A Secretive Mail Order Widow For The Humorous Rancher (The Love of Low Valley Series)

by Elliee Atkinson

  She looked around the room. It was the room she’d shared with her husband when he was alive. She couldn’t imagine not being there anymore. It may have only been a few months, but she was used to the comfort and luxury Johnny had provided her. Her heart ached that she would be struggling and it seemed Johnny’s family didn’t care at all.

  Nan turned away from the bed she’d shared with her beloved husband and walked to the door. She hadn’t even taken off her boots.

  She went out the door and walked through the silent house. It had seemed so much more alive when Johnny was alive. He was energetic, always bursting through the door at the end of the day as if he hadn’t just spent the entire time dealing with people, work, schedules and life. He was always happy, a spring in his step, a smile on his face.

  Nan really didn’t know how he was able to be like that. Life wasn’t grand. It never had been. It was for a brief time, when they were so much in love, when they were happy. However, it didn’t last long. God had taken her husband from her for whatever reason He felt necessary, leaving her alone and desolate.

  She pushed away the negative thoughts and proceeded down the stairs. She didn’t have to worry about anything for another three and a half weeks. She would be fine. She told herself that repeatedly, trying to convince herself that everything would be okay.

  The heartlessness of her in-laws would not be forgotten. If she ever had a chance, she would let them know just how she felt. However, she was doubtful that chance would ever come. She wasn’t the kind of woman who would go to their house and make a scene. She would bow out quietly like she did in every confrontation. If Mr. Connelly responded quickly enough and was willing to take her in as his prospective wife, she wouldn’t think another thing of the Simpson family. She would forget all about them and make a happy life for herself in spite of them.

  She was glad she knew how to drive a buggy. It was one of the first things Johnny taught her. She thought about that time as she climbed up into the vehicle, sitting in the spot so familiar to him. She felt a tingle through her body when she sat in his place. She took up the reins, having left the horses in front of the house when she got back that morning.

  The groom brushed them down and fed them where they were. He put blankets on them to keep them from the heavy humidity hanging in the air, as it always did in midsummer.

  She would miss the groom, the hands, and the maids that worked in her house. She hadn’t told them what was happening, but she guessed by the way they were acting they suspected something was up. She got the feeling none of them were happy about it. They treated her with extra kindness. Her pillows were fluffed a little more than usual. Her clothes were hung in neat rows and the house was as spotless as it could be. When they spoke to her, she could hear the sympathy in their voices.

  So she didn’t bother to say anything to them. Servants were some of the most observant and listening individuals Nan had ever come across. She hadn’t thought about it until she actually had money and was able to afford those luxuries. That would soon come to an end, as Mr. Connelly did not mention having servants. She supposed she would find out more about him when he wrote back.

  If he wrote back.

  She hoped he would and kept the hope alive in her heart all the way to the post office. She lived in the heart of the city so it wouldn’t take long to get to the business district. She was pulling up in front of the post office before she knew it.

  She pushed the brake lever and got down, her black boots making a puff of dust when she came down hard on the ground. She held the letter in her hand, doing her best not to bend it or wrinkle it. At the last minute, she wished she’d put a drop or two of perfume on the back. Yet would a man respond to something like that? If men didn’t like perfume, what would be the point of wearing it?

  She grinned at her thoughts, pushing open the door of the post office. There were several people inside, standing around or in line, waiting for their turn at the desk.

  A few of them turned to look at her, but she didn’t recognize any of them. She smiled at the ones who looked and was grateful for the few smiles she got in return. The others turned away from her as quickly as they’d looked at her.

  Her heart pounded as she waited for her turn to send her letter.

  What would Ben Connelly think of her?

  CHAPTER 5

  Ben And His Letter

  Ben dropped down on his cot, staring down at the handful of letters he was holding. He was amazed, surprised, shocked that he’d gotten any responses at all. His ad had been so simplistic. How could any woman desire a man who told them virtually nothing about himself?

  He picked up his pen knife from the table by his bed and flipped it open with one finger. He slipped the knife into the first envelope and cut it open.

  For the next twenty minutes, Ben read through the six letters, all from different women, three from New York, two from Virginia and one from Georgia. He didn’t make it all the way through the letters from the women in New York. There was something about the tone they used in their letters. It sounded demanding. He didn’t want a brute of a woman by his side. He was more the delicate flower type.

  He scanned the letters from Virginia next, reading them with some interest. They spoke with more kindness than the ladies from New York, but nothing stood out to him in either of them. He set aside one of them for consideration if the woman from Georgia didn’t sound appealing. He’d like the fact that the woman’s name was Virginia and she joked about the state being named after her. He was amused by that. However, there was something about the letter from the Georgian woman. As soon as he opened the envelope and drew out the letter, he felt something was different with this one. He admired the looping handwriting on the front where she’d written her return address and his.

  He unfolded the letter, his heart thumping in his chest.

  He didn’t look up until the door opened. Dean came in, his eyes falling directly on Ben.

  “Howdy,” he said. “What are you doin’? Lazin’ around?”

  Ben grinned, shaking his head. “Nah, just taking a break, boss. Got my letters delivered from the postman.

  “How many did you get?” Dean’s voice and face were curious. He crossed the room quickly and sat next to Ben on his bed, looking down at the small stack of envelopes.

  “Got six of them today.”

  Dean glanced at him, one eyebrow raised. “They all came on the same day?”

  Ben shrugged. “I suppose so. I put the ad in a week ago. I guess it could take about that long to get a letter sent to me.”

  Dean nodded, his face puzzled. “Yeah, but that means all them ladies wrote to you and sent it on the same day. Had to have been the day the ad came out.”

  Ben looked down at the letter from Nan. “I’m gonna reply to this one. The others are fine. There’s one from Virginia that seemed like she might be fun but this one…” He flapped the letter in his hand, shaking his head. “There’s something about this woman that struck me as soon as I saw her handwriting.”

  “That’s a sure sign right there,” Dean said in an agreeable voice. “But then being fun is a good sign, too. Why’d you decide on the Georgia girl over funny Virginia?”

  Ben chuckled, thinking about Virginia from Virginia. “I don’t know,” he said. “I just had a feeling.”

  Dean stood up, a look of approval on his face. “Go with your gut, buddy. You won’t regret it.”

  Ben wasn’t sure how Dean could be so confident about that. However, he accepted his friend's encouragement with a smile.

  “Thanks, Dean. I’m gonna write a letter back to her and then I’ll get right back to work.”

  “What do you have left today?”

  Ben had to think about it for a moment. “I’m still working on the addition to the barn. Ought to be ready for the roof soon, though.”

  Dean nodded. “Yeah, I know. I went past there on the way here. Why don’t you go on into Low Valley and post your letter after you write it, so
you’ll catch them before they close for the day. The sooner you get that letter to her, the better. You plannin’ to write to her a couple times first?”

  “Got to,” Ben responded. “She didn’t say a whole lot about herself. She did say she’s an orphan, though.”

  Dean raised his eyebrows. “Like you.”

  “Yep.”

  “Well, you have something in common then. Something pretty important.”

  Ben agreed with a nod. He’d thought that the moment he read she had no living family. He wanted to know more about her, he wanted her to tell him her life story.

  All those feelings from a simple, short letter. There had to be something else at play, some kind of God thing, destiny, fate, something…

  “Thanks for the time off, boss. Appreciated.”

  Dean moved his large body across the room to a cot on the other side. He rifled through the trunk in front of the cot and pulled out a poncho. Ben frowned.

  “What in heaven’s name is that for?”

  “I gotta get this to Lou. He says he’s getting eaten alive by the mosquitoes.”

  Ben was amused. “All these years he’s been working on a ranch and he needs a poncho so the mosquitoes don’t bite him?”

  Dean shrugged, walking back to the door. “He says it keeps them off him. I’m not gonna argue with the old man. I’ll see you back out in the field tomorrow. You get yourself some dinner or go to the saloon. I might see you there in a couple hours if that’s where you go.”

  “I don’t want to leave all you men with the work. I should finish up my part.”

  Dean shook his head, one large hand on the door knob. “Don’t be ridiculous. I want you to go send your letter. You gotta write it first. Just do what you’re told, would ya?”

  Dean grinned wide as he went out the door. Ben gave him a grateful smile as he left.

  He looked over at the desk to his right. It was there for any of the men, stocked with ink, paper, envelopes and pens. He pulled in a deep breath and let it out slowly. He thought about it a little longer, fingering through the letters one after another. He wanted to make sure he was choosing right.

  He contemplated writing to both Nan and Virginia, but felt it would be immoral to do so. If he wasn’t impressed with Nan’s second letter, where she would surely reveal more about herself, then he would consider writing a letter to Virginia. After all, how could he be guaranteed that his first choice was the right one?

  He stood up and crossed the few feet to pull out the chair and sit at the desk. He set all the letters to the side except for Nan’s, spreading it open on the desk next to the paper he pulled out and laid in front of him.

  He was nervous about putting pen to paper. He didn’t know why he was. He just was. He felt like he was courting a woman he’d never met.

  He pressed his lips together. That was what he was doing. That was the whole point of placing the ad in the first place. Low Valley didn’t have any appealing women, at least not to him. This was his only option without moving somewhere else and taking a chance there might be a woman there.

  No, if he ever wanted a family, this was the only way to do it. He felt good about the letter from Nan. He encouraged himself silently, picking up a pen and resting his hand on the desk, waiting for the inspiration to hit him.

  The paper in front of him was still blank five minutes later. Ben’s eyes kept flipping to her letter. Many questions came to his mind, but it wouldn’t be proper form to just list off a bunch of questions as if she was filling out an application.

  He tried to convince himself that wasn’t what she was doing. He wanted to know her on a personal level. He hoped to send her a train ticket within the month. She mentioned she was desperate. He would have to find out the circumstances that made her that way.

  He tried to picture her, but it was impossible. That was one thing he wanted. A photograph. He didn’t have one of himself. He would have to have one taken. He’d do that when he went into town. In fact, he decided, he would have the photograph taken and then send the letter with the photograph, requesting one of her.

  He wondered if he should send her money to have the photograph taken. Could she afford it? Did she need his help?

  The door opened behind him and he turned to ask Dean what he thought of the idea, but it wasn’t the big Irishman.

  It was the maid, Bee.

  CHAPTER 6

  Bee Pays Ben A Visit

  She smiled at him, coming in without being invited. Ben felt irritation slide through him. He turned back to the desk after nodding at her.

  “Bee. What brings you to the bunkhouse?”

  Bee sidled over to him and stood with one hand on the back of his chair. He was uncomfortable having her stand so close to him. She bent at the waist to look over his shoulder, brushing up against him.

  He was quickly becoming annoyed with her. She always seemed to show up at the most inconvenient times, wanting to know his business. He was sure if she was allowed to, she would write an excellent gossip column for Low Valley News.

  “Oh, I just thought I’d come see what you’re doing,” she said in a seductive voice. She smiled wide at him. She’d cleaned herself up that morning. Her brown hair was brushed and put back in a braid that hung down almost to her waist. She wore a blue frock with a yellow apron over it and black saddle shoes.

  She moved away from him and relief washed through him until she dropped herself on his cot and bounced for a moment, grinning at him. He didn’t want her on his bed. That was his bed. He wanted to stand up and give her his chair so she would get off his cot, but then she would see his letter. In fact, she was probably trying to get him to get up so she could see what he was doing.

  “I’m taking care of some personal business,” Ben said, glancing at the blank piece of paper on the desk. Bee raised her eyebrows, giving him a skeptical look.

  “It doesn’t look like you’ve written anything down. It must be either very important and you can’t think of what to say or you don’t want to write it so you haven’t started yet.”

  “It’s very important,” Ben replied, wondering why he was explaining himself to this woman at all. “I’m still deciding what to say.”

  “Are you writing a letter?”

  Ben felt her coming dangerously close to figuring out his business. Once she did, it wouldn’t be a secret anymore. Not that it had to be to begin with. Old Lady Ferguson could have told any number of people he was sending for a woman to become his wife. Brian could have, too. However, he knew neither of them had. If anyone spread the gossip around Low Valley, it was Bee.

  “Yeah, I am,” he said reluctantly. He didn’t know how to lie to her. He would stumble on his words and she would figure it out. He would feel like a fool.

  One way or another, she was going to realize what was going on. Ben tried to convince himself it wasn’t as bad as it sounded. Who cares if everyone in town knew what he was doing? Maybe they needed to be prepared for her arrival, so they wouldn’t be shocked to see him with a strange woman. It was likely they would think she was a relative. No one would assume he’d brought his bride to him, a stranger to spend the rest of his life with.

  The thought was daunting.However, it didn’t matter. He glanced at the desk and realized the letter from Nan was still sitting open next to his blank piece of paper. There was no way Bee didn’t see it. He wondered how much she read.

  “Who are you writing to?”

  He heard the condescension in her voice. She already knew. She probably read all of Nan’s letter.

  “I’m writing to a woman in Georgia,” he replied, hoping he didn’t regret his decision to tell the local gossip.

  “Oh?” She had the courtesy to look surprised. “And why would you be doing that?”

  “Why are you asking?” Ben’s annoyance peaked and he snapped the words at her, frowning.

  Her expression didn’t change. Ben felt a twist in his chest as irritation slid through him again. She was arrogant and smug. He could
see her judging him from the way she looked at him.

  “I’m just a curious cat,” she said in a soft, lilting voice. “I just like to know about other people.”

  “Well, this is my business,” Ben said, turning his body away from her and facing the desktop. “I would ask that you leave now so I can get back to it. Dean has given me some time off so I can go to town and give this to the postman.”

  “Well, that was really nice of him, wasn’t it?”

  “It was.” He turned his head to look at her, waiting for her to leave. She didn’t move. He struggled not to roll his eyes. If she didn’t leave soon, he would drag her out by her brown braid. “I’d like to be alone, Bee, if you don’t mind. I have a lot to think about.”

  “You’ve sent for a woman from the East coast, haven’t you?”

  Her voice gave the impression her feelings were hurt. It wasn’t his intention. He looked at her and dropped his eyes to her shoes. He’d bought her those shoes and left them in a box on her bed in the main house with a note saying they were a gift from a friend. He hadn’t signed it, but the way she looked at him the first day she wore them told him she knew they were from him. She’d probably seen his handwriting somewhere or asked someone else if they recognized it.

  He regretted the decision now, seeing that it seemed to give Bee feelings for him. He didn’t want that. Just thinking of it made him feel like he was betraying Nan.

  The thought amused him. He hadn’t written her back yet, but had clearly already decided she was the one he wanted to bring to Low Valley.

  “Yes,” he finally answered her. “I have.”