Free Brides of Iowa by Connie; Stevens Page B

will have to come from You.
    An idea began taking shape in his mind. He grabbed the tablet that bore his rough sketches and crumpled the page. With pencil in hand, a new plan unfolded on a fresh sheet of paper. He sketched efficient shelving and storage, a work space, and a new display area.
    An hour later, the plan lay before him on the tablet. “Lord, if this is what You want me to do, You’ll have to make all the details work. But don’t let me run ahead of You, Father. This has to be Your plan, not mine.”
    Gideon slapped his hat on his head and bounded out the back door with the tablet in hand. The next step was to speak to Pearl Dunnigan. He took the stairs leading to her back porch two at a time and rapped on her door.
    She opened the door and smiled broadly. “Why, Gideon! How nice of you to drop by. Please come in.”
    He swept off his hat. “Afternoon, Miss Pearl. Would you have a few minutes to talk?”
    “Of course. Come sit down at the kitchen table.” She bustled about pouring two cups of coffee.
    The aroma of Sunday pot roast lingered in the spacious kitchen. He wiped his feet on the braided rug at the door. Cheery red-checkered curtains framed the wide window from which sunlight flooded the room. Clay flowerpots lined up like fence posts along the windowsill.
    Miss Pearl ushered him to a bare, work-worn table in the middle of the room. Gideon sat on a creaking chair and laid his tablet in front of him, while Miss Pearl set out a plate heaped with molasses cookies and joined him at the table.
    He took a tentative sip of the steaming coffee. “I have something I’d like to discuss with you.” He pushed the tablet over so she could look at his sketches.
    Thirty minutes later, Miss Pearl shared Gideon’s excitement. She clapped her hands. “Oh Gideon, I can’t tell you how I’m looking forward to this.”
    Gideon emptied his coffee mug. “Tessa can be in business for herself, and she can have a decent place to live here while she helps you out with the baking. Plus, the baked goods she’ll sell from the mercantile will be her source of income while it brings more customers into the store.”
    “I have a little room behind the kitchen stairs that will be perfect for her.” Miss Pearl blotted her lips with the hem of her apron. “I’ve been using it for storage, so it will take me a few days to get it ready.”
    Gideon rose and picked up the tablet. “There’s no rush since it will take me at least a couple of weeks to construct the work area and install the stove.” Even as he spoke the words, he wished he could make it happen today.
    “When will you tell her?”
    He paused by the door. “I’d like to get the storeroom organized into a work space first. That way, I’ll have something to show her.” Guilt still hounded him over the events of the afternoon. “I just hope she doesn’t think of it as charity.”

    Tessa darted out the door and made straight for Maxwell’s Mercantile. Telling Gideon she still had a job wasn’t the only reason for her errand. When she’d opened up the cabinet this morning to retrieve the leftover cinnamon bread she’d brought home, she discovered little ragged holes chewed through the paper, and only a few miniscule crumbles of bread remained. The little beasts had also made a feast of the crackers she’d bought just two days before.
    The mercantile door stood open, inviting her inside.
    “Hello, Gideon.”
    When he looked up, his normal polite smile he used to greet all his customers deepened into something she didn’t dare try to interpret. “Hi, Tessa.”
    Her heart skipped. “I wanted you to know that Mr. Kilgore gave me my job back.”
    “Oh?”
    The scowl on his face surprised her. She thought he’d be happy she still had a job. “After you left yesterday, Mr. Kilgore came looking for me. He said he knew I’d been doing the baking and he’d changed his mind about firing me.”
    Gideon shrugged. “Hmph. More likely he was afraid he’d