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Authors: Linda Weaver Clarke

Tags: #romance, #romance historical, #bear lake valley, #idaho

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BOOK: Edith and the Mysterious Stranger
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Jenny jerked her head around and stared at her
mother. “Really, Mama?”

Melinda nodded.

Jenny turned to her father with begging eyes.
“Please, Pa?”

Gilbert shook his head in dismay and said, “All
right, you win. You can go on this cattle drive. But remember,
it’ll be the last one. Deal?”

Jenny’s eyes widened with joy as she strode over to
her father and wrapped her arms around him, hugging him tightly.
“Thanks, Pa. I really appreciate it. And it’s a deal.” Then she
whirled around to face her mother and said, “Thanks, Mama.”

Jenny was elated…ecstatic…overjoyed. They had worked
it all out. But when she looked at David, she was surprised at his
expression. He had turned pale and was staring at Jenny in
disbelief. He was speechless or in shock.

David quickly turned toward Gilbert and asked, “Do
you think that’s wise, sir?”

Gilbert smiled. “She’s gone with me for the past
eight years. She knows what she’s doing.”

“But, sir…”

David’s voice had a touch of concern and his
eyes were wide. What was happening here, he thought to himself.
This can’t be.

This was unexpected. It
would not be safe for a young girl to go on this drive, especially
with what was being planned by the Tall Texan. She could get hurt.
Did her mother say,
“One that she’ll never
forget?”

He had to discourage her. When he looked at
Gilbert, he realized that he might alert him and he could become
suspicious. David cleared his throat and quickly changed the
subject.

“Whoa, am I starved! Do you need any
help?”

Jenny looked into David’s eyes as if she could
see something, but David tried to hide it by being cheerful and
soon the subject was changed to food and questions about the ranch
and where David was from.

 

 

Chapter 4
The Challenge

 

That evening, a twinkle came into Melinda’s eyes
as she smiled. She covered her legs with a lap blanket and leaned
back on the sofa. Looking at Gilbert seated in his overstuffed
chair and reading contentedly, she commented with a nonchalant air,
“You know what? I think I’d like to introduce Edith to Henry. They
would make a lovely couple.”

Gilbert looked up from his book with a look of
surprise. “How did you come to that conclusion?”

“She’s an educated woman with a degree, and she
sings professionally, to boot.”

“What does that have to do with anything?”

“Well, Henry’s educated, too. He’s the
superintendent of schools in this whole county.”

“You mean to tell me that an educated woman
would not be interested in someone like…say Joseph? He’s a
successful farmer and works part-time for me as a ranch hand.”

Joseph was Gilbert’s dear friend. He was
dependable and realized their situation, so he volunteered to help
out whenever possible. He was one in a million.

Melinda’s brow creased as she thought for a
moment. “Joseph? I don’t believe so. Besides that, she’s an
accomplished musician.”

“So is Joseph. He plays the guitar.”

Melinda snickered. “That’s not the same thing,
Gilbert.”

“But how about me? I didn’t go to college and I
don’t know one thing about music, and you married me. And you had a
degree as a teacher.”

“But that’s different.”

“How?”

Gilbert grinned. Closing his book and laying it
aside, he wondered how she was going to get out of this one. He had
her, and she knew it.

Jenny was seated on the sofa beside her
stepmother, writing in her journal when she heard this little bit
of banter. She grinned as she listened to their discussion,
wondering how her stepmother was going to answer her father’s
question.

Melinda was trying to think of some good reasons
why Gilbert was different from other men, but her mind had gone
blank. She could not think of one reason he was so different. There
was something special about Gilbert. But how could she put it into
words?

“Well? How is it different?” Gilbert
persisted.

Melinda’s eyes lit up and she held up her hand
triumphantly and began naming five fingers worth of reasons. They
were lame reasons, but they were reasons, nonetheless.

“You were very intelligent…and read many
books…and so smart financially that you had your own ranch…you were
self-educated…” She hesitated and then grinned with amusement. “And
muscular.”

Gilbert burst into laughter. Was that the best
she could do? After settling down, he said curiously, “Muscular?
Now let’s not change the subject here. We’re talking about educated
versus uneducated. Remember?”

“All right. So I was infatuated with your build.
I couldn’t help it.”

Gilbert grinned with a look of satisfaction.

“All right, Gilbert. Uneducated men seem to feel
insecure with a woman who has too much education or experience
behind her. That’s what I think.”

Gilbert chuckled in a warm, deep voice. He loved
a challenge, and Melinda always invited competition to fulfill that
need. So he sobered a bit and said softly, “Melinda, I didn’t feel
that way about you. In fact, that intrigued me. I liked what you
were and what you represented.”

“Well, you were different.”

“Now, there’s that word again: different. I’m
not much different from other men.”

“Sorry, but the fact still remains that you were
self-educated.”

“All right, I’ll accept that. Now, how do you
know if Joe is or not? You don’t know him well enough.”

“But, Gilbert, he doesn’t seem like her
type.”

Gilbert chuckled again and it brought a smile to
her lips.

“Well, he doesn’t, Gilbert.”

“What is her type, if I may ask?”

Melinda hesitated. “I’m not sure.”

“All right, Melinda. How about this? We both
introduce Edith to a man we feel is perfect and see what happens.
What do you think?”

Melinda’s eyes widened with excitement. This
would be quite interesting, not to mention fun. She didn’t even
have to think about her answer.

“Agreed.”

“But, Melinda, there’s one stipulation. You
can’t help her make a choice. You can’t influence her at all. All
right?”

“Influence her? There’s no problem there. I
already know who she’ll choose.”

Gilbert laughed once again
as he combed his fingers through his hair.
“Oh, you do? How do you know?”

“I know how a woman thinks.”

Gilbert slowly shook his head. That was one
thing he could never figure out. How a woman thinks was one of the
great challenges of life, he thought. Women were a great puzzlement
to men, and Gilbert was still surprised at the things Melinda said
and did, even after seven years of marriage.

 

 

Chapter 5
Edith’s Spunk

 

Edith looked out the window of the train. As
it rapidly passed miles and miles of open plains, she noticed the
tall mountains that surrounded this lush green valley on every
side.

Bear Lake Valley was situated in the tops of
the Rocky Mountains with pine trees and white quaking aspen
covering the mountainside. This mountainous region was full of
jagged cliffs, steep terrain, rolling hills, and rapid flowing
rivers cascading over the rocks.

The wispy clouds formed lacy designs in the sky and
made Edith yearn to be in an open field, feeling the breeze sift
through her hair and across her cheeks once again. It was a hot
summer day, and she could see the freshly cut alfalfa and the
golden wheat gently waving in the breeze.

As she stared out the window at the beloved land she
knew so well, she saw herds of cattle roaming about in pasture
after pasture. How she loved this place! Southern Idaho was where
she grew up and she had many wonderful memories of times gone by.
And now she was home again. The memories came flooding back as she
saw her homeland come into view, making her heart pick up speed and
causing an aching feeling in her chest.

As the train began to slow down, she leaned forward
and pressed her nose to the window so she could see if her parents
were there, waiting for her. As the train came to a stop, she
quickly got to her feet, grabbed her bag, and headed for the
entrance of the train.

Edith stood at the steps of the train, lifted her
fluffy dark blue skirts that were lined with petticoats, and
carefully stepped down to the ground and looked around. She put her
hand on her hip and shaded her eyes from the sun as she searched.
Her parents were nowhere in sight.

This surprised her. They had to be as excited
about her arrival as she was. After all, it had been a while since
she had been home and every letter she had received from her mother
was begging her to come home for a visit.

The train conductor walked toward her and she
handed him her ticket so he could get her luggage. When she heard
her name called out, Edith snapped her head around and there was
her mother, running toward her.

Martha was a small-boned attractive woman of
medium height. Her silver-gray hair was placed attractively on her
head in a loose bun. Martha’s high cheekbones were flushed from
running and she had a broad smile on her face. Martha held her
skirts with one hand as she ran and waved the other high above her
head.

“Edith!” came the loving voice of her mother
once again. “Here I am, Edith.”

Edith dropped her bag and ran into her mother’s
arms. As they held one another in a loving embrace, tears welled up
in her eyes, and her heart was throbbing like no other. It felt so
good to be in her mother’s arms once again.

After a few seconds, she wiped her eyes with her
sleeve and looked around. “Where’s Papa?”

“He’s been feeling a little under the weather,
lately. I put him in bed and told him our favorite nurse would be
home to take care of him personally. He was none too happy about
being left home in bed.”

Edith smiled. She knew her father, and he would
be waiting impatiently for her return. “Then let’s go, Mama.”

When a couple baggage men dropped two large
trunks beside Edith’s bag, Martha pointed toward them. “Are those
yours?”

Edith nodded. “They’re nice, aren’t they? I got
them for this trip since I would be staying here for a few months.
I’ll get a porter to help us load them up.”

As she turned to leave,
Martha took her arm and said,
“I’ve
already got someone. I wouldn’t dare come all this way without
someone to help out.”

Edith looked into her mother’s face and saw
a twinkle in her eyes and a sly grin on her lips. She wondered if
her mother was up to her old tricks again. Martha was a romantic.
Therefore, she was a matchmaker. She was known throughout the
community as the local cupid and no one was safe with Martha
around.

“Here he comes now, Edith.”

Her voice had a lightness and excitement
about it. Martha’s enthusiasm had given her away, and now Edith
knew for sure what was on her mother’s mind. She remembered how
Martha had invited Gilbert over time and time again so Melinda
would become interested. Her delicious Sunday meals each week
helped her cousin get acquainted with Gilbert much better.

Edith rolled her eyes, and quickly decided
to meet this man and get it all over with in a hurry. Martha
pointed to a lean gentleman briskly walking toward them. He looked
about her age, was a tall, good-looking man with dark blond hair
and blue eyes. He had a broad smile on his face and a sparkle in
his eyes. After he came to a halt, Martha put her hand on his
shoulder and introduced them.

“Henry, this is my daughter,
Edith.” Looking at her daughter and patting the man’s shoulder
affectionately, she continued.

Henry knew
your father was sick and so he volunteered to help me. He’s the
superintendent of schools in our county and has come to love our
little community.”

Edith extended her hand for a handshake. But
instead of shaking her hand, Henry bowed slightly at the waist,
squeezed her fingers tenderly, and gave her hand a kiss. This kind
of greeting startled her greatly, and she pulled her hand free,
feeling self-conscious. She knew this sort of greeting was done,
but she had never been comfortable with it, not one bit.

Henry looked at Martha
with teasing eyes and winked. Then he smiled flirtatiously and
said,
“I’m glad to meet you at last, Miss
Edith. I’ve heard a lot about you. All your mother ever talks about
is her daughter and how talented she is and how many lives she has
saved. But I must say that she was not all together truthful in her
description of you. She left out how absolutely lovely you are, my
dear.”

Edith was taken aback by
his flirtatious compliment, not to mention the kiss on her hand.
And did he just say,
my
dear
? She was not used to such boldness.
And from a stranger, no less!

Henry pointed toward the
luggage and asked,
“Are those your
trunks?”

She felt like a suffragette,
fighting for her rights, as she retorted,
“I must disagree with you, sir. My mother is always truthful,
and flattery will get you nowhere.” She turned
toward her
luggage and grabbed her bag. “And yes, these are my trunks.”

When Edith looked at her mother, she noticed
that she was aghast at her daughter’s conduct. Disapproval was
written all over her face. Her mother never liked how blunt she
was. In fact, Martha had taught her to be polite to others at all
times.

When Edith turned toward Henry to see his
disapproval, what she saw surprised her greatly. Henry was grinning
from ear to ear at her retort. He was amused by her feistiness.

Henry rubbed his chin thoughtfully and then
replied with eloquence, “But, Miss Edith, I couldn’t lie about how
I felt when I first saw you. It would be totally unfair to limit my
feelings. Personally, I was not flattering you. I meant what I
said. You’re a stunning woman, and it’s the truth, not
flattery.”

BOOK: Edith and the Mysterious Stranger
10.95Mb size Format: txt, pdf, ePub
ads

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