by Chloe Carley
Riley pointed to a light blue fabric, and Sara Jane nodded. “Might as well be prepared, just in case,” she said.
They spent two hours looking at fabric and debating which trim went well with which pattern. They left the mercantile with three large brown paper packages and returned to the wagon in good spirits.
Riley suddenly saw the two women from the brothel walking slowly along the boardwalk. Determined to start as she meant to continue, Riley turned and headed for them, cutting off their path while Lily and Sara Jane followed in surprise.
“Good afternoon, Polly. Jasmine.”
“Riley. We haven’t had a chance to tell you, but we’re sorry things didn’t turn out better for your brother.”
“He made his choices,” Riley said. “Have you met my friends from the Lazy L ranch?”
Both women shook their heads, shocked that she would even think an introduction was warranted. “Come, I want you to meet them.”
“I don’t think that’s such a good idea,” Polly said.
“Why not?” Riley asked, giving her an encouraging smile.
“Because … well, nice women don’t talk to us,” Jasmine said in a harsh whisper.
“That ends today. Come with me.” Riley grabbed Polly’s hand, determined to breakthrough this judgmental barrier that had been erected where the women of the brothel were concerned.
“Sara Jane. Lily. I’d like you to meet Polly and Jasmine. Girls, this is Sara Jane and that is Lily. As you can see, she’s going to have a baby soon and we came into town to purchase some fabric for baby clothes.”
Polly and Jasmine were looking very uncomfortable until Sara Jane gave them a big smile. “Hi, girls.”
Lily offered a slightly less enthusiastic greeting. “Hello.”
“Congratulations on your baby,” Polly said. “I just love babies.”
“I’m sure you’ll have some of your own one day,” Riley informed her, to which Polly sadly shook her head.
“That’s a nice thought, but no one will ever want to marry the likes of me. I just a wh—”
“Don’t you say it,” Jasmine scolded her.
Polly gave Riley a sad look. “It was nice seeing you again, but you probably shouldn’t talk to us. The other ladies in town kind of hate us.”
“Hate is a very strong word,” Riley interjected.
“That’s kind of how the ladies and even some of the men in this town feel about us. They don’t even know us,” Jasmine said softly.
“Well, I’m going to change that. We need to work together to make Rio Arriba a place we can all enjoy living. That includes you and … well, how many other women live over there?” Riley pointed at the brothel.
“Only three. Marybelle and Tara are both widows with no place else to go. We took them in several years ago and they take care of the cooking and the cleaning. Then there’s Stephanie. One of the men who comes through here a couple of times each year found her wandering in the desert. Her family’s homestead had been raided by the Indians and she’d been left for dead. He brought her to us and we nursed her back to health.”
“Those are the types of things the people of this town need to know about,” Riley said.
“It wouldn’t make any difference. The fact that Polly and I, well, entertain men from time to time has made us unclean in so many people’s eyes. It’s how we survive,” Jasmine explained.
“Maybe you need to change that,” Sara Jane suggested.
“Believe me, we’ve tried.”
“Well, you’ve never had others to help you. Until now.” Riley smiled. “We will change the town’s minds about you. That is, if you want their opinion to change?”
“Oh, yes. It would be nice to walk through town without feeling as if I need to hide my face.”
“Leave it to us to come up with a plan to make that happen. For now, we need to get back before the men at the ranch come looking for us.”
Sara Jane nodded before they headed back to the wagon. Riley helped Sara Jane get Lily into the buckboard.
They hadn’t really thought through how they would accomplish that feat once they reached town, but with a little ingenuity, they’d managed just fine. They’d simply removed the wooden crate affixed to the bed of the wagon, used to keep smaller items from bouncing around too badly, turned it upside down, and let Lily use it as a stepstool.
They would have to get one of the men to nail it back in place, but they could deal with that when they arrived home.
Within minutes, they were off. After they’d gone about a mile, Lily asked, “Do you really intend to help those women become respectable?”
“Sure. And you can help.”
Lily shook her head. “I’m not sure that’s a good idea. Jace might…”
“The men at the ranch need to help as well,” Sara Jane declared. “I just met those women, but they don’t seem evil, they seem like women who were desperate and were forced to do whatever it took to survive. They deserve whatever help we can give them to leave that lifestyle behind.”
Riley smiled, and for the rest of the ride home, she planned and plotted. The townsfolk of Rio Arriba were going to welcome the women living at the brothel with open arms before she was through. And those women were going to become respectable members of the community. She only needed a plan. It might take a while, but they would succeed. She couldn’t wait to tell Gideon.
Chapter 30
“You want to what?” Gideon asked in disbelief several hours later.
“I want to help the women at the brothel become respectable.” Riley crossed her arms over her chest for effect.
“It can’t be done,” Gideon declared with finality.
“Of course it can. And with you and your family behind the cause, the townsfolk will have to try and change their mindset.”
“Who said anything about the Lawson family being behind this cause?”
“I spoke with both of your parents. They see no reason why women who want a different lifestyle shouldn’t be afforded that opportunity. Your mother quoted some Scripture about us all having sinned and fallen short of God’s glory.”
“Yes, she would.”
“And look at your own life; didn’t the town afford you forgiveness and a chance to begin again?” Riley asked.
Gideon sighed. “Yes, but my reluctance to get behind this isn’t because I don’t want to see those women live better lives, but because I don’t want to see you ostracized by the women in town.”
“Let them try. Sara Jane and I have decided we need to make weekly visits to town, aside from church services.”
Gideon stared at her. “Sara Jane agreed to willingly don a dress a second time each week?”
“Yes.”
“Miracles never cease around here.”
Riley beamed and folded her hands demurely in her lap. “God works in mysterious ways.”
Gideon chuckled and pulled her up from the hay bale where she’d been sitting. He wrapped his arms around her and asked, “So, you think the Lawson name will lend some power behind your cause?”
“Most definitely. Didn’t you tell me that your father exerts a large influence with the men in town? I imagine your mother could have the same influence with the ladies.”
“I did, but I can think of another source of influence.”
“You can?”
“Yes, anyone with the Lawson name will exert a measure of authority and power to make things happen in the town.”
“Are you thinking about Sara Jane? We talked about that …”
“No, I wasn’t talking about Sara Jane, although she can be very persuasive when she wants to be.”
Riley frowned. “I don’t understand. If not your parents or Sara Jane, are you suggesting that you or Shawn could speak on behalf of the women? I’m don’t know that having men speak on their behalf will be as effective as seeing women take them under their wing and treat them as their equals.”
“No, I was talking about someone with the Lawson nam
e.”
Riley thought about that and shook her head. “Have I missed meeting one of your family members?”
“No, I was thinking about adding a new member to the family.” He gazed at her and Riley searched his eyes, his meaning starting to sink in.
“You’re talking about me?” she asked softly.
“Yes. Riley, since you’ve come here, life has never been sweeter. Everyone who meets you falls in love with you, just like I have. I admire your tenacity and ability to see beyond the obvious to what might be. What you want to do for those women in town is admirable. I have no doubt that you will eventually accomplish your goal. But I would like you to do it with my name attached to yours.”
Gideon released her, going down on one knee, keeping hold of her hands. “Riley, would you do me the honor of agreeing to marry me? Be my wife, the mother of my children, and the champion for all of those causes you’ve yet to discover?”
Riley couldn’t believe this was happening. Gideon was offering her everything she’d dreamed about. She nodded her head and started laughing. “Yes! Yes. A thousand times, yes!”
Gideon stood and swung her up into his arms. All around them people started clapping. It seemed that while they’d been discussing Riley’s plan to reform the women at the brothel, word had spread, and everyone had come out to join the discussion. They’d entered the barn just as Gideon had gone to his knee, and been privy to his question and her answer.
James and Pearl were the first to come forward, hugging Riley and welcoming her officially to the family.
“It’s about time, son. I was starting to think you weren’t ever going to ask her,” James told Gideon as he slapped him on the back.
Shawn came forward and hugged Riley and she sensed sadness, or possibly jealousy, in his gaze and his tone. She narrowed her eyes at him as he congratulated his brother without full enthusiasm.
Shawn needs help. First the women in town and then we’ll have to see about getting Shawn a wife.
She glanced over at Sara Jane and shared a smile with her. She was about to turn her attention back to Gideon, but not before she saw the look on Carl’s face as he watched Sara Jane from a distance.
Ah! Maybe the women in town will have to share my attention. That is one lovesick cowboy and Sara Jane is the perfect antidote.
“This calls for a celebration. Ladies, and yes I’m speaking to you as well Sara Jane, we have food to fix. Spread the word to the other ranch hands. We’re going to have a feast tonight to celebrate Gideon and Riley’s engagement.”
Pearl looped her arms with Riley and Sara Jane and began pulling them from the barn.
“Hey, you can’t take her away now,” Gideon grumbled.
“You have chores to finish,” Pearl said. “You’ll see her at supper. Think of her while she’s gone.”
“I always do,” Gideon repeated glumly, at which all of the other men laughed.
“Yeah, he can’t think of anything else. Best get these two married right quick,” Jace suggested. His own bride was due to give birth in just over a month.
“Get back to work, all of you. Let’s start evening chores early, and then everyone can have the night off. We’ll bring out the instruments and have a true celebration around a bonfire. Shawn, can you and Carl handle getting that set up?”
“Sure, Pa.” Shawn and Carl left the barn and everyone else went back to their chores.
Riley smiled as she left the barn with the other two women. This was how things were supposed to be.
God, thank You. I know that isn’t even adequate, but how can I express it any better? You have given me so much. I only pray that I can give even a fraction of that back to others in need.
Please bless this family and everyone who works here. Bless the town of Rio Arriba, and most importantly, would You bless the women living at the brothel. They are lost, but I intend to point them toward You. I ask for Your help and grace.
Thank You for always being there. I know there was a time I kind of doubted You, but You’ve proved to always be there for me.
Riley spent the rest of the afternoon working alongside Pearl, and Sara Jane, making food for many mouths. The camaraderie was infectious, and the three women shared more than one laugh as they grew closer. Mid-afternoon, Lily joined them, and they finished preparing a feast worthy of visiting dignitaries.
Later that night, Riley fell into bed, exhausted but happier than ever. At one point during the evening, James had stopped everyone for a moment and offered up a prayer of thanksgiving to God, and Gideon had held her hand and she’d heard him offering up his own words. Riley felt blessed beyond measure to have found a man who could not only accept her as she was but knew that God was more than just a name to be mentioned on Sundays. He was to be an ever-present part of their lives. They’d both been guilty of forgetting that, but she was confident that together, they were going to do great things.
Epilogue
Second week of October
“Do you, Riley, take Gideon to be your lawfully wedded husband? To love and cherish him for the rest of your life?”
“Yes.”
“And do you, Gideon, take Riley to honor and protect, love and cherish for the rest of your days?”
“Absolutely,” Gideon called out, drawing chuckles from the townsfolk who had turned out unanimously to watch Riley and Gideon get married. They were holding the ceremony in the city circle gazebo because the church simply wasn’t large enough to accommodate everyone at the same time. A situation that was going to be corrected as soon as possible with help from the reward funds still gathering interest at the bank.
“Then I pronounce you husband and wife. Gideon, now you may kiss your bride,” the preacher stated with a shake of his head. He’d had the misfortune to catch Gideon sneaking into the back room of the church where Riley was getting dressed in a beautiful gown that had been sewn in a hurry with help from Lily, Pearl, and Polly— an accomplished seamstress who had surprised everyone with her abilities.
Gideon had stolen a kiss just as the preacher had entered the room to tell her it was time to head to the city circle. He’d been less than pleased to see Gideon there and chewed him out with a shake of his Bible.
Now, the ceremony complete, Gideon wasted no time in complying. He swept Riley into his arms, kissing her with all of the passion he’d been holding at bay. That ended now.
Unless, of course, they were in public, being viewed by the entire town. He knew he’d forgotten that part when Riley started pounding on his back in response to the outright laughter and cheering coming from several of the townsfolk.
Riley was bright red when he lifted his head. He whispered a hasty, “Sorry,” as he righted her.
“Folks, I give you Mr. and Mrs. Gideon Lawson. Congratulations!”
Gideon led her by the hand down the stairs and to the waiting wagon. They were heading for the ranch and then to one of the outlying cabins which he, Shawn, and Carl had spent the last week fixing up.
They’d already begun working on clearing land for his and Riley’s new cabin and, if the weather held, they’d have it completed this year. She’d finally have a permanent home to call her own.
