Tender Love Page 8

  The hundred-acre farm was in the Piedmont region of Virginia. The buildings were located along a lazy river meandering through the middle of the farm, fed from the wooded hills to the north. About half of the farm was arable, and it was planted in corn and soya beans. In addition to the two-story dwelling, there was a large barn, garage, and a chicken house. As they drove along the lane that took them to the farm-stead, Alice observed with pleasure the neat fields, and the new-mown pasture fields behind the barn. Her uncle was a good farmer.

  Landon Wilcox wasn’t a handsome man, for above his freckled face was a thatch of wild and unruly red hair. His long drooping nose was high at the bridge giving his face a beaklike appearance, but his gray eyes sparkled mischievously, indicative of his jovial personality. He sat on the wide veranda that surrounded the old house. When he came off the porch to greet them, a basset hound and a half-dozen puppies ran after him. By the time petite, fair-haired Margaret came out of the house, Kristin and Eddie had dropped to the ground, and the pups were climbing all over them.

  Laughing, Alice said, “I see you’ve added some new livestock to the farm. And I was afraid there wouldn’t be enough to keep the kids from being bored!”

  Landon gave her a bear hug, and Alice stooped to kiss Aunt Margaret. “So these are the children you’re caring for?” Margaret said.

  “Eddie, Kristin, leave the dogs alone for a few minutes and meet my relatives.”

  Eddie and Kristin both held a puppy in their arms, but they stood up, the other pups yipping and chewing on their shoes and socks.

  “This is my Aunt Margaret and Uncle Landon. We’re going to be their guests for the week.”

  Eddie stuck out his little hand toward Landon. “I’m Eddie Tanner.”

  Smothering a smile, Landon shook his hand. “Glad to meet you, Eddie. We don’t have any boys around here, so you’ll have to help me on the farm this week.”

  “What are we supposed to call you?” Kristin asked.

  “Whatever you want to, dear,” Margaret said.

  “Then we’ll call you Aunt Margaret and Uncle Landon, just like Alice does. We don’t have any uncles at all, and only one aunt, and she lives in Tennessee so we don’t see her very often.”

  Eddie again dropped to the ground to play with the puppies, and he looked up at Landon, his eyes bright and hopeful.

  “Can we have one of the puppies, please?”

  Landon glanced at Alice.

  “That’s a decision for your daddy to make, but don’t get your hopes up. He may not want to adopt a puppy.” She looked at Margaret. “Mark, the children’s father and my employer, may come up over the weekend. I hope that’ll be all right.”

  Margaret nodded, and Landon said, “The more the merrier. Come on, Eddie, let’s take a ride on the tractor. I have to plow a section of the garden this afternoon.”

  “Can I take the puppy?”

  “Not on the tractor. You can play with the puppy after supper.”

  “Don’t I get to ride on the tractor?” Kristin asked.

  “Sure thing,” Landon said, “but only one kid at a time.”

  Reluctantly, Eddie and Kristin released their puppies, and the mother dog waddled back to the porch, her brood awkwardly following her.

  “Let me put some sunscreen on you, Eddie—I don’t want you to get a sunburn.” Alice rummaged in the back of the van to find the bag she’d packed for emergencies, and after she rubbed his arms and legs generously with the lotion, she said, “I wish I’d brought a cap for him.”

  “He can wear one of my straw hats,” Landon said.

  “Kristin,” Margaret said, “you come and help me string green beans for supper, and you can ride on the tractor tomorrow.”

  As Alice unpacked the van, she saw Eddie following Landon out to the garden. The sight of the boy with the big straw hat flopping down over his ears was hilarious, and she grabbed her camera. She’d noticed very few pictures at the Tanners, and she intended to record their activities this summer. She snapped a picture from the rear, and when he turned, she got a close-up of his face, barely visible under the floppy brim.

  Eddie was skittish of climbing on the tractor, but Landon had grandchildren, and he knew how to calm the boy’s fears. Alice was sure he’d waited until their arrival to plow the garden to give Eddie a chance to ride the tractor.

  Landon placed Eddie on the seat before him, and Alice paused to watch. Eddie put his little hands beside the hairy freckled hands of Landon, and when he saw Alice looking their way, he straightened his back and yelled over the tractor’s roaring motor, “Look at me, Alice. I’m driving. Take my picture.” Alice was glad she’d bought several extra rolls of film.

  She carried all their luggage upstairs and placed it in the three rooms Margaret had prepared. Afterward, she located Kristin and Margaret on the back porch, where Kristin was slowly getting the knack of snapping the long green beans. She took a picture of that activity, too—partly to have mementos for the children, but also so Mark wouldn’t miss altogether what his children were doing.

  When bedtime came, Alice realized that she’d forgotten to pack one very important item—a night-light. When they started upstairs, Kristin peered out the living room window.

  “It’s dark outside. I can’t see anything. And you can’t hear any sounds at all.”

  Eddie didn’t comment, but he edged close to Alice, and clutched her jeans as they walked upstairs.

  She showed the children to their bedrooms, where she’d laid out their pj’s on the bed. Kristin and Eddie tiptoed around, only adding to the quietness. The rooms, with their high ceilings and antique wooden furniture intimidated the children. When Eddie climbed into the full-size bed, he did look awfully small.

  “We’ll leave the bathroom light on tonight,” Alice told him as she bent and kissed his cheek. “And I’m in the room across the hall—there’s nothing to be afraid of.”

  He nodded solemnly, but his blue eyes looked enormous in the dim light.

  Alice paused at Kristin’s open door. “Are you all right?”

  “I think so. What are those funny sounds outdoors?”

  “Night insects—katydids and locusts, and lots of other kinds I can’t recognize. They’re in cities, too, but we can’t hear them because of the traffic and other noises.”

  Alice turned off the hall light, but left the bathroom light on to keep the children from being afraid. She undressed in the darkness, and slipped between the sheets. The farmhouse wasn’t air-conditioned, and she welcomed the breeze drifting through the open window.

  Alice lay with her hands behind her head, propped up on the pillow, not the least bit sleepy. She hadn’t been here to stay overnight since her marriage ten years ago. What a lot had happened to her in that length of time. Married and widowed. The last time she slept in this bed, she’d never heard of Mark Tanner, and in spite of the thirty-five years she’d lived before she met Mark, it seemed as if her life had only started two months ago when she’d entered his home.

  “Alice.” Her thoughts were interrupted by Eddie’s timorous voice. He stood in the doorway. She sat up in bed.

  “Yes. What is it?”

  “I’m scared. It’s awful quiet, but still I can hear squeaking sounds. I can’t go to sleep. Maybe we ought to go home.”

  “But if we go home, you wouldn’t be here to ride the pony tomorrow. You don’t want to miss that.”

  He didn’t answer, but Alice thought she heard a sniff.

  With a quiet sigh, she said, “Would you like to crawl in beside me for a while?”

  His bare feet pattered across the floor, and she reached out a hand to lift him into the bed. With a little giggle, he scooted across the mattress, until he was pressed close against her side.

  “You smell good, Alice, and you’re soft and cuddly just like my bear.”

  “That’s quite a compliment.”

  “Can I come, too?” Kristin’s voice sounded from the hallway.

  “Don’t tell me yo
u’re afraid?”

  “No, but that’s an awful big bed for just me.”

  Alice turned back the bed covers. “Come on.”

  The two children were soon asleep, but Alice lay between them unable to settle down. Betty would have a fit if she knew Alice permitted her charges to sleep with her—no doubt it was against nanny rules. But her growing love for Mark extended to his children, and she found it difficult to refuse their requests. Where was this going to end? Mark had made it plain that remarriage wasn’t in his plans. What did the future hold for her? Was she drifting into deep water from which there wasn’t any return?

  On their second evening at the farm, Mark telephoned while they were eating supper, and Alice’s hand itched to take the phone when Landon said who was calling. She stayed in her chair while Kristin and Eddie ran to get the receiver—Kristin winning as usual. Eddie hopped from one foot to the other as his sister talked, and grabbed the phone with alacrity when it was his turn.

  Mark must have asked if he was having a good time, for he said, “Yes, I am, Daddy. I’ve been driving the tractor, riding the pony, and playing with the puppies. And we’re waiting until you come Saturday to go on a picnic in the woods. Uncle Landon calls it a hayride.”

  Alice could envision Mark’s eyes lighting as he listened to Eddie’s ramblings.

  “Alice, Daddy wants to talk to you.”

  Careful, she thought as she left the table. Aunt Margaret is pretty shrewd—she’ll catch on quickly. But she couldn’t keep a lilt out of her voice when she answered.

  “How are things going? The kids sound as if they’re having a good time.”

  “All of us are.”

  “Then they haven’t worn you out completely?”

  “Not at all. We’re sorry that you can’t be with us, too. How’s Gran getting along?”

  “Fine. She had most of dinner ready when I got home tonight. Ethel was all set to come every day, but I rather forcefully dispensed with her services. I told her if she wanted to be of help, she could check on Gran over the weekend.”

  “I’m sure that wasn’t the kind of service she had in mind.”

  “She’s pretty hard to discourage, but I want you to know I’ve tried.”

  “I believe it.”

  Alice gave him directions on how to find the farm and handed the phone back to Kristin, who had stood nearby listening intently.

  The rest of the week passed quickly, and the children retained their enthusiasm for rural life. Alice and Landon took them fishing; Margaret kept them fed well with fresh-baked cookies and other pastries, and both children enjoyed riding the lazy pony around the barn lot. It was only at night that they seemed to miss their father, and when they were ready for bed, as a matter of course, they went into Alice’s room and got in her bed.

  She wanted them to enjoy their week, and since she wasn’t heartless enough to force them to sleep in their rooms, she turned the time to good use. After they got in bed, and before she turned off the light, she put her arms around both of them and told them Bible stories. Their favorite was the time Jesus had called the little children to him and blessed them, and they wanted to hear that every night.

  “When we visited the Holy Land several years ago, we saw the places that Jesus visited and where He might have been when He blessed the children. He probably sat on a little hill overlooking the Sea of Galilee.”

  “Is that a pretty place?” Kristin asked.

  “The hillsides aren’t as pretty and green as we have here in Virginia, but any place Jesus has been is beautiful.”

  “Have you been lots of places?”

  “Yes, I have, Kristin. My husband was associated with the state department, and before his illness, he had many occasions to travel in foreign countries. I always went with him, and after he finished his work, he took a week or so of vacation, and we went sightseeing.”

  “What happened to your husband?” Eddie asked.

  “He died and went to be with the Lord.”

  “Just like our Mommy,” Eddie said. “Are you sad, too, Alice?”

  “I used to be, but not since I’ve had the two of you to take care of.”

  “And Daddy, too?”

  Alice’s heart beat like a jackhammer at the question, but she managed to answer lightly. “Daddy doesn’t actually need taking care of. He’s big enough to look out for himself.”

  Once the story time was finished, Kristin and Eddie slept soundly, but Alice didn’t. For one thing, Eddie was restless and turned frequently, usually yanking the bedcovers with him. Also, she was troubled. If she was a good nanny, she would know how to reassure these children and put them in their separate beds. But a good nanny wouldn’t have fallen in love with her charges’ father, either. Why had she listened to Betty? Why hadn’t she returned to teaching? That way she could have worked with children during the day, and they would have returned to their parents at night, and her heart wouldn’t have been involved.

  Alice was also worried about the weekend. She was so eager to see Mark that she could hardly bear to wait the hours away before he arrived. Could she possibly conceal her feelings for Mark from Margaret and Landon? If her pulse raced when she even thought about Mark, how would her emotions stir when she saw him after a few days’ separation?

  Lying in the bed she’d slept in when she was a child, she remembered the times she’d prayed for guidance in her life. As soon as she recognized the Lordship of Christ, Alice knew He had a purpose for her, and she thought that meant becoming a mother. Had she mistaken His leadership when she married John Larkin? She’d never doubted that she would have children, but it was a subject they hadn’t discussed before marriage, and she didn’t know until later that John was reluctant to take on the responsibility of a young family at his age. Alice hadn’t insisted.

  Mark planned to arrive by six o’clock on Friday, and two hours before his arrival, Kristin and Eddie sat on the front steps watching the road for his vehicle. They played with the puppies crawling all over them, pulling at their clothes, but they kept alert for the sound of Mark’s station wagon. Alice had decided not to be present when he arrived, and she was in the dining room setting the table when he came.

  Each of them carrying a pup, the kids bounded off the porch when Mark’s vehicle rounded the bend. Alice pulled back the curtain in the dining room to watch their reunion.

  Mark stooped and put his arms around them, seeming to savor their kisses and the drooling tongues of the two pups. His eyes scanned the front of the house and, with a quickening heartbeat, Alice knew he was looking for her.

  Landon came up behind her, having just finished shaving, and she said, “Come out and meet Mark Tanner, Uncle. You’ll like him.”

  “He’s raised two nice kids, I’ll say that for him.”

  In Landon’s company, Alice knew she would be less self-conscious, and her voice didn’t betray her inner turmoil when they met Mark at the bottom of the steps.

  “Uncle Landon, this is Mark Tanner. Landon Wilcox, my uncle.”

  The men shook hands, but before they could say much, Kristin said, “We want to take a puppy home with us, Daddy. Uncle Landon said we could have one—they’re old enough to leave their mother now.”

  “But Alice said you’d have to decide,” Eddie said.

  Mark looked at her then, and his blue eyes gleamed. “Well, thanks a lot.” To the children, he said, “I’ll think about it, and then we’ll have a talk. There’s a lot of work involved in adopting a puppy.”

  Margaret came out on the porch to greet Mark, and when the children wanted to take him to see the pony, she said, “Not until we’ve eaten supper. Eddie, show your daddy upstairs to the bathroom, so he can refresh himself after his journey.”

  When they entered the house, and Mark saw the steep flight of steps, he looked at Alice questioningly. She nodded significantly. Eddie grabbed Mark’s hand and pulled him toward the stairs. Mark looked over his shoulder at Alice and shook his head in wonder.

  In a
low voice, Alice explained to Landon and Margaret, “Two months ago, Eddie couldn’t have climbed the steps without help, and even then, he would have gasped for breath.”

  “He’s stronger than when he came here,” Landon said.

  “That’s the reason I imposed our company on you this week. I thought a vacation on the farm would be good for both of them.”

  “You’re always welcome, you know that,” Margaret said.

  Alice helped Margaret clear the table and wash the dishes while the kids took Mark to see the pony and to demonstrate their expertise in riding. Later, all of them sat on the front porch and visited. Alice sat in the swing and gently swayed back and forth, saying very little, content to let Mark and Landon do the talking. She was pleased with how well they got on together, and jubilant that Mark was relaxed, and seemingly as carefree as the children.

  Hoping for a few minutes to talk with Mark about the sleeping arrangements, and while the children were playing badminton, she said, “Before it’s completely dark, Mark, you should bring in your luggage. I’ll show you your room.”

  “I have only one suitcase.” He walked down to the car with a jaunty step.

  Walking side by side up the wide stairs, she said quietly, “I’ve had a bit of problem with the children at night. When night falls, it’s dark here, and I didn’t bring a night-light. The first night, they were afraid and wanted to sleep with me, and I allowed it, which was a mistake—they’ve accepted that as the status quo.”

  “They shouldn’t impose on you that way.”

  “It was strange for them here, and they missed you, so I didn’t have the heart to make them sleep alone.”

  “You have to be firm with them.”

  “I’m glad to hear you say that. You can explain that to them tonight, and I’m sure they’ll hop right in their beds and go to sleep immediately. I’m a softie, and I can’t be firm like you.”