“They’re from my family.” Rowe checked Nathaniel’s dark, heavily etched handwriting on the top envelope. Ever the consistent one, his younger sibling wrote to him every week. He read the most recent on the way out of the building.
I haven’t heard much from you since your move, older brother. Am I to believe that your usual enthusiasm for the pen has waned, or that you have been eaten by wolves?
Rowe chuckled. Nathaniel always leaned towards the sardonic side, even if it was to say that he missed his older brother. Rowe sidestepped manure left by a horse and read onward.
I hope you have been getting your mail, because by the time you get this letter, I shall be on the train headed for your new neck of the woods. If all goes well with my travels, I should arrive in Claywalk on August 27. Hopefully my arrival won’t be a surprise to you.
A black cloud may as well have formed in the clear blue sky and rained silver-dollar-sized hail on his head. Was this Nathaniel’s idea of a joke? If indeed his travels had gone well, then Nathaniel was scheduled to arrive in Claywalk today!
Rowe tore open the oldest letter of the bunch and could box his own ears for not having the sense to pick up his mail on time.
Well, brother, I was going to walk off the train and surprise you, but the wife persuaded me otherwise. So here is your advanced warning. I am coming to see you. I’ve already bought my passage west and will be leaving the state tomorrow.
This was the last thing he needed before Marissa’s answer to his proposal.
Rowe tucked the mail bundle under his arm and dashed to the livery. Nathaniel’s train would be arriving this afternoon if it hadn’t already come and dropped him at the station in the early morning hours. He fervently hoped that it was the former so his little brother wouldn’t think, however correct in a sense, that he had been abandoned.
“I need a wagon and horse team for the day.” Rowe addressed Timothy from the front of the stables. The carrot-haired youth ambled toward him, carrying two full buckets of murky water used for cleaning the stalls. He set them down at his feet with a loud grunt.
“I got a small schooner I can rent out to you for five dollars.” Timothy wiped his sweaty face on his shirt collar.
Rowe opened his billfold to see if he had enough money for the rental. He just scraped by with an extra twenty cents. Nathaniel better had eaten something aboard the train, else he’d have to wait until they got to Rowe’s cabin for stewed beans and canned meat.
In a few minutes Timothy drove the wagon and horse team out of the stables. He handed Rowe the reins as Rowe climbed atop the bench. “I need it back by eight o’clock this evening, or I’ll have to charge you for an extra day. We appreciate your business, Reverend, sir.”
Rowe drove the team of horses out of town, running beneath the hot sun. The wagon jostled and bumped along the road.
Unseen buzzing insects swarmed noisily in the ancient grass. Rowe flicked a giant green grasshopper from his arm. More of the creature’s friends leapt aboard the wagon for the ride into Claywalk.
He arrived at the first set of tracks to the sound of an oncoming engine’s piercing whistle. He stayed the horses and waited for the locomotive to pass. The hulking brown beast shot a plume of black soot in the air as it churned steadily for its station. The air simmered with the combined heat and smell of burning coal. Rowe crossed the tracks after it passed.
The streets were sparse as he drove the wagon through them, following the signs to the passenger entrance of the station. The heat kept most people on their shaded porches or indoors. Rowe figured that his brother also would want to find a place to get out of the sun. A tobacco farmer worked all day in the Virginia humidity, but the plains’ dry heat and relentless hot breath of driving wind seized a man’s lungs in an instant.
He left the wagon near the platform where Dusty had waited to take him to Assurance. Wiping the stinging sweat out of his eyes, he stepped up onto the platform to the ticket booth. “Excuse me, have any trains arrived into the station today, besides the one here now?”
The miserable-looking attendant dabbed his neck with a damp handkerchief. “One train came in this mornin’, about seven. It was mostly freight, with two passenger cars.”
“Do you know if any passengers were headed for Assurance?”
The attendant glanced at the schedule and freight inventory. “All I could tell you was how many tickets sold today at this station. No one came up here to me askin’ ’bout the next town. Who you lookin’ for?”
“My brother. His name is Nathaniel Winford.”
“Ask the boys down at the end of the platform. They’ve been unloading and stacking freight. They may have seen ’im.”
The day wasn’t going to swing by breezily. Rowe thanked the man and strode to the brown locomotive resting alongside the platform. He watched the passengers get off the train, studying them to see if one may be Nathaniel. He waited until the last person emerged from the car, an old man with a walking stick.
Rowe wiped the sweat from his face again and began his trudge to the end of the platform to speak to the freight handlers. Weary travelers rested on benches shaded beneath the extended roof of the station house.
“Forgot my face already, Rowe Andrew?”
Rowe searched the benches for the owner of that voice. Nathaniel smirked at him from beneath a straw hat.
“Get up, you scalawag. I’ve been combing this station all over for you.”
Nathaniel tossed his head back in a hearty, loud guffaw. Then he took his feet off the travel trunk they were resting on. “That’s why I didn’t say anything. You had the unmistakable look of guilt as you pleaded with the station attendant for news of your brother. You forgot I was coming today, didn’t you?” he chided in his quick, melodic delivery. The family always thought he’d join a choir or become a university lecturer one day.
“I didn’t forget. I just found out this morning.” Rowe embraced his little brother with a clap on the back. Nathaniel hugged in return and then pushed Rowe back at arm’s length to examine him.
“Look what the prairie has done to you. You’re as tanned as if you worked on the farm all summer.”
“Speaking of which, how did you manage to leave during the tobacco harvest and curing?”
“We hired three new hands in July. You would have known that if you’d read your mail. How far is your town from here? I’m famished.”
“It’s about an hour’s drive, but the horses need to rest and be watered.”
“So do I. I’ve had nothing but a hardtack biscuit and coffee this morning. Why don’t we take your horses to the local livery and then we find a good chophouse?”
“How good? I have exactly twenty cents left over from my wagon rental.” Rowe felt how lightweight the billfold was in his pocket.
Nathaniel rolled his eyes. “What do they pay ministers out here with, barley and chickens? I’ll feed us, not to worry.” He reached into his own pocket and produced a money clip thick with bills. “It’s been a very good year for us, in spite of the recession.”
They completed the return trip to Assurance by the start of suppertime, using the wagon to take Nathaniel’s travel trunk to the cabin before returning it to the livery. Despite Rowe’s guided tour of the town, his brother was unimpressed.
“For a burgeoning rail town, it hasn’t made much progress, has it?” he remarked as they walked back to the cabin.
“Give it time, Nate. They’ve only just started on the plans. They’ll have the tracks laid by next year.”
“What train would stop in the middle of nowhere?”
“You would want your goods transported across the country. Assurance has many tobacco enthusiasts.”
“Perhaps.”
Rowe unlocked the cabin door. What was he going to do with Nathaniel during his visit? The man had a knack for finding fault with everything.
He entered before his brother and lit the lamps and stove. Nathaniel straddled a chair as he said, “You have no woman to hel
p around the house or put supper on for you?”
Rowe’s mouth watered at the memory of Marissa’s slow roasted chicken. “You’re going to have to make do with Rowe Winford’s Prairie Specialty tonight. Stewed beans and canned beef.”
“Is that what you’ve been living on the whole time? Your mother will be upset.”
“You never explained the purpose of your visit.”
Nathaniel wiped his mouth. “That’s easy. I came to see how you live and to bring you back to Virginia.”
Chapter 22
SATURDAY EVENING MARISSA went home early with the Arthurs after Zachary decided to close the shop for the day. Her head ached from lack of sleep the night before, making her patience all the more short. People came in to ask questions about her accepting Rowe’s proposal. She declined to answer, choosing instead to tidy up the stockroom.
Rebecca talked about wedding preparations on the wagon ride home. “You’ll have to have a reception. I can bake a layer cake.”
Mrs. Arthur wasn’t considering that most of the town would be in attendance only to ogle at the union, not to celebrate it. Marissa made a suggestion. “Maybe a small dinner in Claywalk instead. Just the four of us.”
“Nonsense. There will be more than that. Zachary and I have friends in the church.”
Zachary tugged on the reins to make the horse turn left. “I told them they have to watch me give you away.”
Marissa’s heart grew heavy at how the Arthurs considered her their daughter. She had done nothing to earn their kindness, or Rowe’s, but it appeared as though she was doing everything possible to damage their lives. “Even if Rowe and I marry, you still have to contend with Jason’s lawsuit. What will you do?”
“We’ll handle it when the time comes. Don’t you worry about that.” Rebecca patted her hand.
“How can you be so calm when you know what’s coming?”
Zachary’s face had the lines and wrinkles of an old man, but an inner warmth shone in his eyes. “God won’t let anything get to us without it first going through Him.”
Marissa shook her head in disbelief. “You can’t just leave things to chance.”
“Marissa, sometimes faith really is that simple. When we’re at the end of our rope, that’s when the Lord takes hold.”
Their absolute trust in God made little sense, especially in light of the wedding pressing into her thoughts.
Marissa helped Zachary unhitch the horse and went into her room to be alone. She closed the shutters on the window, pitching the room into a murky gray.
In mere hours she would be sharing her life with Rowe, living in the same house, and sleeping in the same bed. He would have to be told that Jason took her virginity. What if he were as disgusted by it as she was?
Marissa glanced at the Bible Rowe gave her on the dresser. A woman whose virtue was stolen was ruined. Even the Bible said so. She read it in a chapter of the Old Testament whose name slipped her memory.
Maybe Rowe thought she participated in the usual saloon girl activities in a prior place and time. It would be easier to let him assume that was how she lost her innocence, but a marriage couldn’t be entered into with secrets, even a marriage formed out of desperation. The truth of her life had to be disclosed, but how?
Will God hear me if I pray? The last time she asked for help, it didn’t go so well.
Sleep eluded her again that night, and the morning found her staring listlessly out the window at the new sun that climbed its way past the fading moon. Through the dark hours she wrestled with whether to let Sunday go by without giving Rowe an answer. Her circumstances would be no better if she lost another night of sleep waiting for Monday.
Marissa washed and dressed. Rebecca was in the kitchen boiling oatmeal when she emerged from the bedroom, still buttoning the sleeves of her lilac dress.
“Mari, have something to eat. Zachary’s still asleep, but he’ll get to the food once he smells it.”
“Thank you, but I can’t. There’s something I must tend to this morning.”
“Are you going to church with us?”
“Not exactly.”
Rebecca ceased from stirring the oatmeal and let it bubble and gurgle on the stove. “You’re going to tell Rowe now, aren’t you?”
“It needs to be done.”
Rebecca wanted to know more, that Marissa could see. But Rowe had a right to hear first. “I should be going.”
Rebecca caught her hand before she turned. “Make sure you’ve squared your decision away.”
Marissa gave a mere nod. If Rowe was so willing to throw away everything to keep her from being imprisoned, the least she could do was give him an answer to his offer.
Rowe’s horse still grazed beside the cabin. She smelled cooked bacon and coffee brewing from inside. He hadn’t left for church yet.
Marissa’s legs trembled as she climbed down from the sidesaddle. The mare nuzzled her arm as she tethered its reins to the newly constructed fence post. When I cross this fence, my life will change. She petted the horse’s velvety nose before lifting the gate latch. Her legs suddenly needed help to walk.
She drew all the fresh air she could into her lungs as she tapped her knuckles upon the old wooden door and awaited an answer. A lock of her hair blew across her eyes. Great stars, she forgot to pin it up that morning. Too late. Footsteps came.
The door opened. Marissa got all her words together in one breath and blurted them out before her tongue could freeze. “I thought about it, and my answer’s the same. I’ll marry you.”
“Well, I didn’t think anyone in town would be this friendly.”
“Oh!” Marissa put a hand over her mouth. A tall, dark-haired man very much like Rowe stood in the doorway with an amused grin on his face. She thought it was him at first, with the same broad-shouldered frame and square jaw, but then she noticed the differences. This man was leaner. His face was longer, with small blue eyes and sharp creases in the folds of his mouth. His skin was tanned darker than a well-used saddle and weathered worse than a plainsman’s hat. He persisted in smirking down at her.
“I thought you were—”
“My brother? Of course, unless you have the wrong house. I see now why Rowe doesn’t wish to leave Assurance.”
She crossed her arms in front of her, against his scrutiny. What was Rowe’s brother doing all the way from Virginia, and how come he never said anything about a visit? “I’m very sorry. Is Rowe available at this hour?”
“Should be. The poor fellow couldn’t sleep last night. I heard him wearing out the upper floor. You wouldn’t be the cause of all his trouble, would you?” He let her inside the cabin.
“I’m afraid I am, sir.” Marissa got the distinct impression that he was eyeing her from behind. She faced him and saw that she had been correct. Slowly he raised his eyes again to head-level.
“Let me call him down here, then.” Rowe’s brother went to the foot of the stairs and hollered up. “You have a visitor here to see you. I think she has something important to tell you.”
Marissa’s heart raced again. Rowe could be upstairs getting ready for church. He may not take kindly to her unannounced visit, especially when he had company. She willed herself to stop fretting like a little girl. Rowe was not some bear ready to roar because she happened upon his cave. He was, in fact, one of the most patient and compassionate men she had ever come across in her life.
“I thought I heard you talking to someone, Nate. Who’s here to see me?” Rowe came to the top of the steps, his stark white dress shirt buttoned halfway with a shaving towel draped around his neck. Seeing Marissa, he stopped in mid-gait.
A white cloud of shaving cream covered the lower half of his face. Rowe’s brother cleared his throat, motioning with a finger over his mouth. Rowe swiped at the shaving cream with the towel as he loped down the stairs. She had never seen him look so embarrassed.
“Marissa, what brings you here? Have you, uh, met my brother Nathaniel? He’ll be staying in town for a few days.�
�� He fumbled with the buttons on his shirt as he talked. The wet towel left a growing watermark on the fabric. He blotted it with the dry end to no avail.
“I’m going to fix myself some coffee. Would anyone else care for some?” Nathaniel asked casually.
“We’ll take some in just a moment. In the study.” Rowe addressed him without his eyes leaving Marissa’s.
“That would be my polite and courteous dismissal. Excuse me, Miss.” Nathaniel pulled the coffeepot from the stove. The door to the study closed behind him.
“You have my attention.” Rowe’s voice was quiet, vulnerable, even, as he edged closer. The clean scent of verbena soap and washed linen came from him. “I think I know why you’re here.”
All of Marissa’s insides were shaking. Fresh from humiliating herself before Rowe’s brother, she felt awkward saying the words all over again. It took several moments before she could regain use of her voice. It came out low and warbling. “I haven’t slept in days. I couldn’t wait until tomorrow to give you my answer.”
The room wasn’t large. She wondered if Nathaniel was able to hear everything from the study. The only way to prevent him from eavesdropping was to position herself right under Rowe’s ear and whisper. She wasn’t so bold today as to attempt that.
“It would seem I haven’t any control over how I think or feel about you. In the times I’ve asked God to take me away from this town and let me live elsewhere, He’s brought me closer to you. Even with all my troubles, from Jason’s beating to his horrible contract, God has allowed you to share in them all. You haven’t abandoned me.”
“And I never will.”
“You don’t have to do this. No one would blame you.”
“Then I’d be like those who make sport of you. It’s the same as locking you in jail myself.”
Marissa heard Nathaniel shuffling around. If he was listening, he had to be burning with curiosity as to what it meant. “Our marriage would be based on a sense of duty.” She said it as a statement, but she was testing him.
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