Beloved Texas Bride Page 4

  Three

  This could NOT be her new place in town. There was no way! Despite the snickering and dirty looks she had gotten from the depot when she asked directions, she was excited to be starting anew! The town was bustling with activity! Carriages everywhere crossed through the roads, along with buggies and bicycles. It was strange to see such a hub of activity so early in the morning. Where was the rugged Wild West? Where were the tumbleweeds?

  They had arrived and disembarked early, so she expected the town to be sleepy and movement just beginning for the day. Instead, it reminded her of Indianapolis but in a different way. It still had a western flare to it, men wearing boots or tall hats throughout the roads. Belts with pistols hung from their sides. The women looked the same but somewhat more down to earth like May, while others certainly out polished her own decor that she had started out with. Elizabeth groaned and dusted off her skirt, smoothed her hair and grabbed her bag of belongings as she walked from the depot with a skip in her step.

  She crossed the busy street to ask directions from the officer on the corner. He was patrolling and watching everyone around him. She saw him glance at her as she flagged him down. Elizabeth dug out of her reticule the newspaper article and asked, “Excuse me, could you tell me where this nanny shop is located?”

  She watched the officer glare at her coldly and replied “Hell’s Kitchen. Ten blocks that way, you can’t miss it.” He abruptly walked off and left Elizabeth standing there. She glanced around looking at the buildings for any signs indicative of the direction. Seeing none, she picked up her bag and began her long walk.

  If this was going to be how her life started in her new hometown, Elizabeth was far from impressed. The rudeness she had received asking directions was quite disheartening! Back in Indianapolis, everyone chatted when you walked through town. She was fully aware that she was new here and had yet to make friends, but with such sour expressions and cold treatment, how would she ever make any acquaintances? And if they were like the last person she spoke with, did she even need people like that in her life? Shaking her head to herself, she walked bravely onwards to her new home.

  Elizabeth noticed that, block by block, each section of town had grown increasingly busy and rambunctious, even at this early hour. Women scantily clad were waving at the street from a balcony. Men walked through the streets boldly, some staggering, over to the large saloon on the far side of the roadway that bisected the town. She attempted to ask directions, yet again, and that the man had attempted to snatch her bag from her. Elizabeth got upset at the affront. She kicked him, resulting in a sore shin for him… and an injured toe for her. Several foul epithets were muttered as he walked off and she stuck up her chin, quickly making her way through the dense crowd.

  Eying the building, Elizabeth gulped nervously at the lecherous façade of the building. It looked to be a saloon to her untrained eye, but maybe the nannies must all be taking lodging at the back of the building. Or maybe they were here to help educate the children of the “ladies of the night”.

  She did not want to be associated with loose women, however, she knew that it was the Christian thing to do if you were called for such a duty. She would never be one to refuse to help the less fortunate, even if it meant dealing with the catcalls and being mistaken for a harlot. A nanny always took care of her charge and she would fill that role willingly if it kept her from being Mrs. Elias Barney.

  Yuck and double yuck, she thought.

  Several men were gathered outside of the large saloon, each had a cheroot hanging from his mouth and watched her step onto the boarded walk with a lewd look in his eyes. Elizabeth could feel her skin crawl and broke out in a nervous sweat. She did not like this part of town whatsoever! She wanted to get inside, get checked in and hide away from the stares she was receiving. Finding her own lodging or a position as governess with her own room suddenly jumped to the top of her priority list.

  Gathering her nerve, she boldly pushed open the swinging wooden panels and stepped inside of the noisy building. Looking around, she felt herself staring at the scene in front of her. A massive wooden bar lined one side of the room with a cracked mirror adorning the wall behind it. Several ladies were perched on the bar top, laughing and talking with men in the room. There was a heavy cloud of smoke in the room from all the cigars that were lit on the various tables. The clink of coins, ribald laughter and scraping of chairs were almost overwhelming, but the place was fascinating to watch.

  She had never seen the inside of a saloon and it was a most decadent scene to witness! Elizabeth was certain she would have to pop her eyes back into their sockets when a woman made her way down the staircase in only her corset and chemise. She had never seen a chemise in that shade of crimson before in her life, nor had she ever seen a woman with the same shade of hair! She could see why they called it Hell’s Kitchen! People that dallied here in such a sinful state were surely bound for it! Elizabeth had never been devout, but she felt very prudish compared to the others in the room.

  Elizabeth watched the woman, scantily dressed in red, cross the room towards her. She glided and affectionately touched several men along the way, never breaking her eye contact and sizing her up as she moved. Feeling very out of place, Elizabeth glanced quickly away looking for an exit. She was most definitely out of her element! Taking a deep breath and coughing at the smoke that hung in the air, she looked back up and jumped at seeing the vibrant woman smiling at her. Unfortunately, the smile did not reach her eyes.

  “You lost or are you here for a job?” the red-haired courtesan rasped. Elizabeth could only assume her rough voice was due to yelling, smoking, drinking or a combination of all three. Either way, it sounded like gravel and grated the senses.

  Elizabeth swallowed and gave a half smile at the woman. “I am here for the nanny position that was advertised,” she replied, as she pulled her small folded scrap of newspaper from her reticule.

  Several men at the tables nearby began laughing and Elizabeth could feel her cheeks heating up with embarrassment. Being the guardian of a child was nothing to laugh about – it was quite the respectable job!

  Clearing her throat as if to smother their laughter, she tried again. “I am here for the nanny position you posted in the Indianapolis Sentinel paper. Am I not in the correct location?” she queried, trying to tamp down her irritation. She hated being the butt of a joke. The laughter around her was making her feel uneasy.

  The redhead smiled wryly and pulled her away from the tables. “Honey, do you know what job you applied for? I think you need to leave and go back to your daddy…unless you are running from home to find a new one?” she said slyly. “This is my place and I am more than willing to take you on. Are you a virgin? You here to learn a new trade?”

  Elizabeth jerked away from the scantily clad prostitute and the surrounding tables full of mocking, lecherous smiles. “I beg your pardon! I believe I am in the wrong location,” she said hastily and fled the building quickly as if the dogs of hell were nipping at her heels.

  Four

  Cole stayed far back, watching Elizabeth for some time. He wanted to make sure she reached her destination safely. She seemed so determined to make it on her own. He could respect that and it was endearing about her. He did wonder what she was running from when she left Indianapolis and what made her choose Fort Worth to start anew.

  He followed for several blocks and began to grow concerned. Elizabeth was headed straight into the town’s gambling den called Hell’s Kitchen. The area was full of saloons, gambling halls, bars and whore houses. Cole slapped his forehead and ran his hand down his face in disbelief. Surely when she said she was going to become a nanny, she did not mean that kind of nanny?

  The nannyhouse was a nickname for a renowned brothel in the middle of Hell’s Kitchen. If you wanted a woman, you headed there. The madam prided herself on having quite a variety of women all ages from around the world. He could see why, too, if she was advertising for a governess position, women woul
d show up and be trapped with little or no money in a town with no family.

  He had had enough.

  Cole had watched Elizabeth weave her way through the busy streets and lost sight of her for several moments. He watched for her dark head to appear in the crowd and was growing increasingly frustrated he could not see her. Surely she had not attempted to enter the saloon? He could not see her anywhere as he perched up high in his stirrups, almost to a standing position to get a better view.

  Seeing nothing, he moved to dismount and prepare to tie up his horse. He was prepared to pull her out bodily if she had entered the saloon dubbed “the nannyhouse”. It was no place for a lady and she was most definitely one, he thought thinking back to the way she would not loosen her stays as he had suggested during their travels across country. Cole was surprised to see her come barreling out of the swinging doors at full speed, her braid flying behind her. He almost laughed at her expression, however, it was not a humorous situation.

  Cole pulled the horse up quickly in the street in front of her. “Elizabeth!” he barked out loudly as soon as he saw her step away from the doors. He could see her face jerk upwards towards his voice, her eyes wary but lighting up as she saw him. Moving the horse towards her, Cole reached for her to mount the horse with him.

  Elizabeth watched him outstretch his hand towards her, yet again. He was always coming to her aid, apparently. She was so happy to see him there on the busy street and had been wondering how to get out of this area of town. Relieved it was nowhere near nightfall, she still did not feel safe whatsoever in this part of town called Hell’s Kitchen. She took his outstretched hand and moved to climb upon the horse with him.

  Mounting carefully behind him, she held on, wrapping her arms around his waist as he took her bag from her. She leaned her head against his back and heard his voice rumble as he asked her where she was headed. “Out of here,” she muttered, frustrated.

  “Cole, do you know where the nannyhouse is? That is where I am supposed to go for my new position. I must have been in the wrong location- or at least I hope so,” she told him. She heard him groan aloud at that as the horse started to turn around, leading them away from the squalor of this section of town.

  “Where are we headed? Did I go too far?” she asked, hoping he knew the place she was supposed to be getting her new job at. Maybe she had actually been at the wrong location!

  Cole was not sure how to explain and was frustrated she was further into her escapade than she realized. Did she leave Indianapolis without researching where she was going?

  “Elizabeth, do you see that house of ill repute behind us? The one with the women on the upper balcony calling to the men? The one you just left,” he enunciated and then he sighed loudly with frustration.

  “Elizabeth that is the nannyhouse. A nannyhouse is a nickname for a brothel here in Texas. They take care of men, get it?” he elaborated and turned back to head the way they had originally come from.

  Elizabeth was mortified and stunned. A whore house! She had run away from her family and her life on the misunderstanding of what a nannyhouse was. Whatever was she to do now? She could not go back home, she wouldn’t!

  “Cole, I think I need time to think and walk. Can you let me down?” she asked, holding back angry tears. She was truly lost at this point. Her meager baubles she had brought with her would only last so long. She was so mortified at the situation she had gotten herself into and angry that it had happened altogether.

  Cole gritted his teeth in frustration. “No, you can’t get down here. You are coming with me until we can think of something safe for you,” he clipped, trying not to be upset with her but more so at the situation. His ranch was not the proper place for a single young woman. He knew his father had several ranch hands and one maid who had been with the family for years. If Consuela was there, she could serve as a chaperone until he could get her set up with another family. He assumed she would not want to go back to Indianapolis and he wasn’t sure that either of them had the funds available for that. “You can stay with me for a bit,” he explained in a much gentler tone.

  Elizabeth said nothing but squeezed her arms around him tighter and tried not to cry. Tried, being the operative word. Elizabeth felt fat, hot tears roll down her cheeks onto his back and splash on her dingy blouse. She was bone weary, sore, and felt so low right now. It was all crashing over her and she could not help the tears. She gave an awful, wobbly sigh.

  This was not an option she had ever considered and her stomach gave a lurch of hope. Could she then stay in Texas if she had a chance to find another position as a true nanny or governess? Or perhaps even a teacher? She would not consider going back home only to be shuffled off to the highest bidder- who currently was Mr. Barney.

  Cole knew she was crying. He could understand the feeling of failure when you had come so far, only to have your dreams snatched away. He had been ready to purchase his own bit of land when the news of his father’s death had found him. He would not be building his own dreams. He would be growing and developing his father’s lifetime goals.

  “Everything will be fine, Elizabeth. I will get you to my home and you can rest up. We’ll develop a game plan from there, okay?” he said encouragingly. He felt her nod and moved the horse into a quicker pace. He was returning to his own loss. He wasn’t sure how well he would handle returning home now that it was looming miles away ahead of him.

  It was one thing to be able to return home and be proud to say you had made it on your own… it was entirely another to have it forced upon you. Cole could only hope that things were better at the small ranch than when he left it.

  Five

  It was worse.

  Not only was it bad, it was horrific. Cole had a sinking feeling as he rode gently down the winding road towards the timber gate that marked the entry to the long path back towards the small ranch house his father had built years ago. The cactus that lined the barbed fences looked as if it had taken over. His mother had loved the bright flowers that had decorated the greenery in the spring and cursed how they pulled at her skirts when she walked too close. Cole had made note of a few repairs that needed to be done to the wire fence as he rode along, observing the area and noticing the changes.

  The cedars had grown and the mesquite scrub brush had filled out quite a bit. It was so different from the tall evergreen trees he had seen in his travels. The landscape here was designed by God to survive the harshest conditions and blossom under the best. It could survive a harsh ice storm or a drought and when it rained and the temperature was gentle, it was breathtaking.

  Cole looked up once again, as he had done so many times in the past as a boy, at the markings on the timbers announcing the Hale farmstead. The memories blinded him and he thought of how proud his father was when the branding irons had been made and the symbol had been hammered out to hang from a chain from the gate. The irons were rusted and creaked as they swung in the breeze. The wood was cracked and splintered in several sections and would need to be either filled with chink or tarred to keep it from splitting further. It looked hazardous already and Cole decided he may have to replace it rather than repair it before it cracked and fell, injuring someone.

  It had taken quite a bit of time to get to the property and they had ridden in silence. Cole was lost in thought and he assumed Elizabeth was as well. Looking up, he could see the outline of the house as the sun was getting ready to set behind it. His father’s house had been abandoned.

  He would look over the land in the morning and get a fresh start. He would need to take stock of what was remaining at the house, what needed repair and how many head of cattle were present. He was not sure how long it had sat empty or if it was inhabited by the foreman that had worked the stock with his father. It looked bereft of anyone living anywhere nearby.

  Cole regretted not communicating more or being more involved with his dad. He felt selfish and childish looking back over his past, thinking how he wanted to “do something important” and
how he left. This property had been important to his father, his legacy to his son, and he had tossed it all away only to have it handed back upon his father’s passing. Cole felt so many emotions but guilt was at the forefront of them all.

  He looked out towards the sunset and the small outcropping of buildings with a groan. The house looked to be in decent condition but he could also see signs that it needed a large amount of work. He was surprised to see the wooden shutters were hanging off of one of the windows. He remembered his mother opening them to let a breeze through to remedy the stifling heat in the summertime. The house looked as if it had not been inhabited in quite some time… much longer than what he had assumed. His father had only been gone a month. How could the house have fallen into such disrepair? He could see a spot on the roof that would need repairing and knew that meant there was going to be water damage inside if it had been leaking.

  Elizabeth had not said a word but looked around wide eyed as the sun was setting on the small house in front of them. It looked to be in pretty poor condition and while she did not want to sound ungrateful, she was concerned that it might be uninhabitable.

  She had spent the last several hours just listening to Cole as she had rested her head against his back. She had felt such a sense of peace come across her as she let the sounds roll over her. His heartbeat, his breath, the clopping of the horse hooves and the breeze.