Mail Order Mix-Up

by Christine Johnson

  “True, but I’ve been considering options that could solve both our problems.”

  “You have?” For some reason she’d never expected that a man of Roland’s influence and stature would change his plans to suit her. Now she felt really awful. In the morning, the parents would gather on his construction site and rally to halt his project. While he’d worked to help her, she’d made plans to hurt him. She lowered her gaze.

  “That’s why I came here today. Shall we walk?” He extended his arm.

  She couldn’t take it. She’d made a mess of things, as he would find out soon enough. “To the river?”

  He dropped his arm and waved her in that direction. “To the river.”

  They walked in silence for a while. She waited for him to explain those options. When he made no move, she nudged.

  “What did you come up with?”

  “Let me first explain what I considered and why each proved unsuitable. As you know, Mr. Stockton ordered all the worker housing fit out. We’re expecting the first mill workers next week. Then the lumberjacks will trickle in when the logs arrive from upriver.”

  Then Fiona had been right. Pearl sighed.

  “Thus the church had to go.” She could spare him that much.

  “For now.” Again that sheepish smile. “I wish it didn’t have to be that way, but he owns the cabins.”

  “Perhaps we can use the school for services. It won’t attract all the workers, but it is something.”

  “Garrett and I have been talking about that. Until the warehouse fills with lumber, we could use it.”

  “And after the cold sets in?”

  He nodded. “The schoolhouse would be a great help.”

  Since he kept talking about the school building, she hoped that meant he’d decided on his own to halt construction, at least during school hours. “Then we will continue classes at the schoolhouse?”

  This time he blew out a breath. “I couldn’t find another building that would work.”

  “And your construction?”

  They’d reached the river. The current boiled, surprising considering the recent lack of rain. She had spotted storm clouds on occasion, but they’d all passed by without a drop of rain. The riverbank hosted a fringe of willows and red dogwood that would soon lose the rest of their summer leaves. Across the wide expanse, a low, swampy area filled with reeds crowded the shore before the big bend leading to Singapore. Behind the swamp rose the dunes, blocking all view of the lake as well as the breezes that likely blew there.

  Roland had crossed his arms. He stared at the opposite shore, every muscle in his face tense.

  Pearl shivered. She would not like this answer.

  He began slowly. “After tomorrow and Saturday, the last of the trees will be cut. Once the logs start to arrive, construction will halt since every man will be needed in the mills. You will have your quiet school.”

  But at what cost? She opened her mouth but could not find the right words.

  He sprinted away from her. “I have to get away from this place.”

  Though he waited for her after striding up the path, he was not at peace. The emotions playing out on his face spoke of deep distress and agitation. What wasn’t he telling her?

  She picked up her skirts to climb, but the loose soil gave way under her feet. He extended a hand and helped her up the bank.

  She brushed off her skirts. “Thank you.”

  He seemed not to hear her, instead taking off down the path. Something terrible had happened, something that turned his buoyant temperament to melancholy, and she could not put her finger on what it was. Unless something had happened to his project. Unless her insistence on delay meant he’d lost funding.

  She hurried to catch up to him. “Tell me I haven’t caused you problems.”

  He stopped, his stare vacant. “I need to leave this place.”

  The breath caught in her throat. She had crushed his dream, and he was leaving Singapore.

  Chapter Seventeen

  Pearl managed to stop the rally before costing Roland any delay. She and Amanda arrived early, in the darkness of predawn, and told the arriving parents that he had promised to diminish the noise. Though they were met with grumbles from those who had walked far or postponed work on the harvest, confrontation was averted.

  The steam tractor started up before the parents left, and she suspected more than one didn’t believe her assurances about the noise, but there was no time to address the issue. Each parent had brought his or her children, so school had to begin early. Before entering the schoolhouse, she scanned the clearing for Roland. He wasn’t there.

  A small part of her was irritated that he’d stayed away at this key moment. The larger part feared he had already left town. Though Amanda insisted he couldn’t have meant he would leave Singapore, Pearl wasn’t so certain. His bleak expression yesterday weighed heavily in her thoughts. He looked like a man without hope.

  Now he hadn’t shown up to supervise his work crew. Had she acted too late, or was he already gone?

  “He probably had to man the store,” Amanda suggested as she ushered the children into the schoolhouse.

  “I hope so, but I’ll stop by after school to be sure.”

  Only after the school day ended and the last child set off for home—three of them with kittens—could Pearl consider the events of the morning. Though she’d glanced out the windows periodically, she didn’t spot Roland’s tall figure with the familiar rolled-up sleeves.

  Amanda tidied up the room, arranging the slates in the cupboard since the children had tossed them in willy-nilly. “What made you change your mind about the rally?”

  Pearl finished noting the last child’s assignment grade. “Roland promised to stop the machinery after Saturday, at least until they finish sawing the incoming logs. He said all his men will be busy at the mill.”

  “Are you certain it didn’t have something to do with who was doing the asking?”

  Pearl felt the heat in her cheeks. “Certainly not.” Though to be truthful, she might not have considered her actions in the same light if Garrett Decker had been the one building the glassworks. Perhaps that was the problem. She shouldn’t have a different standard for Roland. “Well, it might have come into play.”

  “I’m sure it did. Fiona says—”

  “Fiona? Why does she care about the school?” The moment she asked, she knew the answer. Fiona was trying to capture Garrett’s attention, and the children were the quickest way to his heart.

  Amanda huffed. “You know why.”

  “I’m sorry I asked.” Yet Pearl watched her friend’s reaction with interest. Could she be forming an interest in Garrett Decker? “You don’t think she cares about Sadie and Isaac?”

  “Only as much as they’ll lead her to their father. Oh, dear!” Amanda pressed a hand to her mouth. “I shouldn’t have said that, but she is so obvious. I don’t know why Garrett doesn’t recognize it. He thinks she actually bakes the bread and sweet rolls that she brings over.”

  “She brings food to Garrett’s house?”

  “Oh, yes.” Amanda rolled her eyes. “And spends far too long flirting with him. Honestly, I don’t see what any man would see in her. She’s so...so, oh, dear, I shouldn’t say such things about anyone, but she practically throws herself at him.”

  Pearl smiled to herself. Amanda’s indignation meant she was growing fond of Garrett, in some way. “Garrett must realize what she’s doing.”

  “Hugh didn’t realize Lena was trying to capture his attention.”

  “Maybe he did. Maybe he sought it.”

  Amanda sank onto a bench. “Then I truly am unlovable.”

  “Oh, dearest.” Pearl rushed to her friend’s side. “You are a beautiful daughter of God. Never forget that. The right m
an will see your true beauty and cherish it. You must believe that.”

  “But I don’t want to go through this again.” Amanda’s lip quivered. “I’m going to be like you and stand on my own.”

  “On my own?” Though that’s what she’d claimed to do, that ground had gotten murky since they’d arrived in Singapore. She could not have taught school without Mr. Holmes’s generous donation of primers. The townspeople had repaired the roof and cleaned the interior. Roland had supplied the paint to freshen the walls. Everyone had a part in this school. “We are never on our own.”

  “But you’re so confident and able to take care of things.”

  Pearl had never thought of herself quite that way. She did what was necessary, but that usually meant relying on the assistance of others. She hugged Amanda. “I couldn’t run the classroom without your help. You take care of the laundry and our room. Everything would be a mess without you.”

  Amanda brightened somewhat. “But will a man ever notice that?”

  “He will. You can be sure the right man will notice every little thing about you.”

  The way Roland had noticed her. The thought made her shiver. His sapphire-blue eyes and sheepish smile melted her heart. If he left Singapore, he would take part of her with him.

  Pearl rose. “Let’s finish up here. I want to look over the coats in the store. It’s getting too cold for just a shawl.”

  “Could you make certain there’s no problem with Sadie bringing Cocoa home?”

  “Of course.” But most of all she wanted to make sure Roland was still there.

  * * *

  Business had been brisk enough at the store to keep Roland busy all day. He could almost shake off that horrible memory that had taunted him at the river yesterday. From that exact spot he’d seen Eva’s boat capsize into the icy waters. Worse, he’d precipitated her flight into the river. They’d argued. He’d wanted to tell his brother the truth about their relationship before she’d met Garrett. She vehemently opposed it. When he refused to bend, she’d stormed off. Not long after, for a reason no one understood, she’d taken the boat across the river and got caught between the rushing logs and chunks of ice.

  If he hadn’t pressed the point...

  He shook his head. Nothing could change the past. No one could forgive his role in the tragedy, either. Garrett said he had, but only in words. The anger and hurt resurfaced over and over, sometimes in barbs, other times in withdrawal. Thus far Isaac and Sadie didn’t know, but eventually they would. Then he would lose them all.

  The figures in the ledger blurred. He blinked his eyes repeatedly, but they wouldn’t clear. He rubbed his eyes.

  The doorbell tinkled. Not another customer.

  “I’m closing for the day,” he called out.

  “So early?”

  Pearl’s strong voice made him look up. Her chestnut-brown hair glowed in the last rays of the late-afternoon sun streaming through the windows. Her independent streak made her more beautiful than Eva had ever been. Given a choice between the two, he would choose Pearl every time.

  The thought shocked him.

  Pearl stepped to the counter with a smile. “I came to look at the coats.”

  Roland pulled his thoughts back to business. “The coats.”

  “Winter coats. We spoke of them yesterday.”

  “Of course.” Roland shook his head. “The cloak I mentioned is in the stockroom. I’ll be back in a moment.”

  He whisked through the store, glad for a moment to recover his wits. Pearl was nothing like Eva. Yes, they each made demands, but Pearl’s weren’t for her own comfort. She fought for the children and wanted the church so they could reach the unbelievers. For others.

  He leaned against the stockroom worktable and drew a deep breath. The cloak. He suspected she didn’t have the money to buy a winter coat. If she had, she wouldn’t have toughed out the cold in that moth-eaten shawl of hers. Now where had he put that cloak that he’d ordered for a customer who left town before it arrived?

  * * *

  Roland took so long that Pearl feared he’d forgotten about the coat and disappeared into the kitchen to cook supper. The last rays of a brilliant autumn sun had settled into the soft glow of twilight before he returned. In his arms was the most exquisite dark green woolen fabric.

  He shook it out before her. “Will this do?”

  She hesitated to touch the cloak’s elegant fasteners and braided trim. It flowed with a quality she could never hope to afford, even at cost. “It would be too dear.”

  “Try it on,” he urged, that twinkle back in his eyes. “It won’t hurt to see if it fits.”

  “This is made for a lady in hoop skirts rather than this common dress.”

  “That’s why I thought it might be long enough for you. Every other lady who has passed through town swam in it.” He held out the cloak to fasten it around her shoulders.

  Though she could never hope to afford such a garment, it couldn’t hurt to try it on. For just one tiny moment she could stand in front of the glass and pretend she was a grand lady.

  “All right. But just to try it on. That’s all.”

  She turned, and he draped the cloak on her shoulders. Its luxurious, soft wool enveloped her at once in warmth. But it was the brief touch of his hands that made her skin tingle and her cheeks heat. How could one man have such an effect on her?

  “This way.” Roland extended his arm. “Have a look in the mirror.”

  She slipped her hands through the openings and set a hand on his arm. Once again, his presence made her stomach flutter and her head spin. She moved across the store one careful step at a time, aware of everything about him. The smell of soap, the crisp collar, the shadow of late-day whiskers, the deep blue of his eyes. He stopped before the large glass.

  She gasped and her hand went to her mouth.

  “Is something wrong?” he asked.

  She shook her head, overcome by the image before her. On a New York street, they would be considered a lady and gentleman of means, not an orphan and a storekeeper. Tears rose to her eyes.

  “Something is wrong,” he said.

  She shook her head again. “I—I look...” She couldn’t say it.

  “You look beautiful.” He drew her hand to his lips and kissed it lightly. “You are a lovely woman, Pearl.”

  A tear slipped down her cheek.

  He swiped it away with his thumb. “Why the tears?”

  “I’ve never worn anything this lovely.”

  His brow furrowed. “Why not?”

  “Orphans don’t receive fine clothes.” That came out more bitter than she’d intended.

  He drew in his breath, not sharply but enough to know he was surprised. “I’m sorry. I had no idea.”

  She shook her head again, unable to speak. What had provoked her to tell him she was an orphan? Now he would know she had nothing and no one in this world. Moreover, he would rightly suspect Amanda came from the same situation. That could destroy her chances with Garrett.

  “Please don’t tell anyone,” she begged.

  He hesitated, looking her over. “I’ll honor your wishes, of course, but it’s not shameful to lose your parents at a young age. It’s tragic. I was fortunate that mine passed on after Garrett and I were adults, though they never saw their grandchildren.”

  Pearl was relieved that he’d shifted the focus. “I’m sure they would be pleased by what you’ve both done with your lives.”

  His smile was taut. “And your parents would be proud of you.”

  She had to look away lest he see the truth. Her parents wouldn’t be proud. Her parents hadn’t wanted her.

  She undid the clasps on the cloak. “This belongs to you.”

  He stopped her from removing it by placing his hands on her shoulders.
Again that entirely too pleasurable sensation rippled through her.

  “Consider it yours.” It came out ragged, and he cleared his voice. “Please.”

  “I cannot. It’s too costly.”

  “It’s out of style and will never fit another woman.”

  She couldn’t accept his reasoning. He must be offering this because he pitied her, the poor little orphan and all. She squeezed her eyes shut. “It’s so beautiful that someone will want it.”

  A finger lightly touched her lips and she shuddered under the memory of his kiss, brief as it had been. “No one will want it. I planned to send it to the poor when I returned to Chicago.”

  The poor. Her.

  She set her jaw. “At least let me repay your cost.”

  He hesitated, and she could feel the air vibrate from his presence. “All right.”

  She dared open her eyes and saw him grinning at her. “What is it?”

  He shook his head, but the grin never left. “You drive a hard bargain.” The smile faded. “Sometime consider accepting a gift.”

  She felt her face flame and began to yank off the cloak.

  Again he stopped her. “It will cost you one dollar.”

  “One dollar?” This fine cloak must cost far more than a dollar. Then she remembered his admonition to receive with gratitude. She wasn’t a grateful receiver. Never had been. She bowed her head and then summoned the courage to look him in the eye. “Thank you.”

  He smiled.

  Chapter Eighteen

  As promised, the steam tractor left the construction site, which sat largely idle except for the driving of dock pilings into the river bottom. That work took place far enough from the school that the noise wasn’t any louder than the whine of the sawmills. Pearl didn’t see Roland unless she went to the store, and then more often than not Charlie waited on her. Roland was always busy with one or more of the lumberjacks and sawyers that arrived by boat and on the rafts of logs.

  Each day Amanda wandered the docks asking if anyone named Jake or Jacob had arrived. Thus far two had, but both were older than her brother. One was missing two front teeth and the other was bald. Both apparently thought Amanda wanted more than information, and Mr. Calloway had rescued her from their attentions each time.