Page 8 of Sudden Mail-Order Bride (Frontier Brides #1)

Caroline and Joy went through the kitchen door just as Jack came out. The rest of the congregation was likely gathering horses and harnessing teams, but Jeremy’s brother had already changed into his work clothes, and everything from the determined look on his face to his swift stride spoke of purpose. Jeremy swallowed a sigh and widened his stance.

“It’s Sunday, Jack,”

he said. “A day of rest and reflection, according to Ma and the Bible.”

“The good Lord didn’t run a cattle ranch,”

Jack retorted, but he glanced back at the house as if fearing to see Ma coming after him with the rolling pin.

Jeremy crossed his arms over his chest. “No, He only created the world and everything in it. I figure since He could take a day off, so can we.”

Jack drew abreast. His hair might be the same fiery red as Jane’s, but it had been cut short and his chin was clean shaven, as if he didn’t brook any nonsense even from his hair. “I was going into the woods again to make sure we don’t have more company we didn’t expect.”

“No one’s smelled smoke or spotted a stranger,”

Jeremy reminded him.

“Our stranger may have gotten better about hiding his tracks,”

Jack replied.

Jeremy had had in mind to spend his afternoon with Caroline as soon as he could pry her free from his mother. Maybe they would take a walk, and he could hold her hand. Maybe he’d show her the pond.

Maybe she’d let him kiss her.

Where had that thought come from?

Time to consider later. For now, Ma had appropriated her, and he couldn’t let Jack head off to meet an unknown number of possibly dangerous men all by himself.

“Give me a moment to change,”

Jeremy said. “I’ll come with you.”

Jack’s smile hitched up.

A short time later, the two of them strode out across the fields toward the forest. Jacob had been right—the sun was out. The clouds were running for the mountains, leaving the fields sparkling clean and bright green. It would have been a perfect day for walking or riding with Caroline. He cast a glance back at the house.

“You like her,”

Jack said.

Jeremy chuckled. “Perceptive, brother. Was it the way I stare at her like a starving man or how I keep within three feet at all times?”

“Neither,”

Jack said, gaze on the trees as they approached. A few of the Ruby Reds raised their heads to watch them. “You’ve always been quick to deflect questions with a quip, except when it comes to her. You actually talk to Caroline.”

“I talk to you,”

Jeremy insisted. “You just don’t listen to what I have to say.”

“I listen,”

Jack said. “I don’t always agree, but I listen.”

He paused at the edge of the woods and peered into the shadows.

Jeremy drew in a breath through his nose. “No more smoke than usual, and likely coming from the house.”

“Agreed,”

Jack said. For a moment, Jeremy thought that might be enough to satisfy his brother. But Jack plunged into the shadows, and Jeremy followed.

They wound their way through the trees, brushing against sword ferns as high as their waists. The mossy ground quieted the sound of their steps, so that he could hear the twitter of birds in the distance. The air smelled of decaying wood and new growth.

Jack went silently, as much to keep from alerting any enemy as the fact that he preferred silence. Jeremy’s mind drifted. Courtship, mail-order brides, and stories that might not be true, like his parents’ belief in love at first sight. Like his belief that Deborah had cared.

Suddenly, Jack surged to the right. Jeremy changed course to match. They crashed through the brush into a clearing where bracken had been uprooted and trampled.

Jack turned in a circle, gaze spearing into the forest.

Jeremy crouched by a pile of charred branches. “Cold. Whoever built this has been gone hours, maybe a full day.”

Now Jack’s gaze swept the ground. “Looks like three people tried to bed down, there, there, and there. Wasteful. They could have used the bracken to cushion the ground. Instead, they just shoved it aside. So, did our first stranger send for friends?”

“Or are these two groups?”

Jeremy countered, rising.

Jack shook his head. “Either way, I don’t like it. There’s a perfectly good road to Puget City and Olympia. No one has any reason to ride through our land, much less camp without permission.”

“It’s not like there’s a sign,”

Jeremy pointed out, waiting to see what his brother planned to do next. “The forest track isn’t even fenced. They might not have known they were on our land. Not everything is a danger, Jack.”

“And not everything is safe either,”

Jack replied, turning away. “We’ll add a watch on the cows during the day and double the watch at night.”

Jeremy frowned, following. “For how long?”

“As long as it takes to make sure these rustlers are gone.”

Jack cast him a glance. “We’ll need your help too.”

“You have it,”

Jeremy assured him. “Even though I’m still not convinced you need it. Maybe we should talk with Pa first.”

Jack kept his gaze on the brush as they cut through the forest. “I’m trying to spare Pa as much as possible. He’s not well, Jeremy.”

Jeremy grabbed his brother’s shoulder to stop him. “What do you mean? Pa looks fine.”

Jack met his gaze. “He limps. He gets tired a lot faster than he used to. Doc Rawlins said his heart isn’t as strong as it should be.”

His jaw felt as if it were made of rock. “Why am I hearing about this now?”

“Pa didn’t want to worry anyone. Ma is concerned enough as it is. You’ve seen how she’s taken to giving everyone orders. I figured if I stepped up, if I took on more of the work, he could rest.”

So, that’s why his brother had been driving himself, and the rest of them, so hard.

Jeremy released him. “So, we don’t tell Pa. If you need help, come to me.”

“I thought you were courting,”

Jack said. “Riling up Ma isn’t going to give Pa any rest.”

“You leave Ma to me,”

Jeremy said as they set out again. “I can manage courting and caring for my family at the same time.”

“It’s not that easy,”

Jack said, skirting a massive boulder. “I haven’t even found a way to go courting.”

“For which the ladies in Puget City and Olympia are grateful,”

Jeremy told him with a grin.

“Joke all you like,”

Jack retorted. “Jane, Jenny, and Joanna will be marrying in the next few years. Ma’s going to need help too. A wife who understands ranching would be a benefit.”

“Maybe you haven’t been paying attention,”

Jeremy said, ducking under a low-hanging branch. “Ma expects you to marry for love, not for her benefit.”

“Who says I can’t do both?”

Jack challenged. “I’m not planning on writing away for a mail-order bride. I’d rather meet a gal first and get to know her by her actions rather than her words.”

Jacob had said much the same. But Caroline’s letters had carried more than words—they’d carried hopes, fears, dreams. And now that she was here, her actions matched what he’d gleaned. She was a fine woman, someone who would make an excellent wife.

And others were already noticing.

***

Caroline spent part of the afternoon with Jeremy’s mother and sisters, planning ways they could raise money for the new church. It was the least she could do, having no funds to contribute. Then she and Jenny worked on the pie for dinner, bringing it hot from the oven just before they all sat down. The crust was golden brown, the scents exactly what she’d hoped when she’d grated the spices into the fruit mixture.

Jenny licked her lips. “He’ll love it!”

She could only hope.

The one thing that had made the afternoon less enjoyable was that she missed spending time with Jeremy.

Funny—she’d had only his words for the last three months. When had his presence become so important to her?

She was used to the dinner routine by now. His father said the blessing, and bowls and platters began flying. Jeremy encouraged her to fill her plate and joined in the conversation, but he didn’t joke nearly as much, and his gaze kept drifting to his father.

She couldn’t imagine they’d had an altercation. His father had been even-tempered in his dealings with her. Was he more stern than he’d seemed?

She studied the family patriarch between bites of biscuit. Were there more lines around his eyes? A gray tinge to his skin? He seemed to be picking at his food, but maybe chicken stew wasn’t to his liking.

Would he like the strawberry rhubarb pie any better?

Jenny brought it out as the rest of the meal ended. Her smile lit the room as she set it down in front of Ma. “Courtesy of Caroline,”

she said with a wink to her.

“How lovely!”

Ma exclaimed. “Pass your plates for a piece.”

She’d been amazed by how quickly the family passed their serving bowls during a meal. Now she barely caught sight of the plates as they zoomed down the table. Her plate came back just as quickly. She cut into the pie. Firm crust top and bottom. Good. Not too much liquid. Better. She put a forkful in her mouth. Spices about right, but maybe she should have added a little more sugar. The strawberries here were all wild and smaller than she was used to.

Jeremy groaned.

Her hopes plummeted, and she chanced a glance in his direction. His head had lolled back on his neck, and he was eyeing heaven as if suspecting it had arrived on their doorstep.

“Good?”

she asked, afraid to hear the answer.

He swallowed, meeting her gaze. “Delicious! Thank you so much!”

She drew in a breath, smiling back. “You’re welcome. Jenny told me it was your favorite.”

“A favorite and not one easy to make around here,”

his mother confirmed. “Nicely done, Caroline, dear.”

And if that wasn’t fine enough, Mrs. Willets even allowed Caroline to help clear the table, as if she were no longer just a guest.

“I knew Jeremy would like it,”

Jenny said as Caroline set a stack of plates near the big porcelain sink that stood under the window.

“We all enjoyed it,”

Jack put in, passing on the way to the back door. “Nice to have another good cook in the house.”

Caroline fanned herself with her hand as he exited. “I don’t think I’ve heard so much praise my whole life, and all over a pie!”

“Not just a pie,”

Jane said, coming in with a pile of serving bowls. “You have a commendable attitude, Caroline. We all feel it.”

She glanced to the door to the hallway, where Jeremy stood waiting.

“Go on,”

Jenny said with a grin. “Jane and I can handle the rest.”

“You have the most marvelous family,”

Caroline told him as they started for the parlor.

“You’ll get no argument from me there,”

he said. “And you didn’t have to cook for me, but I’m glad you did. You know what you’re doing in the kitchen.”

Much more of this and her chest would be so puffed she’d no longer fit in her clothes.

“I had to learn fast,”

she explained. “My mother showed me a few things before she died, but Father just expected me to carry on with the cooking afterward. I experimented a lot over the years.”

“You can experiment on me any time,”

he promised her.

The rest of his family joined them a short time later. Because it was Sunday, Jack had agreed to start the evening cattle watch a little later so everyone could be together for a bit. Joshua and Jason brought in chairs from the dining room. Caroline wasn’t sure what was planned, but Jeremy’s family seemed to be watching Mrs. Willets on her seat on the sofa.

“Storytelling tonight,”

she declared.

Someone grumbled.

Their mother ignored the sound. “Your task is to think of a tale to encourage and inspire.”

Joy, who was sitting next to her, wiggled closer. “May I go first, Ma? Please?”

Mrs. Willets smiled at her. “Yes, you may, Joy.”

Joy beamed, then glanced around at her family. Clasping both hands in front of her gingham dress as if she couldn’t contain her delight, she raised her head.

“Once upon a time,”

she said, “there was a family that lived on a big ranch in Washington Territory.”

Jeremy leaned closer to Caroline and lowered his voice. “Stop me if you’ve heard this one before.”

She bit her lips to keep from giggling.

“They had lots of cows,”

Joy continued, “and some horses and the cutest sheep.”

“Only you think the sheep are cute,”

Jason informed her.

Joy scowled at him. “This is my story.”

“Let her speak, Jason,”

Mr. Willets put in.

Jason subsided with a nod.

“They also had pigs and chickens,”

Joy said, a dreamy smile replacing her scowl. “And lots and lots of people who all loved each other very much.”

Jason rolled his eyes, but his sisters and brothers were smiling. So was Caroline.

Joy’s round face sagged, and she lowered her hands to her lap. “But there was one hole in their big, happy family. They didn’t have a dog.”

“Here we go,”

Joshua muttered, sinking lower in his chair.

“So they went to their good friend, Mrs. Abercromby,”

Joy continued, undaunted, “whose dog had had puppies, and they picked out the sweetest pup with big brown eyes and brought her home. And they all lived happily ever after. The end.”

“We’re not getting a dog, Joy,”

Jack said, crossing his arms over his chest.

She turned to her father. “Please, Pa? Mrs. Abercromby only has a few, and she already gave some away. We might be too late.”

“Sorry, sweetheart,”

Mr. Willets said. “There are still too many critters that would eat it. Maybe in a few years.”

Her sigh filled the room as she collapsed back beside her mother.

Caroline felt for the girl.

Mrs. Willets glanced her way. “Perhaps Caroline next?”

She pressed a hand to her chest as her heart thudded against it. Once again, all thought fled.

As if he could see she was tongue-tied, Jeremy pressed his hand on hers. “Allow me.”

She nodded thankfully.

“Once, there was a cowboy named Slim,”

he began, leaning back in his seat and pulling his hand away in the process. She almost reached for it back, but she was still too aware of the number of people watching them.

“He lived in the dry Texas country,”

Jeremy explained. “He was a little on the lazy side, and he always found an excuse not to tend to his mount.”

“Sounds like a few cowboys I know,”

Jack muttered, and Joshua avoided his look.

“The other wranglers got a might tired of always having to saddle, unsaddle, brush, feed, and water whatever horse he rode,”

Jeremy continued, “but they couldn’t stand to see an animal suffer. So, one morning, right after a rainstorm, they saddled a pony for him. When Slim came out of the bunkhouse, he swung himself into the saddle, then glanced down.

‘“Why are my feet dragging on the ground?”’ he demanded.

‘“Well,”’ they said, ‘“if you leave a horse out in the rain, you can’t be surprised when it shrinks.”’

Everyone started laughing, even Jack. Caroline grinned at Jeremy, who grinned back.

“I hope he learned to take care of his horse,” Joy said.

“Yes, ma’am,”

Jeremy said. “And they all lived happily ever after. The end.”

If only her story had the same ending.

That hope remained with her when Mrs. Willets declared it time for bed, and everyone headed out of the parlor. Caroline found herself beside Joy.

“Did you have a dog back in Cincinnati?”

Jeremy’s youngest sister asked, her voice still laced with longing.

“No,”

Caroline admitted. “Our house was small, and we didn’t have much of a yard. But I always wanted one.”

Joy sighed. “Me too.”

She trudged up the stairs as if all the light had left the world.

Caroline glanced down the corridor. The sons and Jane were bunched near the kitchen door, faces tight and voices murmuring, but Jeremy left with Jacob and Jane, and the others disappeared into the kitchen, so she couldn’t ask why.

But something was going on, and if she was going to live here, she should do what she could to help.