She took the rag from Flo’s hand and set it directly on top of the bust like a hat. Taking her arm, Mrs. Fitzpatrick led Flo into the parlor. Flo didn’t resist. She never resisted when her employer wanted her to do something and was always willing to stop working to talk. She never got in trouble for it and she enjoyed listening to the woman.
Mrs. Fitzpatrick had Flo sit in an oversized cushioned chair while she went to the small glass bar with mirrors all around it. “I think I would rather have a glass of wine. Would you like some? Chardonnay or Merlot?”
Flo lifted her eyebrows. “I… I think I would like a glass of wine if that’s all right. Chardonnay?”
The woman chuckled, nodding. “I would not have offered if it wasn’t.”
She took out two glasses and poured the wine until both glasses were full. Flo eyed them as she brought them to the chairs and handed one to Flo. Flo felt like she’d better take a drink before some of it spilled over the rim. She carefully put it to her lips and drank in a healthy swallow.
The wine was smooth and tasted rich. She liked it very much.
Mrs. Fitzpatrick dropped into a seat near Flo. “Now tell me, dear, what is on your mind?”
Flo was suddenly a ball of nervousness. Should she confess what they had done to Mrs. Fitzpatrick? The woman was always so understanding. It was sometimes like she was on a different plain from everyone else. She lived in a world where nothing bothered her - except her ghosts and spirits - and she could handle those. She’d just build another room or rearrange the furniture.
Flo was sure the woman would have some good advice for her. She shouldn’t pass up the chance to find out what that advice might be.
“I… I want to tell you something. That I’ve done. That I’m ashamed of.”
Mrs. Fitzpatrick’s face fell into one of sorrow and she leaned forward, patting the table in between them since she couldn’t reach Flo. Out of instinct, Flo stretched her arm over the table so she could take her employer’s hand. Mrs. Fitzpatrick squeezed hers.
“You just go right ahead and tell me, dearie. I won’t judge you, I promise. The Bible says judge not, lest you be judged and to remove the plank from your own eye before you point out the log in another man’s. Or something like that.” She grinned.
Flo felt better as soon as she saw the smile. Her employer could easily have assumed she was seeing another man, had stolen from them or done something awful. But she was still smiling and willing to give comfort.
Flo pulled in a deep breath. “When Johnny asked me to marry him…” The words felt so funny coming from her mouth. He hadn’t really asked her, had he? He hadn’t really said those words in a way a man was supposed to when he was proposing. “When he asked me, it was more like… a business transaction.”
Mrs. Fitzpatrick nodded. “Yes, some men are very stiff. Men have a hard time showing emotions sometimes.”
Flo shook her head. “No, it wasn’t like that. Johnny has always been very comfortable with me. Even something like that, I just know he would…” She stopped. She was about to say he would be very loving if he ever really asked her. “It wasn’t stiff. It was a business transaction. Because you know he… has always had that infatuation with Marian Voorhees.”
Flo was secretly delighted when Mrs. Fitzpatrick’s lip curled at the mention of Marian’s name.
When the woman spoke, it was with a cautious tone. “Yes?”
“Well, when he asked me to marry him, he said that he wanted to make her jealous. And that if he could, she might try to get him back and then he could really have her. And in exchange, he would purchase a bit of land for me I’ve been looking at for a few years.”
Flo had never seen a look like that on Mrs. Fitzpatrick’s face before. She looked stunned. Her eyes rolled in her head and it seemed like she was looking all around the room rapidly. The look frightened Flo, who thought her employer had suddenly become angry with her.
“I’m sorry I lied to you and wasted your time on the dress,” she said, tears rising in her throat and making it difficult to get the words out. “I didn’t mean to hurt anyone. I just…” She lowered her head to her hands and covered her face, sobbing into them. She didn’t want to confess to this. She wanted the engagement to be real. Why couldn’t she just tell Johnny that? Why did she have to be so afraid of losing him when all she wanted was to have him by her side for the rest of her life?
In the next moment she felt Mrs. Fitzpatrick’s strong, slender arms around her. She was taken aback at first and then relaxed into the woman’s arms, resting her head on Mrs. Fitzpatrick’s shoulder and holding onto her arm with one hand.
“There, there, dear,” the woman said softly, patting her hair. “Cry it out. I’m here for you.”
“I don’t know what to do, Mrs. Fitz.” Flo cried softly through her words. “I love him. I don’t want to break off the engagement now that he’s realized Marian is a bad seed. I want to marry him. And I don’t know if he wants to marry me. I’m afraid if I tell him how I feel and he doesn’t feel the same, our friendship will be ruined and I’ll never see him again. I can’t let that happen. I can’t take that chance.”
Mrs. Fitzpatrick moved from her perch on the armrest of the chair. Flo straightened up since she could no longer rest her weight on the woman, who had moved to kneel in front of her.
She looked up at Flo with the kindest eyes Flo had ever seen. The thought that she wished her employer was actually her mother flew through her mind.
“You are going to tell him, dear. You must. You must tell him. No.” She lifted one finger and put it on Flo’s lips when she opened her mouth to speak. “No. You won’t debate with me on this. If there’s one thing I can tell, it’s when a man is in love. You tell him. I know he will say he loves you back. And if he doesn’t right away, he will come to his senses and realize how he feels. I can see it in his eyes. Even my Fitzy can tell and he doesn’t know anything about emotions.”
Flo couldn’t help giggling. “You really think so?”
Mrs. Fitzpatrick nodded. “I do. If he doesn’t say it right away, don’t you give up. He doesn’t want to let you go either. I promise you.”
Flo pulled in a deep breath, her tears fading away. She believed Mrs. Fitzpatrick. She was the wisest person Flo had ever known. Even if she was a bit eccentric.
Chapter 30
Johnny stepped out on the porch with Flo to talk. It was dusk and the sun was just setting behind the Texas horizon. He felt more comfortable than he had in a long time, even though he knew there was still danger ahead. Bekker and his two remaining men had not yet been caught.
The night air was crisp and cool, common for the desert in Hot Springs. He went to the end of the porch and perched himself on the railing, lifting one leg while leaving the other straight, holding himself up with his foot. “It’s beautiful out here this evening,” he said, lifting the cigar to his lips and ripping off the end with his teeth. He pulled out a box of matches and struck one, holding it to the end of the cigar.
Flo nodded, coming to stand next to him. “It really is. I love it. And your father’s ranch is just so nice. I have to thank him for letting me stay here so often.”
Johnny smiled at her. Having her there had been a blessing to him. He hadn’t thought about Marian since she left the clinic. “He loves you like a daughter already.”
The words came out of his mouth before he could stop them. She was staring up at him with a look he couldn’t understand. Had he made her upset? His stomach twisted in knots. All he wanted to do, looking down at her in the light from the gas porch lamps, was take her in his arms and profess his love for her.
Instead, the sound of approaching horses made them both turn away from each other and look down the path toward the main road.
Flo pushed herself closer to him and he wrapped his arm around her shoulders, which was close to what he’d been wanting to do. He glanced down at her, a warm feeling of love sliding through him.
His warm feelings turned co
ld when he saw who was coming toward him. He stepped forward and pushed Flo behind him. It was Bekker, his two remaining men flanking him.
“What could they want, Johnny?” Flo asked, breathlessly. He could tell she was very worried by the tone of her voice.
“I have no idea,” he answered honestly.
“Their guns are holstered.”
Johnny scanned the men, wondering how Flo could see so well in the dark.
“Maybe they don’t want a fight.”
“Well, they came to the wrong place then.”
He stood stock still, bracing himself for the fight he expected. As Bekker got closer, he could feel Flo pushing closer to him, as if she wanted him to absorb her. He would, if he could, to keep her safe.
“What do you want, Bekker?” he called out before the man reached the front lawn.
Bekker lifted one hand. “I’m not here for you, Johnny. Get your father.”
“You don’t give me orders, Bekker. You may have been a captain in the army but you lost your honor and your job and you can’t give orders anymore.”
“I have no fight with you.” Bekker and his men were on the lawn but stopped twenty yards away. “As you can see, we are not coming in with our guns blazing. I have no fight with you. I want to see your father. My beef is with him.”
“I don’t care what you…”
“It’s all right, Johnny.”
Johnny and Flo both turned to see that John Sr. had come out of the house, his rifle in one hand at his side. He glanced at the couple and lifted his chin once, his eyes on his son.
“Glad to see you’ve decided to come out,” Bekker said in a menacing voice. “I’ve been waiting for this day for a long time.”
Johnny’s anger welled in his chest.
“Liar,” he barked. “Coward. You know where we are. You could have come anytime. Yet you send your men to burn down our barn and…”
“I said I have no beef with you, son!” Bekker snapped. “Don’t create some.”
Johnny balled his hands into fists and stepped forward another step. “I’m not your son!” he yelled.
His father came up behind him and put one hand on his son’s shoulder. “I appreciate you, Johnny,” he said in a low voice. “Let me handle this man.”
Johnny watched his father limp down the stairs, his spine straight, his head held high. He stopped at the bottom of the steps.
“What do you want with me, Bekker?”
“I’ve been waiting a long time to confront you. You don’t intimidate easily, do you?”
“You know I don’t. I didn’t when I was under your command and I don’t when you aren’t in control. You killed a lot of men. You will pay for your crimes.”
Johnny watched the two men, leaving his eyes on Bekker and his men to make sure they didn’t pull a gun. If either of them shot his father, he would kill them all before they could blink twice.
“You won’t be the one to do that,” Bekker replied. “I’ve come to challenge you to a duel. This is between you and me. I’ll end this with you once and for all.”
John Sr. snorted. “You want a duel? You’ve got one. But the rules stand. You will pay for what you did to Juan.”
Tingles ran over Johnny’s arms and down his spine. Juan Rivera. Who was he? He wanted to ask but thought it better to keep his mouth shut for a while longer. Out of the corner of his eye he saw Alex and Jack emerging from the bunkhouse, both armed with dual pistols at their sides.
Jack spotted him on the porch and lifted his chin, giving him a questioning look.
Johnny lifted his hand in a stop motion and lifted one finger to tell the men to wait a moment. He didn’t want a gunfight erupting. People would die. People he cared about.
The two men stopped for a moment before turning to come up to the side of the house, their eyes steady on Bekker and his men.
“You recognize this?” Bekker held up a shiny pistol with an equally shiny brown wooden grip. He turned it from side to side. “I’ve had this since then. I’ve kept it in the best shape. It has one bullet in it. And that bullet has one intention. To kill you.”
Johnny surged forward but Flo held him back. He looked down at her angrily but she was shaking her head, a sympathetic look on her face. “Just give your pa a minute,” she whispered.
“I recognize it.” John Sr.’s voice was cold. “You killed Juan with that.”
“He was a traitor.”
John Sr. took a step forward. Johnny could see the tense anger in his body even though his father was facing away from him.
“He was a patriot!” John Sr. screamed. “You killed him in cold blood after torturing him for no reason! You will pay for what you did.”
Johnny hated the grin that came to Bekker’s face. “I’ve gotten away with it so far, haven’t I?”
“You lost everything! And you still won’t take responsibility! You are still blaming others for what you did! Yes, you, sir! You killed fourteen men and then the only survivor other than me. Now you want to kill me. What did you have against us? What did we do to you?”
Bekker didn’t answer. He sneered and gave John Sr. a look of hatred like none Johnny had ever seen before. “Prepare yourself, Mason!” Bekker said firmly.
Johnny noticed Flo was holding his arm so tightly that pain was shooting through it. He pulled it out of her grasp and moved a foot to stand in front of her.
“Stay behind me, Flo,” he said under his breath.
“Are they going to fight right here? Shouldn’t we go inside?”
Johnny shook his head. He was still wearing his gun, which he rarely took off anymore. He rested one hand on it.
“I’m not gonna interfere unless Pa tells me to. If he wants to go through a duel with Bekker, I’m not gonna stop him.”
“But he might get killed!” Flo exclaimed, tears in her voice. Johnny felt a surge of love for the woman slide through him and fill his heart. He put his hands back and rested them on her sides. She pressed herself against him. His heart pounded.
“I know, Flo,” he said softly. “But I can’t interfere. And Pa is a quick draw. He’s not gonna let Bekker get the best of him. My problem is those men. I have to watch them.”
He could feel Flo lean to the side to look around him. John Sr. and Bekker were still taunting each other but the two men flanking him didn’t make any moves toward their guns. Johnny was glad of that. He was relieved when he saw more of the ranch hands emerging from the fields, a few of them on horseback. Should anything go wrong, he knew they would go after Bekker and his men.
He returned his eyes to the man himself, who hadn’t taken his eyes from John Sr. and who was sneering as if he held all the cards.
But he was outnumbered. And even if he killed John Sr. in a duel, Johnny would kill him dead.
He didn’t care whether he would hang from the gallows or not. Bekker wouldn’t get away with it.
Chapter 31
Bekker slowly slid out of the saddle, landing on the ground, making puffs of dust rise around his brown boots. His spurs clinked as he walked toward John Sr. When his hand rested on his gun Johnny came down the porch steps, hopping down quickly.
“Stay right there,” he ordered, pointing at Bekker. “Don’t take another step forward.”
True Love Leaves no Doubts: An Inspirational Historical Romance Book Page 18
