Sam glanced up as the bell over the door jingled. “Can I—? Oh, hey, Luke,” he said. “You get off early?”
“Yeah, I finished my rounds about ten minutes ago.” Luke closed the door, then tipped his hat to the gray-haired man standing at the hardware counter. “Evening, Al. How’s business?”
“Good, no complaints, Deputy,” he said. “You go on, Sam. I’ll lock up.”
“Thanks, Al. I’ll see you tomorrow.” Sam took off his work apron and rested it on the counter.
It had been six months since he and Cassie had left Holloway, and life in San Francisco was treating them just fine.
As soon as they arrived, they had rented a small room and started looking for work. Within a week, he’d been hired as a clerk in a hardware store, and Cassie was a seamstress for a fancy ladies’ dress shop.
“Look what I’ve got.” Sam took a photograph out of his shirt pocket and handed it to Luke as they walked to the door.
“Is that Lydia and the baby?”
“Yep. Her name is Samantha,” Sam said as he opened the door and followed Luke out into the street. The evening air was cool and damp, and he felt a few sprinkles of rain on his face. He didn’t mind. The wet weather and fog were a welcome change from the dusty prairie.
“Lydia wrote Cassie and said she’s going to be a schoolteacher. Her parents are happy she’s home with them. They’ll help raise the baby, especially now that . . . well, you know.”
A month after they had left, a tornado ripped into Holloway, decimating the town. Luke had been in Baxter when it happened and missed the whole thing. A week later, he’d shown up on their doorstep—with a surprise.
“Is Jo meeting us for dinner?” Sam said as they walked down the block.
“Yeah, she’ll be off work at the hotel at six,” Luke said. “What’s this special occasion, anyway? It’s not your anniversary or anything.”
Sam fought back a grin. “I can’t say. I promised Cassie I wouldn’t, and you know I don’t want her mad at me.” For the last three months, Cassie had been acting a little funny, and finally last night she gave him the good news.
In a few months, they would need to find a new place to live—one big enough for three.
Kelli A. Wilkins developed a love of reading and writing while growing up in a small upstate New York town. Kelli enjoys writing in different genres, and her speculative fiction has appeared in numerous publications, including The Sun, The Best of the First Line, What If? and Weird Tales.
Kelli is a member of Romance Writers of America and has published several historical/fantasy romances with Amber Quill Press. She currently lives in New Jersey with her husband. Readers are invited to visit Kelli’s Web site, www.KelliWilkins.com, to catch up on all her writings.