Free An Untimely Frost by Penny Richards Page B

who’d taken her luggage upstairs, was now behind the desk. Lilly entered a large eating area. A hall tree, adorned with several hats ranging from bowlers to the style favored by the western cowboys, stood just inside the door.
    A family with two small boys occupied one table, and a lone man reading a newspaper sat at another. A long counter held six seats, and a large, framed piece of slate hung on the wall behind it. The day’s menu was written with chalk in plain uppercase print. Other signage proclaimed that the hotel proudly served Chase & Sanborn coffee and Heinz ketchup.
    The lunch choices made her mouth water. Steak or ham with gravy, potatoes, and a choice of several vegetables. Dessert was apple or rhubarb pie.
    One of the counter seats was occupied by a rugged-looking individual wearing dungarees, boots, and spurs. No doubt the Stetson belonged to him. Two farmer types sat nearby. All were attacking plates of ham, potatoes, beans, and thick slabs of buttered bread along with mugs of steaming coffee. Lilly’s stomach gave another growl.
    A pretty golden-haired girl who looked like a younger version of Virginia Holbrook was taking payment from a well-dressed man. It seemed the entire family worked in the hotel. The paying customer was wearing a gray sack coat and matching vest. His collar was pressed into sharp wings, and a newly fashionable ascot tie of burgundy silk pierced with a pearl stickpin was a perfect match to the square handkerchief peeking from his breast pocket. His Alberts were polished to a high sheen. A banker, Lilly thought.
    â€œWonderful as usual, sweet pea,” the man said to the young girl.
    â€œThank you, Grandfather,” she replied, ringing up his purchase on the cash register. “I’ll be sure and tell Sadie.”
    Seeing Lilly in the doorway, she said, “I’ll be with you in just a moment, ma’am. Please have a seat.”
    Lilly chose a table near the window. From her vantage point she could see the horses across the street and the livery stable on the corner. A newborn foal gamboled next to his mother, who munched contentedly on a pile of hay.
    â€œI’m sorry to make you wait, ma’am.” The young girl, who looked to be in her late teens, filled the glass with water from a crockery pitcher. The apron covering the front of her simple blue shirtwaist was the same pristine white as the tablecloth and napkins.
    â€œThat’s not a problem,” Lilly assured her with a smile. “I’ve been watching the horses.”
    â€œThat young one likes to raise a ruckus,” the waitress told her with a smile. She pulled a small, lined tablet and stubby pencil from her apron pocket. “What can I get for you today?”
    â€œI’ll have what they’re having,” Lilly said, indicating the two men at the counter.
    â€œCertainly. Would you like coffee or a glass of milk with that?”
    â€œCoffee, please, and some Borden’s condensed milk if you have it.” Since trying the thick, sweet, canned milk some months back, Lilly had grown extremely fond of putting it in her coffee.
    â€œI’m sorry, ma’am, but all we have is fresh cream.”
    â€œThat will do nicely,” Lilly assured her.
    â€œI’ll have it out in a few minutes,” the young woman assured her. “By the way, my name is Helen, if you need me.”
    â€œThank you, Helen. I’m Lilly. Lilly Long. Do your parents own the hotel?”
    â€œYes.”
    â€œI thought so. Your mother checked me in earlier. You look just like her.”
    â€œReally? I think she’s beautiful.”
    â€œShe is,” Lilly said. “And so are you.”
    Helen blushed and disappeared through the door to the kitchen with Lilly’s order.
    While Lilly waited, she watched the two small boys with their parents. They were adorable. One was the spitting image of his father, the other a miniature portrait of his mother. She watched