As she placed the last potato in the pot to boil, she glanced out the window and saw two women walking down the road from the town site.
It had been over four months since Pearl Hubbard had visited, and the sight of dresses and bonnets outside her door almost brought tears to Charlotte’s eyes. She quickly tucked her wayward hair into her bun and then wiped a towel across her damp forehead. She wasn’t as presentable as she would like to be for a first meeting but, at the moment, she just wanted female companionship.
Charlotte flung open the lean-to door, a smile on her face, and was greeted by two of the loveliest women she had ever seen.
The mother was the first to extend her hand. Her mouth lifted in a beautiful smile, accentuating her high cheekbones and crinkling the edges of her pretty green eyes. “Hello, I’m Mrs. Perry, and this is my daughter, Maude. Mr. Cooper told us to come early.”
“Yes! Yes, of course.” Charlotte practically pulled the women over the threshold. “Please come in.”
The ladies entered and Maude offered Charlotte a smile almost identical to her mother’s. “It’s a pleasure to meet you, Miss Lee.” She wore a pretty green bonnet, which matched her eyes. Her honey-blond hair curled out around her face. “Mr. Cooper was kind enough to invite us for supper. We hope we aren’t intruding.” The girl’s cheeks held a becoming blush, and when she mentioned Abram, the blush deepened.
“Of course you’re not intruding,” Charlotte said. Yet somehow she felt that Maude Perry’s arrival in Little Falls would intrude a great deal into the life Charlotte had been living these past six and a half months.
Miss Maude Perry would cause quite a stir. And, if Abram’s reaction was any indication, she had already impressed one gentleman.
Suddenly, Charlotte wasn’t so sure she craved female companionship after all.
Chapter Eleven
The evening sun slipped behind a bank of clouds, threatening to send another June rainstorm. Abram strode south on Kidder Street from the company store, where he now had an office, and crossed over toward Wood Street and home. His head pounded and his eyes felt gritty from exhaustion. Charlotte would have his supper warming on the back of the stove, no doubt, since he had missed suppertime once again.
The swollen Mississippi rushed past the riverbanks, lapping over the edges in a few places. The sawmill was working at full capacity, with Harry managing the daily operations—and still, they were not producing enough lumber to meet the demands of the growing community.
The boys had asked him to be home early tonight but, like every night for the past month, since Hubbard had moved to town full-time, he had been called from one thing to the next, until he realized the sun was setting on another day. Judging by the time, the boys would already be asleep.
Abram pushed open the lean-to door and walked into the quiet kitchen. Now that the large Hubbard home was built, most of the laborers ate and slept at their house. On last count, Hubbard said they had nineteen men living with them. About half a dozen men still came to Charlotte for their meals, but they were usually cleared out by the time Abram came home. All the other men in town ate at the shanty saloon, though Abram imagined the food wasn’t much to speak of.
Abram washed his hands in the basin and then entered the kitchen, where he lifted the waiting plate and took off the cloth to reveal chicken and dumplings. He sat at the table and ate in silence, expecting Charlotte to enter the kitchen at any moment.
But she didn’t.
By the time he was finished, the sun had set completely and the kitchen was dark.
He put the dish in a pan of water on the stove and walked through the door into the main room.
Charlotte sat in her rocking chair, looking out the window, her chin in her hand. The sewing project in her lap was apparently forgotten as dusk had settled.
“Would you like me to light a lantern?” he asked quietly.
She glanced up, a smile gracing her lips. “Abram. I didn’t hear you come in.”
He returned the smile, forgetting his headache for a moment. “May I sit with you?”
“Of course.”
He struck a match and lit the lantern behind her chair. Light illuminated the room, sending shadows over her face.
“Thank you for keeping my supper warm.” He blew out the match and lowered the chimney back onto the lantern. “I wish I could have been home in time to see the boys before they went to bed.”
“Tomorrow I’ll bring them to the store so they can see you for a bit.”
“I would appreciate that.” He sighed and sat in the other rocking chair, resting his head against the back. “My days are so full, and I don’t get to everything that needs to be done.”
She folded her sewing project and set it in her basket. “What things are consuming your time right now?”
The simple question eased a thousand worries. Already his shoulders felt lighter and he could breathe easier. He longed for someone to share his burdens, even if it just meant an ear to listen. “I need to start improving the dam to get more waterpower. We’ve had several people interested in building businesses along the riverbanks. A gristmill, a cabinet shop and another sawmill, for starters.” He rubbed his hands over his eyes. “The company store just opened, but it’s a mess. It will take me weeks to get it organized.” He lowered his hands and looked at her, his greatest burden at the front of his thoughts. “And I can’t find time to work on the schoolhouse, which is the most important building in town right now.”
“Why? You have two and a half months before September first.”
“Hubbard received a letter from Miss Helen Palmer today, the young lady from Moline who was asked to be our schoolteacher.” He paused and watched her carefully. “She’ll be here the last week of August, and she wants to start school immediately.”
Charlotte glanced down at her hands, her bottom lip coming between her teeth as she nibbled it.
“I just need a doctor and a preacher—”
“I know,” she said softly.
Abram didn’t want to think about September or Charlotte leaving. He’d rather think about the here and now. “Pearl wants to have a dance. She’s estimated about twenty families have recently moved to town and she thought it would be good to get everyone together.”
“When?”
“Tomorrow night. We’re going to have it here, in the barn. Now that the livestock are being housed at the Hubbards’ new barn, Harry will get everything ready, and Pearl said she’d bring refreshments if you’re willing to provide coffee.”
“I’m always willing to provide coffee.” She smiled and it lifted another weight off his shoulders, but then he saw the sadness hidden behind her smile.
She stood and he followed. “I think I’ll turn in,” she said.
Without another word, she crossed the room and went up the stairs.
He watched until her feet disappeared and then he dropped into the chair, his headache returning with a vengeance.
Why did he feel as if he was failing, while all his dreams were coming true?
A knock at the door made him frown. He pulled himself out of the rocker and opened the door.
Three familiar faces stared back at him and he grinned. “Milt! Caleb! Josiah!”
They exchanged hearty handshakes. “Come in,” Abram said.
“What happened?” Caleb asked, stepping into the main room. “We leave a farm and return to a metropolis!”
“Is that Caleb?” Charlotte appeared on the steps once again, a genuine smile on her beautiful face. “Oh!” She raced across the room and took Caleb’s hand. “I’ve missed you all so much.”
“Missed them?” Abram asked. “With all those men in the house this winter?”
Charlotte shook Josiah’s hand and then Milt’s, and received exuberant smiles in return.
“If I would have known we’d get such a welcome,” Caleb said with a twinkle in his eye, “we wouldn’t have stopped in Crow Wing on the way down the river.”
“You didn’t!” Charlotte put her hands on her hips.
Caleb laughed and shook his head. “Nah, I’m just teasing. We came straight back.”
“We heard there was commotion in Little Falls,” Josiah said. “Looks like we came just in time.”
“Actually, you’re about three months too late.” Abram slapped his back. “But I’m happy you’ve come.”
“Harry still here?” Milt asked, eyeing up Charlotte.
Abram nodded. “He’s in the barn.” Actually, he was probably at the shanty saloon, but Abram wasn’t in a hurry to tell the others about the place.
“Ah, Miss Charlotte,” Caleb chastised. “Still as stubborn as ever?”
Charlotte glanced down at her hands. It was clear she felt bad about Harry.
“Harry’s even more stubborn than Charlotte,” Abram said. “It’s the man’s own fault.”
“It’s not entirely his fault,” Charlotte conceded, finally looking up.
Abram wrinkled his brow but he didn’t comment.
“I reckon we should mosey on out and see what there is to see,” Caleb said. “Where do the men spend their evenings?”
“Do you have to leave?” Charlotte asked. “Why not stay? I could make coffee and find something for you to eat. We’d love to visit.”
Caleb glanced at Josiah and Milt, and they both nodded. “You got yourself a deal!”
Charlotte grinned and went to the kitchen, Milt and Josiah following.
Caleb held back and looked at Abram with a serious expression. “I half expected to see a wedding ring on Miss Charlotte’s finger when we walked in.”
“A wedding ring?” Abram frowned. “Why?”
Caleb tilted his head and suddenly he didn’t look as young as before. “You’re a man. She’s a woman.”
Abram shook his head. “There’s no future for Charlotte and me. She’ll be heading back to Iowa City to start a dress shop soon.” It was ludicrous to even think about marrying Charlotte. In her eyes, Abram was irreparably flawed and he would never change. He could spend the rest of his life trying to convince her otherwise, but she would doubt him and his intentions forever.
No. He had no wish to consider a future like that...yet the thought of never looking into her beautiful brown eyes again filled him with a hollow feeling he didn’t like.
* * *
Charlotte stood in front of the mirror in her bedroom and looked at her reflection. She wore a gown made of dark blue silk. The bodice fit perfectly over her slender waist and the skirt belled out a little more than her day dresses with the extra petticoats. The sleeves were short and she wore a long lace shawl over her shoulders. Her hair was up, with large, chocolate-colored ringlets dripping down her back and over her shoulders.
It felt good to dress up and to anticipate a real dance with real music. Harry had been busy cleaning out the barn all day, and Pearl had arrived early to set up the refreshments. She’d also brought their housekeeper, a young Indian woman named Rachel, to care for Robert, Martin and George, as well as the Hubbards’ three children.
A knock at the door startled Charlotte from her reverie.
“Miss Charlotte,” Rachel called through the closed door. “There’s a gentleman downstairs to escort you to the dance.”
A gentleman? Charlotte pinched her cheeks and then lifted her long white gloves off the bureau. She glanced at the ivory-handled dresser set Abram had given her at Christmas and her heart did a little flip. “Thank you.” She pulled on the gloves and opened the door, wondering who had come to escort her. Abram?
Charlotte peeked inside the boys’ bedroom, where the children were playing. “Good night. Don’t hesitate to find me if you need anything.”
Robert caught Charlotte’s eye and he ran his hand over his face. “Beautiful.”
Charlotte smiled, touched her hand to her chin and then out toward him. “Thank you.” And then blew him a kiss.
She closed the door, lifted the hem of her gown and walked down the narrow steps. She caught sight of a pair of male feet at the bottom of the stairs and then she saw his legs and torso—and then his face, and a pang of disappointment almost stole the joy out of the evening. “Hello, Mr. LaForce.”
Pierre LaForce was a handsome man—but he wasn’t Abram.
He bent at the waist and offered a dashing bow. “Mademoiselle, you are most radiant. May I have the pleasure of escorting you to the dance?”
Several other men rushed into the house at that moment, their hair slicked down, wearing what were probably their best clothes.
“What is this?” Pierre asked. “I am first.”
“Miss Lee, you can’t allow LaForce to escort you,” Nathan Richardson said, his hand over his heart. “It’s simply not fair. We all worked hard to get here before him, but he cheated.”
“Cheated?” LaForce lifted his nose in the air. “We agreed the first man to get here would have the honor of Miss Lee’s company.”
“We tried getting here as soon as possible,” said another man, “but Mr. Cooper and Mr. Hubbard wouldn’t let us off a minute sooner than usual. Pierre must have snuck away early.”
Pierre simply grinned at Charlotte. “There is nothing more important than a beautiful woman—so I took my chances and left work early. But please do not tell.”
“What’ll it be?” Mr. Richardson asked, stepping next to Pierre. “A cheater or me?”
“Or me?” asked another as he stepped forward.
“I got here the same time Richardson did,” said yet another.
Charlotte put up her hands, a giggle on her lips. “Let’s all go together.”
That seemed to please no one, especially Mr. LaForce, but Charlotte insisted.
They left the house by way of the lean-to and crossed Wood Street toward the barn. Already, the lanterns had been lit, with several strung from the ceiling. Three men sat in the corner on hay bales, playing their fiddles.
Charlotte entered the barn on the arms of Mr. LaForce and Mr. Richardson, and was greeted by dozens of familiar faces. The Hubbards were there, as well as Mr. and Mrs. Perry and their daughter, Maude, who was already dancing.
Besides these two families, there were over a dozen more, but only three marriageable ladies in attendance, Charlotte included. The rest were matrons who had come to town with their husbands.
Charlotte scanned the barn but did not see Abram, and her disappointment mounted. Where was he? She had seen so little of him these past few weeks, she missed his company and had looked forward to spending time with him all day.
Mr. LaForce took the first dance, a lively schottische. He twirled Charlotte around, teasing her until he won a smile. As soon as the dance finished, she was swept away by the vibrant Mr. Richardson, who told her of his adventures walking to Little Falls from a logging camp sixty miles away.
An hour passed and still Abram did not appear. Between each dance, she glanced around the barn to look for him. The evening stars began to sparkle and a gentle wind blew through the open doors, cooling Charlotte’s warm skin.
Finally, Charlotte begged for a break and her dance partner made her promise to dance the next song. She went to the refreshment table and took a cookie. As she nibbled on the flaky delight, she watched Pearl and Maude and Mrs. Perry twirl around the dance floor. There wasn’t a woman, no matter how old, sitting on the sidelines watching. Everyone was in the hands of a dance partner, their cheeks pink and their faces filled with joy.
A movement near the door caught Charlotte’s attention and, for a moment, she didn’t recognize the man who stood there. His clean-shaven face was a sight to behold—and transported Charlotte back to
Iowa City, to the Fireman’s Ball, when he walked in, looking very much the same as he did tonight, with his smooth skin, brilliant blue eyes and charming smile.
Though now he looked more mature and handsome, if that was possible. He wore the evening coat Charlotte had made for him over the winter months. It fit him perfectly and set him apart from most of the men. He stood taller than everyone and would be hard to miss...even if she hadn’t been looking for him.
Charlotte waited for him to look her way, but his eyes were trailing the dance floor, following Miss Maude Perry.
The fiddlers ended their song and began another. Mr. O’Conner appeared at her elbow. “I’m ready for that dance, lass.”
Charlotte set down her cookie and, like the night at the Fireman’s Ball, hoped Abram would look her way and ask her to dance.
She effortlessly stepped into the waltz, glancing toward Abram once again to see if he’d noticed her. But his eyes were not on Charlotte—he was already dancing with Maude.
The two of them together were stunning. He, tall and dark. She, small and fair. As they danced, they smiled at one another, and Maude’s pleasant laughter could be heard above the fiddler’s music.
A tinge of jealousy colored Charlotte’s perspective and all of a sudden the entire evening felt dull. Seeing Abram and Maude reminded her of when she’d seen Susanne dancing with Abram during the Fireman’s Ball—but it wasn’t jealousy that clouded her thoughts that long-ago night. It had been fear. A completely different feeling.
Or was it so different? Jealousy was only fear masquerading in a different costume. But why was she afraid of seeing Maude and Abram together?
She didn’t want to even contemplate the answer.
“Lass, I believe I’m your dance partner,” Mr. O’Conner said. “Would you mind focusing on me?”
“Pardon me.” Charlotte directed her attention away from Abram and back to Mr. O’Conner, her cheeks filling with heat.
A Family Arrangement Page 13
