CHAPTER 13

C HAPTE R 13

Later that evening, a note was delivered to Ava. "A response is expected, Miss Gardner," the young boy said.

She opened it and could not help but smile. " I ask for one final chance to redeem myself, Ava. Would you accompany me on an early morning ride? I promise to have you to work by ten. I await your response, as I do not wish to tread where I am not welcome."

Ava folded the sheet and put it back in the envelope. "Tell Mr. Shilling I will be ready after sunup." She had no idea what the man had meant by early, but she figured that the timeframe she gave would sufficiently cover it.

"Yes, miss." The lad touched the brim of his hat with his fingers and raced off in the direction of town to deliver her response.

It all seemed so romantic, the message and the invitation, and she was forced to rub her arms to erase the goosebumps at the thought of the rendezvous. There were likely no romantic connotations to the request at all. More than likely, it would be a reprimand for her bold statements regarding his mother. Still, there appeared to be loose ends that needed to be dealt with, and she was all for not leaving anyone hanging, including herself. Even after forbidding the man to call on her, she still felt the draw. She loved him despite all her efforts to remain realistic, despite all her misgivings that they were not a good match. In the end, Ava could not deny that she loved Orson.

It was late, and she needed rest. Tomorrow would be what the Lord intended it to be, and she would deal with his anger or his appeal as it came.

She was up before the sun, donned one of her better work dresses, and fashioned her hair the way Orson liked it, in waves cascading down her back. She would tie it back with a ribbon later when she arrived at the restaurant. It helped if she looked her best and her mind was prepared for the news. Good or bad, she would not allow Orson to intimidate her either way. Free from the low self-esteem she'd known before coming to Blazer, her confidence had grown stronger every day, and her future, whatever it might hold, was secure. She had a good job and would soon be able to leave Gracie's home and find a place to rent on her own.

Ava poured some fresh coffee into flasks, tightened the lids, and wrapped two sweet buns to take along on their early morning ride. The hotel restaurant would not be open that early, and Orson might appreciate a hot beverage. Jacob was beginning to stir, and the family would soon be awake.

When she heard the wagon drive up the road and stop at the gate, she hurried outside to avoid Orson's having to knock. She passed her bundle to him and climbed up on the other side of the driver's seat.

"Conversation goes better with coffee. Thank you very much, Ava."

"Can't have you fainting away from hunger before you get back to the hotel," she said, trying to keep the greeting casual. "Where are we headed?"

"To the construction site. The workers won't be there for a couple of hours yet. We might even catch the sunrise."

"It is already touching the horizon, so I suggest you get these horses going and stop staring at me as if I was on display."

He hit the lines on the back of the team. When they were underway, Orson turned to Ava. "I was not staring at you as if you were on display if you meant that to be derogatory."

She blushed when she noticed the mirth hiding behind his eyes. "This is my best dress, sir."

"And it is gorgeous. The color brings out those delightful specks in your eyes, and matches the ribbon in your hair—and I do love the way it flies out behind you in the breeze."

She inhaled deeply, knowing her nervous remark had misfired. It was not her intention to have him compliment her. Ava looked off to the side at the passing scenery. "Please, don't make our parting any more difficult than it already is."

"Parting? Is that what you really want?"

"It's best for you and Sheena."

"Sheena only cares what's best for me."

"Which is not me."

"I'll be the judge of that," he said. "Shall we save the talk for after we stop? I have lots to say, and I don't want you to be within running distance from home."

"Secrets, Mr. Shilling?"

"Perhaps."

"Perhaps I have some to share, as well, if we are going to lay our cards out on the table."

"I don't believe a man and a woman should enter into a relationship with secrets between them."

"I share your conviction."

Silence fell between them, making the trip to the construction site seem to take forever. Would she weaken? She had wanted him to leave Blazer with pleasant memories of their times together, not ones tainted by the knowledge of her past.

When they had rounded the corner of the laneway, and the house came into sight, Ava exclaimed, "You have a roof."

"We do," he said, and she could hear the pride in his voice.

"You are enjoying this project, aren't you?"

"Believe it or not, it's been a very long time since I've actually felled a tree, pounded a nail, or framed such a masterpiece with my own hands. Seems there is always paperwork or another site that needs overseeing, and there's never the time to do the hands-on work. There is a special feeling that comes along with that."

"I'm glad," Ava said. "Is that the verandah I see under those columns stretching from the ground to the roof?"

"That's where it will be. The full length of the house, facing the water, just like you suggested. Just needs a floor and some steps."

"Can we sit under there to tell our secrets?" Ava held his gaze. "A porch with chairs to daydream on has always been my fantasy. It might even soften the straight talk that needs to be said."

He pulled on the wagon brake, jumped down, tied the lines to a low-hanging branch, and went around to help Ava. She waited for him, wanting the memory of a gentleman's touch to cherish in the days to come.

When face to face, time seemed to stand still. He held her gaze with his. "I need you to know that I have fallen in love with you, Ava Gardner, and nothing that is said today will change that."

"You are scaring me," she said, knowing he could not top her confessions.

"That is not my intention." He reached for her hand, and they walked to the uncompleted porch area.

A row of large tree stumps lined the front of it and she smiled. "Seems others also like this spot."

"The fellows enjoy having their lunch here and watch the action at the lake."

"Action?"

"Yeah, the birds in the trees and in the water put on a mighty fine show for those who like nature."

"Does that Gordie fellow still work for you?"

"Turned out he's not such a bad guy when you give him a reason to stay sober. The fellows call him Old Dad."

"Really? The first miracle of the day."

"But not the last, I hope." Orson pointed at one of the make-shift seats. "I'll go first."

She agonized with him as he related his anguish over his first family; his drunkard, gambling father, and the influence he had over his sister Frances. "When my father died, Frances withdrew into herself and wouldn't let any of us in."

She heard the sorrow in Orson's voice as he spoke of his mother's dilemma, having no money to feed her family, and the joy that replaced their sorry existence when a nobleman appeared out of nowhere and asked her to marry him."

"What a wonderful blessing for her," Ava said, her voice breaking as she dared to put herself in his mother's place. Orson had given Ava a reason to rise from her lowly station by claiming to love her, just as the nobleman had lifted Orson's mother from her poverty.

"At first, I wondered about his motive—he could have scooped up a woman of his station without trying—but he was kind, and he took on me and Frances as if we were his own. I learned to accept the change, whereas my sister refused our father's replacement. As soon as she could manage it, she ran away and my mother forbade me to look for her and drag her back."

"I knew your sister." It spilled from her mouth as natural as sap flowed from a tree.

He appeared taken aback, but he said, "It's not your turn yet."

His tale continued.

While his wife lay dying, he promised her he'd do whatever he needed to free himself of the hold it had on his life and raise their Sheena up to be a fine lady. Of course, his mother had compensated, trying to raise Sheena to be the person her own daughter was not.

"I suppose that's why she expects so much of the child," Ava said. "I must apologize again for overstepping—"

"You have nothing to apologize for. My eyes were opened last night when it came to what I'd tossed away by not being up front with you. It's been too long, and I fear you won't have it in your heart to forgive me."

She placed her hand over his and smiled. "The morning is young, the sun has risen, and His mercies are new every morning."

"Is there mercy for a man who paid you to leave the saloon and urged you to start over so he could gain some sort of absolution for his sister?"

"You were my benefactor?"

"But you never followed the mail-order bride's instructions, and you went your own way. It was only by chance that you came to purchase your train ticket while I was at the depot. I stayed clear of you the entire trip until I joined you on the coach to Blazer."

"You followed me?" she said. "I suppose you were my secret admirer as well." She suspected as much but needed to hear him say it.

"I needed to know if you were like the others, swept away by pretty things and spending the gift of freedom I provided them for their betterment."

"You set us up to appease your conscience because you held back from rescuing your sister from the house of ill repute?" Ava needed clarification. She wanted to understand why a man would spend his wealth for a dead sister.

"Mama hated my going, but she agreed to watch Sheena. I missed my daughter, being so far away and I went home after that Sunday service. I did my best to make them understand that I'd fallen in love with the third mail-order bride that the agency had set up for me. You have made me a believer that one can rise above their circumstances and start anew." He took both hands in his. "I've worked behind your back to satisfy my grief, and in doing so, have given you cause to hate me."

"Hate you? How could I hate the man who rescued me from a life I had not chosen, but was forced upon me," she said. "Like your sister, I made the choice during my time of need to take any available work, but unlike her, I hated the lifestyle and prayed to a God I did not know, that he would pluck me out of my mess. How could I hate you for being the one He sent to deliver me?"

She stood, walked to the column, and hung on tightly, dreading her confession, especially regarding his sister. "Is it my turn?"

"I suppose." She heard the clatter of pebbles and knew he'd moved in behind her. Ava turned and his eyes bore into hers. "I am not fit for a gentleman of your caliber. If folks found out or recognized me from Dodge…" She saw the question in his eyes. "Yes, I knew your sister Frances. She let few people into her confidence—a private person who lived it up every night and drank too much."

"I was under the impression you went to work there later, after her death."

"I was with her the night she passed away. I held her hand while the tears rolled down her cheeks. She wanted me to tell her family that she was sorry she'd disappointed them, but I chickened out. When no one showed up at the saloon asking questions, I pushed her plea to the back of my mind."

"I came too late to save her."

"Frances asked me to have them write ‘The Girl Who Loved Her Father' on her tombstone. I managed to do that for her—paid for the engraving myself."

"Then it was you who left the note with the coroner? I asked him. He never gave a name as to who ordered the work done, but he did see that the request was granted. Saw the inscription on her stone in the graveyard outside the city myself. Frances was buried with a bunch of strangers, but I cried when I read what had destroyed her. That she loved her father, the one who'd ruined her life by example."

"Did you know she lost the baby when her customer pushed her down the saloon steps in a rage because she was fat? Called her Baby Fat as if it were a crime to lose one's shapely figure."

"No one mentioned a baby."

"She didn't want the nameless stillborn acknowledged, but they buried the little boy with her. He had fair hair like you."

"Frances had a baby." Orson shifted to lean against the wooden column.

"It never lived in our world, but I believe the Lord instantly whisked his spirit to Heaven and that he runs and plays with all the children who have passed before their time."

"Thank you for being there with Frances. It helps to know she was not alone."

She sighed and started to trek to the water. He followed, and when she stopped at the shoreline, he took her by the shoulders and turned her to face him. "Now that all the secrets have been laid bare between us, can you believe that I have fallen in love with the girl I wanted to give a second chance? Do you believe that is possible?"

"Only if you can believe that I've fallen in love with the man who befriended the new girl in town without asking questions I could not have answered at the time."

He pulled her closer. "Ava, will you marry me? Can Sheena and I move into this house with you and be your family, as you are already mine in my heart."

"This house? What of your client?"

"There was never a client. I would have left the keys on your doorstep when I left town as the final gift from your secret admirer. That was the plan if you proved yourself willing to make a fresh start."

"You let me help you plan this home believing it was for a client?"

"You were not ready to receive such a grand gift at the time," he said. "Still, I hoped I could give it to you in time; that it would somehow ease my conscience, knowing I never went to drag Frances from the same pit you were stuck in. I thought it would release me from the regret I've lived with. You were the one who rose to face the challenge and won my heart in doing so. I hadn't banked on that, but I am thrilled it happened that way."

She leaned into him. "Orson, your mother will not approve of our union."

"I have tried to reason with her, but you're right. She will go back to her society and live out her days happy in the life her second husband provided for her." Orson kissed Ava's fingertips as they lay against his chest. "But my daughter is another story. She can't wait to see if I am able to snag the best catch in all of Blazer, if not the entire world."

Ava smiled. "She said that?"

"Her words exactly."

"I'm glad. Her acceptance is very important," Ava said moving one step closer. "Ask me again, Orson, now that the playing field is clear."

"Will you marry me, Ava Gardner? Would you rescue me and Sheena from a life of loneliness and give poor Mildred Crenshaw from the Westward Home and Heart Agency some relief, knowing we finally picked a match that led not only to redemption but to marriage."

"My mail-order husband—how convenient that you followed me," Ava said, grinning. "I will be forever grateful for your persistence. Yes, I will marry you, Orson Shilling and we will build a future on the ground where we stand. Welcome home."

Ava raised her lips and he met her halfway, passion spilling over them with the force of their unexpected love.

The End