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

by Rebecca Lovell

  “I don’t want you to forget about George, not at all. I just want you to give me a chance to make new memories with you as well.” Franklin held his breath, waiting for her reply, but before she could his sister knocked on the door frame.

  “Serenity’s finished with her bath if you want to come have yours.” Clara’s voice was soft and Joy nodded. “I’ll have an extra nightdress for you when you’re done.”

  “Thank you.” Joy stood up and looked back at Franklin. “What you said before, I’d like that as well.” She smiled a little shyly, then turned and followed Clara to the bathroom.

  Though it had been his room for two weeks or so, in his mind it already belonged to Joy and her daughter so he got up and went out to the living room. He would dress for bed once the women were asleep so he wasn’t walking around in his own nightclothes. It seemed somehow obscene though he wasn’t the type of man to just wear a union suit to bed.

  While he was sitting on the couch, considering what Joy had said, Clara came out and sat in one of the chairs that flanked it. She looked at him curiously, as if seeing him for the first time, and Franklin gestured for her to say what was on her mind the way he had when they were children.

  “Why aren’t you living in Chicago anymore?”

  “I got on the wrong side of some of our upper management,” Franklin said, sitting back on the couch. “Being sent to Santa Fe was my punishment. I have a feeling they also knew that Joy was likely to refuse their offer, and they’d have an excuse to fire me outright.”

  “But why? What did you do that was so terrible? Besides having a big mouth, I mean.” She folded her arms over her chest. “You didn’t need to tell Joy about Freddie. I left Chicago to forget about all of that.”

  “I know, and I’m sorry. It just felt like the right thing at the time. You’re right, though. It was my big mouth that got me into trouble.” Franklin took a deep breath, then looked his sister in the eye. “There was a young woman who worked as a secretary for one of our executives. I’ll never forget her name; Rosie Schultz. When I was there one night, I heard her crying. Her clothes were a mess and she was scared to death. I took her home so she’d be safe and once she cleaned herself up she told me that her boss had accosted her.”

  “You mean he forced himself on her?” Clara’s face was white and Franklin shook his head.

  “No, it didn’t go that far but he threatened her. I stayed at her apartment on the couch to make sure no one came to hurt her, and in the morning I walked her to work. She asked me not to mention it but I went straight to my own boss, who was a little lower on the ladder. Next thing I knew, I was being shipped off to Santa Fe and Rosie got fired.” Franklin clenched his hands into fists. “They told everyone at the office that she was lying to try and extort money from the company.”

  “That’s terrible!”

  “It was. I was buried in paperwork in Santa Fe but that was nothing compared to poor Rosie. Her reputation was no doubt ruined, and it may have been hard for her to find another job. I was just trying to help her and I ruined both of our lives instead.” Franklin looked away from his sister. “It’s the same as with you and Freddie. I only wanted to help.”

  “So they somehow found out where I was and used you to try and get me to talk Joy into selling.” Clara sounded disgusted. “I guess you’ll go back to Santa Fe as a big hero. Maybe they’ll even let you back in the Chicago office. You got what they wanted.”

  “I didn’t want it to happen this way,” Franklin said miserably. “And I don’t want to go back to Chicago anymore. I don’t even want to go back to Santa Fe. I’d rather stay here in Mayfly with Joy.”

  “Is that so?” Clara smiled at him warmly for the first time in years and he wanted to get up and hug her. “If that’s what you really want, then you’re welcome to stay on my couch until you find a place of your own.”

  “Thank you. For what it’s worth, I’m sorry about Freddie. I’ve been sorry about it since you left Chicago and never really got a chance to apologize to you.” He stood up from the couch and extended a hand to Clara. She took it and he pulled her out of the chair.

  “Apology accepted,” she said, putting her arms around him. Franklin hugged her tightly, trying to put 10 years worth of love into it.

  “Aunt Clara?” Serenity’s voice came down the hall and Clara turned toward it.

  “I’m coming, Serenity,” she called. Then she turned to Franklin and sighed with a smile on her face. “Thank you.”

  “For what?” This wasn’t what he had been expecting. Franklin was genuinely confused and Clara let go of him, then patted his arm gently.

  “Showing me that forgiveness is possible. I’d better go take care of Serenity while her mama bathes. Joy deserves a bit of a break.” With that, Clara went upstairs in the direction of the guest room.

  Franklin sat back down on the couch and put his hands behind his head. There was so much to think about now that the deal was going through, but all he could think about was whether or not Joy was going to be treated fairly. This time I’m going to make sure the right thing is done, no matter what the cost. He closed his eyes. If he had any say in the matter, Joy, Serenity, and Clara would be safe for the rest of their lives.

  Chapter Fifteen

  “I gotta admit I’m surprised, Mrs. Joy. I expected the damage to be a lot worse than it is.” Henry looked around the bottom floor of the house from his place in the doorway. Joy was behind him, craning her neck to see around him. Henry had insisted on going out to the house with Joy to keep her safe, much to the relief of Clara.

  Joy had a feeling that Franklin would have agreed with Clara if he’d been in Mayfly, but he had made the trip to the rail stop in Lamy that would take him to Santa Fe to collect her check for the land. She’d already signed the papers, so technically the land she was standing on no longer hers. The thought sent a stab of guilt through her heart.

  “Let me go inside,” Joy said. “I want to see for myself.” She stepped around Henry without hearing his answer and looked at her house.

  The fire had started in the rear of the house and spread from there, so everything from the kitchen back was blackened and crumbling. Some of it looked like burned paper, and the icebox was ruined, but as she’d hoped, the stove looked like it was still all right. Smoke damage stretched into the living room, and as most of the roof was gone, her furniture was also ruined. Joy picked her way carefully back to Serenity’s room and found that the majority of her things were either gray with ash or soaking wet. As they’d been in the closet, some of Serenity’s dresses were unscathed and Joy breathed a sigh of relief.

  The scene was the same in her own room, with only a few of her dresses, the sewing machine, and her jewelry box escaping damage. Both she and her daughter would need underthings, stockings, shoes, and toiletries, but seeing that everything wasn’t gone lifted the cloud that had been over her since she’d decided to go out and look at what was left of her house.

  “You wanna start loading things up in the buckboard?” Startled, Joy jumped when Henry appeared at her side.

  “Yes, I think we should. It may rain again and I don’t want the rest of my things to be ruined. I’ll bring out the clothes and such, then I’ll help you with my sewing machine.” She looked around her room. “They’ll have to take the stove out for me when they come to demolish the house. I won’t be able to lift that, even without your help.”

  “Begging your pardon, ma’am, but you shouldn’t be carrying something heavy like that. Wait until your young man comes back and I’ll help him with it and the stove. He looks like a fine, strong young man.” Henry smiled at her, and Joy put her hands on her hips.

  “Don’t be ridiculous, I’m every bit as good as a man when it comes to lifting.” The look Henry gave her should have offended her but for some reason it made her want to laugh, something she never thought she would do in such a situation. “All right, all right. I’ll bring out the clothes.”

  She looked through her dre
sses and picked out the ones that could be salvaged, as well as the ones from Serenity’s room. While she was moving the quilt her grandmother made, which had been saved by virtue of being inside a trunk, she caught sight of the Christmas tree that Franklin had bought them. It wasn’t the first kind thing he’d done for her, but it was the most significant.

  As she’d gotten older, Joy wondered if she was doing the wrong thing by depriving Serenity of a father. She’d had men that were interested in her, but she’d been so intent on protecting her daughter and not betraying her husband’s memory that she’d been building a wall around her heart. Brick by brick she had convinced herself that she would remain George’s wife until the day she died. Then Franklin had brought in the tree. Somehow, impossibly, he’d broken through her defenses inch by inch until she’d fallen in love with him.

  The way Serenity’s face lit up when she saw the tree, and the way she and Franklin had decorated it together made her realize just how much Serenity needed a father. She wondered if Franklin would be interested in taking such a huge job. He truly seemed to care for Serenity and her little girl liked him too. Since he’d been gone, she had been asking where he was and saying that Cookie missed him. Joy didn’t blame her. She missed him too.

  Once she and Henry got back into the buckboard with the clothes and quilts, her only thought was about where she was going to keep them. Clara’s house had an attic but she didn’t want to take up all the space. Not to mention the fact that she had no idea where she was going to put the stove and sewing machine. She would have to buy a house quickly before the railroad came in and tore what was left of it down. That wouldn’t be too difficult; there were a lot of empty houses in Mayfly these days.

  “When is that Mr. York coming back? He’s been gone a few days.” Henry helped Joy up into the buckboard and she sat down, smoothing her skirt.

  “He didn’t say,” Joy replied. “Soon, I hope. I don’t know what the train trip from Santa Fe is like, though, and I don’t really know how far away Lamy is.”

  “It’s a bit of a ride but you can usually hire a buggy for a few dollars. The way he was paying those men to build his office, he’s got more’n a few dollars in his pocket.” The horse started moving as Henry snapped the reins and they were on their way.

  Clara wasn’t home when Joy got there, so she and Henry took the clothes and quilt to the guest room, then bid one another farewell. Thanks to Eleanor’s pleading, her goats and chickens were at the Ames ranch. It had surprised her, since she’d always thought of Ames as a cold-hearted businessman, but when he said they could stay as long as she needed and that he would have someone milk the goats and take it to the store for her she had started to change her opinion of the man.

  With Serenity at school, Clara doing her errands, and no farm chores to do, Joy was at a loss for what to do with herself. She sat down on the couch in the place where Franklin slept and looked at the Christmas tree. It was a lot like the one they had decorated at her house but with different ornaments. She wanted to have her own tree again, and a mantle where they could hang stockings. She might even be able to afford to really fill them again.

  Joy laid on the couch with her head on Franklin’s pillow and closed her eyes. She could smell his hair oil on the pillowcase and it made her tingle all over. She’d been turning something over and over in her mind the entire time he was gone, and she pressed her face into the pillow as she thought about it once more.

  She’d never doubted that people could fall in love at first sight. It hadn’t happened with her and George, but mainly because she’d been shy when she was younger. It had taken him a little while to bring her out of her shell but she’d responded and they’d fallen in love. There was no question that she hadn’t fallen in love with Franklin at first sight, but she had come to trust him, then like him, and now here she was in love with him as if it was the first time. Since he’d been gone, all she could think about was seeing him again. It was as if she was a schoolgirl with a crush, but felt so much deeper. She wanted him to come home to her at night, sit with her on the couch, and watch Serenity play with her dog.

  A soft snuffling sound near her feet made Joy look down, and she saw Cookie sniffing around the floor. Having the pup around made her smile, and though she had been resistant to the idea at first it had become clear that she would be a good guard dog as well as Serenity’s best friend. Cookie looked up at her, wagging her stub of a tail, and Joy ran a hand over her silky head.

  She didn’t just want to smell Franklin on a pillow, she wanted to smell him when she woke up in his arms. She wanted to open her eyes and have him be the first thing she saw, eat breakfast with him, watch him play with Serenity, and fall asleep with him at night.

  “Joy? Are you here?” Clara looked around as she came in the house. “There you are. Did you get everything you needed out of the house?”

  “Not everything. I still need to get my stove and sewing machine but Henry wouldn’t let me help him lift the sewing machine,” Joy said indignantly. She stood up from the couch and the puppy frolicked around her boots. “Can I put my clothes in your attic once we’ve washed them? I was able to bring quite a few more dresses than I expected.”

  “Of course. Provided it doesn’t rain, of course.” With a sigh, Clara motioned for Joy to follow her. “Being as cold as it is, I expected it to snow by now. This weather has been strange.” They walked into the backyard with the puppy on their heels and she ran out into the grass to use the restroom. “I’m not sure if you were planning to do it now, but the washtub is over here and the soap is in the pantry.”

  “Wonderful. Thank you so much.” Joy watched Cookie run around the yard. “Did Franklin mention when he was coming back?” She tried to say it casually but the look Clara gave her told her that she wasn’t as subtle as she thought.

  “He didn’t tell me any more than he told you,” Clara said with a smirk. “Does this mean you’ve been missing him? He’s only been gone three days.”

  “It seems like longer than that,” Joy sighed. “And of course I’m missing him. Besides that, I need to talk to him about something.”

  “Oh? It must be important for you to be thinking about it all day.” The smirk on Clara’s face was made ever more devilish by her raised eyebrows. “Could it be that you’re going to tell my baby brother that you’re in love with him?”

  “No!” Joy’s face immediately gave her away by turning bright red. Clara gave her a maddening look and Joy sighed. “I suppose there’s no hiding it.”

  “Why would you try?”

  “Because I haven’t been in love with anyone in six years and I don’t even know if I know how to anymore. Cookie, come here!” Joy leaned down and petted the puppy when it ran up to her, then followed the women inside. “It’s been a long time since I’ve had a man interested in me, and I don’t know how I should feel about it.”

  “It hasn’t been that long, you just haven’t been paying attention.” Clara shook her head with a sigh. “If you really are in love with him, then tell him so. Franklin’s a man, not a boy. Let him handle it as he sees fit.” She put her hand on Joy’s arm. “You can’t control everything in life.”

  “Don’t you think I already know that? These last few years I haven’t been able to control anything in life!” Joy dropped onto the couch again and the puppy scrambled up beside her to lick her face. “That’s more than enough, Cookie.”

  “Enough of this nonsense,” Clara said, grabbing Joy’s hands and pulling her up from the couch. “We are going to go to the land office and see what houses are available. You’ve already signed the papers and Franklin is bringing you an enormous check so I think it’s a fine time to look for a place for you to live.”

  “I don’t know, Clara, what if something happens and I don’t get the money? I’ll be back in the same place I was with the farm.” Joy bit her lip as she thought about her former home. “My goats and my chickens are at Mr. Ames’s ranch. There’s no way I could keep them here in to
wn, is there?”

  “Most likely not,” Clara replied. “Maybe you could sell them to Ames? He’s the one who put a bug in the railroad’s ear.”

  “I don’t want to sell my goats or my chickens. I want them here with me so I can milk them and make my cheese.” The stubborn look on Joy’s face had been handed down through generations of the Miller family, and though her name had changed, her appearance had not.

  “I suppose if we can find a place with a large backyard you could see about keeping them, but I don’t want you getting your hopes up too high. As for the chickens, didn’t you say they weren’t laying as much anymore? You could butcher and sell them, that’d make you some nice money.” Clara laughed. “Not that you need to worry about that for a while.”

  “You’re no help at all.” Joy went to the coat rack and put on the coat she was borrowing from Clara, seeing as her own was still in the remains of her house. It seemed that Clara was lending her half of her closet and she didn’t know how to feel about it. “What do you think I should look for? A big house or a small one?”

  “Whatever size you want. You can spend 500 dollars or 1500, and it won’t make a dent in what the railroad is giving you. You can buy it outright, as well as the land it’s on, and you won’t have to worry about anything anymore.” Grinning like a ten year old girl, Clara put on her own coat. “Just think, Joy, everything is going to change for the better now. For you, and for Serenity, and for everyone in Mayfly. And to think you and my brother played a part in it.”

  “I’m glad,” Joy said with a smile as she pulled on her worn leather gloves. “If it weren’t for Franklin being so kind about it all, I wouldn’t have considered the offer at all and I’d be destitute.” She looked over at Clara, who she now noticed looked quite a bit like her brother. It was obvious now that they were siblings and Joy couldn’t help laughing a little.