Christmas Mail Order Angels: The complete 11 Volume Set

by Darlene Franklin

  Levi didn’t dare give in to the hope springing to life in his heart. “It’s a harsh land, Virginia. The winter winds blow across the land and snow piles up sometimes thirty feet deep.”

  “It can’t be any worse than a Maine winter.” Her look was skeptical.

  “Maybe not, but in Maine there’s help a few miles down the road. Here, we’re ten miles out with no help to be found.”

  She straightened. “Are you trying to discourage me, Levi Harper?”

  “No,” he said with a laugh. “Just the opposite. I want you to love this land as much as I do. But…well, Ma never liked it. She didn’t want to come, but Pa was convinced he’d find a fortune in Wyoming gold. He dragged her out west and to tell you the truth, I think she let misery take over.” He shook his head. “She started off wrong by leaving all her fancy things and pretty dresses in Ohio. Didn’t even try to bring one thing.” He flicked the reins. “I want you to have a fair chance…to give Wyoming a fair chance. So you need to know the truth.”

  She drew a deep, taut breath. “Don’t worry, Levi. I didn’t have any pretty dresses to leave behind.”

  Levi gripped the reins. Now was the time to ask her about her past. To find out what put that haunted, fearful look in her features. But Ben rode up beside them on the saddle horse. With Seth behind him on Betsy’s back, the boys had been roaming the countryside, enjoying the free time.

  “We’re gonna ride ahead, Levi. We’ll start up the stove and put dinner on.”

  “Good idea, Ben.”

  After they’d galloped down the dirt road, Virginia cocked an eyebrow in his direction. “Dinner? I thought you said you didn’t cook.”

  “A pan of reheated beans and leftover fried cornbread isn’t real cooking. It’s just hot grub.”

  He gave her a wry grin and to his utter delight, she smiled back. A genuine, sweet smile that took the haunted, hunted fear out of her features. Right there and then, he made it his goal to make Virginia Pepper—or rather, Mrs. Levi Harper—smile every day.

  ****

  The Harper cabin was almost as big as Virginia’s house in Maine. She’d never expected it to be so large or so well situated. Sitting on a small crest, it overlooked the valley below. Dark had settled over the land, but in the light, she was sure the view would be spectacular.

  Seth hurried out to meet them. “I’ll take care of the horses, Levi.”

  “Thanks, Seth.”

  Virginia didn’t miss the hint of surprise in Levi’s tone and he studied his brother as he led the team of horses and wagon to a barn about fifty feet away, higher on the hill.

  Two sleepy girls leaned heavily on their older brother’s legs, making walking difficult. He lifted Nellie into his arms and firmly grasped Trudy’s shoulders. “I’ll show you around tomorrow. Right now, I best get them inside.”

  Silent, Virginia followed him into the place she would call home…at least for the next few months. To her left was a large bedroom with a four-poster bed covered by a wedding ring quilt. Virginia’s gaze skittered away and she turned abruptly in the opposite direction. She didn’t want to fight with Levi, not on their first night. But somehow she had to make it clear to him that this would be a marriage in name only. Clutching her hatbox, she took a deep breath and faced him.

  He released Nellie to the ground. A smile played about his lips. Reaching for the hatbox, he pulled it from her resisting fingers. Those incredible sky-blue eyes danced with merriment as if he knew exactly what worried her.

  “Girls, take Virginia’s box to your bedroom. You can show her where to put her things in the wardrobe later.”

  “You’ll be sleeping with us,” Nellie said, squeezing Virginia’s hand. “So if you have bad dreams, we’ll be right beneath you in the trundle.” She leaned even closer and whispered. “And if we get really scared, Levi’s in the room right beside us.”

  Trudy pulled Nellie away and Levi stepped close enough to murmur. “Don’t worry. I won’t tell her that I’m what really scares you.” He winked.

  Once again laughter escaped Virginia. Levi was teasing her. Really teasing. She couldn’t remember the last time someone had laughed with her. Surely it was years ago, before Mama had become broken.

  Levi cupped her chin and slowly traced his thumb beneath her lips. “And I definitely want to see more of that.” His tone caressed her as gently as his thumb. “You are a gift to me, Mrs. Harper. We’re going to enjoy every minute of this unexpected blessing from God.”

  He leaned even closer and pressed his lips to hers in a kiss so sweet it nearly brought tears to her eyes. His lips were soft and smelled of the peppermint sticks he’d bought for all of them at the mercantile. He’d laughingly called the candy their wedding celebration. He laughed a lot. Virginia could get used to his laughter…and kisses like peppermint candy.

  He broke away and gestured to the room. “Welcome home.”

  Home. Her heart skipped a beat. This really would be her home, even if for just a short while. Directly across from the door, a huge, fireplace encased in river washed stone boasted a roaring blaze that wrapped toasty warm tendrils around Virginia the minute she’d walked in. A massive wood mantle piece lay across the hearth and in the center was a large wooden photo frame. Even from a distance, she could make out the Harper children posed around their seated mother and father. Levi saw where her gaze had landed.

  “Ma made us take that photo before we left Ohio. I was anxious to get on the road and hated posing for it. But now…well, it’s the only picture we have of them.”

  Levi’s words echoed in Virginia’s mind. Had his mother had a premonition that those days would be their last good times together? Would the west wear Virginia down as it had the other Mrs. Harper? Looking at the comfortable cabin, she couldn’t imagine how. The home seemed cozy and well cared for. A few dust balls in the corners and some spider webs in the rafters were understandable, given Levi’s workload. Even with those small details, the cabin felt more homey and welcoming than her father’s austere farmhouse.

  A bentwood rocker sat near the fire. Another quilt, this one patchwork and lovingly used, lay over the back. A large hand-hewn plank table held sway in the middle of the room with two large chairs at each end and benches on the sides.

  Ben and Seth had set out tin plates and spoons. A dry sink, also hand-hewn with cabinet doors and open shelves, held more plates and drink cups made of real glass. Virginia’s gaze slid to a halt. A bonafide cast iron stove with four burners took up one whole corner of the cabin.

  “Oh, my!” Levi’s mother may have left all her fancy things back in Ohio, but Mr. Harper had spared no expense for their cabin in the west. “It must have cost a fortune to have that shipped out here.”

  “It did. My father had a small fortune in the beginning. It might have been wiser to hang on to some of that money, but he wanted my mother to have as many comforts as possible.”

  “A cook stove is one comfort I’ll enjoy.”

  “But not tonight.” Taking her arm, Levi gently guided her toward a seat at the head of the table. “Tonight you’ll rest.”

  “Wait…” Virginia hurried to the dry sink and took down a glass. She filled it with water from a pitcher on the dry sink then untied the twine from her sunflowers and slid them into the glass. While Levi watched, she sat the sunshine-filled glass in the center of the dark wood table.

  The yellow sunflowers brightened the whole room and even better, they brought cheer to Virginia’s heart.

  Home. For the first time in a long while, she felt at home.

  4

  “Do you think it will snow all night, Levi?”

  Nellie turned a hopeful gaze in his direction.

  He nodded, his gaze fixed on the snowflakes swirling just outside the cabin window. “I expect so. It looks like a pretty big storm.”

  “The first one of winter. Good thing we got everything out of the garden.”

  Levi nodded again, more relieved than he could express. He couldn’t have
done it without Virginia’s help. While they’d picked, she’d packed potatoes, carrots and turnips into barrels at the back of the root cellar. Then when they’d harvested all they could, she put them to work canning vegetables and fruits, until they’d run out of jars and lids. Not satisfied, she’d sent him to town for more.

  “We have growing children here, Levi. We need all the good food we can put aside.”

  He loved how she’d said “we” over and over again. Like they were a team. Like she cared as much as he did. It made him feel stronger, more full of purpose.

  “Since it’s a bad storm, you won’t go to the mine tomorrow, right Levi?”

  His emotional surge of strength and purpose plunged at his little sister’s question. He’d put off working in the mine as long as he could. The money from his last find had dwindled. With Christmas coming, he needed cash. He wanted to make the birth of their Savior a special time for his family, especially his new bride.

  Looking down into Nellie’s wide blue eyes, he couldn’t resist. “I guess one more day off won’t hurt.”

  “Yay!” She jumped into his arms and hugged him tight. “Levi’s not working in the mine tomorrow,” she said spinning around as he clutched her, trying not to drop her as she wiggled.

  Trudy jumped and clapped her hands. Ben grinned and punched Seth’s arm, forcing a smile out of him. “I see a snowball fight in our future.”

  It appeared everyone would enjoy another day with him…except maybe Virginia. Rocking in the chair by a roaring fire, she kept her head tucked over the coat in her hands.

  As the storm and cold air rolled in, Levi had realized Virginia didn’t have the proper clothing for a Wyoming winter. Fortunately, he still had a trunk of his mother’s clothes. He’d pulled it out of storage and popped it open. Virginia’d found several dresses and a heavy winter jacket. The clothing had kept her busy the last two days, altering them to fit.

  When she didn’t raise her head or make a comment about his day off, he stifled a sigh. Easing Nellie down onto the ground, he turned to close the shutters against the cold night air.

  Apparently he hadn’t succeeded in stifling his disappointment as well as he thought, because Nellie ran to the rocking chair.

  “Aren’t you glad Levi’s spending the day with us tomorrow?”

  Virginia glanced quickly in Levi’s direction. Was that a ghost of a smile flitting over her lips? It was gone before he could tell for sure.

  She let the sewing drop to her lap and leaned in close to the little girl. “Yes, I’m very glad he’ll be home tomorrow. I’m just not very good at snowball fights. I don’t know how to throw.”

  Nellie shook her head and her dark curls bounced. “Oh, you don’t have to. Trudy and I can’t either. We just pack the snow into balls for the boys. Seth says that’s all girls are good for, but Levi says we’re an important part of the army.”

  A real smile tipped the edges of those, perfect peach lips. “Seth says that, does he? Well maybe, I’ll just have to prove him wrong. I think I’ll have to learn how to throw a snowball myself.”

  Seth made a rude sound. “You can’t learn. You just gotta know how.”

  “We’ll see about that.”

  Ben laughed. “Uh oh, Seth, now you’ve done it now. You got her riled.”

  “She don’t scare me.” The young boy sounded brave, but he ducked his head and glanced sideways to see what reaction his bold words caused.

  “And you don’t fool me, Seth Harper. You’re shaking in your boots.”

  Ben burst out laughing. The girls giggled and Levi laughed too. But not too loudly. It seemed everything he did made Seth mad. The last thing he wanted was to spoil their fun, so he kept his pleasure tempered.

  Clearing his throat, he said. “We’ll have to see how this storm pans out. It may blow over and melt before we can start a heated battle. In the meantime, the harvest is over. We’ll be starting our evening lessons. I thought tonight we’d do some reading.”

  Trudy jumped and clapped her hands. She loved learning, doing her letters and practicing them on her chalkboard. And she was as smart as a whip. Everything he taught her, she remembered. Levi couldn’t imagine denying his little sister the pleasure of learning. He just wished they had a real school in town. He’d send all of them if he could. One day Angel Vale would be a real town with a schoolhouse and a proper church. In the meantime, Levi’d be teaching his brothers and sisters words and cyphers…and he might even find a way to teach Virginia.

  He hadn’t forgotten what she’d said about her Pa not allowing her to learn. A lot of men felt the same way, but he sure didn’t. His mother had been a schoolteacher before she married. His father had always been proud of his wife’s learned ways and insisted that winter evenings be set aside for her to teach. Levi wasn’t going to break that tradition. He just needed a way to include the newest member of their family without embarrassing her.

  “Ben, why don’t you pick a story from the Bible and start us off right this winter?”

  While his brother pulled the leather-bound book from the mantle, Levi tugged a chair closer to the fire, beside Virginia…who kept her gaze fixed on the sewing in her lap. Trudy pulled a large quilt out of Ma’s cedar chest and curled up at his feet. Nellie crawled into his lap and leaned back.

  Bracing against the arm of his chair tilted him in just the right way to watch his wife’s profile. Nothing could have made him happier.

  Ben chose to read one of his favorites, the story of Esther. Levi listened to the words about the beautiful queen, but he couldn’t imagine anyone more beautiful than the woman next to him. Firelight danced across her creamy cheeks, and long, dark eyelashes rested on them. Tendrils of golden hair had broken loose from her ever-present thick braid. They fell forward to tickle the lips he loved to watch. Right now, they twitched slightly. Once in a while, she paused and raised her gaze from her sewing to look at Ben—eyes wide, lips parted—completely caught up in the story.

  Levi tilted his head. Perfect from every angle. If she left her hair loose, would it curl on her shoulders or hang down low? Was it as silky as it looked?

  Her neck was long and slender. Even with her brown dress buttoned high and tight, he could imagine the hollow of her throat and white shoulders. He wanted to run his lips along her skin and bury his face in the soft curve of her neck. Would she smell and taste as sweet as she looked?

  As if in answer to his unspoken question, she turned. When she saw him watching, her lips parted and her eyebrows rose in surprise. Flustered, she looked away. But that didn’t stop Levi. Undeterred he watched a peach-colored flush come into her cheeks. She fidgeted with her sewing and tried to listen to Ben, but Levi knew her thoughts were on him and she couldn’t seem to stop herself…her green-eyed gaze eased back to his.

  She was caught, trapped by the pull of her emotions as well as his. He watched her lips part and her breath catch. He saw in her features the same suppressed longing he felt. The wanting that made him ache to touch her lips, to lay her back in his arms and kiss her until she was breathless…until she knew what a wonderful blessing she was to him.

  But the time wasn’t right. Not yet. Not until she realized he was a blessing in her life as well.

  The way she looked right now, that time wouldn’t be far away.

  ****

  Virginia’s fingers throbbed. She couldn’t remember the last time she’d played in the snow. Actually played. She’d forgotten how the mittens soaked through and how the cold sunk bone deep. How the skin ached and tingled. She’d also forgotten how fun it could be.

  The storm had lasted all night, dumping at least two feet of snow on the mountainside. The white blanket lying across the yard begged to be crossed. So as soon as breakfast was over, they trooped outside for the snowball war. Levi declared she would be on his team and the two of them would stand against the rest of the family. A team…again.

  His statement almost made her change her mind and head back inside. After last night’s enc
ounter by the fireplace, she thought it rather unwise to get too close to Mr. Levi Harper. For the past few weeks he’d been a perfect gentleman. There’d been no need to discuss their marital arrangement. True to his word, he’d kept his distance, treated her with a kindness she didn’t deserve. What she hadn’t anticipated was her response.

  Right now, he stood across from her, his coat collar pulled up and his unruly dark hair falling over his forehead, she wanted nothing more than to reach out and sweep it back. To run her fingers through those dark curls and feel the rough texture of the dark stubble, just coming on his chin. Then she looked into those indigo eyes and a fire ignited inside deep in her tummy.

  He made her feel beautiful. Desirable. Worthy. The fire swept through her, wiping away thoughts of her goal and especially her resolve. She couldn’t afford to let that happen. Her mother had probably felt the same way. She’d certainly given in to her feelings and married Virginia’s father.

  Virginia couldn’t do that. She needed to stay strong. Needed to be free to control her own future. She wouldn’t be in control if she gave in to her attraction for Levi.

  She’d considered staying inside to finish her mending. But she also needed to teach Seth a lesson. His words had sounded too much like the kind of talk she’d heard from her father all her life. She had no intention of letting that young man continue to speak them out loud…especially in front of his younger sisters. So one way or another, she was going to teach him a lesson. Even if it meant tackling the boy and burying his face in the snow.

  Levi seemed to agree with her unspoken plan because as soon as they were ensconced behind the rise that would be their protection, he gave her a throwing lesson.

  “Don’t try to use your arm. Use your momentum and flick it at the end. That’s where you get the extra zing.”

  His eyes were dancing again. Flashing with pleasure and excitement. Fascinated, she nodded, but couldn’t move, caught again in the pleasure of watching him. Fortunately, he stooped and began to form balls, building their arsenal.