CHAPTER 1
He glanced around as he tied his horse to the hitching rail. Steven Barnes had looked down this dusty little street many times in the past few years. There was the feed store with the wagons out front waiting to be loaded with seed and grain. Across the street stood Hall's General Mercantile and as usual Mr. Hall was standing at the door leaning on his broom visiting with a customer. The bank, the café, every building in town was like a familiar friend to him.
The Coffee Cup Café had been painted white many years ago but the sand storms of west Texas had taken their toll. The steps creaked as Steven's boots made contact, and the wooden porch seemed to groan under the weight of a lone man walking across its weathered surface. Steven removed his cowboy hat and slapped it against the leg of his jeans sending sand flying in every direction before he opened the door of the café.
The little bell above the door of the Coffee Cup Café tinkled, and Emily Johnson looked up to see who her next customer would be. Steven Barnes was a familiar sight. He had come into the café many times over the past five years, but something about him was different this time. Emily could sense something was wrong. He rode his horse into town from the Bar Eight Ranch a couple of times a month, and he'd always been willing to pass the time of day with her before. She didn't know a lot about him except that he was married and had some children. For some reason, he had left them back in east Texas. He never talked about them much and would change the subject quickly if anyone mentioned them.
Occasionally, he would sit at one of the tables and read what appeared to be a letter. Emily couldn't help noticing the faraway look that would come over him at those times.
Today, as he seated himself on one of the stools at the counter, Steven Barnes was definitely preoccupied. Although she didn't know a lot about his personal life, he was always friendly, and she had always been fond of his sense of humor. But today there was no laughter in him. She poured him a cup of coffee and asked, "How are you today, Steven? Sure is a beautiful day, don't you think?"
"I'm okay, and the weather's fine I guess," he responded as he picked up his cup and took a sip.
Emily busied herself wiping tables for a few moments, then walked back behind the counter and tried again to engage Steven in conversation. "I noticed the big annual barbecue for the Bar Eight is next Saturday." She wiped her hands on the white apron covering her blue gingham dress as she continued. "I guess things are pretty busy out your way. Must be a lot of hustle and bustle to get ready for an event like that."
"I reckon there is," he replied without enthusiasm. "I don't get involved in that sorta thing too often. Chances are I won't be here next Saturday anyhow."
"You planning a little trip out of town, Steven?" Emily asked.
"Not just a trip," he confided. "I'm leaving for good."
A look of surprise flashed on her face as she inquired, "I don't mean to be nosy, but I know you have family in east Texas. Are you going home?"
His face turned pale. "Well, I'm going back to east Texas. I don't know if I can call it home anymore. Maybe I don't have a right to call it home." Steven's voice became shaky, and Emily could see his hands were trembling as he continued. "At any rate, I got word that my wife passed away a few weeks ago. A friend wrote me. He said that if I didn't get in touch with the county judge soon, my kids would become wards of the county. Seems a neighbor lady is helping take care of them now, but I've got to get back."
"Steven, I'm so sorry to hear about your loss," Emily said sincerely. "It must be very hard for you being so far away at a time like this. How many children do you have?"
"Five," he replied. "Four boys and a girl."
Emily could not tell by looking at his face what he was feeling, but she was hearing something in the sound of his voice. She thought it sounded like sheer terror. He must be scared stiff to think about going home to five children he hadn't seen for at least five years, having to take the sole responsibility for raising them.
"Have you ever been married, Emily?" Steven asked, drawing her out of her thoughts.
"Yeah, I was once," she answered. "My husband was killed right after the turn of the century in an accident. I guess that makes it about eight years ago now." It didn't seem like that long, and yet, in some ways, it seemed like a lifetime. "That's when I started working here." Emily paused and refilled Steven's cup.
"Thanks," he said, then looked at Emily as he asked, "Have you ever thought about getting married again?"
"Sure I have. But I guess I'm just too picky. And besides, the pickings aren't so good here," Emily answered.
On the outside she was smiling when she answered him. But the truth of the matter was Emily was so lonesome sometimes that she could hardly stand it. She had no children and no family, and she ached for a man in her life. She had loved her husband very much, and after his death, she had thought she would never be able to love again. But for quite some time, she had felt she was ready to welcome someone into her life. The trouble was, no one was beating down her door. The only so-called proposal she'd had was from a man twice her age. He lived in a shack on the edge of town and was looking for someone to take care of him in his old age. He was probably the only person in town worse off than she was. At the age of thirty, Emily was beginning to give up hope of ever finding anyone. She was trying to accept her lonely heart and learn to live with it.
"Do you like kids, Emily?" Steven asked.
"Yeah, I like kids," she replied. "My husband came from a big family. I loved to help care for his nieces and nephews before we moved out here."
Emily was saddened once again, thinking about Jim's family. She had completely lost touch with them after his death. They seemed to just forget all about her. Maybe she was a sad reminder of the son they had lost.
Again Steven's voice brought her back to the present. "Emily, I have a proposition for you," he stated matter-of-factly. "I need someone to help me care for my children and take care of the house. Would you consider marrying me and coming to east Texas with me?" Steven stared into his coffee cup as he continued. "Now this would be a marriage in name only. I wouldn't expect you to be a wife to me, just a mother to my children."
Emily dropped the cup she was holding, shattering it into pieces. The breaking glass startled the two older gentlemen seated at the table in the corner, the only other people in the room. One of them called out, "Hey Emily, Lon'll dock your pay for that." Emily forced a smile back at the old fellow, but she couldn't speak. She looked at Steven. "What did you say?"
"I offered you a job and asked you if you'd be willing to marry me," he responded. There was no emotion in his voice and his face was void of all expression.
This certainly was not the proposal she had hoped for. There was no soft moonlight and certainly no bells ringing. Just a straightforward business deal. She knew Steven didn't love her, and she had known from the start he was a married man, so she had never thought of him in such a way.
"Of course I'd...
