Anna flattened her copy of the Rocky Mountain News out on the counter in front of her. The Bulletin provided all the local news and even a sampling of news from throughout the region, but the News and the Denver Post covered so much more. She was glad Mr. Evans carried all three in his pharmacy.
Of course, a more fanciful reason for wanting the News was the serial she’d discovered just two months ago. She couldn’t stay away from it. The Loves of Lady Arabella. Far different than her somewhat solitary life—until recently, that is—the story of Arabella’s many courtships helped Anna get lost for a brief time in someone else’s life, fictional though it was.
She finished the latest installment and was about to turn the page when the page opposite the serial caught her eye. Anna froze. Her mouth went dry, and her heart pounded in her chest. No, no! Not yet. She wasn’t ready. But that didn’t seem to matter to the truth printed for all the world to see.
There, in incriminating black and white was her photo staring back at her. Just above that was a photo of Maggie with Graham Middleton, the successful railroad investor who had tried on three separate occasions to court Maggie, only to be dismissed. Anna read the announcement of their pending nuptials to take place by summer’s end. Obviously, his persistence had paid off.
But why was her name and image included with the banns? And how had it reached a paper this far west? She skimmed the brief article. Mention was made of her standing in attendance with her sister once she returned from her travels abroad. Anna frowned. Travels abroad? Is that what Mother and Father were calling this new life of hers? They must have been the ones to get this message printed in the local papers. How else would the editors find this kind of story?
Oh, no! Did Trevor read the News? He was voracious with the Wall Street Journal and the New York Times back home. Did he also stay connected to the papers of the larger cities and regions, as she did?
Before she could ponder it further, the door to her shop opened, and there stood Trevor, holding a folded-up copy of the same paper spread out in front of her. At least she had her answer. By the hurt and anger blazing in his eyes, though, she wished she didn’t.
“Why didn’t you tell me?” His voice held a measure of contempt mixed with control. He took several slow steps toward her, each one feeling like a nail in the coffin burying her with her deception.
“Trevor, please, let me explain.” Though she really had no right to expect him to.
“Oh, so now you’re ready?” Thinly veiled anger laced every word as he stood in front of her, only the counter between them. “Tell me, Miss Clairmont, just how long were you going to wait before telling me the truth?” He narrowed his eyes, slapped down the paper he held, and rammed his finger at her likeness. “Or should I call you, Miss St. Claire?”
Anna had no words. She’d rehearsed her speech dozens of times over the past several weeks since he’d first walked back into her life. Never had she imagined this would be how Trevor found out. A dull ache formed at her temples, and her stomach twisted in knots. She opened her mouth then closed it. Still, no words came. She swallowed once, twice, three times, trying to restore moisture to her mouth and lips. She had to get something out, before he turned around and walked out of her life forever.
“I wanted to tell you yesterday,” she finally managed, though her voice sounded hoarse, even to her. “But I couldn’t.”
“So instead you allowed me to believe you were someone you’re not, all the while toying with my affections? From what I now remember, I would have expected more of you.”
“That’s not it at all!”
She could see she’d hurt him deeply. He tried to hide it behind his anger, but the pain was there in his eyes and in his face. And he had every right. Could she blame him? But he had to understand.
“I was scared,” she blurted.
The anger dissipated one or two degrees. “Scared of me?”
“No,” she replied. “Scared you’d reject me and walk away…like you did so many times before.” Anna boldly reached out to touch his hand lying on the counter between them. “But after yesterday, I wasn’t scared anymore. I was going to tell you the next time I saw you,” she said softly.
Trevor tensed then clenched his hand into a fist and jerked it out from underneath hers. The anger returned. “I guess we’ll never know now, will we?”
He snatched up his copy of the paper, spun around, and stormed toward the door.
“Trevor!” she called. “Please, don’t go.” She moved from behind the counter and toward him then stopped. “Not like this,” she added, almost in a whisper.
He had his hand on the doorknob but let go at her words. His arm fell back to his side, and his head dropped to his chest.
Anna could imagine the inner battle that waged within him. She’d experienced it herself more than once, each time she would introduce a gentleman caller to Maggie. Maggie would turn on her flirtatious charm, and Anna would be forgotten. Betrayed more than once by her own sister.
As if he’d suddenly remembered how she’d hurt him, Trevor again grabbed the doorknob, only this time, he turned it and yanked it open. He’d just stepped over the threshold when what sounded like a small explosion vibrated through the walls and shook the ground.
Trevor glanced over his shoulder at her, and she started to move toward him. A shout came from down the street.
“Fire!”
Trevor jumped into action and took off running. Anna grabbed the door as it started to close and stepped out onto the sidewalk. She saw the other merchants racing down the street. A flurry of activity commenced near the firehouse across the way. Flames drew Anna’s eyes to the Denver Hotel, not too far from where she stood. What in the world had happened? What was that explosion?
Black smoke curled into the sky as the fingers of the fire clawed at the windows above the ground floor. Screams for help rose above the crackle of the roaring fire and the shouts of the townspeople.
The hotel guests! Anna finally found momentum and an adrenaline rush. Some of them were bound to sustain burns in varying degrees before the volunteer firemen could get to them. She had tended to the wounds of many back in New York when she’d volunteered with one of the hospitals. Maybe she could help now.
She raced down the sidewalk, pausing only to weave her way through the throngs of townspeople gathered. Most stood back and allowed the firemen room to work, but as soon as Anna broke through to the front of the mass, she caught sight of a familiar sandy-haired cowboy grabbing coarse burlap blankets from a pile someone hastily dumped on the street. As she passed the various merchants, miners, and piles of supplies, only one thought crossed her mind.
Please, God, don’t let it spread too far.
The firemen focused their efforts on the biggest flames, and the some of the men pitching in to help formed a water brigade to add to what the fire truck could offer. Trevor tossed blankets to other men, and they worked to squelch any errant flames attempting to spread to the neighboring buildings. As the fire was forced back, some of the firemen were able to enter the building.
“Use them to beat out any new burning from the sparks,” he called, his commanding authority inciting action, as usual.
As the first victims were brought out of the hotel, Anna leaped into action. Right at the same time Trevor did. They ran into each other at the edge of the inferno.
“Someone help the victims over here!”
Anna and Trevor took a step at the same time. She looked up at him. “I volunteered at a hospital,” she shouted above the noise.
He hesitated only a moment as he held her gaze. Then he snatched a pail of water from somewhere and grabbed her hand, pulling her with him toward where they were taking the burn victims.
“Here. You can use this to help,” Trevor commanded, thrusting a wet cloth in her direction.
Anna nodded, and in silence, the two of them worked side by side until they’d tended to all those who sustained injuries. When the last spark was extinguished, all those gathered breathed a sigh of relief. Black soot and scorch marks now covered the entire front of the hotel and small areas of neighboring buildings in the immediate area. The sudden halt to the frantic pace almost seemed eerie.
Thanks to the quick work of all who came to help, no lives were lost. Those with more serious injuries were taken to the doctors’ offices. As the flurry of activity settled and people returned to what they’d been doing, Anna risked a glance at Trevor. He sat back on his heels, gathering the soiled cloths from all around him and dumping them in a bucket.
Anna reached for a rag at the same time Trevor did, and their hands brushed against each other. She shivered and he froze. Then he finally looked her in the eyes again. This time, instead of anger, there was resignation. Anna didn’t know what to make of that. Was it a good or a bad thing? Before she had time to guess, Trevor dipped one of the cloths in a nearby bucket of water and slowly brought it up to her face.
Tenderly, Trevor wiped the smudges from Anna’s cheeks and forehead. She closed her eyes at his touch. Her chest rose and fell in rapid succession. She licked her lips then drew her lower lip between her teeth. He reached out with his other hand and tucked a few errant strands of hair behind her ear then ran his fingers under her long braid and drew it over her shoulder.
When he paused, Anna opened her eyes.
The time had come. The moment of reckoning hovered over his head like a cloud. They had to talk about this. They had to get everything out in the open.
God, please give me strength and the right words to say.
Oh, how easily that had come to him. And it was all because of the woman who sat in front of him. How could he have allowed his anger to get the better of him?
Without a word, he slowly stood and drew Anna up with him. Taking her hand in his, he led her down the nearest alley and out the other side to where there was a small courtyard with a variety of shrubs and flowering plants forming a perimeter around several tables, chairs, and benches. He guided her to one of the benches and took a seat next to her. Even with smudges still on her face, Anna was beautiful. How in the world had he missed seeing her all those years before?
With care and caution, he reached for her hands and held them in his own, resting them where their knees touched.
Anna lifted her head to look at him. A soft smile formed on her lips. “Trevor,” she whispered.
Trevor freed one of his hands and reached up to touch two fingers to her lips. “No, not yet,” he softly implored.
Anna closed her eyes for a moment. The soft sounds of her breathing accompanied the faint sounds from the cleanup crew near the fire. When her eyelids opened again, the same doubt, uncertainty, and fear he felt was reflected back at him.
“Trevor, I have something—”
“Shh.” He cut her off and again touched two fingers to her lips then removed his hand. She stared at him with doelike innocence. “Let me go first.”
An almost imperceptible nod followed his entreaty. All right. He had her undivided attention. Now what should he say?
“Anna, I have been repeating the moment I saw that article in my mind over and over, along with how I confronted you just a little bit ago. And I owe you an apology.” There, that wasn’t such a bad start. “We both have our reasons for doing what we did. I was wrong for getting so angry with you. You deserve more than that.” He implored her with his gaze and gave her hand a tender squeeze. “Can you ever forgive me?”
It hadn’t come out the way he’d rehearsed it in his head, but it could still work. At least he hoped it would.
Anna’s hand moved beneath his, and she turned her wrist to interlace their fingers. He glanced down at their joined hands then back at her face. Tenderness replaced the uncertainty of a moment before.
“Yes,” she whispered. “I was also wrong,” she continued, “for being dishonest and even resenting you a little for your rejection…even if you had no idea you’d done it. Can you forgive me?”
He didn’t hesitate. “Yes. Of course I will.” How could he deny her what she’d just given him?
The tension in Anna’s fingers released, and her expression seemed much more at peace. As she started to close her eyes, Trevor tightened his hold on her wrist. He had to get this out now, or he might lose his nerve.
“There–there’s one more thing. Anna, it took temporarily relocating more than halfway across the country to make me realize just how special you are to me. I’m a fool for not seeing it sooner.” He sought her gaze and held it. “I do remember you from all those years ago, but I didn’t see you for who you truly are. Maybe I wasn’t ready. I don’t know. I’m also not the same man I was then. What I do know now is I don’t want to lose you again.”
A sharp gasp followed his declaration. This was it. He had to say it now.
“Anna, I love you. I believe the first seeds were planted when we were first introduced. But it took me getting away from that life, gaining a new perspective. I had to see you in a completely different light to really see you.” He raised his free hand and gently caressed her cheek. “You’ve opened my eyes to so many things now. Things that were shrouded by the demands of my job and the people I thought were important. I owe you a great deal of thanks for that.”
Her lips moved, but no sound came out. Then she seemed to find her voice.
“Trevor. I love you, too.”
This was going far better than he thought it would. He grinned and slid to one knee on the ground. “Then, will you marry me and rescue me from the endless Ferris wheel that was getting me nowhere before I met you?”
“Yes!” she said without hesitation.
Trevor rose and leaned over her to give her a quick peck on the mouth. He pulled back to look down into her face. Her blue eyes darkened, and she licked her lips again. She raised her chin ever so slightly, issuing him a silent invitation. Lowering his lips, he positioned himself for a better kiss this time.
When he finally pulled back, all the emotions he felt reflected back at him in the depth of her eyes. Never had he ever felt like this with any other woman. Returning to his seat on the bench beside her, Trevor gave her hands a squeeze.
Amusement danced in her eyes. “I guess my sister won’t be the only one with banns posted in the paper.”
He chuckled. “No, I guess not.” He gave her a sly grin. “I suppose I should make plans to call my editor friend back in New York.” Trevor raised her hand to his lips and kissed her knuckles, peering at her over the tops of them. “Your parents aren’t the only ones who can get an announcement in multiple papers in various states.”
She giggled. “I have a feeling you have even more tricks up your sleeve, and I look forward to discovering them as we plan our future together.”
He shrugged. They could discuss the details of the wedding and their engagement another time. God had smiled down upon them and given them a second chance at love, in spite of their bumbled attempts to handle things themselves. Right now, they had the realization of their shared love, and their relationship had been restored. Everything else would have to wait.