Page 34 of Texas Destiny
Beth slipped her arm through Amelia’s and led her into the house. “A mail-order bride. Cowboys call us heart-and-hand women because most place their orders fromThe Heart and Hand.That’s where John found me. Our little house might not look like much, but what I have here is a hundred times better than what I had before.”
The furniture looked as though it had all been carefully crafted. The fire crackled in the hearth. The room smelled of freshly baked bread and cinnamon.
Beth reached into a cabinet and brought out wooden bowls, setting them at the square oak table. She picked up Sarah and plopped her into a chair that was taller than the others. “John made all the furniture.”
“It’s lovely.”
“He works hard, trying to keep me happy. I imagine Dallas will do the same for you.”
“I only know Dallas through correspondence. I was hoping to learn more about him as we traveled, but Houston isn’t very talkative.”
Beth looked at her, complete understanding reflected in her eyes. “Oh, Amelia, none of the men out here are. They won’t ask you for the time of day. They figure if you want to share that information, you’ll take out your pocket watch and tell them.”
“Why do you think they are like that?”
Beth brought a pot from the hearth and began to ladle stew into the bowls. “I think it’s because a lot of the men came here after the war to start over. Or they had a past they weren’t particularly proud of. A lot of them change their names, or just go by their first names. No one questions them. That’s why they come out here. If they want to be alone, they’re left alone.”
“And if they don’t want to be alone?”
Beth smiled. “Then they order themselves a bride.” She placed the pot on the table and returned to the hearth, bringing back a black pan that held something that reminded Amelia of a yellow cake.
“Corn dodgers and stew,” Beth explained. “It’s not fancy, but it’s filling and out here the men need something that fills up their bellies.” She looked past Amelia and pointed a finger. “Keep that dust out there where it belongs!”
John and Houston stomped their feet on the porch for a minute before walking in and taking their seats. Amelia sat beside Sarah, across from Houston, who had angled his chair so he sat with the scarred side of his face away from the table.
When Beth took her chair, everyone bowed their heads.
“Dear Lord,” John began, “thank you for bringing company to take the burden of talking off me for a day or so. Amen.”
Grinning, he looked up at Beth. She wagged a finger at him. “You were listening at the door.”
“No, missus, but I’ve been married to you long enough to know poor Miss Carson here is gonna get her ear chewed off afore the evening’s over.”
“Please, call me Amelia.”
He blushed before digging into his stew.
Beth placed her hand over Amelia’s and squeezed. “You’ll have to forgive me,” she said. “As much as I’ve come to love John, I miss a woman’s voice from time to time.”
Amelia cast a furtive glance Houston’s way. He watched her in seeming innocence, but she wondered if Dallas had indeed told him to stop by here or if he was just trying to bring home his point regarding the absence of company in this part of Texas.
“I think you’re delightful,” Amelia said with all sincerity. “And I know what it is to long for a gentle voice.”
Amelia received a good dose of what Houston endured each evening as Beth fired off questions, one after another. She wanted to know about life back East, the journey on the train, and how fashions had changed. She talked about everything but the weather. John commented from time to time, but Houston held his silence on all matters.
When John’s bowl was empty, he leaned back in his chair and asked a question only Houston could answer. “How many head of cattle does Dallas have now?”
Houston glanced up from his stew as though he hadn’t noticed that the majority of the previous conversation had not included him. He had asked no questions, prompted no replies, and caused no soft chuckles. “Around two thousand.”
John released a low whistle. “Have him send word if he needs some help getting ’em to market. I could bring Beth to the ranch and she and Amelia here could visit.”
“I’ll let him know.”
“John, why don’t you drag out the bundle board? We’ll let Amelia and Houston sleep in the bed tonight. You and I can sleep in the loft.”
Amelia’s heart slammed against her ribs. She thought the intimacy surrounding her and Houston as they sat beside a campfire would pale in comparison to the intimacy that would surround them if they slept in the same room, the same bed, beneath the same covers.
John cleared his throat. “I’m not sure that would be proper, Beth. Usually, we pull the bundle board out when the two people are engaged.”
