“I agree. So you gonna stay with your cousin?”
Gabe shook his head. “I’ve never been the type to be around people much. My home has always been my own. I’m planning on buying a ranch or a farm in the nearby area, if there’s one for sale. Or just some land I can build on. Meantime, I’d like to stay here, if I could.”
The doctor nodded. “We’d love to have you! My son, Tom, is inside. He’ll help you get settled in. You gonna work with Mark at the mill?”
“Yeah. Tell me--are there other occupants of your hotel right now?”
George nodded. “Yeah, we’ve got several ladies and gentlemen here right now. More than usual, I reckon, for this time of year.” He looked up, as if reflecting on a new found fact.
“I’ve heard more people are migrating to the west coast. It’s warmer here. Dry. Not too crowded. Not a lot of money but that’s what hard work is for, ain’t it?”
“You are right about that, my friend. Come on inside. We’ll get you a cup of tea or lemonade and I’m sure my wife and Elizabeth have some fresh baked goods you can have after your long journey.”
Gabe took his hat off as he stepped up onto the porch and waited while George opened the door. He smiled as he passed the doctor and went into the lobby. There was a woman sitting on a couch on the other side of the room. Her ankles were crossed and her eyes were down as she read an open book in her hands. She had small wire-rimmed glasses and wore a pretty blue dress that accentuated her curves. Her auburn hair was held back in a large black barrette with a feather on it.
Gabe felt something he’d never felt before pass through him when he looked at her. He sensed familiarity but didn’t know why. He didn’t recognize her. She was most definitely younger than he. He turned his eyes quickly when she looked up to see who had come in.
She stood up and approached him, her hand out to shake.
“Hello. I’m Claire. Claire Underwood. And you are?”
“I’m Gabriel Stapleton. Kin to Mark Anderson.”
Her face showed no recognition but she nodded and continued to smile. “Will you be staying here for a while?”
He shrugged. “Until I find a home of my own, I reckon.”
“I do hope you are happy while you’re here. If you’d ever like to tour the town, I’m sure Elizabeth and I would love to help.”
Gabe nodded. He needed to meet this Elizabeth girl. Claire was the second person to mention her to him. She must be a very important young woman.
He didn’t have to wait long. He heard a female voice from behind him and turned to see Elizabeth in the doorway. “We’d be glad to give you a tour, Gabe. Claire is also a guest here at the hotel. We have Lucille, she’s an older woman in the only room on the bottom floor and Harry Axton, he’s a traveling salesman passing through town. And we have Albert Endicott, who is from Britain and is a very proud writer.”
“Oh? What does Albert write?” Gabe had to assume the young woman was Elizabeth because she didn’t give her name and no one introduced her.
“He writes about his travels through America and sends it through the post back to England.”
“I hope he writes good things.”
Elizabeth grinned. “That’s something you’ll have to talk to him about.”
“You forgot about Caleb and Melissa, Elizabeth.”
The young woman giggled, a sound that made everyone else in the room smile. “I did, didn’t I? How awful of me. Please don’t tell them. I don’t want them to think I don’t like them.”
Gabe looked down at Claire, his heart thumping a little too hard for his own tastes. Could she see he was attracted to her? He hoped not. She flipped her hands around as she spoke, a trait that Gabe knew he could easily come to love. “Oh, it’s okay, dear.” She looked up at Gabe. “Caleb and Melissa are newlyweds and they’ve been in their room for two days now. They only come out to bathe and eat. It’s kind of amazing, when you think about it.”
“I choose not to think about it,” Gabe laughed. “Their business is their business. All I want to do right now is get a couple of those pastries I know you’ve just baked and some lemonade. I can smell it in the air so don’t deny it.”
Elizabeth laughed. Gabe glanced through the corner of his eye to see if he’d made Claire laugh. She was laughing, but her eyes were on Elizabeth. He was surprised to feel disappointed. It was typical for women to stare at him and laugh when he made a joke, whether it was funny or not. She wasn’t reacting like the rest, which made him contemplate the situation more.
“All right, yes, I admit we’ve baked some goodies today. Come on in the dining room. We’ll all sit and get to know each other.”
Gabe followed the girl down the hall and to the left, into a nicely decorated dining room with two separate tables, each one with eight chairs surrounding it. He allowed Claire to enter the room before him and once inside, stopped to admire it. “This is very cozy,” he said in a quiet voice. “The browns and soft gold…” he nodded. “I approve. Very nice, I must say.”
“Why thank you, Gabe. We are now upgrading to the finest fabrics we can find for upholstery and we’ve hired several people to come in and clean on a regular basis. No dust will be found on any surface in the Campbell Hotel.”
Claire took a seat at one of the tables. Gabe got the impression it was the one she sat in most frequently. Elizabeth gestured to the chair next to her.
“Go ahead and sit, Gabe, while I make a platter.”
“Yes, ma’am.”
“Oh no,” Elizabeth laughed. “You must call me Elizabeth. Why, you can’t be much older than my father. But I’m definitely not older than you.”
“It’s something I say to show respect to females,” Gabe explained himself. “But I’d much rather call you Elizabeth, if you don’t mind.”
She nodded as he sat down and pulled his chair closer to the table. “You can also call me Liz, Lizzie, Beth, Liza… though I don’t get that last one much.”
“Sounds foreign,” Claire remarked. Gabe looked at her.
“Do you think so?”
Claire sat forward, resting her chin in her hands. Gabe couldn’t stop admiring her profile as she sat thinking. “I do. Maybe Italian? French?”
“You wouldn’t know, my dear.” Elizabeth laughed, bringing back a tray with cups, a pitcher of lemonade and a plate filled with baked goods. She set it down. “Here you go. Help yourselves.” She looked at Gabe. “We don’t stand on formalities, so if you want to take a bath, you go ahead and take one. If you need help heating the water, just ask. If you are hungry, you can see what we have in the box and you can still eat dinner with us if you want. Just come and go as you please. If there’s anything you need, ask any of us. Don’t go to the other residents though, except maybe Claire here. She’s been here about a year and is very familiar with everything. The others have only just arrived, so they are unfamiliar.”
“I wouldn’t want to put anyone on the spot.”
“Thank you.”
Elizabeth was just about to say something else when the door to the hotel opened in the other room. She looked up, hearing the tinkling of the bell above the door. She watched expectantly and when no one came through to the dining area and she didn’t hear George Campbell’s deep, resonating voice, she glanced at both Claire and Gabe.
“Someone came in, didn’t they? I heard the bell?”
Claire nodded. “I heard it, too.”
Elizabeth smiled at Gabe. “Two new guests on the same day? My goodness, that’s a first since we’ve owned the hotel!”
Claire laughed. “Your family just bought it a few months ago. I’m sure you’ll be having a lot of firsts.”
All three laughed.
“Besides, you don’t know who it is. It could be anyone,” Gabe said.
Claire looked at him. “It makes you wonder why Elizabeth is still sitting here instead of finding out who came in.”
“Oh!” Elizabeth jumped to her feet with a laugh. “You’re right! What am I thinking
?”
She rushed to the door, leaving Claire and Gabe behind to laugh softly and shake their heads.
CHAPTER TWO
AGATHA COMES TO TOWN
AGATHA COMES TO TOWN
Agatha Ainsworth stepped into the quiet hotel and looked around. She immediately liked the atmosphere. It seemed like she had stepped into a friend’s home where she would be staying for a while. Paying for it… but staying there. She smirked. It would do. She had to be somewhere, as long as she was away from where she’d come from.
She was pulling off her gloves when a young woman came through the door. She was a pleasant looking girl with blond hair and bright blue eyes.
“Hello, are you looking for a room?”
Agatha nodded. “I am. You look a bit young to be running a hotel. Is there an adult here?”
Elizabeth blanched and looked surprised. “Uh, no, ma’am. I take care of the hotel every other day. We don’t have a lot of guests and the work is easy to learn.”
“Well, I do need a room.”
Elizabeth recovered her former cordiality and smiled. “We like to sit and chat with our guests before we get down to business. Would you like to join us in the dining room for refreshments? We just happened to have another guest come today. We’ve never had two people check in on the same day before and-“
Agatha cut her off, shaking her head and waving one hand in the air. “I don’t want to do that. I have come a long way and I want to pay for my room and rest.”
Elizabeth lost her smile. She moved around the counter to open the registry book. She pushed the pen toward the book and looked up at Agatha. “We charge a dollar a day. That includes meals and fresh linen twice a week. We-“
“A dollar a day seems quite excessive.”
Elizabeth’s face turned ashen. “We don’t believe that to be true. We ask fair prices. You can ask anyone from here to Texas.”
Agatha narrowed her eyes at the young woman. “I find it highly doubtful that I would find anyone in the state of Texas who knows anything about your little hotel.” She glanced over her shoulder at the lobby. “However, I do find the atmosphere welcoming. I’ll go with my instincts and say you’re an alright town. I’ll stay here for a while.”
Elizabeth pointed to the line where Agatha was to put her signature. After signing, Agatha handed over four-dollar bills, turned and picked up her two large fabric bags. “What room?” she asked.
“I have you in five. That’s up the stairs there and…”
Gabe and Claire came out of the dining room, laughing, cutting into Elizabeth’s words. They stopped, their laughter cutting off abruptly, sensing the tension in the room.
“This is Agatha Ainsworth,” Elizabeth said, holding out her hand to the woman. “She just checked in.”
“It’s nice to meet you, Agatha,” Claire said, stepping forward. “I’m in room three. My name is Claire Underwood. Please call me Claire.”
Agatha had not taken her eyes from Gabe since he walked in the room. It seemed almost visibly painful for her to drag them away from him to look at Claire. “It’s good to meet you. Agatha.”
“Does anyone call you Aggie?” Claire asked in a light-hearted tone. Agatha stared at her.
“No.”
Claire was quiet for a moment, casting a helpless glance at Elizabeth. Gabe stepped up next to her and leaned forward, his hand out. “I’m Gabriel Stapleton. You can call me Gabe. My friends all do.”
“I will, Gabe, thank you. Agatha.”
He laughed. “Yes, I know.”
Taking her hand, he dropped a light kiss on the top. When he pulled away from her, he could immediately tell it was the wrong move. The woman was gazing at him with awestruck eyes.
As for Agatha, she had never seen a man like this one. She had been all over the west coast, wherever there were men, that’s where she was. She had mixed with a lot of outlaws, who’d caused nothing but trouble for her each time. This man didn’t look like an outlaw. He looked like an actual stand-up citizen.
“You should come with us on our picnic,” Claire said, much to Gabe’s dismay. He had been through this before. Agatha couldn’t tear her eyes from him. It was already starting to annoy him.
“I… I’m a bit tired but… I suppose I could…”
“Nonsense,” Gabe said, quickly. “You are tired and you need to rest. There will be other picnics. We just thought of this one spontaneously. We may not even go. I just arrived. I should probably rest up, too.”
“Oh, no, I don’t want you to change your plans because of me. I can go. I’ll be all right.”
Gabe shook his head and put one hand gently on her arm, leaning forward to talk closely to her in a low voice, “Now I’m sure you are very tired and need to sleep for just a little while. This is the first time Elizabeth has had two guests come on the same day, has she told you that?”
Agatha gazed at him, nodding without speaking.
“I’ll bet they’d like to have a special dinner to celebrate the event.” Gabe glanced over to Elizabeth with pleading eyes. “Is that right, Beth?”
Elizabeth grinned. “Definitely.”
“Then it’s settled. That’s what we’ll do. We’ll all meet up for a big dinner later. Right now, you just go on up to your room and get settled in and rest for a while. I’m sure you will feel more cordial later.”
Agatha pulled in a deep breath. “I am a little grumpy. I’m sorry.”
He shook his head. “No need to be sorry. You just go on up there and get yourself some rest so you’ll be on top for tonight.”
Agatha blinked, picking up her two bags and moving toward the stairs. She stopped before going up, turned and looked at him. “I’ll see you in a few hours, then.”
He nodded. “You sure will, Agatha.”
The three of them watched Agatha ascend the stairs, barely breathing until she reached the top and went around the corner. Then they converged on each other, making a small triangular circle in the middle of the room.
“That’s why George told me to sit down and chat with guests before I take them in,” Elizabeth whispered hurriedly. “But I’ve never encountered anyone so disagreeable before. I didn’t know what to do.”
“You seemed to take care of her quickly, Gabe,” Claire remarked, keeping her voice down. “How did you do that? It was almost like you cast a spell on her or something. You a wizard?”
Gabe grinned and shook his head, his voice low when he answered. “Nope, not that I know of. I just… encounter a lot of women like that.”
“A lot of women like what?” Elizabeth asked. Claire looked at her.
“Did you see the way she could barely look anywhere but at Gabe?” she asked. “That woman was immediately in love. You can see it in her eyes and all over her face. I could see it in the way she moved. Beth, you’re a woman and you didn’t see the signs?”
“I wasn’t paying much attention to that. I was in shock that it was happening at all.”
“What are you going to do? You’ve taken her money for the next four days.”
Elizabeth shrugged. “I will have to put up with her, I reckon. I’ll get Tom down here to help me deal with things if it gets bad. But what can she really do to me?”
“I can think of a lot of things bad people do that good people don’t even think of,” Gabe said. “Unfortunately, I’ve had some experience with both men and women who had lost their minds in some way. People will do anything when they are put under pressure. Even if that pressure is coming from their own minds.”
“Wisely said, Gabe,” Claire’s voice was impressed. She smiled at him. He gave her a nonchalant look.
“It’s sad that I know how to deal with people who react that way.”
“React?” Claire said. “What was she reacting to?”
“How handsome he is,” Elizabeth said without thinking. Her cheeks immediately filled and she put one hand over her mouth. “Oh dear.”
Claire giggled. “Well, you responded quickly, didn’
t you? Do you have a crush on our newcomer?”
Elizabeth didn’t look like she enjoyed being teased but shook her head and giggled anyway. “Tom has nothing to worry about. No offense, Mr. Stapleton.”
“None taken, Miss Beth. Now, I believe we do have a bit of business to take care of, don’t we?”
“And then we will go on a picnic?” Claire said, hopefully. She looked at Elizabeth. “Is there anyone who can fill in for you so you can come with us? I don’t want to sully Gabe’s reputation the moment he arrives in town.”
Gabe laughed. “There is no chance of that, Miss Claire. I’m telling you, I know a lot of people here. I lived here for most of my childhood and for a time as an adult, too. People got to know me well. My cousin, Mark, has been keeping me updated on the happenings out this way. I finally decided I was done with life in Kentucky and it was time to move on. Or should I say, move back.” He rested one hand on her shoulder while he retrieved his wallet from the back pocket of his denims. “But don’t worry, it’s not my reputation that is in danger and I won’t do that to you. We will simply walk down to the lumber mill, where Mark is. He’ll escort us on our picnic.”
Claire laughed. It was a tinkling sound that brought a wide smile to Gabe’s face. “Don’t you dare disturb Mark just so we can go on a picnic. If we go in the opposite direction, we can stop by the Horse N Saddle. Sam will come with us.”
“You’re both being silly,” Elizabeth supplied. “Go to the Horse N Saddle and get my brother, Allan. He’d be happy to get some fresh air.”
“Well, I guess we have our options open to us, don’t we?” Gabe said. “I’ll tell you what. Let’s stay in and plan that dinner for tonight. We can talk over sandwiches and tea just as well in the dining room or even the lobby as we can on a grassy hill somewhere. There will be other pretty days to enjoy.”
“Yes, you’re right. Good idea.”
The three of them went back to the dining room and resumed their seats from before.
“I feel like I was just here,” Gabe joked. Claire chuckled.
“Probably because you were.”
An Obsessive Bride Page 2