Page 12 of Mail Order Mukluks (Brides of Alaska #1 | Brides of Beckham #68)

“Sounds smart,” he said, watching her over his Bible. “What’s your next big project?”

“Oh, tomorrow I’ll bake bread and some nagoonberry pies. I’m sure the men will gobble them up. In the afternoon, I’ll go out for more berries. I want to collect as many as I can while it’s ripe.”

“What will you do when it’s cold and there’s no more foraging?”

She laughed. “I’ll bake, sew, cook, clean, and hunt. I want to get as much food stored as possible for winter, and then this winter, I can do indoor things...”

“Do you ever simply sit still and read a good book?”

She shrugged. “Not in a very long time. Before my mother died, I was reluctant to do a lot of work. As soon as she was gone, I had to take care of my siblings. I liked the feeling of pride after a full day’s work. So, I always do as much as I can.”

“I plan on taking Saturday and Sunday off. Do you think you’ll have time to spend with me?”

“You could go foraging with me!” she suggested, and he wrinkled his nose.

“I’ll make you a deal. I’ll forage with you, if you’ll take time to picnic while we’re out.”

“That would be wonderful. I happen to like picnicking with you.”

He took her hand and pulled her into his lap. “I think you just like working more.”

“I don’t. I just don’t want to eat nothing but bacon sandwiches all winter long.”

He chuckled. “That’s what I’ve done for years...when I could get bread. Usually, it was bacon and hard tack.”

She wrinkled her nose. “I prefer things to be a little more appetizing.”

“I do too. Now that it’s an option. But that requires you to work hard, and I’m not sure how I feel about that.”

She laughed. “No matter how you feel about it, I don’t think I can live any other way.”

*****

B ELLE ROSE EARLIER than usual on Saturday morning to do her baking for the store before they went out foraging. She prepared the picnic as she waited for the bread and cookies to be finished.

Everett walked to the store with her and wasn’t at all surprised to see his men gathered there waiting for his wife to bring food to them.

One of the younger men who worked for him, a man named Sebastian, frowned as they walked into the store. “Damn. I was sure hoping she’d divorce him.”

Everett stopped short. “There is no divorce being planned or even thought about. Please get that out of your head.” He couldn’t believe his men would talk so freely about his marriage with him right there.

Belle ignored it all and walked to the counter, giving Katie the baked goods and eggs she’d gathered. Katie quickly noted what had been brought in. “What are you two up to today?”

Belle smiled. “We’re foraging and then going on a picnic. I want to ensure we get all the ripe berries we can before the birds get them.”

“Just remember, I’ll happily buy any extra jam you make.”

“I have started a crate that I’ll bring when it’s full. I’m sure I’m doing too much, but I want to ensure we have enough, and that makes me a little crazy as I work.”

“I’ve noticed,” Katie said, a huge smile on her face.

As Belle and Everett left the store, he asked about the man who had made the comment about the divorce. “Has he spoken to you before?”

Belle nodded. “I told him then there wouldn’t be a divorce.”

“I really need to post Mrs. Tandy’s address somewhere so all the men can write to her. The ones who know how to write that is.”

“I’d offer to help them, but...I don’t think that’s a good idea.”

“I don’t either.”

They made their way into the woods and to a clearing Belle hadn’t seen before.

Together they picked berries, and Everett told her stories about some of the men and what they’d said about her baking.

“I guess I should have known the men would all flock to you. I think you could have been an old crone and the men would have surrounded you.”

Belle nodded. “They all want a woman in their lives, and I think any woman would do.”

“It wouldn’t be that way for me, you know.”

“What do you mean?”

“I mean, I sent for a bride, and I was willing to accept whatever woman came my way, but now that I’ve met you and spent time with you, I realize I don’t want just any woman in my life. I want you and only you.”

Belle stuck the berry she’d just picked into her mouth before walking to him and wrapping her arms around him. “That’s the sweetest thing anyone has ever said to me.”

He chuckled. “I’m not known for my sweet talk.”

“You should be!” She stood on tiptoe and kissed him. “You’re a pretty special man, Everett.”

“I’m glad you think so. Because I’m in love with you.”

She stared at him for a moment, a slow grin spreading across her face. “I’m in love with you as well. How could I not be?”

“Even though I have the worst temper in all of Alaska?”

She laughed. “It wasn’t that bad. Besides, you’ve made up for it since.”

He held her close. “We’re going to squish the berries if we don’t stop.”

She shrugged. “I’ll just pick more.”

After a few moments, they parted. “Let’s have that picnic,” he said.

She carefully spread out the blanket that was atop the basket she’d had him carry with them.

As they feasted on the simple meal she’d made, they gazed at one another lovingly, and she realized that the gamble she’d accepted had paid off.

She was in love with a man who loved her.

All she needed were children to complete the dream she’d had for so long.