Wanted: Innkeeper: Silverpines Series (Book 6) Read online

  Ella Grace was surrounded by people offering her hugs and smiles as the family left the church and headed home. Her heart heavy, she wished she could stay in Silverpines, but how could she stand to see Michael. Perhaps he would sell the Inn and leave town.

  Lunch was a somber affair even as all the girls did their best to make Ella Grace smile. She did her best for the smaller girls and laughed at their silliness. Just as lunch was ending, they were distracted by a knock at the door. Rosie jumped from her seat yelling, “I’ll go” before Ivy could move from her chair. She was back in a moment carrying a brown paper wrapped package.

  “It’s for you, Ella Grace,” an excited Rosie said as she placed the package in front of her sister.

  Ella Grace sat and stared at the package. She knew it must be from Michael. His handwriting was apparent on the front of the note.

  “Open it, open it,” coaxed Rosie.

  Ella Grace smiled at her smallest sister and gently opened the package. It contained a box of the fine chocolates Michael kept at the hotel for the guests. She set the box in the middle of the table telling her sisters they could share.

  Ivy reached for a piece and asked, “Why did Michael send these?”

  “I’m not sure,” she answered reading the note. It simply said, I’m sorry. “I think he’s sorry for upsetting me.”

  Ivy grinned. “I hope when I get a boyfriend that he upsets me a lot and sends chocolate,” she said as she placed the piece of decadence in her mouth.

  Ella Grace couldn’t help but smile at the innocent remark. She thought about the note. He was sorry but sorry for what? Saying what he did? Thinking she could lie to him? Speaking out of turn or getting caught at it? She didn’t want to see him, so there was no reason for her to try and guess what he meant. She crumpled the note and slipped it into her pocket.

  The following morning found Ella Grace in the kitchen early starting breakfast. It was Monday morning, and she should be in her own home just a few doors down Adams Street making breakfast for her husband and hurrying to get ready to accompany him to the Inn to begin their workday. She’d never set foot in the Inn again much less work there. She sighed but decided to keep doing her best to smile and move forward. Many women in town had lost husbands when the mine collapsed. How could she feel sorry for herself for losing an almost husband? She wasn’t sure, but her heart was broken, and for that, she felt pain and loss.

  Soon all her sisters were chattering and enjoying breakfast until they heard a knock at the door. Ella Grace stood, “I’ll get it this time.” Ivy and Rosie pouted, but Ella Grace just smiled at them.

  The young boy at the door shifted from foot to foot as he said, “These two notes are for you, Miss Ella Grace. The lady asked me to wait for an answer.”

  “Lady?”

  “Yup, Mr. Karson asked me to bring a note, and before I could leave, a nice lady at the Inn asked me to bring you the second note and wait for a reply.”

  “All right, wait a moment.” She opened the note with the delicate handwriting and saw it was from Lilian asking if they could have tea. Refusing to ever set foot in the Inn again, she wrote a quick note inviting her for afternoon tea. She handed the note to the boy along with a coin, and he ran off the porch and out to the street. Ella Grace smiled at the young boy. Boys never liked to stay around the house too long. She believed all the girls frightened them.

  Taking the notes into the parlor, she sat and slowly opened the one from Michael.

  My Darling Ella Grace,

  I am a fool. I am an idiot. I am everything you would care to call me. What I did was unforgivable, but I am begging for forgiveness. I honestly don’t remember exactly what I said to you. I am fairly certain I said something about the signatures looking similar and that people should be given second chances or that everyone makes mistakes. Right now, I am not sure where that thought came from or why I uttered it. I never meant that I believed you were married to that reprehensible man or that I believed you to be a liar.

  Please, my dear sweet Ella Grace, listen to me. My heart is shattered. When you rode past me on Saturday and didn’t acknowledge me, you ripped what was left of my heart and took it with you. I will never recover. Could we meet and talk? Maybe by the stream. We felt such love there. We can feel it again. I still love you with all that I am.

  Talk around town is that you plan to leave town. Don’t do that. You need your family and friends near you. If you tell me that you plan to leave because of me, I will leave and go back with my parents. I will tell the bank to sell the Inn, or you can come back and run it for me the way you ran it before. I won’t make any trouble for you.

  Please, darling, think about it, about us before you decide.

  All my love,

  Michael

  Tears stung her eyes as she tried to take in all of Michael’s words. She loved him with all that she was, and he said the same. Had she been too hasty? She didn’t hear Miss Edie come into the room or sit next to her.

  “What is it, Ella Grace?”

  She handed the note to her guardian and began to cry in earnest. “What do I do? I love him so.”

  Miss Edie’s gentlest voice asked, “He does say that he was confused. He also mentions second chances. Do you think he deserves one?”

  “I don’t know. Yes, everyone deserves a second chance, but I’m afraid it won’t work out. I can’t imagine trying and having my heart broken again.”

  “Well my dear,” Miss Edie said. “You can send him a note and perhaps have another picnic and a walk by the creek, but not today. Today you are going to rest, have tea with Mrs. Karson, and Michael can just sit and wait wondering what you’ll say. It’s always good to make a man wait. You don’t want to seem eager.”

  Ella Grace agreed and spent much of the day sitting in the garden thinking about Michael and what to do. Shortly before Mrs. Karson was to arrive for tea, Ella Grace penned a short reply to Michael inviting him on a picnic the following day. She suggested he bring lunch this time. She’d give the note to Mrs. Karson and ask her to deliver it.

  Tea was pleasant, and Mrs. Karson shared some of Michael’s finest and worst childhood accomplishments and shenanigans. They spoke of life in Silverpines and back in Gentle Falls. She asked about Ella Grace’s childhood and spoke about her other children. She didn’t try to persuade Ella Grace one way or the other. Lilian Karson believed in love and prayed Ella Grace would see how much her son loved her.

  Chapter Twenty-three

  The next morning dawned bright and sunny with only a few wisps of clouds carried along on the gentle breeze. It was a perfect day for a picnic, but Ella Grace was nervous. Three days ago, she was ready to ride away from her life and Michael and today she was willing to listen and see if they could put that life back together. She sat on her bed and rubbed her forehead sure a headache would assault her soon. Dressed in a bright yellow dress with soft pink flowers scattered over the skirt, she prayed asking God to guide her. If it is His will that she marry Michael, she knew God would touch her heart, and she’d feel it. A bit of calm covered her but shattered as soon as she heard the knock on the front door.

  “I’ll go,” she called out, and she rushed down the stairs grateful that she didn’t tumble down them. She tried to slow her breathing before opening the door.

  Michael stood there with a sheepish look on his face and hope in his heart. “Hello, would you like to go on a picnic?”

  “Yes, thank you,” she responded and took a pink parasol from the umbrella stand before walking out and closing the door behind her. “It’s best we walk around the house and not through it. My sisters would not be welcoming.”

  They strolled to the small grove of trees again, and Michael spread out the blanket. He held her hand to help her sit and then sat on the opposite side of the blanket. He smiled, then coughed, then smiled again.

  “Before we eat, I have something to say or ask? Have you spoken to Marshal Sewell?”

  “Yes, he stopped by yesterday and ex
plained that Argus left town shortly after I did. He’s sure that Bugs must have obtained that marriage certificate illegally. Bugs had been watching me and sending me strange notes. The marshal thinks he might have wanted to abduct me and use the fake license to throw off anyone who might question him. We have no idea what Argus thought he was doing when he stopped the wedding. Bugs is dead and buried,” Ella Grace said quickly not wishing to dwell on the terrible events.

  “That is what he told me, too. Bugs and Argus are in the past, and we’re here now. Can we begin again?”

  Ella Grace stared at her hands and shrugged one shoulder gently. “Let me think while we eat. I’m hungry. What did you bring?”

  “Fair enough. Mrs. Donlinson packed the lunch and said she added your favorites.”

  “Mmm, I smell chicken.” Ella Grace’s eyes danced with anticipation.

  “Yes, but not fried chicken. She made a roasted chicken for you and the small roasted potatoes you love. She told me to tell you she added extra butter to them. He pulled out a plate of biscuits, a small bowl of butter, and some strawberry jam. “I’m not sure why, but she explained she added honey to the biscuits.”

  Ella Grace took one and bit it. “Try one, the honey makes then a bit sweet, and they’re delicious. She’s spoiling me.”

  “She’s worried you won’t come back.”

  “I would always go and visit her. Were you serious when you said you’d sell the Inn and go back home?” Ella Grace asked before she took another bite of biscuit.

  “Yes, but I don’t think I’d go home. I’d head to California or Alaska. Somewhere far away from my father. I thought long and hard about what happened on our wedding day. Marshal Sewell was checking the signatures, you stood there with that shocked and scared look on your face, and I was trying to see what the marshal was pointing out about the signatures. My father bent close to me and whispered, ‘You can’t marry that girl. Who knows what else she’s done in her past.’ I was furious with him and yanked my arm from his grasp and looked at you, but I should have said the words to him. We all make mistakes. We all have a past. But I blurted them to you, not to him. I never meant them for you. Just for my father, so he understood that no matter what I was going to marry you. I still want to marry you. I don’t care what anyone else says. I only care what you say.”

  Tears ran freely down Ella Grace’s cheeks, and Michael wiped them with a napkin. “Please don’t cry. Miss Ethel will shoot me for sure.”

  Ella Grace couldn’t help but laugh through her tears. Oh, how she loved this man.

  “I didn’t mean to make you cry. I said we should eat first. Here let’s eat,” he said and handed her a plate. He had to get her to stop crying. It was breaking his heart. He loved her more than life itself. “Eat, and then I have a surprise for dessert.”

  Ella Grace took a calming breath and said, “If Mrs. Donlinson made all my favorites, then it must be a cherry cobbler.”

  Michael’s eyebrows knitted together, “I was hoping it’d be a surprise.”

  Ella Grace laughed, and Michael sent up a prayer asking God to let her love him again.

  They ate their meal in silence staring into each other’s eyes more often then they glanced at their food. Michael smiled more, and Ella Grace’s eyes sparkled with joy. Both felt the love they shared, but both cautious that they might say the wrong thing.

  Before they shared the cherry cobbler, Michael suggested a walk down by the creek. He helped Ella Grace up and held her hand as they walked around the trees to the small creek where they shared their first real kiss. They watched the open fields across the creek where wild animals scampered, and birds took flight. Michael turned to Ella Grace and drew her close. He lifted her chin with his fingertips and took a chance placing a chaste kiss on her lips. He pulled back and saw her smiling face. She didn’t look angry or hurt. He decided he would take another chance and ask her what was in his heart. Still holding her hand, he dropped to one knee.

  “I don’t have enough words to tell you how sorry I am that I hurt you. I promise to never hurt you again. That might be hard to do since I can be an idiot at times, but I promise never to intentionally hurt you. If you forgive me and marry me, I will do my best to make you smile and bring you joy every day for the rest of our lives. Please, Ella Grace, say you’ll marry me.”

  Ella Grace’s lip trembled. Her head screamed yes, and her heart said maybe…he hurt you. It only took a moment for her head and heart to agree. “Yes, I’ll marry you, Michael.”

  He drew her into his arms and kissed her deeply. They only broke when they heard giggles coming from two little girls standing at the edge of the tree line. They said in unison, “Miss Edie says if you look happy then Michael should stay for supper.” They ran off before either Ella Grace or Michael could answer.

  “I think I’m staying for supper. Oh, my mother said you gave this to her,” he said as he pulled the emerald ring out of his pocket and slipped it on her finger. “She said you gave her back the necklace and she wants you to have it.” He pulled the box out of his other pocket.

  Ella Grace sighed and leaned her head on his chest. She was happy. Michael loved her, and she loved him. Second chances were a good thing.

  Four days later, Michael and Ella Grace stood before Pastor James again. Ella Grace was concerned she’d ruined her dress, but Katie replaced the buttons and stitched the tiny tears. Neither could be seen through Ella Grace’s auburn curls that tumbled gracefully down her back. Marshal Sewell sat at the back making sure no one broke up the happy couple this time. When Pastor James told Michael he could kiss the bride, he did so with enthusiasm never worrying for a second that Miss Ethel might shoot him. Ella Grace was his now and always would be his.

  Mrs. Donlinson outdid herself again with the meal and cake at the Inn. Michael danced with Ella Grace and all his new sisters. He asked Miss Edie to dance, and she gracefully accepted. When he asked Miss Ethel to dance, he worried she might say no, but she smiled at him as they danced. She thanked him for the dance and added quietly, “If you ever hurt Ella Grace again, I will shoot you. No questions.” He believed her.

  Epilogue

  Three months later, Katie was busy dusting the parlor of Howard House on her day off. She’d received a reply from Mrs. Corley that morning offering her a place to stay at their home while she looked for work in Portland. She’d miss Silverpines and her sisters, but she didn’t see her future in the small town. She prayed about her situation and couldn’t find a reason to stay. She felt she had an important purpose and a role to fulfill in her life, but pray as hard as she might, she couldn’t find the answer. She’d write Mrs. Corley and leave for Portland in a few days.

  Her thoughts were interrupted by a knock on the door. She opened it to greet a middle-aged couple standing on the porch, each holding a small bundle in their arms.

  “Good afternoon, ma’am, my name is August Boyd, and this is my wife, Hilda. We heard that Howard House cares for orphaned girls. We have two babies, here. Could we speak to you?”

  “Of course, my name is Katie. Please come in and have a seat,” Katie answered. “

  Katie’s mind raced. She knew that Miss Edie and Miss Ethel had decided not to take in girls younger than Rosie and Ivy any longer. Both felt if they accepted infants or toddlers into their care, they might not be physically fit to care for them ten or fifteen years further on. The Howard sisters as spry and active as they were now, worried they could suffer an illness or injury. The decision was difficult, but they had decided that although their hearts were full, the needs of a child must be met first. They didn’t want to promise to care for a child and not be able to continue. Her younger sisters, although older than the twins, who could care for other children were already making plans for their lives. None wanted to stay and run the orphanage. Katie worried how she could explain this to the couple seated across the parlor from her.

  “Could I offer you some coffee or tea?” Katie asked.

  “No, thank you,” an
swered the older woman. “We came here to ask for your help.”

  “I’m not sure I can help you, but please feel free to tell me what you need.” Katie knew they would ask to leave the babies. She’d have to say no and disappoint them, but she didn’t want to ask them to leave without first listening to their story. It was the proper thing to do.

  Mrs. Boyd began. “We live on a farm a few miles outside of Silverpines. Three weeks after the first earthquake, a young woman rode up to our farm on a mule. She explained that her husband died in the collapse, she was with child, had nowhere to go and little money. She pleaded with us for a job. Our farm isn’t large enough to hire anyone and certainly not a young lady in a delicate way, but we couldn’t deny her. She reminds us of our younger daughter.”

  “My wife and I discussed it,” Mr. Boyd explained. “We offered her a place to stay until her child was born. Of course, we grew to love her in that time and wished for her to stay on with us as long as needed. Neither she or her deceased husband had any family, and she was completely alone.” The infant he held started to fuss, and he lovingly rocked her until she fell back to sleep.

  “Our dear Sophia delivered her babies yesterday morning. Her time came on her quickly, and we didn’t have time to call a midwife or doctor. All went well with the first baby. We don’t know what happened. She began to have difficulty breathing and passed shortly after the second baby was born. Both girls are strong and healthy. We love them, too, but are too old to care for them. We knew about Howard House and thought we’d ask you before having to turn to the marshal for help in placing them in the larger orphanage in Portland.”

  Katie walked over to Mrs. Boyd. “May I hold her?”

  “Of course,” she answered handing Katie the tiny bundle. “Do they have names.”

  “One does. Sophia wanted to remember her husband, Joseph and chose his name for a boy and Josie for the name if it was a girl. Her last words were, “I love you, Josie. We don’t know what she’d have decided to call the other child.”