Christine Johnson - Mail Order Mommy

That’s what he got for thinking about work when he should be directing his energies toward his children. It was time to forget work and find out how Amanda had fared in her first day on the job.

Garrett heard the giggling before he got to the front door. It felt strange walking here, and it had been even stranger using his old furniture last night when they’d moved in. Pearl had instructed the men from the mill to drag the stuff in Saturday. Even though Garrett was their supervisor, they wouldn’t go against Miss Pearl. Roland was going to have his hands full with that woman.

Garrett had stared at the sofa and chairs last night, unwilling to sit on them. Sadie and Isaac had no trouble. They’d run around the house, exploring every nook and cranny. Sadie’s cat, Cocoa, had clawed its way into the beds and the chests of clothing that still needed to be unpacked. The wind picked up overnight, and it didn’t take long to find the holes he’d missed when trying to shore up the gaps Saturday. Tonight he’d attempt to caulk those he could find in the dark, if he could get the children to settle down.

Judging from the shrieks and giggles coming from indoors, that wouldn’t be easy.

He climbed the single step to the stoop and sniffed the air. He should smell supper. Hmm. The wind must be blowing from the wrong direction.

Another giggle gave him an idea. Through the window he could see Sadie and Isaac bent over something in the middle of the table. He waited until all was quiet and then sprang through the door.

“Surprise!”

Sadie shrieked before realizing it was her pa. Cocoa scooted off the table and disappeared into the children’s bedroom. Sadie then ran to him, arms outstretched. Garrett scooped her up and she clung to his neck, laughing. “You scared me, Papa.”

Though Isaac had yelped, he soon put on the stoic expression of a little boy trying to be a man. “Not me. I knew it was you all along.”

“Sure you did.” Garrett ruffled his son’s hair. “You’re always in control.”

He glanced down at the table, where a big, black beetle was crawling around. That’s what they’d been so entranced by? Or maybe Cocoa had been curious, and they were watching to see what the kitten would do next.

“You brought a bug in the house?” he asked.

“We found it crawling on the boardwalk,” Sadie said.

“It came out ’cause of the sun,” Isaac informed him as he scooped up the bug. “Beetles and flies like it warm.”

Garrett couldn’t deny that, but this biological experiment was bound to upset a grown woman. “You’ll have to put it back outside, son.”

Isaac grudgingly obeyed, setting it just off the stoop before coming back inside.

“You could have taken it farther from the house,” Garrett said.

Isaac stuck out his chin. “Maybe he wants to be warm, too.”

Garrett could only sigh. His son was growing an independent streak. At least his daughter still depended on him. Speaking of which, one housekeeper should have appeared by now. He looked around the room. Nothing was on the stove, though it was clearly lit. He sniffed. No smell of food. “Where is Miss Amanda?”

“Miss Mana went to get supper,” Sadie informed him.

“Shh! You weren’t supposed to tell.” Isaac’s frown etched deep lines in his young forehead. “It’s supposed to be a secret.”

Sadie started to cry and pressed her face against Garrett’s shoulder.

“There now,” he managed to say, though he was steaming mad. Amanda had left the children alone? The only reason he’d hired a housekeeper was so someone would be at home to watch Sadie and Isaac. First, Amanda had lost track of Sadie during the fire last month that had destroyed the school building. Now, she’d left both of them alone in a house with a lit stove and a black beetle.

The door cracked open, and Amanda backed into the room, carrying a large basket in both hands. “I’m back. I hope I’m not too late.”

Garrett unclenched his jaw and set down Sadie. “It’s time we had a talk, Miss Porter.”

* * *

Amanda nearly lost her grip on the basket. Her knees wobbled as she recalled what Pearl had told her to say if Garrett reached the house before she returned.

She hefted the basket onto the table, the delicious smells of beef stew and fresh-baked rolls emanating from inside. “I brought supper.”

She did feel a bit guilty about not making the meal. Thankfully, Mrs. Calloway had enough left from supper there to send this pot of stew with her.

“Sadie, could you set the table? Isaac, please wash up.”

Garrett cleared his throat. “Wipe the tabletop, too.”

“Why?” Amanda eyed her employer, trying to figure out if his anger had diminished.

Instead of answering her, Garrett turned to his son.

Isaac shrugged. “We found a huge beetle.”

“A beetle?” she gasped. “Where is it?”

“Outdoors,” Garrett informed her.

She pressed a hand to her midsection. “What a relief.”

“Don’t you like bugs, Miss Amanda?” Isaac asked.

She shuddered. “Not so much.” The outbreaks of fleas and chiggers at the orphanage had kept her itching and scratching. “They belong outside.”

Isaac fetched a rag from the dry sink and ran it quickly over the center of the table, while Sadie set the cups and plates in place.

“Are you eating with us, Miss Mana?” the little girl asked.

“No,” Garrett answered for her.

Amanda held her breath. The stew the family shared tonight was her portion, plus the little bit left after the boardinghouse guests finished.

Garrett looked her in the eye. “Miss Amanda needs to return home.” He motioned toward the door.

Her stomach rumbled. She hoped no one heard. No matter how strong Pearl said she must be, Amanda could not seem to stop the trembling that began deep inside and ended up in her hands. She clenched them tightly so Garrett wouldn’t notice. “Let me at least serve supper.”

“That’s not necessary.” Garrett’s gaze, darker than his brother’s, never left her face.

She could not breathe, could not think, could not move.

“I would like a word with you outside, Miss Porter. Children, you can begin.”

“But we haven’t blessed the food,” Amanda cried out.

He stiffened. After getting the children in their chairs, he said a quick blessing and then ushered her out into the cold.

Amanda’s heart pounded so hard it felt like it would leap out of her chest.

“I asked you to look after the children,” he said.

“I was only gone a few minutes, and they were quite safe. I told them to stay in the house.”

Even before she finished, she could tell he wasn’t hearing a word she said. Garrett Decker had already made up his mind.

“I’m not interested in excuses.”

That eliminated telling him about the lack of food in the house. He would probably insist she ought to have taken the children with her to the mercantile while she purchased what was needed. The truth wouldn’t help. Even if the larder had been full, she couldn’t have cooked anything. Pearl had failed to gain Mrs. Calloway’s permission to give lessons last night, and the boardinghouse proprietress’s brief instructions this morning had left Amanda even more mystified.

She swallowed the last shreds of pride she had left. “I’m sorry. It won’t happen again.”

“No, it won’t.” He went back into the house and shut the door in her face.

Chapter Four

“Did Garrett say you were dismissed?” Pearl asked Amanda as they dressed the following morning.

“Not in so many words.” Amanda glanced in the mirror. Her color was pale after a night of hunger and tearful prayer, and the plum coloring of the dress did little to hide that fact. “But he did say I wouldn’t have a chance to make the same mistake again. Was it really so awful leaving Isaac and Sadie alone for ten minutes? Isaac said his papa and uncle leave him in charge all the time.”