Shane's Bride (Mail Order Brides of Texas #3) (2 page)

Slowly she stood up trying to keep her back as straight as she could.  The doctor said she’d be in pain for months to come, until the wounds healed completely.  Her wounds were deep and pain would never completely disappear, but at least none had festered.

“Is it your back?” Shane asked.

She shook her head.  He didn’t need to know.  It would only make him feel sorry for her.  “It’s a bit stiff is all.” She stood, swallowing back a loud groan, and headed for some bushes.  Before she came west, she’d have been embarrassed for a man to know what she was doing in them.  Now, she was just grateful for privacy.  It had never occurred to her that it was a privilege not a right.  Having it taken away appalled her and something inside of her had shriveled with each indignity she’d suffered.

“Coffee?” Shane held out a battered tin cup to her when she returned.

Reaching for it, she gave him a slight smile.  “Thanks.  I’ll drink this, and we can go.” His blue eyes brightened as he nodded.  He was a handsome man with wavy dark hair and very wide shoulders.  He had the look of a man who worked outdoors.  His shirt buttoned over a muscular chest, and she didn’t see an ounce of fat on him.  He was the type of man she thought she’d be marrying.  Saying goodbye to her family and traveling west to marry a stranger had taken everything within.  Just her luck, the stranger sold her to an Indian. 

“Do you think he’ll be in jail forever?”

His brow furrowed.  “John Hardy? He’s dead.  Someone at the prison didn’t take a liking to him, I suppose.  Can’t say I’m sorry he’s gone.”

“Me neither.” She drank the last of her coffee took the cup and pot, rinsed them out in the creek and put them in Shane’s saddlebag.  She waited for a feeling of relief now that Hardy was dead, but it didn’t come.  “We might as well get started.  It shouldn’t take too long.”

They walked side by side, leading Jester behind them.  “I’m surprised no one mentioned going this way to me.”

“It leads to an opening in a canyon.  It’s the way Hardy took to deliver me to Long Nose.  I tried to take note of all landscapes so I could maybe find my way home someday.  I guess most people don’t know it’s there and go around it.”

Shane nodded.  “Must be the reason.  Trying to remember the way home was good thinking.”

She racked her brain for something interesting to say but came up blank.  “Been a sheriff long?”

“I’ve been a sheriff in a few towns.  Most of the time they stopped paying me.  Lack of funds, I suppose.  So far, this job has been good.  The town seems to be growing, so I have a good feeling I might be able to finally put down some roots here.”

“What about the war?”

“I’m from South Carolina, but I’d moved out west a few years before the war started.  Had a falling out with my father over a slave, so I left.  As much as I abhorred slavery, though, I couldn’t condone the North telling the South what to do.” He made a vague gesture with his hand.  “I didn’t fit on either side.”

              Nodding she was silent for a bit.  “I’m from Pennsylvania.  I grew up on a farm.  It was a good life until the war.  I was supposed to get married, but he died.  His name was Kurt, and I’d known him all my life.  His daddy had a farm next to ours and it just seemed so natural for us to fall in love.” She shrugged her shoulders and kept her gaze straight ahead.  “Life goes on.  At least that’s what my ma said.”

“I’m sorry—”

“No, please don’t.  If you act all nice I just might cry, and I’m so afraid if I start to cry I’ll never stop.” She didn’t dare glance at him.  The silence lengthened, and she finally turned her head and gazed at him. 

“I’m not sure what to say.  I certainly don’t want to upset you.” He fiddled with Jester’s reins.  “I was thinking though.  I might have a solution to your living arrangement.  I have a house and land right at the edge of town.  It’s mine, I bought it outright, and I’m hardly ever there.”

“I’d work for you?”

He nodded.  “Sure you could cook a few meals, and you’d have a roof over your head.”

She stopped walking, wrapped her arms around her middle and looked at the horizon.  Her face warmed at the heat of his gaze.  Making such a suggestion would have been highly improper if she’d been untouched.  He wouldn’t have dared to ask her into his house otherwise.  But because she was tainted, moving into his house wouldn’t cause a scandal, and that tore her soul.  It wasn’t his fault, he was only trying to give her a place to live, but still it hurt.  Some things just couldn’t be changed no matter how much you wished it to be with all your being.  She’d never be considered respectable by anyone.

“Cecily?”

The concern in his voice was too much.

“I accept, thank you.  We’d best keep going so Jester can finally rest.” Without glancing at him, she continued to walk at his side wishing things were different, so very different, but she had a new lot in life, and she’d best accept it. 

“I still don’t see the trail through the canyon wall,” he commented after a while.

“See that big oak tree? It’s just to the right of it.”

Shane shook his head and then squinted intently toward the area she’d pointed out.  After a moment, a wide grin spread across his face.  “I see it.  Well I’ll be.  It’s right near my property too.”

“That’s your house? The one near the canyon? It’s a nice one.  Somehow, I pictured a rundown shack.  It’s practically new.” The trail through the canyon wall grew thinner, forcing them to travel single file, and she walked ahead.  The light grew dim for a while but the sunshine greeted them when they were through to the other side. 

“I’m glad you showed it to me.  Thank you.  Do you want to go into town or would you rather go to my house.  I’d be glad to tell Edith you won’t be back.”

She didn’t want to see the excitement on Edith’s face when she learned she was free from her
Christian duty
.  “Be sure to tell her how grateful I am for her generous hospitality.”

“I sure will.” They picked up their pace until they were in front of the house.  “Let’s get you and Jester settled.  It’s plenty big for both of us.”

She nodded.  “Yes.”

“We’ll each have our own room.”

She nodded again.  It wouldn’t have mattered if it was a one room cabin.  There was no way he’d touch her.  “I’ll try to stay out of your way.”

“I need to get Jester settled in the barn.  Why don’t you go on in and make yourself at home.”

She watched until he disappeared inside the barn before she opened the door.

The house was bigger than it looked.  It had two big rooms in the front with a hallway in between them.  Peeking in she noticed they were both sparsely furnished.  One looked to be an office and the other a sitting room.  Down the hall, the house opened up to a big room with the kitchen and another sitting room.  She saw three doors at the back of the house.  Behind the first was a big pantry.  The shelves were a bit empty.  In the middle room was a big bed and a chest of drawers in it.  Shane’s clothes were half hanging from the chest with some scattered on the floor.  He had a lot more clothes than she.  Smiling, she backed out of his room and went into the last one.  This one wasn’t as big as Shane’s room, but contained a small bed which was all she needed.  She headed back into the kitchen where the sight of the big cook stove awed her.  She’d expected to cook over a fire.  This house was nicer than the one she grew up in.  She could be happy here, but her heart dropped.  She’d only be here until Shane found himself a wife.  It certainly wasn’t a forever home for her.  Still she’d be glad for the time she’d have.  At least she hoped so.

Someone went to a lot of expense building the house.  There were even glass panes in the windows.  The big wooden shutters were a relief.  The front door was heavy too.  Perhaps she’d feel safe here.

“What do you think?”

She jumped at the sound of Shane’s voice.

“It’s very nice.  It almost seems out of place in this town.”

“That it does.  It was built by the Ashers.  They founded the town, but they never lived long enough to set foot into the completed house.  Diphtheria is what I was told.  Wiped out the whole family.  I had planned to buy a big ranch with my money, but when I saw this place,” he shrugged, “I don’t know, I wanted it.”

“I can understand why.  We’ll need to stock a few items so I can cook for you.  We could get a few chickens and have fresh eggs.”

“I was thinking maybe a cow too.  The property is the perfect size for planting and the like.  I haven’t had much time to plan it all out.  I’ve been busy tracking down a woman who keeps running off.” He gave her a pointed look and her face heated.

“I can’t make any promises.  Like I said, it’s them nightmares and the only thing I can do is run.  I tried, really I tried hard to stay in bed, in the room, in the mercantile, but I had to get outside.  I know I’ve caused you trouble, and I’m really sorry.”

A tired grin slid over his face.  “I didn’t mean to make you feel bad.  None of us is perfect.  I need to get back to town to report you safe.  I should be back for dinner.  I’ll have supplies delivered from Edith’s place.  Then my routine is to make the rounds after I eat and then again a few hours later.” By the time he’d finished talking, he was at the front door.  He opened it and turned back toward her.  “Do you think you could check on Jester? He should be fine, but I worry.” At her nod he was out the door.

The first thing she did was walk to each window and made sure they were locked.  Then she looked for the root cellar hoping it was inside the house.  Finally, she located it in the pantry.  She pulled up on the door in the floor and went down the steps.  The vastness of the room astounded her.  There wasn’t much food, but there were lamps, oil, candles, and blankets.  Someone was stocking up in case of a siege.  Too bad the original owners never got a chance to live in the house. 

She was just closing the trap door when the jangle of a harness and the clop of hooves filtered in from outside.  With a gasp, she hurried to the front windows, as her heart pounded waves of fear through her.  It was Poor Boy, a young man who worked at Eats, a restaurant in town.  He was rail thin with constant circles under his eyes.  What was
his
reason for not sleeping?

Opening the door before he knocked, she surprised him, and his eyes widened.  “I-I—Miss Edith asked me to deliver these here things to you.  Well not to you exactly but to the Sheriff’s house.” His face turned red as he stammered.

“Can I help you unload the wagon?” She gave him what she hoped was a reassuring smile.  She recognized the agony in his eyes and felt as though he was a kindred soul.

“No, Ma’am.  I’m being paid for delivery.”

“Okay then, you can bring the items in and put them on the table in the kitchen.”

Nodding, he appeared relieved to have some direction.  “Right away.” He practically ran to the wagon.  Perhaps his clothes had once fit, but now the shirt and pants hung loosely on his lank body.  Surely Eats, the owner of the restaurant, fed him.  She watched as he grabbed a box from the wagon and brought it to the house.

“The kitchen is this way.”

He followed her slowly.  When she turned to see what was keeping him, she noted that he took care to glance in every corner of the rooms they passed.  He set the box on the table and walked back to the door, hesitated as he scanned the yard before heading back out.  Such strange behavior.

Moving just as carefully, he brought in the last box and placed it next to the others.  “That’s all, Ma’am.”

“Poor Boy, do you get enough to eat?”

“Yes, more than enough.  I’m just skinny is all.”

“What about sleep? You have dark circles under your eyes.  Is Eats working you too hard?”

He shook his head.  “No, he isn’t.  He’s the best friend I ever had.  I work hard and I get enough time to sleep.  I just don’t sleep much.” The haunted expression on his face saddened her.

“I don’t want to pry.  I don’t sleep much either.  I have nightmares about the Comanche, and sometimes I can’t stand to be in bed.  That’s why I ran away.  I was trying to outrun my nightmares.  Sometimes I’m afraid to go to bed.  Is it like that for you?”

There was a flicker of awareness in his brown eyes.  “Yes, Ma’am.  No one ever really understood before.  I walk a lot at night.”

With a nod, she gently touched his arm.  “If you ever need to talk, I’m here.”

“Thank you,” he whispered.  Then he turned and walked outside and got in the wagon without looking at her.  He flicked the lines and set the horses moving.  But his shoulders slouched as though he had the weight of the world on them. 

What a shame, he’s so young.

Shaking her head, Cecily walked into the house and locked the door.  She didn’t look in every corner, but she did check the windows again.  They were a lot alike, Poor Boy and her, but she knew enough not to pry. 

She smiled as she took the items out of the boxes.  Edith had sold Shane expensive items he had no use for.  He already had a skillet, Dutch oven, and a kettle.  Canned peaches were a luxury he didn’t need to spend his money on.  Butter, bread, milk, eggs, and cheese she conceded were needed now, but she’d be able to handle making butter, bread, and cheese soon enough.  The milk and eggs would come, too, as soon as they got some livestock.  Store-bought soap and candles had her shaking her head again.  He needed a wife to do for him.  A wife who wouldn’t have been taken advantage of by the shopkeeper.