Mail Order Bride - Westward Joy: Clean Historical Cowboy Romance Novel (Montana Mail Order Brides Book 16)

by Linda Bridey

  Mason laughed. “It’s lucky for me she does. She’s a special girl and I plan on marrying her someday.”

  Rachel pulled back and smoothed his hair away from his forehead, just like she used to do when he was little. “I’m sure that I’ll be watching the two of you tie the knot one day. I’m so proud of you.”

  He smiled a little bashfully. “Thanks.”

  “Thank you so much for talking to me. I love you, Mason. Well, I have to get back to the store, but I’ll see you soon. And don’t be a stranger. Come by anytime.”

  She kissed his cheek and Mason said, “Ok. I’m really happy for you and Will. He’s a good guy.”

  Smiling, she said, “I know. Behave yourself.”

  Mason watched her leave and heaved a calming breath. He felt his shoulders grow lighter from letting go of much of his anger. He still wasn’t able to completely trust her, but he felt they were on their way to a full reconciliation. Smiling, he also left the house to go to the camp.

  Chapter Sixteen

  Mike’s parents weren’t the only ones he swayed by praying on their emotions. He once again asked his professors to let him take his exams early. He told them about his baby sister’s early birth and how much he wanted to see her. There had been some snow and he also wanted to make sure he and Hope weren’t delayed in getting to Dawson. He didn’t want to miss Christmas with his family. Finally his teachers relented since there were extenuating circumstances and Mike and Hope wasted no time in securing their traveling arrangements.

  Having made the trip several times now, Mike knew what to expect, but Hope was very excited and kept asking Mike all kinds of questions. Mike was happy to tell her about Dawson and about both of his families. She listened with rapt attention.

  “You have an Indian family?” she asked.

  “That’s right.”

  “Why didn’t you ever tell me?” Hope inquired.

  Mike looked sheepish as he said, “I don’t tell many people because there’s still a lot of prejudice, and I don’t want any trouble at school. I want to get my degree and go back home to help the people of my hometown. It’s as simple as that. Please don’t tell anyone back in Chicago about them.”

  That Mike entrusted her with so much personal information made Hope feel honored.

  “I promise not to tell them anything,” she said.

  He nodded. “Thank you.”

  A twinkle entered her eyes. “So do you run around half naked?”

  Mike laughed. “In the summer I do, much to my father’s chagrin. He’s a little traditional about that kind of thing. I’m used to it, though, and it’s much more comfortable.”

  “So you spend a lot of time with them, then?”

  “Oh, yeah. I’ll take you to the reservation with me, too. I’m the medicine man of my tribe, so when I’m home, I tend to the sick, say prayers and hold rituals,” Mike said. “A few of them are home in their old camp now, but the majority of them are still on the reservation.”

  “You’re a medicine man?” Hope was fascinated.

  For the rest of the trip, Mike regaled her with stories about the tribe and tried to teach her some basic Lakota phrases and proper etiquette for women. It was fun, since he hadn’t been able to talk about them for so long. When they rolled into Dawson, Mike saw a large crowd gathered at the depot and knew that most of them were there to greet him.

  With a big grin, he told Hope, “Get ready to be mobbed.”

  She looked where he pointed. “Is that your family?”

  “Some of them. I hope you’re prepared to have some fun,” he said.

  Mike barely stepped from the coach before being grabbed by his father in a bear hug. As usual, he was passed around from person to person. In between, he managed to introduce Hope, who was hugged and swept right along with Mike to a wagon.

  Maddie confiscated Hope and rode with her in the back of the wagon. She put blankets over the girl and asked all about their trip and promised her refreshments when they arrived home. Hope had never seen such affection in a family before, and it made her a little envious of Mike.

  Suddenly, a war trill split the air, making Hope jump.

  Maddie put a hand on her shoulder. “It’s all right. It’s just Mike letting one of our Lakota family know he’s home.”

  No sooner were the words out of Maddie’s mouth when Hope saw a horse speeding along behind the wagon and another war whoop sounded. Her mouth dropped open as she watched a tall Indian brave ride up alongside the wagon. She was further shocked when he jumped over onto the wagon and embraced Mike from behind. The big brave’s momentum knocked both men out of the wagon and they tumbled to the street.

  Dean hollered, “Raven! Damn it! He just got here. Mike, you get back in this wagon!”

  “Is he ok?” Hope asked as she stood up to keep them in sight.

  Maddie laughed. “Yes. They do this kind of thing all the time. You’ll see.”

  Soon, Mike ran back to the wagon and jumped back on it. Raven had retrieved his horse and rode beside them. Hope tried not to stare, but it was very difficult. The man wasn’t much older than she was and he was gorgeous. He caught her eye and winked at her.

  “Mike’s friend is very pretty,” he said.

  Maddie said, “Raven, stop flirting. You’re married.”

  Raven laughed. “That doesn’t stop your husband from flirting.”

  Hope noticed Raven’s wedding band then.

  Maddie chuckled. “I know. It’s a good thing I know I can trust Seth or else he’d be six feet under.”

  “Don’t worry. I’ll keep an eye on him for you when he’s at the bar,” Raven said.

  “Hope, this is my nephew, Raven. Hope is spending the holidays with us,” Maddie told him.

  “Good. You’ll have fun. I’m sure Mike will bring you to see us at the camp. You’re in for a treat.”

  Hope smiled at him. “Thank you. I can’t wait to meet everyone and see everything.”

  “You will. Well, I have to go back to work, but I’ll see everyone tonight,” Raven said. With a wave, he bid everyone goodbye and turned his horse back around.

  All the way through the town, Hope met person after person who was either family to Mike or a close friend. She had no idea how she was going to remember all of them.

  Mike didn’t wait for the wagon to reach the lane. He jumped out of the wagon and cut across the pasture until he reached the house. Quietly, he stepped in the kitchen door and felt the house welcomed him home, its happy energy invading every pore of his body.

  “Mama?” he called softly.

  “Michael? I’m in the parlor,” she responded.

  He stepped into the room and she held out her arms to him. As usual, she began to cry as soon as she embraced him. Mike held his mother and felt tears sting his own eyes. Then she held him away from her a little and asked, “How is it that you get more handsome every time I see you?”

  “Mama, stop it. I look the same as I did when I left,” he said with a laugh.

  She laughed and squeezed his face. “I don’t care what you say. You get better looking all the time.”

  “You’re just saying that because I look like you,” Mike said, grinning.

  “Guilty. There’s someone in the bassinette who wants to meet you,” she said, pointing.

  Mike quickly moved to the bassinette and looked down at the tiny little human lying inside it. He expertly picked up his little sister and held her. Her dark hair was thin and wispy, giving her a slightly wild appearance. It was too soon to tell what color her eyes were going to be, but they appeared blue. It only made sense that they would be, since both of her parents were blue-eyed. Despite being small, she appeared to be healthy and strong. Mike could detect nothing amiss as he gave her an informal examination.

  As Tessa watched Mike with Sunny, she had a glimpse of what he would look like with a baby of his own. Smiling, she hoped that day wouldn’t be too distant.

  Mike recited a Lakota prayer over Sunny and smiled
at Tessa. “She’s beautiful, Mama. She looks like you.”

  “She’s the spitting image of you as a baby,” Tessa said.

  “Really?”

  “Yes. Your father remarks on it often. He’s always telling her that she looks like you. Michael, he is so funny with her. When he has her, he talks to her nonstop. He hates going out to work. If he could, I think he’d spend all day with her. It’s incredibly endearing.”

  Mike laughed. “I can just imagine.”

  “Black Fox is just as bad. There are times I only have her to feed her because the two of them always want her. If it’s not them, it’s Maddie or, well, anyone else.”

  “It’s no wonder. She’s so cute. But while I’m home, I get her the most, outside of you, because I won’t see her until May once I go back. So I have to enjoy her now,” Mike said.

  Tessa chuckled.

  A group of people entered the house and Tessa was introduced to Hope by Dean, who said, “Look, honey, I have another woman and she’s a young one.”

  Poor Hope didn’t know what to say and everyone laughed. Mike explained and Hope laughed then. She watched Mike with Sunny and noted how at ease he was holding her.

  “You really did grow up taking care of babies,” she said.

  He chuckled. “I sure did. If it wasn’t the twins, it was one of my nieces or nephews.”

  A hoot owl screeched outside and Mike grinned. He handed the baby to Tessa and ran outside. Hope moved to the window and watched Mike embrace a very tall, older Indian. The two men clapped each other on the back and laughed together. Black Fox followed Mike inside, speaking Lakota with his nephew.

  Mike introduced Hope to him. She waited for Black Fox to speak.

  “Hello, Miss Hope,” Black Fox said with a smile.

  “Han, Chief Black Fox,” she said.

  Black Fox’s smile widened. “I see my nephew has been teaching you some Lakota. Very good.”

  “He’s been trying, but I’m not sure I remember very much of it,” she said with a smile.

  “You will learn,” Black Fox assured her. Then he held out his hands to Tessa, who gave him Sunny.

  “I told you, Michael, didn’t I?” Tessa asked.

  Mike smiled while Black Fox began speaking to the baby in Lakota. Katie took Hope’s hand and said, “Come with me. I’ll show you where you’ll stay.”

  Hope followed the pretty girl upstairs and into one of the bedrooms there.

  “This is my room, but don’t worry. I’ll stay in the tipi, so you’ll have it to yourself,” Katie said.

  “Tipi? You mean at camp?” Hope asked.

  “No. Our tipi. Look,” Katie said.

  Hope went to the window and saw a tipi standing a ways from the house. “You’re going to stay there?”

  “Yep. We love the tipi. That’s where Mike stays whenever he’s home and we stay there with him a lot. We tell stories and roast meat. It’s so much fun,” Katie said. “You’ll have to stay out there with us one night. You’ll see.”

  Hope didn’t want to be rude, but she didn’t think she could possibly sleep in the tipi. “It sounds fun. I’ll think about it.”

  Katie smiled as Mike came into the room, carrying Hope’s suitcases.

  “Thanks, Mike,” Hope said as she took one from him.

  “You’re welcome. So are you ready to run away screaming yet?” he asked her.

  Hope replied, “No. I’ve had so much fun already, and I’ve only been in Dawson two hours. I can’t wait to see what the next couple of weeks are like.”

  Katie said, “You might rethink that point of view in a few days.”

  Hope laughed and said, “Somehow, I don’t think so.”

  “C’mon, Katie. We’ll let you get settled in. Make yourself at home, Hope,” Mike said.

  *****

  While Mike and Hope were being welcomed home, Joe received a surprise when he stopped in to see how Will and Rachel were making out at the shop and to check up on Hawk. When he stepped into the showroom, Rachel was peering through the doorway to the woodshop. She saw Joe and motioned him forward. Joe stepped quickly to her side.

  “What’s goin’ on?” he whispered.

  “Switch is performing,” she whispered back.

  “Performing what?” Joe said.

  “Shakespeare.”

  Joe gave her a sharp glance. “What?”

  “Shakespeare. Listen.”

  Joe had fallen in love with Shakespeare as a young man, which was the reason so many of his horses bore the names of characters from his plays. Listening intently, Joe could hear Switch reciting Hamlet’s Soliloquy. He couldn’t quite make out where Switch was in the piece, however. Opening the door wider, Joe quietly slipped into the woodshop and saw that Switch stood in his stocking feet on a dining room table as he performed.

  Hawk saw Joe, but the mayor put a finger to his lips and sat down in Switch’s chair to watch.

  Switch was fully engaged in what he was doing and Joe was instantly enthralled because Switch wasn’t just reciting the piece, he was performing it. Switch’s British accent was spot on and his voice rose and fell as he moved through the soliloquy.

  “With a bare bodkin? Who would fardels bear?

  To grunt and sweat under a weary life,

  But that the dread of something after death,

  The undiscovered country, from whose bourn,” Switch said, and gestured broadly with his arms.

  Joe watched in fascination as Switch walked back and forth across the table. Sweat stood out on Switch’s brow and his eyes seemed to not see the woodshop around him. So powerful was Switch’s performance that Joe also forgot where they were. When Switch finished the soliloquy, Joe couldn’t stop himself from standing up and applauding.

  Switch was jolted back to the present by the noise and he turned in surprise to look at Joe.

  “Bravo! Bravo!” Joe shouted and whistled.

  Switch grinned and bowed deeply from the waist before hopping down from the table.

  “Switch, you missed your calling, son. I’ve seen Hamlet performed quite a few times and that was about as good as anything I’ve seen,” Joe said.

  “Thanks, Joe. That’s high praise indeed, sir,” Switch said.

  Joe laughed at his impersonation of Randall. “That’s not bad, Switch. You sound almost like him. Where’d you learn to act?”

  “Well, sir, I had the distinct honor, or misfortune, depending on your point of view, to attend the prestigious Wayland Academy of Wisconsin for five glorious years. During this time, I performed in my fair share of plays and whatnot,” Switch said.

  “What’s the Wayland Academy?”

  “Boarding school, sir,” Switch said, remaining in character.

  “Boarding school? Why? Didn’t your parents like our school here?” Joe asked.

  “Something like that, sir. I do not care to discuss it at present time, for you see, I have just come out of hibernation and I do not care to go back into such a state,” Switch said and sat down in his chair. He crossed his legs elegantly, drawing attention to the fact that he wore jeans with gray dress socks.

  Joe frowned, but refrained from commenting on the fashion faux pas. “Hibernation?” He cut a glance at Will, who just shook his head as if to say leave it alone. “If you say so. You’re here so much, you have your own chair now, huh?”

  Switch smiled and said, “Yep. Will and Rachel need me here. I’m their good luck charm.”

  Joe laughed. “Really? Well, how about that? So do you perform every day?”

  “No. Just when the mood strikes me.”

  Will said, “I wish you wouldn’t have quit. I was doing really well on this chair until you stopped. It’s the damnedest thing. The more he does crazy stuff like that, the better the work goes. Even Hawk agrees. ”

  Hawk nodded. “It’s true. I keep telling you that Switch has great power, but you won’t believe me.”

  Will grunted. “I’m starting to. Get back up there, Switch.”

 
Switch stood up and asked, “What do you want me to do now?”

  “I don’t care. It doesn’t matter. Anything’ll do.”

  Switch jumped back up on the table and launched into another soliloquy. Joe sat down to watch the show.

  *****

  That night, Rachel sat on her sofa. Will reclined on it, his head in her lap and the kitten, who had been named Boo, curled up on his stomach. Rachel played with Will’s hair, something he seemed to enjoy.

  “Are you braiding it?” he asked.

  “Just this one little section that’s a little longer than the rest,” Rachel said with a giggle.

  Will laughed. “I need another haircut, I think. Then you can’t braid it. You better not let me leave here with a braid in it.”

  “That would be funny,” Rachel said.

  “For everyone but me.”

  Boo woke up and nudged Will’s hand, hoping to be petted. He stroked her fuzzy back and was rewarded with a loud purr.

  “How does such a little thing like her make so much noise?” Will asked. “She sounds more like a cougar than a housecat.”

  “Babies make a lot of noise and they’re little,” Rachel said.

  “I know.”

  “How many do you want?”

  “Cats? I think one is enough, don’t you? Or do you think she’ll get lonely?” Will said tongue-in-cheek.

  Rachel pulled his hair.

  “Ow!”

  “You know what I’m talking about. Babies. How many babies?”

  “I think three would be nice. I often wished for a sister growing up. So I definitely want one girl if possible,” Will said.

  “I would love a little girl with your green eyes and blonde hair.”

  “Nah. I’d rather she look like her ma,” Will said.

  Sitting there talking about having babies made him very happy. He could well imagine a little girl with brown hair and brown eyes running around playing with Boo.

  Rachel said, “I want at least one of our kids to look like you.”

  “I’m sure one of them will. I hope we start having them right away.”

  Rachel bent down and kissed him. “I’m sure we will.”

  Will arched a brow at her. “You keep kissing me like that and we will.”