The Second Chance Bride Read online

  When she had first approached Connie Langdon, disheveled from the long journey as all the travelers were, she wanted to give a good account of herself. As quickly as she could, she gave Mrs. Langdon the details of her circumstances, of what had happened out on the Oregon Trail.

  Grace had felt the need to explain herself, to have the woman know exactly why it was she had come into Oregon alone. She was a respectable woman and she wanted Connie to know it.

  She wanted her to know that she had started off with every intention of having a good life when she arrived. That she was a married woman with plans and common sense, not a lone woman who would set off and let the future fall as it would.

  And she had been able to tell her story without breaking down, trying to ignore the surprise on Connie Langdon’s face when she realized that Grace had only been a widow for barely two weeks.

  She had hurried through her tale, determined not to linger over any part of it, and not to break down again. For the most part, Grace just didn’t have the energy left and she knew that she could not let her grief take her. If it did, how was she to find work? How was she to carry on?

  But the tiny little bed looked set to be the thing which broke her if she did not divert herself in some way.

  “I will take it, Mrs. Langdon,” she said in a voice she hardly recognized. “And I have money enough to pay you in advance.”

  “Well, why don’t you get settled in first and we’ll worry about that later,” Connie said kindly.

  “Thank you.”

  “You are a little bit late for the evening meal, honey, but why don’t you unpack your things and I will see if I can rustle something up for you.”

  “Mrs. Langdon, you’re very kind.”

  “I’ll leave you to it, let you get unpacked and all. But I’ll be right back with that food, honey, don’t you worry.” And with that, Connie bustled away.

  When Grace heard the tread of Connie’s footsteps heading back downstairs, the first of her tears fell. She knew she didn’t have long, she knew she must get it out of her system as soon as possible.

  How had life turned into this? How could it be right that she had ended up so far from home, all alone with just enough money to keep her in a strange boarding house for the next few weeks? Why hadn’t she thought of this? Why hadn’t she been sensible enough to see how very badly things could go?

  Grace knew that if she’d had just an inkling of what was to come, she would never have agreed to it. She would have convinced Peter that their little farm back east was enough. She would even have given up her job in the schoolroom to help him make it more of a success, to clear his mind of the promises of hundreds of acres of prime farming land over in the west.

  She would have made life as it was so much more appealing, something that he would never have wanted to leave.

  Grace rubbed at her eyes once again, drying the skin that had been raw for so many days. She set the bag she had been holding onto, the bag containing all her worldly possessions, down upon the bed and opened it.

  She hung the three good dresses in the little wardrobe in the hope that the creases would come out and set one of her two nightgowns down on the clean white bed linen. She put her books on the nightstand and wished that she had some others.

  She wanted something new to read, something to take her away from it all and to help her sleep at night. But these would have to do until she found herself a job and was earning a little money; certainly, she could manage enough to afford her a new book or two.

  With everything unpacked, there was no more to do, nothing else to divert her attention. Finally, she just sat down on the bed and stared about the room. The drapes were pretty and had been made from a fresh looking floral fabric and there was a little pillow in the same pattern on a small white wooden chair at the end of the bed.

  For those few moments, Grace truly felt alone. How she wished that Laura Price was still with her, her constant chatter and her kindness making Grace feel cared for.

  But Laura and her family had their own life to see to, land claims to make and a home to build. Grace knew that she couldn’t make demands on Laura’s time, not any more than she had done already. Her ma and pa would need her now more than ever, and Grace would have to get on with things as best she could.

  But Laura had promised to meet her at the end of the week in a little diner just a short walk from Connie Langdon’s boarding house. She had that much to look forward to at least, and she would hold onto the idea that she might very well have found a friend in her new landlady also.

  And no sooner had she thought it than Connie herself returned with a plate heaped high with cold meat, bread-and-butter, and a small piece of pie.

  Grace awoke the next morning after a surprisingly good night’s sleep. She hadn’t expected to sleep a wink in new surroundings, and certainly not in the little bed. But it was the first real bed she had slept in since she had left her home so many months before, and its comfortable mattress had felt like a caress, gently cradling her as she slept.

  As was the case every morning, the moment she opened her eyes, Grace was reminded of everything that she had lost. But the sleep had at least soothed her aching bones and given her back a little of the energy that had been slowly drained away from her in the grief of the preceding days.

  Grace rose immediately and crossed the room to peer out through the pretty drapes and down into the street below. Although it was still early, there was plenty of activity already going on as the businesses and stores were coming to life for the day.

  Although Connie had apologized for only having one room left, one that looked down onto the street rather than out across the plains at the back, Grace thought she was rather glad of it.

  She had seen enough of wide open spaces to last a lifetime and she wanted to look at something different, something that would not constantly remind her of the last months.

  With a sigh, she closed the drapes again and thoroughly washed with the cold water that was left in the jug from the evening before. Although a jug of hot water was included in the price of her room, Grace did not want to wait. She wanted to be up and ready, to keep moving, to go outside and find some way of continuing with her life.

  Soon, she made her way downstairs, dressed in a very smart dark blue dress that she had worn regularly in the little schoolroom back east. She was doing her best to nurture a feeling of optimism.

  “You’re early, dear.” Connie met her at the bottom of the stairs, clearly having heard her making her way down. “I’ve only just started the hot water.”

  “Please, don’t worry about mine, I’ve already washed.”

  “In cold?”

  “Yes, but don’t look so troubled. I guess I got used to it out on the trail.” Grace smiled and shrugged. “Although, it was nice to sleep in a real bed again.”

  “You managed to get some sleep then?” Connie asked and ushered her into the kitchen.

  “Yes, I slept the whole night through.”

  “Well, that’s something, at least,” Connie went on as she settled Grace down at the kitchen table. “Now I’ll just finish getting these jugs ready and then I will fix you something to eat, all right?”

  “Let me help,” Grace said, rising to her feet with determination. “I could start some coffee at least.”

  “Well, that sure would be a help, honey,” Connie said as she tipped hot water into four of the five jugs set out on the counter next to the stove. “I guess I don’t need to fill yours.” She chuckled.

  “Maybe tomorrow.” Grace laughed too, glad of the company.

  “Right, I’ll just take these jugs to the rooms and I’ll be right back.” Connie lifted two of the jugs, surprisingly strong for a woman of her years, and set off for the stairs.

  Grace set a smaller pan of water on the stove to boil and went in search of cups. She could hear Connie moving about on the floor above, delivering hot water to her paying guests. She smiled to herself in relief that it was a small board
ing house with only room for five boarders; otherwise, Connie might be carrying jugs backward and forward all morning.

  By the time Grace had the coffee ready, Connie had already delivered the water and set some cut bacon in a frying pan on the stove. It smelled wonderful to Grace, and she realized just how hungry she was.

  She had only picked at her food the night before, apologizing heartily for the waste, but now her appetite had come back to her almost as if it knew that she had a long day ahead.

  The two women continued to sit in the kitchen and had finished their breakfast before any of the other guests had come down. It was still early, but Grace could hear the movement above which suggested that they would not be alone for very much longer.

  “I normally feed everyone in the little dining room, Grace, but since it’s just the two of us I reckon it’s a little warmer here in the kitchen.”

  “It sure is cozy in here,” Grace said and knew that she would feel the shock of the cold when she finally made her way outside. “And I wasn’t at all cold in the night.”

  “I suppose you’re hardened now, sleeping under waxed cotton these last months.”

  “It’s only been the last weeks that it began to get cold. But you’re right, you quickly get used to it.”

  “And you’ll get used to it here too, I reckon,” Connie said kindly. “Do you know what it is you’re going to do?”

  “I’m going to go out today to look for work,” Grace said firmly. “That’s why I’m up and about so early.”

  “You’re not giving yourself a day or two to recover? I mean, after everything you’ve been through. Not just the journey, but everything.” Connie looked as if she spoke reluctantly but out of necessity somehow. “You couldn’t just give yourself a little time?”

  “I guess I just can’t sit still,” Grace said honestly. “You know, every time I stop, every second I stand with nothing to do, I feel like I can’t carry on.”

  “That makes sense,” Connie said and nodded. “I understand that. It’s not easy to lose somebody, I know that much myself. But my husband had had a good deal more time on this earth than your husband did. I guess I know what you’re going through and don’t know what you’re going through all at the same time.”

  “Thank you, Mrs. Langdon.”

  “Now, you just call me Connie, do you hear? We’re going to be friends, you and me.” She reached across the table and patted the back of Grace’s hand.

  “Thank you, Connie.” Grace blinked hard, determined not to cry.

  “So, what sort of work are you going out to look for?” Connie changed the subject as if she realized instantly that the kindness and the emotion was all too much for Grace.

  “Well, I always worked as a teacher back east. I was going to find the nearest schoolroom and see if they need any help.” Grace spoke as brightly as she could manage.

  “There are two little schoolrooms in the area. One just down the road a piece, and the other one about three miles away. Don’t you worry, I’ll tell you how to get to them both. But try the closest one first, you don’t want to walk six miles every day if you can help it.” Connie smiled.

  “Now that’s a fact.” Grace managed a laugh. “I reckon I’ve walked enough to last me a lifetime.”

  “I’ll bet you have.” Connie leaned back in her chair. “But I reckon you’ll need to set off soon if you want to speak to somebody at the school before the little ones start arriving.”

  “Yes, I suppose I had better get going.” Grace rose to her feet.

  “I’ll direct you to the first one, and then if you need, come back and I’ll give you directions to the second. Then you can tell me all about it,” Connie said and took Grace’s arm as she led her back through the house and out into the street to give her directions.

  “I can’t thank you enough, Connie,” Grace said truthfully.

  “Not at all, honey. Now off you go. And good luck.”

  Chapter 3

  “Nothing at all? But I would have thought they would have been crying out for teachers here,” Laura said and was as dutifully outraged as any good friend would be.

  “I know, but it appears that there is no shortage of young women who are well able and have already filled those spaces,” Grace said calmly.

  She was glad that there had been some passage of time between her disappointment at each of the schools and her seeing her dear friend for the first time that week.

  Laura had mopped up enough of Grace’s tears in the last weeks and she didn’t want her to have to do that anymore.

  The truth was that Connie Langdon had moved in and taken over right where Laura had left off. The older woman had amply consoled a very distraught Grace when she had returned to the boarding house after her second disappointment of that first day of her search for work.

  “But are there no other schools nearby?”

  “None that wouldn’t need me to move away to work at, and even then, there is no guarantee that I’ll get a place. And I don’t think I’m ready to be completely on my own in the world. It is such a comfort to me to know you’re here too, Laura.”

  “And a comfort to me to have already had a friend before I even arrived here.” Laura smiled, her pretty blue eyes twinkling. “And I don’t want you moving away. Not before you must, anyway.”

  “No, I don’t think I’ll be going anywhere until it’s time for me to head back east. I’m here until the spring at least, so I need to do something.”

  “But what? Did you find anything else out there?”

  “Only this,” Grace said and took a newspaper clipping from the pocket of her dress. “Connie Langdon suggested that I look in the local newspaper for work. She said if I kept wandering from place to place, all I would be offered would be a great big pile of laundry to take in for somebody. She said that people who want real work doing advertise it in the local newspaper, and she was right.”

  “Let me see,” Laura said excitedly holding out her hand. “What have you found?”

  Grace smiled and handed over the clipping and watched in silence as her friend read through the details.

  Both Grace and Connie had sat at the kitchen table in the boarding house scouring the newspaper between them as they looked for a suitable position for her. It had been Connie who had pointed out the advertisement for a live-in housekeeper, reminding her that not only would she be paid, but that she would have a free roof over her head at the same time.

  After laughing and saying that she would one day put herself out of business, Connie once again told her what a good idea, a prudent idea, it would be to at least go and speak to the man.

  “So, Josh Lacey, whoever he is, is looking for a housekeeper to live in,” Laura began uncertainly. “But are you sure that you’re willing to look after his daughter too? It looks to me like that’s the larger part of the job if this advertisement is anything to go by.”

  “Well, she’s not tiny,” Grace said and then paused as a smiling young woman came over to the table in the diner to take their order.

  “What can I get for you ladies?” the woman asked brightly.

  “Can we have coffee and pie please?” Grace said and returned the smile.

  “You sure can. It’s apple and blackberry today.”

  “That sounds lovely,” Grace said as the young woman walked away to deal with their order.

  “How do you know? It doesn’t say so in the advertisement.”

  “I beg your pardon?” Grace said and looked at her friend with confusion.

  “How do you know that Josh Lacey’s daughter isn’t tiny?”

  “Oh yes, sorry.” Grace smiled. “Because Connie knows of him. He owns a lumber yard just out of town, down by the river. Anyway, he has a house right there too, and he lives there with his daughter. Connie doesn’t remember the girl’s name but reckons she’s already eleven or twelve-years-old.”

  “Then why does he need help in looking after her?”

  “Connie says that her ma died a co
uple of years back and the girl’s getting a little wayward. She is something of a rough and tumble kind of a girl, apparently, and Connie supposes that Josh Lacey is looking for someone to help guide her.”

  “I guess it’s hard to grow up without a ma, especially for a girl. There’s so much that needs explaining that a pa just can’t get right. There’ll be stuff that my pa doesn’t even know, so you’ve got to feel for the girl.” Laura smiled and rolled her eyes.

  “I guess most daddies are the same.” Grace laughed too.

  “So, what do you think you’ll do? Will you answer the advertisement?”

  “I reckon I will,” Grace said and nodded firmly. “After all, Connie is right. At least I won’t be paying out for my bed and board.”

  “She must be a nice lady to talk herself out of business like that.” Laura laughed.

  “You know, she’s real kind. Even if I do take this position, I’d like to keep Connie as a friend. I was lucky to find her, almost as lucky as I was to meet you that day all the way back at the camp in Independence.”

  “I reckon we were both lucky, honey,” Laura said with a smile which brightened considerably as the young woman reappeared carrying a tray. “So, when will you go to meet this Josh Lacey?” She went on as pie and coffee were set down on the table in front of them.

  “I suppose there’s no time like the present. I might take a walk down to the lumber yard this afternoon.”

  “We haven’t even been here a week yet. Are you sure you’re ready?”

  “If I don’t do something, I’ll just sit and think about Peter from morning till night. I reckon he’d want me to keep going, to just get on with it.”

  “And I reckon he’d be real proud of you, Grace. I know I am.”

  As Grace made her way down a steep slope which tended towards the river, she began to feel a little nervous. She could see the lumber yard, with an enormous wooden building just as Connie had described it and she knew that she was bound to happen upon Josh Lacey very soon.

  She paused for a moment to have a good look around from the relative secrecy of the tree-lined slope. She could see the house on a little plot out the back of the lumber yard and walked a little way back up the slope where she would get a better view of it.