Brides of Arizona, page 35
“Tucson is a lot different than the cities in Virginia.” Josiah shifted, uncrossing his arms and resting more on the porch rail. “Do you prefer the busier lifestyle back there?”
“Oh, no.” Lavette found herself meeting his gaze before she thought. She looked away quickly. “I like the quiet here. It’s so peaceful. Nobody rushes anywhere.”
Josiah chuckled. “That’s true. Around here, the summer heat teaches everyone to move slower to survive. Do you miss the green?”
Frowning, Lavette considered the difference from their lush surroundings in Virginia and the sparse growth of the desert. “This is different and takes some adjusting.” She looked off at the mountains rising starkly against the sky. “There’s a beauty here that can’t be compared to my home. Everything seems bigger and wider, maybe grander.” She stopped, embarrassed to have said so much.
“Sounds to me like you would enjoy living here. Why don’t you plan to stay when Mrs. Sawyer goes back East? She can find someone else to work for her. I’m sure there are a lot of young women who would gladly accept a position.”
“I can’t do that.” Lavette jumped up from her chair, her mending falling to the porch floor. Scrabbling to gather everything up, she wondered how this conversation had gotten so personal.
Josiah’s shoulder brushed against hers. Lavette froze. He took her hand, turned it over, and placed her needle and thread in her palm, then closed her fingers over the implements. “I don’t know why you can’t do that, but I intend to find out.”
Lavette fled into the house, letting the door slam shut behind her. She leaned back against the closed door, her whole body shaking. Why? Why did she have to meet this man now? Her life was set out before her, and she knew her place. She’d been comfortable with that until Mr. Washington entered the picture.
The sound of his heavy tread echoed on the boards of the porch. She held her breath, waiting for him to leave. As she began to relax, thinking he’d gone, the wooden entryway she rested against began to vibrate as he knocked.
Chapter 4
Amazement swept through Josiah as he watched the door slam shut behind Lavette. He still knelt on the rough boards of the porch, his hand tingling from the contact with hers. The warmth of her fingers lingered as if he still held them. Why had she rushed off like that? Had he said something he shouldn’t have? Had he been too forward, inviting her to stay in Tucson when they’d only met today? He hadn’t meant the invitation to sound so personal.
A deep sigh escaped him. She was as beautiful this evening as she’d been in the early morning light—maybe even more lovely, now that he’d had the chance to watch her. Although he enjoyed the glimpses of her cinnamon eyes, he loved watching those long eyelashes curl against her cheek. Since they’d begun to talk, he’d hardly been able to take his eyes from her long, slender fingers. Helping her pick up her sewing supplies had been a gift from God because he’d wanted so much to touch her, to hold her hand.
Lord, You need to guide me. I don’t know why she wants to run back east when she seems to like it here in Tucson. Help me to not be too pushy. I know she must be the one for me. Otherwise, You wouldn’t have brought her by the shop right when I asked You about a wife. Now, please help me convince her that she’s the one.
Standing up, Josiah noticed a basket of other mending pushed behind her chair. He grinned. All he had to do was ask and God answered. This was the opportunity he needed to see her again so soon. Maybe he could even understand why she’d run off like a scared rabbit. That frightened look in her eyes reminded him of an animal cornered by a hunter. No way did he want her to be afraid of him.
After picking up the basket, he strode across the porch. No sound came from inside the house. He wondered where she had gone, what she was doing and thinking. Taking a deep breath, he rapped his knuckles on the door, careful not to shake the old wood too much.
He waited. No tap of footsteps sounded. Where had she disappeared to so fast? Out the back door? Was she helping Mrs. Sawyer and didn’t hear his knock? The door flung open, and he stepped back in startled surprise. Lavette faced him, still clutching the needle and thread with the skirt draped over her arm. Several more tight curls had pulled free from her bun and wound around her neck like a fine, wiry chain.
“Yes?” She sounded breathless, like she’d run a long distance. There hadn’t been any footsteps, though. Realization made his grin widen. She’d been waiting on the other side of the door. Had she wanted to see him again?
“You left the basket on the porch.” He held out the mending. She stared at it, seeming unsure whether she should reach out or not.
“Thank you, Mr. Washington.” She grabbed the basket and stepped back into the house. “I have to go. I should check on Mrs. Sawyer.”
As the door closed with a soft click, Josiah turned and sauntered off the porch. He pursed his lips and began to whistle the tune to the words running through his head.
There is a fountain filled with blood,
Drawn from Immanuel’s veins
And sinners, plunged beneath that flood,
Lose all their guilty stains.
Ever since the night he’d heard that song at a revival meeting and later accepted Jesus, he’d felt the fountain hymn was his. Music often swirled through his head as he worked at the forge, the pounding of his hammer beating a rhythm while he whistled or sang a tune.
Taking in a deep draught of air, Josiah tried to sort out his tangled emotions. Lavette had to be the one the Lord sent for him. Hadn’t she appeared right after his prayer this morning? Didn’t she admit to liking Tucson and the slower paced lifestyle here? She wasn’t someone enamored with big city life and the luxuries to be had back East.
So why did she insist she had to go back when Mrs. Sawyer left? Why did she run away when he mentioned her staying here? He could see from her reaction to his touch that she must feel something for him. “Why is she so afraid of me?”
“Probably because you’re so mean looking.”
Josiah jerked to a stop. He hadn’t realized he’d spoken the words aloud. Quinn Kirby leaned against a building, his face red, trying his best not to laugh. Josiah drew his eyebrows together, attempting to look angry. “I don’t recall asking your opinion.”
“Then who were you asking?” Quinn let loose a long laugh and grasped his sides.
“Maybe the Lord and I were having a private discussion.” Josiah bit back a grin.
Quinn clapped him on the shoulder. “Come on. I’m heading your direction. You can tell me all about why you think she’s afraid of you. I’ll be happy to give you any advice you need.”
Josiah snorted. “As if you know it all.” Shaking his head, he fell in beside Quinn, matching his longer stride to Quinn’s shorter one.
“I’m gathering you went to see Miss Johnson, right?” The deputy gave Josiah an inquisitive glance.
“Yeah.” Josiah waved his hand back toward the house where Lavette and Mrs. Sawyer were staying. An easy silence rested between the two men. In the past year, since Quinn had become a Christian, he often sought out Josiah to talk about a Scripture or a problem he needed advice on. Because of Conlon, Quinn often came to Josiah for scriptural advice. Sometimes the two commented on how he should have been a preacher with his understanding of the Bible and his love for Jesus. Because of his and Quinn’s deepening friendship and the serious discussions they’d shared in the past, Josiah didn’t hesitate to open up to him.
“You know this morning when I first met Miss Johnson?” At Quinn’s affirmative, Josiah continued to relate the story of how God seemed to answer his prayer by sending Lavette at the precise moment Josiah asked for a wife.
Stopping beside the walkway to his house, Quinn turned to Josiah. “If you haven’t eaten, why don’t you join Kathleen and me for supper? She always fixes plenty of food, especially now that she isn’t sick with the baby anymore.”
Josiah chuckled. “I remember my mama being that way. She would be so sick for awhile, I thought sure she would die. The sickness used to scare me until my pa told me most women were that way when new babies were coming. After she got over the sickness though, she ate everything in sight.”
“Lately all Kathleen does is eat and sleep.” Quinn grinned. “I’ll bet she thinks she does a lot more than that. In fact, I always have a tidy house, clean clothes, and a hot meal. She makes it look so easy, I think she’s doing nothing.”
The pair turned up the walkway. Many an evening, Quinn had invited Josiah to eat with him and Kathleen. Often Conlon and Glorianna Sullivan joined them. As much as Josiah loved his friends, he sometimes felt like he didn’t belong. Tonight, however, he would enjoy talking with Kathleen and Quinn. Maybe they could help him make sense of these roiling feelings.
Leading the way around to the kitchen door, Quinn hesitated. Josiah took a deep breath. The air smelled of something burning. As Quinn reached to open the door, the portal flung open, and a billow of smoke engulfed them. Josiah coughed and blinked his stinging eyes.
“Kathleen?” Panic rang in Quinn’s voice.
The smoke danced away on the breeze, and there stood Kathleen, tears streaming down her face, a smoking pot clutched in her cloth-covered hands. Quinn grabbed the cloths and the pan. Moving around Josiah, he set the smoking kettle on the ground. Standing next to Quinn, Josiah held his breath and peered down at what once might have been a piece of meat. The charred remains didn’t look at all appetizing.
A long shuddering sob sounded behind them. Quinn and Josiah turned back to see Kathleen wiping her face with a handkerchief.
“Oh, Quinn, I’m so sorry.” She covered her face with the hanky and turned her back on them.
“What happened?” Quinn moved up the steps and put his arm around his wife’s shaking shoulders.
“I fell asleep again.” The words came out in a wail. “I was so tired and thought if I could rest a few minutes, I’d be fine. I didn’t even lay down in the bed, but sat in the chair in the living room. The next thing I knew, I was choking on smoke.”
Quinn pulled her around into his embrace. “You know, this looks like a beautiful evening. Why don’t we open the windows? Then we can stroll down to the Widow Arvizu’s eatery with Josiah and have some supper.” He brushed a strand of hair behind her ear. Watching Quinn wipe a tear from Kathleen’s cheek, the tenderness of the moment gave Josiah an ache that settled in his heart. He longed so much for a woman to look at in the same way.
“You help Kathleen get ready, and I’ll open the windows.” Josiah clumped up the steps and past the couple before he succumbed to the emotion of the moment. He choked as the strong smell of burning meat and smoke hit him. He didn’t want to think how close Kathleen had come to catching the house on fire. Although the walls were made of adobe and wouldn’t burn readily, the contents would have caught fire.
By the time Kathleen washed and fixed her hair, fresh air had blown most of the heavy smoke from the house. Eyes puffy, Kathleen gave Josiah a watery smile. “I’m sorry about this, Josiah. I had a feeling you might be here for supper and planned to make plenty.”
“I’ll be proud to sit beside you at Arvizu’s.” Josiah knew Señora Arvizu’s was the only place he was welcome to eat in the same room with the whites in town. “I’ll even split the cost with Quinn. Of course, then I’ll charge him extra on his next horseshoeing.” He chuckled and Kathleen laughed.
Stepping through the door, Quinn held it open. Kathleen took his arm, and they all set off down the street. Stars twinkled overhead in a sky that seemed to go on forever. Josiah took a few deep breaths, careful not to let Kathleen notice. The smell of smoke lingered in his nostrils. His throat ached, and he wondered how Kathleen’s felt.
“Did you know Josiah has a sweetheart?” Quinn’s question jolted Josiah from his reverie.
“What?” Kathleen turned to look at Josiah. Her eyes sparkled in the light of the rising moon. “When did this happen?”
“He only met her today. She walked into his smithy, and he was smitten.”
“Truly, Josiah? Tell me all about her.”
Josiah groaned. His face warmed. “I’d rather talk about the fine weather we’re having.”
Kathleen sighed. “Now, Josiah, Quinn’s the deputy. If you won’t talk, I’ll have him lock you up. Then you won’t be able to escape my questions.”
Quinn’s laugh startled a dog at the side of the road. “You may as well give up. She’ll keep after you until she knows every detail.”
Shaking his head, Josiah heaved an exaggerated sigh. For the rest of the short walk to Arvizu’s, he related once more the events of the day and his experience with Lavette. He could see Kathleen’s excitement. He tried to keep the discouragement from his voice when he told her about Lavette leaving to go home soon.
“How much longer did she say she would be here?”
“I don’t recall if she said an exact time. I think she mentioned a few weeks.” Josiah could see the light spilling out of the Arvizu eatery. His stomach protested the lack of food today. “I can’t force her to stay. Maybe she has some reason to return to Virginia.”
“Does she have a beau? She may be promised to someone already.”
Reaching to open the door, Josiah shook his head. “How am I supposed to ask something like that?”
Kathleen swept through the door. She acted as if her burned dinner had been completely forgotten in the quest to solve his problems. Crossing the room to an empty table took a long time. Between Quinn and Kathleen, they knew everyone and stopped to chat several times. Josiah thought he might faint from hunger before they reached their destination. Waiting for Kathleen to be seated, he paid no attention to those around them or the few stares he received. He knew there were some who didn’t accept his presence here. Only through the grace of God did others welcome him.
After Señora Arvizu explained all her problems, health and businesswise, to Kathleen and took their order. Kathleen turned to Josiah with a sweet smile on her face. “I know what you need, Josiah. You need someone to help you out with your cause. I’ll get Glory, and we’ll go to visit Mrs. Sawyer and Lavette.”
“No.” Talking ceased. People stared. Josiah shrank back onto the bench. He hadn’t meant to be so loud. She’d surprised him. “I’ll find a way to ask her.”
“Nonsense.” Kathleen patted his hand and winked at Quinn. “We’d heard there was someone new in that house. I’ve been meaning to wander over there for several days. Glory is always looking for a way to get out with the twins. She’ll enjoy the walk.”
Josiah knew he must have the look of doom on his face. Kathleen laughed.
“Don’t you worry, Josiah. Glory could get a cactus to tell its life history. When she bats those lashes of hers, people fall all over themselves to tell her anything she wants. We’ll find out all you need to know to court Lavette in a way she won’t be able to resist.”
Señora Arvizu placed steaming plates of food in front of them. The spicy scent made Josiah’s stomach twist in anticipation. He bowed his head for a short prayer, then lifted his fork. How could he stop Kathleen and Glorianna? What if they said the wrong thing to Lavette and ruined his chances altogether?
“You may as well give up, Josiah.” Quinn lifted a bite of beans to his mouth.
“What’s that?” Josiah frowned, trying to decide what Quinn meant.
“Once Kathleen and Glorianna get something in their heads, stopping them is like standing in front of a locomotive with your hand out to halt the machine.”
Kathleen smoothed a napkin in her lap. “I promise we’ll be as discreet as possible. Before she knows what’s happening, that girl will be dreaming of you all day long.”
Quinn chuckled. “Maybe when we leave here, we can go to the telegraph office and send off for a preacher. We could even go to the mercantile and order the wedding gown.”
Josiah hunched his shoulders, wishing he could disappear. Why had he ever talked about Lavette in the first place?
“I’d say you shouldn’t consider your suit a sure thing.”
The nasal voice behind him struck a chill down Josiah’s back. He could see the stillness in Quinn’s face and the dislike Kathleen tried to hide. Placing his fork on his plate, he turned to face Bertrand Mead.
“I don’t know what you have to say about anything.” Quinn spoke before Josiah had a chance.
The false smile on Mead’s face turned Josiah’s stomach. Pale, narrow eyes, filled with arrogance, looked down at him. “The girl will be mine. I happened to hear her singing this afternoon. She’s incredible. When I’ve had the chance to talk to her, I’m sure she’ll be willing to come and work for me. With a good voice and her looks, she won’t want for opportunity.” He gave a mirthless laugh. “I’m sure the men of this town will enjoy her immensely.”
Chapter 5
Bile wormed its way up Josiah’s throat, although he barely noticed the burning. His hands clenched into fists. Pushing against the table, he started to rise. Quinn clamped his hand over Josiah’s. Their eyes met, and Josiah could read Quinn’s message. Even though he wanted to ignore his friend, Mead wasn’t worth a night or more in jail. This wasn’t the South, but even so, blacks didn’t have the freedom others did. For him to strike a white man would bring certain disaster upon himself and would affect those who stood by him.
Easing back onto the bench, Josiah forced his hands to relax. He pulled in a deep breath, praying as he did so.
“Mr. Mead, perhaps Miss Johnson will prefer to sing for our evangelist meetings when we have a preacher in town.” Kathleen’s voice carried a little too much sugar.
Josiah knew she was trying to help him.
Mead stepped to the side. Josiah could see him from the corner of his eye. The man settled his hat on his head as if making a fashion statement. Putting his walking stick under his arm, Mead nodded in Kathleen’s direction. “Perhaps that’s true, Mrs. Kirby. I’ll go by tomorrow and discuss this with the lady in question.” He straightened his coat. “However, it’s been my experience that a lucrative offer such as I plan to give Miss Johnson will usually be too tempting to refuse.”
