His words weren’t the only thing he regretted. He also regretted that he hadn’t tried to court her before Elijah moved in. Ever since the day he’d spanked her, he’d made a point of asking her how she fared whenever he saw her in town. The innocence and vulnerability she displayed brought out a powerful desire in him to protect her. By the time he’d admitted to himself that his feelings were of a romantic nature too, she’d accepted another man’s advances.
Jesse didn’t know much about the young preacher, having not attended a single service since Sadie’s funeral, but he knew that Elijah was well-respected in the community and likely had the best of intentions in courting Lily. Jesse felt troubled, though, as he recalled her demeanor. She seemed sad and confused, not exactly the feelings he would expect from a woman in love. Perhaps he caught her on a bad day. He hoped so. He hoped the preacher treated her as she deserved to be treated. He decided to learn more about the situation and also apologize to her.
The next morning, he saddled his bay mustang and rode to the farm where Lily lived with her parents. Her father Roy greeted him as he dismounted. Roy was a regular at the saloon, but only for poker and beer. He never asked for a whore, and Jesse respected him for that. Jesse was the same. In all the time Jesse had owned the saloon, he’d refrained from partaking in that aspect of his enterprise. He didn’t judge a man for buying a night in the arms of a woman, especially since women were in such short supply in their county, but every time he thought about doing it himself, his wife’s sweet face would come to mind, and suddenly he’d be unable to muster the desire to be with another woman. That all changed the day Lily parked her cute bottom on a stool in his saloon. He had no trouble at all envisioning Lily wrapped up in his arms for a night of passion.
The men shook hands, and Roy said, “What’re you doin’ coming all the way out here, Jesse? Trying to sell me some moonshine?”
Jesse shook his head and smiled. “Nah, actually I’ve come to see your daughter. I’m afraid I might have offended her yesterday, and I’d like to apologize.”
“Oh? She didn’t say anything about it, but if you’d like to see her, you’ll likely find her tending to the chickens.”
Jesse thanked him and walked in the direction that Roy pointed. He heard Lily’s singing before he saw her. She sang ‘Oh My Darling, Clementine’ in the sweetest soprano he could ever recall hearing. When he rounded the corner of the barn, he saw her. She faced away from him, plucking eggs from beneath the hens.
Jesse stopped and listened to her without announcing his presence. He suppressed laughter with considerable difficulty. She had a beautiful voice, but she made up most of the words and belted out gibberish when she couldn’t remember the lyrics.
When she got to the verse about the miner aging, he chimed in before she had the chance to slaughter it. She stopped singing, whirled around, and stared at him, wide-eyed, as he sang in her stead.
Then the miner, forty-niner,
Soon began to peak and pine,
Thought he oughter join his daughter,
Now he’s with his Clementine.
By the time he reached the chorus, she’d recovered from her surprise and joined him in singing. He harmonized while she took over the melody.
Oh my darling, oh my darling,
Oh my darling Clementine.
You are lost and gone forever,
Dreadful sorry, Clementine.
After the final note, she clapped her hands together once and let out a squeal. “Jesse, that was such good fun. I haven’t sung with anyone in ages. Besides at church, of course.” She exited the coop, set her basket of eggs on the ground, and walked to him. She wore a tatty brown dress with odd sparkling buttons. A dirty apron covered the front of her skirt, yet she looked as beautiful to Jesse as ever.
“You have a lovely voice, Miss Lily. I’m not sure the chickens are worthy of it.”
A bigger smile lit her face. “I told you I could sing, didn’t I? And dance,” she added, playfully demonstrating by twirling once.
He laughed. “So you did, so you did.”
He continued to smile at her, and she giggled and curtseyed in front of him. Straightening, she said, “I’m sure you didn’t come here just to hear me sing.”
“No,” he said, sobering. “That was a delightful bonus. I came to apologize for offending you yesterday.”
She frowned at him with a perplexed expression. “I don’t recall you offending me.”
He felt perplexed also. “Then why did you hightail it out of town when I complimented your dress?”
“Oh,” she said, waving her hand dismissively. “I’m sorry about that. It was foolish of me.”
Now he was the one frowning. “But why did you? Tell me.”
She looked down and shifted her stance a bit, then looked back up at him. “I don’t really have a good answer for that. I suppose it just surprised me. And, well…” Her voice trailed off and she looked into the distance.
“Well, what?” he prompted. He needed to understand what troubled her. Something seemed terribly wrong.