Bertie stood on tiptoe and kissed his cheek. “It’s good to see you, too, Bobby. Are you well? Are you eating properly? Do you have enough clean clothes? Do you…”
Bobby pretended to reach out to touch her arm and she jerked away. As her barrage of questions died, Bobby grinned again. “I’m fine, Bert. Better than fine. Now, let me get a good look at you.” He motioned for her to move away from the counter and used his finger to indicate she should turn around in a circle.
When she met his eyes, he smiled. “You look good, Bertie. I can see a little color in your cheeks. How are you doing? Really?”
“Actually, Bobby, I feel great. As hard as it is to believe, I haven’t had a single nightmare and I wake up completely rested. The work is hard, but Garrett and Aundy are so kind. And I love being outside in the sunshine and fresh air.” Bertie grinned at her brother. “Other than missing you, life couldn’t be any better.”
“I’m glad to hear that, sis. I miss you, too, but I think this is the best thing for you. I haven’t seen you look this happy and relaxed since… well, it’s been a while.” Bobby cleared his throat and glanced at the clock on the wall. “If I scrub off all this grime and change my shirt, can I talk you into having lunch with me?”
“Aundy and I came into town to pick up a part for Garrett at the depot. I’m supposed to have lunch with her and Ilsa, Caterina, and maybe Marnie if she’s in town, then we’re heading back to the ranch. I couldn’t come to town and not stop by to say hello, though. Maybe next time, if I know in advance, we can plan to share a meal. Otherwise, I’ll see you Sunday at church.”
“That’s fine, Bertie. Enjoy your time with the ladies and have fun at the ranch.” Bobby walked with her to the door and looked up and down the street. “How did you get into town if it was just you and Aundy? She can’t drive a buggy with her arm in a sling, can she?”
“No, she can’t. I drove us into town and didn’t have a bit of trouble. She’s such a good teacher, Bobby. You’d be surprised how much I’ve learned from her already.”
Bobby hooked his thumbs in the front pockets of his trousers and offered Bertie a shocked expression. “After all the years I spent trying to teach you how to drive a wagon, Aundy taught you just like that?” Bobby snapped his fingers, making Bertie giggle.
“I’m sure all your helpful instruction set the groundwork and she gave me a refresher course.” Bertie offered her brother a teasing smile. “It’s good to see you, Bobby, but I need to meet Aundy and head over to the depot.”
“Where are you meeting her?” Bobby asked.
“At Ilsa’s dress shop. We left the buggy parked there.”
“Wait a minute and I’ll go with you.” He hurried back inside his shop and emerged a few moments later with clean hands. Quickly locking his shop door, he fell into step beside his sister as they headed downtown.
They stood on the corner waiting for Doc Reed to drive by in his automobile. The man waved and both Bobby and Bertie returned his greeting. “It’s probably best if you leave the buggy there rather than try to drive it in all the traffic down at the depot. I can go with you and carry the part, in case it’s heavy. Did Garrett say what it was?”
“No. Just that he’d ordered a part and that it was due to arrive on the early train. He said he needed it so he could work on the tractor tomorrow.” Bertie waved at Aundy as she stepped out of Ilsa’s store and headed their direction. “I know you’re busy, Bobby. You don’t have to come with us.”
“I don’t have to, but I want to. It will only take a few minutes, and I’d feel better knowing you two ladies aren’t trying to carry some greasy tractor part, ruining your lovely outfits.” Bobby tipped his hatless head to Aundy. She smiled at him in return.
“Bobby’s going to go with us to pick up the part, in case it’s heavy,” Bertie said as the three of them crossed another street and headed in the direction of the depot.
“I hadn’t even thought of that,” Aundy said, giving Bobby an appreciative nod. “I wish Garrett had mentioned what he ordered. I know almost every inch of that tractor and the only thing I can think of he might have ordered are some new belts.”
“It’s a kerosene-powered engine. Is that right?” Bobby asked, interested in hearing more about Garrett’s prized tractor.
“It sure is,” Aundy glanced over the top of Bertie’s head to Bobby. “The tractor has a double carburetor that meters kerosene through one side and water through the other. It starts on gasoline, then we switch a valve over to kerosene. When the engine starts to knock, the water injects into the engine.”
Bobby whistled and from that point, Bertie tuned out the conversation. She had no idea about dry-cell batteries or forced feed lubrication and honestly didn’t care.
The train creaked to a stop as they reached the depot. Aundy and Bertie stood at the edge of the platform, watching the throng of people rushing off the train and those in a hurry to embark on a trip or adventure as they climbed inside and found seats.
“Let me ask inside,” Bobby said, leaving the two women surveying the travelers around them.
A noise that sounded like an engine from an automobile, except different and louder, overtook the noise of the train and crowd.
Bertie stood on her tiptoes, looking around with the others still standing on the platform as a “burrrrrooom boom boom boom” sound sliced through the summer air. A loud “crack” that popped like a gunshot rattled the depot office windows.
A few women shrieked, and most of them ducked as a streak of gray shot off one of the train cars onto the platform.
Aundy settled an arm around Bertie’s shoulders and motioned for her to follow her over to an abandoned bench. The two of them hoisted their skirts and stepped onto the seat to get a better view.
A man dressed in knee-high boots with leather gloves on his hands bent low over the handlebars of a motorized bicycle.
The machine backfired again and Bertie grinned at Aundy, excited to set eyes on the motorbike.
The man’s flat tweed cap was turned backward so the small, stiff brim settled at the base of his neck. Round goggles protected his eyes.
He revved the engine and Aundy bent down so she could speak to Bertie over the uproar of the crowd and the machine.
“It’s a ‘Silent Gray Fellow.’ Garrett and I read about them in the newspaper. A company called Harley Davidson manufactures the motorcycle. The bikes are gray with that red pinstripe.” Aundy motioned to Bobby as he rushed outside with a small box in his hand to see what created all the commotion. “I dearly wish I could ride one.”
Bertie shook her head and stared at Aundy. Given the opportunity, she had no doubt the woman would eagerly jump on one and take it for a spin.
“What’s making the racket?” Bobby asked as he approached them.
“Apparently, that motorcycle,” Bertie said, pointing in the direction of the bike about to be swallowed by the crowd gathering around it.
Suddenly, the driver revved the engine again and the bike lurched forward through the crowd. The rider stopped next to the bench and looked up at the two women.
“Hi, Mom! I was hoping to surprise you.” The young man killed the engine, removed his goggles, and grinned up at Aundy.
“Nikola Zorian Gandiaga Nash! I’m plenty surprised!” Aundy made a vain attempt at appearing stern as she stepped off the bench and hugged her adopted son. “What in the world have you gone and done now?”
Nik winked at Bertie with a playful twinkle in his eye. “I picked this up on my way home. Thought it would be handy for running around the city, although probably not as much on the farm. It will be good for trips back and forth to town while I’m home.” He noticed the sling holding Aundy’s arm and gently touched her wrist. “What kind of trouble have you gotten yourself into?”
“Ella and I had a little scare with a snake.” Aundy shuddered as she said the word “snake.” Nik chuckled as he studied the sling. “Do I need to take a look at this?”
“No, Dr. N
ash.” Aundy barely restrained her desire to tweak his nose and ruffle his hair. “I dislocated my elbow. Doc Reed has ordered me to wear this horrid sling for a few weeks. When it comes off, he said I had to be careful what I do for another month after that. It has practically ruined my entire summer.”
“Practically,” Nik commented. He reached out to shake Bobby’s hand then smiled at Bertie. “Miss Hawkins, how does this day find you?”
“Very well, Mr. Nash.” Bertie knew Nik from school. He’d arrived in Pendleton as a shepherd to a herd of sheep owned by a drunken Irishman. When the man sold the herd to Aundy, Nik accompanied the sheep and she took him in, insisting he go to school.
Although only seven years separated Aundy and Nik in age, she treated him like a son. She and Garrett adopted the boy not long after they wed. Originally, Nik called them by their given names. However, the first time he returned home after being gone to college in New York, he referred to them as “Mom” and “Dad” and changed his last name to Nash.
It had been nearly a year since Nik’s last visit to Pendleton. While he’d been gone, his shoulders had broadened and it appeared he’d grown several inches taller. Despite Aundy’s predictions he’d be as tall as Garrett, he stood eye-level with her. However, he had filled out considerably and no longer looked like a boy, but a man.
A very handsome man, if Bertie cared to admit the truth. If she remembered correctly, Nik was two years ahead of her in school, which would make him about twenty-one.
When he cast her an interested glance, Bobby stepped between them, swinging Bertie down from her perch on the bench to stand partially behind him. Bertie glared at her brother then sidled closer to Aundy.
“So what brought you here this morning?” Nik asked as he removed his cap and ran a hand over his short-cropped dark brown hair. His big, soulful eyes were full of mischief as he gave Bertie a thorough once-over and shot her a happy-go-lucky grin.
Bobby frowned and cleared his throat, holding out the box in his hand.
Aundy took the box from Bobby. “Your father ordered a part for his new tractor and asked Bertie and I to pick it up.”
Nik took the part from her and stowed it in a basket on the front of his motorbike, fastening it in place with a leather strap. “You and Bertie?” Confused, Nik looked from his mother to his former schoolmate. Bertie had been a cute, fun-loving girl in school, but now that she was all grown up, he found her to be quite lovely.
Regardless of his attraction, he couldn’t figure out why she would have been out at Nash’s Folly and accompanying his mother around Pendleton. “Don’t you work at the telephone office?”
“Not this summer,” Bertie answered. She darted a glance at Aundy then looked back at Nik. “Garrett hired me to help Aundy until Doc says she can return to her normal duties. Millie will give me my job back this fall.”
“I see,” Nik said, although he really didn’t. From what he knew, Bertie had always lived in town, under the hovering protection of her older brother.
At that very moment, Bobby glared daggers at Nik that might have wounded him if he let that sort of thing bother him, which he didn’t. He also knew Bobby was only trying to take care of his sister. Nik recalled Aundy mentioning that something terrible happened to one of the girls in town in a letter last month. He wondered if the girl was Bertie.
It would be just like Aundy and Garrett to take her in, giving her a change of scenery for the summer, even if his overly independent mother did need some day-to-day assistance around the house.
“Is Dad at home? I can’t wait to show him my bike.” Nik used his feet to push the bike down the depot’s platform to the street below then backpedaled to stop it, waiting for Aundy to catch up to him.
A crowd followed and Aundy placed a hand on his back. “We were just about to have lunch. Would you like to join us?” The hopeful look on her face quenched Nik’s desire to rush home to Nash’s Folly and see everyone there. He wouldn’t willingly disappoint Aundy for anything.
“Sure, Mom. Where are we eating?”
Aundy grinned. “Bertie and I were going to have lunch with Ilsa and Caterina at the tea house, but perhaps we should move our impromptu party to the restaurant down the street from the telephone office. What do you think, Bertie?”
“I think that’s a good choice.” Bertie nodded her approval then placed a hand on Bobby’s arm. “Can you take time off to come, too, Bobby?”
“I can manage that, Bert. Let me clean up a bit and I’ll meet you there.” Bobby tipped his head to Aundy, glared at Nik, and then jogged off in the direction of his house.
“Why don’t you ride your motorcycle over to the sheriff’s office? I’m sure Kade and Lars would love to see it.” Aundy suggested as Nik fiddled with some switches.
His smile widened as he slipped his goggles back over his eyes and motioned for her to step back. He pumped the pedals of the bike and the engine roared to life with another loud “pop” before Nik waved at her and Bertie. As he took off down the street, several children excitedly chased after him.
“I’m so happy Nik is finally home. The little scamp didn’t tell me when he was arriving, though. I assumed he wouldn’t be here until after the Fourth of July.” Aundy strolled with Bertie in the direction of Ilsa’s shop. Caterina planned to meet them there then they’d go to lunch together.
“I can’t imagine Nik missing out on a Pendleton Fourth of July celebration. It seemed like he always enjoyed them when we were younger.” Bertie wouldn’t admit she’d had a crush on Nik in school and often spent her time daydreaming what it would be like to have him return her affection. She held back a sigh, realizing her girlish dreams were just that — dreams of an innocent girl and all in the past.
However, as handsome as Nik appeared, it wouldn’t take much to resurrect some of those old dreams.
Fickle girl, Bertie chided herself as she sauntered along with Aundy. Just that morning, she’d been imagining what it would be like to be held in Riley Walsh’s strong arms. A few hours later, she considered the bliss a kiss from Nik Nash would invoke.
Shaking her head to dislodge her silly notions, she caught Aundy watching her with a curious expression on her face. Bertie looped her arm around Aundy’s good one and hastened her step as they approached Ilsa’s shop.
The bell above the door jangled as they walked inside. Caterina and Marnie flanked Ilsa as they studied a new book of fabric swatches.
“Hello, you two. What was that awful noise we heard? It sounded like a gunshot or Doc Reed’s auto backfiring again,” Ilsa said as she closed the book and set it beneath her counter.
“It was Nik. He arrived on the train with one of those new motorcycles. He went to show it to Lars and Kade, but he promised to join us for lunch,” Aundy said, barely able to contain her excitement at having her son home. Most people looked at her oddly when she told them she had a son in college, studying to become a doctor, since she herself wasn’t yet thirty. Their opinions didn’t matter, though.
She loved Nik like he was her own from the day he first set foot on her place, carrying Butter in his arms with a bedraggled cap covering his mop of shiny brown hair.
“Oh, that’s wonderful Nik’s home!” Caterina hurried around the counter and gave Aundy a warm hug then settled her hand on her mounded belly. She and Marnie were due to deliver close to the same time. Caterina’s twin boys had not yet figured out their mother was expecting a new baby and made continual comments about her lap disappearing. While Kade and Caterina wanted to wait until the last possible moment to explain the expansion of their family to the four-year-old boys, Marnie and Lars had already told all of their children. Sophie was too young to understand, but the rest of their brood seemed excited at the prospect of a new baby at the orphanage.
“I’m sure Nik won’t be interested in eating at the tea room, so where are we headed?” Marnie asked as she pinned on her hat and picked up her gloves from where she’d discarded them on Ilsa’s counter.
“I t
hought the restaurant down the street from the telephone office would be a good place to meet.” Aundy glanced out the window at the sound of the “burrrrrooom boom boom boom” of Nik’s motorcycle. Lars rode past the shop window with Kade and Nik running along behind him, whooping and laughing.
The women hurried outside and Ilsa locked the door to her store. Lars had disappeared around a corner, but it was only a few minutes before the loud backfire of the motorcycle let them know the men approached. When it came back into view, Kade had taken over as rider while Nik and Lars trailed after him. They stopped next to the women while Kade rode down the street and turned around. The sight he made with his cowboy hat tugged down and pistols poking out at the sides of his upraised legs sent them all into fits of laughter.
“I forgot I have a trunk at the depot I need to pick up, Mom. Can I put it in the buggy?” Nik asked as he settled a hand on Aundy’s shoulder and gave it a gentle squeeze.
She wrapped her right arm around his waist and leaned against him, so pleased to have him home.
“We sure can, son. Do you want to get it now or after lunch?”
“Why don’t I run over and pick it up, then I won’t have to bother with it later.” Nik climbed in the buggy and snapped the reins, guiding the horse back toward the train depot.
Bobby rushed up to them and shook Lars and Kade’s hands before looking to his sister. “Are we all going to lunch together?”
“I believe so.” Bertie glanced at the two deputies and they nodded in confirmation.
“We can’t take this many people anywhere and expect them to be able to seat us all for lunch,” Caterina said, pointing a finger up the street. “Come to my restaurant and I’ll feed everyone.”
“No, Cat, we can’t impose on you.” Aundy placed a hand on her friend’s arm.
“It’s not an imposition when I invite you. Come along. There are plenty of leftovers. You might not all get the same thing to eat, but I promise you’ll have plenty.” Caterina didn’t wait for anyone to argue. Instead, she marched off in the direction of her restaurant. Kade draped an arm over her shoulders while the rest of them followed.
Bertie (Pendleton Petticoats Book 6) Page 9