A Mail Order Bride for the Fur Trader: Joy & Henry (Love by Mail 3)

by Christina Ward

  Claire gave her a little nudge and Joy stepped over the threshold. The inside wasn’t much better than the outside.

  “So, what do you think?” he asked.

  His bright smile nearly blinded her. She blinked and fanned herself. She licked her lips, then closed the fan. She expected an established merchant, but maybe he had other shops elsewhere. She’d have to ask him later.

  “It’s a start.” She smiled and batted her eyes at him. “I could help you decorate it.

  “That’s a nice idea.” Claire entered too.

  The strong smell of leather drew Joy further in. She walked up to the wall and let her fingers slip down a strip of hide. She glanced to the left and right. There seemed to be no rhyme or reason to the order of the wares on display. Claire was busy checking out belts on the other side of the room. She promised Joy would barely notice her presence.

  Joy turned around to Henry.

  “You’ve got a lot of leather,” she finally said.

  “Yeah.” He scratched behind his ear. “I wasn’t sure what would sell best.”

  “And the furs?”

  “Over there.”

  Joy sighed in relief. Finally, something to brighten her day amid the dusty landscape of Angel Creek.

  “Here.” Henry patted the table on the far right corner of the room.

  Joy gasped and rushed to dip her fingers in the soft material.

  “I didn’t have time to put everything out yet. There’s more in the back room.”

  Joy looked around the fur covered table. She ran her hand over them all. A multitude of colors and textures accosted her senses. Some furs were smooth and tingly to the touch, others thick and rough, others still fluffy and soft.

  “They’re beautiful.” She turned to Henry. “Were they hard to get?”

  His smile dimmed and he looked down at one of the furs. He chuckled dryly. “Trust me, you don’t wanna know.”

  “Of course, I do!” She placed a hand on his shoulder and batted her lashes when he looked up.

  “Well, I caught these…” He pointed to the silvery furs.

  “What?” Joy blushed. “You hunt?”

  “I did, yes.” Henry replied and she got a sense he didn’t want to talk about his past. “Used to be a fur trapper before I started trading.”

  “You fearlessly trapped these dangerous beasts by yourself?”

  He laughed again.

  “No, not by myself.” Henry shook his head. “There was an entire party of us. We hunted a lot of animals, and sometimes people hired us to take out dangerous predators.”

  He leaned against the wall and ran a hand down a chestnut brown hide. “We often sold the meat too.”

  “Was it harsh?” Joy leaned beside him. “Your life before?”

  Henry nodded. “That’s why I’m settling down to start a new one.”

  “Well, I’d be happy to start it with you.”

  He blushed, and Joy pressed her fan against her lips to prevent a giggle. He blushed more often than she did!

  A loud bellow from the front of the shop interrupted their conversation, “Hello?”

  A couple entered through the door looking around with interest. The man wore polished boots, and a clean plaid shirt. The woman sported a white dress with various black floral patterns stitched onto the material like vines. Her blonde curls were pinned with a silver comb. She reminded Joy of her friend, Virginia.

  Henry straightened up. “Good mornin’!”

  The man’s eyes lit up when he saw Henry.

  “When they told me Henry Briggs was back in Angel Creek, I wouldn’t believe it till I saw it with my own two eyes.”

  The edges of Henry’s lips stretched into a slow grin. “Duncan? Duncan Stone?”

  “Who else?” Duncan gave Henry a one-armed hug, and said, “This is my fiancé, Bridgett Haynes. You remember the Hayneses?”

  Henry nodded. “Of course, best bread in town, I’ve been to the bakery just the other day. Hi, Bridgett.”

  The woman smiled and linked her arms with Duncan’s.

  “Good to see you, too, Henry. And your lady friend?”

  Joy blushed and glanced at Henry.

  “This is Joy Fletcher.” He introduced her. “She’s - we’re -”

  “I’m his fiancée,” Joy said.

  Henry nodded, but didn’t say anything more. He didn’t even seem excited about the prospect!

  “Would you look at that,” Bridgett said, “maybe we can have a double wedding.”

  “Oh, when’s your wedding date?” Joy asked.

  “Two days from now,” Duncan said, puffing his chest.

  Joy turned bright eyes at Henry. A double wedding with a fashionable lady like Bridgett sounded great. But Henry was shaking his head at the couple.

  “Joy just got here. We’re taking our time getting to know each other while she’s staying over at the pastor’s place.”

  “Oh!” Bridgett smiled again at Joy. “You’re like Mercy, aren’t you? You and Henry met through the papers?”

  Henry avoided her gaze. Was he ashamed of having a mail order bride?

  Duncan laughed. “That’s great. You know, Hank Welton also met his wife through the ads. Great guy that Welton. He and his wife saved my life.”

  “And the lives of a lot of other people too,” Bridgett said, rolling her eyes at her intended.

  “Oh, what happened?” Joy loved a good story.

  “A cave in,” Bridgett said, touching the furs on the table.

  “It was horrible.” She turned to Henry. “Anyway, when we heard you were opening up a shop with fur and leather, we had to come see!”

  “Maybe get her a wedding present, you know.” Duncan winked at Henry.

  “Oh, I’d personally love a fur coat,” Joy said.

  Bridgett giggled. “You, too? Then, you can help me pick a color.”

  “Howdy!”

  Henry and Joy turned as two older men stepped inside the shop. Henry turned to Bridgett and Duncan. “Uh, I’ll -”

  “Go,” Bridgett said, “Joy’ll help me look through the furs.”

  Henry looked at Joy, who grinned. “It’s all right, I know a thing or two about furs.”

  Henry nodded and turned to the other customers.

  * * *

  Just that morning Joy had been disappointed when Claire told her that they’d spend the day at the store with Henry. He had no one else to leave it with, Clair explained. But by the time the sun was setting Joy didn’t know where the day had gone. In the course of the day she probably met half the town.

  With the shop so busy Claire went home for the afternoon. Still, the endless coming and going of clients meant Joy barely had a chance to speak with Henry. The last customer left just before he started to lock up. Finally it was just the two of them out on the porch.

  “Anyway, we should get home,” he said. “I mean, separately.”

  Joy raised a brow and pursed her lips. “So you won’t walk with me to the pastor’s house?”

  Henry opened his mouth, then closed it, and shook his head. He frowned at her. “That would be inappropriate.”

  “But don’t you think it would be dangerous for a woman to walk home alone at night?”

  “It is,” Henry said. “That’s why Claire is here.”

  He jerked his head towards the end of the porch where Claire stood leaning against a pole. Joy hadn’t noticed she’d arrived.

  “Hello, Joy,” Claire said. “How’d you like the shop?”

  Ugh, she couldn’t get a moment alone with Henry! Margaret and Virginia had time alone with their intended! Joy stifled a sigh. “It’s very… interesting.”

  “And soon you’ll be helping Henry here every day.” Claire touched her arm. “We’d better go before the meal I made grows cold.”

  Claire gently pulled her arm, but Joy twisted around, “And you, Henry?”

  “I’ll be leaving in a while.”

  Joy glanced at Claire from the corner of her eyes and sig
hed deeply. “Oh, I wish you could join us for dinner. That way, I’d get to know you more...”

  “Oh!” Claire looked over her shoulder at Henry. “I hadn’t thought of that. Silly me. That’s a wonderful idea. Why don’t you join us, Henry?”

  Joy grinned to herself. Henry scratched his chin. “All right, Claire. I’ll be out in a minute then.”

  As Henry closed up shop, Joy went over her plan for the next few days in her mind. Henry wasn’t as receptive as she’d hoped. He didn’t even look like he was excited about the wedding. While she was starting to care more and more. Was he having second thoughts about marrying her? Joy couldn’t take that risk. She was going to marry Henry Briggs if it was the last thing she ever did!

  * * *

  “Thanks for your help with the shop earlier,” Henry said. “Even though you didn’t have to.”

  “Well, we are engaged to be wed,” Joy said making sure he was reminded of that fact often enough.

  “Right.” Henry chuckled.

  The house wasn’t far. Claire knocked, the door opened and for a moment the pastor looked at them confused.

  “We’re having a guest for dinner,” Claire said.

  “Oh,” Reverend broke into a smile and he shook Henry’s hand. “Come on in then. The more the merrier.”

  “Thank you, Reverend.”

  They marched to the dining room and took their seats at the table. Claire quickly set an extra place for Henry. “All right, let’s say grace. Why don’t you lead us, Joy? Maybe your favorite verse?”

  She nodded. “Love is patient. Love is kind. It does not boast; it is not proud.” She recited till the seventh line.

  “Beautiful prayer,” Reverend Shepard said, spooning out vegetables from his bowl.

  “Yeah, it’s my favorite too.” Henry said with a smile. “My mother used to say it a lot.”

  Joy bowed her head and smiled into her spoon.

  “I heard that Elias was the one who convinced you to settle down in Angel Creek,” the pastor said.

  Henry nodded. “I figured it was time to find my own place and raise a family.”

  “Joy’s pretty excited about that prospect, too,” Claire said. “She can’t wait to get hitched.”

  Joy blushed. If only you knew, Claire.

  “Anyway, I think it’s a great idea to have our own fur trader here in Angel Creek,” Claire continued. “But won’t you miss all the adventures and excitement?”

  Joy glanced at Henry, but he didn’t meet her eyes.

  “No.”

  “I met a fur trapper once in Idaho,” the pastor said, turning brown eyes towards Henry. “Said he’d sometimes spend an entire week hunting beavers.”

  Henry shrugged. “It really depends. Sometimes you get clients lined up looking for specific hides or furs. Other times it’s a fox stealing hens, or some other menace to the livestock that the town wants rid of.”

  The pastor nodded. “Well, speaking of menace, I saw the sheriff talking to a couple of hunters this morning. Something about bandits.”

  “I’m glad we have a sheriff to deal with that here. My hunting days are over.”

  Claire must have sensed the tension rising, as she turned to Joy and asked, “Anyway, how was your life like back in Redemption, Joy?”

  “Oh.” she wiped her lips with a handkerchief and smiled.

  “Well...” Gotta impress Henry. “I helped around the house. I also know how to make my own dresses.” With help from Ma. “And I... had a very nice life back in Redemption.”

  “So what made you think about moving West?” Claire asked.

  What is this, the Inquisition? Joy put on her well trained smile. “I just thought it would be nice to - to find my future in the West - to strike out on my own!”

  “That’s mighty brave of you,” Henry muttered. He looked down at his empty plate. “Well, this was a great meal, Claire. Sure beats the can of beans waiting for me at home.”

  In a few minutes Claire began clearing the table and the men stood up.

  Joy turned to Henry. “So...” She batted her eyelashes at him.

  “Thanks for inviting me.” Henry pocketed his hands and glanced at Claire and the pastor. “Thanks again for the meal. Claire, Reverend.”

  He turned to Joy, but it was as if he wasn’t looking right at her. Was he even interested in her? Joy swallowed the cold doubt. “So, uh, see you tomorrow, Joy.”

  Henry turned around and headed outside. Joy lingered by the doorway, feeling a cold cavity in her stomach. What, no goodbye kiss? In the novels she had read the heroine always got a goodbye kiss. She hugged herself. Was he warming up to her or not? Maybe she was too aggressive, after all...

  But then Henry turned back and cleared his throat.

  “Yes?” she asked.

  “I, uh...” His eyes darted from right to left, then he took Joy’s hand and kissed it.

  Joy’s mouth opened.

  “Sorry!” Henry rubbed the back of his neck. “I didn’t know if it’s - I’m sorry if I -”

  “No!” Joy grinned. “It was fine. It was very gentlemanly of you.”

  Henry blushed and smiled before disappearing into the night.

  “Love is patient,” Joy muttered. “Just a few more days to go...”

  Chapter 4

  “Here, we’ve got some really thick fox furs. Let me show you.” Henry led a group of men and women over to several hangers of silky reddish brown fur.

  The men nodded, but what they were really after were tales of his fur trapping days. They had been pestering Henry about that for the past hour. The women had sneered at the hides and fawned over the furs, but they also had complained loudly about how “stuffy” the shop smelled. This annoyed him, this was a fur trading post not a perfumery!

  After half an hour of regaling the men with stories, the group finally left with some hides and furs. Just as they walked out he spotted Joy walking in. He didn’t know she was coming today, but he certainly didn’t mind seeing her. Although at first he was shocked by her demanding attitude, he was warming up to her charms.

  “Hi,” she greeted, carrying a basket. “How was your morning?”

  “Fine,” he said, though what he really thought was, I’m not sure I can handle this trading business. At least when hunting you don’t have to talk to people all day. But now, you just made my day bearable. No, don’t say that!

  “How was yours?” he said instead.

  “Claire’s having a Bible study session today, so I made cookies. I thought I’d give you some, too.”

  She took off the patterned cloth that covered the basket and handed Henry a wrinkled paper bag. Henry couldn’t help but notice a white, leather bound Bible, with gold letterings embossed on the cover.

  “Is that yours?” He nodded at the book.

  Joy followed his gaze. “Oh, yes. It’s mine.”

  “Is that covered with...?”

  “Kid leather.”

  “May I?” He looked at Joy, who nodded.

  He ran a hand down the smooth, soft texture. “Who did you commission to do this?”

  “No one.” Joy smiled at his shocked look. “The leather was from a friend of mine. She had gloves custom made, and there were extra patches and strips left that she didn’t need. She let me have them and I made this.”

  Henry grinned. “It looks nice.”

  Joy curled a strand of hair on her finger. “Thanks.”

  Light pink dusted her cheeks, and Henry resisted the urge to brush the sides of her face.

  “Henry Briggs? Henry?”

  Henry turned around to see an older, plump man, bent over at his doorway.

  “I’m getting too old for this.” The man straightened up and wiped his forehead with the back of his hand. It was hard to miss the glistening gilded star pinned to his chest.

  “Sheriff Miles, what can I do for you?” Henry greeted him.

  The older man took off his hat and ambled over to Henry. “There’s a bit of a problem we need your help
with.”

  “‘We?” Joy asked.

  The sheriff’s brows jumped at her. “Oh, missus Briggs! Didn’t see you there - sorry -”

  “Oh, we’re not married yet,” Henry said.

  Joy pursed her lips.

  The sheriff shook his head. “Sorry ‘bout that. Anyway, there’ve been outlaws causing trouble ‘round town. And we need someone good with a weapon, a horse, and his way ‘round dangerous trails.”

  “Dangerous?” Joy gasped.

  The sheriff raised his brows at Henry. “Some say they’re working with Jesse Evans’ boys. We need all the manpower we’ve got to send those bandits to the baloose.”

  “But I’m just a simple fur trader.” And Henry really wanted things to stay that way.

  “I heard different.” The sheriff shifted his mighty girth and placed his hands on his hips. “Your brother says you’re a hunter of the first water, lad. We’ll leave tomorrow at sunup so get some rest early.”

  Henry sighed. “Yes, sir.”

  He only agreed not to antagonize the lawmaker in the town he was about to settle in. He gritted his teeth. He was supposed to be settling down, not running off again on some near-death scouting mission. He turned to Joy, whose pale face nearly matched the white leather bound Bible she was holding.

  He grabbed her shoulders. “Joy, are you all right?”

  She took a deep breath and blinked at him, as if she had just woken up. “You’re going with them?”

  Henry shrugged. “Doesn’t sound like I have much of a choice.”

  “But it’s dangerous! Jesse Evans? Didn’t his gang run with Billy the Kid before?” She grabbed his arms. “You can’t seriously be thinking...?”

  He sighed, and she gestured towards the fur behind her.

  “But what about your shop? Who’ll look after it?”

  Henry looked at her. He couldn’t ask his brother. Elias was a miner, busy with his own work. There was no one else, but suddenly instead of fear he felt excitement fill him. An idea formed in his head.

  “You,” he said.

  Henry waited for some response, and for a minute he wasn’t sure she had heard him. The silence lingered, then, “What?”