The Demure Bride

by Joannie Kay

  "You are supposed to be in bed, Amanda." He was obviously concerned. "I do not want you to faint again. Where is Matt?" he asked.

  "Papa was called to the corral and asked me to wait in the barn with Whitey for him to return."

  "He should have insisted you remain in bed!" Rob stated with conviction. "I will help you to your room now."

  "I don't want to lie down, Rob. Please put me down. I've been in that bed for days and I feel better today."

  "Not until the Doctor says you can be up and about," Rob said stubbornly, carrying her up the steps.

  "Robert Thorne, you put me down right now!" Amanda forgot all about her promise to be patient with Rob and with her Papa. "I am not a child and I do not want to go to bed! Put me down, damn it!"

  "Young lady, you are behaving like a spoiled brat.

  "And you are behaving like a bully." Amanda pinched his cheek as hard as she could. "Put me down or else!" she yelled.

  "Not until the Doctor says you are healthy." Rob was adamant. He carried her into her room, but when he tried to put her on her bed, she kicked at him, and quickly jumped out of the bed on the other side.

  "I am NOT going to get into that bed, Robert Thorne! I don't need to stay in bed just to make you and Papa feel better! Not stop babying me and let me do what I want to do!"

  "Amanda, the Doctor said you would be in considerable pain for at least two weeks. Now, lie down and I will get your meds. You really should not be out of bed unless the Doctor thinks it acceptable. I will send for him, if you wish...?" Rob offered, trying to keep calm.

  "Rob, please listen to me... I do not want to lie down. Yes, I do hurt some, but I have already spent three whole days in bed and I am not sick. I am sore. I will live. Please stop trying to make me do what I don't want to do. Please!"

  Rob looked at her eyes and felt himself giving in. "I do not think it is in your best interests, Mandy," he said gently.

  "Papa said I could!" she announced when she saw her parent in the doorway to her room. "Didn't you, Papa?"

  "I think you have been up long enough, honey. Do you need for me to ask Goldie to come and help you undress?"

  "Papa!"

  "Now, Mandy, we'll see what Doc has to say when he drops by. You get on into bed now and rest. Rob, come on downstairs now."

  "Wait!" Both men turned to look at her. "Has anyone talked to Helene? She has to be hurting right now, and I am concerned about her."

  "Would you like for me to ride into town, Amanda, and speak with Helene?" Rob offered, anxious to please the pretty redhead.

  "Yes, Rob. I need to make sure she is not blaming me for what happened. I think she truly loved Ted, and it can't be easy for her right now. If she would like to come here for a few days, I would love to have her as a guest."

  Rob followed Matt down the steps, and noticed the man was frowning. "I know what you are thinking, Matt."

  Chapter Eight

  A few minutes after seeing Mandy back in bed, Rob was on his way to town to seek out and speak to Helene. Matt was worried that bringing the girl to the ranch would be a huge mistake, and Rob promised he would not invite her if she showed the least bit of upset toward Amanda for what happened. Clearly Ted Fox was insane to beat a woman like he did little Mandy, and Helene should be thanking her lucky stars that she was forever safe from him.

  Once he arrived in town, folks came up to him and asked about Amanda, wanting details. Rob knew exactly what Matt wanted folks to hear, and he repeated the facts without going into great detail. He saw Helene Patterson standing back, obviously waiting to speak to him, and it was easy to see she'd been crying. He could not help feeling sorry for the young brunette. Finally, people moved away, and Rob took a few steps in her directions. "Miss Patterson," he greeted her.

  "I know I am the last person that Amanda would wish to hear from, but how is she, Mr. Thorne?"

  "Mandy is worried about you," he said truthfully, and watched her eyes fill with tears.

  "She is the one who was hurt!"

  "She knows how you felt about Ted Fox, and the news of his death has to be difficult for you."

  "He did not return my affection, Mr. Thorne, and he made that clear after I sent that letter to him. He was enraged and told me if I messed things up for him owning Mandy's ranch, he would kill me. He threatened to kill my Uncle if I breathed a word of this. I was so scared, and it is my fault that Amanda was hurt! If I'd told you or her Pa..." Helene burst into tears and Rob offered her his handkerchief.

  "It isn't your fault; it isn't Matt's fault; it isn't my fault, either. The fault was Ted Fox's. What we need to do is move past this, Miss Patterson."

  "I can't see how Amanda will ever want to be friends with me again!"

  "She sent me here to bring you out to the ranch to stay for a few days... if you wish to come, of course, and can get away?"

  "Seriously?"

  "I think it would be good for Amanda to have some female company right now." He thought Helene needed Mandy, too.

  "I will ask my Uncle if I may go," she quickly agreed.

  Rob accompanied her to her uncle's place of business and spoke to the man while Helene packed a bag. He quickly surmised that Helene's uncle was quite oblivious to the fact that Helene had fancied herself in love with Matt's foreman, and Rob could see no reason to enlighten the other man. Instead, he politely asked if he needed to have Helene back in town at any certain time, and the man waved his hand and said candidly, "I don't care how long the girl stays at the Chambers Ranch. It will give me some time to see my gal. We were planning to be married until my brother died and I had to take in Helene. I don't figure Helene would get along too well with Roxy."

  Roxy was one of the girls at the Star Bright Saloon. Rob nodded in understanding, and felt sorry for little Helene. It was obvious her uncle was simply doing his duty. When she came downstairs from the living quarters above, she had her bag in hand. "When should I return, Uncle?" she asked quietly.

  "Well, don't make a pest of yourself, girl, but you can stay as long as you like," the man said, leaning down to kiss her cheek. "Just behave yourself; you ain't too old for a good walloping, you know."

  It was his standard threat, so Helene didn't take his words to heart. He'd only punished her one time in two years, and that was because he caught her handling one of the guns he kept for sale. It was loaded, and she'd blown a hole in the ceiling, the bullet narrowly missing him as it lodged in a dresser upstairs in his bedroom. As far as she was concerned, the paddling and strapping she'd received were more than fair.

  Robert Thorne helped Helene into the buggy he'd borrowed from Matt Chambers just in case Helene returned with him, put her bag into the compartment in back, and then he climbed on the seat beside her and they were off for the ranch. Rob chatted amiably with Helene, and once she got over her nervousness at being with him, she proved herself intelligent and quite funny.

  Whitey came out of the barn when he heard the buggy, and walked over to give Helene a hand down. She smiled at him, and he felt his heart beat a bit faster. "Ma'am," he tipped his hat.

  "Thanks, Whitey," Rob said, handing him the reins.

  "You're welcome, Mr. Thorne." He watched them walk to the house and then told himself he needed to get back to work and stop the daydreaming. He didn't have any right to be looking at a girl like Miss Helene Patterson, even though she was right pretty.

  Amanda was happy to see Helene, and the two women hugged for a long time. Amanda insisted on showing Helene to her guestroom and Matt stood to the side and beamed as if the whole thing were his idea.

  Rob pulled him aside and told him that Helene blamed herself for what happened, and let him know about the threats Ted Fox issued to the young woman. Matt was furious, and he marched himself to the bedroom down the hall and knocked briefly before walking in. The two girls looked at him in shocked surprise and Helene's dark eyes filled with fear and dread at the anger on Matt's face.

  "Now see here, young lady, you are not responsib
le for what happened to Mandy. If anyone is to blame, it is me for hiring him in the first damned place. Now you get over that nonsense right now. The man was out of his mind, and he can't hurt no one ever again. Not Mandy, not your uncle, and not you. None of this was your fault, Helene." Matt saw tears fill her eyes as she nodded. "Now, there's no need to waste more tears on that jackass. You're safe here, and my girl is happy to have you with us. You get all settled in, and I'll go and see if Goldie can rustle up some lemonade and cookies... or something to eat. I'm hungry and it's still a while before we sit down to supper." He stomped out of the room, positive he'd taken care of everything.

  "What was Papa talking about, Helene?" Amanda asked quietly.

  Helene looked her in the eye and admitted what she considered the horrible truth, wondering if Amanda would ask her to leave when she finished.

  Amanda's green eyes filled with anger when she heard of Ted's threats, but when Helene started blaming herself for the beating he gave her, Mandy shook her head 'no' and hastened to go to her friend and hug her tightly. "It is not your fault, just like Papa said. It isn't Papa's fault, either. No one was responsible but Ted Fox, and he is dead now." She hesitated for a few seconds and then asked, "Are you alright, Helene? I know you loved him...?"

  "I thought I did until I saw what he was really like. Any feelings I had for him were for that pretend side of him... the side he allowed me to see, not the man he really was. You are right, Mandy. He was very sick in his head." She looked at the redhead and then said with a big smile, "I am so happy we are still friends!"

  "So am I," Amanda replied with a giggle, and then helped Helene finish unpacking, thankful the Doctor told Matt that she could move around unless it caused her pain.

  The days passed quickly, and Rob came over every day to see how Amanda was faring, and the first day she was able to actually sit on a pillow to eat dinner, he felt like jumping for joy. She insisted she was a lot better and promised to be riding before much longer.

  Helene spent most of her time with Mandy, and she was amazed at how busy the redhead was. She was impressed that Amanda did not go around complaining and feeling sorry for herself. But, the best part of all was when Mandy would insist on going down to the stable to care for Glimmer. It meant that Helene got to spend a few minutes with Whitey.

  Whitey looked forward to those few minutes each day, too. He made sure his shirt was clean, he shaved, and he combed his hair before setting his hat on his head. The rest of the world disappeared for Miss Amanda when she was with Glimmer, and it gave him and Helene time to get to know each other. He knew he could never have a woman like Helene, but he could dream about it, and when she was beside him, hanging on his every word, he felt as if he could conquer the entire world.

  "You've never told me where you come from, Whitey!" she said with a little laugh.

  "I don't rightly know, Miss Helene," he admitted truthfully. "Mr. Chambers found me one day. I was hurt real bad, and couldn't even recall my name. He called me Whitey 'cause of my hair, and give me a job tendin' the horses. No one come lookin' for me, so I figure I was on my own in the world."

  "How awful! You should have sent out some wires of inquiry!"

  "Mr. Chambers offered to do that, but I was scared to find out the truth. What if I killed somebody or robbed a bank and was on the run?" he quietly admitted.

  "What if you have a Mama and Papa who wonder where you are? Brothers or sisters who miss you?" she countered.

  "No one come lookin'," he repeated. "Let's talk about somethin' else, Miss Helene. Do you ride?" he asked.

  "You mean ride a horse?" She sounded shocked. "No!"

  "You don't know how to ride?" Amanda heard her comment and turned around to ask incredulously.

  "No, I don't know how to ride. Horses are so big!"

  "They're gentle," Whitey told her. "I'll teach you how."

  "Nooooo!"

  "Yes," Amanda insisted. "All this time I've been planning for the day I could sit my saddle and we'd go riding together, Helene! It never once occurred to me that you couldn't ride! Whitey, I'll get this girl some riding clothes to wear, and you teach her for me, please...?" She wasn't giving him an order or bossing him, but asking in a way she knew he couldn't and wouldn't refuse her request.

  "I'd be happy to, Miss Amanda. You come on out here after we eat dinner today, and I'll put you on a gentle mare and you'll be enjoying yourself in no time at all, Miss Helene." He was excited at the prospect of more time with the pretty brunette, and he wanted to whirl Miss Mandy around and around for the opportunity.

  "Now, wait a minute!" Helene protested. "I don't know if I want to learn to ride!" She saw the shocked looks on their faces and relented. The chance of more time alone with Whitey was worth doing her best to conquer her fear.

  Amanda was very proud of herself for finding a clever way to throw Whitey and Helene together, and wanted to kick her Papa under the table when he said he'd be happy to help Helene.

  "Papa, I am sure you are much too busy to give riding lessons. It is already arranged, and Whitey is happy to spend the time with Helene, teaching her." Her green eyes glittered as she tried to warn her parent to shut up.

  Helene was quick to add her own voice. "Really, Mr. Chambers, I think Whitey understands me and how afraid I am of horses, and I think I would be more comfortable with someone my own age teaching me. I won't feel so inept if I act like a big baby in front of Whitey."

  Matt wasn't stupid, and he hid a smile with his coffee cup. "I was just trying to be polite, Helene. If you are comfortable with Whitey, then I am sure he will teach you just fine. He's a good man."

  "He is," Helene promptly added. "Mr. Chambers, why didn't you go ahead and send out those wires about him? Don't you think he deserves to know who he is?"

  "It ain't my place to decide that for him, Helene. Any time he wants me to help him with this, I'll be glad to," he added. "Losing your memory is a hard thing to face. Think about how you'd feel if you woke up in a strange bed somewhere and didn't know how you got there, who shot you and why, and most of all, you didn't know your own name! He was pretty much in shock for a while. Doc patched him up physically, but he couldn't fix his brain."

  "Whitey was shot?" Helene was horrified.

  "Three times. Someone wanted him dead."

  "How terrible!" Helene whispered, tears filling her eyes. "Oh, I just want to find who it is and put him in jail!" she declared.

  "It might have been that he was simply robbed, or it could have been someone wanted him dead. He might have attempted a crime of some sort and got shot up in the process. Whatever happened before he come here doesn't matter none to me; Whitey is a good man and I'm proud to have him working here for me," Matt said.

  "Oh, he wasn't committing a crime, Mr. Chambers," Helene defended the man. "He's a good person inside, and that wouldn't change."

  "I reckon you are right, young lady," Matt's green eyes crinkled with good humor. "Now you best eat up so you don't keep Whitey waiting."

  "Oh, I've got so many butterflies in my tummy I'm not sure I can do this!" she wailed dramatically, and both Matt and Amanda laughed heartily.

  "We need to pick out something for you to wear, too, and you'll want to take your hair down and simply braid it. Otherwise you'll have such tangled hair you'll have trouble getting a brush through it."

  Matt chuckled when Helene excused herself and went flying up the stairs. Amanda got to her feet, too, having finished her meal, and she surprised Matt by giving him a kiss on the cheek. "What was that for?" he asked gruffly.

  "Because you are so smart," she said with a wink and then hurried after Helene.

  "Looks like I'm goin' to have to pick up a dish towel this meal, Goldie," he said as forlornly as possible when she started clearing the table. "The girls abandoned me."

  "Won't kill you none," was the housekeeper's tart reply and she hid a smile when he chuckled.

  * * *

  "You have to get on the horse before you can r
ide, Miss Helene," Whitey said patiently several minutes after she met him in front of the corral. He'd saddled a mare called Molasses for her. She was as slow as her name implied.

  "I don't think I can, Whitey," Helene protested.

  "Sure you can," he insisted. When she stubbornly shook her head 'no' for at least the hundredth time since coming outside, he decided it was time for action. He put his right arm around her waist and before she could guess what he was about, she was seated on the saddle, looking down at him in horror.

  "Nooooo!" she whispered frantically. "Get me down!"

  "Calm down, honey. You're just fine," Whitey talked to her as if she were a frisky colt. "I won't let you fall. Put your feet in the stirrups and that will make you feel safer, and hold on to the saddle horn. She grabbed as if for dear life and her knuckles turned white. "Relax now. See, Molasses isn't even moving. She knows you are afraid, and she is being still to give you time to know she won't hurt you none."

  "She's a horse! She can't think!"

  "Now, you are wrong about that, little lady. Molasses is very smart. I talked to her when I was putting a saddle on her and I told her she would need to be gentle, and she nodded and agreed."

  "Really?" Helene asked.

  "Really. Are you feeling some better yet?" he asked hopefully.

  "I'm not as terrified as I was," she acknowledged.

  "Good, we'll walk a bit now. Your job is just to sit there in the saddle and relax. I'll hold Molasses' reins and we'll go slow."

  After a couple minutes Helene felt herself enjoying the ride. "This is actually fun, Whitey," she admitted. "Can I try it by myself?"

  "Sure. Just keep going slow, and if you want to stop, pull back gently on the reins. She'll know to stop without you causing her pain."

  "Pulling back too hard would hurt her?"

  "Yes, Miss Helene, it would. Molasses is a good mare and she wouldn't deserve that."

  "I won't hurt her, Whitey, I promise."

  "Good. I'd have to smack your bottom for you if you did," he said lightly.