Beyond The Heart
Jeanie P. Johnson
OTHER BOOKS BY THIS AUTHOR
Native American books
Across The River
Apache Pride
Beyond The Heart
Broken Feather
Cherokee Courage
Gentle Savage
Gedi Puniku (Cat Eyes)
Kiowa White Moon
Kiowa Wind Walker
Little Flower
No Price Too High
Paiute Passion
Papago Promise
Plenty Proud
Sagebrush Serenade
Savage Land
Shadow Hawk
Shoshone Surrender
Son of Silver Fox (sequel to Gentle Savage)
White Hawk and the Star Maiden
Within The Heart (Sequel to Beyond the Heart)
Historical or Regency/Victorian Romance Books
A Bride for Windridge Hall
Defiant Heart
Highroad
Indentured
The Deception
Wild Irish Rose
Winslow’s Web
Contemporary Western Romance Books
Georgie Girl
Grasping at Straws
Mattie
Passion’s Pride
Single-handed Heart
Historical Western Romance Books
Elusive Innocents
20th Century Historical Romance Books
Italy Vacation
Moments of Misconception
Radcliff Hall
Reluctant Flapper
Samuel’s Mansion
Taxi Dancer
Action and Adventure Mystery Romance Books
Ghost Island
Holding On
Payback
Futuristic Action and Adventure Romance Books
Chosen
Pony Up
Project Rat Pack
Surviving
The Division
The Dominion
The Mechanism
Time travel/Reincarnation Romance Books
Egyptian Key
Letters From The Grave
Seekers
Seekers Two
Seekers Three
The Locked Room
The Vortex-book One
Non Fiction Books
A Collection of short stories (some true)
Chief Washakie (short history of Shoshoni Chief)
Dream Symbols Made Easy (how to analyze dreams)
Peaches (inspirational)
The Prune Pickers (my childhood)
Whimper (true story of racial conflicts)
Children’s Picture Book
Dandy The Horse
Monster In My Closet
The Hen Mrs. Cackle
This is a work of fiction. All characters are out of the author’s imagination and any resemblance to anyone living or dead is mere coincidence.
(Indian words spelled phonetically for easier pronunciation.)
Story by Jeanie P. Johnson
Copyright 2016
All rights reserved.
CHAPTER ONE
1867
“You owe it to your sister!”
Callie’s mother gave her daughter a demanding glare. She wasn’t asking her. She was telling her. Callie always believed her mother favored Rolletta, over herself, which made her raise her hackles even more. Why should she sacrifice herself and her future for Rolletta? It was not her fault, her older sister had died in childbirth.
“There is no one to take care of the children. It seems you have no prospective husbands, and you are way past your prime. Rolletta married when she was sixteen, and here you sit, going on twenty-one and are still single. You are a spinster, whether you want to accept it or not! You don’t expect your father to support you for the rest of your life, do you?”
When her mother said that, Callie almost gasped. She felt as though her mother was banishing her from her own home. To leave the familiar comfort of Pennsylvania, and trek across the states to Texas, where she didn’t want to be, was just asking too much. Not to mention, having to marry her sister’s husband.
She had never understood what Rolletta ever saw in Chet. Of course, Callie had only been twelve at the time. Chet had been twenty. That seemed like an age so much older than her that she had given it little thought, except for the fact, there was something about Chet she never liked. Her older sister was smitten at the time. There had been no use talking her out of marrying the man.
After all, she wanted to be a wife and mother and travel to some isolated cattle ranch, with a man she had barely met. Callie had no desire to do any of those things, which was all the more reason Callie determined to stand her ground.
“Chet is a fine man,” her mother continued. “He needs someone to care for Rolletta’s children. Since you have no prospects, you should jump at the chance to marry him. He will pay your passage and then take good care of you, once you become his wife.”
“I don’t want a ready-made family,” Callie defended. “I love my sister, but why should I be responsible for rushing in, in her stead? Why doesn’t Chet find someone out in Texas to marry? Why pick on me?”
“Your father and I suggested it. Chet barely remembers you, since you were so young at the time he married your sister. You need a husband, and Chet needs a wife. We felt this would solve both of your needs. He doesn’t have time to go out courting and looking for a new wife. He has found a wet nurse for the baby, but she has a family of her own. She’s a Mexican worker at another ranch, and it is difficult for her to leave her family, just to keep Rolletta’s child alive.”
“I cannot nurse a baby,” Callie exclaimed.
“You won’t need to. When you get there, the baby will be old enough to drink cow’s milk. You can use feeding bottles. It can’t be that difficult. I hear there have been improvements to infant feeding bottles, recently, and they are acclaimed to be just the thing, in a situation like this.”
“I do not wish to marry Chet,” Callie protested. “It is not right to thrust this responsibility on me! It is not fair to saddle me with a baby and four more children on top of that. If I ever marry, I want to start my own family, not raise someone else’s.”
“Life is not fair,” Callie’s mother retorted the trite sentiment. “It is not fair that Rolletta died in childbirth. It is not fair that Chet no longer has anyone to care for his children. You must take up the slack to make it a little more tolerable, Callie. Be a saint, and do this for your sister, if nothing else.”
Callie had not seen her sister since she was twelve, and because of their differences in age, were never that close when they were together. She had always resented Rolletta because her parents were always pointing out how wonderful Rolletta was, compared to her. Even after Rolletta left, her mother was constantly telling her how she needed to be more like Rolletta, which only made Callie rebel against being like her sainted sister, and endeavored to be the exact opposite of Rolletta.
She had no wish to be a wife and mother, especially a wife to Chet Callahan. She remembered him as tall and lanky, rather rough looking since he owned a cattle ranch and probably lived most of his life on horseback. Rolletta liked his unrefined looks. It was a change in appearance, compared to the city men she had been considering. He had come to attend his father’s funeral, and would not be there long in Carlisle, so Rolletta had to make up her mind rather hastily. Now Callie’s parents were forcing her to make up her mind just as quickly, she thought.
She remembered his piercing blue eyes, glancing briefly at her when he came to call on Rolletta and shared dinner with the family. She didn’t like the intensity of his stare. His attention to her had been nil, at the time, and
that was how she preferred it. His attention to her sister had seemed bold, in the way that he seemed so possessive of her, as though she was already his property, even before he married her.
“You have little say in the matter,” Callie’s mother stated firmly. “Chet has paid your passage. The train is leaving tomorrow morning. It will take you to the end of the line in Jefferson City Missouri. There, you will board a stage, which will take you on to Dodge City. Chet is going to meet you in Dodge, and then travel with you to his ranch on the outskirts of Texas.”
“You can’t make me do this!” Callie complained.
“Molly is packing your clothes as we speak,” her mother informed her. “Now don’t put up a fuss, Callie. It is the best solution all the way around, so you might as well accept the fact. You will learn to love Chet the same way your sister did, and raise her family up, the way she would have, had she not died. I am sure she is smiling down from heaven, knowing you will take over her family for her.”
Callie stood staring at her mother in disbelief. A few days ago, she was happily living her life, without a care in the world, and now her mother was suddenly placing this upon her shoulders.
“I refuse! I won’t say ‘I do’ if it comes to that!” She pushed out her chin in a stubborn stance.
“Then you will end up having to live in sin, because come morning, your father is going to escort you to the train, and place you aboard. You will only have enough money to cover your meals on the train, and meals you will have to buy, beyond the stage fair. You have no way to support yourself if you refuse to meet Chet as planned. Think of it, Callie. You will be in a wild lawless country, and it would not be safe for you to try to make it on your own.”
“You don’t even care what happens to me!” Callie bellowed. “I could die out there, and you wouldn’t care! You weren’t even concerned that Rolletta was marrying a total stranger, and had to live on some ranch in the middle of nowhere, as long as someone else was responsible for her welfare.”
Callie’s mother’s face stiffened. “I did care about Rolletta. That is why I allowed Chet to marry her. He is a Cattle-baron. He has a huge ranch and makes good money when he sells his cattle. I was thinking of Rolletta’s future, the same, as I am thinking about yours. You will someday be thanking me for this, Callie. Mark my word!”
“Sorry mother, I can’t thank you for it now, and I doubt I will thank you for it in the future either!” Callie shouted, stamping her foot. “There are all sorts of dangers out in Texas, beyond the rattlesnakes, wild cowpokes, and lawless territory, there are Indians to worry about. I hear they raid ranches out in Texas. For all you know, I could be scalped! ”
“If that was the case, Chet would have mentioned it. I don’t think the Indians bother the ranchers in the area he lives in.”
“There is always a first time,” Callie predicted. “Then when you discover I am killed by wild Indians, it will seemingly satisfy you!”
“You are talking rubbish, Callie. I don’t wish you dead. I wish you secure and able to enjoy being a wife and mother. I believe you need a positive nudge in that direction. This gives us the occasion to help you direct your life to be more productive. You can raise both, yours and Rolletta’s children, with more opportunities. They can help build up Chet’s cattle ranch and inherit it when they grow up. You should be glad that we are considering your future and your future children’s security.”
“I shall not have children because I refuse to allow Chet to marry me, let alone, touch me!” Callie threatened.
“We have already promised you to him. Consequently, he has a lawful right to take you as his wife, and once he becomes your husband, you will do as he instructs you.”
Mrs. Hamilton gave her daughter a level gaze.
“You are to submit to your husband, as any proper wife is expected to do, considering it is the law within the church. Marriage is an institution that is created for the sole purpose of bringing on future generations. For that reason, it is not only the wife’s duty to submit to her husband, but a husband’s duty to continue to approach his wife until a child is conceived. It is God’s will, Callie, and we are God-fearing people.”
“Then I will denounce the church!” Callie threatened.
“Heavens, child, do you wish to burn in hell? You must take those words back!” her mother demanded.
“I would rather burn in hell than marry and submit to Chet Callahan!” Callie shrieked. “Nothing you say or do will make me agree to it!”
“Go to your room, and help Molly finish packing your bags. I refuse to listen to any more of your insolent verbiage. Once your bags are packed, you are to remain in your room. As much as I hate to treat you like a prisoner, I am forced to lock you in your room until your father can place you on the train. Therefore, Molly will be up later to bring you a tray of food, and you will remain in your room until your father comes to fetch you in the morning.”
Mrs. Hamilton watched her daughter turn and storm up the stairs, and then she put her hand to her head. Callie had always been a handful, and difficult to raise. She needed a strong hand, which she was sure, Chet would provide. She knew that Chet could handle her because Rolletta had often written and spoken about how strict Chet was with the children and herself. Mrs. Hamilton approved of a firm hand, when it came to raising children, and keeping one’s family in line. Her own husband had been much too mild in that department, and that was the reason she decided to be the one to break the news to Callie.
Callie glared out of the window, and onto the street below. It had started to rain, and she was thinking the weather suited her mood. She had never gotten on well with her mother, and now she felt her mother was punishing her for all those years of rebelling against her mother’s wishes for her to find a husband.
She wasn’t altogether against being married. She just hadn’t met a man she thought would suit her. She certainly wasn’t going to become a simpering wife to any man. She wanted someone who gave her credit for being an intelligent human being. She didn’t want a man who thought of her as below himself, merely because she was a woman. She resented being expected to provide someone with children and then be relegated to a life of sitting around, sewing or painting watercolor pictures, to fill her days when not raising babies.
She had gained an interest in politics, was an avid reader of the news, and wanted to discover what was going on in the world around her. She enjoyed having her own opinions about the state of affairs, whether it had to do with the town, she lived in, or what the country was experiencing.
Anytime she voiced her views, though, people, especially men, often opposed her daring to share her opinion. It was the men who retired to the drawing room to smoke their cigars and discuss politics, while the women sat in the parlor and exchanged the latest gossip; an occupation Callie was not interested in.
The oil lamp on the street corner appeared distorted by the rain upon the window glass, which was already wavy and flawed. She found herself mesmerized by the way the flame of the lamp didn’t even look like a flame. It looked more like a white glow, now magnified by the water on the window. She was trying to accustom her eyes to make it turn back into the shape of the lamp, she knew it to be. Instead, the light from the lamp darkened into a face, wavering before her. A strange, frightening face, that hovered in the air and glared at her in a most disturbing manner. She believed it to be the face of Chet. Only she knew his eyes were blue, and the eyes glaring at her from the apparition before her, were dark, menacing eyes. They touched her in such a chilling way, she began to believe that maybe she was seeing the face of Satan. She closed her eyes to erase the view from her gaze.
When she opened her eyes again, the lamp was back, and everything seemed normal once more. Maybe what she saw was a warning for her not to go to Texas. Only if she mentioned it to her parents, they would merely laugh and accuse her of trying to find excuses to disobey their wishes.
Callie threw herself face-down onto her bed, and racked her brain, try
ing to think of some way to get out of her dilemma, but nothing presented itself.
Callie had received a single letter from her sister after she got married. It had been written a few months after she had arrived in Texas as a new bride. Callie had never answered her sister’s letter. After that, Rolletta only wrote to her mother. Callie now pulled the old, faded letter from the drawer of her bedside table. She hadn’t even remembered what the letter had been about because back then, she was young and uninterested in what married life was like.
Slowly, Callie opened the sheet of paper, and reread her sister’s letter for the first time in the nine years, since she received it.
“Dear little sister,” she read.
I have finally arrived and settled down at my new husband’s ranch. It is nothing like I expected, but he has big plans concerning his ranch, so I am sure things will improve. It does not compare with the size or beauty of our home, which you still live in. I am discovering, that being out in Texas, where refinement is not the first priority, I should have expected as much. However, Chet promises me that my life will eventually be just as rewarding as it was before I became his wife. His ranch is just getting its start, but there are better things to come, he tells me.
The price of cattle is going up since the long-horns are in demand. While cattle sales at a couple of dollars a head in Texas, now stockyards outside of Texas are offering thirty to forty dollars a head. The bad part is, because of the war going on between the states, the Union will not allow Texas steers across the border since Texas is for the south. Once the war is over, though, there is great promise. However, Chet will have to take our cattle to Kansas to get the best price for them. This means he will be gone some of the time, leaving me to tend to the ranch.
There is plenty to keep me busy, though, and as mother always said, idle hands are the devil’s tools. I fear my hands will not be idle since I am expected to help Chet as much as I can on the ranch. He merely has one work hand, and that helper only comes to work when it is time to brand the cattle or move them out to market, which for now, is in San Antonio. Then Chet hires drovers to join him and his helper, in order to herd all the cattle to market.
Beyond the Heart Page 1