Mail Order Mix Up

by Kirsten Osbourne

  “In over six months, we never saw a speck of gold on my claim. Finally, I agreed we could stop, and he opened his bank. He was worried about outlaws, but knew the area needed a bank with all the gold miners around, so he asked if I’d run for sheriff. There was no competition, so I won.” Wesley grinned. “It was the easiest contest ever. I guess it helps having a lawman here with the bank around, but Patrick is really the one who pays my wages. He offered me a job in the bank, but it would have felt like charity. I can’t live off my brother forever.”

  Ellen nodded. The more he told her, the more she knew that Patrick was the man she wanted to marry. “I’m glad you’re happy being the sheriff. I’m sure you get to meet some interesting people.”

  Wesley shrugged. “I do enjoy it, but wish I had struck it rich when Patrick did. I would enjoy having the kind of money my brother does, if only so I could give Malinda the world she deserves to have.”

  “You have strong feelings for my sister, don’t you?” Ellen could see that he did, but she wanted him to confirm her suspicions.

  He nodded. “I do. I wish she’d end all this and just agree to marry me. I know she doesn’t think I realize that she’s afraid to be poor, but I do.” He looked down at his hands and sighed. “You didn’t seem to mind, though.”

  “I didn’t want to be married to a banker because of what happened to us when our father died.” She shrugged. “I’ve always been poor, so the idea of staying poor doesn’t bother me a bit. I’m actually more afraid I’ll go out of my mind with nothing to do, but I care enough for Patrick it doesn’t matter to me.”

  He gave her a confused look. “What happened? Malinda hasn’t told me anything.”

  She briefly explained about the banker coming out to their house and how afraid of being poor Malinda was. “That’s why she wanted to marry Patrick.”

  “That makes a lot of sense.” He gave her a questioning look. “You’re set on marrying him now, aren’t you?”

  “I can tell he’d never be that way. I have such strong feelings for Patrick and have since I first saw him. It’s strange. At first I was convinced that he must be you, and everything seemed right with the world. My heart dropped into my stomach when I realized I had feelings for the wrong brother.”

  Wesley smiled. “Are you sure you couldn’t have feelings for me?” He leaned toward her as if he was going to kiss her, but she quickly turned her face away.

  “Absolutely certain. There’s no way I could feel this way about two men. When he does something as simple as takes my hand, I want to lean into him and spend the rest of my life with him. You took my hand, and all I wanted to do was put it back on my own lap and away from you.”

  He laughed. “Well, I guess that about sums it up. I wish it was different, honestly. I do think you’d make a better wife for me than you would for my brother, but if there’s no….attraction is I guess the best word, there’s no point.”

  “I’m so glad you agree with me.” She grinned at the man who she hoped would soon be her brother in law.

  “Oh, I do. I just wish we could get Malinda to agree.”

  The parlor door opened then and Malinda walked in with an irritated look. She sat down between Ellen and Wesley on the sofa and leaned into Wesley. “I don’t like your brother as much as I like you.”

  Wesley smiled, stroking her arm. Ellen tried not to watch, but she was fascinated with how her sister reacted to him when she felt nothing at all. “Does that mean you want to marry me now?”

  Malinda sighed. “It means I’m a lot closer to making a decision than I was an hour ago.” Malinda sounded disgusted. What could Patrick have done to make her so angry?

  Ellen stood up and walked out to the porch and saw Patrick leaning up against a post. “What did you do to my sister?”

  Patrick turned to her and she could see his grin by the light of the full moon. “I just tried to hold her hand and told her that she has the most beautiful sister in the world.”

  Ellen laughed aloud. “That was obnoxious!”

  “I tried. I don’t want to be downright rude, though, because even if I don’t marry the woman, she’s still going to be my sister-in-law and a big part of my life. I need to be able to get along with her.”

  She walked over and took his hand, pulling him along with her to the porch swing. “What would you do if you didn’t care if you got along with her for the rest of your life?”

  He shrugged, his eyes dancing as they gazed into hers. “I’d probably tell her that I like to have spitting contests with all the miners that come into the bank and give them better rates if they can spit further than me.”

  “That would certainly not endear my sister to you.” She grinned thinking about Patrick saying that. She knew him well enough to know he would never actually do it, but her sister certainly didn’t.

  “How about you? Would you mind if I had spitting contests with the miners?”

  She laughed snuggling into his side. “Why would I mind? As long as you didn’t let them spit on you and expect me to clean your clothes, I wouldn’t care. Do you have spitting contests with the miners?”

  “Never have. The thought had never crossed my mind. Maybe I should…”

  “If you decide to do it, let me know. I’d like to hire a photographer to come and take some pictures of it. We could use them to advertise your banking services. ‘A banker who spits with his customers will always do what’s best for them’ could be your slogan.”

  He grinned down at her. “Do you know what I like best about you?”

  She shook her head. “No, what?”

  “I like that you put up with my crazy sense of humor.”

  She smiled. “Malinda told me you’re boring. I don’t see it, but whatever she thinks. She can say you’re boring every day of the year as long as she marries your brother.”

  “Just so you know, whatever she decides, I’m not marrying her. I’m not at all interested in your sister. I’m marrying you.”

  She kissed the shoulder her head was resting against. “She’s not going to decide to marry you. She’d make too many people unhappy by doing that and she knows it.”

  “When do you think she’ll make a decision?”

  She shrugged. “I’m going to work on her all day tomorrow. I think she already knows what her decision is going to be, but she’s just dragging her feet because she likes living here and having people do for her.” She paused for a moment looking out to the garden. “We stayed with the woman who owns the mail order bride business for six weeks before we came here.”

  “Why?”

  “I told you the banker came to our house and told us we only had a few days to get out.”

  “Right?”

  “Well, that’s the day we responded to your letters. We met Harriett Long, and explained the situation, and she invited us to live with her until we heard back from you.” She looked down at her hands for a moment. “I hated doing it, but we have nowhere else to go. Malinda loved it.”

  He ran his hand down her arm. “Why did she love it?”

  “Harriett had servants and Malinda liked having others do the chores she doesn’t care for. I did everything I could to earn my keep, but Malinda? She just enjoyed her time there.”

  “What was Harriett like? I corresponded with her, of course, but I never really got a feel for her as anything but a businesswoman.”

  Ellen thought carefully about how to answer that. She didn’t want to betray Harriett by revealing what she’d heard the night she’d gotten up, but she wanted to give a true picture of her. “She was a mystery. She’s a widow, but never mentions her late husband. She’s generous to a fault. If she met someone with no shoes on the street, she would remove her own and give them away. She is obviously very wealthy and she walks with a pronounced limp. I genuinely liked her as a person, and would have liked to get to know her better, but she seems to close people out. I never saw her entertain, and she spends almost all of her time working for her ‘brides.’ She takes a
personal interest in every woman that she places.”

  “She sounds like an interesting woman.”

  “She is. Once we received our letters from you and Wesley, she gave us this little talk she said she gives to all of her brides about how we shouldn’t feel like we have to stay in a situation where we’re treated badly. It was strange, because she obviously believes in what she does. She works so hard to find the right man for each woman, and yet she seems to worry about every woman she sends off. I wrote to her yesterday morning about what happened when we arrived, and how we’re not married yet, but I’ll write to her as soon as we are. She truly seemed to care what happened to us.”

  Patrick sat silently for a moment. “Maybe someday we’ll find out more about her. I don’t know. You’re right, though. That is strange.”

  “She was truly one of the best people I’ve ever met. I miss her.” After she’d said the words, she was surprised. She hadn’t realized how much she’d miss Harriett after they left.

  They sat quietly for a few minutes before he stood up. “I need to get back to Wesley’s house. I have some work that has to get done tonight. I’ve been trying not to work in the evenings this week, but I don’t have a choice right now.”

  Ellen stood with him, going into his arms to hug him tightly. “Thank you for making time for me.”

  He laughed softly. “I’ll always make time for you.”

  Chapter Five

  Ellen was on a mission the following day. She’d decided they’d waited long enough and it was time for Malinda to make a decision. It wasn’t fair to make the men wait, and interrupt their lives. Besides, it was Friday. Saturday would be a wonderful day for them to marry. She didn’t feel the need to wait another minute.

  She waited until Malinda came down for breakfast, and although she’d eaten hers hours before, she sat at the table while Malinda ate. “I think we need to make a decision today. We can’t keep the men waiting for an answer. It’s not fair to them.”

  Malinda shrugged. “I just can’t make up my mind.” She put down the muffin she’d been happily munching on as she looked at her sister. “I don’t have any feelings for Patrick at all. I won’t deny that. But what happens if Wesley dies and I’m left with nothing? Where will I go?”

  “I’m sure you’d move in with me. Just like you would if you married anyone else. Patrick and I wouldn’t leave you destitute. Please, Mindy.” She used her sister’s childhood nickname in hopes it would get her to choose quickly.

  “I have four days to decide. You can’t force me into an early decision just because you’re in a hurry to get married.”

  Ellen squeezed her sister’s hand. “I think you know as well as I do that you need to choose Wesley. Nothing else would be fair to anyone involved. Wesley cares for you, and Patrick and I care for each other. Please do the sensible thing and just decide now.”

  Malinda ate the last bite of her muffin and stood up. “I’m not going to sit here and listen to this. You gave me a week, and I’m taking a week.” She pushed her chair in and left the room with her chin in the air, mumbling under her breath about how it was unfair to her to have to decide before she was ready.

  Ellen bit her lip as she watched her go. She had a right to make her own decisions, didn’t she? She went up to Patrick’s bedroom where she’d stayed the past three nights, and pulled out her wedding dress she’d worked so painstakingly on. She took it down the stairs to iron it. She was going to give Patrick a decision that night whether Malinda liked it or not.

  By the time lunch rolled around, she’d cleaned Patrick’s room from top to bottom, the only part of the house the housekeeper let her clean. She’d ironed all her clothes and put them away in Patrick’s closet. She was there to stay, and she really didn’t care what Malinda said at that point.

  Over lunch, she kept the topic on simple things. “It’s a beautiful day today. We should walk over to the park and spend some time there.”

  Malinda eyed her skeptically. “You’re just going to try to talk me into making a decision before this evening. It’s not going to happen, you know.”

  Ellen shrugged. “That’s fine. I just wanted your company for a walk.”

  After lunch, Ellen left Malinda to change into some more comfortable shoes for their walk and went into the kitchen. She hated sneaking around behind her sister’s back, but she didn’t want to have to listen to her complain about what she was doing all day. She spotted Alice at the stove, working on their dinner. “Alice?”

  The woman turned to her. “Yes?”

  “I’m going to tell Patrick tonight that I’ll marry him. I’m sick of waiting on my sister. It’s not fair to make him wait, when he expected to be married the day after we got here. It’s inconveniencing him too much to make him stay at Wesley’s house.”

  Alice blinked a few times and then a smile slowly spread across her face. “What does Malinda have to say about this?”

  Ellen shrugged. “I’m beyond caring what she thinks. I’ll tell her after I talk to Patrick tonight.” She did care, of course, but she just couldn’t let her sister keep all four of their lives on hold any longer when the decision had been made.

  “What can I do to help?”

  “Would you plan a special wedding lunch for tomorrow? And a big cake? I can help you with it if you want.”

  Alice shook her head adamantly. “You will absolutely not help. I’ll take care of it.” She turned back to the stove and stirred again for a moment. “I’m going to invite a young friend of mine over to fix your hair for you in the morning. Every bride should look her best on her wedding day.”

  Ellen smiled and nodded. “I’d really appreciate that. Thank you!” On impulse she hugged the older woman before rushing to the front hall to meet Malinda.

  Malinda was waiting, tapping her foot on the floor. “Are you ready? Or do you need to spend another hour talking to the cook?”

  Ellen sighed. “I’m ready.” She opened the door to talk outside. “I like Alice. She reminds me of Mom in a lot of ways.”

  Malinda gave her a quizzical look. “Why does she remind you of Mom?”

  “I’m really not sure. It’s something about the way she moves in the kitchen. Being with her just makes me feel closer to Mom.” Ellen shrugged. It wasn’t really something she could explain, but the woman did remind her of their mother.

  “Okay.” Malinda’s voice made it clear she thought her sister was crazy, but she didn’t say anything else about it.

  The walk to the park took only a few minutes. There was a large group of children there with only two women watching over them. After a few minutes, Ellen went over to them. She smiled at one of the adults. “Are you on a picnic?”

  The woman nodded. “We try to bring the orphans here at least once a month during the summer months. It’s something they can all enjoy no matter what their age.” She was distracted as she talked to Ellen, her eyes moving all over making certain the children were where she could see them and safe.

  “Do you need help? I’d be happy to sit with the little ones while you push the others on the swings.” The woman’s companion was already off organizing some of the older ones into a game.

  “I’m Ida.” The woman held her hand out to Ellen. Ida seemed to be studying Elle as if seeing if she thought she was safe to leave the children with.

  “I’m Ellen.” She scanned the park quickly and saw Malinda curled up under a tree reading a book. “That’s my sister, Malinda.”

  “I’d love the help if you really don’t mind.” She quickly organized the children and had them walked toward the swings.

  Ellen sank down onto the blanket and picked up a baby who had started crying. “Well, what’s wrong with you? Hmm?” Ellen didn’t have a lot of experience with children, but she’d always enjoyed being around them. The baby blinked up at her with huge blue eyes and her heart was lost.

  She spent an hour with the children before the two women came back. Ida smiled at her slightly out of breath from
playing with the children. “Thank you so much. You made our outing so much more special than it would have been.”

  Ellen looked down at the baby cradled in her arms, sleeping contentedly. “I really enjoyed myself.” She carefully laid the baby on the quilt before standing and brushing off her dress. “Thanks for letting me hold him.”

  “Her. That’s Lucy.” Ida smiled as she looked down at the sleeping baby.

  “She’s beautiful.” Bald, but beautiful.

  “Thanks again for your help. Do you live here in town?”

  “My sister and I just moved here.” She didn’t add her connection to Patrick, because she didn’t want Ida to think he would be easy to get donations from. She wasn’t sure how he felt about that kind of thing. She knew he was extremely generous, but that didn’t mean he wanted every charity in town knocking at his door.

  “Well, welcome. We hope to see more of you!”

  She walked over to get Malinda for the walk back to Patrick’s house. She wouldn’t be able to think of it as “home” until after they’d married.

  “Are you ready to go?” Ellen asked looking down at her sister who was sprawled with her back against a large oak tree.

  Malinda looked up from her book. “Yes. Did you have fun with the children?”

  “I had a wonderful time.” She told her sister about how most of the babies had slept, but she’d held a beautiful little girl who she thought was a little boy the entire time. “I guess I probably should have checked down the front of her diaper, but I just assumed it was a boy. The baby was bald. I guess it never occurred to me that girls are born bald as well.” She laughed at herself as they walked.