Something Borrowed (Jordan-Alexander Family 3)

"What is it?" she asked.

"We're getting off the train," he told her before touching the elderly man sleeping in the seat in front of him on the shoulder. "Judah, wake up."

Judah awoke instantly, turning in his seat to face Lee. "Oh, hello, young man. Are we there yet?"

Lee nodded. "The train is just pulling into the station."

Judah straightened his clothing and looked around for any belongings. "That's nice. We'll be home before we know it."

Lee gave a heartfelt sigh of relief. Judah's mental faculties appeared to be intact today.

Mary glanced over Lee's shoulder, out the window at the desolate town's main street, then touched him on the sleeve. "But this is Utopia."

"I know," he answered as he gently awakened Maddy and set her on her feet, then stood up beside her.

Madeline grabbed hold of Lee's coattail, twisting the fabric in her fist as she squirmed in the small space between the rows of seats. "Pretty," she said clearly.

Lee looked from Maddy to Mary, then smiled back at the child. "Yes," he agreed, "Mary's pretty."

Mary flushed with pleasure at the unexpected compliment.

"Pretty," Madeline repeated more forcefully. Her brow wrinkled in frustration as she let go of Lee's coat and grasped the front of her pinafore. She wiggled this way and that, and danced from foot to foot. "Pretty. Go pretty."

As he watched her clutching her dress and bouncing from one leg to the other, Lee suddenly remembered exactly what pretty meant in "Maddy-talk." A look of panic appeared on his face as he studied the passengers crowding into the aisle preparing to disembark from the train to stretch their legs and gauged the amount of time he had. "Just a minute, sweetheart," he said, awkwardly patting Maddy on the shoulder as she squirmed in the space beside him. "I'll get you there."

Mary glanced down at Maddy and understanding dawned. She quickly grabbed her purse from the seat and stepped into the aisle. "Give her to me," she said to Lee. "There's bound to be a facility behind the depot." She sounded completely confident that the town would have public outhouses nearby, but after catching a glimpse of Utopia from the train window, Mary doubted the town had that much to offer.

Lee lifted Maddy and gratefully handed her over to Mary. "Judah and I will wait for you in the depot."

"Go pretty." Maddy was more insistent.

"All right, sweetie." Mary gave Lee a quick wave, then hurried down the aisle and stepped off the train onto the platform. Mary flagged down a porter and asked directions to the nearest necessary.

But the wet warmth seeping through Maddy's undergarments and petticoats onto Mary's arm warned her that it was already too late.

Maddy's lips puckered suddenly and the expression on her face crumpled as she realized she had disgraced herself. She turned her face away from Mary and began to cry.

"There, there, sweetheart, it's all right," Mary soothed as she continued on the path toward the facility. She reached the outhouse, opened the door, stepped inside, then leaned down to place Maddy on the ground.

"No!" Maddy balked at being set on her feet. She tightened her hold around Mary's neck, buried her face in Mary's shoulder, wrapped her legs around Mary's waist, and cried harder.

"Maddy, sweetie, I must put you on the ground in order to get you out of your wet underthings."

"No!"

"Don't you want me to take off your wet clothes?"

"No!" Maddy shook her head vigorously, setting her dark curls bouncing against Mary's face.

Balancing Maddy on one hip, Mary reached down and tried to pry Maddy's chubby little legs from around her waist. "Please, Maddy," Mary persuaded, "let me put you down so I can remove your drawers and petticoats." Mary tried to remember if little girls Madeline's age wore drawers or if they were still wearing diapers. Although she had been around her cousin Reese's three-year-old daughter since the day Hope was born, most of Mary's practical experience was with school-age children, not toddlers.

Maddy refused to meet Mary's gaze, but continued to cry. It broke Mary's heart to watch the tears run down her cherubic face.

"Maddy, sweetheart, listen to me," Mary instructed in a gentle voice. "This little accident wasn't your fault. We've had a very long tr

ain ride and your…" Mary faltered for a moment, not knowing how to refer to Lee so that Maddy would understand. "Lee and I should have realized you needed to—" She shrugged her shoulders and tried another tack. "I know you're embarrassed, but there's no need to be. I won't tell anyone."

All at once Maddy seemed to understand that Mary could be trusted with her secret. She stopped crying and scrubbed away the tears with her little fists.