Tabitha's Journey

by Caroline Clemmons

  Of course, maybe Tabitha only pretended to like Ma—or him. She had to be hiding something, but damned if could figure out what. He vowed to learn why she up and jumped at a chance to fill in for Priscilla.

  When she rejoined him, she smiled and let him help her up to the wagon seat. She was tall, but not heavy like yesterday with her money in her clothes. In fact, her size fit with his. Her head would tuck right under his chin like he’d dreamed. And she had lush curves in the right places.

  He admired her auburn hair that hung down her back beneath her bonnet. Most women pinned theirs up, but he liked it loose. Her dress appeared refined, but without as many fussy bits and decorations as some he thought overdone. All in all a handsome woman, and her kind kept her looks for years and years.

  Obviously he’d gone soft in the head. Tabitha was the wrong woman. He needed a helpmate, not a liability. This woman knew nothing about living out here.

  But when he looked at her, he forgot all that. Especially when she smiled at him like now, she created strong sensations in him. Sensations he found pleasant.

  Pal jumped into the wagon. He started to order the dog to stay, but decided to see what his substitute fiancée would do when confronted with a fragrant dog. Not that he didn’t bathe Pal once a week, but that dog delighted in traipsing through the creek and rolling on the pasture no matter what might be lurking there.

  Bear grinned to himself and waited for the screeching to commence.

  Chapter Six

  Tabitha turned and scratched between the dog’s ears when he stuck his head over the seat back. “Hello, Pal. Do you enjoy riding in the wagon?”

  Pal tried to climb over the seat.

  Laughter bubbled from her at the dog’s enthusiasm. He was far too large for a lapdog, but apparently he didn’t know that.

  “Down, Pal.” Bear glanced at his dog. “I told you not to jump on the lady, remember?”

  As if he understood, the dog sighed and lay down on the wagon bed.

  She glanced back and then toward Bear. “What a wonderful dog.”

  Bear appeared surprised. “You like dogs?”

  Frustration shot through her. “Yes, I like dogs. Tobias Baldwin, apparently your opinion of me is terrible. I’m sorry I can’t keep house like your mother—yet. I assure you I will learn, though. In the meantime, I have other fine qualities.”

  He frowned but looked ahead. “I never said I have a bad opinion of you.”

  She wanted to punch him on the arm—or in the face as she had that awful Lawson yesterday. “You didn’t have to. Each word and facial expression telegraphs you think I’m hopeless. You couldn’t make your judgment plainer if you placed an ad in the newspaper.” She grabbed the seat and braced as they jostled over a bump.

  “Don’t get riled. Told you I don’t know how to talk to women.” He sent her an annoyed glare. “What do you expect?”

  She exhaled in frustration. “I expected you to talk like your letters read. You wrote so eloquently about your ranch and the land, about your plans, about your pastimes. I thought you’d talk the same way.”

  He sagged slightly. “Took me a long time to write each letter. They were private. I don’t appreciate Priscilla showing them to you—or handing me off like an outgrown shirt.”

  “I explained she couldn’t bring herself to leave Boston. Her family members are close knit and she wanted to remain near them.”

  He displayed a mulish expression, but she heard the hurt in his voice. “Why did she write me then?”

  Sensing his pain, she softened her tone and explained again about Prissy’s situation.

  His jaw jutted out. “So she never wanted to come here in the first place?”

  She touched his strong arm and felt the taut muscles. Quickly, she drew back her hand. “She grew genuinely fond of you, Tobias. That’s why she couldn’t send back your ticket and jilt you. At the same time, I wanted desperately to leave Boston. I’d read your letters and those she wrote you. To Prissy and me, my coming in her place made sense.”

  He shook his head slowly. “Not to me. Took us almost a year to get to the point where I sent her that ticket.” He frowned at her. “Turns out I should have written more about what I wanted from a wife.”

  “You wanted a mail-order bride.” Unwilling to let his attitude defeat her, she extended her arms wide. “And here I am.”

  Bear didn’t say anything, didn’t even look at her.

  She almost gave up. “Tobias, you said you wanted a companion, someone you could be friends with and who would share all your hopes and dreams. That’s also what I yearned for, but thought I’d never find.”

  She gestured toward herself. “Look at me. I’m as tall or taller than most of the men I know. Men tend to want a petite woman and steer clear of me. Papa shooed off the few suitors I had, saying they only wanted access to our firm. The only men who expressed interest in the last couple of years were my father’s age.”

  He reined in the team near the creek. “I’m supposed to believe you made a snap decision to come all this way to find a companion and a friend?” He leaned forward and snapped his fingers under her nose. “Like that?”

  She recoiled. “I’d hoped to find a husband also.” Sighing, she watched a heron wade at the water’s edge. “Looks like I was wrong on all counts. The only friends I’ve found are Mrs. Fraser and Mrs. Gamble. And now your mother, who seems like a lovely woman who’s so proud of you.”

  He exhaled a giant breath. “Too soon to tell if those are your only friends.”

  She glanced at him. “Well, thank you for that anyway. Traveling over a thousand miles to marry a man only to learn he doesn’t want me is humiliating. At least perhaps you’ll be my friend so I can visit your mother.” And she’d have the chance to change his mind about marrying her. Tobias Baldwin was the man she needed and she wouldn’t give up yet.

  He didn’t answer right away, but appeared to study the green pasture and the trees. A gentle breeze swirled around them. She drank in the scene, remembering his description from one of his letters. Now that she’d seen this spot, she thought it even more glorious in person.

  How she would have loved to live in this peaceful place. Embarrassment and humiliation brought tears that threatened to fall. She fought to hide her disappointment. Carefully, she slipped her new handkerchief from her cuff and dabbed at her eyes.

  The sound of his voice snapped her from her reverie. “We don’t marry, what will you do?”

  She sniffed and turned to face him, still willing her emotions not to betray her after he’d deflated her dreams. “I-I have a little money. If I do get that reward, maybe I can start a business, buy a little house.” She shrugged. “One thing I know, I will never go back to Boston.”

  He raised his eyebrows. “That bad?”

  She shook her head. “You have no idea.”

  Her turned on the bench and crossed one ankle over his knee. “Tell me.”

  “You’d only think me sillier than you already do.” She still fought against tears. Had he no idea of her predicament? How much rejection could she bear?

  He shrugged. “Give me a try. What have you got to lose?”

  She considered a moment and gave in. She started with her childhood and moved forward.

  He crossed his arms and studied her.

  “When I came home from school, I went to work in the family shipping business.” The memories caused her to shake her head. “My grandfather had died by then. When my father took control, he dismissed some employees and skimped by not hiring a bookkeeper. The records were in a terrible jumble. American Atlantic Shipping—that’s the name of the firm—owed money to some and also had money due from others. I spent six weeks organizing the files and office.”

  He appeared impressed, and nodded. “Bet your father thanked you plenty for straightening out his books.”

  “Pfft, think again.” She rolled her eyes. “He never even acted as if he noticed, except to turn all that over to me while David and he
supposedly recruited new business.”

  “And did they?”

  She tilted her head and considered. “Mostly they just blustered with their friends, but they made a few good contacts. Primarily, the new business came due to our restored reputation. At least that’s my opinion.”

  “You still haven’t told me why you wanted to leave, other than what you said on the stage.”

  “The story embarrasses me. My sister-in-law’s brother William wants to marry me. H-He reminds me of that Lawson person.” She couldn’t stop her shudder of revulsion.

  “You mean he’s a crook?” Bear uncrossed his legs and straightened.

  How should she answer? “Not in the same way as Lawson, but I’m sure he’s dishonest. This is the embarrassing part. H-He tried to force himself on me so I’d be compromised and have to marry him. I blacked his eye and, fortunately for me, David and Bertha arrived home.”

  He chuckled. “You do wield that fist, don’t you?”

  She straightened. Maybe she could be called naïve, but she could defend herself on some occasions. “Only the two times, really. Anyway, William convinced David to give permission for us to wed, even though David and William both knew I would never agree.”

  He frowned at her.

  “I honestly don’t understand why William and Bertha are so intent on me marrying William. But Father’s will appointed David as my guardian until I’m thirty or until I marry. At that time, I receive a small dowry and all the furnishings left to me by my mother. My grandmother—that’s my mother’s mother—willed them to her on the condition she pass them on to me.”

  “And those are the things you shipped?”

  “Yes, only those pieces intended for me from my grandmother, plus my clothing and books.”

  He cocked an eyebrow at her and shook his head. “But you’re not married and you’re not thirty.”

  The heat of a blush stained her cheeks and she pressed her hands to her face. “Must you humiliate me further, Tobias? I thought—I hoped—I would be married as soon as I arrived, or as soon thereafter as the wedding could be arranged.”

  He straightened and popped the ribbons to set the horses moving.

  Tabitha could swear her taut muscles might pop, just like the reins. Snap, crack, zing, and she’d dissolve into hysteria. Then she would need an asylum, just as David threatened.

  Her head warned of a megrim, and she blamed Tobias’s attitude. Although she’d enjoyed meeting Erna, the time spent with Tobias only served to upset and disgrace her further. Not to mention humiliate her.

  She’d laid her emotions bare and Tobias rolled his wagon right over them. He headed back to town. She supposed he planned to dump her at the hotel.

  He gestured to the east. “Ranch goes to the top of that mountain.”

  Placated slightly, she turned to gaze the way he’d indicated. “What a wonderful view. Are all the cattle I see grazing are yours?”

  “More on another range. Can’t overgraze the land, so we move them around. Jorge and the boys are west of here on the other side of the ranch.”

  She clasped her hands to her chest. “This land is so vast and open, it sets my thoughts spinning. I imagine the Indians you mentioned living here years ago and the easterners coming in.” She turned to him. “Were your parents among the first to settle this area?”

  “I came here at sixteen. My brother Beau and I helped Pa build the cabin and stake out our place. Pa traded with the Indians and tried to keep peace with them. Even if we were only going to draw water from the well, we always kept our rifles with us.”

  How frightening that sounded. “Did they ever attack your home?”

  “Several times. But Ma made bearpaws, and they loved them. They made friends so they could eat her treats.”

  Surely he didn’t mean the hands of a bear. “What are bearpaws?”

  “A kind of a sweetbread fried and dusted with sugar. Sure taste good.” He chuckled. “Say, maybe that’s why they called me Bear. I can eat a lot of ‘em.”

  By now, they were at the edge of town. Tabitha straightened her spine, wondering if everyone in town would know Tobias had interviewed and rejected her. Would she even see him long enough to speak to him in the future?

  “Best see about getting you that reward.” He pulled up in front of the jail and reached around to ruffle the dog’s fur. “Stay, Pal.”

  Bear climbed down and came around to help her. He lifted her up higher than necessary and met her gaze. She braced herself with a hand on each of his shoulders. Slowly, he slid her down his length.

  She couldn’t tear her eyes from his face. No longer twinkling, his eyes darkened and sent shivers of the unknown down her spine. He held her close. She thought he might kiss her, but he merely stared into her face and appeared more surprised than she at the magnetism flowing between them.

  When he’d set her down, Bear offered his arm and then held the door for her to enter first.

  What just happened? Had he deliberately flirted with her? Did he actually want to be near her? She hoped so.

  Inside, the handsome sheriff she’d seen on her arrival last evening sat at a desk looking through a sheaf of papers. He stood when they came in.

  “Bear, you look none the worse for your excitement yesterday. How’re the wounds?”

  “Passable. Buster, this is Miss Tabitha Masterson, the woman who stopped the robbery. Brought her around to see about the reward.”

  “Pleased to meet you, Miss Masterson. Bear praised you to high heaven, so I’ve sure been curious to make your acquaintance.”

  Tabitha sent Bear a questioning glance, and then faced the sheriff. “I’m pleased to meet you, Sheriff. I didn’t catch your last name.”

  “Parish, Buster Parish.” He chuckled. “Bear never uses two words if one—or none—will do.” He sat down and opened a drawer. “Let me fill out the paperwork for your reward. Wells Fargo already authorized the payment, but they want it written up in detail.”

  Tabitha sat in one of the chairs nearby while he took notes on a fresh sheet of paper. After retelling the story, she paused. “Whether or not I deserve a reward is questionable. I have to admit I’d never handled a gun. Shooting one of the robbers was an accident.”

  From behind her, Bear’s voice sounded adamant, “But you meant to punch Lawson. That allowed me to get to my gun.”

  She rubbed her arms, willing away the memory of Lawson grabbing her arm. “I certainly had no intention of going with that man, or of letting him close enough to realize I had money sewn inside my clothing.”

  Sheriff Parish continued writing then finally laid his pen beside the ink pot. “Read this and make sure I didn’t get anything wrong. Then you’ll need to sign where I made the X.”

  When she’d finished, the sheriff went to his safe and withdrew a pouch. “You can count it, but it’s there in gold and bills.” He smiled and his eyes twinkled. “I suggest you go straight to the bank instead of sewing it inside your clothes.”

  She returned his grin. “I will, Sheriff Parish. Meeting you was a pleasure, and quite profitable Thank you.”

  Bear walked her out and offered his arm. “Only a few doors to the bank.”

  “Thank you for escorting me, Tobias. But won’t people question you spending time with me?”

  He nodded to two women who sent curious glances as they passed. “Might. None of their business.”

  She sighed. “Apparently men can disregard gossip. A single woman can’t afford to or her reputation is ruined.”

  “Your reputation won’t be ruined. Folks will think I’m sparkin’ you. If we don’t marry, they’ll think you turned me down.”

  “If we don’t?”

  Chapter Seven

  Instead of answering her, Bear guided her to a doorway. “Here’s the bank.”

  After she’d deposited most of her money into her account, she waited until they were outside the bank. “Would you help me buy a horse?”

  His large boots thunked against the si
dewalk boards. “You shouldn’t ride alone until you’ve mastered a western saddlehorse. Even then, a woman shouldn’t ride off alone.”

  “I mean to buy a buggy. I need a horse to pull it.”

  He looked down at her and his eyes blue twinkled. “Money burnin’ a hole in your pocket already?”

  “Tobias, if I have to make my way alone, I need transportation and a place to live as well as a way to support myself. M-My things will arrive in another week or so and I have nowhere to put them. I can’t consider a house unless I have a way to look for one. And I’ll need some way to support myself.”

  “Reckon you could store your things at my place until you decide what to do. We have that extra room and all. Then you could stay at the hotel for a spell.”

  She longed to stomp her foot.

  On his.

  Hard.

  “Tobias Baldwin, you are the most aggravating and confusing man I’ve ever met.”

  She saw folks stare and lowered her voice, but she didn’t soften the edge from her tone, “Surely you do not expect me to have my furniture delivered to your home when you have rejected me as your wife.”

  He acted surprised. “I never said I rejected you. Said I didn’t appreciate being passed off.” He ambled along as if what he discussed hadn’t the importance of life and death to her. “I had all those months to get used to the idea of Priscilla. Reckon I’m not used to the idea of you yet.”

  Her reaction to his attitude was akin to a simmering volcano. “How long will it take you to decide? Another year? And what am I supposed to do in the meantime? Take up knitting or make rag rugs? Perhaps I could learn to weave and make one of those Persian-style rugs. Or a dozen of the dratted things.”

  He made a shushing motion with his hand. “Now don’t take on, Tabitha. I already told you I’m not good at talking to women. Can’t figure them out, either. Give me a chance to get this sorted in my mind.”

  She stood with her hands fisted at her waist. “You’re an intelligent man, Tobias. And you had three weeks.”