And then Dean Scott came over to her. He eyed her up and down. “Millie Carson. Your father’s dying words were about you. He wants you to be happy. When you feel up to it, I’d like to talk to you about his dying request.”
“Yes, of course.” She got the impression that Dean hadn’t recognized her. Well good. She had a lot of surprises in store for the town. Millie intended to make the most of her new life. While she’d stayed at the shack to help her father, she’d had desires to better herself. Now, she had the opportunity.
She knew her pa had worried about her and wanted to see that she was safe and married, but Millie had other ideas. Now that she was off the homestead, she wasn’t going back to cutting mistletoe from the trees.
Wilma worked at the dress shop, and Millie, while she could sew buttons on and do the simple things, was going to ask Wilma to show her how to sew and maybe get a job at the shop.
It that failed, she knew Cassie worked at Carley’s Café. Millie thought she could work there. While not a good cook, she was friendly and could wait on and clean the tables. She had no idea what Verna and Velma did. Or Angel either. But Millie wasn’t going to sit around. Yes, she had plans.
Millie waited until the others walked down the hill, and then she picked up a handful of dirt and let it fall on the coffin. “Good-bye, Pa. I love you. Watch over me. When my time comes, I’ll come and join you.” She nodded at the two men who were waiting to fill in the grave and walked down the hill.
Wilma had waited for her. “Are you all right?”
Millie nodded. She was sad but felt that she had closed a chapter in her life. “Yes, but I’m ready to move on.”
“I’d like to take you to lunch today at the café. Just me and you. I had prayed for a friend, and while I don’t like the circumstances that brought you to the boarding house, I am happy to have a friend close to my age.”
Millie smiled. “I agree. I’m twenty-one. My birthday is on August 29th.”
“No, I’m twenty-two, and my birthday is August 30th. I think we’re going to have a good time together.” Wilma smiled.
“I’d like to go to the café. I always wanted to eat there, but we never had the money.”
“My treat, remember. They have the best pies in the world.”
Millie grinned. “And have you seen much of the world?”
Wilma laughed. “Nothing but Stonybrook. My grandfather had a ranch outside of town, and I, along with my mother, lived with him. My father was killed a long time ago.” She snickered. “I think he was a gambler. Mother wouldn’t tell me, and Grandfather didn’t like him. Often, he told me how glad he was that I was a nice girl like my mother.”
Millie laughed. “And are they still at the ranch?”
Wilma stopped walking, frowned, and looked back toward the cemetery. “No, Grandfather died two years ago and Mother a year ago. I sold the ranch and moved into town. It didn’t take me long, and I soon got a job at Nan’s Dress Shop.”
“Do you think I could work there?”
“We can ask. Right now, I think she is struggling to pay me. With the hard times, business has fallen off.”
Millie nodded. “I see. I can understand that. I hope there will be something for me to do. I’m not going back to that shack, I know that.”
“I don’t think you need to worry. Joan was excited to have you come stay with us, and she does need help around the house even if she doesn’t admit it. You’ve got the smallest room in, so I’m sure you can stay as long as you need to.”
Millie nodded. “That’s what she said, but I’d like to live on my own and not be a charity case.”
Wilma pulled open the door. “Don’t look at it that way. We’re truly happy to have you at the boarding house.”
“I am so happy to be there. My room is just the way I would dream it would be when I was a little girl.” Millie looked at the menu. “I’m going to have chicken-pot-pie. It sounds wonderful.”
Wilma nodded. “It is food to bring you comfort. I’m going to have it too. Thinking of my mother and grandfather has made me miss them.”
Millie patted her friend’s arm. “I’m glad we have each other. I’d like to think of you as my sister.”
Millie was enjoying her lunch when she saw Dean Scott walk into the café. For some reason, she seemed to notice him more than the other people in town. He was tall, with striking blue eyes.
Looking at her friend, she saw that Wilma noticed him too. “Do you have a man that you’re interested in?”
Wilma blushed. “No, I’m too shy to go after any. Angel tried to help me once, but I could never be bold the way she is.”
“I’ve never given it great thought. You saw the way I looked when they brought me into town. No man would want me. No man that I would want anyway.”
“I’d like to be married and have some children. Wouldn’t you?” Wilma cut into her chicken pot pie.
“Yes, I would. But I don’t want to be forced to marry just any man. I want there to be sparks. To feel something like in Pride and Prejudice. I don’t want to settle just to survive. I have been doing that for years.” To Millie’s surprise, Dean walked over to them.
“Ladies. I hope you’re finding the meal as wonderful as ever.” Dean swept his hat off and gave them a slight bow.
“Delicious.” Millie covered her mouth, cringing that she’d answered him while eating. What had gotten into her? Pa had taught her better than that. They might have been poor, but they weren’t ignorant.
“Enjoy your meal.” He nodded and went to a table where the sheriff and Doc were sitting.
Millie cut some more of her chicken. “What do you know of the men in town? Like who is of marrying age and not married?”
Wilma looked at Dean and then back to Millie. “Dean is one of them. The sheriff isn’t married and the doc, but he’s a little old for us. Then there’s the pastor, and I think a rancher or two. Those are the ones I know about. I don’t dare go to the saloon, but I don’t think the men who hang out there are worthy of us.”
“I agree. I would like to get married, but I need time to figure out what I’d like to do first.” Millie ate another bite of the delicious food. “This is wonderful.”
“Joan can cook a good chicken pot pie, too. You’ll have to ask her to show you how.”
Finished with the dinner, Wilma added cherry pie for dessert. “Wait until you taste this.”
“I am going to eat so much none of my new clothes will fit.”
“Speaking of clothes, tomorrow, I’d like you to meet Nan. And we’ll see if we can’t get you another outfit or two.” Wilma grinned as the waitress set the piece of the pie in front of her.
Up for the challenge, Millie dug in. She let the tasty pastry fill her mouth with flavor, swallowed, and shook her head. “That was wonderful. You’re right. That was a treat.”
Millie and Wilma went back to the boarding house and read their books. As Millie read hers, thoughts of Dean entered her mind. He could be like Mr. Darcy. Kind of aloof and standoffish. Perhaps arrogant. But there was something about him that she liked.
Tomorrow after church, he’d asked if he couldn’t talk to her.
She’d agreed, and she had to admit, it gave her a pleasant feeling to think about seeing him.
Chapter 6
Dean glanced at the two women as they were leaving the café. “I’ve got to find Millie a husband. I thought it might be impossible when we brought her from that shack.”
Doc kicked him under the table. “She’s gotten to you, hasn’t she?” He grinned like the sly old fox he was. “Yes, I think Tom knew what he was doing when he rode into town and stopped at your store.”
“No, he didn’t. That’s not what I meant. I was thinking about Jess Harper out at the Cobble place. He’s a foreman, and I think he was thinking about settling down.” Dean sipped his coffee and gazed back at Millie as she walked out the door. He couldn’t believe the change in her. No more pigtails and she was clean and in a skirt and blous
e. She looked pretty even. And she was sure older than fifteen.
The sheriff nodded. “I can ask him what he thinks. I’m going out to the Cobble Ranch tomorrow. They’ve had some trouble with rustlers.”
“Sorry to hear that. We don’t need that kind around.” Dean shook his head. “Times are hard right now, though. Always seems to bring out the worst in people.”
Doc grabbed the last roll and buttered it. “Well, that’s not always true. Might be on who you’re watching. Like we went out and delivered all that food to folks. They were appreciative, and it made my old heart happy to do so.”
Dean had to admit it had warmed his heart too.
The sheriff watched Doc eat the last roll and then asked for some more from Carley. “Yeah, Doc is right. Early on, I realized that I’d become jaded if I only thought of the bad that people did. It’s my choice on what to look at. Yes, I have to pick up some bad characters, but they all have stories. Some you look at and see their families or lack of, and I can’t help but see how they came to be so desperate.”
Doc pointed at him. “Listen to the sheriff. He’s got the right idea.”
Dean grinned. “Then what happened to you, Doc. You can be pretty cantankerous.”
“I’m old, and my bones creak and ache. Plus, I have to listen to folks go on and on about their rheumatism when half of them don’t even have it. Makes a man cranky. That and it’s cold outside.”
Dean laughed. “Maybe you need a pretty young wife.”
“Pshaw, don’t you go and try to stick that pretty little thing with an old man. In fact, I believe she’s not going to let you marry her off to just anyone. She’s a smart girl.”
“Millie?”
“Yes, Millie. I know folks call her Mistletoe Millie and treat her as if she’s ignorant. She’s not. And she surprised you by how she cleaned up, didn’t she?” Again, Doc kicked him under the table. “In fact, I see a gleam in your eyes for that gal.”
Dean stared at the doc in shock. “You don’t know what you’re talking about.”
The sheriff grinned and sat back, sipping his coffee.
Carley set down a basket of rolls and smiled at them. “Enjoy them, boys.”
Dean grabbed a roll and had to juggle it because it was hot. “I admit, I thought she was younger.” His gaze slid to the window where he watched Millie and Wilma walk back to the boarding house.
The sheriff nodded. “I’d say either of those two would make a good wife. That is if anyone was looking. As I said, I can see if Jess is interested.”
“Go ahead and ask him.” Dean was irritated at Doc and the sheriff for some reason. It wasn’t like he was interested in getting married to either of those women. Not now. Maybe never.
Doc stood and patted Dean’s shoulder. “Sorry to rib you so much, but if you could see your face and eyes, and the way you were watching that table, well, yes, sir, you’d be grinning too.” The doc paid his bill and walked out of the café.
Dean sent a warning glare to the sheriff. “I better get to the store.” He threw his money on the table and left. Doc, what did that old man know anyway? “I don’t need a wife. I don’t need anyone.”
After he spoke to himself, he wondered why Tom had to come and die on his doorstep and saddle him with the duty of marrying Millie to some man. Yet, Tom had picked him out. That or he didn’t have time to get to the pastor. Well, he’d find a man for Millie.
He grinned as he thought of Pastor Knox. Perfect. The man had the kindest of hearts. He’d treat Millie like a lady.
Dean still couldn’t get the picture out of his mind of the pigtailed girl covered in dirt and wearing worn clothes. And he had no idea what kind of woman she was or even how old she was. With a look toward the boarding house, he knew he’d have to at least meet with her and get an idea of what she was like to find the right man for her.
The thought about writing to an agency and sending her off as a mail-order bride crossed his mind. But then he wouldn’t really know what the man was like, and he did feel responsible for her.
***
Millie hadn’t been to church since she was a little girl. Today, she was proud to go. She knew it shouldn’t make a difference how the outward appearance looked, but she’d refused to go to church when she didn’t even have a dress to wear.
Pa had tried to go, but after months of telling him no, he’d given up too. Now, with her new clothes and her hair fixed, she felt proud to go.
Wilma knocked on her door. “Ready to go to church?”
“Yes, coming.” Millie ran out of her door, grabbing her coat from the peg before she shut it. “I haven’t been to church in so long. Mother liked to go. After she died, Pa and me just kind of let Sundays slip by. We didn’t work, but we didn’t go to church either.”
Soon, they were in the white building and seated in a pew in the middle row. Millie was all too aware of the looks and whispers, but she had nothing to be ashamed of. Wilma and Joan sat on either side of her, giving her courage.
Verna and Velma sat on the front row and were dressed identically as they often were. Millie had yet to figure out if they were twins or not. Cassie was the organist and proudly sat before the musical instrument. Angel was nowhere to be found, but that didn’t surprise Millie either.
Angel was hard to talk to. She usually ran in right before a meal and was the first one out when they were over. She rarely sat in the den with everyone, and Millie had yet to see her read a book or crochet.
Someday, she was determined to get Angel aside and find out what her story was. As far as Millie could tell, the woman wasn’t happy.
The pastor welcomed them all and then stood behind the pulpit and taught about being kind. Millie liked his words and the soft-spoken way he talked. She followed along in her mother’s Bible.
It gave Millie comfort that the same words her mother had read, still stood the test of time to be read in her presence. They were eternal and alive, and her spirit drank long and lovingly. She would not forsake church again as she had.
They were just leaving the church when Dean Scott came up to her. He introduced himself again. Then he looked at her. “Miss Carson, I wonder if you’d have lunch with me at Carley’s Café? I have some things to talk over with you. Your father did come to my store, and I was the last person to talk to him.”
Millie frowned. She didn’t like being reminded of the sadness. Still, she did owe it to her father to hear his last words, and they must be bothering Mr. Scott because he appeared to be ready to rid himself of the burden.
“Okay, I—”
“The lunch is on me. Please?”
“Sure.” She turned to Wilma. “I’ll be along after lunch.”
Dean held out his arm for her and escorted her to the café. Before they reached the building, she saw Angel go inside. She wondered where the woman had been. Wilma said Angel usually disappeared before church, and they wouldn’t see her again until just before night.
Millie was full of questions about her father’s last words, but she wanted to hear what Mr. Scott had to say first.
After seating her at a table near the back, Dean sat across from her. He looked nervous by the way his eyes roved from table to table but avoided her.
“Your father died in front of me. I tried to help him, but Doc said it was probably his heart that gave out, and nothing could have been done. I’m sorry for your loss.” Dean fidgeted with a saltshaker and then set it down.
“The thing is your father asked me to find you a husband. His dying thoughts were about you, and he wanted to make sure you’d be taken care of.” He stopped and looked at her as if waiting for her to respond.
Millie stared back at him. What should she say? So, she just looked at him. The longer the silence went on, the funnier it got to her. She looked down to stifle a laugh. She wasn’t sure what struck her as so funny. It was really a tragic thing.
Perhaps it was the worried look on his face. Like he had a sticker in his finger, and he wanted her to take
it out. Well, she wasn’t. He was the one who agreed to her father. She’d told her father more than once that she wasn’t going to marry someone just to have a man look after her.
Things were changing. She’d read of a lady lawyer in Missouri. In Wyoming, women could vote. Pa would bring home old newspapers so she could keep up with her reading and what was going on in the country.
Finally, Dean cleared his throat. “So, I thought I’d ask about preferences. What do you like in a man?”
She toyed with her fork and picked at the stew. “Let me see, you’re asking me what kind of man I want to marry. Well, I’m not sure. I want a man who has a steady job. A smart man and one who can challenge me. But most of all, I want a man that brings life to my heart.”
Millie sat back and enjoyed the trouble she’d handed him. “I want a man that makes my eyes light up. Do you have any of those here in Stonybrook?”
Dean stared at her. “I’m not sure. Maybe if you told me if there was anyone you were interested in?”
“No. There is no one.” Now she was getting a bit angry at the idea. She loved her pa, but he had no right running into town to try and sell her like an unwanted bag of potatoes. She folded her arms and dared him to say anything else.
He swallowed and then took a drink of water. “Well, what would you have me do? I have to honor his dying request.”
“You don’t. I relieve you of it right now. I am capable of finding my own husband.” She took a drink of her water and set the cup down a little harder than she ought, and some water swished out.
That embarrassed her. She didn’t have any idea of what was coming over her, or why she should be angry. She mopped up the spilled water with her napkin. “I will find my own husband.”
Dean looked at her and frowned. “You do that. I was just trying to do my duty.”
“Thank you for dinner.” She started to rise when he caught her hand.
“Wait. I wanted to buy you dessert. Please?” He looked sincere.
Rescuing Mistletoe Millie Page 4