by Lynn Landes
A Question
of Hope
Lynn Landes
By:
Lynn Landes
Published by:
Landes Publishing
Cover art by:
Cora Graphics
www.coragraphics.it
This book is a work of fiction. All of the characters, names, and events portrayed in this novel are products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events or locales or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.
Copyright © 2020 by Lynn Landes
http://[email protected]/
All rights reserved.
Other titles by Lynn Landes:
Mercy’s Promise
Savannah’s Promise
A Question of Faith
Delta’s Dawn
Dust & Dreams
Stolen Dream’s
Treasured Dreams
Perilous Dreams
A Taste of Heaven
Book One in The Question Series …
Prologue
“Thank you, I think, for an interesting day off,” Maggie smiles at Shep and turns to open the carriage door.
“When is your next day off?” Shep asks.
Maggie stares at him and frowns. “I’m busy,”
Shep leans close, “I don’t like to play games, Miss Rose. I want to court you. When can I call on you?”
Her breath catches in her throat and her heart pounds. “Wednesday,” she murmurs.
Shep kisses her softly, desperate to show her she can trust him. “Dream of me tonight?” he whispers and sits back.
Maggie’s husky laugh surprises him. “You’re quite sure of yourself aren’t you, Shepherd?”
“Maybe,” he stops speaking when she leans forward and grasps his face in her hands.
“I think you’ll be the one dreaming, Mr. Millard,” Maggie whispers with an Irish lilt.
His grin fades replaced by desire. She takes his mouth, kissing him passionately and when he groans, she releases him and sits back.
“Now, I’ll dream about you, Shepherd. Good night.”
Shep is speechless as she climbs from the carriage. He chuckles as they pull away.
Maggie laughs as she walks up to her room inside the boarding house. Drawing her keys from her pouch, she hurries inside. It is a small room with a bed, a window and a two-person table and chair. In the winter she is thankful for the tiny room. It keeps her warm
Not so much in the summer. Heating the wood stove, she starts a pot of hot water steaming for a cup of tea.
Maggie is still smiling a few minutes later as she sips on her hot tea. A knock at the door has her heartbeat increasing in anticipation as she pulls open the door.
“Shep?”
“Not quite?” He shoves his foot in the crack of the door before she can slam it and shoulders his way into her room, causing her to drop her tea.
“Who are you?” Maggie demands and looks around desperately for a weapon.
“The real question is, who are you, Mrs. Rose?”
“I don’t understand, Sir,” Maggie attempts to run around him but he kicks the door shut and raises his pistol.
“No need to be so formal.” His eyes travel down her dress and back up, “My name’s Clint Hayden, you can call me Clint. I plan on getting to know you intimately by morning.” He grins and Maggie’s blood goes cold and her blue eyes widen in fear.
“I’m looking for someone and you will help me. Who was the man you were with today?”
“My husband,” Maggie says, “he should be back any minute and you don’t want to be here when he gets back.”
“Nice try.” Clint’s eyes harden. “Do you know what happens when a man gets desperate, Mrs. Rose?”
“Yes,” she whispers. Maggie draws a breath to scream, but a quick slap sends her reeling towards the bed and her ears ring.
“Bad things.” He fists a handful of her bodice in his hand and jerks her close. “Answer my questions and I’ll let you go. Give me a hard time and you will suffer,” he spits, leaning over her and the smell of alcohol causes her to gag. “Nod yes if you understand.”
Maggie nods and he pulls her to her feet.
“Excellent. Shall we sit?” Maggie eyes the gun and sits in a chair next to the woodstove. “I have one job, to stop the woman you helped, Mrs. Gilbert, from returning to Nebraska with the child. Tell me where she is.”
“I only met her yesterday. I’m a nurse at the Children’s hospital. I help a great number of people. They hired me to look at her baby,” Maggie explains.
“I don’t care about that! Where is she?” he sneers, and his eyes trace her figure.
“I don’t know. They left on a train before we did.”
Clint hisses in frustration and grabs a chair to sit on across from her. He leans out and grips her knee.
Maggie jumps at his touch and glares at him, casting a quick glance at the door. Clint watches her eyes and backhands her hard across the cheek, splitting her lip and causing her wig to slip. “Tell me where she is!”
“Please, I don’t know anything!” Maggie sobs.
Clint rips off the wig, ignoring Maggie’s scream of pain. He stares at her in surprise before he laughs. “You were the decoy! Smart,” he murmurs and stands up to pace.
“I’ve told you all I know,” Maggie stands up, clasping her hands in front of her, hoping he will think she’s pleading for her life.
“Which train were they on?” he demands.
“I don’t know, they left before us. It was a first date, I barely know them. Please let me go,” she begs. The moment his eyes drop to her cleavage she draws the blade from the sleeve of her dress and slices the hand holding the pistol. Maggie shrieks as he drops the pistol with a roar of outrage.
Clint leaps after her and grabs her sleeve with his bloody hand and Maggie screams again, praying someone will come to her aid.
They struggle, but she breaks away with a rip of satin. Grabbing the boiling teapot, she swings it hard at Clint. Hot steam and water hit his chest and explode upward towards his face.
Maggie leaps for the door, and rips it open, flying down the hallway, screaming for help.
The memory changes and this time she hears Clint Hayden scream her name as they pull his shirt from his chest. It peels away the blisters that formed beneath with the cloth, leaving raw skin open to the air.
“He’s lucky. It could have been his face,” the doctor snaps after he gives Clint a dose of morphine for pain.
“Tomorrow, I will make them all pay! How hard can it be to find a nurse working at the children’s ward? Maggie Rose, I’m coming for you!”
***
Maggie jerks awake, heart pounding and glances at the man beside her. She clutches her bag tightly against her chest as they wait for the train. What are you doing, Maggie? Her brain screams at her. Riding out of town with a stranger! He’s not a stranger, Maggie, her heart tells her.
Shepherd Millard glances at her and reaches for her hand. “Out with it, Miss Rose,” he teases.
“This seems excessive, Shepherd. Where are we going?” she asks nervously.
“Arizona. My family has a ranch, and you will be safe there,” he promises.
Maggie glances away, looking around her, she panics. But the moment she thinks about running, the whistle sounds for them to board.
Shep has his tree branch of an arm around her shoulder, keeping her close at all times. Not that she minds, he smells amazing she thinks and immediately chastises herself. Focus, Maggie!
A private cabin was out of the question. Maggie and Shep crowd into coach seats and soon the train is moving. Maggie lets Shep pull her into his side and she savors the heat his body
offers.
The further they get from the city the fewer people crowd around them. Shep stretches his large, muscular legs out and Maggie moves a seat away from him to give herself some space. He can’t seem to keep his hands to himself. It’s driving her to distraction, stroking her arm and holding her hand to guide her through the station.
“I’m sorry, Maggie, but I’ve got to rest,” Shep slurs and soon is snoring. He is leaning against the window with his legs stretched out in front of him.
“Your husband sounds like a bear,” a boy says to her from the seat in front of them.
Maggie laughs and nods at him. His mother fusses at him, “Let the poor woman rest, Thomas.” He drops into his seat.
“Would you happen to have any paper?” Maggie leans forward and asks the woman.
“Of course, it’s the only way to keep him busy on the train,” she says and digs out a slip of paper from her bag and a pencil.
“Thank you,” she says and sits back down. Thomas peeks at her through the crack of the seats until his mother pokes him again.
Guilt has her blushing with shame as she pulls Shep’s wallet from the inside pocket of his coat. She will need money to travel with and he made her leave town so quickly. Maggie sits back and opens the wallet, and counts. Two hundred fifty dollars! She takes all the cash except ten dollars. She rolls it up and stuffs it inside of her corset. Quickly jotting a note, she leans over him and slips the wallet with the note safely tucked inside back inside his coat pocket. She sighs with relief when he doesn’t wake up.
“Goodbye big guy,” she presses a quick kiss to his mouth and wipes a tear as she stands up.
The train stops and her heart is pounding when she grabs her bag. One backward glance at him and she forces herself to walk away from him.
“Time to get my life back,” she murmurs and hurries from the train. “I don’t need him. I can get a job anywhere,” she reminds herself as she hurries through the train station to the desk to buy a ticket.
“Where to?” the gentleman asks.
“One ticket to Denver, Colorado please.”
“That train will leave in a half hour. All I have is first class, Miss?”
Maggie frowns at him, wondering if it’s possible that they will come after her. “Maggie Rose,” she replies. “First class is fine,” she offers the money and accepts the tickets with a smile. “Thank you.”
Walking away from Shepherd Millard wasn’t easy, but it was necessary. He’s trouble in a very large, very handsome package. When he asked for her help she quickly agreed because she was attracted to him, but she has learned the hard way that men can’t be trusted. Rubbing her bruised face, she reminds herself that time heals all wounds. Shepherd Millard is a distraction that she can’t afford.
“I will be fine. I don’t need anyone, and Colorado has a children’s hospital.” Lucky for her, she will easily find work. “They won’t bother coming after me. Everything will be fine.” Shepherd will get on with his life and Clint well she prays that he forgets about her. Maggie hardens her heart and walks away.
Shep wakes up two hours later and stretches. The surrounding seats are empty except for the one with a little boy staring at him.
“Can I have my pencil back?” the child demands.
“What pencil?” Shep asks and turns to look up the aisle for Maggie. She’s probably in the lady’s room, he thinks.
“The one the lady used to write with,” he whispers so he doesn’t wake his mother. “I’m not supposed to talk to strangers,” he points at the chair where Shep sees a pencil.
His heart drops to his stomach, and he frowns as he picks it up and gives it to the child. “Here you go. Did you see which way the lady went?”
“Yep, she got off the train after she wrote her note.”
“What?” he gasps and jumps up, almost banging his head on the overhead compartment.
“I watched her. She was sad.”
“What’s your name, son?” Shep asks as he drops back into his seat. There’s nothing he can do until the train stops.
“Thomas. I’m five.”
“Thank you for your help young Thomas,” Shep pulls out some candy from his side pocket and offers Thomas one.
“Tell me everything she did, and I will give you some candy,” he whispers.
Thomas grins.
Shep hands over the candy after they talk and draws out his wallet. With trembling hands, he reads her handwriting.
“Shepherd,
It has been a unique experience getting to know you and your friends these past few days. I have no room in my life for the chaos that seems to revolve around you. I was happy to help your friend and her baby, but it’s time for me to get back to my life.
Please forgive me for taking the cash, but I need to get a train ticket. I will repay you just as soon as I find a job. Be safe and thank you for your kindness.
I will think of you fondly and wish you well,
Miss Maggie Rose.”
“You’ll think of me fondly?” Shep growls and balls up the paper. “Damn fool of a woman!”
Is she wrong? No. They dragged her into this and forced her to leave her job, her home and state. He frowns, perhaps he should just let her go. What is the possibility that they will look for her, he asks himself?
Sitting back in the chair he unfolds the note and reads it again. He misses her already, her touch, her scent, the feel of her in his arms.
“Yep, that’s just how she looked too, before she kissed you goodbye. Why did you make her cry?” Thomas asks.
“Kissed me? You left that part out, Thomas. Was she crying?” Shep asks with a grin.
“She said, ‘Goodbye, big bear,’ and kissed you.” Thomas wrinkled his nose up and Shep laughs behind his hand.
“Thomas you’re a wonder! It’s a good thing she didn’t know about my boots,” he grins and pulls one off. The spare roll of cash drops out and he counts it. Not much, but it should be enough to get him back to the last train station.
Shep pulls his boot back on and grabs his bags from the overhang. Time to get off this train and find his Rose.
Chapter 1
Denver, Colorado
January 1880
Maggie helps wrap the child’s arm after the doctor leaves and glances at his worried mother. “Don’t worry, Charlie will be fine. Boys break bones all the time, though I’d recommend keeping him out of trees for the time being.”
“Thank you, Miss Rose,” she wipes her tears, hugs her son.
Maggie moves to the next curtain. She smoothed her blonde hair and grabs the chart before opening the curtain of her next patient.
“Maggie, someone’s asking for you up front,” another nurse says.
“Oh?” her stomach drops, and she glances down at the chart one more time. “Did they give a name?”
“No, but he’s handsome,” she teases.
“I see. Please tell him that I’m with a patient,” Maggie laughs.
“Nonsense, you go on. Your shift was over an hour ago. I’ll take care of this one. You work too much,” she insists.
Maggie frowns and tries to hide how much her hands are shaking. It’s not him, she tells herself. Clint Hayden had more important things to take care of. He couldn’t know she was in Colorado.
“Thank you,” she hands over the chart and waits until the nurse steps behind the curtain to move.
“You’ve planned for this Maggie,” she tells herself as she walks up front. You filed a police report as soon as you got to town and they will arrest him if he dares to show up. Clint Hayden became a problem when she helped a family with a newly adopted baby and allowed herself to be drawn into the drama of their lives. Clint attacked her to get to them, and she ran.
Maggie stops outside the door and tries to peak outside, but she doesn’t see anyone. Hurrying to the Nurse’s station, she removes the name of the last patient she worked with, before glancing around again.
“Miss Rose?” a male voice says from behin
d her.
Maggie turns and her smile falters, “Yes?” she doesn’t recognize the older man, thankfully it isn’t who she thought. He offers her some flowers and smiles.
“Excellent,” he smiles. “I wanted to thank you for your kind service. My wife, Dara is recovering at home after your excellent care and enjoying our grandchildren.”
“That’s very kind of you, you didn’t have to bring me flowers, but I will enjoy them. They are lovely,” she smiles softly and inhales the scent.
“I hope so. I’ll let you get back to work. Thank you again.” He strides from the entrance to the double doors.
“You’re welcome,” she murmurs and watches him go. She lets out a sigh of relief once he’s gone.
“Time to go home, Maggie,” she declares.
“That’s nice. Our patients are the best,” a nurse says from behind her. “I’ll get a vase for them.”
“Thank you.” She smells the flowers one more time wishing they were from a certain tall, handsome, Architect who has probably forgotten all about her by now.
“I’m clocking out. I’ll see you tomorrow,” Maggie says. When she drops the flowers into the vase, a note catches her attention.
“A rose for a rose,
Some petals are meant to be savored
Some are meant to be crushed,
I can’t wait to do both to you.”
C. Hayden.
“Oh, No!” All the color fades from Maggie’s face. When she looks up, Clint Hayden is walking across the lobby towards her.
Maggie doesn’t hesitate, she runs. Bursting through the doors that take her into the private area meant only for nurses and doctors. She pulls the emergency chord that will bring all the medical staff running.
