by Mills, DiAnn
Tears graced her eyes, and he seized the moment to offer a feathery kiss to her lips. “I am most honored.”
The seal of their commitment, Gabe’s first kiss, tasted warm and sweet with a hint of mint. Quite agreeable. In fact, he could easily grow accustomed to this endearment.
“Congratulations,” Reverend Mercer said in a booming voice. Over the few years he’d served as clergy, the reverend must have repeated a thousand “amens,” but none as meaningful as the one Gabe interpreted as a blessing upon this ceremony.
“Thank you,” Lena said quietly to the reverend.
Nettie, a pleasant-looking young woman, reached out to hug Lena. “I’ll be praying for you every day,” she said.
The two women’s eyes flooded with tears. “Don’t make me cry. This is a happy occasion,” Lena said, dabbing at her eyes.
“Yes, it is, and you deserve all the good things God can give,” Nettie replied, offering a smile.
Gabe offered Nettie his hand in a gesture of friendship. “Thank you for witnessing the ceremony. I’m grateful.”
“I’m sure you will be very happy,” the reverend continued with a nod. For a young man, his hair had rapidly escaped its original seating. He grasped Gabe’s hand. “I have a good feeling you will make a splendid husband and a fine father.”
“I don’t know about that, Reverend Mercer,” Simon said with a deep sigh. “Mr. Gabe needs to learn some farmin’ and how to ride a horse first.”
Gabe glanced into the little boy’s face, seriousness etched on his features. How should he respond when the boy spoke the truth?
Lena whirled around to face her youngest son. “Simon, you apologize this instant.” She met Gabe’s gaze. Her face had transformed from ashen to crimson in a matter of a few moments. “I am so sorry. I’ll properly discipline him when we get home.”
“No need,” Gabe said as gently as possible. This was his family, and he needed to take control but not exhibit harsh or domineering ways. “I have a better idea, if you don’t mind.”
When Lena said nothing, he lowered to one knee and eyed Simon. “No one knows more than this man before you all the items I need to learn and experience, but you could have voiced your concerns in a more mannerly fashion. So, while you are feeding the animals this afternoon by yourself, Caleb will be teaching me the fine art of bridling, saddling, and riding a horse. When you’re finished, you can offer any helpful advice.”
Simon’s eyes widened, and Caleb muffled a snicker. “Yes. . .Sir.”
“Good.” Gabe stood and caught a glint of admiration in Lena’s eyes. “Is this suitable?” he asked her.
“Most definitely.” Lena smiled, and his heart turned a flip.
Oh, Lord, help me to be worthy of this woman. If only she weren’t so comely. Ignoring the misgivings pouring through his mind, Gabe offered her his arm. “Mrs. Hunters, may I escort you to our carriage? I will then take care of the monetary arrangements with the good reverend and drive you home, with your careful instructions of course.” He shot a glance at Caleb and Simon, who thankfully chose to say nothing.
She linked her arm with his. Her touch exhilarated his spirit. I’m a married man, and I have two sons!
❧
Lena listened to the sounds of her son’s laughter coming from the barn while she lowered the bucket into the well. She caught sight of the ruby ring, thinking once more how beautiful its brilliance and how out of place the ring looked on her weather-beaten hand. Gabe’s mother must have been a highly educated and sophisticated woman.
“Mama,” Caleb called from the barn.
She turned to see Gabe riding the mare toward her with no assistance. He sat erect in the saddle, and his hands held the reins firmly. Without his hat, the late afternoon sun over his shoulder picked up the pale blond of his hair, reminding her of ripe corn. Gabe Hunters, I believe with a little physical work and the sun to darken your skin, you just might strike a fine pose.
Immediately she detested her impetuous thoughts. The Bible clearly stated the measure of a man dwelled in his heart, not in his looks.
“How quickly you learn,” she said, drawing up the water and setting the bucket aside.
“I believe my ability to progress is due to Caleb’s excellent instructions,” Gabe replied. He’d pulled the mare to a halt and talked to her while leaning from the saddle.
Crossing her arms, she laughed. “Mr. Hunters, you do catch on fast. Why you look like you were born in a saddle.”
Gabe joined in her laughter. “We’ll discuss my riding ability after I learn how to trot and gallop. Perhaps in time we could ride together.”
“It’s been a long while since I’ve enjoyed riding,” she said wistfully. An image of her and James riding across the plains so many years ago flew across her mind.
He dismounted, a bit clumsily, but successfully. “You work too hard,” he said, grasping the reins in one hand and picking up the bucket in the other.
“That’s life on a farm,” she said simply. His nearness served to remind her of the vows they’d shared earlier in the day. For a moment she’d forgotten, not really wanting to think about it all. Then she remembered the night and her wifely duties. . . . The unknown had always been frightening, and although farm life seemed insurmountable before, now she had a husband who knew less about toiling the land than her sons.
“I want to do all I can to make your land profitable.”
His words sounded as though he’d read her thoughts. “Thank you.” She glanced again at her left hand. “My ring is far above anything I’ve ever owned,” she murmured. “Is it a family heirloom?”
“My great-grandmother’s passed to my mother.” He smiled. “I’m glad you’re pleased.”
“I’ve never owned anything so fine.”
“It reminds me of you and the thirty-first chapter of Proverbs. ‘Who can find a virtuous woman? For her price is far above rubies.’ ”
Lena felt the tears spill swiftly over her cheeks. The precious gems flowing from Gabe’s mouth came so natural. His words touched her heart with a special warmth and beauty of their own. Must be from his books, and I can barely keep up with the boys’ schoolwork.
“Have I upset you?” he asked, his strawlike eyebrows knit together.
“No.” She shook her head. How could she tell him, this stranger—her husband—all the fears, doubts, and questions racing through her mind about him and this ruse of a marriage?
She’d entered into this with only thoughts of herself. She’d wanted a farmhand and a model for her sons. Not once had she considered this person might have feelings and emotions. The very thought he might be sensitive with the potential of caring very deeply for a new family never had really occurred to her.
I am so selfish. Gabe doesn’t deserve a woman like me. Rubies? Lena thought the verse about throwing pearls to swine best befit her.
“Lena,” he whispered.
She knew her eyes held her turmoil when she should be happy this first afternoon of their marriage. Unbidden droplets of liquid pain coursed down her cheeks.
“I think it best if I continue to sleep in the barn.”
“Why?” Had she hurt him so badly he could not bear being with her?
Gabe moistened his lips. She’d learned in the three short days they’d been together that he often did this before he spoke of important matters. “We do not know each other, and of utmost importance is for us to be friends.” He cleared his throat. “Affection should be present before we live as man and wife, don’t you think? And how else can we develop a fondness for each other unless we first appreciate our strengths and talents?”
Oh, Lord, is Gabe a saint or simply terribly wounded by my initial reaction to him?
❧
She detests me. My inadequacies have destroyed any hope of respect. Gabe wanted to place a hand on her shoulder, but he dared not see her recoil. Lena’s tears moved him so deeply he feared if he didn’t turn away, he too might weep.
All of his doubts
about her beauty and possible unfaithfulness surfaced and drowned in his inward grief. He had spoiled what could have been great joy. In all of his grandiose ideas of learning to live on a farm and all it entailed, why had he foolhardily thought he could experience the knowledge by reading books? Now, the theory burst in his face. As his mother always said, “Gabriel, you are an utter disappointment. I can’t love anyone who is such a fool. Live your life in your books; see where it gets you. Nowhere, I tell you. Nowhere.”
“I want what you want,” Lena said, between sobs. “If this is how you believe our lives should begin, then so be it.” She lifted her tear-glazed face. “Perhaps we should have corresponded more before your trip here.”
Gabe felt his heart plummet. If they had written numerous letters, she would have detected his deception. “I’m sorry for allowing you to believe I knew about farming and living by the sweat of my brow. But I will learn—”
“I know you will,” she interrupted, taking the bucket of water from his hand. She paused, staring at the water as though it offered the answers to the dilemma plaguing them. “Do you want to leave?”
Gabe refused to answer, carefully forming his words. He took in a panoramic view of the farm—the work it needed, the work he didn’t know how to do. He should give her and the boys an escape from the community’s ridicule. They need not be the victims of his idiocy. Defeat wrapped a black hand around his heart and strangled the utterances he believed proper and fitting for the situation.
“No, Lena, I don’t want to leave. I came here to start a new life, and I want to stay.”
seven
Lena marched down the front of Archerville’s Gospel Church, where only four days earlier she and Gabe had spoken their vows. Nervousness had attacked her then, but not as much as the sense of every eye in the building studying her and Gabe now. What a sight they must present—Lena shivering like a new bride, her husband carrying his traveling hat with his wild hair and filled-up suit, and her barefoot sons pretending they weren’t embarrassed by it all. To make matters worse, Riley O’Connor sat on the aisle seat midway down.
Oh, Lord, I’m so sorry, but I feel like the whole church is laughing at me. She glanced at her new husband and offered him a shaky smile. Gabe might not give the appearance of a Nebraska farmer, but he certainly had treated her and the boys well. Unless something changed, he was a giving man and anxious to learn about farming. But those resolves didn’t help her face the forty people attending this Sunday morning service.
“Good morning,” Amanda Shafer whispered. Unlike her father, Dagget, Amanda was a sweet, pretty sixteen-year-old who loved the Lord and took the best possible care—under the circumstances—of her brothers and sisters.
“Mornin’.” Lena hooked her arm into Gabe’s. “Amanda, this is my husband, Gabriel Hunters. Gabe, this is Amanda Shafer.”
“A pleasure to make your acquaintance, Miss Shafer,” Gabe said, his every word pronounced perfectly. . .and sound-ing foreign. “Or is it missus?”
“Miss,” Amanda replied. “And these are my brothers and sisters.”
After Amanda politely introduced her siblings, she added, “We’re neighbors and see Caleb and Simon ’most every day.”
“Amanda is a big help to her pa in raising these children,” Lena hastily added, eyeing an empty pew two rows up from where they stood.
“Your father must be very proud of you. Is he here that I might introduce myself?”
Amanda’s face flushed pink. “No, Pa is at home today.”
He needs to be here with his family.
Reverend Mercer greeted Lena and Gabe as he made his way down to the front of the sod-bricked church. Thankful for the interruption, Lena urged her family to the empty bench near the front. At least there she wouldn’t have to endure the stares from the rest of the congregation.
Lena attempted to concentrate on the sermon, but the topic caused her to cringe from the moment Reverend Mercer read from the Bible about God looking at a man’s heart rather than his physical appearance. All right, Lord. You shamed me, and I know You’re right. Sitting up straighter, she patted Gabe’s arm and focused her gaze on Reverend Mercer, although her ears didn’t take in another word.
At the close, Reverend Mercer stood before his small congregation and teetered back and forth on his heels. “I have an announcement to make. This past week I had the pleasure of marrying Lena Walker and Gabriel Hunters. Let’s all take a moment to congratulate this fine couple. Mr. Hunters is from Philadelphia and welcomes the task of farming in our fine country.” He motioned for Gabe and Lena to stand and face the people. Slapping on a smile, she nodded at the well-wishers and ignored the snickers. Caleb and Simon stared straight ahead at the door, and she wished she could do the same.
“Mr. and Mrs. Hunters, would you and the boys kindly join me in the back so each one of these fine people can greet you?”
Oh, no. Dagget may not be here, but Riley O’Connor is. Knowing that man’s quick tongue, he’s liable to say anything after I refused his improper advances. Sure glad I walloped him when I could. Instantly, Lena felt sorry for Gabe. He’d be caught like a snared rabbit, unsuspecting in the least of Riley’s insults.
❧
Gabe greeted each face with a smile. He appreciated the sincere welcomes from most of the people and their desire to be friends. But he also saw the wary expressions and mocking stares from a few. How well he knew the judgmental type, whether they lived in Archerville, Nebraska, or Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. If you didn’t wear the clothes they wore, converse in their familiar words, or come from an acceptable family, then you were cast at the bottom of their list. He’d seen it too long and well recognized the characteristics.
Fortunately, he had an opportunity to prove himself cap-able and responsible to those who mattered—Lena and her sons. God valued him and had given him the distinction of being a part of this community. By His hand, he’d succeed.
“Good to have you here,” a wrinkled elderly lady said after stating her name. She patted his hand and gave a toothless smile. Slivers of gray peeked beneath her bonnet. “Lena is a fine woman, strong and determined.”
“Thank you, Ma’am. We’ll be happy, I’m sure.”
“Pure pleasure to meet you. Glad you’re here,” a balding man said. Dressed in a little better attire than most folks there, he introduced himself as Judge Hoover. “I’d like for you to meet my wife, Bertha.” A round woman smiled prettily, but before Gabe could respond, the judge continued. “This is a growing town, and I praise God for each newcomer.” He swung his arm around Reverend Mercer’s shoulders and ushered him outside into the fall sunlight with his quiet wife behind him.
Then Gabe met the eyes of a tall, slender fellow who eyed him contemptuously. “Hunters, eh?” He kept both hands on a tattered hat in front of him. “Sure don’t look like a farmer to me. Ya won’t last here.”
Remember, Sir, we are in God’s house. Gabe had dealt with this type of person longer than he cared to remember. “Looks are often deceiving, as the reverend so eloquently established this morning,” Gabe said. “The good Lord willing, I will succeed at my endeavors.”
If the ill-mannered man could have spit in church, Gabe surmised he’d have done so. Furrowing his brow, the fellow turned his attention to Lena. Immediately, he became charming in every sense of the word.
“Lena.” His words dripped with honey. “You look right pretty this morning.” He smiled broadly, revealing a row of perfectly white teeth—not a common sight, and certainly an edge to any man wishing to impress a woman.
Gabe ran his tongue over his own teeth—fairly straight and not discolored from tobacco. Have you forgotten she is my wife?
Lena lifted her chin and glanced at the door. “Riley O’Connor, your horse is waiting for you.”
“How soon before you get bored with this city feller?” he asked just loud enough for Gabe to hear. Leaning a little closer to the new Mrs. Hunters than Gabe deemed proper, Riley turned to Gabe and snee
red. “She never minded my kisses. In fact she asked for more.”
Lena lifted her hand as if she might strike him.
“It’s all right, Lena,” Gabe soothed, not once taking his gaze from Riley. He feared she was ready to unleash her temper, not that he wouldn’t enjoy seeing this rude fellow with freshly slapped cheeks, but God didn’t ordain this type of behavior and fighting as a means of settling disputes.
“Mr. O’Connor, I am currently overlooking your deficiency of manners, but when issues pertain to my wife, I thank you kindly to refrain from indecorous speech.”
Riley issued him a snarl.
“In other words, Mr. O’Connor, Lena Hunters is a married woman and does not desire to hear your crude remarks.” Gabe turned to Lena. “Is that a correct assumption, Dear?”
“Yes, it is,” she replied and dismissed Riley in one seething glare. A young woman carrying a baby stood behind Riley. “Martha, your little girl is growing like a weed, and look at those sky-blue eyes. Can I hold her?”
Riley stumbled down the steps in a huff and headed straight to a horse tethered beyond the wagons.
Once the receiving line for Archerville’s Gospel Church had diminished, Gabe expelled a long breath. He leaned down to Caleb and whispered, “How did I do?”
Caleb pressed his lips together in an obvious gesture to suppress his mirth. “You did right well. Judge Hoover shook your hand, which means he likes you, and he can be rather bad-tempered. And. . .you put Riley in his place.”
“Thanks,” Gabe replied. “I do believe I’m ready for the peace and quiet of our farm.”
He glanced at Lena, whose face resembled a color somewhere between gray and flour white. Did she and Mr. Riley O’Connor court before I came? Was his arrogance a result of being a jealous suitor? Rolling the conversation with Riley around in his jumbled mind, Gabe could only dispel the despairing thoughts with a shiver.
“Shall we go home?” His question sounded weak.
“Please,” she uttered, once again hooking her arm onto his.
Outside the sod church, Reverend Mercer lingered at the Shafer wagon while holding a little girl who hid her face in his jacket.