Gingham Mountain (37 page)

“Too many menfolk.” Grant had seen it all before and accepted it. “Women like to talk to other women from time to time.”

Daniel nodded earnestly, soaking in every word Grant said, even though his son was strangling him and yelling for a horsie ride. “She’s expecting another young’un, too. Probably die from this one.” He looked over at Grace. “I am surely gonna miss that woman.”

“Ma’s gonna die!” Matthew shouted right into Daniel’s ear.

Grace whirled around and fairly screamed. “
I am not going to die
, Daniel Reeves. You quit saying that. If I hear you say that one more time, I swear this is going to be the first baby ever born where we lose a father.”

Hannah looked wide-eyed at Daniel. With a glance at Grant, Hannah pulled Grace back into the little circle of women.

Two of the medium-sized boys—they had to be triplets because
there were three that were a matched set—rolled under the table wrestling and tipped it over.

Daniel shouted, “You boys get outside!”

Shouting with joy, his boys vanished, along with Benny, leaving the door wide open. Grant, his ears ringing, prayed for his son to survive this visit.

After a moment’s hesitation while he looked between the women and the open door, Charlie grabbed his coat and went out after the others. Grant hoped living most of his life on the mean streets made him tough enough to survive the Reeves boys.

The Reeves stayed the night. Grant had no choice but to spend his wedding night with the menfolk in the barn, and Grace slept with Hannah. Grant’s children skipped school the next day, and by nightfall, the Reeves family still showed no signs of leaving. Of course the train wouldn’t come through for a week, so there was no escaping the Reeves until then.

Grant was ready to start building on to his house, maybe a big playroom with no breakables. Something with a lock on it, so Grant could shoo them in there and pen them up.

By midweek, Grant worked up the nerve to ask Daniel, in carefully discreet terms, about being married. Near as Grant could tell, Daniel thought women were a dangerous temptation from the devil, died at the drop of a hat, and a man with any sense at all would move himself permanently into the barn.

Terrified by Daniel’s dire predictions, Grant didn’t ask questions after that.

Grant barely kept from tearing his hair out while he waited for the visit to end. The only thing that saved him from a bald head was the joy he saw on Hannah’s face—on the few occasions he saw her face since he was living full-time in the bachelor quarters in the barn now—as she talked nonstop with Grace.

Grant did his best not to shout for joy when Daniel declared it to
be time to go home. Grace, relaxed and happy, went along with her family without protest.

After the Reeves tornado spun itself back toward west Texas, and Grant repaired the furniture, their home went back to normal.

P
eace and quiet at last.” Grant sank into his rocking chair, enjoying the relative silence of his household with only eight people in it.

“It just seems quiet without the Reeves.” Hannah glanced away from the room and smiled at Grant. “We’ve still got six children making noise.”

Libby looked up from where she sat at the table listening to Marilyn read.

“I think you and Ma had better only have babies one at a time, Pa.” Josh pulled his harmonica out of his pocket.

Laughing, Hannah shook her head. “Are you really going to call me Ma, Josh? I’m pretty sure you’re older than I am.”

Grant settled more firmly in his rocking chair. “I like the sound of Ma. I think you kids had oughta all call her that.”

“But she’s my sister, Pa.” Libby screwed up her face and pouted. “Do I have to call her Ma, too? That’s kind of confusing.”

Sadie and Joshua started to laugh.

“Well, you could call her Hannah for your sister”—Marilyn pushed the book aside—“Miss Cartwright for your teacher, Ma because she’s married to your pa. . . She’s right. It is confusing.”

“Well, we’ll keep it simple and you can call me Ma.” Hannah sat struggling over the knitting lesson Sadie and Marilyn had assigned her.

Grant did his best not to laugh at the mass of knots.

“But I declare if Will and Ian start calling me Ma, I don’t know if I’ll put up with it.”

“They can call you Grandma instead.” Libby nodded innocently. The whole room erupted into laughter.

Grant jumped to his feet and scooped his little daughter into his arms. Once she’d started talking, the little girl seemed to be catching up for years of silence. “I never get tired of hearing you talk.” He danced her around the room, whirling and hoisting her toward the ceiling.

“Say something else, honey,” Grant cajoled as he tossed her in the air. “C’mon, let me hear that pretty voice.”

Libby giggled. “I love you, Pa.”

Grant stopped in midstep. He pulled Libby into a bear hug. “Thank you, sweetheart. The day God brought you and Charlie and your meddling big sister into my life is one of the very best days of my life. And you did that without saying a word.”

“I’m not a meddler, Grant Cooper. You take that back.” Hannah came and stood in front of him, her hands on her hips, doing her very best to look fierce when the sparkle in her eye told him she was fighting not to laugh.

“I know a way to make Pa behave, Ma.” Libby giggled as if saying the word
Ma
was hilarious.

“How’s that?”

“Pa’s ticklish.”

Hannah’s eyes zeroed in on him. Benny roared like a Comanche warrior, a six-year-old Comanche warrior. They ended up in a pile on the floor, tickling and laughing and being the biggest, happiest family ever sheltered by a Texas mountain.

And later, when the house was quiet and Grant finally had her alone, he found out Hannah was ticklish, too.

M
ARY
C
ONNEALY
is the author of the Lassoed in Texas series which includes Petticoat Ranch and Calico Canyon. Also coming soon are Of Mice. . .and Murder, book one of a three-book series with Heartsong Presents Mysteries, and Buffalo Gal, book one of a three-book series for Heartsong Presents. Her novel Golden Days is part of the Alaska Brides anthology. You can find out more about Mary’s upcoming books at
www.maryconnealy.com
.

Mary lives on a Nebraska farm with her husband, Ivan, and has four grown daughters: Joslyn (married to Matt), Wendy, Shelly (married to Aaron), and Katy.