“I certainly will not! Whatever business he is doing affects me, too.”
“Of course it does. I only meant that, well … you’re a woman.”
“A very strong-minded one,” Cole said. “And she’s right. We handle our business together since she’ll own half of whatever I buy.”
“Do you have the thousand dollars we agreed by telegram?”
“Before the money is handed out, I’d like to know what we’re buying,” McKenna stated.
“Why, the empty building next to the saloon. It’s a very sturdy building with rooms on the second floor for your living accommodations,” Mr. Smith said. “If you hadn’t gotten here today, I might have had to sell it to someone else. One never knows for sure if a buyer will actually show up.”
“I saw there was already a store in town,” McKenna commented.
“Yes. It’s owned by Miss Chastity Burke. Her father owns a shipping business in Reno, where most supplies are ordered from.”
That certainly didn’t make McKenna feel good at all. Would this Chastity’s father also deliver supplies to them when he found out they would be the competition?
“So, if you can give me the money for the building, I can sign the deed over to you,” Mr. Smith said, adjusting his glasses.
Cole took out his money and said, “I have the full thousand here.”
McKenna was speechless. “But I-I thought—”
“We’ll talk about it later,” Cole whispered.
McKenna didn’t know what was going on, but she’d certainly get to the bottom of it when they were alone. He better not be trying to keep my name off that deed.
“Very well then,” Mr. Smith responded. He opened a drawer and pulled out a form. “Fill this out so the appropriate names are put on the deed.”
Cole put both their names on the form, handing it back to him.
“We’d like a receipt of payment,” McKenna insisted.
“I expected as much.” He moved over to his typewriter and put their names on the deed, handing it back to Cole with a set of keys from his desk. “It was nice doing business with you, Cole, Mrs. Winters.” He nodded in her direction.
Cole motioned for McKenna to leave before him.
Before they left, Mr. Smith said, “I wish you both good luck on your new business venture. Silver can certainly handle more than one store with the way prospectors keep coming to town.”
McKenna nodded at the man. “Thanks, Mr. Smith.”
They left the bank and Cole took her arm, leading her to the boarding house. Bret was waiting in the wagon and took the keys from Cole, handing McKenna’s bag to him and another suitcase, which she assumed belonged to Cole.
Inside the boarding house, it smelled like cigars and whiskey. Since there wasn’t a bar inside, it came from the men who walked past. They were dressed simply in trousers and button-up shirts—not stylish at all, but clean. McKenna didn’t know what to expect.
Cole rang a bell at the counter and a woman scurried over.
“Hello, Mister. Would you be needing a room for the night, or longer?”
“Name is Cole Winters. I believe I reserved a room for my wife and me. We’re from Ohio.”
“I suspect you are. Not too many people from here anymore. ‘Course, wouldn’t be a town at all if it wasn’t for the gold rush. It’s good for business at least.” She slid the check-in book over to him. “Sign here, Mr. Winters.”
After Cole signed, he paid the woman, and it gave McKenna another reason for pause. Who exactly was her husband?
“Your room is clean and there are fresh towels. Outhouse is in the back and so is the water pump if you need more water. You’ll find water in your room, too, for washing. Baths are a quarter each, but we’re all booked up until next week. A hot bath is a high commodity in Silver.”
“Thanks,” McKenna said.
“Go straight up the stairs and it’s the last room on the left. It has a nice view if you discount seeing the tent city and the back of the jail, but if you look on the horizon the mountains are a sight to see.”
McKenna nodded at the woman and Cole escorted her upstairs, holding her tightly to his side. She welcomed it since there were men milling around who made her nervous. She didn’t so much regret that she had a husband at that moment.
Once the door to their room was opened, McKenna went directly to the window. She snapped the curtains shut when men were behind the jail relieving themselves. “The view behind the jail is a sight I could do without.”
Cole smiled as he set the suitcases on the bed. “We won’t be staying here long, just until we’re able to clean the building that will house our mercantile store. We’ll be living upstairs. It’s quite sizable from what Mr. Smith said in the telegram.”
McKenna sat on the bed with a bounce. “I thought you wanted me to pay half of the business?”
“I changed my mind. A man can’t very well allow his wife to pay for half of a business. It’s just as much mine as yours.”
“Is that a way to trick me if I decide to no longer be your wife?”
“You should reserve your need to get away from me. Once you get to know me, you might not feel the same way.”
Cole pulled out his clothes and hung them in the closet while McKenna fumed. He couldn’t mean that he’d expect her to stay married to him! That wasn’t part of the arrangement.
McKenna stared over at the only bed in the room then at the floor. It certainly wouldn’t be comfortable for Cole to sleep there. “I suppose we’ll have to share the bed since I wouldn’t want you to sleep on the floor.”
“I hadn’t intended to sleep on the floor again, but don’t worry. I’d never force myself on a woman, even if she is my wife.”
“I-I—” McKenna bit her lower lip until it hurt. “That’s good to know.” She quickly turned her back since her heart beat so hard that her chest throbbed. She wanted to say that she never thought he’d ever force himself on her, but the words just wouldn’t come out. After all, she really had no idea what he would or wouldn’t do, but she certainly didn’t feel nervous being near him, unless he looked her in the eye.
“We’ll go over to the restaurant after you’ve put your things away.”
McKenna nodded and hung her dresses that were a little less fancy than what she had on. She was almost embarrassed when she put her underthings in the drawers, but Cole didn’t appear to be watching her. At least he must have understood that he would make her feel uncomfortable if he stared at her intently then.
After they were done unpacking, they went across the street and into the restaurant. McKenna could smell the fragrance of fresh bread when they walked in. Bret was in the far corner and waved them over. Cole pulled out her chair and they sat, looking over the handwritten menu.
“Nothing too fancy, but it’s the only restaurant in Silver,” Bret said.
An older woman came over, turned over their cups and filled them with coffee. “Hello, folks. You must be new in town.”
“I thought everyone was,” McKenna said with a smile.
“You have that right, but you don’t look like the type to be getting your hands dirty mining for gold.”
“Oh, I have no problem getting dirty if need be, but we’re opening a business here in town, a mercantile store.”
“That certainly won’t make Chastity Burke too happy. She already owns a store here in Silver, but there certainly is room for another one. She has her prices so high, most miners can’t even afford to buy a blanket.”
“I knew that mercantile store prices were high, but too high to afford a blanket?” McKenna questioned incredulously.
“A blanket isn’t a necessity, not when you need mining supplies like picks and shovels, but enough talk about that. We just had a delivery today, and pork chops and mashed potatoes are the special. I’m afraid we didn’t get any vegetables this time, but hopefully in a few days.”
McKenna was shocked, but it was understandable. “That sounds great to me.”
> “Make that three specials,” Cole said.
When the woman walked away, McKenna frowned. “I had no idea things would be so expensive.”
“That’s why we’re here. I have prices in mind that should be fair, but we also need to turn a profit if you plan to send for your sisters at some point.”
“I know you’re right. I expected Silver to be more of a town, though.”
“Looks like they’re building new businesses, so it might just be one day. This is how towns are made,” Cole said.
“They’re building quite the hotel, from the sounds of it,” Bret said. He rubbed the knuckles of one hand on his leg. “Before you’ll be able to open for business, we really have a job ahead of us. That place will take weeks before it’s ready to open.”
“Weeks?” McKenna said.
“What did you think, that we’d come here and within a day we’d have it cleaned with supplies to stock the store, too?” Cole said.
McKenna sighed. “No. I-I guess I didn’t give it that much thought.”
“I didn’t mean to sound that way, but this is going to be work for all of us.”
“Bret is staying, too?”
“Only until you two are set to open,” Bret replied. “I can’t have my brother and his new wife doing everything. I wish we could find more help, but we might just find someone handy who is looking for work.”
“Who isn’t mining for gold, you mean,” McKenna said. “I was shocked at how many tents there were in town. And waiting a week for a chance at a bath is way too long.”
“I know. You should have seen your face when the woman at the boarding house told you that,” Cole stated. “If we work hard at cleaning the building up, it might not be as long as you think.”
The food was brought to the table and McKenna’s mouth watered at how tender the pork chop was. She’d be sure to eat here and often if she had her way. She tried not to think of the night to come and how she’d be sharing a bed with Cole.
“Do you have a room at the boarding house, too,” McKenna asked Bret between bites.
“Nope, I’m stay at the building you bought. I don’t mind roughing it. Besides, somebody needs to watch over the place.”
“Good idea. I’m a little worried what the owner of the store in town might do when she finds out we’re also opening a store here,” McKenna said.
“The woman who owns the store in town certainly won’t be happy.”
“I probably shouldn’t have told the server what we were doing here,” McKenna admitted.
“I wouldn’t worry about that. She’ll find out soon enough. I’m more concerned that it’s so close to the saloon,” Cole stated.
“It will be hard to sleep with all the hooting and hollering over there at night.”
“I wouldn’t mind that, if that’s all it is,” he said.
“I hope the woman from the stagecoach makes good over there. She’s gone to be a saloon girl, or work upstairs. I’m not sure how that works exactly, but Bella is very nice.”
“Ladies don’t consort with women like her,” Cole reminded her.
“I’ll thank you to keep your opinions to yourself. It wasn’t like I ever planned to go over to that saloon, just that if I happened to see her elsewhere I’d at least say hello or ask her how she was getting on.”
“I didn’t mean to get you upset. I just don’t want anyone starting a rumor about you is all. Men don’t always think with their brains.”
“Are you talking about yourself or…?”
“I was thinking about if a man thought you were also a lady of ill repute. I’d hate to have to kill someone for touching you. Regardless of how you feel about this marriage of ours, I’m still your husband, and I won’t allow anyone to hurt you.”
McKenna’s icy heart melted. “I’m sorry I got so snappy. I became rather acquainted with the women on the stagecoach.”
“I didn’t want to say that, but we all need to be careful until people in town are used to us. We both need to make a go of this business.”
McKenna nodded and said, “I hope we’ll be heading over to the building where our store will be after we eat. I’d really like to get started readying it.”
“I agree. At least get an idea of how much work it will take.”
She started to worry about how bad of shape the building really was in. She had hoped they’d be able to open the store soon.
CHAPTER EIGHT
After they left the restaurant, McKenna passed the store to see what it looked like from the outside. There was a yellow dress displayed in the window with mining gear advertised. The signage read, Only Store in Silver for mining supplies.
It was the only store in Silver, but that would change very soon.
Cole led McKenna across the street. She held her skirts up so as not to have them get dirty, which was hard to do when dust and dirt was all she could see.
Bret opened the door and lit an oil lamp so they could peer inside. Her stomach dropped at the ramshackle appearance of the interior. It was cluttered with boxes and wood.
“Now, don’t panic, McKenna. You have to envision what it can become,” Cole said. He climbed over boxes and crates. “Now, look here, for instance. We have a counter with shelves behind it, and there’s plenty of wood we can use to build fixtures to display merchandise. Once we go through everything, we might just find something of use here. We’ll remove what we don’t need and clean the place up.”
“How long do you think that will take?”
“If we really dig in and work very hard, perhaps a week. I heard a supply wagon would be in later today. I’ll put in an order for goods to stock the place with.”
McKenna doubted what he said was even possible in a week, but she had no other choice since they couldn’t just give up. “I’d like to see what the upstairs looks like.”
Cole took the oil lamp and they made way up the narrow stairs. They first walked into a sizable room that had a fireplace and would serve as a parlor. McKenna moved into the next room, and there were shelves to put food supplies on and an iron stove with a pipe, which disappeared in the ceiling.
There was a room that could serve as a washroom, which had a water pump, as did the kitchen. At least whoever designed this building had given it some thought. The other two rooms were large bedrooms, one of which overlooked the street of Silver.
McKenna finally turned and faced Cole. “Well, it needs a good cleaning, but otherwise is in good shape. We shouldn’t have to stay at the boarding house too long.”
“We’ll need furniture before we move in here,” Cole pointed out.
“Yes, two beds, also.”
Cole frowned. “One bed will have to suffice until we can afford more than one. Stocking the store will be more important to start with.”
McKenna didn’t like the sound of that, but she had no other choice. How was she going to distance herself from Cole if they would be sharing a bed?
They spent the next two hours going through the boxes downstairs, which contained dishes, pans and other items miners would buy.
“Why would someone leave all of this behind?” McKenna asked.
“The owner was killed at the saloon. Apparently, he was cheating at poker,” Cole explained.
“And they just sold the business with everything in here?”
“Mr. Smith sent me a letter explaining how the daughter lived in Boston and wasn’t about to come out to settle her father’s estate. She hired the banker to sell the business for her.”
“That worked out in our favor since some of these items can actually be sold by us when the store opens.”
“Exactly. We should head back to the boarding house now,” Cole said.
“Don’t worry about me,” Bret butted in. “We brought blankets with us.”
“Do you need help unloading the wagon?”
“Nope. I did that already.”
Cole motioned for McKenna to leave the store and she did so reluctantly. She was nervous about sharin
g a bed with her husband. When they walked out, they nearly ran headlong into a woman who was obviously trying to peer inside.
The blonde stumbled and Cole caught her before she fell.
She took ahold of his arm as she said, “Thank you, kind sir. I’m Chastity Burke from across the street. Did you just buy this building?”
“Yes, we did,” McKenna responded coolly, staring at the woman until she removed her hand from Cole’s arm.
“Oh, are you planning to open a business here?”
“Yes. A mercantile store, to be exact,” McKenna informed her.
Chastity just shook her head. “No, that just won’t do. As you can plainly see, Silver already has a store in town, which I own. You’ll have to think about a different type of business to open.”
McKenna shook her head at the woman’s audacity. “I’m quite sure Silver needs more than one store, unless you’d want to convert your store to something else.”
“How about I just buy you out and you can be on your way?”
“We’re not for sale, nor is our building,” McKenna said.
“I agree with my wife. We just got here, and it would be foolhardy to leave when we could stand to make a good sum of money. I’m sure a little competition won’t hurt you.”
Chastity’s blue eyes bulged slightly. “Fine then, but you’ll be sorry.” She strutted back across the street, speaking with a man near the entrance to her store.
“Looks like Chastity is going to be a real thorn in our shoe,” McKenna said.
“She’ll calm down when she finds out that having another store in town won’t affect hers.”
“I’m not so sure about that. She doesn’t seem like the sharing type.”
“Let’s get back to the boarding house. It’s getting dark,” Cole stated.
They walked up the wood-plank sidewalk and passed two cowboys who tipped their hats at McKenna as they passed by the saloon. It looked quite packed inside, and she wondered if Bella was okay. She didn’t much care for Cole voicing his opinion about her never speaking to Bella. She was determined that, if given the opportunity, she would most definitely say hello and ask how she was.
* * *
Back at the boarding house, McKenna took her dress off while Cole was out of the room, putting on her nightgown, which was much too warm for the temperatures in Nevada. She still had her corset on and wished she had the nerve to ask Cole to loosen it for her. Since he wasn’t in the room at that moment, she hiked up her gown and tried to untie it, freezing when Cole walked into the room and cleared his throat.
McKenna, (Sweet Western Historical Romance) (Nevada Brides Series Book 1) Page 7
