Frontier Want Ad Bride

by Lyn Cote

  “You see, it’s just right for me,” their father said.

  The single bed against the wall of what amounted to a lean-to against the blacksmith’s shop did not impress Judith. Levi’s hammer continued to clang against the anvil right next door. Lily sat on the edge of the bed, swinging her legs.

  “I’ll get a good breeze from the river,” Father continued.

  Judith wondered if the insistent pounding of the hammer on the anvil would get on her father’s nerves. It was getting on hers.

  “But you can’t spend a winter here,” Emma objected.

  “No, Levi says he has a loft above his shop that stays warm in the winter from the forge that burns low all night. So I’ll bunk in the lean-to in summer, get the cool river breeze in the evenings. And I’ll move up to the loft in winter to keep warm and cozy. I’ll be fine.” Father patted Emma’s arm.

  Judith knew that it was probably best for her and Asa not to have her father living with them. She’d slept in the loft with or at least near Asa last night. Being close to him when she didn’t know what he was really thinking had been uncomfortable—more than uncomfortable. They’d been married months and were still living like friends, not husband and wife. Levi’s hammer stopped and she heard the sizzle of red-hot iron plunged into water. At the thought of her uncertainty, a similar sensation roiled in her stomach. She inhaled a steadying breath.

  “And I got a job this morning!” Father crowed, interrupting Judith’s thoughts.

  “What?” she and Emma exclaimed in unison.

  “I walked over to the dock when a boat pulled in. A passenger hailed me and asked if I would run to the store and buy him some tobacco for his pipe. I agreed.

  “And afterward,” he continued, “Mr. Ashford said that he’s been wanting someone to take notions, tobacco and such on a tray to each boat to sell to the passengers. Some boats give enough time to run up to the store and some don’t. Says he’ll give me ten percent of every sale.” Father beamed at them. “And I can keep the tips. Got me a dime this morning.”

  Judith tried not to frown. Her father had been a prosperous and successful farmer, and now he was a peddler living in a lean-to. It wasn’t right. But after the war, her father had not stood up to Gil who had come home a different man, a man with problems. Perhaps her father’s weak heart and his relief that Gil had been spared accounted for this. So his leaving the farm, letting Gil and his wife have it for now, followed this pattern of avoiding the truth.

  “Now, I know what you’re thinking,” he said soothingly. “But I have my own place. I have my daughters near. And I’ll have some peace and quiet and people nearby to talk to. I’ll enjoy meeting the boats.”

  Emma chuckled. “I think you’re right.”

  Judith recalled their neighbor Anne’s letter. Yes, this was better than their father having to put up with what was going on at their farm.

  Finally she, with Lily and Emma, stepped out onto Main Street. Colton remained inside for a final word with her father.

  Then a woman cried out, “There’s Lily!”

  Judith looked around and saw a thin woman in a sadly faded dress climbing down from a wagon bench, a man on the bench beside her.

  Lily cried out, too, in obvious fear. She ducked behind Judith and wrapped her arms around Judith’s waist. “Don’t let her get me! He’ll hurt us!”

  Colton bolted from the lean-to. He took one look at the woman and man and raced away up Main Street, toward home.

  Judith put it all together. This must be the couple who’d mistreated the children and caused them to run away. Judith burned with outrage.

  Chapter Ten

  “Mr. Brant!”

  Behind the plow, Asa heard Colton’s voice. The shrill fear in it washed over him like ice water. He pulled back hard on the reins of his straining team. “Whoa!” He tied off the reins and rushed to the child over the uneven, newly tilled earth.

  Colton stopped and bent over, bracing his hands on his knees and gasping.

  Asa grabbed his shoulder. “What, boy?”

  “Smith…in town… Lily.”

  Overhead an eagle shrieked, mimicking Asa’s reaction within.

  Asa lifted the panting boy and threw him over his shoulder. He leaped over and around the furrows he’d just plowed. I should have expected something like this. Why did I let them go into town alone?

  “Put me down!” Colton demanded, catching his breath and straining against Asa.

  Without stopping, Asa let the boy slide down to the ground, and they were running together. The mile to town rasped his nerves. Would he get there in time? If Smith touched a hair of Judith’s…

  The two of them burst through the forest and raced down to Main Street. A crowd had gathered near Levi’s. Asa could see only the top of Judith’s white bonnet.

  “Asa! Help!” Judith shrieked.

  Asa sped up, his hands fisting. The crowd parted for him.

  Smith was standing there, his jaw thrust out. Threatening Judith. Levi and her father stood beside her. Lily cowered behind Judith.

  Asa planted himself between his wife and Smith. Dragging in ragged breaths. How to stop this man without violence? Without upsetting the children? Judith?

  “You!” Smith roared. “You took our kids!” He dodged around Asa, reaching toward Lily.

  Lily screamed.

  Asa sidestepped, blocked him again. “Hold up!”

  Smith ignored him, pushing past him.

  “Hold up!” This time Asa thrust himself against Smith, their two bodies slamming together.

  Asa dodged Smith’s fist. And landed a hard right to Smith’s jaw. His arm vibrated with the impact.

  Smith grunted. Cursed. Charged.

  Asa’s fist shot forward, connecting with Smith’s jaw.

  The man staggered. But recovered.

  Ignoring outcries all around, Asa dodged Smith’s fists. Sized up his opponent. Smith was beefy, barrel-chested, so Asa kept his distance. Fending off Smith’s blows. Waiting for the chance to end the fight.

  “Smith! That’s enough!” Levi roared, moving to Asa’s side. “You are brawling on Main Street!”

  Smith leaped back, his fists raised and panting. Facing two opponents.

  “What are you thinking?” Levi shouted. “Accosting a decent woman in broad daylight?”

  Asa kept his guard up, panting.

  “He took our kids,” Smith blustered.

  “He did not!” Judith moved into Asa’s line of sight. “These children ran away from you! They were living in a cave when we found them!”

  Even Smith quailed before Judith’s wrath. But only for a moment. “Those two kids are ours,” Smith yelled. “Their parents give ’em to us.”

  “No, they didn’t!” Colton shouted from beside Levi. “My pa didn’t even like you!”

  Smith started toward Colton.

  Colton stood his ground, making Asa proud.

  But he couldn’t let Smith touch the boy. One more time, Asa blocked Smith.

  The man growled his frustration and swung at Asa.

  The moment Asa had been waiting for had come. A quick feint with his right and a punishing uppercut with his left.

  Smith went down like a sack of rocks.

  A woman behind Asa shrieked. “Sam!” She hurried over and dropped to her knees beside the inert man. She was the shabby woman he’d seen at the cabin, Smith’s wife.

  “He’ll be all right,” Asa said, panting, his knuckles stinging. He moved past her to Judith and heard Lily crying. He picked the girl up. “Are you—” he gasped for breath “—all right, Judith?”

  “Yes.” His wife pressed against him, her trembling denying her word.

  He laid one arm around her shoulders and pulled her closer. His chest heaved not only with exertion and the rush from fighting but also with outrage. Smith had almost attacked Judith. And Lily was shaking and weeping with fright. Asa glanced around for her brother.

  Over Judith’s shoulder, he glimpsed Levi resting
an arm around Colton’s shoulders. Asa drew in enough breath to speak. “Boy, don’t worry. You’re staying with us.”

  Colton’s tight expression relaxed a fraction.

  Then Asa realized that most of the town encircled them. He closed his eyes. He hated everyone looking at him, them.

  The Ashfords pushed to the front. “Are you all right?” Mrs. Ashford asked him.

  He nodded and glanced over the heads around him, toward the rise out of town. How soon could he get his family away, home?

  Groaning, Smith shoved his wife away and sat up, rubbing his chin. He glared at the gathering. “The preacher give them to us. Those kids are ours.”

  “No, they aren’t,” Ashford snapped.

  “Shut up, you old namby-pamby!” Smith snapped in return. “This isn’t none of your affair.”

  Ashford bridled at the insult.

  “Smith,” Asa said. Lily still quivering against him added an edge to his voice. “The children are with us now. And that’s that.”

  Smith got to his feet. He glared at everyone. “This isn’t over.”

  “Yes, it is,” Asa said with starch in each word. “You stay away from my family.” He let his expression say, Or else.

  “Yes,” Judith said. “Anyone can see that the children don’t want to be with you.”

  “He’s a bad man,” Lily declared. “He hurt us.”

  The crowd’s mood darkened. People moved closer, glaring.

  “Spare the rod and spoil the child!” Smith countered.

  “There’s a difference between loving discipline and harsh treatment.” This came from Judith’s father.

  Asa nodded in agreement. As did most of the gathering.

  “This isn’t over,” Smith repeated. “I’ll get the law on you.”

  “Ha!” Asa responded with scorn.

  The Smiths got into their wagon and drove away.

  “You all right?” Asa asked Judith again.

  Judith pressed her cheek against his shoulder. Her softness touched a tender spot buried deep inside him.

  Then she stepped away and bent to stroke Lily’s face. “Now, Lily, Mr. Brant protected us. You don’t need to be afraid.”

  Asa reeled in his yearning to hold Judith close, to reassure himself she had not been hurt. His feelings didn’t make any sense anyway. He could see she was unscathed.

  “That’s right, Lily. You don’t have to be afraid,” Ashford said, sounding more than aggravated. “This town won’t let the Smiths bother you again.”

  Asa hoped that was true, but he wasn’t leaving the children and Judith alone at the homestead or in town anytime soon.

  “We should talk to the sheriff,” Mrs. Ashford said. “And Noah. They will understand the law.”

  Young Gunther Lang stepped out of the crowd. “When I go home, I will tell Mr. Whitmore what I saw here today. He will know what to do.”

  At this, the people in the street began to return to their own business. Asa shook Levi’s hand, thanking him without words.

  Asa longed to pull Judith close once again. Thank God, he’d been able to get here in time. That thought gave him pause. It had been a long time since he’d thanked God for anything. But he did thank God for Judith.

  And a glance at Colton, who’d run to him for help, and the sounds of Lily’s soft sigh as she relaxed against him at last, caused him to utter the same words again silently. He would make sure his family stayed safe.

  *

  That night in her voluminous robe, Judith was waiting in front of the low fire for Asa when he returned from checking on the stock before bed. The windows were open, draped with fine cheesecloth to let the evening breeze in while keeping most of the mosquitoes out. The tree frogs were peeping constantly. Usually their song soothed her, but tonight her frayed nerves caused her to wish for silence, peace.

  The children had been too upset to sleep by the fire as usual. Colton was already asleep in the loft, and Lily slept in Judith’s bed. Judith felt off-kilter herself. This morning’s confrontation had given her much to consider. And witnessing violence had shaken something loose inside her that wouldn’t settle down. More than ever she wanted the children to stay with them. But what did Asa think? Then she recalled that he’d called them a family today. Did he realize that?

  “Asa, sit with me?” She hoped he wouldn’t refuse. She knew he wouldn’t want to talk, but she needed to know what he was thinking. She hoped she could tell him her thoughts. And try to make sense out of what she was feeling.

  He hung his hat on the peg by the door and came and sat, creaking the rocker by the low fire. “You all right?”

  His blunt words did not mask the concern in his voice.

  From the corner of her eye, she scanned him. He looked tired and concerned. His thick brown hair was growing and needed cutting again. She resisted the urge to brush it back from his face.

  “I think I’m recovering. I was so very shocked…frightened.” She drew in a steadying breath.

  “I’ll keep you safe.” The firelight flickered over his profile, a strong one.

  “I know you will.” The stress of the day had exhausted her. She’d gone about doing her chores and caring for the children but feeling as if she weren’t really there. Without strength for delicacy or hinting, she went straight to the point. “What are we going to do about Smith?”

  He edged forward, his wrists draped over the chair arms. “You and the children aren’t to go anywhere without me till this is settled.”

  Her terse husband had obviously been thinking about this and had been ready to inform her of his decision.

  “I won’t go anywhere without you, and I’ll keep the children in my sight. I don’t trust that man.”

  Asa snorted in obvious agreement.

  “What do you think the law is about orphans?” She couldn’t relax against the chair back. Nerves kept her stiff.

  “Don’t know. I’m going to ask our sheriff. Don’t think Smith has any real claim. But we have to be ready if Smith presses the issue.”

  “Why would he even want them? He didn’t seem like the kind to take in orphans.” She clapped her hands, flattening a stray mosquito.

  “Free labor.”

  Judith gripped her chair arms. “I see.”

  Asa let out a sound of disgust. And sat back, again creaking the wooden chair.

  Asa’s willingness to talk and not shut her out reassured her. He did want to keep the children, or at least, he did want to protect them. A trace of leftover fear shuddered through her. I don’t want to lose them.

  Asa’s hand rested gently on her arm. “I’ll keep you safe, Judith,” he said again.

  She pressed her hand over his. “I know you will.” The sight of Asa running down Main Street to her aid once again clutched around her heart. She drew his large, rough hand up to her cheek. “Oh, Asa,” she whispered. She wanted to say more, but how could she?

  His true identity and the unknown reason why he hid it lay between them. He would keep the children safe. But what if no relative came forward for them? She wanted to ask Asa to promise that they’d keep the children. But again, the fact that he could not open up made her uneasy. Yes, Asa would keep her safe. She could count on that, but would the wall between them remain, never crumbling?

  *

  Sunday came again, and Asa walked into the church, Judith beside him, with Colton on his other side. Lily, who usually insisted on holding Judith’s hand, gripped his instead. Dan and Emma had met them at the schoolhouse door and entered with them. At their accustomed bench, Asa let Emma and Dan move in and sit, then Judith, and finally him and the children. Due to this week’s trouble, Asa noted that their entrance garnered as much notice as he’d dreaded. He let Judith respond to the nods and greetings.

  Several times this week, Asa had wanted to walk over to the sheriff’s or preacher Noah Whitmore’s house and consult them about Smith, but he had been unwilling to leave his family or take them with him because the children would overhear. H
e would talk to both men after the service.

  Finally the wall clock ticked to ten and Noah, looking unusually solemn, moved to the lectern. “Before we start our usual worship service, we need to address what happened just a few days ago right on Main Street.”

  Asa felt the congregation’s concentration on Noah intensify. A few leaned forward. “I don’t need to explain the situation. And our sheriff is here. He will address you, also. First, I have received a reply from the postmaster of the Farriers’ hometown.” He drew a letter from his suit pocket. “I’ll read it.”

  Asa sat, hope rising, and then a blast of sudden loss, a letdown. Did he want to send the children off to strangers? He tightened his hold on Lily, who sat on his lap.

  Noah read the brief letter stating that the postmaster had not received the first letter. That the Farriers were well known in the area and there were some cousins in the county. The postmaster would contact them and also try to find out if they knew Colton Farrier Sr.’s brother’s whereabouts. He would write with more news when he received any.

  Then Brennan Merriday, the sheriff, rose from beside his wife Rachel and son Jacque. “I just returned from rounds. I’d been worryin’ about the orphans. So when I found a telegraph office, I telegraphed the county sheriff where the Farrier family used to live. I asked about the Farrier kin. He replied that he would look into it.”

  Brennan paused, shifting from boot to boot. “I don’t know the law about minor children left orphaned. But as the law here, I hereby publicly declare the Brants as the legal foster parents of the Farrier children until their blood kin can be found. If…anyone tries to do or say different, they’ll have to deal with the law.” His expression promised no quarter would be given. “You children, don’t you worry. You’re safe.” He nodded once decisively and sat down.

  Relief went through the congregation like a communal exhalation. It did not touch Asa. He would protect his family.

  “Now, Mrs. Caruthers, will you lead us in our opening hymn?” Noah said and moved aside.