Page 2 of Mail Order Mittens (Brides of Alaska #2 | Brides of Beckham #68)

A fter weeks of journeying , on trains and then two different ships, Maggie woke early on the day she knew she would meet the man who would be her husband.

James had said he would be waiting for her in Skagway, and then they would walk together to Lake Bennett and then up the Yukon River by boat.

It would be an arduous journey, as she had read in Belle’s letters.

When she disembarked the ship, she had all of her belongings in one carpet bag. She felt as if she was an orphan, trying to find a home...a family. Having experienced just such a thing, it was hard to do it all over again.

She stood looking through the crowd, wishing she knew exactly who she was looking for, but it didn’t take long for a man to approach her. “Maggie?” he asked. The man was tall with dark hair and brown eyes, and he was just about the most handsome man she’d ever seen.

She nodded, feeling shy and more than a little afraid. “I’m Maggie.”

“James,” he said simply, reaching to take her bag from her.

“I have a preacher waiting for us.” He didn’t offer his arm, or say anything else, and she immediately worried she wasn’t what he wanted in a wife.

She wasn’t pretty enough. She wasn’t smart enough.

No matter what, she wasn’t enough. She never had been.

She followed him docilely to the preacher, who didn’t waste a moment on small talk. Two minutes later, she was married, and her husband was kissing her cheek.

Immediately she knew he must be repulsed by her, or he would have kissed her lips. What had she done? She knew she hadn’t bathed since Ketchikan, but that wasn’t her fault. Baths hadn’t been available on the ship.

Without a word, he turned and led her toward a forest path. “We’ll walk this until we get to Lake Bennett and take a boat from there. I know you must be tired, but we don’t have time to waste if we want to make it to Yeti before the first freeze.”

“It’s only September...”

“We usually have frost by mid-September.”

“September?” September was usually still warm in Massachusetts, and the idea of living in cold so much of the year wasn’t exactly appealing.

He nodded, stopping to untie a mule from a tree. He put her bag with his own and tied it to the pack animal. “I’d like to cover at least fifteen miles before sunset.”

“Fifteen miles?” she asked, shocked that he wanted to walk that far in a single day.

“It’ll be twenty per day after today. We really can’t dawdle.”

Maggie felt like it was all she could do to keep up with him as they trudged along the trail that had obviously been traveled by many before them.

He had them walk for a short while after sunset, until it was too dark to keep going, and then he stopped, immediately setting up camp without a word.

While he set up a piece of oil cloth as a covering, she found some sticks and made a campfire.

She had just gotten it going when he sank down beside her.

“I’m sorry today was so hard. This journey is going to be difficult.

Don’t worry about cooking on our journey.

I have some hard tack and some jerky for us, and that will get us through. ”

It was the most he’d said to her. “All right. I’ll happily take the night off cooking.”

He grinned. “I’m sure you’re exhausted. How did you do on the ships? Everett told me that Belle spent the whole time sick.”

“Oh, well, it wasn’t that bad for me. I was a little queasy for the first day, and the rest was smooth sailing.”

“Glad to hear it.” He opened a packet of something covered in oil cloth and gave her some of the meal he’d planned. “I know this isn’t exactly tasty, but I think you need rest more than a three-course meal.”

“I would agree with that.” She took a deep breath. “How is Belle doing? I haven’t heard from her since she wrote me and told me to see the matchmaker.”

“She’s well. In the family way, and she seems very happy about that fact.”

Maggie smiled. “Belle has always wanted at least a dozen children. We always said we’d live close and our children would be each other’s best friends.”

“Well, that’s what will happen, I think. Everett and I are good friends. We started the lumber operation together, but I was stupid and ran off to make my fortune from gold. Then I returned to him and had to beg for a job.”

“That’s not stupid!” she said. “You were seeking your fortune. There’s no harm in that.”

“I’d be much better off if I’d stayed in Yeti. I can’t undo the past though.”

“I don’t need a fortune,” she said softly. “I’ve never had much. I was orphaned as a young child, and I never had much after that. The orphanage where I was raised was good to us, but...it wasn’t the same as having a family.”

“I was orphaned as well. I ended up being fostered to an older couple who needed help with the farm chores. They provided food and shelter, and I worked to pay them back.” He shrugged.

“I understand completely. At least we married, and we can understand where each other is coming from.”

“I wasn’t expecting you to be so pretty,” James said, staring off into the distance. “Belle told me you had red hair and you were of Irish descent, but she never mentioned that you were a sight to behold.”

Maggie blushed, looking down at her hands. “I don’t consider myself pretty. You should have seen my mother. I still think she was the most beautiful woman in all of New England.”

“Sounds like the apple doesn’t fall far from the tree,” he said. He looked at her, noting that she was feeling shy. “May I kiss you? A real kiss?”

Maggie looked up at him for a moment, both embarrassed and excited at the prospect of a real kiss from him. She had been very disappointed with the kiss on her cheek after their wedding, and she didn’t even know why! “Yes, of course. You’re my husband.”

He frowned. “I want you to agree for me to kiss you because you want to be kissed, and not because it’s your duty. Maybe tomorrow.”

She could sense his disappointment and shook her head. “I want you to kiss me. I...I was a little upset that you only kissed my cheek after the wedding.”

“Really?” he asked.

At her nod, he leaned close and brushed his lips quickly across hers. When she leaned toward him, he deepened the kiss, his hands stroking up and down her sides. The passion between them was instant and intense.

When he finally broke away, he looked into her eyes. “You make me feel so much more than I imagined.”

“I do?” she asked, a bit startled. She was just plain Maggie, not someone special.

“You do.” He rubbed his hand over his face and into his hair. “I don’t want our wedding night to be on the ground, but...I want our wedding night.” He sighed. “I’ll give you a few days to adjust to the journey and all the walking, but then I think...if you’re willing...”

“Let’s see how we feel in those few days,” she said softly. She was willing right then and there, but more out of a sense of duty. She had a feeling she would want more from him if she gave it a little time.

“That sounds good. But I can tell you now, I won’t be keeping my lips off you.”

She laughed softly. “I wouldn’t ask you to.”

He put the fire out and stood. “It’s time to sleep. We want to be walking as soon as the sun rises tomorrow. We have a long way to go, and not much time to get there.”

“Breakfast?” she asked.

He shook his head. “More jerky and hard tack. There’ll be time to cook when we get to Yeti.

You haven’t experienced an Alaskan winter yet.

We need to beat the first storm. The first frost would be better, but that will be pushing it.

I’m sorry that we have to move so quickly.

We should have had you wait to come until after the first thaw, but.

..I didn’t want to spend another winter alone. ”

“Don’t worry about me. Remember, I’m used to working a lot of hours on my feet every week. I’ll be fine. I won’t like it, but I can do it without complaint.”

“I would appreciate that,” he said, grinning at her. “I brought enough blankets for us each to have two. We’ll be going to higher altitudes, and we’ll need extra. Hopefully by the time it gets really cold, you won’t mind sharing with me.”

She smiled. “I’d share with you tonight.”

“That sounds good to me.” They moved into the makeshift tent and snuggled down together with two blankets covering them. They both slept fully clothed, as it seemed to make the most sense since they were sleeping in the wilderness.

True to his word, James woke Maggie before dawn the following morning. They ate a quick breakfast of hardtack and jerky and were on their way. She could tell he was walking slower than he usually would to suit her, and she said, “We can walk faster than this.”

“Are you certain?” he asked.

She nodded. “Yes, I’ll be fine.”

He picked up the pace, and she easily matched his. “Tell me about what happened after your parents died.”

Knowing he’d had a similar experience made it much easier to talk about. “My father died before I was born. Mother died when I was seven. I went to an orphanage after that, and I lived there until I turned sixteen and I was old enough to leave.” She shrugged. “

It wasn’t the kind of home I’d had as a small child, but at least I wasn’t totally alone. The matron helped me get the job as a waitress when it was time for me to leave, and I’ve worked at the same hotel since.”

“I’m glad you didn’t mind leaving your job to marry me.”

She bit her lip for a moment, wondering how to respond to that. “The day before I went to see Elizabeth Tandy, I spilled a tray full of food on a regular customer of the hotel. I was fired that day. I’m not sure I would have been able to work up the courage to see Mrs. Tandy otherwise.”

He looked at her with surprise. “Had you ever spilled food on someone that way before?”

She shook her head. “I hadn’t. And I wouldn’t have that time if the man hadn’t pinched my bottom. It surprised me, and I jumped. He was always flirtatious, but he’d never done anything like that before.”

“No wonder you spilled on him. Did you tell your boss about the pinch?” he asked.

“Yes, of course. He told me I was still in the wrong for spilling. It was time for me to leave.”

“I want to go to Massachusetts and hurt the man who dared touch you without your permission.”

“Why? It would do no good. I’m certain he’s pinching someone else’s bottom now.” She sighed. “He watched my friend Sally as well as me. I warned her that he may become physical before I left.”

“Perhaps we can find someone for Sally to marry as well. Then she wouldn’t have to deal with customers putting their hands on her.”

“I’ll write her to see if she’s interested. I’m certain it would have to be next year. Would it even be possible to travel to Yeti in the winter?” she asked.

“By sled dog. But it would be dangerous. The cold would be fatal to many people.”

“Probably best for her to wait until spring then.”

“Definitely.” He pulled at the donkey’s lead as the animal protested the climb.

“What about you? What happened with your parents?”

“My parents were killed in a fire. My father got me out and went back for my mother, and they both died. I was ten. I spent some time in an orphanage, and then when I was thirteen, an older couple came to the orphanage and chose me to work for them because I looked strong. That was the end of my schooling, and I stayed with them until I was old enough to be on my own. They weren’t unkind, but they didn’t treat me with love either.

It was just a work arrangement for them. ”

“Do you resent them?” she asked.

James looked at her with surprise. “Of course not. They gave me a home and didn’t beat me. What more could an orphan ask for?”

“I suppose you’re right.” The climb at that point was becoming more intense, and he offered a hand to help her. “This part of the journey should take a week up to twelve days. I’m hoping we can do it in a week.”

She nodded. “I’m willing to push as hard as you are to get there.” She couldn’t wait to hug Belle. It had been far too long since they’d seen one another.

“Then let’s plan on stopping only at night when we need to. We’ll journey through lunch and not take a break during the day as most travelers would.”

“That sounds fine. We can eat while we walk. I’ll be sore, but I’ll live.”

“If it gets to be too much, I want you to tell me.”

“All right,” Maggie said, but she knew she wouldn’t be the one to delay their arrival in Yeti. She would push just as hard as he did, no matter how tired and sore she became.

At night, when they camped, they would hold one another close, but no intimacy took place. They were both too tired.

They made it to Lake Bennett in seven days, and retrieved the boat he’d hidden upriver. “Now our legs will get a rest, but we’ll be rowing. We’ll only stop at night,” he told her.

She nodded. She was so tired she couldn’t see straight, but if she needed to row, she would row. Getting to Yeti would have to be their first priority.

As they rowed along the Yukon River, they saw bears, moose, and other wildlife along the way.

Each critter excited Maggie, surprising her.

She was usually afraid of anything new. Maybe she did have the courage Elizabeth had said was inside her.

She was certain the next few weeks would let her know for certain.