Linda Ford (6 page)

This helpless feeling when he thought about her situation—wanting to protect her, knowing she resented his suggestion that she needed it—had been simmering since he’d seen her on the ladder and caught her as she fell. It reached the boiling point as the drunk threatened her. It now seared through his insides and spilled over. “He’s bigger, stronger than you.”

She reached under the desk and pulled out a bat, brandishing it like a sword. “I’m not entirely unprepared.”

He pulled up straight and stared at her. His hot, humorless surprise made him laugh. “A bat? Do you think he was going to throw a ball?”

“I’d pretend his head was a ball.”

With two steps, he quickly closed the distance between them.

She must have seen the anger in his eyes or guessed at it. She started to back away.

He shot his arm out and snatched the bat from her hand. “Now how would you stop him?”

Even in the poor light he could see he’d made her angry. “I wouldn’t try. I wouldn’t have to. Because”—she stalked to the desk and leaned over, pushing her face so close he eased back six inches before he could stop himself—“I wouldn’t be here. If I was open—and I’m not—Mort would be at the night desk.”

“Your fine-sounding argument didn’t keep that cowboy out.”

“I normally keep the door locked after dark.” She leaned forward another inch. “It’s only unlocked tonight because I had to wait for you to come in.”

He pushed his face closer. “Don’t be so stubborn. This is not a safe place. The work is too much, the risks too great, the—” He forgot his third reason as he breathed in the scent of wallpaper paste from her hair and a whisper of something so sweet he thought of fields of wildflowers so full of nectar a thousand bees danced in joy. His gaze dropped to her mouth. His thoughts skittered so wildly he couldn’t begin to capture them.

Hannah pulled back. “You are gravely mistaken, Jake Sperling, if you think I can’t do this. I can and I will.”

He reined in his thoughts. He had never before in his life felt the desire to shake a woman until her teeth rattled. He stuffed his hands in his pockets. “When you find you can’t, I’ll help you pick up the pieces.”

She snorted. “I suggest you don’t hold your breath waiting.”

He smacked the bat onto the desk and stalked up the stairs.

❧

Hannah waited until she heard his door shut. Only then did she sag against the desk. The drunk had frightened her. But it wouldn’t happen again. In the future she’d be sure the door was locked or Mort was at his job as night clerk.

She went to her room and sank to her bed. Shivers ran up and down her spine. She opened her Bible and read for a few minutes. Finally, admitting the words weren’t making any sense, she closed her eyes and prayed.
Thank You, God, for keeping me safe.
She just wished it hadn’t been at Jake’s hands. Why was he so determined to see her fail? Didn’t he have enough to worry about with his own family and his ranch to run?

She went to the chiffonier again and pulled out the case containing her father’s pocket watch. She pressed it to her chest, forcing her thoughts away from the drunk, and with a little more effort, away from Jake. She focused on what her father would have said. “My independent little girl, you know your mind. I like that. Don’t let anyone tell you you can’t do it.”

He’d encouraged her independence. He admired the quality in her. It had become her defining characteristic.

She returned the case to its place and prepared for bed. Under the covers, she whispered another prayer. “God, please help me not fail.”

❧

Hannah woke the next morning, her determination solidly in place. She quickly went to work on the hotel.

Mrs. Sperling and the boys came down as Hannah mopped the lobby floor.

“Do you have our cookies?” Luke yelled.

Hannah was beginning to wonder if one of their parents had difficulty hearing. That would explain why they felt the need to talk at the top of their voices. “I promised them cookies yesterday for being so good,” she told Mrs. Sperling.

“Why don’t we go find breakfast then come back for tea and cookies?” their grandmother asked.

The boys screamed their delight at the idea.

“Do you mind?” Mrs. Sperling asked Hannah.

“That would be fine.” She glanced up the stairs.

“Jake left to see if the buyers had come on the early train. He’s worried about the cows.” The older woman shook her head. “I can’t understand why the buyers haven’t come. I’m sure Seth could have persuaded them.”

Hannah wanted to protest. Jake had surely done his best. But it wasn’t any of her business, and she turned back to her work as Mrs. Sperling left with the boys.

The lobby cleaned, she headed upstairs to tidy the rooms the Sperling family used. She finished that task and returned to the main floor.

The door opened and three men in suits entered.

“I’m closed,” she called.

“We’re not wanting rooms,” one said, “but we are here on business. Are you Miss Williams?”

“I am.” She hurried over to the desk, feeling the need to look official. “How can I help you?”

“Allow me to introduce myself.” The first man stepped forward. “Mayor Stokes.” He bowed slightly, his bowler hat pressed to his chest. “These two gentlemen are Mr. Wass and Mr. Bertch, members of the town council. Mr. Bertch is also the safety inspector.”

They nodded, shifted from foot to foot, and avoided her gaze.

Hannah told herself she had nothing to be concerned about, but still every nerve in her body went into quivering attention. “To what do I owe this honor?” Maybe it was a welcoming committee.

Mayor Stokes, apparently the official spokesman, pulled a paper from his pocket. “It’s about the fire. Or should I say the water bill from the fire.”

She blinked. “What do you mean?”

The mayor harrumphed. “As you know, or being new in town perhaps you don’t, the town is dependent on well water for its supply, and we have instituted a policy that if people exceed reasonable use, they should pay for it.”

“Really. Who determines what is ‘reasonable use’ and when it is exceeded?”

“Why the town council, of course. It’s part of our job.”

The other two men nodded vigorous agreement.

The mayor continued. “We almost pumped the well dry dowsing your fire. Here’s your bill.” He shoved the piece of paper toward her.

At first she didn’t take it, but he shook it demandingly. She opened it and read the amount and gasped. “This is outrageous.”

Mayor Stokes looked as if she’d personally called him a blackguard. She hadn’t, but she began to think she’d be correct if she did. The other men found something very interesting to study on the wall behind her.

She pressed her lips together to keep from sputtering. “Could you be so good as to tell me when this water rationing policy came into effect?”

The mayor ignored her question. The other two continued to study the wall. Their silence was answer enough.

“Is that all?” she demanded.

“There’s one more matter. I told you Mr. Bertch is the safety inspector. He’s here to inspect the hotel.”

Hannah’s cheeks grew hot. Her stomach tensed. “My hotel is not open for business yet. When it is, it will pass any sort of inspection.”

Mayor Stokes blinked several times. “I understood you have guests here right now.”

The Sperlings. She could hardly deny it, though they’d practically forced her to allow them to stay. “Temporarily,” she muttered.

“Then Mr. Bertch is obligated to conduct his inspection.”

The three of them marched toward the dining room. Mr. Bertch pulled out a pad of paper and pencil and began to make notes. Hannah knew he had no need. The damage was plain, as they must know. Everyone in town knew.

He circled the room, Mayor Stokes and Mr. Wass treading on his heels. He barely glanced into the kitchen, returned to the lobby, and pretended to inspect it. Only his gaze went up the stairs.

“Miss Williams, this place is not safe for habitation.”

Five

“It will be,” she protested. “I need time to fix it.” Time, money, and supplies.

The three men put their heads together and muttered, and then Mayor Stokes faced her. “We’ll give you three weeks to pay the water use fine and complete the repairs. If they aren’t complete then we’ll be forced to impose further fines.” He cleared his throat. “We’re being more than generous. We could condemn the place today and board up the door.”

Mr. Bertch dropped a paper on the desk; then the three marched toward the door.

Hannah read the notice they left:

This is to inform Miss Hannah Williams

that the Sunshine Hotel must pass

a safety inspection in three weeks’ time

or be fined a hundred dollars.

Her cry of outrage brought Mort from the backyard. “Problems, miss?”

She waved at the paper on the desk as she hurried to her room to think this through in private.

She sank to the edge of her bed. It seemed obvious the mayor and his associates had targeted her, but why? Was it the money, or did they want her out of town? Maybe like Jake, they thought it wasn’t a job for a woman.

She looked at the drawer holding the little black case. Her father would expect her to handle this. But how? She considered her choices. Quit? Not an option. Ask for help? Briefly she let her mind swerve toward Jake. Would he help her if she asked, or side with the town fathers? Probably the latter. That left her with one alternative. She had three weeks. In that time, she had to get the hotel ready for occupancy and earn enough to pay the water bill.

She headed back to the lobby and stood looking around. With a little bit of wallpaper, it would be presentable. Why couldn’t she take in guests with the same arrangement she had with the Sperlings? Reduced rates because the dining room wasn’t available. If she had the dining room door closed off, surely Mr. Bertch couldn’t condemn it as unsafe? It would be inconvenient for her to have to go outside to get to the kitchen, but if it meant having paying guests, she would do it.

She marched up the stairs to study the eight unoccupied rooms, all with considerable smoke damage. She knew much of it could be scrubbed away with soap and water—and lots of elbow grease. Well, she’d better get at it.

She persuaded Mort to take down the drapes from the first three rooms and hang them outside to air. She’d try sponging them later in the day. She carried the ladder upstairs then, armed with hot water, soap, and lots of rags, headed for the first room.

“Miss Hannah. Miss Hannah.” The siren sound of two little boys rang out.

She dropped her cloth in the water and went down to serve the promised tea and cookies.

❧

The next day was more of the same. Mrs. Sperling took the boys out for breakfast then returned for tea and cookies. Other than that, Hannah spent every spare moment scrubbing and cleaning. She caught glimpses of Jake as he hurried in and out. According to Mrs. Sperling, he hadn’t been able to persuade any of the buyers to come and spent his day trying to find feed for the cows.

She had three rooms scrubbed and their bedding stripped down to the mattresses. She didn’t have to bury her face in the ticking to realize they’d need a good airing. She wondered if Mort would do it, but he’d been at the desk until late last night waiting for Jake to return. She’d promised him she wouldn’t disturb him. That left her to do the task on her own. She tugged a mattress off the bed. It was unwieldy but not heavy. Surely she could get it down the stairs.

She pushed, pulled, and dragged it to the hallway, got it to the top of the stairs, and then paused to catch her breath and consider her next step. She could drag the mattress, but if it got away on her she’d be pushed down the stairs. Nope. Better to push it down than have it push her. She got behind and shoved. It clung to the carpeting. She pushed harder and managed to get it to the top step. Somehow she’d figured it would dip down the stairs. Instead it merely stuck out. She pushed some more. It still stuck out. She kept pushing but couldn’t believe how the mattress continued to defiantly stick out over the steps.

Hannah gave one more hearty shove, and the mattress flipped flat, dropping its full length to the steps. She bent to grab the sides, hoping to control its descent, but it took off. She fell to the padding as the mattress gained speed. She clung to the edges.
Bump, bump, bump.
She felt every step in her chest, then her stomach, knees, and toes. As she realized the trip down the steps was going to be slow but bumpy, her initial alarm gave way to amusement.

The mattress reached the polished wooden floor and picked up speed. Hannah giggled. This was fun. She laughed harder. If anyone saw her now, they’d think she’d gone crazy. Maybe she had, but she hadn’t laughed like this in a long time. And it felt good.

At that moment the door opened and Jake strode in. She barely had time to holler, “Look out,” before the mattress struck his ankles and ground to a halt.

He teetered a minute like a tree cut down at its roots, waved his arms madly, and then toppled, landing beside her.

Laughing so hard tears filled her eyes, Hannah rolled away.

“What are you doing?” He was obviously not amused.

She tried to stop laughing, but the harder she tried the harder she laughed.

He grunted and sat up. “Don’t tell me Luke and Sammy are up to mischief.”

She shook her head. “Just me,” she managed to gasp as she sat up and faced him. Seeing the look of disbelief on his face, she again laughed.

He looked from her to the top of the stairs then shook his head. “Why are you riding mattresses down the stairs?”

She stifled her laughter. “It was unintentional, believe me. But fun.” She got to her feet and brushed her hands over her hair. She must look like a wild hooligan. But she didn’t care. For the past three days, she’d done nothing but work and worry about this hotel. In fact, in the month since she’d arrived, it had been nothing but work. Like Jake once said, being the boss meant never having time off.

“Care to tell me what you were trying to do?” Jake asked.

“I wanted to get this mattress downstairs so I could take it outside and air it.” She chuckled.

He scowled, obviously still not amused.

She tried again. “If I’d known it was so much fun, I’d have done it sooner.”

Nothing but a frown. “Where’s Mort? Why haven’t you asked him to help you? Are you so set on proving how independent you can be that you’re willing to risk life and limb?”

“Oh, come on, Jake. I didn’t get so much as a scratch. See.” She held out her arms and turned them over for his inspection. Ignoring his grunt, she chuckled. “I think God knew I needed to remember life is supposed to be fun. I was getting all caught up in work.”

“How many mattresses are you planning to bring downstairs?”

“Eventually all of them, but right now I’m concentrating on three rooms.”

He headed for the stairs. “Show me which ones.”

“No need. I can do it myself.”

“You might not be so fortunate next time.” He continued up the stairs with Hannah at his heels.

“Which rooms?” he demanded at the top of the steps.

She indicated the ones. “I need to get the rooms ready to let out as soon as possible. Sooner, even.”

He hoisted a mattress to his shoulders and edged his way out the door. “Seems you have a lot bigger problem than the mattresses.”

“What do you mean?”

“The hole in the middle of the dining room floor.”

“I plan to close the room temporarily. Surely there will be those who would take the rooms at a reduced rate.” She counted heavily on it.

“I suppose so.” He carried the mattress through the dining room and out the back door and propped it against the shed wall then headed back for the third mattress. She followed him.

When he paused at the top of the stairs with the mattress balanced on his shoulders, she asked, “Sure you don’t want to try riding it down?”

He shot her a look. “Not in this lifetime.”

She followed him again. “It was awfully fun.”

“I’ll take your word for it.” He propped the mattress beside the first, retrieved the one from the lobby floor, and then stood back and dusted his hands. “You didn’t say where Mort is.”

“Doing his own thing, I suppose. I can’t expect him to work day and night.”

“Either get him to take these back upstairs when you’re ready or wait for me.”

She’d never planned to carry them up on her own, but his bossiness irked her, and she couldn’t resist letting him know she didn’t need him to run her life or her business. “And if you or Mort isn’t here? Do you expect me to drink tea and twiddle my thumbs until one of you returns? You’re sadly mistaken if you think I’m going to pretend to be a helpless female who flutters her fan and waits for a man to pick up her hankie.”

They’d reached the dining room, and he jolted to a halt and studied her long and hard.

She tore her gaze away. She’d been rude, and she tried mentally to justify her behavior. “What you don’t understand is I haven’t time to waste. The town council paid me a visit. I have no choice but to get this place up and running before—” She bit off the rest of her explanation. She hadn’t planned to tell anyone about the visit. She found it humiliating to confess just how close she felt to desperation.

“Mayor Stokes and his cronies were here? What did they want?”

“Nothing.” She headed for the lobby, leaving him to stare after her or follow—whatever his inclination.

He followed, grabbed her arm, and turned her to face him. “What did they want?”

She set her mouth. It was none of his business.

“Has it anything to do with us being here?”

She stared at him, reluctant to reveal anything.

“I could persuade Mother to move.”

“Don’t do that.” She needed the money for paint, paper, and a hundred other things.

“Then tell me what’s wrong.”

She pulled away and sat at the little table where she’d served them. “I’ve been fined.”

“You broke the law?”

She laughed. At least he sounded suitably disbelieving. “Apparently there is a penalty for the overuse of water, which this fire caused.”

“I didn’t think you were even here at the time.”

“I wasn’t, but as owner of the hotel I have the dubious pleasure of qualifying for the fine.”

He snorted. “How wonderful. So you plan to reopen soon? What about that hole?” He nodded toward the dining room.

She explained her plans. “Only one thing bothers me. The safety inspector could choose to say it isn’t good enough.” She ducked away from his study of her. Hannah knew before he spoke what his solution would be. Still it annoyed her when he gave it.

“Hannah, why are you doing this to yourself? You could sell the place or at least hire a manager or—”

“You mean admit I can’t manage on my own? I’d never do that.”

“What are you trying to prove? Everyone has limitations. It’s not weak to admit them.”

“I think it bothers you to think a woman can get along without a man.”

“Why would you want to?” His voice was low. His eyes bored into hers.

She realized they weren’t talking about the hotel anymore but something more basic. Something involving only the two of them.

Did she want to be without a man? A man who loved her and cherished her, even maybe took care of her? Somehow her father had been able to do both yet still encourage her independence.

She had only to let her thoughts drift a breath away from the present to remember his returning home in the evening, smelling of the store. She could see him backlit against the open door then coming into focus as the door closed behind
him. She felt again the anticipation of watching him hang
his hat and shrug out of his jacket. Only then did he turn to her and Mother. He kissed his wife and hugged Hannah. She could hear his words in her memories:
And what worlds did you conquer today, Hannah?
He loved to hear of her adventures.

“I’d like to marry someday. Have someone to share my life.” She missed having someone be as pleased to see her, as proud of her accomplishments as her father had been. Her missing took on solid shape that sank, heavy and cold, to the bottom of her stomach. She would welcome the same acceptance from a man she could love and spend her life with. Could she ever hope to find the same thing with a man her own age? Certainly not with Jake. He ruled his world. And she did not want to be ruled.

Jake glanced at the clock and jumped to his feet. “I’m going to miss the train. Tell Mother I’ve gone to find the buyers and convince them to come here. I’ll be back day after tomorrow.” He dashed up the stairs, returned with a carpetbag, and with a hurried good-bye headed out the door.

❧

Two days later, Hannah was scrubbing yet another room, wondering why she had the feeling she waited for something. Her mind pictured Jake. It wasn’t as if she missed him. She’d known him only a few days. Hardly long enough to have given her cause to hurry to the window when she heard the late afternoon train yesterday. Even knowing he didn’t plan to return until today, she had waited long enough to be sure he hadn’t changed his mind before she’d returned to her work.

She was still cleaning upstairs when she heard Mrs. Sperling and the boys and went down to join them. She glanced past them to see if Jake accompanied them and scolded herself yet again.

“We went shopping,” Luke announced in his wild hog-calling voice. “Gamma bought us new shirts. Can I show her mine, Gamma?”

Mrs. Sperling handed over a package wrapped in brown paper. The two boys tore at the paper and pulled out two store-bought blue shirts. Each held one up in front of him.

Hannah admired them. “Now why don’t you sit down, and I’ll get cookies and tea?”

Mrs. Sperling already sat at the table, her chin resting on her upturned hands. “That would be nice, dear.”

The boys pulled out chairs. Sammy managed to upset his backward, and the two of them worked together to right it.

Chuckling, Hannah left them to sort themselves out as she headed for the kitchen to make tea. She put out a good number of cookies and carried a tray back to the lobby. She poured a little weak tea into cups of milk, passed them to the boys, and offered them cookies. They each took two. Then Hannah turned her attention to pouring tea for Mrs. Sperling.