and wheezed to a stop, causing Victoria to careen into him. He caught her and held her steady. But she immediately pulled free and reached for the baby. Thankfully, Emily was still centered in the soft bedding.
Victoria smoothed the infant’s clothes as she lifted her. “Go find a store,” she told Mitch. “All we need is a bit of bread and cheese and maybe some fresh fruit. I’ll take the children out for some air. We could all use a cold drink, so I will find a pump, but we won’t leave the depot.”
Mitch bristled at the authoritative tone. “I know what to buy. I have fed my children before.” At the sound of the door at the end of the train car being opened, the boys tore off toward it, leaving Mitch to grit his teeth. Then, with a sweep of his hand, he indicated that Victoria should go first down the aisle. With Mary in front of her, and the baby secure in her arms, she walked ahead. Her fine purse dangled from her wrist. It matched the outfit she’d bartered away better than the one she now wore, but with her regal walk, Mitch doubted anyone would dare even consider the fashion faux pas, as his mother might have called it.
Cool, fresh air barreled into the car. It smelled as though the town had seen a good thunderstorm overnight. When he reached the door, Mitch spied Ralph already jumping in a nearby puddle.
They’d only just climbed down when Mitch called to his children, deciding to take Matthew for the extra pair of arms to carry back some food.
But that would leave Victoria with the four young ones. On an afterthought, he said, “John, you come with me. The rest of you stay with Miss Templeton, and mind what she says.”
“Excuse me!”
Both Mitch and Victoria turned. The conductor climbed up the stairs and waved his hat to secure everyone’s attention. “We have a delay, I’m sorry to tell you. A storm blew through here last night and a large number of trees fell onto the tracks. It will take at least a day to clear the debris.”
A murmur of disappointment rolled through the crowd.
“As soon as possible, we’ll let you know when we are able to get under way again. The train may move ahead, but only onto another line. Please don’t go anywhere until we know more.”
“You want us to just stand here like idiots?” one man shouted out from the group by the stairs. Others who’d wandered down from the men-only car began to grouse, their voices raised in cacophony.
The conductor held up his hand to ease the discord. “Of course not, sir. We’ll have a better idea of how long our delay will be as soon as we see what equipment this town has.”
Immediately, the conductor was assaulted with questions. Mitch led Victoria and the children out of earshot, to the short side of the depot’s main building. “It looks like we’ll get more fresh air than we planned, but I’ll still go ahead and purchase some food.”
“When were we supposed to arrive in Proud Bend?”
“Tuesday morning. I had scheduled it all out, even chose this route because of its speed. But now, I can’t say.” He didn’t want this delay. He had a ranch to run, and needed to brand the heifers he planned to keep. Several other ranchers had been interested in purchasing the rest of them. He needed that quick infusion of cash to pay his quarterly mortgage installment or that bank manager would be using the default as an excuse to force Mitch to sell him his mineral rights.
Victoria glanced over at the crowd. “I need to send a telegram to my uncle to tell him of this delay.”
She wasn’t traveling to a beau? His heart took a treacherous leap. Determined to ignore it, he answered, “Fine. I’ll do it. What is his name?”
In answer, Victoria opened her small drawstring purse and pulled out a folded paper. “Here’s the telegram he sent my mother. All the information is on it.”
Mitch took it and unfolded it. The name at the top was as clear as if she’d spoken it aloud. Walter Smith.
His stomach turned. That cad of a bank manager and Victoria’s uncle were one and the same man.
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