The Unexpected Bride

by Debra Ullrick

  “Good morning, Haydon.” Rainee’s gaze traveled upward toward the sky and then back at him. “It looks to be a lovely day.” A smile graced her face.

  “Is it?”

  Her smile vanished. “Is something wrong?” She tilted her head, looking innocent. But Haydon knew better. Women like her were anything but innocent.

  Judge not, lest you be judged. The Bible verse poured through his spirit, searing his conscience.

  You’re right, God. I need to stop judging Rainee and comparing her to Melanie.

  “Did you change your mind?” Turbulence filled her eyes and remorse flashed through him like a bolt of lightning.

  He wanted to say yes, he had changed his mind, and flee, but his desire to replace the hurt he had caused her with his attitude wouldn’t let him. “No. I didn’t change my mind.” This time he held his frustration back.

  He reached for the sack she held. “I’m sorry I haven’t gotten the horses saddled yet. I had to finish fixing a few broken boards on the corral.” He motioned for her to follow him to the barn.

  She stepped up alongside him. The feather in her hat flopped in tune to her steps. “I can saddle my own horse. Just show me which one it is and what saddle you want me to use, and I can take care of it.”

  “You? You’re going to saddle your own horse?”

  “Yes, me.” She peered sideways and stopped. “I have been doing it for years. And if my mother had known, I would have been sat down to yet another one of her lectures on etiquette. I mean, really…” She huffed and planted her hands on her small waist.

  “Young ladies are quite capable of saddling their own horses. But because someone decided it was not proper for a woman to saddle a horse, or to run up the stairs, or to use a fork instead of her fingers or wear those dreaded binding cors—” Her words suddenly stopped, her eyes widened and her mouth plunged open. “Merciful heavens. I—I….” Her hand flew to her mouth, and her eyes blinked rapidly. “I am so sorry,” she stammered. Her cheeks dusted scarlet.

  Haydon threw back his head and laughed as relief poured over and through him. Never before had he heard a woman speak such things with such passion. Except for his mother. Mother loathed and rebelled against all the rules of society, too. His laughter deepened until his gaze landed on Rainee’s scowling face. His laughter evaporated like morning dew kissed by the heat of the sun.

  She pierced him with her pursed lips and narrowed eyes. “Are you laughing at me, sir?” Because of her pronounced Southern accent, the word “sir” sounded like more like “sah.” The grit in her voice and her feisty attitude fished another chuckle out of him.

  Haydon held up his hand in surrender. “I’m sorry, okay?” But he really wasn’t. “But look at you.” He eyed her up and down before his gaze landed once again on her disapproving face.

  She bent over at the waist and scrutinized her body. Narrow eyes and scrunched up lips met him. She stared at him as if he had lost his mind. “There is nothing wrong with my appearance, mister.” Again he wanted to chuckle, but this time it was how she said “mister.” It sounded more like “mistah.” He kind of liked when she got all fiery. He loved her accent and could listen to it for hours.

  He corralled the laughter rolling around inside long enough to speak. “You’re dressed as if we were going to a social outing and yet you’re willing to saddle your own horse. And from what you just told me, you don’t much appreciate the rules of etiquette either. You are a mystery, Rainelle Devonwood, that’s for sure.” He smiled, feeling the happiness clear to his bones. “Come on then. Let’s get started.” He closed the distance between them, placed his hand at her elbow and led her toward the barn.

  “What did you mean I do not appreciate the rules of etiquette either? Do you know someone else who feels a strong aversion to them as I do?”

  “Yes. My mother.”

  “Your mother?” Tilting her head back, her wide eyes looked up at him from under the broad brim of her hat.

  Again Haydon chuckled. It felt good to laugh again. “Yes.” He stopped at the barn door, tugged it open and motioned for her to precede him. They stepped inside and let their eyes adjust to the dim interior before he set the food bag down on a bench inside the door.

  Rainee faced him. “Katherine mentioned a couple of social rules that she no longer abided by, but I had no idea she felt as strongly about them as I do. Are you teasing me?” The look she gave him was incredulous and suspicious.

  “Nope.” He walked past her, grabbed a couple of halters off of a wooden peg from inside the tack room and headed toward the stalls. “She never let on she felt that way until we moved out West.”

  Rainee stepped up beside him and reached for one of the halters.

  Haydon tightened his hold.

  “I want to help. Please?” Seeing her sincerity, he handed her a halter.

  “You take Raven.” He pointed toward the stall that held his most gentle mare.

  He watched her open the stall door and shut it behind her. She coaxed the Palouse pony to her. And with expertise she slipped the halter on the black horse with the white spotted rump and led it out of the stall.

  Haydon haltered Rebel. When he stepped inside the barn, he saw Miss Piggy heading his way. “Well, hello there, Miss Piggy.”

  Rainee whirled around and jumped back. Raven balked, but the pint-size woman kept the horse under control. Her eyes darted wildly about the barn. “Where—where is the pig?” She pressed her back against the horse.

  Haydon laughed again. “Miss Piggy isn’t a pig.”

  Rainee’s brows darted heavenward as if being held at gunpoint. “What is it then?”

  With his back to Rainee, he squatted down and scratched Miss Piggy behind the ears. He picked up the gray-and-white cat and hugged the feline to his chest. He turned and faced Rainee. “This is Miss Piggy.”

  “That is Miss Piggy?” Her eyes danced with surprise. “You have a cat named Miss Piggy?” Her head weaved back and forth and the feather on her hat waved. “Wait.” She stopped shaking her head. “Let me guess? Abby named her, right?”

  “Nope. I did.”

  Her hand shot to the side of her face. “Very strange. Very strange indeed.” She stepped in front of him. “May I hold her, please?”

  “Sure.” He handed the fluffy ball of fur to her.

  She held the cat close and stroked its fur. “What a sweet little thing you are.” She rubbed her nose against the cat’s.

  Haydon couldn’t believe he was standing there wishing it was him she was lavishing her affection on and rubbing noses with.

  After a couple of minutes, Miss Piggy squirmed. “You want down, sweet thing? Okay.” She lowered the pet to the ground. Her gaze followed the feline, who was strutting toward the barn door with her tail held high. “Goodbye, Miss Piggy.”

  Rainee tugged on the horse’s lead rope and started walking away. “A cat named Miss Piggy, a pig named Kitty and a horse named after a snapping turtle. I suppose if you had a dog you would name it Fishy, or Moosey or Miss Cowey?” Dust swirled at her feet as she continued walking.

  “Actually, we had a dog named Mule, but it died.”

  Rainee stopped and her spine stiffened, but she did not look back at him. Seconds later, she led Raven toward the tack room. “I had to ask,” she muttered, but Haydon heard her.

  Again she surprised him by refusing the side saddle and opted for a regular saddle instead. He glanced at her dress. Just how would she accomplish that feat?

  From the corner of his eye, he watched with admiration as she brushed and saddled the mare.

  A new respect for the tiny woman dusted over him. Maybe God knew what He was doing after all. He chuckled inwardly. Of course God knew exactly what He was doing.

  “Do you not just love the smell of horses?” she asked, raising her pert nose in the air and sniffing.

  Haydon drew in a long whiff. Horse, hay, dust, leather and a hint of manure filled his nostrils. “Sometimes.” He could do without the dun
g smell. But he wouldn’t tell her that. He’d never known a woman to admit liking the scent of horses.

  Haydon tied the bag of food onto the back of his saddle, adding some string and a few homemade hooks. “Well, let’s go.” They headed out of the barn, leading the horses into the warm morning sunshine.

  Before he had a chance to help Rainee onto her horse, she placed her left foot into the stirrup and swung her right leg over the saddle. Haydon’s eyes all but popped out of their sockets. This woman was something else. What yet he didn’t rightly know. But he was actually looking forward to finding out.

  Atop the horse, Rainee glanced over at Haydon. The whites of his eyes were showing. She followed his gaze to her split skirt. What would Mother do if she could see her now? Rainee abhorred riding sidesaddle and hated straddling a horse in a dress. So, she had asked Jenetta to make this split skirt for her.

  The first time she had put it on, her mother had come close to having a fit of apoplexy and made her take it off straightaway. She had not worn the dress since. Until today. She hoped out here it was okay to wear such a garment. Judging from the shock trailing across Haydon’s face, perhaps it was not.

  “I—I am sorry if my skirt offends you. I shall go and change.” She started to dismount.

  “No, no. It’s fine.” He captured her gaze. “You’re really something. Ya know that?”

  Rainee situated herself back onto the saddle. Was being something good or bad? She dared not ask.

  He swung his bulky frame into the saddle and headed around the barn.

  Nudging Raven forward, Rainee caught up to him. “Haydon?”

  Leather creaked as he shifted in his saddle toward her. “Yes?”

  “Are we going to be around any pigs today? I mean, you are not going to introduce me to any more animals with weird names, are you?”

  His crooked grin sent a thousand tiny fingers tickling her insides.

  “We will have to ride through some in order for you to see the whole ranch. But you’ll be on horseback, so don’t worry, okay?”

  Not okay, but Rainee nodded anyway. She refused to let anything stop her from enjoying this outing or from getting to know him better. Not even the dreaded curly-tailed beasts.

  As far as the eye could see, rolling hills of wheat decorated the landscape. They rode their horses up the mountain and wove their way through spruce trees, fir trees and several species of pine trees. But the most fascinating of them all was the huge grove of giant cedar trees. Rainee felt like a speck of volcanic ash next to them.

  Along the way, Haydon waited while she stopped to gather wild strawberries to have with their lunch.

  They continued riding around and down through the woods. Rainee heard the faint sound of running water.

  Within minutes a small river came into view. It was not much of a river compared to those back home, but it mattered not because the surrounding area was exquisite. “Does this river have a name?” Rainee asked.

  “The Palouse.”

  “What an odd name for a river.”

  “Don’t forget the horse you’re riding is a Palouse.”

  Rainee reached down and patted the horse’s neck. “She sure is a nice mare. You did an amazing job breaking her. Raven is so calm and easy to handle.”

  Raven?

  “Wait.” She reined her horse to a stop, and he stopped alongside her. “I cannot believe it.”

  “Believe what?”

  “Raven is a bird.”

  “No, she isn’t. She’s a horse.” The smirk on his face had humor written all over it.

  “How did I not catch that before?” She shook her head, and he laughed. “I shudder to think what you will name your children.” Realizing what she had just said, she nudged her horse forward to hide her embarrassment.

  Two hours later, Rainee was ready to take a break and eat their noon meal.

  Haydon must have felt the same way because he followed the Palouse River until he came to a nice clearing.

  Rainee swung her leg over to dismount, but sturdy hands circled her waist and lowered her to the ground. When Haydon let go, she turned and faced him. “Thank you.”

  “You’re welcome.” His gaze traveled over her face for a moment.

  Under his intense scrutiny, she held her breath, watching, wondering what he was thinking. His eyes eased toward her mouth and stayed there. Hopes of him kissing her stayed hidden inside her heart.

  All of a sudden he whirled and strode toward his horse.

  Perhaps she had not hidden her desire so well after all and had frightened him off. With a one-shoulder hike, she hurried to remove her hat. By the time she finished and had it tied to the saddle horn, Haydon had their bag of food.

  Rainee made haste toward him. “Here, let me get that.”

  He glanced at her, then nodded. Gathering their horses’ reins, he led them to the river. Both horses dipped their heads and drank.

  Rainee removed the tablecloth and spread it out in the shade of a cottonwood tree. She knelt down and placed the ham, rye bread slices, jam-filled shortbread cookies, strawberries and water on the cloth.

  Something blue caught her eye. A gorgeous bluebird perched on a low branch descended on an insect, then flew off. Birds were such fascinating creatures. Always happy. Always flitting about. And free. Something she envied. She wondered if she would ever feel truly free as long as the threat of her brother finding her still lingered.

  Haydon tied the horses to a tree and came and sat opposite her.

  “Did you see that magnificent bird?” Rainee pointed toward the bush it had evacuated.

  He followed her gaze. “No.”

  “It was the prettiest color of blue I have ever seen.” She pointed toward a bush. “That woody-looking plant with the red berries on it, what is it, please?”

  “It’s a kinnikinnick bush.”

  “Are the berries edible?”

  “They are. Bears love them.”

  “Bears?” She glanced all around, up into the trees, then back at him. “Do you have bears here?”

  Broken shafts of light seeped through the trees and danced across his handsome profile. “Don’t worry, they won’t bother you.”

  She took that as a yes and hoped he was right. Seeing a bear did not appeal to her. She placed a thick slice of ham between two slices of buttered rye bread and handed it to him before fixing one for herself.

  They bowed their heads.

  “Father, thank You for Your bountifulness, and for this beautiful land. Bless this food and bless this time Rainee and I spend together. In Jesus’ name. Amen.”

  “Amen,” she echoed.

  As they ate their sandwiches, she listened to the water lapping over the rocks and the birds singing in the surrounding trees. Serenity rolled over her like the water rolling over the riverbed rocks. This place was delightful. A place she could stay at forever. Oh, Lord, let it be so.

  He picked up his canteen of water, unscrewed the lid and took a long drink.

  Rainee watched his neck as he swallowed and marveled at the strength it possessed.

  She reached for her own canteen and strained to loosen the lid.

  “Here, let me get that.”

  She handed it to him and watched as he opened it with ease before handing it back to her. “Thank you.”

  “You’re welcome.” He popped the last of his sandwich into his mouth. “Rainelle is such a beautiful name. I’m curious.” He leaned forward. “Why do you prefer Rainee over Rainelle?”

  “Because Rainelle sounds too stuffy. Too sophisticated. But Rainelle is better than Sissy.”

  “Sissy? Who called you Sissy?”

  “My brother. He used that name to taunt me. To dare me to do things he knew I was not supposed to do. And because I despised his teasing, I usually gave in to his dares. Which usually led to another lecture,” she twittered.

  She tilted her canteen up to her lips, took a sip and dabbed her mouth with her riding gloves. Not very ladylike, but she did no
t care. “Sometimes his challenges were quite dangerous.”

  “What kinds of dangerous things did he dare you to do?”

  Rainee thought about it for a moment. “To ride Maggie, for one. I was not allowed to ride newly purchased horses. Father feared I would get hurt, so he had Jimmy, the stable boy, ride them until they were gentle enough for me to ride. The second day we had Maggie my brother dared me to ride the mare, but he failed to tell me no one had ridden her before and that she was only saddle-and bridle-broke.”

  “So what happened?” He removed his hat and laid it beside him. His blond hair reminded her of the petals of Arkansas tickseed flowers or the color of the yellow-breasted chat bird she had seen back home. He leaned his back against a tree, crossed his ankles and joined his hands behind his head.

  “After he saddled and bridled Maggie, he led her out of the stall and around the barn. My brother was no dunce. That side of the barn was out of my parents’ view.” She picked up a twig and started snapping it into tiny pieces. “He held the mare while I put my foot in the stirrup and climbed aboard. The horse stayed still. It was when he let go of her that she took off at a dead run, bucking all the way.”

  He removed his hands from the back of his head and sat up straight. “What did you do?”

  “I was able to hang on until we got to the river. As soon as the horse got to the riverbank, she stopped and whirled sideways. I lost my grip and flew face-first into the river. I do not think I have ever seen my father so vexed.”

  “Did you get hurt?”

  “Only my pride.” She raised her canteen to her mouth and drank freely.

  “How old were you then?”

  “Sixteen.”

  “Where’s your brother now?”

  To avoid his question, she took another long pull of water and took her time replacing the cap.

  Once the lid was secured on her canteen, she set it down and looked around, stalling for time. “I am so glad you found a spot without any pigs.” She looked back at him. “Thank you for that.”

  “You’re welcome.”

  Rainee handed him three cookies. He popped a whole one into his mouth. And what a well-formed mouth it was. Her gaze trailed up his face until it landed on his sapphire-blue eyes. Eyes that were staring at her. Eyes that had caught her studying his lips. She dropped her head and quickly snatched up a cookie and bit off a piece, looking everywhere but at him.