Read To Have and To Hold Online
Authors: Ruth Ann Nordin
To Have and To Hold (33 page)
to Omaha, Rick?”
“Yes,” he replied, setting his elbows on the arms of the chair and clasping his hands in front of
him. “That and Judge Townsend is an old friend of my family’s. There were no positions open
where I lived, so I came out here.”
“What do you think of Omaha?” Sal y asked.
“It’s fine. I certainly can’t complain about the people I’ve met.”
His gaze went to Ethel Mae, and Sal y’s smile faltered for a moment—but just a moment. He’d
only met her. Surely, she had to give him more time to get used to the idea that he was going
to marry her instead of her friend.
“Wel , Sal y is one of the nicest people you’l ever meet,” her friend said.
“I’m sure she is. She wouldn’t be your friend if she wasn’t,” he replied.
Ethel Mae laughed but it seemed forced. Her eyes met Sal y’s, and Sal y recognized the
message Ethel Mae was sending her. Ethel Mae was trying to divert Rick’s attention off of her
but didn’t know how, and as Sal y sat there, she didn’t know either. Wel , at least not without
boring him with talk of her family, the farm, or the weather. But he was a judge, so maybe…
Clearing her throat, Sal y directed her gaze to Rick and asked, “So, you’re a judge. What
made you go into that profession?”
Granted, it was bound to make her bored, but better for them to be bored than for him. If he
was bored, then he might hightail it and run the next time he saw her, something she
desperately wanted to avoid.
“It was something I was always interested in,” Rick said with a shrug. “I don’t recal the exact
moment I knew I’d be a judge, but when I was a child, I made it a point to memorize the
Constitution.”
“You did?” Sal y asked, surprised someone would want to do that.
“I did that and read letters our founding fathers wrote.”
“As a school project?”
“No. This was outside of school. Oh, I learned some about al of that in school, but I wanted to
learn more than the teacher was wil ing to divulge to the entire class.”
She was amazed at his dedication. A man who could pursue his career with such vigor would
be a most excel ent husband. While the three of them continued to make idle chitchat, it
became apparent how much Rick wanted to court Ethel Mae. He’d lean forward in interest if
she said something and gave her a wide smile each time he talked to her. Granted, he was
kind and polite to Sal y as wel , but Sal y didn’t want the formal friendliness he extended to her.
She wanted him to respond to her the same way he responded to Ethel Mae. Though a part of
her criticized herself for giving heed to the sil y notion that she was already in love with him, it
didn’t stop her heart from racing wildly each time his focus went to her. And besides, who said
there was no such thing as love at first sight?
When Rick said he had to get back to work, Sal y made a decision. She stood up and said,
“Thank you for the lovely snack, Ethel Mae. I’m afraid I must be going as wel .”
As he got out of his chair, he nodded. “Yes, thank you.”
Her friend glanced at her with furrowed brows but didn’t remind her that she was supposed to
visit with her for the entire afternoon.
“I’l speak to you again soon,” Sal y told her friend, hoping she understood the subtle hint in her
message.
Ethel Mae’s eyes lit up with understanding. “Oh, yes. Wel , then soon it wil be.”
Though the comment struck Sal y as funny, she held back a giggle and joined Rick as he
fol owed Ethel Mae to the front door. She had to be careful in how she talked to him. The
slightest wrong word might make him suspect she was planning to snag him from her friend,
and there was no way he’d wil ingly court another woman—at least not at this early stage in the
game.
Rick took his hat from the coat tree and placed it on his head. Smiling at Ethel Mae, he asked,
“May I visit you on Saturday?”
Ethel Mae gave a slight wince. “I’m not sure what my parents’ plan is for that day. Can I
answer you at a later time?”
Though he looked disappointed, he said, “Of course.”
Sal y retrieved her bonnet from the coat tree and put it on, pul ing the strings loosely under her
chin. “Are you heading straight for the courthouse?” she asked Rick.
“Yes,” he said as he opened the door.
“I’m going in that direction,” she said. “Mind if I tag along?”
“No, I suppose not.”
Refusing to let his lack of enthusiasm get to her, she waited until his back was turned and
mouthed the words, “I’l be back,” to her friend who nodded that she understood. She fol owed
Rick out of the house and pul ed the edges of her bonnet further out so it shielded her eyes
from the sun.
After her friend shut the door, Sal y joined Rick and strol ed down the side of the dusty street.
Rick motioned for her to walk on his other side. “If a horse comes by too fast, the dust won’t
get on you,” he explained.
“Most riders don’t race through here,” she replied as she went to his other side.
“Not most. But why take the chance?”
With a smile, she said, “You’re right. And thank you.”
He shrugged and returned her smile. “It’s common courtesy. There’s no need to thank me.”
Maybe not, but she stil appreciated his thoughtfulness. Clearing her throat, she decided she
should approach him about her plan. “I notice you’re quite taken with my friend.”
His face grew pink. “I’m sure she’s noticed, too.”
“Do you plan to do anything about it?”
Glancing in her direction, he asked, “You mean, wil I ask her if I can court her?”
She nodded.
“I do. I thought I’d see her a couple more times, see how things go, and then ask, though. I
don’t want to seem too eager.”
Pretending to be relieved, she let out a sigh and chuckled. “That’s good because you have to
be careful in how you ask.”
His steps slowed and he gave her a good look. “I do?”
“Of course.” She slowed down to meet his new pace. “Have you ever courted a woman?”
“No.”
“Then I’m glad I happened to be visiting my friend when you stopped by.” Granted, Ethel Mae
asked Sal y to come because she knew Rick was coming over, but he didn’t need to know
that. Choosing her words careful y, she continued, “My friend is wonderful. You wil be very
happy with her.”
His smile widened and he opened his mouth to speak, but she decided to beat him to it.
“The problem is, my friend prefers men who aren’t so easy to get. I hate to tel you this, but
you’re a little too excited about courting her. She’l see that and wonder why.”
“It should be obvious to her why I’m excited about it. She’s beautiful and kind and—”
Sal y yawned and held her hand up. “But where’s the chal enge? Does she have to fight for
you? Does she have to wonder if you love her or not? You understand what I’m saying? It’s
al too easy.”
His eyebrows furrowed. “I’m afraid I don’t understand.”
“Al I’m saying is that women like to know that other women were interested in the object of
their affection. You’d be more desirable to her if you feigned interest in another woman who
feigned interest back.”
He laughed and shook his head. “That doesn’t make any sense.”
Her heart sped up. He wasn’t fal ing for it! She had to do another tactic, and the sooner she
slipped something else in, the better. Turning wide eyes in his direction, she sweetly asked.
“Doesn’t it?”
“No. If Ethel Mae is interested in me, she should want me even if no one else does. I should
attract her on my own merits, not because some other woman is interested in me or because
I’m interested in the other woman.”
“Hmm… You real y don’t understand women then, do you?”
Looking uncertain, he said, “Wel …no.”
“Not only am I a woman, but Ethel Mae is my friend. Men who are too eager to be with her
simply don’t interest her.”
He stopped walking and turned to face her. She also stopped, met his eyes and clasped her
hands behind her back. Putting on what she hoped was a charming smile, she waited for him
to respond because if he responded the way she wanted him to, then her plan was al set.
After a glance around them, he returned his gaze to hers and asked, “So what do you
recommend?”
Good! That’s exactly what he was supposed to say. Counting to four so she’d sound
thoughtful on the matter, she said, “Ethel Mae is my dearest friend in al the world, and I want
to see her with a man who’l treat her right.” That man, however, wasn’t him, but he didn’t need
to know that. “I propose that you pretend to be interested in me.”
Shifting from one foot to another, he replied, “I don’t know. It seems rather devious to me. I
could see making al usions to another woman to pique Ethel Mae’s interest, but it wouldn’t be
fair to either you or her since you two are friends.”
Drat! Running through a list of possible arguments, she final y settled on the one that seemed
to make the best comeback. “But Ethel Mae might not believe you unless she sees you paying
attention to another woman. Granted, it would be me, and she’s bound to experience some
jealousy.”
More likely relief.
“However, when you admit your undying devotion to her, she’l
know you are hers, and I’l back out graciously while stil being her friend. There wil be no hard
feelings since I am only pretending to enjoy your attention.”
“I’d have to think about it.”
Sighing, she realized she wasn’t going to get anywhere with him, at least not today. What she
needed to do was talk to her friend, and fortunately, her friend should be more agreeable to the
arrangement. “Alright then. But if you should change your mind, let me know.”
Resuming their walk, he said, “It is kind of you to want to help.”
“I want to see my friend happy. She’d do the same for me if she were in my shoes.”
Laughing, he shook his head. “It’s a strange way to help someone. I’ve never heard of anyone
doing something like that before.”
Stopping in front of the mercantile, she thanked him for walking her to her destination and
slipped inside the building, ignoring the few patrons in the store. Peering through the window,
she waited until he was further down the boardwalk before she left the store and headed for
her friend’s.
When Sal y returned to Ethel Mae’s house, she saw that her friend was waiting for her on the
porch swing. As Sal y hurried up the porch steps, she jumped off the swing and rushed over to
her. “What happened? Is Rick smitten with you?”
Sal y shook her head. “No. We spent the whole time talking about you and how much he
adores you.”
Ethel Mae’s shoulders slumped. “No.”
“I’m afraid he is one of your more devoted suitors.”
“Oh no!”
“Oh no, indeed.” Sal y plopped down on the swing and sighed. “I can’t remember seeing a man
so in love before.”
Ethel Mae sat next to her and groaned. “What am I going to do? I have no such interest in
him. I’m fond of him, I suppose. He’s pleasant enough, but I have no desire to marry him.”
Crossing her arms, Sal y tried to resist the urge to pout. “And he has no desire to talk to me
again, let along court me.”
“Wel , one part of my plan worked. You like him. But then he likes me, so what good does any
of it do?”
Exactly. What good did it do? “He doesn’t know me wel enough to want to be with me. I
need to spend more time with him.”
“I could invite him over when you’re here.”
“I don’t know if that’l do any good.” Sal y tapped her index finger to her lips and gave careful
consideration to her conversation with him. “I was foolish enough to think he’d pretend to be
interested in me to make you jealous. How sil y is that? Of course, he saw right through the
fol y of that idea. He’s smarter than my brother Tom. Tom would have went right along with it.”
Her friend straightened up in the swing and turned to face her. “That’s not a bad idea!”
“Sure, it was. He said if you were interested in him, you’d be interested even if he wasn’t hard
to get.”
“But what if my little sister happens to tel him I’m sweet on a young man who fancies another
lady?”
Sal y bit her lower lip. “You think Vivian would do that?”
“She would if I washed the dishes for her for a week.”
A smile spread slowly across Sal y’s face. “If Rick heard it from Vivian, he might start thinking
my idea has some merit after al .”
“Then he’d spend time with you in hopes of making me jealous.”
“And he’d get to know me and fal in love with me!”
“Yes!” Looking pleased, Ethel Mae sat back in the swing and added, “Just be your usual
charming self, and he won’t be able to resist.”
Feeling much better, Sal y pushed aside the sting of Rick’s devotion to Ethel Mae and
contemplated on what she might say the next time she saw him.
Coming Summer 2012
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