Love Finds You in Groom, Texas (18 page)

“Anything exciting happening in the world?” Anne asked.

“Actually, yes. Just getting caught up on the skirmishes going on in Europe.”

“Do you think Americans will get involved?” she asked, fear suddenly gripping her heart.

“I can’t imagine it. It’s their battle, not ours.”

“I read the newspaper today too,” Emily announced. “Did you know that Texans are up in arms over the new governor?”

“Who’s that?” Anne asked.

“His name is Pa Ferguson. Maggie told me this morning that Texas will be a safer place to live now that Pa’s in office.” Emily went back to writing on her tablet.

“Pa Ferguson?” Anne shook her head, confused.

“His real name’s Jim,” Jake explained, “but everyone calls him Pa. And they call his wife Ma.”

“I can’t imagine calling the governor Pa.” Anne chuckled. “What’s he like? And why is Texas a safer place to live now?”

“He’s a strong man with even stronger ideas,” Jake said. “He wants government to work for the common man.”

“Maggie says he’s moral and upright,” Emily added, looking up from her tablet once again. “Texas is going to be a far more civilized place now that he’s in office. And I, for one, am glad.”

“Oh?” Anne tried not to chuckle. “You have a vested interest in the governorship of Texas?”

“For my story. See, Maggie says he’s a prohi…prohi…”

“Prohibitionist?” Jake asked.

“Yes. Prohibitionist. That means he doesn’t believe in drinking.”

Kate sighed, and Anne looked her way.

“What’s wrong, Kate?”

“I wish Papa had been a prohibitionist, don’t you?”

A wave of shame washed over Anne. She hadn’t planned to air their family’s dirty laundry in front of Jake or anyone else. “Well, honey,” she managed, “I think it’s safe to say that we all need to guard ourselves against excess of any kind.”

Jake looked her way, his brow wrinkled. Likely this conversation had him intrigued. No doubt.

“That’s why I’m putting Pa Ferguson in my story,” Emily said. “He’s going to be committed to law and order for the state and will make it a crime for any man or woman to drink whiskey.”

Jake put the paper down and shook his head. “I hope you don’t take this the wrong way, but I’m not used to women talking so much about politics and such. Most of the girls around here spend senseless hours gabbing about their hair and dresses. You ladies are… different.”

“Oh, we’re different all right.” Emily closed her tablet. “Papa used to say that I was unique.”

“I think I am too,” Jake said. “I’m worlds apart from my brothers.”

“And I’m worlds apart from my sisters.” Emily flashed a smile. “There’s only one of me.”

“Thank goodness,” Anne was quick to add. She turned back to Jake. “I think it’s nice to be unique. We’re like snowflakes. No two are quite alike.”

“Snowflakes?” Maggie chucked as she entered the room. “We haven’t seen snow around here for so long that I’ve almost forgotten what it looks like.”

“Oh, Maggie, it’s the most beautiful thing you’ve ever seen, especially in the Rocky Mountains.” Anne paused to choose her words. “From my bedroom window, I could see the Rockies. And in the wintertime, you can’t believe how pristine and clean everything looked. I’ve never seen such a brilliant white. Sometimes it seemed as if God took a paintbrush and ran it across everything in sight, adding all sorts of sparkle and shine along the way. The ice crystals from my windowpane were perfect. And the snowmen…”

“I used to love to make snowmen.” Emily sighed then looked at Anne. “Does it snow in Dallas? Can we make snowmen there?”

Anne looked at Jake, who shook his head.

“It snows every now and again in the Dallas area,” he said. “But not as a rule. In central Texas, the winters are more moderate.”

“I’m going to miss our white winters.” Anne fought the temptation to release a sigh.

“All this talk of cold is making me want ice cream.” Maggie’s lips turned up in a grin. “Anyone around here like peaches and cream?”

“Peaches and cream!” Emily sprang from the couch, dropping her tablet. “It’s my very favorite. How did you know?”

Maggie turned to her, eyes sparkling. “I didn’t. It’s my favorite too. What do you say? Should we make some ice cream?”

“Oh, let’s.” Emily fell into line behind her.

Anne watched as her two younger sisters disappeared into the kitchen with Maggie. Minutes later, Maggie popped her head back out.

“Jakey, if I’m going to make ice cream, I’ll need rock salt. Would you be willing to take the truck into town?”

“Sure.” He rose and stretched. “I’d be glad to.”

“Would it be possible for me to ride with you?” Anne asked. “I need to stop at the hotel.”

“I wouldn’t mind a bit,” Jake said…but the wrinkled brow spoke of his confusion. Likely he wondered what sort of business she had in town.

“A very kind woman on the train acted as our guardian angel,” Anne explained. “And I’d like to thank her. If she’s still at the hotel, that is.” She had been longing to speak with Mrs. Witherspoon for days and was grateful to finally have the opportunity.

And it didn’t hurt that she would get to ride alongside Jake on the way.

Jake started the engine on the family’s truck; then he went around to the passenger door and opened it for Anne. She turned to him with a smile so sweet it almost stopped him in his tracks.

“Thank you so much,” she whispered. “It’s been a long time since anyone opened a door for me.”

“My pleasure.” A thousand emotions rushed over him as she gave him one last look before climbing inside the cab.

Moments later he was seated in the driver’s seat and pulling away from O’Farrell’s Honor. Ginger ran along behind the truck for quite a ways, chasing them all the way to the road.

“You’ll have to forgive Ginger. She’s accustomed to climbing up in the back of the truck and riding with me. But I figured you wouldn’t want her tagging along today, so I gave her a little talking-to.”

Anne shrugged. “Maybe not. Especially not if I’m headed into the hotel. Is it fancy?”

“Fancy?” He snorted. “Hardly. It’s just a small one, enough to house a couple dozen people. Groom has never been terribly big, though we’ve worked hard to build interest in our fair town by adding a variety of shops to meet the needs of the locals. That way we don’t have to go to Amarillo for everything.”

“Sounds like you need to get Tex Morgan to focus more on this area,” she said. “Perhaps he could draw in tourists. Bring in some money for those shop owners.”

“Great idea.”

“I’ve found this whole area to be quite beautiful.”

“Yes, well, don’t be terribly disappointed when you see that our only hotel is little more than a large house. It’s nothing to write home about.” He clapped a hand over his mouth. “I’m sorry, Anne. I keep saying the dumbest things.”

“It’s all right.” She chuckled and glanced his way. “Not that you’ve been saying dumb things. I think you’ve been awfully sweet about all this.”

His heart nearly sang with those words. She thought he was sweet? What a promising revelation.

Her gaze lingered on him a bit longer than would be expected, and Jake felt his cheeks grow warm.

“Emily told me she’s added a new character to her story.”

“Oh?”

“Yes. She’s based the character on Aunt Bets.” He chuckled. “Can you imagine how that’s going to play out?”

“Heavens. I can only wonder.” Anne paused and then glanced his way. “I’m so worried about my sisters. It’s going to tear them up when we have to leave here.”

“I know what that feels like.”

“Oh?”

“Yes. It’s going to tear me up too.”

Had he really just spoken those words aloud? Yes, from the look of surprise on her face, he had. Well, why not? Might as well let the girl know he was interested in her, even if the whole thing felt like an impossibility.

He turned onto the main road leading to town. When they reached the hotel, he pulled up to the front and stopped the truck. Then he turned and looked Anne in the eyes. “You know how you said you’re going to miss the beautiful winters in Denver?”

“Y–yes.”

“I’m going to miss you—all of you—even more than that. Every time I think about you going…” He paused.

“Oh, Jake.” A fine mist covered her eyelashes, and then a lone tear trickled down her cheek. He reached out with his finger to brush it away, leaving his hand resting against her cheek for a moment. Not that she seemed to mind. No, she continued to gaze at him with eyes that ripped his heart into pieces.

Until someone rapped on his window. Jake looked out, surprised to see Jedediah standing there. He pulled his hand away from Anne’s cheek and climbed out of the truck.

“Say there, little brother.” Jedediah’s mustache twitched. “Looks like I interrupted a private moment. Sorry about that.”

Jake half-expected some sort of joke to follow, but thankfully Jedediah remained silent. For a moment. “Just had to come into town to fetch a few things for the little wife. You know how women are, always needing something from us menfolk.”

This startled Jake to attention. He went around the side of the truck and opened the door for Anne, who climbed out, gave him a quick nod, then scurried toward the hotel.

So much for a romantic ending to his little speech. Oh well. It would have to wait till another day.

Anne rushed into the lobby of the hotel, her heart beating so fast that she thought she might just faint. Had Jake really just told her that she would be missed when she left? Oh, and the feelings that had coursed through her when he reached to wipe away her tears. There was such gentleness in that move. Such caring.

Stop it, Anne. You can’t let your imagination run away with you. You will be moving on in a few days.

She snapped to attention as the hotel clerk offered a cheerful hello.

Anne took a couple of steps toward the desk. “Yes, hello. I’m looking for a woman by the name of Mrs. Witherspoon. Is she staying here?”

“I believe she’s still with us. Let me check the register.” He ran his finger down a long sheet of paper then looked up with a smile. “She’s in room nine, just down the hall.” He gestured to his right. “Should I announce you?”

“I believe I would like to surprise her, if you don’t mind.”

“Of course not. Have a nice visit.”

She smoothed the wrinkles from her skirt, fluffed her hair, and then took a few steps down the hall toward room nine, still thinking about Jake’s words.

Anne arrived at the door to Mrs. Witherspoon’s room and gave a tentative knock. The door swung open, revealing the woman in a beautiful green dress. Her hair was unpinned and flowing to her shoulders.

Anne had no sooner tried to say a quick hello when Mrs. Witherspoon gathered her into her arms and planted a kiss on her cheek. “Oh, my dear! I’ve been so concerned about you and your sisters. Thank you so much for coming to see me. It puts my mind at ease.”

“I’m sorry to come so late in the day,” Anne said.

“It’s never too late for a visit with a friend.” Mrs. Witherspoon ushered her into the room. “Though I hope you don’t mind that I’ve just unpinned my hair. Keeping it up is such a challenge. It never wants to stay in place.” She gestured for Anne to sit in the chair by the desk.

“I struggle with that same problem,” Anne said as she took a seat.

“With hair as thick as yours?” Mrs. Witherspoon ran her fingers through Anne’s hair and smiled. “I would think it would stay in place with little effort.”

“You are so kind, Mrs. Witherspoon.”

“Call me Cornelia, darling. All my friends do.”

“I don’t want to keep you…Cornelia. I just couldn’t let another day go by without stopping to thank you for arranging our meal on the train. And that sleeping car…what a treat!”

“Dear, my heart went out to you, traveling with two little ones—and such a long way. Did I hear you say that you’d come all the way from Denver?”

“Yes. My father…” Anne paused and released a little breath. “My father passed away six weeks ago. But we have a relative in Dallas, so that’s where we were headed.”

“I live in Dallas myself,” Cornelia said. “I’d gone to Amarillo to visit my husband, who is there on business for the next couple of months.”