The Engagement Charade

by Karen Kirst

The other woman wore a pleased as punch expression. The customers were whispering and staring. The reverend’s wife, Carole Munroe, left her corner table.

  “Congratulations, Ellie.” She clasped Ellie’s hand. “I’m happy for you.”

  “Thank you.”

  “The ladies at church will want to know what you need for the baby, so start on a list.”

  “That’s very thoughtful, but—”

  “I agree, that’s extremely generous.” Alexander’s hand slid up her spine and came to rest atop her shoulder. “Ellie, you will need a great many items, some things you may not have thought of.”

  There was that concern again, peeking through his professional demeanor and making her feel like he cared about her. Maybe, at some point during these past weeks, he’d come to see her as a friend. The notion pleased her.

  “You’re right.” Turning back to Carole, she said, “Thank you, again. I’ll take you up on that suggestion.”

  When they were once again alone, she quipped, “My ears will no doubt be burning tonight.”

  “It was bound to happen eventually.”

  Her in-laws’ relative isolation wouldn’t protect her from what was sure to be an ugly confrontation. Sooner or later, they’d learn she was carrying Nolan’s child. What happened after that was anyone’s guess.

  Chapter Ten

  “Alexander?” Ellie peered at him with a familiar knit of her brow. “There’s no reason for you to accompany me if you have other things to do. Mr. Darling will send everything over later. All I have to do is ask.”

  He blinked and shook his head. “I’m free at the moment,” he said, his throat muddy. “I, ah, was lost in thought, that’s all.”

  Gently linking her arm though his, he checked the street before guiding her across. He wasn’t sure exactly what was happening to him. The more time he spent in his cook’s presence, the more aware he became of her many sterling character traits. This morning, much to his chagrin, the sight of her had jolted him, the activity around him blurring into slow motion.

  That couldn’t be good.

  Two weeks had passed since the day of Flo’s accident and the revelation of Ellie’s pregnancy. She was well into her fifth month and visibly showing. Her face had rounded out. Her skin glowed. And her rose-hued lips seemed fuller than ever. The boyish waif with the perky ponytail had disappeared. She’d transformed into a beautiful young woman, and Alexander couldn’t stop staring. Nor could he stop the growing need to push past the bounds of employer-employee.

  He’d thought he was stronger. He’d thought he’d insulated himself enough.

  He’d thought he’d hurt so much that he’d never risk hurting that way again.

  Glancing at the bright-eyed beauty beside him, he was startled to realize the torment he’d endured in Texas seemed like a whole other lifetime. Guilt immediately flooded him. How dare he forget, even for a second, the sweet boy he’d held in his arms on the fire-scorched grass, the son he’d rocked in his arms and wept over as he cried out to God for a reprieve? And Sarah, his innocent, fragile wife...

  On the boardwalk, Alexander immediately drew away from Ellie and, instead of blocking the memories, he welcomed them. He could never forget what it meant to lose everything he’d ever held dear.

  Inside the mercantile, a handful of customers browsed the aisles. He told Ellie he’d wait by the sales counter and peruse items in the glass cases while she shopped. Not allowing his attention to linger on her orchid-colored dress and the way it enhanced her figure, he stared out the plate-glass window with a view of the heart of town.

  His thoughts turned to his brother and sister and the latest letter he’d received. Margaret had big news to share—she was hoping to tell him in person. Couldn’t he come home at last? Even for a short visit?

  He hadn’t yet put pen to paper, but there was no question of his returning. That would never happen.

  The bell above the entrance signaled newcomers. Alexander casually glanced that direction, only to straighten and search the store for Ellie. He wasn’t the only one. Gladys and Nadine were clearly on a mission, and gauging from their expressions, they knew about the baby.

  His protective instincts roared to life. Circumventing shoppers, he took a circuitous route to her side.

  “Ellie.”

  She dragged her attention away from the china display and gifted him with a smile. “Bored already?”

  “It’s not that—”

  “There you are, Ellie Jameson.” Gladys’s voice snapped like a whip, alerting the store occupants to the brewing storm.

  Last time he’d seen her, she’d been preparing to retire for the night. The older woman looked far more menacing with her silver-streaked black hair stretched into a tight bun, exposing her eagle-like bone structure.

  Trepidation tightened Ellie’s features as she turned to face her in-laws. “Good morning, Gladys. Nadine.”

  The mother-daughter duo glared at her. The open hatred in their eyes set off warning bells inside Alexander. This wasn’t a case of simple dislike or even jealousy. They despised Ellie, a fact he had trouble wrapping his mind around.

  “Did you think we’d never learn the truth?” Gladys spat. “Do you take us for fools?”

  Positioned beside a display of stacked, tinned fruits, Nadine stared at Ellie’s bulging tummy with a strange mixture of horror and longing. “How could you not tell us? That baby is a Jameson. He belongs with his kin.”

  Ellie held herself with dignity and poise. “This baby is mine and Nolan’s. No one else’s.”

  The skin tightened across Gladys’s cheekbones. “You’re wrong if you think you’re capable of raising a baby on your own. Stop this nonsense and come home.”

  “You’ll need help, Ellie,” Nadine insisted, a hint of desperation leaching into her voice. “You know you will. Ralph and I can fill that need while you recuperate.” She briefly glanced at Alexander. “You wouldn’t even have to give up your job. You could continue working while I care for the baby.”

  Ellie sucked in a bracing breath. “I’m happy where I am.”

  Taking a menacing step forward, Gladys stretched out her sun-ravaged, age-spotted hand. “You can’t keep us from the baby!”

  Alexander’s muscles tightened, ready to spring into action. Out of the corner of his eye, he noticed the proprietor, Quinn Darling, rounding the sales counter and heading their way.

  Ellie set her chin at a militant angle. “Whether or not you spend time with my child depends on your behavior. This ugly display isn’t helping your cause.”

  Uncaring of the gathering onlookers, Gladys spewed disparaging remarks that drew gasps.

  “My son never should’ve married you,” she continued, her face screwed into sour lines. “You weren’t good enough for Nolan. You certainly aren’t good enough to raise my grandchild.”

  Alexander had had enough. Ellie was visibly shaking.

  He positioned himself in front of her, a human barrier. “I won’t allow you to further harass Ellie. She’s a kind, decent person and has done nothing to deserve your spiteful behavior.”

  Quinn’s authoritative voice ordered the gathered patrons to continue about their business. They were slow to heed his command, of course. Before he could reach their group, Gladys waved her finger beneath Alexander’s nose.

  “You’ve been sniffing around her skirt tails for weeks. What exactly are your intentions toward my daughter-in-law?”

  Alexander felt the weight of every single person’s gaze. He looked at Ellie but couldn’t decipher any one emotion. She’d handled herself admirably in this confrontation, but what would happen when there weren’t witnesses? He couldn’t stand by and allow her to be bullied when he was in the position to act.

  Threading his fingers through hers, he summoned a smile. “My i
nterest in Ellie is easily explained, Mrs. Jameson. I am her fiancé.”

  * * *

  His words had the effect of an approaching brush fire. Chaos erupted. Ellie darted through the aisles, bent on escape. Worried, Alexander bypassed patrons and entered the deserted hallway linking the mercantile to Nicole Darling’s seamstress shop in the rear of the building. He heard a door open and bang closed. Lengthening his stride, he exited onto the landing of a steep set of stairs.

  “Ellie!”

  Paying him no heed, she continued along the alley used mainly for deliveries. Beyond the dirt road, the river gurgled a rocky pattern at the base of a hillside alive with autumn finery. Shades of orange, scarlet and yellow reflected on the water’s surface.

  Ellie crossed a wide, wooden bridge and entered the shaded lane beyond. She was in the cover of trees when he caught up to her.

  “Ellie.” He reached out and lightly skimmed her back. “You can’t run forever.”

  She abruptly stopped but didn’t turn around. Winded, he moved to stand before her, dismayed by the evidence of tear tracks on her cheeks.

  “You’re upset.”

  Not meeting his gaze, she dashed away her tears. “I don’t know what I am.” Her lips quivered. “I underestimated their reaction. I should’ve known they wouldn’t be reasonable, especially Nadine. She’s never been able to conceive.” Putting her hands to her forehead, she started pacing. Leaves crunched beneath her boots. “She’s desperate for a baby. I’m telling you, Alexander, she’s not stable. I should’ve left Gatlinburg. Should’ve left the state. They never would’ve found out...”

  Alexander intercepted her, settling his hands on her shoulders. The cotton was smooth beneath his palms. “Ellie, stop. Working yourself into a tizzy isn’t good for you or the baby.”

  Her throat working, she lifted her molten gaze to his. “I’m frightened, Alexander.”

  Ignoring the warning he was repeating history, he pulled her close. She didn’t hesitate. Didn’t resist. She leaned into him, accepting his comfort as if in the habit of doing so. She clutched his jacket lapels and pressed her cheek to his chest. A shudder wracked her. He curled one arm about her waist, his right hand tucked against her side, and ran his fingertips in soothing patterns along her upper back.

  Alexander closed his eyes and basked in the rare contact. Ellie was warm, soft and sweet-smelling, her swollen tummy a slight barrier between them. Her baby meant the world to her. Because he’d walked through the nightmare of loving and losing a child, he would never allow a woman as purehearted as her to suffer the same fate. Not if he could help it.

  The longer they stood there locked in each other’s arms, the more frantic the distress signal inside his head became. He’d rescued Sarah by marrying her. Here he was claiming to be Ellie’s fiancé in order to shield her from her in-laws. Hadn’t he learned his lesson?

  This situation isn’t the same, he reassured himself. I feel responsible for Ellie because of our working relationship. He was her boss. Naturally he wished to protect her, to assist her as he would any one of his employees.

  Sniffling, Ellie eased out of his embrace. He masked his disappointment by digging in his suit jacket for a handkerchief.

  She accepted it with a wobbly smile. “Thank you for what you did, Alexander. For standing up for me. It’s been a long time since I had a champion. I asked God for a friend, and He delivered.”

  Alexander’s heart stuttered. Ellie viewed him as an answer to prayer?

  “I can’t say I’m not surprised,” she tacked on. “I never expected you to claim an engagement to me.”

  He held up his hands. “It wasn’t planned, believe me. Are you angry? You saw how everyone reacted, like I blasted a cannonball into the crowd.”

  “I’m not angry. I understand your reasons for doing it.” Gratefulness warmed her eyes. “However, I can’t condone a lie.”

  “It doesn’t have to be a lie,” he blurted, surprising himself. “I will gladly be your temporary fiancé for as long as you require it.”

  “Why would you do that? I’ve known you long enough to know you don’t readily insert yourself into other people’s problems.”

  “You’re right. I don’t. But you single-handedly saved the café. I owe you.”

  “There’s more to it than that.”

  Alexander searched for the right words. “My wife, Sarah, and I grew up in the same town. We went to school together. Attended the same church.” He shrugged. “Her father, Elias, had a reputation as being a hard man. I didn’t pay the rumors or Sarah much heed. I was too wrapped up in ranch business for that. After my father passed and I assumed the running of it, I started thinking about settling down. It was around that time that I witnessed Sarah being harassed by a much older man, Cyrus Pollard. He’d cornered her at a church social, out of the view of others, and was clearly frightening her.”

  “He had a romantic interest in her?”

  He nodded, sickened all over again. “I came to her aid, thinking Elias would thank me for protecting his only daughter. He was livid. Turned out he’d promised Sarah to the old codger in exchange for land. Cyrus’s ranch ran alongside his own. His greed outweighed Sarah’s happiness.”

  “You married her to protect her from both men.”

  “I loved my wife.” If he’d wondered at times if there was supposed to be more to a husband-wife relationship, he hadn’t dwelled on it. “She gave me a son.”

  There was no condemnation in her eyes. She understood his actions.

  A snap echoed above their heads, and a black walnut plummeted to the ground not far from where they stood. Alexander snagged the palm-sized nut and, tilting his head back, examined the branches.

  Discarding it, he held his arm out. “Let’s not risk a headache.”

  She placed her hand in the inner curve of his elbow and allowed him to guide her back to the bridge. Using the wooden railing as a support, she observed the river below, murky water trickling over moss-crusted rocks and yellowed leaves floating on the surface. A pair of ducks splashed near the far bank.

  “Tell me about Sarah.”

  Alexander pulled his gaze away from the autumn scene. “Everyone who met her liked her.” With shiny blond hair, big blue eyes and a face that could’ve inspired sonnets, her comportment had been that of a damsel in distress. He’d had the thought once that she liked being a victim and immediately felt ashamed. “As pretty as a picture, she’d been born with a delicate constitution. She was sick a lot.”

  “That must’ve made it difficult for her to uphold her role as a rancher’s wife.”

  “Fortunately, we had Rosa. My father hired her not long after my mother’s passing. She cleaned and cooked and became like a favorite aunt to us all. She was a great help whenever Sarah became ill.”

  Ellie’s soft smile dispelled the troubling memories. “Sounds like you hold a deep fondness for her.”

  “I’m not sure what would’ve happened to me and my siblings if we hadn’t had her. She tended our scrapes, tucked us in bed, taught us the Scriptures, comforted us when we missed our mother. I haven’t seen her since the funeral...”

  Grief tried to claim him, suck him under and snuff out the light. He released the railing and started walking without direction. The sight of those plain wooden caskets had almost felled him, and he’d barely made it through that grueling service. Ellie’s whispering touch against the back of his hand drew him once more to the present.

  She fell into step beside him. Ahead, the mountains framed the wooden buildings of Main Street and, farther in the distance, the church’s steeple. A wagon lumbered farther up the lane, weighted down by recent purchases.

  “You’ve never told me the details of what happened.”

  “Their deaths haunt me. It’s not a burden I like to place on anyone else.”

 
; She seized his hand and held on, forcing him to stop. “I’m strong enough to hear it, Alexander. Remember what I told you after I shared my losses?”

  He stared woodenly at the barber shop sign. “You said it was a relief not to shoulder the truth alone.”

  “They died in a fire. Where? On the ranch?”

  “Yes, on the ranch,” he snapped, tugging free. “In a fire that was meant for me.”

  “Someone wanted to harm you?” Disbelief threaded her voice. “Cyrus?”

  “He was only part of the problem. The instigator was my own father-in-law.” Hatred burned in his heart with the same intensity of a flaring ulcer. “Elias couldn’t resolve the fact I’d spoiled his plans. He wanted rid of me and concocted a plan to do just that.”

  Her brown eyes were swimming with sorrow. “But Sarah and your son...”

  “Levi,” he rasped. “His name was Levi.”

  “They were in the wrong place at the wrong time.”

  Pinching the bridge of his nose to ward off an encroaching headache, he nodded. “I tried to save them. I was too late.”

  “Oh, Alexander.”

  He covered her hand where she’d placed it on his arm. “I failed them, Ellie, but I won’t fail you. Let me help you.”

  Uncertainty tightened her jaw. “I don’t know what to say.”

  “Say yes.”

  Chapter Eleven

  “Congratulations, Ellie!” Mrs. Carpenter waved her handkerchief in the air in a bid for Ellie’s attention. Smothering a sigh, Ellie pasted on a smile and sent a longing glance at the deserted alley between the Plum and the post office. Escape was so close.

  “Good morning, Mrs. Carpenter. How are you today?”

  “I couldn’t believe it when I heard about your engagement. Everyone knows Alexander Copeland prefers his own company. I suppose working in close proximity sparked his interest.” Her gray eyes were ripe with suggestion. “I tried to catch up with you after church services yesterday, but was waylaid. Tell me, when’s the wedding? Have you set a date?”