Laura's Secrets

by Augusta Wright

“I was looking for you,” Laura said. “I have another problem and I’ll need your help again.” The man looked even better in daylight.

  “Joseph Roberts, at your service, Lady in Distress,” He took his hat off and bowed to her. She grinned at his antics.

  “My wagon is busted and I’ll have to purchase a new one before I can go home, but I need help from someone with a little more knowledge about such things. Also, I had planned to buy some brood mares. I want to raise horses on my ranch. I relate better to horses than cattle.”

  Several hours later, with Joseph’s help, she had bought a new steadier wagon pulled by a team of four horses. She was told it had a smoother ride and was easier on the horses to have the extra two to help pull the weight. Instead of the two brood mares, Joseph had helped her pick four mares out of good sturdy stock.

  Joseph asked her what kind of stud she had and she blinked at him. “Well, how will you raise horses if you don’t have a stud to service them?” He chuckled.

  “This is a new plan. I am trying to grow my ranch. Please don’t make fun of me, sir,” she replied heatedly. He chuckled at her as he helped carry the vegetables to the general store where she left a list of supplies.

  She needed new clothes suitable for Denver and work clothes for her return to the ranch but was unfamiliar with the town. Joseph directed her to a French dressmaker down the block. He walked with her to the little shop.

  “Will you have dinner with me tonight at seven? I get my dinner break about then. I could meet you downstairs in your hotel, and we could eat there.”

  “I’m not sure if I will have anything appropriate to wear. All I have to wear are these men’s clothes, but perhaps I will find some dresses. All right! I will see you at seven.”

  Later in the afternoon, she left the dress shop laden with packages of underclothes, women’s shoes, bonnets, and three beautiful dresses, the likes of which she had never seen before. She hurried to her room to clean up and put on one of the lovely gowns. But which one?

  Laura stared transfixed at the image in the floor length cheval mirror. Who is this? Can this be me? The green and white stripes of the damask cloth accented her fair skin and fit her slim frame to perfection. She had braided her blonde hair, wrapping the braids around her head to create the appearance of a halo in the lamplight.

  Sometime after seven o’clock, she descended the stairs to find Joseph waiting in the lobby. Even as inexperienced as she was with men, she saw approval in his eyes. And something else she was not sure about.

  “I am so sorry to keep you waiting, Joseph.” As he took her hand and kissed it, her cheeks heated.

  “My pleasure. It was worth the wait for you to come down. You are lovely tonight. I can’t help but compare the dirty faced boy/girl—I wasn’t sure which—that I met last night, to this beautiful image before me,” he finished huskily, continuing to hold her hand.

  “These are for you.” He presented her with a bouquet of red roses.

  “Oh, Joseph, they’re beautiful.” She sniffed the sweet perfume of the roses as she fought back tears that threatened to spill forth.

  “What is wrong, Laura?”

  “No one has ever given me flowers before, and I’m touched by your thoughtfulness. They are my favorite. Thank you.”

  Still holding her hand, he led her to a private table covered with a white cloth in the corner of the dining room. When they ordered their meal, the waitress asked Laura if she could put the flowers in water for her. She returned with them in a vase of water and set them in the middle of the table making a wonderful centerpiece for their dining.

  After dinner, while they were enjoying pie and coffee, Joseph asked Laura where she came from. She told him about her family in Independence and about growing up in a big city.

  “But how did you get out here?”

  She stared at him for a few moments before she said, “My parents had dear friends who ran a private school which my siblings and I attended. I was the oldest daughter and loved going to school. I read everything I could find. When I was fifteen, my father, who was the yard boss at a big sawmill, was injured. Our family didn’t know how we were going to survive. One day, my father announced he would receive a stipend from the sawmill, if I married the owner. I was forced into an unwanted marriage to help my family.

  “One day my husband announced we were moving out West. He sold his sawmill and wanted to find adventure. Of course, he hadn’t said anything to me. It was the saddest day in my life when I had to say goodbye to my family. I didn’t know if we would ever see each other again. When we got to Denver, he bought land high in the rugged mountains. By the grace of God, we have survived. I know it’s not commonplace to see a woman in pants, but I’ve learned a lot about how to survive. I can see you have lots of questions by the look on your face.”

  “Where is your husband now? Why are you here alone?”

  “I knew that would be your first question. He’s been ill, so I was the only one strong enough to bring the gold to Denver. I haven’t told anyone my business except you, and I felt it was right you know because you’ve been the one person here I have depended on to help me make important decisions. Will you keep my confidences?”

  “I’m disappointed to find out you’re married. I had hoped we could become better acquainted before you left. You are a smart and desirable woman, Laura. I know how hard the winters can be in the mountains. Many people have died trying to survive up there. You are smart and tough. I saw that from the beginning and you will survive.” He placed his hand over hers on the table.

  “You’ve been so wonderful to help me, and I didn’t want you to continue to think I was available. I would like to become friends, if a man and woman can be.” She watched his brown eyes glowing warmly back at her.

  When they finished their dessert, he escorted her up the three flights of stairs to the top of the hotel where her suite was located. She unlocked the door and turned to say goodnight to him. He pulled her into his arms and whispered, “I know you’re married, but please kiss me goodnight to make it a perfect evening for me.”

  She allowed him to kiss her, liking the feel of his lips on hers as she placed her arms around his waist and hugged him to her warming body. Her curves fit perfectly into his body as her desires began to rise. She could feel his arousal grow as the kiss deepened. He moaned with pleasure when she opened her mouth to his searching tongue.

  “Honey, I like it when you open for me,” he whispered into her hair.

  Her desire grew as well. Her breathing increased keeping pace with his. Although she was tempted to invite him in to see what would happen next, reality overcame her sexual desire for this man and she released his body.

  They stepped back from each other. “I knew you were full of fire,” he said. “I wish you would burn me to a crisp.”

  “I like the way you kiss. Maybe someday I’ll be free to find out more about you. Good night, Joseph,” she whispered then tenderly touched his lips with hers.

  When she closed the door on the biggest temptation she had ever faced, she was on fire and desired him. She began to realize she had desires and needs to be satisfied, and they could consume her. She would have to be more careful next time or they both would go up in flames.

  Chapter Sixteen

  Laura was dressed and coming down the back stairs before seven o’clock the next morning, even though it had been late before she settled down and gone to bed. She had played with her new clothes, trying them on and whirling in front of the mirror to see how she looked. She chuckled to herself because she had never had a problem like this before.

  Last night, after she’d settled down, she had written letters to her family back in Independence so she could post them before she left. She did not tell them anything about her gold or about Abner’s death. She described things to them to let them know she was happy and doing well. She had never told them about how her life truly was because then they would worry and fret over her. It was late before she turned
out her lamp and went to bed.

  She descended the stairs in the morning pleased because she had not had any of the stomach upsets she had been experiencing since coming to Denver. But as she reached the bottom near the kitchen, her senses were overwhelmed with the smells of cooking. She ran for the back door and out into the alley before throwing up with gusto. Laura leaned against the building wall until she could regain her composure. Why did this happen when she smelled food? Still puzzled, she walked over to the well, drew up a fresh bucket of water, and washed her face, rinsing her mouth out before going back inside.

  Sadie and the twins greeted her happily. “Why are you in here?” Sadie asked. “We’ll serve you breakfast out in the dining room.” She tried to usher her in there.

  “I’d like to have breakfast with you and the girls, if it’s all right? I don’t want to sit alone. It will be much more fun in here,” she said winking at the twins.

  “All right you can sit in here, but no giggling,” Sadie said to Laura who started to giggle setting the twins off.

  As Sadie set a plate of food before her, a large black man appeared in the doorway. “Who’s this?” he demanded.

  Sadie led him over to the table. “This is my husband, John Long.”

  Laura extended her hand in greeting.

  Hesitantly, John shook it.

  Sadie set his breakfast before him and asked Laura, “What have you gotten done since we last talked?”

  “I purchased a newer and larger wagon because the other was busted, and I had to buy four new horses to pull the larger wagon.”

  John snorted loudly, unable to contain himself.

  Female eyes turned in his direction as his wife said in a no-nonsense tone, “And what is so funny?”

  “Well, first I find it funny this pretty white lady is sitting in the kitchen eating with black folk. Second, she now has a four up team to pull her new wagon. Do you even know how to drive a four-up team and wagon?” he asked her.

  “I …I…uh…drove the wagon with two horses to Denver. I guess it will be the same but with four horses going back.”

  Her answer caused him to explode in loud guffaws, “Ma’am, if you plan to get home anytime soon, you need driving lessons or you and them new horses will not get out of town.”

  “I’ll pay you to teach me,” she told him because she had already had the same concerns he voiced.

  “How much?”

  Laura quoted a price, and he took it. “When can you start?” Laura asked before he could back out.

  “I have chores at the hotel and will be done at nine o’clock,” he answered.

  “Great! I need to go to the general store to check on my supplies and if you will pick up the wagon and horses at the livery stable we’ll go have some driving lessons. I’ll wait for you there,” she told John as she hurried from the kitchen.

  The general store was booming with business early this morning. Laura had been able to shop in peace without the shopkeeper trying to sell her things she did not need or want. In the past, she had not been able to think about such things but now she could. The readymade shirts and pants were too large for her, but she wondered if the French seamstress could alter them for her before she had to leave. She needed a new pair of boots as well. She hoped he had a pair that would fit her.

  Overhearing one of the customer’s request for his general delivery mail from the young boy behind the counter reminded Laura she had forgotten to call for her mail when she arrived. How could she have been so stupid? She had given her friends on the wagon train this address when they left and Abner had posted some letters to others back home. When the customer had moved on, Laura stepped up and asked if he would check to see if she had any mail. He asked her name and she said Laura Brown. He checked through several stacks in the B slot and came up with two letters addressed to her. He said he had another one addressed to Abner Brown. She replied, “He’s my brother who is at the livery stable. I’ll take it to him.” The young boy gave her the letter without hesitation. She wanted to rip them open but fought her temptation to do so. Placing them in her purse with her money, she continued to shop for work clothes, various tools she needed, and cloth to make aprons, dish towels, and other linens that had worn thin.

  The storekeeper came over to ask her about some of the items on the list she had given him. She added the items she’d found and asked him to keep a running tab and stack the items separately from everyone else’s order. She would pay him cash when she picked up the supplies. He also found young boys’ boots that were her size. Thrilled for the first time to have boots that fit her, she added them to her stash. She decided on two pairs of pants and two shirts in boys’ sizes to take to the dressmaker. He put them on her tab. She arranged with him to pick up the supplies the night before she planned to leave. She would have her wagon at the back of his store and provide help to load it. Pleased to be paid in cash, he was very accommodating.

  John waited in front with the team and wagon until she left the dressmaker’s shop. She climbed up on the wagon seat to sit beside him as he clucked to the team, slapping them with the reins.

  John and Laura went a little way out of town before he stopped the team and offered her the reins. “Now we begin.”

  Several hours later, a tired and sore Laura, an exhausted John, and a confused team of horses returned to the livery stable. Laura began to walk to the hotel, but John insisted she wait until he could follow her to make sure she was safe. He reminded her outlaws frequented the saloons watching for easy prey like herself. She knew he was right, so she agreed to wait for him since she had forgotten her gun.

  On the way back to the hotel, they stopped off again at the general store for Laura to buy a small derringer she could conceal in her purse. At the same time, she had the shopkeeper add to her list a number of pistols and five rifles complete with ammunition.

  As they left the store, John remarked, “You’re the most unusual female I have ever met. Are you afraid of anything?”

  “Oh John, I stay in a normal state of fear. But I’ve taught myself to shoot so I am able to protect myself and my property from whatever may come.”

  When they arrived at the hotel, Laura thanked John for all his help as she hurried upstairs. Anxious to get to her room where she could read the letters burning a hole in her purse, she opened the envelope addressed to Abner first. Dated two years prior, it was from his attorney. After she read it, she began to cry. It stated the sale of his family home had been completed and the funds were waiting for him to send instructions for disbursement. He had never told her anything about his business. He could have had the money wired to him at any time. She sat thinking of the “what ifs.” Such a large amount would have paid off the ranch and left them with a comfortable nest egg. But she did not want anything to do with his money. Later, she would see his children got it, but not now. She was more concerned about how to secure the ranch legally for herself. In reading the letter from the attorney, she was concerned his children could claim her ranch. She needed to do something to prevent it. But what? She had seen an attorney’s office next to the doctor’s sign. She had contemplated visiting the doctor to find out what kind of stomach ailment she had because her teas were not helping her. Forgetting her other letters, she hurried down the stairs and headed toward the lawyer’s door.

  Laura knocked on the door below the sign proclaiming, George Miller, Attorney at Law. At a distant “come in,” she opened the door. She was not prepared to see a shirtless man with shaving cream all over his face. He almost cut his throat as he brought his razor up in a crooked fashion. “Oh, excuse me for interrupting you,” as she quickly turned around.

  “Let me finish up and I will be right with you.” Wiping shaving cream from his face he went into the back room, closing the door behind him.

  When he returned, he was dressed and clean-shaven. “My name is George Miller. How may I help you?” He offered her a chair and motioned for her to sit down.

  “I am Laura Rals
ton Brown. I am in need of a lawyer who can help me with a delicate matter. It has to do with land my husband bought in his name. What will happen to me and our land, if he dies?”

  “Does he have a will? Or a letter stating you would be the owner if anything happened to him?” he questioned.

  “No, I do not think so,” she said. “I found a couple of gold nuggets and used them to pay off a loan on the land and supplies he had gotten on credit. I have a receipt in my name.”

  “Where was the land purchased and the deed recorded?”

  “When we were here in Denver, he bought it sight unseen from a miner. It is recorded here. Is there any way I can change it into my name?”

  “Mrs. Brown, is your husband dead?”

  “Do I have your assurance that what we talk about is confidential?”

  “Absolutely. If he has already passed, we can file to have the papers changed into your name as his beneficiary. Do you have any children?” he asked.

  “No, but he has grown children back in Missouri where we used to live, and I am concerned they might try to take my ranch,” she said.

  She opened the oilcloth-wrapped packet of letters she had brought with her. “I have papers stating I paid off the loan on the ranch with my money and a final letter he left because he knew he was dying, but he never told me he was ill. It happened very suddenly. Will this help?” she asked.

  “Okay, tell me everything you can or know about your husband, were you forced to marry, or if you were forced to come here and what you know about his children. Leave nothing out. I think I can help you, but it will cost to get it done. Do you understand?”

  Several hours later, she left the office, pleased with how their meeting had gone. He was sure he could help, and she was grateful. Her plans were coming together to secure the ranch for herself. She had left the attorney with a nice retainer and the promise of more if he could help her.

  She paused at the doctor’s door and started to go in but could not bring herself to because she felt fine. What could she tell the doctor? She felt great and threw up when she smelled food. How ridiculous! She went on to her hotel and up to her room where she began to read the two letters from her mother and another from her sister, Jane.