The store was filled to overflowing with men of every size and description. Jessie moved among them pouring tea and offering cakes. “Miss Jones will be glad you’re finally here,” she said with a smile when she noticed Angel. “We expected you much sooner.”
“I had to stop and see Ox for a minute. Do you know what Miss Jones wanted to see me about?”
Jessie gave her a troubled look. “I’m not sure, but she said to send you to the back room when you arrived.”
“All right.” Angel had difficulty squeezing through the crowd, but she managed to reach Etta Jones’s sanctuary.
Etta breathed a sigh of relief when Angel pulled aside the curtain. “Oh, Mrs. Smythe. Thank goodness you’re here!”
“What’s going on?” Angel asked, letting the curtain fall behind her.
“You can ask that after walking through my shop?”
“It does seem a little crowded,” Angel said. “Surely, that’s not a problem.”
“It wouldn’t be if they were women, or even if they were here to buy, but they’re not. All they do is drink my tea and take up room. No self-respecting woman will step foot in the place, and I can’t say I blame them. With all those men out there, this place is beginning to feel more like a saloon than a hat shop.”
Angel winced. “Is it because of Jessie?”
“Well, I don’t think it’s my hats attracting them. It started yesterday after Horace Fredrickson came in with his sister. He must have spread the word, because there’s been a steady stream of men of all ages ever since.” Miss Jones sighed. “Jessie is a good worker and a delightful young woman, but I’m afraid I’m not going to be able to keep her. I’m very sorry, Mrs. Smythe, but quite frankly, she’s ruining my business.”
“I understand.” Angel bit her lip. “But if I take her home right now, it could cause a terrible ruckus. There must be some way...” She pondered the situation for a long moment, then suddenly, her face split into a smile. “Miss Jones, prepare yourself. You’re about to do a booming business.”
With a wink at the other woman, Angel stepped around the curtain. “I need a hat for my stepmother,” she said over her shoulder. “Perhaps your assistant could help me select one.”
“I’d be delighted to,” Jessie said, setting the tea tray down. “What did you have in mind?”
“I’m not sure exactly. Let’s see what you have.”
Jessie picked up a delightful confection of feathers and lace. “How about this one?”
“Hmm. I’m not sure. Maybe if I could see what it looks like on. Would you mind trying it on for me?”
The hat looked lovely on Jessie, but Angel shook her head. “No, I don’t think so. It’s too...feathery.”
“Oh,” Jessie’s face fell. “I thought it was rather pretty myself.” Regretfully, she took the hat off and looked at it sadly.
“I’ll buy it!” A cowboy stepped forward from the crowd. “Fer my mother,” he added self-consciously.
His face was bright red, and his Adam’s apple bobbed nervously, but Jessie didn’t seem to notice as she bestowed a brilliant smile on him. “Oh, how sweet. I’m sure she’ll be very pleased.” She handed him the hat. “Your mother is very lucky to have such a thoughtful son.”
Angel wondered if he was even aware of digging the money out and handing it to Miss Jones. He was still smiling foolishly as he left the shop with his purchase.
And so it went. Jessie tried on hat after hat, only to have Angel find some imaginary fault with it. Each rejection brought a frown of disappointment to Jessie’s face and another man to her side. They bought hats for sisters, mothers, sweethearts, even wives.
By the time the last of them left, Miss Jones was nearly delirious with joy. “That was incredible, Mrs. Smythe. I’ve never sold so many hats all at once.”
Angel smiled. “Think of all the women who are going to be surprised when they receive one as a gift today. I fully intended to buy a hat myself. Unfortunately, you don’t have any left.”
“I do have one.” Miss Jones said doubtfully, “but I don’t know... Here, let me get it for you.” She hurried into the back room and returned with the hat. “The governor’s wife designed it, but she decided it was too ostentatious.”
Ostentatious! It was horrible. A monstrous creation of organdy and lace, bedecked with ribbons, bows, and flowers, it was just the sort of hat Angel wouldn’t buy on a bet. She was trying to think of a way to decline gracefully when her conversation with Ox suddenly popped into her mind. She could just imagine what he would think of such a hat. “On the contrary,” she said. “It’s perfect!”
Chapter 20
“Hurry up, Shannon,” Jared said, “or we’ll be stuck here until after tea.”
“Don’t worry,” Shannon replied as she finished braiding her hair. “Martha and Mama are busy planning dinner. Father sent Mama a telegram saying he’ll be here tonight.”
Jared looked surprised. “Father’s coming? He was just here two weeks ago to talk to Ox.”
“I know. That’s what threw Mama into a pelter.” Shannon tied a ribbon around the end of her braid. “There, I’m ready.”
“Finally! Come on. Let’s go before they decide you need a lesson in pouring tea or something. We better use the secret escape route so no one sees us.”
“Right.”
The two crept down the hall to Alexis’s dressing room. Jared pushed open the servant’s door and cautiously peeked in. He scanned the empty room, then gave Shannon the all clear sign. They quietly closed the door behind them and headed for the window.
“What are you two up to now?”
The unexpected voice brought Jared to a sudden halt, and Shannon crashed into him from behind. “Blast it, Angel, you scared us half to death!” He glared at his older sister, who stood with her arms crossed, leaning against the door into Alexis’s bedroom.
“Oh, dear, I am sorry,” she said.
“What are you doing here anyway?”
“Funny, I was just going to ask you the same thing. I suppose if I hadn’t been here, I’d have found a frog in my bed or something.”
“We weren’t going to do anything to your bed,” Shannon said. “Why did you think that?”
“I don’t know, maybe because I can’t imagine any other mischief you could get into in here.”
“We were just on our way through,” Jared explained.
“Of course, how silly of me not to realize it.” Angel glanced around the small room pensively. “Odd, the only other door seems to be the one you came in through. Now where could you two be headed, I wonder?”
The two children exchanged a glance. “What do you think, Shannon?” asked Jared.
“Well, it is Angel. We can trust her.”
Jared’s eyes narrowed, and he stared at Angel for a moment before giving a decisive nod. “All right, but you’ll have to take the Brady oath.”
Angel was surprised. “Good heavens, why?”
“Because if the adults know about it, they’ll make us stop.”
“You’re doing something you’re not supposed to?” she asked.
“Nobody ever told us we couldn’t,” Shannon assured her.
“It’s dangerous then?”
Both children shook their heads. “It’s the sort of thing you used to do when you were our age.”
“All right,” Angel said at last. “I’ll take the Brady oath not to tell, but I reserve the right to make you stop if I think it’s necessary.”
Shannon’s answer was to hold up her little finger. Jared and Angel followed suit and the three of them recited the solemn oath.
“All right,” Angel said after they’d slapped hands. “Now, what’s this all about?”
“Just our secret escape route,” Jared said, walking over to the window.
“We use it when we want to get out of the house without anybody seeing us,” Shannon put in. “It’s perfectly safe.”
Angel frowned and looked out the window again. There was little to see;
the view was nearly blocked by a large cottonwood tree. “I don’t see— Oh, for goodness’ sake! You’re going down the tree, aren’t you?”
Her siblings nodded, and Angel studied the tree critically. The thick branches seemed strong enough and the trunk forked about five and a half feet off the ground. “I guess it’s all right. But the minute I find you sneaking out when you shouldn’t be or taking Betsy down that way, it’s over. Understand?”
“We wouldn’t do that.” Jared sounded offended she would even mention such a possibility.
“No, of course not,” Angel said ruffling his hair. “Now get out of here before I change my mind.”
They shinnied down the tree with the ease of long practice and waved when they reached the bottom. Angel smiled and waved back as they sprinted off across the yard and around the far corner of the house. Suddenly, the carefree days of her own youth seemed eons ago. With a sigh, she went to change for her ride with Ox.
“You’re going to wear that hat in public?” Ox asked an hour later as he watched her in amusement.
Angel stood in front of the hall mirror and adjusted the monstrosity she’d bought two weeks earlier. “Of course. Why wouldn’t I?”
“Aren’t you afraid it will scare the horses?”
She threw him a look of disdain. “There’s nothing wrong with this hat, as you well know. If you had come with me that day, you’d know it was the nicest one in the shop.”
“I’ll bet.”
For about the dozenth time, he glanced around the hallway. Waiting for a glimpse of the beautiful Jessie, no doubt. The thought caused Angel a pang. No man could resist her. “Did you lose something?” she asked irritably.
“No, why?”
“Then what are you looking for?”
“I...uh...I thought maybe Betsy would like to go along.”
“Betsy!” Angel couldn’t have been more surprised if he’d said he was waiting for George Washington. “I thought you hated children.”
“Hate is a bit strong. I’m just not real comfortable around them. But Betsy has a way of growing on you.”
“So does mold,” Angel said, turning back to the mirror. “I’m sure Betsy would love to go. Unfortunately, she and Martha are having words in the nursery.”
“Uh-oh, I suppose someone told her to take a nap.”
“Nothing so mundane, I’m afraid. She drew some very interesting pictures on the wall, and Martha said she had to scrub them off. Betsy had other ideas.”
Ox laughed. “Who do you suppose will win that argument?”
“Who do you think? Not even Betsy is a match for Martha.” Angel tilted her hat to the side. “It’s going to be a battle, though. I was glad to get your message. This house isn’t going to be a very pleasant place for the next hour or so. Shannon and Jared already made their escape.”
“Ah, domestic tranquility,” Ox said with a grin.
“Why, Mr. Treenery, you’re just in time for tea,” Vanessa said, coming down the stairs.
“Thank you, Mrs. Brady, but I’m afraid I’ll have to decline. I came to take Alexis for a ride.”
“Oh. Maybe next time.”
“Perhaps.”
Vanessa smiled at them. “Enjoy your ride then.”
“We will, and thank you.”
Angel glanced at him in the mirror as the parlor door closed behind her stepmother. “You know, Angel would hardly recognize you,” she said, driving the last hatpin into place.
“Oh? How do you figure that?”
“Those lovely manners of yours.” She placed her hand on his arm and allowed him to escort her to the door. “Every day I see less and less of the crude mule skinner and more of the polished gentleman.”
Ox grimaced. “All those years at Harvard coming out, I’m afraid. Guess I’ll have to practice swearing and spitting before I lose the art.” He glanced at her head. “I could make rude remarks about your hat, if you’d like.”
“I thought you already had,” she said, untying her horse from the hitching rack and preparing to mount.
Ox chuckled as she stepped into his cupped hands and sprang into the saddle. “Only very gentlemanly ones, I assure you. I could compare it to the back end of a bear, or a very large wet buffalo chip.” He mounted his own horse and eyed the hat critically. “To tell you the truth, I’ve had mules that were prettier than that hat.”
Angel turned her horse toward the road. “I’ll thank you to keep your observations to yourself, Mr. Treenery,” she said haughtily. “It just so happens, this hat was designed by the governor’s wife herself.”
“Good thing she married a man with money,” Ox observed. “She’d never be able to support herself as a milliner. Which reminds me, have you found Jessie another job yet?”
“Yes, and I think this one will be more successful. She’s serving food at Clancy’s restaurant. Mrs. Clancy isn’t likely to be disturbed if Jessie draws a crowd.”
“No, I don’t suppose she will. Might have to hire another cook to keep up, though,” Ox said with a chuckle. “Helen of Troy may have had a face that launched a thousand ships, but I doubt she had anything on Jessie.”
Angel squelched her annoyance. Why couldn’t anyone see past Jessie’s beauty to the sweetly naïve young woman inside? “Race you to the old barn,” she said, tapping her horse’s rump with her quirt and taking off at a high lope.
Ox watched in mute appreciation as she flew down the road. “Come on,” he said, nudging the gelding’s ribs with his heels. “She’ll be there and on her way back if we don’t get a move on.”
The winner of the race was a foregone conclusion from the beginning. The lighter pair reached the barn well ahead of Ox and his mount.
“It’s about time you got here,” she said when he finally arrived. “I was beginning to think you got lost.”
“Between here and your house?” he asked with amusement. “I’m a little better at navigation than that.”
“I take it you have something important to tell me in private,” she said, falling in beside him and continuing down the road.
“Maybe I just wanted to go for a ride with you.”
“Could be, but I don’t think so. You’re restless as a spider in a frying pan.”
Ox grinned. “That must be one of Martha’s expressions. But you’re right, I do have news.”
“Good, I hope.”
“The best. My grandfather paid me a visit today with the results of his investigation.”
“And?”
“It seems the owner of The Silver Springs Express has gone to great lengths to hide his identity.”
“Is that a fact?”
“My grandfather thinks it’s because The Silver Springs Express is a front for someone who plans to put The Flying T out of business.”
“No!” Angel said in a shocked tone. “Who would do such a thing?”
“Richard Brady, of course.”
“What a surprise. You agreed with him, I suppose.”
Ox looked offended. “Of course not. I told him the truth.”
“And that is?”
“That someone is only making it look like Brady to cause discord between them.” Ox chuckled. “As usual, he didn’t believe me and is now thoroughly convinced your father is behind the whole thing.”
“Just as you expected him to,” Angel said admiringly. “I think I’m glad you’re on my side, partner.”
“We make a good team. Any progress with your father yet?”
“I’m not sure. He sent Vanessa a telegram saying he had business in Cheyenne and to expect him this evening. I suspect he’ll be meeting his investigator sometime today.”
“Probably. According to Sam, there were two of them nosing around Silver Springs Gulch last week. Is there any way for you to find out what the investigator tells him?”
“Who knows? I’ll keep my eyes and ears open. Do you want me to send you a message as soon as I know something?”
Ox shook his head. “Too risky. Can you get away afte
r dinner?”
“I don’t see why not.”
“Good. Meet me at the cabin tonight, and we’ll…what the hell?”
Angel followed the direction of his gaze. “It’s Jared and Shannon. What in the world are they doing with that calf?”
“Beats me. Do you think we should go investigate?”
“Definitely.”
As they drew closer, it became obvious the calf was not about to cooperate with whatever Shannon and Jared had in mind. It bucked and fought them at every turn.
“They’ve hitched it to that little cart,” Angel said suddenly. “Oh no, if one of them gets in—”
“Oh hell! Betsy’s with them,” Ox said, spurring his horse forward. “She must have snuck out when Martha wasn’t looking.”
The two older children looked up as the adults came galloping down the road toward them. Betsy took advantage of their inattention to get close to the cart and peek in.
“Betsy, no!”
Angel’s cry came just as Betsy leaned forward and toppled head first into the cart. Terrified by the loud thump, the calf snorted and took off as fast as it could straight across the road toward a steep gully on the other side.
Betsy’s screams froze the blood in Ox’s veins and sent his heart thudding as he galloped after her. Please, God, let me get to her in time. The cart careened along at an alarming speed, but the calf was no match for his long-legged gelding. He caught up in a matter of minutes.
Praying his cinch was tight enough to keep the saddle from slipping, Ox grabbed the horn with his right hand. Slowly, so as not to throw the horse off balance, he leaned his entire body off the left side and snaked his arm around Betsy. The moment he plucked her from the moving cart, Ox knew they were in trouble. In the heat of the moment, he’d forgotten all about his recent injury and the weakness that still plagued him. With Betsy’s added weight on his arm, he couldn’t straighten up. A shaft of pain shot down his arm, and he felt his grip begin to weaken.
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