ROMANCE: Billion Dollar Question (BWWM Billionaire Bad Boy Romance) (African American Alpha Mail Order Bride New Adult)

by Aisha Brooks

  Belle opened her eyes and took in the face of the person that was standing over her. Wrinkles lined the eyes telling her that the face belonged to an older woman. For a few seconds, she had no idea where she was and then the events of the last few weeks came back to her and she began to cry. The older woman made a gentle shushing sound and laid a hand on Belle’s forehead.

  “Don’t you cry now, honey. I know that you’re going through a lot, but you’ve gotta be strong. Out here men like a strong woman that can stand beside them.”

  “I’m sorry.” She tried to get up too fast and the room spun around her.

  “Not so fast, now.” The woman offered her a hand and helped her sit up slowly. “You’re dehydrated and from the looks of you, I’d say you haven’t eaten a decent meal in weeks.”

  “I didn’t have the money. I used the last bit I had to buy an ad in the paper. If Mr. Thorn had not answered my ad, I don’t know what I would have done.” The thought of Matt Thorn made her remember that she had fainted on him at the train station. “Oh my. I seem to have acted like a ninny in front of him. Where is he?”

  “He was called away to break up a bar fight.”

  “Goodness.” Belle clutched her hands to her chest. “I hope that he will be alright.”

  “Don’t you worry none about the Sheriff. He can take care of himself. Heck, he breaks up at least four or five fights down at the saloon a week and don’t you worry yourself too much about fainting in front of him. I explained to him that it was a lack of food and dehydration that caused you to do it.” The older woman gives a wink. “Wouldn’t want him getting the big head and thinking that you fainted ‘cause he was so handsome now would we?”

  Belle giggled despite how bad she felt. “I guess not.”

  “There’s a smile.” The woman held out a hand and Belle took it. The palm was hard and calloused from years of hard labor, nothing at all like her own soft and dainty hands. “My name’s Emily Patrick, but folks ‘round her just call me Em. What do you say we get you on your feet and in the kitchen so I can get some food in your belly?”

  Her stomach rumbled at the mention of food and Belle nodded. “I think that would be divine.”

  “Divine she says.” Em chuckled. “You don’t need to use that big language around here, honey. We’re simple folks in Vicksburg and we speak simple.”

  “Yes Ma’am.” Belle wasn’t sure why she said ma’am. She thought for a moment that maybe it was because Em reminded her of her mother, but she knew that wasn’t right. Her mother had been a heartless woman only interested in power and money. Em was nothing like that. She might sound harsh, but Belle could tell that she was only trying in her own way to help her out and make life easier. That was when she realized why she said ma’am. She respected the woman.

  “Sit down at the table and I’ll fix you something to eat.”

  A while later Em and Belle sat at the table and drank coffee as they swapped stories. Most of Belle’s were only about how things were back east and not about life experiences, but Em listened with full attention. With her stomach full of hot beans and beef and biscuits she felt much better. Not to mention the coffee. She hadn’t been able to eat much because her stomach had shrunk in her weeks of near starvation, but she did her best to put away as much as she could.

  “I think I hear boots on the road. That’ll be the Sheriff and Tom.”

  Tom was Em’s husband. At sixty, he still ran the blacksmith shop by himself and filled all the orders on time. Belle was curious to see him for Em had told her that he was still a brute of a man. The thought of Matt made her stomach lurch. She knew that he had ordered her out of the paper, but she still didn’t know him. Her host seemed to think highly of him, so she tried to calm down. She took another sip of her coffee and set it back down. The cup clattered against the saucer.

  “Are you nervous, girl?”

  “I’m not going to lie. I’m scared to death. I don’t know this man. I’ve never seen him in my life and now I have to go live with him and sleep in the same bed as him. Just like that. I don’t know if I can do it.”

  Em placed her hand over Belle’s and looked her in the eyes. “You don’t have to do anything that you don’t feel comfortable with. Matt is a good man and he’ll understand. If you’d like I could talk to him and explain that you’re a little shook up still and nervous about the arrangements.”

  “Would you?”

  She felt bad for asking, but Em nodded and got up. She opened the door and stepped out into the dying light of the sun as it set on the horizon. Belle could hear their voices as they spoke. She couldn’t quite make out the words and she wasn’t sure that she wanted to. Her cup sat forgotten on the table as the front door opened once more and Em came through. A huge man filled the doorway behind her, his shoulders almost as wide as the frame. She could see that his hands were stained black from working with metal and his face was covered in soot from the fire of the forge. His shirt and beard were caked with sweat and dust, but his smile was nice. He swept off his cap and nodded to her. Em pointed at him and introduced them to each other.

  “This is my husband Tom. Tom, this is Belle Trotter. She’s the Sheriff’s mail order bride.”

  “Nice to meet you Ms. Trotter. I’d shake your hand, but I ain’t washed yet.”

  “That is fine, Mr. Patrick.”

  “Just Tom.”

  “Then you must call me Belle.”

  “It’s a deal.”

  “That’s enough chatting you two.” Em interrupted. “Matt’s waiting outside for you, Belle. I explained to him that you’re still a little rocked from your ordeal. He said you could have his bed and he’d sleep in the sitting room. You best not keep him waiting now.”

  Belle nodded and got up. As she started for the door, she realized that she didn’t have her valise with all her possessions in it, but Em was one step ahead of her. She picked it up from behind a chair near the door and held it out to her.

  As Belle neared the door, she grew nervous. She didn’t want to look like a dolt once again in front of these people so she bolstered her resolve and stepped out into the night to meet her new husband.

  Chapter 4: Sometimes You Need A Second Chance

  Matt stood on the road just outside the fence that surrounded Em’s house with his hat in his hands. As Belle stepped of the porch, she looked him over for the first time. Earlier at the train station, she had been so preoccupied with her new surroundings that she had barely noticed him at all. She thought that he looked quite handsome in the dying light of the Arizona sun. The quintessential western type. Tall, with broad shoulders and narrow hips from riding horses. Eyes that had been closed by years of working in the sun, yet were sharp as those of an eagle and constantly alert for trouble. His walrus mustache was well-groomed and his hair was slicked back over his head despite the fact that he had worked all day.

  He must have stopped somewhere and freshened up before he came here, she thought. She also noted the gun on his left hip. He wore it not as a gun, but as an extension of himself. His hand never strayed far from it as he waited for her at the end of the walk.

  He gave her a smile as she walked down the path and stopped at the gate. She returned it with as much confidence as she could muster and hoped that it didn’t look as fake to him as it felt to her.

  “Good evening, Ma’am.” He bowed like he had before at the train station with one leg outstretched.

  “Please call me Belle and thank you for being so understanding about before. I am afraid that I was not feeling well, but I am much better now.”

  “I’m glad to hear it Ma’ . . . Belle. I was right worried about you all day today.”

  “Thank you for your concern, Mr. Thorn.”

  “Welcome, Belle. If you’ll allow it I’ll accompany you to the house where you’ll be staying.”

  “That would be lovely, Mr. Thorn.”

  He offered her his arm and she took it. He was much taller than her and at first, she had to walk fast to
keep up with his long strides, but he seemed to notice and slowed down. She breathed a small sigh of relief as he pointed to a small house up ahead. She wasn’t sure what she had expected, but she was for certain that it wasn’t that nice. The house was painted white and even had a small garden out back. A rose bush grew near the porch and another bunch of flowers near the small fence that went around the yard. She let him lead her up the path to the house. He unlocked the door and guided her inside.

  A few moments later, he had a lamp lit and was showing her around the house.

  “As you can see it isn’t much, just the bedroom, the sitting room, a small kitchen, and the cellar below that, but it’s mine and I like it.”

  “I think it is a fine house, Mr. Thorn.”

  “If I’m going to be calling you Belle, I reckon you ought to just call me Matt.”

  “Okay. Matt it is.” They had been through this before, but she felt weird calling a man she had just met by his first name.

  “I reckon I’m bushed. If there isn’t anything you need, I guess I’ll get some shuteye on the couch there. You can have the bedroom. The bed ain’t much, but it’s warm and off the ground.”

  “Thank you Matt. I believe I will retire for the evening.”

  “Goodnight, Belle.”

  “Goodnight, Matt.”

  She went into the bedroom and closed the door behind her. Even though she didn’t feel like sleeping, she thought that it would be best if she tried to get as much sleep as possible.

  Em had promised to come over in the morning and teach her as much as she could about life on the frontier and what she would need to do. Belle knew little to nothing about cooking and hoped that Em could teach her how. She changed out of her clothes and into the only nightgown she had. It felt strange and uncomfortable as she lay down in another person’s bed, but the events of the day still weighed heavy on her and she was asleep minutes after her head hit the pillow.

  She awoke the next morning long before the sun was up. For a while, she laid in the bed and thought about her life before, but she soon realized that all she was doing was making herself sad, so she got up and changed into the only other dress that she had. “I will have to find a way to make some money so that I can buy new dresses. Dresses that are more appropriate for this place,” she thought.

  She looked at herself in the mirror and grimaced. Dark circles had formed under her eyes from too little rest and too much stress. There was nothing she could do about those, but her hair was another story. She fiddled with it for a while and decided to leave it down. She had grown to like the way her hair looked when it was down and hoped that Matt was the same.

  As the sun rose over the horizon, she padded as quietly as she could into the kitchen in the hopes that she wouldn’t wake Matt. She might as well have run for he was already up and making coffee and breakfast. He smiled at her as he stood over the stove in his socked feet. He didn’t have his hat on this morning and even though it was early, his hair was slicked back on his head.

  “Morning, Belle. Did you sleep well last night?”

  “Good morning, Matt. I slept quite well thank you. How about yourself?”

  “Snug as a bug in a rug. Would you like some breakfast?”

  “Yes, please.”

  “Coming right up. If you’ll have a seat, I’ll have your breakfast done in just a moment. Meanwhile the coffee is done if you want a cup. I’ll warn you first off. I make a pretty strong cup of coffee.”

  “I like my coffee strong.” She had always preferred her coffee to be strong when she ordered it at a restaurant, so she thought she could handle anything he could have possibly made. She poured herself a cup, nearly burning her fingers in the process and took a small sip. The coffee nearly blew off the top of her head. “Goodness. It is strong.”

  “My Pa always said that good coffee could float a horseshoe in it.”

  “I believe that this could dissolve one.”

  He laughed heartily and set a plate down on the table in front of her. “Eat up.”

  She ate the runny eggs and the chewy bacon that sat before her. In her old life, she would have shoved the food away and demanded that it be cooked properly, but she was starved and it looked too good not to eat. Once breakfast was finished, she helped him wash the dishes and put them away. That seemed to be simple enough.

  “I’ve got to be going.” Matt told her as he pulled on his boots and hat. “I’ll just be down to the jailhouse if you need me. Em’s right next door as well if you need her.”

  “I’ll be fine. Have a good day.”

  “You too, Belle.”

  She stood in the door and watched him walk away up the street. Dust rose in tiny clouds from his feet with each step. Matt had just disappeared from sight when Em came out of her house with a basket under her arm. She turned and headed straight toward Belle with a smile on her face. Em raised an arm in greeting.

  “Good morning!” she called.

  “Good morning, Em.” Belle let her in the house.

  Em went straight to the kitchen and sat her basket down on the table. Before Belle had a chance to ask what was in it, Em started taking things out of it and placing them on the table. There were flour, eggs, and a small side of beef.

  “Do you still want to learn how to cook?”

  “I do.”

  “Then take that flour and pour some out on the table. We’ll start with biscuits. Every man I’ve ever known loves biscuits—any food at all, for that matter. The way to a man’s heart is through his stomach.”

  For the next three hours, Em showed Belle everything that she knew about cooking. Belle picked up on it fast and in no time had made a batch of biscuits that were presentable. She fried up a half a dozen of eggs and cooked a steak under Em’s direction. Once it was finished, Em handed her the basket with the cooked food in it.

  “Take this down to the jailhouse and give it to Matt. He’ll be right grateful of the meal and you’ll show him that you know how to take care of yourself.”

  “Okay. What if he expects me to cook something tonight?”

  “Then cook.”

  “But I only know what you have taught me.”

  Em barked one of her harsh laughs. “We don’t vary our meals too much around here. Most of the time, it’s the same thing for weeks at a time. The men don’t mind as long as it tastes good.”

  “Alright. Thank you, Em. I’ll see you after while.”

  “Go get ‘em girl.” Em whispered as Belle walked out of the door with the basket of food under her arm.

  As she walked up the street, Belle tried to think of what she would say when she got to the jailhouse, but her mind wouldn’t work like it was supposed to. The buildings around her held her attention. There weren’t many of them. Just the livery, the post office, the train station, a general store, the surveyor’s office, a hotel, and a couple saloons. The houses of the people that lived in town were all on the south side of town near Matt and Em’s houses.

  An older man thumped down the boardwalk toward the hotel as she neared the jailhouse. He tipped his hat to her and offered her a kind smile. She returned the smile and gave him a wave as she mounted the steps to the jailhouse. The door was closed, so she rapped on it with her hand. The sound of a chair scraping against the floor drifted to her through the door. The door swung open and Matt appeared in the doorway.

  “Belle! Is something wrong?” Worry crossed his face, but when she smiled at him his brow unfurrowed.

  “Nothing is wrong. I brought you something to eat for lunch.”

  “You did? I was just fixing to head down to the restaurant in the hotel and get something to eat.” He took the basket from her hands and ushered her inside. “Come in. We’ll have a seat and eat this together.”

  She hadn’t thought of eating with him, but now that he had mentioned it, she thought that it might be nice to have a meal with him. He moved a chair to the opposite side of the desk as his and held it for her until she had sat down. Once he had taken
his own seat, she uncovered the basket and began pulling out the food.

  “My goodness. There’s enough here to feed an army,” he exclaimed.

  “Maybe, but I don’t know how good it will be.”

  “If it tastes as good as it looks I’m sure it will be fine.” Matt grabbed up a biscuit and took a bite. As he chewed it, a smile broke out on his face. “Why, these are the best biscuits I’ve had in years!”

  “Really?” Belle grew excited. “Do you mean it?”

  “I surely do. These are right good, Belle. Right good.”

  As they ate, she explained to him about Em teaching her to cook. “I’m afraid that I can’t take all the credit. It was Em who taught me how to cook.”