The Brides of Chance Collection (32 page)

The girls were angels, obedient and cooperative, as Alisa moved between tasks in order to accomplish everything in a timely manner. She was just lugging the dirtywater-filled tub outside when the men rode in from the woods.

The sight of Titus dismounting and striding confidently toward her sent a ripple of pleasure up Alisa’s spine. There was no denying it. Titus was one good-looking man. Everything about him was appealing, and somehow she couldn’t help but wish her life wasn’t so topsy-turvy.

“Let me get that for you,” he said, taking the tub. “Who had a bath?”

“Ginny Mae.”

Daniel scowled. “What’s this all about on a Monday afternoon?”

Intimidated as she always became by Daniel’s surliness, Alisa cleared her throat. “I’m afraid she got into the dirt. I’m sorry.”

“Why wasn’t Miriam watching her?”

“She’s not feeling well. So perhaps Ginny toddled outside without her knowledge. I was in my cabin writing a letter.”

Titus glanced at her sharply, and Alisa cringed, knowing he would ask her whom she was writing to.

Gideon’s voice spared her the drill for now. “Miriam’s ill?” His face clouded. “Where is she?”

“Lying down.”

He tossed Logan his reins and dashed into the house.

“How sick is Miriam?” The concern in Titus’s eyes touched Alisa. What would it be like to have him worrying over her?

She gave him a reassuring smile. “I’m sure she’ll be better after she rests awhile. In the meantime, lunch is ready.”

“You gave Ginny a bath, looked after Polly, and cooked for all of us?” Admiration shone in his blue eyes, and Alisa drank it in.

She laughed, waving aside his praise. “I learned to take care of a lot of people at the orph—” She stopped and clamped her mouth shut. From the very beginning, she’d determined not to reveal anything about her past. Even a little information might bring disaster on herself and this family. If the law found her and took her back, at least the Chances could honestly say they knew nothing about her.

Unfortunately, Titus wasn’t one to let things go. He raised his eyebrow. “The orph? I assume you were going to say ‘orphanage’?”

“I’d best get inside and put lunch on the table for your brothers.”

“They can get it themselves.” Titus took her arm gently. “Tell me about the orphanage. Were you mistreated growing up? Is that why you don’t want to talk about it?”

“Oh, no!” The very thought of Mrs. Perryman raising her voice or lifting her hand in anger was ludicrous. A kinder woman never existed. Before Mr. Perryman had passed away, he had on occasion produced the strap but only under strict provocation.

“So you were going to say ‘orphanage.’ ”

“Yes.”

“Won’t you finally tell me about yourself?” He let his hand slide down her forearm until his fingers tickled her palm just before they laced with hers. “I want to know everything. Sometimes I think I’m going to go crazy if you don’t open up and give me some clue into who you are.”

The warmth of his hand sent waves of longing through her. How she would love to tell him about growing up without a real family and how she’d prayed every day and every night for someone to claim her. And how when she finally learned she wasn’t alone, her grandmother had died. She longed to tell him that she was wanted for murder, but that she wouldn’t, couldn’t hurt anyone, let alone the wonderful woman who had given her a name.

“Alisa.” Titus pulled her to him, releasing her hand as he snagged her about the waist. “I don’t have any intention of letting you go. Not now. Not ever.”

“Titus, please,” she whispered, though she could barely hear her own voice through the pounding in her ears. “You don’t understand.”

“Then make me understand. You’ve been here for two months, and all I’ve learned about you is your name. Now I know you’re an orphan. Did you think that would matter? Is that why you’ve been so evasive?”

Alisa wanted to laugh, a short, bitter laugh devoid of humor. He didn’t even know that much, because she wasn’t an orphan after all. But she couldn’t tell him that. Instead, she shook her head.

“Then what is it? Why can’t you trust me? Don’t you know how much I care for you?” The pleading in his tone nearly undid her resolve. If he only knew how much she truly cared, he would understand why she couldn’t risk making him an accessory to her perceived crime.

“I can’t. I wish I could. But I can’t.”

His face clouded with disappointment, and he released her. “All right. Have it your way. But I’m still not letting you go.” He stomped away toward the barn.

“Aren’t you going to eat lunch?” she called after him.

“I’m not hungry. Let Logan and Bryce fight over my share.”

Defeated, Alisa trudged to the cabin. She knew how he felt; her own appetite had fled, as well.

She entered the house amid shouts of laughter. Her brow rose in surprise to find Miriam out of bed. Her face, though still peaked, shone with joy. Gideon’s chest puffed, and he was grinning as Paul, Logan, and Bryce pounded him on the back.

“What’s going on?” Alisa asked, her lips twitching at the merriment.

“Oh, Alisa.” Miriam stepped forward and took her hand. “I’m so happy you’ve come to be with us. I’ll be needing you more than ever now.”

“What is it?” She frowned, searching Miriam’s face for the answers. “Are you all right?”

“I will be.” A bit of color tinged her cheeks.

Suddenly Alisa gasped. “Miriam! A baby?”

Miriam nodded again. “I’ve thought so for a while, but I didn’t want to believe it. Gideon finally convinced me.”

Daniel shot up from his chair and slammed out the door. Gideon scowled after him. “I’m getting tired of his moping.”

Placing a gentle hand on her husband’s arm, Miriam shook her head. “Have some compassion. Remember, Hannah died shortly after Ginny Mae was born. You can’t blame him if memories are tormenting him. Please be kind and just pray for your brother.”

Tenderness, or maybe more accurately a look of cherishing, washed over Gideon’s face, and he cupped his wife’s cheek. After pressing a soft kiss to her forehead, he nodded. “You’re right.” His eyes clouded as he peered closer. “You look tired.”

“Don’t worry about me, Gideon. Everything will be fine.”

“I want you to be careful.” He glanced up at Alisa with silent appeal.

The sight of the exchange between these two filled her heart with longing. Would she ever be able to share that sort of love without fear of having it ripped away from her? Pushing back the ache, she smiled at him over Miriam’s head and nodded her reassurance.

Miriam turned, her eyes shining. “Well, what do you think of my news, Alisa, dear?”

Alisa threw her arms around the other woman’s shoulders. “Oh, I’m so happy for you. I can’t wait to hold your new son or daughter. Babies are wonderful.”

Laughter bubbled from her lips. “They are, aren’t they?”

“Now you mustn’t overdo it. I’ll take care of all the heavy chores from now on.”

Miriam looked from husband to Alisa and back to Gideon. “Oh, you two are conspiring already, aren’t you?”

Alisa grinned as Gideon winked at her. “We certainly are, and you may as well get used to it until the baby arrives.”

It was only later that Alisa realized she had practically promised to stay as long as Miriam needed her.

Chapter 11

S
tanding in the foggy barnyard, waiting for Sunday service to begin, Titus gave an inward groan. He should have known Prissy wouldn’t give up so easily. Staring into her tear-filled eyes brought about a myriad of emotions in his chest—none of which was love or desire. Pity maybe. Irritation, a little bit of guilt for his changing affection? What was it about a woman that if a man lost interest, suddenly she wanted him more than air?

Those were her words. “I can’t breathe for wanting you, Titus.”

“Prissy.”
Please give me the words to end this once and for all
. “You were the one who turned down
my
proposal, remember?”

“I know,” she whimpered. “But I was so wrong. I see that now. Won’t you give me another chance?”

A second chance. That’s what he felt like he’d been given. A second chance with the right woman. He shuddered to think where he’d have ended up if Prissy hadn’t rejected his proposal in the first place. Stuck is where. Up a creek without a paddle. In a sinking boat. In a pasture with a riled bull. On a bucking horse with a broken saddle strap. Not one scenario he could imagine made him a happily married man. Not even one.

Maybe a man with stronger character would take one look at her ashen face and give in, seeing as how he
had
proposed, but Titus couldn’t bring himself to consider it. He couldn’t bear the thought. Besides, what woman would want a man who was in love with someone else?

Before he thought better of the question, he heard his own voice. “Prissy, I’m in love with someone else. Would you really have me marry you just to keep my word?”

As soon as the stupid words left his mouth, he knew he’d made a big mistake. Her eyes narrowed and her nostrils flared, and for a second, that bull-in-the-pasture scenario was looking a bit less dangerous.

Amazing how fast tears dried when fanned by red-hot anger. “Titus Chance, you are a liar and a cad, and I never want to lay eyes on you again. If you prefer that silly, dowdy-looking servant girl to me, then I suspect more is going on out here than meets the eye.”

Instinctively, Titus reached out to snag her arm. He’d never been tempted to hit a woman before, and he wasn’t seriously tempted now, but if she spread one word of lying gossip about Alisa…

“Turn me loose!” She tried to jerk free, but Titus held her fast.

“Not until we get something straight.”

Her lips trembled, and he loosened his grip.

“There isn’t one improper thing going on at this ranch. Alisa Worthington is a morally upright, Christian woman, and I’ll not have her name smeared by a jealous female. Is that clear?”

Again, wrong thing to say. Horrified rage flashed in her eyes. Titus inwardly kicked himself. What kind of an idiot was he?

“Jealous?” she sputtered. “You take my love for you and throw it in my face and then have the audacity to call me jealous?” This time when she jerked away, he released her.

“Of course I didn’t mean you were jealous, exactly.”

But it was too late. Her hand was poised to strike, and before he could grab her wrist, her palm made contact with his cheek so hard his ears rang. She was beyond reasoning with. “I could have any single man in Reliable, and I chose you, fool that I was. But never fear, Titus Chance. I will not bother you or the woman you love ever again.”

She whipped around and flounced quickly toward the barn where benches had been set up in the makeshift church for their Sunday meeting.

During the warm months, they simply stayed outdoors and worshiped together under God’s blue sky. There was something awe-inspiring about being surrounded by nature while seeking God. But when the weather turned cold or rainy, the barn was second best. And their neighbors looked forward to the Sunday meetings. The men took turns sharing scripture, and they always sang hymns to the strumming of the guitar.

“You having troubles?”

Titus turned to find the circuit preacher standing next to him. The parson motioned in the direction Prissy had stomped. The skinny fellow stood a head shorter than Titus. His black suit was just a bit crumpled, and his wide-brimmed black hat seemed a little too large for his head. But he had the kindest, sincerest eyes Titus had ever looked into. Heaving a sigh, he nodded. “I asked her to marry me, and she turned me down.”

“I’m sorry. But God allows things to happen for a reason. I’m sure He has another woman for you.”

“Oh, I know. That’s the problem.”

The preacher’s brow lifted. “How’s that?”

“I’m in love with a different woman.”

“I’m sorry. I don’t understand. Perhaps it isn’t my place to inquire, but why did you ask one woman to marry you if you care for another?”

It seemed almost too much trouble to go over it again. But Titus needed to talk to someone, and in the absence of a regular preacher, he had to take counsel when he could get it. So he spilled out the entire story, beginning with his proposal to Prissy and ending with the slap that still smarted.

The preacher’s expression remained impressively passive throughout Titus’s discourse. When Titus finished, Parson Abe nodded his understanding of the situation. “So the woman you don’t love anymore has changed her mind and is begging you to allow her to reconsider, but the one you now want to marry won’t even consider accepting you?”

Giving a curt nod, Titus rested his forearms on the corral fence and released a frustrated sigh. “I reckon that pretty much sums it up.”

“Sounds like we have some praying to do.”

That was it? Where were the words of wisdom? The comfort? Encouragement? Where was the reassurance that God had surely brought Alisa into his life and that it was only a matter of time before she saw the truth and ran into his arms?

He couldn’t restrain a scowl. The preacher gave a short laugh. “You were looking for a different answer?”

“I’d hoped.”

“Sometimes the answer is easy and obvious. Other times, particularly when other people are involved, we have to pray and trust God to answer in His time, knowing He might just say no.”

As much as Titus hated the thought, he knew in his heart the preacher’s words held a large measure of truth. He couldn’t force Alisa to come to him, and God wouldn’t force her. He still didn’t know anything about her past, what had brought her to Reliable. Why had she been running away from San Francisco? Whatever the reason, he knew it wouldn’t change his feelings for her.

The barn door opened, and Gideon motioned for them to come in.

“Well,” Parson Abe said, “I guess it’s time to start the service. You folks got any music?”

Titus nodded. “I play guitar and lead a few hymns.”

A broad smile lit the round, red-cheeked face. “Wonderful. Do you know ‘Amazing Grace’?”

“Yep.”

“Good. You planning to sing that one today? I’m kinda partial to it.”