“Fred says the same thing, but I worry that won’t be the case.” She sipped her tea. “Especially now.”
“Why especially now?” Marybeth asked. She could hear Carrie babbling to the boys about something, then came a squeal of laughter. Oh, to be so young and carefree.
“We’re going to have another baby,” Eve replied.
The statement drew Marybeth’s immediate attention. “Oh, goodness. Congratulations. You must be so excited.”
“Actually no. I’m afraid. We had the boys back east. We had everything we could hope for or need. Here ... well, you know for yourself it’s limited.”
“Yes, I suppose it is, but there are doctors if something goes wrong. I’m sure there are midwives too. I assisted my stepmother when she gave birth to...” Marybeth hadn’t been going to say anything about Carrie being her sister. She shrugged. “I can understand your worries, however.”
“You’ll be up against it yourself soon enough. No doubt you and Edward will be having another baby.”
Marybeth didn’t want to lie to this woman. She’d just made friends. She supposed it couldn’t hurt to tell her the truth. After all, Edward had told Fred.
“My marriage isn’t what it seems and neither is Carrie.She’s my sister. Her mother died giving her life. We’re raising her as our own daughter, but we’ll tell her the truth one day.”
“Oh my, I never would have suspected. I mean, she calls you Mama and acts like the boys do with me.”
“I’m the only mother she’s known, so I suppose that comes naturally. She wasn’t really calling me much of anything until she started playing with your boys. She’s talking more about everything since meeting up with them.”
“They do seem to have fun together.” Eve gazed again at the fire. “It’s not the life I would have given them, but Fred seems to think they’ll be just fine.”
“I’m sure they will. The town is settling down more every day, and everyone seems to think that once the railroad moves west, the troublesome folk will go with it.”
“I can attest to the fact that they do seem eager to follow it,” Eve replied. “And have done so since this line started in Omaha.”
“I suppose they see railroad men with plenty of money and nothing to spend it on. It makes sense that they would do whatever it takes to get their share of that money.”
“I suppose so.” Eve leaned back and met Marybeth’s gaze. “You said your marriage wasn’t what it seemed. What did you mean?”
“Edward and I are married only in name. He was my best friend’s husband, and he loved her so dearly he swore he’d never love another. We married because some folks back in Indiana wanted to take Carrie away from me after my pa died. They rightfully pointed out that I had no way to make a living, and my father hadn’t left us with all that much. I was so afraid they would take her, but Edward came up with the perfect solution.”
“I don’t think I could live in a loveless marriage.”
“Edward loves me in his own way, and I love him. We were good friends. Still are. It just seemed the most amicable way to resolve several problems. Your husband wrote to Edward about needing family men to settle Cheyenne, and he figured marriage to me would afford him that status. We served a purpose to help each other.”
“Still, it’s got to be difficult. Every girl dreams of finding the right man to spend her life with,” Eve said, shaking her head. “A soul can’t live without love.”
“I’m not without love, as I said. Edward cares deeply for Carrie and me. He just doesn’t love me as a husband does a wife.” Marybeth found herself wishing she’d said nothing. Now that they were discussing it, she wasn’t really sure why it seemed important to tell Eve the truth. “I would appreciate it if you kept it to yourself. I really don’t want everyone to know.”
“Of course not.”
“Fred knows. Edward felt he had to tell him the truth when we arrived, so I suppose if you need to discuss the matter you could talk to him.”
“There’s no need for discussion. You are Mrs. Vogel, and Carrie is your daughter. No one needs to think otherwise.” She smiled. “More tea?”
“Yes, please.” Marybeth let go a long breath. She didn’t know Eve all that well, but she felt confident her secret was safe. “And I believe I’ll try your shortbread.”
Edward made the rounds around town, checking locked doors and speaking to one person or another as he filled his time. He was now known to most of the business owners, as well as many of the low-life characters whom he found necessary to deal with.
On an average night, Edward interrupted at least a couple dozen fights, or what he and Fred had come to call “personal disagreements.” These consisted of gaming issues, as well as barroom complaints and problems with the ladies of the evening. Usually, fines were issued if there was a big enough complaint, but mostly they just did what they could to keep the peace and separate the people involved.
Edward had learned quickly that in a place like Cheyenne, the rules he’d followed back home wouldn’t work. These were people who were used to calling the shots—living life in a loose manner of disregard. They held little value for human life. Fred said it was impossible to teach them such a thing. Their ways were set by the wrongs done them in their youth. Only God would be able to take those hearts of stone and give them flesh. However, they still had to abide by some rules, and the only thing they really understood was money and the lack thereof. Threaten their funding, and they were less likely to cause problems.
Edward made his way back to where he’d started at Lucky Bill’s. So far things were pretty normal as he made his way inside. He gave Bill a nod and made his way to the bar.
“Any problems, Bill?”
