“That was it, a mold,” he thought to himself. It was as if she fit there perfectly and was meant to be in his arms. As he thought of that day, his heart fluttered and he knew that he had fallen deeply in love with her.
Suddenly he awoke from his daydream as Melinda asked, “Are you ready to finish Black Beauty?”
She hung the wet dishtowel up to dry and then put the apron on a hook where she had found it. Melinda walked over to the sofa, picked up the book, and turned to the spot she had marked.
Jenny cuddled up to Melinda on the sofa and rested her head against her teacher’s shoulder. After a while, Melinda heard a few sniffles from Jenny as she read a sad part of Black Beauty’s life. “‘My life was now so utterly wretched that I wished I might, like Ginger, drop down dead at my work and be out of my misery.’”
Melinda took the edge of her skirt and wiped Jenny’s tears away and then hugged her. “Shall we stop and have lunch?”
Jenny shook her head. “I’ve just got to see how this turns out, Miss Gamble.”
“But, Jenny, my voice is tired. I must rest. Aren’t you hungry?”
At this announcement, Gilbert hopped up and began fixing something for lunch. When Melinda saw what he was doing, she walked toward him, “May I help?”
“Sure. You can cut the bread while I cut the roast beef from yesterday. We can have roast beef sandwiches.”
“Sounds good to me.” Melinda smiled and began cutting the bread. “Did you make this bread?”
“Sure did.” He turned to face her and said softly, “Melinda, I just want you to know that it sure has been good to have you around.”
“It has?”
“Yes, it has.” Then he turned to her and grinned. “And don’t ask me why. I’m not going through that again.”
Melinda laughed, remembering what had happened at the train station.
“You know, Melinda, we have broken a record.”
“What record is that?”
“We have been together now for two days without one argument.”
Melinda burst into laughter. “Now that’s a miracle, isn’t it?”
She buttered the bread and added relish. Then Gilbert placed several thin slices of beef on it.
After Gilbert wiped his hands clean, he looked into her eyes. “It’s nice to work as a team rather than against one another, don’t you think?”
Melinda smiled and nodded.
“So, you’re Irish, eh?”
“Yes. My grandfather came over from Cork County, Ireland.”
Gilbert grinned. “I’ve heard about the Irish tempers. I used to think it was a fable.”
Melinda looked at him curiously and wondered if he was serious or teasing her. When she could not quite tell, she put her hands on her hips in a stubborn stance and stared into his eyes, saying in mock exasperation, “It is a fable. And you’re not so innocent yourself, Mr. Roberts. I remember a time when you were quite upset at me and it had something to do with your cows getting loose.”
She was teasing him and he knew it. This was the first time she had ever teased him and he liked her spirit.
Gilbert grinned and put both hands up in the air in surrender. “You’re right and I shouldn’t have said that. I remember I bit your head off that day. I’m sorry.” Looking at his daughter, he said, “Jenny, get washed up. Lunch is ready.”
Jenny grinned at the confrontation that she had just witnessed between her father and Melinda and then took off.
Melinda stood with her hands still on her hips as she watched Gilbert put the food on the table. She was having fun with him and was trying very hard to suppress a smile.
After Jenny left the room, Gilbert turned from the table and saw Melinda’s stubborn stance, which was quite amusing. His eyes swept over her figure, from head to foot. She was so lovely. When his heart picked up speed, he gave a quick glance to see if Jenny was gone. Then he grinned and took large strides toward Melinda and stood in front of her. He slid his hands around her slender waist and embraced her tenderly.
“Why do I infuriate you so?” he whispered in her ear.
Melinda slightly gasped at his touch, and the warmth of his breath against her ear sent a shiver down her spine. Trying to get her breath back, she answered, “You don’t infuriate me, Gilbert. I…I don’t know why I get upset over such little things.”
Gilbert wrapped his arms around her and squeezed her gently, holding his hands firmly against her back. It did not take much before she melted into his arms and leaned her head against his shoulder.
As she sighed, Gilbert grinned. “Yup, it happened again. I just had to check to see if it was my imagination.” Then he pressed his lips to her temple and gave her a lingering kiss.
Feeling the warmth of his lips against her face, she tried to keep her senses about her, but without much success. Finally Melinda breathlessly asked, “What do you mean? What happened again?”
Gilbert nuzzled his cheek next to hers and whispered, “I mean, when I hold you close to me like this, you seem to melt into my arms like it’s so natural.” He sighed. “You’re so soft and it feels so good to hold you, Melinda.”
Melinda’s heart swelled at the tender words that Gilbert had just told her and she relaxed in his arms. She looked up into his eyes and then wrapped her arms around his chest and held him tightly.
Aware of Melinda’s embrace, Gilbert realized that she was experiencing the same feelings he was toward her, and he didn’t want to release her. He looked down at the woman in his arms staring back at him and saw the fullness of her lips. A strong desire to kiss her rose sharply within him. When he saw the invitation in her eyes, he leaned down toward her and was about to press his lips to hers when he heard a sound at the hallway.
Just then Jenny entered the room. Melinda’s face flushed as she instantly pulled her hands up against Gilbert’s chest and firmly pushed herself out of his arms. Then she wiped her hands on her skirt nervously. Gilbert grinned as he watched Melinda’s face redden. Her blush was so amusing that he had to suppress a chuckle. He turned around and saw Jenny smiling at him.
“Sit down, Jenny. Let’s eat.”
As they sat at the table, Melinda was quiet. Her heart was still pounding rapidly and she tried to think of something to say. Looking up at Gilbert, she was still flushed and embarrassed. Then she said, “Uhm…how’s the weather? May I go home today?”
Gilbert grinned at her beautiful rosy face. He enjoyed embarrassing her. He tried to hold back a chuckle as he answered Melinda’s question. “It’s much better. You might be able to leave this afternoon.”
Jenny spoke up. “No. I don’t want you to leave. Please stay, Miss Gamble.”
Melinda smiled as the original color came back to her cheeks. “I must, sweetie.”
Gilbert quickly added, “Not until we finish Black Beauty, all right? What do you say?”
Melinda’s heart filled with warmth as she saw his tender eyes watching her, full of hope. Then she nodded in agreement.
After lunch, Jenny and Melinda did the dishes while Gilbert read in his favorite chair. He had volunteered to help Melinda with the dishes, but she refused his help for two reasons. First, he had been cooking and waiting on her since she arrived. Second, Melinda felt she needed to protect her heart, especially after the way it had reacted when he embraced her. She knew she was falling in love with Gilbert, but she did not know how he truly felt about her. Melinda felt vulnerable and she needed to protect her heart until Gilbert was ready for a commitment. She realized that Gilbert had concerns because he had voiced them on the way home from the terminal. She just had to wait until he was ready.
After the dishes were done, Melinda sat beside Jenny and finished the book. “‘And here my story ends. My troubles are all over, and I am at home; and often before I am quite awake, I fancy I am still in the orchard at Birtwick, standing with my old friends under the apple trees.’”
Melinda closed the book and hugged Jenny. “I should go home now, Jenny.”
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Melinda realized she needed to go home as soon as possible. Her love for this man was growing and until he was ready, she needed to get her life back into order again.
Upon hearing this, Gilbert immediately stood. “I’ll get the buckboard ready. Joe brought it by this morning when he helped me milk and feed the cows.”
It was late afternoon, the sun was beginning to set, and the ride home was chilly. The wind had calmed down and the cloudless sky left a crispness in the air. The ice on the bare branches of nearby trees and shrubs was sparkling with the evening sun. A rabbit scurried across the field, heading for shelter. They passed drifts and large mounds of snow as the horse trotted along the road.
Melinda was quiet as Gilbert looked toward her. Her cheeks were pink from the chill and she looked so lovely. He smiled at her as he reined in the horse. “You’re home, Melinda.”
Gilbert hopped down from the buckboard and then offered to help her down. The step along the side of the buckboard was icy, so she held onto the back of the seat as Gilbert held out his hand. Her foot slipped on the icy step and she grabbed tightly onto the back of the seat to steady herself.
“Wait. Let me help you down,” Gilbert said softly.
He held both hands out while she stood beside the seat. She leaned toward him and put her hands on his shoulders while he slipped his hands around her waist. Gilbert’s physical strength was obvious as he slowly lifted her down.
As Melinda stood with her back against the buckboard, she was aware of his hands still around her waist. She was also conscious of his closeness as she felt the warmth of his breath against her face. Gilbert stood beside her and gazed into her eyes with tenderness. Melinda’s heart beat furiously from the touch of his hands around her as he lingered for a moment. He seemed to be studying the contours of her face and as his eyes wandered to her mouth, she could tell that he wanted to give her a kiss—the kiss of which he had been cheated when Jenny had interrupted them. But for some reason, he chose not to. His magnetic charm tugged at her heart and she could not deny that she was in love.
“I’ll walk you to the door,” he said in a deep soft tone.
“Thank you, Gilbert.”
Then he dropped his hands from her waist, stepped back, and took her arm to steady her. “I’m so glad you don’t call me Mr. Roberts anymore. It sounded so formal.”
Melinda laughed at his comment as she opened the door of her home. She turned to face him, but he was already heading back to the buckboard before she could thank him. She watched him leave, but he did not turn and look back. To Melinda, it was a sign of affection when someone turned and gave one last glance or smile. Why didn’t he turn and take one last look at her?
She knew that something was bothering him and that he still was not ready for a commitment or he would have taken the opportunity to tell her his true feelings when he had her cornered at the buckboard. His eyes had been so fixed upon her as he held her at the buckboard and Melinda knew that he wanted to say something, but didn’t.
Inside, she wished that he would have taken her in his arms and held her and given her the same lingering kiss that he had given her at the terminal. Melinda’s chest became heavy and a few tears stung her eyes. The pain in her breast intensified and her heart felt as if it would break. Why did she have to fall in love with a man who was afraid of commitment?
Chapter 20
VALENTINE’S DAY
Three weeks passed and Gilbert had not seen Melinda at all except in passing at church or in town. He had been purposefully avoiding her because he had concerns that he had to work out before he could court her. Valentine’s Day was coming in less than a week. The community was going to have a Sweetheart’s Dance and Gilbert wondered whether or not he should go. Would Melinda be there? As he fixed supper alongside Jenny, he saw her look curiously at him.
“Pa, are you going to the dance?”
“Don’t know, darlin’.”
“I know you like Miss Gamble, Pa. No need tryin’ to hide it from me.”
Gilbert laughed. “How do you know?”
“It’s in your eyes, Pa. You can’t hide it. I saw the way you looked at her and watched her move about when she didn’t know you were watching.”
He shook his head in amusement. “You’re too smart for your breeches.”
“Are you goin’ to give her a valentine?”
“A valentine?”
“Yes, Pa. You always give a valentine to a sweetheart.”
“But, Jenny, she’s not my sweetheart.”
“You could’ve fooled me when I saw you two in the kitchen. You were holdin’ her, Pa. And she blushed. No lady ever blushes unless she likes a man. She’s your sweetheart and you don’t even know it.” Jenny giggled when she saw her father frown as if denying the fact. “Pa, send her a poem. She’ll like it.”
“A poem? Why?”
“Because it’s romantic. Don’t you know anything about romance, Pa?”
He smiled as he set the table. “Apparently not. So, what kind of poem should I give Miss Gamble?” Then with a mischievous glint in his eyes, Gilbert grinned from ear to ear and said, “I know! How about the poem called ‘My Fancy’ by Lewis Carroll? That’s a real romantic one, don’t you think?”
Jenny giggled and shook her head. She remembered it very well. He had read it to her many times and it always made her laugh.
Watching his daughter laugh, he smiled and said, “It tells all the things that you love about your sweetheart.” He stood at attention and then quoted:
She has the bear’s ethereal grace,
The bland hyena’s laugh,
The footstep of the elephant,
The neck of the giraffe.
I love her still, believe me,
Though my heart its passion hides;
She is all my fancy painted her,
But, oh, how much besides.
Jenny laughed so hard that her sides began to ache. After a while she put her hands on her hips in mock exasperation.
“Now, Pa, if you don’t become serious about this, you’ll lose her for sure. I’ve noticed the superintendent has been making eyes at Miss Gamble lately. His name is Henry and when he talks to her, she smiles at him. Sometimes he makes her laugh.”
Gilbert became sober and stood a while in thought, rubbing his chin. “Hmmm, Henry’s been paying attention to her?”
“Yup.”
“How much attention?”
“Quite a lot, Pa.”
“A lot?”
“Yup. Are you goin’ to write her a poem now? He even made her some fake flowers and gave ’em to her to put on her desk at school and he put perfume all over ’em. They sure stink up the room. After he gave ’em to her, Miss Gamble smiled and said thank you all sweet like. You had better give her a nice poem, Pa. And I mean it.”
Gilbert gave her a subdued half smile. “All right. I’ll think about it. Right now it’s time to eat and I believe it’s your turn to say the blessing on the food.”
During the rest of the week, Gilbert heard gossip in town all about Henry and Melinda. He heard about how Henry was bragging that they had been dating since December, which annoyed him to no end. Gilbert became worried and nervous about it. Then he noticed that he was edgy and ornery with everyday chores. One time he actually kicked the bucket he was milking into. It flew across the barn and hit the wall at great speed, splattering the milk everywhere. When Joseph asked him how his bucket ended up against the wall, he just said, “My foot slipped.”
Why did he feel so jealous about Henry? Melinda was a beautiful woman and it was only natural that others would be interested in her. She had a right to date whomever she pleased. After much examination of his emotions, Gilbert knew that if there had been any doubt of his being in love with her before, there certainly wasn’t now.
Gilbert remembered the first time he had seen her wading in the stream and how she had laughed so delightfully as she watched a couple of birds flying above her. She had exuded such purity
and innocence as she waded barefoot down the creek. Gilbert chuckled as he remembered that day. He remembered how flustered he had been when he saw this graceful and beautiful woman heading his way, holding her skirts above the water.
Then he remembered her stormy eyes as they flamed with anger when he had tried her patience. Gilbert grinned at the memory of it. He thought about Melinda’s timid and uneasy face he had gazed upon as they stood beneath the mistletoe. He noticed she had felt insecure with him so near. When he took her hand, he could see the relief in her face.
The memory of her gentle and warm kiss at the terminal remained etched in his mind, as well as the memory of her voice singing as she cleaned the cabinets of his home and her gentleness as she read Black Beauty.
He remembered how she had blushed when Jenny caught him hugging her in the kitchen just as he was about to give her a kiss, and he remembered how her blush had affected him, also.
Gilbert knew that he had to do something if he didn’t want to lose her. He had to write a poem and he had to go to the dance. He also needed to have a long talk with her about something he had held inside for years.
Gilbert never cared for dances because he had never learned how to dance. But if Melinda was going to be there, he had to be there, too. He could socialize and that wouldn’t be so bad. Gilbert had a few friends who went to the dances every month. He could visit with them until he had a chance to take Melinda aside. His plan was to talk to Melinda and let her know his concerns and see what she had to say. Gilbert had never expressed all his concerns to anyone before. He had been too embarrassed. This would be his first time. How would she react to it?
Gilbert sat at the table with a pencil in hand and a paper before him. After giving it much thought, he knew what to write. The first encounter they had had was so delightful that he decided to put it into poetry. After an hour of writing, erasing, rewriting, and suffering through a bundle of nerves, he finally finished his rough draft. Then he very neatly wrote his poem on a fresh piece of paper, put it in an envelope, and sealed it.
Melinda and the Wild West Page 12