The Fugitive Son

by Adell Harvey

  As the group climbed into the wagons for the ride to town, Trip thwarted Isaac’s efforts to put Elsie and Andy together in one wagon. “I need to talk to Elsie,” Trip said. “She can ride in my wagon with me.” Before Elsie could demur, he grabbed her hand and helped her onto the wagon bench beside him.

  Gazing at the lovely landscape as the wagon lumbered and lurched along the narrow road, Elsie tried to make light conversation. “Looks much different in the daylight, doesn’t it? When we came through here last night, everything looked so dark and gloomy.”

  To the east, the sky wore streaks of pink and yellow, with faint golden wisps hovering over the horizon. “Gorgeous sunrise means a glorious day, right?” She continued chattering, trying to get some response from Trip. Finally, she gave up and blurted, “You said you needed to talk to me. So talk!”

  “I had no idea Lolani would be here. When she left to go back to her tribe, I thought she was gone for good. So I didn’t lie to you about not being married. We never had any intention to hook up permanently. She needed someone to look after her, and I needed a woman’s touch in my life. That’s all it was.”

  Elsie listened quietly, trying to hold in her anger. When she could no longer contain herself, she turned to him, “You used her! Can’t you see she loves you?” she demanded.

  “Loves me? No way. I told you we had a convenient arrangement. That’s all. My father was an English nobleman who happened to get a lovely Indian maiden in the family way. While he allowed my mother to raise me, he insisted on getting me an education, setting me up in business, and ensuring that I would have a distinguished life. His plan for me included a lovely white girl with some standing in the community, some white grandchildren for him, and a good life for all of us.”

  Now that Trip had finally started talking, it seemed like a dam had broken. He talked on and on about his plans for the future, about pleasing his father, and about how happy Lolani would be back with her own people.

  Elsie listened to his nonsense for as long as she could take it. “Lolani doesn’t want to return to her people. They’ve more or less told her she can’t come back without her husband. You’ve ruined her as far as they are concerned,” she informed him.

  Trip shook his head. “It’s not supposed to work that way. We both agreed it wouldn’t be a permanent arrangement.”

  “As unbelievable as it may be, the poor woman has fallen in love with you,” Elsie accused him, a sarcastic note in her voice. “And you’ve taken advantage of her love for years. If you’re a decent man, you’ll marry her and make her an honest woman.”

  Trip tried one more time. “When your brothers hired me to come rescue you, I harbored a secret dream that you were the woman I needed. A woman I could love and who would satisfy my father’s ambitions for me.”

  Elsie reined in her temper. Blow up at him in disgust, or take pity and let him down easily? She wanted to pound some sense into him. Instead, she softened her voice and turned directly toward him.

  “Look, Trip, I appreciate all your help on the journey out here. I realize I might not have made it without you. We enjoyed some fun times along the way, and I learned to trust your judgment. But I’m not looking for a husband right now. I want to focus on getting my business up and running.

  “And if and when I ever decide to marry,” she continued, “it will be to someone I love and can’t live without – not someone who marries me to please his father.”

  Seeing Trip’s disappointment, Elsie put her hand on his arm. “Honestly, Trip, you should think about marrying Lolani. She loves you, and I’m certain you have feelings for her, too. Forget your father’s dreams and live your own. You have the freight company now. Lolani will make a wonderful, loyal bride, and you both will raise children you and the community will be proud of.”

  “That’s your final ‘no,’ then?” Glumly, Trip turned his eyes back to the road. “Can we still be friends?”

  Elsie giggled, breaking the tension. “I’d love to be friends with both you and Lolani.”

  She was glad to end the conversation when the wagon carrying her brothers, Isaac, and Andy pulled to a stop in front of a long, low adobe building on the Plaza. Stone reinforcement pillars paraded down the length of the colonnade that fronted the building, appearing to hold up the low-hanging roof of red tile. Large store windows faced the street, protruding a few feet out from the main wall. They’d be perfect for displaying the wares inside. As her gaze moved upward, she caught her breath in amazement. Blazed across the length of the colonnade was a huge, freshly painted sign: “Condit’s Dry Goods.”

  “How do you like it? Is this what you had in mind?” Ned asked as he helped Elsie from the wagon.

  “I’m speechless,” she gasped. “But I thought we were just scouting out a place…”

  Peter laughed. “When this came on the market, we knew it was exactly what you wanted and didn’t want to take a chance on losing it. So we bought it for you! We didn’t make any changes inside or build the shelves yet, figuring you’d want to add your own touches and lay everything out the way you want it.” He pulled a large key chain from his pocket and handed it to her. “Let’s go in and look around.”

  Elsie’s hand trembled as she tried to fit the key in the lock. Her own store! At last, she was doing what she wanted to do!

  Andy stepped forward, offering to help. “Keys can be tricky sometimes,” he said, as he put his rough, tanned hand over hers to help direct the key into place.

  Once again, his touch electrified her, making her trembling even more pronounced. She pulled back, and then noticed Andy had felt the shock, too. What was happening? Mama had always said that when she met the right man, she’d know it by his touch. Was this what she meant?

  She glanced discreetly at the others. No one else seemed to notice her strange reaction to Andy. As soon as the key turned in the lock, they all rushed in, eager to see the future mercantile.

  About all Elsie could seem to say as she took in the details of the large empty space was “I declare!” The door opened into the middle of the sales floor and the windows looked out onto the busy Plaza. A big box stove reigned at the rear of the building in the center – a perfect place for the men of the city to sit and discuss weather, politics, and whatever else they wanted to talk about. “I declare!” she said again and again.

  “Is it going to work for you?” Peter asked.

  “It’s perfect!” she gushed. “I’ll put groceries to the right, bolts of cloth and racks of clothing on the other side of the entrance, tables here near the center for dishes and pottery, and…”

  Ned laughed. “Whoa there. Slow down! It will take us a few days to build all of your shelves and tables and unload all that stuff you had shipped out here from Kansas City.” Turning to the others, he said, “I think she likes it!”

  She hugged both brothers with enthusiasm. “I don’t like it – I love it! It’s everything I dreamed of! I don’t know how to thank you for doing all this. It looks like you’ve even had it cleaned.”

  “We did. We also had a crew out in the timber cutting the lumber for shelves and tables,” Pete said. “We figured getting you set up was the least we could do after all the ways you helped Papa and Mama the past few years at the plantation. We couldn’t have achieved the success we have here if we didn’t know River Bend was in good hands back home.”

  With a broad wink at Isaac, Ned added, “And the way you and Andy seem to hit it off, we figured he and Isaac would be good employees to help you run the store. Here on the busiest plaza in the Southwest, you’re going to have plenty of business. Is that okay with you guys?” he asked.

  Andy grinned widely, nodding his head in acceptance.

  Elsie was ecstatic. Could life get any better? Her only regret at the moment was that she had worn her green and silver plaid dress with its broad hoop skirt, along with her lace-up, pointy-toed boots. They looked nice, but they certainly weren’t made for setting a merc in order. Why hadn’t she worn a plai
n muslin everyday dress and sensible shoes? She glanced at Andy, who was looking at her, a bemused expression on his face. Why, indeed, had she dressed so becomingly this morning?

  She returned Andy’s gaze with a slightly flirtatious smile. Tomorrow would be soon enough to get down and dirty for working. Today would be a fine time to get acquainted with Isaac’s new friend.

  Chapter 18

  November 1857

  Santa Fe, New Mexico Territory

  ANDY STUDIED Elsie intently as she wrestled with a crowbar to open a crate of canned goods. “You really enjoy all this hard work, don’t you?” he asked in wonderment. She was such a petite girl to be working so hard

  Anne Marie had been strong, tall, and built for hard work, but Elsie looked like the slightest breeze could blow her across the room. How could he have the same feelings for two such different women? When Anne Marie died, he felt he could never love another woman, yet here he was, head over heels in love with this pint-sized beauty from Kentucky.

  Elsie looked up from the crate she had just opened. “Hard work doesn’t hurt anybody,” she replied. “Besides, we’ve been setting up the merc for the past three weeks, and I’m in a hurry to get it done. Christmas will be coming soon, and I’d dearly love to be open and going strong before then.”

  Opening one carefully packed crate after another, Andy marveled at all the new merchandise Elsie was stocking in her store. Every supply station or general merchandise store he had ever seen carried only practical necessities – basic foods like sugar, salt, beans, and flour, plus a few farm implements, bolts of cloth and other sewing essentials, pots and pans – nothing like all the fancy, new things she hoped to sell.

  “Do you really think there’s a market for these things?” Andy asked, gingerly holding up a fanciful glass lamp.

  “If there’s not, there will be when I get through convincing people how much they need them!” Elsie boasted. She smiled that gorgeous smile that made Andy’s knees tremble. “Women love pretty things in their homes, and after their long, hard journey across the Plains, they’ll fall in love with this kind of stuff. Sort of a breath of fresh air after a dusty desert. “

  Andy thought back to the dirt-floored shacks many of the Mormon women tolerated and of Aunt Hettie’s efforts to make her cabin into a home with animal skins, rough shelves, and hand-sewn quilts. He imagined her cut loose in a store like this with money to spend. Yes, she would indeed enjoy some of the fancy stuff if given the opportunity.

  He gazed around the huge, open room, taking in the well-organized, beautiful displays that would surely tempt customers at the grand opening in a few weeks. Elsie had designed special sections to appeal to the Mexican and Indian buyers who made up a large part of the town. “It’s really looking good,” he murmured.

  His glance shifted to the sunshine streaming through the display windows. “It’s such a beautiful day. Let’s take some time off and walk around the Plaza. We don’t have a whole lot more to do in here.”

  Elsie needed no encouragement. “We’re going for a walk to check out the competition,” she called out to Isaac, who was placing barrels of beans, pickles, and rice along the back walls. “Keep an eye on things, please?”

  “Yes, ma’am,” Isaac called back. “But don’t expect you’ll find any competition around here. Nobody has a dry goods store equal to this one!”

  Strolling along the hardened sand that covered much of the Plaza, they conversed companionably, as though they’d been friends forever. Andy noted their quick friendship, “I feel like I’ve known you all my life, yet it’s only been a couple of months. How can that be?”

  She took hold of his arm to keep from stumbling over a brick. “I know. I feel the same way – like I know you so well. Yet I don’t really know much about you.”

  He shot her a quizzical look. “Is there a difference between knowing me and knowing about me?”

  “Of course there is,” she said with a laugh. “I know you to be a kind, compassionate, dependable man, full of fun, too serious sometimes – all that sort of stuff. But I know nothing about where you came from, what you did before you came here, your family – you know, those kind of things.”

  Andy led her to a wooden bench under one of the large pinyon trees on the Plaza. “No time like the present to fill in the blanks,” he joked. “What would you like to know about the life and loves of Andy Rasmussen?”

  She giggled. “Well, let’s start with the loves. Ever been married, engaged, or in love?”

  Andy suddenly fell silent. Elsie hastily added, “I was only kidding. I didn’t mean to sound so forward.”

  He took both her hands in his. “You’re not being forward. I’m beginning to have strong feelings toward you, and I dare to hope you feel the same toward me. That means we have a right to know things of the heart. But mine are so sad; it hurts to talk about them. Maybe someday I’ll be able to tell you my whole story, but for now, suffice it to say I was very much in love once, with a girl I grew up with. But she died on the Oregon Trail.”

  Elsie patted his hand. “I’m so sorry. Let’s not talk about sad things today. What about your family and work?”

  “Afraid that’s sad, too. My mother and sister died of the black canker while I was with my Pa on a wagon train west. I pored myself into being a great scout and trail guide for wagon trains heading west. Later, I did a short stint with the Legion, finally headed south to Santa Fe, met up with Isaac, and the rest, as they say, is history.” For some reason, he couldn’t bring himself to confess he had been a Mormon and all the horrors he had witnessed. He was afraid she would never understand.

  Elsie rose from the bench. “That’s all in the past, so let’s think about the wonderful future we can have from now on.”

  He laughed. “Are you proposing to me?”

  She blushed. “It did kind of sound like that, didn’t it? But in my future, the man will have to do the proposing. It’s still a man’s world, you know.”

  “In that case, would you consider marrying me? I’m not worth much financially, but I think we could build a very good future together. And I know Isaac would approve,” Andy added confidently. “He suggested that you and I were meant for each other before I ever met you!”

  “He did, did he? Isaac always was my biggest supporter. Did he also tell you that I’m as independent and spoiled as a girl can get? Maybe if you knew me better, you wouldn’t be so eager to marry me.”

  Andy drew her close, right in the midst of a heavy stream of shoppers. “Nothing could change my mind about you. I love your spitfire temper, your desire to manage your own store, your business sense, and your tender, loving heart. In my book, you’re just about perfect.”

  “Just about? So you’re willing to settle for less than perfection?” she teased.

  He pulled her closer into an embrace and murmured, “I’ll show you perfection!” He cupped her chin in his hands, feathering ever-so-light kisses along her forehead and cheeks. Then he lowered his lips to hers in a lingering kiss.

  They strolled hand-in-hand back toward the store, full of joy and anticipation of the future.

  Their plans grew and expanded as the days flew by. Working together every day tended to cement their feelings and appreciation for the special gift God had given them. Love flew from his gaze to hers as they worked side by side. Together with Isaac, they established a rhythm in the store, with Elsie handling the women’s needs – from clothing to kitchenware and giftware. Isaac took care of the hardware side of the store, and Andy did most of the financial dealings.

  The weekend before the grand opening, Andy and Elsie hiked the ancestral trails at Tsankawi. Bundled against the chilly air and yet warm with the exertion of the climb, they explored the rich petroglyphs carved by ancient Pueblo Indians, who had lived in cave dwellings and on the mesa top. They marveled at the steps literally worn into the stone from the thousands of feet that had walked the trail in centuries past. Because it was little traveled this late in the season, the s
taircases provided ample privacy for a young couple in love to enjoy their sense of discovery of the past.

  Late in the afternoon, Andy pulled out his pocket watch and checked the time. “We’d better head back down. But there’s something I want to do before we go.” He bent down on one of the ancient, worn steps. “We’ve sort of discussed that we might get married some day, but I’d like to make it official.” Opening a small box and holding it out toward her, he continued, “Miss Elsie Condit, will you do me the honor of becoming my wife?”

  Elsie bent down to hug him, nearly knocking both of them down the steep stairs in her excitement. “Yes!” she squealed. “Yes!”

  Laughing gaily, Andy placed a beautiful blue sapphire ring on her finger. “I was right – this stone matches your gorgeous blue eyes perfectly!”

  The piquant scent of pinyon, its smoke wafting upwards from many fireplaces, permeated the clear night air as they returned to the Plaza. Elsie stopped and took a deep breath. “Ah! There’s nothing that smells as good as Santa Fe this time of the evening!”

  Andy grew reflective as he snuggled her closer in an effort to ward off the rapidly falling temperature. “I wonder if it was like this when Mary and Joseph entered into Bethlehem.”

  “It does kind of look like the pictures I’ve seen of the Holy Land,” Elsie agreed. “The high desert, all the sand, the scrubby trees…”

  “I bet they didn’t have the pork and hominy stew, tamales, or those little anise cookies,” Andy added.

  Elsie gave him a playful shove. “Oh, you. All you think about is food! We’d better go home and see what goodies Lolani has cooked up for us before you starve to death!”

  The following week, customers and curiosity seekers lined up on the Plaza, waiting their turn to enter Condit’s Dry Goods, look over the merchandise, and sample the refreshments Lolani had prepared for the grand opening. Their overwhelming enthusiasm testified to the need for a store like Elsie’s, further confirming her dream.