A Fearless Bride for a Wounded Rancher

by Ember Pierce

  * * *

  “Uh, I have some weeding to do in the vegetable garden. I was wondering, if you don’t have anything else planned, if you’d want to help me.” He felt nervous, as if he was asking her to the county dance.

  * * *

  “Oh, sure. I’d be happy to help you, Scott. I’ll just put the dishes to soak when you’re done eating.”

  * * *

  When he was through she whisked the plate away and they went out the back door and walked over to the garden. Scott had put the garden in for his personal use.

  * * *

  He’d always kept it, even when he was the sheriff. But in the last year, he’d focused so much on growing feed crops, that he’d let the garden get away from him.

  * * *

  He noticed where Mae had done some weeding, but the plot was in need of some serious work. Scott hoped that by the end of the morning they could have it cleaned up.

  * * *

  There would also be vegetables and berries to be canned and preserved. He wondered if Mae knew about canning, then chuckled to himself. The woman knew how to mend a barbed wire fence, no doubt she knew how to can and preserve.

  * * *

  She was more intriguing to him the more he was around her. He wanted to spend time with her other than when they ate. Even if he’d already told her not to question him. Not to engage in small talk with him. Maybe he’d been too hard on her. It was difficult for him.

  * * *

  His emotions flipped back and forth between wanting to be closer to her and being afraid of just that. He knew it made him appear fickle, but he couldn’t help himself. If he got too close to her he risked his heart. If that happened it wouldn’t be something he’d be able to get out of easily.

  * * *

  Already down on her hands and knees, Mae was tearing weeds out and picking green beans to throw in the basket at her side. Once again, her work was efficient and quick.

  * * *

  Before Scott had gotten to the end of the garden where he’d put in a quarter acre of corn, Mae had emptied the beans into a bushel basket to take down into the cellar.

  * * *

  The cellar was something Scott had put in the year before he’d asked Annie to marry him. The house and the farm, all of it, was to be their home together. His plan had been to add onto the house as his family grew.

  * * *

  But the marriage had never taken place and he’d been living in the house alone for over a year. Once again his loneliness, which he had no idea had been so deep, rose up to confront him.

  * * *

  He moved over to be closer to where Mae was. He started digging out carrots and onions. The potatoes, over by the corn, needed to be thinned out as well. The garden was wild but it was lush and offered bounty. Mae was humming under her breath, barely audible to him. He moved a little closer to her as they worked in silence.

  * * *

  “I reckon this comes out of the blue, Mae, but you never told me why you left your father’s home. Did you want to come to Texas for adventure? Why did you want a new life so far away?”

  * * *

  She looked at him and shrugged. Her deep green eyes looked him over as if she was trying to decide if she was going to tell him or not. He watched as she swallowed, her eyes flicked to the right then back to him. She grinned.

  * * *

  “You sure you want to talk to me?” She said, eyeing him. “Isn’t that against the rules?”

  * * *

  Scott sighed.

  * * *

  “Things were different when I made the rules, Mae,” he said, lifting his eyes to meet hers. She seemed taken aback. Then she smiled as she joked.

  * * *

  “Do you think I’m an escaped criminal, Scott? Maybe you’re afraid I’ll rob you blind when you sleep?”

  * * *

  He couldn’t tell her that the only thing he was afraid of having stolen was his heart. It was wrong of him to have asked her such a personal question. He’d put her on the spot.

  * * *

  But she’d struck him as an honest person. He knew that whatever she told him would be the truth. Could he handle it? What if she was a convict. Could this whole endeavor be a sham?

  * * *

  “My father was going to force me to marry a man I didn’t love.” Her voice cut into his thoughts.

  * * *

  Scott found this interesting since she didn’t love him either. Yet she’d married him. He was also surprised by it. He didn’t know what to say to her in response.

  * * *

  She’d run away from a situation in which her feelings had clearly not been considered. His silence appeared to convince her to continue with her story.

  * * *

  “I taught school in Havenshire, Virginia. I was born and raised there. My father, as you might have deduced, is a farmer. I’m the oldest child and to help my family, I was trained by the local schoolteacher. I did that for five years. But then there was a man, a popular man, from in the city. A man who thought he was in love with me because he thinks I’m pretty. My father wanted me to marry the man because he’s a wealthy banker. I could save the whole family, he told me.

  * * *

  “I loved my job at the schoolhouse. From my very first day there, it was what I wanted. My entire pay, but for the ten percent my father allowed me to keep, went to the family, the house, the farm. That was fine with me. I was happy to help and considered myself lucky since I enjoyed my work so much. My father got greedy, though. I suppose I can’t blame him, though. We lost so much to the war. Don’t get me wrong. We were lucky compared to some, but the last five years, even though I loved the teaching I was doing, became really hard. There was not enough money for the things we needed. My sisters couldn’t work as domestics or even on the farms of others. Everyone around us...the farmers, the miners, that is, just about everyone, were hurting. When the banker came around, asking to court me, to marry me, my father told me that it was my duty to my family.”

  * * *

  Scott frowned and his disapproval of the whole situation made her smile.

  * * *

  “The banker was involved in the coal business as well. I didn’t agree with how his family had made their money. I told my father as much. I would not exist in a world where my ease came off the backs and sweat of mistreated miners who worked twelve-hour shifts, six days a week.

  * * *

  “When he couldn’t succeed in evoking guilt in me, my father turned to insults. He told me I was well on my way to becoming an old maid. I’m twenty-five. My father said I had to marry the man because the banker wanted me. And we really needed the money and support he could provide. I didn’t know what I was going to do. I thought about just running away, to Philadelphia or New York. I just knew I had to go farther than Richmond. It seemed to me that if I wasn’t around, the banker would, in time, find someone else. So, I wasn’t sure what I was going to do until I came upon your advertisement in the marriage periodical.” She looked down, and blushed. “I mean...Ephraim’s advertisement.”

  * * *

  Why did she blush? Scott wondered what Ephraim had written that had been appealing enough to her that she’d abandoned her other ideas about what to do. She’d come a long way.

  * * *

  He realized that the distance had probably been appealing to her. She could stay hidden from her father for the rest of her life if she chose to. No one needed to ever know where she’d gone.

  * * *

  “I didn’t want anything to do with the life that I was being forced to consider. A life I was being forced to accept. Needless to say I ran away as soon.”

  * * *

  “You escaped.”

  * * *

  She shrugged. “I reckon I did. It was the only action I could take. I had to run away.”

  * * *

  “Do they have any idea where you are? Any idea at all.”

  * * *

  “No. I told no o
ne of my actual plans. I played along.”

  * * *

  “Your family must be worried about you.”

  * * *

  Her green eyes widened. She laughed sardonically. “You think so, do you?”

  * * *

  Scott hadn’t been expecting bitterness from her. He’d thought her to be naturally light-hearted and happy. He was realizing that there were many layers to Mae. Many. She laughed more, then she looked contrite.

  * * *

  “I wrote and let them know I was alright soon after we married. I don’t know if my mother has told my father yet.”

  * * *

  “I’m not concerned that my father might be worried about me, Scott. He’s angry, if anything, because I went against his wishes. He was left with the task of explaining to Bill Masters that I would not be marrying him. And I never consented, mind you. I broke off no engagement. I left while I was still free to do so. I’ll write to my father when I think the time is right. But that’s enough about my life before Fable Springs. I don’t like to dwell in the past. It’s behind me. It’s over.”

  * * *

  Scott found himself wishing that he’d mastered the art of not dwelling in the past. He’d spent the last year trying not to. It was a difficult chore.

  * * *

  “I agree with you. Dwelling in the past doesn’t make the present any better. I catch myself doing it more often than suits me. It takes an almost constant watchfulness to move steadily toward a better life. It’s much better to look forward to a happy future than to be trapped in an unhappy past.” He smiled.

  * * *

  “It’s important, though, to not keep unhappy thoughts and memories inside. They should be expressed. It’s not healthy otherwise. At least that’s what I’ve always thought. If we hold our unhappy thoughts and feelings inside all the time, we have no choice but to visit them. They need to be sent on their way.”

  * * *

  Scott didn’t answer. He went over her words in his head. She seemed to have so much figured out about life. It wasn’t easy for him to do so. He did the best he could but he failed often.

  * * *

  “Are you ever going to tell me about how you came to get that scar?”

  * * *

  She was to the point. No one could accuse her of beating around the bush. He was amused by her attitude as much as he was taken aback. He wasn’t ready to talk about that. Not just yet. Especially since they’d just discussed delving into the past.

  * * *

  “Not today,” he said but gave her a smile. She seemed contented, even though he hadn’t wanted to tell her about the accident. Maybe it was because for the first time since they’d married, there was something more than a business arrangement between them. They’d connected. Scott could feel it.

  * * *

  “I think that’s it for the carrots and beans for now,” he said, changing the subject. “We can put them down in the cellar. I have bushels with sawdust I bought from the mill. Everything stays fresh and doesn’t dry out with the sawdust.”

  * * *

  He could tell that Mae was surprised at his manner, but he wasn’t going to tell her the story of his injury. For one thing he didn’t want to rehash the event. And also he wasn’t ready to talk to her. Not yet.

  * * *

  He was moved that Mae had confided in him, but at the same time, he worried that she’d only done so in order to find out what had happened to him. He wasn’t going to go back there in his mind or in his heart. He couldn’t and he wouldn’t.

  * * *

  Mae had gone back to pulling weeds. Scott watched her for a moment then knelt beside her, on her left side, his injured side away from her, and joined in the task. He knelt on her left without even consciously thinking about it. It had become so ingrained in him to hide his left side from anyone he might be talking to or spending time with.

  * * *

  “You know, Scott, I was hoping to visit the Fable Springs school today. I’d like to see if Doreen might need some help next month. The kids will have classes in July and August. September and October are off for the harvest. We did it similarly back in Virginia. But the point is, there are many more students signed up for the summer session. I’d like to help.”

  * * *

  He didn’t answer right away. It was not what he’d wanted to hear. The thought of Mae traveling in and out of town on a daily basis, when he believed Wayne Bixby was around, only served to cause him more worry. He didn’t want her alone at the schoolhouse, the thought of something happening to her filled him with dread.

  * * *

  He looked at her. She was happily prattling on about how much she loved to teach but he needn’t worry about the housework suffering. It would only be about three hours a day.

  * * *

  How could he say no to her? She’d helped him out so much already and barely two weeks had passed. The least he could do was allow her to ask about helping out at the school.

  * * *

  “So what do you think?”

  * * *

  Her voice brought him out of his thoughts. She stood, leaning on the hoe, smiling. She was the kind of woman who looked just as beautiful standing in a garden, hoeing, as when she was ready for church on Sunday. His breath caught, but he nodded.

  * * *

  “Are you sure you won’t mind? I promise you I wouldn’t be by myself. Well, only when driving in and out of town, but it’s only ten minutes from here to the school. It would take me much less than an hour to walk.”

  * * *

  “I’ll drive you in, and if Patricia needs your help regularly, I’ll make sure you get there.”

  * * *

  “Are you sure, Scott? What about the morning chores?”

  * * *

  “If need be I can take you in right after breakfast and come back at noon to get you for dinner. How does that sound? I’m not worried about things here. You’ve been taking care of the animals near the house each morning. If you can continue that, I can take care of the others, the hogs and horses, and take you into town everyday.”

  * * *

  “Oh yes, Scott. Of course, I’ll continue with the morning chores I’ve been doing. I’m usually awake at five. I can put dinner in the oven to stay warm while I’m in town. I’ll have plenty of time to do everything else I have to do. Even the laundry. I can have the laundry on the line by eight at the latest. The only thing I won’t be able to get to would be the breakfast dishes. I would need to leave them to soak and then wash them when I come home. Is that alright with you?”

  * * *

  “It’s fine. It sounds like a good plan. When do you plan on going into the school?”

  * * *

  “I thought I’d go when we’re finished here. That way I’ll be back in plenty of time to get dinner ready. Of course, I’ll need a few minutes to change and put my hair up.”

  * * *

  Scott laughed. “Alright. I reckon you’ve planned it down to the minute.”

  * * *

  They continued with their work in the garden for another hour or so. When they were finished for the day, Mae went into the house. Scott watched her walk back until she went inside. When she came back out, she had her bonnet pinned forward at a saucy tilt.

  * * *

  Her hair was up in a loose, braided chignon. Scott thought that no one would ever know that she’d spent the morning in the garden weeding. She looked like a stylish lady going into town to meet a friend for tea.

  * * *

  He’d brought the buggy around and helped her up into it. They rode into town with Scott looking this way and that. He didn't want to be surprised by any rustler who might be straggling behind the others.

  * * *

  It took less than thirty minutes to get to the school house and then back to the farm. Once again, Scott was thankful that his house was just on the edge of town.

  * * *

  It made shopping and running errands so much easie
r. If Mae was needed at the schoolhouse, it wouldn’t take much time out of his busy day to take her to and from town.

  * * *

  When he was back at the farm, Scott decided to go in search of some wildflowers. He thought it might be nice to have them on the table.