A Bride For Adam

by Cyndi Raye

  “Good morning, Mr. Welch.”

  “Morning, ma’am. You’d best get on home now, before there’s trouble.”

  Melody figured Mr. Welch worried her husband was going to come looking for her and cause trouble. That was hardly likely. Trouble, maybe, but he wouldn’t be looking for her or Tommy. “No need to worry, we’ll hitch up our horse and be on our way.”

  Ten minutes later, Melody pulled the brim of her hat lower to wield the sunlight from her eyes. “Let’s stop at the mercantile first and I’ll let you choose something from there for breakfast, Tommy.”

  He pumped his little body up and down on the seat, clapping his hands. “Thanks, Mommy! I get to choose. I’m so happy!”

  His happiness was contagious. In all reality, her life here was over but it was a new day, there were new challenges on the horizon. All she wanted to do was to get the two of them out of Dallas, far away from Thomas and mean people who cared more about their stature than people.

  She held her head up high, taking Tommy by the hand as the two walked through the door at Fred Willows Mercantile. They wouldn’t need much for the four hour trip to the White Ranch but she wanted to make sure Tommy ate something for breakfast. She was able to wait until she had some of Nora White’s good home cooking. Besides, it would be less expensive if she didn’t spend the money on herself.

  “Good morning, ma’am and little sir. What brings you here so early this morning?”

  Melody gave him a smile, relieved he didn’t know who she was. “We are on our way to my grandfathers and my son would like something for breakfast to hold him over until then. I’m afraid we don’t have time to stop at the café.”

  Fred Willow put up his one finger, tilting his head and pushing up his spectacles as if he had to think. Melody smiled again when Tommy clapped his hands and ran up to the counter, trying to stand on his tip-toes to see over the edge. “I do believe I have just the thing. How about one of these giant muffins?”

  Tommy nodded his head and rubbed his belly at the same time. “Can I have one, Mommy? Please?”

  “You certainly can, Tommy.” She turned to Mr. Willows. “We will be happy to have one muffin, please.”

  The mercantile owner let Tommy pick out his own muffin, then wrapped it for him. Before he handed it over, he leaned on the counter. “I think my beloved wife made me a special treat today. Would you like one of her nut butter cookies?”

  Tommy slapped both hands on his cheeks and his eyes widened. “A cookie! Yes, please!”

  Mr. Willows looked to Melody for permission. She nodded with a smile. It was so nice to have someone treat them normal, it was hard to believe the terrible treatment from yesterday ever happened.

  She waited patiently while he wrapped Tommy’s cookie, sliding an extra in for good measure. The bell above the door jingled with the arrival of two mature ladies. Melody hoped the store owner would hurry so she didn’t have any more unpleasant conversations before leaving town.

  “Annabel, I can’t believe what I saw. Whoever those things belong to are going to be quite surprised to find everything strewn all over the side walks.”

  “You can’t see two feet in front of you, Fern. Looters were helping themselves. I don’t even know if there is anything left.”

  “I walked by about ten minutes ago and there were all kinds of clothing and dishes everywhere.”

  “Humph! Well, I walked by two minutes ago and it was all gone!”

  “Two minutes? How did you catch up to me?”

  “You’re a slow poke, Annabel. I can walk ten blocks to your one.”

  “Oh, good morning, Mr. Welch.” The one called Annabel nodded to the store owner. She squinted at Melody and then waved to Tommy with a shaking hand. “Hello, ma’am, little fellow.”

  Tommy waved back. “I’ve got a muffin for breakfast and two cookies!”

  “Well, good for you,” the older lady told him. “Now, if you are finished, I’d like to have Mr. Willows full attention. I’ve got a list a mile long today.”

  As Melody left the store, her heart lightened up. She had placed everyone in the same category as Thomas and the rest of the folks who were mean to her and judged without knowing the circumstances. She looked up to the clouds. “Sorry, God. I didn’t mean to be so stubborn.”

  “Are you talking to God again?” Tommy stopped and looked up. “I wonder why he keeps hiding behind the white clouds? I want to see him.”

  Melody ruffled his hair. “Remember we talked about this before? I’ll tell you another story when we get to PaPa Rusty’s house. But for right now, you haul yourself up on the wagon so we can get our stuff and get out of here.”

  “When can I eat my muffin?”

  She grinned. “You can eat it right now but save the cookies for later on. You may be hungry in another hour.”

  “Yes, Mommy.” His little hands were busy unwrapping the cloth from the muffin. Melody was glad because when she came around the corner and pulled up in front of the hotel, she gasped. Pulling up her skirts, Melody got down from the wagon. “Stay here and eat, Tommy. I’ll be right back.”

  Melody made her way to the cart where their belongings had been stacked. Hands flew to her waist as she recognized one of her hat boxes and a worn apron, lying open on the side walk next to the cart. Everything else was gone. She turned and marched to the front of the hotel as the manager came outside. He held up his hand. “You can’t go in there,” he told her.

  It all came back now. The two ladies in the mercantile were talking about her things. Why had they been placed outside? “Sir, you told me my things were safe for twenty-four hours. How dare you put them outside for people to steal?”

  “I assure you it was out of my control. I was ordered to move them.” A red splotch brightened both his cheeks.

  She saw Thomas through the door as he walked towards the entrance, a dark suit and a briefcase swinging in his right hand.

  She tapped her foot, furious while waiting until he came outside. “Was this your idea of a joke?” Even though she tried to keep her voice down for Tommy’s sake, it was apparent she was riled. Thomas almost looked guilty.

  Almost.

  She was learning he didn’t have a decent bone in his body.

  Another man hurried up to the two of them. Melody recognized him as one of Thomas’s attorneys from their day in court. “Thomas,” he greeted and nodded, unfolding a packet of papers before handing a paper to her.

  “What is this?”

  “Miss Rivers, as you know when you were married to Thomas, all your belongings became his. Upon the divorce, they also stayed his. Except for the urchin, everything you previously owned together belongs to Thomas. Read the paper you are holding in your hand and you will see it’s all there, legal.”

  She glanced over the paper, unable to believe what was happening. “Did that give you the right to throw my things to the street?”

  Thomas laughed. “They were no longer your things, but mine. Of course, I have no use for your belongings but there are so many less fortunate here in the city who do, so I ordered the hotel manager to place them outside to offer them for free.”

  She closed her eyes. If she dared to look at him, Melody was afraid she’d try to wring his neck! All her belongings gone in the blink of an eye! Tommy’s clothing, his toys, all gone. She had one gown, and a shawl. A tear slipped down her cheek. She swiped at it, trying hard to be strong.

  At least she had the horse and wagon.

  “I hate you, Thomas. What you’ve done is wrong.”

  He shrugged, like he always did when not wanting to own up to his wrong doings. What had she ever seen in this man? He wasn’t even a man. Disgust filled her heart and soul, a hatred of everything about him welling up inside.

  Yet, she took a deep breath. All she wanted to do was get out of this awful city and far away from him. She turned to the wagon and Tommy.

  Thomas grabbed her arm, his hand tightening around her wrist like a wrangler roping a calf. She t
ried to pull away. “Let go of me, Thomas, you have no right over me any more.”

  “That may be so, but you need to leave my horse and wagon here.”

  “Yours?” He wouldn’t take her means of transportation out of here?

  He nodded, squeezing tighter on her arm. “Mine. It’s in the paper you are holding.”

  “It doesn’t belong to you! Grandpa loaned me the horse and wagon while you were in law school so I wasn’t stranded in Cooper’s Ridge. It afforded me a way to go to the White Ranch.”

  “Mommy! Mommy!” Tommy climbed down from the wagon, running at high speed towards her. He had a horrified look on his face. His little hands were fisted in front of him. “Let go of my Mommy!”

  Before she was able to stop him, Tommy latched onto Thomas’s knees and bit his leg, hard.

  Thomas yelped, releasing Melody’s arm and stepped back, doubling over, clutching his thigh. When he stood upright, his arm lashed out. “Why, you little brat!”

  He swung towards Tommy. Melody moved between them, scooping the boy in her arms before he got hit. Thomas’s hand slapped her on the side of the face, almost knocking the breath from her.

  Yet, she held onto her son, stumbling away, sucking air into her lungs. She wanted to turn around and hit him for what he had almost done but knew it was futile. He had the upper hand and she knew it. People began to stop on the street to watch the drama unfold. She had to get her and Tommy out of here before a policeman arrived.

  Melody had fought too hard for the right to raise her son, he wasn’t going to turn around and take her son yet, too. She took a final deep breath, raising her eyes to look him in the eye. “I’m getting my reticule from the wagon. You can have the wagon, take everything. Don’t ever speak to me or my son again. My son, do you hear? You are dead to me!”

  “I didn’t try to hit you!” He flung out there as if that would make a difference.

  She didn’t bother to turn around. “No, you were trying to hit my son. Thank God my face got in your way.”

  With those words and her cheek stinging like the dickens, Melody marched to the wagon, grabbed her reticule from the seat and Tommy’s cookies and walked away down the street towards the rail road station, hand in hand with Tommy using every ounce of dignity she could muster.

  Digging through her reticule, she purchased two tickets to Wichita Falls, the closest town to the White Ranch. Since it would be another hour before the train arrived, they sat on the bench at the depot, her back straight, looking at no one except her sweet son whose life would be forever changed.

  “May I eat one of my cookies?”

  “Yes, of course.” She patted his head, then hugged him close. “I love you, Tommy.”

  “I love you, too, Mommy. I love cookies, too.”

  His words made her crack a smile.

  She may have a bruise on her cheek and her head a bit dizzy but it was worth the pain. No telling what would’ve happened if Thomas had laid a hand on Tommy. She’d probably be in the city jail right now.

  No one was ever going to lay a hand on either one of them again.

  Chapter 4

  “I need to use the wagon for awhile!”

  The desperation in Rusty’s voice drew Adam’s attention. The older man’s cheeks were bright red, matching the color of his flattened hair. Rusty stood in the middle of Nora’s kitchen, body tense, his breathing labored with hat in hand as if he had ran a mile to get here.

  Adam hadn’t gone to the barn to play cards with his brothers. He sat with his Ma at the kitchen table, finalizing the completion of the new cabin they just built. She had wanted to discuss the pattern for the curtains. Adam was rather bored and didn’t care about any colors or patterns, but his Ma insisted he participate. If it made her happy, he’d sit here all evening.

  “What’s going on, Rusty?”

  Nora stood when she saw how exasperated the man was. “Oh, Rusty, what is wrong? Why are you in an uproar?”

  “It’s my grand daughter and great grandson!”

  Adam pushed his chair back to stand alongside his Ma. “Melody?”

  Rusty raised a hand up. “Hold on, there. My hearts racing a mile a minute. All I know is our neighbor to the west was in town and came in with a note from Doc James.” He opened his fist to show a piece of paper all crumbled up.

  Nora moved forward to swipe it from his opened hand. “It says Melody and Tommy are in Wichita Falls. Please come right away.”

  “Let’s go. You got the wagon hitched?” Adam didn’t wait for Rusty to answer. “I’m sorry Ma, this can’t wait!” He gave his Ma a kiss on the cheek, picked up his revolver from the side table at the door and hauled himself onto the wagon bench before Rusty could say one word.

  Nora stood on the porch while they loaded up. “Be careful. I’ll let your brothers know.”

  The two rode in silence for some time before Rusty let out a long sigh. His eyes glazed over when he finally looked at Adam. “I wouldn’t be as worried but the note was from the doc. That’s never good news.”

  Adam had a tendency to agree. His heart raced across his chest. A trickle of sweat slid down the side of his temple. Not knowing why the doc sent the note was killing him. Melody and Tommy were alone in Wichita Falls, hours away from her husband. Where was he? Why were they there instead of in Dallas?

  Rusty tightened a fist and rung it in the air. “I swear to you if that no gooder has done something to my grand baby or the little feller so help me I’ll kill him!”

  Adam stretched his arm to calm the old man down. He gripped the old man’s shoulder, patting him gently. It was important they get to Wichita Falls without incident. “We don’t know anything has happened, Rusty. Maybe she was coming to visit and something happened on the way. Let’s try to stay calm until we find out.” If it weren’t for Rusty, Adam would have saddled the fasted horse and be there by now.

  “Well, I told her if she ever has any problems with him, she should go to Wichita Falls and send a note. So that’s what we got. A note. Seems to me that’s a practical enough answer to my worries.”

  Adam knew Rusty was right. He began to push the wagon harder. Even though they were almost there, it didn’t hurt to go faster. Five more minutes and he’d see the woman he loved again.

  “I never did like that dandy city lawyer. He thought he was too good for her. Dangling all those pretty things in front of her at first and then when he got in to that law firm he left her at home with the little one ninety-percent of the time to fend for herself alone. Ain’t how a man’s supposed to act.”

  “It’s a different time than when you were first married.” Even though he agreed with Rusty, Adam had to keep keep him calm.

  “Hogwash! A man ain’t no different than fifty years ago. It’s how you treat a woman. Don’t matter what time or century it is!”

  “Now calm down, Rusty. Don’t make me worry about you yet, too. Another few minutes and we’ll be coming up on Wichita Falls.”

  “About time,” he grumbled. Rusty took off his hat, shook it out, sluiced through his hair with an open hand and flopped the hat back on.

  Adam’s thoughts were going in the same direction as Rusty. Where was her husband? If he was in Wichita Falls there would be no need to call on the grandfather. So, why did they send for him?

  Melody had been in his life since forever. Even though she was married, his heart wouldn’t let him ignore any cries for help.

  He clutched the reins tighter and gazed up at the cloudless sky.

  Lord, let her be safe. Amen. I know you are the one to exact vengeance but someone has to keep her safe. If someone caused her harm, let me wring their neck! You know who I’m talking about. Amen.

  Adam wasn’t good at praying. He hadn’t been a one on one praying man since he was younger but it sounded good and came from his heart. Plus, it was exactly how he felt.

  The wagon pulled in front of Doc James offices in the middle of Wichita Falls. Most of the folks were on their way home from prospect
ive jobs, hurrying up the boarded walk. Shops on the main street had their signs turned to closed. It was the time of day when everyone hustled to get home for supper.

  Rusty moved fast for an old man. He was on the porch before Adam had a chance to tie the horse’s reins. “Where is my grand daughter?”

  Nurse Ellie stepped outside, her hand out to stop Rusty. “Sir, please, let’s talk on the porch first.”

  A fear shot through Adam. He stood on the street, unable to move his boots. This wasn’t good.

  When Rusty began to argue, she placed an arm around him and forced him to sit on the bench, kneeling down in front of him. “Now, sir, please, get a hold of yourself. I want you to take three deep breaths. One. Two. Good. Three.”

  A fresh tear slid down Rusty’s cheek. He left it there unashamed. “What happened to my grand daughter? Where is my great grand son?”

  Nurse Ellie nodded. “Tommy is fine. He’s at Miss Addie’s boarding house having some supper. There is plenty of renters there to keep him occupied while his mother recovers.”

  Adam’s feet finally began to move. He stepped onto the porch.

  Nurse Ellie nodded to him. “You must be Adam.”

  He nodded. “Yes, how did you know?”

  She smiled. “She’s been asking for you.”

  He moved towards the door, but she put up a hand. “Adam. Not yet.”

  He turned to the nurse. “Why not. What happened?”

  “Come sit down here on the bench.”

  “I’ll stand.”

  “Very well.” She turned to Rusty, placing an arm across his shoulder. “When Melody and Tommy arrived here earlier today, she was despondent.”

  Rusty interrupted. “What in the world does despondent mean?”

  “It means hopeless, Rusty. Let the lady finish.” Adam wanted the nurse to let him go in but he knew he had to stand here and listen to her speech first. He was afraid to see what happened to her and yet he wanted to burst right through the door. She was on the other side.

  Nurse Ellie nodded to Adam. “Melody fell from the train depot platform. Luckily, the Sheriff was right there and able to bring her right in. She’s got a bad concussion on her head with terrible headaches and needs to rest in a quiet place for a few days.”