Thanksgiving came to Paradise as it always did, when the nights had begun to turn chilly. This year, there had been much more rain than usual, washing out most of the roads into town. That left the stagecoach unable to make its scheduled run which meant no travelers in and out along with the mail. People lined up at the wire office to send out communications when it was up and running.
The rest of the time they had to find other ways to pass the time. Claire had come into town to get something decorative for the dining table at the new house. She'd gone to Axelrod's store to look at the centerpieces which had shipped in before the storms arrived. There'd been a break in the rain today, enough so that the sun poked through the clouds. Ben and George had come with her mostly to get the excess energy out of them. They'd brought the pup with them though it was full grown now and Johnny ran after them as they took off to go to Mr. Lee's shop to meet up with his adopted sons.
Charles looked up at her with a smile when she walked in the store and she smiled back.
"You here to work today," he said, "Not preparing for the holiday…?"
She shook her head.
"I'm here to find a centerpiece," she said, "That's my project for the community dinner."
Charles nodded.
"I'm going to do the sweet potatoes," he said, "My mama had a secret recipe…before she passed. My uncle wasn't so sure at first. Guess I won't tell him about the even more secret ingredient in his cabinet."
She understood.
"Ah…maybe not…these are all so pretty," she said, "Just let me take a look at them."
She went to do that and he went back to the bookkeeping. She'd cut her time way back working for him because she was getting ready to go to college after the new semester started at one in San Francisco after the first of the new year. She had so much to do, to decide what to pack to take to the boarding house where she'd be staying with a friend of Bella's.
Being excited about it didn't begin to describe it, she couldn't wait though she was apprehensive about leaving her family and friends, the town that had adopted her as surely as had her uncle. But she wanted to be a teacher just like Joseph wanted to be a doctor and he'd be heading off to school even further away. That'd leave her uncle and aunt with just her two younger brothers and Lucy of course.
She smiled when she thought of the little addition to their family that had grown by leaps and bounds since her birth. Overcoming so much but then she'd been a resilient baby as most were she supposed.
"Charles, you seen Dakota…?"
She heard him pause behind her and then he answered.
"He rode back out again to check the roads," Charles said, "Not that it'll help. There was a rockslide on one of them and it'll take a couple days to clear it out and the next storm's due in soon."
Paradise had been socked pretty hard by storms of greater frequency and intensity than it normally saw. Rain and hail and flooding in all the creeks and rivers…not to mention the lake being larger than normal. John Taylor said that the fish would somehow be fine and that the fishing season next summer would be bountiful.
"It's been so quiet here," she said, "but I hope people will turn out for the holidays."
Charles chuckled.
"They might have to take a boat if it doesn't let up."
Claire knew that wasn't much of an exaggeration.
Ethan sat in his office waiting for Dakota to come back. The rain had let up for a change and the sun had warmed the valley somewhat. But it wouldn't last long. He'd had to move the family into town to stay at Amelia's house which remained vacant as the owner of the bank had to go visit family in Virginia City for the holidays. Amelia and Margaret had been working there even though his wife had sworn she'd never do that kind of work again. She had Lucy with her and though Margaret pretended to be annoyed with the baby, he knew that was for show.
Charlie walked in and went to get some coffee. He poured it into his cup and after sipping it made a face.
"It's not hot."
Ethan shrugged.
"Should have come in earlier," he said, "Mary brought it over. Awfully nice of her don't you think?"
Charlie grumbled and then went to go clean out the jail cell. They'd released their only prisoner on a drunken and disorderly because the circuit judge couldn't make it to town with the roads closed so they'd dropped the case and sent the man on his way.
"At least the rains are keeping most of the riff raff away," Charlie said, "though it's been dull lately."
Ethan knew that the crime had quieted down though the rains were dampening people's moods as well as the ground. He and Dakota had to break up a few squabbles in the saloon and one in the street before they become all out brawls.
"More people either stuck on their ranches or in town like us."
Or the hotel which had seen some people stranded there for days. Scotty and Mary had lessened or in some cases waived the daily costs. His family filled the old house even the puppy and Ben had taken to learning how to play the piano with Amelia teaching him the songs she'd learned while growing up in the Australian outback.
"Thanksgiving's coming," Charlie said, "and I promised to make some pumpkin pie, the kind my mama used to make. I just hope everyone likes it."
"It'll be fine," Ethan said, "easier than trying to go out and find a turkey right now."
Charlie looked solemn.
"Oh right…that's what you have to do," he said, "Well good luck…but I haven't seen one in weeks."
Neither had Ethan and the weather…well he guessed they were all taking shelter so that left him in a dilemma. But he'd come up with something.
Amelia put Lucy down in her bassinet after rocking her a bit. Margaret had been caught picking her up and talking to her a few minutes ago and Amelia had just watched them quietly. She knew that the older woman loved spending time with the baby despite acting otherwise. Amelia guessed that it might take her a bit longer to come to terms that it'd been Ethan's child and not that of her first husband Pierce.
Margaret had this peculiar habit of idealizing what Pierce had been and Amelia had kept most of the truth from her and others because it's been so much easier. But she'd come to terms with it. She wanted to focus on her family and its newest arrival. She had her mama's hair and her daddy's eyes, that's what everyone said. But in some ways she reminded Amelia of her father, the man who would never see his grandchild. That left her a little sad as had saying goodbye to her homeland probably forever but she'd built a new life for herself here. Falling in love with a wonderful man and being part of a family had enriched her life beyond what she could have imagined.
"So you are making your stuffing?"
Margaret looked at her after they both returned to the counter. Business at the bank had been slow and they spent most of their time updating ledgers and completing paperwork.
"Of course," she said, "I was preparing the ingredients this morning…I got some celery that grew and onions, about the only thing that didn't drown in this endless rain."
Amelia knew that Margaret being the chair of the committee to renovate and upkeep Paradise's church was very religious and believed that the rain that nearly washed out the town was God's way of showing his displeasure. Not that Margaret could say what the cause of that displeasure was but she believed it anyway.
"You're doing a dessert?"
Amelia nodded.
"Yes bread pudding and I'm helping Mary with the potatoes."
Margaret just nodded.
"That'll have to do," she said, "though I think we should have gone with the pecan pie."
Amelia smiled.
"I think Matilda might be working on some more pies," she said, "You can ask her about that."
That silenced Margaret at least for a little while so that they could get some work done. It'd be a long day with the holiday the next and so much preparation left to do.
Honestly that woman had never approved of her even when she'd been married to Pierce having arrived about 10 years ago to a town that had been on the eve of its biggest boom yet. Of course, the wealth of the mine had gone bust when a couple tragic explosions had shut it down. It'd been back and forth since then with mining never quite taking a foothold in the region's economy as it once had done. So the town had to come up with creative methods to ensure its survival.
Some of them had failed spectacularly, while others had shown promise. But somehow they'd managed to stay afloat and it had brought them all closer together.
"So you like it living in town again?"
Amelia sighed.
"It's just temporary until the roads open," she said, "as long as we're all together under one roof that's what counts."
The doors opened to the bank and Amelia's eyes widened when she saw who walked inside.