Page 195 of Conveniently Wed
The man nodded and helped Gideon unload the two broken wagon wheels he’d brought along. He nodded again as Gideon pointed out the flaws in the metal. It was nice to meet another fellow who didn’t have to use up words to communicate.
“I’ll have ’em ready tomorrow before noon.”
Gideon schooled his face against the disappointment. He’d hoped to be back at the cabin in time to eat lunch with Miriam. “The earlier the better.” He turned to climb back on the wagon, tamping down his frustration.
Maybe food would put him in a better frame of mind. He turned the team down Granite Street toward Pearl’s Café. She served the best cinnamon rolls in town, almost as good as the ones Leah had made last week. In front of the building, he allowed the team of horses a drink from the water trough, then tied them to a rail.
Inside, he sat at one of the two long tables that spanned the room. A waitress placed a cup of coffee in front of him, and he nodded his thanks.
“You want dinner?” The woman eyeing him expectantly. She was middle-aged with a good bit of gray filling in her dull brown hair. The lines around her face made her look worn out, and she likelywasfrom serving this crowd.
“Yes, thanks.”
Satisfied with his answer, she moved on to pick up a stack of dishes from the end of the table, then disappeared through a doorway.
He scanned the faces around him, a motley bunch ranging from miners with their dirty flannel sleeves rolled to the elbow, to businessmen in suits and bowler hats. As he studied them,one of the men across the table met Gideon’s gaze and gave a polite nod. The fellow was small, with spectacles illuminating his tiny features and giving him the appearance of an owl.
Before Gideon could answer with his own nod, a burly man beside the stranger with the spectacles reached for a coffee pot, knocking over the salt shaker in the process.
“Oh, dear,” said Spectacles. But the big man didn’t seem to notice his own clumsiness, just refilled his cup and clunked the pot back on the table. Spectacles reached over to right the fallen shaker, pushing his glasses higher on his face as he did so.
“You from around here?” Burly had gone back to his meal with gusto, but asked the question between bites, tilting his head to look at Spectacles as he spoke.
Spectacles cleared his throat and pushed his glasses up again. “Ah, yes. I’m the telegraph operator here in Butte City.” The man’s voice came out raspy, as if he needed to clear his throat, and occasionally it pitched high. Either he was suffering from a throat ailment, or he was nervous. “And you, sir. Are you from this area?”
“Naw, got business here.” Burly spoke through a mouth full of chicken.
Spectacles took a dainty sip of his coffee. “And what is your business, Mister…” He paused for Burly to fill in the name.
“Name’s Jenson, an’ I’m here lookin’ fer my wife.”
Spectacles’ eyes grew even larger, if that was possible. “Your wife? Is she visiting our fair city?”
Gideon bit back a snort. Butte was a dirty, vice-ridden mining town. Not muchfairabout this city.
He eyed Jenson, who had yet to reply. For a quick second, the man’s eyes held a hard glint, then his thick brows merged to form a concerned expression. “The woman done took the crazy notion to run away. Her ma passed on an’ I think it touched herin the head a bit, ’cause she weren’t thinkin’ straight. I’m worried she’ll get mixed up with the wrong folks an’ git herself hurt.”
Something about the man didn’t seem on the up and up. His concern for his wife appeared forced, and he told the story almost like an actor at the theater Gideon’s parents had taken him to back in Kentucky—dramatic and well-rehearsed.
“Maybe you’ve seen her.” Jenson squinted as he studied Spectacles. “She’s middlin’ height, brown hair, green eyes. Her people had money in Richmond so she walks an’ talks like high society.”
Every nerve in Gideon’s body came to life as the man’s description resonated in his mind.Her people had money in Richmond. The description matched Leah exactly, although it was vague enough to match at least a dozen women in this territory.
Gideon studied the man who’d called himself Jenson, trying to recall everything Leah had said about the fiancé who’d threatened her life. He’d been a business associate of her father’s, but Gideon couldn’t imagine this grubby man in Richmond’s business world. Maybe he’d been hired by the blackguard in Richmond. He was probably too yellow to do his own dirty work.
He struggled to pull back Leah’s words. Her fiancé had sent a man to follow her to St. Louis. Had that been this fellow? Had he followed her all the way up the Missouri River? If so, it was clear he hadn’t found her yet. Probably because she’d been hidden away in Gideon’s cabin for all these months.
But now she was in town and planning to ask around for a job. It was very likely this Jenson would find her. And then what would he do? Could they force her to marry the rat against her will? Leah had obviously thought that was possible, or she wouldn’t have fled across the country to escape him.
“Here you go, sugar.”
Gideon snapped out of his thoughts at the woman’s voice behind him. She placed a steaming plate on the table. The fried chicken, whipped potatoes, and canned apples looked like they should be good, but his appetite had fled. The knot forming in his stomach made him want to jump up and run from this place, find Leah and make her go back to the ranch with him.
But he needed to keep an eye on this Jenson fellow too. For now, the man had turned his full focus back to the plate in front of him, so Gideon forced himself to eat as well. He might need the sustenance for strength soon.
While Gideon ate, his mind wandered back through the story Jenson had given. Was there any chance it was true? Could Leah really have been married to this man, and in her delusion made up the story about a fiancé trying to kill her?
Images played through his mind—of Leah serving dinner, Leah patiently teaching Trojan to lead, Leah tending his wounds from the bear. There’s no way she’d lost her senses. She was too brave and strong and caring. And she’d always been honest with Miriam and him. She brought out the best in them—in him.
