Chapter Thirty-Seven

Standing in front of a mirror at the dressing table, Adam tied his tie, and then shrugged on his black jacket. Shiloh sat just below him, putting the final touches on her hair. "Adam, are you sure the dates for my performance here are alright?"

"It's a little late to be asking me now," he replied, running a brush through his hair. "We already signed the contract."

"Does that mean there's a problem?"

Setting the brush on the dressing table in front of her, he bent and kissed the back of her neck. "No, but you didn't seem too happy when we signed." She sat with her hands on the table, tapping her fingers and drawing in one side of her mouth. "Spit it out," he said, looking at her in the mirror.

She sighed loudly and cut her eyes up at him. "That…that…turtle of a man…wouldn't accept it unless you signed it."

"It was a contract, Sweetheart. You and I have already talked about legally binding contracts."

Standing and turning to him, she asked, "Do you even know what the contract said?"

"It stated what you wanted as far as your accommodations, meals, number of performances and pay. I would never sign a contract without knowing what it said." He gave her a quick smack on the lips, then turned to fetch her wrap, and bringing it up around her and laying it over her shoulders, he asked, "Are you going to get upset with every contract you write? You've known since you said 'yes' that I'd have to sign all of them." When she pouted, he put his arms around her waist, cocked his head and smiled slightly. "It's just something that has to be done, and pouting about it isn't going to change it. Now, put on that irresistible smile of yours. It's time to go."

A private coach was waiting for them when they got to the lobby. Once they were aboard, they were taken to the Crocker house, where a doorman was waiting at the street and a butler waited at the front door. "Mr. and Mrs. Cartwright, welcome."

"Thank you," said Adam while Shiloh smiled and nodded.

Once they were inside the house, the butler asked Shiloh for her wrap, and then led them into a large parlor where Mr. and Mrs. Crocker were waiting. "Mr. Cartwright, I'm pleased that you could come on such short notice. Mrs. Cartwright, it's a pleasure to meet you. May I present my wife?"

Adam took her hand and bowed. "Mrs. Crocker, it is a pleasure."

She turned to Shiloh. "I'm very glad to meet you, Mrs. Crocker." To Shiloh, she looked to be around Adam's age, a bit younger than her husband. She dressed conservatively and wore her hair in a bun that looked painfully taut. But her smile was so brilliant and relaxed, it immediately set Shiloh at ease.

"Please, won't you come in and sit down," she said in a soft, lilting voice. "Dinner will be ready in only a few minutes."

"Mr. Cartwright, you're probably wondering why I invited you for dinner tonight."

"Truthfully, I did wonder. I assumed it was about timber, but this is still highly unusual."

"Well, the reason I contacted you isn't just because of your family's reputation in timber. It's also because of your lovely wife."

Shiloh perked up. "I'm sorry, have we met?"

"We have a mutual friend…Mr. Frederick Stanton."

Looking over at Adam, she breathed out when she smiled. "And what did Mr. Stanton tell you?"

"It's not what Mr. Stanton told me. It's what he did for me."

Shiloh creased her eyebrows. "I don't understand."

The butler appeared at the parlor door and announced dinner.

"Why don't we discuss this in the dining room," said Mr. Crocker, standing and offering his arm to his wife. Adam followed suit and escorted Shiloh to a table that was magnificently set with beautiful china, crystal and silver including multiple forks, spoons and knives. Each plate was prepared by an attendant, and when everyone was served, Mr. Crocker said grace.

"I understand that you've just been married," said Mr. Crocker.

"Yes, we were married March first and have just returned from a month in San Francisco," said Adam.

"Please, call me Charles. I hope to be doing business with the Ponderosa for a very long time."

Adam nodded. "Adam."

"You and your father have won some of my timber contracts before. And you, Mrs. Cartwright…Mr. Stanton referred to you as Miss Whitney back then, but of course, you weren't married at the time. You won the bid on some property in the Sierra with what Mr. Stanton described as a unique and impressive bid. He showed it to me, and I agreed."

"Pardon my ignorance, Mr. Crocker…"

"Please, call me Charles."

Shiloh held her breath for a moment, then, forced it out…"Charles…that was a private bid. Why would Mr. Stanton show it to you?"

"It's quite simple…may I call you Shiloh…or would you prefer Isabella?"

Shiloh felt completely confused. At this point she didn't care what he called her, but decided since they were talking about timber…"Shiloh, please."

"Shiloh, you bought the land from me."

Shiloh's mouth formed the word 'oh', even though she didn't say it. She looked over at Adam who wore the same expression, but quickly changed his to a reserved smile.

"Charles, I think you might be a bit confused," said Adam. "The Ponderosa doesn't own that land. The Flying W does."

"Adam, you and I both know it doesn't really matter who owns the land. I'm dealing with Cartwrights either way."

Shiloh moved her eyes toward Mrs. Crocker who was just listening, nodding and smiling. She caught Shiloh's look and said, "Please don't be concerned about my silence. I don't participate in Charles' business, but I must say, I'm intrigued that you are knowledgeable in timber and land. I would never have imagined that Charles would agree to sell any of his holdings to a woman, so you must have impressed him greatly."

Shiloh smiled, but said nothing. She didn't know whether she had been complimented or insulted.

"At the time I sold the land, I was raising money to get the railroad started from this end. Now that I've raised some capital, I'd like to leverage our sales agreement to build it."

He had both Adam and Shiloh's full attention. "What did you have in mind?" asked Adam.

"The sales contract calls for fifty percent of the first five timber contracts. I'd like to give you those five timber contracts and invest my fifty percent in the railroad. By providing you with the timber contracts, I can anticipate what that fifty percent will be and can guarantee future loans."

The corner of Adam's mouth turned up. "So we figure the amount of the contract, and then execute it at fifty percent of the profit we anticipate."

"It reduces the line item costs on the railroad to levels where I can get those guarantees. I don't care if you use Ponderosa timber or Flying W timber, though I'm sure since the sales agreement is with the Flying W, it will most likely be my former timber that you choose. I already know the quality of that wood. I also know the quality of Ponderosa timber."

"So it wasn't that my bid was particularly good," said Shiloh. "It gave you enough for capital when you needed it and left you with enough for a nest egg when you started purchasing materials."

"Mr. Stanton was leaning toward Adam's bid, but when I told him what I wanted to do, he showed me yours. But Shiloh, your bid was brilliant, and exactly what I would expect from someone just getting into the timber business. It was a good risk on your part. The only reservation Mr. Stanton had was…"

"That I'm a woman," said Shiloh flatly. "Well, I hope Mr. Stanton has learned his lesson about women."

"Women…no," said Mr. Crocker. "You…most definitely."

After dinner, they drank brandy in the parlor while Mr. Crocker and Adam discussed the particulars of the railroad's needs. "Adam, if you can deliver these five contracts on time, I will most likely name you as the primary contractor for the remainder of the timber we'll need. And I have no doubt that you can."

"Well, I don't think I have to tell you that this will be a joint effort by both ranches."

"Either one or both is fine. I'll send you the specifications within the next two weeks. Most of it in the beginning will be ties until we can survey the line further into the Sierra. I already know we will be building some trestles, and there will be a need for water tanks and coal storage and perhaps several depots."

"I'll look for them." The men stood and shook hands. "Well, we should be getting back to the hotel. We have a stagecoach to catch tomorrow," said Adam, holding his hand out to Shiloh.

"Thank you, Mr….Charles," said Shiloh. "Mrs. Crocker, it's been a pleasant evening."

"Have you decided when you will be performing in Sacramento?" she asked.

Again, she took Shiloh by surprise. "Yes, I have. I'll be back in August."

"Charles and I didn't have the chance to see you perform in San Francisco. We're looking forward to it."

Shiloh and Adam were quiet in the coach and all the way up to their room. They removed their evening clothes and repacked them, then took out the clothes they would wear for their trip home in total silence. When they got into bed, they lay on their backs staring up at the ceiling, and then at the same time, they both began to laugh.

"I feel like I've been taken advantage of," she laughed. "I have no idea why that's so funny."

"Pa's gonna have to sit down for an entire evening when he hears this."

Turning to face each other, they kissed as they laughed and slowly stopped, finally just enjoying each other's laughing eyes. "Adam, can we handle all this?"

"We've already bid on some timber contracts. We won't get all of them, but it's going to be a busy season this year. We'll make it work. I don't want to turn down the business of the railroad. This could easily be a five or six year deal."

"What about the courthouse…and you said you have another project for Slater?"

"Shiloh, if there's one thing that you and I have in common, it's our need to be busy. We'll be busy. But we'll always come home to each other."

Settling in each other's arms, they closed their eyes. The silence was broken by an occasional giggle or chuckle until they both fell asleep.

The End