Helen Heals A Hotelier (Brides With Grit Book 10) Page 8

  “Where we going, Mr. Elison?” Maridell asked as she waited for him to lift her up to the back of the wagon as he did Iva Mae. Helen sat with Lorna in the front seat. Lyle would be joining them to take the reins of the horse once he got the girls settled in the back.

  “It’s a nice sunny day—as warm as it’s ever going to get for November—so I thought we’d take a drive out to my sister’s ranch. That okay with you?” Lyle was patient with the girls and a good role model for decent men, especially after living with Luella’s father.

  “Do they have dogs and cats?” Avalee asked from her spot in the pile of blankets which Lyle was tucking around them. They would benefit from the fresh air and sunshine they’d enjoy on today’s trip.

  “I’ll warn you their dogs, Yipper and Kipper, won’t hurt you, but they’ll try to lick your faces because they’ll be so happy to meet you. I don’t know what’s the current count of cats on the ranch, but you’ll find them in the barn instead of the house like our cat, Missy, lives.”

  “Do they have horses, too?” Iva Mae would love to have her own pony but they’d never lived on a farm where they could have animals.

  “They have a very special group of horses, named after the galaxy…like Jupiter, Moon, Star… Dagmar, Cora’s husband, will be sure you meet them all.”

  “Your parents arrived yesterday, didn’t they, Lyle?” Helen heard they had, but hadn’t met them yet.

  “Indeed they did, and ready for our wedding in two days,” Lyle grinned and looked at Lorna, beaming back at him.

  “What does your father do for a living?” Helen knew their names were John and Elizabeth Elison but she didn’t know anything else about them.

  “Father and my brother, Carl, own and manage a textile mill in Boston. They kept it going through the war and now it’s doing very well.”

  It seemed unusual for the Boston family to own a Kansas ranch, but Lorna had told Helen it was bought to exile Lyle from Boston’s high society to deal with Lyle’s drinking and gambling habits. Turns out it was the right course of action and now both Lyle and his sister enjoyed living in Kansas.

  Lyle pointed out things so different than the Pennsylvania landscape they were used to. The treeless prairie rolled from one hill over another with an outcropping of red sandstone in the distance.

  “There’s caves up in those rocks, a few big enough to give shelter to travelers going through the area.”

  “Don’t bears live in caves, though?” Iva Mae asked worriedly.

  “We don’t have bears around here, but we do have wolves, coyotes and cougars. And rattlesnakes, so you shouldn’t go exploring the caves without an adult along, girls.”

  Even though they were living in town, Helen was glad Lyle had given the girls that warning.

  “Look ahead, girls. What do you see?”

  “Iva Mae, don’t let Luella stand up,” Helen warned her oldest daughter as she looked over her shoulder to her girls.

  “A big rock house!”

  “A barn with horses around it!”

  “Can’t see!” Luella screamed and squirmed as Iva Mae held her down.

  “Oops, I forgot they all can’t see what’s ahead with where they’re sitting,” Lyle leaned forward to see Helen on the other side of Lorna.

  “They’re fine. Luella gets upset now and then because she can’t do what her sisters can do yet,” Helen waved off Lyle’s worries.

  Helen wasn’t expecting a huge two-story square house made out of rough cut red sandstone rock sitting in the middle of nowhere. There were several smaller buildings a short distance from the house, plus a tall barn. The barn’s first floor walls were the same stone as the house, but the haymow section above was wooden. There were a lot of farms in Pennsylvania but this set of buildings looked as rough as the prairie compared to the buildings back home.

  Two black and white dogs of mixed breed had run to the edge of the ranch and were running alongside the wagon, escorting them into the ranch yard.

  “That’s Yipper on the left of the wagon, and Kipper on the right,” Lyle introduced the dogs and the girls sat up on their knees to look over the edge of the wagon. Lyle was slowing down to stop in front of the house, so Helen didn’t tell the girls to sit back down. She was as excited as they were with all there was to see around the ranch.

  Dagmar Hamner, Cora’s husband, opened the barn door and looked toward them, probably hearing their arrival thanks to his dogs’ barking. He waved and walked out to greet them.

  “Welcome to the Bar E Ranch, girls!” Dagmar lifted his hat in greeting before setting it back down on his overly long blonde hair. “I’ll hold the horse while you get the girls out of the wagon, Lyle. Looks like you got a big load there.”

  Each girl lifted out in turn from the wagon was greeted by a happy dog.

  “Better not put Luella down yet or the dogs will have her down on the ground licking her face,” Dagmar warned, but Luella didn’t want to be held. She kicked and squirmed in Lyle’s arms as only a two-year-old could do.

  Lyle carried her up the path to the house and set her on the porch so she’d at least get her footing before her first round with the dogs, which were as tall as she was.

  Yipper followed them up the stairs and promptly sat down beside Luella, letting the toddler awkwardly pat her head. “Nice doggy!” Luella beamed up at Helen, happy she’d been able to pet the dog.

  “Welcome to the ranch, everyone. Please come in out of the cold,” Cora had opened the door and was inviting them into her home.

  Oh, my. Helen thought as they left their wraps in the foyer and walked into the living room. She had never seen such a large collection of crystal vases and bowls in any home she’d been in back East. And in a ranch house in the middle of nowhere?

  “Please use your best manners girls, and Don’t. Touch. Anything,” Helen warned as she looked each girl in the eye so they understood it was important to mind her while in this house.

  “Your girls will do better than Dagmar does, Helen. He tiptoes through the room acting like the glass will break if he even looks at it.

  “You have quite a collection,” Helen walked around admiring a lovely punch bowl and set of matching cups sitting on a side table.

  “Would you believe all this crystal was in the house when we bought the ranch? An Englishman built this place, and had all the furnishings shipped over from England and then hauled by wagon to this spot.

  “When he had enough of the Kansas weather, he went back to England, selling everything as the lot—land, buildings, livestock and furnishings.”

  Cora turned as she heard soft footsteps behind her.

  “Helen and girls, these are my parents, John and Elizabeth Elison.”

  “Nice to meet you,” they all practically said together.

  “What a lovely set of girls! I’m so happy you came out to see us,” Mrs. Elison leaned over to give each girl a little hug.

  “Nice to meet you, ladies. Since I’m outnumbered, I believe I’ll see what the gentlemen are doing out in the barn,” Mr. Elison said before heading to the coat rack by the door.

  “Would you like some hot chocolate and cookies to warm up?” Cora smiled at the girls, motioning them into the dining room, thoroughly at home with her company in her frontier home.

  “Welcome to the ‘five-trunk room’, ladies,” Cora grandly opened up a bedroom door and ushered them all in. They had toured the downstairs and upstairs of this grand house, with this room being the final one to view. Besides the large room holding a bed, dresser and wardrobe, there were five trunks placed along the walls of the room.

  “Why do you think I call this room by this name, girls?” Cora asked expectantly.

  Each girl scanned the room, but Iva Mae came up with the answer first. “Because it has five travel trunks in it?”

  “You are right. I brought five trunks with me when I left Boston.

  “Dagmar thought they were all full dresses and wondered why in the world I would need so many dre
sses out here on the Kansas frontier. Of course besides clothing, they held books and other possessions.”

  “And he’s still clueless about the trunks,” Elizabeth laughed.

  “Which is fine because he doesn’t need to know how many trunks of dresses I really have in the house,” Cora said conspiringly.

  Helen sighed, remembering the fine wardrobe she owned when married to Arvid. But those dresses had to be left behind when they were evicted from the York Hotel with only the clothing on their backs.

  “We went through these trunks when Millie Wilerson needed a dress for her wedding to the marshal. She’s about my size, so we picked out a dress and matching hat for her to wear at the wedding, and I insisted she keep them as my wedding gift to her.”

  “And Darcie, Millie’s sister, also chose from this collection when she married Reuben Shepard,” Cora continued.

  “So now, Pastor Reagan lets me know when someone is getting married. If we know the bride could use a new dress, I invite her over for tea, and invite her to browse through the trunks because I have ‘too many dresses’ and can spare one.”

  “But you’re so petite, Cora. Most women couldn’t fit in your dresses,” Helen stated.

  “Oh, but they can,” Elizabeth spoke up. “I ship dresses and hats in various sizes from Boston now and then, and Cora fills the five trunks with dresses the sizes and colors she thinks will work for the bride.”

  Cora turned to Helen’s row of girls. “My momma brought a special shipment of clothing with her on the train yesterday, so would you like to see what she brought?”

  The girls enthusiastically shook their heads.

  “Let’s see...Iva Mae, please stand by that trunk,” Cora pointed to the first trunk and Iva Mae went to stand beside it.

  “Maridell by that trunk, Helen by that one.”

  Avalee wildly waved her hand, like she was hoping to be picked for this “game” they were playing.

  “Avalee and Lorna, please go to that trunk, and Luella and I will stand by the last trunk. Now on the count of three, open your trunk and pull out the first thing you see.

  “One, two, three!”

  Trunk lids thumped the walls as everyone opened a trunk lid. Dresses of various color and sizes were pulled out and hung in the air by each person.

  “It’s a dress my size!” Maridell squealed.

  “This one is, too!” Iva Mae held it up to her front and looked down at the length of the dress against her legs.

  Maridell continued to pull out the clothing and made a pile in front of the trunk. Helen stood and stared at the dozens of dresses her daughters were throwing all over the floor.

  “Girls! Please be careful with these dresses.”

  Helen stopped to look at the first dress which caught her eye, an emerald green woolen dress with white lace on the collar and cuffs. She mimicked the girls and held it up to her body, checking the length out of curiosity.

  “Cora suggested I bring children’s clothing this time, so you’re the first to see them. What do you think?”

  The girls started talking all at once and Elizabeth and Cora beamed at them, happy they could surprise the girls.

  “If it’s alright with your mother, you can pick out some dresses to try on, with the idea you each can take three dresses home with you today.”

  “Oh, Cora...” Helen couldn’t say anything else because of the catch in her throat.

  “What about the rest of the dresses?” Iva Mae asked. “Who gets them?”

  “They’ll be given to other girls in the community. Hopefully you’ll see all these dresses in church or school by Christmas time,” Cora assured her.

  These women’s charity would give new clothing to every little girl in need. How Helen wished she could do something for the community which had helped her and the girls in their time of need.

  The girls were already down to their undergarments and Cora and Elizabeth were helping Avalee and Luella try on their selections.

  “I think you better pick dresses which are a little big on you today, girls. All of Irma’s good food will make you...blossom,” Lorna teased, but Helen was glad she reminded them of that fact. Eating regular meals was going to change their skinny bodies to healthy ones, and clothes they picked today probably wouldn’t fit in a month.

  “Oh, pretty, Avalee!” Elizabeth praised when Avalee twirled around in a circle. “I think that’s a good choice for one of your dresses.”

  “Helen, you haven’t looked through your trunk yet,” Cora reminded her, but Helen was watching her daughter’s pick out their clothing instead.

  “Since you’re working in the hotel, you need proper dresses for greeting customers, besides a good church dress.” Cora walked over to the big wardrobe and opened the doors to it. “And if the dresses in the trunk don’t fit, start looking through this selection.”

  “Oh my word! You must have three or four dozen dresses packed in there!”

  “I told you Dagmar has no clue how many dresses I have in the house,” Cora laughed.

  “And I’ve used and returned dresses to this wardrobe as I’ve changed size with my growing belly, Helen. Do look through the selection because there are several dresses that are suitable when you’re cleaning and cooking in the hotel instead of greeting guests.”

  Helen looked around at the women enjoying the afternoon as much as her girls were. How did they end up being so lucky to be stranded in Clear Creek, Kansas?

  The next hour flew by as they all tried on dresses and picked out the ones they’d take home.

  “Ladies?” Lyle called up the staircase. “Are you done trying on dresses? It’s getting dark and time to drive back to town.”

  “We’ll be down in a minute,” Cora called down to her brother.

  “Ah, do we have to go back to the hotel?” Maridell whined. “I haven’t met the horses yet.”

  “You’re welcome to come another time, just to see the horses, Maridell. Dagmar would love to introduce them to you, so maybe one of the next weekends, after Lorna and Lyle’s wedding, you can come back out to the ranch.”

  Cora leaned down and gave Maridell a hug. Lorna and Helen met through their scamming husband, but Helen was thankful it also led them to become friends with the Elisons. They were generous and sincere people, and good role models for her girls.

  Chapter 9

  Ethan was so proud of the girls as they marched into church yesterday, waving at school friends, feeling right at home in the new community. The town was a mix of people moving in from other states, and now most members of the town helped the new ones settle in, in hopes of growing the community bigger and stronger.

  But he knew Helen had mixed feelings about the day. Ethan didn’t miss when a tear silently slid down Helen’s cheek during Lorna and Lyle’s exchange of vows. She would have had a wedding in front of the congregation with the groom she came to marry, if he would have been a sincere man.

  Helen wholeheartedly congratulated the couple and hosted a wedding dinner in the hotel’s hospitality room which would have rivaled anything planned in a big city. She had a knack of coordinating events and making sure they ran smoothly.

  So he was sure she could pull off the idea she was presenting now, but he still had misgivings.

  “Besides helping people in need—in a roundabout way—it will give the community a sense of pride.”

  “A Thanksgiving dinner for the whole community...here at the hotel,” Lyle shook his head, trying to figure out how that would work.

  “It’s true we wouldn’t know how many to plan for this first year...”

  “First year?”

  “Yes, it would become an annual event.” Helen looked like he’d agree with hosting the whole town each year for the foreseeable future.

  “We’d go around and invite everyone who might be alone for the holiday and any family we’re sure could use a good meal...so we’d have a general number of who to expect. But I’d also like to post flyers in the mercantile and cafe, an
d announce the community meal in church next Sunday also.”

  “Where would we get enough turkeys, and where would we cook them all? Let alone potatoes, stuffing...”

  “Oh, the Millers south of town have already offered to sell us turkeys, and several of the women in town can cook them in their home ovens and bring them to the hotel kitchen to be sliced...”

  “Potatoes?”

  “Corbins had a bumper crop this year, so they’ll bring in two bags of potatoes for the meal.” And who is going to peel all those potatoes?

  “Pies?”

  “Families can bring their own dessert to add to the meal...oh, and we can have a contest first for the prettiest looking pie.”

  “Tables and chairs?”

  “We’ll serve and seat in both the dining room and hospitality room, but we need to remember to roll up the rugs in the dining room. Children can sit on the floor to eat, saving all the tables and chairs for the adults.”

  “So you’re planning for twenty or thirty people?”

  “I think more like seventy-five to a hundred at least.”

  Ethan gasped in surprise. “We don’t have enough chairs for that many people!”

  “That’s why children will sit on the floor and we’ll ask certain families to bring their dining room chairs to the hotel which we can place around the walls of both rooms...and the lobby if need be. The Reagan boys could bring their family’s dozen chairs plus more from their neighbors.”

  Helen had an answer for every question he asked.

  “But what if my parents are home by then?” Oops. Did he just say that out aloud?

  “They’d enjoy the meal with the community then.”

  “No. Mother would condemn the event and lock the front door.”

  “Even if it was already planned?”

  Ethan rubbed his hands over his face, just imaging what his mother would say about serving free meals to people, even if part of the food was donated. She came into money by way of her aunt, but she didn’t like sharing it with others.

  But, he was in charge of the hotel while his parents were traveling so they would host the Thanksgiving dinner as planned. Helen had so much experience that he’d be a fool not to take her advice. But Ethan prayed his parents stayed away from Clear Creek until Christmas. He was enjoying Helen and her girls living here, besides Helen’s help in the hotel.