The Brides of Golden Valley Box Set 1

by Jaclyn Hardy

  Madeline paused, tapping her pen against a blank page. Perhaps that was a little too informal. Her editor would probably get after her. Especially since many of those perks weren’t well known. But then, that was her job.

  My experience was much like others. I won’t get into specifics to protect the wonderful man I married. I put in my details and waited. While most will wait until they’ve had a chance to write back and forth, our relationship was a little rushed because of the weather. Even then, my stagecoach ran into snow in a few places on the way.

  Those here in town have treated me nicely so far, but then, I’ve only been here for a few days. Our wedding was small, and I jumped right into helping out on the farm. Imagine, a city girl like me working on a ranch!

  A gust of wind pulled Madeline from her writing. She set her pen down and tucked her paper under the pile. She still hadn’t decided if she would keep it, and she wanted time away from it to think.

  Madeline peered out the window to see if Nathaniel was done yet, but everything was black. She turned away, but stopped suddenly when she caught movement out of the corner of her eye. A ball of light moved along the outskirts of their property. Madeline glanced back at her desk where she should be writing about her time here so far, but she really wanted to go see what was going on. The light could have been coming from the barn, but it looked like it was outside.

  She grabbed her coat and put it on, then glanced back outside to see if the lantern was still there. It was almost straight ahead. Madeline hurried to the stove and started some hot water for tea, then opened the door. The wind had died down enough that she didn’t have to fight it, but it still blew her skirts every which way. Madeline didn’t know the land very well, but she could watch the lantern in front of her to see where she was going. As far as she knew there were no holes between her and Nathaniel.

  That didn’t stop her from tripping over sage brush, weeds, and equipment that had been left out. Her eyes grew used to the dark enough that she was able to see basic shapes so she could move around bigger bushes or branches. She was almost there when she stepped on a larger stone. Her foot slipped off, and her ankle twisted with a wrenching pain. Madeline cried out, but the scream was carried off in the wind.

  Now she knew why Nathaniel had told her to stay inside. Madeline sucked in a breath to deal with the pain, and started forward with a limp. This time she spent more time looking down than looking ahead so she wouldn’t miss anything else. Her boot grew tight on her foot, but that didn’t stop her from pushing forward.

  The lantern came closer and it wasn’t until it was almost on her that she finally saw Nathaniel’s face. She wanted to cry with relief.

  “Is everything all right?” Madeline tried to mask the pain in her voice, but the cold had only made her ankle throb more. She had come outside to help him, and now he was going to have to assist her instead.

  “I’m fine, but a few of my cows broke loose after a log fell from the roof and knocked their gates over. I got two of them, but one is still missing.” Nathaniel held out the lantern, but with the wind and rain, the light only went a few feet ahead. “I may have to look in the morning.”

  Madeline looked up at him with wide eyes. “You can’t just leave it out here. What if wild animals get to it?”

  Nathaniel shook his head. “No animals are out there right now except for the cow. But if you’ll just circle around that way, we can meet in the middle. Maybe we can find her that way.”

  “All right.” Madeline turned and walked in the direction he told her to go. Her limp was more pronounced now, but she refused to let it get to her. That cow had to be found. She would just use the fence around the property as a make-shift crutch.

  Rain poured down on her, soaking through her skirts and into her shoes. Every now and then, Madeline would stop and glance behind her to see where Nathaniel was with his lantern. It felt like years by the time the light was coming from in front of her instead of behind. They’d almost circled all the way around and there was still no—what was that?

  Madeline froze and listened, straining to hear anything over the wind. A low groaning came from up ahead. She moved forward quickly, stopping every now and then to listen for the cow’s moans.

  Nathaniel found it first. He tied a rope around its neck and tugged gently. “Take the lantern and follow me. I’ll need both hands to get her back to the barn.”

  Madeline picked the lantern up, her cold fingers screaming with the movement. The warmth from the candle was a small relief as they walked along. Madeline’s ankle was numb now, which wasn’t exactly comforting, but at least she was able to follow Nathaniel.

  The barn blocked out the wind and some of the cold. Madeline waited for Nathaniel to lock the cow in with another one until he could fix the broken gate. He took the lantern from her and put his other arm around her as they walked back to the house.

  “What made you come outside?” Nathaniel asked quietly.

  “You’d been gone for a long time, and I worried that something had happened.” Madeline gasped as she stepped wrong. “When I saw the light out there, I left the house without thinking.”

  Nathaniel was quiet until they got inside the house. He helped her with her coat before taking off his own. “Do I hear water boiling?”

  Madeline limped over to the stove. “Yes, I started it so that we could have some tea. What kind would you like? And do you like honey with it?”

  “Are you limping?” Nathaniel asked, frowning.

  “I just stepped on something the wrong way. I’ll be fine by morning.” Madeline’s face burned with embarrassment.

  Nathaniel took her arm and turned her to face him, then scooped her up in his arms. “That’s more than just a small limp. We need to see if it’s swollen.”

  “I think it was at first, but the cold and rain helped it.” Madeline was pretty sure that wasn’t the case. The warmer she got from being inside, the more it throbbed.

  Nathaniel set her on the couch and disappeared into the bedroom. He came out a moment later with her nightgown. “I’ll get the tea while you change. You’re soaking wet. Just don’t take off your shoes until I can help.”

  Madeline was more than happy to oblige. She shivered as she fumbled with the laces on her dress. The warmth of her nightgown was welcoming, as was the tea that Nathaniel handed her. “Thank you.”

  “You’re welcome.” Nathaniel gently unstrapped her boots and pulled off one and then moved to the other.

  Madeline gasped in pain as he tugged. “Sorry. That just hurts worse than I expected.”

  “It’s pretty swollen. I would be surprised if it didn’t hurt.” Nathaniel’s fingers tickled as he moved up and down her foot. “I don’t think it’s broken. You should be fine in a few days. But we’ll need to get you some sensible work boots for while you’re outside. You’re lucky this wasn’t worse.”

  “Sensible boots sound good to me.” Madeline took a sip of her tea. The sweetness of the honey mixed wonderfully with the chamomile. “This is delicious.”

  Nathaniel picked his mug up off the table and sat next to Madeline. “It’s a special mix from my mother. Chamomile with just a hint of lavender and mint to help me sleep.”

  Madeline stared at the cup. Those flavors didn’t seem like they should mix, but they did. Or maybe it was just the overwhelming taste of honey. “It’s perfect.”

  “Were you able to get much writing done?” Nathaniel asked.

  She nodded. “I got a little done. I have more to finish so I can send it in, though.”

  “Would you like me to get your supplies?”

  Madeline hesitated. She wasn’t ready for him to see what she’d written before. “I can get it.”

  Nathaniel stood and picked up the pile of paper and her pen. “You’re injured and shouldn’t be walking. I’m happy to help.”

  “Thank you.” Madeline made sure the other article was well hidden and situated the pile on her lap.

  He sat down, putting her f
eet on his lap, careful not to bump her bad ankle. “What is your article about?”

  “Politics. Would you do me a favor and grab the bag with flowers on it?” Elections were coming up, and while she’d been traveling over the last few weeks, she still did her best to stay up to date on what was going on in politics. No need to get behind. Especially in an election year.

  Nathaniel brought her the bag. “That sounds exciting.”

  “I don’t mind it. I prefer other topics, but this gives me something to study.” She pulled open the bag to reveal dozens of newspapers inside. “Research.”

  “I see that.” Nathaniel picked up a paper. “Indiana?”

  “Each state and even city are different in what they believe to be true with the election, I have to figure out which papers I actually believe. That was one I actually agreed with.”

  While Nathaniel skimmed through different papers, Madeline wrote down what she could remember, asking him to hand her the one she needed when she hit a snag. Since she didn’t want to be biased one way or the other, she tried to get a few good points for each of the candidates.

  The tea was starting to take effect by the time Madeline was finished. She read through it once to make sure she didn’t have anything to fix, then handed it to Nathaniel.

  “The words are swimming on the page. Can you read it for me and make sure everything is correct?”

  As he read out loud, Madeline closed her eyes so she could listen easier and made him pause here and there so she could add notes. She pushed the envelopes in the bag around until she found the envelopes she needed.

  “We’ll need to mail this tomorrow if possible.” Madeline set the pages inside and signed it with her pen name before adding the address to the newspaper.

  “We can do that. I need to grab some wood for the stall anyway.” Nathaniel pointed to the pile of newspapers. “Want to keep those?”

  “No, I’m done with them. They can be used for the fireplace. They’re old news now and I’ll need to gather more papers before my next article.” Madeline stretched and yawned.

  Nathaniel set the bag of papers next to the fireplace then scooped Madeline up again. Madeline would have normally argued, but by that time she wanted nothing more than to drift to sleep.

  Nathaniel set the last bag of potatoes into the back of the wagon and climbed up next to Madeline on the wagon. The storm had finally blown itself out sometime during the night, but the cold had stuck around.

  “So much for the warm snap.” He clicked his tongue to get Lucky to move.

  “It was nice while it lasted.” Madeline smoothed out her dress. She looked beautiful in her blue dress and hat. Her ankle wasn’t any better that morning, and even though he’d suggested she stay home, Madeline had insisted on coming.

  Nathaniel glanced back at the house and pushed away the feeling of unease. Something hadn’t felt right that morning. In fact, that was the only reason he’d allowed Madeline to come with him.

  The cattle had been on edge while he milked them that morning, and while he tried to tell himself it was just the weather, this was different. Nathaniel flicked the reins and stared off in the distance, trying to find anything that would help him feel better.

  A small plume of smoke appeared off to the northeast of them, but otherwise everything seemed normal. It was nothing. It had to be. It was almost a relief when they finally got into town.

  Madeline climbed down before Nathaniel could get to her. He sighed and grabbed the bags of potatoes from the back of the wagon instead of trying to help her inside. He’d come back to get the butter in a moment. And hopefully he could get her to stay in the wagon after that.

  Nathaniel made sure she was all right before taking the potatoes up to the front. Clarence smiled at him over the heads of the ladies in line.

  “I’ll be with you shortly.” Clarence went back to the list in his hand and barked out orders to his employees.

  It was another five minutes before Nathaniel finally had a chance to barter with Clarence. Both men knew the price they’d land on, but it never hurt to try to get a better price. Nathaniel set the bag of potatoes on the counter.

  “How’d your house fair in the storm last night?” Nathaniel pulled one of the potatoes out to show Clarence the size.

  Clarence took the potato from him and inspected it. “Better than some. Yours?”

  “A couple of cows got out of the barn, but otherwise we had no problems.” Nathaniel leaned against the counter. “Don’t suppose you have any crutches or bandages? Madeline twisted her ankle last night.”

  “Delicate ankles?” Clarence set the potato back in the bag. “I’ll give you four cents a pound for the potatoes.”

  Nathaniel chuckled. “She’s much stronger than she looks. And that’s a little low. I was thinking closer to ten cents.”

  “Are you trying to break me?” Clarence grinned. “Six cents. No more.”

  “Eight or I find another buyer.” They both knew there was no one else close enough to make it worth the extra trip.

  Clarence nodded and hefted the bag onto the scale. “How many bags?”

  “I have five out in the wagon with more at home. I’d say another thirty bags if we can get to the rest before it freezes.” Nathaniel tried to keep a straight face, but that was a lot of potatoes he would lose if he couldn’t finish.

  Clarence flagged down one of his employees. “Go get the rest of the potatoes from Nathaniel’s wagon. Don’t drop them or any damaged goods will come from your paycheck.”

  The man nodded and darted between aisles and out the door. Nathaniel glanced around the store to find Madeline and he was relieved to see that she was sitting on a bench near the back.

  “We have a few sets of crutches, but I’m not sure there are any that will fit her.” Clarence pulled out a catalog. “Here’s something you may want to look at for the future. It’s a potato harvester that you can pull behind a horse. They’re still in the east so it wouldn’t work for this season, but you may want to look at it for next summer.”

  Nathaniel pulled it closer and read the description below. He’d heard of them before, but this was the first time he’d seen a picture. There were enough supplies around town and even around his barn that he could probably build something like it.

  “Plan on ordering it in the spring for me. I’ll cancel if I can manage to make one myself.” Nathaniel took the money for the potatoes and went to the back where Madeline still sat. “They don’t have crutches, but we can at least buy you some boots while we’re here.”

  Madeline patted the boots next to her. “I already found some. Are you all done?”

  “Yes. Let’s take your article to the post office and then we can be on our way home. I need to harvest more potatoes. I don’t like how cold it is already.”

  She stood and limped to the front. It was less pronounced than at home, but it was obvious that it still hurt. Nathaniel followed her to the counter and paid for the boots and some bread for the ride home.

  Plans for the harvester spun in his head as he tried to figure out exactly how he wanted to build it and what materials he had to work with. Madeline climbed up into the wagon and handed Nathaniel the envelope.

  “If anyone asks, this is for my employer. I’m not ready to tell people that this name is me.” Madeline held tightly to the envelope until Nathaniel nodded. “Oh, and see if there is anything for me under that name as well.”

  “All right.” Nathaniel took the envelope to the post office and smiled at Arthur. “Good morning.”

  Arthur smiled and straightened the pile of mail in his hands. “Good morning. I hear congratulations are in order.”

  Nathaniel nodded and handed Arthur the letter. “Three days now.”

  “Is she as spirited as her application led you to believe?” Arthur glanced at the address and his eyebrows shot up. “Mark Hudson? I know that name. He’s a reporter.”

  Nathaniel nodded. “He is. Madeline works for him. Do you know if there is
any mail here under that name?”

  “Not that I have seen, and that’s one name I would have noticed.” Arthur stamped the envelope and set it on the pile to be sent out. He checked through several boxes before shaking his head. “She really knows him?”

  “She does.” Nathaniel hesitated. “Thanks again for your help with the advertisement. Even though it’s only been a few days, I don’t know what I would do without her.”

  Arthur tipped his hat. “My pleasure.”

  Nathaniel pulled his coat tighter to him as he walked back to the wagon. The chill had only increased. And here he had left his wife out in it. He pulled an old ragged blanket from the storage pouch in the wagon and handed it to her.

  “It doesn’t look like much, but it’ll keep you warm. I should have given it to you before I went into the post office.” He climbed up next to her and took the reins.

  “That’s one advantage to wearing so many skirts. I don’t get cold very fast.” Madeline wrapped the blanket tightly around her. “There was no mail?”

  He shook his head. “I should warn you, though. Arthur knows who Mark Hudson is.”

  Madeline seemed more pleased than worried. “He’s heard of me—him? That’s wonderful.”

  “It’s only wonderful if you don’t mind having someone figure out who you are. This town is small and people talk. And since Mark doesn’t live here, they’ll wonder why you’re the one receiving his mail.”

  She shrugged. “I worried more about that when I lived in New York. Now I live too far away for it to be a problem.”

  “You have a point.” Nathaniel turned onto the road that led to their house. “I never told you. Today I found something that I want to try to build. It’s a potato harvester that could make getting the rest of our potatoes out a lot faster.”

  “And you can buy one? We should do that.”

  Nathaniel shook his head. “Not buy. Build. I have the basic design in my head. I just have to figure out how to put my own together.”