Half-Breed's Lady

by Bobbi Smith

  "Yes, ma'am."

  Some of the men in the saloon came running over to see what was wrong.

  "Go tell the doe we're coming, boys!" the sheriff ordered as he and Al carefully got Hank out of the stage. "You ladies can wait for me in my office, if you don't mind. I need to talk to you about the robbery. I'll be back just as soon as we get Hank down to the doe."

  Glynna and Mimi watched as they transported the wounded man down the street to the doctor's office and carried him inside; then they went into the sheriff's office to wait.

  "I hope Hank recovers," Glynna said worriedly.

  "With any luck, he should be all right," Mimi reassured her.

  They were pleased when the sheriff quickly returned. "I've already talked to Al about what happened, but I'd like to hear it from you, too."

  "There were four of them," Mimi began. "And they were all wearing masks."

  "So you didn't get a good look at any of them?"

  "Not really, sir," Glynna answered.

  "Al says he thought it might be the Wilson gang. Do you remember what they called each other?"

  "One man the one who was the leader they called Eli. One was named Will and another Chuck," Glynna provided.

  "And the fourth man?"

  "They never said his name, as best as I can recall," Mimi told him.

  Sheriff Dunn nodded thoughtfully. "Did they take all your money? I know they emptied out the stage's strongbox."

  "No," Mimi answered proudly. "I learned long ago not to put all my money in my purse. They got only about twenty dollars. I keep the rest hidden."

  "That's good. I didn't want you ladies to be without funds."

  "Thank you for your concern, but we're fine."

  "Other than losing the money, you weren't harmed in-any way?"

  "No, we were very fortunate. It could have been much worse, I'm sure," Mimi said, remembering how cold and vicious the outlaws had been.

  "You're right about that. If it was Eli Wilson and his gang who robbed you, you're lucky to be alive tonight."

  "I knew coming to Texas was going to be an adventure, but I had no idea it would be this exciting," Glynna admitted, in awe of how coolly her aunt was handling all the events of the day.

  "If we catch them, we'll try to get you your money back. Are you going to be in town for a while or are you just passing through?"

  Glynna and Mimi glanced at each other. "I'm sure we'll be here at least another day. We'll be staying at the hotel if you need us for anything."

  "Thank you for your help."

  "I guess we'd better see about getting rooms at the hotel."

  "Our one and only hotel in town is right down the street. I'll be glad to escort you there."

  "Why, thank you, Sheriff Dunn. That's very kind of you."

  They made their way to the hotel and registered, taking two rooms. The sheriff promised to have Al send their luggage over as soon as possible. Less than half an hour later, Al delivered their trunks to their rooms.

  "How's Hank?"

  "The doe says he's going to be just fine."

  "That's wonderful."

  "Yes, it is. I'm glad things turned out as well as they did for us today. It was pretty scary there for a while."

  "We lost some money, but we're still alive.. .and so is Hank."

  "Yes, ma'am. It's like you said money can be re placed, but once we're dead... Well, you know what I mean."

  "Yes, Al, we do. Thank you for everything."

  The hotel had a small dining room, and Glynna and Mimi were pleased to find that they could still get dinner that night. They ordered and enjoyed a simple but hearty meal.

  "I was wondering if you could tell me where Rev. Paul Chandler's church is," Mimi asked the waitress as they were finishing their meal.

  "Yes, ma'am. His church is just two blocks over, on the corner of First and Travis."

  "Thank you. Do you know what time the services are tomorrow morning?"

  "Ten o'clock sharp," she answered.

  "Thank you."

  Glynna gave her a curious look. "You know someone here in Dry Creek?"

  Mimi smiled. "Paul was a close friend of my husband James."

  "You knew he was in Dry Creek all this time, and you never told me?"

  "I haven't seen him in years. I keep in touch with his sister, Sally. She's a longtime friend of mine from school days, and she's the one who told me that he had established a church here."

  "I don't suppose this preacher is the reason we came to this part of Texas rather than going to San Antonio, is he?"

  "Why, Glynna, do you really think I'd do something like that? You wanted to come to Texas, and we're in Texas. It just so happened that I knew where Paul was, and I thought it would be enjoyable to see him while we were on our trip."

  "Are you planning on attending services in the morning?"

  "I'd like to, but you don't have to."

  "Of course I'll go with you. I'm intrigued. It isn't often that you find an old friend from back east out in the wilds of Texas. I want to know more about him. What did you say his name was?"

  "Paul Chandler, dear Rev. Paul Chandler now."

  "How long has he been preaching?"

  "Almost twenty years, from what I understand, but I think he's been here in Dry Creek for only a few years."

  "When was the last time you saw him?"

  "Oh, it seems like it's been forever," she replied evasively, finding it hard to believe that it had actually been almost twenty-four years since she'd last seen Paul and that soon, very soon, she would be seeing him again. A twinge of regret touched her as she thought of how young she'd been then and how vulnerable.

  "Well, it will be fun to see how he reacts to seeing you after all these years."

  "I'm sure he'll be surprised." Mimi didn't say any more.

  "Were you good friends?"

  "Oh, yes. He and James were very close, and we stayed in touch for some time after James died. I'm sure you'll like him."

  They retired upstairs then and said good night before going to their own rooms.

  As Mimi slipped into bed, her thoughts were on the morning to come. Sally had told her how Paul had found religion and had begun preaching all those years ago. She wondered if he'd changed so very much. She wondered, too, how he would react to seeing her after all this time.

  Mimi lay awake long into the night, bittersweet memories of a time long past haunting her.

  Glynna found sleep hard to come by. She tossed and turned and finally decided to light her lamp and sit up for a while. Her sketchbook beckoned, and she opened it to stare down at the image she'd created of the man named Hunt. He stared back at her from the page-strong, proud, handsome, silent. He fascinated her.

  She knew so little about him only his name and that he was a rancher's son. She realized she would never see him again, and for some reason the thought troubled her. For though they might never meet again, she knew she would never forget him.

  The Church of the Saving Grace was definitely a frontier church. Small and rustic, it was bare of any ornate religious symbols. There was only a cross hanging on the front wall over the lectern.

  Mimi and Glynna slipped inside and sat in one of the back pews just as the service was about to begin. The folks around them smiled in welcome, but most people kept their attention trained on the pulpit, waiting for the charismatic Rev. Chandler to appear and the service to begin.

  "Your reverend must be good to get this many people to show up for church," Glynna whispered to her aunt.

  "He's not `my reverend," Mimi responded in a hushed voice as she looked around at the crowd of faithful gathered there, "but you're right. He must be."

  Paul had always been charming and had always had a way with words. It looked as though he had finally put his God-given abilities to good use.

  Mimi could only imagine how much he must have changed over the years. Memories of another time and another place came to her then as she sat in quiet reflection. It had be
en the year after James died. She had decided to travel, for the pain of remaining in New York surrounded by well-meaning family and friends had been too great. Everything there had reminded her of him, and she'd needed to escape. James's wealth had been considerable. As a rich widow, she could very well do as she pleased. Overprotective Charles had tried to convince her that, as a lady, she should stay right there in New York and assume her place in society as James's widow, but Mimi had wanted no part of society. She'd had no desire to grieve for the rest of her life. It was far better to keep busy and explore the world. She'd reasoned that, maybe, if she kept busy enough, the pain of her loss would ease. Her travels had eventually taken her to San Francisco. She'd known that Paul had taken up residence there, and she'd looked him up.

  Images of the innocent she'd been haunted Mimi as she remembered those days. Paul had been so handsome, and she'd fallen madly in love with him. She hadn't meant to. She hadn't planned it. It had just happened.

  Paul had not been capable of returning her love, though. He had seemed tormented by unknown demons, driven to drinking to excess and gambling. She had loved him enough to put up with his behav ior, until the morning when she'd discovered that he'd just vanished, leaving her only a short note telling her that he was no good for her...

  "Good morning." The sound of Paul's deep, resonant voice drew Mimi back to the present.. .to this small, plain church in Dry Creek, Texas, and the tall, distinguished-looking man who had come before the congregation.

  "Good morning," those gathered for worship returned.

  Mimi found she couldn't look away from the sight of him standing at the pulpit. Paul had aged well. He was a bit heavier, not fat, but muscled. His dark hair was tinged with silver at the temples, but otherwise he looked much the same to her. He was as devastatingly handsome as ever with his dark eyes and classic features.

  Her heart ached for a moment, and then she grew angry that she'd allowed herself to be so vulnerable. Mimi stiffened and lifted her head with pride. She was no longer the Mimi Randall who'd cried for days after Paul had disappeared. She was her own woman, and she was in charge of her own destiny. She had vowed that she would never allow anyone to have that much power over her again, and she'd kept that vow all these years. She'd come here deliberately to confront him and put to rest her memories of that time. She needed to know why he'd run from her, if he'd truly loved her as deeply as she believed he had.

  "Heaven is all around us!" Paul announced in a powerful voice as he began his sermon. "You need only to open your eyes to the world we live in to see the glory of God."

  Mimi listened, mesmerized, trying to find the man she'd loved all those years ago in the preacher speaking to his congregation. As she was gazing up at him, he looked her way, and she saw him frown and momentarily look just a bit disconcerted. He went on quickly, the pause almost imperceptible.

  "Life is like a poker game it's a gamble. You never know what the next day is going to bring, just as you don't know what cards you're going to be dealt in the next hand. Don't live for tomorrow don't live for the cards that might come your way. Live for today. Play the cards you're holding now! You may not get another chance. Go for the best you can do with what you've got. That's what God expects from each and every one of us. That's the gift we can give to God to live our lives to the fullest." Paul continued preaching, his years of practice serving him well as he struggled to collect his thoughts.

  It was Mary Catherine. She was there. She was in his church!

  Paul couldn't believe it was actually her, but there could be no mistake. She'd hardly changed in the time they'd been apart her beautiful auburn hair, her green eyes, her mouth....The woman who'd haunted his dreams for all these years was as lovely as ever.

  Continuing his sermon, Paul glanced back toward Mimi again. This time he noticed a young woman sitting next to her. A shock went through him, for she was a youthful image of Mimi. He reasoned that the girl must be her daughter.

  Paul was surprised to find that it bothered him to think that she had married-even though he had left her a note that had encouraged her to forget all about him and find true happiness in her life. With irritation, he realized that she must have taken his advice.

  Annoyed by the direction of his thoughts, Paul forced himself to concentrate completely on his preaching. The past was over. He couldn't change anything, even if he'd wanted to. As he'd said in his opening statement, life was a gamble. You had to live for the day and play the cards you were dealt.

  "Be a cardsharp in the poker game of life!" he exhorted his congregation. "The stakes are high-eternal salvation or eternal damnation! You make the wager.. .but just remember that the wages of sin are death! Following God's plan for you is a sure bet!"

  "He's very good, Aunt Mimi," Glynna told Mimi when the last "Amen" had sounded, and everyone was leaving church. "Did he want to preach when you knew him?"

  "No, dear. I think religion was probably the furthest thing from his mind back then," Mimi answered, as she stood up to file from the pew.

  Paul had gone outside to greet his congregation as they left, and Mimi girded herself for the encounter to come. In an unconsciously nervous gesture, she smoothed her skirts, wanting to make sure that she looked her absolute best.

  "You look wonderful," Glynna told her, sensing that her aunt was a bit tense about the upcoming reunion. "I take it you didn't write him to let him know we were coming?"

  "No. I wasn't even certain that I would get the chance to see him while we were here. Sally had told me that sometimes he rides out on the range, preaching to the people who can't get to church. There was no way of knowing if he'd be here or not, or if he'd even want to see me, so I took a chance."

  "You mean you gambled that he'd be here," Glynna quipped, using the theme from the sermon.

  Mimi almost laughed out loud at her witticism. "You obviously were impressed with his gospel message this morning."

  "I was," she answered thoughtfully, realizing how clever he'd been in tying real life to the sacred. "He's a gifted orator."

  "Yes, he is. It seems he's finally found himself here in Dry Creek."

  Though Paul's appearance hadn't greatly changed, it seemed inwardly he'd changed a lot. What had driven him to give up his drinking and gambling and turn to God? Mimi had no idea, and she found herself wondering if she'd changed that much, too.

  Mimi pushed the thought from her, knowing it didn't matter one way or the other. They meant nothing to each other. She had come here only to satisfy her curiosity about what had happened to him.

  "What was he like back then? Was he a gambler?" Glynna asked.

  "Yes, he was."

  "Was he good at it?"

  "He was very good. He lost occasionally, but he always had the sense to know when to fold before he lost too big."

  "I think I'm going to enjoy meeting him, but this must be very strange for you, since you remember him so differently."

  Mimi just smiled as they made their way out into the aisle and then left the building. It was going to be strange, but she was as ready as she'd ever be to put her last demon to rest. It was time to face Paul again and to tell herself that she definitely had been better off without him.

  Paul had been talking to one of the elderly ladies in his flock when he felt Mary Catherine's presence and looked up. It staggered him to think that he could still be that aware of her nearness. It had always been that way for him, though. His gaze sought hers, and even with the crowd of churchgoers gathered around them, Paul was shaken by the power of the emotions she stirred within him.

  "Mary Catherine." He said her name softly and managed a smile as he held out his hand to her.

  Glynna glanced at her aunt in surprise. Everyone knew that Aunt Mimi's given name was Mary Catherine, but no one ever called her that. She'd been called Mimi ever since she was a child.

  "Hello, Paul," Mimi replied as she took his hand. His touch, warm and strong, sent a shiver of awareness through her. She fought against it. "
It's good to see you again."

  "It's good to see you, too," he answered. "How did you know I was here?"

  "Sally and I stay in touch. She wrote and told me several years ago that you were planning to settle in Dry Creek and to build a church here. I was on a trip to Texas and decided to make Dry Creek one of my stops."

  "I'm glad you did," he said. His gaze darkened as he gazed down at her. The years had enhanced, not lessened, her loveliness. She was still the most beautiful woman he'd ever known.

  "I have someone here I want you to meet," Mimi said, drawing Glynna forward for the introduction. "This is Glynna, Charles's daughter."

  "Oh..." He was surprised, and though it bothered him to admit it to himself, he was pleased that Glynna was not her daughter. "You looked so much alike, I had thought she was yours."

  "Glynna, this is my old friend Paul Chandler," she went on quickly.

  "It's a pleasure to meet you, Rev. Chandler," Glynna said politely. "You're a very good preacher. I enjoyed your sermon today."

  "Thank you." He looked back at Mimi. "Are you two free for dinner tonight? I'd love to visit with you both and catch up on everything."

  Mimi actually hesitated, but he didn't notice, for Glynna quickly accepted.

  "We'd love to."

  "Fine. Are you staying at the hotel?"

  "Yes."

  "There's a small restaurant just down the street from there. Why don't I come by for you around six o'clock?"

  "We'll be waiting," Glynna answered.

  "That will be lovely," Mimi added.

  They moved off then, so he could finish greeting the rest of his congregation.

  "I think he was glad to see you," Glynna said. "But why does he call you Mary Catherine? I've never heard anyone call you by your real name. Even Papa calls you Mimi."

  "Paul always called me by my given name," she answered, remembering far too clearly the night when he'd first kissed her. He told her that Mimi sounded too childish for the woman that she was and that he was going to call her Mary Catherine.

  "Dinner tonight should be interesting."

  "Yes, I think it will be. But until then, what would you like to do?"