Page 23 of Bride in Blue
Max barked a laugh. He could see where Cassie’s wit came from. “I guess I do.”
Most of the men wore dungaree pants covered in dirt and frayed hems. Some didn’t even wear shirts under the bib portion of the overalls. Max was the only one in the establishment wearing a frock. At least the bartender wore a linen shirt and a string tie.
He turned back to Hal, who was turning his mug in his hand. To an outsider it might appear like boredom. To Max it was something more. Max silently counted, watching Hal’s crooked fingers rotate the mug.Five. He rotated it five times.
“How long have you been doing that?” Max asked, pointing to the mug.
“Doing what?” Hal released the mug, pretending not to notice what Max was eluding to.
Max let it drop. “Do you have enough money to pay for a hotel?”
“What business is that of yours?”
“Your daughter came into my store yesterday asking for employment. You were sleeping in a livery.”
“That is only because those buildings were full.”
“I think it became my business when I brought your daughter back to my house and paid for a doctor to look her over.” Max gave the older man a hard stare. Hal shifted on the barstool and dropped his eyes back to his drink.
“I told you Cassie will be fine. She’s a smart girl, just like her Momma.”
“I’m not so sure. She is frightened of something. What I’m not sure.”
Hal paused, the mug halfway to his mouth. He didn’t look at Max. Throwing back his head, he finished his drink and pushed the mug to the edge of the bar top. “I dunno. Maybe she’s worried about her brother?”
“She has a brother?”
Hal nodded. “Named Charles. We had to leave him in New York. Will send word once we get settled.”
“How old is Cassie?” Max asked.
“Just turned nineteen.”
“Charles older or younger?”
“Older by three years.” Hal rubbed his forehead. “Why all these questions.”
“I want to know the type of people I employ.” There was definitely something they weren’t telling him, but he didn’t think it was too serious, so he didn’t press it. Max polished off his sarsaparilla and placed the empty mug next to the one Hal pushed to the corner of the bar. “How about you come back to the house tonight?”
“I told you, I ain’t going to church.”
Max nodded. “Alright. You don’t have to go tomorrow, but now you know; you’ll have to go next week. That way you aren’t paying for a place to stay and Cassie isn’t alone in the house. It would be inappropriate otherwise.”
“I guess I can do that.” Hal scratched his chin. “For Cassie.”
Chapter 7
The next morning Cassie went downstairs and found a woman frying smoked meat over the stove. She was happily humming as she flipped the pieces in the pan. Cassie recognized it as one of the hymns she would sing at church when she’d go with her mother.
“Oh, I wasn’t expecting anyone in here,” Cassie said, backing out of the small kitchen.
The woman turned, startled that there was anyone there. “I didn’t hear you come down.” She wiped her hands on her apron. “You must be Cassandra.” She looked at Cassie from head to toe. “I must say that is a lovely dress.”
“Thank you.” Cassie wrinkled her brow. Max mentioned he had someone that dropped off meals during the week, but she thought he said it didn’t include the weekends. “Call me Cassie. Who are you?” The woman appeared to be around her father’s age, with hair the color of smoke that would blow from the factories. Cassie could see silver threads running through the hair that was once very dark.
The woman was smiling and her whole face lit up in a series of wrinkles and creases. She had bright eyes that were crinkled at the corners as she took Cassie in.
“I’m Mrs. Brown. Max asked me to come over and help tend the meals and do some light housekeeping. I guess you’ll be staying with him for a while.”
