Katie walked in from the second downstairs bedroom. “I think it’s perfect for you, Maude. You even have a nursery set up already; is there something we should know?”
Maude blushed and shook her head. “No, I got a bit carried away. I want this place ready for my family when I finally have one. Jeremiah just let me go ahead and set it up. There is no way we are expecting yet.”
When her sister and Tonya and Betsy all asked. “No way?” Maude just blushed. “Okay we could be, but I don’t know that we are. I’ve been a wife a week; y’all give it a rest.”
Ella Grace smiled. “Didn’t Miss Ethel and Miss Edith talk to you before the wedding? A week is plenty long enough.”
Maude hid her face. “Oh dear Lord, never bring up that conversation again, Ella Grace Karson.”
Katie looked between her two married sisters. “It couldn’t be that bad. I mean, the other talk was bad; how bad could the second part be?”
Maude and Ella Grace looked at each other and laughed. “Just wait, Katie, you’ll see. You’ll never and I mean never look at those two sweet innocent spinsters again the same way.”
Katie went pale. “Please tell me you’re kidding.”
Maude shuddered. “I wish she was. Innocent spinsters they are not. I don’t know how they know the things they know, and I don’t want to know it.”
“So what’s next?”
“Jeremiah asked me if I would spend some time helping the families of the miners get settled and check on the widows left behind. Apparently, he and Nathan have ordered things to make repairs some of them never mentioned needing. They were trying to keep quiet, hoping no one realized they were still living in houses owned by the mine.”
Betsy stopped and looked at her. “Seriously? Some of the wives are still here living in those broken houses?”
Maude nodded. “Yes, he was surprised when he went to look at what needed to be done to get ready for the families that are coming.”
Betsy looked upset. “What did he tell them, do you know?”
Maude knew Betsy and knew her heart. She walked over to her friend and hugged her. “He wouldn’t want me to admit this, but Jeremiah is just like you, Betsy. A big softie. He told them they were mine family and that as long as he is the mine manager they have homes. He made a list of repairs and has ordered supplies from Watt’s Lumber and from the mercantile. He’s arranged to have the repairs made before the weather turns and he has promised those that need them jobs in the mine offices or elsewhere in the mining family.”
Betsy smiled through her tears. “Good, I’m glad he came home. He’s exactly what we needed to pull our family back together. Pa would be happy.”
Maude beamed in pride at her husband; he was a good man. She also nodded. “A few indicated they’d like to move on. Nathan has offered some of them a fresh start and offered to help others get to family elsewhere or even a few positions at other mining camps. Decent positions, not saloon or brothel type.”
“Good. I want to go visit some of those that are staying and some that are leaving. I got so wrapped up in my own grief and then this baby. I really let everyone down.”
Maude and Tonya both shook their heads. “No-one thinks that, Betsy. Don’t start stressing. Hattie will have you back in bed faster than a rabbit bolts for its hole.”
Tonya patted her other arm. “Besides you have Jeremiah running things now and we can all see Mister Ryder was right; he is a good and fair manager. He’s hiring the right people to help you get everything working. You have a baby to grow, you worry about that. Just like I had to trust Pa’s company to Braylon and the Bunyan Brothers you need to trust your partners. Alexzander is keeping everyone safe just like you knew he would. Now Jeremiah is going to take care of Pike Mining. We’ve done well, ladies. Silverpines is on the mend.”
All four of them nodded and hugged and then laughed as Katie’s twin charges woke and let everyone know they were ready to be paid attention to. Katie stood with a sigh. “Now if God would just send me a husband who understands my heart and needs like he did you three. I’d be happy.”
“He’s coming, Katie. Just hold on.”
As she went to get the twins the other two let Maude know they needed to head home as well. Tonya made it a point to be home when Braylon was done for the day and Betsy had been out longer than Hattie wanted her to. Katie came back with the twins and put them in the double pram to walk back to the Howard House. “I’m going to take them home, they’re going to be ready to eat soon.”
The two sisters hugged, and Maude walked with her sister. She just didn’t feel right sending her single sister to walk home alone. She knew that a lot of the conmen and miscreants were leaving town as more and more widows found husbands, but something felt wrong today. She felt like something bad was going to happen and she didn’t want it to be to her sister. Besides she still had the Smith and Wesson in her bag that Jeremiah gave her.
She went in and said hi to her younger sisters, promised to have Edith and Ethel over for supper next week to see the new house, and then started back home. As she came past the alley between where the sisters’ place ended and the next block began, she smelled that oily pomade smell just before an arm wrapped around her waist, pulling her back against a too wide body. “Hello, pretty Maude. I told you I always get my prize and before I’m done, I’ll have my mine too.” Then something sweet and damp was clamped over her mouth and nose before she could scream and everything went black.
Eleven
Jeremiah was walking with his miners. ‘His’ in that they were the group he’d asked Nathan to ask for from Goldtown. There were others arriving today as well and they were his miners as well, but these were men he’d worked with and who knew him. The first to step off the train surprised him: Ian MacGregor. He hadn’t thought he would come once the threat of a fight was passed. The burly Scottsman was single and always looking for a good fight but he also was an experienced miner and had worked as a crew leader for many years. Instantly Jeremiah knew he was going to offer the man a management position. In the last few years the older man had hinted that he might be willing to come out of the ground and work above, helping to run things. He’d make a great second in command because he was still rough enough to keep the other teams respect, having put in his time in a hole in the ground bringing up ore, plus he could bust heads with the roughest of them if the need arose. “Welcome to Oregon, MacGregor.
The big man shook his hand and all but shook the starch out of his shirt. “Well now, Henderson. Ye didn’t tell me the place looked like it was scooped straight from Scotland. Tis a welcome relief from that heat and dust we been living in.”
Jeremiah laughed. “Want to talk with you straight away, so don’t go wandering around looking for the saloon.” Jeremiah pointed down the street from the depot. “It’s two blocks that way, by the by.”
‘Aye Lad, a smart boss ye be.”
“Let me scoop up Clancy and O’Brian and the men from Colorado and I’ll get you all moved in the right direction.”
“Some of them are going to be needing a bit, Lad, they brought the families with ‘em. Wives want to know where to have their things taken and such. Doubt you have much time for me today. I’ll get a room at the inn and we can talk tomorrow.”
With that MacGregor made a beeline straight for the saloon and Jeremiah laughed. He knew that’s the way this would go. But the man was single, and he was right. He’d find a place to sleep tonight and he’d be at the mine bright and early in the morning knowing more than he should because of the time he spent drinking today. But wives wanted houses and beds for children and stoves for cooking and he had those assignments with him. So he walked over to the crews he knew and realized those he didn’t would recognize mining people when they saw them, and sure enough, when he got to O’Brian and Clancy the other families from both mining companies were all standing around together. “Well, I see we all found each other. I’m your boss and we’ll all get to know each other as we go. If
you need to collect luggage or make arrangements, I’ll have a wagon made available rest of the day to get anything you folks need hauled to your homes; and yes you all have homes assigned based on family size, which I was sent earlier this week. If anything isn’t right we will fix it and get you what you need. Welcome to Silverpines. We got a lot of work ahead of us and the town is glad to have you here to help. It’s a bit of a walk but if you want I can walk you over to the neighborhoods your homes are all in and we can get your families sorted. Everyone has today and tomorrow off except those team leaders, and I need you for about an hour this afternoon and tomorrow afternoon. Other than that, get settled, unpacked and we’ll start work next week.”
The rest of the morning had him meeting each family, some of which were people he knew from Goldtown others were from Colorado, but all were mining families and they were all cut from the same cloth. The women all were pleased with the houses and the fact that they were real houses not tents with log bases. But houses with kitchens and bedrooms and parlors. The men were pleased that their wives were pleased. The kids were thrilled as they saw the big park that already had children playing in it.
By noon he had the families sorted, a list of a few more repairs that needed to be made, things the wives noticed but weren’t concerned about. He made it a point to let them know that Pike Mining wanted them happy and that they weren’t just workers here but something unique to Silverpines. The moment their husbands worked a full year they all became part owners in the mine, receiving a single share of mining stock. That had impressed all of the miners and wives. Of course the whole town owned a single share of stock each, and Jeremiah made sure they knew that, but it enforced the fact that Pike Mining was a family. They were also impressed when he pointed out his house when they passed and told them all they were welcome any time. He made it a point to tell the wives he’d married a week ago and his wife was putting the finishing touches and he was moving in today as well. If they needed anything they didn’t want to bother him about, his wife would be glad to talk to them and let him know. He knew it was true because he and Maude had talked about it over the last week and she’d already made it a point to start seeing some of the widows left behind.
He was pleased to see the widows coming out to welcome the wives and miners and equally pleased when he saw the wives and miners realize that these women had all lost men in the mine they were here to reopen and enfold them into their community as one. He was proud of Silverpines as his hometown, and Goldtown and Ryder Mines as his boss’s people, and that they all were equally the kind of people he wanted working with and for him.
After lunch the team leaders from all four teams met him at the saloon where they collected MacGregor and went to look at the job ahead of them. He watched as they each realized just what they were dealing with and he told them about the first efforts being to uncover lost miners safely and respectfully and how that would be done. The men all nodded, and they marveled at how the town could still be surviving after such a catastrophic loss of life. Jeremiah was honest with them and told them it almost hadn’t but that the widows and daughters and children left behind had come together and pulled for each other and that the community they were joining was closer for it. They all agreed they’d work hard to honor those lost and those that survived the loss. Jeremiah told them that was all he could ever ask of them. He had sent everyone but MacGregor home and was in the midst of convincing the man to be his second in command when he stopped talking.
“What’s wrong, boss?”
Jeremiah was on his feet suddenly. He could barely feel Maude; something was very wrong. “My wife, something’s happened to my wife.”
Just then Nathan entered the mine office. “We got trouble.”
MacGregor nodded. “AYE, Henderson’s on about something happening to his missus.”
Nathan nodded and looked Jeremiah in the face. “Where is she, son?”
Jeremiah went still. “I’m not sure, Nathan, she was fully there one minute and then it was like I felt her fade to a shadow. I can barely feel her.”
MacGregor frowned. “What’s he talking about, Boss?”
Nathan looked at the Scotsman. “It’s like what I can do, only it works just on his wife. Did you see the jail on your way to the office?”
“Aye.”
“Go tell the local Marshal that Mister Fagan is back and has Mrs. Henderson. He needs to come now. I don’t know how long I’m going to be able to keep Jeremiah from going after them.”
Just then Jeremiah started moving. “Where you going, son?”
“I’ve got to go after her before its gone, Nathan.”
Nathan looked at MacGregor. “Hurry. Tell Sewell to hurry too.”
Twelve
Maude woke slowly. She went to stretch out to Jeremiah; she was cold. Why wasn’t he holding her? But she couldn’t move and then she remembered. Walking home, the smell of pomade, and the sound of Lucius Fagan in her ear, then the smell of something sweet and darkness. She heard a shuffle as she tried to move. “Ah, awake are you, my prize? Well good. I want you awake when I finally claim you for my own.”
She shuddered at what he meant.
“I’m married, you know. There’s no prize to claim.”
“Yes I heard. That Henderson fellow shows up with that rich Marshal, takes my mine and claims my prize. Well that’s fine, I’ve sent word to your friend that she’ll sign the mine over to me or I’ll kill you and send her little pieces for my trouble. So I’ll have the mine and then I’ll send word to your dear husband where he can find you, and when he gets here, I’ll make him watch as I claim what he stole from me before I kill him. Last thing he’ll know is I won, I got the mine and my prize, and all he gets is a hole in the ground.”
Maude stared at the man; he was mad. There was no way he could really think that would ever work. Betsy would tell Nathan and Alexzander and between the two of them they’d track them and she’d be safe. She felt the connection to Jeremiah growing stronger the longer she was awake. He was already on his way.
“I don’t understand, what do you mean your mine, your prize? I thought you were working for Lunsford.”
“None of you are very smart, are you? There was no Lunsford. That man who came to see your friend and demanded the mine be reopened was an actor I paid to play the investor. The whole plan was mine. But your old love, he had to come to save the day, didn’t he. Had to try and be yours and the town’s hero. Wouldn’t leave well enough alone. Originally, I just wanted that mine but when your friend wired that her pretty orphaned friend had offered herself up as wife to the mine engineer, I realized I could have a pretty untouched prize on top of all that silver. How could I resist? Well, almost untouched will do. Until I tire of you. But I realized something; you’ve got a whole house full of sisters right there waiting on me, don’t you? I just get my fill of you and move on to the next little prize and then the next.”
Anger began to burn inside of Maude at the thought of this man touching one of her sisters. The angrier she got the stronger her connection to Jeremiah grew and she smiled as she realized she knew where he was and that he knew where she was too, and he was coming for her. Not just to save her but she could see the conversation he was having with Nathan and Alexzander and she could see them agree between the three of them and she smiled. “You should let me go now, Mister Fagan, before my Jeremiah gets here.”
The man looked at her and laughed until he saw that she wasn’t responding how he thought she should. “Why aren’t you scared, little prize? Are you holding out hope that your hero will rescue you? He won’t; I’ll shoot him in the stomach and as he dies slowly I’ll make him watch as I claim his wife as my prize. Then when the last of his hope is gone, just before his life drains from him, I’ll make him watch as I take your life from you.”
She smiled. “Oh, he’s coming but not just to rescue me. I wouldn’t wait for him, if I were you. You see his friends, they’re mountain men and they have their own code. You a
ren’t the hunter, Mister Fagan. You are what those men see as the prey. You took what was his and you violated something sacred and biblical and what is coming at you is also biblical: ‘an eye for an eye’, ‘what God has joined let no man separate’. Run, prey, before he finds you. Before it’s too late.”
Jeremiah sighed and turned. “She was drugged. She’s awake.”
Nathan nodded just as Alexzander arrived with two horses. “I hear we’re going to have to find Maude. Betsy just handed me this.” He held a letter out to Nathan who read it and handed it to Jeremiah.
Mrs. Sewell, I have your friend Maude. I’ll release her unharmed if you sign over your shares of Pike Mining Consortium to me. You can send Mr. Henderson alone to deliver them to me. I’ll tell you where. If I see anyone else, I’ll kill her and him. Once the shares are mine I will release his wife into his care.
Lucius Fagan.
Jeremiah looked at Nathan then at Alexzander. “I know it isn’t the mountains you all are from, but I’m from here and I’m claiming mountain rights. I’ve got it from here.”
Nathan looked at him. “Are you sure, Jeremiah? You don’t have to do it this way. We can go and arrest him.”
Jeremiah glared at him. “What would you do if it was Grace?”
“Don’t you mean what did I do when it was Grace? You know what I did. I did what Nate taught me to do.”
“Then don’t ask less of me.”
“It’s not less, son, it’s just more civilized.”
Alexzander shook his head. “I have to arrest him, Jeremiah. It’s what’s right.”
Jeremiah looked at him. “You grew up in the mountains? What happens when a man takes your wife and threatens to take her for his own?”
“You know what happens to him. He never comes out of the mountain.”
“So tell me, Marshal Sewell, where is my wife and the man who took her? Can you take me to them?”
Wanted: Engineer (Silverpines Series Book 11) Page 9