Calico Brides by Darlene Franklin Read Free Book Online

Haydn’s turn to frown. “You frightened her so bad, she may never return.”
    “No worry about that.” Grandfather chased a final chunk of chicken around his bowl. “She’s too much like Kate to give up easy.” He placed the bowl back on the tray. “When are you seeing her again?”
    “Sunday. Her mother invited me to join them for dinner.”
    “Excellent.” Grandfather rubbed his hands together. “Time to meet the family.”

    The remainder of the week passed quietly enough. Occasionally Grandfather’s coughing woke both of them up in the middle of the night. Haydn had taken to leaving a mug of tea with milk and honey on Grandfather’s dressing table when he went to bed. Downstairs, hot water simmered in a teapot over low heat for the night, in case he needed more. If he needed help, he had a bell he could ring to call Haydn. He didn’t get any worse, and although he didn’t get any better either, Haydn decided the doctor could wait for now.
    Grandfather shooed him away earlier than usual on Saturday night. “Stop fussing over me like an old mother hen. I’ve got my bell here if I need help.” He picked it up and shook it. “If you want to make a good impression on Gladys’s father, you’ll put on your best suit to go along with your fresh haircut. If you want to get her mother on your side, you’ll praise her cooking, even if it’s charred, and her wonderful children, even if they run on top of the tables.”
    Haydn had to smile at that. He’d never cared enough about a woman to worry about what impression he made on her family. But Gladys, she just might be different.
    Haydn didn’t know how Grandfather had guessed about his trip to the barbershop. His mustache was trimmed about a quarter of an inch, the hair at the back of his neck shaved, the irksome cowlick at the top of head cut short and tamed with pomade. Would it be obvious to Gladys as well? He shook the thought away. No need to dwell on it. Every man got his hair cut sooner or later.
    The season kept Haydn from taking flowers to offer his hostess, so instead he’d stopped by Finnegan’s Mercantile and asked the owner for any candies he carried. As he paid for the candy, he spotted a silver hair comb that had ruby-colored stones set in the handle. On an impulse, he added that to the purchase. He could imagine it holding Gladys’s dark curls in place.
    Sticking the items in his pocket the next morning as he prepared for church, Haydn debated the wisdom of giving Gladys the comb. He might as well ask her father for permission to court his daughter if he gave her such a personal gift. Despite Grandfather’s conditional promise to fund the newspaper, or maybe because of it, Haydn wasn’t ready to commit to courtship.
    When he saw Gladys enter the sanctuary in the company of Ruth and two other women he hadn’t met before, her hair sparkled in the light. He wanted to rush over and give the comb to her right then and there. The girls disappeared into the cloakroom before he caught up with them, and he caught himself. He waited, ready to greet Gladys as they came out.
    “—since he’s so rich.”
    Haydn thought it was the blond who said that. “Oh, Mr. Keller is rich enough to buy himself ten carriages if he wanted to,” Gladys said.
    The words hit Haydn like a slab of ice, and he stumbled away. Maybe Gladys Polson was nothing but a money-hungry schemer after all.

Chapter 6
    G ladys wasn’t sure what she had said about Haydn that got her brothers so excited. The youngest, Georgie, in his first year at school, couldn’t wait to play trains with their guest. On Sunday morning he was pushing two small blocks of wood across the floor. “Choo-choo, chugga, chugga. Do you think Mr. Johnson will bring his caboose with him?” He had latched onto Gladys’s mention of the carved toys.
    “I don’t think so. They belong to Mr. Keller, not Mr. Johnson.”
    Georgie shrugged. “I bet he’ll play with me. I’ll ask.”
    Whether he would or