The Brides of Golden Valley Box Set 1

by Jaclyn Hardy

  “I will see you at home then.” Samantha ducked back under the counter and left the shop smiling, his words repeating in her mind . . . another reason why I love you . . . Sometime over the last two weeks their agreement of marriage had turned to something more. The thought both thrilled her and scared her. Was she that ready to give her heart to someone?

  Samantha climbed the steps to the house and walked inside where Mother whistled to herself as she sewed.

  She looked up and frowned. “I thought you’d gone shopping. Where are the groceries?”

  “I didn’t get anything today except for chicken from David. I also ordered lumber for a barn. They’re supposed to deliver it tomorrow sometime.” Samantha dropped into a chair and rested her chin on her hand. Dinner could wait a moment. “What are you sewing?”

  “I need something for the ball, so I thought I’d refurbish one of my older gowns.” Mother held it up and Samantha gasped. The embroidery Mother was adding to the bodice was unlike anything Samantha had ever seen before. It was exquisite.

  Samantha thought of the gown she and David had bought and thought of saying something. But it would be a shame to let all the work go to waste. “You will look beautiful in that gown. Where did you learn to do that?”

  Mother laughed. “You learn new skills while you sit waiting for days on end to find more gold in the river. I needed a gift for a friend, and we had nothing, so I decided to give it a try.”

  “It’s wonderful. I’d love to have you teach me sometime.” Samantha had done some, but nothing like this.

  “I can do that. Perhaps on the dress you tore last night.” Mother smiled and set the dress on the table. “Since you didn’t buy any other groceries, we should come up with something else for dinner besides just chicken.”

  Samantha went to one of the cupboards and pulled out rice. “I thought we would have this with carrots. It’s simple, but I think he’ll like it.”

  Mother picked up her sewing. “If you think you have things under control, I’ll continue with this.”

  Samantha got out one of the roasting pans and hefted it onto the stove. She added rice to the bottom, then went to the cellar to get vegetables. She chopped them up and spread them throughout the pan. Then she added chicken to the top and poured water over everything to help the rice cook. Once that was ready, she set it inside the oven and went back to sit next to Mother.

  “All right. I’m ready to learn. Where do you start with learning embroidery?” Samantha pushed the letter from Papa to back of her mind. She would deal with it later.

  David readjusted his jacket and glanced over at Samantha. She’d been unusually quiet since she’d received the letter from her father, and he worried that something had happened. Any attempt to bring it up brought an abrupt change of subject.

  “Here, let me fix it.” Samantha smoothed out the shoulders of his jacket. “Better. Do you have a comb? We could get rid of some of those curls.”

  David tried to smooth down his hair, but he knew it was hopeless. “I need to get my hair cut. It’s been . . . I don’t remember when I cut it last.”

  Samantha dipped her hand in the basin of water and ran her fingers through his hair. Tingles ran through him as she tried to tame his curls. “I think you need to go to the barber tomorrow.”

  “I had planned to go during lunch, but it didn’t happen.” The shop had remained busy all morning, so he wasn’t able to get away. There was more work to be done, but for now he would enjoy the evening with his wife.

  She wrapped a shawl around her shoulders and turned to face David. The colors accented her eyes, but the sadness he’d seen when she first arrived was back. He put his hands on her arms and waited until she looked up at him.

  “What is wrong? You haven’t been yourself. Did something happen back home?” David knew that wasn’t the case or she would have been on the first carriage back to South Carolina.

  She shook her head. “I told you that Papa is traveling, but I didn’t tell you that he was going to be coming through here. He has business in California and wanted to stop and visit.”

  “But that’s not so bad, is it? You’ve mentioned how much you miss him.” David glanced around the room. Maybe the house wasn’t anything like her home, but it was well-built, and Samantha had kept it clean.

  “That’s not what has me worried. I can’t wait to show him around the town and to have him meet you.” Samantha looked away before continuing. “Mama is coming too. And she wants to stay here while Papa takes care of business in California.” She finally met his eyes. “Do you know what she would be like here in town? It would be a nightmare.”

  David pulled her in for a hug. “I’m sure it will be all right. We can find ways to entertain her during that time. And Mother could use the company—”

  “That’s what I’m worried about. I don’t think she would want to do that. No offense to your mother. Mama’s just very hard to get along with.”

  David frowned. “You don’t think she’d want to spend time with my family?”

  “I don’t think she’ll like anything here.” She sighed. “Life is completely different back on the plantation. Nothing happens without her approval.”

  “You must have driven her mad with your spontaneity.” David chuckled and bent down to get his shoes. Mother would be ready soon, and they’d need to leave if they wanted to have dinner before the ball.

  “I was the one thing she couldn’t control, no matter how hard she tried.” Samantha sighed again. “I suppose maybe I’m worrying too much. It’s possible that she could enjoy it here.”

  David could tell by the look on her face that she didn’t believe that for a minute. He slipped an arm through hers. “We’ll worry about her later. For now, let’s go to a ball.”

  Mother waited for them in the kitchen. She gasped and held a hand to her mouth. “You look so handsome, son. I haven’t seen that suit on you before. And Samantha, what a beautiful gown. It looks wonderful on you.”

  Samantha blushed. “Thank you. Yours is quite lovely. I can’t believe you did all of that work in a day.”

  David opened the door and waited for both women to exit before following them out. He’d planned to give her the new gown that morning, but Samantha had told him to wait because Mother had something else to wear. He almost hadn’t recognized the dress she’d worn to events back when they were in California.

  Nathaniel pulled up outside with his carriage with Madeline sitting next to him. David helped Mother and Samantha inside, then climbed up next to them.

  “Everyone settled?” Nathaniel asked.

  “Yes.” David leaned forward. “Where’s Mark?”

  “Joshua had some last-minute orders to fill, so Charlotte offered to babysit.” Nathaniel urged the horses forward, and David sat back, taking Samantha’s hand in his.

  They pulled up in front of the meeting house where larger city events took place. David helped Samantha down first, then his mother.

  Nathaniel took Mother’s arm. “I’ll go with her and Madeline. You enjoy your time with your bride.”

  David opened his mouth to argue, but stopped at the warning look from Nathaniel. He was right. This was their night, and nothing should get in the way. David looked down at Samantha. “Shall we go in?”

  Samantha nodded, her eyes shining with excitement. “This is the first event I’ve been to in years without Mama trying to throw me at someone. I—sorry. I shouldn’t have brought that up.”

  “It’s all right. But that adds pressure for me. Will I be better than all the stuffy gentlemen you could have had? Maybe not. But I’ll do my best.” David grinned at her and held an arm out.

  The hall was crowded with people talking excitedly with one another. David had no idea where to start with introducing Samantha, and he was tempted to find a place to sit in a corner. He had a feeling that Samantha wouldn’t approve of that, though.

  “David, it’s so nice to see you.” Clarence held a hand out to him. “And Samantha
, you look wonderful this evening.”

  Samantha beamed up at him. “Thank you. It’s strange seeing you anywhere except for the general store.”

  “I hear that all the time.” Clarence laughed. “Have you seen Nathaniel? I had a quick question for him.”

  David shook his head. “They came in before us. Ah, they’re seated over there in the corner.”

  “Thank you.” Clarence left, and he was quickly replaced by another couple who frequented David’s shop.

  Names and faces became a blur as he talked to more and more people. He was supposed to be introducing his wife to his friends, but it seemed that he knew fewer people than he’d thought.

  By the time they were asked to be seated for dinner, David was exhausted. He’d never remember all those names. He helped Samantha into her seat before sitting next to her.

  “Everyone is so wonderful here.” Samantha beamed.

  “They won Nathaniel over almost immediately, and he talked so highly of the town that we left California to join him. We’ve found the same thing.” David breathed a sigh of relief. Sitting here allowed him to forget everything else and just concentrate on her. He hadn’t realized how much he disliked crowds until that night.

  Samantha smiled at one of the guests and turned back to him. “Would you have gone back to California if things hadn’t worked here?”

  David frowned. “I don’t know. I don’t think so. Mother might have, but I prefer the quiet here. Although, I may have decided on a different job. Something out closer to Cottonwood where Nathaniel lives. Then I wouldn’t have had to socialize as much as I have to now.”

  “Do you think we could go out there sometime? I’d love to see their home.” Samantha laid the napkin on her lap.

  “I’ll talk to Nathaniel. It will have to be on a weekend, so I don’t have to worry about getting back for work.” The idea of traveling there sounded more appealing than he’d expected, but that might have had something to do with the chaos around them.

  Dinner was served soon after. Roasts, potatoes, corn, and bread were followed by several different types of dessert. He chose cheesecake while Samantha had carrot cake. As soon as the meal was finished, people stood and moved the tables against the wall while an orchestra set up in the corner. Samantha stared at the activity in awe.

  David leaned closer. “Everything gets done quickly here. We pitch in and it’s done within minutes. Better than waiting for servants to take care of it all.”

  “Mama would have a fit if she saw this, but I think it’s brilliant. Who came up with the idea to do it this way?”

  “I’m not sure. I was surprised the first time it happened. I barely had time to grab my cake before they rolled the table away.” David chuckled at the memory. “It looks like the orchestra is ready. Would you like to find somewhere to sit?”

  She shook her head. “I came here to dance. That is, unless you’d prefer to sit?”

  David held out his hand. “If you’d like to dance, then that’s what we’ll do.”

  They moved out onto the dance floor and watched the movements before joining in. They had their own style of dancing here. More casual than the set dances he was used to, and it seemed that Samantha was completely thrown off.

  She stepped on his foot and blushed. “I promise I’m a much better dancer than what you’ve seen tonight.”

  “I believe that. I should have warned you. Just relax and you’ll get it soon enough.” He twirled her and pulled her close. “Just wait until we start the square dance.”

  “The square dance is something we’ve done back home. It’s different as well?” Samantha turned again before returning to his arms.

  David nodded. “Let’s sit and watch this next one and then we can join after that.”

  Samantha allowed him to escort her off the floor. “I thought that with all the changes I’ve grown used to since I got here, at least dancing would be the same.”

  “It’s the same to an extent. Just watch. They’ve only changed small moves. The rest is the same.”

  Samantha sat quietly as she watched the other couples dancing. David smiled at the way she counted the movements to herself, moving her feet along with the music. As soon as the song ended, he stood and pulled her to her feet.

  “If you’d like, we can go back to the original dance. No one will notice among all this chaos.”

  Samantha relaxed. “That would be wonderful.”

  David held out his arms and moved into the waltz as the song began. Samantha kept her eyes on his, gliding smoothly across the floor. A few of the couples glanced toward them, But David stayed focused on her. The rest of the world could disappear as they danced, and he wouldn’t have minded.

  As the music changed, David and Samantha went from the waltz to another square dance. While those in their group added their small tweaks, the two of them stuck with the more traditional steps.

  Samantha relaxed more with each song and David grinned when he caught her doing some of the newer variations.

  The orchestra took a break after a few more dances, and David grinned as a new group took their place. He turned to Samantha. “Are you ready for a challenge?”

  “What sort of challenge?” Samantha’s skin glistened from the dancing, and her cheeks were flushed.

  “The polka.” David nodded toward the band that included a few accordions.

  Samantha’s eyes widened. “Mama wouldn’t allow it at her events. I’ve never even tried it before.”

  “Just follow me.” David wrapped an arm around her and took her hand just as the music started.

  It took a moment to get into the right rhythm, but then she laughed in delight as she figured it out. By the time the song ended, they were both out of breath. David led her off the floor and he collapsed into a chair.

  “That has to be one of the most enjoyable dances I’ve done.” Samantha leaned her elbows on her knees to catch her breath. “Mama is missing out by not allowing it.”

  David laughed. “Yes, she is. Would you like to dance some more?”

  She shook her head. “I’m exhausted. Would you mind if we leave early?”

  “They should be ending soon anyway. I’ll go find Nathaniel to let him know we’re leaving.” David stood and left Samantha to rest. He found Nathaniel dancing with Madeline, so David looked for Mother instead. She stood in a corner talking to one of the older men from their church congregation. David hesitated, not wanting to interrupt, but Mother looked over as he turned to leave.

  “David, there you are. This is Henry. Henry, this is my son, David. He was just married.” She leaned closer. “Mail order bride.”

  David sighed. Her whisper was louder than her regular voice. He nodded to Henry and turned to Mother. “Samantha is ready to go home. Will you let Nathaniel know?”

  “But, sweetie, the dance is still going. I would have thought with her living in high society, she would be used to staying until the end.”

  “Yes, but in high society, they don’t dance the polka.” He grinned. “You’ll be okay here?”

  Mother gestured toward Henry. “I’ll be just fine.”

  David left her, trying not to feel hurt that she was talking to someone else. Father had died years ago, and she deserved a companion. And this Henry fellow seemed to be decent from what he’d seen of him.

  Several women surrounded Samantha when David walked up. They were firing questions at Samantha faster than she could answer them. She shot a look of panic at David.

  “Excuse me, ladies. Samantha isn’t feeling well, so I need to get her home. You’ll have to stop by our house later and talk to her then.” By the look on her face, he’d said the wrong thing. But he doubted they would come anyway. They were too busy with their own lives.

  He helped Samantha up and they left the building, welcoming the cool air of the early spring night. “They seemed nice enough.”

  “They were very nice. But they wanted every detail of my life from where I lived to how I got here.” Sam
antha shivered.

  David pulled off his jacket and wrapped it over her shoulders. “The novelty will wear off and then they’ll be more friendly for the right reasons.”

  “I hope so. I would like some friends.” Samantha looked up at the sky and gasped. “There are so many stars.”

  David nodded. “That’s something I’ll never get used to. I thought I could see a good number of stars before I moved here, but it was nothing like this.”

  “I could only see a few from my bedroom veranda. I used to pretend one of them was my star. I dreamed of the places it could take me.” Samantha looked down at her feet. “I know it’s silly.”

  “Which one is yours?” David stopped in the middle of the road and wrapped an arm around her waist.

  Samantha looked up at him in surprise, then turned in a circle before pointing to the west. “That one. See the V? It’s the tip of the left side. The brightest one.”

  “That’s part of Taurus.” He smiled down at her, blinking back tears. He knew that one all too well. “That’s a good star to have as your own.”

  “Do you have one?”

  He cleared his throat. “There’s a reason I know what that constellation is. It’s my favorite star too. When I was young, my dad told me to find the brightest star and that’s where he would be if anything happened. I always loved the story he told me of the bull, so I picked that one instead.” He swallowed hard. “When he died, I found myself talking to that star when things weren’t going my way.”

  Samantha laid a hand on his arm. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to upset you.”

  “You didn’t. Quite the opposite, actually. There are billions of stars in the sky, and we both chose that one star.” He continued walking, taking her hand in his. “I’d say that’s more than just a coincidence.”

  “Or it could be that we’ve both lost our minds.” Samantha smiled up at him. “Do you suppose we should get off the road? People will be leaving the dance soon.”

  He shook his head. “We’ll be home before they get to us. We should move faster, though. Your hands are freezing.”

  But neither of them moved any faster. They’d just passed the last intersection before their house when the thundering of hooves sounded in the distance. They weren’t coming from the direction of the dance, and as they drew closer, voices were heard shouting back and forth.