“All finished with your work at the Rally place?” Polly asked as she filled a heavy black kettle with water. “It’s a big place and a big job.”
“I’m finished.” Hester sniped, her voice sharp.
“Them children are going to miss you,” Polly added, turning to look at Hester who had collapsed into tears.
“Tell me what’s wrong,” Polly urged taking a seat across from the younger woman, who had paint on her face, hands and dress. “You’ll feel better if you do.”
As Hester poured her heart out to Polly, the kettle slowly came to a boil, a soothing familiar sound, providing a strange shrill comfort in a time of need.
Chapter 26
“Uncle Cecil, where’s Hester going?” Jonas walked into the parlor, scrubbing at his paint stained hands with a rag.
“What do you mean where is Hester going? I thought she went to her room.” Cecil’s heart ached and his stomach squirmed with doubt over his earlier behavior.
“Nope, she and Hyke just took the wagon.”
Cecil raced to the front of the house watching as the pair trotted down the now familiar road toward Biders Clump.
“Hester,” the name drifted from his lips like a prayer, and Cecil’s heart plunged.
“Did we make Hester go away,” Jonas looked up at his uncle, his eyes filling with tears. “I don’t want Hester to go. She’s the only one who ever let us do anything.”
“It’s my fault,” Beverly ran out to join them, throwing herself into her uncle’s arms. “I told her I hated her, but I don’t. I love Hester, make her come back. Please Uncle Cecil, make her come back.”
Cecil pulled the children to him, squatting and wrapping them in his arms. “It isn’t your fault that Hester left,” he sighed. “It’s mine. I said something I shouldn’t have. I should have trusted her.”
“Tell her you’re sorry,” Jonas urged. “Please, tell her you’re sorry and bring her back.”
Cecil hugged the children tighter as their tears fell onto his shirt. “I’ll try,” he said. “I’ll try.”
“Hurry,” Beverly urged stepping back and taking her brother’s hand. “We’ll be good. We promise.”
“Promise,” Jonas added, crossing his heart.
Where is your uncle going?” Mrs. August asked following the commotion onto the porch.
“He’s going to get Hyke and Hester back,” Jonas said. “We love Hester and want her back.”
“Hyke?” Mrs. August laid her hand against the high collar of her dress gazing out across the lane where Cecil Payton was striding out of sight.
“Come inside children,” she urged. “We’ll have to trust this to your uncle and providence.”
“What’s providence?” Jonas asked following the housekeeper into their new home.
“I think she means God,” Beverly whispered scooping up the cat that walked toward her curiously. “Maybe that means we need to pray for Hester to come back.”
Jonas nodded as they walked into the kitchen and Mrs. August told them to take a seat while she absently prepared a snack.
“You go first,” Jonas said closing his eyes and folding his hands. “I’ll say the Amen.”
Mrs. August turned from the stove where she was preparing to make tea, a bright tear filling her dark eyes. Oh, how things had changed in this new, unusual place.
***
Cecil kicked himself mentally once more as he hurried toward the town of Biders Clump, if he kept to his current pace he might even make it to town before dark. Why had he been such an idiot? He shouldn’t have argued with Hester. He was as childish as Jonas and Beverly. They were children, and as a grown man, he should have had more sense. Now the woman he loved was gone and he might never get her back.
He hadn’t expected to fall in love with the woman in charge of his two unruly wards, and yet now that he had, he seemed determined to ruin everything. The sobs of Jonas and Beverly urged him to move faster, and he was soon jogging in hopes of catching Hester before she boarded the next train to nowhere.
The sound of approaching horses, made Cecil pick up the pace. Perhaps he could borrow a ride.
“Cecil? Is that you?” George Olson came into sight riding a old bay and leading a leggy chestnut.
“George, what are you doing out here?” Cecil asked, confused by the tiny caravan.
“Comin’ to fetch you. Here take this horse and get to town. The horse is all warmed up and the fastest one Byron has. So move, or do you want to let that little girl get away?”
“No sir!” Cecil jumped for the saddle swinging up and galloping away in one smooth motion. Behind him George Olson chuckled patting his placid mare. “Well that’s done. The rest is up to him.”
George turned his horse for home, letting the old mare pick her pace and hoping he wouldn’t be too late to see how things turned out. Polly might have faith that two young folks would figure it out on their own, but George believed a little push in the right direction never hurt.
The sun was warm on his back as the old boardinghouse owner listened to the sound of a mountain blue bird trilling its happy song. He loved Wyoming and all the secrets the mountains had to whisper. Sometimes he wondered what was in store for the vast reaches of his home and hoped that its future would be full of hope, love, and faith.
Pushing his hat up on his head at a rakish angle, George started to sing some of his favorite songs, his G flat voice making the birds sing louder.
***
Cecil threw himself out of the saddle letting the horse loose as he rushed for the boardinghouse door. “Hester,” he called striding down the hall. “Hester are you here?” his heart clenched. Had the train already gone? Was he too late? His chest hurt as he rushed into the kitchen.
“What’s wrong?” Hester rose from the table meeting Cecil’s intense gaze. “Are the children all right?” A fear she had never felt before zipped through her, stealing her breath.
“They miss you,” Cecil said stripping his hat from
