by Merry Farmer
“There are a lot of things about Madame Kopanari that people wouldn’t think to look at her.” Miriam was far more breathless than she should be. Maybe it was the sight of Cody’s strong forearms poking out from under his rolled-up sleeves. Or maybe it was his outdoorsy scent. It could have been his easy smile as he glanced from Madame Kopanari to her too.
“Such as?” he asked.
It took her a moment to remember that they were having a conversation about someone else, not indulging in flights of heated fancy about each other.
“Well, for one, Madame Kopanari speaks excellent English, but she prefers to keep to her native language unless she’s on stage.”
“Huh.” Cody shifted his weight to one hip and rubbed his chin. The gesture drew attention to his hands and the soft line of his lips. What would it be like to kiss those lips? To have those hands trace the lines of her body? “I guess that makes sense,” he went on. “Heck, Miles doesn’t have so much as a hint of an accent.”
“He does when he’s upset or excited.” Focus. Miriam had to focus. She cleared her throat. “Madame Kopanari is also an excellent cook. There have been times when we haven’t been near a town with a restaurant or hotel, or even a saloon, and have had to rely on her skills. She can do things with common supplies over an open fire that I’m sure the finest chefs in San Francisco would die for.”
“Must be handy if you find yourself traveling.” Cody smiled with a far-off look that said he was imagining just that. “I suppose it makes sense, her being a gypsy and all.”
“It does, doesn’t it?” She met him smile for smile.
A larger part of her wanted to lean into him, take his hand. More than that, she wanted to fold herself into his arms and stay there forever. She may never have had a sense of what it was like to have a family around her, but baffling as it sounded in light of her past decisions, she thought there was a chance she might actually feel safe with Cody.
As soon as the idea struck her, she recoiled from it, going so far as to take a step away. No, the last time she had let herself be lulled into a sense of security, she’d paid the price. It didn’t matter how sweet Cody seemed, she would not let herself be tricked into diving into water deep enough to drown her again.
“She has a lot of stories,” she said, focusing on Madame Kopanari and wringing her hands.
Cody watched her with eyes that were narrowed just a bit. “I’m sure she does.”
Miriam’s heart thumped. Oh, dear. He was talking about her now.
“So, I was wondering,” Cody started.
That was as far as he got.
“Come, come.” Across the room, the circle of children around Madame Kopanari had twisted to look at Cody and Miriam. Madame herself was gesturing for them to join the group.
Miriam was more than happy to flee the situation that had started out so pleasantly and left her feeling so off-balance. She grabbed Cody’s hand and skipped across the room toward the others. Cody shuffled along, his expression unreadable.
“And then there were the two lovers,” Madame Kopanari said as soon as Cody and Miriam stood with the children.
Miriam blushed, dropping Cody’s hand as if it had turned flame-hot. The children giggled, glancing from Miriam and Cody to Madame Kopanari. Cody cleared his throat and squirmed.
“Once, there were two young people,” Madame Kopanari began in her rich, mysterious accent. “Two young lovers who were promised to each other.”
“It’s Mr. Cody and Miss Long, isn’t it?” tiny Millicent Strong piped up.
The others giggled. Madame Kopanari held up her finger, and they stopped, spell-bound.
“The young man was strong and true. He was a farmer with vast, rich lands.”
“Mr. Cody doesn’t have a farm,” one of the other children—a red-head boy who could only be a Murphy—said.
“Yeah, but he works on Paradise Ranch, and that’s sort of like a farm,” the boy sitting next to him said.
Madame Kopanari held up her finger again, and once again, the children were silent.
“The young woman was a beauty, rich beyond measure,” she went on. “She could sing so beautifully that it was said the birds were her tutors.”
Miriam blushed and pressed her fingers to her lips. Madame Kopanari loved her singing. There was no doubt in her mind that she was the heroine of this story.
“The young man and the young woman were betrothed…” Madame Kopanari sat straighter for a moment with a happy smile, then sank into her seat, her face growing dark and mysterious. “But there was a shadow chasing them.”
Prickles broke out along Miriam’s back even as the children gasped in anticipation.
“The young woman ran to escape the shadow,” Madame Kopanari went on, “but shadows are difficult things to run from. They seep into cracks. They creep under doors. They spread out in the night, and they conceal themselves around every corner in the day. A person can grow to spend their whole lives running from shadows.”
The very suggestion had Miriam’s feet itching. She wanted to pick up her skirts and run right then—run from the story, run from the things Madame Kopanari could see, run from the complacency of feeling as though she might just be happy in Haskell. She wouldn’t be. If she stayed, the shadows would catch up with her.
“The young man ran from the shadows too.” Madame Kopanari held up her other hand. Her two index fingers clearly represented the young lovers, and at that moment, the largest space imaginable separated them. “He ran from his farm, ran from his family. He even ran from happiness, because it was unfamiliar and he did not think it was for him.”
Beside her, Cody crossed his arms and scowled. His feet danced with restlessness on the floor. Miriam blinked. Had Cody been running too? What was he running from?
“They ran and ran.” Madame Kopanari shook her fingers, moving them to show the two lovers running. “Until one day, what do you think?”
“They ran into each other!” the red-headed boy exclaimed.
The rest of the children laughed. Madame Kopanari laughed along with them, but as she did, she brought her fingers together and twined them around each other. Miriam caught the message as if Madame had looked her in the eyes and told her everything would be all right.
If only she could be so certain.
She clapped her hands, praying that the shaking in her heart would go away. “All right, children. Say thank you to Madame Kopanari for telling you a story. It’s time to practice your song now.”
The children scrambled to their feet, thanking Madame. Some even hugged her, which brought a wide smile and a laugh to Madame’s face.
“Interesting story.” Cody leaned close enough to whisper as the children got themselves organized. “Wanna go for a drive later and talk about it some more?”
Miriam’s heart rolled in her chest like thunder on a hot summer day. “I…I…” What did she want?
She wanted to run. She wanted to fight the urge to run, the same urge that had kept her from getting off the train that first time. What if Madame Kopanari was wrong? What if that soothing voice in the back of her head was wrong? She’d trusted a man before and regretted it. And Cody had betrayed a woman once already. But would he now?
She wanted to run to him, even if a huge part of her thought it was a terrible, frightening idea.
“Well?” Cody said with a laugh, though his eyes were deadly serious. “It’s a simple question. Will you go for a drive with me?”
“Yes,” Miriam answered before she could think too much and change her mind. “Yes, I will, thank you.”
She tore off across the room, fleeing from him and the tangle of fear and longing that threatened to bind her like a net. The children needed her. The show was her first and only priority. Her heart and her hopes and her fears could wait.
Madame Kopanari was a bit spooky, Cody decided as he flicked the reins over the back of the horse he’d borrowed from Travis at the livery. Miriam sat close to him on the bench of the borrow
ed wagon, a blanket covering both of them. He hadn’t been able to shake the weird feelings the old gypsy woman’s story had given him, and if he was a betting man, he’d say Miriam hadn’t been able to shake them too. She was too quiet.
“It’s not exactly a great afternoon for a drive,” he admitted, squinting toward the western horizon, where the sun was already setting. “But at least the wind isn’t blowing today.”
“Yes.”
That was it. That was all she said.
Cody shook his head and concentrated on driving. The road out to The Village and on to Paradise Ranch was only partially cleared. They’d had the usual amount of snow that winter, and the wagon still had sleigh blades fitted where the wheels would be once the snow was gone.
It wasn’t the condition of the wagon that concerned him, though. What did Madame Kopanari know about the shadows chasing him? Someone must have told her about the fiasco with Wendy. That would explain the bit about running from happiness because it was different. But what about the rest of it? Had one of his brothers visited her and told her all about how broke up he’d been when their father had lost his logging business? Had one of them squealed about how hard it had been for him to leave one life and start another?
And why shouldn’t he have had a hard time with it? It was a difficult thing for a man as young as he’d been to imagine his life would always be one way, and then to have that ripped out from under him. He hated having to change his mind, hated having things not work out like he’d imagined they would, hated—
“Oh, my lord.” He puffed out the words as if the light of day had burst through the clouds in his mind.
“What?” Miriam sat a little straighter, scooted a little closer, as if waking up from her own thoughts.
“I…I just had a thought that I’ve never had before.”
Miriam chuckled. “With so many thoughts to think out there in the universe, it’s a wonder we don’t all think new thoughts every day.”
Now that was something to think about too. Cody wanted to slip his arm around her and tug her close. Heck, he wanted to stop the wagon and kiss her until they were both as warm as July. Instead, he shook his head and tapped the reins on the horse’s back to urge him to hurry on to The Village ahead of them.
“Ever have a thought that suddenly makes a whole lot of other things in your life make sense?” he asked, turning into the drive of The Village.
“I’m sure I have.” Miriam shrugged.
“Well, I just had one.”
“Oh?”
He waited until he had parked the wagon beside his house before answering. “Yeah. I don’t like it when things change from the way I thought they would be.”
Miriam blinked at him, the fading, winter sunlight making her look as pale as a porcelain doll. She grinned, her cheeks flushing. “I can’t think of anyone who likes it when things don’t turn out the way they expect.”
“No, but I really don’t like it.” She probably thought he was crazy for sounding so happy about it. “I think that’s why I turned on Wendy when I saw her at the train station, why I was so angry at—” He snapped his mouth shut before he could say anything he would regret.
It was too late for that.
“At me.” Miriam’s face fell. Without waiting for him, she slid to the end of the bench and helped herself down to the snow.
Cody let out a frustrated breath, hopped out of the wagon, and ran around to meet her in back. “That’s not what I mean.” He paused when she crossed her arms. “Okay, so that is what I meant. But not like that.”
She frowned at him for all of three seconds before her face and body softened into a doleful sigh. “It’s all right, Cody. I understand. I would have been angry too. Is this your house?”
His mouth hung open for a moment as he studied her. She wasn’t looking at him. She’d already turned to assess his house. “Yeah, it is,” he said at last. “Come on, I’ll show you inside.”
He tried to take her hand, but she edged out of the way. Maybe he shouldn’t have told her about his thoughts so suddenly. It was a good thing if he understood why he’d done the things he’d done, right? It meant that he could do better, could make things better for her.
Because if Madame Kopanari’s story had taught him anything, it was that he definitely wanted to marry Miriam after all.
“This is the front hall,” he said, ushering her through the door and shutting it tight behind him. “I wish it was warmer, but I don’t want to leave a fire burning when I’m not home. The house was just built. It’d be a shame to burn it down so soon.”
“Smart.” Miriam looked around, walking from the hall into the living room. “It’s very nice.”
Her compliment eased a bit of the tension from Cody’s shoulders. “All the houses in The Village have the same plan. Mine’s the same as Luke and Eden’s and Mason and Libby’s.”
Miriam’s only response was to hum and continue to look around. Her smile wasn’t as bright as he’d hoped it would be. Didn’t she like the house? It could be hers…if he could work up the nerve to propose again.
“The kitchen’s back through this way.”
He took her on a tour of the entire house. It was interesting, showing someone else the things you’d come to know and love. And he did love his house, silly as it seemed. He’d been living there since the summer by himself, and the space had grown on him. More than half of the rooms were empty still, but all that could change if Miriam changed her mind about him.
Funny how he hated change one day and prayed for it the next.
By the time they had looped through the entire house and made it back to the living room, Cody had found his courage.
“It’s a great house,” he said, stepping closer to Miriam.
“Yes, it is. You are all very fortunate to have a patron like Howard Haskell to build them for you.”
Was it his imagination or was she nervous? Well, he was nervous too. It was only natural to be nervous at a moment like this. He took her hands.
“You know, the whole reason Howard built this house for me was because I was supposed to bring a mail-order bride home to it.”
“Yes.” She looked away.
Cody tried not to take that as a bad sign. “And even though I goofed on it the first time, there is a woman who should have been the mistress of this house.”
She made a sound that didn’t form into words as she glanced around the room…looking for shadows.
Cody frowned, but pushed ahead. “It can still be yours if you want it. In fact, I can’t imagine any woman living here with me as…as my wife but you.”
“This was a bad idea.” Miriam slipped her hands out of his and zipped past him to the hall and the front door. “I shouldn’t have let you bring me here. I have to go. I…I have to…go.”
She threw open the front door and dashed out into the February cold.
Cody let out a heavy breath and cursed. Had he done that wrong? Said the wrong thing?
Or was it those shadows Madame Kopanari mentioned?
Nope, he’d definitely done things wrong. As usual, his problems were his own damn fault.
“Miriam, wait. Hold up.”
He jumped into motion, chasing after her. Shadows or no shadows, he had a long way to go before she would give him the answer he wanted to the question that hadn’t left his lips from the moment he’d spoken to her at the train station. But if she had shadows chasing her, would she ever stop running long enough to listen?
Chapter Six
He didn’t understand. Miriam had known from the moment that Cody shared his epiphany about the way he reacted to change that he wouldn’t understand her. He hated change. For Miriam, change was essential. Constant change was the only thing that kept her from being mired down in the tragedy of a life that would never change, a fate she could never escape.
“Cheer up, Chiquita,” Juan said with a wink as he passed the spot where she sat in the school’s assembly hall, ostensibly sewing curtains. “The
show is in less than a week.”
Less than a week? She puffed out a breath and tried to focus on her sewing. More than a week had flown by since that afternoon with Cody at his house. Where had the time gone? She’d attended teas and sewing circles hosted by her old friends from Hurst Home, worked on the coming show, and gotten to know Haskell, but it didn’t seem like that much time had passed.
“Ow!” A thump and Madame Kopanari’s cry turned both Miriam’s and Juan’s heads.
At the front of the room, Madame Kopanari hopped on one foot at the base of the half-constructed stage. Libby’s son, Petey, stood nearby, a horrified look on his face. He scooped to pick up a hammer.
“I’m sorry, Madame Kopanari. It was an accident, I swear. I didn’t mean for the hammer to fall on your foot.” Pete held out both hands in supplication, one of them brandishing the hammer.
Madame Kopanari lurched back, muttering something in sharp Romani. Petey quivered as though he’d just been cursed.
“I should see if she’s all right,” Miriam sighed. That was the very reason the last week had flown by without giving her a chance to get her bearings. The show had produced one emergency after another as the construction of the set was delayed, the costumes ran into snags, and some of the parents had second thoughts about letting their children participate when they learned “an ungodly gypsy” was telling fortunes at the Silver Dollar saloon in the evenings.
“No, Miles should be the one to soothe her.” Juan arched a brow.
Together, he and Miriam scanned the room. Cody was there with his brother Mason and another ranch hand from Paradise Ranch named Billy putting the final touches on the frame of the stage. Wendy and the maid Olga from The Cattleman Hotel sat on the other side of a worktable from Miriam, sewing costumes for the children and chattering away with Meizhen and Meiying. The twins were more interested in a set of maps of the Territory than they were in anything having to do with the show. And Miles? Miles was nowhere to be seen.
“It’s his company,” Miriam muttered, trying not to work herself into a fit. The fact was, she needed Miles to be involved. She needed him to be dedicated enough to sweep them on to their next destination once this show was done. Moving on from town to town was the only way she could feel…well, if not secure, then at least one step ahead of her past.
