Adele, p.10
Adele, page 10
The people nodded, thanking Orville for his help and taking their paper with them as they bid good night to their fellow town’s people.
“I think that went well,” Beau grinned as the last of the guests rolled out of the saloon. “I think I have a good chance at this.”
“You gave a good speech,” Adele said, concerned. “I’m just not sure you reached the hearts of the people.”
“Hearts?” Beau squinted at her. “I’m talking about industry.”
“Yes, but is that what everyone wants?”
“Beau, how about another round!” Cane hollered from his corner of the saloon.
“Belly up,” Beau smiled, feeling confident. “Pretty soon, I’ll be running this town, and you’ll see how things can be.”
“I’ll see you at home,” Adele said, wishing she knew how to make Beau understand that the tone of the town was not positive for him.
“Good night,” Beau said, slipping out of his coat and hanging it on a peg before pulling out his apron and wrapping it around his waist.
“Good night.”
ADELE WALKED INTO THE quiet quarters of her home and sighed. Was her husband destined to be disappointed in his ambitions? Was he even suited to be the man in charge of the town? He seemed so ill-prepared to know what Needful needed. Yes, businesses were important, commerce and making a living, but having the freedom to make decisions on your own was more important than that. Hadn’t they fought a whole war over just that issue long ago?
Even the recent War Between the States had been based on freedom for all. One man or body could not be allowed to impose restrictions that put ambition before the rights of the people. Perceived progress for progress's sake was not a benefit to anyone.
“Lord,” Adele sighed, walking to the stove and stoking the flame. “I don’t know what comes next, but thank you for giving me a safe home, with enough to eat, and a man who wants to provide. I don’t know what is driving him, but I fear that he wants this title not for what it will do for others, but what it will do for him. Please give me wisdom in helping him see that your purpose is better than his.”
Taking the time to fix a cup of tea, Adele settled at the table, turning over her doubts, worries, and cares to a heavenly father who loved her and forgave her for turning her back on him, even for a short time. Now she had to move forward, living with the decisions she had made and trust that somehow God would use them for her good.
THE VOTING WAS OVER in a trice, the day flying by and Adele found herself pacing the small confines of her living area, wondering what had happened She wanted Beau to be happy but felt that his motivation for vying for the position was not to serve the people.
What would he do if he lost? She didn’t know him well enough to say. Would he be spiteful, angry, disappointed, or despondent? She just didn’t know.
The night wore on and Adele yawned. Weary from a busy day. Not only was tonight a night for speeches, but she and the other women of Needful had also begun putting up the decorations for the town.
Flicking her eyes toward the door that led to the saloon, Adele cleaned up her teacup and prepared for bed. Tomorrow would bring changes that she didn’t know how to prepare for, but she would accept them as God’s will and remember to be thankful for all things.
“A LITTLE HIGHER, JUBAL.” Olive Hampton waved her hands upward at her youngest son, indicating where to put the beautifully decorated pine wreath tied up with a bright red and white ribbon.
“It’s looking good,” Adele smiled as Jubal placed the decoration and looked at his mother for approval.
“Everyone has pitched in to make this perfect,” Olive pulled her shawl tighter around her shoulders as the wind picked up.
“It’s kinda pretty,” a boy of about seven said, tipping back his head. “Why’s it got a jar in the middle?”
“It will have a candle in it tonight, Chad,” Olive said. “Did you help with the cans?”
“Sure,” the boy grinned. “Mr. Ben showed us what to do.”
Adele watched people coming in and out of town, many of them moving to the Hampton House to drop votes under the watchful eye of Orville. Soon this job would be done, and she would know what came next. A giggle grabbed her attention and Adele turned to see her sisters trying to hold a wreath up for a slim cowboy to fasten to a post.
Shaking her head, she moved down the line waiting to see how everything was coming. Adele was pleased that she and her compatriots had kept the budget low while creating something festive for the town.
This Christmas had the potential to be special if everything came together like the prayer of her heart.
As she and the other women worked tirelessly with a few cowboys and Olive’s son, the street began to look like a holiday dream.
“It’s starting to get dark,” Fanny commented as the sun slipped toward the horizon, casting some of the street in shadow. “Can we light the candles?”
Alice grinned. “They won’t burn all night anyway,” she said. “Why not?”
Adele nodded, walking to the tallest cowboy and asking him if he would mind lighting the little lamps in each ring.
“Ohh,” The sound wafted down the street as Ben led the children from the church, walking them each to their parents. The sound warmed Adele’s heart and she smiled, happy that Beau had encouraged her to do this. She only hoped he wouldn’t see it as a waste of time and money if he didn’t become mayor.
Chapter 13
Adele stepped out of the Hampton House, stretching her back as she turned toward home. She smiled, looking up at the soft glow from the wreaths stationed along the street.
The candles flickered softly in the cool evening breeze, and Adele loved the look of each decoration. Olga and the others had done an excellent job making beautiful bows of the red and white fabric.
“It looks nice, don’t it?” Olive Hampton said, stepping out the door. “We never did anything like this before.” Her eyes followed the flickering lights along the street. “I don’t know what you and Beau agreed on,” the older woman said, “and I don’t need to, but I can see it is working out.”
Adele turned eyes wide, but the older woman continued.
“You’re good for him whether he knows it or not. Try to be patient. I don’t know the man well, no one does, but he’s got something on his back weighing him down.”
Adele didn’t reply. She simply nodded and headed toward her home. She had felt that same presence that Olive had. Beau had told her so little about himself, yet she knew she was fond of him.
ADELE PULLED HER WRAP around her warding off the chill of the night. The fire had died down as she waited for Beau to finish work and come home. The hour was late and she hoped that he had been given news of how the vote had gone.
Her eyes fluttered and she pulled a blanket over her as she snuggled into the settee. Surely Beau would be in soon. She didn’t want him to be alone, no matter what the news was.
The door down the long hall rattled, but Adele didn’t hear it as sleep pulled her under.
BEAU TRUNDLED DOWN the hall, grumbling under his breath as he tipped sideways, his shoulder catching the side of the hallway, making him curse.
It had been a long night. Several cowboys and miners had stuck around late until Orville had carried him a note, bringing news about the election. Reading it, Beau had quickly opened the taps to his few friends, lifting a glass with them in each round.
On a rational level, Beau knew he was drunk. In all his life, all the time he had worked in saloons and bars, the man had never been drunk. His mother would have skinned him alive if she had ever caught him in this condition, but she was gone. Dead and gone like his dreams of rising in the eyes of his neighbors.
Stumbling into the house, the man reached to hang his coat on a hook, but it fell to the floor with a rattle of keys.
“Beau?” A sleepy voice called from the living room and he ducked his head around the edge of the doorway.
“Wha’ are you doin’ up?” he slurred.
“I was waiting for you.” Adele sat up, rubbing her eyes, a blanket slipping from her lap.
“Shouldn’t ‘ave,” Beau staggered toward her, the room tilting slightly as he focused on the woman who had become his wife. Her dark hair hung over her shoulders in waves and her pale skin seemed to glow in the light of the lamp still flickering on the kitchen table across the hall.
“I wanted,” Adele lifted a hand to her pale neck and swallowed. “I wanted to see how it went.”
“Humph,” Beau huffed, flopping into a small chair that creaked under his assault. “No one wants me,” he babbled. “Not good enough for anyone in this town.”
Adele’s quick mind comprehended immediately. He had lost and Dan Gaines would be the Mayor of Needful once more.
“I’m sorry.”
“For what.” Beau’s voice was gruff, “It’s not your fault people only want me around for what I can do for them. Al’ays been that way. Beau fetch this, Beau carry that. Men are my friends as long as the taps are open, but they forget me as soon as they’ve had their fill.”
“That’s not true,” Adele tried, but he waved her away. Adele was sure the man was drunk and that the alcohol was loosening his tongue.
“What do you know?” Beau’s hazel eyes flashed. “If you know you’d leave. Go back to your friends and never look back.”
“I wouldn’t,” Adele said, lifting her chin, all vestiges of sleep gone. “I believe you’re a good man.”
Beau huffed again, shaking his head. “I’m no one. I’ve always been no one. The son of a whore who worked her way out of service to open her own saloon. Soon as people know that, they don’t want anything to do with me.”
Adele felt her heart lurch, and the breath froze in her chest. The man had always presented himself as educated, intelligent, and well off. The revelation was a shock, but it also made sense.
Standing, she walked to him, kneeling before the man and placing her hand on his where they rested on his knees. “You are still a soul,” she said. “God loves you.”
Beau lifted his eyes from where they had fallen on her warm hands.
“You’re just saying that for what I can do for you.”
Adele shook her head. “I won’t deny I’m pleased with our arrangement,” she admitted, “but I’ve come to realize that I would like to know you better.”
Beau’s eyes froze, holding her gaze. Could she mean it? Did it truly not matter to her that he had come from the worst of circumstances?
He shook his head, not able to accept what she said. Hadn’t the whole town just rejected him?
“Beau?”
Leaning forward, Beau brushed his lips over Adele’s. They were soft, warm, and inviting. He pulled back, still blinking when she didn’t resist, confused by this simple acceptance of who he was.
Chapter 14
Beau blinked, realizing what he had done, standing abruptly to break the contact with Adele. Turning on his heel, far soberer than he had been a moment ago, he walked back down the hall to his room and closed the door behind him.
Beau closed the door behind him, leaning against it, hands braced behind his back.
“Why did I do that?” he asked the empty room. “Whatever possessed me?” His words echoed hollow in the room.
He had kissed Adele on their wedding day as was expected, but other than taking her arm or helping her up a step, he hadn’t touched her. That was not the agreement. Not the plan or goal.
Shaking his head as he tried to clear it, he worked to explain his actions away. Between the drink and the disappointing news that he had lost to Dan Gaines, his emotions had gotten the better of him.
Taking an unsteady step toward the bed, Beau dropped down on the soft mattress sitting on the edge and untying his string tie.
He had been a fool to think that anyone would accept him as someone important to the town. Shaking his head and regretting it as the room spun, he unbuttoned his shirt and began to undress.
“They’re just too ignorant to see,” he mumbled, but before he could follow that line of thought, his mind turned to Adele. The woman hadn’t pulled away from him when he kissed her. She seemed to have kissed him back as if she was trying to show him he was accepted.
Beau’s head snapped up again as he remembered what he had told her, what he had confessed in a moment of drunken honestly. What would she do? Would she tell others? Would she reject him?
Something cold and dark slipped into his heart as he expected she was probably packing her bags even now. No, no one loved Beau Alder. He was nothing, no one, and he never would be. All the voices from his early years echoed in his head and still wearing his dark trousers, Beau collapsed into the bed, burying his tear-stained face in the expensive pillow as sleep pulled him under, obliterating the rest of the world.
ADELE BRUSHED A HAND over her lips. She could still taste the whisky on her lips from Beau’s kiss. He had kissed her. Really kissed her, and she had kissed him back.
Pushing herself to her feet, Adele dropped into the chair her husband had abandoned only moments ago. He had been drunk, disheartened, and depressed. The kiss probably meant nothing. It was a desperate cry for connection or affirmation.
Still, Adele let the warmth of the kiss fill her even as the revelation the man had shared washed over her with icy fingers. Beau had never talked much about his past, only briefly mentioning that his mother had owned a saloon where he had worked as a boy.
Adele’s dark eyes moved around the room, taking in the pretty wallpaper, the quality furnishings, and the care poured into the place. Beau had been trying to purchase a sense of respectability that he could never feel in his heart.
A single tear trickled from her eye, rolling down her face unheeded. The man had been nothing but honest, upright, and true to her and the agreement they had made. He asked little of her but her support and help with the business, yet no matter what she did, she couldn’t fill the hole in the very depths of his soul.
“Lord, give me wisdom,” Adele said, hanging her head in shame. Perhaps if she hadn’t been focused on her wishes, she would have seen Beau as more than a means to get what she wanted. Her heart cracked as she let the tears flow. Wasn’t he worthy of love? “I’m sorry for my selfishness,” Adele continued. “I pray that you will help me to love the man I married. A man who has taken me as I am and promised to help me protect and care for my sisters. Dear God, show me how to be the woman you want me to be.”
A nightingale called in the night, and a warm rush of peace washed over Adele, bringing with it a sleepiness that she couldn’t fight.
Rising, Adele walked to her room, thinking of the man on the other side of the hall as she undressed and prepared for bed. Tomorrow would come and though she didn’t know what it would bring, she knew that she wanted to learn to love the man she had married.
He wasn’t dashing, handsome, or romantic, but he had lived up to his side of things, and though the cry of his heart had led him to seek out something he couldn’t have, she knew God could use him if only Beau would recognize that no matter who he was or where he came from the Creator of the Universe loved him and had sent his son to die for his sins.
Crawling under the blankets, her eyes slipping closed, Adele felt the smile on her lips as she determined to show Beau the love of a God who accepts us where we are, and she knew she had been forgiven for trying to control and manage everything on her own.
Adele succumbed to sleep even as she surrendered to the will of God. She was sure she would make mistakes, create problems, lose her temper, and all of the other things frail humans were prone to, but her heart was steadfast and would rest in the hands of God.
Silence settled over the saloon as the residents slipped into slumber. Outside, a dark figure crept along the back alley, looking toward the door at the back of the building. A night bird called out as the man tried the door, finding it locked tight and crept on further through town.
THE MORNING BROKE COLD and damp as Adele rose from her warm bed and prepared for the day. Her lips twitched into a smile of determination as the memory of the kiss touched her mind.
The woman had never been around men who had been drinking before she met Beau, but she wondered if he would remember anything this morning.
Her heart sagged as she thought of him having to go through the defeat once again if he didn’t remember, but she would break it to him gently.
Putting on a lovely purple dress that felt far too frivolous for a woman of her age, Adele made her way to the kitchen on silent feet. She would have everything prepared to make breakfast and coffee when Beau woke.
The town seemed muted as Adele tied an apron around her waist and stoked the stove back to life, forcing the damp chill from her kitchen.
THE SMELL OF BACON and coffee wafting down the hall woke Beau as he rolled to a sitting position with a moan. His head was pounding and his tongue felt like some no good shepherd had driven a whole herd of sheep across it.
Dropping his head into his hands, the saloon owner groaned softly. What had he been thinking last night when he had joined in with his patrons drinking more than he ever had in his life? A cold chill raced down his spine as he remembered the events of the night before.
Orville had arrived with the final count in the mayoral race, and Beau had lost. He groaned again, this time as hot anger seared his soul. The people of this town were too stupid to know a good thing when they saw it.
Another cold chill ran, like a rivulet of ice water, down Beau’s back as another memory came slamming home. He had kissed his wife. The woman who had bartered her bookkeeping and cooking services for a home and allowance had been truly kissed. Would she still be here when he stepped out of his room, or would she have left after his broken word?
