Claire was certain of it.
CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
NEW SHOES AND A BIG PRETZEL
NEW SHOES AND A BIG PRETZEL
The next morning was a Saturday. Gabe woke up to the sight of the sun beaming through the crack in the curtains. He slid out of bed and threw back the curtains, squinting in the bright light that immediately flooded the room.
He pulled in a deep breath and stretched his back, tilting from one side to the other. He would have to have a wife and children soon. If not, he might be too old to run around and play with them. He chuckled. He had many years ahead of him and he knew it.
He turned back to the bed and went to where he’d laid out his clothes for the day. He was going to wear comfortable trousers, a new pair of black shoes he’d purchased just to walk around in and his nicest vest.
He got dressed and strapped on his gun. He was ready to go when he slid his feet into his shoes and pulled his jeans around them.
Before he left the room, he stopped at the water basin and washed his hands, running a cloth over his teeth with a bit of paste he’d bought from a merchant who promised the paste would make his teeth white and shiny. So far, Gabe was satisfied with the results. Unfortunately, he didn’t know how to get more of the paste.
He ran his hands through his dark blond hair and looked into the mirror. He smiled.
He was ready.
He went out the door and down to the kitchen. The clock in the hallway was about to ring 7:30 in the morning. He could smell the coffee brewing in the air and the delicious scent of freshly baked biscuits mixed in with it nicely.
He wasn’t going to worry about anything that day. He’d made himself a promise. His past would not come back to haunt him. He wasn’t even going to think about it the entire day. He would throw caution to the wind.
Claire must have had the same idea because she was just getting ready to sit down with a cup of coffee at the table when he went in the kitchen. She smiled up at him. “Good morning,” she said, rising to her feet again. “Would you like me to get you a cup of coffee and a biscuit?”
Gabe laughed. “Oh no, thank you. I can get them myself. You sit down and relax. We have a long day of walking ahead of us.”
“That we do,” Claire said, blowing softly on her coffee before taking a sip. She was pleasantly surprised that Gabe had come down early. He looked so handsome, she was watching him through her peripheral vision. He moved with such firm motion, it made her bite her bottom lip. He made her feel a little queasy when he was around. She knew it was already too late for her. She wondered if he felt the same way.
He poured himself a cup of coffee, feeling her eyes on his back. He grinned. When he turned around though, he was taking a sip from the coffee to hide the smile from her. To her credit, when he turned around, she didn’t move her eyes away as if she hadn’t been looking at him. She held her gaze and smiled.
“Come sit and talk to me,” she said, patting the table in front of his normal seat. He grabbed a biscuit from the basket on the counter and took a bite from it as he strode to the table to take a seat. He plopped down and leaned onto the table, chewing the large bite he took. He hoped he didn’t look like an idiot. He hadn’t meant to take such a large bite but he wasn’t thinking straight. He never seemed to when Claire was around.
“We are going to have a good time today, aren’t we, Gabe?” Claire said between small bites of her own biscuit. She’d spread jam on it and could see Gabe eyeing it. She grinned. “There’s jam in the icebox, Gabe. Go get some. I see you want some.”
“What makes you think that? I don’t need jam. I like biscuits by themselves.” He smiled back at her.
“I was just offering. I mean, it’s so delicious. I’m just relishing in it, Gabe. It’s really so very good. So sweet and delicious and…”
“All right, all right, you talked me into it!” Gabe jumped to his feet and rushed to the icebox, making Claire throw her head back and laugh delightedly. He grabbed the jam and took it to the table, leaving it there while he fetched a knife.
She watched him as he spread the jam on the biscuit. He was talking while he did it, telling her about how his mother had made him biscuits and jam every Saturday morning.
“That’s something I haven’t thought about in a long time,” he said, thoughtfully.
“It sounds lovely,” Claire kept her voice soft and gentle. “When did you lose her?”
“Oh, she’s still alive,” Gabe said with a smile. “I just don’t get to see her anymore.”
“Not even on the holidays?” Claire asked.
He shook his head. “Not even on the holidays.”
“But… why not? That’s terrible that you don’t see her anymore.”
He shrugged. “Not really. She’s a happy woman. Now that my father is gone, she travels. I think she is in India right now.”
“Oh!” Claire grinned wide. “I thought she had passed away.”
“No. She’s very much alive. She wants to see as much of the world as she can while she can. And she’s very healthy for her age. I wouldn’t be surprised if she was in the jungle slashing down big vines with a machete.”
“Oh my. She sounds like a lovely woman.”
He grinned. “She is. She’s quite a character. Probably why I ended up the way I am.”
“I like who you ended up as. I think you’re a fine man.” Claire stood up to get another biscuit. “Do you want another one?”
“I would like that, thank you. I appreciate it.”
“Well, we are going to do a lot of walking around today, as you said before.” She grabbed another two biscuits and returned to the table. “I suppose you should rest up now, too.”
He laughed. “My biggest concern today is walking around in new shoes.”
“You have new shoes?” Claire instinctively looked at the floor. He stuck both feet out so she could clearly see his new black loafers. “Well, those look very comfortable, Gabe. Very comfortable.”
“They feel comfortable. But you know how it is when you get new shoes. They are never completely comfortable at first.”
She chuckled, nodding. “Yes, that is true. But they look good on you. I hope you don’t suffer today.” She lifted her coffee cup and drank the rest of it. She set the cup back down and looked at him. “I’m ready. Let’s go.”
He looked up at her with wide eyes, taken aback by her abrupt attitude. “Well, all right.” He stood up, pushing the rest of the biscuit into his mouth.
They went through the lobby to the front door. Gabe glanced up the stairs and saw Agatha’s shoes as she descended. He grabbed Claire’s arm, opened the door and shoved her out, following close behind her. He took her arm again as soon as they were outside and turned to the left, making her walk quickly away from the hotel door.
“What in heaven’s name?” Claire looked up at him and then over her shoulder behind them. “Did you see Agatha?”
Gabe laughed, throwing his head back so his laughter went up in the air. He looked down at her. “How did you know that?”
“I don’t think you’d react that way to anyone else in Wickenburg,” Claire replied with confidence. She joined him in his laughter.
“All right, enough fun at someone else’s expense,” he said. “I’ve got to give you a cookie, don’t I? You want a big cookie, don’t you? Hope the biscuits didn’t fill you up.”
She shook her head. “You must be joshing with me. Two little tiny biscuits? I have to have more than that. You know I have to have my chocolate.”
“You like chocolate, do you? So you want a chocolate cookie?”
“No, I just want one with the chips inside.”
“Right over here. There it is. Let’s go,” Gabe saw the cookie vender across the dirt road. He put his hand on the small of Claire’s back as they crossed the road, dodging horses and waiting for wagons to pass before proceeding. “It’s very busy in Wickenburg today. I would have requested people leave their wagons on the outside of town in
stead of driving right through all of this.”
“They’re probably delivering something,” Claire said. “I think they do ask people not to drive through town during the festival. I thought I heard Elizabeth saying something about that just the other day, as a matter of fact.”
“Well, I won’t let you get stomped by a horse, I promise that. I don’t want you trampled. I’d like to have you around for a while.”
“I’d like to be around for a while,” Claire said with a smile.
They reached the vendor and Gabe bought a cookie three times the size of a normal one. She had to hold it with both hands. He was amused by the way she nibbled on the end of it. They walked along the edge of the park and turned in where the gate was open.
“What a beautiful day for the festival,” Claire remarked breathlessly. “I am so glad to be here today. It’s lovely, isn’t it?”
“Yes, it really is.” He looked down at her. “And I’m glad to be spending it with you. I hope you feel the same way.”
She looked up at him. “You know I do, Gabe. I think we’re well past the stage of wondering, aren’t we?”
“I guess so. Let’s sit on this bench and look at the ducks.”
The two of them sat, side by side, looking out at the ducks swimming through rippling water. Every now and then, Claire would throw out a bit of the cookie and watch the ducks nibble it up.
“Do you think they like cookies? Like we do?”
Gabe chuckled. “I have no idea. How do you like the schoolhouse?”
“I love it there,” Claire gushed. She turned on the bench to face him, lifting one leg and pushing it under the other one. “The children are so sweet. And there are some of the older kids who don’t even need to be there anymore, but they stick around to help with the others, especially the ones who have trouble with their arithmetic or their spelling. It’s a wonderful thing to watch a child grow and learn. And for them to be so sweet to each other, so supportive. I just love them all.”
Gabe nodded. “It’s the atmosphere of Wickenburg. Things have happened here before; I don’t know if you’ve been told. Things have happened here that might make you think it’s a town of disorder and chaos. But it really isn’t. It wasn’t when I lived here before and it’s not now.”
“Do you plan on staying for good, Gabe?” She blinked at him. He looked back, thinking how beautiful her green eyes were, how much her face reminded him of an angel.
“Do you?” he asked.
“I asked you first.” She giggled.
He gave her a smile. “I plan on staying, yes. If it’s at all possible, this is where I want to make my home.”
She nodded. “I’m staying, too.”
“I hope it works out for both of us.”
“Why would you not stay? Why is there any doubt that you will stay?”
He looked at her, wishing he could completely open up to her. He wanted to tell her everything. He wanted to take her into his confidence and reveal all of his past and his reasons for leaving Kentucky.
However, he couldn’t. She would be afraid of him. She would be repulsed by him. The thought of her running from him now made him want to be physically ill. He stared at her pretty face, making a memory of it so that when he closed his eyes, she was all he would see.
“I don’t know. I guess you never know what might come up to haunt you.”
She tilted her head to the side. “That’s a strange thing to say, Gabe. Do you have something that might come up and haunt you?” She regretted the question as soon as she asked it. She had told herself just the night before that everyone in Wickenburg had something they wanted to escape from. She didn’t want him to think she was prying into his affairs. She didn’t want to push him to tell her anything.
“I’m sorry,” she said hurriedly. “I don’t mean to pry. Please, let’s not talk about pasts. Let’s talk about the future.”
He stifled a relieved sigh. He looked out over the pond, nodding. “Yes, I think it’s best that we don’t really talk about that stuff right now. Things can get serious when you talk about pasts and this is a day for frivolity and fun.”
“Yes. Why didn’t you get yourself a big cookie, Gabe? I see you looking at this cookie like you want to devour it.”
He laughed. It wasn’t the cookie he’d been looking at. He wasn’t going to tell her that. “I don’t want a big cookie, actually,” he replied. “I prefer the pretzels with lots of salt on top.”
“My older brother used to love salted pretzels. Let’s go get one for you. I feel bad sitting here eating in front of you. You must be starving.”
He laughed. “I won’t starve. But yeah, let’s go.”
CHAPTER EIGHTEEN
AGATHA’S REVELATION
AGATHA’S REVELATION
By the time Gabe and Claire got to the pretzel stand, there was a line. No one was bothered by the line because everyone was talking. Gabe and Claire shared a smile.
“I think the pretzels are a big deal around here,” Claire said, giggling.
“It sure does look like it.” Gabe looked around, spying some people he knew and others he didn’t. “It’s grown so much since I left.”
“A lot can happen in 20 years, Gabe,” Claire remarked.
“Yes, I’ve noticed. A lot of people moving away, moving in, building houses, factories, warehouses…”
“There are no factories or warehouses around here.” Claire looked at him like he’d lost his mind.
He chuckled. “I know. It was just an example.”
She pressed her lips together. “Of something that doesn’t exist here.”
“Exactly.”
Claire turned to look at the man making the pretzels and handing them out. He was smiling at the person in front of him, nodding and saying something she couldn’t hear because of all the other noise. “I think I’ll get a pretzel, too. See what all the fuss is about.”
“I think the fuss is all about the delicious pretzels he makes. Who is that? Dr. Campbell?”
Claire narrowed her eyes to focus on the man again. “No, that’s not Dr. Campbell. But he looks a lot like him. Maybe the doc has a brother?”
They looked at each other and shrugged at the same time.
“Well, hello there, Gabe.”
They both turned to see Agatha in line behind them. She was dressed in a pretty frock and had a pleasant smile on her face. Claire looked her up and down, sensing the woman was trying something new to get Gabe’s attention. She looked up at him, taking in his profile when he looked at Agatha. She looked pretty today, Claire had to admit that. She didn’t look depressed or drunk.
“Hello, Agatha. How are you feeling today?”
“I feel very good today. And you?”
“I’m well.”
“Hello, Agatha,” Claire said. Agatha looked at her and nodded. She moved her eyes immediately back to Gabe.
“Would you care to take a stroll with me?”
Gabe looked doubtful, moving his gaze to Claire. “I was about to get a pretzel with Claire.”
Agatha moved closer and took his arm with both of hers, smiling up at him. “Well, she’s had you all morning. Now it’s my turn. Just once around the park. Come on now, don’t make me beg.”
Claire sensed that she actually would beg if he asked her to.
Gabe looked at Claire helplessly and allowed Agatha to drag him away from her. He mouthed the words, “Get me one” and pointed at the pretzel man. Claire grinned and nodded. He shrugged with a “what can I do” look on his face and turned to walk next to Agatha so she wouldn’t drag him anymore. He glanced back at Claire once more and she lifted her hand. He smiled.
Claire turned back around and stood in line by herself. She thought about what had just happened. If he hadn’t turned around and told her to get him a pretzel… if he hadn’t glanced back and smiled at her… she would have been terribly jealous. She wasn’t, though. She was fairly certain Gabe wanted nothing to do with Agatha. He would have preferred t
o spend the entire day with Claire and she knew it.
She had the feeling Agatha knew it, too.
“It’s such a pretty day today,” Agatha said. Gabe had a sense of déjà vu. Claire had already said all the things Agatha was about to say, he was willing to bet. However when Agatha continued, he realized he would have lost that bet. She released his arm and spun around next to him. “Do you like my dress? Isn’t it pretty? I just bought it yesterday. I bought it just so I could show it off today. Everyone in Wickenburg will see it. Isn’t it so pretty?”
“It’s pretty,” Gabe responded awkwardly. He watched her spinning around and giving him those lecherous eyes. He was beginning to feel a little nervous. This woman was more persistent than any he’d been with in his life.
“I think all these people are so nice. They are nice to me. Even Sam from the Horse N Saddle because you know,” she leaned toward him with a grin. “I’ve been in some compromising situations in that saloon. Why, if I told everyone what really goes on in that place, they would never believe me.”
Gabe knew why no one would ever believe her but he was curious to see what kind of stories she had to tell. “What do you mean? The Horse N Saddle is more respectable as a saloon than most of the ones in Kentucky. And I mean the whole state.”
Agatha laughed wickedly. “That’s what you would think. Especially you, Gabe. You’re a man. You don’t know what really goes on in there. You aren’t in there a lot.”
“But what could you possibly be talking about?” Gabe was enjoying prying the lies out of Agatha. He didn’t feel even slightly bad for doing it. He watched her face. He could see her searching for stories, searching for something to make up that would impress him.
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