Damaged Hearts (29 page)

“I think it will be ok Mom.”  The nine year old replied.  “They seemed really nice and I don’t have any bad feelings about them.  If they are going to give us a bed and food, I say we should do it.”

“Well, let’s get some things together then and we’ll give it a try.  It will sure be nice to have a bath and sleep in a bed again.”  She told him as she turned Brutus towards their saddlebags that she had left when they went to chase down their herd.  Sliding off the bull, she picked up two bags and handed them up to the boy one at a time.  “Here, put these over Van’s back until the men bring me a horse.  I need to put Brutus in with the cows for now so that he doesn’t wander off and get hurt by someone that doesn’t know him.”

“It will be ok Mom.  I have a good feeling about this new place.  I think the people will be a lot nicer than they were in Clarkdale.  Let’s go meet them.”  He kicked his little shaggy Shetland pony and reined him towards the men that he had only met a couple of hours ago.

A small sigh escaped Lilly’s mouth as deep down she hoped her son was right.  The kids and people in Clarkdale had been quite cruel.  She didn’t mean for her son to be caught in the middle but apparently a woman who rode a bull was cause for quite a stir.  Unfortunately, her son was very protective of her and that caused several skirmishes among the school age kids.  She hoped that this town would be different. 

Lost in her own thoughts, she almost walked right into the rump of the horse Charley had been asked to bring for her.  Looking over the animal, she could tell it was indeed a prime piece of horseflesh.  “Wow Mark.  Your sister owns a beautiful horse.  Are you sure she won’t mind me borrowing him?”

“I’ll let you talk to her yourself, but I’m positive she’ll be fine.  She has been an outcast for years but I’m sure you will be immediate friends.”  He laughed.  “If nothing else, you’ll have your knowledge of cattle in common.”

“We’ll have more than that in common Mark.”  She sighed.  “You’re looking at another outcast.”

“Oh god Lilly, I didn’t mean for it to sound like that.”  Mark said worried.  “I am so sorry.  Please don’t think that I feel that way.”

“Oh, way to go Mark.  Are you alienating people already?”  Charley asked almost laughing as he rode up to see what was taking so long.  “Please Miss Percy, don’t pay him any mind.  He’s forever tripping over his tongue.”

“Shut up Charley.  You don’t know what you’re talking about.”  Mark shot out in his defense.  “Lilly, please just forget I said anything and lets go get cleaned up so we can get to that reception.”

Mark clicked to his horse and urged it towards the hotel where they were staying.  Unable to make much sense of the brother’s argument and more than willing to get a bath and some fresh clothes, Lilly followed him with Patrick and Charley bringing up the rear. 

Arriving at the hotel several minutes later, Mark slid out of the saddle and tied his horse to the post before stepping over to help Lilly.  Unaccustomed to any assistance at all in that department, Lilly felt more than a little uncomfortable when Mark settled his hands at her waist lifting her to the ground before taking her saddlebag and slinging it over his shoulder. 

After watching to make sure that Patrick didn’t need any help, he made sure that the three horses were securely tied.  Mark then led the way into the hotel and towards the second floor where the rooms were located.  Lilly’s steps slowed as her eyes widened in awe of the furnishings inside the lobby and again as her feet touched the carpets on their way to the rooms.

“The floor is so soft.  Are all hotels like this?”  She asked Mark.  “Are the floors in our room covered like this too?”

“Actually the carpet in the rooms is much thicker and more plush.”  He told her.  “Just wait, I think you’ll like the room.  Hey Charley, I forgot but can you ask the front desk to have a couple baths sent up.  Have one sent to Lilly’s room and another to ours.  If we’re quick about it, we should be able to get two baths out of the hot water.  Just have them leave a couple pails of fresh for rinsing.” 

“Alright, I’ll meet you at the room then.  Patrick, you want to come with me?”  Charley asked so that Mark and Lilly would have a couple minutes to talk.

“Sounds like fun.”  Patrick told him.  “I’ve never ordered a bath before.  I just jumped in the creek or pond or mama filled the wash tub.”

“You’ll like these tubs.  There’s all sorts of room in them.”  Charley laughed.  “In fact, they are so big that a guy your size could pretty near swim like a fish in them.”

Lilly and Mark laughed as they overheard the conversation of the two going down the hallway to the lobby.  “By the time they get back, Charley will have your boy thinking that he’s a whale.”  Mark laughed, turning the key in the room door.

“I want to thank you for giving us your room.”  She started, holding up her hand when he started to protest.  “No, don’t deny it.  I know that this was your room.  Charley may have said it was his but well, I don’t think that these are his clothes in here.”  She laughed looking pointedly at a small pair of girls bloomers.

“Ok, ok; you win.  I admit it.  This was my room but Emily stayed with the Andrew’s last night so she could hang out with Rick’s daughter Ali.”  Mark admitted.  “I knew that if you thought this was my room, you might not take us up on the loan of a bed and bath.”

“Well, either way I appreciate the offer.  Patrick and I will really enjoy a bath and a real bed for once.  For now though, I had better get some things unpacked and get ready.”  She answered hinting that he should probably go to the other room.

Taking his leave, “We will come by in an hour to walk you to the reception if that works for you.  Don’t forget to open the bathing screen over there in the corner.  It will give you a little more privacy with Patrick in the room.”

“That’s fine.  I’m looking forward to a quick soak and clean hair.”  She laughed in response.  “Patrick is never a problem; he might even go visit the two of you while I bathe.”

“Whatever works,” Mark told her.  “I’ll see you later on.”  He added as he closed the door gently and headed down the stairs and back outside the hotel.  Squinting his eyes against the setting sun, he glanced around finally spotting the store he sought.  He quickly walked across the street and down a few doors before turning into Millie’s Dress Shoppe.  The little bell on the door tinkled merrily as the door closed behind him.

“What can I help you with?”  A small older woman asked as she came around the corner from the back.  “I do declare, I’ve had more business today then I have in almost six months.”

“I need to see if you have maybe a simple dress with undergarments.”  Mark said a little nervously, looking around to make sure no one was there to overhear his request.

“How big do you need it and do you have a color preference?”  She asked.

“Well, I don’t know her exact size because I just met her.  She seems a little down on her luck and I thought to have these clothes sent over as an anonymous gift.”  He said quietly as if telling a great secret.  “From what I could tell, her waist is about this big.”  He indicated spanning his hands to show what Millie expertly converted in her head to about twenty-eight inches.

“And her upper portions?”  Millie asked without as much as a blush.  “How large do you guess she may be?  I know you just met her but to gauge the proper size I must make sure the bodice fits too.”

“To be honest, I’m not real sure.  Her clothes and attitude didn’t really invite that much of a look.”  He replied.  “If I were to wager a guess though, I’d say maybe about this big.”  He told her cupping his own chest causing the dressmaker to crack a smile.

“Let’s take a look and see what we have to work with; shall we?  Do you know what color would suit her best?  What color are her hair and her eyes; do you know what color they are?”  Millie bustled towards a rack containing several ready-made dresses and began to sort through them waiting for his response.

“Her hair is a dark, almost brown color that has red flashes in it.  Almost like a sorrel colored horse or a piece of mahogany wood.”  He described attempting to get as close to the right color as possible.  “Her eyes are as grey as a storm cloud though.  I remember them well.”

Pulling a charcoal colored dress off the rack, Millie held it up looking critically at it.  Taking it over to the wall, she hung it on a nail before stepping back to look at the flow of it.  “Well, I can’t be positive since I haven’t seen the young lady in question but if your description holds true, this dress should fit her in all the important places.  The color should show off her hair beautifully and make her eyes all that much darker.”

“That’s great, hopefully she’ll like it.  Can you box it and some undergarments up for her?”  Mark said taking money out of his pocket.  “Then if you can tell me how much I owe you we can settle up and I’ll send someone over in just a few minutes to see about delivering those items for us.  I need to get back over to the hotel and get myself cleaned up so I can make an appearance at the reception.”

“Thank you sir; and don’t worry about a thing.  No one will ever know about this.”  Millie told him, putting the money into her cash box that she stashed under the counter.

Mark quickly went back to the hotel and after stopping at the front desk to request his little errand to be done, he headed up to the room he and Charley would be sharing.  Just as he was about to open the door, a door at the end of the hall opened and Kat and Rick stepped out, now looking a little more comfortable though they were still dressed in their wedding finery.

“Is it that time already?  I was hoping to have time for a quick wash and change of clothes.”  He told them looking down to dust off some of the dirt still clinging to clothes he had worn to the wedding before helping to round up the Brahmans.

“I’m sure we will be a bit early but Kaitlyn is determined not to miss the festivities.”  Rick told his brother-in-law.  “I think she’s convinced that if we don’t leave now I might have other ideas for the evening.”  He added as he smiled down at his new wife.

“I’m glad you will make the reception Mark.  Will Charley be there too?”  Kat asked her stepbrother. 

“I don’t think wild horses could keep him away.  Speaking of which though, after rounding up all those cattle, we met their owner.  I hope you don’t mind but since her usual mount is a big Brahman bull, I let her borrow your gelding that you had over at the Andrews place.  She’s quite self-conscious about being new in town and not knowing anyone; I was hoping that you might speak with her tonight and maybe with any luck, the two of you might become friends.”

“I’m not real sure about that Mark.  I have very few friends but I suppose it might be possible since I never dreamed I’d have all the family that I acquired today either.”  She told him.  “I would like to meet her though.  I’ve been very curious about those Brahmans for a long time.  Maybe we could work something out.”

“Matt is going to be extremely interested in getting more information on those cattle too.”  Rick interjected.  “He’s been wanting to cross my Angus with a Brahman just to see the outcome for quite some time.”

“We better get going.  I don’t want to be late to my own reception.”  Kat said taking Rick’s hand in hers before heading towards the stairway.  “I wish I knew where Angel and Matt were.”

“I’m sure they will be along shortly Hun.  Although if I know my brother, he might be taking advantage of their hotel room like I wanted to.”  He laughed.

“We’ll have lot of time tonight to do that Rick.  Then we won’t have to worry about being late for our own party either.” 

“Ok, ok Kaitlyn.  You win; I’m coming but could you please slow down to a relaxed trot?  Running through the hotel and down the road can’t possibly be good for your leg or your ribs.”  Her husband admonished.

Slowing her steps, Kat reluctantly agreed.  “It’s still a bit painful to breath, even without that tight corset I had on.  My leg has felt like it’s on fire ever since the doctor worked on it but I’ve kind of grown accustomed to the pain.”

“I want you to try to take it easy tonight.  Please don’t overdo it if you can help it.”  He pleaded.  “While I’d love to dance with you all night; maybe we can settle for a couple, have a bite to eat, mingle with our neighbors, and escape back to our room.”  He added with a mischievous grin.  “I can hardly wait to have you all to myself for an entire night where you’re conscious enough to remember it.”