OUT OF THE DARKNESS (THE PRESCOTT SERIES) (12 page)

“When?”
Margaret asked, making a quick recovery.

In her no nonsense manner Margaret suggested, “Why not send for Preacher Evans to come to the ranch, we could have the
wedding right here, tomorrow?”

“Well, uh,” Jason stammered.

Where were all the motherly objections he had readied himself to fend off? His gaze swerved to John where he only received an unassuming shrug of his shoulders. Margaret’s question took him by surprise. He hadn’t gotten past Jade’s acceptance or rejection to plan any further.

Jason looked at Jade, who looked perplexed but agreeable. His eyes fell on John, who only grinned, then at Margaret, who was waiting impatiently for his answer. Hell, when Margaret got things moving she didn’t let any grass grow under her feet, that’s for sure.
But, the sooner the better. He didn’t want anything interfering to change Jade’s mind.

“If Jade doesn’t object, tomorrow would be fine.
”

He saw Jade’s small nod and felt her hand give his a tiny squeeze. Jason was glad he had not relinquished her hand
or he would have missed that minuscule movement. The heat he felt from her fingers was working its way up his arm, and he feared, straight to his heart.

“Good. Now Jade and I have a lot to
do. You men skedaddle. You can keep the children entertained while we women get to work.” Margaret was on her feet and giving instruction to any who would listen.

He and John
grabbed a girl under their arms. With Tyler following close on their heels they made it out the door before she gave them more to do.

“Jason, send one of the hands to town for Preacher Evans,” she managed to say before the door bang
ed shut behind them.

Late that night, Margaret sat making adjustments to a dress for Jade by the light of an oil lamp. She was stunned to think Jason would consider marriage without considerable nudging from her. He had figured out the solution to his and Jade’s problem, long before she thought he would. She was thankful he had taken matters into his own hands. She had exhausted her reservoir of little ploys to throw them together. Becoming desperate, her next maneuvers would not have been quite so subtle.

Thankfully,
he and Jade hadn’t argued about a quick wedding. She wasn’t about to give either one of them time to get cold feet, she thought, as she sewed another stitch.

Margaret finished hemming the dress she had altered for Jade to wear for her wedding tomorrow. The thread snipped easily as she bit it with the edge of her teeth as her grandmother had taught her.
With a snap of her wrist, she shook the wrinkles from the dress.

Not
able to sleep after going to bed, she decided to finish the dress before Jade woke in the morning. Adding lace, to trim around the square neck of the vibrant green gown and matching lace to the edge of the sleeves gave the gown an elegant appearance. All in all, it looked rather nice for a last minute effort. Green might not be the most favored color for a bridal gown, but with Jade’s red hair and coloring, it would be very attractive.

When she heard a door open, her gaze turned to see Jason discreetly
tiptoeing out of Jade’s bedroom. She frowned. His shirt was unbuttoned, half tucked into his trousers, as if, he was either half dressed or half undressed. His stocking feet tread quietly on the floor. He had walked halfway to his room before he noticed her sitting in the chair. In the dim light of the lantern, she could see his face turn a ruddy red. Goodness, even the edge of his ears had turned a bright pink.

~~~

Jason walked slowly to the chair across from Margaret’s to sit down. He leaned forward with his elbows on his knees, running his hands through his hair.

“What are you doing up?” Jason asked with a
hint of irritability, embarrassed at being caught coming from Jade’s room after midnight.

“Sewing,”
Margaret explained by holding up a dress.

She
gave him one of her ‘I’m waiting for an answer’ looks.

“
I can explain,” Jason apologize.

“
Please do.”

Margaret
sat patiently with her hands folded in her lap and refrained from commenting on his embarrassment and waited for him to explain why he’d come from Jade’s bedroom at this late hour.

“It’s not what it looks like,” Jason said, his voice strained.

“I should hope not,” Margaret replied calmly.

“She has nightmares,” he explained. “Each night I go to her room to talk and soothe her fears. She sleeps better and when the nightmares leave, so do I.” He wanted his sister to think as highly of him as she always
had, nor did he want her to think less of Jade.

Margaret reached over and
brushed a stray lock of his hair back from his forehead as she so often did when he was a young boy.

“You’re a good ma
n Jason, and I love you dearly.”

Growing up,
he and Margaret had shared a special relationship. As adults, they respected each other’s judgment and upon occasion sought each other’s council. Hopefully she wouldn’t judge him out of hand, now.

“You didn’t say much about us g
etting married?” Jason queried.

“I think it’s a fine idea. Emm
a will be here with you, and John and I won’t have to worry about you being here all alone.” A bittersweet smile tilted her lips upward.

He scooted to the edge of his seat.
“You understand, it’s not that I believe you care less for Emma, or that you haven’t given her the best of care,” he explained.

“I unders
tand more than you think I do. And I think there is a lot you and Jade don’t understand about yourselves, but you’ll just have to muddle through on your own.”

Had Margaret noticed how he looked at Jade, or had John discussed his
conclusions with her? He decided to skip her last comment.

“I
appreciate all you’ve done for me and Emma. I would never have gotten by without you.”

Jason hoped Margaret understood how much she meant to him. The day she married John was the happiest and saddest of his life. He was glad she found the happiness she deserved, but he had missed her.

“I know, and this way Emma will be where she should be. Here at the ranch with you. I’m sure Jade will be a loving mother to her,” Margaret replied wistfully.

“We’ll be alright.
Jade and I. You don’t need to worry,” Jason assured her quietly.

“Yes you will. You both deserve happiness, and if you let yourself, I think you will find it to
gether.” Margaret leaned over and kissed his cheek. “I think I’ll go to bed. You get some rest, too. Goodnight.”

“Goodnight, Sis.”

Jason sat there for some time watching the fire burn to golden embers. He and Margaret had seen each other through a lot over the years. She had fussed at him over many of the decisions he’d made, which surprised him that she had not said more about his marrying Jade. He got the impression she approved of this particular decision. Margaret and Sue Ellen had always been friendly, but they never appeared to achieve the same rapport Margaret had with Jade. As dainty as she was, Jade brought out protective instincts in everyone she met.

Jason thought if the morning before had been a strained affair, today was absolutely unnerving. It would be hours before Preacher Evans arrived. Margaret buzzed around cleaning, putting the final touches to the house. To make it more festive she had placed flower arrangements in the area that she’d designated for the wedding.

Jade had
cast wary glances at him until he was afraid she’d bolt from the house, start running, and never look back. He knew exactly how she felt.

Margaret asked him
to place the tub from the back porch in Jade’s room so she could take a bath and get dressed. Margaret should have taken pity on him and had John do it. He was so nervous he spilled more water on the floor than went into the tub.

Every bucket of water
he carried into Jade’s room only made him more aware of who would be sliding into the tub later. A picture of her sitting with knees bent, full breast bobbing in the sudsy water made his mouth go dry. He felt like a man being tortured inch by inch. His nerves about the ceremony were bad enough, but this was pure agony. He kept having a nagging suspicion about Margaret’s motives in giving him this chore.

Jason chuckled as
John tried to keep Janey from picking the flowers Margaret set out, Emma out of the water Jason spilt on the floor, and Tyler from using his finger in the icing on the cake. Finally, he put the cake out of reach, mopped up the water and gave Janey her own flower if she would leave all the others alone. Trying to corral three small children was more of a task than Jason realized. His admiration for mothers went up several notches.

Cookie volunteered to do most o
f the cooking in the cook shack, leaving Margaret free to give particular attention to the wedding cake. She had not been there the last time he’d married, and she was trying hard to make this wedding special for him and Jade.

Margaret urged
him to bath and dress in the bunkhouse. One of his two ranch hands was helping Cookie, the other he’d sent to fetch Preacher Evans from town. Jason stripped off his clothes and sank into the tub of hot water. With the bunkhouse empty, he was left alone with his thoughts. He decided the thoughts he could have done without. They were in the house, in Jade’s bedroom, in the tub. In the foaming liquid, he envisioned swirling around her body, all soft and warm.

Angry and frustrated, h
e needed to think of anything, but where his mind had strayed. The water cooled as his thoughts drifted into a different time.

H
e and Sue Ellen had had one year together. She had been so young, barely eighteen when they had married, the same age when she had died. Sue Ellen had been rather tall for a woman, a little on the thin side, with dark brown hair. She had tried hard here at the ranch. But never quite managed to do things as efficiently as Margaret had or with such ease and it had bothered her a great deal.

Several times Jason
had come home to find her crying, upset over some small thing such as not being able to cook and set the table at the same time, without burning something. He would teasingly suggest she set the table first, then start cooking. He remembered her tilting her head sideways, laughing then saying, “Now why didn’t I think of that.” He taught her small things a little at a time to make her life on the ranch less difficult. He liked to think her life had been easier after she came here to live.

Life with Sue Ellen had been good. Now, it was time to look to the future for
him and Emma. He needed to put the past behind him. Preacher Evans would be here within the next hour. He and Emma would start a new life with Jade.

He rose, toweled himself
dry. Slipping into his best trousers, he tucked in his green shirt, which Margaret had insisted he wear, and pulled on his freshly polished boots. He supposed he was as ready as he would ever be. Opening the door, he headed for the house with an anticipation he wasn’t willing to examine too closely.

~~~

Jade laid her head back, closed her eyes to let the water relax the tension that had been building and getting worse as they waited for the Preachers arrival. Doubts began to creep in. Was she doing the right thing for Jason? For Emma?

For herself, she had no doubts.

He said all he wanted her for was to take care of Emma. A ‘marriage of convenience.’ She mulled the idea over repeatedly. Could a man live in such a state and remain faithful. Her derisive snort fanned the bubbles floating in the water. She rather doubted that bit of nonsense. But maybe he wasn’t attracted to her as she was to him.

It would devastate her if he went to someone else for his manly needs.
A painful ache settled deep in the center of her heart. If he did, hopefully, he’d be discreet. Her eyes would have to be as blind as her lips were silent. Perhaps, marriage would bring a form of a commitment between them.

In h
er mind’s eye, she saw him, tall and broad shouldered with the most handsome face she had ever seen. Even though he came to her in the middle of the night to give her comfort from the darkness, she shouldn’t take this to mean he had any affection for her. She would give their marriage her best effort to make it work. To make him care for her. Deep inside, she knew she needed him to hold back the darkness or it would consume her. She needed him far more than he needed her.

She
rose from the water, dried, and slipped into the wedding dress Margaret had surprised her with this morning. Margaret was a very special person. She never asked questions, never expected her to speak. It was as if she understood what Jade had been through and waited patiently for her to make peace with whatever had rendered her mute.

The mattress
sank when as she sat on the edge to comb her hair. Margaret suggested she leave her hair loose and gave her a green ribbon to hold it in place. They agreed Jade would wait in her room until everything was ready. John would fetch her for the ceremony.