by Annie Boone
Now, on the train, Olivia sighed and patted her pockets carefully. The money was still there. Taking a deep breath, she glanced outside just as the train conductor announced the next stop. Her stop. At last, Rocky Ridge, Colorado was waiting for her.
Chapter Three
He hadn’t felt this anxious in a lot time. Glancing down at his sweaty palms, the man hurriedly wiped them on the side of his trousers so it wouldn’t show. Simon James glanced around again, resting a hand on the back of his horse.
It was a lovely place, a large farmhouse with a stable and a barn nearby. He could see the pasture stretching lazily out behind the barn with a fence built to keep the horses inside. And right behind the pastures were the purple mountains reaching for the sky. It was probably the best view in all of Colorado.
He knew it was, but the joy he normally felt as something so perfect simply wasn’t there. His stomach was in knots and he was too nervous to truly enjoy the view right now. Swallowing, he rubbed his hands together and forced himself to head towards the big house.
It had been months now since he first tried to make it here, but he’d never made it this far. Usually he got to the middle of the road leading in and there he’d turn around and go back home.
But today he wouldn’t turn back. He made his way across the yard and up the steps to the porch. There was a bench and two chairs there for people to enjoy the sunset. The windows were open in the room nearby, with curtains trailing out with the breeze. They were white with lace. He smiled at the thought of a home with a woman’s touch.
The thought brought her to mind, the petite brunette who continued to haunt his dreams. She always smiled him, wracking him with guilt. Even now he could hear her laughter in the wind and it made him hesitate, a fist hanging in the air and ready to knock. But he couldn’t bring himself to do it. No matter how tightly he squeezed his eyes tightly shut, she wouldn’t leave him.
Sighing, Simon finally dropped his fist and turned to leave, only to find Lucas Jessup coming up the road. The man waved his hat before placing it back on his head as he drew closer. Instead of taking his horse to the barn, he drew up close to the porch and swung down, hurrying up to the man. “Good day! Simon, isn’t it? Simon James?”
They shook hands and Simon managed a shaky smile. With a nod, he pushed back his dark blond hair. “Yes, um—that’s me. Simon.”
“Yes,” Lucas nodded. “Right. Well, do come on in. I’m sure my Susie is nearly ready for supper and we’re always happy for some company.” He opened the door and stepped through.
He was caught now. Trapped. Simon swallowed. Slowly he followed Lucas into the house, closing the door behind him as he put his hat down and shed the jacket. The other man led the way through the house, down the hall and towards a delightful smell.
“I hear you this time,” a woman sang out. “You’re losing your edge, Lucas, I—” she turned with a grin and paused, seeing two men there. “Oh. Company.”
She pouted as her husband went over to kiss her cheek. He recognized the woman from town, often seen arm in arm with her husband. She was short with the bluest eyes and the longest blonde hair he’d ever seen. A blush bloomed across her cheeks with her husband’s touch.
Simon stood there awkwardly, and dropped his gaze to give them a moment’s privacy. He briefly thought that perhaps he could just slip back out the door, but that seemed silly when he thought about it for another second. His courage had failed him, and he shouldn’t have allowed the man to invite him in, but what was he supposed to say? Anything but coming in would be very rude.
“I was close,” he heard Mrs. Jessup mumble.
“You say that every time,” Mr. Jessup responded. “Susannah, my darling, this is Mr. Simon James. He was just headed to our house and I came upon him. Would you mind if he stayed for supper?”
The woman laughed as though it were a joke. She set down the big cast iron pot and wiped her hands on her apron. “As if you need to ask me such a thing. There’s always enough food to go around. Good evening, Mr. James. It’s a pleasure to meet you. You’re most welcome at our table tonight, that is if you like venison.”
“Well, um, ma’am,” he stammered. “It’s swell to meet you, too. And, I suppose I do, um, like venison.”
Mrs. Jessup grinned and gestured to the table. “Splendid! Please take a seat, then. My husband will set another place. And of course you like potatoes?”
He nodded. Before he could speak again, she kept on going.
“Perfect, perfect. Yes, here’s a spot for you right across from me. Now, where do you hail from, sir? I don’t believe I quite recognize you.”
“You probably wouldn’t,” he managed bashfully as he took the assigned seat. Simon hesitated as he watched the other man bring him a plate and mug, and then leaving again to get him utensils. Clearing his throat uncomfortably, he shifted in his seat. “I’ve only come to these hereabouts a few months ago. I’ve been staying with my sister. Her name is Lillian James—well, Lillian. Dane now. She married Frank Dane a while ago. He has a ranch nearby.”
Her eyes lit up. “Lillian! Of course I know her. She has the cutest children. Loud, but cute. And she always brings the best berry pies to the dances. Yes, I see it now. You two have the same smile.”
Simon managed an uneasy smile as they started into polite conversation, but he could only provide a few short and vague answers. All the same, the Jessups were welcoming and kind, doing their best to make him feel right at home. It wasn’t a feeling he had experienced in a long time.
His turbulent belly had just started to settle down when they were finishing the stew. Mrs. Jessup asked the question that would lead into the subject he’d almost decided to ignore and the rumbling in his stomach returned immediately.
“I must say, Mr. James, we’ve loved having your company this evening. I’m so glad you came by. Lucas said you were already headed towards our home, is that correct? Is there anything we can do to help you? I’d hate for your visit to be incomplete if there’s a specific need you were aiming to fulfill.”
He had just been wiping his face with his napkin and froze. Slowly he put it down and clenched it in his fists. Both sets of eyes fell on him as he hesitated, taking a deep breath. Should he say it? Or was he done with these attempts? Perhaps it was a sign. But even as the doubts crowded in, Simon James found himself confessing the truth.
“Well, Jeb Harbin and I have been talking, you see. And, um, since you brought him and his wife together,” Simon stammered. “He was thinking… well, I suppose I was thinking, about getting married again.”
Susannah looked over at Lucas and then back at Simon. Her brow knitted together in confusion. “Again?”
Simon looked down and drew in his breath. Then he looked back at Susannah with as much confidence as he could muster. “Um, yes. You seek, my wife died a few years ago. Before I came out here. Her name was Jane, and I… my sister thinks it’s time I moved on, and I guess she’s right. I’d like to try. Jeb said you ran a boarding house for women getting married, or wanting to. So I thought I would try to stop by and talk to you about it. I should have told you this right from the start.”
Mrs. Jessup waved a hand in the air. “Nonsense! You told me as you felt you could. But if you’d told me when you arrived, we could have had dessert first.” Her smile was contagious and Simon blinked back at her then grinned.
She stood and then paused as her face turned sympathetic. “Mr. James, I’m terribly sorry about your wife. That must have been a terrible time in your life.” Susannah looked over at Lucas and the two of them shared a look. “It’s a remarkable thing you’re doing to get back into life again. We’d love to help. How about you two get dessert ready, and I’ll pull out the applications.”
“Applications?” Simon’s eyes widened in surprise.
But she’d already left the room. Lucas chuckled and clapped the man on his shoulder. “Don’t worry,” he assured the younger man. “It’ll be all right. It’s a painless process.
Well, mostly.”
Chapter Four
“Let’s begin, shall we?”
Susannah fixed her skirt, settling into her chair and then looked over at Mr. Simon James on the other side of the table. She beamed and tried to pull back the grin since she could see that he was nervous.
The man shifted uncomfortably, testing out the armrests and leaning back only to lean forward again. Then he tugged at his jacket and offered her a tight smile. “I suppose we might.”
Chuckling, she shook her head. “Please, relax. There’s no need to worry over this. This is just an opportunity for me to learn about you, and who you are. By knowing you, I can find the sort of woman you’re looking for, as well as one who fits you. And if we’re lucky, someone who has been looking for your type as well. Do you understand?”
He cleared his throat twice before nodding, keeping his gaze down at his hands clenched in his lap. The man had high cheekbones that looked sharper now that he’d combed his hair back. Susannah cocked her head as she studied him, for just an instant he’d looked just a little like her Lucas. The cheekbones had done it. But their jawlines were distinctly different, she noted, and her husband’s hair and eyes were darker.
Had he been that nervous when they first met? For a minute her mind went back into her memories as she tried to recall that time so many years ago. It had been cold, and she’d felt so lost. Lucas Jessup had ridden up and saved her, giving her a life she never would have dreamed of before. Somehow he’d always managed to look so confident, with that highbrow and sharp gaze. Then Susannah blinked, and saw Simon James again.
“Wonderful,” she smiled and opened her folder. Picking up her pen, she asked him, “So, tell me about yourself. I’ll write down anything I think might be relevant. Where did you grow up?”
Nodding, he locked his jaw twice before saying anything. “I grew up just outside Boston. A small town without a name. We had a small farm, but it never did very well. My mother maintained it while my father worked the rails. When we were old enough to walk, my sister and I started to help.
“She worked in the yard and I carried my father’s toolbox. Then when I was fourteen, I signed on and worked my own labors on the rails. It kept us from starving through the winter, since our farm produced so little. I remember one year we tried to grow pumpkins, since it would bring us something better in the market, but the entire patch was eaten by bugs.”
Susannah nodded soberly. “It sounds like it was a difficult time.”
His was a grim smile. “It was.” For a minute he was quiet, and she could see something was weighing on him. Simon’s eyes were closed and she watched him thoughtfully, not saying a thing. Just when Susannah was about to offer the opportunity to finish this another time, he sighed heavily and straightened up in his seat. “I knew Jane for most of my life, and three years ago I married her.”
That was unexpected. Susannah wrote that down immediately, scrawling carefully though he stopped again. She finished writing and the room fell quiet. Hesitantly she glanced up at him, trying to read his troubled gaze. “You don’t need to continue if—”
“She died in an accident only a few months after we married.” The words tumbled out quickly off his tongue, and it took her a moment to decipher them. “It’s been more than two years. Now I’ve come out here to start fresh and help out my sister and her husband. Our parents died, and I sold the farm. I do the train management for this area in Colorado now.”
Susannah didn’t know how to write this down. She hadn’t had to deal with a case like this yet, and knew it would be a prelude to the others for previously married folks in her matchmaking business. Biting her tongue, she carefully wrote down a note or two and then turned to him with a gentle smile.
“That must have been very difficult, to endure it even now and in speaking with me. Thank you for trusting me with the truth, Mr. James. Now, how would you describe your daily routine? Is it the same every day?”
His gaze brightened. “A little, yes. I sleep in the barn, in a room we built in the loft. I like having my own area. Frank, my brother-in-law, tends to the ranch and I help him out as I get the day started. Lately I tend to the cows, but the children are often nearby, playing with the chickens or the goats. I usually get a little distracted and spend a minute or two with them and their games. Then there’s family time over breakfast.” He smiled, seeming to think kindly of his sister’s children.
“That sounds like a lovely way to start the day.” Susannah nodded at his obvious love of his family.
He gave her a quick nod. “Sometimes, I take the children to the school house or help on the ranch. That’s only if I’m not working at the railroad, of course. The channels for the train out west weren’t as firmly built as in the east, you see. They only had half the crew and were in too big of a rush to get it all in place. I replace the iron bars and of course, there’s the occasional problem with the broad gauges. If it’s far away, I camp out there for the night but most of my work can be done within the day.”
“It sounds like an important job, Simon.” Susannah raised an eyebrow as she nodded.
He shrugged. “Maybe. And then if I return in time, there’s supper and an evening reading of the Holy Bible. I, um, I don’t go into town too often. Only for church and groceries when my sister doesn’t have the time.”
Susannah wrote hurriedly, scrambling to catch all the necessary words to keep in his portfolio. “Good, good, thank you. It sounds like a busy life, and a good one. And now, Mr. James, what are you looking for in the days to come, in your future?”
He was quiet for a good long while, and she began wondering if he hadn’t heard her. She peeked over her folder and opened her mouth to repeat the question, but she stopped. Susannah bit her lip as something told her to wait.
“That’s a good question,” he murmured roughly. “I hadn’t considered too much of it lately, only that I… well, a woman in my life,” he started with a shy smile. “A home. I’m considering making a stake, or um, building a spot in town. Eventually I’d like to have a family. Yes, a family would be mighty nice.” He trailed off, nodding absently.
Cocking her head, the young woman studied him thoughtfully. “It would be nice, indeed. Thank you for your time, Mr. James. That’s all I have for today. Now, I usually ask for at least three references, and I can either meet with them or they can bring me letters. And after perhaps another conversation, over dinner, I’m sure, we can see where we are. Does that sound acceptatble?”
Hastily he stood, fiddling with the fraying hem of his shirt. “Yes, of course. That sounds good. Right, I’ll get you some references, then. I’ll talk to them tomorrow, if that’s all right with you?”
Susannah beamed, and led him out. Mr. James left as quietly as he had come, and she watched him from her porch as he rode off. She was preparing to step inside just as she found dust kicking up from the other direction, from the direction of town. Her heart skipped a beat as she hoped Lucas was coming home sooner than expected.
Chapter Five
The further she drove from Vermont, the more Olivia grew anxious about her decision. She had trouble sitting still, she couldn’t concentrate on reading, and she had difficulty sleeping.
Doubts crept into her mind like shadows in the corners, making her wonder if she was truly alone. That no one was watching her. Surely Jack’s family would move on, without her there. Wouldn’t they? It’s not that the Hendersons were cruel, by any means, but lately… well, things had been uncomfortable. She shuddered and hurried down the steps of the train depot.
Dust gathered around her feet as she looked about her. So, this was Rocky Ridge, Colorado. Scrunching her nose, she tried to decide on her next step as she looked around carefully, watching the sights all around her. Gulping, she took it all in. It was a pretty sight, somewhat similar to her hometown with the colors and patterned streets. The bustling people moving around as though she wasn’t there.
It took her a minute to pull herself together and
start walking. She shivered in the chilly wind as she started moving. Clutching her bag close, she made her way up the street and found a general store. It was as good as any place, she decided, and headed right inside. It was a large space, filled with many things that she had not seen before. Many leather items, and what looked like cowhide blankets, items she’d never had in Vermont.
Swallowing, she went up to the register where there was a man sorting candy and glancing around from time to time. He was short with gray hair and a thick mustache that just about matched his hair. Her heart thumped as she reached him, even as he smiled and nodded her way. “Howdy, ma’am. What can we do for you today?”
“I need to get somewhere,” she explained articulately. “But I’m not sure where it is. Would you know where to find the Jessup’s Boarding House?”
Chuckling, he nodded as he pulled out a piece of candy and popped it in his mouth. It crunched loudly in the quiet shop. “I sure as do. It’s about five miles west of here.”
Her smile faded. “Oh.” That was a long walk, and she was already so tired. Glancing towards the door, Olivia tried to prepare herself for the very long stroll ahead of her. “All right. Well, thank you. West, then.”
She was about to turn away when he cleared his throat. She looked back at him with a raised brow and he waved her back to him. “It’s a long walk, for sure. If you have time to wait, I’m sure there’ll be someone headed out that way soon enough.” He cleared his throat again and looked across the room.
Olivia nodded, but had no idea what to say. She considered starting out with the hope that someone would come by as she walked. Before she could make a decision, the man gestured again.
