Millie (Pendleton Petticoats Book 7) Read online

  “How did things go this evening?” Grant Hill asked, stepping outside the bank he owned and managed as he settled a hat on his head. He leaned down and kissed Lacy’s cool cheek then wrapped an arm around her shoulders, pulling her against him.

  Lacy offered him a private smile then tipped her head to Millie. “Mr. McBride took Millie inside the saloon, trying to convince her we should sing to his patrons.”

  Grant hid his surprise behind a teasing grin. “That’s better than getting chased away, isn’t it?”

  “I have yet to decide,” Millie said, causing Grant to chuckle.

  Lacy slid closer against him, wrapping her arm around his lean waist. “I almost suggested we honor his request just to get out of the cold.”

  Millie glowered at her friend. “You did not. If your mother-in-law found out you’d serenaded a bunch of card-playing drunks in a saloon, goodness only knows what she’d do.”

  “Yes, well, that’s why Mother doesn’t know Lacy has joined the local Women’s Christian Temperance Union, either.” Grant glanced down at his wife and winked. “She’s barely accepted the fact my in-laws live on the reservation. The prudent choice is to leave Mother blissfully oblivious to the truth.”

  Millie laughed as they crossed the street to the telephone office. She opened her handbag and removed her key. “I do appreciate you sharing Lacy with me, Grant. I know how much you treasure your evenings together.”

  “True, but I support your decision to do this. The drunkenness in town is out of control and something needs to be done before anyone else is hurt.” Grant smiled at his wife. “I do worry about you ladies being out at night without male protection, especially in this cold weather.”

  “I assure you, between Kade Rawlings, Lars Thorsen, the other deputies, and the city police keeping an eye on us, we’re far from unprotected.” Millie removed her mittens and unlocked the door to the telephone office, pushing it open. “Would you like to come in and warm up before you venture home?”

  Lacy shook her head. “The offer is much appreciated, but I’m ready to go home. I’ll see you tomorrow.”

  “I’ll be here,” Millie said, waving to the couple as they hastened down the street, across the bridge on the river, and up the hill toward their stately home.

  Millie locked the door behind her and smiled at the lone girl at the switchboard working the evening shift that ended at midnight. “I can’t thank you enough for covering for Maude, Susan. Do you need anything before I turn in for the night?”

  “No, Millie, I’m fine. I have a book to keep me company. But I do appreciate you letting me stay in your spare bedroom. I hate traveling out to the farm in the dark.” The young woman removed her headset and rubbed her ear before settling it back on her head. “How did things go this evening?”

  A sigh rolled out of Millie. “The same as usual.”

  Susan nodded. “I can’t believe you went out tonight. It’s freezing. I’m sure glad it’s toasty warm in here.”

  “The new steam boiler puts out a lot of heat, doesn’t it?” Millie nodded to the radiator emitting warm steam before giving Susan another glance. “If you’re sure you don’t need anything, I’m going up to bed.”

  “I’m sure, but thank you, Millie. Rest well.”

  Millie nodded then flicked on the electric light on the wall by the stairs at the back of the office that led up to her apartment. She had an exterior entry, but the idea of walking around to it in the dark alley made her glad she could reach the apartment from inside the telephone office. At the top of the stairs, she opened her apartment door.

  With a relieved sigh, she stepped inside and removed her coat, hat, and scarf.

  Too tired to eat, even if she mustered the will to attempt to cook something, she took two of the bricks she’d left to warm in the oven, wrapped them in thick towels and set them inside her bed.

  After donning her nightgown, she climbed in and pulled a pile of blankets and quilts over her chilled body. As the bricks warmed her icy feet, she closed her eyes and recalled the enticing way Gideon had looked at her with those deep dimples and boyish smile. A pair of green eyes full of mischief and humor filled her dreams when she closed her eyes and surrendered to slumber.

  Chapter Three

  Millie glanced over at Lacy and grinned. “You’d think a circus or the President of the United States was coming to town for all the calls we’ve had this morning.”

  Lacy stretched her arms over her head and twisted from side to side. “I can’t tell you how many people have called asking about the white sale at the mercantile, what moving pictures are playing, and if the orchestra performance is still taking place tonight.”

  “I think everyone is a little fidgety since the weather has kept so many folks at home. Today’s the first day we’ve had sunshine in more than a week.” Millie hurried to answer another call.

  When she and Lacy finished, Millie released a weary sigh. “It’s bad enough being short one operator, but two certainly puts us in a bind.”

  Lacy nodded in agreement. “I’ll sure be glad when Susan is back on the day shift instead of covering for Maude while she’s in California visiting her sister. As soon as Fae recovers from her cold, things won’t be quite so hectic around here. Bertie would fill in if we needed an extra hand.”

  A sly smile lifted the corner of Millie’s lips. “I doubt Riley would let her out of his sight that long. You’d think that man was completely smitten with her or something.”

  Lacy laughed. “Only because he is. It’s wonderful to see them so happy.”

  “Yes, it is.” Millie removed her headset and stood. “Do you think you can handle things for a few minutes if I run upstairs?”

  “I’ll be fine, but bring me back one of those cookies you got at the bakery yesterday. They were so good.” Lacy made a shooing motion with her hand in Millie’s direction as she answered a call.

  Millie raced up the stairs, stoked the stove in her kitchen and pulled the kettle onto a hot spot, then made use of the bathroom. She washed her hands, fluffed her hair, and returned to the kitchen.

  After making two cups of tea, she added cookies onto each saucer and carried the refreshments downstairs.

  Lacy took the tea in one hand as she connected a call with the other. When the call transferred, she leaned back and sipped the hot, sweet liquid. “Oh, that is wonderful, Millie. There’s just something about a cold winter day that makes tea taste like the best thing in the world.”

  “I agree,” Millie said, sitting down beside her and drinking from her cup. “And I’m always willing to eat a delicious cookie or two, especially if I didn’t attempt to bake them.”

  A giggle burst out of Lacy. “If you’d attempted to bake them, they’d be far from delicious.”

  Millie stuck out her tongue and crossed her eyes. “Just because it’s true doesn’t mean you should say it.”

  Lacy took another sip of tea. “It’s hard for me to understand how someone like you can’t do something as simple as cook.”

  The cup in Millie’s hand stopped halfway to her mouth. “What do you mean someone like me?”

  “You are talented at so many things, so organized and efficient, full of fun, and there’s the beautiful embroidery work you do. It seems like cooking would be something you would excel at, not a chore that makes you cower in fear.”

  Millie straightened in her chair and glared at her friend. “I’ll have you know I’ve never once cowered in fear, as you put it, because of cooking.”

  “What about the time you tried to make pudding and scorched the milk?” Lacy wrinkled her nose at the memory. “Oh, that smell! I thought we’d never get it out of the office.”

  “It wasn’t that bad,” Millie said, setting down her cup and saucer to answer an incoming call. When she connected the caller, she glanced over at Lacy with a wry grin. “The eggs I boiled dry last summer smelled far worse.”

  “I’d forgotten about that. Thanks for the smelly reminder,” Lacy teased, answ
ering the next incoming call. She grabbed the newspaper Millie kept within reach and flicked it open. “That’s right, Mrs. Reed. The Family Warehouse has bleached muslin for nine cents a yard and table linen for sixty-nine cents. Yes… That’s correct. You are most welcome. Enjoy your day, Mrs. Reed.”

  Millie gave her a questioning glance.

  “It seems Mrs. Reed wasn’t finished with the paper and Doc used it in a temporary splint. She wanted to know about the sale at The Family Warehouse store.” Lacy took a bite of a cookie and sipped her tea.

  “I was shocked to see they had…”

  The tinkle of the bell above the door alerted them to a customer. Millie spun around on her chair and did her best to hide her shock as Gideon McBride strolled inside.

  Immediately, he removed the black hat he wore over his thick copper-hued hair and turned his bright gaze to Millie. “Good morning, Miss Matlock, Mrs. Hill.”

  “Good morning,” Millie replied, rising to her feet as Lacy answered an incoming call. Reluctantly, she walked across the room to the counter. Gideon McBride appeared even more handsome in the broad light of day than he’d looked at his saloon the other evening.

  Thoughts of the man, of his masculine scent and dimpled smile, had fluttered through her mind with alarming frequency since the last time she and the other members of the temperance union braved the snow and stood outside the Second Chance Saloon.

  Two weeks had passed since then and Millie had purposely avoided going near his place. With more than thirty saloons in town, it wasn’t like there was a shortage of places to visit on Tuesday evenings.

  Gideon flashed his dimples at her, along with a glimpse of his white teeth, which surprised her. Most people who lived the lifestyle she assumed he led sported horribly stained teeth, if they were still in possession of their teeth at all.

  However, his appeared to be a fine specimen of health, drawing her eyes to those tempting dimples and the scruff on his face. His hair, while short, held just enough life on the ends to dip into little waves that begged her fingers to brush through it.

  And those eyes, those green eyes that made her think of a shady spot on a warm summer day, sparkled with a hint of amusement as he withstood her perusal.

  Finally coming to her senses, she straightened to her full height and looked him in the eye. “How may we be of service to you, sir?”

  “It’s Gideon. Gideon McBride, Miss Matlock.” He leaned one elbow on the counter and grinned at her. “You’re welcome to call me Gideon, or Mr. McBride, if you insist.”

  “Indeed,” Millie said, lifting her chin a fraction. “Now, is there a matter in which we may provide assistance?”

  “There most certainly is,” Gideon said, pointing the hat he held in his hand in the direction of the switchboard. “I decided it’s time I install a telephone.”

  “Oh, I see.” Millie opened a drawer beneath the counter and pulled out a form. “A few details are required before we can put in an order for installation.”

  “Whatever you need.” Gideon removed his coat and placed it, along with his hat, on one of the two chairs beneath the front window.

  Intently studying the breadth of his shoulders and the way he filled out his pinstriped suit to perfection, she noticed his smirk when he turned around and caught her ogling him.

  To hide her embarrassment, she lifted a pen and dipped it in the inkwell on the counter. “Where would you like to have the telephone installed?” she asked. Her crisp tone accented her sudden businesslike manner. Focusing on the form in front of her was the only way she could keep from gazing into Mr. McBride’s face like a starry-eyed nitwit.

  “At the Second Chance Saloon. Do you need the address?” Gideon asked.

  “That won’t be necessary.” Millie wrote down the address she knew by heart from standing outside every Tuesday for weeks and weeks on end. “The telephone is for your business?”

  “And pleasure,” Gideon said, once again leaning on the counter so his face was less than a foot away from hers.

  Afraid if she looked at him she’d fall into the depths of his eyes and get lost in his smile, she stared at the paper before her. “Do you already own a telephone or would you like to purchase one from our company?”

  Gideon appeared thoughtful for a moment. “I don’t have one, so I’ll take whatever you recommend.”

  Millie pulled a flyer from beneath the counter and slid it toward Gideon. “Do you prefer a desk or wall model?”

  After a quick glance at the flyer, he tapped his finger on a wall model. “What do you think of that one?”

  She nodded. “That is a perfectly serviceable unit that has been used in homes and businesses all across the country. It’s a good choice.”

  “Great. When can you install it?”

  Millie jotted a few notes on the form and turned it around for him to read. “I’ll contact our service representative and have him make arrangements with you. Do you have a preferred day or time for installation?”

  “Nope. Any time is fine with me, except Sundays. I need one day to catch up on my beauty rest.”

  A comment about his attractive face almost made it past her lips, so she pressed them together and glanced back at Lacy as she hurried to keep up with the incoming calls.

  Gideon read the contract and signed his name at the bottom with a bold stroke. “If it’s possible for the installation to take place this week, I’d greatly appreciate it.”

  “I’m sure that won’t be a problem, Mr. McBride. How would you like to make payment?”

  “With cash,” he said, giving her a long glance. “Unless you’re interested in taking something in trade.”

  “I most certainly am not interested in a trade or barter or whatever else you have in mind. What I meant is that you can pay a monthly fee or subscribe for a year. Which option do you prefer?” A part of Millie, the part that would no doubt get her in big trouble if she let it, wondered what sort of trade Gideon McBride had in mind. The notion that it might have been a few kisses made heat burn her cheeks. Disturbed, she shifted from one foot to the other.

  “I’ll take a year’s subscription.” He removed money from his pocket and paid her.

  She made note of his payment on the form, wrote out a receipt, and handed it to him.

  Unhurried, he picked up his coat and shrugged into it then lifted his hat, toying with the brim as he stood across the counter, staring at Millie. “I haven’t seen you outside the saloon lately. Did you abandon your efforts at reforming reprobates such as me?”

  “No, I have not. You and the rest of the saloon owners in town aren’t quite that lucky.” Millie straightened an already neat stack of telegram forms. When Gideon reached out and touched her hand, the jolt she experienced made her jerk and send the inkwell skidding down the counter.

  He grabbed it before it sailed off and hit the floor, setting it back on the surface with a barely restrained chuckle.

  “Perhaps I’ll see you around, Miss Matlock.” Gideon tipped his head to Lacy as she turned around in her seat after connecting a call. “Enjoy your day, Mrs. Hill.”

  “Thank you, Mr. McBride.” Lacy offered a friendly wave as he gave Millie a parting glance then stepped outside. With a perceptive smile, she turned on her friend. “My goodness, Millie! That man is positively taken with you.”

  At the repugnant look on her face, Lacy chuckled. “Cheer up. There are worse things than having an astoundingly handsome, charming, successful man show an interest in you.”

  “That’s true,” Millie said, plopping down in her chair at the switchboard. “The absolute worst thing would be having an astoundingly handsome, charming, successful man who happens to own one of the biggest, busiest saloons in town take an interest in me.”

  “You certainly know how to suck the fun right out of a budding romance.” Lacy ducked and laughed when Millie tossed the newspaper at her.

  Chapter Four

  “You’re up to something, boss. I just haven’t figured out what,” A
bel said as he and Gideon watched the telephone service man walk out the door.

  After installing the phone in Gideon’s kitchen and giving him brief instructions in basic use, he left.

  Gideon poured himself a cup of coffee then sank onto a chair at a sturdy oak table. Abel filled a cup and joined him. “Ever since the night you dragged Miss Matlock in here, you’ve had a strange look in your eye. What’s going on?”

  Convinced his plan was foolproof, Gideon helped himself to one of the spicy nut cookies he’d baked earlier. He slid the plate toward Abel.

  The bartender took a bite of the cookie, obviously enjoying the treat. “If you ever think about opening a restaurant, I’ll be the first in line.”

  “Now, why would I do that? I’ve got a perfectly fine saloon to run and by offering my customers something every once in a while, I still get to cook without all the fuss and bother of a restaurant.”

  “I know, but it’s a shame more people don’t get to enjoy your cooking.”

  Variations of the same conversation had taken place between the two men more times than Gideon could count. Cooking and baking were things he did to relax or for pleasure. He had no intention of slapping a price tag on his creations and opening a restaurant.

  Eager to change the subject, he eyed Abel. “What makes you think I’m up to something?”

  Abel snorted, almost choking on the bite of cookie he’d just taken. He swallowed and washed it down with a slurp of coffee. “Any idiot can see you’re plotting something.”

  Gideon gave his friend an observant glance. “You ever try to catch flies before?”

  “Sure. Who hasn’t?”

  “And to catch those flies, doesn’t it work better to use something sweet, like honey or sugar for bait, than vinegar?”

  “What kind of numbskull would…?” Abel grinned as understanding dawned on him. “You think if you sweet talk your way into Miss Matlock’s good graces, you’ll be able to get her to drop this twaddle about closing the saloons. Is that it?”