Judith Stacy - The Dreammaker

Dust covered the boardwalk in front of the store. Dirt streaked the display windows beside the door, and several panes were broken. The shade over the windowed door hung askew.

Rafe shrugged apologetically. “I guess it doesn’t look like much on the outside.”

Her spirits lifted. “It’s better on the inside?”

“Well…no,” Rafe said. “Still want to look around?”

Kaitlin squared her shoulders. “Yes.”

Rafe pushed open the door. Cobwebs clung to the corners. Barren shelves dangled from the walls. A potbellied stove lay on its side. Gray ashes swirled in the slight breeze.

“It’s been empty for a while. Kids got in and tore it up,” Rafe said. “I guess it’s not what you expected.”

Kaitlin looked around. “No, not exactly.”

Tripp gazed down at her. “I don’t know what your dream was, Kaitlin, but you can kiss it goodbye.”

“It just needs a little fixing up.”

Kaitlin gazed hopefully at the two men. Rafe offered her a sickly smile. Tripp snorted and turned away.

She walked slowly around the room. “It has possibilities.”

“To tell you the truth, old man Finch was never able to do much with the place. Tried to sell it, but never got a nibble,” Rafe said. “I heard he finally got rid of the place by betting it in a poker game, then losing on purpose.”

Kaitlin’s gaze collided with Tripp’s across the empty store. So that’s how Harvey Stutz had acquired the deed. It was small consolation to think that for once, Stutz had been the one getting conned.

“Of course, with a lot of hard work and a little luck, maybe you two can make a go of it,” Rafe said. “You—”

“Rafe?”

A young woman walked through the front door. Shapely and attractive, her blond hair gathered in a neat bun, she headed straight for Rafe.

“I didn’t know you’d be here.” She reached for him.

Rafe backed up a step and caught her hands before they circled his waist. “I brought these folks over to look at the store. They’re the new owners.”

She turned to Kaitlin and Tripp. “New owners? Oh, how wonderful.”

Tripp tipped his hat and introduced Kaitlin and himself. “Nice to meet you, ma’am.”

“This is Julia, my wife.” Rafe caught her hand as it splayed across his chest. “Just a minute now, darling. Julia owns the millinery shop next door. She makes hats.”

“You’ll have to come over, Kaitlin, and see the shop,” Julia said as she eased her bosom against Rafe’s side.

Rafe’s cheeks turned pink and he stepped away from her. “For a while we thought business would pick up some around here. There was talk of the railroad coming through. They even laid the tracks and started work on the depot. But then the railroad changed its mind, for some reason.”

Tripp nodded. “That’ll happen. I’ve got a friend working for the railroad. Never knows where he’ll be laying track next.”

“Porter is a real friendly town. You’ll like it here.” Julia gazed up at Rafe. “We sure like it here, don’t we?”

“I’ve got to get on back to work,” he said.

“So soon?” She eased up next to him again. “Things are real quiet at the shop, Rafe, and I’m not expecting anybody in until this afternoon. Why don’t you—”

“I’ve got work to do.” Rafe said, fending off her wandering hands. “If you need anything, Tripp, let me know.”

“I’ll do that,” Tripp said, as Rafe went out the door.

Julia hurried out after him. “Rafe? Wait!”

The heat seemed to leave the room with them, causing Kaitlin to shiver. She wandered around the store. This certainly wasn’t what she expected, although with Harvey Stutz involved she should have known better.

Why couldn’t it have been a nice, clean, prosperous store? Just once, couldn’t things have gone well for her? Did everything always have to be so hard? She’d worked diligently and suffered so many setbacks already. Briefly, she wondered if her dream was meant to come true.

Kaitlin drew in her resolve and squared her shoulders, reminding herself that those sorts of thoughts would do her no good. She had to continue on, to keep going.

Kaitlin turned to Tripp, standing at the broken remains of the counter.

“Well, I guess we’d better get to work,” she said.

“Get to work? Are you loco?” His eyes widened. “This place is hopeless.”

“We have to clean it before we offer it for sale. Who would buy it looking like this?”

He waved away her comments with his big hand. “Forget it. We’ll never see a dime from this place. Didn’t you hear Rafe say that the last owner couldn’t get rid of it? We’d be better off signing it over to the town before they charge us for tearing it down.”

Kaitlin’s mouth flew open, but she didn’t say anything. She’d had her own doubts a moment ago. Surely Tripp was entitled to the same feelings.

“I understand why you feel that way, Mr. Callihan. Just think it over a while longer.”

“I’ve already done all the thinking I need to do,” Tripp said. “Getting rid of this place is the only sensible thing.”

He meant it. She saw the determination etched in the hard lines of his face. He really wanted to walk away.

Kaitlin advanced on him. “I have plans, Mr. Callihan, and those plans require money. This is the only chance I have to get back what Harvey Stutz stole from me, and I’m not walking out on it.”

He glared down at her. “I’ve got plans of my own, Miss Jeffers, but I’m not crazy enough to think I’ll get anywhere with this place.”

“I’m not about to give up my dream.”

He studied her for a moment. “Then what do you suggest we do?”

She pushed her chin higher. “We’ll fix it up and run it ourselves. It’s the only possible solution.”

“Look at this place.” Tripp waved his arms around the room. “It’s got to be scrubbed from top to bottom. The shelves have to be replaced, the counter rebuilt, the walls painted. Part of the floor’s rotted—probably because the roof leaks. And that’s only what’s wrong with this section of the building. God only knows what needs doing in the back room and upstairs.”

“I didn’t say it would be easy.”

He stalked away, then turned back to her. “Besides, I don’t know the first thing about a store. Do you?”

She slid her finger across her lips. “Of course.”

Tripp eyed her for a long moment, his brow furrowed, his gaze intent. Finally, he shook his head.

“Look, Miss Jeffers, if you want to get your money back, why don’t you just get a job somewhere? You can earn back what Stutz took from you.”

“And what sort of work would you suggest, Mr. Callihan? What job could a woman get to earn that kind of money?”

Tripp shrugged his wide shoulders. “Restaurants are always needing serving girls. And hotels need somebody to clean.”

“I’ve worked those types of jobs, Mr. Callihan, for pennies a day. Pennies,” Kaitlin said. “It took years for me to save up what Harvey Stutz stole in one night. I don’t want to wait that long again.”

Kaitlin pressed her lips together. “We both know there’s only one profession where a woman can earn good money.”

Tripp straightened, his expression grim. “Don’t talk like that. That’s no kind of life for a woman like you.”

The intensity of his words stunned her. She’d certainly never considered turning to prostitution, but did envy the whores their money.

Kaitlin shrugged. “You can see that my choices are limited. Running my own business is the only chance I have to earn the money I need. You have to agree with that.”

Tripp stepped away. Obviously, he wasn’t ready to coneede anything.