She looked around the little house she found herself coming to love but knew she needed something different. If she wanted to raise a family with Michael, she couldn’t imagine trying to get them all to fit inside this little place. And the town itself needed something more.
There was a church that doubled as a school as far as she could tell. The school kids had been taught most recently by a girl of about fourteen and Susan was curious to know how the people of Birch Creek would feel if she offered up her services like Michael had suggested.
But they would need another building for a school. There had to be something she could do to help build up the town of Birch Creek. Maybe they could look into building a larger place, not really a hotel but a boarding house or something.
So many men had come to settle the valley and start farms resulting in the number of able bodied men far outnumbering strong and capable women. If she was going to claim this as her home and make a difference in this part of the country, she wanted to do something important. Having a boarding house where women could come and have a chance to court the men here instead of just agreeing to marry someone sight unseen could help the situation immensely.
Though if all women could be as lucky in finding a husband like she had, then signing on to be a bride through the mail or an advertisement really wasn’t all that bad.
Not that she knew for sure. She’d only been married to Michael for two days now, and they had only spent a few waking hours getting to know each other. She could take things slow and easy with a hardworking man that was liked and respected by the people in his community.
Their relationship had so much potential. There was mutual respect and appreciation between the two of them. Nothing about him bothered her in the same way men back home had. Here, she was important in the marriage. He needed her to help with the garden, the animals, the home and preparing meals for the two of them. If she was back east and married to some important son of an important family, she would be expected to just look pretty and attend events.
Everything here with Michael was real. Genuine. Maybe Uncle Charles and her parent’s hadn’t been completely foolish to insist marriage would be a good thing.
Susan made herself a quick breakfast and noticed there was some bread missing, so at least Michael had eaten something this morning. She’d have to make sure to take him something for lunch. Mostly so she could see him, but then afterward they could go over to the mercantile and she could see what was there that she might need. And before long, she’d need to write to her uncle’s lawyer to inform him of her marriage. Accessing the funds from her inheritance would be necessary for the plans she was beginning to develop.
She’d be sure to talk to Michael again about the possibility of helping in the school. There had been many children at the celebration after her marriage, but from what she could tell, they could probably still just use the church to hold classes in. Eventually, they would need another building for a school, but that could wait for a little while.
The boarding house seemed the most pressing at the moment. Women would be coming. Visitors and travelers passing through as well. Settlers had been coming west for years and would continue to move out here in search of a chance at their own farm and ranches. These wild mountains and valleys held a beauty so unlike anything she’d experienced before. Not to mention all the space out here for people to set up farms and homes and businesses. If she could establish a safe place for them to stay that helped them see the goodness of Birch Creek, she could help it grow with the right kind of people. She’d been impressed at the kindness of the townsfolk. More people could benefit from being here in Birch Creek. Even for just a little while.
A knock on her door brought Susan out of her own thoughts. She put down the cloth she’d used to dry the cooking pan and moved to the door.
“You home, Susan?” Bessy’s familiar voice asked.
“Of course, Bessy. Please come on in.”
“You’ve done a good job making this look nice. I like what you’ve done.” Bessy nodded her approval as she bounced her baby on her hip after walking into the little house and giving it a look. “Won’t hold many kids though.”
Susan chuckled. “You know, I had that same thought. Not that I’ll need much more room too soon.”
Bessy gave her a smile and moved over to the stove without response. “This looks like you’ve got some room to make bread. Might only have one pan at a time, but you can do it for sure. With just the two of you eating, you could easily just get to the routine of making a new batch every day. One at a time.”
“That’s good to know.”
“So I heard that Bert Smith has a cow that he’s traded you. Michael talked to Andrew about keeping her in with ours for a bit. I can show you how to milk and then teach you how to make butter.”
“That is so kind of you. I know Michael wants to build a shed and pen for her soon, but having her close by would be wonderful. I was thinking as I came home with your bread that having some fresh butter would be lovely.”
“So we can go bring her over today if you’d like. It’s not that far of a walk over to the Smith’s house. I’m sure the cow will be easy enough for the two of us to lead back.”
“Thank you again,” Susan said. “I don’t know what I’d do without your help. Is everyone here as friendly as you all have been?”
“Most folk are really great. Some get a bit high on themselves at times, but we all look out for each other. Makes living out here safer. Far as I can remember, it’s always been this way, but I heard when they first settled the area, there had been some pretty big misunderstandings. Almost like to lead to war between the different folk who wanted to claim the valley. Of course that’s all been history since before I was born.”
They quickly set out to go get the cow and take it to Bessy’s house. By lunch time, Bessy had shown Susan how to milk the cow, where to store the fresh milk while waiting for the cream to settle on the top and then showed her how to churn the cream into butter from the milk she’d gotten from her own cows earlier that morning before coming to visit.
“Is there anything you can’t do?” Susan asked Bessy as the woman tucked her sleeping babe on the bed for a nap and studied the bread she’d set Susan to mixing for another round of practice.
“Oh, a fair many things, but I do try.”
“You, my dear Bessy, are the reason the American West is being civilized. I’m in awe to be acquainted with you.”
“That’s just sweet.” Bessy’s cheeks pinked right up and Susan smiled warmly at her new friend.
“I’m one hundred percent serious. You are an amazing woman and I hope to someday manage to be even a little bit like you.”
“You make me happy,” Bessy said. “I’m sure glad Michael got sick of being lonesome and sent for you. I think we need more women out here.”
“I was thinking the same thing this morning, just before you arrived,” Susan said. “Now tell me if you think this is crazy, and if it is, help me figure out how to make it not crazy. What do you think it might take to get a building set up where we could house women who might be interested in coming out west to make a better life for themselves?”
Bessy tilted her head to the side as if she didn’t understand the question.
Susan began explaining. “While I was in New York, there weren’t a lot of options for single women. Most of the types of employment for them seemed pretty miserable. The factory work isn’t the best and doesn’t pay well, but there isn’t anything else they can do if they don’t have the prospect of marriage.”
Susan tried not to let the memories of the suitors who’d been after her inheritance flood her mind.
“I think having something like that makes sense, but how would you build it?” Bessy asked.
“Do you ever have things like barn raisings? Where everyone comes together to help raise a barn or build a community building. How was the church built?”
“I suppose that could happen. What abou
t the lumber and the brick? You’d have to get it brought in from the sawmill. Finding someone that knows how to do brick might be difficult. All the supplies for building would cost a lot of money.”
Susan nodded her agreement. “I know, but it just seems like something I should look into. If I could figure out a way to get the building materials, do you think there are people here who could build it up?”
“I’ve heard of some towns hiring out laborers,” Bessy said. “Those who come specifically to build things. There was someone in Oakley that had a brick making set up.”
“It might take me quite a few years to actually get something going, but I just wanted to run it by someone.”
Bessy smiled. “You know, I think if anyone could do it, it would probably be you. I’m excited to see what happens.”
“Me too,” Susan said. A chime sounded and Susan looked over into the main room. “You’ve got a clock? Oh. It’s past lunch. I should go home and see if I can get something to take to Michael.”
“Here,” Bessy said, handing her one of the pans with fresh dough in it. “Take this to your house and let it keep raising. You can cook it later and see how well your oven does.”
“Thank you,” Susan said, giving the woman a kiss on the cheek. “I’ll bring the pan back tonight.”
“Tomorrow’s fine. You have a good day.”
Susan hurried out the door and straight to her house. She grabbed the few things and the bread from yesterday she’d been planning to use for lunch and headed toward Michael’s blacksmith shop looking forward to seeing him again.
CHAPTER SEVEN
Michael knew he would never tire of the sight of his wife. She smiled brightly at him making him wish he wasn’t holding a red hot piece of iron with his metal tongs. He couldn’t put the materials down without wasting all his morning’s work so he continued to hammer away at the iron, turning the piece over and back as he struck the hot iron to shape it into what he needed.
Susan set her basket down on the counter near the front and side of the shop, keeping her distance from the fire and luckily far enough away none of the sparks would hit her, then leaned against the counter as she watched him.
He looked up during a moment where he could pause and examine his work, but the look of satisfaction on her face made his heart race. She liked the way he looked and that made it even harder to keep his mind on the job. Michael turned away from her to shove the piece of iron back into the coals in order to heat it up enough to shape it again.
“Do you want me to leave this here for your lunch?”
“Do you have somewhere to be?” He pumped the bellows and watched as the coals glowed bright for a moment with the added oxygen. Hopefully she wasn’t in a hurry to leave. He’d like nothing more than to wrap his arms around her and hold her tight. If only he was closer to being done with the horseshoe. “This will take me another ten minutes or so.”
“I wanted to go over to the mercantile and ask Mrs. Howard some questions.”
“What kinds of things are you looking for?” Michael asked. “I thought we had what you needed.”
“It’s not about shopping, though I do want to know about some bread pans. I wanted to check with some of the ladies on an idea I had.”
“If you want, I could go with, or you can just run over there now, then come back and have lunch with me.”
“I think I’ll do that.” Susan looked at him again, then at the fire and coals where the iron was returning to the glowing red he’d need. “It’s way too hot in here for me.”
Michael met her eyes and the look she gave him made him almost certain she wasn’t just talking about the bellows. If he wasn’t already overheated, he was sure her comment would have done the trick.
“I’ll be back in a few minutes.” Susan pushed herself away from the counter, keeping her eyes on his then she turned away slowly and headed out the door.
Michael was tempted to rush over and grab her before she got too far away and quench his thirst for her, but decided he’d better use the water bucket instead. The sooner he got this job done, the sooner he could meet her for lunch.
***
Susan shook her head at her overly personal thoughts, half tempted to fan herself as she walked away. How had she gotten that lucky? Michael was incredible and kind and made her feel so differently than anything she’d felt before. If she’d known the thrill of a simple glance or the anticipation of a sweet embrace or a shared kiss would be this delicious, she may have been willing to consider courting someone back home. No, that would have never happened, because no one back east could even compare to Michael.
She wished she could talk to Uncle Charles and tell him about her husband. To let him know she was happy with her choice and that she could finally appreciate his insistence that she marry. He would also love knowing how amazing it was to be in an area that had such nice neighbors and people who generally cared about others. He would have been so happy here in his own life. Uncle Charles may have also found someone to share his life with instead of remaining a bachelor all his days.
“Hello, Mrs. Clark,” Mrs. Howard said as Susan walked in the little store. “How are you today?”
“I’m doing great,” Susan said. “I had a few questions and wondered if you might have some answers for me. Being the main place of business here, I thought it best to check with you first.”
“Oh,” Mrs. Howard said, looking curious but not concerned. “Tell me.”
“I hope this doesn’t sound odd, but I had this idea that I wanted to run past some people. Since women are more , I reasonable and understand the way things should be, I wanted to check with you all first. My idea has the potential to affect a lot of things.”
Mrs. Howard leaned on the counter and Susan studied her body language. She seemed intrigued and Susan hoped she would see the big picture.
“You see, since coming here, I’ve realized I was incredibly lucky to have found a good man. Who knows what I would have had to do if he wasn’t the person he is. I’m sure Birch Creek will continue to grow. There are lots of men out west that will need wives. I met a lot of young ladies in New York and I don’t doubt there are some in other places as well, who will want to come out here to get a chance at a better life.”
“What do you mean to do?”
“I wondered about building something like a boarding house. A place where women could come stay, get some jobs, start up little shops. I want to find women who need to be freed from the oppression they have back east and can help settle the area out here. I know there are some women who are in medicine, though they aren’t allowed to do a lot of doctoring back there. I know there are women who can teach school. Women who can sew clothes to sell, who can open up bread stores and bakeries. Bring some of the niceties of the east out here to make life a little easier on everyone, and still have a place to call their own instead of just working for some shop owner back there.”
“That’s quite the grand scheme you have.” Mrs. Howard looked Susan over. Would she be offended at the idea of others coming and taking business away from her mercantile?
“What would you think of that?” Susan asked. “I wanted to check with you especially, since you have the understanding of what it takes to run a business out here. Also, if others came, it would potentially take some of your business.”
“I’m sure there would be a little of that, but the more people who lived out here, the more people would need my store. The idea of bringing women here would help.” Mrs. Howard stood up straight and looked around, then leaned back toward the back storage room. “In fact, and don’t tell anyone I said this, but after meeting you, I was considering sending away for a bride of my own to marry my son.” Mrs. Howard winked and Susan giggled in delight.
“So what would it take for me to get the permission for building a boarding house? And who would I talk to about potential plots of land. Also, where would I find contact information for the sawmill? I’d need to get lumber brought in, right?�
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“Wow,” Mrs. Howard said. “You might want slow down a little. It’ll take some time and planning. How about I gather a handful of ladies to a quilting bee on Saturday and we can run the idea past all of them? We’d want to make sure the ladies of the area are in agreement with this. We wouldn’t want to bring the sort of women that would attract the wrong kind of men. I know there’s a saloon in Cassia that has some painted ladies. We would do well to avoid something of that sort. I’ll let you know tomorrow where we’ll meet for sure, but I think Reverend Morrison will let us use the back of the church like he has before.”
“Sounds perfect.” Susan took Mrs. Howard’s hand and squeezed it. “I appreciate it.”
Susan left the mercantile and headed back to the smithy. She could no longer hear the pounding of metal on metal and hoped that meant Michael was able to take a break for lunch. She picked up the bottom of her skirts and hurried across the street and down the path toward his shop. It was far enough away from the other buildings to help keep the sounds and smells of the fire down.
When she reached the front of the smithy, she could see a man inside talking with Michael. Susan waited outside for a few minutes, not wanting to interrupt, and when the business was done, the man left the building and tipped his hat at her. “Afternoon, ma’am.”
Susan smiled and nodded then entered the shop and moved to where she’d left the lunch.
“So I have some news,” Susan began.
“Me too,” Michael said.
“You go first.” Susan turned to face him.
“That was Mr. Kline. He’s the driver of the stage coach. He’s got a nephew that he’s suddenly become the guardian of, and wondered if I’d be interested in taking him on as an apprentice.”
The Blacksmith's Bride: A Golden Valley Story (The Brides of Birch Creek Book 1) Page 6