The stone was practically burning his hand.
Her eyes were as blue as the wildflowers down Texas way.
He dropped the rock into his pocket and placed that hand on her shoulder, trapping silken hair in his gentle hold.
The way she looked at him showed she was as uncertain about whatever it was that had been developing between them as he was, but she showed no fear or hesitation. If she had, he couldn’t have taken her in his embrace and kissed her the way he did, with the joy of discovery and never-before-known wonder beating in his heart.
Had she shown any reluctance or resisted he’d have backed away and forgotten the idea, but she didn’t. She seemed every bit as curious as he to examine the new and mystifying feelings.
He probably liked kissing her too much. He was certain he wasn’t on her list of eligible men, and she…well he had too many other problems to take care of without adding this one to the list.
Didn’t he?
The following morning, Irene had telegrams to send. “I’m contacting the governor of the Colorado Territory as well as the administrator of the Christian Women’s Liberty Union. There’s no reason why one of the spokes-persons can’t be here on Independence Day. It will add another dimension to the celebration.”
“You know who to contact to make an arrangement like that?” Elisabeth asked.
“When in doubt, go to the top,” she replied.
After Elisabeth checked her timepiece brooch, they headed for the courthouse.
“I admire your job,” Irene told her. “Are there other women notaries?”
“I’m sure there are,” Elisabeth replied. “If not many, the most likely deterrent is the travel. I take the train, and up until this last time it has been safe.”
“How did it happen?” Irene asked. “I never heard all the details about the train robbery, and I want to know.”
Elisabeth shared her account, not sparing the uncomfortable truth regarding her reluctance to part with her mother’s ring and how it escalated the situation.
“I understand your attachment,” Irene told her. “I have only a few things that belonged to my mother, and I would never part with them. Not even at gunpoint.” They paused on a corner. “How did your mother die?”
She rarely spoke of that day. On occasion when one of Elisabeth’s sisters brought it up, they talked about their fear and grief. But Elisabeth harbored more than grief. It was her fault their father hadn’t gone in search of his wife when they’d been cast into the river. Elisabeth had been so terrified, that even though she’d been able to reach an overhanging branch and cling to it for dear life, she’d screamed in terror for help until her father had come for her.
If he’d gone for her mother first, they’d both have been saved.
She shared the story without those disturbing details, however.
“I wasn’t as old as you when my mother died,” Irene said. “But still I’ve missed her my whole life. I wasn’t right there when it happened, either. I can’t imagine how difficult her death has been for you.”
“Thank you,” Elisabeth said. By then they’d reached their destination, and she’d talked about the subject more than enough.
Half an hour later, Elisabeth and Irene left the courthouse with buoyant spirits. “Shall we stop at the café for tea and biscuits?” Elisabeth asked. “It’s not exactly like the teahouses in Denver, but regardless, the tea is good.”
“I would like that.”
Penelope Berry greeted them. Irene balked at taking the table in front of the window, so they took seats in the back of the room. Elisabeth had never had close friends her own age. Her younger sisters had always kept her company, and she’d never questioned her friendless situation because she was content. Her classmates had been silly creatures, chattering about the boys and their dresses and hair, while Elisabeth had turned her focus squarely on her studies.
She’d never taken an interest in what she considered the foolish ways of other females. That’s why her enjoyment of Irene’s company puzzled her. But as far as she’d seen, Irene wasn’t silly or obsessed with her hair or clothing. She had an enviable education, a fluent vocabulary and a knowledge of history and society that Elisabeth admired.
She had liked Irene from the first, and the more she got to know her, the more impressed she was. She’d never seen the need for a friend, never sought a companion or prayed for friends, but God seemed to have anticipated her needs and sent Irene anyway.
She still didn’t hold as much appreciation for Gabe’s presence in Jackson Springs as she did his sister’s, but she now suspected that his arrival and the land he owned had been determined by God’s hand and wisdom.
“I have prayed for Gabriel for many years,” Irene mentioned now. “For his safety, of course, but also that God would lead him to a time and a place where we could be a family. Now God has answered my prayers and brought us here.”
Elisabeth had discovered that many people never mentioned God in their everyday conversations, but those who had a personal relationship with Him spoke of Him as naturally as they spoke of their friends and family. At the confirmation of Irene’s faith, her fondness for the other woman grew yet again. Thank You,
Lord. Thank You for a friend.
She hadn’t realized how much time had passed or that other customers were now filling the café and ordering lunch. “I would suggest we stay to eat, but I want to get home and see to my stepmother.”
They paid and headed for the door. Just as they stepped out onto the boardwalk, Rhys Jackson greeted them. “Good day, Elisabeth.” He glanced at Irene and removed his bowler. “Afternoon, miss.”
“Rhys, this is Irene Taggart. Irene, this is a good friend of our family, Rhys Jackson.”
“How do you do?” he said with avid appreciation shining in his eyes. “It’s a pleasure to make your acquaintance.” His expression barely faltered. Irene wouldn’t have noticed the new interest Elisabeth recognized. “Taggart, you say?”
“Have you met my brother?”
His eyes lit up. “Indeed I have. And to what does Jackson Springs owe the pleasure of your visit?”
“Oh, I’m not visiting, Mr. Jackson. I’m now a resident. As we speak, Gabriel is seeing to building us a home nearby.”
“In town?”
“About three quarters of a mile to the northwest,” Elisabeth supplied. “A handsome parcel of land with meadows and a stream flowing from the mountains. Gabe has already selected the location for the house.”
“Indeed. Well, welcome to Jackson Springs, Miss Taggart. Good day, Elisabeth.”
As soon as he’d entered the café, Irene asked, “Jackson?”
Elisabeth nodded. “His grandfather founded our community and many of the businesses. Rhys and his mother own the bank.”
“The people are certainly friendly. I think I’m going to like it here.”
Stepping off the boardwalk, they headed for home.
Elisabeth found her stepmother sitting in a chair in her bedroom, the loosely wrapped infant in her arms.
“How are the two of you?” Elisabeth asked.
“We’re doing well,” Josie replied.
“What can I do for you?”
“I’d really love to take a bath and wash my hair,” Josie replied hopefully. “I didn’t want to ask Kalli to care for the baby. She has her hands full with the twins, and besides…I don’t know that she has experience with one so small.”
“Rachel and I would love to get acquainted while you bathe. Just let me go heat water and fill the tub. I’ll be right back.”
Nearly half an hour later, she returned for the baby who was now awake.
“She just nursed, so she should be all right until I return.”
“Don’t worry about us.” Elisabeth took the tiny warm bundle into her arms and beheld her with affection. It never failed to astound her how perfectly a baby was created and how incredibly tiny and helpless they were. Rachel had straight dark hair that stood off the top of
her head and fell forward onto her forehead. It was silky to the touch, and when Elisabeth ran a fingertip down her cheek, she was struck anew by the incredible softness of the baby’s skin.
She’d been fourteen when Phillip had been born, seventeen when the twins arrived, yet even as a girl she’d felt this stirring awe and fathomless love for each of her younger siblings. Elisabeth touched her lips to the baby’s forehead and inhaled her newborn scent.
In coloring, Rachel took after Elisabeth’s father, like the twins. Seeing who a child would resemble particularly fascinated Elisabeth. Each child was a glorious and unique gift, created in a wondrous way. For the first time she wondered what it would be like to have her own child, to hold a baby she’d carried inside her…to recognize hair and features of a husband.
Unexpectedly a picture of Gabe flashed in her mind’s eye.
Chapter Twelve
Gabe had hair as dark as her father’s…he was tall…handsome. Any child he fathered would be as pretty as this one—what was she doing?
Elisabeth had to corral those thoughts and focus on something more appropriate—and logical. She took a seat in the rocker and hummed until Josie returned, dressed and with damp hair.
How are our guests faring?” she asked. “I was disappointed I missed Gabe’s sister’s arrival. Your father told me about dinner.”
“It was lively,” she answered. “I really like her. She’s smart and she doesn’t carry on about fashion and social functions like most of the young women I know. Gabe is having their things moved into the parsonage today, though. I was thinking that while Rachel sleeps, I’ll go down and help Irene get settled.”
“Rachel won’t sleep but a couple of hours at a time just yet,” Josie told her. “And when she’s awake each time she’ll only want me.” She smiled. “So you go ahead and we’ll do just fine. You don’t have to wait on me. Your father walks up the hill and checks on us every few hours. He wanted to stay home, but I told him definitely not.” She smiled. “He has a tendency to hover.”
“He’s a wonderful father,” Elisabeth said.
Her stepmother agreed. “And a wonderful husband.” Josie opened the window wider and stood in a shaft of sunlight so her hair would dry more quickly. “I still remember the first time I met all of you. My heart went out to you over your loss, and Sam was so sad and blamed himself for your mother’s death. He loved her so much…his love was plain in everything he said and did—and in what he didn’t say or do. I yearned for a love like that. For acceptance. I never thought I’d have it for myself. And I never dreamed he would be able to love again…to love me.”
“He loves you very much,” Elisabeth said. “It took me a while to understand love has no limits. We aren’t created to love only a certain number of people and then our love’s used up. Loving you didn’t mean he didn’t love my mother and it didn’t take anything away from her. He wasn’t loving you instead of her.”
Josie turned to look at her, and tears escaped over her lower lids to her cheek. She brushed them away quickly.
“I didn’t mean to make you cry.”
Josie emitted a little laugh that sounded like a sob. “Everything is going to make me cry for a few weeks. It’s okay.”
She took Rachel from Elisabeth and placed her in her cradle.
“I am only just beginning to see something else,” Elisabeth said.
“What’s that?”
“I always thought your marriage was convenient. Father married you because he needed a wife and we needed a mother.”
“I was so happy to have a family that I could have accepted that,” she replied.
“But he loves you, doesn’t he?” She studied her stepmother. “I mean it started out like that and love developed. Fondness, appreciation, all that. But it didn’t stop there. I don’t know what I’m trying to say.”
“I do.” Josie came to stand in front of her. “We fell in love.”
Elisabeth nodded. “Yes.”
“Couples have had arranged marriages since Bible times—not so much arranged as bargained for and given in trade. I have to wonder how many of those ended as well as ours. I fancied myself in love with my first husband before I married him, and I lived a lonely existence as his wife.”
“Were you brokenhearted when he died?”
“I was brokenhearted while he was still alive,” she answered.
“How can a person know if it’s going to turn out badly?”
“You can’t, sweetie. You just have to ask the good Lord to send you the right one and then trust Him.”
“I know that if I do marry, I want a man just like Father.”
Josie touched her cheek. “He is indeed a very good example of a loving husband and kind father. That’s a pretty tall order.”
“Not too big for God,” Elisabeth replied. “He did it for you.”
Josie smiled. “Indeed He did.” She gave Elisabeth a gentle hug. “You run along and help Irene now.”
Elisabeth gave her a smile and enjoyed looking at Rachel one more time. “My new sister sure is pretty.”
Josie got tears in her eyes again and shooed her off.
That afternoon, Elisabeth assisted Irene in arranging the furniture in the tiny little house to her liking, unpacking and storing away Irene’s belongings and shopping for food. Once the items were all put away, Irene looked around the kitchen. “I guess I’d better think of what I’ll prepare Gabriel for supper.”
“I had planned for you to eat with us,” Elisabeth said. “You can get more practice before doing it all yourself. I don’t know how much help I’ll be advising you on your cooking. I’ve never had less than five or six people to prepare for, and it’s often more than that. Maybe Josie can give you advice.”
Everything was finished then, except Gabe’s saddle bags, a valise and a wooden crate, which stood untouched against a wall in the tiny room he would be using. The two women stood staring at them.
“Do you want to unpack his things?” Elisabeth asked finally.
Irene glanced at her and then back. She shook her head.
The thought of going through Gabe’s personal belongings didn’t sit well with Elisabeth, either, so Irene’s head shake brought her relief.
An hour later, they were back up the hill.
For the next few days Gabe stayed busy locating carpenters and having the materials delivered to the site of the Taggarts’ future home. Irene accompanied Elisabeth and assisted her in the church office, which made the chores go more quickly and gave Elisabeth more time at the house with Josie and the baby.
“I can’t trail you everywhere you go forever,” Irene said thoughtfully on Friday afternoon. “I graduated several weeks ago, of course, but before that I was used to attending classes and studying. Right now there’s not all that much for me to do while Gabriel is working. The house is tiny and doesn’t take much upkeep. I don’t fancy standing in the kitchen baking.”
“You could certainly continue a study that interests you,” Elisabeth suggested. “You’ve been a big help to me with my father’s research. History, perhaps, or a Bible course. I know many subjects interest you, but is there anything you’d like to pursue? Do you paint or write poetry?”
“I am interested in government,” she answered. “For example I’ve spoken with a few people lately, regarding the fact that this territory hasn’t achieved statehood. It’s a subject close to many citizens’ hearts. Perhaps I could learn the steps that have been taken and petition the president.”
Her idea, as lofty as it seemed to Elisabeth, was indeed a good one. Unlike Irene’s eagerness for women to have the right to vote, this cause would garner support.
“Are there any women on the town council…or on the board of governors of the territory?”
“I couldn’t say for certain, but it’s not likely,” Elisabeth replied.
“I’ve contacted several of my acquaintances, and I’m relatively positive we’ll have a well-known suffragette here to make a speech on Indepe
ndence Day. I’m quite persuasive.”
Elisabeth had never been one to make waves, so she admired Irene for her unflagging zeal and for not being afraid to state her beliefs or to take a stand for them. Elisabeth believed women deserved as many rights as their male counterparts, as well. She needed to follow Irene’s example and not be too timid to do the right thing if the time ever arose.
“I admire you,” she told her new friend. “And I think you’re going to be a positive addition to Jackson Springs whatever you decide to do.”
The Stellings had been invited for dinner well in advance of Rachel’s arrival, and Josie insisted they continue with their plans. She trusted her stepdaughters and Irene to plan and prepare the meal, and she joined the others in the dining room, Rachel in her arms.
Sam had cleaned up the small crib that fit at the end of the room and became a fixture in their dining whenever they had a new baby. Elisabeth had washed fresh bedding and affixed a rag doll Anna had offered to the side. Josie smiled with delight when she saw the bed, and after Arlene and her daughters had admired Rachel’s silky hair and tiny fingers, she gently laid her down.
Josie made appropriate introductions before taking her seat beside her husband, introducing their dear friends to the Taggarts. “When the Harts had first arrived in Jackson Springs, the Stellings were some of our first friends,” she explained. “Chess and Arlene helped us make the adjustment to our new home. Elisabeth and Gilbert studied together and have been friends. And Abigail and Anna took right to Libby and Patience and have been chums ever since.”
“Gilbert is our deputy marshal,” Sam mentioned for Irene’s benefit. Gabe had already met him.
“You’re kind to call it studying together, Mrs. Hart,” Gil said with a grin. “Truth is Lis tutored me so I could pass my English classes. I still can’t tell you when to use lay, lie or laid.”
Gabe took a bowl of mashed potatoes Irene passed to him, but his focus had been snared by the information about the deputy and his friendship with Elisabeth. Gil sat directly across from Gabe, with Elisabeth at his side. He observed as they took portions of food and interacted.
Marrying the Preacher's Daughter Page 10
