Amanda

by Danni Roan

  “No, you go ahead.” Amanda turned to look at the shelves again. “I’ll look around here a bit.” The young woman lifted her chin. “I need to start adjusting to my new home.”

  Teddy’s smile was bright as he offered the bag of sweets to the young woman, watching as she picked out a lemon drop. Perhaps Miss Amanda was a delicate flower, but she had pluck, and he suspected that if she were planted in the right ground and tended with loving care, she would blossom into something more than the pretty bud before him.

  “Hats,” Mrs. Script grinned, hurrying around the counter. “Let’s take a look.”

  For the next ten minutes, Teddy was busy trying on new hats. He had tried several on, each time looking to see if Amanda had anything to say, but she had simply looked at him, with little expression at all.

  “This is the last one that might fit you,” Mrs. Scripts spoke, handing down a light brown wide-brimmed hat. “It’s been on the shelf a while, and I can give you a discount.”

  Teddy took the hat, examining the raised brim and wide leather band around the edge. “It’s rather heavy.”

  “Yes, it is.” Mrs. Scripts agreed, her tone flat.

  Teddy slipped the hat on his head, turning this way and that to see that it fit snuggly enough not to blow off in the wind.

  “That looks very nice on you,” Amanda said, offering Teddy a smile that stabbed him in the heart.

  “You like it?”

  “It suits you.”

  “Here, look.” Mrs. Scripts hurried back around the counter, pulling out a small handheld mirror.

  Teddy examined his reflection in the mirror. He wasn’t much to look at, in fact, plain would suit him: brown hair, brown eyes, slim, not too tall, or short, or skinny or fat just average.

  “It looks nice,” Amanda offered again.

  “I’ll take it,” Teddy’s eyes met Miss Antonia’s, and a smile tugged at his lips. “I believe the lady has good taste.” Perhaps a heavy hat was not the best for working in the hot Texas sun, but it would be worth it to see that smile again.

  Teddy paid for the hat then offered Amanda his arm as he stuffed his ragged war cap in his back pocket with a groan. “Would you like to see the rest of the town?” he asked, offering her another sweet.

  Amanda stepped out onto the covered boardwalk and squinted into the afternoon sun. “Is there much to see?”

  “Not much,” Teddy admitted. “Down that way is the church and across the street is the only saloon in town. That’s where those rowdy cowboys are headed most of the time.”

  “Does it happen often? The shooting, I mean.” Amanda shivered, remembering the fright she had received on arriving in Needful.

  “Not so much as before,” Teddy pointed down the street in the opposite direction. “The sheriff lives right there, and Spencer keeps a tight rein on things. Dan’s had to bail several hands out of the hoosgow. Mayor Dan finally laid down the law and told the fellas that if they got arrested for disorderly conduct, they would not have a job.”

  “Did it work?”

  “For the most part, yes,” Teddy smiled. “You’ll always have those saddle tramps that waste every dime in a saloon, though.”

  “And you?” Amanda met Teddy’s dark eyes boldly.

  “No ma’am. I’ve been with Cap’n, I mean Mayor Dan, for a long while. I’d not like to disappoint him.”

  Taking the man’s proffered arm, Amanda glanced over at him as he studied the street. His face, in profile, was serious, and a dark light flickered in his eyes.

  “Thank you for the walk,” Amanda offered as they arrived at the front of the boarding house. “Perhaps,” she dropped her eyes, studying the dusty boards beneath her soft white boots. “Perhaps we can do this again.”

  Teddy bent over the young woman’s hand. “I’d like that very much.” He looked up, capturing her eyes. “I hope this means you can forgive me for being an idiot before.”

  Amanda grinned at the bright blush on the young man’s face. “I’ll think about it. Just keep that old man away from me.”

  Teddy chuckled. He had already noticed that the buckboard was gone and deducted that Cookie had headed for the store for supplies.

  “That I can do.”

  ***

  “What just happened?” Olive asked, looking between Peri and Jacks, as Mercy continued to hum. “I thought that girl didn’t want anything to do with Teddy Lewis.”

  “Looks like the boy beats the alternative,” Jacks laughed. “Cookie put a scare in that girl worse than Teddy ever could.”

  Mercy, smacked Jacks on the wrist gently, giving him that crooked grin.

  “Mama, are you tired? Would you like to go home? Jacks can take you home, and Bear can collect me here when he’s done if you’re ready to go.”

  Mercy Perkins nodded slowly, her bright eyes twinkling. “Home,” she said. “T’ank for da tea,” she added as she reached for Olive’s hand.

  “You know you’re welcome any time, Mercy.” Olive rose still wondering about Cookie’s quick departure through the back door, and Amanda’s seeming, change of heart.

  “Miss Mercy,” Jacks pulled Mrs. Perkin’s chair back, letting her grasp his arm as she rose. “Miss Peri, I’ll see you later. Olive,” he finished placing his hat on his head and tugging at it.

  “It’s a good thing Jacks has the time to ferry mother about,” Peri said. “I’m glad she isn’t stuck at home all the time. I mean, I know she has Prim and the house is always busy, but it’s important to have people around that are closer to your age.”

  “I suppose that’s true,” Olive agreed. “You’re mother is looking well. How is Prim?”

  She seems fine. “I think expecting agrees with her.”

  “Your sister was our first bride here in Needful. Things sure have come a long way since then.”

  “I thought Daliah was the first bride.”

  “No, she and Spencer were the first wed once we arrived. Primrose came to us as a bride.”

  Peri giggled, thinking back to when her sister had agreed to come to Needful after reading an ad in a newspaper back home in Tennessee.

  “Our lives certainly have changed since that day we cleaned out the cabin and moved in with Aunt Betsy,” Peri agreed. “I wonder what Pa would say about us now.” As much as Peri didn’t approve of the life her father had led, she still missed the old moonshiner. His death had been what necessitated Prim’s answering the advertisement.

  Olive and Peri chatted a while longer, surprised when Amanda returned with a smile on her lips.

  “Everything all right?” Olive asked the young woman.

  “I’m feeling much better now,” Amanda said, taking the seat Peri offered. “Mr. Lewis took me to the general store, and the fresh air seems to have done wonders for me.”

  “How ‘bout a fresh pot of tea?” Olive leaned over the table with a grin.

  “In this heat, I wish it were shaved ice.” Amanda stripped off her gloves, folding them in her lap. “Tea will be fine,” she finally added. “You’ve been most hospitable.”

  Olive grinned. “You do have nice manners,” the older woman said. “We’ll find you a nice man with a good place where you’ll be looked after.”

  Amanda looked between Peri and Olive questioning who they might find in Needful who met those requirements, even as a set of serious dark eyes flashed before her. Perhaps Teddy Lewis had been rash in his behavior earlier, but he had been a complete gentleman today.

  The cowboy’s quick rescue of her from the derelict old man, foremost in his chivalrous behavior, had gained him points in her eyes.

  “Who are all these men?” she asked delicately, peering at the men eating their lunches, who were staring at her with bold gazes.

  “Just men,” Olive said. “We have ranchers, cowboys, miners, and traders galore about these parts. Most are curious about any young woman who arrives. Many have even placed a request for a good woman of their own.”

  Amanda squirmed under the scrutiny of the men in
the dining room. It was disconcerting being stared at in such a way.

  “We’ve all been through it,” Peri assured. “These men are hard-working and lonely. That’s why Olive named the town Needful.”

  “I didn’t mean anyone to hear that, but Orville, Periwinkle, and you know it.”

  Peri laughed, a soft, cheery titter in the staid room. “So I hear, but that don’t mean it didn’t stick.”

  “How did you name the town?” Amanda sat up, peering at Olive inquisitively. “Do tell.”

  “Well, it was our first big town meeting when Mayor Dan was elected. You could look around the town and see that ninety percent of the population was all men. Diggers, ropers, riders, and the such. The town had land, resources, a few fair buildings, but what it didn’t have was good, respectable women. It was in need, in need of women and wives for these hard-working men.”

  “Daliah says that Olive here was talking to Orville as the meeting hushed and everyone heard her say that the town was Needful of good women.”

  “That’s pretty much it,” Olive agreed with a shake of her head. “Dan heard me say it and put the name to a vote right then and there. It seems folks were willing to go with it.”

  Amanda laughed, thinking over what Mr. Lewis had told her about the town. Perhaps it was only going through the typical growing pains of any place on the edge of the frontier. Perhaps time would tell if Needful got all it had need of.

  Chapter 5

  “Cookie, what on earth were you thinking?” Teddy gave the old man a harsh look as he helped load the wagon. “You nearly scared Miss Amanda half to death.”

  The old man chuckled. “She ain’t so scared of you now, though, is she?” Cookie chuckled.

  “Why you rotten old coot,” Teddy gaped. “You did that on purpose.”

  “You’re kinda slow, ain’t ya, son? What would an old man like me need with a pretty young wife? I ain’t never needed a wife before, and I sure don’t need one now. You, on the other hand, you’re half smitten with that girl already. Now she knows there’s worse things could happen than bein’ hitched to a half-wit like yourself, she might come around.”

  Teddy pulled himself onto the padded seat of the wagon, still bewildered by the old man. It was true if Cookie hadn’t gone into the Hampton House nattering on about taking a bride, Miss Amanda Antonia would never have joined him outside.

  “I ain’t as dumb as you look, son,” Cookie chuckled, slapping the reins to the horses and heading out of town. “You mark my words, you come calling again in a few days, and little Miss Amanda will look at you all different like.”

  Teddy pressed his hands onto the bench, flinching as the wagon rolled over a deep rut. He sure liked the idea of the sweet little miss being his wife. He would protect her, watch out for her, and let her know she was safe. A soft smile played about his lips as he imagined Amanda living in his home, cooking his meals, and sitting with him in the evening around a quiet fire.

  “You think she’d be receptive-like to my callin’?” Teddy asked.

  “She’s young, alone, and you ain’t half bad on the eyes, even if you are neigh unto hollow between the ears,” Cookie said. “I reckon she’s met you twice now, which is more than any of the others in town can say. You go on in and call on her in a day or two and see how it goes.”

  Teddy leaned back, crossing his arms over his chest with a grin, only to half stand as they rolled through another dip in the road.

  Maybe, just maybe, he had a chance yet with Miss Amanda Antonia. Teddy was tired of being alone, especially now that Mayor Dan had married Rosa. The men at the ranch spent more time in the bunkhouse, or on their small places, rather than lounging about the big ranch house.

  Soon Dan would have children of his own, and Teddy thought that was a grand idea. What if he married Amanda and their children could play with Dan and Rosa’s children. A soft blush warmed his face and Teddy settled back on the padded seat.

  “Don’t go gettin’ the cart before the horse now boy,” Cookie grinned. “It’s one thing to convince a woman to marry you, it’s another to keep her happy.”

  Teddy shot a scathing look at the old man. “How would you know?” he asked. “You ain’t never been hitched.”

  “I got my reasons,” Cookie growled. “They just ain’t none of your business.”

  ***

  It took two more days before Teddy was fit to sit his pretty pony, and he headed into town. He’d dusted his best shirt, put on clean trousers, and placed his new hat carefully over his neatly combed hair.

  “How do I look?” the young man asked Rosa as he shuffled to the house to retrieve the flowers his boss’s wife had prepared.

  “You look, muy handsome,” Rosa smiled. “I wish you luck.”

  Teddy blushed, tugging at his string tie self consciously. “You think she’ll approve?”

  “This, I do not know,” Rosa sighed. “I do not know this girl. I know that you are a good man and a good friend to Daniel.” Rosa’s lilting voice, accented with the tongue of her motherland, was almost musical. “If she is the right woman for you, all will be well.”

  Teddy nodded, mumbling a thank you to the dark-haired woman, then strode to his horse and stepped into the saddle, flowers clutched firmly in his hand.

  “Don’t do nothin’ I wouldn’t, Teddy,” Dozer, a big man with a slow drawl, shouted as he started from the ranch yard.

  “You talk real sweet now and maybe that girl will ignore them jug handle ears of yours,” another cowboy offered.

  “Just don’t try to sing her a song,” a third rider called as Teddy kicked his horse into a trot. “You’ll be sure to scare her back home with your caterwauling.”

  Teddy felt the heat rise up his neck at the joshing of his friends and fellow riders. He knew he wouldn’t get away with courting, completely unscathed by their acid wit. He just hoped that none of what they said was true. He barely knew how to talk to the young woman as it was, let alone win her hand.

  Easing his pony to a walk, Teddy straightened his tie and ambled toward town. “Maybe I should make up a poem,” he spoke to his black and white pinto. “Women like poems, don’t they?”

  Pepper snorted as if dismissing the thought and Teddy blushed again as the only poem he could recall was not fit for a delicate young lady like Amanda’s ears.

  “I’ll take her to dinner,” The young man grinned then sagged as he realized the only place to eat in town was where she lived. “That won’t work.” Beneath him, the painted pony shook its head with a derogatory snort. “Well, what does a body do for courtin’ a woman in a town like Needful then?”

  Teddy looked down at his horse’s black and white mane but this time, the animal remained silent.

  ***

  “Amanda, you have a caller.” Ellen Hampton tapped on Amanda’s door. “You don’t have to see him if you don’t want to.”

  Amanda opened the door of her spartan room and peered at the other woman. Ellen had been very kind to her since her arrival, not that the others hadn’t been kind. Ellen just seemed friendlier.

  “You do have the prettiest things,” Ellen said, looking down at the young woman’s powder blue dress.

  “Thank you,” Amanda smiled. “Who, who did you say is calling?”

  Ellen grinned, seeing the fear in the girl’s eyes. “It’s just Teddy. Teddy Lewis.”

  “Oh, thank goodness,” Amanda gasped, then covered her mouth. “I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have said that.”

  “You’re just glad it isn’t Cookie,” Ellen laughed. “I can’t say as I blame you.”

  Amanda smiled, walking to the small cupboard to retrieve her gloves. “I think I’d like to see Teddy,” she said. “Could you let him know I’ll be right down?”

  “I will,” Ellen grinned. “I can arrange for you two to sit in the parlor of Mother Hampton’s quarters if you’d like.”

  Amanda looked up, feeling the nerves building in her stomach. “I’ll let you know.”

  Minutes later
, Amanda walked down the steps of the Hampton House, smiling when she saw Teddy standing at the bottom, a bouquet of wildflowers in his hands.

  “Miss Antonia,” the young man drawled, pulling his new hat from his head.

  Amanda smiled, wondering for a moment just how old Teddy Lewis was. His face was youthful, but his eyes seemed so old, and the dark light behind them seemed to tug at her heart.

  “Good afternoon,” Amanda greeted, accepting the flowers from Teddy’s rough hands.

  “I hope you don’t mind. I came callin’,” Teddy shuffled his freshly polished boots. “I thought perhaps we could go for a walk.”