Shadow of Deceit (Shadow #2) (11 page)

Julia sighed.  “I will pay it back whether you need it or not.  It was wrong of me.  According to Miles, I was desperate.  It was my brother’s life—”

“I know all the details.  You’re forgiven.  Now, you’ve completed your mission.”  He walked to the door and opened it.  “Good day, Miss Croft.”

“Good day,” she murmured, and left the store.

After she’d gone, Caleb slumped into his chair.  He put his elbows on the desk and held his head.  A mixture of emotions left him shaking; he felt anger, and strangely, sympathy.  He also fought against the pulling of his heart, because deep inside he still wanted her.  Yet, he would guard his heart. He’d not let her get him twice with her sad stories and manipulation.  He’d forgiven her, as the Bible teaches, but he’d never forget.

Once seated at a table in Pete’s restaurant, Miles and Violet ordered, and sipped ice water while they awaited their dinners.

“I have some news that might be upsetting. Should I wait until after we eat?” Miles asked.

“No.  I’m sure I can handle it, Miles.” 

“Julia is back.”

“What?”

“When I returned from your house last night she and Billy were sitting on my doorstep.  I invited them in, and listened to their story.  It’s quite interesting.  Do you wish to hear it?”

“No.  I don’t.  I wouldn’t believe it,” she said.  “Did you believe her story?”

“Not at first.  However, I do now.  No one could possibly pull this kind of act.  I forgive her, but I’ll be slow to trust her, at least until she proves herself.”

“So what is her plan now?  Why did she come back? Does she need more money?” Violet said.

This was the first time Miles had ever heard Violet speak with such acrimony. 

“I’m sorry, Violet.  Let’s not even talk about it, then.”

“I’d rather talk about more pleasant things,” she said. 

Their dinners had arrived and the subject of Julia was not brought up again.

Afterwards, when he brought her home, she kissed him with the same passion and feeling as she had the night before.  Miles held her to him and swore to himself that nothing in the world could ever be better than holding Violet to his heart.

When she finally pulled away, he asked, “A buggy ride on Saturday?”

She nodded.

“I’ll pick you up at one,” he said.

No sooner had Miles rode off then Violet heard a knock on the front door. She yanked it open,  “Caleb!”

“Hi Violet.  Can we talk?”

“Sure. Miles just dropped me off, and when you knocked I thought he’d forgotten to tell me something.”

“He might have,” Caleb said.

“What?” Violet said, leading him into the sitting room.  “Have a seat.”

Caleb sat, but didn’t relax.  He sat with his elbows on his knees.  “Julia’s back.”

“I know, Miles told me.”

“Did he tell you the whole story?”

“I didn’t want to hear it so he changed the subject. “

“Julia has amnesia.  She fell off a horse while she was gone and lost all her recent memory,” Caleb said.

“I don’t believe it.  Seriously, it’s another trick,” Violet said.  “Don’t fall for it, Caleb, she probably wants more money.”

“I don’t think so, Violet,” he hesitated.  “Do you know how a stranger looks at you?  That’s how she looked at me, in fact I played a game with her by pretending Caleb was out, and I was just a worker.  She asked if she could wait for him.  I could see the disappointment on her face. When I walked across the room, she gasped and turned pale.  When I asked her what was wrong, she said, that for some reason whenever she sees someone with a limp she feels like there is something she should remember. It warms her, and fills her with anxiety at the same time.”

“If you believe her, then I suppose I should too.  You saw her and spoke to her.  Did she say anything else?”

“She said she’d get a job and repay all the money.”

“So, how does that all make you feel?” Julia asked.

“I forgive her, sure.  But I don’t know if I could ever trust her again,” he said.  “I told her as much and showed her out. Then, I felt badly for her.  I have to steel myself, because I still feel something for her.”

“I know exactly how you feel.  I finally forgave Miles,” she said.

“Maybe I should talk to Miles about this, or maybe I’ll just forget it all, and go about my business.  It’s just nice to have someone who understands, like you, to talk with about it.”

“Miles is really sorry.  I’m learning to gain trust in him again, and I’m pretty sure he is sorry enough that I
can
trust him,” she said.

“I think you can,” he stood.  “Well, I just needed to talk with someone about this.”

“Be careful, Caleb. Forgiveness is one thing, trusting another,” she said. “What’s going on with Martha?”

“She’s nice, but I think not for me.  I think God wants me to stay single.  I’ll let him send me someone, or I’ll stay a bachelor.”

“I thought God did send you someone when Martha arrived,” she said.

Caleb shrugged.  “I don’t feel it.”

No sooner had Caleb gotten home, and eaten his dinner that Elsie left for him, then someone was at his door.  He put his dish in the sink, and opened the door.

“Miles,” he said.

“May I come in?”

“Sure.  Have a seat.”  Caleb led him to the kitchen table.  “I was just going to have coffee, would you like a cup?”

“I’d love one, black, please.” Miles took a seat.

Caleb set a cup of coffee in front of Miles and one for himself.  “I know what you’re here about.  It’s Julia, isn’t it?”

“How did you know?  I came to tell you,” Miles said, with a surprised look.

“She came to see me at the mill.”

“She did?  I didn’t know.  Then you know about her memory?”

“Yes.  Is it all true?”

“I’m afraid so.  She was worse before.  According to Billy they found her lying in a field about a half-mile from Victoria.  When she came to, a few days later, she didn’t know anything.  Slowly the memory began to return.  At first she thought Billy was me, because her last memory of him was as a twelve-year-old.

“The doctor said the part of her brain that stores short term memory was affected and that it would all eventually return.  So far she remembers more than she did, but still remembers nothing from Abilene.”

“How convenient,” Caleb said before thinking.  “I’m sorry, Miles.  That was unkind.”

“It was, because she
had
planned on returning to you.  She didn’t use you, because she
was
coming back.  Then the amnesia robbed her of her mission,” Miles said.  “I do understand why you’d feel that way though.”

“So, you think she planned on coming back to marry me?” Caleb asked.

“I know that she was coming back, because she told Billy before her fall, that as soon as she’d paid his debt, she would bring him back to Abilene,” he said.

“I don’t know,” Caleb said.  He rubbed his forehead.  “I know she wasn’t faking today.  She didn’t even know I was Caleb.”

“She doesn’t even know her way around my house,” Miles said.  “She and Billy sat on my front porch steps when I came home last night.  She knows where the hidden key is—well, she did before the accident.”

“Does the doctor think she’ll recover the rest of the memories?” Caleb asked.

“He said she would, eventually.  I think she’s trying too hard to remember. I told her to relax, and just let them come to her.” Miles stood.  “I just wanted to let you know, so you wouldn’t be shocked if you saw her, but I guess I was hours too late.”

“I don’t know what to think, now, Miles.”

Miles walked to the door.  “I know one thing.  Violet is loyal, and thinks the world of you. I told Billy and Julia last night.  If Violet can’t forgive Julia, and I have to make a choice, I’ll pick Violet.   I can’t live without her.  My love for her is so deep—yeah, I’m getting emotional.  That’s what it does to me when I think about the depth of my love.”

Caleb could see Miles getting choked up, and teary-eyed.  He slapped his back.  “If that’s the case, then I wish you well.  I also think the world of her, and I want someone for her who really cares, and I think she’s found it.   She may not fully realize it yet, though.”

“That’s my job,” Miles said with a laugh.  “I’m doing my best.”

Julia sat beside Miles and Billy in church that Sunday.  Miles nudged Julia when the Jeffries family walked in, and took seats in the front row.  “The girl in the blue is Violet,” he said in a low voice. 

“She has lovely hair,” Julia whispered. 

“The one in the pink is her sister, Rose,” Miles said softly,  “Beside her is her mother. Violet’s father, of course, is the minister who you’ll see shortly.  In the first row on the other side of the aisle by the piano are Ivy and Jonas Armstrong.  They sit there because he plays the piano for the service.  The little head between them is their daughter, Zoe.  Our church has an organ coming soon.”

“Do I know these people?” Julia asked.

“Jonas is Caleb’s brother.”

Just then Jonas stood and took his place behind the piano and Julia saw his face.  “My!  He
does
look a lot like Caleb.”

Then, Julia’s heart began to pound, every nerve in her body tensed as she watched Caleb limp down the aisle.  He took a seat beside Ivy.  He whispered something in her ear and they both smiled.  The little girl moved around Ivy to reach Caleb with arms out stretched.  He put her on his lap and the girl put her arms around his neck, and hugged him.  It brought tears to Julia’s eyes. 

While she couldn’t remember Caleb, she knew without a doubt that she must have cared for him for her body to react to him, even when she didn’t remember him.  She remained mysteriously drawn to him.  That would explain her reaction to anyone who had a limp.

She stared at him all through the service, and midway through the sermon, Julia had a flash of memory.  She saw herself kissing Caleb, and behind him was a river.  A hot flush at the remembrance flooded her own body and she began to perspire.  Twisting her handkerchief, she knew at that moment, without a doubt, she was in love with Caleb Armstrong.  The man who forgave her, but wouldn’t give her the time of day now.   She had to win him back.  If only she knew where to begin.

After the service she rushed Miles and Billy out of the church quickly so they wouldn’t have to run into Violet or Caleb.   “I can’t face them yet,” she told them.

When they were seated in the buggy, she asked Miles for a favor.  “Would you take me down by the river?  I feel a memory there.  I need to go there.”

“It’s a big river,
where
near the river?” Miles said as he trotted the buggy out of the churchyard.

Julia closed her eyes and tried to view her flash of memory.  “All I saw was the river and something else but the flash was so quick I didn’t have a chance to recognize the other object.”

Miles took Buckeye Road, which led directly to the river.  “I’m not sure if I should turn left or right, but I’ll show you my favorite fishing spot.”  He turned right and rode close to the river. “I should have brought my pole.”

Suddenly, Julia said, “Stop! Could we get out and walk?”

“All right.”

Miles stopped the buggy, tied the harness to a tree, and they all alighted.  All three walked down the embankment, and close to the river. 

As they walked Julia looked left and right as if looking for something, but she knew not what.  She knew there was something else in that flash of memory besides the river.

She took her shoes and stockings off, and walked in the water, just enough to cover her toes.  It was a hot day and it felt delightful.  Billy and Miles walked behind her.  They were skipping stones, and playfully arguing as to whose stone went the farthest.

Julia froze, and her brothers nearly walked right into her. 

“What?” Miles asked.

“That boulder.”

“What about it?” Miles asked.

“I don’t know.  I’m going over to it, you guys can stay here and throw stones,” she said.

“We aren’t throwing them, Julia,” Billy said.  “We’re skipping them.”

Julia approached the boulder and sat down.  The slight breeze tickled her wet toes.  She touched the boulder with the palm of her hand, and closed her eyes.  She hoped for another flash.  She kept stroking the boulder and it slowly started returning to her.  She’d sat right here like this with Caleb.  Their first kiss—at least she thought it might have been.  Her heart beat so fast.  Then it all fell down upon her at once—all her memories.  It was a blessing and torture at the same time.  She knew she loved Caleb, but also that she’d lost him. She remembered her sinister plan; she remembered his generosity, and her lunch with him at Miles’s house.

Tears flooded her eyes.  It wasn’t like what people thought at all.  Yes, she’d set out to flirt Caleb into giving her the money, but it’s not how it turned out.  She really did have feelings for him.  She’d pretended at first, she’d admit to that, but right here on this spot she’d known it was no longer a ruse.  She truly cared for him. 

When he’d offered her the money, she knew she loved him.  Not because his kisses sent her to the moon and back, but because he had a warm heart.  He was sensitive, caring and generous. She never even had to ask him for the money.

The limp that had made her cringe at first, she’d stopped noticing.  She remembered squeezing his arm tighter as they climbed the embankment so he’d not lose his balance.

What a mess she’d made of the best thing that had ever happened to her.   How could she fix this?

Julia opened the door to the hotel and walked up to the wooden desk in the lobby.  The clerk was sorting room keys.  He stopped and walked to the counter. 

“How can I help you, miss?”

“I wondered if perhaps you had a job opening.  I’d do anything, laundry, cleaning—whatever you have open,” Julia said.

”Let me check with Mr. Gordon, the supervisor,” he said.  “I’ll be right back.”

While he was gone, Julia gazed around the lobby.  It wasn’t fancy but it was clean. The floors were wooden, and there were wooden benches, and armchairs spread around the lobby.  It was empty now, but she imagined men and women meeting there and chatting. 

“You’re in luck, miss,” the clerk said when he returned.  “Mr. Gordon would like to see you.  Follow me.”

“Oh.  Thank you.” Julia smoothed her dress, and followed the clerk to a door behind the desk counter.  The clerk opened it to a middle-aged man sitting behind a large wooden desk.   She walked in, and the clerk backed out shutting the door behind her.

“So, you’re looking for a job,” he said, looking her up and down, making her feel uncomfortable.  “Please sit down.”

Julia sat and folded her hands on her lap.

“I have a maids job, and a job in the laundry room.  Take your pick.  I have to tell you though; it gets pretty hot in the laundry room.  I mostly put men down there, and they sometimes remove their shirts.”

“I’ll take the maid job,” she said quickly. 

“It pays ten cents an hour, after your first year it goes up to twelve cents. Does that meet with your approval?” he asked.

“Yes sir, it does.  When do I start?”

“Tomorrow.  Report to Mrs. Emery, she has the office to the left of mine.  She will be your immediate supervisor, and she’ll show you around, and fit you for uniforms.  I just need your name.”

“Julia Croft.”

Mr. Gordon wrote it down and nodded.

Julia thanked him and left his office.  She spotted Mrs. Emery’s office on her way out.  Well, it might take her whole life to pay Caleb back, but she’d try.  She’d also sent Billy out to look for work.  He’d help her repay Caleb.  She’d see to that.  If he hadn’t found some type of work, she’d send him here for the laundry position.

Caleb had a lot on his mind since talking to Miles.  He had mixed feelings.  Had Julia been sincere, or hadn’t she? Who to believe?  He couldn’t stop his heart from skipping a beat whenever he thought about her.  The look on her face when he practically threw her out of the mill store that day was painful to him.  The reaction she’d had whenever she saw someone with a limp—could that have been just a memory crying to get out, or because she cared about him?

She had amnesia, and he’d treated her terribly.  Miles claims she would have come back to him if she hadn’t fallen, and gotten amnesia. Would she have returned and assured him that her proposal was real?  The thought of her lying alone, unconscious in a field, made his heart ache.

The sad look in her eyes continued to haunt him.  Yet, he’d promised himself not to fall for any more emotional tricks.  He knew sensitivity was one of his biggest weaknesses.  Had she only returned to get more money?  Those thoughts kept tickling his sensitivity.

He tried to keep busy with work and his workshop, so that he didn’t have time to mull over his weakness, or to see the hurt on Julia’s face in his mind. 

On his way to Pete’s for a dinner he didn’t have to warm up, he ran into Miles Croft.  After greetings were exchanged, Miles asked Caleb to have dinner with him at Pete’s.

“Sure, that’s where I was headed.” Caleb said. “It beats warming up what my housekeeper leaves me.”

When they were seated at Pete’s and had given the waiter their orders, Caleb asked Miles.  “So what’s on your mind?”

“I want to ask Violet to marry me,” he said.

“And—you need my permission?” Caleb grinned.

“No, advice,” he said.  “How do you go about asking a woman to marry you?”

“I’ve only done it once, Miles, and never got a definite answer, so I’m no expert.”

“Do you kiss her before or after you ask her?” Miles asked.

“Both if you’re lucky,” Caleb said with a grin.

“What bothers me is that she’s due to get her teaching certificate soon, and if she gets a job away from Abilene—what would I do?   Has she ever expressed a desire to just be a wife?”

“No.” Caleb said. “But a proposal might be enough to keep her here.”

Their dinners were placed before them and they both ate hardily. 

“You know that Julia finally regained her memory, don’t you?” Miles asked.

“No!” Caleb almost choked on his chicken.  That comment had taken him by surprise. “I haven’t talked to you or Violet in a while.”

“Yes, she had a flash of memory during church of you kissing her by a river,” Miles said.  “She asked me to take her to the river after church.  She saw a large boulder and sat on it.  She claims it all came back to her.”

Caleb dropped his fork and rubbed temples.  “Our first kiss was there,” he said slowly and sadly drawing out each word.  A stabbing pain pierced his chest where his heart was located.

Oblivious to Caleb’s pain, Miles continued. “She now has a job at the Ace Hotel, as a maid and claims she’ll pay you back every penny if it takes her the rest of her life.”  Miles laughed.  “At ten cents an hour, if she lives to be a hundred, she might make it.”

Caleb had resumed eating but didn’t taste a thing.  Julia worked—just to repay him—at ten cents an hour, unbelievable.  It seemed to him like a sincere gesture, but he didn’t trust himself to believe her motive.  Here he was sitting on more money than he could ever spend, while Julia broke her back trying to pay him back.  He pushed his plate away. He’d lost his appetite. 

When the waiter brought the check, Caleb grabbed it before Miles could.

“I wanted this to be
my
treat,” Miles said.

“Not a chance,” Caleb said. He paid the bill and left a generous tip.

“Thank you,” Miles said. 

“Save your money for your wedding. Oh.  And don’t forget to ask her father first.”

Miles grimaced.  “He knows the story about my sister and Caleb—do I really have to?”

“I’m afraid so,” Caleb said.

“I bought the ring for Violet, I just need to get up the nerve to ask her.  I’m afraid if I ask too soon, she’ll refuse, and that will set my courage back to zero.  But, if she is waiting for me to ask, and I don’t—she may think I don’t care enough for her.”

“You know what I think?” Caleb asked.  “We both think too much.”