Mistletoe Courtship by Janet Tronstad Page B

severely, but what if he were the kind of man who could attempt burning down his competitor’s establishment?
    The good thing about asking Petey and his friends to come over and work on the floor was that she could pose her questions subtly without raising anyone’s suspicions.
    â€œI’ll go next door and ask them for you,” Colter offered as he stood up from the table. “I’d worry about you going into a saloon alone.”
    â€œWhat do you mean? I worked in a saloon and I was fine.”
    â€œYeah, but that was my saloon and I was here all the time.”
    Virginia would have protested, but she suddenly realized that the men would be more likely to come if Colter asked them. She didn’t really care how the men got to be here, she just wanted a chance to talk with them, especially Petey.
    â€œAfter I get back, we can all head down to the store,” Colter said. “It’ll take a while for the men to get themselves in shape to work.”
    â€œAnd the mail,” Patricia spoke up. She had been quietly finishing her eggs. “I want to check to see if I have a letter from my mother.”
    Virginia saw Colter’s lips tighten, but he didn’t say what he was thinking.
    â€œThat’s not a problem,” he said instead. “We can check on the way to the store. The stage office handles the mail.”
    â€œMy mother.” Patricia turned to Danny. “She promised to write to me.”
    Danny just nodded. Virginia thought perhaps he was so awestruck at acquiring a father and a dog today that he wasn’t too concerned about not having a mother.
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    The smells were what Virginia liked best about the mercantile and she took a deep breath as she stepped across the doorway. Patricia and Danny had gone in ahead of her and Colter was following. The shelves at the back of the store held spices and teas from distant places. On the left side of the counter in front of the shelves was a tobacco cutter. Bolts of calico and unbleached muslin were arranged on a table on the right-hand side of the room. Another shelf to the side of the counter contained face powders and hand mirrors.
    The children headed straight for the jars of hard candy. There were red and green ribbons of spun sugar for Christmas. Virginia had already made mittens for Danny, but she didn’thave Christmas gifts for Patricia and Colter yet. And Christmas Eve was just two days away.
    â€œAnnabelle Bliss,” Colter called out as they stepped farther into the store.
    The woman was past middle age and had some slight graying in her hair. She wore a freshly ironed white blouse and a gray wool skirt. Virginia had always found Annabelle to be extremely fair-minded—maybe it came from weighing goods so often. Something was always sitting on top of Annabelle’s swinging scale. Even the crackers were sold by weight here.
    â€œIt’s about time you got back in town,” Annabelle said as she stepped around the counter to shake Colter’s hand. “I know Virginia has been waiting for you for a long time now.”
    Virginia felt herself panic. She didn’t want Colter to think she’d hung around like a schoolgirl waiting for him to return home.
    â€œWell, fortunately, I’m back now.” He didn’t seem taken aback by Annabelle’s remark. “We were hoping that you might have a ready-made dress for my daughter here, Patricia.”
    Virginia watched the girl look up and beam. Even Christmas candies couldn’t compete.
    Annabelle cocked her head and studied Patricia, then she turned back to Colter. “Almost all of our ready-made dresses are for women. Even the smallest dress would be too big to cut down that much. You’d be better just to buy material and start fresh.”
    â€œIt’s just that school is going to start again soon,” Virginia said. “We were hoping—”
    â€œI understand,” the store clerk said. “You