Angel In The Saloon (Brides of Glory Gulch) (13 page)

Amelia laid her head on her aunt’s shoulder, not
knowing what to say, wondering if this would be the time to reveal her own
secrets. She allowed her gesture to speak for her.

“Anyway, I began looking for my own life as far away
from Georgia as I could get. I had seen an advertisement for a teaching
position and applied. I got the job and settled in here.

“Jeremiah and Aaron were orphaned when Jeremiah was
about fifteen years old, so he went to work as a woodcutter. By the time I met
him . . . I think he was around twenty years old. He and Paul had their own
logging company that employed a dozen men. They had been friends for some time,
and the two worked closely together. Their business boomed.

“When Paul’s mother died, Paul was about twenty-three.
He inherited his father’s fortune. He thought it wise to build in a sawmill in
the area to help the logging industry, as well as make himself a tidy profit.

“They both fell head over heels in love with me. But I’d
just been scorned and didn’t want anything to do with men. You should have seen
them.” Corrin laughed. “They were a sight. Because they were so young, they
were even more intense back then with me than they are with you now. Eventually,
after I had put them off long enough, the marriage proposals stopped, and they
just fell out of love with me I guess.”

“But you’re still such good friends with them, Aunt
Corrin. I’m afraid that if I hurt one of them, I’d lose the other as a good
friend.”

“I don’t think that would happen, honey. They’re
acting up right now, but if you were to settle on just one of them, they’d go
back to being civil toward one another. You may not believe it now, but if either
one of them were ever in trouble, the other would be at his side in a
heartbeat, helping in whatever way he could. I think you’d be amazed at how
deep their friendship goes.

Amelia knew that kind of friendship with Molly, at
least she hoped it was that close. She realized Molly had made up some of the
things she’s told her, so a niggling doubt grew in the back of her mind. How
many other things had Molly kept from her?

“To give you an example of the kind of friendship
these two men are capable of, after about five years of teaching I started
talking of owning my own business of some sort. I was tired of doing whatever
someone else said I had to, and I wanted to stand on my own two feet. But, of
course, on a teacher’s salary that was impossible.

“A couple months later the saloon was put up for sale.
When Jeremiah suggested that I could run it, I laughed at him. But the longer I
thought about it, the better it began to sound. I could run it any way I wanted
to, with no ‘fallen doves’, no spitting on the floor, a place where the
townsfolk, including ladies, could come and have lunch together, or rent out
for dances and such. Of course, I didn’t have near enough money saved to put a
down payment on the place, so I ruled it out. About ten days later Paul and Jeremiah
showed up on my doorstep with the most impish grins on their faces. I asked
them what they were up to, and Paul pulled some papers out of his pocket and
plunked them down in my hand. It was a deed to the Saloon with my name listed
as principal owner and the two of them as partners! I was shocked, to say the
least.”

“Aunt Corrin! You mean Paul and Jeremiah are partners
with you in the Silver Slipper Saloon?”

“Sure are! They gave me 48% interest and they split
the remaining 52% between them. Paul is the one who is good at numbers, so
whenever I get my books in a mess, he comes over and helps me straighten them
out. And they both come around as often as they can just to be sure people are
abiding by my rules. You remember the night when I introduced you and told
everyone they’d better not bother you or they’d have to answer to me?”

“Yes.” Amelia remembered the night well. “I didn’t
know them then, but both Paul and Jeremiah spoke up for me.”

“That’s right. Well, nobody wanted to cross them
because they would kick them out and not let them return. No one would want to
be banned from the only watering hole in town,”

Both ladies laughed. Amelia wondered how Paul could be
making money on a saloon while professing to be a Christian man. It didn’t make
sense. She knew she liked him a lot, but maybe she needed to pull back a little
bit. After all, how much did she really know about him?

“For the most part they let me run the place any way I
want,” her aunt continued. “They’re silent partners for sure. But the most
amazing part is that half of the time neither of them takes their share of the
profits.”

“Are you joking? I never heard of someone investing in
a business, and then not taking their profits.”

“I’m not joking, honey. That’s the kind of friends
they are to me. Oh, they’ll have a drink on the house, and they eat here
whenever it’s convenient for them. Sometimes they’ll use the place for parties
like the dance this Saturday night. And every now and then they’ll use a room
to put up a client over night, and Jeremiah and Arron use a room whenever the
need arises. But it’s not unusual for one or both of them to simply hand me
back their share of the profits, saying it’s for improvements or whatever. And
they never ask questions about how I spend their money, either.”

“I think that’s the noblest thing I’ve ever heard.” Amelia
admired the men more than ever.

“Sweetie, I think you already know which one of them
you’re heart is pulling you toward. Follow your heart, honey. It won’t fail you.
The longer you wait before you make up your mind, the harder it will be on the
one you don’t choose. That is, if you decide to choose either of them.”

Her Aunt was right about her heart being tugged toward
one of them. But Amelia enjoyed the company of both men, and leaving one behind
as a mere friend seemed almost cruel. Her young heart was so unsure of itself. The
remainder of the trip was either spent in silent meditation or inconsequential
conversation.

The ladies occupied their days in Glenwood Springs
flitting form one shop to another. They each scrutinized many, beautiful party
gowns, Amelia always asking for something in pink. And they enjoyed the
attention the shop proprietors were pouring over them.

They finally settled on a rose colored satin gown for
Amelia. It had short, ballooned sleeves and a scooped neckline that gently
curved and scalloped inches below her neck with burgundy piping along the edges
and hand crocheted lace layered behind that. There was a matching, burgundy satin
sash along the waistline that ended in the back with a large double bow and a peek-a-boo
overskirt drawn up on the right with more crocheted lace lavishly peeking from
behind the skirt, imitating a frilly petticoat. But the most striking feature
was the rose colored embroidered brocade interspersed with tiny seed pearls,
bugle beads and sequins that spiraled and swirled its way from the top left
shoulder, across the front of the dress and down to the bow on the right side
of the skirt. Amelia thought she had never felt or worn such an elegant gown in
her life.

Corrin also bought her niece new shoes, stockings,
jewelry, gloves and handbags, as well as a couple more everyday dresses and
skirts. Amelia had a difficult time accepting her Aunt’s abundant generosity. Certainly
Aunt Corrin was spending a year’s profit on all of these things.

“Honey, please allow me to do this for you. I’ve never
had a daughter to dote on before. Besides, you don’t think I’m spending my own
money, do you? This trip’s on Paul and Jeremiah.”

They giggled, and Amelia gratefully accepted Corrin’s
generosity, knowing it was making her aunt happy to do this for her.

“Aunt Corrin, do you think Paul will like the way I
look in this gown?”

“I thought you were going to the dance with Jeremiah?”

“Oh... I am---that’s who I meant to say.” Amelia
blushed.

“Sweetie, they’re both going to adore the way you look
in that gown.” Corrin patted her arm. She also had bought herself several gowns.

“We’re going to need to hire another stage coach if we
buy anything else,” Amelia teased.

 They spent their evenings in fine restaurants and
attended the theater one night and the opera the other. Amelia felt like she
was being treated like royalty. She enjoyed herself so much. Her mother would
have loved an outing like this, but she had always worked hard to provide the
best she could.

Friday afternoon, the ladies arrived back in old Glory
Gulch. As the stage came to a halt in front of Sarah Jane’s Restaurant her aunt
tapped her arm. “Someone’s here to meet you, sweetie.”

“Who is it Aunt Corrin?”

The door sprang open and a hearty voice greeted them.

“Good morning, ladies,” Paul said in a lively voice. “I
trust your trip was pleasant and safe.”

“Yes, Paul,” Amelia said excitedly. “It was a
marvelous trip. I’d like to tell you all about it sometime.”

First, Paul took Corrin’s hand and helped her out of
the coach. Then he reached for Amelia. “Put your hands on my shoulders.” He
then placed his hands firmly on her waist and gently lifted her down, bypassing
the step that had been provided.

Amelia was impressed by his broad, capable shoulders
and the strength of his arms.

Harry, who had also met the ladies, offered to carry
their carpetbags and packages back to the saloon for them. He laughed as the
driver continued to hand parcel after parcel to him.

“By the looks of it, I’d say there isn’t anything left
for sale in Glenwood Springs.”

“Harry, I’ll help you carry these.” Corrin also
laughed. “My, but it looks like the boxes multiplied during the trip back.”

“Here, let me get some of those for you,” Paul
offered.

“I’ll let you take care of my favorite package.” Corrin
put her arm around Amelia in a half-hug.

“Thank you, Aunt Corrin. This was a week to remember.”

“You’re welcome, sweetie. Now don’t fret about a
thing. We’ll take care of it all for you.

“And I’ll take real good care of this one for you,” Paul
said as he took Amelia’s hand and wrapped it in the crook of his arm.

Amelia felt certain she blushed.

“Would you like to take a walk, Paul? I’ve been
sitting so long; I need to stretch my weary bones.”

“I was just going to ask you the same thing. Come on.”
He placed her hand under his arm and as they strolled through town, they both
started talking at the same time. “Go ahead,” he said.

“First, I want to thank you for the wonderful music
box. I was overwhelmed when I found it. And I love it. I want to ask you to
forgive me for my rude behavior Monday night---”

“I’m sorry for the way I behaved too,” Paul
interrupted. I shouldn’t have let Cowan pull me into that argument. It was
foolish. Please, forgive me.”

“Of course. I forgave you Tuesday morning when I saw
the music box. I had hoped you would be at the stage to see us off so I could
tell you then.”

“Oh, I had every intention of seeing you off, but I
had an emergency at the mill that I had to attend to and couldn’t leave.” Paul paused
a moment, and Amelia hoped he was smiling at her. “I missed you.”

Amelia smiled with delight and wanted to tell him that
she missed him too, but was apprehensive. She had never felt this strongly
about a man before. What was appropriate behavior in this situation? Did she
know enough about him yet? Was it too soon to encourage him? She simply had no
idea that matters of the heart would be so confusing.

They ate a delicious lunch at Sarah Jane’s, and then
Paul had to return to the mill. He escorted her to the busy Saloon. Upon
arriving at Amelia’s door, they had no privacy because the door was open and
Corrin was inside unpacking clothes from boxes and carpetbags, attempting to
put some order back into her niece’s wardrobe. So he simply kissed the back of
her hand, said good-by, and took his leave.

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Paul returned at suppertime to find himself invited to
dine with the two ladies there at the Silver Slipper. After the meal was
finished, Corrin managed to enlist Paul to help with the dishes.

Amelia yawned and announced that the trip had worn her
out and that she was retiring for the evening. She rose from the table, found
her way to her aunt, and kissed her on the cheek. “Good night, Aunt Corrin. I
had a wonderful time in Glenwood Springs with you. I’ll never forget it. I love
you.”

“I love you too, honey.” Corrin hugged her.

Amelia then located Paul, stood on her tiptoes,
reached for his face, and kissed him on his cheek.

“Thank you again for the music box, Paul. I love it. And
I love that it came from you.” And with that, she headed to her room, leaving
Corrin and Paul both smiling and gazing lovingly at her.

“Well, Corrin. It took me almost twenty years,” Paul
grabbed a dish and started to dry it.  “But I think I may have finally won the
attention of an attractive young lady.”

“You just be careful with her. She’s not like most
young ladies. She’s more innocent because of her blindness.”

“That just makes her all the more attractive to me.”
He never thought he’d fall in love again, and certainly not this hard this
fast. If a locomotive ran over him, it wouldn’t be as jolting as this feeling
consuming his every waking hour.