Forever Angels

by Simmons, Trana Mae

  "What else did you find out about her?"

  "Well, her father left her all right. You heard her thinking about that. But the reason he left was because Rose's mother was just like her. He put up with them both all those years, then just couldn't take it any more. Rose's mother helped Rose set her cap for a rich man's son back in New Orleans, where they lived. She figured she and Rose would both have an easy life if Rose married that young man."

  "But he found out before the wedding what she was like, huh?"

  "Uh huh. He was engaged to another girl, but Rose seduced him, then told him she was pregnant. He...she...uh, this is a little embarrassing to say, Michael. Maybe you should just go back a few years in time and see for yourself."

  "Oh, come on, Angie. We've talked about embarrassing things before."

  Michael waited for a moment while Angela fidgeted with her fingers. Suddenly he blushed hotly and waved his wings to cool his body.

  "You don't have to tell me," he said. "I read it in your mind. All over the back of her dress, huh?"

  "As they were leaving the hotel dining room the evening before their wedding," Angela confirmed. "Of course, her fiance knew right away what had happened and that she'd lied to him about being pregnant."

  "Then she married Mr. Brown a few months later. He moved to Texas, then up here to Oklahoma, after Rose's mother died."

  "Michael, look! Oh, dear, we've been standing here gossiping when we should have been watching what was going on. Oh my word! Is he angry!"

  "Uh oh. We better get over there with Tess."

  ~~

  Stone stormed across the street toward the general store. Ignoring the steps, he leapt to the walkway and shoved open the door. Fists clenched, he strode to the back of the store where Sid hung the women's dresses on a rod.

  Stone glared around, then shoved the dresses aside as though he'd find Tess cringing behind them.

  "Can I help you, Stone?" Sid asked as he came out of the storeroom.

  "Where the hell's my wife?" Stone snarled.

  "Over at the cafe would be my guess," Sid said as he took a step away from Stone's thunderous scowl. "She changed clothes in the back room, then she and the other ladies left. Said they were supposed to meet you for a cup of tea."

  "What the hell's the balance on my account, Sid?"

  "Same as it was the last time you were here," Sid told him. "Except for the dress for Miz Chisum and the new pump she wanted."

  "New pump?"

  "Well, yeah. She said you were gonna pipe water into the house. I'll have to order the pipe you'll need from Oklahoma City, though. It should be here in a few days."

  "You don't seem to be too worried about my being able to pay my bill, Sid." Stone's eyes narrowed even more dangerously. "Not like you were the last time I asked you to put stuff on my account."

  "Hell, Stone, I figured you'd take care of it in full this time. You've got close to a thousand in the bank. I put it in there like Miz Chisum told me to do after the banker's wife paid me for that ring she left for me to sell."

  Stone drew in a ragged breath and let it out slowly. A ring. Tess had sold a ring. A damned expensive ring, too. Probably a ring that bastard with the moldy money had given her. And she hadn't bothered to tell him — just had the money deposited in his bank account. If she thought he was going to touch one frigging penny of that money....

  "And you probably won't even need any money to pay those damned unfair taxes the legislature tried to sneak on the homesteaders, Stone," Sid continued. "I've heard that movement your wife started last week is already working to get them repealed. Shoot, Oklahoma's going to be a state one of these days. Those fools know we'll remember every damned one of their names when it comes time to vote."

  "The movement Tess started," Stone repeated.

  "Yeah. You must be pretty proud of her. You know, it's not every man who'll let his wife help out other people. Most of them want the little lady at home, to fetch and carry for them. I'll tell you, everyone around here's real grateful you let Miz Chisum get this thing started."

  Stone turned away without another word and strode for the door.

  "Uh...Chisum," Sid called after him. "Your account...?"

  "Talk to my wife about it!"

  ***

  Chapter 31

  "Excuse me, ladies," Stone gritted. "I'm afraid I'm going to have to postpone having that coffee with you. I need to speak to Tess."

  Tess stared at Stone, sensing the barely held in check anger and realizing that he had called her Tess, instead of his wife, as he had seemed to make a point of doing since the ceremony at the Indian camp. He hadn't even removed his hat inside the cafe, but she could see the glint beneath his half-mast eyelids — a spark in the brown depths that boded the start of another one of their confrontations. What on earth had she done now? She hadn't even been with him the past half hour.

  The other three women started to stand, but Stone waved them back to their seats.

  "No, don't bother," he said. "We'll go outside. Here." Stone laid an unspareable coin on the table. "That will take care of your drinks, and maybe we can do this another time."

  Against her will, Tess pushed back her chair. "I'll see you later, Tillie. It was nice to meet you, Edith and Fredwina."

  "Don't forget the Ladies' Guild meeting next Thursday, Tess," Tillie said. "We'll finalize the plans for the reception Saturday evening then." She glanced up at Stone. "That is, if it's all right with your husband."

  "I'm sure it will be fine," Tess replied. When Stone's lips tightened even further at her words, she threw him a puzzled look. "We don't have any plans for Saturday evening, do we, Stone?"

  "We'll discuss it," he shot back before he turned and strode out of the cafe.

  "Oh, my," Fredwina tittered. "What have you done to upset him, my dear? I guess at the meeting on Thursday, we'll have to let you in on some of our little secrets about how to get our own way with our men, yet let them think it's their own idea."

  Embarrassed that the women had noticed Stone's attitude, Tess ducked her head and picked up the package holding her denims and shirt. Her embarrassment quickly shifted into resentment of Stone's high-handedness. She tucked the package under her arm and picked up her coffee cup, draining it and carefully placing it back in the saucer.

  "I've enjoyed talking with you ladies," she said. "And I'm looking forward to joining your meetings. Tillie, I'm glad you told me how the Guild women helped Mandy Calder with the campaign against the taxes. Maybe we can find another cause to pursue as soon as this one's successful."

  Tillie looked through the plate glass window on the cafe front, where Stone was pacing back and forth on the walkway. "Well, we can talk about it Thursday."

  "There were a couple things I thought we could be thinking about," Tess continued, refusing to acknowledge the fact that all three of the other women clearly thought she ought to be hurrying outside to kiss her husband's ass. "I think it's a mistake for the schools that have been set up for the Indian children to try to erase the children's heritage from their lives. After all, our country was founded by a melting pot of different cultures, not repression.

  "And speaking of repression." Tess poured another dab of coffee from the pot on the table into her cup. "I think it's time women voted. I'm sure you're aware that even the male slaves were given the vote after the war."

  "You know," Edith said as Tess sipped her coffee. "That's something that's been bothering me for a long time. We're smart enough to raise our children, teach our children, and manage a household. But we're not smart enough to help choose the leaders of our country."

  Edith tilted her head and giggled. "My husband doesn't know it, because I always pick up the mail, but I've been getting some of those pamphlets from other women's groups speaking out for us to get the vote. I'll bring them with me to the meeting."

  "Can I come on home with you and look at them now?" Fredwina said eagerly. "Your husband's off with mine on that cattle buying trip. We don't h
ave to worry about them catching us."

  "Of course," Edith said. "Let's go right now. Do you want to come, too, Tillie?"

  "I surely do." Tillie rose to her feet and nudged Tess with her elbow. "I think you've made your point by now, my dear. But would you like us to walk out with you?"

  "I'll finish this last drop of coffee first," Tess said with a grin.

  But as soon as the other women left, her smile deteriorated. She gave a deep sigh of resignation and set her coffee cup down. Her reluctant legs carried her toward the door, but as she reached for the door knob, her shoulders stiffened and her green eyes took on a sparkle of anger.

  "It's about damned time...."

  "You embarrassed me in there," Tess interrupted. "I am not your chattel — I'm your wife."

  "What the hell's that supposed to mean?"

  "It means that if you think I'm going to drop whatever I'm doing every time you crook your little finger and beckon me, you've got another think coming!"

  "You sure as hell made that clear, didn't you? I've been standing out here for ten minutes!"

  "Tough. I was having a discussion with my friends, and I didn't appreciate you storming in there and acting like Genghis Khan! I'm sure Tillie and the other women were embarrassed, too."

  "You want to talk about embarrassment?" Stone grabbed something out of his shirt pocket and thrust it under Tess's nose. "This is your own damned bank book. I transferred the money you put into my account into one of your own. I don't appreciate the whole town knowing my wife's paying my bills — especially when she's doing it with money she made selling jewelry given to her by another man!"

  "Banking business is supposed to be private," Tess said with a gasp.

  "Then you admit it," Stone said through clenched teeth. "Your old lover gave you that ring. And the news didn't get around from the bank itself. You think Sid's gonna keep quiet about something like that? Or the banker's wife while she flashes that ring in the eyes of every other woman in this town? And the other women, who tell their husbands?"

  Stone shoved the bank book at her again, but Tess clasped her hands behind her back. He glowered at her for another moment, then slipped the bank book into the low-cut bodice of her dress.

  "We're going home," he said angrily. "We can talk about this there, where we won't be making a scene that'll add fuel to this town's gossip mill."

  Stone whirled and strode down the walkway, pausing after a few feet to glare back at Tess. "Come on!"

  Tess nonchalantly picked the bank book from her bodice and placed it in her skirt pocket. "Just leave Sateen at the stable for me and I'll be there later. I've got a couple more things to do myself in town."

  "I suppose you want to check on your campaign."

  "That's one thing," Tess replied in a mild voice. And she was sure she could find a few more errands to keep her busy, at least long enough for Stone's temper to cool before she went back to the ranch.

  "Don't forget to pay your account with Sid!" Stone snarled before he turned away.

  "Oh, boy," Tess breathed. "Oh, boy, oh, boy, oh, boy."

  Tess stood rock-still, watching Stone as he arrived at the stable yard and tossed Jake a coin. He climbed through the gate and called his gelding to him, then threw the tack on and caught Jasper's mare and the gray gelding, tying both lead ropes to his saddlehorn before he led the horses outside the corral. Ignoring Lonesome, who surged against the rope tied around his neck in an attempt to follow him, Stone mounted and reined his gelding around.

  Tess waited to see what he would do. The road to his ranch led through town, but when Stone saw her still watching, he reined his gelding back past the stable.

  Childish, Tess thought to herself. He'd rather ride out around town than pass by her. She resolutely shoved aside the additional thought that tried to crowd in about her rather immature actions in making Stone wait for her on the boardwalk.

  Oh, no, not childish, Tess's mind continued. That was a man's anger she had faced. Unjustified anger, she tried to tell herself. She hadn't purposely not told Stone about the money from the ring. She just hadn't thought real hard about whether she should tell him or not.

  Not true.

  "Oh, shut up," Tess murmured. "O.K. Maybe I was a little bit afraid of how he'd react. But I've been handling my own business for years — all my life. Anyway, he needn't think I'm going to ask his permission every time I want to do something on my own. That campaign against the taxes benefitted a lot more people than just him."

  "That it did, my dear." Tess turned to see Mandy Calder behind her. "Or, at least it's looking like it will."

  Mandy stepped up and took Tess's hands in her own. "I understand congratulations are in order, Mrs. Chisum. Or I guess the congratulations are supposed to go to your new husband, and my wishes for happiness to you — according to the manners book anyway."

  "Thank you," Tess said. "I think."

  "Don't worry, Tess," Mandy said with a laugh. "All our men have us talking to ourselves at one time or another. We women understand how it is with each other."

  "Were you saying that the campaign against the taxes is doing well?" Tess asked to change the subject. "Tillie already mentioned that she and the Guild were involved."

  "And our town's attorney, too," Mandy said. "Jack Pierce. Why don't we walk over and let him tell you about it."

  Mandy slipped her arm through Tess's and they walked down into the street.

  "We decided that letter writing was too slow," she explained as they crossed the street. "The money you gave us was put to good use. We started a telegram campaign, and the whole territory got word faster and joined in with us. The next land rush is scheduled for the middle of this month, and the taxes were supposed to go into effect the day before it. We wanted the entire thing settled before then."

  "I wish I'd been here to do my part. But Stone was going out after some wild horses by himself. After what happened with that snakebite the last time, I figured someone should be with him."

  "And I'll bet he didn't appreciate your concern one bit, did he?"

  "No," Tess admitted dryly. "He also didn't appreciate the fact that I'd started this tax campaign without asking his permission."

  "Oh, dear." Mandy paused in front of the lawyer's office. "I see why you were standing there grumbling to the air. I saw Stone ride out. I guess you'd had a few words before he left."

  "More than a few."

  The office door opened and the dapper little man who appeared drew back in surprise.

  "Hello, ladies," he said. "Were you coming to see me?"

  "No, Jack," Mandy said. "We were just taking a shortcut through your office to the alley in back."

  "Help yourself," Jack Pierce replied with a grin.

  Jack's bantering tone had Tess liking him already, and she held out her hand.

  "I'm Tess Fos...Chisum, Mr. Pierce. I understand from Mandy that you've been assisting the Guild on the tax campaign."

  "We elected him the head of it, Tess," Mandy informed her. "We thought we'd have more clout if we had a man's name as our committee leader. You know how it is."

  "Yes," Tess admitted. "I'm afraid I do."

  "Well, I didn't have much to do," Jack said deprecatingly. "Mandy explained the plan you laid out for her, and I just pointed them in the right direction for names to send their telegrams to. Your plan tied up everything neatly, Mrs....uh...Chisum, did you say? I assume you and Stone must have just recently married."

  "You're probably the last person to know that, Mr. Pierce, even though we only arrived in town an hour ago," Tess said with a laugh. "And please, it's Tess. I'm still not quite used to my name change."

  "Fine. And it's Jack to you. Come on in, ladies." Jack held the door for them. "I can do my errand later."

  Tess immediately walked over to the few law books Jack had on a shelf, her eyes avidly searching the titles. The law library back at the New York firm covered half of one floor in the tri-story suites of rooms the firm occupied. She slowly s
hook her head. Stone was probably right about one thing. The law was way too complicated. People governed themselves fairly well in this time period, even though life was less complex. But then, if the laws were simplified, how would lawyers make a living?

  Her last thought brought a rueful smile to Tess's face.

  "Are you interested in the law, Tess?" Jack said from beside her.

  Tiring of the charade she had been living the last few weeks, Tess replied, "I better be, since I'm a lawyer."

  Jack scratched his graying head. "I hadn't heard that women were being admitted to practice. I'm gonna have to start attending our yearly conventions again back East. Haven't been for the last few years."

  "Women will be doing a lot of things men never thought they were smart enough to do over the next few generations," Tess told him. "You men better start getting used to that."

  "Guess I should have had an inkling that you had some sort of training," Jack mused. "Say, let's look at the folder I started for the committee and let me show you how well everything's coming together."

  Over the next few minutes, Tess found her pride in herself growing by leaps and bounds. She'd never even felt this sort of stirring when she won an especially difficult decision in favor of a client company. Maybe that was it. She had always used her talents and sharp mind for the benefit of the corporate conglomeration, telling herself she was saving jobs for the employees. Now her plan had directly benefitted a group of people who were part of her life.

  And directly benefitted the man she loved — even if he wouldn't admit it yet.

  "Stone should be pleased," she told Jack.

  "Yes, the homesteaders who know about you being the one to start this drive are all grateful your man allowed you out of the kitchen long enough to help them out," Jack said with a smirk. "Especially when he didn't have to worry himself."

  Tess looked up from the file in astonishment. "He? You mean Stone? Stone didn't have to worry about paying those taxes?"

  "Of course not," Jack said with a frown. "Why should he? His land came to him from the Cherokees, namely Silver Eagle — not under the Homestead Laws. I'll admit, I had to get the transfer approved through the Indian Bureau, but what with Stone raising those two Indian children, I didn't have a problem at all. Especially since Silver Eagle wanted the kids' names on the deed, too."