"Prove it."
She decided to do just that. She took off her bonnet, tossed it into the wagon behind her, and then accepted his assistance in getting to the ground.
Everyone was plying Taylor with questions. They spoke in low voices and when it dawned on her they were whispering so Georgie wouldn't become any more frightened, she lost her own nervousness.
"Where are you headed, Mrs. Ross?" a man with thick eyeglasses asked her.
"We have arrived at our destination, sir," she answered. "We're settling here."
"Is the red-headed one married?"
A young, freckle-faced man in the crowd called out the question. Taylor turned to look at Victoria. She thought she might want to answer the inquiry. Victoria wasn't paying any attention to her. She had latched onto Hunter's arm and wasn't going to let go. He was trying to peel her fingers away from him.
"She was married," Taylor explained. "Her husband died just a few months ago."
No one seemed to be particularly sorry to hear the news. Victoria received three marriage proposals before she'd circled the wagon to stand next to Taylor.
"I'm in mourning," she announced. "And I happen to be an expectant mother."
Neither statement made any difference to the men. They didn't even know her name and they were still pleading for her hand in marriage. One gentleman told her he'd be more than willing to let her keep the baby.
Victoria considered kicking the offensive man. Taylor laughed. Georgie was finally ready to explore her new surroundings. Taylor walked over to the steps and put her down on the wooden walkway. Georgie immediately ran inside the store.
Taylor straightened up and then took a hasty step back. Another man, wearing a thick, long-sleeved gray undershirt and blue overalls, had worked his way around the crowd and now stood towering over her. He was a giant of a man, at least six and a half feet tall, with huge shoulders and brawny arms. He had long brown hair and a thick beard. He was quite frightful looking, and he was waving a newspaper like a madman in front of her nose.
She swatted the paper away. "Whatever are you doing, sir?"
"You a reader?"
"Excuse me?"
He bellowed his question the second time. Taylor's ears started ringing.
"If you're asking me if I can read, the answer is yes."
Her admission pleased him. He let out a shout of satisfaction that very nearly knocked Taylor off the steps.
Victoria walked carefully around the giant and went into the general store. Several men chased after her.
Daniel David climbed out of the wagon and hurried to stand next to his mother. Taylor introduced him to her audience.
Hunter watched her. She told the men that Daniel David was her son. Someone tried to challenge the notion, but Taylor's stare stopped the protest cold.
"Daniel David is my son," she repeated. "I am his mother and Lucas Ross is his father."
She scanned her audience, daring them to disagree with her. No one said a word. Several nodded their acceptance. Taylor was satisfied. She happened to glance over at Hunter and saw him smile. Then she turned back to her son. She patted him and suggested he go inside the store and find out if there were any peppermint candies for sale.
"But Allie…"
"I'll get her," Taylor promised.
The little boy ran inside. Taylor walked back to the wagon. Allie was still sleeping soundly. She closed the flap and turned to Hunter. He nodded before she could ask him if he'd watch the wagon. She smiled at him and then turned to go inside.
The giant followed her. He had the newspaper tucked under his arm. Victoria was visiting with the owner. She introduced him to Taylor. The man's name was Frank Michaels, and he couldn't have been more pleased to meet her. He pumped her hand up and down for a good minute. His enthusiasm was heartwarming. Frank was approximately fifty years old. He wore spectacles with a crack in one of the lenses and had narrow shoulders and gnarled hands. His eyes held her attention. They were hazel in color and radiated warmth. So did his smile. He kept telling her over and over that he was as pleased as punch to meet her.
Georgie took off for the back of the store. A few seconds later, Allie appeared in the entrance. She was leaning against Hunter's leg, staring at the crowd.
"She's a quick one, she is," Frank Michaels announced. "She must have run like lightning to get around to the front so quickly."
Allie spotted her mother and ran to her. She had her baby doll in her hands. The owner squatted down close to the child. Allie immediately hid behind Taylor's skirts. Then Georgie came tearing around the corner. Mr. Michaels did a double take.
"Twins," he whispered.
"When you have a minute to spare, I'd surely appreciate your attention, Mrs. Ross."
The giant made the request from behind her. Taylor turned around and immediately dodged the newspaper he was waving in front of her face.
"Could you read this?"
"Yes, of course I could," she answered. She tried to hide her exasperation from the strange man. "I've been reading for years, sir."
"Now, Roily, she only just got here. Let her catch her wind. You don't want to bother her with the paper." The owner made the protest on her behalf. He let out a little groan as he straightened up again and pressed the palms of his hands to his lower back.
"You have a handsome family, Mrs. Ross."
"Thank you, Mr. Michaels."
"I'd be pleased as punch if you'd call me Frank."
"Then you must call me Taylor," she replied.
"I'd be honored to," Frank told her.
Roily wasn't going to be deterred or ignored. "She gave me her agreement, Frank. I heard her clear."
Taylor didn't know what he was talking about. Before she could ask what it was she had just agreed to, Roily took hold of her hand, tucked it tight under his elbow, and pulled her back to the doorway. Roily had to pass Hunter in order to get outside. The giant stopped, gave Hunter a worried look, then muttered, "Hunter." He added a nod to complete the greeting.
Hunter was just as ungracious. He frowned at Roily, nodded his greeting, and then added his name in a grudging tone of voice. "Roily."
They proceeded on. Roily stopped when they reached the steps. He bellowed his order. "Get the crate, boys. We got us a reader."
A resounding cheer went up. Taylor was astonished by the reaction. A crate appeared out of thin air and was placed on the boardwalk next to her. She stared down at it and then turned to look up at the giant again.
He handed her the paper and lifted her up to stand on the crate. Another man dragged out a rocking chair from the store. Roily nodded to the man and then took his seat.
"Mama, what are you doing?" Georgie asked.
Taylor looked down at her daughter and shrugged. "I don't have the faintest idea," she whispered.
"Your mama's going to read us the news," Roily explained. He gave Taylor a wave. "Get it started, then."
Taylor looked at Hunter to see what he thought about the man's behavior. Hunter was standing just outside the entrance to the store, looking bored and unconcerned.
She unfolded the paper. It was the Rosewood Herald. She had never heard of the town. Then she noticed the date.
"Why, this paper's two weeks old."
"It's still going to be news to us," Roily explained.
"We used to get lots of papers from the mining camps clustered up in the mountains," another man called out. "But we all prefer the Rosewood Herald, don't we, Roily?"
"It seems we do," he agreed.
Taylor was dying to ask if her first impression was accurate. Didn't any of them know how to read? She didn't wish to offend their feelings, however. She had to be wrong, she thought. In this advanced day and age, surely some of them could read.
She decided to take a roundabout way of finding out. "Who read the paper before I was given the honor?"