Two cowboys came in and sat near the window. Both ordered coffee and stew. Holly brought the coffee immediately and told them she’d return with the stew. Just as she was going to step out of the kitchen, Joseph saw the two cowboys. One was his friend, Giles, and whenever Joseph made stew Giles would ask for more potatoes in his bowl. He called to Holly to stop so he could add a few extra potato pieces.
Holly spun quickly to see what Joseph’s urgent-sounding request meant, and the stew flew out of the bowls as she turned. The balance ended up on Joseph’s chest as he hurried up next to her.
Holly’s eyes flew open wide, and she stammered, “I’m sorry. I made a terrible mess. Look at your shirt. Oh, my, I’ll clean it up right away. I am so sorry.”
Joseph wanted to be angry, he tried to yell, but when he looked into Holly’s eyes, all he wanted to do was kiss her. His mood was broken by the laughter coming from the dining room. Evidently, Joseph covered in the stew was an entertaining attraction.
“No worries. Just ladle up two more bowls of stew and add several extra potato pieces in one bowl and give it to the cowboy with the red kerchief. He likes potatoes. I’ll clean up,” Joseph said smiling at Holly.
“Thank you,” she whispered. “I truly am sorry. I heard you and turned too quickly.”
“Accidents happen. It will be all right. Just a bit of spilled stew.”
Holly nodded and hurried into the kitchen wondering if Charity was right in her assumption that Joseph found her attractive. There was something in the way he looked at her that stirred her heart, but she couldn’t feel anything for him or any man. Not now, not so quickly after Matthew, but there was something about Joseph. Holly shook herself out of her musings and served the stew receiving a broad smile from Giles when he saw all the added potatoes.
Slowly the satisfied patrons left the café and Joseph locked the door and turned the lights down in the dining room. He turned to see Holly begin adding water to the large wash basin to wash the dishes.
Joseph said, “Miss Martin, why don’t we sit down and have some supper before we clean up. I don’t know about you, but I am hungry.”
Holly smiled at Joseph, “I am, too and please call me Holly. After working together and covering you in stew, I think we know each other well enough.”
Joseph laughed as Holly placed two bowls of stew on the table along with a plate of biscuits and honey. “All right, Holly it is but you must call me Joseph.”
“I can do that,” Holly agreed as she poured Joseph a cup of coffee and tea for herself.
As they settled down with their meal, Holly asked, “Belle is a lovely town, but it’s an unusual name for a town. I suppose I’m used to towns named after people or famous places.”
“It’s an interesting story,” Joseph began. “A young woman named Clara Brown and her husband were traveling West when he died. Others in the wagon train were not comfortable with her traveling alone as a widow and forced her to leave the train.”
“What?” Gasped Holly. “That’s worse than what happened to me.”
Joseph scowled. “What happened to you?”
Holly shrugged. “A man I was supposed to marry has a difficult father. He refused to allow his son to marry me and paid me to leave town.”
“And you just left?” Joseph replied raising one eyebrow in confusion.
Holly sighed, “I didn’t have much choice. Mister Royalton gets what he wants regardless of who gets hurt. He sent one of his men to assure I got on a train but tell me what happened to Clara Brown.”
“It has a happy ending. She met a trapper named John Shepherd. They married and started the town of Belle. She was carrying sleigh bells in the back of her wagon, and they used them on Christmas to celebrate and named the town Belle. We still use the same bells each year.”
“How lovely,” Holly said. “Her story concerned me when you first mentioned what they did to her, but it’s wonderful that all turned out well and the bells are now a part of your Christmas tradition.”
“Did you have any traditions growing up?” Joseph asked.
Holly shook her head slowly. “No, I grew up in an orphanage. We did have a tree, and each year a church group donated scarves and mittens, but there was never anything big. We sang a few songs on Christmas morning, and if we were lucky, there was an orange or apple for us. The cook made sure we each had a cookie at supper, but I never thought they were traditions. It was just part of my life. I didn’t realize how different the world was until I left the orphanage and went to work for Miss Constance.”
“She treated you well? I heard some orphans have a hard time when they strike out on their own,” Joseph asked as he sipped his coffee.
“Yes, she was like an angel. Not only did she teach me all her seamstress tips and shared her knowledge of fabrics and fashions, but she also treated me more like a daughter than an employee. I lived in a small apartment at the rear of the shop and felt as if I found a home,” Holly explained doing her best not to let any tears slip down her cheeks as she remembered Miss Constance and fought some homesickness.
Joseph felt his heart skip a beat when he looked into the sad, tear filled eyes that stared at him from across the table. She needed someone. “I hope you’ll find a home here or
