Mail Order Bride: 9 Book Boxed set : 9 Brides for 9 Cowboys: CLEAN Western Historical Romance Series Bundle

by Faye Sonja

  She smiled at him. “Honest wage for honest work is all I ask of you,” she said to him with a smile.

  Behind him Gretchen sighed and was saddened by the fact that she was leaving. But Jane didn’t question it. “I will be back by the time Jemma wakes up.”

  “No need to rush,” Gretchen said to her. “I will take the little one with me for a day in town. I think she will enjoy it.”

  Jane smiled grateful for the subtle act of kindness that would give her time to work a little longer. She didn’t wait another minute though, and took the opportunity to dash out the door.

  “You are out early,” said her friend Carey, the slightly overweight redheaded and freckled face friend she could always count on for an eventful chat. “Avoiding him again?” Carey asked in a knowing tone.

  “No!” Jane responded, feigning incredulity.

  Carey was just like Alex, a bit chatty but very intuitive and she was sure the woman knew she was in fact avoiding the man she had come here to marry only to find that his preoccupation with nights out on the town did not make it easy, and to top it all off he had not gotten off well with her child. For a moment she was saddened. The truth was it would never be easy to integrate her child in to another life with another man when memories of her father were still fresh in her mind. And everybody knew that if a child did not like his or her new parent then the relationship for the adults would be doomed. There had been plenty of time for them to bond by now, but there had been no change.

  “Yes! You so are!” Carey laughed and nudged her playfully as they made their way to the apple orchards that were ripe for picking.

  The end of summer was fast approaching and it was the time when the fruit trees bore their first fruits of the year and the young and able bodied did the harvesting.

  “You know,” Carey began, “there are worse things than talking through your differences.”

  “Yes” Jane teasingly told her new friend, who was having a bit of problem balancing on the step ladder she had chosen. “Worse would be attempting to talk them through and getting nowhere.”

  Carey hesitated and slipped from the ladder and Jane watched helplessly as her friend fell the short distance to the ground, narrowly missing her basket of apples. She knew exactly what the response was going to be before it came...

  “You girls alright?” Alan, the preacher’s son, came over to ask them. His eyes fixed on Jane’s pretty face.

  “Yes,” Carey responded. “I just fell over myself.”

  Even though Carey had spoken, Alan’s eyes did not leave Jane’s face and Jane felt the look from his grey eyes was invading her personal space so she turned her head to look away.

  “Be careful,” Alan said, as he finally looked at Carey seconds later and smiled at her before slowly jogging back to the tree he had been picking from.

  A few moments passed in silence between the girls as Jane couldn’t help but follow the disappearing Alan as he headed back to his tree.

  “Oh, you fancy him!” Carey piped up and Jane’s attention was once again turned to the happy grin on Carey’s face, the chip on her front tooth that she had gotten as a child now on full display.

  “No, I don’t,” Jane responded and climbed her ladder, busying herself with her task of picking apples. “It would be very unladylike of me to fancy another man on the ranch of the man I came here to marry.”

  “Would it?” Carey asked her. “Didn’t you both come to the agreement that you would move on with your lives as the previous arrangement wasn’t working out?”

  “Yes, but I would not insult him by courting a man who works on his farm,” there was just something about that that she didn’t like. Maybe if she moved off of his property and into one of the small houses for rent close by she could consider it, but for now she didn’t want to insult Byron’s generosity.

  Carey did not bother to follow her lead, “Well, he sure fancies you,” Carey said.

  Jane followed Carey’s suggestive gaze to where Alan was perched on one of the topmost branches of his tree, biting away at an apple and eyeing Jane with intense curiosity. Again Jane quickly averted her gaze. She had been known to be confident, and was a bit disconcerted that Alan’s piercing gaze could throw her off.

  “I think you both would make me some pretty babies to spoil,” Carey said from below, where she had taken to sitting, with her back pressed against the trunk of the tree, eating an apple.

  “We would have to get married first,” Jane replied.

  “Well I am sure little Jemma wouldn’t mind a baby brother soon, besides what do you have to lose at this point?”

  Jane thought on that question for a moment and realized it was the first time she had been asked. It was also the first time she had thought that maybe fear was what was holding her back, but a fear of what? Her child would surely love a little brother or a little sister.

  “I don’t know,” she whispered pensively to Carey, as her eyes were once again drawn to where Alan had been. “I just cannot handle another disappointment.”

  This time Alan’s back was turned to her and his sleeves rolled up as the early morning Kansas sun was making its presence known. She watched the way his shoulders rippled beneath his quaint clothing and admired the way the sun rays reflected off his ginger hair. He was a catch by physical definition, but it took much more than that to make a happy home.

  “So you are afraid of something,” Carey gently called up to her and she recognized the concern in her friend’s voice. She knew that Carey, who had the calming powers of empathy, would now urge her to analyze the fear and do something about it. Jane descended, deciding to have that conversation in hushed tones instead of letting the morning wind carry it to the keen ears around them. She had grown up feeling nothing but loved and supported from her small community and her peers, but she had found that the less people knew about what was going on with you, the less pitiful looks you would get.

  “I think I am afraid of choosing the wrong person and Jemma not being happy,” Jane said as she sat beside Carey who handed her an apple.

  “Well, that is why you court first.” Carey reminded her with a gentle rub of her back.

  She sighed. “One thing is for sure. Whatever I decide from here, I do not want to spend the rest of my life alone.”

  The day passed by in easy flow and Jane enjoyed the work that took her mind off what was going on around her, but as she sat at the dinner table that night she could feel Byron’s absence. Maybe he was avoiding her, but she didn’t have time to think too long on that as Jemma inoculated her with stories of the busy town she had seen.

  “We looked at a few places today Jane,” Gretchen said to her. “A couple places close by that are comfortable and that you can stay in until you have decided whether you will stay in Kansas or go back home. I just thought you might be comfortable in your own space.”

  She smiled at Gretchen, wondering if it was her subtle way of saying she needed to be out of the house. “Thank you that would be nice but I don’t know if I can afford it until I get paid maybe a week’s salary. If it is a problem to stay here then I would just be on my way back to Minnesota.”

  “You can stay as long as you like,” Byron said from behind her. “Even better, we have a cottage to the back of the property that you can use if you would be more comfortable there.”

  She turned to look at him and her heart skipped a beat. He was beautiful. “If it is not too much trouble the cottage close by would be just fine.”

  “I will have them prepare it for you tomorrow,” he said to her and turned to leave as Jemma frowned up at him.

  “Thank you,” she said as he disappeared and tried to finish her meal without much success. Minutes later she excused herself and her Jemma and went about getting ready for bed. She stood at the window wile Jemma fell asleep, staring at the light in the barn. There was to be a wedding the following day, and they were busy preparing things for the feast. Had things gone according to plan, it might very well have been
her wedding. With that sad thought she crawled into bed with her daughter and cried herself to sleep. Come morning she would write to Alex about the disappointment she had faced and hoped she would understand. Maybe Minnesota would be the better place for her.

  * * *

  6

  Chapter SIX

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  “ It was so sad, how life could

  sometimes destroy your dreams …”

  .

  Byron sat in the moonlight beneath the willow tree in his back yard and poured himself another drink.

  “Everything alright, Byron?” asked Smith, his loyal farm hand who was to be married come morning.

  He sighed. “I am not so certain.”

  The man chuckled a deep guttural laugh. “By all accounts, a man who sits imbibing the spirits at this hour and in solitude is a man who has much on his mind. Would you care for an ear?”

  Byron smiled. “Only if that ear will have a drink or two with me.”

  “I have never been known to turn down a good drink.”

  And so there they sat in silence while the seconds ticked by.

  “Are your thoughts troubled by the predicament you find yourself in with Jane?” Smith finally broke the silence.

  “I guess they are though some would say they should not for we have decided to go our separate ways,” he responded.

  “And you do know that Alan, the preacher’s son you gave a job to already has eyes for her?”

  That instantly made Byron upset but he was unsure of whether or not he should be. “I guess she is now free to court whoever she pleases… she is quite the catch.”

  “Then why might I ask is it that you haven’t taken her for yourself?”

  Byron sighed. “To be very honest, I am not quite sure,” he said with a laugh and tossed back another shot of scotch.

  “I have noticed the way you look at her when you think no one else is watching you. It is the same way I look at Emma who I will make my wife come morning.”

  “What do looks have to do with any of this?” Byron asked.

  “A woman is designed to say exactly how she feels about someone by the things she does. She will make your house a home and even something as simple as hemming the torn cuffs of all your shirts is how she will let you know she cares deeply for you. We men are more mechanical, but when a man treasures a woman, his eyes tell the story before his actions can. And Byron, you more than fancy this woman so why are you letting her slip away?”

  “Her child seems to have little to no liking for me, and Jane herself despises the high life. She seems to pride simplicity as do I, but my status demands we show face and for her, Jemma is by far more important.”

  “As she should be,” Smith pointed out flatly. “A child can easily be swayed with the right incentive and as she is that important to her mother so you will need to make the extra effort. Spend some time with her. Show her the ranch and teach her how to ride, and soon you will find you have won her heart.”

  “And what of Alan?” he asked, realizing once again that the thought of Jane with him did not sit too well. For the first time he found himself jealous of what another man could likely steal from him.

  “I have seen how Jane looks at you too, Byron,” Smith said tossing back another shot. “I think you should give her another chance, as I think she will choose you.”

  Byron was soothed by this conversation and made up his mind that come morning he would try to mend the bridges he had unknowingly broken with little Jemma. The truth was that he had instantly seen in Jane what he would want in a wife. He had seen her try to hide her scarred hand from him and wanted to tell her at every turn that even though the scars marked her she was ever more beautiful in his eyes but she had yet to give him the opportunity to do so. But fair was fair. He had turned away from her and so he would not demand her to come back to him. He would show her he was worthy and let her make the choice herself, but for now he would try to bond with Jemma.

  He was actually beginning to enjoy hearing her squeals of delight in his house as dawn cracked each day. The more he thought of it, the less he was sure he could go back to the way things were if they ever left.

  * * *

  “Jane, come on!” Carey called to her impatiently.

  Weddings were always a big day of celebration on the ranch as she had been told, and Jane had wanted to get there early, but Gretchen had volunteered to make her famous apple and almond pies for the reception and Jane naturally had to help. She really didn’t mind it actually, she enjoyed Gretchen’s company and so did Jemma, who seemed to have an eye and a heart for baking. They would both miss the old woman if they ever left. Jane picked up the hem of her frock and lightly jogged down the stairs to meet Carey.

  It was a beautiful Tuesday afternoon and the birds chirped all around in joyous coordination with the merry-makings taking place. They sat with the other people close to the back, waiting on Emma and Smith, the bride and groom. Carey had told her that everyone had known they would get married as they had been courting for what seemed like forever.

  Jane’s eyes wandered the crowd and fell on the parents of the soon to be married couple brimming with joy, and memories of her own wedding five years ago came rushing back. She felt nostalgia for the life she had lost when john died, but pushed it from her mind as Byron made his way over to her.

  “Can I sit here?” he asked her.

  She blushed up at him and nodded her head. He made it hard to not recognize his presence. She felt him even in the winds that blew around them. There was a kind of inexplicable strength and security she felt with him close by that she was sure she would not feel with another man. She couldn’t explain it and it only made her anxious.

  “Jane,” he began as she tried hard to keep her thoughts under control.

  “Yes, Byron?”

  He smiled at her. “Come tomorrow I was wondering if it would be okay for me to take Jemma riding. We have a small pony she could start with and I thought that as she seemed to love the outdoors then she might very well enjoy learning to ride.”

  Jane’s breath caught in her throat and she looked at him to ensure he wasn’t playing some cruel joke on her. But all she saw was his face- hopeful and eager for a response that would be positive. She looked out the barn door to where Jemma was dancing about in the grass at Gretchen’s feet and smiled. The toddler really did love it here and though Jane could ride and would eventually teach her child, she saw no harm in giving Byron the chance to.

  “Sure,” she said to him moments later and she could almost hear his sigh of relief.

  “Thank you,” he said with a smile.

  * * *

  Alan sat to the back of the lot in his best wear, gazing at Jane. He had been admiring her since she had come to Springfield, but had yet to get up the courage to speak to her.

  “Are you going to go talk to her?” His friend Jason asked from beside him. Alan wouldn’t call him a friend, he didn’t have many friends, but Jason lived right next door and worked in the stable with him on most days. But Alan liked him as he didn’t talk too much.

  “Yes,” he responded to the question, admiring the way the sun danced on her face. He didn’t think she was like the other women who usually frequented the ranch, she was more mature and he was pushing thirty and wanted to marry and settle down. The only problem was that his father would most certainly not approve of him marrying a woman who already had a child.

  “Do you think your parents will approve?” Jason asked as if reading his mind. He might not talk much but when he did he was usually asking questions. Jason was just sixteen to Alan’s twenty-nine, but Alan found him to be quite mature for his age. The question he had just asked was a valid one.

  “Mama, yes,” Alan answered knowing his mother had yet to meet her but she was just the kind of woman she would like and Alan was sure of it. His father would not, that
was for sure. Alan sighed as the rows of chairs filled up with people who were attending the wedding and his father walked down the middle to take his place at the front where he would be officiating.

  “That will be you someday,” Jason again piped up and Alan did nothing but grunt in response.

  Very few people knew he had no intentions of becoming a preacher. It was customary in their family that the eldest son would be trained in the ways and trade of a preacher, but Alan had other plans for his life. He wanted to marry the girl of his dreams and live a long boring life where he was not expected to do anything other than be there for his family. He had broached this topic once with his father and the conversation had not gone as planned.

  The music began and people stood as the groom entered and then not far behind him came Emma, dressed in white.

  Jason muttered his approval and then said, “She’s pretty, but Jane will be prettier.”

  Alan smiled, Jason was worse than his mother, but he happened to agree on that point. Across the way he looked at Jane and Carey, holding hands in pure joy at the spectacle that took place before them. And he decided he would ask her out that evening at the reception.

  The decision made him nervous and he hoped his father would approve of his choice. Alan knew that in the eyes of his father he was supposed to be a flawless work of art and he had been a good son, but in his heart he didn’t want to be a preacher, and his heart also wanted Jane.

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