antlers. As the men took care of the horses, an invitation was extended for Catherine and Isiah to stay for supper. Agatha was disappointed when her ma insisted she needed to get back to fix supper for the restaurant's customers.
"We'll have supper when you come into town for the dance and the christening," she promised.
After hugs and kisses were given and Agatha handed a few jars of preserves to her mother, Isiah and Catherine left. Agatha turned her attention to Roger as he carried the steaks they'd be cooking for supper into the cabin, while the other men discussed how long it was going to take to smoke the remainder of the elk. Following Roger, she saw him glance at the dress that had been returned.
"Did Teresa come by?" he asked.
Agatha hated to disappoint him but shook her head. "No, my ma brought it back."
"I suppose that's all right, though I was going to return it."
"Ma said she offered to repair the hem but Teresa insisted she do it herself."
"She did?" Roger said.
"Yes, and it's as good as new now. It was so thoughtful for her to repair it quickly. I'll be able to wear it to the dance."
"What dance?"
Agatha quickly explained about the dance and the christening day. "You are going to ask Teresa to go with you, aren't you?"
"Yes, I'll ask her the next time I go into town…"
"You are going soon, aren't you?"
Roger shrugged. "I'm not sure. A few days, I suppose."
Agatha put her hand on his arm. "You need to go soon. I mean, I'm sure she already knows about the dance, because Reverend Jorgensen posted one of the flyers in their window. She's probably wondering if you are going to ask her. You don't want to chance someone else asking her first…"
"Aggy, Roger is quite capable of making his own plans. Stop meddling," Wyatt said as he and the others entered the cabin.
Agatha could feel her cheeks flush but wasn't quite ready to give up. "I'm not meddling. Besides, weren't you and Richard just discussing the fact that with more and more men moving west, women are becoming quite scarce?"
"Yes, I heard that as well," Anna said. "Who knows how many lonely men will be moving into town within the next week or so. Why, we might not recognize a single face when we finally get to town again."
"It would be such a shame to discover some stranger has swooped in and asked Teresa to the first big dance the town has held before Roger makes his next trip," Charity said, her blonde head shaking. "Such a shame."
"It's highly unlikely the town will be inundated with new people any time soon," James said with a chuckle. "The snows are deep here; imagine how much deeper they are in the mountains. I'm quite sure Roger is safe from much competition until the passes are clear."
"There's always the chance that someone visiting from one of the other towns might come through and see a flyer," Agatha said.
"Yes, especially if they need their children baptized as well," Charity chimed in.
"Well, whether Roger moves fast enough or not, I will be very happy to take my wife to a dance and see my daughters christened."
"Why don't we make a holiday of it and stay a couple of nights?" Richard suggested.
Anna squealed and threw her arms around her husband's neck, and Charity danced around James with Hope in her arms.
Agatha shook her head, her friends were obviously forgetting what they were supposed to be encouraging. "Fine, but don't blame me if Teresa and some total—"
"Agatha…" Wyatt said again
Roger shook his head and interrupted, "I certainly don't want her dancing with some stranger. I'll run into town this weekend. Will that make you happy?"
"Oh, it wasn't my happiness I was worried about, but yes, I'm sure that will make Teresa happy," Agatha agreed, giving her husband a smug smile before reaching for her apron, yelping when a large palm connected to her rear. Looking up to see Wyatt, she hissed, "What was that for?"
"Just as I can tell the difference between a mountain and a hill, don't think I can't recognize
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