Mail Order Bride: Western Love Stories THE COLLECTION (FOUR STANDALONE Mail Order Bride Stories)

by Megan West

  Emma had just finished dressing when there was a light knock on her door. Crossing the room, she opened it to find Simon standing there. He, too, had changed into clean clothes and was not wearing his cowboy hat. However, his hair still swept down onto one side of his face. She had already noticed it before, but now she also realized that he seemed to keep that side of his face turned slightly away from her.

  “Am I too early?”he asked.

  “No, no,”she replied.“I’m ready.”

  She closed her door and walked beside Simon down the hallway to the stairs.

  “We’re meeting Daniel and Mary Beth in the dining room,”Simon told her.“I think you’ll like the food here.”

  “Oh I’m sure I will,”Emma said with a slight smile.

  She felt that little flutter in her stomach again and her heart seemed to speed up as she stole sideways glances as Simon. Where on earth was this coming from? She had only spoken a few words with this man. Of course, they had communicated by post for a few weeks but still, this made no sense to her.

  Dinner with Daniel and Mary Beth was quite nice. Emma and Mary Beth got on well together even though Mary Beth was a few years older than she was.

  “Now, Emma,”Mary Beth said.“Simon tells us that you and he are to be married in the morning!”

  “Yes, that is what he tells me, too,”she replied and they all laughed.

  “I just want you to know that Daniel and I will be on hand to witness the ceremony and I will be happy to help you however you might need in the morning.”

  “That is just so sweet of you, Mary Beth,”Emma enthused.“Actually, I am sure that I will need some help in getting my hair just right.”

  “I would love to help you with that!”Mary Beth exclaimed.“You have such beautiful red hair! I bet you can do all sorts of things with it.”

  “Why thank you, Mary Beth,”Emma replied.

  Simon had remained rather quiet through dinner although he did not seem to be uncomfortable. Emma looked forward to having a real conversation with him soon. She wanted to get to know him better. After all, he was going to be her husband in less than 24 hours.

  “Well, it’s getting late,”Simon said when they had all finished dessert and coffee.“Emma has had quite a trip and we’ve got a big day tomorrow.”

  “Yes, we certainly do,”Emma laughed.“This has been quite an adventure so far. It was so wonderful meeting you, Mary Beth and Daniel. You have both really made me feel welcome.”

  “Oh the pleasure has been ours!”Mary Beth exclaimed.“Now, I will be at your room by eight o’clock in the morning and we will make you the prettiest bride ever!”

  “Well, she’s going to have a little competition for that title,”Daniel said as he winked at his wife.“But I am sure she will be lovely.”

  “Oh, Dan!”Mary Beth swatted her husband’s shoulder lightly.“You just keep making me feel like a new bride every day!”

  Simon was actually grinning broadly at this exchange before he rose from the table. He helped Emma up from her chair.

  “We will see the two of you in the morning,”he said.“Thanks again.”

  After saying their goodnights, Simon and Emma returned to the wide staircase that led them back up to their second floor rooms. Stopping at Emma’s door, Simon waited for her to unlock it. When she had done so, she turned to face him.

  “Well,”she said smiling.“I suppose the next time I see you we will be standing in front of a preacher.”

  “Yes,”he agreed and returned her smile.

  Then he turned serious.

  “Emma, if you are having any doubts about this or you’ve changed your mind, I won’t think badly of you. I’ll even help you get back to Savannah or get a start here. Whatever you want.”

  Emma looked directly into his eyes.

  “Simon, I don’t have any doubts at all. I’ll admit to being nervous before, but now that I’ve met you; I know that I made the right decision. Of course, this is not a traditional way of entering into marriage, but I do want to marry you, Simon. The question is; do you still want to marry me?”

  “Without a doubt,”he replied returning her direct look.

  “Then it looks like we are getting married in the morning!”

  “Yes, ma’am, it does,”Simon replied with a grin.

  “Good! Then I will see you at the church.”

  Then, she offered him her hand. He took it and raised it to his lips. As he placed a kiss on it, he continued to look deep into her eyes.

  “I will be waiting for you,”he said solemnly.

  Her stomach was fluttering again and her heart was beating so hard that she was surprised that he didn’t hear it.

  “Goodnight, Emma,”he said as he released her hand.

  “Goodnight, Simon,”she replied before entering her room and closing the door.

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  Emma was up early the next morning so that she was sure to get a chance to bathe before having to get dressed. In spite of everything, she had still managed to get a decent night’s sleep. She supposed it had something to do with all of the travelling and excitement that she had experienced lately. Still, she was grateful that she was able to sleep normally once more.

  When she had returned to her room from the shared bathroom on the floor, she opened one of her trunks. There, on top, was a carefully folded dress wrapped in tissue paper. Emma lifted it out carefully and laid it on the bed. She had bought this dress the day before she left Savannah. She knew that it had been an extravagance that she should not have splurged on but she had wanted to have a nice dress to wear when she got married.

  It was lavender chiffon and trimmed in white with a dipped neckline. The sleeves were long and fitted to her arms. The waist was cinched and the skirt flowed outward.

  Yes, she thought. It would be perfect for her small wedding.

  Just as she was admiring the dress, there was a tapping on her door. She opened it to find Mary Beth standing there with a huge smile on her face.

  “Good morning, Emma,”she said as she gathered her up in a quick, firm hug.“It’s your wedding day!”

  Emma had to laugh at Mary Beth’s enthusiasm.

  “Yes, it is,”she replied.

  “Oh is this your dress?”Mary Beth cried as she hurried into the room and over to the bed.“This is beautiful!”

  “Thank you,”Emma said.“I felt the same even though I know it was a waste of money. I just wanted to feel pretty on the day that I got married. The dress helps me with that.”

  “Oh Emma,”Mary Beth said.“You are beautiful! You don’t need any special dress to make you that. Of course, I cannot imagine what this must be like for you; marrying a man that you don’t even really know. You must be terrified.”

  “Actually, I really am not afraid to marry Simon. He has been nothing but kind and considerate to me. Although I do feel that there are things he has not shared with me.”

  Mary Beth was silent for a couple of minutes as if she were thinking about something. Then she seemed to make a decision.

  “Emma,”she said.“It is not my place to tell you things of Simon’s life. However, I do feel that it is important for you to know that his life has not been an easy one. I realize that is true for many people but his was particularly awful. You also need to know that he isa very kind man. He will take very good care of you. If you had to marry someone in a situation such as yours, the man that you want is Simon. Now, let’s get you dressed!”

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  Daniel drove both Emma and Mary Beth to the church in the carriage. Mary Beth had assured Emma that she was a beautiful bride while Emma was really just starting to get nervous. She had done everything quite methodically up to this point. Now, however, she realized that she was about to embark on the rest of her life by marrying a man that she did not even know. Was she making a huge mistake? How
did she know that he wasn’t secretly a murderer or something?

  Emma had always relied heavily on her intuition and it had never failed her. In this case, her intuition told her that Simon was a good man and that he would take care of her. He would not fail her. It wasn’t clear to her why she was so sure of this, but she just knew.

  Daniel and Mary Beth went into the church ahead of her as she stood just outside the doors to take some deep breaths. Looking down at the lovely bouquet of baby roses in her hands, she once again was reminded of Simon’s thoughtfulness and kindness. He had given them to Mary Beth shortly before they left so that she could present them to Emma at the church.

  “Well, this is it,”she said to herself and went inside.

  As soon as she looked down the aisle at the altar and met Simon’s eyes, she smiled. Suddenly, her nervousness was replaced by anticipation and she walked down to meet him. Someone had arranged for the church pianist to play music softly as she made the short trip to the altar. Daniel stood with Simon and Mary Beth stood where she would be with Emma.

  When she was standing with Simon in front of the pastor, she handed her bouquet to Mary Beth to hold as she and Simon exchanged their vows. They both promised to be faithful and love each other through good days and bad, in sickness and in health, until death parted them. Then the pastor pronounced them married and gave them permission to kiss. Emma found that she was looking forward to that first kiss but, when Daniel turned to her, he simply took her hand, leaned forward and kissed her chastely on the cheek.

  Emma experienced a rush of different emotions racing through her when he did that. The first one, she was surprised to note, was disappointment. Then she realized that he was just being thoughtful by not forcing her into such an intimate act in front of strangers; especially for the first time.

  Following the wedding, the four of them returned to the inn for a noon day meal and to fetch Emma’s things. Over lunch, they were all in a bit of a festive mood with even Simon participating in the conversation. He was happy to tell her a bit about his ranch and what she could expect. Emma thought it all sounded wonderful and was looking forward to seeing it.

  After they had loaded Emma’s trunks onto the carriage, Mary Beth decided to ride in the front with her husband so that Simon and Emma could enjoy some privacy on the ride to the ranch. Simon helped Emma into the carriage before climbing in after her and seating himself across from her.

  It had grown somewhat warm with the sun high in the sky and Emma was glad that she had changed from her wedding dress into something cooler and more sensible to travel in. She could feel wisps of her hair escaping the carefully placed pins but she hoped her hat would hide a lot of that. Not that it would matter so much out here in Colorado. People here seemed to be a lot more carefree about their appearance than back in Savannah.

  Oddly, now that she was finally alone with her new husband, Emma felt somewhat shy. More than once she caught him sitting there simply staring at her in something close to wonderment. Finally, she lifted her eyes to meet his and smiled slightly.

  “Is there something wrong?”she asked.

  “No, not at all,”Simon replied in his deep, quiet voice.“Why do you ask?”

  “Well, because you keep looking at me like there might be something out of place or something so I thought I should ask.”

  “Ah,”he said looking somewhat sheepish.“No, ma’am, there’s nothing wrong at all. Truth be told, I’m just sitting here wondering what I did right in my life to deserve a beautiful woman like you.”

  The words were spoken with such sincerity that there was no way that Emma could believe he was lying to her. Surprisingly, quick tears came into her eyes and she had to blink rapidly to keep them from sliding down onto her face. She did not blink fast enough to conceal them, though.

  “Oh, now look what I’ve done!”Simon exclaimed.“I never meant to upset you, ma’am! That was meant to be a compliment, what I just said to you.”

  Waving her hand at him dismissively, Emma regained control of her emotions.

  “No, no, you didn’t upset me, Simon. It’s just that this has all been such a huge change in my life and it seems to be catching up with me finally. That was a very sweet thing you said so please don’t feel that you have said or done anything wrong. In fact, those were probably the most honest and sincere words that any man has ever spoken to me.”

  “I meant every word,”Simon replied.“If you don’t mind my asking, why is it that such a beautiful woman as yourself was even available for marriage?”

  “Oh I don’t mind you asking at all, Simon. You see, back when I was the daughter of wealthy parents, plenty of men sought my hand. The problem with them all is that I really wasn’t drawn to any of them, if you know what I mean. They all seemed so shallow and just interested in having fun and acquiring a wife who would run their house and give birth to their children. I wanted more of a partner than a caretaker. Does that make sense?”

  Simon nodded solemnly.

  “Yes, ma’am, it does. If you have any doubts that I mean that, let me assure you right now that you and I will each have our own part in running my….I mean our….ranch. I’m going to have to get used to saying“our”a lot now, I guess.”

  Emma suddenly burst out laughing.

  “Well, I suppose that makes two of us then! Simon, please tell me more about our ranch.”

  He joined her in laughing before launching into a detailed description of the ranch, the animals, the crops, and his ranch hands. In between that, he told her about all of the gorgeous scenery that she was viewing along the way. Even majestic did not seem to be a fitting word to describe the huge mountains that dotted their route.

  Time passed so quickly that she was surprised to hear Daniel calling out that they had arrived. Finally, Emma was about to get her first look at her new home. Reaching over to open the door of the carriage, Simon exited first and then turned to help Emma from it.

  “Well, here it is. Home sweet home,”he said, watching her closely.

  Emma’s mouth formed a small O as she took in the sight before her. The house was low and long but very well cared for with a rather sizeable front porch. Rising up behind the house were the large mountains that she had been seeing all along the way. For as far as she could see was lush green land. Set back in the distance behind the house was a deep red barn. White fences held several cows and a few horses. She heard rather than saw chickens. A couple of large trees shaded the front of the house. It was all just so much more than she had expected that she was speechless.

  “So what do you think?”Simon asked quietly.“Can you be happy here?”

  “Oh Simon!”Emma exclaimed.“This is all so beautiful! I’m not sure what I expected but this is simply….perfect!”

  The smile that slowly spread across Simon’s face was Emma’s reward. He became so handsome when he smiled. Again, she wondered why it was that Simon had resorted to a mail order bride. Surely there were plenty of women that would have been thrilled to be his wife.

  She also continued to be puzzled as to why he always wore his long hair almost completely covering one side of his face. Thus far, she had not asked him about it, but she knew that, sooner or later, it would be addressed. How could she live with someone who had an obvious secret? If they were to be husband and wife, there could be no secrets. Her parents had always lived by that code and they had been deliriously happy. Emma had assumed that her mother had known as much as about their financial affairs as any wife did. So if her father had kept anything from her about how much money they had or did not have, it would have been the accepted way of doing things. Besides, her mother knowing the truth would not have made any difference.

  At any rate, Emma could not dwell on the past. She had a husband and a beautiful new home. Her present and future were both things to be thankful for and she would focus on that.

  Simon offered her his arm and she took it. As they walked toward the front of the house, he continued to tell her about t
he land and the different types of farming that was done here. There were not only dairy cows but a few cows that were raised for beef. She had been right about hearing chickens. Simon told her that he kept a chicken house where they gathered fresh eggs daily. Then there were the fields of crops that were tended to throughout the growing season and then used for canning to eat through the fall and winter seasons.

  Simon caught the amazed look on Emma’s face and smiled at her.

  “Don’t worry, though,”he said.“The only things you’ll need to worry about are keeping up with the house and cooking. Mary Beth will also be there to help out. She’s kind of been running the house since Ma passed away. She and Daniel have a cabin about a half mile from the back of the house. We built that when they got married a few years back. I know they act like newlyweds but they’re coming up on their 5thanniversary next month. If two people were ever made for each other, it’s Daniel and Mary Beth.”

  “They certainly do seem to be quite happy,”Emma agreed.

  As they reached the front porch, an older man with a full head of silver hair stepped out of the door.

  “Well, Boss, it’s about time you got back!”he said boisterously.“And this pretty little lady must be your new bride!”

  Simon laughed.

  “Emma, this old rascal is Roy, my right hand man,”Simon said.“Roy, this is Emma, my wife.”

  Those words sent a little thrill of excitement through Emma as she reached out to shake Roy’s hand. It was the first time Simon had called her his wife and she was rather surprised to discover that she liked the sound of it.

  “We’re so happy to have you here,”Roy said enthusiastically.“This boy has been on his own way too long! He needs a woman to keep him straight.”

  “I haven’t been a boy in a long time and you know it, Roy,”Simon retorted.

  At the doorway, both men stood back and allowed Emma to go inside first. Once more, she was filled with wonder at what she saw there.

  There was one long room that seemed to serve several functions. She was standing in the part that looked to be a sitting area. There was rustic looking furniture of the like that she had never seen. A long wooden frame sofa looked quite comfortable. There was a rocking chair as well as a couple of chairs that held cushions. There were small tables on either side of the sofa holding oil lamps. A large stone fireplace seemed to take up most of the far wall.