“Well, I don’t think we should trouble your father about it now,” Meagan said, and the little girl cast her a look encompassing friendship and trust that, given a chance, could last a lifetime.
Much to Abbie’s disappointment the kittens proved to be too young to leave their mother, but the child was allowed to visit them often. She was returning from one of her little sojourns to the haymow when Ruth Somers stopped her.
“What are you doing out here alone?” the woman demanded. “Isn’t anyone around to take care of you?”
“I was up in the haymow playing with my kitten,” the little girl told her.
“Why wasn’t someone with you?” Ruth demanded.
Abbie backed away, anxious to be free of the woman’s persistent questioning. “Usually Meagan comes with me, but she’s churning right now.”
“Nonetheless, you shouldn’t go wandering about alone,” Ruth declared, not considering that her children ran wild from dawn to dusk, never answering to anyone for their whereabouts as long as they showed up at mealtime.
“I’ll have to speak to your father about this,” Ruth said. “Now run along and play.”
And Abbie was more than happy to do so as she turned and hurried toward the house.
Meagan was rinsing the wooden churn when Abbie came running toward her.
“How are the kittens?” Meagan asked the breathless girl.
“They’re fine, and Aunt Ruthie is here,” Abbie gasped.
Meagan straightened up and glanced toward the front of the house. A wagon stood at the hitching rail and the horse looked longingly toward the grass a short distance away. Ruth was nowhere in sight.
“Did Mrs. Somers go into the house?” Meagan asked as she wiped her hands on her apron and gathered up the bowl of butter and the pitcher of buttermilk.
“She said she was going to talk to Papa,” Abbie volunteered as she trailed behind Meagan toward the house.
“She’ll have a time finding him,” Meagan observed with some private satisfaction. “He’s gone down to check the animal pens by the creek.”
Abbie’s saucy smile told Meagan that the little girl didn’t like Ruth much more than Meagan did.
In all truth, Meagan was nervous over Ruth’s persistent visits. There was always the chance that the woman would tell Abbie the real reason Meagan was working for the Danielses, and Meagan could not bear to see the friendship and trust in the little girl’s eyes replaced by fear and loathing.
Meagan hadn’t had time to store the milk and butter when she saw Josh and Ruth coming toward the house.
Abbie rushed toward her father and was swept up in his arms.
“Look who’s come to see you.” He laughed as he acknowledged Ruth’s presence. “Your Aunt Ruthie is here.”
“I know,” Abbie said, burying her face in her father’s neck.
“Now don’t be so shy,” he urged. “You haven’t seen Aunt Ruthie for a long time.”
“Yes I have,” the little girl insisted. “I saw her when I came out of the barn. She said she wanted to talk to you and sent me to the house.”
Ruth laughed. “What an imagination that child has,” she asserted. “Why, I barely got here when I saw you go into the barn and went to meet you.”
“That’s not true,” Abbie protested. “You were here before Papa came back.” Suddenly the little girl looked stricken and began squirming in her father’s arms. “You didn’t hurt my kittens, did you? Let me down, Papa! I have to go see my kittens.”
Josh let the child drop to the ground and she ran off toward the barn before he could stop her.
“You see,” Ruth said, “the girl is completely out of control. Imagine living in fear that someone is going to harm a bunch of barn kittens. That’s what comes of allowing her to live in the same house as a murderess. You should let me take her home with me where she’d know she would be safe. If anything happens to that child there will be the devil to pay.”
Josh removed his wide-brimmed hat and replaced it on the back of his head. “It’s funny,” he said casually, “but Abbie never had any worries about the kittens before today. Could be she’s afraid you might want to take them home with you the same way you want to take her.”
Ruth drew herself up in outrage. “How dare you insinuate that I might have done something to disturb the child! I have nothing but her welfare at heart. And after the way she lied about seeing me…”
Meagan had heard most of the conversation and came forward. She didn’t understand Ruth’s intentions, but she certainly wasn’t going to allow the woman to drive a wedge between Abbie and her father. She smiled as she came toward them.
“Hello, Mrs. Somers. I see you found Josh. How lucky that he came back so early. I wanted to tell you that he had gone down to check the pens near the creek when Abbie told me you’d arrived, but you were nowhere in sight.”
Ruth was taken aback for a moment. Meagan was trying to ruin her credibility. Her mind worked desperately as she endeavored to think of some way to detract from Meagan’s tale.
Finally it came to her and she twisted her lips into a superior smile. “Of course I was nowhere in sight. If you didn’t see me it’s obvious I wasn’t here.” She turned to Josh. “This is ridiculous. Meagan is trying to cover up for Abbie’s lies. They’re conspiring together against you.”
Meagan spoke up before Josh had time to form an answer. “Well, maybe you weren’t here, Mrs. Somers,” Meagan admitted, “but your horse and wagon have been hitched to the rail ever since before I finished churning and that was quite a while ago.”
Ruth had forgotten about the horse, and the fact that it could be seen from the house.
“I can see that my presence isn’t appreciated here,” she fumed. “I just stopped by to see that Abbie was all right, not to be interrogated over the time of my arrival.”
“Now, Ruth,” Josh chided, “I’m sure you’re reading more into this than is necessary. You seem to be the one who is touchy about how long you’ve been here.” He was irritated that the woman had implied that Abbie lied. “If you don’t have time for a cup of tea I suppose you should be starting back home. Meagan and I have to get back to work.”
With a jerk of her head, Ruth marched to her wagon and, without a word of farewell, went on about her business, leaving Josh and Meagan to wonder as to the woman’s motives.
Meagan returned to the house and picked up the butter crock when Josh reached out and stopped her. As his hand touched her arm he felt the resilience of her flesh all the way to his toes.
“I just wanted to thank you for coming to Abbie’s defense,” he said, knowing it was only a half-truth.
Meagan had been real spunky when she stood up against Ruth in defense of his little girl, and he had wanted to whoop for joy. For once, someone besides himself had championed the child. Even Lily had seldom found a good word for their daughter. It had embarrassed the lovely Lily to have given birth to a child who was less than perfect. Making Abbie wear the bonnet was a constant reminder that there was something wrong with her appearance, and when the bonnet was removed