Bears of Burden: STERLING

by Candace Ayers

  Chapter four

  The engine rumbled to life and Heather strapped herself into her first-class seat on the Delta Airlines flight. There were few passengers on the aircraft, and the aisle seat next to her was empty except for the three books she’d purchased at the airport to entertain her on the six-hour flight from New York to Wyoming.

  “Would you care for a glass of champagne, ma’am, or a hot towel?” the stewardess leaned forward with the tray. Heather smiled gratefully but only took an orange juice. She didn’t like drinking on flights, it made her feel woozy.

  She watched New York get smaller from her window, and soon all she could see was an expanse of crisp blue sky that seemed to go on for eternity. She leaned forward under the seat in front of her and retrieved her bag, taking out the letter that she’d been given by the agency. She’d opened it a few hundred times since first receiving it, but each time was touched at the sentiment that leapt from the pages.

  Dear Heather,

  Thank you for sending your picture. You are beautiful. I love your kind eyes. I am a nice, kind man who lives on a ranch, with a paddock that has five horses, and I would love to take you riding with me. I also have a daughter named Chloe. She is ten and also very lovely. I hope that you like to cook and can do complicated hair styles. I can’t. We are a happy family and we love each other very much, but I am missing a wife and my daughter is missing a mom. It would be very nice if you could come and join us.

  I’m looking forward to meeting you.

  Tanner Holt.

  In the end, what had persuaded her to make the trip was the reference to his daughter. He was clearly putting her needs first, and Heather knew she could feel warm and compassionate toward a man who evidently loved his daughter so much he was willing to request a mail order bride to ensure he found her a mother. Heather believed that she could be that woman.

  She had always known, ever since she was in her teens, that she wanted to be a mother. Finding out that she couldn’t have children had been a horrible experience, she felt like her life had been robbed of meaning. She thought Bertram felt the loss as keenly as she did, but in retrospect, she realized what she had assumed was his cold and distant way of dealing with misery, was probably relief as he put his plan to separate from her in motion.

  Putting the letter carefully back into the envelope, she took out the accompanying photos. There were two, one of Tanner Holt standing in the sun with the Wyoming mountainscape behind him and another of his daughter Chloe, being given a piggy back ride on his shoulders. She must have been about six in this photo, all gangly legs and a beautiful freckled face.

  She studied Tanner more closely. He was the only aspect she was confused by. The man was heart-stoppingly gorgeous, tall, broad and strong, with beautiful brown eyes and dark hair that fell messily around his chiseled face. She didn’t understand why he was using an agency to find a bride. This man should have absolutely no problem finding a woman. She could think of ten women she knew off the top of her head who would happily drop their Manhattan lives in a New York minute to spend time with this man.

  She supposed this was a part of him putting his daughter first. Maybe his feelings didn’t really come into account. Maybe he wanted a good mother for his daughter above all else, and he would simply settle for companionship. She admired him for that. She smiled to herself, and looked away from the photo. She hoped he did want more than just companionship. Tanner Holt was delicious, and she didn’t know if she could handle having a platonic relationship with that physique.

  Chapter five

  Sweet fresh air hit her as soon as she exited the plane. Heather had slept through the majority of the flight. She’d ignored her books and the inflight entertainment system in favor of the best sleep she’d experienced since her father’s death.

  She’d woken up as they were landing. The landscape was spectacular, large open fields were interspersed with dense forest. Sweeping mountains had emerged from the tops of clouds as the plane made its decent. The lakes looked like pools of cut glass from the plane, cool and crisp. As they got closer, Heather could see that they reflected the mountain ranges in the distance, making the horizon look eternal. The plane took its time circulating, and eventually dove down at the foot of a mountain.

  As soon as she exited the arrivals lounge of the tiny airport, she was met by a local taxi driver holding a name card. Heather was so grateful she almost wept. Tanner Holt had thought of everything, paying for the first-class ticket, and transportation to and from the airport.

  As they made the drive to Tanner’s ranch, Heather enjoyed the beauty and peacefulness of Jackson. After a few miles of farm land, they passed through Jackson Hole, the main town. It was full of rustic charm. Most of the structures were made of pine, giving the area a ski-lodge feel. The town was bustling, but this time of year, Heather supposed there was a lot of tourism.

  “How far are we from the Holt’s place?” asked the taxi driver.

  “Not far ma’am. Tanner’s out by Cache Creek. It’s just a couple of miles from the town,” replied the Taxi Driver, affably.

  “Do you know Tanner?”

  “Yup. We all pretty much know everyone round here ma’am. I drink with Tanner in Jake’s Place sometimes, a bar in town.”

  “Is he,” Heather hesitated, “a nice man?” She wondered if it was strange of her to ask. If all went well she would be presented as his fiancée at some point, but perhaps the man wouldn’t remember.

  “Tanner’s a good man. You a friend or relative?” The driver eyed her in his rear-view mirror.

  “I’m a friend.” Heather didn’t elaborate, but smiled winningly at the man. She hoped he wouldn’t ask more questions about her relationship to Tanner. But the man merely nodded in response and gave a short grunt of approval.

  “Well, it’s nice around here. You here on vacation?” He asked, trying to keep the conversation going.

  “Yes. Here on vacation, but, well, we’ll see.” Heather blushed. She wasn’t very good at being vague, but she certainly didn’t want to reveal her situation to a stranger.

  “If you don’t mind me saying, looks like you could use one. Pretty girl like you shouldn’t look so tired and sad.”

  Normally Heather might be offended by a stranger being so forthcoming, but she reminded herself that this is what small town living would be like. As he said, they all knew each other around here. She also didn’t think the man meant anything rude by it. He was probably right, she’d had a brief look at herself in the restroom mirror at the airport. She looked tired and drawn.

  She pinched her cheeks, trying to get some life into them. She hoped she would have a few moments before meeting Tanner to clean up a bit.

  The man smiled at her, “Aw, honey, I didn’t mean to make you self-conscious, you’re a beautiful woman. Just look like you could do with a good sleep, fresh air, and some feeding. Well, you come to the right place.” Heather smiled back at him gratefully. The next moment he spoke again, “It’s just up here.”

  He turned the corner on the dusty dirt road that they’d been following for the last ten minutes, and started to follow a rough tire-track road.

  Ahead of them, Heather could see a huge log ranch home. It had large windows all along the front, reaching two floors. The rest of the structure was a more traditional log cabin design, with smaller square windows and a low-sloping roof. It was much larger and more beautiful than Heather had imagined, and she hoped that what she’d packed would be acceptable to Tanner. It was mainly hard-wearing outdoor clothing, jeans, fleeces and t-shirts. She’d brought a few nice blouses for the evening, but that was it. She suddenly felt anxious that Tanner might be expecting one of the manicured, lithe hard-bodies of New York, but then she recalled the letter. He knew what she looked like, it would be okay.

  She took a deep breath to steady herself. It was time to face whatever her future had in store.

  Chapter six

  Chloe had been waiting at the window all afternoon. She�
�d seen the taxi coming down the valley of Cache Creek, and raced down the staircase, knocking Josiah out of the way.

  “Where’s the fire?” He’d bellowed after her. Chloe completely ignored him, hurrying to the door and then busting through to the porch where she’d decided she would wait. It would mean she could help Heather with her bags, and Heather would immediately see what a great daughter she’d be.

  Josiah came and joined her on the porch. He too, had seen the car coming up the drive.

  “Who’s visitin’ Chloe? Your dad never said anything about visitors.” He asked the girl, who by now was practically hyperventilating with excitement.

  “That’s because dad doesn’t know.”

  “Do you know?” Josiah eyed her suspiciously.

  “No.” Chloe lied, crossing her arms and jutting out her chin, without removing her gaze from the approaching car.

  “No?” Josiah asked again. Crouching down to eye-level with Chloe. “Are you sure you don’t know?”

  Before Chloe could reply, the door of the Taxi opened, and Heather stepped out.

  Chloe ran down the porch steps, and galloped over the grass to greet her new mother. She stopped just shy of her, drinking in the long hair, the beautiful brown eyes warm with kindness, and the welcoming smile showing perfectly white teeth.

  “Are you Chloe?” the woman asked.

  “Hi.” Replied Chloe, suddenly bashful and a little overwhelmed. “You’re Heather?”

  “I am. I’ve really been looking forward to meeting you.” Heather opened her arms, inviting the girl into a hug. Chloe stepped timidly into her embrace, and drank in Heather’s smell of fresh laundry and a delicate floral perfume. Her hugs, like her father’s, felt solid and loving, but she found Heather’s to be much softer and gentler. Chloe felt like she could stay in her arms forever, feeling small, and safe and warm.

  Eventually she broke away, and looked up at Heather. Her eyes looked a little wet, and Chloe hoped she hadn’t upset the woman.

  “Heather, can I show you the house? Would you like to see my room?”

  Heather laughed, “I would love to” She paused, looking up at the porch, “Is that your daddy, Chloe?” she asked.

  “No! That’s Josiah. He’s my sitter. And works on the ranch with my dad. My dad’s not here, he had to fix Billy Nelson’s fence. He is very sorry that he can’t see you right away, and asked to send you his deepest regrets,” finished Chloe confidently. She beamed up at Heather.

  “That’s a shame. Well, I look forward to meeting him later.” Heather replied. She was disappointed that he wasn’t here to greet her, but then a ranch emergency couldn’t be ignored. She shrugged, and thanked the cab driver for retrieving her bags from the trunk. He tipped his cap to her, and then drove the cab back down the track.

  Josiah came forward, taking the bags from Heather.

  “I was doing that Josiah!” Chloe wrestled one out of his hand, and although it was almost the same size as she was, she bravely staggered with it up the steps.

  “Hello. I’m Heather.” Heather held out her hand to Josiah, and he smiled as he took it.

  “Nice to meet you, Heather.” Josiah was too polite to ask who she was, and what she was doing here, so he just continued to carry the other bag up to the house.

  “I can take that,” said Heather, feeling horribly guilty at a young child and an old man carrying her bags for her, “Really, let me.”

  “Nope,” replied Josiah winking at her, “not in this part of the world you don’t. We don’t let guests carry their own bags over the threshold.” Heather smiled, and followed him into the house.

  She only just stopped herself from gasping as they entered the front room. The window frontage let in the red, yellows and pinks of the sunset. It was stunning. Despite the majesty of the entrance, the house looked incredibly cozy and inviting. The furniture looked lived in, two huge leather sofas were beautifully cracked and vintage looking, something people were paying a fortune for in New York City. A huge fireplace crackled invitingly in the center of the room, it’s flue reaching up through the ceiling. The entire house smelled faintly of cedar wood, and Heather could practically feel her body relax as they went from room to room.

  “This is your guest bedroom,” announced Chloe, at the door of a very pretty room with a closet, chest of draws and a decent sized double bed. Heather walked over to the window, admiring the view out over the valley.

  “It’s beautiful, thank you so much Chloe.” She turned back to face the girl, and as she did so, she noticed a vase of wild flowers sitting on the chest of draws.

  “Are these from you?” she asked Chloe.

  “Me and my dad,” replied Chloe proudly, “Do you like them?”

  “I love them!” exclaimed Heather.

  Chloe smiled back at her, “We’re really excited you’re here. My dad can’t wait to meet you. I hope you like it here. We have horses and other animals. I can show you them tomorrow, and we can go fishing in the lake, if you’d like? There’s loads of things to do here.” Chloe finished almost breathless.

  “I love it here, Chloe. It’s wonderful.” Heather reassured her. Chloe’s face flushed pink at the compliment.

  Chapter seven

  “You’ve robbed me blind, woman.” Josiah looked admiringly at Heather and she laughed greedily.

  They had been playing an intense game of Monopoly for the last two hours. Chloe had continually robbed from the bank, and then joined Heather’s team when it was time to admit defeat. Together they’d dominated the board, leaving Josiah with one paltry property and plenty of debt.

  Heather had long ago stopped anxiously glancing toward the door. The game had completely distracted her from the strange situation, and it felt like the three of them were in their own cozy world, and that Heather had known Josiah and Chloe forever.

  Chloe was currently leaning on her arm, her eyes closing every so often as the girl grew drowsy from the firelight and warmth.

  “I think I need to feed her,” said Josiah, echoing Heather’s own thoughts.

  “Should I get cooking?” Heather replied.

  “No, don’t do that,” Josiah hurried to his feet, “I can get on with that. We have some stuff I can defrost.”

  “Or I can head into the kitchen and see what I can rustle up? Honestly Josiah, I love cooking. I’d enjoy it.” Heather smiled up at the man, trying to persuade him. As long as she was here, she didn’t want Chloe eating defrosted leftovers. That girl was going to get proper home cooking.

  “You sure?” Josiah was hesitant.

  “I’m positive. Now, just show me the kitchen.”

  Josiah took her through to the farmhouse-style kitchen. All the equipment looked brand new, the stove like it had never been used. Yes, the kitchen was well equipped, and when she opened the fridge, she found it bursting with fresh ingredients.

  “Well, looks like we have a chef here already,” Heather asked Josiah curiously, “Does Tanner cook?”

  Josiah barked out a shout of laughter, “No ma’am. He sure doesn’t.” He eyed the fridge and smiled to himself. Chloe had dragged him into town early that morning insisting that the fridge needed to be full of groceries. He’d thought at the time the girl had gone nuts, but now it all made a lot more sense.

  “Well, I can certainly make something out of all this,” Heather riffled through the contents, “Potatoes dauphinoise, salad and steak? “

  “Sounds great.” Josiah had no idea what potatoes dauphinoise was, but it sounded delicious.

  Heather turned back around and started to busy herself in the kitchen. With Chloe half asleep in the next room, Josiah felt this was the perfect time to find out what or who Heather was to the Holt family.

  “How long you known Tanner for?” He asked, trying to sound as breezy as possible.

  “Um,” Heather slightly squeaked out her answer, “Not long.” She hoped that her answer was acceptable. She really didn’t want Josiah asking questions before she’d had the chance to
speak to Tanner and understand what he wanted their story to be.

  The silence stretched out for about five minutes, before Heather cracked under the pressure. “We’re engaged. I’m, well, I’m Tanner’s fiancée.”

  Josiah had no idea what to say to that. He had worked side-by-side with Tanner for about thirteen years. There was absolutely no possible way the woman standing in the kitchen could be Tanner’s fiancée.

  After a pause, Josiah fell back on platitudes, completely at a loss. “That’s wonderful news. Congratulations.”

  Heather turned and smiled at him, blushing a deep shade of red. “Thank you.” She didn’t really know what else to say either, so turned back to the cooking and hoped that the questioning would now come to a close.

  Josiah watched Heather as she moved around the kitchen. After spending time with her this evening, he wished that she were Tanner’s fiancée. She was such a kind, generous and warm woman. She was beautiful as well – just the way Tanner liked them, curvy and soft.

  She was good with Chloe too, he reflected. Chloe needed someone like Heather in her life, whether or not she was aware of it. Jesus. It clicked.

  “Heather, will you excuse me a minute? I need to speak to Chloe.” Josiah moved swiftly back into the living room without waiting for a response.

  “Madam monster, what you gone and done now?” Chloe woke to see Josiah glaring at her from above her as she lay on the sofa.

  “Shh, she’ll hear you Josiah.” Chloe scrambled to an upright position, and clutched at the old man’s arms. “Don’t say anything, Heather doesn’t know!”

  “Doesn’t know what?” Josiah spoke sternly.

  “About dad not knowing. I bought her. As a wife, for dad.”