Pearl of Promise (A Sweet Mail Order Bride Western) (The Brides of Carville) (7 page)

Chapter 11

Arlen arrived at the train depot’s lot, launching himself off the horse and barely throwing the reins around the hitching post.  He saw a few people milling about, so maybe she hadn’t left yet.  But he knew Carville had two to three trains stop per day, because of the tourists from Denver who came to take the scenic Carville Loop through the mountains before returning to Denver. 

Surely the train hasn’t come, he thought, his chest heaving.   His heart felt as if vise-like fingers were squeezing it.

The feeling only intensified as he stalked down the platform and spied Nora.  She was sitting on a bench beside a young man with sandy hair.  They sat at opposite ends of the bench, but their heads were bowed toward one another, as if sharing secrets.

Erikson?
he wondered, clenching his fists.  He blinked back hot tears of rage. 
The man knows what it’s like to lose a wife—how could he steal my second wife away?
Arlen took a deep breath and walked toward the bench, like a lion ready to pounce on its prey.

“Stand up,” he demanded, his right fist itching to pull back for the first punch. 

Erikson lifted his head, eyes wide in surprise as he took in the fury marking Arlen’s face.

Only…it wasn’t Erikson.

It was a stranger.  But one that seemed familiar.  Then Arlen caught sight of the white collar around the man’s neck.  How had he missed the grey clerical suit?  He took a step back, jaw slack.  It was the new pastor, who had arrived to take over their church. 
“You!”
he hissed.  “You’re…you’re a minister!  How
could
you?  Who do you think you are, coming into town and stealing another man’s bride right out from underneath him?”

The reverend—Parker, was that it?—stood, glancing around in confusion and embarrassment as the people nearby turned their heads.  “Mr. Hunt, please.  I think there’s been a misunderstanding—”

“Well, there’s a ring right there on my wife’s finger,” Arlen pointed, “so I’m not sure how you could misunderstand.  How did you even get her to leave me?  You’ve only been in town two weeks.  You sure do work fast!”  He seethed with anger, and only Arlen’s respect for the collar stopped him from plowing his fist into the man’s face.

“Arlen, what are you doing?” Nora hissed, glancing around with reddened cheeks.  “Have you been drinking?”

“What?  Me?  No!” he snapped.  “But I should ask the same thing of you—what else but drink could drive a woman to abandon her husband and infant daughter to run off—”

Nora stood swiftly, then teetered, crying out.  Parker held a hand out to steady her elbow, and Arlen’s demeanor cracked.

“Get your hands off her!” he growled.

“Your wife is injured, man!  Can’t you see that?”  Reverend Parker pointed to Nora’s foot, which she held aloft a few inches off the ground.

She reached out to Arlen, clutching his shirt and looking up into his eyes.  “Gwen is ill!  I’m not at the train station to leave you—I’m here to ask Mr. Lathum for a remedy!”

Arlen froze in place, staring down into her tear-filled eyes.  “What do you mean, sick?”

“Didn’t you get the note I left?  I went to Louise’s to ask if she could bring us to the doctor.” She lowered her voice.  “You left me no choice—you hid the tack from me.  I had to waste time walking there.”

“What—there was no note.”  What kind of trick was she trying to play?  Was it a distraction?  Or could Gwendolyn really be sick?

“I left it on the table, facing the door.”

“I never saw it…but…I knew something was wrong with I saw the mess in the barn.  I might have…”

“Thrown open the door?” she finished.

He nodded, color flooding his cheeks.  “Then the reverend…?”

“Just came along and found her sitting here.  She was in pain, from twisting her ankle, so I stayed with her, and when she told me about your daughter, I prayed with her.”

Arlen whipped his hat off, rubbing his arm over his face.  He’d humiliated not only himself,
but also his wife and the new pastor.  “I’m sorry.  I overreacted.”

“It’s alright,” Reverend Parker clapped him on the shoulder.  “And I assure you, though your wife is a wonderful woman, I’m sure, I’m already engaged to another woman.  In fact, that’s why I’m here—to buy her a train ticket.”

“I can’t believe I made such a mess of things,” Arlen said, shaking his head.  Then terror seared through him.  “Gwen—you said she was sick.  How sick?”

“I don’t know.  She was starting to have a hard time breathing when I left, and she wouldn’t eat.  Didn’t you see her at Louise’s?  You had to have been there, if you knew where to find me.”

“Louise said she had just gotten her to sleep.  Then when she mentioned the train station…I lost my wits, I guess, and tore outta there.”

“If she’s sleeping, that could be a good sign,” Reverend Parker interjected.

“It could be,” Nora said, “or she could be getting worse.”

Arlen’s stomach clenched—he should have checked on his daughter instead of running off half-cocked
.  If anything happened to her…

A wagon rattled into the train depot’s lot at a fast clip.

“It’s Mr. Lathum!” Nora cried.  “Arlen, help me.”

He looped her arm around his chest and threaded his arm around hers.  By the time they had helped Nora to the wagon, Mr. Lathum was getting out.  The chubby Mrs. Lathum sat in the wagon seat, a basket balanced on her knees. 

“Bessie wanted to come along.  She wants to make sure your daughter gets the remedy she needs.”

“I brought along the six that I think will be the most helpful.  When I see her, I’ll know better what to use.”

“Lathum, I hate to ask, but I came into town on horseback…”

“Of course, take the wagon.  I’d take you myself, but I have to work—”

“We’ll bring it back—and Mrs. Lathum, too—as soon as we can.”

“No, I can do it,” Reverend Parker said.  “Mr. Hunt, you and your wife both brought horses that need to be brought back to your place.”

“That’s right!  And I rode the poor beast so hard, I shouldn’t be tying him to the back of the wagon and forcing him to run up the mountain.”

“I’ll ride your horse, and tie Mrs. Hunt’s horse to the saddle.  I’ve no great commitments today, so I can take it slow, and when I get there, I’ll drive Mrs. Lathum and the wagon back to town.”

“Oh, thank you, Reverend Parker!”

Nora pointed out Arlen’s horse and the Barclays’ horse that she’d ridden into town.  Then Arlen
relayed the directions to Louise’s house to the reverend while they all helped Nora into the back of the wagon.  Once Arlen got in beside Mrs. Lathum, he released the brake and slapped the reins, circling the wagon and pulling out of the dirt lot.

Chapter 12

The ride back to Louise’s took even longer than the ride in, and Nora winced at the pain that each bump caused her ankle.  She could feel it swelling in her boot, and she loosened the laces, but wouldn’t let Arlen slow down.  Their baby needed them, and there was no time to waste.

When they arrived, Louise’s son Robert threw open the cabin door and ushered them in.  Louise sat in the corner, rocking. 

“She’s getting fussier,” Louise said over Gwen’s whimpering.  She glanced down, seeing Nora hobbling in with Arlen’s assistance, and stood, letting Nora take the chair.  She place
d Gwen in Nora’s arms.

“Oh, my poor baby,” Nora crooned, stroking her face.  “She’s so hot.”

“It seems very similar to the summer cold that Mary has, but it’s so much worse.”

“That’s not uncommon,” Mrs. Lathum said, setting her basket down on the table and pulling out bottles from the cotton napkins they were wrapped in.  “This has been going around ever since the summer social.  Someone brought a sick child, and next thing you know, everyone has it.”

“Has anyone else gotten this sick?”

“Not that I know of. She sounds a little raspy.  I think this should do it.”  Mrs. Lathum held a bottle of brown liquid aloft, then set it on the table.  Rub a little bit of this on her chest every hour, and if the cough starts sounding like a barking cough, take her out into the night air.  That should help.  Just be sure to wrap her in a warm blanket if it’s chilly.  You know how the night air can get up here.”

Nora pulled aside the summer blanket and unbuttoned Gwen’s gown.  Then Mrs. Lathum spread a bit of the odorous liquid over Gwen’s chest, and put a folded napkin over it. 

“We don’t want to ruin that pretty cotton sleeping gown,” she said with a smile.

“You think she’ll be alright?”

“I think so.  It’s not as bad as I expected.  If she gets worse, the doc should be back in town by sunset tonight, so you could bring her
into town to see him, if necessary.  But I think she’ll be alright.”

“Please, let us pay you for the remedy,” Arlen insisted
, sticking a hand in his pocket.

“Absolutely not, Arlen Hunt.  Don’t think I’ve forgotten that time you
rousted those drunken miners out of my front garden.  You chased them halfway down the street, and they found themselves somewhere else to sleep it off.  If it weren’t for you, I’d have lost half of my herb harvest that season—which is exactly what I use to make these remedies, unless I harvest something out in the woods.  So if you pull that hand out of your pocket and there’s money in it, I’m going to be mighty angry.”

“We
ll then, I’ll just keep my hand in my pocket,” he grinned.

After a few minutes, Gwen’s breathing eased, and everyone left Nora alone in the cabin to try to nurse Gwen under a blanket. 

Standing outside, Arlen, Mrs. Lathum, and Louise chatted as they watched Robert and Amelia go on a “rabbit hunt” in the bushes.  Mary was napping inside.  A few minutes later, Reverend Parker came trotting up on Arlen’s horse, with Louise’s trailing behind. 

After he had dismounted and tied the horses to the hitching post, everyone greeted him and Arlen stuck out his hand.

“I’m grateful for your help, Reverend.  Especially after the embarrassment I cause.”

Louise and Mrs. Lathum eyed Arlen with curiosity, but said nothing.

“Think nothing of it,” Reverend Parker replied, shaking Arlen’s hand.  “But I would like to speak to you on another matter, if you don’t mind.”  He gestured toward the front door, glancing at Louise.  “May I?” 

“Of course.  Let me know if Mary wakes.”

Arlen stuck his head in the cabin.  “Can the reverend and I come in yet, Nora?”

“Yes, we’re done in here.  She’s fallen asleep.”

The two men stepped inside.  Arlen was taken by the sight of Nora cradling Gwen in her arms, her eyes lit up with relief and love.

“Mrs. Hunt, I was thinking since I was here, and given what happened at the depot, perhaps I should stay and help you sort things out.”

Nora glanced at him, then Arlen, nervously.  “Alright.”

The minister launched into an explanation of their conversation earlier.  As he related all the details, Arlen could see the situation through the man’s eyes, rather than his own
.  I must look like the world’s worst husband,
he thought. 
And maybe I am, keeping my poor wife cooped up like that.

Nora watched him with trepidation, but he could barely meet her eyes.  “Nora…I can’t even muster the words.  This has all been a huge mistake on my part.  You never did anything wrong.  You didn’t deserve anything I did.  You expected an interesting, exciting life, and when you didn’t get it, you still hunkered down and did your duties.  And what did I do?  I kept you locked in the house like a prisoner.”

His wife blinked back tears, looking away.  “How can you distrust me so much?  What have I ever done to earn that?”

“Nothing,”
he stared at the floor, miserably.

“I think I understand what’s going on, Mrs. Hunt,” said the reverend.  “Arlen, it was the books, wasn’t it?  You saw her disillusionment with life here on the mountain, and you figured that if she kept reading her adventure novels, it would only get worse.”

Arlen shifted his gaze, nodding.  “It’s not Nora’s fault.  I just…I was reminded of how miserable Sylvie was before she left, and then to make matters worse, she died not long after setting foot back in Missouri.  I never had the chance to cable her, or send a letter, and ask why.  Her family couldn’t even tell me much—just that she was homesick, and hated Carville.”

“But I’m not Sylvie, Arlen!  I may have been disappointed in how things turned out, but I’d never leave.”

“You never thought about it?  Not even once?”

Nora shifted uncomfortably.  “I admit I did entertain those thoughts on occasion, later on, when I was angry with you.  I was cooped up in this house, and you were working such long hours.  I felt so alone and abandoned.  Returning to Pennsylvania started looking like a solution.
But I was looking at things from the wrong perspective—my own selfish perspective.  I committed to you, and we have a daughter together.  Whatever I wanted as a girl, I’ve established a family as a woman.  This is God’s path for me now.  If I’d been thinking of things in that way, I’d have never had such thoughts in the first place.”

“Those kinds of thoughts can be dangerous,” Reverend Holden said.  “What starts out as a harmless fantasy can be twisted by the Devil, and used against you.  Next thing you know, you’re packing a bag.  That’s probably what happened with Sylvie—especially since she had no children tying her down.”

“That’s what I was afraid of,” Arlen said.  “But I realize now I should have talked to you.  I should have trusted you.”

“I should have tried harder to talk to you, too,”  Nora murmured, “or gone to the pastor to talk.  I shouldn’t have kept everything bottled up inside.”

“I’ll always be here in the future if you two need me,” the minister said.  “But how will you address the situation now?”

Nora looked up at Arlen hesitantly.  “
I know now that it’s my job to find fulfillment and happiness in the role God has given me.  But even so…I don’t want to live on the mountain.  I can live without a big city, and after this whole fiasco with Gwen getting sick, I have lost my taste for danger and adventure.  But…I
need
to see other people, and to have access to books.  I care so much about you, Arlen, I do enjoy the beauty out on the claim most of the time, but it’s too lonely, especially in the summer when the sun is up longer and you’re gone all day working in the mine or out on our claim.”

Arlen rubbed a hand over his face.  “Nora, I want to make you happy, but I need to be on the claim to work it.  I don’t want to be a miner the rest of my life.  I really believe that claim has a deep vein of ore.  I know all miners say that, but my gut tells me I’m close.”

“I don’t want you to give up your claim…but I don’t know if I can take being alone all summer, and then cooped up in the cabin all winter.”

“What if you moved into town part of the time,” Reverend Holden suggested.  “Rent a small house, and
live there all winter, and part of the week in the summer.  You can work the claim Friday evenings and all day Saturday, then return to the house in town in time for Sunday services.”

Nora’s mouth fell open.  “Could we, Arlen?”

Arlen paced the floor.  “I don’t know.  It would make finances tight.  You’d have to be creative with household expenditures.  Maybe if you can make things last longer, be more frugal with the meals…”

“I’ll do it!  I know I can.  It will be worth it.”

The beaming smile on his wife’s face was all he needed to know it would be worth it for him, too.