Shadow of Deceit (Shadow #2) (3 page)

“Interesting,” Julia said.  “Well, then we’ll go to church together.  It will be a first for me.  I’ve never been to a church service in my life.”

“I never did either.  I went because I noticed this gorgeous woman at the bank one day, and my new friend Quinn, told me who she was.” Miles said.  “Quinn told me they all went to Grace, so I started going. The sermons are good and sometimes I think about the minister’s words all week.  But I mostly go to catch a glimpse of Violet.”

“Violet, is it?  Well, I wish you luck.  I’d like to see you settle down and start a family,” she said.

“I just worry that she may be too young for me.  She’s only seventeen, but Quinn said she’ll be eighteen in a few weeks.”  Miles smiled, “Then, maybe I’ll ask her to take a buggy ride or something.”

“Well, I better get these dishes washed,” Julia said.

“Wait!  I need to know one thing,” Miles said, “is Billy safe?”

“For now, yes,” Julia answered.

Julia and Miles sat near the front of the church.  Miles had led them to a seat with the best view of Violet Jeffries, who sat in the front row with her mother and younger sister. 

Miles sighed.  “There she is, Julia, isn’t she beautiful?”

“Which one?” Julia asked trying to follow her brother’s eyes.

“In the front row wearing the blue coat.” Miles sighed again.

“She has lovely hair, I think you call that strawberry blonde.  She’s stunning—from the back.” Julia stifled a laugh.  “I’ll pass judgment until I see her from the front.”

“Wow,” exclaimed Julia.  “The pianist looks a lot like Caleb.”

“That’s his brother, Jonas. He’s married to Violet’s sister Ivy.  She’s sitting in the front row on the left, over by the piano. Their daughter is sitting with her.  When the sermon starts, he leaves the piano and sits with them,” Miles explained.

“Wait, they just married and they have a child already?” Julia asked.

“This is his second marriage.  His first wife died.  I don’t remember all the details, but the little girl is colored.  So, one of her parents must have been also,” Miles said.  “When I first moved here, there were rumors about the situation, but I was too busy learning a new job to pay much attention.  I never was one for gossip anyway.”

“Oh, let me guess what Violet’s younger sister’s name—Iris? Pansy?  Petunia?” Julia whispered.

“Very funny, Julia.  I don’t know her name.”

“Jonas is very talented on the piano,” Julia said.

“You should hear him sing.  Every so often he does a solo,” he whispered.

“Oh,” Julia whispered.  “There’s Caleb.  Whose with him?”

“That’s his father, George.”

Julia started to say something else but Miles shushed her.  “Sh-h, the service is starting.”

After the congregation sang a song, the minister came out and they prayed.  Then, he read a few verses from the Bible and said that would be the theme of his sermon.

Several people walked up to the front of the church and stood at the altar facing the congregation.  Julia gave Miles a questioning look.

He bent down and whispered, “The choir.”

They sang a beautiful song, Julia found herself tapping her toe.  Then the choir took seats somewhere in the back and the minister came out and stood in the pulpit.

His sermon was about Jesus raising a man named Lazarus from the dead.   Julia found it interesting that someone could actually bring a dead person back to life.   She may never have been to church, but she knew who God and Jesus were. 

Her mother had told her children all about God and Jesus, but at the time she was too ill to take them to church.  The family moved from Topeka to Hays when their father had been bitten by the Gold Rush bug, and left them. A bed-ridden mother had raised them in a run-down cabin.  It was all she could afford as she awaited her husband to return a rich man.  He never did return.  After she passed, they were all on their own.  Julia was fifteen, when she took care of her brothers Miles, who was two years younger, and Billy who was four years younger, the best she could.

Miles left home at eighteen and followed a friend to Abilene.  That left Julia and Billy in an old cabin on the outskirts of Hays.  She did her best.  She wasn’t much of a cook, but she kept a clean house.  Billy was the brother who always managed to get into trouble.

After the service, as they were walking out, Caleb caught up with them.  Julia gifted him with one of her best smiles.

“You remember my brother Miles,” she said.

Caleb nodded.  “I haven’t met him formally.”

“Nice to meet you Caleb.  I want to thank you for the kindness you’ve shown my sister,” Miles said. 

“My pleasure,” Caleb said, winking at Julia. 

“Are we still on for our tour of Abilene today, Julia?” Caleb asked.

Julia touched Caleb’s arm, “I’m looking forward to it.”

He gazed down at her hand on his arm and she quickly removed it.  He thought perhaps he should have pretended he hadn’t noticed, but her constant flirting continued to build his confidence.

“I’ll pick you up at one, if that’s a good time for you,” Caleb said.

“That’s perfect,” she said and again graced him with a flirting smile.

Miles said, “Well, that leaves me starting the project to rebuild my front porch.”

Having been invited to his father’s for lunch, Caleb followed George home.  Once inside, and sitting at the table.  George asked, “So who is the lovely woman you were talking to after church?”

Caleb inwardly cringed.  He’d hoped his father hadn’t seen that. He wasn’t ready to talk about Julia yet. And his father seemed to time the question just at the right time, in front of his wife, Phoebe.  Caleb considered his answer carefully.

“Phoebe, this chicken’s delicious, better than Elsie’s,” Caleb said.

“Don’t change the subject,” his father said.  “I’m just curious as to the new people in town.  I’ve never seen her before.”

“Her name is Julia,” Caleb tried to sound casual.  “She is a customer.  Her brother bought some lumber the other day.  She and I have become somewhat friendly, that’s all.”

“Oh, I wish I had gone this morning,” Phoebe said.  “I woke up with the worse headache.”  She looked at George.  “What does she look like?”

“She’s very attractive, and she gives our Caleb some pretty inviting smiles.  I’ve seen her brother before, at the bank,” George said.

“Yes, he is a bank teller,” Caleb explained.  “He’s rebuilding his front porch.”

“Did you ever write to any of the ads in the paper I gave you the other day?” George asked.

“Yes, I wrote to all three.  Since the mail is so slow, I doubt I’ll hear anything for weeks.”

“Join us for a light supper tonight, Caleb?” Phoebe asked. “Jonas, Ivy and Zoe—along with the Jeffries family are coming.”

“I’m sorry, I have some work to do in my wood shop.  I’m still trying to finish Jonas and Ivy’s wedding gift.”

At precisely one, Caleb pulled up in front of the little gray house, and walked to the door.  Julia answered, still wearing the gray dress with red trim, she’d worn to church.  After putting on a gray coat, she waved goodbye to her brother, and allowed Caleb to escort her to the buggy.

“It’s a lovely winter day for a ride,” Julia said as she allowed Caleb to help her into the buggy.  “A bit chilly, but when the sun shines, it makes it seem warmer.”

“I agree,” Caleb said, picking up the reins and starting the buggy.  “First I’ll take you to The Merchant’s Hotel.  It’s our oldest hotel.  They hold social events in town now, in case you get invited to one, you’ll know where to find it.”

Then he showed her the jailhouse, the constable’s office, the courthouse, the doctor’s residence, and the new market.  Then he headed away from town a few miles and stopped.

“See the rutted road on the left, that’s what’s left of the Chisholm Trail.  That’s where the cattlemen used to drive their cattle to Abilene to sell.  But the cattle drives brought a lot of undesirable people to town and—well you wouldn’t have wanted to live here then.”  He started the buggy moving.

“Why was it so bad?” she asked.

“Well, there were shootings, killings, drunken cowboys, women of ill-repute,” he paused, “begging your pardon.  All sorts went on.”

“And you lived here then?” she asked.

“Yes, but we seldom came to town, and when we did it was in the daytime when it was a bit quieter,” he said.

“Where are we going now?” she asked.

“I thought I’d show you the Smoky Hill River before we head back.”

After a rather short drive, they came to a large body of water.

“This is the river.  Did you know Abilene was first named Mud Creek?” 

She shook her head, delighted with the view.

“I always liked this spot.  Would you like to get out and walk a bit—stretch your legs?  I know it was a long and bumpy ride.”

“I’d love to,” she said.

They walked slowly down an embankment and Caleb prayed he wouldn’t stumble or fall over as he sometimes did when going up or down hill.  Julia seemed to sense it for she held his arm tighter, which helped him keep his balance.

Once down the embankment, they walked along the shore.  Caleb wanted to take her hand in the worse way, but thought it was probably too soon to make that move.  However, after a few moments, she slipped her arm through his bent elbow.

“I hope you don’t mind,” she said, “once again I wore the wrong shoes, and I’m hoping if I hold onto you, I’ll not slip and fall.”  She looked up at him, and gave him a slow, seductive smile that made his knees so weak that he thought he’d take a tumble, and pull her down with him.

When they reached a slippery spot she pulled him closer and his arm was pressed against her chest, making his insides feel like jam.  He thought maybe this walk along the river wasn’t the best idea.

When they came upon a large boulder, Julia said, “Could we stop here and rest for a bit?”

“Of course,” he said.  “I hope I haven’t walked you too far.  Are your feet sore?”

“No, they’re fine.  I just want to rest and look at the view.  It’s beautiful here,” she said.  “Do you suppose you could help me to sit on the rock?”

“Certainly,” he said and took both her hands in his and pulled her up to the top of the rock, and then he seated himself beside her.  “This
is
a great view.” But he looked at Julia and not the river.

She reached over and squeezed his hand.  “Thank you for the wonderful afternoon, Caleb.  I’m enjoying it ever so much.”

Caleb felt things he never had before.  His heart raced and his body reacted strangely.  She didn’t remove her hand after squeezing it.  Her hand seemed to burn his into the rock.  They were fortunate, since it was January, that it wasn’t too cold and the sun was bright and warm.

She edged closer to him, “It’s getting a bit colder, now.”

Without thinking he put his arm around her to offer warmth, even though the sun had him so warm he was tempted to remove his coat.  Had he thought about it first he may not have had the nerve, but what was done, was done.  She didn’t pull away.  In fact, she looked up at him and smiled.  He had an inkling that she used being cold as a ploy to get closer, given the mild, sunny afternoon.

That was all the encouragement he needed.  He bent down and kissed her lips. He meant to only kiss her lightly and quickly, but she put her arms around his neck and kept his lips pressed on hers.  She returned his kiss, passionately, which threw Caleb’s mind into turmoil.  He thought she was going to break the kiss but she simply moved her head to get a better angle for the kiss.

This was a first for him, and he didn’t know what happened to his body.  He experienced changes that he’d never felt before and urges he knew he could never fulfill.  She was a lady and he had to treat her with utmost respect.

He hoped she’d release him soon as he started to breath heavily, and he didn’t want her to detect him being out of control. He didn’t want her to know this was a first for him. Instead of letting go of him, she broke the kiss but then laid her head on his chest. 

Since, she didn’t pull away and slap him or anything, he hugged her to him and rubbed her back. 

“Are you warm, now?” he asked.

“Very warm.  How about you?”

“Hotter than Hades,” he replied with a chuckle.  “I think we should head back before we both catch pneumonia.”

Caleb put his hands in his pockets, and walked her back to the buggy.  She slipped her arm through his and rested her head on his shoulder as they walked.

Caleb thought he’d died and gone to heaven.