Page 8 of Mail-Order Avis (A Mail-Order Mystery #3)

Eight

A vis woke the next day feeling uneasy. The note she found in the hutch was still in her apron pocket.

She’d meant to bring it back to the boardinghouse and show it to Reed, but she didn’t want to appear silly.

For all she knew, it was something Mr. Penrose, the previous café manager, had written down.

Maybe he was journaling, tore that part of the page out, and it somehow got wedged between a couple of plates in the hutch.

Okay, so that was far-fetched, she thought they’d washed most of the dishes already.

But she also didn’t want to look like a fool in front of Reed or anyone else.

But if it was meant for her, who could’ve possibly written it?

A better question was, why ? So she’d asked about the previous café manager and gone looking for recipes. So what?

Avis pushed the thoughts aside, crawled out of bed, and started her day.

When she went down to breakfast, the table was already full of guests, including Reed. “Good morning,” she greeted.

“Good morning.” He gave her a warm smile and sipped his coffee.

Avis took the one empty seat as Tamsin brought a huge platter of ham slices to the table and set it down. Platters of fried potatoes, scrambled eggs, and hot biscuits were already waiting. Everything looked and smelled wonderful. Avis’ stomach growled.

Reed laughed. “Someone’s hungry. You’ll want to eat up. We’ve got a lot of work to do today.” He gave her another smile as Samuel clasped his hands in front of him and began the blessing.

As soon as he finished, everyone began to eat.

“What do you mean we have a lot of work? I thought we were all caught up.”

“We still need to put the finishing touches on everything. We’re also going to have to change our schedule.”

Avis nodded. “Of course. But I don’t expect you to help me every day. I can handle the breakfast shift well enough. Besides, you forget that Hattie and Cora Belle will be there.”

“I know, but we don’t know how many guests we’ll be serving for each shift. Hattie and Cora Belle won’t want to work open to close. I’m afraid you’ll have to hire another waitress sooner than later. Especially with the hours you’ve chosen.”

Avis hung her head. He was right. “Well, let’s see how things go first.”

After breakfast, they headed to the café. She wanted to give everything one last wipe-down before opening day. “Which do you want?” Reed asked. “The front or the kitchen?”

“I’ll take the kitchen,” she said. It didn’t take her long to wipe it down and make sure everything was shipshape. “I guess I better do the office too,” she muttered, heading into the small back room.

They’d spent so much time on the dining room and kitchen, they hadn’t paid the office much attention.

Avis looked around, hands on hips. Sure, she’d swept and dusted and beat the two small rugs, but it wasn’t enough.

She needed to straighten the file cabinet, wash the window, and clean out the desk.

She got to work, sweeping again just to be thorough, then washing the single window before turning to the file cabinet. She tried opening the top drawer, but it was stuck. “Oh, bother,” she grumbled. “Now I remember why I didn’t clean this out in the first place.”

She got down on her hands and knees and peered into the top drawer, trying to see what was keeping it from opening. She reached in and felt around. “Doggone it, what is back there?”

Avis opened the second drawer. It slid easily.

“Hmmm…” She stood and stared at the unruly cabinet.

“You need to behave.” She wagged a finger at it.

“Now be nice.” Out of curiosity, she moved the cabinet away from the wall as best she could.

Maybe if she banged on the back, it would knock loose whatever was jamming the drawer.

She was about to give it a smack when she noticed an envelope on the floor behind it. “What’s this?” Avis picked it up, opened it, and pulled out a photograph. It was of a couple with a young man between them. On the back was written: W.P. and Parents.

“Hmmm. I wonder who these people are?” There was also a letter in the envelope. Did she dare read it?

Feeling a wee bit guilty, she looked around first before sliding the letter free. Then she shrugged off the guilt and began to read.

Dear Joseph,

I’m heading west. There’s a little town called Fiddler’s Gap that I think will suit me nicely.

Ever since Mother and Father passed, I keep thinking about my life here in Leavenworth.

I wish we’d never moved here, but Father insisted.

Well, as you know, he got shot for his efforts. Mother died several years later.

I know I’ve made a go of things here, but I just don’t like this town anymore. I want something smaller. Safer. And who knows, maybe I’ll even find myself a wife.

Give my best to your parents and tell them I miss them. I’ll write again when I get settled. Then you can come see me!

Avis stared at the letter, then looked at the signature. “W.P. More initials. Doesn’t anybody sign their full name anymore?”

She folded the letter and tucked it, along with the photograph, back into the envelope.

Setting it on the desk, she turned back to the cabinet, now finally unstuck, and began sorting through its contents.

As she sifted through receipts and inventory lists, she realized the man in the photo must be Mr. Penrose.

She’d have to ask the Murrays what his first name was.

She knew it wasn’t L.L., but maybe it was W.P.

If so, then for whatever reason, he never sent the letter.

Just then, Reed entered the small office. “Oh yes, this room.” He looked around and shook his head. “Seems we both were neglecting it.” He gave her a wry smile. “Or rather, we were avoiding it.”

Avis laughed. “I believe it was the latter.”

“You’re right, it was,” he conceded. “So, what would you like me to do in here?”

“You can empty out that bottom file drawer and sort through everything. I’ve already done the top. And I found this.” She pulled the envelope out from under a pile of papers and handed it to him.

“What’s this?” Reed asked. He pulled out the letter and photograph and began to read. “Hey, this must be Walter Penrose.”

“Walter,” Avis repeated softly. “W.P., of course. I wonder if the Leavenworth he’s talking about is in Kansas.”

“It probably is.” He glanced up with a small smile. “The town doctor’s from there. Rough place, Leavenworth.”

“So I’ve heard. Uncle Phil told me about it.” She straightened a stack of inventory sheets and set them aside. “Well, other than this room, we’re all done.”

Reed sat on the edge of the desk and set the letter and envelope down. “Are you ready to open?”

Avis couldn’t help but smile back. “I am.” She glanced at the letter. “It’s too bad Mr. Penrose couldn’t stay.”

Reed nodded. “Yes, but he left because of a family emergency of some sort.”

Avis looked again at the photograph. “Those must be his parents.” She gave him a sympathetic look. “Seems you and Mr. Penrose had something in common.”

He shrugged. “Yes, but at least I wasn’t coming from Leavenworth. Terrible thing, losing a parent to a gunshot wound. I wonder if it was murder or some kind of accident.”

“I guess we’ll never know,” she said.

Reed tucked the letter back into the envelope, staring at the photograph for a moment longer. “I wonder if he had any other family? Samuel and Alicia said he left because of a family emergency. But he’s the only one in that photo with his parents.”

Avis stared at him, her mouth slowly dropping open. “Maybe he has an aunt or uncle somewhere. Cousins?”

“I don’t know. And if it was a family emergency, you’d think he would’ve returned once it was taken care of.”

Avis sat back in her chair. It made sense. Ifshehad living relatives and had to leave suddenly, she’d make proper arrangements to keep the café going. And if it had to be closed, she’d make sure it was only temporary.

“You wouldn’t just close the café for good if you had to leave town, would you?” Reed asked.

“I was just thinking the same thing. And no, I wouldn’t.” She clasped her fingers in her lap. “Do you know if he’s written to the Murrays since he left?” Good grief. The last thing she wanted was for Mr. Penrose to show up in town demanding to take the café back. What a nightmare that would be.

“I have no idea, but we can ask them,” Reed said, leaning toward her. “Rest assured, if hedidcome back, it’d be too late. Him leaving like that put him in breach of contract. Unless, of course, Samuel and Alicia let him out of it. But you’ve already signed one. His is void at this point.”

Avis took a deep breath and let it out slowly. “You’re right, of course. But I can’t help being nervous about it. This is important to me, Reed. I have to make this work.”

He gave her a warm smile and a sage nod. “You will. I believe in you. Besides, it’s nice to see a person’s dream fulfilled.”

“Dream?” She blinked. Had she mentioned this was her dream? With all the busyness of getting the café ready, she couldn’t remember. She’d certainly talked about it aloud…when she was by herself.

“I know what you’re thinking,” Reed said. “But let me just say, anyone can tell how passionate you are about this, Avis.”

She blushed a deep red. “Oh. Is it that obvious?”

Reed laughed. “And then some.” He straightened and crossed to the other side of the room. “I always envisioned myself as the leader of a theater troupe, believe it or not.”

Avis blinked in surprise. “Really?”

“Oh yes. It’s one of the reasons I came here. After Samuel explained what the town was trying to do, I thought adding plays to the list of tourist attractions would be a good thing. And of course…he did ask me to come and be mayor.”

“Of course,” she drawled.

Avis left the chair and came around the desk. “And what’s the first thing you’re going to do as mayor?”

He grinned. “Start a community theater, of course.”

Avis laughed. “And that’s your dream?”

He shrugged. “Yes.”

She closed the distance between them, smiling. “I’m glad you have a dream, Reed. Most people don’t allow themselves to dream at all. They just struggle, trying to survive, and don’t have time for anything else.”

He looked into her eyes. “You must make the time, Avis. You did.”

She shook her head. “Not really. I just happened to love cooking and started working for my uncle Phil. Once I saw how people reacted to my food, how much theyenjoyedit, I was hooked. If I can put smiles on people’s faces just by serving chicken and dumplings, then I’m going to do it.”

Reed chuckled. “You know, I’ve never heard it put quite that way. A lot of people become cooks to be famous. But not you. You just want to make people happy.”

Avis smiled and nodded. “Yes, I do. Does that sound silly?”

He took a step closer; they were nearly touching. “No,” he said, voice low. “It’s not silly at all.”

He swallowed, took a step back, and turned. “Would you like to take a walk with me? There’s something I’d like to show you.”

“A walk?” Her cheeks heated.

Oh dear. She knew she was attracted to him, but what woman wouldn’t be? But he only wanted to take a walk. She shouldn’t read more into it.

Still, part of her was disappointed at the thought that therewasn’tmore.

She hadn’t dwelled much on being Reed’s mail-order bride. Not since signing the contract to take over the café.That was what mattered now. She wanted it to succeed, and to do that was going to take all her time and focus.

Avis took a deep breath and smiled at him. “Sure. Why not?”