by Emma Ashwood
“Like I said last night, this is just a passing phase. He’ll get over it,” Tucker’s words came over her troubled thoughts and she forced a smile.
“And don’t you worry that pretty little head of yours. I’ll make sure we work around here today. We ain’t going to any range if I have something to say about it.” He placed his hat on his head and a genuine smile crossed her face.
“Thank you,” she said, and he accepted it with a nod and left.
Ruth went about planning her picnic. Whether Caleb liked it or not, they would have a picnic. If he didn’t want to talk to her, she would do all the talking. She set ingredients aside to make his favorite apple pie.
She had just finished making lunch and was cleaning the kitchen when she heard a shout that sent chills down her spine. She knew, as Tucker promised, that they were working around the ranch. Caleb, being the ‘hands on’ ranch owner, was helping Tucker fix the barn roof.
Ruth, with a hand to her rapidly beating heart, hoped a ranch hand had not been injured. When she didn’t hear a commotion, she figured all was fine - until she heard another shout. This time the voice was clear to her. Caleb! Her heart slammed in her ribcage and she froze for a moment, praying her man wasn’t hurt in anyway. Finally forcing her legs to move, she ran out the back door and looked around. She had been watching them work on the barn as she went about her duties.
The sight she beheld made her draw a sharp intake of breath. Tucker had obviously slipped from the roof and hit the hard ground. She could see Caleb hurrying down the ladder to his foreman. Not thinking twice, Ruth ran to them. She could see as she drew closer that Tucker had a nasty cut on his head and was bleeding profusely. Caleb had reached him by now and was attending to him.
Ruth’s race faltered to a stop when she was just a few paces away and she saw Caleb rip off his shirt to wrap it around Tucker’s head in a bid to stem the blood flow. She saw the scars on his back and arms and immediately compassion for him flowed through her. What pain he must have gone through to get those. She wanted to gently rub her hands over them and ask whether they still hurt and what had caused them. But when she heard Tucker’s moan, she snapped out of her thoughts and rushed forward to help him.
Caleb looked at her in surprise and smiled at her before a look of sheer horror crossed his face. Tucker’s moan stopped her wondering what Caleb was thinking.
“Oh Missy, this isn’t a sight for a beautiful lady like you,” Tucker said as blood trickled down the side of his head.
“A little blood sighting never harmed anyone.” She tried to smile, knowing that he was hurting badly.
“Could…. could you please get me some water?” Caleb requested and she left them to fetch a pitcher of water from the house.
“You shoulda’ told her ‘afore now,” she heard Tucker say when she reached them.
Caleb thanked her and used the water to gently wash the wound which wasn’t as deep as they had feared from the amount of blood loss.
“All this fussin’ over a little cut,” Tucker complained when they cleaned the wound.
“Ain’t the first time. Won’t be the last.”
To distract him from his obvious pain, she asked to hear all about his other injuries and even though he was beginning to feel a little lightheaded, he obliged her. Ruth laughed at his stories while Caleb bound his head. When Caleb spared a glance her way, she saw admiration in his eyes and her pallor reddened.
He asked her to stay with Tucker while he brought hands in from branding cattle in the field to help carry Tucker to the ranch house. Ruth continued talking to Tucker until the men arrived to gently lift and carry him into the house. She noticed that Caleb had covered his scars with a fresh shirt. Despite Tucker’s protests, a hand was sent to fetch a doctor who arrived to check whether Tucker’s injuries were serious. He was certified fine, but Doc said he would most likely suffer headaches for a few days. As long as the wound was kept clean to avoid infection, all would be fine. Tucker assured the Doc that his bottle of whiskey would do just fine for the pain, and the Doc left, shaking his head.
Ruth left Tucker’s side when he was sound asleep, to find Caleb pacing the small parlor with his head bowed. His head lifted when she came in and their eyes met and held. He looked away first.
“I want to thank you for helping out with Tucker.”
She shrugged. “It was the least I could do.”
A moment of silence hung between them. She headed towards the kitchen.
“I just finished making lunch, but I was hoping we could go down to the creek and have a picnic.”
There was pain in his eyes which she didn’t understand. He stared at her for a long moment and shook his head. “I’m sorry, I’ve got to finish the mending.”
She felt the rejection as a slap to the face. She swallowed hard and hoped the smile on her face didn’t look as false as it felt. She wanted to yell at him to tell her what was going on with him, but she instead said, “Please, do be careful.”
He hesitated for some seconds before he nodded and left her with a yearning in her heart. She almost wept pitifully. Why was she so unlucky when it came to men? Where was the kind, warm and cheerful man Caleb had been all these weeks? Had he been pretending? No, he couldn’t have been. Just the mention of children had changed him into a person she couldn’t understand. Fine! They could live a childless marriage. She just wanted the man she loved to return. She wanted to tell him all that, but she stopped herself. She didn’t know if the mention of having a family had caused the change in him. It would be highly embarrassing if she tackled him on it only to discover that wasn’t the case.
She found herself in the kitchen, looking at the basket she had set for the picnic. It seemed such a shame for it to go to waste.
After checking on Tucker, satisfied that he was snoring loudly and in a deep sleep, she took the basket and a small blanket to the creek. She didn’t care if Caleb saw her. It was his loss for not wanting to join her.
Ruth had thought the peace and serenity of the creek would help to calm her troubled heart but that wasn’t the case. She sat under a tree and stared ahead. In a few days, she would be married to a man who hadn’t spoken more than a dozen words to her over the past day.
Ruth was so lost in her thoughts, she didn’t see Caleb standing beside her for quite a while. When her gaze finally met his, she saw love overflowing from his eyes, which robbed her of words. Without saying a word, he sat beside her and unhurriedly removed his shirt. He told her how he had come by the scars, adding, “So, this is the reason we can’t have a family.”
Ruth’s forehead creased in a frown. “The fire affected your ability to father a child?”
Surprise flashed in his eyes.
“No,” he denied vehemently and turned for her to see the scars. “Don’t they repulse you? Aren’t you disgusted by them?”
It was her turn to be surprised. “Why should I be? It wasn’t your doing that caused them, and even if it was, I would never turn away from you because of them.”
A sharp gasp burst from his lips when he felt her hand caress his back. He turned to stare at her.
She held his face in her soft hands. “Caleb, I love you. I love you, dearly, scars and all. Although you’re a very handsome man, I’m not interested in outward appearance; David was also a handsome man. What I’m interested in is what is in here,” she placed a hand across his rapidly beating heart. “And what I’ve seen in there is enough for me. How could you ever think I would be repulsed by your scars? You shouldn’t— ‘Her words were cut short when Caleb gently placed his lips on hers and kissed her fondly.
When he finally lifted his head, they both laughed.
“I love you from the depth of my soul. I can’t believe I waited this long to advertise for a mail order bride.”
She giggled. “Well, I’m glad you did because I wouldn’t have been free then and I wouldn’t have found a love so pure and true.”
“You can say that again, my love.”
<
br /> They kissed again, knowing that the future held a marriage filled with love and happiness.
“I want six children,” Ruth joyously said, and Caleb rolled his eyes and groaned.
“God help me.”
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
Epilogue
Ruth made a beautiful bride on her second wedding day. It wasn’t because of the white lace dress, but rather the glow in her eyes and on her face. She was a woman in love who knew she was loved by her man. The brightness of her smile rivaled the stars.
After their enchanting picnic beside the creek, Ruth and Caleb had drawn even closer and couldn’t wait to be joined in holy matrimony. Tucker had healed and had stubbornly moved to the bunkhouse despite their objections. According to him, even though he was happy for them, he was sick and tired of their numerous public displays of affection. He, however, thanked Ruth for being an amazing woman for loving Caleb, scars and all.
This day was very different from her first wedding. Even though she wished her family were here, she wouldn’t change it for the world. She had written to her mother and Nanny Brown to tell them about the wedding, but she didn’t think her letter would reach them on time. It didn’t matter though. Caleb had promised her that a week from today, they would travel to New York to begin looking for Maisie with all his resources at her disposal. He was the kindest man ever to have lived and she couldn’t wait to show him to the whole world and bear his son.
A knock sounded on the door and she wondered if the preacher was there already. He was quite early. She was eager to be Caleb’s wife, so she hurried to the door where she was quite sure her eyes were deceiving her. She found herself face to face with her mother.
“Mama!” she exclaimed and threw her arms around the woman who was beaming from ear to ear.
Then she saw the woman who had helped her with Maisie and screamed again.
“Nanny Brown!” She hugged her too and tears of joy glazed her eyes.
“I didn’t think you would get my letter in time.”
Her mother scoffed. “Letter? We didn’t get any letter, although it might be waiting for us when we get back.”
Ruth looked confused. “Then how come you’re here?’
Excitement was bubbling in the women’s countenance. “We’ve got a surprise for you. Call it our wedding present to you.”
Ruth laughed. They had come all the way from New York to give her a present.
She followed them to the parlor while they complimented her on how beautiful she looked. She heard how they had met a ranch hand from Caleb’s ranch at the train station, and how he had brought them out to the ranch house.
Ruth was indeed surprised to see her father in the parlor, looking quite nervous.
“Papa?” she questioned when he only stared at her with tears in his eyes.
“I’m so sorry, Ruthie.” He hadn’t used his pet name for her in years. “I’m sorry for everything. Please find it in your heart to forgive me.”
Ruth couldn’t not forgive on that day because she was so happy and in love. With tears streaming down her face, she ran into his outstretched arms.
“I forgive you, Papa.”
She could hear sniffs from the women behind her.
Her father held her rosy cheeks in his hands. “I knew the only way I could ever make amends was if I found Maisie for you.”
She sniffed back her tears. “Oh, Papa! There’d be no need for that. Caleb and I...”
She was still talking when her father dropped his hands and stepped aside for her to see the little girl standing behind him.
In the space of minutes, Ruth thought her eyes were deceiving her again. But after blinking a number of times, she realized her daughter was truly standing before her. She was held in euphoric speechlessness for some seconds.
“Maisie!” she shouted and fell to her knees to guide the blind girl’s arms around her as she hugged her.
The little girl somehow recognized the voice and as her grandparents and Nanny had told her continually that they were taking her to her mother, she cried, “Mama!”
Ruth cried harder. She thought she would never hear those words from her daughter’s lips.
“Oh, Maisie!” She pulled back and looked at her little girl. The girl was a replica of her with dark, curly hair but unseeing blue eyes. Ruth swore that she would be her eyes and guide her through life.
Caleb came into the ranch house awhile later to inform her that the preacher had arrived. He didn’t expect the scene he saw. A lovely little girl was seated on Ruth’s lap and two women were seated beside her. A man was standing by the fireplace, talking. Their eyes all turned to look at the newcomer.
Ruth raised tear-stained eyes to his.
“Caleb, my father found Maisie.”
“That’s wonderful!” Caleb shouted with elation, breaking the tension in the room. All those present, except Ruth of course, had feared he might not accept the blind little girl.
Caleb surged forward to meet Maisie.
He squatted beside them.
“Hello Maisie, I’m going to be your papa.”
Maisie smiled and stretched out her hand. Caleb hugged her tight. Tears just kept spilling from Ruth’s eyes.
Introductions were made and Caleb was pleased that Ruth would have her family present on her wedding day. The exchange of vows took place by the creek with Caleb’s staff representing his family. Even with a bound head, Tucker still cracked jokes about the couple.
They had a small reception at the ranch house and Ruth’s parents said they would stay for only a few days. They assured them that they would visit often.
Nanny Brown, to Ruth’s utmost joy, said she was willing to taste the country life before deciding whether to return to New York or stay on in Montana.
She added, “From the look of things and from all the siblings I heard Ruth telling Maisie she’s going to give her, both of you are going to need a nanny.”
Ruth’s color became a crimson red and Caleb threw back his head and laughed, liking the woman. Tucker was pleased Nanny Brown wasn’t leaving and he offered to show her around. Ruth hoped a romance would blossom between them. She smiled as she watched Caleb and Maisie dance. He had told her that together they would help her overcome her blindness. The words had sounded like music to her ears.
When Maisie settled for a nap later that day, Ruth and Caleb walked hand in hand to the creek that would forever hold fond memories for them. Autumn would come soon.
“I’m so glad I listened to Tucker and put out that ad. I got just the right woman for me,” he said with delight when they reached their destination.
She smiled. “And I’m also happy I listened to Nanny Brown and responded to it. I got just the right man for me.”
And they kissed.
The End.
