Tramp's Bride

by Kathleen Ball

  Before long, they were all fed. The others, Cinders, Tramp, Cookie, Doctor Martin and Shannon, all chatted and they quickly learned their names. Ilene stood off to the side not knowing what to say and she couldn’t tell all the girls apart. Loneliness washed over her as the rest were enjoying themselves. All she could think of was how awkward and backward she was. It wasn’t any wonder that Tramp enjoyed them.

  She quietly left and went to sit on the front porch. She wanted to be on hand to help clean up. The laughter coming from inside put a lump in her throat. It wasn’t that she didn’t want to be included. She longed to be a part of it all, but she just couldn’t bring herself to join in.

  It didn’t matter. She’d been like that most of her life, though she’d thought she was used to it. The pain in her heart let her know she wasn’t used to it one bit. Her father had often said there was something not right about her and he was right. Everyone else was always at ease while she grew more and more nervous as every minute passed.

  Perhaps she was more child than an adult. Her mother had said she’d grow out of it but it hadn’t happened.

  Tramp came outside and stared at her. Quickly she turned away. He already knew she was a big nothing. A plain girl with nothing to say.

  “Are you alright? I know you don’t like crowds.”

  His soft voice eased a bit of her pain. She turned and gazed at him. “I just never know what to say is all. Plus like you said it is crowded.”

  “Too much squawking if you ask me,” he said as he sat in the wooden chair next to her.

  “Squawking?” The smile that spread across her face amazed her.

  “You know female talk. I don’t care about dresses or hair. You can tell they are family, they insult one another. I guess it would be funny but they look at me like a prized bull.” He shrugged his right shoulder as he grinned.

  “It doesn’t flatter you?”

  “Oh, there you are!” A pretty dark-haired girl exclaimed as she walked up to them.

  “Hi, Ava. I thought I’d grab some fresh air with Ilene.” Ava narrowed her blue eyes at Ilene then smiled at Tramp.

  “Yes, Ilene was very kind to drop off some food to us. Where is your husband?” Ava asked.

  “I’m not married.”

  “An old maid? I’m sorry I shouldn’t have asked. My sisters and I are hoping to find husbands. I think I may have found the one for me.” Ava batted her eyelashes at Tramp and blushed.

  “If you’ll excuse me.” Ilene didn’t want to see the pity in their eyes. Ava was right she was an old maid. She stood and walked down the steps, across the yard and into her house. She could watch from the window and see when she was needed to clean up. The only problem was watching Tramp and Ava laughing together.

  The next day, as soon as breakfast was over, Ilene saddled Gold Dust and rode. It didn’t matter where she went. Any place quiet would do. She was all caught up on her orders for baked goods, and she wanted to see if she could find the herd of horses she had spotted the other day. It was almost a shame to catch them. They were so majestic in the wild.

  It grew hot, and she was glad Shannon had given her an old cowboy hat to wear. At least her face was shaded. The wind blew the dirt into the air, and she swore every speck had landed on her and stuck. This time she had two canteens and a rifle. Tramp had been right. She hadn’t been prepared last time.

  She’d ridden west for a spell. She wasn’t as familiar with the area, and she hadn’t realized how rocky it was. She slowed Gold Dust to a walk and looked for signs of horses. There had been signs of deer traveling this way, but she didn’t find any trace of the horses.

  She was about to turn toward home when she saw the black stallion. He was powerfully built, and his thick mane blew wildly in the wind. What a sight! He whistled and called to Goldust who began to move despite her objections. “Whoa, girl. Easy now.” She pulled the reins hoping to get her under control. It didn’t work. Gold Dust reared and unseated her. She flew through the air and landed hard on the rocky terrain. Her horse stopped, and she hoped she might stay put, but after a long look at her, Gold Dust ran in the direction of the stallion.

  Stunned, she sat there and watched. The side of her head hurt and when she touched it, she felt the blood. She could feel the blood trail down the side of her face and grew alarmed. She found to her dismay that one of her arms didn’t want to work correctly. With one hand she tried to rip the bottom of her shirt to make a bandage but it wouldn’t rip. Finally she took her shirt off and ripped out the stitching that connected the sleeve with her teeth. It didn’t take long.

  She tied the ends of the sleeve together and slowly put it on her head wound. It slipped down and she groaned as she took it off and retied it. This time it was a nice, tight fit. She took the other sleeve off the shirt and made it into a sling for her arm.

  Crying out, she put her shirt back on and put her arm into the sling. At least she knew what direction she needed to walk. All she had was her hat and, thankfully, one canteen. Slowly she stood and realized her left knee hurt, and her right ankle ached. Closing her eyes, she prayed for strength and started to hobble along.

  Each step was agony and the throbbing grew worse as she slowly walked. The uneven ground made it difficult, but she was afraid to stop. What if she sat and couldn’t get back up? No, she had to go on.

  The sun relentlessly beat down on her, causing the fair skin on her arms to burn. The only time she stopped was to take a small sip of water. Her head continued to bleed, and soon the side of her face and neck were smeared with blood as was the front of her shirt.

  She stumbled as she limped across the land. How much farther? Flies buzzed around the blood and bit her. No amount of waving and shooing made them leave. What if she didn’t make it back? No one would miss her for a while. No one would notice she’d left. Her body screamed for a rest but she trudged on. One step at a time until she was so dizzy, she had no choice but to allow herself to sit down.

  On looking back in the direction she had come from, her heart dropped. She hadn’t come very far. It seemed so much more. The sun continued to bake her. Texas was so hot, so unforgiving, so hard… so deadly.

  Had her life been a waste? She never so much as made a mark on the world. She didn’t have a legacy or anything else to show for her time on earth. Only a few friends and a few meager possessions. A very sad existence.

  Gold Dust wasn’t at fault. She was just being a horse. If anything it was her fault for getting involved with horses when she had limited knowledge of them. No wonder Tramp balked at having her help. She wasn’t qualified. She wanted to close her eyes and sleep, but she made herself get back up and continue walking.

  Sometimes the pain was so bad tears welled up but she couldn’t afford a good cry. She’d only end up dehydrated. Her mind began to wander. What if she did decide to marry? She’d already turned down most of the single men. The judge was a consideration. He was nice, handsome, and very intelligent. It wouldn’t be such a bad match. He seemed like a gentleman, but did he drink? Of course, not all drinkers were hitters, she conceded.

  Then there was… Hmm, she’d considered Shane at one point but he never even looked in her direction. He had a nice wife now, Cecily. Would any man gaze at her with the same loving expression Shane had for his wife? Perhaps that would be asking too much.

  Sweat poured off her and more flies swarmed. When she was a girl she pictured herself as a mother. She sighed. That meant getting married. It was settled. She’d marry the judge if he was so inclined. Everyone respected him. Where did he live? Did he have a house in town or did he live outside of town? She didn’t know much about him at all. Except he did like flowers.

  The sun shifted to the west; it had to be after noon. The sling rubbed against her sunburned neck. Then she saw it! Up ahead, grass; glorious, green, lush grass. It lifted her spirits and spurred her on. As soon as her feet were both on the grass, she sat down and rested. It was probably only a couple hours’ walk, if she was in great
condition. The shape she was in, it would take much longer. But it did give her hope. After taking a swig of water, she got back up and continued her trek.

  She walked for at least another hour when she spotted someone on horseback galloping toward her. Please let it not be a figment of my imagination. Finally after standing and watching she recognized Tramp. She swayed and everything went black.

  What the heck? Tramp rode right toward the body on the ground. He was almost certain it was Ilene, but where was her horse? The closer he got the more worried he became. She wasn’t moving.

  As soon as he was close he jumped down and ran to her. A lump formed in his throat. She was so still. He knelt on the ground beside her and relief so great coursed through him when he saw her still breathing. There was blood everywhere on her, and her blistered skin looked excruciating. Her arm was tied up. She must have hurt it.

  Gently, he rolled her onto her back and stroked her sweat and blood drenched hair off her face. “Ilene? Ilene, darlin’ can you hear me?”

  She murmured but didn’t open her eyes.

  His heart plummeted. “I need to get you home. I just hope I don’t hurt you, getting you there.” He lifted her from the ground and laid her over the horse. He then got on the horse as gently as possible. It took a bit of doing, but he turned Ilene enough so she lay cradled in his arms.

  He signaled for Jack to walk nice and slow. They were a ways from the house. What the heck was she doing way out here? Gold Dust must have thrown her and from the condition of her skin, she must have been out in the sun all day. He stopped and took off his shirt and covered her with it. The blistering of her skin would cause a world of hurt when she woke up.

  Her head wound worried him. Head wounds always bled profusely, but the fact she still hadn’t opened her eyes indicated it was bad. He urged Jack into a trot and then finally he spurred him on to go even faster. To hell with the jostling. She needed to see a doctor.

  They rode into the yard, and Tramp yelled out for Shannon. Cookie hurried to his side and took Ilene into his arms. Tramp quickly jumped down and took Ilene back into his arms. Cookie led the way into her house and pulled down the covers on her bed.

  “Stay with her,” Cookie instructed. I’ll gather some supplies, send someone for the doc and get Shannon.

  Cookie raced for to the door before Tramp had a chance to put Ilene in her bed. Slowly and carefully he placed her on the mattress. He first took the cloth around her head off and examined the wound. It was no longer bleeding, but from the amount of blood on Ilene, it must have bled a lot. Next, he untied the sling she’d made. A pitcher and basin lay on her bedside table. He grabbed a cloth that lay next to them, poured the water from the pitcher into the basin, wet the cloth and then began to cool her burned arms.

  He’d seen plenty of sunburn before but nothing like this. The blisters alarmed him. Once he’d done that he took another cloth and began to wash some of the blood off her face and neck. The black flies must have gotten to her too. She was covered in bites. Poor thing.

  “What happened?” Shannon asked as she hurried into the room. She didn’t wait for an answer. She grabbed the basin filled with now red water and threw the water out the front door. When she came back in the basin was clean. She poured more water into it and took the cleaner of the two cloths from him.

  “What happened?” She asked staring at him.

  “Heck if I know. I found her on the western part of the ranch. No horse, and by the time I got to her, she’d passed out. She murmured for a moment but hasn’t made a sound since. I brought her back here. Cookie went to get the doctor.”

  “Actually he sent Rollo. He has the faster horse. She looks awful. Look at her beautiful porcelain skin. It’s fiery red. I have witch hazel at the house that will help.” Shannon sat on the side of the bed and gently bathed her arms. “Have you checked her feet?”

  Tramp furrowed his brow. “Her feet? Her boots are still on.”

  “We don’t know how long she walked.” She got up and pulled Ilene’s boots off. “Just as I thought. Her feet are all blistered too. She won’t be doing for herself for the next few weeks.”

  Ilene moaned and her eyes fluttered open then closed. Finally, she opened them and looked around. The confusion on her face worried Tramp.

  “Ilene, you’re at your house,” he said softly. “I found you out on the range.”

  She cried out in pain as she tried to move her arm. Gingerly with the other hand she touched the wound at her head. “I made it.” Heaving a sigh, she dropped her arm to her side and closed her eyes.

  Shannon touched his arm. “It’s a good sign that she woke up. I’m just grateful you found her. She seemed to be at loose ends lately.”

  “What do you mean?”

  Shannon walked to the end of the bed and took her time before speaking. “She was happy here. People love her baking and it gave her a sense of pride. She’s great at gardening, which came as a surprise to her. And now I hear she’s been sweet talking the mustangs. She’s so shy, and I thought she was blooming, but instead lately she seemed… I don’t know, wilted. I did see her smile when she went for a walk with the judge. I just want her to be happy again.”

  Tramp nodded then went and grabbed two ladder backed chairs. He carried them into the bedroom and placed one on each side of the bed, holding the back of one until Shannon took a seat. “I’m going to catch a breath of fresh air. I’ll be back.” He walked out to the front porch, took a cigarette from his shirt pocket along with a match. After striking the match on the bottom of his boot, he lit the cigarette and took a long draw.

  He’d hoped to see signs of Doc Martin, but no dust was unsettled for as far as he could see.

  Maybe coming home wasn’t a good idea after all. Ilene had been happy until he showed up with the exception of her spending time with the judge. His shoulders slumped. He’d thought he’d changed. He’d sworn he’d change his ways. He didn’t want to be the cause of any more hurt. At the time he’d made his vow, he’d been thinking about how he betrayed Cinders by driving Charlotte to her trysts. He’d worshipped the ground she walked on and when she chose Cinders over him, the pain never stopped. He’d never forgiven himself for his role in all of it.

  Finally, Rollo and Doctor Martin rode in. Tramp’s heart leaped into his throat. He hoped the Doc could give them some good news.

  “Where is she?” Doc asked as he hustled up the porch steps. He didn’t wait for an answer but went right inside, leaving Tramp to follow in his wake. Doc Martin set his bag on a chair next to the bed and shook his head. “What in tarnation happened?”

  Tramp stepped into the bedroom. Each time he looked at Ilene, she appeared worse. “I found her out on the range. She was a long ways out, and I have no idea how much she’d walked before I found her. She was still walking when I spotted her, then she went down. As far as I can tell there is something wrong with her left arm, she has that awful gash on her head, and her feet are blistered along with her arms. She did wake for a moment after I got to her.”

  Doc Martin glanced at Shannon. “Good, glad you’ve been tending her. I bet there was plenty of blood. Head wounds bleed a lot. He took a glass bottle out of his bag along with a clean cloth. He poured some of the clear liquid onto the cloth and began to dab at the cut on her head. “By the looks of it, it’s really not bad. It’s not deep, and like you said, she did wake up. We’ll have to watch her for a while, but I’m hopeful.”

  Tramp sighed in relief. Damn, when did Ilene become so important to him? He exchanged hopeful nods with Shannon.

  Doctor Martin examined her arm and grimaced when he looked at her sun-blistered skin. “The arm isn’t broken but we should wrap it and try to keep her from using it. It’s probably sprained. Witch Hazel for her skin would be best. I’ll have some delivered to you. I’m sure Edith has some at the mercantile. If you’ll excuse us, Tramp, I’m going to have to remove some of Ilene’s clothes to check for injuries.”

  “Sure thing. I’ll gr
ab the witch hazel Cookie keeps at the main house.” He looked at Ilene for a moment before he left. He was going to give her a tongue lashing as soon as she was up to it. Well, maybe not a lashing, but she was going to hear how her actions had scared the heck out of him. He walked out of the house and across the yard rubbing the back of his neck. As he grabbed the bottle he needed and headed back, he realized that telling her he was scared wouldn’t do. He didn’t want to seem like a sap. He was good at acting indifferent. Indifferent would be good.

  He waited in the kitchen until Shannon opened the bedroom door. “Well?”

  Shannon stepped out and smiled. “It’s not as bad as it looks. Her ankle is swollen, so Doc Martin wrapped it up. She’ll mend. I need you to stay here with her. Olivia is with Jasper’s wife, Marie, and she needs feeding.”

  Before he could say a word, she was out the door. His jaw dropped. He was supposed to stay with Ilene? He scratched his chin as he shook his head.

  “Well, good I’m glad you’re back. Sounds like you’re moving in for a spell.” Doc Martin put his bag on the table and took out a brown bottle. “This is laudanum. It’s for pain. Too much can be disastrous. Just six drops in water twice a day. I’ll be by tomorrow to see if that is enough. Oh, and she’s awake now. Use a cloth and put the witch hazel on it and pat it on her skin. Don’t rub it on, her skin is in bad enough shape, but she’ll heal.” He picked up his bag and shook Tramp’s hand. “I’m glad she’s in good hands.”

  Tramp nodded. His heart began to race. What did they mean he was taking care of her? Certainly Jasper’s wife or maybe Shannon and the baby could move in for a while. Sweat formed on his brow. He wasn’t good with sick people, not that he’d been around many but surely he wasn’t. Coffee, he needed coffee. He stoked up the cook stove and put the coffee on to boil. He couldn’t stall any longer.

  He put a smile on his face and walked into the bedroom. One of the things he’d wanted when he had drawn up the plans for the house was windows in all the rooms. Many houses had only one or two windows. That was to keep the heat inside and the bugs out. He wanted his house full of light. He planned his with glass windows and he smiled at the sun shining across the bed, Ilene lay in.