Groom For Hire (Pioneer Series #3)

by Ruth Ann Nordin

  “I worked inside for a while when I was younger. I was never content. I had a nagging suspicion that there was something I was missing.”

  “That something was me.”

  He raised an eyebrow at her joke. “Believe it or not, when I first met you, the last thing I wanted was for this marriage to last.”

  “I suspected as much.”

  “It didn’t have anything to do with you. It’s just that you reminded me of someone from my past.”

  “Someone you loved?”

  “Yes,” he admitted. “Seeing you only brought up the past, and all I wanted to do was move forward with my life. As it turned out, you’re nothing like her, and the more I get to know you, the less you remind me of her.” He wrapped his arm around her shoulders and drew her closer to his side. “Just so you know, I’m glad you’re nothing like her. She hated being outside. She never would have been happy helping me take care of the wagon train. We wouldn’t have been a good fit. You and I, however, make a great team, and I love you more than I ever loved her.”

  “I’m glad she didn’t want to be with you. That left you free to be with me.”

  With a smile, he lowered his head to hers and brushed her lips with his. “I’m glad she didn’t end up with me, either. You’re the best thing that’s ever happened to me.”

  She returned his kiss. “However my father reacts to my letter, we’ll handle it together, but I think he’ll be happy that I’m with someone who loves me.”

  He hoped so. He hoped her father wouldn’t be disappointed that he wasn’t going to give her the kind of life a wealthy young man in California would have. For now, he would have to put the matter aside. She was going to send the letter, her father was going to read it, and whatever happened from there, they would, as she put it, face it together.

  But she was going to have to take the letter to the post office later because right now he had other things in mind. He brought his hands to the buttons on her shirtwaist and started to undo them. With a moan, she hurried to help him, and before long, they were making love.

  * * *

  Two weeks later after their evening meal, Henrietta fired the gun, and she hit her mark. She and Michelle had chosen a spot far from the others to practice. Not because Michelle worried that Alice would come over to condemn her for teaching Henrietta how to shoot a gun. But Henrietta was self-conscious and didn’t want anyone else to watch her.

  Michelle clapped her hands. “I knew you could hit the target!”

  “That was two in a row,” Henrietta said, her eyes wide. “I can’t believe I did it.”

  “I told you that you could. You just needed to put your mind to it. You can’t let the fear of failure get in your way.”

  “Is that your secret? You push aside your fears and press on with your goal?”

  “I wouldn’t say that I feel fear. I see everything as a challenge.”

  “But doesn’t the challenge ever frighten you?”

  Michelle thought over the question. “I was apprehensive about going on this trip to California. I spent my entire life in Omaha, and I’d never been away from home. I was warned that life was going to be tough while on the trail. But I wasn’t afraid.”

  Henrietta shook her head in amusement. “You have so much courage. I was afraid when we left Omaha, and if you want to know something else,” she lowered her voice, “Danny was, too.”

  “He was?”

  She nodded. “He didn’t say it in words, of course, but he was so sick with worry over the trip before we started that he threw up for a week.”

  “He threw up?” Michelle asked, hardly able to believe it.

  “Every time he’s extremely nervous, he does that. Remember when Brandon was in the back of our wagon? Danny couldn’t eat anything the entire time. He almost threw up a couple of times. The only thing that kept him from doing it was Joe’s constant reassurance that Brandon was only suffering from drinking too much whiskey.”

  “Poor Danny. He isn’t meant for this kind of life.”

  “No, he’s not. That’s why it’s good you married Joe instead of him. If you married Danny, you would have had to coddle him every day for the rest of your life, and I can’t see you being the type who’d be happy treating a grown man like he was a child.”

  “Danny didn’t really like me, did he?”

  “He did,” Henrietta replied. “But you two would have been wrong for each other.”

  “Yes, I know. I can’t imagine being with anyone but Joe.”

  “Well, now that you two are really married, Danny isn’t planning to court you once we get to California.”

  “I didn’t realize he was that serious about liking me.”

  “It was a schoolboy infatuation. Sure, he was disappointed, but trust me, he’ll be much happier with a woman who wants to be inside all the time.”

  Michelle thought Danny was a nice young man. His heart was in the right place. He had been more than willing to let her learn to shoot a gun. Joe had been the one who’d had a difficult time admitting she should be able to do the same things the other men were doing on this trail, but it’d been worth it.

  Now that Joe had come around to her way of thinking, he was turning out to be her biggest supporter. Why, just that morning, she’d overheard him telling one of the men that she was the best helper he’d ever had while working on the wagon trail. She decided not to let him know she’d overheard the compliment. She simply chose to enjoy the fact that he held her in such high esteem.

  Michelle turned her attention back to Henrietta as she raised the gun to get ready to shoot the target again. After a moment, she fired another shot. She let out a disappointed sigh when she didn’t hit the target.

  “You got close,” Michelle encouraged.

  “Yes, but you can shoot the target every single time,” Henrietta replied. “You make it look easy.”

  “You just need to practice more. The more you do this, the better you’ll get.”

  “That’s a nice thing to say, but we both know you’re naturally better at this than I am. You seem to have a gift. Don’t tell anyone I said this, but you shoot better than half of the men in our group.”

  Pleased by her words, Michelle’s face warmed in pleasure.

  Henrietta glanced over Michelle’s shoulder and gestured that someone was approaching.

  Michelle turned around and saw Ruby and Diana slowly walking over to them. “Is something wrong?” Michelle asked. “Am I needed at the camp?”

  “No, nothing’s wrong,” Diana assured her. “Ruby and I were talking, and we decided we shouldn’t let Alice tell us what to do.”

  “Alice had no right to talk to you the way she did,” Ruby added. “We’re sorry we didn’t stand by you when we should have.”

  Michelle noted the way they softly spoke, as if they were afraid she wasn’t going to forgive them. “It’s alright. Alice has a way of intimidating people,” Michelle replied.

  “Alice is a miserable person,” Henrietta said. “It’s no wonder she can’t find a husband. What man wants to live with that for the rest of his life?”

  “Henrietta,” Michelle began, “that’s not very nice.”

  “Maybe not, but it’s true,” Henrietta argued. “I don’t know how poor Sherry and Stuart keep on going. They’re stuck with her. At least we get rid of her when we get to California.”

  “My husband is thankful for that,” Ruby said. “He’s getting tired of Alice sending Stuart over all the time to tell him how to properly tend to the oxen.”

  “California can’t come soon enough,” Diana commented.

  Though Michelle could understand their sentiment, the trip seemed to be going much too fast for her. But then, she was enjoying each day. She couldn’t wait to get on her new horse and get to work. Now that Joe had given her free reign to do anything as long as it didn’t require heavy lifting, she found plenty of things to do to occupy her time. But if she was spending all her time waiting to get going, walking, and waiting
to go to sleep, she would probably think this trip was going much too slow, too.

  “So anyway,” Ruby began, “we were wondering if you’d be willing to teach us how to shoot a gun.”

  “We know we don’t deserve it after the way we treated you,” Diana said.

  “We really are sorry,” Ruby added.

  “You don’t need to apologize anymore,” Michelle told them. “Let’s put everything behind us. I’d be happy to teach you two how to shoot a gun.”

  Noting the relief on their faces, she waved for them to join her. It was nice that the women weren’t going to let Alice dictate what they did. There were some people who would never be happy unless people did exactly what they wanted, and Michelle supposed Alice was one of them.

  As Joe had warned her, there was no avoiding those types of people. But that didn’t mean they could determine what she did with her life, and it was nice to see that Diana and Ruby weren’t going to let Alice prevent them from doing what they wanted, either. She had a feeling the rest of the trip was going to go along smoothly, even if Alice wasn’t going to be happy with anything she did.

  * * *

  By the time the group arrived at San Francisco, California, it was late October. It was hard for Michelle to say good-bye to most of the people she’d come to know well over the months they’d spent on the trail together, but this was going to be a part of her life from now on. She’d be meeting a lot of people and saying good-bye to them.

  She managed the task of saying good-bye and wishing the people good luck as they started their lives in this place without giving away her sorrow until it came to Henrietta. Tears filled her eyes as she gave her friend a hug.

  “I won’t forget you,” Michelle whispered. “When Joe and I get back to Omaha, I’ll write and let you know what I’ve been up to.”

  “You better,” Henrietta said as she hugged her back. “I want to know what kinds of things you’re going to do when you two aren’t leading wagon trains.”

  Michelle released her friend. “He said we’ll be doing a lot of odd jobs.”

  “There will be opportunities to train horses,” Joe began, “put up fences, repair buildings and wagons, and help with cattle drives.”

  Unaware that he had come up to them, Michelle turned to him. “You trust me to do all of that?”

  “Sure.” Then, with eyebrows raised in interest, he’d asked, “Do you think you can handle it?”

  “Handle it? I’m looking forward to learning how to do all of those things!” she’d replied.

  He had seemed to expect her enthusiasm since he gave her behind a playful pat and said, “That’s my girl.”

  Henrietta chuckled. “You two are perfect for each other.”

  “I agree,” Michelle replied then gave him a smile.

  He didn’t reply, but she noted the pleased smile on his face.

  “I can’t help but notice we made it to San Francisco without being attacked,” came Alice’s shrill voice from behind them.

  Michelle and the others looked over at Alice who strode up to them.

  “With the way you three wanted to teach women how to shoot a gun, I fully expected there to be a bunch of bandits ready to attack us,” Alice continued. “It was the argument you gave,” she glanced at Michelle, “as to why you needed to know how to shoot a gun.”

  “Learning how to shoot a gun isn’t just about protecting yourself from outlaws,” Joe spoke up. “The women who can shoot a gun can now help their husbands out here. Most of them are going to live on farms, and believe me, when an animal comes onto the land to eat a chicken or sheep, it helps if you can protect your livestock. Also, it sure was nice when Diana and Ruby shot us that deer we all ate last month, wasn’t it?”

  “That wasn’t my point,” Alice said. “My point is that we didn’t get attacked.”

  “But we could have been,” Michelle replied. “You don’t know what’s going to happen from one day to the next when you’re out on the trails. You have to be prepared for anything.”

  “I still think the men should have been the ones to be in charge of the guns. It’s their job to protect the women.”

  Michelle got ready to answer when Joe put his hand on the small of her back to stop her. “Alice,” he began, “when we left Omaha, I would have agreed with you, but after watching Michelle do tasks better and with more enthusiasm than any of the men who were with us, I have changed my mind. Michelle isn’t like most women. She has the drive and determination that I wish more men did. I’m proud of her.”

  Alice didn’t care for his response, for she grimaced before she headed off in a huff.

  “You can’t let her get to you,” he told Michelle.

  “I know,” Michelle admitted even though it was hard not to let Alice irk her.

  “Well, I for one, am glad we never got attacked,” Henrietta said. “I didn’t want that kind of excitement on the trip. I was happy that it was boring.”

  “Boring is better than exciting,” Joe replied.

  “I wish you both a lot of happiness as you head back to Omaha,” Henrietta said. “When you come back to California, I hope you’ll pay me and my family a visit. Now that we’re going to live like the rich people do, we’ll have plenty of room for you to stay.”

  “We will visit you.” Michelle glanced at Joe.

  “We might have to stay with Michelle’s aunt and uncle instead of you,” Joe told Henrietta. “But we will be seeing you and your family again.”

  “When you do, I’m going to invite you both to one of our dinner parties,” Henrietta said. “I want to see Joe in a suit.”

  Joe sighed, and Michelle laughed. “I’m afraid you’re going to have to do it,” she told him.

  “I’m just glad I don’t have to do it all the time,” he replied.

  “No, you don’t,” Michelle promised.

  Matthew called out for Joe to help him from where he was trying to get his oxen away from Stuart’s. “I’ll come back for you when we’re ready to go to your aunt and uncle’s,” he told Michelle.

  As he ran off to help Matthew, Michelle and Henrietta continued talking about what they’d do the next time they would see each other.

  Chapter 19

  Late March

  Omaha

  Joe jumped off his horse once he and Michelle got to her father’s residence. The large house was just as imposing as he remembered. He had been impressed by the man’s business prowess when he first met him, and he recalled feeling out of place when her father had invited him to discuss the contract. Never once did he think he was going to return to see him again. Especially not as his son-in-law.

  Michelle tied the reins of her horse to the fence post then came over to him. “I keep telling you that you shouldn’t be nervous. My father’s not intimidating.”

  Maybe he wasn’t to her because she was his daughter, but he most certainly was to him. “I just hope he doesn’t hate me for convincing you to leave behind a life of wealth and comfort to be with me.”

  “As I recall, I was the one who had to convince you to let me join you. You fought me on it for the longest time.”

  His lips curled up into a smile as he tied his horse’s reins to the post. “Even after all this time, you like to argue with me.”

  “I’m not arguing with you. I’m just telling you what happened. I had to prove that I could handle the exciting life outdoors before you finally fell in love with me. You’re a very stubborn man.”

  “I’m stubborn?” He turned to face her. “Lady, I’ve come across a lot of people in my time, but there’s no one who’s more determined than you are to get your way. When you set your mind to something, no one can talk you out of it.”

  “I had to be determined if I was going to succeed in staying married to you.”

  “You’ve been determined about other things since we left California. Even though that roof I got paid to repair was steep, you insisted on climbing the ladder so you could help me.”

  “All you
were doing was pounding nails into wood. I could do that as well as you could. And, as you’ll recall, I let you handle the cattle when it got stuck in the river while we were working on Conner’s ranch. I stayed aside and let you do all the work because, as you pointed out, I shouldn’t risk injury by moving anything heavy.”

  “Is that your excuse?”

  “Excuse? It was a fact.”

  Unable to stop himself from teasing her, he said, “We both know you let me do that so you wouldn’t get your hair wet.”

  She crossed her arms, her eyes twinkling. “Is that your story?”

  “Yep. You didn’t want to mess up your hair because you wanted to make sure you looked good for me.”

  A chuckle escaped her throat, and she shook her head. “I think you enjoy arguing with me.”

  “I could say the same about you.”

  “Well, it is fun to see how often I win.”

  “How often you win?” He pointed to his chest. “I’m the one who wins, sweetheart.”

  She shrugged. “If that’s what you want to think, so be it.”

  As she headed for the house, he hurried to get in step beside her. He slipped his arm around her waist and gave it an affectionate squeeze. “You’re lucky I’m not one of those husbands who insist that his wife has to be submissive to him. Otherwise, you wouldn’t get away with such talk.”

  She stopped walking and kissed him. “You’re right. I am lucky. I doubt many men would be willing to let their wives partake in so many adventures.”

  Well, since she did sincerely enjoy all the things they did together, he could let her need to be right all the time slide. Besides, if she wasn’t stubborn, she would have given up on living outdoors with him a long time ago. She would have insisted he stay with her in California and lead a very boring life throwing dinner parties and attending operas. He shuddered at the very thought of how things might have been.