by Nan O'Berry
Her heart skipped a beat.
“And Mr. Seth Nolan will be waiting to take me to our home in Rattlesnake Ridge.”
She pressed her palm against the wild throbbing organ in her chest and recalled the words from one of his letters.
How I long, dear, to show you the rugged countryside. Spring and summer find the prairies carpeted with wild flowers of every hue. I will pick you a bouquet worthy of a queen. You can stand and stare at the mountains draped in purple haze and thrill to the soar of an eagle as it finds its mate.
“Just as I have found you, dear Seth.”
A smile played upon her lips, she closed her eyes and dreamed of hearing those words said, I now pronounce you man and wife.
* * *
“I can’t believe you were so stupid.” Max groaned with a shake of his head. “What made you think you needed to play matchmaker for Seth?”
His sharp glare made all three cowboys hang their heads in shame.
“It worked for cows,” Dill whispered.
“Yeah,” Teddy chimed in. “You match them up by needs and wants.”
“It seemed so simple,” Lou echoed. “We used those lonely hearts, who been writing to Winthrop, and their letters posted in the General Store. We made a list and then marked out all the ones that were past their prime.”
“Past their prime?” Max took a deep breath. “You fellows couldn’t fight your way out of a wet corn sack. People are human beings not cattle. You can’t throw two unsuspecting people together and expect them to marry.”
“Winthrop don’t have no trouble doing it,” Dills said in their defense.
“You’re not Winthrop,” Max pointed out.
Lou shot him a murderous glare. “Ain’t our fault old Seth, went off to buy a bull and ended up shackled, chained, and head over heels hitched to some pretty little filly in Cheyenne. If he’d just stuck to business, everything would be fine.”
“Humph,” Teddy groused. “If we’d known he was going to do this, we could have saved our money and a whole lot of trouble.”
“Dear, Lord,” Max groaned again. “What have you planned to do? Are you going to tell her?”
All three men glanced away from Max and stared into their beer.
“We were trying to come up with some more fancy words to say.”
Max brows rose toward his hairline.
“You have no idea?”
Three heads shook.
“The only thing we can think to do is to save up to send her back.”
“Yeah,” Dill drawled. “But it took us six months to save to get her out here.”
“I don’t reckon she can live in the hotel for that long.” Lou sighed.
Max rubbed his forehead with his left hand. If it wasn’t so serious, he’d downright laugh, yet he couldn’t. These were his friends and he owed them. “When is her stage due?”
“Coming in on the stage today.”
Teddy’s glum answer made each heart at the table sink.
“How much did it cost you to send for her?”
Dill glanced at Lou.
The cowboy sighed. “Near four hundred dollars.”
“Four….” Max felt his jaw go slack.
“We saved nearly six months to get her the money so she could travel first class,” Teddy explained. “We didn’t want her to think old Seth was a slouch. She thinks she’s marrying a real cattle rancher, one of them cattle barons.”
“Lord a mercy…” Max sighed.
It was bad enough that they’d lied and wrote letters signing Seth’s name, but to have a woman arriving thinking he was a cattle baron when the Circle N was just a middle sized ranch struggling to get ahead. Lord, they had sure exaggerated the truth. “You are in serious trouble,” Max spoke low and leaned forward. “First of all, if Seth hears about this, he’s going to have your miserable hides. What you are going to have to do is explain to this woman exactly what’s happened and send her back home.”
Lou shook his head. “That’s where the problem comes in. We don’t have the money. I even sold my good saddle and all we raised is one hundred and forty-three dollars.”
Dill nodded. “We can’t even take her back to the ranch. Seth came back last night with his new bride and they are honeymooning. He sent us out to check the cattle and told us not to come back for at least a week.”
“What are you going to do?”
“What can we do?” Teddy whined.
“Tell the truth,” Max muttered as he watched the three cowboys look at one another in hopes someone had a better plan.
Lou shook his head. “Ain’t fair to break a young lady’s heart, Max, you know that.”
“Should have thought about that before you sent for her.”
“Look, Max, you are in this too.” Lou’s gravel voice was low. “Maybe you could lend us the money. We’ll pay you back, honest.”
Max shook his head.“I don’t have that type of money and you know it. And if I did, I am not sure I’d lend it to the likes of you three. You’d never learn a lesson.”
Dill sent Max a murderous look.
Lou melted back against the chair. “Then, I guess one of us will have to go and break her heart.”
Teddy eyes widened. “Not me, I don’t know nothing about females. Let Dill do it. He’s the ladies’ man.”
“You all should go,” Max explained. “Don’t let one mistake compound another. I hear tell confession is good for the soul.” He lifted his glass and took a drink. “By the way, who wrote the letters?”
“We all did,” Teddy explained. “Each of us wrote parts of them anyway. You helped.”
“ME!”
Max’s shout brought on a round of curious stares from those sitting nearby.
An uncomfortable silence followed.
Lou ran a hand around the lip of his glass. He glanced up, and then looked away. “Yeah, remember all those books you lent us.”
Max felt his jaw go slack.“You didn’t.”
“All we did was use some of them phrases that Shakespeare fellow wrote.”
Max felt his heart flip and drop to the toes of his boots. He shook his head.
“Hey, Max,” Teddy began. “You could help.”
Max eyed the three with caution.
Lou’s eyes brightened. “You sure can. You got a sister and a ma.”
Dill looked up expectantly in Max’s direction, then added. “You know how those female minds work.”
Max blinked. “Me? Don’t pull me into this disaster.”
“But you know our heart was in the right place,” Lou pressed. “All we need is time, time to figure out a polite way of telling her how foolish we were.”
“Time?” Max murmured, wondering where this was all going.
“Yeah…” Dill brightened. “You can help us with that right?”
“Oh, I don’t know.” Max looked around at the saloon.
“Think about the time your pa died. Why we gave up our free time and came over to your family and helped set up your spread. You had a mom tending to a younger child. What would have happened to you and your younger brother, Augustus, if we had said, ain’t our problem?”
Max could feel the muscles on his face knot together. “Not fair to use my own words against me,” he grumbled.
“But we’re right.” Dill smiled, a glimmer of triumph sprinting across his expression. “We just need some help – like you did. You won’t be getting your hands too dirty.”
Max glared at them. “But they’ll be dirty enough.” He brought his hand to his chin and rubbed the skin there. “What would you have me do?”
Sensing victory, the three drew their chairs closer to the table.
“It will be easy,” Lou began. “You just say that Seth can’t be here.”
“Yeah, take her out to the ranch you share with your family. You have good chaperones. Your ma won’t let anything happen to her.” Dill seconded.
“No one here in town or in Rattlesnake Ridge will see her,” Teddy ad
ded. “That way, the gossips can’t open their mouth. It will be on the up and up.”
Lou nodded. “While you’re doing that, me and the boys will raise some more money by rounding up some horses and selling them to the army. Then we can come by and break the news about Seth marrying his long time love and give her the money and send her home.”
“Long time love?”
Teddy waved his hand. “We’ll be the only ones to know it was love at first sight on Seth’s part.”
“It’ a great plan.You’re a fine friend to help, Max,” Dill spoke up.
“Now wait one minute…” Max pushed away from the table. “You boys need to come clean.”
“We will. We sure will. You helping us out for a bit will be just great.” Lou nodded.
“Besides, she’s gonna be awful tired after that long ride,” Teddy piped up.
“Yeah…” Max fumed.
“She’ll need some place to rest. Even if we was to tell her.”
“Rest,” Max echoed.
“Then you’ll do it!” Lou grinned. “I knew we could count on you!”
Max opened his mouth but nothing came out. At that precise moment shouts came from the street and the sound of wagon wheels grinding to a halt echoed the coming of the stage. The conversation ceased.
“That’s the stage,” Dill whispered.
All heads turned toward the saloon doors.
“You’re a pal, Max.” Teddy grinned and bound to his feet, pushing his chair back.
“We won’t forget this, will we fellers?” Dill’s grin split his face from ear to ear as he joined his brother.
“Owe you one,” Lou murmured and stood extending his hand.
Max stared at the open palm. A cowboy shake was as binding as signing your name to a contract. But no matter how he looked at this, there was no way out. He stared at Lou’s hand, then with a surrendered grin extended his own.
Lou’s grasp was strong and binding.
Max stared at his palm when the cowboy let go and wondered why he didn’t see a brand for losing his mind left on his palm.
One by one, the men filed past him each giving him a good thump on the back.
“I don’t even know her name?” Max called out.
“Oh, that’s easy.”
Max turned in his chair and stared at the three cowboys standing at the door.
“It’s Caledonia McBride,” Lou answered.
In a blink of an eye, they were gone leaving him to try and wrap his mind around what he’d gotten himself into.
“I must be plumb loco.”
Chapter 3
I ought to have my head examined. Max reminded himself for the second time as he pulled his rig to a stop at the stage depot. Ought to tell her the truth, darn the consequences and hang those three make-believe matchmakers out to dry.
But he knew he wouldn’t. Lou, Dill, and Teddy had helped him save his ranch when his father died on a roundup. The men his dad hired quit as soon as his body was in the grave, leaving two hundred head of cattle milling around with no place to go. They, along with Seth, stepped in to help when everyone else turned their heads.
He owed them.
Glancing at the people milling about, he sighed and wrapped the leather reins about the handle of the brake and climbed down.
“I won’t be long,” he muttered to the team. Staring at the building, he murmured. “Caledonia McBride – what kind of name is that?” With a sigh, he shoved his clenched fist into the pocket of his trousers and with his shoulders hunched, walked into the bright yellow building.
It took a few moments for his eyes to adjust from the bright sunlight outside. He could see farmers picking up crates of chickens. A few towns’ people meeting family and friends. There was even a rousing checker game going on in the corner of the room behind the potbellied stove that would sit idle until winter. A figure caught his eye.
Small in stature, clad in a soft lavender outfit, and bathed in a shaft of sunlight, she looked more like an angel than a mail-order bride.
He struggled to swallow the lump in his throat. When his resolve grew, he plowed through the middle of the humanity. “Excuse me,” he began, as he came to a stop before her. “Ma’am? Ma’am, are you Miss McBride?”
The large brim of the satin bonnet began its slow rotation upward. Beneath the edge of the gathered ribbon, a heart shaped face that seemed more blue eyes than anything else peered up at him.
Max could have sworn someone gave him a sucker punch right to his middle. His lungs seemed to stop functioning. He tried to remember how to breathe. All he could do was to gaze down, mystified at how deep those endless pools of blue seemed.
Oh, how they resembled the color of the Nevada skies above. His mouth opened but nothing emerged. He watched her face brighten.
“Mr. Nolan?” There was no denying the excitement in her voice as she held out her hand.
Max blinked and then grew sober. Remembering his manners, he reached up with his right hand and whisked his hat from his head, holding it by the brim with both hands to keep from grasping what she held out to him. “N-no.” He cleared his throat and spoke in a stronger voice. “No ma’am.” This time the tone was more convincing.
“Oh.” Her face seemed crestfallen and her hand fell to her lap.
His stomach plummeted to his boots. Without thinking, Max reached out, pausing halfway only to pull his hand back to his hat brim. “I’m afraid I have some bad news.”
Her face grew ashen. “Has something happened to him?”
Max swallowed. He could tell her the truth. Instead, something else came from his lips. “No ma’am, he –um- he’s not in town.”
Her eyes widened. “Not in town. He knew I was coming.”
“Oh, yes ma’am.” He nodded. “He had some pressing business he had to take care of.”
“Oh.”
Well, it wasn’t really a lie. Having a brand new wife was indeed pressing business. In the recesses of his mind, Max heard his subconscious laughing. Shrugging it off, he smiled. “I came to get you.”
Her gaze riveted on his and, to Max’s surprise, his heart took an extra beat. “You’ll be staying at my ranch, till he can get back.”
“Oh, I ….” She glanced at the floor. “I was afraid he’d gotten cold feet.”
“No ma’am, he hasn’t forgotten.” There was no disguising that lie. Max waited for the lightning bolt to strike. Lucky for him, nothing happened.
Her smile broadened. “Good, I’m glad for that. I’m looking forward to meeting him.”
Max wanted to look anywhere but at her face. “I’m sure.” He took a moment to gaze around the room. “Are you ready to go?”
She nodded.
“Is this your bag?” Max motioned at the small carpet bag lying at her feet.
“Yes. Along with this trunk.”
He glanced at the small wooden box she was sitting on. It wasn’t big. In fact, it seemed awful small to hold the contents of a person’s whole life. “I’ll come back and get that once you’re in the wagon.”
“Very well.” She grasped the handle of the bag and handed it to him.
Their hands touched.
A delightful warmth spiraled up his arms shocking his system.
She must have felt it too, for her cheeks grew pink, as pink as his mother’s peonies that grew in the box beside the front porch. “Thank you,” she whispered.
He gave a nod and shifted the bag in the other hand before he took a light grip upon her elbow. “Shall we?”
Propelling her forward, they moved through the dwindling crowd neither speaking until they reached the wagon. Max stepped forward and swung the carpet bag into the well in front of the seat. She reached up to grasp the metal handrail in an effort to haul herself to the wagon. Her petite height made the grab a bit more difficult.
“If you’ll pardon me,” Max mumbled. Before she could reply, he stepped close, slid his arm beneath her shoulders and drew her body against his. His other hand slid ben
eath her knees and in a flash, she was in his arms. The movement drew her off balance and she flung her arms around his neck. He heard her inhale sharply at the contact.
Lord, she smelled of lavender or was it lilac? It didn’t matter. Max took a good long sniff.
“The seat?” she whispered.
“Oh, yeah.” As gently as he would have lifted a baby bird to its nest, Max swung her into the wagon.
“Th-thank you,” she stammered.
Max stepped back and rubbed his hands down the sides of his trousers as if trying to get rid of her feel. “I-I’ll be right back with your trunk.”
Turning on his heel, Max fled. One thought only echoed in his head. I have truly lost my mind.
* * *
Caledonia sat stunned and waited for her heart to calm its thunderous beat. She hadn’t expected him to gather her in his arms. Startled at first, she’d thrown her arms about his shoulders. The way she was cradled in his arms put her gaze level with his own. She gulped recalling the warmth in his brown eyes. They reminded her of the color of caramel she’d gotten one Christmas and wondered if his lips would carry the same salty sweet taste. Just the thought caused a rise of heat that seemed to flood her cheeks. Oh, how she wished she’d placed her fan in her reticule instead of packing it in the trunk. Straightening her shoulders, she adjusted the bow that held her hat against her head.
I’ll claim it is just the afternoon heat, she told herself. A bubble of laughter echoed in her brain but it proved short-lived as her new-found friend exited the depot with the trunk. “Careful,” she murmured as he and the stage hand lifted it onto the back of the wagon.
With a grunt, he shoved a stack of burlap wrapped seed forward and slid the trunk to a secure spot on the corner of the flatbed. “Thanks,” he said to the clerk. He brushed his palms down the front of his shirt.
The clerk looked at Caledonia and smiled then touched his hat before disappearing back inside the building.
She watched him as he moved around the back of the wagon to the front wheel on the other side. His hands reached for the rail and in a fluid motion, he swung into the seat beside her.