| |
The next few days were more than Bertha had ever hoped for. For the first time since saying goodbye to Mamaw and Papaw decades ago she felt like she belonged. Working with the sisters and Leona on plans for the hotel and now staying in the house with them made her realize what it would be like having sisters of her own. Surprisingly, leaving Hattie and her girls behind in the tent was bittersweet.
And being asked to be Leona’s assistant in the running of the hotel? Well, that had been an unexpected and pleasant surprise. Then there was the secret behind who Leona’s admirers were. Based on the type of gifts being left at the restaurant and the house, there had to be at least three.
Their trip to Lead the other day led to her discovery of one of the suitors. It had been a pleasure helping Asa pick out things to give Leona while Leona was busy picking out things for the hotel. It had been a long time since she’d enjoyed herself so much. Now if she could only figure out who the other two men were and somehow eliminate them from the race for her new friend’s hand. One of them was either slow or had no idea what women wanted.
Bertha shuddered recalling what had greeted them the other morning. Why someone would leave a string of fish inside the restaurant and think they wouldn’t smell in the morning was beyond her. She’d gagged and nearly lost her breakfast after sticking her head inside. Thankfully, Sorely, who had truly been her and Leona’s hero, had gone inside and removed the offending carcasses.
The air this morning was crisp and clear. There was still a slight taint of smoke, but as buildings rose it was replaced by fresh cut wood and cooking stoves. It hadn’t taken long for Al Swearingen to get another place up and for girls to be calling for men to join them in their rooms.
Bertha had now walked to and from the restaurant and Julia and Suzanna’s house so often, she could do it in her sleep. Today, she slowed as they approached where the men were working. Unfortunately, it was too cool for the men to remove their shirts, but she couldn’t help but admire Sorely’s physique anyway as he lifted a crate of nails. He still had his scruffy beard. What would he look like if he shaved it off? Her heart probably couldn’t take how handsome he probably looked.
The three floors of the new restaurant and hotel were framed in. What would be the next step? Trying to envision the finished product, she didn’t notice Sorely by her side.
“Goin’ to be a beaut, isn’t she?”
Startled, Bertha’s heart fluttered like a hummingbird. Not normally tongue-tied, she searched for something to say. He hadn’t said a word to her since the fish incident when he’d said he’d take care of them. “Um, yes. I’ve seen the plans for the inside but have no idea what the outside will look like.”
“Want a tour?”
A tour? A tour of what? All she saw were boards nailed together. “Um. Sure.” Even through layers of fabric, her arm tingled where he touched her to guide her around the property.
“This will be the front door. King designed it as an extra wide double door. These openings on either side will be windows.”
As far as she was concerned it was all openings, but if it meant spending time with him, she’d let him ramble on.
“There will be a porch across the front of the building with marble pillars holding up the roof.” With his hand at her lower back, he guided her to the left side of the building. “As you can see, there will be windows along the side where the dining room and kitchen will be.”
“It will certainly be brighter than what we’re working in now.”
“Once we get the roof on and the sides up and bricked in, we’ll work on the inside walls.” He led her to the back of the building, helping her around stack a of boards and a load of bricks. “A back door will make it easy to get to the woodshed. The opposite side be the offices.”
The pride in his voice was evident. “Have you always worked on buildings?”
As they walked back to the front of the building, Sorely shook his head. “No. I’ve done a lot of different things. I’ve worked on ranches, helped lay railroad tracks, and most anything to keep my belly full.”
“A jack of all trades then?”
Sorely shrugged. “I guess you could call me that.”
“Hey, Sorely.” King called out. “Quit trying to impress the lady and get your lazy self over here and get to work. We need to get these walls closed in.”
“You go ahead, Sorely.” She took a step back, nearly tripping on Sorely’s barrel of nails. He grabbed her arm to keep her from ending up with nails embedded in her backside. Flustered, she patted her hair. “Thank you. I’d . . . I’d best be getting inside and help Leona.”
If she’d thought the banging had been bad enough when the men were framing the building, it was nothing compared to the men putting up the walls. Instead of them working on one side at a time, the men had paired up on each side, making the hammering four times as loud. Not to mention the inside of the tent was getting darker as the boards went higher and higher.
As usual, after the lunch hour, Leona plopped down on a chair and urged Bertha to do the same. “I don’t know how much more of this pounding I can take.”
Bertha rubbed her temples. “I agree. This morning Sorely told me they hoped to have the sides boarded up by the end of the day.”
“Good lord, I hope so. Even the customers complained this morning.”
“I heard, and I told some of them in no uncertain terms if they didn’t like it, they could go somewhere else for their food.”
Leona chuckled. “Since we’re the only place in town serving meals, I imagine that shut them up.”
“Sure did, but I believe it had more to do with the tone of my voice than the idea there was nowhere else to go.”
A loud yell came from somewhere above them. They glanced up as if they’d be able to see through the canvas walls. Leona sighed. “I don’t want to know what happened.”
“Me, neither,” Bertha added. But thinking maybe Sorely had gotten hurt, her heart skipped a beat.
“By the way, Bertha. Not that I’m complaining because I’m not, but what took you so long to come inside this morning?” She gave Bertha a sly grin. “Could it be a certain man you’re interested in?”
“Oh, pshaw, Leona.” Bertha propped her feet on a chair. Her shoes were nearly worn out. She had only two coins she’d found in the rubble of the rented house. Probably not enough for a new pair, but it would be worth the time to go to the Brick Store in Lead to see what they had on hand. She hadn’t had time to look for things for herself when she’d gone there with Leona. Plus, helping Asa purchase items for Leona had been so much fun, she’d forgotten about the poor state of her footwear.
“Sorely was simply giving me a tour of the outside.” Bertha took a sip of coffee and grimaced at the dregs at the bottom of the cup. The last coffee of the day was always the worst.
Leona grinned. “If you say so.”
“You can smile. What about Asa Johnson? You can’t begin to tell me you’re not interested in him.”
“I can tell you, but . . .” Leona shrugged.
“You’d be lying.”
Leona shrugged again. “Maybe.” She dropped her feet to the ground and slapped her knees. “I guess it’s time we get organized to close up the restaurant. King said it wouldn’t be long and we wouldn’t be able to serve anymore. It’s going to get too dark in here.”
“How long do we have?”
“I guess this weekend will be the last until we can open up the real one.”
****
Bertha wiped the perspiration from her forehead. With the walls up and bricking done, there was little to no air coming into the tent. Once they got the stoves going in the morning, it was beastly hot. Leona never complained, so she didn’t either, but it was always a relief to get outside and breathe in the fresh, cool air.
Even though she’d miss cooking every day, she wouldn’t miss the noise. More than once they had to remove flecks of sawdust from a pot of stew or a pie. Once she’d even found a nail in a pot. Thankfully, she’d found it before she’d started a pot of soup.
Today, the tent was coming down. The tables and chairs, dishes, pots and pans, and other items would be loaded into wagons and taken to King’s ranch for storage. Most of it would be replaced anyway. The men planned on building the kitchen around the stove.
“You ladies ready?” King, followed by Asa, Daniel, Sorely, and few other men she’d come to know as employees from King’s ranch, came into the tent. “We’re ready to load everything up and takes this monstrosity down.”
Once everything was removed and put in wagons, King called for a break. Bertha didn’t miss it coinciding with Julia and Suzanna arriving with cookies and coffee. In a few short minutes Julia had cozied up to Daniel, Suzanna by King, and, surprisingly, Asa took a place next to Leona. Josiah and his buddy, Toby, were chowing down their cookies as if they hadn’t eaten in weeks. Probably getting ready to do whatever it was ten-year-old boys did.
As primly as she could and feeling like a thistle in a sea of flowers, Bertha took a seat on a pile of wood and nibbled on a sugar cookie the sisters had made that morning. A shadow crossed before her.
“May I join you?”
Sorely wanted to sit with her? The moist cookie turned to sawdust going down her throat. Her heart raced and goosebumps erupted on her skin. She coughed and took a sip of coffee. “Um. Sure.” She swept her skirt to the side to make room for him.
“I’m going to miss your cooking when we get the kitchen down.”
“And I’m going to miss cooking.”
“What are you goin’ to do while you wait for us to finish?”
Bertha shrugged. “Help make curtains. Stitch sheets and towels. You know, help Leona get things ready for when we can move in.”
“Sounds incredibly borin’.”
From beneath her eyelashes, she glanced at him. What would he look like without his beard? Not only his beard, but his worn-out, dusty, wide-brimmed hat? She’d never seen him without it. “Not really. We’ve already started and tend to make it a sewing party. I also hope to get some knitting done.”
“Knittin’?” He took a bite from his cookie.
“You know, how hats, scarves, and mittens are made.”
Sorely chuckled. “I know what knittin’ is. Just didn’t think it was something you’d do.”
“Why on Earth would you think that?”
“I don’ know. I guess bein’ a banker’s wife, you were busy doin’ . . .” He shrugged. “. . . well, banker’s wife stuff.”
“Unfortunately, that’s what James had thought, too.” She couldn’t take another bite of her snack. “I was supposed to sit around and do nothing. So, instead, I knitted. My grandmother had taught me.”
“Where’d you get the yarn if you don’t mind my askin.’ I mean. With the stores all burned down . . .”
“Leona’s friends from Lead have given me some.”
Sorely was quiet for a moment. “You remind me of someone I knew a long time ago.”
Bertha raised an eyebrow. “I do?”
“Yeah. Can’t put my finger on it. Where’re you from?”
Had he seen her with James someplace where he’d pulled one of his scams? Had Sorely been swindled by her husband? Better to not specify a place. “Here, there, and everywhere.” Best to turn the question back at him. She didn’t recognize him, but maybe she’d seen him someplace and he didn’t have that awful beard. “How about you?”
“Same. Once I left home, I moved around a lot, doing odd jobs, learnin’ about training horses. That’s how I started working with King. I handle his racehorses.”
“Sounds interesting.” His stare made her nerves jump. Was it from her attraction to him, or something else? “What do you do in the winter? I mean, I imagine there are no races once the snow flies.”
“You’re right. We’ve got the horses stalled at King’s ranch. Besides keeping them groomed and in shape, I usually help fix buildings and other odd jobs he needs done.” He scratched his chin beneath his beard and stared at his dusty boots. “Um. Um. I was wonderin’ if’n you’d be interested in—”
“Time’s a wasting,” King yelled as he stood. “Let’s get this tent down so we can start working on the inside.”
Without finishing what he was going to say, Sorely handed her his empty mug and tugged on the brim of his hat. “Thanks for the cookies and coffee.”
Should she call him back and ask him what he was going to say? Was he going to ask her to do something with him or ask her to cook a meal? Darn King. Something inside her ached as Sorely disappeared inside the building. Now that they weren’t cooking in the tent, would she see him again?