by Jodi Thomas
“No,” Hannah found her voice. “I’ll take over the teaching on Monday.”
She felt Ford’s hand tighten slightly around her fingers, but he didn’t say a word. “I came here to teach, and teach I will as soon as needed.” She knew little about schools. Her mother had allowed her to go for a year once when they’d lived close to a school, but then they’d moved on and Hannah had continued her learning at the kitchen tables where her mother worked. But now in Saints Roost there was nothing to do, and she’d only be in Ford’s way if she stayed at the ranch.
“Are you sure?” he asked.
Hannah loved hearing the question in his words, not disapproval. He was allowing her to plan her own moves. “I’m sure,” she answered. “Only you’ll have to show me the way to the schoolhouse.”
“I’ll take you there myself. I have to go into town anyway. After that you can ride the bay, if you like, or I’ll hitch up the wagon.”
A large woman with a hat that looked like several birds had collided atop it pulled at Hannah’s free hand. “I must show you something, dear. Step over here.”
Hannah glanced at Ford, who nodded but raised an eyebrow.
Hesitating, Hannah opened her mouth to refuse.
Before she could say anything, the lady pulled again, as if in a great hurry.
When Hannah was a few steps away, several men jumped toward Ford at once. He had only enough time to raise his arm to fight before they had him pinned to the wall. Hannah tried to pull her arm free of the woman so she could return to Ford, but a man blocked her way.
“Take her, Justin!” a man yelled as he fought along with several others to hold Ford. “Take her quick. We can’t hold him long.”
“Yes, sir.” A youth grabbed Hannah’s free arm and pulled her through the crowd. Suddenly people seemed to close in on her, shoving her along after the boy. All the folks in their Sunday best were suddenly a mob of pushing, shoving madness.
“Cover her head with a blanket!” some woman shouted. “You don’t want her catching cold while you’re kidnapping her.”
Youths, none old enough to shave regularly, framed Hannah on all sides. “Don’t worry, ma’am, there ain’t been a bride yet that hasn’t been found by her groom at least by their twentieth anniversary.”
“Get your pans, folks. We want to make so much noise, Ford will never hear her calling. If he’s going to find his missus, he’ll have to use his heart, because he won’t be able to hear a thing telling him which way she’s leaving.”
Just before panic exploded in her brain, Hannah realized everyone in the room but Ford was laughing. He was struggling wildly against the half a dozen men holding him. His face was twisted with rage. For a moment Hannah saw something savage in him and wondered if his sister might also see the wildness.
Jinx Malone’s tall frame blocked the exit suddenly, and the youths stopped pulling Hannah forward. “Don’t worry.” Jinx smiled at Hannah as though she knew words needed to be said. “Your man will find you. It’s all in fun. I’ve done it several times and always lived.”
Hannah wanted to scream that she didn’t have a man, but something dark covered her head and the world went black. Hands pulled her forward, shoving her, hurrying her, steadying her. The uproar of the crowd seemed to be farther and farther away as she stumbled across the threshold and outside onto the dirt.
Someone lifted her into the bed of a wagon. “Take her to the cave,” said a boy whose voice was just changing. “If her husband can’t find her there, he don’t deserve to have her.”
“He don’t deserve her anyway,” another answered, as Hannah felt the wagon give to someone else’s weight. “What’s a man like Ford Colston doing with such a pretty wife? It don’t make sense.”
“Hush up, you fool! She can hear.”
“Well, maybe she’s deaf as well as blind.”
“Just do your job and take her to the cave. We’ll try to lead Ford in as many wrong directions as possible.”
“Do I have to stay with her? I’ll miss all the fun back here.”
“No, tie a rope around the blanket and leave her there. She’ll be all right as long as she doesn’t move around and fall over a rock or something.”
Hannah heard the slap of leather, and the wagon jerked forward. She bounced around in the bed, trying to free her hands, for what seemed like several minutes. Then the wagon stopped suddenly, throwing her against the back gate.
Before she could straighten and fight, a rope encircled her blanket. Though Hannah struggled, her elbows were pinned to her sides with the rope while another loop caught her legs in her skirts. On unsteady feet, the kidnapper carried her down an incline.
“You’ll be fine here,” the youth said, not sounding at all sure of his statement. He dropped her against a chair-high stone and let out a long breath. “Just sit here on this rock until your husband comes. You’re in a cave that’s only about ten feet deep. It’ll protect you should it start rainin’.”
Hannah tried to scream through the thick layer of wool. The sound seemed to travel only as far as her own ears. Minutes ago, she’d thought these were normal people, folks that anyone would be proud to call friends and neighbors. But now she knew they were all crazy. Somehow she’d gotten off the train and traveled to the only town in Texas where every man, woman, and child was mad.
She closed her eyes and forced colors to come into her mind, as she often did at night when there was no light in her little room. “Ford, find me,” she whispered over and over as she waited.
* * *
When the men stepped away from Ford, they’d expected him to come out swinging and he did. He knocked three of them flat and was about to toss a fourth when Jinx pushed her way into the circle of men.
“Stop!” she yelled.
Ford slowly lowered the fellow he’d been about to throw.
“This is all in fun, my friend.” Jinx’s voice was a shout on calm days; now it could have bested a train whistle. “They do this at every wedding, Ford. It’s called a shivaree. I’ve had so many I have to kidnap myself now, ’cause there’s no longer a man who can lift me.”
Ford took a deep breath and tried to force his breathing to slow. Several men moved a step back when he raised his hand and shoved hair from his face. “I know it, but Hannah looked frightened. I didn’t have time to warn her. Someone should have explained it to her.”
“It’s just a game. Folks bring food, they all say how happy they are, and they kidnap the bride. It’s not so complicated. You’ll find her in no time and everyone will have a good laugh.”
Ford glanced around the room. He’d known all these people for years, but in truth he called very few of them friends. He guessed they’d laugh at him about as quickly as they’d laugh with him. But Jinx was right; it was only a prank, and he must play along. He had no choice. He counted this older woman among his few friends, and if she thought everything would be all right, he’d play along.
“Calm down, big brother!” Gavrila moved into the circle of men and Jinx, now that everything seemed safe. Her eyes were wide and her hand was held up toward Ford, as if she feared he might yet turn and strike even her. “No one is going to hurt your bride. Calm yourself. Settle down. Don’t go crazy, like some wild animal in the woods.”
Ford stiffened. She was using the very words his stepmother used to use to refer to him. His face tightened and he almost growled in anger.
“This is just a game, Sanford.” Gavrila’s words were loud and spoken slowly. “You can play the game, just like anyone else.”
She was doing what she’d always done to him, making him feel like he was an animal she’d found outside its cage and she had to talk in simple language to try and coax him back in.
He saw it in the others’ eyes. They were afraid of him. The kind of fear that repulses. And they felt sorry for Gavrila. Poor pretty, tiny Gavrila. He could go to church with them, eat dinner at their homes, even serve on the school board, but he was different. A kind of difference
that would never fit into their society. He wondered if he’d ever be accepted by them.
Only Jinx, who herself was an outsider, seemed to never judge him. Ford turned from Gavrila, wishing his sister would grow the wings she thought she deserved and fly away.
Jinx had moved to the corner by the fireplace and was lighting a pipe. Something no respectable woman would have done. But then Jinx wasn’t big on accepting anyone’s laws but her own. She often said that when her third husband died, she found she missed the smell of his pipe more than she did him, so she took up the habit herself.
When Ford’s eyes met hers, she winked at him. “Better go find that bride, son, before these good people eat you out of winter rations.”
No one stopped him as he moved to the door. He grabbed his hat and coat and left. The moment he closed the door, he heard voices start chattering. Ford moved away, into the cloudy morning sun. He didn’t want to hear what they were saying; he’d heard it all his life.
Forcing his mind to think, he made a mental list of all the places she could be hiding. The barn was too easy, town was too far. As he walked past the wagons, he ran his hand over the metal of each one’s wheels. Sure enough, the last wagon wheel he touched was warm. Someone had traveled fast in this rig only a few minutes ago. And if they’d had time to get somewhere and back while he’d been held inside, Hannah couldn’t be far away.
Several youths stood near the barn, as if daring him to try and find her in there. They all held sticks and pans to make noise and set off an alarm. Another group of men was down by the bend in the road. They looked more interested in their own conversation than in playing any games with newlyweds.
Ford walked toward the edge of the canyon. He could go toward town and search every dugout and farmhouse until he found her, or he could head deeper into the canyon. By road it would take several minutes to reach a cave large enough for them to use as a hiding place, but if he climbed the rim, he could be there in half the time.
With a sudden movement, he ran toward the end of the corral, where the land dropped off sharply into the canyon. Before anyone could react and follow, he’d disappeared into the line of trees and brush. As he climbed he could hear them shouting at one another, looking for him, but they had no direction to follow. He was the only man alive who knew this way to the caves from his place. He’d found it one summer when he’d been exploring for colored rocks to use to build his fireplace. A reddish brown streak of rock ran along the rim from just below his corral to the first cave. It was as easy as following street signs in a city, once a man knew the trick.
Within a few minutes, he swung down from the ledge and into the cave. Colder air greeted him as he moved out of the light.
“Hannah?” Ford said, knowing there was no need to yell. The cave wasn’t deep, but it twisted into total blackness within a few feet of the opening. “Hannah?”
Just as he’d decided he’d made a mistake, he heard her muffled cry.
“Stay put,” Ford ordered as he moved through the blackness. “I’ll find you.”
The rock was cold and damp as he felt his way slowly. He could stand in most parts, but he remembered the ceiling dipped low in a few places. “Don’t worry, Hannah, I’m close.”
Sharp edges jutted out, brushing his hair as he moved. The ground was uneven and pebbly. Hannah sounded far away, but he knew she couldn’t be more than a few feet from him. Ford fought to keep his hands from forming fists as he thought about how they’d frightened her needlessly. This was a silly custom, probably practiced nowhere else but the plains of Texas.
“Hannah,” he whispered as he bumped into something soft.
She stiffened, then relaxed as she recognized his touch. Her muffled cries came in a constant stream.
Ford pulled the rope free, jerking the blanket off her head. While she took a deep breath, he brushed her hair back from her face with both his hands. “Are you all right?”
He felt her nod, but he doubted her answer, for he could feel the warm tears on her cheeks. Slowly, he touched her shoulders and slid his fingers along her sides. “They didn’t hurt you, did they?”
“No,” Hannah answered. “I was only frightened a little.”
Ford laughed. “Well, I was frightened for you—a lot.” He pulled her into a hug. “I’m afraid I was so angry I’ve convinced at least half my neighbors that I’m a wild man.”
“Is every day of married life to you going to be like this? I’m not sure I’ll last a month.”
Ford circled her waist with his hands. “It will calm down. I promise.”
He was silent for a long moment, but so close to her, Hannah could feel his heart pounding. “This blackness reminds me of the hotel room where we met.” Her voice was so low it could have been a thought.
Pressing his face against her hair, he agreed.
Hannah lifted her cheek to brush his. Something about the darkness made her want to touch this man. In the light there was the reality of who and what he was, but in the blackness there was only the man. A gentle man.
“Our agreement,” she whispered, without moving away.
“I know,” he answered. “This isn’t exactly a public place for touching.” He leaned closer, pressing her back against the cool wall of the cave. “But I’m not sure how wide the cave is at this point.”
She felt his chest rise and fall against her own. “And we wouldn’t want you bumping your head.”
“No,” he whispered as he lowered his face into the softness of her hair. He leaned closer, protecting her shoulders from the rocks behind her with his arm. She felt so right against him. He didn’t want to think about being from Saints Roost, where rules surrounded him. He didn’t want to think about her being a robber who’d be gone in a month. All he wanted to do was feel her next to him, close and soft as a woman should feel next to a man.
“Maybe in this blackness you would be only a stranger, as you were back in the hotel,” she whispered as her hand cupped the back of his neck.
“I don’t even know your name. In fact, this probably isn’t happening at all.” He played along as his palms pressed against her ribs, just below her breasts. “What are the odds of finding a woman in a cave on my land?”
“And what is the chance that two total strangers will ever pass one another again.” She lifted her hands and dug her fingers into his thick hair, pulling his mouth to hers. “But I’ll always remember a stranger’s kiss,” she whispered against his mouth.
He liked the feel of her words. “And I’ll always remember the way a stranger felt in my arms.”
Their kiss was as wild as the moment. They’d spent the night being proper and abiding by the rules they’d both set, but suddenly there were no rules in the blackness of the cave. His hard body molded her against the rock while his hands moved over her clothes, longing to touch what he’d seen in the mirror earlier, needing to feel the curves he’d only glimpsed and thought too perfect to be real.
Loving the feel of him so close, she found her fingers just as bold in their exploring. She needed to touch him, even though each time she did she felt an increased need for more. Her hands slid beneath his coat and pressed against the muscles of his chest. The cotton of his shirt did little to disguise the feel of him. She could even capture the warmth of his skin through the material.
As her hands grew bolder, her mouth opened to his kiss. His lips were full enough to be tender. She could feel his reaction to her kiss jerk in shock waves through his body.
“Unbutton your shirt,” she whispered as his mouth moved to her throat.
Ford laughed against her neck and ripped his shirt open with one mighty tug.
Without hesitation, she moved her fingers across his chest. Her hands slid around his waist and clawed gently across his back.
He growled low in her ear, and Hannah smiled in the darkness and repeated her action.
His kisses were warm and tender as she continued to touch him, first hesitantly, then boldly. It felt good to feel the man
she’d seen. The muscles were as tight as she’d imagined, and his skin seemed afire with a need for more.
He held her waist as he leaned back slightly, groaning at the pleasure her touch brought him. When her mouth brushed his throat, his grip tightened and he almost lifted her off the ground.
Hannah laughed and leaned back against the rock, waiting for his kiss. As his mouth covered hers, he slid his hand up over her breast and pressed lightly against the material.
The moment shattered like crystal in the wind. She pulled away suddenly, shoving and fighting for space.
“Hannah, what’s wrong?” Ford reached for her, but she pulled away again.
“Nothing. Just stay away.” She moved, feeling her way along the wall of the cave. “Where’s the opening?”
Ford took her hand and pulled her into the shadowy light halfway to the entrance. “What is it? What happened? Did I do something I shouldn’t have?”
“Nothing!” She tried to move past him. “You did nothing. It’s me.”
He allowed her to pass. She brushed against him as she moved into the light, but when he offered his assistance, she pulled away. Anger bubbled over in him and he didn’t even know the reason. “So that’s the way it is, darlin’. You’re allowed to break the rules and touch me in private, but I can’t touch you? You’re mad because I touched you. That’s it. You can do whatever you like, but I’m to stay in check.”
Hannah straightened her hair and tried to ignore him. She didn’t want to admit that she was wrong to break their agreement in the blackness. She couldn’t tell him that when he’d touched her, the memory of Jude’s cruelty had flooded through her. Jude had grabbed her breasts as if they belonged to him and were not part of her body. He’d hurt her with his pawing, and she wasn’t about to allow another man to do so. Ford might have seemed gentle, but she was sure he’d turn just as quickly as Jude had and maybe just as cruelly. Her breasts were still bruised, and she didn’t need a second lesson to teach her not to allow men too close.