Trouble in Texas (32 page)

Harriett,

It snowed today for the first time, and I had to pull out my heavy coat. I didn’t
want to. I can’t stand the thought of the cold, bleak winter ahead. It’s foolish I
know. One cannot stop the change of the seasons. Nor turn back the hands of time.
Yet, I can’t help but long for the warmth of August and the sweet scent of lilacs.
So much so, that I don’t think I can continue without them.

William

Brant sat back against the cool leather of the chair before reaching for the final
letter. It was dated November 1, 1872 and held only one line:

I’m leaving Elsa and will arrive soon.

Brant allowed the letter to slip from his hand and join the rest on the top of the
desk.

William
had
loved Miss Hattie. And if the carefully kept letters were any indication, Miss Hattie
had loved William. So what had happened after? Had William returned to Miss Hattie
and died over a card game like Moses Tate believed?

Slowly, Brant collected the letters and carefully slipped them back into the compartment.
He pressed on the soft metal until the gap closed. He thought about showing the letters
to the family, but then decided against it. They didn’t explain how William had died—or
if he had even died at Miss Hattie’s. All they explained was why Miss Hattie had the
box in her possession. And what good would it do to let his family know that their
grandfather had fallen in love with a madam and had planned to leave his wife for
her?

Brant stood and replaced the chest on the shelf. His gaze wandered over to the other
chest. Was it possible that it also had a secret compartment? This time, it didn’t
take him any time at all to locate the releases. But instead of a bundle of letters,
he only found one neatly torn-out diary page. And since he’d spent numerous hours
searching through the diary Billy had found in Aunt Milly’s attic, it didn’t take
him more than a second to recognize the handwriting.

“That’s Lizzie’s.”

The softly spoken words had Brant looking up toward
the doorway. Sunshine stood there, looking pale and ghostly in her long, white nightgown.

“That’s Lizzie’s box,” she said as she walked into the room. “You shouldn’t be touching
it.”

Brant placed the page back in the compartment and snapped it closed. “How are you
feeling, Sunshine? Elizabeth told me that you’ve been sick.”

“She did my dance.”

“I know. And it looked like you did a good job of teaching her.”

Sunshine smiled, but it was a weak attempt. Now that he really studied her, she didn’t
look well at all.

“Here,” he placed the chest back up on the shelf, figuring he’d have plenty of time
to read his grandmother’s diary page later, “let’s get you to bed.”

Her eyes wandered down his body, and Brant realized that he was in his underwear.
“I can’t have you,” she said with a look of complete disappointment. “Hen Rule #28
clearly states that no hen can cavort with a man that another hen loves.” She cocked
her head to one side. “Unless you don’t love her.”

Ignoring the comment, he grabbed the throw blanket from the couch and wrapped it around
his waist. “I promise I’ll only tuck you in.”

“That’s what Harriett did,” Sunshine said as she allowed him to guide her back to
the room she was sharing with Starlet. “She tucked me in and told me to do something.”
She stopped in the doorway. “But I can’t remember what it was.”

“Harriett as in Miss Hattie?” Brant asked, wondering if Sunshine was more delusional
than he thought.

Sunshine laughed. “Of course not, silly. Miss Hattie is
dead. Harriett is Elizabeth’s mother. Minnie named her after Miss Hattie.” She covered
her mouth with her hand as her eyes widened.

“Minnie is Elizabeth’s grandmother?” Brant asked, even though he didn’t need her confirmation.
Last night he had thought Minnie looked familiar, and now he knew why. Although he
didn’t know why they had kept the secret from him. Unless…

“Does Elizabeth know?” he said.

Sunshine finally removed her hand and shook her head. “And please don’t tell. Minnie
will be real mad.” The alarm clock next to Sunshine’s bed went off, causing Starlet
to sit straight up in bed with a startled yelp. Sunshine’s eyes lit up. “That’s it.
At exactly three o’clock, Harriett told me to wake up Minnie and tell her that the
Jungle Room was on fire.”

“What?” Brant yelled above the ringing, and then repeated himself when Starlet finally
shut off the alarm. “What did you say?”

“The Jungle Room is on fire,” she repeated.

It was such an unlikely scenario that Brant thought Sunshine had dreamed the entire
episode, until he smelled smoke. Hurrying down the hallway, he headed for the elevator.
The curl of smoke seeping through the crack in the new doors had his chest tightening
and his heart thumping against his ribs. The heat that greeted his fingers when he
touched the metal was even more alarming.

He turned around to find Sunshine and Starlet standing right behind him. He spoke
to Starlet in a stern voice. “You need to go wake up Baby and get outside. I’ll get
Minnie.”

Except when Brant got to Minnie’s room, he didn’t
find the old woman. He found a sleepy-eyed old man in saggy red long johns.

“What’s all the commotion?” Moses asked as he rubbed his eyes. “And where did that
ornery woman run off to now?”

Brant didn’t waste any time jerking back the covers. “You need to get outside. There’s
a fire in The Jungle Room.”

Moses moved faster than Brant had ever seen him move. “And Minnie?”

“I don’t know, but I’ll find her,” Brant said as he helped Moses to the door.

It turned out that Minnie wasn’t in any of the downstairs rooms. And since there was
no way she could’ve used the elevator, that left only one other option.

The Jungle Room.

Brant took the stairs two at a time. He started calling Elizabeth’s name before he
even reached Miss Hattie’s room, then flung open the door with such force that it
slammed into the wall. The smoke was thicker here, and Brant slipped the blanket from
his waist and covered his nose as he raced over to the bed.

It was empty.

Wetting a towel in the bathroom, he tied it around his nose and mouth before heading
through the closet. He threw open the panel door to even more smoke. But it wasn’t
the smoke that tore his heart in two, but the coughing that came from within.

He froze. It was like every nightmare he’d experienced in his life. Buckley, Mandy,
and B.J. were all calling for him, but he couldn’t seem to move. All he could do was
stand in the doorway with his eyes burning, his lungs tight, and his mind frantically
chanting.

No. No. No. Not again.

“Please don’t give up, Mother.”

It was Elizabeth’s plea that finally snapped Brant out of his terror, and placing
a hand over the wet towel, he charged into the smoke. It was so thick that he had
to feel his way along the banister and down the flight of stairs. On the first landing,
he ran into a familiar body. His arms went around Elizabeth’s waist, and all he wanted
to do was jerk her up in his arms and head back up to safety. He should’ve known it
wouldn’t be that easy.

“No,” she coughed. “Take Minnie.”

It was then that Brant realized that Elizabeth was holding Minnie by the arms and
trying to pull her up the stairs. He quickly took Minnie from her with every intention
of pushing Elizabeth in front of him. Instead, she pulled away.

“M-My mother,” she coughed before she headed back down the stairs.

The fear he felt as he saw her disappear into the smoke was even worse than before.
But this time, instead of freezing, his body went into hyperdrive. He charged up the
stairs. The closet now had as much smoke as the stairwell so Brant hurried into the
bedroom and left Minnie sitting by an open window.

He found Elizabeth only a few steps from the top, her arm hooked around her mother’s
body. Both women were coughing so much they couldn’t talk. He scooped up her mother
and herded Elizabeth in front of him. Once in the closet, he kicked the paneled door
closed behind them and carried Elizabeth’s mother over to the window where Minnie
was still struggling to catch her breath. After he set Elizabeth’s mother down, he
probably should’ve
started thinking about how he was going to get all the women out of the house. Instead,
he jerked the towel from his face and pulled Elizabeth into his arms.

Words bubbled up inside him and would’ve spilled out if a loud thump hadn’t pulled
everyone’s attention to the window. He couldn’t help but smile when a bald, age-spotted
head came into view. Moses peered over the top of the ladder, his mouth spread in
a wide, toothless grin.

“Did you think I’d let you keep all the hens to yourself?”

“H
OW IS SHE?”

Elizabeth turned from the hospital bed where Minnie slept to find her mother standing
in the doorway. She was still dressed in black, but now her face was smudged with
smoke and soot. All except for the tear tracks that ran down each cheek.

“I didn’t mean for anyone to get hurt.” Harriett stepped farther into the room, allowing
the door to sweep closed behind her. “I told Sunshine and set her alarm, but even
then I planned on making sure everyone got out safely before the fire spread. I just
didn’t think it would spread so quickly.” She looked down at the bed and more tears
raced down her cheeks. “And now…”

As much as her mother was probably due a good dose of guilt, Elizabeth couldn’t prolong
her agony. “Minnie’s just sleeping,” she said. “The doctor gave her something to help
her relax.” She got up from the chair. “Which is exactly what you need to do. Why
wouldn’t you let them get you a room, Mother?”

“Because I’m fine.” Her mother ignored the chair and
went to stand by Minnie. “Besides, after all that smoke, I just wanted to stay outside
and breathe in some fresh air.”

“So that’s where you’ve been?”

Her mother nodded. “I was out in the courtyard reading this.” She held up Minnie’s
journal that had been on the nightstand. “I figured if it was the one thing you refused
to leave behind then it must be worth reading.”

Elizabeth didn’t know what had possessed her to grab the diary before it was her turn
to climb down the ladder. But looking into her mother’s tear-filled eyes, she figured
it had been a good choice.

“I never knew,” her mother whispered as she moved closer to the bed. “I always thought
the reason she kept me with her was to get another hen for the henhouse.” She took
Minnie’s hand that wasn’t connected to the I.V. “Now I realize it was because she
couldn’t live without me.” Tears raced down her cheeks as she bent over the bed. “Why
didn’t you tell me, Mama? Why did I have to find out after I almost killed you?”

Minnie’s eyes opened. “Quit your caterwaulin’, Harry. I ain’t dead yet, and I don’t
plan to be for a while.” She took the oxygen tubes from her nose and pushed the tubing
up on her head. “Leastways, not until we’ve rebuilt the henhouse.”

“Good Lord.” Elizabeth’s mother rolled her eyes and she stepped back from the bed.
“Is that all you can think about, Mama?”

“No.” Minnie sat up. “I could use a couple eggs, some bacon, and a cup of coffee.
Followed by a cigarette. Elizabeth, go see if you can find a cigarette machine.”

Elizabeth grinned. “I don’t think they’ll have one in a hospital, Minnie.”

“You don’t need a cigarette, Mama,” her mother said. “That’s exactly what got us in
this situation.”

Minnie pointed a finger. “What got us in this situation, Harriett, was you being an
overprotective mama. Now apologize to Elizabeth for almost ruinin’ her life so we
can move on to talkin’ about what it’s going to take to get Miss Hattie’s up and runnin’
again.”

“Me apologize?” Elizabeth’s mother looked like she was about to explode, which happened
to be a nice change. “You should be apologizing to me for ruining my life by keeping
me at the henhouse.”

Minnie’s eyebrows lifted. “I think you’ve made me pay for that, Harry, ten times over.”

Elizabeth’s mother’s lips pressed into a firm line, and she flopped down in the other
chair like a sullen child who had just been put in her place. But Minnie wasn’t about
to let her off that easy.

“Harry, acknowledge the mistakes you’ve made with Elizabeth, or I’ll rethink what
I told Sheriff Hicks.”

What Minnie had told the sheriff was exactly what happened. She’d just left out the
part about Elizabeth’s mother dousing half the room in brandy. Something that Elizabeth
figured Minnie would use in the future to manipulate her daughter at every given opportunity.
Except when Harriett turned to Elizabeth, she didn’t look like she was being manipulated.
She looked sincere.

“I’m sorry for interfering in your life, Elizabeth. You’re a grown woman, and if you
want to stay at Miss Hattie’s, then that’s your choice.” She cleared her throat. “And
I’d also like to apologize for perhaps forcing my views of men on you.”

Minnie snorted. “Perhaps?”

“Fine,” her mother snapped, “I did! But from the look of things, she didn’t take my
lessons to heart.”

“Well, we need to thank God for that.” Minnie winked at Elizabeth. “And a tall, dark
Texan.” She looked around. “Where is that tall, dark Texan, anyway?”

Elizabeth glanced over at the door that Brant had exited not more than five minutes
earlier. Brant had barely left her side since arriving at the hospital. Another woman
might take that as a sign of affection, but Elizabeth knew better. Brant was just
doing what he thought was right.

“He got a call and left the room to take it,” she said.

“Well, go get him,” Minnie directed. “Not only do I want to ask him about the insurance,
but I want to thank him for saving my life. If it had been up to you two, we would’ve
all died in that damn stairwell.”