Bouquet for Iris Read Online Free PDF

of the gentleman farmer. Iris wondered if he ever regretted giving up his financial career to work the soil. Of course his political aspirations had ended before he and Ma even married. Still, by the accounts of her aunt and grandparents, her pa had been poised to become one of Andrew Jackson’s most trusted advisers. But he’d turned down the opportunity to travel the world with the famous and popular president.
    Her pa reached into his coat and produced several folded sheets of ivory paper with a flourish. “Guess who has sent us a letter?”
    Iris mentioned Pa’s younger sister. “Aunt Mary?”
    Ma clasped her hands and rested them against her chin. “My sister, Eleanor?”
    Pa shook his head at both of them.
    “Has Uncle Donny written from Philadelphia?”
    “Nope. That’s three guesses. Do you give up?”
    At their nods he lowered the stationery so they could see the return address printed above the wax seal.
    “Pastor Miller?” Ma’s voice was a squeal of joy.
    “Yes.” Pa winked at Iris. “And there’s even a separate note inside from Camie.”
    “Camie wrote to me?” Iris’s heart leaped. She grabbed for the letter but was frustrated as her pa lifted it up over his head.
    Hannah, Iris’s younger sister, ran in as they were trying to grab the sheets. “Whatever are you doing?” She took the chair her sister had recently vacated and clambered atop it. With her additional height, it was easy for her to reach Pa’s hand. She grabbed the letter with a triumphant squeak.
    Iris was not about to tolerate her younger sister stealing the letter. “Give it to me. You don’t even remember Camie.”
    “I do, too.” Hannah stuck out her tongue at Iris. “She’s that blond girl who used to come over and help us shell peas.”
    “That’s enough, you two.” Ma interrupted them before a fight could break out. “Give me the letter, Hannah. I’ll read it out loud so we can all enjoy it at the same time.”
    Iris was chastened by her mother’s admonition. “I’ll do better, Ma. I promise.”
    She silently berated herself while her parents talked about the family who used to live in Nashville. Besides being Aunt Dolly’s pastor, Reverend Miller, along with his wife, had built and managed a school for the local Indians. Iris and her family had worked at the school as she grew up, infusing her with the desire to do something important with her life. The Millers’ daughter, Camie, had been one of her best friends. They had even been baptized together on a cool Sunday morning in the calm blue waters of a small stream just outside the city.
    Iris had cried for days when Reverend Miller announced that he had been called to work at Brainerd Mission near an Indian settlement on the Tennessee River called Ross’s Landing. She and Camie had hugged and made promises to always stay in touch. But it was hard to fulfill that promise. The years went by. Camie had married a fine Christian man, a surveyor who had come to work in the area and decided to stay after falling in love with her. Iris wished she could have gone to the wedding, but her parents had been unable to leave at that time and unwilling to send her alone. It was the story of her life. They didn’t want to let her out of their sight.
    Pa cleared his throat and put a hand on her ma’s arm before she could start reading the letter she held. “I read the letter before coming home, and Reverend Miller mentioned something we need to discuss.”
    Ma folded the stationery. “What is it, Asher?”
    He gazed at his hands for a moment before speaking. Iris wondered what could be wrong. She held her breath and concentrated her attention on him.
    “Reverend Miller mentioned in his letter that Camie has decided to give up her job as nanny to take care of her own children.”
    Ma’s brow wrinkled. “Wasn’t she caring for some Cherokee orphans?”
    “That’s right. Their parents died, and they are living with their grandfather. Camie was hired not only to