Page 9 of Sudden Mail-Order Bride (Frontier Brides #1)

The next morning, everyone except Joanna, Jenny, Joy, and their parents looked tired at the breakfast table. Jeremy had circles under his eyes.

“We’ll finish painting the one barn today,”

Mr. Willets said as they tucked into the griddle cakes, honey, and black cap preserves.

“Everyone except Jeremy and Caroline,”

his wife reminded him. “They’re going riding.”

Caroline had almost forgotten. A shiver went through her, but she focused on the food.

“Keep out of the forest,”

Jack directed from across the table.

“Thanks,”

Jeremy snapped. “I could have figured that out on my own.”

Caroline glanced between them. Jack’s brows were down in a frown. Jeremy stabbed his cake as if he thought it might escape.

“Something wrong with the forest?”

their father asked.

Jeremy rallied to send his father a smile. “Always had a few too many trees for my taste.”

“Besides,”

Jason said with a nudge to his brother Joshua, “Jeremy wants to take Caroline to the drop.”

Jeremy shoved the piece of griddle cake into his mouth and didn’t respond.

“What’s wrong?”

Caroline asked as they walked out toward the barn after breakfast. She couldn’t help admiring how the freshly painted door gleamed. Of course, Jeremy looked even finer. The sunlight sent fire rippling through his hair. The cinnamon-colored duster that covered much of his shirt, trousers, and sturdy leather boots was swinging with his confident stride.

He could have fended off the question, but he answered readily enough.

“Someone’s been camping in the woods,”

he told her, gaze going to the forest. “No real reason for concern. Jack just likes to be cautious because he’s Jack. So, most of us are taking additional shifts to watch over the cattle, just in case the camper turns out to be a rustler.”

He sounded more annoyed than worried, so she decided not to worry either. After all, what did she know about protecting cattle from rustlers? The whole thing sounded like something from a dime novel!

Jeremy led her to a dirt area fenced off from the barn with rails made of split logs. As he stopped beside the fence, two horses ambled over to meet him. One was already saddled and made a noise as if welcoming him. He stroked the dapple-gray nose.

“This is Quicksilver. I’ve had him for years. Pa generally offers each of us our own horse when we turn sixteen.”

He nodded to the other horse, which had a golden mane and coat with patches of white crossing the backside. “That’s Calico, a very patient lady. Most of us learned to ride on her.”

Was she supposed to introduce herself? She couldn’t imagine curtseying to a horse, so she held out her hand. “I’m Caroline. Pleased to meet you.”

Quicksilver shook his head as if she was doing it all wrong, but Calico nuzzled her hand, thick lips leaving a wet streak.

Caroline pulled back with a giggle. “That tickled. Was she saying hello?”

Jeremy patted the horse. “Calico was probably hoping for a carrot. I should have brought one. At least I had Jenny’s saddle ready.”

He climbed the fence and moved to a rail where a blanket and leather contraption were hanging, then positioned them into place on Calico’s broad back.

“There’s a process to buckling and such,”

he said, hands working in a steady rhythm. “Don’t worry about memorizing it right now. One of us will likely always be on hand to help you, but in the long run, it’s wise to know how to do it yourself, just in case.”

“In case of what?”

she asked, watching him finish cinching various bits of leather.

“In case you and the saddle fall off,”

he said, stepping back.

Caroline stared at the horse’s back, which was level with her eyes. “You think I might fall off from up there?”

“Everyone falls at least once,”

he said, returning with another set of leather strips and buckles that fit over the horse’s head. “Jack fell off once a day when he was learning, Pa claimed.”

He winked. “Don’t tell my brother I said so. He’s proud of how he rides now.”

Caroline nodded, trying to convince herself that the saddle wasn’t as high as it looked. She’d seen ladies riding aside, but never mounting.

“How do I get up there?”

she asked.

He finished with the horse’s gear, then led Calico and Quicksilver out a gate to Caroline’s side. His horse was definitely the taller and more powerful looking of the two.

“As Jane noted the other night, none of us lads has ever ridden sidesaddle,”

he acknowledged. “From what I’ve seen, you put foot into the stirrup and push yourself up.”

It was probably easier than it sounded. He held the horse in place with the reins. She placed her hand on his shoulder, stuck her foot into the little cup he had indicated, and straightened. Everything seemed to be going well.

Until Calico moved.

Her foot slipped, and down she went, right into Jeremy’s arms.

He held her gently, smile kind. The light in his eyes warmed. So did her cheeks. She was almost disappointed when he set her upright.

“Let’s try again from the mounting block,”

he said. “Ma and Joy use it.”

He led the horse into the barn, where a little set of wooden stairs waited. He held the horse on the other side. She climbed up and managed to slide herself into the saddle.

Back home, the ladies’ skirts always draped beautifully along the horse’s side when they rode. Hers were all bunched up, showing her limbs nearly to her knees. Though she wiggled and tugged, she couldn’t get the material down.

Jeremy’s cheeks were turning red as well now. “We’ll ask Ma for a riding skirt next time,”

he promised.

Then he showed Caroline how to use the reins. She managed to convince Calico to plod out the door of the barn and back into the sunlight.

She felt rather clever.

“Let’s go a little farther,”

Jeremy encouraged her.

They rode out between the barns. The sky opened in all directions, blue and clear and impossibly high. A breeze ruffled the spring green of the grass. Calico’s walk was slow and even, making Caroline sway forward and back.

“I rode on a boat across the Ohio River once,”

she told him as the horses ambled onto a track that cut through the fields. “It felt like this, rocking while you were sitting still.”

“You’re doing great,”

he assured her.

She braved herself to look toward the horizon. Beyond the trees, beyond the pastures, a massive, rugged cone of snow and rock rose in the distance, dwarfing everything around it.

“Oh, my!”

He smiled. “That’s what many say the first time they see the mountain. That’s Rainier. She’s the biggest of the lot, the highest in all the contiguous states and territories, Jacob tells me. What I wouldn’t give to stand on her top. Can you imagine the view?”

She could more easily imagine him there, standing tall and proud, buffeted by the summit winds, snow flying around him, as he gazed off across the mountain he had conquered.

“Maybe we could start with something smaller,”

she suggested. “Like this drop Jason keeps mentioning.”

He turned away from the view, but he didn’t meet her gaze. “We can ride that far when you’re more comfortable.”

“I feel more comfortable every moment,”

she promised him. “In fact, I’d like to make Calico run. Could we do that?”

He chuckled. “She’s not used to running, but that’s a good thing, because she’s less likely to run away with you. But if you want to see what a horse can do, rein in a moment.”

She did as he asked. He bent and patted Quicksilver on the shoulder, murmuring something in the alert ears. Then he straightened and shouted, “Hiya!”

The horse dove forward.

They raced away from her, dust flying up behind. Caroline put one hand to her brow to shade her eyes enough to spot them as they headed toward the horizon. A moment more, and they came thundering back, the cloud of dust parting like the Red Sea.

As she watched, heart in her throat, he threw his leg over the saddle to join the other, dropped to the ground and bounced, then came up and back into the saddle again. Such skill! Such command!

Quicksilver braced his legs as Jeremy reined in right in front of her, one hand raised in salute.

She applauded, then had to hurriedly pick up her own reins again in case she startled Calico. “Oh, Jeremy, that was famous!”

He ran his hand back over his hair, flattening it where the wind had whipped it up. “Jack and I used to try to best each other. Took me months to master that move.”

“I wouldn’t dare try something like that in skirts.”

She looked to him. “Can Jane do it?”

“When she’s riding astride, maybe. But Jane doesn’t like to show off.”

He grinned. “And I’m sure you can tell that I do.”

“It’s not showing off if it’s displaying a hard-won talent,”

she told him.

“Ma might argue with you there.”

His smile faded as he glanced toward the barn. “Would you mind if we rode back and helped with the painting?”

“Not at all.”

She managed to turn Calico around, and they ambled back toward the buildings.

They spent the rest of the day scrubbing whitewash into wood, until her shoulders ached and her fingers were nearly as white as the paint. But she had to own a certain satisfaction when his father and Jack both praised her work.

They finished in time for another lively dinner.

“Caroline rode out a far piece,”

Jeremy reported as he passed the mashed potatoes to her. “She looked like she was born in the saddle.”

She blushed under the number of admiring glances sent her way.

“And did you go to the lake or the blockhouse?”

his mother asked, lifting a few early peas on the tines of her fork. “Or the drop?”

The platter of venison wobbled in his grip as he passed it on as well. “Far enough to know Caroline will have no trouble riding. Although we need to find a riding skirt for her. Maybe one of the mercantiles in Puget City has ready-made.”

His mother’s eyes snapped fire. “None of my girls is wearing that shoddy ready-made. I’ll make you a skirt myself, Caroline. Until it’s finished, Jenny can loan you one of hers.”

“Happy to oblige,”

Jenny assured her.

His mother went on to lay out the plans for the evening and morning. This time, she didn’t give either Caroline or Jeremy a chore. Maybe that’s why their steps turned for the front porch.

She felt as jittery as when she’d first mounted Calico. But he stood gazing across the dark fields into the black of the night sky, so she should probably do the same.

“There must be a million of them,”

Caroline said, watching the stars twinkle.

“Only about a hundred head,”

Jeremy said, but that teasing tone was back in his voice.

“I can see why people told stories about them,”

she said. “The stars, not the cows. They’re so bright, like you could reach out and touch them, like they want to be part of your life.”

“Can’t blame the stars,”

Jeremy said, moving closer. “One look at you, and I want to be part of your life.”

She turned to him, surprised, and his hand came up to touch her cheek, soft, reverent. Once more she closed her eyes. He was so close. Her lips puckered in anticipation.

“Are you going to kiss?”

Caroline’s eyes snapped open to find Joy standing in the doorway, glancing between her and Jeremy.

“That’s what courting people do, Joy,”

Jeremy told his sister, voice now a little sharper. “Talk, walk, kiss.”

“Well, go ahead, then,”

she said. “But hurry up. Jack said to fetch you. It’s your turn with the cows.”

Jeremy shook his head. “Duty calls. Good night, Caroline.”

He strode into the house, leaving her wondering what might have been.

***

This family! At this rate, he and Caroline might manage to kiss on their thirty-fifth wedding anniversary!

Jeremy stalked down the corridor for the kitchen, nearly colliding with Jason as he came out. His younger brother held a handful of soft brown fur. “Thought you might want to give this to Caroline.”

“Because nothing says love like a dead animal?”

Jeremy guessed.

His brother scowled. “It’s mink. I caught it in one of the traps the other day, and I skinned it. You can make something nice for her with the pelt, maybe a collar for her coat. Girls like that.”

Jeremy shook his head. “And how would you know what girls like?”

“There are four of them in this family alone,”

Jason reminded him. “I listen. You should too.”

He stalked off down the corridor, carrying the pelt with him.

Oh, he was listening. He just had more thinking to do was all.

He had plenty of time to consider as he took his turn with Jack and Jane. They’d spotted nothing unusual, but Jack still insisted on a triple guard. In the cool darkness, cattle lowing, Jeremy came to a conclusion. He couldn’t do anything about his father’s illness or the strangers in the woods. He could do something about his courtship.

“It may rain later,”

he told Caroline as Joshua and Joy brought in the porridge and bacon the next morning. “We should go for a ride. I want to show you the drop.”

She agreed readily, but then, she didn’t know what the drop meant. His brothers and sisters knew that he and Jacob had taken Deborah and Maisy there on their ill-fated visit, though not that Jeremy had made a fool of himself by proposing. When Jesse had led his Alice to see the drop on their first visit, the others had decided that’s what the view was for—courting your sweetheart and giving her a kiss.

He’d almost kissed Caroline last night. She’d looked up at him so sweetly, starlight sparkling in her hair, then closed her eyes, as if she wanted to feel his lips against hers. His own longing was welling up in him again now as they rode out. He managed to keep his hands on the reins even though all he wanted was to reach out and touch her.

As they neared the edge of the cliff that ran down to the Nisqually Delta, his muscles tensed, and he slowed Quicksilver. Caroline reined in as well, easier in the saddle than he had been the first few times Pa had put him on a horse. She seemed to acclimate to new situations quickly. Another reason to admire her.

“Oh, Jeremy,”

she murmured, eyes shining as she gazed out over the delta. “It’s beautiful.”

She sounded awed. Though he’d seen the view dozens of times, he couldn’t help marveling a little himself. The tide was out. The wide grasslands of the delta were greening with spring, and the Nisqually cut through them in silver braided streams, with Medicine Creek a darker gray just below. Gulls swept the skies to wheel down toward the bluer waters of Puget Sound.

He’d called Deborah lovely here, but the real beauty was sitting next to him now. The breeze fingered through Caroline’s dark hair, setting tendrils to swaying like smoke. Her lips were parted, as if she couldn’t catch her breath.

“That’s the Nisqually River,”

he told her, pointing. “That darker smudge on the far side is the cliff rising to Fort Nisqually, the old Hudson’s Bay Company trading post. And there—that’s a whole herd of deer.”

She stared at the brown mass, which seemed to be undulating, as if they bounded across the grass for the sheer joy of it. “How marvelous! Can we ride down and see them?”

“Best not,”

he said with a smile. “It’s not easy to get down that steep slope. You might say, it’s another world there.”

“A wonderful world,”

she assured him. “Why did you hesitate to show it to me?”

Jeremy focused on the view. “Jacob and I brought two ladies from Olympia here once. Things didn’t go well.”

“Why?”

she asked with a frown. “Were they poor riders?”

“We never had a chance to find out. Jacob’s lady decided she preferred the city, and my lady didn’t care for the ranch, or me, very much.”

She stuck her nose in the air. “Well, she couldn’t have been very smart or very kind, then, because I think both are perfect.”

She could not know how her words touched him, like liniment rubbed into a sore muscle to ease the pain.

“There’s another reason I hesitated to come out this way,”

he admitted. “My brothers and sisters have it in their heads that this is where you bring a girl to kiss her.”

“Oh.”

She waited.

Expectantly.

His heart whispered a warning, but Jeremy gave in to his longings. Leaning across between the horses, he brushed his lips against hers.

They were soft and cool, but they quickly warmed. They tasted of the honey she’d put on her porridge, or maybe she was just naturally sweet. The touch of her lips, the way she sighed, the glow in her eyes as he released her were everything he could have wished for.

Jack wasn’t going to get much work from him today. Such a kiss could shift the way a fellow saw the world, his future, and himself.