On the Wings of a Winter Heart (Miracle Express, #5) Read online

  “Maybe when she’s a bit older you can explain it to her.” Franklin moved a little closer to her on the couch but didn’t put his arm around her, feeling that might go too far. “It’s a good thing Clara was there. I’d hate to think what might have happened to you two if she hadn’t been.”

  “Clara’s always been so kind to me,” Joy said, looking up at him. “What I don’t understand is why she never mentioned you before. The only way we could have been better friends is if we’d grown up together and I never knew she had a brother.”

  “Ah. Yes, about that,” Franklin began, then closed his mouth. There was no way to explain the rift between him and Clara without telling her everything, and he wrestled with whether or not to do so. On the one hand, he felt the need to unburden himself to someone, but on the other he didn’t want Joy to look at him the way his sister had for the last ten years. Joy had told him about her husband, though, and he felt like she would somehow understand. “Clara and I haven’t actually spoken in years. The only reason I came to stay with her was because the railroad wanted me in Mayfly.”

  “Why? What happened?” Joy had stopped crying and was looking at him curiously, and Franklin closed his eyes and took a deep breath.

  “Because of what happened with her baby.”

  “Her baby?” Her eyes wide with surprise, Joy’s voice dropped to a whisper. “Clara never told me she had a baby.”

  “That’s because she never did.” Franklin sighed. “Clara’s a year older than me, and we got along pretty well most of our lives, until she got pregnant when she was seventeen. I didn’t like him and neither did our parents, but she wanted to marry him. Our parents knew how close she and I were, so they asked me to try and convince her to give the baby up for adoption.

  “You know Clara, she didn’t want to hear a word about it. Not wanting to let my parents down, I went to her boyfriend, Freddie Wallace and convinced him that he’d be giving up his entire future if he married her and they kept the baby. The Wallaces were some of the wealthiest people in Chicago and they weren’t particularly happy about the idea either. Between the three of us we talked him into leaving town without Clara and never contacting them again.” Franklin turned away from Joy, ashamed to look at her.

  “Why?”

  “For my part, I suppose I was jealous,” Franklin said. “I was only sixteen at the time, and when he agreed to leave I felt like she’d forgive me eventually. Clara still refused to give the baby up for adoption, so she moved out on her own. Freddie came back when she was about six months along and they got married, which was how she found out about my part in everything. About a month after that, Freddie got pneumonia and passed away, but not before he gave it to Clara.”

  “So then her baby passed away too?” Joy sounded as if she was horrified by what had happened and Franklin didn’t blame her. Now that he’d started, however, he needed to finish so that Joy could order him out of her house the way Clara had when he was a teenager.

  “Clara got so sick she almost died herself, and too weak to carry it anymore. It was born too early and didn’t survive. Our parents brought her to our house to recover, but once she did she left. Freddie had made sure he left a will leaving everything to Clara and the baby, so she took all of it and went as far away from Chicago as possible. Which, I guess, was Mayfly.” The Christmas tree was suddenly interesting to Franklin and he focused his attention on it. “If it wasn’t for me, my sister and her family would be in Chicago.”

  “That’s terrible,” Joy said. “No wonder she never wanted to talk about her family. You can’t blame yourself for that, though. You only wanted what was best for her, didn’t you?” Franklin nodded and she put a hand on his arm. “Did you apologize to her?”

  “Of course, several times. That doesn’t excuse the fact that my selfishness cost her everything. My beloved big sister allows me to stay with her, and the first thing I try to do is take her best friend’s land because someone else wants me to. It’s the same thing I did when I was sixteen.” A sick feeling came over Franklin as he realized that even if he stayed in Mayfly, there was no way he could make it so that Joy thought he was a good person after everything he told her. Then, to his surprise, Joy reached over and turned his face toward hers. She was smiling, just a little, but the warmth in her blue eyes was what he wanted to see.

  “If she hadn’t forgiven you a little, she wouldn’t have let you stay at her house. I’m sure that with time things will go back to the way they were. You’re both still young.” She sighed and dropped her hands. “If only I could be sure that Serenity would forgive me for selling the place where she was born.”

  “Mrs. Everly—-”

  “Joy.”

  “Joy, then.” Warmth washed over Franklin when he heard her name coming from his own lips, and it took him a moment to remember what he had been going to say. “I think Serenity will be happy if you’re happy. I can’t tell you what decision to make but I can tell you that this railroad extension will help the entire town, not just you and her. I don’t know if that makes any difference to you, but I promise it’s the truth.”

  “I know it will,” Joy said. “I really do. I just can’t get over the fact that it feels like I would be betraying George’s memory.” She looked like she was about to start crying again and Franklin didn’t know if he could bear it again so soon after admitting what he’d done to his sister. Rather than try to think of something clever to say, he leaned forward and kissed her.

  Time stood still, or at least it seemed to. For a moment he thought she might pull away and slap him, but instead she put her arms around him and pulled him closer. Her lips tasted like chocolate and cinnamon, and with his eyes closed he could smell the pine tree in the corner more strongly. He’d hoped that she would be able to forgive him; he hadn’t imagined that she would respond this way. When they parted, he took both of her hands in his.

  “I should go. It’s almost the end of the workday and I need to go pay my men.”

  “You’re right, it’s around the time Serenity would usually be getting home. I hope she comes home instead of sending one of the Ames’s messengers over here to tell me she wants to spend the night at the ranch.” Joy sighed. “It must be nice to have so much money.”

  “Not always,” Franklin said archly as he walked to the door with Joy and took his coat off the rack. “If it’s all right with you, I’ll come back tomorrow night.” He held his breath, waiting to hear if he was going to be invited back.

  “That sounds fine,” Joy said. “So long as you bring one of your apple pies for dessert.”

  “I’m happy to.” Not sure how to end their conversation after such a kiss, Franklin opened the door and tipped his hat to her. “Have a good evening.”

  “You too, Mr. York.”

  “If I’m meant to call you Joy, perhaps you should call me Franklin,” he said, standing on her front step. He was pleased to see that Joy was blushing, and winked at her. “I shall see you tomorrow night.” Joy nodded, and he walked down toward the drive with a grin.

  Maybe he would be able to stay in Mayfly. If Joy would agree to sell, he would make his bosses happy and not break Joy’s heart in the process.

  Chapter Eleven

  On Monday morning, Serenity went to school as always. The Mayfly Consolidated School was still badly damaged, but the owners of the nearly empty hotel had agreed to allow the class to meet in their restaurant, so long as their parents weren’t offended by their attachment to the saloon. Joy had no such objections so her daughter disappeared at the usual time, leaving her to greet Henry and start on the daily chores.

  She was in the middle of wrapping rounds of cheese when there was a knock at the door. Thinking it was a little early for visitors but hoping it might be Franklin, she didn’t pick up her shotgun as she usually would have. When she opened the door, though, she regretted it. It wasn’t Franklin but the man standing on her porch was wearing a suit like his, though not of the same quality.

  “Good
morning, Mrs. Everly.” The man’s unsmiling face sent chills through Joy. She knew why he was there, she had just hoped she wouldn’t see him until after Serenity’s birthday.

  “Good morning,” she replied, the familiar feeling of defeat coming over her.

  “I trust you know why I’m here,” the man said. Joy closed her eyes and nodded. “Then we can skip the formalities. You’re three months behind on your mortgage payments and we can no longer overlook it.”

  “Yes, I know.” Joy’s entire body felt numb, and it was as if her words were coming out of someone else’s mouth. “I don’t have much money but I’ll give you what I have. What do I owe?”

  “Fifty dollars total for the three months you’re behind. You’ll be current then.” His words passed over Joy, whose eyes widened.

  “Fifty dollars? I don’t have that much.” Her heart thundered in her chest, and visions of herself and her daughter being thrown of their house right before Christmas came to her. “All I have is twenty dollars.”

  “I see,” the man from the bank said. He took a pen and a receipt book out of his pocket. “We can take that as a partial payment so long as you can get the rest of it to us by the end of the year.”

  “I’ll go get the money,” Joy said, turning away from him quickly. She hurried into the kitchen and opened the cabinet, her mind racing. The end of the year? That’s only two weeks away. I can’t get thirty dollars in two weeks. She tried to push that thought out of her head as she reached into the cabinet to give away the last of her savings.

  Her hands shook as she took the bills out of the tin she kept it in, and she was glad the man from the bank couldn’t see her crying. She would be selling her cheese and milk today, and she could always sell the eggs she had been able to get from the chickens. It would take food out of their mouths but she didn’t see any other options. Joy straightened the bills as best she could, then wiped her face with the dish cloth and went back to the door.

  “I’ve written you a receipt for the money you’re giving me today, with a notation of what you still owe.” The dour-faced man handed her a slip of paper, and Joy tucked it into her apron before she held the money out to him.

  “This is all I have,” she said, her voice shaking slightly. The money for Serenity’s new coat passed from her hand to the man from the bank and Joy fought back another wave of tears. She would not let this man see her cry.

  “This is acceptable for now, but if you don’t get the rest of it to us before the 31st we’ll be forced to start foreclosure proceedings.” He put the money into the inside pocket of his jacket, then buttoned his coat to the top.

  “I understand.” Every word Joy spoke sent another shudder of numbness through her body, making her want to hang her head. Instead she stayed straight-backed and waited for him to leave, which he did without another word to her.

  As soon as he was gone, Joy sat at her table and started to cry in earnest. A thousand things she needed ran through her head, crashing into one another as sobs shook her body. Serenity’s coat. Something for her birthday. Cake and candy for her party. A real repair for the barn roof. Too many more things to count. All of it had gone with her savings and she looked at the Christmas tree. She needed something more than Christmas cheer, and she longed to see Franklin. If he asked her to sell at that moment, she would have agreed just to keep her daughter warm. Eleanor had let her borrow a coat but Serenity needed a real coat of her own.

  She wanted advice from someone who knew her like a sister, and she got up slowly from the table to make herself a little more presentable before she put on her coat and left the house that would only be hers for another two weeks. Clara would no doubt be home, and Joy knew she would be able to talk to her about what was happening.

  With her newfound knowledge about Clara’s past, the fact that she didn’t seem to work made more sense, as did her beautiful house. It had been truth that she had inherited it, but Joy was ashamed of herself for never asking from whom. When Joy knocked on Clara’s door, her stomach was in knots. Clara answered immediately and beamed at her best friend.

  “Joy! It’s so good to see you! What are you doing here?” Her smile disappeared. “You look like you’ve been crying. Is something wrong with Serenity?”

  “No, nothing like that.” It hadn’t occurred to Joy that she would be wearing the signs of her sadness on her sleeve but it made sense. “Clara, I don’t know what to do. I need some advice.”

  “Of course! Come on in here and have a seat. Would you like something to drink?” Joy shook her head in reply. Instead, they walked over to the sofa and sat side by side. “Now, what’s wrong?”

  “There’s so much that’s wrong,” Joy said, putting her face in her hands. “The bank sent a man to collect my house payments, and I’m so behind. He wanted fifty dollars, but all I had was twenty so I gave it to him. Now I can’t buy Serenity a coat or a birthday present, and I have to find the other thirty before the end of the year.” She felt like she was going to cry again, and was glad that she was at Clara’s house where she felt comfortable enough to do so. “I’m thinking about taking the railroad’s offer for my land.”

  “What was their offer? Was it reasonable?” Clara put a hand on her friend’s arm and Joy looked up at her.

  “Franklin didn’t tell you?”

  “My brother doesn’t tell me a lot of the things he’s done,” Clara said, a hint of ice in her voice. “The only people who know what’s in that envelope are you and him. Providing you opened it.”

  “I did. It’s five thousand dollars.” Joy had expected the look of surprise on her friend’s face, but not the tightening of Clara’s fingers on her arm. “That would pay for everything. The late payments on the house, proper clothes for Serenity, and maybe even a new house outright. We wouldn’t have to worry about anything. The only problem is—-”

  “George,” Clara finished for her, and Joy nodded. “Honestly, that’s far more money than I expected, which means they really want your land. You might be able to hold out for more, but I wouldn’t count on it. I suppose you have to make a decision before the end of the year or you’ll lose your house.”

  “Yes.” Joy dropped her gaze onto her clasped hands and Clara reached over and took one. “It’s not just Franklin either. It seems like everyone is talking about the railroad. They want it because it will help Mayfly, and I’m the one standing the way of progress.”

  “It doesn’t matter what other people think, you just have to concern yourself about what’s best for you and Serenity.” Clara leaned over and hugged her. “I know what it’s like to lose someone close to you. No matter what, I’ll be here for you.” The two women tightly embraced until Joy pulled out of it.

  “I know you understand,” Joy said, wiping some wetness off her cheeks. “I heard about what happened with your husband and baby. I’m sure you still think about them. How do you live every day knowing that happened?”

  “Franklin has a big mouth,” Clara snapped. She looked like she was ready to fight, but her face softened when she looked at Joy. A sigh that seemed to come from the very depths of her being escaped her lips. “It’s still difficult for me. I wasn’t even truly an adult, I didn’t know anything but that I wanted to marry Freddie. It felt like everyone was against me, even my little brother, so when I lost my husband and child I took the money he left me and ran as far away from everything as I could. I do still think about them all the time, though. That’s why I was so frightened when Serenity was born early. I didn’t want you to lose your family the way I did.”

  “If it wasn’t for you, she might have died. I was too scared to deliver her myself.” Joy sat forward and hugged her best friend tightly. “Thank you for my daughter.”

  “I didn’t do anything special, only what one woman would do for another. And speaking of that, I think you should take the offer.” Clara sat up straight and looked Joy in the eye. “I’m not saying that because I’m on my brother’s side either. I truly believe that’s what’s b
est for you and Serenity. I’m not letting anything happen to that little girl.”

  “You really think I should take it?” Joy bit her lip. “Five thousand dollars is a lot of money, way more than my land is worth. I’ll never get a better offer than this, will I?” Her heart sank a little as Clara shook her head. Her friend’s honesty made her sad, but she was grateful for it. “I’ll think about it a little more and talk to Franklin. Right now, I just don’t know what I want.”

  “I know,” Clara said. “But you need to be practical about this. You have Serenity to think about, so maybe it’s not about what you want, it’s about what you and she need.”

  Joy was silent, her mind in a whirl. She couldn’t think about anything besides George, and what he might have wanted her to do. George had been a practical man, but he also loved his land. Without him, though, his dream was dying little by little. He would have wanted her to hold onto the land, she was sure of it, but if it threatened his daughter he wouldn’t have hesitated. I’m being so selfish, aren’t I George? It occurred to her that she wasn’t holding on to the land so much as she was holding on to her memories of George. She couldn’t hold on to a ghost. She would have to make a life for herself and the child that was half of him, and see it through.

  “Thank you, Clara.” Joy wiped her eyes with the sleeve of her coat. She hadn’t even realized she was crying. “I really should go home.”

  “Are you sure? You can stay here until Serenity gets out of school, then walk home together.”

  “No, I just realized that I left out my cheese packing things so I need to get back before they get completely dried out.” She smiled at Clara. “We should have another nice dinner together. I promise this time I won’t be so rude to Franklin.”

  “I notice you’re not calling him ‘Mr. York’ anymore,” Clara said with a smirk. “Does this mean you’re getting sweet on my baby brother?”

  “It’s hard not to.” Joy blushed brightly as she remembered the kiss they’d shared on her couch. “He’s very kind. I know you’re mad at him but he’s quite sorry about what he did. I thought he was going to cry when he was telling me about it.”