Jimmy helped Carl put the last of the hay into the back of the wagon. “Are you going to have enough room for the things you’re buying from the store? Your wagon’s over half full.”
“I’ll make room,” Carl replied as he shoved the stack of hay as far back as it’d go.
Even if Carl had to put some things up front on the seat between him and Juliet, he’d do it. Just as long as he didn’t have to come back to town before spring, the discomfort during the ride back would be worth it.
Jimmy shrugged. “Alright. It’s your wagon.”
Carl sighed. Why did it seem that most people didn’t think he knew what he was doing? If it hadn’t been his father who doubted him, it was Lydia. And even with both of them out of the way, he still had to contend with this nonsense whenever he came to town.
“At least I’m paying you, so it doesn’t matter if I can lug everything to my place or not,” Carl said.
Jimmy threw his hands up in the air. “I meant no offense. It’s just that when Kyle tried to haul hay and a winter’s worth of supplies back to his cabin, he lost half his supplies on the way home. He had to go back and pick everything up.”
“When Kyle was ten, he thought he could fly from the top of his barn if he took a few bird feathers and flapped his arms,” Carl said. “You can’t compare me to him.”
Jimmy chuckled. “I forgot about that. It’s a good thing his pa caught him before he landed.”
Carl pulled out the bills from his pocket and paid Jimmy.
“Try not to be so serious,” Jimmy said. “It’s alright to laugh once in a while.”
He shot Jimmy a pointed look. “It’s hard to laugh when people keep criticizing everything I do.”
“A lot of that is in your head.”
“Is it?” He glanced around to make sure no one was listening then lowered his voice. “Are you aware that people blame me for the fact that Jerry killed Lydia?”
“They’re in shock, Carl. No one believed Jerry was capable of murder.”
“No, but they sure did blame me before they found out it was him. Then, as if that wasn’t enough, they’re blaming me for the fact that he did it.”
“Give them time. They’ll come around.”
Carl was ready to protest, but he held his tongue and let Jimmy leave. What was the point in trying to correct him? Everyone—and that meant everyone—thought he was imagining all the bad things that happened to him. They couldn’t imagine it was as bad as he made it out to be. The only person who didn’t give him any grief was Juliet.
He couldn’t wait to get out of this town. Next year. Next year, he’d find enough gold to finally make it out of here. Now that he had Juliet’s help, there was hope. Real hope.
The sound of a dog barking and a couple of horses’ neighing brought Carl’s attention to the stagecoach. To avoid hitting the dog, the driver ended up leading the stagecoach right for Carl. Carl hurried out of the way, and the driver pulled back the reins just in time to avoid hitting his wagon. The dog ran across the road, still barking but unharmed.
The stagecoach came to a stop, and the driver wiped his brow. “Stupid animal,” he muttered.
“I told you not to drink while you’re driving the stage,” the young man next to the driver said. “If you had listened to me, you would’ve seen the dog in plenty of time.”
The driver’s face turning bright red, he snapped his fingers and pointed to the door of the stagecoach. “Get the mail to the general store.”
The young man rolled his eyes before he hopped down and opened the door. As he did, a bag fell to the ground, and since it wasn’t latched securely, some of the mail fell out with it.
“I told you not to take the turns so fast!” the young man yelled at the driver.
The driver grunted. “And I told you to make sure the bags were secure. Go on and get it all together. We’re late enough as it is.”
The young man groaned and started to collect the mail.
Carl couldn’t help but feel sorry for the young man. Was it his fault his boss happened to be the way he was? Carl jogged over to him and knelt down to help.
“Thanks,” the man said.
“Think nothing of it,” Carl replied as he grabbed a handful of letters and a couple of catalogues. Noting a poster about to blow away in the breeze, he hurried to retrieve it.
“Are you telling me you can’t do the job by yourself?” the driver called out to the young man.
The young man turned away from Carl. “What do you care? You’re too lazy to do anything but sit up on that seat all day.”
Carl put the letters and catalogues into the sack. Then he got ready to put the poster in there when he realized it was a Wanted poster, and it was addressed to the “Sheriff in Town”.
“I’ve worked twenty-three years,” the driver was telling the young man. “That’s twenty-two years and six months more than you’ve ever done. I’ve earned the right to stay seated.”
Carl was ready to slip the poster back into the sack when he realized the drawing of the woman on it looked familiar. He paused and studied it. It was Juliet. Even wearing the cowboy hat on her head and a bandana around her neck, he’d recognize her anywhere.
He thought back to how insistent the preacher was that he recognized Juliet. Maybe he’d seen a copy of this poster during one of his travels. He just didn’t remember it.
“I hope I never get that lazy,” the young man told the driver. “I never want to be as miserable as you.”
The young man began to turn back to him. Without thinking, Carl quickly folded the poster and slipped it into his pocket before he shoved the rest of the mail into the sack. The young man thanked him again as he picked up the sack.
While he went into the general store, Carl slowly stood up and glanced around to make sure no one had seen him steal the poster that was meant for Eric. No one, thankfully, seemed to even notice him. They were too busy laughing about the argument that had transpired between the driver and his assistant.
Well, that worked to Carl’s favor. He didn’t need to draw attention to himself. It would probably be best if he went back to the general store. He would have to inspect the poster later on when he was alone. Wiping his sweaty palms on his pants, he headed for the store.
***
Juliet was beginning to think Caroline wasn’t going to talk to her, something that would be a relief since she didn’t like awkward encounters any more than Carl did. But as Juliet finished putting on the last pair of gloves, Caroline approached her.
“I didn’t want you to think I was ignoring you,” Caroline greeted.
Forcing a smile, Juliet turned to her, deciding to keep up the pretense that she hadn’t realized Caroline had been in the store. “Caroline! It’s nice to see you. Did you bring Caleb?”
“No,” Caroline replied. “He’s in school. I’m here by myself. I thought you saw me over there with Phoebe.” She motioned to the area of the store where Phoebe was.
“No, I didn’t. I was just trying on these gloves.” Juliet held her breath and waited to see if Caroline would fall for the lie.
Fortunately, Caroline seemed to believe her since she returned her smile. “I came in to get some flour and sugar. I’m going to make cookies. It’s the one thing I know how to make really well.”
“Surely, you can make other things.”
“Well, I can, but I’ve never burnt cookies.”
“If Caleb likes cookies as much as he likes brown sugar candy, then I’m sure he doesn’t mind if you make them all the time.” Why, her brothers considered treats a full meal and would eat them instead of more nutritious foods.
Caroline glanced over at Phoebe who was gathering more things to put into her crate. “Would you like to meet Phoebe?” Caroline asked. “I’m her friend, and now that I’m yours, I’m afraid it would be rude if I didn’t introduce you two. We don’t have to mention anything about Carl or Abe. We’ll stick to pleasant topics.”
“Well…” Juliet had nothing against Phoebe. She didn’t have anything against Abe. And meeting either one of them wasn’t going to change what she thought of Carl. “Alright. But let me tell Daniel which pair of gloves I want first.”
Caroline joined her as she went over to the store owner. After she handed him the pair she wanted, she followed Caroline and headed to Phoebe.
“Phoebe is with child,” Caroline told her.
“Is she?” Juliet’s gaze went to the woman’s stomach, but she couldn’t tell by looking at her that this was true.
“She’s not due until the middle of March,” Caroline explained as if she could read her mind. “It’s still too early for her to be showing.”
They reached her, and Phoebe set the crate on the floor. By the expression on Phoebe’s face, Juliet knew this was as awkward for Phoebe as it was for her. And knowing that, the tension in Juliet’s stomach eased.
“Phoebe, this is Juliet,” Caroline began, “and Juliet, this is Phoebe. You two have something in common that I envy. Both of you can cook without threatening to burn the cabin down.”
Phoebe chuckled. “Caroline, you mustn’t be so hard on yourself. You’ve learned a lot since you came out here.”
Juliet knew Caroline had made the comment about her cooking to lighten the mood, and she had to admit, it worked. The last of her tension was gone.
“I have a feeling Caroline’s not as bad as she claims,” Juliet told Phoebe. “I think she’s saying that for our sakes.”
“You’re probably right,” Phoebe replied. “I suppose we might as well get it over with. I’m Abe’s wife, and you’re Carl’s wife. Obviously, our husbands don’t get along, but I see no reason why we can’t.”
Juliet smiled. “I agree. Everything that happened between them is because of their father. Neither one asked to be put in the situation they’re in. Carl had no control over his father seeking out a mistress, and Abe had no control over being born illegitimately.”
“I hadn’t thought of it that way before, but I can see how their father had a lot to do with how things are between them.”
“That doesn’t mean things have to continue to be bad,” Caroline spoke up. “I like to believe that our past doesn’t have to determine our future.”
“I hope not,” Juliet replied, more for her sake than Carl’s or Abe’s.
“I know it doesn’t,” Caroline said. “It’s not what’s happened in our past that defines us. It’s what we do now that matters.”
“I don’t know,” Phoebe replied. “There are a lot of painful wounds from the past. Even if there could be an agreement of what to do with the stream, would it be enough to undo the damage their father did?” She lowered her voice. “Abe hated their father.”
“Carl hated their father, too,” Juliet whispered. “He only wants the stream so he can get the gold he needs so he can leave this town. I’m helping him find the gold, and there’s a good amount there that needs to be panned out. Once we get enough, we won’t have a need for it anymore. Then Abe’s free to do whatever he wants with it.”
The door opened, and the three women looked over at the door in time to see Abe enter the store. Immediately, they took a step away from each other as if they’d been caught doing something they shouldn’t have been.
Abe glanced at each one, his eyebrows furrowed.
Phoebe was the one who broke the silence. “Caroline was introducing me to Juliet.”
Abe gave a nod to Juliet. “It’s nice to meet you.”
Sure her face was bright red, Juliet smiled and said, “It’s nice to meet you, too.”
“We should go,” Abe told Phoebe.
“Yes, we should.” Phoebe made a move to pick up the crate, but he did it for her. “It was a pleasure to meet you, Juliet.”
Juliet expressed the same sentiment as the two headed for the counter.
Caroline let out a sigh of relief and whispered, “That went better than I thought it would.”
Yes, Juliet supposed it did. She could only guess how tense things were between Carl and Abe. It had been difficult enough to face Abe by herself. There was no doubt about it. Abe really didn’t like Carl. Though he’d been nice to her, he was wary of her because she was Carl’s wife. Phoebe, it seemed, was a lot easier to deal with. But then, it wasn’t Phoebe’s father who did all the things Abe’s father had done.
“I was wondering,” Caroline began, “if you and Carl might like to visit with me, Eric, Allie, and Travis? Carl gets along with Eric and Travis. It might be nice to have a meal together. You can come to our home.”
“I should ask Carl before agreeing.”
“Of course. I already asked the others, and they think it’s a splendid idea. I don’t think the gentlemen get together a lot. It’ll be good for them to talk.”
The door opened, and this time it was Carl who was coming into the store. Unfortunately, Abe and Phoebe happened to be leaving right at that moment, and the two men paused as soon as they saw each other.
She hoped this wasn’t going to be one of those situations where emotion overran logic and the two started throwing punches. She’d seen such situations firsthand a few times with her brothers and their enemies. There wasn’t anything she or the other women could say to stop them if that happened. When men got angry enough, they just didn’t listen to reason.
Fortunately, the two passed each other without saying anything. Juliet released her breath, unaware she’d been holding it. Good. At least they had more restraint than her brothers did.
Caroline offered Juliet a smile and whispered, “I should probably get going. I’ll go out to your cabin in a couple days to find out if you and Carl will be coming to lunch at my place.”
That was probably for the best. Juliet doubted Carl was in the mood to accept an invitation to a get-together.
Carl headed over to Juliet just as Caroline left. Caroline offered a greeting, which he returned, then hurried to the counter.
“Did you find a suitable pair of gloves?” Carl asked.
“Yes. I gave them to Daniel.”
“Good.” He glanced around the store. “Is there anything else you want to get?”
“To be honest, I haven’t had a chance to look through here.” She gestured to the many shelves. “While I was trying on the gloves, Caroline came over to talk to me, and we’d been talking ever since.”
She decided not to mention her brief conversation with Phoebe. It didn’t seem like something he wanted to hear, especially not after running into Abe on his way into the store.
Instead, she opted to add, “Caroline invited us to have a meal with her, Eric, Allie and Travis. She didn’t say when she wanted to do this. She only extended the invitation, so we don’t have to give her an answer today. She’ll come out to our place in a couple of days to get our answer.”
“Is this something you want to do?”
“Me?” He wanted to know what she thought of going to the lunch?
“She’s really inviting you. I’ll just happen to come with you.”
That was an odd way of putting it. She had mentioned that Eric and Travis would be there. Surely, he understood that the men would want to talk to him.
“If you want to go, the answer is yes,” he said. “If you don’t, then we’ll tell her I said no.”
He might not have realized it, but his comment revealed something sweet about him, something that she hadn’t expected. He cared about her enough to let her make the decision. More than that, he was willing to look like the spoilsport if she didn’t want to go.
Smiling, she touched his arm, careful to keep it light in case she startled him. “I think we should go.”
That way, it wouldn’t make him look bad, and it might even be nice for him to talk to Eric and Travis. Caroline was right, after all. Men should have a chance to talk to each other, and Carl had spent all of his time with her at the cabin.
“We can agree to stay for one hour and then go back home,” she suggested, in case the thought of going made him uneasy.
“No. We’ll stay for as long as you want to be there.”
“Well,” she glanced over at Caroline, “maybe I should tell Caroline we’ll go while we’re here. Then she won’t waste her time coming out to our place to find out what we decided.”
Since he indicated his agreement, she talked to Caroline about the lunch and then used the rest of their time in the store to pick out a few more items she thought would be good to take home.