Mail Order Bride 22 Book Boxed set: 22 Brides Ride West :CLEAN Western Historical Romance Series Bundle

by Faye Sonja

  Coming into the clearing where Frank had brought him a month ago, James was met with a somber sight. Most of the tents and makeshift huts were destroyed and lying on the ground. No one hurried around the camp being busy. There were four men, one of them Frank, seated at the small fire. They all jumped up and pointed weapons at him when they heard his approach.

  James jumped back, his hands in the air. “Hey. It’s me, James. You fixed my wheel a month back.”

  Frank put his gun down and said something fast in his language, and the others followed suit.

  “What happened here?” James indicated the despondent camp with his arms.

  “They came. Took all wife and children.”

  “Who?”

  Frank looked down to the ground. “The ones who say no work here for slant eyes.”

  “That doesn’t give them the right to attack and kidnap anyone.”

  “Only four left, others not married fled. How four going to get wife back? Not enough.”

  “Do you have a horse to pull that wagon of yours?”

  “One left, old but strong.”

  “Hitch him up. You four come to my farm.” James pushed his hat back. He was not happy about this happening to peace-loving folk like Frank. It made him ashamed to be a part of this landscape. “You know my farm?”

  Frank nodded. “Why we go there?”

  “I need workers for my wheat harvest. You need a safe place to live. Fair trade, I say. You in?”

  “They no like it, Mr. Blair. They come for you.”

  James pulled his hat back down firm on his head. “I’m taking this to the police.”

  “No. No police. They no like us.”

  “Tell me who did this.”

  * * *

  7

  Trouble

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  “ From a woman wanting to be

  spinster to a mail order bride. "

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  Adeline went out when she heard strange voices. Her husband was out there with four Chinese men who had a wagon packed full. “James? Is everything alright?”

  The Chinese men turned to stare at her. Adeline drew her gaze away from them and looked to her husband with her eyebrows raised. She hoped these were workers for the wheat. They’d need more, but this was a great start.

  “Adeline, this is Frank. If it wasn’t for him and his friends repairing my wagon wheel on our wedding day, you might still be there waiting for me.”

  Adeline wiped her hands down her apron and smiled. “It’s you I have to thank for all this hard work then, is it?” Frank smiled back.

  He bowed a little. “Yes, Ma’am.”

  James stepped forward now, his back to Frank and the others. His straight face and bright eyes told Adeline he was serious. He took both her hands in his, something he’d never done before. “Addie. They have these men’s wives and children captive until they leave the area.”

  Adeline couldn’t believe what she was hearing. “Who?”

  James squeezed her hands. “Some group against foreigners working on the large company farms.”

  “We must get them back.”

  “This isn’t without danger for us and threat to our farm. I’ll understand if you don’t want them here or to help with the harvest. Frank won’t hold no grudge.”

  Adeline wasted no time making up her mind. “If they can help us harvest, I’m happy to provide a home and fair pay.”

  James pulled her into his arms for a short, surprising hug. “Thanks, Addie.” It wasn’t appropriate for them to use the more intimate names one might call a husband or wife, so the affectionately spoken Addie was substitute enough.

  “Might invite more trouble to be housed on the farm.”

  Adeline eyed James. “If we’re to build a workforce for the farm, and the baking, they must have a secure living space.”

  James pointed Frank in the direction. “About three miles. Set up the old barn however you want. It’s yours for the harvest. I’ll be down later.”

  Once Frank and his friends headed their cart for the old barn, James turned back to Adeline. “This is for the wheat harvest. I never said they’d be here beyond that.”

  “What of the other crops and my work?” Adeline placed her hands on her hips. She had just gained some workers, and she wasn’t letting them go that easily.

  “Once we sell the crop and the rest of your family is here, we can afford to employ other workers.”

  “You mean white?”

  “Perhaps.”

  Adeline stood her ground. “I’ve heard of this Agrarian attitude in town. I agree that smaller farms run by families would be ideal but with land and water as expansive as California’s, the sea for exports, and the East needing produce, it will always be a mecca for big business. The whites who travel here want to own farmland and work their way to a better life. They’re here for their perception of a better life, like you, not to be employed as farmhands.”

  James looked at her with that strange look in his eye. Adeline often wondered if he was angry with her or amused.

  “The ones who took Frank’s wife and the others have told them when they show their boat passage out of here, they will return their families unharmed.”

  “Who are these men?”

  “A group of local farmers who are active against the Chinese population getting larger in California.”

  “Have they checked the railway lines lately? More workers are coming every day to San Francisco.”

  “I doubt any of these men have been to San Francisco.”

  “Have they ever killed anyone?”

  “No.”

  “Have they even kidnapped anyone before now?”

  “No, but men can get desperate when their livelihood is involved.”

  “Get the cart ready. The women and children are coming here.”

  James stared at her, a frown on his face. “How?”

  Adeline took off her apron and sat it on the small table on the tiny verandah. “I’m going to get them.”

  James tore off his hat and threw it to the ground. “No. I won’t allow it. This is my farm. Frank and his men can work long enough here to buy their passage out, collect their families, and leave. That’s the agreement.”

  Adeline’s anger simmered now. “Your farm now, is it? It’ll be my money that’s paying them to harvest for us, if you want to be like that. He’s your friend. He helped you without cause. Yet you see fit to cast him aside now.”

  “Why are you so difficult? No husband should have to put up with this.”

  That was when Adeline’s anger flashed like a lightning bolt. “You don’t have to put up with me. I can be successful on my own. If you won’t let me have Frank and his family live here and help me, then I’ll go live in Goldrush and bakes pies there, in a little shop that’s all mine.” Once the words were out of her mouth, Adeline realized she was right.

  She’d built up great relationships, she had skills and she had a demanding group of buyers. She had friends and she no longer needed to be James Blair’s wife. She didn’t need to get involved in this scene. She could simply go open a shop and run it with her sisters and mother. No one had to be a mail order bride any more. Not if they didn’t want to.

  “At least my customers appreciate me. Make the cart ready. I’ll go get my things.” Adeline’s bad mood over James’ words wouldn’t ease. Even after a month of getting along fine, this attitude of women owing men for their very existence was proving the hardest to change.

  She and her family could sail abroad and never have to worry about the likes of Lex Baxter again. Unlike three months ago, Adeline now saw she had skills and options.

  “You aren’t going anywhere, Adeline Blair. This is your home and you are my wife, for richer, for poorer, for better or for worse…”

  “I crossed my fingers on the obey part, so I shan’t do that.” God forgive me, she s
aid in her head. Her anger had the better of her now. Why was it so hard for him to see her as an equal and not just an extension of him? “I’ll go if I choose to. I’m tired of always having to prove myself and yet you never give me anything back. I’m a woman and therefore I’m weaker.”

  “That’s not true, Adeline.”

  “Then you’ll let me go and fetch the Chinese women and children?”

  “It’s too risky. Frank is happy with the arrangement. Let’s stick to that.”

  “You’re a coward, James Blair, and I’m ashamed to call you my husband. I’m going to the Reverend to ask about an annulment. I should’ve agreed when you wanted one a month ago.” Adeline wasn’t sure why she was this upset. Just when James expected her to sit pretty and not fight for what she believed in, it riled her.

  “Sure. You’ve got what you want, just leave me with the harvest.”

  “Don’t accuse me of using you! I’ve worked those fields and baked pies.” Adeline stormed inside to pack a bag. She couldn’t stay here a second longer. Then she saw the large pot of stewed apples on the wooden bench. Tomorrow’s pies. It would be Friday. She’d stay to do these and talk to the Reverend on Sunday at church.

  If James Blair couldn’t appreciate her as a person, then she’d go off and appreciate herself. California was brimming with opportunity and Adeline now knew she could do this alone. She could be a success and get her family away from the shadow of her father’s behavior, and to safety away from Lex Baxter. If only she’d known of these opportunities three months ago. She wouldn’t have had to involve marriage.

  She heard horse hooves thundering off and she guessed James was headed off to wherever he went when he got mad. He took a while but he always seemed better when he came back. No one here talked about James, except that he was a good man. But in a small place, interested in the lives of its residents, it seemed a little odd that no one spoke of James’ life before Adeline arrived.

  He had secrets. He must. No one was perfect. Perhaps it was time she asked a few questions. He’d never confided in her; clearly his trust didn’t run that deep. But she’d seen a pain in his eyes that was hard to pick. He ran away from confrontation, and most anything verging on emotional had him disappearing pretty fast.

  Who did he confide in? He spent time with his cousins, but there wasn’t time for them to see James whenever he went on one of his disappearances. Adeline set about making her pastry. His mother was not one to show emotions either. She was seasoned and as prickly as a cactus, so Adeline couldn’t see him going to her.

  But he went somewhere and whatever he did put him back on the right path. Adeline froze for a moment. What if he had a mistress? What if he was in love with another and that was why he couldn’t love a wife? But why wouldn’t he just marry that woman and be happy? Unless she was the wife of someone else…

  Adeline wiped her hands and put the kettle on to boil. Her thoughts had gone to the ridiculous. First James made her angry and now she was conjuring him up a mistress who was married to another. He may have an aversion to his faith, but surely he wouldn’t go so far as to commit such a deep sin.

  That would certainly explain his avoidance of anything Adeline said about having faith and asking for forgiveness. If he had a woman he loved and couldn’t marry, he could hardly be a man of faith.

  Adeline held the table for balance. If this was true, she must know. She couldn’t be married to a man under any arrangement. She may not be able to love him but she needed to trust him, and if her fears were true she could never trust, or even like him the way she did now. Adeline’s stomach churned. Certainly there was no way she could ever share his bed, not even to keep up appearances.

  She needed to find out, and also find herself some lodgings. Despite her success and the happiness that came with it, something was still missing for Adeline. Something she had to admit she needed and wanted in a marriage. Love and affection. She never imagined it would be so hard to have a loveless marriage, or to not fall in love.

  * * *

  8

  Realization

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  “ From a woman wanting to be

  spinster to a mail order bride. "

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  James hated that he’d made Addie so upset. He’d often clashed with her over ideas but usually they sorted them out. He understood what she wanted to do with the Chinese workers but he didn’t want her in the firing line. He wasn’t sure how far this group would go to prove their point or get their way.

  Adeline would come round. It’s been a huge week for her, and over the weekend he’d talk to her about the future and where she saw her business and herself. He’d put out a call for a wife as a way to move on and to get help with the farm. In not even two months all ran smoothly now. Why keep a beautiful spirit like Adeline tied down and loveless?

  She needed to be set free to follow her dreams and to find someone who loved her for her drive and energy, and her ideas. He stood looking at the simple headstone. His wife and child buried together here in her favorite place. This was the original, one room home site that James had built for them.

  It’d burnt down to the ground. The old barn was about a fifteen minute walk away. Hattie hadn’t wanted it too near the house. He squatted down. He’d loved her so. They’d celebrated when she told him of her pregnancy. He’d never been so happy. Every time he came here, he felt they were still connected in his heart. It helped him work through all his emotions.

  He may not be able to love another but it no longer seemed right that Adeline couldn’t have the chance to feel a love like that. He needed to let her go. He’d talk to the Reverend on Sunday. This was the right thing to do.

  Adeline was more than capable of making her business work on her own. She didn’t need him. In fact, if anything, he likely held her back. If that Baxter man came around here with his threats, James would personally see him thrown back on the train out of here. He and Adeline could be friends and there’d be no pressure or expectations of them being together.

  Adeline could go and find a younger man to oversee her eventual empire. A man who could love her and give her whatever she needed. A man for her to love, and to be loved by. That wasn’t James. He ran his fingers over the hand-carved epitaph and stood up.

  He might go and see Jack and warn him of the tricky parts the mail order marriage entailed. Perhaps he could stop him from making a mistake too, or at least give him all the angles to consider.

  The ride to Jack’s property was about two hours. He found him on the southern side of it, mending some fences. Jack looked up. “Hey, James. What brings you here? You hankering to fix some fences for me?” Jack tilted his hat as he shouted.

  James grinned at his cousin. He was a hard worker, but he didn’t seem to enjoy farming all that much, although he kept at it and had a nice head of cattle and sheep to sell each year. “Not here for the fence.” James got down off his horse.

  “What’s up?”

  “How’re things progressing with Adeline’s sister?”

  “Amelia? Good. I’d have thought Adeline would keep you informed.”

  “She doesn’t like to gossip. All I know is that she will be out here on the train next month.”

  “Yep. We’ll be getting married too. As soon as we can.”

  “This mail order thing was your idea. I went along with it. But it’s hard.”

  “I guess so. But Amelia and I are in love.”

  “How can you be sure?” James traced a love heart with his boot in the dusty soil.

  Jack shrugged. “I just know. Is something wrong?”

  “I’m going to get my marriage annulled.”

  “Why? You and Adeline are so good together. How can you not fall in love with her? She dotes on you and she’s so beautiful.”

  “Adeline does not dote, especially not on me. She’s way out of my league and she’ll be happier
if she can go find love. She’s too young to be wasted on a pining farmer and his wheat fields”

  “Be a whole lot easier if you just let yourself love her.”

  “That was never our plan.”

  “Plans change.”

  “Not this one. You know how much I loved Hattie. I’ve loved her since she punched me at school when I was nine.” James remembered that day. He swore right then he would marry her.

  “Hattie wouldn’t want you pining over her. She wasn’t like that.”

  “You don’t have to rush into marriage. You can get to know Amelia a little in person first. She can stay with me or with Adeline.”

  Jack shook his head. “I’m sure. I’m not waiting one second longer than I have to.”

  “You were always the romantic.” James punched Jack in the shoulder. Not hard enough to hurt, just as a gesture of closeness.

  “I think you are making a mistake if you let Adeline go. She thinks the world of you. Look at all the success you two have had together.”

  “As partners, yeah. But I can’t love her, Jack; it wouldn’t be right to the memory of the promise I made to Hattie.”

  “If you let Adeline go, you’ll be hurtin’ even more when you see her strolling down the street with a new husband on her arm.”

  James did feel a twinge of something when he pictured that. Still, if he wasn’t going to love her, he couldn’t stop any other man from doing it. “It is what it is, Jack. She doesn’t need me. She’s quite capable of going it alone and if that Baxter shows up here, then we’ll give him a little of the Blair hospitality and run him back out again.”

  “Amelia has a plan. I don’t think Baxter will come here.”

  “She has a plan?”

  Jack nodded.

  “Does Adeline know?”

  “I doubt it. You’d better not tell her, either.”

  “Is it dangerous?” James didn’t like the sound of this.