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You know, Mr. Sommers, Mrs. Dodge continued,
the contacts one makes can be the difference between
winning and losing an election.
She was right, of course. He shouldn t have been so
quick to refuse. But the thought of another night with
the Dodges when he could be at home with Huiann
was completely unappealing. Perhaps another time,
Mrs. Dodge.
She shrugged. You might recall I mentioned the
other night that Mrs. Wallace Finch and some of the
other ladies of her club are holding a fundraiser to
build an opera house for the community. Such a
Bonnie Dee 83
worthwhile endeavor. The rough edges of this city are
slowly being ground away and civilization will prevail.
Various merchants are contributing items to the dinner
and dance. It s a worthwhile cause and will reflect well
on you as your name will be featured in the program.
What did you have in mind?
Well& Abigail Dodge spoke for the next five
minutes, requiring no input from him as she detailed a
shopping list of goods he could donate, and pointed
out how grateful Mrs. Wallace Finch and the ladies
would be. Her entrée into this illustrious social club
was clearly a big part of Mrs. Dodge s interest in the
project. As a banker s wife, she surely deserved to
mingle in that rarified circle yet didn t have quite the
pedigree they required. Alan could read the unspoken
message between the lines. His mother had been a bit
of a social climber herself.
Alan glanced at Jeremy and Cynthia leaning close
together over the paper display. He wanted to give
them more time alone so he continued to nod and
agree long after he normally would have interrupted
Mrs. Dodge.
You ll be doing the community a great service,
she finally ended her plea.
I m sure I can help with some of the supplies.
Excellent. Mrs. Dodge started toward the door
then seemed to remember she d had a daughter when
she arrived. She frowned when she saw Cynthia
laughing and chatting with Jeremy. Cynthia! It s time
to leave.
The girl s smile faded and her hands dropped to her
sides. Yes, Mother.
84 Captive Bride
Jeremy carried the stationary and pen set she d
chosen to the counter for her and rang up the purchase.
After the ladies left the store, he turned to Alan. His
face glowed pink and even his copper-colored hair
seemed to shine brighter as though he was lit from
within. Did you see her?
Uh, yes. She s very pretty.
No. She s beautiful. Like an angel. How could you
turn down dinner at their house? Although I m glad
you did. Do you think her parents would let me call on
her? Her mother s a bit of a battle-ax, isn t she?
Yes. A bit.
Cynthia is unhappy here. She misses her school
and her friends back east. She writes volumes of
correspondence to them. If she d marry me, I d take
her back to Massachusetts. There s nothing keeping
me here.
Whoa! Marry? You just met this girl. You know
nothing about her. Alan had seen Jeremy tumble in
and out of love before. It always ended with the
romantic young man getting his hopes shattered and
moping around the store for several weeks until a new
pretty face stole his heart.
But I m only a clerk. Her mother won t take me
seriously, he continued as if he hadn t heard Alan s
protest.
I can t offer you a raise, Taylor. I m sorry, but I
can t afford it.
Jeremy blushed even redder. I didn t mean that. I
like my job here, but sometimes I think I need to strike
out on my own to get ahead in the world.
Then you should. As you said, nothing s holding
you back.
Bonnie Dee 85
Is that what brought you out west, Mr. Sommers,
trying to strike out on your own? Jeremy rested his
arms on the counter and looked intently at Alan.
Something like that. Look, Jeremy, I appreciate
that you re taken with Miss Dodge. She s a lovely girl,
sweet and well-mannered, but slow down. Take your
time. She s not going anywhere.
That s the problem. Her mother s determined to
marry her off soon. With the proportion of women to
men in this city I don t need to tell you how hard it is
to find a nice girl. Sometimes the loneliness is just too
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