Mail Order Bride: Ultimate Mail Order Bride Collection: 6-Book Bundle ~ Clean Historical Romance (Shades of Romance Series)

by Jill Maguire

  With her list and pocketbook in hand, Virginia climbed into the wagon. She spoke softly but firmly to the horses, just as Fletcher had shown her.

  “They have to know that you’re in charge,” he had said. “They’re a good and gentle team, but if they get the notion that you’ll let them have free run, they’ll take it, and believe me, you don’t want that to happen.”

  Virginia could hear Fletcher’s words as she urged the horses forward. The team lurched ahead and then settled into a steady pace. She arrived in town without incident and pulled to a stop straightaway in front of the sheriff’s office. She had promised to let Fletcher know that she had arrived safely.

  Once down from the wagon, she looped the reins around the railing and took a moment to give each horse a pat of thanks for getting her there safely. She was so engrossed in watching the comings and goings of the people in town, she almost ran headlong into a man coming out of Fletcher’s office.

  OH, I’m so sorry,” she apologized as she met the gaze of the stranger. An instant wrenching of her stomach caught her off guard and she felt as though she might faint.

  He smiled, “No harm done,” he assured her. “Are you alright? You look as though you’ve seen a ghost.”

  She mumbled something at him and hurried through the open door. Fletcher took one look at her and leapt up from behind his desk.

  “Virginia, what’s wrong. Here, sit down,” he said as he pulled out a chair. He knelt down in front of her and studied her face with concern.

  She managed a weak smile. “I’m fine, now. I don’t really know what happened. I was heading in here when I bumped into that man that was leaving. Next thing I knew, I was feeling faint.”

  “You’d best just sit here and rest for a bit.”

  Virginia nodded. “Who was that man? Is he a friend of yours?”

  “Not really a friend, more just an acquaintance. He runs the livery.”

  “Is he a local fellow?”

  Fletcher thought for a moment. “He’s been here for a spell now. I think he said he’s originally from somewhere north. Said he wanted to come here to get away from the memories of the war. Lots of folks like that around here.”

  “I’m sure that’s true,” Virginia agreed. “This will sound strange but there was something very familiar about his eyes.”

  Fletcher smiled and handed her a glass of water. “Being as you come from the south, I doubt as you’d know him.”

  Virginia shrugged. “You’re right of course. It must have just been that he startled me.” But something in her heart told her there was more to this incident than that.

  Chapter Seven

  Back safe at home after finishing her errands, Virginia decided it was time she learned to unhitch the wagon. She wanted to get the horses settled and back in the barn before Fletcher got home. It would be one less chore for him to tend to before they could have their evening together.

  She had watched Fletcher hitch up the wagon that morning, so she figured it couldn’t be all that difficult to figure out. She studied the various straps and buckles for a few minutes before she did anything.

  An hour later, frustrated almost to tears, Virginia did indeed have the horses back in the barn. But instead of the tidy organized set of straps and buckles hanging from the hook inside the door, she had a pile of pieces at her feet. She had tried one buckle after the other in an attempt to find the one that let the whole contraption come away in large pieces. But buckle after buckle proved each time to be the wrong one until eventually the harnesses fell away bit by bit.

  Virginia looked at the heap of metal and leather and wondered what Fletcher would have to say. Her plan to make less work for him was a definite disaster. She imagined he would be hours putting everything back together again. Her wonderful day of was turning rapidly sour as she contemplated what she’d done.

  She was sitting on the verandah when Fletcher arrived. Although she smiled in greeting, he sensed right away that something was wrong. Thinking that she had had another fainting spell he hurried to her side.

  “No, it’s nothing like that,” she assured him. “It’s just that…well, come, let me show you.” As he followed her to the barn, Fletcher wondered what on earth could have happened. When he saw the pile of trappings on the ground he immediately understood.

  Virginia cringed inwardly as he stared at the mess she had created, waiting for a verbal explosion. Instead Fletcher looked at her and roared with laughter. He laughed so hard, that tears started to roll down his face. Virginia just stared at him as though he had taken leave of his senses.

  “You think it’s funny?” she asked incredulously. “You’re not angry?”

  Fletcher wiped his face and tried to get control. He took her by the shoulders and looked into her eyes. “Of course I’m not angry. Why would I be angry at you for trying to help?” Virginia was speechless until he started to laugh once again. Then, because the sound was simply so contagious, she joined him. They both laughed until they were holding their sides. Finally Fletcher took her arm to lead her back into the house.

  “Tomorrow I’ll give you a proper lesson in hitching and unhitching the team. In the meantime, what do you say, we go make supper?”

  Virginia grinned. “Now that I can do,” she said.

  The evening passed pleasantly and Fletcher was glad to hear that she had had no more fainting spells. But the night was not to remain peaceful. For the first time in weeks Virginia again had the dream. It was more vivid than it had been in a long time and Virginia awoke trembling.

  Fletcher held her close until the tears and the trembling subsided, then he laid her back against the pillows. They sat that way for hours while she explained the haunting memories that she had of that horrific night. At the end of her story she pulled the small photograph from her drawer to show him.

  “This is all I have left of my family….all I have left of my past.” She told him how her mother had said that she would always know when her birthday was close because the magnolia tree would be in bloom.

  Fletcher felt as though his heart was being ripped from his chest. He so wanted to take these bad memories away from her and protect her from sadness. But all he could do was love her, and that he did with every fiber of his being.

  “My Magnolia Bride,” he whispered against her ear as he held her close. “Someday I will plant another fine magnolia for you. I don’t know if I can make one bloom here in Texas, but I will keep trying for all of my life if that’s what it takes.”

  He could tell by her deep breathing and relaxed posture, that she had fallen back to sleep. He held her like that anyway for some time, not wanting to let her go in case the dream returned.

  By the morning, she was able to talk about the dream without becoming so upset.

  “I don’t understand why,” she told him over coffee, but I still think it had something to do with that Mr. Kipling fellow that was in your office yesterday.”

  Fletcher rubbed his hand across his unshaven face. “I can’t imagine why. Perhaps he just reminded you of the face in your dream.”

  Virginia frowned. “I suppose that could be it. In the orphanage I didn’t have much contact with outsiders. Maybe it was just bumping into him the way I did set off some kind of startle reflex.” She shrugged as if to dismiss the conversation. “At any rate, I don’t think we should waste any more of our weekend worrying about it. I think it’s time for my lesson!”

  Arm in arm they strolled to the barn, laughing and chatting like any pair of newlyweds, and several hours later, Virginia felt confident in her ability to both hitch and unhitch the team.

  “Now, you’ll be free to go into town whenever you want to. But mind, you still want to keep the horses at a walk until you have a bit more experience driving them. I don’t want you thrown out because they thought you were giving them their head.”

  Virginia rubbed the silky brown nose of Ben, the oldest of the pair. He watched her closely with his wise brown eyes, as if saying she wo
uld get no trouble from him. But Bart, the younger of the two had a bit more spunk. If Virginia could read his mind, she would say that Bart was just waiting for a chance to show her how fast a horse could go. She wandered over to pet his nose.

  “Maybe someday,” she whispered next to his ear. Fletcher’s heart warmed as he watched her interaction with the horses. For a girl from the south, and raised in a very protected environment, his little magnolia bride was fast becoming a true homesteader.

  She felt his stare, and turned to him with a questioning look. “And why are you looking at me like that?”

  “I was just thinking,” he drawled. “Although in my heart you’ll always be my magnolia bride, I think since you’re living in Texas now, we need to change that. I think from now on you’ll be my Texas rose. And I think Virginia is a very southern name. I think I’m going to call you Ginny from now on. Ginny, my Texas rose. What do you say to that?”

  “I say it sounds wonderful. Ginny it is from now on.”

  Chapter Eight

  “Ginny,” Fletcher announced one hot August morning, what do you say we do some entertaining? We’ve been married and settled for a month now, and I think it’s time we had some folks over for a house warming. What do you say?”

  Virginia spun around from the dishpan and dried her hands. Joining him at the table she started right into making plans. “I think that’s a wonderful idea. Were you thinking supper or something more casual?”

  “It’s a mighty hot time of year for doing anything indoors. What do you think of a good old fashioned pig roast? We’ll have a big bonfire, roast a hog and some corn. I’ll make sure Morgan brings his fiddle so we can do some dancing. It’ll be a great time.”

  “That sounds fantastic. When shall we have it?”

  Fletcher grinned. “You know what they say. There’s no time like the present. But we should give folks some notice I suppose. How about this Saturday. That gives us three days to spread the word and gives me enough time to get a hog butchered.”

  “I’ll get some pies baked in the morning while it’s cooler, and make some homemade ice cream too. It’ll be a great celebration.”

  Excited with the plans, Fletcher headed off into town and Virginia set about getting the chores done for the day so she could start making party preparations. The next few days were going to be very busy.

  Kate was just as excited as Virginia when she heard about the party. “We all get so busy with our lives that we never take enough time for fun. I can’t wait.”

  The next few days flew by and the day of the party morning dawned hot and sunny. Folks were due to start arriving in the late afternoon. Together she and Fletcher prepared the fire pit and arranged the tables of food.

  Soon the evening air was filled with sounds of music and laughter. Children ran about playing tag and hide and seek. Adults grabbed partners and danced away on the grass to the tunes that poured nonstop from Morgan’s fiddle. Food was devoured and thirsts quenched. Virginia couldn’t remember ever having such a good time.

  As the evening drew on, the children started to curl up on blankets next to their parents. A few families said goodnight when some of the younger children started to fuss. The remaining guests sat on blankets around the fire, talking softly and enjoying each other’s company and the chance to forget chores and work for a while.

  Fletcher sat with his arm around Virginia, as content as he had ever been. Long gone were the thoughts of heading west for gold. He had all the riches he could ever imagine right here by his side.

  Virginia looked dreamily into the fire, watching the flames dance and the sparks fly. With her head against Fletcher’s shoulder, she could almost forget the horrible memories that she usually associated with fire of any kind. Happy that she was finally starting to overcome those fears, she relaxed and sat quietly watching her guests enjoy themselves.

  And then she saw him. There was no mistaking those eyes. He was looking directly at her, and smiling slightly. Only a small whimper alerted Fletcher to the fact that something was wrong. And then she went limp in his arms.

  Sometime later she awoke in her bed. She had no recollection of getting there, but Fletcher was sitting in the chair in her room. She glanced over at him as he dozed lightly. What was she going to say to him? How could she tell him that she thought she saw the man who had burned down her home and murdered her family? It had all happened years ago when she was just a little girl. He would think her mad to accuse someone she didn’t even know of such a thing based on a childhood memory.

  But in her heart she was certain he was the man in her dreams. She had carried a picture of that face in her memory all of her life and there was no way she was mistaken.

  “I have to prove it somehow, she thought to herself, before I make any accusations.”

  Fletcher must have sensed that she was awake because his eyes suddenly flew open. He bolted upright, worry clouding his eyes.

  “How are you feeling?” he asked with concern.

  “I’m fine now.”

  “Are you sure there’s nothing wrong? You were fine one minute, having a wonderful time and then you just fainted. That seems a little strange if you ask me.”

  Virginia took his hand. “I’m fine, really. I think it was just all the excitement.”

  “I was afraid maybe the bonfire stirred up your memories again.”

  Virginia hesitated. Should she say something? No, not until she had proof. If she said anything to Fletcher now he’d be all over Aaron Kipling and probably scare him off before she had a chance to find out what she needed to know.

  “I suppose sitting by the fire might have done that, but really, I think it was just all the excitement. I did have a wonderful time, by the way. I think we should do that much more often,” she forced a big smile to reassure him, trying to push the nagging memory of those eyes from her mind.

  “Do you think everyone had a good time?”

  “No doubt about it. I think our party will be the talk of the town for a few days. And you’re right. I think we should definitely do it more often.”

  “I’m still struggling a bit to remember names and faces. Did everyone you invited show up?”

  Fletcher nodded. “I believe so. Don’t worry, one more party and you’ll have everybody figured out.” Virginia laughed with him, but she still wanted more information.

  “I did notice that the fellow from the livery was here. I think he introduced himself as Aaron Kipling?”

  Fletcher raised a worried brow. “Yes, he’s the one you thought looked familiar. Did you discover that you’d met him before?”

  Virginia kept her voice calm. “Oh, no. I just wanted to be sure I had his name right. It’s one of the few I remember.” She laughed then, and changed the subject. “It was fun to watch all the children having a good time too. I kept picturing us at a party with our little ones running around.”

  The expression on Fletcher’s face changed. “Now that’s something I think we should definitely get to work on. He sat on the edge of the bed and pulled her close. “I love you so much, Ginny.”

  She returned his hug. “I love you too.”

  Chapter Nine

  Virginia knew what she had to do. Now that she was adept at hitching up the wagon she figured she could head into town anytime and do some poking around. She wanted to learn all she could about Mr. Aaron Kipling without alerting him to her suspicions.

  Her mind was whirling with her plans when a knock came unexpectedly to the back door. It was Kate Morgan and she was grinning from ear to ear.

  “Well don’t you look happy? What’s the big grin all about?”

  I wanted you to be the first to know, well after Morgan that is. We’re going to have a baby.”

  Virginia gave her new friend a big hug. “Congratulations. Fletcher has already headed into town but I’ll pass the word along. How are you the feeling?”

  Kate continued to grin. “I feel fantastic, but Morgan is just beside himself. I think he’ll need m
ore tending during this time than I will!”

  “When is the baby due?”

  “If all goes well, it should be born in late May.”

  Virginia clapped her hands in delight. “Maybe he or she will arrive on my birthday. May 28th. That would be something don’t you think?”

  “It certainly would,” Kate agreed.

  The two friends laughed and chatted, but when Virginia mentioned that she and Fletcher had been talking about having children after the party, Kate’s grin disappeared for the first time.

  “Speaking of the party. What happened to you? Did you have one of those memory things like you had in the barn?”

  Virginia nodded. “Sort of, but I think it was more just a reaction to the party and all. I’m still very new at that sort of thing. I think maybe it took a bit more out of me than I realized.”

  Kate studied her face and Virginia knew instantly that her excuses would not be as easy a sell with Kate as they had been with Fletcher.

  “Come on now,” Kate persisted. “I see how determined and ambitious you are. Simply having a party is not enough to send you into a faint. I know there’s got to be more to it than that.”

  Virginia sighed. “I might have known I couldn’t fool you.”

  “I’m listening,” Kate encouraged. Virginia took a deep breath and exhaled slowly.

  “If I confide this in you, you have to promise me that you won’t say anything to anybody, not even Morgan.”

  Kate nodded. “I promise.”

  “Remember when I fainted in the barn and I told you about the face I always see in my dream?” She paused and Kate nodded. “Well, when we were sitting around the bonfire, I looked up and saw Aaron Kipling’s face across from me. He was looking right at me and smiling and I knew right away that he was the man from my dreams.”

  Kate frowned. “Aaron Kipling from the livery? He doesn’t seem like an evil man. He’s pretty quiet…keeps to himself.”

  “I know it sounds crazy, but I could never forget those eyes. And when I saw his face outlined by the fire, I knew it was him. It’s okay if you don’t believe me.”