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long?’’
    ‘‘I don’t know. A while. If you’re looking to pick a fight, Miss Van Buren, I believe you have a sister primed and ready.’’
    ‘‘How long since the ticks have been beaten clean?’’
    He didn’t dare tell her he had never cleaned the mattresses. No telling what she would do.
    She scrunched up her nose when he didn’t answer. ‘‘And the hotel itself? When was the last time it has been scrubbed top to bottom?’’
    ‘‘The men don’t mind it.’’
    ‘‘That may be so, but if they had the choice between clean and dirty, I imagine a great many would prefer clean. Might even pay extra for it.’’
    ‘‘And your point?’’
    ‘‘When was the last time you had a home-cooked meal?’’
    He sighed. ‘‘If you are on a mission to change the habits of hotel owners by badgering them to death, then you are wasting your breath. Are we finished here?’’
    She moistened her lips. ‘‘I have a proposition for you.’’
    He frowned. ‘‘I’m listening.’’
    ‘‘I need food, shelter, and income. You need a woman’s touch in that hotel of yours. The kitchen is too small to prepare dinner for your patrons, but it is certainly good enough to provide yourself and my family with decent meals. I propose you provide room, board, and pay for me and my family in exchange for home-cooked meals, washed and ironed clothes, and a clean hotel.’’
    ‘‘How much pay?’’
    ‘‘Thirty dollars a day.’’
    He lifted his brows. ‘‘That’s a whole month’s wages back home.’’
    ‘‘I’ve been all over this town, Mr. Parker. I know what the going rates are.’’
    ‘‘Still, that’s two-ten a week.’’
    ‘‘One-eighty. We don’t work Sundays.’’
    Slipping his hands into his pockets, he rocked on his heels. He couldn’t care less about having a clean hotel, but home-cooked meals and a family to share them with? That was something else entirely. Particularly a family with two sunbonnets. No need for her to know that, however.
    ‘‘What room, exactly, were you expecting to stay in?’’ he asked.
    ‘‘Why, the one we are currently in.’’ She hesitated. ‘‘I thought you said last night you were almost through building your new one. And I saw a very nice wooden dwelling just behind the one we are in. I assumed that was the one you were referring to?’’
    ‘‘It was.’’
    ‘‘It looked complete to me. Is it not?’’
    ‘‘Not quite.’’
    ‘‘Well, that’s no problem. Michael can help you finish it. With two of you working, it would be ready in no time and you could live in it.’’
    He rubbed his mouth. The cabin was dried in. It just needed trimming and a bit of furniture. But he’d planned on renting the shanty out, not paying someone to stay in it.
    And had she forgotten his place was more than just a hotel? That it was, in fact, a gambling hall? But time and again, he had seen people do things here in California that they never would have done back home.
    He considered her as she stood motionless with her head high, back straight. If he said yes, she and her ladylike ways would put a crimp in his daily routine. But if he said no, she would probably go one door down and make the same offer to Ralph. Who would jump at the chance to have a sunbonnet live with him, wash for him, and cook his meals.
    By Judas, just having a sunbonnet on his property would most likely double his business.
    ‘‘All right, Miss Van Buren. We can give it a try, I suppose.’’
    She nodded her head once. ‘‘Thank you, Mr. Parker. You won’t be sorry.’’
    ————
    Rachel tugged loose her bonnet strings, pulled it from her head, and tossed it on the bed. Lissa sat in a chair, legs crossed, foot swinging.
    ‘‘Have you any idea what you just did out there?’’ Rachel asked.
    ‘‘Yes, dear sister. I made it possible for our family to afford food and a place to live. Do you have any idea what you just did?’’
    ‘‘As a matter of fact, I do. I