The Sheriff's Sweetheart

Chapter Five

“Ah, Prissy, there you are,” her father boomed as she made her way up the Gilmore House steps. “I was afraid I was going to have to leave a message with Flora.”

“What do you mean, Papa? I was just coming home to have dinner with you.” And then she saw the lady standing behind her father, a lady who looked to be about his age, in a stylish dress of lavender silk with black piping, smiling at her. “Oh! I didn’t know you had company.”

“I didn’t know she was coming, either, until she appeared on our doorstep,” her father said, his voice more jovial than she’d heard it in months. “Prissy, meet Mariah Fairchild. I grew up with her back in Victoria. We were in the same grade together at school—I used to dip her braids in the inkwell.” He chuckled in remembrance. “That was long before I met your dear mama, of course. Her husband Hap was in our class, too.”

“I’m so sorry to hear of your mother’s passing,” Mariah Fairchild said, coming forward. She was a statuesque woman with a wealth of silver hair done up on top of her head. “I saw her portrait in the parlor, dear child, and I see you are very like her—especially about the eyes. It’s so nice to meet you, Priscilla. And what a sweet little dog,” she added, glancing at Houston, who wagged his tail obligingly at her.

“You too, Mrs. Fairchild,” Prissy said, wondering for whom the lady wore half-mourning.

“Yes,” the lady went on. “I lost my Hap a year ago, and when I heard recently about your father’s loss this winter, I just had to come pay a condolence call.”

“Oh. Do you…live very far from here?” Prissy asked, hoping Mariah Fairchild would furnish her with a clue as to why she was here.

“I live in Austin, dear, but I…I’m thinking of relocating, now that Hap has passed on. There are too many memories in that old house I rattle around in,” she said with a gusty sigh.

“I…I see,” Prissy said politely.

“Your father and Hap kept up a correspondence, you know,” Mariah Fairchild went on.

No, I didn’t, Prissy wanted to say. As far as she could remember, her father had never mentioned Hap Fairchild—or his wife.

“And your father was always singing the praises of Simpson Creek. Why, we were so proud to hear that he was elected mayor, Hap and I.” Mariah Fairchild sighed again and delicately wiped a tear from the corner of her eye with a lacy handkerchief. The scent of rosewater wafted toward Prissy. “I just had to come and see for myself if it was as good as he said it was, if this might be the town I would like to live in for the rest of my life.” She smiled tearfully up at Prissy’s father.

Prissy bristled. Papa had lost his wife only six months ago, and already this widow was swooping down on him, hoping for a new husband who was probably wealthier than her last one! She took a deep breath, trying hard to keep her voice civil as she said, “Oh, but if you’re used to a big city like Austin, I’m sure Simpson Creek will seem very dull to you,” she said. “If you blink while you’re riding through, you’d miss the town entirely. There’s no opera hall, and no library—”

“Prissy!” her father protested, “you’re making our fair town sound like a backwater—”

“Oh, but I don’t need those things,” Mariah Fairchild assured her, with a glance at Prissy’s father. “I’m content to lead a very quiet existence.”

“Oh, it’s quiet, all right,” Prissy agreed. “So quiet you can hear a hummingbird’s heartbeat.”

Mariah Fairchild gave a trill of laughter. “It sounds perfect! Well, Prissy—may I call you Prissy?—your father was just about to walk me back to my hotel, and we were going to get a bite of dinner and talk about old times. Why don’t you join us, dear?”

The woman was friendly, but Prissy had to smother the urge to respond like a sulky child. She knew rudeness would distress her father, and she had no real proof that this woman was doing anything more than what she said—paying a condolence call and merely considering moving here. What could be more logical than consulting an old friend who happened to be the town mayor?

“No, thank you, Mrs. Fairchild,” she said with all the politeness she could muster. “Perhaps another time. I’m sure you and Papa have a lot of catching up to do.”

Flora wasn’t going to be pleased about this, either, Prissy thought, watching her father gallantly offer Mariah Fairchild his arm as they descended the steps. She had probably had dinner all ready to serve promptly at noon, when Prissy’s father always wanted it, but now he was going to sashay down to the hotel and take his dinner there with this strange female. Prissy decided she would have to be extra appreciative of whatever Flora had prepared in order to make up for her father’s thoughtlessness.

But she found Flora surprisingly philosophical about the situation.

“Ah, well, chica, it’s not such a big thing. Your father is an important man—this is not the first time he has had to leave right before a meal. I can always give Antonio an extra share. That hombre is always hungry, you know.”

“It’s hardly part of the mayor’s official duties to advise a lonely widow where to live in Simpson Creek,” Prissy grumbled. “Did you see the way she looked at him?”

Flora raised a black eyebrow. “No, but I saw how he looked, Señorita Prissy,” she said, her face stern. “Your papa is a lonely man. He misses your mother, no? He misses having a lady around to smile at, to make conversation with.”

“Flora, he has us to make conversation with,” Prissy protested.

“It’s not the same,” Flora said. “You are his daughter, and I am his employee, and a married woman.”

“But it was only this winter Mama died!”

“Miss Prissy, he does your mother no dishonor by having dinner with an old friend,” Flora said. “You must not be so possessive of your old papa. One day soon you will marry and move out, and then he will be even more lonely.”

Sam Bishop flew into Prissy’s mind before she could stop herself, but it would not do to think of Sam Bishop every time marriage was mentioned. What if he was not the man God had intended for her?

Sam thought Prissy, standing outside the church talking to a bevy of other ladies, was just about the prettiest sight he’d ever seen. She wore a pink dress—of silk, unless he missed his guess—with short puffed sleeves trimmed in white lace. There was matching braid around the bodice, and a pink ribbon belt with matching tassels that emphasized her slender waist, while the back was gathered into a small bustle. High button shoes of white kid adorned her feet. She wore a straw bonnet with a pink ribbon band that enchantingly framed her heart-shaped face. Her strawberry-blond curls streamed down her back.

There were a dozen or so ladies on the lawn, clad in pretty calico, gingham or muslin. Prissy outshone them all, in his opinion.

“Oh, Sam, there you are!” she said, turning to face him, her face brightening and her blue eyes shining.

“Good morning, Miss Priscilla,” he said, tipping his hat.

“Ladies, I’d like to present our new sheriff to those of you who haven’t made his acquaintance.”

He guessed they were all members of the Spinsters’ Club—or, in Sarah Walker’s case, past members. He could practically feel them sizing him up.

“Prissy, have you told Sheriff Bishop about our Spinst—that is, our Society events?” one of the young ladies asked, fluttering her lashes at Sam.

The ladies of the Spinsters’ Club were an interesting assortment—some short, some tall, some pretty, all friendly. It was on the tip of his tongue to mention that he’d seen their advertisement in that Houston newspaper, and that that was why he’d come to Simpson Creek, but just in time he remembered that he had supposedly come for the sheriff’s job.

“No, I…um…haven’t had a chance,” Prissy murmured, suddenly seeming flustered by the other woman’s behavior. “Goodness, Polly, he only came to town two days ago.”

Polly chuckled. “I’m sure you haven’t, bless your heart.” She turned back to Sam. “Well, we are the Society for the Promotion of Marriage. You must come to our events. If you’re a bachelor, that is. You are a bachelor, aren’t you, Sheriff?” Polly asked, peering around him as if he had a wife hiding behind him.

“Yes, I am,” he said, amused by the confusion on Prissy’s face. Was it confusion—or jealousy?

“Well, good. We’ll be happy to have you attend. We’d want our new sheriff to feel welcome, wouldn’t we, ladies?”

“Reverend Chadwick,” Prissy suddenly said as the white-haired gentleman appeared. “I’d like to introduce you to the new sheriff. Reverend, this is Samuel Bishop.” Prissy seemed relieved to leave the topic of the Society, Sam noticed. Perhaps Polly’s flirting simply embarrassed her. Or was it more than that?

“We met last evening. I’m afraid our new sheriff came upon me trying to sweet-talk my roses into blooming despite the heat. Again, welcome to Simpson Creek, Sheriff Bishop,” said the old gentleman, whose gnarled hand gripped his with surprising strength. His gaze was direct, and Sam had the impression he saw deeply inside a person. Did he guess that Sam was not all he seemed?

“Thank you, sir. Please, call me Sam.”

“I’ll do that. I hope we’ll get to talk more later, Sam, but now we’d better start the service. Sarah, are you ready?”

“Sarah plays the piano for the singing,” Prissy explained. The other ladies filed inside, but Prissy put a hand on his wrist. “I thought you weren’t coming, that perhaps you had to capture some desperate outlaw,” Prissy said, gazing up at him.

He shook his head. “No desperate outlaws passed through Simpson Creek this Sunday morning,” he said, smiling down at her and placing her hand on his arm. “I was delayed by arranging something, which I’ll tell you about later.” He winked and enjoyed the blush that rose to her cheeks. The first piano notes of a hymn wafted out of the open door of the church.

They climbed the steps and entered, walking down the middle aisle to the front pew, with Prissy nodding at others who gazed at both of them with interest—and in the case of some of the ladies, with barely hidden envy. His amusement was almost enough to distract him from the fact that he was in a church for the first time in a very, very long time. If only his sisters, Etta, Lidy and Livy, could see him now!

He was amused to spot Delbert Perry, his face scrubbed, his threadbare clothing spotless, his hair slicked down, sitting midway toward the front. Delbert beamed at him as he passed.

So the town drunk was indeed trying to mend his ways. Perhaps there was something to church attendance, after all.

Sam also saw Nick Brookfield, the former sheriff, sitting a couple of rows back with some weathered-looking fellows who were probably his cowhands.

They reached the front pew, where Priscilla’s father stood, holding a hymnbook with a lady Sam didn’t recognize. Her father shot her a look of gentle disapproval because the congregation was already halfway through “Onward Christian Soldiers,” but then he turned back and resumed singing.

Prissy took a hymnbook from the rack in front of her, turning to the hymn being sung. Her soprano was clear and sweet in his ears. Sam knew very few hymns, so he just enjoyed listening to her voice and hoped that she would not read anything into his silence.

Reverend Chadwick, who’d been sitting to the left of the pulpit, rose and gestured for everyone to be seated.

“Good Sunday morning, ladies and gentlemen. Isn’t it a pretty day?”

There were murmurs of agreement. “We are here to worship, but today we also have a special cause for thankfulness. As many of you may have heard, Simpson Creek has a new sheriff, Mr. Sam Bishop.”

Sam was caught off guard. He was a cause for thankfulness? If that didn’t beat all. After looking up at the preacher, he glanced around and saw everyone nodding and smiling at him.

Reverend Chadwick beckoned. “Sam, come on up front. You, too, Mayor. Sam, it’s customary in Simpson Creek to swear you into your new office in front of the whole town, since you’re promising to serve and protect them.” He held a thick, black-leather-bound Bible in his hand.

Sam got to his feet and followed the mayor to the front. He hadn’t thought about the fact that he hadn’t been sworn in at the time he’d put on the badge. Now it was about to happen in front of everyone, in a house of worship. He did his best to keep his face expressionless and solemn, but he as took his place by the pulpit with Prissy’s father, he was all too aware that he had come to town and taken this job under false pretences. He had lied about his reason for coming to town as well as his previous experience. The only time he’d spent in a sheriff’s office had been inside a cell, for petty crimes like disorderly conduct. And he’d turned away a man who probably did have experience.

He saw Prissy smiling proudly at him from the front pew. The very sight of her looking at him with such trust caused him to offer the first real prayer he’d offered up in many years.

Lord, please don’t strike me dead for lying. It would upset Miss Prissy. I’m sorry, God, and I’ll try to make up for it.

Mayor Gilmore stood facing him, with the preacher holding the Bible between them. “Place your right hand on the Good Book and hold up your left hand,” he said, and waited until Sam did so. “Samuel Bishop, do you solemnly swear to serve and protect the town of Simpson Creek, to uphold the statutes of this town and the laws of Texas, as well as the Constitution of the United States of America?”

Sam nodded, relieved that no bolt of lightning had struck him—at least not yet. “I do.”

A smile appeared on the jowly features of the mayor. “Then it is my distinct pleasure to announce that Samuel Bishop is officially our new sheriff. I’m sure the Reverend wouldn’t find it out of place to give him a round of applause, folks.”

Sam smiled as the congregation stood. They clapped their hands, and the knot of guilt in his stomach began to ease. He couldn’t believe it. They were glad he was here. They were willing to take him at his word that he would wear that five-pointed tin star with honor. He suddenly felt humble, a feeling he hadn’t experienced in a long time.

“You can take your seats, gentlemen,” the preacher said. “I know you’ll all want to greet Sam after the service, but let’s sing our next hymn before I start into my sermon.”

Sarah began playing another tune as Sam left the pulpit and found his way back to Prissy. He hardly heard the Reverend’s sermon. Instead, he thought about the trust that Prissy and all the people of Simpson Creek had just placed in him. He suddenly wanted nothing more than to live up to their expectations.

Beside him now, Prissy plied an ivory-handled fan with a delicate flower design as she concentrated on the sermon. Clearly coming to church was very important to her. Was he doing her a disservice by pretending to be a…what? God-fearing man? A believer?

Was he pretending?

Sam did notice, however, Prissy darting a look at her father—who seemed to be giving some sidelong glances of his own at the lady beside him. When Prissy returned her gaze to the pulpit after one of these glances, he caught an anxious look on her features. He wondered who this lady was that was causing Prissy concern.

The temperature in the little chapel climbed. Ladies wielded their fans faster and faster. Here and there gents pulled out handkerchiefs and mopped their foreheads. At last Reverend Chadwick stopped preaching, the congregation rose for a final hymn, and the service was over.

Before they even left the pew, the mayor stopped him. “I didn’t want to interrupt the service when you came in, but I want to introduce you to an old friend from my childhood, Mrs. Hap Fairchild. She and her husband and I were friends back in school. He’s passed on now, but Mariah—that is, Mrs. Fairchild—is thinking about settling down here.”

Ah, Sam thought, understanding immediately why Prissy looked so unhappy. Her father was a lonely widower, and Prissy didn’t cotton to the idea of him putting another woman in her mother’s place. Yet the woman’s smile was genuine and warm, and there was no denying her effect on James Gilmore.

“Mrs. Fairchild,” Sam said politely, taking the gloved hand she extended. “I’ve only been in Simpson Creek since Friday, but it already feels like home to me. I hope you’ll be very happy here.”

“I’m sure I will. It’s nice to meet you, Sheriff Bishop. I’m sure the town’s in good hands with you as sheriff and James as mayor.”

He didn’t miss the way Prissy’s lips tightened, and was sorry that she felt threatened.

“I hope you’ll be back,” Reverend Chadwick said, as they came to the entrance. The preacher was shaking hands with each person as they left.

“Yessir, I’ll be back,” Sam said, warmed by the man’s friendliness. He suspected he would be back—even if Prissy was the real reason he came. Before he could say any more, another man extended his hand.

“Sheriff Bishop, I’m Dr. Walker—Nolan Walker, that is.” His accent was distinctly Yankee—from Maine, Sam thought. “You met my wife, Sarah, yesterday.”

There seemed to be an interminable number of people who wanted to introduce themselves to Sam and shake his hand, from the homes and businesses around town as well as from outlying ranches. He was overwhelmed with names, friendliness and open interest.

So this is what it’s like to belong somewhere…

When they were alone again, Prissy turned to him with avid curiosity. “Will you tell me what it is you were arranging before church?”

“I’ve arranged with the hotel to pack us a picnic basket—but of course, I realize it’s short notice, and you might have made other plans,” he added. “If that’s the case, perhaps I’ll just give it to one of the other ladies.” He glanced at the knot of Spinsters’ Club females he’d met before church, who were gathered under the shade of a cottonwood, discussing the two of them, if their sidelong glances were anything to go by. “I wouldn’t want it to go to waste.”

She smiled at him, please by his gesture. “I have to ask my father, of course.”

“Oh, but I already have,” he told her. “Yesterday, as a matter of fact, after you visited me with Sarah. He seemed quite open to the idea. So now the only question remains, where are we to enjoy this picnic?”

Prissy was so astonished she could barely respond. “Sam Bishop, you are full of surprises.”

He grinned, hoping against hope that the only surprises she would ever get from him would be pleasant ones.

Chapter Six

Prissy felt the warmth of joy bubbling up within her, warmer than the summer sun above her. He’d secured her father’s permission to court her the very day after he’d asked her? And he’d gone to the trouble of planning an outing already? But wait—wasn’t this all happening a bit too fast?

“Prissy, are you all right?”

“Yes! I was just thinking we could have our picnic over yonder, in the meadow,” she said, pointing to the grassy, tree-lined field on the other side of the creek that had given the town its name.

He studied it. “Looks like a fine place for a picnic,” he said.

“But that’s where everyone goes to picnic—families…with little children running around…” She hesitated. “It’s not exactly the most private location. There’s always the possibility that we’ll be talked about.”

“And you know somewhere less crowded?”

“No! No, I mean…I…uh…” Suddenly Prissy was afraid she’d sounded too bold. She didn’t want Sam Bishop to think she was not a lady. But she didn’t want the entire town observing their picnic, either. “I just meant somewhere where we could talk in peace, and not have to worry about a ball landing in the middle of the fried chicken all of a sudden—or whatever’s in that picnic basket.”

Sam chuckled. “No, we don’t want that,” he agreed. “Where did you have in mind?”

His smile was so warm she felt it like a physical touch. It was almost unnerving. “There’s a place…” she began. “Oh, but we couldn’t walk there, it’s too far. Maybe we’d better go there another time.”

“It just so happens I’ve checked with the Calhoun boy at the livery, and he’s got a horse and shay we could borrow for the afternoon. He could hitch it up while we’re picking up the basket at the hotel.”

“My, you’ve thought of everything, haven’t you? All right, then, there’s this huge old live oak, just a little ways out of town. They say it’s over a hundred years old.”

“And there wouldn’t be families and little boys throwing balls into the fried chicken there?”

“No. Chances are we’d have the place to ourselves today.”

“Sounds perfect,” he said.

Prissy felt her heart accelerate. She gazed up into those intense brown eyes and felt a niggle of doubt about the propriety of going off alone with this handsome man she’d so recently met. “But perhaps you shouldn’t go so far from town, since you’re the sheriff?” she said, twisting a fold of her pink skirt in her hand.

“I don’t think there’ll be a wave of lawlessness striking Simpson Creek on a Sunday afternoon,” he said lightly but without ridicule. “Would you feel more at ease, though, if we asked Sarah and her husband to come along?”