Misty's True Love (Mail Order Brides of Pioneer Town, Book 2)

by Ruth Hartzler

  Misty’s True Love

  (Mail Order Brides of Pioneer Town, Book 2)

  Copyright © 2015 Ruth Hartzler

  All Rights Reserved

  Smashwords Edition

  Smashwords License Notes.

  This ebook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This ebook may not be resold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each person you share it with. If you are reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then you should purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the author’s hard work.

  * * *

  This is a work of fiction. Any resemblance to any person, living or dead, is purely coincidental. The personal names have been invented by the author, and any likeness to the name of any person, living or dead, is purely coincidental.

  This book may contain references to specific commercial products, process or service by trade name, trademark, manufacturer, or otherwise, specific brand-name products and/or trade names of products, which are trademarks or registered trademarks and/or trade names, and these are property of their respective owners. Ruth Hartzler or her associates, have no association with any specific commercial products, process, or service by trade name, trademark, manufacturer, or otherwise, specific brand-name products and / or trade names of products.

  Table of Contents

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Chapter 14

  Chapter 15

  Chapter 16

  Chapter 17

  Chapter 18

  Connect with Ruth

  Next Book in this Series

  Other books by Ruth Hartzler

  About Ruth Hartzler

  Chapter 1

  Misty fiddled nervously with the letter in her lap as she stared anxiously out the window of the lumbering train. The first rays of the morning light were just starting to peek over the horizon. While the morning fog obscured the mountains on the horizon into ghostly silhouettes, Misty was only too aware that the rocky hills and vast plains stretched out for miles.

  These had become familiar sights to her on her long train journey, scenes a world away from San Francisco. This was nothing like the vacations her employers used to take. During those she was too busy tending to the family to sit and watch the scenery. She could not even remember the last time she had so much time to be idle. For years she was Indiana’s lady’s maid, and then after the earthquake, she had cared for her elderly aunt. If her aunt had not died, she would not have answered the mail order bride advertisement and now been on the train to Wyoming.

  Misty tried to peer ahead of the train to see if she could spot a glimpse of her destination. However, she could not see any sign of civilization. It was both exciting and unnerving to see so much empty space stretching out in all directions.

  She tried to close her eyes again as she shifted on the wooden seat. A train was certainly the most convenient way to travel, but even the most patient person could grow tired of the same sights and sounds for days on end. The simple wooden benches were made a little more comfortable with thin cushions. The windows had a thick pane of glass, tinted by the soot of the coal engine pulling the train along at a steady pace. A few deep red carpets were nailed to the floor to give the place a splash of decorum.

  But goodness, one could only take so much rocking and rumbling in a span. The cabin seemed to feel more confined by the hour. Misty took out a small lace fan and waved it gently under her chin. It had been a gift from Indiana. She smiled gently as she thought back on the young lady. If there was anyone who had an angel watching out for her, it was the young miss. It still boggled Misty’s mind how events fell into place in the end.

  She glanced down at the letter and smiled gently. She should have written Indiana to let her know that she was arriving. But at the same time, she did not want to be fussed over at the station, not when she had a special meeting to attend to first.

  It had started on a whim of sorts. She had been browsing through the papers to seek a new employment. While the severance pay that Indiana and her new husband left her was very generous, she could not hope to live on it indefinitely. Unfortunately, there was very little demand for a maid of her station. And most other positions had no use for a young woman, particularly one who acted as a full-time caretaker to a bedridden aunt.

  In the back of the paper were ads for people looking for a bride. After seeing poor Indiana deal with that dreadful man from Texas, Misty was skeptical of the whole thing. How do you commit your life to someone you have never met? Plus there was the risk of deception. After all, one never really knew who really was on the other end of the Pony Express.

  But one could daydream, though. Misty found herself intrigued as she read through the ads, written by ranchers in Texas and Oklahoma, miners in California, homesteaders in the prairies, each with a story to tell about their homes. It had become a guilty pleasure to fantasize what it would be like to live in such places, a wife to a wealthy citrus farmer in the East or a fur trader in the Northern wilderness, or perhaps a wealthy businessman, hiring maids of her own. Her imaginings were a pleasant diversion. Caring for the dying could put a person in a poor frame of mind.

  One day, a particular letter had caught her eye. A man from Pioneer Town was seeking a ‘practical, level headed woman’. He was seeking out a wife and partner to help run his ranch. No word about physical appearances, only that the person be in good health.

  Indiana had told her many things about Pioneer Town. It was where her husband, Morgan, was from. They were very liberal about women’s rights in that region according to her friend. The sisters would never need to fear a rushed marriage in that region to get by. It was still hard to imagine it in practice. She found herself intrigued by the letter.

  She had set it away at first. The ads were just a fantasy for her, little else. She could not see herself running out the door to a mysterious man. With her luck, she would end up with a man like Indiana’s near-fiancé, slovenly, rude brute that sought someone to dominate and work to the bone. She had no desire to be trapped in such a situation. She doubted that she would have a handsome rescuer to save her from her plight.

  The ad weighed on her mind, however. She found herself returning to the paper again and again to read it. It was in the same town in which Indiana lived with her mother, sisters, and husband. It sounded wonderful. A great town. Vast territories. Acres of fields housing crops and cattle. Gorgeous sunsets over the distant mountains. The letters that Indiana sent her painted it almost like a faerie tale.

  Misty went back and forth over the ad for nearly a week. It was impractical to think these ads would actually work out well, but at the same time, something about it intrigued her. If nothing else, a growing ranch might need a maid to tend the home and a growing family. After hours of agonizing and rewriting, she finally sent a brief letter of introduction to the address provided in hopes that it would finally stop haunting her.

  Misty had hoped that she could move on after finally reacting to the ad, but instead she found herself visiting the post office religiously each day. Sometimes she found an excuse to visit the town a second or third time. She often chided herself for behavior, knowing that it was silly to get worked up over the who
le thing. Yet no matter how much she chided herself, she continued to obsess over receiving a response.

  She had never imagined that she could feel so excited and panicked at the same time. When she finally received her first letter from Mr. Claudius Mills, she could not bring herself to open it right away. She felt an overwhelming dread that it would be a polite rejection. It was a shock to her how much she had invested in the event, given she was not a staunch believer in mail order brides.

  But instead, she found herself entranced. Claudius seemed warm and friendly. While she had no idea what he would look like, she could almost see a gentlemanly smile as she read his thanks for her response to his ad. He spoke of his ranch, and how he worked to run it.

  Misty found herself reading the letter even more than she had the ad. It had been a temptation to take up her stationary and write Indiana to learn what she might know of Mr. Mills. As a local resident, she would surely have heard something of their reputation in Pioneer Town. But she could not bring herself to do it. It felt silly and school girlish to hound her friend for information, especially when it was a man she never met face to face.

  Over the coming weeks, she and Mr. Mills began to correspond with one another. In the beginning, it felt as if she had gained a pen pal. They spoke of their homes and their interests. As time went by, he started to tell her about happenings at the ranch, and she told him about her days. She imagined it had to be terribly dull to read about a woman tending her elderly aunt. Yet he always inquired after her aunt’s health when his letters came in. She found herself looking forward to each letter as time went by.

  When her aunt passed away, it was a dark time in her life. Even though it was expected, the loss of a family member was painful. The woman had been a gentle soul, if strict. She did not support Misty being courted by letter, but she did not try to dissuade her either, during her moments of lucidity.

  When Misty had written to Claudius about her aunt’s passing, one letter had come faster than the others. He insisted that she should not be alone in a large city like San Francisco. A young woman had a hard time in this region without a husband or male kin. Misty knew that only too well—it was part of why Indiana and her sisters were put in a desperate situation a few months back, when Indiana was forced by her mother to seek out a husband from the ads. It had been divine intervention that saved them from a rushed fate.

  It had been a surprise to her when Claudius invited her to come up to his ranch. He insisted that there was no pressure to marry on the spot. He wished a chance to meet her in person, and it would set his mind at ease to know she was not alone in the city.

  She shook herself from her musings as the train rattled over a rough bridge, holding her breath as she tried not to look out the window at the vast expanse below. While a train felt safe and sturdy on flat land, she had far less faith in the thin bridges. She felt her heart race as she tried to ignore the vulnerable wood and rust colored metal supports.

  “It’s perfectly safe,” she murmured to herself in reassurance as she took out the letter out of its envelope, and read. ‘I am relieved that you accepted my invitation. I took the liberty of enclosing a ticket for your travels. If you need anything at all, please do not hesitate to tell me. I will meet you at the station on the day of your arrival. My family is eager to meet with the young lady with whom I have been corresponding. However, after much persuasion, I have convinced them to allow us to meet in private. I trust you will not feel too overwhelmed. We tend to be a lively group.’ She could almost see him pace and fidget as he tried to think up everything she might need to know.

  Misty could not wait to put a face with the name. Would he be thin? Tall and rugged? A dapper dandy sort? She could not quite see the last one. It seemed too over the top for a practical man who worked the fields himself. But she still had to wonder. He never spoke of his appearances in his letters. Come to think of it, she did not even know what color his eyes were.

  Misty felt a wave of anxiety as she clutched the letter to her chest. She had written to this man for weeks, but she knew so little of him. She didn’t know his favorite food or any of his habits, good or bad. She did not even know if he was who he claimed to be in the letters. For all she knew, he ran a sweatshop full of young ladies without families to look for them. She felt a lump of worry in the back of her throat. Not even Indiana knew she was coming this way. For the first time, Misty regretted her silly decision to surprise Indiana by showing up in Pioneer Town unannounced. If she disappeared, no one would know she was coming here. Maybe she should have announced her coming after all?

  She took in a steadying breath and shook her head. Surely she was being silly. Even if it all goes badly, I can find Indiana’s home. I’ll be okay, she thought

  The man sounded kind and compassionate in the letters. She was just letting her mind run away with her. It would be all right. Indiana was there. And her husband.

  The image of Morgan’s business partner rushed to the forefront of her mind. Cody had been a very kind man. Truth be told, she had been attracted to him the instant she had laid eyes on him. She had hoped to learn more about him. Maybe she would have a chance to be friends with him, now that she would be in regular contact with his business partner’s family. Of course, that would depend on how Claudius felt. She’d not cause friction with him over an acquaintance, not if Claudius was as kindly a man in person as he was in letters.

  “Approaching Pioneer Town,” the conductor bellowed, causing the other passengers to stir and collect their belongings. Misty blinked and twisted to try to get a peek. Suddenly the endless trip was approaching its end. The reality of the event came crashing on her like a giant wave.

  She could not decide if she was excited or terrified. This was a new land, possibly a new life, with new people to meet and others to learn more about. Misty caught her breath. Should she be ashamed that she willed the train to move backward at the thought? She should be ready to race forward! She had accepted the ticket and invitation after all. She did want to meet Claudius, but at the same time, so many unknowns were terrifying indeed.

  Did she want to rush forward, or race back? She had no idea what she wanted to do. She gazed back out the window, glad to see they were once more on solid ground. She took in a slow breath, and let it out as she squared her shoulders. Scary or not, forward or back, she would take it one step at a time. First she wanted to meet Claudius. Regardless of how things turned out, she needed to meet him. From there, she would know what her next move was.

  She hoped that it would be a good meeting.

  Misty’s heart beat frantically as the train ground to a halt. She looked out the window. Heat emanating from the train in boiling waves. It hissed and clicked, and a thick smog hung above her head, as some white steam continued to billow softly out of the inverted funnel that sat on the black locomotive down at the other end of the platform.

  Misty could not believe her eyes. She thought she would faint at the sight of the man standing on the platform.

  Chapter 2

  He wore a white shirt so crisp and clean that it had to be straight from the tailor’s. His hat was cocked to one side ever so slightly, just enough to give him a roguish appearance, especially with that friendly half grin as he trained his eyes on the doorway from which she was exiting. Bright yellow and purple wildflowers were held awkwardly in the crook of one arm, as if he were not quite sure what to do with them.

  Misty tried not to gape as she regarded the man on the platform. She felt her face redden as they stared at one another in mutual shock.

  “Mr. Cody! What a surprise!” she called out in greeting, raising a hand in a shy wave as she stepped out into the sunlight.

  “It certainly is!” Cody stated as he gazed from her, to the train, and back again. “Good afternoon, Miss Misty. I certainly didn’t expect to see you here. Is Miss Indiana here?”

  “Oh no. It’s going to be a surprise,” she stated as she gazed around the platform, looking for Claudius. To her sur
prise, no one else seemed to be here. Was he running behind? Surely he did not forget that she was coming today?

  Cody followed her eyes, gazing on the empty platform. “If Miss Indiana isn’t expecting you, who do is expecting you, Miss Misty?”

  “Please, just Misty,” she said as she felt a small wave of awkwardness over the title. It was so strange to hear it after being a maid for so long. Only those who held tightest to titles and etiquette had referred to her as anything but Misty. It sounded especially strange coming from a gentleman such as Cody.

  Cody looked quizzically at the train, and then her with a curious expression. “You are waiting for someone?”

  “Yes. I am meeting…” It was too embarrassing to say she was meeting her future fiancé, especially being the man in question was nowhere to seen. What if it was all a cruel joke? What if Claudius had no intention of meeting her? “Well, I am meeting someone I have been writing to for the past little while. He must have been delayed, for he said he would meet me when I arrived to town.”

  The young woman felt her heart sink a little at the nearly empty platform. She had been so certain this mystery man would be waiting for her to arrive. She didn’t assume they would have a fairy tale meeting, with him sweeping her off her feet and carrying her off into the sunset, but she did expect him to at least be here!

  “What’s his name? Maybe I could take you along the way. I know most of the folks round about,” Cody said politely.

  “Thank you, but I’m sure he’ll be here presently,” she said as she glanced at the wildflowers with a soft smile. “It looks like you are expecting some company of your own. I wouldn’t want to intrude.”

  She also did not want to entertain a pang of jealousy over the lucky mystery woman. While they had never stopped to talk for any great length when he had been in San Francisco, she had developed quite a crush on the rugged yet kind rancher. She chided herself silently for such a childish reaction. Here she was to meet a perfectly nice, if not exactly punctual, man, yet she was becoming jealous of a mystery woman receiving wildflowers from Cody. At times, she scarcely knew what to make of her own behavior.