New Beginnings Spring 20 Book Box Set

by Hope Sinclair

  But perhaps Ian was too excited by what he’d heard, and he let that fluttering he felt in his heart go to his head. Against his better reason, he approached Emma after Kenneth left.

  “You were wise to decline Kenneth’s request to court you,” Ian told her with a smug grin. “I’m glad you took my advice.” His remark stirred so much in Emma, and not all of it was good.

  “Your advice?” she asked with a sarcastic laugh. “You think I declined Kenneth because of your advice? Not at all! Your advice had nothing to do with the decision I made.”

  “If you say so,” Ian jeered.

  “And you shouldn’t have been spying on us,” Emma added reproachingly. “My brother-in-law doesn’t pay you to lurk around in the shadows, eavesdropping… does he? Maybe you should pay more attention to your job, instead of my personal life.”

  “You may be smart, Emma,” Ian came back. “But you know little about my job, and what I overhear when I—”

  “You may be whatever you are, Ian,” Emma interrupted. “But you know nothing about me, or my motivations for decli—”

  “I know more than you think,” Ian interjected. “I know the sadness—the confusion and insecurity—I saw in your eyes when I first encountered you on the road outside of Miles City. I know the guarded way you’ve carried yourself the entire time you’ve been here, the way you defend yourself and make yourself appear ‘hard,’ so that no one can reach your sensitive, vulnerable side.

  “I know that you’ve been hurt, even though I don’t know how. But I also know that, beneath the hardness, beneath the shell that’s meant to protect you from further pain, you have a huge heart that is capable of great love. The way you care for Charlie shows as much.”

  Emma shook her head from side to side, trying to ignore the truth and insight of what Ian said.

  “And,” Ian added, “I know it was wise of you to keep that shell in place as far as Kenneth is concerned. I told you to be careful around him, and I’m glad to see that you have.”

  Emma focused on the anger she felt, rather than the way she’d been moved. “This conversation is over,” she said. “I don’t want to hear any more of what you have to say.”

  “Very well,” Ian replied, though his words didn’t seem to reach Emma as she walked away.

  But sure enough, they had reached her, just like everything else he’d said. As Emma made her way back to the house, she reviewed his comments in her head, and her heart not only felt wounded, but also torn.

  NINE

  Two days later, after she had reflected deeply on everything that had happened since she arrived in Miles City, Emma came to a resolution. She’d reminded herself that, despite whatever powerful emotions she felt, she’d come there for practical reasons. Namely, to start a new life for herself. But other than procuring her sister’s invitation to stay on in her home as long as she needed, she’d done little work toward that new life.

  So Emma decided it was time that she made some type of step in the right direction—and she decided that step should be to find a job. She didn’t want to be a burden on her sister and Frank, mind you, and she wanted to contribute to their expenses, as well as save up money so that she could become independent and get a place of her own.

  With these goals in mind, Emma readied herself and headed into town with Charlie. They arrived in town just after lunch, and Emma immediately went to inquire about employ at a few different spots. Her first stop was at the tailor’s shop, but unfortunately he wasn’t in need of any help at the time. The general store wasn’t hiring either, nor was the bakery.

  Emma was feeling a bit discouraged, but that changed as soon as she visited the specialty clothing store.

  “My husband and I are looking to hire a new clerk,” the older woman behind the counter said with a smile. “Our clerk resigned two weeks ago, when she and her husband learned they were blessed with child. And things have been rather hectic around here in her absence—so we sure could use another helping hand.

  “My husband is responsible for the hiring, however. And he’s not here right now. He went off to the bank and to run some other errands. But he should be back soon. So if you and your dog would like to come back a bit later, that’d be great.”

  “Speaking of my dog,” Emma said, hawing a bit, “his name is Charlie. And he and I are pretty much inseparable. At my old job, I was allowed to bring him to work with me. Do you think your husband would allow such a thing here?”

  The older woman laughed a happy laugh and gestured toward a framed photograph hung behind her on the wall. “My husband and I love animals and have many pets,” she noted.

  Emma smiled as she examined the photograph, in which the older woman, a plump older man, and four dogs and two cats sat together on a porch.

  “My husband and I never had children,” the woman went on. “And in lieu of them, we treat our pets like they are our kids. So I can completely understand that affiliation you have with Charlie—and so long as he is well behaved, I don’t foresee any problem in having him come to work with you.”

  “Wonderful,” Emma replied.

  Just then a customer walked into the store. “Charlie and I will leave you to your work,” Emma added. “And we’ll be back in a bit to talk to your husband about the job.”

  The older woman smiled and nodded, then walked over to her customer as Emma walked out the door.

  “That went well,” Emma said to Charlie as soon as they were outside. “Looks like we might leave town with a new job today.”

  Charlie wagged his tail and panted at Emma, and she giggled at how adorable he was.

  “We’ve got some time to wait, though,” she added as they walked away from the store. “It may be a little premature… but what do you say we spend that time celebrating a bit? I saw the most enticing cookies when I stopped in at the bakery. So I’ll get one for me, and I’ll see if they have something savory for you. That way, we both—”

  Emma abruptly stopped speaking midsentence when a loud, riotous noise distracted her from nearby. The tavern door had swung open and a drunk man stumbled out. He was laughing and hooting, and he nearly fell to the ground when the midday sunshine caught his eyes.

  As the man worked to regain his bearings, Emma gasped. She recognized him. She knew him… It was Kenneth!

  Just as Emma recognized Kenneth, he too recognized her, and a crooked smile crept across his face.

  “Howdy, Miss Harris,” he said, slurring his speech a bit. “Fancy seeing you here.” Something about the way Kenneth spoke to her, and looked at her, made Emma feel dirty and ill at ease. For the first time since meeting Kenneth, she was frightened to be around him—and she finally saw some of whatever it was Ian had warned her about.

  “Good afternoon, Kenneth,” Emma replied. She hadn’t been around many drunks in her 23 years, and had never imbibed herself, but she knew that simply ignoring Kenneth, as she wanted to do, would have made him unduly upset.

  “It’s a good afternoon now that you’re here,” Kenneth added in the same suggestive tone. “So how about we make it even better? What say you, you and Charlie come back in the tavern and join me for a drink… or two?”

  “No, thank you,” Emma replied without pause. “We’ve come to town to find a job today, and—”

  “Come on, sweetheart. Just one drink,” Kenneth persisted, walking toward her.

  “I don’t drink,” she answered. He was now so close to her that she could smell the whiskey on his breath and see the glassiness of his bloodshot eyes. “And quite frankly, I’m a little surprised that you would drink so much so early in the day. It’s not even late afternoon yet, you know.”

  “How dare you criticize me!” Kenneth roared. He stared down at parts of her body that no respectable man would gaze at in such a way. “And how dare you criticize me for something you’ve never tried… At least before you chastise me, you should try a nip of whiskey—then you’d know how wonderful it is, and maybe you wouldn’t be so uptight.”


  Kenneth stepped even closer to Emma, so that she could not only smell his breath but also feel the warmth of it against her face. “No, thank you,” she repeated. She stepped back a bit, but no sooner than she did, Kenneth reached out and grabbed her arm.

  “Just one drink,” he pressed, pulling her toward him. Emma struggled and broke free from his grasp. “I said, ‘No,’” she shouted firmly as she backed away from him.

  “Come on, Emma,” Kenneth followed, moving toward her and reaching out for her again. “Don’t be such a prude… Just come have some whiskey with me. Or if that doesn’t suit you, let’s take a walk. We can go somewhere private, somewhere where I can show you some other things you haven’t tried before.”

  Emma knew exactly what Kenneth was getting at, and she took great offense at his words. But as offended as she was, she was ten times as scared.

  “No, thank you,” Emma said for the third time, keeping her cool. She stepped back away from Kenneth again and turned to leave. But before she could take so much as three steps, Kenneth reached out and grabbed her by both arms with great force.

  “Let go of me,” Emma cried out. But of course, Kenneth did not oblige. He pulled her closer to him and started dragging her toward the alleyway beside the tavern.

  Just then with Emma as defenseless as she was, her best friend came to her aid. Charlie jumped up as high as he could and bit Kenneth on the arm.

  “You wretched beast!” Kenneth exclaimed. He let go of his grip on Emma and pushed her to the ground. Then without so much as a thought, he reached to his side, withdrew his pistol, and fired a bullet straight into Charlie’s chest.

  The tiny dog yelped the most pained cry. It was the most horrible sound Emma had ever heard—and it, along with the sound of the gunfire, was enough to call more attention to the scene. Business owners, patrons, and other random townsfolk came out of the nearby buildings and formed a crowd.

  With so many eyes on him, Kenneth felt flustered and frightened. He holstered his pistol and ran off as fast as he could. Meanwhile, Emma crawled over to her dog. He was whimpering and unable to move.

  “Charlie… Charlie, I’m here,” Emma cried, reassuring her pet. She forced a smile across her face as she stared down into his big brown eyes. “I’m here, Charlie,” she repeated. “It’s okay… It’s okay.”

  Clearly, despite the reassurances she gave her dog, things were not okay. Charlie was bleeding profusely, and his death was imminent.

  The crowd that had formed was of little help. They did nothing more than whisper and “oooo” and “ahhhh” at the unfortunate display. But then a voice spoke up from the crowd. “Step aside,” a familiar voice said. “Move over.”

  A few seconds later, Emma felt another body on the ground next to hers. Then she felt a pair of strong arms wrap around her and hug her tight. “God bless this sweet dog,” Ian said softly. “May he find peace.”

  Ian reached out and petted Charlie’s blood-soaked body, running his hand alongside Emma’s. The dog finally stopped whimpering, then took a deep breath and sighed. His eyes went blank, and his body went still. Ian removed his hat, placed it atop Charlie, and squeezed Emma even closer to his chest.

  “Someone go fetch Frank and Louise Sanders right away,” Ian called out to the crowd as Emma drenched his shirt with tears.

  TEN

  It had been four days since Charlie was killed, and Emma had spent nearly every minute of those four days in bed. To say that she was grief-stricken or inconsolable would be an understatement, as there are very few words that could properly express the pain and suffering she felt.

  He was such a good dog, she repeatedly told herself both in her head and aloud. He was there for me until the very end and didn’t deserve to die such a gruesome, senseless death. If only I had stayed away from Kenneth in the first place—if only I had listened to Ian’s warnings—my dear dog would still be here today.

  Now as far as Ian was concerned, Emma was plagued by more than thoughts of the warning she did not heed. That disastrous afternoon when Charlie was killed, after Ian called out for someone to fetch Frank and Louise, he continued to hold her and say kind words to her until they arrived. But then when Frank and Louise took Emma home with them, Ian did not join them, at least as far as Emma knew—and in the days that followed, he never came to call on her to see how she was doing. It perplexed Emma that he could have been so kind and caring on that afternoon, only to disappear as the reality of the situation set in.

  While Emma mourned Charlie, cursed herself for her friendship with Kenneth, and wondered about Ian, she prayed to God. She asked her Heavenly Father to grant her peace of mind and strength and to help her not hate Kenneth for what he’d done, or hate Ian for abandoning her in her time of need. She found comfort in her prayers, even though they were not answered directly right away. And that comfort was a necessity, as she denied herself those other things that a woman in mourning needs.

  During her four days in bed, Emma refused to get up for meals, eating only a few scraps from the plates Louise left outside her door. What’s more, when Louise came by her room to talk to her, Emma asked to be left alone. Returning to “normal life” was something that she simply was not ready to do just yet.

  But this particular afternoon, when Louise came knocking on Emma’s door, she found a reason to finally get up and face the day.

  “I’m sorry to disturb you, sister,” Louise said after knocking on her door, “but Ian’s here, and—”

  “Tell him to go away,” Emma replied. “I don’t feel like talking to anyone.”

  “But he says it’s very important,” Louise said back. “And I think, after the kindness he showed you the other day, you should come out and hear him.”

  Kindness! Emma laughed to herself. Whatever kindness he showed was short-lived!

  “Please, Emma,” Louise went on. “He’s very eager to talk to you, and I don’t think—”

  “Fine!” Emma shouted. She jumped out of bed with an energy she didn’t know she had. She didn’t even bother straightening her hair or clothes, or even glancing in the looking glass affixed to the wall. She just went straight to the door, opened it, and started toward the living room, with the intention of confronting Ian over his absence of kindness and support.

  As Emma approached the living room, she saw Ian seated on the couch, holding his hat on his lap. The moment he saw her, he rose to his feet and tipped his head. She again felt that tickling in her tummy that she’d felt so many times before in his presence, and once again, she blamed it on her lack of food.

  “So what’s so important that you’ve got to bring me out of my bed?” Emma asked in a sharp-tongued tone. “Have you come here to tell me you were right, to tell me that I should have taken your warnings about Kenneth more seriously?”

  “No at all,” Ian replied, bowing his head. He sat back down on the couch. “I’ve come here to apologize,” he added.

  At those words, Emma’s mood softened a bit, and like her sister had recommended, she decided to hear him out. She went over and sat down on the chair across from him and waited for him to go on.

  “You were right,” Ian explained. “When you and Kenneth were spending time together, I was following you and spying on you. But I did so to watch over you and, if need be, protect you… When I warned you about Kenneth before, I wasn’t specific enough—and that’s the first thing I have to apologize to you for. I knew that he had a tendency to drink too much, and that he was short-tempered, especially when drunk. I should have told you these things specifically, rather than warning you with more general words.

  “But I didn’t tell you these things specifically for fear that you wouldn’t believe me or would think I was just acting out of my own self-interest or feelings for you. So instead of telling you more, I decided to follow you around, on the chance that Ian would say or do something out of line.

  “But alas, I failed you in that regard too—and that is the second thing I have to apologize to you about. Whe
n I followed you into town the other afternoon, since you were on your own, I wasn’t as vigilant as I should have been. After you stopped into the specialty clothing store, I went in and chatted with Mrs. Smyth, the owner’s wife. She said she and her husband might be hiring you as their new clerk, and she asked me if I knew anything about you. I went on to chat with her about you and praise your name… until our conversation was interrupted by the sound of gunfire, followed by Charlie’s cry.

  “If only I’d been more alert that day—if only I hadn’t talked to Mrs. Smyth for so long—I would have been there to prevent what Kenneth did to Charlie, and you. And for not being there, I am very, very sorry. I apologize with all my heart.”

  Emma took a deep breath and tried to swallow all that Ian had just said. It touched her that he went out of his way to look out for her, and that he felt guilty over not being there to protect her and Charlie when things took an awful turn. But still, it bothered her that, despite these things, he hadn’t come to check on her or offer his condolences and further support any time over the past four days.

  “Why has it taken you so long to come tell me this?” Emma asked, expressing what was on her mind. “Charlie was killed four days ago, and this is the first time since then that you’ve come to the house.”

  Ian sighed and brought his hand to his chin. He rubbed it for a moment, then answered. “I’m sorry about that too,” he replied. “But I’ve been very busy these past four days.”

  Emma crossed her legs, then crossed her arms in front of her chest, waiting for whatever explanation Ian was about to give.

  “Louise said you haven’t been willing to talk to her since the other afternoon,” Ian went on. “But if you had talked to her, you would have found out that, later that same day, I brought Charlie’s body back here and buried him out back, in a lovely spot beneath a grand tree. I put a stone atop his grave to mark it, and I painted his name on it.”