Redeeming Lies

by Samantha St. Claire

  Maddie said a thank you to the woman's retreating back. She was exhausted, and she hadn't even started working.

  About the time Maddie's stomach announced emphatically that it was time for lunch, Mr. Wilkinson stuck his head inside the room. "I think it'd be just fine for you to take a lunch break now, Miss Alexander. I doubt that Mrs. Wilkinson will be back until late this afternoon. She’ll find far too much to organize within the church pantry. Probably a few lives to set to rights as well, if I know my Mrs., and I do." He grinned. "Wonderful woman, my Mrs. Wilkinson. I never tire of listening to her talk. Life used to be lonely before she came along. Ain’t lonely now!"

  Maddie stepped out of the shop with a light heart and Mr. Dewey’s pamphlet in her hand. She knew exactly where to go. Taking her time, she strolled along the main street seeing the shops with different eyes. She observed the bustle of shoppers coming and going from the mercantile, the dry goods stores. She looked upon the freshly painted exteriors and new striped awnings with appreciation. In a single morning, her perspective of life and possibilities improved.

  With a fresh positive attitude, she smiled at everyone she passed. She stepped into the small café she’d seen while walking with Jessie. A friendly young waitress led her to a table by the window. Although she'd not yet received her first week's wages, the promise was enough to use the last of the "borrowed" funds from her father's valise. Both a comfort and a curse was the knowledge that stacks of bills still remained in the bag beneath her bed. If she had to leave Ketchum quickly, she could. Putting that thought to the back of her mind, she studied the menu. Decisiveness was the mark of a woman with a clear understanding of her leadership role in society. Tea sandwiches and black tea. That would be just the thing.

  She leaned back in her chair and watched the shoppers on the other side of the window. The small café, filled with customers engaged in energetic conversation, reminded her of the last few pleasant years in school, where she'd lived as a young woman of means. For the first time in her life she had lived with a full stomach, attractive clothes and a veneer of respectability among her peers.

  For those years, she’d managed to ignore what her father did to enable her to live such a life. At whose expense had she benefited so well? It wasn’t a thought she wanted to explore then or now. But in light of the predicament in which she found herself, she knew she’d been foolish to believe it would last.

  Her mood shifted. That life which had once seemed so normal was lost to her now. Might she hope that she could regain what she'd lost here, in this strange little oasis of civilization, in a town she'd never heard of before two days ago? No! She mustn’t think such things. This was just a stopping place, a time to plan for the months and years ahead. Her life here was a fabrication. But she had a job to do, even if she was pretending to be someone she was not.

  With that resolution, she opened Mr. Dewey's pamphlet. A Classification and Subject Index for Calaloguing and Arranging the Books and Pamphlets of a Library. She had heard of Mr. Dewey's system, of course. Every educated woman would have. But it was the last word that confused her. Library. Did Mrs. Wilkinson intend to sell only her four boxes of books on display or lend them?

  She was deep in her study, only beginning the specific divisions of philosophy when she noticed a shadow had fallen across her pages. Dr. Reynolds stood beside her. Her face must have reflected the degree to which he had surprised her because he was quick to apologize.

  "I wasn't sure how to keep from startling you. You appeared intent on your studies," he said.

  She became aware for the second time just how his smile appealed to her, those perfect teeth and full firm lips framed by charming dimples. A pleasant warmth crept up her neck and she realized she was staring at him without responding. "It's quite all right." She picked up the paper and turned it over, showing him the title. "Studying for my new job."

  "So, you took it. Very good."

  "I'm a little confused about Mrs. Wilkinson's notions of book sellers. I was led to believe that Mr. Dewey's system was suggested for libraries."

  "Yes, I can understand why you might be." He rotated the brim of his hat with precise movements of his fingers. "I’m sure you’ll figure it out, and I think the job will suit you.”

  She wondered if she should invite him to join her. A voice within, sounding vaguely like her father, warned her not to encourage his friendship. She said, "I think so too." For an awkward moment she waited for him to carry the conversation.

  “I didn't thank you properly last night." She fumbled with her napkin, saying only, "Thank you." This time, she was certain the warmth had betrayed her with a telling blush.

  He nodded, his face softening again with a shy smile. "You’re welcome." He remained a moment longer shifting his focus from his hat to her face. "Well, I have to meet Dr. Thornton back at his office. It was nice to see you. Enjoy your lunch, then."

  Until now, Maddie had never experienced a moment when words abandoned her. She lifted her hand and gave him a limp wave, watching him walk away. Her eyes continued to follow him as he passed through the door and into the street. From the window, she admired his retreating back almost as much as she’d enjoyed studying his handsome face. Maddie, you’re behaving like a fool!

  Taking a sip of tepid tea, she stared at Mr. Dewey’s pamphlet, not reading the words, just staring at them. She could not have explained the strange impulse that overtook her in that moment. Imagining the empty room, the four small boxes, the encouraging smile on the face of a man she barely knew, had altered her perspective on all that had occurred within the last 72 hours. While she could not fit the pieces into anything resembling an experience from her past, perhaps because she could not, she gave into the absurdity of her situation. She yielded to the impulse and laughed.

  When she caught the disapproving stares from two women seated next to her, she drew her hand to her mouth, covering the smile that still hovered there.

  Chapter 12

  Although the morning air was crisp and stinging his cheeks, the rising sun brought the promise of a warmer spring day. Each day, the green coloring the foothills grew more intense and the air now carried a heady scent of blossoming chokeberries. Stepping from the boarding house porch, he'd wasted no time finding a way to the river and the trail Dr. Thornton told him made a good hike. Even if he didn't go to the extremes that Thornton advocated, he could at the least work clean air into his lungs with a brisk walk before going to work.

  Pulling up his coat collar against his neck, David picked up his pace. The trail he followed up the river showed signs of frequent travel by humans and wildlife. Boot prints made deep impressions in the mud while here and there rather large scat indicated larger mammals found the trail as useful.

  He paused as an animal with a tawny coat, small and with a long snout, scurried across the path a few feet ahead. The grasses waved along the path the animal took to the base of a tree. David watched the head and body emerge as the creature clamored up the aspen trunk. Fifteen feet up, the animal perched in a fork of the tree. It wasn't a squirrel. He was familiar with those. This was different, the long face suggesting it belonged to the weasel family. Kat would have known what it was. She’d opened his eyes to this country’s natural beauty as much as she’d opened his heart.

  Stepping out in long strides, David felt his pulse quicken as the trail drew away from the river, climbing a bank onto a bench. Increasing the heart rate was good, exertion too. He unbuttoned his coat.

  For the next half hour, David focused his energies on pushing his body, choosing animal trails that led up hills rather than remain on the flatter terrain along the river. Having followed one such trail, he topped out onto a flat hillock after a steep climb through dense shrub. Free of the brush and tangled vines, the vista opened. He stood at the edge of the bench looking back toward the town.

  The flat lands leading to the Snake River valley stretched away to the south. From here the train track, straight as an arrow, pointed straight to
Ketchum, where they stopped. It gave him the sense he had arrived at the end of the known world. In many ways, this was true. All David had ever known he'd learned in the cities of the east. The wilderness, the frontier, might have been on the moon for all he knew of them. That had changed when the sickness in his lungs had come upon him and he realized that he would most likely die if he remained in that world.

  He'd left behind the familiar and comfortable, all that had formed him. Here he stood at the end of that known world, poised to begin again. And the rules to which he'd grown accustomed did not apply.

  Sunlight streamed into the valley from the sheltering eastern range. Bird song, melting snow and the pounding of his own heart bore evidence of the awakening. Spring was coming. All that represented was coming as well: hope, rebirth, new life. He threw back his shoulders and breathed deep of the heavy fragrance of pine.

  We can change only a few things in this life, our attitude chief among them. Those words his grandfather gave him. He had lived by them, choosing humor over bitterness throughout a life of lost loves and fortunes. Change what you can and leave the rest to God. He'd said that too, as David had boarded the train west. David had left his youthful idealism behind as he'd left family and expectations.

  Perhaps he could change his attitude, replacing idealism with optimism. Any doctor worth his calling owed hope to his patients. A diagnosis stated matter-of-factly, without the possibility of miracles, was as good as a death sentence. David had come to believe any healing, whether the result of a physician's skill or not, was ultimately a divine healing.

  He was going to live whether for a year or fifty. How he lived those years was within his control. Giving the past over to the past was the first step to starting fresh. Yielding his impossible dreams of a life with a woman he'd never have, had started with the first step aboard the train heading east to Ketchum. Life was not over for him. It was just beginning and within the narrow valley below lay the secrets of his future.

  HAVOC, THE BLACK CAT, waited for Maddie at the top of the stairs. She appeared impatient, the tip of her tail twitching. "What do you want?" The cat fixed its gaze on the bedroom door.

  "Oh, I see. I've locked you out of your room, have I?" Maddie opened the door and the cat pranced through the opening, leaping onto the bed in one graceful movement. "Sorry, I forgot that Jessie said you liked to sleep here during the day."

  Havoc appeared not to be one to hold a grudge as she made one circle before melding into the folds of the quilt. She'd chosen the iris square. Maddie mused for a moment how the choice of color was a good one for the cat, giving her glossy coat a fetching cast of blue.

  Before Maddie could settle herself, Jessie’s voice called up the stairs. "Maddie, can you give me a hand in the kitchen, please?"

  Maddie found Jessie gripping the sides of a pan while attempting to close the oven door with her foot. Maddie sprang to her aid.

  "Oh, thanks. What do you think?" Jessie held out the pan to Maddie, offering her a chance to inhale the fragrance of honey and cinnamon. "Smells good, doesn't it? Bart's favorite cake. Can you put the pot roast back in the oven? Had to take it out to bake the cake." Maddie searched the counter for another pair of pot holders before obliging.

  Both women started at the slamming of the back door accompanied by Evan's booming halloo to the house. Preceding Evan through the kitchen door, was a strange marriage of beast-sized canine body parts followed by an exuberant, flag-waving tail.

  Evan walked in behind him and shoved his hands on his hips. "Handsome, isn't he?"

  Jessie stepped back as the dog attempted to give her an enthusiastic greeting with his front paws. His greeting denied, the dog commenced to bark with equal enthusiasm. "Evan! Lena will throw a fit!"

  Sticks, the normally indolent ginger cat, reacted to the greeting by yowling and vaulting onto the top of the kitchen counter. Jessie spun and grabbed the cake. She yowled as her hands connected with the hot pan. Dropping the pan, she grabbed for Sticks as Maddie picked up the pan with a dish towel.

  One of Havoc's peculiarities was, that in spite of being a rather reticent cat, she became excessively agitated by any sounds signaling battle. She bolted from the shadows, a black demon pouncing upon the baffled dog. Although not planned with any precision, her maneuver was a perfect example of a surprise attack. The dog's four paws left the ground at the same moment and his body twisted 180 degrees, his tail and nose swiftly exchanging places. The cat startled by the dog's energetic reaction made a remarkably similar mid-air spin. This meant that the cat was now at the receiving end of the dog's canines. The cat, being sensible in matters of survival, ran.

  The next sequence of events took Maddie time to sort out later. She recorded them in a journal that evening. What she recalled was that Havoc, the black cat, ran under the kitchen table and into Maddie’s legs. Maddie backed up against the open stove firebox causing the tip of her apron to catch fire. The ginger cat, Sticks, seeing an opening to the hallway leapt from Jessie's arms. Appearing to take flight, he hit the table with both paws and vaulted himself back into the air and through the doorway leading to the stairs.

  Free of the cat, Jessie turned to help Maddie, who stood frozen by the startling sight of her own blazing apron. Arms raised, Maddie held the cake aloft and out of harm's way. Before Jessie could do more than reach for Maddie's apron strings, Maddie felt the wave of water hit her face with such force as to knock her back on her heels.

  This was the scene that met Lena as she opened the kitchen door. Both Havoc and the dog seeing their opportunity darted past her, Jessie and Maddie, sputtering and drenched, and Evan standing by the sink holding an empty dishwater pan. The latter was wearing a rather sheepish expression.

  A half-hour later, much had resolved itself to the usual calm. Bart found Sticks cowering or possibly sleeping under Lena and Evan's bed. The dog located Havoc sitting atop the tallest bookcase, blinking and glaring down on the beast with disdain that only a cat can deliver with such skill. Sustaining only minor lacerations to his arms and one side of his face, Evan extracted the cat from the bookshelf and carried her upstairs to her safe place, Maddie's room.

  The next half hour involved much fuss over the new puppy, some necessary cleaning of paws and kitchen floor, and airing of the house. In the confusion, the roast, forgotten in the oven, only came to their attention when the odor of scorched meat drifted through the house. The smoke rolling in great clouds through the kitchen forced the decision to serve dinner on the porch, so to allow the air in the house to become breathable once more.

  It was this idyllic scene of men and women sitting on the porch, leisurely enjoying sandwiches and cake that greeted Dr. Reynolds when he arrived at the house. Curtains fluttering from every open window might have appeared as nothing more than the usual airing for spring cleaning.

  Maddie tucked a damp lock of hair behind her ear. Jessie brushed a crumb from her clean apron. They exchanged a smile. Jessie suppressed a giggle with a hand.

  "David, grab a sandwich and come have a seat." Evan gestured to the porch step open beside him. Apart from the scruffy-looking dog sitting at his feet, there was plenty of room.

  Chapter 13

  "So, the river I crossed over today. . ."

  "The Big Wood River." Evan finished for him.

  David repeated, "The Big Wood River. That river runs through the property you and Mrs. Hartmann wish to buy?"

  "It touches a corner of the ranch. The land we have our eyes on runs to the east, along a seasonal creek." Evan explained.

  David said, "That's stunning country. I believe I saw a portion of it today on my walk."

  The two men sat on either side of the porch step, the mutt stretched out between them acting for all the world like he'd lived there all of his life. David reached out and scratched the dog's hairy ears. The dog stretched his toes and moaned with pleasure.

  Evan lifted an appreciative eyebrow. “That’s a fair walk if you made that this morning before breakfast.”r />
  David smiled his answer, nodding.

  Maddie sat across from Jessie, trying to concentrate on a very slow game of checkers. Her attention drifted to the men's discussion. From time to time, she stole a glance in the young doctor's direction.

  "Maddie! It's your turn!" Jessie admonished. "Pay attention!"

  "Sorry." Maddie sacrificed a checker. She was rapidly learning that Jessie was brutally serious about the game of checkers. Although she took long minutes to make her move, Jessie displayed little patience for those who did likewise. Maddie supposed that was a fair strategy in itself.

  Evan said, "Lena and I met up in Sawtooth City where she ran a boarding house. Town dried up just like the mining there. It's just the way of things. That's why they call them boom towns. We've got our hopes set on Ketchum being different, even with the rumors of a falling silver market. Some folks here are determined to hunker down and ride out the lean times."

  "I’ve certainly seen enough improvements to make me believe it worthwhile for businesses to stay. Seems the railroad could help."

  Evan said, "We think so. I've made my best offer to the widow who owns the ranch. Just praying now."

  Lena rested a shoulder against the porch post behind Evan. "But things change."

  "Sometimes those changes are better. Like you and me, Lena girl," he reached up and squeezed Lena’s hand.

  Maddie heard the affection in his voice. The look he gave to his wife filled her with an unexpected pang of jealousy.

  Lena kept her gaze locked on Evan as she said, "We're learning to keep our dreams a bit more fluid than they once were. Rivers change course. People need to as well. If there's a boulder in your way find the way around it. Isn't that what you said?"

  "Sounds more like something Ely would say, ja?"