Accidental Courtship by Lisa Bingham

Author:Lisa Bingham
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Harlequin
Published: 2017-10-16T13:47:11+00:00

Chapter Nine

Jonah waited until Sumner had disappeared inside the cook shack before turning back toward the office. But within a few feet, he realized that his conversation with the good doctor had not gone completely unnoticed. Ezra Batchwell stood on the opposite side of the street. He leaned heavily on his walking stick and his face was a study in disapproval.

The man glowered at Jonah as he crossed the street toward him.

“That woman is becoming a problem,” Ezra growled.

“She was double-checking your dinner arrangements with me.”

“I didn’t hire any of them to work in the cook shack. We’ve got men assigned to that.”

“And they’ll be back to their jobs soon enough. In the meantime, the miners seem to be enjoying the change.”

“Which won’t do anyone a bit of good. I won’t have them growing accustomed to something that they can’t have.”

Jonah was pretty sure that Batchwell wasn’t referring to the food.

“I want them gone as soon as possible.”

“The weather—”

“The weather has been clear for a couple of days. The debris field has had time to settle. Come Monday, if we haven’t had any more snow, I want you to send a team of men to examine the pass. There’s got to be a way to get those women out before the next blizzard.”

Mere days ago, Jonah might have agreed with him. But now, when he thought of any of these women climbing the rugged slopes and walking through the canyon, he balked.

“None of them could make the entire journey on foot.”

“Then find a way to get a sledge and team through. Either that, or get them to a section of telegraph wire that isn’t damaged. Then we can send a message for a train to come fetch them. The women keep saying that they have people waiting for them. Let them prove it. Monday!”

Jonah watched Ezra Batchwell storm toward the meetinghouse. Due to the shorter winter days, shadows were falling. Soon, the evening Devotional would begin. But how was Jonah going to partake of the Spirit knowing that if his men found a way through the pass, Jonah would have to demand that the women pack up and walk to the nearest railhead? With temperatures hovering below freezing, it would be an arduous trek. Even if Jonah managed to get a sledge through, the women would be tested to their limits.

He knew Ezra was thinking of the welfare of the miners. As much as the owners had tried to ensure that the women disrupted the operation of their community as little as possible, things had changed. Despite their best attempts, a shift in focus was already occurring among the men. True, they completed their shifts and did their work, but an energy shimmered in the air and it was clear that the miners were ultra-aware of the ladies in their midst.

And it had nothing to do with the new menus.

* * *

When Monday morning dawned, the sky was cold, dark and quiet as Jonah and his men assembled in front of the livery stable.

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