Free Banking on Temperance by Becky Lower Page A

letter right after Da died, letting him know he was now going to be the head of this family. He responded right away and told me he couldn’t wait to get here, so we could pick up where we left off.” She blushed prettily as she cleared the dirty dishes from Basil’s table.
    “Where exactly did you leave off with him, Temperance?” Basil asked quietly, as he took hold of her wrist.
    Temperance pulled her hand from his. “That’s an impertinent question, sir.”
    “I just don’t want you to be disappointed if he changes his mind. I know the ways of men, and it’s a heavy burden you’re placing on him — it won’t be just you and him, but your entire family as well. And a newborn.”
    “He won’t change his mind. He loves me.”
    “Maybe so.” Basil put a few bills on the table to pay for his dinner, stood up, and placed his hat on his head. “He’d be a fool not to. But even love has its limits. And I’m telling you, as a man, I wouldn’t want to be heading west with a wife, five children, and a mother-in-law who was about to have a baby. It’s hard enough getting from St. Louis to Oregon without stacking the deck against yourself.”
    Temperance’s green eyes sparkled as she stood before him. “Well, then, it’s fortunate for us that Jeremiah will be the man heading west with us, and not you. He’ll come. You’ll see.”
    • • •
    Temperance hadn’t shown up for work after the bank closed. Despite their rather heated discussion about Jeremiah the other night at the restaurant, she wouldn’t leave town without saying a proper goodbye. Of that, Basil was certain. She’d lord it over him and introduce him to that blasted Jeremiah, had he shown up, finally. Basil had not seen her at all yesterday, either, since he had a meeting in the evening with one of the bank’s clients and did not make it out to the public house. He paced the floor of his apartment, as it registered that, since she had rolled into town with her rag-tag family and her disaster of a wagon, Temperance had been a part of his daily routine. Except for the past few days.
    He wondered if something new had befallen her, and was mildly concerned for her welfare. But she was a strong, capable young woman who didn’t let anything get in her way. By five o’clock, she’d be starting work at the restaurant, so he rode out. He tied his horse up at the hitching post out front, and went inside, only to find she had not shown up there, either.
    He was out of the restaurant and halfway to the soddy before he realized he had decided to ride out and see what was going on. It wasn’t Temperance’s nature to shirk her responsibilities. He told himself that, as her employer, he had a right to check on her. But his mild concern ratcheted up a few notches when he discovered no one had seen her for two days.
    As he drew closer to the soddy, his horse’s muscles tensed as it went on high alert. If a horse sensed danger, something was truly afoul. The nearby howling from a pack of animals sent shivers running down his spine. He slowed his pace, pulled his gun from its shoulder holster, and cautiously turned the corner to the dirt tracks leading to the humble dwelling.
    Seven wolves circled the small home as dusk fell around them, and one more was on the roof, trying to dig a way into the structure. A half dozen or more carcasses lay around the yard. Basil’s heart twisted in his chest as he studied the movement of the wolves, careful not to get too close.
    “Temperance?” he yelled out to the soddy.
    “I’m here, Basil.” He caught the glint of a rifle from between the slats of the shutters. “We’re all here, and we’re all safe, but we haven’t been able to get out for two days. I’ve been keeping the damned animals at bay with our rifle, but as soon as I shoot one, two more appear in its place.”
    “Why are you handling the gun? Where’s Justice?”
    “Justice can’t hit the side of a barn from ten paces away. I have much