Page 36 of A Joyful Ring
The man was tall and lean, but looked strong. He was younger than Risa had first thought. She guessed him to be in his mid-twenties. The way Candi continued to cast admiring glances in his direction, it appeared Mrs. Baldwin’s niece was quite taken with the man.
“How was your trip from Baker City?” Risa asked as she dished bowls of soup and set them at each place setting.
“Other than the nippy air, uneventful, which is good,” Mr. Stanton said, motioning to the sink. “May I wash up?”
“Oh, gracious! Where are my manners?” Mrs.Baldwin pressed her hands to her cheeks. “If you’ll come with me, Mr. Stanton, I’ll show you to the washroom.”
Risa finished dishing up the food and made a pot of tea at Candi’s urging. It seemed, like Mrs. Baldwin, she preferred her tea with a dash of cinnamon and a generous spoonful of sugar.
Mrs. Baldwin returned with Mr. Stanton, who was, oddly enough, nodding his head in agreement to whatever the woman had said to him.
“Would you prefer coffee or tea, Mr. Stanton?”
“Tea would be fine,” he said as Risa set the teapot on the table. “Anything hot will be good.”
“Then you’re in for a treat. Risa makes the most delightful spiced tea with cinnamon,” Mrs. Baldwin said, taking her usual seat at the table after Mr. Stanton pulled out her chair.
He pulled out a chair for Candi next to her aunt, then Risa’s chair on the other side of the table. Risa almost couldn’t hide her grin when he took the seat closest to Candi. The young woman flushed becomingly, but kept her head down, focused on the napkin she draped across her lap.
“Let’s bow our heads,” Mrs. Baldwin said, then offered thanks for their meal and prayers for Mr. Stanton’s safe trip back to Baker City. “May our choices today be guided by Thine divine hand. Amen.”
“Amen,” Risa echoed, wondering what Mrs. Baldwin had meant bychoices. She couldn’t help but think of their conversation about Gunder as well as her need to decide if she wanted love or security. It wasn’t like she had a line of suitors beating downher door. She knew her father had warned everyone at the mine to stay away from her. Apparently, Gunder was the exception to his iron-clad rule.
Mrs. Baldwin and Candi asked Mr. Stanton questions while Risa ate in silence. She was shocked when Candi hopped up to help her clear the table and serve their dessert of pears and cookies.
“Thank you, Candi.”
“My pleasure. It’s not often I get to help, although I don’t mind the work at all.” Candi resumed her seat, smiling first at Risa, then Mr. Stanton. “In fact, Aunt Gertie and I think you should go to Baker City with Mr. Stanton and visit your friend there for a while. I can help around here until you return.”
Risa looked from Candi to Mrs. Baldwin. “I can’t just pack up and leave.”
“Of course you can. What’s stopping you? Candi will help me here. Two of the boarders will be leaving soon for the holiday anyway. Go and stay with Mrs. Franklin. From what you’ve shared, I think she’d be delighted to have you visit for a few days while you sort out things. I don’t think you’ll get the clarity you need while you’re here. While Mr. Stanton retrieves his team and sleigh, you can dash home and pack what you need. Candi said it only took them an hour and a half to make the trip. You’ll be in Baker City before it’s even dark. If it makes you feel better, I’ll send a telegram to Mrs. Franklin letting her know you’re arriving.”
“I … it … but…” Risa sighed and rocked back in her chair, feeling outnumbered and outwitted. “You won’t mind me being gone?”
“No, dear girl. Candi and I can make do in your absence, and when you return, your job will be here waiting for you for as long as you want it.”
“What about Papa? It’s his day to journey back from Baker City. How will he know where I’ve gone?”
“Leave him a note, but you’ll likely encounter him on the way there.”
“Oh, yes, we probably will.” Suddenly, the thought of an adventure, of getting away from Lovely and going somewhere she could rest and think spurred her into motion. She stood and looked around the table. “Thank you so much.”
“Of course, dear girl. Now, run along home and pack your things, leave your father a note, and dash right back here.”
Risa snagged a cookie from the plate on the table and ate it as she grabbed her coat and yanked open the back door. She took off at a run through town. Before she went into the shack she called home, she checked on the animals to make sure they were all well.
She hated to arrive on Gloria’s doorstep without something to share, and retrieved a lidded basket she filled with straw, then carefully packed with eggs. If she were gone, no one would be cooking with them anyway. She retrieved two jars she’d filled with cream and set them, along with the basket of eggs, in an apple crate.
Only then did she hasten to fill a bag with her clothes, tucked in her hairbrush and toothbrush, and started to grab her mother’s Bible, but thought her father might need it while she was gone. Gloriawould surely have one at the boardinghouse.
Quickly, Risa wrote her father a note and left it on the table beneath a small jar of honey, then wrote a letter to Gunder and tucked it into an envelope, writing his name on it with a flourish.
On a whim, she pulled open the cellar door and retrieved a jar of berry jam. Once she had the rug over the cellar door back in place, she added the jam to the crate with the milk and eggs, wrapped a thick scarf around her neck, and retrieved her mittens. She picked up her bag and the crate, then walked at a fast pace back to Mrs. Baldwin’s place.
Mr. Stanton was just coming down the front steps when she arrived. “I’ll set those in the sleigh and be right back,” he said, taking the crate and bag from her.
“Please be careful. There are eggs in the crate.”
