Maggie Shifts Her Gent

by Linda Hubalek

  Maggie Shifts her Gent

  Mismatched Mail-order Bride Series, Book 4

  Copyright © 2019 by Linda K. Hubalek

  Published by Butterfield Books Inc.

  Printed Book ISBN—978-1096005285

  Library of Congress Control Number: 2019905229

  Kindle Edition, License Notes

  This ebook is licensed for your enjoyment only. This ebook may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each recipient. If you’re reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then please return to the retailer and buy your own copy. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.

  This book is a work of fiction. Except for the history of Kansas mentioned in the book, the names, characters, places, and incidents are either the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, business establishments, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.

  A sweet historical romance set in 1892.

  Maggie Brenner, the oldest daughter in the Brides with Grit series book, Sarah Snares a Soldier, grew up on the vast Cross C Ranch north of Clear Creek. Maggie and all her siblings were adopted by Sarah and Marcus Brenner when Maggie’s widowed mother died after giving birth to her triplet brothers.

  Now an adult, Maggie would have preferred to leave the area to work with young children, but she moves into Clear Creek instead when her younger sisters, Molly and Maisie, take over the town’s dress shop.

  The Peashooter Society (the older women in the church) decides Maggie needs a husband to complete her life, even if Maggie longs to work in an orphanage to help children find homes.

  Peter Gehring, along with five friends, left New York City on an orphan train when Peter was four years old. He was adopted by a tailor and his wife. Now mustered out of the army, where Peter was a barber, the group of friends gets the chance to live and work together in a small community, thanks to the plan of the Peashooter Society.

  Because of Peter’s tall, bulky stature, his benefactors think he’s built to run the blacksmith shop, even though he knows nothing about the craft. Luckily, he gets to take over the barbershop instead, enjoying cutting hair and visiting with anyone who stops by.

  Peter and Maggie start a friendship which grows into love, and then a chance meeting of a group of orphans on a train cements their future.

  Sounds like fate? Maybe. A happy ever after? Definitely!

  Chapter 1

  1892

  Clear Creek, Kansas

  Peter Gehring studied the downtown as he and his friends walked from the depot to the parsonage. Clear Creek looked like any frontier town of the 1890s, similar to the towns he was familiar with in eastern Kansas. Except it lacked trees compared to Topeka.

  Like any other town it had its needed businesses; the sheriff’s office, the post office, a pharmacy, a barbershop, a doctor’s, and a lawyer’s offices. Nice to see a library in town too.

  Peter read the signs he could see so far after leaving the depot. Clancy’s Café. Taylor’s Mercantile. Lundahl Furniture. Reagan Photography. Adolph’s Meat Market. Shepard and Sons Saddlery. At the end of the block stood the Paulson Hotel and a livery a little distance away.

  Barton Miller and his brother, Gordon, lead the six of them on their mission. Their younger brother Squires, matching the older two with their brown hair and eyes, and six-foot height, following behind them. Their friend, Wesley Preston, walked with Squires.

  And then Peter and Tobin Billings followed behind as they always had done since they met on an orphan train when they were young boys.

  What a contrast they were from the Miller brothers. Wesley was blond, of medium height. Then there was Tobin Billings, a short man with bright red hair, and himself, with coal-black hair, towering over all of them at over six and a half foot tall in his boots.

  Peter was only four years old when the train left New York City, bound for the west. For some reason, Barton, the oldest at ten years of age, kept watch on the three strays along with his brothers on their trip. Maybe the six of them sat together on the train. Peter had only a few vague memories of that timeframe, and most of them weren't ones he wanted to recall.

  Although they had been separated when adopted by different families, they still all lived in the same area while growing up and kept in touch. They joined the army together five years ago, spent those years at Fort Riley, and had recently mustered out.

  On their way home to visit their families, their train had been robbed, and they'd been forced to get off the train and walk back to the nearest town. They stopped to pick up letters blown out of the mail car when its safe was dynamited for its money.

  Barton suggested they pick up the mail and turn it in, hoping there might be a reward. But one opened letter changed the direction of their lives.

  A Mrs. Kaitlyn Reagan wrote to the Kansas City Star newspaper, wanting to place an advertisement for their town. They needed six young men to move to Clear Creek, Kansas, to take over various jobs. In return for their commitment, they would also receive housing and a wife. Although he and Wesley were concerned about the validity of the letter, the group decided to try for the jobs as a way to live in the same community. Not everyone had a good relationship with their adoptive parents, and this would be a fresh start for all of them.

  Peter looked back at the barbershop, wondering what the inside looked like. He’d served in many positions in his years in the military, one of them being the post barber for a while. Because of his training in making clothes, he was good with scissors, even though he had to use his left hand.

  He flexed his right hand, moving his fingers as far as they could move, considering their permanent scars. His hand was still useable, except he couldn’t get a tight grip on anything small, like a pen, a fork, or scissors.

  What would the possible brides say about his scarring and limitations? He hadn’t courted a woman due to his obligations, so he didn’t know how women would react. It didn’t seem to bother the older women as he ate with them at the parsonage.

  Most of the time, he didn’t think about the scars because they’d been a part of him as far back as he could remember. The day his parents died in a fire.

  ***

  Maggie Brenner stood inside the dress shop, watching six young men walk across the street on the boardwalk. They seemed to have a destination according to their pace of walking, but they still managed to look around at the businesses in town.

  She guessed they were visitors just off the westbound train, which stopped at the depot minutes ago, because they all carried carpet bags of various sizes.

  The first three men seemed to be brothers by their matching looks and how they walked alike. Three more men followed but didn't look like each other at all with their varying heights and variants of hair color underneath their hat brims.

  One was blond of average height. Another man was very short with bright red hair showing underneath the cavalry hat he wore. He seemed to be talking nonstop as they walked.

  The last man was very tall, broad-shouldered, with black hair underneath his black hat. Actually, he was dressed in a black suit with a white shirt and a gray dove vest. The other men wore the same style of clothing but in typical browns and blues.

  Maggie wondered if the man had to have his clothing tailor-made because of his long arms and legs.

  “The first three men look like they could be brothers,” Maisie, her youngest sister, stated as she and their other sister, Molly, moved to stand by Maggie.

  One could never tell about siblings. Maggie and Maisie with light brown hair and bright blue ey
es were true sisters, but Molly, the tall middle sister, with ash blonde hair and hazel eyes, was adopted from a different family when their parents, Sarah and Marcus Brenner took in eight children at the same time.

  Maggie thought of the tallest man in the group. Something about his jet black hair and tailored suit sparked her interest.

  Although Maggie missed her childhood home, the Cross C Ranch, she enjoyed the variety of activity in Clear Creek.

  “This is why I love living in town!” Maisie gestured out the window. “We missed so much...action and gossip being stuck out on the ranch.”

  When Mary Jones fell down the dress shop apartment steps a few months ago and hurt her back, she decided to sell her business. Mary, her husband, Kiowa, and children, Burdette and Nolie, now lived in a remodeled home to accommodate Mary's rolling chair.

  Maisie begged their parents to buy the business and let her live in the upstairs apartment. They agreed to the sale, as long as Maggie and Molly moved with her.

  Maggie agreed because she'd always helped take care of her sisters and five brothers. With all of them now grown, she needed something to do.

  Maggie glanced at Molly, knowing she'd prefer riding a horse on the ranch over being stuck inside sewing, but they'd both do anything to get their sister established in the town.

  Molly needed to marry a rancher, but no such person had asked to court her yet.

  “Let’s get back to work. There’s no use staring out the window since the men have left the street. We’ll hear the news about those men eventually,” Maisie said as she shooed them away from the outdoor view.

  “Lorna Elison’s new dress is almost ready for a fitting. I’m going to her house to see when she’s available to come to the shop,” Molly said in a rush as she reached for her hat and slipped out the door.

  “But—” Maisie started but didn’t bother continuing since Molly was already outside the door.

  Maggie noticed Molly had only gone a few steps before stopping to bask in the sunshine and breathe in the crisp fall air.

  Maggie sat down at the sewing machine, determined to concentrate on the baby dress she was making. When they had scraps of material too small for larger dresses, Maggie used them to fashion children's or baby's clothing. There was always someone in the community who needed clothing for their children, just like her mother did years ago.

  Maggie stopped her work to remember her early days on the Cross C Ranch. Her father died in a ranching accident, and his employer, Isaac Connely, temporarily moved their family into the foreman's house on the ranch to help them out. Maggie's mother was heavy with child and needed help managing her children in her condition. Maggie was six and helpful at her age, but her brother, Marty, was four years old and a handful of energy to corral. And Maisie was barely two, and still in diapers.

  Life changed in an instant when their mother, already in labor, fell and hit her head on the kitchen stove. She was conscious long enough to give birth to triplet boys, but then she died, leaving six orphans. Sarah Wilerson was at their mother's side during the births, and Marcus Brenner took care of Maggie and her siblings during the ordeal.

  The couple married, adopting the six of them, plus five-year-old Molly and three-year-old Moses, siblings who'd lost their parents on a wagon trail in western Kansas. They all moved into Isaac Connely's huge ranch house.

  Cate, Sarah's widowed mother, moved in to help and married Isaac Connely later that year. They were loving and steadfast grandparents to the eight of them, and every child in the Clear Creek area for that matter.

  Maggie stood up from her stool, needing some fresh air now herself.

  “I’m going to the post office,” Maggie called to Maisie, who was hemming a dress spread out on a worktable.

  Her sister barely lifted her hand to wave as Maggie tied her hat ribbon under her chin and let herself out the door. Like Molly, there were times when Maggie needed fresh air and freedom.

  Chapter 2

  Maggie sat with her family two rows behind Kaitlyn Reagan and her guests. The six newcomers didn't look comfortable sitting in the front row of the church, but Maggie was sure they had no choice.

  Pastor Reagan had introduced the men at the first of the service without saying why they were in church, but the gossip had already spread around town. The six were going to work in town, filling in vacancies in various businesses. And, the group had coffee in the parsonage with the Peashooter Society, as the older women of the church were called.

  Whenever Maggie scanned the men, she always finished with Peter Gehring. Today she could study the back of his head since he was in church without his hat on. His thick black hair had a bit of wave in it before the length touched his jacket collar. He parted his hair on the left side, and there was just enough of a lock falling forward that she wanted to brush it back.

  “Please stand to sing our closing song, number ninety-one in your hymnal,” Pastor asked the congregation, pulling Maggie from her daydreams about Peter.

  “Maggie?” Molly leaned toward her and whispered, “are you going to turn the page?”

  Oops. She was staring at the man in front of her and not flipping the pages to the hymnal she was sharing with her sister.

  “Sorry.”

  Maggie quickly turned to the right page and lifted the hymnal so Molly could hold the other half of the book and read the music too.

  Maggie sang the alto part while Molly sang soprano, blending in their voices with the others in the congregation. She glanced up as Peter turned to search for their duet and heard his deep bass voice.

  Oh my. What a nice voice he had. All they needed was a tenor to complete a quartet.

  Maggie glanced over at Molly, but she didn't seem fazed by Peter's gaze, but Maggie felt her cheeks blush as she continued to sing.

  After the hymn, she lowered her head to receive the final blessing from Pastor, but quickly raised it again to watch where Peter went after the service. Maggie assumed the men were eating Sunday dinner at the parsonage.

  “Girls, I need to talk to you,” their grandmother, Cate Connely, called to them while they waited to step out of their pew.

  She and her sisters had walked to the church from their apartment, anxiously waiting to greet their family as they arrived in town. But the sisters didn't get a chance to talk to their mother and grandmother because Kaitlyn Reagan waved the sisters away and pulled the two arriving women around the corner of the church to talk privately.

  “Hello, Grandma,” Maggie and her sisters greeted Cate almost in unison, each giving her a hug as they exited the pew.

  “Grandpa and I would like to treat you to dinner at the Paulson Hotel.”

  “Ah, that's sweet of you, Grandma,” Maisie replied as she received a side hug from their grandfather.

  “We'll come into town later this week for errands and to visit,” their mother, Sarah, interrupted their conversation as she hugged and kissed her daughters.

  “You're not staying for dinner too?” Molly asked. Maggie hated the homesickness seeping from her sister's voice.

  “Sorry, Molly. Not today. See you soon,” their father, Marcus replied as he hugged them too.

  Maggie watched as her parents and brothers walked toward the buggies to return home. Why did they rush off today instead of staying in town and visiting as they usually did?

  “Is something wrong at the ranch, Grandpa? Any of the horses sick?” Molly asked because she noticed their family's quick exit too.

  “No, everything's fine, Molly. Let's head over to the hotel,” Grandpa assured her while sticking out his elbow. “May I be your escort today, young lady?”

  “Of course, Grandpa.” Molly's smile returned at their grandparent's attention.

  Maggie noticed Amelia and her parents, Reuben and Darcie Shepard, were walking toward the hotel too. The Paulsons must be expecting a big crowd today for dinner because the family left church right before the last hymn. They occasionally had to do that since the girls helped serve food in thei
r family hotel.

  Maisie moved ahead to catch up with Amelia, leaving Maggie walking with her grandmother.

  “How are things going at the dress shop? And with the three of you?”

  Maggie thought to say, “just fine,” but decided to be honest.

  “Maisie is delighted with sewing and managing the shop and bossing her older sisters for a change. But there isn't really enough work to keep the three of us busy, Grandma.“

  “Then do something else. The Connely wealth will support you. Edna Clancy would welcome your visiting her every day, as would Violet Henley. Or Lucas Boyle.“

  “That's true. I've been making children's clothing out of material scraps,“ Maggie confessed. “I see children in school that are in need, but I haven't figured out how to give them clothing without hurting their parents' feelings.“

  “You'll figure it out. Think of the Five-Trunk Room's mission to give brides a new dress for their wedding. Maybe there's a way to do a children's room?”

  “I'll think about that.”

  “And how's Molly? Still homesick?”

  “She spends more time leaning against the livery corral staring at the horses than in the shop with a sewing needle. Molly needs to move back to the ranch, Grandma.”

  “Let's give her a little more time. I think this dinner may give her something to think about,” her grandma said as she walked through the hotel door being held open by her grandfather.

  “Girls, we're going into the events room, not the dining room,” Grandma said as she motioned them to change directions.

  Maggie's heart skipped a beat when she glanced through the doorway and saw Peter's tall form among his friends. Were they eating with the men today?

  Maggie noted that the men, along with carpenter Mack Regan, and business investor Kiowa Jones, had toured the downtown in the afternoon of their arrival, ate supper at Clancy’s Café, and then all retired to the barbershop apartment for the night.

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