The two farm hounds, Bird and Baxter, had taken note of their arrival. They came running up, their tails wagging at the sight and smell of a newcomer.
Melissa held her hand out to Bird, who licked her knuckles.
“What is that building?” Melissa nodded at the second house, the one Matt had built himself. It sat beyond the main house and stable, two cottonwood saplings flanking its humble porch.
“That’s mine. Ours.”
Melissa turned to him, her big eyes even wider. The look in them was unreadable.
“You won’t be living there at first,” he quickly explained. “Course not. You’ll be staying in the main house with my folks till we’re married. I didn’t mean to...” He fell silent, aware that he’d said too much.
Melissa’s cheeks turned pink. “It’s beautiful,” she breathed. “So beautiful.”
The admiration in her voice said she meant it.
“I built it. Finished it a couple years ago.”
Melissa lips parted in surprise. A new look came to her face—one of appreciation. Matt longed to reach out and take her hand again, to pull her across the threshold of their home and show her every nook and cranny.
“Miss Russell,” his ma gasped.
She was already rushing out the front door of the main house, coming forward and clasping Melissa’s hand in hers.
“You’re finally here.”
“Yes, ma’am,” Melissa agreed.
Matt cleared his throat. “Miss Russell, this is my ma, Nicolette Denton.”
Addressing his future wife that way felt odd, and Matt hoped that they’d be able to drop the formalities soon.
“Where’s Pa?”
“He’s washing up,” Ma said. “Getting himself presentable.”
Matt smirked over that. At first, he’d been nervous to tell his parents he was thinking about ordering a bride from back East, but, to his surprise, they’d favored the idea. They’d married in Virginia themselves, thirty years ago. And though they’d hoped Wyoming Territory would present their son with all the opportunities they’d had, plus more, Matt knew they’d been sorely disappointed when it came to the number of gals in the area.
Plus, they knew several of the ladies in Shallow Springs who had come there as brides—“ladies with fine manners,” as Ma always said.
So, though the thought of sharing his plan had caused Matt initial anxiety, it wasn’t long before he recovered from it.
Ma was already guiding Melissa to the front door. “Come in and sit down. Matt, bring her bags.”
Melissa glanced over her shoulder at him—one quick look, but that was all it took for heat to roar in his belly. Leading the horses to the stable so he could unhitch them, he grinned wide before bringing in Melissa’s one bag.
Perhaps Melissa hadn’t come to him in the way he expected his wife would, but that didn’t matter. She was there, and something was already growing between the two of them.
That was all he needed to know he was doing the right thing.
Preview: Chapter 2
Staring at the distant mountain range from the window of her temporary bedroom, Allie clutched the locket between her fingers. She’d memorized every groove and curve of it on the trip between Cincinnati and Shallow Springs. Now, she felt as if there were a heart-shaped indentation on her palm.
“Miss Russell?”
She turned to find Matthew standing in the doorway. At the sight of him, her temperature rose. He was a handsome man—anyone with eyes could see that. His hair would likely be a medium brown if he did not work outside, but the sun had given it streaks of gold and wheat. Every time he removed his hat—which he always did in her presence—she got a nice glimpse of it.
And his eyes… Goodness, those eyes. Allie had trouble looking into them for very long; it seemed as if their hazel depths saw into her soul, deep into the place where all her secrets lay.
Realizing she’d been looking at him for too long, Allie let go of the locket and tucked it under her collar, back where she had been keeping it.
“Y—yes?” she asked, having trouble finding her voice.
“I was thinking you might like to take a proper look at the farm.” He twisted his hat in his hands.
There was something sweet and innocent about him—almost childlike. That innocence belied strength, though. She’d seen that as well in his eyes.
They’d spent less than twenty-four hours together, and Allie felt as if she already knew him. The thought brought her pleasure… but guilt as well.
Everything brought her guilt now. Or fear. Her heart had been oscillating between those two states for days now, and she doubted that would change any time soon.
“A look around does sound nice, Mr. Denton. Thank you.”
It was her second day on the Dentons’ farm, but she had yet to properly see the land. Instead, the family had allowed her time to rest, something Allie had been grateful for. She needed time alone, space to think and pray.
“I was thinking”—he licked his lips—“since we’re to be married, I’m all right with using our Christian names. As long as that doesn’t bother you.”
The idea made her heart warm. “Matthew,” she tried out.
“Matt,” he corrected. “That’s what everyone calls me.”
She’d heard his parents calling him that over supper the night before, and she liked the sound of his nickname very much.
“Melissa,” he continued, smiling around the word.
Allie’s stomach plummeted. She longed to correct him, but she knew she could not.
“Well,” she said briskly, “let us take a look around the farm. I am sure you have much work to return to once we’re finished.”
She hadn’t seen more than the vegetable garden, which Matt’s mother had taken her to that morning. Matt’s parents had also insisted she call them by their first names—Nicolette and Harold—and Allie had grudgingly complied.
The use of first names was so intimate. In allowing Allie to say them, the family was opening up to her. That she could not return the favor stung.
Taking her out the back door, Matt led the way across the yard. On the far side, Nicolette beat a rug hanging over the clothesline. As they approached, she caught sight of them. Wiping sweat from her brow, she smiled their way.
Allie nodded a hello, relieved that Matt did not stop to converse. She had spent the morning immersed in housework, but Nicolette insisted she retreat to her room for a rest before they prepared the noon meal. Allie had not wanted to pause in the busy work that kept her mind occupied, but she also did not wish to create any conflict.
She was in Shallow Springs not to garner attention but to deflect it.
“Have you seen the stable?” Matt asked. The wide brim of his hat cast a shadow across half of his face, making it impossible for her to see his eyes. Only his strong jaw and full lips were visible.
“No,” she answered.
“It’s my favorite place.”
In comparison to the outdoors, the stable was pleasant. Not cool, exactly, as there was unlikely to be a square foot in Wyoming Territory that one could currently call “cool,” but it was not as hot as outside of it.
“Here’s Sally, our milk cow.” Matt stopped at the first stall. “And that’s her little calf, Edmund.”
“Edmund?” Allie giggled as she looked over the stall. The baby cow lifted its nose, curiously sniffing at the air.
“Real fancy name for a cow, huh?” Matt hooked an arm over the stall and grinned. “That’s what we’re calling him, anyhow. Whoever we end up selling him to can give him whatever name they please.”
“You’ll sell him? Take him away from his mother?” Allie knew that was the way of things, but still, such a thought made her heart ache.
“Course. We already have a bull.” Matt caught sight of her face, and his smile disappeared. “When he’s older, we’ll sell him. We aren’t about to rip the baby away from his ma.”
“Oh. That is good.” Allie felt h
er cheeks flushing. She had not meant to display such passion.
“We should enjoy his time with us, you know. As long as he’s drinking from the teat, it’s fresh milk for the rest of us.”
Allie remembered the delicious butter on that morning’s cornbread. Indeed, it had been some of the best she’d ever had.
“Other than when we have a bull to sell, the animals are all for us,” Matt explained. “It’s the crops that bring in most of the money.”
“And what are the crops?”
His eyebrows pinched together slightly. “Beans. Alfalfa. Corn… Sugar beets… I wrote you about it, didn’t I?”
“Oh, yes. Of course.” Allie scrunched her face in apology. “Being here is simply so exciting. I’m liable to forget my own name.”
She turned away at that, torn between laughing at her own blunder and slapping herself for such stupidity.
“And who is in here?” She stopped at one of the stalls in the middle, where a brown horse with an engorged stomach lazily swished her tail.
“This is Oatmeal. She’s expecting a little one any time now.”
Allie inspected the mare’s belly again. “Any time? Today, perhaps?”
Matt scratched his jaw. “Likely not. I figure she has a couple more weeks to go.”
Allie continued down the stable. “Sheep!”
And indeed there were: half a dozen of them, cluttered together in the largest pen, their wool cut short.
“How lovely.” She reached a hand over the wood to pet one of their heads. When she looked back up, Matt was staring at her intensely.
Allie retracted her hand, feeling self-conscious.
“It’s all right,” he murmured, his voice slow and sweet like dripping honey. “You can pet them.”
Allie kept her hands to herself. “The animals spend all day in here?”
“No. Lately, we’ve been bringing them in during the hottest part of the day. There’s a bit of coverage out there in the fields, but it doesn’t do much in this heat.”
Allie nodded. Sweat had been collecting on her brow and neck since they’d come outside and was now sliding down her back in little trails.
“I suppose my knowledge of farm life seems rather primitive in your eyes.”
Matt chuckled. “That’s all right. You’re a city girl, I know.”
“Yes.” Allie could not help her smile. It was easy to be happy around Matt, she realized. There was a peace about him.
Soft footsteps interrupted the moment. Over Matt’s shoulder, Nicolette entered through the far side of the barn. Using her wrist, she brushed damp strands of silvery-blonde hair from her face.
“There you two are. Having a nice time?”
Allie looked to Matt just as he looked to her. “Yes,” she answered.
“It’s about time to get dinner up,” Nicolette explained. “But I plum forgot to pick up the jar of pickled radishes Mrs. Keenan set aside for me. I was thinking that you two might like to walk into town and fetch it.”
Matt rolled his neck around. “I wish I could, Ma, but I need to get to that fence on the north side. It’s gone without mending for two days now. I promised Pa I’d have it done before noon.”
Nicolette’s focus turned to Allie. “Well, now, how about you, dear? Fancy a little walk into town? The Keenans’ isn’t more than ten minutes away, and you’ll get a chance to see the area on your own some.”
Everything in Allie tightened up all at once. Her jaw. Her stomach. Her limbs. Her body locked, unable to move or say anything. Meanwhile, Matt and his ma stared at her, waiting.
She did not want to go into town. As wonderful as Shallow Springs appeared to be, she longed to stay on the Dentons’ farm, in a place where few people would see her or attempt to speak to her.
Yet that did not matter. Fading into the fabric of the community did.
“Yes,” Allie said, doing her best to ignore her churning stomach. “I would be very happy to do that, Mrs. Denton.”
“Nicolette,” she corrected right away. “And you must wear one of my bonnets. You’ll burn to a crisp out there without any proper covering on your cheeks.”
Allie tried not to look longingly at the animals or Matt as she followed Nicolette out of the barn. She reminded herself that she would return to them soon enough. The world was a big and scary place, but now she had this small farm in the middle of it to cling to.
Continue on… Her Unexpected Destiny
The story goes on…
I hope you have as much fun reading this book as I have writing about it. If your reading bug persists, simply choose any of the stories below to continue reading!
Book 1 - Her Winding Path
Book 2 - Her Western Heart
Book 3 - Her Wild Journey
Book 4 - Her Rocky Trail
Book 5 - Her Unexpected Destiny
Book 6 - Her Silent Burden
Book 7 - Her Fearless Love
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