A Heart Renewed (12 page)

He had no money, save for the few bills from Chauncey.  Certainly not enough for the supplies he and Julia would need for the rest of the trip.  He would have to sell one of the horses.  There was no other way.  It broke his heart because they were going to be his contribution for his new job on Colter Ranch and they were a gift from his pa.

Adam walked over to the mare and began taking off the gear.

“What are you doing?” Julia snapped out of her daze long enough to pay attention to what he was doing, her voice sharp with accusation.

Adam sighed inwardly.  He was growing weary of her short tone.  “I am selling the mare.”

Her jaw dropped.  “Whatever for?”

“Because, we have to have supplies, a team, and a wagon to get to your brother’s ranch.  We can’t just ride the horses with no food and water the rest of the way.  We need money.  Unless you have some buried treasure, I am going to have to sell the mare.”

Julia’s look softened.  “Wait.”

She dug around in her saddle bag, finally pulling out a large stack of money.

“Where did you get this?”

“I took it from Reuben’s desk before I left.”

“You
stole
it?”

“I did not!  My father left me an inheritance which Reuben was supposed to manage for me until I became of age.  I knew I would need money to run.  This is significantly less than what my inheritance should be, so I did not
steal
anything.”  She defiantly crossed her arms to emphasize her point, her curls bobbing from the sudden jerking of her head.

“Okay,” he conceded, flipping through the stack.  There was more than enough to cover their expenses.  A smile twitched at the edge of his mouth.  He would not have to sell the mare after all. 
Thank you, Lord, for providing for us in this unexpected way.

Ready to purchase supplies, he started to walk away from camp.  Pausing, he asked, “Would you like to come with me?”

She uncrossed her arms and both her stance and her tone of voice softened.  “I would like that.”

“Come on, sis,” he teased, offering her his arm.

They made their way back to the plaza area and purchased water barrels, feed for the horses, and a few other items.  Adam was pleased that they found someone selling a six yoke of oxen and wagon at a fair price.  In one afternoon he purchased all of the supplies they needed to travel the rest of the way to Colter Ranch.

As Adam was loading the last of the supplies into the wagon, Julia recognized a familiar face headed her direction.  Her heart pounded furiously in her chest and her palms grew sweaty.  It could not be.  No, she was certain it was Jethro Pace, only he had one arm.  What was he doing in Santa Fe?

She knew he worked on the Star C, but in her panicked state she could not remember when he left.  Was it with Will?  Or was it after?  Could Reuben have sent him here to fetch her back?

As he grew closer, his face lit up.

“Adam Larson!” Jethro Pace called out as he stepped towards them.

Adam looked up, confused.  His scrunched eyebrows and forehead gave her the impression that he was trying to place the man who called out his name.

Suddenly his face lit with recognition.  “Jethro Pace, from the Star C.  What are you doing here?”

“I might ask you and Miss Colter the same,” Jethro said, vigorously shaking Adam’s hand with his only hand.

Chauncey had just arrived at the tail end of the conversation to help Adam with the items he purchased from him.  “Miss Colter?  You mean Miss Larson?”

Jethro hesitated.  Julia shot him a pleading look.  Her stomach plummeted to the ground as she envisioned her and Adam’s subterfuge dissolving before her eyes.

“Mrs. Larson?” Jethro asked with a confused expression puckering his tan face.

This was going to be a disaster.  “Jethro Pace,” Julia interrupted.  “How did you get to Santa Fe?”

“Well, I was headed west with yer bro—”

“Really?  You came with Will Colter?” she cut him off before he could finish the word.  “Why didn’t you continue on?”

Jethro looked even more confused.  “Ah, um…  I took some nasty shots when we ran into Indians.  My arm was infected so the doctor here in town had to take it off.  Saved my life he did.  But Will had to move on.  Can’t complain though, he left me with enough money to settle here.”

“That was very generous of Mr. Colter,” Julia commented, nervously fidgeting with the edge of her sleeve.

“Who is Mr. Colter?”  Chauncey asked, hefting a crate into the back of the waiting wagon.

Adam responded before anyone else could get a word in edgewise.  “He is a good friend of the Larsons.  We grew up on neighboring ranches and our fathers were close friends.  I am on my way to his new ranch in the Arizona Territory to start breeding and training horses for Mr. Colter.”

“I see.  Well, that’s the last of your things, Mr. Larson, Miss Larson.  It was a pleasure working with you.”  Chauncey tipped his hat to Julia, then turned and left.

“It was good to see you again, Jethro.  Can we pass on anything to Will for you?” Julia asked trying to end the awkward conversation quickly.

“Ah, just tell him I said thanks for all he done.  Mr. Larson.  Mrs. Larson,” Jethro said before leaving.

She nearly collapsed from nerves as she waved to Jethro Pace’s retreating back. 
Mrs. Larson, indeed.
  She breathed a huge sigh of relief when Adam helped her into the wagon and drove them out to the west end of town.  That was close.

Mrs. Larson?
  Gideon Bates fisted his hand in frustration from his hidden perch behind one of the freight wagons.

He had been prepared for anything—except that.  Larson had a lot of nerve marrying the poor girl in the dead of night and then taking off with her.  Somehow that piece of information never made it to his ears before now.  Maybe that was why she rejected all the men Reuben paraded before her.  She already had a beau and plans to leave with him.

Now what should he do?  If he tried to take her back to Reuben, Larson would definitely follow to collect his wife—and it would be kidnapping then.  Gideon had done some things he wasn’t proud of in his life, but he never broke the law.

No.  Taking her back to Reuben was out of the question now.  He would want to marry her off to some other man and she couldn’t be married off, cause she already was.  Reuben would not be too happy about that.

If he went back to Reuben empty handed, he was sure to lose his job.  Even though he’d been working for him just over a year, he learned enough about him to understand that he would see this present situation as a failure on Gideon’s part.  Reuben wasn’t one to reason in a normal fashion.

“Mighty fine quandary,” he whispered as he led his horse from the town square.  He’d have to give it some thought for a few days.

Mrs. Larson?
  For some reason, when Jethro Pace called Julia that, Adam’s heart started racing and a weird fluttery feeling settled in his stomach.  What was wrong with him?  This was Julia, a long-time friend of his family.  Why would he be reacting this way?

“That was close,” she said with a nervous laugh.

He cleared his throat.  “Yes, it was.”

Too close, he thought, as he tried to get his emotions under control.

Once back at the wagon train circle, his emotions started to settle.  Then he helped Julia down from the wagon.  When he touched her hand, lightening shot through him, stirring up the confusing feelings all over again.  As soon as she was safely to the ground, he quickly released his hold.  Why was he suddenly so nervous around her?

Shaking off the unsettling feelings, he left her to start supper while he went to find the wagon master.  He found the short stocky man as the last touches of light faded from the sky.  He spoke briefly with him to see if he and Julia could join the wagon train west.  The wagon master agreed before assigning them a place.

With business settled, his mind returned to the jumbled emotions sparked from this afternoon.  Slowly walking back to camp he tried to understand what was happening.  He was acting like a fool—getting all flummoxed around his childhood friend.  This was Julia Colter—the girl who beat him in a roping contest.  The girl that could ride as well as any man.  The one that would prank him in school as often as she could.

The woman who wormed her way into his heart these last weeks, despite her curt words and melancholy.

As he turned the corner around the end of their wagon, he caught a glimpse of her in the firelight.  She was standing over the skillet, finishing supper.  The light from the fire highlighted her shapely silhouette.  Adam thought he had never seen such a lovely woman.  He gazed at her as if it were the first time he had truly seen her.  Her sandy brown curls trailed down her back, gathered together by a dark ribbon.  Her smile could brighten a gloomy room, though she wasn’t smiling now—hadn’t in a very long time.  And those blue, mischievous eyes.

A sigh escaped his lips unguarded.

Adam shook himself from the thoughts that both warmed him and scared him all at the same time.  Clearing his throat, he let her know he was back.

Watching her prepare a meal seemed surreal.  Prior to this trip, he’d never seen her cook and assumed she didn’t know how, with all of the time she spent outdoors.  Surprisingly she was a good cook.  He took a seat just as she handed him some supper.

“Is everything settled?” she asked, her voice bordering on pleasant.

Swallowing a bite of food, Adam replied, “Yes.  We leave the morning after tomorrow.”

“How long do you think it will take?”

“The wagon master said we should arrive by the first of November, maybe a little earlier if we do not run into bad weather or danger.”

“Good.”  Having finished her meal, she sat there for a minute before continuing.  “Adam… I, um… I…” she stammered.  He waited.  “I’m sorry that I have not thanked you for rescuing me.”

“Julia—”

“No, let me finish.  I know you sacrificed a great deal to get me out of Texas in a hurry.  You were not able to say goodbye to your family or plan your departure as you wished.  Instead, you took compassion on a friend in danger and you did everything you could to get me out of that danger.  You have kept me safe.  You have kept me sane.  And I have done nothing but snap at you and make myself difficult to live with.  You saved my life.  You may not understand all that has happened, but you did save my life.  And for that, I am grateful.”

When she turned and looked into his eyes, Adam was never more thankful that they now had separate sleeping arrangements.  The look of gratitude nearly undid him.

Later, during the middle of the night, he woke with a start.  He listened to see if he heard Julia crying in the wagon.  Complete silence.  Then he realized that it was the silence that caused him to stir.  He had become so used to the sound of her crying that when it was missing it seemed off. 
Thank you, Lord, for giving her rest.  Please keep mending her wounded heart.