by Lucy Evanson
“That’s a good question,” he said, then slowly released her arm. “You have a good day, Cora. I’ll see you later.”
She left Drake behind and hurried the rest of the way to Gray’s, not daring to turn around until she was inside the store. As she went to the window and looked out, she could see no sign of him, and after a deep breath, she began to relax, if only a little. As she remembered the way he’d grabbed her arm, she felt goose bumps form. Somebody must have sent him; people don’t just start interrogating you out of the blue like that.
“Can I help you find something, miss?”
Cora jumped slightly at the voice, and turned to see one of the store clerks. He had a box of canned vegetables that he apparently wanted to place in the display window, and Cora moved aside for him. “No, I’m just looking,” she said quietly. “Thanks.”
She turned and made her way to the back of the store where there was a rack of outerwear. It was almost impossible to pay attention to the clothing selection, however. Every time the door opened, Cora’s heart leaped into her throat and she ducked down to avoid being seen. The only good thing was that if Drake followed her into the store, she already knew her way through the storeroom to the back exit. Might as well give Mrs. Gray something else to talk about.
Still, in nearly half an hour, Cora had examined everything there was to see, and Drake never entered the store.
Instead, he was waiting well down the block when she stepped out into the street. It would have been difficult to recognize anybody else at that distance, but she was sure it was him. There weren’t many men around Mineral Point who were as big as he was, and sitting there in the front seat of a carriage, he looked like an egg balanced on end atop a matchbox. It had to be him. Next to him there was a smaller man—almost a boy, it appeared, and as Cora watched, he removed his hat and scratched his head. His bright blond hair nearly glowed in the sunlight.
I’m such a fool. He planned the whole thing. She felt her pulse begin to race as Drake raised his hand and waved to her. He doesn’t even care that I see him, that I know he’s watching me. She let her eyes close for a moment and she fought to take a deep breath. He’s just trying to scare me now. Don’t let him see that it’s working.
Cora quickly crossed the street and started for home; she couldn’t help glancing back in time to see Drake snap the reins and start his carriage forward. As he rolled closer, she could see his jumbled yellow teeth reveal themselves in a grin.
Cora waited for him to get even nearer, glancing over her shoulder as she walked. Drake had just pulled up even with her when she spun on her heel, grabbed her dress to avoid tripping on it, and ran down the sidewalk the other way.
She heard Drake curse behind her as he tried to turn the carriage, but when she looked back, he had only succeeded in blocking the way for the other wagons and horses on the street. He locked eyes with her just before she ducked into an alley and hurried away.
Cora kept moving from alley to alley, staying off the larger streets until she had passed entirely into the residential area of town. By cutting through back yards and staying low, she was able to make a roundabout way home that had kept her out of Drake’s sight.
“That was fast,” Mr. Harper commented as she rushed inside and closed the door quickly behind her. “I thought you said you’d be out all morning.”
“I’m not feeling well,” Cora said quietly as she went to the window and stared out. The street was empty. She had made it.
She returned to her room, hung up her shawl, and let herself collapse onto the bed. I wish Nathan were here. She hadn’t thought much about him in a couple of days, and she was halfway surprised at the thought, but it was true. He had a way of talking to her that she really liked—not like she was some thoughtless thing that just looked good in a tight dress, but like a real person with real emotions. When they’d gone out to the house and found Emma there, he had managed to calm her down on the ride back, in spite of the foul mood that her cousin had created. Plus, Nathan’s voice, so warm and deep, was just pleasant to listen to.
Still, there was no way she was going to head over to his boarding house. She didn’t need this Drake, if that was his name, knowing where she lived on top of everything else. Mineral Point was small enough that if he kept asking around he’d find that out anyway; there was no reason to help him out.
For the rest of the day, Cora stayed in her room, only venturing downstairs for dinner and then returning directly, claiming that she still wasn’t feeling well, which wasn’t much of a stretch. By the morning, however, after a fitful night’s sleep, she was in slightly better spirits. Her improved mood lasted all of thirty minutes, which was how long it took her to get up, get dressed and go downstairs to have breakfast.
When Mr. Harper had finished serving the guests and took a seat himself, he turned to Cora. “You know, the strangest thing happened last night,” he said. “I would have told you about it, but you said you weren’t feeling well and I wanted to let you rest.”
“What happened?”
“A man came around asking about you,” he said, and Cora felt her insides churn. “Or, at least, he said your name, but he must have made some kind of mistake.”
“What did he look like?”
“Oh, he was a big fella. Must’ve weighed about three hundred, I’d say, and he was dressed kind of sloppy. Sound familiar?”
“No,” she said, hoping that the color hadn’t drained from her face the way she thought it had. “What did he want?”
“Well, that’s the odd thing. He asked if Cora Booker lived here, and I told him your last name was Rice,” he said. “Then he asked if you lived here with your husband.”
“What did you say?”
Harper snorted. “What would I say? I told him he was mistaken and that you weren’t married,” he said. “Then I told him to move along.”
Cora pushed her plate aside and stood up quickly. “I need some air,” she muttered, and ran to the front door, taking a moment to pull the curtain aside before opening the door. The street was empty. She stepped outside and gulped in the crisp air as her breath steamed up toward the sky.
It had been bad enough when Linda Bixby and Tess Jackson had been hounding her. But with Drake nosing around, things seemed to have taken a much more serious turn. It couldn’t be coincidence that all of a sudden some man was poking into her business, and it didn’t take long to think who must have been behind it. Emma. Her cousin apparently wasn’t going to give up the house without a fight. Kind of makes me wish I’d left her up in the tree that time.
Maybe she thinks that she can just sit back and keep her hands clean, but I’m not going to let her. Cora returned inside and got dressed to go out. She hadn’t been to Emma’s house in years, but she remembered the way clearly, and if she walked briskly she could be there in only thirty minutes. She wasn’t quite sure what she was going to say to her, but she would think of something along the way.
As soon as she crossed the yard and stepped out into the street, however, she felt the familiar clench in her stomach that Drake always seemed to cause. His carriage was parked just down the street, and he was sitting there waiting and watching.
“Well, good morning!” he called. “You need a ride?” His voice was cheerful, as if he were happy to see her.
“Where’s your boy? The one who supposedly stole my purse yesterday?”
“Oh, him? I gave him the day off,” Drake said. “And what do you have planned for today?”
Cora kept walking. “I’m planning to mind my own business,” she said, keeping her eyes forward. “I suggest you do the same.”
“That is what I’m doing, Cora,” he said. “Or do you prefer Miss Rice? I can’t bring myself to call you Mrs. Booker. I just don’t believe it.”
“Well, I couldn’t care less what you believe or not,” she said. “And speaking of what’s hard to believe, I don’t see how bothering me can be any business of yours.”
He snapped the reins shar
ply, sending the carriage darting forward, and then yanked hard to guide the horse directly into Cora’s way. Drake hopped down from the seat with a surprising nimbleness and stepped in front of her. “I’m a private investigator,” he said. “My business is to find out the truth.”
“The truth is that you’re harassing a married woman,” Cora said, her voice growing loud. She glanced around, but they were on a residential street on a cold morning. There was nobody else to be seen. “Now if you don’t leave me alone, I’ll go to the sheriff.”
Drake chuckled. “I don’t think you want the sheriff poking around in your life right now. Not any more than you want me poking around, anyway,” he said. He stepped closer. Cora could smell what she guessed was cheap whiskey on his breath. “Your landlord says you’re not married.”
“He doesn’t know.”
“Now, that part I believe,” he said. “I’ve been watching you for a couple of days now, and I have yet to see this husband of yours. Is he even real? Let’s be honest.”
“Of course he’s real,” she said.
“So let’s see, you’re married to a man named Booker. But when you met me, you used the name Rice. You told me that you lived with your husband, but you actually live here and your landlord thinks you’re single,” he said. His eyes dropped from her face to her chest, then down the rest of her body before his gaze met hers again. Cora pulled her shawl tighter around her shoulders. “And you sure don’t dress like a married woman,” he said. “Does that about sum it up?”
“I don’t have to explain anything to you,” she muttered, and stepped past him. Drake’s arm shot out and she felt his fingers around her wrist.
“No, no you don’t,” he said, his voice low and rumbling like distant thunder. “I’ll find it all out on my own, don’t you worry. And when I do, I think I know somebody who’ll be very interested to hear about it. Marriage fraud is serious stuff.”
“I wouldn’t know anything about it.” She ripped her hand from his grasp and started walking. “And you can tell Emma that I know you’re working for her.”
“I’ll do that. It’s not going to matter, though,” he called. “You know, Cora, the thing about liars is that they always slip up somehow. Some take longer than others, but they all slip up sooner or later.”
She ignored him and kept walking, cutting through a yard to get to the next street and leaving Drake behind. Now that he knew where she lived, there wasn’t much left to hide from him, but she still didn’t like him following her around like a mangy dog. Emma is going to have a lot to answer for, she thought, already smirking as she imagined the scene she’d cause.
Another thought stopped her in her tracks. And making a big scene at her house is going to do what, exactly? Cora imagined interrupting Emma, Linda and Tess in the parlor while drinking tea. She’d shout at Emma, show her how angry she was, and when it was over the women would go back to their tea, laughing and snickering, sure that Cora was cracking under the pressure. I’m not going to give her the satisfaction.
Cora turned around and started walking. In a few minutes she was on the porch outside a different house entirely, waiting for the door to open.
“Is Nathan home?”
“No, dear,” his landlord said. “It’s Cora, right?”
“That’s right. Do you know what time he’ll be back?”
“I couldn’t say. I’ll tell him you stopped by, though.”
Cora nodded and gave her a half-smile as the door closed. She turned to go down the steps but then stopped herself. Where am I even going? If she headed into town, she stood the chance of running into Emma’s friends, who would certainly try to make her afternoon unpleasant, to put it mildly. Drake was gone for the moment, but that wouldn’t last. And she’d be damned if she’d let him scare her back home again already. She wasn’t some animal he could just drive back into its cage.
She brought one hand up to her head and massaged her temple. Her head felt like it was about to burst. She had always suspected that marriage brought along more problems than it was worth; she just hadn’t guessed that it would be that way for her arrangement with Nathan too.
Drake had said that marriage fraud was a serious thing, and she had no reason to doubt him on that. If they were found out, it might mean trouble with the sheriff. Maybe even jail. Good Lord, what did I get Nathan into?
She felt a wave of heat rush over her, and her heart pounded like a bass drum in her chest. It wouldn’t do much good to take things one day at a time if it meant that they were going to end up in prison. Things are going to have to change. I don’t know how, but it can’t go on like this.
Cora crossed the yard and went to the bench that was outside the gate. If she had to wait for him, then that was what she was going to do. She sat down, crossed her arms, and leaned back to settle in.
She was nearly frozen through when Nathan finally arrived, strolling in the clear evening like he hadn’t a care in the world, whistling as he went. Cora stepped out from the shadows into the moonlight, and when he recognized her, a huge smile spread across his face.
“Cora! It’s good to see you,” he said. He hugged her quickly, and although it was unexpected, she let herself linger in his arms for a minute. She could feel his body warm and strong against hers, and for the briefest moment she forgot that things were going to hell all around her. She closed her eyes and rested her head against his chest. He smelled faintly of shave soap, fresh and clean.
“Is something wrong?” He backed off slightly to look at her.
“I’ve been waiting for you,” she said, trying to force her teeth to stop chattering. “I left a message for you the other day.”
“You’re chilled to the bone,” he said. “Let’s go talk in the house.”
He led her inside and brought her to the parlor, where a crackling pair of logs in the fireplace called to her. “I’ll be right back,” Nathan said, and stepped out into the hall, returning in a minute with a cup and saucer and closing the parlor door behind him. Between the sweet, hot tea and the fire, she was soon feeling almost herself again.
“I’m sorry I haven’t been over to see you,” he said. “I’ve been really busy this week. So what’s wrong?”
She leaned forward and set the cup on the low table in front of her. Where to begin? “Nathan, this is turning out to be harder than I thought it was going to be,” she said. “I’m worried somebody is going to find out what we did.”
He smiled at her. “Nobody’s going to find out anything,” he said. “We’re really married and we have Joe Tibbs’ signature to prove it. If we just lie low and wait it out, there’s nothing anybody can do.”
His voice warmed her almost as much as the fire did, and she felt herself melt a little as he reached over and squeezed her hand. “Has somebody been bothering you?”
His eyes, so warm and deep, seemed to reach into her soul, and she felt herself teetering on the edge. It would be so easy to tell him about everything. About Emma’s friends. About Drake. About the guilt that was bubbling up inside of her. She would tell him and he would help her set things right. And then she’d owe him even more than she already did.
“No,” she said, and she reluctantly withdrew her hand from his.
He looked at her for a moment longer, as if he weren’t sure whether to believe her, and then smiled. “Well, I’m happy to hear that. By the way, I’ve got something for you,” he said, suddenly getting to his feet. He dug into his pocket and pulled out a handful of money. He counted several dollars and held it out to her. “This is what you lent me the other day.”
“Where did you get it?”
“From my job.”
“You’re working?! Since when?”
“Since the day after you gave me that,” Nathan said. “I just couldn’t stand the thought of taking your money. I’m not that kind of man, and I’m certainly not that kind of husband.”
She smiled. It was so…strange to hear a man talk like that. Strange, but nice. “Well, I appr
eciate it,” she said. She reached to take the money and Nathan quickly took her hand between both of his.
“Are you sure that there isn’t anything else going on? Anything more you should be telling me?”
“No, there’s nothing else,” she said. “Except I think we should be living together.” The words had come out so quickly that she herself was surprised by them, and her eyes grew wide along with Nathan’s.
“Really?”
“Well…yeah, I think so,” she said. “If Emma or any of her friends find out that I’m staying at my rooming house all by myself, it’s going to look bad. I don’t want to give her any more reason to snoop around than she already has.”
Nathan nodded. “That’s a good point,” he said. “Town this size, people are sure to talk if they see something strange going on. When do you think we should find a place?”
Cora thought back to Drake’s hand wrapped around her wrist and the way he had looked at her. “As soon as we can.”
Chapter 9
She shouldn’t have been surprised at this point that finding a suitable place for a newly married couple wasn’t turning out to be as easy as she’d hoped. Neither her landlord nor Nathan’s had any rooms large enough for two people—boarding houses tended to attract the kind of tenants who had nobody else accompanying them—and after spending the next day asking around at a few other places, they had turned up exactly nothing so far.
So far this morning she’d stopped at another four places, three of which were full entirely. The owner of the last one had showed her a room so small that it had made her own seem positively luxurious, and she had felt her mood slip into a dangerously dark area as she had returned to the street.
The bright side—if there was one—was that she had not yet seen Drake or Emma’s friends. Normally on a day when she had nothing else to do, she’d spend some time window shopping downtown, which was precisely why she was going to avoid the area for the time. I’m sure he’s just sitting around waiting for me to show up on Main Street.
