Nelly's Mail Order Husband

by Ruth Ann Nordin

  The last thing she felt like doing was helping Seth out, but if they were going to have her pa help, the least she could do was pitch in. “Alright. We’ll be there.”

  Without waiting for him to respond, she turned and headed over to Val, who was separating out two blankets on the clothesline that had gotten twisted up together because of the wind. He had just finished getting them untangled by the time she reached him.

  He glanced behind her. “I thought he was going to stick around for a while.”

  “No, Scott Phillips didn’t come to visit. He came to tell us that Seth’s cattle got loose, and everyone is pitching in to help.”

  Val grimaced. “Help do what?”

  “Round up the cattle and bring them back to Seth’s pasture. He has ten in all.”

  He removed the clothespins and moved one of the blankets further down the line. “Is this something we have to do?”

  “Around here, people help each other out, even if they don’t like the person. It’s the neighborly thing to do. And my pa will be there. Really, it would be helping Pa so that he can get back home sooner. Without me there, he does most of the outside chores himself.”

  Val finished securing the blanket to the new location on the clothesline. “Alright, but only because of you.”

  She didn’t blame Val for not wanting to do anything for Seth, but it pleased her that he was willing to go for her sake. On impulse, she kissed his cheek. “We won’t stay there any longer than we have to. As soon as the last cattle are rounded up, we’ll come back here. I need to change. I can’t go out there in this dress.”

  She started to move past him, but he slipped his arm around her waist and pulled her into his arms.

  “If you’re going to thank me, this is the best way to do it.” He brought his lips to hers.

  His touches had already been thrilling, but his kiss was much more so. She wrapped her arms around his neck and gave into the pleasure of the moment. Around her the world ceased to exist, and it was just the two of them. She would have stayed there, suspended in this state of bliss, forever if she could, but all too soon, he ended the kiss, and she found herself drifting softly back to Earth.

  “That’s how you can thank me,” he whispered. Then, giving her waist a playful squeeze, he added, “It’s much better than a peck on the cheek.”

  She didn’t have the strength to argue with him, nor would she even if she did. He was right, after all. A kiss on the lips was much better than one on the cheek.

  He released her. “I’ll empty the buckets while you get ready.”

  Heartbeat still racing with excitement, she hurried into the house to change into a shirt and pants.

  Chapter Fourteen

  Val had taken a risk in kissing Nelly. He’d been itching to do that for a while now, but he hadn’t been sure how to go about giving her one. So, when she chose to kiss his cheek, he seized the moment and kissed her on the mouth. And the tactic had worked. She not only let him do that, but she had responded to him. Perhaps he might get another kiss out of her before the day was up. Then they could keep making progress until they went all the way. More than anything, he wanted to make love to her.

  Forcing his attention back on the buckets and wringer, he hurried to put them back in the shed where they belonged. He then went to the barn and started saddling one of the horses. He was halfway through the process when Nelly entered the barn.

  He’d gotten so used to seeing her in skirts and dresses that he’d forgotten how she looked in an oversized shirt and pants. She also had her hair pulled back into a ponytail. She was still attractive, but she was much more so when she took the time to pretty herself up.

  She grabbed a rope from the wall and glanced over at him. “I’m thinking it’s safe to assume you’ve never lassoed anything before.”

  “I don’t even know what lassoing is,” he replied, wondering what that had to do with getting Seth’s cattle back to his pasture.

  She walked over to him. “Well, the best way to get cattle when they run off is to use your horse to get them to turn around and go back to the pasture where they belong. But if that doesn’t work, you have to lasso them.” She made a loop with the rope and tightened it. “You need to swing the rope and get this part,” she pointed to the loop, “around them. That way, they can’t keep running off. Think you can do that?”

  She had to be kidding! He couldn’t even make a loop in the rope without some practice, let alone get it around some cattle.

  “No, I can’t do that,” he said, even though he hated to come out and admit it.

  She glanced at the rope in her hand then asked, “How good are you on a horse?”

  “I can ride a horse without any trouble.”

  “Yeah, but can you use it to chase cattle into a direction you want them to go?”

  “I’ve never had to chase anything with a horse. I always rode it for pleasure.”

  She bit her lower lip and tapped her foot on the ground. “It might be best if I led the horse.” She gave him the rope and then took the saddle off the horse.

  “You’re going to lead the horse without a saddle?”

  “No. I’m going to put another saddle on. It’s one I use with one of my sisters.” She set the saddle down and then went to the corner of the barn where she dug up a saddle that fit two people. “We can ride on this.”

  While he admired her tenacity, he couldn’t just stand around and let her carry something that heavy. He approached her and took the saddle. “I can put a saddle on a horse.”

  “Oh, I didn’t mean to imply you couldn’t.”

  He went back to the horse and put the saddle on it. “I want to be useful around here.” Granted, he didn’t want to milk a cow and he hated mucking out stalls, but he wasn’t so useless that he couldn’t do the other tasks. “Besides, the saddle is heavy. You might as well let me take care of it.”

  “I’m so used to doing everything myself. I didn’t even think about it.”

  He offered her a smile. “I’m here now, so you have some help.”

  She returned his smile, and the world seemed a little bit brighter because he’d made her happy. He strapped the saddle in place then turned to her.

  “Who gets to sit in front?” he asked.

  “Since I know where Seth lives, I should.”

  He nodded and held his hand out to her. “I’ll help you on.”

  She accepted his hand, and he put his other hand on the small of her back and helped her on the horse. He knew she didn’t need the help, but it only seemed fitting that he be a gentleman. Also, it was nice to have an excuse to touch her. He couldn’t be sure, but he thought she liked it when he touched her. He certainly enjoyed the contact.

  After she was in the saddle, he got up on the horse and settled behind her. This was even better than he thought it’d be. Not only was her body pressing up nicely against his, but he could use this as an excuse to put his arms around her.

  She kicked the horse in the sides, and it took them out of the barn. “Once we get to Seth’s, it’s bound to be rough as we chase after the cattle, so make sure you hold on tight.”

  She didn’t have to tell him twice. He’d use any excuse to hold her closer to him. “Alright.”

  She urged the horse into a trot, and they rode off the homestead. He didn’t realize just how close Seth lived to them until they came up to Seth and the other men at his home. Good grief. Seth could probably look out from the second story of his house and see their place. Nelly had only one level to her home, so all Val could ever see was the land directly around them. Seth, however, had a higher vantage point. Val didn’t like that one bit. Who knew if Seth was watching them? Sure, he’d like to think Seth was tending to his own homestead, but he had the sinking feeling that Seth made it a habit of keeping an eye on Nelly.

  He wondered if it ever dawned on Nelly that Seth was probably watching her, but he decided not to ask. If the idea creeped him out, who knew how she’d react? It was better that she
didn’t think about it. Even if she had managed her own farm for years, she was still a woman and needed to be sheltered from the baser instincts men possessed.

  Nelly led the horse over to the group of six men who were gathered together, and Val was happy to see that Nelly’s father was one of them. Val noticed the way the others stared at him. A couple of them seemed to be snickering because he wasn’t on his own horse.

  “We were just discussing which area we should cover,” Nelly’s father said. Glancing at Val, he added, “When this happens, we split up. It makes rounding the cattle up quicker.”

  Well, if the other men didn’t know that Val hadn’t ever done this before, they did now. The other men’s eyebrows rose in surprise. Had Val thought this through, he might have opted to take his own horse. At least then, he wouldn’t look so out of place.

  Nelly’s father turned his attention back to Nelly. “We’ll take the southern part of this homestead.”

  Did that mean Seth wouldn’t be pursuing the cattle with them?

  Nelly’s father and Nelly both headed off toward the southern portion of the homestead, and Val glanced over at Seth to see if he was going to follow them, but Seth veered off toward the southwest. Val breathed a sigh of relief. Good.

  Though Nelly and her father headed for the same area, they divided up so that she went toward the left, and he went toward the right. They were still close enough to call out to each other if they needed to. The strategy, however, gave them a better chance of getting to a stray cow faster than if they had stayed together. It turned out that the cow they came across was closer to Nelly than her father.

  Nelly got her lasso ready then said, “Hold on.”

  Val tightened his hold around her waist and leaned forward with her as she prompted the horse into a full gallop. The ride proved rougher than Val expected, and a flicker of panic washed over him. He gritted his teeth and ducked his head behind her.

  She swung the lasso as the horse closed in on the cow. Both were running, but the horse was faster. And when it came within range, she threw the lasso. The rope fell around the cow’s neck, and Nelly pulled the reins of the horse to slow it down.

  Val jerked back, his hat flew off his head, and he made the mistake of trying to grab it. Val wasn’t sure exactly what order things happened from there. All he knew was that the cow veered off to the right, and Nelly had to compensate for that by turning the horse at a sharp angle. Val lurched toward the right. He fell off the horse, and, while he was in mid-air, his body somehow landed right into the rope.

  Without thinking, he grabbed hold of the rope, and the next thing he knew, he landed onto the ground. Since he was holding the rope, the cow dragged him across the bumpy ground. He was sure he heard Nelly calling out to him, but he was too shocked to respond. He was too shocked, in fact, to do anything but hold onto the rope.

  It felt like he was trailing after the cow for hours, but he was sure it was only a matter of minutes before the cow came to an abrupt stop. He let go of the rope and rolled twice until landing on his stomach. For a few seconds, he couldn’t move. The world around him was spinning.

  “Val, are you alright?” Nelly called out.

  He waited until the spinning ceased before lifting his head. He saw Nelly approaching him on foot, the horse following close behind.

  He started to answer but realized some grass was in his mouth. After spitting it out, he said, “I think I am.”

  She knelt next to him and brushed something from his hair. It took him a moment to realize it was more grass. “Do you think you can get up?”

  “Here,” her father called out. “Hold these. I’ll help him up.”

  She stood up and went to her father. Val looked over at the cow and saw that her lasso was still around its neck. Her father’s lasso was around its neck, too. Her father handed her both lassoes then gave her the reins to his horse.

  Her father reached Val and studied him. “Do you think you can get up?”

  “Yes, I think so.” Val managed to sit up. His forehead hurt. He winced and rubbed it.

  Nelly’s father put his hands under Val’s armpits and helped him to his feet. When he let go of him, Val stumbled forward. Her father caught him and put Val’s arm around his shoulders.

  He helped Val onto Nelly’s horse then said, “Maybe we should get the doctor to look at you. You might have a broken bone or something.”

  Val moved his body to check to see if anything was broken. It hurt in some places, but he could move just fine. “Nothing’s broken.”

  “Well, I’d still feel better if the doctor took a look at you.” He turned to his daughter. “Take Val back home and get your uncle Joel or his assistant.”

  She nodded and gave her father the ropes he needed. She then got in front of Val on the saddle. “Can you hold on to me?” she asked.

  He wrapped his arms around her waist and leaned into her.

  “Take care,” Nelly’s father told both of them. “I’ll be over later today to see how things are going.”

  Nelly led the horse back toward their homestead, and Val noticed that she wasn’t letting the horse go beyond a steady walking pace. That was probably just as well. The pounding in his head was getting worse. Maybe a doctor wasn’t a bad idea.

  His head wasn’t hurting so bad, however, that he didn’t catch the way Seth and a couple of other men were pointing in his direction. With a groan, Val turned his face away from them and closed his eyes. He was officially the laughingstock of the immediate area. All he could do was hope the rumors of how inept he was would die down soon.

  ***

  Nelly was able to get her uncle Joel to check on Val. Thankfully, he hadn’t suffered any serious injuries. He had some bruises and a headache, but other than that, Joel said everything was fine.

  “I gave him something for his headache,” Joel finished as he talked to her on the front porch. “It makes people sleepy. I don’t know how long he’ll be asleep, but he was starting to drift off while I was talking to him. Anyway, I left the medicine by the bed. If he wakes up and still has a headache, give him a tablespoon of it. He should be fine by tomorrow morning, but I figured a little more wouldn’t hurt.” He winked at her. “If he gives you a headache, you can take some, too.”

  She chuckled at his joke. “You’re quite the jester, Uncle Joel.”

  “If you don’t find a reason to laugh, you’ll never be happy.” Joel put his hat on his head. “Everything should be fine, but if not, let me know.”

  “I will.” She followed him down the porch steps. “What do I owe you?”

  “Nothing. Your pa already paid me.” He reached his horse and untied the reins. “Enjoy your husband. There’s nothing quite like the first year of marriage.”

  She didn’t know how to respond to that, and thankfully, she didn’t have to since he didn’t seem to expect a reply. He got up on the horse, offered her a wave, and headed off the land.

  Clearing her throat, she went back into the house to check on Val. He was still resting on her bed, and his deep breaths indicated that he had just drifted off to sleep.

  His shirt had a few tears in it, and his jeans had grass stains on them. She didn’t think she could salvage the shirt, but the jeans could be saved. The thought did occur to her that the shirt he was wearing had been one she’d bought him instead of the one her sisters had made for him. While she knew it was wrong, a flicker of disappointment came over her. It was a shame it had to be one of her shirts that had gotten ruined. But then, he’d probably been wearing that particular shirt because she’d bought it for him. So really, he’d been paying her a compliment. It wasn’t his fault her sisters seemed so enchanted by him.

  Pushing the thought aside, she checked on the laundry. The breeze had dried most of the bedding, but since the blankets were still damp, she decided to check on the calves.

  She had just made her rounds through the fenced-in pasture when she caught sight of Seth coming onto her property. She’d recognize the conceite
d way he held himself from any distance. She gripped the reins she was holding and frowned. So getting married wasn’t going to deter him from bugging her.

  She nudged the horse in the sides, and it trotted over to the entrance of the fence. “What do you want, Seth?” she called out.

  He angled his horse away from her house and approached the fence. She remained behind the closed gate. When it came to Seth, a barrier of any kind was better than nothing.

  “I was wondering how your city-bred husband was doing,” Seth said when he reached her.

  She narrowed her eyes at him. She’d caught the way he’d snickered when he said city-bred. “Did you come over here to laugh at Val’s expense?”

  “Well, you have to admit it was funny that he took a ride through the grass.”

  “It wasn’t funny. He got hurt from it.”

  “That’s what happens when someone who isn’t used to farming leaves the city. He’s a fish out of water. He doesn’t belong on this homestead.”

  “Yes, he does. He’s my husband.”

  Seth shook his head. “He’s a hindrance. There’s no way you can efficiently run this homestead with him here. He can’t even ride a horse on his own when you need to help get stray cattle. I bet you have to constantly stop everything you’re doing to walk him through the chores around here.”

  “You’d bet wrong. He manages just fine.”

  He glanced over at the laundry. “Are you talking about the way he does women’s work? Scott told me he was helping you wash the bedding.”

  “There’s nothing wrong with a man helping with the wash, just as there’s nothing wrong with a woman operating her own homestead. Besides, it’s none of your business what Val does or doesn’t do. You should just be glad the rest of us were willing to come to help you. If you want to talk about someone who’s a hindrance, it’s you, Seth. You had a rip in that fence so big the cattle couldn’t help but go through it. I can’t believe you were so careless that you didn’t find that during one of your rounds through the pasture.”