Dejected in Denver (Yours Truly: The Lovelorn Book 14) Read online

  DEJECTED IN DENVER

  Yours Truly: The Lovelorn, Book 14

  by Cat Cahill

  All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, including photocopying, recording, or other electronic or mechanical methods, without the prior written permission of the author, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical reviews and certain other noncommercial uses permitted by copyright law. For permission requests, write to the author at:

  http://www.catcahill.com

  This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, businesses, places, events, locales, and incidents are either the products of the author’s imagination or used in a fictitious manner. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is purely coincidental.

  Copyright © 2020 Cat Cahill

  Cover design by Black Widow Books

  All rights reserved.

  Table of Contents

  Title Page

  Copyright Page

  About This Series

  Chapter One

  Chapter Two

  Chapter Three

  Chapter Four

  Chapter Five

  Chapter Six

  Chapter Seven

  Chapter Eight

  Chapter Nine

  Chapter Ten

  Chapter Eleven

  Chapter Twelve

  Chapter Thirteen

  Chapter Fourteen

  Chapter Fifteen

  Chapter Sixteen

  Chapter Seventeen

  Chapter Eighteen

  Chapter Nineteen

  Chapter Twenty

  Chapter Twenty-one

  Chapter Twenty-two

  Chapter Twenty-three

  Chapter Twenty-four

  Chapter Twenty-five

  Epilogue

  About this Series

  More Books by Cat Cahill

  About the Author, Cat Cahill

  About This Series

  YOURS TRULY: THE LOVELORN is a multi-author sweet historical romance series take on the modern-day Dear Abby newspaper articles. Each story features someone frustrated in love who writes to The Lovelorn. Then the complications set in. Every book stands alone and features its author's unique creative touch.

  Chapter One

  Cañon City, Colorado - Spring 1881

  Molly Hill narrowed her eyes at her sister-in-law as Grace returned to her small dress shop in the rear of the family’s general store. Grace didn’t notice. She was too busy smiling at nothing and placing a hand against her stomach. Grace had a secret, and Molly was almost certain she knew what it was.

  Grace was expecting a baby.

  Molly would have to ask her about it later, after she figured out whether Jasper knew yet. Her brother was hardly perceptive about such things. As Grace disappeared into the dress shop, Molly glanced about the general store and sighed. There were no customers right now. She wished for someone—anyone—to walk in. She much preferred helping customers to tallying the receipts that were laid out in front of her.

  As if it read her mind, the door opened and a tall man with a worn brown hat and a star-shaped badge pinned to his coat strode inside.

  Deputy Eli Jennings.

  He fixed her with that smile she’d come to know so well, the one that made his eyes crinkle just so and made her wonder how he didn’t have every girl in town falling at his feet. For a brief time last summer, when he’d been charged with escorting Molly and her mother safely to and from the store each day, she thought he might have taken a shine to her. But nothing had ever come of it, and so she’d figured he saw her as a sister—just like every other eligible man in town. Molly Hill, little sister to every marriageable man in Fremont County.

  Molly sighed again and fixed a smile on her face for Eli.

  “Afternoon, Miss Molly,” he said as he removed his hat.

  “Hello, Eli.” She tried to sound cheerful, but lately the fear she might never marry had begun to consume her. It had started out small, sometime after Jasper had married Grace, and then had grown bit by bit until it seemed she thought of it each time she so much as saw a happy couple or one of the young men she’d known for years.

  His brilliant smile faded into a look of concern. “Are you well?”

  “I’m fine.” Molly forced the lonely feelings down. It was hardly Eli’s fault, and he looked genuinely concerned for her. If she concentrated on the here and now, the feelings wouldn’t trouble her. “Are you here to see Jasper?” She already knew the answer—Eli arrived daily to talk briefly with her brother. After the danger they’d found themselves in last summer with the attempted prison break, Eli had made it his appointed duty to stop by each afternoon. It was unnecessary, but the man took his work as a sheriff’s deputy seriously, and for that, Molly admired him.

  He was also quite handsome, with thick, light brown hair, hazel eyes, and of course, that smile that lit up a room. But she would never tell him that. He might get a big head, and besides, thinking about such things only made her start to feel down about her situation again.

  “Is he in the storeroom?” Eli asked, his eyes drifting toward the room’s closed door.

  “He is.” Molly began stacking the receipts as she spoke. She didn’t have the mind for them at this moment, anyway.

  Eli turned that smile toward her again, and it only made her want to smile too. What must it be like to walk about like Eli, who appeared to have no concerns in the world?

  “I’ve brought you the paper.” He set a freshly printed Fremont County Record on the counter where her receipts had been. “I know how much you look forward to it each week,” he explained as if he didn’t already bring her the paper every Saturday.

  Molly’s heart ratcheted up a notch as she laid a hand on the paper. She itched to fling it open and search for the column she read first each week, but she held her composure. The last thing she wanted any man to see her eagerly reading was a column entitled “The Lovelorn.”

  “I haven’t read it yet, but that news about Billy the Kid looks mighty interesting.” Eli nodded at the paper.

  Molly glanced down to have some clue about the story he spoke of. “Yes, it does. I’ll be certain to read it.” In truth, she enjoyed learning about the latest news and worldly events, even if it wasn’t the primary reason she’d begun reading the newspaper in earnest each week.

  “I’ll purchase another copy for myself, and perhaps we can discuss it at some point.” Eli smiled at her again, and Molly’s heart tripped a little faster. It was a strange sort of thing for him to say, and she didn’t know why it made her feel so nervous.

  He wants an intelligent conversation, that’s all, she told herself as Eli nodded at her before moving toward the storeroom to find her brother.

  Molly glanced about the store. She knew her mother was in the dress shop at the rear with Grace and the two men were in the storeroom, and yet she wanted to be absolutely certain no one was nearby before she opened the newspaper. Satisfied, she flipped past articles about Washington, DC and the state government in Denver, news about who was new in town and who’d left Cañon City, and advertisements from local businesses—including their own. She grinned at the large ad Jasper had purchased, declaring Hill’s General Store and Dress Shop had numerous goods in stock and the finest dressmaker in town. That last claim ought to make horrible Harold Trace, the only other dressmaker in Cañon City, red with fury.

  She turned one more page, and there—off to the far right of the page—sat the column Molly had anticipated all week. She skimmed the column, her eyes catching only the
names of the letter writers, until they landed on the very last letter. That one was signed by Dejected in Denver.

  Molly’s eyes widened and her stomach grew tight. It was her. Her letter. She’d hoped by signing it “Dejected in Denver” she’d ensure no one she knew would recognize her particular woes.

  She glanced up again, and, satisfied everyone was still occupied elsewhere, began to read.

  Dear Lovelorn,

  I am twenty-four and unmarried. I have lived in the same place all my life, and all the men I know see me as a sister of sorts. Not a one of them thinks of me as a woman to court or marry; they only think of me as that nice girl who works at the general store. Even when I meet men new to town, they soon see me in the same way. Every time I think I’ve caught a man’s eye, he becomes only a friend. I don’t wish to be a spinster, although I fear I may already be one. Please, what should I do?

  Dejected in Denver

  And then there was the response:

  Dear Dejected in Denver,

  You sound like a confident and well-spoken woman. Consider that a strength! Use it to relocate to a new city or town where no one will have preconceived notions of who you are. Do you have a friend or a relative you’ve been longing to visit? Now is the time to do just that—and meet several eligible men who will see you for the lovely and desirable woman I’m certain you are.

  Yours Truly: The Lovelorn

  Molly reread the words a second time, and then a third. Perhaps Lovelorn was right. Maybe she needed a change in scenery. Maybe then she could meet someone who saw her as more than Jasper’s little sister or the nice girl at the store.

  The possibilities danced through her mind. Now she only needed to make them happen.

  Chapter Two

  “Where’ve you been?” Harry Caldwell, the other regular sheriff’s deputy, greeted Eli the second he pushed through the door into the office.

  “Out walking the town, no different from usual.” Eli paused in his defense to take in Caldwell’s cheerful countenance. The older man’s hat was off and he was leaning back comfortably in one of the chairs that sat around the desk. Behind the desk, Sheriff Ben Young smirked as he propped his boots up against the nicked wood. Eli thought of these men as family, and he imagined they felt the same, given how they teased him like a little brother.

  “And how’s Miss Hill?” Young asked, lacing his hands behind his head.

  Eli busied himself with pulling off his coat. “She’s fine. Why don’t you ever ask how her mother is, or the folks over at the McClure?”

  “’Cause you ain’t sweet on her mother or the folks at the hotel.” Caldwell grinned at him. “When are you going to finally ask to court that poor girl?”

  Eli didn’t answer—because he didn’t have an answer. Instead, he strode to the stove in the corner and squatted to add more wood to fight the spring chill that lingered in the air.

  “She’s not going to wait forever, a pretty girl like that,” Young said. “If you want, I can ask Penny—”

  “No!” Eli whipped around so hard he slammed his shoulder into the door of the stove. Rubbing the aching spot, he stood and looked his friend right in the eye. “Don’t say a word to Mrs. Young.”

  That made Caldwell start to cackle, and it wasn’t long before Young joined in. The sheriff’s wife was nothing but kind to Eli, but she took far more interest than she should in his—and everyone else’s—romantic life. She’d offered more than once to find him a wife, either in town or through the mail-order bride business she ran with another lady down in Crest Stone.

  “I ought to get home to the missus,” Caldwell said, rising from his seat after finally sobering from his laugh at Eli’s expense. “You want to come for dinner?”

  Eli shook his head and thanked him. While Mrs. Caldwell’s cooking couldn’t be beat, he found himself wanting to be alone.

  “All quiet out there?” Young asked after Caldwell left.

  “Quiet enough,” Eli replied.

  “I got word about rustlers a little ways north. I’ll ride out in the morning and see what I find.” Young stacked a few stray papers as he spoke.

  Eli nodded. “I can close up if you want to head upstairs.”

  “I’ll take you up on that. It’s been a long day.” Young stood and stretched before collecting his hat and coat. “Penny will send down food for the Robbins brothers.” The brothers were currently occupying the jail cells behind the office after stealing the payroll off the train bound for the silver mines in the mountains. Considering the sheriff and his wife lived just upstairs of the office, it was more economical for Mrs. Young to simply cook extra and send it down for the prisoners than it was to order food for them from one of the restaurants in town.

  “Won’t be long before the judge sends them down the road,” Eli said, referring to the state penitentiary at the edge of town.

  “Sure ought to.” Young paused, his coat slung over his shoulder. “Almost forgot—there’s a letter for you from Denver. It’s in the desk.”

  Eli bid Young good evening before moving toward the desk. Denver. That had to mean his mother. He knew no one else in the city these days, even though he’d spent nearly all of his younger life there. He found the letter, sliced it open with a knife, and sat back to read.

  Dearest Eli,

  I hope this letter finds you well, my son. It is cold here in Denver, and I wish I had the company of my family to keep me warm.

  Eli paused and breathed out in frustration. While he loved his mother, she was relentless in her attempts to persuade him to return to Denver for good. Being her unmarried son, he was the one who received the bulk of her guilt-inducing attempts, although he was certain his married sisters weren’t immune. He sat up and pressed the letter to the desk.

  I’ve found myself in a bit of a pinch lately. You see, Mr. Wenzel finally succeeded in selling your father’s company—for a handsome price, I might add—but I’ve recently discovered my dear Theodore had taken out many debts. They must be repaid, and I fear it will take all I’ve got left to satisfy the man he owed. I’ve put the man off by offering him small sums, but I do hope you might write to him and ask if there is some other way.

  When you reply, please let me know if you were successful. Also, if you don’t have a sweetheart in Cañon City, I’ve recently met the daughter of a Mrs. Graves. She’s quite a bit older than you and she isn’t very intelligent, but I believe she’d make a fine wife.

  Your loving mother,

  Dorothy Jennings

  Eli huffed again and shoved the letter back into its envelope. Wouldn’t anyone leave him be with the marriage talk? Between his friends and his mother, one might think Eli was on the verge of living alone on the side of a mountain with a beard clear down to his knees and a herd of mule deer for company.

  He set about gathering his things, his ma’s letter on his mind. His father had never been indebted in his life, of that Eli was absolutely certain. Theodore Jennings had an impeccable reputation, both in business and in his personal life. He hadn’t been rich, by any means, but he’d built up a decent lumberyard and had many friends. It would’ve broken his heart to know that his only son hadn’t returned to take over his business. Eli tried not to think about that too often.

  One thing was clear from that letter, though. Ma was in some sort of trouble, and Eli doubted it was something he could solve by simply writing a letter. He’d need to go to Denver, speak to the man in person, and find out what he thought Eli’s father owed him. It had to be a misunderstanding. If it wasn’t, then either Pa wasn’t the man Eli and everyone else had thought he was—which was impossible—or someone was stealing from his mother.

  It had been some time since he’d been to Denver, and he owed Ma a visit anyway. He’d be gone a week, at most, he figured as he climbed the stairs to Young’s place to get leave to make the journey.

  One week, and then he’d be back to the work here that he loved. And a certain woman he wished he could muster up the courage to do mor
e than give a newspaper and make small talk with. He’d never understand how he could face down armed outlaws and not have the guts to be forthright with Molly.

  Somehow a pretty face was far more intimidating than a surly man with a pistol.

  Chapter Three

  Molly arranged her traveling skirt as best she could on the upholstered train seat. She’d chosen a place by the window, and could hardly contain her excitement at making the journey to Denver. She’d never traveled by train before. In fact, she’d never traveled anywhere she could remember. She’d been so young when her family arrived in Cañon City, and she’d never had cause to leave.

  But now she was. Her aunt and uncle’s home in Denver awaited her, along with the possibility of finding love. When she’d proposed the idea of visiting Aunt Ellen and Uncle John for a few months, Mama had immediately agreed it would be a nice change for her. And when Mama had hinted not-so-subtly that she might find a good man to marry, Molly knew they were of the same mind. Mama had immediately telegraphed her brother and sister-in-law, and now, a few days later, Molly found herself on this train.

  She set her beaded reticule in her lap. It was new—a gift from Mama for her trip, as was the hat she wore and, packed away in her trunk, a beautiful new evening dress Grace had made up for a woman in town who’d changed her mind. A few alterations later, and now it fit Molly perfectly. She was all set for her adventure. For meeting new people and most especially, for finding a suitor. Perhaps she’d find two—wouldn’t that be the most incredible thing? She could just imagine herself needing to fight off the affections of two handsome, well-to-do, respectable men who’d fallen madly in love with her. The image brought a giggle to her lips and she covered her mouth just before it escaped.

  “Pardon me, miss. Might I take this seat?” a male voice asked.

  A very familiar male voice.

  “Deputy Jennings?” Molly couldn’t contain her surprise. Whatever was he doing on this train?