Brides of the West-Part One

by Hestand, Rita

  She fluttered her lashes, but found it funny and laughed.

  She didn't fit in. There was no wonder. As a child, she seldom came to town. When her folks were alive, she had preferred staying with her mother or her siblings than riding the buggy into town on a hot, muggy day. So she knew little of custom, except what her mother had taught her. Her mother had a no-nonsense approach to life and she had adopted it.

  With little food, she was light-headed. How was she ever going to walk home feeling like this? She sat and rocked in the chair for a long while. She knew she should get home, but she was dead tired and so frustrated. She hated going home and telling the kids she had failed again. Three other men had turned her down today. Not even for a minute considering her offer. Perhaps she didn't offer what they wanted.

  Before she knew it, she'd gone to sleep in the chair. She hadn't realized just how tired she was.

  When someone shook her shoulder, she jumped.

  It was the cowboy and he was looking at her long and hard. "Where's your horse?" He asked as though he had every right to know.

  "Don't have one…" She said, yawning and stretching her legs, then looking about to see his expression.

  "How did you get to town, then?"

  "Walked."

  "How far out you live?" His expression was a wad of frowns now.

  "I don't know, about five or six miles I reckon." She said straightening her clothes and glancing around the town.

  "Where you stayin'?"

  "Stayin'?" She asked not sure what he was talking about. "I'm not stayin', I'm lookin' for a husband and then I’m going home."

  "You don't give up easy do you kid?" He shook his head with disdain.

  "I can't. And I'm not a kid. And I would think someone would notice that." She wailed as she covered her face as though washing it.

  He sighed heavily, then took her hand and led her off the porch. "Come on. I'll get you a place to stay for the night."

  "I can walk home…" She offered, pulling on his hand to let go.

  "At night?" He turned to look at her.

  "Why not. Not much difference except it's cooler at night."

  "You have got to be out of your mind girl. Don't you know how dangerous that could be? You are coming with me…" He instructed jerking her arm around so he could loop it on his.

  "Coming with you? Oh, now…you done turned me down. I'm going home. And I done told you, I won't be one of them…"

  "Not tonight you aren't. I got a room, you can sleep there and tomorrow you can go home."

  "Where you gonna sleep?" She glanced at him wide eyed.

  "At the livery stable…"

  "You mean you would give me your room?" her eyes widened. "Why would you do a fool thing like that?"

  "Don't matter…" He shook his head and stared with such intensity, she became flustered.

  Awkwardly she followed him into the hotel. He took her up the stairs, while the desk clerk watched them every step of the way.

  He opened the door for her and she went inside. It was a nice size bed and dresser and a little table beside the bed.

  He stretched his arm at the doorway and watched her.

  She stared at everything with her mouth hanging open.

  "What's the matter, haven't you never seen a hotel room before?" He chuckled.

  "No sir, I haven't." She sat on the edge of the bed and closed her eyes at the softness of it. She'd never imagined anything so grand.

  "Well, it's yours for the night, kid."

  He turned and was about to leave.

  "I owe you….What's your name?"

  He cast her a strange look over his shoulder. "No, you don't owe me a thing. Just get some sleep. I'll come over in the morning and we'll go eat some breakfast. Then you are going home. And my name is Dal Odom."

  "Dal, that's a funny name. Is it short for Dallas?" She asked.

  "Nope, just Dal. Now get some rest."

  He started to leave, but turned to look at her one last time, "Lock this door and keep it locked until I come for you in the morning."

  "Yes sir….But we never lock our doors at night at home."

  "Well you do here kid."

  She shrugged.

  Pride kept her mouth shut. And then she put that familiar thought she had earlier in her heart. This was the man she had saved four years ago. It had to be. He had the same good looks, looks she couldn't quite keep out of her mind even at fourteen. At eighteen, it seemed to matter even more.

  That evening, she lay on the bed in her underclothes and marveled at the size of the bed and the comfort of it. She'd never slept in a bed this soft, nor this big. She rolled from one side to the other, and giggled at herself. She felt she had died and gone to heaven.

  In minutes, she was asleep.

  The next morning he pounded on the door. She had dressed and combed her hair and washed her face. Sleep had done her good as she looked much better this morning. Perhaps she had looked kind of dirty to the man yesterday since she had walked into town. Her dress was dusty, her hair had been a mess, but there was a comb on the dresser and she had used it to comb her hair with this morning. The brush was silver and quite beautiful. She cleaned her teeth with the rag by the water pitcher.

  "Who is it?" She called before opening the door.

  "It's me…" The cowboy answered. "You decent?"

  "Yes sir…"

  He turned the knob and came inside. "You hungry?"

  "A little," She admitted just as her stomach announced itself to the room.

  He laughed. But his eyes seemed to take her in now, as though he'd never really seen her. "You look better this morning. Your hair and all. Let's go have some breakfast then." He insisted, with a chuckle.

  He ordered for her since she obviously couldn't read the menu, she was taking so long.

  She laid it down.

  He ordered her ham and eggs, with grits and biscuits. She ate every bite and the coffee was so good she drank three cupful's.

  "I didn't figure you could read the menu…" He began.

  "Oh, I can read…but…I didn't know how I was gonna pay for the meal. And I'm not familiar with those words an all. I don't think ham and eggs are in the Bible."

  "Not that I remember," He smiled warmly. It appeared that a good night's sleep did him good too. "Well, the first thing you gotta understand, if you really are a fully grown woman is that the man pays for the meals."

  She turned her head in question. "Is that a fact? Who said?"

  "It's just common sense. The man leads, the woman follows, just like in the Bible."

  She was learning fast.

  "That's a fact. So…where did you learn to read?"

  "My Ma, she taught me from the bible mostly."

  "How did your folks die?" He asked wiping his mouth with his napkin. She mimicked his actions.

  "They were killed in a stagecoach robbery."

  "Both of them?"

  "That's what the Sheriff said. We buried them out under the oaks by our place when they brought their bodies home."

  "Why were they on a stagecoach and you kids not with them?"

  Bonnie wondered why he was so interested. But she tolerated him since he was buying her breakfast. "They went to look at some land to buy. Down in Llano county. They couldn't take us 'cause it costs too much for all of us to go on the stage. So we stayed home. I was fourteen at the time and used to babysitting my brothers and sister."

  "Four years ago?"

  "Yes sir…."

  "You really are eighteen?" He looked shocked.

  "Did you think I lied?" She questioned as she sipped her coffee.

  "Uh…look, you don’t' need to sir me. My name is Dal Odom."

  "Okay, Dal. This coffee is just fine. I haven't had anything like this in a long time. I have to add crushed nuts to mine as we don't often have real coffee."

  "Easy on that stuff, it can give you the shakes…" He warned her.

  "It can? I sure do like it." She smiled for the first t
ime.

  Some of the people around them stared at her. It made her squirm in her seat. Did she have her dress on backwards? She knew she'd combed her hair, so what were they all staring at?

  When he saw it bothered her, he leaned forward and whispered. "Don't let them bother you."

  She nodded.

  When they were done, he escorted her out and they headed for the livery stable.

  "Why were they starin' at me?" She asked as soon as they left the café.

  "You have mighty pretty hair, I’m sure that is what they were thinking."

  "They weren't looking at my hair." She frowned at him. "Now tell me the truth, what were they lookin' at?"

  "Well," He glanced at her and stopped in the middle of the street to explain.

  "Like I said you didn’t look eighteen. They probably thought I was robbing the cradle."

  She huffed, and walked in front of him.

  "Where are we goin' now?" She asked turning around to look at him.

  "To get my horse and take you home." He said not bothering to look at her.

  "But I didn't find a husband…" She cried aloud as she stopped in the street. "That's what I came for, and I didn't get it done."

  "Another day…maybe." He frowned as they walked.

  "But I got to find one…" she protested.

  He glanced at her, stopped and took her by the shoulders. "Girl, you hush up about that. You are too young to be thinking about marriage."

  She stopped walking in the middle of the street, put her hands on her hips and stared with a stiff upper lip. "I am eighteen I have you know. That's plenty old enough. My Ma was sixteen when she married."

  "Well, you sure don't look it." He shook his head and pulled on her arm. "You might be eighteen, but you're as innocent an eighteen-year-old as I have ever seen."

  "Innocent, what does that mean?"

  He stared down at her with a frown. "Nevermind," he whispered and let go of her hand. "That just proves my point."

  She missed his hand. She had thought him a very nice person and she wanted to know more about him. But he clammed up until they got to the stable. Somewhere deep inside her, she knew he was taking care of her, only she didn't know why.

  He got his horse and paid the blacksmith for taking care of him.

  Then he started up the street, with her sitting in front of him on the horse. When his arms came around her, she was stunned at the reaction her body took. Her stomach felt as though it fell to her feet.

  "Which way?" He asked as his arms rubbed hers.

  She felt her stomach do a somersault. She took in the all-male smell of him and the roughness of a shadow on his cheek. Despite the fact that he refused to acknowledge her age, or the fact that she was hunting for a husband, she liked Dal Odom.

  "That way," She pointed north.

  He trotted out of town and they rode for a while when she finally pointed to a dilapidated shack. "There…that's it."

  She jumped down and looked up at him. "Thanks for all you done, mister. And I apologize for asking you to wed. You have been very kind."

  ~*~

  "You live here?" He frowned eyeing the property with disdain. The roof was tearing up and falling down, the porch had some holes and rotted out areas. It wasn't a big place, and it housed several people. He shook his head.

  "This is our home place…" She explained.

  "Do you have food in the cupboards for those kids?" He asked as they came running out of the house to greet her.

  She bit her lip. "A little. We got oats and we got a couple of chickens left."

  "We thought you weren't comin' home, Bonnie?" Daniel yelled at her. He was darker headed and very slim. All the kids were too thin, the cowboy reasoned with one glance. One of the boys was a red-head and stood out from the others. The little girl was towheaded. She must have been about six.

  "I told you I would be back." She assured them, as she hugged them to her. "Any problems Daniel?"

  "Nope…but they were getting anxious for you to come home." Daniel shot Dal an inquisitive look. "We figured you'd come in last night. Were you on your honeymoon?"

  Bonnie nearly choked up from that. "Uh…no…"

  "Then why didn't come home last night?"

  "I would have…but…oh…never mind." She glanced at Dal.

  "I wouldn't let her go home in the dark, that's why," Dal answered and frowned at Daniel. "A lot of things can happen to a young girl alone, at night."

  "Who's that?" Daniel asked, staring at the stranger on the horse.

  "A friend…" Bonnie glanced up at him. "Dal Odom."

  She turned to go in the house with the kids, but he jumped down from his horse and followed them.

  ~*~

  "Oh…" She turned and pushed him a little, her hand burning into his chest. She'd never touched a man's chest before. Her fingers had slipped against his skin and burned her. It took her by surprise and the shock of it went through her to her toes. She noted the reaction but kept quiet. She'd think on that when he was gone. "You can't stay."

  "Why not?" He insisted, his face contorting into a question.

  "We ain't got nothing to feed you. I'm sorry. I got a little for them, but not for you. I'm sorry."

  "That's alright. I didn't come to eat."

  "I'll send you money when I get some. I promise." She insisted, waiting until he backtracked to get his horse. But he didn't.

  His eyes went around the place as they neared the house. "It isn't polite to not welcome a stranger."

  "Oh well…I already explained why."

  "I'm not hungry, I just ate, remember." He explained shaking his head at her.

  "Then I reckon you can come in for a bit." She stared at him strangely as he went inside. She couldn't begin to imagine why he would want to come into her house. She knew how bad it looked.

  Dal looked about the rooms and found them unusually clean and neat, and then he stared at the other children. They stared back.

  "What's your name?" He asked her little sister as he squatted down to look into her eyes.

  "Becky," she smiled at him.

  "I'm Dal Odom, pleased to meet you Becky."

  Becky turned her head to look at Bonnie. "He's cute."

  Bonnie was agape.

  "Well, he is…" Becky persisted.

  Dal checked the cupboards. "No beans, no rice, nor cornmeal. What are you gonna eat?"

  Why was he bothering with them? He'd turned her down to wed, he should be on his way. "It's not your problem. It's mine…" She insisted. "We'll make do. We always have…"

  "Fine," He firmed his lips and stared at the kids. "Good day Miss Bonnie."

  Bonnie watched as he mounted his horse and rode off. A tear slipped down her cheek. She missed him already. She had burst into his life and now she could not erase that memory. She liked Dal Odom for some reason, and she wasn't even sure why.

  "Why you cryin'?" Becky asked.

  "I'm not cryin' I'm sweatin'." Bonnie insisted.

  Chapter Three

  Three days later, when Bonnie was sure she had the script down perfect, she took the old mule over to Mills Pond and placed the ad again. The old man that read it glanced at her, then the ad she wrote.

  "You want me to print this chicken scratch?" The old man eyed her with a frown. "In the newspaper?"

  She heard censure in his tone of voice.

  "Y-yes sir." She saw the look of doubt in his eyes as he gritted his teeth.

  "You sure about this young lady?" He stared at her now.

  "Y-yes, I'm sure. What's wrong?" She asked, plunging onward with her challenge.

  "How old are you?" He gave her a once over glance of disbelief. There was censure in his voice.

  "Eighteen." She answered quickly.

  "You look fifteen. But I'll run it. Does your Ma know about this?" He looked over his spectacles at her.

  "My Ma is dead." She answered simply.

  "I'm sorry. How about your Pa?"

  "Just run it, will you?
How much will it cost?" She could barely keep the tears out of her voice.

  "Five cents for a months' run." He answered clenching his mouth tighter.

  She dug out the five cents from her dress pocket and gave it to him.

  He scratched his chin. "Look, if you are serious about this, I'd go home and clean up a bit. Pretty yourself up some. No man would want you running around in those tattered overalls and your hair in braids. You sure don't look no eighteen."

  Bonnie glanced at herself. "Yes sir," she nodded obligingly. She hadn't been dressed to meet a man today.

  The man was right, she decided. She was a mess from working so much. Her clothes were dirty and tattered.

  Then it struck her. She'd dig in her Mama's trunk and see what she could find to wear. Surely something would fit, if not she could sew it so it did.

  But that thought brought sadness to her as she remembered how her mother had patiently taught her how to sew. "I want you to know how to do all the ladylike things so when you grow up you will find a fine husband."

  "A fine husband!" She repeated. "Not likely."

  When she found a nice dress, blue gingham she set it on the hard bed and then put it up against her.

  She glanced in the broken mirror by the dresser. She was so dirty.

  She'd go to the pond and clean up.

  Once she sent the children out to do their morning chores she gathered her clothes about her and went to the pond. She knew she should be doing chores herself, but in a way, she was. Getting a husband was much harder than she had figured on.

  She stripped off and jumped in.

  The water was cold, and she shivered. She realized she was having some womanly feeling these days, and Dal had been a big part of that. She remembered how his arms felt around her. How he had taken her hand so naturally. And she remembered her body reacting to him. It was like an awakening. She liked him. She wished he would have married up with her. She knew she could be happy with a man like him. Even though his voice barked from time to time, his nature was gentle and she could tell he cared about people. That was a good quality in her books.

  But he hadn't even considered her proposal.

  Scrubbing herself with lye soap, she didn't miss a spot. She washed her hair too.