Clean Romance 4 You

Chapter 1

“Oh, please help us find shelter soon,” Sadie Evans muttered as she put a small, frozen hand to her cold face to shield her eyes from the snow. She desperately searched through the deathly white blizzard for any sign of shelter or protection from the bitter, winter elements of the west. According to her calculations, she should have reached the next fort or station by now but it was nowhere in site. Nothing was. For all she knew, she now traveled in the wrong direction or had been going in circles. Unable to locate anything, she exhaled a loud scream of frustration and urged the team of horses forward. She was frozen to the bone and unless she found shelter soon, she and her sister would surely die.

The storm started nearly an hour before but the snow had been light and the winds nonexistent. Only in the last half an hour did the winds pick up, the visibility reduced to only a couple of feet and it was becoming worse by the minute. The small crystals of frozen water that Sadie usually viewed as beautiful diamonds in nature now pelted her face with stinging fury. The thin, wet shawl she wore tightly around her shoulders did little to protect her as another gust of wind stabbed her flesh with the sharpness of hundreds of needles. Ice cycles were hanging from the reigns she held in her hand and nearly every other part of the covered wagon. Glancing back, she tried to see if her sister was warm and protected. The snow swirled around so fast and thick that Sadie could see very little.

Stopping the horses, she climbed back into the wagon. Feeling her way through the dark she finally found her sister. Yet despite the four blankets she was bundled in, Ella Evans was nearly frozen solid. Panicked, Sadie quickly removed Ella’s blankets and put her ear to the four-year-old’s chest in order to hear a heart beat. Finding one, however faint, Sadie sighed with relief and began vigorously rubbing at the young girl’s flesh in order to warm her. She was only able to keep this up for a short while, however, before her own arms began to throb from the exertion. She considered snuggling up with her sister but knew her wet and now frozen skirts would only serve to freeze the young girl faster. So taking the blankets, she again wrapped Ella in their dryness. Then taking the last blanket, she pulled it over herself, laid down next to the unconscious child and waited for sleep or death to overtake her.

Moments before it did, however, Sadie heard the voice of a man. Perhaps it was her father and she was indeed approaching death. Suddenly, though, Sadie felt the wagon lurch forward. Caring little whether the horses were moving of their own accord or if someone was stealing the wagon – after all, Indians were said to roam these lands – she remained under her blanket with a constant prayer in her heart that she and Ella would not suffer more than they already had.

* * * * *

Slowly and ever so cautiously, Sadie opened her heavy eyelids. Though the light was quite dim, she squinted, allowing her eyes to adjust. Gradually she became accustomed to the light and her eyes began to explore her surroundings. When she had first awoken she had imagined she was probably in heaven. Upon more careful examination, however, she discovered she lay in a very small log room that was not nearly so grand. To her right was a small night stand containing various medicinal supplies and tonics. To her left stood an empty cot and a fireplace aglow with a warm fire. The two windows in the room were shaded and there was an elderly woman sitting in the far corner with a book.

Instantly Sadie became aware of her situation and panic gripped her. Where was she and where was Ella? She tried to sit up and get a better look around, but her body was weak and she only managed to groan and attract the attention of the older woman.

“You shouldn’t exert so much energy, child. You’ve been very ill ever since Amit brought you here nearly five nights ago,” the old woman cautioned.

Halting her attempts to sit, since her body wasn’t responding anyway, she tried to address the old woman. As she opened her mouth, her voice failed her much like her body had before. The woman beside her rushed to the other side of the bed and slowly gave Sadie a drink of water. After a few moments, she attempted to speak again. “Where’s my sister, Ella?” Her words were raspy sounding but at least they came. “Who are you and…where am I?”

“You are safe here at Platte Bridge Station, child. This station is owned and run by the United States Army. My name is Mary Beth Stevenson. I stay here to mother the soldiers and tend to the sick. As for Ella, well she’s probably out playing in the snow again. Amit gave her a hat and some mittens. They’re a little on the big side and we had to tie them on with yarn, but they’ll keep her warm,” the woman said with a smile.

“How…” her next utterance was stalled by the sudden onset of a severe cough deep within her lungs.

“Oh that cough is terribly low child but at least your fever is gone. Still, you really should get some rest,” Mary Beth mothered. But Sadie pushed the caution aside.

“How did I get here,” she said in a barely audible whisper.

Mary Beth smiled and went to retrieve her chair and brought it beside the girl’s cot. She sat down and folded her hands in her lap before she began. “Nearly five nights ago we had that terrible blizzard. It seemed to come out of nowhere, which can happen around here. Even in early October. Most of the boys on the watch crew that night had gone inside when it got bad, deciding that no one would endanger the station in such weather. All went inside but Amit. He’s a special boy and sometimes seems to have a sixth sense. Anyway, after not too long he heard a scream, and I can only assume it was yours. He went to the front gates and probably not more than twenty yards from them he found your wagon. So he drove the team on in and when he reached the stables, he discovered you and your sister. He brought you both into me and we thought you were a goner. Only God’s saving grace allowed you to live after such an ordeal. However, your sister woke up the following morning and has been taking all the boys around here by her charm. So that’s the whole of it. Amit and I think you both should weather out the winter here. After the first snow, it only gets worse, I hear. Then you can start off for California in the spring.” When a look of confusion crossed Sadie’s face, Mary Beth explained, “Ella told me that’s where you’re bound.”

Sadie nodded as she tried to absorb all this information. This Amit person must have been the man she heard shortly before she fell unconscious. She closed her eyes and offered up a quick silent prayer of gratitude that she and her sister were safe. When she opened her eyes again, she saw Mary Beth standing over her with a glass in her hand. “Why don’t you have another drink, child, and then get some rest.”

The water was refreshing and before she knew it, Sadie could feel herself dozing off once more.

* * * * *

“Sergeant Brackston,” a man called out as the sergeant entered the mess hall two mornings later.

“Morning, Tom,” Sergeant Brackston replied as the man came to stand beside him.

“Have you heard what Amit’s been up to as of late?” Corporal Tom Harris asked.

“Are you talking about the kitchen incident last night or this business with that girl and her kid sister,” the sergeant grumbled.

“Well I was talking about the girl, but now that you mention it, last night was pretty funny,” Tom chuckled.

Sergeant Parker Brackston closed his eyes as he tried to block the memory from his mind. Amit was always doing something outrageous and last night was no exception. Midway through supper, everyone heard a sudden banging of pots and pans. Shortly after that, Amit came screaming through the mess hall, bare as the day he was born save an apron around his waste and the end of a mop tied to his head. Straddling a broom, he galloped around the room with spaghetti sauce smeared on his face like war paint and hollering at the top of his lungs, “Soldiers comin’! Soldiers comin’!” Of course everyone had laughed until their sides hurt but Sergeant Parker Brackston had been furious. Yet what could he do? All the men loved Amit. He was a comic relief in this often dreary wasteland but Parker could only view his antics with regret.

Breaking from his thoughts, Parker shook his head and said, “What about the girl?”

“You heard she’d woken up a couple days back, right?” The sergeant nodded and Tom continued. “Well rumor has it that she’s up and doing well. Someone said she’s the prettiest thing this side a heaven.”

Parker frowned. “Hope she doesn’t get in the way of things. When’s she leaving?”

“That’s the thing. I think between Amit and Mary Beth, they’ve talked her into wintering here,” Tom said with a delighted smile. “Sure will be nice to have a pretty face around to look at on long, cold nights.”

Parker could feel his temper flare at his friend’s comment but had no time to respond. For in that very same moment his attention, along with every other soldier in the hall, was captured as the door opened and gave birth to the most beautiful woman he’d seen in a long time. Her hair was the color of chestnuts and it flowed long and full down her back. Her features were soft and delicate and she walked with the grace and poise of an angel, despite her slow pace and the assistance of Mary Beth and a young child. He noted that the young woman was unusually small but found that an unwanted smile was trying to steal across his face. This only served to anger him more, for he was always in control of everything. So for this child, for she could be no more than that, to turn his mind all sappy caused him to become overly upset. Not to mention, the men would never get a thing done with the likes of her roaming the station.

* * * * *

Self consciousness enveloped Sadie’s entire being as she stepped into the mess hall. Mary Beth’s assistance was appreciated but it was difficult for Sadie to swallow her pride and allow someone else to help her. Her weakened state humiliated her. If it had not been for her growling stomach, she would have remained in bed. However, Mary Beth encouraged her that the exercise and fresh air would help rejuvenate her faster. So, she found herself concentrating on putting one foot in front of the other, doing her best to avoid all the interested male eyes gazing at her.

Trying to appear unruffled, Sadie stood as tall as her petite form would allow and walked into the room with as much confidence as she could muster. She tried to ignore the fact that her dress was wrinkled and very worn. Though the blue color of the dress added a natural glow to her pale skin, her hair hung loosely around her shoulders because she had no energy to pull it back again. Mary Beth had attempted to put it in a loose braid, but the woman was no hairdresser and the wind in this God forsaken country had destroyed it on the short walk across the station. Sadie was simply amazed that the wind could howl like it did here. Never in her life had she ever witnessed anything like it before. Needless to say, she doubted it would ever do any good to spend much time on her hair while she was here.

Rather than look at the men, who were so obviously mesmerized by a new woman at the station, she quickly glanced to Mary Beth who directed her as to how to go about things.

After the women had gotten their food and were sitting down, Sadie noticed a very handsome man approaching them. He stood a good head taller than her but he was not overly tall. His hair was the color of gingerbread and his eyes were a steel gray. His shoulders were broad and as he came striding toward the women, he looked very daunting and intimidating. He finally reached them and sat across from them at the table. Sadie expected him to say something but he just sat there with his eyes boring into her.

Feeling somewhat shy and already having her feathers of confidence ruffled by her entrance, she leaned over to help Ella cut her sausage patty into pieces. She could feel the man’s eyes upon her and it unnerved her. As she finished up with her sister, she turned to meet the stranger’s piercing gaze. The scowl on his face was unusual. Almost like a forced scowl. As though he was enduring an internal battle of sorts and losing. Still, his ever present, unpleasant gaze made her uneasy and she took the bait.

“I’m sorry,” she snapped rudely. “Was there something you intended to say or are you simply the bearer of unpleasantness?”

The man audibly growled as his scowl turned more genuine. “What’s your name, girl, and what’s your business here at Platte Bride Station?”

Sadie tossed her limp hair over her shoulder with as much haughtiness as she could. This man was rude and not someone she wished to associate with. “My name is Sadie Evans and this is my sister, Ella,” she said with a smile to the child. “I’m sure you heard already that we’re bound for California to live with my aunt and uncle but were inconvenienced by the storm. So we find ourselves in the present company,” she said with an arrogant sneer to meet his deepening scowl. “And may I have the delight in learning the name of my rude conversation partner or has your scowl and inappropriate staring affected your speaking abilities?”

“You have a lot of nerve, girl!” he bellowed as he stood and placed his hands on the table. He leaned over the table toward her and looked as though he might move to strike her. “I’m Sergeant Parker Brackston and you will answer to me for any and all of your needs. Understand!?”

“I am not one of your soldiers, sir, and I will not be treated as such,” she informed him calmly, though she could feel her temper wanting to flare. “Therefore, I would appreciate it if you addressed me as a gentleman would a lady.”

“I will not take orders from a child!” he roared as he angrily threw his chair out of his way, stepping back from the table. “You will do as I tell you just like everyone else around here. No exceptions. I will not have you disrespecting me and then walk around here with an air of superiority and turn every man’s head, distracting him from his work.”

“Pardon me, but I will not respect someone who will not respect me,” she said confidently meeting his stare. Their gazes locked and for an instant Sadie felt her heart flutter with unfamiliar emotion. There was something different about this man then any other she had met before. Still, his manner was maddening and she quickly stilled the fluttering of her heart. A second later he left, plowing through the door of the mess hall and muttering something under his breath.

The room was quiet as everyone ate their meal and pretended not to have heard the confrontational conversation between Sadie and the unsettling sergeant. Sadie began to eat her meal and marveled that her sister was eating so well and not talking someone’s ear off. That was undoubtedly due to the fact that this simple meal outweighed what they had been eating on the trail.

Finally, after several minutes, Mary Beth leaned over and said, “That was very bold, dear.”

“What?” Sadie asked innocently.

“Speaking to Parker that way. He’s not accustomed to confrontation. When he gives an order, he expects it to be carried out.”

“Well, perhaps if he hadn’t been so rude… I’m not accustomed to such staring at and being treated so cruelly.”

“Even so,” Mary Beth said with a knowing smile. “Parker won’t be very pleasant the rest of the day.”