by Faye Sonja
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4
Sister Reunion
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“I won’t be marrying for that love alone.
I’ll be marrying because we make
sense on an intellectual level.”
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“Averill! No…can it really be you?” Adeline stood at her door and her hands went to her mouth and then stretched out towards Averill, who stepped into them and hugged her sister.
“Yes. We’re early. Mr. Fairweather thought we’d best not delay with Baxter asking so many questions.”
“Oh, the good Lord be praised, you’re here and safe. What of Mama?” Adeline ushered her inside.
“She’s at the pub lodgings in Goldrush. We’ve had a quite an adventure getting here. The stagecoach was attacked by outlaws, twice.”
“Goodness. No. The stagecoach I’d never recommend, not lately. But I see you got to meet our handsome sheriff.” Adeline grinned at Jacob, who still stood at the doorway. “Do come in, Jacob.”
“Is James here?”
“James will be out in the fields until dark, as always.”
“I’ll ride on to Jack’s place, and get him to bring Amelia.”
“Yes, do that. We can all have supper. I have a lovely ham and plenty of potatoes and corn.”
Jacob tipped his hat and left.
“Jacob says we can be married tomorrow afternoon. I’m not sure it’s enough time to get it done.”
“Goldrush people are somewhat experts in fast marriages. And Jacob is a force to be reckoned with. He’ll get his way, as always.”
“Oh, Adeline, you are glowing. How are you feeling? A baby will be so wonderful. A new life and a new start.”
“I’m well enough, sister. I get a little tired now and again, but otherwise I’m feeling wonderful. The bub is beginning to move quite a lot now, so we think that’s a sign of good health.”
“I’m so pleased, as Mama will be. She’s been thinking of you a lot lately.”
“We’ve so much to catch up on. I go into the bakery early tomorrow, so we’ll take the cart together.”
“You take it alone?”
“Oh, yes. Here the women do everything the men do, well, almost. It’s quite progressive.”
Averill liked the sound of that. “How long will Amelia be?”
“Knowing her, not long. I’d say within the hour. Let’s get some potatoes peeled and on. It’ll be dark by the time she arrives and James is in.”
“What are the Blairs like, Adeline?”
“I won’t lie, there’s been challenges, but we’ve overcome them all.”
“Is Jacob a good match for me?”
“I think he is. You’ll challenge each other and that is a good thing. Just hold onto the love that will grow and you’ll find a way.”
Averill nodded as she took a potato to peel. “I’ll give it my best shot.”
“Good girl, and you can come to me and Amelia anytime you need to.”
“I’ll try not to be a pest and call on you all the time.” Averill wanted to be able to do this without asking for help every day but it was comforting to know her sisters were here for her.
The potatoes now boiled on the stove, and Adeline had made a pot of tea and was fixing the ears of corn as Averill sipped her hot drink. “This tea is divine. I never thought a cup could taste so good.”
“By the sounds of the day you had, I can understand why you need it. How exciting with Jacob there to be your knight in shining armor.”
“I think that was Mama. Did you know she carried a pistol in her stocking?”
Adeline laughed out loud. “I didn’t, but nothing with that woman surprises me. She has the sharpest mind I know.”
“I’m worried she’ll be lonely once I marry.”
“We’ll be sure to keep her company then. There may even be some gentleman she could marry one day.”
“Not here.”
“Why not? Goldrush has some wonderful characters.”
“I believe Mama is in love with Reginald Fairweather, and he with her.”
“Reg? Oh, goodness. I wonder if that’s true.”
The door burst open and in raced Amelia, as beautiful as ever. “Averill! Jacob told us the story. Thank goodness you’re safe, and you’re here.” She hugged Averill to her and held on forever. That felt so good. Averill knew this was the right choice now. All the family was together again.
“It’s so good to see you, Amelia. I’ve missed you both so. The house is too quiet without you two.”
Amelia stopped hugging and sat at the table. “Sit. Tell me, did Mama really fire a gun?”
“Right after she pulled it out of her stocking, then ‘boom’ right in his head.” Averill nodded and smiled at the open-mouthed Amelia.
“Oh my goodness. I never knew that. She saved your lives. What do you think of our new sheriff?”
Averill felt the blush creep up her cheeks. “He’s very handsome. Not at all what I expected.”
“We were the same with James and Jack, weren’t we, Adeline?”
Adeline nodded. “Yes, but one thing is certain, seeing that advertisement in the paper all that time ago was a gift from God. I couldn’t be happier with anyone and my businesses are thriving.”
“My art is still selling and Jack almost has his book finished.”
“Book?”
“Oh, yes. He’s a wonderful writer and an avid reader.” Amelia smiled and her face lit up.
Averill was pleased to hear Jacob’s older brother was adept with writing and reading. They’d had a good education by the sounds of it. “I’m looking forward to discussions with him, in that case.”
“By the way, Averill, pay no mind to our mother-in-law; she’s quite disagreeable but we have high hopes she’ll come around when we spend Christmas together. I think, perhaps, I’ll enjoy your educated discussions with her.”
Adeline laughed and shook her head. “I’m so pleased mine is wonderful. She’s taught me so much about making the most of living out here. She was one of the very first women pioneers and came in to dirt floors, with only beans and rice to cook. Remarkable lady.”
“Is our mother-in-law educated, Amelia?”
“Oh, supremely so. Education is very important to her,” Amelia said.
“We’ll have that in common then. She might support my efforts to become a lawyer.”
“Averill, are you serious? Is that even allowed?” Adeline sat and wiped her hands on her apron.
“It is now. Women will soon enough win the rights to do many things, and rightly so.”
“Averill, I’m not sure our mother-in-law will agree with such liberal views. She’s quite traditional.” Amelia smiled and patted Averill’s hand.
“I guess we’ll find out soon enough.”
“The wedding is tomorrow!” Adeline’s eyes lit up as she told Amelia.
“This will be wonderful. Finally, we’ll have us all together for a wedding. I’ll come to town early with you both. We can go see Millie and Reverend to organize everything.”
Just then two strapping men walked in and Jacob followed. They all looked similar. The tallest went to Adeline as she stood and put his arm about her shoulders. The other hugged Amelia and held her hand.
“This is James, Jacob’s cousin.” Adeline smiled and looked up at him with adoration in her eyes.
“And this is Jack, Jacob’s brother.” Amelia grinned from ear to ear and gave a giggle.
“And I’m Jacob, just in case you forgot.” Jacob smiled his cracking smile and stepped up beside her; she just wanted to hug him but that wouldn’t be proper.
“Oh, go on, we’re all together and this isn’t New York, have a hug.”
“With your permission, Averill.” Jacob looked at her with his eyes shining.
Averill held her arms out and Jacob stepped forward a little more to hug her. It felt so wonderful to be
here with her sisters and their husbands. Like she belonged. After tomorrow she would belong here with all her family properly.
“Let the men wash up for dinner, and then it’s an early night seeing as we’re having a wedding late tomorrow afternoon.” Adeline went to begin mashing the potatoes and Amelia buttered the cobs of corn.
“A wedding tomorrow?” James sounded very surprised.
“Yes. Why wait? I’ve asked Averill if she’d like to marry me tomorrow.” Jacob grinned and the other two men laughed.
“Here I was thinking you’d be trying to put it off.” Jack slapped his brother on the back. “Never thought I’d see the day, little brother. Especially after my wedding –”
“Jack. Go wash up. No telling tales,” Amelia interrupted quite suddenly, but not in a rude way.
Jacob looked relieved and Jack scuttled off outside. Averill wondered what the story was there. Had Jacob done something at their wedding? She’d ask later, in private. By all accounts this sheriff thing was very new and she could tell that the men weren’t sure about it yet. The shared looks and raised eyebrows meant they had their doubts about Jacob.
What she didn’t know was why. Perhaps there was quite a lot she didn’t know about Jacob. But then, there was a lot he didn’t know about her, and wasn’t that just how Adeline and Amelia’s marriages had started out? There was no need to worry. As Mama always said, she couldn’t expect everything in life to run to a plan.
Averill just preferred it that way. When she had it all planned down to the last detail, she felt relaxed and in control. But it didn’t take a lot to work out that being here meant that likely wouldn’t happen a lot. That made her nervous for sure. But having faith was something she needed to do more of.
God would do right by her; she knew that her faith would get her through the tough times, and the path she was mapping out for herself was sure to need a lot of faith. The plate of food before her now smelled like the best food ever.
“I’m so hungry. I didn’t realize till now.” Averill sniffed the aroma. “Adeline, this is wonderful, thank you.”
“I’ve learned a thing or two about cooking since I’ve been here.” Adeline brought the last of the plates to the table. “James, say grace, please, before Averill eats the plate as well as everything on it.”
James nodded and grinned, then bowed his head and everyone followed suit. “Thank you Lord for this wonderful food tonight. Thank you for delivering Averill and her mother safely to us today. Amen.”
“Amen,” everyone chimed in.
Averill began to eat and she swore she’d never tasted better potatoes or sweeter corn.
“Averill, you can stay here with us tonight. Amelia and Jack, perhaps you’ll take Jacob in hand and see he gets to the church on time tomorrow.”
“Sure thing. We’ll head into Goldrush in the morning and see what needs doing,” Jack answered, and then kept on eating.
“It’ll all be lovely. It’s nice that we all will have the same church and reverend to marry us,” Amelia said.
“It is. I can’t wait to see Mama either. I’ve missed sharing my life with her so much. Letters are nice, but hardly the same. Has she been well, Averill? I mean, with being alone and all the drama.”
“Mama is a very strong woman. She’s more than ready to get on with her life, just like us.”
“I hope we never have to see Lex Baxter ever again.” Amelia sounded very sincere about that. “I wanted to travel back and steal his paperwork and destroy it. But it was too dangerous. I had my heart set on it, though.”
“There is still the set at our lawyer’s office, so that may not have worked as you’d thought, Amelia. But I know it would be nice to not have this hanging over our heads forever,” said Averill.
“A debt should die with a man, not be left to his family.” James spoke up now. “That’s my opinion anyway. If you didn’t incur the debt, how can you be responsible for it?”
“This is why women should not be controlled by their husbands by law.” Averill was pleased the others nodded.
“Just shoot him. Easy way to end a problem,” said Jacob.
Averill turned to Jacob, shocked by his statement. “You can’t just go killing people because the law is on their side, no matter how despicable they are.”
Jacob stared back at her and Averill noticed the table had gone very silent.
* * *
5
Lesson Learned
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“I won’t be marrying for that love alone.
I’ll be marrying because we make
sense on an intellectual level.”
.
“Seems to me the law would be a lot easier if people dealt with things that way.” Jacob spoke the words and saw Averill frown as she stared at him.
“The law is there for a reason. I’d think as sheriff, you’d be in favor of it.”
“Before I was sheriff, I’d sort things out over a bottle of rum with Judge Burns and Freddie, the town lawyer. Got the job done.” Jacob stopped eating when he could practically see the smoke coming out of Averill’s ears and the other two ladies hitched their breath.
“A bottle of rum! Jacob, are you saying you’re a drinker, because if you are there most definitely will not be a wedding tomorrow.”
“I…I…ah…” He just couldn’t think of the words to say. He’d spent more of his life drunk than sober since he turned fifteen.
“He means, he used to drink. But now he’s seen the error of his ways and he doesn’t touch a drop.” Jack spoke up and Jacob was grateful for that, but to say he’d never drink again? Never was a very long time.
“Is that true, Jacob?” Averill trained her eyes on him again. “Have you given up drinking, for life, because I simply cannot abide a drinker, not after Papa…” Averill’s voice trailed off and she bit her bottom lip. Jacob knew this meant everything to her.
“I swear on the bible, Averill Archer. If you become my wife tomorrow, I’ll never drink again.” It was time he made his choice. He couldn’t act like a child forever.
He could feel the collective sigh of relief around the table.
“Very well. I will hold you to that promise.” Averill gave a small smile. “Let’s not let the food get cold. Eat up everyone. I’ll sleep very soundly tonight and if I don’t hurry, I’ll be sleeping here at the table.”
Jacob was relieved to hear the chuckles and the chatter between mouthfuls start up again. He guessed he’d just learned some very important things about Averill. One, she was passionate about the law. That was really good because she’d enjoy working in the office with him and sorting the sheriff’s paperwork. They’d be a team.
But no more talk of that until after the wedding. A young lady deserved her time to have joyful thoughts about her special day and not the worries of work. There was a small cottage behind the sheriff’s building that they’d live in. He hoped she’d like it there. Tomorrow he’d go in and get it all set up with fresh flowers and pretty scents.
Averill was very small compared to her sisters. Everything about her looked like delicate porcelain sure to break. But seeing her striding up that road today, and listening to her just now, Jacob could tell she had all the strength of Adeline and Amelia, and probably their mother, Elizabeth, rolled into one. She was not to be trifled with, and he wanted to make her happy any way he could.
Everyone had eaten enough and the ladies had taken their leave to the sitting room for a quick round of planning the morning’s events and saying goodbyes for the night. Jacob, James and Jack stood on the porch.
“So, looks like you’re a sober man.” James patted Jacob on the back.
“Looks like it.”
“You’ll be better for it. A wife is better than grog any day,” Jack said.
“I’m sure. Although, it may take a while to get her to my way of thinking about the law and stuff.�
�
James and Jack both roared out laughing at this.
“Let me know when you find a way, I could do with the help.” James stepped off the porch and into the darkness. “Better get used to the fact that the Archer girls have minds of their own and strong ones at that.”
“I’ve given up telling Amelia she can’t do something. She just smiles and agrees, and then goes and gets it done.” Jack followed James down the steps.
“Averill has said in her letters that we’ll discuss everything at length and decide the best way together.”
“Hah! Yes, that’s sure to be what happens.” Jack laughed again. “C’mon, we’ll go and get you some sleep. Tomorrow is going to change your life forever, and quite frankly, you need it. After the way you turned up at my wedding, you need to give up the drink.”
“Not much left to do when you’re a cowboy.”
“You’ve a chance to give up that life and make a new start for yourself.” James put his hand on Jacob’s shoulder.
“Perhaps. If it all works out.” Jacob was thinking about the fact that he couldn’t read or write. If he could make it work with Averill doing the bookwork he’d be able to stay in the job. There simply wasn’t a lot of choices for those who couldn’t. He’d have to go back to moving the herds and that would mean weeks of leaving Averill alone.
He didn’t even have a home to offer her without the sheriff’s cottage. Before getting that job he was going to get James and Jack to help him build a small home on his land. He’d still do that, if that’s what Averill wanted.
They mounted the cart. Jacob jumped in the back so it wasn’t too squashed up front with Amelia, and waved goodbye to James, Adeline and Averill. They’d only just met today but he missed her smile already. His life was about to become the very opposite of what it had been and everything he thought he’d never have. He’d resigned himself to being an old cowboy, out of work and alone. Adeline’s letter to James had changed the rest of their lives beyond comparison.
Maybe God was looking out for him after all. Tomorrow he’d swear to God that he’d take care of Averill for life, for better or for worse. That meant a lot. He’d be there to protect her, and if that Lex Baxter showed up, he’d sort it out with his gun. A dead man can’t demand payment and Averill would see that sometimes it was the only way.
