Chapter Twenty-nine
Eliza stood near thestage road, her eyes on the distant mountains. How easily she could picture the inn here, where she’d first dreamed of it being. Patrick had sketched plans back when they thought this was to be the spot. He’d framed that view in what would have been her bedroom window. She would have loved that. And the large public room had a large picture window with a grand vista as well. The weeklycéilíscould have been held in the winter with the beauty of snow falling on the other side of the glass.
She and Lydia could have spent Christmas beside the fireplace in their very own home. And Patrick—
She stopped that thought before it fully formed. Her worries over him had eased tremendously over the previous weeks, replaced by the tenderness that had been growing for months. But she’d best not get ahead of herself. So much was still unsettled between them.
The wind blew, as always, swirling the dust in the road and rustling the tall grass around her. What a peaceful spot this would have been to make a home. The location farther north was likely nice as well. If the stage company would agree to stop there on their twice-weekly journeys, giving up this one would be worth it.
She wrapped her arms around herself, breathing in the moment and attempting to breathe out the dream. The path that led to what she wanted wasn’t the one she’d been treading. She needed to be ready and willing to change direction. She simply wasn’t yet.
Maura arrived while Eliza was contemplating. She drove a little pony cart and parked it almost exactly where Eliza had envisioned the stables. “Ryan was bang on the mark, it seems.”
“What was he correct about?This time,I mean.”
Maura’s eyes crinkled with a smile. “He said you’d be out here at your ‘inn’ and that I ought to drive out and fetch you, so you needn’t walk back.”
Ryan had remained behind when the other Hope Springs men made the southbound trek. As it had been explained to her, a few men always remained behind to help tend to their neighbors’ animals and land. With Maura due to have her baby soon, Ryan had volunteered to be one of those who stayed in town.
“This would have been the perfect place for it, you know,” Eliza said.
“It would, indeed.”
Eliza pressed her hand to the back of her bonnet, holding it fast against the wind. “And you would’ve come and eaten dinner here now and then, wouldn’t you? I’d have asked very reasonable prices.”
“We would’ve come, for sure and certain. I think most folks in town would’ve, now and then. A real treat, it would’ve been. And the ranchers, well, they’ve a fair bit of coin to rub together. They’d likely have come, too. And their hands would’ve enjoyed splurging, especially after getting paid.”
Maura’s words were cold comfort, but comfort just the same.
“It might have worked.” Eliza sighed. “And it would have been wonderful.”
“Are you giving up, Eliza?”
She turned back to face her friend, hoping that her determination showed despite her flagging spirits. “Not at all, simply setting my sights on a different path.”
“Tonight, let’s set our sights on the road that leads back to my house,” Maura said. “We’ve dinner ready, and your Lydia’ll be pleased to have you back.”
Eliza climbed into the cart. “Thank you, again, for watching her today.”
“Of course. We love having her with us.”
“I would offer to do the same when your new one arrives, but I have all I can manage at Archers’.”
Maura guided the horses around and drove back toward town. Eliza couldn’t help one last backward glance at the site she would always think of as the place where her inn ought to have been. Being farther away wouldn’t be terrible if it meant actually getting an inn of her own after all these years. Not perfect, not ideal. But also not terrible.
She forced her focus forward, in more ways than one. “How are you feeling?” she asked Maura.
“Quite well, really. My cough hasn’t grown worse, which Dr. Jones is both surprised and pleased with.”
That was good news. “Is he optimistic about your lungs enduring the strain of delivery?”
