A Love to Last Forever (25 page)

Adrian shrugged. “Where romance is concerned, I think a child is a huge nuisance.”

“I see.”

“So, does that mean you’ll give me another chance?” he asked hopefully.

Beth shook her head and picked the bucket back up. “No, Mr. Murphy. I won’t. I happen to love children and do not believe them to be any sort of problem. I very much like Nick’s son. Now, if you’ll excuse me.”

“But, Beth . . . Miss Gallatin,” he said, coming alongside her. “You have to know I care about you.”

She stopped and looked at him sadly. “But, Mr. Murphy, I do not have the same heart for you. I’m sorry.”

“What are you doing?” Justin asked Beth later that day. Beth straightened and smiled. She’d been washing windows all morning and figured her job was pretty evident. “Just trying to get rid of the winter dirt.” She got to her feet. “And how are you this fine day?”

The boy shrugged. He was more comfortably dressed in a simple cotton shirt and trousers. “I saw you over here and thought maybe I’d come over.”

“And where’s your father?”

Justin pointed back toward the blacksmith shop. “He’s working.”

“How do you like living here?” Beth asked. She really wanted to drill the boy about whether or not he was happy with Nick and how they were getting along, but she didn’t want to seem too forward.

“I guess it’s all right.” The boy frowned. “I used to go fishing in Kansas.”

“Would you like to go fishing here? We have a river full of trout. They make wonderful eating.”

The boy’s eyes lit up. “Do you reckon we could?”

“I tell you what,” Beth said, getting an idea. “Let’s have a picnic. We’ll invite your father to come, too. He can bring the poles and show you how we fish up here.”

“I know how to fish,” Justin said defensively. He folded his arms across his chest and fixed her with a determined stare. “My grandpa taught me.”

“I’m sure he did, but have you ever gone fly-fishing?” She smiled at the confused look on the boy’s face.

“Isn’t all fishing the same?” Justin asked.

Beth shook her head. “No, fly-fishing is completely different. For one thing, you don’t use live bait but instead have a decorated hook. It usually has feathery pieces or strips of bright material. And the poles are very different. They’re quite long and made of split cane. It makes them really lightweight and pliable.”

“Why would the fish want to eat feathers?” Justin asked.

“They think that it’s a bug or a fly. You bounce it back and forth on the water.” She mimicked the casting motion. “It’s completely different. I’m sure your father will be happy to teach you. You run on over there and tell him I’m packing a picnic lunch and, if he wants to join us, to be ready to leave in fifteen minutes. Meet me in back of the house.”

Justin considered this for a moment and finally nodded. “I’ll ask him, but if he doesn’t want to go, can we still have a picnic?”

Beth laughed. “Of course we can. A fella’s gotta eat, after all. And if all else fails,
I’ll
show you how to fish.”

Nick and Justin were at the back porch door with five minutes to spare. Beth handed Nick a picnic basket, then pulled on a large straw bonnet. She offered Nick a rather shy smile, feeling only a little awkward in seeing him again. Funny how the presence of one little boy could so clearly change their situation.

Beth grabbed a blanket and started down the back steps. “I’m glad to see you are so prompt.”

“I heard there was to be food involved,” Nick began, offering Beth his arm. “I knew if it was prepared by the Gallatin ladies, it would definitely be worth taking time away from work.”

Beth smiled. “Justin started talking about fishing, and the thought of enjoying this day on the riverbank appealed to me. I’m glad you two could join me.”

“I’m going to learn how to fish in the river,” Justin declared. He held up two fishing poles and a net. “Simon let me borrow his pole, but later we’re going to make me one of my own.”

“That sounds perfect,” Beth declared.

They found a shady spot along the edge of the river, and while Beth spread the blanket, Nick went to work teaching Justin to fish Montana-style. Beth watched as they stood in the shallow water. Nick had given Justin a pair of rubber boots that were much too big for him, but they serviced the boy well. Nick, on the other hand, had decided to forgo waders and simply wore old boots.

Beth laughed at their antics. Nick easily caught a trout right away. Justin seemed amazed at the fight in the fish. He was more than a little excited about trying the sport himself. Nick calmly instructed his son, and the scene warmed Beth’s heart. Nick showed such patience for the boy, genuinely seeming to care about Justin, and this pleased Beth for reasons she couldn’t quite understand.

They seemed a natural fit, she decided. In this environment, neither seemed nearly as tense around each other as they had been. Nick pointed to the water, then up at the trees. She wasn’t sure what was said, but the boy nodded enthusiastically. They continued to fish, now needing fewer and fewer words between them. Justin tangled the line more times than not, but after about twenty minutes, he seemed to get the hang of it, bouncing the line back and forth on the water’s surface.

“I’m hungry,” Nick announced. “Let’s eat.”

“I want to fish some more. Can’t I stay here?”

“We’ll start eating without you, if that’s okay.”

Justin nodded with a big grin. “I’m not that hungry. Go ahead.”

Nick cast a quick glance at Beth and then back to Justin. The boy was again focused on the water and his line. Nick made his way to where Beth sat and he smiled as he noticed the food she’d spread out on the blanket.

“I’m so hungry my stomach’s keeping company with my backbone.” He plopped down on the ground and fixed Beth with a gaze. “Thanks for thinking of this.”

“I’m glad you could join me.”

“I wanted to come and talk with you anyway,” he said, taking a sandwich from the plate.

Beth turned her attention back on the boy. She could only imagine that he would be the topic of their conversation. “How are things going between you two?”

Nick swallowed and frowned. “We’re strangers, and neither of us quite knows what to think or do with the other.”

“That’s to be expected,” Beth replied. “This has come to you both so suddenly.”

“But it’s not like we didn’t know about each other.”

“Still, you only knew about the
existence
of each other,” Beth offered without looking at Nick. “You didn’t know anything
about
each other—you haven’t shared any memories or experiences.”

“I suppose you’re right.”

“And I can’t imagine it was very easy for Justin to see his grandfather leave again so quickly. I was surprised he didn’t stick around for a while.”

“He’s sick. He told me he doesn’t have much time and wanted to go back to Kansas to die.” Nick shook his head. “I just keep thinking of how strange it’s all turned out.”

He ate in silence for several minutes, and Beth tried to think of how to tactfully ask him to share his past, with Justin so thoroughly occupied. Beth finally turned to find Nick watching her rather thoughtfully. She cocked her head to one side and raised her brow as if to question his thoughts.

“I don’t know how you’ll feel about me after I tell you what I’ve come to say,” Nick began, “but I hope you’ll still care about me.”

“My guess is that I will,” Beth admitted, “but why don’t you go ahead with your story, and then you’ll know for sure.”

Nick leaned back against a tree. “I’d known Justin’s mother for much of our childhood. She was just a year younger than me. Her name was Annie. We always figured on marrying. I remember thinking, even at the age of twelve, how lucky I was. Most folks had to wait until they were adults to find true love, but I knew I had it already. Annie felt the same way.”

Beth smiled, but the tug on her heart was bittersweet. “That must have been very comforting.”

Nick nodded. “It was. Our folks were neighbors, and the families were close. Simon and Annie’s brothers were best friends. It seemed perfect that we would be so much in love.” He laughed. “Of course, I’m not sure that I really knew what love was at the age of sixteen, but I knew I wanted to spend my life with Annie.”

Beth frowned and looked away. She didn’t want Nick to think she was upset. “But something happened,” she said, hoping he’d think her expression was nothing more than a deep thought about the matter.

“Yes. We hoped to wed as soon as she turned sixteen. We knew our folks wouldn’t be all that excited about us marrying so young, but we didn’t want to wait until later. We were alone one night, talking about spending our lives together, and well . . . one thing led to another. We found ourselves tempted beyond our ability to resist.”

Beth grew uncomfortable but said nothing. She could hear in Nick’s voice that he was just as uneasy. “I dishonored her. I should have been stronger. I planned to go and confess it all to her father, but her brother found us, and after that, no one would hear reason. Before I knew it, her brothers and father were threatening to kill me.”

“But if you were willing to marry her, why should they have acted that way? It was a mistake for you to do what you did,” Beth said, choosing her words carefully, “but you were willing to make it right.”

“In their eyes, there was no making this right. My father finally suggested Simon take me and leave for a short time. He was certain that once things calmed down, Annie’s family would see the truth of my sincerity and let us marry.”

“So you left. What happened to keep you from going back?”

Nick’s brown eyes seemed to darken. “Annie found out she was pregnant. That just fueled the anger her family had toward me. My father and mother tried to intercede, but it did no good.”

“But what of her reputation? I would have thought they would have wanted her to marry. At least then the gossip would have been lessened.”

“That’s what my folks suggested, but her father was adamant. He kept saying that her shame had marked her for life, and that God would punish us both for our sin. Things just got worse and worse, and my family feared for my life.” Nick turned to watch Justin for several minutes before saying anything more.

“I went back one night. I went to her bedroom window and woke her up. She was nearly eight months along, and I thought she’d never looked prettier. She was embarrassed and cried. I told her I’d come for her and that she should get her things and meet me behind the barn. She agreed.”

“What happened?” Beth asked, completely engaged in the story.

“We were about three miles out of town when her father and brothers caught up to us. They threatened to kill me, and Annie went into labor. Things moved so fast after that, they kind of forgot about me temporarily. They hurried Annie back to the house. That was the last time I saw her.”

“She died giving birth to Justin,” Beth said matter-of-factly.

“Yes. Her father went to see my father. He told him that they would never allow me to be a part of the boy’s life, and that if they ever saw me again, they would put a bullet in my head. My mother was terrified and begged me to stay away. That’s when Simon suggested we head west. That was nine years ago. I’ve never gone back. After a while, I heard from my folks that Annie’s parents had allowed them to be grandparents to Justin. I was glad about that.”

“I’m so sorry, Nick. I can’t begin to imagine how painful that must have been.” Beth shifted uncomfortably and bit her lower lip. She didn’t want to ask the question that plagued her, but she knew she had to. “Do you . . . are you still in love with Annie?”

When Nick didn’t answer right away, she found she had no choice but to look at him. He was watching her with such a tender expression that Beth wanted to rush into his arms.

“Annie’s gone. There will always be a special place in my memories for her, but—”

“Pa! Pa!” Justin yelled at the top of his lungs, cutting off anything further Nick might have said.

Nick jumped to his feet, as did Beth. She feared for a moment that the bear had returned to cause problems, but when Justin began laughing, she could see his cries were for an entirely different reason.

“There’s a fish on my line. Hurry!”

Nick ran to the water and helped his son bring in the catch. “Good job, Justin! Just look at the size of him.”

Beth watched and smiled as the father and son began to build new memories together. The past had wounded them both, but the future promised healing. She prayed that their future might also include her.