“You’re right, Salty. I hadn’t thought of getting you to do that while you’re in town, but add it to the list. Buy her three or four more pieces of cloth and get lots of thread in all colors. Also get a bunch of needles and a pair of scissors. Get anything else that has to do with sewing so she’ll have everything she needs.”
“Now, wait a minute, Boss. I don’t know nothing about buying cloth and sewing things. Why don’t we wait until she goes back to town and let her pick out what she wants?”
He shook his head. “No. I want to surprise her. If you don’t think you can handle it on your own, ask Geneva Ragsdale to help you. She ought to know about such things.”
“Dag-nab-it. I’d rather do it myself than to get that snooty woman involved. I get enough of her when I have to go get Beulah’s supplies.” His eyes brightened. “Why can’t Beulah go with me?”
“You know she’s not going to leave this house as long as I’m laid up.”
His face fell. “You’re right. She still thinks you’re a little boy.”
“Now that’s settled, let me explain something special I want you to do for me. As I started to say in the beginning, the first thing is that this has to stay between you and me. Nobody can know a thing about it until it actually happens.”
“Well, if you don’t want nobody to know, I shore won’t tell them. Now what is it you want me to do? Whatever it is, it can’t be as bad as buying dress cloth.”
Aaron chuckled and began explaining what he had planned.
* * * *
Less than an hour later, Beulah came in to give Aaron his medicine. He took it without protest, then looked into her eyes. “Where’s Drina?”
“She’s in the kitchen washing the dishes. Why do you want to know?”
He frowned. “Did you tell her to do that?”
“You ought to know I wouldn’t. When you get to know Drina better you’ll soon see she does pretty much what she wants to do. I told her I’d get to them after I checked on you, but she said she wanted to do them tonight. Said something about she could think better when she had her hands in dishwater. It didn’t make no sense to me.”
He grinned. “I guess she’s used to hard work and she needs to keep busy.”
“Well, she don’t have to do nothing around here unless she wants to. I think I keep things running all right.”
“I wasn’t criticizing you, Beulah. I know you work hard and I’m sure Drina knows it. In fact, I think she likes you very much and probably just wants to make things easier on you.”
“I’m sorry, Mr. Aaron. I guess there’s just times I don’t understand Miz Drina. I ain’t never had nobody to help me like she does. I’m just afraid I’ll get used to it and she’ll change.”
“I don’t think she’s the type of woman to do much changing. I’m pretty sure that what you see is what you get from her.”
“And just how would you know? You ain’t been around her hardly at all since you got married. I’ve spent more time with her myself.”
“Maybe that’ll change, Beulah.”
“What do you mean?”
“She’s been nice to me since I got hurt. I’ve kind of enjoyed having her sit here with me.” He closed his eyes then opened them. “I think I want to get to know her better.”
“Are you sure, Mr. Aaron?”
“Yeah, I’m sure. Why do you think I’m not?”
“I just don’t want to see you string her along and then hurt her. She’s the kind who could get her heart broken awful easy.”
“I’m not going to do that.” His eyes closed again.
“Are you sure?”
“Huh-huh. I just want her to…come back…” his voice trailed off.
“Why do you want her to come back, Mr. Aaron?”
“To … hold… my…hand…’cause…” he drifted off and didn’t say anything else.
Beulah stared at him for a minute. Then her face broke into a wide grin, “Why, you rascal,” she whispered. “I never believed this would happen so soon, but it has. That medicine man poultice I made and put under your mattress is working. You’re falling in love with your wife and you don’t even know it.”
* * * *
Win wasn’t sure how much further he could push himself. He ached all over and he was freezing. If he had been able to grab a coat, he might could’ve made it, but it was beginning to look hopeless. He thought he’d reached one of the back pastures of Wilcox’s ranch, but he was still a long distance from help.
He knew the men would be in the bunkhouse around a pot-bellied stove playing cards, drinking whiskey and telling tales. He sure wished he had the whiskey Beulah had brought him the other day. It would sure help him warm up.
Sighing, he wondered if he could sit down close to one of the trees and rest for just a little while, but immediately his common sense took over. He couldn’t do that. If he sat, he’d never get up and one of the Rocking Chair hands would find him in a few days sitting here frozen as stiff as the log that looked so inviting to sit on.
“Least ways, I still have some of my chaw left.” He spit on the ground and when nothing but saliva came out he realized he’d chewed all the juice out of the tobacco. It didn’t matter. He’d keep it in his mouth because it gave him something to hang on to. Something he enjoyed at his cabin.
“My cabin. The place where I’ve lived for years. Why did them evil men come and take my home? They ought to be shot.”
This anger gave him a little strength, and he moved forward, still talking to himself. It seemed to help. “Ain’t no way I’m gonna quit. I intend to get to somebody who can lend me a gun then I’m going to shoot ever one of them son-of-bitches in the head. A man’s got a right to defend his home and I will defend it to the death. This is just like the war. I faced worse than them in Gettysburg and I know I can win this one. I’ve just got to get the supplies to do it.”
Chapter 11
The horizon was showing signs of first light when Milly pulled the horse and buggy around behind the saloon. She jumped out, and with a pounding heart, she slipped in the back door. Though the building was still shrouded in darkness, she was able to ease her way up the back stairs to Lottie’s room.
She didn’t knock, but pushed the door open. “I’ve got it,” she whispered to the woman who had managed to get from the bed to the chair beside the window.
“Good. Now, hand me that coat off that nail and we’ll go.” Lottie stood, though she looked as if she would topple over any minute.
“Lottie, are you sure you want to do this?”
“I don’t think we have a choice, Milly. Brit suspects something, but I think I threw him off some last night. He’ll probably get to thinking I was lying and come at me again. I can’t let that happen, because this time, I’m sure he’ll kill me.”
“Do you think he’d actually do that?
“He wouldn’t do it himself, but he’d get it done.”
“What do you mean?”
“Oh, he’ll send me a customer. Somebody like Cleg Keller or worse. He won’t wait until I’m well. He’ll do it in the next few days ’cause he don’t care about any of us. He’ll tell the man to do whatever he wants to do to me and he’ll then assure him that he won’t have to pay for his crime if I die. All he has to do is get out of town.”
Milly’s eyes got big. “Do you really think so, Lottie? He ain’t even made me go to work yet.”
“You ain’t been here long enough to know him like I do. He even said last night he might put you to work right away.” Lottie put her arms in her coat. “Now let’s get out of here before one of the other girls wakes up.”
They struggled getting Lottie down the back stairs, but they managed. Slipping out the door, they hurried into the buggy and walked the horse quietly from behind the saloon. They stayed close to the buildings until they were almost out of town.
Lottie looked around and didn’t see anyone on the street or the plank sidewalk. “All right, Milly, nobody will hear us now. Slap the rei
ns on the horse’s behind and get him up to a trot. We want to be a long way from here when Hal and the others wake up.”
“Where are we going, Lottie?”
“Just keep going in this direction. I’ll tell you later.”
“Lottie, are you trying to get both of us killed?”
“No, Milly. I’m trying to save our lives. I know you think Brit is a nice man because he brought you in when you were about to starve. But I’m telling you he’ll have no regrets about getting rid of both of us in a way that nobody’ll ever know he was involved.”
“I ain’t done nothing to Brit Vance.”
“I know, but do you think it’d matter to him? He’d kill his mother for burning the potatoes if he thought it suited his plan.”
* * * *
Drina came down the stairs still wearing her robe and slippers, though they were worn and thread bare. She was cold and didn’t want to dress in Aaron’s room until she had a cup of tea or coffee. Before she went into the kitchen she decided to look in on Aaron. She would’ve sat with him last night, but he’d insisted she go to bed. He said he was getting much better and didn’t need a nurse all the time. She’d felt a little disappointed, but she brightened when he added he wanted her to come early the next morning and have coffee with him.
She decided she’d get a cup and take it back upstairs, dress then come down and join him for his coffee. But she wanted to assure herself he was still sleeping peacefully at this early hour.
When she pushed the door opened, he looked at her and grinned. “I thought you were going to sleep all morning.”
She laughed. “What do you mean all morning? It’s not even daylight yet.”
“I hadn’t noticed. It seems I’ve been waiting for you for hours.”
“Well, here I am.”
“Where’s the coffee?”
“Honestly, Aaron Wilcox, what do you expect? I just woke up.”
“I guess I have to give you time to go make the coffee, but you better hurry back.”
Beulah came down the hall. “I thought I heard somebody talking.”
Aaron called from his bed. “Good morning, Beulah. Have you made the coffee yet?”
“Yes, I have. Don’t tell me you want a cup.”
“I do. Drina wants one, too. She promised to have coffee with me this morning.”
“Then I’ll go get some for you both.”
Drina was conscious of the way she looked. “Wait, Beulah. I need to run back upstairs and dress.”
“Oh, don’t bother, Miz Drina. I’m sure his royal self don’t mind if you drink your coffee in your night clothes.”
“I don’t mind at all. Now, come on in and sit down in your chair.”
Though she was self-conscious, Drina edged into the room. “When did this become my chair?"
He shrugged. “I guess when you sat in it for the first time. Now, pull it up close. Our coffee will be here soon.”
She sat. “How did you sleep last night?”
“Terrible.”
“I’m sorry. I was hoping you’d rest after you took your medicine.”
“It wasn’t that.”
She turned her head sideways and looked at him. “Then, what was it?”
“There was nobody here holding my hand.”
Drina blushed and looked at her hands lying in her lap.
“Don’t be embarrassed, Drina. I’m not trying to upset you.”
“I’m not upset, Aaron. I’m just not sure what you’re going to say next.”
“Well, if I say something you don’t like, just tell me and I’ll take it back.”
“You’re so different from…” her voice trailed off.
“From what?”
“From what you were when I first arrived.”
Guilt spread across his face. “I was pretty bad, wasn’t I?”
“You had every right to be. I got the feeling you didn’t want to marry me, but for some reason you felt you had to do it.” She looked at him. “Do you think you could use some of that honesty we talked about and tell me why? Is it because I’m so small?”
He frowned. “What would your size have to do with it?”
“Pa always said small women were no good as wives. He said they were weak and would never be able to give a man what he wanted.”
“Your pa was a fool, Drina. Let me assure you that you being small didn’t have a thing to do with my acting so awful.”
“I’m glad, because I’ve always believed I could be a good wife, if given the chance.”
Beulah came in with two cups of coffee and handed them to the couple. “Here you go. Drink up and I’ll go make you some breakfast.” She looked at Aaron. “Do you think you could handle some bacon and eggs this morning?”
“Oh, boy, could I! I’ll be your slave for life if you add potatoes and your wonderful homemade biscuits to the menu.”
“Now, do you think I believe that malarkey? You’ve always had a silver tongue, but you know better than to try to use it on me.”
“Would you like some help making breakfast, Beulah?”
“I can handle it. You need to see if you can deal with this rascal’s jabber.” She turned and left the room.
Drina sipped her coffee and looked at Aaron. “I hope you appreciate Beulah. She loves you, you know.”
“I love her, too, Drina. She’s the closest thing to a mother I’ve ever had.”
“You’re lucky to have her. My mother died when I was four. Pa said it was because she was so little and wasn’t strong enough to give him sons.”
“And you lived with your pa all this time?”
“Yes.”
Aaron drank his coffee and looked at her. She was tiny, but he could easily learn to like a little woman. Hell, he liked her already. Setting his empty cup on the table beside the bed, he said, “Would you like to know why I married you, Drina?”
She took a deep breath. “Yes, Aaron, I would.”
“It all started with my father and his terrible business practices.”
She sat enthralled as he explained that his mother was a prostitute and how Beulah came to live with them and how after his mama left them his father let the ranch run into such dire need of money that his uncle finally came to the rescue with the stipulation that he get his money back someday. He then told her how his father died and how hard he worked to pay his uncle back and get the ranch in his name. He then explained how his uncle had decided that only if he married the right wife would he get the mortgage marked paid. To top it all, the uncle reserved the right to pick out the woman.
“I was so furious with him that I couldn’t think for myself. All I could see was there was nothing I could do but marry a strange woman to keep what I’d worked most of my life to preserve. I decided then and there I’d never accept the woman he chose, no matter how much I was tempted.”
“Then the only reason you married me was to save your ranch?”
“Yes, Drina. I’m ashamed to say that’s what I did.”
She bit her lip and took a deep breath. “Then I guess I should consider myself lucky your uncle thought I was good enough for you.”
“No, Drina. It turned out I was the lucky one. I could have ended up with a wife who was demanding and hard to get along with. Instead, I got you; and, though I didn’t like it in the beginning, you tempted me right from the start.”
Drina stared at him. “Tempted? I don’t think I did any tempting, Mr. Wilcox.”
“Of course you didn’t. I guess I said it wrong, but when you walked into the parlor wearing your beautiful wedding dress with your lovely hair on your head and those sparkling blue eyes, I almost fell over. I don’t think I’d ever seen a more beautiful woman. But I knew I was going to have to harden my heart and stay away from you. If I didn’t, I had no doubt I’d break down and make a fool of myself.” He took a breath and frowned. “Why are you looking at me so strangely?”
“Did you really think I was beautiful?”
“Of course, I did
. You’re a beautiful woman, Drina, don’t you know that?”
She shook her head. “Nobody ever told me I was beautiful. I thought men didn’t think small women were pretty.”
He reached for her hand. “You thought wrong.”
A tear rolled down her cheek.
“Now, what’s wrong?” He hoped he hadn’t upset her by telling her the whole story of why they’d married.
“I’m confused, Aaron.” She didn’t mean to say it aloud, but it came tumbling out, “You said you thought I was beautiful, but you left me and spent our wedding night somewhere in town and you’ve been gone every night since. When Salty and I went to Hatchet Springs the other day, I felt I was the object of ridicule because everyone seemed to point at me and laugh.”
“I’m sorry, Drina.”
“Why did you leave me, Aaron? I know I did something wrong, but I would’ve been more careful if somebody had told me what to do.”
“Drina, don’t cry. You did nothing wrong. It was me. I was a cad and I admit it. I’m not saying I would’ve been a good husband because I still resent the reason we had to marry, but I could have tried harder.”
She dried her eyes. “I’m sorry, too. I shouldn’t have cried. I need to control my emotions. I know men don’t like a sniveling woman.”
He pulled her toward him. “You can cry anytime you want to. The only thing I ask is that you let me know why you need to cry. I’m not a mind reader and I’m not very good with a special woman like you.”
“Oh, Aaron. You tell me I’m beautiful, then claim I’m tempting you; now, you say I’m special. And you say we’re going to be honest with each other, but you won’t answer the one question that has worried me since our wedding day. What am I supposed to think?”
He knew this was his chance to prove to this woman he could be honest, even if it drove her away from him forever. Though he knew what she wanted, he asked, “What question, Drina?”
“Why did you leave me on our wedding night?” She closed her eyes and waited.
He took her hand and held it tight. “I left because I knew if I stayed… I’d be saying, in essence, that my uncle was right. That you were the woman I needed in my life, and I didn’t want you to be the right one. I wanted to show him I’d marry the woman he chose legally because I had no other choice, but I wanted to show him I didn’t have to be a husband to her just because of a legal piece of paper.” He took a breath. “At the time, I was sure he was the one I was hurting. Now, I realize I was wrong. I not only hurt him, but I hurt you; and, in the end, I hurt myself, too.”
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