Wild Sweet Love by Beverly Jenkins
Chapter 15
Just as Teresa predicted, the train pulled into the Henry Adams station precisely at noon. Waiting on the platform were not only Neil and Olivia, but her other brothers, Two Shafts, Harper, and Diego as well! Forgetting her escorts in the excitement, Teresa ran to meet her family. She was engulfed. She felt their happiness, sorrow and their grief as they clung together, but most of all she felt home.
Wiping away the happy tears dampening her eyes, she looked at Diego, the brother she’d always loved best. His Comanche Seminole hair was as long as hers. “Where have you been? It’s been over ten years!”
A smile split his dark face, showing off the patented July grin. “Yukon Territory.”
“You couldn’t write or wire?”
He shrugged. “I’m here now and I’m here to stay. We’ll talk later.” He gave her another hug. “Missed you, Teri. Glad you’re out.”
Teresa knew that her youngest brother had no idea how good it felt having him back, but also knew better than to become too emotional, so she backed off and stared in happiness at the men they’d all become, a happiness tempered by grief. “It’s too bad it took Tamar’s death to bring us back together again.”
They nodded solemnly. She turned to Olivia, who was standing off to the side. The sister of her heart held out her arms to Teresa in welcome.
“Livy,” Teresa said, moving toward her.
Tears in her eyes, Olivia enfolded Teresa, and as they rocked she whispered, “Welcome home, sister. So good to see you and so sorry about Tamar.”
“Thanks.” Teresa hugged her a moment longer, then pulled back and looked into Olivia’s expressive eyes. She saw traces of pain. Olivia and Neil had been trying to have a baby since their marriage, but she hadn’t been able to carry to full term. There’d been three miscarriages so far. Teresa hugged her again, hoping to give her some of her own strength so that her remarkable sister-in-law would stay strong. “Good to see you too. How are you?”
“I’m well. You look good. Almost the same way you did when you left.”
“Much smarter, though.”
Olivia grinned. “I knew you’d figure it all out eventually.”
Her brothers surrounded her like mountains. None were shorter than six foot three inches tall. Later, she’d get the stories of the ones she hadn’t seen in a while, like Harper and Diego, but right now she wanted them to meet the Nances. She looked back and saw them waiting on the platform. Madison’s face was unreadable, and Mrs. Nance had a tentative smile on her face.
Teresa walked over and brought them forward. “Want you all to meet the folks I’m staying with in Philadelphia.”
Introductions were made, and Teresa was proud of the politeness her brothers showed Mrs. Nance.
Madison was another story.
“Do you stay with your mother?” the green-eyed Harper asked.
Madison studied him a moment before saying, “No, but if I did, would that worry you, bother you?”
Diego crowed, “Whoa, he can speak.”
Neil said, “Pretty good too.”
“Thanks,” Madison replied coolly. “Speaking ‘pretty good’ is fairly common where I live.”
Two Shafts, Teresa’s half-Comanche half brother, laughed. “Got some spine. I say we let him be. He either got that bruised face giving out a whipping or taking one. We’ll find out soon enough.”
Madison had been prepared for the ribbing. The men were Teresa’s brothers, after all.
Teresa, on the other hand, wanted to sock the four of them. She could tell by Olivia’s face that her sister-in-law wasn’t pleased either, but what could they do? The July men were like a bunch of adolescent cougar cubs.
“Neil, darling,” Olivia said, “you may take the inmates back to the asylum now. Teresa and I will get the Nances settled in down at Sophie’s. I’ll bring them home for dinner around six.”
Her husband grinned and said to his brothers, “You all heard the warden, but before you go, shake Nance’s hand and give him a welcome. Got a feeling we’re going to be seeing a lot of him.”
Madison met Neil’s eyes. They were as black and as full of mischief as his sister’s were, but Madison sensed purpose behind the smile, one that was harder, almost challenging. In response, he gave Neil an almost imperceptible nod, which Neil returned.
After the handshakes and the welcomes, the July men, walking abreast like the gang of outlaws they’d once been, departed to retrieve their mounts.
Once they were gone, Teresa said to Madison, “Sorry about that.”
“It’s okay. They’re your brothers. I expected it.”
Teresa asked, “Mrs. Nance, are you all right? You look a bit shaken.”
Molly looked up at her. “You said there would be four of them, but I didn’t know they were going to be so big. My goodness, I was afraid to move for fear I’d get stepped on.”
Olivia cracked, “Big bodies and sometimes pea-sized brains. Come on, Sophie’s expecting us. My wagon’s over here.”
Madison put Teresa’s gang of brothers out of his mind as he stowed their wealth of luggage into the bed of the wagon and climbed in. His mother sat on the front seat with the mayor. Teresa tossed in her two carpet bags, then climbed in with him. She’d been wearing her leathers since the day they left Philadelphia, and all the way cross-country he’d had a hard time not staring at her shapely form and remembering.
Olivia signaled the team of horses, and they began the bumpy five mile ride to town. Madison divided his attention between viewing the flat golden countryside and the woman seated in the corner of the bed. The landscape was very different from the green he was accustomed to seeing back home. Kansas had its own beauty, but it was the beauty with the onyx eyes that had him entranced. Since they’d decided not to do any more passion things, as she’d so accurately described it, she seemed to be all he could think about. Yes, she was unconventional, yes, sometimes she gave him fits, but just looking at her mouth made him crave just one more taste, all the while knowing he’d want a thousand more. He was in love with this woman, plain and simple. What he planned to do about it, he hadn’t a clue, but finally admitting the depths of his feelings was freeing. He respected her grief, so he would give her the time he knew she’d be needing, but afterward, because he knew how highly passionate and sensual she was, he doubted she’d be able to keep her leathers on for long if he asked her in just the right way.
Teresa, seated across from him in the bed of the wagon, had to look away from the intense gaze in his eyes because her nipples were calling him. Although they had agreed to go on with their lives, her body wasn’t cooperating. Every time she looked at him, sensual memories flooded her. She figured that the passage of time would eventually be the cure, but what was she supposed to do until then?
When they rolled into town down the unpaved main street, Madison didn’t see the gunslingers or prostitutes but he did see a quaint bunch of buildings and plank walks lining both sides of the street. A good number of people dressed like plain folks were on the walks, and just as Teresa promised, they all looked like him. He saw the sheriff’s office, a livery, and a mercantile with a large American flag flying on a pole out front. There was a barbershop and a doctor’s office. Sharing the road with the mayor’s wagon were other wagons driven by men in farmer’s clothing, their bonnet-wearing wives seated beside him while their children laughed and giggled in the bed. Other wagons were packed high with bound bales of hay and what he guessed was wheat.
Taking all this in, Madison sensed a strange charge building inside of him that he couldn’t name. This was a town established and governed by men and women of color, and Madison thought that an awesome achievement. It couldn’t have been easy for the settlers that first year, or even in the years following yet this little town of Henry Adams, which appeared to be thriving, was going on twenty years old. Madison decided that what he was feeling was pride.
The mayor drew the team to a halt in front of a large building with an ornate sign that read: HENRY ADAMS HOTEL. It was grand, far grander than Madison had expected to find in such an out-of-the-way place. He shared his pleased look with Teresa, who held his eyes long enough for him to want to touch her.
“Teresa, this is a beautiful place,” Molly said with surprise.
Teresa tore her gaze away from Madison’s. “Hoped you’d like it.”
“Oh, I do.” Molly was looking up at all the windows and cornices. “It rivals some of the places back home.”
“Wait until you see the inside.”
Olivia said to Madison, “Mr. Nance, you can leave your bags in the bed. Sophie’s staff will bring them in.”
He nodded and followed the ladies inside, his eyes on Teresa’s leather walk.
The Henry Adams Hotel was even grander on the inside. Beautiful frescoes graced the walls, and the chandeliers above their heads were ornate and stylish. A grand staircase done in red velvet led to the upper two floors, and a large dining room could be seen through an alcove on the right. The owner, Sophie Reynolds, had been in Henry Adams for many years. The beautiful Louisiana octoroon was in her late fifties, but her spirit was twenty-five.
When she came out of the back, she took one look at Teresa and threw her arms open. “Teresa.”
They shared a tight hug, then parted as Sophie said, “Welcome back.”
“It’s good to be back.”
“So sorry about your mother’s passing.”
“Thanks,” Teresa said solemnly. She then made the introductions.
Sophie beamed. “Anybody willing to take this hellion into their home is all right by me. Want you both to be my guests while you’re here. Teresa, are you staying here or out with Miss Olivia and your brother?”
Teresa looked at Molly, who shrugged. This hadn’t been discussed, but Teresa felt it best if she stay with the Nances just in case. “I’ll bunk here. Livy doesn’t have the room anyway.”
“No, I don’t,” Olivia conceded. “Your brothers are sleeping on everything but the stove top.”
They all smiled.
A few minutes later they were in their third floor suites. Mrs. Nance and Teresa were sharing one, and Madison was in a smaller one across the hall. Once they were settled and their luggage had been brought in, Olivia gave Teresa a parting hug. “I’ll be back to pick you up for dinner. We’ll have the service for Tamar after.”
Teresa nodded.
Olivia left to return to her office, and Molly and Teresa took a look around their beautiful digs. The bathtub had gold fixtures and matching claw feet. The towels hanging on the gold racks were fat and thick. There was a sitting room complete with an embroidered robin’s-egg blue sofa and matching chairs. There were ornate lamps. And the view from the windows overlooked the streets and the open prairie behind them.
Molly dropped onto one of the fancy chairs. “I’m glad we’re finally here.”
“Me too.”
“Your sister-in-law is lovely.”
“Thanks. Sophie’s going to send up some food in a bit, then you might want to lie down for a while. It’s been a long trip.”
“Yes it was. A nap sounds like a good idea. I’m not as young as I think I am, but after you’re done with your family responsibilities, I want to see as much of everything as I can.”
“We’ll do whatever you want. It’ll be fun showing you around.”
“I am so sorry about your mother. I truly wanted to meet her.”
Teresa nodded. “You two would have gotten on well. She’ll be missed.” Because of the summer heat, Neil had had Tamar buried in Henry Adams’s small cemetery, which meant she wouldn’t even have a last look. That saddened her as well.
“And your father? If that’s not an indelicate question.”
Teresa shook her head. “It’s not. He died about ten years back trying to cross the Rio Grande during a big storm. We think his horse lost his footing and he and Pap were swept away. Neil and Shafts found his body a few days later.”
“I’m sorry to hear that.”
Teresa shrugged. “We never saw him that much. He was a Seminole scout for many years and then he worked laying track for the railroads. He would come home every now and again, but Tamar raised us, even raised Two Shafts and Diego, and they weren’t even her boys. Their mother Luella was Comanche. She died bringing Diego into the world.” Teresa then smiled. “You know, it’s funny. Neil and Shafts are twins. Even though they have different mothers, they were born on the same day.”
Mrs. Nance blinked. “Really?”
“Yes, ma’am. That’s why folks out here called them the Terrible Twins. In their day, they raised a lot of hell, um, I mean sand.”
Mrs. Nance simply shook her head.
A knock sounded on the door.
“Food!” Teresa crowed, and quickly went to let the waiter in.
After lunch, while Molly rested, Teresa left the hotel and walked down to the sheriff’s office. Chase Jefferson, an old friend of Shafts and Neil, had been the town sheriff during Neil’s trial. While Teresa was jailed, he’d been taking care of something very close to her heart.
When she entered, the handsome former Buffalo soldier greeted her entrance with a smile. “Well, if it isn’t Teresa July. I heard you were back.”
“Hello, Chase. How are you? The family?”
“I’m doing well. We just had another son a few months back and he and my wife Cara Lee are doing fine.” His voice turned serious. “Sorry about your mother’s passing.”
“Thank you. We’ll miss her. I came to fetch my property.”
“He’s over at Handy’s livery. He was real hard to handle at first, probably from missing you, but he’s healthy and just as feisty as he was when Neil brought him here after your trial at Fort Smith.”
Teresa grinned. “Thanks for boarding him at your place.”
“No problem. With Neil being gone and Olivia not having the time, Cara and I were glad to be able to help. I made sure he got plenty of exercise.”
“Thanks again.”
Chase nodded.
As she walked back to the door, Chase called, “Teresa.”
She turned.
“Glad you’re out.”
“Me too.”
When Teresa walked down to the livery, she drew stares from some of the town folk on the walks, but nobody stopped her. Most knew her identity and had heard why she was back.
She found Handy out behind the livery feeding his stock of horses, and he grinned upon seeing her. “Teresa July?”
“In the flesh. How are you, Handy? How’s my boy?”
“Ornery as ever. He’ll probably kick the fences down when he sees you. Come on.”
Handy led her to the paddock where her proud stallion was cropping grass. Tears stung her eyes. “Hey boy,” she called softly.
Cloud’s head went up. His ears went back, and as he met her eyes, he neighed loudly and reared. He reared again and again. She opened the gate and he galloped her way. She hugged his neck, and he rubbed his nose against her cheek. Laughing around her tears, she held him close and let the tears flow.
Borrowing a bit from Handy, she fit the apparatus over Cloud’s magnificent head, then tossed a blanket over his back. She didn’t bother with a saddle. Using the fence to aid her climb, she picked up the reins, turned the horse and headed him at a gallop toward the fence. When they reached it, the stallion sailed over the wooden slats with no difficultly, then he and Teresa were riding like the wind away from town.
As they rode across the countryside she spent the time talking to him, hugging his neck and trying to come up with a plan that would allow her to take him back East with her when the time came to return. She figured she could board him at the Constantines if they didn’t mind, and she’d pay them for the privilege from the wages of the job she was determined to get once she got back. It was obvious he’d missed her as much as she had him, and when she finally turned the reins toward town, she was determined that they never be separated again.
She left Cloud with Handy and promised the liveryman she’d be back to claim him for good once she took care of the evening’s family responsibilities. Seeing her mount again filled yet another hole in Teresa’s soul, but not even her joy at being reunited with Cloud could fill the void left by the death of Tamar.
When she walked into the hotel, Madison was seated in a chair in the lobby reading a newspaper by the big fireplace. She crossed the carpet toward him and he looked up. Their smiles met, and she was glad he couldn’t see her nipples standing up with their own welcome underneath her leather jacket. “Did you get some rest?” she asked.
He shook his head. “No. Too much going on, I think. Was just sitting here reading the paper. Is this the same Cyclone that the reporter who came to the house writes for? What was his name again?”
“Tom Kelly. Yes. It’s the same one. It’s out of Nicodemus.”
“They’ve listed some businesses for sale I might want to look into while we’re here.” Madison could see the faint sheen of moisture on her brow. “Were you out riding?”
“Yep. Had to go see Cloud.”
“And how is he?”
“In fine shape. I’m taking him back with us.”
“Do tell?” he said, amusement lifting his thin mustache. She was the most unpredictable person he’d ever met.
“The way I figure, he can board with the Constantines, and I can pay them from the job I’m going to get when we get back. I’ll borrow the money from one of my brothers to pay for his passage east. What do you think?”
“Sounds like a reasonable plan. I don’t think the Constantines will mind.”
“Can you wire them and ask?”
“Sure.” Madison realized just how much he enjoyed pleasing her. He’d please her for the rest of their lives if she’d just let him.
Teresa was buoyed by his support. Being friends was nice, but the other relationship was better, she decided. Shaking herself free of that unwanted thought, she said, “I’m going to go wash up. Do you know if your mother is still sleeping?”
“I don’t know. She hasn’t come down, so I’m going to assume that she is.”
“Do you have the time?”
He studied the face of the watch chained to his vest. “Four-thirty.”
“Okay. Livy said six, so I have plenty of time to take a bath.”
Madison didn’t want to think about her in the bath, her skin glistening and dewed by the water, but the image rose anyway and so did his manhood. “I’ll see you at six. I think I’ll go take a walk, look around a bit.”
“Sounds good. See you later.”
She departed then, leaving an already aroused Madison to wistfully contemplate the sway of her sweet behind in those leathers.
At six that evening Olivia arrived to take them to dinner. Since her house was close by, they opted to walk. Olivia was a seamstress by trade. She ran her business out of the front of her house, and she and Neil resided in the rear.
As they walked the short distance, Madison looked around at the well-built houses and nodded in greeting to the people they passed. The town wasn’t big by any means, but as Teresa said, you could see the sky, there was no cacophony of noisy traffic, and the air was sweet and pure.
Teresa put her nose up. “Somebody’s cooking.”
“Your brothers, no doubt,” Olivia said. “They were in charge of the meal.”
“Those giants cook?” Molly asked with surprise.
Olivia smiled. “Oh yes. When Neil and I got married, he had more cooking pots and pans than I. He’s an amazing man.”
“Smells good,” Madison admitted.
Teresa boasted, “And it’ll taste even better.”
And she was correct. Madison and the others stuffed themselves on corn roasted in the husk, grilled steaks, spit-roasted chicken, and baked beans so good Madison groaned.
Hearing him, Teresa laughed, asking, “That good?”
“That good.”
They were eating in Olivia and Neil’s backyard seated at tables set out in the grass. When the couple married seven years ago, the area behind the house had been mostly open prairie. Now a few houses dotted the landscape, but none were close enough to intrude on the Julys and their guests.
Teresa could see that her brothers were enjoying catching up on what they’d been doing since the last time they saw one another, but the real reason they’d come together wasn’t lost on them, and it made for a somewhat subdued gathering.
Madison, seated at the table with Teresa and his mother, asked, “Who’s the oldest?”
“Neil and Shafts,” Teresa responded.
“They’re twins,” Molly added knowledgeably. “They have different mothers but were born on the same day. Isn’t that interesting?”
Madison nodded over his raised glass of lemonade. “Very.” What he really wanted to know was why Neil seemed to be watching him. Every time Madison looked up, the black eyes of Teresa’s oldest brother were directed his way. Madison figured he’d find out soon enough, but it was difficult not to be bothered by the silent scrutiny.
After the meal, Neil came over to their table. “You ready, T?”
Teresa nodded solemnly. “Yeah.”
She and her brothers were going to the cemetery. Neil had held off on setting the headstone until the rest of his siblings arrived. Now the time had come.
As she got to her feet, she looked at Madison. “Not sure how long this will be.”
“Don’t worry about us,” he replied quietly. “Mother and I will head back to the hotel. I’m sure we can find our way without getting lost.”
She nodded. “I’ll see you both later, or in the morning.”
Molly added, “Like Madison said, you just go on. We’ll be fine.”
Teresa and Neil joined the others. Neil took Olivia by the hand, and the Julys walked off across the prairie.
At the graveside, Teresa looked down at the mound of fresh-looking earth and let the sorrow that had been trying to claim her since she received the news have its head. All of the sadness she’d ever experienced in her life when put together didn’t come close to equaling what she felt at that moment. Tamar and her light had illuminated them all.
Teresa had no idea when the July burial tradition started or where it originated, but her family had been holding funerals this way since before the forced removal west. The ceremonial salutes that would be given always followed the birth order of the mourners, so Neil and Two Shafts were first. Neil saluted the grave with the bottle of wine passed to him by Olivia, then said in a firm, clear voice, “Tamar, as your eldest, I am the one who will tend your grave. That is my promise to you.” He took a sip of the wine, then poured some of what was in the bottle onto the earth, and handed the bottle to Two Shafts.
Two Shafts said, “Tamar, you took me in and raised me even though I was not your blood. I will always call you Mother. That is my promise.” He repeated Neil’s actions, and after pouring a bit more of the wine onto the grave, handed the bottle off.
Harp followed. After thanking Tamar for stressing education for her children even though she had no formal schooling, he pledged to build a school on the land he owned in Montana and to name it for her.
When Diego stepped up, his eyes were wet. He said solemnly, “Tamar, the day after I was born, you took me in, and I became your son.” He whispered, his voice thick, “I promise to always hold you in my heart.”
Finally, it was Teresa’s turn. The tears were threatening to spill down her cheeks. She wiped them away as she offered up the final words. “Tamar, I am your youngest child, and your only daughter. I will make sure the circle of our family continues. That is my promise.” She poured the remaining libation onto the grave while her brothers looked on with pain. The caretaker of the cemetery had left shovels nearby. Each sibling tossed on a shovelful of dirt until the headstone was in place, and once the task was completed, a thick silence descended. Tamar was gone and the promises made. Now the Julys had to walk in a future without her.
For the next two days, Teresa buried her grief by showing Madison and his mother around the Great Solomon Valley, named after the Solomon River that ran through it. The valley was home to two all-Black towns. Nicodemus, the most famous, had been founded after the Great Exodus of 1879, when thousands of Blacks left the South to seek land and opportunity, and to escape the awful days of Redemption following the collapse of Reconstruction. Henry Adams was smaller and lesser known, but thanks to Olivia’s successful lobbying, it had received the area’s railroad spur instead of Nicodemus, and without access to the railroad, Nicodemus’s future viability appeared uncertain.
Teresa and Madison spent the days being polite. Outwardly, they were committed to upholding the agreement they’d come to about no more passion things, but inside, both were finding the edict difficult to obey. Every time Madison looked her way, his need for her rose, and Teresa wasn’t doing much better. Being near him made her remember his hands skimming over her body and the pressure of his kiss against her neck. Neither of them stepped outside of the boundaries they’d erected, but whenever their eyes met, they both felt the call.