by Judith Stacy
Unlike those disappointing days back home. Even after she got her certificate from Miss Purtle’s Academy, her father hadn’t let her lend a hand even with the books, as her mother had done. And he’d absolutely refused to listen to a single one of her suggestions.
Anna never understood why her father displayed not an ounce of faith in her, or a smidgeon of confidence or trust. So many unanswered questions.
Such as what to do with her life now, Anna realized.
Yesterday she’d decided to stay in Branford for a while. No sense running off somewhere, such as her cousin’s place in San Francisco, without a clear plan. The last thing Anna wanted to do was make another mistake.
She had to figure out a new life for herself. A life that, one day, would include a husband and children.
She knew about the most intimate aspects of marriage, of course. The girls at Miss Purtle’s Academy had whispered about it, sometimes in great detail. It was the other aspects of marriage that troubled her.
What did men want from a wife? What did they expect? That’s what Anna wanted to know.
Of course, her lack of wifely knowledge wouldn’t have been her sole problem with Henry, if he’d stayed in town and married her. He’d lied to her. He’d looked her in the eye and lied about the lumber business.
An old, much-too-familiar knot drew Anna’s stomach tight at the thought. She’d believed Henry. She’d trusted him. And he’d lied to her.
She knew in her heart that their marriage would never have worked. If two people had no trust between them, what sort of life could they have?
Apparently Cade Riker, of all people, had trust in her. He’d offered her a job. Not the sort of work she’d been trained for at Miss Purtle’s Academy, but Anna knew she could perform it well. Yet how good a businesswoman was she? Anna wondered. She hadn’t even asked how much the job paid.
That was because she’d been busy kissing her prospective boss.
A warmth that defied the coolness of the morning swept over Anna. She ignored it and kept walking.
Her footsteps slowed as she passed Talbot’s General Store, and Mrs. Harrington’s dire prediction came back to her. If the fabric for the wedding dresses didn’t arrive soon, the man could well find himself kicked out of town.
At the edge of Branford, Anna spotted two houses situated not far from the lumberyard office. She hadn’t noticed them yesterday, set back from the road as they were. Each house had two stories, a covered front porch and a white picket fence.
Anna knew instantly which home belonged to Cade’s family. It showed a little more wear, of course, since it was older, but its color gave away the residents. The house had been painted pale yellow and trimmed in white. A woman—Cade’s mother, surely—had selected the colors.
The house next door boasted a coat of sky-blue. A man had chosen that color.
Lamplight burned in the upstairs rooms of the yellow house, so Anna figured the Riker brothers were up. She circled the house, found the door unlocked and went inside.
“Hello? Good morning?” she called.
She walked into the kitchen, a large room with a cookstove, cupboards, a sideboard and a big table. There was a warmth, a friendliness about the kitchen. Anna imagined many a meal had been prepared here.
Including this morning’s.
Dirty plates, coffee cups, pots and pans covered the table, the stove and the sideboard. She put her hat aside and pulled an apron from her satchel. Her first day on the job and she’d made an impression, all right. She’d completely missed breakfast.
Anna gathered the dishes from the table and stacked them on the cluttered sideboard. What could she do to make up for this morning’s mistake but prepare a fine supper tonight?
“Something spectacular,” she murmured.
Anna turned away from the sideboard just as a door on the other side of the room opened. Cade walked out, naked from the waist up.
“Spectacular, indeed…” She breathed the words, frozen in place, staring at him.
He wore dark trousers, the top button unfastened. A suspender hooked over one shoulder, a small towel draped the other. The sleeves of his long johns dangled.
His chest was bare. Coarse, dark hair covered it, swirled around his nipples and arrowed down his washboard belly, disappearing into his low-slung trousers.
Anna’s breath caught as she dragged her gaze from that unfastened button upward over his chest, to pause at his wide, straight shoulders. Then his chin, wet and smooth, and his jaw white with shaving soap.
None of the girls at Miss Purtle’s Academy had whispered about this.
Heat coiled deep in Anna, then surged through her, bringing her to her senses. Good gracious, what was she doing? Standing in a kitchen, staring at a half-naked man who’d just walked out of the family washroom?
Cade’s gaze bored into her with an intensity that caused her cheeks to burn. Yet there was no anger behind that look. No outrage, no indignation at being ogled. Anna didn’t know what it meant, only that it called to her.
She might have answered, too, if Kyle hadn’t clomped into the kitchen, hopping into his boots. Cade ducked back into the washroom and closed the door. Anna grabbed more plates from the table.
“Morning, Miss Anna. I sure am glad to see you here.”
She nodded toward the cookstove. “I see I’m late.”
“Cade and Ben are worse than animals,” Kyle grumbled. “If you don’t feed them early, they’re grumpy all morning.”
Anna laughed gently. “Are you ready for school?”
“Almost,” he said, then shouted at the closed door. “If Cade will ever get out of the washroom, that is.”
The kitchen erupted in chaos with Kyle explaining where everything was in the cupboards while yelling at Cade in the washroom. Ben appeared and helped himself to another cup of coffee as he talked to her and roughhoused with Kyle. Anna sought refuge in the corner and thought herself safe there until she looked up to find Cade standing across the room.
With his shirt on.
“It’s about time,” Kyle complained, then ducked into the washroom.
Ben snapped Cade’s attention with conversation about something at the lumberyard, then grabbed a biscuit from the basket and headed out the back door.
Kyle came out of the washroom, slicking down his hair with his hand. Cade caught his arm, stopping him at the door.
“I expect you to stay in school all day,” he told him.
Kyle didn’t say anything, just gave him a quick nod and hurried out the door. Cade watched him for a minute, then turned to Anna.
“I’ll send a wagon to the hotel to pick up your things so you can get settled next door. There’s not much furniture, but the place is livable,” he said. “If you need anything, come to the office. Don’t go wandering around the lumberyard. It’s dangerous.”
“I’ll be careful,” Anna assured him.
“Dangerous for my men,” Cade said. His gaze heated a little and swept her from head to toe. “If they get a look at you, they sure won’t have their minds on their work.”
He took his hat and a set of keys from the peg on the wall and left.
Anna went to the door and watched Cade head toward the lumberyard office. He moved with confidence, almost arrogance. A man used to being in charge. Wide shoulders, long back, narrow waist, tight—
She closed the door and dashed to the table, admonishing herself for her blatant stares.
Anna made quick work of cleaning the kitchen, then sorted through recipes she’d brought with her, and planned supper. She pinned her hat on again, got her satchel and went back to the hotel.
“Glad you’re staying in town,” Mrs. Harrington said, as Anna stood at the registration desk settling her bill. “And working for the Riker boys? Good for you.”
“I’m also helping with the weddings,” Anna said.
“They’ll need all the help they can get.” Mrs. Harrington shook her head. “Vida Kendall and poor old Mr. Talbot got int
o a shouting match first thing this morning. There were some mighty ugly words exchanged.”
Anna cringed. “Let’s hope that fabric gets here soon.”
She went up to her room and put all her catalogs into her satchel to take to Mrs. Kendall’s house for the planning meeting, then repacked her trunks. Anna took a minute to push aside the tissue paper that covered her wedding dress.
Such a beautiful gown. A treasure.
A pang of longing rose in Anna. Her father had seen to it she had the wedding dress of her dreams. How thankful she was that the biggest day of her life wasn’t hanging on the whim of a textile mill and the railroad delivery schedule.
“Come in, come in,” Mrs. Kendall insisted, stepping back from her front door and waving Anna inside.
“Thank you for inviting—”
“Did you bring the catalogs?” Mrs. Kendall asked.
Anna lifted her satchel. “Yes, I—”
“Come inside, then.”
Anna followed the woman down a short hallway. The Kendall home sat near the edge of town, a fine two-story house painted green, and Anna could see that Mrs. Kendall took pride in furnishing it.
The din of voices stopped as Anna stepped into the parlor. Nearly a dozen women turned to her. Mrs. Kendall made rapid-fire introductions of the brides-to-be, their mothers and the other women helping with the weddings. Then she relieved Anna of her catalogs and passed them out.
“I’m so glad you’re here,” Rachel Kendall said, coming to Anna’s side.
The other two brides-to-be joined them—Mary Sumner, daughter of a local businessman, and Sarah Proctor, daughter of Branford’s banker, if Anna remembered the introduction correctly.
Sarah’s mother called to her from across the room as she fanned through a catalog, leaving Anna to take a seat on the settee between Rachel and Mary. Anna talked with them until Mrs. Kendall rose to her feet.
“Ladies?” The woman raised her hand for silence. “I want to give you the latest on the fabric situation.”
A rumble of interest went through the gathering. Anna thought she heard Rachel groan softly.
“This morning I spoke with Mr. Talbot again,” Mrs. Kendall said. “He claims to have received confirmation that the fabric was shipped from England and arrived in New York.”
“New York?” Mrs. Proctor’s eyes widened in horror. “It’s only now gotten as far as New York? But—”
Mrs. Kendall held up her hand for silence once more. “Mr. Talbot also claims that he has received notice from the railroad that the fabric was shipped here to Branford.”
An expectant silence hung in the room. All the women leaned forward slightly.
Mrs. Kendall drew herself up slightly. “The fabric was shipped to Branford weeks ago.”
The room erupted.
“Weeks ago?” someone called.
“It should have gotten here already,” someone else declared.
The noise grew. Several women rose to their feet.
“I know what’s going on!” Mrs. Sumner cried, bringing the room to silence. “I’ll bet that Edgar Talbot never ordered the fabric in the first place! He was only boasting about his contacts in England! And now he’s giving us this so-called confirmation story to appease us!”
Shrieks of horror arose, then Mrs. Proctor shouted, “I’ll bet Talbot is deliberately holding the fabric! He’s waiting until we become desperate so he can charge more!”
“How dare he!” another women called.
“It would be just like him!” someone else agreed.
“Oh, goodness…” Rachel groaned.
Anna turned to her. Color drained from the girl’s face and she seemed to shrink more at each outburst.
“Would you like to get some air?” Anna asked.
“I’d like that, but…” Rachel glanced at her mother. “I don’t dare leave.”
Anna nodded in understanding. Seemed they were all trapped. She remembered her friends’ weddings back home that she’d been a part of. Weddings seemed to bring out the worst in people, during the planning stage, anyway. These weddings, apparently, would be no different.
Heated accusations flew until the meeting broke up, with Mrs. Kendall and the other two mothers vowing to get to the bottom of the fabric scandal no matter what. As the women moved toward the door, Rachel touched Anna’s arm.
“I really would love to hear about your train journey,” she said. “Could we get together and chat?”
An escape—even a vicarious one—must seem appealing to Rachel. Anna understood her interest.
“Rachel!” her mother called.
The girl cringed slightly and hurried away.
Anna arrived at the Riker home before anyone else. She got supper started, then set the table with china she found in the cupboard that must have belonged to Cade’s mother.
After the chaos of the Kendall home, Anna was more than ready for a quiet meal. She was anxious, too, to show off her menu planning and cooking, and demonstrate to the Riker brothers how capable she was.
Just as she placed a vase of fresh flowers on the table, Cade and Ben burst through the back door, looking tired and arguing over something. Neither acknowledged her as she placed the serving dishes on the table. Kyle showed up a few minutes later, shouting to be heard over their argument.
The three of them circled the table. Ben grabbed a chicken leg from the platter, took a bite, then pointed it at Cade, making some sort of point. Kyle broke off a hunk of corn bread and shoved it in his mouth, dropping crumbs on the floor. Cade picked up the vase of flowers from the table to set aside.
Anna watched in horror. She wanted—needed—a quiet evening. And she certainly didn’t intend to let this sort of behavior set a precedence.
She picked up two pot lids and slammed them together. The men froze.
“If I intended to feed animals, I’d serve at a trough!” she declared.
All three of them shared a guilty glance.
She pointed at them. “Put that vase back on the table. And put that food on your plates. Go wash, all of you.”
Ben and Cade hung their hats and a set of keys, which Anna figured belonged to the lumberyard office, beside the back door, then all three trooped into the washroom.
“Aren’t you going to eat with us, Miss Anna?” Kyle asked when they came out again
She hadn’t set a place for herself, thinking that she’d eat later. She was, after all, an employee.
“Yeah, come on and eat with us,” Ben agreed.
They all looked at Cade, awaiting his approval.
“Sure,” he said, and nodded toward the seat across the table from him.
Anna fetched a place setting for herself, then Cade and Ben bumped into each other as they both tried to hold the chair for her. Cade glared Ben into submission and they finally all settled down and started eating.
Anna decided her cooking met with their approval, since none of them spoke. Toward the end of the meal, they managed to make conversation. Anna told them about the meeting at the Kendall home and the accusations made against Mr. Talbot.
Afterward, Ben left to pay a call on the woman he was courting, while Anna cleared the table. Kyle helped her.
“Did you get settled next door?” Cade asked as, standing by the sideboard, he sipped a final cup of coffee.
The men from the lumberyard that Cade had sent had picked up her trunks and delivered them to the house. Anna had stopped by earlier and looked at the place.
“I have to unpack,” she said. “It’s a lovely house. I didn’t realize Henry was such a good carpenter.”
“Henry didn’t build it,” Kyle said, gathering a stack of plates from the table. “Cade did.”
Anna’s gaze swung to him. “You built it? I thought—”
“Your house would never have gotten built if it hadn’t been for Cade. It was his idea. He did most of the work himself,” Kyle said. “The Thornton side of the family is the laziest bunch of people the good Lord ever put the breath of li
fe into. That’s what Mama used to say. But they’re family, so what can we do?”
Anna stared expectantly at Cade, waiting for further explanation, but all he did was set his coffee cup aside and head out the back door.
Outside, Cade walked a bit, then gazed toward the lumberyard. All was quiet at this time of night. He enjoyed the silence, the solitude.
After a while he heard the back door close, and turned to see Anna, lantern in hand, walk next door to her new house. His heart warmed at the sight of her—and so did the rest of him. It took everything Cade had not to follow her.
What a pretty thing she was, moving through the shadows with the lamplight dancing around her. Smart and caring, too. The supper she’d fixed seemed like the closest thing to a family meal he’d had in a long time. And she’d held true to her declaration of self-reliance. Not once had she asked for anything. Not yet, anyway.
Something about Anna still nagged at Cade’s conscience. Touched something old, something ugly. Something he hadn’t gotten over even after all these years.
Maybe it was better that way, he decided.
Light flickered through the windows of the house as Anna made her way to the bedroom downstairs. Soon she’d undress, peel away skirt, petticoats and all the other trappings women wore. What sort of nightgown would she wear? Would she leave her hair down when she slid beneath the coverlet?
Cade let the images play through his mind. He thought again about going to her house, knocking on her back door, just to make sure she was all right. It seemed like a good idea.
Because after tomorrow, Anna might never speak to him again.
Chapter Seven
Had she done something wrong?
The notion came to Anna yet again as she left town, headed for the lumberyard office. This morning she’d gotten to the Riker house in plenty of time to prepare breakfast. Biscuits and gravy, potatoes, eggs, bacon, fried apples, steaming coffee. A meal hearty enough to please two grown men and one growing boy.
Or so she’d thought.
Just before he’d left the house, Cade asked her to come to the office this morning.