Disclaimer: These characters are a product of Martha Williamson's talent. They are most definitely not mine. No copyright infringement intended!
There are several details in this story which are not accurate but have been added to compliment it. For example The Pony Express ended in 1861 due to the expansion of the rail line and the arrival of the telegraph.
Indoor plumbing was not readily available until the beginning of the 20th century and even then just in bigger cities with more infra-structure; and most tiny little towns did not have a doctor or a lawyer.
But it is fan fiction after all, so, don't let miner historical details get in the way of a good story. I hope you enjoy it and please leave your comments so I can improve it.
Thanks to my friend Rhonda Leighton Wronski for her help, input, and constant love & support.
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Copper Creek, Colorado - 1875
Copper Creek was a quaint little place about 100 miles northwest of Denver City. Denver City itself had been founded in 1858 as a scruffy gold mine that was thriving despite the roughness of the place. As opposed to Copper Creek which had been founded by farmers and ranchers in 1826 and had remained as an ideal place to raise a family. The population was more than 100 but less than 500. Nobody really knew the exact number of people, but they all believed the town was thriving. It was part of the three sister-towns located exactly 5 miles apart from each other. The other two were Cherry Creek and Little Coyote Creek. The 3 mayors were old friends having gone to college together back east and comeback to improve their respective towns. As a sign of friendship, good will and trade, the 3 towns got together at least once a year for a celebration, usually on the 4th of July.
However, Copper Creek seemed to be growing more steadily than the other two, as it was situated right in the middle between the other2 towns by a pristine lake and a healthy forest. Its mayor was very active, always with an eye towards making progress, consulting with the population, and listening to them, especially the businessmen for the betterment of the town.
With the death of Mr. Kellser, the local newspaper publisher, his widow and 3 daughters desperately needed to sell the business and move to a small farm to make the best of a bad situation. Unfortunately his death left the town without the Copper Creek Gazette. In the past, Mayor Ryan Hallett had been immensely successful attracting new businesses to the town via advertisements placed in big city newspapers back east. So far, he had engaged a dress maker, a doctor, a school mistress, a lawyer and an apothecary to the town. With another well placed advertisement in a big city newspaper after Mr. Kellser's death, he had just heard from a Mr. Shane McInerney who was coming from Washington DC to buy the newspaper. Most likely the man would be in Denver already and hopped on the stagecoach to travel the last leg of the journey to town. He could arrive at any moment. Mr. Hallett was on his way to inform the Kellsers that Mr. McInerney was enroute. Finally, the grieving family would be able to move on to the farm. On the way to see the widow and give her the good news, he stopped at the post office to collect his mail and then the local mercantile to collect his weekly groceries.
The Post Office was normally open by 7am everyday of the week with the exception of Sundays. Oliver O'Toole, the postmaster, closed the office to attend church and take a rest from the hectic week. On Sundays, the town's population met at church for the 9am service and then headed to Copper Creek Inn for a 'luxurious' Sunday roast. There was actually nothing remotely luxurious about Sunday roasts at the inn, but it was tasty and plentiful. The general population, mainly the wives and daughters of Copper Creek, truly appreciated a day off from cooking.
Oliver was perhaps one of the most appreciative among them all, as he enjoyed catching up with friends outside of business hours. He particularly enjoyed the company of the local pony express rider, Norman Dorman and the inn's owner, Eleanor, an older woman who treated Oliver like a son. For Oliver, Sundays couldn't come fast enough… sometimes life felt so dreary… the same old same old… and the loneliness was excruciating!
"Hi Oliver." Ryan said happily, bringing Oliver out of his miserable musings.
"Oh, Mr. Mayor, my apologies, I didn't see you come in."
"Yes, you seemed far away. How are things?"
"All good, thank you." Oliver said getting up and grabbing correspondence he had for the Mayor. Ryan inspected his mail and then said excitedly. "We have managed to find a new man to buy the newspaper from the Kellsers. I'm on my way there right now to let them know."
"Oh, that's very exciting. What's his name?"
"McInerney!"
"Well, I hope the McInnerneys will be a great addition to our little town."
"I'm sure they will be. Well, I'll see you at church tomorrow, Oliver."
"See you later, Ryan. Good job!"
"Thanks." The mayor left with a bounce in his step, feeling really good about his efforts on behalf of his little town.
The stagecoach stop was just outside the mercantile. They were also curriers for all orders sent to Denver City and other places in the eastern regions. They usually came laden with the newest fashion in fabric for the ladies and farming equipment for the men.
Shane McInerney stepped down from the carriage and looked around curiously. She was pleasantly surprised when she saw several buildings with flower baskets hanging outside and flower boxes bordering the wooden boardwalk. The little town had character and it also seemed to have residents who cared about it. She breathed a sigh of relief as she remembered the horrific expression on her mother and sister's faces when she informed them of her business deal with the mayor of a little town in the Colorado Rockies.
"You can't be serious, Shane." Her mother screeched at her.
"I couldn't be more serious, mom. I'm not spending another day at the Washington Post being treated like the tea lady. I bought the newspaper in Copper Creek and I'm moving there by the end of this week whether you agree with my decision or not."
"I won't let you go, Shane. It's just too dangerous. You're not thinking properly. The breakup with Mr. Marek has affected you in the head. Take time to consider all your options first before making such a life changing decision." "Mother, my decision is made. Indeed, it is a life changing one, thank God! I am 28 years old and unmarried. I'm financially independent and I don't require your approval. Get used to the idea, please. I will be leaving in three days. You can either accept it and help me, or sulk and miss out on my company for our last few days together."
Shane looked around now wishing her mother had been more pleasant and able to see this beautifully, cared for little town. She walked into the mercantile, and was immediately greeted by a very pretty and pleasant young lady a few years younger than she.
"Hello miss, my name is Rita Haywith. Welcome to Copper Creek." She extended her right hand to shake Shane's.
"Oh, Miss Haywith, what a pleasure to meet you. I'm Shane McInerney."
"Miss McInerney, how good it is to have you here. Eh… what brings you here?" "I'm the new owner of the Copper Creek Gazette." Rita's jaw dropped but she laughed happily when she recovered from her surprise.
"A woman in charge of a newspaper? How wonderful! Miss McInerney I think we're going to be great friends." Shane smiled warmly at the young woman, "I hope so, Miss Haywith."
"Oh please, call me Rita."
"Only if you promise to call me Shane."
Rita extended her right hand again and said "deal!" They shook on it.
Rita called her parents, introduced them to Shane and asked her mother to watch the shop while she walked Shane over to the Gazette. Shane met with Mrs. Kellser, who had already heard about the good news from the mayor. They shook hands and guaranteed Shane that she would be able to move in within a few days' time once the family moved out and cleaned the place for her. Rita then took her to the Copper Creek Inn where she would be staying until she moved to the private apartment located above the newspaper printing house and office.
Rita was delighted to act as Shane's guide and as they walked on the wooden boardwalk towards the Inn, she pointed out some of the other businesses in town. "Over there, is our dress maker, Mrs Capodiamonte. Next to her shop is the county jail and the sheriff is Mr. Lester Kimsickle." Rita adjusted her eyeglasses and said in a whisper. "If you can, steer clear of him."
Shane looked at her curiously, "Why, what's the problem?"
"Most men in this town don't like him. He seems to abuse his position a bit. He makes advances on almost all the single women in town. He's an odd one." "Ok, I shall remember that." Shane said, with a chuckle. Rita continued, "Next to the jail, is our local lawyer, Mr. Michael Wheeler."
"Wow, we have a lawyer in town? That's very good."
"On the other side next to our mercantile is the doctor, Dr Joshua Jacobs. His brother, Matt Jacobs, is the town apothecary. They are twins. Like you, they are from the East. And over there is the Post Office. The postmaster is Mr. Oliver O'Toole. He's one of the nicest men in town."
"Good to know that. What else?"
"The school mistress is Miss Andrea Schmekle and she terrifies the kids and most adults as well." They both laughed.
"Don't all school mistresses terrify the kids?" Shane asked, amused.
Rita continued. "The inn is owned by Eleanor and her cook and baker is Hazel. If you don't want the rest of the town to know something, be careful what you share with Hazel. She is a tested and proved gossip." Again they both laughed. "There's at least one Hazel in every town, Rita." Rita nodded.
"Our pastor is Mr. Ramon Rodriguez. He's also a dance teacher and a very accomplished cook."
"Really? How interesting!" Shane was getting really excited about how versatile the population of her new little town seemed to be. Rita continued. "The pony express rider is Mr Norman Dorman…" Rita stopped talking and a dreamy look swept over her face. Shane noticed it.
"Oh, is he somebody special?"
"What? Yes! No! No! No!"
"Oh…" Shane laughed. It looked to her like it was more like "yes yes yes" instead. She liked Rita already. She thought Rita and she would indeed become very good friends.
"And then we have loads of farmers and ranchers around here everywhere. No doubt you will meet them all in good time. Independence day is coming up in about a month, so you will have a chance to meet most people."
"Looking forward to it." Shane said delighted.
Shane was enchanted by the inn's owner. Miss Eleanor was a sweet woman who obviously cared about everyone who stayed at her inn as if each of them were her long lost relative. Shane's room was very comfortable and had a decidedly feminine touch. To Shane's great surprise, the inn had an indoor bathroom with running water at the end of the hall. She'd have loved for her mother to see how comfortable she was going to be and how civilised the "Wild West" actually was.
On Sunday morning Shane woke up feeling full of energy, keen to go out, meet the locals and get to know her new town. She felt hungry and soon after her morning ablutions, she made her way downstairs to the inn's restaurant. It was a large room with square tables, chequered table cloths and a small glass bottle containing wild flowers on the centre of each table. It really was a most charming eatery. Shane stood in line looking at the menu written with a piece of charcoal on a white painted board. The words Aspen, Vail and Steamboat appeared in front of the various options. She looked at the menu then looked around at the few patrons already enjoying their breakfast, but she was at a loss to figure out what those words meant.
"Good morning." She heard a masculine voice speaking just behind her. She turned sharply and gasped. Right behind her was this tall, dark haired and broad shouldered man. A most handsome man with the most brilliantly clear blue eyes she had ever seen. He was looking at her with an amused expression on his face.
"It looks like you are a bit lost. May I help you?" He offered.
"Ahhhh… yes, thank you. I don't… I can't quite figure out what those words mean." She pointed at the whiteboard.
"Ah, yes! They are names of mountains nearby. Aspen means small, Vail is medium and Steamboat is large. You can order any of the meals here by these sizes, hence avoid wasting food with a plate that would otherwise be too big for you."
"Oh, I understand now, how clever. Thank you so much." The line was getting steadily longer, so she hurriedly put her order through and found an empty table to wait for her meal.
Shane could not help but cast furtive looks towards the gorgeous man. He seemed popular. Everybody smiled at him and he stopped to give attention to everyone, speaking a word or two to all who greeted him. She wondered who he was. She hoped he wasn't the sheriff but she remembered Rita's words that not many people in town liked the man. This couldn't be him, she mused.
With breakfast eaten which was actually delicious, she returned to her room, adjusted her hair and made her way to church. She knew she would be able to meet half the town at the 9 o'clock service.
She was very excited.