Page 4 of Mail Order Mukluks (Brides of Alaska #1 | Brides of Beckham #68)

T hankfully, there was no climbing that day, but still, by the time Everett was ready to stop for the night, Belle was exhausted. It reminded her of when she’d first started working at the hotel, and she wasn’t used to being on her feet.

Thankfully, he started a fire and immediately began cooking supper for them. “I won’t cook every night, but I know how tired you must be. All that time on trains and ships and then you are asked to trek across the Yukon without rest.”

“I have very little experience cooking over an open fire. I’m sure I can learn, but I’m glad you’ve taken the task from me this evening.”

“I’m not a great cook, but I can make something edible,” he said. “I hope you like fish and game because we’ll be living on it for the next few weeks as we head home.”

“Who’s taking care of your business while you’re gone?” she asked.

“My friend, James. He’s been my friend since we were young, and now he’s my right-hand man.” He smiled. “We came to Alaska together a few years back. Last year, he tried his hand at mining for gold, but he came back quickly. Said it wasn’t the life for him.”

“I don’t think it would be the life for me either. I can’t imagine spending all my time in a cave digging for gold.”

“There’s also panning for gold, but it’s frozen most of the year here. And the rivers are always cold. It’s not for the faint of heart.”

“Are you glad you came to Alaska?” she asked.

“Oh, yes. It’s...untouched by modern man. It’s a new frontier where you can be anything you want to be. Like America was in the days of the colonies. Am I making sense?”

“You are. It’s incredibly beautiful here...the bit I’ve seen.”

“Alaska is huge. People talk about how big Texas is, but Alaska puts it to shame. If this territory were divided in half, it would still be bigger than Texas.”

“Do you think it will ever be a state?”

“I honestly don’t know. I hope not. I think that would bring more people and change Alaska for good. I would hate that.” He shook his head. “The District of Alaska is a special place.”

“It sounds like you love your home.”

“I hope you grow to love it as well,” he said softly.

When they finished eating the simple meal of beans he had cooked, she half expected him to be ready to sleep...ready to consummate their marriage. Instead, he said, “I cooked, so I think it’s only fair you wash the pot and bowls we used. It’s a beautiful night, so I don’t want to erect the tent.”

“I don’t think there’s any need. I’ve never slept beneath the stars, but I do like the idea of it. And they’re so bright here.”

“I believe it’s the lack of fires polluting the air. I’m no scientist, but that sounds right to me.”

“To me as well.” She put the lid onto the pot of beans he’d made. “We can have these for lunch tomorrow.”

“That sounds good. I have some jerky and some dried fish, but we’ll need to do some hunting and fishing as well.”

“I’ll make it work. I was good at foraging for meals for my family after my mother died.”

“And your father?”

She sighed. “He was mostly in the saloon, but he’d come home on occasion and expect a good meal. Thankfully, there was a garden, and I sold our eggs to buy seeds. I only went to school until I was ten, but I taught myself after that.”

“I’m impressed,” he told her. “How many siblings did you have?”

“Six.” She shook her head. “My mother died in childbirth with little Cassandra. I was her mother for the first six years of her life...until my father remarried, and his wife didn’t think there should be two women in the house. So, I got a job at the hotel. I haven’t seen my family since.”

“I’m certain your siblings miss you.”

“Maybe they did at first. But it would have been easier for them to adjust to Maisie as their mother without me around.”

“Perhaps,” he said, looking at her. “I wish your life had been easier, and I’d promise to make your life easier from this day forward, but life in Alaska isn’t a picnic.

I didn’t have a well until last year. Now at least you won’t have to go to the river for the water you need to cook or do laundry. ”

“How far away are our closest neighbors?” she asked, hoping she wouldn’t be the only woman in their area.

“I live on the edge of a tiny town. There’s a small store that carries essentials like flour and seeds.

Mr. and Mrs. Johnson own it. Their daughter lives in Washington now, and Mrs. Johnson is looking forward to another woman in town.

Most of the others are men who work for the lumber mill and a few prospectors, determined to find gold in the river that runs through town.

I sure hope you and Mrs. Johnson get along well because there aren’t any other women around.

” Everett stood up from the ground and walked to the bags he’d had his mule carry.

He looked through two of them before finding what he was looking for.

“This is your wedding present.” He carried something wrapped in brown paper to her, and she untied the string that held it together.

Inside, she found a pair of boots. They were made of soft leather and lined with fur with laces up the side. The laces would make them fit most women easily. “Thank you. I didn’t have a good pair of boots.”

“The Alaska Native people call them mukluks. They’ll keep your feet warm all through the winter.” He looked at her face, trying to determine if she was pleased with the gift.

“I love them,” Belle said softly. “They look like they will be warm and comfortable.”

“I’m a practical man, Belle. I won’t bring you flowers or anything that is made to just look pretty. But I promise you now, that I will make sure all your needs are taken care of. For the rest of your life.”

To Belle, his words were more important than their wedding vows. He wasn’t just repeating something. He was telling her what he would do. “And I promise to keep your home and cook you the best meals I can with what’s around. And I promise to give you as many children as I can.”

He sank back down beside her, and put an arm around her, kissing her softly. “Those are the promises we can keep.”

She smiled. “I don’t know how to bring this up, but...”

“I don’t expect to consummate the marriage tonight if that’s what you’re going to ask. I think we should have at least a couple of days to get to know one another. We’ll let things progress naturally.”

She blinked. “Are you certain?”

He nodded. “Yes, I’m certain. I’d decided that before I ever met you. Of course, when I decided on it, I didn’t realize you’d be pretty. I was a little worried we’d have to put a bag over your head to consummate.”

She giggled. “Well, I think I’m happy to know you don’t want to put a bag over my head now!”

He chuckled. “You’re lovely. I wasn’t expecting a woman who looked half as good as you do.”

“I wasn’t expecting an appealing man, either. I wasn’t really sure what to expect. I mean, I’ve heard of mail-order brides, of course, but I never thought I’d be one. Or meet a man who sent for one.”

“Well, I think it’s going to work out between us. It will if you can cook that is. I need someone who will make more than the beans I know how to make.”

She laughed. “I often helped out in the kitchen of the hotel. I’m not the best cook in the world, but I can make more than beans.” Belle got to her feet. “I’ll get the dishes washed out. I’m surprised at how tired I am.”

“Travel is the most tiring thing I’ve ever done. And then I make you walk and walk...and it’s not stopping for a good long while.”

“How long before we reach Yeti?” she asked.

“We’ll walk around ten days depending on weather and how quickly we walk.

Then we’ll buy a boat at Lake Bennett. From there we’ll travel by water for another two weeks or so.

Then two days on foot to Yeti. It’s not a short journey, but when you see where we’ll live, you’ll know it was all worth it. ”

“If I need to travel extensively, I think I’m happy to do it here.

The wilderness is so beautiful.” She walked to the river and squatted beside it, washing the bowls and spoons they had used.

She would boil water when they stopped for lunch the following day and give them a good scrubbing, but this would have to do for now. She was too tired to do more.

When she got back to camp, Everett gave her a blanket to roll up in.

“I can see you’re too tired to keep talking.

We’ll sleep now. If you hear or see an animal during the night, call out to me.

I’ll take care of it. Thankfully, this is a route that’s being traveled often by prospectors, so most of the wildlife has scattered. ”

“I will let you know. Do you have a gun to use?”

He nodded. “I sleep with one under my blanket. I’m always ready to use it.”

She walked to him and stood on tiptoe, kissing him. “Goodnight, husband.”

“Goodnight, wife.”

She wrapped the blanket around her completely before lying down on a flat piece of ground. He settled close beside her, and she found herself comforted by his presence. She was surprised as she noted it, but she quickly fell asleep. All seemed right with the world.

*****

T HE FOLLOWING MORNING , they started slower than she’d expected. By the time Belle woke, Everett had already started a fire and was boiling water.

As soon as she’d disappeared into the forest to relieve herself, Belle was back, making breakfast for them.

There weren’t a lot of options in the food he’d brought, but there was bacon, and she was able to find what she needed to make pancakes, though she would have preferred to make them using eggs.

While they ate, he talked about the terrain they would face that day, and she listened closely. “I will do my best to keep up!” she told him with a smile.

“I’ll try not to go too quickly. I’m ready to be home. You have to remember that I’ve already done this for a long while.”

“I understand. It seems strange that I’ve been gone from Beckham for two weeks, but I also feel like I just left. Time feels off.”

“Part of that is when the sun rises and sets here. It’s June, so we’re having sun almost twenty-four hours per day. But winter will have the nights just as long.”

“So only a few hours of light in the winter?” she asked. “I read that, but I wasn’t sure it could be true.”

“It’s very true. And an adjustment for most people.”

Belle nodded. “I’m sure it will be a major adjustment for me.”

“It was for me as well. I had to start setting an alarm clock, which I’d never done before. I couldn’t tell when it was day or night. It’s confusing at times, but you get used to it, and it becomes like any other day.”

“I hope you’re right!” Belle said, feeling a bit skeptical. She couldn’t imagine waking up in the middle of the night and seeing it was light out.

“Trust me,” Everett said with a smile.

“I’ll do my best!”

After breakfast, she washed the dishes and they started their day, walking along the path that would take them to Yeti.

By lunchtime, she desperately needed a break. Her calves were burning. She was used to being on her feet all day, but on even terrain. Where they were going was anything but even.

She reheated the beans he’d made the night before for their lunch, and she put more beans on to soak for supper.

She found some salt pork and knew she wanted to add that as well when the time came.

There weren’t a lot of choices for meals, and he promised he would fish and hunt to supplement what he’d brought.

After lunch, they walked again. It seemed to take everything she had in her to keep going, but she knew that it would be worth it once they’d reached their destination. As they walked, she peppered him with questions, some silly, and some important.

“What’s your favorite color?” she asked.

“Blue. Yours?”

“Purple.” She pursed her lips, thinking. “Have you ever been in love?”

He shook his head. “I never took time for love, which is why I sent for a mail-order bride. Have you been in love?”

“Oh, yes. When I was six. There was a boy who went to my school who chased me around the schoolyard, and I let him catch me. We promised each other we’d get married one day.”

“What happened? Shouldn’t you be married now?”

“Unfortunately for me, Marybeth moved into our town the following year. Her blue eyes turned his head, and I was left alone, pining for a love that would never be.”

He shook his head. “I’m so sorry. Are you all right now?”

“The heartache lingered for years, but I seem to have moved on...” She grinned at him. “Tell me about your parents?”

“I grew up in Dakota Territory, but I was desperate for adventure, so as soon as I was old enough, I took a train to Seattle and became a lumberjack there. My friend who is watching the business for me went with me. And when we started to hear stories of the vast wilderness of Alaska, we felt the need to come here.”

“Well, that tells me about why you’re here, but not about your parents. Tell me about your parents.”

“My mother was a schoolteacher, and unlike most, she continued teaching after she got married. My father was the reverend of our church. They’re good people. Just not as keen on adventure as I am.”

“Do you write them?” she asked.

“Yes, I write them at least once a week and receive a letter just as often. I haven’t told them I sent for a mail-order bride because my mother would have insisted I go home and court a girl properly.”

“Would that have been so terrible?” she asked.

He chuckled. “Not terrible. Just time consuming.”

“I can understand that. Now you have to court me after we’re married.”

He took her hand in his. “How am I doing so far?”

“I’ll let you know...”