by Sher Dillard
She shook her head and ignored his silly response.
Thad continued to shoot glances at her whenever he thought she wasn’t looking. She really was beautiful. Her ruby lips looked perfect for kissing. As if they had been designed for that specific task. Her skin glowed with freshness and innocence, her long eyelashes raked her eyebrows every time she blinked. Everything about this woman called to the beast inside of him.
There was more, though, much more. Her quick wit, her obvious intelligence. The way she smiled at him sometimes. As if she approved.
Of course, there were those other times when he would catch her looking at him with confusion and doubt. He knew perfectly well she was remembering his violent nature.
The fact that she was in this situation because of him could not be far from her mind.
The thought sent a sick regret through him. What if they had met at a different time, a different situation? What if he hadn’t been searching for a coin? What if her world had not been destroyed because of him?
Would she have looked at him differently? Maybe seen more than the monster he could be?
He sighed heavily. He would never know.
The beast inside of him growled with frustration. It didn’t care. All it knew was that it wanted this woman. What is more. If he let the beast rule, he would take her.
Thankfully, Thad thought to himself, he had tamed his beast long ago.
Although, there were times he regretted the man he was and wished he could simply let the beast rule.
.o0o.
Rachel watched the village as they slowly approached. Two dozen wooden building lining a dusty street.
“We’ll stop at the far end. The Inn is located there.”
She suddenly got an uneasy feeling. As if someone had just walked across her grave.
What if the men were here, waiting for them? What if they had gotten ahead of them? Thad was so sure they would be pursued. Wouldn’t it make sense for them to come to the village and wait for them?
She reached out and touched Thad’s arm, as she prepared to tell him not to stop. To keep on going. Couldn’t they go on like this forever? Just the two of them. Stopping where they couldn’t be found. Away from other people. Away from the rest of the world.
Growing, and learning about each other. Getting closer. The thought made her want to smile.
“Do we have to stop?” she asked. “It is still early, couldn’t we just keep on going?”
He smiled and shook his head. “There’s someone I need to see.”
Her heart fell just a little. Just enough to let her know that she was becoming attached to this man.
Thad pulled into the inn’s yard and passed the horses off to a stable boy. He grabbed a couple of packs from the back of the wagon and helped her down.
Rachel noticed a spring in his step, as if he was in a hurry to get into the Inn. She wondered why. He couldn’t be that hungry. Granted, the man ate enough for two men, but they had eaten bread and hard cheese at a noon stop.
“Come on,” he said, as he took her hand to hurry her along.
He opened the Inn door and let her pass through first.
The room was lit with a dozen candles and an open shutter at the far end. A long bar ran the length of the room with a staircase leading to the upper bedrooms.
The strong smell of stale tobacco and fresh ale greeted her. A tavern. Her first, she realized. A small thrill passed through her. She was seeing new sights. Experiencing new things. Isn’t this what she had always wanted? To lead a life worth living.
The tables were manned by a few men, most of them older, with gray beards and tired eyes. A barmaid at the far end turned and squealed.
“Thad,” she yelled, as she rushed across the room and into his arms.
Rachel’s stomach dropped to the floor.
He picked her up and swung the girl around as she squealed and laughed.
She was obviously his type, Rachel thought. Blonde, buxom, soft curves and unafraid to show her love.
“Juliet,” he said with a huge smile, then hugged the pretty woman again.
Rachel’s heart raced as her jaw dropped open. This was not what she had anticipated.
At last, the woman pulled back and looked up into his eyes.
“You’ve got to come see little Thaddeus,” she said, as she started to pull him across the room to a door set off from the bar and under the stairs.
Little Thad! It was worse than she thought. A son. No wonder Thad treated her as if she were nothing more than a brick in a long wall. An afterthought.
Her heart began to pound in her chest, as she fought to keep a tear from her eye.
“Come on. Come on,” the girl said, as she continued to pull at his hand.
Thad shot Rachel a chagrinned look and shrugged his shoulders. Pulling back on the girl’s hand a little, he slowed her down and said, “This is Rachel.”
The girl glanced at her, giving her a quick examination. Rachel immediately regretted the two days on the road. She would have preferred to meet Thad’s wife? Mistress? In different circumstance.
Why had she ever thought that something might happen between the two of them? She had been so silly. Such a silly, silly, girl.
Juliet smiled at her and said, “Please come and see our boy.”
Rachel hunched her shoulders and followed them. The last thing she wanted to see was Thad’s son.
Her disappointment was quickly followed by anger. What was he doing out looking for lost coins? Why wasn’t he home taking care of his family?
What? This woman had to work as a barmaid while he got to go gallivanting around the world? So typical, she thought. He doesn’t tell her about his family so that he can trap her into letting him go with her.
Rachel noticed that the girl was still holding Thad’s hand. Her wide smile let the world know how happy she was to see him again.
Swallowing the sinking feeling inside her stomach, she followed the pair into the back room.
A private room, she realized. Chairs around a fireplace, a rough-hewn table in the far corner. And, there, in the near corner, a simple wooden cradle on rockers with a darling little baby boy looking out at the world.
He appeared to be only three or four months old. Chubby red cheeks and sun-kissed blond hair just like his mother’s.
“Isn’t he adorable?” the woman said, as she gently removed the baby and gave him a quick kiss on the head.
“He looks just like you,” Thad said, as he took the baby from her and began rocking him in his arms.
Rachel’s heart melted. Something about seeing Thad holding this woman’s baby sent a shaft of pure pain through her. He did it so naturally. As if he had been born to be a father.
Pulling herself together, she stepped forward and smiled at the baby.
The door opened admitting an older man, in his thirties. He stopped to take in the scene and then smiled as he walked across the room with a slight limp. Rachel made sure not to stare.
The man was of normal size, with brown hair and a knowing squint to his eyes. Not much got past this man, she realized.
Juliet’s older brother? she wondered. He wore an apron tied around his belt. The Innkeeper, perhaps? That would explain the private room and Juliet’s and little Thaddaeus’s ability to survive while big Thad wandered the countryside.
“Joseph,” Thad exclaimed, as he smiled at the newcomer. Rachel could tell that he was happy to see the man. She breathed a silent prayer of thanks. Obviously, Joseph was not upset at the return of Little Thaddaeus’s father.
“Thad, it is good to see you,” the man said, as he pulled him into a quick hug and back pounding, being careful not to disturb the baby in Thad’s arms.
Thad looked over the baby’s head and gave Racheal a big smile.
“Here, you take him,” he said to Rachel, holding out the baby to her. “I need to talk to Joseph for a moment.”
She balked. A baby, his baby. Swallowing hard she gently took the baby fr
om him. Telling herself over and over not to drop the child.
As she cradled the baby in her arms, she caught the aroma of new life. New beginnings. That sweet smell of fresh soap, powder, and something uniquely baby. She smiled to herself. Who couldn’t when holding such a treasure? Then, the little boy looked up at her and smiled back. Rachel’s heart melted.
He might be Thad’s son. He might signal the end to all of her secret wishes. But, he was still a baby. Tender, innocent, free of guilt. It wasn’t his fault if his father was a bastard.
“We need a couple of rooms for the night,” Thad said to Joseph. “The ones in the back with an adjoining door and access to the roof over the stables.”
Both Joseph and Juliet looked up at him for a moment with a flash of concern. “Are they coming back?” the woman asked, as she glanced at her son. Obviously worried about his safety.
Thad smiled and touched her shoulder reassuringly. “No, nothing like that. You don’t have to worry. I promise.”
Rachel frowned in confusion. Why two rooms? Why in the back? Wouldn’t he be spending the night with his family?
Before she could ask for clarification, the baby squirmed in her arms. Reminding her that she was holding Thad’s baby. That was his job. He had been gone for too long to continue to ignore his responsibility.
“I think he looks more like you,” she said to Thad, as she tried to hand the baby back to him.
Both, Thad and Juliet, blanched for a moment, then they laughed together. Both of them looked at Joseph, and then all three laughed.
“Like me?” Thad said. “I think you are mistaken.”
Rachel caught the humorous look between them. Her mind whirled as she fought to understand.
“Thad’s not his father,” Juliet said with a twinkle in her eye, as if the idea was preposterous. “Joseph is. My husband.”
Rachel’s world began to come together. “I thought ...”
Juliet reached to pull her husband into a quick hug. “Thad the father? How funny?”
A quick sense of relief flashed through Rachel. This wasn’t his baby. This wasn’t his woman. He hadn’t misled her. He wasn’t the monster she had been creating in her mind.
Thad looked at her with a confused frown on his face. Rachel had to look away as she felt her cheeks grow warm with a blush.
“You two,” Juliet said to the two men. “Leave us alone for a little bit. The baby needs to be fed. And, I want to learn how Rachel caught Thad. It is about time.”
“No, it’s not like that,” Rachel stammered, as her cheeks flushed with flame. “We’re just traveling together. Thad is helping me on the trip south.”
Juliet looked at her for a moment, then at Thad and then back at her. Rachel could see the doubt in the woman’s face. She didn’t believe her. Rachel quickly looked at Thad for help. Tell them, she pleaded with her eyes.
The big man was oblivious. Laughing, he put an arm around Joseph and pulled him to the door. “I need to talk to you,” he said to Joseph, “there are things you need to be aware of.”
Rachel watched them leave, wishing she could box his ears. How dare he leave them with the impression that they were together.
Chapter Eight
Juliet interrupted Rachel’s thoughts. “Come, have a seat.”
“Really, we are not together,” Rachel said, as she followed the woman to the chairs by the fire.
The other woman smiled, as she draped a shawl over the baby and began to feed him. “That’s a shame,” she said, “I’ve always thought that Thad deserved a good woman in his life. But, I’m sorry. It seems we both made mistaken assumptions.”
Rachel swallowed, “Yes, I am sorry about thinking Thad was the father. It was just that the baby’s name. Joseph is so much older than you...”
Juliet adjusted the shawl and smiled at Rachel, obviously forgiving her.
“I understand,” she said. “But, Joseph isn’t really that much older. Only eleven years.”
Rachel was shocked. Eleven years seemed like a lifetime to her.
“How did you meet?” she asked. Maybe if she got the other woman to talk about herself, she would forget the topic of Thad and her being together.
Juliet frowned with the memory.
“I ran away from home when I was fifteen. My father had a farm to the east of here.” The pain in her eyes told Rachel all she needed to know.
“When I came to town. No one would talk to me. They were afraid of my father. He was rather mean and didn’t mind showing it. Joseph didn’t care. He gave me a job as a barmaid. He probably didn’t need another barmaid, but he could tell it was that or starving in the streets for me.”
Rachel nodded, encouraging her to go on.
“After a few weeks, my father came for me. He had probably gotten tired of his own cooking. I was so terrified. I knew what he would do to me when he got me home.
“Joseph stopped him. Stood right there in the middle of the tavern and refused to let him take me. I know I was only a silly girl, but I think I fell in love with him right then.
“They fought, my father was bigger. That was when Joseph’s leg was injured. But, he fought, refused to quit. At last, my father went down, and the men at the bar dragged him outside and left him in the dust.”
“You were only fifteen?” Rachel asked, her eyebrow rising.
Juliet laughed. “Don’t get the wrong idea. Joseph never tried a thing. To him, I was a barmaid. Nothing more. For four years, I mooned after him like a sick calf, but he ignored me. I still think nothing would ever have happened if I hadn’t trapped him under the stairs and made him see me as a woman.”
“But, why did you name the baby after Thad?” Rachel asked. The story about Joseph and Juliet was nice, but it didn’t explain little Thad.
Juliet’s smile turned to a worried scowl.
“I was pregnant, close to my time. Four men came into the tavern. Strangers. Not from around here. I could tell they were trouble the moment I saw them. Joseph could too. You know the type. Violent, arrogant, liked frightening people.”
Rachel nodded in understanding, as she remembered the two men who had attacked her in her father’s library.
“They drank a lot. Joseph tried to slow them down. They got angry. One of them grabbed me.” The woman shuddered as she remembered.
“You don’t have to tell me,” Rachel said, reaching out and resting a hand on the other woman’s knee.
“No, that is all right. Joseph tried to stop him. But, there was four of them. They began to beat him pretty bad. I remember I was so terrified. I thought the baby might come early.
“I don’t know what would have happened if Thad hadn’t walked into the tavern. He hadn’t been there before things went bad. I would have noticed a man like Thad in our Tavern.
Rachel smiled. It would be impossible not to notice Thad.
“Anyway,” Juliet continued, “Thad proceeded to take them apart, piece by piece. In no time, four men lay on the floor. He never even drew his sword.”
“I’ve seen that skill first hand,” Rachel said. “It can be terrifying.”
“Or soul saving,” Juliet said. “I really don’t know what would have happened if he hadn’t come in.
“When the men regained consciousness. As they were leaving, one of them threatened to return with more men. The look he shot me still makes me want to take a bath.
“Thad never said anything. But a few minutes later, he left. I was sure it was to follow those men. He never said what happened, but later the next morning, he returned, his hand wrapped in a bandage, missing a part of his finger.”
Juliet leaned back and shifted the baby. “That is why this little one is named Thad. We really didn’t have a choice. Big Thad stayed around for a few weeks until Joseph had regained his strength and I think to make sure nothing else bad happened.”
Rachel nodded, “It is a good name for such a handsome boy,” she said, as she smiled at the baby. The look of the happy baby in the woman’s arms
tugged at her insides.
“You know what I found truly amazing about it?” Juliet asked, obviously still thinking of the terrifying occurrence.
Rachel shook her head.
“The fact that Thad never thought what he did was that remarkable. It was as if it had been a simple chore. Like cleaning out a dirty stall. Something that just needed to be done.”
Rachel sighed. Yes, that was her Thad, simply remarkable.
“What about you?” Juliet asked with a knowing wink. “How did you meet Thad?”
Rachel quickly explained her story, leaving out the part about the coin. She didn’t know if Thad wanted her discussing it. And, after what had happened last time, she didn’t want to bring such misfortune to this sweet woman and her child.
She told her about the fight in her library, the fire, and of going south to distant relatives.
Juliet nodded. “That sounds like Thad,” she said, as she studied Rachel. Obviously, trying to make up her mind. At last, she seemed to come to some kind of decision.
“So, you two are not together,” she said with a doubtful tone to her voice. “You are just traveling for several weeks on a long lonely road. Sleeping around the same camp fire. Sharing your meals, spending all day talking, and if I know Thad, laughing. But, you’re not together.”
Rachel blushed. “No,” she said, as she stared down at her hand in her lap.
“That is a shame,” Juliet said. “Because, I can tell that he is interested in you. Very interested.”
“What?” Rachel exclaimed, as her heart jumped. “No ... Why do you say that?”
Juliet laughed. “Oh honey,” she said. “A man like Thad doesn’t look at a woman the way he looks at you unless he is interested.
Rachel’s cheeks hurt from their fierce blush. The woman must be mistaken.
“And, you are interested in him,” Juliet added. “After all. This is Thad we are talking about. Almost every woman would be interested. How could she not be? Those shoulders. The deep brown eyes that could look into your soul. That hard, velvety voice. If I wasn’t madly in love with my Joseph, I know I’d be interested. More than interested.”
