Jessie_Bride of South Carolina Read online

  “Also—”

  “I don’t hear singing, Joel,”she cut in.

  Blast it all, but she had the most beautiful smile he’d ever seen.

  He warmed up his throat.“It would seem my lady fair, has primped and styled her hair. If I drive very fast, she might kick me in the—”

  “That will be enough of that!”she scolded, wagging a finger at him.

  Joel covered her hand with his.“Your scolding would be a lot more powerful if your lips weren’t smiling and your eyes weren’t watering.”

  Jessie yanked her hand away from him and smacked him on the shoulder.“Blast you, Joel.”

  “Ooooh, my arm.”He covered his shoulder with the opposite hand and bent forward as if he were dying in pain.“I think you broke it.”

  Jessie waved a hand through the air.“Oh, I did not.”

  He’d never tell her this, but she actually hit him harder than he realized she could. He wouldn’t be overly surprised if there wasn’t a small bruise there in the morning.

  “Yes, you did,”he teased, frowning.“I don’t know how I’ll be able to drive the Royal Carriage the rest of the way.”

  “You’ll figure out a way,”she said airily.“Just remember I’m making this worth your while.”

  Joel sobered instantly and sat up straight, fixing his eyes on the backs of Biscuits and Gravy. He should have known such a relaxed atmosphere between them couldn’t last.

  Time, like the land, stretched out endlessly before them, leaving them each to their own thoughts and no conversation between the two of them. Just the steady clip-clopof the horse’s hooves and the occasional deafening silence when he’d stop and water Biscuits and Gravy.

  A town came into view and he slowed the horses.“You hungry?”

  “Yes,”Jessie barked in return.

  Joel stared at her.

  “I just thought I’d match your cheery tone,”she said with a sweet smile.

  “Perhaps then you’ll be able to match my appetite.”

  “I’m sure I couldn’t eat close to what you do.”She patted her purse.“But get whatever you need to eat that will give you the energy to get us to Charleston by Monday night.”

  Her meaning took root in his mind and ruined his appetite. He might have been born in a world that offered far less than hers, but he wasn’t a beggar.“What is so important about Monday night?”he burst out irritably.

  “My train leaves Tuesday at half past one. I should hate to be late.”

  Good riddance. Instead of being so impolite as to actually say how he felt, he nodded once.

  “There’s an inn,”Jessie said softly.“I’m sure they’ll have a dining room.”

  Joel gave another single nod and guided the horses toward the inn. He fished out a few coins from his pocket and held them out to her.“I’ll wait.”

  “Wait?”She cast him a dark look similar to the one she’d worn the day he’d dared to laugh when she’d fallen into the pond on his parent’s property wearing her favorite Sunday dress. It hadn’t been hisfault she’d fallen in. She was the one who was certain she could walk across the log that had fallen, creating a thin, unsteady footbridge across the pond.“I’m not a barmaid.”

  Joel lifted his brows.“You’re not?”he asked in mock disbelief.“I had no idea.”

  “I’m not bringing your dinner out to you,”she snapped.

  “I didn’t ask you to.”

  “Then what are you waiting for?”she burst out, twin red flags staining her cheeks.

  “Go eat, Jessie.”

  An unladylike sound of annoyance filled the air.“Why are you being so difficult?”

  “Difficult?”he echoed with a hollow laugh.“I’m doing you all sorts of favors here, or have you forgotten?”

  “I’m paying you,”she seethed.

  Every muscle in Joel’s being stiffened.“So you keep saying,”he spat.“And yet, I have not seen a dime of it—”

  Jessie opened her purse and dumped its entire contents on the wagon bench.“There,”she said, pointing her trembling fingers at the pile of papers, coins, and other miscellaneous objects from her purse.“Now you’ve seen every dime.”

  Shame and anger washed over Joel in equal measure.“Put it away,”he bit out. Then, when she didn’t move, he grabbed her purse, held it under the edge of the wagon seat, and swept everything she’d dumped from her purse back inside of it for her and handed it back to her.

  She pushed it away.“Take it. Take it all.”She swallowed audibly.“Just get me to Charleston.”She swallowed again and blinked her eyes rapidly.“Please.”

  The waver in her tone tore at Joel’s defenses.“Are you in trouble, Jess?’

  “Of course I’m in trouble. I’m defying my father.”Her tone held an edge of hysterics.

  Against his better judgment, Joel reached his bare fingers up and pushed away the red hair that had fallen across her forehead.“Is there some sort of other trouble?”

  “N-no.”

  “Jessie, I can’t help you if you don’t tell me what you need.”

  “You’re already doing me all sorts of favors, or have you forgotten?”

  Her words were like a fist to the gut. He blew out a deep breath.“I’m sorry, Jessie. That wasn’t very kind of me.”He scanned the boardwalks and the sides of the buildings in front of them.“I probably should have asked this six hours ago, but why are you going to a train station—and don’t you dare say to ride a train. I know that much.”

  A wobbly smile took her lips.“You know me well.”

  “We were the best of friends, once.”

  “Yes, until you decided you were too old to pay attention to—”She cut herself off, flushing.“I can’t tell you why.”

  “Then I can’t take you there.”And he meant that. He’d been so ecstatic at the idea of infuriating her father and getting Jessie out of the county that he hadn’t cared why he was taking her to the train depot. That had been a mistake on his part. If she were in some sort of serious trouble, he needed to know so he could help her. If she was truly on the run, there were other train stations he could take her to. Ones that weren’t as big and would be easier for her to get onboard undetected—

  “Joel?”

  Joel started.“What’s going on, Jessie?”

  “I don’t know. You’re the one who’s gone pale.”

  Joel twisted his lips in disgust.“Where is your train ticket?”He reached for the single travel bag that she’d put in the back of the wagon.

  Jessie was off her bottom and scrambling to climb over the back of the wagon seat in less than a heartbeat.“No, Joel!”

  Ignoring the stares they were receiving, Joel grabbed the strap of her leather bag and pulled it up and onto his lap.

  Jessie threw herself on top of the bag.

  “You must be hiding something quite extraordinary in here,”he mused.

  “Stay out of my things,”she said, and then added.“Please, Joel.”

  Joel paused. Were those tearsin her eyes? They couldn’t be. Jessie didn’t cry. Ever. Sighing, Joel tossed her bag back into the wagon bed behind them.

  “The horses need to be fed and watered. I’ll attend to that here at the inn and you go in there—”he jerked his thumb over his left shoulder toward the general store—”and get us some jerky and whatever you’ll eat while we ride.”

  Joel jumped down and walked around to help Jessie out of the wagon. Her eyes were sparkling, with what he didn’t know, and if he didn’t know any better it looked as if she might hug him as soon as her feet touched the ground.

  Just to be sure she didn’t do such a thing he added,“I’ll be back in fifteen minutes then we’ll leave and you’d better be ready to tell me exactly what’s going on, or we’ll be eating your provisions while riding back to Williamsburg County.”

  Jessie looked like she might argue.“Anything else?”

  “No.”He helped her down.“But if I think of anything, I won’t hesitate to tell you.”

  “Of course you
wouldn’t,”she muttered as she walked off.

  Chapter Three

  Had anyone told Jessie this morning she’d be the ball of nerves she was now, she’d have laughed right in their face. Since the first day she’d first responded to Caleb’s ad she’d been overcome with tingly excitement. Her father had always been too domineering. When Mama had been alive she’d softened him some. Always raving about how Jessie was a beautiful girl, and smart, too. She’d remind Papa that as the prettiest girl in the county, Jessie deserved certain things. And so it was, her mama wanted to buy her the world as a means to attract attention from others, and her papa demanded perfection from her in everything from the way she set the table to the way she played the piano right down to how she dressed to leave the house and who she chose to associate with. He’d positively detested the Cunninghams and had made it no secret that he hated that Jessie and Joel were friends.

  He must have been happier than a dog with a pile of scraps the day Joel broke her heart and told her to go away saying that he was a man now and didn’t have time for the likes of her and her foolish and spoiled ways.

  She pushed the bitter thought from her mind and crossed the threshold into the general store. The sweet aroma of grains, rice, flour, and spices hit her all at once. She smiled. She loved the smell of the mercantile back home, but one look at this place told her that all general stores were basically the same. The set up was different, but the contents were practically identical.

  She took a quick pass by the fabric on her way to the dried goods.

  “Can I help you, miss?”

  “Do you have any jerky?”

  “Right this way.”The clerk brushed past her and over to where a row of glass containers were lined up in the back corner.“Beef or buffalo?”

  “Both.”

  “My kind of girl.”The clerk pulled off the top of the jar labeled BEEF and said,“Or did you want the whole thing?”

  Jessie bit her lip. Joel was a big man, a giant by most people’s standards. He was at least four inches past six feet and had the shoulders of an ox.“Yes. All of both.”

  The clerk grinned and tucked both jars under his arm.“What else can I get for you?”

  “Do you have any fruit or nuts?”

  “Would you like all of those I have, too?”

  “No.”She’d probably be the only one eating those so she’d better be more conservative.“Three apples and a pound of nuts.”

  The clerk gave her a queer look then snapped up three apples. He brought them all up to the counter.“I’ll need to weigh the nuts. Perhaps you’d like to look at the candy…”

  Jessie wagged her finger at him.“You’re an awfully good salesman.”

  “And you’re an awfully good wife.”

  “W-wife,”Jessie choked.

  The clerk looked up from the burlap bag of nuts he’d just untied and was about to pour onto the scale. Gesturing to the window, he said,“I saw you and your husband out there.”He smiled.

  Flames licked her face. The clerk thought Joel was her husband?

  A wistful expression took his face.“You two are as playful as me and my Sarah used to be.”

  “Playful?”she breathed, mortification overtaking her.

  The clerk started talking again, but she barely heard him over the blood thundering through her ears.“…the way the two of yous were fightin’over that bag…”

  Jessie stared down at the floor, willing it to open up and swallow her right then. From somewhere through her fog, she heard the finely dressed clerk ask about the candy.

  She nodded numbly, unable to look him in the eyes. If only he knew she and Joel were anything but married and their display was not at all playful.

  “That’ll be three dollars and sixty-two cents.”

  Jessie blinked, then thumbed through her purse for the right amount of coins. That sounded like a lot of money for so few things, but then again she’d never purchased so much jerky at once and who knew just how much candy the clerk had thought Joel would need… She plunked the money down on the counter and waited impatiently while he counted it out and gave her back three pennies as her change.

  “Thank you, miss.”He handed the packages of food to her and winked.“Enjoy your evening.”

  For some reason Jessie doubted she’d be able to do that, but thanked him anyway and hurried out to the wagon. She stopped in her tracks when she caught sight of Joel petting the underside of Biscuit’s long face. His profile showed his strength just the same as looking at him straight on, perhaps better. His chest was not only wide, but was rounded and bulging with muscles, as were his upper arms. His threadbare shirt could barely contain them and the bottom of his sleeves didn’t have to be put under such strain as they were both rolled up around his elbows, exposing his tanned forearms for all to see.

  “You didn’t happen to buy any smelling salts, did you, Jess?”

  Jessie jerked her eyes away from his arms and up to his chiseled face. He was grinning at her. Of course, he’d caught her ogling him.“Let’s go, you fiend.”

  Joel chuckled then patted the horses.“Here, let me—”

  Jessie hoisted herself up into the front of the wagon.“No, thank you. I wouldn’t want you to strain yourself.”

  Joel arched a brow at her then lowered his head, shaking it. He hoisted himself up onto the buckboard next to her, grumbling about never understanding her.

  “Good, you weren’t meant to.”

  Joel snorted and released the brake on the wagon.“Nor would I ever endeavor to try.”He eyed the paper-wrapped jerky in her hands.“I might try some of that, however.”

  “I knew you were hungry,”she muttered. Something flickered in Joel’s blue eyes before he turned his attention back to the road. She bit her lip and pulled out a piece of jerky.“Here.”She handed it to him and softly added,“I’m sorry.”

  Wordlessly, Joel took the jerky from her and tore off a hunk with his teeth.

  “I hope you like it, I bought the whole jar full.”

  “You really do think I’m a fiend,”he said with a chuckle. They rode past the last building and Joel snapped the reins, sending the horses to a faster pace.“Now, tell me what you’re running from.”

  Jessie groaned.“I’d hoped you’d forgotten.”

  “Have I ever forgotten anything?”The humor in his voice made her squirm.“Shall I remind you—”

  “No,”she cut in.“Don’t.”

  “Don’t what?”He started whistling the all-too-familiar tune of Mary Had a Little Lamb.

  Only they both knew that while the rest of the world sang it as a nursery rhyme set to a melody, Jessie’s association was not quite so innocent. It wasn’t her fault her father had banned her from being around animals. Nor that the first time Joel snuck her down to Mr. Rawlings’pasture that the sheep would pick that moment to start breeding…And it certainly wasn’t her fault she’d had questions. She supposed she could have not asked Joel to give her an account of the facts of life, but the truth was nobody else would have answered her questions!

  “Well, don’t forget I know some embarrassing things about you, too.”

  Joel reached for another piece of jerky.“No, you don’t.”

  “Oh yes, I do.”Jessie pulled an apple from her bag and just as quickly Joel snapped it from her grasp.

  “Only if you dreamed it up.”

  “I certainly didn’t dream of seeing you swimming naked in your father’s pond.”

  “Oh, I’d bet you have dreamed about that,”he drawled.

  A fierce blush stole over her.“I would never do any such thing.”

  “The Jessie Wilcox I remember would have.”His quiet words cast a solemn tone over them.

  “The sun is starting to set,”she commented some time later.

  “Yup.”

  “Should we start looking for an inn?”

  “Sure.”Joel shrugged.“You be looking for one. I’ll keep looking at this open prairie dotted with little cusps of trees in front of us.�
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  “Do you try to provoke me?”

  “No. It seems to just come naturally.”

  “Indeed it does,”Jessie agreed, looking down at the watch on her bodice.“It’s been an hour since we left that last town. Shouldn’t we be coming into another town soon?”

  “How would I know?”

  “What did the map say?’

  “Map?”

  Jessie would have laughed at the obvious disgust in his answer, but her panic didn’t let her.“You do have a map, do you not?”

  “Where the hell would I have gotten a map?”

  “I—I don’t know. Didn’t you bring one?”

  He gave her a blank look.“If I’d brought a map from home, don’t you think you’d have seen me open it before now?”

  “You mean you don’t know where we’re going?”She’d have been embarrassed about her outburst if she weren’t so shocked to learn he hadn’t known where they were going this whole time.

  “I know where we’re going,”he said with a calm confidence that made her want to crawl onto his lap and beat the stuffing out of him.

  “Have you been this way before?”

  He poked out his bottom lip and gave his head a slight shake.“No.”

  “Then how do you know we’re going the right way?”Panic built in her chest.“If you’ve been wrong, then I’ve just lost a whole day. A day I don’t have.”She buried her head into her hands and dug the tips of her fingers into her hair; pride could only stretch so far.

  “You still haven’t told me why we’re going to the train station.”

  “Because I’m going off to Montana to be a mail-order bride,”she said, baring her very last secret to the one person she’d once trusted with her every secret—until he’d shattered her heart into millions of shards smaller than grains of sand.

  “I thought that might be your plan.”He scraped the side of his boot along the rough edge of the dashboard on the wagon.“Are you reconsidering?”

  She shook her head.“No. I’m just afraid.”