The Scars of a Pure Heart

by Grace Clemens

  He hadn’t said that he didn’t want to break off their marriage, Macie noted with a sinking heart. Still, she’d been praying faithfully over the situation and knew that God would care for her no matter what happened. He would provide for her, she reminded herself.

  “I do forgive you,” she was able to say with a clear conscience.

  Blake’s eyes locked on hers and Macie saw that her words had taken a load off of him. Things were still unsettled between them, but it felt good not to be holding on to a grudge. At least she knew he wouldn’t take off again. It wasn’t everything she’d hoped for. Still, it was a nice first step towards making things right.

  ***

  Really, Blake shouldn’t have been so surprised when Macie forgave him. She’d shown herself to be a good sport long ago. Maybe it was just that he deserved not to be forgiven so easily that had caused him so to doubt. But Macie wasn’t that sort of a woman, he saw that clearly now. The pair walked back to their cabin in companionable silence.

  All evening, Blake couldn’t get over the feeling of being extremely grateful to be home and back to normal. Macie had made enough food that they both ate their fill. Blake hurried to fill the wood box and both pails with water while his wife washed the dishes. He took time to wash up well with the use of the pump and a bar of soap. It wasn’t as good as a bath, but Blake felt that the worst of the trail dust had washed away.

  Soon, Macie’s crochet hook glinted in the light as Blake pretended to read. Mostly, though, he watched her. She hadn’t said if she wanted to stay married or not. In fact, Blake wasn’t sure what she thought about that particular topic at all. Macie had been a real sport tonight and was acting pleasant and friendly, so he didn’t want to push it.

  “Tomorrow I’ll go and visit Ma,” he told his wife. “Has Pa been awake much?”

  She looked up from her yarn. “Each day he’s awake more and more. I think your mother has been reading to him.”

  Blake fiddled with the book in his hands. “I’d like to talk to him if I can tomorrow. I need to ask his forgiveness and try to smooth things over.”

  “That’s a fine idea,” Macie smiled at him.

  “Would you come with me?” he asked before he lost his nerve.

  Her eyes brightened and Blake knew he’d done the right thing. The truth was that he was worried about how such a meeting would go. Macie saw his side of things, though he knew now that she wouldn’t always go along with him if he was wrong. It was a good thing, Blake realized. One more reason, in fact, why he wanted her with him.

  “I’d be glad to,” she agreed pleasantly.

  “If you don’t mind,” he asked carefully, “would you tell me about what happened while I was gone?”

  “Clora had the baby. A little girl they named Judith in honor of your mother. I was asked to help with the birthing,” Macie informed him.

  Blake detected a hint of pride there. “I didn’t know you knew about such things.”

  “I didn’t know a thing!” Macie laughed. “Thank goodness that your mother was there!”

  He joined in with a laugh of his own. He kept asking questions and before long, a half hour had passed. Macie had never talked so much to him before and Blake found that he couldn’t get enough of it. Hearing about the events of Durning’s attack infuriated him, but he was so proud of Macie’s clever bravery that he could burst.

  It was a little disappointing, in fact, when she finally said, “Enough about me. Tell me about the rest of the treasure hunt.”

  Blake described the river full of little waterfalls, the surprising abruptness of the butte, and the marvel that was Austin. As always, Macie was an attentive listener. However, tonight she added some of her own thoughts and together they wove a colorful tapestry of conversation.

  When Blake told her all about his meeting with Julius Knight, Macie’s eyes lit up.

  “It’s funny you had that conversation,” she said. “Clora told me just about the same thing. I haven’t been able to stop praying ever since.”

  Never before had Blake discussed spiritual things with her. As he described the struggle he’d faced with surrendering his dreams to God, Blake found himself closer to Macie than ever before. They parted ways not much later. Blake lay on his mattress up in the loft and marveled at his welcome home. He still had to face his father and that would be no easy task. Still, he was much happier tonight than he had any right to be.

  Chapter 30

  Blake awoke the next morning and observed his world with fresh eyes. The sounds of his wife getting dressed in the bedroom drifted up to him. A contented smile played on his lips. He was home and Macie had forgiven him. Never before had he been so glad to be here on the ranch.

  Later, when he strode out to do his chores, Blake marveled at how good it felt to be doing these familiar tasks. The very things that had goaded him into going away now drew him back with welcoming arms. Ewell would have given anything, Blake knew, to have been allowed this same opportunity. Building a successful business was an adventure, he decided firmly. In fact, it was a very worthy adventure and Blake began to wonder what it would take to start his own ranch.

  Harris came into the barn as Blake finished cleaning a stall.

  “You’re back,” the youngest Bradfield said cautiously.

  Blake leaned on his pitchfork, his breathing labored, and replied, “That’s right. Macie told me that you had some real excitement around here.”

  “That’s an understatement,” Harris snorted. He shoved his hands in his pockets and rocked back on his heels. After a moment’s contemplation, he said, “I’m sorry I didn’t believe you about Lucien Durning. You were right and we just brushed you off. Macie pointed out that we do that pretty often. I suppose I understand why you got mad.”

  Having expected to eat crow, Blake’s eyebrows shot up. He hurried to say, “Aw, don’t give it another thought. I’ve been wrong plenty of times. I didn’t tell you about Durning’s threats and then expected you to believe my theory. Besides, I was wrong about adventuring.”

  “Were you?” Harris cocked his head.

  “Sure. I thought it would be exciting and that new places would be better than Elmswood and the ranch.” Blake shrugged. “It was hard work, just like here. Only, I wasn’t contributing to something. I didn’t think I’d feel that so keenly, but I did.”

  “Still, you surely saw some interesting things,” his brother pressed.

  Blake grinned. “Maybe someday I’ll take you for a short trip. Adventures are better with company.”

  “I’d like that,” Harris smiled in return.

  Bolstered by this encouraging exchange, Blake went to fetch Macie for his planned visit with his father. She offered him a bracing smile as she removed her apron.

  “Are you ready?” she asked.

  “Ready as I can be, I suppose,” Blake said even as his stomach gave a nervous skitter.

  There was a strange horse in the corral, announcing a visitor.

  “Looks like the doctor’s here,” he pointed out to Macie and unconsciously hurried a little faster.

  Judy threw her arms around her son, having been absent when he visited the previous night. “It’s good to have you home, Blake,” she told him sincerely.

  “I’m sorry for the trouble I caused, Mama,” he admitted.

  The older woman clutched his arms tightly and insisted, “This isn’t your fault. Don’t you go blaming yourself.”

  Another weight dropped from Blake’s heart. He offered his mother a tight smile as the doctor emerged from his parents’ room.

  “How is he?” Blake inquired immediately.

  Dr. Hammond was solemn as he reported, “He’s in good enough spirits. It’s still too early to decide if there’ll be any lasting damage from that head wound. They’re tricky things and can go either way. He might make a full recovery. Of course, he could have a sudden stroke or palsy. Keep watching him carefully, Mrs. Bradfield, and send for me if there’re any troubling changes.”

&n
bsp; It wasn’t the clean bill of health they’d wanted. Still, when Blake carefully pushed open the door and crept inside, Len was sitting up, poking a finger under the bandage on his head and growling.

  “Darn thing itches like the dickens,” he grumbled.

  Blake took this as a good sign and drew up a chair. He glanced over and nodded with satisfaction when Macie took a seat on the other side of the bed.

  “Pa, I have some things I need to say to you,” Blake began.

  Len didn’t look too happy to hear that. “I suppose you’re going to rub it in my face that you were right about Lucien Durning’s involvement in these attacks.”

  “No, Pa, that’s not what I want to say. I wanted to apologize for taking off the way I did and for all the things I’ve said against you and the ranch over the years. I can’t tell you how much I regret not being here when everything happened. If I’d listened to you years ago, I wouldn’t have been off gallivanting.” Blake sighed heavily. Despite knowing that he needed to say these things, it wasn’t an easy task. His pride was taking a beating with all these painful admissions.

  His father shook his head urgently, insisting, “No, son. Don’t talk that way. I’m as much to blame for all this.”

  Blake looked up in surprise. “You didn’t do anything wrong, Pa. Even Granddad admitted that he should have stayed home with you. He didn’t blame you for being hurt when you learned where he was spending his winters.”

  “So you found out about Tessie,” Len grunted. “All right, then. I suppose I should come clean.”

  Blake exchanged a quick, puzzled look with Macie before his father began talking again.

  “I was angry when my father left the ranch, it’s true. Your mother, though, insisted that he needed to get away from the memories of his wife. Once my anger cooled a bit, I knew that was likely true.” Len scratched at his bandages before continuing, “When I heard about him staying to help Tessie, I got all riled up again. Of course, I knew she needed his help after her husband died. And, by then, I’d figured out how to run this ranch just fine on my own. It turned out that Pa was right and I didn’t much like that, truth be told.”

  The younger Bradfield sat back in his chair, trying to absorb this new knowledge. Blake mused, “But there I was, arguing all the time that Granddad was right, and it must have been salt in the wound.”

  “You were a trying little fellow,” Len said, allowing a half smile to twitch across his lips. “Troy and Harris were always eager to ride and pestering me to let them learn to rope cattle or take a turn standing watch. You, though, were always busy looking under rocks and having pretend sword fights. It was a fight to get you to do your chores.

  “I suppose I didn’t bother to understand why you liked those things. I was always so busy with the ranch. It was easier to focus on everything I had to do than to take the time to figure you out. It didn’t help, either, that my father became a bit of a joke around town.” Len shifted uneasily. “Everyone chuckled over his eccentricities and so I did, too. I didn’t realize how much that bothered you until you were older. Then I regretted not standing up for him, but the damage was done.”

  Tears pricked at Blake’s eyes and he cleared his throat to make sure they stayed where they were. He hadn’t expected this disclosure. Why hadn’t they been honest with each other ages ago? Blake could have kicked himself.

  “Pa, I want you to know that I’m not going to go off adventuring anymore,” he promised.

  Len leaned forward urgently. “No, boy, that’s not the only solution. There were times I would have liked to take my father up on his offer to go and see the amazing things he always talked about. I was too stubborn, though. Maybe you can still find ways to have adventures.”

  Blake threw a surreptitious glance at Macie before explaining, “I think I’ve learned that there are plenty of adventures to be had right here at home.”

  “That’s so,” Len agreed. “Of course, there are a fair number of things in this world worth seeing, too. Maybe you can still go off and visit a few of them from time to time.”

  It was as though someone had opened a cage door and allowed his heart to fly free. Could it be that Blake wouldn’t necessarily have to choose between going exploring and helping at the ranch? Again, he chided himself for not having had this conversation with his father long ago. It sure would have made life less complicated. Maybe Blake wouldn’t have made so many foolish choices if he’d known all this.

  “What are we going to do about Lucien Durning?” Macie inquired, shattering the happy glow in the room. “He sent his men to scare us off the land. I’m afraid things will only get worse.”

  Blake looked at her sharply. There was more to this woman than he’d first supposed. In the midst of his joyful reconciliation she’d kept a cool head and drawn them back to the task at hand. When was he going to stop being amazed by the woman he married? Blake had to admit, he hoped it wasn’t any time soon.

  “If I wasn’t all crippled up, I’d march to town and tell that snake what I think of him,” Len grumbled. “It’s about time someone stood up to him.”

  “What I can’t figure out,” mused Blake, “is what he wants with all this land in the first place. He’s got plenty of acreage by now and he’s not doing anything with it. If he was looking to make a big spread, he could have done it five times over already.”

  Macie scratched her chin thoughtfully. “For awhile, the railroad was paying top dollar for land, but we’ve already had tracks laid. Is there anything to be mined around here?”

  “Nah,” Len dismissed that idea. “The only thing that grows here is grass, which is why it’s good ranching land. I doubt many crops would grow too well with such a small amount of rain.”

  “Well, no matter his purpose, he’s intent on getting the Yellow Rose and we’ve got to stop him,” Blake said firmly.

  “We can’t go to the sheriff,” Macie pointed out. “We don’t have enough evidence to prove Durning was behind the attacks. Without any of those men identified, we can’t even charge them with the damage they did to our homes. I hate to think that our only option is to sit and wait for his next attack.”

  Taking a deep breath, Blake explained what Iver had confessed. “We lost the advantage of knowing when he’ll attack since I’m not going anywhere anytime soon.”

  Macie’s eyes lit up. She snapped her fingers, a slow grin crossing her face. “That’s given me an idea. What if you tell Mr. Kennedy that you’re planning to go off on your own again? We could get the sheriff’s men to wait here for whatever comes next.”

  “No, absolutely not,” Blake refused passionately. “Last time, he almost killed Pa and threatened all our women. I’m not willing to put anyone else in danger.”

  Len was looking thoughtful. “It’s an idea, Macie, that’s for sure. If we could get enough men here to handle whatever he throws at us, we might come through it without any trouble.”

  Blake couldn’t believe his ears. Was his father actually agreeing with Macie’s hare-brained plan?

  “Troy will never allow Clora and the children to be in danger,” he pointed out.

  “They could go stay with friends in town,” Macie suggested. “You said Mr. Kennedy sent his wife away until things blow over. Maybe Clora could go on a visit.”

  “’Course, this time, Durning might attack you, Blake,” Len said pensively. “I don’t know if I like the idea of you going off alone.”