by Sarah Banks
Directed to the hotel, he asked for her at the front desk. When the clerk went up to fetch her, Alex almost left and probably would have if it wouldn’t have been so rude. His mother raised him better than that, so he forced his feet to stay rooted to their spot and minutes later he met Lucy Spencer and the rest was history. She helped him place an ad for a mail order bride, for a modest fee of course. She helped him with the entire process from start to finish and now his bride was minutes away from arriving, at least he hoped she would be on the train. And if all went well, by sunset he would be a married man.
“Well?” His brother asked, interrupting his thoughts.
“Well what?” Alex asked, pulling his eyes away from the approaching train and glancing at his brother. Alex was tall, but so was his brother, and at just shy of seventeen was sure to be taller.
“Is she pretty?” Billy persisted.
“How should I know?”
“I thought they were supposed to send you a picture with their letter,” Billy said, his brows drawing together in confusion.
“She said she didn’t have one,” Alex replied, looking back in the direction of the train.
“And you believed her!” He replied incredulously. “She must be ugly,” he said, drawing out that last word.
Alex turned to his brother with a scowl. “Keep it up and you’re walking home.”
Billy pursed his lips together because he knew that Alex wasn’t kidding. Billy was usually a good kid, kind of wild, but he was a hard worker, kind hearted and made Alex laugh every single day. He was grateful for his younger brother. Alex didn’t know where he’d be right now if it wasn’t for Billy.
It was true that he didn’t know what his intended looked like but truthfully it didn’t really matter. He had seen lots of women over his twenty-two years. Some of the most beautiful women he had ever seen had been the ugliest of people. He didn’t care what his bride looked like, only that she was kindhearted and hardworking.
He smiled, remembering her letter and the picture she had described that one of the girls at the orphanage had drawn of her. He almost wished that she had enclosed it. Her letter had made him smile and laugh out loud. None of the other letters he had received had really evoked any emotion at all. Of course he would have liked a picture of her so he would have known what to expect. He knew that he would have looked at it so often that her image would have been blazed into his memory by now but he understood why she didn’t have one. She had no parents and had grown up in an orphanage. She was all alone in the world just like him and Billy.
“Well, why did you pick her then, if she didn’t send you a pretty picture?”
“Because, I liked her letter. She’s an orphan and she needed help and she seemed nice,” he explained slowly. Though truly he couldn’t explain it. He had received half a dozen letters in response to his ad and hers was the only one he had been drawn to.
Billy made a noise of disgust. “You picked her because you felt sorry for her?”
Alex abruptly turned to his brother. “I don’t ever wanna hear you say that again, do I make myself clear?” He warned in a low voice. A nearby couple glanced at them.
“Yes sir,” Billy mumbled in reply. “Sorry.”
“Okay then,” Alex replied. He sighed and ran a hand through his hair before replacing his hat. “Why did you come along anyway?”
“Moral support,” Billy replied, cracking a smile.
Alex rolled his eyes but couldn’t help but shake his head and smile.
The train arrived and there was the usual commotion when it did. Alex usually tried to avoid town when the train was scheduled to arrive for that very reason. He stood back from the crowd, next to Billy, watching as people began to slowly disembark.
Finally a woman descended the steps, holding a worn bag. She looked around hesitantly before stepping onto the platform. She seemed to be traveling alone and looked overwhelmed by her surroundings and all of the people. She was too beautiful, Alex thought, she couldn’t be his bride. He forced his eyes away from her and continued to watch the remaining people get off the train. All together, only a handful of people got off in Sweet Creek, four men and the one woman. His eyes went back to the beautiful woman who was now standing off to the side. She didn’t appear to be travelling with anyone else and no one had met her yet. Her eyes were searching the crowd and she looked nervous and quite frankly, scared.
“Is that her?” Billy breathed, following his brother’s gaze.
“I don’t know,” Alex replied softly. He took a step forward and then another. Upon closer inspection he could see the tiny freckle at the corner of her lips she had described in her letter. It was her, Becca Smith, his bride. Her dress might be plain, but she surely wasn’t, no, not at all. Her hair was a silky dark blonde in the shadow of the train platform, she had light eyes framed by thick, dark lashes, full pink lips and of course that sweet freckle at the corner of her mouth.
He stepped forward and her eyes went to him.
“Becca?” He inquired tentatively.
“Yes. Are you Alex?” She asked, her voice shaking slightly.
Of course she wasn’t sure. He hadn’t sent a picture either, nor even a description of himself he now realized. He nodded and held out his hand.
“Yes, Alex Courtland. It’s nice to meet you.”
She smiled and placed her hand in his. “And you as well.”
Her hand was small and cool compared to his large, warm one. He was hesitant to let go until her eyes went over his shoulder. Alex reluctantly let go of her hand and turned.
“Oh yeah. This is my brother, Billy.”
She smiled at him. “It’s nice to meet you Billy.”
“You too ma’am. May I take your bag?”
Alex did a double-take at his brother. It never ceased to amaze him how quickly his brother could lay on the charm when a pretty woman was around.
“Thank you,” she murmured, handing Billy her bag.
That reminded Alex. “How many other bags are we waiting for?” He asked her.
She shook her head. “None. That’s it,” she said lightly, gesturing to the small bag that Billy was now holding.
Alex knew she was an orphan but he guessed he hadn’t quite realized how little she really had. He had grown up in rather humble circumstances himself but they had always been able to feed and clothe two growing boys. All she had to her name was a tiny bag of possessions. He promised himself that he would make sure that she had whatever she needed if it was within his power. She was his responsibility now and he wanted her to be happy with him.
Alex cleared his throat. “We should get going then. Pastor Brown is expecting us and we have a long drive home afterwards,” he explained.
She nodded and smiled. “Let’s get married then,” she said with enthusiasm that didn’t quite meet the look of apprehension in her eyes.
Chapter Eight
Becca was relieved when she finally laid eyes on Alex because for a few minutes she stood on a train platform a long way from home with no money to her name and no one stepping forward to meet her. It had been the longest five minutes of her life. She hadn’t known what he looked like but was pleased to see that he was tall and handsome, in a rugged sort of way.
She glanced at the younger man beside him. Only an inch or two shorter and a few years younger, Billy looked a lot like his older brother. For some reason when Alex had mentioned a brother in his advertisement, she had thought him to be an adult, but Billy was just a teenager. Was it just the two of them? Becca felt a spark of admiration for her husband-to-be if he was helping to raise his younger brother.
“We can walk to the church from here, it’s not too far,” Alex explained, pulling Becca from her thoughts. “That is, unless you’d prefer to ride in the wagon?”
She smiled. “No, walking’s fine. It feels good to stretch my legs after being on a train for so long.”
Flanked between the tall Courtland brothers, they began to make their way to the
church, its steeple visible among the treetops just around the bend.
“Wait! Wait for me!” A voice called from behind them.
Becca froze for a moment before slowly turning and seeing Casey running toward them from the direction of the train station.
“Casey?” Becca whispered, the color draining from her face.
“Who’s that?” Billy asked curiously, his eyebrows drawn together.
Becca swallowed but didn’t answer.
Casey skidded to a stop in front of them, pink-cheeked and out of breath.
Becca finally found her voice. “Casey, what are you doing here?” She asked in disbelief.
“Don’t be mad,” Casey began.
Becca’s hands immediately found their place at her hips. She arched a brow. “Casey,” she warned.
“I couldn’t let you see me until after we arrived otherwise I knew that you would send me right back,” Casey explained.
“And what’s keeping me from sending you back now?” Becca returned firmly.
Tears immediately sprung to Casey’s eyes and her lower lip began to tremble. “Please don’t send me back Becca. I couldn’t bear to stay behind without you. Besides, heading west has always been my dream. You told us to seek happiness and that’s exactly what I’m doing. You won’t send me back, will you?”
Becca glanced at Alex and she could tell from the look of confusion on his face that he wasn’t altogether sure what was going on but was too polite to interrupt and ask. Becca wasn’t so sure she knew what was going on herself.
“Please Becca,” Casey begged.
Becca glanced at Alex again. This time he was looking back at her. His eyes implored hers for an explanation. She took a deep breath.
“Alex, this is Casey. She’s one of the girls from the orphanage. I mentioned her in my letter.”
Alex nodded and she could see that he was beginning to understand, slowly putting together the pieces of the puzzle. “Ah.”
Becca continued, “Apparently, she stowed away—”
“No I paid!” Casey interjected.
Becca arched her brow again. “And how could you afford a ticket?”
“I borrowed money from Miss Templeton.”
Becca groaned and buried her face in her hands because she knew there was absolutely no way Miss Templeton would lend money to anyone.
“Don’t worry, I’ll pay it back,” Casey insisted.
Becca dropped her hands from her face. “How? That money belongs to the orphanage. And it’s not borrowing if Miss Templeton wasn’t aware of it in which I’m almost certain that she was not.” The guilty look on Casey’s face provided answer enough. “That’s stealing,” Becca finished in a harsh tone.
“I’ll find a way to pay the money back,” Casey promised.
Becca shook her head and took a deep breath, slowly releasing it. She didn’t know how but she would make sure that the money was paid back. She looked at Alex again. She didn’t know what to say. Of course Casey had to go back, but it wasn’t as if Becca could just put her right back on the train today, it was still heading west. And even if she did put Casey back on a train, the plain truth was, she couldn’t trust that Casey wouldn’t get off at the very next stop.
She nodded to Alex and together they walked several feet away from Casey and Billy.
“Alex, I’m awful sorry about this,” Becca began in a low voice. “I promise you I had no idea she was on the train.”
“I gathered as much,” he replied dryly. He glanced back at the pair. Her eyes followed his. Billy and Casey were now arguing. It had been all of fifteen seconds, what on earth could they be bickering about already? Becca wondered. She sighed and turned her eyes back to Alex.
“Last I saw her was over a week ago in the backyard of the orphanage. I had no idea she was planning on following me here. I mean, she’s always been a mischievous child, but the upside was that she was also terrible at keeping secrets so I could usually put a stop to her schemes before they started. I truly had no idea she was hatching such a plan.”
“Actually, you have to admire that she pulled it off so flawlessly,” Alex said, the corner of his lips twitching.
Becca laughed in relief. “Then you’re not mad?”
He shook his head. “Nah, I’m not mad.”
“What are we going to do?”
“I’m not sure,” he said with a small frown. “But we don’t have to decide right now. We can figure it out later. My house is small but there’s room for Casey until we decide how to move forward.”
She nodded.
“Are you ready to get married?” He asked her.
“You still want to marry me?”
“Of course I do, why wouldn’t I?” His eyes searched hers.
“Because you’ve known me all of ten minutes and I’ve already been a source of trouble,” she said, biting her lip.
“Not you, Casey,” he corrected. “If these are the kinds of stunts she’s capable of pulling, then I can see how she might be a handful.”
“Oh yes, a loveable handful,” Becca agreed with a grin and a roll of her eyes.
He laughed. “Sounds a lot like Billy.”
Becca felt relieved, like she could breathe again. She was so happy that Alex wasn’t holding the situation against her. The last thing she wanted was their marriage to start off on the wrong foot. In the few minutes she had known him she could tell that he was a kind man, who cared about his brother and had a sense of humor, all important qualities to her.
“Thank you for being so understanding,” she said sincerely.
Their eyes locked for a few moments and Becca felt her heart start to beat faster before she finally looked down and away. When they made their way back to the children she caught the beginnings of a new argument.
“What about my bag?” Casey asked Billy, holding it out to him.
Billy eyed it suspiciously. “What about it?”
“Wouldn’t you like to carry it too?”
“You have arms!” He replied with disgust.
Casey looked like she wanted to throw a punch at Billy which Becca found interesting since Casey had never exhibited any violent tendencies before. Becca opened her mouth to reprimand the duo but Alex interceded.
“Billy,” he warned.
He dragged Billy onto his opposite side. Becca followed suit, stepping between him and Casey, putting as much distance between Billy and Casey as possible.
“Here Casey, I’ll hold your bag,” Alex offered.
“Thank you,” Casey murmured politely, handing him a bag which Becca was pretty sure had also been stolen, probably from Miss Hall.
Alex nodded. “Now listen up, the both of you. We’re running late to the church and Pastor Brown and his wife are waiting on us. Becca and I are getting married and then all of us have to head back to the homestead, I want to get there before it gets dark. So behave yourselves or you,” he said referring to Casey, “are going right back on that train and you,” he pointed at Billy, “are walking home.”
“Yes sir,” Billy mumbled.
“Yes sir,” Casey chimed in, her face paling.
Fifteen minutes later Alex and Becca were standing in the front of a small, beautiful church in the center of Sweet Creek exchanging their vows. Even though Casey’s sudden appearance had caused such a commotion, Becca was glad that she was there. She wasn’t nearly so scared with Casey beside her.
Alex produced a ring from his front pocket and slid it over Becca’s finger. The gold band was warm on her cold skin. Becca’s eyes immediately went to the ring in surprise. It was the most beautiful thing she had ever touched.
“It was my mother’s,” Alex said quietly. “I want you to have it. I know you took a big leap of faith coming out here and agreeing to be my wife. And I want you to know that I will try my hardest in this marriage if you will and I believe we can share a long, happy life together.”
Her eyes filled with tears. “I will,” Becca promised. She looked down at the ring
again and smiled. “It’s beautiful, I love it,” she whispered.
When it came time for him to kiss the bride, he brushed a kiss across her ring instead of her lips and she felt a mixture of disappointment and wonder. How on earth did a simple kiss against her finger have the power to mash up her insides?
After the short ceremony had concluded they thanked Pastor Brown and his wife.
“Can you stay for coffee and cookies? I made them fresh this morning,” Molly Brown offered with a friendly smile.
“Thank you for the kind offer Mrs. Brown, but we have to get going so we can make it home before sunset. I have a horse that’s about to foal and I’ve already been gone longer than I should have,” Alex explained.
“Well at least let me send some cookies home with you. For the children,” she added with a wink.
A few minutes later they were walking back past the train station to the wagon with a tin of homemade cookies in hand. Becca wished they could have stayed and visited with Molly, she seemed like a very nice woman, someone she could see herself being friends with. Becca never had much of a chance to make friends outside the orphanage. She hoped it would be different here.
Alex helped Becca into the wagon, his hand firm and warm against her small, cool one. She pulled her hand from his and settled into the seat, rearranging her skirt.
The wagon dipped slightly as Billy jumped in the back. Becca turned and saw Casey eyeing the wagon bed. Alex lifted her easily into the wagon before joining Becca on the bench seat. He released the brake, flicked the reins and they were on their way.
Becca shivered. It was a cold day. They were smackdab in the middle of fall. She imagined the winters could be brutal here. She wondered if they were worse than back in New York. She hoped the house had a big hearth and plenty of firewood.
Suddenly she was enveloped in warmth as Billy settled his jacket over her shoulders. Becca turned to him and smiled. “Thank you Billy.”