Now that he was living on top of his office, he could walk down and retrieve any document he would need. Lately, he had been tossing and turning, trying to think of what do with the Clover Kelly case. But now that Misty and Mary had agreed to give statements, he was hopeful for the investigation to continue. It was just a few weeks away from the judge coming into town for the trial and he had to prepare as best he could.

  There was a knock on the office door and Colin looked to the window to see it was Mary. He opened the door and waved at the younger girl. “Mary, aren’t you a little early for the meeting today?”

  “Oh yes, that’s why I came down here. We are a bit short-staffed today; One of the new maids got a bit sick last night and won’t be able to make it in. I was wondering if you could do the interview in the dining area? That way, I wouldn’t have to leave. Mr. Higgins’ doesn’t really want to let me go too far.”

  “Why yes, of course we could do that,” Colin said, checking the clock. “Do you want to move it earlier to be more accommodating?”

  “If that wouldn’t be too much trouble,” Mary answered.

  “It’s no trouble at all.” Misty and Mary were doing him a favor by giving their side of the story from that night. They were there when Beatrice had kidnapped them and could corroborate Clover’s story that she wasn’t involved in the kidnapping or attempted murder on themselves or Samantha. “Let me gather a few things and I could be down shortly.”

  “Ok. Misty was going to meet me at the hotel and we were going to walk over together; I’ll just tell her that we are going to do it at the restaurant.” Mary looked at the clock again. “I’m sorry to cut this short, but we need to start breakfast service soon. I’m going to have to run.”

  “Of course. I’ll see you soon,” he said, waving as Mary started to walk back to the restaurant. Colin closed the door and started to get ready for his day, feeling more prepared than ever. He was confident that things would be turning around for Clover soon.

  Samantha had tried to keep her at the house for another day, but Lily just needed to get into town. When Samantha wasn’t looking, she asked Elizabeth if she could ride into town with her, to which Elizabeth delightedly agreed. The town was exactly how she had remembered it, as she had an incredible memory when she looked at things for the first time. It was one of the traits Colin had liked about her.

  Thinking of Colin gave her butterflies, but she willed them away. This was about her work; she needed to be professional and then she could talk to Colin about the other things that were on her mind, like why he didn’t see her before he left, was he still upset with her and of course, her love for him.

  As she stood in the street, she realized she didn’t know where Colin’s office was, and she made the mistake of not asking Elizabeth when she dropped her off in at the end of four or five buildings before continuing on to the school.

  She looked around the buildings and saw a hotel in front of her. They must know where Colin’s law office is, she thought. As she walked towards it, she noticed that the restaurant was built next to the hotel. Even thought it was a bit before lunch time, she looked inside the windows and saw that the restaurant didn’t have many people in it.

  It seemed strange, as it looked like it was the only restaurant in town. Lily opened the doors to a lobby. It was small, with a front desk to the left and the restaurant entry to the right. There were a few chairs and a dresser in front of her. The atmosphere looked rather cozy and inviting, which made it even more strange than there weren’t more people around.

  “Lily, is that you?” she heard from behind her. Lily turned around and saw Misty standing in the doorway of the lobby.

  “Misty!” she cried as she ran and hugged the girl. “I’ve missed you so much!”

  “Lily, you’re hurting me,” Misty said as Lily was crushing her chest to her. Lily quickly released and apologized. “I didn’t think I would see you around here.”

  “Well, Colin sent for me, so I came,” Lily said, tucking a hair behind her ear uncomfortably.

  “Yes, I was actually quite surprised that he didn’t bring you here in the first place. He seemed rather lost in the beginning,” she said. This made Lily’s heart tick up a bit.

  “So, how are you? Are you working here?” she asked, gesturing to the hotel. Lily knew Misty as Samantha’s maid back in Philadelphia, before she left for Black Hills. Samantha had sent for her to come over shortly after she left, and Misty made the trek rather quickly. Lily still remembered the first day she saw Misty, crying outside a restaurant in the city. There was nothing of that insecure girl in front of her now.

  “I used to. I’m actually married,” she said, as she pointed to the ring on her finger. “I work out at my husband’s ranch.”

  “Oh wow. Married! Congratulations.”

  “Thanks! My sister actually works here,” she said. “In fact, I came here to meet her.”

  “You have a sister?” Lily asked. She didn’t know that Misty had a family let alone a sister, but now that she thought about it, Misty didn’t really talk about her past much in all the interactions they had. Lily suspected it was because something had happened in the past that she didn’t want to be reminded of.

  “Yes, she showed up here, with the help of Elizabeth. It’s a long story,” Misty added.

  “Maybe you can tell it to me sometime,” she said. “But now that you mention Colin, I don’t know where his office is. Could you direct me to it?”

  Misty gave her a quizzical look for a moment before letting it pass. “Well, I’m probably going to walk there shortly. If you wait here, I’ll come back, and we can walk together. I just need to talk to Mary first.”

  “Oh, that would be wonderful!” she said, as Misty went through the doors of the restaurant. Lily looked around and decided to sit on one of the empty chairs to wait.

  She was so busy staring at the old architecture that she didn’t notice a man had walked right next to her. She looked up, startled at how close he was. “Um, may I help you?” she asked, as she stared at the guy’s face.

  He was short and fat, with a long beard. He gave her a weird feeling and she didn’t want to be near him for too long. “I was hoping you could.”

  “I don’t know how much help I could be,” she said, not knowing what he was asking for. It made her feel uneasy.

  “I heard about this hotel and what it had to offer. I had to come see for myself and I must say, I’m not disappointed by what I see,” he said, giving her a once over.

  Lily smiled. He seemed to be enjoying the architecture as much as she was. Maybe she was overreacting; the man seemed harmless. “Yes, it is something to behold.”

  “Shall we?” the man said, going to grasp her arm.

  Lily shot up from her chair, alarmed. “What are you doing?”

  He made another lunge at her, this time succeeding with grabbing her elbow. “We can go now.”

  “Go where? I’m waiting for a friend to meet me. You must have me confused with someone else,” she started to say, before the man tightened his grip.

  “Oh, don’t be shy. I know exactly why you’re here. And I’ll pay you well,” he said.

  Lily’s eyes widened, as she realized what this man was asking for. She started to pry her arm from his grasp just as an older gentleman came up next to him. “What is going on here?”

  At his booming voice, the short, fat man jumped, letting go of Lily. She stepped away, only to land right into the hands of the older man. As she turned around, she saw in the corner of her eyes the fat man run out the door. Her eyes went wide as she turned to the gentlemen holding her.

  “This is not the place for this,” he said, as he started to drag her toward the desk.

  “You don’t understand, it was just a misunderstanding,” she started to say.

  “I’ve had enough trouble trying to get my reputation back, and now this happens,” he said.

  His grasp on her was starting to hurt. “No, really, I had no idea what he wanted. I’m just waiting for someone.”

  The gentleman seemed to not believe her. She could hear a door open and looked to see another man had entered the room. He was tall with a hat. She saw that he looked like a peace officer. The gentleman holding her had also noticed him. “Sheriff, I’m glad you’re here. I have someone for you.”

  Lily’s eyes went wide. The Sheriff walked up to them and looked at Lily. “Who is this, Higgins?”

  Higgins gestured to the chairs where he had dragged her from. “I found this one soliciting the customers,” he said.

  “No, I wasn’t! He was soliciting me! I promise, I’m not here to make any trouble,” she said, trying to get away from Higgins’ strong grasp.

  “Maybe we should take you to the jail house and see if you change your mind,” the Sheriff said as he went to grasp Lily’s other arm to take her from Higgins.

  Lily started to panic. She didn’t know these men and Misty hadn’t come back from the restaurant. She didn’t know where the jailhouse was and had no way of telling Samantha or anyone else what had occurred. She closed her eyes and hoped for a miracle.

  Just then, she heard the door open again. She slowly peeked and saw that it was Colin. Her heart started to skip, knowing that he was near. Colin had taken off his hat and turned to see Lily in the man’s hands. “Lily?” he asked, as he stepped closer.

  “You know her, Colin?” Higgins asked, letting go of her arm, though the Sheriff was still holding onto her other arm.

  “Why yes, I do.”

  “Seems she’s been soliciting men at the entrance,” the Sheriff said. “We don’t really condone those actions, no matter what anyone says,” he said, his eyes trained on Colin. “I was going to take her down to the jailhouse to sort it out.”

  “I don’t think that’s really necessary,” Colin started to say, as he walked over to Lily.

  “I told you, I wasn’t doing that! I was waiting for someone.”

  “Yeah, Sheriff, if Colin knows her,” Higgins interjected.

  “No, we are going to take care of this at the station. It’s suspicious her being here by herself.”

  “But I wasn’t,” Lily started to say, as the Sheriff started to drag her out.

  “John, please, don’t do this. There is a perfectly good reason why she was here,” Colin said. Lily could tell that he was trying to keep his voice even, but she could hear the anger beneath the surface.

  “And what is the reason?” he asked, his voice as cold as stone.

  “Because she is my fiancée,” Colin finished.

  Lily felt her stomach bottom out. She looked over at Colin to check his reaction, but he looked extremely serious.

  “Fiancée?” the Sheriff questioned. Lily wanted to ask the same question but decided to keep her mouth shut.

  “Yes, in fact, it was me she was waiting for. In fact, we are getting married today,” he said, as he reached out and grasped Lily’s hand, dragging her away from the Sheriff.

  “If she’s your fiancée, where is her ring?” he said, looking at her finger.

  “We are taking care of that today. We are actually on our way to the chapel. Isn’t that right, dear?” Colin said, looking at Lily. All she could do was nod her head slowly.

  The Sheriff narrowed his eyes, but Colin stood tall. “Well, miss,” he said, looking at Lily. “You should really watch yourself around here. You don’t know what kind of trouble you can get yourself into.”

  As he left, Lily could only nod her head in agreement. Judging from her rapidly beating heart, she could tell that she was in a lot of trouble now.

  Lily twirled the ring in her finger as Colin paced behind her. It was night already, and the moonlight was streaming in from the center window. “It’s just temporary; we can get an annulment as soon as the trial is over and this whole mess is forgotten. Then you can go back to Philadelphia,” he said, as he put his hand on his head in frustration.

  Lily turned around to watch him pace. She was annoyed by his reaction, as if it was her fault that they were in this mess. After the incident at the hotel, he all but dragged her to the church to have the pastor conduct a small ceremony. It was the most uncomfortable thing she had ever been to. She had dreamed of marrying Colin one day, but never in such the way it happened.

  He wouldn’t even look at her as he agreed to love and honor her. She rolled her eyes and crossed her arms, leaning against the desk. “Stop pacing the room. You are making me nervous.”

  Colin let out a frustrating grunt. “It’s the one way to calm myself down.” He put his hands in the air. “I don’t know how you got into this mess in the first place.”

  “Me? I didn’t ask you to step in.”

  Colin walked over to her, so close she could feel his breath. It was unnerving. “And what were you going to do if I hadn’t?”

  Lily looked away, his proximity too much for her to handle. “I…I don’t know.”

  “Exactly,” said Colin. He pushed his hair back and sighed. “This is why I told Samantha I didn’t think you should come.”

  Lily stood still for a second. “What do you mean?” she asked, looking towards Colin. He looked as if he didn’t mean to speak, and looked away quickly before walking a few paces forward. “Do you mean to say you didn’t send the telegram?”

  Colin looked at everything except her, his mouth turning downward and a slight shade of red brushing his cheeks. It was all Lily needed to know. “Oh no. I cannot believe this,” she said, pushing off of the desk and making her way to the door.

  Colin caught her by the arm. “Where are you going?” he asked.

  She turned to him, trying to pry her hand from his strong grip. “Anywhere but here,” she said.

  Colin tightened his grip. “We are supposed to be husband and wife. I can’t just have you walking around the town at all hours of the night. And especially not on what the people out there think is our wedding night.”

  “But you’re not really my husband,” Lily spat back, her fury building. Her head hurt, and all she wanted to do was get as far away from him as she could.

  “This is how you are thanking me? By running away.”

  Colin loosened his grip and Lily pried her arm away. “Thanking you? I never asked you for your help!” she yelled at him.

  “Lily, I don’t think you quite understand what happened today. They thought you were a prostitute!” Colin walked toward her, backing her against the far wall.

  Lily was seething, pushing Colin away and ducking to the other side of the room. She was so angry, the world looked like streaks of red. “I did nothing more than smile at someone. That is hardly soliciting.”

  “We just need to get through this trial and then I can send you back home.”

  “I can’t go home,” Lily exclaimed, clutching her dress at her sides.

  Colin raised one eyebrow. “Of course, you can.”

  “No, I can’t.”

  “What about your family? Iva? The children?”

  “No. Iva is selling the apartment. I don’t know where they will end up.”

  Colin looked at her thoughtfully.

  Lily shook her head, her palms sweating. “Did you know I broke off the engagement with Nicholai before you left?”

  He didn’t say a word.

  “He gave me an ultimatum. I wanted to set a date. I was so angry for you leaving I was ready to get married immediately. He told me he loved me, but I needed to love him more than you. He wanted me to choose, and I stupidly chose you.”

  As she looked up at Colin, she could tell he was at a loss for words, but she was too angry to care. “I should have known that it wasn’t you who had sent the letter. You all but said that you didn’t need me anymore; it was too much of a wishful thought.”

  “I never said I didn’t need you anymore,” Colin started to say.

  “You didn’t have to! You moved away without telling me. That’s how much I mattered to you. You didn’t even come by after he killed himself. I needed you and you weren’t there. You are so selfish and inconsiderate, and I don’t know why I love you so much.”

  There was a silence after her words that for a minute, Lily hadn’t noticed she had said it. But once she did, she gasped and covered her mouth. She had never meant to say it out loud; she had vowed she would take it to the grave. She looked over at Colin, who looked pale. This was why she never wanted to tell him in the first place.

  But now that it was out there, she oddly felt a weight had been lifted. All she wanted to do was tell him the truth. “I’ve been keeping it to myself for years now, but it’s true. I do love you. And it was a mistake not to tell you in the park that day.”

  They stood in silence, staring at each other. Lily looked at his face, trying to decipher his emotions. He seemed to be thinking about something and she longed to know what it was. After what seemed like ages, he finally let out a frustrated sigh. “I don’t know what you want from me, Lily.”

  Even though she felt light, she still felt exhausted. She couldn’t keep doing this with him. She needed to let go of these feelings or they would destroy her. “I want you to want me as much as I want you. To need me as much as you need breath. Because that’s what you are to me. And if you can’t, I think you’re right. I just need to go back home.”

  Lily felt tears start to gather in her eyelids. She looked towards him, waiting for his response.

  Finally, after what felt like an eternity, he spoke. “I do want you, and that’s the problem,” he said, grabbing his face in aggravation. All Lily could do was drop her mouth in surprise as Colin continued. “I’ve wanted you for years. Do you know how hard it was to just stand around and watch you get close to another man? And when you got engaged, you don’t think that wrecked me to my core? The idea of you belonging to someone else has been ripping away at me ever since I saw that ring on your finger. You don’t understand at all how hard it has been to stay away from you.”

 

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12