by Annie Lane
“No hurry, Alice. No work today, so you might as well enjoy a lazy Sunday morning. Church don’t even start till eleven. You’ve earned yourself a rest.” Bert’s voice was barely more than a whisper and the velvety tone drifted through the wall, calming Alice’s racing heart. “I’ve just boiled the pot, care to join me in a cup of chamomile tea?”
It was her favorite, not kind Uncle Bert’s, and Alice smiled and closed her diary. She placed it back safely inside the top drawer and stood to her feet, straightening her dress and fixing her mop of blonde ringlets so they didn’t bounce around so much. “Yes, please Uncle. That’s sounds wonderful.”
Bert nodded to no one but himself and the empty stairwell. “Cold old start to the day,” he grumbled under his breath. “I can smell snow coming a mile off ... but I guess only time will tell.”
Chapter 2
Sunday lunch had become somewhat of a tradition in the Calhoun household and each and every chair was currently occupied. Henry sat at the head of the table, just like he always did, enjoying the fellowship and wonderful conversation the afternoon provided.
After surviving another one of the Preacher’s long-winded sermons, he figured all involved deserved a little reprieve and for once he chose to leave his Sheriff’s hat hanging at the door.
Thomas and Charlotte Ackerman were also in attendance. Charlotte’s pretty pink gloves were folded neatly in half beside her plate and a matching pink bonnet hung from the coat rack. Her new outfit was a gift from Thomas after a successful trip to Great Falls some weeks back, and while Charlotte certainly wasn’t one to gloat, she’d never owned anything so fancy before, and thrilled in wearing her extravagant new accessories to church. She was the envy of every woman in town, though she wasn’t entirely sure what they coveted more ... her brand new gloves, or the handsome man her gloved hand was attached to?
Seated right alongside the Ackerman’s were the Masons — Earl Senior, his son Junior and his bride of four months, Beth. As far as Henry could tell, married life seemed to agree with all three of them and on more than one occasion he’d caught Earl and Beth holding hands right there at the dinner table. ‘Wouldn’t have happened in my day’ he thought to himself, but what could he do? It was a modern world they were living in after all, and he wasn’t about to rain on their parade.
Gabe Calhoun mumbled a few words through his mouthful of food, and it seemed to his mother she was the only one who had heard it.
“You ... you are what?” Louise Calhoun couldn’t believe her ears. She froze right there on the spot, balancing a dish of hot rolls in one hand and a platter of corn-on-the-cob in the other. Gabriel was Louise and Henry’s only child, and proprietor of the most successful blacksmith establishment in the town of Conrad, Montana — he sat back now in his chair with a satisfied smirk on his face.
Louise pursed her lips. “I’m waiting Gabriel! I’m not going to ask you twice!”
The boy’s cheeks danced with amusement and a thrill of excitement ran through his veins as he nodded his head so there was no mistaking his intentions.
“You heard me, Ma ... I’m getting married!”
Thomas had sipped on his water just as Gabe spoke, and when the surprising words registered plain and simple in his head, a spray of liquid suddenly flew from his mouth, soaking straight through Louise’s fine linen tablecloth.
Charlotte’s jaw dropped. “You’re getting married?”
“Yep, you betcha,” said Gabe, grinning like a man who’d just struck gold.
“Well, that’s wonderful news. A little surprising, but still so very wonder...”
“I, uh ... Charlotte,” garbled Thomas, water dripping from the tip of his chin. “Some help, please?” He nudged her arm with the back of his hand and gestured for a napkin, but Charlotte couldn’t tear her eyes away from Gabe, not for even for a second, and when she inadvertently offered him one of her gloves as an alternative, Thomas frowned and wiped his face on his sleeve instead.
There was really no point vying for her attention. He’d clearly lost her. His wife was a hopeless romantic, and with the whiff of a wedding suddenly in the air, he knew it would be hours before her eyes lost that dreamy, loved-up sheen.
Beth Mason’s red hair spilled down over one shoulder in a long braid, the end tied together tightly with an emerald ribbon — the exact same shade of green as Beth’s eyes — and it shone so beautifully in the dimly lit room that Earl struggled to keep his thoughts focused on the conversation at hand.
He finally tore his eyes away and glanced over at his friend. “Uh, yeah ... congratulations, Gabe!”
Junior kept his head down the entire time, not seeming phased either way by the announcement, and continued to scoff down an extra helping of carrots. What did he care anyway? Eight year old boys weren’t much fussed with matters of the heart, and for the most part, the constant stream of chatter that filled the room simply drifted and floated up, somewhere high above his head, until it finally wafted out the window and headed for the hills.
Henry cleared his throat. “And who exactly do you plan on marrying?”
Of course, Gabe knew his father would be the first to ask that question. It was just the way of things. Henry’s mind worked like a good clock, and he rarely let emotion hinder the process. But Gabe enjoyed working his father over sometimes. He liked to keep him on his toes — rile him up until he looked fit to burst and then let him down easily.
“With all due respect,” said Gabe, “you’re the lawman among us, Pa ... why don’t you figure it out and get back to me when you’ve come up with the answer.”
Gabe knew full well that his father didn’t enjoy being toyed with this way, especially not in front of guests, but it was entertaining if nothing else.
Louise creased her forehead once she realized what was happening. “Gabriel William Calhoun, you’ll watch your manners!”
Thomas chuckled. “Come on Gabe, don’t keep us in suspense. Who’s the lucky lady?”
Gabe didn’t answer at first, keeping everyone on the edge of their seats just a while longer. With his prolonged silence, anticipation hung in the air and finally, when he figured they couldn’t take it anymore, he sighed. “I honestly don’t know. I sent off a letter a few weeks ago for a mail order bride, and I’m still waiting on a response.”
Louise’s eyes flew wide open.
There were very few things Gabe could have said to her in that moment that might have shocked her more…
— one might be if he was planning to enlist a group of bandits and rob a stage coach
— another might be if he wanted to join a monastery and take a vow of silence
— but as it was, Louise couldn’t hide the displeasure that seeped all the way through and around and about her body. “Please, Gabriel — tell me you didn’t?”
Gabe smiled and folded his arms. “I sure as heck did. Wrote it out myself too! I’m just waiting on the Seattle mail to arrive so I can take my pick.”
Charlotte sat up a little taller. “Did you say Seattle?”
Gabe nodded. “Yes, I saw your Mrs. Fredrick’s advertisement in the matrimonial newspaper. I caught Mr. Brewer flickin’ through the thing last time I was in the Mercantile.”
He chuckled then and snatched a bread roll off the plate. “Shoulda seen him jump when Mrs. Brewer caught him looking. He’s more than likely still sportin’ that bump on the back of his stupid head.”
“He’s after a second wife?” mumbled Thomas. “I’m quite satisfied with one.”
But Gabe ignored Thomas, tore off a hunk of bread between his teeth, slowly chewed on it for a bit, and then swallowed before he continued. “I reckon that Mrs. Fredrick must be doing a roaring trade. The line-up was just about out the door.”
Gabe peeked over at Earl then and raised his brows. He knew he was pushing his luck but he was enjoying himself far too much to stop. “You’ve been strutting around like a rooster and now every bachelor in town wants to get hitched. I sure do hope there’s one of
them pretty little ones left over for me.”
Still not entirely comfortable with the way Gabe admired his wife, Earl simply lifted his chin and reached across to cover Beth’s hand again. He loved the way her silky skin felt beneath his own, soft and warm and perfectly smooth. “Might not be wise to use those exact words when you first meet the young lady.”
Louise grunted. “Certainly not ... and being likened to left-overs is hardly flattering.”
Junior shoved down the last spoonful of carrots and blinked up at Louise, holding out his empty plate. “Yes, please Mrs. Calhoun. I’d love some.”
Beth giggled. “No sweetheart, Louise wasn’t offering more food. It’s just a figure of speech. If you’re still hungry you can finish off what’s on my plate. Seems my appetite still hasn’t quite returned to full strength. I’m just not feeling myself lately.”
Junior nodded gratefully. The way his lips curled up at the corners was the spitting image of his father — kind, loving and faultlessly handsome — and Beth’s heart melted when his adorable little dimples sank further into his chubby cheeks.
Since the catastrophe over by the creek, Junior had scarcely left Beth’s side and their two hearts had come together with such a bond that nothing — not even a Prairie rattlesnake — could break the precious union.
“Oh, Junior, here...” Louise rushed to the opposite end of the table and took Junior’s cutlery from his hand. “Let me help you with that or you’ll get it all over yourself.”
But when Junior snatched them straight back again and shook his head, offering the plate over to Beth instead so she might do the honors of cutting up his meat, Louise couldn’t stop the hurt from hurrying through her entire body. Her eyes pricked with tears and she turned away again before anyone else noticed.
On any other day she would be overjoyed that Beth had become such an important part of Junior’s life, but there was another part of her — a part she seldom let anyone else see, a part that longed to be needed and appreciated by the people that mattered to her the most.
And while she couldn’t quite put her finger on it, today she felt neither of those things, and her heart grew a little heavier with the sudden realization that life as she knew it was about to change completely.
* * *
That’s the end of the sneak peek of
Book Three – Alice in Winterland.
It’ll be released during July, but if you’d like to be notified when it is available, please sign up to my mailing list by clicking HERE.
(I promise to never share your email address with anyone,
Annie x)
Also by Annie Lane
Book One – Charlotte’s Summer – available from Amazon
Book Two – Falling for Beth – available from Amazon
Book Three – Alice in Winterland – coming in July 2015
Book Four – Spring Belle – coming in August 2015
If you’d like to be first to know when my next book is available, please CLICK HERE to sign up to my newsletter.
Connect with Annie
Please visit me at my website and say Hi.
Your comments are always welcome!
annielanebooks.wordpress.com
I take great pride in the editing and proofreading of my books,
so, if you find an error or spelling mistake,
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Annie x
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About Annie
I’ve always enjoyed reading and writing but up until now never had the courage to actually write my own books.
As a child, I spent Saturday afternoons watching old movies on TV, and of course I watched my fair share of serials – Little House on the Prairie, Petticoat Junction, The Beverly Hillbillies, The Waltons and Green Acres.
I re-watched one of my favorite films, Seven Brides for Seven Brothers, last year and was inspired! —
(admitedly with hollywood-colored-glasses on!).
With encouragement from friends and family I decided to write books which combine a small town community, frontier life, the “good old days” and hopefully plenty of romance!
The result? My Seasons Mail Order Bride series.
I really hope you enjoy reading them as much as I have enjoyed writing them.
Annie x
annielanebooks.wordpress.com