But she managed to step back into the hall and say, “Just what you should have told him first: that you got the idea for the emporium from your mother. That’s all he needed to hear. He does have a soft spot for her, you know.”
She hurried on to her father’s room before she changed her mind about kissing Morgan. Good grief, how could she marry Lord What’s-his-name when this man tempted her beyond reason? Because it was what she’d always dreamed of—and yet, Morgan was the one filling her dreams now. He seemed to be with her every bloody night!
Chapter Forty-Seven
MORGAN STOPPED THE BUCKBOARD in front of the house to wait for Violet. His mother was leaning against the porch post drinking her coffee. She was dressed for the range, just hadn’t left yet, and since they hadn’t spoken privately after he’d made his announcement about the emporium last night at dinner, he wasn’t really surprised.
She’d been pleased last night. After she got over her amazement, she’d laughed a lot. His brothers had teased and were already calling him “shopkeeper.” Hunter had even ribbed, “You’ll have to put your gun away, or your customers will think you’re there to rob the place!” His father had been mostly silent, but he’d smiled a few times as he’d watched Mary express her delight.
But this morning his mother said, “You’re really doing this?”
“Dig out your old catalogs, circle everything that caught your eye, that you ordered, that you thought about buying but didn’t, and leave them in my room. Yes, I’m really doing this. ‘Buy it, have it in your home the same day,’ that’s going to be my motto—at least for Nashart. I might even name the emporium East Comes West.”
“I love the idea, Morg,” she assured him. “Don’t think for a minute that I don’t. But I loved having you on the range with us, too.”
“I’m not leaving the territory, Ma. I may even get back on the range someday. But for now, this is the only thing I want to do. My store may never sell a damn thing out here, but it’s going to be fun creating it, and very satisfying to see you shopping in it.”
“What about Miss Mitchell?”
“I’ll give her a tour of town today and show her my property, if she’ll stop primping and get herself down here.”
“That’s not what I meant. You fancy her?”
He grinned. “Who wouldn’t?”
“Have you told her?”
“She’s already picked out an English lord to be her husband. She’s going back to London. And I’m making sure she has a dowry for it.”
Mary laughed. “Now, that’s not how you get the girl. You give her a choice—but first you make sure she knows she has a choice. Do I need to tell you how to spill the beans properly?”
Morgan snorted. “You think I can’t say it?”
“Have you ever?”
“No, but how hard can it be?”
“Pretty hard when you’re not sure of the answer,” she replied.
“Well, that’s not holding me back. It’s because I do care about her that I have to let her go. She doesn’t belong here, Ma.”
“Neither did Tiffany, but you can’t get that gal to leave now. You don’t see it because you grew up here, but Montana has its own charm. Maybe you should ask Miss Mitchell to help you design your store. That might delay her leaving and give her time to start liking the place. Actually, who better than a young lady of London society to advise you on what’s fashionable, what women like, and what fancy stores look like in the big cities?”
Morgan laughed. He was sold on his mother’s idea as soon as she said the word delay, but he also liked the part about asking Violet for advice on décor and what merchandise to stock. But he teased his mother, saying, “I’m not opening a dress shop.”
“At least stock some bonnets!”
He rolled his eyes, because now he had to. Anything his mother wanted. That was the point, after all.
THEY HAD ALREADY DRIVEN down every street in Nashart so that Violet could see everything the town offered before Morgan took her to the land he’d bought, just a long stretch of dusty ground with some grass and a few trees that intersected with Nashart’s main road. But then she saw the stacks of lumber. “You’re ready to start building?”
“I bought up all the lumber in town and ordered a lot more,” he explained. “And I’m thinking about offering the owner of the stable on the main road and the owners of the three other buildings next to it an opportunity to relocate to my new street so I can put the entrance to my store right on the main road. What do you think?”
“Visibility from Nashart’s main road would be ideal if you can manage it, even if you do have an entire street of your own to work with back here.”
He grinned. “Oh, I can manage it, since I’m their landlord now.”
“But the size of the building for your store will depend on what you plan to sell. Which is?”
“Furniture and silverware to start with. The Melling brothers who buy my silver make everything you can think of: jewelry, candelabra, knickknacks, dinnerware, picture frames, even fancy mirrors, so I’ll be going to New York to visit them soon. Oh, I’ll also sell bonnets.”
She was delighted. “Really?”
“Ma mentioned it this morning.”
“Well, that will certainly draw the women in town. So a silver section combined with jewelry, that you might want up front. The furniture will take up the most room because you will probably want to display full sets of it, and at least two sets each for bedrooms, dining rooms, and parlors. What about a second floor?”
“I was thinking I’d live up there myself.”
“But you may end up needing a second floor for the store—and do you really want to climb two flights of stairs to the third floor to go home at the end of the day?”
“I’d still like my own place here in town.”
“Why? Your family’s ranch isn’t far from here.”
“And if I get hitched?”
“Hitched to what?”
He laughed; she grinned. She did know what the phrase meant in Montana. But when they left his new property to have lunch, it ended up being all she could think about. He was already planning ahead for when he got married—just not to her. He’d had many opportunities to broach that particular subject with her. The times they’d made love were prime examples of when he should have gotten down on his bloody knee just so she could say no. Damnit.
“Why the sour face?” he asked when she set the restaurant menu down. “Nothing on the menu appeals to you?”
She cast off her jealous thoughts and dredged up a smile for him. “No, I was just thinking that you’ve been talking about a store bigger than any I’ve ever seen.”
“I have the room for it, so why not?”
“Indeed. In big cities, there isn’t much land available, so shops are squeezed in wherever there is space. But with your big store, you will need more than a few employees.”
“I’ve already asked around. There’re only two men in town willing to work for me who don’t already have jobs, and neither of them wants to do any selling.”
“There are employment agencies in the big cities that can hire employees for you, but if you do bring people in, you will need to provide them with someplace to live. Perhaps build rooms in the back? Or you could build your own boardinghouse for your employees next to the store.”
“Another good idea I hadn’t thought of.”
“And what about a warehouse to store your merchandise, or are you going to make your customers wait, as your mother did, when you need to restock?”
“You’re amazing,” he said with a wide smile. “I never really thought that far ahead.”
“So think about it. When you buy in bulk, you will get discounts, which will raise your profits. You did plan on making money at this, correct?”
He chuckled. “That wasn’t the goal, but I suppose it would be a nice bonus.”
“And the rest of your street? You’ll have room for a boardinghouse, a warehouse, even a house for yourself. You’ve got both sides of the street to fill.”
“Only because the mayor wouldn’t agree to prevent any saloons going in, so I took the whole parcel. But it’s probably a good investment. I can lease the land to other merchants, or just wait and see what the town needs and put the stores up myself.”