“No, I certainly don’t want a cut lip, I wouldn’t be able to kiss you after we get married if I did.”
Her face went hot and butterflies cavorted around in her stomach. What would it be like to be kissed by him?
“I’m sorry for causing you so much trouble. You would probably be in Austin now if it wasn’t for me.”
“Maybe, maybe not. I might still be waiting for the next train.”
What a strange thing fate was. If her freight wagon hadn’t been shunted off the main line, she would never have met Kyle, the man she was going to marry. The man she was …. growing fond of.
The vegetables had cooked up so well they were quite squashy. She decided to keep them in the water, making the meal a cross between soup and stew. It would be criminal to waste all those vitamins in the liquid. A couple of wholesome meals without the worry of running out of food was what they both needed.
Kyle sat propped up against the wall, she sat cross-legged in front of him as they ate.
“This isn’t too bad,” he said.
“It’s a little bland, would have been worse if I hadn’t put those herbs in it.”
They both ate everything. Already she was starting to feel better. “You rest and I’ll replenish our larder,” she said. “If I fossick around a bit more, who knows what I might discover.”
“Okay, when you get back, I’m going to see if I can get us a turkey or a water bird for supper.”
***
They stayed three days at the old house. Kyle was moving around more freely now and the terrible weariness that had dragged her down was lifted. The overgrown garden had yielded enough vegetables for them and combined with the water birds Kyle had managed to shoot they ate well.
As they set off for the Mission, Jemma couldn’t remember when she had felt so happy. Somehow, she had fallen in love with Kyle and couldn’t wait to become his wife. They had exchanged a few kisses. Her hand went up to touch her lips. She could still taste his mouth on hers from their morning kiss. What he felt for her she had no idea. Only wished she did.
“We’ll ride double for a while,” she said.
“Yeah, I suppose. I don’t like the idea of Brandy carrying double or you having to walk. I just wish I felt stronger.”
“You’re much better than you were.”
“Yeah, thanks to your cooking and good care.”
He was able to mount unassisted and she scrambled up behind him wrapping her arms around his waist. “I’ll be sad to leave this place,” she said.
“Me too. My place is a bit like this, not so run down though. The elderly couple I told you about kept it going, around the house anyway. Over the last few years they couldn’t do much according to the sheriff at Longbow. Once they moved into town it was empty. Luckily the house was securely locked up.”
“It was sad them dying within a couple of days of each other, or maybe not. What if they had been married so long, they didn’t want to be parted. It’s sort of romantic.”
“Women and their fanciful ideas,” he scoffed.
On and on they plodded. Brandy had had a good rest also, but she didn’t want to tax the horse too much. After taking a mid-morning break they headed off again with her walking.
At midday, with the sun riding high in the sky, Jemma got her first glimpse of Father Joseph’s Mission. The pretty white-washed church had a small bell tower. A dozen or so adobe houses were scattered like children’s blocks around the area. A long, low structure caught her eye and she wondered what it was.
A couple of dogs ran around yapping at them while oblivious to the noise, several old people dozed in the shade of their porches.
“Father Joseph lives at the back of the church,” Kyle said.
“There doesn’t appear to be any young people around here. It looks sort of Spanish or Mexican to me.”
“Yeah, it probably was. Only Indians, Mexicans and a handful of other old people live here now,” Kyle explained. “Probably dumped off by relatives who can’t be bothered caring for them anymore.”
“That’s awful. Heartless.”
He shrugged. “Well, that’s how it is. Looks like they’ve got a good life here. It’s not for us to judge.”
“How do they keep the place running?” She ran a hand across her damp forehead, hoping they would be able to get indoors soon.
“There are a few who bring money in with them, then there are donations and they make and sell a few trinkets. There were always a couple of young priests in training here who helped out, part of their priestly training I guess, so maybe the church contributes to it.”
They dismounted outside the church and Kyle looped Brandy’s reins over a hitching post under a large tree. “We better go around to the back,” he said.
The place was quiet now the dogs had stopped barking, kind of peaceful she thought. Out the back, joined to the church by a covered porch sat a small house. A vegetable garden was well tended, and a few hundred yards away cattle grazed. Obviously, they were fairly self- sufficient here.
Jemma was feeling nervous now. What if Father Joseph refused to marry them?
Kyle squeezed her hand. “Don’t be nervous.”
“How do you know I am?”
“You’re trembling. We’ll get Father Joseph to marry us then we’ll be off. I might see if I can buy a horse for you, then if we don’t mess around, we should make it to the ranch before dark.”
He knocked on the backdoor, while Jemma waited with nerves eating away at her stomach.
An old man wearing a black cassock opened the door. “Father Joseph?”
“Yes, my son. Everyone calls me Father Joe. Do I know you?”
“Well, not really, I’m Kyle Lovitt. I passed through here a couple of times when I was a Texas Ranger.”
“Ah, yes.” The old priest gave a chuckle. “I don’t remember you personally.”
“The young lady with me is Jemma Holbrook. We’d like you to marry us.”
The priest’s pale blue eyes peeped out from under bushy white eyebrows. There was a serenity about this old man she thought. “We’d be obliged if you could, Father.”
“Come inside, you don’t look too well, my son.”
“I’m not.”
Stepping inside the neat sitting room, Jemma felt dirty and disheveled. A large brass crucifix hung on one wall, several religious pictures also.
Briefly Kyle explained what had happened to him.
“What a story that will be to tell your children.”
Jemma felt her cheeks burn. Did he think that they had had relations?”
“Nothing happened between us,” she blurted out.
Kyle’s lips tightened. “No, it didn’t. I offered to marry Jemma because I compromised her.”
She gasped in horror. It sounded awful when put like that.
“And, um, we developed feelings for each other,” he finished off hurriedly.
“Do you have a ring?”
“A ring?” Kyle’s voice rose slightly. “No.”
“Yes, we do. Your mother’s St Christopher medal.”
“What!”
“The bullet left a hole in the middle of it. It would probably fit my finger.”
“I guess it will have to do as a temporary measure.”
“I’ll send my housekeeper’s son over to Sylvanna Mendez, she makes jewelry for us to sell.”
“Okay, thanks. I’ve got money to pay.”
“There’s no charge, although a donation would be appreciated. Pedro.”
A boy of about ten limped into the room. Jemma noticed that the poor child had a clubfoot.
“Would you go over and see Mrs. Mendez? Tell her we need a wedding ring. Plain gold or something fancy?” Father Joe turned to Jemma.
“Plain gold please.”
“What size?” the priest asked.
The boy held up his little finger and it was about the same size as her ring finger. “The size of P
edro’s little finger will be fine.”
After the boy limped off, Father Joe said. “Would you like coffee while you’re waiting? As you can see, poor Pedro doesn’t move very quickly.”
“Yes, thank you.” Jemma smiled. “You must have read my mind.”
“Have a seat, I’ll go see Zofia. How does hot biscuits sound?”
“Wonderful, Father,” they both chorused.
There was a long church pew type seat constructed from a warm colored timber. Kyle stepped over to it and she followed.
“Father Joe seems nice.” She suddenly felt the need to break the silence between them. “If the only reason you’re marrying me is because you think you’ve compromised me. Don’t.”
“I did compromise you, but I’ve developed feelings for you, too.”
“Gratitude?”
“No, um yes, but more than that.”
“I think I’ve fallen in love with you Kyle but I don’t want you to feel obliged to marry me.”
“I’ve told you.” His eyes darkened. “I’ve grown fond of you Jemma, whether it is love or not, I wouldn’t have a clue. I don’t know much about love. I want to be with you, spend by life with you. If that’s love, then I’m in love with you. Okay?”
“Okay.”
“Things will be good between us. I don’t have a lot of money. I’ve got a ranch that with hard work will provide a good living for us. I’ll look after you and never abuse you. I swear it.” He placed his hand over his heart.
Chapter Twelve
Father Joe returned with an elderly Mexican lady at his heels. She carried a tray with three steaming cups of coffee and a plate of buttered biscuits. “There’s plenty more in the kitchen if you want them.” She smiled as she placed the tray on a small table.
“This will be fine, thank you,” Kyle said.
“Thank you.” Jemma smiled at the woman.
“Any friend of Father Joe’s is a friend of mine,” she said then, with a swish of her skirts left them.
“Help yourself to cream and sugar,” Father Joe invited.
“Thank you, this is a feast after what we’ve been living on,” Jemma said.
“Before I marry you, would you like me to check your wounds, my son?”
“Why? To see if I’m fit enough to marry?”
The priest chuckled. “No, I have had some medical training is all and I could make sure there’s no infection.”
“The wound seems clean. I was as careful as I could with them. Kyle was unconscious for a couple of days. If it hadn’t been for the St Christopher medal taking the full force of the bullet near his heart he would be dead.”
“It seems God was looking down on you.” The priest took a sip of his coffee. “St Christopher is the patron saint of travelers.”
“I didn’t know that.” Jemma took a mouthful of coffee. She had greedily added a lot of cream and two spoons of sugar and it tasted delicious. As for the biscuits, they almost melted in her mouth.
“The medal belonged to my mother,” Kyle said. “She was a devoutly religious woman.”
“You don’t take after her?” There was no condemnation in the old man’s voice.
“No, I’m afraid not. As much as possible, given my occupation, I do follow the teachings of the bible.”
“And you, Jemma?”
“I used to go to church with my Godmother occasionally, Southern Baptist. She wasn’t a religious woman just a hypocrite who thought it would add to her standing in the community to be seen there.”
“Don’t be bitter, my child. You have had tragedy in your life. I can see it in your eyes. You have a chance of happiness together. God has given both of you the chance of a new start.”
The boy arrived back. “I’ve got three different sized rings. Mrs. Mendez said to pick the one that suits you best.” He opened his hand.
The plain gold bands were almost identical. Jemma tried on the smallest one which fit perfectly. “I’ll have this one, thank you.”
***
Within the hour they had been married by Father Joe, had bought a few supplies and a horse for her. The animal was a little better than crow bait, but it did come with an old saddle and beggars couldn’t be choosers.
“Thank goodness that’s all over,” Kyle said. “Father Joe is a nice old man although some of the things he said made me squirm.”
“Me too. Are you sure you’re up to riding? We could have stayed at the Mission like they suggested.”
“I’m fine, I want to get home. Father Joe said my wounds are healing up well. You’re a good nurse, Jemma.”
She laughed. “I don’t know about that, at least you were a good patient.”
“Yeah, I was unconscious a lot of the time.”
She shuddered. “There were a couple of times when I thought you wouldn’t make it.”
“After we get settled in my place we’ll go into Longbow. It’s the nearest town. I want to see the sheriff there. He can be trusted, used to be a Texas Ranger, and you need some clothes.”
“I had to sell the dresses I had with me,” she said, trying to dampen down on her bitterness.
“I know, you told me.”
“I can’t believe I was so gullible. You know, I can barely remember what Rupert looked like now. It wasn’t love I felt for him. It was infatuation.”
“If you ask me, you had a lucky escape. A man like him thought of no-one except himself.”
Kyle loved her, well almost. Once he truly made her his wife, she hoped he would realize his true feeling for her was in fact love.
Had he had many women in his life, she suddenly wondered. He was a good looking man, quite handsome in a rugged kind of way and gentlemanly. As a Texas Ranger he would have had prestige too.
The countryside they passed was a mixture of flat open land and tree covered hills.
“My place is in a valley,” he suddenly said. “Plenty of water as there’s a creek running through it. Things will be a bit tight financially for a while. There are only a few head of cattle left. Many were rustled or wandered off over the years and have gone wild. Hopefully, I’ll be able to round some of them up.”
“We can build the place up together.”
“My wife will not be doing manual labor.”
“That’s good, I didn’t expect to be, but I can ride well.”
He suddenly grinned. “You’re bouncing up and down like a ball right now.”
“I’m a bit rusty, I haven’t been on a horse for six years, but I’ll soon be fine. This piece of crow bait isn’t helping.”
“Better than walking.”
“That’s for sure. You could have let me have Brandy and ridden this one yourself.”
They stopped to rest the horses and to eat a couple of buttered biscuits the housekeeper had kindly wrapped up for them to take on their journey.
She sensed Kyle’s growing impatience to get to his ranch now. She was impatient to see her new home as well. He had forewarned her that it needed a lot of work. The house would be her main concern. If she could fix that up so it was comfortable then she could help outside with chores.
***
Kyle’s ranch was indeed set in a valley, sandwiched between two tree covered hills. As far as she could see by the dying rays of the sun there was little cleared land, the trees and undergrowth had certainly reclaimed it. The boundary fence was lying on the ground. No wonder his cattle had escaped.
The ranch house was built of split logs, the roof made from wooden shingles. It certainly wasn’t tumbledown thank goodness. The out-buildings, barn, stable and corral looked to be in reasonable condition.
“What do you think?” Excitement edge his voice.
“It looks good. How many acres?”
“About four thousand, I could do with more especially once I get livestock on it.”
They pulled their mounts up in the front yard and dismounted. “I’ll see to the horses.” He was starting to lo
ok drawn.
“I can do it, you should rest.”
“I’m all right. We’ll have an early night and not because I’m tired.” He gave her a cheeky grin, which took years off his age.
“Isn’t a husband supposed to carry his bride across the threshold of her new home?”
“I don’t know. Is he?” He stepped up on the porch with her. “If you could get a fire going and some coffee on it would be good. Supper maybe? There’s plenty of cans of beans, not much else though. Oh, there’s some flour and stuff.”
Suddenly he scooped her up in his arms, opened the door and strode inside. “There, happy now?” He let her slide down his body until her feet hit the floor. He wrapped his arms around her, lowered his head and kissed her long and slow. They were both breathing heavily by the time he stepped back and strode off.
Jemma found herself standing in a sitting room and kitchen combined with a couple of armchairs. A large pine dresser, a small table and three chairs in the corner of the kitchen. There was a small cast iron cook stove.
She stepped over to check it and there was thankfully a small oven. Wooden cannisters lined the mantel over the fireplace. Old and shabby, the windows devoid of curtains, but it wouldn’t take much to make this place cozy.
A cast iron wood box was full of kindling and neatly cut logs. She got the fire started. Dust coated everything and cobwebs hung from the ceilings. The cowhide mats had seen better days. She wondered how long it was since Kyle had last been here.
A ladder at one side of the front door obviously led to a loft area. She climbed up to see what was there. It was empty but obviously a second bedroom. Strangely, the one window looked out into the backyard garden which was choked with weeds.
Clambering down the ladder she went to the main bedroom. It was quite large with a dressing table and closet that matched the dark wood bedhead. A faded patchwork quilt covered the double bed. A quick check confirmed her worst fears – no bed linen.
She had wanted her first night as Kyle’s wife to be special. Sitting on the bed, she found it to be comfortable. Standing, she made her way over to the closet and opened the door. It was practically empty. On the top shelf she spied neatly folded sheets and pillow coverings. Grabbing them down, she was pleased go see they were clean, if a little musty smelling.
Rejected Bride Page 7