Threads of Change (29 page)

“Could take years to settle,” Tex answered as he checked the hoof of his painted mare.

“How far are we from home?” Thomas asked.

“With hard riding, maybe by late afternoon tomorrow,” Tex said, ready to saddle up.

Thomas filled his canteen, went behind a bush to relieve himself, and was up on his horse before Samuel.

“I have been away for two weeks. Which men are left at the fort?” Thomas asked as the three began to ride.

“I’m not sure, but I would guess Pastor Parker, Smithy, and our two newcomers, Lucas and Luke,” Tex replied. “I think your men went for more freight, and Jackson is with Colt close to Birdville keeping an eye on the situation.”

Samuel remarked, “Two old men, a preacher, and a young boy still wet behind the ears. The county seat resides with whoever has the records. As far as we know, Pastor Parker has them hidden in a safe, public place in Fort Worth.”

Samuel had just given information that could get the women killed. Thomas wondered where the safe place mentioned was and just who knew about it.

Thomas looked at Tex and asked, “Are you concerned about the welfare of the fort?”

“I could be.”

L
iz woke early that next morning, dressed quickly, and went across the yard to the store. She felt somewhat revived, ready to accomplish some things on her list. Hard work and staying busy were the best way to keep her mind and emotions in order. She might just work herself to the bone by the time Thomas returned. If he ever did.

Liz proceeded briskly up the back steps and unlocked the door, returning the key to her dress pocket. The store apron she wore hung on a peg near the back door where she’d left it the day before. She shut the door and pulled the frock over her head in one swift motion then stood tying it in the back before walking out to the front where she planned to rearrange the display of yard goods and sewing notions.

First, she poured the buttons into a crock and set them aside. Then she placed the spools of thread into a wooden box that had once held cheese. She pulled a note pad from her pocket to make a reminder to order more thread in tan and trouser brown. The women here were industrious and her thread supply was getting low.

She needed a table on which she could place supplies, and she thought of the perfect solution. Several barrels used by the cavalry had been left behind, and Liz used them to create a long table in the middle of the store. She pushed, pulled, and rolled the barrels into just the right spot before she added long boards to create a surface. She soon put together a nice display, just in time for the arrival of her first customers of the day.

Liz stood back admiring her work. Tall bolts of fabric lined the floor in between the barrels of the newly made table. Above, smaller flat folds of fabric were attractively displayed on one end of the shelf. She arranged needles and other notions temptingly. Finally, the finished sewing collection was complete.

The sun hovered above the front window, indicating that the time had come to open for the day. Liz felt satisfied being a merchant, and she took pride in her work. She enjoyed the bookkeeping, ordering the inventory, and she especially liked the conversation with her customers.

Keeping the store clean and neat was also to her liking. There simply was not enough work at the house with four grown women on hand to attend to the chores. She loved to sew, but she couldn’t do it all day like her sister, Megan. Someday, she hoped Megan would open her millinery and dress shop right next door. Liz’s thoughts strayed for a moment as she imagined the hats and dresses.

Maybe even a door placed between them would be nice so that they could move back and forth without going outside to do it. She would ask Thomas about it, she thought, and then remembered that Thomas was not around to ask anything of, and she wondered if he ever would be again.

Suddenly, she heard footsteps approaching on the boards outside the front door of the mercantile. Liz squared her shoulders and chased away her thoughts of Thomas. She unlocked the red doors and welcomed her first customer of the day. She stole a peek down the road but only saw the sun settling in for another warm Texas day. Liz ran her hand across the top of her damp lip and scolded herself for forgetting her hanky.

“Good morning, I’m Mrs. Perkins. It’s a fine day today. You must be Mrs. Bromont.”

The round, older woman seemed energetic and very friendly. Once the introductions and pleasantries were exchanged, Liz got busy filling a long list of supplies for her new customer. Some of the items she didn’t have but knew they were coming on the next wagon, and Liz promised to have Luke bring them out to her.

Before she knew it, the morning was gone and her stomach began to growl. She had been in such a hurry that morning when she left the house, she didn’t even grab a piece of bread. Customers had come and gone all morning, keeping her busy filling list after list. She sat for a moment recording the transactions in her ledger and organizing the items to be sent on the next freight wagon.

Mr. Wilton wanted a new stove for his wife right away. She wondered how his wife had prepared such appetizing dishes at the church gathering without one. Mr. Wilton had assured her that this was her first after ten years of marriage, and he wanted to surprise her with the thoughtful gift. Liz thought it would have been more thoughtful if he had done it several years back, although she was grateful for the business and excited that Fanny would soon have a new stove.

Luke burst through the back door. “Where are the nails, Maw? We need more nails. Grandpa is putting on those extra rooms.”

Luke’s hair was ruffled and sawdust stuck to the sweaty areas of his face. He was handsome and looked like his father, Liz noted. Looking closely at him, she realized again how much he had grown. Since their arrival, he’d been sleeping at the barracks with the men and working with them each day. Liz stood in amazement at the boy-turned-man standing in front of her.

“Nails, Maw, where did you stock the nails?” he asked again, looking at the shelves.

Liz went to the correct location and took down a box. “How many do you need?” she asked with another box in her hand.

“That’s good. Thanks, Maw.” He took the boxes from her and smiled, heading out the back door in a flash.

Liz followed him to the back door to have a look at the addition being added to the house they now called home. Grandpa placed a board across a tree stump. He motioned for Luke to hold the end as he began to saw. Liz enjoyed watching her two favorite men working together. Her only son was almost grown; in another year, he would be as tall as his father had been. Luke’s hair was even lighter now, as the sun had bleached it. His face was Texas tanned, and his pant legs were growing short over his boots. He certainly did look like his father, but he acted just like his Grandpa and Thomas.

He’s turning into such a fine man
, she thought.
I hope we can get him to complete at least two more years of school
.

Liz looked up and saw Megan coming to the mercantile carrying a basket. She stepped out the door to welcome her sister inside.

“Thank you for bringing me some lunch. I left this morning without a thing to eat for either meal. You are a dear!”

Liz took the basket from her sister and peered inside. The cloth was neatly tucked inside holding fried chicken, biscuits, garden vegetables, and a jar of sweet tea.

“Before I eat, I need to go out back. Can you watch the store for a quick minute?”

Megan nodded and turned to go up front as Liz quickly went down the back steps to the outhouse, leaving Megan standing there admiring the new sewing display. She heard the red door jingle as she left and turned back to spot a dusty, bearded man she had not met coming into the store.

“Good afternoon,” she heard Megan greet him. “How can I help you?”

When Liz returned a few minutes later, she walked in to find the man looking Megan over as if she were a pig on a spit, and he glanced past her toward the back room.

“I need some bullets and some of that sweet stuff there,” he said just as his unwashed stench drifted into Liz’s nostrils.

She thought he pointed to the peppermint sticks setting on the counter by Megan’s hand. He looked at her with a curl on his lips that made Liz think of a snake before it pounces on a mouse. A chill went between her shoulder blades.

Where is that gun?
Liz thought, standing in the doorway completely undetected.

Another man stood out front with his back to the store window.

How do I handle two outlaws?
Liz thought.
And how do I do it without Megan getting hurt?

“What do you have in the back?” he asked in a rough tone.

Megan ignored his question, and the bearded man smiled and his teeth disgusted Liz. The revolting smell of him reached Liz as he leaned across the counter toward her sister.

“We could go in the back and have a little fun. My friend will keep anyone from bothering us. It won’t take much time. You’re a pretty little thing. Smell nice, too.”

She forced her mind to stay calm while her heart thumped clear out of her chest.

Think, how do I get us out of this?

She remembered the boxes of ammunition in the storeroom, and pictured the shotgun Luke had hung on a rack on the wall beside them, and the two Colt revolvers in the metal cabinet under the counter.

In the most innocent voice Megan could muster, and with her best Southern accent, she lied. “Why, aren’t you a charmer, but I do think my new husband, being a Texas Ranger and all, would look badly upon our new friendship. Just a few weeks ago at our church picnic, a cowboy offered me a chair and I thought Jackson would kill him right there on the spot. He beat him black and blue before the pastor and all God’s people. I surely would hate for that fate to come upon you. I expect him any minute now.”

Liz stood there, frozen, waiting for everything Megan had said to sink into that small brain he seemed to have. He glanced at the door and his eyes landed on Liz. She didn’t know if he smiled at her, or smirked.

“Jackson, who works with Tex, is your husband?” he said with a different tone to his voice.

Liz wanted to lift her hands and praise Jesus right there and then. She hoped he quivered with fright and respect for the Rangers that he obviously knew rode these parts.

He grabbed a couple of peppermint sticks from the counter, threw down some coins without asking for the change, and turned to leave. When he reached the door, he looked back at Liz. She felt positive that under that unruly beard he had snarled at her. The door swung shut and Megan’s hand went up to her face in a prayerful stance as she sat down on a stool behind the counter. Her forehead was in her hand as she took a deep breath of fresh air. “Thank you, God!” she cried.

Liz rushed into the storeroom and returned with two loaded Colts. She placed one under the register, where it belonged, and the other under her apron.

“Megan, are you okay?” Liz placed her arm around Megan’s shoulder. “You were wonderful. I’m so sorry the Colt wasn’t where it should have been.”

Megan raised her head and weakly smiled at her older sister. “When did you even come in? I didn’t hear you.”

“I came in when just before you played that monster like a fiddle. That was very quick thinking!” Liz started to chuckle as she thought back on Megan’s acting. “Do you even know Jackson’s last name?”

Megan laughed and released some tension. “No, I don’t. I’m glad he wasn’t quick-witted, or we would have been in some real trouble.”

“That wasn’t real trouble?” Liz picked up the coins lying by the ledger and flipped them in her hand. “Well, at least we made a profit from those bandits.”

“Do we need to tell the others?”

“Maybe.” Lowering her voice to a whisper, she added, “With Grandpa Lucas’s gold hiding under the stairs and the county records hidden here, I guess we’ll need to be on guard at all times.”

“I don’t think he will be back,” Megan said. “But you never know.”

Both women looked to the front of the store to see if anyone was on the sidewalk.

“I’ve been so busy today. Do you think they just happened to come into the store when no one else was here? Or do you suppose they’ve been watching the mercantile?” Liz wondered out loud.

“I’m going to tell Grandpa Lucas right now and see what he thinks. Be careful. I’ll check back in a little while.” With a grin, Megan added, “Tomorrow, you bring your own lunch!”

Megan turned to leave and went out the back door as if nothing had happened.

Liz checked both revolvers again and walked to the front with her broom. She could scout out the street while she swept the boardwalk. Hopefully, the men had moved on. And while she was hoping, she hoped Thomas would come back soon.

Liz swept the boardwalk—as well as her mind, which buzzed with thoughts about Thomas—but her eyes remained steadfast on her surroundings. She made several passes, barely noticing that the walk had been spick-and-span since her first run at it.

When a pair of boots made a loud whack on the boardwalk, Liz jumped, clearly anxious.