by Tracey Lyons
He turned his attention from Stephen to scan her face with a quick glance. “I apologize if I’ve offended you, Miss Jackson.”
“Oh, but you have.” Hannah threw her napkin on the table next to the plate of her half-eaten dinner. She would defend her land and that of her neighbors with her last dying breath. It was high time that Mr. Malone knew that.
The air in the room snapped with tension.
Mabel Curtis rose from the head of the table. “Please, let us retire to the sitting room for some dessert.”
Putting her hand on her friend’s arm, Julia stood. “Yes, let’s go enjoy a bite of Mother’s cherry pie.”
Knowing that all eyes were on her she managed to paste a stiff smile on her face. “Pie sounds wonderful.” It would be more wonderful if Chase Malone were wearing it on his face!
Seated on a wing-backed chair near the open window Hannah eyed Chase with contempt. His gray eyes flashed in humor at some comment her grandfather had made. She continued to observe him, nodding her head occasionally to Julia’s comments.
Hannah took a mouthful of cherry pie, chewing slowly, methodically, all the while concentrating on the way the sheriff and even her grandfather seemed so taken by Mr. Malone’s charm. She could bear this nonsense not a moment longer. She set her dessert plate on the coffee table, excused herself and walked out onto the wide front porch that curved around the Curtis’s home.
Hannah leaned against the post and rested her hip on the low rail. Tipping her head back she stared up at the dark spring sky and began to silently count the stars. Falling into the habit of a game she’d played long ago with Julia.
The screen door swished opened. She continued to stare and count as the heavy footfalls moved slowly toward her. She knew from the shadow cast by the lantern that Chase Malone stood next to her.
“Certainly is a nice night for stargazing.”
She didn’t care to acknowledge his presence. Instead she continued to look out over the darkened landscape.
“Mrs. Curtis certainly is a fine cook.” He tried once more to engage her in conversation.
“Yes, she is. I can’t for the life of me figure out why she invited the likes of you into her home for dinner.” Hannah spat the words out into the darkness.
“She didn’t invite me.”
“So you just invited yourself, is that it, Mr. Malone?” She turned to look at him.
“No, the sheriff asked me.”
An uncomfortable silence fell between them. “Is there something you wish to say to me, Miss Jackson?”
“There certainly is! First off, no one invited you back here to North Creek. We don’t want you here. Don’t you understand that?” She shifted uneasily; even in the shadows she could feel his gaze burning into her.
“Is that all?” He casually lit up a thin cigar and puffed gray clouds of smoke into the still night air.
Hannah waved her hand in front of her face, wrinkling her nose in distaste as the pungent odor of smoke assailed her senses. “No, that isn’t all I have to say. I also think you are an arrogant man who is used to getting his way. And furthermore, you won’t take over this town, if that is what you hope to accomplish.”
“Now, Miss Jackson—Hannah—”
“Miss Jackson,” Hannah interrupted. She didn’t wish to become any more familiar with the wretched man.
He smiled. “Miss Jackson, I have no desire to stay in your town any longer than necessary.”
“I see. You just want to be here long enough to ruin the countryside, blast holes in my mountain and then leave?” Her voice rose loud enough to bring her grandmother scurrying over to the window for a better look. Forcing a smile, she turned and waved her grandmother away.
Lowering her voice, she said, “You may be able to convince some of my friends that you’re acting in their best interests and the rest of the town might be taken in by your charm, but not me.” Crossing her arms over her chest, she turned her back to him.
“You find me charming?”
Hannah could hear the amusement in his voice. “As charming as a rattlesnake.”
“A rattlesnake? You’ll have to do better than that, Miss Jackson.” He leaned against the porch railing that Hannah had so recently vacated. “This will go much easier if you try to get along with me. At least for appearance’s sake, we could try and be civil to one another in public.”
“I don’t intend to be seen anywhere near you in public, Mr. Malone.” The man was so thickheaded. Didn’t he see that she wanted nothing to do with him?
“I don’t like to be crossed, Miss Jackson.”
The way he spoke the words, so distinctly and slowly, sent shivers down her spine. She turned and looked at Chase Malone. From where he sat on the porch rail, they were almost at eye level with one another. In the dim light she could just make out the angry planes of his face.
“I have no idea what you are referring to.”
“Mrs. McCleary wants her husband to back out of the deal I made with him last year. ”
“What makes you think I had anything to do with that?” She took a tentative step backwards.
“According to her husband, she’s been talking to you about the garnet mines. Did you happen to speak to her about this?”
There was no use denying it. “Yes, I told her that your company would strip the land of its trees and tear open the mountainside. That she and her babies wouldn’t have a minute’s peace from the horrible noise all your explosives will make.”
He stood and closed the distance between them in one easy stride. “I would appreciate it if you didn’t meddle in my business affairs.”
She straightened her back a little more. “I will do as I please, Mr. Malone.”
“Not if it affects me. I would prefer it if you kept your opinions to yourself.”
“I can’t do that.”
“Suit yourself.” He stepped off the porch and, tossing the cigar in the dirt, ground it out with the toe of his boot. “I gave you fair warning, Hannah.”
He turned and sauntered off into the darkness, leaving her to stand alone on the Curtis’s front porch. She pursed her lips together, fuming because she’d been unable to get in the last word. Who did he think he was? Chase Malone had no business threatening her!
She wouldn’t let him get away with this.
Chapter Three
Jeb Daley rapped the small gavel on the pulpit and the loud conversation died down. Every pew in the small church was filled. Farmers just in from the fields sat shoulder to shoulder with shopkeepers. Several latecomers lined the wall just inside the doorway. A child cried out from the back of the room until the mother’s soothing tones quieted the boy.
Hannah and her grandparents sat amidst neighbors and friends in the second pew. Her hands folded primly in her lap, Hannah waited for the meeting to start. The entire community had turned out for this town meeting. Town meetings weren’t called often; when they were, it seemed that people came out of the hills for miles around. Some came to hear what was going on, but most came for the chance to gossip and socialize.
Though the meeting had been posted only two days ago word seemed to have spread fast. Hannah shifted in her seat, anxious for the meeting to begin. Turning her head, she looked over her shoulder, wondering where Mr. Malone was. After all, this meeting was called because of him. She could just make out his face and shoulders as he entered the church and found a place along the back wall.
Still smarting from the remarks he’d made to her two nights ago on the Curtis’s front porch, she faced forward. She’d come here today to redeem some of her wounded pride.
Jeb rapped the gavel again. “I’d like to call this meeting to order.”
“It’s about time you got this thing started.”
She couldn’t tell who’d spoken, though she thought it might be one of the farmers.
Jeb scanned the crowd, looking for the source of the comment then patiently started to explain the reason for the meeting. “I’d like to welcome
everyone to our town meeting. As most of you know, we are here to discuss the Tyler Mining Company.”
A rumble went through the room as people turned to one another to comment.
“Mr. Mallory, do you have something you’d like to share with the rest of us?” Heads turned as Jeb squinted through his spectacles as the man stood.
Like everyone else in the front pews Hannah had to crane her neck around to catch sight of him.
The tall mountain man pulled his hat from his head, exposing a thick mass of dark hair. Mallory shifted from one foot to the other, scrunching the black felt hat in his hands. “I just want to know why this Tyler fella hasn’t come here himself?”
Jeb looked around the room until he settled his gaze on the spot where Chase Malone stood. “Perhaps Mr. Malone can answer that question.”
Mr. Malone moved down the aisle with ease. His clear gray eyes looked over the crowd and for the briefest of moments his gaze rested on Hannah. He nodded his head and smiled, then continued on. She turned around in her seat and stared straight at the back of Joe McCleary’s head. She wasn’t about to give Mr. Malone the satisfaction of acknowledging his presence.
Adjusting the cuffs on his crisp white shirt, he waited for everyone to quiet down. “To answer Mr. Mallory’s question, I am the agent for Tyler Mining Company, just as I was when I first came to this town last summer. Nothing has changed. I do all of Tyler’s bidding where the mining is concerned.”
Hannah bristled at his remarks. Ready to do battle, she sat up tall against the hard pew bench and asked in a clear voice, “Will you tell us what is going to happen to the land, Mr. Malone?” She wanted to see him answer the question in front of the entire town. She wanted to hear him tell how horrible the mountain would look when Tyler Mining was finished with it.
“Did everyone hear Miss Jackson? She wants to know what effects the mining will have on the land.” He looked at her, his gaze unflinching. “The land we mine is not prime farm land, nor can it be properly developed for any other use. The McCleary site is perfect.”
Sallie McCleary stood and took hold of her husband’s hand. “What about everything else Hannah told me, Mr. Malone? How do you answer to those charges?”
“If you are asking about the mining camp, I was at the site yesterday. I can assure you that no one from the camp will bother you or your family.”
His words did little to convince Hannah that all would be well in town after the mining camp opened.
Mr. Mallory countered, “The miners can be a rough lot, Malone. How can you be so sure that nothing will happen?”
Sheriff Curtis stepped up to the pulpit and leaned his arms against the slanted top. “Because I say so. This is still my town and there isn’t any way anyone from Tyler Mining is going to be causing trouble. Isn’t that right, Malone?”
Hannah saw the flicker of anger in Mr. Malone’s eyes as he turned his attention from the crowd and faced the sheriff. “That’s right, Sheriff.”
For the next half hour he went over how the mining camp would be set up. Explaining that it would eventually have a company store, and that the miners would be bringing their families to live with them sometime over the next year.
Chase Malone seemed completely at ease with the people of North Creek. He answered every question put to him without effort. He turned to look toward Hannah as Sallie McCleary once again raised the question about her family’s safety.
“Mrs. McCleary, I can understand how you must feel. However, let me assure you that you and your young ones will be safe. I will be out to the mine several times a week.”
“What about the effects the mine will have on the town of North Creek?” Mr. Mallory asked.
Chase wandered up the narrow center aisle of the church, stopping when he reached the pew where Mallory stood. “I think the shopkeepers can tell you they are already feeling some of the prosperity from the McCleary mine. That wealth will only grow as the mining operation increases.”
Hannah turned in her seat to watch Chase Malone. It was hard to tell if he was running a good con job or if he was actually sincere. She compared him to the peddler who’d passed through last summer. That man, dressed in a colorful brocade vest and traveling in a gaudy decorated wagon, had stood in front of this very church trying to sell a concoction of powders and lotions to the ladies. He promised them a youthful appearance forever if they used the miracle potion but once a day.
From her vantage point it seemed that Mr. Malone was, indeed, sincere. He wasn’t dressed in fancy clothes and he certainly wasn’t making any promises that couldn’t be kept. Still, she worried that the citizens of North Creek seemed to be too easily won over by Chase Malone—or could it be that in her overzealous protection of the land, she was being too hard on the man?
Looking around the room, he asked, “Has anyone here been bothered by the mining or the miners?”
A murmur ran through the crowd as people shook their heads and whispered to each other. It appeared that not one person from the mine had been seen in town doing any harm.
Jeb Daley pulled his watch from his vest pocket then rapped the gavel on the pulpit. The room quieted.
“I know some of you folks have small children who are getting restless, and I think Mr. Malone has answered most of your questions. So if there are no objections, I’d like to declare this town meeting officially ended.”
Hannah stood by the end of the pew, waiting for her friends and neighbors to move outside. Sallie and Joe McCleary’s two little ones raced out ahead of their parents.
Looking relieved to be free from her burden of holding the children still for the past two hours, Sallie smiled at Hannah. “I think that went well, don’t you?”
Hannah gave a quick laugh. “Do you mean the meeting, or keeping those two quiet the entire time?”
Sallie shrugged her thin shoulders. “Both, I guess.”
“I think both you and Chase Malone did a fine job.” Hannah smiled reassuringly. Sallie hung back to wait for her husband as Hannah moved toward the entrance doors where Mr. Malone stood off to one side. She watched as he greeted each person.
He smiled with ease as he extended his hand to shake her grandfather’s. Hannah couldn’t get over what fast friends they’d become. She knew that they’d struck up a brief acquaintance last year when he’d had been in North Creek; still, she was a bit surprised that her grandfather felt comfortable with a man whose employer could change this land forever. The images of Maple Gorge were fresh in her mind.
Since she considered her grandfather to be a good judge of character, her resolve softened—if her grandfather could trust the man, then perhaps she should be able to, also. Uncertainty flooded through her. As the crowd thinned she realized in the next step she’d be face-to-face with Chase Malone. She quickly skirted around her grandparents and escaped down the wooden steps to the churchyard.
Shielding her eyes from the bright sunshine, she walked toward the shade of a huge oak tree. She gave Julia and Steven a quick wave then watched as they strolled arm in arm to his waiting buggy. The afternoon sun was warm and the sky was cloudless. A perfect time for a ride over the countryside.
Sighing aloud, she leaned against the massive tree trunk. Though she tried to push it aside, envy tugged at her. Julia and Steven were so blissfully in love. She yearned to share those special feelings with someone.
Her whimsical thoughts were interrupted by the shouts of the McCleary children. She walked briskly to the other side of the church following the sound of the angry voices. She found the brother and sister with their arms wrapped about one another.
“Ma said we had to share,” a red-faced Sara shouted at her younger brother. “You didn’t share!”
Reaching up to tug at one of his sister’s blond braids, Jack replied furiously, “You dropped it. It’s all your fault, Sara.”
Before Hannah could reach the two of them, Mr. Malone came around the opposite side of the church building. Without much ado, he separated the squabbling
youngsters.
“Hey, what’s all this about?” The warm summer breeze brought the sound of his gentle voice to Hannah.
Two sets of wide blue eyes stared up at him. Jack spoke first. “Ma said if we were good in church, she’d give us a peppermint stick to share. We were good and Sara dropped the stick in the dirt!”
Hannah moved closer to the trio.
Recognizing an ally in Mr. Malone, Sara moved closer to him. “I didn’t drop the candy. Jack wouldn’t let me have any and we got fighting over it and the peppermint stick fell in the dirt.”
He looked from one tear-streaked face to the other. “Is that what really happened, Jack?”
Jack rubbed his booted toe across the dirt, making circles along the ground. “I guess so. But Sara started it. She wouldn’t let me break the peppermint in two.”
“I’m the oldest and Ma gave the candy to me to hold.”
Hannah covered her mouth with her hand to keep from laughing out loud. She could tell this go-round would last all day—neither of them would give in. She wondered how Mr. Malone was going to put an end to the argument.
Jack spotted Hannah and ran to her side. “You saw what happened, didn’t you, Miss Hannah?”
She allowed Jack to put his small hand in hers and lead her over to Mr. Malone and Sara. “No, Jack. I didn’t see what happened, but I certainly heard the commotion the two of you made.”
“What do you think we should do with these two, Miss Hannah?” Trying his best to look serious, Mr. Malone addressed her in the same manner that Jack had. She smiled back at him when a grin appeared on his handsome face.
“I think Jack and Sara should apologize to one another.” She gave Jack’s small body a gentle nudge in the general direction of his sister.
Looking down at his feet, Jack mumbled, “I’m sorry, Sara.”
Sara wiped the last tear from her eye. “Me too, Jack.”