Mail Order Bride - Westward Secrets: A Clean Cowboy Romance Novel (Montana Mail Order Brides Book 13) (3 page)

              “Ok,” Gina said with a smile.  “I’ll try.”

              The sunroom door opened and the man who jogged into the dining room was broad in the shoulders and slim in the hips.  He pulled out a chair and sat down quickly.  His wind-blown dark hair was appealing.  His blue eyes looked at the roasted chicken on the table.

              “That looks fantastic.  I’m starving,” Eddie said.

              Joe let out a growl of frustration and got up.  His strides were swift as he went into the kitchen.  He soon returned, pushing a slim older woman with gray hair ahead of him.  He held her by the shoulders and sat her down.  Sliding her seat into the table, Joe kissed the woman’s cheek.

              “That’s better.  Addie, you are not to get up until dinner is done.  You hear?” Joe said with a smile.

              “All right, Joey,” Addie said with a chuckle.  “You’re always fussing over me too much.”

              “Nonsense,” Joe said.  “You work too hard.  Good Lord!  Why do I have to round everyone up like a herd of cattle?  Ya’ll go ahead and start.”

              Gina watched him walk past the table and down the hallway.  It really did remind Gina of herding cattle as he came back with his arms around two young women who laughed at him as he told a joke.

              “Now we’re missing one more.  Eddie, where’s Darryl?” Joe asked as he seated the two women.

              His question was answered as the front door opened and shut quickly.  A young man ran into the room.  “I’m sorry to be late.  I lost track of time.  Sorry,” he said.

              “Darryl, plant your fanny in that chair.  We’re hungry,” Joe said and sat back down.  He let out a sigh and said, “Dig in!”

              Suddenly it became a free-for-all and dishes were passed helter-skelter around the table.  Gina sat next to Randall who was very helpful in introducing her to everyone.  She learned that Darryl was an assistant groom to Eddie, the head groom.  The young man was slight of build and looked to be about twenty to Gina.  His wire-rimmed glasses framed blue eyes and his blond hair was very neatly combed.

              The two young women were Callie and Rita, red-headed sisters who were live-in housekeepers and also helped with the children.  Addie, otherwise known as Cook, looked to be somewhere in her sixties and seemed to be a surrogate mother to Joe.  Several times during the meal, Joe physically restrained her from getting up from the table when she wanted to go get something from the kitchen.

              Lacey said, “Addie, he’s not going to let you go into that kitchen.  You’ll disappear and go back to work.  You need to relax a little.”

              “Lacey, honey, I’m happiest when I’m working,” Addie said.

              Eddie said, “Addie, just do us a favor and eat your dinner?  You make me nervous with all your runnin’ around.  Please?”

              Addie chuckled.  “Ok.  You win.”

              “There’s our girl,” Joe said as he rolled up his shirt sleeves.

              Gina noticed how nicely Joe dressed.  His hair was short-cropped and attractively styled.  It was evident that, even though he was mayor, he didn’t just sit around.  He was fit and strong from riding and training horses.

              He made Lacey laugh and Gina thought Lacey was a beautiful woman with her long, dark hair and brown eyes.  Gina was envious of her.  The woman had given birth only three weeks prior and looked like she had barely gained any weight during the pregnancy.  Emily, Ryan, and Chloe looked as if they were becoming fast friends.  They talked about silly things and laughed together.

              Gina had trouble keeping track of the conversations because it seemed like some were interrupted to talk about a new subject and then they went back to the other topic.  Somehow Joe was able to keep up with everyone’s conversation and teased all of them about one thing or another. 

              Lacey asked, “Gina, do you have a certain kind of work you’re looking for?”

              Gina said, “I’ll do anything, really, but I’m very good at seamstress work, so if you know of anyone who needs sewing done, let me know.”

              Joe looked up at that and laid his silverware down.  He ran from the room again and Gina asked, “Does he always run?”

              Addie said, “He’s always been hyper.”

              Darryl said, “You should talk, Addie.”
              “Darryl, you are supposed to respect your elders,” Addie said with a smile.

              Joe returned with a blue suit vest and crouched by Gina’s chair.  He opened it up and showed her a long rip in the lining.  “Can you fix it?  It’s one of my favorite vests and I don’t wanna get rid of it if it can be saved.”

              “Joe, the poor woman is trying to eat,” Lacey objected.

              Gina took the vest and began looking it over. 

Joe said, “She doesn’t mind, do you, Gina?”

              She smiled and said, “Nope.  But I’m going to have to replace the whole lining.  If I just repair the rip it’s going to leave a bulge and it will be noticeable.  I’ll need more material.  Is there somewhere in town that sells material?”

              “Yes, ma’am, there is.  Bradbury’s has all kinds of material.  Whatever you need, you just have Elliot put it on my account.  I appreciate you doin’ that for me.  Oh, wait, you need a machine.  Ok, I can do that.  I think there’s a place in Wolfe Point that has machines.  I’ll take you over there and you can pick out what you need because I sure as heck have no idea,” Joe said.

              “I don’t have money for a sewing machine, Joe,” Gina said.

              “I do.”

              “You are not going to buy me a sewing machine,” Gina protested.

              Joe sighed.  “Look, Gina, this is a sentimental piece of clothing to me.  It’s from the last suit my Mama bought me before she passed and I want to save it at all costs.  So I don’t care what a sewing machine costs.  I’ll pay it.  Please let me buy a machine so you can fix it?”

              “Joe, I can do it by hand,” Gina said.

              “But a machine would be quicker, right?” Joe said.

              Gina pursed her lips and then said, “Yes, it would be.”

              “Then I’ll buy you the machine.  If you’re a seamstress, you gotta have a machine.  I’ll most likely have a lot of work for you, so…” Joe gave her a grin and Gina felt her resistance give way.

              “Fine.  I’ll pay you back, though,” Gina said as she shook a finger at him.

              Joe rose with a laugh.  “Of course you will.  All right.  Tomorrow morning, we go to Wolfe Point!”

              Gina shook her head and Lacey laughed.  “You might as well get used to it, Gina.  It’s pointless to argue with him,” she said.

              “She did it again.  While my back was turned, that woman went back to the kitchen.  Addie!”

              Everyone laughed while Joe stomped from the room to fetch the wayward cook.

              The Watering Hole was rowdy for a Wednesday night, Rick thought as he threw another customer out.  As he shoved the guy from the porch of the establishment, Rick looked up at the moon and saw that it was full.

              “Figures,” he said to no one and went back inside.

              Jake, co-owner of the place, looked up from the drinks he was pouring and shook his head.  “What is it tonight?”

              “It’s a full moon,” Rick said as he stretched.

              His right shoulder popped and he sighed in relief. 

Jake frowned and said, “I hate it when you do that.”

Rick chuckled.  “Too bad.  So where’s Joseph?”

“How should I know?” Jake said.  “I’ve been here all night. It’s not his usual night to come in.  You know that.”
              “Yes, I do.  I was wondering how Mrs. Silvetti and her kids were settling in,” Rick said.

Jake smiled.  “So, is she pretty?”

Rick thought about her large, dark eyes, and shiny dark brown hair.  Her full mouth was very pretty and she had the kind of voluptuous figure that would be very pleasing to hold.  Yes, Gina Silvetti was a very attractive woman.

“That she is, Jake,” Rick said.

“I see,” said Jake, who grinned.

“Don’t be getting any ideas,” Rick said.  “It’s just a simple observation.  I feel bad for her.  She came here to marry Steve only to discover he died and now they have nowhere to go.”

“It was a good idea you had for them to stay with Lacey and Joe,” Jake said as he filled a beer mug and slid it down the bar.  “They certainly have the room.”

“Yep and I knew that they weren’t going to let Gina pay them anything.  She doesn’t have much money,” Rick said.

He hadn’t needed anyone to tell him that.  Her clothing, while clean and neat, was faded as were the children’s clothes.  Ryan’s shoes were worn and his pants looked slightly short on him.  Chloe’s sweater had seen better days, too.  Rick frowned as he thought about it.  He hated seeing kids go without anything.  It made him angry.  No one should go hungry or be cold or sick, kids especially.

Then he smiled as he thought about how cute Chloe and Ryan were.  Rick remembered their laughter and was happy that he’d been able to ease their anxiety for a while.  He’d often wished for someone like that when he was a child, but there’d been no one, so helping children be able to laugh during hard times was important to him.

Going back to his seat, Rick shook off memories he didn’t want to see.  They served no purpose and distracted him from his job, which was to create peace where there was chaos.  He propped his feet up, pulled his hat down, and closed his eyes so he could listen.  The other bouncer working that night came and sat beside him.

Rick smiled.  Reckless, a Lakota brave who lived in the area, was a good man to have around.  He and Reckless were of a similar mind about some things and could agree to disagree on others.  Mostly Reckless was pleasant and amusing, but also enjoyed fighting and wrestling. 

“There’s Sitting Duck,” Rick said.

Reckless sighed.  “I liked it much better when you called me ‘the other one’.”

Rick laughed softly.  “So you want me to find another name?”

“I have a name.  Call me that,” Reckless said and kicked Rick’s chair, knocking his feet off the table.

Rick tipped his hat back and said, “That wasn’t a very nice thing to do, Lame Duck.”

Reckless’ black eyes sparked with annoyance.  “Are you looking for a fight tonight?”

“Me?  You’re the one in the bad mood.  Care to tell me why that is?” Rick said as he resumed his position.

“No.”

“Are you and that pretty wife of yours fighting again?” Rick asked.

“No,” Reckless said as a grin spread across his face. “She and the baby are fine.”

“She looked cute the other day when I saw her.  She’s starting to show some now,” Rick said.  “So what are you going to name it if it’s a girl?”

“We won’t know until he or she is born,” Reckless said.  “You know that.”

Rick grinned.  “What will you do if you see a bear crapping in the woods when it’s born?  Name it Crapping Bear?”

Reckless laughed.  “Wait until I tell Brook that.  It will make her laugh.  Crapping Bear.  No, we will not name it that.”

“So if your Uncle Marcus delivers this baby, are you going to assist in the birth?  You know that’s one of the things he’s big on,” Rick said.

“If Brook wishes it, I will do so.  It is up to her,” Reckless said.

“Will that be strange for you?  I know that’s not normally how the Lakota do things, or Indians in general, for that matter.  Hell, it’s not how it’s done almost anywhere, I don’t think,” Rick said.

“Would you do it?” Reckless asked.

Rick tipped his hat back up and looked Reckless in the eyes.  “You better believe I would.  The chance to help bring your own child into the world?  No one would keep me away, I know that much.”

Reckless nodded.  “I know that my uncle says that it is helpful, but he cannot convince everyone of this.”

“I wasn’t asking about everyone else, Reckless.  I asked about you.”  Rick looked around Reckless and said, “Damn it.  I’ll be back.”

Reckless wondered what the problem was.  It must be something bad to make Rick irritated.  Usually Rick was calm and didn’t show anger in the usual ways.  It was rare to hear him shout or see him glare at a person.  His gaze was steady, but rarely anger-filled.  He turned in his chair to watch the deputy cross the room.

Rick walked calmly up to the table that needed attention.  “Excuse me, but I think you should put the money back on the table that you just tried to steal from your buddy.”

The sandy-haired man looked up at Rick and sneered.  “What’s it to you?”

“Well, I’m not only a bouncer, I’m a deputy.  I’m giving you the chance to do the right thing so that I don’t have to arrest you for stealing,” Rick said.

“I didn’t take any money,” the guy said.

Rick sighed.  “Ok.  I guess we’re going to have to do this the hard way.”  He put two fingers in his mouth and let out an ear-splitting whistle.

Reckless heard it and his eyes grew big.  This was something that only happened when Rick was not in a good mood.  He looked at Rick’s coat that hung over his chair and saw it begin to move.  A furry little face poked out of an inside pocket of the duster.  The ferret clambered out of the pocket and dropped to the floor.  It ran across the floor, dodging swiftly around feet, both those moving and those still, until it reached its master.

The troublemaker had been waiting for something to happen after Rick whistled, but nothing did.  He laughed and said, “It doesn’t look like your Indian friend over there is coming to help you.”

Rick made an annoyed face at the guy as he felt Curtis climb up his back.  “I wouldn’t whistle for Reckless, you idiot.”

The guy saw Curtis’ head pop up from behind Rick’s shoulder and he said, “What the hell’s that thing?”

Rick reached back, picked up Curtis, and cradled him in one arm.  “This, jackass, is Curtis.  Curtis, this is Jackass.  Now that you two have been formally introduced, we can get on with our business.  I’m going to ask you one last time to give your buddy back his money.”

“What if I don’t?”

“Oh, so you admit that you have the money.  Now we’re getting somewhere.  Well, if you don’t give the money back, I’m going to send Curtis in after it.  You will not enjoy that,” Rick said.  “Have you ever had an angry ferret loose in your pants?  It’s not pleasant, from what I hear.”

Curtis bounced from Rick’s forearm back up onto his shoulder and then across to his other shoulder. 

The man Rick had labeled “Jackass” cringed a little when Curtis made a chattering noise.  “You can’t do that.  I’ll shoot it.”

Rick laughed.  “Have you ever tried to shoot a ferret on the move?  It takes an expert shot to hit one.  One last time; put the money on the table.”

Jackass looked at Rick and then the ferret.

“You know, this is a choice even a child could make.  I’m going to count to three and then, if you don’t have the money back on the table by the time I hit three, Curtis is going to become very busy retrieving that money.  One…”

Curtis bobbed his head up and down and his nose twitched.

“Two…”

Curtis yawned, revealing an impressive set of fangs.

Suddenly Jackass couldn’t put the money up on the table fast enough. 

“Smart choice.  Now get out,” Rick said.

The man skirted carefully out around Rick and ran.  Rick casually walked after Jackass to make sure he left.  As he reached the bar, Curtis jumped onto it and scampered down to Jake who smiled at him.  The ferret blinked at Jake and sat up on his hind feet.

Jake laughed.  “You want paid, huh?  Ok.”  The bartender reached underneath the bar, pulled out piece of jerky, and tore off a little piece.  “Be nice,” Jake said and held out the jerky to Curtis.

Curtis took the jerky and quickly devoured it. Then he looked at Jake again and hopped back and forth a couple of times before rolling over on the bar.  Jake put the jerky away and brought out a small red ball.  Curtis became very excited and bounced around all the more.  Jake rolled the ball down the bar and Curtis joyfully chased after it. 

The ferret caught up with the ball and jumped on it.  He did a somersault with the ball and then began pushing it back up the bar.  He wove back and forth, keeping the ball from going over the edge onto the floor.  He arrived back at Jake who took the ball back and gave Curtis another piece of jerky.

His job complete, Curtis jumped onto an empty bar stool and then dropped onto the floor where he raced across the barroom until he reached Rick’s coat.  Reckless watched Curtis climb back into the inside pocket of the duster and smiled.  He made a kissing noise to the ferret and Curtis popped back out and hopped over onto the table.  He burrowed under Reckless’ hair and stayed on Reckless’ shoulders underneath the brave’s thick, black hair.

“There’s my very brave brave,” Joe said from behind Reckless.

Curtis poked his head out from the back of Reckless’ hair and Joe literally jumped a foot in the air.  He let out a stream of curses and put a hand to his chest as his heart beat in triple time. 

“Why is that thing here?” Joe shouted.  “Damn I hate him!  Never did I think I’d ever have a rat in my bar!”

Reckless was breathless with laughter and couldn’t respond. 

“Get that thing out of here!” Joe said as he made a wide berth around Reckless. 

Joe might not like Curtis but Curtis liked Joe.  He slid from Reckless’ hair and bounced across the table towards Joe who backed up even more.  “Call it off.  Rick!  Where are you?  Get over here and control that rat!”

Rick laughed as he came over and let out a melodic little whistle.  Curtis looked at Rick and then scrambled back into his coat.  “Joe, how many times do I have to tell you not to yell at Curtis?  It only makes him more excited.  And he’s not a rat.  He’s a ferret.”  Rick sat down and propped his feet up again.

“I don’t care what it is.  I’ve told you time and again I don’t want him in the bar,” Joe said.

Reckless had recovered and said, “But Joe, he just helped get rid of a guy who was stealing.  You should be thankful to Curtis.”

Rick said, “I only call him out when necessary or I’m feeling a little irritated.  Otherwise you’d never even know he was here.”

Curtis chortled inside Rick’s pocket and Joe cringed.  “I even hate the little ratty noises it makes.”

“It’s called ‘dooking’.”

“Yeah, well I’m gonna duke it out with him if he comes after me,” Joe said as his heart rate began to settle down.  “Damn, now I don’t even know why I came here.  I need a drink.”

Reckless and Rick laughed as they watched Joe stride out to the bar.  Rick got back up again and followed Joe.  “Hey, boss, how’s Gina and the kids doing?” he asked as he settled at the bar with Joe.

“Where is that thing?” Joe said, looking around suspiciously.

Rick chuckled.  “He’s back at the table.  Answer my question.”

Jake put a shot in front of Joe and grinned.  He’d seen Joe jump and heard the commotion.  There was only one thing that got to Joe like that and it was Curtis.  Joe drank the shot and the hand that held the glass shook a little. 

“She’s fine and so are the kids.  They’re getting’ along real well with Emily.  I’m gonna buy her a sewing machine tomorrow.  I had a rip and she’s gonna fix it for me.  It’s inside.  I don’t want a bulge in it.  Oh my Lord.  I can’t even make sense now,” Joe said and rubbed his face with his hand.  “I have a rip in one of my vests and she’s gonna repair it for me.  She needs a sewing machine so I’m gonna get her one.  I have other work for her, too, and I’m sure she can get more work around town.”  Joe’s words were very deliberate as he fought to regain his wits.

Rick said, “That’s very nice of you.  I’m sure she’ll appreciate the help.  I’m glad they’re doing ok.  It’s a shame for them.  I appreciate you taking them in.”

“Happy to do it,” Joe said.  “I still don’t know what I came in here for.  Oh, yeah, it was to see Ben.  I just wanted to say howdy to you idiots and then I was goin’ upstairs.  Ok.  I’ll see you fellas later.”