An Unescorted Lady Page 9

  "Tell me you want an annulment and I'll go get one as fast as I can." He challenged her.

  "I-I can't… " she cried. "I just can't." Then she ran for her room and leaned against her door and cried.

  He heard her crying, but despite the tears she shed, he smiled to himself. She couldn't ask for an annulment, because she didn't want one.

  God! He was falling in love with his wife!

  Chapter Nine

  She laid across her bed and went to sleep.

  The next morning, she got up and fixed breakfast as though nothing had happened. And it hadn't. She put a skirt and blouse on that he bought her and her old clog shoes and went to the kitchen to fix the coffee.

  But low and behold he was standing there by the coffee pot, staring out the door.

  "Something wrong?" she asked as she grabbed the big coffee pot and took it to the counter to wash it in the bucket, she used every day to wash dishes.

  "After branding is over, we'll be taking the herd north to market. We'll be gone a while. I wanted to tell you."

  "Oh," she turned to look at him. "All of you?"

  "No, I'll leave a skeleton crew to watch over things here, and you. You'll be safe. But I wanted you to know."

  "I'm glad you told me. How soon are you leaving?"

  "Another couple of weeks." He told her. "Will you be afraid to stay here?"

  "Afraid, no." she answered and continued to make the coffee. "My father taught me how to use a gun, if necessary. If you'll leave me one, I'll be fine."

  "Will you be here when I get back?" he asked softly. It was the kind of question one waits for the answer.

  She got the ingredients out for pancakes and bacon trying to ignore his question. She gave him a quick glance, "Where would I go? I don't own a horse, and I have no money. And," she turned to face him. "Until this is settled, I'm not going anywhere. You may need me to testify at the annulment, so I'll be here until it is settled at least. I like my job, even it if won't have much to do while you are gone."

  He smiled, "I'm glad. I've been thinking about you being here alone while I'm gone, I need to introduce you to a couple of neighbors before I leave. If you have any trouble or need anything, they'll be glad to help you out. And maybe you'd like to meet them."

  "That would be nice, yes."

  "Good, I'll take you over there this afternoon, the Mitchell's are nice people and the William's they'll be glad to help out, if you need them. And we have an account at the general store in town, if you need anything, or want to buy groceries and supplies. Whatever you want or need."

  She shook her head.

  "What?"

  "You act as though money is never an object. And it seems to come up in our conversations all the time."

  "It isn't. Especially where you are concerned."

  "We'll get our supplies, I'll take Chico with me and he can help figure out what they will need, and I can handle the food."

  "Would you like to meet our neighbors."

  "Yes, I'd like that."

  "Alright. It would be nice for you to know some people around here. Usually we have a lot of company, but it's branding time and no one can spare the time to visit."

  "Your busy season, then?" she smiled.

  "I'd take you with me on the drive, but it's a long hard ride. You're safer here."

  "I'll manage. How long will you be gone?"

  "Anywhere from three to six months."

  She gasped. "Oh, then it's a long trip to the railhead?" she asked.

  "Yeah."

  She swallowed hard. Just the thought of him being gone that long sent her heart to drumming. She realized she'd miss him. She couldn't tell him he'd come to mean something to her in such a short time. He'd think her daft. It was hard to keep things in perspective. How could she care for a man she'd only known for days? How could he have become so important to her? In her lifetime she'd never met anyone she'd grown this close to in such a short time.

  "Well, I'll help take care of things here."

  "There will be a new railroad next year and we won't have to go far to get them taken care of. But this year we do."

  He shot her a glance and nodded. He started toward her then changed his mind when he heard the boys outside. He talked to them for a while, then left.

  She felt tears in her eyes, but she quickly wiped them away. Six months. A lot could happen in six months. What if Priscilla came during that time? What could she tell her? What did she want to tell her?

  This was the life of a rancher. If she stayed here long, she'd have to get used to it. If things somehow worked out between them, could she put up with not seeing her husband six months out of the year? Still, if the railroad did come, things would change for the better.

  If she really belonged here, she'd insist on going with him. Six months!

  She swallowed her tears and fixed the pancakes and bacon. When the boys came in, they were excited about the pancakes. But her's were special.

  "Wow, this is tasty, what do you do to them?" George wanted to know.

  She smiled, "Sour the milk with vinegar, they call them flapjacks where I come from."

  "Tasty!" Rusty chuckled. "Got a little kick to them."

  The boys dug in and she could make enough to fill them. She laughed when they finally left. So that was a hit.

  She cleaned the kitchen and changed into riding clothes in case Lance came back to take her to meet her neighbors. She was looking forward to meeting them, she hadn't been introduced to many of his friends yet. But maybe she was taking too much for granted. Maybe she shouldn't meet them. The more involved in his life she became, the harder it would be for her to leave him when Priscilla came.

  She wasn't the real bride and sooner or later people would realize that. Could she remain here and watch him kiss Priscilla every day? The very thought brought tears to her eyes again.

  I don't understand this God. I've never been so quick to care for anyone. Why this man? Pa send me the answer if you know.

  And what if Priscilla did come? What should she tell her? She needed to talk to him about it.

  Just after noon, Lance came riding back. He took his horse to the barn and came into the house.

  She had red beans cooking and turned to look at him.

  "You ready to go?"

  "Yes, of course," she nodded. She set the beans to the side of the burner so they wouldn't burn but stay warm.

  Chico had the wagon ready for them when he came out of the barn. He drove it up to the back door.

  Lance thanked him and took the wagon and they rode in silence for a while. "I guess I need to talk to you."

  "What's up?"

  "I know you don't like me bringing Priscilla up, but I must know what to do if she shows up while you are gone. What do I tell her?"

  He sighed, then stopped the buggy. He turned to look at her, "It's simple, tell her the truth. Tell her we got married."

  Trudy stared, "You want me to tell her that?"

  "It's the truth isn't it?" he asked.

  "Yes."

  "Then that's what you tell her."

  "But don't you think you should let her know by mail first, instead of springing it on her like that? And don't you feel as though you owe her an explanation?"

  "If she comes here unannounced, no. Did she let me know she wasn't coming that day at the train station? Did she apologize for not letting me know? No, she didn't. She wanted a big church wedding with all the trimmings, and everyone in the community there. Well, they were there, but she wasn't."

  "Is that really worth fighting about? You ask her to marry."

  He shot her a frown, "Maybe, maybe not. Are you my wife or not?"

  "Y-yes."

  "Then tell her the truth." He smiled and whipped the horses back on the road.

  "But," she looked at him now, "Don't you care what she might think? Don't you think she'll be angry?"

  "She'll be angry. Nothing we can do about that! Besides, if she'd been there that day, it never wou
ld have happened. So, it's partly her fault too."

  "You're not giving her the benefit of the doubt?"

  "If she has a side for me to listen to, I'll listen, but I am a bit put out with her right now. She hasn't even bothered with a letter of explanation. And her silence tells me there must be a reason for it."

  They rode in complete silence after that and Trudy had so many questions to ask, but she kept silent. He seemed in a strange mood, and she didn't want to push him for answers right now.

  When they got to the Mitchell's he helped her down and took her elbow and guided her to the front door.

  Helen Mitchell answered the door, a woman of about forty-five with dark, graying hair and a ready smile. "Well I declare if it ain't Lance, and his new bride. Come on in here, I'm so proud you came."

  "I didn't really take the time to introduce you to her at the church Helen, since she fainted dead away. Not used to the humidity." Lance chuckled.

  "Land sakes, I'm so proud you brought her over here. I worried about her, but it was unusually hot that day and that dress, I never seen a dress so pretty."

  "Where's your old man?"

  "Out nursin' that old Buttercup, she's due any time now."

  "I'll just go see him." Lance left her with Helen.

  "Good, now he's gone, we can get to know each other. So, how do you like bein' a rancher's wife." Helen asked, as they went into the kitchen and she brought coffee to the table.

  "I like it fine, ma'am."

  "Don't you dare ma'am me, I'm Helen to everyone out here in the sticks."

  Trudy chuckled, "Fine, and you call me Trudy then."

  "Trudy, I thought you was Priscilla."

  "That's a long story."

  "Good, save it for later. We'll have plenty of time when those two out there go to the railhead. Lance been takin' good care of you?"

  "Yes," she answered simply.

  "George came over the other day and said you were the finest cook he ever met. Is it true? Are you cookin' for that whole bunch?"

  "Well, I do love to cook."

  "Oh, that's great, you and I are gonna get along fine, honey. And don't you fret about him being gone so long, we'll make out together. I'll see to that."

  "That's very kind of you. I just found out about the trip and I'm very glad he brought me over to meet you. I was afraid I'd be there all alone with no one to talk to."

  "Without all those mouths to feed, you can come over and visit any time."

  "I'll make a nuisance of myself." Trudy laughed.

  "That's alright honey. We women have to stick together in times like these. I gotta admit, we been married nearly twenty years now and I never get used to Marty going on those drives, and he's been doin' it for fifteen years. They tell me we'll have a railroad before long that will take them for them and the trips won't be long at all, then."

  Helen talked about so many different things; Trudy's head was spinning with information about the folks around the area. Trudy got the feeling she could talk to this woman about almost anything.

  When her husband and Lance walked into the house, she was introduced to him. He was like his wife, friendly and curious about her all in the same breath.

  "You sure did yourself proud, Lance." Marty told him.

  Lance smiled. Trudy blushed. They talked, had coffee and Helen hugged her as they were leaving, "Don't be a stranger."

  "I won't, I promise." Trudy smiled.

  Finally, they left.

  "So, what did you think of them?" He asked as he headed the wagon toward home.

  "She's a friendly sort. I liked her. She's going to teach me to quilt and I'm going to teach her to cook."

  "Good, her husband will thank you. He loved her dearly, but she never could cook." Lance smiled. "She likes to help him outside though and he sure loves that."

  "He's going with you on the drive?" she asked.

  "Yeah, we usually put our cattle together after we brand, and count them. Several of us get together that way we have more men on the drive, makes for a better trip. Even when we do have access to the railroad with our cattle the first year might be a bit strange. Some of us will have to go to make sure they get where they need to. Then after we figure out how it's gonna work, we'll be able to send certain men with the herd and see they are sold and all."

  "That's good."

  "You want to meet the Williams today?"

  "Could we do that another day?"

  "Sure, I'll take you over on Saturday morning. How's that?"

  "It'll be fine. I need to get back to the kitchen."

  "Don't like my company, huh?" he jested.

  "It's not that, I just figured you'd have to get back to the pasture."

  "I'm the boss, and it's only reasonable that I give my wife a fair share of my company, especially since we're newly wed."

  "If you mean me, I don't feel neglected." She told him.

  He stopped the wagon, and got down, then he came on her side and helped her down, but as he did so he held her in the air. She laughed, "What are you doing?"

  "I forgot to kiss you good morning this morning," he told her and as he brought her down, his lips fastened onto hers. It was a sweet surrender. She swooned, a sudden rapture taking control of her. She smelled the hay and leather on him, she tasted the sweet saltiness of his lips. And kissing was becoming her favorite pastime with her husband. She shouldn't enjoy it so much, but that part was hard to control.

  She was hungry for that kiss, hungry for the sweet persuasion of his so-soft lips. She'd missed it too, this morning as she'd grown used to his routines.

  When her lips moved with his, he groaned and pulled her closer. She wrapped her arms around his neck pulling him down to her. The kiss went on so long they were both breathless when they pulled apart. She was quickly acquiring a taste for her husband, and a bond was growing between them. It was a strong bond. She should be ashamed for enjoying it so much, but she couldn't muster the shame either.

  When he raised his head, he pulled her up into the air again, and as he brought her down, he kissed her, holding her there, their bodies fusing to one another, their lips melding like hot metal and fire. She had quickly acquired a taste for his kisses, and the way he persuaded her lips to part and their tongues joined in a silent waltz.

  He slowly sat her back on the ground.

  She blushed when their eyes met.

  "Why did we stop?"

  "Stop kissing or moving on?" He asked softly.

  She laughed. "Moving on."

  "There's a spot here, I wanted to show you." He took her hand and squeezed it gently in his. He led her over to a cliff that overlooked miles and miles of beautiful Texas land.

  "When we leave, we'll head straight up that trail. And when we come back, we'll come back the same way."

  "Oh, how far do you go?" she asked, staring at the land.

  "Kansas."

  "Oh my, that's a long way, isn't it?"

  "It's miles of bad weather, Indians, outlaws and all kinds of accidents. But we're also used to it."

  "How long you been going up the trail?" she asked curiously.

  "Fourteen years."

  "You must have started early." Something seemed to dawn on her. "I guess I never asked but how old are you?"

  "I'll be thirty my next birthday. And you?"

  "I'm twenty-four." She said a little sadly.

  "You say that like it makes you sad."

  "I never figured I'd marry. Back home I was considered old for marriage. I used to throw my hair up in a bun in the back, so my hair didn't get tangled in my mop water. I wore drab clothes so the dirt wouldn't show, and I looked older than I was. They had a gay old time of making fun of me."

  "Oh, why is that?" He looked at her with a slight smile.

  "I'm twenty-four Lance, most women are married with a houseful of children."

  "Did you have beaus back home?"

  "No, I worked too much, and then took care of my dad. There wasn't time for such frivolit
ies."

  "Well, you don't have to worry about that now, you are married."

  "I wasn't your choice, Lance. I was your mistake."

  "Some people have to be hit over the head with a hammer before they understand what is before them. When I saw you. I knew what I wanted."

  "You thought I was Priscilla."

  "Did I?" he asked with a sexy grin.

  "Of course, you did."

  "Maybe. But the way I see it, I saw what I wanted, I branded you with a kiss, married you in my church and I haven't had one moment of regret since."

  "Why not? Don't you feel bad for Priscilla?"

  He frowned, "You scrubbed floors for ten years? You took care of your father until he died. You were a dutiful daughter, and a hard worker. I admire that. I like it. Hard work or not, it does build character. I should know. My dad started me on the ranch as the lowest of workers. He taught me from the ground up what work was about. If I didn't do something right, he made me do it over. And believe me, I did a lot of things over, and over. I learned from that. I don't regret it. The only thing I regretted in my life is spending two years writing a woman I never really knew."

  She looked at him, as though just now seeing him. "You need an explanation from her. You still need to talk with her, though."

  "Why, if she was interested, she'd have been here."

  "Are you angry with her?"

  "Hell no, darlin', I'm glad she didn't come. I'd have made a big mistake marrying a woman like that."

  "A woman like what?"

  "Pampered, spoiled, with a pedigree. That's what all the men friends I know told me to look for. So, I did. But it wasn't what I wanted or needed. Somewhere in my head I knew that. Oh, her letters were beautiful, but she talked about things that were so unimportant. She talked about teas and ballroom dancing and how she'd learned to knit."

  "How can you be so sure about her now, you haven't even met her yet?"

  "Because she asked me to plan a big wedding when she got off the train. I did so, without question. Being such a lady, it was only right to marry her first. But when she had no intention of telling me she wasn't coming. When I planned all of that for her and she didn't have the decency to let me know she wasn't coming. She had the money for a telegram. It wasn't like she couldn't afford to let me know. That's all it would have taken. It means I couldn’t depend on her, and out here you have to have someone you can depend on. It's a tough land, and it takes a lot of back-breaking work to make something of a place. After I came home, I realized she wouldn't be suited for this life, and I couldn't change my life. She doesn't fit and I see that now. You saw a dress and dreamed. I wrote letters and dreamed. But that's all it was, dreams."