by P. Creeden
Winnie was glad that she sat on the right-hand side of the seat so that while Clark rode alongside the wagon on the other side of the fence, it almost felt as though he were sitting beside her. Mr. and Mrs. Harp remained quiet as they rode down the way.
“Did y’all get everything you needed?” Clark asked, looking as flush and giddy as Winnie felt inside.
She couldn’t help but smile up at him. “Yes. I’m also making some of my Christmas buns for the church choir practice tomorrow. So we got supplies for that too.”
“Great,” he said with a smile as he leaned over the pommel of his saddle. “That will be a great way for you to meet everyone in town.”
“That’s what I figure, too,” she said and nodded. Her hands wrung in her lap as she tried to steady her heart. Just being this near to him made her nervous and wanting to chew on her fingernails too. In just a few short days, Winnie knew she was developing feelings for her husband. That was a good thing, right?
“Oh!” Joe said as they reached the gate in the pasture and Clark worked to unlatch it. Joe pulled up the cart horse, too and then pulled a yellow slip of paper from his pocket. “While I was in town, Sam from the telegraph office delivered this.”
Clark’s brow furrowed. “What is it?”
“I didn’t unfold it. Would you like me to?” Joe asked.
“Do that. Read it to me. I’d rather not wait.” Clark finished coming through the gate and closed it behind himself then he turned toward the car and leaned on the pommel of his saddle again.
“All right,” said Joe as he unfolded the telegram and opened it. “It’s from your Uncle Simon. It says, ‘Heard about your wedding. Will be coming in on the train Saturday, December 21 at noon with intent to stay through Christmas.’”
“Tomorrow?” A frown tugged Clark’s lips downward. “What do you suppose that’s about? Is he checking up on me to see how things are going?”
Joe shook his head, but the worried looks on everyone’s faces made Winnie wonder. “Is this a bad thing?” she asked.
They blinked at her. Mrs. Harp’s face softened as she took Winnie’s hand. “Oh no, Dear. It’s not often that Simon Masterson comes to visit. He’s selling the western tract of land, the larger pasture to Clark, but the money isn’t due until spring. He’s also the one that pushed Clark to get remarried, which is why there was such a hurry and the need for a proxy wedding. Nothing to worry about though.”
The looks on their faces seemed to tell a different story than Mrs. Harp’s words. Winnie hoped that whatever it was that they were worried about would not be as bad as they all feared.
The whole house smelled of cinnamon and sugar, and it was just making Clark fall in love with his new wife even more. Each evening they’d spent time in the back yard getting to know one another under the stars or, if the weather was rainy like it was one night in the past week, they stayed in the parlor and watched the flames in the fireplace while they spoke. They were taking things slowly, just as Clark had promised. But nervousness pricked at his heart. His uncle was coming. Did that mean that Uncle Simon would want to see if the two of them had consummated their marriage, and that it was not annulled? That anger that hadn’t rose up in him since those lawyers left returned. He wasn’t happy about what he was having to do today.
He came around the corner and pushed the door into the kitchen. The two women prattled with each other as Winnie stood over the table and made the icing crosses over her Christmas buns. She peered up at him when he entered, and the smile that made her eyes sparkle also made his heart skip a beat. He took comfort in her every word, gesture, and gaze. Getting remarried hadn’t been a mistake, at least he could take comfort in that much and would be happy to tell Simon so.
“Will you take Winnie and me into town with these to leave with the pastor’s wife while you’re going to pick up your uncle?”
Clark nodded. “Certainly. How much more time do you need?”
Winnie rested her hands against the table. “This is the last batch, and then we need to pack them up. So fifteen minutes... make it a half an hour to give me time to get cleaned up a bit?”
He stepped forward and used his thumb to swipe at a bit of icing that was on her cheek from the work she’d been doing. Her eyes went wide at his touch, and a blush filled her cheeks. A smile tugged at his lips as he licked the icing from his thumb. “Sweet,” he said with a nod, keeping his gaze fixed on hers.
For a long moment, it seemed she didn’t even breathe, but when she slowly let out a breath, He winked at her and then started for the back door of the kitchen. “Try not to take any longer than that half hour, ladies. I’m going to go ahead and hitch the horse to the wagon.”
“We’ll be ready,” Mrs. Harp said in a sing-song way.
Clark nodded toward his cowboys as they worked on a bit of fencing right by the gate that had gotten wiggly. The post had likely broken when a steer leaned on it to scratch himself or something of that sort. A rancher’s work was never finished, and often they found something new to do when they set out to do one thing. He stopped at the fence and asked, “You boys staying here for Christmas or heading home?”
“We’ll stay if that’s all right?” Jessie answered, nodding back toward Clark. “Our mother sent a letter that she was going to go on back to Georgia a month or so back. Since our father passed on, she felt as though she didn’t feel at home here in Oklahoma anymore. So we’ll send part of our pay that way once we have an address.”
“Okay, sounds good. Let me know.” Clark started heading for the barn.
“Do you need any help hitching up the cart?” Billy called to him.
“Nope,” Clarke answered with a wave back to the boys. “I’ve got it.”
Even though Clark took his time, it didn’t take long to finish hooking up Smokey to the cart. Joe usually used the chestnut gelding on the cart, but Clark preferred to use his black mare whenever he was the one driving to town. Smokey had a certain way about her, and her need-to-please attitude when it came to Clark was what he loved most about her. He led the mare out of the barn and toward the house just as the two ladies stepped out of the back door of the kitchen, each of them carrying a bundle. The bright sun created golden streaks in Winnie’s dark brown hair. His heart fluttered again when she smiled at him. He held Winnie’s bundle as he took her hand and helped her up onto the seat of the cart, and then helped Mrs. Harp up and handed her bundle back to her as well.
Because Winnie sat in the middle of the seat, her shoulder rested against his as they rocked along in the cart on the way to town. Mrs. Harp kept up most of the conversation, herself, with Winnie adding in as they went. Clark was content to just be their driver that morning. When he stopped at the church, he smiled down at them. “I’m going to take Uncle Simon directly back to the ranch and then come back to pick up the both of you after. Will you be all right for a couple hours?”
Mrs. Harp hugged Winnie’s shoulders. “Of course. We’ve got loads to do to help Mrs. Pindleman get ready for choir practice this afternoon. Take good care of your uncle!”
“I will,” Clark said with a smile and a longing look at his bride. His heart swelled within him. He was ready to take her on as his full bride as soon as Winnie told him that she was ready. His heart had already decided that he loved her. And though she seemed to have some affection for him, he couldn’t do more than that she loved him in much the same way. He reined his horse away once they’d made it inside the building.
After he made it to the train station, he hitched his horse with the other waiting carts and then headed inside the terminal. The clock on the front of the building showed that he was a quarter of an hour early. That was good. His uncle appreciated punctuality, and no one ever knew when a train might be a wee bit early, just like it had been on the day that Winnie arrived. A smile came unbidden to his lips at the memory of his first impression and meeting with his bride. The lost child. The thief. The twisted ankle. Cinnamon and sugar.
A train whis
tle blew in the distance, signaling that the train was on its way. He stood on the platform, waiting along with the rest of those who were there from town to receive family. Even though it was a fairly warm day, the hanging holly on the posts and the tinsel here and there made the station feel festive. He wasn’t going to have to spend the holiday without a wife this year, as he thought he might have had to a month ago. Maybe Mary would have wanted it this way for him. She’d been so sick last year that they’d hardly been able to mark the day with traditions. This year would be so very different. Although his heart still pricked when he thought of Mary, there wasn’t the wrenching pain that had been there before. Winnie was healing him. She was different, but still his wife. Once the train pulled up completely in the station, Clark’s stomach twisted a bit. He let out a slow breath and waited for his uncle to disembark from the train.
Chapter 10
After saying their greetings and getting a pat on the shoulder, Clark and his uncle began to head for the wagon, a porter following them with his uncle’s steamer trunk. His uncle was a man who was larger than life. A tall man with thinning gray hair, Uncle Simon still towered over most people in the station at well over six feet tall, and his age hardly seemed to slow him down. The old man rested his hands upon his round stomach once he’d mounted the wagon, and Clark made his way into the driving seat and then picked up the reins.
“So, what’s this all about,” his uncle said. “I don’t understand what your rush is.”
“My rush?” Clark said, reining his horse back toward the dirt road and headed for the ranch.
“I thought that you loved Mary enough to become a long-term widower, like me. I didn’t expect you to rush into another marriage with your wife not in the grave for even half a year.”
Confusion twisted Clark’s stomach, and it felt as though something cold slipped down his back. “What do you mean?” he barely got out the words louder than a harsh whisper.
His uncle humphed. “I’m happy for you, Clark. I really am. It’s not often that a man can find a good wife in such a short amount of time after the passing of his former one. I know that Mary was sick for months after she’d had that fever. But it was still surprising when I’d gotten the message that you’d remarried.”
Spots crowded Clark’s vision as he pulled Smokey to the side of the road and stopped the cart. He blinked several times while his hands gripped the reins. Finally, he turned toward his uncle, who was frowning at him. “Didn’t you send Mr. Sykes and Mr. Milton from Dallas to sell me the western tract of land?”
His uncle’s frown deepened. “I’m not sure what that has to do with what I’m talking about, but no. I didn’t send anyone here. I was using Mr. Sykes as my lawyer until a few months ago. I found out he’d had some shady dealings with another business in town, so I sent him packing. Many other businessmen did the same. Are you telling me that he came up here?”
Pain radiated from Clark’s chest. He’d been played for a fool—he was completely and utterly had. That was why those men were in such a hurry to get the money. That’s why they left town the moment they’d gotten it. How could Clark not have known that there was something going on? Why hadn’t he checked with his uncle directly when the strange marriage request had been added as a stipulation. Had those con men added that factor just to confuse Clark and divert him from the fact they were stealing his money?
A hand rested upon his shoulder. “What’s going on, Clark?” his uncle asked softly.
Tears stung the backs of Clark’s eyes. He took a deep breath and let it out slowly, blinking several times to try to stop the flow of tears that threatened to come. Slowly he reined his horse back toward the road, still trying to swallow the fact that he’d been utterly deceived. He wasn’t sure how much he wanted to tell his uncle, but suddenly, he found himself spilling everything. All of his foolishness came spilling out along with some tears. Even though he was twenty-seven years old, he felt as if he were a child. What difference was there? He’d been fooled like one.
His uncle listened with a frown on his face, nodding as he talked. They were back at the ranch house when Clark had finally finished the story. He sniffed and swiped at his face. “I don’t know what to do now. I feel like everything I’ve been doing for the past few weeks has been a lie and for naught. I’ve been completely led astray.”
“I hate to see a man broken like this. Those were villains who played upon a man who was still grieving his wife. The very fact they did this to you shows that they are deserving of whatever hell God has planned for them.” His uncle shook his head. “Have you and your new wife consummated your marriage? It’s possible that we can get the whole thing annulled.”
Clark’s heart sank toward his stomach. “Annulled,” he whispered.
The healing that had begun in his heart felt raw and exposed. He’d been lied to and tricked—betrayed and bamboozled—but not by Winnie. She was genuine. She was real. And she was the best thing that had happened to him since losing Mary. Slowly, he shook his head. “I’m not interested in getting my marriage annulled. I... I’m in love with my wife.”
A smile spread across his uncle’s face as he clapped Clark on the shoulder again. “Then I guess one good thing came out of this situation, then. What those men meant for evil, God has used for good. Why don’t you go and get this wife who has brought life back to your eyes and introduce her to me?”
Swiping at his face again, Clark grinned. “You’re right, I should.” He called over to the two cowboys and had them help his uncle move his trunk. Once he’d gotten Simon settled in the house with Joe, he nodded to them both. “I’ll be back shortly with both our wives.”
Joe laughed. “See you in a short bit.”
Billy held Smokey’s reins and the wagon remained right by the front door. He took them from the cowboy with a nod and hoped up into the seat of the cart. His heart suddenly felt lighter. And he couldn’t wait to see his wife.
Everyone in the choir loved Winnie’s Christmas buns. A few of the ladies even suggested that she should open a bakery in town. Everyone was certain it would be a success. She smiled and nodded but wasn’t sure what the cost of that kind of venture would be. However, she was sure that she’d never be able to afford that sort of luxury. Besides, it had taken her whole family to run the bakery back in Baltimore. She couldn’t even dream of trying to do all that work on her own, could she?
Dust kicked up from down the road as Clark and his black mare pulling the cart came into view. Winnie shaded her eyes in an attempt to see the expression on Clark’s face.
“What’s his hurry?” Mrs. Harp asked as they both came down the steps of the church’s porch.
His expression was determined and focused. The frown on his lips was accentuated by the pucker of his brow. When he pulled up in front of the church, his horse chomped at the bit as though she could read her owner’s apprehension through the reins. Winnie suddenly grew nervous and found her thumbnail between her teeth. Clark jumped down from the seat and marched toward her with purpose. Fear seized her chest.
“What’s going on?” Mrs. Harp asked with her hands on her hips as he approached. She stepped partway between Clark and Winnie as though to protect her.
Clark stopped, eyes going wide in surprise. Then he shook his head and his face softened. “I’m sorry. It’s just... no. Never mind.” He reached a hand out toward Winnie and asked with measured words, “Would you go for a walk with me? Just for a few minutes.”
Winnie blinked up at him, seeing now that there was pain behind his eyes. She didn’t know what was going on, but found herself pulling her thumbnail from her teeth and setting her hand in his. The warmth she found there began putting her heart at ease. He squeezed her fingers gently and then led her away from the church and toward a path that took them into the small copse of trees nearby.
She followed him. Even though she was confused and still a bit nervous, she found comfort in his wide shoulders and in the feel of her hand in his. They walked the
short distance through the trees and toward a stream that ran just on the other side. There, Clark finally stopped. He turned toward her, his eyes watery with tears, and then pulled her into him and embraced her. At first she stiffened, unsure how to respond. Then his heat melted her heart, the warmth of his body helped mold her into him and she found her arms wrapping around his waist and holding him against her, too. She couldn’t remember the last time she’d been hugged by her mother or father. She couldn’t remember the last time anyone had held her like this. Tears came to her eyes, unbidden, and her heart felt as though it would burst with the emotions that she felt there for her husband.
After sniffing, Clark pulled away and swiped tears from his cheeks. Then his hazel eyes met hers. “I love you, Winnie. I didn’t expect to love you, but I do. I love the way you smile. I love the way you smell. I love the gold that shows up in your hair when the sun shines down on you just right, and I love the way your eyes sparkle at me when you see me enter a room. I love that you are quiet and calm. You’ve been a healing balm to my broken heart. And I never want to let you go.” Then his voice hitched as he said, “But I’ve been made a fool.”
All the words of love that Clark had prefaced the “but” with had made her heart swell even more, but when he said that one little word, fear gripped its icy fingers around her. She swallowed hard and waited for him to continue. And continue he did. He told her all about the two lawyers who had come to him under false pretenses. He told her how he’d given them her dowry and how their entire marriage was based upon the lie these two men told him. His face became distraught and tears ran down his cheeks. By the time he finished, he was a bent and broken man. Far more broken then she’d ever seen him. Nearly as broken as her own father had looked when he’d returned from the war without a leg. Clark had suffered so much loss and then he said words that broke her heart. “I’ve lost so much in such a short amount of time, but you’re the best thing that’s happened to me this year... maybe in all my life. Please. Please don’t hate me. But if you have to leave, I’ll understand.”