“I’m ready. I just need to grab my bonnet.” She flung the door open wide and offered him a smile as she reached to take her bonnet off the hook. After she’d tied it into place, she hooked her hands in front of her waiting for him to say something about her dress. She’d spent hours sewing the dress out of old fabric she’d pieced together before she’d left New York. It had turned out beautifully, at least Harriet, Glory and Imogene, had thought so.
However, he didn’t seem to notice one way or another. He just nodded and then turned to go back down the hallway to the stairs. Her mouth dropped open in anger, but she was too stunned to even know what to say. Today was her wedding day and she was going to be happy, even if he was too bullheaded to notice a nice dress. Maybe he just needed a gentle little reminder in how to be a gentleman.
She caught up to him at the bottom of the stairs. “Mr. Bailey, I’d appreciate if you could at least acknowledge me before we bind ourselves together for life. You haven’t even asked me how I slept or mentioned anything about how I look. I’ve spent a good part of the morning getting ready, so I’d look my best for our wedding.”
He stopped, and she ran into the back of him as he started to turn. She took a step back, her cheeks burning with embarrassment. She sounded like a petulant child who hadn’t been patted on the head for doing something good.
“I told you to call me Caleb. And I didn’t bother to ask how you slept because I could hear you snoring from down here. So I’m assuming you slept just fine.” He looked her up and down as her mouth dropped open in indignation. “But I will apologize for my lack of manners in not noticing how beautiful you look.”
Just as she was about to fire something at him for mentioning her snoring, which was something a gentleman should never do to a woman, the wind was knocked out of her at the compliment he’d given her. Now she didn’t know if she should still be angry or be happy that he’d called her beautiful.
If nothing else, she could see being married to this man was never going to be dull.
He opened the side door and waited for her to walk through first. “I’ve left the closed sign in the window of the store, so we’ll need to hurry and get back before people start showing up. Since it’s the only store in town, we have just about everything people need, and they aren’t going to want to wait long.”
She clenched her teeth together to keep from saying anything. While she’d never dreamed of having a big fancy wedding out here, she’d at least like to not feel like she was being rushed, so more important business could be attended to.
They walked outside, and she was once more hit with how fresh the air here was. She breathed deeply as she stopped on the top step and let her gaze move around this little town again. There weren’t many people out yet, since it was still quite early, but she could see the doors to the church open, which meant the minister would be there.
Caleb went down the steps and smiled up at her as he reached for her hand to help her down. “It’s not too late to back out, you know. I’m sure you could do much better back in New York.”
She couldn’t tell if he was serious or not. While he was smiling at her, he also had a look in his eyes that made her wonder if he actually was worried she’d back out. She wondered what he’d say if she did. And truly, who could blame her?
They slowly started to walk toward the church. It didn’t seem like there were any actual streets now that she was able to look around a bit more. Other than the one that ran between the boardinghouse and the mercantile, it seemed like everything else was just set wherever they wanted to build it.
“I have to admit you’re not quite what I’d pictured when we were corresponding. You seemed much more…” She quickly bit her lip and looked up at him, afraid of how to word it without offending him.
He raised an eyebrow as he smirked down at her. “Friendly? Gentlemanly?”
She swallowed and looked ahead, holding her skirt up off the dusty ground with the hand not holding onto his arm. “Well, I didn’t really want to say it, but yes, you did seem friendlier in your letters. And more excited about being married.”
When he laughed, she turned back to look at him. “Let’s just say, sometimes who you get to know in a written letter, is a completely different man than who he is in person.”
They reached the church steps before she could ask him exactly what he meant by that. An older man with a black jacket came out the door and smiled down at them. “Caleb, I’m glad you made it so early. And this must be your new bride, Fae.”
Caleb gave her hand a gentle squeeze as he coaxed her to look at him. “This is your last chance. I don’t want you to marry me if you don’t want to.”
She looked into his eyes for a moment trying to decide if he wanted her to run away or climb the steps to the church and actually marry him. She’d come all this way to become his wife and start her new life out here, so whether he was getting cold feet or not, she was going through with it.
When she nodded and smiled, he looked up at the man and grinned.
“Well, Reverend Moore, it looks like we’re ready to get married.”
Chapter 8
Caleb watched her as she helped the young farmer who’d come in to pick up some nails for work he was doing on his barn. It hadn’t taken her long to learn what she had to do in the mercantile and he had to admit, she had everyone leaving with a smile on their faces. She had such a happy personality, that even the grumpiest of customers couldn’t help but get caught up in her enthusiasm for everything.
If he didn’t know better, Caleb would’ve thought she’d been doing this forever and not just a few hours. They’d only been married this morning and had come straight back to the mercantile to open the doors to the waiting customers. And instead of causing a fuss and being angry that she hadn’t been given a proper wedding day, she’d stepped straight into her role as mercantile owner’s wife, without any hesitation or complaint.
“You’re a breath of fresh air to this town, Miss Fae. I’ll be looking forward to coming into the store whenever I need anything.”
Caleb scowled as he watched the young man pull down on the brim of his hat to Fae, then turn to leave. Didn’t the miscreant remember her telling him just a few minutes ago that she’d been married this morning?
As the door closed behind the other man, he turned to his wife. “Well, he sure was taken with you. I guess I shouldn’t be too jealous. It could be good for business having all these young men coming in just to see you.”
Fae faced him, firmly placing her hands on her hips. “Caleb Bailey, I can’t help it if I’m nice to the customers. Maybe you could try it yourself, instead of standing around looking like you’re ready to bite their heads off. Honestly, I don’t know how you’ve managed to keep a business running with your surly personality. I wouldn’t want to do my shopping with someone like you.”
While he knew he might not always be the most outgoing and friendly person, today he knew he was being even grumpier than normal. All day he’d watched men come in and flirt with his wife, and women laugh, then invite her out to their homes for a visit. Fae seemed to have a way of making everyone fall in love with her as soon as they met her.
Yet he’d been working here since the day he’d spoken with his father’s lawyer. He’d been opening the doors back up and serving the town the best he could, and no one had ever seemed this happy when coming through the doors before. They’d all been so saddened over his father’s death, and while they’d returned to do their shopping in the mercantile, there’d been a cloud hanging over the building it seemed.
Until today. Fae’s smile had brightened everything back up again. She’d managed to do in less than one day what he knew he’d likely never have been able to do in a lifetime, even if he’d wanted to. But he reminded himself this wasn’t the life he wanted. It was only temporary, so why should it matter anyway?
He went back to counting the cans on the back counter. “This isn’t my business and never was intended to be. I onl
y took over for my father recently. It was him who kept it running, not me.”
“Oh, I’m sorry. I didn’t realize it was only recent that your father had passed away. People have been talking about him all day when they came in here, but I thought maybe it had been awhile since his passing. And I guess I just assumed you’d worked with him enough over the years that you’d have picked up on the traits needed to run the store.”
He shrugged. “I used to work with him off and on when I was younger. But I haven’t been around much in the past few years. Not until he died. Then I didn’t have much choice and had to take over.”
“Everyone has a choice. Don’t you want to run the mercantile?” Fae walked over and stood beside him. There was no one in the store at the moment but the sound of voices could be heard outside the open windows as people shouted greetings to each other. Promise was small enough that everyone knew everyone, including the many people living on farms just outside of town. When they weren’t in the fields, they would come into town to pick up their supplies and visit with the neighbors.
He turned and leaned against the counter. “I hadn’t really thought about it in years. I used to, when I was a kid. I would spend a lot of time working in here with my pa, but I guess as I grew up, I ended up following my own path. I assumed my brother would just inherit everything and then he’d up and sell it. He would never have worked here. He’s a big, fancy doctor in Minneapolis so there’s no way he’d have ever moved back here to run a small mercantile.”
“Why didn’t you think your father would leave it to you?” Her eyebrows were pulled together in confusion.
“Let’s just say my father and I didn’t always see eye to eye. I wasn’t the man he thought I should be, and compared to my brother, I never would have been.”
She watched him for a moment then shook her head. “I don’t believe it. Everything I’ve heard about your father today makes me believe he was well liked around town. I can’t see how he’d have ever judged you unfairly.”
“Oh, he was a good man to everyone who came into the store. And he was involved in the community. But he was hard on me.” He crossed his arms over his chest and shrugged before continuing.
“After my ma died, I had a rough time and he forced me to toughen up. He didn’t seem to understand that I was only a young boy still, not like my brother who did everything my pa wanted. He’s the one my father spent all his time with, and who he always believed would do great things. That’s why he went to medical school while Pa repeatedly told me I wasn’t going to amount to anything if I kept up acting how I was. What he didn’t see was that I was only doing it to get some kind of attention from him. I guess I just decided to become the person he already believed I was.”
He stopped talking and stared at her. Why had he spilled so much to her about his life? He’d never spoken those words to anyone before and hadn’t even realized he’d ever felt that way until now. He turned back to the canned goods, moving them around and hoping she wouldn’t see the embarrassment in his eyes for opening up so much to her.
“Well, you had a father who I’m sure cared about you. And a ma, who you obviously loved. I’d say you were pretty lucky growing up, even if you don’t believe it. Now it’s up to you to decide how you want to lead your life from here on out. I may not have known your father, but I have no doubt he wouldn’t have left this mercantile for you if he didn’t love you and didn’t believe you could take it on.”
The small bell above the door jingled to announce a customer, so Fae moved away to greet them. His eyes followed her as she smiled and introduced herself to the woman who’d come in. Within seconds, the other lady was laughing with Fae and letting her show her to the fabrics she’d come in to choose.
It seemed his wife had a natural way of making people feel comfortable around her. He thought about the words she’d said to him and realized that in the time she’d been here, they’d spoken so much about his past and his family, while she’d never shared anything about herself.
He knew she’d grown up in an orphanage, so had no parents of her own. Meanwhile, he’d been complaining about a father who he’d believed wronged him in some way and she’d grown up without one.
He wasn’t sure what it was about Fae, but after only one day, she was already getting under his skin. He was going to have to be careful around her or he might just end up wishing he’d walked away from everything while he’d still had the chance.
Chapter 9
Fae opened the door wide and stepped out onto the porch at the front of the mercantile. She breathed deeply, as she seemed to do every time she’d stepped outside since she arrived in Promise. The sun was just coming over the horizon and for a moment, she let herself take in everything about her new home.
The mercantile was located in the center of town, but since there were only a few buildings making up the entire town, it was still easy to see past everything to the wide-open spaces around it. The wild prairie grasses were blowing with a gentle breeze today, and even in the past two days since she’d arrived, had started turning even greener. Spring was now settling in, and she knew the farmers in the area would be working hard to get their crops in the ground.
Many of the folks living in and around Promise had chosen plots of land to homestead and were now diligently working to make the land their own. Everyone she’d met yesterday seemed like good people who weren’t afraid of a bit of hard work. They believed in helping a neighbor when needed and in offering kindness to a stranger. They’d all been so welcoming to her and she was already feeling a sense of peace, like she’d truly found herself a home.
She went to sit on one of the chairs by the door, knowing it would be a while until the first customers of the day started to come by. Right now, she just wanted to enjoy the peacefulness of the morning before the town became busy again.
She could hear Caleb inside taking out the bins from the storage room and setting everything up for the day. Hopefully he wouldn’t mind that she wasn’t in helping him, but she needed a few moments to herself before facing him.
Last night, after they’d closed the store for the day, she’d made them a delicious chicken supper with potatoes and carrots. She’d been proud of how much she’d accomplished in a day, especially since everything was new to her. And after Caleb had opened up to her about his past, she’d thought perhaps they were starting to build the foundation to a true relationship.
But that had been quickly erased as soon as he’d finished eating and got up from the table without saying anything about the food he’d just eaten. He’d announced he was riding out to an old friend’s place for a game of cards and told her not to wait up for him.
She’d been in such shock that she hadn’t even had time to say anything before he was out the door. She was willing to admit a part of her was relieved since they still didn’t know much about each other and they were barely more than strangers. But she’d at least expected him to make some kind of effort on their wedding night.
Instead, she’d cleaned up and gone to her room alone to write a letter to Madam Wigg and let her know she’d arrived safely and was now married. She wasn’t going to let on about the truth of her marriage, though, and how she didn’t think Caleb was happy with the woman who’d arrived. Obviously, Fae wasn’t what he’d imagined, and he was disappointed but didn’t want to admit it in case her feelings were hurt.
She would let Madam Wigg believe she was happy and everything was perfect. It wouldn’t be fair to cause the older woman any worry when her health was so poor.
Besides, it wasn’t like there was anything anyone could do about it anyway. Fae was married to Caleb now, whether either of them liked it or not. Even for her, who always believed everything would work out for the best, Fae was having a hard time imagining how this could possibly be fixed.
After crying herself to sleep, she’d awoken hours later to the sound of Caleb walking past the door to her room and closing another door down the hallway where he ended up sl
eeping for the night. She figured that since they were now married, he mustn’t think there’d be anything wrong with him sleeping upstairs and not on the settee like he had the night before.
But it still didn’t take away the sting that her wedding night was not what she’d imagined and no matter how hard she’d tried, the pain in her heart at being rejected so quickly had kept her awake the rest of the night.
She knew she wasn’t as stunning as many of the other girls at the orphanage were, and her hair tended to have more strands falling loose than were ever up in their clips, but until she’d arrived here and met Caleb, she’d never thought she was completely undesirable. After all those weeks of telling Harriet to believe she was worthy of any man she chose, here it turned out that it was Fae herself who wasn’t considered worthy by the man she’d found to marry.
“So you must be Fae Wigg, the young woman who everyone in town is talking about.” A plump woman with a beautiful silk dress walked up the front step, startling Fae out of her thoughts. She quickly stood up to greet the customer.
“I’m Fae, but it’s Bailey now. I was married yesterday.”
“Oh right, I did hear that. Well it’s a pleasure to meet you. Hopefully with a new young bride to support, Caleb will take over running the mercantile much like his father did before him.”
Fae followed the woman inside and her breath caught when her eyes slammed into Caleb’s from where he stood behind the counter. When she’d come down this morning, she’d ignored him to go straight outside. Now they were going to have to spend the rest of the day working together when all she wanted to do was continue to hide from him.
“Good morning, Mrs. Pembrooke. What can I help you with today?” He slowly moved his gaze to look at the older woman as he spoke to her. But all Fae could concentrate on now, was the name she’d just heard. Pembrooke. Wasn’t that the name of the private school? She’d been hoping to get over there today to speak to the people who were in charge of it, so this was perfect. At least she could throw herself into getting something set up here for the other children and start including the principles of the Wigg Foundling School.
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