The Secret Bliss of Calliope Ipswich

by McClure, Marcia Lynn

  Calliope glanced around the inside of the Ackermans’ barn. For a moment, she stood rather awed at how many people were so willing to help with putting on the Tom Thumb wedding performance—from all the women who had sewn and were still sewing so many dresses and suits to Mr. Longfellow, who was putting the finishing touches on the stage. It was so wonderful to see so many citizens of Meadowlark Lark working together and enjoying each other’s company. She figured that even if the performance itself didn’t go as smoothly as she hoped it would, there was no doubt the people would enjoy it—and that those who had prepared it would be delighted with the end result.

  Glancing down to the stack of invitations she still held in her hands, Calliope smiled as she saw Mister Rowdy Gates elegantly written across the envelope at the top of her pile. Just the sight of his name caused her arms and legs to ripple with marvelous, tingling goose bumps.

  Closing her eyes a moment, she allowed herself to bathe in the reverie of the thrilling bliss Rowdy had whisked her away to the night before. Had she known he would be so overjoyed about knowing she had been to the mill that day to see him, that he would’ve kissed her the way he did, she would’ve told him long before!

  “Calliope?”

  It was Shay’s little voice of inquiry that finally drew Calliope’s attention back to the moment at hand in the Ackermans’ barn.

  “Yes, darling?” she asked, smiling down at her sweet sister.

  “Well, now that I’m not allowed to take Molly for a walk all by myself,” Shay began. Lowering her voice to a whisper, she added, “You know, because of what Daddy told us about the Morrison brothers?”

  “Yes, darling. I know,” Calliope whispered in return. She glanced around to make certain no one had overheard what Shay had said. She knew the sheriff had asked all the men in town to attend a meeting that evening so that he could inform them of the concerns regarding the outlaws, but she didn’t want any of the ladies or children nearby to hear Shay and begin to panic.

  “Well, would you walk with me to Mr. Gates’s house after supper, so that I can put some fresh flowers on his dog’s grave today?” Shay asked. “I figured you could bring along Mr. Gates’s invitation and deliver it to him then—so we get both of them important things done.”

  Calliope smiled. She could see the worry in Shay’s eyes, and she didn’t want the precious angel to have to give up all her adventures just because some mangy outlaws may or may not ride through town one day.

  “Of course I’ll go with you, Shay Shay,” Calliope assured her. “And I do need to get Mr. Gates’s invitation to him. So you were very smart to think of it.”

  Shay sighed with satisfaction and renewed hope. “Thank you, Calliope,” she said. “I feel much better now. And besides, Molly was so worried that she wouldn’t get her walk today! Now I can settle her right down.”

  “Yes, you can,” Calliope giggled. “Now, you run on and play with the other children, and no more worries. We’ll make sure Mr. Gates’s dog has fresh flowers as often as we can, all right?”

  “All right,” Shay agreed. She hugged Calliope a moment and then ran off to join the other children, who were playing with a litter of new puppies that the Ackermans’ were keeping in the barn until the wedding.

  Calliope smiled with contentment. Leave it to Shay to give her an excuse to see Rowdy later in the day. And she couldn’t wait to see him again! Oh, she knew this meeting, for Shay to put flowers on Dodger’s grave and Calliope to deliver Rowdy’s invitation, would be nothing akin their meeting out in the grassy expanse the night before. But it didn’t matter. Any opportunity to see Rowdy—to simply gaze upon his handsome face and hear his low, alluring voice—was a blessing in itself.

  And now that she had seeing Rowdy later to look forward to, Calliope returned her attention to helping with finishing up anything and everything that still needed to be taken care of before the Tom Thumb wedding performance in three weeks’ time.

  *

  “Afternoon, Judge,” Rowdy said as he stepped into the courthouse.

  Lawson Ipswich looked up, smiled, and nodded to Rowdy in greeting. “Good afternoon, Rowdy. What brings you into the courthouse today?” Naturally, Lawson already knew exactly what had led Rowdy to the courthouse—and that was Calliope.

  “Well, I was wonderin’ if I could have a few minutes of your time to talk over a couple of things with you, Judge,” Rowdy answered.

  “Of course,” Lawson said. He nodded toward a seat at the table at which he was sitting. He’d been working on some documents but pushed them aside as Rowdy took a seat across from him. “Now, what is it you’d like to discuss?”

  Rowdy cleared his throat nervously, and Lawson fought the urge to smile with amused understanding.

  “Well, Judge, first of all, I was wantin’ to ask your permission to be Miss Calliope’s escort to this weddin’ play the ladies in town are puttin’ together,” Rowdy began. “I’m a good man, Judge. I promise you that. I have only honorable intentions toward Calliope.”

  Lawson smiled. “Do you have more intentions toward Calliope than just this one occasion of being her escort, Rowdy?”

  Rowdy cleared his throat again. “Bein’ that you asked the question, I’ll answer it. Yes, I do. I was hopin’ to somehow manage to acquire your permission to court Calliope, officially. I realize that Fox Montrose recently asked for your permission as well…and that you denied him.”

  “I did,” Lawson nodded. “And do you know why I denied him?”

  Rowdy nodded. “Again, I’ll answer honestly, Judge. Yes, I do. Calliope asked you to refuse Fox your permission. Young Shay let it slip when she was talkin’ to me one day.”

  Lawson chuckled. His sweet Shay tried so very hard to keep secrets yet often failed miserably. It was something Lawson adored about his youngest daughter.

  “That would be correct, Rowdy,” Lawson affirmed. “And in like manner, Calliope herself asked me to grant you permission to escort her to the Tom Thumb wedding, and I told her I would. And so you have that. You may indeed escort Calliope to the event to be held at the Ackermans’ barn.” Lawson paused, however, studying Rowdy a moment. “But I will admit to you, Rowdy, that Calliope didn’t say anything to me about you asking me to court her.”

  Rowdy frowned, seeming concerned. “Well, I asked her if it was all right if I came to you about that, and she said that it was.”

  Lawson’s smile broadened. “Good man!” he complimented. “Good man, Rowdy. That is evidence to me that you care more for Calliope’s wants and wishes than you do mine. And I like that. That’s what I wanted to hear. So yes, Rowdy, I’d be happy and proud to have you pay court to Calliope. You’re a good man, and I trust you.”

  Lawson saw the relief wash over Rowdy like a summer rain. “Thank you, Judge Ipswich,” Rowdy said. “And I want you to know that I can take good care of Calliope…if one day she will have me for her husband. I own the gristmill, and I have other means of financial stability as well.”

  “I’m sure you do, Rowdy,” Lawson said. “I know what a hard worker you are…what an honorable businessman you are. But my concern is Calliope’s happiness as far as her being loved and respected the way she deserves.”

  “Oh, you have no need to be concerned about that, Judge, I assure you,” Rowdy said.

  Lawson smiled. “Well then, do you want to just make this our one and only meeting concerning Calliope’s future with you? What end result do you hope for by courting my daughter, Rowdy?”

  Rowdy’s face brightened. “Well, to marry her one day, of course…if she’ll have me.”

  Lawson nodded. There rose a pinching pain in his heart—the same pain that had accompanied him the day he’d given Brake McClendon permission to marry Amoretta. One of his little girls was not so little anymore and would be leaving her father’s home and protection soon. It was a bittersweet feeling: a gladness that Calliope would be so thoroughly loved by Rowdy, an excitement for her in knowing she would be starting her own family soon. Yet i
t was also a sense of overwhelming sadness, for another one of his little girls would be leaving him.

  “Then if she’ll have you, Rowdy,” Lawson began, “you may have her. You may propose to Calliope when you and she both feel the time is right.”

  Rowdy sighed with satisfaction, and Lawson fancied for a moment there rose a bit of excess moisture in his eyes.

  “Thank you, Judge,” Rowdy said. “I know how much you love, care for, and protect your family, and I can only imagine how difficult it must be to see your three oldest daughters grown and beginnin’ to leave the nest. So I take a great deal of pride in ownin’ your confidence.” He paused a moment, seemed to inhale a deep breath of courage, and said, “And that’s why I’d like to tell you the whole of it, Judge—the whole story of how I so easily recognized Arness Morrison’s horse and of what happened when the Morrison brothers tried to kill me.”

  Lawson frowned, though he didn’t feel any less confident in Rowdy’s being the man who most deserved and would most love Calliope.

  “Very well, Rowdy,” he said. “Go ahead and tell me everything and anything you think I need to know.”

  Rowdy nodded. “I did tell Calliope some of the tale, Judge, and I mean to tell her the rest the next time I have the chance. But for now, I do want you to hear it all.”

  “All right,” Lawson said. “I’m listening.”

  *

  Some time later, Lawson shook Rowdy’s hand and watched the young man walk out of the courthouse. Truth be told, he was somewhat stunned. How could anyone endure what Rowdy Gates had endured? A man who could weather the kind of horrors Rowdy Gates had, survive, and then rise up strong was a man to be admired indeed.

  Exhaling a sigh of disbelief mingled with admiration and awe, Lawson Ipswich returned to the papers he’d been working on before Rowdy arrived.

  “Well, one thing cannot be denied,” he mumbled to himself. “My daughters certainly do not settle their hearts on men of mediocrity.”

  *

  “Thank you for comin’ with me, Calliope,” Shay chirped as she and Calliope meandered toward Rowdy Gates’s house. “Molly really needed her walk today.”

  Calliope giggled as she looked over at the cat, who so patiently endured a leash for the sake of loving the little girl who owned her.

  “Oh, I can see that,” Calliope said. “But what do you say we let Molly off the leash for the walk home? She might feel like running a bit or chasing a mouse or something, as well as having had her walk.”

  Shay nodded and looked down to Molly. “Would you like that, Molly, hmmm?” she asked the uniquely tolerant marmalade cat. The cat meowed as if in answer to Shay’s question, and Shay said, “Okay, Molly. You can run off and play while I’m gettin’ Dodger’s flowers today.”

  Being that they were nearly to Rowdy’s house, Shay stopped, removing Molly’s leash, and lovingly stroking her several times. “Now you have fun, Molly. But be careful all the same. I wouldn’t want you to be the one who run into them outlaws while you’re out by yourself, all right?”

  Again Molly meowed, gratefully brushed up against Shay’s leg, and scurried off into the grasses.

  “Molly’s such a good cat,” Calliope noted. “I’ve never known a cat to love her little girl as much as Molly loves you.”

  Shay sighed with contentment and smiled when she took Calliope’s hand as they began walking again. “I like it out here a bit out from town,” Shay commented. “It’s more quiet. Maybe that’s why Mr. Gates lives out here…because it’s so quiet.”

  “Maybe,” Calliope confirmed. “It is lovely—the grass, the trees, and the wildflowers. Of course, you do realize that we just have to step off our back porch and we have a quiet, beautiful space as well.”

  “I know,” Shay said. “But nobody could see you kissin’ your beau out here…the way they can from our house.”

  “What?” Calliope giggled.

  Shay looked up to her sister. “You and Mr. Gates,” Shay began. “I saw him kissin’ you last night and the night before from my bedroom window. But if he kissed you out here, nobody’s around to see.”

  Calliope blushed and laughed, “You were spying on me and Rowdy?”

  Shay shrugged. “No. I just saw you from my bedroom window while I was lookin’ up at the stars.” She smiled, adding, “He sure did kiss you a lot, didn’t he, Calliope?”

  “Well, I-I guess so, Shay,” Calliope stammered. “I mean—”

  “Oh look! Look at those wild daisies over there!” Shay interrupted, however. Pointing to a nice bunch of wild daisies growing not so far from Dodger’s grave, Shay said, “I need those for Dodger today. You go on and give the invitation to Mr. Gates while I take care of Dodger’s flowers.”

  In the next instant, Shay was off flouncing through the grass toward the daisies.

  Calliope giggled, amused that Shay didn’t seem surprised at all by the fact she’d seen Rowdy and Calliope kissing the two previous nights. In fact, it appeared as if Shay thought less of the kissing she’d witnessed than she did the bunch of daisies she wanted for Dodger.

  Still smiling over her amusement when she knocked on Rowdy’s front door, Calliope felt her eyes widen when Rowdy opened the door to greet her wearing nothing but his trousers and boots.

  “Well, my, my, my,” he said, grinning at her with an expression of something akin to hunger. “What a nice surprise it is to find you standin’ on my doorstep, Miss Calliope Ipswich.”

  Calliope held up the invitation she’d brought. “Good afternoon, Mr. Gates,” she began. “I’ve come to officially invite you to Meadowlark Lake’s very first Tom Thumb wedding.”

  “Fancy!” Rowdy said, taking the invitation from her. “But you didn’t have to walk all the way out here by yourself, Miss Ipswich.”

  Calliope giggled. “I didn’t,” she told him. Nodding toward the place where Shay was busily gathering flowers for Dodger’s grave, she said, “Shay was ready to burst apart if she didn’t get out here today to tend to Dodger’s grave. She’s working on making a tombstone for him, you know.”

  “A tombstone?” Rowdy chuckled.

  Calliope shrugged. “Well, a marker, at least. She’s got a big old rock she’s whitewashed, and she’s got some black paint from the general store. She’s just waiting until Amoretta comes for the wedding so that she can have her paint Dodger’s name on the rock with an appropriate amount of artistic flamboyance.”

  Rowdy laughed. “She’s a cute little thing, ain’t she? So tenderhearted and all.”

  “She is,” Calliope agreed.

  Rowdy stared at her a moment and then said, “Well, thank you for the invitation, Miss Ipswich. And since you did walk it all the way out here for me, I might as well confess that I talked to your daddy today, and he gave me permission to escort you to this weddin’ thing you’ve brewed up.”

  “He did?” Calliope exclaimed.

  “Yes, ma’am, he did,” Rowdy affirmed.

  Throwing her arms around Rowdy’s neck, she squealed, “Oh, I’m so excited, Rowdy! How fun it will all be. And me on your arm at the wedding? It’s another dream come true!”

  “Another dream come true?” Rowdy asked, holding her securely against him.

  The warmth of his skin penetrated Calliope’s bodice, and she reveled in the feel of it—in the soft, smooth contours of his back as she hugged him.

  “Yes,” she whispered. “The first dream was that you would kiss me someday…and you already made that one come true.”

  “Oh, I’d be willin’ to make that one come true over and over again, Miss Ipswich,” Rowdy mumbled against her ear.

  Calliope’s entire body broke into goose bumps as she felt him press his mouth to her neck. A wave of warmth washed over her, and butterflies erupted into flight in her stomach.

  “Mmm,” Rowdy breathed against her cheek. “You taste like honey, Calliope.”

  Her mouth was watering for want of his kiss, and she thought she might faint of unquenched desire before he finally
kissed her on the mouth. Rowdy’s kiss was warm and driven one moment, gentle and somehow teasing the next.

  “I asked your daddy if I could come courtin’ you too,” he whispered.

  “You did?” Calliope asked a moment before he kissed her again.

  “I did,” he answered in a low, provocative tone. “And he said that I could.”

  “Did you ask him anything else?” she breathed between kisses.

  “See what I mean, Calliope?” Shay said from somewhere very close.

  Calliope unwillingly pulled away from Rowdy. Looking to her little sister, she asked, “And what’s that, Shay Shay?”

  “That you and Mr. Gates should be kissin’ out here at his place, where nobody’s likely to see you,” Shay answered. “Well, other than me, I guess.”

  Shay smiled, and Calliope couldn’t help but giggle. “I guess,” she said to her sister.

  “And you best put your shirt back on and head into town soon for the meetin’ Sheriff Montrose is havin’ this evenin’, Mr. Gates,” Shay said. “Daddy says every man in Meadowlark Lake is supposed to be there.”

  “Oh, that’s right,” Rowdy said. “I almost forgot about that, Miss Shay.”

  Shay smiled at him, patted his arm, and said, “That’s ’cause you were kissin’ on Calliope and didn’t have your wits about you…so it’s all right.”

  “Maybe we’ll see you in town, Rowdy,” Calliope mentioned. “I promised Evangeline I’d go with her to check the post at the general store once I’d delivered your invitation.”

  “I’d like that,” Rowdy said. “And I sure am glad you delivered my invitation yourself, Miss Calliope.”

  Calliope blushed, and Shay rolled her eyes. “Sappy, Mr. Gates. Purely sappy,” she giggled.

  “Well, you ladies have a nice amble home,” Rowdy said. “And maybe I will see you in town this evenin’, Miss Calliope.”

  Calliope blushed with delight as he winked at her.

  “And thank you, Miss Shay, for Dodger’s flowers,” he added. “I know he appreciates bein’ attended by a pretty little girl like you.”