A Chance at Love by Beverly Jenkins Page B

honesty cut open Jake’s heart. “Yes she does, doesn’t she?”
    â€œI don’t think she’d be scared all the time if she had another mama.”
    Bebe turned around to look up at him. Even in the dark Jake could see the plea in her eyes. Dede hadn’t adjusted as Bebe had to the death of their mother. Rebecca Appleby kept insisting Jake force Dede to move on with her life and face the fact that her mother was gone, but Jake had no idea how to force an eight-year-old to do that, nor would he feel comfortable doing so. Everyone dealt with grief in their own way. The loss had left Dede fragile in many respects. Her aversion to horses being one. She also had nightmares. He doubted she’d ever get on a horse of her own free will. He hoped time would eventually cure her, but there were no guarantees.
    Bebe then asked, “Do you think mama will hear me?”
    â€œI’m sure of it, but now you should head back to bed, Be. It’s late.”
    â€œYes, sir.”
    She got up slowly, then gave him a hug. “G’night.”
    He bent and kissed the top of her hair. “Good night. See you in the morning.”
    Alone now, Jake looked up at his sister’s star and said, “Well. Bonnie? I’m still waiting.”
    As if in reply, a shooting star streaked across the sky. Jake’s eyes followed it until it burned out of sight.
    â€œThanks,” he said aloud, then to himself, Now if I only knew what it meant .
    Later, lying in bed, Jake realized he had to make a decision. The girls needed a mother and he needed to find them one as soon as possible, not only for their well-being, but for his future as well. He needed to get back to work. Since their arrival he’d had to cut back not only on his delegate duties but his doctoring as well. An offshoot of his political work were his attempts to organize the area’s farmers into a union so as to counteract the heavy-handed tactics of men like the banker Diggs. Thanks to Diggs and his bank policies, most of the farmers in the area were wallowing in debt. Not only did they have exorbitant mortgage payments over their heads, but the large debt was compounded by the additional monies borrowed to buy seed, livestock, and equipment. Jake and a few of the other descendents of Hanks’s founders were fortunate enough to own their land, yet they still felt the pinch at harvest when their hogs and crops went up for sale at prices that barely returned a profit. Jake thought that forming an alliance might help. Farmers and fieldworkers all over the South were organizing into similar cooperative groups, then banning together with unions like the Knights of Labor to demand, among other things, fairerprices for their crops, equal pay for workers in the fields, and a reformation of the way the government handled everything from banks to the distribution of silver. Times were hard for everyone trying to make a living from the land and even more taxing for those in the fields in the South. The Knights of Labor and unions like it were vowing to change things and Jake had been quietly doing his part to make sure the farmers in the colony knew about the Knights’ beliefs. Since the arrival of the girls, however, he’d been unable to be as active in the effort because he no longer had the ability to just pick up and go. One couldn’t leave two eight-year-olds at home alone, no matter how important the call.
    But who could be their mother? As he’d noted before, pickings here were slim. Rebecca had been the only reasonable candidate, but he’d ruled her out. Maybe he could travel to Kansas City or St. Louis to see if he could find someone there to marry. In reality though, trying to saddle a woman of good character who would consent to a hasty courtship and an even hastier marriage would be a difficult task. Many women wanted to take their time and be sure their potential mate was a person of good quality. Jake wanted to