Laundry Lady's Love (Ladies of Sanctuary House Book 1) Read online

  Contents

  Title Page

  Blurb

  Chapter One

  Chapter Two

  Chapter Three

  Chapter Four

  Chapter Five

  Chapter Six

  Chapter Seven

  Chapter Eight

  Chapter Nine

  Chapter Ten

  Chapter Eleven

  Chapter Twelve

  Chapter Thirteen

  Chapter Fourteen

  Chapter Fifteen

  Chapter Sixteen

  Chapter Seventeen

  A Note and Books by Sophie Dawson

  The Laundry Lady's Love

  Ladies of Sanctuary House #1

  Sophie Dawson

  ©2017 Sophie Dawson

  Cover Image © Fury Cover Designs

  ISBN: 978-1-63376-020-2

  Kindle Edition

  Dedication

  There is one person who has supported and encouraged me throughout my writing career. I've dedicated a book to him before but felt compelled to do so again. From our first communication within a writer's forum, we clicked. We've become siblings in the Lord and laughed and cried together as challenges and triumphs were shared. So again, I dedicate this book to you, George McVey who goes by the acronym PG, for Pastor George. Bless you. Thank you for being my mentor, encourager, and friend.

  Acknowledgements

  Whenever I come to acknowledging those who helped with one of my books, I have a difficult time choosing. How does one give thanks and honor to all who took the journey of creation with me? I go over in my mind all those involved and try to think of those whom I haven't mentioned in the past. This time I'm going to acknowledge my dedicated team of editors and beta readers. They enthusiastically take my draft and pick it apart to find the flaws so I can make it better. They find the typos, poor grammar, and punctuation marking up the file with red ink. And so, I honor Carolyn, Joy, Linda, Ruth, Cindy, and Angie. Thank you so very much.

  Disclaimer

  This is a work of fiction. Most of the places within the story are fictitious, but some are real. You will most likely recognize those which are. Those you don't are made up by me. The people, unless you recognize the name of a real historical person, are not real. They, too, have been created by me or by my friend and author George McVey. This is true of Nugget Nate and Penny Ryder, who may or may not show up in this book. Even if real historical people are mentioned, their lives may or may not adhere strictly to documented historical reference. In other words, what they do or say has little bearing in fact and they probably didn't do or say it. This is a fictional story after all.

  All Scripture is quoted from the World English Bible.

  One man wants her, but the one she wants doesn’t seem to.

  Laura Duffle has come to Stones Creek, with her two young sons, hoping to find love again. She’s spent the last five years at Sanctuary Place Mission for Women after the death of her husband. She needs to set up her laundry business but doesn’t know where to start.

  Hank Johnson, the town barber, is flattered by and attracted to the lovely widow who comes seeking his advice. He hasn’t been looking for a wife, but maybe he’ll begin with Laura.

  Ranch foreman, Red Dickerson, would like a wife. He hopes to find one among the Ladies of Sanctuary House. He sets his sights on Laura.

  Hank sets her heart on fire, but is he only interested in helping her get her business off the ground?

  Red is solid and dependable, but is this enough to base her future on?

  Should Laura settle for safety and security for herself and her boys?

  Will she hold out for love?

  Or will she just chuck both of them into the washtub and rinse the men from her life altogether?

  Find out in the first book of the Ladies of Sanctuary House Series from award-winning author Sophie Dawson.

  CHAPTER ONE

  Laura Duffle stood in front of the barber shop and waited for the man leaning his chair back against the building to acknowledge her. His Stetson shaded his face so she couldn’t see what he looked like. At least not his eyes. His face was clean shaven, his chin square. When he didn’t move, she decided to address him.

  “Excuse me, Mr. Johnson. Might I have a moment of your time?”

  The chair slowly tipped down to rest on all four legs. The man rose to stand before her. He lifted the hat from his head. “Ma’am. What can I help you with?”

  Now she could see that his hair was a dusty shade of blonde. Not dusty as unclean, but rather the color of the dirt street. His handsome face looked to be just a few years older than Laura’s twenty-seven years. His eyes were deep brown and focused on her with an intensity that made her pulse quicken.

  “My name’s Laura Duffle, and I’m new in town. I’m looking to start a laundry service here in Stones Creek. Since mainly men will need my services and your customers are men, I was wondering if you’d be so kind as to spread the word? I’m experienced at doing laundry for hire and pretty fast. I’d be much obliged to you. If you’d help me.” The words tumbled so quickly out of her mouth she wondered if he would be able to understand them.

  “I’d be happy to help you, Miss Duffle.”

  “Actually, it’s Mrs. Duffle. I’m widowed.”

  That fact must have surprised him as his eyes widened just a bit. It was a common misconception about the women who had come so recently to Stones Creek. Many had never been married even though they had children. Several were ex-prostitutes or other forms of kept women. However, Laura had been spared that sort of degradation.

  Her husband, Alan, had died leaving her with very little to support her, and her two sons. He’d been gone five years. Eddie was now nine, and Mark had recently turned seven. She’d been fortunate that Nugget Nate Ryder had answered one of his Callin’s and found her as she tried to find honest work in the Illinois town they’d been traveling through when her husband died.

  Nate had gathered the grieving family and taken them to Sanctuary Place in Iowa. The Place was his mission for abused, abandoned and destitute women. She had never heard the tale of why he’d set the mission up. She was just thankful that he had. Without Nate’s mission, Laura might have had to resort to selling herself to provide for her sons.

  “Can you give me a few more details about your business? How much you charge? The time it will take for you to finish? Where you plan to do the work?”

  “Oh, I hadn’t thought about how much to charge. What do you think?”

  “I thought you said you’d done laundry for hire before. What did you charge then?” Mr. Johnson eyed her with mild suspicion.

  Heat flamed Laura’s face. How could she not have thought about what to charge? It was such a basic question. “Well, um. I may have fudged that a bit. I did do laundry for other people, but it was more a barter type arrangement. At Sanctuary Place, we traded labor or labor for items. I’ve never actually charged money for my work. What do you think would be a fair price?”

  The man looked at her for a long moment. “How’s about I bring out another chair, and we palaver about your venture in comfort?”

  “That’d be just fine, Mr. Johnson.” A grateful smile bloomed on her face.

  He brought another chair from the shop and placed it catty corner to the one she sat in. “You tell me about this laundry business you’re wanting to start. I’ll help you work out the details.”

  They spent the next half hour or so discussing Laura’s plans and refining them. There were so many things she had never thought about that Mr. Johnson brought to her attention. As a thank you for all his help, Laura offer
ed to do his first load of laundry for free.

  “That about covers everything I can think of right now,” the barber said. “I’ll gather up my laundry and have it ready for tomorrow. You don’t have to do it for free. I’ll pay you.”

  “Oh, I want to do this batch for you, no charge. That way you will be able to recommend me. It’s also a way for me to pay you back for the advice and the advertising you will do for me. For that sign, you said you’d make, too. I truly appreciate it.”

  “Not a problem, ma’am. Having a pretty little lady like you working near the back of my shop will bring customers into it.”

  The compliment made Laura blush. Praise in any form had been few and far between since her husband died.

  “Well, I won’t take any more of your time. I’ll be coming for the laundry about eight-thirty tomorrow morning.” She stood up, and when he did too, she held out her hand. He took it and gave it a gentle shake. “Thank you, again. Have a good day, Mr. Johnson.”

  “Since we’ll be working rather closely together, how’s about you just call me Hank.” The man gave her a wide smile. It seemed innocent enough. A bit familiar for their short acquaintance, but she felt comfortable with him after all their discussion.

  “Thank you, Hank. You may call me Laura.”

  Laura’s heart was beating hard as she walked away. She’d done it. She’d negotiated with the barber to advertise her laundry business. He wanted her to do his laundry, so she had her first customer. Granted, she was doing his first batch for free, but it would be worth it since he was going to spread the word to his customers so they could become hers, too.

  At supper that evening, she told everyone at Sanctuary House about her venture. The eight women and their children had arrived the previous week in Stones Creek. They had come from Sanctuary Place Mission for Women in Iowa to the small Colorado town to possibly become brides for the men of the area.

  Until they married, the women were to develop businesses or take employment to support themselves and their children. It was why Laura was starting her laundry service.

  “I’ll stop at Cutler’s General Store in the morning and purchase my laundry soap. I appreciate you all letting me use a couple of the laundry tubs for my business until I can afford to get my own.”

  “We’ll make sure you have what you need until you can buy them,” Blanche Basking, the unofficial head of the House, said. “We have to support each other in our ventures.”

  “Thank you. I am going to talk with Hank about the price since we didn’t figure in firewood. I may need to increase it to cover that cost. I do like the idea of having the older boys supply me with the wood. It’s a way they can earn some money.”

  “Hank, huh? You’re on a first name basis with him?” Ruth Naylor asked with a grin.

  Heat flushed Laura’s cheeks. “He asked me to call him that, so I thought it was polite to reciprocate.”

  ~~~~~

  Hank took the extra chair back into his shop and set it next to another one by the window. It wasn’t often that he needed to have the extra chairs, but occasionally several cowboys came to town at the same time, and all wanted haircuts. A few times he’d even had his two bathing rooms full as well.

  There was a well pump behind the shop that serviced both the building he was in, with the bakery on one side and the gun shop on the other, and Sanctuary House behind. The town was fortunate to sit over a fairly shallow aquifer, and several wells had been dug shortly after the town was started.

  Hank had an indoor cistern he filled daily so he wouldn’t have to stop cutting hair when someone wanted to take a bath. It was attached to a stove to heat the water. He wondered how Laura would draw and heat her water. Laundry took a lot of water. Hot water. He’d have to investigate. Maybe there was some way he could make it easier for her.

  Just why he was interested in helping her quite so much, he didn’t know. Well, maybe he did. It was too early to start courting. There couldn’t be any done for a month after they arrived. They still had about three weeks to go.

  He was helping Laura start her laundry business, not court her. Hank smiled. It couldn’t hurt to assist her, and it gave him a leg up on getting acquainted.

  Hank went back to sitting in the July sun with his hat over his eyes. Slow day. Not surprising in that it was early in the week. Most of the cowboys didn’t come for a shave and haircut until they got paid on Friday. They wanted to get cleaned up for their time at the saloon.

  The thought of spending time and money there made Hank cringe. Not only was it expensive, but it also wasn’t the way the Lord wanted a man to act. No, he’d save his money and body for a woman he’d marry. He had waited all these years, and he could do so for a while longer.

  The image of Laura Duffle came to the forefront of his mind. She seemed like a sweet woman. Definitely not a business woman, at least not yet. He could help her with that.

  Hank wondered whether she had children. That was something he’d need to know before he decided whether he wanted to court her or not.

  Hank didn’t know anything about children. Especially girls. He’d been the youngest of his family by eight years. His older brothers and sisters had left the house as he grew into his pre-teen years. Several had moved away. As the baby of the family, Hank knew he’d been spoiled. That was probably why he hadn’t made it as a cowboy.

  They had to work too hard. Up at dawn, wrangling cattle all day or fixing fences. Tending the horses and all that tack. Being outside in all sorts of bad weather. Nope, just didn’t fit the way he wanted to live his life. Barbering and the bathhouse worked well for him. Good honest work, easy work, but profitable.

  A laundry lady would fit well into his life. He didn’t like doing all the towels his business generated. He’d pay for it to be done. Might even be able to wrangle a discount if he could figure out how to offer her something in return. Time and watching her do the job would answer that.

  The sound of heeled boots coming towards him sounded along the boardwalk. Hank lifted his Stetson and saw Sheriff Newt Riverby approach.

  “Afternoon, Hank. Looks like I came at a good time for a shave and haircut.”

  “You did at that. Come on in.” Hank stood and opened the door allowing the sheriff to proceed him in.

  CHAPTER TWO

  Laura finished her kitchen duties the next morning and made sure Eddie and Mark had completed theirs. The boys each planned to play with other boys of the House, overseen by Ruth who was being paid to monitor their activities and tend the children while their mothers worked.

  She hurried to Cutler’s General Store and purchased two bars of laundry soap and a small knife to shave them into the water. She inquired about the cost of wash tubs and planned to ask Hank how long he thought it might take for her to earn enough to purchase them.

  When she arrived at the barbershop, Laura was surprised it wasn’t open yet. After all, it was already after eight in the morning.

  Deciding she could get some washing done, Laura went back to the House and gathered up the towels and the napkins from breakfast. With the number of people living there, a lot of dirty laundry was produced, so she took what was piled in the baskets in the washroom. Trading her service for fewer chores in the House was part of the barter system the ladies had brought with them from Iowa.

  A fire was built in the backyard with a wrought iron stand for the wash water. Laura began her routine of pumping water and filling the large kettles. She was well into the job, hanging the first items on the clotheslines, when a male voice asked, “Weren’t you going to commence doing my laundry today?”

  She looked behind her to find Hank standing with a pile of laundry in his arms. Eyeing him, she said, “I came to get the things as soon as breakfast was finished. You were not in evidence yet. Not wanting to waste my day waiting, I started on these things.” Laura waved her hand at the line nearly full of clean linens from the House.

  A redness tinged his face. She fought back a smile. Men! They thoug
ht a woman should be at their beck and call at all times.

  “Yes, well… I brought my laundry to you.”

  “Thank you. I was going to come for it once I got the rest of this load hung up. Set them on that bench, please. I’ll bring them back this afternoon.”

  Hank did as he’d been told, then stood watching her. It made Laura nervous. No man, not even her husband, had ever spent time observing her do laundry.

  “Um, do you need anything else?” She didn’t like that her words sounded tentative.

  “Oh, no. I don’t suppose so. I’ll get that sign made for my window this morning. Should finish it and get it posted once the paint dries. I found a piece of wood to use that I can paint.” Hank shuffled his feet.

  It struck Laura that he was just as nervous as she was. Pausing after she pinned a small shirt on the line, she stepped away from the basket and approached him.

  “Thank you for bringing your laundry. I could have come for it.”

  Hank cleared his throat. “I should have remembered you said you’d set about early. I’ve heard you ladies and all, up before I generally am. I, um, live above the shop.”

  “Oh.” She didn’t know how to respond. It seemed so personal to know he could hear the activity of the House from his living quarters.

  “Next time, I’ll make sure to have the bundle to you early.” Hank turned to leave.

  “Um, Hank.” Laura stepped forward. “It wasn’t really a problem. Also, I need your advice again.” She went on to explain about the need for wood for the fire and her thoughts about paying some of the boys to gather and chop for her. “Do you think what I plan to charge will be enough so I can make a profit?”

  “Might be tight for a while, until you get a clientele built up, but should work out.” Hank rubbed a hand across his chin.