Prisoners of Love: Cinnamon by Callie Hutton

Author:Callie Hutton [Hutton, Callie]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: pioneer romance, frontier romance, western romance, western historical, historical romance, romance series, cowboy, wild wild west
Publisher: Glass Half Full
Published: 2016-10-22T21:00:00+00:00

Chapter Seven

Mrs. Peterson’s house was small, and cramped with what Jed thought had to be hundreds of little plates, vases, cups, tintypes, and other things that made him nervous to move around, for fear of breaking something.

At least fifty people were crowded into the space, so he was grateful when his hostess suggested they all move to the garden in the back of the house. The crowd filed through, and several women from the church bought out small sandwiches, lemonade, cakes, and tea.

Almost as soon as they’d arrived, Mindy was snatched from his side, and was now busy chatting with a group of women. At least the women were chatting. His wife’s demeanor had moved from overwhelmed, to nervous in a short time. The women seemed to be firing questions at her. She kept licking her lips, and looking around, most likely searching for him to rescue her.

He, on the other hand, had been held captive by a few of the church members who wanted to rehash the story of the previous preacher who ran off with one of the married congregants. It troubled him that so many of them seemed eager to discuss the scandal. He leaned more toward forgiveness and putting the matter to rest.

However, for as many times as he steered the conversation to other matters, each time they ended up gossiping. He heard more complaints, details, and information about people he either had not yet met, or had recently been introduced to, than he would ever care to.

“So tell me, Mr. Weber, how long have you been in Trinidad?” Jed turned to the man next to him.

Tall, thin, and wearing wire spectacles that made his eyes look enormous, the man grinned, showing time-tainted teeth. “I been here, Reverend, from the time I was a lad. My folks came to Trinidad back in ’62 right after coal was discovered. They lived in Kansas Territory, but the fightin’ between those wanting slaves and those don’t wanting them made my ma nervous, so they moved on.”

“Do you work the coal mines now?”

The man rocked back on his feet, linking his thumbs onto his suspenders. “Yep, sure do. Been working there since right after Ma and Pa settled.”

“I’ve heard working underground can be a bit dangerous. Does your employer have safety measures?”

The man scratched his beard and shook his head. “Nah. At least none that I’ve ever seen. We just go down there, get the coal and send it on up.”

Jed’s questions concerning using children in the mines was interrupted before he had the chance to ask.

“Attention, everyone.” All eyes moved to Mrs. Peterson, who stood on a chair—Jed held his breath—clapping her hands. “I want to make an official welcome to Reverend Jedediah Nelson, and his wife, Mindy, who have come all the way from Dodge City, Kansas to minister to us. As you all know, we were left quite stranded when Reverend Simmons chose to abandon us and cause such a scandal with Mrs. Milltown. Why, it was no wonder poor Mr.

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