Calico Brides by Darlene Franklin Read Free Book Online Page A

wouldn’t, Gladys didn’t know. “Maybe. Now put those away and stand up before you get your Sunday clothes dirty.”
    “He won’t want to play trains with you,” Glenda, the youngest girl in the family, huffed. “He’s going to come outside and throw snowballs with us.”
    Gordon, Glenda’s twin, told Georgie, “You can play with us if you want to.”
    “Why do you all think he’s going to play with you?” Gladys asked. “Maybe Ma invited him so she and Pa could visit with him.”
    “They’re all excited about meeting him because you haven’t stopped talking about him.” Grace, closest to Gladys in age at fifteen, grinned. “You start every other sentence with ‘Haydn.’ ‘Haydn caught me when I fell off the ladder,’ and ‘Haydn helped me hang the baskets.’ Ma only invited him so you could see him again.”
    After that too-close-to-home statement, Gladys didn’t ask any more questions. When she’d left the Keller mansion a few days ago, she could have sworn Haydn was every bit as upset as she was at Mr. Keller’s outburst. The way he asked if he was still welcome in their house had warmed her heart. His question hinted that he was eager to see her again, even to spend time with her family.
    If she’d thought her family was bad, the sewing circle was even worse. Annie wormed the story of Gladys’s last visit out of her in less than fifteen minutes.
    “He’s sounds mean as an ogre. I wouldn’t go back.” Annie shook her pretty blond curls.
    “That’s what I thought at first.” Gladys struggled to put her thoughts into words.
    “But God called you to love Mr. Keller, even when he’s grouchy and mean?” Ruth guessed.
    Gladys squirmed uncomfortably and stopped stitching for a moment. “Something like that. Only I don’t know what to do next.”
    “Ask Mr. Johnson if Mr. Keller ate the soup you brought to him. Maybe you can bring more over,” Ruth said. “Isn’t there a verse in the Bible that talks about heaping coals of fire on your enemy’s head? Not that Mr. Keller is your enemy.”
    “That’s a good idea. I’ll ask Haydn tomorrow.”
    That statement started the speculation all over again.
    Gladys hoped her friends had worked the teasing out of their systems at their Saturday meeting. But on Sunday, when they all arrived at church about the same time, Annie started in again.
    “It’s a pity that Mr. Keller is so unhappy, since he’s so rich.”
    “Oh, Mr. Keller is rich enough to buy himself ten carriages if he wanted to.” Gladys fingered the lace on her collar and wondered why she had gone to so much trouble. “But money hasn’t made him happy.”
    When they left the cloakroom, Gladys spotted Haydn across the sanctuary, and a smile leaped to her face. She lifted her hand to wave, but he didn’t acknowledge her presence in any way. She wondered if he had forgotten about the invitation.
    Ma came up beside her. “Don’t worry, Gladys.”
    How mothers sensed these things was beyond Gladys.
    “I’ll remind Mr. Johnson of our invitation.” Ma made her way through the crowd like a cat weaving its way through a maze of feet. Gladys couldn’t see over the tops of heads well enough to see what happened, but he joined them at their house after the service.
    But something was wrong. The ease that had fueled conversation between the two of them disappeared, and their words fell into uncomfortable gaps at the dinner table.
    Haydn covered it well. He talked with Georgie about all kinds of train cars, from engines to hoppers to the little red caboose.
    “Can you whittle one for me, Mr. Johnson?”
    “Not me.” Haydn smiled. “Mr. Keller made those for me. I’m not any good at it.”
    “Then you can come outside and throw snowballs with us.” Gordon sounded like Haydn’s visit was for his special benefit.
    “I will if your mother doesn’t mind.” The two of them discussed strategy, whether to use loose or hard-packed snow to throw.
    Grace didn’t say much to their