On the Wings of a Winter Heart (Miracle Express, #5)

by Rebecca Lovell

  “That’s right, you always thought I was a fool for moving down here.” Folding her arms over her chest, Clara glared at him. “If you’re going to act like my home is some backward country town, you can take yourself right back to Chicago and tell Mother and Father that I’m just as terrible a daughter as they think I am.”

  “I have no intention of doing that and you know it,” Franklin said, taking off his jacket and rolling up his shirtsleeves. “You’re my sister, no matter how much you want to hide that you’re from the North.” He shook his head. “That accent of yours isn’t fooling anyone.”

  Clara fell silent as Franklin began to wash the pie plate he’d pulled out of her cabinet just a few hours earlier. He hadn’t expected to eat half the damn thing himself, and his stomach was already complaining at him about it. The little girl had eaten more of it than any of them and he smiled. At least someone at the table hadn’t been mad at him.

  He’d known when he came to Mayfly that the residents weren’t going to be happy to see him. Apart from Everett Ames, none of them had even the slightest clue that the railroad was planning on extending its route their way, and he’d spent most of the trip trying to think of a way to talk to them that wouldn’t completely offend them. It hadn’t worked, at least for Joy.

  “Whether her mind is set or not, I’d like to know more about your friend,” he said casually as he moved the rag around the plate. “When they said she lived on her own, I wasn’t sure what to expect. Especially when I was told she was a missus.”

  “She used to be, anyway,” Clara said. “Her George is the same place as my Freddie, so I don’t know what that makes her.”

  “What happened to him? Do you know?”

  “That’s not my story to tell.” The tone of Clara’s voice told him that it was better not to pry further, so he fell silent as he washed. “Do you intend to keep trying to get her to sell you her property?”

  “I don’t really have much of a choice,” Franklin replied. “The bosses have it in their head that they have to have a station in Mayfly, and with Ames in their ear they’re not likely to let it go anytime soon.” He sighed. “Besides, if I’m going to be stuck here I might as well keep trying to get myself out.”

  “Why are they setting up a real estate office here anyway? Everyone around here’s trying to get out of Mayfly, not come in. They’re wasting their money and time.” Clara huffed. “Though I suppose the almighty railroad has money to waste.”

  “It’s not a waste, not if it creates demand for the railroad. Getting people to move here and buy property is an attractive proposition once there’s a depot here to bring in supplies and connect people with the rest of the country. They may be putting the cart before the horse setting it up before the railroad even exists here but I’m sure Ames has something to do with that as well.”

  “I’m not surprised. Ames has his hands in everything around here.” It seemed as if Clara’s irritation had found somewhere else to land and Franklin breathed a sigh of relief. His big sister had always been able to see through him and it was hard to fight her. Whenever she felt strongly about something, she dug her heels in and wouldn’t let go, much like her friend Joy.

  Franklin smiled as he thought about Joy and her green dress. Between the makeup and her clothes, she’d looked like a different person from the woman whose door had been slammed in his face the day before. When he’d been told about her by Ames, he had imagined a hard-faced woman with an accent so thick he could hardly understand her. Instead he’d found a woman on the remarkable side of pretty who looked as if she couldn’t be more than twenty-five years old.

  After the way dinner had gone, he was hesitant to go back out to her house. She obviously hadn’t read the letter he’d left, or she might have been a little more friendly to him. The amount of money the railroad was offering was something the people of his newfound problem of a town rarely saw, and he couldn’t imagine her refusing to accept it. If there was one thing he’d learned from working with the AT&SF, it was that money had a tendency to change people’s minds in a hurry.

  “I don’t think you’re going to change her mind that easily,” Clara said, as if she was somehow listening to his thoughts. “Joy has an attachment to that house that goes beyond something as simple as a pile of money. I don’t know how much you offered her—-”

  “It was a considerable amount,” Franklin said, cutting her off. “Maybe if I just spoke to her a little more, explained how good the railroad would be for the town. She’s got a little girl to think about, after all.” He sighed. “She said she only had about a third of her original land. The money the railroad is offering was for the full parcel and the house, so turning it down out of hand is ridiculous.”

  “People around here don’t think the way you and our parents do. This land is all they’ve ever known. Moving away is breaking people’s hearts because it’s like betraying their home, not because they’re not getting enough money for their land or uprooting their families.” Clara opened the icebox and put the butter away while Franklin continued to slowly wash the pie plate, shaking his head.

  “If this railroad deal goes through, they won’t have to move. This town could even grow into something, a real depot instead of a – what is it you call it out here – a wide place in the road.” He transferred the soapy plate into the clean water to rinse, then set it on the drying rack with the rest of the dishes. “I’ve seen it happen before. Rail lines open small towns like this up to the rest of the world. Surely your friend can understand that.”

  “Don’t talk to me about it, talk to her,” Clara said. A knock on the door caught her attention and she went toward it, looking over her shoulder at Franklin. “You used to be good at convincing people to do things they didn’t want to, why don’t you try some of that?”

  Franklin’s face flushed at her words and he picked up one of the wet dishes and a cloth so he had something to do with his hands while she went to the door. She was never going to let him forget his mistake. It didn’t matter how much his mother and father had praised him, his big sister would always be angry about what he’d done.

  “Evening, Miss Wallace,” a voice from the direction of the doorway said. “I heard tell that a man named York is staying with you?”

  “Yes, he’s my brother,” Clara replied, and Franklin set the plate back in the drying rack to join her in the living room. A middle-aged man in a tired suit stood on her porch with an envelope in his hand and Clara glanced back at Franklin. “Is something the matter?”

  “No ma’am. We just got a telegram from him over at the post office and I wanted to bring it right over.” The man turned his attention to Franklin. “You’re Franklin York?”

  “That’s me,” Franklin said. The man outside handed him the envelope, then tipped his equally tired hat to Clara.

  “That’s all I come for,” he said. “Didn’t mean to disturb you any.”

  “Not at all. I’d offer you a piece of pie to take home with you but someone finished it all,” Clara said with a pointed look at Franklin. “Have a good evening, Jim.” She closed the door and looked at the envelope in her brother’s hand. “Well?”

  “It’s just work,” Franklin replied with a shrug. He knew what was in the telegram without even opening it, so he folded it up and stuck it in the pocket of his vest. Clara was glaring at him by this point and he sighed. “It doesn’t concern you.”

  “You’re staying in my house and for all I know people think you’re my lover. Of course it concerns me.” Clara snatched the envelope out of his pocket and pulled it open while Franklin made a grab for it.

  “At least let me read it first,” he snapped, closing his fist around it hard enough to crumple it down the middle. While Clara watched with her hands on her hips, he took out the telegram and read it over. “Just like I thought. They’re wanting to know what Mrs. Everly’s decision was so they can report to Ames.” He shook his head. “That man thinks he can throw money at any problem and make it go a
way, and he’s got my bosses thinking the same.”

  “Maybe if you offer her more money, she’ll change her mind,” Clara said with acid on her tongue.

  “Maybe if a friend talked to her a little before I try again,” Franklin ventured, knowing exactly what his sister’s answer would be. The look on her face said it all, and he tucked the telegram into his pocket again. “I’ll reply to this in the morning. Maybe you can help me think of a way to announce that the AT&SF is setting up a real estate office.”

  “It won’t be a secret once you start fixing up the old dress shop,” Clara said. “You won’t have to announce anything, especially if you’re planning to hire men from around town to help you with it.” She narrowed her eyes at him. “You are planning to hire men, aren’t you?”

  “Of course I am,” Franklin answered waspishly. “When was the last time you saw me hammer a nail, Clara?”

  “Never.” She yawned. “I’m going to bed. Do whatever you want, just do it quietly.” With that, she went up the stairs and disappeared. Franklin heard her bedroom door close above his head and leaned on the wall for a moment before straightening and rolling down his sleeves again. He picked up his jacket but dispensed with his hat, then put on his coat and went out the front door.

  For a moment he considered asking his sister to give him a key to the door but he didn’t want to disturb her when she was already annoyed with him. Small towns were supposed to be safe, and he wasn’t planning on being gone too long. If she got mad it wouldn’t be the first time she yelled at him, and if he was honest with himself he halfway wanted to be yelled at. He didn’t want to be in this position in the first place but here he was, trying to make the best of things.

  As he walked down the street toward the center of Mayfly where the few businesses that still remained in the town sat, he looked around. Clara’s house was the nicest of the ones tucked out of the way, but nothing like the Ames ranch that he had visited when he first got into town. It was hard to imagine that sprawling acreage was even related to the dry scrap of land that Joy’s house sat on, but for the moment the two were drawing closer in value and it felt unreal.

  When Joy had walked into the house in her finery, that had been unreal as well. She’d looked almost like the women he’d known in Chicago, but with eyes that spoke of true hardship rather than worries over who had stolen whose outfit for a society party. It never took long for that to become tiresome, especially when he had to listen to an earful of it every time he treated a lady friend to dinner. Joy was intriguing in a way none of them were, and he wished he could get the business of buying her land over with so he could possibly get to know her a little better.

  Not that she’d want to get to know me better after I’ve been pestering her to sell her home, he thought with some annoyance. He’d gotten pushed out of Chicago after trying to help someone out of a mess and now he had been pushed out of Santa Fe to the middle of nowhere on the strength of that same mishap. Finding out any of it wasn’t likely to endear him any further to Joy, but if she wouldn’t talk to him it was a moot point.

  The post office was closing up but when the man Clara had referred to as Jim saw him, he smiled broadly. Apparently being Clara’s brother had benefits when it came to the townspeople. He hoped their hospitality would stretch to his setting up the real estate office as well.

  “Evening, Mr. York. You’re gonna be wanting to send your reply to that telegram, I guess.” Jim waved him in.

  “Thank you,” Franklin said. “I do appreciate it.”

  “We’re no Western Union but I can get your message back home for you.” He took out a pencil and paper, then leaned on the counter. “Now, tell me what you want me to send.”

  “This is in confidence, of course?” Franklin had a feeling that even though Jim nodded, there was a decent chance that the entire town would know about his message, so he tried to figure out the best way to put things without giving away his entire purpose in Mayfly. “Meeting with Ames tomorrow, stop. Found suitable location for office, planning on hiring men immediately, stop.”

  “That’s thirteen words,” Jim said after a quick count. “You sure you want to send that much?”

  “Positive,” Franklin replied, taking a five dollar bill out of his wallet. “That should cover it, and keep the rest for yourself. My thanks for sending it out tonight.”

  “That’s far too much, even for a rush. I’ll have to get your change from the bank in the morning, though,” Jim said apologetically. Franklin shook his head.

  “Keep it and have a drink or two on me.”

  “If you say so. Thanks.” Jim put his pencil back in a cup on the desk, then looked at the message. “You’re looking for men to do some sort of work?”

  “Yes,” Franklin said with a smile. He had planned to ask Ames where he could hire some workers but this was much better. “I’ll need a few men to help me put together an office in the building where the dress shop used to be.”

  “Plenty of men around here looking for work,” Jim said. “I can talk to a few tonight or you can walk into the saloon and do it yourself.”

  “If you could do it for me, that would be a big help.” Opening his wallet again, Franklin took out two more dollars. “I’ll pay two dollars a day for as long as it takes to get the place put together, but I’m going to want it done quick.” He handed Jim the bills. “Here’s for your day’s work finding my help.”

  “That’s a lot of money to pay for a small job like this,” Jim said, and Franklin was surprised to hear a little suspicion in his voice. “What kind of office are you setting up?”

  Franklin hesitated. He wasn’t sure how he’d intended to open the real estate office, only that he hadn’t meant for it to be passed around town quite so fast. He could understand Jim’s caution, however, and made sure to keep a smile on his face.

  “A regular, run-of-the-mill land office,” he said. “I’ll explain more once I’ve talked to Mr. Ames but it’s all fairly boring.” He hoped invoking the name of the richest man in Mayfly would earn him some trust, since everyone seemed to put faith in Ames. If they knew he was the one who had suggested the railroad extension, it might make his job a little easier, but he didn’t know if Ames would approve and the last thing he needed was to make an extremely wealthy man angry.

  “It’s not that I don’t trust you, of course,” Jim said, an almost apologetic tone to his voice, “but for a man to just show up and start setting up shop might make people a little nervous. If you’re in business with Mr. Ames, though, that’s all I need to know.”

  “No need to worry,” Franklin said, still smiling. “I know I’m the new man in town, it’s only natural to be a little wary of me. I plan to be here for some time, so you’ll have your chance to get to know me. Tell them I’ll meet them at the old dress shop tomorrow morning, and I’ll pay their first day in advance.” He nodded to the door. “I’m headed back to Clara’s house. If you need anything, we’ll talk more in the morning.”

  “Yes, sir. Have a good night.”

  Leaving Jim to send his telegram, Franklin made his way back through the neighborhood to his sister’s house. The light in her window was out, so he knew his absence hadn’t been noticed, and he closed the door as quietly as possible behind him before locking it. He took off his coat and hung it on the rack, then removed his shoes and went up the stairs.

  Clara’s guest bedroom was beside hers on the second floor, so he made sure to stay as quiet as possible until he closed his own door. Then he sank onto the bed with his clothes still on and put his hands over his face. It felt like it had been a year since he’d gotten off the train in Lamy and the next day would only be busier. Franklin exhaled slowly. There was no way to turn back time, but if he could he would make it so that neither he nor his sister would ever have to set foot in New Mexico. It was a selfish wish, but even if Clara wouldn’t thank him for it, he had a feeling that Joy Everly would.

  Chapter Four

  When he met the men who had
signed up to help him with his office the next morning, Franklin couldn’t help being impressed by Jim’s quick work. There were four men ready to work, all of whom looked young, strong, and eager. Once he was finished with them they’d be back to doing what they could to survive, and in spite of the fact that he’d only just met them Franklin was suddenly determined to find a way to help them.

  “Thank you all for coming,” he said with a smile. “May as well introduce myself. I’m Franklin York, and I work for the AT&SF railroad. This is going to be my office, and I want it done fast but I want it done right, so I’m not planning on rushing you. This’ll take as long as it takes, as they say. Any questions?” As he’d expected, two hands went up as if they were in school.

  “If you work for the railroad, why’re you out here? We ain’t got a depot out here.”

  “We got to that fast, didn’t we?” Franklin laughed. “You’re a sharp one, Mr...?”

  “Seth,” the young man said. “Is the railroad planning on laying tracks near here?” His brown eyes had the hungry look of a man who wanted a steady job and Franklin nodded.

  “They’re interested,” he said. “We have some details to iron out but we’re hoping to extend the line through Mayfly and connect it to the North and further West. This is going to be more of a land office, though. The railroad’s business dealings will go through the main office.”

  “So if we work for you, they might wanna hire us for the railroad?” Seth’s eyes widened. “That why you’re giving us railroad worker pay?”

  “There’s no guarantee you’ll get hired by AT&SF because you’re working for me, and it’s not a contract between you and them. I’m hiring you because Jim says you’re trustworthy men, but I wouldn’t be averse to putting in a good word for you. Truth be told, they’ll probably want to hire local men to keep their costs down, so it wouldn’t be too farfetched of them to take you on if you prove you’re a hard worker.” Franklin nodded to the other man who had raised his hand. “What’s your name?”