Hey, everyone. Sorry it took so long for me to write this. I've been to out of it lately, with school and all. Plus I had an essay to write for class (ew), and writing essays just sucks out all my writing abilities because I truly hate writing essays. And then I stumbled upon writer's block and I wasn't quite sure what to write. As a matter of fact, I still don't know all the way what I want to do. I only got vague ideas that I'm workin off of.
As usual, a special thanks to my reviewers (tough I'm not going name you all off today, Sorry!) You guys truly are awesome and the ones who inspire me to continue writing this. I seriously would have stopped long ago without you guys.
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It's been a week. A whole week since I last saw Jesse. I don't know what's happened or why I haven't seen him. I've gone out to our spot every night. He hasn't been there once. I haven't been able to escape my mother during the daytime either. I've instead had to spend everyday at home. It is not until the evening she lets me be. When I can at last manage to sneak away from my bedroom long enough each night to make the trip down to the beach and anticipate whether Jesse will show up or not.
About the only good thing that has happened all week is that Paul hasn't stopped by the house to bother me. That, like I said is the only good thing that has managed to happen all week. The last thing he said to me though, that I can't shake off my mind. Perhaps the reason I have not seen Paul around is that he is in fact planning something, keeping off appearances?
Alas, now it had been a week. Whether it is a good thing or not, it will soon reveal itself. There only so long Paul can go without coming to bother me. It's as if his sole purpose in life is to make mine all that much worse. I am quite glad, though now that it has indeed been a week. Andy has to travel out of town for the next couple of days, and my mother will be joining him. They will be gone, Andy says, for more than a week. They are traveling north, to some city quite a way from here. About two days by carriage. They will be there a grand total of three days, so that means at the least, they will be gone exactly seven days. Seven days may not seem like much, but it was enough to make a difference in my life.
Like I said, Paul had made himself too scarce. And in that time, he had indeed been planning something. I wish I could have seen it sooner, to stop the disastrous events that all happened. But in the end it was for the greater good, much to Paul's chagrin. Everything he worked to achieve failed, going against him. Spiting him for interfering with things he must have simply just left alone.
The minute Andy and my mother left, I was out of bed, already planning to meet Jesse. My mother, of course had left me in charge of the chores around the house. To let me tend to the boys. As if I would ever do such a thing. My step-brothers are old enough to care for themselves. Just because I am a woman, I am not going to accept what is considered socially acceptable. No way, not me. I hate doing household chores and I cannot cook a piece of meat to save my dear life. If I did try to cook something, well let's just say chances are I might end up alongside those I help out on a regular basis, those of the dead kind. I might burn down my home and die in a tragic fire. Somehow, that just does not sound all too appealing.
Well, okay I'm not exactly that bad at cooking. I managed to make some cinnamon oatmeal. Enough for me and one of my inept brothers to eat. As to who would get it, well I wouldn't care less.
Outside, the sun was already up, high and bright in the brisk morning sky. Already, the warmth surrounded me, taking away the last remaining fog. The barn, a stray building in the landscape looked brighter today, as if cheerier. Maybe it was because I would at last see my Jesse who I hadn't seen for such a long time. Whatever it was, I was in a most certain better mood than I had been all week.
As is my daily routine, when I got into the barn, I grabbed Shadow's brush and began stroking at his long dark mane. The softness of his mane was like silk beneath my fingers. I prided myself on the condition I kept Shadow in. Leading him away by the reins, Shadow stalked behind me, following as we slowly walked out of our property. Mounting Shadow swiftly, I led him in the general direction towards town.
Jesse, because of who his family was, lived far on the other side of town. Where all the wealthy ranchers and business owners lived. Our small pretend ranch was nothing in comparison to Jesse's. I'd never actually been to his ranch, but I believed his family owned about 25 or so acres of land. Andy could only afford two and a half acres when he first bought our home, and later purchased the remaining acreage to make a grand total of three acres.
Paul also lived over on that side of town, near Jesse. That's how the two of them knew each other; they'd grown up together over on the rich side of town. When I met Pail, well he introduced me to Jesse. Many years later – now – I've met up with Jesse once again. But neither of us are those kids we were, and Paul most certainly is not either.
The morning air whipped against my face as I trundled off on Shadow, his speed increasing ever more so as we approached town. There were quite a few other carriages on the roads, all going to who knows where.
I decided to take the road that wrapped around behind the town, rather than going straight into town where I would most likely spot someone I know and have to, out of courtesy stop and greet that person. So the back roads seemed like a good idea when I decided to take it.
And it was a good idea, too. I crossed across the town quite quickly. But it wasn't until right at the end, where the road merged into three different paths, that I saw a one Mr. Paul Slater trotting along on his own horse.
The way he carried himself indicated that he was about to do something of importance, too. I tried, as quickly as possible to veer off the road so Paul wouldn't see me, but he'd already spotted me. He'd caught me from the corner of his eyes, and sped just that bit more to come and talk with me. Today, of all days, he decided to at last show up in my life. Didn't Paul understand that I needed to see Jesse? That'd it had been a good week since I had last seen Jesse?
"Oh, Suze. Fancy running in to you, here. Don't you think?" His lips rose into that awful smirk of his, the one where he looks as if he knows something that should be obvious to you, only you don't know what. "Where, on this beautiful morning, are you headed too, may I ask?"
He'd gotten me that much was for sure. But what would I tell him? That I was on my way to see Jesse? No. That would never work. He would put all the pieces together with that sole piece of information. I bit at my bottom lip, a habit that only surfaces when I am unsure of what I must do. "Well, I was headed to your home, Paul. If you really must know," the lie just slipped out of my mouth like a fish struggling in my hands.
A perfectly arched eyebrow rose in place, as Paul looked on dubiously. "Is that so, Suze? And what exactly is that you need to go to my home for? I mean, having run into you now, I could just save you the trouble of going all the way to my house," he stated, and then added, just barely above a whisper, "Querida." In that instant, my heart stopped, and the color drained from my face. I turned my head to the side, for Paul not to see the expression that took over. Maybe he really hadn't said anything.
Sucking in a deep squelching breath, and trying to remain visibly calm, I asked him what he said.
His lips rose into an impeccable vicious smile, as he answered, "Oh, nothing at all, Suze."
I nodded, every fiber of my being trembling. "Oh, alright. So, Paul, as I said, I was headed to your home. But now that I've seen you, I'll just ask you," in my mind, I scanned for a lie, and then suddenly I remembered that Rosie had fallen ill his week, "How is Rosie doing? I was going to see how she was, seeing as the poor child adores me dearly, surely she would like some company from me?"
The expression on Paul's face seemed as if one of dissatisfaction, but he accepted my lie nevertheless, by looking grim. "She hasn't gotten much better. She is still ill, can't eat a thing without purging it back out. And her temperature just won't go down."
"Poor dear," I responded, not having known that her condition was so serious. "Are you going into town to get her medication?"
"That and I've got my own errands to run. Would you like to join me, Susannah," He said my name mockingly, as if it wee some kind of joke to him.
"I would like too," I said before even having thought my decision. But it was better, if I said no and proceeded towards his home, he might decide to follow and see me going to Jesse's instead. So dutifully, I followed behind Paul as he made the turn onto the road that would lead him into town.
We conversed lightly, speaking in between long silences that were soon to be followed by more silences. I played over and over, the scene in my head where I could have sworn he called me querida. If he hadn't, then why had he smiled so cruelly afterwards?
I didn't know what to think. Paul had certainly been busy this past week. I mean, the fact I hadn't seen him at all was reason enough.
When we reached town, we made our way through the crowded streets and went in the direction of the town's doctor office. I waited for Paul outside on a bench as I he went in for medicine. When he came back outside, he sat aside to me, handing a slip of paper. Confused, I opened it up to reveal its contents.
At first, I only overlooked the words, not reading them. But when I finally did, I realized what exactly was going on.
To the County Judge,
It has been brought to my attention that a Miss Susannah Simon has been going against a marriage that has been arranged by her step-father, Mr. Andrew Ackerman and Michael Slater, the father of her spouse to be. Miss Simon is refusing to accept the marriage and has in the meantime been fraternizing with another male of four years older than herself, a Mr. Hector de Silva. The law states that Miss Simon is not allowed to be within the company of another male with the exceptions of her betrothed, I, Paul Slater, her step-father, or one of her three step-brothers. I request that this document be put into effect immediately and that if you can, to make this engagement final and at last wed the two of us, for we cannot continue under these circumstances. If not we can take further action to punish the guilty.
Thank you,
Paul Slater.
I took my eyes off the paper and faced an angered Paul staring right back at me. It had all been an act, I realized. Everything sine I'd seen him this morning. He knew well what was going on. I don't know how, but he'd figured out that I was somehow with Jesse, though we'd only kissed a few times and nothing else. Every time I saw Jesse, we only spoke. Nothing more, and with the exception of those few kisses, Paul had figured it all out. And now, he was going to take Jesse away from me, if I didn't marry him.
I remember revising those documents, myself, the ones stating that Paul and I were officially betrothed. Not a single sentence in there had stated that I couldn't be accompanied by another smile. A smile threatened to break onto my face, but I contained it. I glared back at Paul, just as viciously as he was, and tore the paper from his hands, tearing it up.
"That is nonsense, Paul. And you know it. There is not a thing you can do to stop me from seeing Jesse."
Paul's face of triumph faltered into one of defeat. I'd caught him in his own lie. He never was going to give this to anyone. He was simply trying to scare me.
"And you know what, Paul? I don't care what you do anymore, but I simply do refuse to marry you. Go ahead, reveal my secret to the town. I do not care anymore, anything is better than spending the remainder of my life as Susannah Slater."
Huffing off in fury, I fled from Paul, quickly mounting my horse and riding over to where Jesse lived. I'd never been there before, but I immediately saw him out on the fields, followed by a swarm of dogs as he herded the cattle. I rushed over to him on my horse. When he saw me, he looked utterly shocked.
"Jesse," I called into the air, sweeping him into my arms. "I missed you so much." I released him, and clutched his hands within my own.
"Querida, what are you doing here?" The concern laced his already Spanish accented voice.
"I just saw Paul. He knows that you and I, that we… that we've, well I suppose that we've been seeing each other. He figured it out. But I don't care anymore; I told him I won't marry him. There's nothing he can do to stop me. I want to be with you Jesse. I love you. And I won't take anyone else. So Paul can do whatever he wants, even if that means he will reveal my secret to the town."
"But, querida…" His voice lingered, as he was still clearly confused.
"Don't worry, Jesse. We can be together no, I think. Nothing matters any more. My parents are away from town this week, but as soon as Andy returns, I'll have him talk to Mr. Slater. This marriage to Paul will absolutely not happen."
"Querida," the one word made me dread what was coming next. It normally made me feel happy now, but the way he'd said it, made me dread what he would say next. "We can't. Not yet. After what happened with Maria, I don't think I can do something like this so soon."
I sighed. I'd acted so impulsively, not once stopping to consider how Jesse might feel.
"But maybe, someday we can. Just not now, Susannah. Please, try to be more rational. Deal with your problems with Paul first, and then we'll decide what to do. But not now. I simply could not after what happened with Maria. I'm not comparing you to her, so don't take it to offense."
I nodded, looking down at the browned earth beneath me.
Jesse's hand came to my chin, cupping it lightly. Then slowly, he leant in, pulling my chin closer to him as ell. When our lips met, I forgot all of my ordeals, and was convinced more than ever that Jesse and I had to be together.
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Ok, I really want to bring this story to an end. So within 2-3 more chapters, it'll be done. We'll hear again from Paul, just to stir up some drama. And he'll try to get Suze back, but like I've said, this is J/S so it's gotta be Jess and Suze ultimately. Again, sorry for the delay in my updating, but I'm sure you guys are all aware of how much school sucks.
If you'd like me to change something with my dealings with paul, then please feel free to comment, otherwise I'm just going to throw in a few more things and Paul will not be trouble anymore.
So, press the purple button at the bottom, ya know, the one that says 'Review' yep that one. Thanks! Hope ya guys liked it. I was mostly satisfied with this chapter, but there are some things I could improve on… oh well. It's an update, right?