The Whippoorwill Trilogy - Sharon Sala Page 0,236

with me to the office. We’ll handle the paperwork while I get the men to come unload the wagon.”

“I reckon I’ll just stay with the wagon,” Letty said.

“Ma’am… it behooves me to be honest with you if I want to continue to do business with you, right?”

She frowned.

“Having said that, I can promise you, that both you and your gold will be safe with me.”

And when she saw the size of the men who came for the wagon, she thought he was most likely right. Except for that big red-headed man who’d accosted her on the street, they were three of the biggest, grizzliest men she’d ever seen.

Moody pointed at Eulis and Letty as he addressed his workers.

“Men, this here is Mr. and Mrs. Eulis Potter. Mark their faces, because we’re going to be in business together for a long, long time.”

It was to their credit that the men took the wagon away without much comment, but Letty saw them talking among themselves and gesturing wildly as they drove away.

She watched the men going into the office, but instead of immediately following, she looked up, toward the mountains.

The air was sharp, but the warmth of the sun felt good on her face. She lifted her chin as she stood, remembering where they’d been, and how far they’d come, and knew that from this day forward, their lives would never be the same. With a heartfelt sigh, she shifted the rifle to her other hand and followed her husband into the office.

By the time they came down from the smelter, it was obvious that the word was out. People came out of their businesses, waving and shouting, while others ran beside the wagon, begging for money, or to be put to work.

Eulis was oddly non-committal, but Letty felt threatened, and let it be known by setting the stock of the rifle against her leg with the barrel pointing skyward as a reminder that they were armed.

When a man grabbed at Rosy’s harness, Letty flinched.

“Eulis…”

“It’s all right, darlin’,” he said quietly. “They’re just excited, is all.”

But Letty saw more than excitement in their faces. She saw the fever burned as bright in their eyes as it had burned in Eulis’s body—only this fever was a fever without cure or end. All around her, she felt danger and death.

As they grew nearer to the livery stable, she saw the red-headed stranger who’d accosted her at the land office. He was staring at them without waving, as most everyone else had been doing, and she felt an odd shiver of foreboding, as if they weren’t finished with each other, yet.

Still, she couldn’t let a loser like him ruin the joy of this day. She drew her gaze away from Sean Clancy and looked to Eulis.

“What are we going to do?”

“For starters, I reckon we’ll need to stable the mules, get us a room, and something to eat.”

“And after that?”

“Mr. Moody said to open an account at the bank.”

“Yeah, right,” Letty said, then grinned. “I never did that before.”

“Me, either,” Eulis said. “But there can’t be all that much to it. They get the gold outta the ore, sell it at market price, and put the money in our account at the bank.”

“What about all the rest of the gold up in the mine?”

“Brian suggested we buy some wagons, hire some men, pay fair wages, and dig for all we’re worth.”

She wanted to giggle. Instead, she kept her eye on the crowd that was following along behind.

“Then we can spend it?”

He grinned.

“Yeah, then we spend it. What do you want to buy first?”

Letty looked past the people running with them, to the city itself. It was rough and raw, but the possibilities were endless. Law was still hit and miss, and society had yet to set up a hierarchy of social status. There was a doctor in residence, and a barber who’d gone from a tent in the street to his own building, complete with a red and white barber pole hanging out front. There were too many men and not enough women, but Letty knew that would change. One day there would be schools and churches and places where women met for tea to discuss works of literary merit, and Letty wanted to be a part of that metamorphosis like she’d never wanted anything before.

Eulis stopped at the livery and looked at his wife.

“What’s wrong, girl… cat got your tongue?”

“No.”

“Then tell me. What do you want to buy first?”

“Propriety… and a good name.”

It was