Owen

by Christine Sterling

“I need you to get the washtub and put it in Alice’s bedroom,” Marmee continued. “And fill it with plenty of hot water.” She turned to Elenore once more. “You can stay here as long as you need to.”

  “Where’s Alice going to sleep?” Marmee looked at Owen and blinked her eyes as if he had grown three heads. He looked at Penny who had the same confused look on her face. “What?”

  “Alice hasn’t slept in her room since she returned.”

  “What? How did I not know this?”

  Penny reached up and placed her hand on Owen’s arm. “She doesn’t want to be alone, so she sleeps in my bed.”

  “Is that why you’ve been coming back?” Penny nodded. Her husband was a Pinkerton Agent and currently on assignment in Denver. After Alice was rescued, Penny came to Flat River more frequently. Sometimes Angus would accompany her, but this last time she was on her own. “Is everything alright with you and Angus?”

  His brother-in-law was a rough sort of character, with a pugilist background, but he adored Penelope, and that was the only thing that mattered to the Chapman family.

  “It’s perfectly fine. I’ll help warm the water,” Penny called over her shoulder to Marmee. When they got into the hallway Penny grabbed his arm, stopping him. “What’s her story?” She lifted an eyebrow as she looked at him.

  “I honestly don’t know. I saw her in town today…”

  “Before she went to the Hartman’s?”

  Owen nodded. “When I went over to let them know about Frank, Ma Hartman was tearing into her something fierce.”

  “That woman has vinegar in her veins,” Penny mused. “I have never seen anyone more spiteful. Her anger knows no bounds.”

  “Penny,” Owen warned. “She was Marmee’s closest friend. They were like sisters. After the fall out…” Owen lifted his hands. “Well, let’s just say she’s had a hard life.”

  Penelope rolled her eyes. “As if the Hartmans little stunt didn’t affect all of us. As far as I’m concerned, they don’t deserve her.” It was Owen’s turn to lift an eyebrow. “What?” She feigned innocence. “I’m just saying you have never brought anyone or anything home and here you are going all gentleman-ly and rescuing a lady. What’s up with that, big brother?”

  Owen growled. “Nothing. Nothing at all. I brought her here because she had nowhere to go. At least here you, Alice and Marmee can take care of her until she gets on that train headed back to wherever she came from.”

  “That will be at least a week.”

  Owen dragged his hand down his face. He heard his jaw crack as he tried to keep control of his emotions. “Might be two.”

  “I know.” Penny gave him a devious smile. “A lot can happen in two weeks.”

  Owen shook his finger in her face. “Penelope Ann, don’t you even think for a moment that I am interested in her. Why, I have to be at least ten years older than her.”

  Penelope rolled her eyes. “Of course not. Why would I even think that. You’ve completely shut down since Sarah abandoned you.”

  “Don’t mention her name,” Owen said through clenched teeth. He stomped towards the front door. The tub was in the lean-to at the side of the house.

  Elenore was only here for a few days. In a week she’d be back on that stage headed for who knows where. If the stage didn’t come, he’d take her there himself if he had to. He’d be too busy with the horses anyway to even try to court someone.

  Court someone? Owen shook his head. Elenore had quite the adventure this week. First, traveling to Flat River from wherever she was before. Learning that the man she was supposed to marry died a terrible death. And finally, having that encounter with the Hartmans. The last thing she needed was someone trying to court her.

  As he made his way to the bedroom with the tub, he would just have to convince his brothers to stay away from her as well.

  Chapter Eight

  “Feel better?”

  Ellie nodded. She looked at the older woman who had so graciously opened her home to a stranger.

  Mrs. Chapman was a bit older than Ellie’s mother. Her skin was flawless, with color dotting her cheeks. Her dark hair was streaked with gray and several curls escaped from the flat day cap she wore.

  “Thank you, Mrs. Chapman. I don’t know what I would have done, or where I would have gone.”

  “Call me, Marmee,” she insisted. “Everyone does.” Marmee patted Ellie’s arm. “Don’t worry about it, dear. You are here now. I am so glad that Owen was there.” Marmee stood and reached out for Ellie’s hand. “Let’s get you cleaned up and then we’ll have supper.”

  Owen. Now she knew the man’s name. “I don’t want to be an inconvenience.”

  “I never view anyone as an inconvenience. You are meant to be here, otherwise you would be somewhere else.” Marmee gave a little laugh at her own joke. “Follow me this way.” Ellie followed her down a narrow hallway filled with needlepoint samplers to a cluster of rooms at the end of the hall.

  Ellie had never seen anything like it before. It just appeared to be a random addition to the house. At the end of the hallway, there were three doors inches apart. Two were closed and one was open.

  Marmee pointed to the opened door. “You’ll stay here. The other rooms belong to Penny and Marianne.”

  “This is Alice’s room?” Ellie hesitantly stepped through the doorway.

  “Yes. She’s sleeping in Penny’s room right now, so this room is free.” Ellie thought there was a bigger story there, but she didn’t feel it was appropriate to ask any questions.

  The room sat at an angle, so it wasn’t square as she imagined a room would be. There was a large bed with a carved headboard and a colorful quilt. A small desk sat at the side, with a plain wooden chair. Ellie could see that the chair was smooth where someone had repeatedly sat on it. Journals lined the desk, along with a small flat box and an inkwell.

  Marmee walked over and pulled a match from an iron box on the wall. She lit the lamp on the desk and lowered the globe, which lent a soft glow to the room.

  At the foot of the bed was a small trunk. Ellie’s bag was already seated on top of it.

  “Where are my trunks?” she asked.

  “They are in the sitting room right now. The boys will bring them down tomorrow.” Marmee gave her one more quick hug. “I’m going to go prepare supper. We normally eat breakfast early, have a large meal around noon and a light supper. When you are ready, the great room is down the hallway to the left.”

  “Thank you so much for your kindness.”

  “I’m glad you are here. Consider this your home for the time being.” Marmee gave Ellie’s hand a squeeze and left down the hallway. The sound of soft conversation reached her ear, but Ellie couldn’t make out the words.

  She noticed the room had a large window, so she went over to look at the Nebraska landscape stretching in the distance. She could see the shadows of the rock formations underneath the moon. It was so different from Atlanta. Whereas the evenings in Atlanta were filled with noise and laughter, the silence was deafening in Flat River.

  She heard boots thudding on the floor behind her. She turned to see Owen carrying two buckets. He placed them next to a round washtub. She had never bathed in a galvanized tub, but right now she was grateful just to be able to wash some of the dirt from her body.

  “I brought you some hot water for a bath.”

  “Thank you,” she whispered.

  He placed two buckets on the floor and lifted one up and over into the tub. He did the same with other and the steam from the water filled the room. Once he was done, he set both buckets next to the tub and wiped his forehead on the back of his sleeve.

  “Do you need anything else?” His brown eyes stared at her intently. Ellie shook her head. She noticed that his face was darkened by the sun and he had a white stripe of skin at the top of his forehead where his hat must have rested.

  “N-no. I’m fine.”

  He gave a nod and picked up the buckets before turning to leave. Ellie quickly re
ached out and grabbed his arm. He turned around so quickly Ellie felt sure he would have dropped one of the buckets. “Yes?” he asked. His voice was like butter.

  “I wanted to say thank you for rescuing me.”

  “I didn’t rescue you, ma’am. You simply needed a place to stay.”

  Ellie felt a twinge of hurt as the words washed over her. You simply needed a place to stay.

  “You have a lovely home. And a lovely family.” He didn’t say anything. “And to have that many brothers and sisters. I don’t have any. Well, I have Polly, she’s the closest thing I have to a sister.” She bounced from foot to foot. “Thank you again for filling the tub and making my stay so hospitable.”

  Ellie watched his jaw clench. “Don’t get used to it. You’ll be on the next stage headed back to wherever you came from within a week.”

  Without a word he left the room and tugged the door shut behind him. Ellie quickly undressed. She grabbed the bar of soap that was resting on a towel at the edge of the bed and walked to the tub. She looked at the round tub. It wasn’t any bigger than the laundry tubs at home.

  She wasn’t sure how to bathe in it. It wasn’t long enough to sit in, so she decided the best thing to do was kneel. The water was deliciously warm against her legs as she climbed in. The metal was hard beneath her knees and there wasn’t much room to move.

  She quickly wet her head and used a bar of soap to wash her hair. It was difficult rinsing as she had to contort herself to put her head in the water. She washed her hair twice and then stood to quickly wash her body. The room was starting to cool, and the water became chilly. She quickly rinsed and stepped out of the tub.

  Drying herself with the towel she kicked her dirty clothes aside. She’d figure out what to do with them later. Digging into her satchel, she pulled out her nightgown and slid it over her head. Working the knots in her hair with her fingers, she spied a brush on the dresser. Hers was in the other bag. She didn’t want to walk to the sitting room to retrieve it.

  She counted two-hundred strokes and her hair was finally drying. It fell around her shoulders in soft waves.

  The exhaustion from the journey finally caught up with her and she yawned, stretching her arms out in surrender.

  Marmee said to go to the great room when she was ready for supper. But first she felt the need to take a small nap. She lowered the wick on the lamp and crawled into the bed.

  The mattress was soft and comfortable. Ellie sank into its soft depths. She thought about the events of the day. She tried to think of Frank, as she had done every night for the past three-hundred and eighty-two days.

  She tried to imagine him, but she couldn’t. Instead her thoughts were filled with a tall cowboy that rescued her, whether he agreed or not. Groaning, she flopped over in bed and hugged the pillow. Closing her eyes, she dismissed all thoughts and promptly fell asleep.

  The next morning sunlight filled the room, waking Ellie. She sat up and stretched, before plopping her hands on her covered legs. She couldn’t recall when she had such a dreamless night.

  It must have been the trip, she thought.

  Suddenly the reminder of where she was, and why she was there filled her mind. She bit the inside of her lip as not to cry.

  She knew she couldn’t stay here forever, and if that Owen had anything to do with it, she’d be back on the stage today. This was supposed to be her adventure of a lifetime. She didn’t want to lose the opportunity, so she was going to make the most of her time with the Chapmans.

  She flipped the covers back and dropped her feet to the floor. Quickly making the bed, she walked around to notice that the bathtub was missing, as well as her dirty clothes. Her second bag was placed next to the first on the blanket chest.

  She didn’t know how anyone could sneak into her room without her hearing them. Then a thought sobered her. What if Owen came in while she was asleep? Whatever must the Chapman family think of her? She wasn’t a woman of loose morals.

  She quickly used the chamber pot and was debating on heading down to the sitting room when she heard a knock on the door. “Yes?” she called. She reached in her bag for a wrap and pulled it over her shoulders. She didn’t want anyone seeing her in her nightgown!

  “Are you dressed?” a light voice called through the wooden door.

  Ellie cracked the door to peek into the hallway. The youngest of the Chapman siblings stood at the door. Alice, she recalled.

  “I figured you’d be awake by now.” Alice held out a blue day dress with white lace. Ellie recognized it as a dress from her trunk. “I didn’t think you would want to walk all the way down the hall to get a gown.”

  Ellie frowned. “You went in my trunk?”

  Alice nodded. “I hope you don’t mind. I simply pulled out the first dress I found.” A look of horror came over Alice’s face and she bit her lower lip. Ellie could see tears forming in Alice’s eyes. “You aren’t upset with me, are you?”

  “Alice, right?” Alice nodded. Ellie pulled the door open a bit and motioned for Alice to enter the room. When she first heard that Alice had deliberately opened her trunk, yes, Ellie was upset. But she realized that the young woman didn’t have any intentions other than Ellie not walking down the hall in her nightgown. “I was just surprised. Thank you for thinking of me.” Ellie took the dress and laid it on the bed. It was one of her favorites.

  “Marmee is washing your traveling clothes today.”

  “She doesn’t have to do that.” Ellie was a little embarrassed that a stranger was doing her laundry. Ellie would have done it herself, but she had never done laundry in her life.

  “I don’t think it makes a difference.”

  “Why’s that?”

  Alice picked up a journal from her desk and arranged the others into neat piles. She turned and looked at Ellie, bouncing on her toes as she clutched the notebook to her chest.

  “She has to do all the laundry today.” Alice’s dark blonde hair swung around her shoulders. “It’s a lot of laundry with Pa, her clothes, and six siblings. Takes her all day.”

  Ellie sat on the edge of the bed. “She must have help.”

  Alice shook her head. “No.”

  “You don’t help her?”

  Alice shook her head once more. “No.”

  “That poor woman. Well I guess I can certainly help her.”

  “She won’t use it.”

  “Who would refuse help with the laundry?”

  Alice wandered over to the window and looked out. “Looks clear. Rainy days are the worst for laundry. Everything smells musty for weeks.” She turned back to Ellie. “Marmee says that it is more work for someone to help her. I think she has her own way of doing it.”

  “May I ask who removed the bathtub?”

  “Oh, Marmee needed it for laundry. Like I said, there is a lot to do.” Alice paused for dramatic effect. “Penny and I carried it out. You slept through the whole thing. I think you even snored a little.” Alice gave a slight giggle.

  Ellie let out a sigh of relief. Owen hadn’t been in her room while she was sleeping. She looked at her bare feet as they dangled from the side of the bed. “You mentioned six siblings?”

  “There are actually eight of us.” Alice’s eyes started to fill with tears. “Well, there are seven of us now.”

  Ellie patted the comforter and Alice walked over and sat down. “I didn’t mean to make you cry. I met your brothers last night. I remember them helping in the house, but I don’t recall what any of them look like.” That wasn’t true. She recalled very specifically what one of them looked like.

  “There are five brothers. They work here on the ranch. My brother Michael was killed several years ago.”

  “I’m so sorry.”

  “Then there’s me, Penny and Marianne.”

  “I don’t recall meeting a Marianne.”

  “She lives in Denver. Well, she did. I think she’s in Chicago now.”

  “Chicago?”

  Alice nodded. “She works at the Pinke
rton office.”

  “A career woman? How wonderful.”

  Alice shrugged. “I guess.” She stood and walked over to the window again. “At least she got away. How far did you travel?”

  “Several days by train and then the coach ride.”

  “Must be amazing seeing the country. All those different towns.”

  “Flat River seems pretty amazing.”

  Alice snorted. “Not hardly. I’ve been here all my life. I can’t wait to leave.”

  “Why’s that?”

  “There aren’t many options for a lady in these parts. Families are scattered about. The only thing to do around here is get married and have babies. I supposed Penny will be having a baby soon.”

  “Penny’s married?”

  “Yes. Her husband is in Denver.”

  “But why is she here?”

  “Because of me,” Alice said, her voice cracking.

  Ellie didn’t respond. She gave Alice a few minutes to look out the window. “Maybe I should get dressed and I can talk to Marmee about helping with the laundry after breakfast.”

  Alice quickly turned around. “Oh, we ate hours ago.”

  “You did?” Ellie’s voice squeaked. “What time is it?”

  “It is nearly noon. The boys must get to the range before sunup. They either eat here before they go, or Tot makes something out in the field.”

  “Tot?”

  “He’s the cook. Been here for as long as I can remember.” Alice walked over to the wardrobe and moved a screen from the side. “You can change behind here if you need to. When you are ready, come down the hall to the sitting room.”

  Ellie’s stomach growled in response. “I guess I’ll just wait until dinner.”

  “I’ll make you a sandwich and tea. That should last until dinner at noon.”

  “What an odd time to have dinner.”

  “Hottest time of the day. Everyone will be back for dinner, then they go back out until dark.”

  Alice clutched her journal tighter. She walked back over to the desk and lifted her inkpot and a black pen case.

  “Thank you for letting me use your room.”