Beloved Texas Bride Page 3

  Elizabeth was out of sorts and almost gave a small moan at feeling his hand brush back her hair. His finger was extremely warm against her cheek and ear. Feeling him close to her, his face nearby, was making her senseless. She looked at him and caught her breath. His tanned face was entirely too close and he was smiling at her. He had a glint of humor in his eyes that was enchanting. This cowboy was extremely handsome and not what she needed in her life, especially after freeing herself so quickly from another man.

  “So you don’t like gutting chickens, huh?” she heard him ask softly and felt bile rise in her throat. “Not at all. Excuse me,” she said and quickly turned away, trying to keep herself from throwing up.

  Cole watched her pale as he teased her. Her pink lips still had no color to them and he felt slightly bad teasing her, even though it was kind of funny. He handed her a flask and masked his grin. “Here, have a sip of this. It will help calm you a bit.”

  Elizabeth gratefully took the flask, unscrewed the top and eyed the opening. She hesitated putting her mouth on it not knowing who all had been there before her. She glanced at his face, noting the smirk he was trying to hide. His lips were the most perfect shape, she noted absently. Turning up the flask, she took a small slip and began coughing. Her throat and nose felt like they were on fire! Eyes watering, she glanced back at him and saw him smiling. “What was that? I think it’s gone rancid,” she gasped and coughed again.

  Cole watched her cheeks pinken a bit prior to taking a sip of his whiskey and wished he knew what brought that on. He kept the alcohol with him at all times when he was traveling. Whiskey kept him warm if it was frigid out and he also used it to wash out wounds. It burned like hell but would “straighten your backbone and get your gumption up” as his old cowpoke used to tell him. His father frowned on it, but also kept a flask with him at all times. It was a necessity on the trails because you just never knew what to expect.

  He watched her cough and choke a bit but was relieved to see the color return to her sweet, pouty lips. Her face looked flushed now and she was fully revived from her faint. She was also sputtering like a wet hen. He did laugh aloud at her commenting that the whiskey was rancid.

  “Nope, it’s not rancid. It’s supposed to taste like that. It’s a helluva drink and for use in emergencies… or for fun,” he said lightly with a wink. “Want another sip?” he asked encouragingly and pointed at the flask again.

  Elizabeth handed it back like it was evil. “I think not.” She wheezed and felt the warmth uncurl in her tummy. “That is vile,” she said, clearing her throat once again. She watched as he took back the metal flask and turned it up, taking a sip. He gave a wince and smiled at her.

  “Yeah, it is pretty awful but it can help sometimes. I am Cole Hale. Nice to meet you Elizabeth…?” he left off inquisitively. She was lovely to watch and intrigued him.

  Looking away, Elizabeth said softly, “Just Elizabeth, okay?” She did not want to reveal her name nor any more information than he needed for the time being. She did not want to be found nor returned to Indianapolis. She shuddered again thinking of her impending marriage and narrow escape.

  Cole watched her carefully. She was running from something and he could appreciate the request for privacy. Everyone had things they did not want to talk about with friends, much less strangers, himself included.

  “Nice to meet you just Elizabeth,” he said with a wink. “If you ever want to talk or have another sip of this,” he said shaking the flask at her, “we are both within ear shot of you. You don’t have to pass out to get my attention,” he teased.

  Elizabeth said nothing at first and then whispered embarrassed, “Thank you for your offer Mr. Hale.” She was mortified that she has passed out in the coach and caused a scene. The others were all standing in the distance attempting to keep busy, but kept watching the two of them under the tree as well.

  Cole grinned. “No, no mister to it. Mr. Hale was my father, God rest his soul. Just call me Cole, okay?” He stood and held out his hand once again to her. This seemed to be a repeat occurrence helping the lovely Elizabeth to her feet and he enjoyed it. He watched as she placed her fingertips in his hand delicately.

  Reaching over, he grasped her hand with his own and pulled her into a full on stance, suddenly. He felt her body bump into his from the strength of his tug and felt her against him fully, noting her curves. “Hello,” he said gently against her as she steadied herself.

  “Hello,” Elizabeth whispered distractedly as she looked up into his eyes. She noticed he had the thickest lashes surrounding his dark eyes. Elizabeth placed a hand against him to steady herself and then stepped back a bit, alarmed at how close Cole was to her.

  “Thank you again, Cole. I appreciate your assistance,” she said quietly and turned to find May nearby. Elizabeth could feel her heart pounding at how close he was. She could see the stubble on his chin, the laugh lines at his eyes and his smile was bewitching. Feeling intimidated and cowardly, she backed away and ran to May for safety from her own wants.

  “May, I am so sorry about that. Maybe preparing chicken isn’t for me. Honestly, I have never prepared a meal at all. So let’s try maybe a few easier and gentler foods for me to learn,” Elizabeth said encouragingly.

  “I feel like I need to learn to cook and I find that I am severely lacking in any homemaking skills. If I am to be a child’s nanny, I may need to be able to properly prepare a meal. Abigail, could you help me, too?” she asked the shy girl. Elizabeth was happy to see relief on May’s face and Abigail gave a tentative smile to her as well.

  “Of course,” May replied happily. “Everyone starts out at the beginning. Why don’t we help out with the beans and cornbread they are preparing currently? That is a good staple meal out here and it’s fairly simple.” May watched Elizabeth breathe a sigh of relief as they moved over to the small fire the driver had set up for their evening meal.

  Elizabeth ignored the comments made by the driver and shotgun. If they felt better mocking her, they could do so without any more assistance or encouragement from her. She would not dignify their comments and was pleased to see Cole tell them to knock it off. She knew they did not intend to cook a full meal but was sincerely glad they had stopped for a few moments and changed their minds. May quickly prepared the meal while Elizabeth watched and assisted where she could.

  She listened quietly as the drivers finally changed subject, discussing now how they planned on traveling throughout the night to get some distance in easily. She did not look forward to being in the coach once again and could not imagine coming this distance by wagon. Nor could she afford a train ticket with the meager funds she had managed to acquire without her family’s notice. Sure she could have bought a train ticket with a billet, but she would have never made the trip once the bank had alerted her father.

  They all moved to gather their tins and served up the hearty meal. The beans and savory cornbread were extremely hot and Elizabeth could feel the heat rising off the cast iron pot that was steaming on the coals. She watched as May used her skirt edge as a mitt to keep from burning her hand on the hot metal tin plates. Elizabeth mimicked with her own skirt and helped hand out the meals to the men. Thankfully, they were done teasing her for the time being and Cole simply murmured “thank you” as she served him.

  Elizabeth, May and Abigail sat down carefully in the grass not far away from the gathering but far enough to no longer feel the heat from the coals. It was sweltering cooking over a campfire and Elizabeth was a bit surprised that she was the only one who seemed to think so. She had a lot to learn over the next few days from May, apparently.

  She glanced at Cole for a moment, wondering why he seemed to be so very nice to her and marveling how different he was from the other two men. He was extremely attractive and it was distracting. She was sincerely glad he seemed to be so amicable towards her and she could honestly use as many friends as she could get with her new life starting. May and Abigail were wonderful, but once they were reacquai
nted with her husband, Elizabeth did not want to be in their way. Besides, once she was established as a nanny, she might be too busy to be lonely, especially if it was a large family! Maybe she would stay in Fort Worth for a while and move on to California.

  She had heard there were amazing street cars that traveled by steam, rather than by horse like the stagecoach was currently doing. But then again, maybe it was all just a dream concocted by those that had started the gold rush. That turned out to be a tremendous loss for most families who spent every last dime to get to California and not finding any gold at all. Maybe these famed horseless carriages were the same thing? Elizabeth had plenty of time. She would be a nanny for some time and then make her way across the world.

  They finished their meals, cleaned the makeshift plates and put out the fire. She gave a small groan as they once again climbed inside of the coach but their stomachs were full and she felt content for the time being. They rode for quite some time and finally agreed to have Abigail lie down on one bench seat, while they would each sleep propped upright in the coach overnight. They would try to rest when they could as the coach traveled swiftly overnight.

  Two

  The next few days grew into a simple pattern. They would drive as far and as fast as they could with few stops. Each stop demanded their bodies stretch, walk and move about the entire time or else they were cramped horrifically. The relief as they walked around was palpable as they almost raced to be out of the coach at each interval.

  Elizabeth was anxious to reach their destination. The sights along the way were so foreign to her. She had never seen fields as far as the eye could see, nor had she ever seen the strange animals that Cole informed them all were buffalo. They were massive, lumbering beasts she could see off in the distance.

  The women had warmed up quickly to Cole after Elizabeth’s fainting spell. All enjoyed chatting with Cole whenever they stopped for a break. Elizabeth noticed that Cole seemed to be attentive to the trio, paying special attention to her. He seemed to be so gentlemanly and friendly with her. He was also very protective of her, apparently, because he instructed her to stay near May and Abigail. He did not want her to get hurt nor offended by what the coachmen said at times. They could be very uncouth towards a young lady traveling alone.

  At one stop, Elizabeth pulled out her sketchbook to quickly draw the landscape before they got back onto the trail. She was sincerely impressed by the smaller mesquite trees and how different they were from the pines back home. She was somewhat amazed and terrified of the bois d’arc trees that were also present, but took May’s suggestion and picked up several of the two-inch thorns to use as makeshift needles. Cole told them to be extremely careful because they could pierce a boot and many had lost their foot due to infection setting in. Both women backed away from the ominous looking trees that littered the landscape.

  The land seemed so very strange and exciting. Elizabeth had so much to see and learn. So far, she had learned to make coffee, toast, and a few other basic staples. She also found that most people relied on hardtack and jerky for sustenance while traveling. The men hired by the coach line seemed to be quite put out stopping to make a fire for dinner each evening. It was rough traveling to get cross country and all were eager to get to their destination. They were towards the end of their trip and it was a relief to see the end in sight.

  Tonight, over another dinner of beans and hardtack, they all shared how thankful they were not to have any disturbances during their trip. May confessed she was ready to see her husband, to which Abigail agreed, since it had been several months. The coach drivers were just doing a job and would be heading towards Houston once they did their drop off in Fort Worth.

  Elizabeth noticed that Cole was silent and wondered why. “Cole, I would like to stretch my legs for a few minutes before we load back up. Would you care to join me?” she invited, much to the driver’s dismay. Both he and the shotgun groaned at the delay and threatened to leave in fifteen minutes.

  Cole looked up, a bit surprised at the hand extended to him this time around, as he sat near the fire. “Are you sure? We’ll be leaving soon,” he said cautiously, looking at the drivers. He had no doubt they would leave without them. They had already received payment and it did not matter to them if they made their destination or not. May nodded encouragingly and announced she would do the cleanup for everyone with Abigail.

  Cole moved to join Elizabeth. They walked carefully a small distance from the coach. Keeping them in his sights, he was guarded at accepting the invitation and could not help himself. It was strange to have someone invite him for a walk, usually it was the other way around and he was doing his best to try to keep his distance from the attractive young lady.

  Elizabeth was a bit dismayed that he did not take her hand as she had so often done with his over the past few days. Every time she needed to get up, he had been right there to assist her. At one point, he had even suggested that she make herself comfortable for the trip and “ditch the corset” as he had put it. Her face had reddened with embarrassment, not heat, at the suggestion and she reassured him she was comfortable. Lies! The lack of privacy made changing clothing impossible and she looked forward to more comfortable accommodations soon.

  She watched from the corner of her eyes as Cole walked beside her, staring at the landscape ahead. “Is something wrong?” she asked cautiously. “If you didn’t want to go for a walk, we could have stayed. I just thought this might be nice and I wanted to thank you for your help this trip,” she said carefully.

  She really did enjoy his quiet glances and occasional comments that seemed so personal. The shared flask really made her wonder at what kind of man would travel with such a thing. He seemed so worldly when compared to her. “Where are you going to in Fort Worth or are you heading to Houston?” she inquired.

  Cole stretched for a moment and studied the petite, bedraggled young lady next to him. He knew she was ready to stop traveling but she still had a light in her eyes and in her smile. She had finally taken down her hair and now sported a thick braid falling to the center of her back.

  “I am going back home to take over my father’s ranch. It’s north of Fort Worth. You?” he asked, assuming she was going to meet a husband or fiancé. He had tried to keep away from her when he found out that May was meeting her husband. The two women had seemed to have such a bond, he assumed that Elizabeth was either John’s sister or she was married to one of his friends.

  Elizabeth smiled softly, thinking he was such a good man to be going home to take care of the family ranch. His voice held a thickness that betrayed his emotions. Cole seemed to be both sad and happy to be taking on the responsibility left to him.

  “I am going to be a child’s nanny. Hopefully, it’s a wonderful child or children,” she admitted. “I am excited about the prospect of being on my own.”

  Cole nodded. Being a governess was a respected position for a woman who had to work. Teachers were few and far between. He figured she would marry quickly due to her looks but she seemed to want to be independent, instead.

  “You never know how you will get along with a person, do you? Were you a nanny before in Indianapolis?” he inquired, curious about her past since she was so private about it. He watched her purse her lips and frown.

  Thinking for a moment, Elizabeth debated sharing why she was leaving her life behind and thought against it. She still needed to hide away. “I am from a large family. I am sure I will be all right. Thank you for asking.”

  They stood together for a few minutes until the driver gave a loud whistle signaling it was time to head out for the final leg of their journey. They were scheduled to arrive at the depot in Fort Worth early in the morning.

  Elizabeth waved in response to the whistle and moved to join them, when she felt Cole grasp her arm. She looked at him in quizzically as his expression gave nothing away. Her eyes flew over his face and she watched him for a moment, waiting for him to say something, surprised at his boldness.

 
; Cole wasn’t sure what came over him, but he needed their time to last a bit longer before being separated again. She was simply lovely and had a sparkle to her eyes that illuminated her in the dying light. He was attracted to her, there was no question. Cole wanted to ask her so many things, to pick through her mind and discover exactly who the mysterious Elizabeth was and why he felt drawn to her.

  Elizabeth felt herself smile softly at him. She felt safe with him and drawn to the rugged cowboy who still held her arm tightly. “Thank you for being my friend and helping me along the way to Texas. It’s Pierce. Elizabeth Pierce,” she said gently giving him her full name. She was still concerned she could be found but she trusted him for some reason. She felt they had a bond between them.

  Cole allowed his hand to slide down her arm and grasped her hand, kissing her knuckles softly. “It’s a pleasure to finally meet you Ms. Pierce,” he said formally.

  “Let me know how you are doing when you get settled, Elizabeth. I would like to keep in touch. If you ever need anything, my ranch is north of the stockyards. All you have to do is say the word and I will be there,” he offered. Perhaps, he would call on her once she got settled in. He did not want their growing acquaintance to end as of yet.

  Elizabeth nodded with a large smile of gratitude. She was going to start anew with two friends in the area, both of whom seemed genuinely caring. It was a relief to know she would not be completely alone.

  “Thank you, Cole. I mean it,” and both jumped at the second whistle signaling their imminent departure.

  She climbed inside with a sense of relief this time, knowing this would be the final time she would ride in the cramped coach. She was thrilled and could not wait to see the city on their arrival. She had heard so much from May about how large it had grown due to the railroads and that it was a hub of activity. May knew her husband was setting up their homestead northeast of Dallas, so she still had some ways to travel but she was almost home. Elizabeth would ask for directions to the new nannyhouse once she arrived and find her way there even if she had to walk to it! She was ready to get started and find her place in the new town.