Mail Order Bride: Scandalous Territories (Clean and Wholesome Historical Romance) (Women’s Fiction New Adult Wedding Frontier)

by Angela K. West

  They were attending a territorial campaign fundraiser when Annabelle thought she recognized a change in Reed and his attention toward her.

  ***

  Reed held out the seat for Annabelle at the Waterloo Campaign Fundraiser. He had been asked to run for mayor and he’d accepted the nomination. This event was in his honor and to help raise funds for his campaign.

  Annabelle was exquisitely dressed in her emerald gown. The color brought out the deep green color in her eyes and her hair was piled up on her head with small curled strands falling over her neck. Reed ached to reached over and brush it aside, or at the very least kiss the arch of her neck. He could smell the honeysuckle she wore as fragrance and it was driving him mad. Every time the scent wafted to him, it took all the control he had not to whisk his wife away and make their marriage a true union.

  They had just finished gliding across the dance floor when Annabelle asked to sit. She said she felt flushed and needed a moment to catch her breath. They strolled outside to the veranda of the hotel for some fresh air. The moon was high and the stars twinkled. Annabelle stood with her hands on the brick wall and gazed up at the evening sky.

  “Annabelle?”

  “Yes.” She stopped looking up and raised her eyes to meet his.

  “I need to tell you this...please just listen.” He took her hands in his. “I should have said something sooner but I was unsure. That is, I was unsure until just now.”

  “What is it?” Annabelle's voice had concern.

  “I love you, and I probably have since the day we married.”

  “Oh, Reed.” She smiled and wrapped her arms around his neck. “I have loved you since the day we had our first dinner together.”

  “You have? Why didn't you say such feelings existed?”

  “I could say the same to you, Mr. Lewis.” She smiled and kissed him. “Not matter. We have said so now.”

  ***

  One year anniversary...

  “Isn't he beautiful?” Annabelle doted on her newborn son. The cherub kicked his feet and gurgled what some would consider laughter. Annabelle leaned down and cooed at the little boy.

  “Yes, he is, my dear wife. He is beautiful, just like you.” Reed came up behind Annabelle and took her in his arms. “Soon enough we will see about adding another to the Lewis home. Little Hank will need a sibling to play with.”

  “Oh, Reed.” Annabelle placed her head on his shoulder. “We shall see.”

  “Are your parents scheduled to arrive on the next stage coming through this week?”

  “Yes, and they are so excited to dote on Henry. Mama's last letter was full of such joy and excitement.” She had sent a postal to her parents after the campaign fundraiser to inform her parents of her whereabouts and marriage. They had returned her correspondence and told her the scandal had quieted down soon after her discreet departure, and no one spoke of it again. Larisa Newton had confessed to the fabrication of an alleged liaison between Annabelle and her old boss, and Larisa had been shunned by acquaintances. Larisa eventually went to live with relatives in Baltimore, and Annabelle's past social circle spoke no more of the gossip.

  “Good. That's wonderful news. I’ll have the staff get the guest rooms ready for their arrival.” Reed released his wife and started to leave the nursery.

  “Reed?”

  “Yes?” He stopped and glanced over his shoulder.

  “Thank you for this wonderful, wondrous life.”

  “I wouldn't have it any other way, or with any other person.” He smiled, winked at Annabelle, and left the room.

  Annabelle looked down at their son and grinned. “You are such a special little boy Henry. And I, I am a fortunate woman to have such strong men in my life.”

  THE END

  Frontier Sister

  Sibyl Corrigan looked around her at the train station in Green River City, Wyoming Territory. What was she thinking, coming here? This place was dismal and small, and from her sister Fanny’s letters she knew her eventual destination, Marsh Creek, population 107—108 including her, she supposed—would be even worse. How had she let Fanny talk her into this?

  A year and a half ago, Fanny had made the same trip across the continent to marry a man she’d never met, save through his letters. All of her notes back home gushed about Marsh Creek and her handsome surgeon husband Ben Stewart. Here Sibyl stood, betrothed to Ben’s brother Adam, who she’d traded letters with and seen a likeness of, but never met. Fanny said he was a wonderful man, friendly, earnest, and excited to start a family. The idea of it terrified Sibyl, but she’d needed to get away from the apartment she shared with her family in New York. After a terrible fight with her father, staying there and dedicating her whole life to caring for him and her three sisters wasn’t an option anymore. So here she was. A reluctant bride to be.

  The train pulled away from the station, steaming west, into mountains unlike anything she’d ever seen before. In her letters, Fanny had told her the mountains were like the tall buildings in New York City, but Sibyl didn’t think that was the case at all. She desperately wanted to be back home in the cramped flat, tucked in with her sisters and her father.

  “Miss Corrigan?”

  The man standing before her was an honest to god cowboy. He wore the boots, the hat, the denim trousers, and a button-down checked shirt. Sibyl gaped at him, cleared her throat, and said, “Yes?”

  The cowboy’s face split into a grin. He was handsome, just like Fanny told her.

  “I’m Adam. Adam Stewart. So nice to meet you!”

  He stuck out his hand and Sibyl shook it, giving a tentative little squeeze. “You’re the damn spitting image of your sister.”

  Sibyl felt her cheeks color from his language. “Thank you,” she said.

  “Let me help you with your things. You didn’t bring much, did you?”

  She didn’t have much to bring. Unlike Fanny, she’d never been married before coming west, and never had her own household. She knew how to cook and how to clean because she’d kept her father’s house for years, but none of it was hers. She’d only ever really owned the clothes on her back, and most of those were castoffs from Fanny.

  Adam took her suitcase and walked her to the waiting wagon.

  “I’ve been waiting for you, all excited to meet you. I don’t know where to begin. I can’t believe you’re finally here!”

  Sibyl smiled, unsure of what to say. How did Fanny do it when she met Ben?

  “I’m excited to be here,” she lied. “It’s all so different, though. I’ve never been anywhere like this before.”

  “You’ll get used to it. Fanny loves it here now. She was a little bothered by it when she first got here, too.”

  He helped her up, and she sat demurely in the seat, waiting for him to take his place beside her. He did, and urged the horses onward.

  She’d never heard quiet like this in her life. Never breathed air this fresh and clean. Each smell here stood out in stark relief, unlike home, where the scents and sounds all muddied together. Her head spun, and she realized Adam was speaking to her.

  “I’m sorry?”

  “I was just sayin’ we’re going to stay at the hotel here in town tonight, then head up to Marsh Creek in the morning.”

  “Oh,” Sibyl replied. “That sounds nice.” She’d never stayed in a hotel before. She’d thought she was so worldly, coming from the city, but really her family hadn’t had a lot of money to do, well, anything. Nothing but work.

  Adam told her about the house he’d built the year before, when Fanny first moved in with Ben. “I’d been living with him for years, but I knew they didn’t want me underfoot. So I built the new place.” Only one bedroom because he wanted to get it up quick, but he had some ideas about where to add on when the kids came.

  The sound of that stabbed fear through Sibyl’s heart. She hadn’t even really said yes yet. She’d moved here, yes, and so far she liked Adam, but he was talking about having babies together like it was a done deal.
/>   She watched him as he drove, curious about the way he held himself and the way he spoke. The idea that once they were married, he would be the last person she saw before bed every night and the first she saw every morning swum in her head. She wasn’t ready for it.

  That was all right; Fanny had told her how when she’d moved here, she’d stayed with a neighbor until she and Ben decided they were a good match after all. Sibyl told herself it would be okay.

  They pulled up outside the little hotel, and Adam spoke. “There was only one room available, so I kinda told them we were already married.”

  “Already married?” Sharing a room? She gaped at him. That kind of thing was unseemly.

  His shoulders slumped. “I can sleep on the floor, if you like.”

  It wasn’t right. Fanny warned her things were lax out here, but this…

  Adam sighed. “Or I can sleep in the barn.”

  “Yes, I think that would be best. When will I see Fanny?”

  “She and Ben will be there tomorrow to meet us in Marsh Creek. You seem tired. Let’s get you up to your room.” He avoided eye contact with her, and the air between them suddenly felt tense.

  Sibyl couldn’t believe he seemed frustrated with her after proposing they indecently share a room.

  “Yes, I think that’s best,” she said.

  Alone in her room, Sibyl wept. What had she done by coming here?

  The drive to Marsh Creek the next day was a long one, and Sibyl kept her eyes on the scenery passing by. Adam tried to engage her in conversation a few times. Sibyl knew she was being most unpleasant, but she couldn’t shake the feeling she’d made the wrong decision. But what was her other option? Go home to New York and face her father? He’d called her a fool and much worse for coming out here, and called Fanny a fool too, although it was obvious she was head over heels in love with Benjamin.

  Sibyl stole a glance at the man next to her, focused on driving the wagon. Could she ever love him? Wanting to spend the night together outside of God’s wedlock?

  She suspected not.

  But she had to make it work. She didn’t have a choice.

  After what felt like an eternity they arrived at the house. Another wagon sat out front, and Fanny and Benjamin stood outside to welcome her, a tan dog at their feet.

  As soon as the wagon stopped, Sibyl saw herself down and ran to her sister’s arms.

  “How was your trip? Sibyl, what on earth is wrong?”

  It shook her to see Fanny dressed so plainly. All of it shook her. She wanted to wake up from this bad dream. Instead, she swallowed her grief. “My trip was fine, thank you.”

  Fanny introduced her to Benjamin, and while she acted kindly, Sibyl could tell Fanny knew something was wrong, and she seemed annoyed. Ben went with Adam to put the horses away, leaving the two sisters alone.

  “I can’t do it,” Sibyl cried.

  “What are you talking about?”

  “This place. I can’t. I need to go home.”

  Fanny sighed, and took her by the shoulders. She sat Sibyl down at her very own kitchen table in her very own kitchen. The house wasn’t large by any means, but the apartment she’d shared in New York with her father and three sisters would have fit in just this room.

  “It’s very different here. There’s a lot to get used to. I’m here for you, Adam is here for you. Ben and our friends the Warrens are here for you. It’ll be all right.”

  Sibyl clung to her sister until Fanny and Benjamin left. They lived almost two hours away from the remote farmhouse. When they left, everything was so silent…then a monster cried out in the darkness. The tan dog, Chance, didn’t even prick up her ears at the sound.

  “What was that?”

  “Coyote,” Adam answered without looking up. “Sometimes we hear wolves. Sometimes cougars. Those scream like a woman.”

  “Now you’re just trying to frighten me!”

  “Everything seems to be frightening you.”

  He’d tried to get her to meet the horses. No thank you. Once, Sibyl’s foot had been stepped on by one of the beasts.

  She’d always thought she was adventurous, but now she knew she wasn’t. How wrong she’d been.

  “You want me to sleep in the barn again?” Sibyl felt like Adam wasn’t even trying to mask his distaste anymore.

  “Unless there’s a suitable second bedroom here in the house for you,” Sibyl said.

  He sighed. “I’d rather sleep in the barn.”

  “Well, you enjoy that. Goodnight.”

  He tipped his hat to her and left, followed by his dog. Now the silence around her was complete. He was to be her husband. She didn’t have another option.

  She imagined her father’s face if she showed up back on his doorstep. Kelsey would have to move back into Abigail’s room. They’d have gotten used to her absence.

  The house creaked and settled, smelling like new pine. It was a fine house, she had to admit. If she didn’t marry Adam, she couldn’t live here. When they’d exchanged letters, the agreement was a wedding soon. It felt like a prison sentence now that she’d met him.

  And it wasn’t him. She was well aware it was all her. But whoever’s fault it was, she didn’t want to marry him.

  Sibyl readied herself for bed. She didn’t have to rush into anything.

  The bedroom upstairs had a huge bed with a feather mattress and warm quilts piled high on it. She was supposed to share this bed with Adam.

  The posts of the bed were carved and sanded smooth. She shut the door firmly, suddenly worried an intruder might come. Or one of the coyotes from outside.

  Another sound rent the night, and even though Adam wasn’t there to tell her, she knew it was a wolf this time. A deeper howl, haunting. She climbed into the bed where she didn’t sleep a wink.

  She didn’t want to spend another night alone in the house, but she didn’t want to marry Adam. Fanny. She’d have Fanny come to see her. She could stay a few days, just until Sibyl got settled. Sibyl fell into a troubled sleep.

  Adam crawled into bed beside her. She welcomed him. Kissed him, even. He ran his hands up and down her body. Good heavens, it felt wonderful. She didn’t care they weren’t married, she just wanted to be close to him…

  Then she woke up in a dark bedroom, feeling flushed and embarrassed. At breakfast the next morning, she worried he’d be able to tell from looking at her face that she’d dreamt about him.

  He didn’t seem to notice, and after breakfast he and the dog, his faithful shadow, headed out to the barn. Ever a good sister, Fanny came to visit for a few days and it was halfway through the afternoon when Sibyl really studied her. She looked tired. Her hands played across her belly. She looked heavier than before.

  “My goodness, Fanny, are you pregnant?”

  Fanny nodded. “Ben thinks I’ll have the baby in November.”

  Now Sibyl felt even worse, taking this expectant mother away from her home. But having someone in the bed at night to sleep with made a world of difference.

  After the third day, Fanny cornered Sibyl in the kitchen. “You have to talk to him.”

  “I do talk to him!” Sibyl was an excellent cook and she was very talented at keeping house. She made sure Adam was well fed, and she mended every article of clothing he owned. The new house was spotless, and her woman’s touch made it comfortable.

  “You don’t. You hold him at arm’s length.”

  “I’ve known him four days.”

  “Have you had a real conversation with him?”

  “Of course.”

  “What’s Adam’s favorite color?”

  “Blue.” She had no idea. A lot of his shirts were blue, so it seemed like a good guess.

  “You’re just guessing.”

  “We didn’t talk about colors.”

  “Has he kissed you?”

  “No!”

  “Hugged you?”

  “Of course not.”

  “Try it. You know he’s heading out on a cattle drive tonight.”
>
  “On a what?” She’d known he was going somewhere, of course. At first he’d been apologetic it was coming so soon after her arrival. Now she was pretty sure he just wanted to get away from her.

  Fanny let out an exasperated cry. “Go. Now. Talk to him. Learn about cattle drives. Listen to him.”

  “I don’t want to bother him.”

  “Look,” Fanny said, “you need to give him a chance, or go home. Those are your two options.”

  Sibyl opened her mouth. Closed it again. Like a scolded teenager, she headed out to the barn.

  Adam sat on a three legged stool in one of the stalls, working on a horse’s hoof with a file.

  She came in, unsure of what to say. Adam spoke instead, and as she found was the normal, when he did, it ignited anger in her.

  “Are you going back to New York?” His voice was gentle but hard.

  “No,” she said quickly.

  “Why not?”

  The question took her off guard, but she had a ready answer. “We have an agreement.”

  Adam chuckled. “My house is clean and I’m well fed, but I still feel like I haven’t met you.” He paused. “I hope I haven’t met you.”

  “What’s that supposed to mean?”

  “It means you’re defensive and standoffish. Fanny tells me there’s a nice lady under there somewhere, but I’m starting not to believe her. I built that house for us to live in together. I’m tired of sleeping in the barn.”

  “I didn’t come out here to fight,” Sibyl said. “I came out so you can tell me about the cattle drive.”

  Adam recited some boring statistic about how many men, how many horses, how many head of cattle and how many miles. He got up from his stool then and crossed the room to her. She took a timid step back. Her father had never allowed her suitors, and she’d never been this close to a man, certainly not unchaperoned, before.

  “Look Sibyl, I’m headed out tonight. When I get back, one way or another, I’m sleeping in my bed.”