The Bride Price

by Ruth Ann Nordin

  His eyes widened in surprise. “So soon?”

  “Well, I was halfway into my cycle when I came to Omaha, and we’ve already been married for eighteen days. I should have gotten my flow three days ago and never did.”

  “I’m not saying I don’t believe you.” He smiled. “I’m just shocked it happened right away. With my sister, it took a while.” He gave her a long kiss and held her against him. “This is a good way to end a very long and exhausting day.”

  Joel returned to the parlor, folded up cots and blankets in his arms.

  Sep released her and took one of the cots and a blanket so he could start setting it up. “Guess what, Joel? You’re going to be an uncle in about nine months.”

  “Good,” Joel replied. Then, giving Angela a smile, he added, “There’s nothing better than a child in a home, but I’m glad you won’t be having this child today. I’m too exhausted to help another woman deliver a baby.”

  She returned his smile. “There’s no danger of that happening.”

  Sep finished setting up the cot and grabbed the other cot and blankets he was still holding. “Get some sleep. It’s been a long night. We all need to rest.”

  Joel waved goodnight and headed for his bedroom.

  Sep set up her cot, put it right next to his, and laid out the blankets for them. He took off his boots and hat and settled onto his cot.

  She got into hers and held his hand. “I’m glad you’re here with me.”

  He squeezed her hand. “Me too. There’s nowhere else I’d rather be.”

  She closed her eyes, and finally relaxed, she fell to sleep.

  ***

  A couple of days later

  Angela found it difficult to believe that Natalie and Velma couldn’t decide which twin they should marry, so she asked Sep if he would take her over to Owen and Jenny’s home so she could pay them a visit. And sure enough, once she was having some coffee with them in the parlor, they confirmed what Sep had told her.

  “This time around I decided I should get a husband that I liked,” Velma explained. “So I wanted a courting period.”

  “Surely, you must have an idea of which man you prefer,” Angela said then sipped her coffee.

  “We do,” Natalie began, “and that’s where the problem is. As it turns out, we both want to marry the same twin.”

  Angela swallowed her coffee then set the cup down on the saucer, which was resting on her lap. “You mean Mark?”

  Natalie nodded. “He’s a lot more outgoing and easier to talk to than Tony is.”

  “Tony?” Angela asked, not recalling that name.

  “That’s Anthony,” Velma said before she sipped her own coffee.

  “His parents named him Anthony, but he prefers to go by Tony,” Natalie added. “I think it’s because he’s a down-to-earth kind of person.”

  “Anthony is a much better version of the name,” Velma said.

  “Oh, I don’t know. Tony has a certain charm to it,” Natalie replied.

  Velma’s eyebrows rose up in a hopeful expression. “Does that mean you’ve taken a fancy to him?”

  Natalie chuckled and shook her head. “No. I prefer Mark. I think his personality works better with mine.”

  Velma’s face fell in disappointment. “But Tony is a farmer, and you’re a farmer’s daughter. You know what it takes to run a farm. I don’t know the first thing about it. My father owned a shoe factory. He ran a business. Mark and his father run a business together making buildings. I’m a better fit for him because I know what it takes to help a man look good in front of clients. I’ve attended etiquette classes, and I can be a good hostess at a dinner party if I need to. It just seems that this is a decision we should make with our heads. It’s better to be paired up with the man who is the best fit for us.”

  “That sounds like a sensible approach,” Angela commented. “Why don’t you two do that?”

  Natalie shrugged as her gaze went to her hands, which were folded in her lap. “I know it seems like the logical thing to do, but when I try talking to Tony, we don’t seem to have anything in common. There’s no sense of excitement in our conversations. Everything feels forced.”

  “I don’t see how that can possibly be since you two discussed crops for an entire half hour the other day when he was here,” Velma argued.

  Natalie’s eyes grew wide in disbelief. “Was that only half an hour?” Her gaze went to Angela. “I could’ve sworn it was longer than that. I thought it was at least an hour.”

  Angela did her best not to chuckle, but it didn’t work. Her laughter came out all the same. “I’m sorry. I know this isn’t funny. I haven’t met either of these men, so I don’t know what they’re like. But maybe if you married Tony, then things would get more,” for lack of a better word, Angela said, “exciting between you two.”

  “If I thought that would happen, I would take the risk,” Natalie replied. “But I just don’t think it’s possible. The only thing he’s interested in is the farm. There seems to be nothing else he ever thinks about.” She looked at Velma. “You don’t seem to have a hard time coming up with things to talk about with him.”

  Velma sipped her coffee again then said, “No, I don’t. He just sits by me and tells me all about different crops he’s planted, how he rotates them, when he lets the ground rest, and other things I never want to know about farming. I never know how to answer him. But when Mark talks about establishing relationships with his clients and how he decides on which businesses to buy supplies from, I know exactly what he is talking about.”

  “Are you telling me that you’re not the least bit interested in Tony?” Natalie asked her.

  “That’s exactly what I’m saying.” Velma gave her a pointed look. “That’s why I say you make a better fit for Tony than I do. I make the best fit for Mark.”

  Angela could see there was no easy solution to the situation. In fact, it was worse than what Sep had told her. She surely didn’t have any advice to give them, either. It was looking as if she was the lucky one who’d been in the livery stable that night when they were rescued. She and Sep just seemed to fall in love right away. There were no awkward conversations or wondering if they were a good fit. They got along as soon as they married.

  Natalie looked over at Angela. “Are you happy with the man you married?”

  Angela nodded. “I’m very happy with him. He accepts me, scars and all.” She touched her face. “Because of him, I didn’t feel the need to wear a veil today.”

  Natalie smiled. “You don’t need it. You have a pretty face.”

  “Not everyone agrees, but I’m glad you think so, and from the moment Sep saw me without the veil, he had no trouble with my imperfections. I think that’s what love is about. It’s seeing the person for who they are in their heart instead of what’s on the surface. Sep’s done that with me. I know that when he looks at me, he doesn’t see the scars. He sees me as I really am. And to make things even better, I’m going to be having his child come March.”

  “Congratulations!” Natalie replied. “You have everything you wanted when you came out to Omaha. I think that’s lovely!”

  “It is lovely,” Velma agreed. “And we’re very happy that you’re doing so well. It is nice that you two make an excellent match. That’s why it’s important that Natalie and I make the right decision. I want for us to have the same kind of marriage you have with Sep.”

  Angela didn’t doubt that Velma meant those words, but she did worry that Velma was so focused on the practical side of marriage that she might possibly miss the emotional component to it. Marriage seemed to have so many layers to it. When Angela answered the mail-order bride ad, her only thought was having children. Having been married to Sep, she understood marriage was much more than that. It was more than what the man did for a living, too. It was about the sharing of two lives. It was about coming together to be one family. But how could she adequately explain that? Natalie seemed to understand that, but she got the impression Velma didn’t.


  Sep, Owen, and Jenny came into the room, and the women brought their attention to them.

  “We hope we’re not interrupting,” Jenny began, “but supper is ready. The children are already seated and ready to eat.”

  Angela and the two women got to their feet and set their cups down on the tray, which was on the table. Since Angela was the closest to the tray, she picked it up and let Natalie and Velma follow Owen and Jenny out of the room.

  “What did I tell you?” Sep asked with a knowing look.

  Angela smiled. “You are right. They’re having a much more difficult time of picking a husband than I ever believed possible.”

  “All I can say is that I’m glad you accepted my marriage proposal the night we met.” He placed his hand on the small of her back and gave her a kiss. “I can’t imagine being as happy with them as I am with you. You were the best choice there.”

  She kissed him in return. “Every day I’m thankful that you chose me. You had no idea what you’re getting yourself into, you know.”

  He shrugged. “I could say the same thing about you. You didn’t know what I was like when you married me.”

  He was right, she supposed. But there was no doubt that fortune was on her side that night when he found her at the livery stable.

  “All I know is that I love you, and I wouldn’t trade you for anything,” he said.

  “I feel the same way about you, Sep.”

  Owen called out to them from the kitchen, so Sep winked at her. “We better get in there before they come looking for us.”

  He gave her another kiss and then led her out of the room. One thing she would enjoy most about this evening was knowing that when it was done, she would be going home with him. Truly, there was no better man for her than Sep Wilson.

  Coming Next in this Series!

  The Rejected Groom (Misled Mail Order Brides: Book 2)

  Anthony (Tony) Larson and his twin brother, Mark, have been asked to marry one of the two unfortunate women who are in need of a husband. One woman is Velma Murdoch and the other is Natalie Harper.

  Tony falls in love with Velma as soon as he meets her, and he’s excited when Mark tells him she’s chosen him to marry. What he doesn’t realize until he takes Velma home is that she thought she was marrying Mark. But Mark tricked both of them into marrying each other so he could be with Natalie. While he’s upset with Mark for deceiving him, he’s even more upset to find out Velma had wanted to marry Mark instead of him.

  Velma is just as upset with Mark as Tony is. A marriage to Tony isn’t going to work out well at all. He’s a farmer who lives in a sod house, and she doesn’t know the first thing about housework or caring for animals. She was much more suited for Mark who owned a business. Just how are two people who are a bad match going to find common ground? She can’t cook anything right, she can’t milk a cow to save her life, and there’s no way she can mend clothes. She was brought up to help her future husband entertain guests at dinner parties, not help out on a farm.

  Can a man who feels rejected and a woman who doesn’t feel competent on a farm find something as wonderful as love?

  The Perfect Wife (Misled Mail Order Brides: Book 3)

  Mark Larson knows it’s wrong to trick another woman into marrying his twin brother so he can marry Natalie Harper, but he’s not the type to let something as insignificant as a moral dilemma stop him from getting what he wants. Natalie is perfect for him. And besides, his brother would rather marry the other woman. So what’s the harm in a little deception?

  However, Natalie doesn’t see things that way. Though she is attracted to him, she doesn’t know if she can trust him. If he’s willing to deceive his own brother, then what kind of husband will he make? To make matters worse, Mark runs a business with his father, and she is expected to entertain the people he hopes to work with. She’s never done anything like host dinner parties and impress others. The other woman would have been a much better fit for him. So not only does she worry she can’t believe her new husband, but she’s sorely out of place in her new role as his wife.

  Just how are the two supposed to have a happily ever after when they are so poorly matched?

  If you’d like to read Joel and April’s romance, it’s called Shotgun Groom. In this book, I introduce Sep, so you can see what he was like when he was younger.

  Shotgun Groom is already available. It is Book 6 in the Nebraska Series.

  Here’s the description for Shotgun Groom:

  April Edwards, a young widow, is content to manage a farm with her fourteen-year-old brother and a one-year-old daughter. Nothing, after all, could be worse than being married to her deceased husband. Nothing, that is, until her unscrupulous brother-in-law decides to marry her. With no other recourse, April and her brother concoct a plan--one that involves the unsuspecting doctor’s assistant, Joel Larson.

  Joel Larson doesn't want to be married. In fact, he’s perfectly happy with things the way they are, but when he’s sent to check on April’s sick child, things take an unexpected turn for the worse. In one instant, he finds a gun and a mandate to marry April staring him in the face. Can a marriage that begins with a shotgun be just the thing Joel needs or has April just confined herself to another miserable marriage?

  All Books by Ruth Ann Nordin

  (Chronological Order)

  Regencies

  Marriage by Scandal Series

  The Earl’s Inconvenient Wife

  A Most Unsuitable Earl

  His Reluctant Lady

  The Earl’s Scandalous Wife

  Standalone Regency

  Her Counterfeit Husband (happens during A Most Unsuitable Earl)

  Marriage by Deceit Series

  The Earl’s Secret Bargain

  Love Lessons With the Duke

  Ruined by the Earl

  The Earl’s Stolen Bride

  Marriage by Arrangement Series

  His Wicked Lady

  Her Devilish Marquess

  The Earl’s Wallflower Bride

  Marriage by Bargain Series

  The Viscount’s Runaway Bride

  The Rake’s Vow

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  If It Takes A Scandal

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  The Reclusive Earl

  Married In Haste (coming soon)

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  The Marriage Agreement

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  Her Heart’s Desire

  A Bride for Tom

  A Husband for Margaret

  Eye of the Beholder

  The Wrong Husband

  Shotgun Groom

  To Have and To Hold

  His Redeeming Bride

  Isaac’s Decision

  Misled Mail Order Brides Series

  The Bride Price

  The Rejected Groom (coming soon)

  The Perfect Wife (coming soon)

  Chance at Love Series

  The Convenient Mail Order Bride

  The Mistaken Mail Order Bride

  The Accidental Mail Order Bride

  The Bargain Mail Order Bride

  South Dakota Series

  Loving Eliza

  Bid for a Bride

  Bride of Second Chances

  Montana Collection

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  Patty’s Gamble

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  An Unlikely Place for Love

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kstory

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  Bride by Arrangement

  A Groom’s Promise

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  Late One Night (flash fiction)

  The Very True Legends of Ol’ Man Wickleberry and his Demise - Ink Slingers’ Anthology

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