Where the Wild Rose Blooms (13 page)

Uncle Mitch says he has a surprise for us. He won't tell me what it is, but he's going to give it to both of us when you arrive. Do you remember the day you counted the weeks to our wedding? Well, we're down to less than 12 weeks now. Eleven weeks and six days to be exact.

Eddie had to stop writing so she could roll onto her back, hug her pillow, and just smile at the ceiling. She was going to be married. She was going to be Mrs. Robert Langley. A huge sigh escaped her. It was wonderful, but the busy week was suddenly catching up with her; Eddie felt a certain lethargy creep over her. She might have fallen asleep if someone hadn't knocked on
the
door. A moment later Sammy came in.

"Eddie, are you busy?"

"Not real busy. I'm writing a letter."

"To Robert?"

"Yes."

"When you're done, will you play a game with me?" "Certainly. I'll come down in a few minutes."

Sammy smiled her thanks and started to leave, but then she stuck her head back in. "Tell him hello for me, Eddie."

"I'll do it, Sammy," she told her with a huge smile. "I'll do it right now."

Boulder

"Well, that was the meal to end all meals," Robert told his host as he rocked onto the back legs of his chair.

"Lavena is a real find, I assure you, Robert," he said of his crotchety but faithful housekeeper. If your Eddie needs any help with the house or cooking, just pop out here to the ranch for a few days."

Robert chuckled, thinking of the scones and tea Eddie had prepared. He shook his head at Travis. "I think my Eddie will do just fine, but thanks for the offer."

"Speaking of Eddie," Travis continued, "what were her plans for the day?"

"She's with her family, including Uncle Mitch, and I think Clay Taggart and his family had been invited to join them."

"You've mentioned Clay several times," Travis commented.

"Yes. I was very impressed. He lives in Georgetown, and he's even a mine surveyor, but he's not caught up in that world of trying to get-rich-quick. Eddie tells me that his dream is to teach school."

"Well, we can certainly do with some well-qualified men and women for that profession," Travis said fervently. "If the rumors in town can be trusted, Boulders new schoolteacher is not what they hoped she would be."

"Yes, I'd heard that as well. Its a large class and I don't think she's assertive enough."

Lavena chose that moment to scurry into the room. She was the tiniest woman Travis had ever known.

"That was a feast, Lavena," Robert told her.

She managed to look pleased without smiling. "Did you save room for pie?" she demanded.

"Not at the moment," he admitted, hands in the air.

Lavena speared Travis with her
eyes.
"You see that he stays around long enough to enjoy some of my pie, Travis Buchanan." With that she was gone.

The two men shared a smile.

"Lavena has spoken," Travis said with a false shudder.

Robert only laughed.

"Now, who is this?" Clayton asked, pointing to the daguerreotype in the album. He turned his head to study Sammy's adorable profile as she answered.

"That's Mothers sister, Lacey. She lives in New York." Sammy turned to him and added, "It was at Aunt Lacey's house that Eddie met Robert."

Clayton's smiling eyes went to the glowing bride-to-be. "I haven't heard this story," Clayton told her. "I assumed you'd met Robert after you moved."

"No," Eddie said softly and would have elaborated, but Sammy jumped back in.

"Oh, no. She went to Aunt Lacey's before we went to New York, and while they were having tea, a man knocked on the door; it was Robert. He had the wrong house, but when he saw Eddie, he stayed for three hours!"

"Well, now." Clayton's expression was warm and teasing as he rose from the kitchen table and poured himself some more coffee. "I had no idea."

"Oh, stop it, Tag. And don't tell him any more, Sammy. He'll only tease me."

Clayton laughed, and Jackie chose that moment to come moodily into the kitchen. Christmas dinner had been over for an hour, and Lexa had gone off with Danny and Milly to one of the rooms upstairs. All the adults were in the living room. Since Eddie, Sammy, and Clayton had taken the kitchen, she felt she had no place to go.

"We were just going to play a game," Sammy told the sulking teen. "Want to join us, Jackie?"

"What are you going to play?" Her voice told of her disinterest.

"Across the Continent '

Jackie studied the toe of her shoe and then glanced at Clayton. His expression toward her was as it had been all day, completely noncommittal, and as much as she hated to be in the same room with him, she hated her boredom more.

"All right," she said after a moment. "I'll play."

Sammy had wanted to show the rest of the family photos to Clayton, but she thought Jackie would leave if she took the time.
Across the Continent
was always more fun with four players, and even better with six or eight. She quickly put the photo album aside and waited while Eddie took the game from the cupboard.

"Ive never played this before," Clayton admitted as they all took seats.

"I'll help you," Sammy offered, but Eddie did the honors.

"Your main objective is to travel across the continent and back. You see," Eddie spoke as the board was displayed, "Its like a map of the United States showing the large cities and the railway lines. You have a ticket and must pay travel expenses with the play money. '

Always good with numbers, Jackie had taken over as banker and was now giving everyone their allotted finances. Lining up his play currency as he'd watched the girls do, Clayton waited for someone to explain the first move. Rummaging in the box, Jackie muttered something about the game pieces being gone, and Sammy jumped up.

"Oh! I think they're in my room. I'll run up and get them."

Jackie thought nothing of this until her father called to Eddie from the living room and a moment later she found herself alone with Clayton. Her eyes darted to him, but he was studying the board. Jackie relaxed until Clayton said out of the blue, "Does your hand hurt, Jackie?"

Jackie's eyes flew to his, but he was looking at the faint bruises on the back of her hand. Jackie swiftly buried her hand in her lap, and then Clayton sought out her eyes. She looked defiant as usual.

"I'm not going to tease you, Jackie," he said quietly. "You don't need to worry about that."

Silence hung between them for just an instant.

"Why did you stop teasing me, Clayton?" The question was out before she could stop it.

"It had gone too far."

"What do you mean?" Jackie's brow was furrowed; she honestly didn't understand.

"I mean, if someone actually thinks that I want to see them hurt, then my teasing has gone too far."

Jackie suddenly remembered the scene with the pitchfork in Taggarts' barn. She felt the first inkling of softening toward Clayton Taggart; he really had been concerned about her. Unfortunately, he was about to unwittingly destroy this tiny seed before it could grow even a millimeter.

"I realized," Clayton continued, "that either I was being too harsh, or you just couldn't handle that type of jesting."

Clayton watched Jackie's eyes flash with dark-blue fire and knew he'd stepped on her pride.

"I can take anything you dish out, Clayton Taggart!" she hissed. "Just don't you forget that."

Sammy came back into the room just then, and Eddie was close behind her, so Clayton was not able to reply to Jackie's venomous outburst. The game was played, and Jackie won hands down, but Clayton gave it little thought. However, he nearly mourned at how close he'd come to seeing her soften, only to have her turn on him again.

January 2, 1874, was Jackie's sixteenth birthday It was a Friday, and she went to school wearing new ribbons in her hair and new mittens, but she wasn't feeling as ecstatic as she normally would have. The depression that had hit in the East in September 73 had now spread toward the West. Her mother had managed to make Christmas feel normal, but just days after December 25, her parents had warned everyone that things would be different. Since Jackie's birthday was the first in the year, she was the first to feel the changes.

There would still be a cake and a special meal, but the new dress she usually received, the book or game, and the special box of candy were going to have to wait for another time. Added to this was the upcoming wedding. One day while Eddie had been out of the house, Addy had sat down with the girls and told them her desire to make Eddie and Robert's wedding everything it could be. It meant cutting back in many areas, and although Jackie was the first to agree wholeheartedly to help in this, she had not anticipated the way she would feel when she had so few gifts to open on the morning of her birthday.

Though she was careful not to let on to anyone, it did not put her in the finest of moods. Her father's attitude was no help. He enjoyed birthdays but saw no reason to let them interrupt the workday. Friday the second was Jackie's day to work in the store, and Morgan expected her to be on time. After school she came through the doors in a towering rage but was careful not to let her father suspect.

"Sweep out the back room, Jack," were his first words, and when Jackie was finished, the room had never looked so good. She took out every ounce of resentment on that floor and had the dust flying so high she had to open a window.

Uncle Mitch came by at one point and gave her a birthday hug, but she was still out of sorts. The mood only worsened when her father told her she'd have to mind the front. Mitch had business at the bank, and Morgan planned to work in the office. Hoping with all her heart that no one would come in, Jackie obeyed and slowly walked toward the front. The bell rang just moments after she arrived behind the counter, and her heart sank when she saw it was Clayton.

He walked easily until he spotted the girl behind the counter whose eyes were hostile enough to make his step falter. Clayton had not had time to give the girls a ride home today, so he hadn't seen that Jackie would

have walked downtown and not accepted his offer anyway. Knowing that nothing he could say or do was going to help the relationship, Clayton almost turned and went back out. However, he was out of time. His mothers birthday was in two days, and he had to leave the following morning.