Montana Gold (Rocky Mountain Romances Book 3)

by Diane Darcy

  As the ladies discussed possible articles Lucy could write, Mrs. Jackson tugged her off to one side to whisper, “I wasn’t sure whether or not you heard that I have a son.”

  “Do you?”

  Again, Lucy tried to gauge the woman’s age, and wasn’t sure. “He’ll be thirty next year, and he’s unmarried.”

  Lucy could feel heat surge into her cheeks. “Is that right?”

  Mrs. Jackson laughed. “I can see from your expression that I’m being too forward. But I just wanted to get my oar in the water, so to speak, before anyone else had a chance to talk to you. Might I facilitate an introduction?”

  “Thank you, Mrs. Jackson. You are kind to think of me, but as I stated earlier, I’ve recently suffered a setback in matters of the heart, and I’m not in any hurry to jump into the water again, so to speak.”

  The woman looked so disappointed that Lucy actually felt bad. “All right, but if and when you are, I have first dibs.”

  Lucy grinned at her, unwillingly charmed. “I’ll remember that.”

  “See that you do.”

  As the ladies continued to serve food, eat, and talk, Lucy remembered her loneliness from the day before, and was quite encouraged by the difference one day could make.

  So, Mr. Boone Newby did not want to pursue an interest in her?

  Well, it looked like she could make friends just fine on her own.

  She’d have to tell him so the next time she saw him.

  Early Monday morning, when the train finally pulled into the station, Alford was waiting for him and Boone rushed the man to the waiting wagon, threw his possessions in back, and took control of the reins.

  After two days away on business, Boone couldn’t wait to get back to Lucy. So much so, in fact, that he was laughing at himself. Whatever happened to the cool, calm, collected man who wasn’t concerned about women?

  How his mother would laugh at him now.

  Irritation over the fact that he’d had to travel unexpectedly to Helena to take care of some mining concerns surged through him once more.

  What if someone else had caught Lucy’s eye in the meantime?

  He should’ve left a note.

  It was just that he wasn’t used to doing things in such a fashion, wasn’t used to answering to anyone, and it hadn’t occurred to him to do so until it was too late.

  He’d considered sending a telegram but that had seemed ridiculous, or desperate, he still wasn’t sure which.

  He went home to change his clothes and had Alford hold the horse’s reins. He couldn’t wait to see if Lucy truly held up to the vision he had of her in his mind.

  A few minutes later he drove out to Mrs. Colliers boardinghouse and knocked on the door, convinced that in the time he’d been away, someone had surely outed him as Boone Jackson. Would he have to do a bit of groveling to get back into Lucy’s good graces?

  A moment later, Mrs. Collier answered and gave him a questioning look. “Mr. Jackson?” she dried her hands on a dishtowel. “How can I help you this morning?”

  So, she didn’t know.

  “Good morning. I was headed out to the school this morning and Mr. Newby asked me if I’d stop by and pick up Miss Rickman.”

  At that, Mrs. Collier’s eyes lit with speculation. “Really? Well, that’s awfully kind of you.”

  He felt a kind of regret as he realized that his masquerade was most likely about to meet its conclusion. He quickly considered ways to extend the deception, but couldn’t think of any way that Mrs. Collier would keep her mouth shut. Bribery? Perhaps if he simply left?

  “I’m sorry to say, Mr. Jackson, that Miss Rickman has already left for the day. She was quite put out when Mr. Newby did not show up at the appointed time, and I encouraged her to get a ride with the Beekman family.” She nodded. “They take their children to school every day, and I consider it a far better arrangement than having Mr. Newby drive all the way out here to get her,” her tone was disapproving.

  She gave Boone another assessing glance. “But I’m sure she’ll be sorry when I tell her she missed the opportunity to meet you.”

  “Alright, then. Good day, Mrs. Collier.” Boone tipped his hat, turned and walked down the stairs, cursing himself for all kinds of a fool. But at least it had answered one question. In the time he’d been away, Lucy had not discovered his identity.

  He hadn’t expected that.

  He’d been certain his little game would be up by now, that someone would have informed her that Mr. Newby was not appropriate company for her, and that she’d ask questions, and then everything would come out.

  He looked nothing like the short, balding, red-nosed, Mr. Newby.

  One conversation, one description, would have given her the information she needed, and that he dreaded. He wanted to tell her himself.

  He jumped up on his wagon, and hurried toward the Beekman residence, hoping to catch them.

  No such luck, they’d already left for school.

  He considered barreling after them, but, with his little deception still in place, he didn’t really want to do that anyway, did he?

  He’d meet up with her at the school again.

  At that thought, a jolt of panic went through him.

  He’d better get there fast, in case Mr. Newby had taken up his job once again.

  He considered the direction Mr. Beekman would have taken, and then urged his horse toward the bumpier back road.

  He received more than one shout of irritation as he barreled down the road, but didn’t let it bother him too much.

  The game was still afoot!

  Chapter 7

  Lucy felt the slightest bit miffed as she rode beside the exuberant Mr. Beekman as he took his five children to school.

  Boone had promised to take her to school each day, hadn’t he?

  She’d refrained from mentioning him to any of her new acquaintances in town over the weekend, but after the way he’d simply disappeared, she was starting to come to her own conclusions. Perhaps the information Mrs. Collier had given her had been correct.

  Had the man been off drinking?

  She didn’t want to gossip about Boone, but perhaps a gentle inquiry might not be amiss.

  She turned to the exuberant man beside her and smiled. He was discussing the intricacies of placer mining, and how Butte was known as The Richest Hill on Earth. He seemed quite enthusiastic about his subject.

  When he took a breath, she interrupted. “Mr. Beekman?”

  The man, big, overweight, and jolly, with a loud booming voice, glanced down at her. “Eh?”

  “I just want to thank you for being willing to take me to school today.”

  “It’s not a problem, you are welcome to ride with us every day.” He laughed out loud. “Getting these kids their education, and out of my wife’s hair for the day, is certainly worth a ride to school and more.”

  “I had arranged with Mr. Newby to pick me up today. He must’ve been running late.”

  “Perhaps he was indisposed.”

  Oh dear, that didn’t sound good. “Indisposed?”

  Mr. Beekman laughed again. With the reins in his left hand, he lifted his right hand to indicate the same motion Boone had once used to indicate a drinking problem. “The man does like his liquor.”

  Lucy felt her heart sink. She’d seen no signs of dissipation in Boone’s face, in fact, quite the opposite. And he had assured her, he did not have a problem. She’d wanted to believe him. She had believed him. But then he disappeared, and she hadn’t known what to think.

  And now, to have it confirmed from two different sources…

  They pulled up to the school, and Lucy thanked Mr. Beekman and went inside with the children. Two of them followed her to her classroom, and some of the older ones headed off to their own classrooms.

  When she went inside, she stopped when she saw Boone kneeling in front of the stove in the back, starting a fire. She was irritated to note that her heartbeat sped at the sight of him. But it was followed by a
wave of sadness for his weakness.

  More children started to file in the class, chatting, taking their seats, and Lucy moved down the aisle to the back of the room. “Good morning. That’s very kind of you to get the stove started.”

  He grinned up at her, and once again, she felt her heart thud in her chest. The man was just too handsome for words, and no doubt the only reason he remained unmarried, was because of his vice.

  “Good morning. It’s good to see you, Lucy.”

  “In the classroom, I’ll have to insist upon Miss Rickman.”

  “Miss Rickman, then.”

  “I didn’t see you at church yesterday.”

  “No, I wasn’t there.”

  In other words, none of her business?

  She nodded her head, thought to return to her desk to get organized, and realized she was stalling. Hesitating. In actuality, what was there to say to the man? She’d had fun with him and missed him over the weekend? Where she did not have the intention of pursuing a relationship with him, she supposed she ought to let him be.

  She turned away.

  “I had to go to Helena this weekend.”

  She was much more interested in that than she should have been. “Oh?”

  “Had to get some parts for a generator.”

  “Isn’t that used in mining?”

  He shot her another swift grin, shut the door to the stove, and stood. “You know about mining?”

  He was grinning at her like it was an accomplishment of some sort, which slightly amused her. “My father has mining interests, I’ve gone with him on occasion to order parts and such.”

  “Is that so?”

  “Does that mean you also do work for the mining industry, Mr. Newby?”

  “I do, at that.”

  Standing in his presence, her resolve to treat him as an acquaintance wavered. Everything about him seemed to attract her eye. His height, the breath of his shoulders, his handsome face. High cheekbones, full lips, and his thick head of dark hair. She searched his face, trying once more to see signs of dissipation, and failing.

  Awkwardly, she turned away. “I suppose I had better get to work.”

  “I’ll be here this morning, if you need anything. I thought I’d get a start on fixing that back window so you can open it. I picked up some parts in Helena for that as well.”

  Thinking of her?

  She nodded, and calling herself all kinds of fool, she headed to the front of the classroom, determined to ignore Mr. Newby for the remainder of the day.

  Somehow, she thought that might be a case of easier said than done.

  The day had been a good one as far as she was concerned.

  She’d settled in easier to teaching, and the children were apparently as adaptable as she’d always heard they were. They’d fallen quite nicely into the routine she’d written out on the board.

  Boone, true to his word, had been in and out all morning, fixing the window, patching a hole in the wall, and doing various other chores.

  She’d tried to ignore the man as she’d intended.

  With limited success.

  He’d said he had some errands to run and had disappeared just before lunch. No matter, she was done for the day, and determined to catch a ride home with the Beekmans. She’d asked the oldest of the children to ask her father to wait, and she’d agreed.

  Gathering her possessions, she hurried out the door, and down the long hallway, looking into classrooms as she went.

  Students were still milling about, as were the two other teachers, but she hurried toward the entrance.

  Lucy hurried down the stairs, and across the patch of dirt and onto the dried grass around the corner.

  “There you are!”

  At the sight of Mr. Newby waiting beside his wagon, Lucy exhaled loudly. She glanced around and could see the Beekman’s wagon rumbling away in the distance.

  Truly? They hadn’t waited for her?

  “I told them to go along without you, and that I’d be giving you a ride home today.”

  Grudgingly, Lucy trudged forward. “The way that you agreed to pick me up this morning? And then left me to find my own way?”

  “I was there! I was simply a few minutes late, and you left before I had the opportunity to arrive.”

  “Then why were you at the school before us?”

  “I’m a much faster driver than Mr. Beekman.”

  She was hesitant to go with him, to fall under his spell again.

  “Do you have any errands to run? Anything you want to see before I take you home?”

  Actually, she did. She’d like to mail the letters she’d written to her mother and grandmother. She considered asking Mr. Beekman to stop along the way home, but had been hesitant to put him out any further.

  And here Boone was, offering. “The post office?”

  He grinned. “It would be my pleasure.”

  He took her things and placed them into the back of the wagon, then helped her climb aboard.

  He was soon seated beside her. “Forgive me?”

  “There’s nothing to forgive you for.”

  They drove along in silence and after a moment he asked, “Are you mad at me?”

  “No.”

  “Then why won’t you look at me?”

  Good grief! The man was maddening! He seemed to say whatever came to his mind, regardless of politeness. She glanced at him, and then away again. “I assure you, you are mistaken, sir.”

  “You are mad at me. I can see it in your eyes.”

  She let out an exasperated breath. “Really, Mr. Newby…”

  “Boone.”

  “Fine. Boone, then. It has simply been a long day. Please don’t read anything into my expression, or lack thereof.”

  “I’ve been looking forward to getting you to myself all day today.”

  At that, she did look at him. “You should not say such things to me. We barely know one another.”

  The man actually had the gall to look hurt. “I feel like we’re getting to know each other better.”

  She felt herself soften and couldn’t deny the man’s charm or attraction. At least to herself, anyway. But after the way he’d disappeared on her, and, she admitted, some of the things she’d heard, she still felt she was right to be leery. Perhaps it would be better to simply be honest with him?

  Or maybe she should lie and blame her supposed heartache.

  “Boone, I told you that I am recovering from a breakup.”

  Boone snorted and anger flared within her.

  “What is that supposed to mean?”

  “It simply means that we’ve had this conversation and you aren’t suffering any such thing. Though, from what you told me, I can certainly understand if your pride had been affected.”

  “I shouldn’t have told you anything.”

  “Don’t worry, your secrets are safe with me. I’ll not be gossiping about you.”

  That made her feel guilty because she’d been doing exactly that about him. After a long moment she admitted, “I’ve asked a few questions about you.”

  “Really? Did you find out anything interesting?”

  She noted that his breath certainly did not smell like alcohol.

  “You’re looking at my mouth.”

  Fiery heat rushed into her cheeks and she glanced away. She was not handling this very well at all. “I spoke to another person about you, and was assured that you do, indeed, have problems with alcoholism. I know you told me otherwise, but what am I supposed to think?”

  There was a sudden silence, and she turned to catch a slightly sheepish expression on his face. “What is it?”

  “Lucy, I certainly understand your reservations, especially in light of the fact that I’m courting you.”

  He was courting her? Why did that make a flare of excitement light within her?

  “I don’t really want to get into the whys or wherefores at the moment, but can you just trust me when I say that no way, no how, do I have problems with drinking?�
�

  He looked so sincere, and her ears were still ringing with his declaration. Did she want to be courted by this man?

  He certainly wasn’t the type of man her family would have wished for her. A handyman in a school. But did it matter to her?

  She remembered Mr. Hargraves, and the complete and utter lack of attraction she felt for him. She hadn’t considered it a problem at the time, hadn’t known any better, but with Boone? She had a definite yearning to be with him. To get to know him better. To talk to him, and see what he had to say.

  And with this declaration of his, she had to make a decision.

  Would she allow him to court her?

  Would she ignore the advice of others?

  She hoped she did not regret this, but she was already nodding. “All right, I’m going to give you the benefit of the doubt.”

  His smile was dazzling. At least it dazzled her. What was it about this man?

  “Thank you. I promise you will not regret this.”

  She certainly hoped she wouldn’t.

  As they traveled along, Lucy was still wondering how she’d gotten herself into this situation.

  Within moments of arriving in town, she’d met the man who was now, officially, courting her.

  How had that happened?

  Mr. Hargraves had never courted her. Their engagement was suggested to them as a good idea by their families, and they’d both agreed to it. It certainly had made both of their families happy.

  She was still unsure, but she also wasn’t regretting the situation.

  In fact, sitting beside Boone in the warm spring air, what she felt was happiness.

  They headed to the lower section of town, straight downhill from where the boardinghouse was.

  Boone parked the wagon around the back of the feed store. He’d expected Lucy to have found out who he was by now, but where she hadn’t, he’d take as many hours as Mr. Newby as he could get.

  “You’ll want to walk around to the front of the building and the post office is off to the right. I’ll meet you back here in say, twenty minutes?”

  “You’re not coming with me?”

  “I’ve got an errand of my own to run, so if it’s all the same to you, we’ll just meet back here.”