Page 10 of That Fateful Ride

Rebecca swallowed hard before she clenched the basket tighter and walked in the house. She had known her mama was in here as well, waiting. She set the items on the counter and began putting things away.

“Hello, Papa.”

This wasn’t the reunion she’d expected, she had pictured hugs. Her father sat in his rocker watching her with an unreadable expression.

“Want to explain to me why I found you in an alley kissing a white man?”

She clenched her fingers. What could she say?

“Rebecca?” Mama this time. “Was this the guy from yesterday?”

Mortification at her actions kept her mute. She nodded and found her mother beside her.

“I come home after a year and that is the first I see of my baby girl. Wrapped around a man like a street whore.”

Immeasurable pain sliced through her. He thought her no better than a whore. “I’m so sorry, Papa.” Her words were barely above a whisper.

“Go easy on her, Joshua.”

“Easy? You didn’t see her, Sally. She should have been at home where she wouldn’t get in trouble.”

“Your daughter is no longer a child. She is a grown woman who took over for her brother when he got injured, so we wouldn’t lose the extra money! So before you come back after no word for over nearly two years, perhaps you should see how she’s doing before passing judgment.”

Rebecca watched in shock. In all her years, she’d never seen Mama argue with Papa like this. Much less, raise her voice. She’d never had to.

“What happened to my boy?”

“He’s fine!” Mama snapped. “It was your daughter who cut off all her hair and rode the Pony Express with all those men around her who could have done…who knows what, had they found out about her. Extra rides, hostile Indians, and more. However, look at her she’s fine. And for you to come home and say that…” she slammed the cupboard door, “…is neither right nor fair.”

Rebecca wanted to hide in her bed and cry. Her mama faced her and touched her chin. “I’m so proud of you, baby.” Whirling around she demanded, “You better figure this out, Joshua, because I will never forgive you if I lose my daughter and my first grandchild!”

It took a moment for the words to register. Then she shook her head in shock. She couldn’t be. Could she?

“What?” her father bellowed.

She had no moisture to formulate a single word and her legs wobbled.

“You may as well come in, I figure you’re a big part of this.”

Her mother waved at someone behind her. Rebecca turned and watched with mixed emotions as Cy stepped through, removing his hat as he did. His dark hazel eyes sought hers and the deep emotion in them astonished her. He moved toward her.

“You didn’t know.” A statement from Cy.

She shook her head. “You did?”

Those eyes blazed hot and she shivered for an entirely different reason. “I suspected. Your body has changed,” he murmured in her ear.

He didn’t touch her but she felt his presence like a warm cloak offering protection. She looked back to her mother. There was compassion and sorrow in her eyes.

“You really didn’t think I didn’t notice the sickness and the way you tired so easily, did you?” Her mother posed the question.

“I thought I was sick.” It was the truth.

“I was waiting for you to tell me. Then he showed and I saw how you looked at him.” She frowned. “What is your name?”

“Cyrus Spencer, ma’am.”

“A southerner.” Her father spoke.

“Yes, sir. South Carolina.”

“And you got my daughter pregnant.”

Cy didn’t seem bothered at all. “It would appear so. May I have a moment with your daughter, sir?”

When he nodded, she walked to her bedroom and stepped inside. Cy shut the door and hauled her close before devouring her mouth. All that mattered was his touch, nothing else.

She sank willingly into him, rubbing against him as the kiss continued. Whimpering in frustration when it ended, she licked her lips. She went to step back but he wouldn’t let her.

“No, Rebecca. No running.”

“My father…”

“Forget him. This is between us. Not your parents. Us.”

“He’s my father.”

“And I know that. This decision has to be yours and yours alone.”

Her belly tightened. “What decision?”

“To be with me.” He didn’t blink.

Her heart thundered in her chest and she trembled. He held her up effortlessly. “Be with you?” One hand stroked her hair.

She flinched when the door swung open. Her father stood there.

“We need to talk, Cyrus Spencer from South Carolina.”

“Yes, sir.” He dragged a knuckle down one cheek. “Here. I’ll be back soon.” He pressed a bag in her hand and walked out.

“What did he give you?” her mama asked.

Tears pricked her eyes as she stared down at the bag full of lemon candy. Her favorite.

Cy followed Sergeant Joshua Freeman outside. The man lit a smoke and puffed in silence. Cy waited for him to speak and ask a question. He didn’t offer Cy a smoke and there was some silence for a few moments.

“I’m wondering what I should do. I come home to find a white man has gotten my only daughter pregnant. I see her clinging to you like…a woman I don’t know.” He shifted. “You’re a southern boy.”

Forget waiting for a question. “Yes, sir. I’m twenty-four, served in the Army, and am now the station manager for The Pony Express at Buffalo Creek Station. That’s where I met your daughter.”

“You served?”

“Yes sir, from sixteen to twenty-two.”

“You met my daughter…”

“I only discovered who she truly was after a while. We made a deal that she help with the cooking every now and then and I kept quiet on who she was. Your daughter is an amazing woman and rider.”

“I know that.” Her father scowled. “You do know a war is going on right?”

Yes. Everyone knew about the war. “Yes sir.”

“You’re a white man, a southerner, and my daughter is black.”

“With all due respect, sir. I don’t view her any way other than the incredibly beautiful and brave woman I want to spend the rest of my life with. I love her. I can’t say when I fell in love with her but I am. I admire and respect her as well. I woke up one day and realized she was everything I could and would ever want in a woman.”

“So you say now.”

He bristled but remained in control. He supposed it was a father’s right to not want his baby girl with anyone.

“So I will always say.”

“There’s a guy here who is interested in her.”

“Is this the one who got mad and could have hurt her?”

“What?” Cy relayed what he’d seen the previous night. “And if he’d hit her?”

“He would be dead.” Cy spoke the truth; he’d kill anyone who hurt Rebecca without hesitation.

“I have to protect my daughter.”

“I love her. She’s carrying my child within her. I will protect her.” He paused. “With my life if necessary.”

“How would you support her?”

“I have money and I’m working. I will give her a good life.” He blew out a breath. “I’m not asking for your permission, sir.”

“Excuse me?”

He was an imposing man. Cy took a deep breath and plunged ahead. “I love your daughter, she’s the one who matters here. Her and our unborn baby. I will wait for her decision.”

“Papa.”

They both looked to see Rebecca there. Cy stood straight, his heart pounding hard as it always did around her. The dress she wore made her seem soft and gentle, hiding the spine of steel.

“Your mama says you’ve barely ridden Polaris since your return. Go for a ride just don’t be late for supper.” Her father spoke.

She vanished only to return dressed in buckskins. Longing slammed him. Cy watched her father kiss her on the cheek and slip inside. Those beautiful doe eyes met his gaze.

“Can you ride or would you rather take a wagon?”

“I can ride.”

He went and mounted then watched unabashedly as she ran to the corral, put a bridle on Polaris, and swung up on his bare back. She waved at him and he followed her, heading away from town. His large horse ate up the ground after her.

She stopped a while later and dismounted. He did the same and tied his horse. Hers, he noticed just wandered.

“Tell me how you came to have him.”

Her grin shone with her love for Polaris. “I got him from the Choctaw Nation. I have a friend in the tribe. They still have horses with the pure Spanish Mustang stock, her father gave him to me as a gift of that friendship.”

He was suitably impressed, well aware how hard it was for the Army to get them. At least without stealing them.

“Come here,” he muttered, craving the feel of her against him. He grabbed his bedroll from behind the saddle, spread it out, and lay down with her in his arms. For a while they didn’t speak, just lay there, his hand over her womb, a slight sense of disbelief that his child grew there. The sun had begun to set and he enjoyed the view.

“I love you, Rebecca.”

“What?” She moved her head and stared at him.

“I said I love you. I have for a long time now. It’s something I should have said that afternoon in the barn but I was so shocked you’d said those words, I never did.” She closed her eyes and burrowed closer. “Will you come with me?”

“I can’t leave Mama to do all of this, Cy.”

He hesitated but realized it wasn’t a no. “Okay, I’ll come here.”

“And do what?”

“I have a lot of skills.”

“I know,” she said in a husky voice.

He grinned. “I will find work here so you can be near your family. I’ll provide you with a good home, Rebecca.”

“Are you asking me to marry you?”

He almost held his breath. “Yes.”

“Will they let us?”

He didn’t give a damn. “Say yes right here. God approves of our love, Rebecca. That’s all that matters.”

She rolled and stared at him. “Yes.”

He shifted and withdrew what he’d also purchased with the lemon candy.

“Here.”

“Oh Cy.” She stared at the ring.

“Give me your hand.”

She did and he slipped the thin gold band on her finger.

“My wife.”

She rolled on top of him. “My husband.”

Never had a word sounded better. He nibbled along her lips. “When’s supper?”

She rose up and went to work removing his pants. “When we get there.”

Brazen little filly. Cy agreed and soon he was making love to his wife. Never would he think of her as anything but his.

“I love you, Rebecca,” he whispered as they came together in a flurry of brilliant colors.

“And I you, Cy.”

Watching her bathed in the sun’s glow, he thanked God for that fateful ride which brought her into his life. For it would never be the same. Moreover, he looked forward to each day with Rebecca at his side.

The End

Thank you for reading Cy and Rebecca’s story.