by Danni Roan
Brandon blinked at Darwin for a few moments remembering the scene the dark haired man had made when Brandon’s own bride had arrived in Needful. Since then he had gotten to know Darwin well and understood the deep-seated loneliness that had prompted his drunken outings. “You’re sure she’s the one for you?” he asked trying not to ruffle the man’s feathers.
“She come right up and told me so,” Darwin nodded. “I don’t reckon I’ll question her none on it either. I been doin’ like you said that night I made a fool of myself, and I feel I’m ready to get started on this new part of my life.”
Brandon nodded slowly. “I see,” he finally spoke. “And who is this young woman you’ll be taking to wife?”
Darwin blinked at the preacher, his minds spinning back to the moment the pleasantly plump woman had strode through the door at the Hampton House, but his mind was drawing a blank.
“You’ll meet her at the wedding,” he hedged. “Come along and see for yourself. She’s over to the Hampton House with Olive now.”
Brandon raised a brow, wondering about Darwin’s lack of information as he grabbed his frock coat. “Why didn’t you bring her here?” The preacher tipped his head curiously.
“Just come, that’s what she said.” Darwin kicked his boot against the wooden floor impatiently.
“I’ll fetch Beth,” the preacher finally agreed, hoping his own lovely wife would be able to shed some light on this situation since she too had been a mail-order bride, “and we’ll all go along together.”
“I’m headed back now,” Darwin insisted. “You catch up as soon as you can,” he added with a bright grin. Yes, he was certain this was just the thing to put his life in order. He’d taken the preacher’s words to heart that stormy night, and let God have control of his soul. Now he would trust that the Almighty would take a hand in his daily life as well. Surely, this young woman was sent to him to show that he was on the right path and that God wanted him to find love.
Turning on his heel, Darwin strode from the church a bright grin on his face. He had given his heart to heaven now he would focus on winning a woman’s heart here on earth. “It isn’t good for a man to be alone,” he mumbled stepping out into the street as a heavy wagon trundled by. “A help mate is what I need, and God sent one for me,” he added with a grin as bright as the sun.
Darwin had only made it half way back to the Hampton House when his intended bustle toward him, Olive Hampton in tow. She seemed a determined sort; he had to admit as she stepped up to him and tipped her head to gaze into his eyes.
“I’m bringing Olive as witnesses,” Ruth said reaching out and seizing his arm. “Now take me to the preacher.”
Chapter 4
It wasn’t the big wedding that Ruth had dreamed of her entire life, there were only three other people present, three of them somewhat distracted by their own reunion, and she didn’t even know the man she said her I-dos to.
Much to her own surprise she hadn’t even been nervous as the preacher opened his book and called the assembled to attention. She was however, startled when the handsome man beside her took her hand and her body filled with warmth.
There was a connection she had never felt before as she smiled up into his deep gray eyes. She was getting a nice looking man, and that pleased her, but something else seemed to call to her as the preacher had them repeat some words. This was the start of a new life for Ruth, an adventure she never could have had if she hadn’t crept out of her parent’s home and boarded that train.
No matter what came next, she was sure that if they worked together, she and Darwin would make a formidable team.
“You may kiss the bride,” the preachers words made Ruth jump and she grinned. She had never been kissed before, and she couldn’t wait to find out what it was all about.
Tipping her head up she closed her eyes and pursed her lips expectantly as the world ticked by.
Darwin looked down at the woman before him and hesitated a moment, his eyes flicking to the preacher who nodded encouragingly. Leaning forward he pressed his lips to Ruth’s; the preacher had called her Ruth so at least he knew her name as he kissed her briefly.
The kiss was over all too quickly to suit Ruth, but she hadn’t minded it. As a matter of fact it might be nice in a different setting and her lips tingled softly as she stepped back. Perhaps her new groom was shy and once they were home in their own quarters, things would be different.
“I now pronounce you man and wife,” the lanky preacher with the mop of brown curls said reaching out and shaking hands in congratulations. “Now what will you do?”
“They’ll come to the Hampton House and we’ll have a wedding supper,” Olive interjected. “Darwin come along and fetch your new wife’s things while I get things organized,” she added with a twinkle. “Your friends the Farleys have also arrived, and I’ll send them to you soon.”
“Darwin looked between Olive and his new bride not sure what to do but the pert woman nodded still holding fast to his hand as they started down the aisle and headed for the door.
“That went well don’t you think?” Ruth asked, not sure what else to do. She suddenly realized that she didn’t know this man at all and though she had been determined to marry at once, her stomach quivered as she considered that this might not have been her best decision.
“I guess I’ll fetch your things,” Darwin said liking the way her smaller hand fit into his. She didn’t even seem to mind the hard calluses against her warm, soft skin. “I’ll carry everything back to my place… I mean our place, and when you’re ready you can settle in.”
Ruth grinned wondering what kind of place the man had. “What did you say you do?” she asked suddenly realizing just how ignorant she was. For all she knew she had married a bartender and would be expected to live in a saloon.
“I’m the town hostler,” Darwin replied. “I tend the stable and horses for Olive and her husband Orville. Since Dan Gaines and the town council convinced the stage to stop here in town, they needed a place to board the extra horses and someone who could keep them fit and ready for action at all times.”
A hostler. Ruth let the word tumble through her brain wondering what kind of life it meant for her. “But you have your own place?” she asked her stomach doing flips. “I mean you don’t live in the stable do you?” her bright eyes were wide beneath her spectacles and Darwin smiled at her kindly.
“No, I got a place. It isn’t much just a simple house and is set in the grove past the stable, but it’s warm and cozy, if rather sparse.” His words were gentle and encouraging even as he wondered if she would be unhappy with the accommodations.
“You do have furniture don’t you?” Ruth asked suddenly thinking she might be asked to spend her wedding night on the floor.
“I got a few things,” Darwin admitted, “but it ain’t fancy.”
Ruth nodded determined to make the best of whatever her new husband had to offer. She had managed to sneak three trunks to the depot over time while she had planned her escape, but she didn’t have nearly enough to set up housekeeping. Her smallest trunk held treasures she had been secreting away for years, her own private trousseau that not one other soul knew about. For a moment a wave of sadness washed over her as she thought of the lost moments she had never been able to share with her mother; a woman who was convinced that her daughter was not suitable for marriage.
“Whatever your home is like,” Ruth said coming to a stop in front of the boarding house and eatery, lifting her shoulders and standing straight, “I’m sure it will become a wonderful and loving home as we get to know each other.”
Darwin felt his lips twitch. Did she really believe that they could find love together? It was more than he had hoped for, wishing only to have a companion through the years. It was why he had approached Olive and Peri in the first place, the two women had determined that what Needful, Texas needed most was good women for the men who worked there. He had been adrift, lonely, and bored as he wasted too many hours in the
saloon, a mug of beer in hand. Now with the turn of the decade he was starting a new life and his heart swelled with hope.
“I don’t know nothin’ about being a husband,” Darwin admitted as they stepped up onto the stoop of the Hampton House. He turned looking down into his brides face, “but I’ll do my best to be a good one for you.”
Ruth grinned squeezing the man’s hand as they stood by the front door watching Olive disappear inside. “That’s all I can ask for,” she said. “I’m sure we’ll come to know each other well, over time, and I’ll be the best wife I know how to be,” she finished tipping up on her toes and kissing the man right there in the street.
Chapter 5
“All this is yours?” Darwin asked looking at the three trunks stacked outside the boarding house, scratching his head in surprise.
“It was all I could manage,” Ruth admitted furrowing her brows in concern but not wanting to say too much. “I’m sorry I couldn’t bring more to set up housekeeping.”
Darwin looked between the trunks and his new bride wondering where he was going to put everything, but hefted the smaller trunk, laying it over his back. He hoped this little woman wouldn’t be too disappointed with his place.
He was a simple man, with little knowledge of what women liked. His place was solid but bare of anything more than the essentials. Had he made a mistake marrying the girl? What if she was unhappy and changed her mind? He didn’t want to be alone anymore.
***
Ruth followed the man she had just pledged her life to around the corner of the Hampton House and toward a large freshly finished barn. The entire area was clean, neat, and looked industrious if the horses milling in the open corral were any indication.
She was sure that her husband must be a hard worker and that gave her hope for a bright future. Whatever his short comings, she was sure there were some as all people had them, she was certain she could work them out of him in time.
Lifting her skirts she trod lightly across the dirt and grass lot at the back of the big boarding house and eatery and into a grove of trees where she came to a sudden stop.
“Is this your house?” she asked looking at the simple square house with a long front porch. It didn’t look any larger than her father’s garden shed and wasn’t even painted. Ruth gaped, wondering how two people would ever coexist in such a small space.
“This is it,” Darwin turned smiling with pride, his face falling at the look of chagrin on Ruth’s face. “Don’t you like it?”
“It’s, it’s lovely,” Ruth lied, her stomach doing flips. “It is rather smaller than I expected.”
“It’s small now,” Darwin agreed, “but it’s sturdy, and you can always add on. We can go up, out, or back,” he raised his hand waving it like a brush as he etched out the possibilities. “I own this whole plot outright. I might work for Olive and Orville now, but in time I have plans for owning the livery and raising horses of my own,” he beamed.
Ruth smiled up at the man she had chosen to hitch her wagon to so to speak only a few hours ago and began to doubt her decision. Perhaps she would have been better off married to a shopkeeper or rancher. Mr. Rivers seemed to have very little, including ambition.
“You can do what you like with the place. I don’t mind how you fix things,” Darwin encouraged, not sure what else to say. “I’m a simple man, but I’m not afraid of hard work and in time things will be different.” He let his gray eyes roam over the lovely curves of the woman beside him wishing she would see the truth in their depths.
Ruth nodded squaring her shoulders and heading to the door, pushing it open as Darwin followed her up the stairs, her heavy trunk held in one hand as if it were a child’s toy. He was strong, that was sure, and it gave her hope that hard work could pay off. Having grown up with wealth hadn’t she come to Texas to find something more?
Turning as Darwin walked into the house and placed the trunk on the bare plank floor Ruth blinked at the square room before her and began to despair.
“I’ll go fetch your other things,” Darwin said smiling at her. “You’ll see things are going to be just right,” he nodded holding her eyes for a moment with his, willing her to believe.
As the simple man stepped outside closing the door behind him, Ruth huffed a heavy sigh and choked back the tears that threatened. This was not what she had expected. Mrs. Hampton had told her that the town was prosperous, industrious and if a little rowdy, growing in leaps and bounds.
Giving herself a shake Ruth smoothed the skirt of her expensive plum traveling gown and adjusted her glasses on her nose. She hadn’t left her father’s gilded cage to enter another. Perhaps the home was rustic, simple, dirty, but it was her home and she could make it into something lovely. Darwin had said she could do what she liked, and she was determined to take him at his word. Every venture had its risks, but didn’t risk bare with it the hope of reward. Darwin Rivers seemed a good man, if somewhat less than tidy. She could make this work. She would make this work.
Determined to have a positive outlook on her new situation, a situation of her own making, Ruth gazed around taking in the large open room with a bed on one side of the fireplace on the back wall. A chair sat by the fireplace along with a bench covered in dirty clothes, a lunch pail, and broken harness pieces. There wasn’t even a hand pump or sink in the house, but in time they could work that out. This was Ruth’s new home, and she would make the most of it one way or another.
In time she would even be proud to call it hers and would be proud to have new friends over to tea or for dinner. Life was what you made it, or at least that was what all the books she had read seemed to say.
The clatter of boots on the porch outside made her hurry to open the door and let Darwin in. As he stepped through the door, another trunk perched on his strong back, beads of sweat covering his brow, he smiled down at her, his gray eyes sparking with joy, and something fluttered in Ruth’s heart.
The man she had wed was pleased to have her here; it radiated from him like light from a lamp and warmed her to her very soul. Perhaps Mr. Darwin Rivers didn’t have much, but at least he was actually happy to have her with him.
“It’s right nice to walk in that door and find someone waiting,” the man said placing the second trunk on the floor and diminishing the living area significantly. “I’ll be right back,” he grinned. “Don’t go away.” He cast a wink over his shoulder and Ruth giggled.
Ruth smiled even as her heart did flips. Would Darwin look at her with that much hope once her father’s agents had caught up? She should explain everything to him, but she wanted to leave that part of her life behind. This was a new town, a new home, and a new life. Why bother it with doubts and worries from the past. After all, they may never find her.
Chapter 6
Darwin ran a hand over his short beard as he strode back toward the Hampton House. The trunks were heavy, but nothing difficult for a man who had known nothing but hard work from the time he was a child. Finally, after so long he was a married man, and after months of waiting impatiently on Olive to provide him with a bride, he was thrilled.
He would have a real home now, someone to come home to each day, and share dinner with. Stepping up onto the boardwalk once more, he reached for the heavy trunk lifting it onto his back and turning toward home. Somehow the word had taken on a far richer meaning than ever before.
His bride certainly didn’t travel light, the man thought as he bent his back trudging toward home for the third time. Would she be content with his little house if she was used to having so much? He hadn’t promised fancy living for any woman, but he did intend to do all he could to protect, watch over, and even love the wife he had.
Perhaps Ruth would grow discontent and decide it was best to return to her former home. Stopping in the middle of the path Darwin jerked his head realizing he didn’t even know where the woman was from. Would she change her mind and leave him all alone once more?
Looking toward the livery, he spied Orville walking f
rom the big barn and Darwin lowered the trunk to the ground hurrying toward the older man.
“Orville,” Darwin called trotting to the senior Mr. Hampton with an awkward grin, “you got a minute?”
Orville chuckled nodding. “Sure Dar, what do ya need?”
“Well,” Darwin lifted his hat smoothing his pitch black hair then replacing the batter cowboy hat. “I seem to have got myself married,” he began. “But how do I keep her? You been married for a good long time, and I thought maybe you’d be able to help.”
Orville blinked at the other man. “What do you mean you got married?” he asked.
“A new bride arrived on the stage today and she picked me,” Darwin grinned puffing out his chest. “She’s a sweet little armful of a girl with big eyes and them funny spectacles,” he added placing his hands over his eyes in illustration.
“I wondered where you were when I brought them stage horses to the livery,” Orville said with a shake of his head. “That was a mighty fast weddin’ if you got hitched before I finished.”
“She didn’t seem to want to wait,” Darwin bridled. “I was tired of waiting,” he blushed remembering the night he’d made such a fool of himself not long ago. “I didn’t see no reason to wait. She wanted a husband and I wanted a wife.”
Orville Hampton reached out a weathered hand placing it on the younger man’s shoulder. Darwin had come a long way since that drunken night when he’d come calling after Beth in the rain. “I hope you don’t regret this rash decision,” the old man said, “but I’ll tell ya the best thing you can do, is be kind. You don’t know this woman yet, but if you try, you’ll come to be friends first and sweethearts after. You need to be a team, like these here horses, each pullin’ together for a common goal. Some days you’ll pull a little harder and some days she will,” Orville nodded.
“But where do I start?” Dar asked. “Do I just ask her about herself or wait until she is ready to talk. I’d like to know her a little at least.”