A Matter of Heart

by Tracie Peterson

  Lighting a lamp, Austin turned up the wick a bit and read the missive. Need to see you as soon as possible. R. Barnett. Austin pulled out his pocket watch. It was nearly ten o’clock. Definitely too late to visit the Barnetts. No doubt Robert wanted to know about his trip to Dallas. He tossed the letter down on the table and yawned. Maybe he’d just wait until morning to eat.

  Jessica could scarcely breathe. “Will I . . . what?”

  “Will you marry me?”

  She looked at the man kneeling before her. “This is rather sudden. We don’t really know each other very well.”

  Harrison Gable got to his feet and pulled Jessica into his arms. “Believe me when I say that I want very much to know you and know you well.” He pressed a kiss against her left cheek and then her right. Jessica pulled away as his lips headed toward her mouth.

  “This isn’t right. My father would not approve of the way you’re acting.” She moved to stand behind her chair, hoping that it might keep Harrison at bay.

  He threw her a leering glance and laughed. “Your father won’t long have much to say on the matter. Marry me and we can slip away tonight. We’ll go to Dallas, where no one knows you. I have friends there—a judge who can marry us right away.” He paused and took a step toward her. Jessica backed up. This only caused him to smile once again. “Marry me, Jessica. You know that I can make you happy. I know that you have feelings for me. I’ve seen you tremble at my touch. Don’t think me unschooled. I know exactly what I’m doing.”

  “I’m sure you do, but what you don’t realize,” she said, moving once again to expand the distance between them, “is that my father and mother are just in the other room. It wouldn’t be difficult to draw their attention.”

  He stopped pursuing her and folded his arms across his chest. “So draw their attention.”

  He’d called her bluff, and Jessica knew she would have to act quickly. “I don’t need them to fight my battles for me. I have no desire to marry you, Mr. Gable. I have considered the possibility and weighed it in the scales. However, you have been found wanting.”

  Her bold words seemed to surprise him. For several seconds he said nothing, but his eyes narrowed and his expression appeared angry. “It’s Todd, isn’t it? You fancy yourself in love with that sad-eyed lawman.”

  “It’s really none of your concern to whom I give my love. Now, if you don’t mind, it’s getting quite late, and you promised my parents that we would only spend a few minutes alone. I believe we should now rejoin them, and you should bid them good-night.” She headed toward the door with false bravado. Without looking back to make certain he followed, Jessica opened the door and stepped into the hallway.

  She heard Gable follow and was pleased with herself. Maybe being strong and assertive wasn’t always a bad thing.

  “Mother. Father,” she said, entering the larger sitting room. “Mr. Gable has to leave.”

  “It was way too late to come over last night,” Austin said apologetically. “I didn’t want you to think I was ignoring you.” He threw Robert a smile, but the man didn’t return it.

  “We’ve got a big problem.”

  Austin could see that Robert was more than a little agitated. “What’s wrong?”

  “Morgan was here. Worse still, he brought the same man who’d harassed Alice in Denver.”

  Austin twisted his hat. “Who was that?”

  “He calls himself Mr. Smith. He always mentioned having worked for someone. We just didn’t know it was Morgan. Alice is sick over the whole thing. She passed out cold. Lucky for her Jessica was here.”

  “Jessica Atherton?”

  “The same.” For the first time Robert smiled, but it wasn’t joy filled. “She greeted the men with Hannah’s double-barreled shotgun. She ordered them to leave, and I guess she must have looked menacing enough that they figured she’d shoot.”

  Austin couldn’t help but laugh. “I would’ve liked to have seen that.”

  Robert lost a bit of his worried look. “Me too.”

  Austin could see that Robert was anxious to finish and sobered. “What happened next?”

  “After they’d gone, Jessica bolted the door and put Alice to bed.”

  “Where was your ma and servants?”

  Robert shrugged and began to pace. “Ma had gone to visit Marty. I guess everybody else was busy elsewhere. Jess said it happened in just a matter of minutes.”

  “So Morgan isn’t just bothering Jake. Now he’s after Alice. Well, I’ve got news that may change everything.” A brilliant idea flashed through Austin’s mind. “In fact, if you’ll help me, I know it will.”

  “I’ll do whatever I can to rid my wife of those men. I thought to track them,” Robert admitted, “but my pa discouraged it. He said since you were now working on this, we had to lay low and give you a chance.”

  “I appreciate that,” Austin said. “It’ll help us with what I have in mind. I got the approval to go to Colorado Springs and retrieve the lockbox on behalf of the Treasury Department. All I need is a signed letter from Alice stating that I have been given the key and have her permission to remove the box from the bank and take it into my possession.”

  “I’m sure she will be happy to oblige.”

  “There’s more. I will meet up with a couple of agents the department will send via express train. Barring any complications, I should be able to be home in a week, maybe ten days.”

  “What will you do once you have the box?”

  Austin pulled the key from his pocket. “I’ll open it. I’m supposed to learn of the contents at the bank. If it’s the forged certificates or the plates, we’ll confiscate them and the agents will take them back to Washington. Otherwise, I’ll bring whatever is in the box back to Alice.”

  Robert looked perplexed. “So what is it you need from me?”

  “Well, the way I figure it, if Morgan and his Mr. Smith know what I’m up to, they’ll follow me. They won’t have any reason to stick around here once they know I’m headed out on the train and why. What I need is for word to get out about my plans. We need them to overhear what I’m doing and when.”

  “I’m bettin’ you’re right,” Robert said, sounding hopeful for the first time. “I reckon they will follow after you.”

  “And that will take them away from your family and from Jake’s.” Austin considered the plan for a moment. “Since we don’t know where they’re staying or who they may have hired to keep watch on us, I’ll have to make sure we have plenty of time to bandy the news about.”

  “How long do you think it will take?” Alice stepped into the room. It was clear she’d been listening from the hallway.

  Austin didn’t mind. “A day or two. I figure if we get enough folks talkin’, Morgan is bound to hear about it.”

  “And you need me to write a letter?” Alice questioned.

  Austin nodded. He could see the fear in her eyes. “I do.”

  “Then I’ll get that for you now.” She left the room without another word.

  Robert stopped pacing and crossed his arms with a frown. “This had better work.”

  Jessica knew she would have to give her mother an account of her time spent with Harrison, but she wasn’t looking forward to it at all. Thankfully, Father was off with William Barnett ironing out some final arrangements about the plans for the railroad.

  At one time, what had happened the night before was something Jessica thought would make her the happiest woman in the world. But it hadn’t. In fact, it had only caused her more problems.

  “You have moped around here all day,” Mother declared. “Now sit down and tell me what happened. Did Harrison get fresh with you? Did he try to take liberties?”

  Jessica shook her head. “No. Well, yes, but not really.” She sank into her favorite chair by the fire. “He proposed.” Mother looked confused for a moment and then burst out laughing. Jessica frowned. “It’s not funny, Mother.”

  “It is when you consider I feared something evil had happened. I’m
relieved to learn it was just a proposal. So did you accept?”

  Jessica met her mother’s eyes. “No.”

  “Can you talk about it? You left so quickly for bed last night I was quite concerned.”

  With a sigh, the young woman began to share the details. “He wasted little time. With you and father otherwise occupied, I suppose he figured it to be the perfect time. So while we were in the sitting room, we made small talk about the evening and then without warning he asked me to marry him. I thought at first it was a joke.”

  “But he was serious?”

  Jessica looked at her mother and nodded. “He asked me to marry him and to do so right away. He wanted me to run away last night to Dallas, where he has a friend who could marry us.”

  “Run away to marry? Didn’t he know you would want a big wedding?”

  “I don’t think he truly knows anything about me, Mother.”

  “Goodness. I remember a few years back when you and I were dreaming about your wedding. We were looking at an article in one of the ladies’ magazines about some royalty somewhere married in a lavish ceremony. It spoke of the princess wearing a gown embroidered with real silver thread. And her trousseau—do you remember what it said about that?”

  Jessica shook her head. She longed to get back to her ordeal, but Mother seemed almost dreamy in her remembrance. “The magazine said her trousseau consisted partly of ‘forty outdoor suits, fifteen ball dresses, five tea gowns, and a vast number of bonnets, shoes, and gloves.’ I can still remember the exact number and wording, because it was so much more than anything I could imagine.”

  Jess gave a heavy sigh.

  Mother seemed to understand her frustration and eased back against the sofa with a smile. “Sorry. I just think it unfeeling of him to expect you to give up a proper wedding.”

  For a moment neither woman said anything more. But Jessica couldn’t leave the matter at that tentative point. “I don’t love him,” she confessed. “I don’t have any feelings whatsoever for him. I thought at one time I might. He was thrilling and attentive, and I thought him very handsome.”

  “But someone else has caught your eye, or should I say your heart?”

  “Yes.”

  Mother considered this a moment, looking thoughtful. “And you feel bad now? Perhaps you feel sorry for Harrison?”

  “No. I’m afraid it’s much more selfish than that.” Jessica shifted uncomfortably. “I’ve tried so hard not to make myself the center of attention. I’ve tried to improve myself and be more focused on God, but . . . honestly, I’m worried.”

  “Worried about what?” This definitely had her mother’s attention.

  Jessica gazed upward, feeling unable to face her mother’s reaction. “What if this is my only chance to marry?”

  Mother lowered her gaze. Jessica thought perhaps her mother was disgusted with her shallow thinking, but Jess had to be honest. That was part of changing for the better. And, she’d always been one to say exactly what she thought.

  “You can’t marry a man you do not love,” Mother finally said, raising her gaze to Jessica. “You told me that you don’t love Harrison. Therefore, you did the right thing. Whether or not anyone else proposes marriage is immaterial. If you married Harrison Gable, you would come to regret it, and then hate might very well build instead of love.”

  Jessica found her mother’s expression sympathetic and not at all ashamed or disappointed. She felt her fears release. Mother understood.

  “I want very much to marry. It’s just that I want to marry someone else. Someone I love.”

  “But Mr. Todd hasn’t asked?”

  She wasn’t surprised that mother knew. She’d done very little to conceal her thoughts of Austin Todd and had spoken quite favorably of him on more than one occasion. She sighed and didn’t bother to deny it.

  “He hasn’t, but I wish he would.”

  “Maybe you should tell him that,” Mother told her. “You said he liked the fact that you speak your mind. Perhaps he would find it acceptable if you did the proposing.”

  “Mother!” Jessica snapped, sitting up. “That’s hardly proper.”

  Her mother’s laughter was unexpected, causing Jessica to get to her feet. “If you think this is a joke, then I’m going to go to my room.”

  Mother stood and took hold of her. “I don’t think it’s a joke, my dear girl. I only want the very best for you. I don’t want you to lose someone because of traditions and proprieties. If you love Austin, you must tell him.”

  “But what if he doesn’t feel the same?” The thought of Austin’s rejection made Jessica feel almost sick.

  Mother was unconcerned. “What if he does? What if he’s just been waiting for some sign from you?”

  Jessica thought carefully. What was the worst that could happen? If she told Austin about her feelings for him and he told her he wasn’t inclined to feel the same way, she couldn’t possibly feel any worse.

  Austin made his way home from the Barnetts’, taking the road rather than cutting across their vast pastureland. He’d come this way on purpose—that purpose being he wanted to see Jessica.

  Directing his horse to leave the road and head up the path to the Atherton house, Austin knew he needed to square things with Jess before heading to Colorado Springs. He wanted her to know that he had feelings for her, that he cared very much for her, and he wanted to marry her.

  But what if she doesn’t feel the same way about me? What if Gable holds her heart and I’m too late? The thought of losing Jessica to Gable made Austin sick to his stomach.

  I know she feels something. She trembled at my touch—surely that’s a good sign. But even as he thought about it, a troubling idea came to mind. Maybe she trembled because she was put off by his touch. Maybe it was abhorrent to her.

  He nearly turned the horse for home at that thought, but he’d already reached the house, and Tyler Atherton was waving to him from just outside the barn.

  Austin drew a deep breath and dismounted. Pulling his mount along with him, he walked to where the older man was washing up.

  “Good to see you again,” Mr. Atherton said. “I was just heading into the house for some coffee. Would you like to join me? Jessica has been baking again. I think she’s caught on to it pretty quick. She made some of the most mouth-watering cinnamon rolls you could sink your teeth into.”

  “Sounds too good to pass up.” Austin nodded toward the horse. “I shouldn’t stay too long, however. There’s a lot going on, and I have to make some preparations.”

  Atherton dried his hands and face on a towel that hung nearby. “Well, let’s get right to it, then.”

  Austin went along with the older man and soon found himself sitting at the long dining room table with Atherton. The ladies were strangely absent, and Austin found himself desperate to learn of their whereabouts. Especially of Jessica.

  “Mmm, this is the best cinnamon roll I’ve ever had,” Austin admitted. “And a perfect match to the coffee.”

  “I thought you’d enjoy it,” Atherton said, then sampled his own roll. He ate for a moment and smiled. “Just as good as the first six.”

  Both men chuckled at the comment. “I know Jess will be pleased to know you’ve approved of them.”

  It was the opening he’d been waiting for. “Speaking of Miss Atherton, is she here?”

  Tyler nodded. “She’s helpin’ her ma with one of the new calves. The mama won’t nurse it, so my gals are seein’ that it bonds with another cow. Carissa and Jess have always been good at that. But don’t worry, she won’t be much longer. I had just finished checking on them when you arrived.” Then he quickly changed the subject.

  “Say, that place we’re building for you in Terryton is nearly done. I sure hope you won’t mind havin’ a jail on the front side of your house. We’re building it with two cells and a small office. If we find we need more room, we can add some additional cells to the east and west walls. But your residence will be on the back side. We argued over whethe
r to put an access to your living quarters from the jail or just have it on the outside free and clear. Will seemed to think you’d appreciate the internal access, and we fixed the door so you can bolt it from your side when you retire.”

  Austin didn’t care where the jail or door was at this point. He thought perhaps he should just put his thoughts out there for Atherton to consider. It wouldn’t be all that appropriate to ask Jessica to marry him without first stating his intention to her father. On the other hand, if he asked Atherton for his blessing, but Jessica had no feelings for him, then it would be for naught.

  She has feelings for you. Stop being so bull-headed, his heart seemed to declare.

  “Mr. Atherton, before the ladies join us . . . well . . . I wanted to talk to you.”

  “Oh? What about?” Atherton took up his coffee.

  The laughter of women came from the kitchen. They were back already, and Jessica and her mother were definitely amused about something. The only problem was that Austin couldn’t continue his conversation with Mr. Atherton.

  “Ladies, look who’s come to sample the cinnamon rolls,” Jessica’s father said as they entered the room.

  “Oh, goodness, Austin,” Mrs. Atherton said in surprise. “We’d have come sooner if we’d known you were here. We have a calf whose mama won’t let him nurse. After we fed him we were watching his antics. Jess, you should take Austin out to the barn and show him.”

  Mr. Atherton looked at Austin and smiled. “I think you should go, son. The calf is quite the showman.”

  Popping the last of the cinnamon roll into his mouth, Austin got to his feet and followed Jessica through the house and out the back door. He loved watching the way her skirt swayed as she walked. Her hair hung down her back, tied with a single ribbon. A ribbon that wouldn’t be at all difficult to pull loose. Austin felt perspiration form on his forehead at the thought of running his hands through her caramel and cocoa hair. He liked the way the sunshine lit glints of red amidst the browns.