Marnie (Pendleton Petticoats Book 4) Page 4

  “Deputy Rawlings!” she called, trying to catch his attention. He and the cowboy who had taken up an extravagant amount of Marnie’s thoughts in the past few days stopped and turned to face her.

  “Miss Marnie,” Kade said, smiling at her. “What can we do for you today?”

  “I have no doubt this will sound like the most obtuse request, but could you please introduce me to your friend?” Marnie glanced from Kade to the cowboy. She’d thought he was good-looking from a distance, but up close, he was even more handsome than she imagined. His bright blue eyes fastened on hers with a look of curiosity.

  “Of course.” Kade knew whether he made the introduction or not, Marnie and the rest of the working girls would eventually find out Lars’ name and why he was in Pendleton. “This is Lars Thorsen. He’s a U.S. Marshal here in town to help me with a case.”

  Lars tipped his hat and smiled at the pretty girl who looked at him with a mixture of awe and humor. Her mellow, smooth voice sounded oddly familiar, although he thought he would have remembered meeting the brown-haired beauty. Suddenly, he recalled the soiled dove who’d tossed peanuts at him the other night. She’d said her name was Marnie.

  The girl standing before him in a pale green and cream striped dress looked sweet and innocent, with her shiny hair pinned up and topped with a fashionable hat. Although it was impolite, he stared at her face, trying to picture the lips and cheeks painted red and the eyes rimmed in black rather than her current fresh cheeks, pink lips, and long, dark eyelashes.

  As he took her hand in his, a jolt nearly threw him off balance. When she snatched her hand back, he wondered if she felt it too.

  “It’s a pleasure to meet you, miss.” Lars was almost sure she was the same girl. On the slim chance she wasn’t who he thought, he didn’t want to insult her by asking. “You don’t happen to have a sister, do you?”

  “No, I don’t, and you can cease contemplating if we’ve met before. I tossed peanuts on your hat the other night.” Marnie didn’t believe in beating around the bush or pretending to be something other than what she was.

  Lars hid his surprise at her forthright manner and continued to smile at her. Dressed as a normal girl, she talked differently — refined and educated. Baffled, he tried to reconcile the image of the elegant woman in front of him to the saucy girl he’d met the other night.

  “I thought it was you.”

  “I assumed you did. In our brief encounter the other evening, you failed to tell me your name.” Marnie stared at him for a long moment. Finally turning to Kade, she shook her head at him. “My gracious, deputy. Certainly, you can’t be that thickheaded. How long was it going to take for you to put two and two together and come up with four?”

  “What in the world are you talking about?” Kade asked, bewildered.

  “I can’t believe your wife didn’t figure it out.” Marnie turned around and walked in the direction of Ilsa’s shop. When the men stared at her like she’d lost her mind, she gave them a stern look over her shoulder. “If you gentlemen would please come with me, Ilsa needs to meet the marshal immediately.”

  “Ilsa?” Lars asked, following Marnie as he looked at Kade, confused. “Who’s Ilsa?”

  “My sister-in-law. We’ve been so busy going over the details of the Bowman Gang, I haven’t had a chance to introduce you around town.” Kade caught up with Marnie and grabbed her arm, pulling her to a stop. “Ilsa’s okay, isn’t she? I don’t need to go find Doc Reed, do I?”

  “No, just come to her shop. You’ll soon understand.” Marnie freed her arm, hastening down the block to Ilsa’s shop.

  Kade and Lars trailed her as she stepped inside.

  “Ilsa, I brought you some company,” Marnie said, smiling at her friend.

  Ilsa stood to her feet and stared at the man beside Kade. Her eyes widened and her face turned white before she hurried over and threw her arms around her brother.

  “Lars? Is it really you?” Thick with emotion, her voice sounded choked as she spoke.

  So taken aback by stumbling across his sister, Lars couldn’t think, couldn’t talk. All he could do was wrap her in a loving hug and kiss the top of her golden head. When he finally regained his senses, he set her back and smiled with admiration. His sister had grown into a lovely young woman.

  “I can’t believe it’s you, little girl. Look at you!” Suddenly, Lars realized his sister was very pregnant.

  With a frown, he turned to Kade. “Your brother-in-law did this to her?”

  Kade laughed and slapped his back. “Relax. They’ve been married for more than two years. Your baby sister isn’t a baby anymore.”

  “I can see that.” Lars took Ilsa’s hand in his. He wanted to pick her up and hold her like a doll, but she appeared quite fragile in her current condition. Instead, he sat down on a stool at her counter so he wouldn’t tower over her.

  Marnie stood to the side, watching the reunion between brother and sister. She was glad she marched out and made the two men come back to the shop with her. Ilsa would have eventually run into her brother at the restaurant or around town, but there wasn’t any reason to delay their happiness in seeing each other.

  “Now do you understand what I was saying?” she asked Kade quietly while Ilsa hugged her brother again and mopped at her flowing tears.

  “I can’t believe I didn’t connect the last name. Aundy never used it and since Ilsa’s been married to Tony for a while, I didn’t even think about it. Wait until Aundy finds out. I’m gonna go find Tony and tell Cat,” Kade said, taking a step toward the door. “Thank you, Marnie.”

  “You are most welcome, deputy.” Marnie watched Lars lovingly hold his younger sister while handing her a snowy white handkerchief from his pocket. She didn’t belong in the middle of a family reunion and quickly gathered her shawl and reticule from where she’d left them earlier, then let herself out the door.

  Chapter Four

  “I never thought I’d see you again,” Lars said, still in shock that his sister stood in front of him trying to stem the flood of her tears.

  “You can’t know how many times I dreamed of looking outside the window and seeing you there. I’m so glad Marnie pointed you out.” Ilsa wiped her damp cheeks and released a shaky laugh. “That’s just like her, to march down the street and drag you back here.”

  “How is it that you’re friends with a …um… a girl of her chosen profession?” Lars asked, simply curious. From all appearances, his sister was a polished, respectable woman.

  “She helped rescue me when I was accosted by two drunken ruffians in the street before I married Tony. She’s a good person, Lars. I know what she does for a living, but I hold to the hope she’ll decide she’s worthy of something better and make some different choices for her future,” Ilsa said, squeezing his hand as she waddled through a doorway to the back room toward the telephone on the wall. “I’m going to place a call to Aundy and have her and Garrett join us for dinner.”

  “Aundy? You mean she lives here, too?” Lars asked, finding it hard to process the fact that he’d been blessed with the gift of both his sisters in the same day.

  Ilsa laughed as she picked up the telephone. “She moved here first and then brought me out a couple of years later.”

  Quickly reaching Nash’s Folly, the ranch where Aundy lived with her husband and his parents, Ilsa said she needed Garrett and Aundy to come to town for something important as quickly as they could get there.

  Lars heard her laugh and assure their sister it wasn’t the baby, but something almost as important.

  “Come on, Lars, let’s go. I’m sure Caterina and Kade will be over and Tony will no doubt be there soon if he doesn’t catch up to us on the way home.” She went to the front of her store and locked the door then gathered her shawl and reticule before motioning for Lars to follow her.

  After locking the back door, she looped her arm around his and began walking through a back alley.

  “I’m glad you’re with me so we can cut throug
h here. Tony and Kade both have a fit if I do it alone, but I’m pretty sure you can keep me safe.” Ilsa grinned up at him, shocked by how much he resembled their father.

  Lars felt a lump in his throat as he gazed down at his beautiful sister. She was a pretty little thing when he ran away from home. At only fifteen, it was easy to see she would blossom into a woman who turned heads. Her golden hair, piled on her head, blue eyes, and peachy complexion made her look like a life-sized doll, especially in the elaborate gown she wore.

  “Kade mentioned his sister-in-law owns a fashion boutique that caters to women all over the world. Is that true, Ilsa? You make these gowns?” Lars asked, trying to fathom his younger sister being a sought-after designer.

  “It’s true. I worked for our dreadful aunt until Aundy came to rescue me, but by then I’d started my own client list and the business took off from there. It’s a wonderful thing to be able to do what you love.” Ilsa released his arm and took a key from her bag, unlocking the door to a large yellow house, complete with gingerbread trim and a porch that wrapped all the way around it.

  “You must do well at it,” Lars observed, as he stepped inside the entry of the grand home and removed his hat. Ilsa took it from him, hanging it on the hall tree near the door.

  A sweeping staircase drew his gaze upward and he took in polished floors, tasteful wall coverings, and comfortable furnishings.

  “My business is successful and Tony does well with his. We’re very fortunate,” Ilsa said, leading Lars into the parlor. She motioned for him to take a seat on a leather wingback chair. “Can I get you anything? Some lemonade or a cup of tea?”

  “No, honey. I’m fine. I’d like to hear all about how you and Aundy came to be in Pendleton.” Lars settled back in the chair and Ilsa eased down into the rocker next to it. “I stopped to see Louisa a year ago when I was in Chicago on business, hoping to find you or Aundy. All she’d tell me was that the two of you tried to ruin her business as well as Henri’s reputation and that you’d run off to the West. She refused to tell me where. That’s one of the reasons I was happy to accept a new assignment here in Oregon. I was hoping to do some looking for you both.”

  “Our aunt is the most spiteful, hateful woman. She knows where we live and has my address. She’s sent a few letters complaining about the success of my business, which I burned with more delight than I probably should feel and pretended I never received them.”

  Lars chuckled and reached out a hand to Ilsa. It was hard to believe she was real, especially after Louisa led him to believe his sisters were destitute and desperate when she’d seen them. From the well-appointed room he sat in and the expensive clothes Ilsa wore, he’d say she was far from destitute.

  The front door banged open and a dark-haired man who closely resembled Caterina Rawlings strode into the room.

  “Chickadee! I leave you alone for a few hours and what do you do but drag home strange men! Am I going to have to keep you locked up in the house?” Tony Campanelli turned a mirthful gaze from his wife to their guest. Amiably smiling at Lars, he held out a hand in greeting. “I’m Antonio Campanelli, but everyone calls me Tony.”

  “Tony. It’s a pleasure to meet you. Lars Thorsen.” Lars liked the man his sister married. He seemed lively and full of fun, like Caterina. “Although I’m not sure I approve of the manner in which you’re taking care of Ilsa.”

  Ilsa frowned but Tony grinned, realizing he was teasing. “The next house I build will be a castle.”

  “I hope we never build another one. I love this house and we have plenty of room for growing here,” Ilsa said, trying to rise to her feet, but Tony put a hand on her shoulder.

  “What do you want, chickadee?” Tony asked, gazing at her with compassion and love. “No need to get up.”

  “I wanted to get some dinner started and make some more lemonade. Everyone will be thirsty when they get here.” Ilsa pushed at Tony’s hand but he kissed her cheek and shook his head.

  “We wouldn’t want to scare your brother off with your cooking so soon after his arrival. Cat is bringing over dinner and I’m capable of pouring a few glasses of lemonade.” Tony disappeared down the hall, ignoring Ilsa’s protests about her cooking abilities.

  “He seems like a good man, Ilsa,” Lars said quietly, pleased by the love evident on his sister’s face as she gazed after her husband.

  “He’s the best, Lars. He’s a photographer and also has an ice business, although it’s pretty slow in the winter.” Ilsa pointed to a grouping of framed photographs on a side table.

  Lars walked over and admired the photos. He recognized Aundy standing next to a tall, good-looking man, and assumed that had to be her husband. A few photos showed a handsome boy with them.

  “Who is this boy? He looks important to Aundy,” he asked, handing the photograph in his hand to Ilsa.

  “That’s Nik, her adopted son. When her first husband died, she inherited his farm and most of the men working there quit. She sold the cattle and bought sheep. Nik came along with the flock. He was only fourteen, I think, at the time and Aundy started tutoring and mothering him. Oh, Lars, remember how she used to make our school lessons so much fun?”

  Lars nodded his head. If it weren’t for his older sister, he probably wouldn’t have made it through school.

  “Anyway, she and Garrett, that’s her husband, adopted Nik not long after they married. He’s away at college in New York, planning to become a doctor. He lives with Tony and Caterina’s parents. They own an Italian grocery store there.” Ilsa handed the photo back to Lars. He studied it a moment longer before returning it to the table.

  “What happened to Aundy’s first husband? How did you two end up here in Pendleton, of all places?”

  “Well, it started when you left…” Ilsa began to explain but the front door opened and Aundy and Garrett rushed inside.

  “In here,” Ilsa said when Aundy called her name. Her eyes danced merrily when Aundy entered the room, fastening her gaze on her younger sister to make sure she was well.

  “What’s the emergency?” Aundy asked, stepping further into the room and noticing a stranger sitting next to Ilsa. “Oh, hello, I didn’t know Ilsa had company.”

  Lars stood and smiled at his older sister. She was even prettier than he remembered. Where Ilsa was tiny and petite, Aundy was tall and stately. Their father often told her she looked like a throwback to their Viking ancestors. Dressed in a stylish yellow gown with her blonde hair piled on her head, she seemed happy and content with life.

  “Aundy,” Lars said, reaching out a hand toward her, nearly overwhelmed at seeing her again. Neither of his sisters looked much like their mother and he realized they all took after their father.

  “Dad?” Aundy whispered, sinking onto the sofa behind her while her face lost all color. Her husband hurried to her side and fanned her face with his hat.

  Ilsa pushed herself out of her chair and hurried to sit down next to her sister. “No, Aundy. It’s Lars. Doesn’t he look just like Dad?”

  “Lars? It can’t be. It…” Aundy blinked twice then jumped up and wrapped her arms around her brother. She held him tightly before pushing him back so she could take a good look at him. “Just look at you, so tall and handsome. I often wondered if you’d grown after you left home.”

  “Guess I did, a little.” Lars gave her a teasing grin, aware that he looked far different from the scrappy boy she’d known. “What about you? You look like the picture of a fine lady. And is this your husband?”

  Aundy smiled and reached for Garrett’s hand. “Garrett, this is my brother, Lars. Lars, my husband, Garrett Nash.”

  “Nice to meet you.” Lars shook Garrett’s hand. He liked the man’s firm shake and solid appearance. Silvery eyes offered him a guarded glance that quickly gave way to welcome acceptance.

  “It’s my pleasure to finally meet you. Aundy’s mentioned you so many times over the years. She thought she’d never see you again,” Garrett said, taking a seat next to Aundy on the so
fa while Ilsa returned to the rocker and Lars occupied the chair he’d been sitting in earlier.

  “If we’d depended on Louisa for a reunion, it would never have happened,” Lars said, grinning at his sisters. “I’m so glad Ilsa’s friend was smart enough to figure out we needed to meet.”

  “Which friend is that?” Aundy asked, looking at Ilsa.

  “Marnie stopped by the shop to look at some new designs. She saw Lars and Kade out the window and I remarked that he looked like our father. She marched outside and pulled them both inside and here we are.”

  “That Marnie, she’s something else,” Aundy said, thinking of the times the girl had been a help to her. It was unfortunate she wouldn’t accept Ilsa’s offer of employment and leave behind her life as a woman of ill repute.

  “I’m glad someone made a connection and brought you three together,” Tony said as he returned, carrying a tray with a pitcher of lemonade and glasses.

  “What brought you to town, Lars? How do you know Kade?” Garrett asked. He and Kade had been best friends since they were small boys running barefoot over the acres of Nash’s Folly.

  “I’m a U.S. Marshal. The sheriff’s office sent a request to the district office in Portland for some help bringing in the Bowman Gang. I was recently assigned Oregon as my territory and here I am.”

  “So you met Kade through your work?” Aundy asked.

  “Yep. Kade and Caterina were kind enough to let me rent the apartment above the restaurant. We’ve been so busy going over case notes since I arrived a few days ago, I haven’t had a chance to meet much of anyone, other than their boys and, of course, Marnie.”

  “I won’t ask how you met her.” Aundy pinned her brother with a motherly glare.

  Lars smiled and shook his head. “She accosted me with peanuts when I stopped my horse beneath her window. I was trying to find Caterina’s restaurant. I met Caterina and Kade a month ago when I came through the area to pick up a prisoner for transport. She fed me lunch and packed a basket of food for the train ride to Portland. I promised myself the first time I got back to town I was heading straight for her restaurant and more of that good food.”