Amon (3 page)

“Yes,” Harrison conceded with a sigh. “But after all the trouble Thackary caused for our family, one can’t be too careful.”

“True enough,” Colin said and kicked his horse into a trot. “First things first, however – let’s see if Amon Cotter is agreeable to the idea of getting married.”

“I’m telling you, there won’t be a problem!” Harrison called after him then got Juliet moving with a loud whistle. She took off at a canter to catch up to Colin.

They rode side-by-side at an easy canter, letting the horses naturally slow to a walk for the remainder of their trip to town. Once there, they checked the mercantile and then the saloon in search of Amon. When they couldn’t find him in Clear Creek, they ventured out to “the men’s camp,” where some of the men who’d worked on the hotel were living in a large cabin they’d built for themselves on the edge of town.

The place had been Mr. Van Cleet’s idea. A community bunkhouse of sorts, it could sleep up to sixteen men. It had a cookstove and dry sink at one end, along with two long tables and benches. The rest of the cabin was taken up by sleeping cots lined along the walls. A potbellied stove at the other end helped keep the place warm at night during the winter months. There was also a barn with a corral off to one side.

Colin and Harrison’s wives, Belle and Sadie, had dubbed it the “bachelor house,” which fit. Though some of the men had left Clear Creek to find work elsewhere, at least ten had stayed behind to carve out a life in the community, doing odd jobs around the area. Every so often, one of them would have a whiskey too many and raise a little Cain, but mostly they were a quiet lot.

The men rode up to a hitching post, dismounted and tethered their horses. “No one seems to be about,” Harrison said as he glanced around. “No, wait – there’s Jasper!”

“Howdy Harrison, Colin!” Jasper Crabtree came out of the barn. He was an older gent, small and wiry, but strong as an ox. Among other jobs, he cooked most of the men’s meals for them.

“Jasper!” Colin called across the yard. “How are you?”

“Well, if you can’t hear m’bones creakin’, then I guess I’m doin’ okay. What brings y’out here? Need some work done around yer place?”

“Not at the moment,” Harrison said. “We’re looking for Amon Cotter. Is he around?”

“No, he done rode out to the tree line lookin’ for wood. Says he wants to find some nice pieces to make a dresser ‘n a few other things.”

“Yes,” Colin said with a smile. “He’s a fine craftsman, Amon. In fact, I’d like to have him make some things for Belle.”

“Like maybe a cradle?” Jasper asked with a wink.

“Exactly,” Colin chuckled. “Which means I’d better ask him sooner rather than later.”

“I’ll tell’m you were here and want some work done.”

“But that’s not the only reason we need to speak with him,” Harrison said. “We have something else we’d like to ask him.”

“I can pass it along if y’like,” Jasper offered.

“No,” Colin said as he glanced at Harrison. “This is best done face-to-face.”

“Well, I reckon ya’d hafta ride out and find’m yourselves, then.”

Harrison and Colin exchanged another quick glance. Harrison shrugged. “We have time. We could get it over with so we don’t have to come back to town tomorrow.”

“You’re quite right,” Colin agreed. “Best get to it, then.” He tipped his hat to Jasper. “We’ll see you later.”

“Oh, ‘n another thing,” Jasper said as they remounted their horses. “Y’oughta know that Clinton Moresy got in last night.”

Harrison looked at him. “Clinton Moresy? What’s he doing back in Clear Creek? I thought he was on his way to Oregon City.”

“Mrs. White told’m there was a woman in town,” Jasper said sheepishly.

“Ah, dear Mrs. White … she does keep up on things, doesn’t she?” Colin sighed as he turned his horse.

“News travels fast,” Harrison agreed. “Our newfound relatives have only been here a few days. Wait … Jasper, how could she possibly know about them this soon? Are the Whites nearby right now?”

“Yep – camped not far outta town. Y’know how they like to come to Clear Creek every couple of years and stock up. ‘Bout that time.”

“You’re right, it is,” Harrison agreed. “I wish they hadn’t mentioned anything to Clinton, though.”

“Yeah, well,” Jasper replied with a wave of his hand. “If’n it was male relations of yers, Clinton’d be long gone, but it’s a woman, so he’s inter’sted.”

“That would be fine and good,” Harrison remarked, “if he didn’t gamble his money away every week. I’m afraid he’s not exactly husband material.”

Jasper shrugged. “Just sayin’ he’s inter’sted, not that he’d be any good at it. I’m sure he’ll seek y’out soon enough.”

“Where is he now?” Colin asked.

“Don’t right know. He got up early this mornin’ ‘n headed into town. Said he was plannin’ to get a shave and a bath. Must be serious for’m to get all prettied up.”

“A
bath
?” Harrison said in shock. “
Clinton
? My, he is serious.”

“I’m afraid he’s also out of luck, poor chap,” Colin said. “Thank you for the information, Jasper.”

“Yer welcome,” he said and stuck his hands in his pockets. “Be seein’ ya!”

Harrison and Colin tipped their hats, whistled to their horses and took off at a canter for the tree line. They had to make sure they got their business with Amon Cotter settled today, lest Clinton Moresy be on their doorstep tomorrow.

Two

Amon Cotter went around one tree, then another. He took a few steps back and stared at each a moment before circling them again. He lifted a hand, his heart beating in anticipation, reached out and touched the rough bark of one. A shudder traveled through him and he sucked in a breath. Yes, this tree would do nicely.

He brought up his other hand and ran it over the trunk before walking around it once more. He stopped, pulled out a knife, marked the tree for future use, then brushed the loose bits of bark away. A perfect letter “A” now graced the tree, claiming it for him. When he was ready he’d return, cut it down and prepare it. The beautiful pine would make some lovely pieces he could sell.

He took a shaky breath at the thought, almost as if he’d just proposed to it and it said yes. He chuckled at the thought, re-sheathed his knife, then looked up at the sky. A brilliant blue. He reached a hand up and spread his fingers in the sunlight, breathed in a lungful of air, let it slowly, did it again …

Power surged through him, as if the sunlight had awoken something deep within him. Perhaps it had. God’s creation always did enliven him, and the more time he spent in it the better he felt. But what really gave him satisfaction was when he was creating something. To take a block of wood and carve it into a masterpiece was his ultimate joy. And he was good at it, too.

Amon turned back to the tree, traced the “A” he’d carved into the bark and smiled. “You’ll cradle a child, I promise. You’ll keep things for a woman, maybe clothes for her husband. And serve me as well.” He smiled again.

Then he froze. “Talking to trees again, Amon?” a familiar voice teased.

Amon sighed at the interruption. “Mr. Cooke, what brings you out here?” he asked as he turned.

Colin and Harrison dismounted and led their horses to where he stood. “Looking for you,” Harrison said.

“You’ve found me, sirs. What can I do for you?”

“We’d like to talk to you about something, if we may,” Colin told him.

Amon glanced between them and nodded. “I’m listening.”

Colin blew out a breath. “Well, we were wondering … if … well, if you’d like to get married.”

Amon took a step back. “Married? Whatever gave you that idea?”

“Perhaps my brother isn’t explaining this well,” Harrison said. “What he means is, we have a distant relation that arrived in town a few days ago and Duncan has tasked us with seeing to it that she marry. And, well, you came to mind as –”

“No.” Amon said.

Colin and Harrison exchanged a glance. “No?” Colin said. “What do you mean, no?”

“I mean no,” Amon repeated as he reached out to one of the horses and stroked its nose in greeting.

The brothers looked at each other again. “No, as in, you don’t want to listen, or no, as in you don’t understand?” Harrison tried to clarify.

“No, as in I don’t want to get married,” Amon stated.

Colin and Harrison stared at him in astonishment. “You … you don’t?” Colin said. “What man in this town doesn’t want to get married?”

“This one,” Amon said and jabbed a thumb at his chest for emphasis. He turned on his heel and started to walk to his own horse.

“Hm,” Harrison said. “I didn’t see that coming.”

“Neither did I,” said Colin. “Amon, wait!” He followed, leading his horse behind him. “Hear us out, man!”

Amon turned as he reached his mount. “I’ve heard you,” he said politely. “You want me to marry your relative. I’ve told you I don’t wish to marry, at all, to your relative or anyone’s. Simple as that.”

“But you don’t understand …”

Amon mounted up and looked at the brothers in exasperation. “What is there to understand, other than I’ve just told you no?” He spurred his horse and was off like a shot, leaving the Cooke brothers behind him with their mouths hanging open.

He felt a pang of sadness for being so abrupt, but why had they had to keep pressing him? No meant no, didn’t it? Besides, the wind in his face and the smell of pine trees and summer grasses were more important to him in that moment than the two men he’d left behind. Right now, he needed to ride and ride fast. He needed to feel like he was flying.

But the thing he needed most was to understand why.

* * *

Amon raced back to the bunkhouse, dismounted and started to walk his horse Manuel in a circle. He was breathing almost as hard as the animal, and checked again to see if the Cooke brothers had followed him. But no, there was no sign of them. Well, that was a mercy.

He wondered if they were upset with him or questioned his odd behavior. Who wouldn’t? He couldn’t explain it himself at times. All he knew was that at times he had to race his horse across the prairie, feel the rush of wind, his mount’s muscles bunching underneath him as he urged it to go faster. To be one with …
everything
.

That, and he had a visceral reaction against being tied down or kept away from nature. Marry? That would mean being trapped, unable to spend the days alone, expected to stay inside on beautiful starry nights, depended upon to be home for supper and keep the house and make small talk and …

He shuddered. No. Not for him. He’d wither and die like a seedling in a cave, unable to stretch toward the sunlight. No, a thousand times no.

Amon continued in a circle a while longer before he stopped, loosed the cinch of his saddle and pulled it off Manuel. He set it on a fence rail of the corral, then led Manuel to a nearby trough. He drank as Amon splashed water on his face in an effort to dispel the dreamlike state he often found himself in after one of his wild rides. He wiped water from his eyes, then waited for Manuel to finish. “Had enough?” he asked when the horse finally lifted his head from the trough.

The big roan-colored gelding, his steed for the last eight years, emitted a soft nicker in answer.

Amon scratched him between the ears and grinned. “That’s a good boy. Thanks for the run – I needed that.” He led Manuel to the barn, put him in a stall and proceeded to rub him down. He wondered if he’d asked too much of the horse this time. But Manuel was always faithful, giving his master every ounce of strength he had, and he’d given no less today. “I don’t deserve you,” he told the horse when he finished.

Manuel snorted in response, as if to say
enough with the false modesty, old chum
.

Amon laughed, then left the stall to get some hay for Manuel to munch on. By the time he was done, Colin and Harrison Cooke had ridden up.
Great,
Amon thought.
Am I going to have to go through this all over again?

“Amon Cotter!” Harrison called out.

Amon let his shoulders drop, left the barn and approached them. “You found me. Again.”

“You left in a great hurry,” Colin commented dryly. “Was it something we said?”

Harrison glared at him then returned his attention to Amon. “I must confess, we’re both curious as to your answer to our … offer.”

Amon put his hands on hips and looked up at them. “There’s nothing to be curious about, gentlemen. I’m sorry, but I have no interest in marriage. That’s what you asked me, isn’t it?” He scratched his ear. “At least that’s what I thought you asked.”

“It was,” Colin told him. “It’s your answer we’re having trouble with. Most men around here would jump at the chance to have a wife.”

Amon shrugged. “Most,” he emphasized.

“Yes,” Harrison agreed as he dismounted. “It’s that you’re so decisive about it that has us confused.”

“It’s certainly not the norm,” Colin quipped as he reached the ground.

“I don’t know what else to tell you, gentlemen,” Amon said. “I simply have no desire to marry.”

“But why?” Harrison asked, truly perplexed.

Amon held his hands out in a helpless gesture. “Why should I?”

“
Desire
is usually the operative word in things like this,” Colin pointed out. He glanced quickly at Harrison whose eyes widened ever so slightly. “Do you mean to tell us you’ve never thought of marriage?”

“I’ve thought of it. I’ve also thought of being caught in a cave by a mountain lion. That doesn’t mean I wish it to happen.”

“Well … that’s certainly a, um,
picturesque
reaction,” Harrison said, brows raised. “Any man would run to marry a beautiful young woman. And this one’s English, to boot!”

“Another cousin of yours, I take it,” Amon replied with a smile.

“Distant cousin,” Colin was quick to point out. “But nonetheless, beautiful, smart and … and …”

“And you picked me,” Amon finished for him.

“We thought you the best match for her,” Harrison explained.

“
Me
? Surely there are others more suited to your relative than I am?”
Surely anyone would be
, he thought to himself.

“None that Belle and Sadie could think of,” Colin explained. “We’re just the messengers, you see.”

Amon’s smile broadened. “Ah yes, your wives the matchmakers.”

“Won’t you even have a look at her?” Harrison asked.

Amon shook his head and sighed. “Gentlemen, I’ve given you my answer.”

Colin scratched his head in confusion and looked helplessly at his brother. “He seems quite adamant. I guess we’ll just have to ask Belle and Sadie who’s next on the list.”

“I’m glad there’s a list,” Amon said. “I wouldn’t want your cousin to be deprived on my account.”
Or vice-versa.

“Yes,” Harrison said flatly. “But you were at the top.”

“An unfortunate error,” Amon chuckled. “But I’m happy it can be easily corrected.” He turned and headed back to the barn.

“Amon, wait!” Colin called after him.

Amon stopped, turned and waited for Colin to catch up to him. But he made no attempt to hide his impatience. Why couldn’t they just leave him be?

“I have other business to discuss with you – aside from my wife’s matchmaking attempts.”

“The cradle for your child? Yes, I know – I’m already preparing for it.”

“You are?”

“Of course. I made one for Harrison and Sadie’s baby. I knew you’d want one as well. I’ve picked out the tree – that’s what I was doing out there when you found me.”

“Splendid!” Colin said and slapped him on the back. “I can’t wait to see it when it’s finished. In the meantime, we’ll speak with Belle and Sadie and inform them of your answer.”

Harrison joined them. “You’re sure, then? We can’t change your mind?”

Amon forced a laugh. It wouldn’t do to yell at them – they meant no harm. “You can’t, no. I’m sorry for the inconvenience.”

“You can’t blame us for trying,” Colin said with a shrug. “After all, we’ve been in this matchmaking business for a while now. Six brides to date!”

“And now a seventh,” Amon said. “You might as well open your own mail-order bridal service.”

“I don’t know about that,” Colin said with a laugh. “I think we’re running more of a mail-order groom service if you ask me.”

“I wish you luck with it,” Amon told them. “Now if you’ll excuse me, I have some work to do in the barn.”

Colin and Harrison nodded, tipped their hats, mounted up and left. “Well,” Colin said as they trotted their horses down the road. “That went horribly.”

“At least Amon was pleasant about it. Or not angry. We did press him too hard, didn’t we?”

“Perhaps,” Colin conceded. “But not compared to how hard Sadie and Belle will press us when we return and tell them.”

“True – they aren’t
going to be happy,” Harrison mused. “They had their hearts set on Amon for Nettie. Now what are we going to do?”

“See who’s next on the list, what else?”

“Only … I’m not sure if there
was
anyone else on their list.”

“What?! What do you mean?”

“I mean that our wives had their hearts set on dear Mr. Cotter. They never dreamed he’d say no. But then, neither did I.”

“Yes, very odd that. What man around here would do such a thing?”

“What man, indeed,” Harrison said, his brow furrowed in thought. “Perhaps we should have a talk with Cyrus. He hired Amon, after all. He probably knows his background.”

“Yes, Cyrus is thorough that way,” Colin agreed. “But I don’t see how that helps us now, other than satisfy our curiosity.” He sighed. “I dare say, if we did have women in this town, our Mr. Cotter would be considered the most eligible bachelor of the lot.”

“Yes – handsome, polite, a fine craftsman. He could easily open his own furniture shop somewhere.”

“Maybe that’s it,” Colin said. “Maybe he plans on going back to Oregon City, or south to San Francisco or Sacramento. He could make a good living there with his skills.”

“You’re quite right, that must be it. Perhaps he’s just not ready to tell anyone yet that he plans to leave.”

“But what’s wrong with taking a wife with him when he does?” Colin asked, not ready to give up.

Harrison shook his head. “I have no idea. Maybe he thinks it’s too much trouble to take a woman along with him. Or he just doesn’t want to pull one away from her family up here.”