COLLEEN: A Sweet Western Historical Romance (10 page)

"Where is Andrew now?

"He's upstairs in our rooms. One of the other girls is with him. I'll be running up to check on him during my breaks. He thinks it's all a big adventure. That's what I keep telling him, anyway."

Nick returned then and set his turkey sandwich in front of him.

"He'd like another beer," Sarah said quickly, before Nick could ask if he wanted one.

Nick raised his eyebrows and chuckled, "He would, would he?"

Ricky confirmed it. "Yes. Sarah suggested it and I thought it sounded like a good idea."

"Well, I'll leave you to your dinner, then. It was a pleasure to meet you, Ricky." Sarah eased herself out of the chair.

"The pleasure was all mine," he said warmly as he watched her walk away and then turned his attention to his sandwich. He felt bad for Sarah. She seemed like a nice enough girl and to be widowed with a young child couldn't be easy. Especially if her best option was working as a saloon girl.

CHAPTER ELEVEN

Colleen was a little nervous as she and Ricky walked into his friend’s house. They lived near Ricky in the center of town. In addition to being on the town council, Steven was a banker, and his wife, Mary, was busy with their three small children. There was one other couple already there that Ricky introduced her to—Peter, who lived a few doors down from Ricky and his wife, Lynn. Peter worked as an attorney and Lynn volunteered at the town library.

"Come in, come in and make yourselves comfortable," Steven said, after all the introductions were made. "Now, for the really important question. What would you like to drink? Can I pour you a glass of wine?"

"We just opened it and it's lovely," Mary added.

"Okay, thank you." Colleen accepted the small glass of red wine that Steven handed to her and took a sip. It was fortified wine, Mary explained as she poured it, and it had a strange taste as far as Colleen was concerned. It was nothing like the wine she had shared with Ricky. The men were drinking something brown—whiskey, she guessed. After a short time, dinner was served. Mary sat a platter of sliced roast beef on the dining room table, along with potatoes, buttered squash and bread and they all sat down.

The women were mostly quiet as the men chatted excitedly about the town goings on and Ricky's odds of becoming mayor.

"We just need to convince everyone that you're ready for this. I don't think anyone doubts you can do it, just if the timing is right," Peter said.

"The timing couldn't be better, in my opinion," Steven said. "If we get you in now, you can feed business to both of us, and we can send it your way as well. Not that we don't already, of course. But this will just help even more."

Colleen listened intently as she ate her roast beef.

"Being mayor will help when you go on the road, too. You'll be able to steer people and projects this way."

"To helping people," Ricky said and lifted his glass in a toast. The other two tapped their glasses lightly against his. All three of them chuckled.

"You're going to make a heck of a major," Peter said.

"I'm planning on it." Ricky smiled as he reached for another slice of roast beef.

They turned the conversation to specific business they were working on and Colleen lost interest. She snapped back to attention when Mary asked her a question. "How are you liking Bozeman so far?" 

"Oh, I'm liking it. A lot."

"I imagine it's very different from Boston?" Lynn commented.

Colleen laughed. "So different. I'd never seen any place like this before. I'd never even been on a farm before."

"Really?" Mary was surprised.

"I lived in the city. Boston is a large city, but everything is close together and I could walk to work. Walk just about everywhere, actually."

"If you marry Ricky, you'll be able to live in town, at least. We love living here," Lynn said.

"Lynn, they're not engaged yet!" Mary said.

"Well, she could be, if she wanted to. Ricky is obviously planning to ask her or he wouldn't have brought her here to meet us."

Colleen shifted a bit uncomfortably in her seat.

"I don't think she's made her mind up yet," Mary said, and added, "David Donovan is courting you as well, I hear?"

"Yes, he is. I've been getting to know them both."

"I wouldn't have to think twice about that. David's nice enough, but Ricky is going places. You could be married to the mayor—and live right in town. Not stuck out in the middle of nowhere...on a farm." Lynn made a face as if she'd smelled something terrible and Mary shot her a stern look.

"Lynn!" she scolded her.

"Sorry. I just can't imagine that there's much to think about," she said as she stabbed a piece of rare roast beef and popped it in her mouth.

Colleen said nothing. What could she possibly say in response to that?

After dinner was cleared, Mary set out a chocolate frosted cake and made tea for the women. The men continued on with more whiskey. Once dessert was finished, though, Ricky asked if she was ready to go. After they said their goodbyes and settled into his buggy, they were off.

"Did you have a good time?" he asked as they drove out of town.

"Everyone was very nice."

"They liked you, I could tell. Both Steven and Peter said you'd make a perfect mayor's wife." He sounded pleased about that, that she'd won their approval. "What do you think about that?"

"About what?"

"Getting married? I'm asking you if you want to be my wife." His words came out in an excited rush and took Colleen by surprise. Somehow, she hadn't pictured a proposal in the dark as they raced home. It felt more like a business negotiation than a romantic declaration.

"You are? I wasn't expecting that. Well, not right now, anyway."

"No better time than the present. So what do you think?" He sounded eager to get this deal closed.

Colleen wasn't ready to make that decision yet, though. It was too sudden, and she still wasn't sure about Ricky. She liked him, but could she love him? Could he love her?

"I'm flattered, thank you. But, it's a bit unexpected. You caught me unaware. I need to think about this a bit. I hope you can give me a little time?"

"Oh, of course. Take all the time you need." Ricky sounded a little surprised and Colleen did feel badly for a moment. When you receive a proposal, it really shouldn't have to be something that you think about. She'd always thought that—that you would just know in your very core if it was right.

A short while later, Ricky slowed the horses and pulled up to the front door of Liam and Julia's house.

"Thank you, for everything. I really did have a wonderful night," she said as Ricky came around to her side and helped her out.

"I really hope you'll seriously consider my offer and make the right decision," he said softly as he pulled her to him and then bent his head down to hers and let his lips press against hers, ever so briefly. He pulled back a moment later and walked her to the front door.

"Sleep tight."

David rode into town the next day to pick up a few things at the mercantile. His mother had written out a list for him and after gathering everything and paying for it, he was on his way out when Mabel walked in, and as soon as she saw him, she made a beeline for him. He stiffened up as she drew closer. Mabel made him nervous. It wasn't that she was unattractive—she was pleasant enough to look at, though a bit rounder than he would normally choose. It had taken him a while to figure it out, but once her interest in him became obvious and even more aggressive, it only had the opposite effect. Instinctively, he took a step backwards.

"David, I haven't seen you in ages. How are you?" Hadn’t he just seen her a week or two ago?

"Nice to see you, Mabel. How've you been?" he said politely.

"Same as usual." She asked after his family and chatted on and on about nothing at all important.

When she finally came up for air, he spoke. "It was great to see you, Mabel, but I should be going, I have to drop this off at my mother's house on the way home."

"Oh, okay." She seemed reluctant to let him go.

"Have a good day, Mabel." He took a step toward the door and then felt her touch on his arm, pulling him back. She had a strange look on her face.

"I knew there was something I forgot to mention. I'm sure you heard the exciting news about Ricky?" she asked.

"What about Ricky?" One never knew what Ricky was up to.

"Rumor is that he's going to run for mayor and that he's asked Colleen Shea to marry him."

That got his attention. "Did she say yes?" He could barely get the words out.

"I would assume so, but I don't really know. He'd be a good catch for her."

"I suppose," he muttered.

"So, if she's getting married, I suppose that would make you single again?" She smiled playfully at him but he wasn't paying the slightest bit of attention. He needed to find out if there was any truth to this rumor. And, he still had one more stop to make on the way home.

Julia wasn't surprised to hear that Ricky had proposed the night before.

"He's not one to wait around. Ricky is good at making things happen. Usually." She looked at her friend closely. "Do you love him?"

"He's a lot of fun," Colleen answered, somewhat avoiding the question. Julia raised her eyebrows, indicating that she was still waiting for a real answer.

Colleen sighed. "I really don't know how I feel about Ricky, but it's not love. Not yet."

"Do you think it could be, at some point? Ricky does have a number of advantages," Julia pointed out sensibly.

"I know. One of the women last night pretty much told me I'd be a fool not to marry him."

"But you really aren't sure, and there's still David to consider," Julia said, and then asked, "What are the two of you doing tonight?"

"He didn't say, just that he had something special planned."

"I think I hear him outside now." Colleen also heard the sound of a buggy coming up the drive. A moment later, there was a knock at the door. Colleen let him in and then they said their goodbyes to Julia and headed out.

"So, that something special I mentioned? It's nice out and still light, so I thought we'd have a picnic dinner at my place. We can eat at my favorite spot, by the pond."

"Oh, that sounds wonderful."

A short time later, David pulled up to his house and helped Colleen out of the buggy. They went inside for a moment so he could get the picnic basket that he'd packed earlier.

"Do you mind carrying this?" he asked as he handed her a blueberry pie.

"Did you bake this?" It looked delicious.

He chuckled. "Of course not. That's from my mother. She remembered that you mentioned liking blueberry pie and insisted that our picnic wouldn't be complete without it."

"She's a smart woman."

David picked up the picnic basket and headed for the door. Colleen followed with the pie. They walked across the field to a small meadow full of tiny flowers that took her breath away.

"Pretty amazing, huh?" He flashed her a grin and they kept walking until as they came over a hill, she saw a glistening pond below. There was a soft, grassy area at one end and that's where David set the basket down and spread out a blanket. They both sat and then he opened the basket and drew out plates and some sliced cheese and apples.

It was so relaxing to sit in the sunshine and just enjoy each other's company. As they chatted easily and nibbled on the cheese and apples, an orange cat wandered over and rubbed against David's back until he reached over and scratched its ears.

"This is Boris. He's getting up there in age, but he still likes to chase birds every now and again and keep an eye on the horses and cattle." Boris purred loudly as David petted him and then, with a twitch of his tail, he ventured over to where Colleen was sitting and tentatively rubbed against her knee.

"Hi, Boris." She loved cats. They'd had a house cat that everyone shared at the boarding house in Boston and she missed having a furry friend around. She reached out and patted his head and he continued to purr as he flopped himself down and got comfortable between the two of them.