Mistletoe Courtship Read online

  The men just stood and stared at her and then back at the floor.

  “You didn’t do anything?” Petey finally asked. “On account of Colter coming back with this woman—”

  It took Virginia a moment to realize what he was asking her. She drew in her breath indignantly. “Set a fire! Of course not!”

  “Now, don’t go getting upset,” the first man said. “Petey was only asking because he’s been thinking of calling Colter out when the man gets back. We’ve been talking, and it ain’t right him leaving you like this and taking up with some fancy woman. You had a claim on him first. We’re miners—we understand if you’re stirred up mad. It is claim-jumping, pure and simple. Man or gold—it doesn’t make any difference.”

  Virginia wished the fire had burned a hole in the floor big enough for her to hide in. She should have known the telegraph operator would spread the news that Colter was coming back and that he had company. “First of all, I have no claim to Colter. He’s just my employer. He’s free to marry anyone he wants. Just as I am free to marry anyone.” She glared at Petey. The older man knew about Lester. He didn’t approve for some strange reason, but he knew they might be coming to an understanding. “No one needs to call anyone out.”

  She didn’t add that she didn’t want Petey’s death on her conscience. She’d grown fond of these old men during the past year. Even if Colter wasn’t a gunfighter anymore, she had no doubt who would win a contest between the two men.

  “Still, it ain’t right,” Petey repeated stubbornly. “A man can’t leave his business with a woman and expect her not to get ideas. Now that your brother’s gone, it’s up to us to make sure you’re treated with respect.”

  “A woman earns her own respect,” Virginia said. She was only beginning to understand that herself. She’d learned a lot this past year taking care of Danny and giving a scattering of music lessons. “Besides, I’ll do fine. You know I have plans.”

  Even though the men were not drinking at the saloon anymore, they stopped by to talk, especially around dinnertime. She always set a couple of extra plates around the poker table. She found the table did just fine for dining if she draped a cloth over it. She’d even convinced the men to eat with the proper utensils.

  “We know all about your plans,” Petey said. “And we’re going to be at the church for the Christmas Eve service so we can applaud you and the Wells girls, but what if it just doesn’t work out?”

  Petey didn’t need to say any more. Virginia heard her father’s voice in her head continue the litany. What if you aren’t good enough? You missed that note and your timing was off there. Do it better. It’s not good enough.

  She glanced over at the piano that stood in the corner of the room. She’d waxed it until it shone and kept it covered with a cloth so nothing would damage the top wood again. She liked the way the bells looked on it, too. She had not been able to bring a piano west with her, but she had brought her mother’s treasured set of ten brass ringing bells, wrapped in linen and packed in her trunk.

  “We must have faith,” she finally said. She’d first heard about the banker’s sister, Cecilia Wells, from his daughters who were her students. They were the ones who’d mentioned that their aunt was looking for a music instructor at her academy for young ladies in Denver. If Virginia wanted, they said, their father would contact his sister about Virginia. Of course, she told him to write.

  All she needed to do now was to impress Cecilia when she came to Miles City to attend the Christmas Eve service. The woman remembered bell songs from a trip she’d made to England and had said she’d be happy to consider the performance as an audition for the position at her school.

  “She’s sure to want to hire you when she hears you and the girls play them bells,” Petey said proudly. “I’ve never heard anything like it. The sound puts me in mind of home.”

  “Everything reminds you of home.”

  “But what I mean to say is that even though she’ll want to hire you, maybe she won’t be able to,” Petey continued. “Maybe she will already have promised the job to someone else before she gets here. Or maybe she won’t have money to hire another teacher. Or—”

  “We just need to have faith,” Virginia repeated. She refused to consider defeat. The echoes of her father’s criticism had stayed in her mind all these years, but she had thrown herself on God’s mercy. Surely He would help her get this job. It wasn’t as though she was asking to be invited on some European concert tour. She knew she wasn’t good enough for that. Her father had been right to say it. But she could teach children. She knew that in her bones.

  “Well, if the school lady doesn’t hire you,” Petey continued. “Lester says he’ll let you sing over at his place. He doesn’t have a piano, but we can get a rousing song or two going. And we’ll promise not to drink too much while you’re working either.”

  “Thanks,” Virginia murmured. But Colter had been right about drinking and ladies. The next step to what Petey suggested would be for her to lift her skirts and dance. She shuddered at the thought. This was how young ladies were ruined.

  “We can even help you clean this floor up.” Petey turned to scowl at the men behind him and they eventually nodded.

  She looked around the main room of the saloon. Most of it was intact. She’d gotten to the fire before it spread beyond the middle of the floor. The tables were fine even though the big mirror behind the mahogany bar would need another good cleaning. And the walls she’d just washed were now slightly gray.

  “It is a mess, isn’t it?” Virginia said. And then she heard the door open again so she turned to look over her shoulder. It was probably Lester. The winter sun was starting to set so it streamed right in the open door so she couldn’t see clearly. She wanted to rub her eyes. It couldn’t be. But there, standing in the middle of the doorway, was the last man she wanted to see right now. Fortunately, the men standing around her put themselves to good use and, quicker than she thought possible, she was hidden behind their shoulders and broad hats.

  Colter hadn’t expected to see half of his old customers standing in the saloon when he came back. The place was supposed to be closed. He looked over at the bar and saw there was no lineup of liquor bottles. He looked back at the men. They were all looking guilty, except for Petey who looked like he was going to erupt with something.

  That’s when Colter smelled the smoke. “What’s happening here?”

  The last thing he needed was more problems. He had enough of a challenge with Patricia. But he could see something was wrong. Then, as he watched, someone quietly pushed their way from behind the men to stand in front of them.

  “I take full responsibility,” Virginia said.

  Colter’s heart almost stopped. With her blond head held high, Virginia was beautiful. He hadn’t remembered her being quite so breathtaking.

  “I’d like to know your intentions.” Petey stepped out from the rest of the men and walked around until he was standing in front of Virginia.

  Colter looked at the man in surprise.

  “Really, Petey, he doesn’t need to—” Virginia said as she tried to step around the man.

  It was obvious that Petey intended to stay in front because he took a step closer.

  This could go on forever, Colter thought, back and forth.

  He held up a hand. He’d had enough of people dancing around their opinions. It never made anything go smoother. “Let Petey talk.” He turned to the older man who had been one of his best customers. “What’s the problem?”

  Colter wondered if somehow Petey knew where he’d been and the trouble he was bringing back with him.

  “I need to know what you intend to do about Miss Virginia here, now that you’re back,” Petey said with some heat to his words. “She doesn’t deserve to have her heart broken.”

  “My heart’s not—” Virginia protested.

  “Tell me the man’s name,” Colter demanded before he remembered he’d sworn off using his guns. Being a Christian was harde
r than it had sounded, especially when it came to a man dealing with his enemies. He’d find something to do, though, to make the man sorry he’d dealt unjustly with Virginia. His fists would work fine for a fool man like that.

  There was silence in the room.

  “Well,” Colter demanded as he looked the men over. They might not be as bad as the scoundrel he intended to face down, but there wasn’t a man in the room good enough for Virginia, himself included.

  Then Colter glanced at Petey and wondered what he was missing. The man’s eyes were bulging out like he’d swallowed something with a pit in it.

  “Oh, for goodness’ sakes,” Virginia finally said. She stepped around the older man and looked Colter straight in the eye with a snap of annoyance he found rather endearing. “They think it’s you.”

  “Me? What’d I do?”

  “Well, you up and got married,” Petey stammered, finding his voice finally. “A woman like Virginia naturally expected—”

  “I’m not married.” Colter heard Petey talking, but he kept his eyes on Virginia. She had turned pink and it was the most beautiful sight he’d ever seen. It was too bad about the two of them. He had hoped to be back months ago while the memory of that kiss would be fresh in her mind. Now, of course, everything was different.

  “What about your Patricia?” Petey finally finished.

  And that, Colter thought to himself, was where his life now began and ended. He turned around. “This is Patricia.”

  Chapter Two

  Virginia looked at the open door of the saloon in consternation. There was no woman standing there. A few more men from the saloon next door had drifted in and there was a boy who she didn’t recognize standing beside the doorjamb. It was late afternoon and the boy was probably waiting to see Danny when school let out. She thought she knew all the boys in town, but she had missed this one.

  “Patricia must have left,” Virginia said as she turned back. She was relieved. She knew she’d have to meet the woman eventually, but she’d rather not do it when she had soot on her face. And her hair was coming undone. This was no time to meet anyone. Besides, she had been prepared to be polite to Colter’s wife, but she wasn’t sure how she was supposed to act now that she found out he hadn’t even married the woman he brought back here. Virginia felt sorry for her. No wonder she was embarrassed to face everyone. At least Lester would never shame a woman this way, Virginia thought to herself in satisfaction.

  “Come say hello, Patricia,” Colter repeated calmly.

  Virginia wondered if she should say something to Colter about being more patient with his—she hesitated—his friend. After all, he was putting the woman in an awkward situation. She was probably just outside the door waiting for him to come out again.

  “I got nothing to say,” the boy Virginia had seen earlier spoke up. She no sooner noticed that than she realized his voice sounded suspiciously like a girl’s.

  “This is Patricia?” Virginia whispered as she realized what it all meant. Now she really did want to crawl into a hole somewhere and wait for the awkwardness to pass. She looked over at the men who’d come in earlier and they were all gawking at the child as though she was a changeling. But it was clear that the woman was a girl, which meant—Virginia had been wrong.

  “You must be thirsty,” she said gently as she took a step toward the child. Now that she was more focused, she could see unmistakable clues that it was a girl inside those rough clothes. The girl’s nose was feminine and her dark eyelashes curled. A beaten-up old hat was pulled down over her hair. Her eyes might be defiant, but they were a lovely shade of green.

  “I have some tea ready to brew in back.” Virginia offered with a smile. She’d heated the water when she was peeling the potatoes.

  “It’s a fine thing to drink,” Petey said, adding his voice to the murmurs from the other men. They’d all had her tea at one time or another. She added a little cinnamon to it. And sometimes honey. “It’ll warm you right up.”

  “I’d rather have whiskey,” the child said, taking a step forward into the saloon as if she expected to get it.

  “Surely, you don’t—” Virginia gave a horrified glance at Colter.

  Colter had seen looks like that before. When the good church women of Helena had realized that the saloon boy they knew as Patty was really a little girl named Patricia, they’d decided that Colter wasn’t a fit parent for her.

  He couldn’t fight them on that, but he still didn’t like their judgmental nature. On one point he was firm though. God had lots of people to care about Him. Patricia only had Colter. Even the women in Helena, as indignant as they were, hadn’t stepped forward to take care of the child.

  Colter refused to look over at Virginia. She was no doubt planning how to scold him. He knew a saloon was no place to raise a child. But he didn’t have time to worry about it, not right at this minute anyway.

  “Little girls don’t drink whiskey.” Colter repeated the words he’d had to say a few times already.

  That made the girl look up, her eyes defiant. “My mother lets me have whiskey when it’s cold outside. For my bones. I have thin bones.”

  Colter didn’t answer. He didn’t need to. He saw the dawning misery spread in Patricia’s eyes. Her mother, Rose, had done a lot of unfortunate things in her life, but the worst of them had been to abandon her daughter.

  Rose had sent a letter to Colter saying he was the father of a ten-year-old and he’d better come to the Golden Spur and pick up the girl or she would likely starve. Rose didn’t even wait for Colter to get there before she took off with some miner named Rusty Jackson who had struck it rich in one of the gulches outside of town.

  “You’ve got to have whiskey,” the girl continued, her voice clipped to show she didn’t care about the other. “You own this saloon. Mama told me.”

  Colter walked over and put his arm on her shoulder. He supposed Rose had embellished everything to make it sound like he owned the biggest and richest saloon west of the Mississippi. Rose had been like that. She would have promised her daughter anything if it meant Patricia would do what she was told.

  Colter had been one of the woman’s many admirers years ago when he’d been hired to keep the peace in the Golden Spur. He’d been fast with his guns back then, having more bravado than common sense. Rose hadn’t been his only mistake.

  Colter supposed at some time he would need to tell all of this to Virginia, but he could see from Patricia’s face that now was not the time to talk about anyone’s mother.

  “I might not open up the saloon again,” Colter settled for saying instead. He could ignore the problem if that’s what Patricia wanted. “Especially not after the fire here.”

  “I plan to fix the floor,” Virginia said stiffly.

  Colter looked up. “You don’t need to do that.”

  “Of course I do. It was my job to take care of things. You need the building now that you have another child to care for.” She nodded toward the girl.

  He could see by the set of her jaw that Virginia had a rush of emotions that she was keeping inside. She looked distressed, which surprised him. Most women looked outraged with him, especially when Patricia said she wanted whiskey to drink. He looked at Virginia more closely. She appeared tired, as though she hadn’t been sleeping well. And she was thinner. He didn’t like to see that. She must be worried about something.

  “A burnt floor won’t trouble Patricia,” Colter said. “Not after what she’s been through.”

  “That’s why she needs a home,” Virginia persisted. “I bet she doesn’t even have a pillow to sleep on.”

  Colter relaxed. He recognized a mothering instinct when he saw it. “She needs a family more than anything.”

  Virginia nodded. “You’ve been good to Danny since he started living with you. I’m sure you’ll do fine with Patricia, too.”

  Her approval felt like a blessing poured over him. It made him relax inside.

  “I’d do better with a wife,” he said without t
hinking. He hadn’t meant to blurt it out like that. What was wrong with him? Now of all times, he couldn’t afford to forget everything he knew about women.

  Virginia blinked. “What?”

  The men from the saloon had started to walk to the door, but they all stopped in midstride to look back at him.

  “There comes a time to get married.” Now that Colter had started, he decided it was worse to back down than to go forward. It probably didn’t matter how he said things anyway. He hadn’t had much hope even before he left here that Virginia would agree to marry him; he’d half expected her to be someone else’s wife by the time he got back. Besides, he’d been a different man when he kissed her. A man with children had to think more about marriage than a man alone.

  “Do you have—” Virginia started.

  By now the men were all gathered around again as though this was even more entertaining than a blaze threatening to burn down the town. He supposed it was.

  Colter tried to ignore his audience. “Every man has dreams.”

  He looked directly into Virginia’s eyes, willing her to understand what was in his heart. Maybe if he hadn’t been staring at her so intently he would have noticed his daughter’s reaction earlier.

  Patricia had walked into the middle of the circle of men and then glanced at Colter in triumph. “He means my mother.”

  It took a moment for the words to make it to Colter’s brain. “What?”

  Where had Patricia gotten that idea, he wondered?

  “My mama’s his dream. He’s pined away for her for years and years. She told me she’s going to come and marry him someday.” Patricia jerked her thumb at Colter. “That’s why I’m with him. We’re just waiting until she comes.”

  It must have been the letter Rose left for her, Colter thought in dismay. Trust Rose to saddle him with the explanations. He’d tracked the woman down to San Francisco just to talk to her so he knew she had no intention of marrying any man. Not even her Rusty.