The Dreammaker

“Nor have I, Mr. Callihan.” Kaitlin pushed her chin higher. “In fact, thanks to Harvey Stutz, I’ve had to change my plans considerably.”

He glared at her, then drank his coffee. He didn’t pursue her comment, didn’t really want to know what Harvey Stutz had done to her. Tripp couldn’t muster his compassion for another of the man’s victims; it just didn’t stretch that far.

The serving girl brought them plates of hot food.

Kaitlin wagged her finger at his pad of paper as she ate. “Do you have written down somewhere the kind of property we own?”

“A store.” He waved his fork toward her plate. “Eat your potatoes.”

She sat up straighter. “A store? Really?”

“Finish your meal. We’ve got to go.”

Tripp turned his attention to his plate, hoping to discourage any more conversation. The sooner he got this over with—and this woman out of his life—the better.

He paid for their meals, then followed Kaitlin’s bobbing bustle to the lobby. Tripp pulled his tablet from his shirt pocket, forcing himself to look at the notes he’d made.

“I checked the stage schedule last night. Nothing going to Porter until this afternoon. I’ll rent us a buggy down at the livery and pick you up out front in a few minutes.”

“I’ll meet you out back,” Kaitlin said.

Tripp shook his head in disgust. “If you hadn’t told a lie in the first place you wouldn’t have to hide from the sheriff.”

“Thank you so much for that pearl of wisdom, Mr. Callihan.” Kaitlin jerked up her carpetbag from beside the front desk and marched toward the back of the hotel.

* * *

The streets of Porter were quiet with a wagon or two lumbering along when Tripp and Kaitlin drove into town. A few men gathered outside the barber shop, cowboys and miners moseyed along, women and children moved down Main Street.

At the far edge of town Tripp halted the team at the blacksmith shop. The big double doors stood open; horses waited patiently in the corral.

Tripp set the brake and jumped to the ground. He strode away from the buggy drawing in deep breaths of hay, horses, and dust. Riding next to Kaitlin Jeffers, breathing in her sweetness for two solid hours had been torture. He wished he’d waited for the stage coach.

“Morning!” A tall, muscular, man around thirty years old walked out of the stable, smiling and pushing his blond hair off his forehead. “Name’s Rafe Beaumont. What can I help you with?”

“My horses need tending.” Tripp waved toward the team; he’d driven them harder than he should have, thanks to Kaitlin Jeffers’s scent.

Rafe stroked one of the horses’s thick neck and nodded toward Kaitlin. “You and the wife plan to be in town long?”

Kaitlin came to her feet. “We are not married.”

Rafe glanced back and forth between them and his cheeks turned red. “Oh…”

“We’re business partners,” she said.

“Oh!” Rafe looked relieved. “What sort of business?”

“Maybe you can help us with that.” Kaitlin gathered her skirts and turned to climb down from the buggy.

Tripp hurried over. “Hold on. Do you want to fall? You need to be more careful.” He caught her waist and lifted her to the ground.

Kaitlin shrugged out of his grasp. “We’re looking for a store, Mr. Beaumont.”

“Got a few of those in town.” Rafe smiled and patted the horse’s forehead.

“This one’s called Finch Dry Goods. Used to be owned by an Everette Finch.” Tripp nodded toward town. “Didn’t see it when we drove in.”

Rafe’s eyes widened. “You two bought Finch’s place?”

Tripp and Kaitlin glanced at each other.

“Let’s just say it’s ours now,” Tripp said.

“I can tell you how to find the place, but—”

“Rafe, why don’t you take them over there yourself?”

Two men walked out of the stable, grinning broadly. Like Rafe, they were tall, muscular and blond.

One of them slapped him on the back. “Yeah, Rafe, take these nice folks over to the Finch place.”

Rafe blushed and ducked his head. “These are my brothers, Ned and Wade.”

Greetings were exchanged and proper introductions made.

“So you’re the new owner of old man Finch’s place?” Wade asked. “Well, all I can say is good luck to you.”

Ned chucked Rafe on the shoulder, grinning. “Take them over there. Show them the store.”

Rafe shifted uncomfortably. “I got work to do here.”

“Ned and I will look after the place.” Wade elbowed him in the ribs. “And if you’re a little late getting back, we’ll understand.”

Ned and Wade both broke out laughing, bringing another blush to Rafe’s face.

Rafe grumbled under his breath. “All right. Let’s go.”

The late morning sun warmed the breeze as they walked the short distance to town. The men’s boots echoed on the wooden planks of the boardwalk drowning out the scuff of Kaitlin’s shoes as she walked between the two of them.

“Have you lived here long, Mr. Beaumont?” Kaitlin asked.

“Just call me Rafe. My family’s lived here a while. I took over the livery after our pa passed on.”. He gestured toward the street. “Yeah, Porter is a nice place, all right. Quiet. Not much going on. Your store’s right up here.”

Kaitlin’s heart thumped in her chest. Visions of her recaptured dream filled her mind.

Rafe flung out his hand. “Well, this is it.”

Kaitlin’s heart sank into the pit of her stomach.