by Renee Ryan
“I can assure you, I speak the truth. We finalized the transaction two days ago.”
“But it can’t be true. He’s worked too hard to make this the most respectable hotel in the West.” She spun around, soaking in the changes, understanding them now. Placing her hand against her heart, she took a calming breath. “You’ve ruined this hotel. What have you done with all the fine crystal and the imported furniture?” She glanced up at the ceiling. “And the exquisite chandelier?”
“Unnecessary extravagances, all of them.” He took a long drag from his cigar and blew the smoke in her face. “I sold the most expensive pieces immediately—at a hefty profit, I might add.”
Prescott placed a solicitous hand on her arm but she shrugged him loose. “You’re nothing but an outlaw.”
“Miss O’Connor, I’m in the business of making money. Now come with me.”
She narrowed her eyes. “Come with you where?”
He offered his hand with such charm she almost took it, before she noticed the malice behind the gesture. “We’ll discuss the terms of my agreement with Mr. Dupree in my office.”
His office? Oh. Oh. Prescott really was the new owner of the hotel. “What could your arrangement with Marc possibly have to do with me?”
“You’ll have to wait and see.” He headed to the back of the hotel, not bothering to see if she followed.
Laney dashed after him, the sinking feeling in the pit of stomach churning into waves of despair.
Entering the office behind him, she watched as he went directly to his desk and rummaged through the top drawer. While she waited, Laney surveyed the changes here, too.
Where there had once been order now stood chaos. Papers were strewn everywhere. The pictures on the mantel—gone. The armoire—gone. The grand pieces of furniture carefully selected and placed in perfect harmony with one another—replaced with a serviceable desk and three hardback chairs.
Angry righteousness replaced her confusion. “How dare you do this to him?”
“It would appear, Miss O’Connor, that you don’t know your lover so well, after all.”
She cringed at both the accusation and the ugly summation of her relationship with Marc.
“Do you want to know why he sold me the hotel?”
“Yes.”
“It was for this.” Prescott shoved a paper at her.
She took the document, but didn’t look down, choosing to keep her gaze planted on his. “What is this?”
“The deed to the house next door to your orphanage, listed in your name.”
“What?” She couldn’t have possibly heard him right.
Impatience replaced Prescott’s previous self-satisfaction. “Try to keep up, Miss O’Connor. Marc Dupree sold this hotel and then purchased the house next door to your orphanage. He mentioned something about turning it into a school for those brats of yours.”
Marc had bought them a house to turn into a school? But that couldn’t be true. He wouldn’t sacrifice this hotel, not even for the children.
Would he?
He’d paid off her loan, yes. And he’d given her a crate of fruit. But the Hotel Dupree was his security, his future. He’d put his heart into this place.
“I can’t believe this,” she whispered. But she could believe it. Marc Dupree was the best man she knew, the most generous. Purchasing a house to turn into a school was exactly the sort of thing he would do.
“When did you say Marc sold the hotel to you?”
“Two days ago, he came to my office, offering to sell this hotel for a price I couldn’t refuse.” He smiled in wicked satisfaction, as if he’d duped Marc somehow. Laney doubted that.
“Once we settled on terms,” Prescott continued, “I worked out the details for him to purchase the house next to yours.”
At last, she looked down at the document in her hand, read the name on the deed to the house. Her name.
Oh, Marc, you kind man. What have you done?
“Tell me he had money left over after buying this house.”
“How would I know that? Once our business was complete he asked that I give you the deed when next I saw you. He must have known you would come here looking for him.”
He’d trusted that she would come to him eventually. He’d known her better than she’d known herself. Suddenly there was too much information for her brain to take in. “I...thank you.”
“Don’t thank me, thank him. To be honest, Miss O’Connor, I can’t fathom why the man did this, especially when he’d only just laid his wife to rest. Or perhaps,” he gave her a patronizing grin, “I can fathom why he did it, after all.”
Her thoughts snapped to attention. “What did you say?”
“I’m not in the habit of repeating myself.” He wrapped his fingers around her arm and began ushering her out of his office. “Now, it’s time for you to leave.”
Laney dug in her heels. “Wait. What did you say about his wife?”
“Tragic, really. She died about three or four days ago. An overdose of laudanum, I heard. But you already know that, don’t you?”
“Pearl’s dead?” She’d known the woman was on a path of self-destruction. But...dead?
Oh, Lord, no. Laney didn’t want Marc. Not like this.
It must have happened just after Marc had come to Charity House, pleading with her to listen to him. She’d been so tangled inside her own despair she hadn’t realized he’d needed her compassion.
Thinking back, she recalled his glassy eyes, the sorrow lying just below the surface of his appeals.
He’d come for comfort, and she’d banished him without honoring his request. Oh, Marc, what you must have gone through.
“Miss O’Connor.” Prescott shoved her forward again, impatience meshing into his words. “I insist you leave my hotel.”
Too deep inside her confusion, Laney allowed the man to escort her through the hotel lobby. At the revolving doors, she wrenched her arm free and walked outside on her own steam.
Her mind tried to work through all she’d just learned, but one thought kept rising above the others. She’d refused Marc’s assistance every time he’d offered it. Yet he continued to provide for her and the children, with the final sacrifice of his hotel.
Urgency had her increasing her pace. She had to find him, had to tell him she understood. And beg him to forgive her.
She stopped dead in her tracks.
What if Marc had left town? What if that was the reason he’d given the deed to Prescott?
The clip-clop of horses’ hooves and the creaking of wagon wheels streamed together with the chaotic noises in her mind. She glanced around her, looking at everything and yet seeing nothing. The longer she stood rooted to the spot, the more she grieved for Marc, for Pearl, for what might have been had Laney been a kinder person.
She had to find him, had to tell him how sorry she was for his loss, and then she would thank him for his extraordinary gift. As she marched through the streets of Denver, Laney could only think of one person who would know where Marc was staying.
Marshal Trey Scott.
Turning in the direction of the jailhouse, Laney prayed she wasn’t too late. She prayed, with all her heart, that Marc hadn’t left town.
Chapter Twenty-Five
As it turned out, Marshal Scott had left Denver abruptly, not Marc. Trey’s newly appointed deputy, Logan Mitchell, had revealed where Marc was staying, after a little wheedling on Laney’s part.
Now that she knew where to find Marc, all she had to do was prepare for the most important conversation of her life. She started with prayer.
Lord, I pray You give me the words that will bring forgiveness and healing, not add more pain, I... She took a deep breath, braced herself, and finally, simply, let go. I surrender my future into Your hands.
Peace filled her, the kind she’d never experienced until this moment. Trusting the Lord was so much easier than she’d expected. A hard lesson learned, one she vowed to remember the rest of her life.
Thankful she�
��d accepted Sally’s gold dress as a gift, Laney studied her reflection in the full-length mirror with a critical eye. Tonight, every detail had to be addressed purposely—nothing could be left to chance.
After making a few more adjustments from different angles she focused once more on her reflection. Perfect. She looked just as she had that first night she’d entered the Hotel Dupree. The dress hugged her figure as though it had been made for her, setting off her coloring and adding an air of contentment that hadn’t been there the last time.
She took special care with the finishing touch. Twisting her hair on top of her head, she pulled a few tendrils loose and smiled at the result.
“You’ll do.” She picked up her reticule and secured the strings around her wrist.
She was ready.
Or so she thought. The moment she crossed the room a wave of nervousness shot through her stomach, making her knees buckle. She reached out and steadied herself on the doorjamb. The next hour could very well decide the rest of her life.
No. Anxiety had no place here. She had to surrender her need for control. And just...believe.
Head high, she pushed away from the door and marched briskly down the stairs to the front parlor.
“Well?” She spun in a slow circle. “How do I look?”
Katherine smiled. “Exactly like the first time you went to the Hotel Dupree.”
Laney plucked at an invisible thread on her skirt then smoothed the material with surprisingly shaky fingers. “Do you think he’ll understand why I’m wearing this dress?”
“Mr. Dupree is a smart man.” Katherine leaned forward and kissed her cheek. “He’ll know what you’re up to.”
“Is my timing off?” Laney’s heart tumbled to her stomach then bounced back up to her throat. “I don’t want Marc to think I’m only coming to him now that Pearl is dead.”
“Then tell him that.” Always the voice of reason, Katherine squeezed her arm. “Explain how sorry you are for his loss.”
Laney considered her friend for a moment. “You’re very wise. I’m glad I have you in my life.”
“I’m glad, too.”
Casting a quick glance around the parlor, Laney pulled one giant gulp of air into her lungs and then stretched out her hand. “Gloves, please.”
Smiling, Katherine slapped them into her palm. “I’ll be right here waiting for you. I’ll want all the details.”
“And so you shall have them.”
For all her bravado, for all her conviction to trust the Lord, Laney still found herself hesitating on the front porch. She took a slow, calming breath. The gesture did little to dispel her nerves. She was, after all, about to tell the man she loved she wanted him in her life, even if he only wanted her friendship for now.
A wave of doubt crested. Rely on God’s will, she reminded herself, not your own.
With a hard swallow, she shoved the unwanted emotion into submission. This was no time for uncertainty. Yet her feet felt as though they’d accumulated ten pounds of lead, making every step across the porch agonizingly slow.
What happened to all her spunk and fortitude? Where was the Laney O’Connor that only a month ago had defied an arrogant hotel owner, a shady banker and a stern-looking U.S. marshal?
This reluctance was just plain absurd. Pulling herself together, she stepped to the edge of the porch and studied the evening sky. Stars twinkled overhead like white diamonds secured against black fabric. And although the sun had set hours ago, modern gaslights bathed the neighborhood streets in a golden, welcoming glow, as if lighting her path.
Would she find her happy ending tonight?
She had to believe that she would.
But try as she might to think only of what she would say once she found Marc, thoughts of Pearl intruded. Tears pushed at the back of her eyelids, a reminder of the poor woman’s struggles, the same Laney’s mother had suffered.
No matter how it might seem to outsiders, Laney had never wanted her own happiness at the expense of Pearl’s. But she had to remember that she hadn’t brought on the woman’s agony. Marc’s wife had already been on a path of destruction long before she’d come in search of him at his hotel.
Regardless of how she died, Laney had to make sure Marc understood how sad she was for him, how much she loved him and was willing to wait for him to grieve for his wife, no matter how long that might take.
What if he doesn’t want me anymore?
No. She couldn’t give into doubt now.
At the bottom of the steps she felt her attention pulled to the other side of the fence. Lifting her chin, she connected her gaze with a compelling pair of steel-blue eyes.
Her breathing hitched in her throat. For one, insane moment, every rational thought receded from her mind. But then, the chaos in her head cleared. And she thought, well, of course he’d come looking for me at the same moment I was heading to find him.
Riveted into immobility, she continued staring at the handsome man on the other side of the fence. He stared back. Boldly, insistently. That look, she thought, that soft, loving gaze sent a shiver tripping along her spine.
His lips curved around a fixed smile.
Oh, my.
You love him, she told herself. With all your heart.
The reminder helped her recover the necessary courage to open the gate and motion Marc forward.
He stopped within feet of her and ran his gaze over her from her head to toe and back again. “I must say, you look especially lovely this evening.”
“You’re looking quite handsome yourself.” As though by some sort of silent understanding, he too wore the exact clothing he’d donned the first night they’d met.
Rather than taking away from his severe good looks, the crisp white shirt, red silk vest and matching tie added to the classic elegance and dignity that defined him.
Her feet itched to cross the short divide between them, to throw herself into his arms, but she forced her feet to remain where they were. This was her one chance to show him how much she’d changed since last he’d been here.
He’d given her many gifts during their short acquaintance. She hoped to give him one in return. The one that mattered most. Her trust.
“I have something important to say to you,” she began. “But first, I want you to know how sorry I am for your loss. You must know I never wished Pearl dead.”
“Nor did I.” His eyes clouded over with sadness.
She wanted to reach out to him, to comfort him, but she could see he still had more to say.
“I thought I could change Pearl, save her from the life she’d chosen.” Threading fingers through his hair, his eyes darkened to a turbulent blue. “But she didn’t want my help. I guess she never did. Her life was a tragedy begun long before I ever met her.”
He was probably right. But Laney could see how Pearl’s determination to destroy herself hurt him. Although Prescott had told Laney about Pearl’s overdose, she wasn’t sure she could trust the man to have told her the truth. “How did she die?”
“She took an overdose of laudanum shortly after she railed at you in my office.”
Laney’s heart sank. “I hate to think our confrontation in your office pushed her over the edge.”
“Neither of us killed her. That much I know. Pearl made her choices. She consumed an entire bottle of laudanum after she’d already had too much whiskey in her system. Shane said she might have survived had she stuck to one or the other, but together...” His words died off, the rest of his explanation unnecessary.
Laney sighed. “I’m sorry I didn’t listen to you when you came to me the other day. I never stopped to think that Pearl might have died and you needed my comfort.”
“These weeks have been hard on us all.”
“Forgive me,” she said.
“It’s I who needs forgiveness.” He folded his arms across his chest, as though needing to keep his distance still. “When I first met you, I had a hard heart. I was consumed with taking back what I thought others had s
tolen from me. But knowing you and loving you changed me. I looked at everything I had worked so hard to accomplish and it all seemed meaningless. Like I was chasing the wind.”
“Oh, Marc, I wasn’t much better, intentionally misleading you to believe I was untrustworthy. Can you ever forgive me for my foolish pride? For thinking I could face the world alone, without your help?”
“It’s never been about me forgiving you. It’s always been about you forgiving yourself.”
He was right. So, so right. “I know that now. Most of my mistakes were rooted in my pride. I pushed your help away because I wanted to cling to the very independence that in the end provided me with only loneliness and misery. I want you in my life. However you’ll have me.”
At last, he closed the distance between them and pulled her into his embrace. Burying his face in her hair, he breathed in deeply. “Laney, honey, it was your willingness to fight the odds on the behalf of the children that showed me the meaning of love. I want to live like that, to love like that, to make sacrifices for the people in my life.”
Laney’s heart constricted, knowing he’d already done so, by selling his hotel. “I know you sold your hotel and bought the house next door for us to start a school. I... That is... Thank you.” She tightened her arms around him. “Thank you for sacrificing your future for Charity House.”
He lifted his head, and gave her the smile she loved so much. “I’m still a very wealthy man. Even if I’d given the hotel away for free I would have had plenty of money to keep our orphanage afloat for a very long time.”
It wasn’t the revelation of his wealth that took her by surprise, but the way he referred to Charity House as our orphanage that told her everything would work out for them.
But just to be sure...
“Are you saying you want to be a part of all this?” Laney waved her hand in the general direction of the house behind her.
“I’m all yours. However you’ll have me.”
She nestled deeper into his arms. “Does that mean you’re going to make me an honest woman someday, once you’re finished grieving for Pearl?”
“Laney O’Connor, is that your subtle way of asking me to marry you?”
