Chapter Three #2
Louis threw his elbow into Jacob’s side as he said, “Except for Jacob. Bet he’ll make you sleep outside with the cows.”
“Louis!” Hannah scolded as Jacob scowled and shoved his little brother.
“Stop it, you two,” Isaac warned, hauling Louis into his lap just as he was about to strike back at Jacob. “Look, we’re almost there.”
“Yippee,” Jacob murmured sarcastically, rolling his eyes.
Hannah gave him a pleading look, but her second oldest brother didn’t catch it. With a sigh, she gave up and gently roused Rebecca from her nap. It would not be long now before the stage coach pulled in, and she wanted all the children to look their best when meeting Garrett.
“We’ll have a quick bite and then get cleaned up. Isaac, would you help the boys to comb their hair and straighten their clothes, please?” She asked. “I’ll take care of the girls.”
Hannah looked down at all their rumpled clothes and felt another bout of dismay. Their last stop had been the night before, and she had insisted they all get changed then. However, with the awful heat and the dust-filled Texas wind, they all looked a little worse for wear.
Isaac grimaced as he pulled the empty-looking food sack from the luggage shelves above the seats. He reached inside and pulled out two apples and half a loaf of stale bread.
“This is all we have left,” he said, his tone full of remorse.
Despite her stomach gnawing with hunger, Hannah gave a nonchalant shrug. “That’s fine, I’m not hungry anyway. You four can split it. But hurry up now, go get changed so we can eat before we pull into the station. It won’t be long now.”
“We’re almost there?” Rebecca asked, her little voice still full of sleep from her nap.
“We sure are,” Hannah answered, trying her best to sound excited.
She handed Rebecca their nearly empty shared water canteen as Isaac cut up the apples and bread with his pocket knife and handed the food out to the others.
When he offered her half of his slice of apple and a bit of bread, Hannah shook her head.
Isaac’s gaze grew stern, but his hand never wavered; a silent reminder that she needed to take care of herself just as she was taking care of them.
“Brat,” she said under her breath, finally taking the offered food.
“Yeah,” Isaac chortled, “I’m the brat.”
He winked at her as he ate his portion of apple in one bite, and Hannah playfully pushed at him as she nibbled on hers. After their snack, she began the task of spiffying up the boys as Hannah did the same with Rebecca and Maria.
“It’s almost time to show off your pretty pink dress,” she announced, trying to make the approaching moment sound exciting for Rebecca.
Rebecca’s face lit up a little at that; she sat up a little straighter as Hannah did her best to pull out the wrinkles and shake out the dust from the fabric.
It was difficult, as it was slightly damp from sweat, and with great dismay, she watched the dust bleed into the pink instead of just shaking off.
“I can tidy myself, don’t worry,” Maria offered confidently as she took in Hannah’s worried expression, “And I can re-braid Rebecca’s hair while you fix your own if you want.”
Hannah smiled gratefully at her little sister.
Like Isaac, Hannah feared that Maria was growing up too fast in an attempt to help her take care of the others.
It was different for Hannah. Even though she had always helped with her siblings, Hannah had been nearly nineteen when their mother had died.
Sure, she’d had her dreams of starting life out on her own, but she’d at least gotten to grow up before she’d become a guardian of five.
“That would be wonderful, Maria, thank you,” she answered warmly.
She’d spent most of what little money they’d had left in Michigan on the girls’ new dresses; opting to buy them pretty ready-made ones instead of just fabric to make them herself.
For herself, though, she’d chosen her mother’s favorite church dresses.
It was white with little red polka dots.
It was supposed to be worn with a hoop, but her mother’s old one had broken long ago, and with her work as a dish cleaner at the nearby fancy hotel, she’d had no need to buy one for herself.
Hannah frowned a little as she did her best to clean up her own dress. The bust and sleeves fit her well, but it was obvious that heavy skirts were meant to be held up.
Perhaps he won’t notice, she silently hoped, doing her best to tidy the slightly wrinkled dress.
At least the voluminous skirts covered the fact that her dark brown shoes didn’t match the dress.
Trying not to dwell on it, she finished straightening her clothes, took out her messy braid of raven hair, ran their shared hairbrush through it quickly, and then plaited her long locks into a fresh one.
Unlike her mother and Maria, Hannah was not very good with styling hair, and usually just kept it in the simple braid even if the fashion was to wear it up and away from her neck.
By the time the three of them were changed, Isaac was finished with the two younger boys.
Since the plan had changed so quickly and so soon before they left, Hannah had not had the time or the money to buy them new clothes.
Still, their trousers and shirts were clean…
ish, and only looked a little worn, and their shoes had been shined by Isaac on the long ride to Twin Rivers.
Isaac had combed his shaggy hair back and parted it to the side, and was now looking at her with a lopsided smile.
Jacob’s hair was much shorter, falling just above his ears and halfway down his forehead.
He too had a side part, but had that usual scowl on his face as he looked down at his shiny shoes.
Louis, however, had untamable curls, and they stood like a black sheep's wool in an adorable poof.
His smile was bright and beaming, accenting the gap in his teeth where one of his last adult teeth was struggling to grow in.
“Well, don’t you all look handsome,” Hannah praised.
“Yeah, got to make a good impression for our new daddy,” Jacob spit out.
Isaac was swift with swatting Jacob on the back of his head for his back talk, but it was too late.
Jacob’s comment had Hannah’s anxiety closing around her throat like a tight fist. She fought to swallow as she ran a shaking hand down her braid; suddenly growing cold despite the stuffy, Texas heat trapped in their stage coach, and she feared that what little she’d just ate was going to come right back up on her fairly clean dress.
She faintly heard Isaac’s scolding reprimand and demand that Jacob use his manners over the pounding of her heart.
Garrett wasn’t going to be their new father.
They didn’t even trust the one they had, with good reason.
However, he was going to be their brother-in-law.
If, that was, he didn’t run scared the moment he saw all six of them getting off the stage coach.
Though she’d had little faith left in God after all she’d been through, Hannah closed her eyes and sent a silent prayer into the heavens that everything was all going to work out. For if it didn’t, she had no idea what she was going to do.