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

by Elliee Atkinson

  Ben shook his head to clear it. “Don’t worry, boss, I’ll live. What do you need?”

  Logan came in, opening the doorway to let the light spill in. “Real sorry about it anyway, Ben. I’ve been looking for you.”

  “Oh yeah? Been here all day, working on this shed.” He gave Logan an inquisitive look. The boss never came around unless he needed something important. Most of Ben’s dealings went through Carrie. He wasn’t exactly intimidated by Logan, despite the man’s size. He was impressed with him and had a great deal of respect for him.

  It looked like Logan had something to say, but was trying to figure out how. Ben wasn’t used to the boss looking uncomfortable. He looked away from Ben and crossed the small shed to a dark, dirty stool.

  Ben held his hand out when it looked like Logan was going to sit on the stool. “Don’t sit there, boss, that’s broken. You’ll hit the floor before you know it.”

  Logan froze in place and turned to look at him. “Thanks for the warning. I… I guess that’s why I’m here to see you.”

  The uncomfortable look on his face doubled. Ben felt the urge to comfort the big man, but he kept himself from it. He didn’t want to know how Logan would react to that. “You came so I could warn you about the stool?” he asked, confused.

  Logan shook his head, running one hand through his dark hair. “No, no. I came to talk to you about… well, I guess it’s personal and I’m not used to talking to you men about personal things. But Carrie’s got us all roped into your life and so here I am, getting involved, too.”

  Ben thought he looked disgusted with himself. He frowned. “I’m sorry, boss. I didn’t mean for that to happen.”

  Logan waved one hand dismissively in the air, shaking his head. “No, no. It’s all right. I probably wouldn’t be getting involved at all, but I’ve run across something I think you should be aware of.”

  “Oh really?” Curiosity slipped through him. He forgot about the throbbing pain in his head and gestured toward the door with it. “Let’s go on outside. It’s mighty stuffy in here.”

  “Yeah. Okay.”

  Ben thought how strange it felt to be telling the boss what to do. He went through the door first and stopped outside to wait for Logan. Once Logan was standing beside him, he lifted his eyebrows. “So what is your warning?”

  Logan’s narrow brown eyes were directed at the main house. It prompted Ben to look there, too. Everything looked peaceful to him. He turned back to Logan.

  “If ya don’t mind me saying,” he said. “It kinda looks like you’re worried. What’s on your mind, boss?”

  Logan looked down at him. “You’ve got a problem.”

  Ben hoped the jolt of fear that went through him didn’t show on his face. “I do?”

  Logan nodded. “Yep. You’ve got a problem with women.”

  Relief flooded him. He relaxed his shoulders and held in a smile.

  “Did someone get to you, Logan? Someone come to you for advice?”

  The big man scrunched his face up and looked at Ben like he’d lost his mind. “Don’t be ridiculous. Women don’t come to me for advice. They go to each other. But I did run across Beatrice, that maid that works in the house, the young one…”

  Ben was nodding at that point, a sick feeling going through him. What had Bee done now?

  “I know who you’re talking about.”

  “I’m sure you do. She’s the one that caught up with you in the bunkhouse a couple days ago, right?”

  Dismay washed through Ben. He nodded. “Yeah, that’s the one.”

  “She doesn’t want you getting married. I think she might try to stop it. You should probably tell Nan to watch her back. And what’s going on with her? Is she sick? Carrie’s taking her to the doctor and all that. Is she going to be okay?”

  Ben was taken aback by the concern in Logan’s voice. He had never thought of Logan as heartless or cold, but he’d also never gotten the impression Logan cared all that much either.

  “Yeah… she hasn’t told me what the doctor said exactly yet. She says she’s gonna be fine. She’s been feeling sick lately.”

  Logan nodded. “Yeah, getting sick in the morning.” He gave Ben a direct look. Ben understood it immediately.

  He looked away from Logan. “Yeah, I know. I figure if she is, she’ll tell me about it and explain herself.”

  Logan shook his head, grunting. “Ben. Ben. I feel sorry for you, buddy. I don’t think I’d want to be with a woman who was already tainted by another man.”

  “We don’t know her story yet,” Ben said quickly. “And we don’t even know if she is yet.”

  “She knows.” Logan’s voice was plain and simple. Ben didn’t say anything for a moment. He knew Logan was right. Nan had to know one way or another. She also hadn’t said a word to him.

  He tried to push away his disappointment. There had to be a good reason why she wasn’t talking to him about it.

  He was willing to wait and find out. He was willing to take his chances.

  “Why do you think I need to watch out for Bee?”

  Logan shook his head. “You don’t need to watch out. Nan does. They’re both small women and Bee is feisty. She’s also obsessed with you. And we all know how women are when they’re rejected.”

  “Some women are worse than others,” Ben mumbled. “And I think she’d probably be the worst of them all. I know she’s obsessed. I don’t know what I can do about it though. I don’t want to hurt her, but she pushes me to it sometimes.”

  “You aren’t gonna hurt her.” Logan sounded confident. “You’re not that kind of man.”

  “I won’t do it on purpose.” Ben knew he would have to talk to Nan about all of this. “But what made you come and warn me about this right now?”

  “Because that woman was standing in the middle of the compound staring out at the cottage like she was cursing you both. I told her to calm down. I’m a little worried about her sanity. I think she might not be all there.” He tapped his temple with one finger.

  Ben nodded. “Yeah. I agree with ya.”

  They were quiet for a moment. Ben pictured Nan in his mind. He needed to go see her, but he was dirty and sweaty from working. He would have to clean up first.

  “Where’s Bee now?”

  Logan shook his head. “I don’t know. I saw her go inside. She’s probably sitting in a corner somewhere rocking back and forth holding your hairbrush.”

  That struck Ben as funny and he burst out laughing. Logan smiled at him.

  “Sad, but probably true,” Ben said, still laughing.

  Logan looked back at the main house. “Yep. Sad is one word you could use.”

  “Thanks for telling me about Bee,” Ben said, holding out his hand to Logan. “It means a lot that someone else besides me knows what’s going on and has seen it with his own eyes.”

  Logan nodded. “Yeah. If anything happens, I’ve got you covered.”

  CHAPTER 33

  Nan Takes A Walk

  Nan stood at the front door, looking out over the land, wondering if Ben would come around and talk to her. He’d been working all day. She hadn’t really seen a lot of him in the last few days, other than his regular visits. He always asked if she was feeling all right and wanted to go out.

  She always told him she was staying inside for a few more days. That’s just what she did also. She didn’t venture out at all, not even for a walk. She was afraid Bee would be in town or somewhere on the path she chose to walk. She didn’t want to see Bee.

  Her mind filled with scenarios of Bee and Ben, spending time together while she isolated herself. What if they fell in love? It would be all her fault. They would talk and laugh and have good times and she would end up on the streets in Georgia with her baby.

  When her thoughts went down that road, she tried to cheer herself up by remembering Carrie had offered her help. At least she had a friend in Low Valley she knew she could count on. Carrie wouldn’t let her down.

  On the morning of
the third day, she woke up realizing she had imprisoned herself and that it wasn’t good for her baby for her mood to be so depressed and dark. She wanted to see the silver lining, the positive side of what was happening to her.

  She also realized she hadn’t given Ben a chance at all. She hadn’t told him a thing. She’d left him wondering.

  Guilt stayed heavy on her shoulders the entire morning. Now she was standing at the door waiting for her future husband to come by for lunch. If he did. He might not.

  Her heart ached with regret. She shouldn’t have pushed him away so soon. What if he didn’t want to be with her anymore? He had to know she was keeping something from him.

  She would tell him today. She would tell him about her baby and she would ask him about Bee. She wanted to know what kind of relationship he had with her. Was he in love with that woman? If he was, why had he brought her here?

  With all that she wanted to tell Ben, she had a lot of questions too.

  She peered down the path, her heart thumping hard when she saw a rider approaching. It had to be Ben. No one else would come see her. Not any men anyway. She pulled in a deep breath and tried to control herself. Her nerves tingled with anticipation.

  “There he is,” she whispered, a relieved smile on her face. She ran back inside and stood quickly in front of the mirror, patting her hair and checking her teeth. She cleared her throat and stared at herself for a few moments. She wanted to look perfect for him. There was no telling how much weight she would gain and how stressed she would look in a few months.

  For the first time since she’d found out about her child, she felt a sense of excitement. Ben wouldn’t let her down, any more than Carrie would. He was trustworthy. Bee was a mess of crazy. Nan had nothing to worry about.

  She told herself those things over and over as she waited for Ben to come to the cottage.

  She went to the front door and waited until he was stopped before stepping out on the porch.

  He was still sitting in his horse, gazing at her, saying nothing. She walked to the top of the steps, folded her arms over her chest and looked back at him, her emotions washing through her like ocean waves. She gave him a sweet smile.

  “I’m glad to see you,” she said softly.

  The look on his face sent a surge of love for him through her. She went down one step as he dismounted.

  Once he was on the ground, he moved to the bottom of the stairs and held his arms out to her. She hurried down the rest of them and into his warm hug. She pressed herself against him as hard as she could. When his arms circled around her, he hugged her so tight, she could barely breathe.

  “I’m so glad you’re here,” she murmured, feeling as though she might cry with happiness. “I’ve been wanting to see you so much. And I’m sorry I kept myself from you. I don’t know what I was thinking. I won’t do it again. Please stay with me, Ben. I don’t want to go back to Georgia.”

  Ben pulled away from her, holding her at arm’s length. He gave her a confused and hurt look. “Go back to Georgia? Who said anything about you going back to Georgia?”

  Nan shook her head. “I have to tell you some things about me, Ben. And I don’t know what you’re going to think of me when you hear it.”

  Ben pulled her close to him. “I have some things to tell you, too.”

  His words sent a jolt of fear through Nan. She had to pull all her courage back together to continue on. Her tears were close to the surface and the thought of him telling her he wanted to be with Bee made them rise up further.

  She told herself that wasn’t what he was going to say, but the fear still invaded her thoughts.

  “You look terrified,” Ben said. “What I have to tell you shouldn’t terrify you. You shouldn’t worry. Please. Don’t worry. But I think we should go somewhere where we’ll both be comfortable and we can have some peace. Would that be all right with you?”

  “I’d like that.” Nan nodded. “Let me grab my shawl.”

  “I’ll come in, too, and we can make a quick lunch. If I don’t eat, I might fall over later when I’m trying to work. Gotta feed the bear.”

  Nan giggled, a feeling of elation sliding through her, giving her chills. He was in a good mood. Surely what he was going to tell her couldn’t be that bad? She should probably let him go first so that what she told him didn’t spoil it.

  She couldn’t get her mind off the conversation they were going to have and replayed in her mind what she wanted to say over and over while she prepared sandwiches for their picnic lunch. She worded it different ways and repeated it to see what sounded best. No matter how she said it though, there was only one outcome. She was pregnant with her first husband’s child, a man Ben knew nothing about.

  She was terrified he would think of her as a liar. She hadn’t meant to keep the fact from him. She’d known all along she would have to tell him eventually. There was no mistaking a woman for a virgin when she wasn’t one.

  She packed the sandwiches and Ben’s favorite kind of pastries in a wicker basket and covered it with a blanket.

  “Are we ready?” Ben asked, holding his hand out for the basket. She gave it to him and took his other hand when he offered it.

  “I’m ready,” she said. However, she didn’t know if she really was. There was so much to tell. So much was about to happen to their relationship. They would each find out the other’s secrets. Would they be able to withstand it?

  Nan was hopeful. Ben was a deeply true and loyal gentleman. However, she didn’t know him well. He could be hiding a darker, more hateful side. When she looked up at his profile, she simply couldn’t believe that of him. He glanced at her and caught her looking at him.

  She smiled. “You are a very handsome man.” It was the first outright compliment she’d given him. It made her feel nervous. He blinked as if he had never heard those words before.

  “Thank you, Nan,” he said, giving her a sweet, genuine smile.

  “Where are we going? Do you have somewhere in mind?”

  “I sure do.” Ben nodded. “But we have to take the buggy and then walk a bit. Do you mind?”

  “Do you have enough time to do this?”

  Ben nodded. “Just left talking to Logan. He gave me some time. Says he’s gotten roped into our relationship and thinks we need some time to talk.”

  Nan raised her eyebrows. “He does? Logan Mason? The ranch owner?”

  “Yeah, he was in the house when we were there a few days ago. He’s Carrie’s brother.”

  “He seems like a mystery to me,” Nan said, thinking about the big man. She never would have guessed him to be Carrie and Michael’s brother. He was dark haired with brown eyes and both of them were blonds with blue eyes.

  Ben just looked at her. “He told me where to take you. It will be a nice surprise.”

  Nan smiled. “Lead on then.”

  CHAPTER 34

  Bee And The Waterfall

  Bee kicked off the blanket and stood up, stretching. She’d slept in without telling anyone and didn’t care. Soon she would be married to Ben anyway. Then she would tell Carrie and Logan they could find another maid.

  She smiled at herself in the mirror, pushing a brush through her thick, dark hair. She splashed water on her face from the basin and dried it with the towel hanging from the front of her dresser.

  It was nearly lunchtime, which suited Bee just fine. Even though she really wasn’t at all afraid of Logan or Carrie, she stepped out of the room quietly and looked around the banister of the stairwell to see if there was any movement downstairs. She stood stock still, listening for the sound of voices.

  The house was quiet. A clock in the foyer showed it to be a little past eleven.

  Bee was surprised. She hadn’t slept that late before in her life. It seemed a little strange, as if she might have been given a sedative to sleep without knowing it.

  She frowned. Had that woman somehow gotten in her room and given her a sedative? Had she poisoned her drink or her food?

  Sud
denly Bee didn’t want any breakfast. She didn’t want to eat or drink anything until that woman was dealt with. She was a threat. Bee had to make the others realize that.

  She made her way down the stairs, sliding her hand along the railing, barely breathing so she wouldn’t be heard if there was anyone in the house.

  At the bottom of the stairs, Bee stopped and listened again. Still nothing. The cook, housekeeper and other maids must be running errands or doing something outside the house.

  She had the place to herself.

  She straightened her spine and lifted her chin, looking around at everything as if she owned the place. She walked around, running her finger over the mantle in the parlor and the decorations in the foyer, “checking” them for “dirt”.

  She looked at her clean finger with satisfaction, still walking through the house, pretending she was Carrie. She would get rid of the piano. No one played it. She would change the drapes. They were hideous. The stairs would need to be refinished. The chandelier replaced.

  If she owned Mason Mansion, it would be a much classier place. There was no doubt of it.

  Tiring of her charade, knowing she didn’t own Mason Mansion, Bee went to the front door and pulled it open, peering out at the grounds. Several ranch hands were working on a water pump in front of the house. She could see others in the pasture to the left of the path to the main road. Narrowing her eyes, she could tell one of them was Logan and she recognized Dean, as well.

  She didn’t see Ben anywhere.

  She stepped out of the house, trying to stay as quiet as possible, so as not to draw attention to herself. Maybe one of the men would tell her where Ben was.

  She gathered her courage to ask the men working on the water pump. She ran through her memory and didn’t recall seeing any of them in the bunkhouse when she’d gone in to fetch Ben for their talk. She didn’t like the way they looked at her while she was in there. She didn’t want to talk to any of those men.

  She was fairly certain none of the men working on the pump were in there for that incident.