Love's Sweet Beginning

by Ann Shorey

  “I’m Miss Haddon, and this is my mother, Mrs. Bingham.”

  Mother gave him a tight smile, her lips compressed.

  He nodded acknowledgment. “You said you were crossing to the restaurant? If you wish, I’ll accompany you and watch through the window while you inquire as to your uncle’s whereabouts.”

  “Thank you, Reverend.” Cassie marveled at her boldness in speaking to a stranger. She prayed the man was who he said he was.

  14

  Once inside, Cassie noted with a shudder that the restaurant looked nothing like Mr. West’s tidy establishment. One long table ran down the center of the room. Flies zoomed between the open kitchen and the tabletop. Stale, greasy odors clogged the air.

  A man wearing an apron crossed the room toward them. Rolls of fat jiggled around his waist. “Afternoon, Reverend. You’re early for supper. Won’t be ready for another hour.” He eyed Cassie and her mother. “This your wife and daughter?”

  Reverend Greeley’s face reddened. “No, Gus. They won’t arrive for another month. Mrs. Bingham here”—he inclined his head in her direction—“is seeking her brother.”

  Mother stepped forward. “His name’s Randall Carter. He’s one of the railroad workers here.”

  Cassie twisted her hands together and held her breath, waiting for Gus’s answer. What if Mother had been misled again?

  “Rand? Sure, I know him. Drives a grading team.”

  She shot Cassie a triumphant glance. “Could you tell me where he lives, please?”

  “One of them railroad houses across from the tracks. Second one from the west end.” He rubbed his palms over his prominent belly. “Not there today, though. Went out with a crew this morning. Won’t be back ’til tomorrow sometime.”

  “You’re sure?”

  “’Course I’m sure. Cooked their rations, didn’t I?”

  “We’ll take our trunk to his dwelling and wait for him there.”

  A knot of alarm filled Cassie’s throat. They couldn’t plant themselves in her uncle’s home without his approval. She shook her head, but Mother didn’t notice.

  Gus held up his hand. “Probably not the best idea, but you do what you want. None of my business.” His heavy footsteps thudded back to the kitchen.

  Reverend Greely left his post at the window and approached them. “The Travelers’ Rest Hotel is a short distance away. If you’ll forgive my intrusion, I suggest you spend the night there. It’s clean and secure. I’m going there myself. We can send someone back for your trunk.”

  Cassie studied him. He seemed trustworthy, but in Noble Springs the preacher lived in a parsonage, not a hotel. Reverend Greely’s statement didn’t make sense.

  “Why are you staying at the Travelers’ Rest if you’re the preacher here?”

  He held the door open for them. “I’ll explain on the way.”

  She eyed him sideways as she stepped out into the blowing dust. To the east, beyond the workers’ housing, she spotted a two-story building with a TRAVELERS’ REST HOTEL sign beneath the roofline. If he guided them in any other direction, she’d grab Mother and run back to the restaurant. With a firm grip on her mother’s arm, she followed the reverend.

  By the time they reached the hotel, he’d given them a brief account of his stay in Calusa. Once his wife arrived, they’d buy land and build a house. In the meantime, he traveled back and forth between Calusa and their home in Coopers Glen, spending a week in each place.

  He paused before opening the door to the hotel, and pointed to a whitewashed building on the next street.

  “That’s the Calusa school. On Sundays it’s the church.”

  Relieved, Cassie nodded. Evidently he was as honest as he appeared.

  When they entered the lobby, she made a quick assessment of the furnishings. Keys hung on a rack behind a simple desk at the back of the room. A parlor stove stood in one corner, with unoccupied rocking chairs and a worn-looking sofa filling the rest of the small space.

  She gulped and stepped up to the clerk. “How much for one night?”

  The following afternoon, Cassie perched on the edge of the bed while Mother stood at the lace-curtained window in their room and looked out at the street.

  “Rand’s got to be here soon. The man in the restaurant said he was expected today.” She pivoted from the window and paced across the bare wooden floor. “If he doesn’t come, we’ll just have our things moved to his house. That way you won’t have to pay for one more night in this miserable hotel.”

  “We can’t do that. We’d be trespassers.” Cassie rubbed her fingers over the coarse weave of the bedcovering.

  She didn’t want to spend another night in Calusa, no matter where they slept. Mr. West’s deep voice rumbled in her memory. Have a safe journey, Miss Haddon. His tone held a ring of finality. He didn’t believe she’d come back.

  In an hour or so, the train would arrive from the east and make its turnaround to Noble Springs. She fidgeted and checked through her packed carpetbag for the dozenth time, wondering what she’d do if her uncle didn’t arrive. Whether she wanted to or not, she knew she’d stay.

  Mother settled on the edge of the bed. “I do wish you’d change your mind and live here with me. I don’t like the idea of you being unchaperoned around that Mr. West.”

  “We’re never alone. Mrs. Fielder and Timothy Dawson, the boy who helps in the grocery, are always—”

  At the sound of a knock on the door, they both jumped to their feet.

  Before Cassie could stop her, Mother grabbed the knob and flung open the door without asking who waited in the hall.

  “Rand! I knew you’d come!” She threw her arms around a red-bearded man in workman’s clothing.

  He took a step backward and disengaged her grip. “Settle down, Lizzie, and tell me what you’re doing here. First thing when I got to town, Gus at the restaurant said my sister’s looking for me.” Yellow-stained teeth showed when he gave her a crooked grin. “You come all this way to forgive me for fighting in the Federal Army?”

  Mother’s face turned scarlet. “No need to bring up the past. Everything’s different now. Our property’s gone. Philip’s dead.” She held her hand out to Cassie. “You remember my daughter, Cassiopeia.”

  “Been a long time.” He gave Cassie a brief nod, then raised an eyebrow at her mother. “What do you want from me?”

  Cassie gaped at him. To hear Mother tell the story, she and Uncle Rand had a warm relationship, but this reception was decidedly frosty. She stepped closer, noticing the odor of sweat that clung to his clothing. “You’ll be more comfortable if you come in and sit . . . Uncle Rand. There’s a chair beneath the window.”

  “I’m fine right here, thanks.” He shifted his feet. “I don’t have all afternoon, Lizzie. My job keeps me going—the railroad’s always sending me one place or the next. I’m home for a couple days, then off again. So, why are you here?”

  Mother jutted her chin in the air. “I’ve come to live under your protection. We’re family. Father taught us to look after each other, remember? You may be an important man with the railroad, but I’m still your sister.”

  Cassie cringed. This meeting wasn’t unfolding the way she’d imagined. Her mother acted defiant, but her voice trembled. At her statement, Uncle Rand had taken a step backward, as if preparing to flee.

  A train whistle shrieked in the distance.

  As the sound died away, an anxious silence enveloped the room. Cassie held her breath, waiting for her uncle’s response.

  He fixed his gaze on her mother. “Don’t know how much protection you’ll get from me. Just told you I’m gone half the time. But our pa would be sore disappointed in me if I turned you away.”

  Mother reached for his hand. “I’d be grateful,” she whispered.

  He glanced at Cassie. “You needing protection too, missy?”

  “No, sir. My home is in Noble Springs. I can take care of myself.” She said the words with pride. For the first time in her life, they were true.


  The train whistle sounded again.

  Cassie slipped an arm around her mother and kissed her tearstained cheek. “Are you sure you’ll be all right? I’ll stay if you need me.” Sudden pain drove deep in her heart at the reality of parting. Despite all her brave words, she felt tethered to her mother’s side.

  “She’ll be fine.” Uncle Rand spoke in a gruff voice. “Don’t you worry about your ma.”

  “Being with my brother again is answered prayer. If only you were staying . . .” Mother’s lower lip trembled. “This is the first time we’ve ever been apart. I don’t know how to say good-bye to you.”

  “I don’t know how, either.”

  The floorboards vibrated as the train rumbled to a stop across the wide street. Cassie glanced out the window, then burrowed into her mother’s embrace. “This isn’t good-bye. We’re only going to be separated by a few miles of track. I’ll write to you every week.”

  “I promise to answer every one.” Mother’s lips curved in a wobbly smile. “After all, I’ve had lots of practice writing letters.” She kissed Cassie. “Now you’d better go before the train leaves. I . . . I’ll stay here.”

  Her chest aching with unshed tears, Cassie grabbed her carpetbag and dashed from the room. When she reached the platform, she waved her ticket at the conductor to prevent him from closing the entrance to the passenger car.

  With one foot on the step, she heard boots pounding on the platform and a male voice calling, “Miss Haddon! Cassie! Wait!”

  She whirled and stared into the face of Garrett Fitzhugh.

  Her dead fiancé.

  15

  Cassie clutched the train’s handrail for support. This couldn’t be happening. She’d watched Garrett’s casket lowered into the ground. Thrown a handful of dirt over the polished surface. Felt her heart ripped from her chest as the preacher read words from Scripture over the grave.

  And now Garrett stood next to the passenger car with Reverend Greely beaming beside him.

  The reverend broke the charged silence. “Mr. Fitzhugh teaches in the school building that I pointed out. When I told him about meeting you, he was most anxious to pay his respects.”

  Garrett removed his hat and gave her an easy grin. His blond hair glinted in the sun’s slanted rays. “From the look on your face, I’d guess you don’t remember me.”

  “Garrett . . . how could I forget you?” Cassie leaned against the vestibule wall for support. Her heart battered against her ribs.

  His handsome features clouded. “I’m Patrick. I had no idea you’d mistake me for my brother. I’d forgotten for the moment that we looked so much alike.”

  Grief she’d thought buried stung her eyelids. To see Garrett again—no, he wasn’t Garrett. She reached toward him, grasping at air. “P . . . Patrick?”

  She searched her memory for a recollection of Garrett’s brother. He’d attended the funeral, along with numerous family members and friends. She remembered being told he taught school somewhere farther west, but beyond that he’d made no impression on her at the time. She offered him a weak smile. “Forgive me, please. You took me so by surprise. It’s kind of you to come to greet me.”

  “I often wondered what became of you after—”

  The conductor stepped into the vestibule, arms folded over his chest. “Best take your seat, miss. We’ll be rolling soon.”

  She nodded, then extended her gloved hand. “Good-bye, Mr. Fitzhugh. It was a pleasure to see you again.” Politeness required the remark, although seeing Garrett’s brother had been anything but a pleasure. Stunning blow would better express her feelings.

  He bowed over her hand. “The pleasure is mine. Godspeed, Miss Haddon.”

  Cassie collapsed onto a seat on the right-hand side of the deserted car. Her limbs trembled. Memories of Garrett tumbled through her mind. Like Patrick, he was tall and slender, with piercing blue eyes. They’d met at a dance in St. Louis and he’d been taken with her immediately—and she with him. When he proposed, Mother saw him as their best hope to restore their fortunes. Then, in a blink, he was gone. Struck by a runaway team when crossing a street.

  Now, sitting alone in the passenger car, Cassie wondered what her life would have been like if they’d married. Her mother would be settled into the home Garrett was planning to buy for them, instead of living at the edge of nowhere with her brother. Cassie would be the lady of the house and not working in a restaurant to earn a living.

  But she’d never have met Mr. West, with his arresting eyes and gravelly voice. The Lord had closed one door but another stood ajar. A tingle bubbled up inside when she imagined the surprised expression on her employer’s face when she arrived at work tomorrow.

  The train rocked into motion. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Patrick Fitzhugh running alongside. He waved his hand at her.

  She stood and struggled to open the window as the train gathered momentum. After several attempts, she succeeded.

  He cupped his hands around his mouth. “Miss Haddon! I forgot to ask your destination! Where do you live?”

  She leaned out the open window. “Noble Springs.”

  “I may—” The train’s whistle blew the rest of his sentence away. He disappeared from her view, along with Calusa’s bleak streets.

  Closing her eyes, she leaned against the seat back. At the moment, the pain of leaving her mother overwhelmed any thoughts of Garrett or Patrick Fitzhugh. The image of Mother clutching Uncle Rand’s arm burned in her mind.

  She prayed he’d take the responsibility seriously.

  The following morning, Cassie awoke early despite having arrived in Noble Springs after ten the night before. The cabin felt empty without Mother’s presence. Cassie’s decision to stay in Noble Springs came at a price she hadn’t anticipated.

  She swung her feet to the floor. The sooner she left for the restaurant, the sooner she’d see Jenny—and Mr. West.

  She padded to the main room and stirred the fire until coals winked among the ashes. After tossing a few small pieces of wood into the firebox, she placed a kettle on the stove to heat for tea. While she waited, she donned her blue print dress and arranged her hair in a neat coil at the back of her head.

  Peeking into the oval mirror that hung over the bureau Faith had given her, she pulled a few tendrils loose in front of her ears. No sense in looking too severe when Mr. West arrived.

  As soon as she finished her tea, she zipped out the door into the sultry morning. The butternut tree across the street from the restaurant cast an umbrella of welcome shade over the kitchen entrance. Excitement tickled her throat as she burst through the doorway.

  “I told you I’d be back, Jenny.”

  The cook turned from the worktable where she’d been scooping scrambled eggs and potatoes into a shallow bowl. “Praise God you’re here. I couldn’t imagine how I’d get along without you today.” Her grim expression telegraphed worry.

  “Mr. West always helps—” Cassie bit off the rest of her comment when she noticed Wash Bennett standing between the two worktables. She’d never seen him at the restaurant early in the day.

  She glanced between Jenny and Wash. A premonition twisted her stomach. “Something’s wrong. Where’s Mr. West?”

  “He’s home with a broken leg,” Jenny said. “Wash here found him in the grocery last night when he came in to clean the floors.”

  Cassie swung around to face Wash. “What on earth happened?”

  “His boot hung up on one of them crates in the back. Guess he didn’t see it. He pitched facedown, snapped his bone like a matchstick.”

  She clapped her hands over her mouth. The image of Mr. West lying alone and injured brought quick tears to her eyes. “The poor man! What a blessing you were here.”

  “Yes, missy, it was the Lord’s work for certain. After the doctor left, I carried Mr. West home in his buggy, then come back here this morning to give you ladies the news.”

  “Who’s looking after him?”

  “Reckon I am.�
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  Jenny tapped a spoon on the edge of the bowl. “I cooked this for his breakfast. There’s plenty for you too,” she said, leveling her gaze on Wash. “When you get back, just dump it in a skillet for a couple minutes to get the eggs good and hot.”

  “Yes, ma’am.” He took the covered bowl in his large hands. “I’d best be going.”

  Cassie stepped closer to him. “Please tell Mr. West I’ll have a surprise for him this afternoon. You are coming to get his supper, aren’t you?”

  “Yes, missy. I’ll tell him. Might make him feel better.”

  After Wash left, Jenny wrapped Cassie in a hug. “I was afraid you wouldn’t come back. I know how your mother is.”

  “I confess, leaving her was harder than I thought it would be. But she’s with her brother, so I’m trusting him to watch over her well-being.” She tried to imagine her mother in Uncle Rand’s house, wishing she’d had time to see her settled before the train arrived. A lump rose in her throat and she swallowed. Hard. Yesterday couldn’t be changed. Right now she needed to focus on their immediate dilemma.

  “How will we keep the restaurant and grocery operating without Mr. West?”

  “I don’t know. I been studying on it since Wash told me what happened.” Jenny grabbed a knife and attacked a mound of potatoes waiting to be diced.

  Cassie stared at the floor as if the solution might be written on the spotless boards. Her mind roamed over the routine Mr. West had set for his business. Thinking out loud, she said, “Young Timothy comes into the grocery before Mr. West unlocks the restaurant door. We already know how to handle the meals. That leaves counting receipts and writing everything in those ledgers he keeps.”

  “You make writing in ledgers sound easy. I wouldn’t know where to begin.” Her knife whacked a potato into strips.

  Memories of evenings spent with her father in his study filtered into Cassie’s mind. Though several years had passed, she remembered his meticulous accounts of their crops and holdings. The process couldn’t be too different than what Mr. West did with his business. It wouldn’t hurt to try.