Bargain Bessie by Zina Abbott

Author:Zina Abbott [Abbott, Zina]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Historical Romance, Women's Fiction, Action & Adventure, Forever Love, Bachelor, Single Woman, Hearts Desire, Life-Changes, Second Chances, Honesty & Trust, Home & Family, Colorado Bridal Agency, Arkansas Valley, Friendly Community, Mining Town, Prosperity Mine, Lizett Millard Matchmaker, Mail-Order Brides, Sweethearts of Jubilee Springs Series, Lonely Miners, Novella's, Short Story's, Multi-Author, Clean & Wholesome, Inspirational, Love Inspired, Victorian, Western & Frontier
Publisher: Zina Abbott
Published: 2017-08-01T04:00:00+00:00

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monarch bend, colorado – august 1881

CHAPTER 8

~o0o~

Eddie Joe sat across from his boss as they finished discussing what needed to be done within the next week.

“Need to check the ponds in the north pasture. We should have enough water for the herds up that way to last us until the first solid rains this fall, but I want to make sure.”

“Good idea, especially since we haven’t had as many summer rainstorms come through this year. There’s something else that needs tending to. When is it you’re planning to go to Denver to buy winter supplies?”

Zeb stared at Eddie Joe for a couple of seconds before he answered with a tone of exaggerated patience. “In mid-October, Eddie Joe. It’s no mystery. I’ve been making the trip that time of year for as long as I can remember. You’ve been here long enough to know that.”

“That’s what I figured, Boss. Problem is, we’re going to need a few things sooner. I was talking to Cooksie, and he said we’re running short of flour, salt pork and corn meal, plus we don’t have enough airtights to stock all the line cabins for the winter. Also, we’ll need another couple jugs of maple syrup before the October trip.”

Zeb shook his head. “You sure are awful interested in the food situation, Eddie Joe.”

“As much as any, Boss. Maybe more so since I have been hearing about it the past two weeks steady from Cooksie.” Eddie Joe shrugged. “At first I tried to ignore him. Unfortunately, he’s learned I do that if he doesn’t push, so he’s been pushing hard. Claims he can’t make good meals without the wherewithal. Oh, and he says if we’re making camp a couple of days while we’re rounding up, he’ll need another big sack of beans.”

Zeb shook his head. “We bought the same amount as always last spring. Why are we running short?”

“We’ve got three more men than we planned on since the last time you shopped. Oh, and another thing, we’ve done a lot of fence repair this year. We could use several more rolls of barbed wire and a half dozen more pairs of gloves. Some of the men, their gloves have worn through, and the Monarch Bend store is out. Says they don’t know when they’ll get any more in. I could probably get some of the foodstuffs from them, but I don’t think the place is doing well enough to handle a big order. I know they don’t have any more wire.”

“What you told me is not a big order, not big enough to justify a trip to Denver before October. It’s not the money; it’s the time. We got fall round-up coming up, and need to get things ready for that.”

“What about the mercantile in Jubilee Springs? Think they may have most of what we need? If nothing else, they’re by the rail station. What they don’t have, they can probably get here in a decent amount of time. I’ll be happy to make the trip over there, see what they can do for us.

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