As they neared his store, he found himself wanting to slow down the pace, to spend more time with this beauty, but when she looked up at him curiously, he realized their time was past.
For now.
Joseph opened the store door for her, and Emily walked inside.
He followed behind her, still admiring the view. “May I help you find something?”
“No, thank you,” she said and glanced toward the counter, where Henry stood.
She wandered around the store, studying the displays and fingering things.
Joseph kept an eye on her while he wandered into the back room, passing Henry, who whispered, “Who is she?”
“The most beautiful creature on earth,” Joseph replied, as he walked into the back room.
Robert looked up. “Who?”
“A lady in the store.”
“Mrs. Easterwood?”
Joseph shook his head. “I hereby claim this woman as mine to court; I saw her first.”
Robert rolled his eyes, set down a box he’d been carrying, and said, “I’ve got to see her.”
Robert walked to the doorway — and stopped, a shocked expression on his face. He blinked — twice — then looked back at Joseph, shaking his head. “You have no claim to this woman.”
Joseph scowled at his friend. “Oh no you don’t. Don’t try to steal her away now; I told you I saw her first.”
Robert narrowed his eyes. “She’s my sister, and you’ll not be courting her.”
“Your sister?” Joseph’s heart sank. “Seriously?”
But then he didn’t have to ask again, because the woman turned and saw Robert, and her face lit in a smile that would have sent a lesser man to his knees. “Robert!” she squealed as she ran to him.
Robert pulled her into a hug, his eyes shining. “Emily. What are you doing here?”
“I can’t say in public, but I am here to stay with you.”
Henry crossed the room, flipped the sign to CLOSED, and locked the door. “It’s time for some privacy, I think.”
Emily looked up, surprised. “Are these your partners?”
Robert nodded. “This is Joseph Keeton.”
“I have met Mr. Keeton.” She nodded at Joseph.
“And this is Henry Ralston.”
“Pleased to meet you, Mr. Ralston.”
Robert took his sister’s hand. “You can’t stay here, Em. We’re no longer staying at the boarding house.”
“I know. Mrs. Holderman informed me of that. She said you three live above the store.” She looked at each of them in turn, then returned her gaze to her brother, her cheeks flaming. “I can’t return home and I need a place to stay, Robert. I’m a hard worker and will earn my keep.”
“This is no place for a lady,” Henry said.
Her pretty face grew resolute. “Yet I must stay here, nonetheless.”
“Perhaps we should show you our apartment above the store,” Robert said. “Then you can see that it is not so fine as you might imagine.”
“I would like that,” she said.
Robert led her through the back room and opened the door leading to the stairs. Joseph and Henry followed them up.
The apartment was at least neat, which was lavish praise for an abode belonging to three bachelors. It had a main room with scant furniture, a kitchen and table, and three bedrooms. By the time they’d invested their life savings into the first and second of three payments on the mortgage and for the store’s inventory, they had no extra for fineries. Those would come later.
When Emily saw there were only three bedrooms, she frowned, but then said, determinedly, “I will sleep on the couch.”
“You will do no such thing,” Joseph said, indignant at the mere thought. “You may have my room. I will sleep on the couch.”
“Why, Mr. Keeton,” she said, with another smile, “that is very gallant of you. Thank you.”
Robert shook his head. “We need to get you into the boarding house. I have a little money—“
”As do I,” Emily said, “but we both have better places to spend our money right now.”
“I will go remove my things from the room so you may settle in.” Joseph headed for his room, where he pulled out a box and filled it with his clothing. He quickly straightened the bed. Robert appeared in the doorway. “You can sleep in my room.”
Joseph nodded.
As they came out of the bedroom, Joseph made a grand sweeping gesture toward it. “Your room, princess.”
“Thank you,” she said. “My bag is downstairs; I’ll just go fetch it.”
“You’ll do no such thing,” Henry declared. She’d barely had time to glance around the apartment before he’d retrieved it. Emily thanked him and went into her new room, shutting the door behind her.
The three men stared at each other.
“What just happened?” Henry said.
“It’s not like we have a choice here; she’s my sister,” Robert said, “I can’t send her back.”
“So let her stay,” Joseph said. “Having her here would free us up to do other things around here. Or even at the mine.”
They turned to Henry, who shrugged. “I don’t have a problem with her staying. Does she cook?”
Robert chuckled. “Probably not. Her father had a cook.”
Henry frowned. “That’s a shame.”
“So she stays?” Joseph asked.
When the other two nodded, he felt a rush of relief.
He wanted to get to know Robert’s sister better and this would give him the perfect chance to do so.
Fool’s Gold?
JOSEPH WOKE IN THE WRONG PLACE, disoriented.
He was stiff from lying on the ground. Wait, why was he on the ground?
He squeezed an eye open and was surprised to find himself in Robert’s room, then his brain kicked into gear and he remembered: he’d given up his room to an angel.
With a groan, he pushed himself up.
Robert turned from the window, where he stood in his jeans, shirtless and barefoot. “Morning.”
“Morning,” Joseph replied and pulled on his pants. “I think today is going to be a real interesting day.”
Robert shrugged into a shirt. “We need to find a better place for her to stay.”
“I don’t know,” Joseph said, putting on his own shirt. “She seemed pretty determined to stay here with us.”
His friend’s eyes were troubled. “At home, she had a chaperone around the clock and just about anything she could wish for. She’s not suited for this life. Whatever could have happened to make her come here by herself must have been bad.”
“Maybe you can get her to talk to you today and tell you.”
“Maybe.” Robert sat on the bed and pulled on socks and his boots.
Joseph did the same on the other side of the bed.
They went out into the main room, and found Henry at the stove, making pancakes.
“Don’t burn them like you did last time,” Robert said.
Henry just smiled. “I’m making them perfect for Princess Emily.”
Princess Emily poked her head out. “Oh, good, there are more of you. Now can I come out, Henry?”
Henry nodded and said to Robert, “Got to protect your sister’s honor.”
“I appreciate that,” Robert said, pulling out a chair for his sister. She sat along with Robert and Joseph, and Henry carried over a heaping plate of steaming, fluffy pancakes. He passed the plate to her first.
Emily took two and buttered them, then poured dark, fresh maple syrup over them. She took a bite and closed her eyes. A moment later, she opened her eyes, swallowed, and sighed. “Mr. Ralston, those are the best pancakes I’ve ever eaten.”
“Speaking of cooking,” Joseph said, “We were hoping you could take a turn, ma’am.”
She looked at him. “I can assure you that you would not like the meals I would prepare. I am woefully unprepared for that kind of work. However, I am good with people and that will come in handy in y
our store. You’ll want someone especially to deal with your female customers.”
She was a force of nature, apparently.
“That would be a handy thing,” Henry said. “Except we have no female customers.”
She frowned. “No women?”
Joseph and Robert frowned.
“Well, that has to be rectified. I can help with some of the displays, and you need to order in some supplies that will entice women to the store. Fabrics. Groceries. Those sort of things.”
The three men exchanged horrified glances. Her brother shook his head. “Our store stocks miner’s supplies. We don’t need those other geegaws.”
She put a hand on Robert’s arm. “Brother dearest, those geegaws are exactly what you need. But to reassure you, I will simply study the displays today and put my artistic eye to good use.”
Joseph stood, overwhelmed by the woman before him. “I’m going down to open the store.”
“I’ll go with you,” Henry said. “That will give Robert time to talk with his sister and explain a few things to her.” Henry shot Robert a meaningful look.
Downstairs, Joseph pulled in a deep breath. He could hardly breathe when he was in the same room with the pretty blonde.
Henry looked amused. “Life isn’t going to be the same, is it?”
“Nope.” Joseph studied the displays as though he hadn’t seen them before. He saw nothing wrong with the way they were set up.
Henry flipped the sign to OPEN and unlocked the door. As soon as he opened it, a familiar gingham cat skittered inside, and he scooped it up. “Oh, no, you don’t. You don’t belong here, no matter how many days you try to get inside.” He set it down outside, and closed the door.
When Joseph heard a feminine voice behind him, he turned.
Emily Maxwell was dressed in a blue gown today, and did, indeed, look like a princess.
She smiled at him, and Joseph couldn’t help but smile back.
Why’d he have to be attracted to a princess, especially when she was the sister of his friend and partner?
Emily hummed as she worked, determined to prove her worth to the three men.
She dusted the cabinets. She straightened a display near the front door, then decided it needed to be shifted one foot to the left. Henry was glad to move it for her.
Joseph shot her a skeptical glance. “Do you really think that will make a difference?”
She shot him a smile. “Yes.”
She had an eye for colors and placement, which made her the top student in her art teacher’s class. She might not know how to bake a cake, but she did know how to paint a canvas. This was similar. She looked at the colors in the displays — or lack thereof, which she would remedy as soon as possible — and thought through how she could best rearrange them.
But perhaps not all today, as that might give these men apoplexy. They obviously didn’t think she was qualified to work in their store since she had no mining experience, but she would help them out anyway, and prove that she was an asset.
The bell over the door jangled and she looked up. Three men in rough garb ambled in, laughing and telling a questionable story. When they spotted her, they stopped in their tracks, and shut up.
She smiled sweetly at them. “Good morning, gentlemen. How may I assist you today?”
The men reached up and pulled off their dusty caps. “I’m Ernest Franklin, ma’am, and these are my two partners. We’re looking for Sticking Tommies.”
“Mr. Keeton can help you with those, and when you’ve found what you want, bring them right up to the counter and I’ll help you check out.”
As the men followed Robert, they whispered and glanced back at her.
Shortly afterward, two more men walked in. She sweet-talked them, too.
By noon, when they took a break to eat the sandwiches Henry had procured from another store, the partners were eyeing her warily.
“What?” she finally asked.
Robert laughed. “We’ve had more men in here this morning than we usually have in a week. Word spread fast that there’s a pretty young shopkeeper at Miner’s Own Mercantile.”
She smiled. “I did my best to charm everyone who came in, and make them feel welcome.”
Joseph scowled at her. “You’re too friendly.”
“Would you rather I snap at them?”
“No, of course not,” he said, looking uncomfortable.
All three of them did.
She sighed. “Gentlemen, I gave up everything to come here to help you. I am as determined to make your store a success as you are. I will not return to New York and I am committed to Colorado Springs. That includes your store.”
A meow interrupted her, and she turned to see a beautiful gingham cat. It rubbed against her ankles, and she reached down and picked it up. “Oh, how beautiful.”
Henry said, “That cat is not ours.”
“Oh?” Emily looked at him. “Whom does it belong to?”
“What he means to say is the cat is a stray,” Joseph said. “An outside cat.”
“So she doesn’t belong to anyone?”
The three men shook their heads.
She smiled. “Then I hereby stake my claim to it. This is my cat, and I will call her...” She studied the cat as it rubbed its head against her hand. “Lily.”
She looked at the three horrified men. “Thank you for letting me and Lily stay with you.”
Determined to fit into the men’s schedules — and their lives — seamlessly, Emily went about making a place for the cat. After she found a bowl and filled it with water for Lily, she found an old blanket and created a bed for the cat. She’d have to come up with food later, but the cat didn’t look like she was starving, so apparently she was a good mouser.
Petting Lily, now stretching in her new blanket bed, Emily stood up tall to find the three men watching her warily, but they didn’t say anything. She’d never felt quite so powerful as she did at this moment.
She smiled. “Well, gentlemen, what is our first order of business?”
Henry pointed toward the broom. “We sweep up and straighten the bins and displays.”
“Right,” she said, and took the broom in her hands. She’d never held one before.
“Be careful you don’t get blisters,” Robert told her. “And you hold a broom like this, not like you’re going to throttle it.”
Joseph smirked at her. “The princess method would be more amusing.”
She glared at Joseph. “Watch out or I’ll sweep you right out of the store.”
“Like you already swept me out of my bedroom?” He snorted, but there was a twinkle of amusement in his eyes.
“Precisely,” she said, and adjusted her grip on the broom. She began to sweep the floor, which seemed as though it should be such a simple thing to do, but took more coordination and concentration than she’d thought it might.
By the time she put the broom away, her hands were a little sore.
Henry said, “I’ve got to pick up a delivery at the train station.”
As soon as he walked out, her brother said, “And I’m off to the mine.”
“Wait. You’re leaving me unchaperoned? With Mr. Keeton?”
Robert turned to her. “You traveled without a chaperone and I trust Mr. Keeton with my life. The store is open and people can walk in and walk by. Mrs. Easterwood is due any time. You’re perfectly safe. We cannot provide a full-time chaperone for you here.”
She sighed. “You’re right. I’m just so used to the social proprieties and standards required of me in New York.” She thought of the liberty she would have without worrying about permissions or the more stringent nuances of big city society, and smiled. “I shall adapt, and be glad of it too, I think.”
Robert put an arm around her shoulder. “I know. This is a new life for you, in so many ways. I’ll keep you safe, sister.”
Joseph said, “I will keep you safe, as well. You can be my honorary sister.”
But he didn’t look at her
like he considered her a sister. “Thank you both.”
Then her brother gathered his gear and left.
She glanced at Joseph and a flush warmed her cheeks. To hide her embarrassment, she turned and studied the displays.
The bell over the door announced new customers and a group of six burly men entered, looking around immediately until their eyes landed on her. She welcomed them with a bright smile, and pointed them toward Joseph, though they kept glancing back at her.
She couldn’t help but notice that one of the men had picked up the item from the display she’d had Joseph move closer to the door.
Before those men could leave, four more came in, asking for help but obviously wanting to meet the new girl. She was charming with all of them.
She’d been raised to be the most charming person in a room and she was using that to her advantage here.
When all of the customers had left the store, handing over some hard-earned money to Joseph, she smiled at him. “Is this your usual number of customers?”
He shook his head slowly, and smiled right back. “No. Word is definitely getting out about you.”
She shrugged nonchalantly. “And you thought I wouldn’t impact sales.”
He chuckled. “How wrong could I have been?”
She turned, her cheeks warm again, and pointed toward two displays along the far wall. “Would you please move these for me?”
He immediately became defensive. “Why?”
“Because I have an idea for a much better flow for people walking through your store. A flow that might keep them in the store longer, and then they might spend more money here.”
“Oh.” He studied her. “You’re pretty smart.”
“For a girl, you mean,” she teased.
“No, I mean for anyone. And I shall be the brawn to your brain.” He moved to the first display. “Where do you want me to move it?”
She showed him where she wanted the two to go, and he started grunting and pushing, inching the display over.
“Right there!” she said, and he stopped, and mopped his brow in an exaggerated manner. She laughed. “You are a faker, Mr. Keeton.”
Colorado Dreams (Rocky Mountain Romances Book 7) Page 3
