Changing Seasons by Christine Sterling

Author:Christine Sterling [Sterling, Christine]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2019-04-30T05:00:00+00:00

Chapter 7

September 1905

Five years. Next month would mark five years. Five years since she had seen him. The look on his face when she turned down his engagement still haunted her. If she was to ever marry someone, it was going to be for love; not for the busybodies in town to keep their sentiments to themselves.

He walked out of her life the next day.

There were rumors that he may have been spotted in New Mexico, but after that he disappeared. She often wondered what happened to him.

She looked around the cabin. It certainly looked different than when Mrs. Gale and Marty lived here. The inside had been painted with fresh paint. She purchased new furniture from the Montgomery Ward’s catalog at the mercantile. There were wildflowers growing around the house. They invited the deer and rabbits that Lacy Lou would watch from the kitchen window.

She had put in a small garden. It was just enough to feed her. There were even two apple trees that she brought down from the mountain as seedlings and planted in the yard. They had given her fruit for the past two years.

The bedrooms were very simple and non-cluttered. Marty had collected a variety of different items. Fishing lures, books, old tin cans littered the floor of his room.

Lacy Lou packed up all his clothes and put them in the attic. Everything else she burned as trash or gave to the outreach program at the church. There was one photo of Marty that was taken by a journalist who came to report on the earthquakes that changed everyone’s lives.

It was taken of him sitting on one of the barrels outside the saloon. Hattie was standing against the railing. He looked so young as she traced her fingers over his face.

If she could turn back time, she would definitely have done things differently. She would have grasped what was right in front of her with both hands and never let go.

She missed Marty more than she ever thought possible. Since he left, she had the opportunity to be courted by some of the new doctors that came to town. But as soon as they heard of her past, they wanted nothing more to do with her. She would hear the other nurses whispering when she walked by. As soon as they saw her, they would stop their gossiping and try to look busy.

When she finally thought she had put the past behind her, someone would bring it up again. It was a wonder she even left the confines of the small cottage.

She looked at her watch. Her shift started at the hospital in the next hour. She gathered her things, placing them in a bag and went out to the barn. There she stored her prized possession, next to Marty’s horse, Sugar.

She tossed her bag onto the seat and ran around front to give the automobile a crank. It turned over immediately.

It was the one thing she splurged on. Since she didn’t have to pay rent or anything, she was able to save money away and purchase the Franklin Model A.

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