“Hello again,” said a soft melodious voice.
Brianna looked up and was surprised to see the young woman who had stopped the first day on her way to Fort Bridger. “Hello! I didn’t expect to see you again so soon.”
“I didn’t think I’d be back either. My husband has been transferred back East.”
“You sound pleased,” Brianna said with a smile.
“Oh, I am.” Her husband, a middle-aged officer with a pair of impressive sideburns, joined the young woman.
“This is my husband, Lieutenant Jeremy Jones. Jeremy, this is the woman I told you about.”
“P-p-pleased to m-m-eet you,” he stammered. “P-p-penelope said sh-sh-she wasn’t s-s-sure she’d made the r-r-right choice unt-til she met y-y-you.”
“All I did was give her a cup of water.”
“No, you reminded me of why I came out.” Penelope smiled up at her husband adoringly.
“And I’m glad you did, my love. It’s been the best month of my life,” he said softly, and dropped a kiss on her forehead. Then he smiled at Brianna. “I’ll l-l-leave you l-l-ladies to your t-t-talk. I-I-It was nice to m-m-meet you.”
Brianna blinked in astonishment at the way his stutter came and went. “You, too and good luck on your new assignment, Lieutenant Jones.”
“Th-Th-Thanks.”
“Isn’t it amazing?” Penelope said as he walked away. “When he’s with me his stutter is almost cured, and we owe it all to you.”
“Me?”
“All the way to the fort I kept thinking about you and your husband. I wanted that same magic with Jeremy.”
“What magic?”
“Oh, you know, that special glow you two have. Even the short time I was here I could see how much you loved each other.”
“You could?
“Oh, yes, the way he looked at you when you weren’t watching, and that soft little smile you got when you talked about him, it’s all so beautiful.” Penelope gave a dramatic sigh. “Anyway, I decided to start over with Jeremy. From the moment I arrived, I acted the way I imagined you do when you’re alone with your husband. His response was most gratifying.” She blushed. “Thanks to you, I’ve fallen in love with my own husband.”
“I hardly know what to say.”
“You don’t have to say anything, just accept my gift.”
“Gift? Oh no, I couldn’t take anything.”
“Nonsense,” she said handing Brianna a brown paper parcel. “You’re taller, of course, but other than that we’re about the same size. Without hoops it should fit nicely.” She sighed. “You can’t wear hoops in this incessant wind anyway.”
“You’re giving me a dress?”
“I didn’t have anything else. I hope you aren’t offended.”
“Goodness no! A new dress to wear will be sheer heaven. I’m so tired of what I have. Thank you.”
“I also wanted to give you this.” Penelope fished a pretty little jar covered with hand-painted flowers out of her reticule. “It’s a special cream my mother gave me to keep my skin white. I couldn’t help but notice your...um...the sun out here is so...uh...well, I thought you might like to have it,” she finished lamely.
“How thoughtful.” Brianna said biting back a grin. How ironic was more like it. For once in her life, her fair skin had a decent tan and the only other woman around was scandalized instead of envious. “Won’t you need it?”
“Oh, no. I’ll get some more when I get home. Jeremy’s being sent to Fort Sumter. It’s close to my parent’s home.” “
Brianna’s smile froze on her face. Wasn’t Fort Sumter where the Civil War began? “How nice for you,” Brianna murmured feeling sick. It was highly likely that Penelope would soon be a widow. For the hundredth time, Brianna wondered exactly when the War started. Why hadn’t she paid closer attention in her history classes? Impulsively, she reached out and grasped the other woman’s hands. “Can I give you a little piece of advice?”
“Of course.”
“If you want to have a happy marriage, live every day as though it’s the last one you’ll ever spend together. Never miss an opportunity to show him how much you love him.”
“Then you think I should stay with him, too! Jeremy wants me to go live with my parents because he’s afraid it will be too dangerous at the fort, but I know my place is with him.”
“Well, I—”
“And that’s why you’re way out here in the middle of nowhere, isn’t it?” Penelope was awestruck. “You stuck with your man no matter what.”
“That’s not exactly—”
“Oh, here comes your husband now. You two are such an inspiration.” She squeezed Brianna’s hands and touched her cheek with her own. “I’ll remember your advice. Good-bye.”
“But—”
“Here she is.” Lucas said walking up beside her.
Brianna hardly noticed as she watched Penelope hurry away and join her husband by the stagecoach.
“Brianna, there’s someone I’d like you to meet.”
“Huh?” Her head swiveled toward him. There was distinct warning note in his voice that she’d never heard before.
“This is James Bromley.” He stood next to a well-dressed gentleman who was smiling at her expectantly. “James, I’d like you to meet my...wife.”
“How do you do, Mr. Bromley?” Brianna said, offering her hand.
Instead of shaking it, he surprised her by kissing the back. “Ah, Mrs. Daniels, it’s good to meet you at last. I’ve heard so much about you.”
“You have?”
“Certainly. The customers have been talking about this stop for the last month.”
“Customers?”
“The stage passengers.” Lucas explained. “Mr. Bromley is a superintendent for the Central Overland and Pike’s Peak Express Company. He supervises the stretch from Fort Laramie to Salt Lake City.”
“I see.” No wonder Lucas seemed uncomfortable. This was his boss. Maybe there was a rule about having wives.
“Lucas says the idea to serve food and drink was yours?”
“Uh…yes, yes it was.” And Lucas hadn’t hesitated to throw her to the wolves. Brianna wondered why that hurt. She shouldn’t have been surprised. It was no secret he didn’t want her here. “I really didn’t plan to go into business. It just kind of happened.”
Bromley beamed at her. “Pure inspiration.”
“It is?”
“Certainly. Since this station is halfway between Platte River Bridge and Green River, it looks like we’re doing everything we can to make our customers happy. You don’t even charge them.”
Brianna glanced at her half full change cup and Bromley smiled. “At least, it appears you don’t charge them.”
“Then you don’t mind?”
Bromley looked surprised. “Far from it. In fact, I’m planning to tell Bart Kelly to bring in supplies for you. If there’s anything you need, feel free to order it through him.”
“B-Bart Kelly?”
“Surely you know him. He’s the company freighter.”
“Well, I...”
“Oh, she knows him all right,” Lucas said with a wicked grin. “The problem is, he knows her, too.”
Brianna gave Lucas a quelling glance. “Mr. Kelly and I don’t exactly get along.”
“The truth is, Bart Kelly stays as far away from Brianna as he can. He hasn’t been inside the cabin or stayed overnight here since she arrived.”
“Why not?”
“I think he’s afraid of her. You ought to see the contortions he goes through so that he doesn’t have any contact with her. It’s about the only entertainment we get around here.” Lucas chuckled. “Anyway, I can give him her order.”
“Bart Kelly has always been a bit odd.” Bromley gave Brianna an uncertain look. “Well, the driver seems to be ready to leave. MacTavish should be here late today or early tomorrow.”
“Good, we’ll be looking for him. Have a good trip.”
“Thanks. I’ll see y
ou on the way back through. It was nice meeting you, Mrs. Daniels.”
Brianna smiled. “You too, Mr. Bromley.”
Penelope leaned out the window and waved to Brianna as the stage pulled out of the yard. Brianna felt a pang as she waved back. What if her ‘advice’ put Penelope in the wrong place when the war broke out? She’d never really thought about the possibility of changing the future by what she did here. Would her thoughtlessness wipe out future generations of some family?
“Looks like luck was with you.” Lucas’s sardonic amusement broke through her musings. “They ate every scrap.”
“It wasn’t luck. I planned it.”
“Sure you did.”
“Face it. You were wrong, and I was right, as usual.” Brianna rattled her money cup and smiled sweetly up at him. “See you at lunch, Lucas.”
He couldn’t quite keep the grin off his face as she sashayed into the cabin with an exaggerated swing to her hips. With a shake of his head, he went to take care of the horses.
Brianna was thankful she had kept a little of the roast in reserve. Otherwise it would have been impossible to put lunch on the table at noon. As it was, Seth and Lucas were waiting like a couple of starving vultures long before she was ready to serve the meal.
“Why was Bromley on the stage?” Seth asked, watching Brianna dish up lunch.
“Business at Fort Laramie. He also wanted to tell me he finally found another man for the station.”
Brianna looked up in surprise. “Another man! What for?”
“We’ve been one short here since Fredricks died.”
“Who?”
“Jake Fredricks, the stock tender. He took a Sioux arrow in the chest about two weeks before you got here.”
“I-Indians?”
“Well, it wasn’t the army.”
Brianna’s eyes widened. “I never thought about the Indians. Are they a big problem in Wyoming now?”
“Wyoming?” Lucas looked at her oddly. “Not as far as I know, but then I never spent much time in Pennsylvania.”
“Pennsylvania?”
“Isn’t that where the Wyoming Valley is?”
“No, I mean here, in Wyoming Territory.”
“I think you took a wrong turn somewhere on your trip out here. This was Nebraska Territory last I heard.”
Brianna raised an eyebrow. Nebraska? When had it become Wyoming? “What about the Indians?”
“The worst of it has been to the West with the Piautes,” Seth said. “Just a few weeks ago Egan’s station in Utah was attacked by about eighty of them savages. The Indians didn’t have any guns, but there were so many that Mike Holton, the stationmaster, and a rider named Wilson were pretty easily overwhelmed.
“The Indians killed them?” Brianna asked fearfully.
“No. They demanded bread and then kept Holton and Wilson baking more until the flour ran out.”
Brianna sighed in relief. “And then the Indians let them go.”
“Nope. The filthy savages took them outside and tied them to a wagon tongue that had been stuck in the ground. Planned on burning them at the stake I guess.”
“What happened?”
“A rider named Dennis was on his way in from the West. When he saw what was going on, he turned around and headed back. He ran into a Lieutenant and his troops about five miles back. The army surprised the Indians and managed to save Holton and Wilson before they were roasted alive.”
“Oh, my god,” Brianna whispered in a horrified tone. “I never thought...”
Lucas gave Seth a warning look. “We haven’t had much trouble here. So far Fredricks is our only casualty, but we keep our eyes open.”
“Billy goes out hunting all the time,” Brianna pointed out, her throat tightening.
“True, but he never gets out of sight of the station. That’s the advantage of this location. You can see for miles in three directions.”
“Then we’re safe here?”
“Well...”
“The truth, Lucas.”
He sighed. “The truth is, no. In fact, the stretch from Fort Laramie to Salt Lake City is considered the most dangerous on the whole route.”
“Because of the Indians?
“Partially, but this part of the trail is also the roughest, has the worst weather and the least protection.”
“But Seth and Billy...”
“They knew the risks when they took the job. We all did.”
“That’s right,” Seth said. “They pay Billy and me a hundred dollars a month to take those risks.”
“A hundred dollars a month?” Brianna was aghast that they lay their young lives on the line for so little.
“Yep. Pretty amazing ain’t it? I was making 12 dollars a month working for a farmer over near Salt Lake City and thought I was dang lucky to get it.”
“How old are you, Seth?”
“Seventeen next birthday,” he said proudly. “Only a year younger than Billy.”
With a lump in her throat Brianna wondered if either of them would ever see twenty. For the second time that day, the Civil War loomed menacingly on the horizon, and she wanted to cry.
“Don’t look so frightened, Brianna,” Lucas said softly. “We’re very careful.”
Not trusting herself to speak, she merely nodded, and let the topic of conversation change. The dark unhappiness brought on by the discussion hung over her through the meal and on into the afternoon. She was so affected by it that supper was bubbling away over the fire before she remembered Penelope’s gift.
Just thinking of it lightened her mood, and she sat down on her bunk to open the package. She pushed the paper aside and gasped in surprise. From what little she’d seen of Penelope, she’d halfway expected the dress to be something totally inappropriate, a magical creation of silk, satin and lace. This was anything but. It was made of blue cotton, eminently practical, and elegantly simple. A slight frothing of lace around the neckline and cuffs kept it from being plain.
Brianna held it up in delight. It was actually something she could wear. A quick look outside convinced her neither Lucas or Seth was likely to intrude. She closed the door, stripped down to her underwear and donned the dress.
It was a bit snug at the waist, and a little too full in the bosom, but Brianna suspected that was because the dress had been made to wear with a corset. On a whim, she fished Anna’s crinoline out of the trunk and put it on underneath the full skirt. It was a struggle, but when she finally finished she was pleased with the result. She felt like a fairy princess. If only she had a full-length mirror.
What would Lucas think? The thought flashed into her mind so suddenly it surprised her. The man irritated the devil out of her. Why should she care what he thought?
Quick on its heels came the memory of what Penelope thought was between them. Had the other woman imagined it, or was there a grain of truth there somewhere? Confusion swirled through Brianna’s mind. Did Lucas really watch her when she didn’t know it? Did she want him to?
As though he’d read her thoughts, Brianna heard him ride up to the front of the cabin. Suddenly, she had an impulse to surprise him in her new finery just to see what his reaction might be. Maybe it would give her some insight. Before she lost her courage, she crossed the room and threw open the door.
“Supper isn’t for another hour...” her voice trailed off in embarrassment as she looked up into the startled face of a complete stranger.
“Well, hello. I wasn’t expecting such a beautiful welcoming committee,” he said, swinging his lanky frame down out of the saddle. There was a twinkle in the sky-blue eyes as he turned to face her. “Somehow I doubt that you’re Lucas Daniels.”
“I-I’m Brianna Daniels.”
“Ian MacTavish, at your service.” He swept the hat from his head and grinned down at her. “Is your husband around?
But Brianna hardly heard him. All she could do was stare at the bright red hair that had been hidden under his hat. This was the man she’d expected to find at the Split Ro
ck Station. Tall, slender, and red-haired, Ian MacTavish was the spitting image of the Lucas Daniels she had always imagined, the patriarch of the entire Daniels clan.
CHAPTER 16
(August1860)
“Brianna, did you...oh, hello.” Lucas’s deep voice snapped Brianna out of her shocked immobility and her face flooded with color. Ian MacTavish must think her a total fool to stand there staring at him that way.
“This is my husband, Mr. MacTavish,” she said, her tone sounding breathy and shaken even to herself. “Lucas, this is the man Mr. Bromley told us about.”
MacTavish didn’t seem to notice as he greeted Lucas with a big smile and a friendly handshake. “Ian MacTavish,” he said. “Ian to my friends.”
“Lucas Daniels. We weren’t expecting you until tomorrow, but we’re sure glad to see you. Been a bit shorthanded around here.”
“Mr. Bromley told me to get here as fast as I could. I rode almost straight through.”
“Are you hungry?” Brianna asked.
“A little.”
“Then how about something to eat? Lucas needs to fill you in on the operation anyway. You might as well relax while he does it.”
“I wouldn’t want to put you to any trouble.”
“No problem. I have some leftovers from lunch.”
“Some what?”
“She means food we didn’t eat,” Lucas explained. “Brianna has her own words for things.
“Oh, well I’d be pleased to eat a bite then. I need to see to my horse first, though.”
“I’ll give you a quick tour of the barn,” Lucas offered. “We’ll be back in about ten minutes, Brianna.”
“Bromley didn’t tell me you were married.” Ian glanced back over his shoulder as they walked to the corral. “The last thing I expected out here in the middle of the prairie was a woman. I thought I was seeing things when she popped out of that door.”
A Window in Time Page 13
