“I’ve wondered about him,” Mrs. Stribling said. “Do you remember when he first moved to Clover Creek? He hadn’t been here long when Nellie married Evan Howell. I asked Nathan if he was going to attend the wedding, and his whole face contorted. ‘I hate weddings,’ were his exact words.”
“Hmm,” Ruby said, tapping her fingers across her mouth. “That might explain a lot.”
“Do you love him?”
Ruby’s hand flew to her heart. Mrs. Stribling was so brazen, but the woman could see right into Ruby’s heart. She glanced at Belle and then Mrs. Stribling and nodded. It took several minutes for her throat to relax enough to speak without falling apart.
Belle reached out and placed her hand on Ruby’s shoulder, rubbing it gently.
“I do love him,” Ruby finally said, bursting into tears. “And I think he cares for me . . . but he’s scared about something, and freezes up like he’s enduring some kind of personal pain.”
Mrs. Stribling raised her chin. “Well, the last thing you want to do is baby him.”
“Baby him?”
Ruby almost burst out laughing and saw that Belle was suppressing laughter too.
“Yes, don’t baby him,” Mrs. Stribling said. “He has to overcome whatever is bothering him without your help. You don’t want to marry a man who’s constantly feeling sorry for himself. My Walter was like that when I first met him. His first fiancé had broken off their engagement. I let him know that I liked him, but that I wouldn’t put up with his downcast attitude. If Nathan knows you care about him and he’s not responding the way you want him to, then you should act aloof.”
“Aloof?” Ruby and Belle said at the same time.
Mrs. Stribling raised her chin. “Yes, give him some of his own medicine, so to speak.”
By the time Mrs. Stribling stopped giving out advice, Ruby and Belle had to fly through the housework so they had plenty of time to bathe and dress for the dance. Mrs. Stribling spent an inordinate amount of time curling Ruby’s hair, arranging some of the curls high on her head, and allowing the rest to lace down her neck and back.
When Mrs. Gardner arrived to give them a ride, Mrs. Stribling fussed about her house until she nearly made them late for the dance. “You don’t want to seem too eager,” Mrs. Stribling whispered to Ruby as the wagon jolted along toward the schoolhouse. “Simply walk in the schoolroom with your head erect and act like you weren’t in any hurry to accompany him tonight.”
By the time Nathan finished tuning his fiddle and warming up, the schoolhouse was crowded with townsfolk ready to dance. Nathan’s eyes darted to the schoolhouse door for the hundredth time, but Ruby had yet to walk into the room. Where was she? Didn’t she know she should be sitting at the organ by now? Mr. and Mrs. Jones were in attendance, but Nathan couldn’t expect the older man to step in and accompany him. The doctor had said Mr. Jones should wait a few more weeks before playing for the dance.
Nathan paced the few steps to the wood stove, and back again. He checked his pocket watch and paced again. Three minutes to go before the dance was supposed to start, and still no Ruby. She was usually early. He pulled his handkerchief from his pocket and wiped his forehead. The night was freezing cold, but Nathan was pouring sweat.
Mr. Jepson, the caller for the dance, took out his timepiece and studied it. “Looks like it’s just you and me tonight,” he said.
Nathan squeezed his eyes shut. Where is that woman? An uneasy feeling settled over him. It was almost like waiting at the altar all over again. Waiting and waiting, and Emmeline never showing. Would Ruby do the same tonight? They hadn’t parted on the best of terms, and it was all his fault.
Nathan almost stalked into the teacherage and packed for Oregon. But he couldn’t abandon the townsfolk now. They were waiting and wanting to dance. He glanced at the door one more time, and saw Ruby walk in with part of her family and Mrs. Stribling.
He looked at his pocket watch again.
Ruby was precisely on time, but she had caused his heart to beat so loudly that it was thrashing in his ears.
Nathan thought Ruby might say something about making him worry, or at least smile, but she did neither. She handed her coat to her mother, walked straight to the organ, arranged her skirts, and sat with her back stiff. With a somber face, she nodded at Nathan as if to say, “Well, what are you waiting for?”
Nathan ground out the name of the tune he planned to start with, and took off fiddling in a stone-faced frenzy. Ruby’s fingers skirted over the organ keys, while her feet pumped the pedals almost as quickly. Mr. Jepson called the dance, and the dancers flew around the schoolroom. Nathan and Ruby played one tune after another at the same frantic pace until Ruby leaned onto the organ with one arm and rested her head on her arm. Nathan lowered his bow in surprise, and the dancers, exhausted, left the floor.
“Would you like some cider?” Nathan asked, his voice rather clipped.
“Yes, thank you,” Ruby said, her voice rather clipped as well.
The night was too cold to sit outside, so some of the men brought in extra benches and placed them around the room for the dancers to sit on and rest during the break. Nathan escorted Ruby to a seat on the last bench brought in. It was placed near the open doorway and offered them plenty of refreshingly cool air. While Ruby waited, Nathan walked to the refreshment desk and returned with two cups of warm cider.
Nathan stewed as he handed Ruby the cider. He wanted to ask her why she was so late and made him fret, but he restrained himself. For one thing, a young couple sat beside them, talking happily and complementing Ruby and him on the fiddle and organ music. For another thing, Nathan didn’t dare speak to Ruby in his frustrated state. All he could think about was the humiliation of Emmeline leaving him standing at the altar, and now Ruby making him wait and wonder if she was abandoning him in front of everyone too.
Doesn’t she realize how terrified that made me feel to wait and wait and wait? Doesn’t she care? He took several gulps of cider and a few deep breaths, trying to overcome his agitation.
She doesn’t realize how you feel because you refused to share your feelings with her.
Nathan wondered where that thought came from. It was as though a small voice spoke inside of his chest. He wanted to rebel at the words, but he knew they were true. Ruby was the loveliest woman he had ever known. She had even said she cared for him, but he had chosen to turn away with no explanation. Why couldn’t he let go of his bitterness toward Emmaline and his banjo player? Why couldn’t he allow his heart love again? Would he always remain a lonely and bitter man?
He experienced the small voice inside of him again.
Nathan, my son, you erred in thinking that I didn’t answer your prayers. I had something planned for your life that was more beautiful than what you had planned. Can you open your heart to my ways?
Nathan’s thoughts were interrupted by the young couple sitting next to him. The young lady giggled and swatted at the young man. The young man laughed and swatted at the young lady, making both of them laugh. Some people across the room jumped up when the people behind them swatted at their backs or shoulders. Laughter broke out everywhere as people frantically swatted at each other.
“Spiders,” Nathan whispered as he watched a spider crawling up Ruby’s back toward her shoulder. He swatted the spider to the floor and couldn’t stop grinning at her shocked expression. “Spiders shelter under the benches when they’re in the storage shed, but now that the benches are inside, the spiders are warming up.”
Ruby jumped to her feet at the mention of spiders. “Do I have any more spiders on me?” she asked, frantically turning her back to him.
“No more,” Nathan said, standing and running his hand over her back and shoulders just to be sure. He leaned his head near her ear and inhaled the sweet scent of her. One of her curls tickled his nose. “The spiders just wanted to see what the party’s all about, but now they’re running for cover.”
Turning slowly so that she was facing him, Ruby looked
into his eyes for the first time that evening.
Suddenly, Mrs. Stribling let out a scream from across the room, causing a commotion near her. She swatted at herself with both of her arms and pumped her feet up and down on the floor. Soon the whole room was full of people laughing, swatting, and inspecting each other for spiders.
Ruby turned back to Nathan and shortly hit him on his upper arm, a little more forcefully than he thought necessary. “Spider,” she said, lifting her chin.
Nathan was still reeling from running his hand over Ruby’s back and shoulders and from the scent of lilac in her hair. He reflected on the thoughts that had filled his chest only moments ago. He wanted a family of his own and someone to love and cherish, and here was the most delightful young woman right in front of him. Had God been trying to lead him to Ruby all along, but he had been too stubborn and bitter to trust what was happening? Perhaps what happened in Tennessee was best for Emmaline and the banjo player. And perhaps what happened in Tennessee was best for Nathan too. It had driven him to Idaho where someone special, someone who loved to make music as much he did, awaited. Why hadn’t he considered this whole experience in such a wondrous way before?
Ruby had said she cared for him, and Nathan suddenly hoped with everything in him that she still might feel that way. Did he have the courage to give his heart another chance? Did he have the courage to tell Ruby how he felt? With the din of the townsfolk still laughing and exclaiming about spiders, Nathan leaned close to Ruby again and whispered. “I love you, Ruby Gardner.”
Ruby’s eyes widened as if she questioned what she’d heard.
“Shall we?” he said, reaching for her hand and leading her back to the organ. The moment he reached for his fiddle and started to warm up, the men in the room quickly removed the extra benches and the dancers took to the floor. After all the excitement of the spiders, people talked in bubbly, happy tones, while waiting for the dance to begin.
Nathan took the time to lay his fiddle aside for a moment and roll up his sleeves. He hadn’t been so excited to fiddle since he moved to Idaho. He leaned over to whisper in Ruby’s ear and inhale the scent of her hair before he began. “Everything about you is so beautiful,” he said, and then he straightened and fiddled with more spirit than ever before. And he smiled. It was the first time the townsfolk of Clover Creek had ever seen their stone-faced fiddler smile, and the more he smiled, the faster he fiddled.
The dancers stepped a little livelier and the onlookers clapped and stomped their feet a little louder for the second half of the dance.
10
Ruby made one mistake after another as she played feverishly, trying to keep up with Nathan’s fiddling. What did the man think he was doing? Did he really say he loved her? Did he really say she was beautiful? Everything happened so fast, so unexpectedly, that she wasn’t sure. She wanted to stop the dance and demand that he explain himself. There was one thing that couldn’t be denied though. Nathan Banks was smiling while he fiddled. He wasn’t only smiling; he looked the happiest she had ever seen him.
Before the dance progressed much further, Ruby looked up to see her father, Charlie, and her sisters, Cora and Alice, walk into the schoolroom. Nellie, Evan, and baby Zillah weren’t far behind. The younger girls in the Gardner family rushed to greet them.
Ruby kept playing, trying like crazy to keep up. She was so happy to see her family, but sad in a small way. Now that the survey was over, Nathan wouldn’t be staying with her family anymore. It didn’t seem possible that he’d said he loved her, but something had changed. His eyes danced as he played and he smiled. He actually swayed to the music. And when he looked over at her, there was a warmth in his eyes that she had never seen before.
Chills ran through her.
When the final dance ended with a resounding round of applause, people stopped to thank Ruby and Nathan for the music. Many of them commented on the change in appearance of the fiddler.
“I thought you’d never smile while fiddling,” one lady said.
“It was like you were mad at the world and taking it out on your fiddle,” an older gentleman said.
The little boy who had previously said he wanted to play the fiddle just like Nathan had a comment too. “You fiddled happy tonight,” he said.
Ruby thanked everyone for coming who stopped to talk to them. When the people thinned out somewhat, she turned to Nathan, and took a deep breath. She wasn’t sure what to say to him.
“Nice to see your pa and the rest of the survey crew,” Nathan said.
Ruby nodded. “It’ll be good to have them home.”
“A few weeks ago, your pa asked me to come to Sunday dinner so he could talk to me,” Nathan said. “Now I’d like to talk to him.”
“Really? What do you want to talk to him about?”
Nathan narrowed his eyes. “About you,” he said.
“Me?”
“I want to tell him he needs to give you lessons on how to plant your feet when you shoot a rifle, so the gun doesn’t kick you off your feet.”
Ruby laughed, but then she shook her head slowly. “I got the impression you liked my incompetence at the time, at least initially,” she said.
“I liked it more than you know,” Nathan said.
“It didn’t seem liked it when you went stomping into the house.”
Nathan gently placed his hand on Ruby’s arm. “Like I said, I liked it more than you know.”
“So . . . you want me to get you an invitation to Sunday dinner?”
“Who gets an invitation to Sunday dinner?” Mrs. Stribling said, walking up to them while carrying three cookies wrapped in her handkerchief. “I’d like an invitation to Sunday dinner myself, especially if our esteemed fiddler is going to be in attendance.”
Ruby kissed Mrs. Stribling’s cheek. “You have a standing invitation to Sunday dinner at our house,” she said.
“That was some mighty fine fiddling,” Mrs. Stribling said, turning her attention to Nathan. “The best I’ve seen for a long time. Yes, mighty fine fiddling.” With that comment, she nodded her head at Ruby as if she gave her approval on the evening and walked back to the refreshment table.
“She’s quite an unusual lady, isn’t she?” Nathan said.
“Mrs. Stribling? I adore her,” Ruby said. “More than you know.”
Nathan chuckled. “Now we both like something or someone more than the other person knows. We should try to change that.”
“You mean as in getting to know what the other person likes?”
“That’s exactly what I had in mind,” Nathan said.
In the early Sunday morning hours, Nathan lay in bed wide awake with Bo at his side. The two windows in his room were open, allowing the crisp night air to flow through. “I really missed you, Bo, that first week I stayed with the Gardner family. But, you saw how enjoyable life was at Ruby’s house this past week. I’m so thankful for my time there.”
Bo rubbed one of his cheeks on Nathan’s arm, perhaps agreeing that he liked the Gardner home too.
“The Gardner family have the type of life I’ve wanted for years,” Nathan said. “I grew up in a music loving home where people worked hard and loved life, so I like the feel of this family. All this time, I thought God didn’t answer my prayers, but maybe He did. Maybe He just didn’t answer the way I thought He should. Or maybe He just wanted me to show some faith.”
Bo rolled to his side and extended his hind legs out as far as he could stretch. The rest of his body stretched in the other direction.
“I’ve decided that developing a closer relationship to Ruby is worth the risk. I really like her. I know I sound pathetic, but I’m in love. If Ruby and I could have a loving home together like her parents have and like my parents have, it would be the biggest answer to prayer. What do you think, Bo? These feeling that are running through me are exciting, but they’re frightening. It’s a huge risk I’m taking. I could use some help here.”
Bo’s tail curled forward, the tip moving up, down, a
nd around.
“Is that a yes? You agree it’s worth the risk to give my heart to Ruby?”
Bo’s tail twitched.
“What if Ruby agrees with my plan, and then backs out at the last moment? The possibility terrifies me, Bo. It really terrifies me.”
Bo yawned.
Nathan snuggled deeper into his covers. He decided he shouldn’t go after a marriage commitment tomorrow. He would simply suggest that he and Ruby get to know more about each other to see if they would suit. His eyes finally closed as he replayed the second half of the dance in his mind, and how much more he enjoyed fiddling for the first time in nearly two years. It had almost felt like he was fiddling with his granddad again.
After several minutes, Nathan spoke again, his voice low and groggy. “It means I’ll be leaving you alone more often if I go courting, Bo.”
Bo hissed and his ears flattened.
“Well . . . I could buy a buggy and a box to take you along.”
Bo’s tailed twitched and he pawed at Nathan’s chest. No more was said. Both of them slept peacefully in the crisp air until the sound of boots on the schoolroom floor ruined whatever dreams they were having.
After church, Ruby climbed into Mrs. Stribling’s buggy. Nathan climbed in beside her and took the reins. “Whose idea was this,” Ruby asked, “for you and me to ride alone in Mrs. Stribling’s buggy? She knew the answer. Mrs. Stribling seemed determined to ensure a union between Nathan Banks and her.
The Stribling buggy was the last in line heading out to the Gardner homestead. Evan, Nellie, baby Zillah, and the youngest Gardner girls were in the first wagon, along with Bo snuggled in a canvas bag. Mrs. Stribling rode in the second wagon with Mr. and Mrs. Gardner. Charlie, Belle, Cora, and Alice were in the third wagon. Ruby could hear the younger girls singing from way up the road.
Ruby's Rhapsody (The Surveyor's Daughters Book 2) Page 9