With a grateful nod, Hazel turned and ushered her aunt inside her shop.
“It appears I have new questions to add to my list. Who is Meg and why is she living with you?”
Then she paused and looked around. “What a delightful little shop. I must come down and explore a bit once I’ve had that cup of tea.”
While her aunt freshened up, Hazel brewed the tea. She braced herself for the upcoming conversation. She would tell her the truth of course, all of it. But she wasn’t looking forward to the disappointment her explanation about the sham engagement would bring to her aunt’s face.
Fifteen minutes later, Opal picked up her teacup and raised it to her lips. She studied Hazel silently over the rim, then set it down firmly. “I take it from your reaction to my question earlier that there is something going on here besides a simple engagement.” She patted Hazel’s hand. “However, it is not my intention to pry into matters you’re not ready to discuss. If you prefer not to speak of your upcoming nuptials, we can speak of other things. Just first tell me if this man makes you happy.”
Hazel chose her words carefully. “I love him, with all my heart. But you’re right, there is more going on here. It’s a long, rather complicated story, I’m afraid.”
“As I’ve traveled all this way specifically to find out what’s going on, I think I have the time to hear this story. If you want to share it with me, that is.”
Hazel hesitated. Aunt Opal had given her an out and she knew the woman would never bring the subject up again if she asked her not to. But not only did she love and respect her aunt, but she was moving to New York specifically to work with her. She deserved to hear the truth.
“To start with, there very likely won’t be a wedding.”
“Oh?” Opal took another sip, her expression nonjudgmental.
Hazel quickly relayed the entire story, starting with Meg being left in Ward’s care and ending with the misunderstanding surrounding her being at Ward’s place in the wee hours.
“So you and Sheriff Gleason announced your engagement to quiet the gossips.”
There was no trace of censure in her aunt’s voice but Hazel still squirmed. “Not at first. I mean, I was willing to face down the talk and go on as we were.”
“Until?”
“Until there was talk of Ward and I not being proper guardians for Meg. I just couldn’t take the chance someone would try to take that little girl from him.”
“I see.”
Hazel got the impression that perhaps her aunt saw a little more than she had intended.
“You said earlier that there very likely wouldn’t be a wedding.”
“We decided that we would stay engaged at least until Meg’s situation is resolved. Beyond that we would pray for God’s direction.”
“But you don’t sound as if you think it will work out as you’d like.”
“If you’re worried I won’t move to New York as I promised—”
Opal waved a hand in dismissal. “That shouldn’t play into such an important decision. Of course I would love to have my favorite niece close by, but I am much more interested in making sure you are happy, my dear.”
Oh, she did love this dear woman. “The truth is, I don’t really know how this will turn out.”
“But you do know how you want it to end up.”
Hazel nodded. “I love Meg. It would give me great joy to be her mother.”
“And you love him.”
Hazel nodded, without meeting her aunt’s gaze. Instead she studied the rim of her cup.
“So why are you so unhappy?”
“When I was younger I thought I loved him. But I’d come to realize lately that what I thought of as love was merely infatuation. And since it was clear he had no feelings for me, I decided I needed a fresh start somewhere else.”
“And how did you arrive at the realization it was mere infatuation?”
“When I began to seriously consider your invitation and found I could bear to move away from him.”
“But something has changed?”
She nodded. “When Meg was dropped into our lives, that created a need for us to spend a lot more time in each other’s company than we ever had before, at least not since we were children. Seeing him with Meg, how he cared for her and took responsibility for her, showed me a different side of him, showed me his heart. And that’s the man I fell in love with.”
“Then you must fight for him.”
“I’ve tried. He’s just too stubborn, too much of a loner to want to have anyone else in his life.”
“So tell me about this little girl. What’s going to happen to her now?”
“That’s still not decided. But I think she might end up with me in New York.” She looked at her aunt. “If you think that will be a problem—”
Her aunt waved a hand. “Pish posh. We will make it work if that is what ends up happening.” Then she gave Hazel a thoughtful look. “If you had the power to resolve this any way you wanted, what would you like to see happen?”
“Other than having Ward suddenly realize he loves me after all?” Hazel took a sip of her tea while she pondered that question. “I truly believe the Good Lord put Meg in Ward’s life for a reason. Whether he will admit it or not, Meg has become an important part of his life. It’s forced him to see himself as a father, as a protector of an individual rather than a town.”
Then she set her cup down and gave her aunt an apologetic smile. “I’m so sorry you came all this way for nothing. If I’d realized you’d seen the announcement, I would have contacted—”
“No need for apologies. After all these years of you traveling to New York, it’s high time I came here and visited you in your hometown. And now that I’m here, I’d like to stay a while, if that’s all right with you? I will, of course, take a room at the hotel.”
“Nonsense. I mean yes, I would love to have you stay but there is no need for you to take a room at the hotel. I insist you stay here with me. Meg and I can double up in my room.”
“Well, if you’re sure it wouldn’t be an imposition?”
“No imposition at all. Where are your bags?”
“At the train depot.”
She stood. “I’ll have them sent on here while you rest.”
Perhaps this would be a good thing. If Meg traveled to New York with her, there would be at least one person she’d already know when they arrived. And Aunt Opal and the little girl would take to each other, she was sure of it.
As soon as Hazel shifted Meg’s things from the guest room to her room, Aunt Opal declared she would take a nap. Hazel used the time to make arrangements to have the luggage delivered, then fetched Meg from Verity’s place.
“Is Aunt Opal from New York?” Meg asked.
“She is.”
“Did she come to take you away from us?”
“Oh no, sweetheart, she just came for a visit.”
Reassured, the little girl gave a little hop-skip. “She seems nice.”
“She is. Very nice. And lots of fun too.”
Ward turned the corner just then and Hazel waited for him to catch up. “I hear you have a visitor,” he said by way of greeting.
“It appears my aunt Opal, the one who has a dress design business, subscribes to The Turnabout Gazette.”
“Oh?”
“Yes. You know, the newspaper that our engagement announcement appeared in.”
Light dawned. “Oh. I see.”
“We just had a nice long talk where I explained the entire situation to her.” She gave him a pointed look. “Aunt Opal’s quite eager to meet you.”
He grimaced. “I imagine she is.”
“I’d introduce you now but she’s taking a nap at the moment.”
He held up a hand. “Quite righ
t, no need to disturb her. We’ll meet soon enough.”
Hazel was rather enjoying watching him squirm uncomfortably. He could do with something so trivial to worry about. “Shall I invite her to join us for supper this evening?”
“Of course. I can’t wait to meet her.”
“She let me call her Aunt Opal too,” Meg said, claiming Ward’s attention.
“Well, that was mighty nice of her.”
Meg bobbed her head, making her pigtails dance. “So now I have an aunt just like Joy. And don’t worry, Aunt Opal is just here to visit, not take Miss Hazel back to New York with her.”
He glanced up and met Hazel’s gaze, his gaze almost a caress. “Good to know.”
Now it was Hazel’s turn to squirm just a bit. Was she reading more into his look than was actually there? She wished she was better at reading Ward’s expression than she was.
* * *
“Aunt Opal, this is Sheriff Ward Gleason. Sheriff Gleason, this is my aunt, Opal Eldridge.”
Ward executed a short bow as he took her hand. “Mrs. Eldridge, it’s a pleasure to meet you.” He’d been worried about this meeting all afternoon.
This woman was important to Hazel. It was obvious from the way she spoke of her that she loved and respected her a great deal. He wanted to make a good impression on the older woman, but after Hazel had divulged the story behind how they got engaged, he wasn’t sure that was even possible.
Hazel’s aunt nodded her head regally, studying him like a rancher examining a herd to decide which animals to cull and which to keep. “Likewise, Sheriff.”
As they strolled down the sidewalk toward the restaurant, Ward somehow found himself walking beside Mrs. Eldridge while Hazel and Half-pint walked behind them.
“Tell me, young man, isn’t being a lawman a rather dangerous profession?”
“It can be. But Turnabout isn’t like New York or other big cities. It’s peaceful for the most part.”
“If that’s true, then why do they need a sheriff?”
“Someone has to make sure it stays that way. And by peaceful, I meant that we rarely have violent crimes, not that we have no crime.”
“I see.” Then she changed the subject. “My niece told me about Meg’s unfortunate situation. It’s an honorable thing you’re doing, giving her some stability in her life.”
“Haz—Miss Andrews has been a big help in that department.”
“Yes, I imagine she has. I can see she’s developed a fondness for the child.”
“As Meg has for her.”
“Yes. I assume it will be difficult for both of them to adjust when Hazel moves to New York.”
“Not if Meg goes with her.”
The woman raised her brows. “You think that’s possible?”
“We need to do whatever is best for Meg.”
“I agree. But don’t you think what would be best for Meg would be to have a home with two parents?”
Ward almost missed a step, but he recovered quickly. “True, but I’m afraid not every child is quite that lucky.”
Mrs. Eldridge sighed. “So true. But I will have to see what I can do to rectify the situation as soon as I get Hazel to New York. I can’t fathom what’s wrong with the men in Turnabout but I know quite a number of eligible bachelors who would find a girl like Hazel quite irresistible.”
All through the meal, Ward found himself replaying Mrs. Eldridge’s words in his mind. How long would it be before Hazel became a married woman, before Meg would have a new man to look up to and call Father? It was what he’d told Hazel she needed to do, after all.
So why did the idea of it tie his stomach in knots?
If only he had the right to ask her to stay. Or was it the courage that he lacked?
Either way, he knew she deserved so much more than he had to offer. The trouble was going to be letting her go without giving in to the urge to tell her how he felt.
An urge that was growing stronger by the day.
Chapter Twenty-Three
After church the next morning, they all four had lunch together. To Ward’s relief, there’d been no more matchmaking talk from Hazel’s aunt, though he didn’t doubt the woman intended to follow through on her plan.
After they finished their meal, Hazel asked her aunt to watch over Meg while the girl took her nap. “There’s something I’d like to discuss with the sheriff,” she explained.
That was news to him. What did she have on her mind now?
Her aunt waved a hand of dismissal. “Of course, dear, take all the time you need. I am quite capable of amusing myself.”
When they stepped out on the sidewalk together Ward looked at her somewhat warily. “What did you want to talk to me about?”
“I was thinking last night... I always find, when I have a problem I’m trying to work through, that talking it over with Verity helps. Sometimes all she does is listen without saying much of anything. But just the simple act of trying to explain my problem helps me see it in a new light.”
Where was she going with this? Did she want his help with a problem? “And?”
“And I was thinking perhaps that would work for you as well.”
“You want me to talk over my problems with Verity Cooper?”
“No, I meant—” She stopped when she realized he was teasing.
“So are you volunteering to listen to me try to talk this problem with the town hooligan through?”
She gave him a saucy grin. “What could it hurt? And I’m a very good listener.”
“At this point I’m ready to try just about anything.” He rubbed the back of his neck. And spending time with her while they talked this over was a not-unpleasant way to spend the afternoon. “So, how does this work? Do I just start talking?”
“With a problem this big, it might be best to try to write it all down as we talk. Sort of get a look at how things might connect to each other.”
“That would take a mighty big piece of paper.” Then he raised a brow as an idea struck. “Or a mighty big chalkboard.”
Hazel grinned. “Perfect. I doubt Mr. Parker would mind if we borrowed his classroom, especially since school is out for the summer.”
“Let’s go.”
“By the way,” Hazel said as they made their way to the schoolhouse, “I told Aunt Opal about the problems we’ve been having here in town. I thought she ought to know, just in case something were to happen again.”
Ward planned to do everything in his power to make sure nothing happened again, especially where Hazel’s place was concerned. “How did she take it?”
“Quite well, actually. She’s a strong woman, it takes a lot to frighten her. Besides, since she subscribes to The Gazette, she was already aware of some of it.”
It only took them a few minutes to reach the schoolhouse. When they stepped inside and reached the front of the classroom, Hazel grabbed a piece of chalk and handed it to him. “Since you’re the one with the puzzle, it’d be best if you do the writing.” She leaned back against the teacher’s desk, grasping the edges with her hands.
“So let’s start by listing all the incidents with the dates beside them.” She wrinkled her nose a moment. “And leave spaces so we can add other things that pertain to each one.”
“Now you sound like a schoolteacher.” But he took the chalk and turned to the board. Once he’d finished, he stood back and looked the list over thoughtfully.
Hazel turned her attention to the board as well. “So, the three incidents at Enoch and Tensy’s place happened on three consecutive days, then whoever the culprit was waited a day before moving to Saul Carson’s place.”
Ward nodded. “The incident at Saul’s place happened on a Friday. Then they bided their time until the following Wednesday, when they broke into the mercantile.
” He added another note. “I happened to be out of town for that one.”
“Which happened the evening after the Lytle boys were thrown out.”
“Are you changing your mind about giving them the benefit of the doubt?”
“Not at all, but I think we should list everything that could be relevant. For instance, what if one of their fathers got upset about his boys being thrown out?”
With a nod, Ward made a note beside the mercantile break-in.
“Any other notable circumstances around any of these incidents? Or is there anything about any of them that stands out to you?”
“There was something a little different about the incident at Eunice’s from the ones that happened before it. The perpetrator took the time to throw those undergarments up in the tree, as if just causing mischief wasn’t enough, he wanted to publicly embarrass Eunice.” He added the words publicly embarrass next to Eunice’s incident.
“What about the instances after that?”
“I didn’t see any sign of that at the Coopers’ place. Of course, it might just be because I interrupted them. But yes, there was an element of that at the mayor’s office.” His jaw tightened. “And then there was what happened at your place.”
“While I appreciate your concern for me, we need to take the personal out of this while we talk through it. So let’s go back to the beginning. This started on a Monday four weeks ago at the Lawrences’ place. What happened in the days leading up to that? Do you recall anything at all that was a little out of the ordinary?”
Ward rubbed his chin. “Out of the ordinary? Let’s see, Mrs. Carlton left town to visit her sister in Jefferson. Dave Hobson broke his arm falling off his roof. A tree over on Saul’s place got struck by lightning.” He shook his head. “But I don’t see where any of this gets us anywhere.”
“We’re just trying to get a big picture, not focus on anything right now. Write them up there.” She tapped her chin. “And, if I remember correctly, school let out the Friday before that first incident.”
“That’s right.” Her words triggered a memory. “In fact, I had to rescue Tensy Lawrence from a stampede of boys running through town after that final dismissal.”
A Tailor-Made Husband Page 20