Page 27 of A Forgotten Heart (Wind River Mail-Order Brides #5)

E lsie stood behind her teacher desk piled with pine branches, absently tying the boughs together to drape around her classroom.

It was Christmas Eve. The school term might be over, but she and Merritt had only had a few hours to prepare for the town’s Christmas social, which the schoolhouse hosted every year. The midday sun shone into the room, warming away the winter chill.

And she couldn’t focus. Not since Rebekah had visited earlier with news that Nick should be arriving sometime that evening.

Quade was still at large, and Elsie was aware of the deputy standing on guard outside, his tall silhouette just outside the window.

“Is this wreath centered?”

Elsie glanced up at Merritt, who stood on a ladder, holding a wreath above the chalkboard.

“Close enough,” Elsie answered.

Merritt must’ve agreed, because she started to tap a nail into the wall.

Elsie couldn’t wait to see Nick. Hearing he could arrive that evening made her heart soar. And pinched her stomach into a tight coil.

It had been four long, grueling days since she’d last seen Nick.

What had he been doing? What was he thinking?

She missed him.

And she still questioned how things would work between them. They’d agreed to start over, but he’d made no promises.

And she hadn’t forgotten he’d asked Merritt to find him a wife.

The ladder rattled as Merritt stepped down. “There’ll be a school board meeting in the first part of January.”

Elsie swallowed a groan. Why had Merritt brought that up? It only made Elsie recall the lecture on propriety she’d received from Mr. Jamison the whole way to town the night of the fire.

Merritt unrolled a spool of ribbon. “Should I suggest to the school board to start looking for a new schoolmarm for next year?”

Elsie stilled. “What? Why?”

Merritt raised an eyebrow as she formed the ribbon into a bow.

Oh. She was talking about Nick.

Elsie picked up the bough and resumed her work. “Merritt, I love teaching. I love how the kids’ eyes light up when they finally understand, or how they take a hold of a concept and make it their own. Their sweet little gifts of wildflowers, and…and…”

“Being married is wonderful too.” Merritt’s voice had softened but was unapologetic.

Why couldn’t Elsie do both? Why couldn’t she keep teaching and marry Nick at the same time?

Merritt tied her bow onto the pine garland. “Have you finished your letter to Mr. Nelson?”

Elsie shook her head. After Merritt had taken her in, Elsie had told her dear friend everything. Falling for Nick five years ago, the breakup, life, her parents pushing her toward Arnold.

Merritt spoke kindly. “Elsie. Problems don’t simply disappear.”

“I know. But Mother will be so angry.” And she owed the Westons so much.

A knock on the door interrupted further conversation.

Elsie looked at the clock, heart leaping. It was still early afternoon. Was Nick here already?

She couldn’t contain the bubble of excitement rising inside of her as she smoothed her hair into place and moved toward the door.

She swung the door open wide.

But it wasn’t Nick on the other side.

As if their conversation had conjured him, Arnold Nelson stood before her wearing an expectant smile, looking dapper with his hat in his hand. The sight of him doused Elsie’s heart with icy water.

Her smile faded. “Arnold?”

It was jarring to see him here. Out of place in the doorway of her schoolroom.

Arnold’s smile didn’t falter. He stepped over the threshold, one hand reaching for her. “Darling.”

“Wh-what are you doing here?” she stammered, backing up a step.

He dropped his hand when he realized she hadn’t taken it. His attention flickered across the room. “It’s just how you described it in your letters. It has been too long. I’ve missed you.” He stepped toward her, reaching out again.

Panic swelled and she took another step away.

I want to start over . Nick’s words played in her mind.

In this moment, with her feelings for Nick at the forefront of her thoughts, it couldn’t be more obvious to Elsie that she and Arnold would never work.

What she felt for him was platonic friendship. Nothing more. What should she do now?

Awkwardness rose between them as he stared expectantly.

Merritt cleared her throat, and Arnold turned toward her as she fiddled with a bow in her hand.

He smiled. “I was so entranced with Elsie that I hadn’t realized someone else was in the room. Hello, I’m Arnold.”

Merritt nodded, but her eyes directed a message toward Elsie. “Elsie’s mentioned you.”

His smile broadened. “Did she?”

Arnold’s focus came right back to Elsie. “I read in the paper about the terrible blizzard, and I simply couldn’t wait until the New Year to see you. I was worried you’d be stranded or need help.”

Elsie’s stomach knotted. “We should talk.” Courage built in her chest.

But before she could speak, he held out a letter.

“From your parents. We had an early Christmas dinner before I left. They send their love.” He had attended Christmas dinner with her folks?

Perhaps it was Mother who’d insisted Arnold come to see her.

Was this entire meeting part of Mother’s machinations?

Last time Mother had written, she’d touted Arnold’s good qualities, hinted that he would make a good husband for Elsie.

And Arnold’s last letter had laid out his feelings on paper.

This was all Elsie’s fault. She’d waited too long to say something.

She raised a trembling hand and accepted the letter.

Words stuck in her throat, the weight of her parents’ expectations suffocating.

“You look a little peaked, darling. Have you eaten?” He glanced toward Merritt. “Do you mind if I steal her away? Let’s go for a late lunch. I need to speak with you privately.”

Elsie met Merritt’s stare until she felt Arnold settle her coat over her shoulders. Then he escorted her out the door before she could protest.

She tried to rally herself.

Bossy.

Nick’s voice in her head again. Why was it so hard with Arnold?

Outside, the sun shone brightly, melting snow into a slushy, muddy mess. Mrs. Steele from the café peeked through the curtains. Did a double take.

Elsie walked beside Arnold along the boardwalk, though she didn’t take his arm. The woman probably wondered who the man with the new schoolteacher was.

A family bustled down the boardwalk across the street, their eyes following her. She folded her arms around her stomach.

He glanced down at her arms. “I know it’s been too long since we’ve been together, but you don’t have to feel shy around me, Elsie. You can’t imagine how happy I am to see you.”

“I’m always happy to see a friend.”

He studied her. “I do believe that after all this time, you are lovelier than ever.”

She couldn’t meet his gaze. He sounded so sincere. But she felt nothing from his words.

She swallowed hard. “You should’ve seen me before the Christmas pageant. My frazzled state looked more like I was caught in an electrical storm. Hair sticking up everywhere.”

He laughed. “Oh, Elsie, you can make me laugh.”

Her breath lodged in her chest as he swung in front of her, halting her mid-stride. Before she could stop him, he grasped both her hands in his, not caring who saw.

“It’s time that we make this official, Elsie.” His voice carried.

A swell of panic clenched her gut. She tried to yank her hands free, but his grip tightened. His expression was intent.

“Arnold, stop.”

In the distance, almost buried by the rushing in her ears, she heard the gasps of nearby observers and the clop of hooves as someone rode up on the street, reining nearby.

Arnold didn’t hear her protest as he released one hand to pull a small box from his coat pocket and open it to a silver ring. A wedding ring? “The moment I saw you again, I knew. I can’t wait any longer.”

No, she couldn’t let him do this. Elsie tried again to pull away the hand he still held, but he wouldn’t budge. She couldn’t bear to look and see who was watching.

“A match between us would make both our parents so happy. And it would certainly make me the happiest man on earth. Please, be my bride.”

“Elsie?”

Everything went still. Only one voice could cut through the panic sweeping through her.

Nick had come.

And seen everything.

Nick stood frozen at the edge of the boardwalk. For a moment, he couldn’t make sense of what he was seeing. And hearing.

Be my bride .

He felt as if he’d been shot all over again, pain bursting in his chest.

Another man gripped the hands of the woman Nick loved, holding a velvet box with a silver ring shining in the sun. Proposing to her.

For a beat, Nick waited. Waited for Elsie to demand he explain himself. Reject his proposal. Did she even know this dandy?

But she seemed frozen in place, looking up into the face of the tall city slicker.

“Elsie, who is this?” The words tumbled from Nick’s mouth, his thoughts scrambling to make sense of what he was seeing.

Elsie turned, eyes flaring wide and panicked. “Nick!”

“What is going on?” he demanded. The familiar burn of betrayal raged inside him. “Who is this?”

The stranger turned, still clasping that ring box. He eyed Nick, as if weighing whether he was a friend or a foe. “Arnold Nelson. Elsie’s intended.”

Again, Nick waited for her to refute him. Instead, he saw her mouth open and close like she couldn’t find words. Saw the guilt and misery in her expression.

Nelson was telling the truth.

The man’s fancy suit, the expensive coat, the beaver-skin hat—they all shouted money , made the fabric of Nick’s Sunday best chafe against his skin.

Nelson wasn’t from around here, and he came from money. More money than Nick would see in a lifetime.

I want to start over.

The words that Elsie had said ran through Nick’s whirling thoughts. If that was true, then who was this?

Nick knew she’d had a life after they’d parted ways. But in the days they’d spent trapped together on the McGraw ranch, she’d never mentioned a beau.

Elsie took a faltering step toward him. “I-I can explain. I was expecting you later.”

She glanced around, like she was just now noticing folks lingering to watch. A flush stained her cheeks.

Why hadn’t she told this Nelson character to go away?

Nelson watched the interplay between them, then stepped to her side. “I don’t believe Elsie’s mentioned you in her letters.”

In her letters .

Plural. Elsie had been writing this guy. Her intended.

She’d kept it from Nick. The old hurt resurfaced, made him question everything.

Nick had made a mistake coming here. If Elsie was going to refuse her intended, she would’ve already done it. Clearly, there was someone unwanted here. And it wasn’t Nelson.

Nick needed to get out of here.

He was turning on his heel when she snapped, “Excuse me, Arnold.”

Nick stalked down the boardwalk, bitterness rising along with the pounding of his pulse in his ears.

“Nick, wait!” Her boots thumped against the boardwalk, running toward him.

He’d passed Mr. Thomas sweeping the rug in front of his shop when Elsie tugged his arm.

“Nick, please!”

He let her tug him to a stop, faced her even as his heart clamored behind his ribs. “Something you forgot to tell me?”

She flinched at the vitriol in his voice.

She glanced at Mr. Thomas, who was clearly listening. Nick didn’t care. She’d stopped him, so they could have this conversation now.

“It’s not what it looks like.” Her mouth trembled as she panted out the words.

He glanced beyond her toward Nelson, still standing where she’d left him, watching.

“He was holding your hands, Elsie. He has a ring.” He hadn’t meant for her to hear the hurt. And you didn’t tell him to go away .

She reached for Nick, but he jerked away, and she hugged her waist instead.

“Arnold has been a friend for a long time,” she rushed to say. “It’s not serious between us.”

Guilt shadowed her face. She wasn’t telling the whole truth.

“When a fellow offers a ring, Elsie, it’s serious.”

Her eyes slid closed, releasing tears to cascade down her cheeks. “My parents introduced us. I should’ve said no when he asked to write me. My mother?—”

He knew how her mother used guilt as a weapon, manipulated Elsie’s emotions. But even so, Nick found himself asking, “Why didn’t you tell your mother you wanted something different? Why not tell him to stop writing, if you didn’t want him?”

He knew he was being unreasonable.

“Why didn’t you tell me you’d sent off for a mail-order bride?” Her eyes flashed, hurt clear in her words.

Her breath shuddered as she went on. “You don’t know what it’s like to be an orphan, Nick. To be worried every day that you’ll say the wrong thing or do the wrong thing and be sent away.”

She drew a shaky breath, and he felt a pang for that little girl Elsie had once been.

“If I tell my mother I won’t see Arnold, she won’t—” Love me anymore.

She didn’t have to say the words for him to understand. His heart sank. Because where did that leave him?

“So you’ll marry him, then?” he asked bitterly. “Just because your mother wants it?”

How could he blame her? Mr. Fancy Suit could provide for her much better than Nick, a failed schoolteacher, could. Ranching was difficult work. Some seasons offered no return.

The fact that she’d led Nick on, let him believe there was a future for them, hurt more than anything.

Still, he had to ask. Give her one last chance to choose him. “Are you going to tell him no?”

She opened her mouth, but no words came out. And her silence shattered Nick’s heart.

“I wish you had stayed forgotten.”

He turned and strode away.