“Is that him? Yes, that is him. And he’s with her.” Saffron turned toward the front of the restaurant and frowned. Mrs. Samson and one of her sour friends had their noses pressed against the window of the Occidental.
“Ssshh, he’s coming,” her friend said as she stepped away from the window and took great interest in her own shoes.
The bell on the door rang and Mrs. Allen stepped out, happy laughter tinkling as Saffron’s father stepped out behind her.
“Hello, Mr. Archer,” the widow gushed as she rushed forward and placed her hand on his arm. “How lovely to see you.”
Saffron covered her smile with her hand as she watched her father’s eyes grow wide and he ran his hand through his hair. He took a step back but as he did, the widow stepped forward, not to be deterred.
Mrs. Allen’s eyebrows rose and she appeared quite amused as she looked from the Widow Samson to Mr. Archer and back again. “Beau, might you introduce me to your friend?” she asked as she opened her peacock-feather fan that exactly matched the beautiful, deep blue velvet dress she wore.
Her father tugged at his collar and shoved his hand in his pocket. Saffron noticed his ears had reddened.
“Mrs. Allen, this is Mrs. Samson and Mrs. Claiborne. They are both members of the school committee.”
Mrs. Allen’s eyebrows rose even higher and her eyes sparked with recognition at the names. She’d been at several Sunday dinners at Archer Ranch and would be familiar with the trouble Mrs. Samson had caused for the two new young teachers at the schoolhouse, Saffron’s sister and brother-in-law.
“A pleasure to meet you,” Mrs. Allen said. She held out her hand and Saffron laughed when the Widow Samson looked down her nose at the offered hand and actually sniffed and clasped both her hands tightly around her reticule.
Mrs. Allen didn’t bat an eye and snaked her arm through Mr. Archer’s, her smile even as Mrs. Samson sputtered, her cheeks red as she turned and stomped down the boardwalk.
It all happened quite quickly, and Adam was just hopping into the buggy when her father looked up and right into her eyes.
He blinked a couple of times and then shook his head as if wondering what else could happen in one evening.
“Hello, Saffron,” he said.
Mrs. Allen turned and her hand flew to her chest. “Oh, my dear Saffron, how lovely to see you.” She nodded her head, the peacock feather in her hat bending in the breeze. “And please do introduce us to your friend,” she said as she fanned herself and looked at Mr. Archer in amusement.
Her father didn’t look nearly as amused. It hadn’t occurred to Saffron until this minute that her father would be equally surprised to see her with a young man as she was to see him with a single woman.
He shoved his thumbs into the small pockets of his satin vest and said, “Yes, please do.”
Adam climbed back down from the buggy and crossed over to the boardwalk, extending his hand to Mr. Archer.
“My name is Adam Benson, Mr. Archer. I’m very pleased to meet you.”
They shook hands and Mr. Archer said, “And this is Mrs. Allen.”
“Very pleased to meet you, Mr. Benson.” Mrs. Allen nodded the peacock feather in Adam’s direction but her questioning eyes stayed on Saffron.
“Benson. Benson. Are you the new farrier at the Ranch?” her father said as he, too, raised his eyebrows and glanced at Saffron.
“That I am, Mr. Archer. Your son and I have been working together. Mighty fine group of horses you have.”
“Ah, thank you. Nice to have you aboard. Hank speaks very highly of you.”
Adam tipped his hat and nodded. “Thank you very much. Glad to hear it. I like to do the best job I can.”
“My kind of man,” Mr. Archer said and smiled. “How about if you come to supper on Sunday and we can talk more.”
Saffron’s stomach fluttered. Adam had turned down each previous offer, and she was hoping maybe he’d say yes this time. At least she thought she did.
Adam glanced quickly at Saffron, and she knew he wouldn’t. She didn’t know why, but she saw it in his eyes and wasn’t the least bit surprised.
“Thank you, sir, that’s a kind offer. I have two younger brothers and a sister that I’m responsible for and we don’t go out much.”
“Bring them along. More the merrier, my wife always said,” her father said, then drew in a sharp breath and looked at Mrs. Allen.
She smiled and patted him on the arm. “It really is a wonderful place to spend Sunday afternoon.”
Her father flushed and Saffron shook her head. He looked like a schoolboy and she couldn’t help but smile.
“Thank you kindly, but I’ll have to respectfully decline. I do appreciate it, though,” Adam said as he circled back to the opposite side of the buggy and climbed in. “I’ll be getting Miss Saffron home now. It was a pleasure to meet you.”
Saffron watched him as his eyes kept to the road even though the horses could have navigated it without his help. Why wouldn’t he come for supper? Was it because of Carol? She was such a charming girl and had confided in Saffron that she wanted to get out more.
She thought back to baking bread with Carol. She knew Adam wouldn’t answer her directly, so she thought of another way to find out what he might be worried about.
“Adam, I noticed today—and before now, actually—that Carol’s day dresses are becoming a bit frayed at the sleeves. I’m sure she’s had them a while and could use something new. Might it be possible for me to take her to a dressmaker? Maybe get her a few dresses?”
Adam turned to her, his brow furrowed. “You think she needs that? Could the dressmaker come to the house?”
“I suppose the dressmaker could make a trip out, but it would be wonderful for Carol to get out in town. Is it a problem?” Saffron said. She really didn’t know what their money situation was and her heart tugged that it might have been an indelicate thing to ask.
“No, no, it’s not a problem like that. It’s just that—well, there are some things that you likely don’t know.”
Saffron held her breath, hoping that this might finally be the time when she found out what had happened to Carol. How it had come to be that she couldn’t walk.
They’d arrived at the ranch and Adam helped Saffron out of the buggy. “I’d be happy if you’d tell me why you don’t want Carol to leave the house much, Adam. She remains cheerful, but has confided in me that she would like to be out more. She loves people and is very friendly. It’s not good for her to stay inside all the time, many times alone. People need to be around other people.”
Saffron crossed the porch and sat on the swing as she waited. Adam took his hat off and looked out over the fields and mountains beyond the tall trees that lined the driveway, giving way to desert, cactus and range land beyond.
Adam pinched the bridge of his nose and closed his eyes. He crossed the porch and gestured at the seat beside her on the porch swing. “May I?”
Saffron’s heart beat faster as he sat beside her, his hand brushing her wrist. How could a man she barely knew make her tingle?
He turned toward her and their eyes met. The feeling she got when she was around him was becoming a little more familiar now, and she was surprised that she was so comfortable around him. He leaned back on the swing, his shoulder pressed to hers as they watched the last of the light leave the orange and pink sky on the horizon.
“Saffron, can I ask you a question?” he said, his voice low.
She folded her hands in her lap and looked down, wisps of her hair blowing in the soft, warm evening breeze. “Of course, Adam. Anything. Anything at all,” she said quietly.
“When your mother passed, did it ever cross your mind that you could never be happy again? Wouldn’t ever have anything to really look forward to? That things were going to be the same forever, until the day you died?”
She thought for a moment as she looked out over the desert. “I suppose there was a time, in the beginning, where everything seemed frozen. The
house was almost silent, and I think we were all so sad that it felt like things would never be the same again.”
“And were they? Ever the same again?”
She cocked her head and turned to him. “I don’t think things are ever supposed to be the same as they always have been, even if it’s because people pass. I used to believe I wanted that—for things to stay the same. In fact, that wasn’t too long ago.”
Her ears burned as he reached over and took one of her hands in his. “Sometimes I think things are never going to change. Never going to be happy again.”
She squeezed his hand and turned toward him, pulling his chin so he’d have to look at her, meet her eyes. “Adam, have faith. Not many months ago my father wouldn’t even smile. Hadn’t smiled for years. Same with most of us in this house. And look at how he was tonight—happy, smiling. A little flustered at the Widow Samson, I will say, but I haven’t seen him this happy in years. At least he’s alive. He’d been almost frozen for longer than I care to remember, after my mother died.”
Adam closed his eyes and leaned forward, his forehead against hers.
“I do know that it helps to talk about things, Adam.”
She sat back, patiently waiting for the words she’d hoped to hear since she met Carol, but her stomach dropped when he spoke.
“Thank you for offering to take Carol to the dressmaker. That’s not something I could do myself. Let me know how much money you need and when you’d like to go.”
Saffron stared after him as he stood, got into the buggy and drove away.
Chapter 22
Carol fidgeted in her chair. The dressmaker took measurements and smiled as Carol giggled.
“Young lady, if you don’t sit still I might poke you with this pin and that would be awful,” the dressmaker said as she placed her hand on Carol’s shoulder.
“I’m sorry, Mrs. Donovan. I’ll try. I’m just very excited to be here. I don’t get to go many places and Saffron said we’re going to get ice cream afterward. I’m just terribly excited.”
Saffron squeezed Carol’s elbow as Mrs. Donovan smiled at her. “Yes, that’s exactly what we’ll do.”
Carol fidgeted, then stopped abruptly, glanced up at Mrs. Donovan and said, “I’m sorry.” She clasped her hands together and placed them in her lap, sitting as still as Saffron had ever seen her do.
When the dressmaker finished and they’d chosen fabric and a style that Saffron had seen on other young women, they helped her to the buggy. As Saffron crossed around the back of the buggy, she almost ran into Joe, the blacksmith, who stood outside his shop shaking out rags.
“Hello, Miss Saffron,” he said as he looked up into the buggy, his eyebrows raised. “Is that Miss Carol you have with you?”
“Yes, it is,” she said. “Do you know her?”
“I do.” He waved at Carol and said to Saffron, “I’ve said hello to her when her brothers bring her in to the mercantile on Sundays. Sweet young girl. Shame she can’t walk.” He turned and looked back into his shop. “Think she’d like to have some help if she could?”
Saffron cocked her head and turned to him. “I suppose she would, but I couldn’t say for sure. Maybe you should ask her next time you see her.”
He wiped his hands on his apron and turned back into the shop. “I just might. You have a good day, now,” he said over his shoulder.
“Was that Joe you were speaking with?” Carol asked as Saffron climbed up onto the bench seat.
“It was. Said he knows you. Talks to you on Sundays at the mercantile.”
Carol turned and waved as they pulled onto Allen Street and headed further downtown. “Yes, he’s very nice. And so is his brother, Will.”
Saffron snuck a sideways glance a Carol and smiled as she watched her friends cheeks redden. As they road down the main street of town, Carol waved at so many people that Saffron laughed. Seemed Carol knew more people than she did.
Curious about what Joe had asked and frustrated that she’d gotten no information from Adam, she decided she knew Carol well enough to ask.
“Carol, Joe asked if you’d want some help to walk if you could. Would you?”
“Of course I would. I’m willing to try anything,” Carol asked, her voice quiet. “But we all know that’s not possible.”
“Carol, you don’t have to tell me if you don’t want to, but what happened? Have you never been able to walk?”
Carol turned to Saffron, her eyes clouding. “Oh, Saffron. I never talk about it. Never. But I thought that Adam might have told you by now. You must be awfully curious.”
Saffron rested her hand on Carol’s arm. “If you don’t want to talk about it, please don’t. I am curious, but it’s yours to decide. I wouldn’t want you to talk about something that is too difficult for you.”
“For me? No, it’s not too difficult for me and I would love to talk about it. Every time I tried in the beginning, Luke and Andy would cry. Please don’t tell them I told you that. They would be horrified,” Carol said, laughing. “And Adam—well, he didn’t cry, but it was just too painful for me to see the look on his face.”
“Oh,” Saffron said. “So, this isn’t an affliction you were born with?”
Three children about Carol’s age raced by the buggy and into the ice cream parlor. Carol laughed as they ran inside. “That would have been me, before the accident.”
“Oh, my.” Saffron’s heart tugged at the thought of Carol as she had been. She imagined it would have been very hard to have once had the use of your legs—running along with other children—and then to lose that capability. “Your brothers love you, and I suppose it’s difficult for them to talk about, and to see you so changed.” She willed her eyes not to mist. If Carol’s brothers weren’t able to talk about it, she was determined that she would be one person Carol could talk to without worrying more about their sadness than her own.
Carol searched Saffron’s face and nodded, apparently satisfied that Saffron was someone she could trust not to break down.
“Yes, I believe it was. Our family was very close, and I know that it was shocking. I don’t remember much about the accident, and everything had changed so much afterward that I believe we all just decided it was best left alone. Besides, there was so much to learn—well, to learn again—and such a heavy burden on everyone.”
“Oh, Carol, don’t say that. I know for a fact that your brothers love you and would do anything for you. They’ve never once given me any impression that they see you as a burden.”
Carol hung her head and tugged at the lace on her sleeve. “No, they would never say that. Never. And I know they’ve never wanted me to feel that way, but there’s no way for anyone to understand what it’s like to be at the mercy of others, for everything, unless it’s happened to you. It’s quite humbling, and I’m very grateful. I try not to make it any more difficult than it already is.”
Saffron wondered if that was why Adam wouldn’t allow Carol to come to town much. It must have been terrifying to experience Carol’s accident and then later the death of their parents.
The buggy lurched to a stop as Saffron pulled hard on the leather reins. She rested her hands on her knees and peered into the ice cream shop. “I’m sorry, Carol. It must be heavy on your heart to have this happen and to have everyone so worried about you at the same time.”
Carol’s eyes misted as she looked up at Saffron. “I don’t believe I’ve thought about it quite that way before. I’ve gotten used to just sitting at home, but I get lonely. I want to meet people, talk to people. Even if I can’t walk, I want to see things. But it’s such a burden—and Adam is so fearful—that I just don’t ask.” She reached over and put her hand on Saffron’s arm. “Thank you for this outing today. I am very, very grateful. Just to be around people, in town, makes me feel more alive than I’ve felt in months and months.”
The bells on the door of the ice cream parlor jingled, and Carol smiled and turned toward the storefront. She gasped and turned back to Saffron, her
eyes wide, and then looked back to the door.
Saffron leaned forward and peered into the ice cream shop. She let out a laugh as she saw her twin sister, Sage.
Carol turned at her laugh and the look of fright faded as Saffron said, “Carol, meet my twin sister, Sage. Sage, this is Carol.”
Sage smiled and crossed the boardwalk, wiping her hand on her apron before extending it to Carol. “It’s so very nice to meet you, Carol. I’ve heard many good things about you,” she said, her smile wide as she nodded at Saffron.
Carol rested her hand on her chest and took in a deep breath. “I thought I’d seen a ghost. You two look exactly alike. It’s shocking.”
Saffron laughed as she realized she’d not mentioned to Carol in all of their conversations that she had a twin sister. She imagined it would be shocking, but it wasn’t something she thought about anymore. It was just normal.
“I suppose it is if you’re not prepared,” Sage said. “I have to get back to the doctor’s office but I would like to talk to you more. We’d love to have you over for Sunday supper, wouldn’t we, Saffron?”
“Oh, Saffron, could I? I would love to meet your family.”
Saffron’s stomach fluttered as Carol turned hopeful eyes her way. She’d been present when Adam had been invited—and declined. Clearly, he hadn’t shared the invitation with Carol.
She waved at Sage as she hurried down the boardwalk. “That would be wonderful. I’ll ask Adam.”
Carol seemed satisfied for the moment, but pointed to a big, colorful flyer on the wall next to the door to the ice cream parlor. “While you ask him about that, could you ask if I could go there, too? Maybe he’ll listen to you.”
Saffron leaned forward to look at the flyer, and her stomach sunk as she recognized the camels and tiger pictured, knowing full well what Adam would say when he found out Carol wanted to go to the circus.
Chapter 23
Adam looked down at the porch to see if he’d worn a path in the wood as he’d been pacing ever since Saffron and Carol left. He’d carried Carol and set her gently in the seat of Saffron’s buggy, but had smiled and looked away when they’d ridden out.
Saffron: A Sweet Western Historical Romance (Wild West Frontier Brides Book 5) Page 9
