Surrendered on the Frontier (11 page)

Samuel stroked his beard. “Well, now, at first he was pretty mad. He was bound and determined to have a reckoning with you, but I assured him you’d already been dealt with.”

Normally, I’d be embarrassed that Aaron knew Samuel punished me. But now I nodded eagerly, as it was one step closer to having me reunited with Pearl. “But it wasn’t enough.”

I sat at my table, smoothing out my skirts. The knowledge that I
couldn’t
see Pearl was somehow more difficult to take than the knowledge that I simply
hadn’t
seen her. The deliberate decision to exclude me from her life stung. But I couldn’t really blame Aaron either. I’d sent his wife home with a handprint right across her cheek. I covered my face with my hands. “Oh, when will I learn to curb my temper?” I said.

“Oh, you’ve already learned how,” Samuel said. “You’re fully capable of not losing your temper with Hannah, or with those little critters that follow you around. Are you not?”

I nodded slowly. He was right. I never lost my temper with Hannah.

He raised a brow. “Seems to me you only let loose on the ones who can handle you.”

I frowned at him, but he had a point. I’d never lost my temper with Matthew, or Hannah, or any of the children. But it was a different circumstance then. They didn’t anger me like the others did.

“Seems to me the sooner you learn to control your temper, the better,” he said. “But since I’m not always there to teach you, you best learn the only way you have available. And for now, that means you don’t get to see Pearl.”

Though I felt the sting of his scolding me, I closed my mouth and bit my tongue. I’d not misbehave, not now, after we’d just made love and all was forgiven.

“Maybe so,” I said. My eyes dropped, and I couldn’t look at him. The sadness from knowing Aaron wouldn’t let me talk to Pearl was a heavy weight again. I wanted to help her. She was my only friend who understood me, through and through.

“Well, now,” Samuel said, rising. “You don’t fret now, little Ruth. You behave like a good girl, and give Aaron and Pearl time.” He reached for me, tucking my head against his chest and kissing my forehead. “If you want to go on over to Ma’s, I’ll be there all afternoon. We can leave now. If Pearl’s there, I’ll bring you home. But you don’t go alone. You heed me?”

I sighed. “Yes, sir.”

As we walked together, his large hand embraced my smaller one. We passed the chapel, which also functioned as the school, and the children were just finishing up their recess. I waved to Hannah, and opened my mouth to tell her to meet me at Ma’s after school, but the words froze on my lips. What if I was sent away?

“Come home with Matthew,” I said. “And I’ll see you tonight.” I was hopeful that I would be able to stay at Ma’s, but knew that if I were somehow sent away, I knew I could depend on Samuel to see Hannah made it home.

The sun was high in the sky, beating down relentlessly as we made our way to Samuel’s home. Everything looked neat as a pin when we arrived. The wood was neatly stacked by the door, and fields were studded with rows of neatly organized crops. To the right, hanging on hooks in the barn right near the loft I’d slept in, I could see a leather saddle in the barn along with Samuel’s stout quirt. I shifted as I cast my eyes away, remembering his promise to cut a switch or use his belt before he spanked me. I discreetly passed a hand over my still aching bottom.

“Hello, Ruth!” Ma called from the doorway, her eyes fluttering briefly to our clasped hands. I pulled my hand away from Samuel and waved.

“Wait here a minute,” Samuel instructed, before walking ahead of me into the house. He returned a minute later. “Pearl ain’t here,” he said low.

I felt like a criminal, sending someone ahead of me to check the scene so I knew when to come and plunder. It was mortifying. Thankfully, Ma went back into the house.

“Land’s sake,” Samuel muttered under his breath.

I looked at him curiously as he pointed a finger at the barn door. Both doors to the barn were wide open.

“Who left those doors open?” I asked.

“Could’ve been Ma, but likely Matthew,” he growled. “I told that boy to make sure he locked up before he left.”

“Well, let’s see if anything’s awry,” I said.

We walked together to the barn so Samuel could check the livestock, and at first everything looked fine. But when we reached the other end where the saddles were hung with care along the wall, Samuel swore under his breath. “Looks like one’s missin’,” he muttered. “I’m gonna wear that boy out when he gets home.”

“Whoever would’ve taken it?” I asked.

He shook his head. “Not sure. There were locals around who came into town on the latest caravan, and I don’t trust ‘em one bit.” He turned to me with a frown. “It’s why you’re not allowed out alone, young lady.”

I pursed my lips but didn’t respond to his bossiness.
Allowed?

“All right, back to the house,” he said. When we reached the door, he grasped the back of my neck and dipped down for a brief kiss. I stood up on my tiptoes, hoping no one had seen. “Come on in now, little Ruth.”

I followed him, nodding to Ma and Geraldine as we came in.

Ma rose and came to embrace me. “I’ve missed you,” she said warmly as she pulled me into her bosom. It felt nice, being held like that. Her home smelled like cinnamon and spice, warm bread baking and something delicious cooling on the stove. The room was warm and tidy, the windows and doors open to allow a breeze to come in.

“Well, I was afraid you were doing poorly when we didn’t see you for so long,” she began. “But it sure looks like you’ve made up for that and then some. You’ve got a right flush on your cheeks and you look pretty as a picture. You all right, child?”

“Yes’m,” I said. My eyes instinctively shot to Samuel, who was still standing in the doorway. Ma took us both in, her shrewd eyes missing nothing. She tossed an arm over my shoulder and brought me further in. “How’s Hannah?”

I nodded. “Hannah’s doing well,” I said. “Her arm’s healed, and she’s off back to school now. She’d done her best to get Matthew to do her chores, but she’s well enough now to handle them just fine.”

Ma chuckled. “She’s a firecracker, that Hannah.”

“Oh, that she is.”

Ma removed her arm from my shoulders and bustled about the cabin. “You need tea, darlin’?” she asked.

“Yes, please.”

“Tea, Geraldine?”

Geraldine nodded.

Geraldine sat by the fire, rocking her little one. While Ma made my tea, I heard Samuel tell Ma about the saddle, their voices rising and falling as they discussed the situation.

I decided to focus on Geraldine. “Hello,” I greeted, but she ignored me. Her lovely Mary Jane seemed as if she’d grown since I’d seen her just a few weeks prior, her wisps of blond hair curling around her temples, little button nose and rose-colored mouth fetching and endearing. She was wrapped in a knit blanket, and her little eyes were growing heavy with sleep. I heard the door of the cabin open and close, and I knew Samuel was going back to the barn.

Geraldine spoke in a low whisper. “I know what you’re all about, Ruth. And Ma can embrace you and you can do no wrong in her eyes. But in my eyes, I know exactly what it is you’re after.”

I felt my limbs grow cold, and I wished that Samuel hadn’t gone back out to the barn. I lifted my chin. “Yes, I lost my temper. Occasionally, I do,” I said. “Though
some
people make it far easier to do.” I frowned at her, but I bit my tongue. It would not do to lose my temper now. “What exactly is it that you think I’m after?”

Geraldine frowned. “You want in on the Stanley family. You want to be one of them. So you’ll seduce Samuel, and do your very best to get your hands on him. You attack Pearl, and you’re doing your best to pull this family apart.”

The familiar flash of anger flared in me. I hated her. I hated everything she said, and I hated that I felt, deep down in my bones, that this was how
all
the Stanleys felt about me, only she was the only one who had the nerve to say it.

“You’re wrong,” I hissed. I heard the whistle of the teakettle, and Ma clattering on the stove. “I lost my temper, and for that I am deeply sorry.” I meant every word. “But I would
never
try to hurt this family. I owe you no further explanation.”

I turned from her and promptly went to help Ma with the tea. My heart hammered in my chest, and my palms were damp. How dare she make such an accusation? I’d done nothing to deserve it, and it hurt far more than I would have thought. I stirred milk and sugar in my tea, and sank gratefully in a chair. How long had it been since I’d sat with a cup of hot tea? I’d done nothing but work the past few weeks.

“Feeling all right, Ruth?” Ma asked. I blinked, placing my teacup gingerly on the table.

“I’m fine,” I said, quiet now, as I couldn’t forget what Geraldine had said to me. I heard Samuel’s voice outside the door. I stood with my cup of tea, and peeked out the window. When I did, my stomach twisted into knots. It was Aaron.

* * *

The first time I met Aaron, he’d come riding to my old house with Samuel. Matthew had gotten in trouble in school for licking a boy who’d taunted my Hannah. A few days after the school incident, my husband had been drinking all weekend, and was passed out in our bedroom, when a knock came on the door. I’d answered, and been introduced to both Aaron and Samuel. They were stern, yet kind.

When Aaron asked questions, he expected straight answers. I had no reason to hide the reality both Hannah and I faced, as long as the Stanley brothers were discreet. I had always liked Aaron. He was a good-natured man who loved his family, even if he tended to be quite sober.

Aaron had been a steady help to me over the past year, and he and I had always gotten along well. He was my friend’s husband, and a good man, taking care of Ma and his younger siblings. When the snow flew, he’d take care of his own wife and farm, then traipse through the cold to come and be sure Ma had what she needed as well. But though he was a good man, he was stern. Hannah and Matthew respected him, and everyone looked to him as leader of the family.

So it came as no surprise to me that Pearl wasn’t allowed to speak to me after I’d slapped her. I knew he was fiercely protective. What I didn’t know was how I could ever get back into Aaron’s good graces.

I would not wait for him to enter the cabin. I would go to him. I placed my cup of tea on the table, stood, and marched to the door of the cabin.

“Now, Ruth,” Ma began, and I shook my head.

“No,” I said. “I need to talk to Aaron.”

She clucked her tongue and shook her head, and I heard Geraldine fussing in the background behind me, but I ignored them both, opened the door, and marched outside.

Samuel was leaning up against a bale of hay outside the barn, and I had one brief, heart-fluttering moment. His sleeves were rolled up, revealing his tanned, muscled forearms crossed on his chest. His jaw clenched as he chewed a piece of straw, and his hat shaded his face. He was all man, raw muscle and power and strength, and it hit me hard before I renewed my courage and plowed on.

When I came to them, Samuel’s eyes met mine and narrowed. He shook his head once, one curt side-to-side shake, and he pointed a stern finger back to the house, making a scooting motion with his fingertips. I knew he didn’t want me confronting Aaron now, but I had to do what I came for. Swallowing, I ignored Samuel, and walked straight up to Aaron.

He was adjusting the reins, smoothing one large hand over the rippling flank of his horse, as he walked her to the barn. His hat also kept his face in shadow, and his large form moved with grace and purpose. I felt my bravado nearly fail me.

“Ruth,” Samuel warned.

I suspected I would regret ignoring him later, but it was a risk I was willing to take.

He was just about by the barn, still talking to Samuel.

“Have you noticed anything else missing?” Aaron shouted over his shoulder. He still hadn’t seen me.

Samuel shook his head, pushing one foot off the hay bale and marching on over to me. “Not yet,” he said to Aaron. I moved quickly away from him. He was going to make me go in the house and I would not go.

“We had some chickens stolen last week,” Aaron said over his shoulder. “And it looks like eggs are being taken. Thought it was just a poacher, but now that you know someone’s stolen property, could be somethin’—” He froze as he turned around and saw me.

Samuel glared at me, not trying to be discreet anymore. “Ruth, get back in the house,” he ordered.

I shook my head sadly at him. I would not obey. Not this time. “I have to speak to Aaron.”

Aaron drew himself up to his full height, meaning he towered
over me, and he took one step closer. “Ruth,” he said with a stern nod.

I drew in a shaky breath and curtsied politely. I believe it very well may have been the first curtsy I’d ever done in my life. I saw Samuel shake his head and his eyes roam heavenward.

“I need to speak to you about last week,” I said.

Aaron’s jaw clenched, his eyes narrowed, and his arms were tight across his chest as he eyed me. He said nothing, merely nodded.

“You know I… just wanted to explain…” But I could hardly say the words out loud. My eyes dropped to the ground.

“Say it.” It was Samuel, not Aaron. I lifted my eyes and looked at him in surprise. He looked every bit as stern as Aaron now.

I sighed. I’d disobeyed him staying out here and approaching Aaron when it was likely not a good time to do so, and now he’d make me do what I came for.

“Go on. You insisted on bringing this up? Tell him what you did last week.”

Drawing in another shaky breath, I continued. “I lost my temper with Pearl.” The words hung suspended in the air, and I wanted to take them back.

“And?” Aaron said. “Why don’t you tell me in your own words why you lost your temper, Ruth.”

I folded my hands behind my back to keep from fidgeting, and nodded. “Yes, sir.” I never called any man
sir
unless it was Samuel after he’d spanked me and made love to me and I was as subdued as a church mouse, but now I pulled out anything I could think of. I inhaled. Better to get it all out at once. “She told me I wasn’t thankful for all the work that Samuel’s done for me, and it made me angry.” I swallowed as Aaron raised his brows. “I don’t always like the idea that people are helping me. I like to do things on my own. I want to prove that I can.”