by Linda Bridey
Tessa stood outside of Buster’s stall, stroking his face and neck. She had put the children to bed but wasn’t ready to do so herself. Her father had also retired but with the warning that they would get into things more deeply in the morning. Tessa wasn’t ready to go to bed because she knew she wouldn’t sleep much anyway, but also because she didn’t want to be close to Dean.
She heard soft footfalls behind her and closed her eyes as she recognized Dean’s steps. So much for not having a confrontation, Tessa thought.
“You know, Tessa, I never pegged you for a hypocrite,” he said softly.
She whirled around at his insulting words.
Dean held up a quieting hand. “You accuse me of being a liar and in a way, I guess I was. But I didn’t run away and not even tell my family I was getting married. So even though you didn’t lie outright, you lied by, by, oh hell, there’s a word for it…”
“Omission,” Tessa said.
“Yeah, you lied by omission and you put me and the kids in a very bad position. If it was just me, I wouldn’t mind so much, but when it comes to my kids, I don’t tolerate anything that could hurt them. It’s a good thing that your old man is a stand-up guy or else we’d have a real problem and I’m warning you, if things become a problem, I’ll deal with it head on,” he told her.
“What are you saying?” Tessa said.
“If he starts causing trouble in front of my children, I’ll ask him to leave. I’m not gonna be blamed for something you did or didn’t do,” Dean answered.
“I won’t let that happen and I won’t let the children be upset, either. Besides which, my father is a wonderful man who has raised three daughters and would never purposely upset a child. You have nothing to worry about.”
Dean nodded, apparently satisfied on that score. “So why don’t you tell me why you did it? Why did you run away from home and come here and then I’ll tell you more about why I had Marcus help me with those letters.”
Tessa knew she owed Dean an explanation and she remembered what Lydia had told her about the brothers’ upbringing. It seemed like a reasonable trade to her. She took a steadying breath and began her story.
“Is that really what it was like?” Dean asked when Tessa had finished her story.
They’d climbed into the haymow, where Dean had spread out a horse blanket over some hay so they could sit while they talked.
“Yes. An endless life of parties and dinners and never anything new,” Tessa said.
Dean said, “I don’t blame you for wanting to leave, but why didn’t you just tell them you didn’t want to do it anymore?”
“You don’t understand. It’s not like that for women, at least not back East. In many ways, women are considered property and although my parents are wonderful, they saw it as my duty to do what was expected of me. They didn’t listen when I did tell them. They believed I was just being silly and figured I would see the error of my ways at some point,” she said.
“So you thought up this crazy plan when you saw an ad in the paper for mail order brides? So I was just a way of escape?” Dean couldn’t believe how much that stung.
Tessa put a hand on his arm without thinking. “No, I swear. All right, maybe it sort of started out that way, but once we began writing back and forth, getting to know each other, I began to care about you and I wanted to come meet you for you, not as an escape. I still had to sneak away because they would have never let me come here to meet you. And after we met, I knew I’d made the right decision, or at least I thought I had.”
Dean sighed. “So that’s why you were so mad about the letters. I guess I didn’t look at it from your point of view, but I see it now. You left everything you knew behind; your family, friends, and your way of life because of our letters to each other.”
Tessa felt hot tears begin to form behind her eyes. “Yes, and when I found that Marcus had written them, or sort of written them, it made me feel as if you hadn’t cared enough to write them yourself.”
Dean put an arm around her and pulled her close. “That wasn’t the case at all. I wanted you to like me and your letter scared me because it was so beautiful and I just can’t write like that. I didn’t want to sound stupid, so I asked Marcus to help. You wanna hear something funny? And please don’t get mad again.”
“All right. What is it?”
“Marcus was the one who put that ad in the paper. He knew that I had a lot on my hands with the ranch and the kids and all and he kept teasing me that I should put an ad in the paper for a mail-order bride and finally, one day, I said that he should put it in. I was only joking, but he did it anyway, the jerk,” Dean told her.
Tessa laughed. After coming to know Marcus and his mischievous ways, she could well imagine him doing it.
“But, Tessa, once I read that first letter you sent, I wanted to know more about you. You finally got me through my grief about Sarah. She’ll always be a part of me and I’ll always love her, but I’m not in love with her anymore. I love you, Tessa, only you,” Dean said.
His admission of love melted away all of Tessa’s doubts and fears. “I love you and I’m sorry I didn’t tell you all of this before now. I shouldn’t have kept it from you and I promise not to keep anything else from you again.”
“Same here,” Dean said. “We’re married now and we shouldn’t have secrets if things are going to work between us.”
Tessa took his hand and squeezed it. “You know, for someone who says he’s not very smart, you make a very intelligent point.”
“Thank you, Mrs. Samuels. I appreciate that,” Dean said with a smile.
Tessa said, “Why, you’re welcome, Mr. Samuels.”
Dean leaned closer and said, “So how about we kiss and make up?”
“Another good idea,” Tessa said.
Dean’s kiss was gentle at first but grew more passionate quickly. Tessa became warm all over and kissed him back with abandon. When it ended, Dean smiled down at her.
“So were you really serious about wanting children?” he asked.
“You know I am,” Tessa said. “Why do you ask?”
He answered by embracing her and kissing her fiercely. Tessa knew that she would have to deal with her father come morning, but for now, she was letting herself be swept away by her love for Dean. She responded in kind and soon, they were lost in one another as the moon shone down on the barn.
Epilogue