Where the Wild Rose Blooms (51 page)

"Is Jackie coming down?" Eddie asked when her husband joined them in the living room.

"Not just yet." He looked at Clay. "I think she's pretty tired. I suggested that she go for a walk today instead of doing her lesson, but she said that's not what I pay you for."

Clayton's brows rose. "Well, that might have been true at one point, but surely she knows I come for more than her schooling."

"I think she does, but she's so tired right now that she's not thinking straight."

Clayton nodded. "She told me she's learning to cook all over again. I've noticed that anytime she learns something new, it exhausts her. She's doing great. I probably don't tell
her
often enough how well she's doing. Maybe Saturdays are not such a good idea."

Eddie looked shame-faced. "And I woke her as early as I always do."

"I think maybe we should back off a bit," Robert stated. "I've got to get into town now, but I think if you
ask
Jackie, she'll say she wants to rest today."

Eddie nodded, kissed her husband, and started for the stairs. Clayton said he would stay and talk to Jackie awhile, but when Eddie returned, it was to report that Jackie had fallen sound asleep in her chair.

"I can feel the approach of winter," Jackie commented, fingering the leaf in her hand.

"Yes," Clayton agreed, but he didn't feel like talking more. Jackie looked utterly captivating in a dress of cream and navy blue, and all Clayton could do was stare. The beautiful Rocky Mountains rose majestically in the distance, but Clayton had eyes for Jackie alone.

Several weeks had passed since Jackie had been too tired to study, and from that point Clayton had spent every weekend with Jackie, but not to study or work. They had been some of the most wonderful weeks of his life. She grew more accustomed to his voice and inflections, and most of the time she was the wild, fun Jackie that he'd fallen in love with the summer before in Georgetown. Tonight they were supposed to be studying, but it was so nice that Clayton called for a nature walk and took her outside.

"Here's one for you." Clayton held a flower beneath her nose and watched her smile.

"Wild rose," Jackie breathed. "My favorite." She caressed the delicate blossom and smelled it again. She then realized how quiet Clayton had been that day.

"You haven't been very talkative today, Clayton Taggart."

"No," he smiled, "but I'm doing plenty of thinking."

"About?"

"About how lovely you look in that dress and how beautiful your hair is when the sun bounces off it."

Jackie's hand automatically went to a fat curl that lay on her shoulder. "I can't really remember what it looks like anymore."

"Shall I tell you?" Clayton asked and began before she could answer. "The color is richer than anything I've ever seen. Even without the red highlights, the sable brown is so full, dark, and soft to the eyes that you automatically want to touch it." Claytons voice grew softer and deeper as he continued, and Jackies heart began to pound. "It falls in ripples down your back and shoulders, and curls slightly at the ends. Even with the wind teasing it, it's
smooth looking and tempts my hand unbearably."

Clayton now looked at Jackie's eyes and saw understanding for the first time. "What did you just hear, Jackie?

What does your heart tell you?"

"No, Clayton," she whispered. "It can't be. How can you love me after this? How can you possibly feel—"

She cut off when his arms came around her. He held her
gently, but her hands clung to his shoulders.

"You don't understand, Jackie." Clayton had to bend his head only
slightly to speak softly into her ear. "The blind Jackie who is indwelt by God is a thousand times more lovely than the sighted Jackie who didn't understand the things of the Spirit."

"But Clayton, how could I ever be anything to you; how could I ever really be—

Her words were cut off again, this time with his mouth. He wasn't going to kiss her so ardently but every' time he raised his head she had another objection. He ended up kissing her until his own heart was thundering and she was limp in his arms.

"I've never stopped loving you," he said when he could talk. "I begged God to save you, Jackie; not for myself, but for you. When it happened, I knew someday I'd make you mine."

Jackie's heart overflowed. She threw her arms around Clayton and held him with all her strength.

"I told myself that we would always be friends, and I would have to be happy with only that."

Clayton kissed her again, but then she pushed herself to arms length and spoke with her hands on his chest.

"Clayton, we have to be serious now."

"All right."

"I almost set a towel on fire last week."

"Yes, you told me about it." He sounded calm.

"Clayton, you don't understand."

"Yes, I do. You're picturing yourself in Eddie's house and kitchen. We won't live there. We'll live at my house, and I work just steps out the front door. Not to mention, I'm always done in the schoolhouse by 3:30. Plenty of time to come home and help you start dinner."

"What about children? How could I ever take care of a baby?"

"When the time comes, we'll handle that."

He's thought this all out. He has an answer for everything because he's worked it all out.

Her heart was going to burst, and she had to be close. She moved her hands from his chest to his face, framing it carefully and tipping it down so he could see her.

"Clayton, do you know that I love you?"

"Oh,
yes,
Jackie," he replied tenderly.

"Can you see it, Clayton? Can you see it in my eyes?" She was only just holding her tears.

"Yes, Jackie, I can see it."

Jackie's hand smoothed his face for just an instant. "Clayton." Her voice became very serious, her eyes searching the air. "Will you marry me?"

Clayton gathered her close, his lips brushing her forehead before bending to her ear.

"Absolutely."

"Right away, Clayton," she added. "No big wedding and no waiting for families to come. Right away, with just the family and close friends who are here."

Clayton looked down at her. "If that's what you want."

"Isn't that what you want?" She sounded uncertain all of a sudden.

"Yes, it is." Clayton realized how true it was. He could have his family come later, but he and Jackie had been apart for so long; waiting seemed unnecessary. This way they could have a quiet beginning, and by the time family visited and they celebrated with them, his wife would feel confident as the lady of her own home.

"When?" he suddenly asked. "When will you marry me?"

"Right away," Jackie told him. "I don't need a fancy dress I can't see. I just want us to be together, Clayton. I think God's been preparing me for that for a very long time."

Clayton knew God had done some preparing in his own heart as well. He looked up just then to see

Robert and Eddie coming their way.

"We're going to have company. Shall I tell them?"

"Yes, please," Jackie said with a smile that stretched off her face.

If the young couple had known any doubts about their decision, they dissolved in the face of Eddies and Roberts joy. The four of them stood until the sun was sinking low in the sky and talked and planned. Robert himself suggested they marry right away, and Jackie couldn't even feel the ground beneath her as she walked back to the house.

She had never even dared to ask God for this, but He had given it to her. She had been content in Him, slipping only occasionally into dissatisfaction, and He had been faithful. So many plans swarmed into Jackie's head that she knew she would never sleep. She went out for the night, however, as soon as her head touched the pillow.

The families had been wired the good news and were asked to visit later. Ten days after Jackie asked Clayton to marry her, just two days before Claytons twenty-second birthday, Jackie stood in the Langleys living room wearing Eddies wedding dress and preparing to become Mrs. Clayton Taggart. Much to everyone's astonishment, she was not nervous. Her eyes were shining with peace and happiness, and she stood very still, trying not to wrinkle, while Eddie and Lena ran all over the house.

Clayton could have used some of her calm. He and Travis were at his house, and Travis had offered to take him to the church. The young groom was beside himself.

"I can't stop shaking," he admitted.

"Second thoughts?"

"No." He smiled and laughed a little. "None of that, just, I don't know..."

Travis smiled compassionately and decided that now was not the time to tell him his hair was on end. Once they got to the church, he would hand him a comb.

"What if she's having second thoughts?" Clayton suddenly asked Travis.

"I don't think she is," he said calmly. "I think she was ready to marry you weeks ago."

This arrested Clayton's attention like nothing else could.

"Why do you say that?"

"It's just something I've observed, Tag. I'm no expert on women, but when a lady blushes every time she's in your presence, there's something going on."

"But she doesn't do that."

"Not now, but a few weeks back, before she really got comfortable with you, she was beside herself to say the right thing every time."

Clayton nodded. He of course had seen some of this, but never the way Travis would have observed. Things always looked different when your own heart was involved. Clayton wanted to ask his friend what else he had noticed, as Travis was a very observant man. The conversation would have helped Claytons nerves, but instead he started to pace again. There was less than an hour to go, and it felt like eternity.

"I don't want to wrinkle," Jackie told Robert. Robert tried not to laugh. She looked so serious and solemn all of a sudden that he was reminded of Eddie on his own wedding day. Well, marriage wasn't something to
be
entered into
lightly, so maybe serious wasn't so bad.

"Am I wrinkling?"

This time he had to laugh.

"What's so funny?"

"You. You're about to be married, but you're more concerned with your dress wrinkling."

Jackie grinned at herself. It did seem a little silly, and she told herself not to be vain.