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  Scarlett

  The Settlers Book Three

  Kathleen Ball

  Copyright © 2018 by Kathleen Ball

  All rights reserved.

  No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without written permission from the author, except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.

  Created with Vellum

  This book is dedicated to my Father-in-law Charlie Ball. He was a warm, kind, intelligent man and he is greatly missed.

  Thank you to Alisa Dupre Riche for telling the story of how her parents met in Silver Falls, Oregon. It’s the perfect setting for this book.

  Thank you to Darren Stalk for suggesting I write about a blacksmith. Darren is a talented modern day smith who handcrafts the most incredible items.

  And of course I dedicate this book to Bruce, Steven, Colt, Clara, Emery and Mavis because I love them.

  Contents

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  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Epilogue

  The End

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  We’ve Only Just Begun

  About the Author

  Other Books by Kathleen

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  Chapter One

  Her long, white veil whipped around her face as a gust of wind hit. Impatience was getting the better of her. She was silent as she sat next to her pa on the buckboard. A few more minutes went by, and a funny feeling hit her. Something was wrong.

  When they’d arrived, her ma had hurried out of the church to tell her that Dexter hadn’t shown up yet. Scarlett had nodded her understanding, confident Dexter would be there any minute. Almost a half hour had gone by, though. Where was he?

  Her confidence waned as each minute passed. Her brother Hunter came out, mounted his horse and rode toward Dexter’s home. It was the nicest and biggest one in town. From the minute she’d heard of the rich bachelor, she’d made it her mission to marry him. Now she was so close to her dream.

  “Darlin’, we have to start thinking of the possibility that he might not show,” her pa said gently. He took her hand in his and held it.

  Her stomach clenched. “He has to show, Pa. I’ll be the laughing stock of the whole community if he doesn’t. Everyone knows I’m going to live in the big house and have the finest of everything, including servants.” That couldn’t happen. She’d never live it down. People would laugh at her, and she couldn’t have that.

  The wind blew harder, and she had a difficult time controlling her lace veil. Staring in the direction Dexter would have come, her heart sank. Finally, Hunter appeared and rode up to them, and the outraged scowl on his face said it all.

  “His housekeeper told me he left on an extended trip last night. Scarlett, I’m sorry. She said he decided that marriage wasn’t for him.”

  The pity on Hunter’s face enraged her. It was the same look she was bound to get all day, and then the whispers and sneers would start. How could Dexter have humiliated her in such a fashion?

  “Pa?” her voice trembled.

  “Hunter, take the buckboard and get your sister home. I’ll ride your horse back. I have an announcement to make.” He leaned over, gently drew Scarlett into his arms, and kissed her cheek. “He shouldn’t have acted the coward leaving you to face everyone. Go on home. I’ll take care of it.”

  A chill entered her when he let her go. She watched him go into the church and then pressed Hunter to take her home. This had to be the worst moment of her life. Jilted at the altar, that only happened to ugly girls. Smoothing out her dress she regretted the money she insisted her parents spend on it. In the end it had been their wedding gift to her.

  Why hadn’t Dexter told her he was leaving? He could have saved her some embarrassment. They could have faced the town together and told them they weren’t ready yet.

  “I’m so sorry, Scarlett. Next time I see him I’m going to blacken his eyes. It was a cruel, low down thing to do,” Hunter said, his voice filled with sympathy.

  Perhaps she could count on sympathy instead of being the object of vicious taunts and gossip. She highly doubted it, though. How was she to live in this town after this day? She’d so wanted to live in the big house. She’d even gone as far as to tell certain girls that had slighted her in the past, they wouldn’t be invited to her teas and parties.

  “Maybe Pa will give me a piece of land and build me a grand house.”

  Hunter frowned. “Did you even love Dexter?”

  She didn’t answer. Of course she didn’t love him, but he was rich.

  Chapter Two

  Three Months Later

  Scarlett held a handkerchief over her nose and mouth. The dust from the stage coach was outlandish. She was stuck in the middle of the seat between two busybodies who insisted on keeping the window shades open. Across from her were three men. Two of them a bit young and excited about something, and a third who kept staring at her. He’d said they’d be there in an hour.

  She was nervous about getting to Silver Springs, Oregon. It was a newer town, and she hoped she would find it had all the conveniences she was used to. Water pumped into the house, a cook stove, and a dress shop. She couldn’t wait to meet the other women at teas and become part of the planning committee for founders’ day and other holidays. She’d have a brand new start…and a husband.

  She hadn’t had much luck getting anyone to court her, so she’d decided to widen her search and found the most respected man in Silver Springs, Dillon Stahl. She loved his name. She’d always pitied mail order brides before, but now she realized there was no shame in being one. In fact it took courage to marry a man she’d never met.

  Of course they’d exchanged a few letters, and her pa knew him from his travels guiding Pioneers to Oregon. Her pa said Dillon was a good man. He owned the biggest establishment in town, and he went to church. She had only skimmed the letters. He was a man of means and respect, and that was all that mattered.

  The coach slowed, and excitement began to course through her. She was finally going to get what she wanted. Amid more choking dust, the coach came to a stop, and the other passengers all fought to get out first. She sat and waited. There was no way she wanted to be near the sweaty men, and perhaps some of the dust would settle.

  Then it was time. Chin up and shoulders squared, she placed a foot onto the step the coach driver had put in place. She steadied herself by taking his hand and nodded her thanks as she finished disembarking. Then she stood on a wooden walkway and scanned the town. There really wasn’t much to see. They had stopped in front of the general store and she studied each man, but none seemed to be her Dillon.

  The coach driver lifted down her three trunks and set them on the walkway. “Where would you like these, miss?”

  “I’m waiting for my groom. Just leave them right there.”

  He nodded and stepped back. “Have a good day.” He tipped his hat and climbed back onto the driver’s seat. More dust mixed with mud rose as the stagecoach pulled away, and Scarlett wrinkled her nose, trying not to cough.

  As the dust settled again, she took a deep breath, stood straight and tall, and held her head high, the way she imagined a princess might carr
y herself, or at least a lady of fine breeding. The only man still standing in front of the store was a man covered in black dust wearing a leather apron. She immediately discounted him and continued to watch for her groom.

  “Miss Settler?” the dust-covered man asked.

  “Yes, that is me.”

  “I’m Dillon Stahl. I’m mighty glad to meet you. I’m sure the trip was long, but I have one more thing I need to take care of before I can call it a day. We’ll just leave your trunks here, and you can come to my shop with me.”

  She widened her eyes. This couldn’t be the most respected man in town with the biggest establishment. He had a headful of blond hair and his blue eyes appeared kind, but still. “If you could just direct me to the hotel, I’ll be fine.”

  “Silver Springs doesn’t have a hotel yet. Come, it won’t take long, Miss Settler. May I call you Scarlett?” His smile was nice enough.

  She wanted to say no, but good manners prevailed. “Of course you may call me Scarlett.” She’d find a way out of this before nightfall.

  “We’ll leave your trunks here. No one will bother them. I’d offer you my arm but as you can see I’m covered in soot. We don’t have far to go, just across the street.”

  She turned her head and there was the blacksmith shop. It was big. Bigger than any she’d seen before. Did he live there too?

  Dillon stepped off the wooden planks and into the street of mud. He turned and held out his hand for her.

  Scarlett wrinkled her nose at the mud and then lifted her skirt just enough to reveal her dainty shoes. They wouldn’t make it across.

  “Is there somewhere dryer I could cross?”

  Dillon shook his head and stepped back on the walkway. He opened the door to the Store and went in. A moment later, he came back out carrying a blanket. “I’ll carry you across using this blanket so I don’t get your pretty dress dirty.”

  She nodded, finding herself at a loss for words, which was unusual for her. She waited for Dillon to step back into the mud. Then she wrapped the blanket around her body and held herself rigid as he lifted her into his arms.

  He laughed. “Relax, love. You’re as stiff as a poker. Wrap your arms around my neck. I won’t bite.”

  She did as he asked, and she could feel just how powerful his arms were. His shoulders were broad and his chest seemed well muscled. Not at all like Dexter. Disappointment hit her when he set her down, and she mentally berated herself. She had decided long ago not to love. Everyone she loved died, and she couldn’t handle it if another person was called home by God.

  Dillon took her hand and led her inside the building. “This is my smithy. I have two apprentices, who I told to take the rest of the day off. But at the last minute one of the farmers needed a wheel fixed, and I promised to get right to it.”

  He walked her to a stool and had her sit down. “You should be safe here.”

  Safe? What in the world?

  She watched as he worked the bellows getting the fire hotter. It was more than sweltering inside the shop, uncomfortably so.

  “I thought wheels were made of wood,” she commented.

  “Not the wheel rim. I try to repair when I can to save my customers money, but this old rim has been repaired beyond its usefulness.”

  She watched as he placed metal in the coals, waited a bit and then started pounding it with a hammer. He did it again and again. Every once in a while he’d have to work the bellows to make the fire hotter. Then he’d put the metal in, take it out and pound on it. Finally he placed it around the wagon wheel and smiled.

  “A great fit. Sometimes they can be a bit tricky, depending where they got the wooden wheel from. I’ll finish up in a minute.”

  “I’m feeling a bit woozy from the heat and that black stuff. I’ll be outside.”

  He nodded as he continued to fit the rim to the wheel.

  She stood on the boardwalk breathing in the fresh air. What was she supposed to do? She spied two women walking her way and put a bright smile on her face.

  “You must be, Scarlett,” The older one with white hair said. She was well dressed, and immediately Scarlett wanted her for a friend.

  “Yes, I am. I just arrived today. Tell me, is there a boarding house or do you know of anyone with an extra room?”

  “Whatever for?” The other woman about the same age as Scarlett asked, frowning.

  “I’ll need a place to stay.”

  “Oh where are my manners? I’m Olga Gloss and this is my daughter Elda. Don’t mind Elda, she’s a bit upset that Dillon is getting married. They’d been friends for a long time. Scarlett, dear, it was told to me that you’d be wed this evening. You won’t need a place, not that there’s any room. Most of the families are living in their covered wagons or in tents waiting for the saw mill to catch up so they can start building. It’s so exciting to see our little town grow. Why they’re putting a post office on this street soon.”

  “I’m getting married tonight?”

  “Yes. Didn’t Dillon tell you? We do have a church up on the hill over there.”

  Scarlett looked to where Olga pointed. “It looks very nice.”

  “He’d best hurry if he plans to be soot free. You’re a lucky girl. He’s the best man I know. We tried to get him to be the mayor, but he declined. I’m glad he’ll have someone to take care of him.”

  Elda laughed. “And someone to do his laundry. It’s hard work getting his clothes clean.”

  Scarlett stared at Elda. How would she know about an unmarried man’s laundry?

  Olga put her hand on Scarlett’s arm. “We take turns washing for him. He pays well, so it’s worth the extra trouble.”

  “Olga, Elda! It’s good to see you,” Dillon said as he joined them outside.

  “Dillon Stahl! I should take a switch to you. This poor gal didn’t know she was getting married tonight. She was asking about a boarding house,” Olga scolded.

  His brows rose. “It was in my letters.”

  Heat rushed into Scarlett’s face. “I read the earlier letters, and once you proposed I was so excited and busy packing I guess I didn’t read them carefully enough.”

  “You do know how to read, don’t you?” Elda asked.

  “Graduated from school and everything, Elda.” Scarlett kept a smile on her face but it wasn’t easy. She glanced across the street. “Dillon, my trunks are gone.”

  “They must be at the house. People in this town are helpful and friendly. I’m glad. I only rode my horse this morning, not thinking about how you or your trunks would get to the house.”

  Olga smiled. “We’ll see you two at the church.” Then she grabbed Elda’s hand and hurried off. Elda kept her gaze on Dillon the whole time.

  “Come, love. I go out the back to get home.”

  Scarlett suppressed a scowl. He’d have to stop calling her love, but now wasn’t the time to tell him. The town had wanted him to be mayor? What kind of town was this? She followed him, wondering how to tell him she wouldn’t marry him.

  He led her out the back where his horse was saddled and waiting.

  “Is the house far?”

  “No. Look up. It’s on the second rise.”

  Her jaw almost dropped. It was the biggest house she’d seen this side of the Mississippi River. Nothing added up. How could this dirt-covered man be so wealthy?

  “Come, I need to clean up before we head to the church.”

  The next thing she knew he plucked her up and put her on the horse sideways and then he hopped on behind her. It was very strange to have his arms around her again as he slowly rode to his house. Dexter had only hugged her once. She looked down at his strong hands and saw the soot on the front of her dress and frowned.

  It simply wouldn’t do. He’d simply have to find another profession that wasn’t so dirty. She had to bite her tongue so she didn’t take him to task.

  The house was even bigger than it looked from the bottom of the hill. It reminded her of plantations in the South that she had once read
about. Perhaps his parents lived there?

  “Did you write the letters?” He sounded suspicious.

  “What?” she asked.

  “Did you write the letters you sent me?”

  “Yes I did but I had some help. My sister Cindy thought they were too dry and boring.” She turned her head, watching him.

  He nodded and his lips formed a grim line.

  “What?” she demanded. “What are you thinking about?”

  “Cindy is probably the romantic.”

  “Oh, you mean looking up at the stars? Yes, she wrote that. I enjoy it but it wouldn’t occur to me to write about it. She wanted to write about love and babies but I forbade it.”

  “I see.” He still looked grim as though he was disappointed and angry.

  “I’ve said something wrong, haven’t I?”

  “No, the truth is always best. You do want children, don’t you?”

  She could tell from the tone of his voice that this was the question that could get her out of the marriage. She thought to tell him no but gazed into his blue eyes. He was so handsome, and he did have a big house.

  “I have a lot of experience with babies and children. My parents have a houseful.”

  She must have said the right thing because he slowly grinned. It was a heart stopping type of grin that she’d have to grow immune to.

  * * *

  He got off his horse and reached up for Scarlett. She sure was as light as a bird. A very small bird. “Go on in. I have to unsaddle Coal here. Before you ask, it’s spelled C-O-A-L like the coal I use in my work.”

  “Clever.” She turned and opened the door.