Lone Star Romance Collection

by Cathy Marie Hake

  Susannah noticed Patience’s picnic basket. “Were you going to eat by yourself?” she cried.

  Patience nodded and opened her mouth to reply, but she wasn’t given the chance.

  “Why, we can’t allow that, can we, Lee?” No response. “You must join us! Come, come! Sit! There’s plenty of room for all three of us!”

  Patience was horrified. “Oh no, I couldn’t. I …”

  Susannah sat down and started taking food out of her basket. “Oh, sure you can,” she replied. “Tell her she can stay, Sheriff.” This time the question demanded a response; and when she didn’t get one, Susannah looked up at him. “Sheriff? Lee!”

  Lee heard his name, but not all that clearly. Frankly, he’d been in somewhat of a stupor ever since he looked up and saw Patience standing there surrounded by all that … hair! Where had all those lovely curls come from? Suddenly a face that usually looked pale and plain and slightly pinched looked totally different when framed by her dark blond hair. She was … pretty!

  She wasn’t supposed to be pretty.

  For some reason he didn’t want to examine, he got really irritated. And he showed it.

  “Why are you wearing your hair like that?” he snapped at her.

  Patience looked away, her face losing its smile and becoming withdrawn. Beside him, Susannah gasped.

  “Sheriff Cutler, sir! You’re going to hurt her feelings! Again!” she added with emphasis. She cleared her throat and put a hand at her neck as if to collect herself. “Now, I think you owe Patience an apology so that she will feel comfortable joining us.”

  Lee grimaced at her tone. He could tell Susannah was a schoolteacher when she talked like that. It made him want to ask that she not send a note home to his mother!

  And when had they invited Patience to join them? Wasn’t this supposed to be a date? He specifically did not want to think about Patience, much less have her join them!

  One look at Susannah’s face changed his mind. She looked stern and disapproving. He wasn’t sure he liked this side of her.

  Reluctantly, he looked at Patience, trying to squelch his feelings of concern over having hurt her again.

  “I’m sorry, Patience,” he told her, and he meant it. “You might as well join us. There’s plenty of room.”

  Well, when he puts it like that, how could I possibly refuse? she thought sarcastically. How could she not feel insulted at his treatment of her?

  More and more, Patience was determined to set the man out of her mind. How could she ever think that this man was looking at her in an admiring way? He was probably thinking about something else when he’d worn that strange look earlier.

  He was probably thinking of Susannah.

  Maybe he didn’t think she was pretty, but someone else did—Bobby Joe Aaron. Maybe she’d start casting her amorous aspirations his direction!

  Who needed a man like Leander Cutler, who treated her so shabbily? Who needed a man who, for all accounts and purposes, was in love with someone else?

  You do, her heart seemed to whisper to her. You do. …

  The picnic was a disaster. Try as she might, Susannah could not generate a pleasant conversation or salvage whatever pleasant mood they might have started off with. Lee seemed uptight and uncommunicative the whole time, and Patience acted as if she might burst into tears if she talked too much.

  Poor Susannah. Even she gave up after awhile and joined them in their stilted silence.

  The picnic had turned a perfectly wonderful day into a dreadful one.

  Patience was so upset about it, that she completely forgot that she was supposed to meet with Rachel after work.

  She had just climbed up into her wagon when Rachel ran up to her. “Patience! Wait! Did you forget that you were supposed to come to my house?”

  “Oh no!” Patience cried out in dismay. “I did, but let me tie the horses back up and I’ll come right over.”

  Rachel smiled. “I’ll wait for you and walk you over.”

  Patience smiled back, marveling at how she felt a kinship with this woman. One that, strangely enough, she was even feeling for Susannah. After a lifetime of having no real friends, two friends was a little overwhelming, but very welcome.

  “All right,” she called out and climbed from the wagon. At Rachel’s house, Patience sat in a chair as Rachel slowly circled her, eyeing her closely. Her hand was on her chin with one finger tapping thoughtfully, while her eyes squinted with concentration. Patience heard a lot of “mmmm’s” and “hmmm’s.”

  “Okay, stand up,” Rachel finally said.

  She said it with such command that Patience immediately obeyed. Rachel might be little and petite, but she sure was bossy!

  Rachel took Patience’s measurements and worked with her hair for at least twenty minutes. She took her hair down and put it back up three different times in three different styles.

  Finally, Rachel was satisfied with the way Patience’s hair looked. She took a step back and smiled. “Perfect!”

  Patience’s eyebrows lifted with excitement. “Do you have a mirror? I want to see!”

  “No.”

  Patience frowned. “What do you mean ‘no’?”

  Rachel held her arms out on either side of herself. “We’re not finished. Now, follow me.”

  Patience sighed, but obeyed. She followed Rachel into her and Caleb’s bedroom. She watched as Rachel went to her wardrobe and took out a garment made of peach-and-white cotton. The sleeves were puffed and edged with ruffles. The neck was rounded with a pretty white collar. The skirt was slim and slightly gathered with pleats at the back. It was so pretty and feminine.

  “It’s beautiful, Rachel!” she said wistfully.

  “It’s yours.”

  Patience looked at Rachel with disbelief. “It’s mine?”

  Rachel nodded. “I had made it for a lady in Tyler, but she decided on a different color. I held on to it, hoping I’d be able to use it for something else. After I talked to you last night, I came home and took some tucks and made a few adjustments. According to my measurements, it should fit perfectly.” She held the dress out to Patience.

  Reverently, Patience reached out and took the dress. Carefully, she held it with one hand, while touching the exquisite workmanship with the other. “I don’t know how I can pay you right now. I …”

  Rachel laid a hand on Patience’s arm. “It’s a gift, Patience. You’ve been on my heart ever since Caleb and I returned from our honeymoon. I wanted to give you this so that when you wore it, you would know that someone was thinking about you and praying for you.”

  Rachel dropped her hand and smiled gently at Patience. “I’ve felt that you needed a friend, and I’ll be honest with you—I’ve needed one, too.”

  Tears welled up in Patience’s eyes. “I would love to have you for a friend, Rachel.”

  “Then, it’s settled,” Rachel declared, with tears in her own eyes. “Now, let’s get that dress on so that you can see how pretty you look!”

  Patience laughed. “I don’t know about that, but I do want to get into that dress!”

  After a lot of unbuttoning, buttoning, and straightening, the dress was finally on. Rachel stepped back, once again inspecting her work.

  A look of pure wonder spread across her face. “Oh Patience …,” she whispered in a voice filled with awe.

  “What? Oh Rachel, I want to see!” Patience cried impatiently.

  Rachel took Patience by the hand and led her to a full-length oval mirror.

  This can’t be me was the first thing she thought upon seeing her reflection. The woman staring back at her was elegant and graceful. Patience Primrose was frumpy and plain.

  Her hair was pulled up, but Rachel had cut strands of hair so that they curled and framed her face. And then there was the dress. In it, she didn’t look like her too-skinny self, but rather slim and elegant. It fit her perfectly.

  “I can’t believe this is me.” Her voice was full of wonder.

  Rachel crossed her h
and over her chest and looked quite pleased with herself. “Well, believe it!”

  The sound of a door opening drew their attention from the reflection. Childish chatter and the clomp of little footsteps resounded throughout the house. Rachel’s face lit up. “Caleb and the children are home! Come on. Let’s show Caleb.”

  Suddenly, Patience was unsure of herself. “I don’t think …”

  Rachel rolled her eyes. “Come on, Patience. Courage, girl, courage!” Then she pulled her from the room and into the parlor, where Caleb and the children were.

  Caleb grabbed at his hat and took it off his head. “I didn’t know you had company, Rachel.” He held his hand out to Patience. “I’m Reverend Stone, ma’am. And you are?”

  Patience looked at him in disbelief. “It’s Patience Primrose, Brother Caleb. Don’t you recognize me?”

  Rachel playfully swatted his arm. “Caleb Stone, you are such a tease!”

  She turned to Patience with a shake of her head. “Of course he knows who you are, Patience. That’s just his way of saying that you look nice.”

  She looked at Brother Caleb and saw the teasing glint in his eyes as he smiled at her. She wasn’t sure what to say.

  “I didn’t mean to tease, Patience. I think you look very nice.” He rubbed a finger across his chin as if contemplating something. “I cannot wait till Lee sees ya!”

  Patience’s mouth thinned. “Thank you, Brother Caleb, but I don’t care if I ever see the sheriff again!”

  The preacher winced. “Did I say the wrong thing?”

  Rachel intervened. “Children, did you all have a good time looking at Harold Ray’s new horses?” she said, addressing the children.

  Jessie, the eldest of the children that they were in the process of adopting, answered, “Yes ma’am. My favorite was the palomino!” he exclaimed, excited.

  Emmy and Caitlin both asserted that they both liked the black mare with the white spot on its forehead.

  Patience watched the family converse, grateful that the subject of Lee Cutler was dropped.

  The reverend hit too close to the truth when he commented about Lee seeing her with her new look. She so wanted to know what he would think. She wanted to know if he thought that she looked pretty, that she could be someone he could love now that she looked different.

  But her mind was made up. More and more she realized that if Lee didn’t like her as plain Patience, she didn’t want him. She wanted him to like her for her—not for what she looked like.

  She once again looked at the reverend and his wife as they laughed with their children. Brother Caleb had loved Rachel despite what the town had thought of her. He wanted her for his wife, and nothing was going to get in his way.

  That’s the way Patience wanted to be loved. And more and more, she believed that God would help her find it.

  Somewhere out there was a man who would love her and cherish her like the reverend loved Rachel.

  She no longer believed it was the sheriff.

  Chapter 12

  The next morning was Sunday, and everyone was sitting in their pews and listening to Brother Caleb introduce the soloist for that morning when Lee finally arrived. He couldn’t believe he’d overslept. He had an old rooster that woke him up at five-thirty on the dot, every single morning. And Lee was sure that the ornery critter had probably crowed his heart out this morning, too, but he hadn’t heard it. He’d slept right through it.

  And it was all Patience’s fault.

  He couldn’t believe it when she’d shown up yesterday at his picnic with Susannah. She must have planned it. Somehow she heard that he was taking Susannah on a picnic, and she’d deliberately set out to sabotage it!

  She wasn’t going to get away with it. He was going to …

  Just then, Susannah caught his eye. She gave him a little wave to let him know that she’d saved him a seat. Hurriedly, he made his way to the second row from the back and sat beside her.

  He looked across the aisle and nodded to Billy and Daniel, then looked back to Susannah.

  She smiled at him. As usual, she looked pretty as a summer’s day in her yellow dress made of silk. “I thought you weren’t coming,” she whispered close to his ear.

  “I slept a little late this morning,” he whispered back in response.

  “You’re just in time to hear her!”

  He looked up to see who “her” was.

  He should have known it’d be Patience. He dreamt about her, he saw her at dinner parties and on outings with other women, and she popped up in his mind at the most unusual times. Why should today be any different?

  Only … wait a minute! This wasn’t the Patience who sat by his bedside when he was sick, the one who laughed with him when he felt blue after being away from work so long. This wasn’t the quiet, mousy girl who brought his meals and who ran away from a party after he’d cruelly laughed at her. No. This was someone different. Someone he didn’t know! This Patience had her hair curled and styled, and she was all gussied up in a shade of peach that made her skin glow like gold. A dress that fit her figure perfectly.

  He hadn’t known that Patience even had a figure.

  What had she done to herself? First, it was the hair thing at the picnic and now this.

  Lee didn’t like this one bit. He had firmly convinced himself that he wasn’t attracted to her, and here she was making it harder for him.

  Then she began to sing. It was not the first time he’d heard her, for she sang often. But it was the first time her voice affected him.

  Her sweet, clear tones floated over him like a warm balm. He couldn’t say what the song was, because all he could hear was the sincerity and passion behind those words.

  He was captivated.

  Patience saw him come in and sit by Susannah. Not that she cared, of course. It was merely an observation.

  No, today was a new day. She was going to sing her song and step down. She wasn’t going to look at the sheriff. Not once!

  Okay … maybe one little peek. As she sang, she cast a quick glance his direction and then looked quickly away.

  He was looking at her, and knowing that almost made her forget the words. Not wanting to take away from the meaning of the song by messing up, she firmly put Lee to the back of her mind, closed her eyes, and began to put her heart into it.

  Patience loved to sing. She always thought it was the only thing that she did do well. It was the only thing her mother ever complimented her on, so she practiced often. And it was a way for her to forget her problems and dreary life. But best of all, she could express her feelings to God in a way she couldn’t with a prayer.

  When it was over, Brother Caleb came up and thanked her, and she stepped down to take her seat. Most of those who caught her eye were smiling at her with looks of appreciation, with a little wonder mixed in. They were obviously surprised at her new look.

  And they weren’t the only ones.

  She hadn’t meant to look at Lee, but her empty seat was situated right in front of him and Susannah. Her eyes just naturally went to him. For a moment, it seemed all time had stopped.

  Their eyes met and held. Patience felt as though she couldn’t look away. Something strange was happening to her, and it was wonderful and terrible all at the same time. Wonderful, because his warm gaze made her feel beautiful and wanted. Terrible, because she knew he was feeling something, too; yet he would continue to deny it till his dying breath.

  And deny it he would … later. But not now. Not at this moment. Why couldn’t he look away? Why did he feel as if he were drowning in her gaze? Emotions that he couldn’t even begin to fathom were building up so heavily within his chest, he felt as though he couldn’t breathe.

  “Sit down, Patience! What’s wrong with you?” Patience’s mother hissed at her, yanking on Patience’s skirt.

  It made both of them jump, each becoming aware of their surroundings. Lee glanced around and to his chagrin everyone was staring at them! Even the preacher. In fact, Caleb was smiling a
t him as if he knew something Lee didn’t.

  As Patience whirled around and sat down, Lee felt his face burn; and he knew that he must be the color of the Red River. He glanced over to Susannah, and she was giving him a searching look. He looked away, not wanting her to read what must have been clearly written on his face.

  He was attracted to Patience Primrose.

  He could deny it to his dying day, but there it was. It didn’t mean anything, of course. He’d been attracted to a lot of women. This time was no different.

  Just for reassurance, he reached over and took Susannah’s hand. He heard her breath catch in a small gasp; and when he glanced at her, she was looking at him as though he were crazy.

  Maybe he was crazy. Like a little boy that had just gotten his hand slapped for stealing from the cookie jar, he let go of her hand and placed it back on his own leg.

  Things weren’t going according to his plans. He was supposed to be growing closer to her, building a relationship with her, not letting his foolish feelings for another woman get in the way!

  Susannah was the woman he was going to marry. Now if he could just get her to believe that.

  No. If he could just get himself to believe …

  Two weeks passed; and no matter how hard Patience tried not to, she kept running into Lee. She knew that he thought that she was following him around, but she really wasn’t. It was just that they were both working in town, and he always seemed to be going the same direction that she was going!

  And worse, she always seemed to interrupt his attempts at courting Susannah.

  If Lee wasn’t irritated before, he was now.

  Patience had done her best to keep him out of her mind. She worked three days a week at the mercantile and had earned the money to buy material, and Rachel was making her dresses out of it. She was wearing her hair in the style that Rachel had taught her, though her mother griped about it at every chance. But Patience was an adult now, and her mother just had to realize that!

  Something else had happened to Patience that had never happened before. She began getting gentlemen callers! Men she’d never known existed were coming up to her and asking to escort her to church or were bringing her flowers.