The Scars of a Pure Heart

by Grace Clemens

  “But he’s sure to be watching and he’d be suspicious if anyone else comes with me.” As soon as the words were out of his mouth, Blake groaned inwardly. He wasn’t actually agreeing to this, was he?

  Len gave one of his rare smiles to Macie, saying, “I don’t know how it is you came to agree to marry this son of mine, but I’m right glad you did.”

  And in that moment, Blake knew it was time to come clean to the whole family about how he and Macie had come to be wed. He threw his wife a wary look as he said, “Pa, there’s something we need to tell the whole family.”

  Chapter 31

  As the family assembled to hear Blake’s confession, Macie stood aside, wondering if she might possibly be as nervous as her husband. It was obvious that he was anxious about what he was about to say. Blake couldn’t sit still and he wasn’t smiling. Any time their eyes met, Macie gave him a tight smile meant to buck up his courage.

  However, his answering shaky smile did little to make her palms stop sweating. Macie hoped that the Bradfields would be nothing other than gracious when they learned the truth, but she knew that they might likely feel betrayed. No matter how much kindness they’d shown her so far, they were sure to be hurt.

  Judy took her namesake from Clora and settled happily in a deep armchair. Harris perched on a stool near the couch where Len was reclining, tired after the walk from the bedroom. Troy leaned against the mantle, arms crossed and solemn. Clora perched on the end of the sofa nearest him, grinning at her in-laws as though she knew what they were about to say.

  In fact, Macie began to notice the general air of anticipation in the room. What did they all think was coming? Blake had said… what, exactly? It had been along the lines of the fact that they needed to tell everyone something. Macie groaned inwardly. Surely, they were expecting an announcement about a coming baby.

  Blake cleared his throat and Macie sighed. Well, it was too late now. They’d learn just how far from the truth that assumption was any minute now.

  “Thank you for coming,” he said stiffly. “Er, I wanted to come clean about something.”

  Macie watched the expectant smiles shift to looks of confusion. Her heart began to gallop. Would that confusion become anger? Hurt? She bit her lower lip and prayed fervently as her husband spoke.

  “After Granddad passed, Iver Kennedy approached me. I told you all that Granddad left me a treasure hunt. I didn’t tell you that he put a stipulation on it: I had to be married before I could begin.” Blake paused and let that sink in.

  “He did what?!” growled Len.

  Blake put out a hand. “Wait, Pa, please. Let me tell you everything before you get upset. Iver and I talked it over and he suggested I put out an advertisement for a wife. There are whole magazines dedicated to that sort of thing. It was easy to do. Macie answered my advertisement. We exchanged a few letters and I learned that she was from Elmswood and wanted to come back, though she had no means to do so. I offered to marry her in exchange for a train ticket.”

  “You didn’t know each other?” Clora asked, brow furrowed.

  Macie hurried to say, “We weren’t friendly when my family lived here. I remembered the Bradfield name but not Blake. Still, I knew that your family had a good reputation and that made it seem less of a risk.”

  Troy narrowed his eyes. “You mean, you knew our ranch was a good one. Were you a gold digger?”

  Judy scolded her son immediately and Clora gave a cry of outrage at her husband’s accusation. Next to Macie, Blake tensed. She reached over and laid a calming hand on his arm.

  “I wasn’t. I can see why you’d think such a thing, but it never occurred to me. You see, my family died suddenly five years back. I was so sick at the time that I woke up one day and they were gone. My aunt came down from the east and whisked me away. As time went by, I found that I couldn’t seem to come to terms with their deaths. I began to believe that if I could return to Elmswood and see our homestead one more time, I might be finally able to move on.” Macie’s fingers twisted as she tried to find the right words.

  “When Blake took me back there, though, I didn’t feel better,” she admitted. “I was struck again with the wastefulness of their deaths. I faced how alone I was without them. I have started to find some healing and what made all the difference was being a part of your family.” She looked around at each of them, eyes wet.

  Judy burst into tears and had to hand Judith back to her mother so that she could fish a handkerchief from her apron pocket. Even Len needed to clear his throat at that.

  Macie looked up at Blake and gave him a brave smile. His eyes searched hers for a moment before he turned his attention back to his tale.

  “Once we were married, we returned to Iver’s office only to learn that Granddad had another stipulation,” he continued. “Macie had to go along with me on the hunt. Once that section was completed, we had to wait two weeks before Iver could give me the final set of clues.”

  “Leave it to Granddad to be high-handed about it all,” Troy mumbled.

  “He meant well,” Blake insisted. “You see, all along, he had a plan for us. He knew I was likely to take off on my own and disappear, thinking I was living out his dream. We both shared a longing for adventure and freedom, but Granddad knew that such a life left much to be desired. He worried I’d throw away my chance at a family for adventure.”

  Macie looked up at him out of the corner of his eye. Her husband’s hands went to his hips and his jaw worked, eyes on the floor as he dredged up the next part of his speech.

  “All my life, I felt like an outsider here,” he finally continued. “I idolized Granddad and couldn’t understand why you all were content to stay here and live the same old life day after day. I couldn’t wait to get out into the world.”

  Blake rubbed the back of his neck ruefully. “I was angry at first when I learned what Granddad wanted me to do. I thought a wife would only tie me down and I married Macie in a way that allowed it to be annulled should we so desire.” He ignored the rumble of dissent and gave Macie a shy smile. “But once we were off on the hunt together, I saw that much of the enjoyment of adventuring was in sharing it with someone. When I left alone, it wasn’t nearly as fun. In fact, it was miserable.”

  He reached in his back pocket and pulled out a folded paper. “This is the last letter Granddad left me. It was in Austin in the care of his niece, Tessie. Let me read it to you.”

  Macie had read the letter previously and so watched the reaction of the others in the room. When Blake reached the part about Ewell wishing he could do things over, Len reached up and rubbed suspiciously at his eyes. At the end, Troy and Harris both hung their heads as Blake read Ewell’s words regarding their reasons for being hard on Blake.

  Judy cried through the whole thing and Clora reached out, taking Troy’s hand when she saw him become emotional.

  All the while, Macie’s heart prayed for the family. She longed for these people whom she’d come to love to finally find reconciliation. It was a wonder that Ewell had written what was on his heart and that Blake had found it in time. Now that they were facing Lucien Durning, perhaps they were more reasonable than they would otherwise have been.

  Blake finished, folded the letter, and tucked it back into his pocket. He reached over and took his wife’s hand. “Don’t judge Granddad too harshly for making those demands on me. If he hadn’t, I wouldn’t have married this woman. I’ll always be grateful for Granddad for helping bring Macie and me together.”

  Macie smiled shyly up at him, heart singing. For the first time in their marriage, Blake sounded like he had put aside all thoughts of annulment. In fact, if Macie could be allowed to read between the lines, it sounded like he cared for her. Did that mean that he might one day fall in love with her? She found that it was hard to catch her breath all of a sudden.

  But Blake wasn’t finished. He turned to his family and announced, “I understand now that this ranch is an adventure of a different sort. I’m ready to take up my role h
ere and shoulder more responsibility. Of course, with the way I’ve behaved, if you want me to keep working as a hand, Pa, I’d understand.”

  “Troy’s been running things lately,” Len said slowly. “It’ll be up to him whether or not there’s a place for you.”

  All eyes turned to Troy who observed his brother stoically. Macie held her breath, afraid that Troy would vent his spleen on Blake, turning this touching moment into a brouhaha.

  The oldest Bradfield son looked over at his wife before announcing, “Actually, I’ve been meaning to talk to you about that, Pa. Clora and I are hoping to buy land and start a ranch of our own. We’d like to run horses, though, instead of cattle.”

  It was almost comical the way all heads swung identically to Len and all breath was held, waiting for his reaction.

  “You been wanting that for awhile, boy?” he growled.

  Troy nodded humbly. “Yes, sir.”

  Len rubbed at the stubble on his chin. “Well, I suppose it’s good timing then, since Blake’s ready to step up. We’ll miss you, but a horse ranch in these parts is a good idea.”

  The tension evaporated and suddenly, there were smiles all around once again.

  “Of course, if we don’t do something about Lucien Durning, there won’t be any land to be had,” Blake said.

  Macie watched the smiles flicker. Even Judy’s happy tears dried up in an instant to be replaced with a scowl.

  “That man has it coming to him and I’m not talking about Judgment Day,” she said, uncharacteristically fiercely.

  “We’ve come up with a plan to force his hand,” Blake went on. “It’s risky, but it just might work.”

  He described what Len had suggested and Macie watched the family as they listened.

  “I don’t like it,” Troy announced as soon as Blake came to a halt. “I don’t want Clora and the children put in danger. I’m surprised you’d be willing to let your own wife take such a risk.”

  “Well, these women held their own against Durning’s thugs,” Blake explained. “In fact, I think they were more than a match for them.”

  Macie’s heart swelled at his praise. She stepped in and added, “Lucien Durning has done this sort of thing too many times. He thinks he can get away with anything. He won’t back off with just a simple show of force. He’s proved himself to be creative and devious. We might thwart him for a time, but eventually he’ll find a way to hurt us again.”

  Nodding his agreement adamantly, Blake interjected, “He told me he always gets what he wants. We can’t figure out what it is he’s doing with the land, but I don’t know if that even matters. It might be a chess match to him that he has to win at any cost. He won’t stop until he’s forced us off our land.”

  “I stand with Blake,” Harris spoke up. “I think his plan is good and I trust his judgment.”

  Macie beamed over at her brother-in-law, knowing full well what those words meant to her husband.

  Len was nodding grimly on the couch. “I support this plan, too.”

  “Don’t be ridiculous, Troy,” Clora chided. “It’s more of a risk to let Durning go free. If we can stop him for good, the whole county will benefit from it.”

  “Maybe we can get rid of that vile saloon, too,” added Judy hopefully.

  “All right,” Troy finally said. “But I want every precaution in place.”

  “Of course,” Blake agreed. “I’ll go to town and speak with the sheriff tomorrow.”

  “I’ll come with you,” Troy offered.

  Blake grinned at his big brother. “Thanks, Troy.”

  The two crossed the room and shook hands. Macie lifted up a prayer of thanksgiving, her heart lighter than it had been in years. They might have an evil man to confront, but this family was finally united. They weren’t holding her dishonesty against her. And maybe, just maybe, Blake was falling in love with her. Yes, there was much to be grateful for.

  Chapter 32

  The women moved to the kitchen to work on supper and Blake watched Macie accept warm hugs from both Judy and Clora. He was receiving his own share of pats on the shoulder from the men folk and Blake knew how glad his wife must be feeling. After all, he was filled to overflowing with gladness for how everything had worked out.

  Supper was the best it had been for the Bradfields for years. In fact, Blake couldn’t recall a time when he had laughed and talked so easily with his brothers. There was no underlying tension coloring their words; no second meaning that had to be searched for in everything they said.

  Blake felt so good, in fact, that as they walked through the dark back to their cabin, he stretched out his hand and took Macie’s. It was too dark to read her face, so he didn’t even try. He gave her hand a squeeze which she answered and Blake knew she didn’t mind walking that way.

  “I can hardly believe they took it all so well,” he said quietly.

  “I know what you mean. Not one of them acted upset that we hadn’t been honest with them. I feel so good I could cry,” Macie laughed.

  Blake’s low chuckle rumbled.

  “Do you truly not mind staying and helping here on the ranch?” she asked.

  “It’s funny, but I don’t mind at all. I’ve started thinking about things we could do to improve the herd.” Blake shrugged. “It’s like Granddad said: there are other kinds of adventures than just exploring.” He looked over at her and added, “Like building a family.”

  Macie didn’t respond to that and Blake knew a moment’s fear. He knew he had bridges to mend where she was concerned, but wasn’t sure how badly they’d been damaged by his foolishness.

  “I want you to know, I don’t plan on going forward with the annulment. That is, unless you want to,” he amended hastily.

  She shook her head and Blake’s heart began to beat again.

  “I don’t want to. I love your family and I’m glad to be a part of it. As I told you right from the start, marriage is sacred and I took my vows seriously,” she said in her husky voice.

  They paused on the doorstep of their cabin. Blake dropped her hand before shoving both of his into his pockets. There was a sliver of moonlight and the sky was ablaze with stars. Cicadas serenaded them with occasional help from owls and frogs. This was the sort of setting where a fellow ought to lean forward and tell his girl that he found her beautiful, that he was in love with her, and kiss her.

  But Blake found that he had no idea how to go about doing such things. He’d spent his life planning adventures, not learning how to woo a girl. Troy would know what to do, Blake knew. Did Harris? How did a fellow go about learning these things?

  As the moment stretched and he made no move, Macie reached for the door latch and slipped past him into the house. Blake waited there, watching her light the lamp. He vowed to himself that he’d find a way to be worthy of her and win her love if it was the last thing he did.

  Still, he tossed and turned that night, struggling to fall asleep. His thoughts wrestled with the problem of Lucien Durning in addition to the question of how to woo his wife. By the time he finally drifted off, Blake had come to the realization that decisive action was needed in both cases.

  He awoke the next morning ready to begin. Later that morning, he and Troy would be riding to town to talk to Iver Kennedy and the sheriff. It wouldn’t do to wait a moment longer either with Durning or with Macie.

  Blake dressed quickly and went out to fill the pails with water as he did each day. What else could he do to show Macie he was thinking of her? When he spotted a clump of purple cone flowers, he grinned to himself. Women liked flowers, didn’t they? If he picked some and brought her a little bouquet, surely that would show Macie that he cared.

  After delivering both buckets to their small kitchen, he hurried off to complete his chores. As much as he wanted Macie to be tickled by his offering, he didn’t want to be caught picking flowers by his brothers or the ranch hands. They’d never let him hear the end of it and that would put a real damper on the romantic gesture.