Chapter 3
Josephine Talbot was angry. She stormed out of the Mercantile without looking back. If she had, she would've seen Mrs. Oleson behind her, hands on hips, watching her every move. She managed to ignore the stares as she headed straight for Jeb's buggy.
"Everything alright, Jo?" he asked, watching her as she sat down in her seat; a scowl on her face.
She didn't answer, just turned in her seat and stared daggers at him, heat escaping from her cheeks. Again, she turned the other way, this time in back of her. Yes, Mrs. Oleson was still there, staring at the buggy, now surrounded by some of the townspeople. They, too, were staring at the buggy.
"We have to leave now, Eli," she said, turning to face him as Jeb clicked his tongue to get the horse moving. "We can't do this anymore. She knows we aren't who we say we are."
Jeb closed his eyes for a second, opened them and shook his head. He looked around. "We can't talk about this now, Sara and we can't talk about this in the middle of town. You know why we're here and you know what we have to do." He looked around and stopped the buggy deep inside the woods. They were far enough away from town.
"You know we need the money, Sara. I've told you before that we need to pull this off. We owe too much. If we don't get it right this time, we are done for."
He looked into her eyes and lifted her chin. Tears were streaming down her cheeks. "For the first time, Eli, I'm frightened. I don't think I can do this anymore. We've had a good run. I think it's time we bowed out. Some else can take over, someone younger. And besides that, you promised me."
Jeb looked back at her. He reached out to stroke her cheek and smiled at her. "Yes, I did, Sara. And I meant it; this will be the last time."
Josephine took his hand in hers and brought it down. "How many times have I heard that, Elijah?" she whispered. "We aren't as quick as we used to be. One day, we will be recognized, despite all our different names and disguises. I'm tired of running. It has to stop, Eli."
Jeb put his finger to her lips. "Quiet now, Sara. I promise this will be the last time. We are almost done here. It won't take long. Once we get the money, we can do all the things we've dreamed about doing. Now let's get out of here before we're discovered."
He looked into her eyes and placed his hand under her chin. "Is that okay with you?"
Josephine nodded her head and smiled. She looked into his eyes. "I trust you, Jebidiah Talbot," she said
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"Well, that should do it, Almanzo," Mr. Edwards said patting him on the back. "Now you can concentrate on the boarding house."
Almanzo nodded. "Yep, Isaiah, I've got to tighten a door knob in the Talbot's room, among other things. But that door knob is a priority. Mrs. Talbot's has been complaining about it since the two of them arrived."
Mr. Edwards smiled. "They haven't been here that long at all, have they?"
Almanzo shrugged. "They've been here for a week now. They claim to be, well, Jebidiah at least, part of the immediate family. He's the youngest of Thad Talbot's six children. And he has proof that he is."
"Funny about that," Mr. Edwards said, "The way Nels Oleson tells it, Jebidiah Talbot was the black sheep of the family. He got mixed up with the wrong crowd while working in his family's clothing store in Mankato. When he was caught stealing money, his father disowned him and kicked him out. No one ever heard from him again. Now he turns up all these years claiming that he was cheated out of his share of the inheritance."
Almanzo nodded. "When I wanted to buy the place, Nels told me that that the deed to the house was turned over to him by the last remaining son in the family, Thaddeus Jr. The house had been abandoned years before Sis and I moved to Walnut Grove. No one knew the real story, maybe Nels does, but if he does, he's never told me a thing. All he told me was that I would have to fix up the place before he'd hand the deed over to me, especially since I didn't have the money for a down payment. That was the deal we agreed on."
Mr. Edwards shook his head and was about to answer when the two heard laughter from a crowd gathered in front of the Mercantile.
Almanzo and Mr. Edwards looked at one another and headed over to join them.
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Toby Weaver once again stared at the boarding house. He was standing in front of it now, putting off going inside. Why was he there again? To explain things? To tell them the truth? Could he do that?
There was so much to tell, so much to explain.
He had only met her last night, but it was different. He had met other women in his life, but Laura had an impact on him like no other woman he'd ever met before. But she was married and with a baby daughter to boot. They lived in two different worlds and he could never expect her to leave everything she loved to run off with him.
But there were secrets he had to keep, for now anyway. When all this was over, he planned to explain to the Wilders what this was all about, why he was here in the first place.
He shook his head. He wasn't sure how long he could keep those secrets. He wanted to sit down and explain everything, maybe even get their help, but he couldn't do it. Not yet. For now, he was to stay who he was.
He had left his sister in her room at the hotel, to get ready to help Mrs. Oleson work the phone lines and help in the store. It was one way to keep an eye on the comings and goings of the townspeople, looking for two people in particular, a couple who were posing as the Talbots this time around. Emma had heard from Mrs. Oleson that they were staying at the boarding house. She had mentioned it in passing; Emma hadn't even brought them up. And that was a plus.
That was the real reason he had gone there, to catch a glimpse of them. Toby and Emma had seen the sketches and had a rough idea of who they were looking for. So while Emma stayed in town, he had come out here to follow up. But he wasn't sure how to explain this to Laura.
"Mr. Weaver?" he heard a woman calling his name. When he looked up, there she was standing on the porch. Her smile was dazzling.
And so was everything else about her.
"Can I help you with anything? I know you mentioned you'd be back."
Toby smiled. He hadn't remembered telling her that.
"You're probably busy right now, Mrs. Wilder. I can come back later on when the both of you are free."
"Don't be silly," Laura said. "Manly should be home soon and Rose is taking a nap. I could make some coffee or tea and we can talk. Come on in."
And so Toby Weaver followed her inside, still unsure of what to talk about.