Maude sighed. “I have to teach the girls this afternoon, Jeremiah.”
He nodded. “Get Betsy ready to see us and I’ll walk you home before I meet with her, alright? I need to know you’re safe, Maude. I didn’t come all this way to see that scoundrel harm you.”
She could see that he was really worried about her and to be honest the way that man had just inappropriately handled her earlier, right out in the open, left her worried too. As he’d mentioned he all but had an army with him. “Fine, but then after supper tonight you need to meet me in our spot.”
His eyes widened. “You mean it survived?”
She laughed. “No earthquakes could damage that old tree, his roots run deep.”
Jeremiah brushed his hand down her cheek and let his thumb touch the edge of her mouth. She blushed knowing he was thinking about the last time they met at their spot. “I’ll meet you there if you promise me a chance to redo the last time we were there.”
She looked up at him and bit her lower lip, her eyes traveling from his eyes to his lips. “I’ll think about it.”
He smiled and leaned in close enough that she could smell him as he whispered to her, “I’m sure you will. I know I’ll be thinking about it.”
She turned and rushed up the stairs and into the house to let Betsy know she was about to have callers.
Jeremiah waited until Maude was inside and then turned to find Nathan watching him. “I know you came to woo the woman, Henderson, but your other friend needs you too. Don’t get so caught up in winning the girl you let your other friend down.”
Jeremiah nodded, knowing that Nathan was right. “I won’t, Boss. I’ll try to help her see that going Lunsford’s way is dangerous.”
Nathan nodded. “Alright let’s get settled in the Inn and then I need to send some wires. I got a question for you. Who from Goldtown would you absolutely want to help reopen here, especially if we have to run off Lunsford and his crew first?”
Jeremiah didn’t even have to think. “Bare minimum, O’Brian’s team from second shift and Clancy and his team from fourth shift.”
“Why them?”
“Both have worked reopening mines after disasters. So both teams will know about the special needs.”
“Anyone else?”
Jeremiah rubbed his chin. “Yeah, but not the team; just Ian MacGregor.”
Nathan was surprised. “Why MacGregor?”
“He looks rough and has a special talent I think we can use here.”
“What’s that?”
“He’s a typical Scotsman, Boss. But for some reason he can’t get drunk.”
“What do you mean he can’t get drunk?”
“I’ve seen the man drink Bertha herself under the table and stand up and walk away without a slur or a stumble. So I asked him about it. He doesn’t know why but he can’t get drunk. But he can act drunk.”
Nathan smiled. “You want him to show up here alone and start hanging out at the saloon like a drunk washed up miner and get Fagan to hire him?”
Jeremiah smiled. “Yes, I do. Even if Fagan doesn’t hire him, he’ll hear things we need to know.”
“I like it. I’ll send for them and have MacGregor stay in Astoria for a week and have you go there and meet him and explain what we want. He can come in complaining about being fired by Ryder Mining in Colorado. That should get Fagan interested. He can claim he was fired for putting a Chinaman in his place. Because we both know sooner or later Fagan’s going to find some kind of unskilled worker to bring in and a man known for being harsh on them will appeal to him.”
“That would work. It will get us intel and if you can actually get two crews from Ryder Mining as well, we will have a good two shifts we can start with.”
Nathan stopped and looked in the window of the Gunsmith shop. “Look, that’s that new Smith and Wesson thirty-eight special that my new deputy was telling us about. Let’s see if the Gunsmith will let me take a look at one.”
Jeremiah frowned. “You looking to make a change, Boss?”
Nathan shook his head. “No, it would throw me off but I’m thinking Grace and the girls might like them. Looks smaller, might fit the bags easier.”
Jeremiah followed Nathan in the store; maybe he’d get one for Maude. If the town was going to get miners of Fagan’s quality in it, she might need to be armed. He remembered that like Nathan’s Aunt Aggie, the Howard sisters insisted that their girls knew how to protect themselves, so she’d know how to shoot, but he didn’t know if she had a pistol that would fit in her reticule. The bell over the door rang and a brown-haired woman looked up at them from the counter. “Hello, Gentlemen. How can I help you today?”
Nathan smiled. “Hello ma’am. I noticed you had one of the new Smith and Wesson specials displayed in your window. Do you happen to have any in stock? I’ve been hearing about them but never seen one before.”
“Then you came to the right place, Mister…”
“Ryder, Nathan Ryder.” There was the sound of something heavy being dropped in the far corner and soon a man with a leather apron came around the corner. “As in, The Preacher? That Nathan Ryder?”
“I’ve been called that, yes.”
The man held out his hand to shake. “Mason Dekum, Mister Ryder, and this is my wife Sarah.”
“Nice to meet you.”
“It’s an honor to have you in our shop, sir. As to the Smith and Wesson special, we are the authorized manufacturer and distributor for the west of all the specials sold.”
Jeremiah could see Nathan was impressed both as a gun-man and a business man. “Really, and how did a small gunsmith shop in Silverpines get that honor?”
“I used to be married to Mister Wesson’s daughter before she died. When I came west to marry Sarah here, he offered me the opportunity to be the exclusive manufacturer and distributor in the west. We’re building a plant just outside of town that should be open by spring. Until then I manufacture each special sold from here, myself.”
Sarah looked at Jeremiah. “You look familiar, do I know you?”
“Oh, it’s been a few years, Sarah, but I figure I can still climb a tree faster than you can.”
Sarah’s face broke out in a smile. “Jeremiah Henderson, what are you doing here?”
“I came to help reopen the mine.”
“Does Maude know you’re here?”
“That’s the other reason I’m here.”
Sarah smile grew even larger. “You answered her ad?”
“In a way. I heard about her ad. But honestly, I work for Mister Ryder who is part owner of the mine. Well, I guess technically I’m Betsy and Nathan’s partner in the mine. But I did let Maude know I was coming to court her as well as open the mine.”
Sarah laughed. “Good, I remember when you left she went around for months getting ready for her wedding. The Howard sisters never could understand why their white lace tablecloth kept ending up in her closet.”
Talk went on and soon arrangements had been made for Nathan to meet the Dekums at the shooting range outside of town, along with a friendly competition between Sarah and Nathan. Jeremiah, on the other hand left, with a beautifully crafted wooden box with a Smith and Wesson thirty-eight special in it, and a box of ammo. He’d found out from Sarah that Maude didn’t own one but had looked at one several times. Since she didn’t really work outside the orphanage she hadn’t any money to purchase one, and the Howard sisters had taken in a few new charges since the disaster and couldn’t splurge on things like revolvers for the older girls.
He and Nathan went on and got situated at the hotel where again Jeremiah had run into one of Maude’s ‘sisters’, Ella Grace, who’d married the innkeeper. It was obvious that hers was a happy marriage, not only by the way the man doted on her, but by the bulge of her rapidly expanding baby bump. She’d squealed when she realized who Jeremiah was and demanded to know if he’d come to make an honest woman of her sister after all this time. Apparently, after he’d left town Maude had told her older
sisters and friends about his pledge. Ella Grace demanded to see the hundred dollars and he’d pulled four double eagles out of his pocket and held them up for her. She nodded and winked at him before showing him to his room on the third floor.
Once there she got serious. “Why are you here, Jeremiah? Maude and the girls have all had a rough year. Don’t play with her heart or you won’t have to fear Ethel’s rifle, I’ll do you in myself.”
He looked at his friend and made sure she could see how serious he was. “Ella Grace, I sent a telegram to Maude three days ago letting her know I’m coming home and have every intention to see the sisters, ask to court Maude and marry her. As well as get the mine back up and running properly.”
Ella Grace smiled. “Good, welcome home then. You’ll bring her to my place for supper one night this week. That will be a better place for courting than in the top of that old cedar tree.”
She laughed at his look. “You two honestly thought none of us knew you two used to sneak up there together? Ethel complained every time she saw you head that way that Maude would have sap on her dress again.”
Jeremiah laughed. “And here we thought we were so smart.”
There came a knock and it was Nathan. “Ready to go talk to Mrs. Sewell?”
Jeremiah sighed. “Yeah, reckon I am.”
He promised Ella Grace he’d have Maude get back to her about which night for supper, and then he headed out with Nathan to see Betsy and explain what he could for her. Even though all he could think about was the possibility of kissing Maude under that cedar tree after supper tonight and what Edith and Ethel Howard would say when he asked to court Maude properly.
Five
Maude got Betsy settled on the settee in the office of the Pike house. Well it was the Sewell house, now she guessed. After all, Mr. Pike was dead, and Betsy and Alexzander had moved back to make her confinement easier. She could see her friend had something on her mind. “What is it, Betsy? You were never good at keeping secrets.”
Her friend blushed before she laughed. “It’s not a secret really, just something I found out last night after you and Tonya left. I was looking through those papers I’d had Tonya bring me and found another letter from Nathan’s lawyer. He wasn’t just Nathan’s lawyer he was also Jeremiah’s father’s lawyer. Jeremiah owns ten percent of the mine too. Your beau is my partner as well as Mr. Ryder. I just wanted you to know before he shows up here in a minute. Now tell me what happened at the mine this morning. Alexzander said you had a run in with Lunsford’s goons.”
Maude was a bit shocked at what Betsy just told her, but it made Jeremiah’s crack when she teased him about the hundred dollars make sense. If he owned part of the mine and had for all these years he certainly had more than one hundred dollars. Had he known he was part owner when he wrote her? Was he really checking on her and their friends or was he checking on his mine? She’d have to ask him and watch his face when she did.
She wanted to believe he had come back for her but what if he’d come back to get his mine reopened and she was just an afterthought? She had agreed to be courted by him, and in reality she’d agreed to marry a mine engineer to get the mine reopened; of the two in town Jeremiah appeared to be the better option. He at least hadn’t tried to take advantage of her in the street. Plus, if she was honest, he was super handsome and she’d seen his muscles flex as he’d flown at and punched that slimy Lucius Fagan in the mouth. But still, if he was a liar, did she want to marry a man who deceived her so easily? Was she letting their past color how she saw him?
She’d have to be cautious and guard her heart until she was sure. He could court her, but slowly. Since he owned part of the mine she didn’t have to marry him to help ensure he worked to get the mine reopened, he had enough incentive. On the other hand, he was very handsome and if she didn’t declare her intention would one of the other single or widowed women in town make a move on him? After all, she could think of several women who’d lately been talking about writing for a husband, starting with her sister Katie. Clara had made a bit of noise about it too. The thought of either of them with Jeremiah angered her and she realized that in itself was kind of the answer to her question. She was jealous, and they hadn’t even done anything. So she wasn’t sure she wanted him because he might have lied to her but she knew she didn’t want any of the other women of Silverpines to have him. She laughed; she was a mess.
“What’s so funny?” Betsy asked just as there was a knocking at the door. Nathan and Jeremiah were right on time.
“I’ll tell you later but for now let’s just focus on business since it appears you’re about to have your first official shareholders meeting.”
“Yes it does, and thank you for making sure it wasn’t in my dressing robe. That would have been embarrassing.”
She could see that the men were being shown in. “They’re on their way. How’s your stomach? Do you need ginger tea or cookies right now?”
Jeremiah stepped into the room. “Cookies? Did I hear cookies?”
Betsy laughed. “Hello Jeremiah.”
He bent down and kissed her on the cheek. “Hello, Betsy Wetsy! Still wet behind the ears?”
“Behave, you cookie thieving sneak. My husband’s the town Marshal. I could have you arrested, you know.”
He straightened. “I’m sorry about your Pa, Betsy. I know exactly how that pain feels. I’m glad your husband came through it alright.”
Betsy smiled. “Thank you, Jeremiah. I’m sorry about your loss as well. I didn’t realize your Pa had passed until last night. I think your paperwork came before my Pa passed and he didn’t think to tell me.”
Jeremiah nodded. “Don’t worry about it. I didn’t realize Pa owned part of the mine until Nathan explained it to me this morning. I was in shock after Pa died and didn’t really listen to what his lawyer told me when I signed all the forms last year. I just signed thinking they were for a promotion from assistant mining engineer to head engineer. Nathan explained Pa wasn’t just the engineer, but part owner here and in Redemption. You can imagine what a shock that was to me.”
Maude couldn’t stop herself from asking. “You didn’t know until this morning you owned part of the mine?”
Nathan and Jeremiah both shook their heads and Nathan spoke. “No, he was genuinely shocked when I told him about it. I didn’t realize he didn’t know either. He owns a piece of my operation in Redemption as well.”
“So, when you wrote to me you really were checking on us and the town?”
Jeremiah seemed shocked at her question. “Yes, I’d overheard a couple of my workers talking about this town and planning to come find wealthy widows to wed. When I asked about it they showed me the article from the paper about the town and I was worried about all of you. What, did you think I’d lie about that, Maude? I’ve thought about you several times over the years. I’d just convinced myself you’d married and made a life for yourself. It never occurred to me you might not have.”
Nathan cleared his throat. “I realize you all have years to catch up on, but we really need to concentrate right now on figuring out what to do about this Lunsford fellow.”
“Boss, I need to walk Maude to her job real quick; it’s just around the corner but after this morning I don’t want her walking alone.”
“Fine you do that, and Betsy and I will look at this investment paperwork. You can examine it and we’ll talk more when you get back. Miss Jones, it was a pleasure to see you again.”
“You as well, Nathan, and in case I forgot earlier in all the excitement, thank you for your part in my liberation this morning.”
“You’re welcome, young lady. It’s all in a day’s work for a U.S. Marshal.”
Jeremiah held out his hand to Maude and she took his as he walked her to the Howards’. “Listen Maude, I don’t want to upset you but I bought you something. I’ll bring it to supper tonight. I am still invited to supper tonight, aren’t I?”
She smiled. “Yes, I’ll tell Miss Ethel and Edith I inv
ited you when we get there. You know they are going to question you, right?”
He grinned. “I would expect nothing less from them. But what I bought you was one of those new Smith and Wesson pistols. I want you to carry it until we get things sorted with this whole mine mess, okay?”
She smiled at him. She’d wanted one of the small lightweight pistols since she saw Sarah demonstrate it at the horse auction, but she’d never had the money to afford one. “Yes, I’ll carry it if that’s what you need me to do.”
He stopped and took both her hands in his, looking into her eyes. “I do need you to carry it, Maude. I just got you back, I don’t want to take a chance on losing you again to a toad like that Lucius Fagan or one of his thugs.”
She knew he was going to kiss her and she leaned in when she heard giggling coming from behind her. Her little sisters had found them. “Miss Edith said to hurry up, our lessons won’t wait all day on your courting.”
She sighed and turned around. “Lilly, get inside and tell Miss Edith I’m coming.”
Jeremiah chuckled and said, “Until tonight, then. We’ll have to delay until we get in our spot, I guess.”
Maude blushed and hurried inside knowing Miss Ethel herself would be out toting her rifle next. “I’ll see you at supper.”
“I’ll be here. Six on the stroke, right?”
She turned and nodded. “Yes, some things never change.”
Then she went inside and gathered up the younger kids to teach them today’s lesson.
Jeremiah was loaded down with gifts. He’d gone back and gotten a second Smith and Wesson, figuring that Miss Ethel might enjoy owning one of the lightweight revolvers but he hadn’t known what to get for Miss Edith. He knew she didn’t like guns, but explaining his dilemma to Nathan, he’d been offered the perfect gift for her from Nathan’s private collection. He arrived at the Howard sisters’ door five minutes before six, and knocked. Maude opened the door and laughed at the stack of gifts in his arms. “My goodness is this my beau come to call or Santa early for Christmas?”
Wanted: Engineer (Silverpines Series Book 11) Page 4