No One's Bride (Escape to the West Book 1) (8 page)

He smiled, patted her hand and said, “Don’t worry.” Then he stood and made his way to the front of the church.

Standing on the platform looking out over the gathered people, he looked a little nervous. “Um, thank you for letting me speak. I won’t be long and I’ll hand you right back to Pastor Jones.”

“Take as long as you need. I’m sure they’re happy to not be listening to my voice,” the pastor said, to laughter from the congregation.

“I’ll be quick anyway,” Adam said. He took a deep breath. “I’m sure most, if not all of you are aware by now that Amy Watts and I didn’t get married as I had planned. And I know that there are some rumours going around town about our living arrangements. So I wanted to tell you all the truth about what has happened.”

His eyes flicked to Amy and she couldn’t help feeling a flash of apprehension. She trusted Adam, but she wished he’d told her beforehand what he was going to say.

“When Amy arrived on Friday I found out that she didn’t come here in need of a husband, she came here needing a friend. She also didn’t come here to be judged or blamed or gossiped about. She needed my help and the Lord Jesus never turned away anyone in need, so neither will I. She needed a place to stay and until she moves on from Green Hill Creek she is living in my home. I’m sure I don’t need to tell you that we are sleeping in separate bedrooms and nothing improper is going on. She is a kind, respectable, good Christian woman who loves the Lord. I love this town and I’d like to think that those who are in need are welcome here, so I’m asking that you accept Amy as part of our community, that you help her to feel like she belongs here, and that you don’t give heed to any untrue gossip and rumours you may hear about us. That’s all. Thank you.”

“I’d like to add that I was fully aware of the situation with Amy and Adam,” Pastor Jones said as Adam made his way back to his seat, “and I completely endorse his actions. He has shown commendable understanding, compassion and integrity. And Amy, we hope that you will feel right at home here, for however long you stay.”

Many among the congregation turned to look at her, giving her smiles and nods. Adam sat back down next to her and gave her a small smile and for a moment she so badly wanted to throw her arms around him that she had to sit on her hands to stop herself.

Then the pastor announced the first hymn, Adam moved his attention to finding it in the hymnal, and Amy focused on her lap, silently thanking God for the man sitting next to her.

Sara leaned in close and whispered, “You’re right, he is a good man.”

~ ~ ~

Following the service, the congregation lingered at the church for a while to socialise. Some of them had likely come in from the farms scattered outside the town and so this was their only opportunity to see their friends and neighbours.

Amy talked with Sara and Lizzy and Louisa and met a few more of the townsfolk. She saw George from a distance, but didn’t speak to him, not wanting to provide him with any opportunity to change his mind about employing her.

Not everyone had been swayed by Adam’s heartfelt speech and she noticed a few disapproving looks sent her way, but it no longer bothered her. Adam believed in her enough to risk the condemnation of his neighbours; she didn’t need any more than that.

Outside, he introduced her to the owner of the bank, Mr Vernon, and his wife. Both of them were polite and friendly, on the surface. Amy decided to ignore the lemon-sucking expression she glimpsed on Mrs Vernon’s face when she thought Amy wasn’t looking. Maybe that was her normal resting expression.

As they walked away from the Vernons, Zach waved to Amy across the crowd. She smiled and waved back.

“How do you know Zach?” Adam said.

“We met when I went into the hotel looking for work yesterday. He was very nice even though he’d heard the rumours about me already.” She laughed. “He invited me to dinner when I told him you and I weren’t... you know.”

Adam glanced at Zach then back at Amy. “He, uh, he did?”

“I declined and told him I wouldn’t be staying. He was very sweet though. Do you know him well?”

“We grew up together. He’s a couple of years younger than me. Small town and it was even smaller back then. All the kids knew each other.” From the way he was looking at Zach, Amy wondered if they didn’t get along.

“Adam!”

She turned at the sound of his name being called to see the woman in black from before the service approaching. A few of the other women gathered frowned at her, probably at her loud use of his Christian name in public, but she didn’t seem to mind.

She arrived slightly breathless, a smile on her face. “You must be Amy. I wanted to welcome you before you left. You’ve created quite a stir around here so I like you already. I’m Daisy, a friend of Adam’s.”

“It’s a pleasure to meet you, Daisy.”

“If you need anything, you just let me know. Any friend of Adam’s is a friend of mine.” She grinned at him and nudged his arm with her own.

For reasons she didn’t want to dwell upon, Amy very much wanted to dislike Daisy. It would have been so much easier if the woman wasn’t so friendly. “That’s very kind of you. Thank you.”

Daisy nodded, smiled at Adam while touching his arm again, and disappeared back into the crowd.

“So, are you ready to go?” Adam said.

Amy studied his face for any clue as to the extent of his relationship with Daisy, but found nothing. Not that it was any of her business. “Yes, I think so.”

As they left the dwindling crowd outside the church and started in the direction of the post office, Sara and Daniel passed in a buggy drawn by a sleek, dark brown horse.

Sara and Amy waved to each other.

“I’m glad Sara’s so happy. She and Daniel seem like a good match.”

“Dan’s over the moon,” Adam said. “He couldn’t stop talking about her. I probably shouldn’t tell you this, but before you arrived we had a small wager on whose bride would be the prettiest. Can you believe today he tried to claim he’d won? I guess you really can be blinded by love.” He was staring at the ground ahead of him, his hands in his pockets.

Amy’s heart did a little flip. “You don’t agree he won?” 

“Well, Sara’s pretty, but compared to you...” He glanced at her, smiled, and looked back down at the ground. “We agreed to disagree. He was completely wrong though.”

They walked in silence for a while as Amy tried to wrestle into submission the smile doing its best to take over her face.

“What do you say to a picnic lunch?” Adam said as they approached the post office. “The weather’s so good and I thought maybe you’d like to see that view you have from your bedroom up close.”

The day just kept getting better and better and it wasn’t even midday yet. “I’d love to.”

“If you don’t mind starting the food, I can go and saddle up Stride.” He dug into his pocket for the key to the back door. “Tomorrow I’ll get a new key made so you can have your own.”

“You don’t have to do that. I can just...”

“I want to.” He handed her the key. “It’s your home too.”

Amy swallowed the lump that had suddenly invaded her throat. “Thank you.”

As Adam headed off in the direction of the livery, Amy circled around to the rear of the post office. Her home.

She looked around the parlour as she walked inside. She hadn’t had a home of her own for so long she barely even remembered what it was like. The orphanage didn’t count and certainly not anywhere else she’d been since she was six. Standing in the middle of the modest room, she felt tears sting at her eyes. She hadn’t realised how much she wanted a home of her own. Somewhere she was safe. Somewhere she could be happy. Somewhere she could share with a man who cared about her...

She wiped at her eyes in annoyance and went to the dresser to begin her preparations for the picnic.

Dreams like that didn’t last. No one knew that better than her.

“Stride’s ready and waiting,” Adam said as he walked through the back door.

Amy looked up from the sandwiches she was wrapping in a napkin. “Should I pack the food into a bag? I wasn’t sure how we would carry it on a horse.”

“I brought saddlebags.” He picked up a napkin parcel, sniffed it and grinned. “Cheese, my favourite. Let’s get these out and packed. It’s such a beautiful day, I want to spend as much of it outside as possible. You’re going to love the country around here.”

He piled himself up with food, grabbed a blanket from the couch, and headed out the back door. Amy couldn’t help smiling at his enthusiasm. He seemed almost like a child showing off his favourite toy. Gathering up the rest of the picnic, she followed him into the back yard. And stopped.

Adam turned from where he was packing the food he’d taken out. A smile spread across his face at her expression. Amy stared, awestruck.

“Amy,” Adam said, taking the food from her hands, “meet Stride.”

She didn’t think she’d ever seen a more magnificent creature than the sleek black stallion standing patiently in the middle of the yard. Stepping forward, she held out one hand. Stride lowered his nose to her fingers, sniffing her and then snorting softly. She touched the side of his neck gently and, when he didn’t shy away, slid her hand down his jet black, silky mane.

“He’s beautiful,” she whispered in wonder.

She lowered her hand and Stride followed it with his nose, nudging at her arm and making her laugh. When she stroked his forehead, he pushed into her touch. Glancing at Adam, Amy found him watching her, half a smile curving his lips.

“He likes you,” he said. “And if you give him this, he’ll love you forever.” He held out one of the apples she’d packed. 

She took it and held it out on her palm and Stride gently plucked it from her hand. Dipping his head almost as if he was thanking her, he munched in contentment.

Adam patted his shoulder. “Are you used to riding?”

“No,” she answered, stroking Stride’s mane again. It was so soft. “I used to go to the stables at the house where I worked whenever I could, but I never got to ride. I just liked being with the horses.”

“Well, we’ll have to fix that.” He placed his right foot into the stirrup and swung effortlessly into the saddle. Then he held out his hand to her.

She stared up at him. The back of a horse seemed suddenly so high. “I... uh...”

Adam leaned down towards her, looking into her eyes. “Trust me.”

For a few seconds she couldn’t tear herself from his gaze. How were eyes that blue even possible? Almost of its own volition, her hand rose to meet his.

His smile widened and he grasped her arm. “Hold on.”

Afterwards, she had no idea how it happened, but somehow she was swinging into the air and onto Stride’s back behind Adam. She gave a little yelp of surprise.

“You OK?” he said.

She looked down at the ground which was very, very far away. “Mm hmm.”

“I’ll keep it slow to begin with, but if you’re not used to it riding can feel unsteady. So you’re going to need to hold on.”

She looked around. “What to?”

He glanced back at her. “Me.”

Her stomach shivered a little. “Oh. Yes.” Trying not to slide off, she shifted her position so she was directly facing his back and tentatively slid her arms around his waist. “Is this OK?”

“You might want to hold on a bit tighter, but yes, that’s OK.”

She didn’t want to hold on tighter. Her heart was already trying to pound its way out of her chest at Adam’s proximity, she certainly didn’t want to be any closer. Although with the limited room on Stride’s back, she wasn’t sure how much closer she could get. She kept her arms loose.

Adam clucked his tongue to Stride and pulled on the rein to turn him towards the gate. Everything lurched beneath her. Heart jumping into her throat, Amy immediately tightened her hold around Adam’s waist. She wasn’t certain, but she may have felt him shaking with suppressed laughter.

“I have a question,” Adam said as they rode towards the edge of the town. “If you’ve never been on a horse, how were you planning to ride all the way to San Francisco if you couldn’t go by train?”

Embarrassment burned Amy’s cheeks and she was glad he couldn’t see her. “I thought I could pick it up as I went along. Well, more hoped, really. I didn’t know what else to do.”

He was quiet for a few seconds. “You must have been real desperate to leave.”

“I was,” she said softly.

His silence went on for even longer this time. “Well, horses can be dangerous if you’re not used to them so maybe it’s a good thing you’re staying for now.”

Bumping around on Stride’s back and holding onto Adam as if her life depended on it, Amy couldn’t help agreeing with him. “It is much more... wobbly than I thought it would be. And a lot further off the ground.”

He laughed and touched her hands at his waist. “Don’t worry, Stride would never let you fall and neither will I. I could teach you to ride, if you’d like.”

Amy smiled at the back of his head. “I’d like that very much.”

After a few minutes they left the outskirts of the town and joined a tree-lined track that ran along the edge of a field of gently waving wheat. Or barley. Or whatever crop it was. Amy had no idea.

“How are you doing back there?” Adam said. “Do you think you’re up to going a little faster?”

She looked nervously down at the ground. “How much faster?”

“Not galloping or anything,” he answered. “Just a faster walk.”

A faster walk didn’t sound so bad. “All right, I think I can live with that.”

Adam did something with his legs and Stride picked up the pace. He was still technically walking, but the resulting extra movement caught her unprepared. She squeaked and tightened her hold around Adam’s waist, pressing herself against his solid, relatively stationary back.

This time, she definitely felt him laughing.

“We can slow back down...”

“No, no,” she said immediately, trying to sound braver than she felt. “Just give me a minute.”

He paused. “No rush.”

She suddenly realised how close she was against him and carefully loosened her grip a little. A very little.

~ ~ ~

They rode for another half hour.

Usually Adam allowed Stride to take the familiar route at a much faster speed so the more sedate pace was enabling him to see things he would often miss. As he pointed out his favourite spots and views he felt Amy relax against his back, adding a whole new level of enjoyment to the journey.

She asked question after question about everything she saw; plants, insects, birds, crops, an interestingly shaped rock. He was no expert, but he told her what he could. Having grown up in a big, noisy, dirty, overcrowded city, everything was new and fascinating and her enthusiasm was endearing. Adam couldn’t imagine a life not surrounded by the beauty of God’s creation and the wide open spaces of the area where he’d lived for his entire life. He was enjoying the ride so much he didn’t want it to end, although he was equally as excited to get to their destination.

He’d been waiting to do this for a long time, ever since they’d started corresponding and he knew he wanted her to be his wife. And although nothing turned out as he thought it would, the more he got to know Amy, the more he knew he still wanted to share this with her. The more he knew he wanted to share everything in his life with her.

When they reached a wooded area, Adam brought Stride to a halt and twisted to look back at Amy. “Close your eyes.”

He expected her to ask why, but she simply closed her eyes without question. In a moment of clarity, he realised it was because she trusted him. This scared, vulnerable, brave, strong woman trusted him. It almost made him feel lightheaded. He’d thought he was prepared for the responsibility of being a husband, but this feeling, this knowledge that she was relying on him to keep her safe and trusted him to not harm her, was both terrifying and elating at once. He prayed with all his heart that he could live up to her belief in him. 

As he started Stride walking again she tightened her arms around his waist and leaned her forehead against his back. The experience was far from unpleasant, but he knew it was because she was still nervous about being up on Stride so he didn’t prolong it, much as he wanted to.

After less than half a minute, he brought Stride to a halt. “You can open your eyes now,” he said, looking back at her.

She opened her eyes and looked straight into his and for a moment his heart stopped beating. Pulling himself together with effort, he nodded to their right. She moved her gaze and gasped, her face lighting up in amazement like he knew it would.

They stood in a grassy clearing dotted with wildflowers and surrounded by trees that dappled the sunlight over the ground. One side of the clearing was open and what lay there held Amy’s delighted attention.

A wide, tranquil lake stretched into the distance, reflecting the peaks of the mountains beyond. The deep blue water undulated gently, lapping against the rocks dotted along the shoreline. Trees lined the shores to either side, creating a patchwork of green, yellow and bronze. The buzz of insects, the gently moving water, and the birdsong of the forest were the only sounds. And the tearing of grass as Stride bent his head to the fragrant growth beneath his feet.

“Oh, Adam,” Amy murmured, “it’s so beautiful.”

He’d known she would love it as much as he did. Even though they’d only met two days ago, he’d somehow known.

“This is my favourite place in the world,” he said. “I come here to pray or when I’m feeling like I need some peace or just to sit. When I’m here, I feel like everything is OK.”

She moved her eyes back to his. “Thank you for bringing me here. It’s the most beautiful thing I’ve ever seen.”

They were so close, almost touching. If he leaned forward just a tiny bit, he could...

Forcing himself to look away, he swung his leg over Stride’s neck and dropped to the ground then turned and held his arms up to Amy.

She looked down at Stride’s back. “Um...”

“Hold onto my shoulders and do what I did. I won’t let you fall, I promise.”

She swallowed and nodded, reaching out to place her hands onto his shoulders. He took hold of her waist, lifting her towards him as she pulled her left leg across Stride’s back. It was all going so well, until her foot caught on the edge of the saddle.

She fell forward with a yelp, throwing Adam off balance. He stumbled backwards with a cry of surprise and fell into the thick grass, Amy landing on top of him.

For a few seconds he lay still, catching the breath that had been knocked from his body. Amy was sprawled across him, her head face down on his chest and her hands still clutching his shoulders.

“Are you all right?” he gasped, trying to see her face which was covered with a tangle of blonde.

She nodded against his chest and lifted her head. Raising one hand, she pushed her hair out of her eyes. “Are you?”

He did a quick mental check of his body. It seemed to be in one piece. “Yep.”

A shaky smile stole across her face. “That actually went better than I thought it would.”

They stared at each other for a few moments and then erupted into laughter.

Amy lowered her head to his chest, her whole body shaking as she laughed into his shirt. Adam dropped his head back onto the grass, closing his eyes and laughing at the sky until he ran out of breath. Something nudged at the side of his face and he opened his eyes to see Stride staring down at him as if he’d gone mad. He moved one hand from Amy’s back and patted the horse’s muzzle.

“It’s OK, boy. We’re OK.”

Reassured, Stride walked away to the edge of the clearing and started work on a patch of greenery.

Amy rolled from on top of Adam and sat up, raising her hands to her head. “I’m sorry. I don’t think I’m a natural when it comes to horses.”

He sat up, his gaze inexorably drawn to her fingers combing through her hair. “Don’t worry, it just takes a bit of practice. We’ll work on getting on and off first.”

The sound of her laughter buzzed blissfully through his chest. He could have listened to her laugh all day. Reaching out, she plucked a leaf from his hair, her fingers brushing his skin as she did so. It was the lightest of touches but Adam froze, his face tingling from the contact. Amy looked down with a shy smile.

She’s not staying
, he told himself.
She doesn’t want to be with you. You will only ever be friends, that’s all. Don’t get attached. One broken heart is enough for a lifetime, don’t risk another.
Even as he thought them, he knew the words were empty. He was already attached. He had been from the moment he first saw her.

He brushed at his hair, dislodging a few pieces of grass, and climbed to his feet.

Amy took the hand he offered her and stood. “I could spend the rest of my life looking at this,” she said, gazing out at the lake.

Watching her face, he said, “So could I.” He quickly moved his eyes to the lake when she glanced at him. “Well, now we’re on solid ground and still in one piece, I’m hungry.”