A Chance at Love (32 page)

They didn't move. “I think they've been drugged.” He had to get them out of here. He looked up at the sheriff and Loreli. “Walt, I'm going to hand them up.”

It took them a few minutes to bring the girls to the surface, but once it was accomplished, the men carried them back to the sheriff's office. They laid the girls down on the cot in the lone cell and covered them with a blanket. Their faces were dirty, their nightgowns crusted with mud, but they were alive!

While a tearfully grateful Loreli looked on, Jake examined them to make certain they had no external injuries, such as broken limbs or contusions.

“How long do you think they'll stay sleep?” Sheriff Mack asked.

“No way of knowing what he gave them,” Jake said. “Their pulses are strong and they seem to be breathing well, so, we'll just have to wait and see.”

Loreli walked over and ran a loving finger down each soft cheek. Paying the grim-faced Jake no mind, Loreli bent down and kissed them on their foreheads. The tears ran freely down her cheeks. Her babies were safe.

“I need to go take care of Millie's body,” Sheriff Mack said. “You two going to be all right?”

Both nodded, so the sheriff hurried away.

In the silence that followed, Loreli looked to Jake, but his eyes held no forgiveness. Not that she had been expecting any. His nieces would never have been harmed had Loreli not come into their lives. “I'm sorry, Jake.”

“I need to get them home.”

She noticed he hadn't said “we.” Loreli knew what she needed to do. “I'm—going to be leaving here, Jake. I don't want this to ever happen again.”

He met her eyes. “That might be best.”

Her heart broke. Deep inside she had been hoping he would say her leaving wouldn't be necessary, but she knew how unrealistic that was. Were the shoe on the other foot, he would be the last person she'd want around her girls in light of today's terrifying events. “I'll—see if I can spend the night at Fanny's.”

Jake had to bury everything he felt for her deep inside. He loved her, lord knew he did, but she couldn't stay. He never ever wanted to go through an experience like this again, nor would he allow the girls to. His heart would
ache every day they were apart, maybe for the rest of his life, but she had to leave. This was for the best.

Loreli looked into his familiar face and had to set aside how much she would miss him. She ran her eyes over the two precious angels sleeping side by side on the cot. Lord, how could she leave them? “You will explain to the girls?”

He nodded. “I will.”

“Keep the furniture. Give away the clothes and whatever else.”

“What about the jewelry?”

“Sell it. There're only a few pieces. Buy the girls some horses so they can race.”

Loreli took a deep breath to keep the tears away. “Good-bye, Jake.”

“Bye, Loreli.”

She walked to the door and didn't look back.

In the silence that followed her leaving, it took all Jake had not to go after her, but when he glanced over at the girls, the rage he'd felt for the man who'd endangered them rekindled, making him remember why Trevor Church had come to Kansas in the first place. Jake didn't want to see Loreli Winters ever again.

 

Loreli spent the night with Fanny. The sheriff stopped by a few days later to let Loreli know that the twins had recovered. The news lifted her mood a bit, but it didn't fill the ache in her heart. She wanted to hold them, kiss them, tell them how sorry she was for what Trevor had done. Warrants had been issued for Trevor's arrest, but the authorities had no clues to his whereabouts.

The next day, Loreli was escorted to the train by
Fanny and the rest of the brides. They'd rallied around her, and she'd been moved by their loving support. Now, as the train whistle blew, it was time for Loreli to say good-bye.

The women shared strong hugs and plenty of tears. “We'll keep an eye on your girls, don't worry,” Zora told Loreli. “And we'll all write you so you'll know how they're faring.”

“Thanks.”

“Do you want to know how Jake's faring?” Fanny said.

“No.”

“Now, Loreli, you love that man,” Ruby said.

“No, Ruby. I don't want to know and I don't want any of you stirring up trouble with him after I'm gone. If he finds himself a wife—treat her nice, for the girls' sake, okay?”

They nodded.

The conductor yelled out his last call.

Loreli looked at her friends, and the love she felt for them filled her up inside. “I have to go. I'll write soon.”

She hurried to board the train. As always, she didn't look back.

Loreli decided to go to Philadelphia. As the train chugged East, she tried not to be overwhelmed by her sadness, but it was difficult. Who knew love could hurt a woman this bad? Who knew it could open up an ache inside one's heart big enough to run a train through? She certainly hadn't. She also had no idea how long it might take her to heal, or if she ever would.

 

Jake stepped out onto the back porch to check on the girls. Since their return he found himself unable to have
them out of his sight for more than a second or two. He supposed his paranoia surrounding their safety would eventually decrease, but he didn't believe it would occur anytime soon.

They were seated on the porch just as they had been when he looked out at them two minutes ago. They'd not taken Loreli's leaving well.

“Do you girls want to ride over and see Aggie and Charlene today?”

“I don't,” Bebe said quietly.

Her sister added, “Me neither.”

Jake's mustache thinned. For days the house had been as solemn as a tomb. There had been no giggles, no jacks, no jump rope. It was as if Loreli's leaving had drained the life out of everything and everyone she'd touched.

“I think it may be fun. How about we go anyway?”

They nodded but they showed little enthusiasm.

Dede turned and looked up at him, and confessed softly, “We miss her, Uncle Jake.”

“I know.”

“Do you miss her?” Bebe asked.

Jake didn't lie. “I do, but she didn't want you girls to ever be hurt by any of her friends again. That's why she left.”

Bebe asked him, “But why didn't you tell her to stay? We wouldn't have been scared.”

Jake had to look away for a moment in order to corral his emotions, then explained, “Sometimes things are more complicated when you get to be an adult, Be. Loreli did what she thought was best.”

He sat down between them and gently hugged them close. They put their heads on his chest and snaked their
arms around him so they could hold him close as well. He kissed the tops of their heads lovingly. “This is the best way,” he whispered.

“But we loved her very, very much.” Dede's voice was filled with tears.

Bebe was crying softly as well.

Jake felt the water stinging at his eyes. “I know, sweetheart. We all did.”

“Do you think if we told her that, she might come back?” Dede asked.

Jake didn't answer. He kissed them again instead. “How about we get ready to ride over and see Charlene and Aggie.”

Both girls were searching his face intently.

“What?” he asked.

“You didn't answer.”

He held their eyes and the love he had for them made him give the only answer he could. “She's not coming back, girls, so we need to go on with living.”

They dropped their heads, then nodded their understanding.

“All right, Uncle Jake,” Bebe finally said.

But Dede didn't reply at all.

 

It was raining when Loreli's train reached the station in Philadelphia. During the stop back in Chicago, Loreli had wired Olivia as to when she'd be arriving in Philadelphia, so Loreli was not surprised to see her chauffeur, Sgt. Caldwell Collins, Civil War veteran, beside the tracks when she stepped off. He was standing beneath a large open parasol.

When he saw her, he smiled and came forward so she
could quickly duck out of the rain. “Welcome home, Miss Winters.”

Collins was always very formal in his dealings with her even after seven years of employment. “How are you, Sgt.?”

“Fine, ma'am. Just fine. Carriage is this way. Once I get you inside, I'll go back and get your luggage.”

“There isn't any, so let's go on home.”

Sgt. Collins served as both chauffeur and houseman. He knew her well. Loreli could see he had questions, but she said, “Tell you all about it later.”

He nodded, then directed her toward the carriage.

After riding around in a rented buggy during the stay in Hanks, and spending the month before that on the hard seat of a Conestoga, the soft leather seats and the finely appointed interior of her own carriage made her sigh contentedly. She was home and once she arrived at the house planned to do nothing but let herself be waited upon. She would bathe in her own tub, sleep in her own bed, have strawberries and chocolate for breakfast if she desired. She wouldn't have to rise before dawn or smell the distinctive fragrance of hogs the moment she took her first waking breath. She was home, or at least the closest thing she had to one.

Olivia met her at the door and the two women shared a great big hug.

“Welcome. How are you?” Olivia said.

Loreli shrugged. “I'm here, that's all I can say.”

Olivia, standing with Sgt. Collins, looked to have questions as well. “Well, the new tub I ordered arrived, so your bath's ready and you can eat afterward.”

Loreli was tired. “Thanks.” She then added with a
small smile, “And since I know the two of you are about to burst, I'll answer all of your questions as soon as I'm washed and have eaten.”

They nodded and watched her slowly climb the grand, carved stairway to her second-floor suite.

The bath was glorious, the water hot and full of scented salts.

Olivia had come in to bring her employer some fat hot drying sheets, and set them on the small table beside the big clawfooted tub. Loreli didn't have any family, and neither did the fifty-year-old Olivia, but because the two women had been together now almost fifteen years they shared a close and personal bond. Basking in the tub, Loreli sighed. “I could spend the rest of my life, right here.”

Olivia laughed. “And you'd look like a shriveled up apple.”

“Well, after what I've been through that's how my heart feels,” Loreli replied.

Loreli then told her all that had happened.

When she was done, Olivia was appalled. “And they never found Trevor?”

“No, good thing, though. Jake and I were going to take turns killing him. I hope I never see him again. The sheriff was pretty much convinced Trevor murdered the Tate woman.”

Olivia shook her head, “Had I known what he was up to, I'd've brought the paintings myself. I'm so sorry they're gone.”

“It's all right. You thought you could trust him, so it isn't your fault. He took advantage of all of us.”

“I'm glad the girls were found alive, though. Those poor babies must have been scared to death.”

“I'm sure they were. I was so glad Trevor hadn't hurt them.”

It still pained her that she hadn't been with them when they awakened. That they'd recovered was all that mattered, however.

“By the way, Olivia, thank you for their beautiful dresses. The twins wanted to give you a kiss for sending them. Give yourself a raise in pay tomorrow.”

Olivia smiled. “So, are you going to stay around here, or head off somewhere else?”

“I don't know. I may stick around. I need to lick my wounds a bit.”

Olivia's eyes reflected understanding. “I wired the staff at your place in Denver that you'd be here awhile. They send their regards.”

“Thanks.” Loreli was thinking of letting the staffs go at the other two houses that she owned. They served no purpose really, and she was getting too old to be gallivanting around. Being in Kansas had settled her restless soul in ways she still didn't understand.

Olivia then said, “Answer this one question, and then I'll leave you alone.”

“Go ahead.”

“Did you love him?”

Loreli went silent for a moment. Jake's face shimmered across her memory. She confessed truthfully, softly, “Yes, I did. Hurts like hell too.”

“Love can be painful,” Olivia offered sympathetically. “I'll bring your dinner up whenever you're ready.”

“Thanks.”

“You're welcome.”

 

The month of August slid into September bringing with it cooler temperatures and, in Kansas, preparations for harvest. Jake Reed woke up in the attic room and decided to go back to sleeping in his own room. He was making some progress in his quest to forget Loreli; he was only dreaming about her every other night instead of every night. He looked around the dawn-lit room. Her furniture and clothes were still in residence as if he expected her to walk in at any moment, but she wouldn't. He leaned back against the down pillows. Even though he kept telling himself that her leaving had been best for everyone concerned, he continued to reach for her in the middle of the night. The dreams he had about her were vividly erotic. He'd awakened more mornings than he could count, hard and ready, and that wasn't helping his situation either.

At breakfast he told the girls, “I'm going to move back into my old room. I don't like sleeping so far away from you.”

“Can me and Dede have Loreli's room, then?” Bebe asked,

The girls were no more happy with her leaving now than they'd been at first. They were silent, moody, and continued to put Loreli in their prayers. “I don't see why not.” Jake hadn't the heart to deny the request. Maybe being around her things would soothe their sadness and feelings of loss.

“Thank you, Uncle Jake,” Dede said.

The girls exchanged a smile, the first ones Jake had seen since their recovery.