The Valentine's Dance

"Oh, I know that and you know that, but Fate may have a somewhat different opinion."

"Not if we don't tempt it."

"No, but then what fun would that be?" She smiled sweetly at me. "Speaking of fun, are you going to saddle your horse or are we going to stand here all afternoon? Not that I'd mind, but the horses might be confused."

We rode for an hour, talking part of the time, but the rest I was struggling to keep up with her. While I rode Boots, I did it as a farmer on a farm horse whereas she and Shade, her black mare, were a true team that had trained together for years.

On getting back to the house, she said she had to go. "It's only an hour to sundown."

"I'll escort you home," I said, mostly because I didn't want to risk her being out alone after dark, but in some small corner of my mind, I was surprised to realize that I didn't want the afternoon to end.

"Jeremiah," she said with all pretense of using our formal names abandoned, "that's as silly as what you said last night. I have plenty of time to get to Uncle Charlie's before dark, but you'd be home really late. Besides, you'd never catch me!"

She blew me a kiss and took off at a pace I knew that Boots and I would never match.

As I entered the house, I smelled dinner cooking and found Sarah practically dancing around the kitchen. She came to an abrupt stop on seeing me. "Jeremiah, do you have something you want to tell me?"

"No." I went to wash up but she followed along behind me.

"That's not fair, big brother. If you don't tell me, there's no telling what our sisters might believe by church next Sunday."

"Well I'm not telling and I don't think Miss Fellowes would, so I don't think there's much risk of gossip. Who would start it?"

She had a devilish grin as she replied, "Me, of course. And our sisters will never let you off the hook. Now...if you want to share the real story..."

I laughed and told her enough that it would keep the wolves away.

I hoped.

***

As the week passed, the events of the previous weekend slowly faded in my mind, becoming as if less and less real and more and more a figment of my imagination. That changed on Thursday at lunch when I walked into the house. Sarah and Charli were sitting at the table waiting for me. My problem hadn't faded away after all.

"Jeremiah, Charli's going to be eating lunch with us today! She brought a peach pie to share. Isn't that nice?"

"Hi, Jeremiah. They're canned peaches since they're out of season, but it should still be good."

"Hi, Charli, and thank you for the pie. I'm sure it will be delicious, canned or not." I looked at one then the other, trying not to smile while also trying to avoid scowling. I was angry at myself for feeling excited at Charli's presence.

"Oh, look at the time!" said Sarah. "You know, I just remembered that I was supposed to go visit Leah today. If you two will excuse me, I've got to run."

"Uh, Sarah, let me go hook up the buggy for you," I said, but she waved a hand at me dismissively.

"Don't be silly, Jeremiah. You two have a nice lunch. I'll take Boots. I haven't ridden him in a while." She was out the door in a couple of minutes while Charli and I ate in silence.

"Do you think she really had an appointment with your sister?" Charli asked.

I tried not to grin. "Nope. Not for a second."

"Me neither, though it was really sweet of her to invent the excuse."

"You parents wouldn't think so, Charli. They would expect us to be chaperoned in meeting like this."

"Then I'll make a deal with you," she whispered conspiratorially.

Likewise, I responded, "What's that?"

"I won't tell them if you won't."

***

As hard as I tried to keep Charli at arms' length over the next few weeks, it became harder and harder for me to deny to myself that I felt something for her. Exactly what, I wasn't sure, but the interest was there on both sides. William and Charlotte returned home to Franklin after their visit, but Charli remained with her uncle and aunt, ostensibly to be ready for the start of the new school year in September but it wasn't long before she was doing some work for Doc Levinson, using some newfangled device called a typewriter to do his reports a few hours each week. As far as I knew, Doc had the only such device in town and Charli, who'd used one at Hamilton, was the only person in town who knew how to make it do more than a slow click, click, click.

By the end of February, she was sitting with the Daniels and Duncans at church, and by the first Sunday in March, I found her sitting by me. The following Sunday, she had her hand looped around my arm for part if the service, and by the third Sunday, I was surprised to find myself holding hands with her during the sermon. I immediately let go when I realized it, only to be rewarded by a hurt expression on her face. I patted her hand, hoping to placate her, but tucked my hands across my chest into my arms to make sure the hand-holding didn't happen again.

My equipment was ready so the following day, I loaded the plow and harrow in the wagon and drove to the first field to be plowed for the summer planting. It was still very cold and the moisture in the ground made the earth, while not quite frozen, very hard. The little boy that couldn't hold a plow straight had grown up to be five-foot eleven and 185 pounds of muscle, so I gave up after the first two attempted furrows, and started walking the field looking for rocks. I loaded those I found in the wagon, and then kept walking.

Most rocks I found by seeing but shortly before noon I found one by stubbing my big toe on it. It hurt like hell and I hopped up and down on my left foot for a few seconds as I said more than a few choice words about the rock and its origins. With my level of frustration in recent days, I'd have said a lot more to relieve the tension if I hadn't heard a giggle.

Turning, I saw Charli sitting on Shade and carrying a picnic basket on her arm.

"Charli, what the hell are you doing here?" I said, with more anger than I intended and far more than she deserved.

I immediately saw I'd hurt her feelings as she appeared to pout..

"I came to see you and bring you lunch," she said. Getting off her horse, she came toward me, her face hardening in a look of determination. "No, Jeremiah, it's more than that. I think there may be something between us so I'm trying to give us a chance to get to know each other, but you're trying to frustrate me at every turn. Well, believe me, it's working! I finally get to hold your hand for all of, what? Maybe ten seconds? Then you toss me away like I'm not even there! Jeremiah, I can't get you out of my mind and it's frustrating me to no end that I can't seem to get myself into yours."

She stopped with a huff, about three feet in front of me, slamming her arms against her sides. She wasn't considering the picnic basket, though, which hit her knee, and caused her to grab for it in pain as she cried out and dropped the basket.

I took her in my arms without thinking, pulling her close to me patting her back. "Are you okay?" I asked as I brought her face up so we could look into each other's eyes.

"Uh-huh. But it did hurt."

I nodded. "I'm sure. It looked heavy." I thought I heard a bottle bump inside in addition to whatever else was inside when the basket fell.

"It was. Is." She made a low, throaty growl, but I pulled her against me once more.

"It's okay, Charli. The basket and whatever the hell there is between us are both still there. And don't worry, as hard as I'm trying to avoid feeling it, it's there and you're on my mind...all the time."

"Really?" She was looking up at me with a hopeful smile, her tears now forgotten.

I nodded. "I have a lot of concerns, Charli. When I was young...well, you know...I liked your mother. When I first saw you, it was like seeing her again, and all of those old feelings came rushing back."

"I'm really sorry, Jeremiah. I shouldn't have done that to you, but I wanted to be sure to attract your attention. I didn't realize that once I did..."

"No, Charli, it's not your fault. I shouldn't have been susceptible to it. The problem is that to really love someone, you have to love them for whom they are, not because they remind you of someone else who used to be special to you."

"I know, Jeremiah. That's why I'm trying to get you to see me for me and getting to know me rather than liking me just because I remind you of her. Do you honestly think I would want that?"

"No, Charli. I know you wouldn't because it would be so unfair to you. But that's why I can't be with you. I don't want to be unfair to you. Do you understand?"

"Yes. Unfortunately." Without another word, she walked over to Shade, climbed up, and rode away.

***

By Thursday, the weather and soil conditions had improved so I was plowing when I saw Charli and Shade ride into the field through the gate. Wearing a hat, she rode to me and then plodded along beside me as I continued to plow.

"You didn't bring my basket home," she said, accusingly.

"No, I haven't been to town, but I did hang onto it for you and do have plans to return it."

"It was a shame about letting the food go to waste."

"Waste not, want not, my mother used to say. The lunch was delicious, though, and I thank you for it."

"And the bottle of wine?"

"A gentleman should never drink wine alone. I saved it for when I could share it with the right woman."

She studied me for a moment before taking off her hat and giving her hair a shake. I pulled my team of mules to a stop.

"Charli! Your hair!"

"Do you like? I decided I needed to change the style. Make it a bit shorter, like some ladies are wearing it in the big cities. You know, less like someone around here would wear it."

I walked over to her as she got off Shade. "It's beautiful, Charli, but...but...don't you see, it's not just your hair. It's everything about you. You remind me of her."

"Everything? Damn you, Jeremiah! You keep seeing similarities; what do I have to do to get you to see the differences? Shave my head completely and stand on my hands? Paint myself blue? Walk around with no clothes?"

My eyebrows shot up and she hit me lightly on the arm. "Those are silly, but there are lots of other differences between us if you'll just look. And do you know the biggest one of all?"

I shook my head. "What's that, Charli?"

"I'm the one falling for you and she's not. I'm the one who wants to see if we can make this work."

Her words shook me. Did she really care that much?

"Oh, you're not easy to care about, Jeremiah Daniels," she continued, "especially when you're always pushing a girl away, but somehow I've succeeded in doing it anyway. Now the question is whether you'll give me a chance to see if it's something more and whether you'll take a chance yourself?"

There were so many questions running through my mind as she looked into my eyes, but at that moment, I reached a decision I'd been nearing but fighting for some time.

"Charli, I've grown to care a lot about you in recent weeks. I can't say how much, because I really don't know. What I do know is that you are a wonderful young lady and that I'd be the stupidest man in the world if I pushed you away from me after what you just said."

"I've never believed for a second that you are a stupid man, Jeremiah."

"Well, based on my past record, that's debatable, but I'll tell you this: It's going to take time to see if this will work out between us, and probably a lot of effort. I honestly don't know if it will, but I promise you that I'll give it a shot and I won't fight it anymore."

"Good," she said huskily. "Now, don't fight this either."

She reached up and her lips met mine. In my mind, the entire world disappeared except for the two of us. Her tongue probed my lips and slipped into my mouth, where she met mine. Never in all my years had I experienced such a feeling, as if I was floating in a cloud of happiness.

She pulled away, grabbing her breath. "Sacré bleu!"

"Très!" I replied.

Charli stared at me like I was crazy. "You...you speak French?"

"Only the few words I've learned from Jules Verne and my sisters who tried to study it in school."

She laughed heartily for a moment before putting her arms back around and kissing me again, but only once more.

"That's enough of that, Jeremiah. Your lunch is in my saddlebag. I'll grab it while you clean your hands so you can eat lunch and get back to work."

***

I started work early the next day, with plans to quit equally early. The plow took to the earth so I was hot and sweaty despite the cool temperature when I got home. Sarah was in the barn milking the cows when I arrived.

"Jeremiah, are you okay? Is everything alright?"

"Yeah, I'm going to clean up and go into town. I'll be back late." I said as I started saddling Boots.

"What's wrong?" she asked, visibly worried.

When I assured her that everything was okay, a smile appeared on her face. "Are you going to see Charli? No! Wait! You're going to see Mr. Tewkesbury!"

As I mounted Boots, I replied, "Hopefully both."

Charles was happy to welcome me to his home and ushered me into his office. Whereas my farm "office" was a roll-top desk and a shelf in our main room, he had an entire room with a massive desk, fine chairs, bookshelves, a rank of what he called filing cabinets, and paintings on the walls. He offered me a cigar and a shot of whiskey. I thanked him but declined on the first before offering a "To health" on the drink.

"So what brings you to Tewkesbury Hall tonight?" he asked, but from his expression, I could tell he already knew.

"Charles, I'd like to speak with you about your niece."

He gave me a peculiar look. "Now just which niece are we speaking of? I have three, you know."

"Good God, Charles, do you have to make this any harder than it already is?"

He started laughing and I soon joined him.

"Jeremiah, do you care for her?"

"I do. I don't know her well enough to know how much yet, but there's something there."

"More than just your old feelings for Charlotte?"

He knew, too. Christ, did everyone in town know?

"I was worried about that at first, I must admit, but Charli's totally different than your sister. I was afraid that I might be spending time with Charli and my feelings would be—I don't know, maybe confused?—between them, but that hasn't been a problem so far. If it becomes one, believe me, I'll take the right steps."

He nodded, and I continued. "I care about Charli because of who she is, not because she's like her mother or because she's her mother's daughter."

He nodded again, understanding better than I'd conveyed it, I think.

"Jeremiah, what do you want?"

"Charles, I'd like to be able to court Charli, your niece. I thought about going all the way to Franklin to see William and Charlotte, but that might make things more difficult, so I came to see you since you're acting as her temporary guardian. If you're not comfortable granting what I seek, I'll go there and ask to speak with William."

He opened a drawer in his desk and took out an envelope. Handing it to me, he said, "Here." He slid his envelope opener across, too.

Inside, the letter said:

Dearest [though another pen had crossed out the "est"] Jeremiah,

If you are reading this, you have expressed an interest in courting my daughter and William owes me a week-long trip to Memphis for him doubting you [again, the part after Memphis was scratched through, making it difficult to read]. If you care for our dear, sweet Charli and wish to see her socially, you have our sincere blessing and our love and [the prior two words were struck] best wishes. She can be a boisterous young woman, but we know you will be as patient and kind with her as you have always been with those you love. If things become serious between you, we look forward to your visit.

Our love [both struck and replaced by] Sincerely,

Charlotte [and added with the second pen] and William Fellowes

I read it twice before passing it over to Charles, who smiled as he quickly scanned it. "I think this calls for a second drink."

"Thanks, but no thanks," I said. "I need to be going soon, but would love to spend a few minutes with Charli, if that would be okay?"

"I'm fairly certain Charli will be okay with that. In fact, I suspect Claudia is sitting on top of her to keep her from breaking in here to see what's happening."

***

Over the next few weeks, Charli and I became frequent companions at our home, her uncle and aunt's home, and around town. The same situation could be said of Matt Kelley and Sarah. However, Matt's business with his uncle's farm was winding down and it finally sold. He came over on a Saturday afternoon in mid April. I was out plowing, of course, but he came in search of me.

"Good afternoon, Jeremiah. I hate to interrupt your productive day, but I need to speak with you."

I drew my team of mules to a halt and went over to shake his hand. "What brings you out on this fine spring day?"

"Jeremiah, to be quite frank, I have an unexpected problem. I asked Sarah her thoughts on me asking you for her hand in marriage, and she balked."

"What?" I exclaimed. Considering the feelings she'd confided in me for Matt, I knew that never, in my wildest dreams would my baby sister have done that unless something else was going on.

He explained what had happened, but said she'd declined his offer. "Jeremiah, Uncle Giles' farm is sold, and I'll be returning to Nashville soon so the new owners can move in and take over. I hoped that we could be at least arranging the wedding before I returned, even if it wasn't held for a while. She won't hear of it, but she wouldn't tell me why. I hate to ask this, but will you speak with her?"

Would I speak with her? You bet your bottom dollar I'd be speaking with her, but he meant on his behalf, so I agreed that I'd see what could be done. "I know she cares a great deal about you, Matt. Perhaps she feels it's too soon?"

"I asked that very question and she said 'No'," he said. He thanked me and let me return to my work.

That night, I said, "Sarah, we need to talk."

"I know, Jeremiah, but I can't."

"Can't marry Matt or can't talk about it?"

"Either," she said with tears pooling in her eyes. I hadn't seen her looking so uncomfortable in ages.

"Sarah, tell me why," I demanded. "I know you love him. Maybe it's a little sooner than you'd like, but he can accommodate that if you'll set the engagement."

"No."

A terrible thought came over me. "Sarah, he didn't do anything to you, did he?"

"God, Jeremiah! No! How could you even think such a thing about him? I'm not talking about this anymore. Good night."

That told me she still loved him and something else was going on. Therefore, I decided I needed to talk to Leah and Mary after church the next day. While I didn't know where my relationship with Charli was heading, I knew it would never be resolved until Sarah's situation was. I went to bed to a bevy of bad dreams.

***

There was a virtual war council in the house on Sunday afternoon with Sarah, Mary, and Leah. Matt, Richard, Sam, and I played poker for pebbles on the front porch while watching the kids play in the yard. Charli watched for the first few hands to learn the rules before we finally let her join the game. Only then did we learn how badly we'd been tricked. She could shuffle and deal better than most of us and won more hands than she lost.

"I never said I hadn't played before," she said with a smile. "You assumed it. To tell the truth, you might be surprised at some of the skills college girls learn."

Mary came out first. "Richard, please get the kids. It's time to go." She ran over to me, gave me a big hug and an "I love you, Jeremiah," before they said goodbye to the others and headed out.