House On Windridge (4 page)

Jessica wondered at her father's severity in dealing with others. Kate told her it was because he'd never managed to deal with life properly after the death of Jessie's mother. But Jessica thought it might only be an excuse for being mean tempered.

Her conscience pricked her at this thought. She didn't know her father well enough to pass judgment on him. Her Christian convictions told her that judgment was best left to God, but her heart still questioned a father who would send away his only child and never suggest she return to him for anything more than a visit. With this thought overwhelming her mind, it was
easy to fall asleep. She felt the exhaustion overtake her, and without giving it much of a fight, Jessica drifted into dreams.

❧

Her first conscious thoughts were of a baby crying. Then her mind instantly awoke, and Jessica realized it was Ryan who cried. She sat up to find the nine month old trying to untangle himself from the blankets she'd so tightly secured him inside.

“Poor little boy,” she cooed. Pulling him from the confines of his prison, Jessica immediately realized his wetness.

Looking out the window, Jessica wondered how much farther it was to the house. She hated to expose Ryan to a chill by changing him in the carriage. Wrapping a blanket around the boy, Jessica shifted seats and knocked at the little window slide. Within a flash, Buck slid it open.

“Something wrong?” he asked, glancing over his shoulder.

“How far to the house?” she questioned.

“We're just heading up the main drive. Should be there in five minutes. Is there something you need?”

Jessica shook her head. “No, thank you. I'm afraid the baby is drenched, and I just wondered whether to change him in here or wait. Now I know I can wait and not cause him overmuch discomfort.”

“Kate will probably snatch him away from you anyway. That woman just loves babies.”

Jessica cringed. What she didn't need to face was yet another woman seeking to steal her child.

“Sure wish you'd told us about him sooner. Kate would have come east in a flash to help you out and see the next generation of Gussops.”

She didn't bother to correct Buck by pointing out that the baby was an Albright. She thought of him as a Gussop as well. Despite the fact they both carried the Albright name, Jessica considered both herself and her son to be Gussops.

Buck left the slide open in case Jessica wanted to say something more, but she held her silence. She was nearly home, and the thought was rather overwhelming. Home. The word conjured such conflicting emotions, and Jessica wasn't sure she wanted to dwell on such matters.

“Whoa!” Buck called out. The carriage slowed and finally stopped all together. Jessica looked out and found they were sitting in the wide circular drive of Windridge. The house stood at the end of a native stone walk, and it was evident that her father had sorely neglected the property in the last five years.

“Well, we're here, Ryan,” she whispered against the baby's pudgy cheeks. “I don't know about you, but I'm rather frightened of the whole thing.”

Ryan let out a squeal that sounded more delighted than frightened, and Jessica couldn't resist laughing.

Buck quickly came to help her down from the carriage, and just as he had predicted, Kate appeared to whisk them both inside.

“Oh, my!” Kate remarked in absolute delight upon catching sight of Ryan. She reached arms out for the baby, but Jessica shook her head.

“He's soaking,” she warned.

“Like that could stop me.” Kate laughed and took the baby anyway.

Jessica felt a moment of panic, then forced herself to relax.
This is Kate,
she reminded herself. Kate, who had kept up correspondences over the years. Kate wouldn't try to steal her baby. Would she?

“What a beautiful boy!” Kate declared. “Come on. Let's get you in out of this wind and into a dry diaper.”

Jessica glanced around and felt the breeze on her face. It invigorated and revived her. Somehow it seemed that city life had stifled her and drained her of all energy. Windridge had a way of awakening Jessica. It had begun with that first visit at twelve and continued with each subsequent trip home.

She finally looked back at Kate and found the woman was already ten feet ahead of her and heading up the stone steps to the porch. Drawing a deep breath, Jessica followed after the older woman, thinking to herself how very little Kate had changed. She now had a generous sprinkling of gray in her hair, and she wore small, circular, wire-rimmed glasses that gave her an almost scholarly appearance. But she was still the same old jolly Kate.

“You can see for yourself that the place has suffered miserably,” Kate told her as they made their way into the house. “Your father wasn't himself for the last five years.”

“Since my marriage,” Jessica replied flatly, knowing full well that she had grieved him something terrible when she'd married Newman.

Kate stopped dead in her tracks. “Oh, Jessie, I didn't mean it that way.”

Jessica shrugged. “But it's true. I know it hurt him. I wish I could take it back, but I can't.”

“Don't wish for things like that,” Kate admonished. “You'd have to wish this little fellow away as well. Everything comes with a purpose, and God turns even our disobedience into glory for Himself.”

Jessica smiled. How good it felt to hear someone speak about God. Most of her friends in New York were into mystic readings and psychic adventures. They believed in conjuring spirits of dead loved ones and held all-night parties in order to satisfy their ghoulish natures. Jessica could have no part in such matters, even if the likes of such things were sweeping the eastern cities in a rage of acceptance.

She'd been told by a friend that Essie had purchased a charm to make Ryan love her more than Jessica. It was all madness, or so it seemed. Playing at what most considered harmless enchantments and magic spells had left Jessica desperate to find new friends. Friends whose faith was steeped not in manipulating people to do what they wanted but in seeking God and learning what He wanted.

“Did I lose you?” Kate asked, turning suddenly inside the foyer.

“Not at all,” Jessica replied. “I was only thinking of how wonderful it was to hear someone speak of God again. I'm afraid all manner of strangeness is going on in the city, and I've been rather alienated from good fellowship.”

“You'll have to tell me all about it,” Kate answered, and Jessica knew she truly meant it. Ryan began to fuss and pulled at Kate's glasses in irritated fashion. “Come on, little guy; let's get you changed.”

Jessica felt a momentary panic as the baby continued to cry. She fought her desire to rip him from Kate's arms. It wasn't Kate's fault that Essie had treated Jessica so falsely. Swallowing her fear, Jessica followed Kate up the ornate wood stairs.

Focus on the house
, she told herself.
Look at everything and remember how good it always felt to come here.

Inside, the house looked much the same as it always had. Kate kept it in good fashion, always making it a comfortable home for all who passed through its doors. She was, for all intents and purposes, the mistress of Windridge, and she had done the place proud.

“We've created a nursery for you in here,” Kate announced, sweeping through the open bedroom door. “Your room is in there.” She pointed to open double doors across the room. “Of course, you have access through the hallway as well.”

Jessica looked around her in stunned amazement. A beautiful crib stood in one corner, with a cheery fire blazing on the stone hearth on the opposite side of the room. A dresser and a changing table were positioned within easy access of one another, and a rocker had been placed upon one of Kate's homemade rag rugs, not far from the warmth of the fire. There was a shelf of toys, all suitable for a baby, and yet another long oval rag rug on the floor where a small wooden rocking horse had been left in welcome.
No doubt,
Jessica thought,
Buck made most of the furniture, including the rocking horse.

“It's charming here,” Jessica said, noting the thin blue stripe of the wallpaper. “But really you shouldn't have gone to so much trouble.”

“It wasn't any trouble,” Kate replied, taking Ryan to the changing table. “I had kind of hoped that if I filled the place with welcome, you just might stay on.” She looked over her shoulder at Jessica, her expression filled with hope. “We'd really like it if you'd give up the East and come home to Windridge. Would you at least think about it?”

Jessica nodded. “I've already thought about it. I had kind of hoped that you'd let me stay.”

Kate's face lit up with absolute joy. “Do you mean it? You've truly come home for good?”

Jessica nodded. “If you'll have me.”

Kate threw up her arms and looked heavenward. “Thank You, God. What an answer to prayer.” She looked back to Ryan, who was now gurgling and laughing at her antics. “You're both an answer to prayer.”

❧

Jessica found her own room much to her liking. Delicate rose-print wallpaper accented by dusty rose drapes and lacy cream-colored sheers made the room decidedly feminine. Kate had told her earlier that the room had been designed for Naomi, and in spite of the feminine overtones, Gus had left everything exactly as Naomi had arranged it.

The massive four-poster bed was Gus's only real contribution to the room. It seemed a bit much for one person, but Jessica realized it had be
longed to her parents and had always been intended for two. A writing desk was positioned at the window, where the brilliant Kansas sunlight could filter into the room to give the writer all possible benefit. A six-drawer dresser with wide gown-drawers was positioned in one corner of the room, with a matching vanity table and huge oval mirror gracing the space in the opposite corner. A chaise lounge of mahogany wood and rose print was the final piece to add personality to the room. Jessica could imagine stretching out there to read a book on quiet winter evenings.

The room seemed much too large for one person. But Jessica was alone, and she intended to stay that way. There seemed no reason to bring another husband into her life. How could she ever trust someone to not take advantage of her? After all, she was now a propertied woman—not just of a house, but of thousands of acres of prime grazing land. She would no doubt have suitors seeking to take their place as the master of Windridge. She would have to guard herself and her position.

But while she had no desire to bring a man to Windridge, she did want to bring people into her life. She wanted to share her faith and let folks see the light of God's love in her life. She didn't know exactly how she might accomplish this stuck out in the middle of the Flinthills, but she intended to try.

After changing her clothes into a simple black skirt and burgundy print blouse, Jessica checked on Ryan and found him still asleep. His tiny lips were pursed, making soft sucking sounds as he dozed. She loved him so much. The terror that gripped her heart when she thought of losing him was enough to drive her mad. Surely God would help her to feel safe again.

Jessica left Ryan to sleep and made her way downstairs. Her mind overflowed with thoughts about how she would fit into this prairie home, and she was so engrossed in figuring things out that she didn't notice the man who watched her from just inside the front door.

When she did see him, she froze in place on the next to the last step. Her heart began to pound. Was this some ruffian cowboy who'd come to rob the place? She forced herself to stay calm.

“May I help you?” she asked coolly.

He stood fairly tall, a good five inches taller than her own statuesque five- feet, seven. He met her perusal of him with an amused grin that caused his thick bushy mustache to raise ever so slightly at the corners. His face, weathered and tanned from constant exposure to the elements, appeared friendly and open to Jessica's study.

“You must be Jessica,” he drawled as though she should know him.

She bristled slightly, feeling his consuming gaze sizing her up. His cocoa brown eyes appeared not to miss a single detail. “I'm afraid you have me at a disadvantage,” she finally managed.

“I'm Devon Carter, your father's foreman for these past five years.”

Devon Carter. She thought of the name and wondered if anyone had ever mentioned him in their letters, but nothing came to mind. Buck had always been foreman over Windridge, but she knew he was getting up in years and no doubt needed the extra help.

“I'm Jessica Albright.”

His smile broadened. “Good to have you at Windridge. Heard tell you have a little one.”

“Yes,” she replied and nodded. “He's upstairs.”

“Kate has done nothing but talk about you and the little guy for days,” Devon said with a chuckle.

Jessica stepped down from the stairs and folded her hands. It seemed fairly certain she had nothing to fear from this man. “Is there something I can do for you, Mr. Carter?”

“Devon.”

She eyed him for a moment before nodding and saying, “Devon.”

“I just came up to the house to talk to Buck about the feed situation. You don't need to pay me any never mind.”

“I see.” But in truth she didn't. Was this man simply allowed free run of the house? Did he wander in and out at will?

“Oh, good,” came the sound of Kate's voice from the stairs. “You've already met. Jessica, this man was a godsend to us. Your father took him on as a foreman when Buck said the workload was too much, and he's quickly made himself an institution around here.”

Jessica turned to find Kate coming down the stairs with Ryan. The baby appeared perfectly content in her arms.

“You do go on, Katie,” Devon countered affectionately. “Say, he's a right handsome fellow. It'll be good to have him around. Keep us all on our toes.”