In the dimhallway ofthe hotel, a dozen men stood outside the door of Theodosia’s room. Clutched in their hands were the circulars they’d come to answer:
Wanted
A tall, dark-haired, blue-eyed, and extremely intelligent man to sire a child. Wiling to pay $100 in gold for services. No marriage to woman demanded, and all fatherly obligations to resulting child will be waived.
Men meeting requirements
please contact:
Miss Theodosia Worth
Wild Winds Hotel
Room Seven
Only the qualified need apply for interview.
“Miz Worth!” one of the men shouted, and knocked on the door. “You in there?”
The second Theodosia opened the door, the men’s revolting odor turned her stomach. Several were short, some had blond hair, a few had green eyes, and one had a bulbous nose that was a direct contrast to Upton’s long straight one.
She gave them a polite but reserved smile. “Thank you for responding to my advertisement, gentleman. I’m afraid, however, that none of you meet the requirements I have set. Good day.”
A booted foot kept her from closing the door. “I’m yer man, lady,” the owner of the foot announced. “When it comes to beddin’ women, there ain’t no requirement I cain’t meet. Now, lemme in!”
“You ain’t her man!” another of the applicants argued. “I am!”
The other men voiced similar declarations, and before Theodosia had time to realize what was happening, a fistfight began in the corridor. She seized the opportunity to slam and bolt the door.
The men in the hall began to bang on it, shouting curses that colored Theodosia’s cheeks. She managed to move the dresser in front of the door, but only when she heard the hotel manager and his two male assistants escort the men away did she feel a small measure of safety.
“I cannot comprehend why those men thought to answer my advertisement in the first place, John the Baptist.”
The parrot blinked one black eye. “I would like to conceive a male baby for Upton and Lillian,” he said, then blinked his other eye. “When it comes to beddin’ women, there ain’t no requirement I cain’t meet.”
“I specified quite clearly that I was seeking intelligent candidates,” Theodosia continued. “And did you hear their grammar? And their behavior—why, if not for their brawl, I might have been—”
She shuddered to think what might have happened, but she knew precisely what she would do to prevent the possibility from ever arising again.
Another circular was in order, and she had not a second to waste in having it printed and posted.
As Roman walked into theWild Winds general store, the scents of dried apples, stale cigar smoke, leather, and sour pickles drifted around him. A fat calico cat, curled up in a pool of sunshine on the wooden floor, licked its front paw while keeping a sharp eye on a cricket that chirped on the windowsill. Roman scratched the cat’s ears, then ambled to the counter and waited for the shopkeeper to finish stacking cans of food on the sagging shelves.
“Roman Montana!” Arlo exclaimed as he turned from the shelves. “Ain’t seen you ‘round here in almost two months. Not since you rebuilded ole man Bodine’s barn. Lord o’ mercy, Ben Bodine’s s’damned proud o’ that barn that he’s tuk to sleepin’ in it. Where you been?”
Roman withdrew a silky gold ribbon from a basket that sat on the counter. Twisting it between his fingers, he thought about golden hair. The ribbon was soft; Theodosia’s hair was softer.
He threw the ribbon back into the basket. “I’ve been around, working wherever there’s work.” He dug into his pocket and withdrew a thin roll of bills. “Put this in my account for me, will you, Arlo?”
Arlo took the money, counted it, and then made some quick calculations in his ledger. “Let’s see. This money added up with what you’ve already got here…that’s a grand total of forty-two dollars and eighty-six cents, Roman. Buildin’ yourself a right nice little nest egg.”
Nice wasn’t enough, Roman mused, deep frustration coiling inside him. Not counting the money he lacked toward the purchase of the land, he still needed money for the horses. In his head, he tried to add up how much money he had all together. Besides the money he had here in Wild Winds, he also had money saved up in seven other towns.
But adding eight figures in his head at once proved too difficult. He’d add them later, when he had paper and pencil. If he had a fair sum, he’d collect all the money and travel back to Templeton to make another payment to Senor Madrigal.
“You workin’ ’round here, Roman?” Arlo asked as he ran a dust rag over a jar of multicolored jawbreakers.
Roman leaned one slim hip against the counter. “Just finished a job for Oris Brown, but I’m looking for something else. Know of anything?”
