The Prairie Prince

by Marcia Lynn McClure

  “Go on then,” Stover said. “Give me somethin’ to do—dare me to do somethin’ that ya know scares the tar outta me. You show Jared yer ear and I’ll…”

  “Kiss Katie Matthews so that rotten ol’ Hillary Westover will quit bein’ mean to her!” Bunny exclaimed.

  “Hush, Bunny,” Stover said. “This is between me and Pillar.” He didn’t let on that the suggestion had caused a rash of goose pimples to wash over him. He thought of the tender softness of her lips, still felt sinful for stealing those kisses he’d stolen while she’d been unconscious. Still, the thought of kissing her again, of really kissing her the way he’d like to, caused his stomach to feel like he hadn’t eaten in a week.

  “Why not?” Pillar asked him. “If I can find the courage to show Jared my ear—you have to find the courage to kiss Katie before ya go kissin’ Hillary Westover.”

  Stover shook his head and said, “Ain’t no part of me no where that plans on kissin’ Hillary Westover.”

  “Ah, but what about Katie Matthews?” Pillar teased.

  “We’re talkin’ about you and yer problem, Pillar,” Stover said. “We’re not talkin’ about me.”

  “It’s a deal!” Pillar said then. “I’ll show Jared my ear tomorrow—after supper so it doesn’t ruin his appetite—and then you have one week to kiss Katie. Deal?”

  Stover looked over at the sister he loved so much. He wanted her to be happy, loved, and adored. He could see that Jared Matthews would fulfill all his dreams for his sister. Jared was a good man. He hadn’t inherited any of his father’s qualities—Stover had made certain of that by way of his own observances and of those who knew Jared better. Stover still had the triplets to raise, but Pillar needed to get on with her life.

  “Deal,” he said at last. He couldn’t help but smile at the smile which spread across Pillar’s face.

  Still, late that night as Stover sat at the kitchen table, worrisome over the agreement he’d made with Pillar, he found himself wildly unsettled. “Lord,” he said out loud. “I-I need to see Pillar settled in with a good man. You and me—we’ve agreed on it.” Stover shook his head and continued, “But, Lord—I got three little sisters to raise by myself if Pillar marries, and You and I both know I can’t afford to be havin’ any serious thoughts about…about…about myself right now. I’ve gotta stay straight and strong on this one. Don’t I, Lord?”

  But later that night, as Stover lay in bed, staring out the window at the velvet sky full of stars, he could think of nothing but Katie Matthews—her pretty smile, her funny way of shuffling a cliché, and her tender, innocent lips so ready for something more than a sweet and stolen kiss.

  

  Katie wiped the tears from her eyes, sniffled and tried to hear something in her mind other than her father’s cruel words.

  “You beat all, girl!” he hollered at her. “What kind of an idiot are ya? Goin’ off by yerself when ye knew dern well there was danger?”

  She closed her eyes tightly shut and tried to recall the fainting dream she’d had of kissing Stover Steele. She imagined he was a prince, come to rescue her with a waking kiss. But all she could hear was her father shouting, Jared shouting back at him, and the slam of the front door when Jared left the house.

  At least Jared would be free of Bart Matthews soon enough. Katie knew Jared was in love with Pillar—he would marry her, and she was happy for him. Still, it frightened her to think of his leaving. She would be left to the wolf then, with no hero to help her. But it would be worth it to see Jared escape—to see him happy in the arms of a loving wife. It would be worth it.

  Closing her eyes once more, she whispered, “Please, Lord—let Jared escape quickly. I can take whatever Pa throws at me, but please let Jared be happy. He deserves it so much.”

  Wiping a final tear from her cheek, Katie sighed and even smiled as, for some reason, the very vision of Stover Steele, walking in front of her leading his horse behind him and smiling at her over his shoulder, came quietly into her mind like a calm, summer breeze, lulling her to sleep and sweet dreams of his kisses.

  Chapter Five

  Katie sighed and tore another blade of prairie grass in two. She’d been very patient, sitting out on the east side of the Steele barn, waiting for Jared to finish the supper he’d been invited to. Jared had confessed to Katie that he meant to “step up the courtin’ a bit,” after supper that evening, and Katie wasn’t about to miss it!

  The frightening events of the day before still haunted her—the men who would’ve harmed her, Stover coming to her rescue, Stover’s wound. Still, Katie tried to send the memories to a far corner of her mind and concentrate on the new day. No matter how she tried, however, the image of Stover leading his horse as she rode, the way he kept looking back over his shoulder to check on her—it was an image she would never forget. Nor did she want to. Yet, it was Jared who was important now, not Katie. She wanted to see him happy.

  Katie sighed once more and looked up into the beauty of the sky. The early evening breezes were cooling down the day and Katie could smell the soft scent of the four o’clocks in bloom. Glancing around the corner of the barn, Katie could see Stover, Pillar, and Jared still sitting at the table. The triplets no longer sat with them, however, and Katie frowned, irritated at their taking so long to finish up. Her impatience with the situation was making her feet hot, and so she unlaced her shoes and removed them, along with her stockings

  “Ah,” she whispered. “There now. That feels better.” She let her toes be lost among the cool of the grass and watched a lady bug wander across one of her little ones. Just then, she heard the door to the farmhouse open and peered around the corner to see Pillar and Jared leave the house together. Being that they immediately started toward the place where Katie was hiding, she hopped up and quickly dashed around to the back of the barn, careless of her shoes or anything else.

  “Let’s have us a lonesome ramble,” Jared said.

  Katie carefully peeked around the corner of the barn and smiled when she saw Jared take Pillar’s hand.

  “All right,” Pillar said, but Katie noticed the way her smile seemed forced. She seemed nervous somehow. Pillar’s smile brightened a bit, however, when Jared reached down and took her hand in his, leading her toward the apple orchard.

  Katie waited until the couple had disappeared into the orchard before following. Quietly, and glancing behind her now and then to ensure the triplets were nowhere about, Katie tiptoed from tree to tree, always staying far behind Jared and Pillar. Still, she could not hear their words, so she ventured closer. Finally, she lay down in the grass under one very large apple tree. She could hear them! It was a risk, for the orchard grasses were not so long as to completely cover her as the prairie grasses sometimes were. Still, she could not resist eavesdropping. She fancied her heart pounded as madly with excitement at the situation as did Pillar’s—but for entirely different reasons. Oh, how she wanted to see Jared married to Pillar! Oh, how she wanted to see them move into their own little place, away from the hateful nature of Bart Matthews.

  “I-I want to tell ya somethin’,” Pillar said softly.

  Katie panicked as Pillar seemed to glance her direction for a moment.

  “What’s that?” Jared asked.

  Pillar dropped Jared’s hand and seemed to study the ground for a moment.

  “There’ll be an awful lot of windfalls come this time next month,” Pillar told him.

  “What?” Katie whispered out loud! As Pillar again began to anxiously look around, Katie gasped and clamped her hand over her mouth. She was too visible. If Pillar decided to really take a look around her, she might indeed see Katie. Biting her lip as she tried to think of a manner of escape, Katie rolled over onto her back for a moment. Looking up into the enormous apple tree branching out above her, she smiled when she spied a dilapidated-looking old tree house nestled in its strong branches. She was further encouraged when she saw the old wooden ladder braced against its trunk.

  Glancing bac
k to Pillar and Jared, Katie began crawling on her belly toward the tree’s trunk.

  “Oh, don’t ya go worryin’ about windfalls, Pillar,” Jared chuckled. “I’m sure Katie will be more’n happy to come over and give ya a hand.”

  Katie sat up carefully, standing up even more carefully, and quickly scaled the ladder up the trunk of the tree, pulling herself into the tree house. She looked down at the couple and breathed a relieved sigh when she saw they had not seen her.

  The tree house had no roof and only three walls. Fortunately, the open wall faced away from the path Pillar and Jared had taken. Katie now had a perfect view of the goings-on through the large glassless window of the tree house’s north wall.

  “Jared…I…I…” Pillar began.

  Katie held her breath. She sensed Pillar was about to say something very important.

  “What is it?” Jared asked. “Ya know ya can tell me anythin’. Don’t ya, Pillar”?”

  Katie smiled as she watched her brother reach out and tug on one of Pillar’s bonnet ribbons, releasing the bow beneath Pillar’s chin.

  “B-but ya don’t understand, Jared,” Pillar told him. “This is somethin’ that…that…”

  “Are ya wantin’ to tell me about yer ear?” Jared asked.

  Katie’s eyes widened, and she watched as Pillar’s filled with tears. Pillar nodded and wiped a tear from her cheek.

  “It don’t matter one bit to me, Pillar,” Jared told her. “It truly don’t.”

  Pillar wiped a tear from her cheek and said, “It will when ya see it. It’s—it’s hideous!”

  Jared chuckled and tenderly wiped a tear from Pillar’s other cheek with the back of his hand. “Yer the most beautiful thing I ever did lay eyes on, Pillar Steele,” Jared told her. “There ain’t nothin’ can change that.”

  “Ooohhhh!” Katie whispered to herself, her hand pressing to her bosom. Her own heart ached for Pillar’s worry, for Jared’s kindness, for the sweet moment they were sharing.

  Katie leaned forward, bit her lip with nervous anticipation as she watched Jared reach up and slowly remove Pillar’s bonnet. He smiled, wiping another tear from her cheek with one thumb before taking hold of her chin and turning her head so he could have a good look at her ear.

  Tears escaped Katie’s eyes as she watched Pillar’s lip quiver, watched her close her eyes tightly shut, probably not wanting to see the look of disgust she expected would overtake Jared’s face.

  Katie’s heart began to beat harder as she saw Jared frown, saw him tip Pillar’s head over even more. “Well,” he said, at last. “That must’ve hurt like the devil—but I don’t see what all the fuss is over.”

  “What?” Pillar asked, surprised by his response.

  Jared shrugged his shoulders and smiled at her saying, “Not to say it didn’t hurt when it happened—I’m sure it was terrible! Probably scared yer mama to death, too. But, sweetheart,” he continued, “it ain’t what you think it is, and it certainly don’t change the way I see ya, or the way I feel about ya neither.”

  “It doesn’t?” Pillar asked, tears streaming down her face.

  “Of course not!” Jared said, smiling at her. “I’m missin’ three toes on my left foot—cut ‘em clean off with an ax when I was fourteen. It don’t change the way you feel about me, does it?”

  Katie watched as Pillar burst into relieved giggles. She buried her face in her hands and continued to laugh for a moment before throwing her arms around Jared’s neck and hugging him tightly.

  “I was afraid ya wouldn’t want me after ya saw it,” she told him. Pillar seemed to realize then exactly what she said, and she released Jared, shyly stepping back from him.

  “Oh, I want ya, all right, Pillar Steele,” Jared said. Katie’s heart pounded faster as she saw Pillar’s eyes widen with astonishment. Jared stepped closer to her, taking her chin in one hand and saying, “I’ve wanted you since the moment I first laid eyes on ya,” a moment before he kissed Pillar firmly on the lips.

  Katie felt a wide smile spread across her face, sensed a warm calm take the place of the nervous anxiety which had been building in her bosom. One more moment and they were in each other’s arms, kissing kisses the like Katie had never witnessed! Her eyes widened at the passionate display before her, and she realized she must no longer intrude on their privacy. It was their moment, Jared’s and Pillar’s, and she would let them have it. Still, an odd sort of distress, a longing for her own moment of wonder wound through her as, for one more moment, she looked at her brother and his lover entwined in each other’s arms.

  With one last heavy sigh, Katie turned on her hands and knees to leave the tree house. However, her heart nearly stopped and she gasped out loud, clamping her hand over her mouth when she saw Stover Steele hunkered down before her. He wore a knowing grin as he shook his head at her.

  “Yer a nosy little…” he began, but Katie reached out placing her hand over his mouth for fear Pillar and Jared would hear him and their tender moments together be lost. Stover simply took hold of her wrist, moving her arm aside and said, “I can’t believe yer up here spyin’ like a…” Using her other hand, Katie covered his mouth once more.

  “Hush!” she scolded in the quietest whisper. “They’ll hear you!”

  Stover took hold of her other wrist, removing her hand from his mouth once more. Then, still grinning he pulled on both her wrists until her bosom was flush with his chest and whispered in her ear, “I can’t believe yer up here spyin’ on yer own brother!”

  The feel of his breath on her skin, the smooth sound of his voice whispering in her ear was unlike anything Katie had ever experienced! Her arms and legs erupted into dense goose bumps and her heart began to hammer wildly inside her bosom. She could feel his hair on her forehead, his strong, but careful, grip on her wrists, and the warmth of his body through his shirt and her bodice. His cheek brushed hers, his whiskers tickling her.

  “Didn’t yer mama ever teach ya what happens to little girls who get caught eavesdroppin’?” he whispered. He released her wrists, leaning back and looking down into her eyes. Katie could only shake her head.

  “A darn good spankin’,” he whispered. “I have a mind to turn ya over my knee and paddle the….”

  “Shhhh!” Katie whispered, putting a finger to her lips. As undone as she was by finding herself face to face with Stover Steele, as mortified as she was to be caught eavesdropping—she did not want the precious moments Jared and Pillar were sharing in the orchard below to be ruined.

  “Don’t ya shush me, Katie Matthews,” Stover chuckled in a whisper. “’Less ya plan on havin’ a way of makin’ it stick.”

  “What do ya mean by that?” Katie whispered, uncertain as to what he implied. Still, something about his words caused her blood to begin racing through her body at a maddened pace.

  “If ya don’t want me talkin’,” he whispered. “Then ya better think of somethin’ else to keep my mouth busy.”

  Katie’s eyes widened, her heart pounded like a sledgehammer on a circus tent stake! He couldn’t possibly be implying that she…that she kiss him! No, no, no. He was just teasing her. Maybe he meant she should pick one of the not-quite-ripened apples hanging over head to give to him. Yes! That must be it. Quickly, she raised one trembling hand to the branch above her, tugged on a large green apple, snapping it from its branch.

  Swallowing hard, she held it out to him. Stover chuckled and accepted the apple, wiping it on his shirt and taking a large bite out of it.

  “Thanks,” he whispered. “But that’s not what I meant.”

  Again Katie’s eyes widened with astonishment. “That’s all there is,” she whispered to him, but he raised an eyebrow and shook his head.

  “Oh, I ‘spect you can think of somethin’ a lot sweeter to give me to keep me quiet,” he said, nodding at her and brushing her lips with the back of his hand that held the apple.

  “Yer—yer just teasin’, right? You’re just pokin’ fun at me for eavesdroppin’. Right?” she w
hispered.

  But Stover smiled at her and shook his head.

  Stover looked down into the beautiful, wide, and expectant eyes of Katie Matthews. Dang! She was cute! Stover decided she was even more adorable when she’d been caught with her hand in the cookie jar than she’d been the day she’d been caught lying under a pine tree with columbine blossoms between her toes. He knew darn well he shouldn’t be teasing her the way he was. He knew darn well he shouldn’t taint her innocence by kissing her either. But the fact of the matter was she was just too irresistible not to kiss. His mouth was watering something fierce for the want of kissing her.

  He guessed this would be her very first kiss, and he’d have to make it a good one, being careful all the same. He smiled at the thought of being the first man to kiss her, drink the sweet flavor of her lips and mouth. A girl never forgot her first kiss and that meant, with one kiss, he’d brand his name in her heart forever. Stover liked the thought of that. For some reason, he wanted his memory branded in the heart of Katie Matthews—forever.

  Katie, who had been kneeling before Stover, leaned back, sitting down hard on her seat. Stover set the apple aside, leaning toward her on his hands and knees. He looked like a lion stalking its prey.

  “I know darn well you’re just teasin’,” she whispered. “You’re just tryin’ to teach me a lesson for eavesdroppin’.”

  “Oh, I plan on teachin’ ya a lesson, all right,” Stover said, his voice no longer a whisper, but deep and alluring.

  Katie’s escape was stopped when she realized she’d backed herself into the corner of the tree house. “Trapped,” she whispered, frantically looking about. “Trapped like a beaver!”

  Stover chuckled quietly and said, “I think ya mean trapped like a ‘rat,’ don’t ya?”