Chapter 2
Unity, Texas
The new kiln was even bigger than the one they had had in the smelter before the bandits blew it up. Thomas shot a look over at Ethan, the man in charge. “How did we manage to get this?”
“Oh, I pulled a few strings,” Ethan said, smiling. He pointed to the cane that Thomas needed to walk with since he was injured in the smelter disaster. “It’s the least management can do considering everything we’ve been through. Anyway, a bigger kiln means more copper is processed faster.”
“And we need faster,” Thomas agreed. “We are sorely behind.”
“That you are,” Mr. Rossi said. He was also checking on the new equipment with his little clipboard. He eyed the two men somberly. “You plan to start tomorrow. This is the last of the equipment you ordered.”
It wasn’t a question.
“Yes, we’ll start in the morning,” Ethan said.
“Good. Because you are terribly behind,” Rossi said.
“We know,” Thomas snapped. He had little patience for the company man after the accident. “We know we’re behind, but in case you didn’t notice, we were injured in the explosion that El Aguila’s men caused. And since we still don’t know how they got in here?—”
“That’s enough,” Ethan said gently, putting a hand on Thomas’s arm.
Thomas turned away from the man he would very much like to punch.
He took a moment to calm himself. Perhaps he should go and speak to Father Sumner again about the anger he felt almost all the time since the accident.
It wasn’t the company’s fault, and he knew that, but Thomas really wanted to make someone pay.
The priest said it was the Lord’s prerogative alone to exact revenge, but Thomas really wanted to be there when that happened.
He noticed that Ethan had ushered Rossi out of the new smelter building and was on his way back to Thomas.
“You know it doesn’t help us much to antagonize the company man?” Ethan asked.
Thomas nodded. “I know, but when my leg aches, I get angry.”
“I understand, but you need to get your temper under control,” Ethan said. Then he smiled. “Don’t worry. I want to punch him in the nose too.”
“Maybe you should come to Father Sumner’s little talks about anger and revenge too,” Thomas said.
Ethan grinned. “Maybe I will.”
They watched in silence as the other men shifted the kiln into place. It was heavy, and Thomas longed to help, but since his ankle had been broken and only recently healed, he wasn’t allowed to lift heavy things.
The new smelter stood on a different piece of land along the creek.
It was closer to the bridge now but further from the mine.
After the fire and the subsequent explosion that had demolished the original smelter, the ground where it had stood was terribly unstable.
The miners were shoring it up and checking to see if the veins of copper ran that way and it could be another entrance to the mine, but the ground wouldn’t hold a large building.
Thomas and Ethan had spent weeks drawing up plans for a better, more efficient process, and they were keen to see it implemented. It meant bigger, newer machines, and this smelter included a fire suppression system. It was just a large water tank on the roof, but it was far better than nothing.
“I’m so glad things are finally starting to come together,” Thomas said, standing back and looking at the progress.
The building was a simple one of wooden planks, but the machinery inside it was state-of-the-art now.
“I would hate to think that Anders is going to have his hotel up and running before we manage to get the smelter back in working order.”
“It would be a kick in the teeth, wouldn’t it?” Ethan chuckled. “He’s so determined.”
“Yes, he is. I wonder who is going to fill this hotel of his?” Thomas asked. “We don’t have that many new faces around here.”
“Maybe he’s got something planned,” Ethan said. “Diane said that Mildred was talking about using the hotel’s dining hall as a music hall on Saturday nights.”
“A music hall?” Thomas asked. “You mean with musicians and singers?”
“I think that’s generally the idea.”
“Well, now, that will be something,” Thomas said thoughtfully. He liked music. In fact, his childhood home had been full of music. His mother played the piano, and he and his brother Luke used to sing. Luke had a wonderful voice.
I wonder if he still sings.
“Isn’t your lady love supposed to be arriving today?” Ethan asked.
Thomas nodded, his thoughts turning for a brief moment to Clary.
They’d only corresponded a short while, but he was sure she was the woman God intended for him.
She came across in her letters as strong, intelligent, and self-sufficient.
All important qualities for survival in Unity, not to mention in a marital partner.
“Yes. She’s also bringing her sister Evelyn, eight horses, and two stagecoaches. ”
Ethan laughed. “Of course she is. I suppose going to San Antonio will be a breeze now.”
Thomas raised his brows. “With El Aguila’s bandits camped out on the route? I don’t think it will be a breeze, but at least with a stagecoach, there’s more protection.”
“I suppose so. Of course, once we defeat him, we’ll have the best transport system ever. Are you sending some folks out to meet her?”
“Yes, I’m taking a couple of horses, Ben, Ross, and Duncan, and we’re going to ride out this afternoon and see if we can meet Clary on the way.”
“Clary is an unusual name. Like the sage?” Ethan asked.
“It’s actually Clarinda, but she doesn’t like that name much,” Thomas explained.
“And you’re keeping that ratty fuzz on your chin even though your lady love will be here by this evening?” Ethan asked.
He’d been teasing Thomas about the beard he was growing ever since Thomas decided that shaving was simply too much effort. After a rough start, Thomas thought his beard was filling in nicely. He stroked his facial hair. “I like it. I think she will too.”
Ethan couldn’t suppress his laugh. It rang out of him like a bell, and the men who were installing the kiln turned to look at him.
He waved their curiosity away. “Oh, Thomas, if nothing else, you will keep her laughing. That’s for sure.
” He patted Thomas on the shoulder. “I think you should head out a little early. Better you wait for Clary in San Antonio than she be beset by bandits and can’t make it to town. ”
Thomas nodded. “You’re right. I’ll get the fellows and go. Thanks, Ethan.”
“It’s my pleasure. I hope that you two take one look at each other and fall madly, deeply in love, like me and Diane.” He grinned.
“Thanks,” Thomas said, and he left Ethan to oversee the rest of the work. He headed away from the new smelter to the bridge and through the little town he had helped to build from the ground up.
Thomas just hoped that Clary liked spindly men who were too tall and skinny and walked with a cane and a limp.
Since working in the mine and the smelter, Thomas had put a good deal of muscle on his lanky frame.
However, being so tall meant that he always looked overstretched, as though he’d been hung from the rafters with soup cans tied to his ankles.
All he could hope was that Clary wasn’t extremely short.
He had courted a woman once who was barely five feet tall.
Needing to find a stool for her to stand on to look him in the eye was no way to conduct a romance, it turned out.
He hadn’t been brave enough to ask Clary what she looked like. They had agreed that he would wear a daisy in his lapel when he went to meet her in San Antonio. She would wear a green scarf around her neck. That was it. They had no idea what either of them was in for.
Thomas could only hope and pray that Clary would like him in the flesh as much as she had seemed to like his letters.
Her letters had been packed full of interesting stories. It seemed that Evelyn was something of a problem child. Not that she was a child anymore at twenty-three. Still, she seemed to be Clary’s responsibility, one which Clary took very seriously.
Anyway, Thomas hoped the sisters would like him and the town that he loved so much.
Unity was growing into such a vibrant, exciting community.
Already, things were changing and growing again.
From a simple, tent-filled mining town, they had grown into a place where people could thrive in proper houses, with stores and a church and farms. It felt really good to be such a big part of it all.
“Hey, Thomas!”
The call startled Thomas, who almost tripped over his cane. Turning around, he spotted Mark Ellis running across the bridge toward him.
“Hi, Mark.”
Mark was a fellow miner. He was shorter than Thomas and had curly blond hair and a full beard.
“I heard you were heading out to meet your lady today,” Mark said, smiling.
“Does everyone know?” Thomas asked, surprised. Had he really told so many people about Clary’s arrival? He didn’t recall.
“I heard it through the grapevine,” Mark said, looking a little uncomfortable. “I was wondering if you could use an extra rider. I’m a good shot. I used to be a deputy sheriff, you know?”
“Really? Why are you working in the mine, then, instead of helping Robert police this little town of ours?” Thomas asked.
Mark coughed. “We had a disagreement early on, me and Robert, and he’s still mad at me.”
Thomas nodded. Their sheriff could hold a grudge like no one Thomas had met before. Father Sumner was always scolding Robert for not letting bygones be bygones.
“Aren’t you working in the mine today?” Thomas asked.
Mark shook his head. “It’s my day off.”
Thomas sized Mark up. And why not have an extra rider? If they were going to face bandits, it might as well be with force.
“Okay, come along,” Thomas said.
Mark smiled. “Thanks.”
It took a while to get everyone ready. Despite this being a short journey to San Antonio and back, there were things they needed. Guns were first and foremost in their minds.