eight

As Ben and his family, along with Rose and Samantha, watched the beginning of the day’s celebrations, he couldn’t help but feel a sense of pride that his family had helped to settle Guthrie. He was especially happy that Samantha was able to share the day with them.

The governor’s procession started downtown on Oklahoma Avenue at two o’clock sharp and headed east toward Capitol Square. Ben looked over Samantha’s head to see that behind Governor Steele, a parade of carriages, special delegations, military troops, bands, and people either riding horses or walking fell in behind him.

School was out for the day, and many families had come in early to picnic near Cottonwood Creek. Now thousands of people lined the street on both sides, three, four, and in some places five deep to watch the parade. Once it passed them, they fell in line to follow it to the square where they would hear the governor’s speech.

By the time Ben and his party got to the square, some of the less notable speakers had finished, which was no great disappointment to any of them. The new governor began his speech by saying how flattered he was when the president asked him to accept the governorship of the territory and how he wanted to be the best governor he could be. He said he would do all he could for the people living there and that he would do his duty as honestly as he could.

Each pause he took was filled with much applause and cheering, and in conclusion, he thanked everyone for welcoming him. Then he and his entourage were rushed off to a lavish reception that had been planned in his honor. Later that evening, he would attend the first inaugural ball of the territory.

Ben, along with his family and friends, returned to the boardinghouse to finish celebrating that Guthrie was the official capital in their own way. When they walked into the kitchen, the mouthwatering aroma of the roast Faith had put on earlier that day greeted them, and Faith, Hope, Rose, and Samantha all pitched in to help finish up the meal.

The table was set and Faith was ready to serve by the time the rest of the boarders returned. They’d watched the parade in another area of town to make sure they were some of the first in line for the reception. Everyone was happy to talk about what they’d seen and heard.

“I wish you’d stayed for the reception,” Mrs. Fairmont said. “It was so nice, and I’ve never seen so many dignitaries in one place in my life. Why didn’t you all go?”

“Faith was getting a bit tired,” Gabe said.

Ben couldn’t miss the protective look Gabe gave his wife. He’d felt the same way with Molly. . .especially in those first days after he’d found out they’d be having a child.

“It was a long day,” Mrs. Warner said. “I couldn’t believe how many people from all the outlying areas were lined up to meet the governor.”

“Well, we townspeople weren’t the only ones who made the run and claimed land that day,” Gabe said. “Many went as far out as they could go and still be able to come in for supplies.”

“Yes. My man was determined to have a farm,” Rose said.

“And a finer piece of land couldn’t be found, Rose,” Ben said. “It takes all kinds to settle a new land—townspeople, farmers, and ranchers, too. It took us all to settle this territory. Now that it’s official, we’ll be a state one of these days. Won’t that be something to celebrate?”

“It will for certain.” Faith smiled. “I’m so thankful that our child will be born here.”

Gabe reached over and took Faith’s hand and brought it to his lips. “So am I.”

“You are—?” Mrs. Fairmont started.

“There’s going to be a baby?” Mrs. Warner finished.

They hadn’t been in on the announcement the night before. Faith had wanted to savor the moment before telling them, but now her smile told them all.

“Yes. Around the New Year, Doc says.”

“Oh dear, how exciting!” Mrs. Warner looked at Mrs. Fairmont. “We’ll have to start knitting soon.”

“Yes, we will. We’ll go shopping next week.”

Ben stole a glance at Samantha and found her smiling at his sister and brother-in-law. How could one not? They were in love and expecting their first child. He saw his own children smiling at them and was glad that Hope and Matt could see how happy Faith and Gabe were together. They needed good examples of married life to draw from and learn what it was they wanted in a marriage one day. Their mother had passed away when they were too young to realize what a wonderful marriage he and Molly had, but at least for now, they had that example while living in town with their aunt and uncle.

Ben looked back at Samantha and saw her gaze was on him. Her face flushed as she turned away, as if she was embarrassed to be caught staring at him when he’d been doing the same thing to her most of the day. He might pay the marshal a visit tomorrow and see what he’d found out about Samantha. He had to know if anything in her past would force him to tamp down his growing attraction to her. And he wanted to know now.

❧

Samantha wished she didn’t have to work the next day, but at least it was only a half day. Ben offered to accompany her to work because he had errands in town that he needed to do. She was quite glad to share his company, in spite of the fact that she still felt she must guard her heart.

After witnessing Gabe and Faith’s happiness these last few days, she had to admit she longed for a love of her own. But she still wasn’t sure she could trust any man with her heart. How did one know for certain?

“Faith told me you helped Hope with her math the other day,” Ben said, his voice interrupting her thoughts. “Thank you. That’s one of the things I hate about being apart from them when school is in session—not being able to help them like that.”

“You are welcome. I was glad to do it. Math has always come easy to me for some reason. Mrs. Miller has already complimented me on always having my tickets added up right.”

“How is the work? With all that’s gone on this weekend, I haven’t had a chance to ask.”

And Samantha had been hoping he wouldn’t. “It’s going well. You were right. It is a little harder than I anticipated, but I’m getting used to it. And the Millers are wonderful to work for. They don’t allow any foul language or rowdiness in the restaurant.”

“That’s a good thing. I imagine a lot of that kind of thing goes on in some places.”

“That’s what Mrs. Miller said. But she won’t abide it. Why, only the other day she had her husband throw a man out of the place.” She didn’t tell Ben that the man was giving her a hard time, insisting that he was the man for her and promising her all manner of things if she’d just come away with him right then.

“I’m glad to hear it. How many proposals have you had?”

Samantha couldn’t help but chuckle. “I’ve lost count. But certainly none I’d ever consider.”

“You wouldn’t accept a proposal without courting someone first, would you?”

“Why no. But I’m not ready for that yet. I—”

“You don’t have to explain to me, Sam.” Ben let the name slip from his tongue without realizing it. “I didn’t mean to make you feel uncomfortable.”

“It’s all right. I. . .haven’t seen many examples of a happy marriage since my parents passed away, except for Faith and Gabe. I keep thinking about that poor lawyer’s wife and how she couldn’t trust her own husband. And I’ve met men, even at the restaurant, who I know are married, but they don’t seem to care if they honor their vows. I don’t want to rush into marriage with anyone. I want to get to know someone well enough to feel I can trust him, and I want to know without a doubt that we love each other like Faith and Gabe do.”

Ben nodded. “I think you are right about that. Faith and Gabe cared about each other long before they came to trust their love. Molly and I knew each other a long time. . .all our lives, really. I don’t think one has to know someone that long to be sure, but it doesn’t hurt to take your time to get to know each other.”

“Thank you, Ben. It’s always nice to have confirmation of one’s opinions.” That was the first time he’d mentioned his wife to her, and she was gratified that he felt comfortable talking to her about his personal life. Yet she couldn’t help wondering if he’d ever be ready to marry again or if his love for his wife would keep him from doing so. Her heart gave a little twist, and she wasn’t sure if it was from sympathy for him or for herself.

By then they’d arrived at the restaurant, and Ben looked down at her. “I’m going to be in town for a while. I’ll come back and see you home, since Matt isn’t in school today.”

“Oh, then you did tell him to see me home. I was wonder-ing about that.”

“Matt likes seeing you home,” Ben said, avoiding her question completely. “And I’m looking forward to it, too. What time do you get off?”

“I believe Mrs. Miller said around one or two. Probably depends on how busy we are.” She peeked in the window. “And from the looks of it, we’re going to be busy.”

“I’ll be back to check in.” Ben tipped his hat and turned away. “Don’t work too hard.”

“I’ll try not to.” Samantha hurried inside and donned her apron, but with a short day and a handsome escort home to look forward to, she went to work with a smile on her face and a thankful heart for this man who showed such concern for her.

❧

Ben went straight to the marshal’s office after he dropped Samantha off at the restaurant. With all the goings on in town, it didn’t surprise him to find the man out of the office, but it did frustrate him no little bit. Determined to catch up with the marshal before he went back to the farm, Ben headed to Gabe’s office to talk about it. When he opened the door, he found the marshal sitting by Gabe’s desk.

“I just missed you, Marshal,” Ben said as he pulled another chair up to Gabe’s desk. “I take it you have news for us?”

“Well, better yet, I have no news for you. There is nothing on Miss Samantha Carter. And there’s nothing on a young Sam Carter as she called herself dressed as a young man. If she’s guilty of any crime, it would have to be under a different name.”

Ben’s heart dove into his stomach. He hadn’t thought of that.

“But I don’t think that’s the case. I don’t think she would have introduced herself with a shorter name for Samantha if it were. I think you can both assume that, while she might have wanted to get away from something or someone, she isn’t guilty of any crime.”

Ben really hadn’t believed Sam could be guilty of anything bad. Still, the marshal’s words were the ones he wanted to hear, and the relief he felt was huge.

“I can see that matters even more to you than it does me, Ben,” Gabe said.

“Probably.”

“Is this Miss Carter the one who works at Miller’s Restaurant?” the marshal asked.

“It is.”

“Well, I can see why it could matter to a man who might be thinking of taking a wife.”

“It could.” Ben knew he wasn’t hiding a thing from these two men. But he wasn’t going to admit to anyone but himself that he was eager to get back to the restaurant and see for himself how things were going for Sam. “Mostly it’s good to know that we have nothing to worry about given that she’s living at my sister’s with my daughter under the same roof.”

“He’s right, Marshal. Not that we thought Samantha had a criminal past, but when it comes to our loved ones, we needed to be sure.”

“Well, I’m glad I could tell you she’s in the clear.” The marshal stood up and stretched. “Guess I’d better get back to the office. Last night was a late one, with all the hoopla over the governor. Thankfully, everything went off relatively peaceable, especially with so many strangers in town.”

“How long before you think things will return to normal around here?” Gabe asked.

“Probably next week. Most people will need to get back home and get on with their lives. But I’m glad I was here to witness Guthrie finally being the official capital of Oklahoma Territory. Gentlemen, we can say we were here at the beginning. Not many can claim to have settled a town overnight.”

“How true that is,” Ben said. “I’ll walk out with you, Marshal. I have a few things to attend to today. See you later, Gabe.”

His brother-in-law was standing, too. “All right. I’ve got to check on the Beadle place and look at the lay of the land over at the Stewart place. We’re going to level ground on it starting Monday.”

They headed off in different directions, and Ben was kind of glad. He intended to have his lunch at Miller’s Restaurant, and he didn’t want company. He did stop at Kimball Grocery and put in an order for some canned goods to pick up on Monday morning; then he went to Randall & Lyon Hardware to order more nails. After that, he couldn’t think of anything else he needed to do before he went to the restaurant.

It was high noon, and Miller’s Restaurant was even more crowded than usual, but Mrs. Miller found him a table in Sam’s section. “I can’t tell you how happy I am to have Samantha working here, Ben. Thank you for bringing her in.”

“I didn’t bring her so you would hire her. I only wanted to feed her.”

“Ben Thompson, I know you aren’t happy about her working here, but if she was going to end up waiting tables anyway, at least be glad it’s here. You know we’re going to watch over her as well as you would.”

“I’m sorry. You’re right, Mrs. Miller. I am glad for that.”

“Well good. And I’ve not said a word, but you aren’t fooling me for a minute, young man. You have your eye on Samantha every bit as much as these other men do. Only difference is, you might have a chance one day. These others are just plain out of luck.”

“You couldn’t have told me anything I’d rather hear,” Ben said with a grin.

“Does she know how you—”

“No one knows how I feel. And I don’t think she’s ready for me to let her know. You’ll be sure and let me know if some man comes in and gets her attention while I’m at the farm, right? I might need to speed things up if that was to happen.”

Mrs. Miller handed him a menu. “I’ll let you know. Samantha will be right over to take your order.”

“Thanks, Mrs. Miller.”

“You’re welcome.” She turned and went to seat the next people in line.

“Why hello, Ben. What can I get for you today?”

Samantha was looking down at him with a smile that he hoped she didn’t greet all her customers with. It was heart-stopping sweet, and he didn’t much like the idea that other men might be the recipients of it. “What do you recommend?”

“Well, the stew looks real good, and everyone says it is. But the fried chicken is a favorite, too.”

“Hmm. Wonder what Faith is planning for supper?”

“I don’t know.” Samantha laughed. “Why don’t you go with something light? You know Faith is going to have one of your favorites. She told me that she always tries to make those for you when you come into town.”

“And what is my favorite? Did she tell you that?”

“I believe it was that roast beef you had last night. And after that, it is her fried chicken.”

“You must listen well or be very observant.”

“I try to do both.”

Ben knew he was keeping her too long at his table, and he didn’t want Mrs. Miller storming over and accusing him of doing exactly that, embarrassing Sam and himself, so he quickly decided on the stew.

“I’ll get it right out for you.”

Ben watched her leave, but he didn’t miss that half-a-dozen other men did the same thing. Still, he remembered what Mrs. Miller had told him. None of them had caught her eye—at least not yet. And Matt would still be seeing her home. He could breathe easy for now.

It wasn’t long before Sam brought his meal, and he ate as slowly as he could, watching customers come and go until Sam came back to see if he wanted dessert. He didn’t need it; that was for sure. But he wasn’t ready to leave, so he ordered a big slice of Mrs. Miller’s famous apple pie. He hoped Sam got off work soon because once he finished that pie, he didn’t think he’d be able to eat anything more.

He was very relieved when Sam brought his pie and a bowl of stew. For a minute, he thought she was going to drop off his pie quickly and deliver the stew to another table. But she set the stew down across from him and handed the tray to a passing waiter.

“Would you mind some company? Mrs. Miller said I’m officially off work.”

“I’d be honored.” Ben quickly stood up and pulled out a chair for her. “I’ll even share my pie with you if you’d like.”

“Why, that is nice of you. You got the last piece of apple until Mrs. Miller makes some more.” She took her seat and let him push it in. “So I might want a little bite.”

Ben took his sweet time eating that pie as Sam ate her lunch. He wasn’t in any hurry to go anywhere. And if some of those love-struck cowboys thought he was courting Miss Samantha Carter, that was fine by him.