"You did a fine job," Ma praised him.

Galen had been reading ahead in the Bible, and on occasions when he knew one of his little brothers could manage the words, he'd ask them to read aloud to the family. "Aye, our Dale. I'm thinkin' if Da were here, he'd be thrilled to know you were studying God's Word."

"One of these days, sis, yore a-gonna be reading that good." Ishmael took another loud slurp of coffee. "Shore 'nuff, you are."

"I was practicin' my letters today." Ivy's hand slid down to stroke the pocket of her apron.

Ha. That's quite an excuse, Galen thought. Is there no end to the lies that woman tells? She isn't dressed like a scarecrow anymore, and her hair isn't a rat's nest, but all she has to do is open her mouth and suspicions swamp me.Once a liar, always a liar.

"That passage talked about the commandments. I know all ten of the commandments," Sean declared and then proceeded to list them.

Colin clapped little Sean on the back. "That was real good, but what about the eleventh commandment?"

"There are ten, not eleven!"

Colin took the Bible from Dale. He turned the pages and pointed. "Here in John thirteen. Read these two verses."

"*A new commandment I give unto you, That ye love one another; as I have loved you, that ye also love one another. By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another."'

"How'dya like that? Thar really are 'leven of them commandments." Ishmael set down his mug.

Ma reached over and tucked a pin back into the braid Ivy now wore wrapped around her head. "If you think about it, the new commandment actually covers the others. If we love the Lord and serve Him with all of our heart, His love will flow from us to everyone else."

Ivy twisted and clasped Ma's hands in hers. "I don't put much store in thar bein' a God like you do. Ma, you're like them words Sean jist read. Like that Samaritan feller, too. The love you got in yore heart's always comin' out of yore hands or yore mouth."

"That's one of the sweetest things anyone's ever said to me."

Galen stared at them. Ivy called her Ma, and Ma didn't even bat an eye. When did that start?

"If 'n ever'body who said he was a Christian was as big-hearted as you and Laney and Ruth and even that 'Manda gal, I reckon nobody could build churches big 'nuff to hold all the folks thunderin' in through the doors."

Dale tugged on Ishmael's sleeve. "I asked Jesus in my heart when I was a little boy. It's really easy. You could do it, too."

The room went still. Ishmael rested his hand on Dale's narrow shoulder. "Some thangs you decide with yore head, and some thangs you decide with yore heart. Decidin' whether to foller God-well, I reckon that's a dreadful important choice. Till I'm shore in my head and my heart, I ain't gonna do nuthin'."

Dale scooted closer and gave Ishmael a hug. "If you change your mind, you can let me know. Da showed me how to pray so I could give my heart to Jesus. I can show you."

"That's a fine offer. I'll tuck it into the corner of my mind."

Dale burst into giggles. "You can't have a corner in your mind. Your head is round, not square!"

"Hey, did all y'all hear that? Dale here says I'm not a blockhead."

Ma laughed. "Tomorrow's a school day. You boys need to be in bed." After she said a prayer, Sean and Dale went to bed. Colin sat at the table to finish reading something for school. As Galen followed Ishmael out the door, he heard Ma ask, "Ivy, would you like to recite your letters for me now?"

Hours later a lantern glowed in the corner of the stable. Galen sat with his back against the post on which it hung and stared at the thirteenth chapter of Deuteronomy. The fourth verse that Dale had read earlier in the evening kept nagging at him. Ye shall walk after the Lord your God, and fear him, and keep his commandments, and obey his voice, and ye shall serve him, and cleave unto him.

When a passage wore on his nerves, Galen knew there had to be a reason. He took it step by step. I'm walking. I'm fearing. I've kept the com-He halted. The truth glared back at him. He'd been following the letter of the law, but not the spirit of love that Christ commanded. He'd fostered resentment in his heart. The admission hurt. As if that wasn't enough conviction, the next phrase hit every bit as hard.

Obey his voice. "Lord, I've been so busy telling you what I want and need, I haven't listened. I don't know what your will has been."

Ye shall serve him, and cleave unto him. Galen's guts twisted. As a man of God, he was called to obedience. "But with Ivy? I treated her with kindness in your name, Lord, and that's what got me into this mess. If I go easy on her, I'll never find out who the father is, and I'll be stuck with her forever."

He wrestled with God through the night. As the lantern flickered a few last times, Ishmael opened the door and squinted out at him. "You okay, Boss?"

Galen slowly rose to his feet. "Call me Galen, Ishmael. We're brothers."

Laney had to pause for a moment before making her way down the aisle in the sanctuary. It seemed awfully dim in the building compared with the bright March sun outside.

"After you, Miss Laney." Eddie Lufe swept his arm in a gallant motion.

Laney flickered what she hoped passed for a civil smile and subtly compressed her hoops so she'd fit between the pews. Ruth had somehow managed to orchestrate things so Laney wasn't sitting with her, Josh, Amanda, and Hilda. Well, to be fair, maybe it wasn't Ruth's fault. Maybe it was Hilda's. Toledo was sitting next to their housekeeper. I don't know how they did this to me, but I'll find out so it doesn't happen again.

Eddie dropped down next to her, and the whole pew shuddered from his hulking frame. Laney felt a small flare of gratitude that she'd worn her widest hoops. They forced him to sit more than a yard away.

Josh turned around. "Laney, be sure to invite Eddie to supper today. I've already asked Toledo."

She gave her brother a chilly look and whispered back, "It's not polite to talk in church."

Hilda announced over her shoulder, "I'm serving ham."

"And apple pie," Ruth tacked on.

They're all in this together.

Eddie chuckled. "You can be sure I'll be there. It couldn't get any better than this."

It couldn't get any worse.

Ivy leaned across the aisle. "Us O'Sullivans're a-comin', too.

I'm bringin' sauerkraut!"

It got worse. I didn't think it possible, but it did. Since the day Hilda learned everyone in the household hated sauerkraut, the dreadful dish hadn't been served.

Pastor Dawes stepped to the pulpit and gave a greeting, then instructed, "Please stand with me and sing, *Come, Ye Disconsolate."'

Much to her relief, Eddie picked up The Sacred Melodeon. Laney reached to take one, as well, but to her astonishment, there wasn't another where it belonged. Eddie pressed the hymnal into her hands. "You use this, Miss Laney. I know the words." The pianist played a few introductory notes.

Eddie's voice was every bit as robust as his build. He started right in. "Come, ye disconsolate, whatever the language."

Laney stared at the page and wondered at how he'd twisted "where'er ye languish" into his version of the lyrics.

Oblivious to the literary license he took, he continued on, "Come to the mercy seat, fervently kneel. Here bring your wounded hearts, here talk in English... ."

Here talk in English? It's supposed to be "here tell your anguish." But two lines ago, he'd changed languish to language. Oh, I'm in terrible trouble.Eddie Lufe's singing is starting to make sense to me!

As soon as they got home, Hilda ordered, "Laney, go put another place setting on the table for Eddie."

Ivy leaned toward Laney. "Thangs're all backward here. Cain't make no sense of 'em."

"You're not the only one," Laney said in a wry tone.

Amanda tied on an apron. "What's backward?"

"All them years I thunk the servants done what the master said. Hilda bosses ever'body round."

"Hilda, did you hear that?" Laney raised her brows.

"Elaine Louise, go put that on the table. Supper's going to be ready and Eddie won't have a place to sit!"

"What about Toledo?"

"Ruth saw to that this morning."

Eddie sat beside Laney. Watching all of the other men seat a lady, Ishmael stepped over and handled Amanda's chair. More astonishing, though, was that Toledo seated Hilda. And if that weren't enough, Galen seated Ivy. By the time Josh finished the prayer and they started passing around the bowls and platters, Laney felt confident no one could see how off balance she felt.

"It's nice to see a lady who appreciates good food," Eddie commented, smiling at her.

Laney smiled back-just to be polite.

Ruth and Hilda both started cackling like geese. Laney promised herself that as soon as their company left, she'd give them an earful for landing her in this mess. She accepted the ham platter from Colin and couldn't figure out why he was looking at her so strangely. She took a small, ladylike slice of ham. The serving fork hovered over her plate as she stared at the food beneath it in horror. While musing about the uncomfortable situation, she'd taken not one, but two heaping spoonfuls of sauerkraut!

"Oh, mercy." Once the words slipped out, Laney scrambled to say something so Ivy's feelings wouldn't be hurt. "I'm in a dither today. Look what I did. I can't possibly eat even a quarter of this. I'm going to break just about every rule of etiquette I've ever learned and give this to Mr. Lufe because I know he'll enjoy it."

"Laney! You wouldn't!" Ruth exclaimed. Mirth danced in her eyes.

"We're all friends here." Eddie motioned to Laney. "You go right on ahead."

Laney finally put the slice of ham on her plate, but she first used it to scoot all the sauerkraut to one side. She tried to think of a topic of conversation to get the attention off of herself. "The discussion about the North and South out in the churchyard is enough to strike fear into even the stoutest heart."

"Galen and me were readin' newspapers at the same time." Ishmael shook his head. "The same day that Lincoln feller did that in-inag ... well, when he swore to be the president back a couple weeks ago, the Southern folk come up with a new flag."

"Inauguration," Colin provided. "I've been studying government at school. The teacher has me keeping track of which states want to secede and which are remaining in the Union. I've been surprised at some of the decisions. I've had to redraw the map several times now because of who's seceding and joining the Confederate States."

"Tennessee surprised me. I thought they'd go with the Southerners," Josh admitted.

"They still might," Toledo said. "It's a volatile situation."

Laney's ploy worked far better than she'd hoped. The men all started comparing opinions and information as she merrily scooped all but a very tiny bit of the sauerkraut onto Eddie's plate.

"Texas siding with the South surprised me." Galen passed the butter to Ivy, even though she hadn't asked for it. "I thought Sam Houston would have had the clout and persuasive ability to sway them otherwise."

"Thankee, Galen."

Laney's breath hitched. Galen was attending to Ivy as a man would treat his wife. Then, Ivy called him by his given name instead of Mr. O'Sullivan. The moment was bittersweet-two people she cared for were making a life together.

"Sis and me-we been through Texas. You coulda pushed me o'er with a feather if 'n they'da gone North. Men thar are scrappers. Jefferson Davis is gonna get plenty of fighters from Texas." Suddenly, Ishmael frowned. "Miss 'Manda, you come from South Car'lina. Yore homeland's bound to be in the midst of the battlin'. I shoulda thunk afore I opened my trap. Didn't wanna cause you no more worries than you already got."

Amanda set down her fork, but Laney could see she'd not eaten a bite. "I'm afraid I'm torn in two, just like our nation. On one hand, I feel the States ought to have rights; on the other, I recently came to the decision that slavery is wrong."

"Why don't we find a different topic?" Laney tried not to shudder even though she knew her ham had absorbed some of the taste of the sauerkraut.

"Good idea." Eddie waved his fork toward Galen. "With the Overland Mail Company taking over the mail contract, do you think there'll be less need for the Pony Express? The Contra Costa Gazette says part of the Overland's route is using the same line and ferries as the Pony."

A glance at Eddie's plate left Laney agog. He'd nearly inhaled every last bite of the sauerkraut. She watched in amazement as he used his fork to fold a piece of ham the size of her palm in half and shovel it into his mouth in a single bite.

"Can't see why the mail would make a bit of difference." Hilda poured more milk for Sean. "Mail moves like molasses; the Pony runs like water. Anything important or urgent will come by Pony."

Toledo nodded. "The election news is a perfect example of that. What used to take several weeks or even months now can come in ten or eleven days."

"The eastern portion of the Pony seems to be running more smoothly." Galen grimaced. "The Daily Evening Bulletin ran an editorial earlier this month that pointed out how several deliveries on our end have been behind schedule."

"It shore ain't on account of yore relay." Ivy bobbed her head once to punctuate her comment. "You and Ishy got the fresh horse rarin' to go. Ain't been a single time a rider come through and had to wait."

"With the transcontinental railroad and the telegraph both underway," Josh said carefully, "do you think they'll have any effect on the Pony, Galen?"

"As Hilda said, the mail moves like molasses and the Pony runs like water. But trains and telegraphs are like the wind. Once the railroad goes through, it'll be faster, safer, and cheaper for people to ride to the West coast than to traverse the Oregon Trail. I hold no doubt that once the telegraph is completed, the Pony won't be needed any longer."

"Well, if 'n 'tis so, we'll have us three extra horses-fine horses," Ivy said.

"Yeah!" Dale agreed.

"Nay," Galen said, offering his brother a sad smile. "The beasts belong to the company."

Laney took advantage of a lull in the conversation. "I think the rest of the sauerkraut ought to go to our company!" She passed the bowl to Eddie.

"It's the best I've ever had. Doesn't anyone else want some, too?"

Josh, Hilda, and Ruth all nearly shouted their denials. Laney hastened to say, "We all know how much you enjoy it. Of course we'd like you to have it."

Eddie hesitated. "Toledo, how about you?"

"No, thanks. I'm sure Ivy's a fine cook, but sauerkraut never agrees with me." He motioned to Eddie to eat up. "Men, the sheriff tells me there's still a thief in the area."

"Bold, too." Eddie shoveled his fork under a pile of sauerkraut. "Broke into the mercantile Thursday night while Lester was sleeping upstairs."

"Betcha he uses that as 'nuther excuse to hike the prices on thangs." Ivy made a face. "I cain't read no more'n my letters, but I know my numbers jist fine. Both times I been in thar, he's tole me prices are a-goin' up. I seen his sign. He's askin' twelve cents for a dozen eggs, but he's only payin' seven cents for 'em."

"Ma, he's always given you nine cents a dozen," Sean said.

Mrs. O'Sullivan hitched her shoulder in a move that didn't fool Laney into thinking that it didn't matter. "Aye, he did, boy-o. But things change."

"And they're changing again," Laney declared.

"Yes, they are." Ruth sounded completely sure of it. "And Laney's going to tell us all how."

"We all loved Hilda's German tree at Christmas."