Wanted: Miller (Silverpines Series Book 10)

by George H. McVey

  Even those thoughts weren’t enough to depress her and pull her back into melancholy the day that Mrs. Simpson came and asked her to come with her quickly to the doctor’s office. Once there she was ushered into a room where Betsy and Maude were. Hattie explained that Betsy was having a very difficult time in her pregnancy and for the foreseeable future she needed to be on bed rest. Hattie was asking Tonya and Maude to take turns keeping their hard headed and irritable friend resting and make sure she was following doctor’s orders as Marshal Sewell had his hands full with overseeing law and order in the town. So even those few stolen moments a day with her new husband were coming to an end.

  However her husband more than made up for them when she came home; they continued to grow closer with every passing day. It wasn’t until almost two weeks after her wedding that Tonya realized that while Braylon often told her he loved her, she had yet to utter the words to him. She didn’t know why that was because she did love him, she loved him so much that sometimes she wasn’t sure she could contain that love. She made the decision that she would tell him how much she loved him that very night. Yet somehow the perfect time and opportunity passed without her saying anything and he was asleep. She sighed; she’d just have to try again later.

  Chapter Nine

  A month went by and the electric generator came as well as the wire and light fixtures that Braylon had purchased for the mill and his and Antonia’s home. Peter, much to Cindy Lou’s delight, had switched from sawyer to electrician apprentice, working alongside Braylon. Now when he spent time with her sparking under the stars or stealing kisses, there was less evidence for the Howard sisters to find. They’d started by running the wires through the mill and installing the large light fixtures that would light up the mill floor and generator room itself and then they’d moved upstairs and put in the fixtures for the bunkrooms. They added six more rooms upstairs, as well, giving them room for twelve more lumberjacks. Now with the six rooms they had before and two beds per room, they had places for twenty-four single mill workers to live. So far they’d hired a crew of twelve single men and six families to work the lumberyard. Three of the women in the lumberjack families had taken over the duties of cooking for the whole lumberjack crew, freeing up Mrs. Carlson to concentrate on just Tonya and Braylon. The Bunyan brothers still took breakfast with them most days as all three had been promoted.

  Paul was foreman of the lumberyard, keeping the wagons moving the uncut logs to the log deck set up, and the cut lumber stacked and delivered to the proper orders. Braylon and Tonya were looking for an older man or a younger inexperienced one to run the actual storefront the Tonya used to run, especially while she was helping take care of Betsy during her pregnancy.

  James was head foreman of the actual cut crews, the men who for now were cleaning up the last of the precut and fallen logs from the mudslide but would soon be heading up into the timberline to bring down trees. He mostly wouldn’t be in the trees, just directing the crews that were and checking to make sure that replants were done after the cut was finished.

  That was something new that Tonya and Braylon had heard about; a way to reclaim the forest they were cutting and to keep another disaster like the mudslide from happening. Planting two young saplings for every tree cut so that the timber would replenish itself in a few years and save the land. Tonya was insistent that they do it so that no other Woodson/Watts crew would face what she and daughters like Cindy Lou had. Braylon, being so involved with his wife, would give her anything she asked when it came to things like that because he never wanted to see her or someone she cared about living the existence he’d found his wife in when they met. Watching her come alive as the lumberyard and their family was reborn was the highlight of his life. He thought it was probably a bigger and better thing to take pride in than bringing electricity to Silverpines.

  Young Peter was a marvel to behold; he came alive working alongside Braylon. His mind was sharp and he picked up on the intricacies of the electrician trade quickly, seeming to instinctively know the best placement of wires and poles. He had a crew of six that would cut and raise poles and string the wire through town. Right now they were running poles from the mill to the Watts' home across the lumberyard. Next they would be heading back into town where they were to get electricity to the inn, bank, doctor’s office and apothecary, as well as the jail and a few other businesses.

  The downside was that they were busier than ever with Tonya spending days sitting with Betsy. Braylon wasn’t getting as much time with his new wife as he wanted. But he made up for quantity with quality. The one thing he hadn’t done was tell her about the telegram in his pocket he’d received the day before. His parents had sold their house and the mill quickly after making the upgrades he’d sent them home with; they would be arriving tomorrow to begin searching for a permanent home in Silverpines.

  He’d seen how disheartened Antonia had been when his mother had boarded the train so he knew this little surprise would be a pleasant one even if it did mean they’d have house guests for a few weeks. He’d planned to surprise her by having them join them for dinner at the hotel that evening but Peter had come to tell him that they needed some taller lodgepole pines to use in town. Since it was the first time anyone would be in the timber since the mudslide, Braylon felt an obligation to take the six-man crew himself. Peter had told him it wasn’t necessary but he knew that Tonya would worry about the young man if he sent him so he told Peter he’d take the men to make the cuts and be back by supper time. Because Peter’s own team was still stringing the lights in the boss’s house, he’d agreed, knowing that Mrs. Watts would be thrilled to have her electric lights for dinner that night with the surprise guests he was sworn to secrecy about.

  So Braylon and six men left with a wagon and the tools needed to mark and cut poles. Braylon rode one of the horses they’d bought to pull individual poles out of the tree line with so they could clean them before stacking them. He’d use it to get home before dark as well. The other six men were going to camp in the tree line until they got the poles cut and loaded.

  Thanks to the rain and cold, it took longer to get to the place where the men sat up camp and then pick the trees they’d drop. It was getting almost dusk when Braylon headed home. He was a bit worried that Antonia would panic as the sun was setting and he still wasn’t home but he was certain he’d be there before full dark. He probably would have, too, had he been paying attention and not thinking about how surprised and excited his wife would be when his parents met them for dinner at the hotel. He missed seeing the low hanging branch until he’d knocked himself out. The horse, being new to them, stopped until it began to get cold and then headed to the livery stable in town where she knew there were feed and a warm blanket.

  When Braylon woke up with a headache and feeling dizzy, darkness had set and he wasn’t sure which direction was home. He knew he had to get up and walk because he wasn’t prepared to spend a cold wet night in the trees but he also knew if he went the wrong direction, he’d end up slipping into the river in the dark and that wasn’t good, either. All he knew to do was head the way he thought was home and Silverpines and pray that God would lead him home safe.

  Tonya came home from Betsy’s tired. No matter what anyone said, trying to keep a pregnant woman in bed was exhausting. It didn’t help that because she was doing what Hattie had told her she felt good and wanted to be up doing something. It had taken all Maude and Tonya had to keep their friend resting and in bed. In the end, they had sat going over the letter that Maude had gotten in response to her mail-order groom ad. While Tonya had gotten just a couple, and only one that she even considered, it seemed everyone wanted to open up the silver mine, probably thinking they’d own the mine and not be an employee. Some of the letters were laughable and some were obvious con men; those went to the trash right away. Others did at least need to be considered. Some were discarded as the men were too old for Maude or just too rude to be considered for their friend but they still had about
twelve that needed serious consideration.

  They’d kept Betsy busy by having her go through those twelve first, as the man who married Maude would be Betsy’s employee. By the time Alexzander came home, they’d narrowed those down to three. All three had sent letters that weren’t just their qualifications but talked about what they were looking for in a wife as well. All three had also sent photographs; they were as different as three men could be. She and Betsy had had fun teasing Maude about what her physical qualifications were in a husband. But in the end Maude had decided to write to all three and see which one, if any of them, she connected with.

  So when Tonya walked through the door of her house she was surprised not to be met at the door by Braylon with kisses and sweet nothings. It had become their routine since she’d been sitting with Betsy and she missed it. Maybe he was still over at the lumberyard or he and Peter were down in the generator room toying around with something. Those two were like kids in a candy store when it came to the generator and the stuff that they could do with the electricity they were producing. She did, however, notice that the switch on the wall in the kitchen was covered; she pressed it and jumped a bit at the snap of the electrical switch making contact and the light humming and glowing from the kitchen ceiling.

  What was more surprising was there wasn’t anyone in the kitchen cooking. Was Mrs. Carlson sick?

  She knocked on the cook’s bedroom door and the woman opened it with a look of surprise on her face. “Oh, Tonya love! I wasn’t expecting you to be here. Himself said he was taking you to dinner at the hotel tonight.”

  She frowned. “Something must have come up, Mrs. Carlson. Is there any of the soup from yesterday left? We could just heat that up if you wouldn’t mind.”

  “Of course, love, no problem at all.” There was a knock at the door and Tonya frowned; who would be calling this late? She was beginning to worry that something was wrong. She walked back to the front and was shocked to see Braylon’s parents standing on her front stoop. “Pappa and Mamma Watts! What in the world! What are you doing here?”

  Her mother-in-law hugged her. “I told them it wasn’t a good idea but they insisted that we keep it a surprise. I told them both that a woman wants notice before people come to her home but no, those two had to surprise you.”

  Tonya frowned. “I’m sorry, what do you mean?”

  Mr. Watts scooped her up in a bear hug. “Surprise, Tonya honey. We sold the mill and we’re moving to Silverpines!”

  “Here! You’re moving here?!”

  “Well, where else would we move? I mean our son seems to have fallen in love with this lovely young woman here and I’m sure that soon he and she will give us some grandchildren to spoil, so where else would we go?”

  “That’s wonderful!” Her eyes filled with tears. That man, that wonderful, handsome, surprising man! Just when she thought she couldn’t love him more, he did something like this. Giving her a family again. Now if he’d only come home so she could tell him how much she loved him. With that thought came a twinge of worry. She’d yet to say those words to him. Well, if he were here she’d say them now right in front of his parents and not even be embarrassed by it. Then she looked up and the worry in the back of her stomach screamed to the front as Peter and Alexzander stood behind her in-laws. “What is it? What’s wrong?”

  “Tonya, calm down now; it might be nothing.”

  “Don’t tell me to calm down, Alexzander Sewell. If it was nothing you wouldn’t have left your wife alone. Where’s Braylon, what’s happened?”

  “Boss, we don’t know. We needed some taller poles to run the wire into town so the boss man took a team into the timber. Said he needed to do it since it was the first time since the slide anyone’s gone.”

  “His horse showed up at the livery about half an hour ago. Might have been some blood on the saddle.”

  Tonya felt herself drop like a rock. Her last thought before darkness took her was, “I never told him how much I love him.”

  Chapter Ten

  Tonya sat up with a start. What a terrible dream. It had started nice enough with her father- and mother-in-law telling her they were moving to Silverpines for good. Then it had turned into her worst nightmare as the timberline had taken her husband from her before she ever had to a chance to tell him how she felt. She reached out to Braylon only to feel the back of her divan. She sat up to see Mr. and Mrs. Watts. It hadn’t been a dream. “There now, dear. Take it easy; it’s going to be all right. The men have organized a search party; they’ll find him. Don’t you worry.” Her mother- and father-in-law were both knelt in front of her as she began to weep. “You don’t understand, I can’t lose him. I can’t do that again. I never even told him.”

  Her mother-in-law took her hand and rubbed it between her own. “Told him what, dear? I don’t understand what are you trying to say?”

  She looked at Braylon’s mother and was so ashamed. “He told me all the time. Not a day has gone by since we were married he hasn’t said it and I never did, not once, and now…. Now it might be too late and I’ll never get to tell him.”

  “Tell him what, dear? What did he say all the time and you never did?”

  She grabbed Mama Watts and hugged her. “THAT I LOVED HIM!”

  The older woman laughed. “Is that all, dear? Why, he knew that. Anyone that saw you with him knew that. There are other ways to say I love you than with the words, my dear, and you showed him and told him all the time.”

  “Maybe so but I never said the words; a good wife should have said the words.”

  “Now you stop that, Antonia Watts! Right this minute! You listen to me, young lady, and listen good. You hear me?”

  Tonya looked at her father-in-law with shock. He’d never spoken to her like that, her own father had never used that tone with her. She stared and nodded. “Good. You pay attention because I’m only going to say this once. You are the best wife my son could have ever gotten. Don’t you forget it and don’t you ever let me hear you say anything about the woman who helped my son find himself and become the best man he could have ever been. Do you understand me?”

  “Yes, sir.”

  “Good. Now the men are going to ride toward the timberline, they said, and look for him. Seems the only concern is that there are too many clouds in the sky for him to get his bearing and know which way is home. So they suggested we light every lantern and candle we can find and set them in the windows facing the timberline. Alexzander said it’s a long shot but if they can create enough light, he might be able to see it and get his bearings and head this way.”

  Tonya looked at the man; it took a moment for what he’d just said to register and she laughed. “Lanterns, candles.” She laughed like she had gone mad and she knew her father-in-law thought she had. “They want me to light his way home?! I’ll light his way home!” She walked over to the door and pushed the button; there was a snap of electricity and the light of a hundred candles lit up the room She ran from room to room lighting every room tossing back every curtain. “Do you see, PAPA, he did it!! Braylon. HE BROUGHT ELECTRICITY TO SILVERPINES! I’ll light his way home, all right. She ran out and across to the mill and tossed open the big doors and started pushing switches, lighting up the night with the arc of electric lights provided by her darling, inventive, forward-thinking husband.

  “There’s your beacon home, my love, come home to me now!”

  Her father-in-law and mother-in-law looked in awe. “Well, look at that, mother. He did it, our boy actually took the river and made light from it!”

  “Yes, I see that.

  Tonya hugged them and laughed. “HE DID and it will bring him home and I’ll never let another day pass without telling him how much I love his ideas and vision and everything.”

  Braylon was so tired and dizzy. His head hurt and his legs hurt and he was cold and wet and so confused. He knew he had to keep moving or else he might fall asleep and never wake up. While it wasn’t freezing yet, he was in the wilderness in Oregon
and the temperature could drop below freezing at any time this late in the year. If only the night sky was clear so he could see the moon or stars and get his bearing. He thought he was heading in the right direction but he couldn’t be sure. He’d been walking for hours it felt like.

  He was so tired and he just wanted to lie down for a minute. He wondered if Tonya was worried. He bet she was frantic. After losing everyone to this darn mountain once, he bet she was beyond frantic if she knew where he went. Would she know or would he die up here and no one ever know what had happened?

  He just needed to stop for a minute, just a minute and rest. Then he’d get up and try again. He was about to sink to his knees when something to his right caught his attention. A yellow glow. Was it fire? No, it was too steady for firelight. What was he seeing? Was he hallucinating? Then he remembered the last thing Peter had told him, “I got the house all wired up, boss, the mill, too.” It was electricity; that’s what he was seeing, the brand new electric lights of his house. They were all blazing bright and steady just like he knew they would. Antonia, his wonderful, beautiful Antonia was blazing a trail for him using his electric lights. They’d done it, he thought,

  turning toward the glow. Him and Antonia, his beautiful Antonia; together they’d done it. They’d brought electricity to Silverpines and tonight it was going to lead him home. Home to his beautiful, wonderful Antonia! He turned and headed toward the glow, the glow that was home, where the love of his life waited for him with every light in the house on.

  Less than an hour later Tonya heard the sound of horses approaching the house from the timberline. She didn’t even wait; she tore out the door and there sitting on the front one was her Braylon, a white bandage around his head. Peter sitting behind him. He slid to the ground and she ran to him and wrapped her arms around him. “I lit them for you, my love; did you see? I lit them all. Each and every one screaming how much I love you.”