by Faye Sonja
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1
Chapter ONE
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“What if the life he is inviting you
into is less than desirable?”
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Valley, Texas
Jason held his head down instinctively as the sheriff walked by. He was dressed no different from all the other men in town. The usual cowboy garb with his long blonde hair blowing wildly from beneath the straw cowboy hat he wore, but he still felt like once he saw the law that they were onto him. That was what he got for having been a bandit all his life.
He sighed and walked back into the saloon where he had recently scored an honest job as bartender. The only problem was that as honest as this work was it did not make him that much money and he would be serving the kind of people he wanted to get away from.
"Mr. Stram!" The sheriff turned back and called to him as he was walking off. He froze but managed to turn before his actions became suspicious.
"Yes sir," he said with a smile. "How can I help you?"
"Tell your father I would like a word with him," the sheriff said not returning the ease with which Jason had spoken to him.
Nervously, Jason nodded his head touching the brim of his hat in respect and went on his way. Only now he was not just disappointed with having to go to work in the saloon, now he was worried about what his father could have done this time. That was his cross to bear- his father. His two-timing, sleazy, crook of a father whom he loved dearly and whose footsteps he seemed to have followed closely in. It was a fact that disturbed him and something he was trying desperately to change.
What his father could have done he was unsure of since the man had not been in town for close to two years. He had run off one morning saying he got wind of some unfinished business he needed to see to. He hadn’t seen him since. He had sent money to clear a few debts he had in town, but Jason had not seen or heard even a word from him since.
"Lost in thought again, sir?" The younger bar helper asked him as he absently served the drinks being ordered by the rowdy crowd.
"Thoughts of a better life, Michael," he said to the boy who always looked up to him.
"Well, here is something for you to think about," Michael said and handed him a piece of blue paper.
"A telegram?" He said surprised. Who would be sending him such a thing? He took it with far less enthusiasm, wondering if it was his father sending word of why the sheriff wanted to have a word with him. But when he opened it his eyes went wide and his jaw slackened. It was anything but bad news. It was the kind of new he never expected.
"You okay?" Michael asked him.
"Is this a joke?"
Michael laughed. "No sir. Seems you have a woman from two towns over wanting to be your wife. I didn't know you were looking for a wife."
Jason glared at him; this must be a joke for the telegram said she was responding to his ad for a wife. Someone had to be playing a joke on him. He could barely afford himself, much less be thinking about marrying some woman that would require some amount of maintenance. No, this must be some kind of cruel joke.
"Who did this Michael?" He asked, this time without the smile. He had no real friends to blame the prank on and so he narrowed his eyes at young Michael.
"I swear on my big toe that it was not me,” Michael said with a grin.
"You must not like your big toe very much," Jason said shoving the paper in his pocket and ignoring Michael's smirk.
But with that telegram a seed was planted and his life was put into perspective. He thought about it all day. Here he was thirty-three and still single. Thirty-three and he had never thought about a wife until now. Thirty-three and broke, what woman would want him in this condition? His guess was none.
He was also guessing that whoever had played this cruel joke of posting the ad that he was looking for a wife was trying to tell him that he should be sorting his life out. Maybe it was his father who had done it. Yes, it was likely him.
In any event the day passed with him thinking about just that, and when he made his way home that night he thought about responding. The house his father had built stood on a massive expanse of land. Land that could be farmed if they had the money to farm it. That was why he was working so hard. Maybe this woman would be kind to the fact that he had potential and they could build a life together. It was a thought that made him smile, but as a knock came on the door and he opened it up for the sheriff, he was reminded that he had reason to fear the law. What woman would want him with his questionably troubled past?
"Sheriff?" He answered the door a lot less enthused than he was earlier in the day.
"Your father?" The man asked, stepping into the grand foyer without being invited. Jason was used to this and so he just answered the question knowing things would go a whole lot easier that way.
"He has not been in town for close to two years now," he responded. "I have sent word to him to let him know that you need to speak to him, but that’s all I can do. For all I know, he may be over a thousand miles away from there by now."
"You have? Well you Stram’s need to know you do not live above the law. I will find him. Make sure you tell him that."
Jason sighed. "Might I inquire as to what he has done?"
"This time he chose to wrong a man I know very well two towns over. This time he won't get away with it."
With that the sheriff walked out the door without as much as a glance back. His heavy footsteps echoing down the stairs as Jason sighed yet again. He loved his father, but how was he supposed to walk the clean and narrow if his father kept dragging their name through the mud? Another softer knock came as he was about to make his way to his bedroom.
"Yes?" He answered angrily and looked down at a surprised Michael.
"Sorry," the boy said lowering his gaze. "I was just wondering if I could sleep here for tonight."
Jason riffled his hair and pulled him into the house, glad to have the company. "Food is in the cupboard."
He felt Michael's eyes watching him as he walked away. "Maybe you should respond to the ad even if you didn't place it."
"Why is that?"
"You are all alone and a woman's touch could light this place up some."
He looked back at the boy who was too young to understand the wisdom in his own words and smiled.
"Maybe I will," he said and walked off... maybe he would.
* * *
Kate rushed to the front of the house as the messenger came galloping up the pathway, leaving a trail of dust behind him.
"Somebody is excited!" Nathan laughed running down the stairs ahead of her and plucking the telegram from the messenger's hand.
"It's for the misses," the man said nervously as Nathan ran down the stairs with the note.
"Don't worry!" He hollered. "The misses will get it."
"Give that to me Nathan!" Kate hollered as Nathan was running off across the yard with her letter, the way he used to when they were children.
"Or what?" He hollered
"Or I will tell Aunt May!"
He laughed and opened the note as she ran down the stairs trying to get to him.
"Ooh, one Jason Stram wants to meet you. He said it would be his pleasure to court you."
"He did?" She plucked the note from his hand in happy excitement and danced as she read it.
"What's all the fuss about?" Alex came running from the barn.
"Our Kate has found herself a man. His name is Jason Stram."
Alex laughed. "He sounds like a handsome devil. When do we meet him?"
"I," Kate said stressing her words, "go to meet him this weekend and I am not taking you two with me. I know you will only scare him off."
"We wouldn't!" They protested in unison.
She glared at them and walked off because she just knew they would behave like children. Kate was too excited to worry about a chaperone. She lau
ghed at their disappointed pouts as she ran to the house to read the letter over and over again.
There was much jubilation in the house for the rest of the day as they made plans for her ride to the town she was to meet the mysterious Jason Stram, who sounded like a handsome devil. The thought alone made her smile and she had never been this excited in her life. She only hoped that the handsome man wouldn’t think that her lame eye was a deficit.
"His telegram makes no mention of assets," Nathan pointed out worriedly, the morning she was about to leave. "What if the life he is inviting you into is less than desirable?"
Kate kissed his cheek. "Then I will come right back home to you."
"I am serious," he said tucking a strand of hair behind her ear.
"So am I," she looked him in the eye. "Don't worry too much. Just be happy for me and we will see where this adventure takes us."
But even as she said that she knew she was just as worried as he was. She really didn't mind having to build a life with someone. She was looking forward to it in fact. What she had now was because she had been in Nathan's life and helped him to build it all from scratch and she knew that that could never be taken from her, but she had no problem building from scratch again with someone else… someone she loved. She had always romanticized about that and she welcomed it. What she was worried about was how he would take her. Being that she was blind in one eye.
As her coach pulled out with warnings to be careful and send a telegram as soon as she reached her destination, the rain came down. The rain was her constant companion, but as the landscape flew by around her the setting sun ahead offered hope. When they pulled to a stop in front of the inn she was to be staying, she took a deep breath and climbed down from the carriage.
"Ms. Kate Blanche?" A soft timid voice asked from the side of the hitching post.
She turned to find a curious pair of grey eyes staring back at her; a young man that could be no older than ten or eleven.
"Yes, that is me," she replied flatly.
"I am Michael. Mr. Stram sent me to fetch you."
She was apprehensive, but she allowed him to escort her, him taking her baggage as he did so, placing them on his wagon. She found him awfully strong for his age, and he certainly was sweet.
"With all due respect ma'am," Michael spoke as they walked. "I like to earn my keep and Mr. Stram has been very kind to me."
She smiled at him and left it there. She didn't want him to think she was reprimanding him for the fact that he had a job.
"And this Mr. Stram, where is he?"
Michael quickly answered back. "We are going to his house. He will be home later ma'am. When his work is finished."
She frowned at the response, wondering what kind of work this man did and why Michael was so loyal to his friend. She asked nothing else for the rest of the wagon ride.
The town they drove through was very vibrant. Filled with flowers bordering the roadside and children busy at play. Even the market they passed was strangely inviting and she found herself envisioning making a walk through with her husband to be on a Saturday morning, picking up groceries and other supplies.
The house...
She swallowed hard as she stared up at the magnificent three story cut stone structure, which seemed devoid of any warmth and welcome. When Michael brought her luggage up the stairs and pushed the huge doors open, the creaking echoed throughout the dark halls. She stood in awe of the large open space, taking it all in.
"Your room is this way," Michael said to her, walking off down the hall and up the stairs to the right.
He took her to large and elegant room with a view of the massive lake and woodlands behind it. It was breathtaking, facing the setting sun and overlooking the horses that grazed freely in the fields. She decided then and there that such a magnificent home should not be in such a condition.
"I had originally planned to stay at the inn, but this will do just fine. Are the maids about?" She asked Michael.
He turned and looked at her in confusion. "Maids? No ma’am, I’m sorry."
She looked at him in shock and he half expected her to throw a fit. She didn't.
"Well you and I will simply have to do," she said with a smile.
"For what?"
"We are going to put some light into this house and tidy up a bit before Mr. Stram arrives home."
"We have candles and lanterns," Michael said happily, running off to get them.
She chuckled. "No dear. Throw these windows open and let’s make this place a bit homier."
Michael stood rooted to his spot so she offered him a hand and they headed down the stairs. For the next two hours they cleaned as much of the house as they could singing songs and humming as they went along. By night fall they were dusty and exhausted, but the house breathed a sigh of relief for the layers of dust removed and the fresh air blowing through the open windows.
"You are a hard worker and very good company, Michael," she said to the little boy as they sat on the stairs eating the sandwiches she had rustled up from what was available in the kitchen.
"You are pretty great, too. I hope you stay."
They sat listening to the crickets sing their coral for a spell before they saw a horse galloping up the road toward the house.
"Here comes Jason," Michael said getting up and straightening his shirt. She stood looking at him trying to do the same, but she was covered from head to toe in dust and grit. She only hoped he didn't think that was how she carried herself.
"What did you do to my house?" Jason asked as he hopped from his horse and stared up at the light streaming through the open windows.
He was breathtakingly gorgeous and she seemed to have upset him.
"We cleaned it is what we did," she said flatly and waited for his response.
* * *
2
Chapter TWO
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“What if the life he is inviting you
into is less than desirable?”
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"You what? It was clean before!" Jason felt like he had walked into the mansion of one of those fairy-tale books he always read about. It was bright and pretty and most of all it was hopeful. It was new to him in this state and he didn’t know what to think.
"No it was not!" The woman covered in dust on his porch responded.
"Who are you? Did my father send you?" He asked knowing the answer would be no before she even got around to answering it.
She had a look like he had smacked her in the face, but she didn't answer. He looked to Michael who simply held his head in despair.
"What?" Jason asked, clueless as to what was actually going on.
The woman sighed. "I think it is best I go. I will find suitable accommodations in town so don't worry. Your house can go back to the dark, dusty depressing sight it was before I arrived. I will head upstairs and gather my things."
She stomped past him and he looked at Michael again in surprise. "What did I do now?"
"Sir, sometimes I think you are the most clueless man I know," he sighed and fell quiet.
He tried to run it through his head as to whether or not he should actually know this person on his door steps and then it hit him. "That is Kate Blanche?!" Jason asked.
Michael nodded his head in hopelessness.
"Wait!" Jason took a moment to register it all. "Are you telling me that I was rude to the woman who traveled here to marry me?"
Michael nodded his head again at his hopelessness.
"Oh bloody boots!" Jason held his head in his hand and tried to calm his nerve. "I guess I just ruined that."
Michael nodded his head yet again.
Jason watched the boy walk off and thought about going up the stairs to the room he had prepared for Kate, but he wasn't so sure that was wise. He hadn't had much coaching about how he should treat women, and the ones he had interacted with had all been m
ore interested in his money than anything else. He was left undecided but spared the decision moments later when she came down the stairs, her face washed and clothing changed.
"I am sorry for the inconvenience. I really should have asked your permission before I took it upon myself to clean."
He looked her over good for the first time as she spoke and realized what his shock had caused him to miss before... She was gorgeous, and though blind in one eye, he found her breathtaking.
"No," he spoke when she paused. "I was rude. Thank you so very much. This is the first time this house has looked and smelled like this and I am grateful. Please don't go. I am Jason Stram."
She smiled and the house just got a whole lot brighter. "I am Kate Blanche."
There was a moment of awkward silence as they lost themselves in each other’s eyes and all else ceased to exist.
"So you will stay?" He asked her hoping she would, because even then he knew she was the best thing that had come along in a very long time.
"Would you like me to?" She asked with the coquettish flicker of her eyelashes. "I might be inclined to clean the rest of your house."
He laughed and it was the first time in a very long time that he had laughed like that…
"Clean it all and clean it again if you want to. As long as you stay."
"Okay then," she said with a smile and he blushed.
"I must be honest with you though," he began wondering if he should scare her away just yet.
She stopped on the stairs and looked up at him. She looked like she belonged there. There in the house that had been devoid of anything remotely warm since his father had thrown it up and put his name on the papers. He lost his train of thought for a moment.