“Very tired, I need you to go back to the room with your sisters and take care of things for her. I don’t want her to have to worry over the children, so I am counting on you to be the man of the family for a few days until Callie gets better.”
“Don’t worry,” Connor said proudly, “you can count on me.”
“I know I can,” Chayton smiled.
After Connor left, Chayton placed Callie under the covers. Her eyes were closed, and he was sure she had fallen asleep, so he left the room, in order to take his own bath. When he returned, Callie was still asleep, breathing evenly. He brushed his hand over her forehead. She still felt warm, but her damp hair would cool her head, he decided, as he joined her in the bed, laying down beside her, remembering the time he had spent in the cabin when she had tended to his wounds. Now it was his turn to protect her health, he told himself. He was tired as well, and he found himself drifting off to sleep, falling into dreams of making love to Callie in the straw of a stall. He wondered if he would ever be able to make love to Callie again.
CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE
Callie was dreaming that she was walking through a large meadow filled with flowers. The dream seemed so real; she could actually smell the flowers. She took in a deep breath, but it caused her chest to hurt, and then she started coughing, which woke her up. When she opened her eyes, she thought she could still see the flowers in the meadow of her dream. Then she noticed the flowers were all in vases, placed about the room.
“Where did the flowers come from?” she asked in a whisper because she found it was hard to speak.
Her eyes lit upon Chayton and then moved to Mr. Daniels and Connor, who were all standing at her bedside, looking down on her.
“You are a famous woman,” Mr. Daniels told her. “I told the newspaper man your story and all the hardship you had been through, with your husband dying, and the Indians taking you, and then having to drive your cattle with only the help of your children, and later the very Indians, who had taken you in the first place. When the people round this town read your story and heard you were laid up in bed, they all started sending you flowers. There are more in the children’s room because we ran out of room in here.”
Mr. Daniels gave her a broad smile.
“You’ve been sleeping for two days,” Chayton put in. “How are you feeling?”
“It’s hard to breathe,” Callie admitted.
“The Doctor said you had come down with phenomena, but it wasn’t as serious as he feared it might be. He is hoping that staying in bed, and getting more rest, will help, but he said you needed to keep taking deep breaths, to keep your lungs clear.”
“It makes me cough when I breathe deep,” Callie complained.
“Which will also help clear your lungs,” Mr. Daniels insisted. “Just do as the doctor instructs you to.”
“Do you notice anything different?” Connor asked.
“Besides the flowers?” Callie wanted to know.
“Yeah.” He pointed to Chayton.
Callie’s eyes widened. “You’re wearing regular clothes,” Callie whispered.
“All the Indians got new clothes,” Connor informed her. “They all want to please you, so you will get better. If you die, Mr. Prichard will get the ranch, and us kids. You don’t want that to happen, do you?” Connor said hopefully.
“Of course, not,” Callie responded.
“Then you had better do whatever the doctor tells you to do,” Connor insisted.
“How are the children?” Callie asked.
“Mr. Daniels took us all shopping, and the girls got dolls, and Mr. Daniels helped me pick out a gun. We all got new clothes too, and the girls are wearing dresses now.”
“Well, I am very proud of all of you,” Callie told him.
“The doctor said you needed to stay calm, though, so Mr. Daniels and I need to leave. I just had to make sure you were not going to die and leave us,” Connor murmured.
“I will never leave you, Connor. I promise,” Callie smiled.
“Mr. Daniels brought you some orange juice. He said he squeezed it himself. The Doctor said it would be good for you.”
“Thank you, Mr. Daniels,” Callie said, looking up at him. “I think I am going to start paying you more for all the help you have been to me.”
“You just work on getting better, and don’t worry about me,” Mr. Daniels said humbly.
“Chayton wouldn’t take any money, except for what it took to buy the clothes you said he should get,” Connor informed her.
“Why not?” Callie asked, turning her head to look at Chayton.
“I don’t need your money,” Chayton mumbled. “As long as I know you are safe and well; that is all I wish for. I am coming to your ranch to help you, not to be paid by you.”
Callie reached up and managed to grab Chayton’s hand.
“You are a good man, Chayton,” she said, and then her eyes closed again.
“We are making her tired,” Chayton stated, and Mr. Daniels and Connor headed towards the door.
“Take good care of her,” Connor insisted.
“You know I will. I love On-thoe-gyah very much.”
“We all do,” Mr. Daniels murmured.
Then he and Connor went out and closed the door behind them.
Callie had expected to be returning to her ranch as soon as the drive was over, but instead, she was forced to remain in the hotel room for the next week, trying to recover and get stronger.
“There is someone here to see you,” Chayton said, as he came into the room.
Callie was sitting up in bed reading a book Mr. Daniels had gotten for her.
“Do you feel up to having a visitor?” Chayton asked.
“Who is it?” Callie wanted to know.
“Mr. Prichard,” Chayton told her.
“What is he doing here?” she asked in surprise.
“Maybe he wants to discover whether you have died or not,” Chayton said a little sarcastically.
“Let him come in,” she frowned at Chayton.
Chayton opened the door, and Mr. Prichard stepped inside the room.
“I read about you in the newspaper,” he said, as he came to the side of the bed. “I have been worried about you. I should have sent someone with you to help you.”
“It’s a little late now,” Callie smiled. “I made it through just fine, and those Indians you worry about so much came to help me instead. I might as well tell you, as soon as I recover completely, they will be coming to work on my ranch permanently.”
Hank gave a sideways glance at Chayton but didn’t say anything.
“I am happy to discover you are recovering,” he said to Callie.
“Yes, and since I managed to do what you didn’t think I could do, and didn’t die during the process; you can tear up that agreement between us,” she told him.
Hank took the paper from the breast pocket of his coat and handed it to her.
“Tear it up, to your heart’s content,” he smiled. “I have gained a lot of respect for you, you know. If you need my help in the future…”
“Even if I have Comanche Indians working for me?” Callie asked.
“I suppose we have to get rid of the fear of Indians at some point since the government has rounded up most of the dangerous ones,” Hank shrugged.
“Then I will welcome you as a friend,” Callie told him, as she began tearing the paper in her hand into pieces.
“I will be looking forward to when you can return to your ranch. In the meantime, Calvin will take good care of your ranch, while you are away.”
“That is very kind of you,” Callie smiled.
“You are a famous woman now, so I wouldn’t want it to get around that I never did any favors for you,” he smiled back.
Hank, tipped his hat, and then turned, shaking Chayton’s hand.
“I never thought I would be thanking an Indian for anything, but I am happy you were able to help Callie get her cattle through. I should have helped her mys
elf when I had the chance.”
“Callie saved my life. I owe her more than my life now.”
“She is a very strong woman. Everyone is impressed with her.”
“I have always been impressed with her,” Chayton insisted.
Hank went to the door, looking over his shoulder at the two. He could tell, by the way, that Chayton was looking at Callie and the way she was returning his gaze that they were in love with each other. He just worried what would happen if she actually ended up marrying the savage? He decided he would have to defend her against any disapproval from the other ranchers in the area. After what she had gone through to save her ranch, she deserved all the help she could get, he told himself.
“I think I should be well enough to travel in a few more days,” Callie murmured. “I miss my ranch, and need to get back.”
“I will only let you return if you promise to ride in the wagon all the way back,” Chayton insisted.
“I don’t think I have thanked you enough for what you have done for me and the children,” Callie said softly.
“The only thanks, I need, is to know you are well and healthy,” Chayton told her.
“You said you didn’t want my money, and that you simply wanted to come to my ranch to help me,” Callie said softly.
“Why else did you think I wanted to come?” Chayton asked.
“I know why I asked you to come,” Callie responded.
“Because you needed my help?”
“No. Because I don’t think I could be happy on my ranch if you were not there with me. Only I thought you had gone back to your tribe, and I would never see you again.”
“You knew I would come to get my son,” he told her softly.
“I feared that too. I have grown to love Joey and didn’t think I could give him up if you came for him. I didn’t want to give you up either. I never want to give you up,” she whispered.
“You don’t have to now,” he smiled, as he bent to kiss her lips.
“But that is not enough,” Callie murmured. “I never wanted to marry Chet, only by doing so, I have ended up with his ranch. Cooper wanted me to marry him because I think, he wanted the ranch, and Hank also wanted me and the ranch. I didn’t want to give my ranch up to a husband to run and rule over me again, the way Chet did. Only I just realized that is not what you had in mind. I mean ruling over me and having my ranch.
“You helped me bring my child into this world. Before I even came out to Texas, I saw your face in a vision. I kept dreaming about your face, but it frightened me. It wasn’t until I met you, that I realized I had no reason to fear you. I still have no reason to fear you. I am just wondering if you would be willing to be more than merely my hired hand.”
“What did you have in mind?” Chayton asked hesitantly.
“It’s really not a woman’s place to ask,” Callie said, shyly.
“Then I shall ask you,” Chayton said, as he sat down on the edge of the bed and took Callie into his arms. “I too never want to give you up. I would stay by your side in any position you wished me to remain. Only I would much rather spend the rest of my life with you as your husband if you allowed it. I don’t want your ranch or your money. I only want you, On-thoe-gyah.”
“All I have, I owe to you. I know it is a terrible thing to say, but because of you and your braves, my husband ended up getting killed. You helped me bring his child into the world, only I never thought of it as his child, because I detested him so much. You saved me from the drudgery of a life I hated and then saved my ranch by helping me with my cattle drive. I too, owe you more than my life. Therefore, I am willing to give my life to you, as your wife, not only because I owe you so much, but because I love you so much.”
“That is all I wanted to hear,” Chayton breathed, as his mouth covered hers. “I promise never to leave your side.”
Callie put her arms around Chayton’s neck, as his kiss deepened, knowing she had finally made the right choice. Up until now, all her choices had been made for her, and she had just gone along with it because there was nothing, she could do about it. She tried to ignore her heart, for fear of being rejected by the other ranchers, and society in general. And yet, in spite of all her fears, of Chet, the Indians, and the Ranchers opinion of her, she found herself going beyond the heart, caring for her sister’s children and then a savage Indian’s baby, in spite of everything she had to suffer in order to do it. She had been determined to make sure that Connor would have a ranch to inherit, once he grew up, and that Roletta’s children, along with Joey, would know the care of a mother. Now she realized; it had all been worth it.
She had wondered in the very beginning if seeing Chayton’s face in the lamplight had been an omen of her demise, but instead, she discovered it had been an omen of her future happiness, and everything else was just a way of getting there.
THE END
Beyond the Heart Page 26