The Lumberjack

by Kelli Ann Morgan

  “I’m sure Miss Redbourne knows what she’s doing. We’ll just have to ask her. Now, come on,” Eli said opening the shop door. “Let’s get a move on.”

  Archie ran with his little legs toward him, pausing only long enough to turn back, his hand waving wildly in the air and a giant smile on his face.

  “Goodbye, Mr. Gimbert,” he said over his shoulder. “See you in ten days.”

  Eli tipped his hat at the tailor and ran to catch up with Archie, who’d already crossed the street.

  “Whoa, hold up there, slick,” he called after the boy. He glanced over at the bench in front of the candy shop, relieved to see it was now empty, but when he peered into the dress shop window, she wasn’t there either. It was probably just as well. It would give him some time to think of what he would say to her.

  By the time he’d caught up to Archie, the kid was glued to a window, his hands cupped around his eyes as he peered inside. Other passersby seemed not to pay particular attention to the new business in town.

  “Look, Mr. Whittaker, it’s a real live soda shop.”

  Eli glanced up to the new wooden sign hanging directly above the door.

  Mr. Chattam’s Soda Parlor.

  He wondered if it was one of those fancy places he’d heard so much about from one of the new lumberjacks who’d just joined the team from Philadelphia. He’d recounted stories of a small shop where they mixed ice cream with flavored soda water.

  The smaller paper in the window read, ‘Grand Opening—Saturday, October 24th.’

  That was this coming weekend. Eli was surprised the shop had not opened in time for the Apple Harvest Festival this last weekend, but supposed the following Saturday would have some draw with children being out of school and folks doing their weekly shop for foodstuffs and other supplies.

  He leaned over, above Archie, to peek inside, but before he could catch a glimpse, a little bell jingled and a slender man in brown, pin-stripe trousers, a flouncy white shirt, and the brightest yellow vest Eli had ever seen stepped out of the building and turned to lock the door. He looked over at Archie, then tucked a key into his vest and patted the pocket, before hooking his thumbs in the compartments on each side.

  “Hello, my good man,” he said with a slight puff to his chest. “I see you are anticipating my shop, trying to steal a peek inside.”

  Archie stared up at him with amazement.

  “Is this your place, mister?” the boy asked, tilting his head up to look at the man.

  “Why, yes. I’m Mr. Chattam,” he said, extending his hand out to Archie.

  “Archibald C. Lowell,” he replied.

  “Well, Archibald C. Lowell, shouldn’t you be in school?”

  Archie shrugged. “We’re just passin’ through,” he said as if he was four times his age.

  “Do you like ice cream?” the man asked, bending down to look the child in his eyes.

  “Don’t know. Never had none.”

  “Never had any,” Eli whispered.

  “I’ve never had any,” Archie corrected. “Don’t know what that is.”

  “Well, how would you like to come by the place tomorrow morning, and I’ll show you something quite magical inside my shop?”

  “Can I bring my sister? She likes magic.”

  The confectioner laughed. “Is she as big as you?”

  “Nah,” Archie said, shaking his head. “She’s only this big.” He raised his hand flat about his shoulder height.

  “Of course, you can bring her,” he said, standing up. “As long as it’s okay with your pa.”

  Archie dropped his head. “Don’t got one of those. A pa, I mean. He’s been gone a long time and Miss Hampton says it’s better to forget about him and think about our futures.”

  The man cleared his throat, then looked at Eli for help.

  The boy craned his neck to look up at Eli. “But I’ve got Mr. Whittaker,” he said with a smile, then turned back to the soda maker. “Can he bring us?”

  “It’s settled then,” Mr. Chattam said, breathing out a visible sigh of relief. “Say eight o’clock sharp?” He looked over at Eli.

  “We’ll have to make sure it’s all right with Miss Redbourne, but—”

  “I appreciate you bringing the young’n by to help build excitement about the grand opening of my shop. We’ll be open first thing Saturday morning, but I think this one deserves a little preview, don’t you?”

  Eli had no idea if Miss Hampton would allow the children to come out again or if Hannah would agree, but he figured since he didn’t have anything pressing on his agenda, so even if she couldn’t make it, he was sure he could handle a couple of youngsters on his own for an hour or two.

  “All right,” he relented.

  “Yes!” Archie said with a firm shake of his fist.

  “You won’t be sorry,” Mr. Chattam said. “Now, if you’ll excuse me. It’s time for some supper.” He bowed slightly, then strode past them, down the boardwalk toward the hotel.

  Several women gathered in front of the mercantile and a few other townsfolk littered the streets. Eli was surprised that there wasn’t more movement on the streets. Back home, Mondays were always a bustle, especially around suppertime.

  After a moment, Archie glanced up at Eli. “Have you ever had ice cream?”

  He’d had plenty of cool custards and desserts, but he’d never had the pleasure of what they called ice cream and admittedly looked forward to the experience.

  “Nope, but that’s about to change. For both of us.”

  “And, Mirabelle,” Archie said. “And Miss Redbourne.”

  The image of Hannah, hand in hand with Gordon flitted across his mind.

  “We’ll see. Miss Redbourne is a very busy woman, Archie. And now, she’s going to be even busier.”

  “Oh, is she now?” The familiar woman’s voice caught him by surprise.

  Eli flipped around to see Hannah and Mirabelle standing behind them on the boardwalk. He hadn’t heard them approach.

  “Shall we head over to the mercantile? I believe I did promise a sweet treat after our little adventure today,” Hannah said with a smile.

  Mirabelle ran to catch up to Archie, leaving Hannah and Eli alone.

  What was he supposed to say?

  “So, I saw Gordon Blythe speaking with you earlier.” Might as well not mince words.

  Color flooded Hannah’s face, but she did not look at him.

  “He asked me to marry him.”

  Eli swallowed.

  CRACK!

  There was no mistaking that sound.

  Eli instinctively ushered Hannah to the small gap between two of the buildings on the way to the mercantile and then darted out to grab the children, snatching them up, one in each arm, as he scanned the town, keeping his head as low as he could.

  He set the little boy and girl down and they snuggled up close to Hannah.

  “Where did that come from?” Hannah asked, holding tightly to the children.

  “I don’t know.” He leaned around the corner, looking for any potential threats, but nothing seemed out of the ordinary, minus the sudden eeriness of the empty street.

  Women peered out of the mercantile window, a couple of the menfolk had taken refuge behind the horse trough in front of the saloon, one stood behind the pillars in front of the bank, slowly making his way toward the town hall, and another hunched down on the outdoor staircase of one of the buildings across the street.

  Movement behind the sheriff’s office drew Eli’s gaze. Raine peered around the structure, his gun drawn.

  A high-pitched scream split the air, pulling his attention toward the bank, where a woman stumbled out onto the street and fell hard to the ground.

  “That’s Miss Hamilton,” Archie yelled, wrenching free from Hannah.

  Eli reached too late, barely missing the boy’s shirt collar as he ran out into the middle of the road and knelt down next to his caretaker.

  “Archie,” Hannah called after him.

  E
li looked back, locking eyes with Hannah and shook his head. Someone had to help the woman, and he wasn’t going to sit around and let the only person with enough courage to try, be a six-year-old boy. He ran to the spot where the woman fell.

  In an instant, Raine was by his side, his gun still drawn. A man standing to the side of the bank’s large sixteen pane window, nodded at the deputy before darting his head forward and back, trying to see inside.

  “Do you know this woman?” Raine asked, his gun still out while he continued to scan the street.

  It didn’t take long for a crowd to form around them as onlookers tried to see what was going on.

  Eli gingerly turned the woman over. Miss Hampton’s shallow breaths rattled slightly, and she blinked several times, reaching up to touch Archie’s face.

  “I’m so sorry,” she attempted to say, but the words never sounded. She managed a half smile. then squeezed her eyes shut as she winced in obvious pain.

  A deep red splotch stained the side of her pale-yellow blouse as the blood spread over her abdomen. Eli was no stranger to blood. He’d seen plenty of injury in the lumber camps—men who’d lost limbs, others their lives, but this was different. Lumberjacks made the choice to put their lives on the line every day as they worked tireless hours to reap the bounty the woods had to offer.

  This woman cared for orphaned children and worked to find homes for them after much tragedy in their own little lives. She hadn’t asked for this.

  “I recognize her,” Raine said, taking a moment to look down at the woman. “She’s the one who came in with the Orphan Train. Didn’t we dance with her on Saturday? Name’s Rhea Hampton, I think.”

  “She’s my friend,” Archie said quietly, slipping his hand into hers, then turned to look up at the deputy. “Can you help her? Please?”

  Eli’s heart nearly broke at the sound of the boy’s sweet little plea and he reached beneath the woman to heave her up into his arms, her hand sprawling down and her head bobbing backward. She was barely conscious, but was still alive.

  As they’d come into town this morning, he’d noted a wagon just outside a detached doctor’s office at the far end of the main road, and he headed in that direction with Raine as his outlook and Archie following at his heels.

  The sheriff had mentioned on Saturday that the doc was on his way back from Kansas City. Hopefully, he’d already arrived.

  By the time they reached their destination, a man dressed in black pants and a vest stood outside the doctor’s office open door, waiting to usher them inside. The main room was small, but a small hallway led to a room with a bed, a desk and chair, and a large cabinet.

  “You the doc?”

  The man nodded. “And, from the looks of it, it’s a good thing I got here when I did. Just made it back an hour or so ago. I heard a gunshot. What happened?”

  Eli laid the woman on the table, then turned to pick up the little boy who had followed closely behind him.

  “Wish I knew. Archie,” he said, holding the youngster far enough away that he could look into his face, “I think we should wait outside while the doc takes a look at Miss Hampton.”

  “I don’t want to leave her,” he said in quiet protest. “She might be scared.”

  “She knows you’re here,” Eli said as he carried Archie from the back room and out of the building.

  “Mr. Whittaker,” Archie asked seriously, “is she going to die?”

  Eli couldn’t imagine what this little orphaned boy had already been through and cursed whomever had added this weight to his already heavy load. He didn’t have an answer, so he simply set him down and together they sat on the bench in front of the office window.

  Hannah held Mirabelle’s hand as they made their way down the street toward them.

  “Sheriff said whoever shot her is gone,” Hannah said in a rush as she approached. “The banker was in the back room when it happened and he didn’t see who it was, but whomever it was, he didn’t get anything from the bank.”

  Eli tried to recall the face of the man who’d been standing on the boardwalk behind the bank’s pillars. He was right there. Surely, he would have seen something. Or, someone. But, try as he might, he couldn’t place the man. It didn’t help that he was a stranger in Stone Creek and had only met a few of the townsfolk over the last couple of days.

  He stood up, offering a place for Hannah and Mirabelle to sit next to Archie.

  “How is she?” Hannah asked as she set the little girl down next to her brother.

  Eli shrugged, shaking his head. What could he say? It didn’t look good.

  As Mirabelle cuddled up next to Archie, the boy put his arm around his little sister. She laid her head on his shoulder, but while her bottom lip quivered slightly, there were no tears.

  Hannah stepped closer to Eli and he took Archie’s lead and wrapped his arm around her shoulders. She leaned into him and then mimicked the girl, resting her head against the inside of his shoulder.

  The door opened and Raine stepped out of the doctor’s office. With a slight shake of his head he told Eli that the children’s caretaker had not made it.

  Hannah raised her head, but did not attempt to move away from him.

  Eli glanced down at the children who sat, huddled together, comforting each other. What did this mean for them? Suddenly, all his recent struggles seemed to pale in comparison to all Archie and Mirabelle must have gone through. How had he grown to care so much about a boy he’d only known for a few days?

  Even while holding Hannah in his arm, Eli’s apprehensions about her and Gordon seemed to give way to a new perspective. All that mattered was that she was safe and happy. If Gordon could provide her with that, who was he to stop them? He released her into Raine’s arms and crouched down in front of the bench.

  “Archie, Mirabelle,” he started, still unsure of how he was going to tell them, “Miss Hampton—”

  “She died, didn’t she?” Archie sounded much older than his six years.

  “Yes.”

  “What’s going to happen to us?”

  Eli looked back at Hannah who rushed to them with open arms.

  “We’ll figure it out,” she assured them.

  “You should forget about that Mr. Gordon fella and marry Mr. Whittaker instead. Then, the two of you could adopt us.”

  She didn’t look up at him, but Eli could still see the color that now stained her cheeks.

  “Come on,” Hannah said, standing up and holding out her hands. “You’re both coming home with me tonight.”

  Mirabelle stood up on the bench and flung herself at Eli.

  “Whoa, little one,” he said as he caught and lifted her into his arms.

  She didn’t say anything, but clung tightly to him.

  This was definitely one adventure he had not expected.

  Chapter 15

  “Those poor dears,” Leah said to the small group seated around the kitchen table. “They must be terrified. As if it isn’t hard enough to be prodded around a church house like cattle, then wondering why you weren’t good enough for someone, anyone to take into their homes.” She tsked, her hands wrapped around her steaming tumbler of cocoa. “I know the Orphan Train is meant for a good purpose, but I can’t help but feel for children like little Archie and Mirabelle who are passed over time and again because they are too small or too young or what have you.”

  Jameson placed a hand over his wife’s arm.

  Hannah appreciated the affection her parents always displayed with one another, especially in times of trial. They may not have known the woman, but the shock of it had affected them all.

  “What does Raine have to say about it? Have they found any clues to who may have done this?” her father asked.

  The back door opened and Raine stepped into the house, followed by Ethan.

  The latter strode up behind her and leaned down to her ear. “Can I speak to you a moment?” he asked.

  Hannah pushed her seat back from the table. “If you’ll excuse me a m
oment.”

  They walked out onto the porch.

  “I ran into Brant Stillwell on my way home from town.”

  “Is everything all right?” With everything that had happened today, she hadn’t thought to check in to see if her friend had returned.

  “Maeve is still at the Stillwell’s home in Platte Woods. They’ve been there near a fortnight.” He put a hand on her shoulder. “They lost the baby, Hannah.”

  She stared at him, trying to make sense of his words.

  “No, it can’t be,” she said, shaking her head. “They’ve tried for so long. And it finally happened. She is having a baby. They’re going to be parents.”

  Ethan pulled her into his arms.

  “No, they’re not.” He ran his hands over her hair. “There was a complication and they had to operate.”

  She pulled away, searching his eyes.

  “Is Maeve all right?”

  “She will be. In time. But…she’ll never be able to have children.”

  Hannah sank down onto the rocking chair by the door and hunched over, soft sobs escaping her lips.

  “How do things like this happen, Ethan? They are good people.”

  Ethan dropped down onto his haunches in front of her and tilted her chin upward.

  “They’re going to need help. Brant is going to sell his livestock, so he can be with Maeve in Platte Woods.”

  “Maeve’s not coming home?”

  “Not for a while. She needs to heal and that may take some time. I told him he could buy them back once he returned and that we would check in on the place every so often.”

  Ethan wiped away one of her tears.

  “She’s going to be all right, sis. You have to believe that.”

  Hannah nodded.

  Ethan leaned over and kissed the top of her head, then opened the back door and disappeared inside.

  It took a few minutes before she felt composed enough to rejoin the group. She stood up, wiped her cheeks, blinked a few times, and brushed the imaginary wrinkles from the front of her skirt.

  “Strange he didn’t try to get money from out of the back?” Eli was saying as she walked back into the house. “Or the vault? Instead, he just shot a woman who was just passing through town? He’s either an amateur or an idiot.”