Maggie's Journey (McKenna's Daughters) (11 page)

Then they reached the Rocky Mountains.

Chapter 11

Charles watched the majestic Rocky Mountains come closer and closer. “Georgia, how many times have you made this trip by train?”

“Only two times, besides when we moved west.” Her gaze roved the approaching foothills. “I never get tired of looking at these wonderful mountains.”

“Would you like to sit by the window?” He scooted toward the aisle and opened a place for her on the bench seat beside him.

Georgia glanced at Maggie, who slept with her head against the window. “She isn’t really sleeping that well on the train. I know she’s tired.” She carefully moved to the space he’d made for her so she wouldn’t disturb Maggie. “I would hate to awaken her.”

Charles slid a little closer to the fascinating woman with eyes the color of the sky outside the window. “What do you like best about the mountains?” Georgia hadn’t seemed to mind his presence closer beside her. Things were working out for him.

“Just look at those jagged peaks thrust toward the sky in a variety of formations.” She kept her focus on the heights that were rapidly approaching. “Some look like fingers pointing to God. At other places, they look almost like stair steps to heaven.”

The woman had the heart of a poet to go with her beauty. The sun streaming through the window provided a soft halo around her upswept golden hair. She reminded him of an angel. He wondered if her smooth cheek felt as soft as velvet. Maybe sometime he would be able to find out.

She turned and caught him staring at her. A becoming blush crept into her cheeks as his gaze traced her jawline, getting lost in the tangle of the hair that had wriggled from her style. He’d never known a woman so sophisticated, yet with that touch of purity that allowed her to blush. The young women who had tried to catch his eye at every soiree he attended paled in comparison.

Because he didn’t want to make her uncomfortable, he turned toward the vista before them but maintained awareness of her with peeks from the corner of his eyes. “I wonder how many men have tried to climb the mountains up ahead.”

She took a breath and slowly released it. “I know that often men try to conquer the giants in their paths. Someone had to go up there and find the place to lay the tracks. The journey must have been arduous and dangerous.”

As the train seemed to inch higher and higher, Charles stared at the approaching terrain. Just how did one climb such peaks? Surely the men didn’t ride horses. Perhaps they had pack mules.

Georgia never took her eyes from the scenery. “So Charles, have you ever wanted to do anything as daring as climbing these mountains?”

How should he answer her? As a boy, when he’d first read about the Rocky Mountains, he had dreamed of being one of the explorers who was the first to set eyes on those peaks. But did he still desire such a thing? His life had become more mundane with things like maintaining and then adding to the business his father and grandfather had built.

“I’m sure most boys dream those kinds of dreams, but I don’t aspire to such a thing now. I have other things on my mind.”
Not the least of which is obtaining a wife.
He glanced at her and found her eyes trained on his face. For a moment, he couldn’t tear his gaze away. “And what of your dreams, Georgia?”

“My life has taken many twists and turns.” She cleared her throat and turned away. What should he do now? How could he find out if she had any interest in him as a man?

•••

As Maggie awoke, she became aware that Georgia and Charles were deep in conversation on the opposite bench. They didn’t even notice that she’d opened her eyes.

What was Charles trying to do? Was he pursuing Georgia? Did he have any idea how old she was?

Yes, her aunt looked almost as young as Maggie, but surely he could tell that she wasn’t. Maggie’s parents wouldn’t have allowed someone her own age to be her traveling companion, even if Charles was accompanying them.

She glanced out the window as the train serpentined around one of the many mountains. Seeing the peaks bathed in sunlight brought out the various colors of the rainbow, but in muted tones. And she’d never seen some varieties of the trees before. Wild flowers and flaming foliage looked as if the Creator had thrown multicolored paint across the hillsides. Maggie wished she’d thought to keep her sketch pad out of her trunk. On the return journey, she’d be sure she had the pad, charcoal, and colored pencils in her carpetbag so she could capture the scenes around her. Their beauty was the only redeeming quality of an otherwise arduous journey. That and the company she traveled with, but it was becoming tiresome to watch Charles flirting shamelessly with Georgia. Sketching what she saw might take her mind off all the discomfort.

The conductor came down the aisle, stopping occasionally to speak with one of the passengers. Finally he reached them.

“How are you folks doing?” From his smile, Maggie could see how much the man enjoyed talking to the different people on the train.

“We’re just fine.” Charles quickly answered the man. “I’m taking care of the ladies.”

Maggie just rolled her eyes and shook her head, but neither Georgia nor Charles noticed. That man was just too cocky.
He
was taking care of the
ladies
. Smugness dripped from his tone. Before they left Seattle, Maggie had toyed with the idea that Charles might be a good man for her, but after this first part of their journey, she could see that he would never look at her as anything but a younger friend. He had his sights set on someone older, hopefully wiser, and definitely more sophisticated.

But what was Georgia doing flirting back? Was she bored, or did she really find him fascinating? Maggie was sure Charles believed the latter. She watched the conductor move on down the aisle toward the back of the car.

“So, Charles, why did you think it was a good idea to go into partnership with Joshua?” Georgia’s question pulled Maggie’s attention back to her traveling companions. “What will you gain from the merger?”

Maggie wanted to hear what he would say about that. Although she knew her father wouldn’t enter into a deal unless he knew it was a good one, was Charles mature enough to look at it that way too?

Charles stretched his long legs until his feet were under the other end of the seat Maggie sat on. He stared at the roof of the railroad car as if something interesting was written there. “I believe my grandfather would have made the same deal. In this modern time, we need to be innovative. Stepping bravely into the future, making a difference.”

What is he going on about?
He sounded as if he were making some kind of political speech. In addition to being brash, he was wordy. Why didn’t he just say what he meant?

“I read the
New York Times
when it reaches Seattle. All kinds of innovations are taking place on the eastern side of our country.”

More drivel.
Where is the young man I remember?
He sounded like a stuffed shirt.

“They have new stores that are a combination of an emporium, like the one Joshua owns, and stores that sell other merchandise. Some are called department stores, because they have several different areas that showcase specific items.”

He propped one ankle across the other one and laid his arm along the back of the seat only a hair’s breadth from Georgia’s shoulders. Maggie wondered why her aunt didn’t move farther away from him.

“That’s not exactly what we are doing. Since both the Caine Emporium and Stanton Fine Furniture carry only top-quality items, and because we share the same building, Joshua and I felt that by combining the two stores, we’d have a lot to offer the discerning customer.”

He flashed his smile at Georgia, and she seemed to be hanging on to his every word. At least Maggie could hold her derisive laughter inside. She wondered if he had any idea just how pompous he sounded. This was going to be a long journey.

The door at the end of the car opened, and the conductor headed back toward them. “We’ll be stopping in Denver overnight.”

He stopped beside their seats, and Charles straightened and turned his attention toward the man. “That’s something to look forward to. Is there a hotel where we can spend the night?”

“You might like the Windsor. A mighty fine place.” He nodded. “Haven’t been inside myself, but it’s a recent construction. People say it’s a good place to stay.”

Charles rose to his feet. “Do you think we’ll have any trouble getting a room there?”

“I’m on this run most of the time, and none of our passengers have had a problem.”

The train jerked from side to side even more than before, and he grabbed hold of the back of the seat. So did Charles.

The conductor peered out through the window. “We’re approaching the Continental Divide. You folks might find it fascinating.”

He gave them a salute and headed on down the aisle.

When Charles had told them about this phenomenon, it had been hard to picture. Anything Maggie could have imagined would have never matched the enormity of the peaks with so much rocky area above the timberline. For a while the train seemed to have trouble puffing up the rails that wound toward the top. And for some reason, Maggie had a hard time catching her breath.

Not too long after they finally crossed the mountain and headed down the other side, they arrived in Denver. When the train pulled into the station, Charles made arrangements for their transportation to the Windsor Hotel, a luxurious place with soft feather beds and beautiful, lushly carpeted rooms. Electric lights made the place bright and welcoming.

And the food in Denver was especially delicious. Maggie enjoyed the fine cuisine instead of the home cooking they’d had along the way.

After she finished eating, Maggie arose. “Please excuse me. I’m really tired, and I want to get all the rest I can while we have real beds.”

She hoped Georgia would accompany her back to the room.

Charles stood. “I’ve made all the arrangements for anything you might need. And I think I’ll stay here and have some of that pie the waitress told us about. Georgia, would you like to join me?”

When her aunt agreed, Maggie had to grit her teeth to keep from rolling her eyes. What were the two of them thinking? Shouldn’t they also try to get extra rest? She imagined even more of the flirting that would take place in this dining room. At least she didn’t have to watch it.

Perhaps the best part of staying in the hotel was the large brass bathtub that Charles ordered brought to the room she and Georgia shared. Soaking in the warm water and washing her hair made Maggie feel like a new woman.

The next morning she didn’t want to get back on the train, even though it was taking her closer to her grandmother, and they had come too far to turn back. They left Denver and headed east away from the mountains. During the rest of Colorado and Kansas, the landscape was fairly level, with gently rolling hills. The scenery was also more monotonous after the wild beauty they’d enjoyed.

On this side of the Continental Divide, the railroad stations were situated in larger towns and had more modern restaurants where they stopped. Maggie felt as if they had returned to civilization.

They got off the train in St. Louis. They had to change trains, and theirs wouldn’t leave until the next day. Charles took them by trolley to the Hotel Barnum, where they once again bathed and went to the dining room for a good meal.

After they had ordered their food, Charles turned toward Georgia. “Have you stayed here on any of your trips back home?”

“No.” She glanced around the room with electric lights on the walls and lovely wallpaper above the wainscoting. “It’s a lovely place.”

“I’m glad I’m the first man to bring you here.” He murmured the words softly.

But Maggie heard every one. She felt like an intruder in this group of three, and she was getting tired of it.

Georgia glanced at Maggie. “How do you like this hotel?”

She turned her attention toward her aunt and gave a wan smile. “It’s lovely, but I’m really looking forward to sleeping in a real bed once more. As soon as I finish eating, I’m going up to the room.”

“So soon?” Her aunt sounded concerned. “But it will be so early.”

“Georgia, we could stay and visit for a while longer.” Charles had eyes only for her aunt. “Or we could take a stroll. The weather is really nice outside.”