Texas Bride by Rosanne Bittner

Author:Rosanne Bittner
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: FICTION/Romance/Historical
Publisher: Diversion Books
Published: 2014-04-15T00:00:00+00:00

Chapter Twelve

Rachael reached the trees, looking back to see Brand still sitting on his horse, watching after her. How she hated going back to town! There he was, far in the distance, sitting alone. She didn’t want him to be alone. If he had too much time to think he might decide what they had done was a great folly and that things must end. Maybe he would even pull up stakes and go away.

She raised her hand to wave, and he waved back. If only she could go back to him, lie in his arms this night. If only they could be together right now, this very day. But Joshua would be furious enough when she told him gently and slowly. And she was committed to her teaching job. A lump rose in her throat. She didn’t really care what anyone, including Joshua, thought; nor did she care now if she lost her teaching position, although it meant very much to her. She knew no one in Austin would marry them, and she couldn’t bring herself to shame her brothers by living with a man without marrying him the Christian way.

Brand was right. They were already married, in heart and body. She felt the same way. And his reasoning about a piece of paper seemed practical. But no one in her family and none of her friends would see it that way, and she was determined they should be allowed to properly marry and live as husband and wife. Somehow she had to make that happen, without endangering Brand’s life.

It took all her strength to turn away again and head into the trees. She was hot and tired, and she was anxious to talk to Lacy. The woman would probably be shocked at first, but today had been a traumatic one for Rachael. She had to share this first experience with someone, someone older who might understand. Lacy was the only white woman in town who had at least a little sympathy for Brand’s situation, who didn’t totally judge him by his blood.

She hurried through the trees, anxious now just to get home and take a cool bath; anxious for the day and night to pass so that she could come back tomorrow and be with Brand again. That was all that mattered now, her time with the man she loved.

“Oh, Mama, you’d like him so much. I just know you would,” she said softly, looking up at the clouds as she came out of the trees. She wished her mother’s grave was closer so that she could stand by it; still, she was sure that her mother was with her, watching her, guiding her. And so was her father.

She hurried to the back of the buildings on the east side of town, then through an alley between two buildings. She stepped over rocks and weeds and two whiskey bottles, then opened her parasol and took a deep breath before emerging onto the boardwalk in front of one of the buildings.

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