Mail Order Ruse (Kansas Brides Series #3)

by Barbara Goss

  “God gifted us with a beautiful baby girl after our mourning period. We love her, but it doesn’t take away the love we have for our son. We love them both the same.

  “Grace is certainly a gift from God, and to help you with your grief, He sent you Mary’s sister. How great is that? She’ll love Chloe as if she were her own, because she is.”

  Chase came home feeling much better about things. He liked and respected Reverend James Flannery. He’d start praying again, too, now that he knew it wasn’t God who’d taken Mary, yet He'd loved him enough to replace her with her sister. It felt like a miracle.

  He found Grace sitting on the floor of Chloe’s bedroom, playing a game with her and Dora. He stood in the doorway, watching them for several minutes. Chloe was laughing. The sound of her laughter always touched him. Seeing Grace and Chloe together, he noticed for the first time how much alike they looked. Then he saw Grace hug Chloe and tell her she loved her and his heart pounded.

  “Can I play too?” he finally asked. They all turned to look at him.

  “Papa!” Chloe exclaimed. “Yes, you can play! Sit by me.”

  Chase sat with his legs crossed between Chloe and Grace. “What are we playing?”

  “Slap it,” Chloe said. “Grace taught it to me today. It’s fun.”

  “I’m very good at slapping,” Chase said, winking at Grace.

  “Grace will turn the cards over slowly and you can only slap if the card is a Jack,” Chloe said. “Then you get all the cards under it. If you slap a card that isn’t a Jack, you lose all your cards.”

  Chase pretended not to see the Jack fast enough, or he’d purposely slap a King or Queen, just so he could hear his baby girl laugh‒it was music to his ears. Grace laughed, too. He enjoyed hearing her laughter as well. Now that he knew she was Mary’s sister, he found so many similarities between them, like their laugh.

  Similar or not, he knew they were two entirely different people, but that Mary would definitely approve, so he no longer felt guilt in having a romantic relationship with Grace. He knew Mary would be happy that Grace would soon be Chloe's mother. It’s almost as if Mary had chosen her for him.

  Grace walked to the cemetery and found Mary’s grave. The plot had two wildflowers laying on top of it, so she knew that Chase and Chloe had been there recently. By the looks of the slightly wilted petals, maybe they had been left there the day before.

  Grace knelt down, said a prayer, and then talked to Mary.

  “Hello, sister. I’m so sorry we never got to meet, but I’ve heard from everyone who knew you how wonderful you were, and that makes me proud. I love Chloe, she’s a beautiful child, and I also love Chase. I promise you: I will take good care of them both. I’ll visit you from time to time and tell you all about them. Farewell, for now, dear sister.”

  She turned to leave and was surprised to see Chase standing at the foot of the grave. How much had he heard? She'd hoped he hadn’t heard that she'd loved him, since she hadn’t told him that yet herself. She wanted to hear him say it first.

  “That was beautiful, Grace,” he said.

  Grace felt herself blushing. “I’ll leave you alone to pay your respects.”

  Chase nodded. “I’ll join you shortly.”

  Grace left, wondering what he'd thought when he'd heard her say she'd loved him.

  Chase knelt down on the grave and spoke to Mary as he did each time he visited.

  “That was your sister, Grace. You’d have love her, Mary, she’s a lot like you in many ways and yet so different. She’s different enough that I won’t be marrying her thinking she’s you. There could never be another you, but I do love her, though she doesn’t know it yet. I love her as much as I loved you and that scares me a bit. Now I’ll be worried I might lose her as I lost you, and I couldn’t bear to go through that again.

  “So, yes, I’m going to marry Grace. She’s crazy about Chloe, too. I can feel your approval. Just remember, Mary, even though I marry Grace, you will always own a part of my heart. And like the reverend told me, you are not part of my past, but part of my future, and we will all meet again someday, and rejoice.

  “I don’t think it would be fair to Grace to visit you as often as I've been doing. I want her to feel loved and cherished, too. Never fear‒even when I don’t visit, you're still in my heart, and always will be. This is just the resting place for your body. You aren’t really here at all, and I can talk to you anywhere. Do I have your blessing?" He paused. "Thank you, Mary,” he said.

  Chase walked back to the house knowing Mary had approved of his marriage to Grace. He'd no longer feel guilty for loving Grace.

  Chapter 16

  Chase hadn’t spoken to his father since the night he’d confessed to meddling. After examining his heart, Chase knew he couldn’t be angry anymore. Besides, if it weren’t for his father and his efforts on his behalf, he wouldn't have found the most perfect wife in Grace. His father had meddled out of his love for him. He needed to find Graham and apologize.

  He finally found him tagging cattle in the fields.

  As Chase approached, his father finished tagging a calf and turned to watch Chase’s approach. Chase knew the expression his father was wearing well. It meant that Graham was unsure of what Chase might say or do.

  Chase smiled. His father smiled back.

  The two men embraced.

  “Thank you,” Chase said when his father released him.

  “It’s what a parent does, Chase. You’ll do the same if Chloe is ever in a bad place.”

  “I think I’m finally ready to commit to Grace,” Chase said.

  “I thought you were supposed to help me tag these calves.”

  “I will, as soon as I get back from town. I need to buy some rings.”

  “I guess the cattle can wait, then. Grace is more important, since the calves will always be here, and Grace might not be if you don’t make a positive move, and soon.”

  “Would you like to go for a walk, Chloe?” Grace asked.

  “Yes!” she squealed, while jumping up and down. “Where are we going?”

  Grace squatted down to her level. “I don’t know. I haven’t thought that far ahead.”

  “Papa sometimes takes me to the stables so I can pet the horses.”

  “He does? Well, we could do that. C’mon.”

  Hand in hand, Grace and Chloe walked out to the barn.

  “Look, Miss Grace! Harvey has a horse in the corral. Can we go watch him?”

  “Is that something you’re allowed to do?”

  “Yes. Papa lets me sit on the fence rail and watch Harvey try to get a horse to break.”

  “Oh, he’s going to break in a horse that’s never been saddled and ridden?” Grace asked, shielding her eyes to see the horse in the corral.

  “Yes. C’mon, let’s go!” Chloe ran ahead and Grace followed.

  The horse Harvey was training was a pure black beast of a horse. Every time Harvey got even close to him, the horse whinnied, and his skin quivered.

  “Boost me up on the fence, Miss Grace.”

  “I don’t think that’s a good idea. That horse is ornery. I think we can watch from right here.”

  “Papa always lets me,” Chloe whined.

  “No, I’m afraid not. Your Papa is bigger and stronger than I am and better able to protect you.”

  “Awww.” Chloe stuck out her lower lip out and crossed her arms over her chest.

  “You can see from here, sweetheart,” Grace said.

  They continued to watch Harvey as he tried to slip a noose over the horse’s head. The horse kicked and reared.

  “Isn’t he a beauty?” Chase asked from behind her.

  “I think he’s one nasty horse, Chase.”

  “Papa!” Chloe squealed. “Miss Grace wouldn’t let me sit up on the fence. Can you boost me up?”

  “Miss Grace was being careful so you’d stay safe.”

  “Thank you, Miss Grace,” Chloe said. “Now can I get a boost up, Papa?”

&
nbsp; Grace gave Chase a pleading look and she was relieved when he silently nodded. “Miss Grace is right, Chloebird. This horse is more dangerous than the ones we've watched before. I think if you want to see, I could lift you up on my shoulders.”

  Chase lifted her up and onto his shoulders. They stood there, watching the horse prance around regally, while Harvey chased him with the rope. Suddenly the horse reared and came right down on Harvey, knocking him to the ground. Chase set Chloe quickly down, leaped over the fence, and ran to Harvey’s aid. The stallion raced around the perimeter of the corral, still whinnying, while Harvey lay on the ground, unconscious. Chase grabbed the young man and dragged him to the fence.

  “Grace!” he yelled. “He’s out cold. I’ll heave him over. Could you make sure he lands softly?” Grace ran over, took hold of Harvey under his arms, and together they got him out of the corral and gently to the ground. He was bleeding from his head. Chase laid him down flat on the ground and checked his wounds.

  Grace looked up at where she had left Chloe and momentarily froze.

  “Chloe’s climbed up on the fence!” she yelled as she sprinted toward her.

  As the horse continued to buck and neigh, Chase also ran to grab Chloe, when the horse crashed into the fence near where Harvey lay. The fence didn’t give, but it shook from the impact, and Chloe was knocked into the corral.

  “Dear God!” Chase prayed. He prepared to leap over the fence but stopped midway, seeing that Grace had already jumped over the rail and thrown herself over Chloe as the stallion butted that side of the fence, trampling Grace and Chloe in the process.

  Chase heard a shot before he could react. Harvey had gotten up, grabbed the rifle he always kept nearby when training, aimed, and shot the stallion. The horse whinnied, reared, and then fell onto its side. His legs twitched and then he lay still.

  Chase gently lifted a bleeding Grace. As he raised her, Chloe jumped up, unharmed.

  “What happened, Papa?” she asked in a daze.

  “Later, honey,” Chase said as he hoisted Grace carefully over the fence and into Harvey’s waiting arms.

  He picked Chloe up and climbed over the fence just enough to drop Chloe gently to the ground. He dropped down after Chloe and took Grace from Harvey’s arms. She was limp, and her arm and head were bleeding.

  “Harvey, fetch Doc Harris!” To his daughter he said, “Chloe, run with Papa. We have to hurry.”

  Instead of following, Chloe sat down on the ground and began to wail, loudly.

  Chase turned and said, “Chloe, come on, we have to get Miss Grace inside.”

  She continued to sit there and cry loudly.

  Chase, already in a frenzy, yelled, “Chloe, what’s wrong with you?”

  “I don’t want Miss Grace to be dead like Mama.”

  “No, of course, she isn’t.” He then realized Chloe’s fear and softened his voice. “Miss Grace is hurt, honey, and Papa has to get her into the house really fast so he can help her get better. I’ll need your help.”

  She stopped crying and followed him. “I’ll help you, Papa,” she said with a sniffle.

  Chase carried Grace upstairs with Chloe following on his heels, and Olive following after Chloe’s heels. Somewhere along the way, Dora joined the train going up the stairs.

  Chase laid her on her bed and tried to assess her injuries. Chloe took one look at Grace and started howling again.

  “Olive, please take Chloe to the kitchen for some milk and cookies,” Chase said as he pushed back Grace’s hair to see her wound.

  “C’mon, Chloe. I baked chocolate cook—”

  “Nooo, I want to help Papa make Miss Grace better.”

  Olive knelt down. “Grace will be fine if your Papa can treat her right away. It will help him the most if you come downstairs with me. As soon as they patch her up with bandages, you can come back and visit with her.”

  “Okay,” she said with regret and a backward glance at Grace.

  “Dora, bring up some cloths and water, please.”

  Grace still hadn’t gained consciousness. Chase was so nervous his hands shook as he sponged her wound with a cool cloth. She had a nasty gash on the back of her head where a hoof had dug in and broken the skin. There were large bruises and smaller cuts on her right upper arm, but it was the head injury that bothered Chase the most.

  “Dora, I need you to entertain Chloe and send Olive up, please,” Chase ordered.

  Soon, Olive came into the room.

  “I need you to undress her and put a nightgown or something on her so the doctor can examine her. Be very careful of her right arm and her head. Call me when she’s ready.” He then left the room.

  Chase was standing in the hallway when his father came running up the stairs.

  “What in happened?”

  “The stallion went crazy, kicking Harvey and knocking him down. It crashed into the corral fence, knocking Chloe off. Grace jumped over the fence just in time to keep Chloe from being trampled by throwing herself on top of her.” Chase dabbed at his eyes. “She saved Chloe’s life.”

  “Thank God. How’s Grace?”

  “I don’t know. She’s still unconscious. I’m still waiting for Harris. Harvey went for him. I didn’t even give it a thought that maybe Harvey hadn't recovered enough himself to fetch the doctor.” Chase held his temples. “It all happened so fast.”

  Olive opened the door and beckoned them to come inside.

  Chase’s heart beat rapidly at the sight of Grace lying there so still. Then he saw her eyes flicker, and it gave him hope.

  Chase rushed to the side of the bed. “Grace?”

  Her eyelids flickered once more, but they remained closed.

  Then, Doc Harris burst into the room. “Everybody out,” he yelled. When everyone turned toward the door, Doc added, “Except you, Olive. I’ll need your help.”

  Once again, Chase and Graham went to stand in the hall. Dora came up the stairs then, holding a weeping Chloe and handed her to Graham.

  “I need a word with you, Chase,” Dora said.

  He pulled his sister into his room. “What is it?”

  “It’s Chloe. I’ve never seen her so upset and worried. I finally got her to tell me why she’s so upset. She’s afraid Grace is going to die and be buried in the cemetery like Mary.”

  “Dear God,” Chase silently prayed. “I’ll talk to her. Thanks, Dora.”

  Chase took Chloe from his father. He kissed her and wiped away her tears. “Miss Grace is going to be all right, I know it. She’s not going to die because Doc Harris is here to fix her.”

  “I love Miss Grace,” she sobbed.

  “I love her, too,” Chase said. “And do you know what?”

  “What?”

  “When she’s better, Papa is going to marry her, and she’ll be your new mama. Would you like that?”

  “Then I’ll have two mamas?”

  “Yes. One that’s here with us, and one that’s a beautiful memory.”

  Chloe smiled through her tears. “Can I see Miss Grace?”

  “Yes, I think you should be included, just so you can see there’s nothing to worry about.” Chase prayed he was right.

  Chapter 17

  The door opened and Olive waved them inside. “She’s awake,” Olive said.

  Chase, carrying Chloe in his arms, went to her bedside. He set Chloe down on the bed by Grace, then he took Grace’s hand.

  “How do you feel, sweetheart?”

  Grace blinked at his use of the endearment, which he’d never used before. She smiled at him. “Besides a sore arm and a nasty headache, I’m fine.”

  Grace looked at a teary-eyed Chloe, put her arms out, and Chloe flew into them, lying on Grace’s chest. “I’m so glad you’re all right, Chloebird.”

  “Thanks to you,” both Chase and Graham said in unison.

  Grace pulled Chloe over to her left side so she could lie beside her. She kept her arm wrapped around her as she kissed Chloe’s forehead and silently thanked God that s
he was able to react fast enough to protect her sister’s child, her niece and her soon to be daughter.

  Doc Harris packed up his bag. “She’s had a concussion, but she’ll be fine. I’m ordering her to stay in bed for a few days—at least three—but there are no other restrictions. I’ll be back in three days to check her head wound and change her bandage. I didn’t need to put in stitches, as the wound wasn’t deep at all. She’ll be fine.” Doc winked at Chloe.

  Chase helped his father tag calves during the day, but his evenings were spent with Grace. It was Chloe who was spending her days with Grace, bringing in all of her games and books for a daylong playtime.

  Chase walked in just as they were finishing a game of Slap. “I won, Papa!”

  Chase smiled and lifted her from the bed. “Olive wants you to wash up for dinner and help her set the table.”

  “Okay!”

  He put her down and she ran from the room.

  “We really need to stop letting her win all the time,” he said, sitting on the edge of her bed.

  “I know, otherwise, she’ll never learn how to lose,” Grace answered. “We will, after she starts school.”

  Chase nodded. “How do you feel?”

  “I feel fine. I’ve been lying here for two days and I’m really getting restless.”

  “How would you like me to carry you down to dinner?”

  “Oh, Chase! I’d love it.”

  “And after dinner, maybe we could sit out on the porch and watch the sun setting.”

  “I’d love that even more.”

  Grace was able to eat dinner with the family again, and she enjoyed every moment of it. She really valued having a family for the first time in her life. She felt loved, and that was a good feeling. After dinner, Chase tried to pick her up to carry her outside, but she stopped him.

  “I can walk, Chase. Just hold my hand as I might be a bit dizzy from being in bed for so long.”