his children quiet? She glanced about the table. The other four women nodded their heads in agreement.
“I am not the marrying kind, ladies. I have dreams of opening my own bakery someday, and those dreams do not include a man with two children.” She offered each of them a smile, before hurrying to the kitchen and away from their speculative looks.
A little while later, Emily Jane entered the front door of her home. She carried the box of baking supplies to the kitchen table. After talking to her neighbors, her thoughts had clung to what they’d said. She admitted to herself that they were right in that Rose and Ruby had cried most of the night. It amazed her that the girls’ voices had carried so clearly upon the still night air, keeping most everyone in the neighborhood awake. But the plain and simple fact of the matter was that she could do nothing about their unhappiness. She wondered briefly why that bothered her so much.
She emptied the box, placing each item on the kitchen table. Today she was going to try her hand at adding a new ingredient to her oatmeal raisin cookie recipe. One of the joys of her job was that Violet, the manager of the bakery, supplied the ingredients for her to bake up new recipes. In return, once the recipe was perfected, Emily Jane fixed it at the bakery. Customers seemed to love her new creations.
As she mixed the flour with the rest of the ingredients, Emily Jane’s thoughts drifted to the women. She’d been surprised at their suggestion that she marry William Barns. Did they really think that if she married him, then the girls would settle down? How rude of them.
Emily Jane stirred the mixture hard and fast. There was no way she’d marry William Barns. She had no intention of marrying anyone and definitely not a man with children. The girls did remind Emily Jane of her own sisters, but that was no reason to get married to a complete stranger, not that he’d asked her. She shook her head. No, she wasn’t getting married now or anytime soon; she had a dream of opening her own bakery someday, and that dream didn’t include a family or a man who might be like her father and think he could control everything she did.
William stood holding a niece on each hip. He stared at the group of five women, wondering if they had lost their minds. He could see one or even two of them being a little addled due to age, but all five?
“We’re not asking you to move away, at least not right now. All we’re asking is that you consider Miss Rodgers as a future bride. She could help you with the girls, and she really is a sweet little thing,” Mrs. Harvey said as the others nodded their agreement.
When the women had stopped him on the sidewalk in front of the bank and introduced themselves as his neighbors, he’d been happy to meet them; but now they were butting in where they didn’t belong, and he planned to put a stop to their meddling. “Look, ladies, I know you mean well, but I have no intentions of marrying Miss Rodgers or anyone else. Now if you will excuse me, I’m going home.” William thought they’d move to the side and let him pass.
He thought wrong.
Mrs. Orson put both hands on her chubby hips and demanded, “Why not? Those girls need a mama. If they had a mama, she’d know how to keep them quiet so a body could rest at night like God intended. Miss Rodgers comes from a large family. She’s perfect and knows how to take care of small children.”
So that was it; they didn’t care about Miss Rodgers. They just wanted him to keep the girls quiet. Rose sucked her thumb with her head on his shoulder. Ruby’s chubby little hand played with the hair on the back of his neck. He returned his attention to the ladies. “You’re right, but I’m not the man to get one for them. I’m sorry we disturbed your sleep last night. I’ll try to keep them quieter.”
“If you are going to stick around here, won’t you need a wife to take care of the children while you work?” Miss Cornwell asked in a quiet voice.
The elderly woman did have a point. He’d need someone to help him take care of the girls but didn’t think the woman had to be his wife. Surely he could pay someone to watch Ruby and Rose.
Thanks to his visit to the bank, William now knew that his grandmother’s house belonged to him and his sister, Mary. A lump formed in his throat as he thought of Mary. Now that she was gone, William would make sure that the girls would own the other half of the house. He’d made arrangements for his money from the sale of the mercantile to be transferred from the bank in Denver to the Granite bank. Then he’d walked over to the general store and asked about the job Miss Leland had mentioned the night before.
Mr. Moore had eyed the girls and then agreed to give William the job. He’d asked William if he could work from ten in the morning until four in the afternoon, and William had agreed.
“You ladies wouldn’t happen to know of any young ladies who would be willing to watch the girls while I work, would you?” He hoped the change of subject would sidetrack them enough to drop the idea of him marrying Miss Rodgers.
Mrs. Orson sighed. “You got a job?”
“Why, yes, ma’am, I did.” He looked directly at the sour-faced woman.
She shook her head. “I see. The only lady I know of who is home during the day and able to keep up with two small children would be Miss Rodgers.” Mrs. Orson looked to the other women for agreement. “Emily Jane gets home around eight thirty every morning. Isn’t that right, ladies?”
The group nodded. He could see the spark of joy and scheming in their eyes. William couldn’t believe he’d walked right into their plans for him and Emily Jane. Well, hiring the woman to watch the girls and marrying her to watch the girls were two very different things.
Rose began to fuss at standing in place too long. Ruby decided it was time to join her sister in the protest, and she too began whining and trying to push out of his arms.
“If you will excuse me, ladies, I need to get these wiggle worms home.”
William took a step but stopped when Mrs. Green called to him.
“Mr. Barns, you will check with Emily Jane about watching the girls, won’t you?” she inquired.
“She is really good with young children. After all, she has had lots of practice,” Mrs. Harvey prompted.
They were an insistent bunch, he’d give them that. He grinned at Mrs. Harvey. “I’ll ask her, and thank you for the recommendation.” William hurried down the sidewalk toward home but could still hear them as he walked away.
“He really seems like a nice young man.”
“I think he and Emily Jane would make a nice couple, don’t you, Lois?”
“I do hope those girls settle down soon. I need my sleep,” another grumbled.
“Well, after a woman gets her hands on them, I’m sure they will become little darlings, and Emily Jane is just the woman for the job,” Mrs. Orson said in a no-nonsense tone.
Their voices faded as William hurried toward the house. As soon as he started walking again, the girls quieted down. They were already little darlings. He really didn’t see that having a woman in their lives would change them that much.
Each girl laid her little head on his shoulder. It was a short walk to his grandmother’s house, now his and the girls’ new home. He reached for the doorknob and found a small cloth bag hanging on it.
William ignored it; even though his curiosity was stirred, his hands were full. He carried the girls inside for a morning nap. After changing their diapers, he put them in their cradles. Thankfully, they curled up and went to sleep almost immediately.
Tiptoeing from the bedroom, William sighed and closed the door. His gaze moved about the sitting room. Thanks to Miss Leland and Miss Rodgers, the house now looked and smelled fresh. Once they’d started cleaning the night before, they hadn’t stopped until the whole house shone.
He remembered the bag on