by Nan O'Berry
“What is this place?”
“My homestead,” Max murmured. His gaze moved around the sheltered cove. “I’ve started my cabin.” He pointed to the foundation of stone and the basic framing of the walls. “Want to see?”
She nodded.
They rode over to the cabin. Max dismounted and held Princess’ head as Callie stepped down from the saddle. Taking the reins from her hand, he looped them over the hitching rail that stood before the unfinished work.
“Come on.”He held out his hand.
She stared at his outstretched hand.
Max waited half anticipating her to brush it away; half hoping with all his heart she’d place her hand in his.
She dampened her lips and swallowed.
He watched, mesmerized, as her slender fingers brushed his palm. Before she could regret the action, he closed his hand around hers.
Their gazes met.
He offered her a warm smile which she returned.
In that moment, something passed between them. He caught a glimpse of tenderness in her eyes which caused his heart to turn over. Yes, yes I could love this woman. The knowledge made his heart skip a beat. It was the same intense feeling he had as a child coming down for Christmas morning. Max led her up the steps and on to the porch.
“This is where I will come to watch the sun in the morning.”
“A perfect place for a chair,” she replied and stepped closer to his side.
“Two chairs,” he murmured.
She glanced up at him, her gaze so tender it seemed almost as a caress.
“Yes,” she whispered. “Two.”
“Come inside.” He led her through the opening for the front door and into the center of the house. “A beautiful fireplace, but you haven’t put the mantel on yet.”
Callie moved to the rough hewn rocks and brushed her hand across them.
“I picked those up all along the creek bed below the hill. I want to find the right piece of wood to make the mantel.”
“Strong wood.” She took a breath. “Like you.” Her head turned and once again her gaze seemed full of expectation.
“Perhaps,” he breathed the word.
She turned toward the rear of the house. “And over here?”
Max shook his head. He needed to get a hold of his emotions. “Oh, that’s where my kitchen will be.”
“And will it be big?”
“Yes. Big enough to hold the dreams of a lifetime.”
“Then it will be huge, indeed.”
Every time his gaze met hers, he could feel his heart turn in response. Somehow, in just a few days, Callie had managed to open his heart to the prospect of tomorrow.
“Why haven’t you finished this?”
He lifted his shoulders. “It hasn’t seemed right….” He waited for the beat of his heart, then added. “Until now.” He looked up at her.
She seemed to be fighting some feeling. A look of pain danced across her face.
It was Seth. Seth and that commitment she had made. He knew it was false, but would she believe him if he told her? The idea that she would be devastated cut him to the quick. The urge to grab her and crush her to his body for protection proved so strong, Max thrust his hands into the pockets of his trousers. “Mom packed us a few things. Wait right here.”
“Of course,” she nodded.
Max walked away and hurried back to his horse, all the while muttering beneath his breath, “I’m in love with a woman who is in love with another man.” He moved to his saddle bags. “That man is married and doesn’t even know she exists.” He stole a glance back at the cabin and found her walking around looking at the unfinished structure. He lifted the strap and undid the buckle, then paused. In his mind’s eye, he could see her, standing there in the middle of the cabin. A warm fire would be flickering sending shafts of light to bathe that golden hair. She’d turn those blue eyes, all warm and inviting to him, and her gaze would be only for him. His gut tightened. They would embrace. Her head would turn up to him and he could claim those strawberry tinged lips.
His gelding shifted. Max didn’t feel the hoof until the pressure became too much to bear. “Ow!” he cried out and shoved the horse, who took a step sideways.
“Max!” Callie moved to where the front window would be.
Deep concern marred her features. “Max, are you okay?”
He pulled the meal from his bag. Dang it, she cared. How can I get her to see me and not Seth? “Yep,” he snapped. “Horse stepped on my foot.” He held the food close and shifted his stance to give his foot a shake. Walking past his horse’s head, he gave the animal a snake eyed look.
The horse jerked its head up and stared back with a look of wonder.
“Watch yourself, Champion.”
The horse snorted and gave a toss of his head.
Callie met him at the steps. “Are you sure, you are all right?”
He moved up the steps masking the slight limp on that sore foot. “Fine, he just stepped wrong and I didn’t move my foot.”
Her soft smile meant only for him, erased the pain. “Let me help you.” She reached for the red and white cloth.
Max let go.
“Let’s put it over here, in the center of the house.”
Her smile made him forget the misgivings. He moved to help her spread the cloth out on the wide plank floor. She knelt on the edge and he watched her untie the twine that held the food in the brown paper.
“Come on.” She patted the cloth.
Max lowered his frame onto the cloth.
“Oh, some of your mother’s fried chicken.” She held up two yellow wedges. “And this is good sharp cheese. Does this come from the general store?”
“Yeah, the store,” Max whispered, but his eyes saw only her not the cheese or the chicken.
She brightened. “Oh, I know what this meal needs.”
Before he could react, she was up on her feet and scurrying out to the meadow. Max watched as she gathered a handful of wild flowers that were scattered along the edge of the meadow.
Her cheeks were flushed as she hurried back. “We don’t have anything to put them in,” she bemoaned. “But I know what we can do.” He watched as she placed the fragrant blossoms against the cloth between them. She glanced up. Her smile lighted up her face. His sense shifted up a notch. “But, it still looks beautiful.”
“Yes, beautiful.”
Max knew he wasn’t talking about the flowers. No, he was talking about the woman who had stolen his heart.
Callie stilled. Her expression grew somber.
“Max, why are you looking at me like that?”
“Because, you’re a fine-looking woman, Callie.” The words came out before he could stop them.
“Max,” she began.
“Callie, listen to me, what if…” He took a breath and summoned up his courage. “What if there was a way to stop this?”
“This?” she questioned with a turn of her head. “This what?”
“Marriage, Callie. What if you didn’t marry Seth?”
“Max, you’re not being reasonable.” She sat back and stared at him.
“Am I?” He reached for her hand, but she was too far away. “Callie….”
She pushed away from the floor. “We’re friends, Max.”
He rose and followed her to the front of the cabin. She stood with her back to him and he placed his hands on her shoulders.“I care for you, Callie. I don’t know how or why it happened, but I care for you.”
“Max, please.” She turned her head.
He found her cheek next to his. The warmth of her skin felt right. The need to hold her close made his knees grow weak.
“I am promised to another,” she said softly.
“It can change. We can go and talk to Seth….”
Her fingers found his lips and pressed the rest of the words back. “No. Max. I spent a year writing and I’ve made promises. What kind of a woman would I be if I failed to keep my promise? I am honor bound.” She l
ooked up at him and the pain in her eyes was obvious. “Please, we must stop. Tomorrow, I shall go to church. Seth wrote to me of a boarding house. I will make arrangements to move there until Seth comes for me.” Tears made the blue of her eyes glisten.
Her voice was barely above a whisper but her pain cut him like a knife.
“Thank you, Max for all you have done. If this were another day – another time, things might have been different.” She moved away.
A deep cold stillness seeped into his soul.
Pausing at the opening, she spoke again, “We must leave it at that.”
He watched her pause at the framing. Her head bowed. Her shoulders slumped. She didn’t look back. “We must remain friends.” Her voice lowered to a soft melancholy refrain. “No matter what we are feeling.”
Max didn’t need to watch her leave. He knew he has pressed too far and made a mess of things. He closed his eyes as he heard the creak of leather as she mounted and the sound of the horse moving away.
Max let the silence of the mountain settle over him. The breeze along the hillside picked up. The tall pines began to sway and give way to that long lonesome wail that filled the valley and echoed the pain in his soul.
* * *
The shadows had lengthened by the time Max returned. Lamps shown in the windows and the barn door had been left ajar for him to enter. Dismounting, he led his horse inside and over to his stall. Inside, he flipped the stirrup over the saddle horn and began to loosen the girth.
“How’s it going?” a familiar voice asked.
Max paused and glanced over as his brother stepped from the shadows. “It’s going.” Max turned his attention back to the girth strap. Out of the corner of his eye, he watched Augustus move toward the stall and rest his shoulder against the four by four that made one edge of the structure. “Callie came back early.”
Max ignored the comment.
“She went straight to her room after saying she was too tired to eat.”
Max grasped the pommel and the back skirt of the saddle and pulled it from his mount. Slinging it over the rails, he let it rest before looking over at his brother. “Maybe she was.”
Augustus raised one brow.
Max turned away.
Yeah, he didn’t believe those words either. He took the bridle off the horse and hung it over the pommel of the saddle so it wouldn’t get lost.
“You want to talk about it?”
Disgusted with the hand dealt him, Max picked up a brush and began to groom the horse. “Not particularly.” He brought the brush down across the horse’s back smoothing his coat with his hands as he went.
“Did you tell her the truth?”
Max paused. “No.”
“Brother, I have nothing to do with your business, but you can’t keep this lie going. It’s eating you inside. I can see it. Shoot, anyone can see it that looks at you. You’re in love with Callie. If you want to keep her, you are going to have to spill the beans.”
“Who says I love her?” Max words came out like a low growl rumbling from his chest.
To his surprise, his brother chuckled.
“That.”
“That what?” Max inquired.
“That,” Augustus replied. “That growling and hem-hawing.”
Max grunted in an attempt to hide behind his pride. “I don’t know what you are talking about.”
Augustus howled. His laughter filled the barn and reverberated like a clap of thunder. “My dear brother, you have it bad.” When he collected himself and wiped the moisture from his eyes, he added. “Why don’t you just tell her the truth and ask the woman to marry you?”
Max hung his head. Leave it to Augustus to come to the crux of the matter. The scab peeled from the wound, he glanced up. The look on his face sobered his brother. “I tried, Gus. She is still in love with the Seth she met in those letters.”
Augustus looked stunned. Then his head began to move side to side in slow motion. “Did you tell her about Lou, Dill, and Teddy?”
Max shook his head. “Didn’t give me chance, before she wanted us to just be friends.” He crossed under the horse’s neck and gave the gelding a pat on the side as he left the stall.
Together, the two men stood and watched the horse swish its tail and settle down for the night.
“I’m going to head out tomorrow. She’s going into town to the boarding house. I want you to take her Augustus. Get her settled.” Max could feel the despair falling around his shoulders. “You tell Miz May that Callie’s money is no good. Once this has all blown over and Callie’s gone, I’ll settle up.”
Saying the words, Callie’s gone caused Max’s heart to ache. He turned only to find his brother’s hand on his arm.
“I don’t like this, Max. Callie won’t be there three hours before the story will get out.”
“I know,” Max’s words were sullen.
Augustus squeezed his arm. “Then stay,” he urged. “She’ll need a shoulder to lean on. Let it be yours.”
“I’ve hurt her, Gus. I’ve hurt her bad. And once she finds out, I don’t think she’ll trust me any farther than she can throw me.”
“You’re not giving her credit, brother. Once Callie finds out what happened, she’s going to see it as a way to release her from her promise.”
Max looked into his brother’s face. “You didn’t see her face, Gus.” He shook his arm free and with wooden steps moved toward the barn entrance.
“I still say you’re making a mistake,” Augustus raised his voice so his brother could hear.
Max paused, then without responding, walked away.
He let himself and quietly closed the door.
The heavy click of the lock drew his mother’s voice from the kitchen. “Max?”
He put his hat on the rack hanging by the doorway and crossed to the kitchen. “Yes ma’am.”
His mother turned and dried her hands on the edge of her apron. “Max, I was so worried.”
He hung his head. “I didn’t mean to upset you.”
“Come, sit.” His mother wiped off the small table and patted the top in front of the chair.
Without a word, he followed her directions and took a seat. The silence was as long and as uncomfortable as it had been with Callie.
She slid a cup of coffee before him. “Drink this.”
Max lifted the warm cup to his lips and took a sip.
“You look miserable. Tell me, is it true? Callie said she is leaving.”
He put the cup down and gave a nod.
“Max, did you tell her?”
“Tell her what? The truth.” He groaned. “She’s in love with another man, Mother.”
“Oh, Max,” his mother’s whispered voice consoled him.
He took a deep breath and felt his throat grow raw. “I tried,” he groaned. “But I didn’t have the right words.”
“Oh, sweetheart.” Her hand found his shoulder.
“I’m so sorry, Mother. I failed you and Callie.” Max pushed away from the table and moved toward the doorway. “My words weren’t good enough.”
Chapter 14
Callie stared at her reflection in the mirror. There were dark circles beneath her eyes. Sleep had been nothing but an elusive specter. Giving up before the sun even rose, she’d carefully packed all of her things in the trunk at the foot of the bed. Dressed in a dark skirt and white blouse, she sat on the edge of her bed and waited for the family below to finish their meal. Melinda had come by and asked her to dine, but she couldn’t. She didn’t have the heart to sit beside Max knowing that….
“Knowing what?” she whispered.
Her heart answered. That you have fallen in love with him.
She closed her eyes; resigned to the truth.
“What am I going to do?”
Glancing to her left, she spied the small, white leather bible which survived the journey from Richmond. Picking it up, she opened the text and scanned the verses.
She read the words from First Corinthians, �
�Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud.” She took a deep breath. “It does not dishonor others….”
She could not read more.
Closing her eyes tight, Callie prayed, “Please, Lord, please help me to know what to do. I came out here to this new land to offer myself in marriage to a man who has written the kindest letters and now…” She hiccuped as the tears threatened again. “Now, I find myself drawn to another. I dishonor Seth with my wanton ways. Help me restore my honor in Your eyes. I am so confused…” Her words died away as footsteps came to the door.
A knock echoed.
“Yes,” she murmured brushing away the moisture from her cheeks.
“It’s me, Augustus.”
Callie said nothing.
“We’re about ready to go into church.”
“Yes.” Callie rose and placed the small bible into her reticule. Walking to the door, she paused at the trunk to pick up her bonnet before she opened the door.
Augustus stood waiting.
She glanced back at the trunk. “My things,” she began.
“I’ll pick them up after church.”
She nodded.
He backed away as she stepped into the hallway.
“Callie,” he began. “I wish you’d rethink this. Things aren’t what they seem.”
“Thank you, Augustus. But I can’t. I must do what is right. If only Max and I had met under different circumstances.”
He nodded. Taking her by the arm, he led her down the stairs.
Callie was pleasantly surprised that the main room of the house was empty. They crossed the floor and he led her out onto the porch. From the shadows beneath the porch covering, she could see Red and two other wranglers mounted behind the surrey. Bethany sat in the front seat beside Max.
As they walked toward the rig, Callie could only note how handsome he appeared in his dark suit.
He glanced at her only as she came to a stop at the rear of the surrey.“Morning, Callie.”
The sound of his voice was warm and comforting to her ears. If only they had met on other circumstances. “Morning, Max.” She placed her reticule on the seat and with his brother’s help stepped into the surrey. Straightening her skirts, she waited as Augustus mounted.