Touch Me Boss: A Single Dad Office Romance

by Aria Ford

  Carl told Bill and Martha the story of Lucy and Mary Jane’s part in the birth.

  “It looks like Lucy has a permanent home on the farm since I am sure that Mary Jane will never allow me to sell her,” Carl said.

  “Don’t you even think about selling her,” Mary Jane replied. “She is my first real pet since arriving at the farm, unless you count Butch who can’t seem to keep his wet nose off the back of my leg!”

  Carl laughed as he remembered the first time Mary Jane and Butch had met. He looked around him at the people of the church who were all intent on enjoying a big meal and some good old fashioned conversation. He glanced at Bill, and then at Martha’s stomach, which was still flat but soon would swell with child. He hoped that one day he would share that joy with Mary Jane.

  Mary Jane did not miss the look that Carl had when he looked at Martha’s stomach. She knew that he wanted children of his own, and she prayed that one day soon she would be able to give him one. A child made from their love would indeed be a glorious gift from God.

  THE END

  Mail Order Bride Book 5

  “I’m really sorry for your loss, but we have no choice. This foreclosure is going to happen, unless of course you can come up with the money right here and right now. We’ve given you more than enough time and you still haven’t been able to make any kind of payment. This can’t be easy, but I do have a job to do and I’m afraid that I need to tell you that your home is no longer your home.” The man standing in front of me was not a friend. He was a bureaucrat that needed to do these things for an employer that had more money than he knew what to do with. I wanted to grab him by his neck, until he turned blue and then died at my feet. I didn’t do that, because I knew that this was not something that he got pleasure from.

  “I understand that this is unavoidable, Mr. Battle. Believe me; I’ve tried, but that kind of money is not easy to come by. I didn’t even know that we were that far in debt.” I sat there in my demure dress, white and virginal, but I wasn’t exactly pure. I looked over at my aunt. She’s shaking her head back and forth and making this sound like she’s scolding a child.

  Mr. Battle wears his most expensive gray suit and the pencil thin mustache gives him the look of a true professional. I have my dark brown hair tied in a bun. I had been grieving for a man that didn’t trust me enough to tell me how bad things were. The sheriff was very sympathetic and he made me feel comfortable. I told him that it was an accident and that his gun went off, while he was cleaning it.

  “This is the part of my job that I hate the most. I wish that I could give you some leeway, but those that are higher up are putting their foot down. I’m feeling the pressure myself.” The walls were closing in on me. Having my aunt constantly under foot was only causing me to want to lash out at her. She was my only family and had taken me and when I was down and out. “I don’t know what else there is to say. I fought for you, but it was for nothing. They’re not even going to give you a reprieve. They know that your grieving, but to them this is just business.” I had never been involved in the day to day business. Duncan took care of all of that. Maybe I was naïve and I should’ve seen the writing on the wall.

  “I appreciate everything that you’ve done. I’m sorry that you had to be caught in the middle of this.” I felt this despair pulling me into a black abyss. From the moment that I found him dead, I knew that I had to make sure that he was buried with his dignity and respect of his peers still intact. “I’ve already gotten everything out of the house. Whatever’s left, be sure to put it up for auction with the rest of the house.” I knew that it would probably go for a song. Somebody was going to pick up a valuable piece of property.

  After the swinging door slammed shut, my aunt stuck her nose in my business. She was blonde and heavy chested, but she had never married. She was what most people called an old spinster that was going to die alone with her many cats. The smell in this place was atrocious.

  “I told you that Duncan was no good for you, but you wouldn’t listen. I told you that he would break your heart, but you said that you knew better than me. Don’t you feel foolish that you didn’t listen to me? I was right and you were wrong.” She was really getting on my last nerve. “This is all your fault. A marriage is supposed to be about trust and I don’t think that either one of you had that for each other.” She had no idea what she was talking about. My Aunt Cecile didn’t even come to the wedding. She told me that she felt like I was betraying the family.

  “I’ve had a lot happen to me in the last few days and I don’t need you getting on my back. Don’t get me wrong, I appreciate the fact that you opened up your home to me. I just think that this house isn’t big enough for the both of us. I need to make some changes.” My husband Duncan had died a month ago. It happened, so suddenly that I was caught off guard. It took me a lot of time to come to terms with the fact that he was never going to be around again.

  My Aunt Cecile had this matronly schoolmarm kind of feel. She was strict and she wore her clothing like she was a nun. There was no skin exposed and you could feel the hatred that she had for mankind coming off of her in waves. “For once, I think that we see eye to eye. I can’t stand to hear you cry anymore. I want you gone, but I’m not unfeeling. I’m going to give you a couple of days to get things settled. After that, I need you to leave.” She stormed off. The one thing that I wasn’t going to miss was her caustic attitude.

  Sitting there with my cup of tea, I sipped it gingerly, letting the soothing overtones keep my depression from becoming crippling. I hadn’t told the entire truth, but it was more to save face than anything else. I didn’t want people to look at me differently. I had seen a change come over Duncan in the last six months. She was only 30 years old, but something was aging him prematurely. His hair had become gray and those wrinkles around his eyes were more sunken than usual.

  There were times that I woke up to find him pacing back and forth in front of the window and mumbling underneath his breath. I tried to coax him back into bed, but he really didn’t want anything to do with me. Those times that I caught him, he would leave the room and go downstairs. There was this distance between us. I thought that he might’ve been having an affair, but I knew that that was not the type of man that I was married to.

  I stood up and I felt this overwhelming rage come over me. I slammed my hand down on to the table and that was when I saw the periodical. It was hidden underneath the bible. I pushed the bible aside, knowing that my faith had been strained and almost broken beyond repair. I had forsaken god, but I had recently begun to believe the things happen for a reason.

  I can’t say for certain, but the periodical in question was a mail order bride catalog. I didn’t want to believe that my aunt could be that desperate, but maybe she was just exploring her options.

  I couldn’t fault her for wanting to find some piece of happiness. I thought it was a big joke, but I felt compelled to turn the pages one after the other. I was expecting to find desperate women, but that was only half the story. There were ads in this paper that had similar backgrounds that I had. Women that had lost their way had decided to step out of their comfort zone. After some time passed, I found myself writing my own ad. I wasn’t sure that I was going to go through with it, but something was telling me that this was the only way to make a clean break of everything.

  My ad was written and I decided to reread it over again to make sure that I didn’t miss anything. “My name is Diana Hall. I never thought that I would do something like this, but I find myself at my wit’s end. I’m a widower and I’m looking for a new start with a man that will be patient with me. I don’t have any children, but I would like to one day feel what it is like to be a mother. This is not my desperate attempt to grab the golden ring. What I’m looking for is simple. A man that will care for me, but also have respect enough for me that he will listen to my problems. I basically want a friend that will turn into a whole lot more. If this sounds like something that you would be interested in, t
hen by all means get in touch and we’ll take it from there.” I wasn’t a wordsmith by any means, but I felt like I had articulated exactly what I wanted.

  I took a walk and I pondered what this could mean for my future. I had no siblings, no mother and father and my only relative was an aunt that really didn’t want me there in the first place. As I stood outside the post office, I came to the conclusion that change was inevitable.

  Taking a deep breath, I steeled myself for what I was about to do. I walked into the post office with my hand outstretched to the woman behind the counter. She grabbed the letter and we had a momentary game of tug of war.

  “I can’t send this for you, unless you let go of it, Diana.” Laura was a friend or maybe I should say more of an acquaintance from church. “I just want to tell you how sad I am for what has happened to you. I don’t even know what you could be feeling, but it can’t be good.” I was through feeling sorry for myself. With a courage that I didn’t think that I had, I let go of that letter and watched, as she performed her duty by placing it in the stack that was about to go out.

  “I don’t need your pity and I do believe that the future is looking up.” I didn’t mean to sound offensive, but I was getting a little sick and tired of everybody walking around like I was a fragile doll that was going to break

  Chapter two:

  It was one of those moments of indecision that made me think that life was about changes. I couldn’t stand still and I couldn’t move forward without letting go of the past. I didn’t want to think of Duncan, as an afterthought, because to me he would always have a piece of my heart. I knew that one day I would see him again. In the meantime, I felt that a change of scenery was in order.

  It had been two weeks since I sent out the advertisement. There was letter in response that had got my attention. His name was William Killian. We had been corresponding for the last little while. Basically, we were feeling each other out and getting the idea of what each of us brought to the table. I did not mince words and I told him exactly what I was looking for. He told me that love was overrated and that he had never believed in love at first sight. He wanted somebody to be with and felt that the local women were missing something. The idea that he saw some kind of connection with me through words made me think that it was meant to be.

  “I still think that you’re making a mistake. You don’t even know what this man looks like and you’re taking a lot on face value. You can’t possibly believe that you will find happiness this way. I’m just trying to make you see the sometimes it’s not greener on the other side of the tracks. You are family and you will always be welcome, but maybe this is something that you need to do for yourself.” I hadn’t even told my aunt the entire story. This was something that I was going to have to carry with me. I felt it deep in my stomach. It made me sick to think that it had to come to this.

  “Aunt Cecile, I understand that you think that I’m making a mistake. This is my life and I have to do what is best for me. We all make our own decisions and whether they are right or wrong, they are ours to make. I don’t want to leave with this animosity between us. That is something that I do regret, but I don’t know how to fix it. You always think that you’re right. I hope for this one time that you are wrong. We all have issues to deal with and that’s a fulltime job in itself. None of us need that painful reminder that some of our decisions have come back to haunt us. I’m sure that you’re not immune to any of this. You’ve had your own problems, but I’ve never heard you complain.” I don’t think that anybody would have listened anyway, but I wanted to end this on the right note.

  “I’ve never hated you, Diana. I just thought that you were naïve and too blinded by love to know what was happening right in front of you. You say that this man is right for you, so all I can do is wish you luck. I do admit that I find your courage to seek out something better to be admirable. I’ve always known that you had that nomadic spirit running through your veins. I wish that I could say the same, but I find myself getting stuck in one place for too long. Perhaps, I should take a page out of your book.” The only way that she was going to leave her house was feet first.

  “It’s nice of you to say that. I’m still scared out of my mind, but I know that what I’m doing is right. This man paints a pretty picture, but I’m not going into this with blinders on. I know that some people say what you want to hear. I feel that this man is ready to make a commitment and whether we find that with each other remains to be seen.” I climbed into the stagecoach, wrapping a blanket around me for warmth and then signaling the driver to move forward.

  “I may not agree with your decision, but I feel that I need to contribute. That is the reason why I have given you this driver. He has never failed me before and his loyalty is better than most. He’ll protect you and keep you safe, until you finally get to your destination out west.” It was going to be a long journey, but I was ready. I heard the whinny of the horses, as they began to move forward into the future.

  I looked behind to see that and Cecile was standing there with that same blank stare. I wanted her to find happiness, but she was allowing past indiscretions to stand in her way. I’d heard that she was in love at one time, but it blew up in her face. Her heart was broken into a million pieces. Those that tried to break through were denied. I felt sorry for her. Maybe my leap of faith would make her come out of her own shell.

  I watched the countryside, as we moved out of town and away from my comfort zone. It felt like I was doing something momentous, life changing and for the first time I felt like this was a new chapter. At first, I believed that I was running away from something, but now I believed that I was running to something.

  There were moments, when things were better between myself and Duncan that I made us both do the unconventional. I made him look past the town limits. We were notorious for getting away for a few days of rest and relaxation in the great outdoors. It was something to see to wake up in the morning and find Duncan cooking over an open flame. To hear Mother Nature in all its beauty was something that was lacking. I needed that connection. If I couldn’t get it here, then I was going to have to find someplace else.

  I had to keep reminding myself that this was for me and not for others. Memories had been weighing me down. I found that for my own health that it was necessary to leave it behind. I couldn’t do that here, because his face was everywhere that I looked. I didn’t know if that was going to change in the west, but I needed to make that concentrated effort.

  I would never give that kind of power to anyone. If I did that, then I may as well crawl into a hole and did. That was not going to happen. I wanted what was best for me and if I had to cut ties with my Aunt Cecile, then that was what was going to happen. She would never look at me like I was an equal and living underneath her roof would only stunt my grieving process. I still felt like he was here, but I knew that he was gone. It was a hard pill to swallow. I wouldn’t wish this kind of pain on any one.

  We stopped momentarily to retrieve drinking water for the horses. “When we left a few hours ago, you had this look of hesitation on your face. I’ve seen it before. It is not uncommon for these kinds of changes. The one thing that is different than everybody else is that you now seem to have accepted that this is what you need to do. I have to tell you that your aunt is a little hard to understand. I’ve always had a crush on her, but she has never given me any sign that she was interested.” Linus was a good man. He knew the value of hard work and what it took to make a real life for himself.

  “I want my aunt to be happy, but she’s not going to be able to do that on her own. She needs you to grab hold of her and shake her back into reality. You can’t take no for an answer, even if it means that you have to drag her kicking and screaming. She’ll thank you in the end. It’s going to be your persistence and determination that will win out. She may seem unapproachable, but I think that there was a past love that broke her spirit. If you think that you want something more than just friendship, then you need to
make the first move. If that doesn’t work, gestures of romance will slowly soften her. From there, it’s just a matter of making her look at you.” Linus was listening, as he was filling the containers for the horses. Some of that was for us and that was going to help us to journey further.

  “I always thought that she was dead inside, but maybe I’ve been looking at it all wrong. Talking with you has really made me see that I’ve been allowing your aunt to keep me at arm’s length. That is about to end. Your aunt is not very happy with your decision. She really doesn’t have a leg to stand on and I think you know that. She will always have an opinion. It doesn’t mean that she’s right or she’s wrong.” It had been a whirlwind from the time that I found Duncan slumped over with the gun in his hand to an unconventional romance with William Killian. He had described himself, as a man that knew how to take care of a woman. He told me that he had blue eyes and long wavy chestnut hair. The picture that I was getting in my head was probably leaps and bounds away from what he truly looked like.

  Chapter three:

  It took two days and in that time, our conversations had gotten a little too personal. I was close to telling Linus the entire story, but I remained silent. He had stories of his own. I thought that I was going to be bored, but he was a very good travel companion. For him to do this for my aunt should’ve showed her that he was willing to bend over backwards to please her.

  I had on a white dress with a wrap around my shoulders and a bonnet on my head to keep the sun out of my eyes. Linus helped me down from the stagecoach, holding my hand and letting me lean on him for support. “I think that I’ve gotten a better insight on your aunt. I hope that you didn’t find that to be an imposition. I just like to know where I stand.” Everybody was a little afraid of the unknown. If I could give him some advice to find happiness with my aunt, then I saw it as my duty to do so.