by Caroline Lee
Unable to hold in the pretext any longer, Matthias joined Shannon in laughing. “That’s me. I even brought the plans—left them in my coat pocket—if you’d like to see.”
Lucas leapt up and scurried for the foyer, then soon came back with the plans Matthias had spent all last autumn drawing. It had taken most of the winter to perfect them, but he’d already bought the land and had been stockpiling supplies at the livery.
“See?” He pointed out his favorite part of the designs. “It’ll be simple, but there will be four bedrooms upstairs.”
“Four?” Shannon was standing behind him, Hope on her hip.
Verrick leaned closer. “These are skillful designs. You have a rare talent.”
Cora nudged Matthias. “That’s a high compliment, coming from him,” she stage-whispered.
Her husband ignored her, but Matthias felt himself flushing from the praise.
Shannon wasn’t about to let the first comment about the plans go.. “Four bedrooms, Matthias Blake? You only need one.”
He stared down at the paper, his plan for the future, and felt himself grin hugely. “Yeah, well… Just in case.”
“In case what?” Lucas prompted him. “In case you get married suddenly and have a bunch of kids?”
Matthias shrugged. “Never know what the future may bring.”
Lucas narrowed his eyes as he studied his friend. “Actually, you look pretty darn sure of the future.”
Shannon patted Matthias’s shoulder. “Fine, fine. You don’t have to tell us what’s up your sleeve. Lucas will just nag you into telling him later. For now, we’ll all pretend we’re not dying of curiosity, and Cora will go get her cake.”
Cora had turned into quite the baker over the last year.
“Chocolate cake?” Matthias asked.
Verrick was the one who answered. “Yes.” He nodded once. “But I’m getting the largest slice.”
Cora was already laughing as she headed towards the kitchen door. “If I didn’t love you so much, husband,” she called, “I’d think you were being incredibly competitive.”
“I love you more,” Verrick called, proving her right.
Matthias joined in the laughter then.
The cake was good, and Verrick’s piece was the largest; one obvious thing father and son shared was a sweet tooth. Mercifully, Matthias’s friends had ceased their teasing. It wasn’t that he was keeping his news a secret, it’s just that he didn’t need to be the center of their attention.
It was later, after the meal, when the ladies were cleaning up in the kitchen while Verrick had taken little Hope upstairs to change her nappy, and Lucas and Matthias had settled into the parlor with a glass of whiskey, that his friend brought it up again.
“Alright.” Lucas settled back in one of Thomas Ryan’s leather chairs. “Per my wife’s prodding, I’m supposed to nag you into revealing why you’re having such a large house built.”
“It’s not that large,” Matthias defended himself, sitting on the other side of the fireplace.
Lucas snorted. “It’s four bedrooms, Blake.”
Hiding his smile with a sip of the whiskey, Matthias shrugged.
His friend sighed. “Oh, come on. Just tell me!”
Matthias took a deep breath and studied the amber liquid swirling in his glass. Now that he was alone with Lucas, now that the teasing was in the past, he wanted to figure out a way to explain his decision.
“Remember the day I nearly died?”
It was a stupid question, and Lucas’ snort confirmed it. “You mean the day Two-Grins Baker kidnapped my wife and shot you?”
Matthias didn’t think he’d ever forget that man’s evil grin as he pulled the trigger. Matthias had met the man in the little yard out in front of the house, knowing full well Shannon was helpless inside. Baker had reined in his horse, drew his big Smith and Wesson, and shot Matthias in the stomach before he could even call a warning or raise his rifle. And as he’d laid there in the dirt, his life bleeding out around him, he’d watched Baker pull a screaming Shannon out of the house, and known there was no way he could save her.
He forced his mind back to the present and cleared his throat. “I never told you this, but…” He took another deep breath, remembering the pain of that day. “I was lying there, knowing I was going to die—and horribly, because gut shot ain’t pretty, you know?”
Lucas nodded solemnly, though he kept silent so as not to interrupt his friend.
“So I’m lying there, and I realized I’d let down so many people. I’d let down Shannon, I’d let down you—”
“Blake—” Lucas now decided to interrupt.
“No, I know it.” Matthias shook his head. “You were my friend, and I let him take your wife to God knows where. But, ” He took another sip of the whiskey, glad for the burn. “But I realized, more than any of that; I’d let myself down. I was about to die, and I hadn’t accomplished what I really wanted to in life.”
“Which was?” Lucas asked quietly.
Matthias huffed slightly. “Well, I hadn’t realized it until that moment, that exact moment, but apparently, what I’d wanted was kids. I was dying, and I was angry at myself for not being a father, can you believe it?”
Lucas was quiet for long enough that Matthias looked up from his whiskey to see his young friend simply staring at him. Finally, he nodded slowly. “Yeah. Actually, I can believe that.”
“Well, it was news to me.” Matthias tightened his grip on the glass. “It was that thought—that realization—which got my rear end out of the dirt, got me on a horse, and dragged me into town. I ran into your father on the way.” He gritted his teeth to tamp down on the involuntary shiver that went through him at the memory of that confrontation. “And Cora got me to the doctor.”
“You survived,” Lucas pointed out, a little unnecessarily.
“I survived,” Matthias agreed. But to what end? It took months to recover, and when he did, he was useless at the only job he’d ever known. It had taken a loan, and a lot of luck, to build a new business and a new life. “And it’s been over a year now.”
“Are you recovered?”
Matthias snorted. “I doubt I’ll ever be fully recovered.”
The pain only kept him up most nights, instead of all of ‘em.
“But you’re ready to marry and settle down?”
“I’ve been ready. I want children, Lucas. That realization, it hasn’t gone away. I want kids, and I want ‘em yesterday.”
Lucas chuckled. “Need a wife first though, right?”
“I’ve been looking, believe me.”
Grinning, the other man crossed one leg over the other. “You know, Shannon mentioned something to me about young Regina Vickers being a nice lady.”
Matthias snorted. “ ’Young’ is right. I spent a long time with Doc Vickers, remember? And she’s a sweetheart—competent and kind. But far too young for me—and she never once seemed interested in me.” He swirled the whiskey in his glass, but his gut clenched at the idea of taking another sip, so he put it carefully down on the spindly-legged table beside his chair. “And neither has any of the other few ladies in town, young or not.”
Lucas was nodding thoughtfully. It was a fact that Black Aces wasn’t exactly overrun with women of marriageable age, which is why Lucas had sent away for a mail-order bride. Matthias watched his friend, and wondered how long it would take him to make the connection.
Not long at all, apparently. “The way I see it, what you need to do is send away for a wife.”
Matthias grinned. “A wife with some kids of her own already?”
“Yeah, that’s— Wait. Why are you smiling?”
“Because I sent away for a wife with a few kids of her own already.” Matthias sat forward in his chair, unable to deny the burst of excitement his own words brought. “I put an ad in one of those mail-order bride papers, and specifically stated I would be amenable to a widow with children.”
Lucas’ eyes went round and he whisper
ed an appreciative, “Well, I’ll be.”
Matthias released a breath and sat back in the chair, allowing his arms to flop over the side. “Construction will start on my house soon, and hopefully not too long after that, I’ll be matched with a wife.”
“And you’ll have a ready-made family.”
A family.
Matthias had no idea what God had in store for him, but for the first time in a long time, he was ready. He wanted children, and he couldn’t wait to meet them. He wanted to shape another human, to help his son grow into a man, to teach him everything he knew about horses and riding. He wanted to know that one day his boy would inherit not just his love of riding, but the livery itself.
Yeah, Matthias was ready to be a father.
Across the fire, Lucas raised his glass. “I’m happy for you, Blake. Here’s hoping you and your wife turn out as happy as Shannon and I are.”
Matthias lifted his glass again and tipped it towards his friend. “Your lips to God’s ears, my friend.”
If he and his wife could be half as happy as Lucas and Shannon, he’d consider his marriage a success. But more importantly, he wanted to be the same kind of father Lucas was. And God willing, he’d have the chance soon.
Chapter Three
I can’t believe I’m really doing this.
Abigail stood on the platform at Grand Central Depot, clutching her friend and fellow teacher Catalina’s hand tightly and looking around. She was pleased they’d arrived early. The amount of people here now was almost overwhelming, and it was a relief to know they were where they needed to be. Beside her sat a small pile of trunks and bags—her and her children’s entire worldly possessions.
After Cyrus’s death, Abigail hadn’t been able to keep up the rent on what Wiggie paid, so they’d lost their rooms. But that wasn’t a problem, since the dormitory at the school offered furnished rooms. The three of them had spent the last four years all sleeping in one bed, keeping their possessions in the same trunks.
So truthfully, it hadn’t been that much a hardship to pack their lives up. What had been a problem was saying goodbye.
The teachers at the school were Abigail’s friends—her only friends. While she wasn’t as close to them as they were to each other—they’d all been raised together, after all—she knew she would miss them terribly. They’d already promised to write, and she’d been sure to pass her concerns about Wiggie on to the next-eldest of the teachers, the same four—including Catalina—who’d come to see her off today.
Saying goodbye to Wiggie had been particularly painful. She’d been like a mother to Abigail—was like a mother to all of them, in her own imperious way—and it hurt to have to leave her like this. But Wiggie had insisted, and pointed out that Abigail hovering over her wasn’t going to help her get better. Besides, there was a man out there waiting for her!
Mr. Matthias Blake.
Abigail had responded to several of the bride advertisements in The Bride’s Bulletin, at Wiggie’s urging. It had taken a while to work up the gumption to agree to the old lady’s offer, but “If it were done when ‘tis done, then ’twere well it were done quickly” as MacBeth said. Or, as Wiggie said, “Oh, just get it over with, my dear! Make a choice!”
And of those who’d responded, Mr. Matthias Blake of Black Aces, Montana had stood out the most. He was a livery owner with a fine new house he’d built for his bride. Wiggie had pointed out that meant he was invested in the marriage and would make it a success. What had caught Abigail’s attention had been the fact he’d specifically mentioned looking for a widow with children. In her mind, that meant he was looking for a ready-made family.
Best of all, he’d told her that there was a school in Black Aces, but no teacher. She’d be able to create an entire curriculum from scratch, with no one to nay-say her! The school would be all hers, and Joshua would help her make it a success.
Wiggie’s grant would help her build the school to where it needed to be. But if the worst happened, and Mr. Matthias Blake turned out to be no better than Cyrus Hembree, then Abigail would use Wiggie’s money to return to New York.
She’d already gotten her and her children out of one horrible situation, and God forgive her, but she’d do it again.
“Um, Abigail?”
Realizing her breathing had become fast and shallow, Abigail turned wide eyes on Catalina, who smiled softly.
“Abigail, I’m having trouble feeling my fingers.”
Oh goodness. Abigail closed her eyes and forced herself to breathe normally, and to release her grip on Catalina. The poor woman’s hand must be quite numb from how hard Abigail had been squeezing it!
When she felt her heartbeat return to normal—or as close as could be expected—Abigail opened her eyes once more. The hustle and bustle around her seemed less hectic now, and Catalina was massaging her hand, and still smiling softly.
“It’s alright to be nervous, you know.” Her dark eyes sparkled. “We all think you’re quite brave.”
Abigail forced her breathing to remain steady. It was high praise, coming from Catalina. The dark-skinned woman was known throughout the school as one of the most adventurous of the orphans who became teachers, so if she thought Abigail was brave, then it must be the truth.
“Oh, yes.” On Catalina’s other side, Emmeline nodded enthusiastically. Her warm hazel eyes were focused slightly beyond Abigail’s shoulder, although no one pointed this out.
Abigail assumed—along with Emmeline’s other friends—that the young woman was losing her sight faster than she admitted to. Even now, Emmeline was sure to stand so her elbow brushed against Catalina’s dress, as if to anchor herself in place.
Emmeline continued in that beautifully lilting voice of her, the one which was always raised so sweetly in song with the children, “Dorthy and Beulah were saying just last week how brave you must be to accept such an offer. Knowing you agreed with Wiggie made it easier for us to—”
Catalina cleared her throat loudly, cutting Emmeline off. Then she lightly touched the other girl’s sleeve. “I don’t think Abigail needs to worry about our concerns right now,” she told her friend gently.
Emmeline cocked her head, and Abigail watched her try to focus on Catalina’s expression—which was carefully neutral, it seemed. Finally, the music teacher shrugged. “You’re right, of course. Abigail is going on an adventure!” She turned a bright smile to the older woman. “How exciting!”
Whatever she’d been about to say about Wiggie, and whatever reason Catalina had to hush her, Abigail decided to ignore both. The ladies were right; she was about to go on an adventure, and she needed all of her wits about her. Whatever was going on at the orphanage, she had to assume the women could handle it without her. Wiggie had already pointed out that this group of teachers—Beulah, Catalina, Dorthy and Emmeline—would naturally become the next leaders. In the months since Abigail had made the decision to take Wiggie’s offer, and had begun to look for a groom, she’d met with them often to discuss how to run the school once she was gone.
It was nerve-wracking, but also a little exciting. Abigail, who’d gotten used to her simple life and her simple reason for existing, was about to climb on a train with everything she held dear in her world, and travel across the country.
That was an adventure!
And slightly terrifying. Incredibly terrifying!
She felt herself begin to inhale and exhale too quickly once more and concentrated on her breathing.
Catalina came to her rescue again. “I never asked, but how did the children take your decision?”
“They seemed upset, but I explained to them that Quinlan will do a wonderful job of teaching their history classes and promised to continue—”
Emmeline clunked her tongue. “Not the students, Abigail! She meant Joshua and Maggie.”
Oh.
Abigail felt herself flushing, and her eyes darted over to Joshua. He was sitting on a bench with Beulah, one of his favorite teachers. Beulah was the smartest
woman Abigail had ever met, and she often considered herself lucky to work with the other teacher. She’d certainly told her students often enough that they shouldn’t complain about Miss Beulah’s course work, because if Miss Beulah thought they were smart enough to handle it, that was a compliment indeed!
She and Joshua got along well because he enjoyed math as much as Beulah did. In fact, even now Beulah was giving Joshua pointers—not on his studies, but what he could do to help Abigail once they were settled in Black Aces. Although he was only ten years old, he had a passion for teaching the younger children. Abigail had every intention of taking the help he’d offered, once she got her school up and running.
Telling him of her decision had been hard. “Joshua was upset to leave the school, of course. This has been his home, and his friends are here.”
Emmeline knew her well enough to know that she and Joshua were two peas in a pod. “But?”
Abigail smiled gently. “When I explained Wiggie’s offer, and the fact that it meant our own—I mean, my own school, he changed his tune.”
“I thought so. He’s as excited to teach as any of us are.”
“And the rest of it?” Catalina asked. “I mean, how did he feel about you re-marrying?”
“Ah.” Abigail winced slightly. “That conversation wasn’t as easy.”
In fact, Joshua had flat-out forbidden Abigail to marry again, which would’ve been funny, had she not seen the terror in his eyes. He obviously remember his father, remembered what he’d been capable of.
“I won’t let you! I won’t let him hurt you or Maggie!” he’d said, his hands balled into fists by his side as he yelled at her in defiance. “Fathers are powerful, too powerful. I don’t want him to have that power over us again!”
His tears had brought on her tears, and she’d sat there in their little room, holding him while they both cried. Eventually she’d been able to explain her reasoning, and he’d been reassured that they would have an escape. Marriage to Mr. Matthias Blake didn’t have to be a—
Didn’t have to be a—