Abiding Love: Banished Saga, Book Eight

by Flightner, Ramona

  She bit her lip. “I did have the sense that some of them were panicked. Why would that be?”

  Martin shrugged. “Well, until 1913, none of them had to pay an income tax. That changed with the Sixteenth Amendment. Now the majority of those in that ballroom have to pay 7 percent each year to the federal government.” He watched as she crinkled her nose as though attempting to figure out a puzzle. “It doesn’t sound like much,” he continued, “but many of them don’t like letting go of a dime.”

  She tilted her head to one side as she looked at her grandfather. “But they already have so much. Why can’t they share some of it?”

  He laughed. “That is the question, dearest. You should have been a Populist.” He encouraged her to sit on a low rock and sat beside her. “I’m sorry you were unable to dance more at the ball.”

  “The boys were rude and seemed to believe I didn’t know they thought me inferior.” Her confused gaze met her grandfather’s. “I don’t understand why Mother liked society.”

  He laughed. “Oh, you are a joy. I can’t say I understand why she did either. However, after she met your father, she’s had little desire to be a part of it.”

  She paused, staring at her grandfather before she spoke again. “I met my great-grandmother.”

  He stiffened next to her. “The old bat?” He flushed. “I beg your pardon. I should never refer to her in such a manner to you.”

  Melinda looked at her grandfather and studied him in his well-cut suit and fashionable hat. “I don’t understand why she believes her daughter married beneath her. My grandmother married a successful businessman. Shouldn’t that please her mother?”

  He heaved out a breath. “Darling Melinda, among your grandparents’ people, it’s not acceptable to work. At least not how I work. If they dabble at business—which I imagine is what they believe Teddy does—that is tolerable, although rarely commented upon. I sell goods to make a living. I am a tradesman. That is seen as lower class. That is how they perceive your father too.”

  “Snobs,” she muttered. “Why can’t they see you have the ability to make something beautiful from nothing? Like Father and Uncle Gabriel from wood?”

  His eyes glistened as he looked at her. “Not all are as singular as you, Melly.”

  She took a deep breath, closing her eyes, relaxing in his presence and the pleasant afternoon.

  “How do you like the scent of the sea now?” he asked, watching her with curiosity.

  “In Boston, it was a mixed-up jumble of scents. But here”—she sniffed—“it’s glorious. I wish I could bottle the scent and bring it home with me to Montana to remember the seaside.”

  “We will have to collect shells so you can bring those home.” He smiled as her eyes danced with joy at the prospect. He rose with reluctance. “Come. We must prepare for supper.”

  She rose and walked beside him. “How long can you stay?”

  He nudged her with his shoulder. “I’ll let you in on a secret. I’ll be here until you leave, and then, when you return to Montana, I’ll travel with you.” He gasped as she threw herself in his arms.

  “Oh, that’s wonderful. I hoped and hoped that’s what you’d say. Mother will be delighted.”

  He beamed at her. “She already knows. I’ll inform everyone tonight at dinner. I can’t wait to see what your life in Montana is like, Melly.”

  Chapter 11

  Butte, Montana, July 1918

  Colin knocked on the door and waited for the sound of approaching footsteps but heard none. He knocked again, louder this time, and turned to stare down the street. Rows of similar homes with small front porches and narrow walkways leading to the sidewalk lined the block. He sighed as the door remained unanswered and moved to a chair set to one side of the door. After propping his feet on the porch railing, he closed his eyes and willed himself to relax.

  Savannah and Jeremy had left for Boston the previous week. He had seen them off, hugging Savannah too long and too tightly for it to go unnoticed by Melinda. Clarissa had been unable to forestall crying, and Gabriel’s eyes had shone brightly. Colin did not doubt Jeremy’s decision to travel to Boston in an attempt to alter the feared outcome. “I just want to see Savannah again,” he whispered. “I want to hold their baby in my arms.”

  He opened his eyes and focused on the clouds passing overhead. Today they were big white fluffy clouds, visible even through the thick haze of soot. The type of clouds he loved to stare at and try to find shapes in. After a few minutes, he groaned and sat up, rubbing at his hair. He leaned his elbows on his knees and shook his head at his inability to relax and to enjoy the few days off he had allotted himself from the smithy.

  When he heard a soft lilting voice as someone sang along the sidewalk, approaching him, he canted forward. He beamed when he saw his sister-in-law, Fiona, walking slowly with her young daughter, Rose, now three, holding on to one hand. Fiona carried a bag of groceries in her other hand. He hopped up and trotted down the steps to greet them. “Fee!” he called out, grabbing the bag and leaning in to give her a kiss on the cheek.

  “Oh, Colin, what a wonderful surprise!” she exclaimed. She smiled as he knelt in front of Rose and tickled her nose.

  “There’s my darling girl, my little Rosebud,” he said. He laughed when she threw her arms around his neck and called him “Cowen.” He shrugged apologetically, handing the bag of groceries back to Fiona and lifted Rose into his arms. Rose leaned away from him and jabbered about their walk into town. He listened appreciatively and earned a high-pitched squeal when he nuzzled her neck.

  Walking with Fiona up the porch steps, he waited as she unlocked the door and let them in.

  He sat Rose down in the living room, and she scampered over to her play area to the right of the entryway while Fiona moved to the kitchen. After retrieving his travel bag from the porch, he left it near the front door before joining Rose on the living room floor. A hallway off the entryway to the right led to three bedrooms. Fiona joined him after a few minutes, smiling with gratitude to see him watching Rose. He nodded his thanks as she handed him a glass of cold water.

  “How are things, Fee?” He took a long sip of water as he studied her. She wore her red-gold hair in a loose knot at her nape, and her eyes shone with contentment when she beheld her daughter.

  “Lovely,” she replied. “And quite the same as the last time you visited.” Her gaze signaled she had little interest in answering further questions. “And you?”

  “Lovely,” Colin quipped and laughed as Rose made a pile of blocks and then knocked them over. “I wanted a few days off, so I thought I’d come for a surprise visit.” He flushed at Fiona’s knowing gaze but refused to explain further.

  “I should have thought it difficult to leave your smithy on a Wednesday.”

  He shrugged. “I have a good man working for me who’ll keep an eye on things. I’ll be back by Monday.”

  As the front door opened, Colin turned, and his brother, Patrick, walked through. “Hi, Pat,” Colin said with an endearing smile.

  “Look who’s come to call,” Fiona said with a raised eyebrow. She rose, kissed Patrick on the cheek and then moved toward the kitchen. “Dinner will be ready in about an hour. I’ll prepare Colin’s room.”

  Rose ran to her father for a hug and a kiss, and then continued to play. Patrick watched her with absentminded affection; then he turned toward Colin. “Why are you here? Why didn’t you let us know you were coming? Is everyone all right?”

  “Everyone’s fine. I’m the one who needed to get away, and so I did.” He focused on Rose and ignored his brother’s intense stare.

  Patrick glanced up with a smile as Fiona walked into the living room and held out a hand to her. He kissed it, and a contented joy filled his gaze as he beheld his wife.

  “Your bedroom’s ready, Colin, if you want to freshen up before dinner,” Fiona said, before she kissed her husband on his head and returned to the kitchen.

  “I’m glad to see you and Fee are still on
good terms,” Colin said. “I’m also happy that I don’t have to worry about kicking you out of your old bedroom.”

  Patrick laughed and shook his head. “No, thankfully that’s no longer an issue. Not since last June.” He shook his head at Colin’s reference to the time he and Fiona had been estranged and he had slept in a different bedroom.

  Colin smiled. “At least one of us is no longer acting a fool.” He waved at Patrick to remain with Rose and moved into his bedroom to wash up and prepare for a quiet family dinner.

  After dinner, Patrick sat outside on the porch with Colin. Fiona tended to little Rose, giving her a bath and readying her for bed. Patrick would give her a good-night kiss before she fell asleep. He sat with his back to one of the porch’s posts, his legs in front of him on the concrete rail while Colin sat in the uncomfortable chair. “Why are you really here?” Patrick asked softly.

  Colin closed his eyes, leaning his head back and stretching his legs out to the side so he could act as though relaxed. “I’m a fool. And I have no one to blame but myself.” He cracked an eye open to see Patrick waiting patiently for him to continue. “Ari’s to marry another.”

  “I know. Rissa wrote me. She also wrote you acted like a jealous idiot when Araminta made her announcement.” Patrick frowned. “That’s not like you, Col. You’re always happy for everyone.”

  “But that’s just it, Pat. Ari and me, we were always supposed to end up together.” He leaned forward, his elbows now on his knees and his head in his hands.

  “How was that to happen? Were you waiting for her to propose to you?” At Colin’s offended sputter, Patrick looked nonplussed. “For you certainly never gave any indication that you were truly serious about her.” He sobered further as he saw how his words hurt his brother. “You’ve known her for nearly sixteen years—”

  “Fifteen last month,” Colin interjected.

  “Fine, fifteen years. What in God’s name has taken you so long to ask her if you were really interested in her?” Patrick shook his head in disbelief. “You’re not a young man anymore, Col. You’re forty-two years old. You must want more from life than a bachelor’s existence.”

  “At first I didn’t want to rush her because she was so young. And then I thought she didn’t like me, well, not like that.” Colin closed his eyes. “And then I almost kissed her.”

  “When?” Patrick asked.

  “Four years ago. When Lucas was in Missoula for a concert to support the suffragists. She’s hated me ever since.” He ran a hand through his hair. “I could never convince her afterward that I wasn’t simply playing a game. That I was seriously interested in her.”

  “Did you ask her, in plain English, ‘Will you marry me?’ Did you say, ‘I love you’ so there was no way she could misunderstand your feelings?” At Colin’s blank stare, Patrick shook his head. “Col, women need us to act without prevarication when we are proclaiming ourselves. It’s really rather simple. When you were trying to demonstrate you weren’t playing a game, you showed her you still were because you refused to declare how you felt.” He paused as his younger brother took in his words. “How do you think that made her feel?”

  “Like I was leading her on. Lying to her.” Colin’s shoulders sagged in defeat. “Like she couldn’t trust me anymore.”

  Patrick watched his brother with fond exasperation. “You’ve lived a charmed life where your quick smile and glib wit have gotten you out of quite a few binds. She’s seen that. That’s not what she wants.”

  Colin sat back in his chair, his arms crossed over his chest. “Clearly she wants boring bloody Bartholomew Bouchard. A banker.”

  Patrick burst out laughing. “I don’t know if you could conjure up any more Bs to describe him.”

  “Give me a few minutes,” Colin growled.

  Patrick chuckled again and relaxed against the railing. “Have you spoken with her?”

  Colin shuddered. “Yes. She despises me, and I fear that, no matter what I say now, it will always be seen as a ruse so that she won’t marry him.” He closed his eyes. “I’m such an idiot. I could have married her years ago and been happily living with her at my house and our numerous children by now. Instead I live alone as the only woman I’ve ever loved plans to marry another.”

  “Have you told her that? In those exact words?” Patrick kicked his brother with a foot. “It’s hell declaring how we feel, but we must, Col. Some things in life are worth taking a risk for.” After a few moments of silent companionship, Patrick whispered, “Is there really a chance Sav will die?”

  Colin raised frightened eyes to Patrick and nodded. “I almost couldn’t let her out of my arms at the train station, and I fear I squeezed her so tight I hurt the baby,” Colin murmured. “I don’t know what I’ll do, what Rissa will do, if she doesn’t come back.”

  “Jeremy will be …” Patrick shook his head, unable to finish the sentence.

  “There are no words for what he’ll be. I fear he’d never recover.”

  Patrick watched his brother with dismay. “It makes me realize just how much of a bloody idiot you’ve been, as Fee would say.” At Colin’s glare, Patrick nodded. “Why won’t you take a risk for Araminta and your relationship with her? I don’t understand why you won’t take such a chance.”

  “I like harmony, Pat,” Colin murmured.

  “We all do, but it’s unrealistic to think you’ll never have strife in your life. There will always be a time when you have to stand up for what you want. For what you believe. For who you love.” He speared Colin with a glare. “You’ve stood by Rissa and Sav and me. I don’t understand why you won’t do the same for you and Araminta.”

  Colin shook his head. “It’s easy to be brave when it doesn’t have the ability to rip out your heart.”

  Patrick choked on a laugh. “That may be true, but the reward is a lot less.” They sat in silence a moment, the sounds of neighbors’ conversations, a fiddle playing and a baby crying carrying on the wind. “You had faith in me as I faced my deepest fears. Now you need to have faith in yourself.”

  * * *

  Patrick waited in bed that evening for his wife to enter after checking on Rose. “How is she?”

  “Clinging to the wee bear Colin brought her and sound asleep.” She slipped from her dress and donned a nightgown.

  “I don’t know why you put one on,” he teased. “It only ends up on the floor.”

  She flushed, the slight redness enhancing her beauty. “I want one nearby in case Rose calls out in the middle of the night.” She raised a teasing eyebrow as she played with the lace collar of the voluminous white nightgown. “Although I could leave it on the chair.” She pulled it off her head and tossed it to the chair, meeting her husband’s startled, delighted gaze with an embarrassed smile. “I did say I’d try to be more daring.”

  He held up the sheets for her, and she crawled into bed. He sighed with pleasure as she rested her head on his shoulder. “Are you all right, Fee?” When she pushed her face against his chest, he said, “It seemed that Savannah and Jeremy’s news upset you.”

  “I worry about them. About how she will fare,” she whispered. She played with his chest hair and remained silent.

  “But …” he murmured. “Tell me, Fee.” He ran a hand through her thick red-gold hair.

  “But I envy them,” she said. “Not the worry. The doubt. The fear.” She sighed and refused to meet his gaze. “They have a baby on the way.”

  He rolled until she was caged underneath him. “Can you imagine the fear Jeremy is living with? The agony that he has to hide, every day, from the woman he loves, because he might lose her?” He shook his head. “I won’t lie and say I don’t want a baby with you, Fee. A little brother or sister for Rose. But, if we never have a child, I will always feel blessed.”

  She blinked as a tear snaked down her cheek. “Truly? You don’t blame me?”

  He kissed away the tear and chuckled. “Why would I blame you?” He smiled at her as his hold on her eased. “Besid
es, it could easily be because of me that you don’t find yourself with child.” He kissed along her neck.

  “I want your child,” she said as she arched into his touch.

  “Rose is mine,” he said in a voice that brooked no argument.

  She blinked and nodded. “She is. In every way that matters.” She kissed him, running her hands through the hair at his nape.

  He met her gaze and cupped her cheek. “I promise you, Fee. If we have ten more children, or none, what we have now is more than I ever dreamed I’d have. This is paradise for me.” He teased her with soft kisses before losing himself to the passion that flared between them.

  * * *

  Patrick, Colin and Lucas sat in Lucas’s study. The curtains shivered from an anemic wind, barely stirring the still and hot summer air. Lucas stretched out his legs, giving Colin’s foot a kick. “I never thought to see you midweek.”

  Colin shrugged. “I have a good foreman, and I wanted to see my brother.” He slunk farther in his chair as Lucas watched him with patient eyes. “I needed to escape Missoula for a few days.”

  “Running away won’t solve your problem, Col. You need to speak with her.” Lucas tapped his fingers on his belly as though playing a requiem on the piano.

  Colin huffed out an exasperated breath. “Does everyone know about Ari?”

  Lucas raised an eyebrow and shared an amused glance with Patrick. “Ari? I always thought you should have acted on your inclination four years ago, when I made a stop in Missoula on my tour across the country.” He frowned as he saw how miserable his cousin was. “How does she not understand how much you care? You’re the only one who calls her Ari.”

  Colin ran a hand over his head. “She thinks I’m not really serious about her. That I’m only offended now because she won’t be available to see after my house the way she always has.” He shared a miserable look with his brother and cousin. “And, yes, I know I’ve been a fool.”