Chapter Nine
The following day, Myrtle made sugar cookies again, along with several cakes.
And she made a small cobbler with the sugar cookie dough for Aaron to take to work.
He was thrilled, and it was obvious he was having trouble not grabbing a fork and taking a bite right then.
Of course, Myrtle was certain a fork was the last thing on his mind.
He’d probably eat it with his fingers if he thought he could get away with it.
At lunch, she carried in a second cobbler to share with her friends, also with the sugar cookie dough. She wanted their opinion on Aaron’s idea.
After they’d eaten the stew Maggie had made for them, she set the cobbler in the center of the table. “Aaron asked me if I would make this. It’s something I’ve never even thought of trying to bake, so I want your opinions on it. The crust is sugar cookie, and the filling is mixed berry.”
Josie grinned. “I’m intrigued. It sounds good, but I don’t know if I would have ever thought of making it.”
“Aaron has such a sweet tooth. I asked him about whether I should make one dessert per day or two, and he opted for two, because he wants to eat two desserts!”
As they laughed the women each took a piece of the cobbler. Myrtle watched with trepidation, hoping she’d found a signature dessert for her bakery. She could easily make it every day, and along with sugar cookies, it would be something she served daily, and everything else would rotate.
Belle sighed after taking a bite. “I want this for my next dessert day, which is tomorrow.”
All of the women nodded eagerly. “It’s delicious,” Ella said. “I’ve never had anything quite like it.”
“Well, I guess I know what I’m making tomorrow,” Myrtle said with a smile.
Then she changed the subject. She needed to find out who owned the land she had inadvertently set up as her “marketplace.” It was where all the men met her daily, so she was certain it would be the best place for her bakery when she was able to build it.
“Do any of you know who owns the land along the path where there are four tree stumps?” Many of the men used them as chairs, so it was easy to remember they were there.
“Oh, I’m pretty sure that’s part of Mr. and Mrs. Johnson’s land. Why?” Belle asked.
“It’s where the men have been meeting me on my way to the store. I thought it would be the perfect place to build a bakery,” Myrtle said.
Maggie nodded. “I think that would be really smart. And I would be willing to bet Katie would rent you the land or even sell it to you if you wanted it.”
“I agree,” Agnes said. “Katie has been our best supporter as we’ve all tried to create our little cooperative business here.
Myrtle nodded. “I’ll talk to her when I drop my baked goodies off today.” There was no harm in asking if the land was available to buy or rent, was there?
“Oh, I need two loaves of bread today,” Lula said. “I plan to serve stew in bread that’s been hollowed out for supper.”
“No problem. Katie told me yesterday that she doesn’t care how much I sell before I get to the store as long as I keep some bread and a dessert for her and Mr. Johnson. I made them a small cobbler like the one I brought. Just to thank her for all she does.”
“That’s sweet,” Josie said. “But you’re always sweet.”
“Not as sweet as my desserts!” Myrtle replied, getting to her feet. She gave each of her friends their bread. “Does everyone want cobbler tomorrow?”
“Yes!” Josie said. “I actually think I want to eat that every day for the rest of my life.”
Myrtle shook her head at her friend. “You’re silly.”
“Can I walk to town with you?” Josie asked.
Myrtle nodded. “Of course. Just know we’ll be selling on the way.”
“No problem.”
As they got out of earshot of the cabin, Myrtle asked, “Is everything all right?”
Josie nodded. “We just haven’t had any time to chat one-on-one.”
“We’ve all been so busy since we arrived!” Myrtle agreed. “How is married life treating you?”
Josie shrugged. “Mostly good. It’s certainly different than it was when we were back in Beckham. I love that we all get to start over in a new place, but we still have each other, if that makes sense.”
“Of course! I agree completely. I do wish I’d started out with Aaron better than I did. I really shouldn’t have brought you three without his approval, but that didn’t occur to me until we were face to face in Skagway.”
“Is he angry with you?”
Myrtle shook her head. “He says he’s not, but I don’t imagine how he couldn’t be. We were supposed to be on a honeymoon, and instead, it was him with four women.”
Myrtle spotted the men ahead of her. “Do you want to wait and walk the rest of the way with me?”
Josie nodded. “I’d really like that.”
“All right.”
Myrtle quickly sold some of the bread and desserts.
The man who had asked for sugar cookies every day smiled at her. “Are you taking my advice and making sugar cookies every day?” he asked.
“I’ll try to do them more often.”
“Life is sure better with you ladies in it.”
Myrtle smiled and filled his plate with cookies, giving him one more than he had paid for.
He noticed, and his whole face lit up. “Thank you, Mrs. Fielding.”
As Myrtle and Josie resumed their walk, Josie asked what Aaron thought about her opening a bakery.
Myrtle sighed. “He’ll only agree if I have a partner to share the work. He thinks I do too much already.”
“He’s probably right,” Josie said, “but we all do. It’s so nice to be in charge of our own lives after so long at the hotel.”
“I agree. How do you like working with Agnes?”
“Oh, I love Agnes. Now that the foraging has dried up some, I’ve been knitting a lot. The men seem to go through gloves at a ridiculous rate. I’m happy to keep them supplied. I brought a few things for Katie to sell,” Josie said, holding up her bag.
“Do you enjoy knitting?” Myrtle asked. She hadn’t ever known Josie to knit.
“I’m good at it,” Josie said. “We can’t all enjoy our jobs.”
“What would you rather do? Have you thought about raising animals?”
Josie shook her head. “I couldn’t butcher them. I’m too soft-hearted.”
“What about making jelly or jam and selling it?”
Josie sighed. “It doesn’t feel right. I mean, I’ll make them for my family, but it’s not what I want to do.”
They’d arrived at the store. “Well, you’ll think of something. I’ve never known you to be indecisive or sit idle.”
“I think I’ll be knitting and sewing all winter. I need to replace the quilt on our bed. It’s falling apart.”
“When you’re ready to quilt it, we’ll have to have a little party and quilt it together.”
Josie nodded. “That sounds wonderful. I guess I’m feeling a bit lonely.”
“You’re welcome to come and knit at my place in the mornings. My cabin is always warm from the stoves, and it smells wonderful.”
Josie grinned. “I may just take you up on that.”
“I hope you do,” Myrtle opened the door to the store and the two women went inside.
There were many men in the store, and Myrtle went straight to the front to talk to Katie. “I made you a special dessert. I want your honest opinion.” She pressed a small pan of cobbler into Katie’s hands. “It’s a gift for all the help you’ve given me since I arrived.”
“I will never turn down free dessert.” Katie patted her middle. “As you can see by looking at me.”
“You’re perfect just like you are,” Myrtle said. Together, she and Josie unloaded the wagon, and Katie quickly began putting the baked goods on the shelves.
When Katie and Myrtle were finished with their business, Josie pressed the bag in her hands toward the middle of the counter. “I’ve been doing some knitting.”
Katie opened the bag and pulled out a multicolored hat. “Oh, it’s beautiful. I’m keeping this one for myself.”
“Oh, I thought it would be good for a man...” Josie said.
“And a woman,” Katie replied. “I’m keeping it.” She kept pulling things out of the bag and exclaiming over how beautiful they were. “These will sell out quickly. Please keep them coming!”
Josie nodded. “I’ll do my best.”
As the two women left the store, the men swarmed the items they’d brought and a line formed.
Josie looked at Myrtle. “Is it always this way? I’ve never seen the store so busy.”
Myrtle nodded. “Yes, they wait for me to come. Many of them take their lunches when they know I’ll be bringing my treats.”
Josie shook her head. “I don’t usually come to town. Agnes brought in the forage that the rest of us didn’t need.”
“Well, don’t spend every day by yourself. I know you go to lunch every day, but you need to be around people more than that. I don’t mind being alone for long periods, but it’s always bothered you.”
“You’re right. I do need to do something about being alone. I may take you up on knitting at your place.”
“Be careful...I may just force you to wash dishes.”
“Any work the two of us do together doesn’t feel like work.”
As they parted ways, Myrtle worried about Josie. Her friend really did need to spend more time with people. She was obviously sad, and that wasn’t good.
Once home, Myrtle started supper. She hadn’t wanted to speak with Katie with Josie present, so she would go back to town once the preparations for supper were made, and then she would finish cooking as soon as she arrived home.
When she set off for the store again, she hoped to catch Katie right at close. She didn’t want to keep the older woman at work longer than necessary, but she wanted to have the discussion in private. It felt strange to discuss a business matter such as this with people around.
She arrived at the store five minutes before close, and she could see everything Josie had brought and all her baked goods had already been sold. And that was with her baking double what she normally did.
The store was empty except for Katie, so Myrtle approached her. “I have something I’d like to talk to you about.”
“Yes, of course,” Katie said.
“The spot where the men meet me on my way here...there are four stumps on the side of the path. I was told you owned that property. Is that true?”
Katie nodded. “Yes, my husband and I own it.”
“I think that’s where I want to build my bakery. Would you consider allowing me to lease the property and build there?”
“I don’t see why not. We’re not using it. We could work out an arrangement where I get ten percent of your revenue? Or you could pay a flat fee every month.”
“I’ll think about it, but I’m leaning toward ten percent. It’ll be easier than coming up with a set amount. I’ll discuss it with Aaron and see what he thinks.”
“And I’ll talk to Mr. Johnson and get his opinion. Though, he mostly leaves business matters to me these days. He’s busy preparing his sermons and working on our books.” Katie shrugged. “I’m sure it won’t be a problem.”
“Then I’ll talk to Aaron and let you know what we decide.” Myrtle smiled. “I’m going to go finish supper. Thank you for seeing me.”
“And thank you for the dessert. I’m sure Mr. Johnson and I will love it!”
“I’ll need your opinion tomorrow,” Myrtle said as she headed for the door.
“You’ll have it.”
Myrtle wanted to scream to the world that everything was going her way. She had a location for her bakery. She couldn’t wait to talk to Aaron.
He walked in just as she put the venison pot pie she’d made for supper into the oven. She hadn’t even removed her coat and gloves yet.
Aaron frowned. “You’re getting home late.”
“I went back into town to talk to Katie about something. Oh, I can’t wait to tell you all about it.”
“There’s something I want to talk to you about as well.”
“Oh?” She shrugged out of her coat and hung it neatly on a hook on the wall.
“Why are you flirting with another man?” he asked.
“I...I would never...”
“Roderick Stanton thinks you’re in love with him. Something about giving him an extra cookie today? He said you’re always particularly nice and single him out of the crowd.”
“That’s not true at all! I did give him an extra cookie, but only because he’s my best customer, and he’s made it clear that the sugar cookies I make are his favorite. That’s all.”
Aaron shook his head. “You’re dealing with men who aren’t used to having women around at all. A simple gesture like that is taken as flirting. He’s told all the men at work that he’s going to marry you as soon as he can convince you to leave me!”
“I would never.” She hurried to him and took his hands in hers. “Surely you can see he mistook my generosity as flirting. The only man I want to flirt with is you. The only man I want to kiss is you. You’re my husband.”
“It doesn’t look good when you give another man preferential treatment. I’d like you to stop doing that.”
“I never meant...” She sighed. “I’m sorry, and it won’t happen again.”
“Good.” Aaron hung his own coat beside hers. “Now what did you want to talk to me about?”
Myrtle frowned, realizing that his jealousy and scolding had made her lose her excitement. “I asked around about who owns the land where the men meet me when I’m heading to the store. It’s owned by the Johnsons. Katie has said that I could lease the property for my bakery.”
“I thought you weren’t going to pursue the bakery until you found a partner to take some of the load off you.”
“I will...I just thought it would be nice to start making plans...”
“I specifically told you not to go forward without a partner. So in one day you flirt with another man, and then you defy me?”
“I didn’t think of it as defying you. I thought it would be smart to know what I was dealing with when I was ready...”
“You talked to someone else about it without even consulting me. I’d have told you to wait, which is what I thought I told you last night.
I know you were on your own when you worked at the hotel, and you were able to make your own decisions, but we’re married now.
You must talk to me before you go to someone else and start making plans that affect both of us! ”
Myrtle felt that he was being unfair. She hadn’t signed any kind of lease or anything, she’d simply inquired about the availability of the property she wanted to use.
The man was being stubborn and unreasonable.
“I’m sorry,” she whispered before walking outside with no coat. She needed a moment to herself.