“Sounds very nice, I can’t wait to meet everyone.” Hopefully she sounded as though she was excited.
They rode for about an hour when the houses and out building came into view. “So much for first impressions,” she murmured touching her hair.
“They won’t care.”
How she wished it was so but she knew better.
* * *
Kent reined in the horses and set the brake tying the lines around the brake. He certainly got lucky. Glory was a pretty girl with her long brown hair that seemed to be full of curls. Her blue eyes were expressive and she was easy to read. Her skin was so very fair as though it hadn’t seen much sun.
He grinned as he hopped down from the wagon and rounded the wagon to help his bride. She was still fussing at her hair. It didn’t matter to him but it appeared to matter a great deal to her.
He put his hands around her small waist and lifted her down. “Don’t worry. No one here expects perfection.” She looked into his eyes and gave him a smile that didn’t fool him.
Offering her his arm, he waited until she put her small hand in the crook of his elbow and then walked toward the ranch owner Parker Eastman’s house. He was honored his friends were waiting to meet her. They walked up the steps and Kent shook Parker’s hand.
“This is Glory.”
Parker smiled at her warmly. “Welcome. We’ve been as excited as Kent here for your arrival.”
“Th-thank you.”
Georgie, Parker’s lovely wife stepped forward. She took Glory’s hand. “Traveling mishaps? Don’t worry we’ve all been there. Veronica, Sondra let’s get Glory ready for the wedding. Kent, grab her bag will you?”
“All she has is her reticule. Her bag was filched in town,” Kent explained.
“Oh you poor dear, I came with nothing but rags. It was too expensive for me to buy material at the time. Come, I know just the dress for you to wear.” Georgie gestured for Glory to go in first and they were followed by Veronica and Sondra.
“I might as well go get ready,” Kent said. He was starting to feel nervous; marriage was forever.
“We’ll join you won’t we?” Parker asked the other men.
Max smiled widely. “I bet we can give him some advice,” he teased.
Once they were all at Sandler’s new house he braced himself for the ribbing he was bound to get.
“What happened to her? It looks like she was horse dragged,” Walter Green said.
They had all served together in the army. Parker Eastman had been their Captain. Austin Maxwell was a sergeant. Lex Willis and Walter Green were corporals like himself.
“Walter, you don’t say that to the groom,” Parker admonished.
“Well, what happened then?” Walter asked.
“She arrived a bit rumpled and then she didn’t know to hold onto the wagon and she went flying hard into the back of it.” The men all laughed loudly and Kent joined them. Then he sobered.
“She doesn’t have anything to change into and she’s very self-conscious.” Kent stared each of them in the eyes one by one. “Everyone better act like she is the loveliest bride you’ve ever seen.” He stared at Walter the longest.
Kent changed his clothes. He’d bought his first suit a week ago. “Well how do I look?”
“Like Kent Sandler in a suit,” Max replied.
Kent looked up to the ceiling. “God give me patience and keep me from having to punch anyone today.”
Parker slapped him on the shoulder. “Let’s get out there, the preacher is waiting and don’t worry I’ll keep these two in line. The cowboys know better.”
“Anyone from Joy coming?” Kent asked.
Joy was a place on the ranch where Parker built houses for the ex-slaves. He’d given them paying jobs and everyone on the ranch pitched in to try to keep them safe from the men who rode at night wearing hoods, wreaking havoc against the freedmen.
“They were invited,” Willis told him. “Let’s go.”
Kent’s stomach started to sour as he and Parker walked to the front of the crowd and stood with the preacher. Maybe he should just give her to Willis, and then Willis could have the new house. The bunk house wasn’t that bad. Darn Parker for making a bet that the first to marry gets a house. Max was the first and he and Veronica, his mail order bride, seemed very happy. Kent thought that to be the end of wife hunting but Parker made the same offer to Kent and Willis. Why did Willis have to be so darn competitive? Kent never wanted to be married again.
Parker elbowed him. “No frowning. Here she comes.”
Kent’s heart thumped hard and fast against his chest. He’d known she was pretty but she now was so very beautiful. The word perfection came to mind. Their gazes met and held as she walked down the aisle to him. She gave him a shy smile when she stood next to him.
Georgie hurried through the crowd and stood at Glory’s side breathing hard as though she’d lost her breath.
Kent couldn’t stop staring at Glory. Her neck was long and graceful and he couldn’t wait to kiss her there. First he’d start at her rosy lips. These were probably not the appropriate thoughts to have standing in front of a preacher. She did seem nervous. She kept shifting from one foot to the other. This was bound to be a huge change for her. Did he have in him to treat her gently?
Her eyes sparkled when he placed the ring on her finger. She looked to be in awe.
“I now pronounce you man and wife!” The preacher announced. “You may kiss the bride.”
Kent froze for a second before he leaned down and brushed his lips against hers. He took her hand and gave it a light squeeze. He felt triumphant when she squeezed his hand back.
“You look beautiful. That green dress is beautiful on you,” he whispered as they walked back down the aisle. “I heard that the women made plenty of food and Veronica made a wedding cake. I know it must be hard for you to be away from home.”
She nodded. “I miss my friends Faye, Harriet and Imogene so much but I imagine they are all going through the same thing. They were and still are my family but I also have a new family now; I have you. I’m going to try my very best to be the best wife ever.”
He pulled her into an embrace and kissed her on the cheek. “I know you will.”
“This ring is so very gorgeous but it’s too expensive for a mere orphan who doesn’t know where she came from.”
“You’re my wife now and I want you to wear the ring. It was my mother’s and she gave it to me before I went off to fight the war.”
Her genuine smile of deep happiness had him smiling in return. Maybe this time he could actually love his wife.
People began to congratulate them when a buggy came quickly up the road to the house. It stopped in a flurry of dust. Kent groaned in ill-fated surprise. It was his mother-in-law, Sharon. He’d secretly thought of her as the witch.
Kent let go of Glory. “I’ll be right back.” He hurried to the buggy. Sharon had her usual scowl on her face and she held a wriggly child.
“Getting married again? Good luck to the poor woman you conned into marry you this time.” Her voice was loud enough for everyone to hear.
“What do you want?”
“You never came home after you left the army. You never once checked on me!”
Kent frowned. “Why would I? The scathing letter you sent after Tammy’s death was more than enough.”
Sharon held the child out to him. “Here this heathen is yours.” She dangled the boy until Kent took him into his arms.
“Why didn’t you tell me? How could this child be mine?”
Her grin was sickening. “Oh, remember you came home right before the end of your time in the army? Tammy got you nice and drunk and then nine months later she died having your baby. I didn’t tell you. I wanted to punish you but I think trying to raise this horrible boy is punishment enough.” She motioned for the driver to drive away. She threw out a suitcase onto the drive and Kent watched as it bounced and rolled before it came to a stop.
The
pain his dead wife had caused through their marriage hit him all at once and he felt the need to be alone but that wasn’t possible. His happiness that had been so abundant moments before was now replaced with loathing and despair. He doubted the child was even his. He didn’t remember anything from that visit to see her except for her harping and he woke up hungover. But since they’d been married he was legally the father.
Glory rushed to his side and took the bewildered child from him. She crooned to the child and he wrapped his arms around her neck.
* * *
“Could someone go get his suitcase? We don’t even know his name,” Glory called out to the crowd. She turned to Kent. “You don’t know his name right?”
Veronica came to her side. “I’ll take him and see that he gets something to eat.” Glory smiled her thanks but the boy refused to let go of Glory.
“It’s fine. He’s scared. I remember from the orphanage when we’d get a young child, how frightened the young one was. Mostly the orphanage only took in baby girls but once in a while there would be an exception.”
“Kent how long ago did you see your wife?” Glory was trying not to dwell on the fact he’d had a first wife.
“Almost three years ago I suppose. She found out we were in Texas and wrote a letter indicating she was on death’s door. Captain Eastman, Parker let me go home. She was fine she just missed me.”
“Here comes Crumb with the suitcase. Maybe there is some information in it,” Kent said his voice devoid of emotion.
Why the cowboy’s name was Crumb Glory wanted to ask but she found herself tongue-tied again.
“Come let’s go inside our house,” Parker said as he took the suitcase from Crumb.
Glory started to walk with the child. She looked back and there stood her husband looking so lost it hurt her heart.
“Don’t worry I’ll get him,” Parker told her.
Everyone stared at her and she couldn’t get into the house fast enough. Crowds made her nervous. She’d always been more of a loner.
Georgie showed her where to sit. It was a comfortable chair. It was the most comfortable chair she’d ever sat upon. “Let go sweet boy and I’ll hold you in my lap. Don’t be afraid.”
He slowly released the grasp he had around her neck and sat in her lap putting his cheek against her chest.
Georgie brought him a cookie and some milk but he wasn’t interested. The two women exchanged worried glances and when Kent and Parker entered the house the boy turned his face away from them and whimpered.
All Glory could do was to rock him back and forth. It had always calmed the small children at the foundling home. What were Faye, Imogene and Harriet doing right now? She hoped with all her heart they had found good men and loving homes. It would have taken her_longer to get to her destination so they could all be married by now.
Parker carried the coffee pot to the table in front of the sofa and Kent was right behind with the cups. Parker poured the coffee while Kent handed them out. He set Glory’s on the table. His brow furrowed as he gazed into her eyes.
Another woman might have been upset but to Glory each child was a blessing. She bestowed what she hoped was her most understanding smile on Kent. “He’s a beautiful child. I just have one concern; If he’s two why hasn’t he uttered a word?”
Georgie picked up her own infant and held him as he cooed. “Perhaps the trip was hectic? Maybe he was attached to that horror of a woman, what was her name?”
“Sharon,” Kent muttered as he frowned. “I just don’t understand the why of it. Why didn’t they tell me I had a son? I would have gone back and raised him. I let him down before I even knew about him.” A pained expression flashed across his face.
“Of course you would have,” Parker reassured him. He took a sip of coffee and cocked his left brow as he stared at Georgie.
Kent stood and grabbed the suitcase. He rummaged through it and mumbled under his breath. He turned back to them and shook his head. “Just odds and ends, mostly diapers. There’s a towel a sleeping gown and this piece of paper. It reads, Tell Kent I hated him from the start. I suppose that was from my wife, Tammy.”
Glory wished she could go and put her arms around Kent to provide him with a bit of comfort. He looked so alone.
“What will you name him?” she asked Kent.
“Let’s name him Theodore after my Grandfather. We’ll call him Teddy. Do you think he’ll let me hold him?”
Glory was sure Teddy would put up a fussy but she gently lifted him from her lap and carried him to Kent. She set the boy in Kent’s arms and instantly Teddy began to wail at the top of his lungs. Immediately Douglas, Georgie’s baby began to cry too.
Glory didn’t immediately take Teddy into her arms. He’d have to get used to his father, bit by bit. After a minute she held her arms out and he practically jumped into them. Then he was eerily silent.
Parker chuckled. “Don’t worry about it, Sandler. Kids are like that. Tomorrow, you and Max can go into town and get things for your charming wife and handsome son. Max made the same trip when Georgie arrived and then again when Veronica and Bridey came. He knows what to buy. Glory, check and see if you need anything else. We have coffee, flour, sugar, and the like in a storage shed so help yourself. Now you three go and see your new home.
Chapter Three
Kent was emotionally spent but he opened the door to the house and lifted both Glory and Teddy into his arms and carried her over the threshold. Her surprised smile soothed his battered heart a bit. Carefully he set her back on her feet and then he gently touched the top of Teddy’s head. He had to admit the boy had his coloring; brown hair with blue eyes. Still Kent had his doubts. Tammy had played him for a fool one time too many.
He leaning in and kissed Glory’s cheek. “Thank you for not running away when Sharon arrived. I’m so glad Teddy is so taken with you.” Then he grinned. “I have a feeling we might have to wait to have our wedding night.”
Her resulting blush delighted him. He never gave it much thought but being from the Wigg Foundling home and School and trained to be a teacher he knew her to be an innocent, untouched woman. He’d never really known such goodness before in any woman he’d been interested in. He’d thought Tammy was… Tammy wasn’t anything she led him to believe.
Glory was already going from room to room looking at the house. She glanced at him over her shoulder and smiled. Her smile filled him with hope.
“I take it you like it.”
“Like it? Oh my, I didn’t expect anything so nice out in the wilds of Texas.” She walked into the kitchen.
His lips twitched. The wilds of Texas? They were actually among the most civilized. She seemed nice enough, though a bit shy and she was certainly pretty to look at.
He heard banging and he walked into the kitchen. Teddy was on the floor with a wooden spoon hitting the floor.
“I hope you don’t mind. Lots of things can become toys. He crawls but he doesn’t walk. I know doctors cost a lot but I’d feel better if Teddy was checked over.” She bit her bottom lip as she gazed at him.
“I’ll see what I can do while I’m in town. You sew don’t you?”
She stared at the floor for a moment before answering. “They teach all of those things at the orphanage.”
“I’ll get material for both you and the baby. After we eat, I’ll ask Georgie if she has an extra cradle.”
“He might be too big for a cradle,” she commented.
“They have a couple out in the barn that might be of different sizes. I’ll ask.”
“Look at all the food we have. I won’t have to cook for a week!” There was that smile again.
“Good let’s eat. I want to get to work on the cradle. Do you need any help?”
“As long as Teddy is content I can do it. Will chicken and potato salad be fine with you?”
“Wonderful.” Kent sat at the table and watched his son. His son it was so strange to find out he was a father. That was on Sharon for sending him the
telegram that his wife was dead with no mention of a child.
The note in the suitcase puzzled him. He thought they’d been happy at first. Her constant flirting and need to be the center of attention became a problem. Other women in town had started to whisper about her, so he stopped taking Tammy to barn dances and picnics. She turned so sour after that. She wouldn’t allow him to touch her and then he was conscribed to the Army.
He’d written her plenty but she never replied until she got a message to Parker that he was needed at home. She probably found herself pregnant and had to make it look like it was his. It angered him that she was a liar and he was so gullible. Now it didn’t matter. Children were innocents and shouldn’t have to bear the brunt of their parents’ actions.
Glory set the food on the table then she picked up Teddy and sat him on her lap. He instantly lunged for everything except for the food. He was so quick he almost got her knife. She took a small piece of chicken and held it to him. “Are you hungry?”
He scrunched up his forehead but he didn’t answer. He pushed her hand away.
“Kent, when you go to Georgie’s can you ask for some milk? Or is there a cow?” She stood with Teddy in her arms and looked on the shelves. “How about some porridge? Kids always like porridge.”
“I’ll get you milk. You need to eat, Glory.”
“I am hungry. Would you like to try to hold him again?”
He braced himself for some screaming but as soon as Glory put Teddy in his arms he quietly stared up at him. Teddy’s eyes were the same shade of blue as his. The boy grabbed at the buttons on Kent’s shirt then the moved on to the shirt collar. Then he pulled lightly at Kent’s lower lip.
Kent winked at Glory right before he howled in pain. Teddy had both his ears in his hands and he was pulling on them with all his might. “Teddy, let go.”
Teddy actually smiled and pulled harder while he tried to get his mouth on one.
Glory hopped up and gently pried Teddy’s little hands off of her husband’s ears. It was obvious by the merriment in her eyes that she was trying not to laugh. Finally she succeeded.
Glory’s Groom: The Alphabet Mail Order Brides Book 7 Page 2