by Lucy Evanson
Cora couldn’t resist. She stepped back to the doorway and admired the open-mouthed stare on her cousin’s face. Emma stared at Becky, then Cora, who permitted herself a small smile.
Emma spun on her heel and marched out without another word, although they could hear her shouting at her carriage driver as soon as she’d stepped out into the street. Cora went to the window to watch her leave.
“Who the hell does she think she is? Coming into my place and talking about you like that,” Becky said. “Like I need help choosing my friends. No offense, but your cousin is one unpleasant woman.”
“I agree,” Cora said. Emma was staring straight ahead, refusing to look at anything but the road ahead as her driver snapped the reins and the carriage started forward. In a moment it had turned at the corner and was out of sight. “Still, you didn’t have to do that,” Cora said. “I feel like I just robbed you of some business.”
“If the day ever comes when I need her business, I’m closing up shop,” Becky said.
“She has a lot of friends in town, though. She’ll probably run you down to everybody who’ll listen to her.”
“Let her,” Becky said. “If her friends are anything like her, then I don’t need their business either. They can go to Gray’s and see how that works out.”
“Well, in any case, I appreciate it, Becky.”
“Think nothing of it,” she said. “Now how about Mrs. Anderson’s dress?”
They went to the back room and Cora finished tracing out the panels she had intended to cut earlier.
“Do you mind if I ask you a question?” Becky said.
“Go ahead.” Cora picked up her shears and began to cut, carefully following the lines she had marked on the fabric.
“What did she want to talk to you about? Seems like you two wouldn’t have much to discuss.”
“Normally we wouldn’t, but things have been a little tense between us for a few months now.” Cora splayed out her fingers against the fabric, pinning it to the table so that it wouldn’t bunch up as she cut. “She thinks that I got married just to collect our uncle’s inheritance.”
As soon as the words were out of her mouth, Cora was sorry she had spoken. She stared down at the pieces of fabric in her hands, all too aware that her cheeks had gone cherry red. The back room was normally drafty and cold, but at that moment it seemed to have gotten uncomfortably warm.
Well, did you? That’s what I’d be thinking if I were Becky. That’s what I would be dying to ask right about now. She would have given anything to take that minute back and just keep her fool mouth shut, but of course it was far too late. She didn’t want to meet Becky’s eyes, but her gaze slowly drifted up as if drawn by a magnet.
Becky was looking at her with a thoughtful gaze, as if Cora were a puzzle she couldn’t quite figure out. Then a smile spread across her face as she reached over and squeezed Cora’s hand.
“None of my concern,” she said softly. “You’re my friend, and I just hope that you’re happy.” She turned and stepped out to the front room, and Cora heard her pouring water into the kettle atop the potbelly stove. “I’m going to make some tea,” Becky called. “I assume you’re going to stay awhile, right?”
Cora pulled the card out from her sleeve and studied it. Tyler LaBreque, Esq. Attorney at Law. She went out to Becky’s side, flipped open the door to the stove, and tossed the card onto the fire. They watched as the edges blackened and curled into ash.
“Yes,” Cora said. “I’m not going anywhere.”
Chapter 14
Every day now, Cora woke up feeling sick to her stomach, and she had at first thought that the Parker sisters were right about her being with child. It wasn’t long, however, before she realized that it was simply nerves. She would have guessed that she’d be relieved and happy to have made it this close, but instead she spent her days on edge, literally worried sick that something would pop up at the last moment and derail all of her plans.
Five days. They were only five days away from the end, away from all the money she could ever need and a home of her own. What am I going to do in that big house all by myself? She looked over her shoulder at Nathan, who was reading his paper at the kitchen table. Five days until she was a divorced woman.
Her brow furrowed as she slipped the spatula under the eggs and freed them from the pan’s surface, then tilted the pan and let some of the melted butter run underneath. They popped and sizzled as they cooked, and she let them stay for another minute before removing the pan from the stove and sliding the eggs onto a plate. She seasoned the eggs the way he liked—a little salt, a lot of pepper—and rescued his bread from the stovetop before it got too crunchy for him.
When she thought about it, she realized that she was going to miss this. She never would have believed that one day she’d be getting up so early to make breakfast for her husband—hell, there were three surprises just in that thought alone—but there was something nice about it. Getting up with him, seeing him off and knowing that he was coming home to her was somehow comforting in a way she’d never felt before.
“You’re not going to eat?”
“Just coffee for now,” she said. “I’ll have something a little later on.”
He nodded and smiled at her, though his eyes didn’t reveal any happiness. He had been very quiet these last few days, and when she had tried to talk to him it had been a struggle to get more than a word or two out of him at a time. Probably planning what he’s going to do next week, she thought.
Her eye fell upon the letter that still sat in the middle of the table. Her uncle’s lawyer had written to let her know that he’d be coming to see her on Monday morning at ten o’clock. His letter had been brief and businesslike, saying merely that he’d have some final papers for her to sign and that he would have the title to her property and her bank documents to hand over. Such big changes summed up in only a handful of words.
Cora glanced over to the drain board and saw that the sausage was still there on the cutting board. “I completely forgot about your lunch,” she said, standing up. She went and quickly sliced a few pieces of sausage and bread, then made a sandwich and wrapped it up in paper. She returned to the table and set it in front of him.
“Thank you, Cora,” he said. “I appreciate it.” Now his smile seemed genuine, and for a moment she was tempted to lean down and kiss him. Instead, she laid her hand on his shoulder for a moment and then started down the hall.
“Guess I’ll go ahead and get dressed,” she said. “It’s cold in here this morning.”
“Yeah, it started to snow,” he said. “You can’t see the sun at all today, the clouds are so thick.”
Cora went into her room and closed the door while she got changed. Out in the hall, she could hear his footsteps and the creak of the floorboards just outside her door.
“So what are you going to do today?”
“The usual,” Cora said as she hung her robe in the closet. “I’ll go down and see Becky for a while. We have a lot of work to finish up before the weekend.”
“When is she going to start paying you for all this work you’re doing?”
Cora removed her day dress from the hanger. “I told you, she offered. I turned her down,” she said. She could hear Nathan muttering out in the hall. “What was that?”
“Nothing,” he said. “I just don’t like to see people taking advantage of you.”
“She’s not,” Cora said. “And aren’t you going to be late?”
“Yes, if you don’t get out here in a hurry.”
She finished buttoning up and opened her door. “What’s going on?”
Nathan surprised her by taking her into his arms quickly and placing a soft kiss on her cheek.
“What was that for?”
“Today’s the fourteenth,” he said with a grin.
“It is? I completely forgot.”
“Happy Valentine’s Day.”
“Same to you.” She turned her face to his and kissed him on the lips
, then let her head fall to his shoulder. She had forgotten how nice it felt to be in his arms.
He held her for a long moment, then slowly let his hands fall away. “I should be going,” he said quietly.
Cora stepped back and watched as he put on his coat. “Have a good day at work.”
He nodded at her and opened the door, but before stepping out into the hall he turned. “Cora….”
“What is it?” She felt the urge to be close to him again, to wrap herself in his arms and feel his body against hers.
Nathan seemed to be wrestling with himself, trying to decide what to say. Finally he just reached out and rubbed her arm. “I’ll see you tonight,” he said, then turned and went down the stairs.
Cora waited until he was at the bottom and waved to her before he stepped outside, then she closed the door. Only five more days, she thought.
The morning flew by. It may have been coincidence, but ever since Becky had refused to work on Emma’s dress, business had been booming.
“Maybe it was like advertising,” Cora said. “If I heard about a place that treated Emma like that, I’d start shopping there just to thank them.”
Becky laughed. “Whatever the reason, I’ll take it,” she said. “We’ve never had so many orders.” She flipped through the now-tattered notebook. “If it weren’t for you, I’d be backed up for weeks.”
“It’s been good practice for me,” Cora said as she finished tying up another dress in paper and brought it to the rack. “I think I could do most of this stuff by myself now.”
“Funny you should say that,” Becky said.
“What do you mean?”
“Well, listen, I’ve been meaning to ask you about something,” Becky said. “My husband and I are trying to have a baby.”
“You are? How are you going to run the shop when you have to take care of a baby too?”
Becky simply smiled, saying nothing. There was a long pause as a thought appeared in the back of Cora’s mind.
“No,” she said. “Me? You can’t be serious.”
“Why not?” Becky asked. “You do everything as well as I do now. You’re naturally talented.”
Cora felt her cheeks pick up a bit of color. “That’s nice of you to say, but I really don’t know. I like being your friend; I don’t know how it would go being your employee.”
“I was thinking more like a partner.”
“A partner?”
“Full partner. We can work out the details later, but you could pay me gradually until you build up equity, and then we’d split everything fifty-fifty.”
“Becky, I don’t know,” she said. “That’s a wonderful offer. I would say yes right now, but I don’t know if I’ll be able to.”
“Of course you’ll be able to! I wouldn’t ask if I didn’t think so.”
“No, I mean there’s a lot going on for us right now. In fact, I might be moving.”
“Moving? Where to?”
“Just outside Dodgeville. It’s not for certain yet, though. I won’t know until Monday.”
“Well, even if you do, that’s not too far,” Becky said. “You could still be here in twenty minutes.”
Cora couldn’t help almost laughing at the idea. Her, a business owner. It seemed almost silly to even consider it. “Let me think about it a while,” she said.
“Of course, there’s no rush,” Becky said. “But seriously, you’d be doing me a favor. I want you to consider it.”
“I will,” Cora said. “Now I better get upstairs and see what we have to make for dinner.”
“I thought you had Nathan take care of that,” Becky said. “Isn’t that man trained yet?”
“I’m going to give him the night off. You know, for Valentine’s Day.”
“Oh, that’s right,” Becky said, and a grin flew onto her face. “You two have fun tonight then. Remember, I close up shop at five, so you don’t have to worry about making noise.”
Cora blushed again and laughed as she left the boutique and went around back. It had begun to snow heavily now, and when she stepped inside she had to stomp her feet so as not to track slush up the stairs. When she entered the apartment, she went to the kitchen and took a long look at the pantry. They had some things in storage—dry beans, flour, some crackers—but nothing that would make for a decent supper. She closed the pantry and was going to check the icebox when she noticed that Nathan’s sandwich was still on the table.
He forgot his lunch, she thought as she glanced at the clock. It was slightly after twelve; he usually took his break around this time, so he’d most likely be coming for it shortly. She opened the icebox and peered inside.
There were a couple of thinly sliced steaks and a chicken that the butcher had cut into quarters. Fried chicken might be good. I’ll get some buttermilk and more eggs for a wash; throw a little seasoned flour on that and it would fry up nicely.
She stood up and closed the icebox just as she heard the outer door open, followed by the heavy clump of footsteps on the stairs. Maybe he’ll stay here and eat with me, she thought, going for a plate. She unwrapped his sandwich just as she heard the doorknob jiggle, followed by a knock.
“Did you forget your key?” Cora went to the door and opened wide.
It was Drake. He again showed a surprising quickness, stepping inside the apartment before she could close the door or even react in any way other than to gasp and flare her eyes wide. Since he had disappeared, she had forgotten some of the things that had repulsed her earlier. Standing there in her home, however, he reminded her easily. His breath, racing heavily from the exertion of climbing the stairs, reeked of tobacco and liquor. The front of his rumpled shirt bore greasy crumbs from some long-finished meal, and as he pushed the door closed behind him, she could see nothing but filth under his nails.
“What are you doing here?”
“Is that any way to greet an old friend?” he said, grinning at her. His teeth were as jumbled as a pocketful of dominoes.
“You’re an odd friend,” Cora said. “Doing nothing but running me down and bothering me all this time.”
“That was just business. You can’t fault a man for doing his job.”
Cora stepped past him and reached for the door handle, only to have Drake lay his heavy hand upon the wood. “All right,” he said. “Maybe that wasn’t very nice of me. But that’s over. I’m here to make things right.”
“How are you going to do that?”
“Let’s go in and sit down,” he said, pointing to the sitting room. His gaze slipped from hers and slithered down her body.
“We’ll go into the kitchen,” she said. They went together and took a seat at the table. When he saw Nathan’s sandwich, Drake stared at it for a moment in the same way he had just admired Cora’s curves.
“So what’s this about?”
He tore his eyes from the plate. “You know, I’ve been doing this work for a long time now. People want some information, they pay me to find it,” he said. “I don’t care what it is or what they need to know it for.” He eyed the sandwich again. “You got any coffee or anything?”
“No, we’re fresh out.”
He snorted. “Look, when your cousin asked me to dig up some dirt on you, I figured it was going to be pretty easy. I mean, you didn’t really put a lot of thought into this, did you?”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” she said. “My husband and I are married for real, and we have the certificate to prove it. Joe Tibbs married us.”
Drake laughed. “So you got a piece of paper from old Joe. Good for you.”
Cora stood up. “If you don’t have anything new to say, then I think it’s time for you to go.”
Drake’s hand shot out and clamped around her wrist. “Sit down,” he growled. “I’m not through with you.”
Cora let herself drop slowly into the chair. She had felt uneasy as soon as he had stepped inside, but the sensation that had curled around her heart now was different. This was fear. She glanced out
of the kitchen to the door. Drake had shown that he could move fast when he needed to; she might not even make it outside before he caught her. Best not to try anything. Yet.
Once she was seated again, Drake’s face softened. “Now the reason I’m here is because I found some information about you two. Something that Emma is sure going to want to hear.”
“And what’s that?”
“That’s for me to know right now. Your cousin paid me to find it and she’s going to pay me even more to get it,” he said. “Now, I don’t know exactly what’s coming to her, but it sure sounds like a lot of money. She offered more than I was even planning to ask for.”
It felt as if the room were collapsing all around her. Cora glanced at the door again. It seemed to be so far away and there was no other way out. Perhaps it didn’t matter anymore. There was no room left to run anyway. As she rubbed her eyes, she realized that she was exhausted; more than anything else, she just wanted to rest.
“But I don’t need to tell Emma.”
Cora opened her eyes and stared at Drake, then let out a long sigh.
“How much do you want?”
His jaw dropped and he fixed a hurt expression on his face. “Cora, I’m shocked that you think of me that way,” he said. “I don’t want your money.” He sat back and let his eyes slide over her again. “I just want to spend a little time with you now and again.”
Cora shot her chair back and jumped to her feet. “It’s time for you to go,” she said, hurrying out of the kitchen. She heard the clatter as Drake’s chair fell over backwards; the fat man may not have been graceful, but he was quick. He grabbed her arm before she could even reach the door and spun her around.
“Where do you think you’re going?” He took her other arm and pulled her close, his belly rubbing against her.
“You let me go right now or I’m going to scream. My friend is right downstairs and she’ll come running.”
“Go ahead,” Drake said. “Your friend just left with some fella in a carriage.”
“My husband is coming home for lunch,” Cora said, trying to keep a quaver out of her voice, and not entirely succeeding. “You even saw his sandwich in the kitchen.”
