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May 15, 1889
Dear future wife,
Cattle roundups are hard work. I’d rather be with Dr. Benson mending a broken arm, but I couldn’t miss what might be my last time doing a roundup. It’s been too long since I did one. I am sore everywhere. The good news is that I think tonight is the last night sleeping under the stars. Tomorrow night it’s a nice, warm bed. Just don’t tell Joshua I don’t particularly care for the roundups.
Sincerely,
Otis
***
The roundup took two more days after Otis started helping. It turned out to be perfect timing. The day after the roundup was done, he headed to town to ask Aunt Eleanor when the lawyer would be arriving. His goal was to arrive at the schoolhouse before the children, and he succeeded.
“Otis!” Aunt Eleanor exclaimed. “I’m glad you are here. The lawyer, Mr. Lincoln Parker, is arriving today. If it weren’t for teaching school, I would meet him, but I can’t. Could—”
He put a hand on her arm. “I’ll meet him at the stage office. I’ve got little else to do today anyway. I’ll see if Dr. Benson needs help until then.”
“Thank you. I wish I could see him again. I always did like him.”
“I’m sure he’d let you visit while he’s here.”
She made a dismissive sound. “Pshaw. Why would he want to visit with an old woman like me?”
“I like to visit with you.”
“You’re my nephew.”
“Ellis and Carter don’t like to visit as much as I do.”
“Point taken. Have a good time. I need to get the schoolroom ready.”
“Have a good day.”
She waved and went inside.
***
Otis spent the day putting Dr. Benson’s office back in order. He was a very good doctor, but not at all good at organizing or keeping things organized. Otis often wondered how Dr. Benson survived before he started helping.
He finished what he could and headed to the stage office. As usual, it was a little late.
Two men stepped off the stage, and Otis looked at first one, then the other. Which one was the lawyer? One was rotund and older and the other thin, wiry, and looked to be a little older than him.
“Mr. Parker?” Otis asked.
The thin, wiry man with slicked down, dark-brown hair looked his way, smiled slightly, and held out his hand. “You must be the fortunate Otis Miller.”
Otis nodded and winced inwardly at his tight grip. “I am.”
“Nice to meet you. Is there a respectable sleeping establishment around here?”
“You have a couple of choices,” he answered. “There is a boarding house, a small hotel, or the family who raised me since Pa died offered to house you if you’d like. It is out of town on a ranch, so I wasn’t sure which you would prefer.”
“I think I would prefer the boarding house. No offense to you or your family.”
Otis smiled. “None taken. I’ll take your bag and we can go.”
“Thank you. When can we meet to go over the inheritance? Miss Miller did mention it to you, correct?”
They walked and talked at the same time. “Yes, she did. I’m sure you are tired, so tomorrow morning will be fine.”
He nodded. “Thank you. That is extremely considerate of you. And with it being a Saturday tomorrow, Miss Miller can join us if you would like.”
“Can my brothers and sisters come, too, if they want? And Mr. Brookings?”
“Of course.”
Otis paused at the walkway to the boarding house. “Is this respectable enough?”
He looked it over. “For a two-bit cowtown, yes.”
Otis held his tongue and led the way to the door. “Mrs. Ackerman?” he called as he stepped inside.
Her daughter, Amy, came in from the kitchen. “Mama is making bread. Oh! Otis! It is nice to see you again. What can I do for you?”
“Mr. Parker needs a room if you have one available,” Otis said.
Amy looked in the book on the desk and nodded. “We have a few available rooms. Would you prefer the street or wilderness view, Mr. Parker?”
Mr. Parker raised an eyebrow. “It does not matter to me. How much will it be?”
“One dollar a day,” she said with a slight flutter of her eyelids. “The price includes breakfast and supper. We serve both at six o’clock sharp.”
“Very good. Thank you, Miss—”
“Ackerman. You will have room three. Down the hall, the second door on the left. We do have a policy for payment to be made right away for at least one night.”
Mr. Parker nodded tersely and fished two coins out of his pocket.
Amy and Otis exchanged a glance, and he shrugged slightly. He had never seen someone so detached and nonresponsive before.
She took the money and gave him the key, and Mr. Parker gave Otis a short nod before starting for his room.
“Mr. Parker?” Otis asked.
“Yes?”
He cleared his throat. “Here’s your bag. What time should I be here tomorrow?”
“Would nine o’clock be convenient?”
“I believe so. I’ll see you then.”
He didn’t respond except to keep going to his room.
Amy let out a long breath. “I have never met such a...stoic person before. Who is he?”
“My late grandfather’s lawyer.”
“Amy?” Mrs. Ackerman called. “Are you busy?”
“Coming, Mama,” she said over her shoulder.
“May I come with?” Otis asked. “I have a question for her.”
“Of course! Come.”
He followed her through the swinging door.
“Mama, you’ll never guess who brought a guest for us.”
Mrs. Ackerman looked up from her bread dough. “Otis Miller as I live and breathe. How are you?”
He gave a slight nod. “I am doing well, ma’am. How are you?”
“The boarding house is staying busy enough to pay the bills, so everything is good on that front.” She turned to Amy. “Can you please stir the soup?”
He smiled as Amy went to the stove. “Good. Well, I wondered if Mr. Parker and I could have use of your parlor tomorrow morning. Would that be possible?”
“Mr. Parker is our new guest?” she questioned.
“Yes, Mama,” Amy said.
Mrs. Ackerman gave the dough a good punch and straightened. “I don’t see why not. As far as I know, our other guests plan to leave after breakfast. Will you be wanting any refreshments while you are here?”
Otis shook his head. “Thank you, Mrs. Ackerman, but I wouldn’t want to add to your workload. I planned to ask Olive and Mary to make something for us to bring and share with you.”
Mrs. Ackerman smiled. “If you insist, but I can also have some tea and coffee available.”
Otis nodded. “Thank you. That would be a good idea. I will see you tomorrow morning. I’m not sure how many of us will come.”
She nodded before he left. As he walked, he wondered how tomorrow would shake out.
***
Olive, Ellis, and Mr. Brookings agreed to go with Otis. Olive wanted to see Amy, and Ellis and Mr. Brookings wanted to hear firsthand what he had inherited. Otis had also specifically asked Mr. Brookings to come so he could counsel him if he needed to make any quick decisions.
Mary, Olive, and Mrs. Brookings spent the early morning making some refreshments, including Aunt Eleanor’s and Otis’s favorite: spice cookies. When the plate of cookies and tea cakes were ready, they all headed for town. Otis stopped by Aunt Eleanor’s cottage as they passed by.
“Two days in a row seeing my favorite oldest nephew? Be still my heart!”
Otis laughed and took a bow. “I have come to inquire if the fair lady, Eleanor Ann Miller, would care to join me, Ellis, and Mr. Brookings for the discovery of what my extensive inheritance entails.”
Aunt Eleanor laughed more heartily than he had heard in some time. “I see my love for goodly speech has rubbed off on at least one of my relatives.”
“I learnt it from my witty aunt.”
“‘A witty aunt, witless else her nephew,’” Olive changed the quote slightly.
Otis turned. “‘Am I not wise?’”
Olive grinned but didn’t continue.
Aunt Eleanor clapped. “Besides the changed words, that was a beautifully short rendition of Shakespeare. When did you two memorize it?”
Otis’s face grew warm. “A few years back. I read the volume of Shakespeare you lent me and made Olive read that part of The Taming of the Shrew with me. We liked it so much we memorized part of it.”
“I loved it,” Aunt Eleanor said. “You’ll have to do the whole passage for me sometime. But right now I need to get my shawl and let my nephew escort me.”
She disappeared inside for less than a minute. Otis offered her his arm and the five of them made their way to the boarding house.
The door burst open before they even stepped onto the cobblestone walk. “Olive!” Amy squealed. “You came!”
Olive hurried forward and hugged Amy.
“Amy Louise Ackerman!” Mrs. Ackerman’s voice came from inside.
Amy flinched. “Come on in. The parlor is ready and Mr. Parker is in there. Be back shortly.” She hurried into the house and left the door open for them.
Olive led the way in and by the time they were in the entry and had the door closed, Amy was back.
“Mama’s got the tea and coffee almost ready. I’ll take the plate and get you to the parlor.”
Aunt Eleanor squeezed Otis’s arm, and he glanced at her in time to see her amused smile. She caught him looking at her and leaned in. “She’s a busy girl, isn’t she?”
He nodded and followed Amy to the parlor.
Mr. Parker set some papers down and stood when they entered. “Miss Miller, a pleasure to see you again.”
Otis made introductions around the room and waited for everyone to sit.
Olive came up to him and whispered, “Can I go with Amy to help her and visit?”
Otis nodded and the two scurried off. He sat after getting himself a cup of coffee. “Shall we get right to business?”
Mr. Parker took a swallow of his drink. “Yes. I won’t bother reading the will, but I did bring a copy so you can see it and read it at your convenience.” He handed Otis an envelope. “It basically says, ‘Everything of mine goes to my grandson, Otis Miller, on his twenty-first birthday unless he has committed a crime or my daughter, Eleanor Miller, deems him unworthy. If I die before Otis turns twenty-one, my executor will take care of everything until then.’”
Otis looked up from the will. “Who is the executor?”
“I am,” Mr. Parker replied.
“Thank you for taking care of everything.”
“My pleasure.” He looked down at his notes. “I have a list of properties, businesses, and bank balances you can look at later. To summarize, you now own a mill which planes wood for selling as well as for the furniture factory you own. There is a silver mine in Colorado which is only making mediocre returns, a couple of houses for rent in Fort Wayne, and a five-figure bank account. You won’t be the richest man in Fort Wayne, and maybe not even here, but the furniture at Miller’s Furniture is bought around the world and is often on back order.
“Mr. Miller always insisted on setting and paying fair prices, not necessarily on making a large profit. You will have to decide what you want to do.”
Otis ran his tongue over his teeth. “Is there anything I need to sign or look at to get the deeds and legal decisions in my name?”
“Yes.” He laid some papers out on the coffee table.
Otis leaned forward and picked up the one closest to him, reading it carefully.
“May I?” Mr. Brookings asked, fingering a paper.
Otis nodded absently, trying to understand what the paper said. “Can I take these with me and get them back to you on Monday morning?”
Mr. Parker pressed his lips together. “You may. Or I can tell you what each document says.”
Otis shook his head. “No, thank you. I’d rather read them all and get back to you. Is this all of them?”
He nodded and glanced at his notes again. “Once you have signed all the papers, I will go back to Indiana and get everything finalized.”
Otis hesitated. “If I decide to, would you mind me traveling with you?”
“Not at all.”
Otis smiled. “Thank you.”
Mr. Parker set his notes aside and leaned back. “What is there to do around here?”
Mr. Brookings looked up from the legal sheet. “If you enjoy horse riding, I could loan you a horse, and you could see some of the scenery out here. I’d be happy to take you on a tour of my ranch. Otherwise, there is a traveling acting troupe in town this weekend, but their show is rather unbiblical from what I have heard. Besides that, we all just keep busy with our work and visiting our friends. There are a couple of old-timers who like to play checkers and talk at the general store.”
Mr. Parker rubbed his clean-shaven chin. “Thank you, Mr. Brookings. I will keep those in mind.”
Otis stacked the papers together and Ellis picked up the tray. “Anyone else want a cookie or some tea or coffee?”
“What kind of cookies?” Mr. Parker asked.
“Spice,” Otis answered.
Aunt Eleanor hummed in pleasure. “Mm, my favorite. May I please have one with a little refill of my tea?”
Otis got up to help Ellis with the tea. “Mr. Parker, would you like anything?”
“A cookie, please. I haven’t had one in some time.”
Ellis took the tray around the room to give everyone a chance to get one while Otis went around with the teapot.
“Who made the cookies?” Mr. Parker asked.
Otis cleared his throat. “My sister Olive.”
He took a bite. “They’re good.”
Otis grabbed a cookie for himself and returned to his chair. “I’ll tell her you said so.”
They ate and drank in silence for a while.
“Did you have an uneventful journey here?” Aunt Eleanor asked.
Mr. Parker set his cup down. “I did. I had a few cases to work on while riding the train, so that helped pass the time. The stage was too bumpy for much of anything, but I did get a little reading done.”
“Good,” she replied. “How would you like to come to my place for lunch?”
“I don’t want to impose—” he started.
“Nonsense!” Aunt Eleanor exclaimed. “I wouldn’t have invited you if it would be an imposition. I live in the cottage next to the schoolhouse.”
His cheeks grew red. “Yes, ma’am. I’ll be there. What time?”
“Noon and not a minute later.”
Mr. Parker nodded. “Noon it is.”
Mr. Brookings stood and stretched. “I suppose we should go back home. If you decide to go riding, anyone in town can direct you to the ranch.”
Mr. Parker stood and shook his hand. “Thank you.”
Otis followed Mr. Parker’s example. “Thank you, Mr. Parker.”
“You’re welcome,” he said. “I will see you Monday morning.”