“She can come home with me.” The words tumbled out of Joseph’s mouth before he consciously formed them in his mind. He stood as both heads turned to him in shock and walked with purpose and determination to Victoria, taking her hands in his.
“I realize we’ve just met. The truth of the matter remains that the instant I saw you, God tugged on my heart and soul so much I swear there was a cord stretching between you and me, tying us tight together. I may not know much of you and it appears we won’t have the time to court and get to know each other, but what I do perceive impresses me beyond measure.”
Victoria let out a soft sigh. “Why, Mr. Thomas . . .”
Joseph hurried on, before sense caught up. “Victoria, you contain an intelligence that will challenge me, making me a better man. Your caring heart is generous, wanting others to have the same chances in life that you do. You’ve got grit, chasing your passions when others say you shouldn’t. I’ve no doubt we’ll be a good match. God plucked me down here for you. I’m convinced of that now,” Joseph asserted.
Victoria looked at him in awe and whispered, “No one has ever seen me before.”
“I see you, Victoria Remming. I see all of you,” Joseph replied, placing his hand around her neck and stroking her velvety soft cheek with his thumb.
Mr. Remming cleared his throat. “And just where is home, young man.”
Joseph dropped his hand and tore his eyes from Victoria. “I was born and raised in the Rocky Mountains, around the White River area, sir. Last summer, God took me to a cave so full of gold, our great-grandchildren will be set for life, even if we never invested it to grow. While my house doesn’t compare to this one, I built a snug cabin that overlooks a beautiful lake guarded by the jutting mountains.”
Joseph turned back to Victoria. “I understand life will differ greatly from what you’ve had here, but your father’s enemies won’t find you there. We would live a life free of the expectations of society. You could come with me to the Utes, help me prepare them while learning from them in return. If you’d rather, we can go somewhere else, somewhere far from here, but not as remote as my home. We can buy a house and live more like you’re accustomed to. Whatever you decide, I’ll protect you with everything that’s in me, that I can promise you. What do you say, Victoria, will you marry me?”
Victoria stared up at Joseph, indecision dancing across her face. Joseph’s heart beat so fast and hard he wondered if he’d end up on the carpet in a faint. Her head started to shake, and Joseph’s heart dropped into his stomach.
“I may be as crazy as a loon, but I feel God whispering to me it’s right. Yes, Joseph, I’ll marry you,” Victoria answered.
Relief washed over Joseph as a smile broke across his face. She’d agreed to marry him. How could he be so blessed? He pulled her in to kiss her only to be stopped by her father’s loud clap and a hard slap on the shoulder.
“Congratulations, dear.” Mr. Remming exclaimed as Joseph backed away from his fiancée. “I’m glad someone finally recognizes the woman worthy of devotion you are. However, I still don’t think that’ll solve the problem. By the time we hold the wedding, everyone will know who you are and where to find you.”
“Not if we get married tomorrow morning, and I know just the pastor to do it,” Joseph urged. “I swung by the courthouse earlier today and a marriage license isn’t necessary if the church records it. If we leave on a steamboat or by wagon sometime tomorrow dressed how we’ll live in the West, no one will notice she’s gone until we are halfway to the mountains. With my name being a common one, when they search for us, they’ll come up empty.”
“It’s perfect,” Mr. Remming exclaimed.
“But how will I contact you?” Victoria questioned, looking with remorse at her father. “Will I never see or talk to you again? Father, I can’t go if I’ll never see you again.”
“I have a friend, Daniel Berger, whom I trust more than a brother,” Joseph said, squeezing Victoria’s hand to reassure her before turning to her father. “If he contacted you with funds for investing, Victoria can include letters to you. You can come to our area for hunting expeditions and, though we couldn’t do it often, especially if we stay in the cabin, we could meet you different places while you are away on business.”
Mr. Remming nodded his agreement. “That sounds like it’d work. Plus, we can make sure we take care of your grandchildren for many generations, no matter how much gold you’re able to dig out of the mountains.” He took a puff on his pipe before speaking again in a somber tone. “I realize we won’t be able to visit each other often, dear, but we wouldn’t wherever you went. It’d be too dangerous. This plan, however, appears to be a divine answer to a prayer we didn’t even perceive we had. Mr. Thomas, Joseph, I’d like to invite you to stay here tonight, just in case my enemies are stupid enough to come here.”
As Victoria embraced her father in a weepy hug. Joseph caught Mr. Remming’s gaze over her head. Mr. Remming’s face beseeched him to take care of his most precious treasure. He nodded his agreement with everything in him.
Chapter 7
Victoria ripped the sheeting from where it wrapped around her legs. She huffed, kicked her legs free, and sat up, swinging them off the edge of the bed. Attempting to sleep proved pointless. She stood and paced toward her writing desk piled with papers where her articles and stories laid waiting for publication.
“I must be crazy,” she mumbled, pacing back towards her bed. “Who marries someone they met little over a day ago?”
Yes, Joseph’s handsome face was beyond measure, and he was strong and courageous. Yes, his friendship with the Utes stirred Victoria’s spirit of adventure, and his willingness to leave his life in the wilderness for a life she was more accustomed to melted every bone in her body. Just because a man searched for her articles and enjoyed them, didn’t mean she should marry him without a second thought.
She turned toward the window and peered out the curtains. Pittsburgh, though quieted with the blanket of night, still carried the noise of the occasional carriage or wagon, the train yard and the factories that rarely stopped. Though loud and noisy and dirty, she loved her grand city. Its history inspired her to adventure.
A light by the building across the street caught Victoria’s eye. She moved behind the curtain and peered closer. The shadows of the doorway contained a deep darkness. Light flashed again. The man’s face who’d attacked her appeared in the cigar’s light he dragged on. His eyes intent on the house across the street, her house. His face disappeared into the shadows, leaving Victoria with a shudder of anxiety.
Victoria grabbed her robe and headed downstairs to the kitchen. She refused to stay in her room where every creak and groan of the house would send her into a fit. She tiptoed down the hallway and stairs, making as little noise as possible, and ventured into the kitchen. She remembered Cook had placed a cake in the icebox. Victoria determined to eat a rather large slice with a glass of milk, then read in the parlor until her eyes wouldn’t stay open. Staying up late into the night would do nothing for her beauty sleep, but she hoped her fiancé’s apparent esteem for her would override tired and bruised eyes from lack of sleep.
Victoria pushed open the door and froze. There, sitting on a stool pulled up to the center worktable, was the man who’d consumed her thoughts, making it impossible to sleep. Mr. Thomas. Joseph. He peeled an orange with his long, strong fingers. Victoria’s cheeks heated in a blush. She’d never blushed until this man. This wouldn’t do.
She walked the rest of the way into the kitchen, cleared the stone in her throat and said, “Cook put a cake in the icebox. I planned on having a slice. Would you like some?”
Joseph looked at her with eyes intent on delving into all her secrets. The cool blue Victoria found appealing filled with a heat that could warm her all the way to her toes. He’d gotten rid of his coat, collar, and tie, unbuttoned the top of his shirt and rolled the sleeves up to reveal hard, tanned forearms. She’d never seen a man in such a relaxed
state, even her father. The kitchen seemed like both ovens blared red hot. She fanned herself and headed towards the icebox.
“I’d love some, thank you,” Joseph replied.
“Would you like some milk as well?”
“Please.”
Victoria reached into the icebox and inwardly sighed at the cold. Perhaps by the time she found the milk and cake, the red would disappear from her face. She found the milk bottle and turned to put it on the counter, only to lose her grip on a gasp as she bumped into Joseph. He caught the milk bottle from her hands where he stood inches from her. His fingers slid over hers in agonizing slowness.
“Here,” he offered. “Let me help you with that.”
She removed her fingers millimeter by millimeter from underneath his and whispered, “Thank you.”
He gave a provocative smile and placed the milk on the counter before leaning on it. Victoria found the cake much quicker than the milk and placed it next to the bottle. She fretted around the kitchen locating the plates, forks, and cups all while he watched her.
“Having trouble sleeping?” Joseph asked, his voice as deep and rich as molasses.
Dear Lord, how was she ever to keep her wits about her when everything about him sent her brain skittering out the door. If she didn’t pull herself together quickly, he’d decide he misspoke all those beautiful words he’d said to her earlier. She mentally scolded herself to get it together as she cut a large piece from the cake and smiled at him.
“It’s not every day a young woman finds herself on the cusp of marrying a complete stranger and heading into the vast wilderness,” Victoria replied as she placed the cake on a plate. “Thinking of you had my sheets positively in knots.”
Victoria dropped the server onto the counter with a clunk at the realization of what she just said. A blush hot enough to burn down the house raced up her chest and into her hairline. His burst of hearty laughter made her turn and flee for the door. Before she could get a foot on the move, his strong arm snaked around her waist and pulled her back to his chest.
“I like the thought of that,” he drawled, his breath dancing over the skin on her neck. “Just so you know, you had my sheets in knots as well.”
Victoria simultaneously gasped in shock and shivered in desire at his words and touch. “Mr. Thomas!” she cried, but couldn’t hold on to her sternness at his warm smile. She knew she should slap him for his impertinence but instead warred between the desire to stay wrapped in his arms and the need to flee from embarrassment. She tensed as he stepped around her body, still holding her close, their faces inches apart.
“Victoria, look at me.”
She sighed in resignation. She saw desire upon his face, but also adoration and respect.
He brushed his hand through her hair that hung loose down her back. He leaned closer, the sweet scent of orange filling her before he placed a soft kiss upon her lips. Joy burst from her chest as he groaned, dug his hands further into her hair and deepened the kiss. Joseph backed her into the counter while trailing kisses up her jawline. He whispered her name, his voice full of awe before he claimed her mouth again. How had she existed before this man? How could she have imagined her life as happy without him in it? He softened the kiss and pulled back from her, his hands cupping her neck as his thumb caressed her cheek.
Joseph exhaled with a sigh and asserted, “There’s a connection between you and I. I believe you feel it, just as deep as I do. I can’t explain it, but I know without a doubt you are mine and I am yours. You are the one God made my heart to beat for, Victoria Remming. I will spend the rest of my days making you see that. With God directing our path, we will make something beautiful that lasts through the generations. I’m convinced with all my heart of that.”
Victoria sighed and set her head on his shoulder. He pulled her into himself and held tight. His heartbeat steady against her palm. A certainty filled her, a peace she’d rarely felt before.
“I believe you might be right, Joseph Thomas.”
He squeezed her, kissed her on the top of the head and said, “Now how about some cake?”
It took everything in Joseph not to drag her down to Pastor Hudson’s that instant, nightclothes and all. Victoria’s admission and how sweet and pure she looked with her hair tumbling down her back and the flouncy layers of her clothes removed to the basics had him reciting the books of the Bible forward and then backward in his head. He grabbed the piece of cake, moved back to his stool, and sat his rump firm on the seat before he grabbed her and kissed her again like his body screamed to.
“So, what has you fretting?” Joseph asked like an idiot. Who wouldn’t fret when marrying a person they didn’t know and leaving to the isolated wilderness vastly different from their home? Would Victoria be strong enough to survive the harsh environment or was he dooming her to a life of misery or an early grave?
“Mainly leaving my father and my city. It’s odd to understand I wouldn’t be safe here. I’ve never feared for my safety before. Even when I went to investigate for an article, I rarely felt uncomfortable. People live decent, moral lives. I was just thinking about how much I love it here, when I glanced out the window. One of the men that attacked us was skulking in the dark doorway across the street.” Victoria sighed with a shiver.
Everything within Joseph became cold and alert. He tensed, placed his fork next to his plate. “How do you know that?”
“He was smoking. When he inhaled, the light from the cigar lit his face. He was standing there, staring at the house.”
Joseph moved to stand when a soft hand captured his. Her eyes pleaded. Her grip tightened.
“Please don’t leave me,” she begged, melting him with her green eyes. “We disappear tomorrow. He won’t be able to find us.”
“He’ll still be a threat to your father,” Joseph pointed out.
“Yes, but with me gone, Father can hire an entire company of bodyguards without me to worry about. They don’t want him dead, that would simply transfer control to others they can’t manipulate to act in their favor,” Victoria explained.
“It doesn’t sit right to leave him out there.”
“Please, I don’t want to be alone.”
Victoria’s hand curled around his. He marveled at how small and pale it was compared to his tanned, rough one. He turned his hand so their palms touched. His hand enclosed hers almost completely, like her life later today would become enclosed within his, bound and intertwined for eternity. Would he be enough to keep her happy in the lonely mountains? He brought his head down as he lifted her hand and kissed the delicate skin. Lord, please help me be the husband she needs.
She sighed, pulled her hand back, and picked up her fork. “Tell me about our home.”
Joseph smiled at the memory of the neat cabin tucked against the mountainside. “Our small, one-room cabin nestles in a mountain meadow that gets blanketed in snow and hibernates in the winter. In the summer, it becomes green with life and energy. There’re wildflowers dotted throughout that rival your beauty and animals rushing to prepare for winter like your grand city’s citizens run about.
“A lake so clear you can see the bottom spreads out to the south. In the evening when the sun settles into the mountains in front of our cabin, we’ll sit on our porch as the Lord paints the sky a mirage of colors that reflect and sparkle off the lake. I’ve never seen a more beautiful sunset than the ones we get in our mountain paradise. Or maybe we’ll spread a blanket over the soft grass, lie back and watch the colors of the sky fade and change to dark, then come to life with stars that glitter like those fancy dresses covered in jewels I saw in the store window today. I expect I’ll enjoy experiencing that with you.”
“You’re quite the poet, Mr. Thomas.” Victoria sighed. “I can’t wait to see the beautiful picture you just painted with your words.”
Joseph’s ears warmed, and he said roughly, “I’m nothing but a rough mountain man, born and raised in the rugged wilderness, but please, call me Joseph.”
&
nbsp; “You are no such thing,” Victoria defended. “You’re kind and protective, intelligent and brave. You wear confidence and power like a tailored jacket, yet you aren’t pompous or arrogant. I’ve never met a man like you before.”
Joseph stared at her across the narrow worktable. Her eyes blazed with the conviction he’d witnessed earlier at the meeting. It humbled him, and he swallowed the lump that had formed in his throat.
“I pray I live up to that, that I’m a man you can depend on,” Joseph confessed.
“I trust as long as we keep God the center of our life together, no matter our differences or struggles, we’ll come out on the other side of life rejoicing,” Victoria answered. “Now, tell me about our cabin.”
Joseph laughed. “It’s nothing as grand as this house, I can assure you. I built it one summer when I found that meadow and lake in my wanderings. I knew that’s where I wanted to put down roots. A rock face juts three hundred yards up and ends in an overhang. The side of the mountain stretches like that along the lake and back the other way for a way. I figured when I built the cabin that if I built right up against the mountain, it’d protect me from one side and provide an additional roof from the overhang. It keeps the snow off the cabin for the most part.”
“It sounds… lovely.” But Victoria’s wavering voice betrayed her real fears about the remoteness.
Joseph grimaced as he went on. “I’m not going to lie to you, Victoria. The cabin is small. It’s one room with a fireplace to cook in and heat the place, a bed and enough room left over for a table and chairs. However, we can add on as we see fit, and it’s tight and warm.”
“I’m not going to lie to you either, Joseph,” Victoria replied as she licked the last of her icing off her fork, a look of worry crossing her face, “I can’t cook. I’ve never even made a pot of tea before. I’m afraid an open fireplace will be the death of any meal I attempt to make. Even a single room cabin seems a bit daunting to keep house in, especially since I’ve always had servants to do everything for me. It’s a blessing to never want for anything, but a curse as well, I suppose.”
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