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

by Faye Sonja

  The two had made it to the women painting in the park with their easels and Clara gazed at their work. Some were better than others, but they were all very good. The paintings were of the children who were playing by the pond. The work would probably fetch each woman a good coin. Haines thrived on the arts. Clara decided to take a few minutes to watch the women work.

  “Why do you tease Amy?” Joe whispered.

  Clara turned to look at him. He was staring at the paintings, but turned to give her the full treatment of his green eyes. Clara met his eyes head on. “She started it.”

  Joe lifted a blond brow. “Must you always finish it?”

  Clara smiled. “Joe, you’ve known me for how many years now? You answer that question yourself.”

  Joe laughed to himself. “Let’s see. I met you when I was twenty-one. You were seventeen. Now, you’re twenty-six…”

  “Never remind a woman of her age.”

  Joe tucked his head in his shoulder to muffle some of his laughing. They didn’t want to disturb the painters. He cleared his throat and said, “I’m sorry.”

  “You’re forgiven.”

  They shared a smile.

  Joe laughed. “I was driving down the road on my way back from Kansas City when I saw this skinny little girl walking on the side of the road; a large bag in each hand.”

  Clara turned away. Her smile gone. She looked back at the paintings. Joe moved closer, positioning himself a little behind her; leaning in so that he could whisper into her ear. “I asked her if she had anywhere to go; just to be friendly. The woman, who had the longest black hair I’d ever seen, looked over at me, dropped the bag in her right hand, pulled out a gun, and pointed it at me.”

  Clara closed her eyes and smiled. She turned down to face Joe, looking up at his face. “No man ever stops to help a woman without wanting something in return.”

  Joe shook his head. “I never asked you for a thing.”

  Clara narrowed her eyes. “You brought me to town and got Eve to let me move in with her. A year later, you asked to court me.”

  Joe sighed and turned to start walking towards the house. Clara caught up. “I was surprised you even waited a whole year. Admit it, Joe Dawson, you’re just like every other man in the world.”

  The smile was gone from not only his face, but also his voice. “If that’s what you wish to believe, Clara, then so be it.”

  They’d made it into the forested area of the park now, which gave them much more privacy. “What else is there, Joe?”

  Joe stopped and turned. “It hurts that after almost ten years of friendship you could still think that of me, Clara.”

  Clara stared up at his eyes and saw the pain. Her heart ached, but she didn’t look away. “I’m sorry, Joe, but you know what life was like for me before you rescued me.”

  Joe’s face didn’t soften. “I’m not your father, Clara.”

  Clara looked away. “I know that, Joe.”

  Joe threw his hands in the air; hopelessly. “Clara, more than half the men I know are nothing like your father. They would never use their daughters the way your father used you.”

  Clara looked around and then spoke through clenched teeth. Heat began to spread through her limbs. “You don’t know men like I do. They all wear a mask in public, Joe, but underneath, they’re the same.”

  Joe narrowed his eyes. “What’s that supposed to mean?”

  “It means what it means, Joe.” Clara placed her hands on her hips.

  Joe crossed his arms. “So, I’m wearing a mask?”

  Clara shrugged; her eyes flickered away for a second before returning to meet his. “I don’t know, Joe.”

  Joe’s eyes went wide. “Wow.”

  “What?”

  Joe laughed, though not in humor. He turned and started down the path again. “It’s just amazing that you could still believe that way of me.”

  Clara sighed and caught up again, trying her best to keep up with his longer strides. It was hard with her almost being a foot shorter than he. “I didn’t say that, Joe.”

  “Yeah, you kind of did, Clara.”

  Clara shook her head, reached out, and took Joe’s hand. Joe’s steps faltered, but he didn’t stop walking; he just slowed. Clara held his hand tightly. Her heartbeat sped up as she waited. She kept her eyes straight ahead and waited for Joe’s hand to move under hers instead of just sitting there like a dead weight. Clara swallowed. Joe squeezed her hand; a signal of forgiveness. Clara released a sigh. They dropped hands; an inch at a time until they were separate again.

  Clara moved a hand over her hair before placing her hands in front of her. “I have issues, Joe.”

  Joe looked over at her; his own hands back in his pockets. “I know.” He sounded so sad when he said it.

  Some kids ran by, playing hide and seek. They ran between Joe and Clara; becoming the perfect distraction.

  “C.C. Reed is a ham and I’ll prove it.”

  Clara’s eyes went wide. “Uh.” She cleared her throat. “How?

  They’d made it to Eve’s house. It sat like a hidden, dark-bricked mansion on the edge of the little town; all alone on the outskirts, away from everything.

  Joe climbed the stairs to the front door and then turned to Clara. “I’ll write him and ask him to write me back.”

  Clara pulled out her key and handed it over to Joe. “C.C. Reed didn’t write you back the last time you wrote.”

  Joe took the key, unlocked the door and then held it open for Clara. “Yes, but this time, I’ll give the letter to Eve and ask her to make sure that C.C. Reed writes me back.”

  Clara stepped through the door and took the key that Joe offered. “And what makes you so sure that Eve will make sure that C.C. Reed writes back?”

  Joe smiled. He stood outside the door. “I’m not, but it’s like you said, ‘ask and you shall receive.’”

  Clara smiled, though her heart raced. “There’s still the chance that C.C. Reed won’t write back.”

  Joe shrugged, but his green eyes looked determined. “We’ll see.”

  Clark ran up the steps and into the house. “Hey Clara! Hey Joe!” Lewis followed behind, speaking the same words. Clara and Joe had moved out of the way just in time to not get run over by the twins. Clara looked back at Joe. “C.C. Reed might not write back, Joe. You could be wasting your time.”

  “We’ll see.”

  Clara shook her head. “Have a good day, Joe.”

  “Same to you, Clara.” Joe turned and started down the porch and then down the path that would take him back into the woods, back through the park, and back into town to finish out the day. It was their normal routine. It was a routine that Clara valued more than anything else and she prayed that she hadn’t ruined it.

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  3

  Chapter THREE

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  “ Joe wasn’t waiting for a good woman. He

  wasn’t waiting for anyone, but Clara Cain. ”

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  It had just began to rain, but Joe didn’t have to be at the store today until after lunch. Lily would run it. She was twenty; old enough to mind the store herself. Joe ran up the street and then hurried through the doors of Haines Press. The sounds of the typewriters on the dozen or so desks greeted him as he entered. To the right was a very small bookstore; the new Jack Adams’ book on a stack of books was on display. Joe walked over and looked at the cover. It was the paperback that everyone else got. It was nice, but Joe liked his fabric cover better.

  “Hey, Joe.”

  Joe turned and saw Florence Tilson. Her lavender eyes stared up at him. She was taller than some of the other women in town, but still shorter than him. Her long blond, almost white hair was pulled up into a high ponytail; a style that just seemed to make her look that much younger than her twenty years. She had a sketchpad in hand; a pencil in her ear.

  Joe ran a ha
nd through his wet hair. “Hey, Florence. How’s your day going?”

  Florence made a face. “If I stab Benjamin Manning, will you help me hide the body?”

  Joe laughed. “Ben?” Benjamin Manning was Robert’s identical twin brother. He’d come to town to help with Haines Press’ legal and marketing department. So far, Joe had only heard good things about the man, but apparently, someone didn’t feel the same way. Joe had only known the guy for a year and had found Ben to be a good guy. “What has Ben done now?”

  Florence smiled in an unfriendly manner. “Only make suggestions.”

  “On what?”

  “Everything.”

  Joe lifted a brow. “He made a suggestion on all your drawings?”

  Florence closed her eyes and nodded her head slowly. She looked over at the book display. “I did the cover. What do you think?”

  Joe looked at the cover of the Jack Adams’ book again. It was a dark portrait of a gun with smoke coming from it. The smoke rose to form the title of the book. “It’s nice.”

  “Just nice?”

  Joe turned back to her; smiling. “I mean, it’s great for a paperback cover, but my editions come fabric bound.”

  Florence slowly smiled. “Oh, that’s right. Clara gets you the book covers that will stand the test of time.”

  Joe nodded. “Speaking of Clara. I told her that I was going to write C.C. Reed again.”

  Florence’s eyes went wide. “You did?”

  “Yeah, and I’m gonna deliver the letter to Eve personally to make sure that I get a reply this time.”

  Florence’s eyes seemed stuck. “You are?”

  Joe’s smile broadened. “Yup.”

  Florence started to look around. She grabbed the pencil from behind her ear and pointed towards the back of the room. “Well, if you’re looking for Eve, she’s in that direction. I’m off to work on Ben’s suggestions.” Florence gave Joe a stare before she floated away.

  Joe moved further into the room and made his way towards the back. He spotted Robert, Eve’s other half, before finding Eve tucked by his side; an arm around her shoulders possessively. Joe greeted them as he approached. “Hey, Robert. Eve. Where’s the baby?” Eve had just given birth to a little girl three months ago and was already back to running her father’s company. Nothing slowed the woman down. They were standing by a board that had a diagram of the city’s next paper up; sectioned off by the paper’s various categories. Art and Fashion was a big one, as it always was with Haines.

  Eve smiled around Robert. Her hazel eyes staring up intensely at him. Her brown hair, which she normally wore in a short bob, had grown out and now hit her right under the shoulders. Eve moved away from Robert and went over to give Joe a hug. “She’s up in the office; sleeping peacefully.” A year ago, Eve wouldn’t have freely given any man a hug, but Robert’s love had softened her. She stood back and allowed Robert to step forward.

  Robert shook Joe’s hand. Robert and Joe were around the same height, though Robert was older than Joe by a year or so. Robert was a redhead with dark blue eyes. He smiled. “How’s it going, Joe?”

  Joe took his hand back and then reached into his pocket. “Just came over to give Eve this.”

  Robert moved back; putting his arm around Eve’s waist. Eve leaned her head into Robert’s chest, lifting a brow. “What’s that?”

  Joe was a little thrown off by the couple. Yeah, Eve and Robert had been married for over a year now, but seeing Eve this happy with a guy was still a shock to Joe. Joe remembered Eve’s first husband; the father of her twins, Lewis and Clark. When he’d left town nine years ago, Eve had seemed to grow a hatred for men that was close to Clara. It was one of the reasons Joe had thought they’d get along so well and had suggested that Eve take the stranded Clara in when he’d found her on the side of the road. Eve would have another hand to help raise the boys and Clara would have a place to stay.

  At the time, Eve’s father had been alive and had helped raise the boys as well, but then he’d died a year ago, leaving Eve Haines Press. Eve would have lost the company if she hadn’t married Robert. Their marriage had been forced on her, but by looking at them, no one would be able to tell that it hadn’t been a love match from the very beginning. How had Robert managed to do it? Could Robert possibly teach him to soften Clara up? Maybe he’d ask at the next group exercise session. Joe blinked himself out of his thoughts; bringing himself back to the present. He looked at the letter in his hands. “Uh, it’s a letter.”

  “For whom?” Eve asked.

  “C.C. Reed.”

  Eve’s eyes went wide. Robert’s face was stagnant; with no reaction whatsoever. “Why not just put it in the mail?” he asked.

  Joe hit the letter across his other hand. “I wanted to deliver it personally, because I want a reply back.”

  Robert smiled. “Do you mind if I ask what kind of reply you’re looking for?”

  Joe smiled. “I want to know if C.C. Reed is a woman.”

  Eve’s face went neutral as well. “What made you wonder about that?”

  “Clara would like me to believe that C.C. Reed is a woman, so I told her I’d ask.” Joe held out the letter and Eve hesitated, but eventually took it from his hand. “I can’t guarantee that C.C. Reed will write back,” Eve said.

  “I know, but could you ask?” Joe asked.

  Eve nodded and smiled. “I will.”

  Joe inclined his head. He turned to Robert. “I’ll let you two get back to work.”

  Robert nodded. “Coming to the Y this weekend?”

  Joe nodded as he started to back away. The Y, or rather, YMCA, which stood for Young Men’s Christian Association, was the local exercise and Bible study house in town. They were popular in the east since the 1850’s, but Kansas had built their first one in Wichita back in 1897. It was a great way for the men in the bigger cities to stay healthy. Haines had just finished building their very own YMCA last year, and the men of Haines, both young and old, flocked to it; ready to see what the latest exercise contraption would be. Some of the machines looked more like torture chambers, so Joe and some of his other friends avoided them. Instead, they all came together for weightlifting and a game of volleyball. “I’ll be there.”

  “Good, see you then.”

  Joe waved as he headed towards the front door. The rain had stopped he realized, once he stepped outside. Joe decided to stroll as he made his way to his general goods store. The weather was cold, but the flowers on the small lawns in front of the buildings still sat up brightly in their stances. The petals of the blue sage flowers glittered as the sky opened up. They hung like bells and swayed as the wind picked up. Other flowers native to Kansas sat in front of other buildings and homes. Everything, from the stark white American lotus to the palm-sized sunflower brightened the road. The town’s design, with its wide roads, grassy lawns, and untouched trees, made the city look more like a neighborhood or community, but it was beautiful. The older women of Haines Church of God took care of everyone’s flowers, including the ones in the local park, and never asked for a penny in return. In the middle of the city stood a tall bur oak tree. There was a cement border three yards out that stopped anyone from running it over. Then an area filled with grass. A bed of flowers sat around its thick trunk. It stood there like a little paradise in the middle of the Main Street intersection. Haines was like a little paradise compared to other cities. Joe was glad to call it his home.

  He turned right and then willed up the front porch of his own store. He opened the door and found Lily handing over someone’s purchase from across the counter. She smiled at Joe before looking away. The customer was Tom. “Hey, Tom.”

  Tom had a coffee in hand. “Hey,” he looked down at the cup in his hand.

  Joe smiled as he came over to him. They were both born and raised in Haines, and considered one another friends. “Weren’t you here yesterday?” Joe asked.

  Tom nodded then looked up, meeting Joe’s green eyes with his pale blue ones. Sometimes,
they had the tendency to look gray, but at the moment, they were very blue. “Hey, Joe. I came over to ask you something.”

  Joe stood by his sister behind the counter. He put an arm around her shoulder. “What can I do for you, Tom?”

  Tom sighed; a shaky smile on his lips. “I’d like to officially ask if I can see Lily.”

  Joe’s body froze. His face fell. He slowly turned his head to look over and down at Lily. Lily had buried her head away from him; keeping her eyes averted. Joe felt heat spread up his neck. He turned back to Tom. “She’s seven years younger than you, Tom.”

  Tom blinked a few times, but didn’t look away. “I know.”

  Lily tensed, then brought her face up to look at Joe; her green eyes in full view. They were a lighter green than Joe’s, but they shared the same almond shape. Lily wasn’t smiling. “Joe, I’m twenty.”

  Joe frowned. “I know how old you are.”

  Lily shook her head as she peeled herself out of her brother’s hold. “No, Joe. I’m twenty. I can date who I want.”

  Joe’s face hardened, though not with embarrassment. Lily’s hands came up to touch his chest. “Joe, don’t.”

  Joe turned to Tom. “How long have you been seeing my sister?”

  Tom put his cup of coffee down and put up his hand. “Joe, Lily and I have not been out. Not once.”

  Lily grabbed Joe’s arms and turned him towards her. Her brows were drawn together. Lily closed her eyes and sighed. When her face was visibly relaxed, she opened her eyes. “Joe, you’ve been taking care of me since Mama and Daddy died, and I thank you for that, but you’ve got to let me go.”