Catching Kent by Ruth Ann Nordin

you.”
    Good grief, there were more men
pursuing her? Kent opened the mercantile door with more force than
necessary and willed himself to calm down before someone detected
his irritation. He should be glad Rose had men lined up to be with
her. It made it that much easier to get out of Omaha when he got
his money.
    “ How did things go at the
bank?” Mr. Larson called out.
    “ Fine. The money should be
here soon.” Noting the full basket Mr. Larson was holding, he
asked, “Do you need another one? I can carry some
things.”
    “ No, I’m just about
done.”
    Just as Kent nodded, Rose came into
the store and hurried over to them.
    “ Did you talk to your
uncle?” her father asked.
    “ I did. Everything is set.”
She glanced at Kent and smiled in a way that made Kent wonder what
she was up to. Turning her gaze back to her father, she asked, “Did
you get everything on Ma’s list?”
    “ Yes, I did.”
    “ Can we get some
tea?”
    “ Tea?”
    “ Kent came from Europe and
I hear they drink tea all the time over there.”
    Kent shook his head. “That isn’t
necessary, Mr. Larson. Coffee is just fine.”
    Her father hesitated. “Do you like
tea?”
    “ Well,” he glanced at Rose
who nodded as if she could read his mind, and in this case, she’d
be right, “yes. But I don’t want you to go to any
trouble.”
    “ It’s no trouble at all,”
he said and went to retrieve some.
    “ I can’t wait to try it,”
Rose told Kent.
    He almost told her to run back out and
find some other man who’d fawn all over her but bit his tongue. No,
he didn’t want her to go back out there. And he wished it didn’t
bother him that other men were interested in her.
    “ I think I got everything
now,” Mr. Larson said, returning to them. “Is there anything else
we need?”
    “ Some clothes for Kent?”
Rose suggested.
    “ Right.” He placed the
basket on the counter.
    “ I’ll make you a shirt,”
she said. “I can sew better than I cook. What’s your favorite
color?”
    “ This isn’t necessary,” he
told both of them as her father grabbed a catalogue to sort
through. “When I get my money, I can buy clothes.” He could even
pay someone to make them for him.
    “ Nonsense,” Mr. Larson said
as he showed him the men’s clothing. “We can order anything on here
you want or go to the tailor’s. It’s your choice.”
    “ But I have
money.”
    “ And it’s not here right
now. I don’t want you to have to worry about going to California
and buying clothes. You’re young and starting out. You need all the
money you can save up. I’ll have no argument over this.”
    Kent opened his mouth to protest,
knowing there was no way Mr. Larson had even a fraction of the
amount he did, but Rose said, “What’s your favorite
color?”
    “ Blue,” he quickly
answered. She ran off so he turned his attention back to Mr.
Larson, but he was already pointing to a pair of trousers and
denims. “What’s your size?”
    “ Mr. Larson, this
isn’t—”
    “ I know it’s not necessary,
but I want to.”
    The resolute tone in his voice stopped
Kent from saying anything else. It was important to him that he did
it, and Kent decided he should go ahead and let him purchase two
pairs of pants and let Rose make a shirt or two for him. After he
told him his size, he added, “Thank you,” and left it at
that.

 
     
     
    Chapter Eleven
     
    A week later, Rose held up the blue
shirt and sighed in satisfaction. She’d spent every waking moment
working on it, and now that it was finally done, she couldn’t wait
to give it to Kent. Jumping up from the chair in the parlor, she
hurried up the stairs and ran to her brothers’ bedroom.
    “ What are you doing?”
someone asked her.
    Gasping, she clutched the shirt to her
chest and whirled around. She laughed when she saw it was Harriett.
“You scared me.”
    “ I gathered that much,”
Harriett said, holding neatly folded clothes in her arms. “I asked
you a question, Rose.