A Passing Glance

by Amelia C. Adams

  “Well, I try to keep myself available when Dr. Wayment needs me. He’s a good doctor, but sometimes he needs a little extra help, likely because he only has two hands, and he wears that wife of his out something terrible.”

  Posy bit back a retort. Gracious. She’d never realized how very . . . talkative . . . Goody could be. “We appreciate your help.”

  “Any time, any time.” Goody nodded at Nora and then Emma. “Let me know if you need anything else.”

  “We will,” Posy said, watching until Goody was well and certain down the stairs before turning to Nora. “I’m sorry—that must have been dreadful.”

  “I don’t expect her to understand. I don’t understand myself,” Nora said. She looked down at the baby in her arms. “Can you believe it? Yesterday, we hadn’t even met, and now, she’s here. How do such miracles happen?”

  “Only by the grace of God,” Emma said, sitting down on the other side of the bed.

  “Speaking of God, Pastor Osbourne and Olivia are here,” Posy said. “They wondered if they could pay a visit.”

  Nora looked around helplessly. “I suppose they could—nothing’s indecent or out of sorts, is it?”

  “No, everything’s tidy,” Emma replied. “What Jeanette didn’t take care of, Goody did.”

  “Do you want to see them?” Posy asked. To her, it was less about being presentable and more about Nora’s feelings.

  “I don’t know. I should want to, shouldn’t I?”

  “I don’t think there’s a right or wrong answer to this. You still need to rest—you have days of recovery ahead of you. Why rush?” Posy asked.

  “Because . . . because this is their baby.”

  The hopeless note in Nora’s voice when she said that made Posy speak more sharply than she intended. “That’s your baby until you decide otherwise, and I don’t think you’re ready to make that decision.”

  Nora blinked. “Are you saying you think I should keep her?”

  “I’m saying that this isn’t the kind of thing you can just do. I know you’ve been thinking about it for months, but now you’re holding her—you can see who she is. You didn’t have all the information before. You can really only make the choice now, but it doesn’t need to be this minute.”

  Nora looked down at the baby, then back up at Posy. “What if I’d feel better seeing them tomorrow instead? You’re right—I need time to rest, and I can’t untangle my thoughts just yet.”

  “Of course. I’ll go down and tell them.”

  Nora smiled. “Thank you, Posy. You’re certainly getting your exercise running up and down the stairs today.”

  “It’s good for me. It gets the heart pumping.” Posy turned and trotted back down, absolutely dreading the conversation she was about to have.

  Pastor Osbourne and Olivia had taken seats in the parlor, but came to their feet when Posy entered. She wondered how she ended up becoming the ambassador for this bad news, but then remembered that she had volunteered. That was a foolish thing to do, no doubt. She didn’t know the Osbournes well at all—just from seeing them at church and once in a while in the dining room when they came for a meal out.

  “Nora’s resting right now, and she wonders if you could come back tomorrow afternoon,” she said, watching their faces for their reactions.

  The pastor just nodded, but Olivia went pale. “Is everything all right?”

  “She’s fine, and so’s the baby. She’s just worn out.”

  “Is . . . is she having second thoughts? About letting us raise the baby?”

  Posy didn’t know how to answer that question. She didn’t even know what direction Nora’s feelings ran at that point. “I’m not sure,” she said truthfully. “I just know that she asked if you could come back tomorrow.”

  “Of course we can,” the pastor said, putting his hand on Olivia’s shoulder. “She should rest as much as possible. She’s certainly earned it.”

  Olivia nodded, but her eyes didn’t reflect agreement. “Robert, what if she’s changing her mind?” She turned to her husband, beginning to tremble. “It’s her choice, and I’d never want her to do something against her will, but . . .”

  He gathered her up into his arms, and Posy took a few steps backwards to slip out of the room. It wasn’t a moment she was meant to share.

  In the hallway, she paused and took a deep breath, closing her eyes to try to find balance. Her nap had helped, but she was still exhausted, and there were so many emotions to be had, she wasn’t sure how to sort through them all. At the center of it was a wee little baby whose future was undetermined, but who deserved the very best life she could possibly have.

  “There you are.”

  Her eyes popped open at the familiar voice, and she saw Mr. Monroe walking toward her from the lobby. “I was hoping for a cup of coffee, but I found you instead, and I think that’s a much better bargain.”

  She smiled. “Hello, Mr. Monroe. How are you today?”

  “I’m doing well, and even better now that I’ve seen you. For a while there, I thought someone had come along and stolen all the waitresses out of the hotel.”

  “Yes, that must have seemed rather odd. We all took naps because of our interrupted night.”

  “I did the same.” He glanced toward the dining room. “Would you join me for that cup of coffee, Miss McVey?”

  She was supposed to be dusting the parlor, but she hadn’t heard the Osbournes leave, so they must still be using the room, and she wasn’t about to interrupt them. “I can take ten minutes,” she replied, and he grinned.

  “Good. I have some news to share.”

  He refused to say another word about it until they were both seated with cups in front of them. “All right, now I’ll tell you. I’ve been hired by Colonel Gordon, and I’ll begin work officially next week.”

  “Oh, that’s wonderful news. I’m so glad to hear it.”

  “It’s quite a load off my mind, believe me.”

  She took a sip of her coffee, glancing at the clock as she did. She liked sitting at a table across from Mr. Monroe. His kind gaze made her feel like he was truly paying attention to her. “So why the delay?”

  “I’m going back to Humboldt to gather up my sister and our belongings before I start work. It’s not going to be easy—we’ve lived there our whole lives.”

  “But you can’t stay?”

  He shook his head. “I’m responsible for my sister now that both our parents are gone, and there just aren’t any job prospects out there. Plus, she has the crazy idea that she might like to get married someday, and the marriage prospects are pretty slim as well.”

  “For both men and women?”

  “Oh, there are plenty of eligible women. It’s the men who are in short supply.”

  Posy smiled at his tone of voice. “Let me guess. You had scads of these eligible women chasing you, but there weren’t any you wanted to chase in return.”

  “Is it that obvious?”

  “The way your lip curled when you talked sort of gave it away.”

  He laughed and stirred a bit more sugar into his coffee. “I’ve never been good at hiding my emotions. Yes, you guessed it—when there are five women for every man, those men had better stay on their toes. There were plenty of nice girls in the lot, but none that I felt I could make a home with. When I get married, I want to feel something for my wife—I don’t want to marry her simply because statistics say I have to.”

  Posy glanced at the clock again. “Almost time for me to get back to work. What’s your next step in this grand adventure?”

  “Well, I’ve seen the house today—it’s small, but I think Miranda will enjoy making it work. That’s something she enjoys—decorating and housekeeping and all those things that befuddle me. I’ve also sent Miranda a telegram to let her know that our move is a sure thing. I’m going to head out . . . well, as soon as I’m done chatting with you. Hopefully, everything will go smoothly, and we’ll be back and ready to settle in before my week is up.”

/>   “I wish you well, Mr. Monroe. And I look forward to meeting your sister.”

  Posy prepared to stand up, but Mr. Monroe held up his hand. “Wait. Miss McVey, I can’t leave without asking you something. May I call on you when I get back in town? Socially?”

  That caught Posy by surprise. She swallowed before she could answer. “You’d like to call on me?”

  “Yes. I’ve never met anyone like you, Miss McVey, and if I didn’t take the time to get to know you, I think I’d be missing out on a truly wonderful opportunity.”

  She wasn’t sure if that was a romantic overture or if he was thinking about her like some kind of scientific specimen. “I’m sure that would be fine,” she said at last.

  “I’ll look forward to that a great deal.”

  “I will too. I really do need to get back to work. Travel safely.”

  She left the dining room quickly, shaking her head to herself. She liked Mr. Monroe—she liked him quite a lot. He was kind and handsome, he treated her respectfully, and he was interested in her . . . or he was interested in studying her. Either way, she wouldn’t mind seeing him again. At the same time, though, she was nervous—so nervous. The last time a man had shown interest in her, she’d had to leave home to get away from him. No, Mr. Monroe was nothing like the Kaw brave she’d left behind, and a relationship was appealing to her, but now that it was a possibility, she wasn’t quite sure what to think or feel.

  But she’d have to wait until later to sort that out. She needed to finish the parlor, and then it would be mealtime again.

  She peered around the corner carefully to see that the pastor and Olivia were gone, and then she dusted the last remaining bookshelf. Focus on work, she told herself. Focus on work, and give everything its proper due. She didn’t even have to think about Mr. Monroe for a whole week if she didn’t want to.

  Except . . . she did want to. Quite a lot.

  Chapter Four

  Parker tightened the buckle on Freya’s saddle and checked the bags and the stirrups. He’d procrastinated going for as long as he could, making a pretense of wanting to oil the saddle here and there and refold the blanket, but in truth, he just didn’t want to leave Topeka quite so soon. That was ridiculous. He’d be back in a matter of days, and he’d see Miss McVey then. He’d be in a much better position to think about her then too because some of the chaos in his life would be settled. If he decided to pursue her, he’d have a lot more to offer her.

  He chuckled to himself. Pursue her? He’d spoken with her for mere minutes, and already he was thinking about pursuing her? He’d always been one to take quick action, but this was a little too quick, even for him. The best thing would be to put her from his mind while he traveled and packed up. Then, once he was back and he and Miranda were settled, he could consider it again. Hopefully, from a more logical standpoint.

  “Thank you for taking care of my horse,” he said to Tom, who was spreading some hay around the bottom of the next stall. “I appreciate it.”

  “You’re welcome. And I understand you’re our new deputy marshal. Congratulations—we’re glad to have you.”

  “Thanks. I’m looking forward to getting my hands a little dirty.” He swung up into the saddle. “I’ll see you in about a week.”

  Tom gave a nod and lifted his hand, and Parker rode out of the yard and onto the street. He was tempted to turn and see if Posy was looking through one of the windows, but that was foolish talk again, and he forced himself not to check. There would be time enough for all those romantic notions when he got back. Right now, he had a job to do.

  ***

  The first leg of his journey went without incident, and he stayed the night at a small inn along the road. It wasn’t anything fancy, but the food was hot, and that was really all he needed. The next day, though, the skies broke loose with rain like he’d never seen—sheets and sheets of it on all sides, colder than it should have been for the season, and there were no trees to give him any shelter. He pulled his collar up over his ears, but that was scarcely better than no protection at all, and by the time Freya trotted into their yard, not only had he been soaked for hours, but he was starting to shiver quite badly.

  Miranda threw the front door open and called out to him. “Hurry and get in here before you catch your death!”

  “Too late! I already did!” He guided Freya into the stables and gave her a quick rub, promising her a thorough brushing the next day, then made his way into the house, where Miranda was throwing extra wood on the fire.

  “Get changed and then come sit by the heat,” she said. “You must be frozen.”

  “I am. I can hardly feel my fingers or toes.”

  She scowled. “Well then, stop standing there talking to me and go get dry!”

  He chuckled, heading for his room to do what she said.

  He fumbled with his buttons, his hands not wanting to cooperate, but he finally managed to pull on some clean dry clothes and join her out by the fireplace. She pressed a hot mug of tea into his hands, and he cradled it, loving the way the warmth seeped into his skin and thawed the ice he was sure had formed in his veins.

  “As soon as your teeth stop chattering, I want to hear all about Topeka. Are the people nice? Is there a library? What about a dress shop?”

  Parker shook his head tolerantly. “One thing at a time. I didn’t meet a lot of people, but the ones I did meet were very nice. I don’t know about a library—I didn’t think to ask, and I didn’t ask about a dress shop, either.”

  “Parker! How can you propose to move me somewhere without asking some of these vital questions?”

  “They didn’t come to mind. I was more concerned about things like getting the job and finding a place to live.”

  Miranda’s expression immediately changed. “You found a house? Tell me about it!”

  “It’s fairly small, a bit smaller than this one, but it’s included in my salary, so that’s nice. It has a garden area out back, and I could see you bustling around, decorating it and making it exactly what you want.”

  “Oh, that sounds wonderful. Is it in good shape? Is the roof going to leak on us or anything?”

  “It seemed to be in good repair.”

  She sat back, and he could almost hear her brain churning. “I’ll bring the curtains from here, and if there’s a garden, that means I can put in some flowers, and if there isn’t a library, I guess I’ll just have to start one.”

  Parker took a sip of his tea, then set the cup down. He really didn’t feel very well, and he was having a hard time focusing on anything Miranda was saying. It was as if he was asleep, listening to everything through a thick blanket.

  “Are you all right? Parker?”

  He blinked, trying to connect with her words. “I’m fine. I’ve just never been in such a cold rain during the summer.”

  “It’s almost fall,” she corrected. “And you don’t look well at all. I think you should go to bed. We’ll talk about everything we still need to do over breakfast, okay?”

  “That sounds good.” He stood up, and a wave of dizziness nearly knocked him back down. He grabbed the mantel for support.

  “If you aren’t remarkably better fast—and I mean fast—I’m getting the doctor,” Miranda said. “You look like warmed-up leftovers from a meal that wasn’t so great to begin with.” She took his arm and walked with him until they reached the side of his bed. “Come on now—climb in.”

  He lowered himself onto the mattress, then flopped backward. He felt her cool hand on his forehead.

  “Oh, dear. You’ve got a fever. Well, you just made my decision for me—I’m getting the doctor.”

  “No,” he said weakly. “I’m fine. We have too much to do for me to be sick.”

  “I agree—we have too much to do. But guess what—you are sick. It’s a good thing you have such a kind, caring, devoted sister to take care of things. Go to sleep and be a good little patient now.”

  He rolled onto his side, wishing he didn’t feel like the be
d was rolling too. No time for this—and he had to get back to Topeka. Someone was waiting there for him—someone with button-black eyes and a mysterious smile.

  He liked mysteries.

  ***

  Posy and Giselle trailed along behind Nora as she descended the staircase, her footsteps slow. Elizabeth had gone first, carrying the baby, and Posy didn’t know what would happen when they reached the parlor. The Osbournes were there, waiting for them, hoping to see the baby and maybe even take her home with them, but Nora hadn’t shared her thoughts as of yet, and Posy hadn’t been able to tell which way she was leaning. All she knew was that at least one heart would be broken no matter what Nora decided.

  When they reached the main floor of the hotel, Posy and Giselle tried to step back and allow the group some privacy, but Nora turned and gave them an imploring look. “Please don’t leave,” she whispered. “Just in case I fall over or something . . . I need friends there.”

  Nora was recovering well and Posy doubted that she’d fall over, but she also knew that Nora was likely speaking metaphorically. There was more than one way to support a friend. She nodded. “Of course.”

  They all stepped into the parlor, and the Osbournes came to their feet immediately. The pastor stepped forward and greeted Nora, but Olivia’s eyes went straight to the baby and didn’t move.

  “We’re so glad to hear that you’re feeling well,” the pastor said, motioning toward a chair, and Nora sat down. Posy and Giselle remained standing near the doorway. Posy felt out of place and like an intruder, but Nora had asked them to stay, so that’s what she’d do even if she would so much rather be sweeping the floor or doing laundry or . . . anything, really.

  “Yes, I’m doing very well,” Nora replied. “Dr. Wayment’s pleased.”

  Elizabeth stood next to Nora, rocking back and forth slightly as she cradled the baby in her arms. She glanced at Posy and gave a slight shrug. They’d discussed privately their concerns about this meeting. Things had never been awkward between Nora and the Osbournes before, but now it seemed they were finding it difficult even to carry on a simple conversation.