been born a man, she'd certainly have attended West Point and become a military strategist. And that means she wouldn't be sashaying around here, wearing that flowery scent and ugly dress and driving me half daft.

"What have you been doing today?" Logan asked their little niece as he tugged on the ribbon tying off one of her freshly washed, neatly plaited pigtails.

"Auntie Miri-Em fixed all of the s.h.i.+rts. She putted lotsa b.u.t.tons on 'em. And she hided all of the holes so they all gone." She paused for effect, then hiked up the hem of the dress she was wearing to show off layers of white ruffles underneath. "Looky! Auntie Miri-Em maded me panty-lettes."

Logan let out a hearty laugh.

Gideon cast a glance over at Miriam. She'd turned back to the stove, but he could see the curve of her cheek. A rosy hue that hadn't been there moments before tinted it now.

Thoroughly entertained, Bryce let out a wolf whistle and waggled his brows. "Aren't you just the prettiest little fas.h.i.+on plate?"

"I not a plate," Polly huffed in obvious dismay. She patiently pointed at the table. "Plates is on the table. Panty-lettes is on me."

The way she hiked up her hem to display her fancy little girl drawers to ill.u.s.trate the second part of her a.s.sertion was downright funny. Gideon chuckled under his breath.

Miriam cleared her throat and said in a slightly croaky tone, "Polly, you may come be my best helper now. Put the bread on the table."

"Goody!" Polly stopped making a show of her unmentionables and galloped over to her aunt. White ruffles stuck out from beneath her hem, making what had been a too-short-to-be-decent dress look acceptable. Gideon wouldn't admit he thought it looked utterly charming-even if it was kind of girly. He also didn't want to admit that once Polly was out of diapers, they hadn't bothered to put her into any undergarments. White's Mercantile sold men's long johns, but they didn't have a thing for kids. Asking Reba White to special order something for Polly was one of those awkward things that somehow managed to slip the Chance brothers' minds when they went to town.

Polly wound her arms around Miriam's skirts for a quick hug, then looked up expectantly. Miriam stooped and gave Polly a basket full of sliced bread. She murmured something softly to the girl, then asked, "Understand?"

"No," Polly retorted in her clear, high voice that carried well. She frowned at Miriam and tilted her head to the side. "How come a lady is 'posed to wear her panty-lettes, but she can't talk 'bout them? My panty-lettes is so pretty!"

That did it. Gideon succ.u.mbed to the temptation. He threw back his head and roared. Miriam looked so disconcerted, he couldn't help it.

Daniel sat off in the corner, glowering. Gideon wasn't sure whether his levity or Miriam's prissy ways caused his brother to look like he'd been sucking on lemons. Paying attention to his surly ways wouldn't change them. It's a temporary situation, Gideon told himself as he stopped laughing. Miriam will be gone in no time at all.

As if she knew what he was thinking, Miriam used all the strategy of a general and the wiles of a woman. She put supper on the table. Everything was done at the same time, and she managed to coordinate her moves so efficiently, she didn't get in a dither while juggling platters, bowls, and the like. In a matter of moments, rich, thick, my mouth-died-and-went-to-heaven chicken stew and her light-as-clouds bread graced the supper table. A colorful dish with whacked-up tomatoes, cuc.u.mbers, onions, and bits of herbs looked like something a fancy chef would serve at an expensive San Francisco restaurant. How she managed to knock around in their kitchen and garden and concoct such mouthwatering meals was a total mystery. No matter who cooked, none of the Chance men ever managed to create anything half as appealing.

"Supper is ready, gentlemen," she announced.

Gideon wanted to wallop his brothers. She hadn't even finished the sentence, and they were falling all over each other to reach the table. He intentionally waited a minute before taking his customary place at the head of the table.

t.i.tus sprang up, pulled out a chair, and said, "Here you go, Miss Miriam."

"Thank you," she said...or simpered. Gideon wasn't sure whether she was genuine in her grat.i.tude or trying to wrap t.i.tus around her little finger.

Miriam claimed Polly again. They folded their hands, and the brothers fell into a chagrined silence. They'd already started to dig in. Spoons froze halfway to mouths, then were lowered down to rest in the bowls as Polly's uncles heard the little tyke singsong a prayer all by herself. Good sports that they were, they all chimed in on the "Amen."

Daniel kept hold of Ginny Mae, but he had his hands full, trying to keep her from sticking her fingers into his bowl. Miriam reached over, scooted his bowl farther to the right, and grabbed a small tin plate from the center of the table. That plate had tiny bites of chicken, vegetables, and little fingers of b.u.t.tered bread on it. They were all the perfect size for Ginny Mae to pinch with her chubby baby fingers and eat all by herself. Miriam set the plate down in front of the baby, but she said nothing.

"Well looky there," Bryce said. "Hannah used to do that for Polly."

Daniel's head swiveled sharply toward Bryce. His eyes burned like coals. Bryce stared at his brother for a long moment, then cleared his throat. "I do believe I need the b.u.t.ter for my bread." He jabbed t.i.tus in the ribs. "Gimme the b.u.t.ter."

Gideon wasn't sure whom to kick under the table first: Daniel for being mean as a chained bear or Bryce for sticking his foot in his mouth yet again.

The plate was a good idea. He hadn't spied it because it was on the other side of a canning jar filled with wildflowers. The last time they'd had flowers in the house was when Hannah was still alive. She'd gotten a fistful of them and spoken wistfully about the big, fragrant blossoms back home. It hadn't occurred to him that she was homesick; but as he thought back, that would have been about the time she'd written to invite Miriam to come. Besotted as Daniel was, all of them figured he kept Hannah happy. The fact that she'd been carrying a second child so quickly certainly reinforced the notion she felt every bit as contented about her life and marriage as Daniel was.

Gideon paused, his spoon halfway up to his mouth. He'd not thought about Hannah for months. She'd been like a rainbow-pretty but fleeting. Insubstantial. Foul as Daniel's mood had grown, if he knew his brothers were thinking of his wife, he'd have spoiled for a nasty fistfight.

As for Miriam...well, Gideon vowed to be sure she and her trunks made it on the very next voyage back toward her parents. At the moment, her luggage occupied a chunk of the floor over by the window. She'd pulled her outfit today from the larger of the two trunks.

An uncharitable thought arced across his mind. For being a pretty gal, Miss Miriam sure worked hard at looking homely. He'd held her. He knew her shape. It had plenty to recommend it to the opposite gender. Instead of fancying up that slate job with a lacy collar, fancy b.u.t.tons, or doodads, she'd left it painfully plain. She'd proven she could wield a needle with great skill, so why did her gown bag a bit on her? Had she been ailing? Had she lost weight?

He sent the bowl of the fancy salad her way after taking a generous second helping. "You'd best eat up, Miss Miriam. From the way your gown fits, I'd guess you had a bit of trouble keeping your meals down on the voyage here. We'll need to fatten you up in the next few days 'til you leave."

"Leave!" Logan half-shouted.

"You're going? Say it isn't so," Bryce said. To Gideon's disgust, his brother looked like a lovesick calf.

"I-"

"She has to go," Gideon cut in before Miriam grabbed the chance to put in her two cents' worth.

Paul scowled. "She just got here."

"Yes, I did. Since this involves me, I-"

"Ought to stay," t.i.tus finished for her as he set down his coffee mug with a decisive thump. "It's downright cruel to stick her back aboard a vessel this quick. We've all heard how difficult a voyage is, and she's not even rested up and recovered."

Daniel glared at her. "She can lie in her berth day and night if she's all that worn out."

What little color Miriam's face held seeped away. "I refuse to be locked in a cabin for weeks on end again!"

"Locked in a cabin!" Logan and Paul bellowed in outrage together.

"Now, Miss Miriam," Gideon said through gritted teeth, "there's no need to stretch the truth here."

"Oh, I'm not stretching it one bit. Two days out of port, Captain Raithly locked me into the first mate's cabin. I didn't see sky again until the day we docked."

"He didn't do it unless you deserved to be punished," Daniel snapped.

Miriam recoiled as if his words packed a physical blow. Her eyes and voice radiated hurt. "Daniel, what did I ever do to deserve your judgment and condemnation?"

Daniel glared at Gideon and slammed his fist down on the table. "I told you to get rid of her."

Polly climbed into her aunt's lap. She managed to smear food across the slate bodice, and she clung to Miriam's sleeve. Tears slipped down her cheeks. "Please don't go, Auntie Miri-Em."

Miriam kissed Polly's forehead, then gave Gideon a pleading look.

The sight of her cuddling Polly close, the way she naturally smoothed and fingered her niece's little curls, the spill of dainty white ruffles on a child who had never owned anything frilly-they tugged at his heart. He and his brothers had somehow slipped up and not tended to some of the finer points of rearing a girl. But now that we know, we can do it.

"Auntie Miri-Em, I need you!"

"I'll stay just as long as you need me," she pledged.

"You're going," Gideon a.s.serted. How dare she invite herself, then announce she is going to move in and take over matters and make decisions? That proved the point: Miriam Hanc.o.c.k had to leave before she tried to change and rule their comfortable world. "I said we'd buy the stupid ticket!"

"Gideon Chance, you'll watch your att.i.tude and language!"

He glowered at her. "The last thing I need is some prissy, holier-than-thou, missionary girl telling me what to do at my own table."

Miriam let out a long sigh. "Very well. I'll give you options to fulfill that requirement. Either I'll take possession of the cottage and take my meals there-"

"Don't you step foot in my home again." Daniel's voice rivaled a thunderclap.

She lifted her chin. Her eyes didn't snap with temper, and her jaw didn't jut forward with stubbornness, either. Gideon had to give her credit, because her eyes didn't even well up with tears. For being a woman, she had remarkable self-control. "Since that choice does not suit, I'll simply take the girls back on the s.h.i.+p with me."

Daniel lurched to his feet with a loud roar. "No!" He kept hold of Ginny Mae in one arm and whisked Polly out of Miriam's hold with the other. "We don't want you, and we don't need you. Get out of here. Get out of our home and lives."

Bryce hopped up. "Don't you talk that way to her! If you wasn't holding the girls right now, I'd bust your chops."

Gideon had been on his feet and about to say something similar. He caught himself before he made a buffoon of himself. Here I am, about to be her champion, yet I want her gone. The sight of his smallest brother, a mere teen, standing up to a full-grown man angered him. "Enough of this. We're not coming to blows or having a brawl. I made a decision. It stands."

Awkward silence filled the room. Ginny Mae smacked her little hand over Daniel's chest. "Daddy, Daddy, Daddy."

Daniel's expression qualified as purely malevolent as he spoke to Miriam. "She knows whom she belongs to, and it isn't you." He turned to Gideon. "Get rid of her. Today."

They watched Daniel as he stomped to the door, went out, and kicked it shut with a vengeance. Gideon managed not to wince.

"Gideon," Paul said.

"What now?"

Paul folded his arms across his chest. That move always warned Gideon his brother was about to render an unwanted opinion.

"You're not going to drain our savings to buy Miriam's ticket on a s.h.i.+p. You have no right to make that kind of financial commitment without consulting us."

"Yeah," t.i.tus agreed. "We all do a fair share of the work. This is a voting issue."

"Excuse me, please. If you'll allow me a moment, I should absent myself from the table until this is settled." Miriam slipped from the table, took something from the oven, and set it on the table, then went out the door.

Gideon looked at the table and groaned.

Chapter 9.

Gingerbread. Miriam had made gingerbread. Gideon's mouth watered as he said, "You're Daniel's brothers and owe him your support and allegiance. He loved the daylights out of Hannah. He doesn't want to be saddled with her kid sister. It's a big responsibility, and we're all doing far too much already."

"She helps, Gideon," Bryce said in a wheedling tone. "She cooks and cleans and watches the girls. She's not a burden."

"The girls need a woman's touch," Paul said thoughtfully. "Dan's not making any bones about how upset he is, but Dan is...Dan. He'll get over it."

"You're not sure of that at all," Gideon countered. "He carries a grudge worse than a gypped cardsharp."

Logan shrugged. "Tough luck. You got a good gander at Polly. We love her and Ginny Mae to pieces, but Miriam's already doin' things for her we can't. Seems to me, as time pa.s.ses, it's going to be more important to have a woman around to tend to femaletype matters."

"That's years down the road," Gideon countered. He tried like anything to ignore the aroma of the gingerbread. "By then, one of us will probably have married."

"And is Dan going to buck like a bronc then, too?" Bryce asked. "It's been ten months since Hannah pa.s.sed over. I'm not saying that's all that long, but I do think he'd better learn he has to go on living. He's not thinking of his girls-he's thinking of hisself."

t.i.tus cleared his throat. "You asked us to think of Daniel, Gideon. Well, I am. I think we have to save him from himself. All of us already stepped in and helped with those girls because he can't do it all on his own. This is another one of those times when we're going to have to intervene."

"Think this through. Where in the world does she sleep? What in thunder are we going to do with a single woman underfoot?" Gideon realized it sounded like he was weakening. He immediately tacked on, "No, it's all wrong. She has to go."

"That's your vote," t.i.tus said. "We all know where Daniel stands on this. I say she stays."

"She stays," Bryce and Logan said in unison.

Gideon turned to Paul. "Don't vote until you think this through. I didn't make a snap decision. I've been thinking it over from the very start."

Rare were the times things came up for a vote. Gideon usually made the decisions. Because he shouldered that responsibility, they'd agreed if a vote ever came to a tie, he'd make a final determination. If Paul voted for Miriam to go, it would be a tie, so Gideon's decision would stand. If Paul sided with the others, they'd be saddled with a fussy little snip of a woman until she, too, sickened and died.

Paul was the quiet brother. Thoughtful. Did more reading. His cautious nature had stood them in good stead more than once. He ambled to the windows-the windows Miriam had cleaned-and looked out. "Have you ever wondered what it would have been like if Mama died instead of Dad? We'd have kept the old ranch, but that old ranch house would have felt so empty. Mama made the house a home. Even here, rough as this was, she set out her quilts and stuck wildflowers on the table. Hannah did that, too, and it did us all good."

And Miriam's already started nesting like a sparrow, too. Gideon glanced at the colorful bouquet on the table.

Paul turned back around. "Polly and Ginny won't remember their mama. There aren't three decent women within a day's ride. Someone's got to teach them to pick posies, cook, and quilt."