by Rita Hestand
"Tell me something, Mr. Cranston, why do you seem so eager for these men to marry?" Abby asked, and Mary came to stand beside her nodding.
He turned a red face on her. "Well, to be frank, a married man is a more reliable worker, as he's thinking along the lines of a family. They work harder with the thought of being promoted. All in all, it makes for a much more stratified worker on his part and mine."
"And are all these men willing to get married?"
He cleared his throat. "As far as I know, yes."
"Alright, can you arrange for our room and board?"
"Hotel rooms? I'm afraid we are just now in the process of building a boarding house fit for many people. Most everyone stays with family here, there are no official boarding houses, except…" he stopped and turned red again, "Except in the Chinese District. I'm afraid you'll have to find a camping ground for your wagons for now as our city has no facility to house all of you."
Abby's mouth fell open. There was nowhere to stay? "Are you telling me there is no place for us to stay?"
"Well, for now, there isn't. But we plan for you to marry so, naturally a house would be your home. There is one consideration, you could stay in Chinese District of town. They have a few boarding houses, but it is mostly Chinese that stay there, I must warn you."
"Mr. Cranston, what are we to do, if there is no place for us?"
"Like I said, camp out as you've been doing. You see we have under construction a fine establishment, it just isn't ready for boarders yet, and won't be for probably another year. But it will be spectacular when we are finished."
"A year?" Abby gasped.
"I honestly didn't think you'd make it through." He confided, wiping the sweat from his brow.
"I see, well, for now, we'll camp then." Abby affirmed.
"Wonderful, I knew you'd understand."
Abby swallowed her pride, as it was her idea to come out here. Now she wondered if she'd totally lost her mind.
"We'll let you know where we are camped, then."
"Fine, fine. And I'll arrange the party in your honor." He explained trying his best to placate Abby and the other women.
Riding back to the camp, Cully saw her and stopped her. "So, did you get things settled?"
"Not hardly." She huffed. Why did he have to ask about it? He wasn't interested in their futures.
"What do you mean?"
"I mean, Cully, we are to camp out until Friday when they will have a grand party for us and we'll be introduced to the gentlemen. There is no place to put us up except China Town."
Cully almost smiled but seeing the wrath in Abby's expression he curtailed it. "I see, so now we need to find a place to set your wagons up."
"Yes, yes, we do…" She said absently.
"I see, well, a good place to start would be to talk to the preacher here and see if he knows a good spot that we could set you up."
"You're right about that. He should know something of the area." Abby agreed. "Has the other train left?"
"No, not yet, Johnson is talking to them today about what they want to do."
Seeing the distress on her face made him feel sorry for her. He figured she'd have some troubles, but not this. Still, considering the number of women, it stood to reason unless there was a hotel or boarding house big enough to house them all that they'd have to camp out.
He came closer, "Look, you're going to face problems no matter where you are Abby. Might as well accept it and go on."
"Did you know about this?" She asked turning on him.
"No of course not. I've been out here, but to tell the truth, I never paid any attention to the lack of places to stay. I usually camped out myself."
"Would you recommend the Chinese district?" she asked humbly.
"They are clean, and hard-working people Abby, but many don't speak English, and not for so many women I wouldn't. The Chinese have been oppressed out here. If the townspeople had their way, they'd kick them out. They have few modern conveniences and I think you'd be more comfortable in your own wagons. We can make your wagons better for you all to live in for a while, find a good place to put them and let nature take's its course."
"Is that supposed to be funny?" she frowned.
"No, I'm sorry." He smiled. "Look, the Chinese use candles mostly, as they can't afford kerosene. And it's a fire hazard. I wouldn't want to see you there."
"Fine, let's go talk to the preacher then." She insisted with a huff.
The preacher was very helpful. "Oh yes, others have come through here wanting the same information, just not recently. Yes, on the other side of town there is a grove of trees and shade and would be perfect for setting up camp. I'm sorry that we can't offer better for you, but our town is growing, and it will be a couple more years before we catch up with the bigger cities." He explained.
"Would that be on the west road?" Cully asked.
"Yes, that's it, about five miles out." The preacher smiled.
"Thanks, we appreciate it and we'll be moving our train out there."
"Wonderful. I hope you enjoy your stay here, Miss Ashford." The preacher said.
"Thank you." Abby said contritely.
Johnson saw them coming out of the church and approached them. "We'll be moving along to Sacramento. Several of my people have relatives out there and I think we'd be more comfortable in a city."
"I understand, well, the best of luck to you, Mr. Johnson." Cully shook hands with him.
"Good luck to your women." Johnson smiled at Abby.
"Thank you." She murmured. "It looks like we might need it."
When he walked away Cully looked at her, "Well, I guess we better get started."
"Yes," she nodded.
He informed Johnny that they were moving to a more suitable place and Johnny helped him get everyone ready to move.
It took half the day to find the camp, but it was a nice and clean area for wagons. Cully rounded their camp and got everyone in a more stable place.
When everyone began to un harness their wagons, Cully came up to Abby.
"I guess you'll be leaving now?" she asked.
"I hadn't planned on it yet."
"Oh, I thought you'd be anxious to get back to Council Bluff." She told him.
"I'm not going to leave all of you until things are more settled for you. It'd be like coming here and dumping you. I want to make sure you are all alright first. Then I'll be gone. Are you anxious for me to leave now?" He asked, staring at her.
"No," she rushed to say. "It's not that, it's just well you've done your job. You got us here in one piece. That's all I expected of you."
"Is it?" He asked staring into her eyes.
She moved away from him, as tears were close to falling. "I was wrong Cully. I'm not at all sure this is right for any of them. I think maybe, they deserve better than this, but I honestly at the time didn't know of anything else to do."
"You're worried about them?" He looked at the crowd of women milling around their new camp.
"They wouldn't be here, if not for me."
He came closer, "At least they aren't back there…"
"Yeah, I guess that is one consolation."
"Well, I'll be camped out here too, for a while. If everything works out well, and some of them do get married, then I'll be going home. Anyone…. I mean, if anyone wants to go with me, I'll take them. What about you? Are you okay here?"
"I don't know. I thought I'd feel different when we got here. I thought, I don't know what I thought. I don't. But I can always go to work here, cooking or waiting tables. With this many man working every day, there is bound to be a need for good cooks."
"I thought the idea was to get married." He questioned.
"Yeah…" she sighed.
"Then what's wrong?"
"Mr. Cranston said there was a wagon load of women who came for the same reason, and they got first pick, whatever is left over is ours, if we want them."
"So?"
She turned, not looking at him bu
t staring off into the distance. "I just thought it would be different. I was forced into my first marriage. I don’t' want to walk blindly into another. I want you to know one thing though."
"What's that?"
"We aren't gold diggers." She said and turned away with a tear in her eye.
He walked toward her and turned her around slowly and stared into her eyes. "I know that, now. And I'm sorry for thinking it."
"I owe you some money, don't I?" She said trying to break the spell he was putting her under.
"The way things are working out, you may need it."
"It's your money, Cully. You earned it. You got us through some of the roughest country I've ever seen. You worked hard for it, and I do appreciate it." She said softly.
She went to get the money, then brought it to him.
"Thanks, there was a time or two back there I wasn't sure we'd hold out." He told her with a smile.
She handed him the money. Their hands touched. "So," she barely uttered. "I guess we'll be saying goodbye soon, won't we?"
"I never liked goodbyes." He smiled.
"Well, look us up the next time you come through here." She said in an almost choked voice.
"I want one more thing Abby, aside from this money."
"Oh, what's that?" she asked staring at him.
"I want another kiss…" he said and pulled her unresisting body toward him.
"I want to taste you sweet lips again, hold it in my heart forever." He told her just as his lips came down on hers in the sweetest kiss she'd ever known. Filled with the thrill of being in his arms once more, she practically swooned. His mouth was mobile, enjoying every moment, moving over her as though he had all the time in the world. Warm lips that persuaded her lips to part, so he could delve into the sweetness of her. She whimpered a bit, and he devoured her with a tender passion she didn't know he possessed. Lost in a world of their own, she surrendered her all to him in that kiss.
When he raised his head, he smiled into her face. "I envy the man that gets you Abby. But I'll carry that with me for the rest of my life."
Then he walked away.
She stood staring after him once more.
Oh, dear God, I'm in love with him!
The worse part was, she had no idea how to let him know it.
Chapter Twenty-Five
"We're getting married," Rebecca shouted as she ran toward Abby grabbing her and holding her by the arms.
"Will you stand up with us, be my maid of honor?"
"Well, of course I will. You and Johnny, now?" Abby asked a bit stunned.
"Yes, isn't it wonderful. We're going to be married by the preacher at the church where we were. Today."
"Today?" Abby shrieked. "But what will I wear?"
"I don't care, as long as you are there."
"Well," Abby seemed stunned and yet she was smiling from ear to ear. "Of course, I'll be there. When?"
"Just after noon. So, wear your best dress and be there."
"Alright, I'll be there." Abby promised.
"I'm so happy Abby. I'm so glad we made this trip. It was hard, that's a given, but it was so worth it." Rebecca smiled.
Abby took some pleasure in that statement. It made her feel as though maybe this would all work out, at least for most of the girls.
She went to look in her small chest of clothes and found her best dress. Fixing her hair, she donned the dress and she rode to the church at the right time.
As she went up the steps and opened the door, a lot of the girls were already there. She made her way through the throng and asked where Rebecca was. They said she was in the dressing room. Abby went to see her.
"Oh my, you look so lovely."
"I am so happy Abby, I'm about to burst." Rebecca said.
"How come so soon, so suddenly?" Abby asked.
"I don't know. It just hit him. He said there was no use wasting time. He knew what he wanted, and he wanted it now. And I felt the very same. So here we are, getting married."
"Everyone is out there, you are leading the way for them all, Rebecca. You've found what I wanted for you all, happiness."
Rebecca stared at her, "And we want the same for you Abby."
"Oh well, I'll be happy if you are." She promised.
The organ began playing. "It's time. Go in front of me." Rebecca encouraged.
Abby nodded.
As she made her way down the aisle though, she saw Cully standing by Johnny. He was the best man, she gasped, he looked so wonderful. He was wearing dark pants, and a clean white shirt and a vest and he looked so handsome she could hardly stand it.
She veered off at the alter and waited for Rebecca to make her entrance.
Johnny's eyes were pinned on the aisle. But Cully was staring at her.
Then Rebecca walked regally down the aisle with Ralph escorting her.
She was so beautiful, and Abby couldn't help feeling elated that her best friend had found a gold mine, in Johnny.
She smiled at her.
As the vows were said, Cully glanced at Abby again, his expression unreadable.
Then after a long kiss, Rebecca and Johnny were headed down the aisle with everyone shouting, congratulating them and rice going everywhere.
The women all crowded around Abby and Abby smiled at them, one by one, "This is what we came for, happiness."
The others laughed and agreed. They talked for a long time.
"I'm a bit scared Abby," Betty came up to her.
"Scared, of what?" Abby asked.
"Well, now that we are here, and we get to look them over, what if I don't find what I want."
"Well, maybe you just keep looking." Abby encouraged.
As the crowd dispersed, Cully joined Abby.
"So, the dance is Friday?" Cully asked.
"Yes," she answered softly. "Are you going?"
"It's for the miners and you women."
"Oh, well, I'm sure they'd let you in."
"I want everyone to be happy too, Abby. You all deserve it. It's just, well, I don't know how to explain it."
Slug came up and whined.
"Well, I want you to know, I hope everything I said about these miners is wrong. I hope you find what you are looking for Miss Abby."
"And will you go back to Council Bluff?" She asked.
"Yeah, eventually." He answered, putting his hat on his head and walking down the church steps.
"Have you ever panned for gold Cully?" She asked almost flippantly.
"No, I never indulged." He turned to look back up at her.
"Not even once?" she asked walking down the steps.
"Afraid not. The closest I've come to gambling is cards, I'm afraid." He told her. "Good night miss Abby."
"Goodnight, Cully," she said almost sadly.
He walked off slowly, wishing he knew something to say to her, but she was going to marry a miner. And that was that.
She felt as though she'd lost something coming here and she wasn't sure what it was. Except every time she looked at Cully, her heart sank. He'd kissed her, like no one else had, but he never said anything about his feeling. Of course, she hadn't either, come to think of it. This had been her dream, he'd helped make it all possible. So why did she feel so lost?
When Friday came though, the girls were all ecstatic over the dance. Mr. Cranston came to welcome to the dance and the entire hall was filled with women. Then the men came in. Most of them were cleaned up well, wearing their best clothes and smiling from ear to ear to see all the women there.
"Why are they all smiling like that?" Abby asked.
"The last dance was a month ago, it's been that long since they've seen real ladies before. Now granted some of them will be rough around the edges, but they mean well, I can tell you. Go on out there, dance with them, find yourself a man. That's why you are here, Miss Ashford."
Abby stalled going out on the dance floor, especially alone, but she saw Alma go up to a sweet looking man with a bald head and a smile bigger than Texas on
his face. She asked him to dance and he happily twirled her onto the floor.
Jennifer wasn't bashful at all, she went up to one of the best-looking men there and asked him to dance and he gladly took her into his arms.
Catherine was a bit bashful, so a nice looking older man asked her to dance and she accepted.
Mary looked them all over, and finally she picked out a tall, awkward looking man but he was all smiles when she asked him to dance.
Before long, all the women had a partner.
Abby felt lost. There was only one man she wanted to dance with. One man that couldn't dance any better than herself, and he wasn't there.
She managed to get away from Mr. Cranston and watch all her friends find partners. It didn't mean they'd marry them, but it did mean it was a start. She tried to prod herself into asking someone to dance.
She should, she knew she should. But she didn't have it in her. She'd wait a while, she told herself. The night was still young…
***
Cully hadn't gone to the dance and he knew why. He could hear the music just down the street where the dance was held. He kept telling himself he'd done his job, he should be satisfied, but he knew he wasn't. He kept wondering who Abby might be dancing with. Wondering if she'd pick some fella out and marry him right away.
It ate at him.
He found a game of poker and decided to forget the dance and the women. He didn't need them.
It was an hour later, and the game was getting heated. "I raised you mister," the man said at the other side of the table, as he eyed Cully's every move.
"I call. And raise you fifty more."
"I ain't got fifty more."
"Can you get it?"
"Well, no…I can't. I ain't got fifty dollars." The man said patting his jacket to see if there was any more there. "Wait, I tell you what, I'll throw in my mine."
"Your mine?" Cully looked at him as though he were crazy. The man had been betting off the wall all night, but he never expected that. "I don't have any use for a mine. Don't you have any money at all?"
"No, I done told you that. But my mine is worth at least fifty dollars. I take that much out of it every day." The man said. He was drunk, and Cully didn't want to take the advantage. "Alright, I'll just call, your bet."
