The Soldier's Bride (30 page)

He walked slowly toward the pile of goods for sale. If someone looked closely, they would see how he tried to disguise his limp, the way his right leg trailed a bit behind, how he worked to pull it forward inconspicuously.

The auctioneer rattled off prices for an antique sewing machine, and Sterling paused to hear the winning bidder cheer, waving her hand in triumph. He’d seen the sign for the farm sale and auction off the main road as he passed through town. It had been years since he’d been out this way, but business had pulled him from his small town. He stopped to see if there were any automotive parts or old fixer-uppers to be auctioned off.

Rebuilding engines and restoring cars was more than a pastime for Sterling. His skills kept him in high demand. It looked as if the auction had been going well. Many of the larger items were being toted off by jubilant buyers.

He rounded the edge of the drive and stood for a moment looking out at the fields. It didn’t look like he’d find any great treasure today to haul to his mechanic shop. Sterling turned to walk back toward his Cadillac parked near the grass by the farmhouse.

The wind picked up and blew fine grains of sand against his dark blue jacket. His eyes stung as the filmy dust lodged in his thick black eyelashes. Turning, he took a handkerchief monogrammed with the letter
S
from his pocket and wiped the dust from his eyes.

As he tucked the handkerchief back into his pocket, Sterling heard something that froze him to the spot of ground where he stood. He cocked his head and heard the rush of wind tickle his ears. For a second he was certain he had heard it. He looked over his shoulder and noticed a table of smaller items for sale.

A young girl tugged on her mother’s sleeve and pointed at something on the table. The mother waved her off and continued talking to the woman standing next to her. The girl let go of her mother’s sleeve and reached toward the item. The wind jerked at the purple ribbon in her hair and Sterling heard the sound again.

Unfrozen now, he strode with purpose toward the table, his heart clenching in fear of what the girl might be looking at. If he could have run without risk of falling, he would have done so, but the ground was uneven and his leg had only grown less reliable over the years.

He reached the table just as the girl began tugging on her mother’s sleeve again.

“Mom, look. Look at this!” the girl cried. “Can I have this music box?”

The woman turned with an exasperated sigh. “What is it, Laura?”

Her eyes focused on the diminutive ballerina that had stopped twirling and faced the mirror sideways. “That’s beautiful. But did you ask Mallory how much it is?”

Laura looked at the woman sitting at the table next to a cash box. Mallory leaned forward and picked up the tag tied on with a string to the handle of the box. “Henry made me promise not to sell this unless I could get at least ten dollars for it.”

Laura’s mother pursed her lips. “Hmmm.”

Sterling’s blood rushed in his ears and his mouth grew dry as he considered what he could do. He had to act before the woman gave in to her daughter. He leaned toward the music box and addressed the lady sitting at the table.

“I’m willing to pay you double the price for this music box.” He pulled out his wallet and retrieved two crisp ten-dollar bills.

They all stared at him. Laura’s lip trembled and her mother frowned.

“Please,” he said.

The wind flicked the girl’s ribbons around her face, and the mother seemed to relax. “It was too much at ten. Don’t whine, Laura, we’ll find you something better.”

Mallory pointed to the end of the table. “Laura, why don’t you look at the treasure box Sabrina donated to the sale. I bet it will be perfect for your dolls.” Then she extended a hand to Sterling. “I’m Mallory Chase.”

“Sterling Dennison.” He shook her hand and then laid the twenty dollars in her palm.

“You don’t need to pay double.” She moved to return one of the bills.

“No, I want to. Thank you so much.” Sterling closed the lid of the music box, cradled it in his arms, and treaded back through the menagerie of sale items to his car. He didn’t want to risk anyone else seeing the music box and desiring it. By the time he slid into the driver’s seat, his hands felt sweaty and his brow glistened.

The Cadillac maneuvered easily back out to the main road, and Sterling drove for five miles until he found a good place to pull off to the side. With trembling hands he wound the brass crank on the back of the box. He opened the lid and his heartbeat quickened. The tinkling music played, and his head filled with the sound of her voice. It had been almost thirty years since he’d heard her sing, but her voice rang clear in his mind as if he’d heard it only yesterday.

He remembered the story Evelyn had told him about the special music box Jim had given her before he left for the war. She had given it away, but the song playing now was the same one that had brought them together and ultimately torn them apart. The song had never left him, and he would not believe it was only coincidence that he had just purchased a music box that played the same tune.

Perhaps it wasn’t the same music box, but he knew that at one time Evelyn had regretted the decision she made to give it away. After thirty years, would she still remember the tune as well? Would Jim have found her a new music box?

Sterling listened to the song one more time and then started the engine and continued his drive home. The isolated town of Aspen Falls held no family ties to him and most would have assumed that he would want to leave after Evelyn chose Jim, but he had stayed. They had left.

Colorado Springs was a big city compared to Aspen Falls. Although Sterling knew they occasionally visited Evelyn’s parents, he’d never seen her again. And Sterling had avoided Evelyn’s parents because the one time he’d run into Harold and Marie they’d been so flustered and apologetic about the situation that they’d all felt uncomfortable.

When he got home, he dialed the operator and asked her to help him locate James Patterson in Colorado Springs. There were two of them and he jotted down the addresses and telephone numbers. For the next week, he tried to work up the nerve to place the call. When he finally did dial the number, he found that the first Jim Patterson had never been married to an Evelyn.

Sterling ran a finger over the address of the second Jim Patterson. He looked at the music box, the gold lining around the edges had been worn off in most places and a smudge of dirt discolored the top compartment.

There was no jewelry inside, and the fuzzy red paper lining the drawers and compartments was worn smooth in most places. He chewed on his bottom lip wondering if Evelyn would even want it. But every time he thought about it, the melody would dance through his mind and he would see her beautiful face, hear her lovely voice, and feel compelled to return the music box to its rightful owner.

He bought a newspaper from Callaway Grove that covered Colorado Springs and some of the bigger news around the state. He scoured the classifieds until he found his reason to travel two and a half hours to the big city.

The 1964 Ford Mustang was the first of its kind, had loved the road, survived a few accidents, and needed work according to the ad. Sterling smiled when he gazed at the picture of the same model sports car hanging on his fridge. After he ascertained from the owner if the Mustang could make it to Aspen Falls and chewed around the price, he made arrangements to pick it up the following week.

The music box had aged, but the music hadn’t, and Sterling wound the crank each day, watching the dainty ballerina spin her perfect pirouette. On Thursday he listened to it once more, unsure if it might be the final time he would hear the music tinkling from the chambers of the box. Then he wrapped it in paper and put it in a box, tying a string around the flaps.

The bus left the station on time and Sterling gazed out at Aspen Falls whizzing past his window. It wouldn’t take him long to pick up the Mustang, and then he could deliver his package. When he thought of seeing her again, his heart sped up and his mouth felt dry.

It was risky if you considered the way he and Jim parted last, but hopefully time had lessened the jealousy Jim felt over his wife’s affection for someone other than himself. Sterling held the box on his lap and closed his eyes. The rumbling of the bus motor vibrated the floorboards under his feet, and he allowed his head to rest against the seat.

His mind traveled back through years of memories to the day twenty-seven years ago at the Silver Lining—the last time he’d talked to Evelyn. The conversation had replayed itself so many times in his head it was automatic. He even remembered her scent—the light aroma of vanilla in her perfume mingled with the baby oil she’d probably used on Danny.

She had stood close to him and whispered, “Thank you for being there for me, through all of this.”

And the words he had written to her in the letter still held true despite the outcome of that night. “I wouldn’t know what it feels like to laugh if it hadn’t been for you. My heart came to life when you let me in.”

Sterling had never heard from her again. Before he drifted to sleep against the vinyl bus seat, he wondered what she might have said if they’d had a little more time.

The warm breeze creeping in through the window announced that summer was on its way, and as Evelyn walked through the kitchen, she pushed the window open a bit more and inhaled. The balmy air felt good against her skin, and she closed her eyes for a moment and smiled.

Her smile faltered when the wind whispered past her ear and her eyes fluttered open. The voice had been there or was it just a memory? She rubbed the back of her neck with her hand and listened. She pulled her hand back down and studied the diamond ring Jim had given her for their twenty-fifth wedding anniversary. One brilliant diamond shimmered in the bright sunlight peeking under the kitchen curtains, and the sapphires next to it twinkled. She always said the sapphires were as blue as Jim’s eyes, and they winked at her just like he did with his knowing smile.

She clasped her hands to her heart and exhaled, her shoulders slumping for a moment. Then with a shake of her head, she opened the fridge and pulled out the casserole she’d put together yesterday. There would be mounds of leftovers, but she had plans for those. Her sweet young neighbor was a new mother, and Evelyn couldn’t wait to see the twin girls who had been born a week ago.

The casserole would have to sit for an hour before she baked it, but that would be perfect timing for dinner. She picked up her phone and began to dial her neighbor’s number to tell her she’d be bringing dinner. A knock at the door startled her, and she replaced the phone in its cradle.

The curtains fluttered as she walked out of the kitchen toward the front door. She wasn’t expecting anyone, so she smoothed out her blouse and ran a hand over her hair before grasping the knob.

A man with a crooked smile stood on her porch, and Evelyn felt as if she’d been sucked back in time to that day filled with pain, when her heart broke for the second time. It wasn’t Jim back from the dead this time, it was Sterling.

Her mouth opened but no sound issued.

Sterling stared at her and the tendons in his neck tightened and relaxed. “I promise not to stay long. I’ve brought you something. Something for you and Jim.” He motioned to a cardboard box in his hand. He hooked his index finger under the white string crisscrossing the box and pulled it taut.

He looked good—like every memory of him that Evelyn still held in her heart. His hair wasn’t quite as thick and the black strands were interwoven with gray, but the strength in his green eyes was the same.

Evelyn’s heart fluttered. The pause lengthened and Sterling held the box tightly. He didn’t know. She shook her head. “Jim’s gone.”

Sterling relaxed. “That might be for the best. I wouldn’t want another black eye.”

“No, I mean he’s gone, he passed away last year.”

His face paled. “I’m so sorry. I didn’t mean . . .”

“It’s okay. Why don’t you come in?”

As Sterling walked through the door, she felt a tingling in her arms. Before she could close the door, a gust of wind pushed through, brushed her cheek, and rustled the strands of Sterling’s salt-and-pepper hair.

The newspaper on the coffee table rippled and Evelyn shut the door. The latch clicked and her soft-soled shoes made no sound as she padded toward the brown plaid sofa. Sterling placed the box on the coffee table, swallowed, and glanced at her.

“I’m really sorry about Jim,” he said.

Evelyn sank onto the cushions and then patted the seat beside her. “It was an aneurysm. Possibly related to the head injuries he sustained in the war.”

Sterling sat next to her and frowned. “Even though the war’s long over, it will never stop taking from us.”

The ticking of the clock added a staccato sound to the silence.

“He was here one minute and gone the next.” She clasped her hands together. “I didn’t have any warning, but I’ve tried to be grateful for the second chance I got with him thirty years ago.”

“Twenty-seven,” Sterling said, and then pressed his lips together.

“You’re right. I was just thinking about him. It’s been a little over a year now and I’m not quite sure what to do.”

He nodded and Evelyn blushed at how easily she’d just shared her heart with him again. He touched the box, and she noticed his left hand was void of a wedding band.

“What about you? Did you marry?”

He clenched his jaw. “I stayed in Aspen Falls and kept my shop running. I met Lydia about five years after you left. We were married for eighteen years before the cancer took her. We had a daughter, Sonya. She just turned twenty and she’s a wonderful girl.”

“Oh, I’m sorry about your wife.” Evelyn put a hand over her heart. “I’m so glad you have a daughter, though. Sterling, the years have been good to you.” She stopped short of touching the silver streaks in his ebony curls.

He looked at her meaningfully. “It’s been a long time.”