Avalee Exchanges Her Fiancé

by Linda Hubalek

  "All right. Now that we've shown you the projects, let’s go back through the buildings one by one," Mack steered them back up the street. "We'll save the livery for last to keep our boots clean while we walk through the other places.

  *

  "This is a good pot roast. Nice and tender," Tobin noted as he spoke between bites.

  Gordon eyed the Clancy Café as they ate their evening meal. Kiowa had brought them here after they'd toured all the buildings and talked about what needed to be done.

  They were introduced to the proprietors, Nolan and Holly Clancy, and Kiowa paid for their meals before he left to go home to his family.

  Between the buildings tour and eating supper, they opened individual accounts at the bank and at the mercantile.

  "We'll all be working together for a while, but which individual jobs appeal to you the most?" Barton asked, and Gordon wondered what each man would pick as his first choice.

  "Barber for me," Peter waved his hand, and everyone agreed with that. It was his job in the army, and he was good at it.

  "Working in a hotel appeals to me, plus I'd have two Paulson ladies to choose from," Wesley grinned.

  "I wouldn't mind running the general store," Gordon spoke up quickly. He’d ordered supplies and kept track of inventory in the army.

  "I think I'd like the carpenter job. What do you think, Barton? Would Mack agree to that?"

  "You were named squirrel for a reason, little brother. You were scaling anything in your way before you were two years old." Barton said, and Gordon agreed. The kid could climb anything if he put his mind to it.

  "Tobin?" Barton asked for his preference.

  "You'd be best as the smithy, Barton, so I'll say the livery. I like animals, and Boyle's house will be really nice once it's cleaned out."

  "You'd have to use a mounting block to get the harnesses on the horse teams," Squires teased Tobin.

  "Sweet talk and a treat will get the horses to lower their heads for me," Tobin retorted.

  Gordon watched his friends as they discussed what they wanted to do in this new town. In some ways, Gordon was excited to start this new chapter in his life, but at other times—he hated to admit—he wished he could take off on his own. He’d never done something without the six of them doing it together.

  He felt guilty for wanting to be independent, but he couldn’t help himself. He wanted to be someone other than the middle Miller brother.

  Chapter 4

  "Please look for your name on the tables and take your seat," Avalee’s mother told the group as they walked into the events room. They had six tables of four set in the middle of the big room with the hotels best bone china, crystal glasses, and polished silverware placed precisely in place on snow white tablecloths. Avalee and her sisters had learned at an early age how to set the table for guests, and she was pleased how the room looked for the dinner.

  “Did you see which men mother sat at our tables?” Nadine whispered to Avalee as they stood as hostesses greeting everyone as they walked into the room.

  “You’re with Gordon Miller, and I’m entertaining Tobin Billings,” Avalee sighed. The six men sat with Kaitlyn Reagan in the front church pew this morning and were formally introduced to the congregation.

  Poor souls.

  First, the scrutiny of every person in the church, and now having to eat a fancy dinner in the hotel.

  “The little red-haired man? I think he could keep the conversation going all by himself,” Nadine whispered back.

  Oh well. Avalee had no plans to marry in the near future, so she was immune to any solicitation Tobin, or any other man would attempt to give her.

  That first evening of the men’s arrival, Nadine and Avalee had slipped over to the dress shop apartment to see if the Brenners or Amelia had found out any information about the six men. Avalee’s mother hadn’t said a word about it, but Maggie Brenner noted that the men, Mack, and Kiowa had toured the downtown in the afternoon, ate supper at Clancy’s Café, and retired to the barbershop apartment for the night.

  Yesterday, they worked in the barbershop, giving the place a good scrubbing and painting the walls.

  “Girls, please take your seats so we may begin,” Helen waved to her daughters before taking her own seat with their father, Maisie Brenner, and Barton Miller.

  Avalee graciously waited for Tobin to pull out her chair, then push it in for her after she sat down in it. He wasn’t a handsome man, but he did have good manners.

  "I’m Tobin Billings, and I’m so honored to be sitting with you today, Miss Avalee. Mr. and Mrs. Elison and I have been visiting, and they pointed you out as one of the Paulson daughters,” Tobin said as he sat down beside Avalee.

  "Thank you, Mr. Billings, —”

  “Oh, please call me, Tobin. I’d like to be one of your new friends, and Mr. Billings sounds so formal.”

  “Oh. All right, Tobin.” What else could she say but agree with the man now?

  “I was so excited when my friends and I were picked to live and work in Clear Creek. It’s such an opportunity.”

  “Oh. What exactly are you all going to be doing? I know Kiowa and Mack wanted to do some repairs and maintenance to their buildings.”

  “Yes, and then I’m going to—"

  “Tobin is going to take over the mercantile," Lorna finished Tobin’s sentence.

  “I am? Oh, well, I guess that’s what Kiowa has decided for me,” Tobin recovered quickly but seemed surprised by Lorna’s announcement.

  “I’m Dr. Pansy Reagan’s assistant,” Avalee said to change the subject.

  “Mack told me his wife was the doctor in town. Good for you. I bet that’s a fascinating job,” Tobin praised her.

  Avalee was taken aback by his praise. Most men didn’t think women should have anything to do with the medical field.

  Pastor Reagan stood up as Kaitlyn tapped a spoon on her water glass to get everyone's attention. Voices quieted as everyone turned toward Pastor.

  "Before our food arrives, I'd like to say grace, and then Kaitlyn would like to say a few words.”

  Avalee guessed the Peashooter Society's plan was about to be revealed.

  "Amen," Pastor finished his prayer, and everyone watched as Pastor sat down, and Kaitlyn stood up.

  "Welcome everyone," Kaitlyn started, as she looked around at the people at each table. "Back a while Kiowa and I were talking about the job positions open in town due to people leaving or wanting to retire.

  "Kiowa talked about needing to advertise the positions because the community lacked men to take them over. And then I thought about the young women in town who lacked men to court them."

  Avalee inwardly groaned because she knew today’s dinner was the start of a Peashooter’s scheme.

  "Several women in town, including myself, were mail-ordered brides. So... we advertised that Clear Creek needed men for positions in a town where there were women available to become brides."

  Oh. No. The Peashooters were matchmaking.

  Now there were groans around the room. Good thing mothers weren't sitting with daughters, or else there would be some choice words whispered across the tables—by their mad daughters.

  Avalee folded her arms across her chest and stared at Pastor. At least he was red-faced with what his wife and her friends had done.

  "Now, now. This is a good thing. We've hand-picked six men who we think will fit into our community. There are jobs and housing available in Clear Creek."

  And six young women available too. Avalee looked around the room at her friends. Most were in shock at the revelation, except Maisie who was always optimistic.

  "Gentlemen, we've seated you with ladies who we think you'd like to get to know better, along with an older couple you can think of as your, uh, sponsors."

  Lorna and Lyle Elison were her sponsors? Well, it could have been Pastor and Kaitlyn, so Avalee considered herself lucky.

  “As I said before, I’m so honored to be seated with you today, Miss Avalee,” Tob
in Billings said as he leaned toward her.

  Avalee turned to look at Tobin. He was short in stature, with shocking red hair, but he was sincere. The man may not be handsome, but he seemed to have a polite and caring personality.

  "Our meal is here. Please enjoy your dinner as you visit with your prospective mate," Kaitlyn ended with a flourish as she sat down.

  “Avalee, how about you tell Tobin about yourself and your family?” Lorna asked with her usual genuine manners.

  “Really, Lorna? You want me to tell how and why we arrived in town?” Avalee lifted a knowing eyebrow.

  Lorna laid a delicate hand on her throat. “I’m sure Mr. Billings wouldn’t want to hear every detail from that time period, Avalee,” Lorna hinted she could leave out some details, especially the ones related to herself.

  “Oh, I want the whole story, every tidbit you can remember,” Tobin said as he rubbed his hands together with obvious glee.

  Avalee laid down her fork and turned to Tobin to give him her full attention.

  “My mama signed up to be a mail-order bride, not telling the prospective groom she had four young daughters—by four different men—along with her. His letter said he was a wealthy rancher, so Mama assumed he’d have a big house and money to take care of us.

  “You each have a different father? Oh, golly. I bet that was confusing.”

  “No, not really. We each had a photo of our father to remind us of him.

  “My father was Arvid Lindsmeier, a widower in his sixties, who hired mother as a maid for his hotel and gave us room and board. After a year he asked Mama to marry him, and she said yes for us girls’ sake.

  “I don't remember much about him, but in his photo, he had thinning hair, a thick mustache, and thick jowls. Unfortunately, he died of a heart attack a few years later, and his sons by his first marriage suggested we leave.”

  “You have half-brothers you’ve never met? How tragic. I wish I had siblings,” Tobin sympathized with her.

  “What was tragic… was that Mama’s new groom was already married…to Lorna,” Avalee gestured palm up to Lorna.

  “Now, what?” Tobin asked as he looked between Avalee and Lorna.

  “Turns out he was a con man. He’d order a mail-order bride, marry her, tuck away her money for safekeeping, and then disappear the next day. Lorna wasn’t his first bride in the area to be left behind without her funds.

  “Then, the man tried the same plan months later with my mama. But luckily, Lorna recognized the man and neither marriage was official.”

  “Then what happened, Mrs. Elison?” Tobin asked, riveted by the embarrassing story.

  “I married Lyle, who had befriended me through the ordeal. We’ve been married almost twenty years,” Lorna sweetly tried to put an end to the conversation.

  Avalee picked up the conversation again.

  “We moved into this hotel to help Ethan manage the property, and eventually, Ethan and Mama married. You’ve already met Nadine. She’s sitting with Gordon and the Connelys. My three youngest sisters are helping with the meal service today. Daphne is sixteen, Cecilia is twelve, and my littlest sister, Phoebe, is ten.”

  “Oh, Miss Phoebe is a cutie,” Tobin said as Phoebe deftly walked by with a basket of rolls.

  Avalee continued, not watching her sisters. “My oldest sister, Iva Mae is married to Gabe Shepard, and the sister above me, Maridell, lives in Wilson with her family.”

  “I can’t imagine seven siblings, but I would have loved to have one or a dozen.”

  “We know you came from New York City on the orphan train. Do you have any recollection of your parents or family?” Lorna asked, probably to keep Avalee from revealing any more scandals.

  “No, I don’t remember my parents, but it seems like there was another red-haired person beside me in the family. But maybe I remember seeing myself in the mirror?

  “I’m not sure how long I was in the orphanage before I was sent on the train to the Midwest. It could have been years or months, but Barton remembers the lady traveling with us, saying it was my sixth birthday the day we left.”

  “It’s nice you know that detail,” Avalee said, thinking how strange it would be not to know her parents or facts of her younger years. Her mother had always been certain Avalee, and her older sisters knew their background.

  “Did you have siblings when you were adopted?” Lyle asked.

  “No. I was taken in by an older deaf couple who needed help. We kind of learned to communicate and I’d tell storekeepers and such what they needed.

  “It was a lonely life, not being able to hear a voice at home,” Tobin said, looking down at his hands. “I think that’s why I get along with animals so good. I constantly talked to the livestock growing up.”

  “Are your adoptive parents still living?” Lyle asked.

  “No, they both passed before I went into the army. I lived with a neighbor and did odd jobs around town until the six of us joined the military at the same time.”

  “With your skills, I’m sure you’ll do well visiting with the customers in the mercantile store, Tobin. The Taylors will be pleased to have you take over their store,” Lorna added a word of encouragement.

  Avalee looked at the other couples seated around the room. Gordon Miller didn’t look like he was having the best time sitting with her sister, Nadine, and their sponsors, the Connelys. Isaac and Cate were wonderful people, acting as grandparents to the Paulson sisters and everyone else in town who lacked an older generation to love them.

  She wondered what Gordon’s childhood was like. At least he had his brothers, compared to Tobin’s past.

  “What other get-togethers are planned in the future, Mrs. Elison? I will look forward to getting to know the townspeople better.” Tobin asked with anticipation.

  “I’m sure there will be other activities planned where you two can spend time getting to know each other,” Lorna smiled at Tobin, and then at Amelia. “Unlike mail-order brides of my time, when we wed on the first day—”

  “I have a fiancé,” Avalee blurted out, interrupting Lorna from telling Tobin that she was going to be his bride.

  “What? Just when did you get engaged, and why didn’t I know about it?” Lorna lowered her voice to a hiss.

  “My engagement has been a secret, and that’s all I’ve to say about it,” Avalee tilted her chin up in a bit of defiance.

  But she felt guilty when she saw Tobin’s reaction out of the corner of her eye. She didn’t mean to hurt his feelings, but she knew she did.

  Chapter 5

  Gordon listened as the men visited after the Sunday meal. They lounged in the living room of the barbershop apartment, discussing the conversations around each table.

  "I had fun visiting with Avalee Paulson, although she said she has a fiancé out of town. Lorna Elison asked her 'since when,' and Avalee glared at her but didn't answer.

  "I don't think the young ladies like the Peashooter's plan," Tobin finished his rambling with a sigh.

  "They were caught by surprise, that's for sure. Millie Wilerson talked as if I was going to take over the livery. Have the Peashooters assigned us our jobs besides our wives?" Squires asked.

  "That's funny since you're scared to death of mules," Tobin snickered.

  "Does the livery have any mules in stock?" Squires wide-eyed stare told of his skittishness around the beasts. An old mule nearly squashed Squires in a stall when he was a youngster, and he'd never forgotten it.

  "Don't know since we haven't started on the barn clean up, but I didn't see any in the outside corral," Barton said to ease Squire’s mind.

  "So, what are we going to do about all this, Barton?" Squires asked. "I refuse to work with mules when Tobin's better with livestock anyway."

  "Amelia said we'd talk later. Did any of the other women say something similar?" Wesley asked.

  "Avalee muttered a lot of things under her breath. I think she's a little hot-headed, but I still like her," Tobin said as he leaned back in the large roc
ker, trying to get it moving since his feet barely reached the floor.

  "I don't—" Barton started to talk as a knock echoed through the apartment. He stood up and walked to the door.

  "Mack said we had the day off, but he must need to tell us something," he said as he opened the door.

  "May we come in?" Maggie Brenner asked. The six young women were crowded into the entryway, and they didn't look happy.

  "Welcome, ladies," Barton motioned them to join them in the living room. Gordon and Squires hastily moved dining room chairs into the living room to create more seating.

  "I sense you want to talk about the Peashooter's plan?" Barton addressed the group as they walked in. Everyone stood up when the ladies arrived, giving them the best chairs in the room, and then sat down on what was available. Gordon and Barton stood since there wasn't enough seating.

  "First of all, we apologize for our mothers’ and their friends’ idea," Avalee Paulson announced. She was sitting on the settee with her sister, Nadine. "They've done stunts in the past, usually to protect someone though, but not a plot for an outcome."

  "They've done this is the past? Did those marriages stick?" Barton asked.

  "This is their first matching endeavor," Amelia pointed out. "And their pistols haven't been involved, yet."

  "Have they ever shot and killed anyone?" Tobin asked in horror.

  "It's been a few years, and their peashooters aren't strong enough to actually kill," Amelia shrugged as she said it.

  "What happened?" Tobin sat forward in his seat.

  "Oh, let's see...Was it when Iris Reagan, Kaitlyn's daughter-in-law, was almost kidnapped?" Amelia looked at Avalee for confirmation.

  "I think so," Avalee waved her hand in the air as if it didn't matter. "Kaitlyn walked up and shot the man in the arm, through her reticle, so he was caught by surprise."

  "Amelia told me how the Peashooter's caught her murderous father, while in church," Wesley added.

  All the men's eyes turned to Wesley, and then to Amelia.