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After breakfast,still reeling from the letter from Lena, I wandered out to the rose garden to read it again.
Dearest James,
I’m writing with happy news. Father and I are coming to Colorado. I hope the invitation from the Barneses was real, because Father couldn’t be dissuaded from making the trip. We both know how much the Barnes family means to you, which means they will mean a lot to me too. Meeting them will give me more insight into you as well as reassure them that their friend is marrying a woman who adores him.
In addition, Father suggested we marry out there, so that they can all witness our vows. It’s a sacrifice on my part but one I’m more than willing to make. I’d rather have you happy than anything else, darling. I know it will give you joy to have the Barnes family with you when you say “I do”!
Father and I will be there in about two weeks from today. We’ve been frantically making arrangements and although it’s somewhat hasty, we’ll be ready. By the time you get this letter, we will have already gotten on the train. I have butterflies thinking about seeing you. And marrying you. I’m wondering if we should go to the justice of the peace in Emerson Pass and keep it simple. Unless you’d like to get married in a church, of course. Whatever you want is fine with me, as long as it’s as soon as possible. I cannot wait to begin our life together.
Do you think Annabelle Higgins could make a dress for me on such short notice? If not, I’ll wear one of my best dresses and it’ll just have to do.
Would you ask the Barneses if we could stay at the house? If there’s no room, then we can stay at the inn in town. Is there an inn? I don’t know much about this Emerson Pass of yours. I look forward to learning it all when I get there.
I must dash, darling. We have a thousand loose ends to tie up before we leave for Colorado. I simply cannot wait to see you.
All my love,
Lena
I looked up from the letter to swat away a dragonfly. I’d forgotten that Mrs. Barnes’s sister, Annabelle, was a famous wedding gown designer. She’d recently created patterns that could be copied by any seamstress or tailor, making her gowns accessible worldwide. However, often the wealthy came all the way to Colorado just to have her make a custom gown. Only the very wealthy would ever consider such a trip for a frivolous item.
I’d wanted time to think, but the fresh air didn’t seem to make any of my thoughts clearer. They were jumbled and confused. Lena was coming here. My summertime respite would no longer be such. She would bring the world with her. What I had thought would be my last few weeks of freedom were not meant to be.
“James.” I looked up to see Delphia crossing the grass. “Get your swimming clothes on. We’re going down to the creek.” She carried a basket with her, probably filled with lunch. Lizzie made sure a person didn’t go hungry. Trailing closely behind her were Cym’s little girls.
“I don’t know,” I said.
“Don’t you dare tell me you’re going to sit around all day feeling sorry for yourself.” Delphia adjusted her straw hat to peer at me from under the brim. “You’re here, and we have to enjoy it before we both have to go away. Addie’s on her way down. She decided not to go to the library and is going to spend the day with us instead.”
“Uncle James, you have to swim with us,” Holly said. “We’ve got sandwiches, too.”
“I am awfully fond of sandwiches,” I said, scooping Holly up to balance her on my hip. She smelled of strawberries. She snuggled into my neck, her dark curls warmed from the sun. “Give me a chance to change and I’ll meet you all down there.” I was very familiar with the Barnes family swimming hole, having spent many hours there over the years. Delphia was right. There was no reason to waste my precious days of freedom moping around.
* * *
Thirty minutes later,I was sitting in the shade listening to the birds tweet in the aspens above me. Delphia and the girls were splashing around in the shallow water looking for minnows. The snap of a twig caught my attention. It was Addie, heading down the slight trail toward us, carrying a stack of papers. She clutched them as if they were of great importance. Her manuscript.
“Have you brought me a present?” I asked as she flopped next to me on the blanket. She wore a red-and-white-checkered swimming suit that hugged her body in ways I wished it didn’t. I had to avert my eyes to keep from staring at her long, slender legs.
“If you’d like to take a peek you can.” Addie set the stack of typed pages next to me and reached for a bottle of Lizzie’s homemade lemonade. “My goodness, it’s hot.” She wore a straw hat trimmed simply with a pink ribbon. I moved farther into the shade to make room for her on the blanket. I didn’t want her pretty skin to burn.
“What made you decide to skip the library?” If I’d been paranoid, I’d have thought she was avoiding me all week, leaving for her volunteer work before I even came downstairs. I looked at her closely, scrutinizing her under the bright sun. Although she wore makeup, I could see remnants of a poor night’s sleep in the redness of her eyes.
“I was writing in my room.” She tilted her head downward so I couldn’t see her face under the brim of her hat.
“What’s wrong?” I asked softly. “I can tell something’s upset you.”
She pulled her legs up to her chest and rested her forehead on her knees. “I’m all right.”
“Is it this man of yours? Did he make you cry?” This man she loved needed to be disposed of. Maybe I should talk to Flynn and Theo. They would know who it was and might have ideas of how to get rid of him.
“Who are you talking about?” She raised her head to look at me, her hat going cockeyed.
“This man you’re in love with. The unrequited one.”
She wrinkled her nose as if she smelled something bad. “Oh, that. Him, I mean. No, nothing with him. I mean, not really.”
If it had been anyone but Addie I would have been suspicious that she’d made up this man. The blankness in her eyes seemed strange. Was she fibbing to me? No, of course not. I quickly dismissed the idea. She would have no reason whatsoever to lie to me or make up a man who didn’t exist.
