Texas Twilight (21 page)

“Nope.” The boy ambled back over to where
Jedediah and Jane watched.

John fastened it to the piece of wood that
served as a door handle. Surprisingly, the snake remained quiet
during the process. “Go on, Charity. Get back. I’d feel better if
you go sit with the children, too.”

“But…”

“Don’t argue.” She consented quickly and John
backed up, feeling as if the ten foot rope was really ten inches.
He gave a pull.

T
he outhouse
door squeaked open. The sun was in the perfect position to shine
directly inside, giving John full visibility of the structure’s
interior. His gun was cocked and ready as he peered
intently.

A few heartbeats later he dropped the rope,
stepped closer, then walked up closer still.

“Stay back,” Charity cautioned.

“It’s gone.” Now confident the reptile was
nowhere to be found, John took a hold of the door frame and leaned
inside, his Colt 45 grasped lightly in his hand in case he’d been
wrong. “Nope. Not here anymore.” He walked around the back making a
full circle.

Charity and Harland came forward, followed by
Jedediah and Jane. “You sure?”

John smacked the side of the building with an
open palm. “Yeah.” He went inside and found a good-sized hole in
the flooring. “There’s where he got in and out. We’ll board it up.
He won’t be able to get back in.”

Charity’s look was bleak. “But he’s still
around.”

“I don’t like that either. We’ll all just
have to be careful until, and if, he decides to show up somewhere
else.” They were all still crammed into the outhouse, looking at
the hole into which the snake had disappeared.

“John, is that you?” a voice called.

John peered through the door as the others
piled out of the structure, giving him room to exit. He still held
his gun, the hammer un-cocked, and his hat was pushed back on his
head for better snake hunting. He thought he was seeing things.
“Emmeline?”

“Yes, it’s me. Who else were you expecting?”
She ran up the incline and flung herself into his arms, hugging him
tightly.

She leaned back and gazed into his face, her
expression falling dramatically. “Oh, my Lord, John. What happened
to your face?” She pulled back farther to get a better look. “It’s
horrible.”

“It’s a long story,” he said, taking a small
step away. She looked as beautiful as he remembered and not at all
worn from the long trip she must have endured. “I’m surprised to
see you.”

“
Is that
all you have to say?” Again she laughed as if she hadn’t a care in
the world. “
Hello, darling
would be so much nicer.”

She did have a way about her, he realized,
remembering all the reasons he’d fallen in love with her in the
first place. She gazed at him though her long, dark lashes, smiling
all the while. He chuckled, then gave her a kiss in front of
everyone. “I’m just shocked to see you here without any
warning.”

“Didn’t you receive my letter? I gave you the
timeline and details when I should reach Rio Wells. Oh, my gosh,
John. The country here is so different from Boston. Nothing could
have prepared me for the move. Not even a letter from you—if you’d
been so inclined to write.”

“I did write. It, uh, went out
yesterday.”

“I see. Well, mail doesn’t fly, you know.”
She laughed gaily. “I think I’ll invest in carrier pigeons. The
knights and princesses of England and Ireland had a much better
system. I just love those stories.”

He glanced at his sister who was watching
with curiosity. “She’s an avid reader, Charity.”

“This is Charity? I’ve heard so much about
you.”

“All good, of course,” Charity said, her
startled expression looking past the petite brunette, up into her
brother’s face.

Emmeline laughed again. “Of course all good,
silly. All John ever talks about is his family in Montana and how
amazing you all are. And, of course, all his ranching stories.”

“I do not,” John said in defense to no one in
particular.

“Are you settled in Rio Wells, too?”

“No,” Charity replied. “I’m just visiting for
a few weeks. It had been so long since John had been home I
couldn’t wait any longer to see him.”

“I know what you mean.” She reached over and
touched his arm. “I’ve missed him too. You’re a teacher?”

“Just filling in until the new teacher
arrives. This is my first day, actually.”

Emmeline clapped her hands together. “That’s
wonderful. I’ve always fancied myself a teacher.”

“You have? I didn’t know that,” John said
surprised. He pulled his hat lower to shield his eyes from the
sun.

“Men,” she said, giving Charity a wink. “They
always think they know everything, don’t they?” She waved her
gloved hand in front of her face in an effort to cool herself.
“It’s quite hot.” She turned back and placed her hand on John’s
arm. “Mama and Daddy send their love.”

He smiled and nodded but his gaze drifted all
the way down Dry Street. “That’s nice,” he replied, patting her
hand. “Are your things at the hotel?”

“Yes.”

“Let’s get you out of this heat and let
Charity get back to work.” He’d noticed a fine sheen break out on
Emmeline’s forehead, and her cheeks had flushed a deeper shade of
pink than he thought healthy.

“What were you all doing in there?” she
asked, gesturing to the outhouse.

“A rattlesnake was trapped inside. I planned
on shooting it but it got away. Just stay aware—” Emmeline’s
eyelashes fluttered several times and she wilted like a piece of
day-old lettuce. John caught her just in time and swung her easily
into his arms.

Lily was saying goodbye to Madeline when she
noticed John coming down the street carrying a woman in his arms.
Her head rested on his chest, and one arm hung down toward the
ground, limp. The full blue skirt fluttered around John’s legs each
time he took a step and her little booted feet bobbed up and down.
People gawked, trying to see who he carried.

“Look,” Madeline said excitedly. “Someone’s
fainted. Let’s go see who it is.”

Lily held back. “You go.”

Madeline grabbed her hand. “Come on. It will
only take a second.”

John reached the doctor’s office and Madeline
ran and opened the door for him. He went into the examination room
and laid the dark-haired young woman on the recovery bed in the
corner.

“Who is she?” Madeline asked. “I’ve never
seen her before. Is she going to be all right?”

Lily watched as he straightened out her legs,
making her comfortable. He loosened a few buttons at the neckline
of her blouse. The young woman’s skin was flawless. Her features
looked as if they were made of porcelain. Her complexion, the most
unusual shade of rose and sunset mixed, reminded Lily of the
picture of the Madonna back home in St. John’s. She was one of the
most beautiful women Lily had ever seen.

“She’s fainted is all,” John finally said.
Going over to the window he opened it and then repeated the process
with the one on the opposite side of the room.

“Do you know her?” Madeline stepped into the
room a little farther, trying to get a better look.

John straightened and turned, looking
straight at Lily. “This is Emmeline Jordan, my…” His sentenced
trailed off. “My friend from Boston.”

Madeline gasped. “Your fiancée? Did you know
she was on her way? You never said a thing.”

“Not exactly. We had made some open-ended
plans but that was all.”

Madeline stepped closer, trying to get a
better look at her. “What happened? Why’d she faint?”

“There was a rattlesnake in the outhouse at
the school. I guess hearing about it was too much after her long
trip.”

Lily’s
mind reeled in shock as she took in the sight before her. She was
here at last—and
so beautiful
.
Despair, darker than she’d ever known before, swallowed
her.

The door banged open and Dr. Bixby and Tucker
came in behind Lily and Madeline, moving around the two women to
see who was on the bed. The old doctor stopped at John’s side. “She
all right?” He reached down and felt the pulse in her neck.

John looked a little annoyed. “Yes. Just some
talk of a rattlesnake.”

Dr. Bixby nodded, then turned to the other
women, ushering them out with open arms. “No woman I ever knew
liked to wake up being gawked at by others of her own species. Now
out with you both.”

“Of course, Doctor,” Madeline said. Before
leaving the room she added, “She’s beautiful, John.
Congratulations. Be sure to bring her out to the ranch for a visit
real soon. Mother and the rest of the family will be anxious to
meet her—and hear all about life in the big city. And about the
wedding.”

“Go on now,” Bixby said.

Blood pounded through Lily’s head as she
tried to get a hold of her emotions. In a fog, she said goodbye to
Madeline and went back into her shop, this time closing the world
out behind her little glass door. Tangled thoughts jumbled in her
head and her heart felt as if it had been ripped from her chest and
thrown into a bottomless pit. She’d never feel it again. She took
several slow, calming breaths, then tried to put the whole
situation from her mind, recreating the delicious feel of
excitement and awe she’d had this morning, just before opening her
doors for the first time and actually contracting a substantial
commission.

Life was good, she reminded herself
sternly.

She was no different now than she had been
the day she and Tante Harriett climbed into the stage in
Concepción. She’d known almost from the first moment she met John
that he had a fiancée and that the woman would be joining him. This
was no surprise.

Lily
couldn’t stop the burning or the tears that now flowed
unchecked.
Oh, God, this hurts.
She brushed at her cheeks as a tiny sob escaped between her
lips.

Getting a
firm hold of her emotions she reminded herself she was glad she had
been preparing herself for today. Just because they’d survived the
Comancheros together and he’d been helping her from the day they
arrived, and that she felt a closeness and oneness with him that
she had no way of describing…none of that meant anything at all.
And what about the kiss? Well, he hadn’t actually kissed her …but
he would have if Charity hadn’t shown up. She closed her eyes
remembering how his lips, hovering so close, had drawn her like a
magnet. Looking into his eyes, so expectant and deep, caused her
heart to flutter around her breast like a trapped bird. She’d dared
to think they might actually have a chance. Frustrated, she opened
her eyes wondering if she’d imagined the whole thing. Emmeline’s
arrival wasn’t a shock, she reminded herself.
It was not
.

Lily flopped the bolt of lilac taffeta over,
wrapping it back into place and set it on the shelf. She picked up
the collection of sketches that lay skitter-scatter on the small
table and carefully placed them back into the leather-bound book.
She was alive and happy. And so was her aunt. They were going to be
secure in their new home with a business to support their every
need. Maybe when she had paid back all the money to Dr. Bixby, and
they were on their feet financially, she could send for Giselle or
Gretchen and teach one or both of them to become dressmakers. Her
world was open to any direction she wanted to take it.

I
n her misery
Lily didn’t hear the bell so when she turned it was a shock to see
John standing there. A quick glance in the mirror confirmed that
her eyes were red and puffy, her nose wet.

“Mind if I check on Harriett?” he asked
stiffly. He looked directly at her. It seemed his gaze touched her
very soul.

Warmth washed over her. She was swamped with
conflicting feelings. She wished she could run to him and throw her
arms around his neck and hold him close, tell him everything he
meant to her and how much she loved him. But that was clearly
impossible. Emmeline was now in Rio Wells and was a visible,
living, breathing reason why she shouldn’t, and would never be able
to. She tried to smile but knew her expression fell short. His
expression was unreadable.

“Of course. I was just doing that myself. I’m
worried. She still refuses to come down.”

“We don’t want to rush her.”

“No.”

“Upstairs is the perfect place—she can feel
close to you and yet she’s out of the curiosity of others while she
regains her strength and mental health.”

Lily turned without answering and preceded
John up the narrow staircase. “Can I make you a cup of tea?” she
asked over her shoulder. “I’m already making one for myself and
Tante.” He always shared a cup with her on his mid-day visit. They
used to joke that it was the only way they made it until supper
without going nutty. The little white kitten—who had abandoned the
doctor’s office completely for Lily’s shop— trotted up to her when
she arrived in the upstairs parlor, and she stopped to pick her
up.

“I better not. I have lots to do, but thank
you.”

The regret in his tone was impossible for him
to mask, at least that was what Lily thought. If she couldn’t be
more to John than she already was, then she wanted to be a help to
him. As he’d been for her. Not a stumbling block. Not someone to
make him unhappy or feel uncomfortable around.

He turned and opened the bedroom door slowly,
tapping on the doorjamb. “Harriett, you awake?”

Lily went in and said hello to her aunt, and
then went back downstairs, leaving them alone. She checked the
water in the teakettle, knowing full well it wasn’t hot yet. Then,
with her iron poker, she pushed the glowing embers of the stove
around, giving them some air.