A Headstrong Woman (42 page)

Anna was helping gather empty plates when Ted found her and asked to speak with her. She followed him; her heart was starting to pound as he led her to the schoolhouse steps a short distance away from the church. She waited while he brushed dirt off the top step for her. After she was seated, he sat down beside her.

“I talked to my brother, well after I yelled at him first. I kind of misunderstood what you meant, but it’s cleared up now,” his cheeks were rather red.

Anna’s eyes widened.

“Anyway, what I’m trying to say is: I think you’re being overly hard on yourself. So you kissed a guy and declared your undying love and were rebuked. I threw myself at a widow,” he admitted. “I’m not doing this right, I mean it doesn’t bother me,” he said impatiently. He waited for her reply.

Anna looked away from Ted and toward the remaining members of the wedding party who were cleaning up. “What are you saying, Ted? That you’d like to call on me?”

Ted smiled,
              “That sums it up.”

“Okay,” she agreed with a smile.

“I’ll be seeing you then,” he said as he stood and began backing away. He stumbled over a tree root, righted himself, and waved before turning and hurrying away.

Anna, surprised and delighted by the shyer and less sure side of Ted, smiled after him. Anna was still smiling as she stood and rejoined the group of working women.

***

Alexandria stood on the upstairs porch watching lightening dart around the peeks of the mountains in the distance. The sky was dark and the mountains had a sickly green glow about them. Things had been quiet around the ranch over the past couple of months, almost too quiet. She would like to think that the trouble was over but something deep inside her, a premonition of dread said it wasn’t over yet. She watched a streak of lightening fork out several directions, retreating and retracing its path several times before it died out; she shuddered as her hand came to her stomach. She had planned on going to the doctor today to find out if her suspicions were correct. A low ominous rumble of thunder swept down the mountain and raced toward her almost as if forewarning that winter followed the storm on the mountain. What would the winter hold?

“Enjoying the show?” Jonathon asked as he came to stand behind her and wrapped his arms around her. Alexandria laid her arms over Jonathon’s and leaned back into him.

“Be careful,” she requested quietly.

“I will be; where did that come from, Alexandria?”

“I have a bad feeling,” she admitted.

“About what?”

“I’m not sure,” she admitted.

“Ted proposed to Anna.”

“He did?” Alexandria asked and glanced up at Jonathon.

“He did, he wants to marry her before winter sets in. He had put in an offer on a ranch with the money he’d set back but it fell through so I’m not sure what he’s planning now. He said something about going west.”

“What…he can’t, I mean Anna…”

“I know how you feel. Tell me, Alexandria, what would you think about taking on a partner around this place? It would be nice to be able to share some of the responsibilities.”

“And I suppose that you have a partner in mind,” she asked with a smile as she turned in his arms to face him.

“Yes, actually,” he smiled in return.

“I think it’s a great idea,” she told him before grimacing and placing a hand over her stomach.

“You okay?” Jonathon inquired.

“Yes, nothing major, in fact, something small…I think I don’t know for sure yet,” Alexandria smiled.

“Really?” Jonathon placed his hand over her stomach and smiled down at her.

“I’m late, I’ve never been late before and I have all the symptoms.”

“You need to be sure you get extra rest,” Jonathon admonished her.

“I’ll try but Millie announced she’s leaving.”

“Why?”

“Her sister’s sick and she’s the only family she has.”

“We’ll start looking for help, when is she leaving?”

“In a couple of weeks,” Alexandria shared.

“That’s not much time,” Jonathon commented. “I’ll go to town tomorrow.”

“Can I go with you; I wanted to see Dr. Carver?”

“Sure. Alexandria,” Jonathon started hesitantly.

“What is it, Jonathon?”

“I haven’t been completely honest with you,” his blue eyes were dark as he held her gaze.

Alexandria swallowed hard. Her heart accelerated; she was afraid of what he had to tell her.

“I love you,” he shared and watched her eyes close. Behind them lightening split the sky and rain began to pour.

Alexandria felt as if it were her heart that had split open and not the sky. “Why? Why would you marry me knowing that…?”

“I couldn’t lose you.”

“Jonathon…”

“You think I should have sat back and let you marry a stranger? That I should have lain out there in the bunkhouse not saying a word and torturing myself with the thoughts of another man touching you?” he asked her.
              Alexandria shuddered at the thought of another man touching her and frowned. “But no one would have been hurt,” she said rather lamely.

“I would have only you would have never known it.”

His words made her heart ache.  “I don’t deserve you.”

“You deserve better.”

“You could have had any woman in the area, why me?” she demanded.

“Because I love you, Alexandria, because I wanted to spend the rest of my life with you. You’re the kind of person the heart sees and falls for.”

“What?” Alexandria’s brows crinkled in confusion.

“I see you with my eyes and I like what I see, but if I didn’t see a heart that my heart could love your beauty wouldn’t matter.”

“I feel guilty having someone as special as you are and not even being able to say I return your feelings,” she informed him.

Jonathon smiled. “You have an odd way of looking at the world, Alexandria. What’s so special about me? I’m just a cowhand who fell for his boss.”

“No, you’re not. You are one of the most considerate and rare men I know; do you know how few men would have helped me and looked out for me without smothering me,” she asked incredulously.

Jonathon caressed her cheek and smiled at her. “That’s a high compliment, Alexandria; thank you. Do you know what I love about you?” he asked her and watched her shake her head. “I love the way your whole face lights up when you smile, I love the way your eyes flash when you’re angry and that chin comes up. I love the way you square your shoulders when you feel the most vulnerable. I love the way you love a little girl that isn’t even your own like she is. I love that you’re close to your family and think of others first…I love
you
, just you for who you are,” he informed her rather passionately.

Alexandria had tears in her eyes. “I don’t want to hurt you,” she whispered in torment.

“You haven’t and that you’re concerned for me demonstrates what I mean. You’re a great person, Alexandria.”

“Jonathon,” Alexandria stared at the buttons on Jonathon’s shirt a moment before forcing herself to meet his gaze, her cheeks were already stained pink. “I’m glad I’m having your baby,” she informed him.

Jonathon kissed her passionately before pulling her into his arms and holding her.

Alexandria closed her eyes and clung to Jonathon. She would be lost without him, she realized. Did she love him? Was this what love felt like between a man and a woman? Before she could contemplate it further shouts reached them. They turned to see Ted racing toward the house.

“Come on,” Jonathon said as he turned and led Alexandria into the house. It was then that he noticed the wind had died and frowned. Ted met them at the top of the stairs.

Alexandria felt disoriented; the house seemed dark for midday.

“Get Lilly and get in the cellar,” Ted ordered. “There’s a tornado coming this way!”

“Dear God,” Alexandria breathed as she dashed into Lilly’s room and scooped the sleeping child into her arms. Millie was already standing in the pantry, the trap door to the cellar standing open. When she spotted them coming she preceded them in and took Lilly. Alexandria climbed down the steps and turned to her husband expectantly.

“Stay here, Alexandria; for Lilly and the baby stay here. I’ll be back; I promise,” Jonathon said before closing the door.

“Jonathon!” Alexandria screamed and started toward the steps.

“Come on, Alexandria,” Millie said gently as she took her boss by the arm and led her to a barrel and sat her there. “He’ll be fine; Lilly needs you now,” Millie instructed as she placed Lilly in her arms. Alexandria hugged Lilly to her. Why had Jonathon left her like that?

She was angry with him; furious even.

What if something happened to him?

The noise outside the house intensified, it sounded as though a train was coming close to the house, a low moan and a high screeching its terrifying companions. Alexandria could hear things hitting the sides of the house above and moaning, creaking, and the sound of breaking glass. The sound intensified and then moved further away. Alexandria felt like a limp rag by the time Millie suggested they emerge from their shelter.

The door opened freely and the two women slowly climbed into the pantry; they both eyed the door to the kitchen warily. The day had been unnaturally warm and all the windows open, were there windows left? Was there a home outside that door?

“Well let’s see how bad it is,” Millie opened the door. The kitchen was a mess, chairs scooted out of place, dishes and pots scattered over the floor, but the room intact. A quick survey of the rest of the home turned up two missing windows and a mess in almost every room from where the wind had tossed things around. The house was over all intact; she returned down stairs to share the good news with Millie.

“Can you watch Lilly?” she requested after she had relayed her findings.

“You know I will,” Millie assured her. Alexandria hurried outside and noted the mess around her. She could see the path the tornado had taken several hundred feet from the house. Several trees had been twisted and snapped and tin and other debris, from where she wasn’t certain, clung to the tops of the remaining trees. She noted the barn was intact and stopped Rusty as he rushed past her.

“Have you seen Jonathon?” she asked him.

“He’s in the barn,” Rusty related before continuing on his way. Alexandria stood rooted to her spot. She had intended to go see him but found she suddenly didn’t want to, instead she turned back to the house and threw herself into cleaning up the mess that was left behind.

Jonathon helped Sparky ease onto a bale of hay and examined the younger man’s leg. He had been the first to make a dash for the house to warn them the tornado was coming and had been rewarded with a large splinter of wood in his thigh.

“The wind just hurled it at me,” Sparky said on a gasp.

“Harold, could you go for Dr. Carver? Here, Chris; hold this cloth there would you? Has anyone seen my wife yet?” he asked the men who had gathered around him.

“She was just outside asking about you,” Rusty shared. “We’ll see to things here; you go on,” the older man offered.

“Thanks, Rusty,” Jonathon said with a hand on the man’s shoulder before he moved toward the house.

“You okay, Millie?” Jonathon asked as he poked his head into the kitchen. Lilly sat at the table a glass of milk untouched in front of her. She jumped up when she saw Jonathon and ran to him.

“We fared just fine,” Millie assured him.

Jonathon turned from the kitchen and checked for Alexandria down stairs before finding her upstairs in one of the extra bedrooms. She was cleaning up broken glass from one of the windows and had gathered several scattered items and piled them on the bed to be sorted through.

“I’m sorry, Alexandria; I was going to come back to the house after I helped loose the horses. They didn’t stand a chance if the barn took a hit. By the time we had turned them out the twister was on us,” Jonathon explained as he approached his wife.

Alexandria glanced up and he caught a glimpse of hurt and something else in her eyes before she turned her attention back to the mess in front of her.

“I’m fine,” she responded, though Jonathon could tell she wasn’t. He had caught a glimpse of the same desperation in her expression that had been in Lilly’s when she had hurled herself into his arms but Alexandria wasn’t allowing herself that comfort.

“Alexandria, I’m sorry,” he said again and watched helplessly as she continued to clean.

“I said I’m fine; there’s a mess to be cleaned up in case you haven’t noticed.”

“And it’ll still be there in a few minutes from now,” he reminded her. He set Lilly on the bed and moved to his wife. “Alexandria, don’t shut me out!” he pleaded as he took her by the arms and pulled her close. Alexandria remained stiff in his arms a moment before clinging to him.

“Mommy’s scared of storms,” Lilly commented.

Jonathon glanced at the top of his wife’s head and wondered how he’d missed that.