Mail Order Bride: Holly by Vivi Holt

Author:Vivi Holt [Holt, Vivi]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Black Lab Press
Published: 2017-11-18T16:00:00+00:00

7

Holly kilted up her skirts, rolled up her sleeves and squatted beside the washtub, then took a shirt from the dirty laundry in the basket next to her and soaked it in the warm water. She picked up the chunk of soap from the pannikin sitting in the grass and began scrubbing.

The rhythmic work of laundry day always put her in a good mood. She hadn’t had to do laundry when she’d lived with Charles, nor with her sister. But after a childhood of soiled clothing and linens stiff with age, she enjoyed the sweet feel of the soap on her hands and the smell of sunshine in her clothes. Cleanliness was something she took great pleasure in after the darkness of her past. She wiped the back of her hand across her forehead, pushing a strand of hair from her eyes with a sigh.

Tripp sat by the barn, playing with something in the dust at his feet. He’d been even more sullen recently, especially since the picnic at the creek after church the week before. She hadn’t had an opening to speak with him about what was going through that bright, sensitive mind of his.

He stood, kicked the ground with a bare foot, and wandered off toward the pasture beyond. She called out to him. “Tripp!”

He swiveled slowly to face her, eyelids at half mast.

“Can you come here, please?”

He paused, glanced up at the sky as if hoping for guidance on whether or not to mind his mother, then meandered over, his brow furrowed. He stopped beside her, his arms crossed over his thin chest.

She stood and wiped her wet hands on her apron. “Tripp dear, I must know what’s wrong. You’ve been moping around the place like a bear just come out of hibernation and there’s no call for it.”

His scowl didn’t move. “I don’t want to be here. And you shouldn’t either, Ma. He’s not your husband. Pa was. And this is our family.” His lips pursed, he glared at the grass by her feet.

She put a hand under his chin and tipped it up until his eyes met hers. “Tripp Bristol, Pa will always be your father. But he’s gone. I’m not trying to replace him – that can’t ever happen. But we need a place to live, food in our stomachs, someone to care for us. If it were just you and I, I could find a job to support us. But there are six of us! I couldn’t make ends meet no matter how I tried and then I’d lose all of you.”

He huffed, tightening his grip on himself.

“Don’t huff at me, young man. I’m still your mother and what I say is final. I want you to buck up and smile. And you treat Kurt with the respect he deserves. He’s my husband now and this is his home.”

Tripp’s eyes narrowed. “I won’t …”

“You will. I’m doing the best I can, son, and I’ll make mistakes along the way. But we’re in this together and I need you to help me.

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