Running a mercantile wasn’t what he’d dreamed of doing, but then again, did he even know what he wanted to do? When he was a kid, the answer was easy. Stay and farm with the family. But after Mom died and Dad got injured, Dad sold the family farm in Illinois and bought a mercantile in Seattle, and things were never the same.
Seattle hadn’t been horrible, but it wasn’t home. None of his friends kept in touch after he left, and all Daniel had to look forward to was working in the mercantile every day. Which wasn’t anything to look forward to. At. All.
He grew more miserable with every month. So when he heard about the Yukon gold rush, he took off for adventure.
But he learned early on that adventure quickly turned into bone-wearying days, where his body ached from head to toe, and the rewards were few and far between. Not to mention the cold. And the lack of Granny’s amazing food.
Then Dad and Granny moved up here to Alaska and bought another mercantile. Daniel didn’t know their motives behind the move, but it had brought comfort knowing they were closer—even though he’d been too stubborn to come home.
Several years passed before he swallowed his pride and accepted that finding an easy fortune wasn’t going to happen.
What a fool he’d been! But some things had to be learned the hard way. Good thing he was on the other side of it. Not a lesson he wanted to endure ever again.
At least he had decent work to do and a place to stay until he decided what he wanted to do with the rest of his life.
Of course, being in another gold-rush town wasn’t exactly his first choice, but there seemed to be plenty of people making a decent living here without digging for gold. Look at Judas Reynolds. The man was very successful and respected in the town.
Now, that was someone he’d like to learn from. The man oozed charisma, and everyone seemed to love him. And he was probably the wealthiest man in town.
Daniel could see himself in a prestigious position like that. Being respected and well-known.
The bell jangled over the door, and he turned his attention to the customers.
A tall, dark-haired gentleman entered with a woman. His wife? Her dark red hair was something to behold. She wore it down––not something he saw on modern women often––and the curls spilled everywhere. Two pearlized combs held it off her face. Why did women always pull their hair back and wind it into a knot? It didn’t make sense to hide it. Of course, he didn’t have long hair, so what did he know?
The woman laughed at something the man said. Yeah, they must be married. Too bad.
He pasted on a smile. “Good afternoon, how may I help you today?”
“You must be Daniel.” The man held out his hand. “Your father told us you were here, we just haven’t had the pleasure of meeting you yet. I’m John Roselli, and this is my sister-in-law, Miss Madysen Powell. She just had tea with your grandmother.”
Ah, so they weren’t married. Good. Daniel’s grin broadened. “Pleased to meet you both.” He nodded to Miss Powell. The name sounded familiar, but he couldn’t place it. Granny must have said something about the Powells.
“John!” His dad greeted the guest like old friends. Tucking his inventory paperwork under his arm, he headed over.
So much for Daniel needing to handle things.
“I see you’ve met my son.”
“Indeed. I bet you are thrilled to have his help.” Mr. Roselli seemed to know Dad quite well.
“Don’t you know it. How are things out at the farm? How’s Chuck?”
The customer began to answer his father, and Miss Powell pivoted toward Daniel. “As John mentioned, I was just visiting with your grandmother earlier today. She is overjoyed that you are here.” The delight in her face drew him in like a magnet. She tilted her head a bit and looked like she was eagerly awaiting whatever he had to say.
His mouth went dry. But he couldn’t pull his gaze away from hers. What was wrong with him? Forcing his mouth to work, he returned her smile. “Granny is pretty special. And I think that I’m the one who’s overjoyed. I can’t even begin to tell you how much I missed her cooking.”
The pretty Miss Powell laughed, and it sounded almost musical. That was it! Dad and Granny had talked about the Powell family and their musical abilities.
“I can imagine.” She smiled. “I had the privilege of having her cinnamon cake today. It was delicious. As always.” She glanced toward her brother-in-law and then back to him. “How was the Yukon? I believe that’s where Granny said you have been the past few years?”
He nodded. “Cold. Definitely an adventure, but not one I wanted to continue.”
“I don’t blame you. Gold rushes are never what they promise to be. Even here in Nome folks come thinking they’re going to find gold nuggets just lying about—free for the picking.”
Yep. He’d been one of those men . . . and not too long ago.
Dad led their customer back toward them and gripped his shoulder. “Well, I better get back to work. I have a new peanut butter display to set up. Apparently, this product was all the rage at the World’s Fair down in St. Louis. Although, I don’t know what people will do with it or eat it with.” Dad shrugged and continued to talk to himself as he went back to the display.
“What can I help you with today, Mr. Roselli?” Daniel looked between Miss Powell and her brother-in-law.
Dad’s friend placed a hand on the counter. “Please call me John. We need to order a good deal of supplies.”
“Of course. Let me get the ledger and books. Do you have a list of what you need?”
Miss Powell reached for the Sears Roebuck catalogue. “We do. Most of it is out of this catalogue right here.” She pulled a list out of her pocket.
Daniel glanced over it and raised his eyebrows. It wasn’t ordinary equipment. “What kind of farm do you have?”
“Dairy and poultry.” John’s deep voice expressed his pride.
“Humph.” Miss Powell patted her brother-in-law’s arm. “I’ll thank you to not forget my sheep.”
A guilty grin took over John’s face. “I stand corrected, Daniel. Dairy, poultry, and sheep.” He shook his head and laughed. “We’re now making cheese, so we need the necessary kitchen and equipment to expand our process. We’ve used the house kitchen for several batches, but it’s just not big enough. And now that we’re venturing past mozzarella, we’ve decided to build a new kitchen just for the cheese.”
With a pencil, Daniel started an order form. “That’s quite a project. When I was younger, I used to help my mother make cheese from sheep’s milk. It was quite good if I do say so.” Daniel checked each item on the list and wrote it down.
“Granny said you would be the expert and might be willing to share a recipe or two.” Miss Powell’s words pulled his gaze upward. For a moment, he lost himself in the depths of her dark brown eyes. They held expectancy, joy . . . life. Such a difference from what he’d seen the last few years. The light in most people’s eyes faded within a few weeks of being in the Yukon.
For some it happened sooner.
“We might need more than recipe help. Since you’re an expert on sheep, we could use your suggestions and insight.” John’s eager voice pulled Daniel’s attention back to the job at hand.