by Merry Farmer
“She pretended to be Swedish,” Miles told him, chuckling as though over a fond memory. “Of course, I saw right through her. I’ve been to Sweden, and whatever accent it was she was mimicking, it wasn’t Swedish.”
“But you hired her anyhow?”
Miles frowned, straightening. “She begged me to hire her. Told me that she was desperate. She…she said that she’d had a terrible misfortune in her past. She said she’d worked on the stage back East, but that her manager had made her do…things she didn’t want to do.”
Cody’s blood reached a boil so fast that his hands clenched around the joist he was fitting into place as if strangling that former manager. Mrs. Breashears from Hurst Home had mentioned something along those lines. How could that have slipped his mind?
“Miriam also told me that she was at the end of her rope, that she’d just been offered an opportunity to escape the sadness of her past, and she’d ruined it.”
Cody glanced up, meeting Miles’s eyes, hoping the man was saying what he thought he was saying.
“She was full of regret.” The light of intelligence in Miles’s expression proved everything Cody wanted it to prove. “I hired her out of the feeling that she needed the comfort of friends to get back on her feet. She was eager to travel, so much so that I began consulting her on where we should go next.” He hesitated, a knowing grin tugging at the corners of his mouth. “It was her idea to stop here in Haskell.”
“I know,” Cody mumbled. He took a breath, squeezed his hand around his hammer, then went back to work. Everything he thought he knew about Miriam and her reasons for doing the things she did was suddenly in question. All sorts of pieces shifted into place. Miriam had pretended to be someone else to get a job, just like Eden Chance had pretended to be someone else to marry Luke. Both of them had dangerous men in their pasts. All the women from Hurst Home did, one way or another. All those women had reasons to run. Miriam had reasons to run. He suddenly didn’t feel half as irritated that she’d skipped out on him as he had.
Cody continued to mull over the problem, working to fit this new, more painful picture of who Miriam was and what she had gone through into the story he’d already told himself about her. He followed Miles’s directions for the stage without paying much attention. It wasn’t until the faint singing from the children stopped and turned into a waterfall of chatter that he looked up from what he was building.
Somewhere down the hall, a door opened, and the children spilled into the hallway. Seconds later, they arrived en masse in the assembly hall, with Miriam smiling and laughing in the middle of the group. Cody’s heart seized in his chest, sending warm prickles all along his skin.
“We’re ready to show you what we can do, Mr. Kopanari,” Miriam announced. The children bounced and giggled around her.
“Very well, Miss Long. Let’s see.” Miles put down his hammer, unrolled his sleeves and brushed his hands across his vest to straighten it, then marched to meet Miriam and the children at the other side of the room.
A stab of jealousy struck Cody right in the sternum. Miles had come to Miriam’s rescue. What if that meant he was interested in her as more than just an employee? Worse still, what if Miriam was grateful to have been rescued?
He put down his hammer and marched over to where Miriam was organizing the children into rows. There was no way he was going to lose a woman as beautiful as Miriam to a skinny dandy like Miles Kopanari. Jaw set, he stood tall right next to Miles, proving he was the taller, bigger man.
Miles glanced sideways at him, chuckled, and said, “Don’t worry, she’s all yours.”
Being called out like that took some of the wind out of Cody’s sails, but not so much that he didn’t grin like a fool when Miriam turned to acknowledge him with a smile. “These are the younger children,” she explained. “They want to perform a song together. Some of the older children want to either sing or play an instrument or perform a dance in smaller groups.”
“Hi, Papa,” a set of twin boys who looked to be about eight waved at Athos Strong. Two younger girls in the group waved as well.
“Hello, boys.” Athos waved back, blowing kisses to the girls. “Hello, Millicent and Geneva.” He stepped away from the work he was doing with Aiden and Jarvis and came to watch.
“Four children in school?” Miles asked with a good-natured smile.
Athos barked a laugh. “That’s only half of them.”
Miles’s grin widened. “You have eight children?”
“Yep.” Athos nodded with pride.
Miles looked him up and down. “But you don’t look much older than thirty.”
“I’m thirty-five,” Athos told him. “Married at eighteen, two sets of twins. There’d be more if Natalie hadn’t died trying to birth number nine three years ago.”
Cody reached out to thump and squeeze Athos’s shoulder in support. He was certain Athos missed Natalie something fierce, but with eight kids to raise, plus a job as Haskell’s one and only stationmaster, it was a wonder he had time to breathe, let alone mourn. In fact, Cody couldn’t figure out why Athos was here in the first place.
Or could he?
“All right, children. We’ll begin on the count of three.” Miriam took up a spot in front of the gaggle of children, raising her hands like a conductor. “One, two, three.”
The children burst into a shaky rendition of an old folk tune. Miriam smiled at them as though they were they finest impresarios in Europe. Athos smiled at Miriam as though she was on the menu for lunch. Cody crossed his arms, his good mood vanishing into a sullen frown. And to think, just a few minutes ago he’d been feeling sorry for Athos. Heck, everyone in town knew he needed a new wife to manage his brood, and unattached women were mighty hard to come by.
The song finished, and Miriam clapped. “Beautiful, children, just beautiful. Now, you must practice as much as you can until we meet again tomorrow afternoon. Can you do that for me?”
The children answered with nods and exuberant calls of “Yes!”
“She sure is good with children,” Athos said, rubbing his chin.
“She is,” Cody agreed, turned to Athos, and opened his mouth to warn his friend in no uncertain terms if he so much as looked at Miriam wrong—
“Handsome cowboy.”
A light touch on Cody’s arm and the foreign lilt of one of the twins’ voices spun Cody right out of his thoughts.
“Handsome cowboy,” the other twin repeated and giggled.
Mouth still open to cuss out Athos, Cody turned to the twins. “Excuse me, ma’am, ma’am, but I wouldn’t go around insulting gents by calling them ‘cowboy’ if I were you.”
“No?” the twin on the right said. Miriam had told him their names, but even if he did remember them, he wouldn’t have a clue which one was which.
“‘Cowboy’ implies I’m the wild, reckless sort,” he told them, “which I’m not.” Although, watching Athos step forward to talk to Miriam while he was stuck talking to the twins tempted Cody to be reckless indeed.
The twins continued to giggle. “Handsome cowboy marry Mimi?” the one on the left said.
Whether they hadn’t understood him before or whether they were teasing with the whole ‘cowboy’ nonsense, Cody couldn’t tell. “Who said anything about me marrying her?”
“We talk,” the twin on the right said.
“Yes,” the one on the left agreed. “We talk last night. Miriam was mail-order bride?”
Cody narrowed his eyes. “You were talking about me last night?”
The twins exchanged one of those twin-y looks and giggled. “Miriam likes you, handsome cowboy.”
“She…she does?” Cody blinked fast, his heart rising to his throat.
He twisted toward Miriam just as Athos was saying, “…would love to take you out to supper at The Cattleman Hotel tonight, if you’d be willing.”
“Oh.” Miriam’s brow flew up. She touched one beautiful, long-fingered hand to her chest. “Why…I…” Her eyes flickered pas
t Athos to Cody. Or more likely, Cody’s scowl. Her expression hardened, and her lips pursed. “Why, thank you, Mr. Strong. I’d love to.”
“Handsome cowboy live here long?” The twin on the right yanked Cody’s attention away from the disaster about to take place behind him.
“What? Uh, yeah, a few years.” He tried to turn back to Athos and Miriam.
“Handsome cowboy know any Chinese nearby?” The pleading in the left-hand twin’s voice along with her gentle touch on his arm nearly tore Cody in two.
He gritted his teeth, wanting nothing more than to walk away from the twins and deal with Athos, but his mama had raised him not to be rude to women. “Yeah,” he said, distracted. “I hear tell there’s a few Chinese ranchers in Wyoming. Some settled after the railroad was finished, but not many.”
Again, he tried to step away, especially since Athos and Miriam were finished with whatever business they’d transacted, and Athos was gathering his brood to leave. Miles and Miriam now had their heads together, probably discussing the show.
“Name?” the twin on the right asked, her expression now as desperate and pleading as the other’s. “You know name of Chinese rancher?”
“Liu or Wu or something,” Cody said hurriedly. The twins brightened as if someone had turned on the sun, but Cody took a step back. “Look, ladies, I’d love to stay and chat, but I’ve got something I need to take care of.”
He nodded to both women, then stepped away as they whispered, “Liu, Liu!” to each other.
Cody left them to their excitement and shot off across the assembly hall toward Athos. True to form, his little rapscallions were already dashing out of the hall, upsetting a bucket of nails as they went. One of the little girls clung to Athos’s hand, chattering a mile a minute about how much she liked singing.
“’Scuse me, Athos.” Cody reached out a hand to stop them as they reached the door.
“Cody.” Athos greeted him with a huge smile, no doubt because he thought he was going out to supper with the most beautiful woman in town. Thought, being the operative word.
Cody opened his mouth to speak, but the little girl blurted out, “That China woman called you ‘handsome cowboy.’”
Stunned to silence, Cody just looked at the little girl.
“Millicent, say you’re sorry,” Athos whispered to the girl.
“But he’s a handsome cowboy.” Millicent shrugged.
“I’m a ranch hand,” Cody corrected her, the last of his patience draining away, fast. “Cowboys are lazy troublemakers.”
“Handsome cowboy,” Millicent repeated with a giggle.
Cody sighed.
“Sorry, Cody.” Athos sent him a twitchy grin, as though he might start calling Cody ‘handsome cowboy’ behind his back too.
That was all it took for Cody to launch into his mission. “You’re not having supper with Miriam tonight.”
Athos blinked and took a step back. “Well, uh, she did say yes to my invitation.”
Cody took a step closer to his friend, towering over him, little girl by his side or no. “You’ve just remembered you have a previous engagement,” he said. “You’ve remembered that you’ve got no one to mind your kids while you go out.”
“Well, Piper is going to be home tonight.” Athos’s voice gradually shrank as he made his excuses. “And Mrs. Evans next door is always willing to lend a hand.”
“You’ll go apologize to Miriam for forgetting that you couldn’t possibly meet up with her,” Cody insisted.
“But…the children will be doing homework for the most part. It won’t be any trouble.” Athos knew he was defeated, but Cody had to give him credit for scrambling to keep up the fight.
Cody leaned closer still, almost to the point where he could whisper in Athos’s ear. “I’m the one who sent for her. If you want to have supper with a pretty girl, why don’t you send to Hurst Home for one of them yourself?”
Athos gave up with a sigh. “That’s what everyone keeps telling me.”
“Then why don’t you do it?”
Athos shrugged, glancing down at his little girl.
“Yeah, Papa,” Millicent scolded. “Why don’t you do it?”
For a moment, Athos looked like he would burst into a laugh. Then Miriam walked by.
“Oh, Miss Long.” Athos stopped her. He handed little Millicent off to Cody, then chased after Miriam for a few steps. “I’m afraid I spoke too soon when I asked you to supper tonight…”
Cody grinned, satisfied that he’d gotten his own way. And since Miriam was free tonight, maybe he’d swoop in and ask if she wanted to have supper with him.
“Handsome cowboy.” Millicent giggled at his side, taking his hand and swinging his arm. “Will you send away for me when I’m older?” She looked up at him with eyes so sweet that Cody felt cold fingers down his back.
“Oh, I’m sure you’ll have more than your fair share of boys your own age to choose from when the time comes.”
He was spared any further awkwardness when Athos scrambled back over to them and took Millicent’s hand from Cody. “Come along, Millie. We’ve got to catch up to the others.”
Athos zipped out of the assembly hall so fast Cody was surprised he didn’t ruffle papers on the way. That left Cody standing there with a sense of pride in his accomplishments that he hadn’t felt in ages.
At least until he glanced ten feet away to where Miriam was standing with her hands on her hips, a scowl marring her beautiful face. “I was going to go out to supper.”
“You can still go out to supper.” Cody grinned and sauntered toward her.
“I suppose you’re right.” Her expression shifted to something sly and dangerous. She stepped forward until she reached him, sliding her fingers down the front of his shirt. Cody’s heart thumped faster, other parts of him standing to attention. Until Miriam twisted to the side and said, “Miles, do you want to have supper tonight?”
Miles straightened from his work, cheeks flushing with mirth. “Uh, I actually have a previous engagement tonight.”
Cody chuckled. Miriam’s expression fell. Just as swiftly, it bounced back into place.
“Well, then. I suppose I’ll be having supper in my room tonight.”
She kissed her fingertips, touched them to Cody’s lips, then turned to sashay out of the room.
Cody’s gaze was glued to her hips until she turned the corner and disappeared. Lord help him, he was about to have an interesting two weeks.
Chapter Five
Miriam could definitely get used to Haskell. By the time Saturday afternoon rolled around and the children who were participating in the show—which was every single one in town—gathered at the school to rehearse and help with the set, if they could, Miriam’s heart felt as though it wanted to leap out of her chest and plant itself in the fertile Wyoming soil.
“Minnie, do you think you could organize the younger girls to help Mrs. Garrett with the rosettes?” she asked the black-haired girl, who had the most intelligent look of anyone in the room in her eyes.
“Yes, Miss Long.” Minnie beamed at her, then did a twirl as she turned to scoop up her friends and race to the corner of the room where Mrs. Olivia Garrett worked cutting strips of red and white cotton for the rosettes.
“What about me?” Minnie’s younger brother Toby—a sharp, young boy with his sister’s black hair and blue eyes, and wide, round spectacles that were too big for his face—asked.
Miriam hummed, tapping her finger against her lips. “I think that you could help Madame Kopanari rehearse the stories she is going to tell for the show.”
Toby’s eyes grew as round as his glasses, and his cheeks flushed pink. He turned to study Madame Kopanari and the circle of small children around her at the back corner of the room. Madame Kopanari was dressed in her traditional gypsy garb and sat on a small stool, telling stories to the youngest children to keep them occupied until Miriam was ready for them. She held them spellbound as she spun ancient tales in her thick, Romani accen
t, painting pictures in the air with her hands.
“I think she’s a witch,” Toby whispered, peeking up at Miriam.
Miriam hunched, resting her hands on her knees so she could talk to Toby on his level. “Do you think?”
Toby nodded. “She has a crystal ball, and she says she can see the future.”
Miriam giggled. Madame Kopanari’s fortune telling was one of the secret money-makers of Miles’s troupe. Madame would demonstrate her skills with one member of the audience on stage, then set up a table in the lobby of whatever theater they were performing in. The lines for her services were always long.
“Well,” Miriam whispered to Toby. “If she is a witch, I think she’s a good witch.”
“Are you sure she doesn’t eat children? Vernon Strong said she’s a gypsy, and that gypsy witches snatch children and boil them with cabbage.”
Miriam laughed and ruffled the boy’s hair. “I’ve known her for ages, and not once have I seen her boil a child with cabbage. Carrots, yes. Are you made of carrots?”
“No,” Toby giggled.
“Then you have nothing to fear.” She tipped forward to kiss his forehead. “Now, run along. I’ll be ready for your group’s song soon.”
“Yes, ma’am.” The smile Toby gave her before scurrying off to join the circle around Madame Kopanari shot straight to Miriam’s heart.
She could have had that. If she’d faced her fears and gotten off the train the first time, she could be married to Cody right now. She could be increasing with child, already on her way to having an entire family around her. She pressed a hand to her heart with a sigh. What must it feel like to have an entire family around you? Even in the farthest reaches of her early memories, the closest she could remember was the hazy bond she’d felt with the other girls who’d shared a room with her in the orphanage.
“Your Madame Kopanari’s a lot better with kids than I would have thought.”
The sound of Cody’s voice right behind her jolted Miriam out of her wistful thoughts. She jumped and spun to face him.
