To Honor and Cherish

by Kari Trumbo

  ~~~

  Meg instinctively rolled out of the way of hooves as she landed, even though it hurt. Getting stepped on by a skittish horse hurt worse. Jax jumped off his horse in a heartbeat and knelt next to her.

  “Meghan.” He touched her shoulder, “Are you all right?”

  “Of course.” She pulled away from him and the tingles he sent up her arm at his slight touch. She tried to get up with as much gracefulness as she could muster, but all refinement seemed to have abandoned her, sprawled on her backside in the dirt.

  Her rear hurt almost more than her pride. His unwrapped arm appeared around her waist, helping her up. Her elbow hurt where she’d hit and rolled and her shirt had a tear right above the elbow. He looked her over, concern etched his face. She felt ashamed at her state under his gaze. He touched her arm and her back, then hesitated only a second before he touched her face. He left little impressions of heat on her skin even through clothing and she pulled back from him, not wanting him to know the effect he had on her.

  “Meghan, I thought she’d slow down. You were going too fast. I was worried she’d trip. Please Meghan, we don’t have to do this,” he rushed in a single breath.

  “She did slow down. Faster than I’ve seen her in a long time.” Meg stepped farther away from him and put her hands on her hips. “We don’t have to do what? Have a little fun racing? I would’ve beaten you, you know. Now we’ll never know for sure.”

  Jax walked over to her horse who’d calmed once the commotion ceased, collected the reins, then handed them to her. She couldn’t stifle the stiffness in her movements, but she still mounted and sat her horse.

  They rode back to the house as Gus pulled in the front yard, Lizzy accompanied him. Meg’s mood dipped even further south. If Margot doesn’t set his heart to beating, Lizzy certainly will. Now I’ve lost him for sure. Meg looked down at her black, dirty, ripped, and rumpled outfit and sighed. Perhaps she should just sign the ranch back over to her father. He might still let her stay here. Giving up seemed so much easier than investing so much of herself. The next few months would be spent planning and the early spring would be the start of a whole new ranch, if she was still here to run it. Part of her wanted to give up, but more of her wanted to see her dream of a horse ranch to fruition.

  Meg greeted her father warmly and noticed he had lost a considerable amount of weight on the trail. Other than that, he seemed as healthy as usual. Lizzy also seemed pleased, and smug. She had news and she hadn’t told father yet. Meg could just tell. This day might not be as restful of a holiday as she had hoped. Lizzy must have a marital announcement to make.

  Meg went inside and told Margot to wait in the upstairs office so she and father could have a few minutes to work out anything they might need to alone. One of the hands offered to take Gus’s carriage into the barn.

  Gus followed Meg into the house after thanking Mac for taking the carriage. He saw her in the kitchen.

  “Lizzy and I are going to stay out here for a little while. I enjoyed working with the men again, and since your mother took ill and decided to stay on in Europe until spring, I just decided to come out here until she returns. Lizzy returned a little early to give Charlotte space to heal. She has been waiting for me to return for the last few days.”

  Meg smiled because she welcomed her father’s presence, but inwardly cringed at the idea of Lizzy being here all the time. “Oh, that’s wonderful father. We’ll have to go up later and freshen your room. Lizzy, could you stay down here please? I’ll be back in a few minutes. I’ve some business to discuss with father upstairs. I’ll only be a minute.”

  “Oh Meg, we can talk business later. We shouldn’t leave Lizzy all alone. I haven’t seen her for months.”

  “She’ll be fine for just a few minutes, and this can’t wait.” Meg smiled through her teeth at Lizzy as a hint to go find something to do.

  Just then, Lizzy saw Jax and she smiled wickedly at Meg. She gulped back fear. Her father had to get upstairs to Margot. No one else could do it. There would be no heading Lizzy off. It was too important for father to see Margot. If God had wanted her to be with Jax, He would have made him show some interest in her before now. Meg looked away and pain settled in her chest as she led her father upstairs to his old office.

  Gus followed Meg into his office and stopped short. “Margot, what are you doing here?”

  Margot appeared a little tongue tied so Meg helped her out. “Father, I discovered through an argument with Rose that I have another sister. I looked for and found her. She’s been out here with me for a few months and we have become very close friends.”

  “Meg, this is…your mother will…I don’t know what to say,” Gus replied.

  “Don’t say anything. Margot isn’t sure if she wants Lizzy to know quite yet. For now, it will be a secret between us. I’ll leave you both up here to catch up for a few minutes. I’ll see you back downstairs after a bit.” Meg left them to talk.

  It hadn’t seemed like she had been gone long, but both Jax and Lizzy were gone. He’d been in the sitting room but she found it empty. Meg felt sick in the pit of her stomach. She wondered what Lizzy could be up to. Meg headed to the kitchen to begin the work she should’ve begun over an hour ago when she saw a Pete and Rose’s small buggy approaching.

  Pete got down first then helped Rose descend from the rig. She’d grown quite round and radiated loveliness again. Meg wanted to run out there and give her a hug, but it wouldn’t be welcome. She assumed they were probably here because Pete decided to come or maybe only say goodbye. They came to the front door and knocked lightly, then came right in, knowing they were welcome.

  “Meg, good to see you.” Pete tipped his hat to her. “I think I’ll leave you two in here. I saw Jax out back attempting to teach Lizzy to shoot. Gonna pull up a chair, ought to be a good show.” He laughed as he grabbed a chair and disappeared around the patio.

  Meg could see Rose’s discomfort, and wondered if Rose had hoped Pete would take care of the rift between them as she had. Meg continued her work not willing to give in just yet.

  The silence grew uncomfortable. Meg and Rose had never had trouble talking before, not even on Rose’s first day at the ranch, but this fissure between them felt miles wide and seemed to be full of poisonous snakes.

  “Meg.” Rose approached her looking at the floor, sullen. “I said some things in haste and in hurt. I’m sorry. I don’t want to say I didn’t mean to hurt you, because that’d be a lie. I meant to hurt you at the time, but I’m sorry I did.”

  Meg stopped her preparations and turned to Rose. “Rose, I’m sorry too. I shouldn’t have left you out there all alone for so long, even if I thought you were mad. You were right, I allowed my hurt to prevent me from doing what was right. Can you forgive me?”

  “Of course.”

  “One good thing that happened from all of this mess is Margot, she’s been staying with me.”

  “Margot? You found her?” Rose plopped down in a chair across from Meg.

  “Yes. I know you meant to hurt me with that information, but I used it to find her. You’ll like her so much. She’s upstairs talking to my…I mean our father right now.”

  “That will take some adjustment for him. How do you think Lizzy will treat her?”

  “Lizzy won’t know yet. She’s never seen her and won’t even know Margot exists. This is to be our secret.”

  “I can keep a secret.” Rose smiled. “Hand me some of that dough, my hands are ready to work.”

  Margot came down and soon all three women set to work to make a feast for everyone, but more importantly to spend time talking to each other. No one asked why Lizzy wouldn’t help, it seemed understood she should be nowhere near the kitchen. If she was twice as good at cooking as she was at shooting, killing people wasn’t out of the question.

  Pete and Jax came back after about an hour to tell Meg, Margot, and Rose all about the gun training Jax had been roped into. Meg noticed immediately Jax’s sites were not on her l
ike they usually were. He looked right at Margot and her at him. They both smiled with a shared secret.

  “I’m glad to see you made it out of that boarding house and found somewhere safe.” He sounded as if he’d forgotten they weren’t the only two in the room.

  “I’m glad father found you that night, though I didn’t know he was my father then.” She blushed, realizing too late that the room had gone silent around them.

  “Welcome home.” He smiled as he poured himself a cup of coffee and Meg’s heart jumped as he focused where Meg thought he should’ve in the first place, on her.

  She pursed her lips, “So how did the gun lesson go?”

  Pete laughed. “I sat out on the back porch, watching Miss Lizzy and Jax attempt to shoot. I’m pretty sure Jax wanted to shoot Miss Lizzy by the time they were done.”

  Jax gave Pete a sour look, “Lizzy said she was afraid of being the only one living at the ranch who didn’t know how to use a gun. I agreed, but soon wished I hadn’t. She seemed more interested in getting herself all wrapped up into me than actually learning to shoot anything. After an hour of separating myself from her leaning against me, I was done. No more lessons. She can learn from her father.”

  ~~~

  Jax led his men to the table. The meal had been laid out and they all sat down to eat. Every chair that could be found was used and they were sitting elbow to elbow in order to all have room. Gus said grace over the table and as soon as they all mumbled an ‘Amen’ they dug in with much laughing and talking.

  Lizzy squeezed herself in between Gus and Jax. He listened as she spoke animatedly about how wonderful her trip to Europe had been. She prattled on about a place Jax had never been interested in and searched for Meg’s face at the other end of the table.

  After all the food had been passed around, the conversation simmered to a low buzz. A shot rang out and an upstairs window exploded. Jax ran up the stairway with Meg right on his heels to see the damage. Running over to the window, he saw a single rider racing for town. The window in Gus’s office lay shattered all over the floor. Meg shivered as the curtain fluttered inward with a cold breeze.

  “Jax, why would anyone do this?” she stared at the glass, then looked up at him, her eyes deep blue pools of fear.

  Jax strode back to her and put his arm around her protectively. “I didn’t think they’d come here,” he whispered. “I will never let him near you.”

  “Who are you talking about?” Her eyes were so wide, he wanted to kiss the lines off her forehead and comfort her fear.

  Gus approached from behind, “Jax, we need to talk as soon as the meal is done. If this was the same men who rearranged you, we need to make a plan to be sure nothing else happens on my ranch.” He pulled Meg out of Jax’s arms, put his arm around her and led her back down the stairs.

  Jax escaped to the stable for wood. He cursed to himself. Gus was an unexpected blockade. Maybe he wanted the ranch back himself or Gus just didn’t think he was good enough. Either way, it was obvious he wouldn’t give his blessing.

  He boarded the window from the inside, then returned to the meal, though the festive tone of the gathering had evaporated with the explosion of the gunfire. Jax motioned to Gus that he’d speak to him as soon as the meal ended, as requested.

  ~~~

  Meg grabbed a plate to clear the table. Lizzy stood up and clattered her fork against her glass noisily. Meg groaned. Her mother was about to make an appearance through Lizzy, she’d even managed to take on her mother’s perpetual condescending smirk.

  “Your attention please, can I have some quiet?” She smiled with such maliciousness it made those around her cringe. “Mother sends her regards to—.” She paused dramatically sweeping her eyes over the table with one finger to her lip in feigned thought, “Let’s be honest, I’m the only one she’d send her regards to.” She laughed at her little joke. “She sent a message home with me to give to father about being ill and staying on in Europe. She asked me to tell you all, here at this table, that that’s not quite true. She is sick. Love sick. For Louis whom she met in London.” Lizzy trained her eyes on Augustus. “Father, she’s not coming home and hopes you now understand how it feels to be the object of terrible jokes and innuendo. It is, of course, your due.”

  She held up her glass. Gave herself cheers and slammed the contents down her throat, then turned to leave. How dare she treat Father that way? Meg grabbed her arm.

  “How dare you?” Meg hissed between her teeth, dragging her off into the sitting room where they wouldn’t be heard. “You have no right, you conniving little schemer.”

  “I have every right, and when I steal Jax right out from under your ugly little nose and bear him a son, you and father will no longer be welcome on my ranch.” Lizzy punctuated each insult with a finger to Meg’s chest. She turned on her heel and walked away from Meg who couldn’t seem to find her voice.

  Meg wanted to throttle her. She and Lizzy had never seen eye-to-eye, but this seemed even beyond her. Meg asked her father and Jax to join her outside to sit on the front porch for some nice cool air, all talk of the meeting forgotten after Lizzy’s outburst.

  “Meg, what do you have planned for my ranch?” Gus laughed without any mirth. It was obvious he was trying to get everyone to think about something other than him and Lizzy.

  “Oh, Father.” She turned all her attention to him and her eyes lit up. “I hope you’re not too angry about the cattle. I just couldn’t look at them another day after—.”

  “It’s all right, girl.” He looked up at her. “I want to know what you’ve planned for me and the others. That way I’ll know if we need to keep all these men.”

  Meg told Gus and everyone her plan of making the one-time cattle ranch into a horse spread. She wanted to breed and train Quarter horses. She spoke with such passion and excitement everyone became excited right along with her. When she finished explaining, Lizzy appeared around the corner.

  “That sounds like a fantastic idea. Much more pleasant than cows. It really is too bad your dirt farmer of a husband didn’t give you a son. Because he couldn’t, you won’t be here to realize it.” She scowled and flounced toward the corral.

  Meg followed her sister with her eyes. First the disappointment of Jax’s homecoming, Lizzy moving in, and the stranger shooting out her window. She needed the onslaught of emotional problems to stop.

  Later in the evening, after the all the guests had left, Meg, Margot, Lizzy, Jax, and Gus retired to the sitting room. The mood became charged and no one wanted to break the silence, knowing no matter what was said, an argument would probably ensue.

  Margot yawned behind her hand. “As much as I would love to stay and chat, I think I’m off to my room. I have a bit of a headache. Good evening, everyone.” Meg, Gus, and Jax warmly bid her goodnight and she left the room, taking a second to give Meg a smile of encouragement on her way out.

  “Good.” Lizzy looked back and forth. “Now that the interloper is gone, we can talk. Who is she and why is she here anyway? More importantly, why is she in my room?”

  “She is…,” said Gus, looking around the table for help.

  “She’s a very good friend of mine who will be staying here and you will treat her nicely.” Meg finished, glaring at Lizzy.

  “I don’t need to learn manners from the likes of a dirt farmer.” Lizzy narrowed her eyes at Meg.

  “Apparently you do.” Gus glared at her. “You know nothing of manners, gentility, or kindness. Your mother has taught you to be brash and rude. You can be good here, or you can go stay in London with your mother. It only takes a few hours to get my will changed, Elizabeth.” Meg crossed her arms over her chest, feeling victorious.

  Lizzy fumed. “Don’t call me that. You wouldn’t dare change your will.”

  “I would, and I will if you don’t start acting your age. Now Meg, you and I need a private talk in my office. Jax, I’m sorry to leave you alone with Lizzy, but perhaps she is too pouty to bite. We’ll talk about the inci
dent in my office after I speak to Meg. I’ll come back down in a bit.” They left him alone with Lizzy.

  ~~~

  Lizzy scowled at them both as they left, however her mood shifted as soon as they were out of earshot. She stood and sidled over to where Jax leaned against the wall. She’d trapped him and knew it.

  “Good evening, Jax,” she whispered, trying to give him a seductive look like she’d learned in London. “Thank you for helping me earlier. I really think with a few more lessons, I could be amazing.” Her gaze slowly made its way up his chest to his eyes, she was certain she could be anything for Jax. “My trunk is still out in the carriage. Would you come to the barn with me to get it? I can show you where it is…and where to put it.” She smiled at him in a way a girl that inexperienced shouldn’t even know.

  Jax lifted his arm, still in a sling, “Sorry miss. I can’t lift a trunk for you. I thought John got the trunks earlier. Why don’t you check your room?” He tried to shift his weight to get away from her. Instead, she moved a step closer, brushing her chest against his.

  Lizzy touched his forearm, then ran her fingertips slowly up and down. She flexed her fingers, using her nails lightly against the fabric of his shirt. “Are you going to be all right?” She looked at his chest again. She wanted to unbutton the top few buttons, but wasn’t sure just how far she should take this. She had to get his mind off Meg.

  “Oh, I’m sure I’ll be fine in a week or so.” She could feel him hold his breath and smiled to herself. She was getting to him.