by Jillian Hart
"Absolutely they do." She saw the gentle humor in his eyes. "I hope you have a good morning, kind sir."
"That's my plan." He tipped his hat, granting her a most thoughtful and handsome smile before he ambled away.
Why, wasn't that something? So many fine men were kind to her, why, it really was a nice way to start the day to know this town had such fine men in it.
She backed through the door, and Stella rushed to help, grabbing the heavy crate and carting it away. So, without a job to do, Jada grinned, shrugged and went to close the door. As it whisked shut, she caught sight of a familiar line of shoulders and a hat brim set at a jaunty angle, and her entire being froze, drawn to him. Time seemed to skip forward and then backward, just like her heart. Her entire body tingled with a slight, soft energized hunger that left her weak and trembling for what she had never known, desire.
Frisco. He smiled at her from the end of the alley astride his big, powerful horse. Her hand fumbled on the handle when she sidestepped, hardly aware of the cold morning breeze on her face because her heart had decided to thunder wildly in her chest. Yep, I sure like this man. Far too much for my own good.
"Good morning, Jada." Frisco's voice sounded tight and abrupt, his handsome face drawn hard as stone. A frown tugged his chiseled mouth into a hard, unyielding line. "I'm just passing by."
"So I see. It's awfully early to be out and about on errands, isn't it?" She tossed him a smile, but he didn't grin back. He just urged his horse to clip-clop down the alley in her direction.
Did he see her hand tremble when she gave the door a push to turn toward him?
"I like to ride over early in the morning and try to beat my father to his stable work and do it for him." His gaze flashed over to the door Bernard had disappeared behind across the alley and then back to her. His eyes had gone dark, and he fisted his free hand. He appeared as rigid as iron as he reached up to tip his hat to her. "You have a good morning."
His tone wasn't chilly, but something had changed since the last time she'd seen him. Now, the way he stared at her was different, as if, well, as if he didn't give that charming effort to try and be dashing for her. As if she no longer brought out his interest.
But that soft shy smile of his eventually hooked up the corners of his mouth as he rode by, and she let the door close, staring after him through the window glass, very much affected and shaky. Maybe he was tired, maybe she had made her decision to let her heart care and see what he did about it just a little bit too late. And that brief chance had flown by her now.
Not sure what was wrong, and feeling far too disappointed by the lack of heart-warmth and that zing of connection she'd felt with him, now gone, she stood motionless, unable to join in on the typical morning work where her sisters measured and stirred at the counter, talking and laughing, so bright and cheerful. She wanted to be one of them.
Then again, maybe she'd been wrong about Frisco, and her heart wasn't going to be the same.
* * *
It was hard to remember feeling as stupid as he'd felt earlier this morning. Frisco frowned from the seat of his buggy, where the boys sat beside him on the front seat, squiggling and fidgeting as if attempting to get all their little-boy-energy out of their systems before they reached his sister's house.
He reined his gelding around the corner as soft warm rain misted their way, unable to stop the humiliation troubling him. He could still see her standing in the soft lamplight of the doorway, surrounded by the dark inky shadows of early morning, so beautiful she made every inch of him fire with attraction, desire and want.
It never occurred to him that she might have other men interested in her. Or that he might not be the preferred suitor who came calling on her. His heart ached as he drove down the street toward the white two-story house tucked on a pleasant green acre of hillside at the town's edge, unable to get past his embarrassment.
Oh, he'd seen the way both the milkman and the shop owner across the way had looked at her. Maybe because he'd been looking, too, and getting his nerve up to say good morning to her and start the next step of this courting thing the right way.
He reined his gelding to a stop in the muddy street next to the rain-sodden lawn stretching out around the house. Smoke curled upward from the chimney and lamps turned the windows to a warm shining gold, looking cozy and welcoming inside. "You boys be good today. Don't give your aunt too much trouble."
"We won't, Pa!" The boys thumped to the ground, splashing their way toward the front porch house, packing their bags of toys and baked goods from Ma, so cute his heart broke into pieces as he drove away. Yeah, he loved his sons.
At the intersection where the rural road became Third Street, the newspaper owner pulled his delivery buggy up next to Frisco's and stopped. "Hey there. Good to see you, young man. You and I have another interview to do."
"We do?"
"I've been wondering when I can get a few good yarns out of you from the tales of when you were bounty huntering and that year you did as a sheriff not far from Bannock. I'm looking for some regional true west stories. Interested?"
"I'm retired. But you might try our sheriff. His stories and what he's been through are truly far more interesting than any tale I could tell you."
"I'll keep that in mind. How are things working out with that pretty lady from the bakery?"
"Yeah, not sure that it's going that well, but I'm going to hope it will. She's a pretty lady, though, isn't she?" The gelding blew out a sigh, ready to be on his way.
"Sure is, and by the way, I'm on your side, young man. I'm rootin' for you."
"I'm grateful, Yancey. Say hi to Jonathan for me."
"I will."
He let the newspaper owner drive away first before he snapped the thick leather straps and let his eager-to-go gelding stretch his legs and splash a bit through the muddy puddles. The horse swished his tail in delight.
Jada. Curious, Frisco glanced up the boardwalk on the next street. Yep, he had a perfect view of her shop and there she was, lovely and divinely desirable, framed by the window, awash in golden lamplight. His blood heated and his shaft jumped. He wanted her and he wanted her bad.
She was perfectly unaware of being watched, and in the softness of the moment when he gazed upon her face, her gentleness shone through her like a blaze of its own, with a beauty of its own.
Now, if only he could, he would want to put a stop to the tender feelings rising up, sweet and hot, fiery and hopeful, then maybe he would have half a chance of not embarrassing himself anymore. He felt too fondly for her and far too much than was safe. Tender feelings weren't easy for him. His heart was safer without them. There was no way to know how vulnerable a woman like Jada could make him. The only way he could find out if he could trust her was by opening his heart.
"Good morning, Frisco!" A voice called out, ripping him from his thoughts.
He shook his head, spotted a familiar man in a fancy surrey driving his way and held up a hand. "Good morning, Tristan."
He tipped his hat to his friend, continuing on his way and cast a look back to the window. But he could no longer see her, sweet Jada, in the window. With every turn of his buggy wheel and every step of his horse, he felt lonelier. It was too late so he may as well admit it. He was falling hard for her. Too hard. But the next step in his plan had to be taken, and take it he would.
* * *
Jada shivered, glancing up as the bakery's back door swung open and Stella sashayed in, wrapped up well against the damp.
"Wow, it's wet out there. I got our advertisement placed just in the nick of time. You were busy while I was gone."
"We had the last of the morning rush." Jada looked up from the display counter where she gave a swipe with her cloth. "I'm glad there was room in the next newspaper for us. Since the free promotional report was so helpful, it's the least we can do is buy advertising space."
"We've been fortunate." Mindy tumbled through the door with a tray of freshly wrapped bread loaves. "I couldn't hel
p overhearing the customers talking this morning. We're still getting a lot of new repeat customers. They like how sweet we we make things."
"The true secret to a happy life is extra sugar," Jada quoted their mother.
"That's right," Stella agreed as she pulled off her coat and hung it near the stove to dry. She held up her hands to the stove and sighed. "Oh, that feels good. I'm ready for summer."
"Hoping it isn't too far away now," Jada agreed, circling from behind the counter.
"Do you know who I saw driving by and looking this way?" Stella waggled her eyebrows. "A certain cowboy who might be interested in you."
"Oh." She blushed, her hand going to the locket at her throat. Keep your feet on the ground, Jada, she reminded herself. "Frisco is simply being kind."
"Kind? Why, we all could use that kind of kindness." Mindy winked, looking up from re-loading the display with freshly baked cookies for the after lunch customers. "But personally, I think it's just a little bit more than that. Oh, look, we might have another customer to wait on. Quick, don't stare like we're begging her to come in here."
"It's the teacher's wife!" Stella whispered, looking up through her lashes. "Doesn't she have the most gorgeous rain coat?"
"I saw that pattern in the books," Jada agreed as the door whispered open and the bell overhead chimed a cheerful welcome.
She held her breath as the lovely lady swept into their shop and gave Stella a grin who stood behind the counter. "I sure would like to surprise my husband when we gets home with some fresh baked cookies. They smell so good. Do you know when the next teamster wagon is scheduled to pull in?"
"Are they running low on baking supplies again at the mercantile?" Stella asked.
"Word has it that the snow is melting in the pass but they still can't get through. They didn't order enough sugar and flour apparently."
"We would be happy to sell you some of ours. I'm not sure how much we can spare, but we can give it to you at cost," Jada swept over to say, giving Stella a nod. "We'd love to help you out. Something tells me you're a very good baker."
"Fair to middling, but my husband doesn't complain, so that's a good thing." The teacher's wife lit up with a gentle grin, one that made the room friendlier for having her in it. "That would be ever so nice of you. I just need about two cups of flour is all and one of sugar. And I insist on paying a little profit for you. Oh, and I'll buy a half dozen of your softest, sweetest cookies."
"That would be our hand frosted sugar cookies," Stella explained, reaching for a box with an expression that said she was about to indulge their new customer with a few extra samples just in case. It didn't hurt to treat people right and in the end, it sure made life feel better, brighter in a way.
Jada swept into the kitchen, quiet and so fragrant with the day's baking scenting the air, and measured out the flour and sugar, wrapped it well in brown paper bundles before carrying them out to present them to their newest customer.
Her gaze strayed to the street, where gray rain misted and dirt roads muddied and a few horse riders splashed through the puddles. They were mostly rough-looking men on horseback with their red bandannas tucked under their woolen knit scarves, their battered hats at an angle looking like they'd just escaped the territorial prison or were about to wind up there. Yep, it was definitely an interesting place to live.
Other horseback riders were cowboys, sitting perfectly straight-backed in their saddles, shoulders square, all business on their trip into town. One cowboy glanced their way, as if considering putting their shop on his errand list for the afternoon, and she smiled to herself, pushing through the door. All those riders, and not Frisco.
Well, her heart missed his. What did she do about that? With a shrug, she added the bundle to the top of the little pink bakery box the teacher's wife insisted on paying for, although at a discount. "If you need more, you know where to find us."
"I sure do. Thank you kindly, and I love your store." The lady breezed through the doorway, shutting the door behind her with a musical note of the overhead bell.
"It's a good feeling, isn't it?" Mindy said from the chair by the stove where she was sewing on a project for one of the barmaids in the saloon up the way. The woman had wounded her hand long ago and could not sew very well, so they were sewing up a few dresses of hers at a discount, hoping for a good customer recommendation and more new business. "We aren't feeling quite as lonely and look, we had enough business to keep us afloat for the day already."
"Things are looking better, but don't get the horse in front of the cart just yet. Be optimistic, but we keep working hard." She grabbed her coat off the hook. "Now, who wants to come with me? If the mercantile is getting short on groceries, we had better stock up for meals for the week. It could be still snowing in the mountain passes."
"I'll come keep you company." Mindy set the project aside with care and hopped out of the chair, looking happy and with less worries.
Their business venture, which was really just a hope of having some kind of employment, might not be such a big disaster after all, and that weight on Jada's shoulders felt comfortable for a change. For now, they had employment, a roof over their heads and an intact lease, which meant more stability than they were used to having as their father's daughters. They even had a very small amount of extra cash to send home to their mother by the end of the week. That was a good feeling indeed.
"I don't mind staying and minding the store. It's more fun now than I ever thought. Can you imagine? I'm not exactly the business woman type, but at the same time, why not, right?" Stella did a little happy dance behind the counter, full of laughter. "You two go on ahead and make sure we have enough food. That rain isn't stopping, so the pass might not be crossable for awhile."
"Baked beans sound good. So does bean soup." Jada tugged on her knit hat and grabbed the five dollar bill Stella handed out of the cash drawer. "I'll make sure we have enough beans for both."
"That's what matters. I'm not doing without my favorites." Stella winked.
"We won't be gone long," Jada promised as she followed her youngest sister out the door and into the misty damp of the rainy day. "C'mon, let's hurry."
Terra, whose parents owned the mercantile, looked up with a welcoming smile when Jada breezed through the door and into the cozily warm store. She was quick to smile back, giving a nod of understanding when she saw how busy they were with the few married women stocking up and several of the men and prospectors waiting in line to do the same.
Whew, it looked busy! She grabbed a wicker basket from the stack near the front window display, steered Mindy away from the penny candy with a handful of peppermint sticks to start off the basket-filling just right, and steered her baby sister toward the more sensible items in the store.
"We definitely do not want to run out of coffee." She grabbed a five pound sack off the shelf. "We want to make sure we have enough salt pork and bacon for baked beans and bean soup recipes. You go be in charge of that."
"Look out bacon, here I come!" Mindy charged off on her mission, weaving around a few more prospectors in the store in their grubby boots (and sometimes clean ones), in their well-worn dusters and jackets, some sporting a drawstring of gold nuggets or dust tied to their belts, right next to their gun holsters.
She didn't think she would ever get used to the sight of such men, determined to mine profit from their small gold claims near the creek bank.
She grabbed a heavy bag of beans, enough for several pans and soup kettles. Yep, that would definitely see them through. She wandered over to the onions and chose four out of the dozen or so they had left. It's a good thing that we're well stocked with baking supplies, she thought, eyeing the empty shelf.
"Word has it that the summit might stay impassible for another few weeks." One of the prospectors had stopped in the middle of the aisle to talk with another one. "Guess this means a later return to summer weather than we were hoping for, which is hard on us gold men."
Jada turned around, determine
d to dart down the side of the aisle unblocked and grab some sausage. She'd forgotten to ask that of Mindy, so they would have plenty for their breakfasts and any pancake suppers they decided to treat themselves too (plus, she loved sizzling sausage sandwiches with cheese) and took a step toward her sister, loading up with packages of bacon and salt pork. She took another step and a man's familiar voice, too rough, called out.
"Jada? Is that you?"
She skidded to a halt, felt her heart grow warmer and took a slow, deep breath. She lifted her chin, glad to see his familiar face. "Hello, Pa. Fancy running into you here."
15
"Jada! How's my girl? You are out and about early."
Poor Pa, so out of touch with things. He was no longer a realistic man, and her heart ached for him, for how out of step in was with the world, try as he might. He'd just never gotten his confidence back or his self-esteem. He had a good heart but had misplaced his judgement, as Ma always said, and he was impossible not to love and impossible not to hurt over.
She couldn't help softening up and wrapping an arm around her gentle pa. He smelled like rain, soap and tobacco. "It's not so early, Pa," she pointed out with tender concern, "although it is for you, I bet. Were you up late last night working your claim?"
"More like spending the profits." He waggled his brushy gray brows.
"At least you keep busy. Are you stocking up on groceries?"
"I figure it can't hurt," Pa said thoughtfully. "Are you girls set up okay? Do you need a loan? Can I get anything for you?"
"Well, that's very generous of you, but we're doing better now. What about you? Do you need help?"
"No, not as long as I've got my licorice supply well stocked up."
"It's good to have priorities," she joked, making Pa laugh and the prospector shopping in the aisle behind her chuckle. "Do you need more bread? You just say the word and I'll run over with some."