“Beatrix!” Leah called from the door leading into the ballroom of the Cattleman Hotel. “This way.”
She waved her hands over the crowds, drawing their attention. Beatrix made her way toward her friend, pushing through the good-natured jostling of people swarming into the ballroom for the Thanksgiving celebration. She carefully guarded the cake she’d slaved over for most of the morning.
The friendly chatter spilling from the enormous space was nearly deafening. Colton hoisted Joseph higher on his shoulder and placed a protective hand around her waist. Beatrix smiled at the baby. His eyes were wide, and he stuffed a fist into his mouth. He seemed to be enjoying all the commotion.
Using his superior height to his advantage, Colton led them toward where Leah and Tomasina stood.
“I’m so glad you could make it,” Leah said once they’d navigated the crowd. “The parlor has been set aside for the children.” She indicated the room opposite where they stood. “Once Joseph is situated, you can help with the buffet table. We have more food than the table will accommodate.”
Beatrix strained for a view of the ballroom. The ladies on the Thanksgiving Committee had outdone themselves. A stage had been erected at the far end of the room. Row upon row of tables and chairs had been situated lengthwise from the stage. Each table had been set with centerpieces at varying intervals. There were heaps of gourds and cornucopias brimming with nuts. Candles scattered throughout the space gave the room a warm glow along with the light from the enormous chandeliers hanging overhead.
“This way,” Colton said. “I’ll forge a trail.”
Beatrix smiled and shouted her thanks over the noise.
The parlor had indeed been cordoned off for all the children. There were cradles lining the walls for the babies, and the older children had been recruited to watch the younger children. Hannah Johnson, the owner of the dress shop, had taken the first shift overseeing the chaos.
Colton handed over Joseph to Hannah. The dressmaker patted the head of a young boy, no more than eight years old, with dark eyes and curly dark hair.
“This is August,” Hannah said. “He’s been helping me out today.” She leaned closer and lowered her voice. “His father is Sam Mason, editor of the newspaper. You didn’t hear this from me, but I think there’s a romance brewing between Mr. Mason and Dr. Boyd.”
The crowd surged around them once more before Beatrix could even digest the shocking piece of gossip. Dr. Boyd seemed so independent and solitary, she’d never considered her courting someone.
There was little time to ponder Hannah’s announcement. Beatrix clutched the edges of the cake pan and made her way toward Leah again. She’d woken up an extra hour earlier to work on the cake, and her effort and paid off. The torte had turned out beautifully. Colton had begged for a slice, but she’d held him off.
Once, she’d even had to slap his fingers away from the edge. He’d laughed and made her promise to bake two tortes the following year.
Leah glanced at the cake and clasped her hands, exclaiming in delight. “Oh my, that’s too pretty to eat.”
She led them toward a buffet brimming with food. The sight was magnificent as well as overwhelming. The scent of roasted turkey mingled with the various pies and side dishes.
Beatrix laughed. “Who will eat that much food?”
“Don’t worry.” Leah joined her laughter. “Nothing will be wasted. We’ll eat what we can, and send the rest home with the bachelors and the drovers. There are always plenty of men to feed around Cowboy Creek.”
Beatrix carefully set her cake toward the back of the table.
Colton leaned over her shoulder. “You have the prettiest dish on the whole buffet.”
Her chest swelled. Though not as accomplished a baker as some of her sisters, she knew she’d done a fine job on the cake this morning.
“Thank you,” she said. “You look very handsome today.”
He’d worn the somber gray suit and string tie he’d donned the day he’d brought her the wedding ring. While he was handsome in his work clothing, he was devastating in a suit. Without pausing to think, she reached out and adjusted his tie, then smoothed his collar.
His face flushed, and he covered her hand. “Thank you, Mrs. Werner. I have the prettiest girl in the room on my arm.”
She glanced at his hand and her heart stuttered. “You’re wearing a wedding ring.”
“Yes,” he said. “I can’t wear a ring for work, but nothing says I can’t have jewelry for special occasions.” He tugged a box from his pocket. “You should wear yours. I wanted to surprise you.”
She hastily slid the ring on her finger. “Thank you.”
Hope stirred in her heart. He’d remembered her ring, and he’d even bought one for himself. That had to mean something.
“You are quite welcome,” he said.
The next half hour passed in pleasant chaos. Beatrix was introduced to so many new people, she’d never remember all their names. When she was introduced to Mr. Mason, she made a point to remember him. He seemed like a nice man. Dr. Boyd had been such a help to Beatrix over the past week, she felt protective toward her.
Dish after dish was passed around the table. Pippa performed her show to a standing ovation. The room heated from all the bodies, and Beatrix’s face flushed pleasantly. Colton tolerated the crowds, greeting people and ensuring she had everything she needed.
When the ladies broke away to serve the desserts, he clasped her hand. “Would you like a breath of fresh air?”
“Please!” she exclaimed.
Laughing, they fought their way through the maze of tables and emerged triumphant into the lobby of the hotel.
Colton grasped her shoulders. “Beatrix, I—”
“Mrs. Werner,” a male voice called. “I have something for you.”
Colton’s hands dropped away. He rubbed his forehead. “I should have known.”
“You should have known what?”
“Mrs. Werner!” Beatrix turned toward the insistent call and discovered a young man with a tin star pinned to his wool vest.
The man held out his hand. “Buck Hanley, Mrs. Werner. I’m the sheriff here in Cowboy Creek. I haven’t had a chance to greet you properly.”
The sheriff was an average-sized man with brown hair and blue eyes. He wasn’t as tall or as well built as Colton, and still held the faint callowness of youth. His expression was open and friendly, and she shook his hand.
“It’s a pleasure to meet you, Mr. Hanley,” she said.
“A letter came to the sheriff’s office for you.”
“The sheriff’s office?”
She glanced at Colton, and he shrugged.
“Care of Quincy Davis,” Buck said.
The blood drained from her face. There weren’t many people who’d write to her care of Quincy Davis. She glanced at the letter and recognized the sharp scrawl of her oldest sister.
“Thank you, Sheriff Hanley.”
“No problem.”
The sheriff tipped his hat and excused himself.
Colton stuffed his hands in his pockets. “Why don’t you read your letter? I’ll check on the baby.”
Beatrix gave a distracted nod and searched out a quiet corner, a difficult task. She finally climbed the stairs to the second landing and leaned against the railing. She ran the tip of her thumb beneath the flap, and several bills fluttered out.
Frowning, she knelt and gathered the money. Quickly scanning the contents of the letter, tears sprang into her eyes.
She stood motionless, losing all sense of time and place until a hand settled on her shoulder.
“Bad news?” Colton asked. “You haven’t moved in the time it’s taken me to check on the baby and return. You’re pale as a sheet. You need to sit.”
“I’m all right,” Beatrix replied, still lost in a daze.
Colton pressed two fingers beneath her chin and gently forced her to meet his gaze. “Is something wrong? What’s happened?”
“My sister has written to me.”
Relief shifted across his face. “That’s good. You should keep in touch.”
“Peter is dead.”
Colton went still. “Dead?”
She sniffled. The emotions swirling around her head were too confusing to sort. “There was a train accident outside of Vienna.”
“I’m sorry, Beatrix. This must be a terrible shock.”
“Now that Peter is gone, my father says that I may come home.” She held up the fistful of bills. “He’s sent money for our travels. For me and for Joseph.”
“I don’t understand.” Anger flashed in his eyes. “What does one thing have to do with the other?”
She snorted softly. “I guess with Peter gone, there is less shame for my father. He wants someone to take care of him.”
Colton rubbed his forehead with his thumb and forefinger. “Is this what you want?”
“I can contact my sisters now—my family will no longer shun me. I am happy about this.”
“Will you return home?”
As she stared at the wad of bills, Beatrix fought back a sick feeling. “I don’t know.” She’d left under such strained circumstances, the thought of returning home held a certain appeal. Those first few weeks, she’d been so homesick, she’d ached. She’d left part of her heart behind. Yet here in this vast prairie land, she’d discovered a new home.
Austria was in her past. And though she might visit someday, she knew in her heart she’d never stay. Cowboy Creek was her future.
* * *
Colton felt as though all the air had been suctioned from the room. He couldn’t think. He couldn’t breathe. In an instant everything made sense. Beatrix should go home. She should go home to everything that was familiar, to her family, to her homeland.
She wasn’t here because she was supposed to find happiness with him; she was only here waiting until she could finally go home.
He swallowed around the lump in his throat. “Will you at least stay until Christmas?”
Her face grew ashen. “You think I should go?”
“I think you need to do what’s best for you and Joseph.”
“But what about you?”
The pressure built behind his eyes. “I want what’s best for you.”
“But you would like me to stay through Christmas?”
“The weather,” he said, his voice husky. “The weather is bad for travel this time of year.”
He was being unbearably selfish. The weather in January was bound to be worse, but he wasn’t thinking straight.
“Yes.”
“You shouldn’t travel alone. We can hire someone. That will take time.”
“I don’t mind traveling alone.”
His vision blurred. “I mind. Can you do those two things for me? Can you wait until after Christmas, until after we can find someone to accompany you?”
“If that is what you’d like.”
He cleared his throat. “Yes.”
She folded the letter and replaced the money in the envelope. “It’s time for dessert.”
“I can’t wait any longer. You made the most beautiful dessert on the table.” He held out his elbow. “A beautiful dessert made by a beautiful lady. You made me wait all day for a slice.”
She hooked her arm over his sleeve, her gaze quizzical. “Will you miss us?”
He stared straight ahead, seeing nothing. “Every day.”
All around him people laughed and joked, while inside his world crumbled. He wouldn’t allow himself to hope that she’d change her mind. He’d been selfish enough in asking her to stay another month.
Each opportunity he’d had with her had been interrupted. Even today. He’d hoped to tell her he loved her, but fate had intervened. This time he was grateful. He didn’t want any lingering guilt over his declaration of love clouding her decision.
A line had formed for the row of desserts. Colton and Beatrix joined the queue.
Will jostled in beside him, balancing two plates in one hand. “I’m here for a second serving.”
“Tomasina?”
He chuckled. “Sometimes I think she’s having twins.”
His obvious joy was almost unbearable in the moment. Colton was glimpsing everything his life was missing.
Engrossed in his task, Will hadn’t noticed Colton’s sadness, for which Colton was grateful.
They’d nearly reached the front of the line when a crash sounded.
Several people gasped and formed a circle around the source of the commotion. Leah searched the room and caught sight of them.
Her hands flew to her mouth. “Oh, Beatrix. I’m so sorry.”
The crowd parted, revealing the spattered remnants of the cake Beatrix had labored over all morning. Instantly alert, Colton searched the faces of the group. He caught the back of Eric Schuyler’s head near the end of the table.
Glancing around, he spotted Eugene, his arms folded over his chest, a smirk on his face.
Colton angled his body, shielding Beatrix from the store clerk’s view.
Will followed the direction of his gaze and placed a restraining hand on his arm. “It might have been an accident.”
“Maybe.”
Leah and several other ladies were rapidly cleaning away all evidence of the mess.
“He’s a boy, Colton.” Will spoke near his ear. “He’s not worth it.”
Beatrix clutched his arm, and he caught the tears shimmering in her eyes.
“I’m tired,” she said. “Can we go home?”
He nodded and ushered them from the room.
She gathered her coat and donned the fur hat he’d bought her that first week after she’d recovered. She was wearing one of the new dresses that had arrived from Hannah’s dress shop. She was beautiful. She was radiant.
She was leaving him.
He quickly fetched Joseph, shielding Beatrix from the curious eyes of the Thanksgiving crowd.
Leah caught them at the door. “Are you all right?”
“She’s a bit worn out,” Colton replied. “Will you make our excuses?”
“Of course,” Leah said, appearing as though she wanted to say something more. “Your cake was beautiful,” she added, her words rushed. “There’s a service on Christmas Eve, with dessert and coffee afterward. I know it’s a lot to ask after what happened today, but would you consider making another?”
“I can make another,” Beatrix replied softly. “It is not too much trouble.”
“I’m sorry,” Leah said. “I only turned my back for an instant. I don’t know what happened.”
“This was not your fault,” Beatrix assured her. “An accident.”
“Yes,” Leah replied, then glanced at Colton.
He caught the question in her gaze. They were both thinking the same thing. Someone had ruined the cake on purpose, and he was fairly certain he knew the culprit. Without proof, there was no use making wild accusations.
Leah pulled Beatrix into a quick hug. “Get some rest.” As Beatrix turned, Leah caught his gaze. “Take care of her.”
“I will,” he said. “I promise.”
He’d take care of her for as much time as they had together.