The Iron Horseman Read Free Page B

curtains now adorned the windows and lavender cloths draped the tables
topped with freshly picked wildflowers. And even though she only had two of the
beds to furnish seven bedrooms, she already had guests bidding for accommodation.
    “Did
you forget something, Mr. Redbourne?” Emaline asked as she stepped from the
kitchen with two plates of food in her hands. The young spinster stared at him
with wide, expectant eyes. “I’m sorry I couldn’t wait on you myself earlier. It
seemed there was a problem with some of the furniture I ordered in from Chicago
and well…” she closed her eyes with a slight shake of her head. “Never mind.
Aren’t you heading out today?”
    “You
did wait on me this morning, Emaline. At breakfast. Remember?”
    “Of
course,” she said.
    Levi
nodded, satisfied.
    “And
again just a half hour ago.”
    The
whole town seemed to have lost their minds.
    “I’m
just looking to get some supper, Em.” He motioned to the group of men sitting
around one of the larger tables in the room. “Fried chicken, if you’ve got
any.” Levi smiled.
    Emaline’s
eyebrows furrowed together. “All right,” she said slowly, the words drawn out
as if she didn’t quite understand. “I can’t believe you’re still hungry after
all that roast and potatoes. It must cost a fortune to keep you fed,” she said
with a grin. “Just one moment and I’ll have a fresh batch out.”
    Wouldn’t
he know if his brother was in town? It was too much of a coincidence. Tag was
on a drive. Why would he be all the way out here in Flat Plains? Redbourne Ranch
didn’t have any contracts this far west. At least, not yet. Levi bent down and
looked out the window. People bustled by as they went about their day, but he
couldn’t see anyone who remotely resembled any of his brothers. And it wasn’t
that big of a town.
    She’s
mistaken.
    Emaline
delivered the plates still balancing in her arms to their proper tables and
returned with a smile, all confusion gone from her lovely face. “I still have
the rest of that cobbler, if you’ve changed your mind as well.”
    “I’ll
take some of your cobbler anytime,” he said with a grin and a wink.
    Emaline
shook her head, but beamed up at him. “Please have a seat anywhere you like.”
    “Thanks.”
Levi took a step into the dining room. “Oh, Em? You don’t by chance still have
my room available, do you? Looks like the train’s staying the night.”
    “Sorry.
Just rented it out about a few minutes ago. To a pretty young thing too. You
can have one of the others if you’re interested. We can spread a pile of
blankets on the floor.” She grinned.
    He
was not going to sleep on the floor. “No, I’ll be fine. Thank you. I think I’ll
spend the night on the train.” He had a perfectly good sleeping compartment. He
just needed to find out what James was hiding.
    Levi
took a seat next to the table of men who’d been working on the new structure.
Mealtime was fairly uneventful, except for the fly that buzzed the sheriff’s
daughter’s face, causing her to dump her soup into her lap. Levi felt a sense
of relief when she excused herself to clean up as he would no longer have to
listen to her endless chatter.
    “So,
how long do you think it will be before the train connects through California?”
one of the farmers asked from across the aisle. The man’s brothers had all
headed West searching for gold and Levi knew how hard it was to be away from
family.
    Everyone’s
attention suddenly turned to and settled on Levi. He was sure they all had
better things to do that sit around listening to him. “Next month,” he said
with an affirming nod. He took another bite of his mashed potatoes and ignored
the stares still aimed in his direction.
    Someone
tugged on his shirt sleeve. He looked up to see Mrs. Cavanaugh, a portly little
woman with a near white braid hanging down the side of her.
    “Earl
and I would love to have you stay with us for the night,” the woman