CHANGE OF HEART
By Fran Shaff
A Fran Shaff Family Novel
Historical Romance for Everyone Who Loves a Love Story.
Change of Heart By Fran Shaff
All Rights Reserved
Smashwords Edition
Copyright 2010 by Fran Shaff
Characters, names and incidents used in this book are products of the imagination of the author and are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events, locales, organizations or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.
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E-mail Fran Shaff at: WriterFran@gmail.com
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When you’ve finished reading “Change of Heart,” be sure to read the “Previews Section” following the story where you’ll find information and excerpts from more acclaimed Fran Shaff books--Historical Romance, Romantic Comedy, Dramatic Contemporary Romance, Contemporary Romance, Young People’s Novels
REVIEWS and Acclaim For Change of Heart
5 STARS from Simegen.com The author, Fran Shaff, has sewn together a gripping, warmhearted romance filled with suspense that will have you, the reader, weeping tears of sadness and of joy for the sweetest couple that has hit the pages of books for a long time.
5 HEARTS from The Romance Studio. Ms. Shaff has written a magnificent heart-stirring book. Many times I found myself crying out loud, then releasing a wonderful sigh. Ms Shaff is a gifted writer that always delivers in her stories.
5 STARS from CataRomance. This book is not to be missed.
5 CUPS from Coffee Time Romance. I didn’t want the story to end.
4 BLUE RIBBONS from Romance Junkies: Fran Shaff does an amazing job pulling the reader into the story so that you feel like you’re really part of it. I became so involved, I’d read all the way through the story before I even realized it, and was extremely impressed to find myself so emotionally involved that I cried at several points.
4 ANGELS from Fallen Angel Reviews. Fran Shaff did a great job in bringing together the heartache of losing a loved one and the joy of finding new love. Great Job.
MyShelf.com. I highly recommend this endearing novel to anyone who enjoys old-fashioned romance.
DEDICATION
For all of the good people of Nebraska, one of my home states
Chapter One
Marietta Randolf pulled her aching body from the stagecoach which had shaken her insides for the last two hundred miles. Her tired gaze drifted over the vast Nebraska wilderness. She didn’t like it. She could scarcely believe anyone would willingly live in the Nebraska territory, let alone her beloved sister Kathy.
The journey to Fort Kearney from Chicago had been a miserable one, especially since leaving the steamboat on the Missouri River south of Omaha. Stagecoach treks were not for city ladies; they were for mules and men and other wild creatures. Marietta found it amazing that in the modern age of the late 1850s, travel to the west was still so primitive.
She massaged the aching muscles in her back as best she could without drawing too much attention to herself. She doubted her body would ever forgive her for leaving civilization.
“Do you see your young man, Miss Randolf?” Mr. Henshaw, a fellow passenger, asked.
“My young man? Oh, you mean my nephew Zack.”
“Yes, ma’am. I don’t see any children.”
“Likely he’s inside the fort. However,” Marietta said, looking around, “I am expecting someone to meet me. I don’t see him yet.”
Mr. Henshaw tipped the hat hiding his gray hair, smoothed a hand over his dark suit, and lit his deep-blue eyes the way he’d done numerous times on the ride from the river. “I need to board the stage once again, Miss Randolf. The driver has taken down your bags. He’s ready to leave.”
Marietta eyed the driver who’d refused to give a body two extra minutes to rest anywhere along his route. “It’s been a pleasure to know you, Mr. Henshaw,” she said, looking at him again. What she told him was a lie, of course. He’d been a bother since they’d boarded the coach. His annoying parlance had blown through the conveyance as constantly as the prairie wind. In an apparent attempt to impress her with his intelligence, he unceasingly misquoted the Bible, Ralph Waldo Emerson, and Charles Dickens.
Mr. Henshaw took Marietta’s hand. “Again, Miss Randolf, I offer my sympathies over the loss of your esteemed sister. God be with you in your time of sorrow and always. He’ll be with you in your new life with your nephew as well.”
“Thank you, Mr. Henshaw,” Marietta said, forcing a smile in the direction of the annoying man who was finally behaving in a gracious manner.
He released her hand and returned to the stagecoach. He waved from the window as the coach pulled away.
Marietta nodded and watched the violent vehicle shake and roll over the colorless prairie.
A sudden gust of late-November wind chilled her.
“God’s Cathedral,” she mumbled, repeating what Mr. Henshaw had called this barren wilderness. Marietta would never understand how he saw Heaven in the countryside which, to her, surely had to be a reflection of Hell itself.
“I beg your pardon?” A deep voice startled her.
Marietta turned and found a man staring down at her. He was covered in black from hat to boots, except for the red bandana around his neck.
“Did you say something?” he asked, fastening his dark wool coat shut over his black shirt and waistcoat. “I heard you speaking and thought you’d seen or heard me approaching. Were you talking to me?”
“No, of course not. Just thinking aloud I guess,” she replied, slightly unnerved at being met by such an attractive man. She’d been afraid all men who inhabited the prairie were as old and annoying as Mr. Henshaw.
He nodded toward her. “Nothing wrong with that.” He took off his wide-brimmed felt hat, revealing a mass of dark molasses hair. “I’m Jason Kent, ma’am. Zack’s been staying with me on my ranch,” he said, fingering the brim of his hat.
Another chilling breeze washed over her. Marietta shivered and pulled her wool cape tight around her. “Thank you for looking after my nephew, Mr. Kent.”
“It’s been my pleasure.”
“How is Zack?”
“He’s doing quite well, considering what he’s been through. He wanted to come with me, but I thought it best for him to wait at the fort.”
Marietta nodded and shivered again.
He reached toward her and tugged her cape tighter around her. “You’re freezing,” he said. “We’d best get you inside.” He looked at Marietta’s luggage and returned his hat to his head. “I’ll have to make a couple of trips to take your things to the Carsons.’”
“I’m sorry to be such a bother,” Marietta said as she watched the accommodating man easily hoist her heavy trunk on one shoulder while he picked up another of her bags.
“No trouble, Miss Randolf. You’ve had a long trip. It’s cold this time of year, and you had to be prepared.” He inclined his head toward the stand of buildings inside Fort Kearney. “Go straight ahead, ma’am. I’m taking you to Lieutenant Will Carson’s quarters. His wife Amy has a place for you and Zack to stay tonight.”
“How wonderful, and how kind of Mrs. Carson to take us in.” The thought of being inside a real home again offered Marietta a great deal of relief.
“She’s a fine woman, Miss Randolf. God-fearing and kind.” He took a few steps in silence then asked, “Was your trip to your satisfaction?”
“Certainly not.”
“Problems, ma’am?”
“I’m afraid a stagecoach rides nothing like the surreys we have in Chicago. But then, our streets are more navigable than these rutted prairies.”
“Yes, they are.”
She stopped and looked up at him. “You’ve been to Chicago?”
“Yes, ma’am. I was there when Clint met and married Kathy.”
Marietta shunned the heartbreak which plagued her at the mention of Kathy’s marriage. “You were there? At the wedding?”
“No, ma’am, I knew about the wedding, but I didn’t attend. They eloped you know.”
“You knew they were getting married? Why didn’t you stop them?”
“Stop them?”
“Yes, you should have stopped them, someone should have stopped them.” If Kathy hadn’t married Clint, she’d still be alive.
“I don’t think anyone could have stopped them, Miss Randolf. They were quite determined and both of age.” He stared down at her, shifting the heavy burden he carried on his shoulder. “Did you try to stop them, ma’am?”
“Yes, of course,” she said on a sigh, “but, if I couldn’t make it snow in July, I couldn’t stop Kathy from leaving with Clint.” Kathy had possessed a mind of her own. She’d often ignored even the teachings they’d been raised on and done as she’d darn well pleased.
“Exactly, Miss Randolf. I’m not sure if even God Himself could have kept Clint and Kathy apart. They belonged together more than any two people I’ve ever seen in my life.”
“Mr. Kent, I’d rather not talk about Kathy right now, if you don’t mind.” Losing Kathy to Clint had been bad enough. Now that she’d lost her to death, Marietta could barely stand to think of the pain of the loss of her sister. It ate at her like a disease.
“I’m sorry, Miss Randolf. I didn’t mean to upset you.”
She took a deep breath and let it out slowly. “Let’s find my quarters for the night, please, Mr. Kent. I’m very tired.”
“Yes, ma’am. That way.” He inclined his head toward the fort.
Upon entering the compound, Marietta took in the layout of Fort Kearney. Five unpainted wooden houses stood next to an open square. A large number of mud and sod buildings ran from the square out along the roads into the fort. Young cottonwood trees lined the borders, the only shrubbery visible for miles. A flagstaff rose in the middle of the square. Various guns and weapons stood within the fort. Marietta was unfamiliar with their capabilities, but they looked sturdy and reliable enough to protect the fort from hostile attack.
On the west side of the open area stood a large house, unpainted and rather unusually shaped. Opposite the large house was a long building which rather reminded Marietta of an eastern barn. The two-story dwelling was, no doubt, a barracks for the soldiers. All in all, the buildings of the fort seemed run down and in need of repair.
“The Carsons live in the wooden structure over there,” Mr. Kent said, setting down Marietta’s bag and pointing.
“Would you like to rest a minute, Mr. Kent? The trunk must be getting heavier with each step we’ve taken.”
He smiled and shook his head. “No, ma’am. My burden is light compared to what I have to carry around at my ranch sometimes.” He picked up her bag again. “Go ahead, Miss Randolf. I’ll follow you to the Carsons’ now that you know where they live.”
When they arrived at the Carsons’ tiny home, the door flung open, and a little boy darted from the doorway to Mr. Kent, grabbing his leg. Marietta thought surely the boy, whom she assumed was five-year-old Zack, would knock the man over, but Mr. Kent stood as firmly as a cedar in a storm.
“Jase! Why did you leave me, Jase?”
“I went to meet the stage, Zack. You knew your aunt was arriving today.”
“But you shoulda taken me with you.”
“You were sleeping, son. I didn’t want to wake you.”
“It was only a nap.” The boy scratched through his blonde curls. “You could’ve waked me.”
Jase set Marietta’s belongings on the porch and scooped the boy into his arms. “This is your aunt, Zack. Marietta Randolf, your mother’s sister.”
Marietta smiled at Zack and moved closer to him. “Hello, sweetheart. Your mama wrote me many letters telling me about you.”
Zack pulled away from her and hid his face in Mr. Kent’s shoulder. “I want to go home, Jase.”
“We’ve come to the fort to meet Aunt Marietta,” he said, pulling the boy’s face from his shoulder and forcing Zack to look at him. “I told you she was coming to take care of you. You and I talked about that.”
Zack shook his head. “You told me, but I didn’t want to hear.”
“Don’t worry, Zack, it will be all right. You’ll like Chicago,” Marietta said, reaching toward the boy and touching his cheek. “You’ll go to fine schools and have all sorts of children to play with. There’s so much to do in the city, you can’t even imagine.”
He pulled away from her. “I got plenty to do and a fine home here with Jase. I don’t need no children to play with or no fine schools. I got Jase. He plays with me and teaches me all I need to know. I don’t need anyone else.”
Jase held the boy away from him. “I’m not your family, Zack. Miss Randolf is. She’s your ma’s sister. She’ll give you a wonderful home and be a good mother to you.” He set the boy down.
Zack stared at his feet. “My ma’s gone. I don’t need a ma anymore.” He looked up at Jase. “All I need is you.”
Jase hunched down next to him and took off his hat. “Son,” he said, fingering the wide brim, “we talked about this. A boy needs to be with his family. It’s God’s way. Your ma wants you well cared for and loved. She wants you with your aunt.”
The talk of Kathy’s demise and her wishes for Zack grieved Marietta to the point of collapse. She moved next to the porch, steadied herself, and listened as Zack and Jase went on.
“I don’t want to leave you, Jase.”
He rubbed his hand over his face and focused on Zack. “I know, son, but you’ve got to be a man about this. Miss Randolf has traveled a long way to come for you. You belong with her. Believe me,” Jase said encouragingly, “you’re going to love Chicago. It’s an elegant, wonderful city. I know. I’ve seen it.”
Tears trickled from Zack’s blue eyes across his rosy cheeks. “Jase,” he said thoughtfully, “I don’t understand why I can’t stay here with you.” He wiped his nose on his blue-calico shirtsleeve. “But I’ll leave if you say I have to. I’ll do anything you say.”
He embraced the child. “You’re a good soldier, son. You’ll see. You’ll like living in the city.”
The boy pulled away from him and looked up. “If you say so, Jase.”
He touched Zack’s cheek and stood, glancing at Marietta. “Go inside now,” he said, looking at Zack. “See if you can help Miss Amy.”
“Okay, Jase.” He shuffled up the steps and turned back to look at him. “I always do what you say, but I don’t want to leave you.” He quickly turned and went inside.
The second the door closed, Marietta allowed a few determined tears to trickle down her cheeks as she sat on the porch and dangled her legs over the edge. She pulled a hanky from the pocket of the coat she wore under her cape and wiped her face and nose.
Jase sat next to her, fingering the hat in his hands. “I’m sorry about Zack. He’s been through a lot, but he’ll be all right.”
Marietta looked up at him.
“Zack will be all right,” Jase repeated, “and so will you.”
“Of course he will,” she said, looking away. Would either of them ever really be all right again? she wondered.
“Miss Randolf?” He paused. “Ma’am, if you’re up to it, there’s a bit of business we need to discuss.”
“Business? What do you mean?”
“About your return trip to Chicago. I know the events of these last few weeks have probably made you feel like you’re stuck in a whirlwind, and I’m sorry I’m about to make matters even more chaotic.”
“I’m afraid I don’t understand.”
He twisted the brim of the hat in his hands. “You see, I’ve arranged for your immediate return, just as you requested in your letter. You’ll leave in the morning with a caravan of three other wagons heading for the Missouri River. You’ll board a boat at the river and take passage back to the city.”
Marietta started to weave when darkness began settle over her. She nearly passed out at the thought of traveling again so soon.
Jase steadied her with a strong hand on her shoulder. “Are you all right, Miss Randolf?”
She rubbed a gloved hand over her face, hoping to wipe away weeks of fatigue. “I’m fine, Mr. Kent, but I’m afraid I won’t be able to leave tomorrow. I won’t leave until I’ve paid my respects to Kathy and Clint.”
He let go of her shoulder. “But, it’s all been arranged.”
“Surely one day won’t make any difference.”
A peculiar look filled his eyes. “One day?” he said thoughtfully. Was that empathy she saw in his eyes? Understanding? Compassion?
“Yes, one day. Do you suppose you could talk the leader of the caravan into waiting a single day so I can visit the grave of my sweet Kathy?”
He raised his hand, and, for a moment, she thought he was going to touch her cheek. “Ma’am, refusing your modest request would be impossible,” he said softly. “I’ll arrange for your journey to be delayed a day or two.”
“Thank you, Mr. Kent,” she said, giving him a trace of a smile. “Could I prevail upon you with one more request?”
“Yes, of course.”
She swallowed hard. He’d done so much for her already, but she needed his help. “Could you take me to Kathy?”
He issued her a comforting smile. “We’ll go first thing in the morning, if you’d like. The Morgans were the closest friends I’ve ever had, and it would be my sincere pleasure to help Kathy’s sister in any way I can.”
She covered his hand with hers. “Thank you, Mr. Kent. You can take me any time you’re ready.”
Chapter Two
“Welcome to our home, Miss Randolf.”
Marietta stepped inside the modest quarters of Lieutenant and Mrs. Will Carson. “I hope I’m not imposing too much.”
“You’re not imposing at all. It’s a delight to have your company.” Amy looked at Jase who was standing on the porch behind Marietta. “Come in here.”
He entered and smiled at her.
Zack ran to him, but Amy caught the boy in her arms before he reached Jase. He struggled against her hold on him. “Jase, save me,” Zack said, giggling as he reached for Jase.
The big man took the small boy from Amy who looked like she wouldn’t have been able to hold the squirming child much longer. “You cry now to be rescued from the arms of a pretty girl, but it won’t be long before all you’ll want is to be held by a lovely woman, partner.”
Marietta could feel her face turn a crimson color.
Jase fidgeted. “Sorry, ladies. I shouldn’t have spoken so audaciously.”
“Nothing in the world to apologize for, Jase. No truer words ever spoken,” Amy said.
Though Marietta was surprised by Amy’s casual, undaunted response to Mr. Kent’s boldness, she admired her for being so uninhibited.
Amy looked at Zack. “Say, young man, those gingerbread men we were working on should be ready now. I’d bet they’re just waiting for a little boy to eat them up!”
“Yum!” He pushed out of Jase’s embrace and bolted to the tiny kitchen off the parlor.
“I guess he likes gingerbread. I’ll have to remember that.” Marietta sighed. “That and about a thousand other things.”
Amy put her arm around Marietta. “You’ll do fine, honey. Zack’s a great boy. He’ll help you along the way.”
Marietta was astonished at how comforting the words of this young woman were to her. Amy certainly was at least four or five years shy of her own twenty-nine years, yet she spoke with the wisdom and reassurance of a woman twice her age.
“Thank you, Mrs. Carson. Your words of encouragement mean a great deal to me.”
Amy stepped back and pushed at a stray blonde strand which had escaped the hair arranged on top of her head. Her blue eyes softened, and she stretched to reach a five-feet, two-inch stance. “You seem a very strong woman to me, Miss Randolf, don’t you think so, Jase?”
“Anyone who can make the trip from Chicago to Fort Kearney can handle one little boy,” Jase replied.
“I hope you’re both right.” Marietta looked around. “Where would you like me to put my things?”
“You’re going to bunk with me, sweetie,” Amy said. “My husband will sleep on the sofa, and Zack can sleep on the floor next to him.”
“And, if the colonel doesn’t mind,” Jase added, “I’m going to see if I can pull up a piece of wood in his quarters for the night.”
“You’re staying at the fort tonight?” Amy asked, surprised.
“I promised Miss Randolf I’d take her to Kathy and Clint’s graves tomorrow.”
“But, I thought you wanted to leave for Chicago immediately,” Amy said to Marietta.
“I can’t leave until I’ve told my sister goodbye, no matter how eager I am to return home.”
Amy placed a hand on Marietta’s shoulder. “Of course you can’t.” She looked up at Jase. “We should have considered that. How heartless of us.”
“I’ll change the arrangements as soon as I bring Miss Randolf’s things in from outside,” Jase said, straightening his stance. “I’ll find Jackson and tell him the trip to the Missouri River is going to be delayed.”
“That sounds good,” Amy said. “Why don’t you get Miss Randolf’s belongings and take care of your errands while I tend to her needs.”
Jase nodded toward her and did as she suggested.
When the ladies were alone in the parlor, Amy took Marietta’s cape and coat and led her to the sofa.
“Sit, honey,” she said. “If you don’t, I’ll fall over myself. I can feel your exhaustion clear down to my toes.”
Marietta lowered her body to the softest couch she’d ever sunk into. “I think I’m sitting on a cloud.”
Amy released a girlish giggle. “I understand completely. I remember the unbearable trip out here. We came overland from the Missouri River on a rig like you’re going to take back. I think I turned the trail into mud with my tears. I had no idea how grueling the trip to Fort Kearney would be.”
“Where did you come from?”
“Independence.”
“It’s civilized there. Not like St. Louis or Chicago, but civilized.”
Amy smiled and shrugged. “More or less.”
Oh, my, she’d spoken thoughtlessly, she realized. “I don’t mean to insult your home city. What I meant was how could you leave Missouri to live here? The idea of any woman wanting to live in this wilderness is unfathomable to me.”
Amy’s blue eyes sparkled in the gray light of late afternoon. “Have you ever been in love?”
Marietta shook her head. “I haven’t had time for such things.” Nor did she have the inclination to let any man influence her life. She’d considering falling in love a risky, even foolish thing for a woman to do. Her mother had preached against letting infatuation with a man cloud good judgment. A woman should lead her life conservatively and carefully, her mother always said. For Marietta, that precluded falling in love.
“When you’re in love,” Amy said, letting her voice drift to a heavenly softness, “you’ll willingly live anywhere to be near your man.”
Marietta looked around the tiny quarters, through the window at the desolate landscape and decided falling in love had to be the worst of all afflictions if what Amy said was true.
“When you fall in love, you’ll understand what I mean.” Amy looked at her carefully.
“Perhaps,” she said, hoping to appease Amy with a noncommittal comment.
“Love is a very powerful emotion, but then I believe you already recognize that, don’t you?”
“I beg your pardon?”
“Wasn’t your traveling here an act of love? Hasn’t love enticed you to do something you might not have done otherwise?”
“I’m not sure I comprehend what you mean.”
“You traveled here because you loved your sister, and, because of that love, you want to care for her son, give him a good home.”
“That’s true enough.”
“The power of love enables us to do many things we never thought we would or could do.”
Marietta was letting Amy’s words sink in when Zack burst into the room.
“Where’s Jase?”
“He had some business to take care of, Zack,” Amy explained. “Are there any gingerbread men left in the kitchen?”
“Some.”
“Do you think you’ll have room for beef stew and pumpkin cake come suppertime?”
Zack rubbed his tummy. “I better do something to work up my appetite again. Ma always told me work makes a boy hungry. You got work for me to do, Miss Amy? I want to get hungry for that pumpkin cake.”
Marietta hid the tears Zack’s reference to Kathy caused inside her.
“The wood’s out back,” Amy replied. “Bring some in for the stove, then get the bucket by the back door and fetch water from the well--lots of it. Fill the cistern full. You know where the well is.”
“Yes, ma’am,” Zack said, saluting Amy.
Amy returned his salute. “Hop to, soldier.”
He dashed out of the room.
“We’ll wear the boy out carrying water for us, Miss Randolf. I’m assuming you do want to take a bath before you do anything else. Am I right?”
Marietta was amazed by Amy’s thoughtfulness. “How kind of you, and what a mind reader you are.”
Amy sat next to her. “I’m no mind reader. I’ve been where you are now. The first thing I wanted when we reached the fort after the long journey was a hot bath. I’d expect you to want no less.”
“Bless you, Mrs. Carson,” Marietta said, hugging her.
“Not Mrs. Carson, Marietta. I’m Amy.”
Marietta released Amy from her embrace. “Thank you for your kind friendship.”
“Just so you know, Kathy was my friend too, and I miss her terribly. She was a wonderful girl.” Amy wiped away a tear. “Not nearly as pretty as you, but sweeter than sugar.”
“I’m glad to know Kathy had friends as kind as you in Nebraska.”
“Everyone at the fort loved her, Marietta.”
Tears slid down her cheeks.
Amy went to a rustic wooden stand near the door, opened the top drawer, and withdrew several hankies. She walked back to Marietta and handed them to her.
“I’ve got a feeling you might just need a good cry. You’ve been through more than a body should have to stand.”
“I believe you’re right,” she said, wiping her cheeks. “I think I do need to cry, but I wouldn’t want Zack to see me like this.”
“Don’t worry about him. He’ll be busy hauling water into the house, and I’ll try to heat it as fast as I can so you can have your bath. I’ve already set up the bathtub in the bedroom so you’ll have all the privacy you’ll need.”
“Thanks, Amy, but I really shouldn’t let you bother and fuss over me like this.” She began to get up.
“It’s all settled. You cry or rest or do whatever you want, and I’ll call you in a little while.”
Marietta could see Amy was determined. “Thank you.”
“Don’t mention it.” She left the room, and Marietta lay back on the sofa. It wasn’t long before she dosed and began to dream.
When Amy roused her from her nap, Marietta went straight to Amy’s bedroom. There she found the luggage Jase had hauled to the house and a tub full of warm, inviting water. She bathed quickly because Amy had told her supper would be ready in less than an hour.
Seeing the alabaster color of her skin reappear once the trail grime had been scrubbed from her delicate, soft flesh helped Marietta to feel like a woman again. She was suddenly excited about wearing the best dress she’d brought from Chicago to supper.
It was unfortunate her black woolen dress with the full skirt and long, slightly puffy sleeves hung loosely on her, but it was impossible for a woman to keep a nice, full figure while living the rough life Marietta had experienced the past weeks. No woman could go through what she’d been through without losing weight, thanks to the meager, distasteful meals she’d eaten on her journey.
But, tonight she would eat well. She loved beef stew, and pumpkin cake was her favorite dessert. What a feast!
Marietta looked at herself in the large mirror in the corner of Amy’s bedroom. Her dress didn’t hang right, but her dark cinnamon hair was stunning against the black frock. A bath with Aunt Mamie’s lilac soap and freshly washed and combed hair brought her femininity to the surface. She hadn’t felt this good in a long time. She took a deep breath, full of womanly confidence, and smiled at her reflection before going to meet the Carsons and Zack in the kitchen.
“Look who’s come to join us for supper,” Amy said, delight in her voice.
Marietta’s gaze lifted to meet Jase’s. He seemed to freeze the second he laid eyes on her.
“Mr. Kent,” Marietta said, “I thought you were joining the colonel.”
“I… I was, but, when I brought the rest of your things from the stage, Amy asked me to stay to supper.” He cleared his throat, but his eyes never left her. “I never turn down beef stew.”
“I see.”
“Miss Randolf...” Jase cleared his throat again.
“Don’t be shy, Jase,” Amy said. “Take the lady’s arm and escort her to the table.”
He hesitated a moment then moved toward Marietta, offering her his arm. She took it and walked the few feet to the table in the center of the kitchen.
He continued to stare at her. “You look absolutely lovely, Marietta.”
Thick silence hung in the kitchen as they locked gazes. She felt the warmth of his eyes pierce her heart. Had he just called her by her given name? How very bold of him!
He held her chair for her. “Please sit down.”
She complied, and he took his place next to her.
Will Carson had been standing since Marietta entered the room. “I’d like to second Jase’s observation,” he said. “You do indeed look lovely, Miss Randolf.”
Marietta turned her attention to the soldier across the table from her. “Thank you.”
“As I’m sure you’ve guessed I’m Amy’s husband, Will Carson.” The tall, uniformed man with wavy blonde hair, green eyes, and a bushy wheat-colored mustache turned to Amy. “Did I tell you, my dear, how lovely you look this evening?”
She touched her fingers to her disheveled hair. “Oh, my. You must fancy an un-coifed look,” she said, laughing.
Will leaned over and touched her cheek. “You’re beautiful.”
In that simple exchange, Marietta understood what Amy had tried to tell her in the parlor. Will and Amy had found true love, and, for them, it seemed to have conquered even a desire for the comforts of a more civilized land.
The evening passed quickly. The conversation exchanged, the after-supper cleanup and almost everything else that happened seemed a blur to exhausted Marietta. As she lay in the first real bed she’d laid in since she’d left the boat on the Missouri, she thought it strange the only distinct memory she had of the evening was the comfort she’d felt in the presence of Jason Kent.
Wasn’t it odd a total stranger would have such an affect on her? And wasn’t it even more peculiar that his absence had left her feeling more lonesome than she’d felt on the trail between the Missouri and Fort Kearney?
Perhaps as she slept and dreamt on a real goose down pillow, she’d be able to figure out how Mr. Kent had seduced her into experiencing feelings entirely unfamiliar to her. Or perhaps not.
~ * ~
Jase arrived before daylight the next morning to take Marietta and Zack to Kathy and Clint’s burial site. He wasn’t pleased the outing forced him to change his plans for attending a business meeting, but he’d never shirk his duty to Zack or to Kathy’s sister.
He loaded their belongings onto the buckboard he’d borrowed. When they finished paying their respects to the dearly departed, Jase would take them straight to the cabin where they’d stay until Sledge Jackson and his party were ready to leave for the Missouri River.
Zack did most of the talking on the twelve-mile ride to the Morgan ranch. He asked Jase over and over to tell him about all the adventures he’d had on the cattle drive from Texas in 1852. Zack knew his dad and Jase had been among the first men to make such a drive and bring cattle so far north. He loved to hear the stories of dirt, rivers, horses, and snakes.
Marietta seemed fascinated by the tales herself.
Jase’s stories made it clear he had led a hard life, but a life he’d specifically chosen for himself. His life pleased him in a most fulfilling way, and he made no secret of that.
They reached the graves about noon. The bright sun of the morning had given way to clouds about half way through their journey. After Jase helped Marietta down from the buckboard, she took her cloak and walked to Kathy’s grave. She laid the cloak on the ground and sat down.
“Kathy,” she said, rubbing her hand over the brown sedge as tears began to pour from her eyes. “Oh, sweet Kathy.”
Marietta lay prone on her sister’s grave and cried harder than Jase had ever seen any woman cry. Nothing seemed to exist but her grief, her throbbing heart, the coldness of the earth.
“How could anyone hurt you and rob you of your life?” she said between sobs. “You were a flower among rocks in this harsh land. You should never have left me--blast your rebel ways! You should have stayed with me where you belonged. Chicago died when you left. We all died the day you left us behind, most especially me.” Jase could hear her struggle to draw air into her lungs. “And now there will be no more letters, no more slips of paper allowing me to touch what you have touched. Oh, Kathy, take me with you! I can’t bear to live without you.”
Jase couldn’t stand her pain any longer. He’d held Zack back, giving Marietta time alone to be with her sister, but she was only making matters worse for herself carrying on as she was. Her behavior prodded Zack to break free of his restraint and run howling to Kathy’s grave, throwing himself on the brown sod.
“Mama, take me too! I want to go with you like Aunt Marietta.”
Jase had set broken bones on men who weren’t hurting as much as Marietta and Zack were. He knew how to ease the pain of a man with a cracked femur, but how did he stop the pain of death?
He rubbed his face with his hands as Marietta and Zack continued to beg Kathy to take them with her. When their agony overcame him, he closed his eyes and tried to think of something else. Minutes passed, but he couldn’t fill his mind with anything but Zack and Marietta’s cries. He raised his face to the sky, opened his eyes, and noticed snow was beginning to fall.
He looked toward Kathy’s grave and found Marietta still prostrate with Zack pushed up against her. They held each other tightly and wept together. Jase walked to the buckboard and leaned against it. The snow began to come down a little more heavily. He didn’t like the look of the snow or the sky or the open prairie prone to sudden, fierce storms. They needed to head back to Sledge Jackson’s before the drive became dangerous, but how could he tear Marietta or Zack from Kathy and Clint?
He couldn’t.
He could only hope the sky would hold tightly onto the wind long enough for him to be able to ensure the safety of his two charges.
He tried once more to put his mind on another subject. As Marietta and Zack’s grief turned silent, he was able to think about his land project. Thinking about the development he intended to pursue would take his mind off the pain feeding on his two companions.
It had been just over two months since he and Zack’s pa, Clint Morgan, had talked with a group of men interested in founding a new town along the Oregon Trail. The men had speculated the railroad might come through somewhere near the Trail one day. If it did, lots of money and plenty of glory would be available in towns which sprung up along the Trail. Speculators could garner both fame and fortune.
Not that Jase wasn’t happy being a rancher. He was, but he wanted more. He wanted to leave his mark on the world. What better way than founding a new town? An entity he would establish along with his partners would live on long after he was gone.
He glanced at Marietta and Zack and found they were still huddled together on top of Kathy’s grave. Jase felt his jaw clench. He’d already missed the first meeting of the land consortium due to his responsibilities since Clint and Kathy’s barbarous murders. The next meeting was in two days at Red Rock Junction. He needed to get Marietta and Zack to Jackson’s as soon as possible. He couldn’t afford to miss another meeting. His chance at immortality was just too important. If he’d learned anything from Clint’s death, it was that a man had to reach for opportunities when they came and not put them off.
The snow was getting heavier; they had to get moving. Jase took a few steps toward Marietta and Zack intending to attempt to hurry them along, but when he saw them cuddling and comforting each other, he knew he couldn’t rob them of the time they needed, no matter how important it was for him to get to his meeting.
Another hour passed before Marietta and Zack were ready to leave. Their grief had consumed them so completely they hadn’t noticed it had been snowing.
“Are you sure you’re ready to go?” Jase asked as he helped Marietta into the buckboard.
She looked longingly at her sister’s grave. “I’ll never be ready to leave, and I can’t stand to stay another minute.” She gave him a painful look. “Does that make any sense?”
He lifted one corner of his mouth and touched her snow-speckled auburn hair as he stared into the most beautiful emerald eyes he’d ever seen. “It makes perfect sense.”
He helped Zack into the rig, mounted the carriage and put the horse in motion. Three miles into their return trip, the wind began to whip the snow into a storm as thick as pudding.
“We’re going to have to find a place to wait out the storm,” he told Marietta.
Her face turned as white as the snowflakes on her cheeks. “Where?”
“If I haven’t gotten us steered off course, I believe there’s a shack about a hundred feet that way,” he said, pointing.
“A shack? For the three of us? Alone?”
Her shocked reaction at the impropriety of their being alone would have made him smile if the circumstances hadn’t been so grave. “I’m afraid we either take shelter in the shack, or we risk our lives heading to Jackson’s or the fort.”
Marietta looked down at her nephew who’d huddled between them when the wind began to blow harder. “We can’t risk Zack’s life. We have no choice.”
“No, we don’t.” Jase couldn’t help but notice the fear in her eyes. As he looked away, he decided the last thing she needed was more suffering, and the last thing he needed was another delay in reaching his meeting at Red Rock Junction.
He glanced again at Marietta’s frightened face and found himself wanting to hold and comfort her. He wanted to ease the pain in her heart and erase the fear in her eyes.
Yet he couldn’t help being angry with her for stealing his time. She’d asked him to take her west to Clint and Kathy’s graves when he should have been riding east to Red Rock Junction to meet with the group of land speculators.
He closed his eyes and cursed his unfortunate circumstances. When he opened them again, he headed into the thickness of the storm hoping he could find his way to the safety of the secluded shack. The lives of two other people depended on him completely.
Chapter Three
Snow stung Marietta’s eyes. Wind-driven, individually innocent flakes felt like pin pricks in her cheeks.
Zack snuggled close and covered his face with his hands.
Marietta saw no sign of a cabin.
Jase guided the horse through the storm as though he knew exactly where he was going, but did he? Marietta couldn’t imagine any man could be ingrained enough in his surroundings to find his way in white blindness to a specific destination. All she could do was hope he did indeed have them heading in the right direction.
A few minutes later the cabin came into view. Jase pulled up in front of it, got down from his seat, and secured the rig. He went immediately to Zack and Marietta and helped them out of the carriage. The three of them rushed into the cabin.
Jase lifted Zack into his arms. “Are you all right, partner?”
“I’m cold, Jase, and I’m hungry.” He rubbed a hand over his eye which was still puffy from all the crying he’d done earlier.
“I’m hungry too, and so is your aunt. Aren’t you, Miss Randolf?” He looked down at Marietta, his eyes filled with worry.
“I’m frozen and famished.” She looked from Jase to Zack. “But we can take care of both of those problems.”
Jase set Zack down. “In due time. I’ll light a fire which will quickly warm the shack, but it may take me a while to find game in this storm.”
“No need to wait until you fetch us game to eat, Mr. Kent. I have supplies in my bags,” Marietta said. “Not a lot, but I do have fixings for biscuits and some jerky as well.”
Jase’s brows lifted. “You do?”
“Yes. I bought supplies before we left the Missouri. I wanted to be prepared on the trail to Fort Kearney in case we had unexpected trouble. Fortunately, nothing went wrong, and we had plenty to eat along the way.”
“I’m impressed to find a city woman well prepared for wilderness travel.” Was that true admiration she saw in his eyes?
She waved away his compliment and pretended she didn’t enjoy his flattery a bit more than she should have. “If you’ll bring in the bags, Mr. Kent, we’ll have more clothing for warmth, food and perhaps Zack even has a toy or two among his belongings.”
“I do,” Zack said, “but I’m too cold to play.”
“There are blankets on the bunks over there,” Jase said, pointing toward the north wall as he looked at Marietta. “You’ll find a few extra in the closet next to the fireplace. Wrap the boy so he doesn’t get any colder, and wrap yourself as well. I’ll bring in the bags and put the horse in the lean-to. When I finish, I’ll lay a fire.”
“All right, Mr. Kent.”
Marietta took Zack’s hand and led him to the bunks. She pulled off his boots and helped him get under the blanket. While Jase went about his chores, she found extra blankets and put them over Zack.
She knelt next to his bed and rubbed her hand over his curly blonde hair. “Is that better, honey?”
“Yes, thank you.”
“You’re welcome.”
“Are we going to be all right?”
“I think so.”
“When I got icy cold, I thought maybe Ma was coming to take me with her like I asked. When people die, they get very cold, don’t they?”
“Yes, they do, but your ma can’t come to take you away, Zack.”
“Are you sure? You asked Ma to take you. If she could take a grown person with her, couldn’t she take a little boy?”
Marietta bit back a tear and caressed Zack’s hair again. “When people grieve, they sometimes say silly, impossible things. I asked Kathy to take me with her because it’s difficult for me to be without her, but she can’t really take me to where she is.”
“I love Ma,” Zack said slowly, “but I don’t want to die, Aunt Marietta.”
She took him into her arms and squeezed him tightly. “Neither do I, darling. We’re going to be fine.” She let him go and pulled the blankets up to his chin. “You rest now. I’m going to start laying the fire. Soon it will be warm as July in here.” She kissed his cheek and touched his hair. “You’ll see, Zack. We’ll be fine.”
He nodded and closed his eyes.
She went to the hearth and took kindling from the box near the fireplace. She put it in the firebox and lit it with matches she found on the mantel. The dry wood burst into flames, and Marietta added larger pieces of kindling. When she felt the door open behind her, she turned and looked at Jase. He’d brought in the bags while she took care of Zack, and now he was returning from stabling for the horse.
“You’ve started the fire,” he said, coming to her. He crouched down beside her and took a small log from the wood box to lie in the flames. “Very nice, Miss Randolf.”
His compliment and the warm look in his gaze toasted her insides, and all remnants of the chill within her were gone.
She looked into the flames. “I love the glow of a fire.”
“It beautifies everything around it.”
She glanced at her surroundings and smiled at Jase. “You’re right. It even makes this humble home attractive.”
He took her hand and stood, helping her to her feet. “I brought a bucket of fresh water in from the well. If you’d like to see to those biscuits you promised, I’ll check on Zack.”
“Sounds good, Mr. Kent. I’m surprised to learn this place has a well. I thought we might have to melt snow for our water.”
“We needed a well to water the livestock we run in this pasture. Sometimes in July or August the streams dry up.”
“This is your cabin?”
“Yes. It’s at the far end of my property, near the Morgan holdings. I put the shack up for protection from sudden storms we might experience when we’re working the cattle here. It’s come in handy many times.” He stopped talking and grinned at her. “Now, how about those biscuits? I’m hungry.”
She returned his smile. “I’ll have them ready before you know it.”
He nodded and went to see to Zack.
Marietta worked quickly to prepare their modest meal. She was grateful to find all the utensils she needed to make a proper batch of biscuits. Soon the aroma of fresh bread filled the tiny home, and the three of them enjoyed a pleasant meal.
After they’d eaten, Jase took his gun and went to find fresh game. He tied a rope to a post on the lean-to outside the shack and held on to it as he went into the storm. It would be his lifeline to the cabin. He’d told Marietta, men got lost in blinding snowstorms and died if they weren’t careful.
With Jase gone and Zack content to play with the few toys he had in his bag, Marietta took a book from her belongings and began to read. When an hour had passed, she went to the one window of the cabin and peered out. Jase was nowhere in sight, but neither was anything else. The storm was thick and blinding, and Marietta began to worry. What if Jase got lost? What if he never came back? Another hour passed, and her worries turned into extreme fear.
Thirty minutes later Jase finally returned with two rabbits.
“It looks like we’ll have something real tasty to go with the rest of those biscuits,” he told her pleasantly.
Thank God he was safe, but did he have to bring rabbits for their supper? Marietta knew she should be grateful for the food--rabbit was definitely better than jerky--but she’d eaten rabbit nearly everyday on the trail from the Missouri River, and she was tired of it.
“That’s wonderful, Jase,” she said, rising from the floor where she’d been reading. “I’ll help you clean them.”
~ * ~
Over the next two days, Jase and Marietta spent time reading and discussing the books she’d brought with her from Chicago. Such activities helped the time to pass bearably. She was amazed by his interest in literature. She’d never dreamed a rancher would enjoy books as much as Jase did.
On the afternoon of the third day, the storm had calmed, but it was still not safe to travel. Marietta stood by the window and gazed into the whiteness with Jase standing close behind her.
“Do you think we’ll ever get out of here?” she asked drearily.
He placed his hand on her shoulder. “It won’t be long now, Miss Randolf. You’ll see.”
“I don’t know,” she said hopelessly. “Things have been pretty bleak lately. Two months ago, except for missing Kathy, I was one of the happiest women in Chicago. I had a good job at the library, and I had access to all the social activities a woman could want.” She glanced up at Jase. “Mother always told us social activities defined a woman’s purpose in life.” She looked outside once more. “Good advice is the one thing Mother left us before she died. I’ve always acted on what she raised us to believe, and I was happy to live as she’d said I should. But now…”
He squeezed her shoulder.
She found the gesture comforting. He’d comforted her often in the last two days.
She turned and looked up at him. “Everything in my life has changed. Sometimes, I don’t know what I’m going to do. Will I ever know the happiness and contentment I knew before I lost my Kathy, my love and my life?”
He touched her cheek with his fingers. “It may take a while, but I have no doubt you’ll be happy again, Miss Randolf,” he said gently. “In a few weeks you’ll be back in Chicago and everything will begin to return to normal. You’ve just got to hold on a while longer and set aside these hopeless feelings as best you can.”
“No you don’t understand.” She stepped away and wrung her hands. “It isn’t only the difficulties I’m facing here and now which have me upset. My life in Chicago is as dead as my sister. A week before I got word of Kathy’s death, I was fired from my job at the library. My employer has a sister who was recently widowed and needed a job, and since she has three children and I had none, she got my job.” She glanced at Zack. “Now I have a boy to raise myself and no job to support him or me,” she said, looking up at him.
He rubbed his hand over his dark, unshaven cheek. “What are you going to do?”
“I’m counting on my aunt to take us in while I look for another job.”
“Do you have sufficient money to tide you over until you find work?”
Marietta shook her head. “I used every cent I had left to make this trip, but a lack of money isn’t the worst of my worries. I’m confident I’ll acquire another job. I’m a skilled woman, and Chicago has much to offer. What frightens me most is my total unfamiliarity with being a mother. Mr. Kent, how will I ever be able to give Zack the motherly care he needs? I don’t even know how to be his aunt. Though I’m quite fond of him because he is a part of Kathy, I barely know the boy.”
Jase touched her chin and smiled softly at her. “You’re already mothering him, Miss Randolf. I’ve watched the two of you the last few days. You knew how to calm him when he fretted, you fed him when he was hungry, cuddled him while he slept and kissed him and tucked him in. I heard you pray with him too.” He touched her hair and drew back his hand. “Don’t say you don’t know how to be a mother. Whether you realize it or not, you’re a gentle mother and a loving woman. Zack is very lucky to have you.”
She gazed into the softness of his eyes and wondered how a man who had led such a hard life had managed to have a gentle soul.
“You’re kind, Mr. Kent. Sweet…gentle…kind.”
He reached toward her, almost touched her cheek with his palm.
Suddenly, she realized they were much too close.
“I’d... I’d better make fresh biscuits. I’m sure Zack is hungry again.”
~ * ~
The sun shone brightly the next day, but the ride in the buckboard back to the fort was a rough one. Snow drifts fought the carriage every foot of the way. Dusk set in as Fort Kearney came into view.
Will Carson rode out to meet them outside the fort. “Thank the sweet Lord you’ve returned safely,” he exclaimed. “Amy has been beside herself worrying you’d all perished in the storm.”
“We took shelter in the shack near the edge of my property line.” Jase gave Marietta a quick look before he turned his attention back to Will. “It was a rough few days, but we made out all right.”
“That’s good news, Jase,” Will said. “You’d best take Miss Randolf and Zack straight to Amy. She’ll want to feed them and clean them up and fuss over them. You know how she is.”
Jase smiled. “It’s been my pleasure to be fussed over by your lovely wife myself a few times.”
“And don’t think I’ve forgotten it, Jase.”
The two men laughed at their secret joke, then Will’s expression sobered, and he focused on Marietta. “Miss Randolf, I’m afraid we’ve got some bad news for you.”
Her heart nearly stopped, and she swallowed hard. Bad news? Was there any other kind? “What is it, Lt. Carson?”
“When the sky turned gray and it looked to start snowing, Jackson and his party decided to leave for the Missouri River at once. I’m afraid you’ll have to wait until the next stage comes through before you can return home. That’ll be near the end of December.”
Marietta’s head began to spin, and she felt herself slump into Jase. An arm circled her just before everything went black.
Chapter Four
Jase pressed Marietta close to him.
“Maybe I was too rough with the news,” Will said.
“Is she dead?” Zack asked from his place in the back of the buckboard.
Jase turned around. “No, son, she’s not dead. She just fainted.”
“Why?” Zack craned his body to get a better look at his aunt.
“Because Lt. Carson gave her some bad news. He told her you’ve lost your ride to the Missouri River, and you’ll have to wait several weeks for the next stage.”
Zack stroked Marietta’s cheek with his tiny hand and gazed down at her. “I hope she’s all right.” He lifted his eyes to look at Jase and added, “But it isn’t bad news to me. It means we can stay longer with you.”
He gazed at the beautiful woman wrapped in his arm and remembered the dozens of times her loveliness had stolen his breath during their confinement. “We’d better get Miss Randolf inside so Amy can take care of her,” Jase said, ignoring Zack’s conclusion. As he put the horse in motion, he tried to determine just what his own reaction was to Marietta’s news.
Zack was happy to stay on in Nebraska, but the news of her delayed return had snuffed the breath out of Marietta. What did Will’s proclamation do to him?
With Marietta pressed close to his heart, Jase was torn between hope that he’d have a chance to spend more time with the lovely lady and the resentment he felt toward her because her lingering at the Morgan burial site had caused him to miss his meeting.
It occurred to him then that perhaps the meeting hadn’t taken place. If the storm had been as bad at Red Rock Junction as it was in the Fort Kearney area, no one would have been able to attend the meeting. The thought comforted Jase. Maybe his opportunity hadn’t been lost after all.
Marietta stirred and moaned.
“Is she all right?” Zack asked as he continued to watch his aunt attentively.
“She’s all right, Zack,” Jase replied. “I told you she just fainted. She’s probably exhausted. She’s been through more than most women could take these last weeks.”
“We should have sent a detachment to meet her at the Missouri River,” Will said as he rode beside Jase’s buckboard. “This wilderness is too harsh for city women. We might have been able to offer her more comfort than a stage could. I should have done more for her because of the Morgans. My Amy had a terrible time adjusting when she came to the fort. Kathy Morgan saved her life more than once, I can tell you.”
“Thinking about what we might have done to make things easier for Miss Randolf is useless, Will. Let’s concentrate on what we can do to make her life more comfortable now.”
“You’re right. We’ll have to do whatever we can for her.” He looked ahead at the fort. “Jase, I’m going on to tell Amy you’re coming.”
“That’s a good idea. Miss Randolf will need prompt treatment to bring her around. We’ll catch up as quickly as we can. We should be at your place soon.”
He inclined his head toward Jase and urged his mount into a much quicker pace.
It took Jase longer than he’d expected to cover the last mile to the fort. He was pleased to see Amy standing on the porch waiting for them when he drove up to her home. She shivered in the cold despite the fact she had a heavy knitted shawl wrapped around her shoulders.
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