“Neither did I, I’m ashamed to say.”
“Why should you? He’s always busting his britches to show us how big he is.”
“Which probably makes what Rose gives him all that much more important.”
The door crashed open. “I know Jeff doesn’t look a thing like Pa, but he gets more like him every day,” Monty exploded.
“He’s not very easy to live with,” George agreed, “but I try to remember we’re more fortunate than he is.”
“So he keeps reminding us,” Monty grumbled.
“Hurry up,” George said. “I don’t imagine the next several hours are going to be very easy on Rose. They won’t be any easier if she has to spend the first hour wondering if we’re going to come to the table.”
“She knows I’ll be there,” Monty said. “With me, food comes before anything else. And that includes Jeff.”
Rose was glad to have Zac in the kitchen. Anything was better than her own thoughts.
“George said he was going to be late so I was to pour the milk.”
“Am I supposed to wait?”
“Naw. They’ll be here any minute. George was just getting mad at Jeff.”
Rose would never have believed how much her heart would leap at that news. She realized her fate depended on more than George’s opinion, but she also realized his was the only opinion that counted with her.
“We’re going to have a meeting, and I get to vote,” Zac announced.
“You’re not supposed to talk about that,” Tyler said. He was already seated at the table.
“I expected it,” Rose told both boys.
“See, she already knows, so I can talk about it.”
“I imagine George would prefer you didn’t,” Rose said.
“I’m going to vote to keep you,” Zac stated boldly. “I don’t care what Jeff says.”
“You little sneak,” Tyler shouted. He made a dive for Zac. The boy took refuge behind Rose’s skirts. “You wait until I get my hands on you.”
“Both of you sit down,” Rose commanded. “If you’re going to fight, you’ll have to go outside.”
“I’ve got to finish the milk,” Zac said, smiling in a superior manner at Tyler.
“Hurry up. I think I hear your brothers.”
George, Hen, and Monty entered together.
“Salty is washing up,” Monty announced. “I don’t know what Jeff is doing. I don’t mean to wait for him.”
“It’ll be a couple more minutes before I’m ready,” Rose said. “Maybe they’ll be here by then.”
The silence in the room was deafening. Rose thought she could hear the seams in her dress stretch each time she breathed. She tried not to be too tense, but she couldn’t help it. She only had to look at George’s countenance to realize how upset he was. Hen rarely talked, but she couldn’t recall a single meal when Monty had been quiet. Tyler never said much either, but she could tell Zac was bursting to talk.
But he didn’t.
Zac used George as a barometer for his behavior, and right now the prospects were for heavy weather. Zac wisely decided to keep his sails trimmed.
Rose guessed she had always known this day would come, but she hadn’t expected it so quickly. She had barely been here a month, hardly time enough for them to get to know her. It would be like deciding the fate of a stranger.
She was also anxious for George. She knew how important it was to him to strengthen the bonds that held his family together. Jeff’s not coming to dinner would be a difficult hurdle to overcome. She knew from her years with the Robinsons that as long as a family pulled together, as long as they all felt they were working for the best interests of the family, they could overcome almost any disagreement.
But Rose wasn’t sure the affection the Randolph boys felt for each other was strong enough to hold them together through even a minor confrontation. In fact, there were times when she wondered if the Randolphs were capable of love. Even family loyalty seemed beyond their grasps.
The door opened to admit Salty. Rose breathed a sigh of relief when she saw Jeff behind him.
It was nearly midnight when Rose got up from the table. “You’ll be more comfortable if you have your meeting here. It’s a nice night. I think I’ll sit in the yard. Maybe the stars are out.”
They hadn’t finished the boar until after eleven o’clock, and she would have to clean up the kitchen after they made their decision. Still, it was nice to think of the hams and rings of sausage in the larder. They really needed to build a smokehouse. She didn’t think pork was at its best when cured in salt alone. She’d speak to George about that tomorrow.