Cole was shocked speechless when she said she had been beaten and robbed. It was all he could do not to pull her into his arms and try to soothe away the memories. “Were you very badly injured?”
Her answering shrug didn’t really tell him much. “It could’ve been much worse, I’ve been assured. At least they didn’t assault me in other ways, besides taking my money and punching and kicking me.” She was quiet for a moment before adding, “But my father’s anger was almost as bad.”
“Did he hit you, too?” Cole became enraged.
“No. But sometimes I wished he would and get it over with. I’ve learned from experience that words can hurt as much as physical blows.” Her soft, sweet voice belied the harsh words.
Cole had never felt so inclined to violence in his life. If her father were before him in that moment, he wasn’t sure if he would be able to resist giving the man a taste of his own actions.
Reaching out, Cole took one of her hands gently into his large one. Looking at it, it wasn’t much bigger than Mary’s, but the feelings inspired in him were most certainly not paternal. “I can certainly understand now why you were nervous about going outside in New York after the experiences you’ve had, but surely you know those bullies aren’t here.”
She met his eyes, and hers were full of pain. “The mind doesn’t always make the most sense, though, does it? Just look at your sister.”
“Your situation doesn’t seem anything like Leandra’s.”
“Maybe not, but it’s still all in both of our heads. I know those boys who beat me are not here in Bucklin. And my father is dead. But leaving our apartment had become such an ordeal that the feelings have spilled over to here.”
“I’m rather amazed that you actually got up the gumption to get on the train and come to Missouri.”
She grinned. “So am I.” She laughed a little before adding, “But staying was worse, so I was able to just do it. Some days I don’t know how I managed. But I’m grateful that I did.” She paused again, avoiding his gaze. “Now all I have to do is make sure I don’t turn into a house-bound crazy woman out here in Missouri.”
“Well, I for one, am convinced you are not crazy. You have been dealt some dreadful circumstances and have managed quite well, from what I can see.”
Her surprise was written all over her face as she turned her puzzlement toward him. “How can you say that? I’ve just explained to you how terrified I am to visit two women, who are reportedly either quite nice or at least quite unlikely to do me any harm.”
“You might be terrified, but here you are dressed and ready to go make those very same visits.”
His admiration must have finally gotten through to her. She grinned. “True. But I am still here on my own porch.”
“That’s only because you were interrupted. Now, I probably shouldn’t take any more of your time. Would you like me to drop you off at your first destination?”
She was again back to chewing on her lip. Cole was surprised to realize he was still holding her hand. He wasn’t sure why it surprised him. He still hadn’t grown used to the warm press of it against his own. And the flutters in his stomach hadn’t abated, perhaps they had grown worse. She didn’t seem at all affected by his presence as he was by hers. That was disheartening.
“Won’t that cause gossip? I think the townspeople are already buzzing about Katie. I wouldn’t want them thinking New York women were loose.”
Cole grinned and squeezed her hand. “I don’t think you know very much about loose women if you think accepting a ride on my very open wagon would make you so.”
He was gratified to see that her color had returned to normal from the dreadful paleness she had been displaying when he had arrived. Now her cheeks flushed a becoming pink in understanding of his meaning.
“Well, no, of course not,” she stammered. “But I don’t want you put into an uncomfortable position. My father hated when tales were brought back to him.”
“I can assure you, I am nothing like your father. And you will recall that I’m the one who extended the invitation.”
Now she looked truly embarrassed, which had definitely not been his intention. But she looked so adorable as her eyes bounced around, looking for anywhere else to gaze rather than at him. “It’s kind of you to offer, thank you, Mr. Miller. It might give me just that last little bit of gumption I was looking for.”
Cole laughed. “Or at the very least, get you started on the way rather than with your feet glued to your porch.”
Her eyes once again came to rest on his face. He was surprised to see another smile on her face. “Whatever works, right?” she asked. “I am determined to grow a spine while living here in Bucklin.”
“I think your spine is already made of steel, Miss Jones. You are truly brave to come out here to a new life and face your fears.”
“Do you really think so?” she asked, her voice sounding breathless, as though she couldn’t quite believe her ears.
“I truly do.”
“But I’ve been wondering if coming out here is just another way of hiding from my fears.”
Now he was puzzled. “What are you hiding from here? It seems to me you faced your fear of strangers by getting on a train and moving to a new place.”
She was frowning in concentration as she nodded in response to his words. “I also couldn’t bear to see my baby brother, whom I raised by my own hand from when I was ten years old, turning into an exact replica of our father.”
Cole turned so that he was fully facing her, grasping both of her hands in his own. She couldn’t avoid his gaze any longer but was instead searching his face with concern etched upon her own.
“Miss Jones, or rather, I am going to be so bold as to use your given name, Melanie, listen to me carefully. Having the dignity to leave a bad situation is not giving in to fear. It is true bravery when considered along with your fears. I am in awe of you right at this moment.”
She continued to search his face as though to determine the sincerity of his words. Cole wasn’t sure what she read in his features but suddenly, tears spilled over her lashes and trickled down her cheeks. “That is the loveliest thing anyone has said to me in my entire life. Thank you, Mr. Miller.”
“Please, you must call me Cole.”
Now she was back to blushing as she tried to pull her hands out of his grasp. “Oh no, I wouldn’t think that’s appropriate.”
He ignored her words, merely transferring one of her hands into the grasp of the other, using his free hand to wipe the tears from her cheeks. “I most certainly think it’s appropriate, at least when it’s just the two of us. We are friends after all, aren’t we?”
Cole decided to take a step back for a moment from the lovely woman. While he knew his heart was becoming quite entwined with her, he was well aware that she wasn’t anywhere near ready for a declaration from him. She probably wasn’t even aware of his feelings or of the fact that he had been holding her hand for the last ten minutes, at least. With a gentle smile, he squeezed her hands and then let them go.
“Come along, Miss Mel, I’ll drop you off with either Mrs. Jenkins or Mrs. Spencer. Which would you like to visit first?”
His tone brooked no argument and did the trick. She got to her feet and accepted that he was going to help her. She still appeared undecided as to her destination, but then she surprised him by answering firmly. “Since Mrs. Jenkins might be the toughest visit, I’ll start there, I think. Thank you, again, Cole. It seems all I’m doing of late is thanking you for something.”
He grinned over her use of his name but waved off her thanks. “You are doing me a massive favor in keeping Mary for a few days. Dropping you off somewhere on my way home is the very least I can do. It would be churlish not to, really.”
Her giggle met his words, for which he was grateful.
They chatted about inconsequential things as they drove out to Mrs. Jenkins’ neat property. She and her husband had a good amount of land, but it was currently being worke
d by her son-in-law. What she had kept for herself was well maintained, despite her age and declining health.
In his effort not to overwhelm Melanie with his attentions, he didn’t get out of the wagon, just leaned down to hold her steady as she climbed down on her own.
Her eyes twinkled at him, despite the fact that he could see the nerves returning to her face. “Since you said no thanks are allowed, I will merely wish you a good day. Please, call around when you’re ready to have Mary returned to you. Don’t feel obliged to rush. We will enjoy having her for however long you deem fit.”
Cole was surprised by her offer, especially when he knew she had been hesitant in agreeing to his original request for her help with Mary. He squeezed her hand and then let it go.
“Take care,” was all he said as he stirred up his horses to carry on.
~~~
The tiny little woman who opened the door at Melanie’s knock was a surprise. From all Katie’s talk of Mrs. Jenkins’ personality, Melanie had expected a larger woman.
“Good day, ma’am, are you Mrs. Jenkins?”
“That I am, and who might you be?”
“I’m Melanie Jones. You are more acquainted with my business partner, Mrs. Katie Carter.”
“I know who you are. It’s about time you stopped in to visit me. I was starting to think you were a figment of Katie’s imagination, just a convenient excuse when she needs to make a decision. She’s forever saying, ‘oh I have to check with my partner on that.’ I wasn’t convinced there was any such partner.”
The older woman’s cackling laugh made Melanie’s nerves tighten further, but she obediently followed when Mrs. Jenkins waved her into the sitting room. “You’ll bide a while for a cup of tea, won’t you? I suppose you’re here to tell me Katie won’t be stopping by, am I right?”
She barely allowed Melanie an opportunity to nod before she was off and talking again. “Katie always sits and has a visit with me whenever she stops by, so I baked up some biscuits, since she told me she’d be by today and that she enjoys my biscuits. Since she couldn’t be bothered to come herself, we shan’t have to save her any.”
Another cackle accompanied these words, but Melanie was finally able to relax a little bit when she realized that the woman’s bark was most definitely worse than her bite.
“Katie felt dreadful that she wasn’t able to keep her appointment with you, but she was called out on an emergency with the doctor.”
Mrs. Jenkins sniffed. “Far be it from me to begrudge the good doctor from someone in need, but I hardly see how he was in such dire need of Katie’s assistance. He managed just fine on his own before she arrived in town. Seems to me that it’s just a convenient excuse for the two of them to spend time together making calf’s eyes at each other.”
Melanie couldn’t help a snort of laughter that escaped, making her feel highly disloyal toward her friend. She didn’t want to agree with the other woman, but really, she was right. Dr. Jeffries seemed to have managed just fine before they arrived. But they did appear to be deeply in love, and Melanie couldn’t begrudge it to them. Thankfully, aside from a delightful grin in response to Melanie’s snort, Mrs. Jenkins didn’t seem to require any response and just carried on talking.
“It’s just as well that Katie wasn’t able to come and you felt an obligation to take her place. I’ve been wanting to meet you, if you did turn out to be a real person. And here you are. And was that Cole Miller dropping you off? You girls certainly haven’t been wasting any time in the gentleman department, have you? You just pull up in the train, and you capture all our best bachelors.”
By now Melanie felt as though her face were on fire. She tried to stammer out a reply. “Oh, no, Mrs. Jenkins, it just so happened that Mr. Miller was heading this way, and he offered to give me a ride. There is nothing more to it than that.”
“Where was he going that he was heading in this direction?” Mrs. Jenkins sounded suspicious.
“I believe he was going home.” Melanie could hear how weak her explanation sounded and tried not to cringe.
“Well I’m most certainly not on his way home,” Mrs. Jenkins responded, a note of glee in her voice. “Sounds to me like you and Mr. Miller are smelling of April showers.”
Melanie blinked. She’d never heard the expression before but from the context, it was rather apparent what the older woman was implying. But Melanie refused to accept such an implication. She decided to brazen it out. “Whatever do you mean by saying this? It’s nearly June, isn’t it Mrs. Jenkins?”
Another cackle came in response. “I like you, Miss Jones. You’ve got a backbone for all your apparent timidity. Now, tell me about yourself.”
Thus admonished, and relieved that the old woman was willing to leave off teasing her about Cole, Melanie launched into an abbreviated explanation of her life and how she wound up here in Bucklin, Missouri. As she was telling the older woman a much less detailed version than she had shared with Cole, Melanie couldn’t believe that she had revealed so much to the handsome man. What must he think of her? She asked herself at the back of her mind, hoping her inner turmoil wasn’t revealing itself to Mrs. Jenkins. Some of it must have because Mrs. Jenkins was much more sympathetic than Melanie would have expected.
“You’ve definitely had your share of loss in your life, haven’t you, dear?”
Melanie blinked, trying not to show how deep was her surprise. “Well, many have had more loss than I have, just look at Katie and Annie.”
“It speaks well of you that you would say that, dearie, but it doesn’t change the fact that you’ve experienced heartache. More than many, I dare say. It’s no wonder you don’t want to go out amongst folks. You’re still in mourning, aren’t you?”
Melanie blinked again. “I hadn’t thought of it quite that way, but I dare say you’re right. Thank you, Mrs. Jenkins. That was actually quite a helpful observation.”
Mrs. Jenkins cackled again. “Well, I don’t see as how, but I’m glad you thought so. Now, tell me whatever message my friend Kate had for me. Are you here to show me more samples and badger me into ordering more gowns?”
“We would never badger a client, Mrs. Jenkins,” Melanie replied with dignity before laughing a little. “But I do have some samples with me that Katie thought might interest you.”
“She knows I can’t resist now that I’ve gotten used to these nice things you’ve made. Make yourself useful and make us some tea while I’ll look them over.”
Melanie, feeling lighter than she had in ages, bustled about the tidy kitchen, admiring its size and the convenient location of things. It was obviously a well-used room in the house that had raised a large family.
Her visit with Mrs. Jenkins came to a conclusion well before Melanie felt the need to watch the clock. As she walked away, hopefully in the right direction, Melanie couldn’t believe how comfortable she had been with the seemingly cranky old woman. She hoped her next visit went as smooth.
She had to ask for directions on the way to the Spencer house, but the couple had been kind and direct, and Melanie arrived on Mrs. Spencer’s front porch without too much difficulty. Taking a deep breath, she knocked firmly, not allowing herself time to second guess the decision.
A tall woman with unruly curls and a wide smile opened the door almost immediately. Her face fell slightly when she saw Melanie. “Oh, I was expecting someone else. Hello.”
Melanie couldn’t help a chuckle. “Good day, Mrs. Spencer, I’m sorry for the disappointment. I’m Melanie Jones, Mrs. Carter’s business partner. Katie has been called away to an important assignment, so I have stopped by in her stead. If you would prefer to speak with her, that is perfectly all right. But neither of us wanted you to be waiting for her and her not turn up.”
“No, no, that’s quite all right,” the woman answered as she opened the door wide, waving Melanie to come in. “I’m just as glad to get to meet you. There are never enough women in town, so the chance to meet a new one is a treat I won’t pass up, to
be sure. Do come in and have a cup of tea.”
Melanie grinned. She hadn’t realized how much tea Katie must have to drink in the course of her day when she was visiting the clients. No wonder she sometimes declined the offer when it was just the two of them at home. She didn’t tell any of that to Mrs. Spencer, of course. “Thank you, that’s kind of you to offer,” was the only possible answer.
With Mrs. Spencer being a bit of a chatterbox, Melanie didn’t have to make any effort as she listened to the gregarious blonde woman tell her all about her life and how she came to be in Bucklin.
“And what a wonderful surprise to find the two newest women to town are fine seamstresses! You would never believe just how happy that has made me,” the pretty blonde declared.
“Well, I am glad to be able to fill a need.”
“Oh dear me, a need is an understatement. I can barely sew on a button, so I was of no use to myself. All my pretty things that I have had since moving here were beginning to wear, and what was I to do? I didn’t feel I could go to the tailor, although I know a few of the other ladies in town have done so, merely out of desperation, of course. But you two arrived before I had to sink to that level, praise be.”
The woman rubbed her hands together, much like a child in anticipation of a treat. “Now tell me, do you have some new samples for me? Katie assured me more cloth would be arriving from Boston on the train, but I was trying not to get my hopes up too high. I’m sure anything silk would be just too much to ask for out here in the back of beyond.”
Melanie’s heart sank. Katie hadn’t told her the woman was expecting silks. She would have to use whatever skills of diplomacy she could muster. Pasting a smile onto her face, Melanie was quick to pull out her swatches.
“No silks yet, I’m afraid, but I’m sure this blue would look wonderful on you. Let me show you what we have.”
With a squeal, the woman happily plunked down on the settee beside Melanie and grabbed the bundle from her hands.
Orphan Train Series Boxed Set: Books 1 - 4 Page 39
