by Jodi Thomas
Chapter 24
“OH, MY GOODNESS!” Gavrila crowed like the dawn rooster. “He’s tied her to him!”
Hannah blinked away the morning light and tried to figure out where the screeching was coming from.
“Look, Alamo!” Gavrila yelled. “My brother’s tied his wife to him for the night. Isn’t that the cruelest thing you’ve ever seen? He should be whipped. I always said I loved my brother, but I won’t stand for any man mistreating a woman.”
Ford rolled his face into the covers. He’d done something wrong again. His intention wasn’t to tie up Hannah, only to keep her near until they could talk. He’d been so tired last night he couldn’t think straight, much less tell her how he felt about her. Now Gavrila would tell everyone in town he’d tied Hannah up, and the next thing people would think is that he beat her regularly. It would only be a matter of time before everyone hated him and tried to save her from the beast she’d married.
Hannah tugged at their bound arms as she sat up and stretched.
“You poor, poor child!” Gavrila shouted. “I know what it’s like to be tied up and forced to stay some place against your will. I’m so sorry.” She reached to untie the bandanna around Hannah and Ford’s wrists, but Hannah pulled away.
“No!” she snapped. “You have it all wrong. Ford didn’t tie me; I tied him.”
Everyone, including Ford, stared at her.
Hannah hesitated, then reached to pull the knot free. “You see, dear sister, your brother is a wild, loving man. Sometimes in our bed, during the loving, he…”
Gavrila screeched. “I can’t hear such things!” She stormed toward the stairs. “Alamo, did you hear what she said—and in the house my good father built? I’ve never heard such talk in my life. To think they spent the night on all my good quilts!” She screamed again just to shatter the air. “And then to try and tell me things no lady should ever have to hear. I can’t stand such thoughts, much less have to hear the words said right out loud.”
Alamo leaned a knee on the pallet. “Do you think I might borrow that bandanna for a while? Wild and loving might just run in their blood, and I’d like to be prepared.”
Hannah smiled and handed him the handkerchief.
“We probably won’t be down for breakfast!” he shouted as he took the stairs in a charge.
Ford burst out laughing. “If he’s alive by lunch, I’ll give them this house as a wedding present.” He glanced at Hannah. “Tell me, darlin’, what is it I do ‘during the loving’?”
A pounding on the door sobered their laughter and saved Hannah from having to answer. How could she ever begin to tell him how alive he made her feel and how loved “during the loving”?
Ford stood and tucked his shirt into his mud-splattered pants as Hannah tried to push the wrinkles out of her dress, but it still looked hopelessly slept in. The floor that had been so uncomfortable in evening had turned warm and relaxing with Ford by her side.
“Morning, Reverend,” Ford said as he opened the door.
“I’ve come to see if your sister is all right.” Reverend Carhart removed his hat and glanced at the blankets by the fireplace. “You two are still cuddling by the hearth, I see.”
Hannah looked embarrassed, but Ford only nodded as he closed the door.
“My sister is recovering nicely, but unable to see guests at the moment.”
The reverend seemed relieved. He’d done his duty and it hadn’t proven as painful as he’d thought. “I’d best be going, then. Smith’s outside waiting for you. He said when you stopped by his place last night, you told him you needed his wagon to haul three rats to jail first thing this morning. You’d best take them over to Tascosa, because there isn’t a man in town who’d not want to string them up after learning they were planning to kill Miss Hannah,” he said. He hesitated a moment before adding, “And of course after they kidnapped Miss Gavrila.”
“I’d almost forgotten about the men,” Ford reached for his gun belt. “I left them over at Feather Hill, so I won’t ask you to ride with me.”
Carhart nodded and didn’t ask any more about the men, for he had other things on his mind. “Thank the Lord the storm’s over. It left a wide sweep of destruction in our little community. Several homes were damaged in town, and I plan to ride out and check on all the farms later today.”
He moved toward the door, a man with a mission to complete. “Funny thing, too. You might be interested in this, ma’am. The back porch at White’s blew off and underneath we found a stash of things you wouldn’t believe. Allison Donley’s purse, with forty dollars still in it. A writing kit just like the one White thought was stolen, and a number of other things folks around here have been missing.” He pulled something silver from his pocket. “I even noticed the creamer from Miss Gavrila’s tea service and brought it back to her.”
Hannah and Ford were silent. She couldn’t bring herself to look at him. The words he’d said before he’d left her at the ranch echoed in her mind. If he’d thought she was stealing from the folks in town and some of the things had been replaced, Ford must have been the one replacing things reported stolen.
Carhart set the creamer back in place. “I guess Gavrila hadn’t even missed it yet.” The reverend laughed. “Two of your students, the Burns boys, claimed it was just a joke, but their father sure didn’t see the humor in it as he dragged them across the street. My guess is you won’t be asking either boy to sit down for a while in school.”
He nodded and let himself out, leaving the room silent.
Ford took a long breath. I’ve done it again, he thought, as he guessed what Hannah must be thinking. He’d told her it didn’t matter how much she stole from the town, but suddenly he knew it mattered a great deal that he’d thought of her as a thief. If there was a manual somewhere on how to do the wrong thing in a relationship, he must be the bad example in every chapter.
“You replaced the money?” Hannah whispered.
“Yes.” He could feel the noose knot around his neck.
“And you bought another kit and put it in White’s store because you thought I’d taken one that day I told you I was in White’s buying charcoal?”
“I did.” He couldn’t look at her and he couldn’t lie.
“You believed I was stealing from these people? That’s why you said it didn’t matter?”
Ford could only nod as the noose tightened, but it was his heart that clenched in response. He was losing her, not by what someone else did, or because of the bargain, but because he hadn’t believed in her.
“Ford!” Smith yelled from the front of the house. “Daylight’s burning.”
Forcing himself to look at her, Ford saw what he feared. The pain in her eyes was too deep for tears to wash away. “I have to go,” he mumbled, wishing the right words would come to him just once. “We can talk about this when I get back.”
She didn’t answer.
Ford moved toward the door. He needed to be alone. He wished he could run into the prairie like he had as a child. But he’d given up running long ago. How could he ever find the words to tell her how he felt? When he’d thought she was a thief and he’d loved her anyway it had been one thing. But the tables had turned. She was genuinely innocent and he had judged her falsely. Now she was the one who would have to forgive. Though he’d been strong enough to forgive her when he’d thought she was a thief, he wasn’t sure he had a right to ask the same of her now.
Ford knew there was something he needed to say, but words wouldn’t come. He couldn’t look at her and see the pain in her eyes again. He’d shattered his only chance at happiness and needed time to think of how to repair the damage.
Walking out without another word, fear kept him from even glancing back. Fear that whispered there was no hope.
“Be here when I get back,” he ordered when he’d meant to request. “We’ll talk.” Somehow in the time it would take to haul the men to jail, he’d think of a way to make her believe he’d only done what he thought was right.
Somehow he’d find the words to tell her he loved her.
* * *
Hannah closed the door to the little room furnished for travelers, noticing there was no lock. She’d talked Jinx into letting her spend the night at the post office so that she’d be ready for the next stage at first light. If Ford had to take Harwell’s men all the way to Tascosa, he wouldn’t be back until tomorrow. She couldn’t bear to stay in Gavrila’s house any longer, so the tiny space suited her needs.
When she learned Ford thought her a thief, she realized he’d always see her as such. Even if for a short time she’d believed they could be married like normal people, his lack of trust had shattered her hopes. She’d made sure Zachery was recovering, then left the house. She needed time to think as desperately as Ford seemed to. Only Hannah had to decide where to go next. There was no use waiting for Ford to return. They had nothing more to say to one another. The month was almost over and their bargain would be up in a few days.
Curling up in the middle of the bed, she thought about how her life had changed in the weeks since meeting Ford. He’d added color to her world. She’d met folks who were kind and good, not because they were afraid of the law, but just because it was the right way to be. She’d learned to love.
Hannah closed her eyes and slept the kind of sleep that even erases dreams. She’d be on the stage at dawn and this part of her life would forever be over.
* * *
Late into the night, she heard the door creak and she jerked fully awake.
“Who’s there?” she whispered, hoping there would be no answer.
“Don’t be afraid,” Ford whispered back.
Lightning bolted through her nerves. She reached for the lamp.
“Don’t strike a match, Hannah.” He moved to the side of the bed. “I’m not sure I can say what I have to say in the light.”
“We have nothing else to talk about.” She pulled the covers around her as though they offered protection. “What are you doing here?”
“I could ask you the same question…but I know the answer. Jinx told me a few minutes ago that you’re planning to leave on the first stage out.”
“It’s time for me to go. Our bargain is up.” She was glad he’d asked for the darkness, for she wasn’t sure she could leave him if she saw his face.
“The bargain was you’d take something of value when you left.”
She held her hands in her lap to keep them from shaking. His voice sounded angry, but she refused to let him frighten her. “I took nothing but my clothes and enough for the stage.”
“No. You took something I can’t part with and I want it back.” Ford moved around the bed in the blackness, keeping her guessing as to his location.
“I took nothing!” Hannah couldn’t believe he was accusing her of stealing again. She’d realized finally that he’d replaced the items and money in an effort to protect her, but his not believing her still hurt deeply. Now he was accusing her once more.
“Your uncle told me where to find you.” The way he said the word “uncle” made Hannah bite down on her bottom lip. He must have found out the truth about Zachery. How could she convince him that she took nothing from his house, when he was telling her he’d discovered another lie.
“What else could I do?” She tried to guess where Ford was in the room. “I couldn’t turn Zachery away. He was running from the same killers I was, only they didn’t know he was a witness.”
“Don’t change the subject,” Ford stormed. “I don’t care if he’s your uncle or not. I’ve come because of what you’ve taken.”
“I told you! I took nothing. The only time I ever stole or robbed anyone was the night I took your clothes. I know you’ll always see me as a thief, but I’m not.”
She felt a shift in the bed and knew he’d sat down beside her. “You can’t take from me this time!” His voice was hard, but she could feel the warmth of his body only inches away. “Give it back or I won’t let you go, Hannah.”
Anger twisted inside her. “I took nothing! I tell you! Nothing!”
He grabbed her shoulders and held her tightly at arm’s length. “Yes, you did!” he whispered between clenched teeth. “You took my heart, and I can’t live without it.”
Hannah could feel his pain in every word. He didn’t know how to tell her he loved her. She guessed he’d never heard the words and couldn’t say them now, though they were the only words that would heal the wound between them.
She shoved his hands away from her shoulders and moved out of his grip. She guessed he loved her since he’d replaced all the missing things, but she needed to know he trusted her. Without the trust she couldn’t stay.
Ford forced out the words he’d been repeating in his mind all day. “I never meant to hurt you. I cared for you so much it didn’t matter to me if you robbed me blind. I’m sorry I never figured out that inside such a wonderful woman couldn’t live a thief. You did what you did when we met to stay alive and I had no right to judge you. All my life I’ve been trying to do right and you’ve taught me what it means to be right.”
He reached for her, but she moved away. “Folks might say you did the wrong thing, taking my clothes, or going to Feather Hill, or lying about an uncle. But you did it for the right reasons. I seem to have done the right thing for the wrong reason. I should have believed in you. But leaving me and taking my heart is too great a price for me to pay for my crime, so give it back. You’re not taking any stage while you’ve got my heart packed away in that Gypsy bag of yours.”
She darted from the bed into the darkness. “Well, I’m not returning anything!” she shouted with all the anger he’d expressed, but feeling like she was melting inside from his few words. “I love you, and I figure it belongs to me now.”
Ford sprang toward her, but she darted away. “Then you’re not leaving me, darlin’. I’ll swear I’ll always trust you, but it’ll take me a lifetime to prove it to you.”
He stood so still he might have been made of stone. He’d laid his offer on the table, and now he had to wait to see if it was good enough.
“I might stay for a while if we can strike another bargain.” She smiled at the shadow of the man she loved as he raised his head.
“Name your price.” The words stumbled from him. He didn’t dare breathe. Of all the struggles he’d fought in his life, this was the only one that mattered. Words had never been important to him, but now words were the only way to make her see how much he needed her in his life. “I’ll pay it.”
“Do you love me?”
“Yes,” he answered, knowing that he had from the moment she’d touched him.
“Then say it.” She moved closer. “Say it every day and just maybe I’ll stay.”
“I love you,” he whispered as she moved gently into his arms. “I love you, Hannah, darlin’.”
“Then let’s start over from the beginning.” She circled her arms about his neck and pressed her heart to his. “Take off your clothes.”
Epilogue
HANNAH STOOD AS still as she could beside Ford while the preacher rambled on about couples finding one another in the twilight years.
She could feel the warm spring air drifting through the open windows and smell the wonderful aroma of prairie flowers that now covered the altar with bluebonnet blues and fiery Indian paintbrush reds. Everyone in the church seemed almost giggly with excitement over the wedding—everyone except maybe Zachery. He appeared nervous standing beside his bride. Jinx looked younger in her new store-bought chambray shirt and brushed leather riding skirt. Her boots were polished and her hair combed, making Hannah realize what a beautiful woman she could be when she chose to spend the time. She’d refused a wedding dress or veil, saying at Zachery’s age he deserved to see exactly what he was getting in marriage.
Hannah didn’t miss Jinx’s wink at Zachery as the minister pronounced them man and wife. While the couple kissed, she sidled closer to her own husband. The warmth of his strong body drew her as it had months ago. He
welcomed her against his side, placing his arm around her shoulder.
When all stood and the piano began to play, Hannah slid her hand along Ford’s thigh as though by accident.
“Stop that,” he whispered while everyone else watched the newlyweds stroll down the aisle.
Hannah pressed her fingers against the soft cotton of his shirt. “Stop what?” She clawed lightly against the material.
Folks began to crowd toward the door. She gently pushed her breast against his arm as she followed. His muscle tightened and Hannah couldn’t stop her laughter. She loved the reaction she had on this man and never planned to give him any truce.
When he held the door for her, she moved slowly past him, pressing her body against his until she could feel the heat from his skin increasing.
He remained stone. If she hadn’t known him so well, she’d have thought he had no reaction to her touch, but she played his emotions perfectly.
They walked, hand in hand, to Gavrila’s house. Hannah’s sister-in-law had insisted on giving Jinx and Zachery a reception, and she’d only wanted help in the planning from one person—Alamo.
Hannah ran her thumb in circles along Ford’s palm as they walked. Occasionally, she stepped closer, brushing her side against his. He didn’t react.
“It was a lovely wedding, Jinx,” Hannah said as they all eased into the shade of the porch.
“Best one I ever had.” Jinx grinned and slapped Zachery on the back. “I knew if I could get him all patched and healed he’d make a handsome groom.”
Hannah looked at Zachery, who still appeared to be a little pale, even though it had been two months since he’d been beaten by Harwell’s men. The realization that he was married seemed to be settling in around him. He’d insisted on remaining her “uncle” despite Ford’s knowing the truth. Now even Gavrila had warmed to the idea that he was a member of the family.
