A Headstrong Woman (14 page)

“We’re your shadow, remember?” he teased.

“Hand over my daughter you rogue,” Alexandria reached for the child.

“What did I do to deserve such a title?” he demanded.

“I’m sure you’ve done something to deserve it even you do manage to somehow always come out smelling of roses,” Alexandria turned without waiting for his answer.

“She’s abusive,” he accused to Clay.

“I heard that,” she shot him a haughty glance.

“I’m staying out of it; would you care to join us, Jonathon?”

“Thank you, sir; I think I will.”

“Where is my wife?” Clay turned to survey the room. He finally spotted her moving his way, their youngest on her heels. He followed Jonathon into the pew and seated himself as he waited for his wife to join him. Anna edged past him and seated herself on the other side of Alexandria.

“Switch seats with me,” Anna whispered frantically to Alexandria as the music began playing.

“How am I going to do that without being obvious?” Alexandria whispered back.

“Please?” Anna pleaded. Alexandria lifted the hymnal from the seat in front of her and glared at her sister. Lilly began tugging at her sleeve and she picked the child up and balanced her on her right hip to cut off any further disruption from her sister. She was not here to aide her sister in catching a husband. When Lilly tired of being held and slid to the pew to feed her dolly, Anna stepped closer and elbowed her sister so hard Alexandria stumbled and bumped into Jonathon on her left.

“Sorry,” she mumbled to Jonathon before glaring at her sister.

“You okay?” Jonathon queried.

Alexandria nodded.

“Do me a favor and make sure you stay between me and your sister please?” he requested in a near whisper.

Keeping her eyes on her book, Alexandria chuckled dryly without answering. Jonathon gave her a curious glance before turning back to his own hymnal.

On Alexandria’s other side, Anna cast angry glances at her, which Alexandria chose to ignore. Regardless her actions someone was going to be upset at her, she realized; she quickly shrugged the thought off.

By the time service was drawing to a close, Lilly had climbed into Jonathon’s lap and fallen asleep and Anna was in a full blown pout. Alexandria had managed to ignore her sister and enjoy the service. After the final prayer, Alexandria gathered her things and turned to Jonathon to take her daughter.

“I’ve got her,” he assured her as he stood and shifted the child in his arms.

“Let me get your Bible then,” Alexandria insisted and scooped it from the pew to add to hers. “You seem to be Lilly’s new favorite person.”

“I think she’s mine too; she’s a sweetheart. It makes it easy to love her doesn’t it?”

Alexandria smiled and nodded, “It does.”

They eased their way out of the pew and into the aisle; Anna edged her way in front of Alexandria to follow Jonathon. Alexandria rolled her eyes and followed. Her sister never had been good at subtly.

“Alexandria,” Lane called and hurried around the crowds to catch up.

She turned and waited; she was still slightly miffed at him from their last two encounters.

“Hello, Lane,” she greeted him politely when he reached her.

“Hello, Alexandria, I wanted to apologize for our last two meetings; I know I was out of line. It’s just that we’ve been friends a long time and I care about your wellbeing; I worry about you.”

“Thank you, Lane, for caring and for your friendship. I won’t lie to you and say it isn’t a little hard at times but I assure you that I am doing alright,” Alexandria laid a hand on his arm to reassure him.

Lane laid his hand over hers and smile, “I’m glad to hear that, Alexandria.”

“There you are, someone woke up looking for you,” Jonathon stepped up beside them.

“Hello, Lilly,” Alexandria reached for her daughter.

“I should let you get going; I’ll be praying for you,” Lane assured her.

“Thanks, Lane; I’ll see you next Sunday,” Alexandria turned from wishing him farewell to make her way from the church.

“Your parents want to know if you would like to join them for lunch, they figured since I was driving if they told me you couldn’t get gone before they asked,” he relayed Carolyn’s message.

“I’ll have to find Anna and ask her; what about you, as you said, you’re driving. What are your afternoon plans?”

“Mine are flexible.”

“I told Millie it was a possibility that Mama and Daddy would invite us,” Alexandria had stopped in the church yard and was chewing her lip.

“Did Mama find you yet,” Anna approached.

“No, but I know she invited us to lunch.”

“Can we?” Anna looked so hopeful that Alexandria wasn’t certain she could turn her down.

“Why don’t we,” Alexandria smiled at her sister.

“Good; you’re coming as well, aren’t you?” Anna turned to Jonathon.

“He’s coming, now let’s go.” Her mind made up, Alexandria was ready to get moving, but that was always the way it had been with her.

***

Jonathon watched with concern as Alexandria attempt to rope the heifer in the corral. He had watched nervously over the past few weeks as she had first learned to rope the barrel from Spirit’s back and then a calf. He was afraid that she didn’t weigh enough to hold her own against a full-grown heifer, but she had begged, her eyes wide and pleading and he had given in. She was getting good at getting around him, he realized; the thought made him frown. She had more than her fair share of feminine charm and wasn’t even aware of it. Lord help him, if she ever became of aware of it. He watched as she was yanked from the saddle and hurried to her side.

“Alexandria, that’s enough. You’re going to get hurt,” he told her as he helped her to her feet. Alexandria seemed to be having trouble with the concept that the horse was supposed to do the pulling once she had lassoed the animal and he was afraid she was going to be seriously hurt if she wasn’t careful.

“I am
going
to stop her,” Alexandria insisted as she stomped over to Spirit and remounted.

“Alexandria, please, I am asking you as a…” he was still trying to reason with her when she rode past him already pursuing the cow again. He gave up and hurried to get out of their way. She tried again unsuccessfully for several more minutes before she roped the heifer and again came out of the saddle. This time she was dragged several feet across the rocky ground beneath her. Jonathon winced and moved to kneel beside her; he kept an eye on the agitated cow.

“Are you okay?” he asked as she sat up; tears stood in her eyes. She grabbed her shoulder. “Let me see.” He pulled her hand away to find her shirt tattered down her shoulder and back on the right side. He picked her up, deposited her on the other side of the fence, and led Spirit from the corral. He then led Alexandria into the house and started gathering first aid supplies.

“What are you doing?” Alexandria demanded.

“Your shoulder needs cleaning.”

“You’re not doing it!” her eyes were wide as she jumped up from her seat.

“Who else do you propose should do it? Millie and Anna aren’t back from town yet.”

“You’re not; I’m not in the habit of removing my clothing in front of men!” she had now put the table between them.

“I’m not asking….your shoulder is all I need to see, quit acting like I’m trying to molest you!” he all but yelled at her; his face was red.

“And how do I do that without exposing myself?”

“I don’t know but we’re going to find a way! Your shoulder is bleeding and I hate to think what is in there
besides
dirt.”

“It is not proper for me to…”

“Proper? Is anything you do proper?” he demanded and immediately regretted his words when tears sprang to her eyes.

Alexandria turned and rushed from the room.

“Alexandria, I’m sorry,” he called as he followed her. Alexandria slammed her bedroom door in his face. “Please, Alexandria, I am so sorry. I shouldn’t have said that,” he apologized to her door, his arm propped against the frame and his head against his arm.

“You shouldn’t be up here, if someone came by right now they would think the worst,” was her response.

A few moments later her door opened and Alexandria emerged with a quilt draped over her left shoulder and tucked under her right arm, leaving only the injured portion of her shoulder and back exposed. With part of the quilt trailing behind her and her head held at a regal angle she looked like royalty; indignant royalty.

“I’m sorry, that was cruel of me,” Jonathon again apologized.

“You’re right I’m not a…”

“Don’t!” he cut her off. “I don’t even believe that, I don’t even know why I said it. I was scared, I guess. If those wounds aren’t seen to it could make you very sick,” he told her.

“I know,” she admitted and started down the stairs. Jonathon surveyed her back closer once she was again seated and cringed. She had several scrapes and a few gashes down her shoulder. All but one or two were fairly shallow and minor. There were two that he was concerned might need stitching. That would mean sending for the doctor.

“Your shoulder looks pretty nasty,” he informed her. He started cleaning the area; flesh blood started flowing. “Am I hurting you?”
              “It’s a little tender, but I’m okay.”

“I can’t tell you how bad I feel, Alexandria. That was a terrible thing for one friend to say to another.” He still couldn’t believe he had said it.

“You count me as a friend?” she tilted her head back to look up at him.

Jonathon smiled down at her, “Does that surprise you?”

Alexandria considered it a moment; then shook her head. “We are friends aren’t we?” She was smiling now.

“We are, now would you look down so I can finish this before someone comes in and thinks I really am…” his words were cut off by a commotion at the door seconds before Anna appeared in the kitchen doorway; her eyes went wide and her face red. She turned and fled from the room.

“Uh oh,” Alexandria muttered. Lilly had entered and scrambled to the table. Millie entered, looked momentarily shocked and then came to stand behind Alexandria.

“That looks nasty” she commented. “Would you like some help with that?”

“Yes, thank you. Alexandria, this is going to burn; Millie, if she even looks like she’s going to faint…”

“I’ve got smelling salts right here,” Millie held them up.

“Good,” Jonathon nodded to the practical older woman. “Alexandria, I’m going to put Carbolic acid solution on your back, brace yourself.”

“Thanks for the warning,” she grabbed the table for support. She felt the burning start as soon as the liquid hit her back and blinked against the stars that began dancing in front of her eyes. A moment later she jerked upright after Millie waved the smelling salts under her nose.

“Good gracious! That stuff is awful!” she commented.

“It works,” Millie countered.

“Do you think either of these needs stitches?” Jonathon asked Millie.               She studied them and then shook her head. “They’ll heal fine on their own.”

“I’ll let you wrap it. I hadn’t quite come up with a decent way to do that yet,” his cheeks were red.

“I’ll finish; you go on,” she shooed him out the door. A few moments later Alexandria went to her room and dressed in a fresh shirt before stepping into the hallway.

Anna was waiting.

“Just what do you think you’re doing with a man in the house and you not even properly dressed?” Anna demanded.

Alexandria could feel her cheeks heat with both anger and embarrassment. “Just what do you think you saw, Anna? Do you really think I decided to start a sordid affair with my foreman at the kitchen table?” Alexandria watched her sister color before continuing.

“If you think I derived any pleasure from that humiliating experience you’re wrong. I’m not after your stupid crush!” she bit out.

“You think this is another of my crushes?” Anna’s voice was shrill.

“What would you call it?” Alexandria’s voice rose. “You know
nothing, NOTHING
about him!”

“I know plenty about him, I know he has two brothers, a sister, I know…”

“Details! Those are details, Anna. What do you really know? What makes him tick, what touches him, how does he think? Find those things out. Do you have
any
idea what it is like to love a man, to be married to him, and be all but invisible to him because he’s in love with a dead woman?”

“I’m not you, Lexie! I have no intention of marrying a man who doesn’t love me.”

“I didn’t either, Anna,” there were tears streaming down her face.

Anna sighed. Her sister was her best friend but lately they had been fighting like enemies. She didn’t like it. “I’m sorry, Lexie, I know Elijah hurt you, but I
want
to get to know Jonathon and seeing you half-dressed and smiling…”

“I was yanked off Spirit by a cow and dragged across the rocky ground, it shredded my shoulder, or felt as if it did, and Jonathon finally made me realize that it couldn’t wait. Had I known that you and Millie would be home when you were, I would have waited.”