Page 4 of Sudden Mail-Order Bride (Frontier Brides #1)

Caroline woke to the sounds of the house stirring. In Cincinnati, she would have been the one to start breakfast, cook it, and clean up from it afterward. She couldn’t help feeling as if she were late. She hurried to dress and fix her hair back from her face. Then she clattered down the stairs to the dining room, only to find Jeremy’s place at the table empty. The day seemed decidedly less bright.

His mother was no more pleased. Jack and her husband were also conspicuously missing, and Jacob, Jason, and Joshua snatched up a few griddle cakes from the stack and took them along as they escaped with murmured excuses about work that needed to be done.

Mrs. Willets kept glancing at the door to the hallway, then at the case clock against one wall. Caroline tried commenting on the weather, Jane asked her mother’s advice on healing chapped hands, Joy and Jenny confirmed their tasks for the day, and Joanna chattered about a new hairstyle she wanted to try. Nothing distracted their mother for long.

Caroline had to admire that. She was easily discouraged when plans didn’t go as she’d hoped. It was a wonder her travel from Cincinnati had fared so well. Perhaps that was a sign that this courtship was meant to be.

“I apologize for my son,”

Jeremy’s mother said as his sisters began clearing the table. “I suppose I should apologize for all of them. I made myself perfectly clear that his duty was attending to you.”

She sent another scowl out the door, as if it would reach each of her menfolk.

“I don’t need much attending,”

Caroline told her. “And I’m not used to being idle. I know you said last night that I should consider myself a guest, but isn’t there some way I could help?”

Her face softened. “You’re a woman after my own heart, Caroline Cadhill. Very well. Jane and Joanna will be working on the mending this morning. You can help them until Jeremy returns.”

She pushed off from the table and marched for the kitchen, and Caroline pitied whichever son she found first.

Caroline ventured into the parlor instead, pausing to peruse the bookcase. The Bible, an almanac, adventure novels, and poetry. The girls at the academy had adored Vaughn Everard’s romantic works. It was one thing they’d had in common. As soon as they’d realized she could recite each poem from memory, she had never wanted for companions.

She was taking a seat when his sisters came in a few moments later. Jane carried a tall wicker basket piled with clothing, which she set near Caroline before dropping onto another of the chairs. Joanna, his next to youngest sister, set a pincushion, shears, and spools of thread on the side table, then perched on the sofa.

“Thank you for offering to help,”

Jane told Caroline, selecting a shift from the basket. “Sorry we’re only mending today.”

“I never was much for embroidery and such,”

Caroline admitted, “so mending suits me fine.”

Jane reached into the basket again, then handed her a flannel shirt. “This one’s Jeremy’s. Why don’t you start with it?”

She fingered the soft material of the spruce and scarlet plaid. She could imagine him wearing it. The color would bring out the green in his eyes. She turned over the fabric, looking for the spot that required mending.

“You must be very brave,”

Joanna said as she threaded her needle.

“To come all this way?”

Caroline asked, locating a fray in the cuff of one sleeve. Had he torn it working? She could see him out battling the elements trying to save a wounded cow. Funny. When had she decided he was the gallant hero?

“Not just for coming all this way,”

Joanna said, laughter in her voice. “For coming all this way to marry Jeremy.”

Jane tossed another shirt at her. “You like Jeremy best, and you know it.”

Caroline turned under the frayed material and began pinning it in place. “I like my brother best, but he’s the only brother I have. I can’t imagine having so many to choose from.”

“They each have their gifts,”

Jane admitted, working on reattaching a strap to the shift. “You’ll meet Jesse one day. He’s patient and kind, the sort of brother a girl can run and cry to when things go wrong.”

Joanna took a slow stitch. “Though he’s not the sort to solve problems. You want something done, you go to Jack. He won’t stop until the matter is settled.”

“But if it’s more of a theoretical problem,”

Jane put in, “you go to Jacob.”

“The others call him professor,”

Joanna told Caroline. “He likes to think he knows it all.”

“He knows a great deal,”

Jane protested. “He applied himself to schooling more than the rest of us combined.”

Caroline glanced between them. “Then what do you go to Jeremy for?”

Joanna grinned. “To laugh.”

Jane nodded, tugging at the strap as if to make sure it was now secure. “If your heart’s broken, if you need to remember there’s light in the world, you go to Jeremy. He won’t let you languish.”

“He’ll tease you right out of the doldrums, whether you like it or not,”

Joanna confirmed.

Jane shook her head. “Listen to us prattling on. What about your brother?”

“Oh, Ned’s always good for a laugh too,”

Caroline said, selecting a needle from the pincushion and setting about threading it. “I’m not sure he takes anything too seriously. I had to watch him all the time when he was little because he’d be the first one to reach too high, run too fast. He skinned his knees and chin more times than I can count. I just wish I knew where he is now.”

“Is he missing?”

Jane asked, pausing to eye her.

Caroline’s fingers froze on the needle. “Did Joy tell you about my father?”

The two sisters exchanged glances.

“Yes,”

Jane admitted.

“If,”

Joanna added, “what you said was that he was a noble thief sent to jail because he was too kind.”

Caroline smiled as she began sewing. “That’s not so far off. Only I don’t believe he stole anything.”

She went on to explain the situation.

“Right after my father was sent away, Ned vanished too,”

Caroline finished. “No note. No word of explanation. He left one morning, and he never came back.”

“How terrifying!”

Joanna cried, setting down her work. “What did the sheriff say?”

Caroline refocused on the sleeve. “We have our own police force in Cincinnati. The officer who answered my request said that men leave home all the time, and he had no reason to suspect foul play. He promised to spread the word to watch for Ned, but no one ever reported seeing my brother before I left. I wrote him a note and asked the lodging house owner, Mrs. Potts, to give it to him if he came asking for me. That’s the best I could do.”

Before Caroline knew what was happening, Joanna surged up and wrapped her arms about her. “Oh, Caroline, I’m so sorry! You must be so worried about him!”

When was the last time anyone had hugged her? Her father had never been demonstrative, and Ned seldom thought to hug her. She closed her eyes and sank into the warmth.

“Thank you,”

she said as Joanna withdrew to peer into her face hopefully. “I am worried, but I know there’s nothing I can do. Ned will have to take care of himself this time.”

“Brothers,”

Jane said with a sigh as Joanna returned to her work. “They can be such a blessing and such a trial!”

They sewed in companionable silence for a few moments, then she tied the thread and bent to bite it off.

“Well, there you are, Jeremy,”

Joanna said. “Come in and help.”

Caroline’s head snapped up so fast the string dangled from her lips. He strolled closer and reached out to pull it gently away. His gloved hand brushed her lips, and it was all she could do to force them into a smile.

“Perhaps I should be looking for the shears,”

he said, “so Caroline doesn’t have to work with her teeth.”

“I remember seeing them here somewhere,”

Caroline said. “I was just in a hurry to get it done.”

She held his shirt high and hoped that it would at least partially cover her flaming cheeks.

“My favorite shirt!”

He took it and pressed it against his chest as if it were made of fine velvet. “Thank you.”

Caroline ducked her head, pleasure bubbling up.

“I don’t recall being thanked for sewing your trousers last week,”

Jane huffed, “the ones where you ripped open the seat.”

Caroline glanced up in time to see red appear on his own cheeks. “My mistake. Thank you, Jane, for not subjecting the family to sights better left unseen.”

He wiggled his eyebrows at his sister.

Jane gave it up and laughed.

“Have you come to take Caroline away from us, then?”

Joanna asked, setting aside her own work. They hadn’t made much of a dent in the mending pile, but, she supposed, mending was a constant in a family this size on a busy ranch.

“On Ma’s orders,”

he told them. “Jack and I were a little late coming in this morning, and she met us at the barn. She was rather passionate in her oratory.”

He leaned closer and lowered his voice. “She even used Jack’s middle name.”

Joanna giggled.

“It’s Hercules,”

he explained to Caroline as he straightened. “We all find it ridiculous.”

“But if Ma uses anyone’s middle name,”

Jane put in, smiling, “we all know we’d better run for cover.”

“So, what did Ma want him to do?”

Joanna asked.

“Parcel out any chores he had in mind for me to you all,”

Jeremy replied. “According to Ma, courting takes precedence over every other task for the foreseeable future.”

Oh, but she was determined. Caroline wasn’t sure whether to be pleased or dismayed. Jeremy had told her a little about the sorts of things he did on the ranch, from milking to rounding up the cattle for branding and driving them to market, to hunting and smoking meat to preserve it.

“But it’s spring,”

she protested. “Don’t you have a lot of work to do?”

“Yes, Jeremy,”

Jane said, shift bunching in her fist, “what about the planting? Jack wants to expand Ma’s garden.”

“Jack and Jacob will have that in hand,”

he said, “after consulting the almanac, of course.”

“What about hunting?”

Joanna asked. “We’re all getting tired of ham and jerky. What about a turkey or a goose? Or we could go down to the delta and dig for clams.”

“Clams won’t be easy to dig until summer,”

he reminded her. “And Jason’s better at hunting than I ever will be.”

“Well, you could help with the mending!”

Jane threw the shift at him.

He caught it and deposited it back in the mending basket. “Sorry. You’re on your own.”

Caroline’s conscience tugged. “But I promised to help.”

Joanna moved the basket closer to her skirts. “No, Ma’s right. You’re courting. This is Jeremy’s turn. We’ll have ours one day.”

“And don’t think we’ll forget it,”

Jane warned. “If I ever enter a courtship, I’ll expect you to take over my chores, Jeremy. I’m sure the chickens will love you.”

Joanna nodded, then winked at her brother. “For now, you just work on pleasing Caroline.”

***

Pleasing Caroline. Jeremy nearly shook his head. Why did a man have to woo his mail-order bride? She’d already indicated she was willing to entertain the notion of marrying him. She’d come all the way from Cincinnati to meet him!

But Caroline was looking more and more miserable, back hunching and fingers pleating her skirts.

He leaned a hip against her chair. “So, what exactly would please you, Caroline?”

Her brows rose so fast he wondered she didn’t get dizzy. “Please me?”

“That’s right,”

Joanna put in. “Tell him how you want him to court you.”

Jane nodded her support.

“Well, I,”

she started. Then she cleared her throat and sat taller. “It’s nice when courting couples walk hand in hand together.”

He set a hand on her shoulder. “We could do that.”

She beamed at him, and he felt very noble.

Joanna set aside her mending. “I always like it when Pa holds Ma’s Bible for her during services. And he brings her wildflowers.”

“Not quite in season yet,”

Jeremy allowed, “but I’ll keep my eyes open.”

“It would be romantic to ride out together for a picnic,”

Jane said, his practical sister sounding positively dreamy. “Maybe end up at the drop.”

Not the drop. “It’s too cold for a picnic right now,”

he reasoned.

“Well, the best part of courting is surely sharing your thoughts and feelings,”

Joanna said. “Finding another person in complete harmony with you.”

Both his sisters sighed, and Caroline gazed up at him, hope in her deep brown eyes.

Sharing every thought and feeling? He didn’t do that with his own family! It felt too exposed. He’d opened his heart once, and look where that had led. He no longer believed he’d find anyone in complete harmony with him.

“Let’s start with a walk,”

he said, straightening.

“Give me a moment to fetch my coat,”

Caroline said.

He waited at the foot of the stairs. He should probably show her the rest of the ranch, but even that felt a little too much like his first attempt at courting.

He and Jacob had attended a church social in Olympia five summers ago. His brother had gone for the lectures by several prominent ministers, including one brought from all the way back East. Jeremy had been more interested in finding a lady. The state capital had a greater number of eligible misses than Hawks Prairie or Puget City.

And there, seated across the aisle of the crowded hall, was a golden-haired beauty with a saucy smile. He began to believe Ma and Pa’s story of love at first sight.

“I’m Jeremy Willets,”

he said as soon as he could make his way to her side. “And if you’re not spoken for, I’d like the opportunity to try.”

The petite brunette next to her giggled.

“Maisy,”

his beauty said in a dulcet voice, sky blue gaze on his, “tell Mr. Willets it’s customary to be introduced by family or a mutual friend.”

Maisy smiled at him as Jacob came up to join them. “I’m Maisy Gallagher, Mr. Willets, and I’m sure we’re destined to be friends. So, allow me to introduce you to a great friend of mine, Miss Deborah Morton.”

She leaned closer and lowered her voice. “Darling Deborah is very popular, but she hasn’t settled on a suitor yet.”

Which had meant, he’d naively thought, that he stood a chance at winning her heart.

He’d spent the rest of the social living in her pocket, and Jacob had expressed interest in learning more about Maisy, so they had ridden into Olympia twice a week to call on the ladies for over a month. Deborah had been proper, polite, but just warm enough that Jeremy had been encouraged. So, he had invited the pair to see the ranch.

And that was where Deborah’s feelings, or lack thereof, had become apparent. He’d been so entranced, he hadn’t noticed at first. Looking back, it was easy to recall how cooly she’d spoken with his mother and sisters, eyeing their calico gowns disdainfully. She kept putting her lace-edged handkerchief to her nose as they walked around, as if the normal smells of a ranch overset her.

Maisy had been kinder. She’d turned Deborah’s snide remarks into jokes and expressed her pleasure in her surroundings.

“When you said you were the son of a rancher, Mr. Willets,”

Deborah had said, adjusting her parasol to better cover her flawless complexion, “I admit I thought your ranch would be more impressive.”

He knew a way to impress. At the eastern edge of their property, the land fell away off sharply more than two hundred feet to the valley below, and the Nisqually Delta stretched out like an emerald skirt to the area’s glorious lady, Mount Rainier. He and Jacob had escorted their ladies there.

“Oh, how beautiful,”

Maisy had said, gazing about.

“Yes, it is lovely,”

Deborah acknowledged.

“No more lovely than you,”

Jeremy said, going down on one knee in front of her. “You have captured my heart, Deborah, and I’d like nothing more than to spend the rest of my life making you happy. Would you do me the honor of marrying me?”

Maisy gasped. Jacob stared at him as if Jeremy had lost his senses. Perhaps he had, but nothing had seemed more important than to hear her say she felt the same way.

Instead, she gave her parasol a twirl. “You, Mr. Willets, are entirely too precipitous. I think it best if one of your brothers takes me home. You seem to have a number to spare.”

She turned and started for the house.

He felt as if a horse had kicked in his chest. He could barely struggle to his feet.

“I’m so sorry,”

Maisy said, wringing her hands though none of this was her fault. “She gets these moods. I’m sure it will pass.”

She looked to Jacob. “Perhaps you could drive us home?”

Loyal Jacob pushed up his spectacles. “I fear I’m indisposed. But I’m sure one of my spare brothers can help.”

In the end, Jack had taken them back to Olympia along with the pieces of Jeremy’s broken heart.

“We’ve learned a valuable lesson,”

Jacob had told him as they’d stood on the porch watching the wagon disappear in the distance.

“Never take a gal to the drop?”

Jeremy asked. It was either joke or rail at the world, and he didn’t really want his parents or other siblings knowing how far he’d fallen.

“I was thinking more about casting pearls before swine,”

Jacob had admitted. “The next time we meet likely ladies, we will make sure we know them better before bringing them home. Or proposing.”

“Thanks, Professor,”

Jeremy had said.

It had taken him a few years to build up the will to try again. Deep down, he wanted what his parents had found—companionship, a family. But this time, he’d be the one to call the tune in the courtship.

He’d received several answers to his advertisement for a mail-order bride, but Caroline’s had rung truest. Still, he’d asked her about her family, her situation, and what she hoped for in a marriage. He could say what he thought, and yes, what he felt, without anyone complaining that he teased too much or wasn’t somehow good enough. The worst that would happen is that she’d stop writing.

And now she was here, and he wasn’t entirely sure what to do with her.