Texas Tall by Kaki Warner

Author:Kaki Warner
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Penguin Publishing Group
Published: 2016-09-09T13:28:43+00:00

Chapter 15

The following weeks were busy ones for Lottie. The growing season was in full production in south Texas, and soon trains were heading north, loaded with fresh produce. By mid June, traveling greengrocers had set up booths outside the depot, and twice a week Lottie and Mrs. B. combed through the offerings to restock the produce bins at the store.

A newspaperman from Dallas wrote a flattering article about Lady Jane’s Social Club and Greenbroke, and before long, business throughout town increased as more and more passengers stopped off for a visit or to try their luck at the tables. Lottie worried how that would impact Juno’s profits, but as he’d said, he and the club catered to entirely different clienteles.

Increased business meant additional work for Lottie, but she didn’t mind. She had a grand plan now, and needed every penny she could earn to make it work. The consortium investments were beginning to pay off, too, as word of Greenbroke’s pleasant surroundings and easy rail access started bringing in land speculators and folks looking to move. It wasn’t exactly a boom yet, but the future looked promising.

Lottie still worked at the bank, but only one afternoon a week now. Like in most towns, the local bank was the center of business, and Lottie liked knowing what was going on around her.

Which was how she found out about the Buck place.

The Buck and Reynolds families had been among the first to homestead in the Greenbroke area. The Bucks had settled along the east bank of Middling Creek—the same one that ran south of town and flooded whenever it had the chance. The Reynolds had homesteaded on the west bank. For a time they had prospered. But after decades of Indian attacks, bouts of small pox, complications of childbirth, childhood accidents, war, and general bad luck, the two families were down to Delbert Buck, his wife, Nadene Reynolds Buck, and their simple-minded daughter, Ruby. And poor Delbert, with his failing heart, wasn’t long for this world. Worried what would become of his wife and daughter after he was gone, Delbert—who could no longer take care of the place anyway—was talking about taking his family back to Missouri where they had distant relatives.

Which meant he would probably sell.

Which meant Lottie was interested.

She cornered Griffin late one afternoon before the bank closed. “How does one go about buying land?”

He stopped stuffing papers into the drawer of his desk and gave her an amused look. “You buying land now?”

“Maybe.”

“The Buck place?”

That surprised her. Maybe Griffin did more than nap at his desk in the afternoons. “I might. Thought I’d take a look-see first.”

“It’s good land.” Griffin pushed the drawer closed, locked it, yelled for Humphries, and started shoving the papers atop his desk into neat piles. “Don’t know what the house is like now. Probably run-down some since Delbert took sick. But as I recall, it was built sturdy.”

Humphries came in, dressed to leave and looking more sour than usual. Probably irritated at the delay in his drinking plans.

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