Melinda and the Wild West (16 page)

Jenny grinned at the confrontation that she
had just witnessed between her father and Melinda and then took
off.

Melinda stood with her hands still on her
hips as she watched Gilbert put the food on the table. She was
having fun with him and was trying very hard to suppress a
smile.

After Jenny left the room, Gilbert turned
from the table and saw Melinda’s stubborn stance, which was quite
amusing. His eyes swept over her figure, from head to foot. She was
so lovely. When his heart picked up speed, he gave a quick glance
to see if Jenny was gone. Then he grinned and took large strides
toward Melinda and stood in front of her. He slid his hands around
her slender waist and embraced her tenderly.

“Why do I infuriate you so?” he whispered in
her ear.

Melinda slightly gasped at his touch, and
the warmth of his breath against her ear sent a shiver down her
spine. Trying to get her breath back, she answered, “You don’t
infuriate me, Gilbert. I…I don’t know why I get upset over such
little things.”

Gilbert wrapped his arms around her and
squeezed her gently, holding his hands firmly against her back. It
did not take much before she melted into his arms and leaned her
head against his shoulder.

As she sighed, Gilbert grinned. “Yup, it
happened again. I just had to check to see if it was my
imagination.” Then he pressed his lips to her temple and gave her a
lingering kiss.

Feeling the warmth of his lips against her
face, she tried to keep her senses about her, but without much
success. Finally Melinda breathlessly asked, “What do you mean?
What happened again?”

Gilbert nuzzled his cheek next to hers and
whispered, “I mean, when I hold you close to me like this, you seem
to melt into my arms like it’s so natural.” He sighed. “You’re so
soft and it feels so good to hold you, Melinda.”

Melinda’s heart swelled at the tender words
that Gilbert had just told her and she relaxed in his arms. She
looked up into his eyes and then wrapped her arms around his chest
and held him tightly.

Aware of Melinda’s embrace, Gilbert realized
that she was experiencing the same feelings he was toward her, and
he didn’t want to release her. He looked down at the woman in his
arms staring back at him and saw the fullness of her lips. A strong
desire to kiss her rose sharply within him. When he saw the
invitation in her eyes, he leaned down toward her and was about to
press his lips to hers when he heard a sound at the hallway.

Just then Jenny entered the room. Melinda’s face
flushed as she instantly pulled her hands up against Gilbert’s
chest and firmly pushed herself out of his arms. Then she wiped her
hands on her skirt nervously. Gilbert grinned as he watched
Melinda’s face redden. Her blush was so amusing that he had to
suppress a chuckle. He turned around and saw Jenny smiling at
him.

“Sit down, Jenny. Let’s eat.”

As they sat at the table, Melinda was quiet.
Her heart was still pounding rapidly and she tried to think of
something to say. Looking up at Gilbert, she was still flushed and
embarrassed. Then she said, “Uhm…how’s the weather? May I go home
today?”

Gilbert grinned at her beautiful rosy face.
He enjoyed embarrassing her. He tried to hold back a chuckle as he
answered Melinda’s question. “It’s much better. You might be able
to leave this afternoon.”

Jenny spoke up. “No. I don’t want you to
leave. Please stay, Miss Gamble.”

Melinda smiled as the original color came
back to her cheeks. “I must, sweetie.”

Gilbert quickly added,
“Not until we finish
Black
Beauty
, all right? What do you
say?”

Melinda’s heart filled with warmth as she
saw his tender eyes watching her, full of hope. Then she nodded in
agreement.

After lunch, Jenny and Melinda did the dishes while
Gilbert read in his favorite chair. He had volunteered to help
Melinda with the dishes, but she refused his help for two reasons.
First, he had been cooking and waiting on her since she arrived.
Second, Melinda felt she needed to protect her heart, especially
after the way it had reacted when he embraced her. She knew she was
falling in love with Gilbert, but she did not know how he truly
felt about her. Melinda felt vulnerable and she needed to protect
her heart until Gilbert was ready for a commitment. She realized
that Gilbert had concerns because he had voiced them on the way
home from the terminal. She just had to wait until he was
ready.

After the dishes were done, Melinda sat
beside Jenny and finished the book. “‘And here my story ends. My
troubles are all over, and I am at home; and often before I am
quite awake, I fancy I am still in the orchard at Birtwick,
standing with my old friends under the apple trees.’”

Melinda closed the book and hugged Jenny. “I
should go home now, Jenny.”

Melinda realized she needed to go home as
soon as possible. Her love for this man was growing and until he
was ready, she needed to get her life back into order again.

Upon hearing this, Gilbert immediately
stood. “I’ll get the buckboard ready. Joe brought it by this
morning when he helped me milk and feed the cows.”

It was late afternoon, the sun was beginning
to set, and the ride home was chilly. The wind had calmed down and
the cloudless sky left a crispness in the air. The ice on the bare
branches of nearby trees and shrubs was sparkling with the evening
sun. A rabbit scurried across the field, heading for shelter. They
passed drifts and large mounds of snow as the horse trotted along
the road.

Melinda was quiet as Gilbert looked toward
her. Her cheeks were pink from the chill and she looked so lovely.
He smiled at her as he reined in the horse. “You’re home,
Melinda.”

Gilbert hopped down from the buckboard and then
offered to help her down. The step along the side of the buckboard
was icy, so she held onto the back of the seat as Gilbert held out
his hand. Her foot slipped on the icy step and she grabbed tightly
onto the back of the seat to steady herself.

“Wait. Let me help you down,” Gilbert said
softly.

He held both hands out
while she stood beside the seat. She leaned toward him and put her
hands on his shoulders while he slipped his hands around her waist.
Gilbert’s physical strength was obvious as
he slowly lifted her down
.

As Melinda stood with her back against the
buckboard, she was aware of his hands still around her waist. She
was also conscious of his closeness as she felt the warmth of his
breath against her face. Gilbert stood beside her and gazed into
her eyes with tenderness. Melinda’s heart beat furiously from the
touch of his hands around her as he lingered for a moment. He
seemed to be studying the contours of her face and as his eyes
wandered to her mouth, she could tell that he wanted to give her a
kiss—the kiss of which he had been cheated when Jenny had
interrupted them. But for some reason, he chose not to. His
magnetic charm tugged at her heart and she could not deny that she
was in love.

“I’ll walk you to the door,” he said in a
deep soft tone.

“Thank you, Gilbert.”

Then he dropped his hands from her waist,
stepped back, and took her arm to steady her. “I’m so glad you
don’t call me Mr. Roberts anymore. It sounded so formal.”

Melinda laughed at his comment as she opened the
door of her home. She turned to face him, but he was already
heading back to the buckboard before she could thank him. She
watched him leave, but he did not turn and look back. To Melinda,
it was a sign of affection when someone turned and gave one last
glance or smile. Why didn’t he turn and take one last look at
her?

She knew that something was bothering him
and that he still was not ready for a commitment or he would have
taken the opportunity to tell her his true feelings when he had her
cornered at the buckboard. His eyes had been so fixed upon her as
he held her at the buckboard and Melinda knew that he wanted to say
something, but didn’t.

Inside, she wished that he would have taken her
in his arms and held her and given her the same lingering kiss that
he had given her at the terminal. Melinda’s chest became heavy and
a few tears stung her eyes. The pain in her breast intensified and
her heart felt as if it would break. Why did she have to fall in
love with a man who was afraid of commitment?

Three weeks passed and Gilbert had not seen
Melinda at all except in passing at church or in town. He had been
purposefully avoiding her because he had concerns that he had to
work out before he could court her. Valentine’s Day was coming in
less than a week. The community was going to have a Sweetheart’s
Dance and Gilbert wondered whether or not he should go. Would
Melinda be there? As he fixed supper alongside Jenny, he saw her
look curiously at him.

“Pa, are you going to the dance?”

“Don’t know, darlin’.”

“I know you like Miss Gamble, Pa. No need
tryin’ to hide it from me.”

Gilbert laughed. “How do you know?”

“It’s in your eyes, Pa. You can’t hide it. I saw
the way you looked at her and watched her move about when she
didn’t know you were watching.”

He shook his head in amusement. “You’re too
smart for your breeches.”

“Are you goin’ to give her a valentine?”

“A valentine?”

“Yes, Pa. You always give a valentine to a
sweetheart.”

“But, Jenny, she’s not my sweetheart.”

“You could’ve fooled me when I saw you two
in the kitchen. You were holdin’ her, Pa. And she blushed. No lady
ever blushes unless she likes a man. She’s your sweetheart and you
don’t even know it.” Jenny giggled when she saw her father frown as
if denying the fact. “Pa, send her a poem. She’ll like it.”

“A poem? Why?”

“Because it’s romantic. Don’t you know anything
about romance, Pa?”

He smiled as he set the table. “Apparently not. So,
what kind of poem should I give Miss Gamble?” Then with a
mischievous glint in his eyes, Gilbert grinned from ear to ear and
said, “I know! How about the poem called ‘My Fancy’ by Lewis
Carroll? That’s a real romantic one, don’t you think?”

Jenny giggled and shook her head. She
remembered it very well. He had read it to her many times and it
always made her laugh.

Watching his daughter laugh, he smiled and said,
“It tells all the things that you love about your sweetheart.” He
stood at attention and then quoted:

She has the bear’s ethereal grace,

The bland hyena’s laugh,

The footstep of the elephant,

The neck of the giraffe.

I love her still, believe me,

Though my heart its passion hides;

She is all my fancy painted her,

But, oh, how much besides.

Jenny laughed so hard that her sides began
to ache. After a while she put her hands on her hips in mock
exasperation.

“Now, Pa, if you don’t become serious about
this, you’ll lose her for sure. I’ve noticed the superintendent has
been making eyes at Miss Gamble lately. His name is Henry and when
he talks to her, she smiles at him. Sometimes he makes her
laugh.”

Gilbert became sober and stood a while in
thought, rubbing his chin. “Hmmm, Henry’s been paying attention to
her?”

“Yup.”

“How much attention?”

“Quite a lot, Pa.”

“A lot?”

“Yup. Are you goin’ to write her a poem now? He
even made her some fake flowers and gave ’em to her to put on her
desk at school and he put perfume all over ’em. They sure stink up
the room. After he gave ’em to her, Miss Gamble smiled and said
thank you all sweet like. You had better give her a nice poem, Pa.
And I mean it.”

Gilbert gave her a subdued half smile. “All
right. I’ll think about it. Right now it’s time to eat and I
believe it’s your turn to say the blessing on the food.”

During the rest of the week, Gilbert heard
gossip in town all about Henry and Melinda. He heard about how
Henry was bragging that they had been dating since December, which
annoyed him to no end. Gilbert became worried and nervous about it.
Then he noticed that he was edgy and ornery with everyday chores.
One time he actually kicked the bucket he was milking into. It flew
across the barn and hit the wall at great speed, splattering the
milk everywhere. When Joseph asked him how his bucket ended up
against the wall, he just said, “My foot slipped.”

Why did he feel so jealous about Henry?
Melinda was a beautiful woman and it was only natural that others
would be interested in her. She had a right to date whomever she
pleased. After much examination of his emotions, Gilbert knew that
if there had been any doubt of his being in love with her before,
there certainly wasn’t now.

Gilbert remembered the first time he had
seen her wading in the stream and how she had laughed so
delightfully as she watched a couple of birds flying above her. She
had exuded such purity and innocence as she waded barefoot down the
creek. Gilbert chuckled as he remembered that day. He remembered
how flustered he had been when he saw this graceful and beautiful
woman heading his way, holding her skirts above the water.

Then he remembered her stormy eyes as they flamed
with anger when he had tried her patience. Gilbert grinned at the
memory of it. He thought about Melinda’s timid and uneasy face he
had gazed upon as they stood beneath the mistletoe. He noticed she
had felt insecure with him so near. When he took her hand, he could
see the relief in her face.

The memory of her gentle
and warm kiss at the terminal remained etched in his mind, as well
as the memory of her voice singing as she cleaned the cabinets of
his home and her gentleness as she read
Black Beauty
.