“Then we’ll be there, Sheriff,” Rowdy stated. “All of us. Ain’t that right, boys?”
“Of course,” Tate agreed. He glanced to Dex and Fox, asking, “We’ll be there, right, men?”
Fox and Dex both nodded.
“Well then, I’ll let you fellers get back to work,” the sheriff said. “You all have a good day now.” And he left.
As soon as Sheriff Montrose was gone, Dex and Tate turned to Fox.
“What’s that all about, Fox?” Dex asked.
But Fox shrugged. “I don’t rightly know,” he answered. “But if my daddy is callin’ a meetin’…it must be important.”
“Yes,” Rowdy mumbled. “It must be.”
All at once, Rowdy felt a sense of urgency where Calliope was concerned. He wanted her to know how he felt about her—how he’d always felt about her—and he wanted her to know before he missed the opportunity to tell her, for one reason or another.
He felt an increased urgency to ask Judge Ipswich’s permission to escort Calliope to the Tom Thumb wedding, even if he weren’t around to actually do it. Rowdy had told Calliope he’d ask her father for permission to escort her, and he meant to do it. If nothing else, he wanted her to know that he was serious in his intentions toward her. He’d do it; the moment he had a chance to do it, he would.
As Rowdy returned to the labor at hand at the mill, he wondered if Calliope might go stargazing again that very night. He determined he’d wait by the lamppost at the edge of town and watch for her lantern to begin bobbing around in the grassy expanse behind her house. His time in Meadowlark Lake might be coming to a forced end, and if it were, he wanted to steal as much time as he could to be in the company of the beautiful Calliope Ipswich.
Once more he thought of kissing her. He figured heaven itself could not be so wonderful as kissing Calliope. Then he wondered if he might know all too soon just what heaven was like. Yet he took a small measure of comfort in knowing that if he did end up dead, it might just be old Dodger who came to greet him again.
*
Delicious as it was, Lawson could hardly eat his supper. His stomach was churning with worry. As he studied each member of his beloved family sitting around the kitchen table enjoying supper, his worry and anxiety increased. He would not have outlaws lingering in town! He would not see his family subjected to the sorts of danger and influence loitering outlaws spread. He had three beautiful daughters and a beautiful wife—all of whom would capture any man’s notice, but especially an outlaw’s. He had a new baby arriving in November.
Thus, in that moment, Lawson reaffirmed to himself that he would do whatever was necessary to protect his family. Whatever was necessary. He’d always protected them, of course, but he’d never had to face the reality of killing men in order to do it.
“What’s the matter, Daddy?” Shay asked, rattling Lawson from his ponderings.
He looked to Shay, forcing a reassuring smile. “Oh, nothing, sweet pea. Just thinking over things that need to be accomplished tomorrow.”
Little Shay’s lovely dark eyes narrowed. “All right. I’ll believe you…for now.”
Lawson had learned early on that Shay had a sort of sixth sense that was strong enough to almost convince him that she and Kizzy really did own supernatural gypsy powers. He knew that his littlest girl could read his countenance more easily than she could her children’s books.
Therefore, he smiled, swallowing his worry and trying to hide the severity of his thought processes.
Feigning a carefree conscience, Lawson asked, “So? What are all my lovely ladies’ plans for the evening, hmmm?” He chuckled, adding, “More wedding preparations?”
“Of course,” Kizzy answered first. “There’s still so much to do, Lawson—for our youngest daughter’s weddin’, you understand.”
Shay giggled with pride and delight.
“Amoretta’s invitations are so enchanting, Daddy!” Evangeline offered. “We’re going to go over the guest list and make certain no one has been missed. Then tomorrow we’ll be going over to the Ackermans’ to discuss the decorations for the interior of the barn and to see if Mr. Longfellow has finished building the stage and stairs.”
“Well, I’ll say this,” Lawson began. “You girls really have managed to draw everyone in town into an excitement over this Tom Thumb wedding of yours.”
“And it was all Calliope’s idea,” Evangeline noted. “I don’t know what inspired you that night we were all sitting out on the porch, Calliope,” she said to her sister, “but whatever it was, I’m grateful for it! This wedding has all been so much fun for everyone who is involved. I know those who attend will remember it fondly forever!”
Calliope smiled. “Thank you, Evie. I hope everyone enjoys it.” She paused a moment, and Lawson thought she appeared a little timid suddenly as she inquired, “Daddy…if someone asks you if he may escort me to the wedding, will you give him permission please?”
Lawson chuckled. “Are you asking me because you want me to give this someone my permission? Or because, as was the case with Fox Montrose, you wish me to withhold my permission?”
Calliope smiled. “This time I want you to give the someone your permission,” she answered. “Please, please, please give this someone your permission.”
Lawson quirked one curious eyebrow. Calliope’s face fairly radiated with joy and anticipation.
“Oh, I see,” he muttered. “And who is this someone who might ask to escort you? I mean, I’ll need to be prepared in case more than one individual approaches me about the matter.”
Lawson watched Calliope as she bit her lower lip—almost as if she were afraid to answer him.
“Rowdy Gates,” she said at last.
“Rowdy Gates?” he asked, frowning. So many emotions sped through his mind that he wasn’t sure at first whether he was glad to hear Calliope’s answer or disturbed. “Rowdy Gates?” he repeated.
“Yes, Daddy,” Calliope affirmed. “You’ve always said he was one of the hardest-working, most reliable men. In fact, you once said you admired him more than any other man in town. So there wouldn’t be any reason for you to refuse him permission, right?”
Lawson slowly shook his head—even though he was still quickly mulling the matter over. Yet Calliope was right. Lawson had always admired Rowdy—had always held him in very high esteem. In fact, the only thought that gave him pause at that moment was his most recent experience with Rowdy—the man inexplicably having been a victim of attempted murder by the Morrison brothers and his knowing so much about them. Still, the only explanation for Rowdy’s experience with and knowledge of the Morrison brothers’ gang involved Rowdy having once been a lawman himself. Thus, Lawson felt no trepidation or mental warning when he considered Rowdy’s escorting Calliope.
Therefore, he answered, “There isn’t. If Rowdy Gates asks to escort you to the Tom Thumb wedding event, I will gladly grant him my permission.”
Calliope squealed with delight, fairly leapt from her chair, and threw her arms around Lawson’s neck. “Oh, thank you, Daddy! Thank you! Oh, I just hope and pray he really does ask to escort me. I might die if he doesn’t!”
“Oh, I wouldn’t worry, Calliope,” Kizzy said, smiling. “I’m sure Mr. Gates will be by to talk to you father about it any day now.”
“Really, Kizzy?” Calliope asked, hopefully.
“I’m certain of it,” Kizzy reassured her.
Lawson frowned, for his young wife didn’t seem at all astonished at Calliope’s revelation that Rowdy Gates might ask to escort her to the wedding. Furthermore, neither Kizzy nor Shay seemed surprised at Calliope’s desperation that Rowdy actually ask her.
Suddenly his dark, worrisome thoughts returned. He and Sheriff Dennison had agreed to inform the men in Meadowlark Lake of the possible danger from the Morrison brothers and to let each man prepare his own family. It was time to prepare his family.
“I do have something I need to tell you all,” Lawson began. Leaning back in his chair and inh
aling a deep breath, he began, “There is a possibility that a gang of outlaws is considering Meadowlark Lake as a place to hole up.”
“What?” all the Ipswich women exclaimed.
“What are you talking about, Lawson?” Kizzy asked. “Why in all the world would outlaws want to hole up here? In our little town?”
“Because it is a little town,” Lawson answered. “It has come to Sheriff Montrose’s attention that the Morrison brothers have been driven out of Tombstone and are thus looking for a new place to spend their time. We don’t know if they’ve chosen Meadowlark Lake for certain, but we have our suspicions. Therefore, until we can be thoroughly convinced that the Morrison brothers are not traveling nearby or considering our town as a place to rest after they’ve committed their crimes, I do not want any of you venturing far from the house without companions.” He looked to Shay, knowing how she adored to take Molly out for long, meandering walks. “That means you need to have someone with you every time you leave the house, Shay. No more walks with just Molly with you, all right?”
Shay nodded. Lawson could see the fear in her eyes, and he felt sick at having to be the one who put it there.
Smiling at her, he reached out and gathered her into his lap, kissing the top of her head. “I don’t want us all living in fear,” he said strongly. “We just need to be more watchful for a while. Furthermore, if you ever see a chestnut and white appaloosa anywhere near Meadowlark Lake, you need to inform me or Sheriff Montrose at once. All right?”
“Yes, Daddy,” Evangeline and Calliope assured him in unison.
“And what about you, my littlest angel?” Lawson asked his youngest daughter.
He felt Shay snuggle in more tightly against him. “Yes, Daddy,” she answered—though fear was evident in her voice.
“Shay, why don’t you come help Evie and I go over the guest list and invitations to make certain it’s complete?” Calliope suggested. “With three of us checking the list, it will go faster.”
“And we can sing some songs while we’re working too,” Evangeline added.
“Can we sing ‘Three Little Girls Dressed in Blue’?” Shay asked. Lawson felt her relax a little.
“Of course!” Calliope and Evangeline exclaimed.
“Come on then, darling,” Evangeline said, offering a hand to her littlest sister.
Hopping off Lawson’s lap, Shay and her sisters left the kitchen then, leaving Lawson alone to talk with his wife.
“So,” Kizzy sighed, resting her elbows on the table, “how much danger are we really in, my love?”
Lawson shook his head. “I’m not really sure we’re in any danger. I just want us to be prepared if there happens to be any on the horizon.” He reached out, taking one of Kizzy’s hands in his own. “I’ve told you all I know about it at this point.”
Kizzy nodded, exhaling a worried sigh.
Lawson frowned then, saying, “But I have a question.”
“Yes?” Kizzy prodded.
“Rowdy Gates?” he asked. “Calliope seems a might sweet on him. When did this transpire?”
But Kizzy burst into laughter, shook her head with amusement, and said, “Oh, Lawson! Sometimes I wonder how I ever managed to capture your attention. You’re so observant and wise about everything, and yet you’ve completely missed the fact that Calliope has been in love with Rowdy Gates since she first saw him!” Kizzy laughed again, rising from her chair and embracing Lawson. “You’re such an adorable man!”
But Lawson frowned. “You’re sure? Calliope’s been sweet on Rowdy for a long time?” He sighed, however, chuckling at his own naïveté. “The Tom Thumb wedding epiphany she had that night we were on the front porch…Rowdy had just been visiting with us.” He laughed. “Rowdy Gates stepped down off the porch and was hardly on his way before Calliope erupted with the inspiration to have a Tom Thumb wedding.”
Kizzy giggled and nodded. “You see? You did know! Just not consciously.”
Lawson nodded, wrapped his strong arms around his pretty wife’s waist, and said, “It’s because you’re always distracting me, my little temptress.”
Lawson kissed Kizzy then—savored the warm, sweet flavor of her mouth. After a moment he broke the seal of their lips, just long enough to chuckle. “Rowdy Gates, is it? Poor Fox Montrose never had a chance against a rival the likes of Rowdy Gates.”
“No, Judge Ipswich,” Kizzy whispered against his lips. “He did not.”
As Kizzy instigated an impassioned kiss with him then, Lawson surrendered to her alluring ways. All thoughts of danger coming to Meadowlark Lake, or of Calliope being sweet on Rowdy for so long without her father knowing, were swept from his mind. There was only his beautiful Kizzy.
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
Rowdy stood near the last lamplight in town, glancing from the warm-lighted windows of the Ipswich home to the blackness of night veiling the grassy expanse behind it. He half expected little Shay to show up and urge him on, but she didn’t, and Rowdy began to wonder whether perhaps Calliope had decided not to go stargazing that night.
But just as he was thinking he should abandon his post and hopes of seeing Calliope again, he heard the sound of a door closing. And then he saw it—a tiny lantern light bobbing along in the darkness like a Georgia lightning bug.
“Patience is a virtue, they say,” Rowdy mumbled to himself, glad he’d had enough virtue to wait as long as he did at the last lamppost.
He’d already reined Tucker nice and tight to the nearest hitching post, and now Rowdy made his way toward the small flame skipping farther and farther away from the Ipswich house. As he stepped into the cool, new grass, he smiled at the tiny flame suspended in the air a ways in front of him. Everything about Calliope Ipswich seemed enchanted—even the way the light in her lantern moved through the darkness.
“Hello?”
The sound of his voice caused such a thrilling tremor to travel through Calliope that she actually quivered for a moment. Holding her lantern up a little higher and peering through the moonlit night, she smiled as she saw him coming toward her.
“Mr. Gates!” she quietly called. “Oh, I was hoping you’d join me again this evening.”
“You were?” Rowdy said as he reached her.
“I was,” she managed. Every inch of her was tingling with anticipation as she looked up into his handsome face. He was smiling at her—not just grinning, smiling—and it made her heart leap in her bosom.
“Well, here I am,” he said. “So what’re you gonna do with me?”
A nervous yet delighted giggle escaped Calliope’s throat. He was flirting with her! It was wonderful. But she didn’t quite know how to respond.
“Well, I have my blanket and was planning on watching the stars again tonight,” she began. “But I’d much rather just sit and talk with you.”
His smile broadened as he took the blanket from where it was draped over her arm, winked at her, and said, “I think that’s a good idea.”
Calliope watched as Rowdy spread the blanket out over the grass. Taking the lantern from her, he set it to one side of the blanket, took her hand, and helped her to sit.
“Thank you,” she said, tucking her legs to one side.
Rowdy sat down across from her, resting his arms on his knees. “And how was your day, Miss Calliope?”
Calliope shrugged. “Uneventful,” she answered. Then smiling at him, she added, “Until now.”
Rowdy chuckled. “Uneventful, huh?” he asked. “Well, that’s one of them answers that can be either good or bad.”
Calliope nodded and agreed, “You’re right. And in this case I thought it was bad, until Daddy talked to us at supper tonight. And after he told us what might happen, now I think it might be good.”
Rowdy’s smile faded. “Your daddy told you about the Morrison brothers?” he asked.
Calliope nodded. “Yes. And that’s why I guess it’s good today was uneventful, right?”
Rowdy nodded. Calliope did not miss how quickly his smile had fa
ded at the mention of the Morrison brothers.
“I’m guessing you know about them,” she ventured.
“What do you mean?” he asked, seeming almost defensive.
“I mean, I’m guessing you’ve heard of them…or maybe you even knew that there may be some reason they might pass through Meadowlark Lake,” she explained. “Daddy seemed very concerned about it. Oh, he tried to pretend it wasn’t anything too awful important…but I can tell when he’s worried.” Calliope tipped her head to one side and studied Rowdy for a moment. “I wonder where he came by his information? I never thought to ask him.” She shrugged and sighed, “I suppose Sheriff Montrose received a telegram or something.”
“I told him,” Rowdy confessed. He didn’t know why he’d felt such a strong impression that he should tell Calliope that he was the one who had told Sheriff Montrose, but he did, and so he continued. “I saw one of the Morrison brothers’ horses in town one day. Actually, I saw it twice, on two different days. So I told your daddy and Sheriff Montrose that I thought the Morrison brothers might be lookin’ for a town to hide out in.”
He looked to Calliope to see her staring at him wide-eyed with astonishment. “But…but how did you recognize a horse that belonged to an outlaw?”
Rowdy almost reached out, grabbed her, and kissed her before she could run screaming from him. Yet she didn’t look frightened of him—or suspicious. She only looked curious.
“I’ve seen that horse before,” he answered. “It’s a chestnut and white appaloosa, with very unique markin’s.”
Calliope nodded. “Daddy told us that if we saw that very horse, we should tell him or the sheriff immediately.” She frowned and asked, “Where did you see that horse before? How did you know it belonged to an outlaw?”
Rowdy was surprised that she still looked calm. She was sincerely only interested in what he knew and how he knew it. So he decided to tell her the tale. He’d told her father and the sheriff that the Morrison brothers had tried to kill him—even told them how they’d tried to kill him (for the most part). Maybe he’d held back why they’d tried, but that fact wasn’t relevant to the danger the Morrison gang posed to the folks in Meadowlark Lake. The same applied to Calliope. All that was important was that the Morrison brothers had tried to kill him, and that’s how he recognized Arness Morrison’s horse. At least, that was what was important at the moment. And so he did resolve to share his secret with someone besides Judge Ipswich and Sheriff Montrose. He decided to share it with the woman he was in love with. After all, secrets between lovers—it meant certain doom to their future. His mother had taught him that—and proved it to him with the loss of her own life.
The Secret Bliss of Calliope Ipswich Page 17