Caterina: A Sweet Western Historical Romance Pendleton Petyticoats Book 2 Page 26

  When Nik asked how fireworks were made, Garrett explained gunpowder, paper tubes, and a little history of how the Chinese originally used bamboo to make the popping explosions.

  “You know, Nik,” Caterina said, leaning around Dent to speak directly to the boy. “The Chinese might have invented fireworks, but it was the Italians who discovered how to mix in metals and other additives to create the beautiful colors.”

  Surprised by Caterina’s knowledge of the subject, Kade was intrigued by the details she shared of Italians perfecting the array of colors filling the night sky overhead.

  As Li lit the last of the display, they all stood and clapped, then joined hands to sing Auld Lang Syne.

  The men carried chairs and benches back to their proper places then they all called good night and wished one another a Happy New Year. Caterina followed Aundy and Garrett to the house, J.B. and Nora climbed in the buggy to drive home, and Kade walked with the remaining men toward the bunkhouse.

  Nik softly played After the Ball on his harmonica. The sad, mournful tune fit right in with Kade’s current frame of mind.

  Caterina slammed her fist into the bread dough she kneaded, unable to keep her thoughts from drifting to Kade.

  Being near him New Year’s Eve had been a form of excruciating torture. His manly scent, the flash of his smile, the deep cadence of his voice all scraped painfully against the raw pieces of her heart.

  She’d hoped, in vain, he would come to his senses, take her in his arms, and kiss her as they rang in the New Year.

  Instead, he kept his distance, acting as if they were strangers. The next morning, he was gone before any of them awoke.

  Now, as the calendar neared the end of February, she hadn’t seen him since that night. Garrett mentioned something about Kade leaving town to work on a case, but other than that, she had no idea where or how he was.

  Caterina told herself it was ridiculous to continue loving him when he so obviously wasn’t interested in a relationship with her. However, she had no control over whom her heart chose. She waited twenty-two years to find the man who would turn her head and whisper to her soul.

  Only now that she had, he didn’t want her.

  Or so he said.

  The realization that he did want her, though, was part of the horrid suffering. He could end the situation making them both miserable in a heartbeat. If the stubborn man would only admit he couldn’t live without her, they could enjoy the happiness with which they’d been blessed for as long as they both lived.

  Unfortunately, Kade refused to see that his need to control the situation didn’t guarantee the outcome he wanted.

  Viciously punching the bread again, she sent up another prayer for his safety and well-being. She’d heard enough whispered snippets around town to know something was happening in the Chinese community. Men had been murdered, girls kidnapped, women attacked. She had a bad feeling Kade’s disappearance had something to do with putting a stop to it.

  The back door opened and Aundy came in along with a blustery swirl of snow.

  “My gracious, I don’t think this winter is ever going to end.” Aundy hung her coat and scarf on a peg by the door. She crossed the floor and hugged Caterina’s shoulders then washed her hands and donned an apron. “What can I do to help?”

  “Can’t you ever come just to visit? You don’t have to help me.” Caterina gave her friend a warm smile. While she still missed her family and her friendship with Anna, Caterina knew she had found a place to belong with the Nash family and a solid friendship with Aundy that she greatly treasured.

  “I might as well work while we talk. Now, what can I do?”

  Aundy made pie dough while Caterina finished with the bread and prepared filling for the pie. They worked together to make several batches of cookies, then sat drinking tea and eating cookies while they waited for Garrett to finish his errands.

  “Have you heard from Ilsa lately?” Caterina knew how much Aundy worried about her sister.

  “Not since Christmas. I’ve sent two letters and a telegram and had no response. Something isn’t right, but Garrett thinks I’m worrying for nothing. I received that telegram last summer then she sent several trunks of things. She thought she’d be able to come for Christmas then at right before the holiday she said she’d plan to be here in the spring.”

  Aundy sighed and swirled the contents of her cup around before taking a sip. “I’m starting to think she doesn’t want to come at all.”

  “I’m sure there’s a reasonable explanation for everything.” Caterina patted Aundy’s hand comfortingly.

  “I suppose.” Aundy glanced out the window at the swirling snow. It started to come down when she and Garrett arrived at the edge of town. If it kept up, they might have to spend the night in Pendleton instead of heading back to the farm. Suddenly realizing she’d been in the area for a full year, her thoughts went back to her arrival as a mail-order bride for Erik Erickson.

  “You look lost in your thoughts,” Caterina said, helping herself to another cookie. “Want to share?”

  “Oh, I was just remembering last February. When I arrived in Pendleton, it was warm that first day. So warm, I removed my coat and sat on the wagon next to Erik, trying to take in everything at once. It seems like a lifetime ago.”

  “I’m sorry.” Caterina squeezed Aundy’s hand between her own. “I forget you were married before Garrett.”

  “Only for a few days and only in name, but Erik was such a kind man and because of his thoughtfulness, he made it so easy for me to stay here and learn about farming and ranching. If it weren’t for that, I would never have met Garrett. I can’t picture my life without him in it.”

  “I think it’s wonderful you’ve been loved by such good men,” Caterina said. She refused to think about Kade.

  “Speaking of good men, have you received a response to the letter you wrote your family?” Aundy asked, ready to change the subject.

  Heartbroken and despondent after Kade left her, Caterina broke down and told Aundy everything about her past one stormy afternoon.

  Crying together over her losses somehow made her burdens seem lighter. Aundy encouraged her to write a letter to her parents, letting them know where she was and that she was fine.

  Still fearful of Luigi finding out, Caterina wrote the letter as a restaurant owner seeking supplies. She made sure to include references her family would understand were only from her and she signed the letter as C.C., owner of Mariella’s Italian Restaurant, dedicated to a beautiful woman and a marvelous cook.

  After enclosing a bank draft to cover the cost of the supplies and shipping, she anxiously awaited their reply and the arrival of the goods.

  “No, but I only sent it last week. It took me a while to find just the right words to say.”

  “They’ll write back soon. And they’ll be so happy to know you are well and running your own successful restaurant.”

  “I certainly hope so.” If her family rejected her, on top of losing Kade, Caterina didn’t think there would be any part of her heart left to break.

  Chapter Twenty-Two

  Vito fingered two packages of gum, trying to decide which Luigi would prefer. He thought the habit of smacking gum and then spitting it out was disgusting, but he sure wouldn’t tell that to his boss.

  Unable to remember if Luigi preferred the clove or mint flavor, Vito added a package of each to his purchases and waited for Franco Campanelli to give him the total.

  “How are things, Franco?” Vito asked. The family was beside themselves with worry over Caterina.

  Finally accepting the fact the girl disappeared without a trace, Vito returned to Luigi in defeat. Half expecting to be the next dead body found floating in the Hudson River, he was shocked when Luigi told him he knew he’d tried and to not give up hope.

  His latest assignment from Luigi was to station himself near the Campanelli’s store. He spent his time standing outside in the cold, watching their activities, eavesdropping on their co
nversations, and eating at Laz’s restaurant, hoping to hear any news about the girl. At night, someone else took over watch, since Luigi wanted the family under surveillance every hour of every day.

  By sheer luck, as he pulled the coins out of his pocket to pay for his purchases when Antonio ran out from the back room of the store waving a sheet of paper over his head.

  “Papa! Papa! Where is Mamma?” he asked, joy filling his face. When he spied Vito at the counter, he dropped his arm and lost his smile.

  “She’s upstairs with Anna and Elena. Why don’t you go see them?” Franco suggested. Although he kept his face impassive, he knew instinctively something in the piece of paper his son held contained information about Caterina. Nothing else could have inspired such a jubilant reaction in his son.

  “Some good news, Tony?” Vito asked, restraining himself from ripping the paper out of the young man’s hands.

  “Um… yes.” Tony looked from his father to Luigi’s right-hand man. “A large order from a new restaurant. You know, things get a little slow in the winter. It’s a grand day when someone comes to us to help stock their cupboards, especially when those cupboards are bare.”

  “I suppose so.” Vito accepted his purchases from Franco and tipped his head politely. “Enjoy your day.”

  As soon as the door closed behind Vito, Franco turned to Tony and gave his head an imperceptible nod, rolling his eyes toward the rooms above them. Tony backed away from the counter and raced up the stairs, banging the door when he reached the top step.

  Three startled women gazed at him wide-eyed as he barreled into the kitchen.

  “Read this,” he said, shoving the letter into his mother’s hands.

  “Oh, it’s from my bambina. She’s safe. And opened her own restaurant,” Angelina muttered between her tears. She sank onto a chair at the table, pulled the skirt of her apron over her face, and wept.

  Tony knelt beside her and let her cry into his shoulder while Anna and Elena hurried to read the letter.

  Anna looked at Tony with bright eyes, smiling broadly. “I see she’s still as clever as always.”

  “So it appears,” Tony said, proud of Caterina for finding such an interesting way of telling them she was well, had opened a restaurant, and wanted them to send her supplies.

  Tony returned downstairs, leaving the women crying tears of joy. He started to say something to Franco, but his father shook his head. The way Vittorio and Luigi’s other ruffians lurked around corners the past few months, Franco didn’t feel safe discussing Caterina at all.

  Once the store closed for the night, Franco trudged up the stairs, eager to read his daughter’s letter. He laughed at her description of the inferior products she’d been forced to use the first few months in her restaurant. The witty girl managed to tell them she was in some western town named Pendleton in the state of Oregon. She’d made friends with a young ranch couple who took her in, but she missed them all.

  After passing the letter to Brando, Franco held Angelina and let her cry tears of joy their baby girl was well and safe.

  “We must send her order right away,” Angelina said, wiping her eyes as she gazed up at Franco. “I’ll make her some biscotti and send her jars of my preserves. Oh, how I wish we could see her.”

  “No, Angel. We can’t. Luigi’s men watch. Even now, they wait across the street.”

  “So you noticed them, too?” Cautiously glancing outside, Tony noted a man trying to hide in the shadows. He hoped the temperature dropped and the gangster froze all of his toes.

  “We must be very careful about sending this to Rina. It must look like any ordinary shipment from our store. Tony will take it to the train station with other orders, so no one will be the wiser. Then we must burn this letter, hide the address and pretend nothing has changed. Her safety, her very life, depends on it.”

  “I know, Franco, but I miss her so.” Angelina waved her hands in dismay and leaned against him, sobbing once again.

  “Our girl is well, love. She is well.”

  Chapter Twenty-Three

  “It’s not fit for man or beast out there, is it, Rufus?” Caterina locked the front door to her restaurant as the kitten followed her through the maze of tables and chairs in the dining room. He meowed and batted at the edge of a pristine white tablecloth.

  “Rufus! You know better than that,” Caterina reprimanded. She scooped up the feline and carried him in the crook of her arm as she pulled down the window shades and looked around the room. It was clean with the tables set and ready for dinner service the following night.

  Afraid of another blizzard blowing into town, Garrett picked up Nik from school, stopped to get Aundy and they hurried home before they even had a chance to eat lunch. Caterina packed a basket with sandwiches and sent them on their way.

  Relief filled her when Aundy called to let her know they made it safely, although Nik was nervous through most of the trip. Having lost his parents in a blizzard as a young boy, his reaction was understandable.

  Few people would venture out in the storm, so Caterina told her staff to stay home. She fed the few people who did straggle in warm bread, steaming bowls of Italian sausage soup, and a hearty slice of apple pie with strong coffee before they went back out in the nasty weather.

  As she cleaned up after dinner, she felt proud of her restaurant and how far she’d come since arriving in Pendleton in June.

  Quickly blowing out lamps around the room, she went back to the kitchen and stoked the stove, welcoming the warmth it provided.

  “Well, Rufus, what shall we do for entertainment this evening? I think curling up with a book sounds like just the thing.” She poured the milk she’d set to warm in a saucer for the cat. He’d already eaten tidbits of meat she fed him before dinner. She set the pan on a towel to cool and opened the refrigerator door to place the milk inside. A loud thump resonated on the back porch.

  Afraid it was one of the wicked icicles dangling dangerously from the eves, she opened the door to discover a snow-coated man standing outside.

  She bit back a scream and started to shut the door when his ice-encrusted glove stopped her.

  “It’s me, Cat. It’s Kade,” he said between the chatters of his teeth.

  Shocked by his appearance, she swung the door wide and he stumbled through on numb feet, collapsing on the floor near the stove.

  “Kade? Good heavens!” Caterina rolled him over and removed his hat, followed by his scarf and gloves. Oblivious to the snow melting in puddles on the floor, she tugged on his boots until they came off then somehow managed to divest him of his coat.

  Racing upstairs, she grabbed two blankets from a chest in her room before hurrying back down to him.

  Hurriedly, tossing the blankets over his shivering form, she ran back upstairs for a pillow. She took a moment to stoke the fire in her fireplace until it blazed, she returned downstairs. After placing the pillow beneath Kade’s head, she added more fuel to the stove in the kitchen.

  She poured more milk in the pot she’d left on the counter and set it to heat. When it warmed, she made a cup of hot chocolate.

  Gently tapping Kade’s colorless cheeks, she watched ice particles melt off his shaggy hair and the scruffy beard he’d grown since she’d last seen him.

  A glance didn’t show any bleeding wounds. He looked terrible, though. Still brawny and all muscle, his frame looked thinner, his face haggard.

  She wondered where he’d been then decided it was probably best if she didn’t know.

  The lights of Pendleton had never looked as good to Kade as they did when he arrived in town that evening. After spending six weeks riding with a group of hardened criminals, he was glad to be home.

  The outlaws saw nothing wrong with killing Chinese men, violating their women, or stealing their daughters to sell to brothels all along the rail line.

  Because the gang seemed to do a lot of their work in and around Umatilla County, the sheriff asked Kade to handle the situation, so he did.

&nb
sp; Finding the gang hadn’t been the problem. The challenge came in infiltrating the gang as a member. Kade had to earn their trust, let them think he was one of them, before he could get into their good graces and become privy to their plans. Once he did, he sent word to the sheriff about their next raid and they caught the lawbreakers red-handed.

  Kade and two deputies from the Wasco County sheriff’s office hauled the three surviving members of the gang to jail in The Dalles where they’d be tried and sentenced before being shipped off to prison. Two of the outlaws were killed in the operation, but the young girls they planned to kidnap were safe in their beds, tucked away from the storm.

  For that, Kade was thankful.

  He boarded the train in The Dalles, but the locomotive stopped several times because of the snow. Kade was the first off the train to help dig out the tracks. After nearing Pendleton, the drifts grew worse so he and a few other men walked in front of the train the last few miles, clearing the snow as they went. He made the other men take turns digging and warming up, but forced himself to continue. Gratitude flooded through him when at last the train reached the edges of town.

  All during the dark, cold journey, his thoughts lingered on Caterina.

  He’d been a fool to let her go. Life was something he couldn’t order or control. There would always be bad men. There would always be pain and loss. There would always be uncertainty.

  But there wouldn’t always be the kind of love the two of them shared, the kind of passion that waited to be explored. If it hadn’t been for the photograph of her he’d kept from the Italian thug, he didn’t know how he would have survived the last few brutal weeks.

  When no one was around, Kade took it out and stared at her face. He remembered the feel of her silky hair in his hands, the taste of her ripe lips, her exotic fragrance.

  The weeks spent with the outlaws who thought nothing of selling a child into harlotry or killing a man for no reason other than the color of his skin, made it perfectly clear that he needed to take the gifts in life he’d been given and make the most of them instead of pushing them away.