Riding the Rails by Amelia C. Adams

Author:Amelia C. Adams [Adams, Amelia C.]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2019-06-11T05:00:00+00:00

Chapter Five

“And you’ve remembered your hairbrush?” Mrs. Maine asked, watching Heston as he walked back and forth, packing a few small items into his bag.

“Yes, I’ve got it.”

“Oh, good. There’s nothing more distressing than arriving somewhere and finding that you don’t have your hairbrush.” She paused. “Well, I’m sure there are more distressing things—this is a fallen world, after all—but we won’t sit and ponder on that too long. You have much more pressing matters on your mind.”

“Yes, I do. I don’t suppose you happen to know where Mr. Yoder lives, do you?”

“Mr. Yoder? Who is Mr. Yoder?” She blinked.

“He’s supposed to be picking up a dozen cows from the station, but we can’t find him. Mr. Medina’s trying to track down the original owner, but he hasn’t heard back yet, and I hate leaving when he’s got a problem like this to solve.”

“Well, it seems to me that he ought to be able to handle it on his own. He is the stationmaster, after all, and while I’ve no doubt that you’re a wonderful employee, no one person should be so indispensable that they can’t take a few days off without feeling guilty about it.”

“You’re right, Mrs. Maine. You’re absolutely right. I’m going to enjoy my trip, and when I get back, I’ll find that everything was handled just as it should have been. Tess has mentioned the smell of manure a few times, though, and says it makes the station seem less clean than it ought to.”

“I can’t disagree with her there, but you’re doing the best you can.”

Heston fastened the buckle on his bag and then stood in front of Mrs. Maine as though presenting himself for inspection. “Off I go. Do you have any words of advice for me as far as Mercy goes?”

Mrs. Maine looked thoughtful. “Hmm. I would tell you to be a gentleman, but you already are. I would tell you to protect her, but that’s already your intention. I meant what I said before, Mr. Granger—you’re an excellent guardian angel, and I can’t think of a single thing I’d advise you to do differently.”

“So, what do you and your associates think of Mercy going to Denver? I know you want her to get there safely, but do you actually approve of her going? Or are you just . . . letting her have her way, for lack of a better phrase?”

“It’s interesting that you should ask that.” Mrs. Maine perched on the edge of one of the kitchen chairs. “We’ve discussed this quite a number of times, and half of us believe one thing while the other half believes something quite different.”

“And what are those two camps of thought?” Heston asked.

“Half of us feel that since this is her dream, we should do everything we can to help her achieve it. The others feel that she won’t end up happy there, so we should keep her from going.”

“That’s interesting. What do you think?”

Mrs. Maine played with a button on her cuff. “Being such a new angel and all, I’m not sure my opinion matters.

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