by Zina Abbott
“It’s an opal. I’ll gladly replace it later with a diamond or a ruby, whatever you want. But, as long as you’re up in Lundy and I have to spend most of my time down in Big Meadows, I was afraid to get you a ring that might attract the wrong kind of attention. I also have a wedding band for you, sweetheart, for when we marry.”
Her reluctance had nothing to do with wanting to wear Jim Dodd’s ring. The only reason she continued to wear it was to demonstrate to others that she was a respectable widow. But, if she exchanged it for Val’s ring, she would be telling the citizens of Lundy something entirely different.
Dare she take him at his word and trust him? Even if she could trust Val, what about his family? If something happened to him, what would she have? The land was theirs and she would have no claim on it. What if his family with their big shot lawyer brother who knew all the legal ways to take advantage were to turn her out? What would happen to her and her little sister? She could find herself in the same position she was in now, thanks to Jim Dodd; only next time, her heart would be broken.
“Beth?”
Val gently used is forefinger to tip her head back to face him. He caressed the side of her jaw with his hand.
“Beth, sweetheart, is it because you are afraid to have children? I know losing that baby was terribly hard on you. Does your reluctance to marry me have anything to do with you not wanting to have any more babies?”
Beth eyes met his.
I want your babies more than anything in the world.
Their babies would be strong and beautiful. Beth realized that of all the men she had ever known in her life, there was no man she could trust more than Val Caldwell to be the father of her children. There was no man other than Val she desired to be the father of her children.
And, yes, she wanted more children. The desire had been there all along, even after the devastating sorrow of her Thomas’s illness and death. Today, bringing Sophie Ann into the world and holding the newborn in her arms had only dredged to the surface of her heart and reinforced that burning desire that she had buried in the depths of her soul. She desperately wanted more children.
She wanted Val’s children. She wanted his children as much as she wanted Val to be a part of her life until she died. She would have to take the risk that things might not turn out and she would end up with nothing.
Then again, maybe she could have both—Val’s babies and a lifetime by his side, plus a measure of security for herself and her family should something happen to him. She looked down at her feet as she formed her question.
“You reckon if I say yes, you can give me to the end of the year? I still got me some family business to get settled afore I can think on getting married.”
Beth glimpsed up to see how Val reacted to her request. It was obvious he did not like the idea of waiting that long. His voice was quiet when he answered.
“All right, Bethie Rose. Not that I want to, but if you need until the end of the year, I can wait that long. Will you agree to marry me, sweetheart, and wear my ring?”
Beth removed her left glove and grimaced as she twisted Jim Dodd’s gold ring past her swollen knuckle. After it finally pulled free, she held it in her right hand, debating what to do about it. Her sister had not sewn a pocket into the skirt and Beth had not brought her reticule. She didn’t feel right about sliding it down the front of her corset.
Val took the ring and put it in his poke.
“I’ll give it to you when we get back to your room, Beth. Maybe you can use the money you get from it to pay for something you want.”
The ring wasn’t enough to get Beth what she really wanted: a place of her own, preferably a farm, and her sister brought to California to live with her. But, it was a start. Unable to control the shaking in her hand, Beth held it toward Val, her fingers splayed. She took a deep breath and suppressed the quiver that coursed through her body as she watched him slide his ring on her finger. Even in the shadow of the mostly bare tree branches and the diminishing light of early dusk, the opal surrounded by gold seemed to glow upon her hand. Tears started to form in her eyes and she fought them back.
Ain’t going to cry, especially now I’m so happy.
Beth felt Val wrap his arms around her. She stepped into his embrace. With her arms around him, she buried her face in his neck. She fought to contain the surge of emotion within her that threatened to explode. She soon became aware of Val comforting her with words.
“There, there, Beth. It’s going to work out all right. You have made me the happiest man alive. I’ll make sure you’ll never be sorry you chose me.”
Beth pulled back to look at Val, tears streaming down her face. She huffed with annoyance once she caught sight of his emerging grin and the sparkle in his eye. Her expression spurred Val into an outright laugh.
“Now, Bethie Rose, don’t go getting all prickly on me. Sweetheart, I can’t believe you have the nerve to claim you can’t love enough to marry. You try so hard to behave tough and unapproachable, but you can love those you care about deeper than anyone I know.”
Beth opened her mouth to protest only to have Val’s lips descend upon hers with a kiss that erased her comeback from her mind. He pulled her tighter to him and deepened his kiss. All she could do—all she desired to do—was respond with kisses of her own. And the truth of the matter was, as much as she desired to be physically close like this and share his kisses, her desire went far deeper. The closeness she desired with Val Caldwell went beyond the desire to mate with him—an experience that she suspected would be far more enjoyable than it had been with Jim Dodd. It went beyond a sense of trust and undying loyalty or the wish to share her hopes and dreams with him. She felt he was the other half of her wholeness. She had been readying herself for this wholeness from the time she was born. With Val by her side, she was complete.
The sound of the grieving family of the little boy who had died broke through to them and prompted Val and Beth to pull apart. Beth glanced shyly at Val before she turned to face the buildings of Lundy that were fast disappearing into the shadows of Mount Scowden.
“Reckon I best get back and help Gus. If he don’t run me off, that is, me be bein’ gone so much today, and all.”
With Beth on Val’s arm, the two continued their walk up the slope of Mill Creek Canyon until they reached Beth’s room. She quickly changed into the shirtwaist and skirt she wore to work.
Ain’t never done so much clothes changin’ in all my born days.
Keeping a close eye on those miners who appeared to have been celebrating Lundy’s Resurrection Day with beer and wine from the start, Val escorted her to the chop shop. Gus glared at her when she entered until she spoke.
“Done got Jim Dodd buried and paid him his final respects.”
Gus nodded and, without a word, he turned back to his frying steaks while Beth started a new batch of biscuits.
Josh, returning from the dining area after helping to distribute food. Even with dough sticking to the mounting that held the opal in place, he was the first to notice her new ring. She was still Mrs. Dodd, the widow. But, she was also now officially Val Caldwell’s intended. It wasn’t until Beth assure Gus and Josh that she wasn’t going anywhere, but would continue working as a cook and baker until the mining season was over that Gus stopped frowning about the news that she was now engaged.
After Val escorted her home from the chop shop and said his good-byes, Beth lit the lamp in her room. Startled, she froze in place as she stared at the basket sitting on the chair next to her bed. Inside the crocheted lace edge of a white napkin used to line the basket were four cans of food—two of peach halves and two of pie cherries. Wedged amongst the cans, Beth spied an edge of a folded paper. She opened it and read:
“This is a small token of my appreciation for your warning about the man Jeb. You were right. After you left, he took one of my girls to her room and started to rough her up. Albert stayed close by the room and was able to stop him before too much harm was done. You do not
need to worry he will bother you again. Albert and Hal have persuaded him to leave town and seek work in the southern mines. Flora”
Learning that the man who had threatened her had been forced out of town was a more valuable gift than the canned goods. Still, as Beth eyed the canned fruit, she pondered about how nice they would be in a couple of pies. The peaches, as least, she would save until the next time Val came to Lundy.
From beneath her bed, Beth pulled out the tow sack full of Jim Dodd’s personal belongings that the probate judge, Charles Mclean, had already released to her. Even without the clothes she had given Josh, it still held several items of clothing. She pulled out a blue-and-white striped shirt that had a two inch hole worn through one elbow and a dark stain the size of her palm on the front. She hadn’t wanted to give Josh the worst of Jim’s clothes, but she was sure she couldn’t get much for this shirt if she tried to sell it. She also pulled out one of Jim’s faded red flannel union suits with the knees and elbows worn through.
Last, from her dresser drawer, she pulled out the yardage of white flannel she had purchased a week earlier so she could sew herself a new nightgown. Even with summer coming, she suspected most nights this high in the mountains would be cool, and her old nightgown was starting to tear in the fabric where it had worn thin. She laid the three side by side on her bed and studied them.
Beth knew that if her sister were there, she would come up with a fancy pattern for what Beth had in mind—probably something using triangles and diamonds that could be sewn into a flowery star pattern.
But, Beth wasn’t the seamstress that her sister was and didn’t have the patience to fuss with a pattern like that. She decided on a simple block pattern, using squares cut as big as she could that would still utilize most of the available fabric from the shirt and the union suit. Those, she would alternate with squares of white flannel cut the same size to create a checkerboard look. She didn’t have a cotton bat to use for the center. However, she had enough white flannel for the outside design, plus two layers to form a small quilt that would provide a degree of warmth. Her new nightgown would have to wait until she could afford to buy more flannel.
Her plan in place, Beth found her scissors—the pair she had purchased here in Lundy, because her sister had inherited their ma’s scissors the same way Beth had inherited their pa’s hunting knife. She cut the squares and placed the design on the bed.
Beth had only stitched one red square to one white square before she realized she needed to turn off her lantern and get some sleep. The next day, Val and Luther and their crew would leave at first light. And, even though there was no church to attend in Lundy, there would be hung-over miners recovering from the Resurrection Day celebration who would eventually get hungry and want to eat. After all the time she had spent this day away from the kitchen, she couldn’t let Gus down tomorrow.
Beth packed the pieces away. She would work on it every night until the quilt was finished. Whether Lulu chose to keep her child and work as a cook at Gus’s chop shop with Beth or she chose to give it away and continue to work at the Blue Feather as a prostitute, baby Sophie Ann needed a warm blanket.
Author’s note: Resurrection Day is an actual event that took place in the gold mining town of Lundy, California on April 5, 1884. The description of how the miners and other men in the town celebrated the day was taken from transcribed newspaper accounts of the event.
Eastern Sierra BRIDES 1884
COMING next!
HER INDEPENDENT SPIRIT
Although widow Beth Dodd has agreed to wed Val Caldwell, she has put their marriage off until the end of the year. She still desires to have a place of her own that she and her little sister can fall back on should something go wrong in the future. Widowed in California, she has an estate coming to her that is worth far less than her portion from the Ohio farm that her pa sold to her late husband for the express purpose of providing Beth with a husband and a secure place to spend her life and raise a family. That was before her late husband sold out and left her behind so he could return to the mines in the eastern Sierra-Nevada Mountains. Now, she is in the eastern Sierras, but it is land, not gold and silver, she seeks.
Louisa Parmley has a decision to make. Will she give up her baby in order to resume working as a prostitute at the Blue Feather brothel? Or, will she take Beth up on her offer to keep her baby, leave whoring behind, and work as a cook? And, will the stubborn German cook, Gus Herschel, who owns the chop shop at the back of the Arcade Saloon where Beth works, give in to Beth’s badgering and promises? Knowing Louisa’s past, will he allow Louisa to bring her baby there and work as a cook in spite of the Arcade Saloon’s strictly-enforced policy of “no upstairs girls”?
Two women seek independence: One wants to return to the expectations of her past by owning her own land where she can take care of her family and raise her chickens. She hopes to never risk facing an uncertain future again because of decisions of the men in her life. The other wants to forget her past and tackle life head-on, no matter the risk, as long as she and her daughter can remain together. Like the nation in which they live, in the summer of 1884, will these two women achieve the independence they seek?
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
ZINA ABBOTT is the pen name used by Robyn Echols for her historical novels.
Except for the first year of her life, Robyn Echols has lived in California. She started her young life in San Diego and has had gradually moved northward. She has been writing since she was in junior high school.
After working several jobs, including that of being a rural carrier and union steward for the California Rural Letter Carriers' Association, Robyn has spent years learning and teaching family history topics. She enjoys focusing on history from a genealogist's perspective by seeking out the details of everyday life in the past. Several of her family history articles have been published in genealogy magazines.
Robyn resides with her husband in California near the "Gateway to Yosemite." When she is not piecing together novel plots and characters, she enjoys piecing together quilt blocks.
Website: www.zinaabbott.homestead.com
Prairie Rose Publications
A CHRISTMAS PROMISE—ZINA ABBOTT
A sergeant plans to muster out of the Army after twenty years in order to go into ranching--and start a family. A new widow, grateful to have work as a housekeeper, struggles to provide Christmas gifts for her two children. An eleven year-old boy, still fiercely loyal to the dead father who neglected him while alive, struggles to learn how to grow to be a man. A younger sister is starved for the attention and affection only a father can give. This heartwarming tale of a bleak Christmas set in 1873 Wyoming tells of the gift of second chances and a promise for a brighter future. AMAZON LINK
BIG MEADOWS VALENTINE (Eastern Sierra Brides 1884)—ZINA ABBOTT
Some men left the civilized settlements of the east to risk life and limb in the lawless gold and silver mines of California and Nevada for wealth. Beth Dodd left behind her little sister and the civilized farming region of southern Ohio that she loved to travel to those same gold and silver regions in search for her scalawag of a husband who deserted her. In Lundy, Beth finds rancher named Val Caldwell with a heart bigger than all the gold in the Mono County mountains of the eastern Sierra-Nevada. She stays, knowing she has a responsibility to settle affairs with her husband. But, having lost almost everything she valued due to the decisions forced upon her first by her father and then by her husband, can she ever again trust a man to have any degree of influence or control over her life?
Bitter over laws that favor men over women and determined to start a new life for herself and her sister on her own terms and through her own efforts, Beth resists the attraction she feels towards Val. Can Val make any headway in his quest to persuade Beth to consider a future with him someday? Amazon Link
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