Meadowlark

by Carolyn Lampman

  Before he had a chance to change his mind, he headed down the street to The Green Garter. I’ll just give the ring to Angel and leave, he told himself, trying to pretend he didn’t know Becky was usually there this time of day.

  The kitchen was cool and dark after the hot sunshine outside. Garrick couldn’t see much when he stepped inside, but he could hear.

  “Da, da, da, da.” Alaina’s excited chatter was music to his ears.

  “Oh, sweetling, how I’ve missed you,” he said, scooping her up in his arms and giving her a hug.

  Alaina put her chubby little arms around his neck and mouthed his cheek before making a little popping noise with her tongue.

  “Consider yourself kissed,” Angel said with a grin. “Becky just taught her that.”

  Garrick smiled at the baby in his arms. “Is that what that was? Does my little darling want a kiss, too?” He gave her a loud smack on the cheek, and she giggled.

  “I wondered if you were going to come say good-bye,” Angel said.

  “No, I hate goodbyes. It’s too final.”

  “Fine with me. I don’t much like sad farewells myself.”

  He looked around, then sat down with a disappointed sigh and started tickling Alaina. The little girl squealed in delight. “I never thanked you for all you did while I was in jail, Angel, but I want you to know I appreciate it.”

  “That’s what friends are for. She isn’t here, Swede. Cameron took her on a picnic.”

  “Good.”

  “Damn it, aren’t you even going to give him a run for his money?”

  “Becky made her choice.”

  “What choice? You’ve avoided her since the trial like she had a case of rabies.”

  “The first thing I did when I got out of jail was build her a bridge across the creek so she could go home.”

  “Right, and you moved all of her things out of your shop. It was pretty obvious you didn’t want her around.”

  “I wanted her to know she was free to follow her heart.”

  “She got the message she was free, all right. You were about as subtle as a buzz saw.”

  “She’s never once said she loves me.”

  “Maybe she’s not the kind that does.”

  “Drop it, Angel.”

  Angel threw her hands up in the air dramatically. “Fine. I wash my hands of the both of you. I’ve never seen two people so bent on being miserable in my life. Damn stubborn Swede anyway.”

  “Will you do something for me?” he asked quietly.

  “Sure, why not?” she said sarcastically. “I live to please.”

  The corners of his mouth quirked slightly as he reached into his pocket. “I know you do.” He looked at the ring for a moment before handing it to Angel. “Will you see that Becky gets this? I bought it for her last October and never found the right time to give it to her.”

  “It’s beautiful.” She took it from his hand and looked at it curiously. “What’s this engraved inside?”

  “Jeg elsker deg.”

  “What in the world does that mean?”

  Angel thought at first he wasn’t going to answer. His entire concentration seemed focused on the baby as Alaina held onto his fingers and stood balancing herself on his thighs. “It’s Norwegian,” he said softly. “It means I love you.”

  “You’ve become quite a cook,” Cameron said as he sat back on the blanket with a satisfied sigh. “That was the best meal I’ve had in a long time.”

  “Thank you, Cameron.” Becky seemed unaffected by the compliment as she calmly packed away the remnants of the picnic.

  “You’re not the same girl you were when I was here last year.”

  “No, I grew up.”

  He reached out and touched her hair. “You’re even more beautiful than the first time I ever saw you.”

  “So are you.”

  He smiled. “Ah, Becky that’s one reason I love you so much. You’re always so refreshingly honest.”

  “Actually, Cameron, I’m just too ignorant to know what I’m supposed to say.”

  “That’s all right.” He brushed her mouth with the tip of his finger. “I can think of several things I’d rather do than trade compliments.” His voice was husky as he leaned forward and kissed her.

  Becky closed her eyes and allowed him full use of all his expertise. There was no doubt about it, Cameron Price was truly an artist when it came to kissing. He knew exactly how much pressure to exert, when to open his mouth, and where to put his tongue. Becky was pleased to find herself completely unmoved.

  “Becky my love—” His beautiful eyes smoldered as he folded her hand into his and kissed it. “—marry me.”

  “I don’t think so, Cameron.”

  “Wh-what?” He stared at her blankly.

  “No, I won’t marry you.”

  “But I love you.”

  “I know, you’ve told me a thousand times.” She pulled her hand free of his. “You even said so just before you left me alone and pregnant.”

  “I didn’t know you were pregnant.”

  “Didn’t care, you mean. Come on, Cameron. I might have been too naive to realize what could happen, but you knew where babies came from. It didn’t matter to you if I conceived. You weren’t planning on being around.”

  “You make me sound like a selfish bastard.”

  “Yes, you were, weren’t you?”

  “I didn’t hear you complaining at the time.”

  “I was sixteen years old, Cameron, starved for love and willing to do anything you asked. I thought I’d found my hero.”

  “Then this has all been a sham?”

  “No, not all of it. I truly thought I still loved you when you came back. I soon discovered most of it died long ago. To be honest, I’m not sure it was ever much more than infatuation.”

  “Then why all this elaborate playacting?”

  “Because Garrick deserves his freedom, and he’ll never take it as long as he thinks we need him. Now that he’s leaving, I don’t have to pretend anymore.”

  “You’re in love with that big, dumb Swede,” Cameron said in astonishment. “You actually prefer him over me?”

  “That’s right, Cameron. He’s worth at least ten of you.”

  “What about Alaina?”

  “Congratulations, you finally got her name right.”

  “You can’t keep her from me. She’s my daughter.”

  “No, Cameron, she’s my daughter.”

  “I’m her father. I gave her life.”

  “She may have come from your seed, but Garrick’s her father. He breathed life into her the day she was born, and he’s been there for her ever since. The most important part of being a father is living up to your responsibilities. You gave up your rights the day you walked away without a backward glance.” She stood and picked up the basket Angel had lent her for the outing. “It’s been a pleasant morning, but it really is time I was getting back. Good-bye, Cameron.”

  Becky was amazed how good it felt to walk away and leave Cameron Price sitting there in total shock. It was probably the first time a woman had ever refused him anything. She was still smiling when she walked into The Green Garter.

  “Must have been some picnic,” Angel said.

  “Cameron asked me to marry him.”

  “So, when’s the big day?”

  Becky grinned. “The twelfth of never.”

  “You turned him down?”

  “I left him sitting there with his mouth hanging open.”

  “Good for you. Maybe there’s hope for you yet.” Angel gave her a shrewd glance. “Swede was here while you were gone. He’s leaving today.”

  Becky’s smile disappeared. “Oh.”

  “He left you something.” Angel handed Becky the ring and watched her face sympathetically as the tears gathered in the dark brown eyes. “He said he hadn’t ever found the right time to give it to you.”

  Becky reached up to brush a tear away. “No, I suppose not. It’s a wedding ring. Look there�
��s something written inside. I can’t tell...”

  “It’s Norwegian. Ja elsker something.”

  “Jeg elsker deg?”

  “Right.”

  Becky wrinkled her nose. “Why would he put a Norwegian curse inside a ring?”

  “A curse? Damn funny thing to say for a curse if you ask me.”

  “He told you what it meant?”

  “Yes. I love you.”

  “It means I love you?” Becky couldn’t believe her ears. No wonder he thought it was funny when she used it to put him firmly in his place. Suddenly, the full impact of it hit her.

  “Oh, my God. Angel, when did he leave?”

  “About fifteen minutes ago. Why?”

  “I’ve got to catch him.”

  “It’s about time.”

  “But you don’t understand. He loves me.”

  “No fooling! I’d never have guessed,” Angel said as Becky ran out the door. “You know, Alaina,” she said to the gurgling baby on her lap, “I love them dearly, but your parents really aren’t too bright.”

  He loved her! Becky’s heart sang as she ran down the street to his blacksmith shop. She’d been sure of it that night in his jail cell. But when the not guilty verdict came in, Garrick had turned away without so much as a smile. Then he’d moved her things out of his shop, and she hadn’t seen him since.

  When Angel told her he was leaving town, Becky had taken the horseshoe nail ring to the shop as an excuse to talk to him. After two hours of waiting, she’d given up and left it on his pillow with a note. The gesture had been futile. She’d given up her one solid tie to him for nothing except the certain knowledge that he was glad to be rid of her.

  It had all been a ruse. Jeg elsker deg. He’d said it even when he was angry. Garrick loved her as much as she loved him. Darn his nobility anyway.

  Becky was breathing hard by the time she reached the shop. It was deserted. His clothes were missing from the loft and the peg where his leather apron always hung was empty. He was gone.

  “No!”

  She ran out of the shop and looked around frantically. The army’s weekly convoy east out of South Pass City was just winding up the hill. The familiar black buckboard was last in line.

  “Garrick!”

  The distance was too great for him to hear her desperate cry. Becky knew it was hopeless, but she lifted her skirts and started running. Clear through town, she raced. Panic lent her speed and stamina, but it wasn’t enough. She reached the bottom of the hill just as Garrick arrived at the top.

  Winded and unable to run anymore, Becky slowed to a stumbling walk. Tears coursed down her cheeks while she watched him drive out of her life. She was too late.

  As the buckboard jounced over the last of the washboard ruts at the top of the hill, Garrick heard the familiar song of a meadowlark. The sound brought a bittersweet pang, and he turned back for one last look at the town. The taste of defeat stung the back of his throat.

  A movement at the bottom of the hill caught his eye. Focusing on the figure so far below, his heart seemed to jump out of his chest. Becky!

  With fear pounding through him, he didn’t even take time to turn the buckboard around. Something was very wrong. Garrick tied the reins to the brake lever, jumped to the ground and sprinted back down the hill.

  Tears were streaming from her eyes, and her breath was coming in great sobbing gasps when he reached her. “What’s wrong, Becky?” he asked, grabbing her upper arms.

  “C-can’t...t-talk...” she gasped, trying to catch her breath.

  “Has something happened to Alaina?”

  Becky shook her head.

  “Angel, then?”

  Again, she shook her head. Still struggling to speak, she lifted her hand and put her fingers on his lips. “T-take us ...with you, Garrick. I...love...you.”

  He stared down at her, incredulous hope shining from his eyes. “What did you say?”

  “Jeg...elsker...deg, Garrick. I love you.”

  “Oh, little one.” He pulled her into his arms and kissed her passionately. It wasn’t practiced or technically perfect, but it came straight from his heart, and Becky thought she might go up in smoke from the sheer power of it.

  He broke it off at last and searched the velvet brown of her eyes. “Do you really love me?”

  “Oh, ja. Every stubborn Norwegian inch of you.”

  “Why didn’t you ever tell me?”

  “One of my father’s mistresses once told me a smart woman always lets the man say it first. That way he doesn’t feel trapped. Only, you’ve been telling me for months, and I didn’t even know it.”

  “Where’s Cameron?”

  “Probably somewhere feeling very sorry for himself.”

  “Why?”

  “I told the arrogant windbag exactly what I thought of his marriage proposal.”

  “You turned him down?”

  “Yes, and it felt wonderful.”

  “Are you sure that’s what you want? Cameron Price is every woman’s dream.”

  “Not mine.” She smiled up at him. “My dreams are all tied up in a big blond blacksmith who has more courage than sense. I don’t want to live without my dreams, Garrick.”

  “Neither do I, little one.”

  He hugged her so tightly, she thought her ribs would crack. It felt wonderful. “So where are we headed, Garrick?”

  “How would you and Alaina like to go to an old-fashioned Norwegian family wedding?”

  “I’ll go anywhere with you, Garrick. You don’t even have to ask.” Becky gave a blissful sigh and tried to snuggle even closer into his embrace. “Who’s getting married?” she asked as an afterthought.

  Garrick gave her one of his beautiful smiles as he lifted her high in his arms. “We are, little one,” he said as their lips met in a kiss filled with magical promise. “We are.”

  Author’s Note

  As with all historical romances, Meadowlark is a blend of fact and fiction. Gold was discovered in the Wind River Mountains at South Pass in 1868. By 1870, South Pass City, Miner’s Delight, and Atlantic City were booming gold towns. The town in Meadowlark is a composite of all three.

  Between seventeen and twenty-eight saloons, brothels, and casinos flourished in South Pass City during its heyday. Many were similar to the fictitious Green Garter. The liquor storage facility, facetiously known as Fort Bourbon, really was used as a refuge for women and children during Indian attacks, and more gold probably changed hands in Beer Garden Gulch than ever came out of the Carissa mine.

  South Pass City is considered by many to be the home of women’s suffrage. It was the city’s representative to the Wyoming Territorial Legislature that introduced the historic bill giving women political equality. When it passed, and women gained the right to vote, R. S. Barr protested by resigning his office as Justice of the Peace contingent upon the commissioners being able to find a woman who could replace him.

  Esther Hobart Morris, the world’s first female Justice of the Peace, was duly appointed and served for nine months, presiding over twenty-six cases fairly and with great dignity. As part of her duties, she may well have performed weddings like Garrick and Becky’s. Had she still been in office, I’m certain she’d have done a better job with Garrick’s trial than the fictitious Freeman Jones.

  Martha Jane Canary, better known as Calamity Jane, was occasionally hired as a nurse for the pest house, though placing her there as late as the spring of 1871 may not be accurate. Tom Ryan truly was the owner of the Goulden Curry mine, and probably employed a powder man for each shift. Philip Harsh had a prosperous blacksmith shop at the corner of Price and Grant Streets. There is no record that he sold his building to a big Norwegian known as Swede, but I like to think he could have.

  About the Author

  Carolyn Lampman has won several industry awards for her previous novels, including the Reader’s Choice Award and the Coeur Du Bois Heart of Romance award. She was also a finalist for the coveted RITA. Carolyn lives in a small tow
n in Wyoming with her husband, a Welsh Corgi, and a herd of grandchildren who come and go.