Chet had been hungry before James made his announcement, but his appetite soon disappeared. Second time today the cap’n announced a need for them to talk, which meant he planned to do the chewin’, and Chet would do the listenin’.
Now he sat across from the cap’n, who cut his gaze at him sharper than a bowie knife. He was in a fine pucker about something. He’d been around James Talbot long enough to recognize a bad mood.
Serena already made him feel peculiar, and with her sitting so close beside him, droplets of sweat rolled down his cheeks. Fortunately, Mrs. Wilkinson still acted normal, and she smiled comforting-like while passing him the corn bread. Every bite of food hung in his throat, worse than his own cooking. The meal seemed to take forever.
Awhile later, James cleared his throat, rattling Chet’s nerves. The cap’n stood and downed his coffee.
“Good food, Rachel,” he said with an appreciative nod. “Chet, you coming?”
“Yes, sir,” he replied, sliding off the other end of the bench he shared with Serena. “Thank you, ma’am, for a fine meal.”
Rachel smiled. “You’re welcome, but you didn’t eat much.”
Chet noted a glimpse of compassion in her eyes. She must know what had upset the cap’n. He stole a look at Serena. She looked as confused as he felt.
Outside, he fell into step beside the cap’n. “Don’t recollect what I did to anger you, but I reckon you’re about to tell me.”
“I am.” His tone reminded Chet of the many dismal times on the trail when they’d be riding into a dangerous situation against the odds.
They strode away from the cabin and toward a huge post oak shading a corner of the pasture. Chet had enough of waiting, but the Bible had a lot to say on patience. So he leaned against the tree, first kicking up a mound of fire ants and then daring to peer into James’s blue eyes, almost as intense as Serena’s.
“We’re leaving in the morning,” the cap’n said, standing square in front of him without a trace of friendliness. He looped his thumbs in the waist of his pants.
“Yes, sir.”
“And I want you to forget everything about Serena.”
Chet raised a brow. “Serena? What are you talking about?”
“Don’t be acting like you’ve lost your senses.”
Suddenly Chet felt anger race through him. “Well, maybe you ought to explain yourself, ’cause I have no idea what you’re talking about.”
James’s jaw tightened. “You’ve been looking at her all day like some moon-sick calf. And I’ve already told you that no ranger is going after my daughter.”
Chet couldn’t believe his ears. “You’re seeing things. I’m not interested in Serena. I’ve only been making polite conversation.”
James shook his head in disbelief. “For one ranger—a lick smarter than the rest—you sure are acting stupid.”
Then it hit Chet. The uneasiness around Serena, the way he liked to see her smile, and those eyes. Maybe the cap’n did know something he didn’t. He glanced at the cabin and back to James.
“I had no idea,” Chet said, shifting from one foot to the other.
“Well, take notice,” James said, jamming his finger into Chet’s chest. “Don’t be putting any fancy ideas in her head or dreaming up any of your own.” He peered out over the horses grazing in the pasture. “I’m fixin’ to promote you to lieutenant. You’re a good ranger and you have the respect of the other men. Being a single man is the easiest way to do the best job.”
Chet expelled a heavy sigh. “I understand about Serena, and I appreciate the promotion.”
“Good. We’ve settled this little matter, and now we can head back and get us some more corn bread and honey.”
Wonderful, Chet thought. Something else to stick in my throat.
Back inside the cabin, Chet couldn’t bring himself to look at Serena. What had happened to him since he learned Cap’n James Talbot’s skinny little girl had grown into a woman? She still looked the same, didn’t she? He’d noticed her pretty face before, but he’d never really talked to her until today. Or experienced such unnerving thoughts about a woman.
He swallowed hard. Flashes of last night and today darted across his mind. He admired Serena, and she’d surprised him a time or two, but he thought he kept those notions to himself. Obviously not. He hoped she hadn’t sensed the same thing.
“Chet here just got a promotion,” the cap’n said after a few moments. He’d piled his plate high with corn bread, added a hill of butter, and poured honey over it. “He’s now Lieutenant Chet Wilkinson.”
“Has a good ring to it,” Serena said, flashing him a smile.
“A lieutenant has to deal with a lot of responsibility,” Rachel said, refilling his coffee mug. “But I’m sure you’ve earned the title.”
The cap’n offered a wry smile. “You earned it last August at the Battle of Plum Creek when we fought Buffalo Hump over his prisoners and loot taken at Linnville. You demonstrated real grit, and I haven’t forgotten it.”
Chet remembered how the Tonkawa Indian scouts had assisted the Rangers in tracking down the Comanche warriors who had attacked and destroyed an entire Texas town. “They would have made off with it all, if Buffalo Hump hadn’t been so concerned about saving his loot, especially the nearly three thousand head of horses.”
James is right, Chet thought. My life is too risky to ask a woman to share it with me. Suddenly Chet startled. When had he begun thinking about Serena as a wife? He felt himself grow increasingly uncomfortable. No doubt he looked as red as a ripe tomato.
“I’m committed to the Rangers,” Chet said, knowing the cap’n expected him to share his beliefs. “God first and Texas second.”
“As it should be,” Serena replied, folding her hands on the table in front of her. “Your folks will be glad to hear the news. I know I’d be proud if we were kin.”
The cap’n cleared his throat, and Chet felt an invisible bullet pierce his heart. Lord, help me. I think I’ve fallen in love with Serena Talbot. How does a man prepare himself for something like this? I haven’t been looking, and she isn’t the woman I thought You wanted for me. Worse yet, I’m bound by my pledge to the Texas Rangers and her pa to do nothing about it.
Serena hummed her way through the chore of clearing the table from the noon meal. Pa and Chet were outside, probably talking about what awaited them along the Rio Grande.
“The palomino sure has made you happy,” her mother said, gathering up the dishes to wash them outside.
“Oh, yes. Fawn is a beautiful horse.” Serena remembered again Chet’s likening her eyes to ripe blueberries. “Some other things besides my birthday gift have me feeling good.”
Ma stood in the doorway with her hands full. She paused and set the load back on the table. “Chet noticing you?”
Serena couldn’t help smiling. It seemed to start from her heart and burst through to her face. “I believe so. He asked me to take a walk this afternoon so you and Pa can have some time alone. Maybe I’ll know more before he and Pa leave in the morning.”
“Your pa knows.”
Serena felt her stomach twist. “He does? Did he say so?”
“Yes, and he’s not pleased.”
She sighed and peered into her mother’s eyes. “With me or Chet?”
“Both.”
“So I imagine Pa will talk to him about it on the way to the Rio Grande.”
Her mother shook her head. “He already has—right after we ate.”
“So that’s why Chet didn’t say much,” Serena said, thinking out loud. She blinked back a single tear and focused her attention on covering the honey jar.
“You know how your pa feels about you taking up with a ranger.” Ma’s words sounded gentle, not chiding or finding fault.
Serena nodded, avoiding her mother’s gaze. “Yes, ma’am, I know. But I think I should be able to choose how I spend my life.”
“I felt the same way, too. I was younger than you when I fell in love with your pa—your age when I had a baby in tow.”
“Have you ever regretted marrying Pa?” Serena asked, wringing her hands and turning to face her ma.
Her ma smiled through her own tears. “Never. I love him more now than ever. I fret and I miss him, but he’s the man God gave me. Loving a ranger is hard, but I wouldn’t have it any other way.”
“And what if I have the same feelings for Chet?”
Ma tucked a loose curl behind Serena’s ear and slowly nodded. “I understand, but we both have to respect your pa’s wishes.”
Serena considered the matter, not ready to relinquish her heart so easily. “I’ve already given the matter to God. If Chet and I are to be together, He will change Pa’s heart and mind.”
“And I’ll ask God to give you the peace and courage to accept whatever He deems proper,” her ma said. With a quick hug, she gathered up the dirty dishes and stepped outside.
Serena caught a glimpse of Pa and Chet walking across the pasture toward their horses. The two men looked as different as day and night—Pa with his nearly black hair, like hers, and Chet with his sun-colored, wayward locks. Even beneath his hat, Chet’s hair tended to stick out every which way. But they were a lot alike, sharing characteristics neither would most likely own up to. Both had a stubborn streak, a unique way of thinking things through, a strong sense of values, and a love for the Lord.
She sensed Pa would deny a walk to the river, unless he really wanted to spend time with Ma. Odd, Chet hadn’t even mentioned being interested in her, and already the thought had been dismissed. Pa must have picked up on something she didn’t know about, but then her pa had a way of reading a person’s mind. He simply knew things before anyone else did.
A smile surfaced through her low spirits. Blueberry eyes. She wondered how long it took Chet to think up such a sweet description. Serena hoped a long spell. She’d like to know he’d been pondering over her during the long nights on the trail. Impossible. He’d just found out about her age last evening.
A wave of sadness blew over her, much like the foreboding wind sweeping through the trees before a thunderstorm. Serena knew she could do nothing about Pa’s bidding, but only pray and trust God to work things out for good.
After Serena finished cleaning inside the cabin, she joined Ma outside to finish washing and wiping the dishes. Squaring her shoulders and pushing away her pride, she resolved her ma wouldn’t see the ache in her heart. Maybe she could fool Pa, too.
“Everything will work out for the best,” her ma said. She dried her hands on her apron and wrapped her arm around Serena’s shoulders.
“I know,” she replied more confidently than she felt.
“If it makes you feel any better, when your pa came calling, my pa ordered him to never set foot on his property again.”
“What did you do?” Serena asked, curiosity gaining the best of her.
“Well, James isn’t going to like me telling you this…but I reckon I will. He showed up at my door and told my pa he wasn’t leaving until he got permission to marry me. My pa threatened him with a shotgun. No daughter of his was going to marry a wild Indian fighter, but your pa got off his horse and stood there until Pa gave his consent.”
“How long did it take?”
Her ma laughed. “Close to seventeen hours. My pa said later he figured an hour for every year.”
Laughing with her ma, Serena finally sobered and asked, “Would Pa be that stubborn about Chet?”
Ma gazed into her eyes. “Since your pa decided beforehand to stand there a week if he had to, I’d say he’d be even worse now.” She kissed Serena’s cheek. “Better stick to praying.”