The Prairie Prince

by Marcia Lynn McClure

  “That’s a right good idea—especially bein’ that I’ll be havin’ supper with Pillar and the girls that night,” he said.

  “I do worry, Jared,” Katie began. “What if Pa can’t behave? Does he remember Stover puttin’ him away that day in town do ya think?”

  Jared shook his head and said, “Nope. I don’t think he remembers a lick of it.”

  Katie sighed with relief. “Good. Oh, I hope he can be civil, Jared,” Katie said. “What if he’s rude to him or starts in to arguin’? Stover will think I’m…he’ll think I’m…”

  Jared took Katie’s hands in his and said, “Stover knows what kind of man Pa is. He don’t have no respect for him. But he does for you. He’ll handle Pa all right. You just watch.” He sighed, his face going quite serious as he continued, “There’s somethin’ else I want to tell ya, Kate. I plan on marryin’ Pillar…”

  “Oh! Jared! When?” Katie exclaimed. Her bosom swelled with joy at the prospect of Jared marrying Pillar. It was what she’d wished for.

  “Now, settle down—settle down,” he said. “I do plan on marryin’ Pillar, but I want ya to know that even if I’m not livin’ in the same house with you and Mama—I’ll still watch out for ya both.”

  Katie smiled, tears welling in her eyes at his obvious love for her. “I know that,” she told him. “I know ya would never leave us unprotected and…”

  “There’s more to it than that, Kate,” he interrupted. His face was very serious. “Once you leave home, too, Katie—I’m pullin’ Mama out.”

  “What do ya mean, Jared?” Katie asked.

  “I won’t let it go on, Kate. I won’t. He’s getting’ worse,” he told her. “Mama’s been tryin’ to hide it from us, but I seen the bruises the other day—on her arms and legs. I can’t do much about it now—until I get my own place goin’, anyway—but as soon as I’m settled I’m pullin’ Mama out. And if you’re still home when I do it, I’m pullin’ ya both out of this Hell we’ve been livin’ in. I shoulda done it before…but…but I wasn’t seein’ how bad it was—I wanted to make sure I could provide for ya both.”

  Katie dropped her gaze for a moment and whispered, “Pillar will want to marry you, Jared. Not your mama and sister, too.”

  “Pillar would never be able to live with the knowin’ of what goes on at our house, Katie,” he explained. “She don’t know it for sure yet, but I figure with what she saw in town that day Pa was rough with ya—she’s suspicious. And when I tell her how it is she won’t want me to leave you two with him either.”

  “It’s one thing to get married and start a life of your own, Jared—things will be hard where money’s concerned. Ya won’t need me and Mama makin’ it even…” Katie began.

  “That ain’t important, Katie,” he interrupted. “Keepin’ you and Mama safe is.”

  Katie’s eyes filled with tears as she said, “But—but I can’t hope for it, Jared. I have to survive and to do that, I dream—I run away to the prairie, the pine trees, my books…” She smiled as a tear trickled down her face, but smiled and added, “I spy on my brother when he’s sparkin’ with his girl. If I spent every moment facin’ livin’ with Pa—if I lingered on how he treats Mama—why, I’d be runnin’ like a scared rat all the time.”

  “I think ya mean you’d ‘be runnin’ like a scared rabbit all the time,’” Jared said, smiling as he brushed a lock of hair from her forehead. “And I know that,” he added. “But I want ya to know—even though my heart’s full of Pillar—I ain’t forgettin’ about you and Mama.”

  “I know that,” Katie said. Throwing herself into Jared’s embrace, she clung to him. “You’ve always kept me safe.”

  Inside the house Katie could hear her father shouting at her mother. Squeezing her eyes tightly shut, she covered her ears, trying to drown out the cruel words he flung at her.

  “Why don’t ya walk a ways, Katie,” Jared said, as he rose to his feet. “I’ll go in and take care of this.”

  “I should go with ya,” she said, standing and wiping tears from her cheeks.

  “No. It would only make it worse,” Jared reminded her. “Just go out to the barn or somethin’ for a while. Just ‘til he gets to bed.”

  Katie’s heart ached for Jared. For as long as she could remember, he’d had to send her off on walks while he calmed their father down. In the darkness of Katie’s mind—the darkness she tried not to face—she knew it was Jared’s way of keeping her safe from not only the verbal cruelty her father inflicted on her, but he was also sheltering her from any physical cruelty which might occur.

  Nodding, she started toward the barn, brushing the tears from her cheeks, and quietly praying for her brother’s safety, for her father to simply go to bed. Oh, how she longed for a home filled with love, kindness, security. How she longed to go for walks in the starry night because she wanted to, because it brought her peace—not because she had to in order to escape.

  Turning the east corner of the barn, Katie gasped as she saw none other than Stover Steele leaning against the outer wall.

  “Evenin’, Miss Katie,” he said, his voice low and somehow soothing. “Out for yer evenin’ walk?”

  Katie brushed the tears from her cheeks, but knew there was no way of hiding them from him in time. “I…um…I…” she stammered.

  Drawing his hand around from behind his back, Stover held out a pie to her. “Pillar sent me over with this. It’s peach,” he explained. He reached down and pulled a knife from his boot. “Pillar’s peach pies do wonders for cheerin’ a body up,” he said. “Can I interest ya in a bite?”

  Katie smiled, soothed by his calming charm. Still, she puckered her brow as she watched him cut the pie with the knife he’d pulled from his boot. No doubt this was the same knife he’d used on the men who had been chasing her the day before.

  Seeming to read her thoughts, he said, “Oh, don’t worry. I washed it real good since yesterday.”

  “Didn’t yer sister mean this pie for Jared,” she managed with a sniffle as her tears did begin to vanish.

  Stover shrugged. “She said to take it over to the Matthews. She didn’t tell me who to feed it to.” Katie smiled and he continued, “I figure you’re a Matthews and we’re both hungry—so…” He balanced a small piece of the pie on the end of the knife and held it out to her. Katie knew he was trying to cheer her up. She knew he could hear the raised voices in the house, and she wondered how long he’d been standing out by the barn.

  Carefully Katie ate the piece of pie from the tip of the knife. Its warm, sweet flavor did serve to make her smile.

  Stover grinned at her, nodded in approval and then cut a piece for himself. “It’s good, huh,” he told her.

  “Yes,” Katie agreed.

  Stover looked down at the ground and said, “Here—let’s sit down and really have a go at it.” He sat down, leaning back against the barn’s outer wall as he cut himself another bite of pie. Katie sat down next to him, smiling at his boyish manner.

  “What do ya think yer brother’s plannin’ to do about my sister?” he asked, offering another bite to her Katie.

  “I think he’s plannin’ on askin’ her to marry him someday,” she said, wiping a drop of peach pie filling from her lip.

  “When’s someday?” he asked, stabbing a loose peach with the knife and putting it in his mouth. Katie couldn’t help thinking how delicious his kiss would taste at that moment, warm, moist, and the flavor of sugary peaches.

  Katie shrugged, “I don’t know. When he feels the time is right.” Suddenly, she felt panic rise in her, for she’d revealed Jared’s plans, and she wasn’t certain he was ready to have Stover know them.

  “I-I maybe shouldn’t have told ya that yet,” she said. “It just sort of slipped out when ya asked me, and I’m not sure Jared would want me…”

  “Don’t worry,” he told her, wiping his mouth with the back of his hand. “I’ll keep it to myself.”

  “Thank you,” Katie said, taking another bite of pie from his knif
e. “I wouldn’t want either one of them to be hurt.”

  He offered her another bite but she shook her head, feeling full and suddenly very self-conscious about having so willingly eaten the pie with him.

  “Now,” he said, wiping his knife on the leg of his trousers before slipping it back into his boot. “About today out there in the orchard…”

  “It’s all right,” Katie interrupted, her ears feeling hot and ashamed. “I understand you were just…”

  “I was gonna apologize for just slobberin’ all over ya instead of askin’ how you’re holdin’ up,” he interrupted.

  Katie frowned, confused. She had assumed he was going to tell her he had only kissed her in teasing, or something similar. “How I’m holdin’ up?” she asked.

  “Yep,” he said, setting the pie aside. “How’re ya holdin’ up after yesterday, when them men came after ya and all—knowin’ they’re held up so close at hand in the town jail? I ain’t much of a gentleman, but it was downright stupid of me not to ask how yer feelin’ about all that.”

  Katie smiled, delighted by his concern. “I’m fine,” she told him. “They’re locked up and can’t hurt anybody now, right?”

  “I guess,” he said. “Still, you must think I’m perty unfeelin’ for not askin’.”

  “I think ya saved me from—from who-knows-what, but that to you it’s all over…so ya pushed it from yer mind. I don’t expect any special handlin’ because of it,” she told him. She squeezed her eyes tightly shut for a moment as the angry voice from the house reached her ears again.

  “Is yer mama gonna be all right in there?” he grumbled.

  Katie looked up at him to see his jaw tight with restrained anger as he looked at her. She was humiliated by the fact he should be witnessing the horrible goings on in her home.

  “Jared will take care of her. He always does,” she mumbled.

  “And he takes care of you, too. Doesn’t he?” he asked her.

  Katie nodded and said, “He always does.” She sighed and tried to block out the voices. “He sends me off on walks and such—thinks it’ll distract me—keep me from knowin’ what’s goin’ on.”

  “He sends ya off on walks and such to keep ya safe is more my guess,” Stover said.

  Katie nodded as tears welled in her eyes again. What must he think of her coming from such a father?

  “Mama wanted me to invite ya over for supper on Thursday,” she began. “I’m certain, after hearin’ all this that you’d never want to…”

  “What time?” he interrupted.

  “What?” Katie asked. Surely he wasn’t seriously considering accepting the invitation.

  “What time does she want me?” he said.

  Katie looked at him, unable to believe he would want to have supper at such a place as her father’s house. “Probably about—about five,” she stammered, still uncertain as to his sincerity.

  “Five it’ll be, then,” he said.

  Katie studied him for a moment, amazed that she sat next to him in the darkness, that she’d shared pie with him, that he was talking to her as if she were worthy of his attention. Even in the dark she could discern the intense blue of his eyes, the outline of his lips and she marveled at how handsome he was. Her gaze lingered on his mouth as she thought of his kissing her earlier in the day and she could not believe it all had happened. Surely it had only been a dream.

  “Why would ya want to come to supper with us?” she asked him, surprised by her own forthrightness.

  He grinned at her and said, “Because I want to see what kind of a woman can be with that kind of a man and still turn out two good children.”

  Katie was somewhat disappointed in his answer. Somehow she’d hoped he would say, “Because I like her daughter,” but he hadn’t.

  “How do ya know I’m good?” she asked him. “How do ya know I’m not like…”

  “Did ya like it when I kissed ya today?” he interrupted.

  Immediately, Katie felt her cheeks blush red and was thankful for the darkness.

  “Well, did ya?” he prodded.

  Katie began to panic, knowing she couldn’t possibly tell him that she had—that it had been her most wonderful dream come true—that she’d never be the same—that her mouth would never stop watering for want of his kiss again. But how could she lie and say she hadn’t? And what reason was there to lie?

  “That’s—that’s not an easy question to answer,” she told him. “I can’t possibly…”

  “Why not?” he asked. “Either ya did or ya didn’t. It’s a simple yes or no.”

  “But I-I…” she stammered. “Why would ya ask me if I…”

  “Ain’t it obvious?” he chuckled. “If ya liked it, I’m thinkin’ on maybe doin’ it again sometime.”

  All at once, any amount of unhappiness, any embarrassment Katie felt about the shouting going on in the house disappeared as her bosom swelled with the anticipation of his kissing her again.

  “Why?” she asked him.

  “Why?” he repeated. “What do ya mean, why? Does there have to be a reason?”

  “Yes,” she answered. “Is it—is it because ya feel so sorry for me about all this?” she said, pointing to the house.

  His smile faded, his eyes narrowed as he studied her for a moment. “No,” he said. Still, he seemed unwilling to reveal anything else.

  “That’s all you’ll say?” she asked him.

  “For now,” he answered. “Now,” he said. “Did ya or didn’t ya like kissin’ me today?”

  It was such a blunt question. How could a girl possibly answer without seeming ridiculous? Yet, somehow Katie sensed that perhaps Stover Steele wasn’t as perfectly confident as he let on. She sensed he needed encouragement if he was ever going to kiss her again, and she did want him to kiss her again.

  “I did,” she managed to say.

  Stover couldn’t stop the smile which spread across his face at Katie’s answer. She had guts. No doubt guts and courage were what had kept her spirit alive while living under the same roof as a man like Bart Matthews. And she hadn’t paused at eating peach pie off his knife. To Stover Steele, that was something! It took a lot of confidence to allow another person to feed you from the blade of a knife, and all at once Stover realized—Katie trusted him. The realization unnerved him somehow—at the same time it pleased him. He wanted her trust, her attention—her...

  He saw her grimace as the voices inside the farmhouse rose again and wanted nothing more than to wrap her safely in his arms, pull her against him, and carry her away. He wanted to pummel Bart Matthews, take Katie’s mother’s hand and lead her from the house as well. But he knew he must show restraint. He knew he couldn’t make matters worse, yet he worried—what would happen if Jared did marry Pillar and take up a place of his own? Who would watch out for Katie and her mother then? Stover knew he couldn’t be the one to do it, for as much as he might like to, he had no right and he had the triplets to raise and worry about.

  Still, as the voices in the house grew louder with anger, as a deep frown began to furrow Katie’s brow and as she covered her ears for a moment to drown out the sound of it all—Stover Steele’s good sense abandoned him.

  “Good,” he said as he bent down, placing one shoulder in Katie’s midsection and hoisting her body upward.

  “What are you doing?” she asked, stunned and confused by his actions.

  “Oh, you’ll see,” was all he said. Stover knew he was acting irrationally, too impulsively, but he couldn’t leave Katie to endure the shouting any longer. Swiftly he carried her away from the barn, toward the small grove of pine trees some distance off.

  “Put me down!” she exclaimed, though he smiled at the fact she did not struggle in the least. “Where are ya going? This—this isn’t proper,” she told him.

  When he reached the grove of pines and was certain they were out of earshot of the hollering going on in the farmhouse, he set her down carefully. Her eyes flashed like sapphires as she looked up at him, the m
oonlight caressing the soft curve of her face.

  Dang, she was tempting!

  Katie looked up into Stover’s handsome face. Why had he carried her off as he’d done? She looked back in the direction of the house for a moment, but Stover’s strong hands on either side of her face, forcing her to turn back to face him, caused Katie to forget the ugliness behind her.

  “I think you need a little shelter from the storm,” he said. His voice was deep and quiet, soothing.

  Katie’s heart brutally beat within her bosom as she watched him moisten his lips with is tongue. She knew he meant to kiss her again. “Are ya—are ya gonna tell me why ya…” she began.

  “No,” he said.

  “Do ya—do ya think I’m too wild? Do ya think badly of me because in the tree house I so willin’ly…” she stammered.

  “No,” he said.

  His thumb traced her lips, and Katie found herself breathless once again. The crickets’ song, the cool evening breeze, the scent of pine and the blissful sensation of being so isolated with Stover Steele mingled to weave a cloak of comfort around Katie.

  “Will ya really come to supper on Thursday?” she asked in a whisper.

  “Yes,” he said, smiling.

  “Will ya let Pillar marry Jared when he asks her?”

  “Yes,” he chuckled.

  “Will ya…” she began.

  “Will you be quiet so I can kiss ya?” he asked at last.

  Katie smiled up at him and whispered, “yes.”

  Stover’s head descended toward hers, but Katie was driven to ask one final question.

  “Why are ya goin’ to kiss me, Mr. Steele?” she asked. She needed to have a reason. Although his kiss was fabulous, the most wonderful thing she’d ever in her life experienced—she still needed to hear him say…