A Window in Time

by Carolyn Lampman

  “Oh, dear.”

  Brianna could hardly believe her eyes. The woman looked like she had just walked off a movie set. The skirt of her dress stood out from her impossibly tiny waist like a bell. In spite of the heat she wore long sleeves, white gloves, and a stylish bonnet covered with artificial flowers. When she saw Brianna, her eyes widened slightly, then she hurried over.

  For the first time since her arrival, Brianna was uncomfortably aware of how badly her clothes fit, and how odd she must appear. Funny how having another woman around made one fashion conscious.

  “Where is your convenience?” the woman whispered.

  “Convenience?” Brianna looked at her blankly. It was quite obvious the lady was in some distress. Then, suddenly she understood. “It’s over there,” Brianna said, nodding toward the privy.

  “Thank you.” The huge bell-shaped skirt made it appear the woman was floating over the ground as she hurried up the path to the outhouse. Brianna watched in amazement, wondering how all of it fit into the stagecoach and still left room for the other passengers.

  “Is there a dipper for the water?”

  “What?” Brianna tore her gaze away from the retreating figure. The three male passengers were standing near the bucket of water expectantly. “Oh, I...sure. I’ll get it for you.”

  When she returned, she set all four of Lucas’s cups on the bench and handed the dipper to the first man. To her utter surprise and complete revulsion, they all ignored the cups and drank from the dipper, one after another.

  As soon as the woman rejoined them, the men tipped their hats. Then one-by-one, unobtrusively disappeared up the path to the outhouse while the two women pretended not to notice.

  “Would you like a cup of water?” Brianna asked politely.

  “Yes, thank you.” The other woman took the proffered cup and sipped the water delicately. “I haven’t seen many women out here.”

  “Neither have I,” Brianna said truthfully. “In fact, you’re the first.”

  “It must be horribly lonely.”

  “It has taken some getting used to.”

  “I suppose being with your husband is worth it though.”

  “I guess so.”

  “I’m going to join my husband at Fort Bridger.” She took another sip of water. “We’d only been married a short time before he was sent West. I was excited to come, but I had no idea it would be like this.”

  Brianna felt a flash of sympathy. “There are more people at the fort. I expect you’ll get settled in soon enough. Besides, think how wonderful it will be to see your husband again.”

  “My husband isn’t like yours,” she said wistfully, looking at Lucas over the rim of her cup.

  “Nobody’s husband is like Lucas. He’s one of a kind.”

  “I don’t blame you braving the trip for him.”

  “I didn’t have much choice.”

  “Everybody back on the stage,” the driver yelled as he climbed back onto the box.

  “Oh, dear. Time to go already?” The woman set the cup down on the bench with a sigh. “It seems like we just stopped.”

  “At least you haven’t much farther to go.”

  “That’s true. Thank you for the drink.”

  “You’re welcome.” On an impulse, Brianna put her hand on the other woman’s arm. “And good luck,” she said softly.

  “Thank you.” With a fleeting smile, she climbed back onto the stagecoach.

  Brianna watched the stage lumber out of the yard with an odd feeling of sadness. Life was tough out here, especially for women. As she bent over to pick up the cups, the clink of metal drew her attention. There were several coins in the bottom of one. “For heaven’s sake!”

  “What’s the matter?” Lucas asked.

  “They left money in the cup.”

  “Probably thought they had to pay for the water. Most stage stops charge for food and drink.”

  “Food? Were they expecting something to eat too?”

  Lucas shrugged. “I have no idea. I wouldn’t worry about it if I were you.”

  “How often does the stage come?”

  “Twice a week. The Westbound stage comes through on Wednesday and the Eastbound on Thursday.”

  “So there’ll be another one tomorrow?”

  “That’s right.”

  Brianna smiled and rattled the coins in the cup. “Good, I’ll be ready for it.” With that, she turned and walked into the cabin completely oblivious to the look on Lucas’s face.

  She’s leaving tomorrow on the stage, Lucas thought and wondered why it didn’t give him any satisfaction. He’d been waiting for her to leave since the day she arrived. Yet now that the time had come, he had a strangely hollow feeling.

  It was just the thought of losing his cook that bothered him, he told himself as he led the horses into the barn. So what if it was nice having another adult around to talk to? He’d survived with only Billy and Seth before.

  Irritated with himself, Lucas removed the harnesses and hung them on the wall. He knew the pennies in Brianna’s cup wouldn’t even come close to paying for her ticket home, but if she was ready to go, he’d gladly loan her the rest. Hell, he’d give her the ticket just to get her out of his hair once and for all. He was looking forward to the peace and quiet her absence would bring.

  He wouldn’t think about eyes the color of the summer sky or a lilting laugh that made him feel warm inside. He’d forget the exchange two days ago that had turned the blood hot in his veins and brought forbidden images to his mind. She was a woman like all others, deceitful, conniving, and completely untrustworthy. Don’t waste precious time wondering where she’d go or what she’d do. She wasn’t worth it.

  Determined to put her from his mind completely, Lucas turned his thoughts to his long-awaited shipment from the Pittsburgh glassworks. He was anxious to see if his idea was going to work. There would be time to unpack the crate and maybe even set up an experiment as soon as he finished with the horses.

  Lucas successfully distracted himself right up until he walked into the tack room where Billy and Seth now slept. His head was so filled with plans of what he was going to do that he hardly noticed the papers he moved out of the way to get the currycomb. He only gave them a cursory glance until his name at the top suddenly came into sharp focus.

  It took him about half a second to realize they were the letters Brianna had written him. If he were smart he’d turn around and walk out. There was nothing there he needed to know. They’d be full of her thoughts, her feelings, her dreams, all the things he least wanted to learn. The dumbest thing he could do was read those letters.

  He reached out and picked up the first one.

  Fifteen minutes later he folded the last page, picked up the currycomb and walked back out to the horses. Billy was right. There was little resemblance between the Brianna he knew and the woman who had written the letters. Her words gave the impression of a quiet, demure little mouse who had sought marriage to a stranger as the only way to stop her aunt’s autocratic running of her life. Somehow, Lucas couldn’t imagine Brianna bowing down to anybody.

  Lucas was pensive as he began brushing the horses. At least he finally understood why Billy was so protective of her. Brianna Daniels had been through hell and back. Orphaned at an early age, she’d grown up under the thumb of her vindictive spinster aunt. At fifteen she’d been married against her will to a man old enough to be her grandfather, and widowed a month later.

  She didn’t ask for sympathy, only patience and understanding. From her apologetic explanation of why she had no dowry to her sincere assurances she would do her best to make him happy, her words were enough to make any man see himself as the brave hero who would rescue her.

  Lucas dismissed the sentimental claptrap with disgust. How could Brianna have written something so foreign to her nature? Even the handwriting didn’t seem right. The beautiful flowing copperplate didn’t match her vibrant personality at all.

  Too bad he hadn’t read the letter
s before Brianna burst into his life, irritating the devil out of him, making him act like a cantankerous old bear. It would have saved them both a lot of trouble, because the sweetly giving woman who wrote those letters wouldn’t have interested him at all.

  CHAPTER 12

  “What were you planning to do after lunch, Billy?” Lucas asked, looking over the rim of his cup.

  “Going hunting. Why?”

  “Could you lend me a hand exercising the horses? Some of them haven’t been out for several days.”

  Billy sighed. “I guess so.”

  “Don’t worry. It won’t take more than an hour or so.”

  Brianna looked up from her lunch. “I can help, Lucas.”

  “Help what?”

  “Exercise the horses.”

  “Thanks, but we can manage.” Lucas’s tone was even more condescending than usual. “We don’t have a saddle for you.”

  “That’s a bare-faced lie,” Brianna said indignantly. “There are at least four in the barn. If you’ll adjust the stirrups, I can ride any of them. “

  “Astride?”

  “Of course, astride.”

  “Now that should be interesting to watch.”

  “Look, darn it, I can ride better than most men.”

  Billy chuckled. “Most peg-legged sailors, maybe.”

  “I’ll have you know I went to college on a rodeo scholarship in barrel-racing!”

  “You’re welcome to race any of the barrels,” Lucas said with a grin, “but you’d better leave the horses alone. These animals were chosen for their speed and endurance. Most of them are high-spirited, and some down-right mean-tempered.”

  “I can ride any horse in your corral,” Brianna said recklessly.

  The men exchanged glances. “What do you think, Billy? Shall we let her try Franklin?”

  “She did say any horse.”

  Brianna tossed her head. “You get him saddled, and I’ll meet you at the corral.” She stood up and stomped over to her trunk. “If you’ll excuse me gentlemen, I need to change clothes.”

  Her flare of anger lasted clear through Billy’s and Lucas’s snickering departure, right up until she slipped into her jeans and T-shirt. She was thinking rationally by then and felt the first tremor of foreboding as she tucked her shirt into her pants.

  Franklin? Was it more than a coincidence the horse was named after the man who liked to play around with lightning? He was probably the worst horse out there. She should have never let Lucas goad her into this. Of course, to be truthful, all he’d really done was ignore her since the stage came in this morning. He was paying attention now, but she wondered uneasily if it was worth the price she was going to pay.

  She ran a mental inventory of all the horses in the corral. The vast majority were the epitome of the Pony Express. Fleet-footed and strong, they were the kind of fast, dependable mounts it took to carry a rider past any threat in all kinds of weather. Nothing to worry about. They were used to being ridden and wouldn’t give her any trouble.

  Tom Shaffer’s backpack caught her eye as she started to repack the trunk. Maybe there was a way to hedge her bet. Brianna pulled out the food pouch and found what she was looking for right away. With a grin curving her lips, she tucked her insurance into her pocket and headed outside.

  Her worst fears were realized when she saw the horse Lucas and Billy expected her to ride. No, she corrected herself, they didn’t think she’d ride Franklin at all. In fact, they thought she’d turn tail and run the minute she saw the huge sorrel gelding. She might have a problem. Franklin was one of the big raw-boned animals used to pull the stage. Did they break carriage horses to the saddle, she wondered, or was she going to be climbing onto the back of what was essentially an untried bronc?

  The two men stood leaning against the fence laughing, probably at her expense. She squared her shoulders and marched down to join them. “I didn’t realize this was the horse you were talking about,” she said as she reached them. “I’ve had my eye on him since the first day I saw him.”

  “I’ll bet.”

  Brianna ignored Lucas’s snide remark and walked over to the horse. “Hello, Franklin,” she said in a soothing voice as she held out her hand. He nudged her palm with his soft muzzle, and Brianna resisted the urge to sigh with relief as he accepted her peace offering, though he still might not let her on his back. “My, you are a beauty, aren’t you? Billy,” she said, without changing her tone of voice, “can I borrow your boots?”

  “What?” Billy jumped guiltily as he tore his gaze away from the jeans that hugged her legs from hip to ankle. “My boots?”

  “I can’t ride in these. There’s no heel to keep me from sticking my foot clear through the stirrup. I have no desire to get dragged to death if I should get bucked off.”

  He looked at her sneakers uncertainly. “I have an old pair in the tack room. I guess you could use those.”

  She gave him a blinding smile. “Thanks.”

  “Uh...do you want me to get them for you?”

  “If you wouldn’t mind.”

  Brianna continued stroking Franklin’s neck and talking soothingly as Billy went to the barn.

  Lucas leaned back against the fence and crossed his arms over his chest. A slight smile played about his mouth. “Interesting outfit.”

  “Makes more sense than riding in a dress.”

  “True,” Lucas said. “I doubt the style will catch on though.”

  “You might be surprised.”

  “Here’s the boots,” Billy said coming out of the barn.

  “Great.” She gave Franklin another pat, then took the boots from Billy’s hand and sat down to put them on.

  Lucas’s smile deepened. What an actress she was. Too bad he was onto her tricks and knew it was all a clever ruse to make him back down. It would be interesting to see just how far she’d go.

  “A little big, but not too bad.” Brianna stood up and took a couple of experimental steps. “I wouldn’t want to walk very far in them, but they’ll do.”

  Billy gave her a worried frown. “Are you sure you want to do this?”

  “Of course.”

  Billy looked almost panic stricken. “Lucas?”

  “I can’t stop her.”

  “But Franklin’s—”

  “She knows what she’s doing,” Lucas said with a shrug.

  Brianna took advantage of the momentary distraction to unobtrusively reach into her pocket, get her secret weapon and move between Lucas and the horse. “Thanks for your vote of confidence.” She put her hand up to Franklin’s muzzle again and smiled when he moved his mouth across her palm to accept her second offering. “It’s now or never,” she said, untying the reins from the fence and giving the gelding’s neck one last pat.

  Before Lucas had time to react, she stepped into the stirrup and swung up into the saddle. The smile disappeared from his face in an instant. “What the hell are you doing?”

  “What does it look like?”

  “All right,” he said stepping toward her, “this has gone far enough.”

  “You think so?” Brianna held the reins tightly as Franklin pranced around. It was like sitting on a keg of dynamite with the fuse lit. If she didn’t do something he was going to blow sky-high. She’d better get him defused, and fast. “Come on, Franklin,” Brianna said, kicking his ribs. “Let’s go for a ride.”

  Franklin took off like a streak of lightning straight down the road toward Platte River Bridge. For several breathless seconds Brianna wasn’t sure which of them was in control. An experimental tug of the reins slowed him a trifle and Brianna relaxed. He just wanted a good run. “All right, sweetheart, let’s find out what you’re made of.”

  As if he understood her words, the horse lengthened his stride to a ground-eating gallop that made the landscape pass in a blur. It was like riding the crest of a giant wave, fast and exhilarating. Franklin wasn’t the smoothest horse Brianna had ever ridden, but he was one of the most powerful. She could feel his stre
ngth beneath her as they raced along the road, and she felt like shouting with pure joy.

  Brianna could have gone on and on, but her better sense intruded. Cautiously, she pulled back on the reins. Franklin gave a snort of displeasure and tried to resist. After several minutes of constant pressure, he eventually stopped, but he clearly didn’t want to.

  His agitated prancing was a warning, and Brianna heeded it without hesitation. She didn’t take a chance on losing control as they turned and headed back toward Split Rock Station at an easy canter.

  Less than five minutes had passed between the time Brianna and Franklin left and when they returned, but it was plenty long enough to throw Lucas into a pelter. He’d caught a horse, bridled it, and had headed out after her without taking the time to throw on a saddle.

  Brianna smiled at the sight of him loping down the road bareback. He moved with a smooth, easy grace that made him appear a natural extension of the horse. Poetry in motion, she thought appreciatively. He was going to be furious when she rode right by him, but trying to stop Franklin again would be fool-hardy. Lucas’s temper was survivable, but Franklin’s might not be.

  She had a brief impression of Lucas’s anxious frown changing into an expression of shocked surprise as they swept by him in a cloud of dust. There was no doubt in Brianna’s mind that it would be white-lipped anger by the time they reached the corral.

  Billy was waiting by the fence as Franklin thundered into the yard. He grabbed the reins the minute the huge horse came to a stop, and Brianna slid to the ground gratefully.

  “Damn, you can ride!” Billy said admiringly.

  “I practically grew up in the saddle.” She patted the horse’s neck. “Besides, Franklin is a sweetheart.” Never mind she’d almost lost him a dozen times and wouldn’t get back on him for a year’s salary.

  “What the hell do you think you’re doing, woman?” Lucas shouted as his mount slid to a halt a few feet from her and he jumped off.

  “You’re repeating yourself, Lucas,” Brianna said calmly. “I told you before I was going for a ride, and that’s exactly what I did.”