“You’re awfully quiet, Lanz.”
Alanza snuggled closer to the man holding the reins of the buggy. “Just thinking about how happy and blessed I am to have my family—and you.” The two of them would be marrying in a bit over a week and that made her the happiest of all.
“You’re not going to get cold feet and run off on me, are you?”
“No,” she said with a laugh. “Even if I did, you’d just hunt me down.”
“Very true.”
She’d known Max Rudd most of her adult life. He’d been best friend to her late husband Abraham, but the circumstances surrounding her relationships with the two men were as different as night and day. Due to her being a foolish and spoiled child, Abe had been forced to marry her. He’d been a widower in those days, and his son, Logan, was six years old. In the years following the wedding, she and Abe grew to respect each other and she’d given birth to first Andrew and then Noah, but the marriage held no passion. After Abe’s untimely death, she’d taken over the running of the ranch and Max, being true to the memory of his friend, stepped in to help. She’d no idea he’d been in love with her until recently. Even though she held feelings for him as well, she’d been afraid of being in another loveless relationship and had done everything she could to discourage his suit. However, Max was as stubborn as she was headstrong and refused to let her walk away from the happiness he wanted them both to share, so she, like her sons, surrendered to love. And now, just as soon as Noah arrived, they would become man and wife.
“You still want to have the wedding as part of your birthday celebration?”
“Of course.” Her natal-day parties were legendary in both size and scope. In addition to her many Spanish relatives, most of the people in the surrounding valley would be attending. It wasn’t uncommon for her annual celebration to last three days or more, so adding the wedding to the festivities seemed to be a natural solution. She drew back slightly to gauge his handsome face with its graying moustache and temples. “Would you rather I not have my birthday party?”
“Would you cancel it if I said yes?”
She studied him. “The wedding is in less than ten days and all the invitations have gone out. If you’re getting cold feet, I need to know now, Max.”
“No cold feet. Just being selfish. Don’t want to share you. We’re not spring chickens, Lanz, so I want to spend each and every moment that I can with you.”
She cuddled close again. “That’s so sweet. After the wedding we’re going to be together so much you’ll be downright sick of my company.”
“Doubt that, but willing to test it out. Oh, and you might not want to have any wedding guests stay in your wing of the house though.” Her home had two large wings: one for her personal use and one her sons shared growing up.
“Why not?”
“Don’t want to have to shoot anyone for breaking down the door once you get to screaming on our wedding night.”
She rolled her eyes. For the past few months, he’d been teasing her unmercifully about the intimate details of the wedding night. “Why do you keep saying that?” she asked on a laugh.
“Because it’s the truth.”
“Well, I talked to Billie about this whole screaming nonsense, and I doubt I’ll get that carried away.”
He began chuckling. “If you say so. I’d make you bet me, but you’re going to be my wife. Not right for a man to take money from his wife.”
Always ready to meet a challenge, she replied confidently, “I’ll take that bet. What are you putting up, my handsome vaquero?”
“If you lose, you wear my choice of clothing.”
“Your choice of clothing?” she asked dubiously.
He nodded. “I asked Mariah to run me up some things.”
“For me?”
He nodded.
Alanza was so confused she wasn’t sure what to ask next.
“And you’ll not fuss at Mariah for not telling you, or ask her about my request. Think of it as a surprise wedding gift.”
“But—”
“Promise me, Lanz. I don’t ask much from you, but do this for me, and I promise the reward will be the sweetest thing this side of the Rockies.”
Even more confusion set in.
He stopped the buggy, leaned over and kissed her with such practiced ease she momentarily forgot what they’d been discussing. He brushed his lips against hers. “Promise me querida.”
Alanza was so lost she would’ve promised to turn herself into a prized steer as long as the kisses didn’t stop. And when they finally did, and he reluctantly drew away, her eyes were closed and her senses were spiraling. She somehow managed to whisper, “I promise.”
Still in the throes of his spell she missed his quiet smile as he got the buggy moving again and drove on.
The following morning, Alanza rode over to the small house belonging to Logan and his wife, Mariah. She had an appointment with her seamstress daughter-in-law to make the final adjustments on her wedding gown. Since leaving Max last evening, she’d been trying to think of a way to get around the promise she’d made to him in order to find out about the mysterious garment he’d commissioned. Fairly confident she’d hatched a reasonable solution, she walked around to the door that led to Mariah’s small shop, which was built on the back of the house. Outside playing were her grandchildren, the sixteen-month-old “twin” cousins, Mariah’s Little Maria and Billie’s son, Tonio. Both were in the wooden pen the mothers fondly referred to as the Baby Jail. At her approach both toddlers ran to the edge of the pen, their little faces filled with joy and their arms raised for her to pick them up. At one point in her life, Alanza had prayed every night for grandchildren. Presently it seemed silly, but back then she’d been utterly convinced none of her sons would ever marry, because Logan was married to his duties tied to running the ranch, and Drew—well, he had a remuda of women that spanned the state. Now, her smile matched theirs.
“How are my two angels this morning?” She picked them each up and placed big fat loud kisses on their chubby cheeks. Tonio immediately squirmed—his way of intimating his desire to be set down. “Oh, no. Your mamas have you in jail for a reason. You’re not getting your abuela in trouble this early in the morning.” And she set them both back in the pen. Tonio stomped and whined, but she was as immune as the other adults in his life to his little fits of pique. “Tonio, one day you’re going to wish you were still little enough to spend your entire day doing nothing.” She blew them kisses and went inside.
Both daughters-in-law were there having a cup of coffee, and like their children greeted Alanza with ready smiles. “Morning, ladies, I’m here for my fitting.”
“Give me just a few more moments of fortification,” Mariah said over a yawn. “Maria woke up in the middle of the night screaming. I think she had a bad dream, and of course, once she calmed down she didn’t want to go back to sleep. The sun was coming up before she finally drifted off.”
“You look tired, too, Billie.”
“I am. Having trouble getting a full night’s sleep. I think it may be the baby. Drew’s been getting up with Tonio so I can sleep in a bit and that’s helped immensely.”
Billie’s baby was due next winter. Alanza could hardly wait to greet her newest grandchild.
“Where are my sons?” she asked as she walked over to eye her beautiful gold gown on the headless dress form.
“Logan is working in town.”
“Drew’s at the bank.”
A few weeks ago, a deadly arson fire destroyed most of the buildings in town. In the midst of the ensuing chaos Billie and Tonio were abducted by a dangerous man from Billie’s past. Drew finally found them but only after Billie freed herself from the man’s clutches and Tonio was given to a couple in a false adoption. Everything turned out well in the end, and now, every man in the area was helping to rebuild the businesses that had succumbed to the fire. Max and Logan were heading up the construction crew and Drew, whose license to practice law had been laid low by b
igotry, was now the town banker, a role he seemed to enjoy.
Once Billie and Mariah finished their coffee, Alanza’s nearly completed gown was taken from its form and she donned it carefully to avoid all the pins. Mariah’s dressmaking business was thriving. She had a plethora of orders from shops as far away as San Francisco and Seattle but she’d dropped everything in order to bring to life the creation she’d designed for her mother-in-law.
“This is the most beautiful gown, Mariah,” Alanza gushed while viewing herself in the large stand-up mirror.
“Stand still, Mama, please,” Mariah instructed kindly around the pins in her mouth. “We don’t want this hem to look like your granddaughter had a hand in it.”
Properly chastened, Alanza complied and added, “Speaking of hands in things, Max said he asked you to make something for me.”
Mariah paused and looked up. “He did.”
“I promised him I’d not fuss at you for keeping it a secret, or ask what it might be, so how about you simply show it to me. That way I won’t break my promise.”
Billie chuckled.
Mariah took the pins from her mouth. “Nice try.”
“Please?”
Mariah replied with a smile and carried on with the hemming.
Alanza sighed dejectedly and pouted dramatically.
Billie’s eyes sparkled with humor. “Now I know where Tonio gets that. His abuela.
Alanza stuck her tongue out at Billie, who laughed.
Alanza tried again. “If I’m to wear it I think I should be allowed to see it beforehand.”
From her spot on the floor, Mariah replied, “Understandable, but you aren’t going to. Have you heard from Noah?”
“I received a wire a few days ago. He’s in Havana and should be on his way. Please let me see it.”
Billie cracked, “She’s persistent if nothing else.”
“That she is,” Mariah spoke. “So while I pin this hem, this would you answer her, please?”
“Sure,” Billie replied. “No, Mama.”
“I’m beginning to hate you both.”
Billie got to her feet and placed a kiss on Alanza’s smooth cheek. “We hate you as well. I’m going to free the inmates and take them for a walk. Have fun.”
For the rest of the time at the shop, Alanza continued her quest to extract answers from Mariah, who shook her head at her mother-in-law’s persistence but held on to Max’s secret and continued pinning away.
Hoping to hear something about his stolen ship, Noah cooled his heels in Havana for three more days, but each day, when he went to see the admiral in charge of the navy and ports, there was no news. Realizing the date for his mother’s wedding was fast approaching, he finally gave up. He and his men caught a ferry to Florida. After parting ways with them, he boarded a train for the coast. Due to the rising trend of segregated seating, it was not his preferred mode of travel, but booking passage on a westbound ship that would get him to the States in a timely manner hadn’t panned out, so a train had to do. Before boarding he sent Kingston a wire to let him know the Alanza had been stolen, and promised to wire him again once he reached home. He brooded over the disturbing turn of events for the entire cross-country journey. What would happen to his company now that they had no way of reaching the people and vendors who relied on them to transport their goods? Would he and King be able to find another ship, and if so at what cost? Would their contacts wait for Yates and Howard to get up and running again or would they move their business elsewhere? Presently, he had no answers and that was frustrating for a man who didn’t care for turmoil or chaos. Since leaving Captain Simmons, he’d plotted each and every turn in his life so he would be the person in control. The Alanza was his livelihood and without her everything he and King had built for the past ten years was now in jeopardy, all because of a short, masked woman with a rapier.
He arrived at Rancho Destino three days before his mother was due to walk down the aisle.
“Noah!” she exclaimed excitedly as he entered the house and set his valise by the door. She ran to him and he caught her up and held her tightly.
“Hello, Mama,” he said, smiling for what felt like the first time in weeks.
“So glad you’re here. How are you?”
Not wanting to cause her worry, he lied, “I’m well. How about you? Haven’t changed your mind about marrying Max, have you?”
“Of course not.” She slipped a motherly arm around his waist. “Come outside and sit with me. Your aunts, uncles, and cousins will be arriving tomorrow so this might be my only chance to enjoy you without being interrupted.”
“Where are my brothers?”
“In town but they’ll be joining us for dinner.”
He looked forward to seeing them. “Did Drew really get married?”
“Yes and he has a sixteen-month-old son.”
Apparently the confusion on his face was plain, because she laughed lightly. “You go sit. I’ll explain in a minute. Are you hungry?”
“Famished.”
“Then let me talk with Bonnie and I’ll come out and join you.”
She disappeared into the kitchen and he continued out onto the grand stone patio and took a seat at the large table. Sitting there in the silence he felt the tension of the past week slide away. He was home. Surveying the familiar orchards and the mounted ranch hands going about their duties brought back pleasant memories: the riding, the fishing, the games with his brothers, the fights they’d had over everything and nothing, the love of their mother who’d worked herself until her fingers bled to give them a home. The young boy he’d been back then always came alive for a time when he returned home but as always slipped back beneath the darkness that ruled him. He looked up to find his mother watching him silently, concern in her eyes. He’d never revealed any of the ugly details about his shanghai experiences to anyone in his family, but they all, especially Alanza, knew something dire had occurred, because he was not the same person he’d been before. “Yes, Mama?” he asked quietly.
She came forward carrying a tray with glasses of lemonade and a sandwich. “Nothing. I’m just glad to have my youngest near.”
“Your youngest is glad to be near,” he echoed rising to take the tray from her hands.
While he ate she sat silently and stared off into the distance, mining unspoken thoughts.
“So,” he asked, hoping to lighten her mood. “Tell me about Drew.” He knew she wanted to discuss the changes she saw and sensed in him, but as always she was content to let it be, and he loved her all the more for that, because to tell her would plunge her into the darkness as well.
After Noah left her to go up to his room, Alanza remained out on the patio alone and pondered her youngest son. Why he’d changed so much from who he’d once been was a question she’d been wrestling with for ten years now. She guessed it had to do with his being shanghaied, because the day he finally returned home there’d been a bleakness in his once bright eyes. Although he’d talked about the prison camp and some of the terrible things that transpired there, she sensed he’d held back on a lot of the more troubling details, and as far as she knew, he hadn’t shared the full truth with Drew or Logan either. Gone was the boy with the ready laugh and open heart; in fact he rarely smiled. Of all her sons, he’d been the most sensitive and the most loving but now seemed to move through his visits home like a ghost. Mothers knew when their children were in pain and he wore his like a shroud. She so wanted to help him deal with whatever was at the heart of it, but he was a grown man and she didn’t want to lose him completely by pressuring him to reveal whatever was wrong. Would she ever know the truth? She didn’t know but would continue to pray that he’d find healing and peace in whatever form God saw fit to send him, because this new version of her son was breaking her heart.
Later, upstairs in his bedroom, Noah glanced around at the familiar surroundings and again the carefree young boy he’d once been took pleasure in what he viewed: his beloved books, the desk where’d he don
e his lessons, his well-used easel still standing by the door that led out to his verandah, and in his adjoining sitting room, the Brahms Streicher piano his mother ordered for him all the way from Vienna. He walked over to it and visually lingered over its gleaming wood and ivory keys. It was an 1868 model and with its carved lacelike music stand and artfully shaped legs, it remained as beautiful as the day it arrived. He hadn’t played since his last visit home because it was impractical to have such an instrument on a ship. He tapped out a few random notes, observing that it was still in tune and knew instinctively that his mother had engaged someone to come out and see to the tuning in advance of his arrival. Although both his brothers loved books, neither of them were musically inclined or enjoyed putting brush to canvas. Those passions had been reserved for him alone, it seemed, and he derived great pleasure from both endeavors. The young Noah had dreams of being a music teacher or a concert pianist, like his musical idol Beethoven, but—he turned his mind away from those long lost aspirations. Instead, he sat on the bench, flexed his fingers and began to play, first Beethoven and then Brahms before sliding seamlessly into Bach. Soon he moved into hymns, sea shanties, and tunes from operas and bawdy houses. He lost himself so completely in the intricacies of the notes and melodies that when he glanced over at the clock it showed two hours had passed. Allowing himself a small smile, he played a few minutes longer, then got up to prepare himself for dinner.
When his brothers arrived, they greeted him warmly. He’d met Mariah before but not Drew’s wife, Billie, so introductions were made. He also met his niece and nephew and the sight of their chubby little faces touched his heart, and again a part of himself envied the couples’ happiness. After that, they took their seats at the table. As always, their mother reigned at the head while a contented Max sat at the other end.
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