Adoring the Architect Read online

  Isla slapped her hand on the table. “No Aileen, ye’ve given up so much for us over the years. Do ye think I didn’t hear what ye said at Rhona’s wedding about why the town turned on us? Ye deserve happiness. Ye deserve the love of a good man, and contrary to what Edwin thinks, Sterling McCormick is a good man and ye love him. Don’t ye dare let go of love. Don’t. Ye. Dare.”

  Aileen was pulled into a four-way hug and then when she had finished crying they all turned to see Sterling standing in the doorway. She saw the look on his face and knew he’d heard her question and her doubt. “Sterling!”

  He came to the table and knelt beside her. “I love you, Aileen McRae, and if you need to wait until your brother approves then I’ll wait for you. Because I can’t let you go. You own my heart, love. Without you, life isn’t worth living. If you need me to wait for Edwin to come around, then I’ll wait; but just know every day without you is like death to me.”

  He kissed her and then stood and walked out, leaving her crying harder than ever. “Oh, what have I done? What should I do?”

  Celeste looked at her. “Go after him, of course.”

  Aileen looked at each of the women sitting at the table and they all nodded. “Go,” they each echoed and without a thought Aileen was on her feet racing out the door after the man who owned her heart.

  Sterling sat at the polished bar in McGlynn’s Irish Pub. “Give us a pint, will ya Paddy?”

  “Sure thing, Sterling.” The owner and barkeep filled the mug with beer and sat it in front of the architect, watching as Sterling gulped the whole thing down. He slammed the empty metal mug back on the bar. “Give us another.”

  The barkeeper’s eyes drew down in displeasure. “Slow down, boyo. You know this is a respectable pub, not a place for hard drinking. What’s got you in such a state, my friend?”

  Sterling stared into the new mug that Paddy set in front of him. “I don’t want to talk about it.”

  The man nodded. “Problems with Aileen, then. Only two things drives a man to drink like you are. Work problems or woman problems, and since I know your work is going well it must be Aileen that drove you in here like the hounds of Hades were on your tail.”

  “It’s not Aileen that is my problem, it’s that bullheaded brother of hers. How can I ask the girl to give up her family for me?”

  “Ah! Still not willing to give you his blessing then?”

  Sterling laughed, but not in a pleasant way. “His blessing? The daft bugger has forbidden any mention of me or Aileen inside the restaurant. Millie and Isla aren’t allowed to see her, talk with her or even mention her. If they do he goes off and it’s driving Aileen into a fugue I can’t reach her in.”

  The bartender nodded. “Give the man time, Sterling. He’s a proud Scotsman; we all know how those crazy highlanders are.”

  Sterling banged his hand on the bar. “Time, the bloody amadan has had months to get over his pride. God in heaven, he married the lass; why must he make his own flesh and blood miserable now?”

  “He’s Scottish, boyo. You know how long they can hold a grudge.”

  Sterling sighed and drain his mug again. “That I do. I told Aileen today I’d not marry her while she’s estranged from them. I told her I’d wait for her and I will, but I’ll be gob smacked if I’ll sit around here and watch her beg for his favor.”

  The bartender frowned. “What are ye thinking man?”

  Sterling stood, a little unsteady on his feet from guzzling two pints on an empty stomach. “I’m going to take the next train to Cheyenne. Man out there wants me to take on a job designing and building a hotel. Think I’ll go take a look at the job. That will get me away for a while. Let me clear my head.”

  “You going to tell Aileen you’re leaving?”

  Sterling shook his head. “She’s better off without me. Least then she can make peace with her family.”

  “That’s wrong, Sterling; the lady deserves to know you haven’t run out on her.”

  “I’ll drop a letter off for John and Willie to take to her out at the Clarks after I leave. I promised to wait on her, Paddy, and I will. I didn’t promise to do it in Creede.”

  “You’re as much an amadan as you claim McRae to be if you run from this, McCormick. I thought you the better man in all this.”

  “I don’t want to hear it, McGlynn’s. What do you know anyway? You got your woman now, didn’t ya?”

  Sterling turned and stalked out of the pub. If he hurried he’d be able to pack his bag and catch the last train of the night. He rushed to his house and tossed everything he’d need for several weeks into a carpetbag, scribbled a hasty note to Aileen letting her know he had business in Cheyenne and would be gone for a while for work. He sealed it and dropped it off at the mercantile on the way to the depot.

  When the train pulled out that evening, Sterling was on it. He was heading to Cheyenne and Mr. Durant who had wired him about planning and building a large hotel near the train depot. His heart, however, seemed stuck in Creede with a certain red-haired, grey-eyed woman. He sighed. It’s for the best. Maybe this way she can reconcile with Edwin and be happy. Right on the heels of that thought was another one: a question he knew the answer to already. Would he be happy? No, but that was the price one paid sometimes for love.

  Six

  Aileen woke the next morning with a headache. She’d listened to the women and ran after Sterling, but he was gone. She’d looked for him everywhere she could think to find him, and he hadn’t been anywhere. She’d even asked Aedan Casey to check the Nugget and other saloons for her, but again nothing. She felt as if her heart was breaking along with the throbbing in her head. She’d been such a weeping mess when she returned to the Circle C that Marta had sent her to bed without letting her help with supper or anything.

  Now it was morning and as she looked outside she noticed it was a grey and overcast day, much like her mood. She dressed in her most drab day dress and just twisted her hair up in a bun at the back of her neck. She didn’t even care to try and look nice in case Sterling came calling. She knew he wouldn’t. He’d made it plain that he’d give her space and time to decided what she wanted. His words still echoed in her head and the haunted broken look on his face consumed her. “Just know every day without you is like death to me.”

  How could she have stabbed him in the heart like that? She should have grabbed him and told him that she loved him, that she chose him. But she hadn’t. She’d sat there as the man she claimed to love walked out the door and disappeared. She swiped the tears from her eyes and went to start breakfast. Marta would be busy nursing the twins and the other children would be up soon hungry. She sighed again. Life went on even when your heart is shattered, she realized. So she wiped her eyes again and got to work.

  As the day wore on it was obvious to everyone including the children that something was upsetting Aileen. As dinner was finished Marta sent the children to play in the backyard of the house. “Stay close, you all. Aileen and I need to talk.”

  Rachel nodded “Yes Mama, I’ll keep them close.”

  “That goes for you as well, Rachel. Don’t wander or head to the stream; and stay close enough that we can see you and you can hear if we call you.”

  “Yes Mama,” they all said.

  Once they were gone Marta turned to her and pointed at the table. “Sit, I’ll bring us some hot chocolate and then you can tell me what is wrong.”

  Aileen sat at the table knowing that she would have no way out of telling Marta everything that happened yesterday after she left the tea shop.

  Marta reached out and took her hand. “And did you?”

  Aileen frowned. “Did I what?”

  “Go after him?”

  “Aye, but I dinna find him; it was like he vanished.”

  Now it was Marta that frowned. “How does a man Sterling’s size just vanish?”

  “I dinna know. I just knew that he was nowhere. I even asked his friends to check the saloons for me. No one has seen him since he left
the tea shop.”

  Just then there came a knock at the door and Marta smiled. “Well maybe that’s him come to spark with his fiancée some more.”

  Aileen stood “Oh, I look a mess.”

  Marta laughed. “I don’t think he’ll care one bit, Aileen. Go answer the door. You don’t want to keep him waiting.”

  Aileen nodded and rose, patting her hair and trying to make herself more presentable before she opened the door. She looked back at Marta who indicated with a shooing motion that she should hurry. Aileen yanked the door open and her shoulders slumped. Standing at the door with an envelope in his hand was Willie Meeks.

  “Hello Willie. Are you making a delivery? I don’t believe we ordered anything from the mercantile this week.”

  The young man dragged the toe of his shoe across the porch. “No ma’am, Miss Aileen. A letter was left for you at the store and Mrs. Toria asked John and me to bring it to ya on our deliveries.”

  The boy held out the envelope. “Thank you, Willie. Would you like a couple of cookies to take with you?”

  “Oh no, ma’am, we’re stoppin’ at the Morgan’s next. Mrs. Seffi will have some sandwiches and cake fer us.”

  “All right then. Thank you, and thank Toria for me.”

  The boy nodded. “Yes Ma’am.” He turned and started to run back to the wagon where John sat, and the man pointed over the boy’s shoulder and Willie stopped and spun around. “Oh, and have a nice day.”

  Then he ran and hopped up beside John who turned the wagon and headed back up the lane. Aileen stared at the envelope with her name on it. The writing was masculine, and she felt a ball of dread settle in her stomach.

  “Who’s it from?” Marta asked her. Aileen tore it open and pulled out the single page reading the simple message written on it before wailing like death itself had come for her. The letter fluttered out of her hand and landed on the floor. “It’s from Sterling. He left Creede last night, he’s taking a job in Cheyenne.” She looked up at Marta. “What have I done? He didn’t even say goodbye.”

  She ran to her room and threw herself on the bed, weeping for the love she’d let slip from her fingers.

  It had been two weeks since Sterling had fled from Creede on the last train of the night. Mister Durant was a self-important man who knew what he wanted and how to get it. He’d shown Sterling the site where he wanted his hotel built.

  Durant told Sterling that he wanted the biggest and finest hotel in all of the West, with of course the exception of San Francisco.

  “I want five stories and the finest of materials, McCormick.”

  Sterling nodded. “Of course, Mister Durant. You do realize that with what you’re asking for, the plans alone will cost you a fairly large sum, and it would take almost two years to build if I brought both my teams from Colorado and hired another skilled team here in Wyoming?”

  “Cost is not object man, why the railroad was good to me. Draw up a contract and we’ll get started.”

  Sterling hesitated. He’d only meant to be gone a few weeks. If he took this job he’d be away from Creede, away from Aileen for two years. He thought back to the pain in her eyes and voice as she cried out her heartache to her sisters, Millie and Mrs. Bing. She wanted her family and Edwin would never consent to them marrying. He’d promised her he’d wait for her and he would. There was no other woman for him, there never would be. He’d wait and work knowing that she’d never be free to be his wife.

  Eventually she’d go back to Edwin and the bullheaded Scot would find her a man he approved of. He couldn’t stay in Creede and watch her marry some other man, he couldn’t stand it. Yes he’d wait, but he’d do it here in Wyoming for now. “Give me a week and I’ll have a contract and tentative plans for you, Mister Durant.”

  The wide well-dressed tycoon smiled. “Good man. I’ll see you in my office in a week. Don’t disappoint me now. I want the grandest design you can come up with.”

  Sterling shook the man’s greasy, weak hand. “I’ll do my best sir.”

  The railroad tycoon turned and waddled away back to his highly polished black coach and waited as his driver opened the door and helped the man inside. Once they had driven off Sterling turned and made his way back to the room he’d taken in a boarding house just past the center of town. His thoughts were not on the challenging project before him but the women he’d left behind.

  “Well ye are as daft as Edwin, aren’t ye laddie?”

  Sterling jumped at the sound of the familiar voice and looked to his left to see the same old Scotsman in the same kilt walking beside him. He scowled at the man. “I’m nothing like that bloody wanker.”

  “Aye ye are, ye’re like two peas in a pod, ye are. Both so proud ye be willing to let the best Scottish lass slip right through yer grasp. Him, his sister, and ye the woman God created jest for ye. All because ye both got yer feelings hurt.”

  “Leave me alone, old man, or so help me God I’m going to give you a beating you’ll likely remember for years.”

  “Go ahead and take yer best swing, laddie. Duncan McRae never ran from a fight and I refuse to start now.”

  “McRae? You’re a McRae?”

  “Aye, Duncan McRae of the Clan McRae.”

  “You’ve been playing me for a fool from the start then.” Sterling roared and threw himself at the man with the intention of knocking him to the ground and delivering a beating once there. Only things didn’t go as Sterling planned as his roar turned into a yelp of surprise and he passed right through the older Scotsman and found himself on his hands and knees in the dirt. If that wasn’t humiliating enough, the man turned and laughed as he took his booted foot and shoved Sterling in the backside, sending his face into the dirt of the Wyoming street. “I told ye lad, yer as wool headed as Edwin. What made ye think ye could lay hands on an angel anyway?”

  Sterling spit dirt out of his mouth and spun to look up at the man. “An angel? You’re an angel?”

  “Well not exactly. I’m filling the role of a guardian and guiding angel but really, I’m Duncan McRae.”

  Sterling stood slowly and dusted himself off. “So God sent me a McRae to be my guardian angel.”

  The old man scratched his chin “Well actually I’m not assigned ta ye at all, lad. I’m assigned to the bonny lass. I couldn’t leave her in the mess she got in when I passed on.”

  Sterling stopped and looked at the man, really looked at him. “Aileen? You’re here for Aileen.” He took a step forward “You look like an older, shorter version of Edwin. You’re their Da, then?”

  “Aye lad, and ye are in the wrong place. Ye need to be in Creede in two days or it will be too late for her.”

  Sterling’s shoulders slumped. “Edwin found her a husband, then?”

  Duncan stepped close and slapped him on the back of the head. “Pay attention, lad. Aileen will never marry another man; she loves you. No, it’s worse than that. If ye ain’t in Creede in two days, then Aileen will simply disappear, and her body won’t be found until spring. If ye don’t save her lad, she’s gonna die before her time.”

  “So you go save her!”

  “I can’t now, can I? It’s against the rules. Just like it would be against the rules for me ta tell ye that she’s so distraught at not hearing from ye that she’s going to go for a walk by the river where ye picnicked. Because she ain’t paying attention, she won’t realize that the snowmelt from the first snow has weakened the river bank. I can’t tell ye she falls in and drowns, carried away by the current to the valley below Creede. Nor can I say that she won’t be found until after the spring melt. But I can’t tell ye that because it would be breaking the rules, wouldn’t it?”

  Sterling grabbed the angel and shook him. “But you have to do something! I can’t get there in two days. Even if the train left heading east right now, it would take three to get to Creede.”

  Duncan reached out and grasped Sterling’s shoulders. “If ye could get there, would ye save her? Would ye pass up this job and marry the lass?”


  “Yes, I love her, you old fool. But you came too late, it’s impossible.”

  “Ain’t nothing impossible, lad. We jest need a slight miracle. Grab hold of me sash.”

  Sterling shook his head, “What?”

  “Stop being a wool headed eejit, lad, and grab me sash!”

  Sterling wrapped his hand around the tartan sash that crossed Duncan’s chest and stumbled as he became dizzy with the movement that whirled around him. When everything steadied out, he was standing on a train platform a few feet from the ticket window. “Where are we?”

  “Denver, that’s two days from Creede. Get on the train, Sterling, and save my daughter!”

  “Why didn’t you just take me to Creede?”

  “I told ye lad, I can’t break the rules. Denver was stretching them as far as I could. Now get, before ye miss the train.”

  Sterling looked at the ticket window and then back to ask Duncan a question, only to realize he was alone again, hundreds of miles from where he started. He walked up to the window. “One to Creede, please.”

  “You just made it, Mister. The eastbound train leaves in about a minute.”

  “Then I guess you should give me my ticket. I’ve got to get back and see my bride.”

  Sterling handed the man his cash and took the ticket and settled into a seat. In his mind he sent a thought to Aileen, praying that she would feel his love and intent. “Hold on, love! I’m coming.”

  Seven

  Aileen was still distraught two weeks later after the letter she received from Sterling telling her he was taking a job in Wyoming. In a moment of remorse and panic she had considered breaking their engagement and returning to the Hearth and Home to reconcile with her brother. Sterling had heard her and told her he would wait for her to be ready to marry him no matter how long it took. And then he’d hopped a train to Wyoming to meet with one of the richest railroad tycoons in the United States to talk about building him a hotel.