LITMIR.BIZ

       Chapter One

      Turnabout, Texas

      August 1898

      Cassie Lynn Vickers stopped at the doorway to the parlor and smiled at the woman seated in her wheelchair. “Mrs. Flanagan, I’m about to head out for my afternoon walk. I left a pitcher of lemonade and a slice of pie on the kitchen table. Is there anything else you need before I go?”

      Her employer waved a hand dismissively. “Go on with you. You know I hate being fussed over.”

      Cassie Lynn hid a smile. Mrs. Flanagan detested any reminder that she could no longer do for herself, at least not for the near future. She’d injured her leg in a fall two weeks ago and had been confined to a wheelchair ever since. That’s when the cantankerous widow had hired Cassie Lynn to act as her housekeeper and personal attendant.

      “Yes, ma’am,” she said meekly. “And I’ll try not to tarry today. I have extra baking to do tonight.”

      Cheered by the thought of her new enterprise, Cassie Lynn gave a final wave and headed for the front door.

      But as soon as she stepped out on the porch and closed the door behind her, she paused. There was someone striding up the walk. That was odd—Mrs. Flanagan rarely received callers.

      Cassie Lynn’s eyes widened in recognition. She’d know that slight limp and stiff-backed posture anywhere. It was her father. What was he doing here?

      Although she’d seen him from time to time since she’d moved to town last December, it was the first time he’d deliberately sought her out. Fearing something was wrong, she quickly descended the porch steps, meeting her father halfway down the front walk.

      “Hello, Pa.” She was breathless and tried to calm herself. “Is something the matter? Did something happen to one of the boys?” She had four brothers, three of them younger than her, and all still living with her father out on the remote farm.

      He frowned disapprovingly. “Goodness, girl, there’s no need to get all in a fret. Your brothers are just fine.”

      She let out a relieved breath, then gave her father a smile. Perhaps he’d come especially to check on her, after all. She set her market basket down and gave him a quick hug. “You’re looking well,” she said as she stepped back.

      He hooked a thumb under his suspenders. “Comes from living a simple life filled with honest labor.”

      “Yes, sir.” He’d always been a no-nonsense, unsentimental sort of man. Trying to ignore the little pinch of yearning for a softer greeting, she offered him a tentative smile. “I have some news.”

      His brow went up at that and he gave her a keen glance. “And what might that be?”

      To her surprise he seemed truly interested. Buoyed by that, she rushed to explain. “I’m going to start a bakery business. Mrs. Fulton over at the restaurant and Mrs. Dawson over at the sweet shop are both going to try my wares. And Mrs. Flanagan here is talking about partnering with me.” It was a modest start, but if things worked out, by the time Mrs. Flanagan no longer needed her help, Cassie Lynn might actually be able to make a go of this bakery idea. And then she would truly have established herself as part of the town, something she’d been striving for since she’d escaped her father’s farm nine months ago.

      Her father was no longer smiling, though, and she found herself almost apologizing. “I know it’s not a lot, but in time it could grow to something big enough for me to make a good living from.”

      Her voice trailed off as she saw the disappointment deepen on his face.

      “I thought you might be wanting to tell me you’d found yourself a beau.” His tone made it clear she’d failed in some significant way. “I figured that was why you left home in the first place. After things didn’t work out with Hank Chandler, I assumed you were setting your sights on some other bachelor.”

      When Verne, Cassie Lynn’s oldest brother, had married and brought his bride home to take over as lady of the house, Cassie Lynn had made her escape from the isolation and drudgery of her father’s farm and moved to town. At the time, Hank Chandler had been looking for a wife to help him raise the two children in his charge. For a while it had looked like she might just be that woman, but then she realized Mr. Chandler had fallen in love with the schoolteacher, and Cassie Lynn had pulled herself out of the running.

      Not that she had really minded. Finding a husband had never been her reason for leaving the farm.

      “I didn’t move to town to find a husband, Pa.” She struggled to keep her tone matter-of-fact. “I moved here to be around other people and to make a new life for myself.”

      Her father dismissed her statement with an impatient wave of his hand. “And just what kind of life can a girl make for herself without a husband and young’uns?”

      Cassie Lynn’s chest tightened as she realized that trying to explain her dreams to him was useless, that he would never understand. So instead of responding to his statement, she changed the subject. “Was there something you came here to see me about?”

      Her father nodded. “Verne bought himself some land of his own to farm, and he and Dinah are planning to build a house on it and move out.”

      Cassie Lynn smiled, genuinely pleased for her older brother. “Verne always loved working the land. He’ll do well.”

      “That he will. But once he and his wife move away, that leaves me and your other brothers on our own.”

      Her stomach clenched. She knew what was coming next, and she frantically searched her mind for a way to stave it off.

      But her father pressed on. “I want you to come back home and take your place as lady of the house. Since it doesn’t look like you’re going to have a home and family of your own to care for anytime soon, that shouldn’t be a problem.”

      No! She’d already escaped that life. She couldn’t return to that lonely drudgery. “I’ve made a commitment to take care of Mrs. Flanagan,” she protested, “and I can’t go back on my word. Surely you wouldn’t expect me to.”

      “No, I suppose not. A Vickers’s word is never given

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