by Kit Morgan
“Why didn’t you say anything last night?” Adele asked as she recalled Libby’s remark about the ranch needing a population sign.
“I’m sorry – I just didn’t think of it. We announced it at last week’s dinner.”
“Walton’s extremely jealous of Nate because of it,” said Gwen as she smiled broadly. “He insists we catch up.”
“Yes,” Libby agreed. “Except that they already have two children. Nate and I only have Hattie.”
“Two children?” said Adele in surprise. “I thought you said you only had your daughter.”
“Technically, I do – but Bonnie leaves Jedediah here whenever she and Bart go on their ‘safaris’. He likes playing with Savannah more than with Hattie. You can see why.”
Adele looked at Hattie who was eyeing Jedediah’s toy. “Yes, I understand.”
“And Walton’s very competitive with his brothers,” Gwen added dryly.
Adele laughed. “Good heavens, I hope there’s no such competition if I ever …”
“Have children?” Libby and Gwen said in unison.
Adele blushed. “I think I’ll have a while to wait before that happens.”
“One never knows,” Libby said with a smile. “If you went out on the front porch, though, you might speed things up.”
Adele looked from one face to the other. “How so?”
“Percy’s sitting out there,” Libby said with a wink. “Why don’t you go out and talk to him?”
Adele quickly folded her hands in her lap. “What … would I say?”
“Oh, that’s easy,” Gwen said. “Tell him I’m getting ready to make lunch.”
Libby laughed. “Yes, that’ll keep him around.”
“Why isn’t he out working with your husbands?” Adele asked.
Gwen stared at her as if she hadn’t a brain in her head. “Because the only job he has right now is to protect you.”
“Protect me? But aren’t I safe enough here on the ranch?”
“Yes,” Gwen agreed, “but generally when a girl is brought in, whoever brought her sees to her until she’s gone.”
“Or she doesn’t go,” Libby chimed in. “At least take him a cup of coffee.”
Adele set the mending in her lap aside, stood and went into the kitchen. Within moments she returned to the parlor, cup of coffee in hand. It was now or never. For all she knew, Percy had hitched up the horses to his wagon and was going to cart her off to Wiggieville that very minute! “Well, here goes.”
Libby and Gwen both nodded, then crossed their fingers. And they were still more confident than she was.
*
“Good morning,” Adele said as she stepped onto the porch.
Percy sat in a rocking chair, whittling a piece of wood. He looked up in surprise, then focused on the cup of coffee in her hand. “Good morning,” he said. “Did you sleep alright?”
“Well enough. You?”
“I guess I’ve slept better.”
“Maybe this will help,” she said as she handed him the coffee and tried to ignore the sting in his words.
“Much obliged,” he said as he took the cup from her. He took a sip, then a long swallow. “That’s very good. Thank you for thinking of me.”
“Actually, you can thank your sister – she told me to bring you a cup. I had no idea you were here.”
He chuckled. “Yes, that’s Libby for you.” He looked at her. “Would you have brought me a cup if you knew I was?”
Adele blushed. Was he asking her if she cared? “I’d have at least come to see if you needed anything.”
He nodded solemnly as he looked out over the yard. “And I’d do the same for you.” He looked at his whittling. “I’m making something for Jedediah.”
“What’s it going to be?
“I don’t know yet. Maybe a soldier, maybe just a cowboy. You know, someone simple … like me.”
Adele studied him for a moment. “Somehow you don’t seem like a simple cowboy.”
“I don’t?”
“No, in fact I’d say you were more the business type.”
“What do you mean by ‘the business type’?”
She shrugged and smiled. What did she mean? “Like a banker, or a mercantile owner like your father was. Or perhaps a lawyer.”
“A lawyer?” he asked in shock. “Oh no, I’m not smart enough to be a lawyer.”
“According to whom?”
Percy looked away as he fiddled with the piece of wood and took another sip of coffee. “Everybody, I guess.”
“You mean your family?”
“Who else is there around here? Aside from the hands.” He looked at her again. “Trust me, no one around here is going to say that I’m the smart one in the family. They remind me of it just about every day.”
“That’s odd,” she remarked. “I’ve heard nothing but high praise regarding you since yesterday.”
He turned to her, his brows raised in curiosity. “Really?” he drawled. “I find that hard to believe.”
“Mr. Blue …”
He held up a hand. “Please, call me Percy. Or Percival, if you prefer.”
“I like Percy myself.” She took a deep breath. “But it seems to me that the only one who doesn’t think highly of you around here is you. I know I don’t know you very well, but I can’t help but ask … why is that?”
He took another sip of coffee, looked into the cup, then drained it and set it on the porch beside his chair. He wiped his mouth before speaking. “Let’s just say I haven’t been the best of company over the years.”
“What do you mean?”
Percy laughed. “Where do I begin?” He scratched his head, then looked at her. “Are you sure you want to hear this?”
“Well, you are my husband.” She tried to keep the hopefulness out of her voice.
“After I tell you a few stories, you might want to run to Wiggieville this afternoon and get that annulment.”
“Isn’t that what you wanted anyway?”
“I’ll likely have to if I tell you what you want to know.”
She smiled and looked away a moment. He wasn’t pushing the annulment, at least. “I want to hear what you have to say.”
“All right, but remember you asked for this.”
“I know,” she said and looked at him. “I … I want to hear all about you.”
“You do?” he asked in disbelief. “Well, the simplest way to put it is, I was no peach growing up, or even as a young man.”
“You still are a young man,” she pointed out.
“Yeah, but some of the stuff I’ve done has made others old.”
She laughed at that. “Come now, it can’t be as bad as all that. You didn’t break any laws, did you?”
“No, I’ve never done anything that would get me arrested.” He looked right at her. “But that doesn’t mean I haven’t come close.”
“Such as?”
“Such as saying a lot of things I never should’ve to people I care about. That got me more than my share of black eyes and bruises.” He gave her a sympathetic look.
“Oh,” she said softly.
He shrugged. “In short, I was a jackass. There’s no other way to put it.”
“Are you still?”
Percy gaped at her moment, then burst out laughing. “Good grief, I hope not!”
She giggled at that. “So your behavior growing up was less than … savory. You were a naughty boy but never stole anything, am I right?”
“Oh, I used to steal things from my brothers all the time. They’d find out, of course, then pummel me and tell me to stay out of their stuff.”
“Don’t all little boys do that sort of thing?”
“Yes, but I did it up until I wasn’t so little – that’s the difference. When I was about thirteen, Benedict came down on me hard. Said I was old enough to be arrested and if I took any of his candy or rocks from his collection again, he’d tell the sheriff to come get me.”
“Did it work?”
&
nbsp; “Yes, it did,” he said with a bright smile and a nod. “He scared the pants off of me. At thirteen I figured that if I was old enough to be arrested, I might be old enough to swing like any other outlaw.”
She giggled again. “What else made you such a horrid child, other than stealing rocks and candy from your brother?”
“Always speaking out of turn, insulting people. I was just speaking my mind and didn’t think much of it, but I hurt people. And I suppose being the youngest boy in the family, Mother and Father thought they had to correct the mistakes they’d made raising my brothers. They wanted me to be the perfect child.”
“And why didn’t they get it?” she asked with the wry smile.
He studied her face a moment. “Because I’m not perfect. And I resented their trying to make me something I wasn’t.” He sighed. “If they’d had their way I’d be some bookkeeper working in a cramped little office somewhere. But that’s not me. In fact, the more I think about it, I’d say I’m more like Bart Dalton – I like adventure. I used to go to the park near our house and play by myself, pretend I was a soldier or a pirate ...”
“Really?” Adele asked, and cocked her head to one side. “I can see you as a pirate, but not a bloodthirsty one.”
“Oh really?” he said with a wicked smile. “Who says I’m not bloodthirsty?”
“I think you’d be the kind that only threatens to be bad.”
He laughed. “Whatever gave you that notion?”
She crossed the porch railing, leaned against it and looked across the yard. “Because of what you did yesterday. Marrying me so you could protect me.”
He stood and went to stand beside her. “I … did what needed to be done.”
She turned and looked up at him. “If you had to do it again, would you?”
He looked into her eyes and she could tell he was asking himself the same question. “Yes,” he finally said as he leaned toward her.
Good heavens! Was he going to kiss her? Adele’s heart raced at the thought.
He leaned closer. “Yes, I believe I would.” But without another word, he turned, stepped off the porch and strode away.
Nine
Adele didn’t see Percy the rest of the day. But she was busy learning how to bake bread and make stew. Gwen was a good teacher and very patient, and even though Adele watched her do most of the work, the woman made sure she understood each step – not only showing Adele what to do, but having her repeat everything back to her.
“And after the dough is prepared, we do what?”
Adele scrunched her face up as she tried to remember the next step. The bread done, they had moved on to biscuits. “Then you spoon out the dough and drop it into the pan, or you can roll it out, cut out the biscuits, then put them in the pan.”
“Excellent!” Gwen said. “You’re a much faster learner than I was.”
“Because you let me watch you do it first. I learn things better when I see people perform the task, rather than just listening to them tell me how.”
“I need to see it, hear it and do it,” Gwen said as she rolled her eyes. “Then I need to do all of it again at least three times.”
Adele chuckled. “I appreciate you doing this for me. I can’t thank you enough.”
“You won’t have to. Percy will do all the thanking for you.”
Adele shook her head. “Percy? Why would he do that?”
“Because you’ll be cooking for him.”
Adele sighed. “Gwen, I appreciate everything you’re doing for me, but I have no guarantee that Percy will –”
“No, you don’t,” Gwen cut her off, knowing she was referring to the threatened annulment. “But we’re going to do what we can to get that guarantee. Besides, the two of you talked for quite a while out on the porch earlier.”
Adele felt herself blush. “Yes, but that doesn’t mean anything.”
“What did you talk about, if you don’t mind my asking?”
Adele took the bowl of biscuit dough, scooped out a spoonful and plopped it into a pan. “Not much. He told me a little bit about himself when he was growing up.”
“Oh dear,” Gwen said in a low tone. “I hope it wasn’t too horrible for you.”
“On the contrary,” Adele said with a smile. “I found his stories quite interesting.”
“Whatever he told you, he’s not like that anymore.”
“I agree with you. The Percival Blue I spoke with this morning is not the one he described at all. At least I don’t think he is.”
“He’s come a long way. Any one of my brothers or sisters would concur.”
“He described himself as a jackass,” Adele offered, her tone flat.
“Mmmm … that sounds accurate,” Gwen mused. “Sometimes he was worse. But I agree that he’s grown up a lot.” She looked at Adele, hope in her eyes. “A good woman would help set him straight the rest of the way, I think. You know, Percy may not get your marriage annulled, but it doesn’t mean he won’t let you do it. He might be trying to make up his own mind.”
“Make up his own mind?”
“He didn’t go into town today to get the annulment, did he?”
Adele stopped spooning dough into the pan. “No, he didn’t. We talked about it, but not seriously.”
“See? I think he’s intrigued with you. He just needs to have a chance to get to know you and realize that you would be good for him.”
“Yes, but what if I get to know him and …” She left the rest unsaid.
“But isn’t that the point? To get to know each other better?”
Adele looked up at Gwen, eyes wide. “I like your brother. I believe he’s a good man. But what if I get to know him and …” She gulped. “… and I fall in love with him?”
Gwen was confused “That would be perfect!”
“Unless he decided he didn’t love me. Then what? He goes straight to town to annul the marriage.”
“Not if it can’t be annulled,” Gwen said with a wink.
Adele gasped. “Are you are suggesting that I …”
“Why not?”
“Oh! I couldn’t!”
Gwen sighed. “Oh, I suppose you’re right. I’m sorry if I offended you by suggesting it.”
Adele fanned herself a few times. “Actually I can think of quite a few women who would think it was a great idea – I’m just not one of them.”
Gwen sat heavily into a chair. “Well then, we’ve got to think of something else.”
“Why don’t you women just leave well enough alone and let nature take its course?” Adele and Gwen both jumped as Walton stomped into the kitchen.
“How long have you been listening to us?” Gwen snapped.
“Long enough to know all yer plotting ain’t gonna do no good.” He looked at Adele and pointed an accusing finger at her. “Percy is a man capable of making his own decisions. And I’m telling ya, if he weren’t interested in ya, you’d have an annulment already.”
“But … what if later on …,” Gwen began.
“What if a frog had wings? Gwen, honey, give the man some breathing room and tell the rest of the women around here to do the same. And you,” he said, turning to Adele again. “You and Percy need to spend some time together is all. Then maybe you’ll both stop fretting so much.”
Adele sat up a little straighter in her chair. “Percy is fretting?”
“Course he is!” Walton admonished. “Percy’s a king worrier. And now he’s responsible for ya, and he’s wondering about that man back in Weatherford who was so eager to marry ya, and whether or not the deacons back in Beckham are up to their old tricks out here. He’s been scouting ‘round the ranch all day to make sure no one’s watching it.”
“He has?” Adele asked as she stood.
“Where do ya think he’s been?” Walton asked. “Certainly not out fishing!”
“He’s still protecting me,” Adele whispered to herself.
“And then some – since early this morning. Only time he’s stopped is to gr
ab a cup of coffee and check on you.”
“There, you see?” Gwen said. “Now let’s figure out how the two of you can spend more time together.”
“There’s a good wife!” Walton chuckled. “What’s for supper?”
“Beef stew and biscuits,” Gwen told him. “I’ve been teaching Adele how to cook and mend today.”
Walton laughed. “And to think when I married her she couldn’t even make tea! Burned my supper more times’n I could count. But look at her now! She’s the most wonderful cook in the world. I’m gonna go wash up. Promise me you’ll stop yer plotting?” He eyed the two of them, his brow furrowed.
Gwen sighed in defeat. “Oh, all right,” she said as she winked at Adele.
Adele stifled a giggle. It seemed the entire ranch wanted to see Percy stay married to her. But the question still remained: did Percy want to?
*
Just before supper, Hank came by the house, spoke with Walton briefly, then left. “Is everyone coming here to eat tonight?” Adele asked Gwen as she stirred the stew.
“No one is coming except Percy.”
“Ah, I see,” Adele said and tried to hide her smile. The thought of seeing him sent a shiver up her spine. Good grief, she was actually looking forward to it! But why wouldn’t she? Percival Blue was a very handsome man, and he was married to her. If only there wasn’t so much stress involved, if only she knew what was going to happen. She sighed. Things would have been so much simpler if only he’d sent for her himself, or at least known she was coming. But such wasn’t the case.
She turned back to Gwen. “Can I help with anything else?”
“You can take the biscuits out of the oven, put them in that bowl and set it on the table.” She pointed, indicating the bowl she meant.
Adele did as she was asked. She was about to set the bowl down on the dining room table when Percy walked into the house and spied her from the front hall. “Good evening,” he said as he entered.
Adele’s mouth went dry. Good heavens, what was happening to her? She swallowed hard. “Hello.”
“Supper smells good. What did Gwen fix?”
Was it just her, or was he leaning across the table in her direction? She looked at the bowl. “Biscuits.” She looked back at him. “And, and stew.”