by Jill Maguire
William chuckled. “Eli,” he repeated. “I had forgotten you used to call her that.” Noah smiled along with William and listened as the elderly doctor continued. “I still remember the day your family left for the west. Elizabeth cried herself to sleep that night – and many a night afterward. She claimed you were the only boy she would ever love.”
Noah blushed slightly at William’s comment. “I was always very fond of her as well,” Noah admitted. “I remember telling her that she would marry a wealthy man someday who would spoil her with riches.”
“And that she will. It has been arranged for her to marry Doctor Blackwood – he sent for her not long ago. That’s why we were travelling to Tangle Creek.”
Noah felt like someone had kicked him in the gut. He wasn’t sure why. He and Eli hadn’t seen each other in over 10 years, but for some reason he still felt an attachment to her. To hide his feelings he told William he was happy for Elizabeth. “I’m sure he’ll make her very happy.”
William could sense the disappointment in Noah’s voice. “How about you, son? Why haven’t you met and married a nice young lady?”
Noah thought for a few moments, then shrugged and offered the only explanation he could think of. “I guess I’ve been too busy prospecting and caring for Ma.”
“You’re an honorable man Noah Cartwright. Your Ma is very proud of you, she told me so herself.”
A lump formed in Noah’s throat. “I haven’t done much to make her proud, sir. Not yet anyway.”
“Sounds like you have big plans.”
“I do,” Noah whispered. “Just hope I can make them happen before Ma is gone. I know it’s what she wants most for me.”
“Well, I’m sure you’ll figure it out, lad. If there’s anything I can do to help, please do let me know.” William patted Noah on the shoulder and lifted himself from the steps. “I’ll go check on the women.”
****
Noah stood up and walked quietly down the steps, avoiding the creaky planks. Over the past few years he had become an expert at sneaking out of the cabin without alerting Jed. It was the only way he could get to the barn to read without raising suspicion.
He sauntered across the yard and into the barn, latching the door closed and uncovering his pile of books from behind the rusted wagon wheel. With Jed away and Doc Ridgeway inside to tend to his Ma, Noah could finally spend some time alone. He propped himself up against the hay bale and swore to read until his eyes burned.
Noah loved how a book sounded when the spine cracked and how the pages smelled musty and damp with a hint of ink. He turned to the dog-eared page and began to read. His eyes scanned the first sentence, then the first sentence again. Nothing was making sense. He tried a third time, but the words on the page may as well have been in another language. What was wrong with him? Why couldn’t he concentrate?
Noah snapped the book closed and decided he was too tired to read anyway. He curled up in a pile of hay and folded his arm under his head. As soon as he shut his eyes, visions of Elizabeth Ridgeway invaded his thoughts. She looked so beautiful lying in his bed – just as sweet and innocent as when they were 12 – maybe more so. Her lips were still as pink as gumballs, her teeth as white as the clouds.
Noah could only hope that once Elizabeth awoke, she would find it in her heart to forgive Jed for what he had done. He despised his brother, he did, but he didn’t want to see him in jail – or worse – especially since they would soon be the only two Cartwright’s left.
Chapter Nine
Elizabeth slept through the night under the watchful eye of her father who sat by her bedside from dusk until dawn. In the morning, as the first haze of daylight filtered through the window, Elizabeth finally opened her eyes.
She saw her father sleeping peacefully in the chair beside her, and a small tin cup filled with brilliant blue wildflowers on the table by her feet. “Father,” she moaned groggily, pulling the heavy blanket from her body.
Her voice awakened her father and he smiled gently. “Good morning, child. How are you feeling?”
“My head is a little foggy, but other than that I’m fine. Where are we?”
“Why, we’re still at the Cartwright place, don’t you remember?”
Elizabeth gasped. “Oh father!” She tugged at her matted hair and quickly tried to flatten it. “I was hoping you had taken my advice and we were back in town at the hotel. I’m fine now, so we need to go.” Elizabeth leapt from the bed and lost her balance, falling into the table and sending the flowers and water spilling across the floor.
William rushed to his daughter’s aid.
“Now look what I’ve done,” Elizabeth huffed. “You picked me these beautiful flowers and in my haste, I’ve ruined them.”
William knelt beside Elizabeth and helped her collect the scattered flowers. “I didn’t pick these for you. Someone else did.” William pointed to the muddy footprints that led out the front door. “I think he’s worried about you.”
“As well he should be. He kidnapped you! I plan to tell the Marshall all about it once we return to town. I hope Noah Cartwright spends the rest of his days rotting in a jail cell!”
“Elizabeth Margaret Ridgeway!” Elizabeth knew she had angered her father. It was the only time he used her full Christian name. “Now, you listen to me. First of all, Noah is not the one who took me from the train. It was Jed, his older brother. And secondly, this family has been through some very hard times since they left Cranberry Bay and they deserve our friendship and forgiveness.”
Elizabeth hated when her father spoke firmly to her. It made her feel six years old again. “I’m sorry, father. I’m just……well, to be honest, this is a lot to take in all at once.” Elizabeth began pacing back and forth, rubbing her pounding head. “First you are taken at gunpoint and I don’t know if you’re alive or dead, then I track you down but you refuse to leave, and now I learn that this family of outlaws are our long lost neighbors. You can’t blame a girl for being a bit out of sorts.”
William held Elizabeth by the shoulders to stop her from pacing. “I certainly don’t blame you for being confused. I felt the same way when I first arrived. But the Cartwright’s are good people and I want to help them in any way we can.”
“I’m not sure how I can be of any help. I’m still so angry I could spit. If Jed Cartwright was here right now, I’d sock him right in the chin!”
William tossed his head back and laughed out loud. Before he could tell his daughter he wanted to do the same, the front door of the cabin flew open and Noah burst into the room. Elizabeth froze like a statue and felt the air being sucked from her lungs. Noah Cartwright, the first boy she had ever loved, and the boy she never thought she would see again, was standing right in front of her.
Elizabeth’s stare locked with Noah’s, his brilliant blue eyes filled with surprise at the overturned flowers on the floor. He was still strikingly handsome – more rugged now then when they were children – but very handsome indeed. His hair was wavy and thick and the shadow of a beard framed his jaw perfectly.
Noah quickly lowered his eyes to the floor and turned away, looking embarrassed and flustered. “Sorry, Ma’am. I heard a crash and thought it might be Ma.” Noah turned and reached for the door handle. “I’ll leave the two of you alone.”
“Actually,” William started. “I was just about to take my daughter out for some fresh air. It’ll help relieve her headache. Would you mind? I’d like to sit with your Ma.”
The awkwardness hung thick in the air as Noah sputtered and stuttered and finally nodded in agreement. Elizabeth could tell her presence was causing Noah some discomfort – and actually, she found it quite charming.
Noah held the door open for Elizabeth as the two walked outside. As he followed her, he could smell the fresh scent of her hair and noticed how it shimmered in the sunlight, just like it had when they were kids.
“Your horse?” Elizabeth asked, trying to make small talk.
“Yes, that’s Moe,” Noah an
swered under his breath.
“Do you ride for pleasure? Or just to help your brother rob trains and kidnap people?” Elizabeth knew her father would be fit to be tied if he heard her, but she needed to get it off her chest.
Noah tucked his chin into his blue plaid shirt to conceal his grin. “Just pleasure, Eli.”
Eli. She hadn’t heard that in over 10 years. “Sorry,” she said bluntly. “I suppose that wasn’t called for.”
“No apology necessary. If anything, I should be the one apologizing. I’m sorry for what my brother did to you and your father on that train.” Noah slid his hand down his horse’s side. “But I have to say, I’m glad your father is here. He’s really helped make Ma more comfortable in her final days.”
“They were great friends back in Cranberry Bay. I know my father wants to see that she is well taken care of.”
“She hasn’t had this kind of care for some time. Medicine is costly and with Doc away in San Diego…...” Noah glanced at Elizabeth. “Listen, there’s no excuse for what Jed did, and I know you’re probably furious at him -- quite frankly so am I -- but he was only trying to help our Ma.”
“I’m not sure robbery is the best way to help anyone, Noah.”
Noah felt his back straighten. He couldn’t believe he was actually defending his brother. “In Jed’s eyes, it was the only way. You don’t know what it’s been like for us out here.”
Elizabeth walked to the front of the horse and stroked him gently on the nose. She could tell she had offended Noah. “I guess sometimes we all make the wrong choices in the name of love.”
This time it was Noah who couldn’t help himself. He needed to get something off his chest. “Like marrying a man you’ve never met?” As soon as the words left his lips he wished he could take them back.
Elizabeth’s bubblegum lips that Noah liked so much were suddenly pursed with annoyance and her stunning green eyes glared at him with a look that could kill.
“Doctor Blackwood is a respectable man, with plenty of means to provide for me. We may not know each other, but in time, we will grow to love one another. That I am sure.” Elizabeth pinned her hands to her hips to make her point.
“Then I guess I was right that day on the beach. You will indeed marry a man who can spoil you with riches.”
“Indeed. Now if you’ll excuse me,” she snarled, lifting the hem of her skirt in a huff. “I’m going to see if my father will take me to town to see if my intended has returned.” She pirouetted away from Noah with her nose in the air and stomped back to the cabin.
Noah couldn’t help but grin as he watched Elizabeth, her cheeks red with fury, trip on the loose porch step and mutter a few choice words under her breath.
She was a firecracker for sure.
Chapter Ten
Elizabeth stopped in front of the door to collect herself before she went it. How dare Noah mock her and voice his disapproval of her choice to marry Doctor Blackwood? Who did he think he was?
“You’re just as childish as when we were 12, Noah Cartwright. I hate you,” she whispered under her breath. Her head pounded even harder now and the wetness of tears were beginning to fill her eyes. As she stood, staring at the back of the weathered wooden door, she wondered for a moment about her tears. Were they formed out of anger? Disappointment? Or were they tears of doubt. Maybe Noah was right. Maybe she was making a huge mistake.
She cleared her throat to release the tightness and swung the front door open. To her surprise, her father and Marion were sitting side-by-side at the kitchen table.
“Elizabeth,” her father said cheerfully. “Marion was just asking about you. Come and sit with us.” William stood and pulled a chair out for his daughter.
“Hello, Mrs. Cartwright. It’s been far too long.” Elizabeth tried to sound pleasant but her voice was laced with condolence and pity.
“Beautiful Elizabeth,” Marion said, extending her thin frail arm across the table, taking Elizabeth’s hand. “You are the spitting image of your mother. I think she was the most beautiful woman on the east coast.”
Elizabeth looked to her father who nodded in agreement.
“She reminds me more and more of Katherine every day,” William agreed. “Kat would have been so proud of her.”
Elizabeth wasn’t so sure that her mother would be proud of her choice to marry a man she didn’t love. From what she remembered of her parents when her mother was alive, they shared the truest kind of love – they held hands, kissed often and smiled at one another, even when times were tough. But maybe that kind of love only came around once in a lifetime.
“Isn’t that right, dear?”
Elizabeth realized she had been lost in a daydream. “I’m sorry, what did you say father?”
“I said you’d soon be marrying Doctor Blackwood and starting your life here in Tangle Creek.”
Elizabeth tried to agree, but the words wouldn’t come. She forced a somewhat gracious expression that fell quite short of a smile and choked out a response. “Speaking of Tangle Creek, I have my bags stored at the hotel, father. Perhaps we should go and fetch them. If my intended has returned from San Diego, he may be wondering where I am.”
“We’ll go tomorrow Elizabeth. Marion has asked that I take her outside to the garden today.”
Elizabeth wanted to argue, but out of respect for Marion, she didn’t. Instead, she offered to help Marion outside. “I’d love to visit the garden. May I join you, Marion?”
“I would love nothing more, sweet girl.”
Elizabeth slid her hand under Marion’s arm and helped her up. They walked carefully, arm-in-arm to the garden where Elizabeth eased the gray-haired woman carefully into a chair. “How’s that Mrs. Cartwright? Are you comfortable?”
“Yes, dear. Very comfortable indeed.” Marion wrapped her shawl tighter around her shoulders even though the thermometer mercury was climbing. “I see my sons haven’t been keeping up with the watering. My poor flowers look a wee bit parched.”
“I can give them some water this afternoon. There’s nothing sadder than a wilted flower,” Elizabeth agreed.
“Sort of like you,” Marion whispered.
“Like me?” Elizabeth wasn’t sure she had heard the elderly woman clearly.
“Like you. Oh, I know your father told me that you’re very excited about your impending marriage to Doctor Blackwood and that the two of you are going to start a happy new life together. But quite frankly dear, I don’t think you look very excited at all – and certainly not in love. Rather, you look a lot like my drooping flowers.”
“I’m not sure what you mean, Mrs. Cartwright. I am very excited to meet Doctor Blackwood. I’ve heard wonderful things about him.”
“I’m not claiming Doctor Blackwood isn’t a good man. Quite the opposite. He has treated me very well over the years. But……” Marion began coughing before she could finish. Elizabeth rushed to her side and helped her sit up to relieve the pressure in her chest. When the coughing subsided, Elizabeth suggested they not talk about such serious topics. But Marion was a stubborn woman and continued anyway.
“I remember the day we told Noah we were leaving for the west,” Marion recounted. “He cried for two whole days. He told us over and over how much he wanted to stay – how much he loved the ocean, the beach and searching for buried treasure. And in the quiet of the night, when I sat beside him, wiping his tears and comforting him, he told me how much he loved you.”
Elizabeth felt a sharp pain in her chest and recognized it as the pain of what might have been. She tried to dismiss it and convince Marion to do the same. “We were just children. We had no idea what love was.”
“A child’s love is the most pure, Elizabeth. It is not influenced or decided. It just is. And it could be that again, if you let it. Fate has brought the two of you back together.” Marion looked longingly into the garden, her eyes struggling to stay open in the blinding sunlight.
“I think I should get you back inside Marion. I will tend to the ga
rden and see to it that your flowers get a proper watering.”
Elizabeth unfolded the Cartwright matriarch from her chair and accompanied her back inside.
****
Elizabeth held true to her word and spent the remainder of the day tending to Marion’s garden. She weeded, watered and plucked and thought about the things Marion had said. Noah had loved her all those years ago, just as she had loved him. If only the Cartwright’s had stayed in Cranberry Bay, it may have been Noah’s name she would be taking on her wedding day.
Elizabeth shook her head. Ridiculous. That was 10 years ago and they were naïve, innocent children. Life was far more complicated now. She was locked into a marriage contract and Noah was nothing but a dirty, uneducated prospector. What kind of a life could they really have together in Tangle Creek?
As the last drop of water dripped from the bucket, Elizabeth raised her eyes to the tiny cabin. She could see Noah and her father, sitting at Marion’s bedside. Noah was holding her hand, stroking it gently as her father held a cool towel on the woman’s forehead. Elizabeth’s heart broke for Noah. She remembered all too well the pain of losing her mother.
Out of respect, Elizabeth decided to give them some time alone and not return to the cabin. She needed to clear her head anyway. She needed forget all about young love and lost chances. Her future was already determined.
Chapter Eleven
Noah lay staring at the ceiling. The floor beneath him was hard and lumpy and heat was stifling in his Ma’s makeshift bedroom. But Noah knew very well that none of those things were the reason he couldn’t sleep. All he could think about was Elizabeth Ridgeway -- comfortably tucked into his bed just a few feet away.
“Ugh,” Noah grunted and flipped to his back for the tenth time. Forget about her and go to sleep. But it was no use.
Finally after a few hours of tossing and turning, Noah got up and tiptoed out of his Ma’s bedroom, creeping as softly as he could to the front door. The hinges creaked when he pulled on the handle and he held his breath when Elizabeth moaned and rolled over in his bed. Even as she slept, her voice soothed his soul.
