Chapter Thirteen
Hearing that Wesley believed she deserved more than she had experienced in her childhood was unexpected.
No one had ever told her that before. She wondered if he truly believed it or if he was just saying it to make her feel comfortable around him.
There were other possibilities for his motive, too, but she wanted to believe the best of him.
Her childhood had taught her that it wasn’t the case, though.
No one would have her best interests at heart except herself.
When he walked her back to her room, she smiled at him.
There was no telling how he would react if he knew that she wanted to believe him, but he’d have to prove himself.
And the only way to do that was to wait and see how he reacted when they were alone.
He’d have to maintain the attitude, both in public and in private.
Alone in her room, Susannah sat on the bed.
“Oh, what a man if he’s telling the truth…
” she muttered. “What a man to be married to indeed. I could have believed him if I had written to him more, I think. But for now, I shall have to believe in my heart that he means what he says. That he hasn’t learned how to flatter from someone who taught him the worst intentions behind those words. ”
She shook her head.
There was only one way to truly know, and unfortunately, she was going to stick around anyway because she couldn’t get back to Washington, D.C.
That, and there was nothing left for her there.
All that was left was her job, and she didn’t think she had the heart to go back to it after what she had experienced in Bakersfield.
She changed into her nightclothes, certain that she would not be receiving visitors.
However, before she settled down for the night, she wrote a letter to Judith.
Her one and only friend in Washington, D.C.
, deserved to know that she had arrived safely.
She also wrote to Claire, as she was curious to know how her friend was settling into San Francisco.
Once the letters were done, she fell fast asleep in her bed, dreaming of a life where she didn’t have to worry about what her husband meant because he always said exactly what was in his heart.
It’d be in her best interests, rather than continuing to read men as she had been taught, that their intentions were always of the worst kind.
***
The months slipped by, and Susannah found herself in quite the rut.
When she wasn’t reading letters from Claire and Judith, who were both doing wonderfully, which warmed her heart to know, she was doing one of two things.
Either she was with Wesley for the evening, or she was quietly and painfully passing the day waiting for Wesley to finish with work.
He was a wonderful man, and the more time she spent with him, the more convinced she was that he truly meant all that he said.
She also found him to be generous beyond her wildest expectations.
He paid for every letter, the room at the inn, all of it.
She wanted to be able to contribute financially towards her needs, which would also alleviate her boredom.
So she decided to spend the day in search of places that needed her help.
Considering how small Bakersfield was, she was glad that she probably wouldn’t have a chance to work in an orphanage here. She had exhausted that particular role back in D.C.
Before long, she had her first inkling that the inn could do with her input.
Pauline Jackson had opened a restaurant in the inn, hoping to cater to her guests’ needs rather than referring their custom elsewhere.
She was hoping to find Pauline and instead happened upon a state of chaos within the inn’s kitchen.
Orders for food and drinks weren’t being filled, the coffee was burnt, and mayhem abounded.
Pauline stood behind the counter for a moment before disappearing into the kitchen to the ire of the patrons awaiting service in the dining room. Susannah walked over to the counter to wait for Pauline to return.
“Please don’t tell me you’re here to order, Susannah,” Pauline sighed, brushing wayward strands of hair from her face. “I can’t fulfill one more order right now.”
“Then, let me help, Pauline,” Susannah offered softly. “I worked in an orphanage and helped in the kitchen for years. I know my way around a pot and a stove. Let me take on some of the work and make myself helpful. Please.”
Pauline pondered the offer for a moment and then nodded before motioning for her to come behind the counter.
Susannah did so and made her way to the kitchen.
The first problem she saw was the disorganization within the kitchen.
That could only be rectified once the dining room was free of the night’s diners.
“How many more orders are we filling today, Pauline?”
“Just what I’ve taken. I need to regroup,” she said. “This isn’t working. Can you help me figure out why it went so horribly wrong today, other than needing to have more hands back here to help to make sure the catering runs smoothly?”
“I can do that,” Susannah said. “Now, what are the orders? What are we making?”
Pauline shared the outstanding orders, and Susannah started whipping up the meals as efficiently as she could. Besides the plethora of jobs that needed seeing to, getting the meals out to the diners was the most important for the moment. When she was done, Pauline stared.
“Wow. You weren’t kidding,” she gushed, wide-eyed. “Maybe I should have come to you first since you obviously know what you’re doing.” She laughed.