“No, not this time, but I will with you in the future.” He pulled up her drawers and straightened her skirts over her backside. He stood with her.
“Jesse, can I tell you something without you getting mad at me?”
Jesse brushed off some hay he’d missed that had somehow gotten lodged between his vest and shirt. “Sure, honey. What is it?”
“I know I’m not allowed to sing and dance in the saloon, and I won’t ask again, but it makes me sad. I won’t be able to sing with other people now that I won’t be going to church, and I don’t see how I’ll ever be able to dance anywhere.”
Jesse rubbed his hand over the sharp stubble growing on his jaw. He hadn’t had a chance to give himself a scrape that morning. “Well, I could take you to the barn dances that happen every month or so. Would you like that?”
Her eyes lit up and she nodded emphatically. “Oh, yes. I’ve always wanted to go, but I never had anyone to go with. Elijah didn’t approve. He said dancing is of the devil.”
Jesse didn’t bother to hide his scorn. “Right, and I suppose he reckons whore-mongering and violence are godly activities.”
“He’s a hypocrite,” Lily said firmly, then looked at Jesse tentatively, appearing worried that she’d done something wrong in speaking negatively about another person.
“Yes, darlin’, that would be the right word for him. You’re such a sweet angel. I can hardly stand the knowledge that you were with him. But you’re stuck with me now. I’m never letting you go.”
She searched his eyes. “Does that mean you want to marry me, Jesse?”
He coughed out a surprised laugh. “That’s generally what courtship leads to, Lily.”
“When will you propose?”
Jesse stared at her, exasperated. “How about we let that be a surprise?”
She grinned at him. “All right, Jesse. I like surprises.”
He moved forward suddenly and captured her lips. He slowly explored every inch of her warm mouth. She tasted delicious to him, like strawberries and milk. When he released her, he said, “How was that for a surprise, darlin’?”
“It was good,” she said breathlessly. “I like it when you kiss me.”
“I’m glad because I like kissing you.” He looked around the barn. “What chores do you have left to do today?”
“I’ve got to feed the chickens and gather their eggs, fill the horses’ water troughs, and give the pigs their slop.”
“How about if I help you before I get back to the saloon?”
She smiled. “That’s nice of you, Jesse, but you don’t have to. You’re not dressed to do farm work.”
He pretended to be annoyed. “Well, someone already got me dirty, if you recall.” He slapped off another piece of hay from his trousers. “I might as well help. That was your plan to begin with, wasn’t it? To get me to help you do your chores?”
She gasped. “No, of course not.” She sounded appalled.
He burst out laughing and grabbed an empty bucket. On his way out of the barn to the well, he gave her bottom a hard smack and grinned when she squealed and reached around to clutch her well-spanked cheeks.
Chapter Eight: Lily’s Little Admission
Around town, talk of the preacher’s crime diminished, but the dislike between Jesse and Elijah did not. Jesse chose to avoid the preacher as much as possible. His main reason for doing so was to prevent himself from throttling the daylights out of him. He didn’t want to end up being thrown in a cell. Every time he saw Maria’s scar or thought about the man’s hands gripped roughly around Lily’s arms, rage would boil up inside of him. That’s when he would turn his thoughts to Lily. He thought about her kind heart and open nature. His anger would fade into the background then, replaced by love and hope for the future.
The town was still divided, but the line blurred over time. Some people would attend church on Sunday mornings and grab a beer at the saloon on Sunday evenings. Among these people was Lily’s father. Jesse tried not to let it bother him, but by Roy attending Elijah’s church, it was clear that he didn’t believe Jesse’s version of events. Roy wouldn’t go listen to the preacher if he believed the man had cut a woman’s face.
Jesse expressed his feelings of frustration and minor betrayal to Lily on one of their morning get-togethers. Lily reclined on the ground in the barn, using a hay bale to lean against, while Jesse sat on a bench across from her. “I sure wish your pa would take a stance and believe me over Elijah,” he told her.