tell you what transpired.” He knew her well enough to be certain he was correct.
“Okay, but if I come home and find you passed out on the floor, I’ll be feeding you to a bear.”
“Noted.”
When he finished the soup, she set the bowl aside. “A wire came from your sister. She sends her love and prayers. Odell said she wanted to know the distance between here and Cheyenne. Do you think she’s coming to visit?”
He was surprised by that. “I don’t know. Did the wire contain anything else?” That Melody might indeed visit was exciting to think about.
“No, but Odell promised to let me know if she wires again.”
He thought again how pleased he’d be to see her. “You’d like her, Spring. She and I have different fathers, but she’s my sister through and through.”
“I’m sure I would.”
“What are you going to do for the rest of the day?” he asked.
“Hopefully make more headway plowing my garden so I can get the seeds put in. There’s fences needing shoring up, wood to chop. Other than that, not much for a lady of leisure like myself.”
“Yet another boring day.”
“Exactly. Is there anything you need before I go back outside?”
“Yes, but I can’t have it, at least not presently.”
She gave him another soft, stirring kiss. “We’ll make up for it soon. I promise. Get some rest. I’ll be back later.”
Buoyed by the soup, the kisses, and her promise, Garrett slept.
Chapter Twelve
The Jarvis meeting was being held at the bank and when Spring arrived, most of the chairs in the room were filled with ranchers and other landowners. She nodded greetings to those she knew before finding a place in the back to stand. A few minutes later Odell entered and joined her. Jarvis made his entrance shortly after, along with Matt, Hazel, and Swan. Spring watched Swan set up an easel and a large map of the area on it. He then withdrew a stack of papers from a leather bag and set them on the table nearby. While he attended to that, Hazel sat silent and Spring again wondered what these people were really up to. Jarvis spent a few moments speaking with Arnold Cale, Matt, and Randolph Nelson before turning to assess the crowd.
Banker Cale started the meeting. “Evening. Thanks for coming. Many of you have seen Mr. Jarvis here around. He and his lovely daughter are visiting from back East where he’s a very important man. He’s called us all together because he has a few proposals he thinks we might be interested in.”
Jarvis glanced around the room. He didn’t say anything at first, making Spring wonder if he’d expected applause to greet his introduction.
He finally began. “As Banker Cale stated I’m Avery Jarvis from New York City.”
Silence greeted that also.
He cleared his throat. “I met Matt Ketchum here a few months back and he told me what a fine community this was. He also told me about the acres and acres of lumber here, something those of us back East are in dire need of. I’m a lawyer and also a member of a group of investors who’d like to tap into those resources and offer you an opportunity to access what we’re sure will be a promising enterprise.”
The audience waited.
“First, I’d like to build a new mill to replace the one lost in the fire. It would be more cost effective to cut the trees into board length and ship the wood east than paying the freight for heavy uncut trees. A new mill would also give you access to a local business as opposed to having to patronize one that’s not. My investor friends and I see this new enterprise as a partnership, and we’d match the funds that you raise.”
Odell bluntly asked, “Who’d own it?”
“My people, and those who choose to invest. Now, the second opportunity I’d like to discuss is the planned railroad line that will run from Paradise to Cheyenne—” and he used a pointer to trace the proposed route on the big map resting on the easel, adding “—which is good news to the ranchers wanting to ship their beef, and to those who partner with our mill. In order to make this come about, the railroad needs to buy up the land along the route.”
“How much are they paying?” someone asked.
Jarvis appeared thrown off by the interruption. “I’ll get to that in a moment.”
“Must be pennies if he’s not telling.”
A few people laughed.
Another voice responded sarcastically, “Okay, Jarvis, feed us more