On the Wings of a Winter Heart (Miracle Express, #5)

by Rebecca Lovell

  Apart from their first meeting, he hadn’t tried to talk her into selling her land. She kept waiting for him to bring it up, especially when she’d hesitantly talked about it at dinner, but he’d truly only seemed interested in talking about her. She smiled as she remembered chatting with him over their meal, and over the pie she’d brought to Clara’s house.

  It was pointless to try and deny it, she had come to like him as a bit more than a friend. Joy wasn’t ready to tell him something like that, especially knowing that at some point he was going to have to ask her again or be pulled back to Santa Fe. Despite how he may or may not feel about her, the reality was that he had come to Mayfly for business and he couldn’t put it off forever.

  “Mrs. Everly, it’s time to put on the star,” Franklin said at the edge of her hearing. Joy shook herself out of her daze and got up to join them with a smile.

  “It looks nice,” she said. “You two did a good job.”

  “Let’s put the star on together.” Franklin looked down at Serenity. “I think someone’s going to need a little bit of help.” His eyes found Joy’s and she nodded her approval. “All right, let’s get you up there.” He gave Serenity the star, then scooped her up and held her up to the top of the tree. Joy stepped next to him and put a hand on the star, then lifted it up with Serenity and put it on the tip.

  “There we are.” Joy put her hands on her hips to survey their work and Serenity clapped and cheered. “Thank you for the tree,” Joy said as Franklin put Serenity on the floor. “It really does brighten up the room.”

  “I’m glad you like it.”

  “Yes, very much.” Smiling, Joy watched Serenity staring up at the tree. A moment later Serenity yawned and put her hand over her mouth. “Looks like it’s time for someone to go to bed,” Joy said. “You can look at the tree all you want tomorrow, it’s not going anywhere.”

  “Yes, Mama.” The dejected look on Serenity’s face made Joy want to laugh rather than have sympathy for her daughter, and she was about to tell her that it wasn’t working when she smiled up at Franklin instead. “Thank you for the tree, Mr. York.”

  “You’re very polite,” Franklin said, picking up his jacket and putting it on over his vest. “You’re also very welcome.”

  “Come on now, off to bed with you.” Shaking her head, Joy put her hands on Serenity’s shoulders and began to steer her toward the bedroom. “If you want to wait a minute or two, I’ll be back out to see you out.”

  “No need.” Putting his coat and hat on to protect him from the cold, Franklin put a hand on the doorknob. “I can show myself out. Have a good night, both of you.”

  Joy watched him go, then waited for the door to click into its frame before going over to lock it. She couldn’t believe she had spent so much time with the door unlocked, but having Franklin in the house made her feel safer. It was strange that she should feel that way, but it was true. Out of the corner of her eye she saw Serenity yawning again so she went back and led her to the hall that led to her bedroom while her daughter kept craning her neck to get a last look at the tree.

  “Now we just need presents,” Serenity said, and the warmth that had filled Joy when Franklin looked into her eyes was gone in an instant. She had bought some beautiful, somewhat expensive fabric to make her a better Christmas dress but she hadn’t had the money to get anything else. She always got Serenity one present but this year she had no idea how she was going to pay for it.

  “We’ll see,” Joy said, trying not to sound either happy or sad about it. She didn’t want to disappoint Serenity just yet, but she had a bad feeling that it was going to happen whether she wanted to or not.

  Chapter Eight

  The Everly family Christmas tree had only been up for two days when Franklin found himself in the post office again, staring at a telegram. The clerk was too busy to see him standing in the corner, which suited Franklin fine. He didn’t want anything to do with the telegram but there was no avoiding it. There were only a few words on it but he could read between the lines.

  He’d managed to put them off before, but the men at the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railroad weren’t exactly known for their patience. If he wasn’t able to get the land they wanted in another week, he wouldn’t be going back to the Santa Fe office or staying to run the real estate office. He wouldn’t be going anywhere, unless it was home to pack up his things and find another place to live.

  “Everything all right, Mr. York?” Jim’s voice startled Franklin out of his daze and he tucked the telegram into his pocket.

  “Yes,” Franklin said. “I’ll need to send another telegram.” He went up to the counter and leaned on it with a sigh while Jim got out his pencil and paper. “’I understand, stop. Will redouble my efforts, stop.’” A headache was starting in the front of his head and Franklin rubbed his temples to try and massage it away. “That’ll be all.”

  “Yes, sir. I’ll get to work on this right away.”

  “Thank you.” Franklin took out his wallet and put the same amount of money on the counter that he had before, realizing too late that he should probably be saving his money to live on after he was fired and no doubt lost his apartment in Santa Fe. “If they send one back, you’ll know where to find me.” Jim took the money and put it in his register while Franklin left the post office.

  After a quick check in with Jonathan to make sure everything was going smoothly with the office, Franklin decided it would be a good idea to get some groceries for Clara. He wasn’t exactly eating her out of house and home, but he’d promised he would be a good guest. This seemed like something a good brother would do as well, and after what he’d done to Clara in the past he felt the need to be the best brother possible.

  Visiting the future office made him a little sad. He tried his best not to let it show through the smiles and encouragement he gave the men so they wouldn’t worry about it. After all his talk about how much the railroad could do for Mayfly and getting to know his workers, he might not actually be the one who worked in the office they put together.

  “Good afternoon, Franklin.” The bells over the top of the door jingled around Louis’ words and made them sound festive. “What can I help you with today?”

  “I’m here for some groceries for Clara,” he said. “I’m not sure what sort of things she gets but I’d like to get all of it.” Before I’m too poor to buy anything for her, he added to himself.

  “Don’t you worry about it, I know exactly what she’ll want.” Louis went about the business of picking out groceries for Clara while Franklin poked around the store. There wasn’t much of a selection and Franklin looked up.

  “Do you have any scented bath soaps? I’d like to get one for my sister.”

  “I’m afraid not, sir.” Louis set two bottles of milk on the counter, one larger than the other. “Much as I’d like to stock everything in here, I can’t. It’s not that I don’t have the space, there’re just a lot of things I can’t get in because it’s too hard to get them into Mayfly. The cost of getting basic supplies into the store is getting higher, too. I keep this store because I know the people of the town need it but I’m losing money on it every day.”

  “If you could have anything you needed to make your store profitable again, can you think of something you’d want?” Franklin knew perfectly well that someone who had been gently prodded in the direction of the railroad wouldn’t sway Joy, but he wanted to gather as many stories from the people of town as possible to make sure he was doing the right thing.

  “More people getting their goods here,” Louis said immediately. “If I had more people to buy things, I could afford to bring more things – nicer things – in. That’s just not possible anymore.” He shook his head and began to write a receipt for the groceries.

  “It’s not?”

  “Nope. Too many people leaving Mayfly. That’s why the dress shop is open for you to build your office, because no one could afford fancy dresses. Most people here make their own clothes now, to save mo
ney.” Louis sighed heavily. “I’ve lived here all my life. I was born in Mayfly, and I’ll likely die here too. It’s breaking my heart to watch the town slowly dying this way.”

  “Do you think a railroad through here would help? It’d be cheaper to get your stock in, and people might come back to start businesses if the town was busier.” As Franklin had hoped, Louis broke into a smile.

  “A railroad depot in Mayfly? Shoot, that’d connect us everywhere. We could bring people in instead of watching them move out.” He looked closely at Franklin. “Do you know something about a railroad coming through town?”

  “I know that this town would benefit from one, and there are discussions being had about it but I’m running into a little resistance. Do you think –” He didn’t get a chance to finish his sentence before the door opened again with a jingle and Serenity came in with another little girl who looked about the same age. This one had two long, dark braids that came out from under her hat and Franklin wondered if this was Eleanor.

  “Hi, Mr. York!” Serenity hurried up to him. “Are you here getting food?”

  “I’m getting groceries for your Aunt Clara right now,” Franklin said. “Every time I see you in here, you’ve come for candy.” Serenity’s eyes opened wide and she gasped.

  “How did you know?”

  “It was actually just a lucky guess.” He looked on the counter at the pile of food that Louis had been getting together for Clara and wondered just how much his sister actually ate when he wasn’t around. “What are you getting today?”

  “I won a penny on a bet, so I want a piece of horehound candy.” The boastful way she talked made Franklin grin and Serenity’s face fell slightly. “They said I couldn’t climb a tree, but when I made it up there, Tommy Sanders had to pay me a penny.” She went to the candy case with the dark-haired little girl and started pointing out what she wanted.

  “Your Mama might not like you climbing trees,” Franklin said. Serenity put her hands on her hips in a remarkable impression of Joy, and he couldn’t help chuckling.

  “I like climbing trees. It’s fun.” The little girl sounded indignant, and as if she had to explain something very slowly to him. They turned their attention back to the candy while Louis tore off a receipt from his pad.

  “There you are. I’ll deliver these to Miss Clara’s house this evening, if that’s all right.”

  “That’ll be fine. I’m in no hurry.” The receipt went into his pocket and Louis moved on to Serenity and her friend at the candy case.

  Franklin was glad to see Serenity, but he was more curious about her friend. Ames had white hair so it was impossible to know without asking whether his daughter had dark hair, and he’d never seen a photograph or drawing of Ames’ wife. There hadn’t been any children that he’d seen the one time he had been out at Ames’ ranch, but that didn’t mean anything. A man like Ames would probably have someone to mind his children, after all.

  “Have a good afternoon, Serenity,” Franklin said in her direction as he started out of the store. “Say hi to your mother for me.”

  The wind sliced through him as he stepped out of the store onto the porch, instantly raising goosebumps on his skin and making him glad he wasn’t walking out to Joy’s house. As much as he would like to visit her every day, he really did worry that she would get tired of his being around her all the time. Though his time with her might be limited, he wanted to keep things as good as possible between them. That, of course, meant not discussing the sale of her land, and that was guaranteed to get him fired. If he was planning to move back to Chicago he wouldn’t be too upset about it, but if he wanted to stay in Mayfly and take care of Joy as best he could, he would need a job that was just as good, and he somehow doubted that he would be able to do that without the railroad. Nothing in town was going to be able to support them. All he had to do to talk to his men to know that much.

  “Wait! Mr. York!” Serenity’s voice behind him made Franklin turn, and he saw her running toward him, holding her hat on her head with one hand and clutching her bag of candy in the other.

  “What’s the matter?” He paused and knelt down to the girls’ level. Frigid air had turned all their faces red and her friend was already shivering.

  “Do you want to come to my birthday party? We’re having magic cake, and Mama is making me a new dress to wear.” Her face was excited as she continued to tell him about the party and he didn’t hear half of what she said. The thought of going to see Joy was a pleasant one, but he didn’t know how much longer he would be allowed to be in Mayfly and he didn’t want to promise her something he couldn’t deliver. If he didn’t get Joy’s land he would, at the very least, have to go back to Santa Fe to get his affairs in order. Still, he couldn’t refuse Serenity when she was standing right in front of him.

  “When’s your birthday party?”

  “Next week on Saturday. My friends are going to be there too!” Her face fell slightly as she looked at her friend. “Some of my friends are gone though.”

  “They moved away,” the other girl said softly. She looked like she was about to try and hide behind Serenity, and he wondered if she really could be Ames’ daughter. He would have assumed that she would be more outgoing.

  “Don’t worry about that.” Grinning, Franklin stood up. “I’ll be at your party no matter what.”

  “Yay!” Serenity jumped up and down excitedly.

  “Now go on home, both of you. The last thing you need is to get sick before your birthday. Your Mama would never let me hear the end of it.” He turned his attention to Serenity’s friend, who grabbed her hand and pulled her in the opposite direction.

  “Bye!” Serenity waved enthusiastically at him as she was led away, and Franklin noticed that they were going in the direction of the Ames ranch. He wondered if they would get in a buggy to go out there; he couldn’t imagine Everett Ames allowing his daughter to walk home, even with a friend.

  As he walked back to Clara’s house, he thought about Serenity’s birthday party. He would make sure that he was still in Mayfly to attend, even if he lost his job the day before. It might be the last time he saw her and Joy. The thought made his chest tighten and he tried to force himself to think about something else.

  By the time he got back to Clara’s house, he had to accept the fact that there was no way to put it out of his mind. Joy’s face was all he could see, the face that had so recently started smiling at him. Thinking about how her eyes would look at her when he told her he had to leave was worse than the thought of leaving itself, and the knowledge that she would probably blame herself for his being fired was unbearable. He had to find a way to get the railroad through Mayfly, whether it was finding somewhere else to build it or Joy deciding she was going to sell.

  One more try, he thought as he took off his hat. I’ll try talking to her one more time and if she still says no, I’ll never bring it up again. I’ll just spend the time I can with her and Serenity, then take my things and go back to Chicago and try to find work there. The thought didn’t fill him with happiness and he went to the guest room and dropped onto the bed. Just one more try.

  Chapter Nine

  “Morning, Mrs. Joy,” Henry said, knocking on the back door frame.

  “Good morning, Henry.” Joy came out of the hall with a muffler in her hand. “I’ll get you some coffee before you go out.”

  “That’d be nice.” Once again, he didn’t move out of the doorway and when Joy went to pour him the coffee he cleared his throat loudly. “I didn’t want to bring this up now, but come spring I may not be able to work for you anymore.”

  “Spring?” Coffee in hand, Joy turned to look at him, her eyes wide with surprise. “Why not? Is it something I’ve done?”

  “No, ma’am, not at all. I think of you and Serenity as my family. I’m getting old, though, and I can’t manage by myself like I used to. Winter’s not so bad because the work’s light but once it comes to hoeing and planting, I need some help.” He took off his hat and r
an a hand through what was left of his hair. “I don’t want to leave you but I don’t see any other way.”

  “I understand,” Joy said, turning her back on him so he wouldn’t see that her eyes were full of tears. “There’s no way I can afford to pay two men.”

  “I know. If I retire, you can pay one strong young man instead of a broken down old one. There are plenty of young men around here that would be eager to do the work for you.” Henry took a drink of his coffee, careful to keep his eyes somewhere besides Joy. “I heard tell around town that there’s a man looking to buy property around here to extend the railroad.”

  “Yes, I know.” Joy poured herself a cup of coffee and leaned on the kitchen counter. “What do you think about the idea?”

  “Mostly I’m in favor of it.” His words were a surprise to Joy, and she looked up at him. “Mayfly is dying, there’s no other way to put it. Every year we lose more families and more young people. Some of them are men who came here to drive cattle for Ames and decided it wasn’t for them, and some are young people getting married and want to start their lives somewhere better.”

  “What about the people who might lose their land because of it?” There was a knot in the bottom of Joy’s stomach, and it tightened as she waited for Henry to answer.

  “It’s hard to say. It might be they end up the way you have, selling off bit by bit until there’s nothing left.” He smiled at her, and Joy wasn’t surprised to see that it was as sad as she felt. “Maybe you should talk to him, see if he might want to buy your land. You and Serenity would be able to go somewhere nicer.”

  “Do you think that’s what George would have wanted?” Joy’s voice was quiet as she gazed into her coffee.

  “I think George would have wanted you and your girl to be somewhere safe and comfortable, not scrambling around for money and depending on an old man to keep the farm going.” His words hit home a little too hard and Joy’s fingers tightened around her cup. “It’s not for me to tell you what to do, ma’am. I just didn’t want you to be surprised in the spring when I have to retire.”