Jewel (8 page)

“How’d the dinner fare?”

“Fine,” she lied again. “Eli’s mistress was waiting for him when we drove up to his cabin, so I came home.”

“What?” her brothers bellowed.

She shrugged. “Nothing to get upset about. I told him I wouldn’t mind if he sought other women.”

They stared her way as if she’d suddenly been turned into a six-point buck.

Jewel ignored that. “I’m going up to my room. I’ll see you all later.”

She left the parlor while her brothers gawked at each other in stunned amazement.

The next morning, Eli went in search of Jewel. Having found no one at the Crowley house, he headed to town. Her brothers were undoubtedly off to work, and because she’d mentioned putting in roses for Miss Edna, he planned to stop at the store. He expected a very chilly reception when he did find her, but he knew she was within her rights after yesterday’s embarrassing encounter with Rona.

As he rode down Main Street he saw G.W. and Vernon in Vernon’s wagon. Eli pulled his horse to a stop. “Morning, G.W., Vernon. Where you headed?”

“I have to go back to New York,” G.W. explained, and he didn’t look happy. “I received a wire last evening that the editor at one of my New York papers has disappeared, along with the month’s take.”

“That’s not good news.”

“No it isn’t. Need to get Pinkertons on the man’s trail before my money’s frittered away on loose women and drink.”

“If there’s anything I can do–”

“You just get the
Gazette
office ready. I’ll be back as soon as I can.”

“Yes, sir.”

“And take care of your lovely wife.”

Eli nodded. “Have a safe trip.” G.W. waved and Vernon drove away.

Eli hoped G.W. would find the man, but his leaving was a blessing in a way. Now he and Jewel could have the wedding party the Grove was expecting. Unless of course she shot him on sight, and then a funeral would be in order.

When he entered the store, he greeted the customers inside and was told Miss Edna was out back with Jewel. Taking in a deep breath, he pushed open the door and stepped outside. Sure enough, there was Jewel kneeling in the dirt with Miss Edna standing over her. Both women looked up at his approach. Miss Edna smiled. Jewel did
not. She held his gaze for a moment, then went back to positioning the plant she was working with.

“Morning ladies.”

Edna asked, “And what brings you here?”

“I’d like to speak with Jewel privately, if I may.”

She glanced down at Jewel who was still pretending as if he weren’t there. “Of course.”

She went back inside and left them alone.

“Are you speaking to me?”

“Why wouldn’t I be?”

“You looked pretty upset when you left me last evening.”

“Me? I wasn’t upset. Did you and your lady friend have a nice visit?”

“I told her I wouldn’t be seeing her again.”

She looked up. “I hope it wasn’t because of me.”

Eli wasn’t sure he liked this game. “Yes, it was.”

“I told you I wouldn’t mind, and I don’t.”

He stepped back.

“What’s wrong?” she asked.

“When lightning strikes you I don’t want to be hit.”

She didn’t speak.

“I’m sorry, he said.”

“For what?”

“Embarrassing you.”

“Why would I be embarrassed? I knew you had a mistress when you married me.”

“Jewel, look—”

“Eli, I have work to do, so unless you have something of substance to discuss, I’d like to finish here before the sun starts to beat down.”

Tight-lipped he held on to his temper. “We need to talk about this.”

“No, we don’t.”

“What happened to making lemonade?”

“Decided I don’t like the taste of it.”

He studied her but she wouldn’t look his way. “Okay. When you’re done here maybe we can talk about the party.”

“Just plan it and tell me when and where. It makes me no never mind.”

He prayed for strength. “I’ll come by and see you this evening.”

“That’s fine.”

Filled with frustration and knowing he couldn’t force her to talk to him, he turned on his heel and left.

When the door slammed announcing his exit, Jewel looked up. The fourteen-year-old inside herself was heartbroken, but Jewel the women paid the adolescent’s pain no mind, or at least that’s what she told herself.

I
ntent upon on following G.W.’s advice, Eli walked down to the
Gazette
office. First order of business was to remove the plywood covering the front window. Crowbar in hand, he vented his frustration on the nails securing it in place. He’d never met such an obstinate woman in his entire life. He’d always believed Adam Crowley to be the most stubborn person on the planet, but surely his daughter had him beat. Stubborn, hard-headed, maddening. For him, the divorce couldn’t come fast enough.

“So, Jewel met your mistress.”

Normally hearing Adam Crowley’s gruff voice behind him would have sent a chill up Eli’s spine, but not today. Today he’d had just about enough, and was in no mood for Crowleys of any size, name, or gender. “Yes, she did.” That said, he turned to meet the steely eyes of the man who was both stepfather and father-in-law. “How’d you hear about it?”

“Boys told me this morning.”

Eli went back to removing the nails. “If you’ve
come to give me grief, save it. Jewel doesn’t need the help. I’ve tried to apologize. Even told her I sent Rona packing but I got nowhere.”

“Being married is new to her, son.”

“To me as well, remember? Things might be better if she stopped throwing up walls.”

“Took me almost a decade to barrel through the walls your mother threw in my path.”

Eli remembered. Adam married Abigail six years ago. Folks all over the Grove had followed with keen interest the volatile courtship everyone affectionately called The Battle of Abigail. He went back to the nails. “Mother cared for you. Jewel’s only care is how soon the divorce can be arranged.”

“If that were true, she wouldn’t be so livid.”

With Adam holding on to the now loose edge of the plywood, Eli started removing the nails holding the other edge. “According to her she’s not livid at all. When I spoke with her a few moments ago at the store, she was maddeningly calm.”

“The boys said she was chopping wood this morning before sunup. Usually that’s a chore she leaves to them, so when she does it’s always because she wants to chop someone’s head off instead.”

Eli met Adam’s humor-lit eyes. “Really?”

“Oh yes. She’s mad. Guess all that nonsense about you seeing other women reared up and bit her on the behind.”

Eli ruminated on that. Was she really simmering over her outrageous offer?

“And if she’s that worked up, she’s caring about more than a divorce. The boys think she’s jealous.”

Eli stilled. Jewel jealous? He thought pigs would ride horses first.

“You know, Eli, I told your mother years ago that if she had married me first instead of that bounder, you’d be my son. You’ve always been special to me, even during that mess with Cecile.”

Eli studied the face of the man he’d always wanted to be his father. Growing up, Eli had had his Uncle Absalom, Nate’s father, to help guide him, but there’d been something special about the Crowley family. “I envied your sons.” And he had. It was plain to see how much Adam Crowley cared for his boys. They all hunted together, fished together, celebrated together, and Eli had wanted to be a part of that, but he’d never known Adam’s true feelings until now.

“You were at the house so often I should have given you your own bed.”

Eli smiled. The memories of those times were good ones.

They both went silent thinking back on what might have been had fate dealt a different hand, then Adam said, “I know I was against the idea of you and Jewel marrying when you first proposed it, but I’m hoping you two can find common ground. She could do a lot worse.”

“Thanks.”

Adam patted him on the back. “In the meantime, I’ll help however I can.”

“Has she told you about the house she wants built?”

“No.”

Eli filled him in.

When he finished, Adam chuckled, “So, once she gets her divorce she figures the house will be hers? Not a bad plan.”

“No, but you’d think she’d wait until the ink dried on the wedding certificate before she started planning her life without me. I have to admit, the Colored Casanova of Cass County is feeling a bit bruised by all this disdain.”

Adam’s laugh made Eli’s lips lift with a smile.

“Bible says: humility is good for the soul. You know, though, a better place for a house would be that land of yours that faces the lake.”

As a descendant of the Grove founders, Eli owned a large tract of open land and he paused for a moment to think about the suggestion. Adam was right. From the slope of it to the small lake nearby, it was perfect. “But the house is for her, not me.” He pried out the last of the nails and they set the plywood against the brick façade.

“The house
I’m
building will be for the both of you.”

“Good luck getting her to agree.”

“She doesn’t have to. Jewel may be a force of nature but she can’t build her own home. And since I’m her father I’m going to build it where I deem best. It’ll be my wedding present.”

“She’s not going to be happy.”

Adam shrugged. “If she kills me, I know your mother will give me a decent burial.”

The two men who had always craved being in each other’s life grinned.

“Now that we’ve settled that,” Adam said, “what are you doing with this window?”

“Putting the pane back in.” Eli looked into the shadow-filled interior and wondered out loud. “Be nice if I could expand the place a bit. What do you think? Hicks seems to have big plans for the
Gazette
.”

“I think you’re going to need my help.”

Eli agreed. So they began to plan.

Up at the store Jewel put the final touches to Miss Edna’s roses and then went to the pump to wash off her grimy tools and clean herself up. She’d shower when she returned home but, for the moment, settled for washing her face and hands. Drying off with a small clean towel Miss Edna had left earlier, she placed all of her implements and tools in the bed of the wagon and prepared to leave. Just as she climbed up on the seat, Miss Edna stepped out.

“Jewel, I hear your father’s over at the
Gazette
office. Will you tell him I can have those nails he wanted early next week.”

“What’s he doing at the
Gazette
?”

“Not real sure, but the Patterson twins said he and Eli are talking about expanding the place.”

“Really?” She wondered when Eli had decided on that. “Okay, I’ll let him know.”

“And thanks for the roses, Jewel. Your mother named you well.”

The praise warmed her heart. “Thanks, Miss Edna.”

Driving the horse and wagon up Main Street, Jewel girded herself to face Eli again. The whole marriage business was far more complex than she’d envisioned, and she hoped the fourteen-year-old Jewel who’d fantasized about gaining his attention, marrying him, and someday bearing his children was satisfied now that the wish had come true, because Jewel the woman certainly was not.

She waved to a few people who greeted her from the walks, and when they called out congratulations and asked about the wedding party, she smiled falsely, called back her thanks, and promised to let them know soon. Shaking her head at small-town living, she drove to the newspaper office to relay Miss Edna’s message.

Why her father wasn’t in Niles overseeing the homes he and her brothers were constructing was beyond her. She spied him standing out front studying something at the base of the building, and huddled with him were the Patterson twins, Vernon Stevenson, and a few other men she recognized. Eli was there as well, and her eyes swept over him, even though she didn’t want them to. Like all of the Grayson men he was tall, his build lean and strong. She was willing to concede that she hadn’t been the least bit cooperative during their conversation earlier, but to admit she’d been
hurt and embarrassed to find herself face-to-face with his mistress would be to admit that she didn’t want him seeing other women, and because she couldn’t, wouldn’t do that, pretense was all she had. “Hey, Pa.”

He looked up and gave her a fatherly smile. “Hey there, Jewel. Did you get Edna’s roses in?”

She felt Eli’s eyes on her as vividly as a touch but kept her attention trained on her father. “Yes, and she told me to tell you she’ll have those nails you need next week.”

“Thank you. How about you and Eli having dinner with me and Gail tonight?”

Her attention swung instantaneously to Eli, who was watching her with a knowingness that made her quickly turn back to her father. Over her racing heart she replied, “Uh. Sure, Pa. What time?”

“Five okay?”

She nodded and Eli wondered affectionately how one woman managed to stay so dirty. The worn blue cotton shirt she was wearing was mud streaked as were the legs of her denims, yet all the grime somehow served to magnify the clear beauty of her small brown face.

“How about we ride over together after I’m done here?” he asked her, knowing she’d probably prefer to drive herself. He was betting she wouldn’t put up a fuss, though, not with her father and the others looking on.

He was right.

“That’s fine,” Jewel responded quickly. In spite
of this morning’s chilly encounter she sensed a heat emanating from him that seemed to touch her everywhere. Fighting off the undertow his attention was causing, she nodded to the men with an ease that was pure pretense, then signaled her horse and drove away.

Eli watched her retreat for a few long moments, then with a smile on his face went back to the plans they were making for the
Gazette
.

As he dressed for dinner later that evening, Eli thought back on the conversation he’d had with Adam about Jewel’s reaction to Rona. He had no problems accepting the theory that she was mad, but he was having problems accepting Adam’s explanation for the reason. Jewel jealous? Surely that couldn’t be. Could it? The idea that the answer might be yes, made him grin at his reflection in the mirror as he put his brush to his hair. If she was indeed green-eyed that meant she felt something for him, which also meant maybe good things for their marriage. He wouldn’t mind scaling her walls now, especially if on the other side waited a woman even remotely open to his husbandly overtures. The thorn-shrouded Jewel Grayson was well on her way to being plucked, he thought to himself. Putting down the brush, he went out to hitch up the buggy.

Jewel was having problems reconciling her inner feelings for Eli with the logic she should be applying to this so-called marriage. She didn’t
want her heart to race whenever he looked her way, nor did she want to be warmed by the heat his presence seemed to bring. More than anything she wanted to be cool, distant, and emotionless, but that didn’t seem to be working.

Dressed now in a clean long-sleeved blouse and a flowing black skirt, she did her bangs, then braided her thick hair into a single plait and let it hang free. She didn’t want him to think she’d taken extra care with her preparations; his head was swelled enough. She slipped into her shoes and told herself that she needed to be aloof. Of course, she had no idea how that might be accomplished, seeing as how he was so much more experienced at this than she, but she was as determined as she’d been the evening they’d married to come out of this with her heart and feelings intact.

Looking at herself in the mirror, she wondered if maybe she should give in a little, then reminded herself that the last time she’d decided to make lemonade, she’d choked on his mistress.

She fished a pair of hoop earrings out of her small jewelry box and hung them in her lobes while wondering how many more of Eli’s women would magically appear to remind her that she was just a country girl in a marriage way over her head. There were no answers, of course, at least not at the moment, and she realized that in spite of being able to hold her own in a house filled with men, she was unsure about succumbing to her husband’s kisses and all that might follow. The
talk she’d had with Maddie proved Jewel knew next to nothing about the physical side of married life, but how would she? Abigail and Miss Edna had guided her when her menses began, and the only other information they imparted was that she was old enough to bear children so be careful around the boys at school.

Unlike the girls in the big cities, she hadn’t had close girlfriends to gossip with or giggle over boys with while growing up, mainly because there hadn’t been many Grove girls her age. The few friendships she did manage to make always ended when the families moved on for reasons that were sometimes economic and other times personal.

So that left her father, but he was a man, of course, and whenever she had questions, he sent her straight to Abigail, Miss Edna, or their good friend Anna Red Bird. Not because he didn’t care enough to answer, but because anything pertaining to women things embarrassed him to no end.

On the other hand, Eli professed to know everything, and his boasting brought heat to her cheeks, especially when she remembered the potency of yesterday’s kisses. In the end, she decided to keep her fists up, because that was something she did well.

He arrived at the house at a bit past four-thirty, dressed casually in a clean shirt and trousers. She noted that he could have worn a flour sack and fishing boots and still be the most handsome man
around. After informing her brothers that she was leaving, she let him escort her to the buggy. When he handed her up, the unnerving warmth spread over her fingers and up her arm. As always she tried to ignore but failed miserably. Everything about him seemed to draw her in, in spite of her wishes to the contrary.

As they drove off, Eli looked over and saw that she was sitting so far away she seemed to be clinging to the outer edge of the seat. “Somebody driving by would think you were looking for a chance to jump out. I’m not contagious. I promise.”

Jewel smiled but kept her gaze averted.

“Would it hurt you to sit a bit closer?”

“Depends.”

“On?”

She shrugged. “I’m fine where I am.”

“And if I asked you very nicely to please sit closer?”

Jewel sensed a trap but wasn’t sure where it was hidden. Seeing the signatory amusement in his gaze didn’t help matters. “It bothers you that I’m immune to your charms, doesn’t it?”