Gwyneth

by Christine Sterling

  He started to walk back to the house. The boys would be back soon from emptying the traps in the creek. Jess was still at the house though, caring for Gwyneth. She was a bit tired today, so he made her stay in bed. She didn’t much like that and only seemed to do it so Aedan would stop harassing her.

  As he trotted down the hill, he saw a woman walking towards the house. He had never seen this woman before; she seemed to be dressed a little too nicely for a walk in the woods. She wasn’t any more than 30. She wore a purple skirt with a white shirtwaist and a black vest.

  He could tell she was a woman of some importance. He walked faster, calling out to her. “May I help you?”

  He must have scared her, as she walked back, clutching her chest. “Who are you?” she asked. He then noticed the tin star on her vest. U.S. Marshal.

  “What’s the law doing here,” he said, not offering his name.

  She seemed to be waiting for an extended response. When he didn’t give it, she continued. “I’m looking for Gwyneth.”

  “She’s back in the house, though she isn’t feeling well. Could you tell me what you need?”

  She narrowed her eyes at him. “No, the business I have is with her, so it is imperative that I speak with her,” she said.

  Her tone of voice was irritating to him, and he was about to tell her to get off the property, when he heard a rustling behind him. He turned to see Harley.

  “Aedan, come quick! Gwyneth said the baby is coming!”

  He sprinted past the woman and into the house, not noticing that she had also followed them in. “Arnold went to go get Kimama after you left, so she’s here already. She says it won’t be long; the baby is ready to come out.”

  Aedan didn’t have enough time to ask who Kimama was before screams shook the air. Jess and Arnold were huddled around the table. Harley joined them.

  The screaming got louder. It wrenched his heart, knowing that Gwyneth was in pain. He walked over to the room, only be stopped by the marshal. “You stay here,” she said, as she pushed up her sleeves. Aedan went to protest but she put up her hand to silence him. “, I have been delivering babies for years. The last thing we need in there is an untrained man.” She looked at Aedan with unwavering blue eyes. “If you care about her, you’ll let me help.”

  Aedan didn’t know what to do, but when he heard her scream again, he knew that Gwyneth needed all the help she could get. He nodded, as the woman went toward the screaming and he turned away, hoping to be of assistance to the scared boys that were still huddled around the kitchen table.

  “How about we go check the traps? By the time we get back the baby will be here.”

  The boys nodded in unison, grabbing their hats and running out the door as fast as their feet would carry them.

  Hours later, Aedan was staring at the sweet bundle of joy in his arms. It was right that Gwyneth had named her Joy, seeing that she could light up the whole room. When Kimama came out to them to say that she had delivered a baby girl and Gwyneth was ready to see them, Aedan was embarrassed to say he almost pushed the boys out of the way.

  He was glad to see her, to know that she was ok. He learned the other woman was Cordelia, the town marshal. As she put the baby in his arms, he was lost.

  She had blue eyes and a bit of blonde hair, just like her mother. She was going to turn out to be a little Gwyneth, he knew. And he was already afraid of what the boys would think of her.

  “Thank you for helping, Cordelia. I’m sure you didn’t come here to birth a baby, so what brought you out this way?” asked Gwyneth. She sounded weak, but firm in her question. Aedan turned to look at her, holding the baby close to his chest. From the look on Gwyneth’s face, he knew it was best to let the actions go forward, no matter how much he wanted to remind her she just gave birth to a baby and maybe she should take a bit of a rest.

  Cordelia cut right to the chase. “I came to ask why you are giving Dinky liquor.”

  Gwyneth looked puzzled. “I don’t know what you mean?”

  “Dinky has been running around town, saying that he has some special sauce. He hasn’t been like this since Clint was alive and trading in liquor. There can only be one explanation for his strange behavior. You must have started to pick up his old trade and are now selling bootleg whiskey in town.”

  “You are mistaken; I’m not selling liquor. Truly, I am only selling the game we hunt and fish from the traps. That is it. There is no other side business.”

  “Then how do you explain how he got the alcohol?” asked Cordelia. Aedan heard the heightened anger in her voice and started to get ready to throw her out of the house if he had to.

  “I do not know how,” Gwyneth answered. “I can tell you that it can’t be me. I don’t even know where the still is or how to make anything.”

  “Are you really trying to make me believe that you don’t know where the still is? That your husband carried on this business without your knowledge? There is no way that he ran this type of operation without getting help. I am pretty sure that you were there the whole time, helping him fill the bottles.”

  Gwyneth started to get up from the bed, but Kimama put her hands up to force her down.

  “How dare you, Cordelia! I had nothing to do with my husband’s work.”

  “Then explain why you didn’t know,” Cordelia said in response.

  To this, Gwyneth kept silent. Aedan knew that in order to explain how she didn’t know, she would have to admit to Cordelia the abuse she had endured by her dead husband, and Aedan knew that Gwyneth had trouble letting anyone know about her past.

  When she had told him the story, he knew that it was something she didn’t want to tell other people, and he took it as a gift that she had given him. And because of that, he would never betray her, no matter how much he wanted to yell at this lady and tell her that she didn’t know what she was talking about.

  He hoped that Gwyneth would explain the reasons why; he also knew that Gwyneth was a stubborn woman, so she was probably going to keep the information to herself.

  “I didn’t know about the still. I couldn’t even tell you where it is. For all I know, it had disappeared in the mine explosion! But I promise you, I have not been selling liquor. Dinky must be getting it from another source.”

  Cordelia seemed to still not fully believe her. Her face looked strained as she seemed to hold her words. “You need to fix this, Gwyneth, or I don’t know how long we can stay in business with someone who would want to destroy Wildcat Ridge. I thought we were done with it all when Clint died. But if you have decided to keep his memory alive this way, then you have no business living here.” She started to leave, before she turned and sneered toward Aedan. “You should also be careful of the company you keep,” she said before leaving the room. They heard a door bang shut in the distance.

  Gwyneth slumped back in the bed. “I don’t know why she is acting like it was such a large business. Clint was only selling a bit at a time.”

  “Actually, he was selling more,” Kimama said. Aedan and Gwyneth looked at her as she continued. “Your husband was selling to other tribes and even to the miners, I believe. I know he did business with the Kusiutta. He sold them meat, furs and barrels of corn liquor at a time.” Those were the Indians Gwyneth recognized as the Goshen tribe. She heard Clint talk about them, but they lived further towards Salt Lake City. That explained some of his extended trips. “I think the Utes were selling him corn. This caused much trouble between the tribes.”

  “Barrels?” Gwyneth questioned.

  “Yes,” Kimama continued. “It was causing trouble because he was employing rival tribes to help move his alcohol around. Especially into town. He was cutting into Mortimer’s profits, and Mortimer wasn’t happy. Jolon told me that Clint had confided in him to say that the liquor was making more money than he was making selling meat and furs. Before he died, he planned to quit hunting, so he could focus on liquor production full-time.”

  From the look on Gwyneth’s face, he could tell th
at this was entirely new information. With no idea where the still was, Aedan knew that they would probably have to find out who was doing this business and stop them.

  Chapter Seven

  Joy slept soundly on Aedan’s back, as he walked through the woods towards the smokehouse. She was nestled in a papoose, as Kimama had called it. It was a large animal skin baby carrier and Aedan thought it was the most wonderful invention. Gwyneth was a bit skeptical of it, but once she wore it and Joy slept comfortably in it, she came to love the invention too.

  Aedan would trade off carrying the baby to give Gwyneth time to rest. He loved spending time with the little girl and wished she was his own daughter.

  It had been a week since the ordeal with Cordelia. True to her word, the town stopped her business with Gwyneth. The loss of revenue from the mercantile, boarding house and restaurant was hard on Gwyneth, but luckily Olive was still prepared to do business with her. If the butcher decided that she wasn’t interested, then their business would be done.

  They had been searching for the still ever since that day. Kimama wasn’t sure where it was; she had asked around the tribe and they weren’t sure either. They had never seen the production; only the product. Clint, it seemed, had gone to great lengths to keep it a secret.

  It didn’t help that Mortimer was also aware of the business starting up again. He had sent very scary men to try to intimidate them into revealing where the still was. It was in their favor that they didn’t know where it was, but Aedan was prepared. He wasn’t going to let the man bully him from miles away, so he made sure that they would relay the message. At least the black eyes that Aedan had given them would reply enough.

  He felt Joy stir a bit behind him and wondered if he should stop for a bit to take her out of it. Aedan and Joy had been inseparable from day one. Aedan didn’t know he could love someone as intensely as he loved Joy. It was sudden and then all at once. That little girl was his everything.

  When he saw Gwyneth and Joy together, his heart grew even larger. He caught himself fantasizing about her, with his baby swelling inside of her. He knew he needed to rein in his fantasies or he would be in trouble. He wasn’t sure of Gwyneth’s feelings. He only caught little glimpses and blushes here and there. He thought that she might care for him in that way, but he was afraid it was all his imagination, making him think he was seeing something that obviously wasn’t there.

  When he finally got to the smokehouse, he noticed the door was ajar. Fearing the worst, he opened the door cautiously. From first glance, he knew that someone had been in the room, but that person wasn’t there now. The meat from the previous night’s catch was there, and Aedan was happy for that, but a few of the large brown jugs that were placed along the back wall were gone. These were jugs that Aedan was sure Clint was using to store his liquor. Aedan lifted up a few of the remaining jugs – they were all empty.

  Slowly, the large jugs were being taken from the smokehouse a few at a time, as if the thief was trying to make it seems like nothing was being taken. Although, Aedan thought the thief might not be so bright, as he had always left a trail behind him, and did not think to cover his tracks.

  He knew that this person would be doing this until they did something about it. But rather than moving the rest of the liquor jugs (which the thief would probably find anyway), he knew they needed to come up with a plan. And then it hit him like a thunderbolt.

  “It would be too dangerous,” said Gwyneth as she put the laundry on the clothesline.

  “I think it’s the only way for us to figure out who is stealing from us.”

  “They don’t even have to steal it; I would give it to them freely!” she said, as she put the last sheet up. She carried the empty basket and walked toward the house, with Aedan following her. “We don’t need them in our life. We should be grateful that he is ridding us of our problem.”

  “But he is giving us a bigger one. Your reputation is on the line! Don’t you care about that? You don’t want people to think that you are a liquor bootlegger.”

  Gwyneth made an unpleasant noise in her throat. “If they knew me, they would know that I wouldn’t do that.”

  “You thought Cordelia knew you, and now she is telling everyone who would listen about the story of you protecting and taking care of the liquor. Not to mention you have a man living in your home.” He knew it bothered her, even though she didn’t say anything.

  “You are sleeping on the sofa and besides, the boys are in between you and me.”

  “But they don’t know that, Gwyn.” Her knees went weak when he shortened her name in that soft Irish brogue of his. He walked up to Gwyneth and reached for her hand. Sparks of electricity shot up her arm as the warmth penetrated it. Those ripples travelled right up to her head and down to her heart. “You know it’s the only way to solve our issue.”

  She looked up into his eyes. “You think it would work?”

  “I’m confident that it would work.”

  She sighed. “Well, your judgement has never failed me so far. So why should it start now?”

  Aedan grinned. “I’m glad you say that, because I was thinking.”

  “Oh no,” Gwyneth responded.

  “I think the next time we go to Curdy’s Crossing we should take Pastor Stone up on his offer to marry us.”

  “Marry?”

  “Yes, Gwyneth. I think we should get married. Adopt the boys, make a permanent family.”

  “But you don’t know anything about your past.”

  “But I do know my future and I can’t see it without you.”

  “What if you are already married?”

  “Then we don’t consummate the marriage until we know.” He pounded on his chest, “I would know if I was married. I don’t feel married or have any recollection of anyone else. Why would I remember my parents and not a wife?”

  “I don’t know.” Gwyneth started folding the clothes and placing them on the couch.

  “Gwyn, it would allow me to protect you properly. Think of your reputation in town. Think of the boys and little Joy. Think of us.”

  Gwyneth nodded. “Yes, Aedan, I’ll marry you.”

  The trap was easy to set. They just rearranged the jugs in the smokehouse so that whoever was going to get in wouldn’t have an easy time trying to get out. It was a simple plan; it only required them to watch the smokehouse. After they had put the boys and Joy to bed, they snuck out of the house and made themselves scarce in the woods, but close enough to see everything. He had thought to discourage Gwyneth from coming, but he knew if he had even suggested it, she would have had a fit.

  They stayed quiet, just staring at the door. With only the crickets and birds in the background, Aedan was very aware of Gwyneth. Her body was so close to him that he could feel the warmth radiating from her body. She smelled like honeysuckle and fresh grass. If summer had a scent, he knew that she was embodying it. All he wanted to do was drag her back to the house and kiss her until she couldn’t breathe, but he needed to keep focused on the task at hand.

  There was a rustle to the left of them from the foliage, and they saw a figure emerge. Aedan couldn’t tell who it was, but Gwyneth gasped. “I can’t believe it,” she whispered to Aedan, as she crawled forward.

  “Who is it?” Aedan whispered as he followed her.

  “It’s Dinky!” she said.

  “Dinky? Isn’t that who Cordelia accused you of liquoring up?”

  “Yes! That’s why I would have never thought it was him,” she said, as she got up from the ground. She put out her hand for Aedan to take as she helped him up. They heard clattering in the smokehouse, knowing that Dinky was exactly where they wanted him.

  They rushed in, bursting through the door. “Dinky!” Gwyneth shouted as the man turned around.

  Aedan had never seen him before, but he couldn’t tell why he was called Dinky. There wasn’t anything dinky about him. He was a tall man, slender like a reed, and his once pale complexion was ruddy from liquor.

  “
What are you doing here, Dinky Moon?” Gwyneth repeated.

  Dinky was standing between two liquor jugs, two that Aedan had rigged to tip over, blocking the door and trapping the thief in. Dinky looked surprised at being caught. His words slurred as he spat out, “I’m sorry, I got lost. I thought this was another place…”

  Gwyneth had enough. “Don’t lie to me, Dinky! I can tell when you are lying.”

  “Then I guess I am caught then,” he said with a shrug.

  “What are you doing here?” she asked once more.

  “Just getting what I am owed,” he said, as he pointed to the jugs. “Your husband was a cheat and a scoundrel. He never was honest and never gave me what I was owed. I’m glad that son of a biscuit eater is gone. So now that he is dead, I’m just taking what is rightfully mine. I need those jugs.”

  “But they are empty.”

  “The first ones I took weren’t. But now I need these to jug the next batch of product.”

  Aedan piped in, “So, you know where the still is? You are making more liquor?”

  “Yes, but I’m not going to tell you,” he said, swaying to the side.

  “Yes, you will,” Aedan finally spoke, lifting a shotgun to his head.

  Dinky’s eyes widened. “Woah, Mister. I’m not trying to start anything.”

  “I know; we just need to finish it,” answered Gwyneth. “Now, Dinky, where is the still?”

  Dinky looked from the shotgun, to Aedan, and back to Gwyneth. He must have been thinking of his options. “The still is up in the hills, where your husband left it.”

  “Then you will take us to it, so we can destroy it.”

  “You can’t destroy it! I’m finally making the money that I am owed, I can’t let you do it,” Dinky screeched.

  It happened so fast, neither Aedan nor Gwyneth were prepared for it. Dinky kicked one of the liquor jugs that was blocking him in over towards them. It was rolling right towards Gwyneth. Reacting, Aedan dropped the gun and pushed Gwyneth out of the way so the large jug didn’t fall on her. The jug ran into the side of the smokehouse, breaking into pieces. The smell of old liquor wafted into the air, the spoils of what the jug once contained.