Colorado Dawn (54 page)

Jesse squeezed Silas’s shoulder. “I’m sorry, Silas. I had no idea this was coming, or I’d have tried to head them off somehow.”

He raised his head to look at Jesse, Ned, and Matilda. “What should I do about this?”

Ned pursed his lips and rubbed his hand down his cheek. “For now, nothing. Best to let us try to talk to them. They’re so worked up, I have a feeling anything you tried to do would be taken wrong.”

Matilda threaded her reticule over her wrist. “What about the supervisor’s visit? We really should try to get this resolved before his arrival. A church board with daggers drawn wouldn’t be the best endorsement for our pastor’s leadership abilities.”

Silas shuddered, imagining what his father would say.
“I told you not to take that church. You’ve failed. Failed me. Failed the denomination. Failed God.”

“Now Matilda, don’t tease like that. You’ve made Silas go white as a winter moon.” Jesse whacked him on the shoulder. “I’m sure we can get this thing turned around before it comes to that. You’re a fine pastor, and you’re not doing anything wrong. The church will see that, and Beatrice will, too, once she gets over her peeve at you not marrying Alicia.”

“I hope you’re right. I just know if people will give Willow a chance, they’ll come to love her like I do.”

“Leave it to us. We’ll see what we can do.” Jesse helped Matilda to her feet.

Early Tuesday afternoon Willow slipped from the theater in search of solitude and a place to think. Philip had been particularly obnoxious today, standing too close, whispering crass comments and suggestions until she wanted to slap his face. He’d gotten worse ever since he’d learned Willow was seeing Silas, as if her being in a relationship with a man meant she was open to much more.

The early morning showers had given way, and the world reminded her of a freshly scrubbed child, rosy and warm. She lifted her face to the sunshine, letting it warm her through, trying to forget for a moment the expectations and responsibilities of the theater, especially those of Philip and Francine. And yet no amount of fresh air and sunshine could lift that weight.

What was she going to do? Clement was pushing for her to sign the contract, Francine had already started planning her new wardrobe for a New York fall season, and more than one of the cast and crew had congratulated Willow on her success and commented on how they were looking forward to the big city.

And every moment she spent with Silas, every long walk, every time he held her hand, every time he caressed her face, bound her more and more to him and his future here. How could she choose? How could she follow her heart and stay when her head said she had to go?

Downstream the trees grew closer to the water, and Willow had to duck under their branches. The game path she followed beckoned her to continue, and she wended her way along Martin Creek farther than she’d ventured on previous rambles.

Around a bend, the trees opened on a little glade with a cabin in the center. As she stood undecided whether to go on or turn back, a movement caught her eye.

The door opened, and a man and woman emerged. The woman threw herself into the man’s arms, and he kissed her.

Willow realized she was intruding on a private moment, and she turned to hurry away. Her foot landed on a twig, snapping it like a rifle shot. The couple broke apart, and Willow froze.

She knew them. Or the girl, at least. Though she was disheveled, Willow recognized the girl she’d seen in the hotel restaurant with Mrs. Drabble. This had to be Alicia. Silas had mentioned in passing that Mrs. Drabble recently had hopes of his marrying her daughter, but that they weren’t at all suited. And here she was alone with a man in an isolated cabin. Tears streamed down the girl’s cheeks, and her shoulders shook.

“Are you all right? Do you need help?” She didn’t want to intrude, but neither did she want to leave the girl if she truly was distressed. Willow took the measure of the man still standing in the doorway holding Alicia’s hand, but he seemed to pose no threat to her or Alicia.

Regardless, they shouldn’t be here alone together, and the guilty looks on their faces said they knew it.

Alicia held out her hand. “Please, don’t go.”

The man frowned. “What are you doing?”

“We can’t go on like this. I have to talk to someone—” She broke off on a sob.

The man shoved his hands in his pockets and stared at the ground.

Willow walked up the slope slowly. “You’re Mrs. Drabble’s daughter, right? Alicia?”

“Yes.” The girl hung her head.

Knowing she must choose her words carefully, Willow clasped her hands at her waist. “Are you in some kind of trouble?” Stepping close to Alicia, she lowered her voice. “Does your mother know where you are?”

“No, and she can’t know.” Alicia grabbed Willow’s arm. “Please, promise me you won’t tell her, and please, please, don’t tell Silas.” Tears flowed down the girl’s cheeks, and she bit her lower lip. Dropping her clasp on Willow’s wrist, she turned and threw herself into the man’s arms, sobbing on his shoulder.

He held her tenderly, his face a mask of misery and tenderness. “You’re that actress, Willow Starr, aren’t you?” He spoke across the top of Alicia’s head.

“Yes, I’m Willow Star.” She eyed the young man and leaned a bit to the side to see into the cabin. A table and two rough chairs, a cold fireplace, and a bed in the corner with the blanket hanging half off comprised the furnishings.

“My name’s Kenneth Hayes. All I did was kiss her, I promise. Nothing else happened.”

Willow pressed her fingertips to her brow and squeezed her eyes shut, trying to think. Alicia’s sobs made it difficult. She wanted to believe them. What should she say? What should she do? What would Silas do in this situation?

Opening her eyes, she decided to take charge. Clearly neither of these two was capable at the moment. “Alicia, stop crying and come down to the stream with me. We’ll wash your face, and you can try to get a hold of yourself.” She motioned for Kenneth to stay behind. “We’ll be back.”

Alicia sniffed and nodded, following Willow like a child.

When they reached the stream, Willow handed her a handkerchief. “Wash, and we’ll talk.”

“You won’t tell my mother, will you? Or Silas?”

“I won’t make a promise I can’t keep, Alicia, and I won’t lie. You know meeting a man alone like this is wrong. If anyone came to find out, you’d be ruined. Who is Kenneth Hayes anyway?”

“He’s the man I love more than anything in the world. And he loves me.” She dabbed at her red-rimmed eyes and blotchy, damp cheeks. “I’ve loved him since the moment I first met him.”

Willow kept her voice neutral. “You realize you’re compromising your reputation by meeting him here? And you’re putting yourself in a situation where things could quickly get out of hand and overwhelm you. You might find yourself, in the heat of the moment, doing something you’d later regret.”

Alicia wadded the handkerchief into her fist. “I know, but what can we do? I knew my mother would never let me marry Kenneth, and he even went to Silas for advice. Silas said it was Kenneth’s duty to ask permission to call on me, that sneaking around was wrong.” A hiccup jarred her. “So he did. He asked permission, and they refused. Mother wouldn’t hear tell of my marrying a mere miner. And Father does whatever Mother says. She threatened to lock me in my room or send me away to my aunt’s. And she forbad me ever to see Kenneth again.”

“I’m sorry, Alicia, but is sneaking around the best choice here?”

“It’s the
only
choice. What would you do if you couldn’t be with the man you love?” Her chin lifted, challenging Willow to walk in her shoes for a while.

Her heart broke for the couple. What an untenable position. If she had to stop seeing Silas, it would break her. She couldn’t imagine her life without him. The power of her love for him overwhelmed her, changed how she saw the world, how she saw herself. In that moment, indecision fell away, and her future crystallized. She was willing and ready to give up her career and everything it offered the minute he asked her to. Her future was here, with Silas.

“I don’t know what to tell you, but I do know you have to stop seeing each other in secret. Meeting together like this, away from everyone, with your feelings so strong, eventually your emotions are going to get the better of you, and you’ll cross a line you can’t get back over ever again. Please, go to Silas together and ask him what you should do. He’ll help you. He can talk to your parents.”

“He can’t. My mother is so angry with him right now I don’t know what she would do if he showed up at her house. After his last dinner at our place, she wouldn’t take a diamond-studded suggestion from him. I’ve never seen her so angry. Then there was the board meeting. If she was angry before, she was white-hot afterward.”

“What happened?”

“When Silas came over for dinner, we both made it clear to Mother that marriage to each other was out of the question. Mother already knew I was in love with Kenneth, and Silas all but declared his love for you. She really let him have it, about how you weren’t a suitable candidate for a pastor’s wife and how he owed it to his congregation to choose someone who was above reproach. She’s very class conscious, and she thinks actresses are the lowest form of society.”

A cannonball took up residence in Willow’s chest. Poor Silas. She closed her eyes for a moment against the pain of prejudice. Why hadn’t he told her any of this?

Alicia sniffed. “I don’t feel that way, and I don’t think the majority of the congregation would feel that way. It’s just Mother has these odd ideas, and once she sets her mind on something, it’s hard to get her to change it.” She shook Willow’s arm. “I think you’re perfect for Silas. He’s so nice, and he deserves to be happy. And he is so happy now that he’s met you. He’ll be a better minister, and the church will be better for his marrying you.”

Willow savored the words for a moment, allowing them to soothe the hurt of Mrs. Drabble’s dislike, but there was still the issue at hand to deal with. “Thank you. I hope what you say is true. Now that you’ve calmed down a bit, we should talk with Kenneth. He’s worn a path in front of the cabin.”

As they walked up the bank, Kenneth stopped pacing and shoved his hands into his pockets. “Are you going to go to her parents or the preacher?”

“No, but you should. Both of you.”
Lord, help me be bold to speak the truth, but in a way that they will hear and respond to. Give me the words
. “Kenneth, it’s plain to me you love Alicia dearly, and she clearly feels the same for you.”

He nodded and put his arm around Alicia. “I’d do anything for her.”

“If you truly love her, then you want to protect her from any harm. You’re endangering her reputation and both of your characters by meeting like this.” She swallowed and looked from one to the other. “If you continue, no good will come from it.”

Kenneth rested his chin on Alicia’s head. “How is it you know so much? You can’t be any older than Alicia.”

Willow sighed. “I’m right out of my depth here, but I’d hate to see you two ruin your lives. I’ve come to the conclusion that if God puts a fence around something, He means it to be there.”

She glanced at the sun. “Alicia, it’s getting late. We should go.”

Kenneth’s arm tightened around Alicia. His face twisted in anguish as he brushed a kiss across her temple and bent for a moment to rest his forehead on hers, as if afraid he might never be with her again.

As Alicia slipped from his arms, Willow offered one last plea. “Please, go see Silas again and explain everything. I’m sure he can help you both.”

Walking along the stream bank, conscious of the need to hurry, Willow contemplated the young couple’s situation. Had she helped the situation or only made it worse?

A
nd you’re sure it’s not a problem? Not with the board or with the church?” Willow smoothed her skirts, swaying to the rocking of the buggy. Worry over what his church thought had her tossing and turning most nights and fretting during the day until she couldn’t wait any longer to broach the subject.

“Don’t worry about it. Jesse and Matilda and Ned told me not to worry, and I’m telling you. Mrs. Drabble is a bit upset, but she’ll get over it.” Silas flicked the reins. “Jesse is proud of his mining operation. The minute I told him you’d never been in a silver mine, he insisted I bring you to his.”

Willow let the matter rest, not wanting to mar their happiness with talk of unpleasant things. This afternoon was a gift, precious time with Silas, and she intended to make the most of it.

They pulled to a stop at the top of a steep grade. Silas hopped from the buggy and came around to help her alight. “I’m glad Jesse provided the transportation, too. Since I live alone, I usually go everywhere I need to on foot or on horseback.” He smiled. “Looks like I might need to see about getting another conveyance in the near future.”

Willow bit her lower lip to control her smile. The warmth in his eyes spread through her clear to her toes. “I’m a little nervous. The thought of being so far underground with all that rock over my head…”

He squeezed her hand. “You don’t have to go down if you don’t want to.”