"So you're hiding this from your parents?" Lachele wasn't sure how she felt about that.
"For now we are," Joy told her. "If we end up going, we'll tell them. If you knew our parents, you'd understand."
Lachele shrugged. "Your lives. Who wants to go first?"
Hope raised a hand. “I will. This is scary enough as it is. I should go first, so my sisters will know it’s okay.”
Lachele smiled. “I promise, it’s not that rough. I’m just going to ask questions. I want to make sure I feel like you’re each right for one of the brothers.”
Joy leaned forward. “What do you want us to do? Should we leave?”
Lachele shrugged. “I’ll be taking turns asking all of you questions for a while. I’d rather you stuck close. Is there shopping you’d like to do close by? Or you could always go hang out in your room or watch the boob tube in one of the bedrooms.”
Faith stood up. “There’s a doll shop near here that I want to wander around in. They have some cute furniture.”
Joy and Chastity jumped up to walk with their sister. “We’ll be back before too long,” Chastity said. “We just love looking at dolls.”
When the three had left, Lachele looked at Hope. “Your sisters are odd.”
“How do you think they’d be with our parents? It hasn’t been easy growing up with absolutely no freedom. Here we are, twenty-two years old, and I think Chastity is the only one of us who has ever even kissed a boy. Well, Faith may have. She’s hard to read sometimes.”
Lachele made a quick note on her pad. “So tell me, why do you want to marry?”
Hope sighed. “I don’t want to spend the rest of my life alone, and that’s where I’m headed if I don’t get out of town. My parents are going to keep us in a gilded cage forever. I’m not letting that happen.”
Lachele smiled and patted Hope’s hand. “Don’t give up hope. Or should that be, ‘Don’t give up, Hope’? Either way I guess!” Lachele cackled softly at her own joke.
Hope just shook her head. She was used to jokes about her ridiculous name. If she had been the only one with a name like that, it would have been no big deal. She was just glad their mother hadn’t had more daughters. Why, Patience and Charity would have been entirely too much!
* * *
Karlan pulled his gelding, Mr. Ed, to a stop when he heard his cell phone ring. “Culpepper.”
“Mr. Culpepper, this is Lachele Simpson.”
He took off his black hat and toweled the sweat seeping down his chest. It was an unusually hot day for April. “Tell me you have good news for us, Dr. Lachele!”
“I do.” Lachele laughed at that. “I sound like I’m the one getting married instead of you and your brothers.”
Karlan rolled his eyes. “You sure do.” Maybe if he humored the woman, she would answer his questions.
“I found four sisters who are willing to move to Culpepper as your brides.”
He swallowed hard. As much as it was what he wanted, he couldn’t believe she’d actually done it. “Sounds good. When will they be arriving?”
“They’ll all be there a week from Saturday. They’ll be driving out together.”
“I’ll let the others know. Mom will be thrilled to have other women around.”
“I’m sure she will. I’ll be there Saturday as well to introduce you all, but I’ll rent a car and drive in from the airport. I want to make sure the first time you meet goes smoothly.” Dr. Lachele paused for a moment. “You know what? I’ll be there Friday. Tell Linda I’d like to stay with her again. If that’s a problem, have her give me a call. She has my number.”
“Yes, ma’am. I’ll let her know. Thank you.”
“Remember, you all have to be married within a month, or you settle ten thousand dollars on every unmarried sister.”
Karlan closed his eyes for a moment. “I couldn’t forget that.” He ended the call and rode out to where his brothers were working together to repair a fence on one of their biggest pastures.
Cooper looked up from twisting some barbed wire fence around a nail, his thick gloves protecting his hands. “You’re late.” They’d all agreed to be back at one to finish the fence.
Karlan wanted to retort that they’d all been late a time or two, but with Cooper, it just wasn’t true. He was never late for anything. “I got a call about that stoplight some folks are wanting to put in on Main St. Half the city council thinks it’s a great idea and the other half is dead-set against it. Then, as I was riding back, I got a call from Dr. Lachele.” He waited as all six eyes from his brothers landed on him. “Yeah, that Dr. Lachele.”
Kolby glared. “Why are you making us wait? Did she find someone?”
“She found four sisters. They’ll be here a week from Saturday. And Dr. Lachele is coming back to stay with Mom on Friday.”
“Why’s she coming back?” Chris asked. Chris wasn’t actually allowed to help with any of the physical work, but they let him hand them nails and stuff. He just got in the way otherwise.
Karlan shrugged. “She said she wants to be here when we meet the women.” He rubbed the back of his neck nervously. “I’m not sure I’m ready to meet someone and marry her that fast.”
Kolby shrugged. “It’s just marriage. We marry them. We have sex with them. We have babies. Will is fulfilled.”
Karlan shook his head. “Women are always so much more than you give them credit for, little brother.”
Cooper frowned. “They’re going to get us all off schedule. You know they will.”
Chris clapped Cooper on his back. “Something needs to get you off-schedule. Better a woman than anything else.” It was Monday, and a school holiday, so he was home helping his brothers. He worked every day the school calendar called for, even though he only worked for homeschooled families. For some strange reason, the homeschooled families in the area always followed the school calendar. None of them understood it, but they accepted it.
Karlan sighed. “Let’s get this fence done. I’m going to text Mom really quick and let her know we’ll all be there for dinner. She needs to know the girls are coming. She’s going to want to change the sheets.”
“No one’s slept on them since she changed them last!” Kolby protested.
“Like that’s going to matter to Mom. These are her future daughters-in-law. She’s going to welcome them with open arms.”
“Aren’t women supposed to hate their daughters-in-law?” Chris asked.
“We’re talking about Mom. She’ll make them all quilts and welcome them into the family.” Karlan shook his head. Their mother was going to be so happy to not be the only woman on the ranch, she wasn’t going to be able to contain herself.
They worked together through the afternoon with a minimum of words, each brother thinking about the woman he’d be marrying. Karlan thought maybe they’d have been smarter to let Dr. Lachele pair them off. She was the expert, after all.
2
Hope was tired of her sisters. Well, only the ones that were with her. She wanted to pull her Chevy Equinox over to the side of the road and insist all three of them get out of the car. “I need to pee,” Chastity said for the fiftieth time since they’d left the hotel that morning.
“I said we’d stop as soon as I see a place worth stopping. Do you want to go in a field?” Hope asked, the edge in her voice more obvious than she would like. “Why didn’t you go before we left when I said to go?”
“I didn’t have to go then. I need to go now!” Chastity complained.
Hope spotted a tiny gas station off to the right and pulled in. “Here you go. I hope they’ve cleaned that thing in the last fifteen years.”
“At this point, I just can’t care!” Chastity yelled as she wrenched the door open and ran for the station to get a key.
Hope leaned forward to rest her head on the steering wheel. It was their third day on the road, and they were only about a hundred miles from their destination. According to the GPS, they’d be there before lunch time. Well, if Ch
astity didn’t keep making them stop.
“Do you want me to drive?” Joy asked, her voice soft and understanding.
Hope shook her head. “I’ve got it. I’ll do better driving, because then I can’t safely wrap my hands around Chastity’s neck.”
Faith sighed. “At least you don’t have to sit in the backseat with her.”
“Listening to the two of you argue is making me crazy,” Hope said. “Please don’t touch her again or do anything that will set her off. I need to feel sane when we arrive and meet the men.”
“Did you say Dr. Lachele will be there when we arrive?” Joy asked, trying to change the subject smoothly.
Hope nodded. “She said she would be. She said something about becoming good friends with the men’s mother.”
“It’s all going to be all right,” Faith said softly. “Sorry about the bickering. I think we’re all ready to be done with this car and meet the men. It’s nerve wracking sitting back here, wondering when we’ll meet the men of our dreams.”
“I understand,” Hope muttered. “I’m just tired, and we’re all tense.”
Chastity opened the door. “That bathroom was disgusting. I had to make a seat out of toilet paper, because my butt was not going to touch that gross potty.”
Hope looked over at Joy and then into the rearview mirror at Faith. “I’m not stopping again. If anyone needs a drink, a snack, a toilet, now is the time. I swear, if I’m asked to pull over again, I might just hurt someone.”
“I’m going to go get a couple bottles of water then,” Chastity said, reaching for the door handle.
“No!” Faith and Joy yelled at the same time.
Joy was quick and locked the doors so no one could get out. “Go, Hope. If she gets water, she’s going to need to pee in three minutes, and we’re all going to end up in jail for sororicide.”
Hope stepped on the gas, peeling out of the gravel parking lot much quicker than she should have. She didn’t say a word as she pulled back onto the two-lane highway and pointed the car toward Culpepper. If they didn’t reach the ranch soon, and she didn’t get away from all of her sisters, but especially Chastity, she would hurt someone. It was not a good situation.
As they drove, Joy talked quietly, trying to keep everyone calm. She’d always been the peacemaker among them. “I hope my yarn gets there this week. Are the twins sending your kiln?” she asked Faith.
When they’d agreed to move to Wyoming, they’d had just under a week to pack everything they could. Every day, the twins would distract their mother while their older sisters would sneak away to the post office with packages they mailed to themselves in Wyoming. They’d spent thousands on mailing things, and they had been careful not to mail anything that would seem to be missing. It was crazy they had to sneak away at twenty-two years old, but what could they do?
Faith was a doll sculptor, and had begun a business that no one really knew about. Well, no one except them and a few others. They’d had to keep their business a secret from their parents, which was one of the reasons they wanted out of Kentucky. “Yeah, they’re supposed to ship the kiln soon. I can’t wait ‘til I have my own workspace set up.” Her voice sounded sad at the words, which surprised Hope. Faith loved her work.
“I’m expecting my yarn soon. I shipped it before we left. I’m glad we were able to bring your sewing machine, Hope.” Joy sounded excited. “I brought along enough of my yarn and plastic canvas for a few rooms full of furniture.” She made plastic canvas Barbie Doll furniture, and she had for years. She’d always found some little girl to give it to, but she’d always thought she could make a killing if she did it for a living.
Hope nodded. “I was thinking of making a selection of outfits that could be purchased separately from the baby dolls. I would have a little orange pumpkin outfit for Halloween, complete with an orange and green stem hat. I would do a red and white Santa outfit for Christmas. A bunny outfit for Easter. A green outfit with a Leprechaun hat for St. Patrick’s Day. I think it could be a lot of fun.”
Faith leaned forward, excited. “That sounds incredible. How much do you think it would cost to buy enough fabric to make all of those outfits?”
Hope thought for a moment. “Well, I’d buy each fabric in bulk, of course. We’re probably looking at the outfits costing us about two or three dollars each. I think a set of six would be sold together.”
“We could sell them for about sixty dollars? Do you think?” Faith asked. As always, when she thought about her doll business, she got very excited.
Hope nodded. She was the money girl. She was the only one of the six of them that could understand a spreadsheet without bursting into tears. “I think that would be good. I could crank them out pretty quickly after the first set.”
“I think that’s brilliant. I just wish Honor was here to make the cradles.” Faith’s voice was filled with sadness.
Chastity frowned. “We’re going to have to find a way for Honor and Grace to join us here. Surely there are other men in town who need brides.”
Hope sighed. As annoyed as she was with her sisters, the six of them had always been a unit. “We need to get them out from under Mom and Dad’s rule.”
“I wonder how mad they were when Grace gave them our letter?” Hope said, a frown on her face. “Has anyone talked to her yet?”
“I talked to her last night,” Chastity said. “She said they were mad, but glad we were finally getting married. She was told to remind us not to let them kiss us before the wedding.”
Hope rolled her eyes. “If I’m going to think about marrying someone, I’m going to kiss him. What if he drools?”
Chastity sighed contentedly. “Just think. In another month, none of us will be virgins. Sex, sex, sex.”
Hope tuned the others out at those words. Chastity was off on her favorite subject as usual, and she had no desire to listen to her sex-crazed sister.
An hour later, Hope turned the car into a long driveway at a sign that read, “Culpepper Ranch.” She smiled to herself. In a month, or hopefully sooner, she’d be married to one of the Culpepper Cowboys. Her heart beat faster as she realized she was minutes from meeting her future husband.
Stopping the car in front of the large white house, she put it into park. She stared at the house for a moment, wondering if they’d all lost their minds.
It didn’t take a minute for the front door to burst open, and Dr. Lachele rushed out of the house, an older blond woman behind her. Hope took a deep breath and got out of the SUV, thrilled to be able to finally stand up. She rushed forward to hug Dr. Lachele.
“Hope, it’s great to see you again,” Dr. Lachele said, hugging Hope tightly. “This is my friend, Linda Culpepper. She’s going to be your mother-in-law.”
Hope was almost afraid to meet the woman. There were so many bad stories circulating about mothers-in-law, and Hope hadn’t exactly had an easy time with mother figures anyway. “It’s nice to meet you, Mrs. Culpepper.”
The blond woman shook her head, reaching out to hug Hope. “Call me Linda.”
One by one, Lachele introduced the other three sisters to Linda. “I just texted Karlan so the boys can come in for lunch and meet you ladies.”
“Are they working today?” Hope asked, pushing her shoulder length blond hair back from her face.
Linda nodded. “They’re always working. It’s part of owning a ranch. You’ll learn.”
“I see.” Hope opened up the hatchback of the vehicle and started to grab her bags.
“Leave them. You’ve driven too far to carry your own bags in. Besides, my boys have manners, and they’ll do it as soon as they get here.” Linda linked her arms with Hope and Faith, walking toward the house with them. “You girls are going to stay with me in the big house until the weddings happen. I hope you’ll each find one of my boys to be perfect for you.”
“I have suggestions for each of you if you want to hear them,” Dr. Lachele told them.
Hope looked at the psychologist with surpr
ise. “You do?”
Dr. Lachele nodded. “I have one of the men in mind for each of you. Would you like to know the one I think you should marry?”
Hope nodded. “I would!” She wished the matchmaker had set things up the way she usually did. She didn’t want to have to go through the initial meeting and feeling uncomfortable stage. Maybe she was crazy, but she liked the idea of meeting at the altar.
“We’ll talk after lunch then. I want all of you to meet all four of them, before I taint your mind with my opinions.”
Hope sighed. “Yes, ma’am.” She looked at Linda. “How can we help with lunch?”
Linda shook her head. “You’ve been driving for three days. You girls need to take a minute to just decompress before my boys are all forced on you.” She led them to the living room. “You can wait here or there’s a big back porch, if you’d prefer.”
Hope smiled. “I like the idea of the back porch, but before I go, may I ask you one question?”
Linda nodded. “Sure.”
“Where are you from? Your voice doesn’t sound like Wyoming to me.”
“Oh, I’m from Wiggieville, Texas. I moved here after the boys’ father died to keep house for my father-in-law.”
“Wiggieville? That’s a strange name for a town!”
Linda laughed. “Actually it was named after one of my ancestors. I’ll tell you the whole story later. I’ve always thought I wanted my grandma name to be Wiggie.”
Hope tilted her head to one side. “Wiggie? Well, it’s different, but if that’s what you want, I don’t see why not!” Hope walked toward the back door Linda had indicated, needing a few minutes in the quiet of the countryside.
She found a wooden porch swing off to one side, and she sank into it, staring out at the vast expanse of open land. She wondered how far the Culpepper ranch extended. Would this place really be her home for the rest of her life?
She leaned her head back and closed her eyes, listening to the quiet country sounds. She could hear a cow mooing in the distance, crickets chirping, birds singing softly to one another. Why, she could even hear the quiet bocking of chickens.
Wyoming Wedding (Culpepper Cowboys Book 1) Page 2