Lorna Loves a Lawyer: A Historical Western Romance (Brides with Grit Book 9) Read online

  “Maynard told me all about the ranch in his letters. He even built a race track in the pasture because he wants to breed and train horses for racing. My money was to be an investment to expand the horse program.”

  “Mrs. Jantz, I know the ranch your husband showed you.”

  “Excellent! Could someone take me out there?”

  “I’m sorry, but you described the Bar E Ranch, currently owned and operated by the Elison family,” Marshal Wilerson waved his hand to the two men in the room.

  “What do you mean?” Lorna’s confused look didn’t seem to carry over to the brothers.

  “Your husband showed you a ranch, owned by these brothers’ family, passing it off as his own, Mrs. Jantz.”

  “What are you saying?”

  “I’m afraid you may have been taken by a fraud. I’ve heard of similar cases like yours. The mail-order ad says the man needs a woman of means to invest in a business. The woman replies, they marry and then…the husband disappears with her money.” The marshal raised his hands and shrugged his shoulders.

  Lorna slumped back in her chair when the marshal’s statement sunk in. Her husband was a swindler who had planned all along to lure her out west for her money. And she fell for it!

  “I can send telegrams to the area marshals about what happened, but I doubt Mr. Jantz—if that is even his real name—is still in the area. It’s been a while since this happened, so he’s probably moved on,” Marshal Wilerson warned her.

  “Mrs. Jantz… there’s also the possibility he was killed in an accident and buried where it happened. I strongly suggest you contact your family in Boston and notify them of your situation,” Marshal Wilerson recommended.

  “No,” Lorna answered as she stood, and straightened her back. “As a Boston Brahmin, we believe in our personal responsibility for all matters. So, I got into this mess myself, and I will wait for Maynard’s return or news of his whereabouts.

  “I thank you in advance for your help in looking for my husband, Marshal. Please let me know when or if you discover the whereabouts of my money and Mr. Jantz.”

  Lorna moved to the door, trying her hardest not to break down into a sobbing mess in front of these men, one of whom she had accused of being her husband and stealing money from her.

  “I must get back to work now.” Then she walked out the door, not looking at the men who she was sure were staring at her retreating back.

  Chapter 1

  August 1873

  In one swift moment, the woman flung open the door, leaned over and retched. Lyle jumped back, but his shoes still received a splattering of the contents of her stomach.

  “Oh my word! I’m so sorry, sir!” She profusely apologized, while still doubled over, supporting herself with a hand against the back café wall. Lyle guessed that she didn’t dare stand up yet, indicating her sick episode wasn’t over.

  “May I assist you? Maybe get a cold wash cloth to wipe your face?”

  The woman took a deep breath, then another, which seemed to relax her body, and her reflexes.

  “Thank you, but these episodes hit fast and strong, then disappear again.” She took another deep breath, then leaned against the wall, hand on her chest, her eyes closed as she concentrated on her breathing.

  “Miss…uh Mrs. Jantz?” Lyle was sure it was her, but she’d changed since he saw her last month. Her pale cheeks were rounder, like she’d gained weight. His eyes traveled down her body, zeroing on the very slight bulge under the apron tied high on her belly. Oh…oh!

  “Mr….Elison, is it? Oh, I’m so sorry. Morning sickness still hits me every so often, no matter what time of day. Especially when Dan cooks a batch of bacon.”

  “Um, I see that.” Lyle couldn’t think of what else to say. He hadn’t seen her since she’d accused him of being her husband.

  Lyle and his family had traveled to Kansas in early July for his sister Cora’s wedding, to the new Bar E Ranch foreman, Dagmar Hamner, but Lyle had only stayed long enough for the wedding. He met Lorna while eating at the café with his brother, when she’d accused him of being her missing husband.

  Now here she stood again, vomiting in his path up his staircase. Lyle had rented the building next to the café for his business and personal use within the past half hour. He was about to climb the staircase to look around the upstairs apartment and open windows to air it out when Lorna had bolted, literally, into his path.

  “What are you doing here in the alley, Mr. Elison?”

  “I’d say waiting here to wish you good morning, but looks like I should have waited a bit before stepping forward,” he joked, hopefully to ease her embarrassment.

  “No,” she stammered while her face blushed beet red, “why are you in Clear Creek?”

  “Inspecting my building. I rented it this morning.”

  “You’re moving here?”

  “Yes, I decided to open my own law practice in Kansas. I’ll be living upstairs and conducting business downstairs.”

  “You’re joking,” Lorna stammered, like she couldn’t believe the man she thought a month ago was her husband was now going to be her neighbor. Her face flushed, probably thinking about the last time he saw her, and the circumstances.

  “No, this is my future.” Lyle felt a sense of accomplishment, looking back at the building.

  “Why would you leave Boston?” Lorna blurted out, “life is so refined, and much easier in the city.”

  “Lots of reasons. Although my reputation wasn’t the best in Kansas during the brief months I lived here, it was a lot worse in Boston. I thought it would be easier to start over in a new place.

  “I didn’t want to work in the family business—my brother, Carl, who you met last month, works better with my father than I ever could—so that was another reason to head west. My sister, Cora Hamner is at the Bar E Ranch, and we were close growing up. She plans to have a big family, so I decided to move here to be the doting uncle to her children and serve the community.”

  Lyle eyed Lorna’s simple light blue cotton dress and apron. Her clothing styles had changed, but then her new waistline would have prevented her from wearing her past fashions. He met her eyes but she turned away, looking ill at ease. It dawned on Lyle she might be embarrassed at her clothing and situation.

  Lyle decided to keep the conversation light. “I’m guessing you’re still employed at the café and living upstairs?” He waited for her nod to confirm it. “Then I’ll enjoy being your next door neighbor.” Lyle touched the brim of his hat and proceeded up the outside staircase to his new home.

  Lyle turned back to ask Lorna. “Will Mr. Jantz be home this evening so I may meet him?” Lyle was curious of Lorna’s marital status, but didn’t think he should blurt out the question rudely.

  “Mr. Jantz failed to return to Clear Creek, so I’m on my own.” Her chin raised slightly, showing a bit of her Brahmin background.

  Lyle wasn’t surprised by her answer. He didn’t figure the lout would show his face in the county again. But he thought Mrs. Jantz would go back to Boston rather than stay here if that was the case. So was she still married, or divorced?

  “Then I’ll look forward to seeing you, as I’ll be eating most of my meals at the café, and as your new neighbor.”

  Lyle liked the idea of the pretty Lorna being next door. He wouldn’t deny he felt sparks between them last month, but it caught him by surprise when she was in the family way.

  “So what’s the story on Lorna Jantz?” Lyle sat in the parlor of his sister’s home, enjoying a cup of tea after their evening meal. He was staying with her until his furniture arrived. He could have stayed at the hotel in town, but wanted to spend time with Cora and Dagmar. He and his sister had lost their closeness when they became adults, and he very much wanted to connect again. Plus, he had gotten off to a rough start with Dagmar last month, and needed to make amends.

  “Not much to tell, that you don’t already know,” Cora answered. “Adam never found a lead on her husband. She’s still wo
rking at the café and keeps to herself, although I’ve tried to be friendly by inviting her out to visit. But she always declines.”

  “Does she go to church?”

  “No, not here nor does she travel to Ellsworth to the Episcopal Church where she married. I’m sure the Clancys would let her off now and then to attend a service, but Edna Clancy says Lorna always volunteers to work Sundays, instead.”

  “Has she gone to the summer community picnics? Everyone in town enjoys them.”

  “If she isn’t working, she’s upstairs in her room. Edna’s tried to coax her out for some socializing, but she politely declines all invitations.”

  “Room? As in one room? Isn’t there an apartment over the café?”

  “No, think of the layout of the café. It has a high ceiling except over the kitchen. The room she’s living in was meant for storage above the kitchen. They turned it into a room just for her.”

  “That’s got to be hot during the summer as there’s only one window, to the south.”

  “I’ve heard she sits out on the steps most nights to escape the heat.”

  “Why hasn’t she moved into the Donavan’s boarding house, or rented a room in a private home?”

  “Pride, mixed in with a little determination. I’m sure she’s trying to save money now, which she’ll need after her baby is born.”

  “You started a charity fund with grandfather’s money for families in need. Did you offer your help?” Lyle hated to see the woman’s sad condition, and knew their grandfather’s money could easily reverse her situation.

  “A few clothing items was all she’d take since she couldn’t continue wearing her old dresses with her expanding waistline. I plan to deliver a bundle of baby clothes and bedding close to her time.”

  “I met her at the back door of the café this afternoon while she was ill. Has she seen the doctor?”

  Cora laughed. “Being with child isn’t the same as being ‘ill’, although I assure you, nausea is no fun. I’m sure Edna Clancy is keeping an eye on her.

  “You seem concerned for her, Lyle. Maybe more than just a new neighbor?”

  “She’s still married.”

  “So it would seem. I wish Adam could have found out something about her husband, but he vanished. It disturbs me the man was showing off our ranch, as a way to convince women to invest in his dreams, while destroying theirs.”

  “I think investigating her situation might be my first case as Clear Creek’s new lawyer.”

  “Just as well. I hate to tell you, Lyle, but your past reputation has clouded people’s judgment of your ability to work on the right side of the law…since you tended to ignore it when you were here before.”

  “I know I have my work cut out for me, but I’m willing to show them I’ve changed. For some unexplained reason, Lorna’s plight struck a chord with me last month, and I decided my future was to help others when they become innocent victims.”

  “I’ve never asked, nor have you said…but what did our parents say of your decision to move to Kansas?”

  “Father was shocked to learn I’d been secretly studying to be a lawyer instead of gambling and carousing with my friends as I’d done in the past. Mother smiled, probably knowing my time spent on the frontier would change me, like it did her.

  “Mother’s teenage years living in Wyoming Territory gave her an insight I never understood until I looked back on those months Carl and I spent on the Bar E.”

  “And I’m so glad they sent you out here, or else I never would have run away and met Dagmar,” Cora laughed. The result of Cora’s fiancé canceling their wedding, sent his sister fleeing Boston. Cora loved the ranch on the prairie and the simple, Swedish immigrant who managed it.

  Lyle knew it was a sappy thought, but he wished he’d find the love and happiness his sister had found with her husband and his close-knit family.

  Lyle was never close with his brother, Carl, but rather with Cora and the neighbors’ children, Jeffrey and Minnie Fleishman. Their youthful days were spent riding horses and roaming the countryside near their neighboring estates. Funny how growing into adulthood made him more reckless than mature. But he was determined to change his ways, and yes, he’d have to work to earn people’s trust.

  And the first person he would work on accepting his trustworthiness was Mrs. Lorna Jantz.

  ***

  Being pregnant in August was one of the most uncomfortable things Lorna had ever experienced. She couldn’t imagine being further along in this heat.

  Lorna sighed while fanning herself with an ivory fan she’d had since she was a teenager. Lorna sat on the stair landing outside her door, leaning against the side of the building, her legs stretched out, skirt up to her knees, collar and sleeve buttons undone to let a little air touch her skin. Petticoats, shoes and stockings came off as soon as she was home from work. If she didn’t think someone might walk down the alley she’d be sitting here only in her chemise and drawers.

  The Kansas heat would bother her anyway, no matter her current condition. It was so much hotter here than the eastern seaboard. What she wouldn’t give for a sea breeze blowing off the Boston harbor right now. Either the Kansas wind blew at full force, or not at all, which was almost worse, with the humidity after last night’s rain.

  Lorna shut her eyes, imagining the groaning of the ropes holding the ships to the docks, the seagulls screaming as they floated high in the air, sailors’ colorful language droning in the distance. The salty air splashing up into her face when she stood on the end of the pier, watching her father’s ship leave the harbor for his next voyage.

  Ugh. Maybe she shouldn’t think of being at sea. Just thinking of being on a rolling ship deck made her queasy.

  And how many months since she’d eaten seafood? Her taste buds watered at the thought of a crab cake. Bread made here didn’t even taste the same as Boston.

  Lorna hadn’t thought about how foreign nearly everything would be when she chose to answer the mail-order bride advertisement. No, she wasn’t thinking at all. Why had she been so stupid and gullible in the first place?

  That had been her constant question for herself for months. But now the question of how she was going to take care of her child took on a dilemma of its own.

  Many women in her situation would marry any available, and hopefully, decent man. Heaven knew there were plenty of men versus women in these parts. She’d already been approached by a few men she thought she could make a decent home with, except…she was still married.

  “Good evening, Mrs. Jantz,” Mr. Elison called from the top of his landing six feet away. How did he move outside without her hearing him? By you being preoccupied with your troubles. Lorna crossed her bare feet under her the best she could and pulled down her skirt to cover them. She must look an absolute mess in her sweat-soaked dress and her untidy hair literally dripping in strings because of the heat and humidity.

  “Sorry I startled you, ma’am,” he called over the railing.

  Having Lyle Elison next door was going to be a problem. No way could she sit here, with the man living a few feet away now. Movers had been bringing furniture, rugs and who knows what up his stairs the last few days. She knew her days of privacy were about to end, but it sounded like they were permanently gone now.

  “Our stairs start on opposite sides of the buildings but the landings end up close together. Maybe I’ll talk to Dan to see if I could build an extension on my side to join yours.”

  “Why would we want that?” She’d found her voice, but it sounded sharp and annoying, just like she felt.

  “So we can be neighborly. We’d have room between the two doors to set a couple of chairs, maybe even rockers, so we could sit and visit, enjoy the evening view of the prairie.”

  “It’s not a view I enjoy, but have to endure because of the heat in that stifling room. There’s not a tree in sight! No view of the harbor with its welcoming breezes. Why do you want to watch grass move—or not—depending on the blasted wind?”
/>
  “Think of the moving grass as moving waves then. Granted the colors are gold and green instead of blue and aqua of the sea we’re familiar with, but the rise and fall is very similar. Neither the prairie nor the sea has trees on it. Birds have a different call because of the location, but they still fly above the waves, skimming the top or soaring above in the vast sky.”

  Lorna concentrated on the vision Lyle painted in her head, until she heard his footsteps trot down his steps. After walking the distance between the stairs, he ascended her set.

  “Mr. Elison, what are you doing here?”

  “I believe it’s time to change that to Lyle—if I may call you Lorna—and I brought you a glass of lemonade.”

  He held it out in front of her as Lorna stared at it, shocked at his gesture. She almost dropped it when her hand touched the frosted glass. “It’s cold!”

  “The way lemonade should be on a hot summer evening,” Lyle answered with a grin before taking a long sip from his own glass.

  “Where did you get ice?”

  “I’m resourceful. Drink it before it warms up in this heat.”

  Lorna took a sip, surprised when it included lemon pulp. “This is made with real lemons instead of lemon extract!” She took another sip, then placed the cool glass against her hot cheek to enjoy the moisture.

  “Where did you get lemons, in the middle of Kansas?”

  “Brought a large box of them with me from Boston, so we’ll enjoy them while they last. Cheers.” Lyle raised his glass in salute, then took another sip.

  The man had a box of lemons in his apartment? Maybe it wouldn’t be so bad to have him as a neighbor after all.

  “Thought I should have something special to drink to celebrate my new home.”

  “Not whiskey or beer?”

  “Nope. I spent too much time in saloons in my past. Now I need to prove to potential clients they can depend on me. Gone are my youthful days as a drunken hoodlum.”

  Lorna laughed when Lyle winked, then swayed pretending to be drunk.

  “Total abstinence?”