“When were you on the east coast, Adam?” Molly asked.
“It was when I was young – just a teenager.” Adam looked at Mark. “You remember when I went to the east for a summer, don’t you?”
The memory – something Mark hadn’t thought about since the year it happened – came back to Mark in a flash. He nodded. “I sure do, Adam. You came back raving about the big city.”
“I went to New Jersey and traveled around New York. I had a terrific time. It was a lot of fun.”
“I didn’t know that about you!” Alice smiled at him. “Imagine finding out after being married to a man for years that he was once a traveling vagabond!”
Adam laughed. “I don’t know where you came up with that, Alice, but it’s really amusing! Nah, I was no vagabond. I was just visiting some friends of my father’s. They wanted to give me the chance to see what a real big city looked like. And I did. Went to an opera. Got to see one of those lovely monuments they dedicated to our country. I don’t remember the name of it. Real tall and majestic looking.”
“All the time I was in Virginia, I never had a chance to visit New York. I hear it’s amazing.”
Adam nodded. “If you like that kind of thing. I much prefer the small community like Wickenburg over the intense action of New York or New Jersey. Beautiful places, nice people for the most part. But when it comes down to it, it’s not the safest place to live, especially if you are a foreign immigrant instead of a naturalized one.”
“Whatever do you mean?” Alice asked, tilting her head to the side.
Adam shrugged. “This was years and years ago, Alice. I simply mean that there are a lot of Chinese there, oriental people who are treated badly by the European migrants who have lived here for several generations. The Irish aren’t treated well and many servants were forced to do chores beyond their capabilities simply because their masters didn’t care for them. I don’t like seeing such behavior. That’s why I always treat Heath and our other employees with care and concern for their welfare. I don’t want to be a whip-master.”
“You could never do that,” Alice shook her head. “You have too much compassion in your heart. That’s why I love you, my dear.”
Adam took a few steps to lean down and kiss his wife on the cheek. She smiled up at him. “Compliments like those are why I love you, darling,” he replied with a wink. She pretended to be shocked.
“You love me because I compliment you?”
“Everything about you compliments me, Alice, even more than your lips.”
Molly and Mark watched the exchange for a moment. They were both smiling when they caught each other’s eyes. Mark felt a strange twitch in his chest when he noticed Molly’s smile grew bigger when their eyes met.
CHAPTER SIX
CONVERSATIONS
CONVERSATIONS
The dinner went very well, in Mark’s opinion. He filled his stomach with chicken, potatoes, and broccoli. He was satisfied when he set his napkin on his plate and pushed it away from him. He rested one hand on his stomach and sat back, giving Alice a wide grin. “That was a wonderful meal, Alice. I’ve got no words except I am as stuffed as the turkey on Thanksgiving!”
Alice smiled back at him. “Why thank you, Mark. You always do like my cooking.”
“I sure do.”
“I do, too!” Adam protested, as if they were in a competition. “I always eat your cooking!”
Alice turned her attention to her husband. “I know you always eat it. Doesn’t mean you like, does it?”
They all laughed.
“I didn’t marry you for your cooking, but if I’d known you cook like that, it might have swayed my position even more.”
“You are a silly man. But I know, my dear. I know you like my cooking. You’ve told me many times before.”
Mark nodded, giving Adam a solemn look. “Good husband. She has you trained well.”
Again, laughter spread through the room. Adam nodded. “She does. I admit it.” He rose from the table, looking at Mark. “I’m gonna go out and smoke my pipe. You wanna come?”
“Sure.” Mark pushed back his chair and stood up. “Excuse me, ladies,” he said politely. Molly and Alice nodded at him. He followed Adam to the door and closed it behind them once they were on the porch.
“Molly is a nice lady, ain’t she?” Adam asked as he held a lit match to the end of his pipe.
“Yeah, she sure is,” Mark replied, taking a seat in one of the porch chairs and folding his hands in front of him. Adam sat on the other side of the door in another porch chair. It was a rocking chair and he slowly lifted one foot up and down to make it move forward and back.
“You didn’t say anything about having a visitor for a while. I thought that seemed odd.” Mark mentioned out of the blue. Adam glanced over at him.
“I didn’t know myself until a few weeks ago. Didn’t think to mention it to you, to be frank. I don’t know a lot about Molly. She appears to be quite a woman, though.”
“I think she is,” Mark agreed. “She’s like the popping of the fire. She has a lot of light and energy around her.”
Adam gave him a look. “Listen to you, getting all sentimental and poetic. Already, Mark?”
Mark laughed. “Well, I don’t know about that. Poetic? Me?” He shook his head. “I was just giving you my opinion. Not trying to be poetic at all.”
“Well, it was. Live with it.”
They both laughed.
Mark paused before asking, “Do you think, really, that I might have a chance with her?”
Adam looked at him. “Of course, you have a chance with her. What kind of question is that? You’re a grown man, not a teenager. You work hard, have your own home, and have a good head on your shoulders. Plus, you make people laugh, and that’s always a good thing with the ladies. They like to laugh, you know.”
“Yeah, as long as they are laughing with me and not at me,” Mark replied. “I don’t know anybody who likes to be laughed at.”
“Of course not. No one I know, either. But no, you make people laugh because you have a good sense of humor.”
“So, it’s not because I’m funny looking or act stupid?”
“You don’t do either of those things,” Adam shook his head. “And I don’t think I need to be bolstering your confidence, Mark. You’ve never been one to not have that. What’s come over you?”
Mark chuckled. “I think she might be the one.”
Adam gazed at his friend with one eyebrow raised. “You can tell after one day?”
Mark shrugged. “Just a feelin’.”
“Well, you know I’ll put in a good word for ya.” Adam grinned at him.
“I know you will, Adam.”
“That’s why we’re friends. So we can help each other out. You been alone for a long time. 'Bout time somebody caught your eye.”
“I’ve had an interest in several women in the past,” Mark defended himself. “I just never felt the… the pull toward a woman, not like I do now.”
“Well, I’m glad for ya and I hope it works out in your interest. It will free up a lot of time for us.”
Mark gazed at him curiously. “How’s that?”
Adam chuckled. “Then you’ll be able to do couple stuff with us instead of being the third person with me and Alice. She won’t feel like she’s got to be your hostess anymore.”
“Uh, oh. Maybe I better not get involved with a woman. Alice takes good care of me.”
Adam narrowed his eyes at Mark, though his lips were still spread in a wide grin. “That’s my woman, Mark. Hands off. I don’t care how she treats you; you remember that she’s my wife.”
Mark raised one hand. “Oh, that won’t be forgotten. Never has been, never will be.”
Adam nodded firmly, as if confirming the fact that his best friend would not run off with his wife. “That’s right.”
Mark chuckled again. “Especially not when there’s a woman for me sitting in your house.”
“You’ve made up yo
ur mind, haven’t you, Mark?” Adam asked. When Mark nodded in reply, he continued, “Well, you know Alice and I will encourage that. We would be related. Isn’t that just perfect?”
“It is perfect,” Mark nodded. “It’s about time we were related.”
“However distant that relation might be…”
“Or even if it’s just by marriage…”
They both laughed.
“That’s right. That’s right.” Adam took a long pull from his pipe and breathed out the naturally scented tobacco. “It’s a fine night for family and a smoke.” He breathed quietly. “Look at how many stars are out there.” Without waiting for Mark to reply, he jumped up and pushed the door open. He stuck his head inside and said, “Alice, Molly, come look at the sky. It’s full of stars and there’s not a cloud to be seen.”
“Is it chilly out there?” Mark heard Molly ask. He felt a strange tingle hearing her voice, a feeling he hadn’t heard before.
“It’s not too bad. Grab a scarf and come on out. Even just for a minute. To look. It’s really beautiful. I know you ladies will enjoy it.”
Mark could hear them scrambling inside, hear the sound of large coats being taken from the coat rack.
“We better stay warm, Molly,” Alice said. “We don’t want to catch our death of cold, do we?”
“Absolutely not, cousin,” Molly replied.
“Here, you haven’t unpacked your coat, have you? Wear this one. It’s maybe a little big for you, but it will do you good, won’t it?”
“Of course. The bigger they are, the warmer they are!”
Mark had to smile at their conversation but covered it up by coughing when they stepped out onto the porch.
“Oh my, you are right, dear. It is gorgeous. Look at the sky, Molly. It’s filled with stars. Just think, when you were in Virginia and you looked up, we were looking at the same stars.”
Molly nodded, a soft smile on her face. “Yes, it is amazing, isn’t it? This world is so big and beautiful.”
“And we don’t know the half of it,” Adam said, standing just behind his wife, his arm around her shoulders. “Look up there, Alice. There are constellations all around us. There’s Orion. There’s the Big Dipper. Amazing. Just amazing.”
“And if you look just right, you can see the Little Dipper. It’s part of Orion, isn’t it?” Molly asked. “My father used to teach me about such things when I was a child.” She turned to look at Mark. “Do you know anything about the stars?”
“Not a lot,” Mark answered, standing to come up next to her and look out over the moonlit land around him. “Just what I needed to know.”
“Why do we need to know anything about stars?” Molly asked. “Except how beautiful they are.”
Adam laughed. “Navigation, of course. How do you think men on the sea know where they are going at night?”
“I know nothing about navigation on the ocean or the sea,” Molly giggled. “I have never been on a boat. I don’t know that I ever will be.”
Mark shook his head. “I don’t think I will ever have that chance, either. Not that I would want to be on a boat in the middle of the ocean. That doesn’t seem safe to me. Give me dry land and a horse underneath me and I can travel just fine.”
“You can’t get to another country that way, though.” Molly pointed out. “That only lets you get around here in America.”
“That’s enough traveling for me. I doubt any other country looks much different.”
“I beg to differ,” Alice said, looking at him. “I’ve seen portraits and drawings of other countries and they are not like America. I don’t think anywhere looks like our country. Then again, we’re going on drawings, paintings, and portraits. It’s nothing I’ve ever seen with my own eyes. I suppose I shouldn’t judge.”
“It’s okay to like where you live and be proud of your country,” Mark said. “Ain’t that right, Adam?”
“It is right, Mark. It sure is. And I’m glad we live here. I’ve heard of climates in other countries that are downright scary. Don’t wanna live where it snows all year round, my God.”
Mark laughed. “Me neither, to be really honest with you. Me neither.”
The women agreed, nodding their heads. They all looked out at the clear, star-studded sky until finally Molly shivered. “The temperature certainly does drop quickly here,” She breathed softly.
“Let’s go back inside, Molly. We’ll sit by the fire and talk. You can tell me how our family is doing over there across the country.”
Molly nodded. She glanced at Mark and smiled as she passed him. He smiled back and watched the women go through the door and close it softly behind them.
The men returned to their seats and were quiet for a few minutes, enjoying the cool air that drifted past them.
“No wind out here,” Adam remarked. “If there was, doubt we would have gotten Molly out here at all.”
“She’s the one from the cooler climate,” Mark replied. “She should be able to handle it better than us.”
Adam shrugged. “I don’t think the atmosphere is the same out here. The air is drier. The cold probably feels colder to her than it does to us.”
“You think so?” Mark asked doubtfully.
Adam nodded. “Yeah, I do. The air is… crisp. She’s used to it being a lot heavier, like rain, you know. Pressure in the air and all that.”
“You been studying up on that?” Mark teased. Adam laughed.
“Nah, I just talk to everyone who travels through here and repeat what I’ve been told.”
Mark laughed with him. “Of course. Don’t know why I didn’t think of that.”
Inside, Alice and Molly dragged small chairs over to the fireplace and sat in them, leaning forward with shawls around their shoulders. Molly reached over and grabbed another log, which she fit into the pile in the fireplace, stoking it into higher flames.
“You must be really cold,” Alice said, her voice a little surprised.
Molly shrugged. “I suppose I am. I don’t know, Alice, if it’s my mind that’s causing my shivers or the actual temperature.”
“Your mind? What do you mean?”
Molly was quiet for a moment. “It’s been five years, Alice. Everyone says I should not be mourning anymore and should find myself a husband and have a family, like I wanted to when I was young.”
“Young-er,” Alice was quick to point out. “You are not an old woman. You can still have children.”
“I shouldn’t be having children at my age.”
“Don’t be ridiculous. Medical inventions are making it easier for women to have babies at a later age all the time.”
“I suppose it will be much better as time goes on,” Molly admitted. “But I haven’t heard of any new accomplishments that would make me comfortable with the choice.”
Alice leaned forward and spoke in a low voice. “Molly, I don’t want you to take this wrong, as you know that I consider you a friend, as well as family, even if most of our conversations have taken place through the post. You are not too old. You should not be afraid. You are a strong woman who knows what she wants and you will get it. I’m sure of it. If you want a family, you will have one. You have been married, so you aren’t going into that relationship blind. Having a baby is very important to you, isn’t it?”
“I would very much like to have one, yes.” Molly nodded.
“Then you will. In the next few years. You have a good chance of surviving the birth at your age. I’d say you still have a good six years before you should really worry about it.”
“Do you really think so, Alice?”
“Oh quite. And think about it. If you meet a man here in Wickenburg, which you surely will because there’s many more men than women here, if you meet a man in the next year, you will have five years and you can have at least four children by then!”
Molly laughed. “Good Lord, I don’t know if I want to do that! I’d be pregnant all the time! And taking care of little ones… Let’s just say I’ll go
for two in that five-year period, shall we?”
“Two is better than none.”
“And better than four!” Molly and Alice shared a laugh.
CHAPTER SEVEN
ALICE MAKES BREAKFAST
ALICE MAKES BREAKFAST
Molly woke up to pitch darkness in the front room of the Collins' house. She had been given a pillow and blanket, refusing to take the bedroom from 13-year-old Max. Max offered and they did all they could to convince Molly to take the room, but she’d insisted on sleeping on the large couch.
“I’m a small woman and if you give me a pillow and blanket, I will sleep just fine.”
“Are you sure about that?” Adam asked, shaking his head. “I am ashamed.”
“Don’t be,” Molly replied. “It is my choice. I know you had planned to give me that bedroom but I don’t want Max to be stripped of his own bed. I will be perfectly fine out here. Plus, I will be able to stoke the fire and keep it burning for everyone all night.”
It was the cold that had woken Molly so abruptly. After a moment, her eyes adjusted to the light coming in from the window. The moon was full and shining bright. Embers were burning in the fireplace. She pulled the blanket around her and knelt down in front of the fireplace, poking at it with a long metal stick. She put some small twigs on the bottom, embedding them into the embers that still burned in the ashes. The twigs caught fire and she placed larger sticks on top, adding large logs to it when the sticks lit up in flames. The heat pulsed toward her and she closed her eyes, enjoying as it warmed up her cheeks and her nose. She held both hands out toward the fire, captured some of the heat in the blanket and wrapped the warmed fabric around her arms tightly.
It was very quiet in the house, though she could hear several people breathing from other rooms. She turned back to the couch and quietly laid down on it, pulling the blanket up over her. She’d wanted to stay in front of the fire but decided against it. She needed to sleep. It was the middle of the night and there was no telling how long she had been asleep. She yawned wide.
The Pursuit Page 5
