“Lorna, I don’t know if you’ve met Sarah and Marcus Brenner and their family? Since they adopted newborn triplets, and five other children, they haven’t been in town much lately.”
“Hello, nice to meet you,” Lorna said to the woman trying to calm one of the crying babies lying on her shoulder. Lorna was worried about taking care of one child, let alone three at once.
“Nice to meet you, too,” as all Sarah managed to say before the infant’s crying increased.
“Hello, I’m Cate Connely and I’ve seen you in the café. I overheard you’ll be singing today. I look forward to it.” The older woman near Sarah held another one of the babies, and nodded instead of extending her hand since her hands were busy.
“My husband, Isaac, has the third grandbaby. I apologize ahead of time if the babies make a fuss while you’re singing,” she laughed, at ease with all the children around them.
“I’m Faye, Sarah’s sister. Glad to make your...acquaintance.” The young woman stammered over the words but shifted her baby on her hip and extended her hand anyway.
So this was one of the young women Cora talked about the other night. Her manners were rough but she was trying her best to be friendly and Lorna gladly clasped her hand.
“So nice to meet you, Faye. You have a darling daughter.” Faye blushed and turned to kiss the baby on her forehead.
“She’s my pride and joy, my Violet Rose.” Then she turned back to Lorna and asked. “Can we be friends?”
“I’d like that very much, Faye,” she laughed, caught by the girl’s blunt question, but she meant it. Lorna’s grandmother would have been aghast if she knew Lorna was conversing with a former soiled dove, but Boston’s etiquette didn’t matter here. It was time Lorna made friends in Clear Creek.
“Time for service to start, so come inside!” the pastor called from the entrance. Everyone continued talking as they made their way to the door. What a contrast from this congregation to the stiff and proper one she had attended in Boston.
Lorna felt a touch at her elbow and turned to see Lyle was back at her side. “We’ll need to sit up front near the piano. Are you doing okay so far?” Lorna looked up to his concerned face and realized she was enjoying meeting the people in this congregation.
“Actually, yes. I’m glad I’m here,” and she walked in to find her seat.
***
Lyle would have liked to put his arm on the pew behind Lorna’s shoulder, but it wouldn’t have been proper. But it felt right to be sitting beside her. Lorna had been nervous at first when sitting with Cora to turn pages on the sheet music, but relaxed when she became absorbed in the music. And Lyle didn’t realize what a talented singer Lorna was until she sang her solo. He’d heard her humming, but didn’t know the quality voice she had. The congregation was surprised and sincerely congratulated her after the service.
While Cora and Lorna were occupied visiting with yet another group of women, Lyle sought through the crowd for Maeve Ramsey. Like it or not, he needed to start courting with intent to marriage. If he couldn’t get a foothold in his business by the new year, he was going to need Grandfather’s inheritance to survive, because he wasn’t going to ask his father for another handout, as he’d done in the past. He admired Cora for using her inheritance to help others, and he hoped to use his portion for something along that line. But every week without income was draining his bank account.
Miss Ramsey, the daughter of a local rancher, was a sweet person and loved by her pupils. Lyle wasn’t sure if her father would approve of him courting her, let alone asking for her hand in marriage though. His past indiscretions were preceding him when he talked to people.
Lyle lightly touched the woman’s shoulder to get her attention. Maeve was short, so it was kind of nice to be taller than she was. Lyle always felt his shorter stature when standing next to any of the Swedish Hamner family. His brother-in-law had to be over six-and a half feet tall and Dagmar’s sister Rania towered over Lyle, too.
“Hello, Miss Ramsey, may I have a word with you?” Lyle swept his arm to the side to indicate they move away to talk privately, and she complied.
Lyle made small talk about the service, weather and anything else he could think of to get up the nerve to ask Maeve out for a drive. Funny, he never had any problem conversing with Lorna, but he was having problems finding things to talk about with this woman.
“Would you like to take a drive with me this afternoon? I’d like to get to know you better.” He held his breath after asking, not sure if he really wanted her to say yes, or no.
“Uh, Mr. Elison, you were sitting with Lorna Jantz today,” she accused him tersely without answering his question. Lyle was caught off guard by her tone of voice.
“Yes, Mrs. Jantz lives next door to me, so I accompanied her to church.”
“And why wasn’t Mr. Jantz with her instead?”
Surely she’d heard the gossip and knew Mr. Jantz was missing, and hadn’t been seen since their wedding day.
“He was called away on business and hasn’t returned, so I offered to walk her to church.” Maybe Miss Ramsey wouldn’t be a possible candidate for marriage after all if she was inclined to be a gossip. Lyle needed a wife who he could talk with about his cases, but not have her spread confidential information around town.
“Thank you for being so kind to Mrs. Jantz. I heard her husband left her. I’m sorry I assumed the worst of her, and you.” Lyle was surprised by her change of attitude. Which was the real person? Only one way to find out.
“She’s a nice person and I enjoy her as a next door neighbor.” Lyle wanted to point out again he was not romantically involved with Lorna.
“So, would you like to enjoy a drive out into the country this afternoon?”
Lyle knew she lived in the little house next to the school house, but worked at the mercantile while school was out of session. Throughout the year, she often was invited to eat with her parents for Sunday noon, so he wasn’t sure where to pick her up today.
“I forgot to ask if you already had plans,” Lyle backtracked since she didn’t answer right away. “Will you be eating with a family in town or out in the country today?”
“I was invited to the parsonage for lunch, which is always an interesting meal with the six rowdy Reagan boys.”
Now Maeve’s eyes sparkled, and she smiled. “Yes, I’d be delighted to spend some time with you after dinner.”
Lyle had the feeling she just mentally compared the humble preacher’s home to what she’d probably heard about his home. He was sure the men moving the furnishings upstairs talked about what he owned. Maybe she’d like to land a lawyer for a husband?
“What time should I be ready for you?”
“Two o’clock?”
“I look forward to getting to know you better.” Maeve smiled, but Lyle noticed her eyes darted over at the group of women Lorna and Cora were standing with while answering. Was she uncertain of his friendship with Lorna, or smug she was going to spend the afternoon with him?
“How was your afternoon drive with Miss Ramsey?” Lorna asked as he helped her into the buggy for their drive out to the Bar E Ranch to see his sister.
Lyle was expecting her to ask, since Lorna saw them drive down Main Street on their way out of town. Not that he wanted to keep it a secret, but he kind of felt like he was “stepping out” on Lorna by taking Maeve out for a drive.
He settled in the buggy and took the reins for the horse before answering. “Hot. Why did I suggest taking her out in the middle of an August afternoon?”
Lyle flicked the reins and they started their trip out of town.
Lorna laughed, apparently amused. “Because you already had an evening drive planned with ‘another woman’?”
Lyle looked at Lorna, surprised by her remark. Did he think she’d be jealous instead? He would have been if a man had taken Lorna for a drive this afternoon.
“True.” That’s what he liked about Lorna. He could be honest with her.
&n
bsp; “So what did you talk about on your romantic drive?”
“It was more of an ‘I listened to her talk’ type of conversation,” he sighed. “She’s a nice person, but...” Lyle wanted to say, but she wasn’t you.
“And what did this young lady have to say, then?”
“Basically her life story. Born and raised on a ranch south of here. Age nineteen. It will be her third year to teach here at Clear Creek since the boy back home hadn’t asked her to marry him. And because he hasn’t, she’s ready to find someone else to marry. Hint, hint.”
“Sounds like quite a catch since you’re in the market for a wife. Hint, hint.”
“But, half her conversation was about her ‘true love’.” Lyle put his hand over his heart. “They were the best of friends, rode horses together, and she’s still pining for him.”
“Oh, to be nineteen again...and deeply in love,” Lorna put the palm of her hand up to her forehead and gave a dramatic sigh.
“So, are you going for a drive next Sunday—evening preferred this time?”
“I don’t know. She’s nice, but not quite what I had in mind for a life partner.”
“You could do worse. Sign up for a mail-order bride situation like me and hope for the best.”
“Were you ever ‘deeply in love’ with someone when you were nineteen?” Lyle was curious about this now as this was never something they had discussed during their nightly visits.
“From age sixteen to twenty-five I was caring for my ailing grandmother. She could have afforded help, but preferred me to tend to her needs. So I missed society events where a young woman normally caught the eye of eligible bachelors.”
“No wonder I never ran into you at functions. We would have been in similar circles I would have thought.”
“Yes, I guess we would have.”
“Why didn’t you get out into society after your grandmother died?”
“I’d become an old maid, I’d been on the shelf too long.”
“Oh, I wouldn’t call you old...”
“But you must admit men prefer a younger woman.”
Well, he’d have to agree with that. It was just how it was.
“So, you signed up to be a mail-order bride.”
“Yes, but that didn’t turn out as I’d planned.”
They rode in silence for a while, enjoying the passing scenery. It had turned partly cloudy early evening giving them a break from the beating sun.
“Did you ever court a girl in Boston? I heard about Cora’s love life, but not yours.”
“I must admit I partied at every ball I was invited to, or could crash into. There was a group of young rich men who didn’t have to work, and I fancied myself one of them.”
“Not even during the war?”
“Looking back now, I was lucky. I was too young at the start of the war, then father paid for me to stay out so I could work in the family textile mill.”
“What about Carl? He’s older.”
“Carl wanted to enlist, but Father insisted he stay in the mill instead. Carl’s a born leader so he would have been a good officer, and maybe have made it his career. But Carl and Father worked well together and built the company bigger than what it was before.”
“And you didn’t fit in, so you partied.”
“And that sums it up. Drinking, gambling, getting in trouble, girls...”
“What changed?”
“All my friends were done with their youth, joining their family businesses and getting married. I tried working at the mill again, but my ideas clashed with Father’s and Carl’s. I was the odd man out of the family management, so I decided to pursue a different direction in my life.”
“Why a lawyer, if you were good at bending rules?”
“That’s probably why. I argued my way out of more than one fine, so I enjoy the challenge of the fight in court.”
“I’m sure it will be a good profession for you. You just need time to get established.” Lorna patted Lyle’s forearm without even thinking. Lyle had to admit he enjoyed her touches.
“There! That’s the house I saw on my wedding day!” Lorna pointed to the Bar E Ranch house, just as Lyle figured would happen when they started down the hill toward the ranch headquarters.
Lorna looked at Lyle when he didn’t say anything.
“That’s Cora’s and Dagmar’s ranch, isn’t it?”
“That’s correct. Sorry.” What else could he say?
“Well, another point for the swindler, my dear husband, Maynard.”
“At least you’ll get to see the inside of the house.”
Lorna snorted. “Yes, that is a consolation isn’t it. Knowing I’ll never live in such a nice place now.”
This time Lyle put his free arm around Lorna’s shoulders and gave them a squeeze of support because she needed it. “But you have me as your neighbor instead,” he teased, hoping to raise her spirits.
“True, and I’m thankful for that.” She patted his thigh and rubbed it a second before returning her hand to her lap.
Lyle’s heart tightened in response. He could get used to her touch and really enjoy it.
***
“Kipper! Get down!” Dagmar yelled as a dog jumped up and planted its dirty paws on her light blue shirtwaist, almost knocking her over in the process.
“I’m so sorry, Lorna. Cora’s going to tan my hide. She warned me to watch so the dog didn’t do that to you.” Dagmar held the exuberant dog by the scruff of his furry neck.
Lorna tried to brush the two matching paw prints off the top of her chest, but they still faintly showed. Washing laundry wasn’t her favorite chore, but she’d be scrubbing this article of clothing tonight.
“Well, at least I wasn’t carrying the cake I baked for you and dropped it. Then you’d really have felt badly, Dagmar.”
Lorna couldn’t help but laugh at the man’s horrified look...because she was jumped on my his dog, or because she could have dropped their dessert? She really liked Lyle’s brother-in-law.
“Welcome, Lorna!” Cora called from the wrap-around porch of the sandstone home. “Come inside! Oh, I see you’ve met Kipper.” Cora shook her finger at Dagmar, but smiled instead of yelling at him. Lorna liked Lyle’s sister, too.
It would have been so nice to be included in a family like this. She and Maynard hadn’t gotten around to talking about his family during their day together. What a shame, because that might have been a way to track him down.
“Cora will give you the grand tour, Lorna. I’m still not comfortable traipsing through some of the fancy rooms.”
“Don’t mind, Dagmar. He about breaks out in hives when he goes into the library. Too many ‘fancy dishes’ sitting around, he says”, Cora laughed. “And I’ve put most of them away.”
“You have a lovely home and furnishings. Did you ship this all from Boston?” Actually, Lorna was almost overwhelmed with the crystal herself when walking through the dining room into the parlor. And Cora said it wasn’t all displayed?
Lorna took a second look around the room and decided cleaning her shirtwaist could wait. She wanted to see this lovely house instead. It rivaled some of the fancier homes she’d seen in Boston.
“Actually an Englishman built the house and brought all this over from England. Can you imagine all the crates of china and crystal hauled by ship, train and probably wagon, to the middle of the Kansas prairie?”
“Why, I don’t know,” Dagmar muttered. “All we brought from Sweden was the clothes on our backs and two trunks of necessities.”
Cora ignored Dagmar and continued. “Then the owner decided to move back to England. Sold everything on the ranch, land, sheep, house and crystal, to my father.”
“You had a very nice place to live when you and Carl were here last year,” Lorna couldn’t help comment to Lyle.
“Didn’t even notice the knick knacks. Ignored them.” Lyle shrugged his shoulders and looked around the room before sitting down in one of the upholstered chairs.
&n
bsp; “Just as well sit down, Dagmar. You know it will be a while for the ladies to roam through the whole house. Especially the ‘five-trunk room’.”
“Let’s grab a glass of lemonade and sit out on the porch then,” Dagmar motioned to Lyle and he followed.
“Well, now we’re rid of the men, we can have a good tour and chat,” Cora beamed at Lorna as she led the way to the stairs.
“Since you’re already married, I can show you the ‘five-trunk room’, as Dagmar calls it.” Cora opened up the fourth—or was it the fifth—upstairs door. “This is a secret project, so you can’t tell a soul.”
There were indeed five wooden traveling trunks lining the walls in this bedroom, along with a single bed and four chairs. It was an odd arrangement of furniture for a bedroom.
“I brought these five trunks with me when I left Boston. Dagmar swore the heavy trunks were all full of dresses when he helped carry them upstairs when I arrived, but of course they had books, toiletries and a variety of other things, too.
“But I soon felt overdressed in my latest fashions when going to town, or working around the ranch, so I altered some of the dresses and gave away others.”
Cora opened one of the trunks and started pulling out dresses and laid them on the bed for Lorna to see. The three dresses were different colors and fabrics, and gorgeous. Lorna couldn’t help but pick up the royal blue dress and hold it up against herself.
“When Millie and Adam, the marshal, married, I gave Millie a dress to wear because she’d come to town with next to nothing, running away from her awful brother-in-law.
“Now, Pastor Reagan lets me know when there’s a bride who could use a new dress for her wedding. I invite them out to tea—Kaitlyn Reagan usually brings the bride out here—we visit and I mention I have trunks full of dresses upstairs. We go upstairs and I tell the bride she’s welcome to pick one out for her special day.”
“But women come in all different sizes,” Lorna was confused how they altered dresses which could fit Cora’s short stature into someone, like Rania, Dagmar’s sister’s height.
Lorna Loves a Lawyer: A Historical Western Romance (Brides with Grit Book 9) Page 6
