“Are you insane? You can’t possibly…”
Jonah rounded the corner in time to see the horrified expression on Emma’s face. The moment her eyes locked with his, she immediately darted around Lucas and marched right up to him.
“I have never been on a horse in my life. I’ve barely even laid eyes on them. How can you expect me to…to ride?”
She was standing too close to him. He knew she was speaking, but Jonah couldn’t concentrate on the words. He liked watching her lips move and had the sudden urge to reach out and crush her to him. To comfort her. To kiss her.
Where did that come from?
Focus, Deardon.
“Stone Creek is only a couple of day’s ride from here. I’m sure you’re a natural. Besides, we’ll stop in one of the town’s along the way to rest. You’ll be fine,” he managed to say.
“Only a couple of day’s ri…” Emma threw her hands in the air and walked over to Millie.
Jonah groaned. The back of her dress swung back and forth with the gentle sway of her full hips as she moved. He had to change the direction of his thoughts. Now.
“Well, you certainly won’t be able to ride in that dress.” He cleared his throat.
Emma gasped as she shot a surprised look at him.
“And just what is wrong with my dress?” she asked, her hands on her hips.
“Nothing from where I’m standing, but trying to ride side saddle is going to get mighty uncomfortable after a half-minute or so.” Jonah couldn’t help the smirk that formed on his lips at her look of affront. “You’ll want something with a split skirt. Or britches.”
“Why, I never.” Emma looked to Millie for help.
“We’ll find something for you, dear,” Millie said with an uneasy smile. She linked her arm through Emma’s and together they walked past the dining room to the stairs.
Noah walked up behind Jonah. “Maybe we should just buy a wagon.”
“If she’s going to be living out west, she’ll need to know how to ride a horse. No wagon.”
Noah clapped him on the shoulder. “For a lady, she sure is a handful.”
Emma’s things were no longer sitting next to the doorway. Jonah must have already taken them out to the horses to secure for travel. Horses. Her grandfather had arranged riding lessons for her a few years back, but she had insisted on learning to play the piano instead. Why hadn’t she just listened and learned how to ride? Truth be told, she was scared of the fascinating creatures. They towered over her and they were always surrounded by flies. And they smelled.
By the time Emma returned, Jonah and his brothers had already finished their breakfast. Lucas leaned back in his chair while the other two sat with their elbows on the table. She cleared her throat and they all looked up at her appraisingly.
She pouted her lips, then rolled them inward. A hand darted to the curls that spilled from her coiffure. The trousers were too big and were held up by a strip of cloth Millie cut from an old piece of fabric, and the shirt she wore looked like it could fit any of the Deardon brothers. She was sure she looked a sight.
Millie had held onto a few things guests at the boarding house had left behind over the years. Luckily, there had been a few pieces of men’s clothing in the lot.
“Happy now?” she asked with an air of defiance.
“Why yes, yes I am,” Jonah said, standing in place at the table.
Heat rose instantly in her cheeks. Her eyes locked with his and the warmth spread all the way down to her toes. She was pleased at his reaction. Somehow, it mattered what Jonah Deardon thought.
Noah and Lucas scrambled to their feet.
“Just need a hat and the ensemble will be complete.”
Millie stepped into the dining room at that precise moment and plopped an old, droopy hat on top of her head and continued on into the kitchen. Noah’s face was the first to crack into a smile. Then, they all burst out into laughter. Including Emma. She reached up and tugged the hat from her head.
Lucas pulled out a chair and placed a slice of Millie’s bread on a plate in front of her. Noah slid the jar of preserves across the table, and Jonah poured her a glass of freshly steamed apple cider before clearing their plates and taking them into the kitchen.
The bread was still warm and Millie’s blackberry preserves were wonderful. However, she didn’t have long to enjoy her meal.
“The trail is going to be a muddy mess by now,” Jonah said as he pulled out Emma’s chair…with her still in it. “We need to go.”
Emma shoved the last bite of her bread into her mouth and stood up.
That’s not what a lady would do, her grandfather’s words echoed in her mind from the many times he’d told her before.
The rain outside was steady, but not as heavy as she had expected. She put on the hat Millie had given her and pulled it down over her ears. A little water never hurt anyone. Right?
When she reached the top step of the stone staircase leading out of the yard, she froze. The horses were even larger than she remembered. She had no idea how she would be able to stay atop such a beast.
Millie hugged each of the boys. Millie followed Jonah’s gaze up to Emma. The kind caretaker pranced up the three steps and pulled her into a quick embrace.
“Be careful,” she cautioned. Then, she pulled away, still clutching at Emma’s arms, the rain dripping down her uncovered head. “I hope everything turns out the way you want it to.”
Emma nodded. “Thank you for everything, Millie.”
The woman patted Emma’s arms briefly at the shoulder, picked up the hems of her dress, and darted for the house.
Emma’s focus again returned to the horses. Noah and Lucas were already mounted. Jonah had the reins for the brown and white pony in his hand and motioned for her to join him. She didn’t move.
“Don’t make me carry you, woman,” he said firmly, not taking his eyes off hers.
She looked down at the first step in front of her and then back to the horse.
Stop being such a ninny, she thought. You can do this. You can do hard things.
With one long breath she moved her feet and covered the distance between them in moments.
Jonah nodded his approval.
Emma looked from him to the horse.
“Penny, meet Miss Foster.” Jonah reached down and took Emma’s hand in his and guided it up to the horse’s broad nose.
Emma had been expecting the hair to be more like the fur of a fluffy puppy, and was surprised by the soft short bristles of her wet face. She glanced up to Jonah, who smiled reassuringly.
“Penny? She’s a girl then?”
When Jonah confirmed, Emma felt a little better.
“Now that you two have been acquainted, can we get on the road?”
Without warning, Jonah lifted her from the ground and swung Emma’s legs over the saddle. It was slick from the rain and Emma’s bottom slid around a little before she felt settled into the seat.
“Here are your reins. Pull left to go left.” He motioned left with his hands holding imaginary straps. “Pull on the right to go right. Hold them steady to go straight, and pull both back at the same time to stop.”
He thought he could give her a few short sentences and she would magically know how to ride? She stared at him blankly.
“There’s nothing to be afraid of,” Jonah said as he climbed his own mount. “I’ll be right here.”
Noah and Lucas started out first and Jonah followed. Emma lifted the reins, but the horse didn’t move.
“Come on, Penny girl. Go,” she urged.
Nothing.
“Come on, girl,” Emma said as she bounced a little in the saddle.
Still nothing.
What had Jonah told her to do? She tried pulling the reins to the right and wonderfully Penny understood her instructions and turned to the right. Emma kept pulling until she finally faced the same direction as the others.
“Give her a little nudge with your heels,” Jonah encouraged, obviously
finding enjoyment in her discomfort.
It worked. However, Emma had been unprepared for the initial bump in movement and fell forward—the saddle handle jabbing her in the ribs. It only took a moment before Jonah had pulled up alongside her.
“Are you all right?” he inquired.
Emma sat up straight. “If this knob contraption hadn’t been in the way, I would be much better.”
Jonah laughed. “It’s called a horn.”
“I don’t care what it’s called. It hurts.” Emma grimaced at the ache in her side. This was going to be a long ride.
Chapter Eight
Jonah looked up at the menacing clouds looming overhead. There had been a light drizzle most of the day. It seemed as if the storm in St. Joseph had followed them. If the growing darkness was any indication, it was only a matter of time before the sky broke and the trail would become dangerous.
As if the gathering storm wasn’t enough to worry about, several times over the last hour Jonah had glanced behind them to see if anyone followed. There had been no one in sight, but it was growing increasingly harder to see as their terrain grew more clustered with high rolling hills and deep valleys.
Jonah glanced over at Emma. He’d stayed slightly behind her all morning to help provide a sense of security, but as the rain grew heavier, she sat back farther on the saddle, hunched down closer to the saddle horn, and hugged it in to her. She was frightened, yet even after travelling near most the day in the rain with only a few stops along the way, he had not heard one complaint. She just clung to the reins of that horse as if they were her lifeline.
A bolt of lightning split the sky immediately followed by a roaring boom of thunder. In seconds, torrents of rain dumped on top of them. Emma’s horse, Penny, danced about at the sudden friction in the air. All of the horses had become a little uneasy.
Noah turned his mount around and pulled up next to Jonah.
“There’s a small town just over the next hill. I think we can make it that far in a good twenty minutes,” Noah was practically screaming the words to be heard above the storm. “We can find a place there to hole up for the night.”
Emma looked up at Noah, then back at Jonah. Her hair had fallen into her face with rivulets of water running down her cheeks. She shivered. She had a chill, but it wouldn’t do him any good to give her a blanket now, it would just be soaked within moments.
Jonah nodded to Noah.
“Let’s go.”
Penny’s head lifted in the air and turned toward the east with her ears rigid and pointing forward. The mare sensed something that Jonah couldn’t see and before he could reach out and grab ahold of her reins, another loud crack of thunder rumbled through the heavens. The horse bolted forward with an unsuspecting Emma clinging tightly to the reins and gripping the edges of the saddle.
She didn’t scream.
Jonah whistled and slapped the reins of his horse.
“Hi-yah!” he yelled and Perseus quickly burst out after the mare. Jonah’s heart nearly jumped from his chest as visions of Henry being thrown from the mustang flooded his memory.
Rain slashed at his face. He kept his head low, grateful for the brim of his hat that protected his eyes and allowed him to see and follow the direction of the spooked horse. Another flash of Henry’s strong body slamming against the rock hard ground pushed its way into his mind. His brother had been an experienced horseman, but Miss Foster was a novice. She had no idea how to handle a horse. He flicked the reins again, urging his mount even faster.
Moments felt an eternity, but finally he caught up to her. The reins dragged on the ground. Emma’s knuckles were white from gripping the saddle on either side of the horn. Jonah pulled up alongside Penny, attempting to keep time with the galloping horse, and reached out for the bridle.
His fingers grazed the leather, but the rain had made it too slippery to hold onto. He looked at the woman gripping the saddle for dear life.
“Emma,” he called loudly, but the sound was lost in the wind.
If he could just get her to look at him, maybe he could pull her onto his own horse. “Emma!” he screamed even louder.
She shifted her head enough to look at him. He held out his hand, but she shook her head and returned her gaze to the back of the spooked mare’s neck. Jonah rode as close as he dared and once again extended his hand out to her, palm up. Emma glanced at his hand and he motioned for her to take it with a flick of his fingers.
She met his eyes and for a brief moment he saw her attempt to muster the courage to try. She let go of her grip on the saddle with one hand and started to draw her hand toward his, but when the horse bucked a little, she quickly retracted it.
Damn.
Emma’s back rose and fell with deep breaths as if trying to calm herself. She finally reached out again and this time Jonah was able to gain a firm grip on her forearm. He pulled and she flew off the wild paint and onto his horse and he tucked her into the folds of his arms and slowed the gelding to a stop.
“Emma, look at me,” Jonah said taking her head into both hands.
She shook her head.
“Come on, look at me.”
“No,” she said firmly, a quiver in her voice.
“Why not?” He brushed a sopping lock from her forehead and tucked it behind her ear.
“Because I don’t want you to see me cry.” She hiccupped and laughed at the same time.
Jonah placed a finger below her chin and lifted her face upward, exposing her face to the weather. Her eyes flitted a moment to his, then closed, releasing a plump tear through her lashes and down her cheek with an assembly of raindrops.
When Emma opened her eyes again, they were still wet and the light from the small moon peeking through the storm clouds now caused them to glimmer. Jonah stared at her, amazed. She was the most incredible woman. Strong. And beautiful.
His hands delved into the hair behind her ears, his thumb lazily brushing the rain and tears away. Slowly, he bent his head toward hers, but was stopped abruptly by the rim of his hat colliding with hers. He laughed. She bit her lip. A slight giggle escaped.
Emma reached up and pulled the hat from her head and leaned into Jonah’s body, allowing the rain to fall unencumbered down her face.
“You did good,” he said against her ear.
She felt good against him and he tightened his grip around her and with another short chuckle doubled back toward his brothers.
Jonah didn’t love the idea of leaving the mare out here in the storm, but right now he had to make sure Emma was safe.
“Penny?” Lucas asked when they’d rejoined him and Noah at the top of the hill.
“Still running,” was all Jonah said in response with a flick of his head. They understood and both Noah and Lucas rode after the mare.
What had spooked the horse Jonah was still unsure, but he was grateful everyone was safe. He was tired and admittedly a little sore and couldn’t imagine the stiffness Miss Foster was going to feel in the morning. He urged Perseus to a light canter. He needed her out of his lap for now or his thoughts would be relentless and hard to control for the rest of the trip.
Stone Creek, Kansas
Emma had believed St. Joseph to be a small town compared to her beloved Boston, but Stone Creek and Redbourne Ranch were in the middle of nowhere. All she could see in any direction were hills and farms followed by hills and more farms.
Although the rain had let up since last night, Jonah had insisted that she ride with him the rest of the way. He’d been very sweet with her last night, making sure she had something warm to sleep in and food in her belly. Then, he’d propped himself up in a chair outside of her door at the town’s small inn, and slept. For the first time since her grandfather’s passing, she felt…safe.
This morning, he’d set her in the saddle and had climbed up behind her. She had to admit that she liked the feel of his arms around her and his chest against her back. Familiar alarms of propriety screamed at her, but what other choice did she have?
Emma opened her mouth to ask Jonah for a drink of water, but closed it again when he held out the open large metal flask. She turned and looked up at him. A lady did not drink spirits.
“It’s a canteen,” Jonah said. He must have sensed her hesitation. “With water in it.”
“Thank you.” Gratefully, she took the container into her hands and allowed the liquid to pass through her lips. When some of the water dripped down her chin, she pulled away and wiped the excess with her thumb.
“Thirsty?” Jonah asked with a little chuckle.
It had been nearly an hour since Emma had seen the last little farmhouse and she wondered just how much farther it would be to this Redbourne Ranch. They’d sat in silence most of the way. She had so many questions, but guessed they would be better asked once they’d gotten settled.
Emma was still unsure of why they were headed to Stone Creek instead of getting on their way to Oregon. One thing was for sure though—she was not going to make the trek across the country sharing a horse with Jonah.
When they peaked a particularly large hill, a massive home with several outbuildings, including a large barn, stables, and an enormous corral came into view. Horses and other livestock roamed the fields inside thick wooden fences.
“We’re here,” Noah yelled from just ahead.
The excitement that sparked the air was nearly tangible and with a quick flick of the reins, Jonah’s horse, Perseus, launched forward. Emma gasped, but relaxed as Jonah’s arms tightened around her and his soft laugh sounded in her ear.
“They’re here,” a young boy yelled, running alongside them as they rode into the yard. He used a stick to keep his large metal hoop spinning.
More children ran from the house as they approached the front porch steps and several ranch hands joined them.
Jonah dismounted as did Noah and Lucas. A beautiful woman with hair near the same color as Jonah’s ran down the stairs to greet them. She grinned and pulled them all into a fierce embrace.
Emma watched with curiosity from atop Jonah’s horse. She’d never really been around large families and wasn’t sure what to expect or what would be expected of her.
The Deardons Complete Mini-Series Page 5