by Barbara Goss
He gazed out the window; glad for the one diversion he had, watched the people, and wished he was able to call out to them in some way. His eyes widened when he caught sight of a buggy being driven by Wade—he came back!
He drove past the window but Rance couldn't see if he'd turned around to go back the other way, which meant he’d stopped right in front of the barn.
Rance started to make as much noise as he could, including kicking the useless water canteen with his foot. It hit the door with a thud, but he doubted it was loud enough for anyone to hear.
He sat in suspense for several moments, until he heard Ernst’s voice, loud and clear, telling someone he was on private property. He knew Ernst had spoken to Wade, who might have tried to get close to the barn. Sadly, Wade began riding in the opposite direction. He was shocked to see Clara sitting beside him on the driver’s perch, with another passenger inside.
Elsa! They were looking for him!
Tears stung his eyes as he watched them ride away. Would this be his last view of them?
After a while, he heard Ernst and Henry talking outside of the barn. He hoped they’d come in to untie him for a spell and feed him, but disappointment flooded through him when they'd left as quickly as they’d come. He was becoming extremely frustrated when a face suddenly appeared at his window—Emil!
Wade walked the half-mile back to Victoria and sat on the front steps of the small hotel in order to watch the barn. He saw Ernst and Henry standing outside of the barn and they seemed to be arguing. He continued to watch until they finally went back into the house. Wade’s did a double take when he saw another man come out from behind the barn, creep up to the barn’s window, and look in. He didn’t know the man, but he looked to be up to mischief, given his sneaky demeanor. The mysterious man had just scurried into a clump of bushes behind the barn when Ernst and Henry came out of the house, opened the barn, and led Rance behind it.
Wade supposed they were allowing Rance to relieve himself. He noticed that, while Rance wasn't tied, he did have Ernst a shotgun aimed at him. He watched as, moments later, Rance was returned to the barn and his captors came out, snapped the padlock, and went back into the house. Within minutes, Henry came back with a tray of something… probably food. Ernst and Henry stayed in there quite some time, so they were probably waiting for Rance to eat so they could secure him again.
They returned to the house and the strange man came out of hiding, carrying a metal container. He made his way around the barn pouring some kind of liquid!
No! Wade made a move to run toward the barn but caught himself. He'd have a better chance of running in to save Rance if he let the man set the barn on fire first. He looked around for something he might use to break the window. Finally, he found a chair someone had set in front of one of the houses, grabbed it, and stood there, watching.
As soon as the flames started, the little man ran around the back of some nearby buildings. Wade watched where he went as he ran toward the barn with the chair. He saw the man circle around and enter the very hotel upon whose steps Wade had been sitting.
By then, the flames had spread. Wade rushed to the window and smashed it with the chair. He crawled in after removing the remaining, jagged shards of glass.
“Wade!” Rance yelled. “Do you have a knife?”
“What cowboy doesn’t carry one, Rance?” He took his knife from his pocket and started cutting through the rope. The flames were spreading quickly since there was a healthy breeze that day.
“Hurry!” Rance yelled.
“I’m cutting as fast as I can. This isn’t cheap rope.” Finally, Wade had cut through the rope which he quickly unwound until Rance was free.
“The window's engulfed in flames…we can’t get out that way,” Rance yelled.
“Why would someone build a barn with only one window?”
They heard Ernst and Henry outside of the barn and Rance hoped one of them would unlock the padlock—they didn’t. His hope faded when he saw Ernst and Henry running down the road, away from the fire.
“We’re going to have to storm the window,” Wade said. He gazed around the barn, saw an old horse blanket, and grabbed it. “Here, put this around you and storm the window.”
“I can’t,” Rance said. “It would take me too long to climb out. I’d be burned to death.”
“How about if we both stormed the barn door at the same time? Do you think we could break the padlock?”
“It’s worth a try,” Rance said. “On the count of three.”
Wade counted to three and they stormed the door together, hitting it with their shoulders, over and over again, until the wood finally gave way, the door flew off its hinges, and the two men ran out. They took a moment to gulp down the clean air.
“Look, Wade,” Rance said, pointing, “the lock didn’t budge. Had the door not caved in, we’d have died in there.”
“It’s a fairly new barn, too, but they used old or used wood for the door, thankfully,” Wade answered.
The two men started walking toward the hotel.
“Who started the fire?” Rance asked
“A small man who looked into the window only minutes before the fire broke out.”
“Emil!”
“The man ran into the hotel—shall we go in and find him?” Wade asked.
“Definitely!”
Rance and Wade barged into the hotel and ran up to the front desk.
“Do you have an Emil Oberman registered here?”
“We do,” the clerk said, “but I’m not allowed to give his room number out.”
Wade took a bill from his pocket and laid it on the counter.
“Room nine,” the clerk said, sliding the bill into his pocket.
Chapter 15
By the time Elsa and Clara had ridden into Victoria with the sheriff and his posse, Rance and Wade were already holding Emil at gunpoint in front of the hotel. The sheriff gave one of his men orders to take him to Hays and lock him up. He told the other men to search in the direction Wade had told the sheriff Ernst and Henry had headed on foot.
Elsa had been riding on the driver’s perch with Clara, and as soon as Emil had been led away and Rance and Wade had holstered their guns, she ran to him. He opened his arms and she flew into them. Neither spoke as they stood there in each other’s arms.
Without letting go of her, Rance told the sheriff the details of his capture, followed by Wade's report of his part of the story.
Elsa couldn’t seem to stop the flow of tears running down her cheeks and onto Rance’s arm. He looked down at his wet arm and squeezed her tighter. He felt choked up himself, so he knew how she must feel. He thought he’d hold her again, but here she was, in his arms. He could feel her heart beating against his chest, and it was the most wonderful feeling.
“C’mon, Rance, there’s time for that at home. Let’s get out of here,” Wade said.
Rance walked toward the buggy, still clutching Elsa with one arm. He slid into the buggy and set her on his lap. Wade drove with Clara sitting up on the perch beside him.
Rance held Elsa all the way to Hays. “I missed you,” he whispered in her ear.
She looked up at him with teary eyes and whispered, “I missed you.”
He found her lips and he kissed her with feeling, thankful to have the chance after thinking he’d never see her again. It wasn’t a kiss of passion, but a kiss that showed love and possessiveness. Wade was right: they’d have all the time in the world to kiss passionately at home, but for the time being, he just needed to feel her lips and hold her closely.
During the two-hour ride, Elsa stroked his face, his hair and his neck. The love she had for him sparkled in her eyes and he basked in complete happiness. How could he have been so lucky? God had turned an unfortunate incident into the most wonderful experience he’d ever known. He had himself a treasure. What man wouldn’t want a beautiful woman like Elsa to look at him with such love in her eyes? He knew at that moment that the future with her would be fu
ll of love, trust, faithfulness, and passion.
When they'd finally reached home, Rance thanked Wade profusely. “You’re a true friend,” he said. “Thank you for saving my life.”
He was still hugging Elsa to him and she looked up at Wade and thanked him, too. Marta rushed outside when they drove up and stood off to the side, smiling at Wade. Elsa looked at Wade return Marta's smile at Marta. She looked up at Rance and whispered, “Wade and Marta, yes?”
“Yes,” he whispered back.
“Say, Wade,” Rance began, “Elsa's Marta’s guardian now, and she said that you may court Marta when she turns seventeen.” He watched Wade’s smile light up his whole face. “That is,” Rance said, “if you’d like to, of course.”
“I do!” Wade said turning his smile on Marta. “When's her birthday?”
In German, Clara asked Elsa for Marta's birthdate.
Elsa said proudly in English, “August nine.”
Clara must have seen the surprised look on Rance’s face because she said, “Alois has been drilling them on months and dates.”
Rance kissed his wife’s forehead. “Very good, Elsa.”
Rance walked Wade to his horse and asked, “What happened with your mail order bride?”
“She ran off with the lumberjack. I forgot to thank you for that good advice. They fell for each other like a ton of bricks,” Wade said, and then laughed. “She begged my forgiveness.”
“I just wanted to be sure you were free to court my sister-in-law,” Rance said. “You know the rules, right?”
“I do, and I will abide by them.” Wade held his hand up as if he were swearing an oath.
That night after he’d climbed into bed, Elsa walked into the room from the closet, having undressed there. She was a spitfire in bed, but still shy about her body. She hadn’t worn the sheer nightgown since their consummation night. She wore a frilled, cotton nightgown in a thin, flowered material instead. It was cool, but it wasn’t sheer enough to see through.
She slipped into bed beside him, pulled the quilt up, turned to him as he lay on his back, and put her head on his chest. He immediately enfolded her in his arms.
Elsa vowed to double her efforts to learn English so she could be the perfect wife to the man she loved dearly. To have him back was a miracle. She pressed her body close to him as a hint she wanted to make love—she knew Rance loved it when she took the initiative.
He groaned, turned onto his side, and pulled her even closer. He kissed her passionately on her lips, her neck, her cheeks, her forehead, and back to her luscious lips again. Elsa was ready for him, but she wanted to please him even more—he deserved it. She pushed him onto his back, pulled off his nightshirt, threw it across the room, and began to kiss his chest as he’d kissed hers so many times. He moaned and before she knew it, he turned her on her back and made heavenly, sweet love to her.
She was so content lying beside her man, the one who had brought her to heights she'd never have imagined. She knew, without words from him, what he'd liked, and she loved pleasing him. She vowed to think of more ways she could please him and learning English faster was at the top of the list. The physical part of their marriage was perfect, but that wasn’t all there was to a marriage. They needed to communicate. There had to be a give and take and compromise. She couldn’t do any of those things until she could speak his language.
She also knew they needed God, and since her religion taught that the man should be the head of the house, she’d let him choose what church they’d go to. In her mind, God resided in all churches. His church was different, but it wasn't something she couldn’t get used to.
That was when she remembered the name Rance had muttered in his sleep after he’d been shot: Anna. She listened to Rance’s heavy breathing and knew he was asleep. Should she ask him about Anna, or just enjoy what they'd had together and forget about her? Evidently, this Anna wasn’t in his life anymore. She decided to try to ignore it since she knew he loved her as much as she loved him, and she had nothing to worry about.
In the morning, after breakfast, Elsa kissed Rance quickly and scurried off to her English lesson. Rance noticed Marta right on Elsa’s heels. He smiled and shook his head.
“Those gals are something else, Clara.”
“They sure are,” Clara agreed. “Marta was lukewarm on learning English and I sometimes I had to remind her to get a move on and get to the library because Alois was waiting. Now that she’s going to be courted by Wade, she can’t get there fast enough.”
“It'll make a good incentive,” Rance said, setting down his empty coffee cup. “Do I hear someone riding in?”
Clara peered out the window. “It’s the sheriff.”
Rance walked outside to greet the sheriff and his deputy. He prayed it was good news.
“We got ‘em!” Sheriff Wainwright said. “Ernst Schuster is locked up tight.”
After letting out a breath of relief, Rance said, “That’s wonderful news. We can relax now and enjoy our lives, again.”
“We’ll need you to testify against him and Henry. Are you okay with that?”
“More than okay—I look forward to it,” Rance said.
“Emil won’t be given a trial,” the sheriff stated solemnly. “He hung himself in my jail with a bed sheet last night.”
“What a waste of a bed sheet,” Rance said. Then he looked heavenward. “Sorry, Lord.”
“I’m sure the good Lord will forgive you. After all, were it not for your friend Wade, we’d be planning your funeral,” Wainwright said.
Rance nodded in agreement. “I owe Wade.”
“Well, I hope my news made your day. We’ll be off to do the paperwork now,” Wainwright said as he turned his horse around. “Adios.”
Rance paced outside the library while Clara sat nearby with her knitting. He didn’t want to interrupt the lesson, but he couldn’t wait to tell Elsa the news. Finally, the door opened and Marta and Elsa walked out. Elsa smiled at him.
“Clara,” he prompted.
She put her knitting down and walked over to them. Elsa had already moved into the circle of Rance’s arms.
“Good news,” she announced to Elsa and Marta. “The sheriff has arrested Ernst.”
“Good!” both women said in unison.
Clara looked downward and said, “And Emil killed himself in his cell.”
“Ach, nein!” Elsa said, then covered her mouth with her hand. “I mean, oh, no. What a shame.” She reverted to German again “But I have no pity for the man who tried to set fire to my husband.”
Clara relayed that to Rance, who smiled and hugged his wife.
“Now we can enjoy our marriage,” he said.
Rance was pleased with life for the next six months. He had two successful auctions, bred some valuable horses, and he was madly in love with his wife. He’d never been more satisfied with life as he was now. He almost felt like it was too good to be true.
Rance praised God daily for the institution of marriage between a man and woman, which he was enjoying it to the fullest degree.
Wade had begun to court Marta and while Rance had warned him about the rules, he knew Wade was honorable. He and Elsa watched the budding romance while exchanging knowing smiles.
The biggest surprise for Rance came when Elsa made an announcement one night as they prepared for bed.
Elsa came out of the closet wearing her nightgown and slid into bed beside him. Her cheeks were flushed and she had a bit more sparkle in her eyes than usual.
“Husband,” she began, “if a woman is with child, can she still do…love making?”
Rance’s mind was so focused on her correct English he didn't give the words a chance to sink in. “I suppose it’s all right. I can ask the a doctor to be sure, though. Why do you ask?” That was when it dawned on him.
He sat up in bed. “Elsa! Are you?”
She nodded.
He grabbed her gently and kissed her, than he bent and kissed her little tummy. “I’m so happy!�
��
“I am so happy, too,” she said.
“Let’s see,” he said, thinking aloud. “I’ll hire a nanny, we’ll buy some baby clothes, and we’ll—”
“What about making love?” she asked with a pout. “I would miss it for months.”
“I would, too, but I don’t mind. The baby and you are more important,” he said. “I’ll ask the doctor when I go into town tomorrow anyway.” Rance laid back down, feeling as if his life had just got better and better lately.
“I love you,” Elsa said as she lay her head on his chest.
“I love you so much, Elsa, and you’ve not only made me the happiest man in the world, but a father too.”
Chapter 16
As fall turned to winter, Elsa and Marta’s English improved so much that Alois claimed he could teach them no more. Rance gave him a thoroughbred horse to take with him, as well as his pay.
Rance and Elsa went to church every Sunday and she was able to understand the services, asking for the meaning of a word only every now and again. They read the Bible together, Rance reading to Elsa because she still didn’t read English. Often, he had to explain verses to her, but her thirst for biblical knowledge thrilled him. He was so thankful he could finally have conversations with Elsa.
Things were going too well, and it had begun to scare Rance. He had a feeling that his run of happiness just couldn’t possibly get any better, and something would surely happen to spoil it, and soon.
Elsa’s belly had begun to grow into a cute, oval shape that Rance loved to touch and kiss. They still made love, since the doctor said it wouldn’t hurt the baby, but he was more gentle than usual. He talked to what he called, "his son," every day. He wanted to name him Jonathan after his paternal grandfather, who’d helped him and his father start the ranch.
