Page 15 of Bride in Blue
“How do you know all this?”
Mrs. Pennyworth smiled. “I’m here to help you both.”
Max looked at the elderly woman. He blinked his eyes multiple times as he saw her disappear in a cloud of mist. He was definitely seeing things.
His father was institutionalized at forty. Max wasn’t that far off. He had less than eight years before he was packed up to the asylum.
He cleaned and folded the pair of pants before returning them to the display.
He made sure the door was locked and then started the walk towards the livery. He was halfway there when he realized he didn’t put the brush away, nor grab his tea jug for the following morning.
Cassie had never been so embarrassed. Imagine, ruining all those beautiful clothes. She wiped her tears with the back of her hand and walked the short distance to the train depot.
When she arrived back at the platform, there was no one to be found. Her father wasn’t sitting at the bench where she left him.
She turned is a circle twice willing him to appear. Perhaps if she thought hard enough, he’d materialize like Mrs. Pennyworth.
“May I help you, miss?” the man behind the ticket window asked her.
“Have you seen an elderly man?” she asked. “He was right here when I left to run a quick errand. I thought he was going to wait for me.”
“Tallish man, humped back?”
“Yes. That’s him.”
“I think I heard someone mention they were going to the saloon. It is about four blocks up that way.” The man pointed back to the direction she just came from.
Figures that he would find a saloon the moment they arrived. She couldn’t even leave him alone for a few minutes without him causing some sort of trouble. But this time the trouble was she would need to go get him because Charles wasn’t available.
Cassie wondered what had become of her brother in the few short days since they had been gone. She was sure that Mr. Weston had been turning up the city since he found out she had disappeared.
She walked with a determined gait back up the road and past the stores. She went by the mercantile and stopped for a moment to admire a beautiful blue dress in the window. If it weren’t for the pots and pans in the window as well, Cassie would have thought she was at one of the finer boutiques back home.
She continued walking past the bank and a law office. Past the city hall and further up the road towards the north end of town. Finally, she saw the sign for the Silver Spur Saloon in the distance.
She doubled her pace and stopped in front of the saloon. She stood there for a few minutes wondering what to do. She didn’t have to wait long as a cowboy approached her.
“This isn’t a good place for a lady to be. Are you looking for someone?”
Cassie nodded. “Can you check and see if my father is there?” Cassie described her father and the cowboy entered through the swinging doors.
He returned a moment later shaking his head. “He’s not in there and no one has seen him.”
Cassie felt her chest tightening. He wouldn’t have left her, would he? She thanked the cowboy and headed back towards the lower portion of town.
She was alone. Her father was gone. Her luggage was gone. Oh no! Even her jacket with the money sewn in it was gone. Not that she had much, but it was all she had. The tears started falling harder now.
She couldn’t see where she was going from the dust and tears. Instead of going straight back to the train station and livery, she followed a path to the left and ended up in a cluster of little shops.
There was a bakery, a bookstore, a tea shop and few others.Might as well go to the bakery and drown my sorrows in a cream tart, she thought.
She was just walking past the tea shop, when something in the corner of her eye caught her attention. There was her father sitting in the corner of the tea shop sipping tea like he was the King of England.
Cassie quickly ran into the shop. “Father!” she said, hugging him. “I was so worried I lost you.”
“Don’t you worry, girlie. Some folks said they were headed up to the saloon. I didn’t want a drink, plus carrying these bags would make me an easy target for the gamblers and thieves.” He pointed to their luggage in the corner. Her coat was draped on top of the bags.
Cassie let out a cry of relief.
