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Thirty Miles South of Denton
March 1861
Chapter One
"Isn't he the dreamiest man you've ever seen?" Beth Sawyer sighed as she grabbed the rope from the tree and swung on it. The sound of the rope against the tree was lulling, like the soft muted sounds of a rocking chair.
"Oh Beth, you gotta be careful around Pa these days. He's liable to trade you to that man just for food on the table." Her sister, Martina warned aloud with a giggle.
"I wouldn't mind. He's dreamy." Beth stole another look at the man who was talking to her father on the back porch. They were far enough away the man couldn't possibly hear them.
It hadn't dawned on Beth that she was a fully grown woman now. She had plenty of time to find a husband, and yet every time she glanced at the stranger, her heartbeat quickened.
The East Texas wind blew over Beth's face, cooling her from the sun that promised to scorch before the day was over. It was early April but the summer promised a long hot dry spell. Bluebonnets dotted the fields in the distance, The old oak tree shadowed most of the backyard, Beth loved that old tree. She figured it must have been here a hundred years or more, seeing how tall it stood. The rope from the swing made a settling sound, and Beth glanced up into the center of the old tree.
"Don't you just love this old tree."
"Never thought much about it, it's just a tree…" Martina looked at her sister strangely. "Who do you think you are, Beth Sawyer, Mother Nature?"
"Yeah, but how many times have we sat out here, swinging and enjoying its shade." Beth exclaimed. "You have to learn to appreciate things Martina, don't take everything for granted."
"You talk as if you are going somewhere." Martina frowned. "It'll still be here when we have children."
"Yes but will we?"
"Will we what?" Martina chuckled.
"Be here!" Beth glanced at her, arching a brow.
"Well, where are we going to go, silly?"
"We'll be married, we can't live with Ma and Pa forever, you know. I been thinking about that more and more lately. This won't be our home, forever. Haven't you seriously thought about marriage Martina? I mean look at us, we are fully growed. We can't indulge in childhood fantasies all our lives you know. Don't you want to get married and have children of your own?"
"Don't talk like that, I don't want to ever leave. And I don't want children…at least not right away. I've been surrounded by children all my life. If I get married I want to enjoy just being special to someone."
"I want lots of children…but we're going to have to, someday. "
"You're growing up too fast Beth. I don't want you to leave me here…alone with Ma and Pa and all the others." Martina cried out. "If you go, I go."
"Well, I am of age…" Beth laughed. "But I figure I got a few years left here. After all, I haven't met anyone I want to marry yet. I'm not in love yet."
"Would you leave me here?" Martina gasped. "I mean, if you did meet someone."
"I wouldn't want to, but if I had a husband…I would. I sure would." Beth giggled, then sighed as she stared at the handsome stranger. "I just never seen a man so good looking as that one before. He's tall, thin, and look at those eyes and lashes. Make's a girl want to swoon. Look how his shoulders are wide, and yet, his chest tapers to a thin waist and long legs."
"My, you are looking, aren't you?" Martina frowned at the man now. "Well, he is handsome, and truly built like a man, but…you can't leave me! I won't allow it."
"I'm not going anywhere. Stop your fretting. He hasn't even so much as glanced my way. What makes you think he'd be interested in me, anyhow." Beth chuckled. "But he's sure a looker."
"You can't judge a man by his looks. What if he's mean. What if he beat you every night?" Martina let her imagination run away with itself.
Beth closed her eyes and smiled. "As long as he kissed me better, I might let him." She giggled again.
Martina didn't laugh though. Martina looked from the stranger to Beth and a worry wrinkled formed on her forehead.
Beth shook her head at her. "Silly, you gotta get your head out of the clouds. Ain't no man gonna rescue us from this place. We're stuck here, with ten other brothers and sisters. We'll never get away. Who would watch the kids when they go into town? Ma and Pa would never let us go with a man…"
"I'm not so sure. Ma's sure been talkin' to us a lot about the birds and bees. Gotta be a reason, don't you think?"
Beth's mouth took on a downward curve. "Hadn't thought of that. She has hasn't she. Wonder why? Maybe she thinks we aren't listening."
Martina laughed. "Oh I listened alright, but I just don't quite understand it all. I seen animals do it all the time, but it sure don't look like fun to me."
"Come to think of it…. You know as well as I do that Pa tried to hook me up with that tinker man last year. Thank goodness they found out he was married before they tried to marry me off to him." Beth said with a huff. "And you're right…Ma's been telling us both about the birds and bees for months now. I think she has a reason. You and I are marrying age, you know. That's downright scary when you think on it, Martina. I've been so busy lately with chores I hadn't noticed, but we are what they call, 'Ripe for the picking'. And they have a house full of kids they can't support. That's a big hint that they want us to get out of here. Naturally, I'll be the first to go, beings I'm the oldest. You'll be next. And no telling where we will end up in a year or two. But if I have to g
et hooked up with a man, let it be someone as handsome as this one. Wouldn't that be something?"
"You are encouragable. Why, if I didn't know better, I'd say you are anxious to hook up with some man." Martina laughed.
Beth shrugged. "I get some stirrings every now and then. According to Mama that's natural. But most of the boys we know sure don't encourage those feelings. I'm just saying that if I did get hooked up with a man, I'd want him to be a looker, like that one." Beth sighed nodding toward the tall dark stranger that sat on the porch with their Pa. "But I am foolin'. I'm not ready to get married yet. I haven't fallen in love with anyone. You can't get married until your in love, you know. Ma and Pa wouldn't just sell us down the river. Would they?"
Martina rolled her eyes.
"You think you have to fall in love to get married?" Martina asked as she pushed Beth in the old swing. "Haven't you heard of the arranging thing some do? Why Laura Saunders was just like us and then one day her folks decided she was going to marry someone from way up north that she'd never met. I felt so sorry for her. She didn't even know the man. Can you imagine that?"
Beth turned her head to look at her. "Poor Laura, I remember the day she left, she was shaking like a leaf. And never even seen the man. That must have been so hard on her."
"I don't know. Maybe they do want to get rid of us. Getting married is scary. You go from a home full of people to just two. Maybe I shouldn't say that, that makes me want to get married." Martina rationalized it, and then giggled aloud. "Is he staying for supper?"
Martina nodded toward the stranger.
"I don't know. I don't know if there is enough for him to eat with us." Beth watched her mother from a distance. "It's downright embarrassing that we don't have enough to feed company. But we aren't alone. This past year has seen little profits for anyone. There just wasn't enough rain to get good crops in. Papa should have planted cotton, they say it don't take as much water."
"You gonna tell Papa how to farm now?" Martina frowned.
"No, but I've read about it. Cotton is the easier thing to grow in Texas."
