Measure of Grace

by Al Lacy

  Belinda moved toward her horse, telling herself that with patience, she would win Jordan over and would one day become Mrs. Jordan Shaw.

  Suddenly she stopped as she saw William Shaw galloping toward the spot. Jordan saw him at the same time.

  Belinda stopped, wheeled, and walked back toward Jordan. “Jordie, your father’s coming. See him?”

  “Yes. I see him.”

  Jordan hoped his father would not think he was interested in Belinda simply because they were there together.

  AS WILLIAM SHAW DREW UP and pulled rein, he smiled. “Hello, Belinda! Nice to see you.” There was a pleased look on his face. Jordan knew that was because he found the two of them together.

  Running his gaze between them, William said, “Am I interrupting anything?”

  “Of course not,” said Jordan. “Belinda and I were just chatting. She was about to leave.”

  Swinging from the saddle, William looked around. “Didn’t Guy come out here with you, son?”

  “Yes, sir, but when we got down to just the barbed wire needing to be stapled to this post, he headed on back, saying he would see if there was some work needed to be done around the barn. I’m surprised you didn’t run into him.”

  “I wasn’t at the house. I came here from over at the Circle D Ranch.”

  “Oh.”

  “I just wanted to see how the fence repair was coming along.”

  “Well, gentlemen,” said Belinda, “I’ll excuse myself and be on my way. See you later, Jordie.”

  Feeling the pressure of his duty to be extra polite to Belinda in front of his father, Jordan took her arm and walked her to where her horse stood beside his. The two of them were contentedly munching on the grass.

  William felt satisfied as he watched them together.

  Steadying her as she stepped into the stirrup and swung into the saddle, Jordan said, “It was nice of you to come out and see me.”

  Belinda looked down at him, and smiled crookedly as she thought to herself, My mind is made up. I am going to become Mrs. Jordan Shaw. You might as well prepare yourself for it, Jordie.

  Not knowing what to make of the strange smile that captured her lips, Jordan thought, I wonder what that’s about.

  William said, “Belinda, you’re always welcome to visit Jordan here on the ranch anytime you wish.”

  Jordan saw the strange smile disappear from her lips as it was replaced by a normal one. “Thank you, Mr. Shaw.” She looked at Jordan one more time, then put the horse to a trot.

  While watching her ride away, Jordan told himself he might as well settle the Belinda matter with his father right now. He turned back, stepped up close, and was about to speak when William said, “Son, I’m glad to see things developing so favorably between you and Belinda. Let me tell you what I’ve got in mind.”

  “Father, I—”

  “Let me tell you—” he raised a palm as if to keep Jordan from talking while he was informing him of his plan. “The day you and Belinda get engaged, I’ll put the men to building the two of you a real nice log house here on the ranch, wherever you want it.”

  “But, Father—”

  “Let me finish, boy. After you and Belinda have been married a couple of years, I’ll buy you that big spread somewhere in the area that we’ve talked about, and you’ll be on your own in the cattle business. How does that sound?”

  Jordan’s nerves stretched tight. “Father, I—”

  “You know how much your mother and I think of Belinda, don’t you? We both know she’ll make you a wonderful wife.” He chuckled. “I can’t tell you how pleased I was to find the two of you together here.”

  William was taking a breath. Jordan plunged into the opening and said, “Father, I don’t want to upset you or Mother … but there’s something you have to understand.”

  Shaw raised his eyebrows. “And what is that?”

  “I am not interested in Belinda for a wife.”

  William’s eyebrows dropped and formed into a scowl. “What are you talking about? She’s perfect for you. She comes from good stock. She’s on your social level. She’s—”

  “I like her as a friend,” Jordan said levelly, “but I’m not interested in her romantically.”

  “Give it a little time,” William said quickly. “Once you really get to know Belinda, you’ll fall in love with her.”

  Jordan knew in his heart he would never fall in love with Belinda Ashworth. But he decided not to voice it to his father at that moment.

  “Your mother and I have talked to Belinda’s parents several times lately,” said William. “They are quite anxious to see the two of you fall in love and marry. They really like you, son.”

  Jordan strongly disliked the pressure he was getting from both sets of parents but said nothing.

  “Well! Let’s get this fence job finished!”

  Belinda Ashworth trotted her horse up to the rear of the Bar-S ranch house, dismounted, stepped up on the porch, and knocked on the back door. When the door came open, she put a big smile on her lips and said, “Hello again, Mrs. Shaw. I just wanted to thank you for directing me to the spot where Jordie was repairing fence.”

  “My pleasure, honey,” said Sylvia. “Did you two have a nice time?”

  “Oh, yes. Guy Tabor left shortly after I arrived out there, and left Jordie and me alone. He’s so … so special. You have certainly raised a wonderful son, Mrs. Shaw.”

  “Why, thank you, dear. William and I have done our best. Won’t you come in and visit for a while?”

  “I have to be going, thank you. But I’ll take you up on it soon.”

  “All right,” said Sylvia. “You’re welcome anytime.”

  Sylvia watched while Belinda mounted and rode away, then smiled to herself and closed the door.

  Belinda was guiding her horse up the lane toward the road when she saw a wagon coming along the road from the direction of town. She recognized the Faulkner sisters, Althea and Bernadine, who were approximately her age. The Faulkner ranch was adjacent to the Ashworth Ranch on its far side, so she had gotten to know Althea and Bernadine quite well.

  Belinda reached the road at the same time the Faulkner wagon was drawing near the Bar-S gate, and Althea drew rein.

  Belinda halted her horse and smiled at the sisters. “Hello, Althea, Bernadine.”

  Bernadine grinned impishly. “Visiting somebody on the Bar-S, dearie?”

  Belinda blushed and dipped her head slightly. “Yes.”

  Althea giggled. “We … ah … have heard little rumors that you and Jordan are getting serious about each other.”

  Bernadine playfully elbowed her sister in the ribs. “Althea, maybe they’re not rumors.”

  Wanting to impress them, and having set her mind to become Mrs. Jordan Shaw, Belinda said, “They are definitely not rumors, girls. What you’ve heard is a fact. Jordie and I are getting very, very close. We just spent a couple of hours together, and found each other’s company to be quite pleasant and satisfying.”

  “Has Jordan told you he loves you?” queried Althea.

  Blushing again, Belinda replied, “Well-l-l-l … not in so many words, but his actions speak louder than words, anyway. He has made it quite clear how he feels about me.”

  The sisters giggled again, looking at each other, then Bernadine said, “I envy you, Belinda. Not only is Jordan very rugged, handsome, and charming, but he is also very rich. The Shaws are the richest of all the ranchers in this whole territory.”

  “I agree,” said Belinda. “Jordie is indeed rugged, handsome, charming, and loaded with money.”

  “Honey, if you marry Jordan,” said Althea, “you’ll be even wealthier than you are right now. Much, much wealthier.”

  Belinda grinned and shrugged. “What can I say? But let me emphasize one thing. It is not if I marry Jordie. It is when I marry Jordie. There is no ‘if’ about it. We’ll be engaged in another month or so. Mark my word.”

  Bernadine jabbed an elbow in her sister’s ribs again an
d laughed. “It looks like Belinda knows what she’s doing! She’ll be Mrs. Jordan Shaw before Christmas!”

  Belinda laughed. “Honey, you can count on it!”

  When William and Jordan stepped into the kitchen, Sylvia was working at the cupboard. Turning, she smiled and said, “Well, both of my men are back at the same time!”

  “After I left the Circle D,” said William, “I rode over to where Jordan was working on the fence. Guy had already headed back here, but I found Belinda with our son.”

  “Yes, I know,” she said. “I told her where she could find him.”

  William grinned and looked at Jordan. “Anyway, after Belinda left, I helped him finish up there, so we rode on back together.”

  Sylvia moved closer to her son. “Honey, did you and Belinda have a nice time together?”

  “Not in the way you mean, Mother,” said Jordan. “I might as well tell you what I told Father. I have no romantic inclinations toward Belinda at all. None. She’s a nice girl, and I consider us to be friends. But that’s where it ends, Mother. That’s where it ends.”

  Surprise showed on Sylvia’s face. She looked at her husband.

  William moved close to her. “I told him that once he gets to know Belinda, he’ll fall in love with her.”

  “Of course,” said Sylvia, turning back to her work at the cupboard. “She is such a delightful girl. Just a little more time spent with her, and he’ll go head-over-heels. She’s so perfect for him. She’ll fit into this family excellently.”

  “No doubt about it,” said William. “And it will be so good to have this tie with the Ashworths.”

  The parents’ backs were now toward their son.

  “Won’t it, though?” said Sylvia. “I was thinking about that after Belinda was here today. A perfect situation.”

  William and Sylvia talked on, totally disregarding Jordan or his feelings. They were not even aware of it when their son left the room, shaking his head and mumbling, “I’m going to have to take this matter into my own hands.”

  He took the stairs to his room two at a time, in a hurry to escape the sound of their voices.

  When Belinda arrived home and entered the big ranch house, she found her mother and sister in the kitchen, preparing to bake cinnamon rolls.

  Dorothy smiled as she pressed the rolling pin over the dough. “Hello, honey. Were you able to spend some time with Jordan?”

  Jean looked at her sister, waiting to hear what she had to tell them.

  “Oh yes, Mama,” said Belinda. “He was repairing fence out on the south section. Mrs. Shaw told me where he was, so I rode out there. He was so glad to see me.”

  “Of course,” said Jean, smiling broadly. “He’s in love with you, isn’t he?”

  Belinda managed to blush once more. “Well … you better believe it!”

  Jean giggled and clapped her hands. “He told you he loves you?”

  “Well, he didn’t exactly put it into those words, honey, but Jordie has his own special ways of getting the message to me.”

  “That’s wonderful,” said Dorothy. “That’s how your father was when we first began to show interest in each other. He didn’t put it into words for a while, but he sure did show me how he felt.”

  “So things are really developing between you, huh, sis?”

  “Most definitely,” replied Belinda. “I’d like for them to develop a bit faster, but as long as I see progress, it’s all right. I have no doubt that Jordie and I will end up at the altar together. I’m going to be Mrs. Jordan Shaw, sure as spring follows winter!”

  Jean sighed. “I wish I could find a beau as handsome and rich as Jordan.”

  Dorothy smiled. “Well, honey, I hope you find one like Jordan, too. I want both of you girls to marry men who are on our social level.” She paused. “How pleased William and Sylvia must be to see their son falling in love with you, Belinda.”

  Belinda smiled.

  Jean stuck out her lower lip in a mock pout. “Too bad the Shaws don’t have another son.”

  The next day, Jordan Shaw was riding toward Elkton and was some three miles from town when he saw a wagon coming toward him. When it drew near enough so he could see who was sitting on the seat, he groaned. “Oh no. The Faulkner sisters. Those two busybodies are the last thing I need right now.”

  They had recognized him and were waving.

  Jordan knew they would expect him to stop and make polite conversation. He would have to do it or suffer the consequences. It would never do for his mother to hear that he had been rude. She would never let up on her lectures about proper etiquette and the place of good manners in the community.

  As they were drawing abreast, Jordan stopped his horse and Althea drew rein.

  “Hello, Jordan!” said Bernadine. “Nice to see you.”

  “And hello from me,” piped up Althea.

  Jordan touched his hat brim, nodded with a forced smile, and said, “Hello, ladies. Been to town already, eh?”

  “Oh yes,” said Bernadine. “We do a lot of the shopping for both our parents. Makes it easier on them.”

  Smiling broadly, Althea said, “We met up with Belinda as she was coming off your ranch yesterday, Jordan. She said she had spent a couple of hours with you, and that things really went well.”

  Jordan felt his blood heat up. Belinda had certainly exaggerated about the amount of time they had been together. He was tempted to set the record straight, but decided to leave it alone. “What do you mean, ‘things really went well’?” he asked.

  Althea giggled. “You know. Your romance.”

  Jordan felt something go sour in his stomach.

  “We’re so happy to hear that you and Belinda are falling for each other,” said Althea. “You make a beautiful couple.”

  “You sure do,” said Bernadine. “Belinda said the two of you are very, very close.”

  Anger welled up inside Jordan Shaw, but he covered it. “Well, ladies,” he said, fighting to keep his voice level, “it’s been nice chatting with you. I really must be going.”

  The Faulkner sisters bid him good-bye, and Jordan spurred his horse into a gallop. As he rode on into town, he told himself there had to be a way to stop this nonsense and still not irritate his parents.

  But how?

  He must find a way.

  By the time Jordan had reached the outskirts of Elkton, he had pushed his horse into a lather, as well as himself. Anger burned within him toward Belinda. Being kind and polite to her was one thing … but Belinda was causing this situation to get out of hand. She was deliberately lying to people and making them think the two of them were falling in love. Jordan had told her plainly that he wasn’t ready for any such thing, that he was not ready to get serious with a girl.

  Riding into town, Jordan drew up where he needed to go, tied his horse to the hitch rail, and started down the boardwalk. “Belinda, you refuse to listen to what I tell you. All right, young lady … this calls for drastic measures. I’m not sure what they will be, but drastic measures are coming!”

  At sunrise the next Monday, October 14, Knight Colburn was tying the bedroll behind his saddle at the small barn behind his house when he looked up to see Jordan come riding into the yard.

  Jordan smiled as he reined in and said, “Well, ol’ pal, are you ready for two days of hunting?”

  Knight gave him a pleasant grin. “Sure am. It’s been hectic at the office this past week. It’ll feel good to get away. The Tylers are excellent at what they do. They’ll keep things rolling without a hitch, I’m sure.”

  Jordan dismounted and helped Knight load his saddlebags with ammunition. Knight tied his knapsack full of food next to the bedroll, then slid his rifle into the saddle boot. As he buckled the strap that held the rifle in place, he said, “I suppose you’ll have your eye out for that big black bear you’re wanting to bag.”

  “I sure will. I’ve caught glimpses of him several times when I was staying at that same old cabin, but by the time I could grab my rifle and go
after him, he was gone. One of these times, I’ll get him.” Jordan looked toward the house. “I think I can smell that Annie Colburn breakfast right now.”

  Knight chuckled. “Well, Mom’s got it ready. Let’s go!”

  When they entered the kitchen, Annie smiled warmly and said, “Well, there’s that boy who’s like a second son to me! Ready for breakfast, Jordan?”

  “I sure am!” said Jordan, taking in the sweet aroma through his nostrils with a big sniff. He bent down and kissed her on the cheek. “I’m always ready to eat your cooking. I sure miss it at the ranch. It isn’t fair that Knight still gets to eat your cooking every day and I have to wait till I can make it in here once a week or so.”

  Annie laughed. “Well, you know you’re welcome anytime you can come.”

  “I sure do, ma’am,” said Jordan, “and I appreciate it more than I could ever tell you.”

  “Sit down, boys,” said Annie. “It’s all on the table.”

  Jordan endured the quiet moment as Knight offered thanks to the Lord, then enjoyed his breakfast.

  When they had eaten their fill, both young men put on their hats and mackinaws. Jordan kissed Annie’s cheek another time and thanked her for the good breakfast.

  Knight hugged his mother and kissed her forehead tenderly. “Now, Mom, I’ll be home tomorrow evening. If you need anything, just let the Tylers know. All right?”

  “Yes. Don’t worry about me, honey. I’ll be fine.”

  Annie stood at the door and watched as her son and his best friend mounted up. They waved, and she waved back, saying in a low tone, “Dear Lord, take care of them.”

  Knight and Jordan rode out of the yard and headed for Main Street. They took a right turn and headed northward out of town. People on the boardwalk waved and called to them as they passed by. They returned the greetings, and soon were out in open country, aiming for the Sawtooth Mountains.

  They kept the horses at a fast pace until they reached the foothills, then slowed them to a trot.

  Jordan’s thoughts were on Belinda Ashworth as he searched his brain for a solution. What could he do to end this mythical romance that was in her mind? Somehow he had to come up with a solution, and he had to do it in a hurry. Belinda’s lies about him falling in love with her had to stop. But he couldn’t just flat come out and tell her to shut her mouth. Whatever he did, he dare not upset his parents by treating Belinda in a rough manner.