Katie flopped to her side, fluffed her pillow and squeezed her eyes tightly shut trying to dispel the handsome image of Stover Steele branded in her mind. She tried to think on his sister, Pillar. She tried to imagine what made Pillar so shy and unsure when her brother seemed quite the opposite. Tried to think on his little triplet sisters, attempting to imagine how heartbreaking it must’ve been for them to lose their parents. Yet, nothing could wipe the vision of Stover Steele from her mind, and she knew when sleep did come, that her dreams would be full of him. And they were.
Chapter Three
“Yer awful quiet this mornin’, girl,” Bart Matthews said to Katie as he drove the team on the way to town the next day. “It’s a nice change.”
Katie saw Jared’s jaw clinch with irritation as she said, “Just thinkin’, Pa.”
“Well, ya sure oughta do more of that,” Bart said. “The quiet is pleasin’.”
“Pa, why do ya…” Jared began. Katie’s hand on his arm caused him to pause in his defense of her, however. He shook his head, angry at his father’s treatment of his sister.
Katie rode on the wagon seat between her father and Jared. Her mother had chosen not to make the trip into town for supplies, but Katie could never resist the chance to socialize, even if it did mean having to endure her father’s company.
Katie’s dreams the night before had been filled with nothing but Stover Steele, and she’d awakened tired, anxious, and filled with a strange need to see him again. She knew chances were slim he would be in town, but when her father had decided to make the trip to Custer’s Creek that morning, she’d been unable to resist asking him if she could go as well. Just the thought of the possibility of seeing the handsome man who now owned her father’s south one-twenty caused her innards to quiver with an unfamiliar delight. Oh, he was too much a man to take serious notice of a girl her age, she knew. Yet, she had to see him again—whether he took notice of her or not—she was driven to see him—to hear his voice.
As her father pulled the team up before the O’Malley’s General store, Katie’s hopes soared, for Pillar Steele and her three younger sisters were just going in.
“Hello, Pillar!” Katie exclaimed, waving to the young woman when she turned to see who was calling out to her. Heedless of propriety, Katie climbed over Jared, hopping out of the wagon of her own accord.
“For Pete’s sake, Katie,” Jared scolded. “The whole town just got a look at yer petticoats.”
“Hush, Jared,” Katie told him as she rushed up the front steps of O’Malley’s General.
“Hey, there, Katie Matthews,” one of the triplets greeted.
“We just come into town for some dress-makin’ cloth,” another said.
Katie, having only met the triplets once, and that being while she was in the first stages of wakefulness, had no way of telling the difference between them.
No doubt they were used to folks being confused for the third little girl said, “I’m Bonnie.” She then pointed to her left and said, “This here’s Bunny and the other one of us is Berty. Just in case ya couldn’t tell the difference yet.”
“Well, I surely couldn’t,” Katie admitted. “Thank ya, Bonnie.”
“Is that there yer beau?” Bunny asked, pointing to Jared as he climbed down from the wagon.
Katie laughed and said, “Nope. That’s my brother, Jared.”
“He’s handsome!” Berty exclaimed. “Does he have a girl he’s courtin’?”
“Nope. I’m still lookin’ for one as purty as you,” Jared said, hunkering down to meet the girl face-to-face. Berty and her two sisters giggled with delight.
“You all must be those purty Steele sisters I been hearin’ about,” Jared said.
“Ya’ve heard about us?” Bunny giggled.
“Shore enough,” Jared said. “I heard the purtiest girls in three counties just moved over to Custer’s Creek.” He glanced up at Pillar, winking flirtatiously at her. “And I heard there ain’t three, but four of them purty girls, to boot.”
Katie smiled, delighted by her brother’s attention to Pillar. She was still puzzled, however, at the way Pillar kept tugging on the right ribbon of her bonnet to ensure it covered her ear properly.
“Mr. O’Malley has a mighty fine assortment of cloth, Pillar,” Katie said, feigning nonchalance as she glanced around in search of Stover. “Who ya sewin’ for?” she asked.
“The girls have just about grown out of their Sunday dresses,” Pillar answered. “So, I figure I’d better get busy on some new ones.”
“You girls bring yer brother in town with ya today?” Jared asked, straightening and winking at Katie. “I ain’t had a chance to meet him yet.”
“He’s over at the Feed and Seed,” Bonnie said.
At the news of Stover Steele being so close by, Katie felt her heart begin to race. An unfamiliar anxiety rinsed over her, for she was unaccustomed to such wildly unpredictable emotions.
“Don’t go far, Kate,” Bart growled as he climbed down from the wagon. “I don’t want an entire afternoon wasted on huntin’ ya down. Ya hear me?”
“Yes, Pa,” Katie said.
“That yer pa, Katie?” Berty asked.
Katie nodded.
“Meaner’n skunk weed, ain’t he?” Jared asked the little girl, with a wink.
“How’d a handsome one like you come by way of that ol’ snaggle-tooth?” Bunny asked.
“Bunny!” Pillar exclaimed. “Don’t be so rude! Ya don’t say things like that about folks.”
Jared chuckled, however, and patted the girl on the head. “Thanks for callin’ me handsome, Miss Steele,” he said. Then tipping his hat to Pillar, he added, “You ladies have fun now. I’m off to my own business.”
As they all stood watching Jared walk away, Berty said, “Yer brother’s right handsome, Katie Matthews.”
“Maybe he would marry ya, Pillar,” Bunny added.
“Yes, indeed,” Bonnie said. “I don’t think he’d care one wit about yer missin’ ear.”
“Hush, Bonnie!” Berty scolded. “Ya know right well Pillar don’t like ya mentionin’ her ear to new folks.”
Katie glanced to Pillar who looked as if she were ready to burst into tears at any moment. So that was it! The reason for Pillar’s shyness—for the way she tugged at her hair and bonnet.
“You’re missin’ an ear?” Katie said, before she thought better of it. She scolded herself inwardly for speaking her thoughts aloud.
Instantly, Pillar’s eyes filled with tears, but the set of her mouth was firm as she nodded. “In a manner of speaking,” Pillar choked out.
“A dog done chewed it off when she was five,” Bunny explained.
Katie was horrified! How terrible! What a frightening and painful experience it must’ve been. Obviously it still was painful—in several ways. Katie was momentarily at a loss for words—a very rare occurrence, indeed. Still, it wasn’t long before she found her voice once more. “Well,” Katie said. “These things happen.”
Pillar’s eyes widened with astonishment.
“And ya don’t seem any worse for the wear, Pillar. Shall we go see what Mr. O’Malley’s got hidin’ in his store today?”
Pillar paused, a perplexed expression on her face. Gradually her puzzled expression grew into a friendly smile.
“Yes, Katie. Let’s do,” Pillar said.
“We need a licorice whip, Pillar,” Berty said.
“Y’all do not need a licorice whip,” Pillar said, smiling at Katie.
“But we do, Pillar! We need one!” Bonnie and Bunny exclaimed.
Pillar shook her head and giggled, “These three are so much like Stover it’s downright frightenin’.”
“He likes licorice?” Katie asked, overly interested in any tidbit of information about Stover Steele.
Pillar shook her head and said, “No—but he needs bacon, or he needs a batch of cookies. Stover don’t have cravin’s like the rest of us—he needs things.”
Katie smiled, enchanted b
y imagining a man like Stover Steele needing a batch of cookies.
“Well, a good mornin’ to ya, ladies,” Mr. O’Malley greeted as the five females entered the store. “What brings ya lovely creatures into me store today?” Mr. O’Malley was a small, slender, and red-haired Irishman. He was likewise one of the most pleasant people Katie had ever known.
“Licorice whips!” Berty answered.
Katie giggled as Pillar sighed with exasperation.
“Licorice whips, is it?” Mr. O’Malley asked with a chuckle. “Would that be right then, Miss Steele?”
“Anythin’ to keep them quiet for five minutes, Mr. O’Malley,” Pillar relented.
Mr. O’Malley chuckled and withdrew three long licorice whips from the candy jar on the counter in front of him. The Steele triplets squealed with delight as he handed them each one.
“Now you three run along and sit out there on the front step. I need some peace and quiet so I can choose some cloth,” Pillar said.
“We want blue dresses,” Berty told her.
“No! Pink!” Bunny said.
“Yellow, Pillar! Yellow!” Bonnie called over her shoulder as she headed out the door.
Once they were gone, Pillar sighed with relief and shook her head at Katie. “Those three are gonna put me in my grave,” she said.
“I don’t doubt it,” Katie giggled. “Yer a mighty patient sister, Pillar.”
“Not always, unfortunately,” Pillar said. “Would ya mind helpin’ me choose some cloth for the girls’ dresses, Katie?” she asked. “If yer not too busy.”
“I’d love to,” Katie said, delighted at the prospect of having made a new friend. Still, her mind kept wandering to Stover. She wondered where he was, what he was doing, who he was with.
Sometime later, after Katie had helped Pillar choose cloth for the triplets’ dresses, the two young women sat on the bench outside Mr. O’Malley’s store discussing this and that, who and what. The triplets had long since run off in search of adventures, and Katie knew, that even though Pillar feigned no worries, she had them.
“Oh, what kind of mischief can they possibly get into here in town?” Katie asked.
“You’d be surprised the trouble those three can cause when they put their minds to it,” Pillar said. “I know it’s just because Stover and I aren’t what they need. They need their mama, and I’m just their sister, after all.”
“Any time three children are together as much as they must be they’re bound to get into mischief,” Katie said. “Jared and I had both our parents all the time and still managed to cause enough trouble for a schoolroom full of young-uns.”
“Yer brother,” Pillar began.
Katie looked to the girl and could’ve sworn she was blushing at the thought of Jared.
“Does he…does he have plans?”
Katie felt her eyes begin to twinkle with the excitement rising in her bosom. She would love nothing more than to find Pillar and Jared with a mutual interest in one another. “He does,” Katie answered. “He wants to take up his own land—though he prefers cattle to farmin’. I think he’s just waiting until…” Katie paused, not wanting to reveal too much about her personal life.
“Until?” Pillar prodded.
Katie bit her lip, uncertain as to how much she should tell Pillar. Certainly she sensed the offer of sincere friendship from her, but she paused all the same.
“I think he’s waiting until I’m taken care of,” Katie admitted.
Pillar’s smile faded. “He doesn’t want to leave ya alone—wants ya settled down with a good man—safe and sound, protected and loved,” Pillar said.
“Yes!” Katie exclaimed. “That’s exactly it.”
Pillar smiled and said, “He’s a good brother. Just like mine.”
Katie realized only then, just why Pillar understood so well. Pillar’s own brother, Stover Steele, held to the same protective nature where his sister was concerned. “The difference is—my brother will be waiting forever.”
“Why do ya say that?” Katie asked.
Pillar shook her head, a sad smile of regret on her lovely lips. “He’s saddled with me, that’s why,” Pillar said.
“Saddled with ya?” Katie asked. “Blessed with ya is more like it.”
“Blessed? With an ugly, spinster sister who he can’t pay anyone to marry?”
Katie frowned. She found it hard to believe such a lovely girl would hold herself in such low esteem. “Whatever are ya goin’ on about, Pillar?” Katie asked. “How old are ya? Ya can’t be more than nineteen or twenty if you’re a day.” Shaking her head in disbelief she added, “And look how beautiful ya are! I could only wish to have yer beauty and grace.”
Pillar smiled at Katie. “There aren’t many men, young or old, who want a wife with only one ear,” she said finally.
“Now that’s simply not true,” Katie scolded, straightening her posture and smoothing her skirt. “The beholder has beautiful eyes. There’s more to a woman than her ears.”
Suddenly, Pillar burst out laughing. Katie smiled, too, although she was quite perplexed as to what she had said to amuse her friend.
“I think ya mean, ‘beauty is in the eye of the beholder,’” Pillar giggled.
Katie winced, embarrassed that her tendency to distort clichés had gotten the best of her again.
“Yes. Yes, that’s what I meant to say,” Katie admitted.
“Ya lighten my heart, Katie Matthews,” Pillar said, suddenly. “Yer a tonic for the soul.”
“Well, thank ya, Pillar Steele,” Katie said.
“What’s goin’ on here, Kate?” Bart Matthews asked, startling both young women.
“I’m—I’m just talkin’ to Miss Steele, Pa,” Katie stammered.
“Well, I didn’t bring ya to town to twiddle yer time away! Why ain’t ya over at the schoolhouse askin’ Miss Stapleton ‘bout fillin’ in for her after she’s married next month?”
“Pa…I…I thought we decided I shouldn’t…” Katie began. She didn’t like the tone of her father’s voice. He’d been over to the saloon she knew, for she could smell the liquor on him.
“Yer ma decided and that don’t make it so,” he growled. Taking her roughly by the arm and twisting it behind her back, he pulled her to her feet. “Now, you get on over to that schoolhouse and talk to Miss Stapleton.”
Katie never really feared her father, unless he’d been drinking. For the most part, he was simply mean-spirited and grouchy. But when he took to drinking, he could become far more cruel than normal. Katie closed her eyes for a moment, hoping Jared would appear. Since Jared had grown into such a strong young man, their father was less apt to lose his temper or become physically rough with Katie or her mother. Silently and quickly, Katie prayed for deliverance from her father’s painful hold on her arm.
“You been drinkin’ today, Matthews?” Katie’s eyes popped open at the sound of Stover Steele’s voice behind her. Glancing back she saw the handsome man place a firm hand on her father’s shoulder.
“That ain’t none of yer business, Steele,” Bart growled. By now, several passersby had paused to watch what was going on, and Katie felt her face go crimson, embarrassed by the unwanted attention.
“Well, the way yer hurtin’ yer daughter is,” Stover said, through clinched teeth.
“I’m fine, Mr. Steele,” Katie whispered, though her father’s grip tightened, causing her to wince. Before she knew it, Stover Steele had taken hold of her father’s wrist, twisting it painfully and causing him to release his grip on her arm.
Instinctively, Katie stepped back and out of her father’s reach, even as he rubbed his wrist and glared up at Stover.
“I’ll teach you to interfere with my family business,” Bart growled a moment before he threw a fist at Stover’s head.
Stover caught Bart’s fist easily in his own. Gasping as Stover then threw a brutal punch into her father’s midsection, Katie stood in awe as she watched her father double over in agony. Still
stunned, Katie watched as Stover took her father by the back of the shirt collar and directed him to climb into the back of the wagon.
“Sleep it off on the way home,” Stover growled.
Katie felt tears of humiliation welling in her eyes. How could her father be so horrid as to show up smelling like liquor and handling her in such a manner in front of Pillar? And what must Stover think of her now? No doubt he had no respect for anyone related to such a man.
“You all right?” Stover asked her.
Katie looked away, humiliated. All her happy dreams of seeing Stover again were ruined. Nodding she answered, “I’m fine.”
“Are ya sure yer all right, Katie?” Pillar asked, placing an arm around her shoulders.
Forcing an indifferent smile and shrugging her shoulders she said, “I’m fine. He just—he just gets a bit cranky when he’s been drinkin’,” she said.
“Don’t make excuses for him, girl,” Stover said, pointing an index finger in her face. “And don’t ya ever let any man hurt ya like that. Ya hear?”
“Yes, sir,” Katie said, looking away from him.
“I see yer pa has been busy this mornin’, Katie.” Katie grimaced at the sound of Hillary Westover’s syrupy voice.
“My pa is always busy, Hillary. Ya know that,” Katie mumbled.
The Prairie Prince Page 3
