A Moment in Time (14 page)

Marty sighed. There was no possibility of changing her destiny. Texas and ranching were always going to be a part of her life. She gave Jake a smile. “This place is nice,” she told him. “The trees provide cool shade in the summertime. There’s a river that flows across the property, and while it gets low in times of drought, it doesn’t usually run dry.” She choked a bit on the words. “It’s a good house, too. Will and most of the men in the community came and helped Thomas build it. It’s sturdy. Oh, and there’s a wonderful root cellar that’s good for storms as well as food storage.”

Jake took her in his arms. “You’re a good woman, Marty. I promise to do everything I can to make you happy. I love you.”

She fought back tears. “I love you, Jake. I was so unhappy with you gone. I’m sorry that I’m so afraid. I don’t mean to be. I wanna trust this to God, but sometimes I just remember seein’ Thomas lying there . . . the blood . . . the—”

“Shh, let it go. You don’t need to be dwellin’ on such things, especially now that you have our little one to think on.” He smoothed back a lock of hair. “I want you to be happy, Marty. We don’t have to live here.”

She nodded and reached up to touch his face. “Hannah would like us to stay on with them a while. I told her about losing the other babies, and she wants to take care of me.”

“I’d like that, too. It’ll be a sight easier to go off and work
away from the ranch if I know you’re being looked after. Between her and Alice, you’ll be in good hands. I’m happy for us to stay put. I just hope one day you’ll be ready for us to run our own ranch.”

Marty let out a ragged breath. “One day, I will be. I promise.”

“You seem mighty deep in thought,” Robert said, coming to sit at the small table by the fireplace.

Alice had positioned herself there to gain a little warmth from the hearth. The evening had turned cool, and the chill seemed to cut clear to the bone. She tugged at the edges of her shawl, feeling rather nervous in the presence of Robert Barnett. “I suppose I have a great deal on my mind,” she answered.

“Would you like to play a game of checkers?” He motioned to the board on the table.

“Why not?” She shrugged. “It won’t interfere with anything I have planned.”

He laughed. “You know, for someone who’s just eighteen, you have an old spirit.”

Alice looked at him quizzically for a moment. “What makes you say that?”

Please don’t make this about my
injury and how brave I am to live my life
.

Robert shook his head and arranged the checkers on the board. “I don’t know. It’s just something about you. You’ve been through a lot, so I suppose that has something to do with it. It just seems that other ladies your age are flighty and immature. They seem a whole lot more interested in the next party or a new dress.” He gave a chuckle and added, “And most are completely obsessed with tryin’ to find a husband.”

Alice couldn’t hide her frown, nor did she try to. “Well, it goes without saying, but I’m certainly not doing that.”

He cocked his head to one side. “And why not? You’re a lovely woman.” He smiled. “And just because you’re a deep thinker doesn’t mean you can’t marry.”

Alice didn’t want to talk about such things. Still careful to keep her face turned to the right so that her scar was less visible, she asked, “What makes you so sure my thoughts are all that deep?”

He chose a red checker and made his first move. “Well, you sure don’t talk much, and for a female I find that interesting in itself. Havin’ grown up with sisters and a ma who all speak their mind, finding someone like you is a real treat.” He nodded toward the game. “So why don’t you take a turn at the board and tell me what deep thoughts you were thinkin’.”

Alice felt her face grow warm under his scrutiny. She moved her black checker. “I was thinking about my mother, if you must know.”

He moved again. “I heard Aunt Marty say you thought she was dead but recently found out otherwise.”

“Yes.” Alice selected another checker without thought. “That’s it exactly. Marty’s been after me to send my mother a letter and let her know where I am.”

“But you don’t want to?” He continued to stare at the board, seeming to ponder his choices.

“I don’t know. It might just tip over a big can of worms if I do.”

He looked up and smiled. He had the most beautiful eyes, and his face was like a fine sculpture, chiseled in warm flesh tones instead of cold marble. He was the kind of man she’d always dreamed of—before the accident. Alice felt her heart skip a beat.

I’ve never felt this way about
anyone before. Why am I so consumed by this man
all of the sudden? Am I falling in love?

The idea startled her. She would never have admitted her thoughts to anyone, not even Marty.

“Might not,” Robert said and slid a checker into place.

“Might not what?” Alice asked, forcing the confusion from her mind.

“Knock over a can of worms. It might be a real good thing.”

Alice looked at the board for a moment and then glanced to where Hannah was showing Marty some kind of crocheting stitch at the other end of the room. William Barnett had settled in a large chair near them and was reading a book. Even so, it was as if Alice and Robert were the only people in the room. She felt self-conscious and again tugged at her shawl.

“I suppose it just comes down to me being afraid,” she admitted. Alice stopped and shook her head. “I really don’t know why I’m telling you all of this. I hardly know you.”

“Does that matter?” He looked at her as if her words had somehow hurt him. “I wasn’t tryin’ to pry.”

“I realize that,” Alice said, softening her tone. “I hope I didn’t offend you.”

“Not at all. I guess I just find your story to be . . . well . . . interesting. But more than that. It’s like a puzzle to be solved. I guess I like to see things put in order.”

“So you think I should write to her?”

“Does it matter what I think?”

Alice stopped trying to figure out her next move and folded her arms. “I wouldn’t ask if I didn’t want your answer.”

He chuckled and leaned back in the chair. “Then yes, I think you should write to her. I think you should ask her all those troubling questions and demand answers.”

A smile touched the corners of Alice’s lips. “Demand answers? Is that what you would do?”

“I’m a man who likes to get right down to the point.”

“I don’t know if the address I have for her is any good. And she might very well be dead.”

“And you’ll never know either way unless you write to her.”

Alice nodded, knowing he was right. “I have been thinking that same thing. I asked your mother if I could borrow some writing paper. I just haven’t been able to make up my mind.”

“I can’t tell you why, but I don’t think you’ll be sorry . . . Alice.” He paused. “It is all right if I call you Alice, isn’t it? We tend to be pretty informal out here.”

“Of course.” Losing herself for a moment in his blue eyes, she paused. Here was a man with whom she could talk, share her heart, and not feel uncomfortable. She straightened up, no longer trying to hide her face. He didn’t look away. “I’d like for you to call me Alice.”

“Good. And you call me Robert. We’ll be the best of friends, and tomorrow I will take you out riding after I finish my work.
If
I finish. Pa has a way of finding new tasks for me all the time.”

She stiffened. “I don’t know how to ride.”

He gave a low chuckle. “Good thing I do, then. Your lessons will start tomorrow.” He moved his checker over one of hers and grinned. “Better get your mind back on the game. I’ve just taken one of your pieces.”

More than that
, she thought,
you may well have taken a piece of my heart
.

Alice looked over the words she’d just written, spending some time on the chilly February morning in her room. She’d thought long about what she would say to her mother, and even then the letter had been hard to write.

What will you think when you get
this? How can we possibly put aside all the years
lost and all the pain?

She held up the sheet of writing paper and began to read aloud.

“Dear Mama,

“I can’t believe you are still alive. When Mrs. Ingram told me the truth, I didn’t know quite what to think. About a year after you’d gone away, Father told me you and Simon had died. It’s been over a year since you wrote to Mrs. Ingram, but I decided to try this address and let you know that I am alive and well.

“I moved recently to Texas with a dear woman named Martha Wythe—Marty. We are staying with her brother-in-law and sister, Mr. and Mrs. William Barnett. They own a large ranch not far from Dallas, near a town called Cedar Springs. I find it peaceful. Having never been outside of Denver, I also find the warmer climate quite agreeable.”

Alice paused and drew a deep breath before continuing.

“I don’t know how to say the things that are on my heart. I was so hurt when you left, and I’ve never known
what to do with that pain. How does a mother leave her child without any warning, without any word? How you must have hated me. The very thought of that causes me to want to forget about sending this letter, but Marty tells me I must.”

That sounds so harsh. Perhaps I should rewrite
it.

She looked at several wadded-up pieces of paper and knew she shouldn’t waste yet another piece of Hannah’s good writing paper. Maybe letting her mother see the pain was a good thing.

“I won’t lie and pretend the past doesn’t matter. I won’t try to sugar this up so that it goes down easier. Nobody did that for me.”

Alice’s anger stirred and she fought to push it back down.

“If you desire to correspond with me, you may feel free to do so at the address you’ll find at the bottom of this letter. I would particularly like to know why you left and whether my brother Simon is still alive.

“Yours truly,
“Alice”

Taking up the pen, she wrote the mailing instructions and set the letter aside to let the ink dry. A part of her felt good for what she’d accomplished, while another part felt sick. Marty had been after her to write ever since they’d learned the truth in Denver, and Alice knew she would never stop hounding her about it.

She knew Marty was right. It needed to be done. Whether
her mother had a proper explanation or even cared, Alice knew she had to have at least this small contact. She could only pray that her mother was still alive and residing at the same place.

Her thoughts quickly passed from the letter to Robert’s promise of riding lessons that afternoon. He was a most incredible man, nearly ten years her senior, as Alice understood from Marty. He was the only son and heir to the Barnett ranching empire, but even if he’d been poor, Alice would have found herself drawn to him.

There was something about the casual way he interacted with her. He didn’t seem to care about her appearance. He had never commented on the scar once. No doubt Marty had filled everyone in on her situation prior to their arrival. And if she hadn’t, now that they were in residence the story would surely have been told. Even so, Robert made no mention of it.

Perhaps it truly doesn’t bother him. Maybe he
doesn’t care that I’m less than perfect.

A knock on her door brought Alice to her feet. She crossed and opened to find Marty standing there. “We have guests and I thought you should come meet them.”

“Let me get my shawl.” She picked up a dark blue shawl and wrapped it around her shoulders before joining Marty in the hall. “Do I look presentable?”

“Very much so. You know, I think that scar is fading even faster now that Hannah has you using that special salve she made.”

Alice put her hand to her jaw. “Do you really?”

“I do. My sister is a wonder. She knows about all sorts of things like that. You’ll like getting to know her better.”

“I’m sure I will,” Alice said, letting Marty lead her down the hall.

In the large front room, Alice saw two women sitting and speaking with Hannah. She offered a smile but again kept her face to the right. It was a habit she found hard to break.

“Alice, this is Mrs. Carissa Atherton and her daughter Jessica. You and Jessica are about the same age,” Marty declared.

Alice looked first to the older woman. Mrs. Atherton’s honey-colored hair was neatly tucked and curled into place beneath a lovely hat of plum velvet and black ribbon. Alice thought her one of the most beautiful women she’d ever met.

“It’s a pleasure to meet you, ma’am,” Alice said, giving a little nod. She turned next to the younger woman, who seemed rather indifferent to the introduction. “Miss Atherton, I’m pleased to make your acquaintance.”

Jessica looked her over for a moment. “Mother tells me you are Marty’s maid.”

“Not anymore,” Marty replied before Alice could say a word. “Alice and I are just dear friends now.”

Alice heard Jessica give a little sniff, as if disapproving. She wondered if the young woman had been raised to look down on those of less fortune. Alice waited a moment longer and then felt a sense of relief when Marty motioned her to sit.

“We were just having a nice visit,” Hannah said, “and I wanted you to join us. We’ve been discussing plans for several events that will take place in the next few weeks, and I want you to be a part of it.”

Marty seemed quite eager to share the details. “One of those events will be Jake’s and Hannah’s birthdays. Hannah’s is on the fifth of March and Jake’s is the seventh. We want to have a big party.”

“
They
want to have a big party,” Hannah corrected.

“And of course Robert has a birthday on the second of
April,” Jessica said, smiling. “I do hope we can have a party for him, as well.”

“First things first,” Mrs. Atherton interjected. “The men won’t have time for much of anything until after roundup. We need to think on how we’re going to handle that. I was speaking with my sister, Laura, a couple of days ago, and we thought it might be nice to host the roundup at my place. It’s pretty centrally located to all the participants, since we’ll have the Harpers and Watsons joining us.”

“I think that sounds fine,” Hannah replied.

Alice had no idea what they were talking about, but it sounded like quite the occasion. She looked to Marty for clarification, but her friend didn’t seem to notice.

“So there will be eight ranches involved all together?” Marty questioned.

Hannah and Carissa Atherton nodded in unison, but it was the latter who spoke. “The Reids will be there, the Harpers, Watsons, Barnetts.” She paused a moment to count on her fingers.

Marty used that opportunity to explain to Alice, “The Reids are Carissa’s sister and brother-in-law and their sons, of course. They have a horse farm with some of the finest quality animals to be had.”