Lanterns and Lace

Chapter 23

Jenny waved at the sleek black surrey approaching her. Casey had invited her to spend a day at the Andrews ranch, and she had been thrilled with the prospect of time away from the boardinghouse. Jenny had been ready long before the arranged meeting with the expectation of developing one more friend. As the surrey slowed to a halt, she admired the brass mountings and the fine horse pulling it. Beneath a green and black fringed canopy, Casey sat with Daniel perched beside her.

“I’m your driver,” Casey said. “And I have a helper.”

“I see you do,” Jenny said. “I’m amazed that you manage this all by yourself.” She offered her hand to the small boy. “How do you do, Mr. Daniel?”

He turned shyly and hid his round face in Casey’s skirt. All she could see of him was a mass of auburn curls.

“Daniel, do be polite,” his mother said.

He peeked around with one eye and mumbled a good morning.

“As you can see, Mr. Daniel tends to be a bit shy. He’s not at all like his cousin Rebecca,” Casey said. “Both of them are the same age, but she is months ahead of him. Climb on up, Jenny. I’ve been looking forward to spending the day with you for a long time.”

Jenny tugged at her skirt and clumsily attempted to board the surrey. When her foot refused to secure a firm hold, Casey offered a hand.

“Goodness, being short can be a problem,” Jenny said and seated herself beside Daniel. She leaned his way. “Your mama rescued me.”

The child wordlessly clung to his mother, and she soon realized this was the little boy’s typical behavior.

“Oh my, I do apologize,” Casey said. “I have nightmares of him being thirty years old and still tugging at my skirts.”

The two shared a laugh, but Daniel didn’t budge or squeak a word.

“What do you have planned for us?” Jenny said as the surrey rolled out of town.

“I’m not quite sure. Last week I put up peas and sweet corn, and yesterday I made pickles, so we’re free to do as we like. It’s much too hot a day to spend in the kitchen. We’ll just have a wonderful time doing whatever we please. Perhaps a tour of the ranch would be in order?”

“Splendid. I know absolutely nothing about ranch life, so this will be something I can relate to my students.”

“Chad and Lark could give you a wealth of information specific to children their age, but Chad is spending the day riding fence with a few of our hands, and Lark is visiting her grandparents.”

Disappointment needled her, but Jenny didn’t show it. Chad and Lark displayed excellent manners, and their inquisitive minds were a delight. At times she missed her students back home.

Casey laughed. “They’ll be back for dinner. Do you plan to journey to Ohio before the start of the school year?”

“Oh, yes. Sometime around the first of September.” Jenny didn’t want to delve deeper into her life in Cleveland, especially when her future there looked uncertain.

“I’d imagine your parents miss you. I certainly fuss over my children, even when they are fussing at each other.” Casey gave her a sweet smile.

Jenny hesitated, not quite sure how to respond. “I’m sure my parents would like me home.” After tasting independence, she had no desire to step back under the domination of her parents. Last night’s efforts at writing them had resulted in one crumpled sheet of paper after another. How could she ever make them understand her feelings without sounding rebellious and unappreciative of all they’d done? Hopefully after spending the day with Casey, the right words would flow from her heart and her pen.

The beauty of the thick green countryside was breathtaking. Each little bend in the road was dotted with pastel wildflowers, and a grove of trees offered a breezy serenity of its own. Jenny wished she knew how to paint so she could capture the color and vibrancy on canvas and take it back to Cleveland for the long months ahead.

Casey pointed to a small hill ahead of them. “This marks the beginning of our ranch. You can see cattle and horses grazing in the distance.”

Jenny shaded her eyes to view the animals. “It’s so grand. What do you call it?”

“The Double H after Morgan’s father, Hayden. Jocelyn used to refer to their homestead as Hayden’s Heaven. Later they shortened the name to the Double H for branding purposes.”

“What happened to Mr. Andrews?”

“He died of a rattlesnake bite just as the ranch began to flourish. Jocelyn took over the hundreds of acres, determined to make a success of their dream. She bought cattle and horses, built and mended fences, acquired more land, and did whatever else she deemed necessary. All the while raising their children alone.”

“How courageous. So Mrs. Rainer originally ran this ranch. This is definitely a story I’ll want to share in my classroom. You must be proud of her legacy.”

“The hardest part of her marrying the reverend was turning over all the ranch’s management to Morgan and me.” She laughed. “Now she says it was easier to maintain the Double H than to keep up with the reverend’s schedule.”

Jenny could tell Casey loved every inch of the land. She gave a lengthy tour in the surrey, since Jenny had never ridden a horse. She introduced Jenny to all the ranch hands and proudly displayed a breed of cattle that Jocelyn and Grant had developed years before. Beautiful dark brown horses lifted their heads when the surrey passed. She laughed at the spring colts frolicking about the green pastures as though they were the owners. They visited barns and rode along a narrow river winding through their property. Genuinely impressed, Jenny asked questions and discovered Casey displayed excellent business skills, far more than any woman she’d ever met.

At noon both women assisted the cook—a rather hard-looking fellow. They filled plates of roast venison, potatoes, and carrots for the ranch hands. Afterward, the two women and Daniel ate their meal under a huge elm tree. Soon the small boy crawled up into his mother’s lap and slept while she stroked his cheek. The tender scene reminded Jenny of the first time she’d viewed Rebecca and Grant.

“You have such a beautiful home,” Jenny said. “So quiet and peaceful. I think Jocelyn gave it a rightful name.”

“God has been good to us,” Casey said. “We’ve been able to add on to the original home and furnish it nicely as we’ve seen a profit. But it takes a lot of hard work.”

“It must be easy for you to feel grateful. Your whole life centers on God.”

“Not always.”

“Goodness, your life couldn’t have been as dismal as mine,” Jenny said, somewhat indignant. “Shall we compare?”

“You go first.”

Jenny took a quick breath. All the emotions about Jessica, Aubrey Turner, and her miserable life in Cleveland surfaced, and she fought for control as she slowly unveiled the tale of her unhappy life. “So I thought if I brought Rebecca back to Cleveland, my parents would look at me more favorably.” Finally, she took a ragged breath. “How foolish I’ve been. My niece belongs with Grant. Why ever did I think I could subject a little girl to such cruelty?”

She couldn’t tell Casey about the journal and the stolen money. Maybe another time. Maybe never, for Jenny hadn’t come to terms with the realization her sister had not only worked as a prostitute but had also stolen money.

Casey nodded solemnly before speaking. Her pale blue gaze lifted in understanding. “I can see why you don’t speak of home. I’m sorry life has been difficult for you.” The lovely woman paused, and a pained look swept over her face before she quietly began her story.

“I rode with an outlaw gang from the age of thirteen until I was twenty-one. By the time I reached my fourteenth birthday, my face was on wanted posters all over the West.”

Jenny gasped, bewildered. “I had no idea. How horrible.”

“For me? Or for the life I led?”

Jenny opened her mouth to speak but abruptly closed it.

“Both?” Casey patted her hand. “I understand the revulsion. I’m not proud of it, either.”

Jenny forced a smile, too embarrassed to comment.

Casey glanced down at Daniel, who slept peacefully. “I want to tell you about my life. It shows the wonder of God’s grace and His love and forgiveness for all of us. Perhaps then you will better see how Jessica was able to embrace God.”

In the stillness of the warm summer afternoon amid the hum of busy insects and a napping little boy, Casey unfolded the early years of her life.

“My mother died when I was barely thirteen. My father drank night and day and took to beating my older brother Tim and me. Tim soon had enough of the abuse and decided to strike out on his own. He even went so far as to arrange for me to live with a local storekeeper and his wife. Well, I’m pretty stubborn, and I dearly loved my brother, so when he left home, I stole Pa’s horse and trailed him for three days before I let him know about me.

“Oh, Tim was furious. He threatened to beat me worse than our pa ever had. I begged and pleaded, and in the end he allowed me to go with him. He outfitted me in boy’s clothes and made me pile all of my hair up under a hat, and off we went to see the world.” She paused, and the look in her eyes wove together regret and sorrow.

Jenny remembered Ellen speaking of Casey’s ability to shoot well and understood others in Kahlerville knew the story. How ever did she bear the shame of it?

Casey glanced back at Jenny and nodded as though she’d resolved whatever had pained her in the past. “My brother taught me how to shoot, and it wasn’t long before I could outshoot him. Little did I realize I would live to regret my speed and accuracy.”

“I’m so sorry for you,” Jenny whispered. “I can’t imagine what you’ve been through.”

“That was just the beginning. Tim joined up with a band of outlaws, led by Davis Jenkins. And I, acting as his little brother, did the cooking and whatever chores the outlaws chose not to do. I stuck to Tim like a pesky fly, and he looked out for me. Our masquerade lasted two weeks before Jenkins discovered I was a girl. Do I have to tell you what that meant?” Not a single sign of bitterness creased her face.

Jenny sensed her own cheeks growing warm. She willed it away, but still it lingered. “I understand.”

“Unfortunately, Jenkins complained that I didn’t do enough to earn my keep and demanded I ride with them on the next job just to hold the horses. They planned to rob a land office in Billings, Montana, and needed me to watch their mounts, to signal any trouble, and to be an extra shot. I’d never been so frightened in my entire life, afraid of the gang’s lawlessness and afraid of making a mistake. About the time my nerves got the best of me, the gang burst through the building with exploding gunfire and smoke everywhere. A man aimed for me, and I shot him. I thought I killed him, but many years later I learned he survived.” Casey glanced down at her sleeping son and planted a kiss on his cheek.

“You don’t have to tell me this,” Jenny said. “You’ve told me enough to realize how selfish I’ve been.”

“No, hear me out.” Casey took a deep breath. “Morgan and I have prayed about telling you our story. We believe God wants you to hear this. Maybe you know why, and it will help.” She brushed her hand back over her auburn hair, neat and perfectly pinned atop her head. Jenny couldn’t picture Casey ever riding with a band of outlaws. She more resembled a proper lady with delicate features and a smile to rival any field of wildflowers. As she deliberated the matter, she couldn’t picture Ellen or Jessica working as prostitutes, either.

“The news traveled fast, and before long I had quite a reputation. The sad part about it was I didn’t do any of the things the law credited to me except the shooting in Billings. I hated the gang, but Jenkins threatened to kill Tim if I left. I realized Jenkins gave the orders, and Tim made sure the men followed through. I wanted a better life, a respectable life, one I could be proud of. I wanted to be something more than a face on a wanted poster or another outlaw hanging from a noose.”

Jenny cringed with the vivid picture. “So you came to Kahlerville?” Like me, looking for answers?

“Not exactly. One day while the outlaws were gone, I packed up my belongings and rode out. Jenkins and the whole bunch came after me. I got trapped in the snow-covered mountains of Utah when Morgan walked into my campsite, took my rifle, and ordered me to follow him. He was gunning for Jenkins and thought he’d use me for bait. Unfortunately, Jenkins did catch up with us. Morgan tried to help me but was seriously wounded in the process. I remembered my mother used to pray, so I asked God to spare his life. Only by His grace did I get Morgan to a doctor. Soon after, I left him with the doctor, fearing Jenkins would find us and finish off Morgan.”

The story seemed to grow worse. How had Casey survived the ordeal?

“I spent the following months running and hiding. I recalled Morgan suggesting I settle in Texas. Partly because I didn’t know where to go and partly because I had fallen in love with him, I came to Texas. Along the way, God put special people in my life who helped me get closer to Him. My life certainly didn’t become any easier, but I no longer had to carry on by myself. Once in Kahlerville, I accepted what God had done for me. He became my peace and my strength.”

Casey clasped Jenny’s hand. “God is so good. He led me right here to Kahlerville. As God works things out for our good, I discovered Morgan lived here, too. I used another name to secure a job nursing Reverend Rainer’s dying wife and finally revealed the truth. But I still lived in fear of Jenkins and the law. I’d been a part of an outlaw gang, and someday I needed to pay for what I’d done. Life was rough—real rough, and I simply had no choice but to put my trust in God. I found out that Jenkins had murdered Morgan’s wife, and Morgan had not been the same since. God not only worked out the problems between us, but He allowed me to receive a full pardon from the governor of Texas and the president of the United States by helping federal marshals locate other outlaws.”

Jenny felt like a child hearing a story with uncertainty. “And the outlaw Jenkins. What happened to him?”

“He caught up with me.” Casey gestured toward the porch. “I was sitting right there with Jocelyn and Bonnie when he surprised us. He had plans to kill me, but my brother surprised him.” She swallowed hard. “Tim was killed trying to save me. Morgan arrived before Jenkins finished me too. He was arrested and later executed according to the law.”

Jenny blinked back her tears. She couldn’t speak the words she longed to—words to commend Casey’s strength . . . and her faith.

“Jenny, you’ve heard my story. Someday I’ll have to tell my children.” She stroked Daniel’s face. “It’s a loathsome tale, yet I’m proof of God’s love. He seeks us out to be His very own. My life had been so horrible, but it all changed when I surrendered to Him. It’s the most important decision that you’ll ever make, and I pray you will soon understand the power of God’s unconditional love.”

“Unconditional?” She’d never heard this word describe God.

“Yes, Jenny. God loves us as we are, but He also loves us too much to let us stay in our sin. That’s why He sought out me and your sister. God doesn’t care what roads we’ve traveled, only that our roads turn to Him.”

The words to respond to Casey never surfaced because Jenny couldn’t utter a sound. Tears filled her eyes, and the hopelessness of her life poured over her face.

“Tears can be good,” Casey said. “They can cleanse us from our misery.”

Jenny nodded. Finally, she felt she could speak. “God seems so far away.”

“Does He? Have you noted the splendid display of wildflowers? Have you listened to a child’s laughter or watched a sunrise or a sunset? Have you seen peace on a person’s face when they should be utterly miserable?”

“I–I have. And I’ve seen a look in Reverend Rainer’s eyes that draws me to a place I don’t deserve.”

Casey smiled. “I want that for you. I want you to be able to face every moment of the day knowing God loves you.”

A quickening in Jenny’s heart nearly frightened her. Yes, she wanted God in her life, and she wanted to thank Jesus for His sacrifice for her. “Can you help me, Casey? Can you show me the way?”