All things considered, he was glad to look down at his chest and no longer see the tin star of the State Police resting there. Someday, please God, the Texas Rangers would ride again, and a man could be proud to say he was one of them. But until then, Thorn could be proud of the accomplishments that he had in store—being a good husband to Daisy and a good father to Billy Joe.
* * *
It was nearly closing time and Daisy was eyeing the beef stew remaining in the pot on the stove. Business had been slow today, with few travelers passing through, few ranchers coming to town and most locals choosing to stay at home due to the heat. August in Texas was hot as election day in a hornet’s nest, old Delbert Turner had said at noon, when he’d come in for some lemonade, so maybe beef stew hadn’t been a good choice to make. But few customers meant that there would be more than enough of the stew to divide, sending half home with Jane, and taking the rest for herself and Billy Joe, in case her son had not brought leftovers home from Ella’s café.
Asking Jane Jeffries to take the waitressing job had been a wise move on Daisy’s part. Even Mr. Prendergast, who handed out compliments less often than cows gave whiskey, agreed. She was cheerful and efficient, and never flirted with the male customers as Tilly had. She was gaining in confidence, too, and had lost the frightened-deer look she’d had when Daisy first asked her to consider the job.
Jane came into the kitchen just then. “Do you think we dare put the Closed sign on the door yet? It’d be five minutes early, but the streets were empty last I looked...” Her face was wistful, and Daisy knew Jane was as tired as she was, and wanted to pick up her son from the doctor’s home.
“Better not,” Daisy said, rolling her eyes. “Even though Mr. Prendergast’s already been here for his supper, it’d be just like him to stroll downstairs again to check up on us. But watch the clock over the stove, and as soon as it’s time—”
A faint tinkle at the door reached their ears just then, the sound of the little bell over the door that announced new customers.
In unison, the two women groaned.
“I shouldn’t have said anything—I jinxed us,” Jane said ruefully.
“Now, now, you’re not superstitious, are you?” Daisy retorted. “Better go welcome them. Tell them all we have left is beef stew, though.” At least she wouldn’t have to take the remainder—whatever couldn’t be carried home by her or Jane—down to the storage area in the cellar, she thought. She disliked going down there at night, even with the brightest of lanterns, after hearing that one of the victims of the infamous Comanche raid years ago had taken refuge down there and died of his wounds. Now who was being superstitious?
She resisted an urge to peek out through the pass-through window to see how many customers she would need to heat up beef stew for. Jane would be back soon enough to tell her. Daisy just hoped it wouldn’t be someone with an aversion to beef stew. She could offer them bacon and eggs, which could be prepared quickly, but that was as far as she was willing to go for someone inconsiderate enough to come right at closing time and expect a full selection.
Then she chided herself for her unwilling spirit. It might be a traveler, weary and hungry, who had traveled all day and had just reached Simpson Creek. What if another cook between here and Austin treated Thorn so coldly?
The swinging door creaked, and Jane was back. “It’s just a man and a boy,” she announced, “but they want to see you first.” She was smiling, which Daisy found odd under the circumstances.
“Why? Does the boy want me to serve his stew without carrots?” Daisy asked, making a wry face. Billy Joe used to refuse to eat carrots when he was little, she remembered. She hadn’t minded leaving them out of a stew, but such an accommodation had enraged his father...
“No-o-o...” Jane said. “Go see them.”
Now Daisy noticed the sparkle in her eyes, as if the other woman knew a delightful secret.
Could it possibly be—? She hurried through the door.
It was! Thorn sat there at the middle table, dusty and travel-stained, but his grin was as wide as that of the boy who sat beside him. There was no star on Thorn’s shirt.
“Look who’s home, Ma!” Billy Joe crowed. “We came to surprise you!”
Daisy startled everyone in the restaurant by her shriek of joy. He’d come back, he’d actually come back! Suddenly all her fears that Thorn wouldn’t return, that he’d stay with the police and forget all about his promises of a life with her and Billy Joe, seemed so silly. Why had she doubted him for a single second?
The dark eyes that met hers were full of love—they weren’t the eyes of a man who made empty promises. She was in his strong arms in an instant, her lips meeting his with urgent force, as if she could hardly believe he was real. He tasted salty and still smelled of his horse, but she couldn’t imagine anything better than his kiss.
* * *
After Thorn and Billy Joe were full of beef stew, Thorn walked them home, though he was again taking a room at the hotel.
“I suppose you have to work tomorrow?” he asked Daisy as they strolled down the darkened main street toward her house. He wanted to ask her how soon she could quit her job—right now wasn’t too soon for him, because he wanted nothing more than to spend all his time with the woman he loved. He didn’t want to be unreasonable, though, and knew Daisy was too conscientious to be inconsiderate of her employer.
“No. But I do have plans...” she said, her eyes dancing.
“Plans? But I don’t want to let you out of my sight, woman,” he protested mock-indignantly, and smiled at Billy Joe’s chuckle. “I rode all the way from Austin like Ace’s tail was on fire just to hurry back to your side, and you tell me you have plans?”
“Yes, but as long as you don’t mind riding out to the Brookfields’ ranch with me, you can come, too,” she told him.
“Sure, we can do that. Why don’t we rent a buggy at the livery, and I’ll let Ace rest in your barn. But why are you going out there?”
“It just so happens Milly’s making me a dress,” she told him, smiling as her voice trailed off mysteriously, and then he caught on.
“She’s making you a dress? Is there a special occasion coming up?” He grinned down at her, loving the way her deep-set blue eyes gleamed.
“Maybe... And she’s ready to do a final fitting on the dress she’s been making for me. But you can’t see it yet,” she told him with mock severity.
Thorn pretended to look disappointed. “I understand her husband’s quite the cattleman. I suppose I could pick up some pointers from him about ranching, seeing as I’m about to change professions...”
“I don’t hafta go, do I?” Billy Joe asked.
“You don’t want to go?” Daisy asked, surprised. He’d always been eager to go out to the ranch, where he could ride a horse and learn roping tricks from the cowboys.
He shrugged. “Miss Ella’s dependin’ on me at her café,” he said. “And besides, you and Thorn’ll probably want to do more of that kissing stuff on the way there and back,” he said, rolling his eyes in pretended disgust.
Daisy couldn’t smother her laughter. Her little boy wasn’t a little boy anymore, but he still wanted to disguise his thoughtfulness as something else. She was glad he didn’t seem to mind sharing her with Thorn.
“All right then—we probably won’t be home till late evening. You could stop in at the hotel for your supper. I’ll ask Jane to save you something. Senora Flora from the mayor’s house is going to be doing the cooking at the restaurant tomorrow.”
“Yippee! I hope she makes tamales!” The Mexican housekeeper had contributed them to a church supper some time ago, and Billy Joe had never forgotten.
They’d have so many more good memories now, Daisy realized. Life would be full of happy occasions, and home would be a place filled with the people they loved best. She remem
bered when she’d been married to William and had dreaded waking up every day.
There’s no more reason for me to fear for the future, she realized. Now I can’t wait for the rest of my life to begin.
* * *
“You’re sure the Spinsters Club would be ready to hold the wedding reception in just two weeks? That wouldn’t be rushing y’all too much?” Daisy asked doubtfully, looking down at Milly from the chair she was standing on while Milly pinned the hem of her wedding dress.
Milly had a mouthful of pins held at the ready, but she spit them out into her hand before replying. “Of course we’ll be ready. We started making plans at the last meeting, when we knew for sure that you and Thorn were in love—how to decorate the church, who’s cooking what for the reception afterward...and Reverend Chadwick was out to visit yesterday, so I know for a fact there’s no other wedding scheduled for two weeks from now on Saturday. And the hem’s the only thing left to do on this dress,” she added, holding the fabric between her hands as she expertly placed the pins.
“I think it’s the finest wedding dress you’ve ever made, and I’ve seen several of yours,” Daisy said, remembering other Spinsters Club marriages. She stared down at the ivory mousseline de soie creation that fitted her to perfection now that Milly had made a few nips and tucks here and there. It was simple and elegant, with a diamond-shaped neckline, lace trim only at the edge of the scalloped bishop sleeves and along the hem, with satin trim banding on the lower skirt and the belted waist. The gown featured a bustle and an elegant train—a short one, but it made Daisy feel like a princess who was about to marry her prince.
“Thank you,” Milly said, beaming with pleasure. “It’s for sure I’ve never seen a happier bride. Nick and I are so pleased for you and Thorn, Daisy. And what is the groom wearing?” She nodded toward the parlor’s high window. It looked out on the back porch, and through it, they could hear the low hum of conversation from Milly’s husband and Thorn as they discussed the finer points of the cattle business.
Daisy shrugged. “I don’t know. He’s being very mysterious about that. He tells me not to worry my pretty little head about it.”
Milly chuckled. “Men! When Nick and I married, he wore a suit that had been made by his London tailor, since he hadn’t been in America that long,” she said. “Since then, though, it takes a wedding or a Sunday church service for me to see him in anything but dusty ranch clothes. But since I love him no matter what he wears, it doesn’t really make much of a difference. I haven’t known your Thorn for long, but from what I’ve seen of him—and the way you look at him—he’ll be more than presentable come your wedding day, whatever he wears, at least as far as you’re concerned. Oh my, it’s noon already,” she added, when the grandfather clock in the parlor began to chime the hour. She set the last pin in place. “Hop down from there and change your clothes, and we’ll get a meal together.”
Warmed by her friend’s approval, Daisy changed back into the clothes she’d worn for the trip to the ranch. Surely good friends were almost as big a blessing as the love of a good man.
Chapter Seventeen
The heat of the day had faded somewhat by the time Thorn and Daisy headed back to her house in Simpson Creek.
“So we’ll be married in two weeks?” Thorn said, after Daisy told him about what she and Milly had discussed. “That’s wonderful, sweetheart. It can’t come too soon for me.”
Daisy nodded, pleased by his eagerness. “Milly’s going to bring the dress the day before, when she comes into town to help decorate the church, and the social hall for the reception. And Billy Joe’s going to stay with them while we take our wedding trip out to your ranch—”
“Our ranch,” he corrected her with a grin. Then, noticing her smile fade, he asked, “What’s wrong, sweetheart? Don’t you want to move there anymore?”
Once again, she’d been transparent. If he had acted angry or hurt at her reaction, she might have hesitated to answer him, but his gaze was clear and honest, his expression encouraging her to share her heart with him.
“Oh, no, Thorn, it’s just that...didn’t you say that your oldest sister and her husband and family have been living in the main ranch house?” When he nodded, she went on. “I just feel uncomfortable about displacing them, that’s all...”
He put out a hand to touch her wrist. “Daisy, Ellanora and Hap have always told me that when I’m ready to quit being a Ranger and settle down at the ranch, they’d be ready to move out, and the last letter I got from them, just the other day, confirms that. Ellanora’s older than me, you know, and has raised a passel of kids, and now those kids are almost all grown and gone, starting their own lives nearby. So Ellanora’s been feeling like the big ranch house is too much room for just her and Hap. Now, I’m planning to offer Hap the foremanship of the ranch, if he wants it—and I think he will—until Billy Joe’s old enough to take over, at least. Would you mind if I spent part of our honeymoon building them a small house on the ranch property, close to ours but far enough apart that you and Ellanora can run your own households? I think we could do it, Hap and me, and if I know the family, most of them will turn out to help us build it, along with the ranch hands.”
He’d thought of everything, Daisy realized. She’d been about to say she and Thorn and his sister and her husband could share the big ranch house, but such an arrangement never would have worked for long, especially when one of the women had been accustomed to being mistress of the house prior to the second woman’s coming. Daisy imagined watching Thorn build a house during the day while she and his sister cooked the builders hearty meals for their midday breaks, and the evenings she would spend with her new husband...
She murmured, “That sounds perfect, Thorn. I can’t wait to meet your sister and the rest of your family.”
He squeezed her fingers before returning his right hand to the reins. “You’re a good woman, Daisy Henderson. I can’t wait until you’re Daisy Dawson.”
“Me, neither. It has a nice ring to it, doesn’t it?” she said, and then it seemed the perfect time for one of those kissing stops that Billy Joe professed to be so embarrassed about.
“Are you happy?” Thorn asked her a few minutes later, after he’d kissed her for a long while that still wasn’t nearly long enough.
She nodded. “I didn’t think it was possible to be this happy, Thorn.” It was true, she was happier than she’d ever thought of being. But realizing how happy she was just made her remember someone else who could not possibly be happy at this time.
“Then why do your eyes look troubled?”
Would she ever learn how not to show every thought in her head?
“I am happy, Thorn, unbelievably happy—but I keep thinking of Tilly in that jail cell. She’ll be in prison for a long time, won’t she?”
His face sobered and he nodded. “It’s likely. Don’t you think she’s earned it, for helping Griggs as she did? If things had gone the way that she’d planned, Mrs. Gilmore would have been held for ransom and possibly killed.”
Daisy nodded. “Yes, of course. It just feels wrong to be so happy when her future is so...so bleak.”
He put his arm around her and hugged her, then kissed her cheek. “I’ll say it again, Daisy, you’re a good woman. You know Tilly wouldn’t spare a thought for you if your positions were reversed.”
He was right, Daisy knew, but she also knew she wouldn’t be completely at peace if she ignored the urging in her heart. Wasn’t there a verse in the Scriptures that said “I was in prison, and you visited Me,” meaning it was the same as doing it for Jesus himself?
“I know. But she’s got to be feeling so alone, with Griggs dead, knowing she’ll stand trial soon. I think I’ll go see her, between now and the trial. See if I can...somehow be a friend to her.” The trial was scheduled to start next week, when the circuit judge could be in Simpson Creek. It would p
robably be a quick affair, over well before their wedding.
“You’re an amazing woman, Daisy,” Thorn told her. “I don’t know why God thought I was worthy of you, but I’m blessed that He did.”
* * *
“What are you doing here? Come to gloat, did you?”
The woman who faced her from the other side of the bars and taunted her as she approached appeared to have aged ten years at least since Daisy had last seen her. She wore a baggy dress of a coarse, plain fabric that Daisy knew she would have scorned to wear before she’d been arrested. She’d always put such stock in looking pretty and fashionable, wanting to be admired and desired by every man she met.
Gone was the bravado and the lively flirtatiousness that had been the essence of Tilly Pridemore. Pride no more, thought Daisy.
Her throat felt thick as she tried to find the right words. “No, I haven’t come to gloat, Tilly. I... I just wanted to see how you were, and if you needed anything.”
The woman turned to the man in the next cell, the other outlaw who had been captured with her, and chuckled. “Mose, she wants to know if I need anything.”
The other outlaw guffawed. “Why don’t you tell her you’d like to borrow that big key ring the sheriff keeps in his desk, the one that would let both of us out of these cells? You sure could use that. Oh, and a coupla horses we could ride away on, as long as she’s asking.”
Tilly grinned, but there was no warmth in it, just a stretching of her lips in a mockery of a smile. She turned back to Daisy. “Well?”
“You know I can’t do that,” Daisy said. “And maybe you don’t want to hear this, but I wanted you to know I forgive you, Tilly, for what you did.”
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