My Sassy Settler (Willamette Wives Book 2) (14 page)

The young woman laughed. "That's very kind of you but it appears that I'm already here." Roger tipped his hat and the group watched the woman walk through the doors of the mercantile.

Roger turned and plucked the list from Richard's fingers. "On second thought, it would be rather rude to ask you to do my shopping as well as James's." The others shook their heads as he followed the woman into the store.

"What are the chances she's single?" Wyatt asked.

"What are the chances Roger can successfully woo her?" Richard countered.

Anna added her two cents to the conversation. "The better question is how poor Matthew is going to feel when he is the only one left in that bunkhouse."

Chuckling, they all entered the store. The men went in one direction, towards the hardware section, while the women waited for one of the clerks to approach. When one did, they gave him their lists. He'd gather the foodstuff items and box them up, where they'd wait on the counter while they continued their shopping.

Agatha mentioned that she was running low on soap.

"I've got an idea," Anna said, "how about we get together and spend a day making it? Since it's not a very pleasant job, at least with three of us we can make it a bit less arduous."

"That sounds good," Agatha said. "I've got a good amount of lye water saved that we can share. Oh, maybe we can have our clock meeting?"

"Does that mean you'll need part of that first quarter?" Anna teased.

Agatha looked around as if to make sure they were alone and nodded. "And part of the second quarter, as well."

"Then we'll definitely have that meeting. Between the three of us, I'm betting we'll need more than one hour." They both laughed and Anna added, "We might as well make candles as well. I sure don't want to run out this winter."

"I'll need to make more wicks," Agatha said. "Candles burn so fast."

"We can get the rope today and Charity can teach you her method," Anna said. "These candles not only burn brighter and slower, they don't stink anywhere near as much as those plain tallow ones."

After they'd gathered a few items, including a bundle of thin rope that would need to be cut into the proper lengths and braided together to form strong wicks, they approached the counter in the dry goods section of the store. Waiting their turn, they chatted until Johnny began to cry; Anna's rocking him in her arms doing nothing to calm him.

"He shouldn't be hungry, as I fed him right before we left," Anna said, placing the bundle that was her son on her shoulder and patting his back.

"Maybe he's wet," Agatha suggested.

"Good lord, Anna, is that Johnny or a month's worth of laundry?" They both turned and, before Anna could answer, Harriet Williams had taken Johnny from his mother. "Poor little thing."

"I was just going to see if he needed to be changed," Anna explained, feeling a bit unsettled that she couldn't instantly comfort her son.

"Honey, if he's wet, I'm betting most of it will be sweat," Harriett said as she began to unwrap the layers covering the boy. The quilt and three small blankets were piled on the counter. "How many gowns did you put on the child?" she asked as she pulled one off to add to the pile.

"Um, three. That's all he has," Anna said. "I didn't want him to be cold."

"He'd have to live in the Arctic Circle to be cold," Harriett said, smiling when Johnny began to calm as he was freed from another gown. "There's a happy boy." Harriett smiled, bending down to kiss Johnny's forehead and being rewarded with a chubby fist landing on her cheek.

"Thanks, Harriett," Anna said, smiling with relief. "Um, let's not tell Richard—"

"Tell me what?"

Anna turned to find Richard and Wyatt standing behind them, with Dr. Williams as well. She sighed and began to gather up the discarded items. "That I'm a terrible mother. Poor Johnny was so uncomfortable. You were right. It seems I didn't need quite so many things to keep the baby warm."

Richard chuckled. "It's all a learning process, sweetheart." He reached for the blankets. "Here, I'll put them in the wagon."

"Thanks. Maybe I should go with you and change him."

"Go ahead, Anna, I'll get the fabrics," Agatha offered.

"Thanks; I just need a couple of yards of muslin and Charity wanted three. I'd worry that she was contemplating making his burial shroud except for the fact that she also asked for a yard of chambray. She said she's going to make James a new shirt."

Richard chuckled and Harriet said she needed to hear more about that story. "Why don't you and Robert join us for lunch," Richard suggested. "We're going to eat next door."

"We'd love to," Robert said, watching Harriet as she took the quilt from the pile and wrapped it around the baby. "It will give my wife more time with Johnny."

"I've so missed holding a little one," Harriet said, nuzzling Johnny's fist.

Richard smiled. "Then lunch it is. By the time we've finished eating, everything should be boxed up and ready to be paid for and loaded."

Wyatt assured them that he and Agatha would be over as soon as she finished the last of their shopping.

Chapter Eleven

"You don't have to wait for me," Agatha said.

"I'll wait," Wyatt said, and before she could protest, the clerk was asking if she was ready.

After the clerk had cut Anna's and Charity's fabrics, Agatha asked for two yards of the red flannel, and the clerk began to measure it out after pulling it from the shelf.

"What you going to make with that?" Wyatt asked, a grin on his face.

Agatha smiled back. "Maybe I haven't decided yet."

He put his arms around her and bent down, his lips close to her ear. "If you're thinking of making yourself some underthings, don't forget the drop seat. Though again, it might be just as rewarding to have to remove
all
your clothing to bare your little backside."

Feeling her face heat and praying the clerk hadn't heard, she turned so that she could whisper. "I can do that but then I wouldn't add that ribbon around my waist that you seem so fond of untying." Lifting a hand, she laid it on his chest. "Or the ribbons on the matching chemise." She loved the look in his eyes as his eyebrow lifted.

"Who am I to tell a woman how to sew?" he said, bending to kiss her cheek. He then turned to the clerk. "Add five yards of red ribbon, please."

"Five!" Agatha said, putting her hands on her hips. "Exactly how fat do you think I am?"

Wyatt's chuckle was only slightly louder than the clerk's. "As you said, darlin', I love to pull on those little bows, so I'm thinking the more the merrier."

She realized that the clerk had definitely overheard their conversation. The blush on her cheeks almost perfectly matched the color of the ribbon that was cut and packaged with the fabric. Agatha thanked him and was more than ready to take her husband's hand and leave the counter.

Entering the restaurant, they were both glad that the others had gone ahead. Every table was occupied. Agatha slid into the chair that Wyatt pulled out from the table where the others were seated.

"This is amazing," she said, looking around the room. "So many new faces."

"This time next year, I'm betting there will be dozens more," Wyatt said. "Just as we all wanted to make a home in a new land, as long as those wagon trains keep rolling, the town will keep growing."

"More people means the need for more beef," Richard said. "And that, my friends, is good for all of us."

They all grinned, thinking of their plans for the newly established ranch.

Roger was the last to join the group.

"Strike out?" Richard asked. "Don't fret, as Wyatt just said, more people are coming every week. Surely you'll be able to find one to woo."

"Nope," Roger said with a grin, "don't need another. Ah, here she comes."

Agatha looked up to see the woman from the sidewalk walking towards them. She'd removed her bonnet and had added an apron to her ensemble.

Roger almost knocked his chair over as he stood. "I'd like ya'll to meet Miss Teresa Goldman." He introduced the group and then continued. "Seems Miss Goldman's family owns this place."

Teresa gave them all a smile and then told them their choices for lunch. Once they'd ordered, she promised to be right back with coffee.

They enjoyed a lunch of meatloaf, mashed potatoes, mustard greens and fresh cornbread. Agatha wondered why Anna giggled as Richard slathered his bread with a great deal of butter, rolling his eyes dramatically before grinning at his wife, but she decided it must be a private joke and didn't ask.

"Are you ready for chocolate cake?" Teresa asked as she returned to clear the table. Her question had been asked of all of them, but her smile was definitely directed at Roger. "I made it myself. Three layers and it has fudge icing with walnuts."

"I'll take a big piece," Roger said, though he'd just agreed that he was as stuffed as the rest of them had stated before her arrival and suggestion. "Oh, and a big glass of milk if you have it."

Teresa assured him that she did, and smiled when they all decided that chocolate cake and milk sounded like the perfect ending to a great meal.

"That girl can bake," Wyatt said, smacking his lips after taking the last bite of Agatha's cake. "You'd better get her to the altar before someone else beats you to it."

Roger looked stricken until Richard clapped him on the back. "Don't worry, I'm thinking the girl is already smitten."

"I hope so," Roger said. "Though I'm not too sure her Pa is anxious to have her marry. He owns the place, and Teresa and her sister are his only help. Teresa really wants to teach and has her certificate. She hopes to apply for the position when they open the school in the spring."

They paid, and while Roger hung back to say a last goodbye, the others stepped out into the sunshine.

The women stood and chatted while the men went back into the mercantile to get their purchases. All three turned when shouts of 'look out' were heard. Turning, they stood with mouths open as a strange object bumped its way out of the door. The top half was made of metal, while the strange creature appeared to have four legs. Muffled curses were uttered as the front half missed the fact that the street was a step down and the whole thing teetered.

"Hold up," Roger shouted, finally joining the group. Within a few minutes, the creature's true identity was revealed as Wyatt and Richard, guided by Roger, heaved the object, which turned out to be a large bathtub, into the bed of the wagon.

Additional boxes, large bags of flour, sugar and cornmeal, several boxes of ammunition and three new revolvers were loaded in beside the tub, which took up half the space. By the time they stopped at the feed store, it was obvious that there wasn't going to be enough room for the several heavy burlap sacks of different kinds of feed as well as a person. The men stood at the back of the wagon shaking their heads. When they started to unload it in order to rearrange the items, Agatha knelt up on the wagon seat and waited for a break in the conversation.

"I don't mean to interrupt, but why don't you turn the tub over and put the feed inside it?" she suggested. "That way there would be room to sit."

The men looked at one another and then chuckled. "Shit, wish you'd suggested that when we first put the tub in," Wyatt said as he began to shift items to one side in order to be able to stand in the wagon.

"I think I was too shocked to see a bathtub walking out of the store," Agatha quipped, and heard her husband laugh.

He and Richard managed to flip the tub over and a bag of feed was set inside, but when Richard lifted another bag, Wyatt shook his head. "Hold on, I've got another idea. Since I drove in, how about you drive out? I think I'll take a little nap." The rest watched as he climbed into the tub and sat back, leaning against the feed sack. Stretching his legs out and resting his hands on the sides of the tub, his head leaning back to rest on the back, he sighed contentedly.

"Wyatt, you look ridiculous," Agatha said, as the others chuckled.

"I do?"

"Yes, get out of there. I'm smaller and won't take up as much room. You can sit up here with Richard and Anna. I'll sit in the back."

Wyatt stood and moved to the other end of the tub. "What a smart little wife I have." She squealed when he reached over and plucked her from the seat, swinging her back and setting her down on her feet in the tub.

"No, I meant… Wyatt!"

"Problem solved," he said as he plopped down and drew her onto his lap.

Agatha decided the best thing to do was to sink down as low as she could. When she realized that even stretched out, her feet didn't come near the other end of the tub, she smiled. Remembering their shared bath the night before, she squirmed a bit.

"What do you think?" Wyatt asked, his arms wrapped around her waist and his lips close to her ear. She blushed as she felt her nipples pucker beneath her bodice and her tummy tingle.

"Um…"

"Was that a 'yum'?" Wyatt teased.

Giggling, Agatha gave up her protest. After all, she wasn't a liar, and if her husband thought nothing of riding through town, seated in a ridiculously large bathtub with his wife on his lap, who was she to argue?

When they stopped at the Blakemore house, it was to find a new couple. Hope was playing with a doll and apparently educating her baby sister on the role of mothers. Charity was not only smiling, she was glowing, and James seemed to have a new pep in his step. He only stopped grinning as he told them about his search.

"I believe it's a bobcat," James said. "I followed the tracks for quite a ways. I saw only the one set of tracks, which tells me it was his first trip to the house. But that doesn't mean it will be his last."

"We'll start shooting lessons as soon as possible," Richard said.

Wyatt made a suggestion. "It will help if the women handle the revolvers and learn how to load them. Shoot off a few rounds so they can get accustomed to the sound. That way when we start, they won't be as jumpy." Everyone agreed, and when the men went out to unload the Blakemores' portion of the supplies, Anna immediately turned to Charity.