by Trumbo, Kari
*~*~*
Jennie bustled around Ruby in the kitchen, keeping busy. Nothing seemed to relieve the knot in her stomach. Aiden had said he’d be gone within two weeks, after that she could relax again. Every time she got near him and worse, if she opened her mouth, her stomach would get to fluttering and her heart would speed up. Then her hands felt clammy and she had to mentally stop herself from wiping them on her skirt. She worried about her hair being just right or if her dress was just so. She tugged on her bodice, the pins she’d placed earlier to hold the dress so it would fit poked into her skin.
Jennie shook away the tense feeling in her hands and opened the oven to check the bread. Aiden would be joining them at the table that night and she’d already known she couldn’t eat in front of him, especially if her stomach wouldn’t cooperate. The bread was done and she grabbed the metal handle that would click into the groove on the bread pan so she could pull it out. Once it was out, she set it up on the cooling rack to finish.
Ruby and Jennie had been working in the kitchen for a few hours when the door opened, Jack barked, and Beau came in.
“Hello, lovely ladies.” He swept Ruby into his arms and kissed her soundly. Jennie turned away as the heat crept up her cheeks. Her parents had never shown such displays and it made her nervous. It seemed inappropriate to look, yet they were right there in the middle of the room.
“You’re home a little early.” Ruby glanced out the window. The sun was still high in the sky.
“Mr. Carmichael was glad to hear we would have another worker, at least temporarily, and he sent me home a little early today. With Aiden there to help, I might be home at this time every day for the next few weeks.”
“Well, good. I’m glad of it. Get washed up then sit down. We can be finished by the time you’re done.” She turned back to Jennie. “Why don’t you go let Aiden know it’s supper time?”
Jennie wiped her hands on a towel and lifted her apron over her head, then hung it on the wall. She felt the knot inside her coil tighter as she strode to his room. She knocked and the knot tightened further, making it difficult to breathe.
“It’s open,” he called from inside.
Jennie pushed the door open and stood in the doorway. The room was lit with a candle and Aiden sat at his small table reading.
“It’s time to eat, best get washed up.” She backed out of the doorway.
“Jennie, come in and look at this.” He motioned her into the room.
She hesitated and her chest felt as if it would collapse under the pressure. She strode forward, forcing herself to put one foot in front of the other until she was beside him.
He pointed to a photograph of Deadwood from a few years before. “I found this in the desk. Probably a gift to the maid or whoever stayed in this room. It was used like a diary, and they kept track of all the news, the railroad coming, Crazy Horse, Wild Bill Hickock, and the building of the Grand Central Hotel—it’s all here.” He looked up at her with the wonder of a child at Christmas.
“I keep praying Deadwood has moved beyond all that but you want to keep that history?” She took a step back, unable to think clearly with him so near.
He closed the book and his expression fell. “You have to understand the history of a place to appreciate it, Jennie. A place is like a person; it has a past that makes it what it is. Deadwood had a rough beginning and it won’t be tamed quickly. This is a mining town and it probably always will be. That Homestead mine will keep America in gold for a long time, mark my words. And where there’s gold, there’s miners. That’s just a fact of life.”
“Why are you so interested in the history here if you’re leaving?” She rested her hand on the back of his chair as her legs urged her to run.
“Because it’s interesting. This book was written by someone who loved Deadwood and was proud to see the growth. There were things they didn’t like, the caravan of prostitutes for instance, including Madam Dirty Em, for one.”
Jennie felt heat rise up her collar. She wasn’t ignorant of what went on between husband and wife, or what happened in brothels, but it wasn’t usually brought up in conversation.
“I’m so glad. You can take that book with you when you go home. It’ll help you remember us and maybe you can pray for us and ask the Lord to help Deadwood.” She turned to leave the room, but he took her hand and heat shot up her arm, enflaming her face, trailing warmth all the way to her heart.
“I’ll pray that, at some point, you’ll see the beauty of the place you live, even if you don’t appreciate every last thing about it. I’ll be out in just a few minutes.” He regarded her hand in his and stroked the side with his thumb, sending shivers through her. The tension inside her squeezed until she was sure she couldn’t take another moment. He pulled her hand closer, glanced up at her, catching her gaze. He drew her hand closer still, until she was sure he’d kiss it. She held her breath and couldn’t look away if she tried. He sighed and closed his eyes then let it go and turned away.
She was left with warmth rising in her and nothing she could do would quench it. How could she teach her body that wanting a man would lead to hurt? She wouldn’t let anyone force her to marry. Beau and Ruby had even promised. But she didn’t want to get married at all, especially with a man whose vice could be as bad as her own Pa’s had been. Not for the first time, she wished her mother were there to tell her what to do.
Chapter Eleven
AIDEN WOKE EARLY AND joined Beau at the table for breakfast before they’d head down to the newspaper for work. He finished off his eggs and set his fork aside. “You don’t strike me as a newspaper man, Beau.” He’d yet to form a friendship with the man. They’d shared too many heated words for that. But it would have to change if they were to work together.
Beau glanced up and finished chewing. “I’m not. I’ve never done this before. I’ve always worked with horses or cattle in the past, or the railroad for a time, but there’s too many people there. A man can’t think.”
“Well, if that isn’t what you want to do, why are you doing it?” He leaned back and waited.
“Why? I don’t know if you noticed, but I have a lot of mouths to feed and I can’t provide for them if I’m not in town. It might be what I love, but I love those girls more. Fact is, cowboy work don’t pay any better than what I’m doing now but, the jobs just aren’t here. So, working for the paper was a good substitute.”
Aiden could well understand the draw. It was something to keep in mind for himself. If he ever took a bride, he’d have to think about her, and maybe later the leanbh she’d have. “But don’t you miss it? Don’t you wake up every day and wish you could go do what you want?”
“Of course. This is only temporary. When I can secure a position that will provide a place for them, I can consider going back to it. But they can’t live in a bunkhouse. So, for now, I don’t want to be gone for days at a time.”
Aiden laughed. “You ain’t been married that long, then, huh?”
“Only since the day after New Year’s, so, a little over five months. We’ve had the girls with us since the day after we were married, but until we left for Deadwood, they stayed with their mother at a different house.”
A jolt of shock ran through him. “Their mother? I just assumed she was dead since she wasn’t here.”
“Naw, Maeve is back in Cutter’s Creek. She and a man named Carlton Williams, where the girls were staying, seemed to have come to some kind of agreement.”
“So, will they want to go back and join her?” An uneasiness fell over him, thinking Jennie wouldn’t remain where he left her. Even if he wasn’t nearby, he liked knowing right where he could find her.
“There was some talk of it, but we won’t go anywhere until the railroad has more options. I’m not making that trip by wagon, again.”
Aiden nodded and drank the last of his coffee. “I don’t blame you, that wasn’t an easy trek.”
“We’d best get a move on. Don’t want you to be late on your first
day.”
“Do you have any idea what he might be paying? I’ve got to pull together thirty for my trip.”
“I can’t guarantee you anything, but I can tell you that I get a dollar a day.”
“A dollar! It’ll take me three times as long working for the paper as it would if I went to work at the mine for the least they pay experienced miners!” His fist clenched and he held back from slamming it into the table. He’d never be able to leave in two weeks, not at that pay.
“There’s no guarantee you’d get that pay. You may know your way around a mine in California, but that don’t mean anything here. There’s a pecking order and you’re at the bottom. You’d have to work your way up just like everyone else, and at the paper that starts at a dollar a day.”
Aiden wanted to argue. A year’s worth of picking should account for something, but the fact was he couldn’t prove it. While he could probably easily work through the ranks, he didn’t want to be there that long. If he had to make a dollar a day anyway, it might as well be at a job where he could come home at night.
Both men stood and Aiden put his plate next to Beau’s, then grabbed his hat and the lunch pail Ruby had left for him. So, he’d have to stay a month for sure, at least he’d make it home to Kansas by harvest. Would his da even allow him back after all he’d said and done? He was a disgrace, an embarrassment.
Beau strode through the door and Aiden followed for the short walk to the newspaper office. Mr. Carmichael stood behind a high counter, waiting for them. His hands were covered in ink and he wore a white smock over his clothes.
“Ah, you must be Aiden Bradly. Beau told me you’re looking for some temporary work. Well, we’ve got the work. Temporary or no. The miners might have started this town, but some of us are here for more than the gold. I’d like to see this town prosper and the Deadwood Times is the best way to highlight the areas we’d like to enrich.”
Aiden nodded. He couldn’t agree more, though setting letters into the molds didn’t seem like much work. Mr. Carmichael led him back to the press.
“This is where you’ll do most of your work. The press needs to be maintained to run properly. It must be cleaned between uses, and the plates need to be made before each run. All those jobs will fall to you and Beau. Can you handle it?”
He nodded. “Yes, sir.”
Mr. Carmichael left and Beau grabbed a rag and cleaning solution. “They did a print run yesterday, so today, we clean the machine.”
Aiden grabbed a rag and took a deep breath. This work would have to do until he made enough to go home. He scrubbed the machine as he calculated the days remaining in his time in Deadwood.
*~*~*
Jennie took to knitting as soon as her morning chores were done. Beau had argued against them visiting around the town yet, so they stayed indoors and did chores or other tasks that had left her fingers itching for something to do. Beau had brought home a few bolts of fabric and some of the others were sewing to keep busy.
Jennie counted her stitches and started on the heel. She didn’t understand why she wanted to be around Aiden but also wanted to avoid him at the same time. He’d leave in a month and she could only hope everything would calm down then, but what if it didn’t? What if the feeling of expectancy, the need to be with him, only got worse after he left? What would she do then? It certainly wasn’t possible to go with him.
Jack lay at her feet and nudged her toe with his nose. She knew he needed to go outside, and since the others were busy, she knew it was up to her to let him out.
“Come on, boy.” She took Jack to the back door and opened it. An old man stood by the fence between both houses.
“Ho, there! Who are you? I don’t recognize you. How many girls you got in that house, anyway?” His voice cracked.
Jennie stepped outside and glanced at Jack, then took a few steps toward the man. “I’m Jennie and we’ve lived here for a little over a week, but we tend to stay inside.” Something told her he wasn’t safe to talk to and shouldn’t know just how many of them there were.
“Hmm, and how many of you are there?” He scratched his chin.
“Well, it doesn’t really matter. Beau and Aiden make sure we’re well taken care of.”
“Beau and Aiden? What, do they keep an eye on you?”
She bit her lip and checked to see if Jack was finished. “I suppose, they’re working right now.”
“That’s interesting. A fella could get used to having such pretty neighbors.” He touched his hat and walked back to his house.
Though she wore long sleeves, Jennie could feel the prickling of the hair on her arms and she rubbed them as she called to Jack. Something about that old man made her uneasy. Jack bumped her leg as he ran back into the house and Jennie followed.
She closed the door and barred it, letting her unease lift as the heavy plank fell into place. As she strode through the house, someone knocked on the front door and Ruby stood from her mending to answer it. Jack growled and barked. Ruby swung the wood slat for the peep hole and stood on her toes.
“I don’t recognize him.” She turned back to Jennie. “Beau said not to open the door for anyone but him, the owner of the house, or Reverend Level.”
Jack growled again and sat in front of the door.
Jennie shook her head. “We shouldn’t open that door with Jack acting that way.”
Ruby nodded. “You’re right.” She opened the peep hole once again and yelled, “I’m sorry. Please come back later when Mr. Rockford is home. Thank you!”
Jennie couldn’t hear what the man said in reply, but Ruby turned quite red and swung the peep hole closed quickly.
“What an incredibly rude man.” She shook her head and stepped far away from the door as if she could dodge the words the man had said. “I’ll be all the happier when we get out of town. Beau has a lead for work on a cattle ranch. He never expected that to be an option out here, he tells me ranching is fairly new to this area and they’re looking for experienced men.”
“So, where does that leave Aiden?” Jennie asked, hoping Ruby wouldn’t dig too deeply into why she’d want to know.
“Well, if he can learn quickly, it’ll be a good job for him. If he wants it.”
Jennie wondered what it would be like to live on a ranch, free to roam again, but Beau and Aiden had both just started. If they left, it might mean trouble for the paper. “That’s true. What will the newspaper man do?”
Ruby shrugged her indifference. “I’m sure he’ll do whatever he did before we pulled into town. Beau thinks it’ll be safer for all of you out on a ranch where you can leave the house, do some chores, have life pretty much like you did in Cutter’s Creek.”
“It’d be nice. Hattie will be happy because a ranch means cowboys.” Jennie laughed.
Ruby joined her. “That’s true. I don’t think Hattie will complain one bit. She even asked me if I could make her dresses a little tighter and more to the fashion. She wants to show off a bit.”
“That reminds me. When I’m done knitting socks for Aiden, I should take these two dresses of mine and finally tailor them to fit me properly. The pins are bothersome. I didn’t do it on the way here because the wagon was bouncy, but now that we’re here and can’t leave, it seems like I should take the time to do it.”
Ruby smiled and patted her arm. “I think Aiden would love to see you in a dress that actually fits.” Ruby pinched the arm of Jennie’s dress and pulled it out about three inches. “Puffy sleeves might be in style, but only if they’re made that way, not because the gown was made for someone much larger than you.”
Jennie tugged away. She’d only pinned the dress at the waist, but now she could see the rest of the dress looked silly. “We knew finding dresses for all of us would be difficult. I’m just glad I have them.”
The doorknob wiggled and Ruby ran back to check. She smiled brightly and threw open the lock, letting Beau and Aiden in.
Beau took off his hat as he walked in the door. “I love coming ho
me for a meal even if I’m still eating from a bucket.” He swung the pail that Ruby had packed for him that morning. “Mind if we eat here?”
“Not at all! We just had the strangest visitor. I think he thought this was a women’s boarding house.” Ruby flushed red again.
Jennie pulled out two glasses from the cupboards then pumped water for Beau and Aiden. It was a good excuse to stay in the kitchen and sit across from Aiden. “How was your first morning?”
He glanced across the table at her and gave a half smile. “It’s work, that’s for sure. I’ll be making quite a bit less than I would’ve in the mine, so I’ll be here a month or so. What do you think of that, Jennie-girl?” He reached across the narrow table and gently tugged on her ear.
She shook her head as her face flushed at his attention. “It isn’t up to me at all. You do what you need to do and we’ll be here.”
She stood and turned away to stop the fluttering in her belly. She could handle two weeks of the mounting tension, but a whole month… Just sitting with him made her want to drum her fingers on the table. She had too much energy and nowhere to let it out.
“How are your feet?” She began washing the counters without paying any attention to them.
“My feet are just fine. You and Ruby did a good job with them, thank you.”
Beau set down his sandwich. “I’m waiting to hear back from Ferguson about the foreman position at that ranch. That would pay much better than the newspaper.”
Aiden finished his bite. “Do they have room for me, too?”
Beau sat back and regarded Aiden. “I think you’re old enough to pick what you want for yourself. If I get the job, he already told me he needed a couple extra hands. You’d be welcome, since I know you can ride. If I had to guess, pay would be about the same. If you stay here, expenses would be the difference, you’d have to rent somewhere and pay for your meals. If you take a job out there, your room and board would be covered like it is now.”
