Page 34 of The Pursuit of Elena Bradford

34

Andrew went first to where he’d watched Elena sketching the roses in the garden. She wasn’t there.

All night he had lain awake trying to decide what to do after he saw her walking in the moonlight with Kirby Frazier. More than walking. They had been standing close together at the lake when he turned away. He hadn’t wanted to see them kiss.

His thoughts were in turmoil when he got back to the hotel. The last person he had wanted to see then was Gloria since he had told her after dinner that he was no longer in love with her. That he wasn’t sure he had ever actually been in love with her.

She must have been shocked by his words because she had merely glared at him as he followed Elena outside. He’d wanted to explain about Gloria. But then she walked away with Frazier.

After following them and seeing their near embrace, he wanted to be alone, out of sight of everyone. But Gloria had been waiting for him, demanding they talk. He told her there was nothing more to say and started toward his room. That was not to be. Some things couldn’t be avoided, and a scene with Gloria was one of them.

She stepped in front of him. “I won’t accept this, Andy. You can’t throw away all we’ve had together as if it means nothing.” She went from anger to distraught tears.

“I didn’t ask you here, Gloria. I didn’t leave you last year. You left me.” He kept his voice low and calm.

She grabbed his hands. “I told you I would make it up to you.”

“I don’t want you to make it up to me.” He jerked his hands free.

“It’s that Elena person, isn’t it? I can’t believe you would leave me for someone like her.”

“It isn’t anyone else. It’s you and it’s me.”

She smiled then. “Us. The way it’s supposed to be.”

“Not any longer. There is no us. No we. You can stay or go, but I won’t be escorting you around. I’m sure you won’t have trouble finding someone else to carry your luggage.”

“I don’t believe you.” She lifted her chin defiantly. “This melancholy has you not thinking straight.”

He simply looked at her a moment before he moved on toward the stairs.

That time she let him go. “You’ll be sorry,” she called after him.

For a moment as he walked away, he had wondered if she was right. Elena seemed to be choosing Frazier. Not him. But then he knew that even if that was true, he wouldn’t be sorry he no longer had to try to please Gloria.

When she left him last summer, he had felt betrayed, broken. Useless, just as his father had always said he was. He had done everything Gloria wanted and failed at love, or so he thought. But had he ever really known love?

He’d expected love to be like thunder and lightning, something demanding and impossible to ignore. Gloria was that with her emotional storms. She had drained him and left him empty. Here at the Springs he had found new life. Dr. Graham would say the spring water had healed him, but Andrew thought it was a girl among the flowers.

When they touched hands the morning after Vanessa died, he had felt that lightning jolt he had expected from love but never felt with Gloria. They talked the way he never had with Gloria. They danced as though they knew each step before it was taken. He wanted to be with her, and he thought she wanted to be with him. Until he saw her with Kirby Frazier at the lake.

As daylight filtered through the window curtains after his sleepless night, he knew he couldn’t simply give up on the feelings he had for Elena without at least talking to her. That was why he was out at daylight looking for her even though he had no idea whether she would be in the gardens at sunrise or not. He hoped if she was, she would be glad to see him. Perhaps he had imagined he had seen more in the moonlight than he had. Either way, he needed to know for sure. No more hiding in the shadows instead of facing whatever must be faced in life.

He looked among the roses. He went to the lake and searched through the willows. He stepped through the hollyhocks and thought of the cat that had appeared out of nowhere the day before.

As the sun leaped over the horizon, his heart sank. She wasn’t out here to watch the sun come up. Perhaps that told him all he needed to know. He would still talk to her, but he was losing hope that she would want to talk to him. He sat down on a rock and watched the sun spread its rays across the grounds.

He was on the rise above the hotel not far from the rifle range. He didn’t feel like eating. He wanted to avoid another scene with Gloria. So he stayed where he was, trying not to think about Elena. Instead, he remembered his grandfather’s morning saying about the day being one the Lord had made and how they should rejoice in it. He wondered if his grandfather had been able to rejoice in the days after Andrew’s grandmother died. In his own way, he probably had by planting the rosebush in her memory and then more rosebushes every year.

No rosebushes were in sight here, but he caught the sweet fragrance of roses in the air. After a while—he didn’t know how long—he got up, but instead of heading back to the hotel, he walked on toward the shooting range where some men were practicing their aim. He didn’t have a rifle with him, but he could watch the others. Someone might even let him take a shot with one of their guns. He wasn’t a marksman, but the blast of a gunshot might drown out the unhappy thoughts in his head.

He strayed off the path to take a shortcut. Strange, there near an evergreen bush, the grass was mashed down and the ground torn up in a few spots. Two animals fighting perhaps. He walked closer out of curiosity at what sort of animals might be on the grounds. Could a horse have gotten out of the stables?

Odd, he spotted something that looked like a book under the bush. It was a book, damp with dew. When he picked it up, the pages fell open to a sketch of roses. Elena’s sketch.

What was it doing here? Had she met Frazier in this isolated spot and then forgotten her book in the excitement of their tryst? That didn’t seem possible, but something had happened. The book was here and she wasn’t.

He tucked it under his arm and headed down the rise toward the lake. He would confront the man.

Elena was gone when Ivy woke up. She wished they could have talked last night, but Ivy hadn’t been able to keep her eyes open when Elena came to bed, patted her shoulder, and whispered for her to go back to sleep. Mother was up already at the little desk.

Ivy climbed out of bed and stretched with a yawn. “Are you writing to the boys?”

Seeing her mother’s ink and paper made Ivy feel guilty, but in the next instant her heart sped up a little when she wondered if Jacob had read her letter by now. She couldn’t wait to go ask Mr. Frazier if the letter was delivered.

“Yes. I do hope they are behaving themselves.” Her mother blew out a weary breath. “Did you talk to Elena last night when she came in?”

Ivy shook her head. “I was too sleepy.”

“That girl is in and out like a whisper of the wind. What does she do so early in the day?”

Ivy looked around. “She took her sketchbook.”

“Of course she did.” Her mother sighed again and dipped her pen in the inkpot. “Do you know why the general wanted to talk to her before dinner yesterday?”

“No, I haven’t had a chance to ask her, but I don’t think he was proposing.”

Her mother turned to look directly at Ivy. “Proposing?”

Her mother’s frown surprised Ivy. “Isn’t that what you wanted? Him to propose to Elena?” Ivy began brushing her hair. “But I don’t think he did. Elena did seem upset, but not at the general. More at Andrew Harper—you know that other man on the stagecoach—and that woman he was with. Somebody said they were getting married.” She stuck a comb into a cluster of curls to hold them back from her face.

Her mother didn’t seem to be listening as she stared out the window. Ivy shrugged and dressed quickly. “I’m going to find Elena.”

Her mother came back from her reverie. “When you do, tell her I need to talk to her.”

Ivy watched for Elena in the lobby and then on the paths as she went straight toward the lake. If Kirby was painting, she might be watching him. At least, he might have seen her.

But he hadn’t. He was preparing his paints when Ivy got to the place he’d claimed for his easel.

“I saw her last night, but not this morning. Why? Is something wrong?”

“I guess not. She’s probably in one of the gardens and has lost count of the time while she’s sketching something. That’s all.”

“She should show me some of her sketches.”

“She’s very good. We have some of her paintings of roses on the wall at home.”

“Do you think I can get her to do a sketch of me?” He grinned at Ivy.

“Maybe. You should ask her.”

“I did ask her something last night. I asked if she wanted to go west.”

“Go west?” Ivy stared at him. “Why would she do that?”

“Why not? I’m sure there are flowers out there. And I’m going.”

“Mother would never approve.”

“Your mother doesn’t have to approve. Elena does.”

Ivy had been sure Kirby was attracted to Elena, but she hadn’t expected this. For him to want to take her west with him. She might never see her sister again. “Did she?”

“Did she what?” He kept his eyes on the paints he was mixing.

“Approve.”

“I’m sure she will.” He looked up at Ivy. “Don’t look so tragic. You want her to be happy, don’t you?”

Ivy blinked back the threat of tears as she nodded.

“Wait.” He put down his palette. “I’ve got something to make that sad face disappear. Dr. Graham’s man brought my supplies this morning and he had something for you.” He reached in his pocket and pulled out an envelope to hold out toward her.

She snatched it and tore it open. There were only a few words. He must have had to write it fast while the man was waiting. But they were the right words.

Nothing could ever make me stop loving you. Come home soon. Jacob.

She hugged the letter against her chest and spun around.

“Good news, I’m guessing.” Kirby was smiling at her.

“The best.” But then she remembered Elena. If Elena loved Kirby the way Ivy loved Jacob, she should want her to go west with him even if Ivy could hardly bear the thought of her being so far away. She folded Jacob’s letter and put it in her pocket. “I need to find Elena.”

“When you find her, tell her I’m waiting for an answer.”

“I’ll tell her.” It seemed everyone wanted to talk to Elena. Ivy started to head back toward the hotel. She stopped when she saw General Dawson coming down the path. “Oh look, here’s General Dawson. Maybe he’s seen Elena.”