Page 28 of A Joyful Ring
“Of course. Oh, before I forget …” Gloria reached for a basket on the floor of her buggy and handed it to Risa. “Just a few little treats to enjoy on the ride home.”
“How kind of you. Thank you.” Risa hugged the basket to her middle. “I hope we can see each other again soon.”
“I would love that. Anytime you want to come to Baker City, you have a room at my house, free of charge.”
“And anytime you’d like to come to Lovely, I know Mrs. Baldwin would welcome you to herboardinghouse,” Risa said, wishing they had a finely appointed guest room—or any room—for Gloria.
“I might just come for a visit sometime,” Gloria said. She kissed Lars’ cheek, patted Gunder’s arm, then climbed into her buggy. She drove it a dozen yards down the road to a spot where she could turn it around, and did so. She waved as she drove by them heading to Baker City. “Goodbye!”
All three of them waved and watched until her buggy disappeared in a swirl of dust.
“Reckon we better head back,” Gunder said, taking the basket from Risa and setting it in the back, then giving her a hand in.
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 receivedfrom 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 airand 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 bottomof 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.”
