Within the Heart

by Jeanie P Johnson

  CHAPTER NINE

  “A post has come for you,” Callie’s mother informed her as she entered the drawing room.

  She handed Callie the envelope and Chayton lifted his head from the North American Press paper he was reading, about some strike going on, and looked at her. Since Mrs. Hamilton was determined to spring him and Joey on Philadelphia society, he decided he needed to be well versed in what was happening in the area and the government. He didn’t want her uppity friends thinking he was uneducated just because he was a Texas heathen, as Callie’s mother put it. In the background, they could hear the distant sound of music coming from the parlor, where the rugs were rolled up, and a piano roll provided music to be used while a dance instructor tried to teach Shanny and Joey how to dance.

  Callie took the letter and turned it over several times in her hands. She gazed down at her name written in one hand and the address written in Connor’s familiar hand. This seemed to puzzle her. However, she shrugged, and took the offered letter-opener and slid it under the flap. She found two separate sheets inside.

  When Chayton saw the shocked look on her face, he immediately rose to his feet and came to her side.

  “What alarms you?” he asked, placing his hand on her shoulder. “I hope it is not bad news.”

  Mrs. Hamilton moved in closer as well.

  “Mr. Pritchard has died,” she said quietly.

  “That is sad news indeed,” Chayton said, but he had never been good friends with Mr. Pritchard, and knew at one time the man had tried to convince Callie to marry him.

  “That is not the whole of it,” Callie said, still feeling surprised by the letter she held in her hand. “He willed me his ranch! Connor is sending Ina to run it while we are away, not knowing what else he could do. However, Mr. Pritchard has also put in his will that Cooper can remain as foreman, and you know how I feel about Cooper.”

  Chayton drew his eyebrows together. Cooper had rubbed him the wrong way from the very beginning. When he learned what Cooper had done to Callie, he was ready to put an arrow in his back. Luckily, she had waited many years before telling him about the incident, and Cooper was no longer in the area by then. However, when Cooper started working for Mr. Pritchard again, one reason Callie would not go to visit Mr. Pritchard was her fear of what Chayton would do if she ever went near Cooper. Now he would be working at a ranch she supposedly owned, and her daughter may be pray to Cooper’s tricks.

  “The only good news is Connor is getting some of your Comanche friends to help out so they can work both ranches. I hope they will be able to keep Cooper in his place.”

  “Would you rather we return?” Chayton asked, his eyes filled with concern at the very name of Cooper.

  “I am torn, but I don’t want to abandon Shanny and Joey, and to drag them back before Shanny can have her coming-out party would not be fair. I am sure Connor can handle the situation, and if not, he can always send a telegram to inform us.”

  “You know he would never admit to defeat,” Chayton muttered.

  “All the more reason not to go rushing back, like we don’t believe he can handle the situation.”

  “You may be right. The children are all grown now. They need to take on responsibilities on their own. While I don’t fancy living this kind of life, I know you enjoy it, so you might as well relax and have a good time while you are here, and not worry about the ranch.”

  “It will be hard because now I am going to be on pins and needles wondering how everything is going there.”

  “Write and tell Connor that you trust he can deal with the challenges, and to let you know if he needs our help.”

  “I suppose you are correct. It turns out that Mr. Pritchard’s nephew and niece showed up, expecting to inherit their uncle’s ranch. Now Connor has them on his hands as well. From what he says, they were raised in New York, and know nothing about ranching.”

  “I fear to discover the outcome by the time we return, but we will just have to trust Connor’s judgment,” Chayton mumbled, then went back to his chair and picked up the Philadelphia newspaper again.

  Mrs. Hamilton shrugged and left the room since there was nothing she could add to calm her daughter’s worries. She did not want Callie taking off as soon as she got there. She was enjoying the prospects of turning Shanny and Joey into acceptable young socialites.

  Callie busied herself reading Hank’s letter to her, which told her how fond he had always been of her, and since she had refused to marry him so the ranch could be put back together again, he decided the next best thing was to leave it to her in his will. Even though he mentioned he had a niece and nephew, he did not believe they deserved the ranch. Since she had plenty of children to help her run both places, he felt he could rest in peace once he died, knowing she would have the ranch after he passed away. It was the last thing she expected him to do, she thought sadly to herself.

  “Now that I have taught you the steps,” Mr. Tibbs was saying to Joey and Shanny, “it is time for you to put it into practice.”

  “You want us to dance together?” Shanny asked.

  “What did you expect? A dance is to be performed by two people... a man and a woman. You are a man and a woman, so you might as well help each other out by practicing together.”

  Joey smiled.

  “I have no problem with that,” he said, eyeing Shanny with a mischievous smile.

  “Of course not, if you can’t kiss me the next best thing is…”

  “Tut, tut!” Mr. Tibbs interrupted. “There will be no kissing, or anything close to it. The kissing of the hand may be permitted, but that is all. Now take her hand, so, and put your other hand on her waist, thus. That is right. We will start the music again.”

  Mr. Tibbs went to the piano to put in a new roll and nodded to Thomas who was preparing to pump the player piano, while Joey stood holding Shanny’s hand and waist, waiting for the music to start.

  “You look rather dashing in your tails,” Shanny smiled.

  “What do you mean? I’m not wearing tails,” Joey frowned.

  “I am practicing what I should say to the young men dancing with me, when the time comes,” Shanny informed him. “You will probably look very awkward in tails unless you do something with your hair!”

  “I’m not going to cut it if that is what you mean. Having to dress up in prissy clothes is going to be bad enough. I am not a dandy, as you well know, and I don’t intend to become one.”

  “You could never be a dandy,” Shanny smiled. “But you could become a well-dressed Comanche.”

  “If any of my Comanche brothers could see me in these emasculating threads, they would believe I have lost all reason.”

  “Your Comanche brothers have to wear rags that are given to them by the overseers of the reservation. They would happily enjoy wearing something fine like the clothes you will be wearing while you are here.”

  “No more talking!” Mr. Tibbs exclaimed. “I am about to have Thomas start the music.”

  Piano music filled the room, and the two began to dance the steps Mr. Tibbs had just taught them.

  “It would work better if you stopped stepping all over my feet,” Shanny complained.

  “It is because your feet keep getting in the way! You don’t even know the steps!”

  “I certainly do! You are doing it wrong!” she fussed.

  “You are both doing it wrong,” Mr. Tibbs broke in. “Let me show you again.

  He demonstrated, and the two tried it again.

  “Much better,” Mr. Tibbs praised. “You move splendidly together!”

  Shanny realized that she could now anticipate Joey’s next move and that there was some sort of sixth sense about them when they were together. She recalled they had always done everything together, and this was no different. It was just something other than riding horses and roping cattle. She started enjoying how effortless it was to be in Joey’s arms, as he turned her around the parlor room floor.

  “That is wonderful!” Mr. Tibbs enc
ouraged. “You are both naturals at this.”

  “Hmm, this is not so shabby,” Joey smiled, as he continued to turn Shanny about the room. “I may enjoy this new occupation after all. Especially if I can be dancing with the girl I will marry someday.”

  “If you end up dancing with the girl you will marry someday, it certainly won’t be me!”

  “So you say now, but you will change your tune when you discover all the young sops in this town are just namby-pamby boys that don’t know how to be men.”

  “Speak for yourself! You are far from a man. I believe that Arnel is much more of a man of the world than you will ever be.”

  “He is merely older than me, but that doesn’t make him more of a man,” Joey complained. “Traveling from coast to coast does not make someone into a man!”

  “We shall see. He plans to come calling on me later today. Grandma has agreed, only she says you have to accompany us, since I cannot step out with a man by myself, and you are my brother, and she is sure you will watch over me.”

  “She is right. I won’t let that character so much as touch you!”

  “Yes, I know you hate him. Only I don’t care what you think. I like him, and if I have to put up with your company to be with him, it is better than nothing. We are going to go riding in the park. I am going to get my first experience using a sidesaddle. I have invited Eleanor to come. You should like that!”

  “How exciting, I can’t wait to witness you in a sidesaddle! As for Eleanor, I hope you are not trying to match me up with her. I like her well enough, but…”

  “I don’t want to hear it. You just be nice to her, because I know she likes you!”

  Joey shrugged. At least he could keep an eye on Shanny when she was out with the cad, he thought to appease himself. The way Shanny felt in his arms made him all the more determined to have her as his wife. She would soon tire of all this falderal business of dancing and riding in the park and realize she missed Texas and the life they had lived there growing up. He willed himself to be patient and let destiny take its course. He and Shanny were destined to remain together forever, and he was willing to die trying to bring it about one way or another.

  Shanny looked at Joey’s dark smoldering eyes. As close as she felt to Joey, there were times she never knew what he was thinking. Shanny could feel the magnetic pull between them but brushed it off as the familiarity of being together all their lives. She was ready for a whole new experience. She wanted to taste life from a different wine glass, and this new opportunity her grandmother was giving her, appealed to her. She could not wait until the dancing lesson was over, and she could put on the new riding habit her grandmother had bought for her, and be out in the park on the back of a horse with the wind blowing in her face. It would make her, feel free and alive the way she had felt so many times before in Texas when riding her horse.

  Arnel was a man of means and culture. She was tired of roughshod cowhands, and drovers with their crude language and intimidating glances. She was beginning to believe she wanted the kind of life her mother once had growing up. She wanted the finer things in life instead of being thought of as a cowpoke and having to wash the dust out of her hair every night when she came in from the range. She had experienced a life of freedom, with little restriction, and while she was not fond of all the new rules her grandmother was introducing her to, she believed the result would be worth it in the end.

  “What are you smiling about?” she asked Joey, as he gazed down into her eyes, never missing a step of the dance.

  “I am just imagining how much you are going to hate riding sidesaddle and pretending to be a proper lady,” he chuckled.

  “I look forward to being a proper lady. Men treat a proper lady with respect. They don’t try to wrestle them down and steal kisses like uncouth Indians do.”

  Joey stopped dancing and dropped Shanny’s hand.

  “The real question to ask,” he sneered, “is why you were kissing me back if you found it so repulsive?”

  “I found it interesting. I had never been kissed before. However being kissed by a gentleman, would be preferable to getting tackled by a Comanche and held down like some captured white girl.”

  Joey’s eyes started to seethe, as he glared back at Shanny. Her beauty was so astounding, even in his great anger, he found himself loving her all the more, but it wounded his pride to think she thought of him as an uncouth savage when he had always portrayed himself as the protecting brother. Now he wanted to be her protecting husband.

  “Keep this up, and I may refuse to accompany you on your ride in the park, and you will have to take a maid with you, or maybe grandmother, herself!”

  He turned abruptly to walk away.

  “I am through with dancing lessons. The next time I dance with a woman, I will choose one with more manners than a Texas cowhand pretending to be a lady!” he stated and stormed out of the room.

  Shanny stood watching Joey’s rigid back as he strode from the room, pushing the door closed with such force it made a resounding bang that caused her to start. He was so touchy, that he blew up at the slightest provocation. The only thing that marred her visit to Philadelphia was ever since they left the ranch, she and Joey had been at odds with each other. She realized it all started with that stupid feather! While she did not envision herself as Joey’s wife, she still wanted to remain close friends with him like she used to be. She just didn’t know what was a happy-medium. Any tenderness she showed to Joey only encouraged him into assuming she would agree to marry him eventually. If she tried to stay at arm’s length, he didn’t want anything to do with her at all!

  Suddenly she ran across to the door, chasing after Joey.

  “Joey, don’t be angry at me! Please say you will come riding with us!”

  “Give me one good reason why I should?” he asked gruffly, turning as she tugged at his sleeve.

  “Because you love me,” she smiled. “Like a brother,” she added.

  Joey gave her a crooked smile.

  “More than a brother,” he whispered, and lifted her hand, kissing her fingertips. “Mr. Tibbs said kissing hands was acceptable,” he smiled, as she slowly drew her hand away. “It is almost as good as kissing your lips.”

  Joey gave Shanny one long heart-shattering look and then shrugged.

  “Very well, you always get your way anyway,” he said, and then turned and continued on down the hall.

  “You look lovely,” Nancy smiled as she put the last finishing touches on Shanny’s hair and placed the riding hat on her head.

  A long purple scarf circled the hat and fell down Shanny’s back to blend in with the purple of her riding habit. Looking at herself in the mirror, she appeared totally opposite to that cowgirl, who would have been dressed in denim britches and a cowboy hat before mounting her horse. She did look like a lady, she told herself with an inner smile, and it appealed to her. She had never felt quite so feminine before and she liked the feeling.

  Her blond ringlets fell to one side of her head, from under her hat, with a whisper of a touch on her strong shoulder. The riding habit accentuated her small waist, and the ruffles at her neckline protected the top of her well-formed breasts from being revealed. She turned before the mirror not believing she was the same person who had arrived in the city a short two weeks earlier.

  Lovely dresses filled the clothes press, where Rolletta’s mothball smelling dresses had been removed. All her other clothes remained in her trunk. The shopping trips with her grandmother had been exciting, even though Joey put a damper on the excursion, complaining about the clothes Thomas, the footman, helped him choose. Now she was ready to face society, with the dancing lessons, and the proper etiquette drummed into her head. She felt her life had to turn out perfect now. Arnel would propose, and she would accept. It was that simple, she told herself. He had already come to dinner once and was introduced to her grandparents, who seemed to approve of him. He had sent her flowers, and a short note, thanking her for inviting him.


  She didn’t care about all the young men she would be introduced to at her coming-out party. She was sure Arnel was the man she wanted to be with, and over the course of his stay in Philadelphia, she was positive he would end up asking for her hand. Then she could travel on to New York with him, and be introduced to even more wonders of the world, she told herself cheerfully.

  “It’s time to go,” Nancy told her, bringing her out of her happy dream.

  Even that remark made her feel giddy, knowing she would spend the next few hours in the company of the man who had become an important part of her life since she met him on the train.

  Joey was waiting outside the door for her when she came out.

  “You are not going to wear that, are you?” she asked in horror, seeing Joey sporting his black cowboy hat, and clean work denims with a striped shirt and a red cotton scarf tied loosely around his neck. “You look like you are ready to go out and wrangle up some cattle!”

  “I am not going to ride a horse dressed up as a dandy,” he complained.

  “There are no cattle out here for you to round up,” she smiled. “You are going to be the laughing stock of society, and Eleanor will have nothing to do with you!”

  “I don’t care what Eleanor thinks. I will not pretend to be something I am not, the way you wish to do.”

  “That is a mean thing to say. I am still myself. I am just dressed differently.”

  “You are not yourself. You have changed so much, I hardly know you any longer.”

  “If you want to keep your heathen ways that is up to you,” Shanny drawled with a thick Texas accent to impress her point. “I, on the other hand, wish to blend in and be accepted by my peers.”

  “You are just putting on airs, and we both know it!”

  “Hush, Joey! If you are going to try and spoil my outing I will ask the maid to come with me!”

  “Not on your life. Someone has to protect you from yourself!”

  Joey lifted his hat and made a deep bow.