By now Mack and Kiowa were snickering, their faces turning red as they tried to keep from laughing out loud.
Barton stayed silent, waiting for the next reaction from the two men. Would it be good or bad for the six of them?
"You know, I think we're going to get along just fine," Kiowa finally said after wiping his thumbs across his eyes. "Mack, your ma sure knows how to pick 'em."
"Just remember guys, peashooters can cause problems for rodents, so you best stay on the good side of these older women. And the women they've picked out for you," Mack warned them after trying to quit his grinning.
"Yes, sir. We'll remember that," Barton agreed.
"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 buildings.
*
"This is good pot roast. Nice and tender," Tobin noted as he spoke between bites.
Barton looked around 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 building tour and eating, 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. Growing up on farms, they all knew general skills, but they had specialized jobs in the military.
"Barber for me," Peter waved his hand, and everyone agreed with that. It was his job in the army and Barton didn't see him wanting to try anything else.
"Working in a hotel appeals to me, plus I'd have two Paulson ladies to choose from," Wesley grinned.
"I was thinking the same thing, but I wouldn't mind running the general store either," Gordon shot back. Gordon was good at inventory and records. Barton had thought of Gordon for that store job immediately.
"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 was the opposite. He hated heights.
"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.
Barton looked around at his friends as they discussed their opportunities in Clear Creek. He felt like a father who'd watched as his sons grew up and were now ready to leave the nest.
He sighed, hoping they'd done the right thing by boldly coming into town to contact Kaitlyn Reagan. The positions and housing were promising. Barton had faith the men would do their best at the jobs they preferred.
The hard part would be meeting and matching with the young women who had no inkling they were about to be ambushed by their mothers and their friends.
What if some of the women didn't want to marry at all? That was possible.
And who was going to pick Toad? He was a great guy, but short and pudgy as he called himself. Of course, with his charming personality, Tobin might be the first picked.
Barton had only seen one woman so far, Amelia. Would she be interested in him, or pick one of his brothers or friends instead?
Barton moved his food around on his plate, no longer hungry as he worried about what they'd gotten themselves into.
Pastor Reagan’s parting words kept surfacing in his thoughts.
When you and your bride stand in front of me in the church to be married, you better be ready to follow your wedding vows forever. I’ve watched these young women grow up, and I only want the best grooms for them.
Barton had been to enough weddings to know the wedding vow.
Will you love her, comfort her, honor and keep her, in sickness and in health; and forsaking all others, be faithful unto her as long as you both shall live?
Could he find the right woman in this town to promise those words too? And what about the other five men with him?
Barton’s shoulders felt loaded with worry. And then there were the Peashooter Society’s pistols, which could be loaded too…
Chapter 4
Amelia studied the men sitting beside Kaitlyn Reagan in the first church pew on the left side, directly in front of the pulpit. Kaitlyn and her six sons had sat there every Sunday until the sons married and moved to the back of the church.
It was like old times again. The tall men blocked the view of the altar, well except for Tobin Billings. Amelia wasn't sure if he was any taller than her.
Whispers behind gloved hands were passed around as Kaitlyn introduced the men sitting with her. She said they were in town to work on town projects and repairs, but Amelia knew there had to be more than that involved.
Barton Miller sat on the far left, occasionally turning his head to look at the congregation behind him. Poor fellows. Everyone was watching them and would ask so many questions after church.
Their only salvation was that light rain was falling this morning. Otherwise, everyone would be standing outside visiting longer than the church service lasted.
Amelia went over to the dress shop night before last, after supper, to see if the Brenners knew anything about the men because Mama hadn't said a word after coming back from the parsonage.
Maggie reported the group, with Mack and Kiowa leading, walked up and down the streets looking at the buildings that needed repairs and to be occupied. That’s all Amelia had seen too from her view in their shop on Main Street.
Avalee and Nadine came over with no news, other than the men ate supper at the café and retired to the apartment above the empty barbershop.
Were the men going to be the new business owners in town, or just hired to update the buildings? The women speculated on that for over an hour but didn't come up with an answer.
Yesterday the men and Mack kept occupied painting the interior of the barbershop. Amelia knew this because she just happened to walk past to check their progress twice—as did half the town.
Amelia's mother turned toward Amelia just as she shut the hymnal after the last song.
"Don't go home, Amelia. We're eating lunch in the hotel events room right after Pastor and Kaitlyn are finished today."
"Why?" They sometimes ate in the hotel's dining room, but the events room was for parties and special occasions.
Mama fumbled with her reticule strings for a moment before looking Amelia in the eye.
"Pastor and Kaitlyn thought it would be nice if we ate with the men who are working on Kiowa's projects. It's a way for them to get to know some of the people in town."
"That does sound nice," Amelia replied but guessed there might be more to it since Cate Connely, just a pew behind them, was talking to her three granddaughters about the same meal.
"Is Tate eating with us too?" Amelia asked because he'd be about the same age as the new men.
"No, I think he and Luella had other plans," Mama said as she looked the other way.
Amelia’s brother, Tate, and Luella Paulson, Helen's fourth daughter, were marrying next month. Why wouldn't they be included?
Maisie Brenner came up to Amelia, linking her arm with Amelia's and pulling her down the aisle. "I hear we're the welcoming committee for the new men in town," Maisie whispered when her mother turned to talk to Cate.
"Do you know what's going on?"
"Kaitlyn waylaid Grandma Cate outside the church before my grandparents walked in this morning. They talked quite a while, making them late to church," Maisie said.
"Pastor always has to wait for Kaitlyn to take h
er seat, so that's not unusual," Amelia pointed out.
"True, but I think they were talking about Peashooter Society business."
"Mama didn't say a word after they were at the parsonage the other day either, so I'm sure they are up to something."
"Why would we be involved though?" Maisie wondered.
"Let's go over to the hotel and find out, shall we? I'd love to introduce myself to Barton Miller," Amelia commented as she pulled her friend out the church door.
The Peashooter Society had something up their collective sleeves, and Amelia was anxious to find out what it was.
*
"Please look for your name on the tables and take your seat," Helen Paulson told them as they walked into the events room. Six tables of four were set in the middle of the big room. Gleaming bone china, crystal glasses, and polished silverware sat precisely in place on snow white tablecloths.
"Where are we sitting?" Maisie asked as they entered the room.
"Hmm. Notice there is one of the new man's name, one of ours, and an older couple at each table?" Amelia told Maisie.
"Interesting. I'm sitting with Barton," Maisie said as she wiggled her eyebrows.
Oh, shoot. That's who Amelia wanted to sit with. She continued looking at the names on the table until she found hers with Pastor and Kaitlyn and Wesley Preston.
Mr. Preston was blonde and neatly dressed, but Amelia was disappointed she wasn't sitting with Barton.
"Want to trade places with me?" Amelia whispered to her friend, so wanting to be paired with Barton.
"Nope. Besides, Helen is watching us, and I'm sitting at her and Ethan's table."
They looked back at the room's opening as the young men, and the rest of the couples entered.
Yep, every older woman was a Peashooter. Why were three Brenner girls, two Paulsons, and her at this fancy luncheon?
"Hello, I'm Wesley Preston. Looks like I’m to be your companion for this meal," Wesley held out his hand to shake Amelia's hand before pulling out her chair.
"Thank you. I'm Amelia Shepard."
Wesley had a deep, pleasant voice. He seemed at ease with this arrangement so Amelia would make the most of it. Maybe she could ply information about Barton through him.
Amelia had taken extra time to look her best today, in case she talked to Barton. When she met him the other day, she was in her work clothes, smelling of leather, and as usual, had leather dye on her hands. She hadn't thought much about the fact her fingers were always stained until she braced herself against his chest.
Today’s bright blue dress with lace edging highlighted her carrot-colored hair. The dress was one of Maisie's creations, and she fashioned the matching hat with just a few ribbons to give it some flair. Amelia always wore white cotton gloves to church to hide her stained hands, so she felt at her best.
And rather than being her best to impress Barton, she'd talk to Wesley about him instead.
"Welcome to Clear Creek, Mr. Preston. Are you here just long enough to update Kiowa's buildings, or do you plan to live here permanently?"
"Please call me Wesley, as long as I'm granted the privilege to call you by your first name."
"Granted." Amelia took a sip from her water glass, waiting for him to answer her question.
Why did he look at Kaitlyn instead of answering? He waited for her nod before speaking.
"Actually, I like the looks of this town and plan on staying. I'd like to work at the—"
"Wesley is going to be our new barber," Kaitlyn announced before Wesley could finish his sentence.
Wesley blinked, looked over to where his friend Peter sat with Molly, and then back to Kaitlyn in confusion.
"I work at our family's business, Shepard and Sons Saddlery. Guess Papa hadn't planned his daughter could work with leather, but I've grown up with it."
Wesley seemed to recover enough to continue their conversation.
"What exactly do you do? Make saddles only? I haven't had time to visit the stores in town yet."
"Make and repair shoes and boots. Design the tooling on a bridle or saddle," Amelia said while shrugging her shoulders. She had never thought of it before, but she had a traditional man's job.
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.”
Hmm. Was the Peashooter Society's plan about to be revealed?
Amelia didn't pay attention to Pastor's blessing of the food because she was thinking about what Kaitlyn might say.
"Amen," Pastor finished, and everyone's eyes turned to her table 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."
Amelia shut her eyes and dropped her head in embarrassment. It was a wonder there wasn't a collective groan echoing in the room.
"Several women in town, including myself, were mail-order brides. So... we advertised that Clear Creek needed men for positions in a town where there were women available to become brides."
Amelia slapped her hand across her eyes.
Oh, horrors! 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.
Amelia spread her fingers enough to look across the table 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 women available too, Amelia sarcastically added. She looked around the room at her friends. Oh, if looks could kill and it wasn't a sin, the pastor's wife would be in big trouble.
There would be an anti-peashooter's meeting in the dress shop apartment this evening!
"Gentlemen, we've seated you with ladies we think you'd like to get to know better, along with an older couple you can think of as your, uh, sponsors."
Oh. Good. Lord. She had Pastor and Kaitlyn as her chaperones?
Amelia turned her head to look at Wesley. He sat ramrod straight, a slight blush to his clean-shaven face. Then he turned her direction with one eye shut and a pained look on his face. At least he was embarrassed too, poor guy. He had no clue what he'd signed up for when he answered Kaitlyn's advertisement.
The dining room staff entered with plates of food.
"Our meal is here. Please enjoy your dinner as you visit with your prospective mate," Kaitlyn ended with a flourish as she sat down.
“Well, Amelia you start. Tell Wesley how you came to town,” Kaitlyn said as she spread her cloth napkin across her lap.
Amelia pursed her lips, thinking of what version she could tell to embarrass Kaitlyn, to make Wesley run out of town? Then she smiled broadly and turned to Wesley, her aunt's mail-order bride tale was entertaining enough as it was without embellishing it.
"My Aunt Millie, sitting at Squires' table, arrived in town as a mail-order bride for a Sam Larson. Only she arrived in town to find out he was dead. Because of the situation with my abusive father, Aunt Millie brought my brother, Tate, then a toddler, with her. So now she was in town without a waiting groom or a home."
Kaitlyn's warning clearing of her throat did not deter Amelia.
"Marshal Adam Wilerson was a bachelor. His mother, Cate Connely," Amelia pointed her out for Wesley, "decided he needed a housekeeper and moved my aunt and brother into his home. Of course, Marshal fell in love with the destitute woman and
her nephew. Then my horrible father, Curtin Robbins, arrived in town to claim my brother, who my aunt had taken with her. But of course, the fine women of this town had a plan, and my murdering father was sent to prison."
Wesley stared at her, while Kaitlyn tsked, disturbed at Amelia's short version of the truth.
"Uh, when did you come into town then?" Wesley asked
"I was an infant, so I don't remember it, but my mother, Darcie, and my grandparents, Ennis and Flora Donnelly, arrived in town in time for Aunt Millie and Uncle Adam's wedding. Then, my mother married Reuben Shepard. I believe you've already met my step-siblings, Gabe and Mary, Kiowa's wife."
“Yes, I’m sure I’ve met them, but there’s been so many people…I can’t say I remember everyone’s names and faces.”
“You’ll get to know all the townspeople, especially the Shepards,” Kaitlyn encouraged Wesley.
Especially if her family were to be Wesley’s in-laws?
Amelia turned back to her meal as she mulled the situation in her mind. She wasn't going to pass on the cook's delicious pot roast dinner. She glanced sideways at Wesley, seeing him taking a big bite out of the soft potato rolls the baker was known for. He was trying not to wolf down his meal, but it was obvious he was hungry. Were the men on their own for cooking, or eating at the café?
"Wesley, where are your people from?" Pastor asked.
"Not really sure, Pastor Reagan. I remember flashes of our train ride from New York to Kansas, but I don't remember much about the orphanage or New York. My adoptive ma said I had a different accent when I arrived."
"You came on an orphan train?" Amelia asked, surprised by his lack of history.
"All six of us did," Wesley waved a hand around the room to include the other men.
"How old were you?" Amelia asked.
"I was only seven or eight at the time. Barton was ten years old and kept track of us. Squires and Peter were four and don't remember that timeframe at all."
"If you had an accent, you could have been born to immigrants after they arrived or been on the ship with them. Kaitlyn and I were both born in Ireland but came over in different years."
Amelia Changes her Fellow Page 3
