Chapter Six #3
For a moment, Risa wished he’d span her waist with his big hands again and lift her up, but now that Lars didn’t have Gloria to distract him, she feared her father would read more into the innocent action than was warranted.
As she climbed into the wagonette, Gunder winked at her as though he could read her mind.
If he could actually do so, the two of them were in deep trouble.
Or at least she would be. The thought of him knowing how much she admired his spectacular physique, the blue of his eyes, the slightly pouty fullness of his lips, even the cute upturn on the end of his nose, would surely land her in a heap of trouble where he was concerned.
She watched Gunder easily slide onto the front seat while her father slowly climbed in as though all his energy had suddenly leaked out the soles of his feet.
Gunder mentioned a letter he’d just received from his mother and relayed a humorous incident about his sister Anna and a boy at school as he turned the team around and they headed back toward Lovely.
He and Risa carried most of the conversation, with Lars occasionally joining in, though he appeared lost in thought for much of the trip.
The horses seemed in a hurry to get back to their pasture as they kept up a fast pace just short of trotting. Sooner than Risa would have liked, Gunder stopped in front of their shack.
“I’ll return the wagon to the livery, then take care of the horses,” Gunder said as her father climbed out.
Risa hopped out and gathered the basket Gloria had given them which was full of muffins and cookies.
They’d all been too full to eat any, but Risa intended to share half of them with Gunder.
She picked up her picnic basket and the water bucket, and stepped back as her father plodded toward the door.
Gunder offered her a concerned glance, but she shrugged her shoulders, not certain why her father had grown so quiet. She’d have thought he would have been animated and full of energy after spending time with the woman he clearly loved, but instead, he appeared to withdraw into himself.
“I’ll have supper ready when you get back,” Risa called after Gunder as he snapped the lines and the horses moved forward.
Gunder raised a hand to indicate he’d heard, and Risa hurried ahead of her father and inside the house. She opened the back door to let in fresh air and built up the fire in the stove, then changed into an older dress she didn’t care about getting dirty as she cooked.
She’d already planned what she’d fix for the evening meal and had it partially ready.
While the beef and potatoes fried that she’d chopped up earlier and left in a bowl down in the cool cellar, she whipped up a pan of creamy gravy and sliced a few carrots to serve as a vegetable.
There was leftover cake from today and part of an apple pie from dinner last night for dessert.
Her father took clothes into her room to change, then went outside to see to the chores. She’d just set the table when the screen door squeaked and Lars and Gunder came inside.
“King and Prince acted like they’d done a hard day’s work when I turned them out in the pasture.” Gunder cast another concerned glance at Lars. “They were running and kicking like they were new colts in the spring.”
Risa smiled at him, then tossed a worried glimpse at her father, who remained quiet as he washed his hands at the sink and took his usual place at the table.
Gunder had joined them for enough meals that it felt right when he was there to pull out her chair for her and then take the seat beside her.
Risa waited for her father to ask the blessing, but when he remained silently staring at his plate, Gunder cleared his throat and bowed his head, sharing a tender message that touched her heart.
“Papa, are you ill? What in the world has come over you?” Risa asked, deciding to get to the bottom of whatever troubled her father. When he didn’t answer her, she placed her hand on his shoulder. “Papa!”
“What? Oh, sorry. I guess I was thinking about Gloria and wondering if she made it home without any trouble.”
Gunder smirked, but wisely remained silent as he took a scoop of the hash Risa had cooked, then passed the bowl to her.
“I’m sure she made it home, Papa. Gloria seems quite capable. And kind. Fun and sweet, not to mention beautiful.” Risa grinned when her father’s head came up and he stared at her.
“You truly liked her?”
“Well and truly, Papa. She’s wonderful! Why on earth would you think I wouldn’t enjoy her company? She is a delight.”
Her father’s face grew animated, and he scooted his chair a little closer to the table. “She is wonderful and caring, gentle and lovely. I don’t know what she sees in a poor ol’ freighter like me.”
“She sees a good man with a big heart who loves unselfishly.” Risa offered her father a pointed look. “Does this mean you’ll finally admit you love her and are ready to court her?”
“Court her? No.” Lars shook his head. “How could I possibly do that when I’m here and she’s there, and there’s so much to consider?”
“What’s there to consider, Papa?” Risa asked, her voice rising along with her temper. “She loves you. That’s as plain as the pert little nose on her pretty face. You love her, and don’t you dare deny it.”
Lars sighed and leaned back in his chair. “I do love her. I love her like I thought I’d never love another after losing your sweet mother.”
“Then do something about it,” Risa said, slapping her hand on the table for emphasis.
Gunder, who was by now acquainted with her temper and the way she sometimes tried to parent her father, said nothing as he ate his meal.
Smart man, Risa thought as she passed him the carrots, then turned her attention back to her father. “I don’t understand the problem, Papa. Just marry Gloria and enjoy whatever years of happiness the good Lord gives to you.”
“It’s not that simple, Girlie. I can’t just quit my job. What would I do for work? And there’s this place we’ve poured so much blood and sweat and tears into. I can’t walk away from it. Or you.”
Risa rolled her eyes. “You wouldn’t be walking away from anything.
I could stay here and keep things up. The way you and Gunder have spoken about the growth in Baker City, couldn’t you start your own freight business with King and Prince?
I bet it wouldn’t take any time at all to build up a business that would keep you as busy as you want to be.
Besides, I don’t think Gloria is hurting for money. ”
Lars scowled and shook his head. “Her husband left her well taken care of. She doesn’t need to run the boardinghouse for money. She does it for the company and to give her something to do. Which is one more reason this won’t work. Gloria is used to fine things. I’m nobody.”
Risa hopped out of her chair and wrapped her arms around her father’s shoulders, giving him a hug. “You’re somebody very special to me, Papa.” She kissed his cheek, then resumed her seat. “All we’re going to do is argue until we’re both exhausted. Let’s talk about this again in a few days.”
“That’s a wise plan,” her father said, and helped himself to a large serving of hash.
Gunder offered Risa an approving nod, then looked across the table at Lars. “Do you want to switch shifts with me tomorrow so you and Risa have some time to work through things?”
“No,” Lars said, shaking his head as he took a handful of carrot sticks. “I need to see Gloria and discuss matters with her first.”
“At least consider courting her, Papa. It’s not like you don’t see her every other day as it is. Perhaps take her to a restaurant for a nice meal, or to a concert or play. From the newspapers you bring home, it seems there is always something happening in town.”
“I’ll give consideration to your suggestions, but let’s talk about something else.
Did you see the article in the newspaper about the Southern Pacific line from Los Angeles to San Francisco being completed last month?
The way more and more railroad tracks are being laid, it won’t be long until we have a train running through Eastern Oregon and connecting us to Portland as well as the rest of the country. ”
“You think so?” Gunder asked, pausing with a bite of hash halfway to his mouth. “It would have saved a lot of time if I could have ridden the train all the way here, or at least to Baker City, or even Boise. Do you really think we’ll have a train here someday?”
“I’m sure of it,” Lars said with a smile, looking relaxed and more like himself.
Risa wouldn’t hound him about Gloria for now, but she wasn’t going to give up too easily on her father embracing the opportunity for a happy future. She looked over at Gunder and sighed. Especially when her own seemed so incredibly far out of reach.