by Natalie Dean
“I can’t believe it,” Matt said finally. He’d stopped his pacing briefly to look out the window.
“I know it’s difficult to accept,” Bernadette said. “But, I swear it’s true.”
“He promised…why would he lie to me? Why would he pretend to help when he had no intention of doing so?”
“I believe he wanted to gain your trust,” Bernadette said. “So that he could keep you here as long as possible.”
Matt bit his lip and turned to her. The softness in his eyes had disappeared, and there was a certain suspicion there now when he looked at her.
“And you saw this application yourself?” he asked. “Did anyone else see it besides you?”
“I am not lying to you,” Bernadette said defensively. Her voice as hard as she could make it. “What motive would I have?”
“Mr. Miles used to say that no man can ever understand the motives of a woman.”
Bernadette let out an indignant huff.
“And you would believe him over me? I know you know what he is. You’ve heard the stories he tells about his business dealings, he is hardly an upstanding citizen.”
Matt opened his mouth to give an answer to this but closed it quickly. It was clear that he had nothing to say. Despite his loyalty, Matt clearly had a sense that his employer was not a man to be trusted. It would only take one more push to convince him.
Slowly, she stood up from the bed and walked towards him.
“Matt,” she said gently. “I’ve told you about my child. That was the only secret I had.”
Matt looked at her quizzically once more. She stared back, unblinking, praying that he would see the truth written on her face. Finally, hesitantly, he reached up a hand and placed it gently on her shoulder.
“I believe you,” he said.
She let out a breath she did not know she was holding in. Even the baby in her womb stopped his wriggling and seemed to relax.
They looked at each other a long while, his warm, strong hand still laying on her shoulder. His eyes looked into hers and, suddenly, that strange stirring entered her chest. The same one she had felt that day at the hotel when she first laid eyes on Mattathias. The one that was oddly similar to the shiver that passed through her when her late husband had touched her.
A moment later, Matt cleared his throat and removed his hand from her shoulder. The memory of his warmth remained.
Quickly, he began to pace again.
“The question now is, what are we going to do?” he asked. “The application is locked in Mr. Miles’ study. There is no way of fetching it without his noticing.”
At this, Bernadette allowed a secretive smile to pass over her face.
“I believe I have an answer to that,” she said.
Chapter Eight
Getting Billy to open the office door for her was much easier than she had expected it would be. The boy did not question her needing to retrieve a rag she had left in there the previous afternoon. And, even though he stood at the threshold, watching as she picked her dust rag up again, he failed to notice the paper she took from the desk and palmed inside her skirt.
Getting Mr. Miles to let them off the ranch was another matter entirely.
“I let you show your bride around town yesterday,” Miles said when Matt asked him for time off. “I can’t afford to lose another day’s work from you.”
“We wanted to get the rings fitted,” Matt explained. “For the wedding. They can’t get the sizes right if both of us aren’t there.”
“You’ve got rings, haven’t you?” he asked. “Don’t see why you can’t just drop ‘em off in town. Hell, you could even have Billy take ‘em for you.”
“Mr. Miles,” Matt began hesitantly, looking down at the ground as he spoke to his employer, “I would really prefer- “
“Matt, you have to understand where I’m coming from,” Mr. Miles said cutting him off. “I am going to lose an entire day’s work for your wedding as it is.”
“And more than that when the application for our farm goes through,” Bernadette said with a glare at Mr. Miles. His eyes turned from Matt to her. There was a hint of fear in his eyes before it transformed into a self-assured smirk.
“Yes,” he said evenly. “You’ll be leaving me soon at any rate. So, I’m sure you can understand that I need to get all the work I can get out of you before that happens.”
“But,” Matt began to protest.
“What if I were to go into town alone?” Bernadette asked before either man could say another word. “I have my own ring after all. I am sure I could secure measurements for Matt before he sets to work this morning.”
Miles looked over to Bernadette again, his self-assured smirk turning to a hardened glare.
“That is certainly a noble gesture, Mrs. Dixon,” he said. “But, I would sooner send Billy or one of the other boys.”
“Better me, I would think than Billy,” Bernadette countered. “The poor boy has so much to do already. And I have nothing to accomplish today that I know of.”
“Even so,” Miles said. His slick, smooth tone becoming harsher. “It’s highly irregular for an unmarried lady to go into town unescorted. I’m sure Matt wouldn’t allow it.”
“Mr. Miles,” Matt spoke up suddenly. “I think that would be best. I would trust Bernadette with this task more than I would trust Billy.”
Matt finally raised his eyes to meet with those of Mr. Miles. Miles’ dark eyes widened in surprise when Matt’s normally soft blue eyes grew hard and glared sternly into his.
Silence fell over the group as a strange shift in the room occurred. Finally, after what seemed like a long while, Mr. Miles nodded.
“All right then,” he said. “You may hitch the wagon for her. Just remember when people in town start whispering about your fiancé, I warned you how this would look.”
Before leaving the room, he sent one more glare to Bernadette. A glare which told her clearly that Mr. Miles knew she was behind this. A glare which told her that he would see her punished for it.
Bernadette glared straight back at him. Confident that there was nothing more he could do to shame her.
She knew what Mr. Miles still didn’t. Matt already knew about the baby. Matt knew the big secret she had. And even that couldn’t tear them apart.
Mr. Miles was the first to break his gaze from hers as he turned and stalked out of the room.
When he did, Matt glanced over to Bernadette, and their eyes met. He gave her a smile. Not the apologetic half smile he usually gave when she’d had a run-in with Mr. Miles. No, this one lifted all the way to his eyes and made them sparkle.
“Well,” he said moving towards her. “I suppose I should show you to the wagon.”
Almost hesitantly, he offered her his arm. There was a hint of uncertainty to this offer, as though such behavior was still new and foreign to him. A tiny pink blush covered his tan cheeks, and Bernadette found herself holding back a giggle.
It was strange, but now, after only three days, her fiancé’s discomfort with formal and courtly behavior was more endearing than it was demeaning. Giving him a bright smile of her own, the two of them walked silently out of the house and towards the barn where the wagon was held.
Matt only removed his hand from hers when they reached the horses. They remained silent as he hitched them to the wagon. Bernadette absent-mindedly fingered the wedding ring still present on her right hand. Though, strangely, her late husband’s ring had begun to feel foreign there now. As if it did not truly belong to her.
“You have the application?” Matt asked as he hitched the second strong, brown mare to the wagon head.
“Of course,” Bernadette said. “I fetched it from the office this morning. It should be a good while before Miles notices that it is missing. By that time, we should have our deed to the farm fully secured.”
Matt turned from the horse to Bernadette biting down on his lip.
“You’re sure it will be that easy?” he asked.
&nbs
p; “The bank won’t want one of their properties going to waste,” Bernadette said. “Besides, you’ve had steady employment in the territory for the last three years. And, your employment has been in work similar to farming. You are already a better candidate for the property than someone coming in from back east.”
“They still may ask for collateral,” Matt said. “Mr. Miles claimed that was what was holding up the process before.”
Bernadette fought against the urge to roll her eyes. It seemed that despite what Matt now knew about his employer, a small vestige of loyalty remained. Like a habit that was tough to break.
“Mr. Miles was lying to you,” Bernadette said evenly. “Many banks out west don’t seek collateral. And, even if they do…I suppose I can think of something to offer.”
The skepticism in his eyes remained for a moment. He opened his mouth as though to make some kind of argument against her reasoning. But, when none presented itself, he merely nodded.
He moved from the horse and took her waist, helping her up into the carriage. The warmth from his strong arm circled around her, and the shiver down Bernadette’s spine returned. It intensified when his hand moved across the fabric of her dress as she sidled into the driver’s seat and, even when it disappeared, the warmth from his skin remained.
She turned to him to find that he was standing on the wagon step, much closer to her than she’d imagined he would be. For the first time since they’d met, she glanced down to Matt’s lips and wondered just what kissing this man might feel like.
Heart hammering, she pulled her eyes away from his lips and back to his eyes. To her surprise, he seemed to be staring at her lips in a very similar manner. Half a moment passed before Matt cleared his throat and stepped down off the wagon. His cheeks were, once more, tinted pink. But, this time, Bernadette had the feeling that the color was not due to embarrassment.
He gave her an apologetic smile as Bernadette took the reins of the wagon horses.
“Hurry back,” he said stepping off the wagon.
“I’ll do my best,” she said. With that, she cracked the reins of the horses and started down the long road into town.
Though she had spoken with as much confidence as she could to Matt, she knew that this was not a task she could undertake alone. So, as she road into town, she passed the bank and made her way to the church praying that Pastor Rhodes would be there.
Chapter Nine
“And you say this man is your fiancé?”
A well-dressed bank manager with light brown hair and a matching mustache sat at a small brown desk peering over the application Bernadette had handed him. He looked up from the paper, and his eyes glanced from Bernadette to Pastor Rhodes who sat in the wooden chair next to her.
Bernadette glanced at the pastor, and he gave her an encouraging smile before she answered.
“Yes,” she said. “We’re meant to be married in three days’ time.”
“Congratulations,” the bank manager said absently looking back down at the application.
“And, Pastor Rhodes, you are prepared to cosign on this loan as well?” the manager asked the pastor.
“I am,” Pastor Rhodes said. “Though I am certain there will be no need. Matt is an upstanding citizen, and I am certain he will keep his obligation to the bank.”
The bank manager let out a non-committal grunt but gave no other answer.
Silence fell in the small room, and Bernadette found herself glancing about for something to keep her mind occupied. There was not much of interest to look at in this bank. Indeed, the bank in Laramie, Wyoming, was smaller than any she had encountered back east. There was only one room. A long wooden bar-like structure stood to the right-hand side. A bored looking young teller stood behind that. And behind him was one lone safe.
In the middle of the room, several chairs had been haphazardly thrown together for guests and at the back was the wooden desk where Bernadette now sat with the bank manager on the other side.
It seemed strange for her to stare at the lone teller and even stranger to keep her eyes on the bank manager in front of her. So, she glanced about the room, taking in the wood paneling all the while twisting her old wedding ring nervously.
“Well, everything seems to be in order,” the bank manager finally said as he sat down Matt’s application. Bernadette turned back to face him, her left hand stopping in mid-twist on the gold wedding ring that was now on her right hand. “To tell the truth, we’ve been looking for a buyer for that property for months. It seems there aren’t many Easterners willing to settle here and the ones who are here already have land of their own.”
Her heart leaped in her chest and a large smile formed on her face. Glancing to Pastor Rhodes, she could see this smile mirrored on his face as well. That was when she knew it had been a good idea to bring a friend along. If it were proper for her to reach over and kiss this portly bank manager on either cheek, she would have.
“Oh, thank you, sir,” she said. “Mr. Jacobs will be delighted to hear that.”
“I’m sure he will,” the manager said giving her a small, polite smile in return. “If you can, simply have Mr. Jacobs come to the bank…oh, say…tomorrow afternoon around two o’clock,” he said checking the small calendar on his wooden desk. “He can sign the deed then. And, of course, he will need to tell us what he intends to put down as collateral.”
Though the word was said absently, almost off hand, it caused Bernadette’s heart to drop immediately.
“Collateral?” Bernadette asked. The bank manager looked up at her evenly.
“Of course,” he said. “It is standard practice. Though Mr. Jacobs is a good candidate for the property, we cannot take the word of a first-time farmer. Even if he has done ranching work before. We need to make sure we have some return on our investment should things not work out.”
“I did not know that would be necessary with a co-signer,” Mr. Rhodes said, apparently just as surprised as Bernadette.
“That is the case when the co-signer can provide collateral,” the bank manager said. “However, as you are a pastor, we could not in good conscience ask that of you. So, the obligation falls to Mr. Jacobs.”
Bernadette found herself biting down hard on her lip and glancing about the bare room as though something there might help her. She caught Pastor Rhodes eyes, but his smile had faded, and he looked as though he was as much at a loss as she was.
The wheels in her mind began to turn as she anxiously took to turning the wedding ring on her finger.
Then she stopped.
The fingers of her left hand rested, once again on the gold band on her right. For the first time since Frank’s death, she truly thought of that wedding band and what else it might mean for her.
“And what would you accept as collateral?” Bernadette asked evenly.
“Gold, silver, family heirlooms,” he said. “Anything that has some kind of monetary value.”
Bernadette nodded before looking down at her right hand. She stared at the band a long while, as though bidding it goodbye. Finally, she twisted the band for the last time, removed it from her finger and placed it on the desk.
“Would this do?” she asked.
The business manager’s eyes widened as he looked from Bernadette to the ring on the table.
“Bernadette,” the pastor said in surprise. “Are you certain…?”
“I am,” Bernadette said turning to him firmly before looking back at the bank manager and sliding her ring towards him on the desk.
“Ma’am,” he said. “Are you certain this is what Mr. Jacobs intends to put up as collateral on the farm?”
“Yes,” Bernadette said with only a hint of hesitation. “Is it enough?”
The manager looked down at the small ring and back up to her. Bernadette’s heart hammered in her chest as they stared one another down. Finally, the bank manager rested his hand over the ring and slid it over to his side of the desk.
“It is unusual,” he said. “But, yes, tha
t should be enough to cover the loan. As I said, just have your fiancé come in tomorrow to sign the deed.”
Perhaps more eagerly than was proper, she thanked the bank manager and rushed out of the building and back to the wagon, the pastor following in her wake.
“Thank you so much Pastor,” she said turning to him before making her way back onto the wagon.
“It is no trouble at all,” Pastor Rhodes said helping her up to the driver’s seat.
“I know that you are the answer to Matt’s prayers in more ways than one.”
Bernadette smiled, and her heart performed another flip at the thought of her groom.
“And he is the answer to mine,” she said gently.
With another word of farewell to the pastor, Bernadette threw the horse’s reigns and made her way back to the ranch.
The ride back to the ranch seemed to fly by much more quickly than the trip into town. Perhaps that was because when Bernadette drove to town, she had been weighed down with a million worries and concerns. Now, with the bank’s acceptance of her ring, with the promise of the deed, all those fears seemed to have been washed away.
When she arrived at the ranch, Matt met her out by the gate and opened it for her. Even as he escorted the wagon back towards the barn in silence, an expression of half hope and half worry lined his face. He did not ask how things had gone. Not yet.
And, though Bernadette felt a desperate need to call out the news to him, she knew why he was keeping silent. Mr. Miles was still on the property. And, there was a good deal more that he could do to them besides revealing Bernadette’s secret. It was best to keep their news silent until the deed was signed.
It wasn’t until they arrived at the barn that Bernadette spoke as he began to unhitch the horses from the wagon.
“I believe I have good news for you.”
Matt turned to her. His smile had faded somewhat, he now looked anxious and only half hopeful.
“Did the bank accept my application?”
“More than that,” Bernadette said. “They want you to come into town and sign the deed tomorrow.”