Chapter Twenty-Five
Chapter Twenty-Five
Back to the past…
V ictoria checked the clock on the wall before easing out of bed. Time was of the essence. She had made sure her window would not make a sound when it was time to climb out of it. Waylon would be there waiting for her. They’d met at the fruit grove two days ago and reviewed their plans. Her father’s heart hadn’t softened regarding the Satterfields, and she and Waylon refused to live apart any longer. Penny Satterfield wouldn’t welcome her to her family, and Pa wouldn’t welcome Waylon to theirs. For those reasons, they decided to defy both parents and marry anyway. Life was too short not to be happy.
Waylon had made all the arrangements. Tonight, they would catch a train to Austin, where they would marry. They would remain there for a week before returning to Houston. Since Mr. Kurt had given Waylon back the cabin and land meant to be theirs, that would be where they would live. They hoped that eventually, in time, their parents would accept their marriage and be happy for them.
She quickly began dressing in the dark. Clothes she had laid out and hidden under the chair in her room. Her suitcase was under the bed, packed and ready to go. A short while later, she was tiptoeing toward the window with her suitcase in hand when the light in her room suddenly came on. Her father was standing there, nearly taking up the doorway. She gasped when she saw him.
“I just got a call from Penny Satterfield, and she was right,” he said, entering her bedroom. “You and Waylon plan to elope tonight. How could you even consider such a thing, Victoria? After all that family has done to ours?”
Penny Satterfield? How on earth had Waylon’s mother found out about their plans? Waylon would know something was wrong when he saw the light in her room. The look on her father’s face almost broke her heart. It showed both anger and disappointment.
Lifting her chin, she said, “Waylon and I love each other, Pa. It’s not fair that we’re being punished because of Charlotte’s lies. You and Ms. Penny leave us no choice. We want to be together as husband and wife.”
“As your father, I must protect you, Victoria.”
“Protect me? Waylon would never hurt me.”
At that moment, both her mother and brother appeared in the doorway. “What’s going on?” Milton asked, wiping sleep from his eyes. As far as Victoria was concerned, it should have been obvious what was wrong since she had her suitcase in her hand.
“Your sister had planned to elope with Waylon tonight. I can’t believe she would do such a thing.”
Before she could say anything, there was a loud knock on the door. She knew it was Waylon, and Milton said as much. “A Satterfield is not welcome in my home,” her father said in a loud, angry voice. “Then I will go to him, Pa, since I plan to marry him tonight.”
“Don’t do this, Victoria.”
“Pa, please understand,” she pleaded, placing her suitcase by her feet.
“If you only knew the threats Penny Satterfield made against you tonight if you married Waylon. For that reason, I would never permit you to be a part of that family.”
“Pa, please don’t say that,” Victoria said, tears forming in her eyes.
The knock on the door got louder, and then Milton spoke up and said, “Pa, please let Waylon in so you can talk to him and Victoria. Tell him about his mother’s threats and why you don’t want a union between them. Let Way and Mr. Kurt deal with Ms. Penny.”
Victoria swiped at her tears, unsure her father would take Milton’s advice. She let out a sigh of relief when he nodded. “Fine, let him in.”
Her mother approached, giving her a handkerchief for her tears, and Milton went to open the door. After wiping her eyes, she glanced at her father and suddenly realized something was wrong. He reached up and touched his forehead as if he had a headache. Then she saw his lips twitch a few times as he swayed on his feet, just seconds before he crumbled to the floor.
“Pa!”
She and her mother rushed to her father. “Milton! Waylon!” Victoria screamed at the top of her voice.
Both men appeared and immediately rushed to pick him up. “We need to get Pa to the hospital immediately,” Victoria said, checking his pulse. Over the summer, while working in the hospital, the nurses showed her how to do it.
“Ma, call Dr. Hargrove,” Milton said. “Way, help me get Pa out to the truck.”
Everyone went into action. After making a call to Dr. Hargrove, Etta Madaris dashed to her bedroom to change.
Waylon caught Victoria’s arm when she was about to go get inside the truck. “Milton told me that Ma called your pa and ruined our plans. He also told me about Ma’s threats. I will get to the bottom of it, sweetheart, I swear.”
Trying not to feel a sense of anguish and despair, Victoria nodded. She then quickly got inside the truck with her mother and Milton to rush her father to the hospital.
***
An angry Waylon stormed into his home to find his parents sitting at the kitchen table. Since it was almost midnight, he knew they were waiting for him. That meant they’d figured his elopement with Victoria had failed. “You had no right to call Mr. Jantz, Ma.”
“Don’t raise your voice to me—I had every right. How dare you elope with that Madaris girl? It’s a good thing I found those train tickets in your bedroom drawer. I knew what you were up to.”
“You had no right to snoop around in my things.” He shifted his gaze to his pa. “You knew about this?”
Mr. Kurt shook his head. “No, I didn’t know anything until your ma woke me up and told me what you planned to do.”
“You and Ma left me no choice. I love Victoria, and this family has made it known that she’s not welcome in it.”
“That’s not true, Waylon. I’ve given you back my blessing for a marriage between you and Victoria. It’s Jantz who’s keeping this feud going.”
“Mainly because of Ma’s threats.”
Kurt frowned at his wife. “What threats are you making, Penny?”
“I’m not making threats but speaking the truth. If Victoria and Waylon marry, she’s not welcome in our family.”
“Why?” Kurt asked his wife, seemingly shocked at the venom he heard in her voice.
“Because that family is why Charlotte had to leave her home, and you won’t let her return.”
Kurt shook his head. “No, they are not, Penny,” he said firmly. “How often do I have to say that Charlotte was sent away for her own doing? Our daughter lied to us. She put her hand on the family Bible and lied. She got pregnant by one man and accused another of the deed, and she hadn’t been a virgin as she’d claimed, and that hadn’t been her first pregnancy. It wasn’t the Madarises who brought shame to this family, Penny. It was our daughter.”
“She would not have done that if Milton had taken her seriously. She’d been sweet on him for years, but he ignored her. Our Charlotte was beautiful, happy, and liked by all. There was no reason he couldn’t find favor with her.”
“Ma, Milt never gave Charlotte any reason to think she had a chance with him. Besides, none of what you said is excusable behavior for what Charlotte did. And not all of what you said just now is true. Charlotte was beautiful, and I’m sure she was happy most days, but she was not well-liked. She was mean, hateful, and a bully, and most people around here knew it.”
“How dare you say that about your sister? She was well-liked except by those girls who were jealous of her. She told me about them and how mean they were to her.”
“You still haven’t said what threats you made against Victoria, Penny,” Kurt said.
Penny gave Waylon and Kurt a defiant expression. “I told Jantz that if she ever married Waylon, I would do everything in my power to make sure she’s miserable every day of her life. She is not worthy to have the Satterfield name, and as long as I live, she won’t.” She rushed from the room in tears.
Kurt rubbed a frustrated hand down his face. “I realize banishing Charlotte was hard on your mother, Waylon, but I don’t understand why she refuses to accept Charlotte was to blame and not the Madarises. Hopefully, one day she will.”
“And what if she doesn’t, Pa? Ma has made her dislike for Victoria known, and whatever threats she made upset Mr. Jantzen. And just so you know, he collapsed and had to be rushed to the hospital tonight.”
“My god, is he alright?”
“I don’t know. I’m leaving to go there now. Victoria needs me whether Mr. Jantz wants me there or not. I only came here to confront Ma about what she did.”
“Let me know how Jantz is doing, Waylon.”
He heard his father’s genuine concern. “I will, Pa.” He then turned to leave.
***
“How is my husband?” Etta asked, rushing over to Dr. Hargrove when he entered the waiting room. It was apparent she was trying to keep her voice from breaking.
“Mr. Madaris suffered a stroke.”
The doctor’s words nearly brought Etta to her knees. Milton was there by his mother’s side to keep her standing. Victoria sank in a chair close by, and Felicia wrapped her arms around her best friend’s shoulders.
“He was lucky it was a mild one,” Dr. Hargrove added. “Since Mr. Madaris is pretty much in good health, I can only assume it was brought on by stress that’s been building up for a while that he hasn’t released.”
The doctor gazed from one to the other. “Has he mentioned anything about having headaches lately?”
“No,” Etta said. Milton and Victoria concurred.
“I intend to keep him here for a while. Hopefully, he will recover completely over time if he doesn’t experience any more tension and stress.”
“Is he awake? May I see him?” Etta asked anxiously.
“Not tonight, Mrs. Madaris. The best thing that can be done is to keep him calm, so he won’t have another stroke. He needs to let go of whatever is stressing him out. Otherwise, he might not be so lucky the next time. Since he will be sleeping most of the night, I suggest you all go home and return in the morning.”
“No,” Etta said firmly. “I want to be close in case he wakes up.”
“And I’ll stay with you, Ma,” Victoria added.
“We’ll all stay,” Milton said, getting his mother to sit in the chair.
Etta glanced at Milton. “Your Pa would want you to run things for a while. This is the week he was to move the herd to the south pasture.”
“And we’ll still do so, Ma. Don’t worry,” Milton said, placing a comforting hand on her shoulder. “I’ll call Rafe and let him know what’s happening.” Rafe Adams was the foreman at Whispering Pines.
“And another thing,” Dr. Hargrove said. “When Mr. Madaris wakes up, he will have difficulty talking since his mouth is slightly twisted, and his words may sound slurred. His inability to speak might frustrate him. Be patient, and don’t get him anxious.”
Etta wiped tears from her eyes. “Alright.” The others agreed as well. Milton walked out with Dr. Hargrove to make the call to Rafe.
“It’s all my fault,” Victoria said.
“No, it’s not,” Etta said to her daughter. “You heard what Dr. Hargrove said. Your father has been under a lot of stress for over a year. Ever since that day the Satterfields showed up at our house with their accusations. I tried getting Jantz to talk about it, but he wouldn’t—he kept it all locked inside. Even after it was proven that Charlotte was a liar and the Madaris named was cleared, it bothered him that we had to go through it.”
“This wouldn’t have happened if I hadn’t planned to elope tonight.”
“Your mother is right, Victoria,” Felicia said, pulling up another chair. “According to Dr. Hargrove, it wasn’t tonight that did it, but a buildup of other times.”
The three women held hands and prayed that the doctor was right and that Jantz would fully recover.
“Milton, wait up.”
Recognizing the voice, Milton turned to Waylon. Frowning, he said. “You know you should not be here, Way.”
“How could I not be? If you were in my place and faced with the same circumstances, you would be, too.” Waylon could tell by his best friend’s features that eased from a frown that he would. “How is Mr. Jantz?”
Milton rubbed a hand down his face. “Pa suffered a stroke. The good news is that it was mild, and the doctor thinks he will fully recover in time.”
“Thank God for that,” Waylon said.
“I agree, and just so you know, Victoria is blaming herself.”
“I know the feeling,” was Waylon’s response.
“Look Way, you and Victoria have nothing to blame yourselves for. Granted, I’m sure discovering the two of you planned to elope pissed Pa off, but my take from Dr. Hargrove is that what happened to Pa was a buildup of everything from the beginning. He’s been carrying a lot on his shoulders during the past year, and he never released his anger and frustration. Stress is what brought it on tonight.”
“Stress caused by the Satterfields,” Waylon said in disgust.
“Just one Satterfield. We’re not holding your entire family responsible for what Charlotte did. I think over time, Pa will come around. If it wasn’t for your ma’s threats, he would have done so sooner. Ma confided in me tonight that this wasn’t the first time Ms. Penny has made them. However, tonight she warned Pa that if you and Victoria marry, she better not ever eat anything she cooked or he and Ma would have a dead daughter. Can you imagine such a vile threat? Victoria is a daddy’s girl, and Pa feels he has to protect her. He won’t agree to a marriage between the two of you until he believes she’ll be in a safe environment.”
“How dare Ma say something like that, and that’s not what she told me and Pa she said,” he said, furious. “I won’t let anyone hurt Victoria, not even my ma. If we have to move away, I have no problem doing so.”
“You would leave here and start a new life elsewhere?”
“If it means Victoria’s peace of mind and safety, then yes, I would.”
***
Victoria knew when Milton sent her out to his truck for a jacket he hadn’t worn, he had an ulterior motive for doing so. Therefore, she wasn’t surprised to find Waylon leaning against the truck. She barely held back her tears as she raced across the yard to his opened arms.
He held her while she cried. She wasn’t sure how much time had passed before she pulled away and said, “Pa had a stroke.”
He nodded as he gently stroked her back. “Milton told me.”
“I’m trying not to feel responsible, but I do, Waylon.”
“You shouldn’t. We shouldn’t. Milton told me what the doctor said,” he said, using his handkerchief to wipe away more tears from her eyes.
“I know, but what we did only added to his stress.”
“So, what are we going to do now, Victoria? I love you and want to marry you.”
“And I want to marry you. But…”
“But what?”
“Your mom. Whatever she said to Pa tonight made him think he must protect me from her. Did you find out what she said to him?”
“Yes, and it’s too awful to repeat. Pa thinks Ma is going through something because of losing Charlotte and will eventually snap out of it.”
“What if she doesn’t?”
“Then we’ll move away.”
“Move away and go where?”
“Dallas, Austin. Beaumont… I’d even be open to leaving Texas entirely. My cousin left and found work in the steel mills in Chicago. He likes it there.”
“You’re a rancher, Waylon, not a steel mill worker.”
“But I could be one just as long as you’re with me.”
“Oh, Waylon, what are we going to do?” She asked him the same question he had asked her earlier.
He caressed her cheek with his palm. “We will continue to love each other and believe there is a way. Mr. Jantz will get better, and I hope he will approve of our marriage.”
“I hope so. I had better get back or Ma will wonder what’s taking me so long. We’re staying here tonight.”
“So am I. I’ll be in my truck over there.”
“All night?”
“Yes, all night. I’ll be closer to you here than I would be if I were to go home. Besides, I’m too upset with Ma to go back there tonight.”
Feeling so much love for him, she leaned on tiptoe to slant her mouth over his. He didn’t waste time taking her mouth hungrily. It was a long, drugging kiss that ignited her taste buds with the manly taste of him.
He broke off the kiss, drew in a ragged breath, before saying, “I love you, Victoria.”
“And I love you, too, Waylon.” Then, without saying anything else, she turned to rush back inside the hospital.