“I think having something like that makes sense, but how would you build it?”
“Do you guys 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. But what about the lumber and the brick? You’d have to get it brought in from the sawmill. And getting 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.”
“Thanks,” 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 hoped she wasn’t in a hurry to leave. 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.
“It’s not about shopping. 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 as she walked away. How had she gotten that lucky? Michael was incredible and kind. She wanted to tell Dr. Lachele how amazing it was being here, but Susan didn’t know how to get a hold of the woman. She wasn’t even sure what Dr. Lachele could do. But given the fact she had arrived in clothing of the time with some money to get her started, she figured Dr. Lachele could come and go if needed. But would she take her away from Michael if Susan called out for the woman?
Not wanting to risk it, Susan pushed thoughts of the adorable fairy-godmother like lady out of her mind and instead walked to the mercantile.
“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 I’d talk with you about my ideas to know if things were even possible.”
“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, and since the women of the town are usually the more reasonable type I wanted to check with you all first. Since of course 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. But who knows what I’d have had to do if he wasn’t the person he is. And I’m sure Birch Creek will continue to grow. There are lots of men out west that will need wives, and I met a lot of young ladies in New York and I know 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, and Susan wasn’t sure what the other woman thought. 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, since you have the understanding of what it takes to run a business out here. And 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 shop. And the idea of bringing women here would help. 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 permits 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?”
“Wow,” Mrs. Howard said. “You might wanna slow down a little. It’ll take some time and planning. How about I gather a bunch of ladies to a quilting bee and we can run the idea past all of them. We’d want to make sure the ladies of the area are okay with this. And 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.
“Cool, you go first.”
“That was Mr. Kline. He’s the driver of the stage coach. He’s got a nephew that he’s become the guardian of, and wondered if I’d be interested in taking him on as an apprentice.”
“Nice,” Susan said. “Would that help you have more time to get all your projects done?”
“Yes,” Michael said with a smile. “The first few months will be a bit difficult as he figures things out, but he’ll be able to pick up the things I need and run errands for me. Get me more wood or coal, refill the water barrel, monitor the oil level and keep the bellows going. That way, if I can move faster, then I can earn more money to build us another room on that house.”
“That sounds great,” Susan said. “But I had an idea I wanted to run past you.”
Before she could get into her plan, the man returned with a boy of about twelve or thirteen with him. “This is the lad. Name’s Jessie. He’ll be a great help to you here at the smithy, and then when the days over, he’ll run and fetch wood and water and help with the chores at home.”
Susan looked up in surprise. “Oh, he’ll be staying with us at our house?”
Michael turned to her as if the information was new to him too. Of course, that was just like a man to not really think of all the details.
“He’ll not give you any trouble,” Mr. Kline said. “He’ll stay in the shed with the animals.”
Susan chuckled. “We don’t have a shed yet. But I guess that will be on the list of things Jessie can help us with.” She met the boy’s eyes, and studied him for a few minutes. He looked bright enough and didn’t seem like he’d be difficult to deal with. He had a sadness about him that was probably due to the fact that he’d lost his parents. When Susan looked at Michael, she could see he would be a good influence on the boy. He knew exactly what Jessie had lost and would help him find his way in the world.
“So do we have a deal?” Mr. Kline asked.
Michael looked at Susan. “What do you say?”
Susan shrugged. “I suppose, welcome to the family would work.”
Jessie almost smiled, but looked relieved for sure. While Mr. Kline and Michael turned back to talk of business, Susan took Jessie by the shoulder. “Have you eaten yet?”
“No Ma’am.”
“Well then, let’s see what we have here in the basket. I can’t promise it’ll be fantastic or anything, but I have recently figured out how to make bread, and not to brag or anything but I think it has turned out pretty decent. Here, try a slice and let me know.”
Jessie took the offered piece and bit off the corner. His mouth turned up and he nodded eagerly as he took another bite. “It’s mighty fine bread, Mrs. Clark.”
“Well thank you, Jessie. Have some more and then I’m sure Michael will want to go over a few things with you. Will you tell him I’ve headed home to get some things prepared for you joining us? I’ll see you at dinner time and then happily give you the job of taking care of the animals.”
“Yes, Ma’am,” Jessie said, nodding his head as if he were tipping a hat. Susan gave his shoulder a pat and walked out of the smithy in order to head home and prepare for an extra body.
***
Michael watched as Susan left, but had seen her talking to Jessie and once Mr. Kline left, Michael would talk with the boy and find out what she’d said. He was relieved she’d handled the news well. In fact, she’d practically made the decision for them. He hadn’t expected to take the boy home with him, but he also hadn’t thought much past the idea of having someone to help him with his shop. He’d be able to get so much more done with another person to run the errands while he did the iron work.
And once he was sure Jessie could handle the job, he’d begin showing him the different steps for the shaping of iron.
“I’ll be coming through here every week or so and visit the boy, see how he’s doing and give you a bit of payment for his food.”
“I’m sure he’ll be happy to see you.”
Mr. Kline looked at Jessie, then back to Michael. “I’m only sorry I’m not in a position to keep him with me. There is just no way I could take him on the stage coach and provide the room and board with me.”
“Jessie will work hard and keep himself paid for, don’t you worry about that.”
“I appreciate it,” Mr. Kline said. “Still, I’ll be sure to bring payment for his food.”
Michael nodded and shook the man’s hand, then Mr. Kline walked over to his nephew and the two of them talked for a few moments before embracing and Mr. Kline walked out of the shop.
“I saw you ate some lunch,” Michael said. “Is there any left in there for me?”
Jessie nodded. “Yes, sir.” He picked up the basket and handed it to Michael.
“Thanks.” Michael reached in and pulled out the remaining meal and started to eat as he studied the boy. It would take some time to figure out how best to help Jessie adjust to his new circumstances. His parents hadn’t been gone long, but long enough the immediate hurt had lessened.
“So, for today, I’ve got all the supplies I need to finish out the day. How about you just watch and I’ll try to explain what I’m doing as I go. As long as you’ve got a good set of eyes and a decent memory, you’ll be able to pick this up.”
“Thank you, Mr. Clark.”
“You know,” Michael said. “I’m not sure I like that mister part. How about you just call me Michael?”
Jessie nodded and looked at the fire.
“Come on, let me show you around and give you the names for the tools.”
CHAPTER EIGHT
Susan had a meal ready and the house and furniture organized and rearranged in a way to allow for another body inside in plenty of time for their arrival. Michael would have to share the bed with her, and Jessie would be on the floor. She put the blanket over near the other wall so he wouldn’t be stepped on if either of them got out of the bed in the middle of the night.
It would be weird having a teen live with them. She’d not been around teens much since she left high school, but she figured Jessie would be a completely different kind of kid than anything she knew.
Not sure when they’d arrive home, Susan headed outside and into the garden to look it over and check for any weeds she’d need to pull. They’d planned to do some planting tonight, and she figured they would probably get a lot more done with Jessie there. Hopefully the boy wouldn’t be too exhausted after a day working with Michael. She doubted she’d be able to plant the garden on her own, especially since she had no idea what to do with the seeds.
The sound of rocks crunching alerted her that someone approached and Susan turned around to see Jessie and Michael coming to the house.
“Welcome home.” Susan walked toward them and gave Michael a kiss on the cheek and patt
ed Jessie’s shoulder. “I hope you’re hungry. Because dinner is ready.”
“Smells wonderful,” Michael said as they followed her into the house.
Susan had stopped and turned around in order to see what his response would be to her sleeping arrangements, but he didn’t seem to notice it. That was just fine with her. It would give her time to get used to the idea since seeing his big body in the small house reminded her again of how much space he actually took up.
“I found a nice piece of wood that will work as a stool for now.” Susan pointed at it. “Jessie, how about you take that one. Oh wait, did you guys wash up?”
Michael shook his head and went over to the pump. Jessie joined him and once they’d cleaned up, Susan had the food on the table and the three of them sat down.
“I’ll say grace.” Michael bowed his head and the others followed his example. After expressing his appreciation for the food and the company of Jessie in their lives, the three said amen and their first family meal commenced.
Susan looked at the other two at the table with her, and felt a tug of gratitude and emotion. She couldn’t quite explain it, but it felt right. As the evening progressed, they finished their meal, went out to show Jessie around the place, planted the seeds Michael had picked up from the mercantile and got to know more about Jessie.
Susan was sure it would take him a little while to adjust, but she wasn’t worried about him. In fact, she was glad he’d come to them.
When it got too dark to see outside anymore, the three returned to the house and by the light of the small lantern, Susan showed Jessie where he’d be sleeping and then hung the table cloth from the little nails she’d hammered into the ceiling in order to give her a little privacy. She removed the outer dress, leaving on the white shift she used as a night dress and climbed into the bed without much thought until she saw Michael staring at her in shock.
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