Timeless Passion: 10 Historical Romances To Savor (153 page)

In the egg toss, they only made it four rounds before their egg slipped between Lucas’s outstretched arms and smashed all over him. Though Mindy could tell he tried to hold his temper, Luke was not pleased to end up with egg on his face — literally. He insisted on taking a break to cool off and clean up.

• • •

The rest of the day followed in like manner, with the couple trailing from one event to the next, until after the rodeo, when they found themselves on a makeshift dance floor lit by dozens of oil lamps.

The band played and couples square danced the evening away. Mindy didn’t know how to square dance and so she and Luke were simply observers, until a waltz played. Lucas coaxed Mindy onto the dance floor, and she was swept away with the beauty of the moment.

The stars sparkled overhead, and Melinda was in the arms of a dashing and brave man who thought of her as “ravishing.” It had been a wonderful day. Suddenly, she felt eyes upon her. On the next rotation, she searched the crowd of faces at the edges of the dance floor until she found the ones she sought. Boone was back!

Only it was obvious that his eyes did not hold the same excitement she felt. Boone stared at her with those black eyes, cold as winter and dark as midnight at the moment … then he turned and walked away.

Mindy’s heart stopped. She did a stutter-step in the middle of the waltz and tripped Lucas up. “Uh … oh … I’m terribly sorry,” she said. “That was foolish of me. I lost the count.”

“That’s all right, Melinda. It seems I’ve been waiting all night for the right moment, anyway.” He made a movement with his hand toward the bandstand and the music made an awkward stop. All around them the dancers paused, confused. As they looked around for answers, what they saw was Lucas Wilhite drop to one knee before the assemblage. He took Mindy’s two hands in his own, stared into her eyes and said, “Melinda McCorkle, in front of all these witnesses, here on this special day, I beg you to do me the honor of becoming my bride.”

The world stopped. Mindy stared down at Lucas and her brains turned to mush. She couldn’t speak, couldn’t think, couldn’t act. In her mind, she played over the things that Lucas had told her about Boone: catching him with another woman, his having shot a woman in cold blood. The fact he hadn’t looked for her today. It seemed she didn’t know the man at all. For just a moment she searched the circle of faces around them. All she saw were smiles and winks. There was no tall man with serious black eyes. In that last moment, she remembered the look Boone had given her just before he had turned and walked away from the dance floor. There was no more time for dreaming.

She looked at the man waiting before her and said, “Yes, Lucas. I’ll … ” But that was all she could say. Tears trickled from her eyes and clogged her throat.

Lucas stood and swept her up into his arms, thinking her tears were ones of joy. The people around them cheered and clapped. Inside Mindy, a bit of her began to die.

And overhead, the fireworks display began.

Chapter Thirty-Eight

July 4, 1880

Dear Mother,

I need you so desperately. I have never before known a time when I so need to sink my head upon your breast. I need to feel your comforting arms go ’round me, and hear you say that all things will work out for the best.

I have news. I am to be wed. But the thought does not fill me with joy. Instead I am filled with a deep despair. I am told all brides-to-be feel this way. Is it so? Did you feel this way with Papa?

I need you near. I wish that distance did not separate us; that I could put down my pen, walk into the next room and find you there. How I long for your wisdom and advice! Too long have I been away, for I have come to doubt my own mind, my heart, my feelings. Mother, I have promised to wed one man, while I fear I love another. What am I to do?

I have never been so close to my dream, a home of my own, a husband, and children … oh, but wait. That cannot happen, for he prefers to remain childless. There are so many things to consider!

I know that by the time this letter finds you, my decision will have been made. How I wish time would fly!

Above all, I would wish for your prayers. I am humbly in need of them. As always, I remain,

Your loving daughter,

Melinda

• • •

Mindy could not sleep Sunday night. She tossed and turned, finally giving up. She sat in a wooden chair beside the window of her hotel room and watched until the first rays of dawn crept past her pale face. She waited until the night had fully turned to day, then she walked to the blacksmith’s shop and secured the use of a horse for the day. By nine o’clock, she found herself riding through town. She rejoiced for a time, finding she could at least try to blame her tears on the wind.

After a forty-five minute ride, she found herself at the Boone homestead. She pulled up in the yard and tied off her animal. Then she tentatively climbed the front porch steps and knocked on the door. When Mrs. Boone answered, she breathed a sigh of relief.

“Why, Mindy! What brings you out at such an early hour?” Mrs. Boone asked, inviting Mindy into her home.

Mindy couldn’t speak. She stood like an idiot staring at Mrs. Boone until that woman, sensing her distress, opened her arms. Mindy fell into them, sobbing. When she could speak, she apologized profusely, though she never let go or looked up into the kind eyes of the woman she had come to respect so much. The fact that it was Boone’s mother made it all the more difficult.

“There, there, pet,” Mrs. Boone soothed. “Nothing is as bad as all that. Come with me.” Mrs. Boone walked Mindy into the parlor and sat down on the couch with her. “Now then, look me in the eyes and tell me what has happened to upset you so. When I saw you yesterday, you were in a wonderful state. What — or who — has upset you?”

“I am … I am … to be wed,” Mindy managed to say.

The kind lady’s eyebrows rose. “This is a recent development?”

“Yes … only last night. Lucas asked me to marry him and I accepted. But I can’t decide why I am so broken up about it. Shouldn’t I be leaping with joy? Shouldn’t I be … happy?”

“To be honest, all brides feel at times like they might be getting into more than they can handle. This may be what you’re feeling.” Mrs. Boone lifted Mindy’s chin. “Or it may be that you have the wrong man by the tail.”

Once again, Mindy collapsed into the older woman’s arms.

“Is this about Gary? Has he done something to cause this anguish? If he has, I promise you I will have his head on a platter.”

“No,” Mindy ground out. “He has done nothing.”

Mrs. Boone sighed. “Perhaps that is the problem. Men can be idiots at times, dear. My son can be one of the biggest.” The older lady spoke with more force than was necessary. “Could it be possible that you have strong feelings for my son?”

Mindy nodded.

“I was afraid of that. And now he’s gone.”

Mindy looked up. “Gone? Where has he gone? He only just returned!”

“Things are starting to make sense now. I knew something must have happened, because he had not planned to take another assignment so quickly. But he came in last night and announced that he must be in Dodge City by the end of the week. He left this morning with the sun, riding like the devil himself was after him.” She took in Mindy’s swollen, exhausted eyes. “Come. Let’s put you to bed. When you wake up, we can talk more.”

Standing on weak legs, Mindy clung to the older woman as they walked through the house. She allowed Boone’s mother to tuck her into bed with a promise to check on her in just a bit. After she left, as Mindy lay there alone in an unfamiliar room, she became aware of a scent. Horse, and man, and leather. She realized she was lying in Boone’s bed. She cradled the pillow to her face and cried herself to sleep.

• • •

She awoke in a strange room. It was dark outside, and it took a moment for Mindy to realize exactly where she was. She would have cried all over again, but she was dry. Dry and cold and empty. There was a hole where her heart had been, and she could feel herself slowly folding into it. But somehow, during her sleep, she had made a decision. She could not marry Lucas. He deserved more, someone who cared for him and longed for his touch.

Mississippi was calling. It was time to go home.

Mindy arose from the bed, and stood for a moment wondering what to do. She could hear Mrs. Boone humming to herself in the kitchen and Melinda started that way before realizing that she could not face Boone’s mother again. Instead, Mindy slipped back into the bedroom and removed a shirt that was hanging on a wall peg. Holding it to her nose, she inhaled deeply. Then without a sound, she let herself out the front door and climbed onto her waiting horse. The ride back to town and to Lucas was one of the longest of her life.

Melinda was on a stage within two days, and headed east.

Chapter Thirty-Nine

Boone was frustrated and disgusted — frustrated that he had figured Mindy all wrong, and disgusted that he had fallen in love with someone who cared for another.

As he retraced his path toward Dodge City, he had lots of time to think. Too much time. Tumbling through his mind was every scene he’d experienced with the feisty Mindy McCorkle of Mississippi. And every scene he had hoped to experience. Stupid man, he’d actually thought things might work out between them, which proved he was plumb weak north of his ears.

Only one man stood in the way: Lucas Wilhite. Boone spit off the side of his horse. The thought of Lucas and Mindy together made him curse. It would take a long time to get her out of his mind. And his heart.

He decided to look forward. He was headed into a great job opportunity. Wyatt Earp was leaving Dodge City for Chicago, and his departure left an opening for a new deputy sheriff. After their experience together, Bat Masterson had recommended Boone for the job. It would be a departure from his life of travel and random assignments, but he found the idea of settling in one place very entertaining. He also liked the idea of sheriffing for a change. It would be good experience and could lead to other opportunities down the road.

As he rode along, he remembered the last trip, and Micah, singing his lonesome songs of love. They had more meaning to him now than they had then. He tried to recall one of the songs he’d heard so many times. Soon his voice was carrying across the open plain:

You are my sunshine, my only sunshine,

You make me happy when skies are gray.

You’ll never know dear, how much I love you.

Please don’t take my sunshine away.

You told me once dear, you’d always love me,

And no one else would come between,

But now you left me to love another,

You have shattered all my dreams.

• • •

Boone moved into a local rooming house run by a widow woman named DelSorbo. He provided her with twelve dollars a week, and in return he enjoyed a furnished room and three squares a day.

He settled into his new job right away and found he liked the pace and heartbeat of Dodge City. The only real problems the deputies faced were from the area that lay to the south of the railroad tracks, where the seedier taverns, troublesome gambling houses, and brothels lay. It was not unusual to have several reports a week about shootings and fights, since guns were only allowed in that part of town.

He and Bat got along famously. As time passed, he found he could go for hours without thinking of Mindy.

Then in September, a beat-up letter arrived that turned his world upside down once again.

• • •

July 23, 1880

Boone,

I’ve decided to move on. Things are not the same for me since Melinda left for Mississippi. It’s been a hard decision, writing you this letter, but it’s one I’m hoping will ease my conscience somewhat.

I lied to you on the morning of the celebration. Mindy had not said she would be my wife at that time. I had high hopes she would say yes if I could only knock you out of the running. To tell the truth, I would have said mite near anything to have Mindy for my own. And I guess I did. I filled her head with a lot of lies about you.

But for all my efforts, it wasn’t meant to be between her and me. It seems she has feelings for another cowboy. She turned me down flat on the issue of marriage.

Since she’s gone, Tipton holds no interest for me. I don’t care to live on the farm anymore, because of the images I had of her there with me. I find the rooms are silent and cold, and a man can go crazy living there by himself.

I started to sell the property, but got to thinking, since your family lives here, perhaps you’d like to have it. I feel it’s the least I can do for the damage I’ve done to your good name.

I’m enclosing the title. Do with it what you will.

Sincerely,

Lucas Wilhite

• • •

For days afterward, Boone pondered his options. He liked his job in Dodge City, but Tipton called to him. He stewed on the matter through the rest of September and into October. As the cold winds started to blow, his thoughts turned more and more toward his hometown. By the end of October, he had turned in his resignation and was headed for home and family.

• • •

Mrs. Boone was in the kitchen kneading bread when she heard the front door open. She cried aloud at the sight of her son. He looked gaunt and underfed, like he hadn’t been taking care of himself, and her motherly instincts kicked in right away. She dragged him into the kitchen, plopping down biscuits and sausage left from breakfast.

“How long are you here for?” she asked, studying his troubled face.

“I reckon I’m here permanent, Ma. Lucas sent me the deed to the Larby place. I’m a homeowner now.”