Rush of Love

Rush of Love

Jennifer Conner

Rush of Love

Copyright 2011- Books to Go Now

For information on the cover illustration and design, contact [email protected]

First eBook Edition –June 2011

Printed in the United States of America

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This book is a work of fiction and any resemblance to any person, living or dead, any place, events or occurrences, is purely coincidental. The characters and story lines are created from the author’s imagination and are used fictitiously.

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Acknowledgement

Special thanks to the Klondike Gold Rush Park Museum of Seattle

and
the rangers who happily answered all of my crazy writer questions with a smile!

Chapter One

Seattle 1898
-

“Gold does not make the man,” Opal argued, as she watched the banker weigh the next nugget on the double pan scale.

The banker shot a disapproving glare at Samuel Cooper.

Samuel ignored him and leaned across the counter to reply, “You’re wrong, Miss. Gold is the only thing that a man can rely on in these times of financial recession and bank failures which have swept our fine nation.”

“But what happens when the gold runs out. What will you have then? Do you have a profession other than mining?”

“This money is only the beginning.” A sparkle lit his eyes.

Oh yes. She remembered this devilish man when he blew through town four months ago. But, Opal also knew better than to be sweet talked by a handsome stranger who’d be gone to Alaska in a week’s time. “When I return in six-months, maybe I’ll be a millionaire,” he exclaimed.

She wanted to roll her eyes to the ceiling. Opal heard this story too many times from countless men of all ages. Young, old, it didn’t matter. Since the Klondike Gold Rush hit Alaska, Seattle was a pipeline to the Northern Territory for men like Samuel to seek their fame and fortune. The difference was, from the size of the nuggets on the scale, he found his fortune.

“When I come back, I’ll have more gold. I’ll buy a big house overlooking the water, and court a pretty young woman, like yourself, Miss Grey, to be my wife.”

Opal cheeks heated. She was pleased he’d remembered her name from their chance meeting months back at Conner’s mercantile, but she wouldn’t set her hopes on this young man who may never return. She saw too many men leave for Alaska and never come back. The gold rush was instrumental in leaving her without family. Her job was more than important, it was a matter of survival. She’d been fortunate to find work at the National Bank. Knowing she was alone, a friend of her family pitied her, otherwise who knew where she would be working.

There weren’t many choices for women’s jobs in 1898.

Thank God, she wasn’t forced into prostitution to keep food in her mouth and a roof over her head. She would be a terrible prostitute. Opal didn’t know the first thing about love or men.

Her friend, Bertha, explained love didn’t have much to do with
that
profession. Opal was around men all day, but when Samuel flirted with her, she stood like the stone corners of her bank.

The nuggets Samuel found were large. Her guess was over twenty-thousand dollars. The light in his eyes said it all. He knew he’d hit it big.

The other miners behind him held a myriad of emotions on their faces.

Some awe, but mostly jealousy.

This was the dream for all these men. Since the Seattle Post Intelligencer headlines screamed, ‘GOLD! GOLD! GOLD! GOLD!’ the year before, thousands streamed into the city on their way to Alaska. They wanted to be what Samuel Cooper was.

A rich man.

Opal drew her long brown curls off her shoulder and tried to pay attention to what Millard, the head of National Banks gold reserves said. Millard was a mean little man with a sharp nose and an even sharper tongue. He’d warned her, he didn’t approve of women working in men’s jobs. Which meant
anything
… other than prostitution. Though Opal would never dare point it out, she prided herself on the fact that she could count money faster than Millard. Millard read off the amount of Samuel’s payout, and she quickly began to count the stack of bills. When she ran out, she looked up at the banker. “I need more money.”

“Oh, for goodness sake.” He stalked off towards the back room’s vault.

“Needs bigger bills, huh?” Samuel pushed his black brimmed Stetson to the back of his head and grinned. It was rare to still see cowboy hats around Seattle, which proved he must be from out of town. Samuel leaned over the counter again, and dropped his voice, “
Ahhh
… finally alone.”

Opal wished he’d stop doing that, because she had the urge to meet him half way. He smiled revealing a dimple in his left cheek. His clothes were worn from hard work, but he was still cleaner than ninety-percent of the miners who traipsed through the bank. And, he had all his teeth.

“Would you accompany me to dinner?”

“Wh
..what
?” she stammered. Opal looked over her shoulder to see if Millard was behind her. Samuel wasn’t the first man to ask her out. There weren’t enough women in Alaska, and when men returned to Seattle, they wanted to find the first woman they could. Samuel was the first man she’d had even the slightest urge to accept an offer from.

“He’s not back yet.” Samuel grinned again. “So, you still have time to say yes.”

“I can’t go out with you.”

“Why not?”

“I just… can’t”

“Your pa wouldn’t allow it?”

“I don’t have family.” Why had she told him that?

His face darkened. “I’m sorry.”

“You don’t need to be sorry.”

“The decision is up to you. Make the right one. I always do.”

Opal laughed. “You’re full of yourself.”

“Yes, I am. On top of the world right now, and I need a pretty woman to share it with.”

She hesitated.

She wanted to say yes, but shook her head just as Millard moved alongside her again.

Was this a lost chance at love? What was she thinking? She reminded herself he’d be gone in a week.

Chapter 2

Opal’s back ached and the buttons on her shoes rubbed her ankles through her wool stocking. She’d been on her feet for the last ten hours. They hadn’t even been given time for lunch, much less privy breaks, and now worked two hours over without pay. At the end of the day, the totals were off by twenty cents. Millard demanded they recount all the gold sale receipts. Goodness! She was ready to take the change from her hand bag to make up the difference. She didn’t have money to throw around, but it would be worth twenty cents to get back two hours of her life. Shuffling along the cobblestone street that lead back to her boarding house, she grumbled under her breath.

“Miss Grey?” a deep voice asked.

She spun so quickly, she nearly tripped over her own feet.

“I didn’t mean to startle you.” Samuel moved out of the shadows.

“What are you doing here?”

“I told you, I want you to accompany me to dinner?”

“I said no.”

“I would have remembered if you’d said ‘no’. Before that snake of a man came back from the vault and interrupted our conversation, all you did was shake your head. A shake of the head means maybe. It’s definitely not a ‘
no
’.”

“You’re an exhausting man.”

“So, I’ve been told.” Samuel said, as he leaned his tall, lean body against the bricks of the building’s wall. “I brought a peace offering to persuade you.” He held out flowers. Opal had never seen a larger bouquet. The newspaper they were wrapped crinkled as she accepted them. She inhaled the scent and ran her hand over the whisper soft buds. The early fall roses smelled sweet and pungent.

 
Samuel had gotten a shave and probably a bath somewhere in town. His blue eyes shined with all the grime off his strong face, and his black hair was combed back. The grubby clothes and Stetson were replaced with a tailored wool coat, matching waistcoat, and a floppy bow tie. His first purchase with his new wealth was clean clothes … and flowers for her.

Opal was flattered. She was beyond flattered. She was smitten. But what would people say about an unmarried woman walking the city streets, alone, this time of night, with a dapper young man? Her subconscious cared, the rest of her didn’t. There was no father to shake a finger at her when she got home.