Loving Eliza by Ruth Ann Nordin

Author:Ruth Ann Nordin [Nordin, Ruth Ann]
Language: eng
Format: epub, mobi
ISBN: 9781449550202
Google: _tpNQwAACAAJ
Amazon: 1449550207
Publisher: CreateSpace
Published: 2009-12-20T13:00:00+00:00

Chapter Thirteen

John had hoped that Eliza would be back at his place when he returned. The first thing he did was check the little home he’d given her to stay in. But it was empty. He stood in the doorway, unsure of what to do. He’d looked all over town, starting with Frank and Addy’s place and then to the boarding house before he finally made his way to Charity’s home. He couldn’t think of anywhere else she might stay. While he was at Charity’s, he tried to ask the marshal to search for her, but the man shooed him away as if he were a child. When John grabbed the marshal by the shirt collar, Daphne intervened and after a good fifteen minutes of trying to write down what he wanted, she finally translated it to the big oaf who—at long last—left the house to notify everyone in town that he was looking for Eliza.

John had also taken the time to tell Daphne that since she had been delayed, he had gotten to know Eliza and wanted to marry her. He apologized and hoped she would soon find one of the other single men in town who were more to her liking. Daphne said she understood, and Charity started making plans on which available bachelor would be the best pick to go after.

John took his time in returning home. The sun was setting, which made it hard for him to examine the landscape. Perhaps Eliza had decided to leave town altogether. But where would she go? There wasn’t anything around them for miles.

He heard a noise. Hoping it might be Eliza, he turned around but only saw a deer leap out of sight. He lowered the lantern and lumbered to his house. The absence of Eliza’s chitter chatter was deafening. He’d been used to silence before she came, but once she made her home here, he’d had the pleasure of her voice. Whether she talked to him or sang, she had delighted him with her presence. And now she was gone.

Where did she go?

He swallowed the lump in his throat and blinked back his tears. He didn’t want to cry. Crying didn’t solve anything. He needed solutions. He needed information. He needed to act. But what else could he do? He’d already exhausted all of his ideas. Entering the house, he set the lantern on the kitchen table and sat down. He took a moment to look at the yellow walls. She enjoyed the color yellow.

His gaze drifted to the wilting yellow flowers at the center of the table. Flowers didn’t last long once they were plucked from the ground, but there were so many on the property, she could pick a dozen each day and still have more to choose from. Now she wouldn’t be picking flowers and that made the place seem emptier as well.

I shouldn’t have run from her. I should have stayed. It was his fault she left. She told him a part of her past that he hadn’t wanted to hear and he ran away from her.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.