CHAPTER THREE

 

 

 

 

Colten took his time unpacking the crates then helped his father around the stable with the wire that had arrived in their crates. When that was done, he worked around the store, making sure to take care of all the things that were on his mother’s to do list so he wouldn’t have to go up and start anything in his room. If the room wasn’t ready for a guest, he wouldn’t have to leave it, then the poor girl wouldn’t be forced to be in his presence. He doubted she’d enjoy living in the house with his parents. His mother would do everything she could to try to encourage a proposal.

He knew the woman wanted grandchildren. Not that he didn’t want to be a father someday. He just didn’t think having someone else pick out a wife for him would be the best way to go about marriage.

He wanted someone he could be happy with for the rest of his life. And leaving it to chance that a strange woman who’d shown up that day could be the one was just too ridiculous to consider. He wanted time to get to know a woman. He’d told Michael he’d been out of his mind when he’d agreed to marry Susan the day she arrived. Colten could not go back on his opinion. If he were to marry the girl, he’d want to get to know her first.

Colten shook his head. What was he thinking? He was not going to marry Annabelle. He would just have to keep out of her presence and let the girl get settled in town. Then later on, maybe they could become acquainted.

When the clock in the store indicated it was closing time, his mother still wasn’t home so he checked around for his father. “Did Momma tell you where she went off to?”

“Went to deliver something that was found on the floor.” Colten’s father turned around and pulled out a pot from the stove. “She had soup on. Grab the bread?”

Colten opened the breadbox and pulled out the loaf there and the knife nearby, then sliced some bread to go with their meal. The two sat down, and his father ate quietly as he always did. No extra conversation to be had since the woman of the house was gone. Colten hadn’t really thought much about what a different pair his parents were. His mother talked to anyone and everyone while his father was more sparse with his words. But even with their differences, Colten had always known they were fiercely in love.

“How did you know Momma was the one?”

Colten’s father’s head rose slowly from his focus on the bowl and he gave Colten a look that made him wish he’d just remained silent.

“What brought that up?” he asked.

“Never mind,” Colten said.

They sat in silence for a few moments, then his father spoke. “She was the prettiest girl in the town. Also one of the only ones my age.”

Colten nodded. So his father hadn’t had much choice.

“She had lots of suitors. But for some reason she saw something in me.”

“What made you decide to ask her to marry you?” Colten asked, knowing if he didn’t push the question now, he might not get another chance.

“I didn’t like the idea of being alone. And she understood me. Wasn’t afraid of hard work either or moving out here when there weren’t many people.”

“How did you two start the store?”

“Little by little. Then brick by brick.”

Though the words were simple, the idea was profound. Colten nodded his understanding as his father returned his attention to his meal. When he’d finished, he slipped out quietly to continue his work and Colten cleaned up the meal, returning the soup to the stove to keep warm until his mother got home to eat her share.

As he looked up the stairs that led to his room he considered his mother’s words. Maybe Colten should go pack up his things and let the girl stay there. Colten could live in the back storage room. There was a cot there and room enough for him to be comfortable until they could find out the best thing to do with Annabelle.

It would only be until the boarding house was finished anyway. And Colten would go over and help Michael with the building as much as he was able once his responsibilities at the store were done. His mother couldn’t complain either. Especially since she’d told him they were the kind of people to help others.

He’d only gotten so far as to put his trunk in the center of the room to pack it up with his belongings when he heard his mother down below.

Feeling like he ought to tell her he was doing as she’d requested, he headed down the stairs in time to see her putting the soup away.

“Did you eat?” he asked.

“I did,” his mother said. “I stopped at Susan and Michael’s. She had purchased some fabric, but one of the thread spools fell out so I took it over then stayed to visit a while. That baby is close to coming. Can’t wait to meet the little darling. But while I was there, I had some dinner that Miss Annabelle cooked. She’s pretty good, actually. Anyway, I almost offered her to come stay with us, but when I saw how much help she’d be there with Susan, I figured I couldn’t take her away yet. So you don’t have to clean out your room. Not that you would have, you stubborn boy.”

Colten accepted the kiss on the cheek she gave as she fluttered by, still talking and cleaning as she went. “Miss Annabelle knows a fair deal about sewing, so we talked on that a while. I think she might be quite the thing here. If she can do some seamstress work, then people here could have some of the newer fashions. I’m excited to go back and visit again tomorrow.”

Colten nodded and gave the hums and comments that she required, all the while wondering why he was so fascinated with what his mother was talking about regarding Annabelle.

He’d never cared about all the news she shared when she came home from her other outings. In fact, he couldn’t remember her really being all that chatty about things since just after Susan arrived and married Michael. Maybe it was all just because Annabelle was new to town, and his mother wanted to just know everything.

“So tomorrow, you should go help at the boarding house so they can get it finished before that baby comes. Not that her house is bad or anything, but just think how much better it would be if Susan and Michael could be settled in the boarding house before she has the baby.”

“Good idea, Mother,” Colten said. “I’ll head out first thing in the morning. I think I’ll turn in so I can get the chores done here first. Have a good night, Mother.” Colten kissed his mother’s cheek then hurried up the stairs and out of her way.

 

 

 

***

 

 

Annabelle was happy to be of assistance and made breakfast before Susan got out of bed. Michael had already left for the morning, taking Jessie with him and some bread and cheese so it was just the two of them to take things slow and look over the fabric and sewing machine in the daylight that came in through the window.

Susan rubbed her lower back and stood to stretch. “Goodness he’s squirmy today. Maybe that means he’s getting closer to ready.”

“Would you like me to stay close today?” Annabelle asked. “I don’t know anything about delivering a baby, but I could help you with your chores and things. Then I could run for help when it’s time. Is there a doctor here? Or a midwife?”

Susan shook her head. “No, but my neighbor, Bessy, has delivered a bunch of babies. She’ll be the one to help me when it’s time.”

Annabelle smiled, happy to know there was someone who knew what they were doing. She cleaned up after their breakfast and headed out to milk the cow and gather the eggs. It had been a while since she’d done any milking, but she got the hang of it soon enough. When she returned to the house, Susan had set out the fabric onto the table.

“I don’t know anything about making a pattern for a baby sleeper. And I know most of the time the baby will just be wrapped in a blanket at the first. But I hope you’ll help me figure out how to make something for him to wear.”

Annabelle looked at the fabric and nodded. “Do you have any paper? I could draw out the idea, then we could use that as the pattern. It’s easy enough if I know what you’re looking for.”

Susan moved over to a shelf against the wall and pulled a wooden box down. She got a paper and pencil, sketched a fast image, then handed it to Annabelle.

“This will be easy to do. Can I use the pencil to mark the fabric?”

“Of course,” Susan said. “Do whatever you need. I’ll work on separating the cream while you do that. Then we’ll take lunch to the men and see how much progress they’re making on the boarding house. I made a wager with Michael that I’d be done with the baby before he was finished with the building. I’m curious to know who wins.”

“I’m not even sure who I should root for,” Annabelle said. “You look rather tired and uncomfortable, but I’m sure you’d like the place finished.”

Susan laughed. “Exactly. So it’s a race that I need to waddle my way through.”

The two worked in companionable silence doing their own things, and by the time Susan had made a lunch, Annabelle had made one baby outfit for the new addition to wear.

“You are incredible,” Susan said.

Annabelle felt pride in her work as she held it up for Susan to examine. “Your machine is what did the hard work.”

“But only because you knew how to run it. I think if you wanted, you really could do what Mrs. Howard suggested. You could sew a lot of the same types of clothes that you saw back east. Maybe not the exact style because of materials available, but if the women didn’t have to spend all their time making hand stitches, that would free them up for other things. She’s got those catalogs to order things for her store. You could just look at the styles and make your own.”

Annabelle smiled. “You really think I could do something like that?”

“Of course,” Susan smiled. “And if you will make me the clothes I need and the curtains and blankets and such I’ll need for the boarding house, then you can use the machine all you want for your own projects. Does that sound fair?”

“More than fair,” Annabelle said. “I can’t believe I actually have a future here. Things seemed so bleak back east. Who knew that working in Mr. Staley’s factory would turn out to be such a blessing?”

“Let’s go take this lunch to the men and we’ll go talk to Mrs. Howard. She’ll be thrilled to know her idea stuck.”

 

 

 

***

 

 

Colten stepped back with Michael as they surveyed their work. The final row of bricks had been added to the top of the building. Once the mortar had settled and the bricks were good and solid, they would be able to put the roof on. Though he wasn’t sure how easy that would be. It was a good thing Michael had hired someone from another town that knew what they were doing when it came to big structures.

Colten would help with adding the wooden porch and the inside walls and floors. If they made as much progress in the next few days as they did today, the building could be finished in two weeks.

As the men moved over to a large cottonwood nearby to sit in the shade and take a quick rest, Colten heard the familiar whine of Lester. The man must have finally slept off his drunkenness and Colten wondered how much Lester would remember of the day before.

“Where is he?” Lester asked.

“Who?” Michael said looking him over.

“Colten Howard.” Lester caught sight of him beyond Michael and walked over to the shade, coming right up to Colten’s face and poking him in the chest. “What did you do with her?”

“Her?” Colten asked, hoping to throw Lester off his path. “Not sure what you’re talking about, Lester. You sure you haven’t been drinking again?”

“Course I’m sure,” Lester said, though his words were a little slurred. “I had a woman coming to marry me. I got the letters right here.”

“Let me see those.” Colten grabbed the papers that Lester had waved in his face. After turning to the side to keep Lester from grabbing them back, Colten unfolded the letters and scanned through them. He felt a little awkward reading the conversation from Annabelle to the man she had planned to marry, but he wanted to find out if there was any absolute promise of marriage when she arrived.

“See,” Lester said. “Now where is she? I know I saw her.”

“Hold on a moment,” Michael said. “Give the man a chance to look over your claim.” Michael looked at Colten and he shook his head.

“There’s no solid promise here. She did say she agreed to come out and meet him and if things were agreeable to both parties, she’d marry him.”

“See. She’ll marry me.”

Colten shook his head. “Said she would meet you and then decide. Now you can’t force a woman to marry you if she isn’t agreeable.”

“I paid for her,” Lester said. “Sent her the money and everything.”

“Where is the proof of that?” Colten asked.

“She came, didn’t she?” Lester asked. “I gave her twenty dollars to buy a ticket and come out to me.”

“You couldn’t have paid for a ticket from New York to Birch Creek with that much,” Michael said. “I checked the ticket prices myself when I was writing Susan. You’d need more than twice that amount.”

“So you see,” Colten said. “You have no claim on Miss Annabelle. She doesn’t have to marry you unless she chooses to.”

“Of course she’ll marry me. What other choice does the woman have? I even have a house.”

Colten knew it wouldn’t be a good idea to laugh at the man, but he wanted to. Lester’s house was barely more than a lean to against a rocky outcrop near a small creek.

The sound of Susan’s voice made all three men turn around and Colten’s eyes widened in dismay. Annabelle was right there with Susan, looking just the same as she did yesterday and Lester recognized her immediately.

“There you are. Come on now…, Annabelle, you said?” Lester turned to Colten, then back to Annabelle. “I’ll go get the preacher and we can get married right away.”

Annabelle froze where she stood as Lester started toward her. Colten put his hand on Lester’s shoulder and stopped him.

“Now hold on, Lester. You don’t own this woman. She has the right to make a choice on whether she’ll marry you.”

“Annabelle,” Susan said. “You don’t have to marry him.”

“I paid for her,” Lester said. “She spent my money, which means she’s mine. And if you try to stand in our way, then I’ll go to Oakley and get the sheriff involved.”

Colten took some bills out of his pocket and shoved them at Lester. “Here, this is twice as much as you sent her. Now you’re paid back.”

Lester stared at the money, looking unsure if he should take it or keep arguing about the girl. “But that isn’t her paying me back.” Lester pushed the money back to Colten. “I want her.”

Colten looked at Annabelle who had terror in her eyes and looked as if she wanted to faint.

“You can’t have her,” Colten said. “She’s going to marry me. That’s why I’m paying you back for your part in getting her here. We already discussed it. So thank you for your help. Here is your money plus interest.” Colten took Lester’s hand and placed the bills in his palm. “That will get you a lot of supplies for the winter. You know you need it. Now be gone with you.”

Lester looked at the money without giving Annabelle a second glance then nodded and shoved the money in his pocket before turning on his heels and marching back the way he’d come.

“What do you say we head back to the house and get sewing you a wedding dress?” Susan said, taking Annabelle by the elbow, but Colten stopped them.

He walked over to face Annabelle and looked her in the eye. “I wouldn’t be any better than Lester if I forced you to do this against your will.”

She looked up at him with glistening eyes. “What do you mean?”

“I won’t marry you unless you actually want to be married. I’ll do what I can to keep Lester from bothering you. Everyone in town will. But if you want to get married, since that’s what you came here for, then I’m willing.”

The quick intake of breath from Susan made Colten want to look and see if she was going to faint, but he kept his eyes steady on Annabelle. He had surprised himself by his statement to Lester that he would marry her, but once he said it, he’d known he wanted to. But only if she agreed.

After a moment, Annabelle nodded once. “I’m willing.”

“Yay!” Susan squealed. “Come on. We’ve got lots to do. I think we could manage to put a wedding together in a day. And since you are so good at sewing, I think you should have something nice and new. We’ll go get Mrs. Howard and let her know, then she’ll make sure the town is ready to come join us for your wedding tomorrow. Oh Annabelle, it’s going to be so wonderful.”

Before taking too many steps, Susan turned back to Michael and handed him the lunch basket. “Get back to work, who knows what will happen with all this excitement.” She patted her belly and Michael laughed then turned to Colten.

“You still good to help, or do you need to go make some plans?”

Colten shook his head. “Sounds like they’ll do all the planning. I might as well help you finish this up.”

“Where you going to live?” Michael asked.

“I don’t know,” Colten shook his head again. “I suppose we could stay with my parents until I can get you to help me build my own place.”

“What about my cabin?” Michael asked. “Once this place gets a roof on it, Susan wants to move over right away. We could keep working on the inside even after the baby comes.”

“Before you give anyone your old place, let’s get this one done.” Colten took the sandwich Michael offered, then a drink of water from the bucket sitting on a tree stump in the shade. In no time at all, the two returned to working on the boarding house, finishing the floor boards and framing the stair case that would lead to upper floors.

It would be a nice place once it was finished.

 

 

 

***

 

 

Annabelle looked over at her friend. “What have I done?”

“Exactly what you should have. You may not see it yet, but I’m certain this will be the best thing for you. Colten is a good man and you two will be happy together. I’m not saying there won’t be some trials ahead, but oh I’m so happy for you. Come on.”

Susan grabbed Annabelle’s arm and tugged her along, the fatigue and sore feet she’d complained about not long ago seemingly forgotten. As they passed a group of boys, Susan hollered, “Jessie, run get Mrs. Howard. Tell her I have to talk to her immediately.”

A boy about thirteen jumped up and ran off toward the mercantile. Annabelle wondered what Mrs. Howard would think of suddenly acquiring a new daughter-in-law. The woman was nice and all, but this sudden change of plans would throw anyone off.

Before they got to the church building, Annabelle spotted Mrs. Howard running out of the store and heading straight to them.

“What’s the matter Susan? Is it time? Should I get the wagon to take you home? Do you want to just come to my place?”

“Oh, it’s nothing like that,” Susan said. “We have some news.”

“Don’t you think Colten should be the one to tell her?” Annabelle asked.

“Not a chance,” Susan said. “We need to get things started if we’re going to have a proper wedding planned in time.”

“Wedding?” Mrs. Howard asked. “You didn’t agree to marry Lester did you, darling?”

Susan made a sound that surprised Annabelle. Something like a snort and a laugh. “Not Lester,” Susan said. “Colten.”

“What?” Mrs. Howard said, looking between Susan and Annabelle. She took Annabelle’s hands and held them between her own. “It can’t be true.”

“I’m sorry,” Annabelle said. “We should have made sure it was all right with you.”

“All right with me? Oh my dear, you have no idea how happy I am. I will finally get a daughter.” She pulled Annabelle into a warm, motherly hug sending a wave of belonging through her. “I have been after that boy to find himself a wife for so long. But there aren’t a lot of choices here. And then you come along and are just perfect for him. I can’t wait to have you as part of the family.”

“I was going to take her back to my house and we’ll make her an outer dress to wear for the wedding. She will be able to get one made up in no time. And what better way to show off her talents than with a dress everyone will see. I was hoping you would spread the news and get people to gather together for a wedding tomorrow night. We can have a big celebration and food and dancing and music, just like you all did for Michael and me.”

Mrs. Howard nodded and hugged Annabelle once more. “I’ll get right on that. Tomorrow night then?”

Susan didn’t even look at Annabelle when she answered Mrs. Howard. Of course, if Annabelle took any more time to think about it, she might panic and change her mind. It would be best to get it over with. Especially if Lester changed his mind. If she was already married to Colten, there would be nothing Lester could do.

And if she didn’t act fast, Colten might come to his senses and change his mind as well. Yes, tomorrow night would be just fine.