Susan Mallery: Wild Hearts

“Don’t you look especially handsome this morning,” she told the eight-year-old.

“My mom got a new sewing machine,” he said proudly. “She’s been workin’ day ’n night to make these for me.”

An impressive amount of work finished in a relatively short period of time, Alethea thought. “I hope you thanked her.”

“Yes, ma’am, I did. She’s gonna take in sewing work now.”

“Excellent.” She knew that Matthew’s mother, a widow, had been getting by on very little income. Although now that she thought about it…“A sewing machine is very expensive,” she said, more to herself than the boy. “She must have been saving for a long time.”

Matthew grinned. “Uncle Zeke bought it for her. It came in on the last wagon, just like him. He comes to our house a lot.”

Matthew saw one of his friends and ran off. Alethea stared after him. Uncle Zeke? As she had not heard that Zeke had any family left in the area, she had to assume the title was honorary. But what, exactly, had Mr. Titan done to earn it?

Later that morning, she had to separate two girls who simply wouldn’t stop talking. She quickly discovered that they, too, had new clothes. Dresses this time, all the way from Boston. Compliments of Uncle Zeke.

Alethea ignored the churning in her midsection as she gave the children their reading assignment for the morning. When she walked between the desks and helped her students with difficult words, she couldn’t help searching for similarities between Matthew’s brown hair and eyes and the girls’. Given Zeke’s reputation with women, she shouldn’t be surprised that he’d fathered children. Apparently the good people of Titanville were willing to embrace the results of his indiscretions. Very forward thinking of them, if slightly shocking.

At lunch, she passed out the buckets her students had brought from home. They ran outside to eat while she stayed in, still thinking about the fact that Zeke may have fathered children without the benefit of marriage. She heard heavy footsteps and looked up to see the man in question entering the schoolhouse. He smiled at her.

“It’s a fine day,” Zeke told her. “I brought a picnic for us to share.”

As he spoke, he held up a basket. It was large, and a brightly colored cloth spilled from one side.

She eyed his offering, then turned her attention to him. “You must find your circumstances very pleasant. This town where you are adored. The rules of society that don’t apply to you or your situation. The rights of a husband but none of the responsibilities.”

She wasn’t angry, she thought as she looked at him. She was disappointed. She’d expected more. No. That wasn’t right. She’d hoped for more, but she had been let down. Zeke wasn’t special. He was a charming shell of a man.

“What are you talking about?” he asked, looking genuinely confused.

“You have created your own kingdom,” she said, coming to her feet. “You seem to be all that is good in a man, but that is a facade. You may not hit women or speak ill of them, but you abuse their bodies and their characters all the same.”

The humor and anticipation faded from his dark eyes. “You assume a great deal.”

“I see Matthew in new clothes sewn on a machine you provided. The girls in their new dresses, compliments of their uncle. Yet you are not a relation to their mothers. Not in the traditional sense.”

Zeke’s mouth tightened. “You speak of my failings, yet you’re the one assuming the worst without knowing the true circumstances. Matthew’s mother was married to a friend of mine. When he passed, Elizabeth wouldn’t accept help from anyone. It took me six months to convince her to let me give her the sewing machine. As to the girls and their dresses, yes, I brought back pretty clothes for daughters of widows.”

He set down the basket and moved closer, his dark eyes blazing with anger. “You’re quick to judge things you don’t understand. A common failing of those with small minds. If you want to know about my past, do me the courtesy of asking me directly. Have there been women? Yes. Have I bedded them without the benefit of marriage? Only if they were willing. I might enjoy my pleasures, Mrs. Harbaugh, but I have never turned my back on my responsibilities. I have no bastards to gnaw at my conscience.”

He walked to the doorway and glanced back at her. “One would think that a woman in charge of impressionable minds would take care before forming her opinions. Apparently, one would be wrong.”

And then he was gone. Alethea stared after him, feeling her cheeks heat with embarrassment and her soul burn with regret.

Guilt was an unfamiliar emotion, and one Alethea didn’t like. She’d always believed in being fair, to listening to both sides of an argument. After Zeke had gotten so angry about her assumptions, she’d decided to talk to Daisy.

“Zeke’s been very careful,” her friend reassured her. “Even before he came to terms with the town, he never got involved with married women.”

“I’m not sure if that’s better or worse,” Alethea murmured as they sorted through the wool shipment that had arrived. Spring meant time to start new knitting projects to be finished in time for cool fall nights.

“He has given a lot to people,” Daisy went on. “Much is done quietly.” She glanced around, as if making sure they were alone in the back of the store, then spoke in a lowered voice. “Whenever a woman loses a husband, we always send over a big box of supplies. Dry goods, fabric, whatever we know they need. Zeke helps pay for that. He slaughters a handful of cows every year and gives the meat away. He’s the one who paid for your new schoolhouse.”

Which made him sound like a leading citizen. “But what about the gambling?”

“That wasn’t good,” Daisy admitted. “He stopped years ago, but while he was playing, there were bad times in town. I guess he grew up. Accepted his responsibilities.”

“Except when it comes to the schoolteachers,” Alethea said, then pressed her lips together.

Her friend laughed. “Don’t worry about your reputation. The more we get to know you, the more we’re convinced you’re the one woman who can stand up to Zeke Titan.”

Alethea hoped that was true. “The other women he was with, the ones who were sent away. Were there…” She cleared her throat. “There were children involved, were there not?”

Daisy shook her head. “Not that I know of. Zeke was real careful that way.” She put down the box of wool. “I know he’s wild and flouts the rules. Still, there’s something about him we all like.”

“He’s prideful.”

Daisy grinned. “Show me a man who isn’t.” Her gaze sharpened. “You’re not going to give in to Zeke, are you? We’re counting on you to defeat him.”

Alethea thought about her last encounter with Zeke. There seemed to be little chance of his pursuing her now.

“No. I won’t be giving in. Fear not.”

“But he is a charming devil. I can tell you that more than one lady in town had hoped to be the one to change his ways. He’ll settle down eventually and whoever he chooses will be a lucky woman.” Daisy leaned close. “I’ve heard stories from the young women who were with him. They were forever changed. Apparently Zeke knows things about a woman’s body.”

“Immoral things,” Alethea said quickly, even as she wondered what they could be. Her intimate time with her husband had always been pleasant. A warm joining of bodies and spirit. She’d looked forward to him holding her and kissing her. The actual act itself was less appealing, although there had been one time when he’d spent long minutes touching her between her legs. She’d felt something amazing, a rush of pleasure that had taken her breath away.