Loving Eliza (31 page)

“You heard me screaming, didn’t you?” she asked.

She felt him nod.

“Thank you for coming.”

He took her hand and pressed it against his chest where his heart beat, steady and strong.

“I love you too,” she whispered
.

He then led her to their wagon to get ready for their trip to town.

They followed his brothers, and John kept his arm wrapped around her shoulders the entire time.  She sens
ed the anger still raging inside
him.  In all the time she’d known him, she couldn’t recall a time when he’d been this furious, but given the circumstances, she really couldn’t blame him.  It was a rough trial, and the fact that it was his own brother had to be a sharper sting.  Somehow, they would make it through this.  Troy hadn’t succeeded.  And that counted for a lot.

When they reached the doctor’s offic
e, they waited as Aaron and Guy
took an unconscious Troy
in
to seek medical attention.  A part of her wished her aim hadn’t been
off.  She’d wanted to kill him—
anything to stop him.  And even as she struggled to forgive him, she realized this was going to take time. 
She couldn’t simply will her
anger away.  No.  It was good he lived.  How else could he get a second chance? 
If they prayed for him, maybe he would call on God.  Or maybe not.  Everyone had to make that decision on their own time.

As she th
ought over her life, she realized
that she couldn’t control what others thought or did.  All she could do was control what she did.  The revelation struck her so suddenly that it shocked her.  And in that moment, she felt freer
than since the day
before
her parents died
.  Somehow, some way, she knew that everything was going to be alright.  God hadn’t abandoned her all those years ago, and though she had no idea how He could allow her uncle to mistreat her, she had to put her faith in Him.  The fact of the matter was that evil was in the world, and as long as it was, bad things were going to happen.  It was just like Preacher Peters told her before she left Omaha.  God would find a way to work good out of any of the bad things that happened.  Sometimes it happened right away, and at other times, it took longer.

And here she was with John.  She hadn’t hoped for marriage when she stepped off that stagecoach.  She certainly hadn’t hoped for someone like John to come into her life.  Oddly, she considered that if she had to go through everything she’d been through so she could be with John, she’d do it all over again. 
She took his hand in hers and squeezed it.

Aaron came back out.  “Guy
is going to help the doc, but it looks like you got his
larynx
,” he told Eliza.  “He’ll live but he won’t be talking ever again.” He looked at John.  “Are you ready to see the marshal?”

John nodded.

They waited until Aaron got on his horse and followed him to the jail where Ralph was doing some paperwork.  He looked up as soon as the four of them entered.  “Howdy,” he called out.  Then he blinked.  “What’s going on?  John, is that blood on your shirt?  Are you hurt?”

“No,” Aaron quickly said.  “But Troy is.  Look, Troy just assaulted Eliza, and we came to find out what’s to be done about it.”

Ralph grabbed a chair from the vacant cell and put it in front of the other two chairs in front of his desk.  He then motioned for Eliza to sit in his chair but she declined.  She went to stand behind John as soon as he sat down.  She needed to stay connected to him, and touch was the best way she could think to do that.  After she gave her
story, John wrote his, and Shawn
and Aaron supported what she and John reported.

Ralph leaned back in his chair and shook his head.  “I always thou
ght there was something off
about that boy.  Alright.  There’s no need for
a
judge in this case. 
He’ll have to go to jail in Sioux Falls.”

She relaxed.  At least, he wouldn’t be in their town anymore.
  She noted that John’s shoulders
also relaxed.

As they left the jail, a group of people had gathered outside.  Eliza instinctively stepped closer to
John.  Aaron and Shawn stood to
her other side.

The preacher stood in front of the group and came forward.  “Morning, John, Eliza.  We heard you were in town and
wanted to see you.  We
hope that you will still want to be a part of this community.  There was some talk that you might leave, but when trouble happens, we’ve got to stick together.”

“That’s right,” Willy called out.  “John, this place wouldn’ be the same without you and Eliza.  You do a lot of good in this town.”

“He’s right,” the marshal said from behind them.  “I think a lot of us didn’t realize how much you do around here.  I’m sorry for that.”

“Me too,”
Greg Stevens added from the crowd.  “I’m sorry, John.  I owe you some lumber.”

“We’ve learned our lesson, John,” another man called out.

Charity spoke up.  “And Eliza, after what you’ve been through...I mean, what with your uncle and all...I just can’t imagine what you’ve been through.  It would be wrong for us to turn our backs on you.”

The crowd nodded and murmured their agreement.

The preacher turned back to them.  “I hope you won’t let the opinion of a few run you out of town.”

Eliza didn’t know what to say, but John smiled and shook the preacher’s hand and that seemed to settle the matter.  The crowd surrounded them, and for the first time, Eliza felt like she was a part of the community instead of watching everyone from the outside.  She glanced up as someone called her name and smiled and hugged Addy.

“Are you alright?  I saw Troy leave for your place and sent his brothers after him,” Addy whispered.  “Frank said he heard Troy talking to you that day you got your picture taken.  We’ve been watching him.”

“Thank you, Addy.  They got there in time.”

Addy looked relieved.  “Good.  I’m so glad.  I’ve been praying hard for you.”

Eliza didn’t mind the tears that filled her eyes or stop herself from hugging her friend.
 
Glancing up at the clear sky, she caught sight of the sun
.  It was the most beautiful shade of yellow she’d ever seen. 
Much better than yellow flowers. 
Maybe the time for sorrow had passed.  Maybe this day was the beginning of the good
that
Preacher Peters
ha
d talked about.  A new start.  A t
ime to wipe the slate clean.

Her eyes met John’s and he smiled at her.  She returned his smile.  Yes, everything was going to be good for
now on, and they’d have the grace of the sun to light the way.

C
hristmas morning came and with it the wind howled and snow covered the ground.  Eliza found that she loved winters in the southern Dakota territory.  There was something magical about watching snowflakes fall down, so when she woke up early that morning, she decided to add more woo
d to the fireplace in the
parlor.

Dawn had passed a good hour ago, so she could see the snow whirling in the wind.  Wrapping the blanket around her shoulders, she stood in front of the window and smiled.  The world contained simple joys that she’d long ago forgotten to savor.  Being married to John reminded her that miracles still happened.

She heard John come into the room before she saw him.  “It’s a beautiful morning, don’t you think?”

He walked over to her and kissed her.  Then he pointed to the bedroom.

She laughed.  “Don’t you ever think of anything else?”

He crossed his arms and pretended he was shivering.

“Oh.  You got cold without me next to you.”

He nodded.

“We should get up anyway.  It’s almost mid-morning.  Farmers have been up for hours by now.”

Grimacing, he shook his head and motioned to the bedroom.  Then, before she could say anything else, he picked her up and carried her back to bed.

“You are the most persistent man I’ve ever met.  You do know that you’re persistent, don’t you?”

He shrugged as he gently placed her on the bed and tucked her in.  Afterwards, he slipped under the covers, snuggled up to her, and closed his eyes.

She seriously doubted that he wanted to go back to sleep, and when she felt his hand lightly stroke her breast, a wry grin crossed her face.  “So you had an ulterior motive for bringing me in here.  I sh
ould be cooking breakfast
.  Aren’t you hungry?  You used up a lot of energy last night.”

He
kiss
ed
her.

Eliza
wondered if he did that to shut her up, but if that was his intent, she didn’t mind.  It was a wonderful way to be told to quit talking.  She closed her eyes and melted in his arms.  He proceeded to make love to her, taking his time in bringing them both pleasure.  And when they were satisfied, he drifted off to sleep.

Excited, she couldn’t doze off
, even if she woke up earlier than she u
sually did.  It was Christmas.  That afternoon, they had plans to go to Charity’s party. 
As she imagined
how
nice it would be to spend
time with friends
, she remained in John’s arms and watched the snow as it
fluttered
outside the bedroom window.

An hour passed by and she decided she couldn’t lay still anymore.
  She quickly got up and put on her warmest dress and made
a quick snack.  She knew Charity would have enough food prepared to feed an army of hungry men, so she didn’t have to make a large breakfast—not since John had delayed her.

She glanced out the kitchen window.  The snow had stopped but the sun had finally come out so the white ground sparkled.  Humming
, she went over to the freshly cut
tree in the corner of the parlor and gave it some water. 
John had thought she was silly to decorate it, but to his credit, he humored her and helped her s
tring popcorn and cranberries on
the tree.

When she returned to the kitchen sink, he emerged from the bedroom.  “Good morning again, sleepy head.”

To her surprise, he gestured
for her to go back into the bedroom.

She placed a hand on her hip and shook her head.  “I can’t believe you.  We have to leave in an hour.”

He pretended he was shivering.

“Oh no
,
you don’t.  Not again.  I’ll keep you warm in bed when we get back.  Right now you need to get ready.  I set out a couple
of
biscuits and honey to tide us over until we get to town.  You do want
to
save your appetite.  That Charity knows how to make the best food you’ve ever tasted
.  And w
ho knows?
 
You might eat so much that you will actually come back and go to sleep.”

He sighed but obediently went to the bedroom to get dressed for the day.

As soon as he returned, she grinned.  “I hoped you would wear the same clothes you wore the day we met.  You look handsome.”

He pointed to her and
made a circle around his face.

“I’m pretty.”

Nodding, he made his way to the kitchen table and got ready to eat.  Once they finished their snack, he got the horses and sleigh ready while she put on h
er coat.

She gathered the
baby
gi
ft she planned to give Charity
.  Eliza glanced at the photograph
of her son which remained on the fireplace mantle next to the picture of her and John.
 
“Merry Christmas,” she whispered, hoping he
r son
would have a good one with his parents.
 
Taking a deep breath,
she turned and left the house.