The Yellow Rose (16 page)

“Mighty nice of you to take a lonely bachelor in,” he said. “And it looks like a fine meal you’ve gone to all the trouble to make.”

“A lonely bachelor? You’ve got a cook over there, don’t you, Herendeen?” Clay said.

Kern smiled. “Sure I have, Clay, but I bet he can’t cook as good as this fine lady.”

He took his seat, and Zane nudged Clay, whispering, “You ought to practice up on your manners, boy. Just watch Herendeen. He’s slick.”

The meal was excellent and had more dishes than normal, Clay noticed. Whenever Kern’s plate was empty, Jerusalem was quick to pass him more. And the smiles that passed between them were starting to annoy Clay. Everyone ate heartily, and the talk finally got around to the political situation in Texas. Kern Herendeen was well up on the events.
He doesn’t have to work as hard as his neighbors, so he’s got more time to hear all that’s happening!
Clay thought as they all listened to Kern give his opinion of the current events.

“It’s a good thing that you fellows didn’t hang Santa Anna when you had the chance, Zane,” Kern said.

“There was plenty of us who wanted to because of the Alamo and Goliad, but Houston wouldn’t let us.”

“Well, like I say, that was a wise decision. Houston made him sign the best kind of a treaty, but we’re not out of trouble in this Republic yet.”

“Don’t you think we’ll be admitted to the Union pretty soon, Kern?”

Jerusalem asked quickly.

“We would have,” Kern nodded, “except for John Quincy Adams.”

“Who’s he?” Moriah asked.

“Why, he’s a congressman. Last May he denounced the whole Texas Revolution.”

“Why is it any of his business? He’s not from Texas,” Clay said sharply.

“That’s right. He’s not. It’s all a matter of slavery. Adams says that this whole Texas Revolution is just a plot to extend slavery.”

“Why, that’s not so!” Zane exclaimed. “We’re just tryin’ to save our necks.”

“You’ll never make Adams believe that or the people up in the north, for that matter. It’s gonna be hard to get into the Union. Adams carries a lot of weight in the Congress.”

“What about Jackson?”

“Well, he’d like to see Texas taken in, but he won’t be in office long enough. No tellin’ what will happen when he leaves.”

“I heard there ain’t no army,” Brodie spoke up. “No money to pay them.”

“You heard right,” Kern said grimly. “If the Mexicans came back now, there wouldn’t be anything to stop ’em. As far as I can tell, Houston is determined to avoid a war with Mexico. What he wants most is to get Texas into the Union.”

The talk eventually got around to the increasing numbers of Indians.

Kern had been keeping up with the growing concern. “What’s happening is that people east of us in Arkansas and Tennessee are tired of the Indians, so they’re pushin’ ’em west. We’ll see a lot of ’em coming our way in the coming months. The trouble is they’re not Plains Indians. I don’t know how they’ll make it out here. It’s a whole different way of living. A lot tougher.”

“What about the Comanches?” Zane said.

“They’re always trouble, Zane. It’s been real quiet for the last six months, but if they take a notion, they could ride in here with a thousand braves and wipe us all out. We’re right on the border, and that means we’re trouble to them.”

“What about the cattle business? Is there going to be a market?”

Jerusalem asked.

“Always a market for cattle.” Kern smiled. “Getting them there is the problem.”

“It’ll have to be New Orleans,” Clay spoke up. “No way of driving them north.”

“That’s right.” Kern nodded. “And that’s getting to be a bigger problem all the time.”

“We’ll make it, though. All of us.”

Kern stayed late, which irritated Clay, but Jerusalem was enjoying his conversation. He had traveled a great deal and was knowledgeable on many things, which she found quite interesting. After the others had left the main room of the house to go to bed, Kern sat talking with Jerusalem. They were sitting on the leather-covered couch in the living room, and she had asked him about Europe. He had been to England and to Spain and Italy, and she was fascinated by the stories from his extensive traveling.

Finally, Kern said, “Well, I’ve kept you up late. I should be leaving.”

He got to his feet, and Jerusalem rose with him. Before he turned to leave, he stopped still, and at that moment Jerusalem read his intentions. He was a strong, virile man, and when he stepped forward and took her by the arms and bent over and kissed her, she did not resist. Whether it was curiosity or something else, she did not know. His lips pressed hard against hers with a roughness, but for some reason she welcomed it. It had been a long time since she had been kissed like that, and she’d wondered if there was anything more in this man than his rough, rugged good looks. Now, as she received his kiss and responded with her own, she felt stirred in a way that shocked her. Something strong and powerful brushed against her then. She knew she had the power to stir him, but she was more concerned about the emotion she had not anticipated. Putting her hand on his chest, she stepped back, and he released her at once.

“You’re going to say I shouldn’t have done that. Well, I know it,” he said, looking deep into her eyes.

Jerusalem did not answer for a moment. She had known the depth of her loneliness over the years. For that one instant of that caress she had felt a longing for a man, not necessarily this man, but a companion. “Good night, Kern.”

“It’s been pleasant.” He smiled, got his hat, and left.

She heard the sound of his horse moving away and then turned and started for her bedroom. She undressed, got into bed, and knew that she would not forget Kern Herendeen quickly. He was not the sort of man a woman would forget.

During the winter, Herendeen came often to the Hardin house for visits. He took Jerusalem to a dance once during that time and twice to church. And each time Kern would show up at the ranch, Clay would get in a foul mood and head for town. As the winter faded, Jerusalem found herself more and more confused about how she herself felt about Herendeen. Julie, whom she saw only rarely, was living in Jordan City and working in the saloon—something that grieved Jerusalem. Julie had the rare ability to see what was in women and men, and one time she had asked Jerusalem point blank, “Would you marry him if he asked you?”

Jerusalem had said, “Too soon to think of anything like that.”

But Julie had smiled knowingly at her and had shaken her head. “Be careful,” was all she said.

It was in the middle of March when Kern Herendeen was bringing Jerusalem home from a dance. She had enjoyed the evening, and her cheeks were still flushed with the remembrance of the music and the excitement of going out with Kern. When the buggy pulled up in front of the house, she waited for Herendeen to get out and help her to the ground, but instead he turned to her and said, “Jerusalem, have you thought of me as a man you might marry?”

His words struck hard against Jerusalem, and she could only be honest. “Well, yes, I have. I guess a woman will think about that with any man who pays her attention.”

He reached out and took her hand and made no attempt to embrace her. “I’m asking you to be my wife. I know it’s soon, but I’m a lonely man, and I think you’re a lonely woman.”

The suddenness of his words surprised Jerusalem. She had known that he was ambitious and would press people at times to get what he wanted.

That was a trait that had made him as successful as he was. He was witty and better educated than most men she knew, but she had not picked him for a man who could look inside a woman’s heart and understand her feelings. “How do you know that, Kern?”

“I can’t say,” he admitted. “Just something I felt about you. I’ve felt that you are a woman who needs a man just as I’m a man who needs a woman. There’s nothing wrong in that,” he said quickly. “I think we’d make a good marriage of it.”

Jerusalem said instantly, “I can’t give you any kind of an answer, Kern.

I’m not sure how I feel about marrying anyone right now.”

Kern reached forward then, took her in his arms, and kissed her. She did not resist, but when he lifted his lips, she whispered, “Don’t press me, Kern.”

“I won’t,” he said. “You’re not the kind of woman who can be stampeded. But I wanted you to know how I felt.”

He got out of the buggy, came around, and handed her down. As he walked her to the door, she expected him to try to kiss her again, but he was wiser than that.

“Good night. I had a good time.”

“So did I, Kern.” She hesitated, then said, “I’ll think about what you said.”

“That’s all I ask.” Climbing into the buggy, he slapped the reins and drove away.

Jerusalem went into the house and found Clay cracking walnuts on an iron with a hammer. “You should have come to the dance,” she said.

“Not much of a dancing man.”

“You are, too,” Jerusalem argued. “You’re a good dancer.”

“Well, I didn’t want to.”

Jerusalem suddenly thought of all that Clay Taliferro had done for her and her family. He had always treated her honorably. In fact, he had never tried to take advantage of her in any way. They were more than friends, but how much more she could not tell. She only knew that he had been good to her, and she needed someone to talk to about what she felt.

“Clay,” she said, coming over to sit across from him, “Kern asked me to marry him tonight.” She saw the hammer, which was poised to strike, seem to freeze in the air. Clay lowered it then and turned his eyes toward her.

“What’d you tell him?”

“I told him I couldn’t think about that right now.” Clay was upset.

Jerusalem could tell.

“I don’t think he’s the kind of man that can make you happy,” Clay said.

Jerusalem stared at him. “Why do you say that?”

“Just a feelin’ I got. I don’t think you should marry him.”

Jerusalem felt something stronger than aggravation, but less than anger. She got to her feet and stared at him. “Thanks for your advice, Clay.

Good night.” She turned and walked to her bedroom, slamming the door with more force than necessary.

Clay put a walnut on the iron, raised the hammer, and smashed it with all of his strength. He got up then, tossed the hammer down, and walked outside the house. For a long time he stood staring up at the sky, studying the stars, and then muttered, “He ain’t the right man for her.”

Julie listened as Clay told her what had happened. He had come to the saloon, and he told her he had to talk with her privately. She had a large well-furnished room upstairs, and when he came in, he turned to her and said, “Herendeen has asked Jerusalem to marry him.”

“Doesn’t surprise me.”

Clay stared at her. “You knew it?”

“Of course I did. He’s been pretty obvious about it, Clay. If you weren’t half blind, you would know it, too. He’s been calling on her off and on for months.”

“Well, I don’t think he’s the right man for her.”

Julie saw that Clay was more agitated than she had ever seen him.

“He’s got plenty of money and land. He’s educated. Good-looking.

What’s wrong with him?”

“He don’t—” Clay broke off suddenly. “I can’t put it into words,” he said finally. “But he’s not the kind of man that can make your sister happy.”

“Clay, I used to think you were a pretty smart fellow, but you’ve been actin’ like a fool lately.”

“What are you talkin’ about?”

“You’ve been in love with my sister for a long time. Why don’t you up and tell her so?”

Clay swallowed hard. “Why, I . . . I can’t do that.”

“Why not?” Julie said impatiently. “You don’t have a wife stashed away somewhere, do you?”

“You know I don’t, but I don’t have anything to offer her. She’s got a ranch, and all I’ve got is the clothes I’m standin’ in.”

“That’s foolish! We wouldn’t have anything if it wasn’t for you.

Jerusalem knows that.”

Clay felt terribly uncomfortable. “I can’t do it,” he said. “I’m leaving.

I can’t stand this place no more.”

Julie stared at him and then shook her head. “I feel sorry for you, Clay.”

“Why?”

“Because you’re a fool who doesn’t know how to follow his heart. Go on. Go chase your gold or whatever it is. You won’t get any satisfaction out of it.”

“I’m not going back to the ranch for anything. I’m just riding out.

You tell Jerusalem I’m leaving.”

“You don’t even have the guts to face her?”

“It ain’t that,” Clay said quickly. “I just don’t want to.”

He turned and left before she could move or speak. Julie walked to the door and stared after him as he went down the stairs. “You fool,” she whispered and shook her head sadly.

Clay had been gone for two weeks now. The day he had ridden out, Julie had given his message to Jerusalem, who had stared at her and said, “Did he say why he was leaving?”

“He said he was going to look for gold.”

“That’s all he said?”

Julie said bluntly, “He’s in love with you, and he thinks you’re going to marry Herendeen.”

“I told him that I wasn’t. At least I told him I was just thinking about it.”

“That’s all Clay needed.”

Jerusalem found herself unable to speak about Clay’s leaving. Everyone was asking where Clay was gone and why, and all she could say was that he had decided to go prospecting—for a time.

During those two weeks she had asked herself a lot of hard questions, and she had refused Herendeen’s invitation and had kept to the house.

She did not sleep well and had lost some of her appetite. Deep down she knew that she felt something in her heart for Clay Taliferro, but his sudden picking up and leaving was too much like something Jake Hardin would do. To simply ride off without a word, that was Jake all over again, and it grieved Jerusalem and brought back too many painful memories of being left alone to care for her family all by herself.

Jerusalem saw Clay ride up and was waiting when he stepped inside the house. “Hello, Clay.”

“Hello, Jerusalem.”

Clay’s clothes were wrinkled, and he had not shaved in days. He stood there staring at her, evidently unable to find words.