twelve
Bobby Joe could see that Thomas Davis had been right. The rain and wind were now treacherous, the storm too bad for them to go anywhere.
But they were in a dilemma. Bobby Joe had planned for them to find Nigel and the driver of the coach and then continue on their way. Now, they’d have to wait and take another coach. It frustrated him, but there was nothing to do but wait.
So he accepted the Davises’ invitation to stay with them until the storm blew over. Bobby Joe and Susannah sat down and ate dinner with the family, since all they’d had to eat was the broth Mrs. Davis had served them earlier.
Susannah, he noticed, kept looking at him, a worried expression on her face. He tried to reassure her that he was all right, but to no avail.
Actually, it felt good to have someone worry over him. He’d been taking care of himself for years, so it was a nice change.
He didn’t understand her at all. Why had she been in tears when he’d found her? She had fallen into his arms and had held on to him as if she never wanted to let go. And it wasn’t just that she was glad to see someone she knew—she’d clearly been relieved that he was okay. She said that she thought he’d been killed. And she’d cried her heart out over it, according to the gang.
It just didn’t add up. How could a woman who seemed to care so much about him lie to him and deceive him so readily?
Maybe she’d been telling the truth. Maybe she’d never intended to take Beth away from him. Maybe she had only pretended to appease her father.
His head began to pound, and he realized that he was thinking too hard. He’d just have to wait and see how things turned out. If this was indeed the real Susannah and she really did love him. . .well then, he’d have to rethink things. Until then, he’d watch. And wait.
After dinner, the Davises invited them to sit with them and have a cup of coffee. The children busied themselves in the large room with checkers and simple wooden toys, and a couple of the older girls took out their sewing and knitting. One of the older boys, who looked to be twelve or thirteen, was busy trying to carve something out of a piece of wood.
The Davis house was one story tall and sturdy, with an open hallway running through its middle. It was a large structure, but it had few rooms. The kitchen was off to one side, with a large pantry adjoining it. There was a small table there, which primarily was used by the girls during the day for play or to do their studies. On the other side of the hall was the dining room-living room area, as well as two bedrooms. One was the large room that contained four double beds and one baby bed. All of the children doubled up in the beds to sleep in the room together. Mr. and Mrs. Davis’s bedroom looked smaller.
It wasn’t a fancy dwelling like his own house, Bobby thought, but it seemed more like a real home somehow. More comfortable and welcoming.
He watched Susannah sip her coffee and talk with Mrs. Davis; she seemed to fit into this family setting as if she were made for it. He could imagine her being surrounded by many children, happy and loving.
His children.
His heart skipped a beat as that thought entered his head. He didn’t question it, though, he just accepted it and thought on it some more. Maybe he’d known all along that he would fall in love with her—that he’d want her to bear his children, to love him, to care for him, to grow old with him.
He hated feeling unsure about her, hated the feeling of mistrust that took hold of him whenever she smiled at him.
He also knew that the vows he’d taken were sacred ones. He’d renewed his relationship with God, and he knew that God wouldn’t approve of a divorce. And he wasn’t planning to try to get one.
Brother Caleb, his pastor, had told him many times that God could make a way where there seemed to be no way. He needed God’s wisdom and guidance now. He wanted God to show him the truth. He wanted God to restore to him the family that he so desperately wanted.
Somehow he wasn’t as worried about his daughter. Once he had calmed down, he’d realized that Butler wouldn’t harm his little girl. He just didn’t want Beth to be frightened.
But God would keep her safe and give her peace. He’d prayed that the moment he’d realized that Butler had taken her, and he knew that God had heard his prayer.
He had been staring at Susannah when he’d become lost in his thoughts. When she looked back at him, his mind focused on her.
She looked at him with such concern and love that it made his heart swell nearly out of his chest. Even after all he’d said to her, she still could look at him that way. Amazing.
He smiled at her over the rim of his cup to assure her that he was doing fine. She smiled back with a relieved smile, then looked back at Mrs. Davis.
“You love her a lot, don’t ya,” Mr. Davis commented softly from his chair beside Bobby Joe.
Bobby Joe looked at him with surprise. “Beg your pardon?”
“I was just commenting on how much you seem to love Mrs. Aaron there. Oh, don’t be embarrassed by it. I’ve had the same look on my face now for nigh unto eighteen years. I ought to recognize it when I see it on someone else!”
Bobby smiled sheepishly. “I didn’t realize I was so transparent. I didn’t used to be.”
“Aw, love’ll do that to ya. Makes us all act a little silly, I guess,” Thomas Davis continued before taking a sip of his coffee.
“I guess you’re right about that. I don’t know what makes me sillier or crazier—love or Susannah. I’ve never met another woman like her.” He shook his head, showing his confusion.
Thomas laughed softly. “I understand what you’re sayin’! Thought that a time or two about the missus.” He reached over and picked up a marble that had rolled over by his chair and tossed it back to his boys. “Where do you two hail from?”
“Springton, Texas. My brothers and I own a sawmill, and Susannah is the town’s schoolteacher.”
“Well, I’m sure that my wife and yours will have plenty in common, then. She was schooled in the finest boarding schools and got a good education. She teaches our children since the school is too far from here.” He took another sip of coffee. “Ruby was from a wealthy family in Shreveport, but gave all that up and decided to marry me. Her family disinherited her, but she wouldn’t be swayed. When I told her that I’d probably never be rich, she said ‘good’! She told me that being rich and living without love had made her nothing but miserable; so being poor, with love, had to be better.”
Bobby Joe laughed. “Well, she’s the happiest woman I believe I’ve ever seen!”
Thomas agreed with him, while looking at Bobby Joe keenly. “All it takes is trust in the Lord and lots of love. If you both serve the Lord with all your heart, then your marriage will always be strong because you’ll treat each other with the same love that God gives to us. It’s simple, really,” he finished with the wisdom that only comes with experience.
Bobby Joe thought about that and realized that he was right. He’d lived his life without God for too many years, and it had brought him nothing but misery. Since he’d given God another chance, he’d felt himself begin to change. And even though he was in the middle of a crisis, he still could feel a peace within his heart.
God could change things.
He looked again at his wife and caught her eye once more. He might not know yet that he could trust her, but he did know one thing—he wasn’t going to leave her in Charleston.
❧
“My, you and your husband make the handsomest couple. Have you been married long?” Ruby Davis asked as she and Susannah sat a little ways away from the men, sipping their coffee.
“Actually, we’ve only been married for three weeks,” Susannah answered, not really wanting to get into the business of her marriage.
“Three weeks!” Mrs. Davis squealed in delight. “Why, Thomas! Do you know that these two are newlyweds? Isn’t that something?”
“Well, congratulations!” Thomas told them both.
“Well, I’m confused, though,” Mrs. Davis inserted. “I thought I heard you say you were going after your daughter, Mr. Aaron.”
Bobby nodded. “That’s right. I was a widower before I married Susannah,” he explained, saying as little as possible.
Blessedly, the Davises let the subject drop after that, and soon everyone was getting ready for bed. Susannah watched as they tucked all their children into bed, praying with each one, then giving them all a goodnight kiss.
Susannah’s heart ached to be part of a family like this one. A family that was full of love and happiness.
She walked over to where Ruby had set out two pallets in front of the fireplace for her and Bobby Joe. She felt self-conscious in the oversize flannel gown that Ruby had lent her, as she sat on her pallet next to Bobby.
He was staring into the fire, but turned to smile at her when he felt her presence.
“This is quite a family, isn’t it?” Susannah commented as she turned to lie down under her covers. “I don’t believe I’ve ever seen a nicer one!”
Bobby did the same on his pallet and turned to face her with his hand propping up his head. “I think so, too. They don’t have a lot of money, but it doesn’t seem to matter.”
Susannah nodded as she looked at him in the firelight. “I wish I’d had a family like this one growing up,” she admitted, her voice wistful.
Bobby’s eyebrow rose. “Are you saying that the Butlers of Charleston fell short of the goal of being a model family? I thought you people were the cream of the crop?”
Susannah glared at him. “You didn’t exactly grow up poor, Bobby. You Aarons have the biggest house in the county!”
“I know, Red. Don’t get all angry at me. I didn’t mean to be sarcastic.” He reached out and tugged on a lock of her wavy hair. “Tell me what your family was like.”
He was calling her “Red” again, she realized. Happiness and contentment flooded her heart at his sentiment, and she forgot all about being mad at him. “My mother was never at home, and my father ordered us around like we were little soldiers in his army,” she said matter-of-factly. “But you probably already know this. I’m sure Leanna told you.”
He shook his head. “Actually, she would never talk about her childhood, other than stories of the two of you. She loved to talk about the good times you two had together.”
Susannah smiled, remembering how wonderful her elder sister had been to her. “She was more a mother to me than our own mother had been. She always looked after me.”
Bobby’s eyes seemed to melt into her own. “I’m sorry, Red. Every little girl should have a happy home.”
“That’s why I never would have taken Beth to my father, Bobby. Why would I want to do that to her, knowing what kind of life she would have if I succeeded?” she implored, willing him to understand.
For a moment Bobby looked away, toward the fire. Then she heard him say, “I believe you.”
“You what?” Susannah was afraid to breathe, fearing that she would miss the answer.
He looked at her. “I said that I believe you.”
“You do?”
“I just said I did.”
“Oh, yeah. . .” Her voice drifted off as she realized how dimwitted she must sound. But she was so dumbfounded. . . .
“Can I ask you one thing, though?”
She tucked her hair back behind her ear in a nervous gesture and cleared her throat. “Okay.”
“Why did you come to Springton if you had no intention of taking Beth?”
“I wanted to teach,” she answered simply.
Bobby looked confused. “Then why didn’t you just take a teaching job in Charleston?”
“Daddy wouldn’t allow it.”
Suddenly Bobby’s eyes widened as if he was beginning to understand. “And he used the teaching job as a lure to get you out here,” he guessed correctly.
“Yes, that’s about it.”
Letting out a breath of disgust, he fell back on his pillow. “That devious old coot!”
The statement didn’t require an answer, so she followed suit and laid back on her pillow.
Susannah thought about everything that he’d told her, and she wondered again about what it all meant where she was concerned. She knew that even if he still planned to leave her in Charleston, she wouldn’t stay there.
But she couldn’t make him love her. She couldn’t make him take her back.
She lay there for probably half an hour and thought and thought about it, until she could think no more. She was never going to get any sleep unless she knew the answer to her question.
“Bobby!” she whispered, turning her head toward him. His eyes opened slowly, and he looked at her. “Are you asleep?”
He blinked and rubbed his eyes. “Well, I’m not anymore.”
“Oh. Sorry to wake you. But I really need to ask you something.”
He groaned and turned over to his side. “Can’t you wait until morning? I think I’ve done my share of talking today. . .and so have you,” he grumbled.
“Oh, pooh! It’s just one itsy-bitsy little old question, Bobby Joe Aaron. Surely you have enough words left to answer it!”
“Okay, okay!” he answered, putting a hand to his head as if all the talking was hurting it. “Just ask, so I can get back to sleep.”
“I want to know if you still plan to leave me in Charleston,” she blurted out, her words leaving her mouth as quickly as she could get them out.
“No. Now let’s get some sleep.” He flipped back on his back and closed his eyes.
“Did. . .did you say no?” she asked, reaching over to give him a shake. “Bobby! Did you say no?”
“Susannah! You said you only had one question, not three, now sleep.”
“Bobby!” she cried in a loud whisper.
“Yes, yes—I said no!”
“Oh! Well. . .thank you.” She laid back down with her hand over her heart. She could feel it pounding through the covers.
Suddenly she felt him touch her other hand and take it in his own.
Okay, she thought. He isn’t going to leave me in Charleston, but does that mean he wants to stay married to me?
She wanted to ask, but she didn’t dare. It was enough that he would take her back with him.
For now it was enough.
“Goodnight, Red,” he whispered sleepily, his eyes already closed.
She stared at his strong profile in the firelight and returned his grip. “Goodnight, Bobby.”
It was enough.