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

by Faye Sonja

  Joe looked down at his little sister; realizing that maybe she wasn’t so little anymore. Lily still wore her dark blond hair in a braid that she threw over her shoulder, but besides that, she’d grown up and now she was ready to date. Joe sighed, rubbing his hands down Lily’s arms. “I’m supposed to protect you, Lily. That’s what a big brother does.”

  She smiled a smile that reached up to her pale green eyes. “I know, and you’ve truly done a wonderful job. When Mama and Daddy died, I was ten. You were twenty and you stepped up. Now, I’m twenty and I want a life of my own.“

  Joe’s head slowly turned to look at the officer. Tom had a smile on his face. “I’d never hurt her, Joe.”

  Joe’s anger returned. “No, you won’t.”

  Lily sighed. “Joe, you’re hurting me.”

  Joe turned back to her, realizing how tight his hold was on Lily. He dropped his hands; running them through his hair. “I’m sorry, Lily.”

  Lily put a hand on his shoulder. “It’s alright, Joe.” She dropped her hand and then went around the counter to stand by Tom. “Joe, let Tom court me.”

  Joe placed his hands on the counter and looked at the pair in front of him. He closed his eyes and shook his head. “Can’t you just want to go swimming at the pond with the other kids?”

  Lily chuckled. “Joe.”

  Joe turned to Tom; sizing the man up. “You hurt her and I won’t stop to think before I shoot you.”

  Tom crossed his arms; a smile still on his face. “Joe, I’m an officer of the law. You can’t threaten me.”

  Joe’s blood went cold. He felt his entire body relax; face, shoulder, hands. He stared at Tom, just looking at him. Joe felt himself slip quickly into an unknown place in his head. A dark place where reality wasn’t real. Tom’s hands went back up; his brows drawn together with worry lines. “I was just making a joke, Joe.” Tom’s eyes grew wide. “I’ve never seen you this angry before, Joe.”

  Joe had never been this angry. This situation was new to him and he didn’t like it. It was a few seconds later that Lily touched one of Joe’s hands that sat on the counter. One touch and Joe was breathing again. He blinked a few times before meeting Tom’s frown. Joe shook his head. “No jokes, Tom. You protect Lily with your life.”

  Tom nodded. “I will.”

  Joe nodded. He turned to Lily, just realizing that the girl had her arm through Tom’s. Joe felt the anger returning. Lily waved a hand in front of Joe’s face. “Joe.”

  Joe blinked again. “Yeah?”

  Lily frowned. “Tom is here to take me to lunch.”

  “Excuse me, where?” Joe asked.

  Lily narrowed her eyes. “At the only dining hall in town, Joe.”

  Joe nodded his head. “Alright.”

  Lily nodded. “I’ll be back in a few hours.”

  Tom reached for his black hat that sat on the end of the counter and placed it on his head. “We’re just going down the street, Joe.” He smiled. “I’ll bring her back in one piece.”

  Joe started around the counter. Lily pushed Tom towards the door. She successfully got Tom out the door before she closed it behind him, held up a finger, and then turned to look at Joe. “Joe, you have to let me find happiness.”

  Joe was standing by the front of the store now. His eyes moved from Tom; who was standing on the other side of the glass door, down to Lily. “You’re not happy?”

  Lily sighed. “Of course, I am, but love will make me even happier.”

  Joe frowned. “What do you know about love?”

  Lily smiled. “I know that I’d rather love someone who may love me rather than someone who may never.”

  Joe’s eyes widened. “I don’t know what you mean.”

  Lily gave Joe a hard look. “Joe, I’m talking about Clara.”

  Joe looked back up at Tom. He’d moved a few steps away on the porch, giving them some space. Joe turned back to Lily. “You’re young. You let me worry about my own life.”

  Lily’s hand came up and rested on Joe’s cheek. “Joe, I’ve watched you love Clara for the last ten years and if she can’t see how wonderful you are, then you have to move on.” Lily’s hand travelled down to her brother’s shoulder. She gave it a pat and then turned to grab her coat. Joe automatically helped her put it on and then opened the door for her. Lily stepped outside and took the waiting Tom’s hand. She turned to Joe, who still stood in the entrance. “We’ll be back.”

  Tom opened his mouth. Joe gave him a look. Tom closed it and smiled. He tilted his head and then led Lily down the front steps and down the road. Tom hadn’t been kidding when he’d said the dining hall was down the street. Joe could stand there in the entrance and make sure the two made it safely. He could watch them enter and probably read a book until he saw them come back. Joe sighed, turned, and closed the door behind him. He wouldn’t stalk his little sister. The dining hall was a very public place and Tom, though he’d just pushed Joe’s buttons, was a good guy. Joe couldn’t think of a single bad thing to say about him. Plus, Tom was his friend. Tom could be trusted. And if not, Joe knew where the man lived.

  Joe made it to the counter just as a group of women came in. He greeted them all in a neutrally friendly manner and they greeted him back; some of them more friendly than others. Joe had been getting hit on since before he could remember, but he’d never felt like any woman he’d taken out was the one. Clara was the one. He felt it. But maybe Lily was right. Joe was thirty-one. He should have been married by now, but he hadn’t. Why hadn’t he?

  The reason came walking through the door a second later. She smiled at him and Joe was undone. Clara Cain. He loved her, but Lily, his little twenty year old sister was right. Maybe he should start loving someone who could love him back.

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  4

  Chapter FOUR

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

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

  .

  Clara came home to find Eve and Florence waiting for her. She’d just left Robert and Benjamin with the boys at Eve’s house and had been in her own thoughts on the way home. Clara hadn’t seen the two women sitting on her porch until she’d started climbing the stairs. She smiled at them as they stood from the porch swing. “Come for tea?” she asked. They both smiled.

  Eve reached to the side of the swing towards the handle of a baby carriage. Eve had brought Evelyn with her, but Clara couldn’t see her. There was a sheet pulled over the front of the carriage; blocking the child from the elements.

  Florence crossed her arms. “You know we’ve come for that mysterious Chinese tea.”

  Clara floated towards her door and opened it. “I never said the tea was from China.”

  “Brazil?” Florence asked as she walked through the door. Eve followed her with the baby. Clara entered last. “I never said where I got the tea from.”

  Florence took off her navy blue jacket, revealing a soft pink floral dress. “One of these days, I’ll crack your secrets,” she said and slipped out of her shoes and padded across the room to sit on one of the couches. “I’ll get a fireplace going.”

  Eve did the same, though she was dressed in one of her ¾ sleeve female sports suits. Today it was beige with a white lining and cuffs. She lifted the sleeping Evelyn out of the carriage and then went to go sit by Florence. She had an envelope in one of her hands.

  Clara hung up her own black coat and then started for the kitchen; which wasn’t far from the entrance. “I’ll start the hot water.” She went to her stove. She turned on the gas and the thing just came to life. She began to light a few of the gas lamps that were scattered around the house. Had Clara been living in one of the bigger cities back East, she would’ve had electricity, but electricity would never be enough to make her want to go back there. Nothing short of a commission from God could make her step foot anywhere
near the place.

  Finished lighting the house, Clara went and sat on the couch with her friends. It wasn’t dark outside yet, but Clara liked to be prepared. She’d never admit it, but she was afraid of the dark. She looked at the envelope in Eve’s hand. “What’s that?”

  Eve brought her sock-clad feet up under her as she readjusted herself on the couch. She gave Clara a very serious look. “It’s a letter.”

  Clara laced her fingers in her hands and leaned back into the plush burgundy cushion with its large and abundant throw pillows. She rubbed her toes on the Icelandic gray sheepskin rug that sat over her hardwood floor. It was soft and comforting. The rug, like many of the paintings, porcelain figurines, and collectibles that littered the house were from all over the world. She hadn’t travelled the world herself, she simply chose to buy anything and everything that the foreign vendors sold while they travelled west. Vendors made a handsome profit from Clara. “Is the letter for me?” Clara asked Eve.

  Eve nodded. Clara held out her hand with her palm down. She dangled her fingers, as if asking Eve to kiss the back of her hand. Eve held the letter further away. Florence sucked her teeth. “Don’t you want to know what’s in the letter?” she whispered. She was rocking Evelyn in her arms.

  Clara dropped her hand and sighed. “I know what’s in the letter.”

  “So, then you know what I’m about to ask of you,” Eve replied.

  The kettle whistled. Clara stood. “I’m not writing him back.” She turned her back on her friends and rushed into the other room. Clara took her time setting the cups, tea, and fixings on a tray. Once she was done, she picked up the tray, but it trembled in her hands. She set it back down; harder than she meant to.

  “You’ll break your fine china if you handle it that way,” Eve said. She was standing in the kitchen’s entrance way; her brown her sweeping in front of her face as she leaned against the wall. Florence came in next, her hands empty. She crossed them and lifted her brows. “You better not ruin my tea. I’ve had a very trying day. “

  Clara turned to them. “Why such a trying day?”

  Florence shook her head. “Oh no, before we get into the drama of my life, we will have to deal with yours.”

  Clara waved them both out of the kitchen before picking the tray back up. “Fine. Tea first.”

  The three women walked back into the sitting room. Clara placed the tray on the dark coffee table that sat over the sheepskin. She began to pour. “Milk today, Eve?”

  “You have to write Joe back, Clara.”

  Clara didn’t stop in her pouring. “Milk it is then. Sugar?”

  “Clara, you can’t keep doing this to him.”

  Clara turned to Florence; she smiled. “I know you like a lot of sugar in your tea, Florence. Tell me about your day.”

  Florence shook her head. “I don’t understand why you won’t just admit that you love him.”

  Clara passed the tea out. “I am not in love.”

  Eve took her tea, taking the cup in one hand and the plate in the other. “Clara, Joe can’t wait around for you forever.”

  Florence took her own cup. “You have got to let go of your past before it destroys your future.”

  Clara took her seat heavily. She gave Florence hard eyes. “You have no right to tell me what to do about my past. You have no right.”

  Florence’s hands began to pat the air in front of her; gesturing for Clara to calm down. “Clara, we’ve all been through something.”

  “Yes,” Eve chimed in. Her face just as sure as Florence’s. “When my first husband left, I thought that I’d never love again.” Eve put her cup back on the table in front of her. “When Harry left, I was devastated. I hadn’t even known about the other women until it was too late. He left the moment I became pregnant. I was pregnant and alone, Clara.”

  Clara shook her head. “You weren’t alone. You had your father. You had the one man in her life that was supposed to protect you. My father never protected me, Eve.” She pointed at herself. “My father didn’t care about anything but money. He used me in his crimes. He gave me to any man he could scam later.” Clara wiped a tear that escaped from her eye.

  Florence came over and hugged Clara; cradling her friend in her arms while Clara cried. Florence shooed and murmured in her ear. “You’re right, Clara. Your father was worse than the one I never met and my mother never used me to gain money. She protected me the best she could, even though she did what she had to do to put food on our table. But she kept me from the worst, all the way up until her death. I had no one who loved me, and never thought I would until Eddie came and—”

  Clara pulled out of Florence’s arms. She laughed. “Oh, Florence. Eddie is awful and does not love you.”

  Florence’s brows drew together. “Don’t start, Clara. Eddie is a good man, he’s just having a hard time.”

  Clara scooted away from her. “No.” Clara wiped her eyes. “Eddie is a leech. Hard times don’t go on for five years. Eddie has no job and takes all your money to the gambling hall in the next town. You have to get rid of Eddie.”

  Florence moved back over by Eve. “Well, Eddie makes me happy.”

  Clara lifted a brow. “Does Eddie make you happy or are you just afraid of being alone?”

  Florence’s eyes widened and then her face took on one of pain.

  Clara sighed. “I’m sorry, Florence.”

  Florence did a series of opening and closing her mouth before settling on saying, “I love Eddie!” It was more a shriek. .

  Clara held up her hands. “Never mind, Florence. Forget it.”

  Eve sighed. “Ladies, let’s talk about the reason we are here. Let’s talk about our good friend, Joe, who is also a good man.”

  Florence placed her hands on her hips. “Are you implying that Eddie is not a good man?”

  Eve rolled her hazel eyes. “You said it, Florence; not me.”

  Florence opened her mouth to speak again, but Clara cut her off. “Give me the letter.” She held out her hand towards Eve. Eve handed over the letter. Clara quickly opened the letter and began to read it. Her green and blue eyes flickered over the words, but the rest of her face remained still; holding no emotion. Once she was done, she placed the letter at her side. “Did you both read the letter?”

  Florence and Eve shook their heads. It was Eve who said, “No, but Joe told Robert and me what it said.

  Clara crossed her arms. “And if I don’t.”

  Eve picked her tea back up and began to drink; gazing at Clara over the brim. “Write him back, Clara.”

  Florence retook her cup as well. “What did he say?”

  Clara waved her off. “He wants to know if C.C. Reed is a woman or a man.”

  Florence’s lavender eyes went wide before going back to their normal size. “You know, I’ve always thought that Joe should know who the real C.C. Reed was.”

  Clara’s eyes went wide. “No way. I can’t let people know that they’re reading my books.”

  Eve shook her head. “Joe is not people. Joe is your best friend. He’d keep your secret as I am sure he’s kept other secrets of yours.”

  Clara looked away. Joe was keeping some of her darkest secrets; mainly anything that pertained to her childhood. The subject of how Clara had been used and abused would have been gossip of the sweetest kind in Haines. The city didn’t have that much to gossip about, so anything that happened, automatically became big news and stuck around for a spell; like the stories about Florence’s mother. Florence’s mother had been dead for years, yet some people still tended to treat Florence like the black sheep of the town. Of course, dating Eddie didn’t help, but when the entire town was trying to steer their sons away from Florence and her alluring, deep purple eyes, the pickings were slim. Either way, Eve was right. Joe could keep a secret, but… “I don’t want him to know.”

  “Why?” Florence asked.

  “Because, if I tell him then he might not enjoy the books as much.”

  Eve blew out a breath.
“Clara, everyone likes Jack Adams. Trust me. Joe might even love the series more, knowing that the author is his best friend.”

  “Or,” Clara began. “He could not.”

  Florence narrowed her eyes. “Joe’s opinion means that much to you?” She smiled.

  Clara drew her brows together. “Of course. Joe’s my friend. He reads the books to me, not knowing that I wrote them.”

  “Write him back, Clara,” Eve broke in. “Tell him how you feel or one day you’ll regret it.”

  Clara lifted a single black brow. “A year ago, you never would have suggested this.”

  Eve smiled. “A year ago, I was a single woman.” Her smile pulled up higher on her face as she spoke. “Now, I’m a woman who is married to a wonderful man.”

  Florence smiled. “Robert is great.” She put a hand on Eve’s lap, but then frowned. “If only he’d left his brother back in New York…”

  “Having trouble with Benjamin?” Clara asked.

  Florence stood. “He’s just so irritating, Clara.” She started to pace. “It’s like I breath and he shows up. I sit down at my desk and he’s over my shoulder. And he always has to give his opinion. He’s a perfectionist!” She threw her hands up in the air.

  Clara brought her feet up and wrapped her arms around her knees. “A very handsome perfectionist.” She smiled.

  Florence looked away. “He looks like Robert.”

  Eve laid out on the loveseat; taking up the space Florence had freed. She was small enough to fit perfectly. She propped her arm up on an elbow. “That’s an understatement. They’re identical twins.”

  Florence took the Victorian chair that was closest to the fireplace. A Cheyenne tribal quilt lay behind her. She took it and wrapped it around her. “Well, trust me, Eve. You got the better of the two.”

  “Hmm,” was all Clara said.

  Florence narrowed her eyes. “I’m in love with Eddie and even if I wasn’t, I want nothing to do with Benjamin Manning.”

  Clara stood. “Let’s forget about men. They’re all bad news.”