Amelia's Journey (2 page)

“Now that sounds a lot more exciting than going to school, taking piano lessons, and learning to embroider.” She pictured him herding cattle or riding a bucking horse. An appealing image.

A young man approached the table, and Amelia cringed. The last person she wanted to see wore a determined expression on his face. Rudolph, Charles's brother, wanted to dance, but his surly attitude the night before at a family dinner had frightened Amelia in a way she couldn't quite explain.

He stopped beside Amelia and Benjamin. “Miss Carlyle, may I have the honor of this dance with you?” His dark eyes held nothing but malice even though his words were polite.

She stuck a shoeless foot out from under her dress. “I'm sorry, Mr. Bishop, but I don't have my shoes on and have decided not to dance this evening. I'm sure you understand I can't be on the dance floor in my stocking feet.”

He glared at her for a moment, then, without a word, swiveled on his heel and strode across the room. Amelia shivered, thankful she had removed her shoes.

“I must say, that was rude.” Benjamin frowned after the man.

Amelia nodded then smiled at Benjamin. “He's Charles's brother, and I'm glad I didn't have to dance with him.” She picked up a pastry. “Let's enjoy ourselves and not think about rude men like Rudolph Bishop.” Indeed, she wanted to know everything she could learn about Benjamin Haynes.

Ben wanted to know more about this intriguing young woman he'd known in childhood. Until his father decided to pick up stakes and head west to start his own ranch, the Carlyle and Haynes families had spent many weekends together as his father and Mr. Carlyle had been close friends and schoolmates.

How thankful he was now that he had not insisted that he be left behind to help the ranch hands with the herds. If he had, he would not be sitting across from the lovely young woman in a pink dress.

“Amelia, do you remember the week my family left for Kansas? Your parents gave a wonderful farewell party for us. Of course you were only five, but I hoped you might recall that night.” If she did remember, he might find himself in trouble as he had delighted in pulling her golden brown curls more than once just to see her reaction, and she hadn't disappointed. She had stomped her foot and hit him each time until his mother corralled him the third time and made him stay by her side.

Amelia chewed a piece of pastry and narrowed her eyes at him. She swallowed and pursed her lips. “Was that the time you kept pulling my curls?”

Heat rose in his face. “You do remember. I apologize for my awful behavior that evening, but you looked so cute with those long curls hanging down from that big yellow bow.”

Amelia laughed. “I forgive you, but it hurt that last time, and I wanted to cry. I wasn't about to let you see me in tears, and I believe your mother took care of you. Mary Beth and I had fun after that.”

“Yes, Mama made sure I stayed by her side, and I didn't have much fun the rest of the evening. I'm glad you did though. Then your family came to the railway station to see us off on our adventure westward.” That had been some scene with both their mothers crying and their fathers promising to keep in touch.

“Oh yes, I recall how afraid I was of that big engine with its smoke and loud whistle. When it started up and began rolling on the track, I hid behind Mama's skirt, but I saw you wave at us from the window. I thought you were so brave to move away like that with your family.”

“It was quite the adventure.” And one he would never forget. He held no regret at all for leaving Boston all those years ago.

He glanced up to see his sister headed their way. He didn't often get to see her so dressed up with her dark hair piled on her head. He grinned when she squealed and grabbed Amelia, her brown eyes dancing with pleasure. “I've been looking all over for you. I should have known Ben would have you all to himself.”

Amelia hugged the girl in return. “Mary Beth, I'm so glad to see you. I spotted you at the church when we went back up the aisle. Sit down and join us.”

Benjamin shook his head and glared at Mary Beth, but she paid him no mind and plopped down in the chair on the other side of Amelia. “I'd be delighted. What has my big brother been telling you? I could reveal a few of his secrets if you'd like to hear about some of his antics.”

“We were just talking about one on the night we had that party before you left.”

“Oh, yes, that was some fun watching him get into trouble.” Mary Beth grabbed Amelia's hands. “How I wish you could have come out to visit us, and I wish we could have come back to Boston more often. Ben almost didn't come with us, but Pa persuaded him. I'm really sorry we haven't kept in closer touch.”

Amelia glanced at him and grinned in a way he could only call wicked. “To think we might have missed reminiscing about old times if you'd stayed back with the cows. What a shame that would have been, Mr. Haynes.”

Again heat rose in his cheeks, but he would not let her teasing get to him. “Since we're such old friends, call me Ben; everybody else does.”

“All right, Ben it is.” Then she turned back to his sister. “Now, tell me what it's like living on a ranch with all those cattle and horses.”

Ben groaned. Once Mary Beth started, he'd never get a word into the conversation. He may as well just enjoy his food and listen to their prattle. At least he could sit back and show interest in what Amelia had to say without being obvious with his attraction to her.

Her chestnut hair sat piled on top of her head in an elaborate arrangement that must have taken hours to accomplish. Two long curls like those of long ago hung down in the back from the curls amassed atop her head. His fingers itched to reach over and pull one of them as he had when she was five. Now seventeen, she had become a beautiful young lady with a sense of humor and a smile that could melt the heart of any man in her presence.

He blinked his eyes and shook his head as Amelia squealed with delight and clapped her hands. He stared at his sister. “What was that you said about staying in Boston?”

“Ma and Grandmama talked with me last night, and Pa agreed. I can stay here for the social season this fall.”

“Isn't it wonderful, Ben? Mary Beth and I can do so many things together and have fun, and I'm sure there will be lots of parties.”

Ben narrowed his eyes. “I'm sure there will be.” This was the first he'd heard of any desire from Mary Beth to come back here. She loved the ranch, or at least he'd thought so.

“What will Ma and Aunt Clara do without you?” She'd been such a big help to them that he couldn't imagine life without her around.

“They'll get along just fine. After all, there aren't any more babies to care for. Gideon, Grace Ann, and Billy are old enough to care for themselves, so they don't need me looking after them all the time.”

That was true. With his youngest brother now eight years old and in school, no more children stayed at home needing care. Ma and Aunt Clara would manage just fine. Still, he had a difficult time believing his pa would let his oldest daughter live so far away.

Amelia and Mary Beth sat with heads close together discussing all the things they wanted to do in the coming months when Mary Beth would be presented to society just as her mother and grandmother had been before her. Then a bright side occurred to him. With Mary Beth here, that could mean Ma taking more trips to see her. Pa wouldn't want to leave the ranch, so that would leave Ben to accompany Ma on such trips.

More trips to Boston meant more opportunity to see Amelia Haynes. Of course, he'd have to gain permission from her parents, but that shouldn't be a problem since their families were longtime friends. The future began to look brighter and brighter. This had been the best trip he'd taken in a long time, and he looked forward to many more like it—that is, if Amelia agreed to his calling on her.

Chapter 2

A
melia dressed with extra care on Sunday morning. Ben Haynes would be at church with his family, and after their meeting last night, she looked forward to seeing him again. After the service, the families planned to dine together at the Carlyle home, which meant even more time together.

“Amelia, quit dawdling. It's time to go. We don't want to be late.”

The tone of her mother's voice left Amelia with no choice as she pushed a pearl-tipped pin into the crown of her hat. “Coming right down, Mama.”

At the bottom of the stairs her mother greeted her with a frown. “Must you always come bounding down the steps? You're a young lady now, and you should act like one.” She turned on her heel and headed for the door. “Come along, your father is waiting with the carriage.”

Amelia sighed and shrugged her shoulders. Why should being seventeen make such a difference in how she walked or came down the stairs? She didn't feel any different, but Mama and Papa certainly expected her to act like a lady. Of course with Amanda gone to her own home now, Mama would be paying much closer attention to Amelia and her behavior.

In the carriage her parents talked while Amelia dreamed about the tall young cowboy, Ben. His appearance spoke of his life on the ranch, but his manners revealed the background of his family and their position in society. With her height, finding young men to whom she could look up and not eye to eye was difficult, but last night she'd had to raise her head to look into his eyes when they stood to say good-bye.

Her fingers reached to touch one of her curls, and a smile formed in her heart at the memory of his tugging on them so many years ago. The last time she'd seen him as a young teenager, he'd spent most of his time with his male cousins and had very little to do with the girls, but it looked like that had changed. For that she could only be grateful.

As they drew up to the stone structure of their church, Amelia's toes itched to jump out and run inside to see if the Haynes family had arrived. Respect for her parents bade her to control her desire and sit still until the carriage stopped for her family to alight.

Once on the ground, she hurried with as much sedateness as she could muster. Stepping into the dim foyer, she blinked to allow her eyes to adjust from the bright sunlight.

Mary Beth hurried toward her. “Amelia, I'm so glad you're here. Mama said I could sit with you if it's all right with your parents.”

“Of course it is. They'll be delighted.” Mary Beth's dark hair was arranged in a most becoming style that set off her tanned complexion and brown eyes. Amelia had wished often enough for either dark hair or blonde instead of the somewhere-in-between brown that she had been given.

Mary Beth followed Amelia to their pew. Out of the corner of her eye she spotted Ben and his family in the row directly behind where the Carlyles were to sit. His smile sent the heat rising in her cheeks, so she focused her eyes straight ahead as she took her seat.

During the music, Amelia fought the urge to turn her head just a bit to see Ben. Instead she concentrated on her surroundings. Being in the Lord's house called for reverence, not fanciful imaginings of the handsome young man seated behind her.

Light filtered through the stained glass windows, casting a rainbow of colors across the congregation. Amelia fixed her gaze on the one to her left. The picture of Jesus holding a lamb always brought peace to her. Whenever she stumbled and fell, Jesus would be there to pick her up, and she'd done quite a bit of stumbling in the past few weeks. Not that she didn't respect her parents, but lately she had found herself at odds with them more often than she should.

When they were seated and the sermon began, Amelia forced herself to concentrate on the message about the feeding of the five thousand. The Lord had provided for the needs of the crowd, and He had never failed to provide for her needs. She must rely on Him now. If her attraction to Ben was to go anywhere, it had to be the Lord's doing.

A discreet glance at Mary Beth revealed her grinning as though she read Amelia's thoughts. Heat rose in her cheeks, but she couldn't resist an answering grin, which brought a tap on her thigh from Mama, who had eyes in the top, back, and sides of her head.

Amelia reached down between her and Mary Beth and grabbed her hand to squeeze it. Having Ben's sister here for their coming out would be fun. Most of the girls of Amelia's acquaintance were much too stuffy for her tastes and fun-loving spirit. Perhaps in the process of renewing their friendship she could learn more about Ben.