Page 320 of Conveniently Wed
Smiling, Aundy set the basket on the table and removed her hat and gloves, leaving them by the door.
“Do I smell cinnamon?” Garrett asked, pushing aside the napkin covering the basket. “Did you make these?”
“No, I plucked them from the muffin tree on my way here.” Aundy kept a serious expression on her face as she spoke.
Garrett glanced at her in surprise then broke into a broad grin.
“Mrs. Erickson, I do believe you’re sassy this morning.” Garrett snatched a warm muffin from the basket and bit into it. “This is really good. Maybe you can give Ma your recipe, or just make me some more. I’m quite partial to cinnamon treats.”
“I’ll keep that in mind.” Aundy tucked away that bit of information for later use.
Nora breezed into the kitchen, followed by J.B., and gave Aundy a big hug. “What did you bring, honey?”
“Cinnamon muffins. Apparently they grow on trees over at the Erickson place,” Garrett said, taking another one from the basket as he grabbed his hat and work gloves and went out the door with a teasing grin.
“I think that boy is working too hard. He’s talking crazy.” Nora made a cup of tea for Aundy and poured a cup of coffee for J.B. “I’m going to work on cutting out some quilt pieces in the parlor, but if you need anything, just let me know.”
“Thanks, Nora.” Aundy sat down at the table with a notebook and pencil she’d brought along.
“What would you like to talk about today?” J.B. asked, leaning back in his chair and taking a drink of hot coffee.
“Animals.” Aundy proceeded to ask J.B. about every type of farm animal she could think of, including sheep.
“What’s the interest in animals?” J.B. helped himself to a muffin while Aundy poured another cup of coffee for him. She spent so much time in the Nash’s kitchen, she felt as at home there as she did anywhere.
“Just curious.” She toyed with her teacup. “If you knew someone who wanted to find out more about a certain type of enterprise, where would you recommend they go to glean the information they would need to further pursue their interests?”
J.B. chuckled. “If it was a man, I’d tell him to go Underground on a Friday night. You can hear more gossip and truth in an hour there than you can anywhere else the rest of the week combined.”
“The underground? Like in a hole?” Aundy asked.
“Land sakes, girl. You haven’t heard about the Underground?”
When Aundy shook her head, J.B. leaned toward her conspiratorially. “Nora’d have my head if she knew I told you, but there are tunnels under part of the town connecting several businesses, a few of questionable nature. They started out as service tunnels to legitimate businesses then they added a card room and saloons, Chinese laundries, that sort of thing. A lot of men spend their free time down there and you can hear just about any news you want.”
“Really?” Aundy was shocked by this revelation. “Where are the tunnels?”
“You ever notice the grates set in the boardwalks in town?” J.B. asked.
“Yes, I commented on them to Nora one day. All she said was to never stand on top of one and they were nothing I wanted to be concerned with.”
J.B. laughed and shook his head. “That sounds about like my Nora. Any number of businesses near those grates has an entry to the tunnels.”
“Oh, my.” Aundy digested the tidbit of information.
“I hope you keep in mind that the tunnels aren’t a fit place for a lady, especially a young lady who’s already been getting more attention than she wants.”
Aundy nodded in agreement. Since the weather warmed and the roads dried out, a steady stream of callers had arrived at her door, with both propositions and proposals. Young, old, poor, rich, handsome, and filthy — she’d seen just about every type of man come calling in an effort to gain access to Erik’s farm.
Garrett had taken to coming around in the evenings, when the men seemed most inclined to call, after their daily work was finished. When he couldn’t make it over, he somehow made sure Dent or one of the hands was conveniently working near the house to keep an eye on things.
Sincerely hoping the novelty of her being unwed and available would soon wear off, Aundy was thoroughly tired of the callers. She never thought she’d live to see the day she was popular with the male population, but then again, they weren’t interested in her. All they could see were acres of farmland ready for the taking. Or so they thought.
The only visitor who arrived not spouting proposals was Ashton Monroe. Garrett and Dent didn’t get worked up when he came to visit, although neither one of them seemed very fond of the man.
Ashton was funny, charming, and almost pretty in his features. He told entertaining stories, made Aundy feel smart and witty, and seemed to enjoy being friends.
Although Nora disliked him, Aundy couldn’t help but enjoy his company. She hadn’t seen him for a while and wondered if he was out of town again. She wasn’t exactly sure what it was Ashton did for a living, since he was frequently gone on business trips, other than travel around and check on his investments.
