Millie (Pendleton Petticoats Book 7) Read online

  Aundy glanced over her shoulder then turned back to her friends. “As tempting as that is, I’ll stay here with Emma. She might get fussy in this crowd and I don’t want to keep her out in the cold too long. Ilsa invited us to stay at her shop and then we’re going to Caterina’s for lunch.”

  Grant took a turn holding Emma, patting her back and rocking from side to side. “If you change your mind, I think the five of us might be able to watch her for at least a few minutes.”

  Aundy laughed and took Emma when the baby leaned her way, chanting, “Mamamama.”

  With a kiss to her plump cheek, Aundy lifted her daughter in her arms and gazed out over the crowd. “There’s quite a good turn out today, isn’t there?”

  “Yes,” Grant said, watching as Garrett bid on one of the stallions. “I think the sunny weather and the promise of a big horse sale drew a large crowd.”

  Emma sneezed and Aundy gave her a concerned look as she wiped her nose. “I better get this girl in out of the cold. It was lovely to see you, Millie. I’m glad you took the day off to join in the fun.”

  “As if I had a choice,” Millie said, glowering at Bertie and Lacy. “I was practically shanghaied by these two.”

  “If that’s the case, they should do it more often,” Aundy teased, shifting Emma in her arms so she could wave the baby’s hand at their friends. “Enjoy Market Day.”

  “We will,” Millie said. She watched as Aundy easily moved through the crowd, standing as tall if not taller than many of the men. Between her height and Garrett’s, she assumed Emma would be tall like her parents when she grew up.

  Caterina waved to them from across the street as she herded her boys down the sidewalk and tried to keep Rachel from bouncing out of her arms.

  “It appears Caterina has her hands full,” Grant said, looking down at Lacy.

  Barely perceptible, she nodded her head in agreement. He hurried across the street, picking up both boys under his arms, making them laugh. Caterina appeared relieved as he carried the boys to her restaurant and set them down inside when she unlocked the door.

  “There’s certainly no shortage of adorable babies around here,” Millie mused, watching as Grant tickled Rachel before tipping his hat to Caterina and returning their direction. “I think it’s a wonderful tribute to the memory of Kade’s mother and sister they named Rachel Kathleen after them.”

  “But such a sad story,” Bertie said. Her big blue eyes filled with tears when she glanced at Riley. “And today’s about having fun, so let’s go see if Garrett gets that horse he wants.”

  Millie sipped her hot chocolate and followed her friends closer to the horse sale where a dozen men bid on the horse Garrett wanted.

  In the end, he held the winning bid. Millie joined in the clapping and cheers as he took the lead rope. The horse reared and snorted, letting everyone know what he thought about the sale.

  “Looks like Garrett will have his hands full with that one,” Grant observed as they watched him bring the horse under control and lead him off in the direction of his brother-in-law’s house. Tony Campanelli had a big barn where Garrett could keep the horse until they were ready to head home that afternoon.

  “I hope Tony’s corral will hold that critter. He doesn’t seem like the type of horse to let something trivial like a fence keep him in,” Riley said.

  Grant laughed and pointed an accusing finger at him. “So says the man whose mule goes wherever he pleases. Didn’t I see him standing by your buggy after church on Sunday?”

  Bertie sighed. “Steve gets more contrary by the day. One morning I was in the kitchen making breakfast and heard footsteps in the hallway. I thought it was Riley but when I turned around, there was Steve, standing in the doorway to the kitchen. He almost gave me a fit of apoplexy.”

  Riley draped his arm around Bertie’s shoulders and tucked her close against his side. “And she took about ten years off my life, carrying on like the world was about to end. I thought a bloodthirsty killer was holding her at gunpoint. I’ve never covered the distance from the barn to the house so fast in my life.”

  “I’d scream too if I turned around and found a mule in my kitchen,” Millie said, giving Bertie a sympathetic smile.

  Lacy laughed. “You wouldn’t notice if you had one in there, since you don’t cook.”

  “I cook.” As four sets of eyes gave her dubious glances, Millie grinned. “I can make toast and tea just fine.”

  “Perhaps you need to find the right teacher to show you what to do in the kitchen.” A deep voice rumbled from behind Millie at the same time a delicious, masculine scent invaded her senses.

  She spun around and glared at Gideon McBride.

  “Are you volunteering for the job, Mr. McBride?” Lacy asked with a knowing smile. “Don’t make any rash offers. Millie can burn water faster than you can blink.”

  Indignant, Millie huffed. “I’ve never burned water.”

  “True, but you’ve boiled so many pans of water dry and scorched them beyond use that Mr. Johnson always asks if you need a new one anytime you set foot in the mercantile,” Bertie chimed in, ignoring Millie’s scowl.

  Gideon gave Millie what he hoped was an engaging, encouraging smile. He’d been watching the crowd, hoping to see her. Market Day provided a perfect opportunity to pretend he just happened to run into her.

  Not to anyone would he admit that he’d watched her walk down the street with her friends. The lighthearted look on her face, the brilliance of her smile, had made him want to be among those in her close circle.

  When she took the baby from Aundy Nash and cuddled it close, a sharp pain struck his heart with such force, Gideon looked down to see if something had somehow impaled his chest. Baffled by the churning in his stomach and the ache each breath caused, he wondered if he was coming down with some malady or suffering from one of his attacks of asthma.

  Determined to make headway in his efforts to distract Millie from her temperance work, he took a deep, cleansing breath and approached her.

  Unobtrusively, he’d listened as her friends teased her about her inability to cook. A vision of Millie in his kitchen, laughing and leaning against the counter with a fire burning in her winter blue eyes, made him want to tug at his suddenly tight collar.

  Instead, he stuffed his hands inside his coat pockets and smiled pleasantly at Millie when she offered him a wary glance. “It would be my pleasure to give you cooking lessons, should you ever take an interest in learning.”

  “Oh, my gracious, Bertie,” Lacy said, placing a hand on the bubbly blonde’s arm. “You should have tasted the pear pie Mr. McBride made a few weeks ago. It was so, so good.”

  “The crust was so flaky, it melted in my mouth,” Grant said. “Although by the time I arrived, my wife and Millie left only crumbs for me to taste.”

  Lacy smacked Grant’s arm and gave him a warning look. “That isn’t the least bit true. We’d only cut two pieces of the pie and you ate the last few bites of mine.”

  “It was quite tasty, Mr. McBride. Thank you again for sharing it with us.” Millie refused to meet his gaze. In spite of her vehement insistence that she held no interest in the saloon owner, every time she looked into his face she had to fight the urge to fall into the alluring green oasis of his eyes.

  “Have you ever considered opening a restaurant?” Grant asked as they meandered through the crowd.

  “No, I haven’t, although my bartender makes that suggestion at least once a week.” Gideon politely tipped his hat to a group of women who ogled him.

  Millie morphed from somewhat relaxed to stiff and silent as she walked beside him. He wasn’t sure if it was his presence or the obvious interest of the other women that made her bristle.

  Grant smiled reassuringly. “If the pie you made was any indication, I’m sure you’d do well.”

  Gideon nodded. “Thank you for the encouragement, but I’ll stay with my current line of work.”

  He watched as Millie sipped her hot chocolate. As soon as
she lowered the cup from her mouth, he took it from her, placing his lips in the exact spot hers had been. While he tasted the rapidly cooling drink, he stared at her over the rim of the cup. His green eyes locked on hers as he handed the cup back to her. “That’s not bad, but I like a pinch of cinnamon and a dollop of whipped cream in mine.”

  In a huff, she scowled at him. “I don’t recall offering to share my chocolate with you.”

  “Oh, what’s one little sip between friends, Miss Matlock?” Gideon laid on his charm, smiling in such a way it did great justice to the dimples in his cheeks. Ever so slightly, he bent closer to her and lowered his voice. “Any time you like, I’d be more than happy to make you libations far more tempting than you could imagine.”

  The timbre in his voice as he said “libations” nearly made Millie drop the cup in her hand. Not completely certain they were talking about beverages, her heart skittered in her chest.

  Unsettled, her gaze shot to his, yet he continued to smile in an amiable, almost boyish manner, appearing innocent of any indecent implications. Before she could formulate a response, Grant slapped him on the back.

  “Is it true the saloon owners formed an association?”

  “You heard correctly,” Gideon said, as they stood on a street corner, waiting for a wagon and two automobiles to pass so they could cross. “The Saloon Owners Alliance of Pendleton is an official organization.”

  Millie tried to hold back a giggle but failed. All eyes turned to her and she shrugged. “I can’t help it if the name is amusing. It seems completely ironic the saloon owners would name their group SOAP, considering most of them need their mouths washed out with it.”

  Bertie and Lacy laughed while Riley chuckled and Grant shook his head.

  “I thought the same thing myself, but I wasn’t asked my opinion on the name of the group.” Gideon grinned and shot Millie a conspiratorial wink. “Just don’t tell any of them I said that.”

  “Our lips are sealed, Mr. McBride,” Bertie said, pretending to lock her lips and toss away the key.

  The sound of cymbals clanging blended with the harmonious toot of a trumpet and the pounding of a drum as the band marched up the street.

  “Oh, look! They’re ready to march in front of the shops.” Bertie clasped Riley’s hand in hers, pulling his attention away from the horse sale. Aware of her husband’s interest in a draft horse next in line to be sold, Bertie gave him a gentle push in the direction of the sale. “Go on, Riley. I’ll be fine. Why don’t you meet me at Caterina’s?”

  “Are you sure, sweetheart?” Riley asked, slowly taking a step toward the horse sale.

  “I’m sure.” Bertie kissed his cheek then made a shooing motion. “Have fun.”

  Torn between staying with the women and watching Riley bid on the horse, Grant looked at Lacy.

  “You better make sure no one runs him up on the price,” Lacy said with a knowing smile. “I think the three of us can make it to Ilsa’s without getting into trouble.”

  “I’m happy to accompany you,” Grant said, turning a wistful glance toward the men gathered around the auctioneer.

  “It would be my pleasure to escort the ladies to Mrs. Campanelli’s boutique,” Gideon offered.

  Grant looked to Lacy and she nodded. “We’ll be fine.”

  “I’ll meet you at Caterina’s for lunch,” he said, hurriedly kissing her cheek and rushing off with Riley.

  With a flourish of the hat he swept off his head, Gideon bowed to the three women. “Lead the way, fair ladies. I can carry parcels, guide you safely through crowds, and protect you from packs of wild hooligans.”

  “Hooligans?” Millie asked, following Gideon’s gaze as he watched Lars and Marnie Thorsen park their wagon down the street. Children poured out of the back of it like ants honed in on a drop of warm honey. Before the children could run off, Lars brought them all up short and they walked in an orderly fashion down the street to the horse sale.

  “I didn’t think Marnie was coming today,” Bertie said, waving to the woman as she held the hand of four-year-old Sophie, a little girl who’d been left when she was six months old on Marnie’s doorstep. The child, along with Sadie and Noah Webster, and an errand boy from Miss Clementine’s brothel were the first four children to take up residence at the orphanage, officially adopted by Lars and Marnie.

  As the couple ambled down the street with ten children accompanying them, Lars carried his son. The tow-headed toddler jabbered away, pointing to the horses and wiggling in his father’s arms.

  “Mr. and Mrs. Thorsen appear to have all they can handle,” Gideon observed as he watched the procession move toward the horse sale.

  “That’s putting it mildly,” Bertie said, turning to look at Gideon. “Have you made the acquaintance of Sadie?”

  Gideon chuckled, surprising Millie. “As a matter of fact, I have made that young lady’s acquaintance. From what I’ve gathered, either she hates poor Harley John Hobbs or is quite smitten with the boy. The brutal verbal castigation she delivered to him as he followed her down the street from the mercantile to Mrs. Campanelli’s store the other day led me to believe she had strong feelings for him one way or another.”

  The three women laughed. Millie glanced in Sadie’s direction, watching as the young girl took Sophie’s other hand in hers and walked beside her mother. “Bertie would know better than the rest of us since she sees them more frequently, but we’re all under the assumption that Sadie holds a secret affection for Harley John.”

  “If the young man intends to win Miss Sadie’s heart, I do believe he has his work cut out for him,” Gideon mused, realizing the same could be said for him. Miss Millie Matlock wasn’t one to be easily swayed by a few devilish smiles and polite gestures. She also didn’t appear to be the type who would hold great store in lavish gifts.

  Maybe his idea of tantalizing her sweet tooth held some merit. He caught her eying the pastry display in the bakery window as they walked by a moment ago.

  The women stopped in front of the stationery store, so Gideon opened the door and escorted them inside.

  An hour and fifty minutes later, he held open the door to Ilsa Campanelli’s dress shop and watched as the three women entered Ilsa’s showroom.

  In his role as the gallant suitor, whether she acknowledged him or not, he followed Millie inside.

  A beautiful little imp with a puckish smile ran out from the workroom and smiled at them. “Hi, Bertie!” The little girl flew across the store and launched herself at the woman.

  “Hello, Laila. Are you helping your mother today?” Bertie picked her up and kissed her rosy cheek, smoothing a hand over the child’s thick brown hair, pulled back in a blue bow.

  Laila nodded her head then stretched out her arms to Lacy. Once she received a kiss and hug, Lacy handed her to Millie.

  Gideon watched as Millie cuddled the little girl. Quickly concluding Miss Matlock loved children, his heart flopped around in his chest like a fish flung out of the water.

  Annoyed, he brushed aside his feelings and doffed his hat as Ilsa Campanelli and her sister, Aundy Nash, walked into the showroom.

  Aundy’s sweet little baby bounced in her arms, giggling and flapping her hands at her cousin.

  “Mrs. Campanelli, Mrs. Nash, it’s nice to see you both,” Gideon said, drawing on the best manners his mother had instilled in him.

  “What brings you to my store, Mr. McBride?” Ilsa asked with a twinkle in her blue eyes as Laila squirmed away from Millie and ran over to stare at Gideon.

  Gideon swept his hand toward the three women he’d escorted around Pendleton. “I offered to escort these lovely ladies around town while Mr. Hill and Mr. Walsh stayed at the horse sale.” He took a lemon drop from his pocket and handed it to Laila. The child popped it in her mouth with a happy smile. She skipped around the sewing machine to where her cat lazed in a wicker basket on the floor by the window, basking in the sunshine.

  “Riley mentioned he had his eye on one of the horses,” Aundy
said, setting Emmalee on the floor. They all watched as the baby crawled directly to Gideon. “Do you think he purchased it, Bertie?”

  “If the price was right,” she said, hiding a grin as Emmalee rocked back on her bottom and stared up at Gideon. She smacked her hand on his boot-clad foot several times, offering him a smile meant to get her way.

  “That means she’d like to be picked up, Mr. McBride, but don’t feel the need, unless you want to,” Aundy said, stepping closer to him.

  “Garrett’s gonna have a hard time keeping the boys away from this one.” Gideon hunkered down and held out his hands. Emmalee wrapped her fingers around Gideon’s index fingers and pulled herself upright.

  The baby bounced her legs and chortled, clearly enjoying herself. When she plopped back down on her backside, she stuck out a puckered lip and turned big, blue eyes to Gideon full of unshed tears.

  Eager to keep her from crying, he picked her up and stood, uncertain what to do next. Most women in town wouldn’t allow a saloon owner near their offspring. Other than Abel’s wife, who sometimes stopped by to visit with their two girls before the saloon opened for the evening, Gideon couldn’t recall being around children since he finished high school.

  He’d watched enough people holding babies to know to place his hand against Emmalee’s back and keep a firm arm wrapped around her lest she topple out of his arms.

  Five anxious females observed his every move. Aundy hovered nearby, ready to swoop in and rescue her little chick if necessary. Visibly, she relaxed as the baby jabbered to herself and patted Gideon’s cheeks.

  Aware of how well his dimpled smiles worked on big girls, he decided it couldn’t hurt to encourage a little one. He turned the full force of his smile on the baby. Much to the surprise of everyone in the shop, she sighed and dropped her head against his neck.

  “She missed her morning nap, so she’s probably about ready for one,” Aundy said, taking a step closer to Gideon.

  When he attempted to hand the baby back to her mother, Emmalee clutched the lapel of his coat with a grip far stronger than he would have assumed a baby could possess.