by Zoe Matthews
He reached out and brushed a strand of hair away from her mouth and she stopped talking abruptly.
“You like it here, don’t you,” Alex made the question as a statement.
Anna nodded, keeping her eyes on his, looking as confused as he felt. Suddenly he wondered what it would be like to kiss her, something he had been wondering ever since he picked her up at the train station. He gazed at her mouth and started to lean forward. Anna leaned toward him also, making him wonder if she wanted the same thing. Then she suddenly gasped and stepped back a few paces.
“What are you doing?” Anna asked him. “You can’t….”
“Anna, we need to talk,” Alex told her, deciding that in this instance honesty was the best policy.
“Sage…” Anna looked toward the house and stepped further away.
“If she needs you, we will hear her,” Alex responded.
“What…what do you want to talk about?” Anna asked, her voice betraying her nervousness.
“About us, about Luke.”
“I don’t think that’s a good idea,” Anna protested, stepping even further away.
Alex started to walk towards her. “Anna, please.”
She stopped and looked at him very intently, and then finally nodded her agreement.
“I would like to take Luke’s place. I would like you to consider marrying me instead.”
Anna looked shocked. “But I came to Montana to marry Luke. You brought me here to marry Luke.”
“I know that was the intent. But you do realize he isn’t going to change his mind. He doesn’t want to marry again.”
“Do you know when he will return?” Anna questioned.
“He’s been gone almost a week. Probably only a few more days. He doesn’t like to be away from Sage much longer than a week at a time.”
“I want to talk to him first. I came here to be his mail order bride. I don’t feel like I can make any new decisions until I hear it from him that he doesn’t want to marry me.”
Alex sighed. He had to admire her decision. It showed that she was very loyal and stuck to her commitments. He wished again that he had written to her as himself instead of Luke.
“I don’t think we should talk about this again,” Anna said and turned to go back into the ranch house.
Alex watched her until she was half way to the house, then he ran to catch up to her.
“Anna,” he called and stopped in front of her, making her stop in her steps. She refused to look at him which he found very interesting.
“Anna,” he said again. “After Luke returns and you talk to him, can we talk again?”
Alex looked at her intently as he spoke, trying to judge what she was feeling, what she was thinking. What he saw pleased him. Her face seemed flushed and she still wouldn’t look at him. He could tell she wasn’t immune to him. He wished he had kissed her anyway, just to see what her reaction would have been. She nodded her assent, stepped around him, and practically ran into the house.
Alex watched her with a small smile on his face. If Luke didn’t come home soon, he was going up into the mountains to talk to him.
CHAPTER 9
Sage woke up from her nap with a slight fever. She complained that her throat hurt worse and so did her head. By evening, she started to develop a harsh cough. Anna stayed up most of the night caring for her. A few hours before morning, her cough was sounding so bad, Anna reluctantly left Sage and ran the short distance to the small house where Paul and Alex were sleeping.
She knocked loudly on the door multiple times until it finally swung open. Paul stood there looking like he had quickly dressed in order to answer the door.
“I’m sorry to wake you, but Sage isn’t doing well. She’s coughing and…” She stopped talking as Paul stepped outside.
“I’ll come help. Alex is still asleep. He is such a deep sleeper, he can sleep through anything. I’ll come with you and see what’s going on. We can wake him up if we need him.”
Back in the main house, Paul immediately could tell that Sage just had a bad cold. He showed Anna how to make a poultice of herbs to put on her chest. Sage soon stopped coughing and settled down in a deep sleep for the first time all night.
“I’m so glad you knew what to do,” Anna said as she and Paul sat at the kitchen table. There was only an hour before daylight and she figured her chance to sleep was gone for the time being. She had started a pot of coffee on the stove and they sat at the table to wait for it to boil.
“Sage doesn’t get sick very often, but when she does, she seems to always get this type of cough. The doctor in town taught us how to make the poultice and it always seems to help.”
They chatted quietly for a few minutes and then Anna asked him about the girl he had gone to visit on Sunday.
“Tell me about her,” Anna invited wondering how interested he was in this woman. She was surprised when he shook his head.
“I don’t want to talk about her,” he briskly told her.
“Oh, I’m sorry,” Anna apologized wishing she had kept her mouth shut. She was just trying to get to know this brother of Alex’s a little better.
Paul covered her hand with his own and patted it in a brotherly gesture. “It’s okay. Don’t worry about it. I just found out Sunday that she isn’t as interested in me as I was in her.”
“I’m sorry,” she said again, but this time with sympathy. “I shouldn’t have asked.”
“Maybe I should just send away for a wife like Alex did for Luke.” Paul seemed to try to make things light with a joke.
“I don’t think Luke wants to marry me,” Anna admitted.
“Well, Luke is a fool, but I’m not surprised.”
“It’s okay, really. I would rather marry someone who wants me for me.”
“Don’t you have a sister or friend or someone who would want to come marry me and live on the ranch?” Paul asked in a joking tone of voice.
Anna almost dismissed his words, but then stopped and looked at him. “Are you serious?”
Paul looked taken back at her words. “Why?”
“I have two friends who I think of as sisters. We grew up together in the orphanage and all three of us were taken in by families in the same town in Texas.”
Paul looked hopeful. “So you are saying…?”
“I could write to them and see if one of them would want to come and marry you.”
Paul hesitated, then nodded his agreement. “I am ready to settle down. It’s time I have a wife and family. I thought this rancher’s daughter would be willing, but she chose someone else.”
“I have a letter I have been working on ever since I arrived here, a little bit each night. I will finish it today and I will mention your offer. Someone will need to run it to town to be mailed.”
“I will take care of it. Just let me know when it is ready.” Paul stood up and set his mug in the sink. “I don’t think you got enough sleep last night. Why don’t you get some rest? I will care for Sage.“
Anna started to argue, but then agreed with him. She did feel very tired and a few hours of sleep sounded like heaven. “Let me know if you need my help when she wakes.”
She left the kitchen and went into her room. After preparing for bed, she laid down and briefly thought over the events of the last few hours. She hoped Sage would be doing better soon. She felt a little frustration towards Luke. He should be here with Sage. In her opinion, he was acting very selfish in leaving the ranch like he did. She wondered if he did this often, taking off into the mountains to care for the cattle, leaving Sage behind for so long.
****
Anna woke up around lunchtime. She quickly found Sage was doing better. Both Alex and Paul were at the table eating a simple meal. Sage looked a little pale, but she was drinking some milk and eating a crust of bread. Anna took that as a good sign since she had hardly eaten anything the day before.
Both men greeted her as she sat down at the table. Alex pushed a plate of meat sandwiches toward her and she
picked up a piece. “Thanks for taking care of her last night,” Alex said as he looked at her intently as if trying to get her to understand something else.
Anna nodded and took a bite of food. “I didn’t mind. I am glad she is doing better. That poultice seemed to help.”
“It usually does,” Paul said and got up from the table. “I am going to go work on some fences.” He left the house.
“I would like to plant some vegetables today,” Anna commented. She had talked to Alex about planting a garden a few days ago and he had promised to have a plot of land ready for her that day.
“It’s all ready to go,” Alex responded. “Do you need some help?”
“I’m not sure. I don’t know a lot about planting, but I think I can figure it out.”
“I can help you if you would like. We can have Sage sit under the tree in the yard. We should keep her quiet today because of her cough, but I think it is warm enough for her to be outside.”
Anna placed Sage on a blanket in the shade of a tree with a few story books and a handful of blocks. The child soon fell asleep. Alex showed Anna the best way to plant the seeds. She had chosen beans, peas, carrots, corn, tomatoes, lettuce and a few types of squash, along with potatoes.
Anna actually enjoyed the planting. She enjoyed working with the dirt and placing the seeds in the ground. She knew that in a few weeks there would be small plants growing, and soon after that, they would be able to start eating fresh vegetables.
When they were almost finished, Anna looked over at Alex as he planted the last of the corn seeds. She felt a familiar stirring in her heart when she looked at him. He was bent over, his cowboy hat shading his face from the sun and partially concealing his face from her, but she didn’t need to see him to know what he looked like. She loved how his dark hair curled a bit under the hat. She knew men wore cowboy hats to shade their faces from the sun, but she felt deep inside men wore them because they knew how attractive the hats made them to women.
She couldn’t resist her next move. She picked up a dirt clod and threw it at his back. She immediately regretted it. What was she doing, flirting with him when she was essentially promised to his brother?
Alex froze, and then stood, turning around slowly. He looked at her, and then a big smile spread across his face. He took two steps toward her.
Anna held up her hands. “I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have done that,” she stammered as she apologized. Alex continued to walk towards her and stopped right in front of her. He touched her face lightly, brushing some dirt from her cheek.
“You are not going to marry Luke. After my brother returns and we get this mess straightened out, I am going to ask you to marry me.” Alex said and leaned down, lightly kissing her on the cheek where he had just touched and then he kissed her on her lips.
Anna’s arms almost involuntarily reached up and went around his neck to encourage the kiss. It felt like heaven to finally be in his arms, enjoying his kiss. Was it wrong to want to be in his arms, to let him kiss her? Then suddenly she gasped and stepped back. They stood looking at each other for a few moments. She then turned, picked up a sleeping Sage from under the tree, and ran into the ranch house.
Alex stared after her and then slowly shook his head. He bent down to pick up the various gardening tools they had used in order to put them away. In the barn, he put the tools in their place and then suddenly lightly punched the barn wall. He felt very frustrated with Luke. He admitted to himself that he brought Anna here for Luke, but for the first time he realized he really brought Anna here for himself.
Luke didn’t want to marry again, and that was fine. Alex would marry Anna instead. He had enjoyed exchanging the few letters with her. He remembered his first look at her when she got off the train. She was the most beautiful woman he had ever seen. He had enjoyed the time he had getting to know her. He admired how she had just jumped in and got the house in order so quickly. She was kind with Sage. He had seen the half-finished dress she was working on for the child.
He did not regret kissing Anna. He learned something from that brief kiss. He was not the only one feeling this.
He spent the rest of the day and evening in the barn. A few of the horses needed new shoes, so he took care of that chore. He then cleaned the barn so that it looked the best it had been in a long time. He did not go into the house for dinner and Anna sent Paul out with a plate of food. His brother tried to talk to him, but Alex brushed him aside.
Luke had been gone for over a week. He had never been gone longer than that, except for the time he had been gone a month after he burned all of Pamela’s belongings. Alex made the decision that if Luke did not return by lunchtime the next day, he was going to head to the shack in the mountains and insist on talking with him.
CHAPTER 10
Anna cleaned up the dinner dishes and then spent some time with Sage. Sage loved to read stories and had started to show some interest in learning to read. Anna taught her a few simple words which thrilled Sage every time she recognized them. Anna could tell the child still was not feeling well and she eventually went to bed earlier than usual. Anna decided to finish her letter to Katrina and Serena. She had been writing a few paragraphs every few days. She had told them both about the mix-up between Luke and Alex. She described the ranch and how beautiful Montana was.
She added a last paragraph that Alex had a brother who wanted a mail order bride, and would Serena be interested in coming to marry him? She described what she knew of Paul and what her life would likely be like if Serena agreed.
The next morning, Anna was at the stove frying bacon for breakfast when she heard footsteps behind her. “Breakfast should be ready in a few minutes,” she said as she turned, expecting to see Alex or Paul. She saw instead that it was Luke. He stood in the entrance of the kitchen looking around in amazement, as if he couldn’t believe how clean everything was.
“Oh, Mr. Bridger,” Anna stammered. “I didn’t know you were back.”
“I just arrived.” He looked around again. “Things look good. You’ve done a good job.”
“Breakfast will be ready soon if you are interested,” Anna said, not sure what else she should say. Her heart dropped as she realized the implications of Luke being back. She knew that if he changed his mind and wanted to marry her, she would need to keep her commitment.
Breakfast was a silent affair among the three brothers and Anna until Sage woke up towards the end of the meal.
“Daddy,” she squealed as she ran to him. He swung her up in his arms as she threw her little arms around his neck. “You came back.”
“Of course I did, squirt,” he murmured as he hugged her. Anna’s heart melted a bit. She could tell he did love his daughter.
“You were gone a long time. How come you were gone so long?” Sage complained.
“I had to figure some things out,” he told her.
Sage scrunched up her face, trying to understand what Luke meant. “Did you figure your things out?” she finally asked.
Luke hugged her again. “I think so.” Keeping her in his arms, he walked to the pegs where the men hung their cowboy hats when they were in the house. He took his hat and put it on Sage’s head. “How about coming out to the barn with me?”
Sage squealed again in agreement and the two left the house together. Luke did not look at Anna again.
Anna sighed as she watched them leave the house, and then as if she couldn’t help it, she looked at Alex, and they stared at each other. She knew now that Luke was home, that her future was going to be determined shortly. Paul seemed to know Alex wanted to be alone with Anna, so he left soon after Luke.
“I am going to talk with him,” Alex told Anna. “I am going to tell him…’
“No, don’t.” Anna interrupted, knowing what Alex was going to say. “I came here to…”
It was Alex’s turn to interrupt. “You are here because of me. I am going to talk to him.” Alex left the house, practically running to the barn. Anna sighed again and sat d
own at the table. She buried her head in her arms and did her best to stop the tears from falling.
****
Alex burst into the barn and stopped as he looked around for his brother. Sage had found the barn cat had just given birth to kittens. She was sitting close to the mother cat watching the cat take care of her new family. Paul and Luke were brushing the horse that Luke had brought back with him from the mountains.
“I need to talk to Luke,” Alex said. He looked at Paul. “Maybe you could…”
Paul smiled his easy-going grin and walked over to where Sage was watching the kittens. “Come on, squirt. Let’s go get you some breakfast.” The child started to protest, but quieted down when Paul promised her she could come back out to the barn later to see the kittens.