“Why do you ask?”

  “You know she hasn’t been courted since her husband died?”

  Will shifted in his seat. “I don’t know why. She is a beautiful woman.”

  Odessa lifted her eyebrow and finished her sandwich. “Well, first she went through the mourning period, but I think it was more for show. Then the earthquake happened and there weren’t any eligible men left.”

  “Of course, how insensitive of me.” Will drained his lemonade cup. “You said you think the grieving was more for show. Why do you say that?”

  “It isn’t my place to say. I just know things weren’t as rosy as they appeared at the Daniels’ house. Charlotte, if you haven’t realized, is all about appearances.”

  Will rubbed his forehead. A headache was starting to form. “Yeah, I gathered that.”

  “And as such she has lost a lot of friends in the community by trying to keep up appearances.”

  “Thank you for sharing, but I’m not one to engage in gossip, so let’s just drop it now.” He picked up the basket and the two glasses and stood up. “I think I might head over to the apothecary and see if I find something for my head. It will also give me a chance to make sure Charlotte is ok. Thank you for your company, Mrs. Gale.”

  “Call me Odessa. And young man,” she called after him, “I know you are very good for her. Make sure you keep it that way.”

  Will nodded and went to return the glasses to the lemonade stand. As he dropped the glasses off, he thought he saw someone heading around the corner of the school. If he didn’t know any better, he would have thought that it was Mr. Shippenbottom from New Harbor. What was he doing here?

  Will hadn’t seen the man in nearly two years. The last time he saw Mr. Shippenbottom was in an alley where Will was beaten up by some men hired for the task.

  He didn’t have the money to pay for the last bottle of laudanum Mr. Shippenbottom provided. He was less than understanding when Will explained his predicament and offered to pay the next time he could find work.

  Mr. Shippenbottom agreed and doubled the price owed before telling his henchmen to teach Will a lesson. When they were finished, Mr. Shippenbottom dropped a bottle at his feet. There wasn’t nary a drop of the precious elixir which could have lessened the pain Will felt at that time.

  As he laid broken and bloody in the alleyway Will prayed and promised God, he would never touch a drop of the vile stuff again if he could only be delivered from his addiction.

  2 years, 4 months, 7 days, 7 hours, 32 minutes and 4 seconds.

  Will knew the exact amount of time since that encounter in the alleyway.

  Will’s recovery was a long road. He would stay in his room sweating and shaking as the drug moved its way out of his system. He lost all of his friends, his job and eventually was asked to leave the boarding house where he stayed.

  But Will knew that the only way up... .was up. He found a church that offered him shelter and guided him through his recovery. Will became dependent on the Psalms. And just like King David, who wrote the beautiful words, they became a balm to his soul.

  He took off after the figure, but when he rounded the church there was no one to be found. Suddenly a voice boomed from the podium on the grandstand announcing that Tess Daniels had given birth to both a baby boy and a baby girl. He could hear the citizens rejoice at the announcement.

  Silverpines was healing and growing. Will rubbed his temples. The headache was getting worse. He needed to find the Marshal to let him know of Shippenbottom’s presence.

  He was headed back to the festival to find Alexzander when Robert Childs found him first.

  “Will, Charlotte was asking for you.” Robert had a large smile on his face. Hattie had given birth to their daughter Anna just a few months before. “Did you hear? Tess gave birth to two healthy babies. A boy and a girl.”

  “I was headed that way anyway.” Will started to follow him back to the apothecary. He stopped to rub his temples again.

  “You alright?” Robert asked. The doctor didn’t miss anything.

  “My head has been hurting most of the morning.”

  “I just received samples of some new medication from my old hospital in the east. Seems a man in Germany invented something called Aspirin and it helps with everything from headaches to minor pains.”

  “Is it addictive?” The last time he went down the path of something to help with his pain it led down a very dark road. He looked at his pocket watch to see the time.

  2 years, 4 months, 7 days, 8 hours, 4 minutes and 32 seconds.

  “Not at all. Think of it as willow bark tea in a pill form.”

  Will nodded and resumed his walking next to Robert. “Is Tess alright?”

  “Everyone is fine. They just wanted their entire family around them to help celebrate, so they sent me for you.”

  “Family?”

  “Of course. You are part of that.” Robert slapped him on the back. “Come on. Grandmother Charlotte is asking for you.”

  Grandmother Charlotte. Well there was a smack in the face. She was a grandmother. Will was old enough to have a child, if that had been God’s will, but the woman he loved was a grandmother.

  Robert led him to the back of the apothecary to a room where Tess was resting. Charlotte had a little bundle in her arms. Will noticed that tears were falling from her eyes.

  “Isn’t she beautiful?” Charlotte asked, looking up at Will. Will looked at the small infant bundled in a blanket. He hadn’t been around a baby right after birth, so he didn’t know if she was beautiful or not. All the babies he had seen were a bit older.

  The tiny wrinkled person opened her mouth and stuck two fingers in it, eliciting a chuckle from Charlotte.

  “She is beautiful,” Will told her. “What’s her name?”

  “Charlotte Rose. I’ll call her by both names so there isn’t any confusion.”

  “Or Rosie,” Will suggested. “She looks just like one of the flowers in your garden.”

  “Rosie is a fine name,” Tess said from the bed. “I’m glad you are here, Will.”

  “Where is Dawson and the other baby?”

  “Oliver and his father are in the next room. He is so beautiful too. I can hardly believe that I had two babies inside me.”

  “I’ll go visit with the proud poppa and let you rest.”

  Robert came in and handed Will two small white pills and a glass of water. “These should help you.”

  Charlotte looked at him. “Are you sick? You shouldn’t be in here if you are sick.”

  “No,” Will shook his head, swallowing the pills with a sip of water. “Just a headache.”

  Charlotte nodded and turned her attention back to the bundle of joy in her arms. “You are so beautiful, little Rosie. And your brother is so handsome.” The baby happily sucked on her fingers. “I’m going to be the best grandmother, just you wait and see. I promise you, sweet baby.”

  Will watched Charlotte sing to the baby and made a silent vow to the sleeping infant that he would make sure that her grandmother lived up to that promise.

  One week later

  Will Tuckering was in the middle of a wonderful dream. He was just about to kiss Charlotte Daniels when the sound of a rooster broke through his sleep.

  Darn chickens from Chinatown, he thought as he rolled over and snuggled back into the blankets trying to recapture where he was a moment before.

  Cock-a-doodle-doo!

  The rooster sounded again. This time, it seemed much closer. Almost as if it was in his room.

  Will groaned.

  The crowing got louder and this time it seemed to be coming from the foot of his bed. Will sat up, determined to find out which rooster it was so he could have words with the owner in the morning.

  Wait.

  Roosters didn’t crow at night.

  It was too dark to see anything, so he fumbled around in the dark for the match safe. Finding it, he pulled one out and struck it against the striker, the hiss of sulfur igniting filling the air.

  He went to light the oil lamp on the table when he caught a glimpse of the rooster strutting near the wooden coffins lined up against the wall. He let forth a gasp and dropped the match on his bed clothes.

  Horsefeathers, he thought as he quickly folded over the covers to extinguish the flame. He gave a little snort. Horsefeathers, indeed. He must be spending too much time around Charlotte if he started to pick up her sayings.

  This time he got out of bed and reached again for the box of matches.

  The rooster let out another crow and he could hear the sound of the wings flapping in the dark. Darn Zhang Yong and his family. They were the only ones he knew that kept a rooster.

  Nasty little bugger, too. He greatly admired the Chinese-American man who worked hard providing for his family, but he wasn’t a fan of the rooster they kept as a pet. It doubled as a guard animal too, Zhang would tell him.

  Will felt along the ground for the match safe. The rooster was closer now, as he could feel the air moving from it flapping its wings.

  “Yeah, yeah. I’m coming,” he told the noisy bird. “If you don’t get outta here, into the pot with you.” He struck another match and managed to light the oil lamp.

  As he secured the globe around the flame, he was able to take a good look at the rooster, which seemed to be growing more impatient by the minute.

  The rooster was a large black and brown Rhode Island Red with a bright red comb and wattle. It strutted up to Will and raised his neck, emitting a crow that could raise the dead from the cemetery across the road. It was definitely not Zhang’s rooster.

  “Let’s get you out of here,” Will said, shooing the rooster towards the door of the lean-to. The rooster seemed very happy to be headed outdoors as its struts appeared almost dance-like as he led Will to the door.

  Will had just opened the door when the rooster ran from the room and into the lean-to. Will thought he must have forgotten to close the door to the side structure when he came in for the night. The rooster went to the wooden doors and stood as high as he could and crowed once more.

  It was then Will smelled it.

  The smell of wood burning hit his nostrils. He ran to the door and pushed it open. The sight before him was pure chaos.

  An orange and yellow kaleidoscope reached out before his eyes. It was coming from the tent village in Chinatown and making its way towards the town.

  The heat washed over him in waves. The hissing of the flames as it consumed the grass in front of it were combined with sizzling pops and a thick, intoxicating smoke.

  The shouts and cries of the families in the shanty town filled the air. Will wasn't sure where to look first.

  He could see the fire was licking at the grass of the cemetery and coming very close to the gas company. If it hit the gas line, Will couldn't imagine the catastrophe.

  The wind appeared to be pushing it towards the railroad tracks and the business district, but Will knew it could change direction at any moment.

  He needed to warn the citizens of Silverpines.

  “Thanks, buddy,” he said to the rooster. As he turned to run to the park, he saw the rooster disappear before his eyes.

  He shook his head. He must be more tired than he thought. He quickly rubbed his eyes, trying to clear the smoky haze from them.

  He darted up Sixth Street towards the park, stopping only to bang on the apothecary door and the clinic next door. He didn't know which way the fire was headed, and he didn't want to take a chance of any of the residents being hurt.

  By the time he got to the grandstand his lungs were burning, from both the exercise and the smoke. He reached up and grabbed the rope and started to pull.

  The sound of the bell rang out into the dark. Will could follow the fire as he pulled the bell. It crawled over the cemetery and empty grass-filled lots as it continued on its path towards the railroad tracks.

  He could hear the panicked sounds of the exotic animals from the zoo in the distance. He prayed the fire didn’t make it that far. The flames rose in the distance as the fire consumed everything in its path.

  Suddenly the sound of explosions were heard from Chinatown. Will could see the trails of firecrackers heading up into the sky and once they exploded, the sparks rained down illuminating everything below them.

  Will continued to ring the bell. He could see the roofs of several buildings go up in cinders, ashes swirling in the air like dark snow.

  The windows inside the telegraph station were starting to glow and then exploded from the inside, the sound of glass hitting the road.

  He kept pulling until he started seeing lights come on in the houses and people starting to gather in the streets.

  “Grab your buckets,” he yelled, praying his voice could be heard over the sound of the bell. “Grab your buckets!”

  Suddenly the cry of "fire," rang out and people started running down the road. Will released the rope, his arms burning, and ran to get the buckets he knew were in the lean-to.

  He ran to the spigot outside the structure and filled the buckets before joining the folks running into danger.

  Chapter 3

  “Ouch.” Will hissed as Dr. Hattie Childs slathered his burn with salve and wrapped a bandage around his arm. Lacey Lou was tending to other patients in the sitting room of the apothecary. There were about a dozen or so folks when he arrived to have his arm seen to. Will insisted that the more injured patients went first and waited his turn until Hattie could see him.

  “You got pretty badly burned there,” Hattie said, tucking the end of the bandage underneath itself to hold it in place. “Certainly not as bad as some, but still pretty bad.” She secured the bandage with a pin before handing him a tin of salve. “I want you to change the bandage once a day and apply more of this salve to it.”

  “What’s in it?” Will asked. It smelled sweet and cloying, like a perfume. He was surprised he could actually smell anything after all the smoke.

  “A mixture of honey, aloe and lavender oil. If you need any more, stop by and one of us can prepare it for you.” Hattie started cleaning up her supplies. “Be sure to use clean linens when you wrap it. I don’t have any extras, so find a bed sheet or an old shirt. Then after a few days, take the bandage off so it can start to dry out.” Will nodded, scratching his arm. “And whatever you do, don’t scratch it.” He stopped and looked at her.

  “Why?”

  “Because you are going to have blisters develop over the next few hours and I don’t want you to risk scratching one open. You risk infection that way.”

  “Okay, anything else?” Will put the tin of salve in his pocket.

  “Not for now. If you have any other concerns just stop by.”

  “Thanks, Doc,” he said, rolling down his sleeve and fastening the cuff.

  Hattie nodded and put the dirty supplies in a basket on the floor. She followed Will out to the lobby, and he heard her call “Who’s next?” as he headed out the door.

  The town looked completely different in the light of day. Where canvas tents sat, flapping in the breeze, there was a pile of ash and burned wood. The grass, once green and lush was black and brittle.

  The fire had done significant damage to the town, but thankfully no one lost their life or was seriously injured. Buildings could be repaired. Grass would grow again. People, he thought, couldn’t be replaced.

  Will was glad that he only sustained burns on one arm. He wasn’t paying enough attention to what was behind him as he fought the fire in front of him. A timber fell, causing coals to fly up and they landed on his shirt, burning through the fabric and searing his skin.

  Even though his skin felt like it was on fire, he continued to work next to the men and women fighting the blaze until all traces of it were extinguished. Only then did he allow himself to get some medical care.

  There were still people mingling in the streets. Many women were crying. Will knew they had gone through a disaster a year ago, so he thought this must be doubly hard on many of them.

  Since he had been so busy tending the fire and getting his arm seen to, he didn’t have a chance to make sure that Charlotte and her home were untouched.

  The fire went in the opposite direction of town, so he was sure they were fine, but he just wanted to make sure.

  He had given Charlotte her space this week, allowing her time to celebrate the birth of her two grandbabies – Oscar and Charlotte Rose. Charlotte addressed the new baby girl by her two names, to avoid confusion. He did wish, however, that she would make up her mind about the question he asked her at the picnic. He wanted to be patient but was having a hard time waiting for her answer.

  He decided he better make his way over to her house. He saw the brick building in the distance. It was rather pretentious given the smaller homes in the area. Charlotte mentioned how her husband had the bricks shipped from all the way back East.

  The Daniels’ house was large, with two levels, a front porch and columns lining the front. He thought he heard the term colonial to describe the house, but he couldn’t remember.

  There was a short fence around the front of her house. So, the children wouldn’t stomp her flowers, he recalled her saying. Such a large house, and a large yard for one woman.

  He recognized that it probably suited when there were 5 people living there – Charlotte, her husband, Tess, Milam and Kitch. But now both Charlotte and Milam were widows and Tess, along with her family, had moved back to the apartment above the medical clinic.

  Will climbed the steps and knocked on the door. Milam’s dark face peered around the door and she broke into a smile when she saw him.

  “Mister Will, come on in. Miss Charlotte is in the sitting room,” she said, opening the door.

  “I just wanted to see how you fared with the fire last night.”

  “There sure was a lot of ruckus. But as you can see, we are safe. Poor Miss Charlotte. She is so tired.”

  “Was she helping?” Will saw several of the women from town fighting alongside the men to contain the fire.

  “Oh Lawd, no. She came into the house shortly before it started. Might strange too. She said she was having difficulty sleeping and went for a walk in the cool night air.”