by Sarah Thorn
She sighed and reluctantly nodded. “Yes, I will take his name and address. I will write to him.”
Catherine nodded. “You really don’t have much of a choice, do you, my dear?”
Elizabeth wished she could hear a bit of kindness in Catherine’s voice, instead of the underlying sneer she heard instead.
She unfolded the letter from Tyler as the train sped along the tracks, aware that she was being looked at by the other passengers on the train. She had worn the only dress she had left after selling off everything she owned. She carried with her one small bag with her personal items. She hadn’t been able to part with some of them though they would have brought her a little more money if she had sold them. Especially the gold hand mirror her mother had given her, a Christmas present from several years back. She didn’t know when she would use it again. She didn’t like to look at herself in the mirror. It reminded her of her past just to look at her own sad eyes and persistent frown.
Happiness was far from her, and she didn’t see it coming anytime soon. She kept herself from crying, steeling herself against her depressing thoughts.
Dear Miss Elizabeth, the letter said. I would be very happy to have you come to my farm and help me. I am glad Catherine suggested that you write to me as I have been seeking someone and do need the help. I have enclosed a ticket so that you can come. I appreciate you writing and telling me about the loss of your parents. I am sorry that you are going through such a hard time. I will try to help you find some happiness here.
I spend most of my time on the farm, working to repair it after a recent storm that caused a lot of damage. There is still much work to be done, but my home is cool and comfortable. I employ two young men from the nearby town. They are helping me with the daily chores and with some of the repairs. I know it may sound like I am looking for a housekeeper, but I am not. I am seeking a woman to be a companion to me to bring some happiness and a womanly touch to the farm and my life. I have not been married before. I am 24 years old. I came here with my parents and bought my farm about four years ago.
I hope that you will find me acceptable and that we will be friends right away. If you are very unhappy when you get here, please tell me right away. I don’t want to be unhappy, and I don’t want you to be unhappy.
Thank you for writing to me. I look forward to meeting you. You mentioned that you only had a short time left in the home you were in, so I have set the ticket up for ten days from now, to allow you to get this letter and pack your things.
Sincerely,
Tyler Creek
His name sounded like a place, rather than a name, although she thought it sounded like a pleasant place to be. She thought of her name with his at the end. Elizabeth Creek. Still sounded like a place. But a prettier place.
She smiled.
She stepped off of the train and looked to the right and to the left. She was stunned that there were so few people around. In fact, she only saw one person getting off with her and no one met him. He walked to the right as soon as he got off the train, looking like he had somewhere he needed to be and he knew exactly where it was.
She was alone. Again.
This seems to happen a lot these days, she thought. She clutched her bag between her slender fingers, tugged at her skirt with the other and walked to the door of the train station. The building looked weather-beaten and damaged. She scanned the worn, broken pieces on the side of the building, the two windows (one was broken) and the battered door she was about to go through. She was almost afraid to take the handle, feeling as if splinters might just jump off the tattered wood and embed themselves in her fingers.
It was a poor dreary town; that was for certain.
Just like me, she thought.
She sighed and turned the knob reluctantly.
There were more people inside the building, which didn’t really surprise her. The atmosphere was hot and dry in Nevada. So different from the cool, moist air in both D.C. and Virginia. It was cooler inside the building than it was outside.
Elizabeth wasn’t sure whether she needed to speak to the clerk or not. He probably wouldn’t know Tyler. Or maybe he would. She looked at him. He was busy with a customer. She looked around the room. It took only a moment to realize she was the only woman. She swallowed and walked slowly to a bench sitting near the door. It looked new and out of place in the rickety building. She could feel the eyes of the men following her and tried to tell herself that it was just her paranoia kicking in. Tyler wouldn’t have a hard time picking her out from the crowd, at least.
She sat down and put her bag on her lap, folding her hands over the top of it as if she would be able to hold on to it if someone grabbed it. She wasn’t a big woman and had delicate features like her mother.
It felt like she waited forever. None of the men approached Elizabeth as she sat patiently and quietly, becoming more nervous as the minutes passed. Had he forgotten about her? Had there been an accident?
She wondered what she would do if he never came for her. No one would tell her that something had happened to him. They probably wouldn’t even realize she had come. He might not have told anyone what he was doing. She didn’t even know if he had any family.
Elizabeth pondered how long she should wait before asking the clerk if he might have any information about where she could find Tyler. She was incredibly uncomfortable in her long dress, layers underneath, and tall boots. She wanted to get out of the dress as soon as she was able. It was not something she should have been wearing in the heat of Nevada, even if it was approaching dark.
Chapter Two
The door opened beside her, and a rush of cool air blew past her. She hadn’t realized it had cooled off outside and immediately stood up to take a seat on the bench outside the building, instead of inside it.
The man who had come in looked directly at her. “Elizabeth?” He said.
She stopped and looked at him. He was half a foot taller than her and had a deeply sculpted face with even deeper brown eyes. His dark wavy hair fell to his shoulders, and he whipped the hat off his head, holding it in front of his chest. He bent at the waist slightly in a quick bow.
“I’m Tyler. I am so sorry I was not here sooner to get you. I can’t apologize enough.”
She blinked and bit her lips together. He was very good-looking. She felt a bit of the weight on her heart lifting. At least, he had that going for him. She was annoyed that he had made her wait so long by herself in a room filled with strangers. For much of her life, she had been protected at all times, in case someone tried to kidnap her. The men her father dealt with were often sneaky and desperate to be like him. She’d been told they would go to any lengths to get him in a bad position and that she needed to always be on her guard.
It was a difficult feeling to let go of. Tyler’s late pickup did not endear him to her. She frowned. “It was very hot. I would like to get out of these clothes. Do you have a dress I will be able to wear? I didn’t bring anything else. I had sold all of my things before I left Virginia.”
Tyler nodded and reached for her bag. She tightened her grip on it and pulled it closer to her chest. “I can carry it,” she said.
“Oh, of course. This way.” He nodded again and held out his hand so that she could go in front of him. He liked her appearance, although her fancy dress was a bit much, as she had pointed out. But if it was really the only dress she had left, he understood why she’d had to wear it.
“Were you able to get any extra clothes for yourself with the money from selling your items?” Tyler asked once they were outside and walking down the platform lit by gas lamps. The sun was casting different colors through the sky as it dipped behind a far-away mountain.
Elizabeth breathed in the evening air. It smelled surprisingly clean and fresh. She lifted her head and enjoyed the breeze blowing past her cheeks. She was aware that Tyler was watching her. All men watched her. She was used to it.
He took in her beauty as soon as he saw it, her slender figure i
n a beautifully woven dress with embroidery designs throughout and lace adorning its edges. She walked like a lady. Her soft light brown hair was held back with barrettes and pins, and her dark green eyes flashed when she looked at him. Her voice was slightly haughty when she spoke to him. He could see that she was used to being a lady. She hadn’t mentioned in her letter that she was raised wealthy, but her appearance and demeanor gave her away immediately.
His heart sank a little. He didn’t want to regret his decision to invite her. He was hoping for someone to laugh and have fun with, as well as work to make the farm comfortable and happy again.
She shook her head in response to his question.
“No,” She said. “My father…my father owed a lot of people very large amounts of money. I was not able to keep anything that was brought in from the sale.”
“Oh. I’m sorry.”
She shook her head and followed him down the steps to the ground where he had parked his small two-person carriage. “Don’t be. You had nothing to do with it, did you.” She wasn’t asking.
He didn’t respond.
She stood next to the door to the carriage and waited for him to pull it open for her. He came around to pull down on the handle and pushed it open so that she could get in. He held out his hand, which she took, even though she needed no help stepping up on the extended stair. He smiled at her, but her return smile was quick and did not reach her eyes.
He stifled a sigh. He hoped more than anything she would adjust and become a more considerate young woman. He hoped he hadn’t made a mistake with the whole thing.
She was quiet most of the ride to the farm. It was a twenty-minute ride, and they had to pass through the town of Dunnam first. To Elizabeth’s eyes, it looked dreary, dry and dirty. The people looked poor. She felt completely out of place. She knew her cheeks were burning red the entire way through town.
Even when they left the town, she still felt uneasy. He hadn’t looked pleased when she complained about the heat.
“Are you uncomfortable?” He asked at one point. She tried not to reply with a haughty tone but failed.
“I am still in this dress.” She immediately regretted her sarcasm and licked her lips. “I apologize for being rude. I am still very new to…everything. My…life has changed a lot in the last few months.”
“How long ago did you say your parents passed?”
“They were killed a few weeks ago. But…my family moved from Washington D.C. about three months ago after my father lost all of his money.”
“Why did you relocate to Virginia?” Tyler asked.
“My father knew a man there. He gave us a place to live. When my parents died, I was not able to stay there. It was a very small, very old shack anyway. I didn’t really want to stay there.”
“So you didn’t have time to make friends with anyone?”
Elizabeth shook her head. “No, we were only there a short time and the man who let us rent the shack had told everyone in town about my father before we arrived.”
“What did he tell them?”
Elizabeth sighed. She didn’t want to rehash her past anymore. She had come here for a fresh start. But she supposed she was going to have to learn her place eventually, so she answered him. “My father was an advisor to President Lincoln when he was young.”
“Oh, he was a politician, was he?”
“Yes. And he was very successful at what he did and was valued by the administration. But when Lincoln was killed, my father’s morals seemed to die with him.”
Tyler didn’t know what to say to that. She was admitting her father was a corrupt politician. He could tell she bore a great shame because of it. He felt sorry for her. Before he could say anything, she continued.
“So for most of my life, though I did not know it, my father was dealing in corruption in the government.”
“I am sorry you had to discover that about your father,” Tyler said in a genuine voice. She caught the sincerity, and it made her pause. She looked at his profile, and he turned his eyes to her. “You aren’t your father, Beth.”
She stared at him. No one had called her Beth in her entire life. She liked it when he said it.
He saw the look on her face relaxing a little but could tell she was fighting inside. He didn’t know whether she was angry or just extremely sad. He gave her a comforting look. “It’s going to be okay, Beth. You’ll see. I don’t have a lot of riches, and I’m no politician, that’s for sure. I just work my farm and try to survive and make some money on the side for my…wife and future children.”
Elizabeth bit her lips together. She hadn’t even thought about having children. She had always had someone taking care of her. She couldn’t imagine having to take care of someone else, especially a helpless baby.
She nodded at him and turned her eyes to look straight in front of her. He reached over and took her hand. At first, she stiffened and stared at his hand on top of hers. After her initial shock had passed, she turned her hand over and grasped his with it. She looked up at him, and he smiled.
“It’s going to be okay. You’ll see.”
The good feeling she had for the last five minutes of the ride evaporated when they turned onto the long dirt road that led to the farm. She could feel herself becoming tenser as they got closer to the farmhouse.
It was large, two stories with an attic and it stretched back, with a wrap-around deck. It was only a little smaller than the house she had grown up in, but it was in much worse shape. There were shingles falling off the roof, exposed beams, broken steps leading up to the porch and the column on one side of the porch that was holding up the deck looked like it might be about to give way.
There were two young men working with tools on that column. They were covered in plaster already. She wondered if they had any idea what they were doing.
“That’s Jake and Teddy,” Tyler said. “Jake is the one with the bright yellow short hair. Teddy is the dark-tanned one with the light brown hair.”
Both the young men had taken their shirts off. Their chests and arms bulged with muscles that she could only see reflected off the flickering gas lamps they had set up all around them.
“Why are they working so late into the evening?” She asked.
“Well, I’m sure you can see that column is about to give way.” He looked at her with a pleasant expression on his face. “I don’t want the roof to come crashing down on my lovely woman, do I?”
She blushed and hoped it was too dark for him to see it. “No, I suppose not.”
He hopped down from the buggy and scooted around it to open the small door for her. She was amused and gave him a smile when he held up one hand to her. He felt a rush of relief and held her hand gently as she got down.
Jake and Teddy had stopped working and were wiping their hands on cloths as Elizabeth and Tyler walked up the steps. One at a time, they introduced themselves to Elizabeth and nodded at Tyler.
“It’s nice to meet you,” Elizabeth said formally.
“How’s it coming along, fellows?” Tyler asked, stepping away from her to examine the work they had done.
“We’re just about to apply the first layer, Ty,” Jake answered, walking with him to the column. Teddy followed quickly, giving Elizabeth a friendly look and a nod. “We set up the lamps so that we could see when it gets dark out here. I think we can finish up before nine. That okay with you?”
“Yes,” Tyler said. “That sounds fine. I appreciate it, boys. It’s looking good so far.”
“We haven’t done much yet,” Teddy said. “But we’ll have it done tonight and by tomorrow morning, you shouldn’t have to worry about it anymore.”
“Not for a while anyway.” Jake laughed.
“All right, thanks. I’ll see you in the morning then.”
He came back to Elizabeth and gently touched her elbow to direct her toward the front door. “I have a sister that is about your size. Or she was when I saw her last. I’m fairly certain she will be able to provide some
dresses for you until you feel up to going into town to buy some of your own. I will buy them for you. I…I will be a good husband for you.” He was embarrassed and sure he wasn’t saying the right things. He didn’t want to appear foolish to her, but he knew he could easily love her if she wanted him to.
She went into the house first and liked what she saw as soon as she went inside. The furniture in the living room was almost new. There were bright colored paintings hung in every room but the kitchen. Tyler had laid down an assortment of rugs with varying designs, and a tremendously large mirror was placed directly across from a grand fireplace with marble outlay.
“I’m working on the inside of the house right now, too.” There was a hint of pride in his voice, and it made Elizabeth smile.
“This is beautiful already, Tyler. You have good taste.”
She felt his hand squeeze her elbow, and it sent a jolt of excitement through her. She pulled in her breath and looked up at him to see if he noticed. He was looking at her. She smiled. “How soon can you have your sister bring me a dress?”
“They live close by,” Tyler said. “But she keeps some of her clothes here for when she comes to help out. She knows she’s going to get dirty, so she likes to have something here to change into.”
“That is wonderful!” Elizabeth was excited to get out of her fancy gown. “Where are her clothes?”
“I’ll show you.” He began to run up the steps, and she followed quickly behind him, lifting her long skirt so that she could keep up.
Chapter Three
The first week of her new life was the hardest she thought she had ever spent. She had arrived on a Saturday, spent Sunday with Tyler at the small church in town and had met her sister-in-law, Barbara, Barbara’s husband, Jerry and their infant son, Kyle. Tyler had taken her shopping at the general store and purchased her several dresses and underclothing, as well as two pairs of pants. The thought of wearing pants scared Elizabeth. They represented hard work that she was not used to.
