Her Silent Burden (Seeing Ranch series) (A Western Historical Romance Book)

by Florence Linnington

  Noah settled under the altar, Wakefield taking up his position as best man. The guests found their seats on the stumps and chairs that had been carried over from the hotel, and the Shallow Springs reverend, who’d come up for the special occasion, nodded and smiled at Noah. From the front row, Jenny Mullins waved Aria’s arm at Noah and Wakefield. Almost everyone was where they needed to be.

  Now all they needed was the bride.

  For the first time that day, Noah felt nerves arise. Taking a deep breath, he looked up at the thick, pure-white clouds and willed himself to relax.

  Wakefield nudged Noah in the side. “Here she comes,” he whispered.

  With a start, Noah looked across the street. Thea, carrying a bouquet of flowers, had exited the front of the hotel in a pink dress. And behind her…

  Noah’s chest filled with love as he took in the sight of his bride. Her white dress was wide, and although it had no trail, there was a lace veil hanging over her face. In one hand she carried a bouquet of flowers. Her other arm was looped through Jacob’s.

  At ten years old, he looked more mature than ever. Dressed in a white button-down shirt and gray vest, he held his head high as he walked his mother down the aisle.

  Women dabbed at their eyes with handkerchiefs, and even a couple men cleared their throats, exposing their attempts to not become emotional. Noah watched in reverence as Rosalie took small steps in his direction. Through the veil, he could make out her smile.

  Thea took her spot on the bride’s side, and Jacob let go of his mother’s arm and went to stand next to Wakefield. On his way there, Noah stopped him and shook his hand.

  Jacob’s chest puffed up with pride. The last month had been a great one for them. True to his word, Noah had been teaching his new son all about tracking and living in the wilderness. On their adventures out on the mountain, just the two of them, they’d opened up and shared stories from their lives, each conversation bringing them a bit closer.

  Letting go of Jacob’s hand, Noah turned to Rosalie and lifted her veil. Those beautiful hazel eyes he’d fallen in love with the very first time he saw them smiled back at him.

  Hello, Noah mouthed.

  “Hello,” she whispered back.

  Taking both her hands in his, Noah breathed in deep. The fresh mountain air was laced with the greatest love he’d ever known. It filled his body and soul, lifting him up and taking him all the way to Heaven. Being as lucky as he was, Rosalie and Jacob were right there alongside him.

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  Seeing Ranch series: Her Fearless Love

  Chapter One - Bonnie

  The wagon rocked underneath Bonnie, and she gripped the edge of the rough bench. The afternoon of riding, which came after days of train travel, had left her sore. Despite that, her heart was light. Nervous, yes, but still light.

  For she had left behind Baltimore, the only home she had ever known to start something new. Perhaps most women would have shed tears over such a departure, but Bonnie had already done her fair share of that in her short life. When her father died two years earlier, she had cried till she thought she could not possibly cry anymore—and yet the tears had come for months.

  Selling the house had caused the same. Saying goodbye to the halls in which she’d run as a child, and the big oak tree that had her initials etched into it had made Bonnie feel her heart was being ripped out. Still, it had to be done.

  Next to Bonnie, Esme, the older Hispanic woman who was also riding up to Whiteridge, grinned. “Excited?”

  Bonnie smiled back. “Nervous, mostly.”

  Esme patted Bonnie’s hand. “Do not be. It is a nice town, and you will not be the only mail-order bride there.”

  Bonnie nodded, not quite sure what to say. She had met Esme as they had climbed into the wagon driven by Jonathan Orloff, a quiet teenage boy from Whiteridge who was their driver for the day. Esme had been visiting her sister in Pathways for a couple days and now returned to Whiteridge, where she kept the house of the man who owned the town’s mine. Bonnie had learned all of this and much more as they rode from the valley into the mountains, with Esme filling her in on all the details of her life.

  “How many mail-order brides are there?” Bonnie asked.

  “Oh, there are two others now. Not to mention, a few other married young ladies. Do not worry. You will find company there.”

  Bonnie nodded her thanks and focused her attention on not becoming sick from the pitching wagon. In a way, doing so was good. It kept her attention focused on her body and the moment instead of what, or in this case who, waited for her.

  A man she had never met. A man who would soon be her husband. That is what Bonnie was headed for.

  What would her father think if he could see her now? Life as a mail-order bride in Wyoming was certainly not what he had envisioned for her, but she hoped he would understand. After his death, she had barely received half of what she had expected to for selling the house. Add that to the debt she had accrued while caring for him, and returning to her old life’s plan had not been an option.

  The road took a turn, and the ruts smoothed out. Several buildings, all still brand new, stood in front of them; Whiteridge.

  Bonnie clasped her hands in her lap. She had never seen a photograph of the infant town, but she felt as if she already knew it, for the man she had come to marry had described it well in his letters.

  Steven Huebner. Her soon-to-be husband.

  Bonnie searched the one street, looking for any sign of a man who might be him. He had described himself as six feet tall, with shaggy brown hair, tanned skin, and hazel eyes. There were no men in the street, though. Some children played outside of the small schoolhouse, and a cat stalked something in some tall grass. Other than that, the town was quiet.

  Jonathan Orloff stopped the wagon in front of the hotel, which, at two stories, was the tallest building in Whiteridge. Wordlessly, he helped the two ladies out of the wagon and handed them their bags. Bonnie took a moment to adjust her sunbonnet before pulling out her purse, meaning to tip him. When she turned back around, however, she found he’d already climbed into his wagon and was driving off.

  Esme patted Bonnie’s arm. “That’s just his way.”

  “Oh.” Bonnie frowned, hoping the boy’s ‘way’ was not the entire town’s ‘way.’ Were all the people here that unfriendly? Baltimore was a city with many different kinds of people, and Bonnie had hoped that in Whiteridge she would find primarily one kind; the friendly, small-town type.

  “Where is your husband’s cabin?” Esme asked. “I will walk you there.”

  “Um...” Bonnie bit her bottom lip. “I am not sure. He said that he would find me in town once I arrived.”

  “And here I am,” a deep and smooth male voice responded.

  Both women turned around as a man, who could only be Steven Huebn
er, descended the porch’s stairs. He fit every part of the description he had given Bonnie: he was tall, with wavy, thick brown hair and hazel eyes. What she was not prepared for, however, were his other features.

  Or, to be more specific, his assets.

  His shoulders were broad, his chest wide, and his arms toned. As he removed his hat and smiled, deep dimples and straight teeth took Bonnie’s breath away. He was, as Bonnie’s friend Loretta would have said, “enough to give me the faints right out.”

  Bonnie’s fingers closed tighter around her carpet bag. She was aware of the sweat slicking her palms and hoped the same couldn’t be said for her face.

  “You are Bonnie?” Mr. Huebner asked, taking a small step toward her. He winced. “Excuse me, I mean Miss Potter.”

  Bonnie laughed. “Bonnie is fine, for you are Mr. Huebner?”

  “Steve,” he quickly said, spreading his palm. “And I suppose we’re to be married.”

  “So I would think first names suffice,” Bonnie said with a grin.

  Steve chuckled, and the tension noticeably disappeared from his shoulders. “That sounds fine to me.”

  A slight sigh made Bonnie look to her right, and she found Esme watching the exchange intently.

  “Wonderful,” Esme said, appearing to be talking to herself. “Simply wonderful.”

  “How are you doing, Miss Ortega?” Steve asked her.

  “Aching like I was just put in a barrel and shipped downriver. The ride up here is not for the weak.”

  “I agree wholeheartedly,” Bonnie said.

  “Let’s get you home and settled,” Steve said, taking Bonnie’s carpetbag from her. “Then you can get some rest.”

  Bidding Esme farewell, Bonnie followed Steve across the street and down a smaller path that wound through the woods. It could hardly be called more than a foot trail, although Bonnie supposed a team and wagon could pass down it if the driver were very patient and not minding the branches constantly thwacking him in the face.

  “Is that it?” Bonnie asked, pointing at a cabin nestled under some shady trees.

  “No, that’s Neil Tracy’s cabin. He’s also a miner. There are six cabins down this trail, all of which have miners living in them.” Steve glanced at her, looking apologetic. “I know it’s not the best situation. I promise I’ll build you a better house on a bigger piece of land soon as I can.”

  A tenderness so strong that it made Bonnie’s heartache hit her. She stopped walking, and, noticing, Steve turned back around to face her.

  “Does that upset you?” he asked.

  Tears filled Bonnie’s eyes. “No,” she whispered. “But I do not want you to think you need to give me a big, fancy house.”

  His gaze swept over her face, and they were both quiet as he studied her for a moment. “Isn’t that what you want?” he finally asked. “And isn’t that what you’re used to?”

  Her father’s house in Baltimore had indeed been a nice one, although Bonnie would never have called it ‘fancy.’ As he’d been a professor at the university, their needs had been taken care of. He had not been showy or extravagant, instead choosing to save money for Bonnie’s education.

  “I was raised to value what is in a home, rather than how it appears on the outside,” Bonnie said. “The people in it. The relationships,” she clarified.

  Steve’s face softened. “You’re even sweeter than your letters made you out to be, Miss Bonnie Potter.”

  Bonnie blushed at the compliment. “And you are...” She bit her bottom lip just in time to stop herself from finishing that sentence.

  “I’m what?” Steve asked.

  Even more handsome than you made yourself out to be.

  “Nicer as well,” she said, as she resumed walking again. They’d only just met, and though Bonnie was nearly certain she would manage well in Whiteridge, she was aware that it was a little too early to be flirting with Steve.

  Especially when they had the rest of their lives to indulge in that.

  Chapter Two - Steve

  Neil cocked a blond eyebrow as Steve harshly scrubbed his hands with well water.

  “What?” Steve asked, not pausing as he took the bucket and dumped the rest of it over his head. There couldn’t be anything dirtier than working in a mine. Steve’s cabin might have been small, with one window and a dirt floor, but he was determined not to mess it up any more than was necessary. That meant he needed to wash off as much of the coal dust as possible before heading there.

  “She must be pretty,” Neil commented.

  Steve wiped the last of the water from his eyes and glared at Neil. The younger miner was his closest friend, but sometimes he was too cheeky for his own good.

  “It’s not about her being pretty,” Steve said. “She’s much more than that. She has a good soul. And she’s smart, too. You know, she went to college some. How many out here have done that, let alone a woman?”

  Though Bonnie’s beauty wasn’t the best thing about her, it certainly didn’t hurt that she was one of the most beautiful creatures Steve had ever set eyes on. With wavy, blonde hair and eyes the color of a summer sky, she was too beautiful for the rough life of the mountains. She might have claimed she didn’t need a big, fancy house, but Steve would build her one someday anyway.

  For a woman like her, he’d fetch the stars if it were possible.

  An elbow in his ribs made him look over.

  “Come on.” Neil jerked his head in the direction of the road and started walking.

  Most of the other miners had already left, going home to either their families or their empty cabins. Some of them would be drinking their wages away at the saloon. The last was a practice Steve had never been much into. He liked a drink as much as the next man, but what was the point of working like a mule all day long only to squander your pay the minute you were done?

  No. He liked saving for something bigger.

  “A house with windows and a wraparound porch,” he whispered.

  “Huh?” Neil wrinkled his nose. “All right. Now you’re talking to yourself.”

  “I’m planning for the future,” Steve said, completely unapologetic. “Nothing wrong with that.”

  They made their way down the hill, past the stables where the mules were kept and guarded by night watchmen to protect them from thieves, and to the main road. The coal mine was on the other side of the mountain as the town, but it was also a smaller mountain—as far as mountains went.

  Today, Steve made it down the road and through town in record time, with Neil barely able to keep up with him.

  “See you tomorrow,” Neil waved, heading to his cabin as the last golden rays of light settled around them.

  Steve waved as well, quickening his pace to a jog to finish up the rest of his trek home. It was Bonnie’s second day in town, and he’d hated to leave her alone, but work had to be done. The mine was a profitable one, and its owner, Daniel Zimmerman, both paid and treated his workers better than many a man.

  The door to the cabin was open, and all the bedding hung on the clothesline that stretched between two trees. Steve had spent the night sleeping outside on a blanket in the grass, as he planned to do until he and Bonnie were married. If it rained or got too cold, he could always head on down to Neil’s. As the cabin only had one room, though, he needed to give Bonnie the proper space until they became man and wife.

  As he drew closer to the cabin, Bonnie appeared in the doorway. At the sight of him, she smiled, and her face seemed to glow. Her hair was in a loose braid that hung over her shoulder, and the sleeves of her blue dress were rolled up far as they would go. “I’m glad it is you,” she said, wiping her hands on her apron. “I look such a sight.”

  “You’re the most beautiful thing I’ve ever seen,” Steve answered, hoping he wasn’t overstepping a boundary. They’d only met each other in person for a day, but he’d been waiting for her for months, as their first letter had been exchanged back in April. He couldn’t help it if he was over the moon about her having f
inally arrived.

  Bonnie blushed. “I am a mess.”

  “If that’s true, I don’t see it.”

  Bonnie bit her bottom lip and looked away, coloring even more. He was twenty-six and she twenty-four, but at that moment, Steve felt they were both acting like school-age youth with crushes.

  “Have you been here all day?” he asked.

  “Yes, I’ve been cleaning and tending to the garden.”