“Well then, we wouldn’t think of leaving yet.” Mrs. Stribling beamed and raised her brows toward the Joneses. “Who wouldn’t want to stay for a serenade?”
Both Mr. and Mrs. Jones spoke out in agreement, and the younger Gardner children cheered.
Everyone stood around in the crisp fall air, smelling ripe apples and damp leaves in the orchard nearby. The singers launched into their serenade, singing with gusto as Nathan led them through each song. Ruby couldn’t help noticing that Nathan radiated joy like she had never seen in him before. He is a genuinely happy person deep inside, she thought. Something truly devastating must have happened to dampen his spirit so.
The last song in the serenade, Who Threw the Overalls in Mrs. Murphy’s Chowder, brought howls of laughter and enthusiastic applause from the entire Walker family and from Mr. and Mrs. Jones. The song brought out a grimace from Mrs. Stribling when it was revealed how the overalls got in the chowder pot, but soon, she laughed too.
Nathan led the singers in a bow, as though to thank the Walkers and their guests for listening and applauding. Ruby watched his buoyant face. It was as though he stepped beyond whatever grieved him for this moment in time.
The sight brought tears to Ruby’s eyes.
Nathan glanced at her as she swiped at her tears. Something almost magical passed between them in that moment. Ruby wasn’t sure what happened, but her heart raced and she saw Nathan’s lips curve into the most tantalizing smile.
“Be sure to come to the Saturday night dance!” Mrs. Stribling called out to the Walker family as she and the Joneses climbed back into her carriage. “Our dance has the best fiddler and organ player in the west!”
Mrs. Stribling’s loud voice broke the spell Ruby found herself under, and she quickly joined her family in waving as the carriage departed, and in saying farewell to the Walker family. Mrs. Gardner hugged her new neighbor and said they wanted to get home before dark . They had outside chores to take care of and supper to eat when they returned home.
The contented group sang softly most of the way home until Fern spoke up.
“It’s getting dark,” Fern said. “What if we see that mountain lion Pa talked about?”
Nathan pointed to a blanket that lay rolled up at his feet. Ruby had noticed the rolled blanket on the way over to the Walker’s. She felt the blanket now and sure enough it was rolled around a rifle. “Nathan has a rifle by his feet,” she said. “So, we’re safe. If that old mountain lion comes around, Nathan will scare him off.”
“Do you know how to shoot?” Fern asked, addressing Nathan.
He laughed for a small moment, and then answered. “I’m from Tennessee. Every Tennessee boy is brought up to hunt and shoot. Actually, most of the girls too. I’ve been told a few girls around here know how to shoot as well.”
Mrs. Gardner patted Nathan’s arm. “I’m glad you thought to bring your rifle,” she said. “I should have thought about coming home so late, and brought one of my husband’s rifles.”
“It all turned out fine,” Nathan said. “When we got to your house earlier, I figured I’d bring in my things after dinner. But, then when you suggested welcoming the Walker’s, I knew there was a reason why I left my rifle in the wagon. And anyway, here we are to your home, and we didn’t need it.”
After they ate their supper, Nathan, Ruby, and Belle went out to milk the cow, feed the pigs, and chickens, and make sure that everything around the farm was taken care of. Because the harvest had already been taken in and sold, canned, or stored in the cellar, the outside work was accomplished in no time. When they returned to the house, Mrs. Gardner and the younger girls had finished cleaning the kitchen and stored the leftover pies in the pie safe. The cinnamon rolls were gone.
Everyone settled in the parlor, and Nathan asked the younger girls to share what they had learned in school that day. Fern and Beth seemed a little shy, reciting in front of the schoolteacher in their own parlor. But Zina was quick to entertain everyone with her adventures in geography earlier that day, namely facts about a country called China. Once the recitations were over, there wasn’t even a lull in the conversation before Nathan asked Ruby if she would play the organ for them.
“Did you bring your fiddle?” Ruby asked in response.
“No, but I will tomorrow, if you’d like. You haven’t had enough of my fiddle playing by now?”
Ruby blushed. She hadn’t. She didn’t think she would ever tire of listening to him fiddle. And she thought it would be delightful to hear him play something calm and relaxing in their home before bedtime. She assumed he could play calm and relaxing music, but she wasn’t sure.
“I’ll play the organ,” Ruby said, “but we’ll want to hear you play something tomorrow night.”
For the rest of the week, the evening routine followed the same pattern. Mrs. Gardner and the younger girls cleaned the kitchen and made preparations for the next school day. Nathan, Ruby, and Belle took care of the outside chores. Then everyone listened to Ruby play the organ, and Nathan play his fiddle. Sometimes they played solo, but they often played a duet.
The music they chose varied from classical, popular, or hymns. Their selections were always something romantic and relaxing. Even though Ruby tried to look at anyone in the room except Nathan, she felt as if the two of them communicated on a special level when they played the organ and fiddle together. She found that as each evening progressed throughout the week, they not only played beautiful music together, but it was as if they drew closer and closer through their music.
Somehow, tender sentiments were communicated that were never expressed in any other way.
* * *
Early Saturday morning, Ruby bundled up in warm clothes and a heavy shawl to help Nathan attend to the animals and milk the cow. Her youngest sisters stayed snuggled in their beds. Nathan placed a cap on his head and wore an extra flannel shirt and followed her. Mrs. Gardner and Belle were getting a fire started in the cookstove and starting to prepare breakfast.
“Did you hear Gunner barking last night?” Ruby asked as she milked the cow and Nathan mucked out one of the empty stalls. She had already done enough work that her shawl had come off and hung on a peg.
“I did,” Nathan said. “I thought I’d take a look around this morning as soon as it’s light.”
“Gunner seldom barks without a good reason,” Ruby said.
By the time they finished milking the cow, gathering eggs, and making sure all the animals had food and water for the day, a reddish sunrise filled in the eastern sky. Ruby wrapped up in her shawl again, and she and Nathan walked around the barn and other outbuildings, looking for anything amiss. Gunner ran ahead of them and found a spot near the corral where he sniffed and barked excitedly. Ruby and Nathan hurried over and examined the ground.
“Mountain lion,” Nathan said.
“Are you sure?” Ruby asked. She knelt by a set of large prints in the dirt. “Could it be a big dog?”
Nathan placed his hand by the paw prints. “It would have to have been a huge dog,” he said, pointing out Gunner’s paw prints as the dog sniffed around. “See how much bigger this print is than Gunner’s? And there’s no claw or paw marks. Mountain lions retract their claws unless they’re using them.”
Ruby let out a shudder. “We’d better make sure the younger girls stay in the house until we leave for town.”
“Good idea,” Nathan said, taking Ruby’s hand and helping her stand. “We’ll secure the animals and leave Gunner in charge when we leave. Gunner’s a smart dog and pretty alert. He’ll protect the place. I know your ma wants to leave early and take care of some errands she has in town. I need to take care of a few things for school next week and help set up for the dance.”
At the mention of the dance, Nathan gave Ruby’s hand a gentle squeeze before letting go. And then he gave her one of his stoic looks. Ruby was already reeling from the touch of his hand holding hers. His piercing dark eyes looking into hers, made her heart feel even more faint. She turn
ed and started walking back to the barn, but then a thought suddenly came to her mind and she stopped, causing Nathan to bump into her. “Sorry,” Ruby said, turning and finding him uncomfortably close, “but I was just thinking . . .”
“About what?” Nathan asked.
“Well, about the dance.”
“What about the dance?” Nathan’s voice suddenly grew softer, his eyes even more intense.
“Well, I really like playing accompaniment for you, but why don’t you . . .”
Nathan’s hand moved to Ruby’s arm and rested there. The warmth of his hand flooded through her, making her heart feel weaker and making it difficult to speak.
“Why don’t I what?” Nathan asked, gently placing his other hand on her other arm.
“I . . . I . . .” She stood there and looked up into those dark eyes of his that were so close, and completely forgot what she intended to say. Finally, she whispered. “Are you going to kiss me?”
“May I?”
When she continued to stare into his eyes, he brushed her lips with his. When she closed her eyes, he kissed her with a passion that only their music could come close to.
The kiss lasted for several impossible to believe moments before Ruby heard the screen door bang shut and someone running toward the barn.
“Hey, Ruby,” came a holler from Beth. “Breakfast is ready!”
7
All the way into Clover Creek, Nathan avoided looking at Ruby. What had he been thinking? He hadn’t been thinking, at least not with any common sense. It was simply the nearness of her and the touch of her hand that caused him to lose control of his mind and kiss her. The kiss was heavenly, but not what he should have done. He berated himself over and over. He could not let all the enjoyable company of the past week with Ruby and her family cloud his thinking. He had to protect his heart. And there was no doubt in Nathan’s mind that Mr. Gardner would not approve of his actions with Ruby. The man had trusted his family to Nathan’s protection, had trusted his daughters to Nathan’s protection, and what had Nathan done?
Regret and apprehension filled him to overflowing. Helping the Gardner family had not been a good idea and now, he had made things worse.
Nathan dropped Mrs. Gardner and her daughters off at the general store. “I’ll leave the wagon here for you and walk on over to the schoolhouse,” he told Mrs. Gardner, not quite looking the woman in the eye. “That way you can make your purchases and have them loaded for you. You’ll have the wagon for any other errands you might have.”
“Thank you for all you’ve done,” Mrs. Gardner said. “I truly appreciate you looking after our family. You’re a fine young man.” She patted Nathan’s arm. “The girls and I will do our shopping and then we have a few people to visit. We’ll see you tonight at the dance.”
Nathan cringed at Mrs. Gardner’s words of appreciation. If she knew what Nathan had done, she wouldn’t think so highly of him. He glanced at Ruby for the first time since they’d left her family’s homestead. Her eyes quickly looked away, as if she was hurt by his actions. But, was she hurt because he had taken advantage and kissed her? Or was she hurt because she liked his kiss, and felt confused because he had ignored her from that moment on?
Nathan knew the answer, and he couldn’t bear to look at Ruby again. She had enjoyed the kiss, as much as he had. There was no doubt in his mind, but now what? He was terrified of what was happening to his heart. He didn’t want to set himself up to get hurt again, but more importantly, he didn’t want to hurt Ruby.
Nathan turned and bolted toward the schoolhouse. Once inside, he scooped Bo into his arms and sat at the table. Obviously Ruby wasn’t the only one offended by Nathan’s actions because Bo swatted at him and wiggled out of his arms. The cat sauntered across the table and looked back as if to say, “You brute. You leave me alone for hours and hours, and then expect me to be your listening ear when you show up.” After the scathing look, Bo jumped to the floor and stalked off toward Nathan’s bed.
“I’m sorry, Bo,” Nathan said, scrubbing his hand through his hair. “What can I say? I’m not trying to ignore you. You’ve had free reign in the schoolhouse with me and the children all week, and that suited your fancy. But I have to spend the night at the Gardner’s every night. It’s my job to protect them. I don’t like leaving you all alone every night.”
Nathan sighed deeply before continuing. “Can’t you understand, Bo. I’m only trying to help Mr. Gardner with his family, and I’m doing a terrible job for him and as well as with you. I’m just a failure as a human, which you’ve already figured out.”
Bo jumped onto the bed as easily as he had jumped off the table. His ears lay flat against his head, and he gave Nathan a look that said he was either angry or utterly bored. After another few moments, the cat turned his head to one side with that air of superiority that he sometimes portrayed.
“I know,” Nathan said. “You would never be so callous with a young lady as I have. Ruby is the most genuine person I know, and I’ve trifled with her feelings.”
Bo yawned.
“I’ve hurt her, and I feel terrible about it!”
Bo yawned again.
“What should I do, Bo? I’m not ready to follow through with what would be proper and ask for her hand in marriage. I’m a failure at marriage, or at least the initial part where a man and his bride actually follow through and get married.”
Bo kneaded the covers on Nathan’s bed. What sounded like mad purrs emanated from him, after he curled up on the covers and closed his eyes. It looked as though he had heard enough pitiful words from Nathan.
Nathan longed to curl up on the bed and sleep too. Anything to stop the deploring thoughts flooding his brain. He came from a poor family, but a principled family. His parents had taught him to treat people with respect, especially young ladies.
“Should I move on to Oregon?” Nathan asked in a plaintive voice.
Bo lay perfectly still.
“Am I obligated to propose and see what happens when Mr. Gardner gets home?”
Nathan shuddered. “I can’t propose, Bo. What if I proposed and Ruby accepted, and then she left me standing at the altar again because that’s what I deserve? Besides, she probably despises me by now, and wouldn’t accept my proposal if I got down on both knees. I need to do the right thing, Bo. But what is the right thing anyway?”
Purring was the only response.
With a sigh, Nathan placed his feet on the table, closed his eyes, and leaned back. He hoped a short nap might clear his mind so he’d know what to do. Later, when he heard clomping around on the schoolhouse floor, he sprang to his feet and ran his hands through his hair. He had slept far too long, and sure enough, men from the community were setting up for the dance.
The lingering nap and quick awakening certainly cleared thoughts of Ruby from Nathan’s mind. He hurried to help the other men push the double wooden desks against the walls. Two long benches were placed in front of them for the townsfolk who wanted to simply sit and enjoy the dance. Two extra benches were brought in from a rickety old storage shed and placed off to one side. Within a few minutes, spiders warming up under the benches dropped to the floor and scurried into the nearest available cracks.
Nathan pushed his desk against the front wall over near the organ. His chair and a visitor’s chair were placed on either side of the wood-burning stove. Even though it was a crisp fall evening, the stove wasn’t lit. Heat from the men working to set up for the dance had already warmed the room. When the dancing started, the room would get even warmer.
The men barely had everything in place before people started arriving. Nathan returned to the teacherage to change his clothes and pick up his fiddle. While he changed, Bo brushed against his leg, apparently having gotten over his earlier temper tantrum.
“I love you, too,” Nathan said to Bo. “You are the ficklest feline I’ve ever known. If I could learn how to please you, perhaps I could learn how to please a young lady enough that she’d follow through and
marry me.” Nathan reached down and stroked Bo’s back. “I don’t seem to do anything right.”
Bo curled around Nathan’s leg, his tail the last connection to Nathan before he slinked off to his food dish that Nathan had just filled.
Nathan wondered if Ruby would even show up to accompany him after he had avoided her on the ride into town. He started to worry that she might leave him to fiddle on his own, just as Emmaline and the banjo player had. He rubbed the back of his neck. The more he thought about the possibility that Ruby wouldn’t show, the more sweat broke out all over him.
Before Nathan opened the schoolhouse door, he scooped Bo into his arms and buried his face in the cat’s fur. “I’ll be back,” he whispered.
Bo settled against Nathan’s chest for a few moments. It was as though all was forgiven and they were best friends again.
A huge sigh of relief escaped Nathan’s chest when he entered the schoolhouse and saw Ruby standing by the organ talking to her sisters. He hoped she planned to accompany him. He still couldn’t be sure. The whole Gardner family, including the oldest daughter, Nellie and her family, were in attendance. All of them, that is, except for Charlie and Mr. Gardner.
Another sigh of relief escaped Nathan when he thought of Mr. Gardner’s absence. He remembered that Ruby’s father and brother were staying behind in Aspen Valley to look after the survey equipment. Nathan wasn’t ready to face the man yet, but he knew the moment of reckoning was coming. That thought made his stomach clench so tight, he could hardly breathe. Once again, he was in a grim mood for fiddling.
Nathan donned his most stoic expression as he greeted some of the townsfolk who had come early. He thanked them for coming and expressed his hope that they would enjoy the dance. He went over to his desk which had been turned into the refreshment table and took a long drink of cool water from the water bucket. The cookies and pie didn’t even tempt him. He couldn’t eat a thing.
Replacing the long-handled ladle, Nathan turned to see Mrs. Stribling and another older couple, Mr. and Mrs. Jamison, enter the schoolroom.
Ruby’s Rhapsody Page 6
