“I heard one of the men mention that Pierce had been riding with them for a while,” Prudence said suddenly.
Rachel shook her head as if to focus on what Prudence was talking about. “What are you saying?”
Prudence laughed bitterly. “It must be why you’re here. He must have gotten tired of your accusations against him,” she said snidely.
Rachel had had all she could take of this woman; and realizing that she might not make it out of this alive, she decided to tell Prudence Primrose what was on her mind. “You know what, Prudence? I think that you’re a self-absorbed, bitter old woman who takes great pleasure in finding fault in everyone but yourself! You’ve kept what happened to me alive and fresh in everyone’s mind, and for what? That’s what I can’t understand. Why do you even care?”
Prudence was quiet. Rachel wished that she could see her face to get some idea of what was going through her mind.
Rachel went on. “You know that we may not make it out of here alive. I know what those men want, and we are just a means to get it. It would be a shame to die with all this bitterness and the lies between us, wouldn’t it? Well, I’m going to tell you the truth once and for all. I was raped by Milton Pierce over three years ago. I was not, nor am I now, an adulteress or a fornicator.
“And while I’m giving it to you straight, I might as well tell you this. If I get out alive, I’m going to marry Caleb Stone whether you or anyone else in this town likes that or not!”
Silence filled the room.
“Well, aren’t you going to say anything?”
That’s when Rachel heard the sniffle, then a voice said softly, “I was jealous.”
Rachel heard the pain laced through that simple admission. She couldn’t believe what she was hearing. “But, why?” she asked, more confused than ever. “You have everything, Prudence. A lovely daughter, the respect of the townspeople, and a fine farm. I don’t understand!”
“But you see,” Prudence began, “I thought you might be getting a second chance, the second chance that I’d always wanted but never received. Not the way I wanted it, anyway.”
“Why did you need a second chance?” Rachel asked carefully.
Prudence was quiet for a moment. “Before I came to Springton, I became pregnant with Patience.”
When she said nothing more, Rachel commented, “Yes, I’ve heard about your husband dying, leaving you with child.”
“That’s just it. I was pregnant, but I wasn’t married.”
Rachel’s mouth gaped at the news, and she was glad that Prudence couldn’t see her face. “You mean you were raped, too?”
“No, I wasn’t.” And while Rachel was trying to digest all this, Prudence told her the rest. “I was nineteen and foolish. I let myself be talked into an illicit relationship; and when I became pregnant, my parents kicked me out of the house and the boy wouldn’t have anything to do with me. I came here to stay with my mother’s aunt. It was her idea to create for myself a dead husband.” She sighed and her shoulders slumped forward. “I thought that I would eventually get married. But I was never a pretty woman; and I soon found out that, while men might respect me, they weren’t interested in marrying me.
“My aunt eventually died and left the farm to me.” She cleared her throat and sniffed again. “I guess I wanted to punish you for my sins. Can you ever forgive me?”
Rachel’s heart broke for the woman. “Of course I forgive you, Prudence. We all have things in our lives that we have to deal with. Sometimes we just aren’t sure how to deal with them.”
“Thank you, I—”
Prudence was interrupted when the outlaw came back into the house. “What’s all the yakking about in here?” he growled. He waved his gun in their general direction. “Now, sit there and shaddup, or else!”
They didn’t question what the “else” was, and neither said another word. But they both had a lot to think about.
By the time Caleb left the sheriff’s office, he held in his hand the evidence of Rachel’s innocence and the key to their future. He ran down to the mercantile to tell Rachel, but Addie told him that she’d gotten a note from Prudence and had gone out to meet her at the Primrose farm.
That didn’t make sense to Caleb. “What did Miz Primrose want?” he asked.
Addie shrugged. “Don’t know. Rachel said she was tired of being intimidated by her and hoped that Prudence wanted to make amends. But if she didn’t, Rachel was planning to tell her to leave her alone. It’s about time that girl stood up for herself!”
“Well …,” Caleb said with a shrug. He didn’t know what to do now. He really wanted Rachel to be at that meeting. “Can you leave Rachel a note and tell her to meet me down at the church for the meeting? I really want her to be there.”
“What’s going on?” she asked curiously.
Caleb smiled. “I have some news that’s going to change this town forever!” he told her cryptically.
Addie raised her eyebrows. “Must be some news. You can bet I’ll be there!”
Caleb laughed, aware that Addie wouldn’t want Mattie Mae to be there and know something that she didn’t.
As Caleb left the mercantile and made his way to the church, an uneasiness gripped him. He stopped in his tracks and looked around. There stood a short, nondescript man with a worn cowboy hat pulled low over his eyes. It was Snake Barnes.
“Well, looky here! You cleaned up real nice, Preacher Stone,” Snake taunted with heavy sarcasm.
Caleb quickly scanned the area. He thought Snake was alone, but he wasn’t sure. “What do you want, Barnes?”
“Wellll,” he drawled, “I believe we got something you want, preacher man. She’s real purdy, too.”
Terror engulfed Caleb. “You’ve got Rachel.”
Snake gave a nasty laugh. “Yeah, we do. And if you want her back, you’re going to have to meet Jenkins.”
Caleb was tired of playing games. He grabbed the front of Snake’s shirt. “Spit it out, Barnes. What’s it going to take to get Rachel back?” He was more scared than he’d ever been in his life.
Snake wished he hadn’t taunted the man. How could he forget how frightening Stone could be? “A gunfight. Jenkins wants to meet you on Main Street at sundown. Wants to fight one-on-one, fair and square.”
Caleb sneered. “Just like last time, huh? When your buddies shot me in the back?” He let go of Snake with a shove. “I don’t fight anymore. Your boss has wasted his time.”
Snake swallowed nervously. “That’s the deal, Stone. Take it or leave it. Jenkins wants you dead, and he is bound and determined to be the one to see the deed done. He said that he’d bring the girl with him. She’ll be released when we’re safely out of town. Until then she’s our insurance. No fight, no girl.”
Caleb suddenly felt helpless. How could he fight when he’d set all that aside years ago and given his heart to Jesus? How could he face someone in a gunfight knowing that he would have to kill or be killed?
But he knew that he really had no choice. They had Rachel.
“I’ll be there,” he said, his face devoid of emotion.
Snake nodded and hightailed it out of there.
Caleb began to pray.
Chapter 18
Winter was beginning to set in, and the temperature had dropped significantly since morning. Because of that, everyone had crowded inside the church; and they all were waiting uncomfortably as Lee Cutler walked up to the pulpit. He put his good hand up to bring them to attention.
“I’m glad you could make it here this afternoon,” Lee began. “I called you here because of the recent stage robberies we’ve had in these parts. I’ve got one of the gang members in my custody, and we have reason to believe that the others might be coming into town.”
Panic spread through the room. Nothing like this had ever happened in the little town. Folks didn’t know what to do.
“Now just hold on,” Lee shouted, waving his hands. “I’ve got several towns backing us up with their lawmen, and I’
ve contacted the Rangers. The best thing you can do for you and your family is to stay in your houses or your places of business and don’t be out alone.”
He seemed satisfied that they’d calmed down, so he continued. “Now, this may come as a shock to some of you, although many of you have seen the wanted posters, but the outlaw we caught is Milton Pierce.”
Whispers went around the room, but apparently word had already gotten around.
“I’ve got a sworn confession from Milton. He not only confessed his crimes, but he agreed to testify against the other gang members,” Lee continued. “He also confessed to a crime he committed three years ago, and the pastor will tell you about that,” Lee told the crowd when he saw Caleb slip in while he was talking.
The crowd turned to watch the preacher walk forward from the back of the church.
Caleb approached Lee and whispered something in his ear. Immediately alarmed, Lee nodded and ran out of the church. Slowly Caleb turned and faced the confused crowd.
“Three years ago, this church was responsible for being the judge and jury for a young woman. She had told everyone she’d been attacked and molested, but almost no one believed her. And for three years, Rachel Branigan and her daughter have lived with the shame and have been outcasts within this community.” He held up a piece of paper in his hand. “This is a signed confession from Milton Pierce admitting that he did indeed do moral and physical harm against Miss Branigan.”
The crowd looked at one another but was strangely quiet. Guilt and shame were evident on their faces. There was nothing they could say.
“I came here today to let you know that I’ve asked Rachel to be my wife and to find out if we will have to move to another town or be welcomed by you to continue in ministry here. But that’s all changed.”
Concerned faces looked up at their pastor expectantly. “Today,” he continued, “I was confronted with my past. Only a couple of you know that I’d been a gunfighter and bounty hunter before I became a Christian.”
Shocked murmurs went through the crowd.
“The gang that you were warned about in this meeting is the very same gang that shot me down three years ago. They thought they’d killed me, and they very nearly did. Unfortunately, they have found out about me, and they are determined to finish what they started.
“I’ve just learned that they’ve kidnapped Rachel,” he said, his voice wavering.
Gasps sounded throughout the building.
He waved them down. “Please let me finish. I don’t have much time.” He cleared his throat, but it felt like it was closing on him. “The only way that I can get her back safely is to meet their leader in a gunfight. Because of this, I am asking you to pray. Pray that God will give me guidance, because if he wins, I will die. If I win, I must step down because I cannot take another man’s life and still be your spiritual leader. Thank you.” He stepped away from the pulpit.
The crowd immediately surrounded him, many insisting that they wanted him to remain as their pastor while others offered their help in getting Rachel back. But Caleb heard none of it.
All he heard was the prayer he silently prayed again and again. Please help me, God. Please help me, God.
Caleb stood on the street and waited for Jenkins, his guns strapped to his belt. There had only been enough time to inspect and clean them to make sure they were in working order and no time to practice his draw.
It didn’t matter anyway. It’d been three years since he’d drawn a pistol. An hour’s practice wouldn’t make much difference.
It was all up to God.
Five minutes later, he saw them. But what surprised him was that they not only had Rachel but Prudence Primrose as well. He wondered how she figured into this.
The boardwalks were scattered with curious and concerned folks. A lot of them were looking out from the windows of the various buildings along the street. He knew that Addie had the three children tucked safely away from danger inside the mercantile.
Jenkins’s men hung back but watched the crowd carefully as Jenkins dismounted and walked to the center of the street.
Caleb’s eyes strayed to where Rachel sat in front of one of the outlaws, a knife at her throat. He hoped that Lee knew what he was doing, because if that man harmed Rachel in any way, he would take care of the outlaw himself.
If he was still alive by then.
With great difficulty, he made himself focus solely on Jenkins. The man smiled tauntingly and looked him up and down.
“Wooowee! Look at you, Stone. You done gone and got all respectable,” Jenkins drawled, trying to anger the emotionless man.
But Caleb didn’t respond to his taunts. “I’m ready when you are, Jenkins.”
Jenkins snorted but backed up and readied himself.
Mere seconds seemed like hours as the two men eyeballed each other, waiting for some sign to draw.
Jenkins must have gotten tired of waiting. But his hand had no more than touched the butt of his pistol when Caleb beat him to it. Staring him right in the face was the barrel of a gun.
Slowly, without taking his eyes away from his foe, Caleb walked forward until the gun was inches away from Jenkins’s face. He reached and took Jenkins’s pistols and tossed them on the ground.
“Tell your men to let the women go, Jenkins,” he ordered softly.
Jenkins just sneered and yelled, “Kill ’em!”
But Stone only smiled. “I don’t think so,” he said and looked over Jenkins’s shoulder.
Confused by the silence, Jenkins looked around and found that lawmen had surrounded his men.
The men holding the women immediately raised their hands in surrender. Caleb knew they weren’t that stupid. There were too many lawmen. Yancy let them take Rachel and nodded for the other man to do the same with the older woman.
Lee personally came over and cuffed Jenkins and led him away.
They’d finished untying Rachel’s hands when Caleb reached her and swept her up in his arms.
“Rachel!” he cried and held her tighter. “I nearly went out of my mind when I heard that they had you. Are you okay?”
Tears were seeping out of her eyes as she laughed for joy. “I’m okay now,” she told him. “I was so afraid that I would never see you again.”
He set her down and cradled her face between his palms. “Me, too, sweetheart. Me, too.” Then he placed a soft kiss on her waiting lips.
A cheer went up, startling Rachel. She looked around them and saw almost the entire town’s population surrounding them, all clapping and whistling. Confused, she looked at Caleb; but he just smiled and said, “They’re just celebrating our engagement!”
“But …,” she began but was bombarded by well-wishers as well as many people bearing apologies for mistreating her for three years.
God was bringing understanding and forgiveness to a people who had been without for too long.
Three months later, Rachel was standing outside of the church dressed in a beautiful wedding gown, waiting to meet her future husband. She couldn’t believe that the day had finally arrived.
Caleb had wanted to get married right away, but Rachel insisted on waiting for his friends, George and Mary Ellis, to arrive and for George to perform the ceremony. But time flew by so quickly, she’d had barely enough time to get things ready as it was.
Rachel looked at Addie, who was fussing over the ribbons tied in Rachel’s loose hair. It looked like there might be another wedding soon. She and Harold Ray had been inseparable for the last two months, and Addie had confided that he’d asked her to marry him. Addie was taking her time, though, on giving poor Harold Ray an answer.
A couple of late-arriving guests slipped past her and into the church. Lee Cutler was one and Patience Primrose was the other. Lee looked sort of hassled, and Patience looked very determined.
Caleb had told Rachel that Patience had turned her attentions toward Lee as soon as Caleb announced his intent to marry. Lee had said that Harold Ray’s mule would start talkin
g before he’d ever court Patience. Caleb had taken great pleasure in telling Lee the Bible story featuring a talking mule.
Lee was not amused!
The door opened again, and it was Mattie Mae waving at her, letting her know that it was time to go in.
Taking a deep breath, Rachel entered the church. She lifted her eyes and caught the look on Caleb’s face.
Caleb stared at his wife-to-be in awe. She was the most beautiful vision he’d ever seen.
His heart was beating madly as she walked up to join him, staring into his eyes all the way. He saw the love that was clearly written in her eyes, and he knew that she saw the exact same thing in his own. He nervously reached his hand out to her and felt the sweetness of her touch as her fingers found his own.
The ceremony was a simple one; and when Reverend Ellis pronounced them man and wife and asked Caleb to kiss his bride, a collective sigh resounded in the church.
Reverently, Caleb cupped his bride’s face in his hands and lowered his mouth to hers. He sealed their union with a kiss that was filled with such love, passion, and sweetness that a few giggles and chuckles could be heard throughout the room.
Smiling (and just a little embarrassed), the new husband and wife turned toward the crowd and started for the door. But suddenly Caleb stopped. He went back to the front row where the children sat, picked up Caitlin, grabbed Jessie’s hand, and motioned for Rachel to get Emmy. Together, with the crowd cheering happily, they walked out, a family.
COURTIN’
PATIENCE
by Kimberley Comeaux
Dedication
To James and Dianne Kennedy.
My best friends, who just happen to be my parents.
I love you.
And to my friend and critique partner
Debi Luna.
Thanks for all your help!
Chapter 1
Patience Primrose was on her way to becoming an old maid. At least, most folks in the small Texas town of Springton thought so. It was true that she didn’t have many prospects as far as potential husbands went. And now there were even less since the Reverend Caleb Stone had just married.
Lone Star Romance Collection Page 13