When she came out, she put on the gingham dress and walked back to the house.
She looked in the mirror and saw herself. Her mouth hung open. She wasn't so bad. Her hair hung over her shoulders and down her back, and it curled naturally at the ends.
There hadn't been many occasions to dress up around here, and it was an extreme change.
The kids came in one at a time and saw her and they stared like they didn't know her. Daniel, Samuel and Martin all stared at her wide-eyed.
"Golly Bonnie…you've grown up." Her oldest brother said.
"Daniel, I'm eighteen years old. I’m supposed to be grown. Besides, your sixteen almost, that's pretty grown too."
"I guess it is." Daniel smiled.
"You look pretty…Bonnie." Becky cried and ran to her. "You look like Mommy."
"Oh, darlin' I’m not half the woman Mama was. But I do look better. Maybe now I'll find me a husband." She kept glancing at herself and smiling.
"What do you need a husband for, you got us." Daniel declared.
Bonnie knew Daniel didn't understand why she needed a man, but it wasn't personal. It was practical. "It's not the same, and we need help." Bonnie eyed him sharply. "I need someone to help run things, to help figure things. I don't know what to do sometimes. I need a partner. Someone who knows more than me about things. Someone smarter."
Later that same morning she heard a horse outside, Bonnie walked out on the porch to see who it was. She never let a stranger around the place, because of the kids. She'd been a good protector.
"Dal?" She barely managed his name. Her heart lurched at seeing him again. Had he gotten more handsome? It seemed so.
He wore dark pants and white shirt with a vest. His hat was big, black and shaded his eyes. But the look in his eyes was a bit condescending.
His gaze drifted over her again, very slowly. "Where'd you get that dress?"
The way he said that, as though she'd done something terribly wrong. His tone of voice had changed from a warm, friendly greeting to almost hostile. He hadn't thought of her as grown and in this dress, she looked it. Even she knew that.
She looked down at herself. "It was my Ma's. You think I could find a husband in this dress?"
He sighed heavily. "Are you still fretting about that? Look, I brought you some bacon, beans, and cornmeal. You got a cow?" He asked glancing around.
"We don't. I-mean, well, we did have. But it got puny and sick and I had to put her down. That was two years ago. Sometimes Mrs. Turner sends us some milk, when she's got extra." Bonnie replied looking at the bundle in his hands. "We got an ole mule, but that's all, along with a couple of chickens."
"If you got a mule, why didn't you ride it to town that day?" He asked hoping down from his horse.
"'Cause he's the only one we got, and I don't want to overwork him. Pa told me a long time ago that if I took care of the mule, he'd last for years. We been tilling the ground with her, keepin' the soil turned and all."
He nodded and looked at her again. "You think things out before you do them, don't you Bonnie?"
"Most of the time I guess I do. Why'd you do it?" She whispered.
"Do what?" He came closer.
"Bring us food? We don't want no pity." She asked, putting her hands on her hips and staring him down, but her face was smiling and he smiled back.
"It isn't pity. Nor charity. It's just a good deed."
"Oh…oh yeah. I read that from the bible." She smiled. "I reckon that's okay, then."
He put the bundle on the porch. "Let me know if you need more."
"Oh, no…we won't." She insisted. "You are very kind. You shouldn't be spending your money on us. Don't you have a girlfriend or something?"
He bowed his head for a minute. "No…no girl. And there's a tad of coffee in there for you…if you've a mind."
Her heart fluttered in her chest. He'd remembered how she liked the coffee. It touched her. More than she could say.
He stared at her as he came upon the porch. "Look, four years ago, someone helped me when I was hurt. I can't recall for sure, but I got a glimpse of her, and she looked a lot like you…only she was a lot younger then."
"I didn't think you even seen me that day. I saw what they did to you. I hid and watched. It was awful. I wanted to help you then, but I figured they'd just start on me next. So I waited until they left." She explained, leaning against the porch. "They thought you had their money?"
"Yeah, but it was the old man's son that did. He just wouldn't believe me. A few months later, he caught the kid. He turned him into the Sheriff."
Bonnie's eyes widened. "He turned his own flesh and blood in?"
"Yeah, I guess he was kind of sore about the money. The kid was robbing him blind."
"I'm glad you got well…" She said softly. "And I'm glad it wasn't you that stole the money, too."
"Bonnie," he came closer, his voice softer. "I'm trying to help you a bit. I see you got troubles. Just like you helped me, back then."
"We'll get by. Besides, I'm goin' hunting again."
"Hunting?" His face screwed up.
"For a husband." She giggled. "Of course."
"You gonna marry just anybody?" He asked, walking around her.
"I don't know…" She began. "I hadn't thought on it much, but I guess so. I mean I can't be picky, can I? 'Course old man Ferguson offered to marry up, but I figured he was too old to work much, so I had to turn him down. He was such a kind old man. And I knew if he could, he'd help me, alright. But…I couldn't. I didn't want to hurt his feelings. It was nice of him to offer though."
"Dammit Bonnie, you can't do this." He insisted. He took her arms and shook her lightly. "This isn't the way to get married. If you've read the bible, even you should know this."
Some of her reserves seemed to melt. "I know it's not the usual way. Maybe not even God's way. But you don't understand. I got to…don't you see? I managed for four years. Four years! But now, the money is gone, and the crop isn't in, and I need some help. I can't do it alone no more. I am smart enough to know that. You think I want to sell myself to the first able-bodied man that comes along? You think I want to throw away my dreams. I don't. But, these kids have got to eat. We got to keep some kind of roof over our head. I'll do what it takes to see it done. Now do you understand?"
Tears welled in her eyes as she stared at him.
His hooded glance seem to change. But he turned away for a moment, hiding his thoughts from her.
"They are gonna take this shack away from me, and then what will I do, with five of us to feed, clothe and put a roof over? I've thought and thought on it. I don't know anything else to do. I've worked my fingers to the bone getting a crop in. But I gotta admit, it's too much. I need a healthy, strong man to help me. It makes good sense to do this. So, he won't love me. So, my dreams won't come true. So what! I'm doing what my folks would have expected me to do."
Her tears began to fall and he pulled her into his arms to comfort her. She felt his lips barely touch her forehead, and she lifted her head just enough and their lips met.
Tentatively he explored the outline of her lips, with feather-like touches. But when she began to respond so naturally, he pulled her up against him. Without thinking, she threw her arms around him and hung on. His lips were soft, and she was unsure how to kiss him back. She let him lead. But more than that, her body was reacting to him and she felt she might just fall down, she was so weak. Never had anyone kissed her like that. Her lips felt as though they melted against his, and became part of him. Did this always happen? She realized quickly she knew nothing about courtship or love and finding a husband was almost out of her reach. Still as he continued to tantalize her, her mind was lost in some dreamlike trance.
When his head came up, his eyes had darkened and he stared at her for a long moment.
"You were right…"
"I was…?"
"Yes, you are grown." He swallowed hard and almost took her back into his arms before good thinking stopp
ed him. Without a word, he stared at her. Then he mounted up and left.
Had she done something wrong? He was leaving. She must have done something wrong, from the look on his face.
She had so much to learn about men, and kissing, and finding a husband. But there was no one to tell her, and she'd have to learn it on her own and fast.
She watched him ride off.
She missed him again, but the missing was more painful this time. When he kissed her, he had taken part of her with him, and she knew it. Her heart fluttered wildly in her chest and she relived the kiss once more. She grabbed her chest and then leaned against the porch. Maybe being a woman wasn't so bad after all. Her heart was still pounding from the intimacy of the kiss. Her stomach churned with butterflies. A feeling she had never experienced speared through her body. She wrapped her arms around herself and swirled around for a moment, enjoying the sensation.
She'd been kissed for the first time in her life. And it was more than she ever hoped for.
Missing him was a sad thing, because she missed her folks and she knew they wouldn't be coming back. Now she missed Dal. And he probably wouldn't be back either. Not after that kiss. She wondered so many things about him, but there was one thing she did know. Dal was the man that was drug against the hard ground that day four years ago to the creek. He'd survived. He must be very tough. But she clasped her hands over her chest and blew a tendril of hair from her face. "I got to do it. I got to find a husband." She whispered as another tear ran down her cheek. "And I only wish it were you, Dal Odom." She whispered aloud.
Chapter Four
Dal rode back to town in such a hurry the dust flew for miles. What was he running from? Why had he let a little gal like Bonnie rattle him? The hustle and bustle of people put distance between him and that kiss. He hadn't been prepared for a the girl to melt in his arms. He wanted to put thoughts of Bonnie and her family to the back of his mind, but that kiss had made it impossible. He hadn't meant to kiss her, it just sorta happened. She was a beautiful young woman, not like Cassie, the girl that had turned him down, but her beauty came from within, making her outward appearance even more charming. A charming he wasn't used to.
She'd worked dog hard to support her bunch, not asking for nothing. He respected her for that. He admired her for that. He liked her! But not because of that, exactly.
The kiss offered more than admiration and he knew it. It offered something he hadn't had in a very long time. Something he kept a distance from since his folks died.
He wasn't about to try to name it. He knew what it was, but thinking it and saying it aloud were two different things.
It was that kiss. Thinking her just a child, he never dreamed she would respond in his arms the way she had. She responded like a fully grown woman, and he hadn't quite accepted the fact that she was fully grown. What was worse, if she acted that way with the wrong man, there was no telling what might happen to her.
He didn't want to think about that.
The girl was lethal. She could probably bring most men to their knees. She shouldn't have a bit of trouble finding a husband.
So why did that thought disturb him so?
Still, she was so innocent. So young, and so danged sweet he couldn't put her from his mind. Never had he let a woman get to him like this. A woman! He'd thought her a girl, but he was wrong.
When she had cleaned up, he saw a new side of her. He saw the potential of a real woman in her. She could be beautiful if she ate regular and had the right clothes. He saw that.
He wiped his forehead. He had to be crazy to think of her as anything but a child, he told himself. But a child couldn't raise four youngins for four years without some help. No, she was right, she was fully grown in most ways. She'd had it hard, but she'd boned up and faced her troubles head on. Maybe marrying was the only answer for her now. Only it sure made him uneasy thinking about it. And now he'd given her more fuel to go on. He taught her how a man kisses a woman.
Her red-gold hair had sparkled in the sunlight, and those cornflower blue eyes had captured his attention fast this time. He realized the minute he looked at her that he'd missed her.
Why should he miss a little gal like that?
He shook himself and went to the saloon. Cassie Evans was more of a woman than Bonnie. He should be trying to court her, not someone like Bonnie, who was still too young for some things. He'd forget about her real fast. He'd helped her some, and that was that. He needn't think about her again.
He ordered himself a whiskey and sat down to enjoy it.
Three men came in at the bar. One of them was Clem Mathews, a top cowhand that worked for Banister for the past four years. The other two he didn't know. Clem was shorter, and smaller, but he wore a mustache that hung from his chin, making him stand out among men. The other two were bigger, rougher and dirty from riding the trail. The way they wore their guns and talked he was sure they were working a cattle ranch, and that ranch was probably Banister's.
"She'll lose that land in two weeks and we'll get that water…" One of them was saying as he banged his whiskey glass on the bar.
Dal listened to the conversation. The men had ordered whiskey and leaned against the bar to talk. They weren't quiet about it, so it wasn't hard to listen.
Were they talking about Bonnie? If they were, he needed to know.
"It was bound to happen. They have been just barely hangin' on out there for the last four years. Now Banister can pay the taxes on it and grab it. We'll have all the water we need. Banister will see to that." One of the biggest men said. "That land should be his anyway, it was a few years back."
"But she's just a kid, raisin' more kids. It ain't right." Clem protested. "What if the banker doesn't sell it. What if he decides to keep the land himself, and buy it." Clem asked, ordering a whiskey and downing it in the same breath.
"Now what would he do that for? He doesn't have any cattle to water. He doesn't need it." The big man asked. "Banister will handle this, and Mr. Coldwell will sell it to him, gladly."
"I don't know. Maybe he could get more for it later." Clem suggested.
"I've worked for Banister long enough to know he'll get that land, even if he has to go throw those kids off the place himself…" The tall one bragged. "This has gone on long enough. Those kids don't know what a gold mine they got. That's the only place that's got water that hasn't dried up this summer. That place has enough to water half the territory. It's just been sittin' there for years now. She doesn't have enough brains to know that, I guess. Although, I do give her credit for takin' care of those kids all these years by herself. That must have taken some doing. I don't know how they manage to even eat. 'Course they are all pretty skinny kids. Their last crop failed. She doesn't know anything about how to get the water to the crops. Dumb kid, she doesn't need that land."
"But she's got it." Clem argued. "You can't rough up kids. The law would get you for sure."
"So…they don't have no business with that place. Right now that piece of property is worth more than nearly all of what Banister has. Besides, we ain't gonna rough 'em up, just scare the daylights out of them. We need that place for the water, and you all know it. We don't get water for them cows, Banister will start taking what he figures is his to start with. That place has plenty of water, we could even sell rights for others to use it and make money. Can't let sentiment interfere in this. This is business."
Dal listened and realized that the trouble Bonnie was in was serious. Bonnie was in real danger and he hated to see this happening. Times were desperate. She probably had no idea how dangerous it could be for her and the kids. He worried about her.
Four years she had struggled to keep the kids safe and fed. Four years she had succeeded. And now, the real danger lurked so near and she had no idea.
His concern mounted as they talked.
Maybe she was right…maybe she did need a husband! A capable man to help run things and protect her and the kids.
But the whiskey was working on
his brain and he kept trying to reason her out of his thoughts. It wasn't his business. He shouldn't care.
The truth was…he did care. She'd wound him around her finger the first time he laid eyes on her. He almost laughed to himself. The first time he laid eyes on her he was in a fix. And she had hung around until it was safe to help him. Like some little guardian angel, seeing after his wounds, and then when he saw her chuck that rock at the snake, that beat all. He couldn't believe the sweet little girl that had soothed his brow had turned around a killed a snake with a rock. The girl had grit.
Maybe he'd been measuring women wrong all these years.
Then when he saw her asleep in that rocking chair in front of the pool hall that day, his heart had lurched at him. He'd already turned her down to wed. But there she was, in that rocking chair, her hair blowing softly in the wind. She was everything good and honest, and there was something so compelling about her. His protective nature sprang forward. And since that day, the feelings had grown. He hadn't wanted them to. He hadn't planned them to, but every day he woke up with thoughts of her.
He'd worked on a ranch and saved his money. Thrifty is what most of the boys he'd worked with called him. But unlike them, he had never really belonged to anyone spread. He'd moved about, trying to elusively find something.
Ah…he was a sap! Something inside him made him buy that food for those kids. Yet starvin' wasn't funny. And those kids had come close to it.
Dal downed his whiskey and got up to leave. Clem saw him and waved.
He knew what he had to do. And putting his nose in their business could land him in a lot of hot water too, but he had to do it. Someone had to help. And he remembered a little gal that helped him four years ago. If it hadn't been for her…
He rode out to the shack again.
He knocked on her door. He hadn't paid a bit of attention to how late it was. He instinctively dodged the chug holes in the porch.
It was dark already, and he hadn't even noticed.
No one came to the door at first.
Brides of the West-Part One Page 4
