Drawn From Darkness (Hearts of Hays Series #4) Read online

  DRAWN FROM DARKNESS

  Barbara Goss

  All characters appearing in this work are fictitious. Any resemblance to real persons, living or dead, is purely coincidental.

  This book contains material protected under International and Federal Copyright Laws and Treaties. Any unauthorized reprint or use of this book is prohibited. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage system without express written permission from the author.

  Copyright © 2015 Barbara Goss

  All Rights Reserved

  Kindle Edition

  All Bible Quotes are from the King James Version of the Holy Bible.

  This book is dedicated to Mary Duttweiler who led me to the Light years ago. Also in memory of Bob Duttweiler whom I will always remember as our cheerful church bus driver.

  Table of Contents

  Chapter One

  Chapter Two

  Chapter Three

  Chapter Four

  Chapter Five

  Chapter Six

  Chapter Seven

  Chapter Eight

  Chapter Nine

  Chapter Ten

  Chapter Eleven

  Chapter Twelve

  Chapter Thirteen

  Chapter Fourteen

  Chapter Fifteen

  Chapter Sixteen

  Chapter Seventeen

  Chapter Eighteen

  Chapter Nineteen

  Chapter Twenty

  Chapter Twenty-One

  Characters from Previous

  Hearts of Hays books series

  Appearing in Drawn from Darkness

  Meg Collins – Mother of: Jesse (Laura) and Cassie (Silas) Martin

  Jesse and Laura Collins- Foster Parents of: Penelope “Nellie” Collins

  Silas and Oliver Martin are brothers.

  Sheriff Higgins

  1

  Hays, Kansas –February 1897

  Nellie drove the buggy to her Uncle Oliver’s livery and walked the short distance to the Royal Hotel. Large snowflakes had begun to fall, and Nellie pulled her coat collar up against the cold. The hotel was a beautiful new building built after a fire had destroyed over sixty buildings in Hays just two years before.

  She entered the large lobby and stood in awe at the lovely and luxurious furnishings, and Nellie thought herself fortunate to have landed such a plush job.

  People lounged around the lobby reading newspapers or books on sofas. Large green plants were scattered throughout the room. The high ceilings gave the room the feeling of being even larger than it seemed at first glance.

  She reveled in the soft, brown carpeting as she made her way to the shiny, wooden, registration desk, and introduced herself to the elderly man who stood behind it. He asked her to wait, and he disappeared, returning moments later with a middle-aged woman.

  “I’m Flora Schwartz, assistant manager of housekeeping.” She held out her hand. “You must be Penelope Fontana.”

  Nellie shook hands. “It’s nice to meet you Mrs. Schwartz.”

  “Please, call me Flora.” She gave Nellie a welcoming smile. “Let me escort you to the training room.”

  Nellie followed Flora to a large room off the hall and behind the desk clerk’s station. She removed her coat and made herself comfortable at a long table with four men and one other woman whom she assumed were also new hires. She looked around the room. Two gentlemen in business suits stood chatting by the door.

  After a nod from Flora, the older of the two men approached the table, greeted them, and then began his speech. Nellie smoothed her navy blue dress, folded her coat on her lap, and listened to the orientation speech given by none other than Mr. Price himself. He appeared statuesque and intimidating. She guessed him to be in his early fifties. Although his hair had begun thinning, and his sideburns were sprinkled with gray, he still appeared distinguished and handsome.

  When his speech was over, Mr. Kendrick Price introduced the other suited man to the group. “My son, Nicholas,” he said proudly, with one hand perched on Nicholas's shoulder. “He will someday be the owner of this hotel. Presently he is managing the housekeeping staff so I can concentrate on other hotel duties. Those of you in housekeeping will be working directly under Nicholas.”

  Nellie studied the son as Mr. Price resumed his welcome speech. She assessed Nicholas as sophisticated, yet arrogant, though she had to admit, he was easy on the eyes. He was tall, like his father, with dark, wavy hair, and bright, blue eyes—he was definitely handsome.

  Nellie was assigned to housekeeping. Her job entailed the cleaning of rooms. Flora showed her around and where the supplies were kept. She also fitted Nellie for her uniforms.

  “We’ll do a few rooms together so you can see how it should be done,” Flora said. “What did you think of Kendrick Price?”

  “He seems very smart and dignified. I can’t imagine the complications of owning a place this big.”

  As they made a bed together, Flora said, “So, what did you think of Nicholas Price?”

  Nellie shrugged. “He seems a bit lofty and distant.”

  “He’s far from that when his father isn’t around. I should warn you, since you’re so attractive, that he’s a known womanizer. He frequents the saloons and mingles with the dancers. His father probably thinks that giving him more responsibility will help him settle down.”

  “I would never have guessed him to be a womanizer,” Nellie said.

  “He’s quite wild. He’s been known to drink too much and sleep it off in one of our empty hotel rooms,” Flora said. “Of course, that’s when he hasn't spent the night with one of the dancers.”

  “Oh, dear,” Nellie said with a blush. “And this is our boss?”

  “Yes. Despite his reputation, he does a great job running housekeeping. I like working as his assistant manager. He is very kind and considerate, and I have nothing but respect for Nicholas on the job.” Flora shrugged. “It’s as if he were two different people.”

  “What kind of family does Nicholas come from?” Nellie asked.

  “As far as I know, his family is just Mr. Price, his second wife Elma, and her son, Alan. It was the second marriage for both of them. Nicholas’s mother died when he was about ten. Elma’s son is near Nicholas’s age. I’m not sure if Mr. Price adopted him or if he has a different last name. They live near the park in a gorgeous mansion.” She gave Nellie a knowing look. “British money.”

  Flora fluffed the pillows. “Don’t forget to always give the pillows a few punches to puff them up. She continued to show Nellie how to clean the chambers. In the second room, she asked, “Tell me about yourself, Penelope.”

  “Nellie, please. All my friends call me Nellie. I live on a ranch on the outskirts of town with my foster parents, Laura and Jesse Collins. Laura was the Hays’ orphan train coordinator, and that’s how I arrived in Hays.”

  “You were an orphan, Nellie?”

  “Yes, According to Laura, she and Jesse placed fourteen children from my train, and then they invited me to become a part of their family.”

  “Oh, that’s wonderful.”

  “It’s a happy home, and I help with the younger children, whom I adore. They’ve always treated me like a real family member. I've always felt loved and wanted with them because I didn’t come to them by natural means; they chose me. That’s a special feeling.”

  “Do you know what happened to your parents?”

  “According to my older brother, Michael, they were killed in a carriage accident in Philadelphia when I was four.”

  “Oh, dear. Do
you have any other sisters or brothers?”

  “Yes, and Laura found them all happy homes, right here in Hays. I see them every Sunday in church. They're all grown now, and on their own. We were fortunate, unlike Laura. She told us she spent her whole childhood in a Catholic orphanage. She eventually became a novice nun, and even came close to taking her final vows, but she met Jesse and decided to marry him instead. Having grown up as an orphan herself is what motivated her to help other orphans.”

  “She sounds like a wonderful mother. What does she think about you working here?”

  “She's all right with it. The whole family's visiting my Uncle Bert in Texas, right now. They'll be there until April.”

  Flora showed Nellie how to fold and place the towels. “So you’re out on that ranch all alone?”

  “Yes, but it’s really not that bad. Our ranch hand, Arnold, watches out for me. Aunt Cassie and Uncle Silas live nearby as does my grandmother, Meg, so there’s plenty of family to look in on me.”

  “I’d say so… more than I do.”

  “I’m sorry Flora. You have no family?” Nellie asked.

  “My husband passed away a few years ago, and we had no children. I do have a sister in Dodge whom I see on holidays, but otherwise, I’m pretty much alone. I don’t mind it, though.”

  The rest of Nellie’s first day was uneventful. The light snow that had fallen earlier had melted, and she was relieved her ride home would be unencumbered by ice and snow as it was for most of the month of February. She went to the livery to pick up her buggy and found her Uncle Silas there talking to his brother, Oliver. Silas, probably because he knew this was to be her first night alone on the ranch, invited her to dinner.

  Nellie had let out a big sigh of relief when her family had finally been packed inside the buggy and it had faded into the horizon on its way to Texas, and she'd danced around the house enjoying her solitude. She loved her family, but at almost twenty, she craved to establish her independence. Nellie often wondered if being an orphan was what gave her a stronger need than most women her age to be on her own to make her way in the world.

  Nellie had gladly accepted Uncle Silas’s invitation to dinner. Silas and Cassie lived in a two-story home on the other side of Grandmother Meg’s ranch. They had three lively children now, so it was a very noisy, and lively household. Nellie often minded the children for Cassie and Silas so Cassie could brand cattle, or go on a cattle drive with her brother, Jesse, or husband, Silas. Dining with such an animated family always served to warm her heart.

  Aunt Cassie wore her usual ranch clothes—riding pants, and a flannel shirt—to dinner, her hair plaited into long blond braids that fell over her shoulders. She asked Nellie about her first day of work.

  “It was Interesting,” Nellie answered. “I think I’m going to like it there. The work isn’t too hard, and once I learn the duties, I’ll mainly be working independently.”

  Silas frowned. “Did you see Mr. Price or his son, Nicholas?”

  Nellie nodded. “Mr. Price introduced Nicholas during his welcome speech. He’s my boss, since his father put him in charge of the housekeeping staff. He's also quite handsome, I have to say.”

  “You’ll want to stay away from that one,” Silas warned. “He’s the typical prodigal son.”

  Nellie smiled. “Jesse has already warned me to steer clear of Mr. Price’s wayward son. I doubt I’ll see much of him, anyway. I simply get handed a list of rooms to clean each morning, and I clean them, stock them with supplies, and then I’m done for the day.”

  After two days on the job, Nellie was enjoying her work. So far, the rooms had not been so messy or dirty as to make the job unpleasant. She worked independently, without a boss hanging over her, and she actually caught herself humming as she cleaned.

  Early one morning, as she cleaned a water closet, she accidentally spilled soapy water on the floor. She scurried down the hall to grab a dry mop head from the supply closet, looking behind her to see whether she’d left soapy footprints on the rug, and ran right into a hard body. She gasped when she saw it was Nicholas Price she'd bumped into.

  Nicholas grabbed her by the shoulders to keep her from falling.

  Stunned, Nellie quickly took a step away.

  “Excuse me, sir,” Nellie said, her eyes wide with surprise.

  He turned and looked around, “There isn’t a sir here, miss, just me. I'm Nicholas Price. I don’t think we’ve met.”

  “I’m Penelope Fontana, and I'm on my way to grab a dry mop head. Excuse me, please.”

  He stepped aside with an exaggerated bow. “Well, excuse me, Penelope Fontana.”

  Nicholas watched her walk to the supply closet, admiring her slim figure from behind. How had he missed meeting her? She had the most beautiful, brown eyes he’d ever seen.

  He made a mental note to get to know Penelope Fontana better.

  Mop head in hand, Nellie walked back to the water closet she’d been cleaning, and noted that Nicholas was still standing where she’d left him, and he was following her with his eyes. She ignored him and kept walking. She had a strange feeling about him. He made her feel uneasy, besides. She knew his type, and preferred to remain unnoticed by him. The very thought of a man with his reputation being even an acquaintance of hers made her uncomfortable, to say the least. All her life she’d associated with good, Christian people. She didn’t often deal with those who were not, and she wasn't about to begin.

  The rest of the week went well, and there were no more run-ins with Nicholas Price.

  Friday, as she drove down the path to her home after work, she spotted her friend, Andrew’s, wagon parked in front of the barn.

  She parked her buggy next to his wagon and jumped down to greet him.

  “Have you forgotten?” he asked, walking to the buggy, looking at his pocket watch.

  Nellie touched her forehead. She’d forgotten their weekly dinner at Lucy’s Diner. “I’m so sorry, Andy. With the new job …”

  “It’s all right. I didn’t have long to wait. I figured you were probably tied up with the new job, or something.” He motioned her to his wagon.

  “Let’s take the buggy Uncle Oliver lent me,” she suggested.

  “All right. It’ll be an enjoyable change, driving a buggy instead of the wagon.”

  “Just give me a minute to change out of my uniform," Nellie said. "I’ll be right out,” She called over her shoulder.

  When she returned she was dressed in a light gray dress under her heavy coat. “Since I’m working now, could we meet at six instead of five next time?” Nellie asked.

  “That would be fine.”

  Andrew Bauer was an average man, of average height and average weight, his hair was medium brown and his eyes were nondescript. He was twenty-one years old. He was, however, a good person, friend, and neighbor. They’d been friends since childhood and had been dining out together, on Fridays, for about a year.

  Nellie had no romantic feelings toward Andy, and she hoped he didn’t have any about her. She liked Andy, but she knew he wasn’t her special person. Having witnessed the love between her foster parents, Laura and Jesse, she hoped to find that kind of love they had for her one day.

  They parked the buggy in front of the restaurant. While they were emerging from the buggy, they heard loud laughter coming from inside the Horseshoe Saloon, next door to the diner. Nellie swung her head toward the sound and could not believe her eyes—Nicholas Price had just walked out of the saloon with a gaudily dressed redheaded woman. He whispered something into her ear, and she laughed loudly. He had one arm around her, and he held a mug of beer in the other.

  When Nicholas looked up and saw Penelope and Andrew, his merriment disappeared momentarily and was replaced with a frown. He tipped his hat at them and said, “Howdy, Miss Penelope!” His smile had returned.

  Nellie blushed.

  Andrew pushed her gently into the doorway of the diner, away from the bawdy couple.

  When they'd been seated at a table,
Andrew asked, “Do you know that man?”

  She sighed. “I’m afraid I do,” she said. “He’s my boss at the hotel.”

  “Good Heavens! I don’t think I like you knowing people like that, Nellie.”

  Though she agreed with the sentiment, she didn’t like his possessive attitude. Rather than pick up the discussion, Nellie thought it best to change the subject. “I think I’ll have the stew,” she said.

  2

  On Sunday, Nellie went to church with Meg, Carl, and Silas. Cassie stayed home with the children, who were recovering from winter colds. Nellie admired Cassie and Silas and the way they were with her children, though it always made her wonder what it would have been like to have real parents. When she was younger, she'd pretended that Laura and Jesse were her real parents. Deep down inside she missed being a biological member of the family but her strong belief in God helped her to realize that it was simply not in His plan for her life.

  After church, she greeted each of her siblings with hugs. It was always heartwarming to see their happy faces. Despite their unfortunate fate, things had turned out well for them all, thanks to God, and Laura Collins. She was thankful for the orphan train that allowed her and her siblings to find real homes instead of being reared in an orphanage, as her foster-mother, Laura, had been.

  Nellie stood and chatted with her siblings until Meg and Carl signaled that it was time to leave.

  Andrew waved to her and said, “See you Friday at six.”

  She waved back.

  The housekeeping staff had a small lunchroom in the hotel, and that was where Nellie ran into Nicholas again. It was Monday, and as she sat there eating alone, he walked in and sat down across from her at the small, wooden table.