The Engagement Charade. Karen Kirst

boss.” Flo cracked another egg into the bowl of flapjack batter. “Would you like breakfast?”

      He stopped on the bottom tread, his inscrutable blue gaze locked onto Ellie. “I already ate.”

      Shrugging, Flo went back to cracking eggs.

      Alexander was in the habit of fixing his own breakfast in his apartment. No doubt he stuck to bland foods like oatmeal or scrambled eggs with toast. She wasn’t sure what he’d done for lunch and supper before she came, but since the day he’d returned from the doctor, she’d prepared special dishes that wouldn’t aggravate his stomach. He ate them alone in his office, a sad state of affairs in her opinion. Not that what she thought would make a difference to him.

      As usual, his formal attire accentuated his natural reserve. Clad almost completely in mourning colors—midnight-black vest, pressed black trousers and polished, round-tipped shoes—a bottle-green dress shirt provided welcome color. His clothing fit his whipcord-lean frame to perfection. His glossy raven locks were combed off his forehead, the ends curling around his collar. He’d shaved today. Ellie admired the clean planes of his handsome face before jerking her gaze back to the biscuits.

      I’m happy his health seems much improved, that’s all, she assured herself.

      His footsteps didn’t carry him to the hallway, as expected. Instead, he approached the table near the stoves where she worked.

      “Mrs. Jameson.”

      She frowned, wondering exactly when she’d come to dislike being called that. “It’s Ellie,” she countered. “You call Flo and Sally by their first names. Why do you refuse to use mine? Did you have a schoolmate named Ellie when you were young? A girl who teased you unmercifully? Or an old, crotchety aunt named Ellie who pinched your cheek too hard and made you eat beets?”

      Flo’s chuckling filled the sudden silence. Alexander looked taken aback. “You’re the first Ellie I’ve encountered.”

      “Then may we cease with the formality?”

      “Ellie, I’m going into my office now.”

      “Can I get you a glass of milk? Or chamomile tea?”

      “No milk. No tea. No weak coffee. Under no circumstance do I wish to be disturbed today. I do not want to hear the day’s menu or be consulted about decorations. Is that clear, Ellie?”

      Irritated, she slapped the dough with more force than necessary. Flour puffed about her fingers. Why must he be so determined to resist her attempts at friendship? “Perfectly clear, sir.”

      “Good.” Turning on his heel, he stalked toward the hallway.

      “Oh, Mr. Copeland?”

      Shoulders tensing, he twisted around, one haughty brow lifted in impatience. “Yes?”

      “Does fire warrant your attention?”

      “Excuse me?”

      “Fire. Do you wish to be told if there’s a fire?”

      Flo ceased stirring the batter, humor touching her fleshy features.

      Alexander opened his mouth to speak.

      Ellie cut him off. “What about a robbery? Would you like to be informed of such an event? Or an altercation between customers?”

      He tilted his head to one side, an errant lock of hair sliding into his eyes. “Did you skip breakfast?”

      Her fist slipped from her hip. “Sir?”

      “I’ve noticed you have a tendency to lose your equanimity when you skip a meal.” He made a circling motion to indicate their workspaces. “Perhaps you should eat something.”

      He quit the room, his office door closing with a decided click.

      Flo’s chuckles brought Ellie out of her stupor.

      “What just happened?” Ellie spread her hands wide.

      “Our boss revealed he’s not as oblivious to goings-on as we thought.” She winked. “He’s right, you know. You do get tetchy when you’re hungry.”

      “Humph.”

      Ellie tried not to take her frustration out on the dough. Her customers wouldn’t be satisfied with biscuits as hard as river boulders. She contemplated the puzzling exchange all while bustling about the kitchen. Part of her was inexplicably pleased that he’d paid enough attention to notice something as personal as her moods. The other part quailed at the prospect. What else had he concluded but hadn’t voiced? Could he have added her extreme fatigue and frayed emotions together to equal her current condition?

      She wasn’t sure why the thought of his knowing unsettled her. Pregnancy was a sensitive time for a woman, especially one without a husband. Alexander was her boss. Not only that—he’d created an emotional barrier between himself and his employees. He was neither amiable nor approachable. Alexander Copeland was not a man to invite confidences. Hard and aloof, he didn’t possess finer feelings. Why, he probably had never even courted a lady!

      By the time ten o’clock rolled around, Ellie was eager to embark on her mission to find lodgings. Ralph’s warnings resurfaced, dislodging her consternation over Alexander. She had more important matters to attend to, like securing a future for herself and her baby.

      After explaining her intentions to Flo, who readily agreed to start on the potato gratin that would accompany the roast at the noon meal, Ellie went to inspect the room for rent at the post office. The owner of the building, Lyle Matthews, was a pleasant man who’d likely be a good landlord. However, the room was narrow and musty and the weekly fee far beyond her means. She thanked him for his time and, disappointed but trusting God would provide for her needs, hurried across the street to the mercantile to pick out material for the café.

      The proprietor and his wife, Quinn and Nicole Darling, were exceptionally helpful. No matter how busy, the couple remained patient and kind and treated each of their customers with respect. Today, Nicole laid out bolts of fabric for Ellie to peruse. She came close to choosing a ridiculous lime-green cotton printed with pink birds simply to irk Alexander. She reined in the impulse and, for the curtains, chose a sensible, soft yellow that would lend cheer to the space. The tablecloths would be white with matching yellow overlay. With her purchases recorded in Quinn’s ledger, she was on her way out the main entrance when a board of announcements caught her eye.

      The papers consisted mostly of ads for prized bulls and assorted livestock, farm equipment and workers. Her hope had fizzled by the time she read the last one.

      “Excuse me, miss.”

      Ellie scooted out of the way as a heavyset farmer removed an ad for a rabbit hutch and, with a nod, ambled down the aisle. She looked at the board again and realized a second paper had been hidden by the one he’d taken. As she peered closer at the wrinkled note, her heart leaped with excitement. She ripped it from the nail and hurried onto the boardwalk.

      After leaving her purchases at the café, Ellie walked to Mrs. Calvin Trentham’s house. Located near the church, the white clapboard house boasted a shingled roof and black shutters. Late-summer flowers provided bursts of violet, orange and green along the foundation. Thick groves of deciduous trees dominated the landscape and gave way to the steep, forested mountainside a couple of acres behind the house.

      Ellie’s chest grew tight. The farmhouse was very similar to her grandparents’, the last place she’d felt completely safe and free to be herself. She squared her shoulders and knocked lightly on the door. Her summons was answered by a diminutive woman with gray coronet braids and periwinkle-blue eyes set in a thin face.

      “May I help you?”

      “Good morning, I’m looking for Mrs. Trentham?”

      “That’s me.”

      “My name is Ellie Jameson. I saw your note at the mercantile. Do you still have a room to let?”

      Blinking