Finding nothing of importance, he lowered the lid, replaced the trunk and brought the other over.
A crash from the kitchen made him flinch.
“Pa? You almost ready? I finished the dishes for ya.”
Albert couldn’t stop a smile at the surge of love Nate’s little voice created. “I’ll be along shortly, Nate. Give me a few more minutes. Thanks for cleaning up.”
“No problem, Pa!”
Resigned to finish his task so he could stop dwelling on it, Albert opened the second trunk. At the conglomeration of things, papers, envelopes, and very personal items, he sat back in surprise. This looked like everything she might have in the world. On the top was an official-looking envelope stamped with the Louis County seal of Iowa and addressed to Floria. Taking it, he extracted the contents and gazed at the long-awaited divorce papers. Dated two months ago and signed by Floria Brooks Preston.
His heart pounded in his chest and he took a moment to grasp what all this meant. In the same section was a thick envelope containing a tintype of him and Floria the day they married. A flood of emotion washed over him at the pretty smile on her lips. She held the small bouquet of primroses he’d picked and tied with a ribbon. They both looked so young.
“Pa?” Nate was on the opposite side of the door. He needed to hurry.
“Give me five minutes more, son. We’re still going to be early, I promise. I’m just doing a few things I’ve let go. Can you do that?”
A second passed. “Sure, Pa.” Nate’s tone wasn’t quite as chipper. After the frogging failures, Albert didn’t want to let Nate down again. He’d go through this trunk when his son went to bed tonight. It would take several hours. As he went to lower the lid, his gaze caught on a letter dated March first, two months ago. His curiosity got the better of him. He lifted the envelope, postmarked from California, and pulled the letter out.
My dearest Fluflu,
I’m counting the days until your glorious arrival. The moment can’t come fast enough to suit me. My family is anxious to meet the woman who has tamed my heart and ways, and will soon be my wife. They are thrilled we plan to settle with them in California and to have me back on the west coast.
Just as he’d thought. Floria had needed a marriage proposal to get the divorce done.
Stay safe, my love. You’re a very brave woman to travel to the Wyoming Territories by yourself with only the help of your young nephew. If I could be there, you know I would. Your tenacity and spunk are two of the things that drew me to you, as well as your beautiful face, and, oh, so many charms.
Nephew!
As much as I like the boy, I do feel your older sister is sound in seeing to the boy from here on out, since you alone have borne this obligation since your dear brother’s death.
Floria was an only child. She hadn’t even been willing to claim Nate as her own. He felt sorry for the man she’d been traveling to meet—another fool, just like he’d been.
You deserve a little freedom to see the world before we’re blessed with children of our own. Please give Nate a hug for me, and tweak his cheek as I like to do. Tell him we will come and visit often. It’s endearing how at times he slips and calls you mama.
Poor Nate! His mother had planned to give him away like a puppy that no longer fit into her life. Maybe it was best that Floria had already passed. If not, he would be tempted to do something he’d regret.
“Pa?”
Disgusted, Albert flung the missive into the trunk and closed the lid. He quietly carried it to the wall, then crossed the room and opened the door. Nate’s eyes went wide at the sight of his nightshirt and pants.
Albert scooped him up. “Have I told you today how much I love you, son?” When hot prickles stabbed at the back of Albert’s eyes, he buried his face against Nate’s neck. “Because I do, Nate. Life is so much sweeter since you arrived. I can’t imagine a day going by without seeing your smiling face. You’re my boy, and I couldn’t be prouder.” He gave him a good squeeze, meaning every word from the bottom of his soul. “I love you.”
Nate clung to him like a tick. He didn’t say anything, but the strong beat of his heart said he’d heard every word his pa spoke.
CHAPTER FIFTY-ONE
Susanna turned when someone called her name. Shifting her basket of goodies to her other arm, she smiled at Win, who hurried in her direction. His normal overalls had been replaced with a pressed shirt and new-looking nankeen trousers. Was he seeing someone special and keeping it secret? The names of several unmarried women popped into her head. She’d yet to speak with him since the day of the Stone Family Flub, as the event was now commonly called. Actually, it wasn’t funny at all. With so many deaths attributed to the train wreck, they had much to atone for. Shrugging off a shiver, she smiled at Albert’s approaching brother. She liked Win. He was kind, and a bit shy.
“Susanna,” he said, a wide smile on his face. “Let me carry that for you.”
“Oh, you don’t have to—”
He waved off her objection, bringing a whiff of pomade to her nose from his neatly parted and slicked-down hair. “It’s the least I can do for the woman who’ll be my sister-in-law someday soon.”
She liked the way that sounded. Laughter from the festival grounds drifted over, adding to the celebratory feel of the beautiful day. Fluffy white clouds floated slowly in the vivid blue sky high above the happy-faced folks as they walked toward the park, their arms laden with foodstuffs and blankets.
“Well, when you put it like that, all right,” she replied, handing over her basket.
“You’re headed to the festival, I presume?”
She nodded, smiling at his silly question. Seemed he was nervous about something. “Of course, isn’t everyone? I can’t think of a better way to put the past to rest than a springtime celebration.” They fell into step.
A buggy rolled over the bridge and then passed them by with Mrs. Hollyhock and Beth Fairington, and Gabe at the reins. Susanna waved.
“See ya there,” Violet called, waving back.
“Susanna?”
Win’s suddenly serious tone made her look over at him.
“I’m pleased you and my brother mended your fences. I was more than a mite worried you were falling for Dalton Babcock. Thank goodness Albert finally opened up with the truth.”
Truth? What did he mean?
A horrible sinking feeling almost toppled her. All she’d done was recognize that she didn’t want a life without Albert and had accepted she could forgive him anything. And had. He hadn’t shared any more of his past than she already knew. Susanna’s feet slowed to a stop. The moment Win looked into her eyes he realized his mistake.
“What do you mean?”
He blinked several times, then looked away.
“Win, you’re not going anywhere unless you tell me what you meant by that comment. What else is Albert hiding?”
“Nothing.”
“Win?”
“It’s not for me to say, Susanna.”
The beseeching expression on his face wasn’t going to work.
“I thought Albert had told you,” he said, relenting. “That was why you two had made up. Don’t ask it of me, please.”
“Oh, I’m asking right now, Win! You better believe I’m asking! And, you’re going to tell me.” She’d never been more serious in her life. The beauty of the morning evaporated into thin air. “What horrible secret is he hiding now? Another wife?”
Win’s face blanched. “Of course not. It’s nothing like that, as a matter of fact, it’s the opposite.”
She plopped her hands on her hips. “Neither one of us is going anywhere until you spit it out.”
He nodded, then looked around to make sure no one would hear what he had to say. “You have to promise not to tell him I told you, and you can’t tell anyone else neither.”
“Oh, for heaven’s sake, Win, why would I tell anyone?”
He took a deep breath, but just stared at her.
“Win! I’m n
ot getting any younger.”
He put his head close to hers. “What Albert wouldn’t tell you is that Floria was a no-good, pretty-faced trickster. She’d been jilted the month before Albert came into her town and wanted to get back at the man who’d wised up before it was too late. So she married Albert, a strapping, young, and new-to-town stranger. Floria was very beautiful, and she drew him into her web just like a spider. It wasn’t but a couple of weeks before she began carrying on where she left off with that other fella behind Albert’s back. And when I say carrying on, I mean carrying on.”
Susanna sucked in air, unable to take her eyes off Win’s face. Fury burned in her heart.
“My brother didn’t understand his bride’s constant mood swings, because he didn’t know about the other scoundrel yet. One minute she loved him, and the next she didn’t. He tried to make it work. Then one day he caught them in his own house, and they weren’t just having tea. That’s the day he moved out, but not before he went a few rounds with the interloper. After she played him the fool, he knew he couldn’t remain in that town. He decided to start over where he could have a clean slate. Even before he met you, he’s been trying to get that she-cat, double-dealing . . .” He swiped a hand over his face. “Her to give him a divorce, but her temperaments changed faster than a jackrabbit runs. I was worried about him, and didn’t want to see him set out alone, so I came along. Being the younger brother, it’s my job to look after him.”
She could only imagine how hurtful the betrayal must have been for Albert. “But why didn’t he tell me? I was having a difficult time understanding how a man could leave his wife after only a couple of months. And to think I’ve been feeling sorry for the wrong person—the harlot!”
“I wanted him to—I begged him to—but he didn’t want to tarnish her memory, for Nate’s sake. You know how things get out.” His face actually colored up. “And when they do, people talk. Albert never wants his son to know about his mother’s misbehavior. He planned to tell you eventually, just not yet. I think seeing her again—even dead—has him reliving the pain. Give it a little time.”
“That’s because he’s honorable, and good, and—”
“What’s going on over here? Plotting my demise?”
Susanna gasped. She whirled around, her hand plastered to her chest. She’d been in such an angry fit, wanting to scratch out Floria’s eyes, that she hadn’t heard Albert and Nate’s approach. When Albert’s gaze met hers, love rushed through her. She could picture him a younger man, betrayed, upset, wondering what he’d done wrong. It was a good thing that jezebel was already dead, because if she weren’t, Susanna just might kill her herself for hurting Albert so.
Albert cocked his head. “What’s got you riled? I know that look . . .”
She smiled, corralling her anger. “Just something Win told me he heard from Miss Fairington. How her pie’ll beat mine to smithereens in the contest this afternoon.”
Well, it was true—a year ago.
“Hi, Miss Robinson. Hi, Uncle Win,” Nate said, clutching Albert’s hand as if he’d been doing it his entire life. His face was scrubbed clean and his hair combed.
Albert smiled. “Her pie, or anything else, can’t hold a candle to you.” He lifted his elbow and Susanna slipped her hand through, praising heaven she’d found such an honorable, steadfast man to give her heart to.
“I’m liking this courting stuff more and more,” he said, leaning in to give her a too-long-for-propriety’s-sake kiss on her cheek that sent a bevy of tingles racing up her spine, after which he looked down and winked at his son. Win just grinned like the town fool.
The celebration was in full swing when Albert whispered in Susanna’s ear. “Will you excuse me for a minute, sweetheart?” He’d spotted Babcock, Pat Tackly, and the bankers arriving at the edge of the grass field, and wanted to make sure everything for their departure tomorrow was solid.
“Of course. I can’t keep you all to myself the whole day, even if I’d like to. But only if you’ll buy a ticket.” She smiled at Hannah and Jessie, who were helping her arrange the cakes on the table for the cakewalk they’d have at the end of the day. It was a fund-raiser for the two memorial plaques they intended to have inscribed. One for the cemetery, and one to put out at Three Pines Turn, where the train’s engine would remain for the time being, after the rest of the train was gone.
He pulled some coins from his pocket. “I planned to already, and actually, I’ll take four.” He leaned in and kissed her cheek again, never tiring of the feel of her soft skin.
“Albert, if you keep kissing me, you’re going to start people’s tongues wagging.”
“I can’t help it. I’m making up for lost time.”
He straightened, his gaze snagging on the train depot off in the distance. It was difficult to believe so much had transpired. The accident and deaths brought sadness, but also a burst of joy for Nate and Susanna. “I still can’t believe Laine and Wallace, along with little Terrence, planned to brace themselves and ride out the crash in the passenger cars, thinking they’d be safe. But when Terrence snuck away, they had to go in search. All three of them could’ve been killed. They risked his young life, as well as their own. All because of money.”
“Don’t think about that today, Albert. This is a celebration.” She took the devil’s food cake Hannah handed her and set it on the end of the row.
“I know. It’s just that it could have been Nate.”
Turning, she wiped a smudge of chocolate frosting from her thumb onto her apron and hugged his arm close. “Thank God it wasn’t. I’m embarrassed how well Laine fooled me. I thought she was such a nice woman. She even lied to Mrs. Hollyhock about their past and going home to help her father.”
“If there’s any consolation at all, it’s with Evan’s confession, and all the other evidence, they’ll all taste the end of a rope, excluding Terrence, of course.”
He looked across the crowd to the maypole in the center of the clearing where the children waited in anticipation for the dance, or whatever it was they did when they scampered around, to start. Long colored streamers were wound tight, and wouldn’t be released until it was time to begin.
“Looks like Nate’s doing fine.”
Susanna stopped what she was doing and turned to look. Nate, along with Markus, Sarah, and several others, were running around the maypole in a single-file race. Penny, Brenna’s oldest daughter, watched, her hands placed protectively on Maddie’s small shoulders, as the blind girl smiled at the happy sounds.
Julia was sitting with Mrs. Hollyhock’s group, and waved. Susanna waved back.
“Of course he is, Albert,” she said. “He’s such an agreeable little sort. He comes up with the funniest things. Now go on, before Dalton gets away.”
Albert ambled away, smiling at the relaxed townsfolk having a good time. He edged his way into the group of men and nodded to Babcock. “So, everything’s set for the big move tomorrow? No last-minute changes.”
The head man, as reed thin as a person could get, wiped his mouth with his handkerchief. “We are. Thank you for your assistance in this matter, Sheriff. I’ve left bank drafts with Frank to pay your men for services rendered.”
“Anything for stopping the robbery?” He’d said it tongue in cheek, remembering that last year Charlie Axelrose had received a substantial reward for bringing in the outlaw Tandy Smith. It couldn’t hurt to ask.
The man’s eyes opened wide. “No. None of the outlaws were wanted. I’m sorry, but you’re out of luck.”
The look Babcock threw him almost made him laugh.
“And what about you, Dalton, you pulling out with them? Are you going to finish the job you started? I’ve had this sneaking suspicion you might change your mind at the last moment and stay behind. For whatever reason, I can’t imagine.”
Dalton grinned like a pesky raccoon with his hand in a sugar bag. “You’d like to know wouldn’t you, Preston? Well, I won’t keep you in suspense any longer. As much as I know you�
�ll miss me, I am finishing the job. Not only that, but I’m kind of excited to see what kind of trouble I can find out in California. That’s actually where the Stone family originated, and I’m escorting little Terrence back to his honest aunt and uncle, since his parents are dead and all his other relatives are incarcerated.”
There it was. He should be relieved, but he wasn’t. Somewhere deep inside he’d hoped Babcock would stay. Good lawmen were difficult to find, but he’d never tell him that. “That’s good of you. Are you going to tell Susanna goodbye? She was wondering about that yesterday.”
Dalton glanced across the gathering to the cake table. “I don’t believe I will. The last time I left town, I didn’t say goodbye either. I think she’ll understand.”
At the sound of a single fiddle, everyone turned. In the clearing, where the fun was about to begin, Mrs. Brinkley’s oldest grandson held a polished instrument under his chin and warmed up as Frank Lloyd unwrapped the maypole ribbons. Albert could see the excitement on Nate’s face all the way from where he stood. “I’ll catch up with you men later,” Albert said. “I’m going to go join my family.”
The sun had set, and tired picnic goers began their trek home. Susanna packed away her dirty plates, as well as the cold oven pound cake drizzled with honey that Nate had won on the cakewalk. He’d wanted to eat it right then and there, but Albert said since they had eaten so many picnic types of foods already, that they should save it until tomorrow. Too tired to argue his point, the child had collapsed on the ground at his father’s feet until Albert hefted him up to carry him home.
They arrived at the split where Susanna would go her way and Albert, with a sleepy Nate in his arms, would go theirs. Albert turned toward her house and kept going.
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