Beside Still Waters Page 2

  “Farewell, my sweet lady….” Jonesy’s voice, in that fake English accent, caused her to falter a step. She turned back and scowled. He wasn’t speaking to her but to the horse.

  “You’ve been a grand companion,” he said, stroking her mane, “and I shall miss you terribly. But I would never be able to live with myself knowing I’d sent a young woman off to trudge her way home across the harsh land while I rode comfortably on your strong back.”

  Eva rolled her eyes. He must be joking. Surely he wouldn’t leave Lady Anne behind after she’d told him about the horse thieves.

  Then again, this man seemed daft enough to do it, just to prove a point. “All right, you win.”

  He looked at her and grinned, not even trying to be gracious in victory. “Excellent. I’ll meet you and your family at service this morning and retrieve my beautiful mare.”

  Eva suddenly realized that accepting his offer would give her a chance to see him again. Smiling to herself, she accepted the reins from his strong, calloused hands.

  Eva tried not to read too much into the brush of his fingers against hers. Her mind whirled with the events of the past few minutes as she mounted Lady Anne and nudged the mare into a trot.

  Finally she’d met a man who might hold her interest, and he had no plans to stay in Oregon! Eva took a deep breath and made a firm decision. She would return Lady Anne to him and never again think about his deep blue eyes or full lips. As far as she was concerned, all thoughts of Jonesy as a suitable companion or possible mate were strictly forbidden.

  two

  Jonesy faced in the direction of his house, opened his book of poetry, and tried to lose himself in the words as he walked home. In an uncommon lack of focus, he stared at the print on the page, but the capacity to form sentences from the disjointed words seemed to escape him. Instead his mind conjured up the image of Miss Riley.

  “Eva.” The name tasted sweet on his lips, and he felt an unsettling stirring in his breast. Tucking the book under his arm, he replayed every word of their conversation. Her bedraggled appearance after taking that toss in the river had been plenty enchanting in an outdoorsy sort of way.

  He chuckled to himself, remembering her dire warning about the temptations of sin. Though he highly doubted she had anything to worry about, she did have a point. Even with daily Bible reading and prayer with his family after supper each night, he was more than ready for a service with fellow believers.

  By the time he reached home, the sun had burned the dew from the grass and the delicious smells of bacon and freshly baked biscuits wafted from the house. The door was open to allow in the morning breeze. Jonesy stepped across the threshold.

  The sight of his parents locked in an embrace in front of the stove brought a rush of heat to his cheeks. His mother gently pushed out of her husband’s arms when she noticed Jonesy standing in the room. She reached up and patted her hair, giving her son an embarrassed smile.

  “I was beginning to wonder if you’d been swept away to some magical kingdom again by one of those books of yours.” Her tone rang with amused scolding. “Good thing your pa stood up for you. I was just about to feed your breakfast to Sally Mae and her piglets.”

  Jonesy tossed a quick glance at his father. Elijah Obadiah Jones stood six feet two, a full head taller than Jonesy’s mother, and the difference was never quite as noticeable as when she stood in the crook of his arm, looking up at him with adoration.

  Her slender, work-hardened fingers rested on Elijah’s chest, and her eyes squinted with fondness. “Of course, your pa’s an old softy. He insisted we give you a few more minutes.”

  Jonesy smiled. “Thanks, Pa.”

  Elijah tightened his grip on his wife’s shoulders and drew her closer. “I wasn’t about to let her feed my son’s breakfast to an old sow.”

  Contentment swelled Jonesy’s chest. His parents shared a deep love. Either would have moved heaven and earth to make the other happy. He knew love was the only reason Ma had agreed to leave a prosperous ranch and move the three younger children all the way to Oregon so Pa could fulfill his sudden desire to give up ranching and try his hand at farming.

  Jonesy stopped by the washbasin and splashed water on his face. “Sorry I’m late, Ma.”

  “I declare, son.” She eyed him up and down and shook her head, giving an exasperated huff. “What happened to you?”

  “Lord Byron scared a young lady’s horse, and she ended up in the river. I waded in and tried to help her.”

  “Tried?” Pulling away from her husband’s arm, she grabbed a plate and began dishing up breakfast. “What’s that supposed to mean?”

  He felt a dumb grin spread across his face. “She’s feisty. Threatened to scream loud enough to make my ears bleed if I so much as laid a finger on her.”

  “How ungrateful!” His mother’s brow furrowed with indignation, but a chuckle left his pa’s throat.

  Moving behind his wife, Pa kissed her cheek. “Sounds like your ma in her younger days. She was a feisty little thing herself. Watch out for this one, son. She might just snag you into marriage. Like your ma here did me.”

  Ma turned with plate in hand and rolled her eyes as she moved past him toward the table. A harrumph escaped her throat. “Your pa chased me until I finally let him escort me to the Christmas dance, just to make him stop asking.”

  “Yep, and that’s all it took. We were married three months later.”

  Ma set the plate on the table. “Come eat your breakfast, son, so we’re not late to services.”

  “Yes, ma’am.” Jonesy sat down and took a whiff of the bacon, eggs, and biscuits with great appreciation. “And you don’t need to worry about any woman snagging me. I’ll be back in Texas long before the Christmas dance.”

  His comment brought an end to the lighthearted atmosphere. Ma gathered a deep breath. Pa cleared his throat. “Well, I suppose I’d best go put on my Sunday meetin’ clothes.”

  Regret seared Jonesy as he watched his father leave the room. “Sorry, Ma.”

  “Oh, son, there’s no need to apologize. We’re just thankful you came to help out for as long as we can keep you here.” She patted his shoulder. “I suppose I’ll get myself ready, too. Rinse your plate when you finish, please.”

  Jonesy nodded. He hated to disappoint his parents. But he had to live his own life. And with his brothers Terrance and Frank, both almost grown, Pa would have plenty of help with the farm. Besides, what did Jonesy know about farming? He’d been raised on a ranch. Just because Pa had decided he’d had enough of ranching and wanted to try his hand at farming, that didn’t mean Jonesy had to do the same.

  An hour and a half later, the family approached the little white church building in the town of Hobbs. Jonesy had visited town several times to pick up supplies from the general store, and he’d eaten a few meals at Joe’s Restaurant. Not bad. But certainly couldn’t hold a candle to Ma’s cooking.

  He rode next to his ma on the seat while Terrance and Frank rode on horseback. Twelve-year-old Dawn sat demurely in the back of the wagon, being the perfect little girl she’d always been. A real young lady. Nothing like the spirited woman he’d met this morning.

  Jonesy’s heart picked up a beat at the memory of those soft brown eyes rimmed with bristly dark lashes. Her skin had a bronze hue. Most of the young women he knew tried desperately to keep their skin shaded from the darkening effects of the sun. Quite a feat in Texas. But this woman didn’t even seem aware of those sorts of things. Or if she was, she didn’t bother herself with matters such as darkened or freckled skin, or wild hair that curled when it got wet.

  He scanned the churchyard, which was full of wagons and horses. It seemed the church would be quite full this morning.

  A low whistle from Terrance arrested his attention. “Now I understand why you’d loan out the Lady.”

  “Woo-wee,” Frank expounded.

  “Boys,” Ma admonished.

  Jonesy’s stomach did a flip-flop at the sight of Eva Riley stand
ing next to Lady Anne. She smiled as she held the mare’s reins and waved.

  “Eyes full of life and fire,” Elijah mused.

  Jonesy dragged his gaze from Eva and stared at his pa. “What’d you say?”

  “Snappy eyes. Just like your ma.” The amusement in his voice, followed by his brothers’ laughter, brought heat to Jonesy’s cheeks.

  “You all hush up and stop teasing Ben.” Jonesy’s ma had never taken to calling him by the nickname he’d been given by his two older brothers, who had families of their own now and had remained in Texas. The name had stuck with his pa and everyone else. But Ma wasn’t to be swayed from the name she and Elijah had bestowed upon their son.

  He didn’t have a chance to respond to his family’s teasing. Eva had drawn close with Lady Anne.

  Elijah reined in the team, and the wagon rolled to a halt. Terrance dismounted, his grin telltale. Jonesy stepped between him and Eva before the young man could embarrass her with his teasing brand of humor.

  “So I see you are honorable.” He swept his Stetson from his head and smiled, keeping his voice even.

  “Honorable?”

  “You brought the Lady back to me safe and sound like you said you would.”

  “Oh.” She handed over the reins, her smile tentative. “Yes. Thank you.” Her subdued manner took him aback. Was this the same girl who had snapped at him and verbally sparred with him earlier? He allowed his gaze to sweep over her. Chestnut hair, which earlier had been loose and clinging to her face, now swept upward, every strand demurely in place. She wore a modest gown of light blue and moved with grace. “I … um … appreciate your kindness.”

  A loud, obvious throat clearing came from next to the wagon, where his parents stood waiting to be introduced. “Oh, Miss Riley, I’d like you to meet my parents, Elijah and Caroline Jones.”

  Eva smiled with warmth and extended her hand first to his mother, then to his father. “It’s a pleasure to meet you both. I’m so glad you’ve made it to our little fellowship.”

  His mother, who had been cautiously inspecting Eva, relaxed immediately, and a smile spread across her plump cheeks. “I’ve been longing for Christian fellowship.”

  Eva tucked her hand through the older woman’s arm. “Come, let me introduce you to my ma. But I warn you, she’ll recruit you to make clothing for the children in my uncle’s orphanage.”

  “Oh, how wonderful. I’d be delighted.”

  Eva whisked his mother away as though she’d known her forever. Jonesy stood back and watched, slack-jawed.

  “Those two look about as thick as a couple of newborn pups.” Pa clapped him on the shoulder before following the women.

  Ma looked over her shoulder. “Coming, son?” By the look in her eye, Jonesy knew she thought she’d found her ticket to keeping him firmly planted in Oregon.

  Eva’s mother, Hope Riley, wasn’t one to pass up an opportunity to invite a new family in the area to Sunday dinner. So an hour and a half after her brother Gregory finally dismissed the service, Eva found herself sitting across from the most intriguing yet strangest man she’d met in her whole life.

  She glanced up and caught Jonesy’s gaze. He grinned, and her throat constricted as she tried to swallow a bite of venison roast.

  The bite lodged, cutting off her air. Still eye to eye with Jonesy, she pointed at her throat. He frowned, then his eyes widened. He pushed his chair back from the table and shot to his feet as Eva fought for air.

  “Son, what on earth are you doing?”

  Eva’s head began to spin. He pounded her on the back, and she started to cough. Finally she felt the bite begin to move, and her airway cleared.

  “Here, drink this,” Jonesy said softly. He handed her a glass of water.

  She took it gratefully and let the cool liquid soothe her burning throat. “Thank you,” she croaked.

  “Are you okay?” Hope asked.

  Eva nodded. “Fine.”

  “Thanks to quick thinking from Jonesy here,” Eva’s pa said, approval ringing in his voice.

  Now that she knew she wasn’t going to die, Eva couldn’t help the embarrassed warmth that spread across her cheeks. “May I be excused, Ma?” she asked, unable to look anyone in the eye. “I’m not very hungry anymore.”

  “Of course.”

  Eva rose and came face-to-face with Jonesy, who stood close enough to take her in his arms if he chose to do so. Which, of course, he didn’t. And why would she even think such a thing? “Thank you, Mr. Jones. Excuse me, please.”

  She maneuvered around him and fled outside. Once on the steps, that familiar sense of longing, for what she didn’t know, reached into her heart and squeezed until she found herself heading instinctively to the barn. She needed to burn off some energy. And the only way to do that was to saddle up Patches and ride across the open fields. Ma would disapprove of her leaving when they had company. But Pa would understand and would come to her defense.

  The pungent odor of hay and horse manure filled her nose as she stepped inside the barn. “All right, Patches, old boy. You don’t deserve this ride after the way you left me to the mercy of a perfect stranger this morning, but I need it, so there’s no choice.” In no time, she saddled the horse and led him through the barn doors.

  She stopped short when she came face-to-face with Jonesy.

  “Going somewhere?” he asked, raking his gaze over Patches and then back to Eva.

  “For a ride.”

  “Mind if I come along?”

  Eva shrugged. “Suit yourself.”

  “You never know when you might need rescuing.”

  His teasing tone raised her ire. “I never need to be rescued. I can take care of myself.”

  Brow lifted, he grinned. “Really? And yet I’ve been forced to come to your aid not once but twice today.”

  “Wh–what?” Eva sputtered. She couldn’t even try to deny he’d saved her from choking. But twice? “I was having a perfectly nice ride with Patches this morning before your rude dog scared my horse half out of his wits. So if I needed ‘rescuing,’ as you put it, that was only because your dog can’t mind his manners.” Much like his master.

  “I see you’ve been thinking about it quite a lot. Dare I hope you’ve been remembering me with affection?” His self-assured grin might have irritated her beyond words, and normally she would have put him in his place with a few well-spoken words and a glare of disdain. However, her traitorous sense of humor bubbled up, and laughter sprang from her like a gusher. “Tell me, Mr. Jones, are you always so sure of yourself?”

  “Almost always. Aren’t you?”

  Eva mounted Patches, trying to decide how to answer. He squinted against the late-afternoon sun as he stared up at her. Eva returned his gaze evenly. “There are two kinds of people, Mr. Jones. Those who know who they are and act accordingly. And those who act as though they know who they are.”

  “And which are you, Miss Riley?”

  Eva gave a short laugh. “You have to ask?” She left him to draw his own conclusion and nudged Patches forward.

  It took all of her inner strength not to turn around to see if Jonesy was following. Patches strained at the bit, wanting to open up into a full gallop, but Eva kept the reins tight.

  What if Lady Anne were too much of a lady to catch up to the pony?

  In moments, the sound of a horse’s hooves confirmed that Jonesy had indeed saddled the Lady and had every intention of catching up. Eva’s competitive nature rose to the surface, and she gave Patches what he’d been craving. She loosened her grip on the reins, and both horses raced across the field toward the river.

  Two horses, two riders. Eva laughed out loud from the pure joy of warm wind in her face and the feel of Patches’s training muscles against her legs. Her hair fell from its modest trappings and whipped out behind her like a flag blowing in the breeze.

  Her laughter stopped, however, when Lady Anne drew close, then came alongside, and finally pulled ahead. The sound of Jonesy’s laughter echoed
across the field.

  Anger burned in Eva, and she urged Patches harder. “Come on, boy. Are you going to let a girl beat you?”

  Apparently sensing the challenge, Patches increased his speed. But by the time Patches and Eva reached the river, Lady Anne had already halted and was taking a long drink.

  Humiliated, Eva glared at Jonesy’s smug face. “We weren’t ready.”

  Laughter exploded from him. “Then I apologize for taking unfair advantage of you and your paint pony.”

  Was he insulting Patches? Her beloved pinto had been a gift from Pa’s trapper friend and his Indian wife. “My horse could win against that mongrel of yours anytime.”

  “That ‘mongrel’ comes from a thoroughbred mother and a very respectable wild stallion. The two met after Lady Anne’s mother snuck out of her stall one night and ran to meet up with a wild herd.”

  Though still smarting from the defeat, Eva couldn’t help but see the quality in the lovely brown mare. “She’s beautiful.” She sent him a half grin. “Sorry for the slight to Her Majesty.”

  “Don’t worry about it. She’s not really as arrogant as I made her out to be this morning.”

  “Unlike you, huh?”

  “Me?” He pressed his Stetson over his heart. “I’m truly hurt by that remark.”

  Behind the words, Eva could see the amusement she’d come to expect from him. Was the man ever serious about anything?

  Dismounting, she turned loose of Patches’s reins and let him drift into the water for his own drink.

  Jonesy led Lady Anne to a nearby bush and wrapped the reins around a branch. He eyed Patches, who had drifted a few yards downstream. “Do you think you’d better go get him?”

  Eva followed his gaze. “He’ll be fine. He’s just wading.”

  “You’re going to let your horse roam after the way he ran off this morning?”

  “Lord Byron scared him half to death, or he never would have left me like that.”

  “Are you ever going to forgive my poor beast?”

  “Maybe … if you teach him some manners.”