by Ember Pierce
* * *
As soon as his father came in, both his parents pulled up chairs and sat down near him. Kristian leaned his head back on the top of the rocking chair and closed his eyes, enjoying the dark quiet of the house he had grown up in.
* * *
He knew that he needed to talk to his parents, to present them with the plan he had spent so long coming up with as he lay recuperating at Rhonda’s place. Now, though, he felt like all he wanted was a good nap.
* * *
Pa cleared his throat and Kristian opened his eyes, realizing that the time to talk was now. “I’m not going to beat around the bush,” he began.
* * *
“I’m going to come home and give things a try. I honestly don’t know if I can do any of it, but when Otto told me I almost died the other night, it gave me a lot to think about.”
* * *
“Kristian,” Ma began, but she had to stop because there were tears in her eyes and in her voice. Just hearing her like that made Kristian choke up, too.
* * *
“Ma, please don’t cry. I know I haven’t been the son you deserve. I’m not John, and I won’t be able to do the job that John would have done, but I want to give it a go.”
* * *
Kristian paused, looking from his mother to his father. They both stayed silent, and for a moment he thought he had missed his mark.
* * *
“This is just so wonderful,” his mother finally said. “It’s more than I dared to hope for.”
* * *
“We don’t expect you to do the same job as John would have done,” his father said.
* * *
“We value you for what you bring to this family, this ranch. You are different than your brother was, and that isn’t a bad thing.”
* * *
Kristian could see how happy his parents were. They had tears in their eyes, so he was almost hesitant to bring up the next topic.
* * *
He cleared his throat and said, “There is one other thing that Pa suggested I do, and that is get married.” He saw his parents exchange a glance.
* * *
He continued, “I don’t have time to court anyone right now, so I have decided to go with a mail-order bride.
* * *
“I found an advertisement for a woman I think will fit in well here. If she’s interested, things could move fairly quickly. I hope you are both okay with this.”
* * *
They looked at each other again. Then, they turned to him with beaming smiles on their faces. “We couldn’t be happier, son,” Pa said.
* * *
Ma nodded her agreement before standing to wrap Kristian in another hug. The conversation had been far shorter than he had anticipated, but he also felt supported in ways he never had before.
* * *
After another round of hugs, Ma helped him off to his bedroom, where he sank gratefully into his own bed.
* * *
He pulled the advertisement out of his shirt pocket once he was alone so that he could read the description again:
* * *
My name is Bonny Wightman. I am eighteen years old, and am looking to come west as a mail-order bride.
* * *
As the sixth daughter in a family with twelve children, I am quite good at cooking and cleaning. If you are interested in corresponding with me, please write to the address provided below.
* * *
As a man I hope will consider becoming my husband, I suppose I should tell you a few things about me and do it without seeming overly talkative.
* * *
As I mentioned, I am in a family with twelve children. I don’t know anything about privacy but if our house had ample room, I would appreciate it.
* * *
I have no real rules and know true character is in the heart and not on the outside of a man. But, growing up with twelve others, I am a hard worker and I will keep the house sparkling clean.
* * *
I’ve done my best to get an education but haven’t had a chance to complete my school. If you would not mind, I’m sure I could complete my household duties and still have time to learn more.
* * *
I do love to read, whenever I get a chance, which isn’t often. But I do love books and poetry.
* * *
When I read the beautiful words of poetry, my heart opens and I want to cry. If we might have a spot that I could use for reading, I would be so ever grateful.
* * *
You also said you had a ranch, and I wondered if you had horses. Once, long ago, I was able to ride a horse, just briefly. And I loved it, and I always loved horses.
* * *
They always look so graceful and beautiful. There is always a majestic quality about them. So, I was wondering if you had horses on your ranch, horses I might ride.
* * *
I heard once you have mountains in Colorado. There are no mountains here, only cities. Only pavement and houses and flat land.
* * *
But I would so enjoy seeing your mountains. Mountains seem like freedom to me. Freedom of the body and the soul.
* * *
May I inquire if you go to church? Frankly, my parents aren’t strict churchgoers, but they do attend occasionally and I do like the services.
* * *
I guess one reason is it just gets me out of the house and I get to talk to people after the service who are not just my family.
* * *
I do like the pastor here and his sermons have, to be truthful, kept my dreams alive. If you don’t, that’s all right. A husband is the head of the family, but I just wanted to inquire.
* * *
Well, I guess I have gone on too long. I sort of started talking about poetry and horses and mountains and didn’t want to stop.
* * *
Perhaps I did go on too long, but I think you can really understand me now.
* * *
I do hope you will reply.
* * *
Bonny Wightman
* * *
He had almost fallen in love with the ad. Perhaps it was the part where she was one of twelve kids.
* * *
There was something comforting in the thought that she might understand how he had felt about his own brother. He thought the ad was both truthful and touching.
* * *
He could imagine how she felt, and his heart went out to her. Any wife of his should like horses.
* * *
Kristian wanted his response to be equally truthful and assure her his home would be a wonderful place. He had sent a message that read:
* * *
Dear Miss Wightman,
* * *
My name is Kristian Downing. I am twenty-nine years old and have never been married.
* * *
I live in the Red Desert of Wyoming on my parents’ ranch, called the Triangle Ranch. Someday I will, hopefully, take over the ranch, and run it along with my future wife and children.
* * *
Currently I am learning how to run the ranch, and I hope that if you are interested in being my wife, you would want to learn alongside me.
* * *
I can assure you that there will be time for you to complete your education. My parents put a high emphasis on education and so do I. All three of us will want you to get a diploma.
* * *
It is true that some men in the West do not put a high value on education, and particularly on the education of women. But that is not the case with the Downing family.
* * *
I assure you that I share your views on horses and mountains. The town of Red Desert has mountains nearby and, you are right, they are beautiful.
* * *
You will love seeing them, especially when the snow comes. The snow-capped mountaintops are very scenic.
* * *
And yes, we do have horses here, and I will teach you to ride. If y
ou treat horses right—and I’m sure you will—they will be your best friend.
* * *
A horse can be as devoted to you as a dog and can be as close to you as a family member. We do have a roamer named Temple; she is very gentle and I’m sure you would like her very much.
* * *
Yes, we do attend church. Both my parents know and respect Reverend Smallwood, who is almost a member of the family.
* * *
I don’t think Mother just goes to the church whenever the pastor opens the door, I think Momma has a key. The pastor is a friend of the family and I’m sure he always will be.
* * *
We are one of the families who have a Bible on the coffee table in our living room. It also serves, as some Bibles do, as our heritage.
* * *
The chronology of our family names are in it. Our family goes back in this state for at least a hundred years.
* * *
But I’m sure you would be a wonderful addition to our family,
* * *
I look forward to hearing your response.
* * *
Sincerely, Kristian Downing
* * *
Advertising for a mail-order bride was a major step in life. There were a few ladies of age in Red Desert who would not have minded if Kristian had asked permission to court them.
* * *
Kristian did not have a great reputation, but some women did believe they could change a man. And Kristian was a good catch.
* * *
His family’s ranch offered a good home with thousands of good acres around it. Any number of women would have taken a chance on reforming Kristian.
* * *
But that was one reason he didn’t want to pursue a local lady. He had made a decision to change dramatically from the past and, to him, courting a local woman would not be making the dramatic break he needed.
* * *
He wanted a new woman to go along with his new life. A lady from Red Desert would always remind him of the past.
* * *
Once he’d made the decision, he wanted to do it quickly. He didn’t want to keep the letter in his desk and think twice about it. Or think about it three or four times.
* * *
He rushed down and slipped the letter into the post office slot.
* * *
He was in such a hurry, it was only later when he realized he had not made an overwhelming case for himself as a husband and made an overwhelming case for Red Desert as a good place to live and bring up children.
* * *
At first, he panicked a little. What lady would respond to that letter?
* * *
He hadn’t praised the town or the country or the beautiful scenery or the wonderful people, or the fine, god-fearing pastor the local church had.
* * *
He hadn’t written anything about himself. That was understandable, considering his previous reputation, but he could have mentioned a few things about himself.
* * *
Or he could have spoken of his brother John, that he was older and was a very fine man and Kristian was trying to live up to his memory. There was nothing wrong with that.
* * *
He shook his head. How many women reading his letter would run to a desk, grab a pen and hastily scribble an acceptance based on his gracious words?
* * *
He wondered if he should write a second letter, one that would make him and Red Desert sound a little better. He just wasn’t sure.
* * *
He had no experience seeking a mail-order bride.
* * *
He waited impatiently. It was a perfect time to succumb to a drink.
* * *
But he didn’t.
* * *
He waited for a heart-stuttering two weeks. When he finally got Bonny’s reply, he felt like things were turning around for him.
* * *
Bonny had not given him a definitive approval, but she expressed interest in the proposal and interest in Wyoming. She admitted she had never been much past Philadelphia and was interested to see the West.
* * *
And she asked him about his habits and if he was a reader. Frankly, before he had started drinking so much, he had read—not only about the West, but history, too.
* * *
The elders of Red Desert did believe in education and had hired a good schoolmaster for the local schoolhouse. The library was small, but it was stocked with books.
* * *
As Kristian’s head healed, Pa had helped him set up the tiny building that used to be the bunkhouse for traveling ranch hands into a home for him and Bonny.
* * *
It wasn’t much to look at, but it was dry and would be cool for the rest of the summer and warm in the fall, winter, and spring.
* * *
Kristian also knew he had to be on his best behavior. The mail-order protocol in the West was that a lady and gentleman would write one another and, if both wanted, the gentleman would purchase a ticket to his hometown to meet the lady.
* * *
While in the town, the lady would stay at a boarding house or with a friend of her possible husband. If the intended had a large enough ranch, it was accepted that she stay with the possible husband.
* * *
The two would get to know one another. If they decided to go ahead with the ceremony, there would be a wedding. If not, the bride would go back east, with the disappointed would-be groom paying the transportation bill.
* * *
Kristian thought the family farm was not only large enough, plus his parents lived there so that would pass the test.
* * *
Things had moved faster than even Kristian had anticipated. Suddenly, he was looking at a whole new life—he was going to be married.
* * *
He hadn’t expected that he would feel excited about all the changes, but he had to admit that he did. Not that nerves weren’t threatening to eat him alive.
* * *
It was one thing to tell himself that he was living for John, that all the changes he was making were to honor the brother he had lost. It was another thing to start living out those changes.
* * *
The fact that he would soon have a wife—if she found him acceptable—was frightening to him.
* * *
Besides his parents, he had never really had to prove himself to anyone. And, most recently, if he had tried to prove himself to anyone, he would have failed.
* * *
In those first few days after his accident, he and Otto had talked extensively about what he should do to move forward. Otto had agreed vigorously with Pa that getting married would change Kristian’s perspective on everything.
* * *
Kristian hadn’t been so sure. Then, he had seen Bonny’s ad, and there was something, some force outside of himself that had urged him to respond.
* * *
Like there was a cosmic force trying to bring them together.
* * *
Bonny
* * *
“He sounds ideal. Well, maybe not ideal, but much better than the other letters you received,” Betty said, handing the letter back to Bonny, who had managed to slip away from her house to talk to her friend.
* * *
Usually, she managed to get away once a day to get some breathing space. On this trip, she showed Betty the latest letter from Kristian.
* * *
Bonny smiled and nodded. “He’s not fifty, thank goodness. And there was another man who wrote back who told me he had five boys, the oldest being 12.
