A Time to Bloom (Leah's Garden #2)(16)

“If Robbie doesn’t eat them all.” Lilac grinned and wiggled her eyebrows. Robbie’s love of pancakes was nearly legendary.

Del and the children brought cold water and pancakes rolled with butter and sugar out to those in the field midmorning, after Forsythia and her brood arrived.

“Auntie Lark, we gots pancakes,” Robbie hollered as he dodged around the turned hay and met them where they laid down the scythes and mopped their foreheads.

“Where’s your ma?” Lark asked.

Sofie pointed back to the sod house. “With Mikael. He’s crying.”

Lilac passed the water jug to Jesse. “Why’s he crying?”

Robbie and Sofie looked at each other and shrugged, as if they were marionettes on strings pulled by one master.

Robbie cocked his head. “He cries lots.”

Del handed the bag of pancakes around. “You better eat quick before the pancake man eats them all.” She grinned at Robbie. “He helped me roll them.”

“Me too,” added Sofie.

Robbie pulled at Del’s skirt.

“What?” She frowned at him, then looked where he was pointing. Her eyes widened. “Uh, Lark, do you see what Robbie sees?”

Lark straightened and stilled. Del reached for Robbie’s hand and clung to it.

A column of dark cloud shadowed the sky to the north, casting its shade over the sun and approaching rapidly.

“What is it? Another tornado?” Del’s heart thudded painfully.

Jesse pushed back his hat and stared, dread on his gentle face. “Don’t think so. I think that’s g-grasshoppers.”





5


So what do you think? Up for getting back on that train and heading to Nebraska?”

RJ hesitated at his friends’ breakfast table, sipping the coffee Josephine had poured him. He glanced at Anders, sitting there expectantly and jiggling little Marcella on his knee.

“Maybe. I don’t know. The Union Pacific has already built that far?”

“Well, it starts in Omaha, which is already close, and then they’re building west. I hear they’re starting a branch southward too. Should at least get us close enough to reach Salton someway.”

Salton. RJ tasted the unfamiliar name. Unknown town, unknown people. Sounded good to him. “How soon would we leave?”

Anders grinned. “As soon as I can get someone to help the ladies take care of the store. Josephine thinks her brother and cousin will pitch in. I want to get home well before harvest. Business always picks up around then.”

“You said there might be construction work?” RJ dug into his pancakes and bacon, his appetite suddenly sharpened.

“Del—that’s my second-oldest sister, Delphinium—wrote that the railroad is coming through, and they’re building a train station and water towers. And my sisters have this boardinghouse idea I told you about. That’s the main reason for my going. They’ll need lots of workers for that, and there’s bound to be more construction needed if the town is booming like they say.”

“You think I can”—RJ forced the words out—“still do good work with my . . .”

Anders nodded vigorously. “Sure you can. I had an uncle, a carpenter, who lost an eye in a building accident. His other eye compensated, and he was as good a craftsman as ever. Maybe better.”

RJ nodded, relief tightening his throat. It was true that he already barely noticed the limitation to his vision anymore—only if he really needed peripheral on his bad side. But he hadn’t tried crafting anything yet.

“Well, I’d better head to the store while you men plan your trip.” Josephine planted a kiss on Anders’s head and scooped Marcella from his lap. Anders had said they kept a large basket behind the counter for the baby to play in while Josephine worked.

“I’ll be along soon, love.” Anders pressed her hand. “I just want to walk over to the station on my way and check out the train schedules.” He glanced at RJ. “Come along?”

The sun beat on RJ’s shoulders as they strolled the dusty street of the town, the late July heat already rising, though it was still early. Horses clopped along the street, and jangling music already sounded through the half doors of the saloon.

Anders frowned as they passed the establishment. “I sure hope Jonah’s steering clear of that place these days.”

They headed to the edge of town where the train station stood, and Anders checked the schedules. “We could leave the day after tomorrow or wait until next week. What do you say?”

RJ shrugged. “Whatever you do.” He’d just as soon keep going, going, going, but it wasn’t his place to decide here.

“Might be best to wait.” Anders rubbed his chin. “My sisters want me to bring all manner of seeds and starts for their garden business, and it’ll take time to pack it all up right. And to get the store ready for others to handle for a while.”

“You’re not worried about leaving Josephine and the baby?”

“Her folks live close by, and they’ll help out. As will Climie. Someday we’ll all go visit.” The light of adventure sparked in Anders’s eyes.

“Ever wish you’d gone out west with them to begin with?”

Anders gave the schedule one last scan and turned to go. “Never really considered it. Josephine was here—we weren’t married yet—as was the store my father left me to run. I’ve always thought of myself as a responsible family man. But thinking of the great railroad spanning the continent . . . well, it does fire a man’s imagination.” He stepped back out onto the street. “Right now, though, we’d better grease our heels for the store, or my wife will fire something else. It’s near time for the morning mail, and we always get a mad rush about then.”