The O'Neal Girls Chapter 18

The Carter Boys and Joe return in this chapter!

Chapter 18 

“Danni, I need the mirror!” Cassandra whined.   

“You can share. I need to finish my braids,” Danielle grumbled back.  

“But I have my evening with Joe!”  

“That’s in four hours!” Danielle stayed put in front of the mirror and finished her last braid.  

Cassandra reluctantly waited for Danielle to finish. Danielle checked over her braids then left the mirror. Cassandra took her place and began jerking her hair out of the bun it was in. She brushed out her locks while thinking about Joe.  

Joe is such a great guy, she thought. He is really thoughtful. He is always thinking of others. He’s respectful too. He treats Pa and Ma with the utmost respect and he respects me and my sisters. He’s a hard worker and he’s smart. And he’s good looking too…that red hair and green eyes…and killer smile. Cassandra smiled at her reflection. “I really can’t find any faults with Joe!” 

~~~ 

That evening, Belle was surprised by a visit from Caleb. Belle’s beau arrived right after Joe.  

“Belle, Caleb wants to know if you want to go to supper with him,” Faith called to Belle.  

Belle called that she did want to go. She raced into her room and began fixing her hair and searching for a dress. Elsie followed Belle since the she knew Belle would need help. Elsie ironed Belle’s best dress while Belle worked on her hair.  

Paul entertained the two boys while they waited. Lillian recruited Danielle to replace Belle in the kitchen. She, Faith, and Danielle finished preparing the family’s dinner.  

Cassandra glided down the loft steps in her sky blue dress. The men on the sitting room stood up respectfully.

Joe walked over to her with a grin.  “You sure look pretty tonight,” he told her. “Honest you do.”  

Cassandra smiled with pleasure and complimented him. “And you look very handsome.”  

The two sat on the couch to wait for Belle to finish getting ready. Belle was ready a few minutes later. She was in her silk purple gown and her hair was twisted up on top of her hair. Caleb stood and strolled over to her. He took her hand and kissed it.  

“You look amazing,” he said. He linked arms with her and led her out to his buggy. Joe and Cassandra followed right behind. The two couples waved goodbye to the O’Neals. 

“Alright, peace and quiet for tonight,” Danielle said as the door closed.  

“Danni!” Elsie said disapprovingly.  

“Is supper ready?” Nadia asked coming into the kitchen. 

“Yes it is, Sweetheart. Everyone sit around the table,” Lillian told everyone. 

Everyone gathered around and sat down. Faith volunteered to pray and she thanked God for the meal. The meal was eaten quickly. As soon as everyone finished, Paul took the three youngest girls and Oakley into the sitting room and played with them. As the other three girls and Lillian cleared the table and began on the dishes, squeals of laughter echoed around them. Lillian watched them with a glowing smile. Paul hoisted the girls onto his back and walked around the room. He even tossed Oakley up on his shoulders and carried him around.  

“Paul, be careful!” Lillian said as she walked into the room. She wiped her hands on her apron while sending her husband a worried look.  

“He’s fine,” Paul called back. He waved his hand at her, but swung Oakley down and allowed Lynn to climb up next. He jogged around as the children laughed and followed him.  

The dishes were finished and everyone else moved into the sitting room. Danielle joined Paul and the little ones while Elsie worked on her dress. Faith curled up with her book; eager to read the next chapter. Lillian curled up on the couch and watched her family playing. Paul had Oakley back on his shoulders and Nadia was on Danielle’s back. Lynn and Megan were laughing and running in front of and behind Paul and Danielle.  

“Hurry, Danni! Catch Pa and Oakley!” Nadia shrieked.  

“I’m going as fast as I can go,” Danielle puffed.  

“C’mon, Danni!” Paul taunted. 

Danielle sighed and went a little faster. Nadia reached out and tapped Paul on the back and Oakley on the shoulder.  

“Gotcha!”  

Danielle sat down and Nadia slipped down off her sister’s back. Megan scrambled up on Danielle. Paul pulled Oakley off and walked toward Lillian. Lillian held out her arms and Paul deposited his son in her arms.  

Oakley grinned at his mother and laughed in delight. Lillian smiled at him and kissed his soft,  blonde hair. Paul helped Lynn onto his back and began chasing Danielle and Megan. Lillian watched them with unspeakable joy. She had dreamed of serene evenings like this. So many times Lillian had envisioned sitting in a sitting room, kept warm by a large, crackling fire. She would see Paul in the middle of the room playing with their children. Now she really was seeing the play, hearing the laughter, and feeling the happiness. It was real. She sighed with pleasure and watched the group before her.  

~~~ 

 A half hour later, Paul and Danielle were done with playtime. Lynn, Megan, Nadia, and Oakley were worn out too. Danielle followed her younger sisters into their room to help them get ready for bed. Elsie put away her dress and her sewing utensils. Faith marked her book and ducked into the room after her sisters. Once everyone was in nightgowns and in their beds, Lillian and Paul walked in to say goodnight.

Together, Lillian and Paul roamed the beds; softly calling good nights and kissing them goodnight. The two adults and Danielle exited the room. Paul hugged Danielle goodnight and sat down in the sitting room to wait for Cassandra and Belle. Danielle hugged Lillian and gently kissed Oakley goodnight. Lillian said goodnight to her husband and took Oakley into their room. 

 ~~~ 

Danielle slept peacefully until she heard talking downstairs. She noticed Cassandra still wasn’t in bed. Being curious, Danielle couldn’t resist discovering what was happening. She climbed out of bed and peeked over the loft banister. The lamp in the sitting room was still lit so the room was fairly bright. Danielle noticed a stream of light coming from the girls’ bedroom. She leaned her head way over the banister and saw the door was open. Danielle began discerning what was going on. She heard voices speaking.  

“What’s wrong?” Paul’s voice asked.  

“I don’t know, Pa. She just woke up yelling.” Elsie’s soft voice was barely heard. 

Danielle could hear someone crying and wailing about something.  

“Nadia, what’s wrong, sweetheart?” Belle’s worried voice rose over everything else.  

“I...want...Ma!” Nadia’s sobbing voice howled. 

Danielle cringed at the raucous but continued watching. Faith suddenly exited the room. The girl hurried across the sitting room and into Lillian and Paul’s bedroom. Moments later, Faith left the room with Lillian following her. Danielle finally walked down the loft steps and into the girls’ bedroom. Lynn and Megan were in their beds with their eyes closed trying to fall back asleep. Paul was in the doorway stroking his beard. The twins were back in their beds watching Nadia while Lillian, Belle, and Cassandra were crowded around Nadia’s bed. Belle and Cassandra were in fancy dresses still, indicating they just got home. Lillian was holding Nadia now and was whispering to her quietly. Nadia slowly stopped crying so loudly. Lillian whispered something to Cassandra and Cassandra turned around and saw Danielle.  

“Ma suggested we take Lynn and Megan up to the loft to sleep in our bed.”  

Danielle nodded and walked after Cassandra as she headed for their sisters. Cassandra leaned down and picked up Lynn. Lynn was awake, barely, and mumbled something to Cassandra. 

“Shh, just go back to sleep, Lynn.”  

Danielle reached down for Megan and scooped her up. Megan, the heavy sleeper, was out cold. Danielle and Cassandra took the two up to the loft and left them in the big bed. Cassandra changed into her nightgown while Danielle headed back downstairs and laid down on the couch. Her bout of curiosity had passed and her need for sleep took over.  

~~~

Belle watched Nadia tell her and Lillian about the bad dream she had. Not surprisingly, the bad dream was about Timmy the pig dying. Belle stayed silent and decided to let Lillian solve the problem.  

 “Sweetheart, Timmy still has time before he will die,” Lillian soothed. “It will be a while yet before he leaves us. Don’t worry about it now.”  

Belle sighed with relief. Hopefully Nadia wouldn’t ask questions and go to bed. It was late and Belle was getting tired herself. 

“Okay,” Nadia mumbled.  

Lillian and Belle kissed the little girl goodnight and placed her back in the bed and pulled the blankets up over her. 

~~~ 

The next morning, Belle announced to everyone that she and Cassandra had invited Joe and the Carter boys over for the afternoon. Immediately after breakfast, Lillian and Belle organized everyone and gave the girls chores to complete. The youngest girls made the beds and straightened the bedrooms. The twins and Danielle busily swept and mopped the floors. Belle, Cassandra, and Lillian worked on cleaning the kitchen and making food. Paul worked outside with his lumber. He had a load to deliver into Fairburn.  

By noon, the O’Neal house was sparkling and scents of cooking food drifted throughout the room. Paul arrived home and changed into a nice shirt while the women and girls changed into fresh dresses. A half hour later, the three young men arrived and were welcomed inside warmly. Everyone crowded around the table and food was served immediately. Talk flowed easily around the table. The boys included everyone in the conversations from Paul and Lillian all the way to Nadia and Oakley.  

~~~ 

After the enjoyable lunch, the three boys and the three oldest girls went for a walk through the Black Hills. The group hiked off through the forest of beautiful trees. Belle and Caleb walked hand in hand at the front of the group. Cassandra and Joe followed behind. Davy was chatting with Danielle amiably in the back of the pack. They walked for a while enjoying the afternoon. 

“...and thanks to my amazing speed, I beat Caleb to the finish and won Ma’s pie,” Davy told Danielle.  

“Wait a second,” Caleb said slowing down. “That story isn’t true. I beat you by a mile.”  

“No way. I beat you fair and square.”  

“Davy, I’m way faster than you. There is no question.”  

“I’m faster than both of you,” Joe butted in. Joe hoped that would settle the argument between the brothers. 

“Oh really?” Caleb and Davy shot back.  

“Well...um...” Joe groped for something to say.  

“Let’s have a race,” Caleb proposed.  

“Yeah, see that clearing up the path?” Davy pointed. “We’ll race to there and back. It’s about a half mile the whole trip.”  

The three sisters backed up and watched as the young men prepared to race. The boys drew a line in the dirt and lined up.  

“Belle, you holler ready, set, go for us,” Davy said.  

“No,” Belle said crossing her arms. “I won’t have any part in this foolishness.”  

“You do it, Cassandra,” Caleb suggested.  

Cassandra shook her head and turned away from the boys.  

“Good grief! I’ll do it,” Danielle said. “Ready...set...go!”  

Caleb, Joe, and Davy took off and battled for first place. The girls watched the boys disappear among the trees.  

Little did they know they were being watched. In fact, they had been watched for a long time.  

A bush rustled behind Belle. Belle whirled around and peered at the bush. Cassandra and Danielle laughed at her.  

“It’s just a little squirrel or rabbit,” Danielle chided. “Why are you so skitterish?”  

“I thought for sure I saw a hand behind that bush...” Belle murmured.  

Cassandra lowered her voice to a whisper, “I bet the boys circled back around and are going to scare us.”  

Danielle nodded in agreement. “Let’s go spoil their fun.”  

The girls quietly walked over to the bush and together leaped around the back of the bush to surprise the man behind the bush. Whether the man or the girls were more surprised, no one ever knew.  

Cassandra shrieked the loudest she’d ever screamed when she saw the Indian behind the bush. The man had tanned skinned and black hair stuck in a Mohawk. His torso was bare despite the cold air. He had moccasins and long deer skin pants on. He held a bow in one hand and a quiver of arrows was about his back. He shouted a string of words and suddenly three other Indians appeared. They looked similar; stern faces, black hair, bare chests, and each held weapons. One had two blue handprints on his chest and blue paint on his face. Another had long black hair hanging to his shoulders and had feathers dangling among his hair. The final Indian had black hair tugged back in a ponytail. He had a bear tooth hanging around his neck and bracelets of assorted teeth and claws on his wrists. He was by far the biggest Indian.  

The last Indian shouted something and the other three Indians rushed in and grabbed the sisters. Danielle put up a good fight. She twisted free and planted a good kick into her attacker’s stomach but she was no match for the bigger, stronger Indian brave.   

Belle struggled against the long haired Indian. “Caleb!” she screamed.  

Cassandra was frozen with fright. She couldn’t scream or struggle. The painted Indian easily gained control of her.  

The Indians shoved the girls toward their horses. The girls resisted as much as possible; waiting for the boys to return. The Mohawk Indian scooped up Danielle and tossed her onto his horse with ease. The long haired Indian easily threw Belle onto his horse as well. As Cassandra was being placed on the third horse, three huffing and puffing boys raced onto the scene.  

“Caleb!” Belle screamed.  

“Help!” Danielle cried.  

The boys looked at the Indians in surprise. They recovered quickly and advanced on the Indians. Davy took a flying leap and caught the long haired Indian by the hair and dragged him down to the earth. Caleb caught the Mohawk Indian by the legs and delivered two punches to the ribs. Joe caught the painted Indian with a punch to the jaw. The fourth Indian leaped on the horse Belle was on and began riding away.  

“Help!!” Belle yelled as she and the Indian galloped off.  

Joe leaped to his feet and looked for the nearest horse. He mounted the black and white mare and took off after Belle and her captor.  

“Hurry Joe!” Danielle yelled after Joe.  

“Go get ‘im!” Davy whooped.  

Caleb turned back to the other three Indians. “You guys don’t move...or else.”  

Cassandra turned to Caleb. “Why do you think they did that to us?”  

“Well, I reckon they’re sore that we took over the Black Hills. I’ve heard talk about the Sioux Indians invading white settlements because they’re so angry.”  

             Cassandra nodded in understanding. “I see why they’re upset.”