“Lorna, do you to play the piano by chance?” Lorna was surprised at Cora’s change of subject.
“Yes, I’ve had lessons when I was a child, and accompanied the children’s choir at our church. That’s one thing I’ve missed since moving to Kansas.”
“That’s wonderful! Mrs. Clara Johnston, who plays at church, fell and broke her arm last week—well, that’s not wonderful—but Pastor Reagan is looking for people to play while she’s mending.”
“Oh, but I don’t know…” Lorna panicked at the thought since she hadn’t stepped inside the church yet.
“I’m playing this Sunday, and I’d like you to sit with me and turn the music pages for me. Then next week we can switch places and you can play!”
Lorna started to refuse, but the idea of Lyle looking over the women in church for a potential wife made her feel a little…curious, or jealous if she’d be honest with herself.
“I’d like that,” Lorna heard herself reply without any hesitation or forethought. What did I just commit myself to?
Lorna hastily added, “As long as the Clancys agree to me taking off two Sundays in a row.”
“I’m sure he wouldn’t mind you taking a break, and I’d like to get to know you better. We Boston girls need to stick together,” Cora slyly smiled.
It struck Lorna how lonely she’d been since moving here. Back home she’d had a few close friends, the household staff and church acquaintances. Due to the circumstances of her missing husband and pregnancy—and her embarrassment of the fact—she hadn’t reached out to make new friends. Maybe Cora—and Lyle—could fill the void caused by her self-imposed isolation.
Chapter 4
Lyle filled the week getting settled in his new office. The downstairs was divided into three rooms. For the front reception room, he bought a desk, a swivel chair to go behind the desk, and three wooden chairs for clients to sit in while waiting to see him.
So far he didn’t need a receptionist, nor did he have any clients, but he was confident both would happen with time. As soon as people realized he was a changed man and a reliable lawyer. Luckily, he had money to live on until he started bringing in income.
The middle room would be his office and he’d furnished it with a large desk, an upholstered swivel chair and two matching chairs to sit in front of his desk for clients.
A credenza behind his desk would eventually hold files of his casework. An open shelved bookcase held his law books on the wall to his right. There was another bookcase, with glass doors on the opposite wall, but so far, it was empty. Maybe he’d order some classics to fill the shelves, and give him something to read while he was waiting for business.
A coat rack stood by his office door, and he’d hung portraits of Presidents Washington and Lincoln so the walls didn’t seem so bare. Maybe he’d order framed maps of the United States and Kansas to give himself, and clients, something else to look at.
The back room downstairs was the largest, and so far unused by him. It was big enough he could have lived in it and rented the upstairs apartment, but he liked the spacious rooms and the view looking down on Main Street and beyond.
So far today, he’d had breakfast in the café, spent an hour and a half at the barbershop, getting a close shave and visiting with whoever came in the door. He thumbed through a law book until it was time for lunch and headed next door to the café again.
Just like everyone in church had their favorite pew to sit in, so did the customers at the café. He slid into the chair at a small table against the wall, which only seated two people. So far, he’d been sitting there by himself, but he hoped others would join him at times. Maybe he’d have to buy businessmen a few lunches to get someone to sit with him, but he was determined to redeem his reputation and turn his life around.
“Our special today is...”
“Hello, Lorna. You’re looking well today,” Lyle interrupted Lorna, enjoying the blush creeping up her neck.
“Hello, Lyle, I’m feeling well at the moment, since Dan ran out of bacon early this morning,” Lorna replied. “You didn’t have anything to do with the missing bacon, did you?” she lowered her voice to ask.
“I’ll never tell if I did,” he teased back. “So what’s the noon special?”
“Chicken pot pie or ham and bean soup.”
“I’ll have the soup and a slice of Millie’s pie, if there’s any left.”
“You keep eating pie every meal and sitting around all day, and you’ll start to show a little pudge around your middle.” Lorna stated with a straight face, until one side of her mouth turned up.
Oh really? Evenings spent in each other’s company was starting to relax Lorna around him. He made a point of bringing over something cool to drink and spending a few minutes visiting with her each evening as she sat on her stair landing.
“Maybe I need to go out to the Bar E and do some wrangling then. I’d rather bust a bronc than pass up any of Millie’s desserts,” Lyle teased back. “I have nothing planned for this afternoon anyway,” he sobered at the thought.
“Then maybe...” Lorna caught her bottom lip and chewed on it instead of continuing.
“Maybe what, Lorna?”
“I hate to ask but...could you maybe look into how I could dissolve my marriage? I can’t keep in limbo like this.”
Lyle paused, wondering what to tell her since he already knew some of the specifics involving marriage laws, but a busy café wasn’t the place to talk about it.
“How about I research the laws, and you stop by my office after you get off work?”
“I don’t have money to pay you for your time, Lyle,” Lorna whispered while looking around to see who might be listening to their conversation.
“No charge, because I need the practice, and I have plenty of time on my hands,” Lyle assured her.
Lorna nodded before walking up to the counter to place his food order.
***
Lorna was fatigued from being on her feet, working since five o’clock this morning. She would have liked to have gone upstairs to her room, but she needed to deal with the fact that her husband was missing and may never come back to her.
She took off her apron and went straight out the front door of the café and into Lyle’s office when she was finished working for the day. After three months, she was tired of this nonsense with her missing husband and wanted the matter settled. But she stopped short when looking at Lyle and then Marshal Wilerson, who sat in one of the client chairs. Neither looked like they had good news to share with her.
“Good afternoon, ma’am,” the marshal drawled as he stood when she entered the room, then sat back down after she slumped into the other chair facing Lyle.
She nodded in reply. “I’m assuming you haven’t positive news for me since neither of you is smiling.”
“I’m sorry, but I haven’t heard from anyone I telegrammed last month,” the marshal started with an apology. “I placed notices in the Ellsworth and Hays newspapers too, but haven’t had any response there of his whereabouts, alive or passed. It’s very possible he’s buried somewhere out on the prairie and we’ll never know where or why.”
“That would be the logical scenario, but I still think my missing money points more to my marrying a swindler.”
“By law,” Lyle said slowly, “the money you gave him, after you married, became his property.”
“What?! But I saw nothing in return!”
“I’m just saying that’s how the law is. A husband is also supposed to take care of his wife and children, so that’s where he’s failed you,” Lyle continued.
“So, what are my options then?” Lorna tried to keep the panic out of her voice, but knew she failed when she looked between the two men.
“Obviously your marriage cannot be annulled since you’re with child. Dissolution of a marriage can be granted after you have been abandoned for a year.”
“I have to wait a whole year for him to show up? That might be hard to do if he’s six feet under
the ground!”
“The other option for you is a divorce. For a woman wanting a divorce, she must prove her husband has committed adultery, and incest, bigamy, cruelty or desertion,” Lyle suggested.
Lorna’s breath caught in her throat upon thinking of that option. “It would be a scandal if I had to do that, Lyle. Boston Brahmins just don’t go that route.”
“That might be your only option, unless you want to wait until the day after your wedding anniversary date to have your marriage dissolved.”
“Marshal, what’s your gut feeling on this?” He had more experience with criminal minds that she’d ever had.
Adam cut in. “I think you and Lyle could drive over to Ellsworth and do some checking around. Talk to the preacher who married you, and ask if he’s performed any burials, too. Have lunch at the same café and ask the help questions. Check with the livery, in case they’d ever hired a horse and buggy to Maynard there in the past, or after marrying you. Post office, both here and Ellsworth to see if his mail has been picked up. I’ve done some of these things, but seeing you, Lorna, might trigger someone’s memory.”
“I’d like to find the ranch he showed me in the distance. The house was unique, so I think I’d know it again if I saw it.”
“I think it was the Bar E Ranch, and Cora would love for you to visit, so we’ll definitely drive there someday soon. There’s other ranches in the area we can visit, but the Bar E is the only one I know of in the area which has the square two-story red stone house like you mentioned.”
“Then I can’t wait to see where Cora and Dagmar live.”
“It will take more than one day to check out all of the marshal’s suggestions, Lorna, but I’d be glad to drive you wherever you want to go.” Lorna’s next door neighbor was becoming a good friend, and she felt safe leaning on him for support.
“Thank you, to both of you, for looking into this for me. I wouldn’t have been this lucky if it had happened in Boston.”
“Townsfolk in small frontier towns depend on each other to survive, so we’re just drawing you into our fold. Let it happen, and you can help someone else in the future,” the marshal advised as he stood up to leave Lyle’s office.
Lyle stood and came around his desk to stand in front of her. “It would be best to travel to Ellsworth some weekday morning when you can take off the time, Lorna. We can take the train over there and back in a day and visit with everyone. Then another early evening we can hire a buggy and take a dessert out to the Bar E.”
He held out his hand and helped Lorna rise from her chair. “But for now, how about you go upstairs to my living room and put your feet up for a while? It will be awhile before I’ll be done here, so you just as well enjoy the cooler room and comfortable furniture.”
Lorna almost protested, but the idea of walking into her hot, stuffy room quickly changed her mind.
“Today I’ll take you up on your offer. Dan found the bacon and cooked some for sandwiches this noon. I just want to sit back with a cold cloth on my head and my shoes off for a bit.”
“Where did he find the bacon?” Lyle’s brows knitted together as Lorna wondered if Lyle did have something to do with its disappearance this morning.
“I don’t know, but you need to hide it better next time,” Lorna teased him.
Lyle’s dimple displayed with his grin as he nodded. Did he really hide the bacon from Dan to keep her from being queasy? Surely not, but then Lyle did have a checkered past.
***
“I rode this train for days with anticipation, anxious to start my new life with a rancher.” Lorna continued to stare out the train car window as she spoke. Lyle wasn’t sure if she was talking to him or herself, but either way, she spoke with disappointment.
Their trip to Ellsworth didn’t solve the mystery of her missing husband as they’d hoped. The Reverend at the Episcopal Church thought Lyle was Lorna’s husband, confirming he did look like her missing husband. What they did find out on their trip was there wasn’t a Maynard Jantz buried in the cemetery, in the jail, he never had an account in the bank, and he wasn’t getting any mail in Ellsworth. Nor did anyone know his name, or of any Jantz who owned a ranch in the area.
Lorna had worn a nice dress today, but now it was covered with dust and a few fly specks as they traveled on their return trip to Clear Creek. The smell of the hundreds of cattle still grazing around Ellsworth had permeated the air, and if Lyle guessed right, there had to be a bit of manure on one or both of his shoes, or Lorna’s, since the smell was still with them. For one planning to be a rancher’s wife, Lorna wasn’t impressed with the “smell of money” as the banker described the odor which hung around the air.
“I assume there were even more cattle in Ellsworth when you arrived in May, weren’t there?”
“Yes, the hills around the train tracks were covered with the multi-colored cattle. I’ve never seen anything like it in my life. Add cowboys getting off the trail and walking around town, all in need of a bath... Today’s numbers, cows and men, are less, but I think the cow dung has piled up since May.” Lorna placed a dainty lace handkerchief over her nose again. He’d have to check his shoes when they got off the train.
“I’m sorry we couldn’t find any answers for you today.” Lyle would have loved to pick up her hand and give it a reassuring squeeze, but kept his hands to himself. She was a married woman and he had no business touching her.
“The day after tomorrow is Sunday. How about when we see Cora in church, we ask if we can visit them that evening?” Lyle knew the ranch was one place she still needed to see.
Lorna sighed, still not turning toward him. “I suppose. I’m sure it will be the ranch Maynard showed me, but I’d like to know for sure.”
“Cora will love to show you her home, so please enjoy her hospitality,” Lyle kindly asked.
Lorna rotated away from the window, took his hand in hers and looked up to meet his gaze.
“I’m so sorry, Lyle. I should be thanking you for taking me to Ellsworth today, and I’ve been caught up in my disappointment instead.”
Lyle squeezed her hand, wishing her gloves were off so he could grasp her soft fingers. “I understand why.” And Lyle was wishing they could find the man, so Lorna was free to...?
He hated to admit, but he was enjoying Lorna’s company and wishing it could continue, permanently. Oh, he was sure this thought was on his mind because of his need to marry this Fall, but he really liked spending time with Lorna. Besides their Boston backgrounds, they seemed to be able to converse on a variety of topics. Lyle was sure Lorna looked forward to their evenings on her stair landing, or his home, as much as he did.
Well, unless Maynard Jantz showed up dead, Lyle needed to start courting a suitable woman and get his mind off of Lorna.
Lorna glanced out the window. “I missed trees when I first arrived in central Kansas, but now I do love the fact you can see miles across the prairie.”
“It’s reminded many Easterners of the ocean, if you used your imagination.” Lyle realized he’d been slowly rubbing the top of her hand with his thumb. He looked up and Lorna’s eyes went wide when she realized the same thing. Her face blushed as she pulled her hands out of his grasp. Was she feeling the pull of attraction, too?
Chapter 5
“Take a deep breath and relax. They won’t eat you alive,” Lyle whispered in her ear as he escorted her down the walk to the church door. Parishioners were standing outside in small groups, openly staring at Lorna and Lyle as they walked past them.
“I should have started going to church the very first Sunday I was here,” Lorna whispered back. “Then I wouldn’t have to face everyone today.”
“You know some people through the café and shopping at the mercantile.”
“But I’ve never made the effort to start conversations and get to know people.”
“Well, the day of reckoning is about to commence then. Smile and nod to people so they know you’re making the effort to be friendly.”
“Is that your philosophy now that you’re back in town as a lawyer?”
“I have to break my reputation of a troublemaker somehow, if I want to earn business in this town.”
“Welcome to today’s service, Mrs. Jantz. I hear you’ll be playing for us next Sunday,” Pastor Reagan said as he met them at the door.
Lorna knew heads turned behind her when the pastor made conversation with her. Would people think she was pushing her way into the congregation?
“Oh, only if it’s all right with you. Cora Hamner suggested I fill in for the pianist while her arm is healing.”
“We’re glad for everyone’s help, and I hope you can sing, too. The congregation always likes special music besides our choice of hymns.”
Lorna thought of the many times she’d sung solos by herself and as part of their church choir. Would this be a way to make her entry into the community easier, or make it worse?
“I did sing back in my church in Boston. Perhaps sometime I can...”
The pastor’s wife popped up beside her husband and reached for Lorna’s hand. “Cora is playing Amazing Grace for one of her selections today. Could you sing one of the verses as a solo?”
“Hello, Mrs. Reagan.”
“Please, call me Kaitlyn like everyone else does. I’m so happy to see you today.”
“Um, I could sing the second verse as a solo if you’d like.” How could she say no to the woman? Mrs. Reagan had made a point to come into the café and say hello to her every Saturday morning since Lorna had arrived in town. The first month she invited her to attend the church service. After Lorna said she’d always attended the Episcopal Church, she quit asking, but still stopped by to chat about something. The woman was raising six sons, plus helped her husband with his pastoral duties, but always took time for a quick visit.
“Patrick, be sure to announce Lorna’s solo when you get to that part of the service.”
The pastor’s eyes twinkled when looking at his wife. “Yes, dear.”
“Have you met Sarah Brenner and her family?” Lorna realized Kaitlyn had her elbow and was steering her toward a young, dark-haired woman holding an infant. Lorna looked around and caught Lyle’s eyes as he stood near a group of men. He winked at her and turned to join the conversation.
Lorna Loves a Lawyer: A Historical Western Romance (Brides with Grit Book 9) Page 5
