A Heart Renewed (21 page)

Disgust overwhelmed Julia’s face.  “I can’t believe you would do this to me!”

When she stormed into her room, he stood to follow her.

Hannah stopped him.  “Give her some time, Will.  She’s hurt and confused and just not able to deal with any more surprises right now.”

Grunting, Will turned and headed back to the barn without a word.  He didn’t have to justify his decisions to his sister.  He was trying to help her see that things would be fine.

When was the happy Julia going to return?

Chapter 15

Julia returned to the solitude of her room while Hannah bustled about the kitchen with Rosa, cleaning up from dinner.  A morning full of anxiety over Will’s hiring of Bates only added to her tension about the upcoming evening.  They would be leaving shortly to make the trip into Prescott to attend the Governor’s Ball, which meant a large crowd of mostly men.

Prior to the incident, as she was now referring to Reuben’s actions, Julia had not been afraid of men.  Perhaps she had just been naïve before.  But, she had not been afraid.  Now, things were different.  If her own brother could act in such a way, how could she possibly trust any man?  Tonight she’d be surrounded by them.

Piling curls on top of her head in a fashionable manner, she held back a sigh.  The only benefit of having naturally curly hair is that it looked stunning for special occasions.  The rest of the time it was a constant nuisance.  She was wearing the best of her three outfits, not having time to finish her new dress yet.  The dress was more serviceable than anything, although in comparison to some of the clothing she had seen in the West, some might consider it pretty.  It was nothing like the fine silk gowns she wore for formal dinners back in Texas.  But the navy blue color made her eyes stand out.  For someone so afraid of men, she was putting a lot of effort into her appearance.

As she entered the living room, Will greeted her, dressed in one of his nicer shirts but still wearing trousers and that hat!  Julia rolled her eyes just thinking about that tan hat.  The thing was tan more because of years of dust than because of its original color.  A dark brown would have been a more prudent color, at least she recalled their father mentioning it—many times.  Will got it nearly eight years ago and still had not replaced it.  She wondered if he ever would. 

Hannah was also ready and waiting on Julia.  Her dress was a brown calico Julia had not seen before, although she doubted it was brand new.  It looked a little snug about her midsection, but otherwise had a very flattering silhouette.

“Ben has the wagon out front.  Shall we go?” Will asked, offering his arm to his wife.

Stomach fluttering, Julia nodded.  Tonight was going to be a long night if she failed to calm her anxiousness.

When she stepped through the doorway, the first sight that greeted her was a stunningly handsome Adam Larson.  He wore a white crisp shirt with a western style tie, much like the one her father used to wear, and wool trousers.  He had taken the time to slick his golden blonde hair, parting it to one side.  He cleaned up nicely.  His green eyes sparkled as she approached the wagon.  Her stomach tightened more.

“You look lovely, Julia,” Adam said as he helped her into the back of the wagon since there was little more than enough room for Will and Hannah on the seat.

“You look pretty dashing yourself.”  Her lips revealed her thoughts before she could stop herself. 

Embarrassed, she ducked her head as she took a seat on the blanket spread out in the back of the wagon.  She arranged her skirts around her outstretched legs to ensure modesty.  Adam took the seat next to her, while Ben rode his horse.  At Will’s command, the horses moved forward to take them into town.

Will and Hannah chatted in hushed tones amongst themselves.  She felt Adam’s gaze more than once, but decided to focus on the road behind them instead.  She could not believe she had flirted with Adam Larson!

What she said was true, though.  He did look dashing.  She glanced over at the same moment he did.

“How are you settling in, Julia?” he asked.

“Fine, I guess.”

His voice took on a disappointed tone as he said, “I haven’t seen much of you since we arrived.  I guess I got used to being around you all the time.”

Julia felt the same way.  After those months on the trail where she was with Adam all day, she missed him.  She could change that, though.  With Rosa and Hannah doing the cooking, they really didn’t need her help all of the time.  Maybe she could spend some time helping him train the horses.

“I guess you are pretty busy with the horses,” she ventured.

“Yes.  I was not prepared for the number that need training.  I’m afraid I am not doing as thorough of a job as I would like.  There aren’t enough hours of daylight.  Some days, I even light some torches around the corral so I can continue working with them.”

“I could help you… I mean… There’s not enough work to keep three women busy so I could help a few days a week.  That is if you would like help.”

“I would love your help.  I know what a good horsewoman you are.”  The tenderness in Adam’s voice sent her heart beating.

Don’t get your hopes up.  Adam will never want a ruined woman.
  For just one night she wished the accusing voice would be still.  She was weary of its taunting about something she had no control over.  She could not stop Reuben.  She had not been strong enough.

The downward spiral started and tears burned in her eyes.  Turning her head away from Adam’s view, she willed the tears to stay away.  She would not cry.  Not tonight.  No matter how scared she was of what awaited her at the party, she would forget about her messy life—if only for this one night.

Squaring her shoulders, she turned back toward Adam.  Voice shaky, but growing stronger with each word, she said, “Then it’s settled.  I will help you with the horses starting Monday.”

Adam’s grin answered for him.

Once in town, Will looked for a place to park the wagon.  The Governor’s Mansion was on Granite Street, but there was no place nearby to leave the wagon.  He did not want to leave it on Montezuma near the saloons, so he decided to pull back onto Granite to drop off the ladies.  He finally ended up parking the wagon across town by Lancaster’s.

Walking back up the slight slope to Granite Street, Will smiled, excited about the evening.  In addition to dancing with his beautiful wife, he was also looking forward to the business contacts that would be made this evening.  It was a unique opportunity that he would try to make the most of.  Hannah waited for him outside so he hurried to join her.

The Governor’s Mansion was a log structure, most definitely the largest building in Prescott other than the hotel.  The building could fit three or four of his ranch houses inside with a little room to spare.  He heard the construction of the mansion was done under armed guard, not for fear of someone stealing something, but rather to offer protection against the Apaches.  Now, several other buildings started to spring up along the street, proving that Prescott was getting safer.  The inside was massive.  The living area, which had been converted to a ballroom this evening, was in the center of the building.  Several rooms lined three of the four walls, the fourth wall being the entrance he was standing in now.

“Governor Goodwin,” Will greeted, shaking the man’s hand.  “William Colter, and this is my wife, Hannah.”

“Mr. Colter, pleased to meet you,” the governor said.  Recognition dawned on his face when he turned to greet Hannah, “And a pleasure to see you again Mrs. Colter.”

At first Will was taken aback, until he recalled that Hannah and her first husband had traveled to the territory with the governor and his party.

Moving further into the room, he led Hannah over to greet Betty and Paul.

“Betty,” Hannah said, hugging her friend, then nodded a greeting to her son, Paul.

“You are glowing again, dear.  I suspect it is not just your handsome husband that’s causing it.”

Will and Hannah both blushed.

“We’ll talk later,” Hannah said.

As the music stared he led her to the dance floor.  Taking her in his arms, he looked down.  His breath caught.  She was so beautiful—and she did have a strange enchanting glow about her this evening.

“You’re stunning,” he whispered.

“Thank you my handsome husband.”  She smiled up at him and his heart did a little flip.  “I think Betty knows our secret.”

“Well, I don’t suppose we can keep the baby hidden forever,” he teased.

Hannah tilted her head back in laughter.  “No, I don’t think we can for much longer.”

When the song finished, no matter how much he wanted to be in his wife’s presence, he led her over to the side.  “I need to speak with a few people.  But save a few more dances for me?”

“Of course.”

“And don’t overexert yourself.”  Concern clouded his eyes.

“The two of us will be fine, Will.  Dancing is good for expectant mothers.”  Shooing him away, she said, “Now go be about your business.”

After introducing himself and Julia to the Governor, Adam escorted her directly to the dance floor.  She seemed rather nervous, but he hoped she would let herself have a good time tonight and forget about the past months, if only for a few hours.

When he put his hand on the small of her back, he could not help but notice how perfectly it fit there.  He smiled down at her—not too far down, as he was only a few inches taller than her—nothing like the height difference between Will and Hannah.  When she looked up at him, his breath caught and whatever he was about to say was lost.  Those beautiful blue eyes.  He could stare into them all night.

Julia turned her head looking at the other dancers, breaking the spell.  While the proper distance apart, she was still close enough he caught the faint scent of vanilla.  He let his eyes travel over the features of her face which seemed like a good idea, until he came to her lips.  The desire to kiss her seemed almost overwhelming.

He needed to distract himself.

Clearing his throat, he asked, “Are you enjoying the ball?” 
Silly, this was the first dance.

“Hmm?” she asked turning her gaze back to him.

The question seemed stupid the first time so he decided not to repeat it.  “Thank you for volunteering to help with the horses.”  There.  Gratitude.  That should be better.

“Of course.  Is that Ben dancing with Betty?”

Adam looked to the couple she nodded towards.  “I believe it is and he’s grinning ear to ear.  Have you ever seen him smile?”

Julia laughed—a sweet sound that caused his heart to warm.  “I have.  Only it’s rare and never quite so dramatic.”

He laughed at her observation.

When the song ended, he started to pull away so he could go speak with the men Will wanted him to meet, but Julia’s grip tightened.

“Please, don’t leave yet,” she pleaded.  The laughter was gone from her eyes and fear had taken up residence.  Was she afraid of dancing with these strangers?

He did not want to leave her side, but Will expected him to mingle.  The inner conflict lasted only a second before he agreed to the dance.  “Yes, Miss Colter, you may have this dance,” he teased.  “Then I must take my leave for a while.  But I hope you will save me a dance or two later.”

Her grip on his hand tightened and instead of smiling like he hoped, she tensed.  She attempted to tease, but it came out strained, “If you must.”

“Julia,” he said.  She would not make eye contact.  “Julia, look at me.”

When she finally made eye contact, he said, “You are safe here.  It is just a dance.  Meet some people and have a good time, like you did at those parties your father held.”

She looked like she struggled for control.  Moisture gathered in the corner of her eyes, but did not spill over.  He thought himself a fool for mentioning anything to do with Texas.  Of course those would be painful memories for her.  He could not leave her in this state of mind.  When the song ended, he escorted her outside.

The air was brisk.  The temperature dropped rapidly as the sun went down.  She shivered and he wished he had a jacket to give her, but he didn’t.  Walking to the far end of the front porch of the mansion, he put his arm around her.  She felt like she belonged there.