Mail Order Bride - Westward Sunrise: Historical Cowboy Romance (Montana Mail Order Brides Book 9) (16 page)

              The hotel dining room boasted crystal chandeliers, rich brocade drapery, and fine carpeting.  The tables were stylishly set with fine china and real silver utensils.  As Dean held Tessa’s chair for her, he looked at the silverware settings and remembered what Seth had said about the proper order in which to use them.

              He sat down opposite his wife and shook out the fine linen napkin with flair and put it on his lap.  Tessa was surprised by the elegant movement.  He further shocked her when he ordered an expensive wine.  When the maître de gave them their menus, Dean perused it carefully.  He was relieved that it was in English.

              When the waiter came to take their order, Dean surprised Tessa again by ordering flawlessly for the both of them even though she hadn’t told him what she wanted.  It was exactly what she wanted to eat, however.  She felt as though she was dining with a stranger who was still her husband and it was exciting to her.

              “Where did you learn to do that?” Tessa said.

              “Do what?” Dean asked.

              “Order dinner like that.  It’s five courses, after all,” Tessa said.  “We don’t have courses at home.  It's just all jumbled together, so where did you learn?”

              Dean smiled and Tessa loved the way his eyes shone in the soft lighting.  “I might have had a little help from your father.”

              Tessa’s laughter was soft.  She was impressed by Dean’s consideration of her enough to learn some of the finer points of higher social conduct such as ordering dinner.  She wondered what else he had learned. 

              When the wine was brought, the waiter poured a little in a glass and handed it to Dean.  He swirled it around and sampled the bouquet and said, “Very nice,” to the waiter.

              “Very good, sir,” the waiter said and poured a glass for the both of them before leaving the bottle with them.

              Tessa said, “I don’t think I know you, sir.”

              Dean said, “Well, I beg your pardon for not introducing myself sooner.  My name is Dean Samuels, a rancher from the great territory of Montana.  Dawson to be precise.  I don’t normally sit down at the tables of women with whom I am not acquainted, but I couldn’t help myself because you are the most ravishing creature I have ever been fortunate enough to lay eyes upon.  I hope you won’t hold my forward actions against me.”

              Tessa smiled demurely and batted her eyes at him a little.  “Mr. Samuels, I am Theresa O’Connor and was born and raised in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.  And though it is rather scandalous for me to say so, I am quite pleased that you have chosen to dine with me tonight.  You caught my eye as soon as you entered the room because I have never come across such a virile and handsome man.”

              They spent the whole dinner role playing like that and Tessa discovered that Dean had a very active imagination and came up with a whole different persona for himself.  She began to think that there might be a frustrated actor inside her husband.  Every time the waiter came to give them their next course, his manner grew more confident. 

When dessert came, he informed the waiter that it looked inferior and demanded a replacement for it.  Tessa had to cover her laugher with a discreet cough into her napkin.  The dessert had been flawless.  Dean was just enjoying being able to boss someone around, something he did every day.

At the conclusion of dinner, they left the dining room and began laughing until they were breathless.  They returned to their suite and, exhausted from their travels, retired for the night.

              On Monday afternoon, Rebecca watched her husband walk around the barroom.  He was looking at everything as if trying to memorize it.  Here and there he would touch something; the pianos, the dartboard, or a table that must have a special meaning to him.  When he came to the bar, Jake ran his hands over it lovingly.  He’d just stepped behind it when the back door opened and Joe Dwyer came stomping up to the bar area.

              “Come with me,” he ordered, and went into the barroom.  He carried what looked like blueprints. He dragged a table over into the sunlight and began unrolling the papers.  “Here, hold that corner,” he said to Jake.  The papers turned out to be maps.

              Jake had rarely seen Joe like this but knew that when he did, Joe had something in the works.  After Joe’s one barn had been burned down by August Dwyer, Joe’s father, he’d acted the same way.

              “They’re gonna learn not to mess with me,” Joe mumbled as he held down the other side of the papers. 

              Rebecca moved in between the two men.

              “See this?” Joe said pointing.

              “Yeah, it’s the town line going in the other direction from here.  Out past the clinic and all,” Jake said.

              “That’s right.  You see this land right here?” Joe said.

              “Yeah.”

              “I just bought it,” Joe said.  “Worse comes to worse and they vote for a dry town, we’ll move this place right out there and smack it down.  I’ll be damned if they’re gonna shut us down, Jake.  I checked with my lawyer and we’ll be far enough away from the town line that there won’t be a damn thing they can do about it.”

              Jake looked at Joe like he was crazy and said, “Joe, I don’t have the kind of money it would take to build a new place.”

              Joe gave him an annoyed look.  “Who said anything about
building
?  I said
move this place
.  This whole place; every board, brick, table, and, everything, Jake.  This is a piece of history that your father and you have built here and no one is gonna just close it with one vote.”

              “I still don’t have the funds to do that,” Jake said.

              “You do if we’re partners,” Joe said and held Jake’s gaze.

              “Partners?”

              “Should the worst come to pass, I would love to be your silent partner.  I’ll fund the move, you run the place and we’ll split the profits.  We can iron out all of the details later, but for now, do we have an agreement?” Joe said.  “We ain’t got a lot of time, Jake.”

              Jake looked at Rebecca who gave him a broad smile and nodded.  Jake grinned and held out his hand.  “We have an agreement.”

              Joe shook his hand and then gave Jake a manly hug.  Then he picked Rebecca up and swung her around.  He kissed her cheek and sat her down.  “Now we’re talkin’!” he said.  “There’s nothin’ I love more in business than screwing someone who’s tryin’ to screw me.  They’re about to find out what a son of a bitch I can be.  Pardon the language, Rebecca, but I’m all riled up right now.”

              Jake said, “Joe, I never knew you could be vicious like that, but I love it.”

              “There’s more of my father in me than some people realize, but mainly I’m like my mother.  I may be ruthless in business, but it’s for my own sake and the sake of those I love and hold dear.  The Watering Hole is more than just a bar, Jake, and you know it.  It may be wood and brick, but it’s the place where so many memories have been made.  It’s family to me and I always protect my family.  That includes you and Rebecca.”  Joe finished gathering up his maps and left before he got any more teary-eyed than he already was.

              The meeting that night was a rowdy affair with emotions running high.  Mitch had deputized a few men to help keep things relatively calm.  Elliot was nervous as he sat at the council table at the front of the community center.  He tried not to fidget, but it was hard.  At home as he was in dealing with the public at his store, sitting up in front of everyone was a completely different story.

              He’d only seen Abby briefly that day and it was weighing on him that she had been so serious.  He missed her smile and her laugh.  Neither had been present when he’d talked to her.  Elliot looked around the room trying to find her and saw her sitting with Ben a few rows back from the front chairs.  Under the table, Elliot clenched his fists and imagined punching Ben in the mouth.

              Elliot was able to catch Abby’s eye and smiled at her a little.  She returned it and gave him a little wave.  That was all it took to brighten his mood.  That was until he saw Ben put his arm on the back of Abby’s chair.  Elliot felt sweat trickle down the back of his neck as his temper turned to fury.  Ben shifted a little closer to Abby and Elliot almost came up out of his seat and went after him.  Elliot was smarter than that, though, and merely smiled more broadly at Abby.  He wasn’t going to let Ben get to him.

              Then the meeting was called to order and arguments on both sides were heard.  Elliot listened very carefully to everything that was said and tried not to base his decision on emotion.  He had no idea what Dean would have done, but he’d like to think that Dean would have been pragmatic about it as well.  Both sides were articulate and passionate about the matter at hand, but Jake’s impassioned plea to keep his family business and home intact brought tears to many eyes on both sides of the aisle.

              When the arguments concluded, the council put their ballots in a box and Pastor John counted them.  He gave the outcome to Joe, who had asked to be allowed to deliver the news.

              Joe held up his hands and asked for silence before saying, “Folks, as mayor, I’m gonna ask that no matter which way this decision has gone, please do not raise a ruckus or harm anyone else.  You’ll have to deal with law enforcement, first of all, but more importantly, there are women here and we do not want anyone to be hurt.  Please keep level heads.”

              Joe unfolded the paper, looked at what was written there, but showed no emotion.

              “It has been decided that Dawson henceforth shall be a dry town,” he said.  “Remember, folks, keep level heads.”

              Stunned silence reigned on one side while cheers went up on the other side. 

              Joe had given a stack of papers to a few people to pass out.  When people began yelling at one another across the aisle, Mitch and company intervened.  Joe started stomping his boot on the stage and screamed, “Shut up!”

              The center quieted again and he said, “Read the flyer coming around to ya’ll. For those who don’t read, have someone who does tell you what it says.”

              Elliot read the flyer and thought he’d read it wrong.

              Laughter started on the side against a dry town.  It swelled through the room.

              “That’s right, folks.  The Watering Hole will not be put out of business.  We’re just moving the venue a little bit outside of town, is all.  Now, we may not be able to serve alcohol right now, but we’ve still got games and entertainment, including yours truly.  We’ll also have some other types of refreshments.  Give us a week and we’ll be ready to welcome you back,” Joe hollered.

              George Levine stood up and said, “You can’t do that!”

              Joe took a legal document from his suit pocket, walked right up to George, and shoved it under his nose.  “I got a deed right here that says I can.  I own acres and acres of land there now, and no one can tell me what to do or not do with it.  Ya’ll have made a big mistake.”

              George hollered, “Why, because we’re going against what the great Joe Dwyer wants?”

              “No, George, because it’s against what’s good for this town,” Joe hollered back.  He turned away from George and shouted, “I am asking all of you to behave yourselves a little.  No public drunkenness, no rioting or anything like that.  Please.  I don’t want anyone hurt, especially our women and children.  Don’t be stupid, folks.  Mitch, I need to see you.  Go on home now, everyone, and remember what I’ve said.”

              Mitch came over near the stage and Joe said, “Mitch, ya’ll have someone who can get the council members home?”

              “Yeah, sure.”

              George heard and said, “Why do we need someone to take us home?”

              Joe laughed and said, “George, you don’t think you make a decision like that one and not have someone come after you, do you?  It’ll probably be fine, but just in case.  See, George, even though I’d like to hit you, I’m still lookin’ out for ya’ll. You know why?  Because that’s what a good mayor does; looks out for his people.”

              Elliot had left the stage in search of Abby.  He needed to get to her as soon as possible.  He knew she was going to be devastated by the vote.  Exiting the building, he saw her walking with Jake and Rebecca.

              “Abby!” he called.  “Please wait!”

              She turned at the sound of his voice.  He saw tears streaming down her face as he neared.  “Honey, I’m so sorry,” he said.

              “Sure you are, Elliot,” she said.

              Jake and Rebecca had stopped as well.

              Elliot understood the sarcasm in her voice.  “Honey, it’s not what you think.  Please listen to me a minute—‘”

              “I thought I knew you, but I really didn’t, I guess,” Abby said.

              “Abby, you do know me,” Elliot said.  “I didn’t—‘”

              He stopped as he saw her take off her engagement ring and held it out to him.  “Anyone who can turn on his friends like that is not someone I can marry.  The wedding is off, Elliot.  Goodbye.”  She pressed the ring into his hand and began walking away.

              Elliot said, “Abby, I’m trying to tell you—‘”

              Jake said, “Elliot, leave it be.  Just leave it be.”

              People were starting to look at them, so Elliot stuffed the ring in his pocket and left quietly.  He ran home to work off some of his agitation, but he knew he wouldn’t sleep.