“That’s what I want to talk to you about. I want you to give me a chance, I would like to…well, I’d like to keep Joey as my son.”
The words had sounded a lot more valid in his head.
“You? You want to keep Joey? I don’t even know you!” Lyla turned with her hands on her hips. They had walked down the stairs and were now in the restaurant inside the hotel.
James motioned for Lyla to sit on one of the benches along the wall. She reluctantly did so, and James rook a seat across from her.
“I know that you don’t know me. You just met me yesterday, but I do know Joey. I’ve had him since his parents died. I didn’t expect it to happen, but I fell in love with him as if he were my own son.”
“He has a home, in Chicago. My uncle will take good care of him. He’s a wealthy man. He will make sure the boy has an education.”
“Is he married? Does Joey even know him?”
“No. He never married. And no, Joey doesn’t know him, but it doesn’t matter. He will adjust.”
“If he’s your uncle, he’s an old man. He’ll put him in a boarding school or something equally bad. Or worse. You can’t let that happen—don’t you care about him at all?”
“Of course, I care about Joey. It’s just… he belongs in Chicago with his blood relatives.”
“Does he? Wouldn’t you rather him be happy here? He likes it here. He has become accustomed to being here.” James held his hands out with a pleading gesture.
“You shouldn’t have put crazy ideas in his head about staying without knowing what was going to happen! That is on you.” Lyla knit her eyebrows together, giving him a stern stare.
“I know, I know. I never promised him he could stay. All I can ask is that you give me a chance. Look, I have an extra little place out on my ranch. It’s a guesthouse, separate from the main house. Come out there. Stay with us while you wait for the stagecoach to come by again.”
Lyla shook her head. “I couldn’t. It wouldn’t be proper, and I’d be imposing. I’m still hoping there will be a stagecoach sooner than everyone says there will be.”
“There won’t be.” James shook his head with certainty. “Come on—you can see how happy Joey is with my family, how much we love him. My mother lives with me, so it wouldn’t be improper. You would have the guest house all to yourself.”
“I’ll think about it and let you know. But even if I do agree to go out there, I’m not promising anything.”
“I understand, please just think about it.” With that, James stood up from the bench, put his hat on his head and left the hotel before he had the chance to say something he would regret.
Like it or not, he would have to convince Lyla to leave Joey with him and he was determined to go to any lengths to do so.
Chapter 10
Lyla flopped down on her hotel bed. After James had left, she hadn’t been able to bring herself to eat. Her appetite had disappeared and she had been left with no desire to be in the hotel restaurant any longer.
All the other patrons had been staring at her, and she could feel their disapproval. Everyone in town must know what she was here to do.
She couldn’t get James out of her mind. Was what he’d said true? Was she making a mistake by taking Joey back to her uncle?
Of course, she cared what happened to Joey—but how could she trust this man she had just met with her sister’s child?
Lyla punched the bed below her and grunted in frustration. This was not how things were supposed to go. She was supposed to be on a stagecoach back to Merrill by now.
Keith was not going to be happy about this development, either. Lyla glanced around the sparse hotel room. Staying here for a month or more would be enough to drive anyone mad, besides she wasn’t sure she had even brought enough money for an extended stay.
Keith had paid for the stagecoach and the way back, but Lyla had insisted she would pay the rest of her trip. And she hadn’t been prepared to pay for more than a week in a hotel.
Maybe she should consider James’ offer. She pulled herself up from the bed and walked over to the only window in her room. He had said his mother lived there, too. Maybe she would be able to help her explain to James the need for her to take Joey to her uncle.
Outside, Lyla could see people walking up and down the street. Everyone was busy with things to do and places to be. Everyone but her. Sitting in a hotel alone for a month seemed like being in jail. What could she possibly do here?
Her mind wandered back to Keith. She wondered if he had stopped pouting. She also wondered what he was telling people. It wasn’t that she really cared; she didn’t care what people thought about her. At least, that was what she told herself.
It didn’t really matter what Keith told people. Soon. They would be married and everyone would have to pretend they liked her to avoid getting on Keith’s bad side.
Lyla sighed. She should probably just accept James’ offer. After all, when would she have a chance to do something on her own like this again? Probably never.
The boredom of the room was already killing her.
Lyla sat down on the edge of the bed and scrunched the blankets between her fingers. She was going to do this, if not only for the adventure but because if she didn’t she would always ask herself what might have happened if she said no.
---*---
“Is the sheriff here?” Lyla asked the deputy sitting on the steps of the jailhouse. She recognized him as the one who had gone to fetch Joey when he’d run out of the place the day before.
“Sure thing. Go right on in.” The deputy grinned at her in a kind way that reminded Lyla of how a brother might smile at a sister.
“Thank you.” Lyla walked carefully past him and into the jailhouse. This time, she was able to pay a little more attention to detail, unlike the day before when she had been distracted by Joey’s reaction to her and the general atmosphere of confusion.
There were two simple jail cells and wanted posters up on the wall.
A simple wooden desk with papers all over it sat on one side of the room with a chair behind it. James was sitting on that chair, his hat pulled low over his eyes.
As soon as he heard her, he jumped from his seat, adjusting his hat, with a nervous look on his face.
Lyla’s heart gave a little leap. Maybe he did care as much as he said he did. Why else would he be going through so much work to get her to listen?
“I-I, um, came about your offer.” Lyla suddenly felt as if this were the wrong thing to do. Maybe she should have at least waited until the next day. Did it seem desperate that it had only been a few hours since they’d spoken at the hotel?
“Oh, certainly. Will you be coming out to the ranch, then? I mean, if you need more time to think about it, go ahead.” James seemed to be talking faster than usual. He ran a hand through his hair.
“No.” Lyla saw his face fall. “No, I mean I don’t need to think about it. I will accept your offer.”
At her words, James lit up like a little boy who had been given a whole sack of penny candy.
“But, I can’t promise you anything. Honestly, if I’m going to be here for a month, I don’t want to be stuck in the hotel the entire time. I can’t promise that I will even consider leaving Joey here. And I will work in the kitchen or clean the house or whatever you need to earn my keep.”
James chewed on his lower lip, then nodded. “I understand, Ma’am. All I can ask is that you try to keep an open mind and understand where I’m coming from. I think if you spend time with the boy, you’ll see what a bright child he is and why I’d like him to stay.”
Lyla shook her head and tried to slow her rushing pulse. “I don’t need to spend time with him. I just need to get through this next month and take him to my uncle.”
“Why are you so uninterested in the boy? Did you have problems with your sister or something?”
Lyla shook her head and averted her gaze. James would never guess why she didn’t want to spend time with Joey.
“It doesn’t matter, I’ll be at the hotel whenever you’re ready to show me where I’ll be staying.” Lyla turned and began walking away, trying not to give James a chance to continue his questioning.
“I’ll be around in a jiffy,” he called after her.
Once Lyla was out in the street again, she felt shaky and out of control. Maybe this had been a mistake.
She rushed through the streets and back to her hotel room to wait for James. It seemed she would find out soon enough if she’d made the right decision.
---*---
Lyla jumped up off of her bed when she heard the knock on her door. She had been waiting for James for several hours, but now that he was here, she was feeling more nervous than ever.
She ran a hand over her hair and smoothed her skirt before answering the door.
“Do you need help taking anything?” James asked, glancing around the empty hotel room.
Lyla shook her head and held up her satchel. Everything she’d brought was in there. This time, unlike the day she’d gotten off the stagecoach, he offered to take it for her.
Lyla reluctantly accepted and they walked down the long staircase, then left the hotel and headed to a wagon. The team of horses swung their heads as if they were happy to see James. Lyla gingerly climbed up beside him and they started down the road out of town.
The road they took was beautiful and on any other day, Lyla would have asked to stop somewhere on the way to appreciate the scenery.
There were tall trees on both sides of the road, active with birds and squirrels going about their business. Green grass waved in the breeze and the sun made dappled patterns on everything below the trees. It was the perfect summer day.
Lyla was silent for the ride and James didn’t offer to make conversation, but still, the time passed quickly and before she knew it, they were pulling up to a medium-sized ranch house in a clearing near the woods.
Lyla spotted a barn, a chicken coop, a smoke house, and a small building a little way off from the house.
James pointed to the building. “It’s a sort of an extra house, I suppose. The schoolteacher from town used to live here a couple years ago when the school first started. It’s really only big enough for one or two people.”
“Where did the schoolteacher move to?” Lyla asked as they began walking over to the building.
“She got married and moved to the little ranch that her husband started.”
“Oh,” Lyla was unsure what else to say.
As they drew closer, Lyla could see that the building wasn’t as small as it had looked from far away. The door was standing open, and James motioned for her to go inside.
An older woman was busy sweeping the wooden floor, and a fireplace with a warm crackling fire stood against one wall. The little table looked like it was about the size for two people and there were two chairs beside it.
A couple of shelves lined the walls, holding things like plates, cups, and a few food items.
“You must be Lyla!” The older woman seemed excited to meet her. “I’m Bonnie, James’s mother.”
Lyla reached out her hand to greet the woman but was surprised when she leaned in and gave her a strong embrace.
“We are most certainly glad to have you. Of course, I hope you’ll do us the honor of having your meals with us in the big house, but if you should get hungry at any other time, I’ve left some food for you here that you could cook.” Bonnie wiped her hands on her apron. “James has already told me so much about you. I hope you’ll be comfortable here.”
Lyla raised her eyebrows. She wondered how James had told his mother so much about her when he barely knew her, himself.
“Thank you, Mrs…” Lyla began.
“No, you can call me Bonnie.” She smiled warmly, and Lyla felt at ease around her immediately.
“Well, thank you, Bonnie. It is very nice of you to have me.”
“I wouldn’t have it any other way.” Bonnie gave a warm laugh and leaned the broom up against the door frame.
“Dinner will be ready soon, so I’ll give you some time to freshen up before you come over.” With one more kind smile, Bonnie disappeared out the door, across the yard and into the big house.
Once she was gone, James turned to Lyla. “I know it isn’t much, but I hope you’ll have a comfortable stay.”
“I, uh.” Lyla was unsure of how to respond. “Thank you, it’s very kind of you. It looks very nice.”
“I suppose I’d better give you some time to freshen up, then,” James said awkwardly before going out the door and following in his mother’s steps.
Lyla watched him go with a little smile on her face. James and Bonnie were very kind people, but she knew she didn’t belong here.
She turned to inspect the rest of the tiny house. A ladder led up to a half loft.
First, Lyla closed the door, then climbed the ladder. Upstairs, the bed had been made up nicely and there was a small stack of books by the loft window.
Lyla felt her heart flutter. They were kind and thoughtful. It was a shame that they were going to be so disappointed when she left.
She couldn’t leave Joey here. Her sister would have wanted him to be with family, wouldn’t she have?
Chapter 11
“I don’t know, Mother. I hope this works. She seems pretty determined to do what she came here to do.” James was pacing back and forth across his mother’s kitchen while she finished preparing dinner.
Pacing seemed to be a thing he did a lot of since Lyla had come along.
“You just have to give her a chance. She seems like a lovely young woman. When she sees how great you are with Joey and how happy he is here, I’m sure she’ll change her mind. She’d be crazy not to.”
“Maybe she is crazy,” James mumbled.
His mother gave him a cold glare.
“Sorry, ma. It’s just that… well, I suppose we will have to wait and see how it goes.”
“We most certainly will.” Bonnie set a large plate of steamed carrots and potatoes on the table. “Why don’t you go and get her for dinner? I’ll get Joey ready before the two of you come back.”
James nodded and left the kitchen without a word. He didn’t like having Lyla around. She was a constant reminder that Joey wasn’t his and that the boy would be taken away from him soon. But he also knew that having Lyla around was the only chance he had at keeping Joey.
When he neared the cabin where Lyla was staying, he heard someone humming.
It was a beautiful melody, and the rise and fall and made James’ ears tingle with delight. He paused at the doorway, reluctant to knock and stop the lovely song coming from inside.
Finally, he knew he couldn’t wait any longer and tapped firmly on the door. As soon as he did, the humming stopped.
A few moments later, Lyla opened the door. She had changed dresses and fixed her hair a bit. Her cheeks were flushed, as if she were embarrassed.
“James.” She sounded as if she were surprised to see him there. James had to admit she was quite beautiful. If she wasn’t the one person who could take Joey from him, he might have even felt something for her.
“Mother said to come and tell you that dinner was ready.”
A Treasure Brought by Fate: A Historical Western Romance Book Page 8
