Creighton’s anger mixed with misgivings that Pauline might go along with her father and break off their relationship. He didn’t think he was being conceited to believe she meant what she’d said but his past niggled at him. Why would a beautiful and intelligent and good woman be in love with an orphan who had no extra schooling and who didn’t know beans about society?
***
Pauline had started preparations for a cold supper when her father returned. “Did you have a nice walk?”
Her father startled. “What? Oh, yes, nice afternoon for a walk.”
“Supper will be in about half an hour. Uncle Henry and Aunt Nancy have finished their naps and are in the parlor.”
“Pauline, I wanted to talk to you privately before I leave.”
She knew he meant about Creighton and braced herself. “Certainly, go ahead, Papa.”
Her father came closer and lowered his voice. “I’m concerned about your attachment to this furniture maker.”
“He has a name, Creighton Reed, and there’s no need for concern.”
“There is if you’re thinking of marrying him.”
“I’m not just thinking of marrying him. I’m determined to wed him, Papa. He’s a really good man and we share a lot of interests. He makes me happy.”
“Maybe for now. When you don’t have money to buy groceries, you’ll feel differently. If you were to marry Jasper, you’d always have plenty. You’d be near your friends and your mother and me.”
“I admit I wish Creede was closer to Denver. I’d like to visit you and Mama frequently. As for the rest, I want you to do something for me. When you get back to the store, don’t let Jasper know you’re there yet. Secretly observe the way he treats people when you aren’t around. Not only is he a bully, he asks too much of those who work for him so he has less to do. Many of the things you credit to him were done by others. If you approve, he takes credit. If you disapprove, he lets you know who’s responsible.”
“Nonsense, he works hard. He is discriminating and demands accuracy but I’ve never heard him raise his voice or be rude to anyone.”
Pauline clasped her father’s arm. “Of course not, because he knew you were there. You’ll be surprised if you catch him when he isn’t aware you’re there. Please, Papa, try my idea when you get home. You have nothing to lose. I hate that he’s deceiving you.”
“And, I hate that Reed has captured your interest. He may be sincere, dear, but that doesn’t mean he can succeed in providing for a family. You know I love you and only want what’s best for you.”
“I know you do and I love you. Please, trust me to know my own mind. I’m twenty-two, not a schoolgirl.”
He frowned and muttered, “Strange you should say that.”
“What? What do you mean?”
His frown disappeared and he smiled. “Nothing, dear. Let me mull over this dilemma. Now, I’ll go talk to my sister and her husband.”
Pauline had almost told her father about the house Creighton had purchased. Because of the conversation she’d had with Creighton she’d resisted. Besides, she wanted Papa to see what a fine man Creighton was before he learned she’d have a pleasant home.
On the other hand, perhaps he’d be less against Creighton if he knew she’d have a nice home. Did he think Creighton couldn’t provide for her? She wondered how successful he’d been when he and Mama married.
While they shared sandwiches from last night’s left over roast beef, Pauline asked her father about his life when he and Mama were dating.
“I was determined to be a success. Nancy can tell you I was fixated on getting up in the world.”
Her aunt laughed. “Oh, Pauline, how Millie and I used to tease him. We’d call him Cornelius Vanderbilt because he was the richest man in our country at that time.” She smiled at her brother. “You had a lot to tolerate, Fred.”
Pauline hadn’t heard this story. “Mama teased you, Papa?”
He chuckled. “Yes, but I put it down to the influence of my brat of a little sister. Whatever it was sure didn’t stop me from falling in love with Millie.”
“How she loved you before you ever showed her you’d noticed she was alive. We tried so hard to get you to ask her to go walking out with you.”
“Something worked because when I fell it was like a mighty pine crashing to earth. Ah, you two were such good friends.”
“We still are, Fred. Even though she and l have each changed through the years, those bonds that were forged long ago are strong. I do miss seeing her and you. This life suits us, though. We’ll be happy here and visit you occasionally and hope you’ll do the same.”
“I promise we will, little sister. Henry, seeing you looking so much stronger and relaxed is wonderful. I sure hated to have you leave the company, but I see it was exactly what you needed. That makes losing you almost tolerable.”
Uncle Henry folded his hands across his abdomen. “I hope you’ll give some consideration to training someone to take over for you. I don’t know if you want to retire but if you do, you should start lining up your replacement now.”
“You mean you don’t think Jasper’s the one, don’t you?”
“I can’t say, Fred. That’s your decision. I know he’s not the one for Pauline. I suspect he’s not the man you think he is.”
Her uncle held up his hand. “I don’t know that, mind you. It’s supposition. You’ll have to do the detective work to determine his suitability. You’ve worked too hard building Brubaker’s Department Stores into a major market to let it deteriorate.”
Her father leaned back in the chair. “Frankly, I believe that would kill me. Too many lives are affected by a Brubaker’s paycheck for me to let them down. I have some tough decisions to make.”
Pauline stood and hugged her father’s neck. “I have faith in you, Papa. I know you’ll make the right decision.” She hoped he would—about his company and about Creighton.
The next morning, Pauline and her uncle walked her father to the train station. She was overcome by sadness. This sense of letting her father down weighed on her but she was determined to marry Creighton.
The conductor called, “All aboard, all aboard.”
Papa shook her uncle’s hand.
Pauline hugged her father’s neck. “Please remember what I said about Jasper.”
“I will. If both you and Henry feel something’s wrong, then I have to investigate carefully. I may hire an investigator as well.”
“It’s too important to take casually. Tell Mama I send her my love.”
Her father stepped onto the train as it moved slowly away from the station and gained speed.
A week later, Uncle Henry brought Pauline a wire.
Fired Jasper Stop Love Dad Stop
“Uncle Henry, read this.”
“I got one of my own. Mine’s longer. He’s promoting my sister’s son into training and the son of Nancy’s and his cousin also. I’m glad he’s taken our warning to heart.”
“Can you imagine if Jasper Taggart was in charge of Brubaker’s? Employees would abandon ship right and left. They all hated him.”
Uncle Henry smiled and folded the wire. “Well, that worked out well for the family, didn’t it?”
Chapter Nine
Creighton received the house keys the day the month ended. He immediately took Pauline and her uncle on a tour. They started with the downstairs.
Pauline inspected every part of every room and every piece of furniture the Hampton’s left.
“Before I move things in, tell me the changes you want.”
“Don’t you think the parlor walls are a little dark?”
“For my taste, yes.” Not that he cared if she was happy.
She smiled at him. “I’m glad there’s one bedroom downstairs. Then when my parents are older and come to visit, they won’t have to climb stairs.”
He could sense her uncle was bored and eager to go home but didn’t want to dampen his or Pauline’s excitement.
When they came to the stairs,
Henry pulled a ladderback chair to the window. “I’ll just sit on this chair near the window while you two look at the second floor.” He sat down on the rush seat.
Pauline laid a hand on her uncle’s shoulder. “I’m sorry, Uncle Henry. Have we tired you too much? Do you need to go home?”
Henry smiled at her and patted her hand. “I’m fine, dear. I have a house that’s fairly new to me. Looking at other people’s homes is not that thrilling for a man. I’m just along as a chaperone. You two take your time.”
He shook a finger at his niece. “As an official chaperone, I have to warn you I’ll be able to hear if you stop walking around up there.”
Pauline giggled. “We should tap dance just to get back at you for that remark.”
“That will be fine, because that wasn’t what I meant.”
Creighton guided her up the stairs.
She ran her hand lightly along the banister. “I like that there’s a landing so the stairs aren’t as steep as in some homes.”
They checked each bedroom.
Pauline’s blue eyes were wide. “One bedroom down and four bedrooms upstairs? No wonder the house appears large from the street.”
“Remember they had eight children and a mother living here. That means eight kids split between three bedrooms. I know three to a bedroom is not awful considering I grew up where we had ten kids per room, but this is a very wealthy family. I told you the reason they let me buy the place was because I told them I was getting married and wanted to raise a family here.”
“I can see why they’d feel that way if they had plenty of cash. I love the pieces of furniture they left. Must have been hard to choose what to ship and what to leave here.”
“They left the heaviest items. I’m glad we’ll have some furniture. I have a bedroom suite I created and a new kitchen table and six chairs. If you’ll be patient, I’ll build whatever you wish.”
“I have a lot of patience. Oh, but you can’t make the upholstered things so I’ll buy the parlor items. I know just how I want to arrange the room.”
Her statement worried him. He didn’t want her feeling he couldn’t match what her father could offer. Although he didn’t want to argue with her, he needed to settle this now.
“Pauline, I can provide whatever you feel we need.”
“Oh, but I’ve been saving my money, same as you saved yours. I want this to be a partnership, Creighton. If it upsets you, then I won’t but I’m so excited about our wedding and having our own home. Please let me furnish that one room.”
How could he refuse? “I guess I’m overly defensive since your family has money. I don’t want anyone to think that your family has paid for everything. Of course we’ll need parlor furniture immediately so we can have friends and family visit.”
“Thank you. We can choose it together.”
“You mean buy it here instead of at Brubaker’s?”
“I think we should, don’t you? This is where your business is and you want people to notice that you patronize local businesses.”
She was the world’s best fiancée. “I’m relieved you feel that way. I don’t know what your father will say about that plan.”
“Doesn’t matter, does it? The house will be furnished by the time he sees it. All he’ll care about is whether we have enough of everything to be comfortable.”
***
He had been moving a few things at a time early in the morning when everything was quiet. He was putting everything in the carriage house for now. He couldn’t say why he strongly sensed he should still keep his move a secret. He continued to sleep at the old workshop rooms. Since he’d moved his bedroom furniture, he slept on a cot.
Other than that, a coffee pot, a lamp, a couple of cups, and a few odds and ends were all that he had left there. He planned to clear them out in the morning and lock this place up to sell. His last night here had him so excited her doubted he’d sleep if he wasn’t exhausted from spending time moving and then tidying up this place to sell.
About midnight he was about to turn in when there was a loud crash at the front of the building. After he shoved his legs into his pants and then feet into his shoes, he raced to his former workroom. Fire spread across the floor. He ran to get his blanket to beat at the fire when another kerosene bomb crashed through the window of his rooms.
The bombs had trapped him between them.
Using the blanket as a shield, he made his way to the back door. Then, he paused. Was someone waiting out there to hit him with a bomb or a bullet? Didn’t matter, he couldn’t stay in here.
When he opened the door, he dived and rolled across the ground. People were running toward the building and yelling.
One man yelled, “He’s back here.”
He realized the man was Deputy Newell. “Here, Reed, let me help you up. What happened, man?”
“I was about to turn in when there was a crash through a workshop window.” He explained what had happened.
The fire wagon arrived but all they could do was prevent the blaze from spreading to other buildings. After the inferno that had destroyed part of downtown months back, citizens were especially nervous about any burning. Probably everyone who heard the fire engine came to help. He took the blanket he’d used and beat at sparks that threatened the building next to his. Thankfully, ten feet separated his building from a neighbor on one side and fifteen on the other side.
They fought for several hours. Although the crowd kept the fire from spreading, his building was burned to the ground. He was so tired he sat on the dirt with his back resting against the next building. How had this happened? Who would do this?
Marshal KC Murray knelt down in front of him. “Can you tell me how this happened?”
Creighton explained the bottle bombs. “I didn’t see anyone. Even if I’d been at the window, I doubt I could have seen who it was in the dark. I can’t imagine who’d risk using fire bombs when the town had that terrible fire a few months back.”
“Any disputes over money? Who has a grudge against you?”
“I haven’t had problems with customers. I’m not outgoing but I think people generally either like or tolerate me.”
KC nodded. “I’ve never heard a word against you. What about where you lived before you came here? Any old grudges unsettled?”
He exhaled when a person popped into his mind. “The only person I can think of is a new grudge. He’s in Denver so I don’t see how he could have done this.”
“Just the same, give me his name and address.”
“I don’t know his address but his name is Jasper Taggart and he works for Brubaker’s Department Stores in the main office. Pauline Brubaker, who’s staying at the Henry Chambers home, might know his address.”
KC nodded. “She the reason Taggart has a grudge against you?”
“Yes, but like I said, he lives in Denver.”
KC clapped him on the shoulder and stood. “Train runs between here and there every day. You have that new place where you can stay there?”
Creighton struggled to his feet. “Yes, I was going to take the last few things this morning. Man, I’m lucky I’ve already moved everything that matters.”
“You’re lucky you aren’t dead.”
“I still can’t believe this happened. Whoever threw those two bombs knew I was inside. I still had the lamp on by the cot.”
Rage went into this, Reed. You’d better watch your back. Give me a description of this guy in Denver.”
“Handlebar mustache about to here.” He held his fingers on his face to demonstrate. “He’s about an inch shorter than me. Reckon women find him handsome and he’s a fancy dresser. He can be charming in a slimy way, but that’s just me saying that because I don’t like him. The Chambers and Pauline can give you a good description.”
“I’ll check with them. They ought to be awake soon. Why don’t you come with me so you can reassure them you’re okay? Your girl and Mrs. Chambers will likely pamper you.”
“Sounds good
. I wouldn’t turn down pampering or breakfast.”
“Now there’s a good idea.”
Creighton thanked everyone remaining for helping fight the fire. Then he walked with KC toward the Chambers’ home.
Chapter Ten
Rapping at the door startled Pauline. She’d just waked but hadn’t dressed. She pulled her robe together and tied the belt as she hurried to check the door.
Uncle Henry came out of his and her aunt’s bedroom wearing his robe and slippers. “I’ll go see who would come at this hour. Nancy needs your help.”
She backtracked and went to help her aunt. They heard Creighton’s voice and another man. As soon as she could, she got her aunt into the wheelchair and pushed her in the direction of the voices, which sounded like the kitchen.
Seeing Creighton covered in soot and looking exhausted shocked her. Having the marshal with him increased her panic.
She parked her aunt and rushed to Creighton. “What’s happened? Are you injured?”
He offered her a weary-looking smile. “Don’t let the soot and ash fool you. I’m all right. Someone threw kerosene bottle bombs into the old place. Trapped me between exits. I got out by using my blanket as a shield.”
The marshal accepted a cup of coffee from Uncle Henry. “I need to ask you about this man who works for Brubaker’s Department Stores, Jasper Taggart.”
Uncle Henry shook his head. “He no longer works there. My brother-in-law fired him a couple of days ago.”
Pauline had to sit down. “You think he’s responsible.”
Creighton reached for her hand. “I told you I have had this strong feeling I needed to keep the move a secret for a little while.”
“Thank heavens you did or that lovely house might have been burned. Oh, he still might set it on fire if he learns about it.”
KC took out his notebook and pencil. “I’ll look for him but I need a good description of him.”
Uncle Henry set down the coffeepot. “I have a photo with him in it. I’ll get it for you.”
Aunt Nancy laid her hand on the table. “It’s from Henry’s retirement party. My brother had a photographer come to take photos.” She glanced at Pauline. “It was a lovely event, wasn’t it?”
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