The Rancher’s Spirited Bride

by Chloe Carley

  “I have no problem sitting in the front, if that would not offend anyone in your family?” Like his mother, Mark knew the way to firmly establish himself in this new town was to create an attachment to a prominent member of the community. Sara Jane was the only daughter of the most powerful man in the region. If he could entice her into a romantic entanglement, he would not have to worry about being dismissed from his teaching position, as had happened in the last three towns he’d tried to make his home. With the influence of the Lawsons behind him, his position would be secure, no matter what complaints were lodged against him.

  It wasn’t that he was a bad teacher; he was actually an excellent teacher of many things. He simply didn’t enjoy being with children. No matter how old or how young. He didn’t like them, and they usually reciprocated the same attitude. Over the years, he’d taught himself how to get along with them, but he needed more incentive than just pay at the end of the week and a place to live. He’d had a very nice position at a boarding school back East, but when a romantic relationship with the headmaster’s daughter had turned sour, so had his employment and his chances for traveling abroad by the young lady’s side.

  Since then, Mark had been making his way West, trying to find a place to belong and where he could set down roots. He didn’t just want to be the town’s schoolteacher; he yearned for power and recognition. The easiest way for a man in his position to gain both was to travel West and become the only teacher in a one room schoolhouse. He wanted respect and the ability to make the rules. Rio Arriba looked like just the place he’d been searching for.

  Mark had already changed his dreams once. Before having to take on the responsibility of looking after his mother, he’d hoped to become a tutor to one of the wealthy families in Boston or Philadelphia. He had received a very extensive education, including lessons that gave him the ability to converse in several languages. He was also well-informed on literature and music. He’d fancied himself a scholar, at one time, but his father’s untimely death and lack of funds had forced him to turn from learning new things and applying his vast knowledge to making a living–teaching others.

  “Mr. Lawry?”

  He heard his name called and realized he’d allowed his mind to drift momentarily. He gave Sara Jane an encouraging smile. “I’ll look forward to Sunday then.” Wanting to make sure he had ample opportunity to win her affections, he added, “Perhaps after the service we could take a ride? In the wagon, of course. Riding sidesaddle can be troublesome in one’s finest clothing.”

  Sara Jane laughed and then shook her head. “I’m afraid you’re in for a rude awakening come Sunday. Most people will be wearing similar clothing to what you saw them in today. As for a ride, there’s snow on the way so a ride would be unwise since you don’t know the landscape yet. And just for future reference, I have never and will never ride sidesaddle. We don’t even have one of those horrible contraptions on the ranch. They are dangerous and not for serious riders.”

  Mark hid his surprise, confused at what she was implying. He could tell he’d come close to offending her and he apologized. “I didn’t realize. We brought your horse back with us and I just assumed…” he glanced down at her dress and then back up to meet her eyes. “I thought you intended to ride back on your own mount. Surely you don’t intend to ride on a Western saddle?”

  “I surely do,” she assured him, the smile on her face fading in the light of his obvious censure.

  “But …” Mark caught himself and then nodded his head once. “I apologize. I’m sure you are more than capable of riding your mount, no matter which saddle … I only thought … well, I simply assumed you wouldn’t wish to risk exposing your legs by riding astride. Forgive me?” Mark finally stopped talking, feeling as if he was merely digging his own grave the more he talked. It was a scandalous idea that Sara Jane would attempt to ride her mount dressed as she was. No woman of his previous acquaintance would have dared such a thing, and this was merely more evidence that Sara Jane was indeed a remarkable young woman. Whether that was a good thing or not, he was still undecided upon.

  Sara Jane eyed him and opened her mouth to respond, clouds still in her eyes, but she was prevented from speaking by movement to her right. The door above the mercantile entrance rang out as the man from the ranch stepped out to join them. Carl was his name and Mark had taken an instant dislike to him because his interest in Sara Jane was obvious. Mark didn’t mind a little competition, but he wanted the man to know that Sara Jane was already spoken for from this moment forward.

  He inclined his head in Carl’s direction and then turned to present his back to the man. “Sara Jane.” He reached for her hand and lifted it up to his mouth, kissing the back of the glove briefly before meeting her confused eyes. “Thank you for spending your day with me. I look forward to Sunday. Until then, I hope you’ll think of me?”

  He kissed the back of her gloved hand once more and then winked at her before sauntering away with a soft whistle. He’d seen the glare Carl had sent his way, and the shock in Sara Jane’s eyes. She might not have picked up on the signals he was sending earlier, but she now knew that he was serious about pursuing her. The other man would just have to deal with it and get out of the way.

  *****

  Carl saw red at the audacity the newcomer was showing where Sara Jane was concerned. He stepped to her side as she looked after him, murmuring, “I don’t like that guy.”

  Sara Jane frowned up at him. “Why not?”

  He just touched what’s not his! Carl kept that thought to himself, instead answering, “There’s something about him that just doesn’t seem right. His mother is uppity and rude.”

  “Now, that I will agree on. She hates this town and everything in it and I felt almost sorry for Ma having to deal with her earlier today.”

  “Your ma can hold her own. Ready to head home?” Carl asked, deciding to keep his opinions about Mark to himself for the time being. Sara Jane wasn’t ready to hear them, and he didn’t want to fight with her.

  “I am. Shiloh is tied up out back.”

  “I know. Thunder was happy to see her.” As he led her up the stairs of the mercantile, he told her, “I spoke with Mrs. Pederson and she was more than happy to have you use the back room to change in. I brought your things in.”

  Sara Jane pulled at the collar of her dress and smiled. “Thank you. Two days in a row is almost more than I can handle in this getup.”

  “Tomorrow is Sunday, so that will make three,” he teased her.

  “Don’t remind me,” she moaned.

  Carl opened the door for her, waiting as she stepped through and headed for the doorway in the back of the store. Mrs. Pederson greeted her and after a brief conversation, Sara Jane disappeared behind the curtain. She returned ten minutes later, dressed in her buttoned-down shirt and trousers and looking so much more at ease. Carl had also seen fit to bring her leather duster and she had it folded over her arm.

  “Well, now. It’s been a while since I’ve seen you dressed like that,” Mrs. Pederson told her with a smile and no judgment in her voice.

  Sara Jane grinned at her. “If I had my way, I would never wear another dress, but Pa said my dressing like this causes the old biddies from the church to sin because it gives them a proper reason to gossip.”

  Mrs. Pedersen laughed and shook her head. “I have news for your pa: they would find a way to sin by gossiping anyway. The old coots. You two get out of here and maybe you can beat the storm.”

  Sara Jane frowned and turned toward Carl. “Storm?”

  He nodded and led her out the back door, directing her attention to the sky. Angry gray clouds hung overhead, appearing to almost sit on the horizon now. “That snow is getting closer. I half-expected to see it on the ground this morning.”

  “It seems to be lingering over those distant mountains,” Sara Jane agreed. She reached Shiloh and mounted up without any assistance and Carl stood there shaking his head at her. “What?”

  “You’r
e no longer wearing a dress,” he reminded her.

  Sara Jane gave him a confused look and raised a brow, “I know. You brought my other clothes inside.”

  Carl stepped forward and placed a hand on Shiloh, very close to where her knee was. “I was just thinking about the missed opportunity.”

  Sara Jane shook her head. “Carl, you’re not making any sense.”

  He toyed with the edge of Shiloh’s saddle blanket and explained, “If you had mounted up in a dress, I would have had a reason to help you get your skirts situated.”

  “If I had mounted that fast in a dress you would have seen …” My bare legs.

  Instead of being filled with embarrassment, a strange warmth filled her, and she found herself staring down into Carl’s eyes. A slow smile spread across his lips. “I see you’ve caught up to where I was going with that thought.”

  Sara Jane nodded, biting her lip as images filled her head.

  Her skirts would have bunched up beneath her, showing a fair portion of her bare legs and she would have hurriedly tried to straighten them when the cool breeze touched her skin. Only, her skirts would have been trapped beneath her backside and even standing up in the stirrups wouldn’t have been enough to free them.

  That’s when Carl would have stepped forward, offering a softly spoken, “Let me help.” He would have waited for her permission and then helped her stand up in the stirrups again, allowing her bunched skirts to fall free and drape loosely around her legs.

  He would have taken his time pulling her skirts down around her ankles while she blushed.

  “Thank you,” she would have whispered to him, her eyes trapped by his own.

  “You are very welcome …”

  “Sara Jane?” Carl tapped her knee, bringing her mind back to reality.

  “Yes?”

  “Where’d you go?”

  She blushed at where her thoughts had gone and cleared her throat. “Nowhere. I’m ready to head home. Are you?”

  He stepped back and mounted Thunder, and together they set off for home. He kept the conversation light and was very pleased when Sara Jane began to open up to him.

  “I’m so excited for Jace and Lily,” she told him.

  “Two babies will be a lot more work, but they’ll have several months, when the workload on the ranch is light, to adjust.”

  Sara Jane smiled and then told him, “I’m making a blanket for the baby.”

  “You’re what?” Carl asked, sure he’d heard her wrong.

  “I am. Although, now I need to make two blankets, but I’ll have lots of time.”

  “I thought you didn’t like to sew,” Carl asked.

  “I don’t normally, but this is different. Anyway, I haven’t told anyone so you can’t either.”

  “My lips are sealed. What other secrets have you been keeping from me?” he teased.

  Sara Jane shrugged. “I don’t have any other secrets.”

  “Everyone has secrets,” he told her. He opened his mouth to say more, but suddenly movement to his left caused him to reach for Shiloh’s bridle and bring both horses to a halt.

  “What?”

  “Shush,” Carl told her, pointing to the large scrub brush that grew next to the river’s edge. They were halfway home, but if he’d seen what he thought he’d seen, they might be in trouble. It had only been a glimpse of movement through the trees, but he was certain he’d seen an Indian moving along the river’s edge. More movement confirmed his initial suspicions and he took Shiloh’s bridle and moved both horses around the small copse of trees and brush before they could be seen.

  He kept his eyes on the river and silently counted more than half a dozen Indians slowly making their way along the ice. There were women and children amongst the men, and they were dragging litters behind them, laden with pelts and supplies. It appeared they were moving camps, and he waited to see if there were any mounted braves traveling with them. If there were braves on horses, he and Sara Jane could be in real trouble.

  He turned to see if Sara Jane had also realized the potential danger and was shocked to see her sitting on her horse, her face white with fear as her hands convulsively gripped the saddle horn. Her family’s story about her incident with the Indians came rushing back and he knew without a doubt that the incident had definitely affected her more than anyone could know.

  “Sara Jane? Honey, you need to listen to me. Look at me, sweetheart,” he kept his voice calm and just above a whisper.

  When she didn’t respond, he edged Thunder closer, leaned over, and touched her cheek, stroking it gently.

  She started out of her reverie. “What? Why did you do that?”

  Carl quickly covered her mouth with his hand, shushing her before her voice drew unwanted attention to their hiding place. “Because you were in shock. We’re going to wait here until they cross the river or move on and then we’ll backtrack a mile or so and head back to the ranch. I’ll bring some men here to track them and see what they’re up to. They’re probably just moving to their winter hunting grounds and this way was the most expedient.”

  Sara Jane nodded as if she fully understood his explanation, but the color hadn’t returned to her face. Twenty minutes later they saw the small group of Indians cross the river and continue heading east. Carl counted four warriors, half a dozen children, and more than ten women and older men. This was not a hunting party, but an entire tribe, albeit a small one, trying to find a place to settle for the winter.

  “They’re leaving.”

  Carl tried to instill calm in his voice and his expression. “Yes. They will probably be off Lazy L Ranch land by the time I return, so you don’t need to worry. Can you ride now?”

  Sara Jane nodded, her face turning a bright red. “I’m sorry I acted like that.”

  “Me too and it’s something I’d love to discuss with you, but not right now. I want to get you back to the ranch. Let’s go.” Carl led Shiloh quietly a short distance before giving both horses their heads and allowing them to race across the countryside.

  They reached the ranch almost an hour later and he immediately called for Shawn and Gideon. They came running from the barn, and after a brief explanation and one look at Sara Jane’s face, they headed to saddle their mounts.

  James and Pearl had come from the house by that time and Carl briefly explained what had happened. They took charge of Sara Jane, insisting she come into the house and rest for a bit until the men got back with word of the Indians. She kept looking to Carl and he finally dismounted and pulled her from the saddle.

  When she wrapped her arms around him and he felt the small shivers still wracking her body, he realized the depth of her fear. She was terrified. “Shush. It’s going to be alright. I’ll come see you when I return, shall I?” he asked next to her ear.

  When she nodded and then backed away from him, he gave her an encouraging smile and a little push toward her parents and the house. “We won’t be gone long.”

  She headed inside. Carl decided that this incident was the perfect opportunity to help Sara Jane get rid of a fear that had evidently been plaguing her for thirteen years. That was a long time to carry around fear.

  As the men rode out to where the Indians had last been seen, Carl sent up a plea for help to the only one capable of erasing Sara Jane’s fear.

  God, you know what happened all of those years ago. You also know that Sara Jane shouldn’t be so afraid of another group of people. Could you give me some wisdom on how to handle this situation or give me the words to say that will help her talk about the past? If not with me, then with someone? Maybe if I can understand her fear, I could also figure out how to help her. I love this woman and want to make a life with her, and I can’t stand to see her so afraid.

  Protect her and soothe her mind right now and send someone to help heal her mind and heart from the past. Protect us as we go out to search for the Indians. Give us wisdom if we have to encounter them to show compassion and love to them.

  “You done pra
ying over there?” Gideon asked a moment later.

  Carl startled and nodded. “Yeah. How did you know?”

  “You were praying out loud, Carl.”

  It was now his turn to look shocked. “I was?”

  “Yep. If it makes you feel any better, Shawn and I echoed every word. It’s time for Sara Jane to put the past aside and we can always use an extra dispensation of grace and Godly protection.”

  “If you heard my prayer, then maybe you two could shed some light on what Sara Jane’s actually afraid of,” Carl replied, looking between them to see who would answer.

  “We would if we knew for sure,” Shawn assured him.

  “You mean, you don’t?” Carl asked, perplexed. “You’re her brothers.”