Читать книгу Follow Your Heart - Rosanne Bittner - Страница 13

Mid-May

Jude leaned to look out the window of his comfortable Pullman car as it rumbled into the unspectacular town of Plum Creek. The weather had warmed to seventy degrees, which would normally be comfortable. But he’d learned from other trips to Nebraska that the air here was often humid, as it was today, making the temperature seem warmer than it really was. Because of that, he’d lowered the windows on the railroad car, and the stench from a nearby pen of cattle wafted inside, causing him to choke on the air.

“Welcome to Plum Creek,” he muttered. “Don’t let the people here see you curling your nose at their town.”

He leaned his head back for a moment, not relishing his reason for being here. As soon as the humble inhabitants of Plum Creek found out who he was and why he was here, they might forget their Christian background and be anything but welcoming.

With a sigh he rose and walked over to a huge, gold-framed mirror at one end of his parlor car where he adjusted his small bow tie, ran his hands through his thick hair and donned a black felt hat. It was Sunday. He figured he’d dress appropriately. People should be getting out of church about now, and most of them would be dressed up. It just seemed the thing to do on a Sunday. It had been a long time since he’d set foot in a church himself, but he pretty well knew what people expected on the Sabbath.

He straightened his shoulders and walked outside, standing on the car’s platform as the behemoth steam engine farther ahead blared its whistle and let off huge bursts of steam, slowing gradually until the train stopped in front of the town’s small depot. A few people wandered about, some probably expecting someone, or perhaps waiting for supplies; others simply curious. Just as he’d figured, many were dressed up, and after a look at the gold watch he pulled from his vest pocket, it became obvious most had indeed just come from church. It was one o’clock.

A young man pointed toward his Pullman and said something to another man about “Kingman Enterprises.” The second man answered something about the railroad, and both ran off.

Here goes, Jude thought. Apparently the rumor had already spread that someone from the railroad might be paying the town a visit. Perhaps those who’d run off were going for their guns. He smiled grimly at the thought as he leaned against a support post, watching the usual bustle that ensued when a train pulled into a depot.

Jude stayed on the platform of his car and simply watched. Plum Creek was not unlike every other small town along the U.P.’s tracks from east to west. There was the proverbial white church with a steeple and a bell. He noticed a good deal of the people approaching had come from there. Usually the farther west a person traveled, the more saloons the towns sported. Since he saw only one in Plum Creek, he gathered this was a very Christian town, although that would indeed be put to the test when things became more heated over the reason he was here.

He noted a barbershop, a sheriff’s office, a house with a sign that said Doctor, a lumber supply, three or four other supply stores, a livery, a blacksmith, a grocery store—all the usual businesses, plus a few which he could not see from where he stood.

The engine let off more steam, and children playing nearby screamed and laughed. Children loved steam engines. Fact was, so did grown men. He agreed they were certainly something to see, and he admitted to admiring their beastly qualities, the huge steel wheels, the very mightiness of a locomotive engine. There was something very masculine about a steam engine.

Well, what’s this? he thought. He’d spotted something quite the opposite of masculine. She was as feminine as could be, and quite a sight for a lonely man’s eyes. A young woman approached, with hair as bright as a hot yellow sun, and eyes as blue as the sky. Although the dress she wore was a far cry from designer-made, it fit her divine figure in ways that were pleasing to the eye. In spite of its plainness, and the fact that the woman obviously wore no special color on her face and no jewelry, she was beautiful. It struck him he’d never seen a woman so plain yet so lovely.

The three men who accompanied the woman were as burly and rugged as the woman was beautiful and feminine. They were tall, light-haired, blue-eyed brutes who were obviously uncomfortable in their ill-made Sunday suits, men who were probably better suited to coveralls and pitchforks. No one could doubt they were farmers, especially from the way the sun had darkened and toughened their fair skin. Jude actually found himself feeling grateful that the woman with them showed little sign of sun-induced aging. She probably had sense enough to wear a wide-brimmed bonnet when out of doors, although today she wore a simple straw hat decorated with a few blue silk flowers.

He couldn’t help noticing the four of them, since they marched close to his Pullman, the three men showing obvious scorn at the sight of the car and its passenger. The woman, on the other hand, appeared more curious than angry, and since Jude had grown accustomed to young women fawning over him, he actually felt disappointment that this particular young woman showed no such interest. He gave her his most charming smile, and she immediately took on a look of wariness, accompanied by a bit of an air, her chin rising slightly, determined contempt coming into those amazing blue eyes. Two of the men with her appeared older, more fatherly, but one was younger, and that one stepped closer then, an obvious challenge in his eyes.

“Who are you, mister? You look like one of them fancy railroad men. Ve don’t vant no railroad men coming here!”

Jude guessed he was probably the woman’s brother or, heaven forbid, her husband. To think that she might have a husband greatly disturbed Jude, and then he realized how absurd it was to care. Because she wore gloves he couldn’t see her left hand. The younger man stood there with his fists clenched at his side, so Jude couldn’t see his left hand, either. Then again, maybe big, rugged Swedish farmers didn’t wear wedding rings. Deducing that the man was Swedish was quite simple, considering the easily discernible accent in the few short words he’d spoken.

“It might be nice to have a chance to introduce myself and be welcomed into your town,” Jude told him.

“Ve don’t velcome thieves in Plum Creek,” the big Swede answered.

“Yeah!”

“That’s right!”

More men had gathered and were backing up the Swede.

“You people don’t even know who I am or why I’m here,” Jude told them. Clearly, this job was going to be much harder than he’d thought. He hadn’t even set foot on solid ground in Plum Creek, yet these people were ready to ride him right back out.

“Carl, we just left church, for goodness’ sake,” the lovely young woman told the Swede. “Where are your manners?”

Good for you, Jude thought. She’s no withering flower. “Yes, Carl, where are your manners?” he spoke aloud, now that he’d heard the man’s name.

“Don’t need manners around the likes of you. Ve have heard a railroad man vas coming here to tell us ve must get off our farms. It is illegal! If you are the one come to tell us, go avay!”

Now even more people gathered. Jude eyed the young blond woman, who looked apologetic. A young boy of perhaps nine or ten ran up to her then, and Jude’s hopes fell. Though she looked too young, she must be the boy’s mother, which meant the big Swede was probably her husband. Now, why in the world did that disappoint him?

More voices were raised, and Jude put up his hands to silence them. “Look, everyone, my name is Jude Kingman, of Kingman Enterprises in Chicago. And yes, I am here to talk to some of you about your farms, but don’t go getting all excited and defensive. I’ll be here throughout the summer, and I am not here to tell you that you can’t plant and harvest your crops this year. Just go ahead and work your farms as you would any other time. I assure you I am only here to look things over and study the problems that might arise over a land issue with the railroad—and that I fully intend to find a way to absolve those problems without huge losses to anyone.”

“Fancy talk! That’s all you’re about!” another man shouted. “Go on back to Chicago!”

The blond-haired woman appeared completely exasperated with all of them. Glancing angrily at the big Swede, she turned to the young boy and grabbed his arm, walking off with him. Jude was actually disappointed he’d not got her name.

“I’m not leaving anytime soon,” Jude told the crowd. “I will probably make my railroad parlor car into an office while I’m here, and gradually I will be coming out to visit some of you on your farms—just to talk. Any of you are welcome to come and see me whenever I’m in town. I fully intend to hear your side of this matter and do my best to keep the peace.” He glanced around at all of them, an intimidating crowd indeed, made up of big, tough farmers and stern women who could probably hold their own against any of the men.

“You’ll talk to us, all right,” another man shouted, “then ignore everything we tell you and stab us in the back! Anybody can see you’re a rich man come here to do a rich man’s business, which is to walk all over the poor, so don’t be telling us lies about why you’re here.”

“I am not a liar, sir,” Jude answered. “I assure you, I have only the best of intentions, and I will be far more open to your needs than some of the other men who might have been sent here for the job. Don’t waste an opportunity to possibly save your farms.”

“There! You see?” the big Swede shouted. “He is already talking about saving our farms. You know what that means!”

“Yeah!”

“Yeah!”

“Is this how you always greet strangers in Plum Creek?” Jude shouted above them. He refused to show any sign of intimidation. “Perhaps I’d be better off talking with your sheriff and perhaps your town preacher. They might know a little more about how you should be conducting yourselves. I’ve not said one word about coming here to do you harm, nor have I been so rude and unwelcoming as all of you have been toward me. One would think I’d come here packing six-guns and a whip! I believe a good many of you walked over here from Sunday church services. Is this what God teaches about welcoming strangers?”

A few of them took on rather sheepish looks.

“I will hold town meetings as soon as I can get things organized,” Jude added then, keeping his voice raised. “I will be every bit a gentleman and I expect the same from good, Christian people like yourselves.”

He waited, hoping his talent for exuding charm and saying the right words when necessary would calm them. A few of the women stared, and he smiled and nodded toward them. Some blushed and covered their mouths as they quietly laughed, others just scowled and turned away. Some of the men seemed to change their initial feelings of anger and defense. They mumbled among themselves, and a couple of them actually apologized, saying they would be willing to listen but were not about to hand over their land to anyone. Jude assured them that no one was asking them to do so.

The big Swede never changed his attitude. He glowered at Jude a moment longer, then turned to the two older men who’d accompanied him. “Come on. Ve got supplies to get,” he said, stalking off with them.

Jude decided he’d better stay inside his private car for a while. He might be better off this first day waiting until most of the farmers had left with their supplies before exiting the Pullman to explore Plum Creek. He rubbed the back of his neck, feeling a headache coming on.

Thank you, Dad, for giving me this glorious job, he thought wryly.

He turned to go back inside, but then he caught sight of the young boy he’d seen earlier with the pretty blond woman. The kid had apparently run back to see what was going on. He waved at Jude, and Jude nodded to him. The blond woman came around the corner of the depot then, spotting the boy and hurrying over to scold him for coming back after she’d told him not to. She glanced at Jude, and all Jude could think was…Oh, my!

He tipped his hat to the woman and gave her a smile.

“I am sorry for the way you were treated,” she told him in good English, although there was a slight Swedish lilt to the words.

He bowed slightly. “Apology accepted, ma’am.”

She hurried away with the young boy, and again Jude chastised himself for not getting her name or doing his best to find out how she was related to the three men with her earlier.

He went inside his Pullman, shaking his head at his own ridiculous reaction to the blond woman. If she was a friend of, or related to the big Swede who’d been so rude to him, there was a good chance he’d see her again once he started visiting the farmers. He decided to go over the list Wilson had given him and see if he could figure out who she might be.

He threw his hat to the other end of the car and yelled for the butler he’d brought along to bring him a cool drink. He sat down in a plush velvet chair and kicked off his shoes, leaning his head back and groaning over the hideous job his father had given him. He could already see that this was going to be one long, hot summer.