Page 2 of Temel

Dora’s tone was petulant, but Ida could see the worry in her eyes and kept her voice calm.

“Don’t say that. Mr. Raven has been more than generous and you know it.”

Her daughter sighed and sank down gracefully in the chair by the window, the morning light sparking red highlights in her dark brown hair. With the baby in her arms she resembled some ancient Madonna.

Angel squirmed in her sleep and made the little mewling sound that was the closest the three-month-old ever got to crying. Dora rocked her gently and the baby settled back down as Dora gave her a wary look.

“What did he say?”

“That he was going to have to ask for the full rent again. Apparently the fact that I’ve moved from wearing black to grey has convinced Mrs. Raven that we’re ready to move on.” She couldn’t quite suppress a sigh, but she tried to sound cheerful as she hurried on. “Fortunately, he has another property which might be suitable.”

Dora’s suspicious look didn’t change.

“I bet it’s some kind of shack on the edge of town.”

“Well, it’s not actually in Wainwright. But that could be a good thing,” she added hastily. “We wouldn’t have to worry so much about someone finding out that Angel is your daughter.”

“I suppose that’s good.” Dora’s lip trembled as she looked down at the baby. “But it doesn’t really change anything. We still have to keep pretending she’s yours so that everyone in town doesn’t know I’m a slut.”

Ida went over and put her arm around Dora’s slender shoulders.

“You’re nothing of the kind. Malcolm was a bastard who took advantage of you.”

Unfortunately, the traveling salesman who had visited Wainwright last spring was also an extremely charming man. She’d been busy dealing with the aftermath of Abner’s death and the harsh reality of their limited funds and hadn’t kept as close an eye on her daughter as she should have done. Dora was also reeling from his death—for all his faults, he’d loved his daughter and the two of them had been close—and in her grief she’d turned to the seemingly kind older man.

Based on what Dora had told her, that kindness had disappeared as soon as Malcolm found out she was pregnant. He’d accused Dora of trying to trap him, suggested she had other lovers, and left town within a week. That was when a hysterical Dora finally came to her. She’d assured her daughter that she’d stand by her, but Dora had begged her to pretend that she was the one who was having the baby.

Knowing how narrow-minded some of the people in Wainwright could be, she’d eventually agreed. Since everyone assumed they were staying close to home and refusing visitors due to their mourning period, the deception had been easier to pull off than it would have been under other circumstances. However, she’d warned Dora that she might regret the decision, and she suspected that that time had arrived.

“We could always tell everyone the truth,” she said gently. “Your real friends won’t care.”

“I know, but it’s not about me. I just can’t stand the thought of people talking about Angel.” Dora stiffened and pulled away slightly. “It was the right decision. Tell me about this other house.”

Accepting the rebuff, she moved back to her sewing chair.

“I really don’t know anything about it, except that it’s?—”

“Mama, Mama!” The door flew open as her son rushed in. “Guess what?”

She laughed as he came to a breathless halt in front of her, the blue eyes he’d inherited from his father sparkling with excitement. When she’d sent Tommy off to play with the little boy next door, he’d been as neat and tidy as she could make him. Since then he’d torn his shirt, there were suspicious smudges on both knees, and his face was streaked with dirt.

“What in the world have you been doing, Tommy?”

“Playing miner. But guess what we saw when we was digging our tunnel!”

“Gold?” she guessed.

“No.” His face fell momentarily. “I wanted to find some for you, Mama.”

Her chest ached as she met Dora’s eyes over his head. She’d done her best not to let Tommy know how worried she’d been about their finances but he’d picked up on it nonetheless.

“I don’t need gold,” she said firmly. “Tell me what you saw.”

“Two new aliens!” The excitement returned to his face. “One was gold and the other was red—with a tail!”

“That does sound exciting,” she agreed. “I wonder if they’re the ones who’ve moved into Happy Valley.”

“The farming cluster?” Dora asked, an odd expression on her face. “You didn’t mention there were aliens living there.”

---