Brides of Bannack Box Set: Mail Order Bride

by Natalie Dean

  “You stay close to me when we get to town, do you understand?”

  “Are there bad guys?” she asked, giggling and wiggling her fingers playfully.

  Bridget didn’t smile at the joke. Little Roan had been so well protected her entire life. Her father had kept her sheltered, and while Bridget understood, she also knew that evil people lurked around the most unsuspecting corners.

  “There might be,” she murmured.

  The seriousness of Bridget’s tone made Roan’s face fall. Her chubby little fingers wrapped around Bridget’s and she squeezed them. “I’ll stay close, Mommy.”

  “Good girl.”

  The walk into town wasn’t a very long one, and when they arrived, all heads turned towards them. People glowered, their eyes fixed on Bridget and Roan, but Bridget didn’t flinch. She just pulled Roan closer and went to a red and white striped cart. There were few comforts in this harsh land, but one of them was the candy man. He parked his cart right outside of the train station and was often the first and only comfort new mail order brides received.

  Today was no different. The elderly man who ran the cart reached out and touched a young woman’s hand, patting it tenderly as he offered her a piece of taffy. Fat tears ran down the woman’s cheeks as she thanked the man for his kindness. Bridget looked on sadly as the woman wandered down the road, clutching a suitcase to her chest.

  They stepped up to the cart, and Roan put a finger to her lip, talking to the old man who chuckled at her indecisiveness. “You want a hard candy, little lady?”

  “Yes, Sir!”

  “That’ll be two cents.”

  Roan gripped Bridget’s skirt and yanked on it, pulling it hard “Mommy! Can I have two pennies?”

  “Of course.” She reached into a small satchel and pulled out two pennies, handing them over to the child.

  As they collected their things and started back down the road, Bridget spotted Willam. He was leaning against a wall, his eyes narrowed and dark. “Surprised you showed your face again so soon.”

  “I am not the one who should be ashamed,” she replied, though she kept walking, squeezing Roan’s hand.

  “You don’t belong here!” Willam snapped, starting after them.

  Bridget picked up the pace, keeping distance between herself and the brute. “You won’t ever belong here! You’re going to wilt and die like all the other precious little flowers that come through this town! You weren’t made for a place like this!” The words dripped with anger, and every syllable was spat as if they left a bad taste in his mouth.

  Bridget felt her heart beating a little faster, but she just kept moving, keeping her chin up. She wasn’t going to let that man get under her skin. At least, that’s what she told herself.

  They made it back to the house, and when Bridget closed the door, she slammed it a little too hard. The bolt on the door rattled, and Roan jumped, surprised by the noise. Bridget didn’t turn around for a long moment, trying to swallow the lump in her throat. Silence engulfed them, and the only thing that could be heard outside was the sweet song of birds chirping and the wind blowing through the prairie grass.

  “Mommy?”

  Bridget didn’t turn around. She kept her head down as doubt began to creep in her mind. “Yes, sweet Roan?’

  “Are you going to die? Like the man said?”

  Bridget looked over her shoulder, her own eyes wide. Tears glistened in the corner of Roan’s eyes, and she wiped her face with her hand, leaving little streaks of dirt behind. Bridget’s gaze softened as she kneeled down and lifted Roan into her arms. She carried her to the fireplace and sat her down on the chair that Jack usually occupied. She dipped a handkerchief into a pot of water she’d intended to use for cooking and wiped at the dirt.

  “No. I’m not going to die.”

  Roan took in a breath that rattled her entire body. “I don’t want you to die. My first mommy died, and I miss her…I don’t want to miss you too.”

  Bridget closed her eyes. All this time she’d been under the assumption that Roan didn’t know her mother’s fate. Roan sniffled and wrapped her arms around Bridget. “Daddy thinks I don’t know. He told me she went away, but I know what he meant. I didn’t want to hurt daddy, so I didn’t say anything, but I know what dying is, mommy and I don’t want you to go away.”

  For a long time, Bridget didn’t say anything. She finally wrapped her arms around Roan’s thin body and held her close. “I’m not going to go anywhere, sweet thing. I like being your mommy. Did you know that?” she asked, smiling sadly and pulling away. “I never wanted to be anyone’s mommy until I met you.”

  “Really?” Roan whispered.

  “Really,” Bridget promised, kissing her forehead. “We’re going to be happy. The three of us, together. I’m going to make sure of it, and that man? He’s just angry. Angry people always lash out and try to ruin good people’s fun.”

  Even though Roan believed her and nodded, taking a breath and finally calming down, Bridget wasn’t sure she believed her own words.

  ___________

  Darkness eventually settled over the prairie, and Jack still wasn’t home. Roan was asleep in her loft, and the soft sound of her breathing comforted Bridget. Before this, she never saw herself being a mother, but it was easy with Roan. She loved the little girl with every fiber of her being, and she felt the same way when it came to Jack, even if she hadn’t admitted it yet.

  A key turned in the door, and the lock clicked before the door creaked open. The floors whined under Jack’s heavy boots as he crossed the house to check on Roan. Bridget was still awake, curled up underneath the blankets they now shared. She closed her eyes as the bedroom door swung open. She heard the rustling of Jack’s clothes and knew he was changing for bed.

  When he finally crawled in and wrapped his arms around her, she could still smell the sweat on his skin and the fresh smell of pines and dirt. It was an intoxicating scent that made her cheeks flush every time. She wrapped her arms around his broad shoulders, barely able to get them all the way around him.

  “You’re awake,” he murmured, kissing along her jaw.

  “I don’t sleep well without you.”

  “That’s why I rushed home.”

  Bridget smiled in the darkness and ran her fingers along his cheek. “I’m glad you’re home.”

  “I’m glad to be home. There’s nowhere I’d rather be than in your arms.”

  She chuckled and kissed the tip of his nose. “That’s awfully sweet of you to say.”

  “It’s the truth.”

  The crickets outside their window sang for them and the moon offered just enough light to make out the sharp lines of his face. “Jack?”

  “Yes, love?”

  “Do you think I belong here?”

  “What does that even mean?”

  “I...Sometimes I wonder if I have a place in this world.”

  Jack was quiet for a moment and sighed, rolling over to the small wooden table beside his bed. He opened the small drawer and pulled out a piece of paper and tucked it into her hands.

  Her brows furrowed and she squinted in the dark, trying to make out whatever was on the paper. “What is this?”

  “It’s a ticket to New York.”

  Her eyes widened, and she stared at him. “What?”

  “I want you here, Bridget. I want you here in my arms. That’s where I will always want you, but I understand that it might not be what you want. I know you came here looking for something else, and I care about you. I don’t want to hold you back from the things you want.”

  She stared at the paper for a long time. Six months ago, this would have been a golden ticket. She would have snatched it up and ran out the door without a second thought, but now all she could think of was how much she would miss Roan and Jack. It made her heart ache.

  “You stupid man.”

  Jack’s eyes widened. “What?”

  She wrapped her arms around him again and shook her head. “I don’t want to go anywhe
re,” she whispered.

  “You don’t?”

  “No. I don’t know if I belong here, but I will find my place.”

  “You have a place, silly woman,” he teased, a gentle smile on his face. “Your place is right here.”

  The sweetness of his words made her smile, and she held him close. “I left London to get away from my debt? And I left my parent’s home because I didn’t want to be the wife of a farmer, yet here I am,” she said with a laugh. “And the strangest part is that I wouldn’t want to be anywhere else.”

  Jack stole a brief kiss, chuckling. “Well, if it makes it any better, I’m more of a rancher than a farmer.”

  She just smiled and shook her head slowly. “It seems like I got everything I wanted then.”

  And she meant it. She never would have expected it to end up like this, but Jack really was everything that she wanted.

  Chapter Twelve

  The shutters slammed against the window frames, causing them to shake and rattle. Thunder cracked overhead and lightening lit up the sky, making Roan yelp and close her eyes. She was hiding in Jack and Bridget’s bed, curled up under a thick quilt. Bridget frowned and stood away from the window, watching the storm through the thin slit in the shutters. She rubbed her arms, frowning as she watched the trees whip back and forth. Nothing good was going to come from the storm.

  Jack came out of the bedroom, wrapped in thick layers of clothes, his hat abandoned. He had a determined look in his eyes that Bridget didn’t care for.

  “Where do you think you’re going?” she asked with her hands on her hips.

  Jack glanced over at her and shrugged on another jacket. “I need to get the horses out of the barn. It could collapse at any time, and if we leave them there, they’re going to be killed.”

  “You can’t go out there, Jack,” she said seriously, her brows furrowed. “Look at that wind!”

  As if to illustrate her point, there was a loud crack as a tree caved to the wind and fell to the ground. Jack didn’t flinch at the sound, he just looked at her and leaned over, kissing her cheek tenderly.

  “This isn’t my first storm. I have to go help my horses.”

  “You’re going to get yourself hurt!” she argued, feeling more than a little exasperated.

  He kissed her forehead, cupping her cheeks. “I’m going to be alright. I’ll be back before you can even worry about me.”

  “I highly doubt that.”

  He just smiled and turned towards the door, leaving her with her arms crossed, chewing on her lip as she watched him wander into the storm. She took a step towards the shutters, one hand over her mouth as she watched him stumble through the rain, fighting against the wind. Her heart was slamming in her chest, and she had to remind herself to breathe. She’d never seen a storm like this in her life.

  Finally, she stepped away from the window, unable to watch any longer. Instead, she paced along the length of the living room, her hands in the pocket of her apron, running her thumb across the pocket watch she’d purchased months ago. She still hadn’t given it to Jack. She would have liked to pretend she didn’t know why, but she knew it was because the words “I love you” were engraved on the inside.

  She clutched the watch for a long moment and finally tore the apron off and tossed it to the side. She went to their bedroom and wrapped her arms around the tiny lump bundled up in a quilt. “I need you to stay right here, Roan. Can you do that?”

  A small whimper came from the quilt. “Where are you going, Mommy?”

  “I need to go help Daddy, but we’ll both be right back, okay? It’s important you stay in bed though. You’re safer in here, okay?”

  She poked her head out and looked up at Bridget, nodding slowly. “A-Alright.”

  “Good girl.” She kissed Roan’s forehead before running out and slipping her thick work boots on.

  When she opened the door, the wind yanked it from her hands, and it slammed against the wall, making Bridget jump. She finally managed to close the door, though she was nearly thrown to her knees when she stepped off the porch. She struggled to her feet, planting them firmly in the soft earth as she started towards the barn. Horses were running out towards the fields, shaking their heads, as their manes whipped around their heads.

  The last horse made it out, and there was still no sign of Jack. Bridget’s heart dropped into her belly, and she pushed against the biting wind, squinting against the rain. Each drop felt like a needle burying itself into her skin. She pushed forward, head down as she struggled against mother nature herself, determined to make it to the barn.

  Finally, she reached the doors, and her fingers dug into the wood as she pulled herself along the front of the barn until she finally managed to pull herself into it. She fell to her knees, struggling to hold up the weight of her soaked dress. When she finally got to her feet the barn was creaking and swaying in the wind, the beams groaning, threating to snap any moment.

  Jack was at the back of the barn, cursing and struggling with a bear trap that had closed over his foot. In his rush to get the horses out, he’d forgotten it was there. She ran over to him as fast as her dress would allow her and fell to her knees beside him.

  “Jack!”

  “BRIDGET?!” he cried out his eyes wide. “You shouldn’t—Ah!”

  “Don’t argue! We need to get you out of this trap.”

  He hissed and pointed a shaking finger to a metal rod that lay on the ground. “Go get that bar!”

  She grabbed the bar and swung around, jamming it between the trap’s powerful jaws. She’d seen Jack set these traps up before and she’d seen him release them. She grabbed the bar and pulled down, arms shaking with the effort. In her mind, she could hear Willam. She could hear his voice.

  You’ll wilt and die out here.

  She wasn’t going to let him be right. She let out a loud, animalistic noise as the jaws finally opened and Jack’s leg was freed. He scrambled away from the trap and hoisted himself to his feet as the wind picked up and the first beam cracked.

  “We have to go!” he cried, limping towards the door.

  He was moving too slow, and Bridget knew it. She ran up to him and draped his arm around her shoulders, pulling him toward the doors, urging him to move faster. They passed the threshold and had made it maybe a hundred feet away before a loud snap echoed through the storm, and the barn caved in on itself.

  They glanced back for only a moment before making their way back to the house. They fell into the door, and it opened easily, swinging on its hinges and threatening to come off completely. Bridget ran over and slammed it closed, using all of her weight. It shut, and she locked it, sliding down to the floor, her legs shaking from the effort it had taken to get Jack into the house.

  She pulled herself up and grabbed her apron before collapsing beside Jack, panting. “Are you alright?”

  “I’m fine. Thanks to you,” Jack grunted, struggling to slip his boot off.

  Blood had pooled in the boot and soaked through the sock. Bridget winced at the sight of his foot before helping him to his chair. She took a moment to slip out of her overdress, glad to have the weight taken off of her shoulders. Then she grabbed some bandages and whiskey, settling on the floor near his bloody foot.

  “I’m not much of a nurse, you know,” she said, her voice shaking just a little as she cleaned his wound with the whiskey.

  He hissed and jumped a little, reaching for the bottle and taking a swig, watching as her fingers worked to wrap the bandage around his foot. “It’ll do until we can get to the doctor.”

  She nodded and fell silent, her hands shaking. Once the bandage was tied off, he reached down and took her hands. “You’re shaking, darling.”

  Bridget looked up at him and then down at her apron. Slowly, she reached into the pocket and pulled out the watch. It was still wrapped in strips of baby blue silk. “When I saw that barn swaying and shaking…I didn’t think I was going to get to you in time,” she admitted, holding the watch out with bot
h hands. “I didn’t think I’d ever get the chance to tell you how I felt.”

  He took the watch and slowly unwrapped it, smiling softly. It wasn’t until he opened it and saw the engraving that his eyes widened. “Bridget.”

  “I’ve never been good at telling people how I felt. I was always taught to keep my emotions hidden, but I don’t want to do that with you. I want you to know exactly how I feel.”

  “Bridget. You don’t have—.”

  “No. I want to say it,” she said firmly, and he knew there was no arguing with her. “When I saw you go out that door, I just wanted to grab you and tell you I loved you. Then when I saw those horses and I didn’t see you…I’ve never been more scared in my life. I never felt regret like I did at that moment and I never want to feel that way again. So, Jack, I love you,” she whispered.

  He wrapped his arms around her and held her close, rubbing her back gently. “I love you too. I do. You came in here and turned my life upside down, but I love you for it.”

  She smiled and leaned into him, holding him close. It was then that she knew she belonged here, and no one would ever make her doubt that again.

  Epilogue

  After that night word spread of her bravery. It started with the neighbors and spread through the town like wildfire. Soon even Willam was patting her on the back, assuring her that she had more than proved her strength.

  She didn’t need their approval though. She already had the only validation she would ever need. When Jack smiled at her, it was like the sun itself was opening its arms to her, letting her know she was right where she needed to be.

  After the storm, they rebuilt the barn as best they could. Bridget was finally welcomed into the community, and after all the suffering, it seemed that life was finally on track. The following spring, just as the storms started to sweep in, she found out she was with child. Before she came to Montana, the thought of having a child would have horrified her, but now she only felt excitement.