“I do not know much about Mark Flint, but I have heard the rumors about him in our shop.” Layla paused and took a deep breath. “I understand we owe Mr. Flint a great deal of money, and I have come up with a way we can repay our debt without giving him any money.”
“Layla,” Emmett said carefully, looking very concerned. His thick eyebrows contracted, and his gray eyes clouded. “What are you considering?”
“I think Mr. Flint could benefit from having a wife. I understand that he has a young son who is blind. I thought if I suggested a marriage situation that he might be willing to expunge the debts and—”
“No,” Emmett said instantly, but Layla could see that his right hand was shaking. “No,” he repeated in a frustrated tone. “I cannot let you give up your life and your freedom. We will find another way.”
“But, Father,” Layla protested, feeling as though he didn’t understand the severity of the matter. “I’ve thought it through; there is no other way. Mr. Flint will require a helpmeet, and I have experience working with the blind. The skills I learned tending to mother could help me interact with Mr. Flint’s baby boy. I could propose marriage in exchange for the repayment of your debts.”
“I don’t like it,” Emmett shook his head. “Rosamund would never forgive me if she knew that I let her beloved daughter enter into such an engagement. She would be so unhappy.” He hung his head.
“Mother would not be happy if we lost the home or the store, either. Just as much as she wanted you to take care of me, she wanted me to be here for you. I cannot let you lose everything you have worked your entire life to maintain,” Layla said confidently. Her mother would want Layla to do everything in her power to help bring her father peace.
“I do not like it, Layla. I do not like it one bit. I will think on the matter and …” He paused and sighed heavily. “We will speak of it more tonight. For now, please go open the front door. I expect customers to arrive at any moment.” He nodded toward the red door at the store’s front, and his fingers twiddled with the buttons and hooks on the countertop.
“Yes, Papa,” Layla replied with disappointment coloring her words. She resented that he so obstinately stood against her idea, but with each step from her father, she strengthened her resolve. She appreciated his words about the cost of giving up her freedom, but Layla could not see a way around the matter. This was the sacrifice she was going to make. Once Layla unlocked the front door, a well-dressed man wearing a dark bowler hat pushed through the front door.
“Good morning, Miss Layla,” the man said, tipping his bowler hat at her.
“Good morning, Mr. Lawson,” Layla responded genially. She had known him for years, as he was a regular customer. “How nice to see you.”
“Lovely day, isn’t it?” Mr. Lawson asked politely, turning his head to look down the first aisle of goods.
“Why, yes, Mr. Lawson. I do believe it will be,” Layla moved to allow him to walk freely about the store. She purposely went to the back of the store and busied herself with folding linen napkins and cotton towels that had come in just a few days before.
As she worked, she glanced back at her father. He had pulled a stool up behind the counter and was sitting there, listlessly staring out the window.
At that moment, Layla made a decision she knew would likely change the rest of her life.After work,she thought,I will visit Mark Flint without asking Father’s permission. I will strike a deal with him. If he is as good of a businessman as Father alleges, he will see the benefit, as I will be a capable wife.
Mr. Lawson made his way through the store, stepping up right beside Layla’s left elbow. “Are you well, Miss Layla?”
Blinking away her thoughts, she smiled and looked down at the cheerful white and red striped linen towel in her hand. “I was just thinking how nice it would be if you brought your wife, Mrs. Lawson, this little old towel.” Layla beamed at Mr. Lawson. “I’m sure she would appreciate such a thoughtful gesture.” He looked at her quizzically, so she quickly added, “And if you buy this red and white towel today, you can have this blue and white one thrown in … free of charge.”
Mr. Lawson’s smile widened, and he took both towels from her, turning them over in his hands and feeling the materials’ quality. “I’m sure you’re right. Mrs. Lawson would appreciate it if I brought her a little something from the store.” He looked up at Layla and nodded approvingly.
Just as he was about to turn away, Layla stopped him. “Oh, and Mr. Lawson, what about a nice bag of sugar, too? I know how Mrs. Lawson loves to make strawberries pies. Word around town is her strawberry pies are the best in three counties.”
Mr. Lawson patted his stomach and laughed in agreement. “Well, I thank you for your helpfulness. You’re just full of good ideas today, Miss Layla.”
Layla smiled gratefully and motioned for Mr. Lawson to follow her to the middle of the store, where she and her father stacked the bags of sugar. “I sure hope so,” Layla replied, praying that Mr. Mark Flint would also find her full of good ideas.
Chapter Two
Willow Lake, Arizona Territory
November 1885
Mark rubbed the coarse bristle brush back and forth across the skirt of the saddle, then moved onto the pommel area. He tried to get all the dried dirt off, but it was stubborn and stuck to the leather.
“Come on, now,” Mark muttered irritably, as a muscle jumped in his jaw as he gritted his teeth.
“She’s the prettiest girl I ever did see,” Mark heard one of the ranch hands announce from the stables next door. He couldn’t be sure, but he thought it was Bill. The young man had come to be employed by Mark just a few days before, so Mark did not quite recognize his voice yet.
“I never seen red hair that like before,” the youngest ranch hand on the farm, Jack, added. Even though he had only been on the ranch for a few months as well, Jack was eager to learn all about the ranch’s business and spent many days following Mark around, asking questions.
“That red hair was the color of the mountains when the sun is settin’ off of ‘em,” Bill returned, a wistful sound in his voice.
He knew a group of his ranch hands went into town carousing the night before, as they had been discussing their adventures throughout the entire morning, and it seemed they were still at it this late afternoon.
