Elizabeth (Widows of Blessings Valley Book 1) Read online

  “Thank you, Willa.” Elizabeth blinked back the tears Willa saw surface. “I am grateful for your offer, but—”

  “I am happy to give it, Elizabeth.” Willa patted Elizabeth’s arm, saying, “We girls have to stick together.”

  “Yes, I suppose we do.” Elizabeth sighed, then methodically placed her purchases on the counter.

  “That’ll be –” Mr. Smith began.

  “Let me get this,” Willa began then, seeing her mistake by the look on Elizabeth’s face, pulled back her offer of monetary help. “No, of course not.”

  “Thank you, Willa, but I have to learn to stand on my own two feet sometime. I still have some money to live on. I’m not totally destitute. Besides, I have many items that need mending that I’ve been putting aside,” Elizabeth said, handing the money for her notions to Mr. Smith. “Thank you, Mr. Smith. You always have such a variety of threads, I’m sure I’ll be back for more.”

  “You ladies have a nice day!” Mr. Smith called out as they walked out the door.

  Willa looped her arm through Elizabeth’s, halting her in the street. “You can call on me for help anytime, Elizabeth. For now, I’ll put a notice up for boarders who need some mending.”

  “No, Willa,” Elizabeth stated. “I won’t start taking charity from people. Especially not my friends. And since my family is far away, there is no one except myself to depend on. I will find my own customers, Willa. Please, I know that it is something only I can do—for now anyway.”

  “Yes, Elizabeth,” Willa stated firmly. “However, I insist that you allow me to help you. You know I’ll do it anyway, so why not just accept my help?”

  “Goodness Willa. I can see there is no convincing you otherwise,” Elizabeth stammered, giving in to her. “I shall accept your offer, but only if I can pay you for the advertisement.”

  “Agreed!” Willa smiled as they walked the short distance back to her boardinghouse.

  Elizabeth knew Willa only wanted to help her. But she didn’t want her, or anyone’s, help or sympathy or pity. She only wanted her Steven back; while her heart protested he was forever gone and not coming back, her head kept telling her this was her new reality—life as a widow. Eventually, her heart might believe her head, but not today, or tomorrow, or ever, as far as she was concerned.

  “Willa, I’m sorry if I have offended you in any way.” Elizabeth took her friend’s hand in hers, giving it a light squeeze before letting go. “It’s just that—well, I don’t—why is it so hard for me to express myself? I can’t seem to find the right words anymore, not since…”

  “Let’s sit on the porch a while before you go home,” Willa suggested, guiding her up the steps and over to the end of the porch where a swing and small round table sat.

  Elizabeth settled down on the porch swing, fighting the tears threatening to overtake her once again. They seemed to come at the most unexpected times, especially when she felt she was at her strongest. Like a summer thunderstorm, there they would be—unexpected and furious. As long as she was alone, she’d let them fall, but she would not allow herself to give in to them in front of anyone. Nor would she give in to the pity in the eyes of people who watched her struggle not to let them fall. She wouldn’t allow it! She had to be strong for both herself and Steven.

  Willa sat down beside her, and Elizabeth fought the urge to put her head on Willa’s shoulder and let the tears come. What good would it do anyone? Not one bit, that’s what! She’d keep telling herself that until it was true.

  “When my Charlie died, I locked myself in our room for days,” Willa began, covering Elizabeth’s hand with her own, as if she were looking for her own strength. “I’d go through his things over and over again, hoping to find something that would make him walk through the door and take me in his arms like he used to do.”

  “Willa, you don’t have to—”

  “Yes, Elizabeth, I do,” Willa said, turning to face Elizabeth. “If I must tell my story over and over again, I will.

  “Charlie Alexander was one of the richest young men in Marion County. And he wasn’t the boy I first fell in love with, but that is another story altogether.” Willa sighed, her gaze off somewhere Elizabeth felt she was intruding on.

  “But Charlie was charming, and before long, he won me over. We had a happy life together, and I was very blessed to be his wife. His loss almost undid me, and if not for a very persistent family, I might not be in Blessings Valley. I might be out in the cemetery next to Charlie.

  “So, you see, Elizabeth, no matter what you say or how much you try to push me aside, I will always be here.” Willa squeezed her hand, and Elizabeth felt a tear slip from her eye.

  “I know I’m not alone. That I’m not the only, nor the first, woman to lose her husband.” Elizabeth swiped at the tear, picked up her basket of notions, and stood. “You then can understand, above all others, that this is something I must do on my own. In my own way, and in my own time.”

  “Yes, I do.” Willa stood, taking her into her arms. “I am here for you and the others. All you have to do is call on me. Promise you’ll do that.”

  The basket suddenly feeling like a bunch of bricks, Elizabeth gazed into Willa’s pleading eyes. Her heart exploding from the love—and sorrow—she saw laying in their depths. How could she not make a promise to someone so generous? So caring? Elizabeth could not.

  “I promise to call if I need you.” Elizabeth hugged Willa then headed for home and to an empty house.

  CHAPTER 2

  “Blast!” Augustine Raines grunted, wiggling his fingers through the bottom of the pocket in his suitcoat. “Nothing lasts forever, not even a hundred-dollar suit made by the best tailor money can buy.”

  Disgusted, Auggie shrugged off the coat, tossing it on his neatly made bed. Opening the wardrobe, he yanked another dark-colored coat off a hanger.

  “If this keeps up, I’ll need an entire new set of suits.” Auggie slipped the garment on then looked in the mirror, making sure he was presentable. Satisfied all his flaws were hidden, he left his apartment for his office two floors down in the Grand Hotel.

  The mining accident had brought in welcome business. The hotel had been full for several days with the arrival of families, government inspectors, and newspaper people. It also brought back a memory that always lay just below the surface of his mind.

  His own disfiguring accident. A silly bet on a horse race between himself and an old friend. Auggie’s horse had stumbled, and he landed unconscious against a tree. Not only had he lost a rather large bet that day, but his face had been torn wide open along the jawline from his chin to his ear. The doctor had done the best he could to minimize the scarring, but Auggie felt he looked like a scarecrow. His once clean-shaven face now sported a neatly trimmed beard hiding the ugly scar behind it.

  The incident had done more than disfigure his face; it had also made him leery of any woman who gave him any kind of attention since. In his mind, he was positive it was his money they were after, because, after all, why would a woman want a damaged man? One that would be hard to look at, even with the light low. For that reason, he’d decided to leave high society and set out for Oklahoma Territory when the opportunity to open the hotel came his way.

  No one here knew of him. They only knew he was having a hotel built. They didn’t know he was a rich man. Here, in Blessings Valley, he could escape the debutantes trying to latch onto his bank account.

  And he had accomplished his goal. It was lonely, but that was the price he was willing to pay to not have to worry whether or not he was loved for the man he was.

  So, he lived the life of a confirmed bachelor.

  “Good morning, Mr. Raines,” Stewart, the desk clerk, called out as Auggie reached the bottom of the stairs. “We are a little less than half capacity this morning. Several of our guests have gone to the bakery to wait for the stagecoach.”

  “Thank you,” Auggie said, acknowledging his employee. “Please have breakfast brought into my office. I have an app
ointment with Mrs. Alexander this morning.”

  “Yes sir. Your usual, Mr. Raines?”

  Auggie nodded. “Yes, and please show Mrs. Alexander in the moment she arrives.”

  Auggie went into his office where he already had the hotel files on his desk. He couldn’t imagine what it was Willa wanted to see him about. Her boardinghouse was doing well, taking clientele that couldn’t afford the Grand.

  Even though she was his competition, Auggie liked the widow. She was the type of woman who didn’t mince words, she just came right out and said what she thought.

  Auggie knew Willa wasn’t the least bit interested in more than a friendly business relationship, and that suited him just fine. He wasn’t in the market for romance of any kind.

  “Mr. Raines, Mrs. Alexander has arrived,” Stewart announced, pushing open the partially opened door.

  Auggie dismissed his thoughts, then stood. “Mrs. Alexander, please do come in.”

  “Thank you.” Willa smiled, strolled into his office, then sat in the chair opposite him.

  “Please have Cook hold breakfast until after Mrs. Alexander and I have concluded our business.” Auggie nodded to Stewart then took his seat again as the door softly closed. “What can I help you with today, Willa? You aren’t here to discuss our agreement, are you?”

  “No, far from it,” Willa said, her gaze taking stock of him.

  He felt like that little boy in the boarding school being inspected by the schoolmaster when Willa’s gaze traveled over him. His hand sought out the spot on his breast pocket where her assessing eyes lingered.

  Blast! How did I miss another tear?

  “Looks to me like your suit is in need of some repair, Auggie,” Willa commented, continuing to assess him with a small grin on her face.

  Was she really passing judgment on him? What gave the boardinghouse owner the right to have any opinion on his appearance? Even if they did have a business agreement of sorts.

  “So, it seems to be my lucky day. I’ve already changed suitcoats once this morning before coming down for the day.” Auggie shrugged, doing his best to hide the embarrassment creeping through him. “I’ll have to go up to my apartment as soon as our meeting is over and change again. I’m starting to run out of suits that don’t need mending of some sort or another.” He laughed.

  “Yes, you may. But I do have an eye for such things. Maybe no one else will notice,” Willa suggested.

  “The point is that I’ll know,” Auggie retorted, feeling the need to rush upstairs that very minute and discard yet another damaged suitcoat. “Shall we get down to the business that has brought you in this morning?”

  “I know it is rather sudden, and there’s a good reason that has nothing to do with the boardinghouse or our arrangement.” Willa smiled. “It has to do with helping out one of the widows.”

  Auggie sat back in his chair, rolling a pencil between his fingers. “I must warn you against loaning money to anyone who may have a difficult time repaying it. I do sympathize with their losses, but I’m not sure what can be done for them.”

  “I wouldn’t dream of insulting them by offering a loan, and none of them has asked for one,” Willa answered.

  “That’s good, so what is it then?”

  “Imagine that you have a hotel guest who discovers she needs a seamstress as one of her dresses has been damaged during her trip. Where would she find one?” Willa leaned in toward him, her eyes back on the rip. “Would she have to resort to making the repair herself? Call on Nana’s where she’d have to take the garment there herself? Or could she just call on the Grand Hotel seamstress to mend the dress?”

  “If the hotel had such a seamstress, I’d direct said guest to her. As it is, that service isn’t offered here at the Grand.” Auggie tossed the pencil on his desk, wondering what sort of scheme Willa was cooking up this time.

  “But it could be.” Willa smiled, obviously holding her secret scheme on the tip of her tongue.

  It’s just like a woman—keep secrets to use later. Willa has never wanted anything from me before, so why now? Might as well hear her out or she’ll not leave me to get on with today’s business.

  Intrigued, Auggie looked down at the rip in his jacket than back over to Willa. “Please do go on, Willa.”

  “I believe you are in need of a seamstress for yourself, if not the hotel guests.” Willa smiled. At least she’d gotten his attention, and he seemed to be interested in what she had up her sleeve. She was sure of it.

  “Yes, we’ve already established that unfortunate need.” Auggie chuckled, shrugging his shoulders.

  “Did you know there is a fine and very capable seamstress right here in Blessings Valley who could take care of that mending for you?” Willa asked, knowing full well that he didn’t. It wasn’t something Elizabeth would have shared with the hotel owner. She wouldn’t have had any reason to. As far as Willa knew, she was the only one who knew and that was by pure accident.

  “No, I didn’t. And please don’t stretch this out. Willa, just spit it out,” Auggie strongly suggested.

  She had a mind to keep him on the hook, but knew he might spit out the bait she was offering and break the line.

  “Typical man, always in too much of a hurry to listen to what a woman has to say,” Willa snorted, shaking her head. “You already know Elizabeth Hamilton is one of the widows. But what you may not know is that Mrs. Hamilton was a seamstress before she married Steven Hamilton.”

  “Yes, I do know of Mrs. Hamilton, and no, I don’t know anything about her past. Why would I?” Auggie said, crossing a leg nonchalantly over a knee. “I don’t make it my business to know the past lives of the women of Blessings Valley. And most certainly, not married ones!”

  “She’s a widow,” Willa reminded him. “So technically, she’s not married in the eyes of the law nor God.”

  “Nor widows either, as they were once married,” Auggie declared. “What have you got up your sleeve, Willa?”

  “Mrs. Hamilton is a strong-willed woman. The type of person who won’t take any handouts, not even from me.” Willa hoped she wasn’t pouring it on too thick. She didn’t want to scare the catch away. “To put it bluntly, she needs employment before her money runs out, Auggie.”

  “Why not hire her at the boardinghouse?” Auggie asked. “I’m sure some of your boarders would have more than enough to keep her busy. After all—”

  “She refused to accept my help,” Willa interrupted, pursing her lips. “She wouldn’t even let me hang a flyer up without taking payment first.” Even though she admired Elizabeth for her refusal, Willa was still miffed she hadn’t accepted her help. Yes, she certainly did admire Elizabeth Hamilton’s desire to find her own way. Just not her reasoning for denying any.

  She only needs a small push in the right direction, Willa thought. And Auggie has been alone far too long, for whatever reason.

  “I was thinking that the Grand may be in need a seamstress, and by the look of things, there is a need for her services.” Willa nodded at Auggie’s tear in his suitcoat.

  “I’ll have to think about it,” Auggie said, tenting his fingers against his chin.

  “Don’t think too long. After I leave here, I’m going straight over to the Gold Star. I’m sure the girls there could use Mrs. Hamilton’s skills.” Willa sat for a moment longer watching the expression on Auggie’s face change as he soaked in her false declaration. Sighing in exaggeration, she stood, smoothing down her skirts.

  “While you continue to take it under consideration, Auggie, I’ll be determined to find that widow some honest work. I only hope it’ll be with a reputable business so her reputation isn’t tarnished.” Willa turned and strolled toward the office door.

  Come on, Auggie, do the right thing. She put her hand on the doorknob and turned it slowly. Pulling the door open, she took a step out of the office and away from the hope she’d had in Augustine Raines.

  “Willa, wait!” Auggie called.

  Willa let go of the breath
she’d been holding, turned off the instant smile on her face, then turned back around. “Yes, what is it?”

  “Since Mrs. Hamilton won’t take charity, how do you propose getting her to work here? I can’t very well walk up to her and say that I am in need of her services; I might get slapped,” Auggie said, pacing behind the desk, stroking his beard.

  “I have a plan. Are you willing to hear it?” Willa stood in front of Auggie, her heart rejoicing that she’d chosen correctly.

  “Yes, yes, of course, I am. Please sit down and tell me how I’m going to get a seamstress for my hotel.” Auggie finally stopped pacing and sat back down.

  “It’s quite simple, actually,” Willa stated, pulling out the folded piece of paper that she’d tucked into her small bag before leaving the boardinghouse. “I took the liberty of writing an advertisement. All you have to do is walk over to The Chronicle and place it.”

  Willa handed the paper across the desk to Auggie. “I hope you approve. As you will see, I also took the liberty of quoting a proposed salary.”

  Auggie read the advertisement, raising his eyebrows. “This is quite generous. There isn’t any proof of Mrs. Hamilton’s skills, except for her word.”

  “Regardless, she’s worth every penny, Auggie.” Willa said, turning to leave. “I guarantee it.”

  “What have I gotten myself into?” He shook his head, pushing the paper aside, as Willa Alexander walk out of his office with a spring in her step.

  Shaking his head, he picked up the paper written in Willa’s hand and re-read the simple advertisement for a seamstress. It was straightforward. The Grand Hotel was in need of a seamstress. The position would be as needed and offered a generous hourly wage.

  He’d acted out of character when he’d responded rather quickly and without weighing the costs. Something he hadn’t done since his accident. At least this time around, the possibility of landing unconscious against the trunk of a tree with his face ripped open was slim. He may have the reputation of being cold-hearted, which he didn’t think he was. He just wasn’t looking for a wife.