The complete oregon seri.., p.99
The Complete Oregon Series, page 99
Amy wanted to pull her even closer and never let her go, but she didn’t dare. The dusty road was deserted, but they still needed to be careful. She shrugged and shuffled her feet. “I don’t know. I just know that I want you to stay.” She gathered her courage. “With me.”
Rika’s eyes widened.
For a few heartbeats, silence spread between them.
“You mean...?”
Was that hope in Rika’s eyes, or was that just wishful thinking? Amy remembered what Papa had said. Sometimes you have to take a chance for love. “I like you, Rika,” she said. Her voice shook so much that she barely understood her own words. “I mean I really like you.” She peeked at Rika through half-lowered lids.
A whisper of a smile darted across Rika’s face. “I like you too.”
Amy’s knees threatened to give out. “You like me? The way Frankie and Tess...or my parents like each other?”
Rika nodded. “I think so.” She pulled Amy closer. “Oh, Amy, please don’t cry.”
Cry? Amy reached up and touched her cheeks. Wetness met her fingertips. She hadn’t realized she was crying.
Rika leaned forward and brushed her lips over Amy’s cheek, kissing away the tears. Then, as if remembering they had to be careful, she pulled back.
Dazed, Amy stared at her. “I hoped you would like me that way, but I never really thought...”
“I never thought so either. But it feels right.” Rika’s dark eyes were lit up by the surety of that knowledge.
“You seem so calm.” How on earth had Rika come to terms with her feelings so fast when Amy had been running from her own for years?
“You know how the horses always go faster on the way back, when they sense that their stable is close?”
Amy nodded but furrowed her brow. She wanted to talk about horses now?
“I felt like that when I saw you open the stagecoach door. I knew home was close, so I should run toward it, not away from it.”
Amy’s hands trembled with the need to cup Rika’s face, draw her close, and kiss her. No. Not here.
The same need made Rika’s eyes seem to smolder. She brushed a few tangles out of Amy’s hair but otherwise kept her distance. “We need to be careful. If anyone finds out... Not everyone will be as accepting as your family.”
Amy peered left and right. Dust swirled around them, but otherwise, nothing moved on the lonely road. They were alone. Still, Rika was right. Amy dug her teeth into her lip. So the lying and hiding had already begun. How long would Rika be willing to deal with it?
“Hey.” Rika squeezed her hand. “Why are you looking like that? Do you regret—?”
“No, it’s just... It’s not gonna be easy for us to be together. Are you sure you want that kind of life?”
Rika entwined their fingers. “We’ll find a way. Don’t you dare run away from this.”
“I’m done running,” Amy said. It was time to grow up and fight for what she wanted in life.
“Good. But I can’t go back to the ranch. Not with Phin living there. Is there any other way for us to be together?”
“I have no earthly idea.” Amy’s shoulders slouched for a moment, but then she consciously straightened them. “I just know that I want to figure it out together.” She reached for Ruby’s reins, helped Rika into the saddle, and climbed up behind her, not yet sure where to direct her horse. Maybe going to town to see if they could get a refund on the stagecoach ticket would be a good first step. Now that Rika had to survive without a husband, she needed every cent.
Baker Prairie, Oregon
June 27, 1868
Rika had never seen Baker Prairie’s main street so busy. Several wagons were hitched in front of a building, and half a dozen men were unloading their sacks of supplies or trying to maneuver furniture through the door. Two more men had climbed up on the roof to replace the big “feed and seed” sign with one that said “hotel.”
People on the boardwalk stopped to watch.
Tess stood in the middle of the street, waving her arms at the men on the roof like a general instructing his troops. “No, no, more up on the right side.” She turned to two men carrying a brass bed. “That one goes to the second floor. Please be careful on the stairs.”
Amy clutched Rika’s hips as she directed her mare toward Tess. “The new hotel!”
“What about it?”
“Maybe Frankie and Tess need some help.” Amy’s voice vibrated with excitement.
Rika turned her head. “You think they’d still hire me after they find out I lied to all of you?”
Amy reined in Ruby, and they slid out of the saddle. “They will, even if I have to go down on my knees and beg them.”
Proud Amy, ready to beg...for me. A lump formed in Rika’s throat. She hurried after Amy, determined to spare her the humiliation. If anyone did any begging, it had to be her.
When the men finally had the sign in place, Tess gave them a satisfied smile and directed her gaze down from the roof. “Oh, Amy, Hendrika! Are you here to see how the hotel is coming along, or are you busy with wedding preparations? Monday’s the big day, right?”
Rika glanced at Amy, who looked back with big eyes.
Tess had no idea what had happened since she and Frankie had left the ranch. How could Rika explain, especially with all the men listening? Nervously licking her lips, she glanced around.
Tess looked back and forth between them. “All right, gentlemen. Time for a break,” she called and clapped her hands. “Why don’t you head over to the saloon and get yourself something to eat? My cousin and I will settle the bill.”
The men didn’t have to be told twice. Within seconds, Tess, Rika, and Amy were alone on the hotel’s veranda.
“Come in.” Tess led them toward the parlor, where Frankie was looking up from polishing silverware. “Take a seat and tell us what happened.”
With shaky knees, Rika sank onto the divan next to Amy. When Amy opened her mouth, Rika stopped her with a quick touch to her forearm. She needed to do this. “There won’t be a wedding on Monday—or on any other day.”
Tess frowned. Then a smile crinkled the skin around her eyes. “Because the two of you...?”
Heat shot up Rika’s neck. She nodded without looking at Tess. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Amy blushing just as furiously.
“Don’t tell me you ran away from home,” Frankie said.
Amy squared her shoulders. “We might if that’s what it takes to—”
“No, Amy,” Rika said. “I can’t imagine you without the ranch and your family. Don’t throw that away.” She turned back toward Tess and Frankie. “But I need a place to stay and a way to earn a living.”
Tess and Frankie exchanged a quick glance. “You have it,” Tess said.
Amy beamed. “Thank you.”
But Rika didn’t want to start her new life based on a lie. “There’s something you need to know before you make that decision.” The comforting warmth of Amy’s knee touching hers gave her the courage to say it. “I’m not the woman who exchanged letters with Phin and accepted his proposal. She...Jo was my friend, but she died shortly before she could travel west.” The pressure of Amy’s knee against hers increased. “I took her place and pretended to be her.”
Silence spread through the parlor, interrupted only by the shuffling of Amy’s boots.
“What’s your real name, then?” Frankie finally asked.
She tried to look Frankie in the eyes when she answered, “Hendrika Aaldenberg.”
“Well, then.” Frankie exchanged another glance with Tess before she stood and extended her hand. “Consider yourself hired, Hendrika Aaldenberg.”
Rika blinked and stared at the hand without taking it. “Just like that?”
Frankie shrugged. “Tess and I both had to lie and pretend a thousand times to make it this far.” She spread her arms wide to indicate the hotel. “I won’t judge you for doing the same. Just promise to be as honest as you can from now on.”
“I promise.”
When Frankie offered her hand a second time, it took a nudge from Amy before Rika belatedly gripped it. By the time she took Tess’s hand, her insides had stopped shaking. “Thank you. I swear you won’t regret it.”
“Oh, I know I won’t.” Frankie grinned. “Because now, you get to polish all the silverware.”
Hamilton Horse Ranch
Baker Prairie, Oregon
June 27, 1868
Mama and Papa were waiting on the veranda when Amy stopped her horse in the ranch yard. Part of her wanted to run over and tell them that Rika had stayed—had stayed because of her—while the other part wanted to climb back on Ruby and gallop off because she didn’t know how to explain what was going on between her and Rika.
Then she remembered. She didn’t have to explain. Her parents weren’t so different from her. They would understand.
When she stepped onto the veranda, Papa took off her hat so she could make eye contact. “No Hendrika? So the stagecoach was already gone?”
“Oh, Amy, I’m so sorry.” Mama rushed over and hugged her.
“No, it’s... The stagecoach was gone by the time I made it to Baker Prairie, but I went after it and stopped it.”
Mama let go of her, her face paling. “You stopped a stagecoach? Amy! You could have been shot!”
Amy decided not to mention that Jacob Garfield had indeed shot at her. Her parents would hear about it soon enough, but for now, it wasn’t important. “I’m fine, Mama. See?” She pointed at her body. “No bullet holes.”
“What about Hendrika?” Papa asked. “Did she leave anyway? She didn’t...?”
Amy gazed around to make sure that neither Nattie nor any of the ranch hands were within earshot. Her heart pounded in excitement. “Rika stayed. She says she...” Amy studied the weathered boards of the veranda and then peeked up at her parents. “She likes me too.”
Papa gave her a hearty slap on the back. “Well, what’s not to like? You’re our daughter after all.” Then her smile gentled in a way that it only did around her family. “I’m so happy for you. I had a feeling she was smitten with you too, but I wasn’t sure she was ready to face those feelings. But where is she?”
Mama craned her neck as if looking for Rika.
“She couldn’t come back here. Not with Phin...” Amy gestured to Phin’s cabin. “Frankie and Tess hired her to help with their new hotel.”
“Oh, that’s a marvelous idea,” Mama said, smiling.
“Yeah,” Papa murmured. She wasn’t smiling. “I just hope the townsfolk will leave her alone. You know how people are. Now that she’s refused to marry Phin, there’ll be talk.”
Fierce protectiveness engulfed Amy like a tidal wave. She curled her hands into fists. “If anyone dares to say one word to Rika, I’ll—”
“Amy.” Papa laid a hand on one of her fists. “People will say what they want to say. You can’t stop them any more than you could stop a herd of spooked horses.”
“But I won’t stand by while they pick on Rika. I just... I can’t.”
Papa let go of her fist, put both hands on her shoulders, and looked into her eyes. “I know. But learn to pick your battles wisely. You have to learn not to listen to what people say. Listen to your heart instead.”
Amy dropped her fists and sighed. “I’ll try.” The whinny of a horse made her look up. Phin’s horse was still in the corral. For the first time, she thought about how the townsfolk’s gossip would affect Phin. “How is Phin doing?”
Mama and Papa exchanged a quick glance. “I haven’t seen him since Hendrika left,” Mama said.
As much as Amy wanted to, she couldn’t avoid talking to Phin. He was her friend after all, and she had to make sure he was all right. She just didn’t know how to look him in the eyes. “I’ll go talk to him,” she said but didn’t move from the veranda.
“Whatever you do, don’t tell him why Hendrika refused to marry him,” Mama said, the expression on her face serious. “No man reacts well to being rejected for another. And if that other person is a woman...” She shook her head. “I would like to think that Phin would grow to accept it, but I just don’t know.”
Amy sighed again. Her life would never be easy. But then she remembered how Rika had embraced her when they had said good-bye in the hotel’s parlor. She could still feel those warm arms around her and the tickle of hair against her cheek, could still smell Rika’s unmistakable scent that she wanted to breathe in forever...
Mama cleared her throat.
Shaking herself out of her daydream, Amy squared her shoulders. It’s worth it. After one fortifying glance back at her parents, she trudged across the ranch yard. In front of the cabin’s door, she paused and tried to rein in her racing heart. She timidly knocked on the door. When no answer came, she knocked again, this time more loudly.
The cabin’s door creaked open. Phin stood in the doorway. He looked none the worse for wear.
But that couldn’t be true, could it? Amy knew that if Rika had rejected her, she would be devastated. Phin was probably hiding his true feelings, because that’s what men did. “I thought I’d see how you are doing with...all that happened today. So, how are you?”
Phin rolled his eyes. “Would everyone please stop askin’ me that? Like I just told Miss Nattie, I’m fine.” He pointed over his shoulder.
Amy peeked past him into the cabin.
Nattie sat at the table, trailing her fingers over the burned edges on one side.
“Oh.” Amy looked from her sister to Phin. “Didn’t you tell me just a few months ago that it’s not proper for a young, unmarried lady to visit a bachelor without a chaperone?”
Nattie flushed, and even Phin’s cheeks reddened beneath his stubble. “That’s what I told Miss Nattie, but it seems she’s just as stubborn as her older sister.”
“I just wanted to make sure you’re all right,” Nattie said from the table.
“I’m fine. It just wasn’t meant to be, and that’s that. Maybe it’s better that way. I’ll start my ranch soon, and havin’ womenfolk around would just be a distraction.”
“Thanks a lot,” Amy and Nattie said at the same time.
He blushed again and scratched his neck. “You know what I mean.”
I do. Even now, Amy couldn’t think of anything but Rika. What was she doing right now? And how long until she could ride to town and visit her? She would try to sit next to her in church on Sunday, even if it meant putting on a dress. She shuffled her feet. “All right, then. If you’re sure you’re all right, I’ll go get some work done.” She glanced at her sister. “You coming?”
Nattie clutched the table. “In a second.”
Shrugging, Amy turned and headed for the stable. Best keep busy, or I’ll go mad waiting for Sunday to arrive.
Baker Prairie, Oregon
July 4, 1868
Excitement filled the air in Baker Prairie. People milled down the decorated street. Flags hung from roofs and windows, and garlands were strung across the street, displaying the nation’s red, white, and blue colors.
While Nattie took in the festivities with wide eyes, Amy had no eyes for anything going on around her. All she could think about was Rika. How would they behave around each other when they saw each other again? What would they say? After not seeing Rika all week, her excitement and her anxiety had built.
Old Jack threw his head up as a firecracker went off just a few yards away, startling Amy from her thoughts.
“Whoa!” Luke stopped the wagon next to the Garfields’ dry-goods store. Farther down the street, a procession formed, so there was no getting through to the hotel. “You’ll have to walk the rest of the way.”
Amy nodded and climbed down. From beside the wagon, she looked up at her family.
Everyone had put on their Sunday best. Mama was as beautiful as ever in a green dress that set off the color of her eyes, and Papa looked the perfect elegant gentleman in gray doeskin trousers, a frock coat, and a cravat, tipping her top hat at the ladies walking down the boardwalk.
In moments like this, Amy still found it hard to believe that her father was a woman. After one last wave, she weaved through the forming crowd toward the hotel.
The new hotel was even more heavily decorated than the surrounding buildings. Large signs announced that the hotel was open for business now and offered rooms at a reduced rate during the Fourth of July celebrations.
Amy’s shoulders slumped. Now that there was a lot of work to do at the hotel, would Rika even have time to enjoy the festivities with her?
Well, go in and find out. As she entered the lobby, she reached up to take off her hat, then remembered that she was wearing a small ladies’ hat. Nervously, she rubbed her damp palms along the sides of her dress.
In the small lobby, she came face to face with Rika.
They stared at each other.
Amy took in Rika’s purple silk taffeta dress, which curved nicely along her hips and wasn’t cut quite so high at the neck as the other dresses she usually saw around town. A red, white, and blue cockade was pinned to her chest, drawing Amy’s gaze to her breasts.
Rika smoothed her hands over the ruffles on her shoulders.
Stop staring and say something! But what? Amy licked her lips. “Uh, your dress is beautiful.” And so are you. She didn’t dare say it, though, not sure if it was proper.
“It’s one of Tess’s.” Rika tugged at the neckline. “You don’t think it’s too daring?”
Amy’s gaze darted down before she quickly forced it back up. “No. The neckline is just fine.”
Rika took in every inch of her. “I’m not used to seeing you in a dress.”
Amy patted her dress and the petticoats beneath. Did that mean Rika liked the way she looked in a dress? Or did she prefer to see her in pants? Maybe she should have worn something else.
