Hidden Forever

by Cat Cahill

  Jacob glanced across the room. Sure enough, all the tables had filled. He nodded at the man, even as he groaned inwardly. How could he speak with Dora when he had an audience?

  “I thank you. The name’s Aaron Cardwell.” The man thrust a hand across the table.

  Jacob shook the man’s cold yet sweaty hand, then quietly wiped his own hand along the side of his pants. “Jake James,” he said, keeping up the ruse. Dora would be the first to know who he really was, not this nervous creature of a man.

  “Pleasure,” Mr. Cardwell said as he picked up the menu that lay on the table in front of him.

  Jacob hadn’t even looked at the thing when Dora glided up to them.

  “Good afternoon, gentlemen,” she said in her soft voice. “I’m Miss Reynolds. May I—” Her voice faltered as her eyes landed on Jacob.

  He gave her an unrestrained smile. One quickly flitted across her face, only to disappear into concern. He supposed it should have been an expected reaction. He had, after all, taken off to Denver without so much as a word.

  “Water is fine with me,” Jacob said, answering her unasked question. He didn’t even hear what his tablemate ordered. He was too focused on taking in every aspect of Dora’s beautiful face and trying to read her reaction to him. When she turned back to him, he clutched the edges of his chair lest he leap up and take her into his arms.

  “Mr. James?” she asked, likely not for the first time.

  “I apologize,” he said, fumbling for his menu. The words swam before his eyes. “I’ll take any dish you might recommend.”

  He could see her swallow as she lifted her pad of paper to write. “The beef, then. Our chef does wonders with beef.”

  “Well, that sounds good to me too,” the man across from Jacob said.

  Dora nodded. “I’ll have those out to you soon so you’ll have plenty of time to eat before reboarding your train.”

  “I’m staying,” Jacob said immediately.

  Her eyes lifted from the paper to him. “Are you certain?”

  Her words pierced his heart. “Yes. Absolutely certain.”

  “All right.” She gave them both a small smile. “I’ll return soon.”

  Cardwell’s eyes followed her as she walked to the kitchen door. “She’s awfully pretty.”

  Jacob narrowed his eyes at the man, whose carefully greased hair was now falling across his forehead. “The waitresses at this hotel hold the finest reputations.” His words held an edge he hadn’t meant to use, but he figured it was better than forcing this man to take his eyes off Dora.

  “Oh, I didn’t mean to imply . . . I only . . .” Cardwell pulled a lace-edged handkerchief from his pocket and wiped his brow even though the room was a comfortable temperature. “You seem to know her?”

  “I’ve been here before,” Jacob said shortly.

  Cardwell stumbled out some more words, which Jacob didn’t hear. Dora had reemerged from the kitchen and was now taking more orders. She moved through the room like a swan on water. He itched to speak with her alone. He had so much to say, to ask, that he didn’t even know where he’d start.

  When she brought them their plates of food, he tried to catch her eye. She looked at him briefly but gave no hint to what she might be thinking.

  Jacob ate his food as quickly as possible, even though his appetite had disappeared entirely. Cardwell nattered on about a sales position he hoped to take in Santa Fe. When Dora came to collect their plates and payment, Jacob handed her some bills and a small note he’d managed to write while Cardwell talked at length about everything from medicinal sales to sales of ladies’ hats. Jacob figured the man had sold just about everything that could possibly be sold west of the Mississippi. He gathered his hat and case, bid the man farewell, and went to await Dora’s arrival.

  If she chose to see him, that is.

  Chapter Twenty-seven

  Dora couldn’t decide if she felt sick or excited. Her stomach turned as if she’d caught some winter illness and yet her heart fluttered, about to take wing right out of her body.

  “Go now,” Millie whispered to her. “I’ll clear your tables and take care of any new customers who come in.” She gave Dora a little push on the shoulder as she took her tray of dirty glassware.

  Dora nodded her thanks. She pinched her cheeks and smoothed down her hair before leaving the dining room. Thankfully, Mrs. Ruby was occupied elsewhere and didn’t notice Dora shirking the end of her shift. The train passengers had all returned to their cars by now. The only customers who lingered were hotel guests. With a quick glance about the room, Dora slid through the door into the hotel lobby.

  She wove through the room, her feet barely touching the ground. She couldn’t decide if she was angry or happy to see Jake again. She’d expected him never to return, and now that he had . . . What did that mean? She wasn’t prepared for this.

  In her room, she hurried to put on her winter things. Jake’s scrawled note had asked her to meet him by the old footbridge near the creek. It was a good place, far from prying eyes and ears, but cold. At the back door to the hotel, Dora tightened the hood around her head.

  Outside it was crisp and sunny. The snow sent prisms of light off in every direction, and Dora blinked the brightness away as she walked to the creek. Once there, it didn’t take long to find him. He stood, tall and sure of himself, as usual, by the old bridge that crossed the creek. Dora tried to walk at a stately pace. As excited as she was to see him again, she was still mad. He’d treated her poorly and before she would speak to him about anything, she wanted an apology.

  “I wasn’t certain you’d come,” he said, his hands behind him and his face a bit sheepish.

  “Neither was I.” It was a stretch of the truth, but he deserved to wriggle a little. She kept a slight distance from him, enough to let him know she could easily turn and leave him here.

  “Dora, I need to apologize to you.” He moved his hands from behind him to the pockets of his coat. It was if he didn’t really know where to put them at all. “I’m sorry. I’m sorry for leaving without any notice, and I’m especially sorry for making you feel as if you’d done something wrong.”

  “You thought I was the thief,” she said. There was no use dancing around it. She’d danced around too many things in her life lately, avoiding conflict at all costs and trying to blend in. And frankly, she was tired of it.

  He closed his eyes briefly before opening them again. “I did. I had no other suspects and you were there.”

  “I’ve never stolen anything in my life.” She clasped her hands in front of her. He had to believe that. Despite all the secrets she’d kept, she was being absolutely honest right now.

  “I believe you,” he said quietly.

  The warmth in his words nearly made her forget the cold around them. He did believe her. Her entire body felt as light as a feather.

  “I also believe you’re hiding something else from me.”

  She swallowed and scraped for the courage she needed to speak. “I believe the same of you.”

  A wry grin curved his lips. “You would be correct, my Dora.”

  My Dora. Her heart picked up pace and she fought to keep her thoughts straight. He might not call her such a thing once he knew who she was. And she may not wish him to once she learned his truth.

  Suddenly desperate to stay in the world they’d created for themselves before the truth came crashing into them, Dora blurted out, “I know who the thief is.”

  The grin disappeared from his face. “I don’t think it’s your friend, the redheaded one.”

  “No, it isn’t.” Dora told him about bringing Mrs. McFarland her tray the night before and what she’d discovered about the money and the safe. “I imagine since she’s alone, she feels safe in doing that. But almost each night, she receives one visitor after the dinner service is completed.”

  Jake furrowed his brow. “Her husband? I don’t think he’s stealing from the hotel.”

  “No. Last night, it was me. But every
other night, it’s another Gilbert Girl. Edie Dutton. She brings Mrs. McFarland coffee and cake.” She waited a moment to let the truth sink in. When he nodded, she continued. “You’ve met her at least once. She was the one who, well . . . She entered the stables when we were . . . there.” The memory of how close he’d stood to her that night flooded every sense. She could almost feel his hand on her face and hear the sound of her own heart, all over again.

  “Yes, I remember.” His gray eyes held her own as he smiled again.

  Dora shifted in the snow, not sure if she wished to return to that moment in the barn or if she wanted to run for the safety of her room.

  “Wasn’t she searching for men who were already at dinner?” he said.

  Dora looked at the ground to force her mind to work. “Yes.”

  “We’d gone about it all wrong,” he mused. “I’ll tell McFarland. If it is this Miss Dutton, it should be fairly easy to catch her in the act, now that we know when she’s taking the money.”

  Dora smiled, but inside she felt just as bad as she did when she’d suspected Millie. Granted, she hadn’t known Edie as long. The girl had only been at the hotel for about a month, but she’d been nothing but nice. She was quiet, like Dora, and Dora supposed she felt a bit of kinship toward the girl for that exact reason. “I wonder why she’s been stealing.”

  “Perhaps she’ll tell us once we’ve put a stop to it,” Jake replied.

  A silence hung between them. Dora knew what would come next—what was on both their minds.

  “I—” he said.

  “Could we talk about it later? I must return to the hotel.” The words rushed out of her mouth. While she wasn’t expected anywhere, it was quite possible someone might go looking for her. And while she wanted the truth so badly for each of them, she also wanted to postpone it. She didn’t know why exactly. Maybe it was so they could finish the investigation they’d started without also trying to sort out their feelings for one another. Maybe it was fear. Or maybe she simply wanted to live a bit longer in the possibility that it might work between them.

  She took a step backward, and Jake reached for her hand. She let him take it, grateful to have even this one small moment with him.

  “Will you be there tonight?” he asked. “You deserve to see this come to a conclusion.”

  Dora nodded.

  “I’ll get word to you about where, after I speak with McFarland.”

  “All right.” She stood there a bit longer, not wanting him to let go. She tried to remember every detail of this moment, from the way his large hand nearly covered her smaller one, to the sun that made everything seem just a bit brighter than normal, to the way he watched her as if he could do so forever. Perhaps she imagined that last part, but she didn’t care. Not right now. Not when this might be the memory she would relive for the rest of her life, the last perfect moment with a man she feared she loved but couldn’t have.

  “I’ll see you this evening, Dora.” He said her name with such warmth she thought he might singlehandedly turn the winter into spring. He squeezed her hand once before letting go.

  She dared one glance backward as she walked through the snow toward the break in the tree line. He watched her from the bridge, his hands in his pockets.

  And in that moment, Dora knew what she wanted more than anything else in the world. It was selfish and unreasonable and unlikely to happen, but she wanted Jake James holding her hand for the rest of her life.

  Chapter Twenty-eight

  The dressing screen was barely large enough for two men to hide behind, but McFarland refused to leave his wife alone with a possible thief, and Jacob needed to lay eyes on the actual stealing to be satisfied. Dora waited in the laundry room nearby. If she was correct, and Miss Dutton was the one stealing from the hotel, Jacob planned to tell McFarland that Dora had been the one to solve the mystery. For now, all McFarland knew was that one of the waitresses had come to Jacob with concern that Miss Dutton might be stealing the money when she delivered dessert to Mrs. McFarland.

  There was a knock on the door. Mrs. McFarland glanced their way, nerves tracing every inch of her face. Her husband nodded to her, and that must have been all she needed because she smoothed her skirts, replaced the fearful look on her face with a pleasant one, and went to answer the door. Perhaps one day, if Dora accepted him even after his lies, he might have that sort of unspoken trust with her.

  Jake shook his head just slightly. There was plenty of time to think about Dora after this. Right now, he needed to concentrate on the action in front of him.

  “Good evening, Mrs. McFarland,” a voice with a quiet, nervous timbre floated in from the doorway.

  “Edie, my dear,” Mrs. McFarland replied. “I do hope you’re well. Dora told me you’d been ill.”

  “I am, thank you.” A slight, bespectacled girl emerged into the room, partially hidden by the door and by the dressing screen behind which Jacob had concealed himself. She was as Dora had said, the one who’d discovered them in the stables. The tray shook just slightly in her hands. She looked like the last person in the world who could be stealing hundreds of dollars at a time.

  “Mrs. Ruby said they would be serving the spice cake tonight.” Mrs. McFarland didn’t show any degree of nervousness. Jacob’s admiration for the woman grew by the moment.

  “Yes. It’s quite good, I heard.” Miss Dutton set the tray on Mrs. McFarland’s desk—the one covered in notes and stacks of bills. When she turned back to face Mrs. McFarland, her eyes stayed just a half-moment longer on the money.

  “Let me find you something new to read.” Mrs. McFarland bustled past the girl and the desk, turning to survey the shelves on the wall, the ones that were filled with books.

  In a split second, Miss Dutton was across the room, just a couple feet away from the dressing screen in front of the open safe. With a quick glance back at Mrs. McFarland, she reached inside, grabbed a stack of bills tied together with string, and dropped them into a pocket in her skirts. She returned to the center of the room before Mrs. McFarland had even spoken again.

  McFarland lurched to the side, ready to confront the girl, but Jacob grabbed hold of his sleeve. When the man looked at him, Jacob shook his head. There was something more going on here. He didn’t know what, but he felt it in his gut. This wasn’t the sort of girl who stole for her own benefit. She was too nervous, even if her movements had become practiced over time.

  “I enjoyed the one about birds,” the girl said.

  “Then how about this one?” Mrs. McFarland turned and presented a red-covered book to Miss Dutton. “It’s a study of mountain wildflowers and their uses.”

  “That sounds wonderful.” Miss Dutton hugged the book to her chest. “Thank you.” Her hands still shook just slightly, likely to be unnoticed by anyone who didn’t suspect her.

  “I hope you enjoy it. And thank you for bringing me a tray.” Mrs. McFarland glanced toward the screen before showing the girl to the door.

  The second she’d left, Jacob strode out from behind the screen. “We’ll follow her,” he said.

  “Do you suppose she isn’t working alone?” McFarland asked.

  Jacob nodded before slipping the door open. Miss Dutton moved down the hallway, back toward the lobby. Jacob darted quickly to the laundry room door, and Dora opened it.

  “You were right, and I suspect she’s working with someone else,” he said quickly. “Will you follow her? She’s less likely to think anything of you being nearby. McFarland and I will be just behind you.” He didn’t like asking her to do this. After all, there was no way to know who she might be going to meet, but this seemed the most likely possibility of finally putting an end to these thefts. “Don’t follow her too closely, for your own safety. Please.”

  Dora nodded her agreement. “I want this finished as much as you do. I’ll be careful.” She scurried down the hall in the direction Jacob pointed.

  “I’ll tell you later,” Jacob said to a stunned McFarland. For now, he hurried to
keep a good pace behind Dora, McFarland by his side.

  Miss Dutton wound her way through the emptying lobby, and then down the south wing hallway to the kitchen door. Dora slipped in behind her, while Jacob and McFarland hung back so as not to arouse suspicion. Jacob peered in through the door a moment later, only to see Dora’s form exiting the outside door. He gestured to McFarland, and they followed.

  They paused again before leaving the hotel through the kitchen door. Outside, the air bit through Jacob’s shirtsleeves. They hadn’t a spare moment to grab coats or any other protective clothing. Jacob only hoped they wouldn’t be out here long, else they’d all freeze to death instead of catching the thieves.

  Ahead, he could just barely make out Dora following Miss Dutton in the direction of the stables. The wind picked up as Miss Dutton entered the building. Jacob drew his chin down, attempting to fight the chill air that whispered down his collar. Next to him, McFarland did the same, with some more colorful language to accompany the action.

  Dora paused by the stable door, and at that very moment, Jacob saw the flaw in his plan.

  “Remain outside!” he shouted, but his words were lost in the wind.

  Dora reached to push open the door, and Jacob broke into a run. The frozen air bit at the insides of his nose and mouth, but he didn’t care. All that mattered was preventing Dora from walking into what might be a terribly dangerous situation. “Dora!”

  Again, she didn’t hear him. Instead, she disappeared inside.

  Chapter Twenty-nine

  Dora could barely breathe. When she’d peeked in through the stable door, she hadn’t seen a soul and thought that perhaps they’d gone to the rear of the building. But now, firmly inside with the door shut behind her, she found she was wrong.

  With the dim light from the few lamps that hung from pegs and sat on the little table, it had been impossible to see Edie standing inside, in conversation with one of the stablehands. A Mr. Adkins, if Dora remembered correctly. He hadn’t been at the hotel for very long.