Courting Kate

by Rich, Mary Lou

  “Nobody’s got that much money,” Matt said, snatching it back. “Besides, Luke’s right, he’s too old. We’re trying to find Kate a husband, not a grandpa.” He ran a finger down the list. “Here’s another one. He don’t even have any teeth.”

  “But he seemed nice,” Luke said. “I think we ought to let Kate decide.”

  “Decide what?” Tanner asked, coming through the doorway.

  “Nothing.” Matt yanked up a piece of paper from the table and stuffed it in his pocket.

  Tanner looked from one guilty face to the next. “You aren’t sending for any more brides, are you?”

  “No, sir,” Matt assured him, instantly joining a stampede for the door.

  “I think I’ll fill that wood box.”

  “I’ve got to milk the cow.”

  “I’m gonna check on the eggs.”

  Something is going on. Tanner blocked their exit. He put his hands on his hips and stared at them through narrowed eyes. “What are you all up to? And what was that about Kate deciding?”

  “We wanted to give her some flower seeds,” Mark said, giving him a sickly smile. “Luke thought we ought to let her decide what kind she’d like.”

  “Uh-huh.” And I’m a blue-eyed yeller dog. Tanner glanced at John who was staring at Mark in open-mouthed admiration. That look alone told him it was a flat-out lie. “You boys getting pretty cozy with Kate?”

  “She’s nice. And be-oottiful,” John declared.

  “That’s quite a mouthful for such a little boy,” Tanner teased, ruffling the youngster’s hair.

  “I’m not so little.” The child stiffened with indignation. “I’ll be old enough to get married before you know it.”

  “Thinking of getting hitched, are you?” Tanner studied him a moment. The child wasn’t stuttering. He was... singing?

  “If Kate would wait till I get big, I’d marry her,” John sang.

  “And what about that dog of hers? He’d eat you for supper.”

  “Who, Fluffy? He likes me. He lets me ride on his back,” John boasted.

  “Glad that varmint’s got some use.” Tanner turned toward the kitchen and rubbed his stomach. “Talking of eating, I’m hungry. What’s for supper?”

  “Potatoes, corn bread...” Matt began.

  “And beans,” Luke finished.

  “Beans! Aww, no.” Mark buried his head in his hands.

  “Then let’s eat.” They all took their places and Tanner gave the blessing. No more was said about Kate, or the flower seeds. But when he happened to meet one of his brothers’ eyes, they quickly looked away. They didn’t have any more money—that should have reassured him. It didn’t. Especially when he knew that whatever they were up to had to do with Kate.

  Mark looked from one to the other of the miners, cowboys and other assorted would-be suitors that had gathered in the clearing just outside of town. “All right, you boys draw straws to see who goes first. The shortest one wins, the next shortest goes second—and so on. If Kate doesn’t cotton to you right off, then you drop out of the race. Agreed?”

  Nodding, the men stepped forward, one at a time, each drawing a straw from a bucket of mud.

  “I got a little bitty one,” a skinny miner shouted, holding up an inch-long piece of yellow grass.

  “Mine looks like a damn fir tree,” a cowboy complained. “It’s so long, I won’t get to meet her before spring.”

  “That’ll be way too late. She’ll be married to me and carrying my babe by then,” a lumberjack, a burly man in denims and a red-checked shirt, boasted. He held up short straw.

  “Now, hold on!” Matt warned, raising up a hand. “You’re drawing for the privilege of courting Kate, not Kate herself, so don’t get in such an all-fired hurry. She might not like any of you.”

  “What’ll you do then?” the lumberjack asked.

  “We’ll pick a fresh batch for her to look over next spring.”

  “Don’t forget,” Mark warned, “Kate’s a lady. Anybody trying anything funny will answer to Tanner.”

  So far, Tanner didn’t know anything about it, and they’d all likely get their hide skinned if he found out. But Mark figured it was worth the risk, as his brother’s size and reputation would scare the men into line, if nothing else did.

  “Tanner shouldn’t have any say one way or the other now. He’s already had his chance,” A miner with muttonchop whiskers spat a stream of tobacco, splattering a clump of Oregon grape bushes.

  “She did come out here to marry him,” Luke said.

  “Then why didn’t he marry her?”

  “He’s still undecided,” Mark lied. “We figured we’d give you boys a chance while he’s making up his mind.”

  “Undecided? I never heard tell of such a thing,” a miner named Chauncey declared. “Poor little gal deserves better than that. Why, I’d treat her like a queen.”

  Mark gave the little miner an encouraging smile. Chauncey had just struck a rich gold vein; he could indeed treat Kate like royalty. If she married the miner, it would serve Tanner right.

  “Has everybody got their days straight?” Matt waited until each man had marked his calendar. “Okay.” He peered down at the scribbles. “Looks like Joe Bell is courting Kate tonight. Good luck, Joe.”

  “Thankee, son. I’ll do my damnedest.” His ruddy face beaming, the miner gave him a hopeful smile.

  The men filed out of the grove of trees and headed back for town.

  “We’d better hit the road, too, or Tanner will beat us home.”

  “Hold on, Mark. We can’t all go,” Matt said. “Somebody has to stay here and see how things go tonight.”

  Mark shook his head. “Matt, you can’t stay. Somebody has to fix supper.”

  “Somebody else has to feed the stock and get the wood box filled—like you, Mark,” Matt replied. “Besides, you’ve been in town every day this week.”

  “I’m too little,” John said, “And I’m scared to go home after dark.”

  All eyes turned to Luke. It looked like he was elected whether he liked it or not. “What are you going to do if Tanner asks about me? I don’t want to get into trouble, either.”

  They thought on it a minute.

  “I know,” Mark said with a grin. “We can tell Tanner you ate too many beans and are spending the night in the privy.”

  “What if he checks?” Luke asked.

  Mark snickered. “Not likely.”

  “Maybe I could have supper with Kate,” Luke said.

  “No,” Matt said quickly. “Don’t even let her see you. Maybe Madame Jeanne would give you something. You don’t want to spoil Kate’s big evening.”

  “What am I supposed to do, anyhow?”

  “Hide in that toolshed and watch her house,” Matt said. “If the lights go off, or she yells, come a-runnin’.”

  “And if she don’t?”

  “You still watch and wait. After her suitor leaves, then you can come home.”

  “I don’t know.” Frowning, Luke stared at the mountains. “Those hills are awful wild at night. What if I run into a bear or a panther?”

  “I’ll leave you my rifle,” Matt said wearily.

  “He won’t need it,” Mark said. “You eat so many beans nothing would want to eat you.”

  Luke shot Mark a sour look.

  “You want me to come back in and watch?” Matt asked wearily. “No. Just get on home before Tanner comes lookin’,” Luke said. “He’d be twice as bad as anything I’d run into in the woods.”

  “See you tomorrow. And don’t go to sleep.”

  “Get out of here.” Luke watched his brothers head up the trail. The sun hung low in the sky; soon it would disappear behind the mountains. And when it did, no place seemed quite as black, or as scary. At least there would be a full moon tonight. He grinned. He’d see to it that Mark’s turn at watch would come when it was pitch dark.

  Chapter 8

  Despite his intention to stay far away from Jacksonville and Kate, a lack of saw oil
made it necessary for Tanner to make the trip into town. He had arrived shortly after the sun had risen only to find the mercantile still closed. Since he couldn’t get the oil until they opened, he figured he’d stop in at the doctor’s office, hoping the physician would have the answer to an illness that had been bothering the boys of late.

  Dr. Frederick Thomas, who was also an early riser, invited Tanner in and poured him a cup of coffee. “I never get sick myself. Guess I’ve been exposed to so many germs I’ve gotten immune to them.”

  After taking a swallow of the coffee, Tanner didn’t think immunity had anything to do with it. Even the strongest germ couldn’t have survived a cup of Fred’s brew. Not wanting to appear impolite, Tanner managed to finish his cup, hoping it didn’t do any permanent damage to his innards.

  “Ready for more?” The doctor hoisted the pot.

  “No, thanks.” He covered the cup with his hand. “One’s plenty. Now about the boys...” He described his brothers’ various complaints.

  Across the desk, the silver haired man nodded and made notations on a pad he had in front of him. “All of them, you said?”

  “Everybody except me and John. Whatever it is doesn’t seem to affect us. We all eat the same things, the same stuff we’ve eaten all of our lives, so I don’t think it could be that. We all drink from the same well.” Tanner shook his head. “I tell you, Fred, it’s got me stumped.”

  “When did this start?”

  “About two weeks ago. One or the other of them has been sick ever since.”

  “Wonder if it could be something they are getting here in town?” the doctor said thoughtfully.

  “In town?” Tanner straightened in his chair.

  “Yeah. Ever since that courting business started, Jacksonville has been busier than a beehive in June.”

  “Courting business?”

  “Surely you know about that?” Fred Thomas peered over gold rimmed spectacles. “You don’t.” The doctor chuckled, his blue eyes dancing with merriment.

  “No,” Tanner said. “But I’ve got the feeling I’m about to find out.”

  “Why, those brothers of yours are running a regular matchmaking service. But so far, Kate hasn’t favored any one man over the others.”

  “Kate?” Feeling the conversation getting away from him, Tanner gripped the arms of his chair and leaned forward. “What in tarnation are you talking about?”

  Doc Thomas grinned. “The boys have been interviewing prospective husbands for Kate—she doesn’t know it, of course. The whole town’s been keeping it a secret, her being such a refined lady and all. Yes sir, a big, delicious secret. Well, anyway, after the boys weeded out the undesirables, the men left on the list drew straws. The shortest straw got to court her first. The men each get three chances, but if she doesn’t like them right off, they are out of the running.”

  “The boys are doing this?” he croaked out. He knew they had been up to something that day when he’d come in and found them talking, but after he’d confronted them he figured they had thought better of the idea.

  He should have known different.

  Now that he thought back, he realized that lately there had been no fights, no arguments. The home place had been real peaceful. Too peaceful. And he’d been worried they had something really serious wrong with them. Ha!

  “I think I’m beginning to see the light. They’ve been faking it all along.”

  “I thought that might be the case.” The doctor chuckled. “Your brothers have seemed perfectly healthy every time I’ve seen them. Although, with the hours they’ve been keeping, they can’t be getting too much sleep. One or the other of them stays in town at night, watching Kate’s house from that toolshed across the street. He remains there until whoever it is that’s courting Kate that evening leaves. Then, after she retires for the night, the boy goes home. It’s not bad here in the valley, but the nights must be freezing up on that mountain.”

  And that’s not all, Tanner thought, picturing any of his brothers traveling that mountain trail after dark, alone. No telling what they might run into, and not only the four-legged variety. There had been a murder up Stewart Creek just last week. His brothers had guts, he had to give them that. But they sure didn’t have any brains.

  “You said Kate doesn’t know about this?”

  “No. She would have been courted anyway, by all the rutting bucks we’ve got loose in the county. But at least this way, it’s happening in an orderly fashion, with someone looking out for her best interests.”

  “Her best interests?” He’d tried to look after her best interests and it had almost got him into more trouble than he could handle. “Why can’t she stay home and cook, or whatever it is she’s doing, then go to bed at night like a decent woman ought to?” Too agitated to sit, Tanner got up and paced the floor. “I don’t like it. I don’t like it one bit.”

  “Kate’s a beautiful young woman. You can’t expect her to stay unmarried just because you don’t like it.” Doc grinned. “Sounds to me like you might be jealous.”

  “Jealous? Me? Ha!” But as he envisioned some man all duded up, knocking at her door, bringing her gewgaws, being invited in, maybe kissing her, holding her, getting lost in that flower scent of hers... and no telling what else... he clenched his fists, wanting to punch somebody in the nose.

  “I’m not jealous,” he repeated. “It’s the boys’ part in this I don’t like.”

  “Uh-huh.” The doctor filled Tanner’s cup again.

  “Why, I remember the time I had the boys watch over a cow in labor. I went to the barn the next morning and found every one of them sound asleep. Old Pet had birthed twin calves during the night, and they didn’t even know it.” Tanner ran a hand through his hair. “If they couldn’t watch over a cow, how can they be expected to watch over a woman—especially one as tempting as Kate?” He picked up and downed the coffee in one gulp.

  “You appear to know more about that than I do.” The physician pointed a finger toward him. “You could do the watching.”

  “Me?” That would be like putting the fox in with the chickens. “Hell, I don’t have time for this foolishness.” Nevertheless, he knew he had to take care of it. It was his responsibility.

  Tanner took his hat from the rack and jammed it on his head. “Nobody will be doing any more watching. And you don’t need to worry about the boys’ health, because I intend to put a stop to this nonsense right now.”

  “Good luck.”

  The doctor’s laughter ringing in his ears, Tanner left the office and stalked down the street. As if they had a mind of their own, his feet automatically headed for the pie shop. He didn’t try to stop them.

  Maybe he should look in on Kate. No telling what might have happened during one of them courting sessions. See for himself if she was all right. His steps slowed. She was probably still mad at him, so he doubted if he’d be welcome for a visit.

  Maybe he could buy a pie. At least that would get him in the door. He checked his pockets. Twenty-five cents. Wonder if she’d sell me a piece of pie? He was still pondering his lack of finances, when a commotion down the street caught his attention. Curious, he stopped to watch.

  “You get out of my flower garden,” a hefty woman he recognized shouted.

  Agatha Grimes waddled down her front steps and waved a broom at a tall, skinny cowboy, who was stretched out over her picket fence.

  “Just one little rose?” the man pleaded.

  “One rose?” Agatha brandished her weapon. “Not one leaf. I pampered those flowers all year. The frost got most of them. The rest of them are ending up at Kate Deveraux’s house.”

  “I’ll pay you for it.” The man reached into his vest pocket.

  “How much?” She eyed him skeptically. “Roses don’t come cheap.”

  “I’ll give you a dollar—for a pretty one.”

  The woman snatched up the coin. “All right. But I’ll do the pluckin’.”

  One of Kate’s suitors, no doubt. Tanner scowled
and moved on down the street. A dollar for one flower. He didn’t even have four bits for a pie.

  When he reached Kate’s, she was doing a booming business. Not only did she have customers, the line ran out into the street. Tanner hurried to beat another man also heading in that direction. “She must be a good cook,” he said to the man ahead of him.

  “She’s getting better. At least they’re eatable now. It ain’t the cookin’ as much as the cook,” he confided. “It’s worth a dollar just to see her smile.”

  “Her pies cost a dollar?” That sure let him out.

  “Naw. Fifty cents, but most men buy at least two. They get to stay longer that way.”

  “Sorry, boys,” a feminine voice called out. “That’s all for today, but I’ll have a fresh batch in the morning. Tomorrow’s choices will be pumpkin and dried apple. Thank you for coming.” She smiled sweetly, hung out a Closed sign and shut the door.

  “Dadblame it. And I went and got a haircut and everything.” Murmurs of disappointment rose from the gathering, then the group broke up and the men went on their way.

  Tanner fingered his own hair. Since he couldn’t buy a piece of pie, he’d get a haircut with his twobits. He went back to Main Street and entered a nook with a red and white striped barber pole hanging over its entrance. Much to his surprise, he had to wait there, too. Finally his turn came, and he took a seat in the chair. “Something going on in town, Jake?”

  “No more than usual,” the barber said, tying a long length of cloth around Tanner’s neck. He picked up his scissors and began whacking at a shaggy length of hair. “You mean having to wait?” The fat man smiled. “That’s due to Miss Kate. I guess I ought to thank you, being as you’re the one that brought her here. I hope she stays unattached for a while. All the courtin’ fellers are getting haircuts, plus the ones that ain’t even on the list. I’ve never cut so many heads of hair or shaved so many faces since I’ve been in the business. Heck, the way things are going, I might get rich.”

  Tanner scowled. “I suppose you’re one of her suitors.”

  “Nope. My gal Bessie isn’t as pretty, but she’s a better cook. I like my vittles, you know.” Jake patted his overstuffed middle.