MAIL ORDER OLIVIA Read online

  Maybe she should leave, at least for a little while. Those two men could pursue her in a different town, away from Yuma. She could pack a valise and make sure they saw her going into the train station. Chloe would be fine here with Robert and Mrs. Franklin.

  The next day she went so far as to pull her valise out of the attic, but before she packed a single item, Robert arrived home early. She took one look at him and gasped. He had a darkening bruise on his jaw.

  “What happened?”

  “You were right about those two men,” Robert said. “They came by the clinic a while ago.”

  “Robert, I’m so sorry. Let me get you a steak to put on that.”

  “I iced it at the office.” He held out his right hand to show his bruised and bloody knuckles. “My boxing lessons from when I was young came in handy.”

  “This is all my fault,” Olivia said.

  “That’s what I came to tell you. I knew you felt that way. Apparently, my being Harry’s closest friend in school, the college must have given them my information.” He gazed down at his hand. “They won’t be threatening either of us again. One of my patients saw what was going on and fetched the sheriff. Right now, those two ruffians are cooling off in the jail.”

  Olivia sat down on the side of the bed, feeling like her legs wouldn’t support her. “What happens next?”

  “The sheriff is checking with the authorities back in Philadelphia. With any luck they’re wanted back there, and sheriff can hasten them on their way.” Robert looked past her. “What were you doing with your valise?”

  “It doesn’t matter,” Olivia said.

  “You weren’t planning to leave me, were you?” He pulled her close. “In case I haven’t mentioned it lately, I kind of like having you around. You and Chloe both.”

  She tilted up her head. “Robert I—”

  He placed a finger on her lips to stop what she was about to say. “I have to get back to the clinic. “I just wanted you to know you have nothing to fear from those two louts.”

  “But I—”

  He silenced her with a kiss.

  “No more distractions, woman. I’ll see you tonight.”

  When Chloe got up from her nap, Olivia decided to take her to the park. Mrs. Franklin insisted that Chloe needed to be around other children, and since the woman had raised a brood of her own, Olivia assumed she knew what she was talking about.

  Chloe was a friendly little thing who would chatter baby babble at anyone they met around town, but so far, her exposure had been mostly to grownups, like Old Mrs. Thompson next door.

  Their neighbor had a cat, and the creature fascinated Chloe, although the feline was smart enough to run and hide whenever it caught sight of her. Mrs. Thompson always seemed to have a fresh cookie, warm from the oven whenever she saw Chloe in the yard, and despite Olivia’s pleas that the old woman not ruin Chloe’s supper, Olivia frequently found Chloe with telltale crumbs on her lips.

  “Come on, poppet. Hold still for a sec.”

  Chloe had a mind of her own and today, donning a bonnet, was not in her plan. It took several tries before Olivia had the ribbon tied securely beneath Chloe’s chin.

  At the park, Olivia joined several mothers who sat off to one side on a long wooden bench while their children played. The park was irrigated by the river and had several large, grassy fields where the older children could take part in various sports. Right now, a vigorous game of dodge ball between the older charges was going on in one area.

  Olivia kept a watchful eye out as Chloe toddled over to a group of girls who looked to be a few years older. She relaxed when one of the girls took Chloe’s hand and admired her doll.

  “I hear Robert has a cousin in the next town over,” one of the women said.

  “I didn’t know that,” Olivia said, as she took a seat at one end of the bench. She’d seen the woman, who Robert jokingly referred to as the “town crier” around Yuma, but couldn’t recall her name.

  “Newlyweds,” chuckled another. “I’m sure you have more important things going on than discussing long lost family members.”

  “Laura Kismet grew up next door to Robert,” the first one said. “She came back a few years ago and married her childhood sweetheart over in Bullet.” She slanted Olivia a look. “I must say, we were all surprised when Robert sent away for a bride. He struck us all as a confirmed bachelor.”

  “You can’t say that,” someone else said. “The only single woman near his age is that horrid Marianne Weiss creature, and no decent man would have anything to do with her or her brats.”

  “I feel sorry for the young ones,” said another. “Imagine having a mother like that, with questionable morals. The locals were all happy when Robert came back and decided to stay,” she added. “He and his father had the row of all rows right before he left town and I, for one, thought we might not ever see him again.”

  “Fulsom Sr. wanted Robert to take over the family business. He felt doctoring was for low born types, beneath his son,” said the town crier.

  “It’s a nice change having a real doctor from the East,” a different woman said. “Instead of that quack who used to treat folks.”

  “That old reprobate never washed his hands,” added someone else. “I heard he had a habit of taking advantage of the younger women who went to see him. Put his dirty hands where they had no business being.”

  Olivia tuned out the gossip around her and watched Chloe playing with the other girls, pleased to see her little one was happily sharing her doll. Thank goodness she had her nursing work at Robert’s clinic to occupy her, unlike these women, who seemed to thrive on idle chatter.

  Olivia stood up when a woebegone Chloe let out a wail as the older girls eventually ran off and left her. “It’s been lovely chatting,” she said to no one in particularly, “but it’s time I round up Chloe and take her home.”

  She acknowledged the few cursory goodbyes that came her way before she scooped up Chloe, who once more had dolly firmly tucked under one arm. She could only imagine what the gossip biddies would say about her the second she was out of earshot. No doubt there would be much speculation as to the identity of Chloe’s father and whether or not he and Olivia had been married.

  As she walked back to the house, she pressed a kiss to the top of Chloe’s head. Thank goodness the church ladies were more genteel. She’d have to look out for Robert’s friend’s new mail-order bride when she arrived, and steer her away from those women at the park.

  How life had changed in a few short weeks. Where before, Robert frequently worked late at the clinic, these days he was eager to shut the door on his last patient so he could hurry home to Olivia and Chloe. He had just packed his bag and was prepared to leave when the sheriff arrived. Robert bit back his impatience as he greeted the man.

  “Evening, doc. Got a minute?”

  “Certainly.” Robert indicated two chairs in his waiting room. “Any update on those ruffians who showed up here the other day?”

  “Nothing from Philly, yet.” Sheriff took out a well-work notebook. “This here is something of a more delicate nature.”

  “Go on.”

  “Concerns that Weiss woman. The one living at your old family home.”

  “What about her?”

  “Had some complaints lately. A few of the townsfolk worried that she’s an unfit mother. Claims her young ’uns are neglected. Last week they got caught stealing food from the General Store. Claimed they were hungry. Turns out they’re skipping school, as well. Could be the other kids are picking on them and their ma lets them stay away, but we can’t have ’em running around town getting into trouble. That kind of behavior bodes ill for the entire town.”

  “What would you like me to do about it?”

  “Maybe you could have a word with her? Convince her that perhaps she’d be better off in a different town. Some place where no one knows her past.”

  “What of the youngsters?”

  Sheriff shrugged. “You don’t know f
or sure they’re kin of yours.”

  “I have no evidence of it, other than what their mother says. All I know is, Marianne did spend time with my father some years back.”

  “When your ma was still alive?”

  Robert stiffened. “I don’t condone my father’s actions.”

  “And he’s not here to deal with the consequences,” sheriff said, as he stood. “I know Hicks advised you against transferring the deed for the house to that woman.”

  “Hicks is behind the times. A woman has as much right to own property as a man does.”

  Sheriff snorted. “Next thing you know, some big shot in Tucson will give ladies the vote, same as happened in Wyoming.”

  “That’s true. And I don’t think it will be a bad thing all around.”

  The sheriff pulled a face. “Nothing much will change. Most wives will vote for whoever their husbands tell them to. So you’ll talk to Mrs. Weiss? Or whatever name she’s going by these days?”

  “I don’t expect it will do any good, but I’ll try.”

  Sheriff clapped him on the shoulder. “You might be those youngsters’ only chance.”

  Robert locked the clinic door behind himself and the sheriff before he headed home. How typical for his father to continue to cause difficulties, years after he was dead.

  Chapter 6

  “Sheriff stopped in the clinic just as I was leaving,” Robert told Olivia, that night over dinner.

  Olivia put down her fork. “Any news on those two dreadful men? Are they still locked up?”

  “As far as I know,” Robert said. “He came by on a different matter.” Olivia’s heart beat faster when Robert reached across the table and took her hand in his. “I don’t want there to be any secrets between us. He asked me to talk to Marianne. There are rumblings that she’s a neglectful mother. It could be idle gossip stirred up by the town crier—”

  “If that’s the case, why do you have to be involved?”

  “There’s no way to know if my father sired those children, but if he did and denied them their due, his name and financial security—” Robert shook his head. “It takes a low man to deny his own offspring. Same as it takes a low woman to lie about her children’s parentage.” He squeezed her hand. “I want you to know, even though Chloe isn’t mine, I’ve come to love her as if she was. And you needn’t worry—once we have a family of our own, I won’t treat Chloe any different from the rest.”

  Olivia nearly choked. So many times she had tried to tell Robert, and now—was it too late? She loved him so much, she couldn’t bear for him to think badly of her. Tears blurred her vision as she stumbled to her feet and carried her plate to the sink.

  “You hardly touched your supper,” Robert said. “Are you ill?”

  Olivia shook her head. “Just tired. I believe I’ll go to bed early.”

  How could she tell Robert the truth? Without having him hate her forever?

  A possible solution presented itself later that evening. What if she helped him with that woman, to find out if those two teenaged children were really his half-siblings? He’d be so happy to finally know the truth, and it would be the perfect time to also tell him about Chloe.

  The next afternoon, when Robert left to make a house call at one of the ranches outside of town, Olivia put a closed sign on the clinic door, stating she would be back in an hour. She felt only a small tinge of guilt at abandoning her post. With luck, she would be back long before Robert and he’d be none the wiser.

  When she reached the house where Robert had grown up, she noticed that the grounds, once well-kept, had grown neglected, and the front door could use a lick of paint. Robert’s father must have stopped caring about such things toward the end.

  She knocked and waited. Seconds later, a curtain moved slightly at a nearby window. Eventually the door was opened by the woman she had seen at the clinic first, and later at the town social talking to Robert.

  “Well, well if it isn’t the doc’s new bride. Slumming today, are we?”

  “May I come in, Mrs. Weiss?”

  The woman stepped aside. The air inside was hot and stale. If the curtains were drawn to help keep things cooler, they weren’t doing their job. The lack of daylight gave the house a gloomy and neglected air.

  Marianne stood amidst a jumble of books, satchels, clothing and shoes.

  “Did Robert send you?” she asked.

  “Robert doesn’t know I’m here. I had hoped we could speak frankly, mother to mother.”

  “Hmmph,” Marianne said. “Like all them other mothers, I suppose. Looking down their pointy noses at me and mine. Thinking they’re better than me.”

  “I don’t think that,” Olivia said. “But I am concerned. There’s talk that the children are not well cared for.”

  “They’re looked after fine,” Marianne said.

  Seeing the disorder all around her, Olivia privately doubted that, but who was she to judge? It would be nice to think folks did their best.

  “If they’re being teased by the other children at school, it might explain why they don’t always attend.”

  “Getting big enough now that they don’t need to go if they don’t feel like it,” Marianne said. “I don’t make ’em do nothing they don’t want to.” She stepped close till she was eye-to-eye with Olivia. “Yer little one is still a baby. Wait till she gets all mouthy on you when she’s older. She might need a good smack to keep her in line, same as mine from time to time.”

  Olivia recoiled. So the rumors were true. How terrible for Robert!

  “I believe in discipline with love, not a raised fist,” she said, remembering her own parents’ patient and loving methods.

  “What do you want?” Marianne asked.

  “I thought you might need a friend,” Olivia said.

  Marianne gave her a scathing look. “The likes of you? Friends with me? How would that go over with your churchy ladies?”

  Olivia drew herself up straight. “I don’t have to explain myself to anyone.”

  “Good,” Marianne said, as she reached for the handle and opened the door. “Neither do I. Thanks for stopping in,” she added sarcastically. “We should do it again, real soon.”

  Olivia made her way back to the clinic, lost in thought. Harry had been too self-involved to help with Chloe during the first year of her life. What kind of mother might she be ten or twelve years from now if she had to raise Chloe alone? She reminded herself not to go judging someone till she’d walked in their shoes.

  She was nearing the clinic when she heard Mrs. Franklin hail her. One look at the woman’s face, and she knew something was wrong.

  “I don’t understand,” Mrs. Franklin babbled as she drew close, wringing her hands in her apron as she spoke.

  “Understand what? What’s happened?” Olivia asked the housekeeper.

  “How the wee one could disappear from sight so fast? One minute she’s there next to me while I’m hanging out the laundry, and the next second she’s nowhere to be seen.”

  Olivia grabbed Mrs. Franklin’s flailing arm to get her attention. “Chloe? Chloe has disappeared. When?”

  Chapter 7

  Robert drove the buggy from the Olsen ranch back to Yuma. The sky was as bright as his mood. Mrs. Olsen’s pregnancy, with twins no less, was progressing nicely. The mother-to-be had come into his office last month worried because she was spotting, but it seemed like his prescribed bed rest had made all the difference.

  Mr. Olsen adored his wife, and assured Robert he watched her like a hawk to make sure she followed doctor’s orders. The neighboring ranch had lent the Olsens two of their hands, and the rancher’s wife checked in every few days. All in all, Yuma was a good place to live.

  He hadn’t felt that way growing up here, in a house filled with expensive things, along with tension and discord, but his time away had given him a new appreciation for life in the West. And now, with Livie back in his life, things felt pretty much ideal.

  As he drove past his family home,
he remembered his conversation yesterday with the sheriff, and reined to a stop. No time like the present to get this over with.

  “Well, isn’t this a surprise,” Marianne said, when she opened the door. “Two of you in one day.”

  “Two of us?” Robert asked.

  “Yer new missus came by earlier. Had us a little chat, mother-to-mother, like. Least she tried to. I told her to mind her own business.”

  Robert wished Olivia had as well. This was nothing to do with her, it was his family mess.

  “You’re obviously not happy here in Yuma, Marianne. Why did you come back?”

  “I thought it would be good for the young ’uns,” she said. “Turned out I was wrong about that. They hate it here. Folks is downright mean. Thinking of moving on. Someplace back East where no one knows us.”

  “I can arrange an introduction for you in Philadelphia,” Robert said. “Someone who can help you get settled. Get the children into the right kind of schools.”

  “You’re awful good to us. Why is that?”

  Robert thought about himself and Olivia. “I believe everyone deserves a second chance.”

  “There’s one sure fire way to ensure we won’t be around to embarrass you in these parts.” Marianne rubbed the thumb and fingers of her right hand together. “Make it worth my while.”

  “I’ll sort something out with Hicks next week.”

  Mentioning Hicks by name reminded Robert that he’d been so busy dealing with other things when he was in the lawyer’s office, he hadn’t yet gotten around to finding out what was behind Hicks’ telegram to Olivia, informing her he was dead.

  He took one last look at the house as he climbed back into his buggy and picked up the reins. As usual, he saw his father’s manipulation and disregard for others everywhere he looked.

  He pulled to a stop in front of the clinic, surprised to see several townsfolk lined up outside. He was even more surprised to see the closed sign and find the door locked. Where was Olivia?