“Leah, you can’t believe I was serious. Holly and I were only joking.”
Leah glanced at the other young woman and didn’t recognize her. “That was not a joke. You were advising your friend to not marry for love, just as you’re not marrying for love.”
“Even if it wasn’t a joke,” Dora said with an unladylike sneer. “What business is it of yours? Are you an expert on marrying for love?”
Leah’s neck and face burned with anger. “My situation is nothing like yours. How cruel of you to pretend to care for Will when you’re nothing but a gold digger!”
“Come now, don’t be so serious,” Dora chided. “You’re being dreadfully stuffy and pretentious. It’s boring.”
Leah spun on her heel, returned to grab her notes and pick up the catalog, then hurried out of the mercantile. She stood on the street for half a minute, taking a deep breath, gathering her thoughts, deciding...
There was no question in her mind what she had to do. She owed it to Will to protect him. She strode along First Street toward Eden and turned the corner. After entering the Cattleman Hotel, she perched on a bench for a minute, calming herself. She eyed the stairs, stood and started up. She paused on each landing on her way to the third floor, finally reaching her destination and locating the suite Daniel had said was Will’s. After a firm knock he opened the door. He was dressed impeccably as usual, white shirt, black tie. He flashed a broad smile. “Come in, Leah. This is a surprise.”
“One you won’t like much,” she said.
He led her past a small sitting area into his office, where he rested his hand on the back of a leather chair. “Have a seat. You have me curious now. What’s wrong?”
She settled herself and smoothed her skirt over her knees in a nervous gesture, questioning the wisdom of relaying her news. He was a good friend, a decent and honest man. He didn’t deserve to be duped by a conniving woman, and if she could prevent heartache in the future by revealing the truth now, it was her responsibility.
“Leah?” he asked, setting across from her. “Is everything all right with Daniel?”
She looked him square in the eye and drew a breath. “I overheard a conversation at Remmy’s mercantile just now. Dora was talking to a friend. I confronted her, and she tried to shrug off her words as if they were a joke, but I don’t believe they were. I think she was serious, and she has concocted a deceitful plan.”
He frowned in confusion. “Well—what...? What did she say?”
Leah relayed the conversation word for word.
“‘Don’t marry for love, do what I’m doing and marry for money?’” Will echoed back. His expression showed bewilderment, but not the anger she’d anticipated. “‘Set yourself up for the rest of your life and be the cream of society?’ That’s what she said? Perhaps you misconstrued her meaning.”
“I just told you exactly what I heard. I didn’t know the other woman. Dora called her Holly.”
He nodded. “She’s the daughter of one of the homesteaders, if she’s the one I’m thinking of. I heard talk that young Rob McNulty, the wagonmaker’s boy is keen on her.”
“Well, according to Dora, this Rob fellow isn’t a good enough catch.”
The sound of the outer door opening and closing arrested their attention, and hurried footsteps sounded across the wood. Dora appeared in the doorway, her face flushed. “I might have known you’d come straight here,” she said to Leah.
Will stood as Dora approached.
She pointed at Leah with an outstretched arm, her expression tight. “What has she been telling you?”
“I told him everything I overheard you saying to the other young woman. Everything you said about marrying for money.”
“Which is exactly what you’re doing.” Dora huffed at Leah, wielding an accusing finger under her nose. “You can’t deny it is convenient you sidled up to the other wealthiest man in Cowboy Creek and got yourself hitched to him within days of arriving. It’s not as though you have a life of toil and trouble ahead of you now.”
“I never claimed to be anything or anyone other than who I am,” Leah said. “Daniel knows all about my situation. When he asked me to marry him we had everything out in the open. He knows I came here looking for a suitable marriage.”
“What other reason would a woman have for coming to this miserable state?” Dora asked with a snort of disgust. “The only redeeming qualities Cowboy Creek can boast about are the abundance of men—and the riches being made from the sale of cattle.”
Leah didn’t respond, and Dora’s words hung in the air. She darted a glance at Will and gave her head a little shake. “This town is growing every day. Homes, businesses and even an opera house about to open.” Her voice had softened to a coo. “Why, Will knows I’m excited about the progress. Everyone is profiting from the Texas cows, aren’t they? That’s what this is all about.” She laid a placating hand on her fiancé’s sleeve. “I was telling Holly just today how things are improving, and that life is getting better and better here. This is a wonderful place to settle down and make a home, start a family.”
Will looked Dora in the eyes. She smiled that smile that stretched her lower lip down and showed her teeth. Her keen ability to twist words to suit her purpose gave Leah a sinking feeling in the pit of her belly. Dora would have him wrapped around her little finger and Leah would soon be accused of causing trouble.
The sound of horses’ harnesses down on the street below created a muted backdrop for the drama playing out up here. Will shifted his weight before speaking. He hadn’t been carrying his cane when he’d answered the door. “You told Holly not to marry for love, but to marry for money like you’re doing. That was your advice to a girl who’s in love with the son of the wagonmaker?”
“There are many kinds of love,” Dora replied, lifting a hand to her neck. “She could love a rich man just as easily. I love you and you’re rich.” She gave him a sly wink, obviously meant to distract him.
Leah considered getting up and leaving. She leaned forward on the chair, but Will held a palm down to stop her.
“You’re right,” he said finally. “There are many kinds of love.”
Dora let her shoulders swivel in a circling motion as though pleased with herself. She cast Leah a triumphant glance.
“And we don’t have the kind of love that endures a lifetime. We don’t have the kind, unselfish love it requires to make a marriage work. We want different things, you and I. I’m sure after you’ve had some time to think this over, you’ll agree this was the best thing that could have happened.” Swallowing hard, he fixed her with a level look. “There’s a man out there for you. You’re smart and pretty and ambitious. But I’m not him. The engagement is over.”
Dora’s nostrils flared. She inhaled and her chest puffed out. She looked from Will to Leah and back.
“You’ll regret this.” With stiff, controlled motions, she straightened, deliberately set her shoulders and marched out the door. The outer door of the suite slammed shut behind her.
Leah drew a shaky hand over her forehead. “That was awful. Will, I’m so sorry—”
“No,” he insisted and reached for her hand. She offered it and he assisted her to her feet. “You’ve done me a big favor. I know because when you told me what she’d said I felt relieved. I realized something had been wrong between us, and I hadn’t been dealing with it. So, thank you.”
She gave his arm a gentle pat. “You deserve someone who loves you.”
He agreed with a nod and reached behind his desk for his cane. “Come on, I’ll walk you downstairs. Shall I find you a ride home?”
“I’m going back to Remmy’s. Walking seems to agree with me and I still have shopping to do. I’m seeing Hannah for a dress fitting as well.”
He took her arm. “I’ll walk with you then.”
“I’m feel
ing bad because I haven’t yet given Daniel a wedding gift,” she explained as they left the hotel. “I had embroidered some handkerchiefs with his initials, but then after I saw the gift he chose for me I would have been embarrassed to give them to him.”
“Daniel isn’t a man to care about the cost of a gift,” he said. “As long as it comes from you, he’ll like it.”
“But I can’t think of anything special, and I want it to be. I was thinking perhaps books because there are all those empty shelves in the library.”
“That sounds good.”
“Not really.” She paused and he stopped beside her. “I want to fit in,” she admitted. “I want to feel adequate.”
“Daniel finds you more than adequate, my dear. You probably know he had feelings for you when we were young. When you and I imagined we might develop a relationship, he backed away for both of our sakes. But I don’t believe those feelings ever dimmed.”
They resumed their walk. “We were all young and carefree—foolish, actually,” she replied, her voice tinged with regret. “We made mistakes. Well, I did certainly. One can’t always trust feelings, because they can lead to mistakes.”
“You were incensed when you overheard Dora telling her friend not to be moved by feelings, but to use reason in planning her future,” he said. “Now you’re telling me the opposite.”
“This is different,” she protested. “I didn’t marry Daniel because he is one of the richest men in town. My situation is completely different from Dora’s. I already made poor choices and I’m living with them now.”
“Somewhere in your curly blonde head that makes sense, I suppose,” Will said with a shake of his head.
She cast him a sidelong glance. “You were always exasperating.”
“No argument.” He gestured to the mercantile. “Here we are. Thank you again for coming to me with what you heard. You saved me a lot of grief in the long run.”
“I hope so.”
He gave her a brief hug. “Quit worrying about that gift. He’ll appreciate anything you choose.”
“Thank you.” She watched him walk away, using his cane, his gait stiff.
Will deserved a woman who loved him.
She turned and entered Remmy’s mercantile, her thoughts taunting her. Daniel deserved a woman who loved him, too. But it took courage to love, more courage than she could muster.
* * *
Will presided over the town council meeting in a private room at the hotel. Daniel had helped him prepare an agenda, and they kept the discussions on topic. Several homesteaders were present who hadn’t been at the last impromptu gathering, so Daniel explained his and Dr. Lowell’s findings about the cattle poisonings. A Texas herd was due in a week, so a celebratory atmosphere pervaded. Everyone was relieved their cattle hadn’t been exposed to Texas fever. It remained to be determined who had deliberately poisoned the stock tanks and why, but since they’d uncovered the exploit, the problem had subsided. For now the cattle were safe.
They’d come to a dead end on discovering who had stolen and burned the lumber meant for the opera house. Two additional guards had been hired to take night watches, and so far there had been no further disturbances at the rail station.
Quincy Davis had reports from Morgan’s Creek and the surrounding vicinity about more robberies, and another small town sixty miles north had reported stolen horses and a deputy shot while in pursuit. Apparently the Murdochs had moved their reign of terror in a northerly direction.
With that agenda item behind them, they discussed guards and measures for safety during the Webster County Fair that would be taking place the following weekend. Next Daniel brought up arrangements for a second bride train. Buck Hanley was the first to respond. “I say we go for an even dozen this time. The town coffers can afford it, right?”
“As long as the council agrees,” Will replied.
“Daniel got one of the women already,” Timothy Watson said. “Nobody’s seen hide nor hair of the preacher’s daughter since she got here. Miss Haywood don’t seem none too friendly, and Miss Pippa is as busy as a one-legged man in a foot race with all the invitations she gets. We shore do need more choices.”
“We agree there’s a need to bring more women this time,” Daniel concurred. “I guess a vote is in order. All in favor raise your hand.”
Around the room hands shot in the air. Walter Frye raised the arm with the cast.
“Opposed?”
No one opposed the vote.
“More brides it is,” Will said, making it official. “I’ll arrange for the ads.”
The men made plans to move their gathering down to Drover’s Place. Amos excused himself and headed for his place over the boot shop. Daniel and Will remained behind and stood in the hotel foyer. “Are you joining the others?” Daniel asked.
“Might as well,” Will replied as though weary. “Otherwise I’d just head up to my room. You’re probably going on home.”
“I am.”
“Good for you. You got yourself a treasure when Leah married you.”
“I know.”
He pinched the bridge of his nose and sighed. “Did she mention what happened with Dora?”
“She did. How are you doing?”
“Well... The moment I heard what Dora had said, I felt relief. That’s when I knew Leah was supposed to overhear that conversation and come to me. Otherwise I might have made a big mistake.”
“Sorry it turned out the way it did.”
“Don’t be. I’m not. If I’m supposed to have a wife, the right woman will come along and I’ll know it’s right.”
“Perhaps on the next bride train,” Daniel suggested.
“Do you think someone from the next train will catch Noah’s eye?” Will asked.
Daniel gave his head a slow shake. “He’s bound and determined he doesn’t need anyone. He’ll likely refuse to even take a look, like he did this time.”
Will adjusted his weight from one leg to the other. “Maybe we need to make sure he can’t ignore a woman.”
“How do you mean?”
Will’s gaze traveled the lobby and returned to his friend. “By specifically requesting a bride for him. Making the arrangement.”
“Without Noah’s approval?”
Will raised an eyebrow. “Do you think he’ll ever say yes on his own?”
“Well, I suppose not. Unless someone can manage to change his mind without him knowing his mind is being changed...” Daniel shook his head. “Leah mentioned his withdrawal. She was hoping it wasn’t her he was avoiding so I took her to his place unannounced the other day and left the two of them together for a while. Once she was there and he was faced with her presence, she got him talking about his garden and he loosened up.”
“That’s perfect, don’t you think?” Will asked with a conspiratorial wink. “If we send a bride right to his door, what can he do? He’ll see she doesn’t find him as hideous as he supposes. He’ll relax and lower his guard like he did with Leah.”
Daniel nodded. “Okay. Let’s do it.”
“When I contact the liaison in Chicago, I’ll include a query for a specific young woman. I’d like to communicate before we choose.”
“I agree. Make a list of Noah’s good qualities, so the woman knows what a fine man she’ll be marrying.”
“Good idea,” Will agreed. “Now go home to your wife.”
Daniel grinned. “A few weeks ago I’d never have imagined hearing that.”
Will settled his hat on his head. “Do you like it?”
“I do,” Daniel admitted. After the two men parted ways, he headed for Second Street and then hurried along Lincoln Boulevard. It was a nice feeling to have a wife at home.
He entered the dimly lit house and found her asleep on the divan in the library, a b
ook in her lap. He covered her legs with a lap blanket and seated himself at his desk, lighting the lamp wick and opening a couple of ledgers to work for a while.
Occasionally he glanced over and admired her pale hair and the soft curve of her cheek in the lamplight. He hadn’t known what to expect from a marriage to this woman, hadn’t had time to think about it. She wasn’t the same girl who had been one of his two best friends so many years ago. She possessed a vulnerability he’d never seen before, a quiet resignation. He understood homesickness for a place and a time that would never again be. He understood feeling powerless to change the world. And he wished more than anything he could ease her burden somehow. He rested his chin on a palm, lost in thought. Not even an hour had passed when the sound of her book hitting the floor drew his attention, and she stirred.
Minutes later a muffled sound startled him, and he glanced up again. Her soft cries drew him from his chair, and he knelt beside the divan. That one as lovely and delicate as this woman carried the scars of war carved an ache in his chest. Things she didn’t speak of in the daylight haunted her at night. There had been a young boy in his regiment who had cried every night in his sleep. Daniel recognized the same pain and fear in Leah’s quiet sobs.
“Leah,” he said softly, placing a hand on her shoulder. “Leah, you’re dreaming. Wake up.”
Her eyes fluttered open to focus on him. She oriented herself and moved to a sitting position, where she pushed the hair away from her face. “Oh, I—didn’t know you were home. I must have fallen asleep.”
“You were dreaming,” he said.
Leah studied the concern on his face as he looked at her. She’d had yet another of the dreams that plagued her nights. In her dreams she saw every detail of the house she’d grown up in, just as it had been then—the furnishings, the wallpaper, the burnished woodwork...all the books lining the shelves in her father’s study. But her dreams always took a turn. The rooms were engulfed in flames, the books were reduced to ashes. Her mother reached out to her, but Leah couldn’t save her. “Run! Run!”
Leah clamped her hands over her ears, and then realized what she’d done. No one was crying out her name. A hissing fire burned cozily behind the grate in the fireplace. She sat in Daniel’s library while he studied her expression with concern.
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