Beauty From Ashes Read online

  “That may be true, but I just don’t want to be the one to light the match to the tinder. I’m sure you understand.”

  CHAPTER TWO

  Liora couldn’t help but feel gratified when Joe made a disgruntled sound and said, “It’s not right.”

  She adjusted herself to a more comfortable position in the saddle. “That may be, but I don’t mind. I’m used to it. I’ve talked to the parson, and he put a chair in the entry near the coat rack just for me. People think it’s for sitting on while they remove their overboots, but it serves me well. I can sit out of sight and listen to the sermons and then leave again without anyone ever knowing I was there.”

  “You shouldn’t have to do that.”

  Instead of countering again, Liora pulled the horse to a stop. They were almost to town. “We’d best part ways here.”

  Joe lifted his hands to help her from the saddle. His grip about her waist was firm yet gentle as he swung her down, but as ever it sent apprehension worming through her. She held her breath, hoping he couldn’t feel her trembling. The fear wasn’t of him. He’d never given her cause for such. Just the opposite, in fact. It was simply that any time a man made a point to touch her, unappeasable fears of what might come next stampeded through her. She’d done her best to quell it many times, knowing most men would never hurt her, but with the haunting memories from her past she hadn’t been able to conquer it.

  Did his hands linger a little longer than propriety allowed? Or was that just her anxious imagination?

  Before the thought hardly had time to take root, he loosed her and stepped back. He took up the reins and slapped them against one palm, tipping a nod toward town. “Go on. I’ll watch from here to make sure you get to the crest of the ridge all right. And then I’ll cut through the woods and come into town from the south.”

  It felt sneaky and deceptive, especially when they were doing nothing wrong, and yet for his sake, she mustn’t ponder on it. His reputation would be trampled if they arrived in town together at this hour of the morning.

  She started up the road, but then paused and looked back at him. “Thank you for coming out to escort me in.”

  He nodded. “Of course.”

  There was no “of course” about it. It had probably not even crossed the mind of any other man in town that she would be walking in from her new property this morning. No one except Joe.

  Gratefulness spread through her. And that was her cue to turn and keep walking, because lately he’d been looking at her with a bit of a different light in his eyes. She couldn’t quite peg it. Certainly it wasn’t the same lustful assessment men used to give her when she worked for Ewan. But it set her on her guard, nonetheless. If she let him see all the appreciation she felt, he might mistakenly think she harbored a whole wagonload of other emotions. That would undoubtedly complicate matters. And the last thing she wanted was to hurt her best friend’s feelings.

  Dixie was already in the boardinghouse kitchen when Liora arrived and let herself in through the back door. She hung her wraps on the peg by the door and strode to the sink to wash her hands.

  “Morning,” she offered.

  “Morning,” Dixie returned with a smile. “How was your first night in your new place?”

  Liora couldn’t have withheld the smile that bloomed on her face if she’d tried. “It was lovely. Simply lovely.” She marveled at how the Lord had not only planted a dream in her heart, but had also given her the resources to bring it about. And much of that was due to the wonderful woman who had employed her for the past eighteen months. “And it’s all due to you.”

  Dixie blew out a sound of disagreement and waved away the comment. “You’ve done more to help me than I ever could repay. I’ve been so blessed to have your help. You were a godsend, just when I needed you.”

  Liora stepped near and threw one arm around Dixie’s shoulders. “The feeling is mutual. Now”—she pulled away and grabbed an apron from the hook by the counter—“what’s on the menu this morning?”

  “This morning’s options are flapjacks with bacon, oatmeal with fresh apples, or The Platter.”

  The Platter, a meal offered each day, was Dixie’s most requested breakfast, though Liora had never been able to fathom how the men put away such an enormous spread. Two large biscuits, three eggs, four thick slices of bacon, a side of hash browns, four flapjacks—with the option to add more at just a penny apiece—and as much coffee and milk as they could drink. And men routinely ate every last scrap and put in orders for two or three more flapjacks. It boggled Liora’s mind. However, she and Ma used to live in the camps, and well she remembered the long hard days that many of the lumberjacks put in. And for many of the men who breakfasted at Dixie’s, it might be the only meal they ate until they arrived back in camp each evening.

  Dixie’s prices were more than fair and her meals delicious, which kept the men coming back in droves. Sometimes the tables filled and emptied so fast it was almost more than the two of them could do to keep up. Dixie always took the orders and interacted with the customers while Liora cooked in the kitchen—an arrangement Liora was more than happy with since she much preferred the silence of the kitchen to the snide comments many of the men sent her way. None of them dared speak to Dixie, the doctor’s wife, in such a manner however, so the arrangement worked out for the best, all around. The only time she had to go out into the dining room was when Dixie needed help clearing tables, or sweeping up.

  “Right. I’ll get the first batch of flapjack batter made up.”

  Dixie touched her arm. “Before you do that, there’s something I want to tell you. I’ve hired Kin Davis to do some work for us. Charlotte says he’s completed every lesson she could think to teach him a year early. And he wants to save up some money so he can attend university. He’s going to do the running and fetching and gathering of the eggs, sweeping and mopping, and maybe even clearing some of the tables three days a week—if I can train him to do it and still keep my dishes intact.”

  Liora chuckled. “I think he’ll do just fine. And that will be a relief.”

  “Oh good.” Dixie seemed to relax a little. “I worried you would fear that I was trying to replace you, which is not the case at all. We’ve just been running ourselves so ragged lately that I thought it might be nice for us to have the help.”

  Liora pulled out the bin of flour. “I’m all for that. When does he start?”

  “This morning. He should be here any minute.”

  “Wonderful. I’ll at least get a break from fighting with that mean old rooster of yours.” Liora pulled a face as she swept a gesture toward the chicken coop.

  Dixie smiled. “I’m sure Roscoe will miss sparring with you on a regular basis.” She pushed through the batwing doors into the dining room then, and Liora heard her open the exterior dining room doors and greet the first customers of the day.

  She set to whisking together the flapjack batter, and smiled at Kin when he stepped into the room a few minutes later.

  In his typical serious way, he gave her the barest of nods in greeting.

  “Dixie’s busy taking some orders right now, but if you don’t mind, could you gather the eggs?”

  “Yes, ma’am.”

  Liora watched him go. When had she last seen the boy smile? Probably not since he’d lost his father a couple years back. Her heart went out to the young man. At seventeen he seemed a lot more world weary than someone his age ought to be. Liora knew the parson had tried to do his best by the boy. And she had to admit that Kin was always polite and courteous. She just wished he would smile once in a while. Maybe now that she worked with him, she’d have a chance to encourage him a little.

  She flicked some drops of water against the griddle, pleased to see them dance and sizzle across the surface. Hot enough to start frying the flapjacks.

  Dixie swept through the doors with several orders, and the day was off to a start.

  Much as Liora enjoyed her job at Dixie’s, today she felt a mite restless. />
  She could hardly wait for her shift to be over. Because as soon as she purchased the supplies she needed, she would head out to Camp Sixty-Five and see who the Lord would lead her to.

  For, just like Joe had at one time rescued her, she knew without a doubt that God had called her to rescue other women. She just hadn’t told anyone yet. Would the men of the town have been so helpful if they’d known she wanted a cabin so she could have a place to care for rescued camp girls? She hadn’t been sure, and thus had kept that information to herself.

  But today… Today was the day. Hopefully, after today there would be no more hiding her intentions because she would have one or more women living under her roof. Women she could teach about the love of the Lord. Women she could nurture and restore. Women who were in so much need of a Savior.

  Perhaps because of her excitement, the day seemed to drag on. And yet, once the lunch dishes were washed and the kitchen cleaned, she glanced at the small watch she kept in one pocket to find it was thirty minutes earlier than normal. No doubt due to Kin Davis’s hard work and quick recognition of what she and Dixie needed, almost before they did themselves.

  Not long ago, just before she’d asked for evenings off, Dixie had offered her the job of overseeing the boardinghouse dinners, but Liora felt more thankful now than ever that she’d turned down the extra hours. She’d felt bad, knowing Dixie wanted more time at home in the evenings with her new husband. But it had worked out because Dixie had hired Susan Kastain, whose husband had never quite recovered from the gunshot wound he’d sustained from Liora’s now-deceased father. The Kastains needed the income much more than she did, and she was thankful the job had gone to the hardworking mother of five, in addition to giving herself time to follow her calling.

  She greeted Susan, who was just coming in as she left, and then stepped out into the glorious sunlight. She’d always loved a sunny day. She glanced longingly at the bridge leading across Wyldhaven Creek. If only she had time to go up to the rose field. She’d passed many a wonderful day up there, sitting on the roots of an old oak tree, reveling in the scent of wild roses in full bloom while she read the little Bible Joe had gifted her. But there was no time for that today.

  Liora started across the street toward the mercantile. She grinned as she remembered the battle Miss Brindle had gone through just the month before, trying to get Mr. Hines to correct his sign which read ‘Merkantile.’ But the man had wanted nothing to do with Miss Brindle’s updates. So his sign still hung crooked and misspelled. When she pushed through the door into the store, Mr. Hines looked up from behind the counter with a smile on his face, but his greeting faded when he noted her.

  She smiled at him, nonetheless. The man was always congenial to her when he wasn’t under the watchful eyes of his new pinch-lipped wife. His first wife had passed away several years ago—long before Liora had ever come to town. And everyone in Wyldhaven had been quite surprised when he’d greeted the stagecoach one day last fall and announced that the fancy woman descending the coach steps was to be his wife.

  “Good afternoon, Mr. Hines. Mrs. Hines.” She nodded at the woman she could see peering at her from the supply room before turning her attention back to the proprietor. “With my newly completed home, I’m here with quite an order today.” She pushed her list across the counter toward him.

  The man’s mouth thinned a little as he picked it up. His gaze flickered toward the supply closet, not quite making it all the way there before coming to rest on her list, once more. “I’m afraid I can’t offer you credit, Miss Fontaine.”

  Liora kept a smile pasted on her face, ignoring the sting of his distrust. “That’s not a problem. I have cash.”

  He swept a scrutinizing look the length of her as though trying to assess if she spoke true. She could hope it was an act for his still-spying wife. “Cash?”

  The question might as well have accused her of thievery.

  Liora reached into her reticule and pulled out several bills—more than enough to cover the cost of the items she needed. She raised her voice so the woman in the storeroom could hear her. “Yes, sir. I work for Dixie in the boardinghouse kitchen, as I’m sure you know.”

  “Very well.” The words were wan. “Give me a moment.” He disappeared into the back, her list in hand.

  She could hear furious whispers and shuffling. And then silence fell. Mr. Hines had obviously won this round.

  Liora eased out a lungful of relief. She’d hate to have to make the longer journey to Cle Elum for supplies.

  It wasn’t until he started piling her things onto the counter that Liora realized she was going to have quite a time getting all of it home. The items hadn’t seemed that numerable when she’d written them down the night before, but the fifty-pound bag of flour alone would be almost more than she could carry.

  What was she going to do? She glanced around the store, searching for a solution. A wheelbarrow! Of course! And she would need one anyhow for the garden. She would just have to remember to bring it with her in the future on days when she needed to buy supplies from the mercantile. She wandered toward the shiny red barrow to check the price, then winced as she saw the amount on the tag. Three dollars and seventy-five cents seemed like robbery, but she didn’t have a choice and it was a good sturdy one that should last her for years to come. She rolled it toward the front of the store and pulled the extra money from her reticule.

  Mr. Hines tallied her purchases and accepted her money, but then he headed into the back room of his store, leaving her to load everything into the wheelbarrow herself. And when she got to the top step just outside the door, she realized she’d made a mistake. She couldn’t take the full wheelbarrow down the steep steps to the road without dumping the whole load of dry goods into the street. With a sigh, she started unloading all of the sacks and cans onto the treads.

  “Here, let me help you with that.”

  Liora looked up at the familiar voice. “Joe, you don’t have to help. I’ll be fine.”

  Joe ignored her. “You take the handles, and I’ll grab the front here near the wheel. Then we can carry it down the stairs together without worry of everything spilling.”

  She felt anxious to get on her way, and he’d already been seen speaking to her by anyone who was paying attention—which anyone with windows along the Main Street of town probably was—so she didn’t suppose accepting his help could do much more damage. “Fine. Thank you.”

  They lifted it down the stairs and it only took them a moment after that to get the rest of her supplies loaded back into the wheelbarrow. Liora stepped behind it and hefted it by the sturdy wooden handles. “Thanks for your help.” She started off down the street.

  And Joe waved farewell without comment, but she’d only just made it past the crest of the hill outside of town when he appeared from the woods and swung down from his horse. He handed her the reins. “Here, you take this and let me push that.”

  Liora gave in to his demand with a little more thankfulness than she probably should feel. She hadn’t realized just how heavy the wheelbarrow was until she’d been forced to push it up the long hill. She’d been dreading the five-mile walk out to her place. Her arms already ached. She pulled a handkerchief from the pocket of her dress and dabbed at the moisture on her brow. “Thank you.”

  He nodded and leaned into the weight of the wheelbarrow to maneuver it over a rut. “How was your day?”

  “Fine. And yours?” She clucked to his horse and led it down the road, walking beside Joe.

  “Fine,” he answered with his typical briefness.

  They walked for a few more minutes until the silence felt too companionable and made Liora squirm. “Dixie has hired Kin Davis to help out at the diner. He started today.”

  He dipped his chin. “Heard that.”

  “He did a real fine job. He’s a hard worker.”

  “Good to hear.”

  Liora turned her face away from him before she rolled her eyes. Fine, if he wanted to walk in silence, t
hey could walk in silence, companionable, or no.

  But after they’d gone a mile in complete quiet, she couldn’t take it any longer. She glanced over at him, paused, and plunked her hands on her hips.

  His lips quirked as he set the wheelbarrow down and adjusted his gloves. “You’re kind of quiet today.”

  “Oh, so you did notice?” She raised her brows at him. “It takes two to converse, in case you’d forgotten.”

  He attempted an injured expression. “What? I’m too short on words for your liking?”

  She laughed. “Well, that might be one way to put it.”

  Joe angled her a sly look. “Okay, how about you tell me what it is you plan to do with the free evenings you seem so reluctant to discuss?”

  Liora bit her lip and started walking down the road once more. Why had she twitted him about his silence? Behind her, she heard Joe resume pushing the wheelbarrow. He pulled up beside her and pinned her with his scrutiny. “What is it you don’t want me to know?”

  She tried for nonchalance with a wave of her hand. “It’s nothing. Just with a place of my own I’ll have more to attend to. You understand. Gardening. Washing. Canning.” She flicked the roll of chicken wire in the wheelbarrow. “I’m hoping to get a chicken coop built soon. And I also hope to buy a sow from the Kastains and maybe a mid-sized hog so I can set some pork to smoking later this autumn.” She couldn’t bring herself to meet his gaze during her entire explanation.

  “I see.” A note of suspicion still lingered in his tone. “Nothing else?”

  She bit her lip. At one time in her life she wouldn’t have hesitated to lie to him. But ever since she’d given her life to the Lord, she’d realized that truth was the commodity of respect and trust. And she didn’t want Joe to think he couldn’t trust her. “There’s more, but for now I’m asking you to let me have my secret. I’m sure it will come out soon enough.”

  Joe plunked the wheelbarrow down again and turned to face her, hands propped on his hips. “Are you courting someone?”