by Kari Trumbo
“What about you? Aren’t you going to run over to the Hanover’s and make sure Penny isn’t still sitting on the porch waiting?”
“It’s too late. I’m sure she is sore with me and went to bed. I’ll have to talk to her tomorrow.”
“Suit yourself. You need help with these or am I free to go home?”
“Nah, go on home. You earned your pay today.”
Beau touched his hat and, with a few silent steps, disappeared into the darkness.
Chapter Eleven
Foolish. So incredibly foolish. If anyone caught her out here sitting on the porch waiting for Josiah at this hour, she’d be in trouble for sure. Penny shivered in her shawl, clutching it tightly in her one hand. Her long dark hair lay flat over her shoulder covering the wrap. The normally bustling main street of Cutter’s Creek sat eerily quiet in the darkness. Only the moonlight left long shadows amid the two-story buildings. Smoke rose from the houses and the tang of burning wood filled the air. The crunch of boots to gravel had her rushing for the railing. A man swaggered up the street right toward her house. She couldn’t tell who it was. She was now in plain view of…whoever that was.
With a small shriek she shrank back behind the swing, hoping to blend into the shadows of the porch. It was possible the man hadn’t noticed her hanging off the porch looking at him…hoping it was her missing Josiah.
The man stopped at the stairs and turned his head. She couldn’t see his face hidden under his hat.
“Is that you, Penny Hanover?” he asked, removing his hat and looking deeper into the porch.
She recognized the voice and stepped out from her hiding place. “It is. What are you doing out so late, Beau Rockford? I didn’t see you in town all day. I thought you’d gotten a job and had moved on.”
“Be careful, Penny. Saying things like that might make a man think you were looking for him.”
A blush crept up her neck and she was genuinely grateful for the darkness. She clamped her mouth shut and sat back on the porch, shivering now that her heart had calmed down. “I just went to the mercantile and didn’t trip over you hiding in my bushes is all.” She took a step further out of the shadows.
Beau laughed, the first time she’d ever heard it. “I promise not to lurk in your bushes anymore if you’ll let me walk you to the mercantile once in a while.”
Penny looked down at her ring finger. “I don’t think that’s such a good idea. I may not be wearing Josiah’s ring right now, but I have a feeling my heart belongs to him.”
“I kind of figured.” He looked down and shuffled his toe in the gravel.
She stood next to the column, holding up the porch in the light of the moon and could finally see Beau.
“Beau, why do you keep stopping here?”
He looked up at her and smiled. “I like the company.”
Penny gasped. “What happened to your cheek?” She came down into the street and moved his long hair back, revealing a gash.
“Just part of the job. I think it was from the trees. I don’t remember.”
Penny pulled back her wrap at the waist and dug in her pocket. She pulled out her handkerchief and gently wiped the cut. Beau flinched.
“Why don’t you take that with you? If it’s bleeding, you can staunch it until you get home.”
Beau touched his cheek, but didn’t put the bit of cloth back to it. “Has Josiah told you what he does yet?” He looked back up at her. His voice held an accusing edge.
Her throat went dry and she coughed lightly. “He delivers things…that’s all I need to know.”
Beau moved a few steps further down the street. “If you ever want to know, ask me. I work for him.”
Penny pursed her lips. There was another thing Josiah hadn’t told her. How many secrets could he possibly keep? She looked back up from her thoughts and Beau had disappeared. She stood up and leaned from the porch to see far down the street, but he was simply gone. She rubbed her eyes and looked again. Shuffling feet behind her made her quickly back into the shadows. She looked in the front windows and held her ear to the glass to be sure her parents were asleep. If they ever found out she was sitting out here in plain sight in the middle of the night, they’d have her hide.
Mable rushed up the stairs and right into her. Penny gave a sharp cry at the jarring of her shoulder.
“Oh, Penny! I didn’t see you there. You need to hurry right now. Josiah needs you for a very important job.”
Penny looked at her front door then down at Mable. “It’s the middle of the night. I can’t go out and see Josiah…my parents would…not to mention my reputation. I just couldn’t do such a thing.”
“You have to or someone might die. Hurry now. You’ll need a warmer coat. Josiah is just taking a horse so you’ll have to ride, and it’ll be cold.”
“What about my parents, Mable? They will think I ran away with Josiah!”
Mable pushed her toward the door. “You haven’t got a minute to spare. Go!”
Penny hurried inside but took the time to close the door softly. If her parents heard and she had to explain, they would never let her go. She grabbed the note paper her mother used to write shopping lists and tapped the pencil to her mouth, thinking what would be the best words to write.
Papa and Mama,
Mable came to collect me. Something is wrong with Josiah and he needs my help. I am with him and I am safe. We are not eloping. I’ll get back here as quickly as possible. Check with Mable in the morning.
Penelope
It was the best she could do in the dark. Penny looked from the paper to the front door. She could hear Mable shuffling her feet right outside the door, waiting for her. Penny opened her mother’s sewing kit in the kitchen and lifted the pearl ring Josiah had given her from within the pincushion box. Slipping it on her finger, she held it up in the moonlight. It felt right, like her hand was back as it should be. She buttoned her coat around her arm, thankful she’d changed back into her dress and not stayed in her sleeping gown to sit on the porch. She slapped a bonnet on her head, rushing back out to Mable.
“Mable, this could ruin me. Are you sure I must go? Isn’t there anyone else or could you go with me?”
Mable tied the bonnet under Penny’s chin. “I am sure. I can’t go because of my shop. It is my hope that you will be home and back in bed before you’re missed. These men probably have no idea what they are talking about.”
“But what if they do and I don’t make it back in time? Papa will insist Josiah marry me, or he’ll never let me see Josiah again.” She closed her eyes against the tears that would be wasted on Mable.
“Would marriage really be so terrible? You were ready to marry him just a month ago.” Mable pulled her down the stairs and turned for Josiah’s father’s home.
“You don’t understand. I may have chosen him before, but things are not as they seem with him. I can’t marry a man who won’t be honest with me.”
“He is honest with you, dear. Some men chose to leave their jobs outside when they walk in the door at night. Josiah is one of those men. The Lord has blessed you with a man who cares for you deeply. What he is doing is honorable, even if he hasn’t told you. You’ll find out more about his job than you ever wished to know in a few minutes.”
Penny matched her steps to Mable as they traversed the empty streets. “What does Beau have to do with all this? He stopped by on his way home, and he caught me sitting and waiting for Josiah.”
“Beau works for Josiah, nothing more. Don’t concern yourself with him.” Mable went into her sweet shop, locking it behind the two of them. She led Penny through to the back and out. They went past four houses and came to Josiah’s father’s home.
Josiah sat at the table with his head in his hands. He looked up as the door closed. “Mable Conner! What are you thinking?” He stood quickly, the chair scraping across the floor.
Mable smiled. “I brought the only person who can really help you. I surely can’t.” She crossed her arms over her chest
.
Penny backed against the door, wishing she’d gone to bed as her parents thought she had. Josiah approached her slowly and raised his hand as if he would touch her cheek, but stopped the caress before it could happen. Penny found that she longed for the touch. Wished he wouldn’t hold back.
“She shouldn’t have brought you here. I wanted you to discover your memories of me on your own and if not, to grow to love me once again all on your own. You shouldn’t be here and I certainly shouldn’t take you with me.”
She opened her eyes and looked deeply into his dark ones. “You seem quite certain that I would choose you once again.”
He took a step closer and the smell of the forest and the soap he’d used on his hands surrounded her. She tried to think of all the reasons she should not be here right now but they flitted away like a scared rabbit from a garden.
“I am sure. The Lord chose you for me. He created you just for me and He wouldn’t let you slip away.”
He was close enough to touch now, close enough to take shelter in his embrace, if only that were an option. She looked down between them, at the slight distance between their feet. “What is it you need me to do, Josiah?”
He turned from her and she fought the urge to follow him.
“I don’t want you to do anything, but Mable has ruined that plan. I can’t take Carol with me to help. She doesn’t know what I do and she can’t keep a secret to save her life.”
“So you need me to keep a secret?” She tilted her head.
“That’s a small part of it.” He sighed and turned back to her, now grasping her arms and looking her in the eyes. “I need you to be brave, and help me with a woman who has a bad fever. If you don’t help her, she could die and it would ruin all the work Beau and I have been doing. Not to mention how hard it would be on her man. Will you help, please? Even knowing that you might come back here to…a mess?”
She couldn’t deny him. It was as if her heart spoke for her. “I will go with you.”
“Even if it means getting drug to the chapel by your father with a gun…probably your mother too, for that matter?”
“I…would go willingly.” She looked away from the eyes that bored directly into her soul. How he knew her so well, yet she knew so little, left her feeling exposed.
“If you are so sure you’ll have me, we’d best be off.” He turned from her and left the house. She looked after him, wondering if she should follow or wait.
Mable put a cup of steaming coffee in her hand and pressed her fingertips around it. “Best drink that. You’ll need the warmth for the ride. Oh!” She touched the pearl ring. Her voice dropped to a whisper. “You put back on Agatha’s pearl.”
“It was for my safety. If I’m running around with a man, it should at least look like we’re married.” She stared down into the steaming cup. “My insides won’t calm down.” She saw the ripples in the cup to match the shaking of her hand.
“Best not to think about that. Do you know what to do for a fever?” Mable turned back to the stove and rubbed her hands then held them out over the top to warm them.
“Mama always said starve a fever, feed a cold. She’d give us lots of blankets, but cold cloths on our foreheads. But…I don’t remember ever having anything so severe that she needed help. Surely whoever is there could manage that?” She sipped the coffee. Its bitter tang spread warmth everywhere it reached.
“Ain’t nothing quite so worthless around a sickbed as a man, I’m sorry to say. Most who aren’t trained in medicine couldn’t heal a headache.”
Penny moved to stand next to her. “I’m frightened. My family will be so angry and disgraced.”
“If it worries you that much, get married while you’re in Rocks Peak.”
Josiah came in, his face somber. “I hope you warmed up a little. It will be a chilly ride.” He took the cup from her hand and smiled, turning it to look at the ring. “I had hoped to propose to you all over again. I’m sorry about the way this is working out, my pretty Penny.”
He placed his hand on the small of her back. His gentle touch overwhelmed her senses. He led her out the front and around his house to the back stable. A horse waited there, saddled and ready. “I wish we could take both horses, but I can’t leave Pa without. We’ll have to take it slower than I’d like on account of your arm and the horse carrying two. It will take a couple hours instead of one. I’ll try not to jostle you too much.”
Her face flamed at the idea of riding so close to him. How in the world would she manage being his wife if even the thought of riding so close to him had her shaking in her shoes? She nodded and hoped he didn’t feel her trembling.
“I’m going to have to lift you up there. Without use of your right arm, you can’t do it. Just wrap your leg around the horn like you would in a side saddle.” He wrapped his hands around her waist.
A bevy of tingles started at her waist and spread. It was an addicting feeling, one she could certainly get used to. He got her seated then pulled himself up behind her and got settled in. It made her think of the story her parents had told her, of her mother and father riding together back to Cutter’s Creek after she had been kidnapped. Perhaps they would understand more than she’d assumed. She could hope.
He grasped the reins and held her close against his chest. Though it was hardly comfortable, she didn’t want to leave. He directed the horse away from town and into the forest. Each snap of a twig or slap of tree branches made her jump. In just a few hours, her father would find that letter. He would seek out Mable and probably come after her. She had only a few hours to make a difference for the sick woman waiting for her. She had to remember why she was here. This wasn’t about her, it was about a sick woman.
“Settle in and try to rest, Penny.” Josiah’s voice rippled through her bonnet to her ears. He nestled her against his chest. “You’ll need a little sleep. You might not get any once you’re there.”
If only he knew that sleeping was the last thing on her mind as she snuggled in his embrace.
Chapter Twelve
Lord, temptation is a living, breathing thing and I need your help! Josiah had never been so aware in his life of why society was so adamant about keeping men and women apart, or at least not alone together until they were sanctified. The forest, with all the shadows and noises made him jumpy, but she’d grimaced and shifted with every sound. He’d have to get them off this horse soon or he’d be tempted to hold her even closer. That would never do.
They came to the cabin clearing and Josiah reined in the horse. Penny leaned forward to look back at him, but he pulled her back close to his chest.
“Don’t move. I don’t know yet if anyone is out here. We’re going to dismount and walk around the clearing as quietly as possible. Rocks Peak isn’t much further beyond. Understand?”
She nodded. He climbed down and then reached up and lifted her off his horse. He held onto her waist a moment longer than he needed. She looked up at him and he thought for a moment that she leaned into him. Woman, you know not what you do!
He put his arm out for her to hold, leading both her and the horse around the clearing. She was silent and it impressed him that she could move so lightly on her feet in the dark. He almost heard no sound at all. When they reached the far side of the clearing, he led her deeper into the forest. Then he stopped. Turning her toward him, he pulled her chin up gently to look at him.
“I don’t know if I can handle any more of that saddle tonight. Do you want to ride or walk the rest of the way? It is about two miles.”
He could not see the look on her face, but the chill of her skin worried him. It was too cool to be out riding this long. This late in October, they were lucky not to have a little snow yet, especially in the foothills. She shook slightly and he pulled her close, wrapping her in his arms.
“Walk with me. It will warm you up a little.” Josiah held her close to his side as they walked through the dark forest. After a time, the small town of Rocks Peak came into view and he breath
ed a little easier. “The house we are going to is on the other side of town,” he whispered. “They are leaving a lamp on for us.”
He led her quietly through the town and to the small house. Lord, please help Penny know what to do. Heal Cori and help her find happiness and freedom in her new home. She and Moses have waited a long time for the freedom they seek. Amen.
“Penny, I need to you just trust me. These are people that I just met tonight, and they are staying with Mable’s cousin Ned. They have no one except you to help them.”
Penny looked up at him with those luminous eyes. He wished he could see their color in the dark; he was so fond of it. She nodded and moved back into his embrace to finish their walk. He hoped she would continue to be so trusting.
~~~
Penny walked through the door to the cabin ushered in by Josiah. He’d ground tied the horse to bring her inside, but he would go tend to it in a minute. She saw the woman immediately and froze. Josiah hadn’t warned her about who she would be treating. It didn’t matter, truly, but she’d made an assumption and it had been wrong.
“Good evening. I’m Penny and Josiah has brought me here to help.”
Ned stepped forward first as Josiah pulled the coat from Penny’s shoulders. “Well, how are you going to help? You’re ailing yourself.”
“I can do my best.” She brushed past him to get to the woman.
A large man sat on his knees in front of the rocking chair, mumbling soft prayers and rubbing her hand. He stopped when she came in the room and turned his head to look at her. His great scarred face made her blood run cold. Who would do such a thing to another man?
“Her name’s Cori and she been like this for about three days now. You think you can help her?”
Penny had expected him to sound different from her and it shocked her that he really didn’t. “Is there anything else I should know…besides the fever?”
The man hesitated. His eyes darted from her to Cori and back again. “We…we got married real quick like before we left. That was about a month ago.” He looked to the men in the room, then back to Penny. He lowered his voice. “She said she was expecting her monthlies right afore she got sick, but it never happened.”