Hesitantly, she put her hand toward the letter and slowly pulled it over the tabletop. She pulled in a breath and held it up to look at it. “You think I should read it.” She made it sound more like a statement than a question but Liz nodded.
“I really do. You need a change. You do, honey. You do. Read it. Please.”
Minnie finally pulled out the letter and unfolded it. She read a few lines and Liz smiled when she looked at her.
“Well?”
“Let me finish it.” Minnie mumbled. Liz was right. The man in Nevada said he was a horse rancher and that he had a lot of security to offer her. She didn’t know what Liz had told Joe Graham but she must have made her sound very sweet and lovely because the tone of Joe’s letter was extremely gracious and kind.
“What did you tell him about me?”
“I told him that you had dark hair, brown eyes, a slender figure and a bright mind. I told him you were intelligent and honest and trustworthy. Because you are those things.”
“You must have made me sound very high on myself.” Minnie frowned a little, thinking about her quick temper and her tendency to get annoyed with there were flying bugs in her house.
Liz just smiled. “Please keep reading. I didn’t make you sound high on yourself at all. Just keep reading.”
The rest of the letter described the nature that surrounded the ranch in Nevada. It was a page filled with the loveliest descriptions she could imagine in her mind. Liz was pleased with the reaction her friend was having. It looked like she might be considering it.
“He doesn’t mention whether Billy can come along or not.”
Liz shook her head. “I told you I didn’t mention him. You will need to approach that in your letter to tell him whether you want to come or not.”
“But if I mention it now, do you think he will be upset because he thought he was getting a woman with no children?”
Liz shook her head again. “No. Stop being negative Nelly. Just consider it tonight and pray on it and let me know in the morning what you decide. If you don’t want to, I want to write him a response. If you do, then you need to write a response to him. You will think about it tonight, won’t you?”
Minnie reached up and pulled on the lobe of her right ear, a habit she’d always had when she was thinking about something exciting. To Liz, it was another good sign and she held in a smile. Her friend’s life was about to change and she didn’t even realize how much.
If she decided to go.
All the way to the post office, Joe’s heart hammered in his chest. Almost three weeks after he placed the ad in the newspaper in South Carolina, he’d received a response. The woman sounded intriguing, not hesitating to mention her good traits. Her second letter was equally charming, though it sounded like it had almost been written by another woman. He shrugged it off and decided it was the best thing to happen to him in a long time. He was glad he’d given it a chance.
The letter he was going to post today would have instructions on how to board the train and get over to Reno so he could pick her up. The city was just beginning to enlarge and he had no doubt it would officially be a part of the United States very soon.
The only thing he’d been quiet about was Ruthie. From the start, he’d worried that any mention of a baby would keep a woman from responding. So he hadn’t mentioned his precious daughter. Whenever he thought about the fact that he’d neglected to mention her after Minnie responded, he felt a quick jolt of nervousness and shame. She sounded so perfect. Once he had sent his first letter without mentioning Ruthie, he was terrified to mention her now. What if Minnie backed out?
It was imperative that he get his daughter back from his brother and sister-in-law but he was determined to have Minnie come over from South Carolina. He needed the healing of his family.
As it was, the train ticket was for three days from now. He would soon have to confront the reality of letting Minnie know.
First, he would get to know her as a woman and a bride. Then he would let her know about Ruthie. Or perhaps he should confess and hope that Minnie would want children…especially his. He was confusing himself, which he hated.
“Can’t decide,” he mumbled to himself. “Can’t decide, can’t decide.”
Sally snorted below him and he laughed. “You always have something to say about it, don’t you, girl?” He leaned forward and slapped her on the side, something she loved and he knew it. “You’re a good girl, aren’t you? Not gonna let anything happen to me, are ya?”
Sally snorted, throwing her head up in the air as if nodding to his words.
He tried not to think too much about his deception and how his new bride would handle it. Her letter made it sound like she would be very open to children, which was a good thing.
Joe hadn’t taken Ruthie back to his ranch yet. He hadn’t been feeding her the way he was supposed to to begin with, he wanted the influence of a mother figure to help his daughter become a wonderful young woman, to eat right, take care of herself and so forth. He didn’t know how to do all the things proper young women were supposed to do. He was determined for her to be raised right and that meant the influence of a good woman.
He prayed that’s what Minnie was and that she wouldn’t feel pushed upon by having Ruthie come home.
Joe pulled up to the post office just five minutes later, sliding down from the saddle and throwing the rope over the hitch, more to keep Sally from following him inside than keep her from straying. He ignored the two steps that led up to the post office, taking them all in a single step.
His long legs carried him to the front doors of the building in only two more steps. He pushed the door open and went inside, marveling at how much cooler it was in the building. He wasn’t sure why it felt cooler, considering there were lanterns aflame all around the room.
He went directly to the clerk and set some paper money on the counter. “I need to buy a ticket to be sent to the East.”
The clerk looked up at him through narrow blue eyes as sharp as his long narrow nose. “You can’t buy a train ticket here, son.” Joe pressed his lips together to keep from smiling. He was fairly certain the clerk was at least ten years younger than his 35 years.
“Okay, where is the clerk that sells train tickets.”
The clerk leaned out the window toward him and pointed to the left. Joe looked over and saw a window like this one on the other side of the room. “That’s the one. You gotta go over there to buy a ticket.”
“And then I come back here to send it to the East?”
“Yes.” The clerk nodded curtly.
“Okay, Edward.” Joe leaned slightly to read the silver and gold name tag the clerk was wearing. Edward flushed as if not sued to hearing the sound of his own name.
“Okay. Thank you, sir.”
“I’ll see you really soon,” Joe teased and moved off to buy his train ticket at the other window.
The window shade was up but the chair was empty. Joe stood there, looking into the room behind the counter, waiting for someone to come and attend to him.
Moments later, the same clerk from the post office sat in the chair in front of him and stared at him.
“How can I help you, sir?”
Joe blinked at him, stunned into near silence. Then he had to suppress valiantly the urge to bust out laughing.
“Aren’t you…aren’t you…” he swallowed his laughter. “I need a ticket to come here from South Carolina and I need to send it there for a woman to come here with it.”
The clerk nodded. “I can give you the price and let you purchase the ticket, but you will have to send it by taking it over to the postal office and letting them deal with that.”
“Won’t you…” After a moment, he stopped. It was going to be the same clerk.
He wasn’t going to laugh. He just wasn’t.
*****
Minnie’s heart was in her throat. She gripped Billy’s hand so hard, he was starting to fuss. “Mama, you’re hurting me!” He kept whini
ng and she would loosen her grip.
“I’m sorry, baby.” She kept soothing him. She pulled him up on her lap and held him so he could see out of the window. “Look. Do you see all that passing scenery? You see that tree…oh, there’s it’s gone, isn’t it?” She smiled, wrapping her arms around his tiny body as he leaned toward the window.
“Look, mama, look!” The baby slid from her grasp to climb onto the bench next to her and stand there, his small hands gripping the short windowsill and pressing his nose against the glass. “Look, mama!”
“I see it, Billy boy, I see it.” She tried to make her voice as soft as possible to counteract his loudness. She reached out and steadied him on the chair. “Don’t fall now. You don’t want to get hurt, do you?”
“No, no. No no.” Billy shook his head in response but didn’t turn his head away from the window. He just pulled back a little and rested in the comfort of his mother’s secure hold. “It’s a tree!” He surged forward, almost jumping out of her grasp and she snatched him back.
“Now Billy, I just told you to be careful! You’re going to fall and bump your head!” She pulled him back so he had to sit on her lap. Restless, he squirmed and tried to get back to the window, off his mother’s lap. “Billy, you must calm down!” Minnie felt her nerves beginning to frazzle. Billy was just being his normal self and he was a very active little boy. What if Joe was unable to accept a mischievous little boy like him?
“He’ll have to,” she whispered. “It’s both of us, not just me.” But she felt guilty anyway because she hadn’t mentioned Billy to Joe and wasn’t in the least bit secure he would accept the child. She wished suddenly that her little boy wasn’t so active.
Just as quickly, she berated herself for thinking that way. There was nothing wrong with an active two year old and, in fact, she dared to say that it was good for Billy in particular to be the way he was. He was a spark of life. He was curious and determined and stubborn. Most of the men she knew were like that and they were much older than two. Billy was usually a good little boy. And he was that day, too. He was being himself.
“Come and sit still, Billy,” she whispered frantically. “You will annoy our other passengers.”
“Don’t you worry, dear.” An older woman in the front of the carriage turned to glance back at her. “Don’t you worry about that boy, sweet girl. I will help you care for this little one.”
Minnie nervously looked around the car of the train at the young men that surrounded her.
“And don’t you worry about these boys, Minnie. They don’t make a move without asking me first. They are wonderful singers. When I want something done, I ask my grandsons and my nephew. They won’t judge you or do anything to make you feel bad. So if your little boy needs to play, you let him go ahead and play. And these boys will listen to me, won’t you, boys?”
“Yes, gramma.” They all answered in synch. Then one of the boys leaned forward directly in the path of Jon’s wandering eyes and smiled wide. His teeth were incredibly white and Minnie wondered how he managed to do that. She wished her teeth could be nearly as clean and white.
Must be natural. She thought.
“I am upset because my husband was killed in the war and I am being forced to move across the country to start a new life. I’m afraid of the new life I’m going to.”
“Where was he killed, my dear?” The old woman’s face fell in sorrow. It made the wrinkles in her face intensify and show her age more than before.
“He was killed in Averasboro nine weeks ago and eight months ago.” Her face crumpled when she mentioned her loving husband. She shook it off and pulled her back up straight, pulling in a quick breath. “I am going to Nevada to be with a man who is looking for a wife.”
“It’s wonderful that you will have someone to care for you and your baby.” The old woman nodded. “There have been many terrible losses in this war so far. I’m not sure it will ever end.”
“It feels like the end of the world,” Minnie said softly in dismay.
“Aaah but it isn’t, my dear.” The old woman nodded and gave her a sympathetic look. “It isn’t. You will find happiness again, don’t you worry about that. God has a plan for you.”
Minnie’s face was still downtrodden but she nodded and gave the old woman the best smile she could. “I know. I’ve been told that before.”
“That’s because it’s true. You shouldn’t forget it.”
“I won’t soon forget it, I promise.”
The woman laughed softly and nodded, her eyes on the little boy, standing once more on the bench and smiling as he looked out the window at the fast moving landscape.
“You won’t forget it at all.”
Catherine was not at all pleased with Joe’s decision to bring a wife for himself from the East Coast. She ranted about the dangers of bringing a strange woman into the life of such a small little girl. No matter how much he tried to explain that the letters told him he would be dealing with a woman of generous spirit and a kind heart, Catherine didn’t believe it.
He wasn’t sure if his sister-in-law was speaking from her concern for Ruthie or her desire to keep the little girl as her own. He just couldn’t tell. He’d not dealt much with the woman, except on a friendly basis where they might get together to celebrate Thanksgiving, Christmas and Easter, which they did every year.
Joe was on his way to the station to pick up his new bride. He felt a bit sick to his stomach because Catherine had insisted he bring Ruthie with him. Though he’d planned to take Minnie to his brother’s house to introduce her and pick up his 3-year-old, Catherine had insisted he take her with him to the station.
“She deserves to know sooner rather than later. The fact that you’ve gone and done this without consulting the right people is bad enough…” She shot a darting glance at her husband, who looked back nonchalantly as if he had nothing to do with it. The sweet look made Catherine stop short and think more kindly. “You really shouldn’t have done it this way.” The woman continued to lecture him for at least twenty minutes to half the hour.
In the end, it was getting later and closer to the time Minnie would be arriving. Finally, Catherine outright demanded he take Ruthie, telling him that she and her husband were going out and wouldn’t have time to care for her.
Before he left, his little girl in his arms, sitting up and looking at the adults as if she thought they were all insane, Joe gave Catherine a direct glare. “You’re telling me you would rather have my baby girl see an argument first thing from her new guardian and mother, between her and me?”
Catherine just shook her head and closed the door behind them. “Sleep tight, Joey. We’ll see you tomorrow maybe.”
The door clicked and Joe turned to walk to his wagon. The temperature was dropping, but Joe had brought along an extra blanket for his daughter’s legs and to wrap around herself to keep warm. With her in one hand and the blanket in the other, Joe managed to get up in his saddle and fit his feet in the stirrups very well.
“Let’s go see your new…mama.” It was going to take a bit to get used to that, he decided.
The train pulled up into the station, and Minnie’s heart leaped into her throat. “Oh Lord, protect us from any evil and wrongdoing.” Minnie murmured quickly as she stepped down from the train onto the wooden platform outside. There were only a few people there, many less than she had seen when leaving South Carolina. She gathered her bag and her child in her arms and stepped carefully.
Once she was off the train, her luggage bags brought to her by the valet, she was beginning to feel a headache that nearly leveled her. It was one of the bad ones that she just wanted to sleep with. She saw a man approaching her, a beautiful little blond girl. She wondered if he knew why she was here. He looked like he was coming straight toward her. He looked down at the baby as soon as he was within just a few feet of her. He stared at Billy.
She stared at the tiny blond girl in his arms. Ruthie looked older than her Billy. She propped Billy up in her hand
s and whispered in his ear. “Look at that, Billy. You see those boys in the proper hats? They work here. They are here so you are protected and safe.”
She distracted him with looking elsewhere, though her eyes were still on the handsome man carrying the baby.
“I’m sorry for staring.” Joe said softly. “Are you in need of assistance? Is there someone there to get you?” He cleared his throat. “Are you Minnie?”
She hesitated only for a second. “I…I am. And are you Joseph?”
He nodded, still switching his eyes to Billy. Then he looked up at his three year old and smiled.
“I think Minnie and I have some explaining to do.” He laughed softly. “Do you think we can do that? You want to go play inside with your ball?”
“I can go play ball…” The little girl pulled the ball from her daddy’s hands and jumped up and down until he set her on the floor. She ran to the door and a taller man pulled it open, stepping back for her.
“Here you go, tiny miss,” the man said, smiling.
“Thank you!” Ruthie darted into the building.
Minnie and Joe looked at each other.
“You can say anything you want to,” Minnie murmured. “I won’t tell if you don’t want to marry be because of Billy…”
“In case you didn’t notice,” Joe shook his head. “I’m not going to back out of marrying you because you…weren’t honest about your situation. I…did the same thing with Ruthie, didn’t I?”
Joe hung his head in shame.
“I wasn’t exactly spelling out Billy’s name in our letters.”
“I only received one. Did you send others?”
Thinking back, she could only think of one. She shook her head. “I must be wrong.”
“Do you want me to re-introduce myself? Shall we both start getting to know each other better without having these little precious hearts be our bait for a mate?”
“You are a charming poet.” Minnie giggled. “But if we’d been using them as bait, we would have advertised about them, we never would have hid them from each other.”
The Duke of Ice Page 88