The Fugitive Son (32 page)

Ned laughed. “Whoa there. Slow down! It will take us a few days to build all of your shelves and tables and unload all that stuff you had shipped out here from Kansas City.” Turning to the others, he said, “I think she likes it!”

She hugged both brothers with enthusiasm. “I don’t like it – I love it! It’s everything I dreamed of! I don’t know how to thank you for doing all this. It looks like you’ve even had it cleaned.”

“We did. We also had a crew out in the timber cutting the lumber for shelves and tables,” Pete said. “We figured getting you set up was the least we could do after all the ways you helped Papa and Mama the past few years at the plantation. We couldn’t have achieved the success we have here if we didn’t know River Bend was in good hands back home.”

With a broad wink at Isaac, Ned added, “And the way you and Andy seem to hit it off, we figured he and Isaac would be good employees to help you run the store. Here on the busiest plaza in the Southwest, you’re going to have plenty of business. Is that okay with you guys?” he asked.

Andy grinned widely, nodding his head in acceptance.

Elsie was ecstatic. Could life get any better? Her only regret at the moment was that she had worn her green and silver plaid dress with its broad hoop skirt, along with her lace-up, pointy-toed boots. They looked nice, but they certainly weren’t made for setting a merc in order. Why hadn’t she worn a plain muslin everyday dress and sensible shoes? She glanced at Andy, who was looking at her, a bemused expression on his face. Why, indeed, had she dressed so becomingly this morning?

She returned Andy’s gaze with a slightly flirtatious smile. Tomorrow would be soon enough to get down and dirty for working. Today would be a fine time to get acquainted with Isaac’s new friend.

November 1857
Santa Fe, New Mexico Territory

A
NDY STUDIED
Elsie intently as she wrestled with a crowbar to open a crate of canned goods. “You really enjoy all this hard work, don’t you?” he asked in wonderment. She was such a petite girl to be working so hard

Anne Marie had been strong, tall, and built for hard work, but Elsie looked like the slightest breeze could blow her across the room. How could he have the same feelings for two such different women? When Anne Marie died, he felt he could never love another woman, yet here he was, head over heels in love with this pint-sized beauty from Kentucky.

Elsie looked up from the crate she had just opened. “Hard work doesn’t hurt anybody,” she replied. “Besides, we’ve been setting up the merc for the past three weeks, and I’m in a hurry to get it done. Christmas will be coming soon, and I’d dearly love to be open and going strong before then.”

Opening one carefully packed crate after another, Andy marveled at all the new merchandise Elsie was stocking in her store. Every supply station or general merchandise store he had ever seen carried only practical necessities – basic foods like sugar, salt, beans, and flour, plus a few farm implements, bolts of cloth and other sewing essentials, pots and pans – nothing like all the fancy, new things she hoped to sell.

“Do you really think there’s a market for these things?” Andy asked, gingerly holding up a fanciful glass lamp.

“If there’s not, there will be when I get through convincing people how much they need them!” Elsie boasted. She smiled that gorgeous smile that made Andy’s knees tremble. “Women love pretty things in their homes, and after their long, hard journey across the Plains, they’ll fall in love with this kind of stuff. Sort of a breath of fresh air after a dusty desert. “

Andy thought back to the dirt-floored shacks many of the Mormon women tolerated and of Aunt Hettie’s efforts to make her cabin into a home with animal skins, rough shelves, and hand-sewn quilts. He imagined her cut loose in a store like this with money to spend. Yes, she would indeed enjoy some of the fancy stuff if given the opportunity.

He gazed around the huge, open room, taking in the well-organized, beautiful displays that would surely tempt customers at the grand opening in a few weeks. Elsie had designed special sections to appeal to the Mexican and Indian buyers who made up a large part of the town. “It’s really looking good,” he murmured.

His glance shifted to the sunshine streaming through the display windows. “It’s such a beautiful day. Let’s take some time off and walk around the Plaza. We don’t have a whole lot more to do in here.”

Elsie needed no encouragement. “We’re going for a walk to check out the competition,” she called out to Isaac, who was placing barrels of beans, pickles, and rice along the back walls. “Keep an eye on things, please?”

“Yes, ma’am,” Isaac called back. “But don’t expect you’ll find any competition around here. Nobody has a dry goods store equal to this one!”

Strolling along the hardened sand that covered much of the Plaza, they conversed companionably, as though they’d been friends forever. Andy noted their quick friendship, “I feel like I’ve known you all my life, yet it’s only been a couple of months. How can that be?”

She took hold of his arm to keep from stumbling over a brick. “I know. I feel the same way – like I know you so well. Yet I don’t really know much about you.”

He shot her a quizzical look. “Is there a difference between knowing me and knowing about me?”

“Of course there is,” she said with a laugh. “I know you to be a kind, compassionate, dependable man, full of fun, too serious sometimes – all that sort of stuff. But I know nothing about where you came from, what you did before you came here, your family – you know, those kind of things.”

Andy led her to a wooden bench under one of the large pinyon trees on the Plaza. “No time like the present to fill in the blanks,” he joked. “What would you like to know about the life and loves of Andy Rasmussen?”

She giggled. “Well, let’s start with the loves. Ever been married, engaged, or in love?”

Andy suddenly fell silent. Elsie hastily added, “I was only kidding. I didn’t mean to sound so forward.”

He took both her hands in his. “You’re not being forward. I’m beginning to have strong feelings toward you, and I dare to hope you feel the same toward me. That means we have a right to know things of the heart. But mine are so sad; it hurts to talk about them. Maybe someday I’ll be able to tell you my whole story, but for now, suffice it to say I was very much in love once, with a girl I grew up with. But she died on the Oregon Trail.”

Elsie patted his hand. “I’m so sorry. Let’s not talk about sad things today. What about your family and work?”

“Afraid that’s sad, too. My mother and sister died of the black canker while I was with my Pa on a wagon train west. I pored myself into being a great scout and trail guide for wagon trains heading west. Later, I did a short stint with the Legion, finally headed south to Santa Fe, met up with Isaac, and the rest, as they say, is history.” For some reason, he couldn’t bring himself to confess he had been a Mormon and all the horrors he had witnessed. He was afraid she would never understand.

Elsie rose from the bench. “That’s all in the past, so let’s think about the wonderful future we can have from now on.”

He laughed. “Are you proposing to me?”

She blushed. “It did kind of sound like that, didn’t it? But in my future, the man will have to do the proposing. It’s still a man’s world, you know.”

“In that case, would you consider marrying me? I’m not worth much financially, but I think we could build a very good future together. And I know Isaac would approve,” Andy added confidently. “He suggested that you and I were meant for each other before I ever met you!”

“He did, did he? Isaac always was my biggest supporter. Did he also tell you that I’m as independent and spoiled as a girl can get? Maybe if you knew me better, you wouldn’t be so eager to marry me.”

Andy drew her close, right in the midst of a heavy stream of shoppers. “Nothing could change my mind about you. I love your spitfire temper, your desire to manage your own store, your business sense, and your tender, loving heart. In my book, you’re just about perfect.”

“Just about? So you’re willing to settle for less than perfection?” she teased.

He pulled her closer into an embrace and murmured, “I’ll show you perfection!” He cupped her chin in his hands, feathering ever-so-light kisses along her forehead and cheeks. Then he lowered his lips to hers in a lingering kiss.

They strolled hand-in-hand back toward the store, full of joy and anticipation of the future.

Their plans grew and expanded as the days flew by. Working together every day tended to cement their feelings and appreciation for the special gift God had given them. Love flew from his gaze to hers as they worked side by side. Together with Isaac, they established a rhythm in the store, with Elsie handling the women’s needs – from clothing to kitchenware and giftware. Isaac took care of the hardware side of the store, and Andy did most of the financial dealings.

The weekend before the grand opening, Andy and Elsie hiked the ancestral trails at Tsankawi. Bundled against the chilly air and yet warm with the exertion of the climb, they explored the rich petroglyphs carved by ancient Pueblo Indians, who had lived in cave dwellings and on the mesa top. They marveled at the steps literally worn into the stone from the thousands of feet that had walked the trail in centuries past. Because it was little traveled this late in the season, the staircases provided ample privacy for a young couple in love to enjoy their sense of discovery of the past.

Late in the afternoon, Andy pulled out his pocket watch and checked the time. “We’d better head back down. But there’s something I want to do before we go.” He bent down on one of the ancient, worn steps. “We’ve sort of discussed that we might get married some day, but I’d like to make it official.” Opening a small box and holding it out toward her, he continued, “Miss Elsie Condit, will you do me the honor of becoming my wife?”

Elsie bent down to hug him, nearly knocking both of them down the steep stairs in her excitement. “Yes!” she squealed. “Yes!”

Laughing gaily, Andy placed a beautiful blue sapphire ring on her finger. “I was right – this stone matches your gorgeous blue eyes perfectly!”

The piquant scent of pinyon, its smoke wafting upwards from many fireplaces, permeated the clear night air as they returned to the Plaza. Elsie stopped and took a deep breath. “Ah! There’s nothing that smells as good as Santa Fe this time of the evening!”

Andy grew reflective as he snuggled her closer in an effort to ward off the rapidly falling temperature. “I wonder if it was like this when Mary and Joseph entered into Bethlehem.”

“It does kind of look like the pictures I’ve seen of the Holy Land,” Elsie agreed. “The high desert, all the sand, the scrubby trees…”

“I bet they didn’t have the pork and hominy stew, tamales, or those little anise cookies,” Andy added.

Elsie gave him a playful shove. “Oh, you. All you think about is food! We’d better go home and see what goodies Lolani has cooked up for us before you starve to death!”

The following week, customers and curiosity seekers lined up on the Plaza, waiting their turn to enter Condit’s Dry Goods, look over the merchandise, and sample the refreshments Lolani had prepared for the grand opening. Their overwhelming enthusiasm testified to the need for a store like Elsie’s, further confirming her dream.