Sherri Shackelford - A Family For The Holidays

She folded her arms on the table and buried her head in the circle.

Events had transpired too quickly, and she hadn’t considered all the separate details. Something was off, but she’d been too determined to prove she wasn’t naive orphan Lily to notice. She’d seen that odd mixture of regret and longing in the outlaw’s eyes before the sheriff had hauled him away.

She’d come to rely on the constants in her life. The barn swallows that nested beneath her window each spring. The familiar lonely ache in her chest each Christmas Eve. The smell of coffee brewing each morning. She’d never been able to wake fully without coffee, a trait she’d inherited from her father.

She stretched out her arms and cupped her hands around the steaming cup before her.

The coffee grinder she’d left back at the boardinghouse was her most treasured possession. As soon as she was old enough to reach the counter, the job of brewing had fallen to her. The one thing that had made her feel part of the family. She’d pour a measured scoop into the top and crank the handle. Then she’d open the tiny drawer and inhale the scent of fresh-ground beans. The aroma was inexorably intertwined with memories of her family. She’d never been able to separate the two, though she’d desperately tried.

Sam exclaimed victory and kinged a checker piece.

She needed a plan. She needed action. She needed an escape from all the drab autumnal colors oozing from the hotel parlor into the gloomy dining room.

Peter turned toward her. “What are we going to do now?”

“I don’t know yet. But don’t worry. I’ll think of something.”

The sheriff had jailed the gunfighter before he’d revealed his evidence. Either way, she’d removed Jake from her list of suspects in Emil’s disappearance. Despite Vic’s and Regina’s attempts to frighten her, he’d never once exploited his advantage.

A part of her had thought Emil might return. They’d been delayed on their arrival; who was to say Emil hadn’t been delayed by the weather, as well? But with more days come and gone, her hope was dwindling. Which left her with one option: return Sam and Peter to St. Joseph and to the guardianship of the judge. And yet something held her back. She wasn’t prepared to declare Sam and Peter orphans just yet. Her stomach clenched. They deserved better.

Vic appeared in the dining room and an insidious sense of misgiving gripped her. When he smiled, the pink of his gums contrasted dramatically with his white teeth and colorless pallor.

He sidled over to her table and flashed her one of his odd half winks. “May I join you?”

He kept his thumbs hooked in the pockets of his elaborate waistcoat. That single piece of clothing must have cost a fortune. Every inch of the expensive fabric was decorated with colorful, intricately embroidered peacocks.

“I’m afraid I was just leaving.” Lily sprang to her feet. Vic’s obvious wealth should have excluded him from any interest in the inheritance of a couple of orphans, but he’d been awfully eager in turning her attention toward the gunfighter. “Please tell Regina how sorry I am that I missed her this morning.”

Though Lily doubted his attention was personal, she tossed in the reminder of his sweetheart. He struck her as the sort of man who preferred conquests to relationships.

“Certainly,” he said. “You seem agitated. Is something amiss?”

“Not at all. Except I wasn’t given Emil’s address since he was supposed to meet us at the livery.” She scrambled for an excuse for her abrupt departure. “Do you know where he lives? Perhaps the children and I can discover a clue to his disappearance.”

“What a curious little thing you are. If only you could stay longer.” Vic took her hand and kissed the back of her knuckles. “Emil owns the barbershop across the street. His rooms are on the second floor.”

Lily resisted the urge to wipe her knuckles against her skirts. “Thank you.”

“Oh, and, Miss Winter, you can catch this evening’s stagecoach after all.”

Hope bloomed in her chest. “Then you’ve found Emil.”

“No.”

“I don’t understand.”

“The sheriff has granted me temporary guardianship of the Tyler children.”

“He can’t do that.” Her blood instantly chilled. “I don’t understand. The judge in Missouri was very specific. The children are to be delivered to their grandfather.”

Vic splayed his hands. “You’re in Nebraska now, Miss Winter. You’re under the laws and jurisdiction of this state, not Missouri. That means the sheriff is the authority.”

Glancing at Sam and Peter’s worried expressions, she offered a reassuring smile that didn’t quite reach her eyes. “Jurisdiction seems like an awfully big word for the sheriff. Are you certain the change in guardianship was his idea?”

“Regina says you were being paid.” Vic reached into his pocket and retrieved a fat wad of bills, then licked his thumb and rested the pad on the top layer. “I’ll settle the debt.”

She stumbled backward. “There’s no need.”

“I insist.” He peeled off enough bills to cover Lily’s salary for six months. “For your trouble.”

Sam stood and she gave a quick flick of her hand, urging silence. “That’s very kind of you, but I’d be shirking my duties if I left the children.”

“Oh, dear.” Vic’s pale lips turned down at the corners. “I’m not certain you have much choice, Miss Winter. You’ve involved the sheriff once already.”

She snatched the bills and clutched them against her stomach. She needed him gone, she needed time to think, and Vic wasn’t leaving unless he thought he’d won.

“This is very generous of you.” She lifted her eyebrows toward Sam and Peter, willing them to follow her lead. There’d be time enough for panicking later. “A trip to the mercantile is in order. The children were well-behaved on the trip. They deserve a reward.”

Anything to stall for time and escape the hotel.

“It was a pleasure meeting you, Miss Winter. I hope you’ll visit our little town again one day.”

“I doubt I’ll be back.”

“You might be surprised.”

“My stay has certainly been filled with unexpected revelations.”

If he caught the implied insult, he let the discretion pass. Absently whistling a lively tune, he strolled from the dining room once more. As soon as he was out of sight, Lily shook out her hands.

Sam and Peter rushed forward.

“Are you leaving us?” Sam demanded. “Where will we stay?”

“I don’t like him,” Peter said. “I don’t want to stay here without you.”

Perhaps it was his odd pale coloring, but there was something about Vic that struck her as sinister.

“Don’t worry.” Lily hugged them close. “I’ll sort this out.”

With his peacock waistcoat and colorless skin, Vic would make an excellent villain in one of Peter’s novels. She certainly didn’t trust his motivations. There was no way the sheriff had come up with the idea of taking over guardianship. If the word jeopardy was outside of his vocabulary, he certainly wasn’t throwing around words like jurisdiction and authority.

She mentally checked off the people she’d met in the past few days: Regina, Jake, Vic and Sheriff Koepke. For such a small town, Frozen Oaks sure had its fair share of shady characters. Last week she’d been fully prepared to leave the boys with their grandfather and return home immediately. After spending several days in this peculiar town, she’d grown reticent. Truth be told, she’d feel no better about leaving the boys and returning home if Emil walked through the door that instant. She certainly wasn’t handing them over to Vic Skaar and his saloon-frequenting sheriff.