They walked towards the tables to see the pie eating contest in full swing. Several men sat at the table with goo in a variety of colors on their faces as they shoveled food in their mouths childishly. At the very end of the table was the very prim, Ava Buchannan almost elbow deep in a peach pie.
Melissa gaped at the sight and tugged on Gideon’s arm, unable to look away from the messy sight. “Will you look at that? She’s… she’s….”
“She is winning!” Gideon crowed happily. “She is going to beat them all at this! Look at her go!”
“Gideon, you don’t understand. She’s always so…” Melissa was at a loss for words and could not drag her eyes from the sight of Ava shoving a blob of crust and pie filling into her mouth indelicately. In public!
“So competitive?”
“So proper!”
Mr. Ellington began to laugh uproariously, sending pie bits everywhere. Wiping his eyes, he smiled as suddenly Ava stood up chewing, throwing both her dirty hands in the air, signifying she had won. Ava jumped excitedly up and down… and then made an unseemly face.
“I wonder if she is going to be sick?” Melissa breathed, shocked at the abrupt change in the uptight woman. She looked green from this distance, green and peach.
Several of the men stood and began clapping at Ava’s victory, including Gideon. Melissa found herself applauding as well, but instead of enthusiastically? It was more of a delayed clap in complete shock at the scene. Mr. Ellington stood up looking supremely proud. He leaned forward over the table and exclaimed, “that’s my woman!” in front of everyone before he kissed her, smearing lemon on Ava’s perfect face that still had the peach colored goo on her chin.
Melissa had no idea things had gone so far between the two of them. She had known that Mr. Ellington was interested, but the fact that he kissed her in public was like laying claim before all others. Ava looked beyond overjoyed when she was given a clean pie tin for her trophy. It surprised her that as upright and formal as she was? That she would dare let herself slip publicly in such a messy contest or that she would allow Mr. Ellington to kiss her.
She found herself being guided away by Gideon, distracted by the sheer change in Ava. Perhaps change was good for everyone? She had certainly felt herself experiencing several different emotions lately in her own life.
“Wait here a moment,” Gideon suddenly told her and disappeared into the crowd. There was a firm tone to his voice that brooked no argument from her. He looked serious and for the first time, she saw a different side to his personality. He meant business.
Melissa took a seat under the trees on the quilt they’d brought and waited impatiently. Her mother was within eyesight, helping with the pies and aiding Ava clean the sweet pie residue from her face, hands and hair. She spotted Gideon returning, but with a frown on his face. His jacket was pushed back from his side and she saw the wooden handle of his sidearm in contrast to the black pants he wore. Was something wrong?
“Come, let me guide my lady around for a bit. The day is too nice to worry about things,” he announced smoothly as he walked over to the quilt. His hand extended politely, he helped her up. It was a good thing too because her corset allowed for little movement, much less getting up off of the ground by herself. She’d realized the mistake as soon as she sat down.
“Is everything alright?”
“I thought I saw something, but it must have been just my eyes,” he admitted with a smile, but it didn’t reach his eyes. He still looked wary and was trying to protect her. She didn’t push the subject, rather focused on the fact that they were in bright daylight with a crowd of people. It would be foolish to create trouble, especially with a ranger nearby.
Melissa and Gideon lingered near where the calves stood awaiting their brands later in the day. For now, they looked completely happy to be fed grass and hay by the people gathered. She waved a handful of hay delightedly towards a brown and white calf that stood nearby.
The calve’s bumpy tongue extended and licked her hand, causing her to squeak aloud. Looking over her shoulder, she saw Gideon was watching her, looking extremely happy and satisfied. “His tongue is strange! He keeps licking me!” she exclaimed, laughing.
Gideon wrapped his arms around her, resting his chin on her shoulder. “Seems like the calf has good taste in women.” He lay a possessive hand on her hip and Melissa found herself really liking his touch.
“Thank you for bringing me over here,” she said quietly. “I’ve never really petted a calf. I’ve seen them in town but never really been out towards a herd.”
“Well the adults are much larger than this little guy,” he told her.
“Really? Oh look! He likes me,” she laughed, looking at Gideon’s face near hers. “I think he really likes me. He’s licking my hand again.” His expression got extremely heated as he stared at her. “What?”
“I think I am jealous of that calf,” he grumbled quietly, and boldly kissed her in front of everyone. His kiss sent a jolt straight down to her boots by the sheer passion in it. She found herself wrapping her arms around his neck tightly as if to hold on for dear life.
“Melissa Miller!” someone gasped aloud nearby, causing Melissa to jerk backwards out of Gideon’s arms. He reached out to grab her to keep her from falling into the dirt as she lost her footing. Yanking her hand from his, she smoothed her gown and cleared her throat.
“My apologies, Mrs. Smith. I was… ah…”
“Overcome by my charm,” Gideon interrupted as he stepped in smoothly in front of Melissa’s bright red face.
“Well don’t let her become ‘overcome by your charm’ again like that. There are families about and you don’t want to create a ruckus.”
“No ma’am!” he agreed. “No ruckus here.”
“Melissa, we’ll see you tomorrow for services? Will we not?”
“Of course,” she said quietly, ducking her face. Probably for the sermon of a lifetime too! She thought. If it didn’t come from the Pastor, it would certainly be coming from her mother once word got to her.
Melissa darted past Gideon, mortified, and marched towards the water pump beside the barn. There was cow saliva all over her hand and her face still burned from embarrassment. She heard her name called but ignored it. Instead, she ran a bit faster and if her hand wasn’t so sticky feeling? She might have hiked up her skirts! Idly, she wondered if she had rubbed cow slobber into Gideon’s hair. The idea almost had her smiling when right now she really wanted to sink down into the grass and hide.
“Melissa? Are you angry at me, darling?”
“Don’t call me that”
“You are upset with me!”
Melissa let go of the pump she was furiously working and stuck her hands under the water to wash them off. “Gideon, you don’t understa-“ she began and looked up at him. Laughter rolled from her as she realized that she actually had rubbed the cow saliva in his hair. Great big tufts of blond hair were matted together, sticking straight out from his head in several spots.
“What?”
“Oh my gosh,” she cried, laughing hysterically. “Your hair!” she gasped, pointing. “There is … oh! Hahahahaha!” Tears were rolling down her face as she saw him reach up and touch the sticky tufts. “I’m so sorry,” she breathed, trying to calm down and catch her breath. “When I … uh… kissed you back? I might have had a lot of cow drool on my hand and I…”
“You felt like touching me when I kissed you,” he finished, smiling happily.
“You aren’t upset?” she asked, grinning at the idea of him racing after her. “I know it’s crowded out there and it’s quite in disarray.”
“No, I’m not mad,” he told her softly. “I think, perhaps it’s quite the opposite.”
“You’re happy I mussed your hair?”
“I’m enchanted, my darling,” he admitted, pulling her forward into his arms again.
“You are going to get me a heck of a lecture someday,” she breathed as he leaned towards her.
&nbs
p; “Maybe we should hear it together? Now, where were we?” he promised, capturing her lips. Melissa felt him nibbling her lip tenderly, just before he deepened the kiss. His arms were wrapped around her tightly. She found herself sinking her fingers into his tangled mess of hair and giggling again at the absurdity.
“Melissa,” he breathed harshly against her neck, giving her goosebumps at the intimacy of it. “I think perhaps I should dunk my head under the pump for two reasons. One, to cool off and two? To get rid of whatever is in my hair before I’m needed to play the fiddle in front of everyone, darling.”
“I think maybe that is a good idea,” she agreed, laying her cheek against his and shutting her eyes at the comfort it brought. “I like you holding me like this.”
“Same here, darling,” he replied tenderly. “I promise to do so every chance I get.”
10
The barn was the perfect setting in the far distance. Massive hooks hung from each side of the doors, setting a glow against the wood while the sun began to set in the distance. Hay bales were carefully lined to provide seating in a small circle where the quilts had been strewn under the mesquite trees. A few men, including Gideon, plucked fiddles as they prepared to start up the music. His wet hair was still in the process of drying from where they had sloshed the water over it repeatedly. Melissa had been quite pleased with how it had turned out, considering they had no comb. She had raked her nails through his hair, causing him to hum happily.
Pastor Smith took that moment to clear his throat loudly. “We are very pleased to have a chance to celebrate the arrival of our guests into town. As a reminder, we will be having services in the morning sharply at nine AM. I expect to see you all there.” Several whoops of approval and a round of applause faded away as the music started up.
Melissa sat on a hay bale and watched Gideon as he played. He certainly had exaggerated the fact that he couldn’t play. The twang of a plucky quadrille brought several couples to dance in the matted-down grass of the field and caused Melissa’s feet to tap in rhythm. She saw Mrs. Buchannan and Mr. Ellington pair up and smiled.
Mrs. Buchannan stepped forward towards her partner, then gave a bow and stepped back. Her right hand met his, their palms lying flat against each other’s. Spinning in a small circle, she stepped back. Her left hand met his; they spun again opposite and stepped back again.
This time both hands met up in the air, and Mr. Ellington leaned forward and then back. The look on his face when he looked at Mrs. Buchannan, had Melissa realizing that Gideon looked at her almost the same way. Her stomach somersaulted as hope blossomed with the thought that he might be coming to care for her and that she wasn’t just some woman to kiss here and there.
The lively dance looked to be fun, much more so than she ever remembered. This went on for some time before Gideon and two other men put down their fiddles. She saw him make a beeline for her and smiled sadly as people took their seats to listen to the hymns that began to hum in the evening breeze. She’d wanted to dance with Gideon and the night was fading fast. They would be returning home soon.
Sighing at the injustice of it, she nodded towards him and headed towards her mother. Another lively jig started and just before she caught up with her mother, Melissa saw her being led to the clearing by the man she had been talking with earlier. Instead of taking a seat and waiting, she decided she would step away from the crowd for a moment of peace.
“May I have this dance?” she heard Gideon’s deep voice over the music. Whirling around, she saw him smiling as he walked towards where she stood in the moonlight. “May I have this dance?”
“I’m not very good with a jig,” she admitted.
“I don’t want a jig,” Gideon said tenderly, taking her hand. “I think maybe I just want to hold you. If there is music, it’s even better.”
“I won’t muss your hair this time, I promise.”
“Darn,” he cursed with a grin, wrapping his arm around her waist. Melissa threw back her head and laughed at his expression. “You sure about that?”
“Positive.”
“Double darn! What if I say please?” he teased tenderly.
“We are supposed to behave,” she chided happily, sliding her arms around his neck. Gideon’s dark brown eyes were near black in the darkness and it looked like the moon had highlighted his hair with strands of silver.
“Behaving is no fun,” he whispered against her ear.
“I thought you liked to spin your partners around?” she asked, changing subject. “Am I not your dance partner?”
“Darling, you are my only partner.”
“You could have any woman dance with you and you well know it,” she snapped and instantly regretted it. She had not wanted anyone to know that she was insecure.
“Yes… no,” she angrily admitted and quickly tried to cover it. The smile that lit his face made her want to stomp on his boot. “What?”
“There is only you, Melissa.”
“Well how am I supposed to know that if you are always acting so flippant and nonchalant? You act like nothing bothers you and yet pretend to be courting me. Make up your mind, please!” she snapped, pulling backwards and crossing her arms.
“My mind’s been made up since I laid eyes on you,” he announced, grabbing Melissa by the upper arms and pulling her to his chest. His mouth plundered hers, making her senseless and weak at the knees. She wrapped her arms around his neck to keep from dropping, only to have him pick her up. Melissa had no idea where they were going, other than that the barn was disappearing in the distance.
“Darling, this is everything to me and I swear, I will never feel this way about anyone ever in my life,” he pledged. “You are the very air I breathe and when you are away from me, it’s like the sun has gone behind a cloud. I can’t think when I am alone with you,” he breathed, grabbing her hands from his neck. “I may put on a show of bravery or chivalry, but when you touch me? It’s gone. I’m undone.”
“I don’t understand,” she admitted softly, staring at her hands clenched in his.
“I want to lay down in this grass and love you. I want you as mine,” he admitted harshly. “You deserve so much more, so much better than that. Better than me.”
“Oh!” she exclaimed, wide-eyed as she heard his blunt words. Yanking her hands from his, she looked away at the raw emotions in his eyes. “I… I…” she stammered, confused. She wanted to hear words of love from him, to hear him say that he wanted her. But she wanted it in the form of a marriage proposal, not just the promise of a few intimate moments. She wanted his dedication and vow before God
“Go back to the others, love. You’re safe from me and always will be,” he said quietly. “I will be ready to go when you and your mother are.”
Melissa ran before she changed her mind.
11
As the Pastor came in to the church, all the parishioners stood to start the service. Melissa’s clear voice began to sing “Amazing Grace” while the rest of them joined in. She had never had to sing with her eyes closed before, yet she couldn’t bring herself to look out on the parishioners. Gideon’s deep voice was easy for her to pick out among them. It also pained her to see Mr. Ellington and Ava Buchannan holding hands in the front row. They only had eyes for each other and it made her realize that she wanted the same from Gideon.
Melissa finished her song and took her seat beside her mother, who sat proudly in the pew opposite of the pastor’s pulpit. It was a gift that Pastor Smith had to make each person feel as if he was reaching out to them directly. Today was no different. Except that today, he spoke yet again of forgiveness and duty.
“In this life we are taught to love our brothers, yet did we not just fight them for the idea of duty? Honor? Forgiveness is a harsh lesson to learn sometimes,” Pastor Smith took a deep, thoughtful breath.
“Over the last few weeks we have talked about forgiveness and duty. And I feel the need to talk about it yet again, because we are always learning. We don’t realize that
we are being taught, yet we are always the pupil. For instance, everyone has struggles in their life. Mrs. Buchannan is an example of this. She proudly accepted duty without a single word. I saw this forgiveness yesterday and I was proud of you all. Humbled.”
“Other times, forgiveness needs to come from the inside. It’s not seen but yet felt. Duty may feel like the need to suffer, but it isn’t,” he hesitated. “And that forgiveness, that duty? May come forth when you least expect it. Forgiveness can come as easy as a smile? Or painfully so … when the grieving is over and you allow the healing to begin. A word, a secret or a moment that is triggered brings forgiveness. Duty may put a burden on you, but it’s never more than you can cope with. Never more than He knows you can handle.”
Pastor Smith looked out over the crowd, and briefly met each parishioner’s eyes. “That is when forgiveness happens. When you allow Him to guide you to a new path through faith and trust. This path has been lain forth for two of our members recently.”
At this pause, Mr. Ellington surged to his feet proudly, pulling Mrs. Buchannan up from her seat in the front pew. “These two have both decided to undertake a new road together and would like to announce their intention to marry.”
“Ava is doing me a great honor. I am not sure what I did to deserve a woman as good as her,” Mr. Ellington said aloud, looking fondly towards Mrs. Buchannan.
“I think I am the lucky one,” she admitted softly, bringing a smile to his face as they stood at the front of the church. This admission brought tears to Melissa’s eyes. Here it was that Ava Buchannan was going to be marrying again with someone she cared for. She wanted to look at Gideon to see if he heard the tender words and their announcement… but dared not.
“I believe we’ll have to disagree on that,” Mr. Ellington countered and sat Mrs. Buchannan back down on the pew. The two lightly bickered affectionately back and forth before being interrupted.
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