His soft words drifting through the night air sent a tingle down Derek’s back. “They’ll realize who you are and then they won’t want you around. People are easily turned, Derek. They never stick by you when they find out you’re like me.”
As Derek stepped back into the saloon, the loud music filled his burning ears. His brother was just making threats. He didn’t mean any of it. He couldn’t possibly.
What was he going to do? If he admitted to anything that others didn’t know already, he would probably end up in jail, along with his family. If people knew that they knowingly had paid people to say the track had been safe… he shuddered to think.
His father had masterfully convinced people that it had been purely an accident and he had acted the part of a surprised and dismayed railroad engineer. And then he had moved away and left all of the people that had been harmed to find their own help.
The Carson family knew more or less what family he was from. Everyone knew who he really was. He was the man who helped his neighbor and who shared what he had.
He couldn’t be more different from his family in Desmond. He was a changed man—it would be nearly impossible to guess that family was where he had originated.
“There you are! I looked over here and you were gone.” George walked up to him, swaying a bit as he did.
Derek shook his head. “Come on, George. It’s time we went home, before you have any more whiskey.”
George made half an effort to protest, but Derek wouldn’t hear it. This was his family now. The people that filled this town. He was here for them. His brother had better leave or Derek was going to make sure he did, and that wasn’t going to be good for anyone involved.
Chapter 16
Emilia’s eyes opened to the pitch-black room. It was the third time this week. She knew what this meant, but she had kept it to herself. Her eyes burned and her throat was a bit scratchy. She felt dizzy, and her stomach twisted and turned.
She pressed the back of her hand against her forehead. It was warmer than usual. She was getting sick again.
Her mother had seemed to think that she wouldn’t get sick in Texas. Emilia had to admit that it had been better, a lot better. In the three weeks that she’d been here, she had felt better physically than she had in years back in Desmond.
She had begun to help her cousins with the chores around the place, and she had gone to town once alone. She had even gone calling on a friend with her aunt.
She was starting to think of the place as her home, though she still wished she could go back and be with her mother and sister.
Her hand traveled to the smooth envelope sticking out from under her mattress. Her mother’s last letter had arrived after a week and a half of being here.
She couldn’t wait for the next one. It seemed to take forever and yet hardly any time at all. She imagined what it would be like if her mother and sister joined her in Texas. She was convinced that would be the best thing.
Maybe her mother wouldn’t find a job like the one she had back in Desmond, but she could help Aunt Carolyn on the ranch, and her sister could maybe help, too.
Emilia didn’t know what all the possibilities were. In her heart, it seemed like a great idea, but in her mind, she knew it just wouldn’t work. Besides, her mother and sister weren’t exactly the type that she could see starting out on an adventure like that. They were too guarded. They liked to have a secure future planned out ahead of them.
Emilia sighed and sat up. Her head pounded a steady beat in her ears. She’d felt this way, nearly a week ago. She hadn’t said anything to her aunt, and it had gone away on its own.
Things got better once she got up and started moving. Emilia was convinced that it was just the cold that began to nip at her toes this early in the morning.
She pulled the comforter about her shoulders and laid back down. She wanted to get up. In fact, she wasn’t convinced she’d be able to make herself go back to sleep, but she didn’t want to get colder.
It was funny how, during the day, one might think that Texas could never get cool. There were nights when she hadn’t even slept with a blanket over her because of the heat. And then, all of a sudden, there would be a morning like this one, where the cold was everywhere and you had to wrap a blanket tightly around yourself to keep from freezing.
Emilia smiled in the dark. Maybe she had just gotten used to the heat in Texas. This sort of cold back in Desmond would seem like nothing.
She forced her eyes closed and tried to go back to sleep but had no luck. After a number of failed attempts and finally hearing the rooster begin his morning song, she slipped out of bed and padded over to the parlor.
The sun was just starting to peek over the horizon. Emilia tied the curtains back so that she could watch the sunrise from one of the chairs in front of the hearth.
She watched the soft golden light filter over the grass and the barn. It was beautiful, and she could almost feel its heat on her skin.
“Emilia, you’re up early again. Are you all right?” Carolyn was standing in the doorway of the parlor. She was already dressed and was tying her hair up on the top of her head.
Emilia opened her mouth to respond and a scratchy voice formed words. Emilia had to clear her throat before speaking. “I-I’m fine.”
Her aunt walked over and touched her forehead before she could say anything or do anything else. “You’re warm. You are getting a little ill. Let me get you some tea, it will make you feel better.”
Emilia nodded. She was too exhausted to argue. It felt good having her aunt know the truth, in a way.
Her aunt bustled about and soon, there was a fire crackling in the hearth and a warm cup of tea in her hands. “We’ll just leave the fire going for a bit. It’s going to get too hot to bear in a couple of hours.” Her aunt stared down at her with a kind look that Emilia remembered her mother using often.
“Thank you, Aunt Carolyn.”
Her aunt didn’t protest about the formal title and instead walked off into the kitchen. Emilia took another sip of her tea, then put it down beside her on the table. She leaned her head back against the chair and her eyes closed. She was so tired, maybe she would just rest for a few moments.
---*---
“Are you sure? I was really looking forward to today.” Lily’s disappointed voice carried to Emilia through the parlor. It took her a second to realize where she was. She must have actually fallen asleep.
“She’s not feeling well. She can’t go into town today. She has to rest if she wants to get better quickly.” Carolyn was speaking now, and her voice was getting louder.
Emilia sat up a little straighter as Lily and Carolyn walked into the parlor.
“You’re up! How are you feeling?” Carolyn looked at her with concern in her eyes.
Emilia swallowed and blinked a few times. She felt quite a bit better, but her head still ached. “I think I feel a little better, but not perfect yet.”
“No, no. You should stay at home. Lily wanted you to go to town with her today, but it’s a bad idea.”
Emilia nodded in agreement. She normally wouldn’t pass up a chance to go to town. It meant a chance to check the post office for another letter and read it that much faster. But she really didn’t feel great, and if her aunt thought staying home would help her feel better faster, she was willing to try it. She had no desire to repeat some of the bouts of sickness that she’d had in Ohio.
“I do wish you could come. It won’t be the same without you.” Lily walked over and sat down on the armrest of the chair, leaning over and giving Emilia a sort of half embrace.
“I’m sorry,” Emilia answered. And she really was. She loved every bit of time she spent with her cousin. She wasn’t staying behind because she didn’t want to go.
“It’s okay. I should get going right away. The twins are probably waiting for me.”
“The twins are going?”
“Not all the way. They are actually only going to take me most of the way, th
en come pick me up and bring me most of the way home. They promised to help our neighbor with some planting.” Lily wrinkled her nose. “It’s going to be boring without you.”
Emilia forced a smile. She hated disappointing her cousin. She watched as Lily went outside and disappeared down the driveway a few minutes later.
“I think I’ll go sit on the porch for a while in the sun,” Emilia told her aunt.
When Carolyn nodded, she went into her room and changed into a dress, then pulled on her boots and arranged her hair in an acceptable way before heading out to the porch. She put on a sunbonnet so she wouldn’t get burned. Even though the day was fairly warm, the heat from the sun felt good.
She sat down in the one chair that was up against the corner of the porch, looking out across the yard to the chicken coop and the barn. There were tools laying about and it looked like someone had just been working there.
It would figure that Derek would be around. She saw him working on the farm or having dinner with the family nearly every day.
She still regarded him with caution. At any moment, she expected him to say something mean or to become that man she had met back in Desmond.
“You didn’t go with Lily.” The low voice at the side of the porch startled her.
Emilia jumped a little and turned to find Derek standing there. He was on the other side of the railing, leaning up against it only a few feet away.
“I-um… This morning I wasn’t feeling very well.” Emilia tried not to show how nervous she felt.
“Oh, I see.”
Emilia expected Derek to walk away, but instead, he hopped over the railing and took a seat on the log that had been propped up on the other side of the porch.
There were only a few feet of room between them. Emilia suddenly felt self-conscious about her hair that was poking out the sides of the bonnet. She hadn’t paid much attention to it since she hadn’t planned on spending time with anyone today. Speaking of which, she had no idea why Derek was showing an interest n talking to her in the first place.
“I’m sure that with some time out here in the west, you’ll be right as rain soon enough and ready to go back to Ohio.” Derek glanced down at his hands, which were cleaning what looked like a tool made of metal.
“I hope so.”
“Do you have anyone special waiting for you back home?”
“No, not besides my mother and sister. What about you? I mean… here.” Emilia didn’t know why she had asked. Her cheeks blushed red and she looked away.
“I had someone a while back. Turns out someone else had more money than I did, and she left.”
“Oh, I’m sorry. What about your family?” Emilia remembered that he must have parents or siblings. She wondered if he missed them as much as she missed her mother.
“I don’t really have much of a relationship with my family. We’re just really different. They have… other priorities,” he finished finally.
“Oh.” Emilia’s eyebrows furrowed in confusion. She wasn’t really sure what he was referring to, but she didn’t want to ask.
“You know, you should sit in the shade. Too long in the sun and you’ll get overheated.” Derek stood and gave her a quick smile. “I hope you feel better soon.”
Emilia nodded. “Thank you.”
She watched him half walk, half run back to his work. She was surprised when she realized that she didn’t feel any anger toward him this time. She couldn’t even find a lot of dislike for him. Maybe her memory was fading, or maybe her new experiences with Derek were changing her mind.
Emilia shook her head. She needed to keep her guard up or she was going to get hurt. She didn’t want to make things awkward between her aunt and Derek. She would try harder to keep herself out of Derek’s path.
Chapter 17
Lily watched the twins disappear with the wagon down the winding road. She didn’t mind having to walk the last stretch into town. It was actually relaxing to have a little while to think while she went.
Her empty basket swung on her arm. She reminded herself to enjoy its light weight now. After all, on her way back, she was sure it was going to be quite heavy and uncomfortable to carry.
Derek had been working on the ranch when she had left. She would have stayed if George had been there, but Derek had said he was picking some things up in town and working on his own place for the day.
When the general store came into sight, Lily was plagued by Emilia’s absence. She always hated doing the shopping alone. Her mother couldn’t come because she was busy running most of the ranch alone.
Emilia’s company last time had been like a drink of fresh water on a cool day. Today, though, being all alone with her shopping basket felt like old times, before Emilia had come to live with them.
“Hello, Lily. What can I get for you today?” the general store owner asked with a wide smile. He was a kind, elderly man who was loved by everyone in town.
“The usual, Mr. Grey.” Lily looked around the store and picked up some extra things that she knew they needed while Mr. Grey filled her basket with sugar, flour, salt pork, and other essentials that they couldn’t create on their ranch.
There was a huge amount of their food that they did create, like all of their vegetables and the majority of their meat. The only reason they were buying salt pork was that their pig wasn’t fat enough to prepare yet.
“How’s your mother doing?” Mr. Grey asked as he pushed the full basket over the counter toward Lily.
“She’s doing good. She said to say hello. She also wanted to know if it would be all right to put this on the tab.”
“Sure thing. Tell your mother that she should stop by sometime. It’s been a while since we’ve seen her.”
Lily nodded and took the basket. It was as heavy as she had expected it to be, if not more.
She managed to get it into a somewhat comfortable position on her arm before heading out of the general store and toward the post office. Now that she thought about it, she realized that she should have stopped at the post office to check for a letter for Emilia before she went to the general store.
At least that way she wouldn’t have to carry her purchases quite so far. “Good afternoon,” Lily greeted the man tending the post office.
He gave her a smile and a wink. “Well, now it is a good afternoon, since you showed up.”
Lily tried to keep herself from blushing. Any other girl might have been moved by the man’s attempt to make conversation or to hint at being more than friends, but right now, Lily was only interested in one person.
“Do you have any letters for Emilia?”
“Just let me check.” The young man ducked back into the room and came out a few moments later with a white envelope in his hand. “Here you are, miss.”
Lily took it and pulled out a coin from her pocket. “Thank you,” she said as she paid him.
She tucked the letter gently into the basket. She knew how important letters from her mother and sister back home were to Emilia.
She turned and walked down the steps, trying to ignore the fact that the man tending the post office was staring at her with every step she took.
Once she had gotten clear of the post office she felt so relieved, she didn’t even notice a pair of young women in front of her and ran into them head-on.
An Enduring Love to Heal Her: A Historical Western Romance Book Page 13