Maggie Shifts Her Gent Read online

  Avalee, Nadine, and Helen Paulson stood inside the door, greeting guests as they arrived.

  Maggie let go of her grandmother's arm and sidled up to Avalee. “What's going on?” Maggie whispered so as to not draw attention to themselves.

  Avalee continued to smile but replied curtly. “We're having dinner with the new arrivals to welcome them to the community.”

  Maggie looked for Peter again. Maybe she could sit at his table. The room was set up with six tables for four people each. The Paulsons had used their best china and crystal on the tables. And the younger girls must have folded dinner napkins because the starched cloths stood in peaks on the plate.

  “The seating has already been decided. Look for your name card,” Avalee added before reaching to shake the next arrivals' hand.

  Maggie watched as the men walked around the table looking for their seats too.

  “Maggie, you're sitting with us,” Aunt Millie called to her while her uncle, Marshal Adam Wilerson, pulled the chair out for his wife.

  “Oh,” Maggie looked back for her grandparents but realized they were sitting down with Gordon Miller. And now Nadine was sitting down with them?

  “Ma'am, let me get your chair for you,” Squires Miller was standing beside Maggie, waiting for her to pay attention. Maggie shook her head to clear it and smiled up at the young man to thank him for his offer.

  “Thank you. Mr. Miller,” Maggie replied as she sat down.

  “Please call me Squires. And you are?”

  “Maggie, the oldest of the Brenner sisters here today.”

  Maggie scanned the room to see where her sisters were sitting.

  “My youngest sister is sitting with Helen and Ethan Paulson and one of your brothers.”

  “That's my oldest brother, Barton.”

  Interesting that the oldest and youngest of each family was paired instead of the other way around.

  “And my other sister, Molly, is sitting with—” Maggie stopped and stared, realizing her sister was sitting with Peter Gehring.

  “With Peter?” Squires asked since Maggie was pointing in that direction.

  “Yes. And Reuben and Darcie Shepard, who own the leather shop in town,” Maggie rambled on to cover her disappointment.

  Maggie quickly glanced around the room to see who was sitting with whom.

  Avalee was sitting with Lyle and Lorna Elison, and the little red-haired man, Tobin Billings.

  That left Amelia sitting with the blond man, Wesley Preston, and the Reagans. Maggie was glad she wasn't at that table for Kaitlyn's questioning.

  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.”

  What was Kailyn going to say about...what? Maggie had a sick feeling in her stomach.

  “Heavenly Father, please bless our food and our fellowship today. Amen.”

  Huh. Pastor kept his prayer short for a change and then pulled Kaitlyn’s chair out for her before sitting down.

  “Welcome everyone,” Kaitlyn started with a smile as she looked around the room. “A while back Kiowa Jones 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.”

  Maggie wanted to slide under the table. Now things clicked in her mind. The meeting at the parsonage the other day was the Peashooter's plotting something.

  “Several women in town, including myself, were mail-ordered brides. So... we advertised that Clear Creek needed men for positions in a town where there were women available to become brides.”

  Six men and Maggie and five of—. No! The Peashooters were matchmaking!

  Then another thought hit her. Was this why her parents insisted Maggie and Molly join Maisie in the dress shop, knowing there wasn’t enough work for the three of them anyway? Mary Jones handled the work by herself before she sold the business.

  “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.”

  Maggie put a hand to her chest to slow her heartbeat down.

  “Gentlemen, we've seated you with ladies who we think you'd like to get to know better, along with an older couple you can think of as your sponsors.”

  Maggie looked across at her uncle and aunt.

  “Maggie, I didn't know this was happening. I swear.” At least Uncle Adam apologized about the situation. Her aunt was beaming, happy to be meddling in Maggie's life?

  Millie ignored Maggie's stare and turned to Squires. “Please tell us a little about yourself.”

  “I'm the youngest brother of three. Us and our friends come on the orphan train from New York City to Topeka when I was four.”

  “That must have been very traumatic for you,” Millie said after Maggie refused to say anything.

  “Don't know. Barton and the others always took care of me, so I'm good,” Squires answered with a shrug.

  “I hear you just got out of the military?” Millie prodded again.

  “Yep. Spent five years in Fort Riley, doing a variety of jobs, whatever I was told to do.”

  The man sat relaxed in his chair, apparently without a care in the world. Was this an act to cover up his nervousness, or was this another thing, this dinner, that he was told to do?

  Maggie wiped her damp hands across the cloth napkin on her lap to calm down. She did not move into town to be a pawn in a Peashooters’ game.

  Oh dear! How was Molly handling this? She was so shy.

  Maggie looked over at her sister to gauge her reaction. Molly had her head down, clenching the napkin in her lap with both hands. Peter and the Shepards seemed to be in conversation ignoring her.

  Maggie started to rise from her chair to help her sister, but her aunt stopped her.

  “Let Molly be, Maggie. She needs to learn to handle situations without her big sister taking over.”

  Maggie sighed at her aunt’s observation, but she was right. Maggie always eased awkward situations for Molly.

  But then who was meddling in Maggie’s life? Her aunt and her friends!

  Maggie straightened her shoulders and smiled at Squires. If she couldn't help her sister, she'd talk to this poor man beside her. Surely he wasn't as laid back as he seemed.

  “What do you plan to do, now that you're in town? I know some of the businesses need owners.”

  “Well, first we're repairing and painting some of the buildings, and then I'd like

  to—”

  “He's going to manage the livery,” Millie said as she picked up her roll to butter it.

  “I am?” Squires squeaked after jerking upright in his chair. His face looked pale all of a sudden. Why did the thought of running the livery bother him?

  “Yes. I assume since you were a cavalry soldier you'd like to work with horses,” Millie continued as she spread the butter with her knife.

  Obviously, Aunt Millie didn't see Squires reaction, but he didn't correct her.

  Another situation where he did as he was told? The man would do better with Maisie as his spouse. Her little sister loved to boss their brothers around.

  “Maggie, how about you tell Squires a little bit about yourself and the ranch,” Aunt Millie encouraged her.

  Maggie glanced at her uncle, chewing his food slowly, so he didn't have to join in the conversation? So much for the brave town marshal.

  “I grew up on the Cross C, north of town. It's a vast ranch with hundreds of cattle and horses.” Maggie couldn't help but emphasize the word “horses” to see his reaction.

  Squires' eyes widened ever so slightly. There was a story there, but she didn't want to cause him any more discomfort.


  “Besides my two sisters, we also have five brothers who you probably saw sitting with us in church today. And like you and your brothers, we're all adopted.”

  “Really? How did that happen?” At least Squires seemed to relax again.

  “Our father died, leaving our mother with three children. Then our mother died after giving birth to triplets.”

  “I noticed your brothers all look alike, except for the blond one.”

  “Molly and Moses are brother and sister, but not related to the rest of us.”

  Squires hesitated a second, looking at Millie and Adam first. “Did you have a good life growing up with your adoptive parents?”

  “Yes, of course. Why do you ask?”

  “Um, the six of us were split up, going to different homes. It wasn't a good childhood for everyone.”

  Oh. My. Word. Maggie scanned around the room at the six men visiting with her family and friends.

  “I'm sorry to hear that. What did your adoptive parents do for a living?” Maggie thought it was best to change the subject.

  “Ran a flour mill.”

  “And did you enjoy working with your father?” Aunt Millie asked.

  “I did as I was told,” Squires said in a flat tone.

  Well, that summed up his childhood. Maggie silently said a prayer of thanks for her parents and grandparents. And her uncles, aunts, and cousins.

  No wonder the six men want to stay together. Maggie could help them settle into the community, but Squires was not going to be her future husband.

  Chapter 3

  Maggie, her sisters, and friends shouldn’t have gone to the barbershop apartment to see the six men, but after the surprise dinner that they—and the men—had been coerced into, her friend Avalee thought they needed to talk to the men without their “sponsors.”

  They’d visited the men to apologize for the Peashooters’ interference, explaining what the older women had done in the past. The group’s idea was well-meaning, but Maggie thought the new men needed to realize how it impacted the six women the Peashooters had targeted in their plan.

  Maggie felt like a fly trapped in the Peashooters’ web until they ended the evening with the kissing game. It was a silly, bold thing to do, but the women had agreed before they headed up the barbershop stairs, that they needed to point out to the men that they were in charge of instigating any courtship, not the men.

  The women blindfolded the men, and each kissed the man they had been assigned to. Then, they kissed a man they were more interested in.

  And boy, did that plan backfire…

  Maggie insisted the women leave the barbershop apartment after the kissing game. As the oldest, she felt responsible for the group. And, she needed the outside air to cool her senses after kissing Peter. After the first taste of his lips, she was tempted to kiss him again.

  She felt him brush her skirt with his fingers as if he was trying to figure out the fabric. Being a former tailor, he'd know his material by touch. Did she want Peter to figure out it was her? Her heart fluttered thinking about it, even if she hadn’t thought of marriage at this point in her life.

  Kissing Squires first wasn't any different than kissing one of her kid brothers. Except Squires didn't smell like he lived with the livestock day in and day out like her brothers did.

  “Oh, that was fun!” Maisie giggled, as they ran down the steps into the street below.

  “Which kiss, or both?” Maggie asked, worried about what Maisie would do next.

  “Kissing Barton Miller was like kissing one of our brothers. Yuck! I liked kissing Squires, though. And, I'm going to be sure we have an opportunity to kiss again in the very near future.”

  “Maisie! What has gotten into you? Two kisses and you're silly!” Maggie asked, perplexed in the change in her sister.

  “But the houses aren't available yet. But once they are...” Amelia trailed off.

  “We need to get home to the hotel,” Avalee said as they stopped in front of the dress shop. “Do you need us to bring anything for tomorrow night’s supper?”

  The women decided to invite the men to supper at the dress shop apartment the next evening.

  “No, we'll be fine,” Maggie waved off their offer. “See you all tomorrow by six-thirty.”

  Maggie watched as Amelia turned north to walk to the Shepard's home, while Avalee and Nadine walked down the street to the hotel.

  She noticed Maisie was already walking up the stairs, but Molly hadn't followed.

  “Molly, what did you think of kissing the gentlemen tonight?” Maggie was surprised she'd gone along with the game, but she probably felt pressured to.

  “I didn't care for kissing Peter. He's too intimidating.”

  “Why? Because of his personality or because he's tall? I imagine that's why the Peashooter's put the two of you together.”

  Molly was a good four or five inches taller than Maggie's average five foot, four height.

  “Don’t know. I think he's better suited for you.”

  “In what way?” Maggie needed to know to be sure Molly was okay if the sisters shifted men around.

  “You both smiled after you kissed each other,” Molly shyly smiled at her.

  “Well, I did like his kiss—if that's okay with you. But please remember, if we want to court one of the men, it's up to us to decide, not the Peashooters,” Maggie reminded her sister.

  “All right,” Molly agreed, but then she bit on her lip. Maggie knew she wanted to say more but was worried about what Maggie would say about it.

  “What do you want to say, Molly? We can talk about anything, and I won't repeat it to anyone else.”

  “I just want to go home, Maggie. I hate living here,” Molly confessed as tears blurred her eyes.

  Maggie was taken aback by her admission. Hate was a strong word.

  “Why? You know everyone in town, and Maisie and I were with you. And our aunt and uncle...”

  “But my animals aren't here.”

  Ah. Even though the ranch's livestock, horses and dogs included, were there to work, Molly had spent her days with them.

  “I don't think Papa would mind if you brought your horse to town so you can ride him occasionally. He can stay at the livery.”

  “No. That wouldn't be fair to Otis. He needs to run the pastures, not sleep all day in a livery stall.” Molly's sigh told Maggie she wouldn't cause her horse to suffer, even if it was to be lazy all day.

  Bringing one of the dogs to town wouldn't work either. A bored dog was not a good thing to have in a dress shop with bolts of fabric and baskets of notions to chew on.

  “Do you want to move back home? I'll stay with Maisie,” Maggie wrapped her arm about Molly's middle since her sister was too tall to wrap her arms around her shoulders like when Molly was younger.

  “No. I promised our parents I'd stick it out until the New Year.”

  Really? Maggie didn't know they'd had that discussion.

  “Do you think I could take time off to help old Mr. Boyle with his livery, though? He really could use some help with him being so elderly,” Molly asked with hope in her eyes.

  Oh. Dear. Horse manure wouldn't be a scent Maisie would like in her shop. And the three of them knew it was Maisie's shop, not all of theirs.

  “Don't roll your eyes, Maggie. I'd wash up before coming back to work.”

  Maggie couldn't suppress her snorting laugh.

  “What's so funny?” Molly demanded.

  “Oh, I was just thinking what Maisie would say if she saw you standing in the shop—dressed in one of her fancy gowns and holding a pitchfork—telling her you were going out to muck horse stalls.”

  That brought a smile, and then a giggle out of her sister.

  “Oh, that would almost be worth the look on her face. I'd add white gloves and a cream-colored hat with a plume of feathers to my ensemble,” Molly laughed.

  “But you don't want to scare the horses. You better keep the hat plain and demure,” Maggie said with a hand wave.
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  It was fun to hear Molly laugh again, even if it meant cleaning up manure tracked into their apartment.

  “I think Mr. Boyle would enjoy the company, even if you didn't clean any stalls. I can imagine the stories he could tell about the horses he's worked with over the years.”

  Something from the dinner conversation popped in her mind.

  “I think Aunt Millie said Squires was going to take over the livery. Did you hear anything about that?”

  “No, I didn't. Darcie talked about Peter being the new blacksmith, but she didn't mention what the other men's jobs would be.”

  Maggie shook her head at the thought of Peter's tailored suit being full of burn holes from the fire sparks. He didn't seem like the type to do that work. She saw Peter working in a hotel or a store instead.

  “It will be interesting to see what jobs the men end up doing,” Maggie thought as they started up the stairs. “I think I’ll enjoy visiting with the men tomorrow evening if for no other reason than to make new friends.”

  “What shall we make for supper, if Maisie hasn’t already planned the menu?” Molly asked as she stepped on the landing and turned back to Maggie.

  “We’ll have to go to Adolph’s Meat Market tomorrow morning to see if we can get enough roasts to feed twelve people on such short notice,” Maggie said as she mentally prepared a list of things they’d need for the meal.

  “We have potatoes and carrots we grew this last summer. And several jars of pickles in the pantry,” Molly added.

  “I’ll bake rolls and pies first thing in the morning to give the roasts time to cook in the oven in the afternoon,” Maggie said as she walked through their apartment door and looked around at their new home.

  It had three bedrooms, a nicely furnished living room, dining room, bathing room, and kitchen. Mary Jones had good taste in furnishings and left most of it when her family moved into their own home.

  She missed their big family meals in the ranch house and looked forward to seating a full table in this dining room tomorrow.

  Would any of these visiting men be her future brothers-in-law? Did she dare think that one of them might be her future husband? Her dream of moving to a big city still sat in the back of her mind. But then she’d miss her family, including her current and future nephews and nieces.