Chapter 1- Hearing Mama calling for us children, I quickly jumped up out of bed. Grabbing my robe, I quickly slipped out of the shared room. My 2 sisters and I shared a room. The 3 younger boys shared a room while William had his own. He was lucky sometimes. I had to use the bathroom so I went before the others needed it. Once done, I washed my hands and then brushed my teeth. Drying my hands off before slipping back into the room I found Nellie, who was only 3 years old, slipping to the ground. 

Nellie, being the baby of the family, was spoiled. When she finished rubbing her eyes and started to yawn, Nellie looked up at me as I walked over to her. Smiling and showing her crooked teeth I smiled back as I sat down on my hunches. I had always helped get her out of her night gown and into a dress and pulled her hair into a small pony tail, before getting myself dressed and hair pulled back. When Betty, our 9 year old sister, was changed and had pulled her hair back into a ponytail with a small piece of red ribbon she took over with Nellie. I would usually have Nellie dressed and had her hair brushed and pulled back when Betty was ready to take over. From there, Betty helped her go potty, hands washed and then helped her brush her teeth. 

Betty was the oldest girl and looked like mama mostly, she did have some of daddy’s features though. I was the only girl who looked mostly like Daddy. Sometimes people say I could be his twin at times. When Betty took over, it always gave me time to do what I needed so we could get down stairs to help with setting up the table for breakfast. Once we had finished we raced down stairs to help Mama and Grandma set the table. We had reached the last step just as Grandma opened her door that led to her and Grandpa’s room. From there, we had her hollering at us, 

“Girls! How many times do I have to tell you to stop running in the house? One of these days you will hurt someone or yourself. Now stop it or I will take you over my knee.” 

“Oh hush you and leave them girls alone. They are just youngins. Besides, you will miss it all when they are all grown up and no longer living near us. They all will grow up and move away. What will you do then?” Grandpa had come to our rescue yet again. Betty and I gave each other looks and tried not to smile when grandpa said that. Grandpa always came to our rescue when Grandma said something to us about being loud or rowdy. Grandma and Grandpa had moved in the year before.

You see, there are now 11 of us all together. There is Grandpa and Grandma, Daddy’s folks. I don’t think I was born yet when Mama’s folks were alive. Then of course Daddy and Mama. William was the oldest at 12. Louis at 11. Betty was 9. I just turned 7. The twins, George and Thomas, were 6. Then there was sweet Nellie at 3. She was a surprise for us all because us older children were much closer in age. When Mama was about to have Nellie, we were scared because we almost lost both of them. 

I had handed Nellie the silver-wear. She ever so carefully walks them to the table and plops them onto the tables end before she could start placing the proper silverware around at everyone’s spot. From there, I had placed the plates beside the silver-wear Nellie was laying out. Betty had placed the cups at each spot behind us. Nellie could get her small job finished by the time Betty and I had finished our jobs. Once I had placed the plates out, I went over to the ice cooler and gotten the milk out. Once I had it in hand, I walked back to the table and slowly walked around the table and filled up everyone’s cups. Mama said,

“Betty, here is the first plate of hot cakes, can you please place them on the table awhile?”

“Sure Mama.” She replied as she went over to her at the stove and took the plate from Mama. Placing them on the table at the one end I made sure to grab the butter and molasses and put them on the table.

While Mama continued making more hot cakes, I went outside to find Daddy. The weather was slightly cold but one could be outside to go to the barn for some eggs or to milk quickly without a heavy jacket or even one at that. Daddy walked out of the barn carrying a bucket filled with milk from our cow before I had gotten far.

Looking up from his gaze from the ground, he smiles at me and says,

“Good morning, Emily Rose.”

“Morning Daddy. Mama is finishing up the hot cakes. I was just coming out here to fetch you. And the boys.”

“And here I am. Right?” He said with a smile again. I smiled back. Slipping my hand into his big hand, we walked up to the steps to the porch when Daddy stopped. 

“Boy’s! Breakfast.” Daddy hollered over his shoulder to the barn. From there the others could be heard in the barn as they finished their chores.

We finally went through the mud room and into the kitchen while Daddy grabbed a milk pail for the milk. He quickly poured the fresh milk into it before telling me to put it into the ice box. He would rinse the pail out before putting it by the door to be taken back out to the barn. Mama had the last of the hot cakes made just as the children all were inside and washed up. After they had their hands dried and found their spots at the crowded table, I was able to get to the sink to wash my hands before joining the others at the table. 

On one side of the table sat; Louis, William, me and then Betty. Beside Louis was Grandpa; at one head of the table. There was Grandma, the twins, Nellie and Mama. Both men sat at the head of the table while the women sat beside them.

We all talked about what we could do for the day now that most of the day;’s work was done. Louis had asked, 

“Daddy, could we go swimming at the pond today? I think it is gonna be another hot one today.” 

“I wouldn’t see why not. As long as y’all get your chores done and helped round here with what your mama and grandmother need helped with. So finish your breakfast and get a move on with your chores.” We all chimed in with ‘yes sir’. With that, we stopped talking and concentrated on eating our food. Making sure our plates were cleaned off well, we jumped up and took our dirty things to the sink. 

Mama and Grandma usually worked together in the kitchen to make each meal. Us girls helped as well, but with meals that didn’t require too much cooking over the stove or fire. We were taught from a very young age not to be near the stove when the grown ups were cooking. Once we turned 11 we could do more with the stove. We did more of the setting of the table, clearing up and dish washing. I had volunteered Betty along with myself on behalf of Nellie,

“Betty and I will keep Nellie from being under foot and do our chores with her.” 

“Thank you sweetheart.” Daddy replied. 

Being the tom boy out of us girls, one could always find me in a pair of overalls and shirt with no shoes. I mean, we all ran around the house with no shoes so they would stay nice somewhat for church and school since money was tight. Thankfully we could pass along to the children under us when they needed something. Even then, we still wore clothing and shoes to when they were just threads by the time they were threads. The only times I wore my shoes was at church, and only when it was too cold to be without them for school. I always took mine off again as soon as I could. 

–

While the other children had run outside before me, I had gone through the door from the mud room and got about three feet outside before I remembered I needed a basket to put the eggs in. Running back inside the mud room, I reached over and grabbed one. Walking back through the screen door, I thought I heard our hydrangea bush in the corner russel and make noises. Not thinking much of it, I kept walking on until I heard a much louder whimper. I quietly stopped in my tracks and looked over my shoulder. I watched as the bush definitely moved this time. I then thought I saw a small dirty face poke around some of the branches. I couldn’t quite tell what I was looking at first so I quietly placed the basket down on the ground before turning around to face the bush. From there I took the three steps to the bush and pulled back some branches to find a black haired, dirty faced girl staring back at me with the biggest green eyes ever. Being surprised by seeing her there, I straightened up quickly and took several quick steps back which ended up making me trip over my own feet and fall on my behind. I screamed as I hit the ground. Looking around, I was so glad no one came running when I did. 

Picking myself back up, I brushed my back side off and slowly made my way back to the bush. I was kind of relieved when the girl walked around the bush as I walked back to her. She stopped right in front of the bush as I said quietly,

“It is okay. I won’t hurt you.” I waited for her to say something. Which didn’t happen. I hollered for Mama and Daddy. Which made all four adults come out through the mud room. I was far enough away from the bush that all four adults looked at me first and didn’t even notice the girl. Daddy was in the lead and when he stepped out onto the step, he placed his hands on his hips and asked sternly,

“Emily Rose! I thought you were to come out here to start on your choirs. Do you care to explain why you are just standing here?”

“I was. Well, I started when I had to go back inside because I forgot a basket for the eggs. When I came back out, I heard something in the bush. As I went to look into it, I found her.” I said in defense as I pointed to the girl. That’s when they looked over and spotted the girl in the bush. Mama gasped and stated,

“Oh my goodness. This poor baby. I wonder where she came from. She can’t be that much younger than the twins.” Squatting down in front of her, Mama reached out to place her hand on the girls arm as she asked,

“It’s okay child. You are safe here until we find out where you came from. Are you hungry? Thirsty?” The girl didn’t say anything but looked around Mama to me. She had slowly pulled away from Mama’s hand and walked over to me and stood behind me. She slowly reached up and took my hand. Grandpa said,

“Looks like we need to get the sheriff out here and see what he has to say about this. Maybe he will even know who she is.” 

“I agree. But until then, young lady. You need to go and do your chores. I will take her into town with me and talk to Ray.” He stepped around everyone and went back inside for his truck key that hung on a nail right inside the second door that led from the kitchen to the mud room. By the time Daddy walked back out I was almost to the chicken coop. From where he walked out, he reached down for the girl when she left out a scream. Daddy pulls his hands away from her and steps back. Calling out to me, Daddy said,

“Emily come here please.” With that, I walked back over to them again and asked,

“Yes Daddy?”

“Since she seems to have taken a liking to you, will you take her inside and wash up while I go into town? All I wanted to do was take her with me.” He left the last bit of his sentence trail off as he walked over to the truck. Holding up my basket, I asked,

“I have eggs to gather. And what about my other chores?” 

“Don’t worry about the eggs this time, child. I will gather them for you.”

“Old man, don’t you go tiring yourself out. I don’t want to hear later that you are tired.” Grandma chipped in.

“I will be fine old woman. If I am tired later, I either take a nap or go to bed early.” Grandpa said as he leaned over quickly and planted a kiss on her check. She tried to swat him away before he jumped away. He comes over to me and takes the basket out of my hands and walks to the chicken coop.

I reached down for the girl’s hand as I made her follow me inside and upstairs to the second floor. There I made her stand by as I started the bath water. Once I had it started and had the soap and a washcloth ready, I squatted down some to be more on her level as I said,

“Let’s get these dirty things off and put you into the bath. You will feel so much better.”

“Okay.” The girl whispered. She said it so quietly that I almost didn’t hear it. Smiling big, I went on.

“Oh. You can talk. What is your name?”

“Rachel.” She whispered again as she reached over and started to touch part of my hair that was over my shoulder. 

Helping her to get undressed, I took note of some bruises on her right thigh, arms and upper back. The one big one on her thigh was dark and without thinking I reached over and gently touched it. She watched me as I did. Whispering still she goes on,

“Daddy did that to me. He gets mad and hits me.” My heart dropped to the floor as I helped her into the tub. While she played some and started to wash up, there was a knock on the door. I was thankful Mama didn’t come in all the way. Mama opened the door a few inches as she said,

“I found some clothing that might fit her for the time being. How are things going?”

“They are going well. I was letting her play some and washed some as well. I will get her out in five minutes so I can do my chores.” Taking the clothing from Mama I placed them on the edge of the sink. Mama leaned against the door frame with the door cracked still and said,

“I had the other children do them for you. Not that it excuses you not to do them again from here on out.”

“I would have done them. I was going to have Rachel help.”

“Is she talking to you?”

“Yes. But not much.”

“Rachel huh? That is a pretty name for a pretty girl.” Mama said as she smiled at Rachel. All mama could see of Rachel was her head. To which Rachel was poking just above the top of the tub. Rachel gave a small smile back. Mama had closed the door again as I told Rachel,

“You have nothing to fear here, Mama and Daddy are good people. They won’t hurt you. No one here will.” Helping her to wash her hair I then used the plastic cup we used for the younger children to get the soap out of their hair. She smiled at me the whole time. Once I had her rinsed off and held onto both my hands so she could climb out of the tub without falling. Handing her the towel, I told her to dry off and I would help her change into clean clothing. While she dried off, I found some ribbon and a hair brush. Helping her into the pair of overalls and shirt and under pants, I dried her hair as best as I could. Brushing it and pulling it back into a ponytail, I asked,

“Are you hungry?”

“Yes!” She said a bit louder than what she had spoken before with a big nod and grin. With that, she reached up with her hand and took mine. We walked back down stairs to be welcomed by Grandpa, Grandma and Mama. Showing Rachel a spot she could sit at the table Mama said,

“I was just about to come up there again and see how things were going. Are you hungry child?” Rachel gave me a look without answering Mama. I gave her a small smile and said she could answer.

“Yes, please ma’am.” She replied softly. With that, Mama went to the stove and pulled a plate of 3 decent sized hot cakes from the oven and brought them over to Rachel. There were 2 slices of bacon as well on the plate. Finding some butter and maple syrup, I placed them on the table in front of her. She whispered, 

“Can you help me?” Reaching across the table, I pulled her plate to me as I placed a little bit of butter and molasses before cutting the hot cakes into small pieces for her. Grandma stood by the ironing board and was ironing as she watched us before she shook her head and said,

“I hope the sheriff will know what to do with her or at least knows who her parents are. It isn’t like we need another mouth to feed around here.”

“Grandma! I am ashamed of you. You know full well we never turned anyone away from here and we aren’t going to start now. Now if she needs a place to stay, right here is where she will stay until things are figured out.” Mama said sternly. I heard Mama raise her voice at us children before but I can’t say I ever heard her raise her voice at Grandma or Grandpa. I raised my eyebrows because I was surprised. Grandpa tired to distract us as he said,

“I think once our guest is finished with her breakfast, why don’t you take her out and show her around some. I think she will enjoy that.”

Once she was finished and I had gotten her plate and everything washed, dried and put away, I saw Mama walk to the front door and peek out through the blinds. Just as she turned back to walk to the kitchen again, we heard cars pull up. As I finished with the plate, I dried it and placed it in the cub-board. I went back to Rachel to take her hand and have her follow me outside. We barely made it through the mud room when I heard my name being called. I went back inside with Rachel following very close behind me. Once Rachel saw the sheriff and Daddy, she got this look of horror on her face. She moved so close to me that I had to take a few steps to the side so I didn’t fall. If she could, she would have become one with me right then. Mama asked,

“Hey sheriff. Care for a cup of coffee?” 

“Sure, thank you.” He waited patiently for her to grab the kettle from the stove and pour him a cup. Once he had it in hand, he took a sip and sighed. 

“Ahhh. That is some good coffee. Thank you.” Sheriff Ray didn’t wait to beat around the bush when he said,

“Emily Rose, I want to talk to you in private if I may?”

“Okay. I have nothing to hide from anyone.” The sheriff nodded to the others and they stopped what they were doing and quickly started through the adjoined living-room to go through the door to sit on the swing. Mama had gotten about half way when she turned around and came back. Walking over to Rachel, Mama reached her hand out for Rachel to take it. Ever so slowly, Rachel reaches for it and slips her small hand into Mama’s. There Mama walked out with Rachel in tow. Mama could be heard saying,

“Let’s go see what animals we can find?” If Rachel had replied, we couldn’t hear her response.

Once they were out, Sheriff Ray asked,

“Okay Emily. Do you mind telling me what happened this morning?” Which I told him. After talking for a bit, he asked,

“Did she mention anything about home?”

“Not really.” I lied. I didn’t mention the bruises I found on Rachel’s small body. I was raised not to lie to anyone because it was a bad thing to do. I wished I didn’t have to do this. 

“Emily, you need to tell me everything. I noticed she had a look of horror flash across her face as soon as she saw your daddy and I.”

“There is something I didn’t tell you. Only because I don’t know how.” Gently waiting for me to continue, I did. After I told him about the brushing Sheriff Ray said that Daddy had told him about her screaming when he went to pick her up. While we talked about it, I cried some. I just couldn’t understand how a parent could harm or hurt their child in any way. Sheriff Ray continued on,

“I have never seen her before now. But I am going to be in touch with some people from the surrounding areas and see if there is a missing child case or run away. Until then, I am going to take her into town and place her in the county home.”

“But why? Why can’t she just stay here until things settle down? Or figured out. I know Mama and Daddy wouldn’t mind. She could be just another sister for us until things are figured out.”

“And what if I find her parents? Or another family? I don’t know if that is the smartest thing to do. It will only make it harder on all of you.”

“We don’t mind. We all love her already like she is part of our family that is here for a visit.”

“I understand that. But I am not in control here with saying if she stays.”

“Please talk to Daddy and the others. I can bet they will agree that they would want her to stay for a bit.” The more I talked the more excited I got.

“I will do the talking here with them.”

“Thank you, sheriff.” With that, he got up and started off through the living-room to go out to the front porch. I followed behind him. 

When we walked through the door, Mama was walking onto the porch from the side with Rachel. We had a big front porch the length of the house that you could walk on from the front or either side. Grandma and Grandpa were sitting on the two rockers while Daddy found himself on the swing. Rachel lit up when she saw me. Coming right over to me and giving me a hug, I hugged back. Sheriff Ray went right into talking to the adults about what we talked about. After what seemed like forever, they agreed she could stay with us until sheriff Ray could find out something where Rachel came from. 

Daddy had walked the sheriff to his truck. Right before he climbed into it and drove away, they shook hands. When Daddy walked back onto the porch, the other children had made their way up as well. William asked,

“Hey, who is the new girl? Is she a cousin of ours?”

“No she isn’t. Your sister found her this morning. But, uh, I have something to run by you all. I made the initial call on it and I hope you all agree. But you children need to help keep young Rachel here feel welcome. She is going to be spending some time with us for awhile until sheriff Ray can find who her mommy and daddy are. Sheriff Ray never saw her around the surrounding areas. So he is going to see if anyone is missing her. He had mentioned that she would go to a children’s home, but Emily talked him out of it. Besides we never turned anyone away when they needed a place to sleep or a hot meal and I don’t believe we should start now. Like I said, treat her like you would one of your brothers or sisters.”

“Clyde, do you think that is smart by taking in another child when you have 7 to think of, of your own?” Grandma stated.

“Yes Ma, I think it is smart to do so. I’m sorry but we never turned anyone away before now. No matter how long they stayed with us. And I certainly am not going to start now. As long as it takes the sheriff to find out about where she comes from, then she stays here. With us. Besides, it will do her little world a whole lot of good to be here out in the fresh air than being stuck inside a children’s home.”

“Are your chores done?” Mama asked us children before anything else could be said in front of us children. Nodding that they were, we then all walked off the porch to the front yard to decide what we would play. We agreed on hide and seek. I was happy to see Rachel looked like she was slowly pulling out of her shell and wanting to play as well. Rachel offered to stay with Nellie to help her hide before Louis piped in,

“Why don’t we all take turns hiding with Nellie so Rachel doesn’t always get stuck being found first?”

“That’s a great idea Louis.” Betty said. With that, William counted first. 

We all had taken turns counting and hiding with Nellie that we didn’t realize how late in the morning it was getting. Before we knew it, Mama stuck her head out the door and said,

“Lunch time! Come in and wash.” With that, we all stopped and ran onto the front porch and into the front door. We went upstairs to the bathroom. There we all took our turns washing our hands and faces. Once us girls had washed up first, we ran the hair brush through our hair. I helped Nellie with her hair. Once finished, we made our way down to the kitchen again. Betty went right over and helped mama finish bringing over the lunch things. 

Lunch was simple. It consisted of toasted sliced bread, ham, sliced tomatoes, spinage, homemade cheese and hard boiled eggs. Lunches always were on the light side because of having a big breakfast and then a decent sized dinner. Betty asked once we all were sitting down at the table,

“Daddy, are we still able to go swimming today?”

“I don’t see why not. We don’t have anything going on until dinner.” We all laughed. With that, we all quickly ate and helped clean up from lunch. Once done, we ran to our rooms and changed into our swimsuits. Making sure we all had a towel, we raced back downstairs. We had Grandma hollering at us to slow down. Daddy said,

“Let me go change myself and we will go. You coming pa?”

“Of course I am.” Grandpa replied. He got up from his spot from the table and started off to the front door with the rest of us. Grandpa wouldn’t swim but would end up wading in the water. I asked,

“Mama and Grandma? Will you both come with us?” 

“Well, we do have lots of things to do here Emily.” Mama said.

“But can’t it wait? I will even help do whatever needs done today after we go and come back for dinner.” 

“We appreciate that, but we have so much to do sweety.”

“Please?” Us children said together. Mama looked at Daddy. He held his hands up in defense and said,

“Well, can it?”

“Clyde. You know how crazy things get around here with everything we have to do.”

“Please?” He asked. With that, she tossed the towel she had in her hand onto the table and smiled big. 

“Fine. But just this once.” We all cheered as they walked out with us.

Chapter 2- That night Betty and I had permission to make Rachel a rag doll and some clothing so she had a doll of her own and wouldn’t have to take turns with Nellies. Mama had sat with us and walked us through the work as we sewed. It was really fun but scary. Once Betty and I had finished the doll for Rachel, we walked to the others and when Daddy seen us waiting, he paused as he said,

“What is it, girls?”

“Sorry to interrupt Daddy. But we have a little something for Rachel.” I went on as Betty pulled the doll from behind her back and handed it to Rachel.

“Betty and I made this for you so you and Nellie could play house together. That way, you both didn’t have to take turns with Nellie’s doll.” The biggest smile crept over Rachel’s face as she took the doll from Betty. She touched the hair and button eyes with such adoration. Daddy said,

“Girls, the doll is beautiful. You made it all by yourself?”

“Well, Mama helped us with the sewing part. But the idea was ours.” 

“Well from the looks of it, that little girl probably never owned a new toy or any toy for that matter until now. Well until she came here anyway.”

“It’s beautiful. Thank you so much for thinking of me.” Rachel whispered, threw her tears as she hung her head as she cried and hugged us.

At this point, Rachel had been with us for a week. With a few visits from the sheriff. He still hasn’t been able to locate Rachel’s parents. It doesn’t help that Rachel doesn’t talk about her life back home. I almost had her opened up to me but was interrupted when the other children came into the room. One afternoon Nellie said,

“Mama said we are to go outside and do something.”

“Okay. Let’s go play hide and seek or keep away?”

“What’s keep away?” Rachel asked. 

“It is where we have someone in the middle of a circle and the person in the middle has to try and catch the ball as the people in the circle throw it around. If the person catches the ball, whoever throws it is the one who goes into the center.”

“Let’s play that.” She said with a smile. With that, we got up and went outside. 

Being outside and playing our game for a bit, we stopped playing when we saw the sheriff driving up our lane in his truck. Thomas said,

“I wonder if this is the time we find out.”

“I hope so. Not that I want Rachel to leave.” I said. Pulling his truck beside us, he put it into park and turned it off before climbing out. Giving us all a hello, he asked if Mama and Daddy were around. Telling him where he could find them, he walked off to find them. We thought we should go sit on the front porch to wait. We hoped we didn’t have to wait for long.

After what felt like an eternity, sheriff Ray left. Daddy and Mama came out to us. Grandma and Grandpa walked out and asked Rachel to take a walk with them. Thankfully, she followed. They walked towards the creek. When Daddy knew she was out of ear shot, he said,

“I need to talk to you children. And it is about Rachel.” Taking a deep breath daddy told us,

“Rachel will be living with us from here on out. Sheriff Ray just told us that he found out what happened to her parents. And now that I know, no wonder she had a hard time with grandpa and I. He told us that Rachel’s daddy wasn’t nice to her, he would hurt her and treat her very hard.”

“So, why doesn’t she live with her mama then?” I asked.

“Because she can’t. Rachel’s father hurt her so badly for stepping between him and Rahcel that she had to go to the hospital and later on passed on from her injuries.” Us children, when we heard that, gasped and covered our mouths. It was very hard for Daddy to tell us this. I could see he wanted to cry. 

“Oh poor Rachel. She is so young and has already gone through so much.”

“Girls, you will be of extra help to your Mama and Grandma with making up some bed things and making her a quilt and whatever else she will need. You boys will help me and your grandpa with making her a bed. Once we have the bed made, it’ll be up to the girls on how they want to place their beds to make them all fit. At one point, I will make her a small dresser, so until then she can have a drawer in Nellie’s dresser.” 

“Emily and Betty, you stay here and keep the younger children out of trouble and entertained while Grandma and I go to the general store and pick up some new material for the sheets and quilt. But first, we will see what material we have around here. ”

“Yes mama.” We replied together. We got up to find Rachel, Grandma and Grandpa. They walked down the road a piece to the pond and had sat down on the dead tree in the water as they soaked their feet. The water was always a nice welcome on a hot summer day like today. That week was crazy as we got our new guest settled into a rhythm and things made for her. The bed stuff was the one thing that took the longest, especially the quilt. Grandma and Mama made sure to make another piece by piece quilt so they matched the rest of the bed stuff.

Our shared room had four full size beds in it. Even though it was full it was cozy. My bed was still the fullest away from the door and window. I would still get scared from time to time.