Wanted: Miller (Silverpines Series Book 10)

by George H. McVey

  Oh, she hadn’t told him she loved him but that was all right; he saw it in her eyes and felt it in her kisses and hugs. She was still recovering from her ordeal and he could see the fear she was still holding on to as well. Fear of loving and losing again. Fear of letting go of the past and stepping into the future. But at least the wedding was back on for Sunday.

  He wanted so much to help her heal and become who she could be. He wanted to get to know the woman everyone else knew, the woman from before the disasters. It was obvious that not just Silverpines had changed with the quakes and collapse and slide, so had Antonia. The people he’d talked with today spoke of a girl full of life and love and happiness. He’d caught glimpses of that woman tonight but mostly what he saw was a woman who saw everything she’d loved and cared about ripped away. He wanted to give her back something to care about. He needed to take it a step at a time but they needed to get more logging families in and start cutting timber again. They needed to do something to honor those she and everyone else had lost. He wondered if they’d done that. Held a memorial service to grieve the hundreds buried under the mud and the rock. He’d talk to Alexzander and Pastor James and Mayor Garrison after he was back in town. He’d speak to Fannie Pearl, too. He’d heard a lot about the matriarch of the town but he’d yet to meet her. Maybe he’d ask Antonia to introduce them before the wedding.

  For tonight, he was content. He’d made things right with Antonia and things were back on track. He’d used his education to help make her mill better and he’d do it again before they were married. Now he just needed to find another way to help his wife let go of her fear and embrace life again. As he slipped under the covers in his hotel room, he said a quick prayer that he’d find the answer he needed and quickly.

  Chapter six

  The week flew by. Now that Braylon and she were on the same page, Tonya was falling in love a little more every day. He would show up at breakfast and kiss her, telling her good morning. They would sit with the brothers and decide what work would be done that day. She had been surprised on Wednesday when Braylon had worked the whole day moving logs with Paul. She’d snuck out to watch him several times, marveling at how fit he was. Oh, he wasn’t built like Paul or James or Peter but it was obvious that while not lumberjack large, he was in great shape. She found herself enamored by the way he moved and the flex of arms and shoulders as he loaded and unloaded wagon after wagon. That night after supper he’d sat at her father’s desk with her beside him and drew plans for a way for one man to unload the wagons onto a type of log chute that would allow Peter to load the saw by himself. With one more man to stack lumber and another to drive and unload the wagons, Braylon had built a way to almost double their production. With her permission, he’d put an ad in the papers looking for six more lumberjacks which would possibly mean families returning. Tonya had a minor meltdown at the thought of restarting Timber Town. Braylon’s suggestion that they see about using some of the empty or abandoned houses in town instead of putting new tents on the remains of the old timber town had calmed Tonya down a bit. He’d promised to talk to the Mayor and the banker Joel Richards about renting some of the abandoned properties for families if they were needed. Today he’d insisted that she spend the day with Betsy and Maude as well as several of the other ladies in town and have some fun preparing for their wedding the next day.

  So here she was in Betsy’s old house with a bunch of young brides all giving her advice and making jokes she didn’t quite understand but knew were meant to embarrass and inform her of what to expect. Which did do one thing: get her thinking about the next night. What would Braylon expect of her after the wedding? She wasn’t completely innocent, she’d attended enough of these parties in the last year to have some idea what happened on a wedding night and Mrs. Carlson, true to her word, had told her more than she ever wished to know about the cook’s married life.

  Part of her was anxious and scared but then she’d think of Braylon’s shoulders lifting logs or even just hunched over her father’s desk, the strong muscles she’d felt when she’d place a hand on his chest or when he’d pulled her close to kiss her. Betsy and Tilde laughed as they noticed her flushed cheeks. “Well, that’s a look I recognize,” the banker’s wife said. The woman had changed so much since her marriage to Mr. Richards. It was like she’d come to life under his love and nurture. Betsy, too, had seemed to become something more since she’d allowed herself to give her whole heart to Alexzander and it made Tonya wonder if people would see her in a few months and marvel at the changes in her that giving herself fully to Braylon brought. Betsy leaned in close to her and whispered, “The answer is yes, Tonya. People will see a change in you after tomorrow. Some of us have seen a change in you already that you don’t yet see in yourself. It’s like you’re coming alive after a long dormant period. I think in a way my friend died in those disasters. It’s nice to see a part of you come back to us.”

  She smiled through a veil of tears. Had she really changed that much with the disasters? If she was honest with herself the answer was without a doubt yes. Betsy was right; she felt alive for the first time in almost a year. Tomorrow was her wedding day and while she was sad her papa wasn’t here to see it, she did feel like it was a new beginning for her. With her new name came a new person, one she couldn’t wait to meet.

  Braylon looked on as the last of the pieces were bolted into place. This was it; if this worked he would have doubled the output of the sawmill with the use of one extra man. The wagons had all been refitted with a drop-down side; the driver was given a metal pole to push the uncut logs into a log deck that would then deliver the log to the blade feeder. From there one of the two saw operators would pull a lever and the new log would be rolled right onto the feeder allowing one man to load the saw instead of two. With this setup Peter would be able to get the logs onto the blade without a second man to help him lift the log onto the feed belt. They all watched as the new lumberjack that Braylon and Tonya hired dropped the side of the wagon and pushed the stack of logs onto the new log deck. Sure enough, just as Braylon had expected, they rolled right down to the feeder plate. He showed Peter how to pull the lever to lower the plate and allow the log to be situated on the blade feeder.

  Braylon smiled knowing that Antonia was going to love it when she got back from her pre-wedding party. He also held in his hand an answer to a telegram he’d sent to the paper mill in Astoria the day before. From now on, they would be sweeping up the sawdust and smaller chips of wood and placing them in crates that would be shipped to the paper mill, turning something that had been waste into another source of income for the mill. He couldn’t wait for his bride-to-be to see it. He wished his father could see all that he’d accomplished in just a week’s time. However, that just wasn’t possible; the man was set in his ways and would be working just like Braylon was. It was almost October and there was still corn to grind or flour to mill and his father would be hard at work. It was the one downside to this whole move to Silverpines. Tomorrow he was getting married without any of his family present. It was the one thing he wished was different. He sighed as the Bunyan brothers congratulated him on another great idea.

  He shook off his disappointment. He’d improved the mill’s ability to produce lumber and in just under twenty-four hours was marrying a woman that he was in love with. So what if his idea of bringing electricity to Silverpines hadn’t panned out, or if there would be no one sitting in the church tomorrow to support him in his decision to come west and marry a stranger on the off chance that they could have a marriage filled with love and family. After tomorrow, he’d have the start of his own family. One with Antonia.

  Tonya sat in worship with Braylon beside her, his hand holding hers. She was as nervous as a cat in a room full of rocking chairs. She couldn’t stop fidgeting and she smiled when she saw Miss Ethel Howard giving her the stink eye across the aisle. Just minutes away from her wedding and still getting in trouble with the spinster sisters for her behavior in church. That
was enough to calm her some, allowing her to settle. As much as things were changing, some things were still the same. The only difference was that she wasn’t getting in trouble along with Maude and Betsy but on her own. She looked past the handsome man just minutes from being her husband to catch the eye of Betsy Sewell who had noticed Miss Ethel’s warning glare and smiled at her friend. Beside Betsy was Maude who wasn’t paying any attention to the sermon Pastor James was giving, either. Instead, she seemed to be staring hard at the envelope she held in her hands. Why had her friend brought a letter with her to church, she wondered.

  She’d have to investigate that thought later because right now they were standing for Abby and Pastor James to sing the final hymn together. Since their marriage, this had become one of Tonya’s favorite parts of the service; the two would blend their voices together in a harmonious worship to God. Like most of the rest of the people in Silverpines, she was in awe of how God had taken Abby’s own personal tragedy and turned it into something beyond what they could imagine. She started at that thought.

  Wasn’t that exactly what He was doing for Tonya? When she’d sent for a husband, she’d never imagined a man like Braylon answering. Smart, sophisticated, and handsome. She’d expected to get a young version of her father or a man more like one of the three Bunyan brothers. Set in his ways, a typical lumberjack. Instead, she got the man who was teaching her to live again, to let fear and sorrow go and embrace all that was beautiful in this world. Like that first magical ray of sun that breaks through the rain clouds and illuminates a spot in the trees after the storm.

  The music faded away and Pastor James cleared his throat. “As most of you know, today is a special Sunday. Tonya Woodson has requested all of you attend her wedding to Braylon Watts, followed by a wedding dinner in the park. So Braylon, Tonya, would you come stand with me?”

  Tonya gripped Braylon’s arm. He patted her hand before tossing her a wink that settled the butterflies in her stomach. They walked the aisle together, coming to a stop before Pastor James.

  “We’ve all watched as you’ve struggled, Tonya, trying to come to terms with the losses you suffered in the disaster. I think all your friends would admit that while they all were affected by those two days and the aftermath, none were as affected as you were. You lost your entire family and livelihood all at once and it took you a while to get on your feet again. Thankfully, God in his goodness has sent you a man up to the challenge of helping you find your footing.”

  Tonya smiled up at Braylon and squeezed his arm. “Personally, as your pastor I’m glad to see the smile I’d heard so much about on your face again. So what say we get on with it and unite these two in Holy matrimony?”

  Just then the doors of the church flew open. “Stop everything!”

  Everyone’s head swiveled to see a large older man standing in the doorway. Braylon gasped. “Father? What are you doing here?”

  The large man with salt and pepper hair took two steps inside the door and pointed at the man standing beside her. “Braylon Jefferson Watts! You didn’t think I was going to allow you to deny your mother the chance to watch her only child get married, did you? You hold your horses until she can get inside and get settled.”

  Braylon looked at her in shock. “Apparently my parents are here.”

  She smiled. “I see that. Don’t you think we should go and welcome them?”

  He started. “Oh yes, of course.” He looked up at Pastor James. “Will you excuse us a moment?”

  The minister smiled. “Certainly. I’m sure everyone will be happy to wait for your parents.”

  There were chuckles as he turned and started down the aisle only to stop when Tonya reached out for his arm. “Don’t you think you should introduce me while you’re at it?”

  He blushed and took her hand in his as those that heard her chuckled. The two of them hurried to the door where his father was escorting his mother up the stairs. Mrs. Watts wasn’t what Tonya was expecting. Where her husband and son were tall and muscled men, she was short and rotund. Her grey and brown hair was pulled into a loose bun. It was easy to see where Braylon’s love of life came from; her eyes held the wrinkles at the corner of someone who smiled and laughed often. “Mother, Father, I’m so happy to see you both. May I introduce you to my soon-to-be wife, Antonia Woodson.”

  She smiled at the couple. “It’s a pleasure to meet you both. I’m so happy you made it in time for our wedding.”

  His mother smiled and pulled her into a hug. “Braylon, she’s lovely!” She looked at Tonya. “I’m glad to meet you, too, my dear. I apologize for interrupting your service but I’m glad we made it in time to see you two wed. I thought this big lummox was going to drag his feet and I’d miss it.”

  Tonya smiled. “Well, you’re perfectly on time. Would you both do us the honor of standing with us for the ceremony?”

  His mother started and waved her suggestion away. “Nonsense. Let’s just get the two of us seated.”

  Tonya reached out a hand and laid it on her mother-in-law-to- be’s arm. “Please? My own family has all passed; it would mean a lot to me if you’d do us this honor.”

  Mrs. Watts looked at her a moment and then nodded. “Of course, my dear. It’s your day. If that’s what you want, we’d be honored.”

  As the four of them walked to the front, his mother handed Braylon a simple gold band. “I thought you might like to use your grandmother’s wedding band for your wife.”

  Braylon smiled and took the ring. Once they were all in front of the church, Braylon and Tonya turned to Pastor James who smiled again and cleared his throat. “Dearly Beloved…”

  Chapter Seven

  Tonya was tired. It was a good kind of tired but she was tired. The ceremony had been lovely and her friends had done so much with the wedding dinner and setting up a celebration in the town’s park for her and Braylon. Several of the women in town who had yet to send for husbands had already told her of little acts of kindness and innovations Braylon had gifted each of them, helping make their lives a bit easier. She’d even seen the three Bunyan brothers talking with some of the available women and figured it was just a matter of time till the Woodson/Watts Lumber family grew once again. That was the gift she’d given her husband. She’d gone on Friday without his knowledge and talked to Luther Garrison who had informed her that by Oregon law the lumber mill and business were still completely hers to do with as she liked after the marriage. However, Braylon had invested so much of his efforts into easing her fears of losing the mill that she’d had the lawyer draw up papers making him equal partner with her in the entire business. She’d even had the name changed. She’d sent a telegram to Astoria and had a new sign made that said Woodson & Watts Lumber Company that would arrive on tomorrow’s train. Tonya couldn’t wait for Braylon to see it.

  They’d spent most of the afternoon and into the evening dancing and visiting with their friends and his parents. His father sounded very interested in some of the innovations she’d told him about Braylon making to the mill, especially the restrictor that had sped up the wheel and increased production. “These were the kind of things he was trying to tell me about before he came here?”

  “I believe so.” She’d told him. “He said that they were simple things he’d learned at university that would have made the job easier and more productive.”

  The older man scratched at his cheek. “I thought he was just trying to get out of actual milling with that whole electricity thing. I mean, them electric lights is all interesting but it’s not like they’re going to last; it’s just one of those things people are taken with for a while and then go back to what they’ve always done.”

  Tonya wasn’t sure that was true. Some of the things Braylon had told her in the last few days that could be done with electricity had made her wonder if it wasn’t worth the hassle to find a way to help him bring his dream to Silverpines but she was smart enough to know that older people like Mr. Watts were set in their ways and resistant to change. �
��Well, I hope you’ll come by the mill tomorrow and see for yourself some of the wonderful things Braylon has done to help me get my mill running better than it did before the quakes hit Silverpines. We’d love to have you and Mrs. Watts stay for supper as well.”

  “Thank you, my dear. You know I wasn’t open to this idea of his to come out here and marry you when he told us but I can see that you’ve been good for him. I think he made the right choice to marry you and move to this town. I can see he’s needed here more than I needed him in Ohio.”

  She smiled. “Mister Watts, I am not exaggerating one bit when I tell you that I think your son saved my life. I know he saved my family’s legacy and livelihood. You have much to be proud of him for.”

  The older man patted her hand and rubbed his eye. “Travel dust. Always bothers me after a trip like this. Thank you for that, young lady. I can say that it’s a pleasure having you in the family.” The old man cleared his throat and then leaned in close. “Now about grandchildren….”

  Tonya blushed and his wife slapped his arm. “Stop it, Thomas, leave the girl alone.”

  Braylon walked back through town with his wife on his arm. They’d chosen to walk today even with their wedding because it was one of the times they could just enjoy spending time together. He’d been shocked when the church doors had opened and his father had stood there. Anxious as well if he was honest with himself but all in all things had gone well. By the time the wedding dinner and dancing were over, his father was telling him he was proud of the things he was hearing about how his son had conducted himself in Silverpines and asked if Braylon would give him a tour of the mill the next day and share with him some of the plans and schematics of the improvements he’d made to the mill. He especially wanted to see the water restrictor that increased the waterwheel speed. He’d heard Braylon talking about building a retaining pond and flume that would be filled by a pump run by the wheel itself to supply water for the wheel when the river was low.