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

by Faye Sonja

“Calling me a creature.”

  Andrew waved her off. “You’ll survive.”

  Harmony lifted a brow. “I will, but I can’t guarantee the same for you.”

  Andrew narrowed his eyes and shook his head. “Are you threatening me?’

  “Apologize. Now.”

  Andrew’s face fell. “I haven’t had a woman talk to me this way since I was a little boy in school.”

  Harmony put her hands on her hips. The gesture seemed to make her even taller. “Well, I used to be a school teacher, so get used to it.”

  Andrew shook his head. “I ain’t apologizing.”

  Harmony went for the door. “Very well.” She opened the door. “But, your insults will not stand with me.”

  Andrew retook his seat. “Fine.”

  “Fine,” Harmony repeated. She closed the door loudly behind her.

  Andrew sighed and ran his hands over his face. He wouldn’t let this woman get to him. He wouldn’t let her in. He’d thought himself safe when she’d written to him about her height. He thought he’d never find himself attracted to a woman who was taller than him, but Harmony was more than he’d bargained for. Andrew was very attracted to her and he didn’t know why.

  Harmony stood at least four inches over his 5’8 height. Andrew had never dated a woman who was taller than himself. All the women in his past had been no taller than little Melody. Melody, Harmony’s sister, was exactly the kind of woman that Andrew would have gravitated towards. She was shorter than him. She wore her hair free and seemed to place her entire spirit into her emotions. It was easy to read Melody. But not Harmony.

  Harmony was like a wall—a stone wall—never letting anyone see what she was thinking. She didn’t seem to have too many emotions. Harmony never wore her hair down and never ran from a fight. She stood her ground like no woman he’d ever met before. Andrew knew that most women were impressed with his wealth, so they were more submissive when addressing him, but not Harmony.

  He’d purposefully been avoiding her for the last few days. Ever since their wedding night, Andrew had been trying to keep his distance. He couldn’t afford to love another woman only to watch her hurt him again. He would never again give a woman that kind of power over him. Not even his wife.

  * * *

  4

  Chapter FOUR

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  “ She’d be having her first Christmas without

  the fragile white flakes … She’d miss that. ”

  .

  Andrew walked down the stairs and followed the heavenly scent of food into the dining room. When he got there, only Roy was there with a plate of food in front of him. Andrew looked over the serving dishes in the room, ready to grab himself a plate, but found them all empty. Did Harmony save me a plate? Andrew asked himself. She always saved him a plate. Andrew turned to Roy. He narrowed his eyes. “Where’d you get that plate of food?”

  Roy had a strip of bacon in his hand. He brought light brown eyes up to stare at Andrew’s. “Harmony.”

  Andrew felt a heat begin to build in him again. “Where’s the rest of the food?”

  Roy shrugged. “Harmony told everyone yesterday to come over for a big breakfast.” Roy smiled. “We’d already had her lunch before, so we knew we’d come early for a breakfast. I guess there isn’t anything left. I was late, so Harmony gave me this plate.”

  Andrew crossed his arms. “Well, where is my plate?” He could smell the salt of the bacon from across the room. His stomach growled.

  Roy shrugged again. “I guess you’ll have to ask Harmony.”

  “And, where is she?”

  “The barn.”

  Andrew started for the door. His anger fueled him the entire way and burned up what little energy he had left. He was hungry. The large barn door was opened when he got there, but he didn’t see Harmony. He started to walk away, but the familiar sounds of liquid hitting metal made him stop. Andrew walked further into the barn. He turned right and found Harmony in the first stall on the left. She was sitting on a stool milking a cow. Andrew spoke through gritted teeth. “Where’s my food?”

  Harmony turned around to look at him. Her gray eyes calm. “I’m sorry. Did you ask me a question?”

  Andrew sighed. The heat was boiling the blood in his shoulders. “Where is my plate of food, Harmony?”

  Harmony went back to the cow. “Why would I make you a plate of food?”

  “Because, you’re my wife.”

  “I am?”

  Panic hit Andrew’s skin and cooled the anger. He walked over to her and stood beside her. He hunkered down until he was face to face with her. “Aren’t you?”

  Harmony turned to him and narrowed her eyes. “Last I checked, I was simply a ‘creature’.”

  Andrew closed his eyes and swallowed. “I’m sorry.” A warm hand on his face made him open his eyes and stare at Harmony.

  Harmony whispered in her soothing deep voice. “Apology accepted.”

  Andrew stared into her eyes. They were a soft gray against her smooth, pale skin. Only her lips held a warm pink color that was all her own. He’d never seen her wear makeup like the other woman. Harmony was naturally beautiful, and being hunkered down at this level, and being able to meet her eyes, Andrew got to see it up close.

  Without thinking, he leaned forward and placed a kiss on Harmony’s lips. Harmony’s other hand came to his face as she kissed him back. Andrew wrapped his arms around her back, pulling closer. The cow mooed. The kiss broke. Harmony placed her hands on her own cheeks.

  Andrew frowned. “Can I have my plate now?”

  Harmony narrowed her eyes. “Is that why you kissed me?”

  “No.”

  “Then why’d you do it?”

  “Does a husband have to explain why he kisses his wife?”

  “Only when he’s been avoiding her for a week.”

  Andrew sighed and shook his head. “I’m too hungry to argue with you.”

  “Your food is in the kitchen, on top of the fridge.”

  Andrew narrowed his eyes. “You were hiding it from me?”

  “Yes.”

  “Why the top of the fridge?”

  “I didn’t think you’d look there.”

  Andrew stood. “Didn’t think I could reach it?”

  Harmony narrowed her eyes as she stood. “Need assistance?”

  “You must be used to bullying people with that height of yours, but it ain’t gonna work with me.”

  Harmony grabbed her bucket from under the cow and began to leave the barn.

  Andrew followed. “What? No smart comeback?”

  Harmony stopped and looked at him. “No, because anything I say would just go over your head…” She smiled. “But, maybe you’re already used to that.”

  A round of laughter made the couple turn to find five ranch hands by the barn door. Carlos was one of them. “Amigo, you are no match for the likes of Harmony.”

  The men’s laughter grew.

  Andrew narrowed his eyes. “Shouldn’t you be doing something? Like, working?”

  * * *

  Harmony walked off, leaving Andrew to deal with the men however he saw fit. When she got to the kitchen, Andrew was behind her. They both looked at the fridge. It was a blue round box that was actually shorter than Andrew.

  Andrew took his plate, removed the cloth, and then reached for a strip of bacon. He turned to Harmony as he began to eat.

  Harmony was standing by the counter, getting ready to strain the milk. No one wanted to drink cow fur.

  “Who taught you to milk a cow?”

  “My father,” Harmony said.

  Andrew opened a drawer and grabbed a fork. “You know, you don’t have to milk the cows. You can tell someone else to do it.”

  “I know,” Harmony said as she began to strain the milk from the bucket and into another.

  Andrew looked around the kitchen. “
You don’t have to clean either. You could hire someone to do that as well.”

  “I suspected as much.”

  “Then why do you work?”

  Harmony finished straining the milk and placed it into the fridge. It was best to chill it as quickly as possible. She turned to Andrew. “Because, I’m used to working.”

  “You could teach.”

  She shook her head. “I checked. The schools aren’t hiring.”

  Andrew’s face was pointed over his plate, but his hazel eyes were fixed on Harmony. Their color was so vivid against his darkly tanned skin. He looked even shorter as he leaned against the counter with his legs crossed. Shorter men never slouched in Harmony’s presence. They were too insecure to do anything but try and be as tall as possible. Andrew didn’t seem to care. He looked comfortable in his own skin. “The stock market affected the jobs around here. It’s why I’ve hired so many men.”

  Harmony nodded. “I wish there was some way I could help.”

  “Maybe you could volunteer somewhere.” He finished his plate and turned to the sink. He began to roll his sleeves up to his elbows. “Though, most women would simply go shopping. You could buy stuff and hire help around the house.”

  Harmony decided to ignore the first comment. “Why didn’t you hire help before I got here?”

  Andrew shrugged. “It didn’t much matter to me.”

  “What about the cooking? Who cooked for you?”

  “I did.”

  “Do you miss cooking?”

  Andrew shook his head and looked at her. A crooked grin slid in place above his handsome jaw. “No. You’re better at that than I am.”

  “Well then, why didn’t you ever hire a cook?”

  Andrew’s face lost all emotion. “I did once.”

  “What happened?”

  He washed his plate and placed it on the drying rack. “I married her.”

  Harmony sighed. “I’m sorry.”

  Andrew placed the clean fork on the rack and then turned to Harmony. “I’m over her.”

  Harmony lifted a brow. “I don’t believe you are.”

  “No?”

  Harmony shook her head. “You got so angry yesterday when I brought up your father—”

  Andrew pushed off the counter. “I said, I was over her. I didn’t say anything about forgiving him.”

  Harmony sighed. “Well, that’s just it. Maybe you should—”

  “Why do you keep bringing him up?” Andrew’s eyes narrowed and his hands fisted.

  Harmony shook her head. She opened her mouth to say something, but Andrew cut her off. “Why are you so obsessed with a man you have yet to meet?”

  Harmony crossed her arms, but spoke calmly. “No wonder no woman here would marry you. You’ve lost your mind.”

  Andrew smiled. “Any woman in town would marry me.”

  “Then why get a mail order bride?”

  “Because I wanted a woman I wouldn’t find attractive. I wanted a woman that my father would never want.”

  Harmony felt her entire face heat. She blinked a few times. “Really? Is that what you wanted?”

  “Yeah.”

  Harmony shook her head. “Well, thank you for your honesty.” She hurried from the kitchen and ran up the stairs. Only when she reached the landing did she allow the first tear to fall. Harmony wiped the tear from her face and sighed, trying to cool her anger.

  Melody, who was a late sleeper, stepped out of her room just as Harmony passed by. Her eyes went wide. Harmony had never cried in her presence before. Melody placed a hand on her arm. “What’s wrong, Harmony?”

  Harmony walked around Melody and entered her own room. She closed the door behind her, but Melody came in anyway. Harmony took a step toward her vanity. She placed her hands over her face and began to cry silently. A small arm wrapped around her shoulders. Melody’s hand came up and began to slide over Harmony’s head as she shushed her sister. “Tell me, what’s the matter, Harmony?”

  Harmony shook her head as the weeping continued. “No.”

  “Why?”

  “Stone women don’t cry over men.”

  Melody sighed. “Tell me.”

  She shook her head again. “You wouldn’t understand.”

  “Try me.”

  “No, it’s too embarrassing.”

  Melody stared Harmony with a hard look. “Harmony, I’m your sister. That means that no matter what, I’ll always be the one person in the world that you can’t feel embarrassed around.”

  Harmony sighed. “That’s silly.”

  “It’s the law.”

  “What law?”

  “The sister law, of course.”

  Harmony sighed. “He thinks I’m ugly.”

  Melody gasped. “But you’re beautiful.”

  Harmony shook her head again and then pulled herself from her sister’s arms. She turned to look at Melody. “No, you’re beautiful. I’m not.”

  “That’s not true.”

  Harmony nodded. “It is. Everyone always loved you more. Men hate that I’m so tall.”

  Melody narrowed her eyes. “No, Harmony. You’re the prettier one. Men only flock to me, because you intimidate them.”

  Harmony narrowed her eyes. “That’s not true.”

  Melody nodded. “It is. I’ve always thought that you were prettier than me.”

  Harmony gasped. “Really?”

  “Yes.”

  “Why?”

  Melody shook her head. “Look at you? You’re like those models from the Vogue magazines. They’re all tall and tiny. I’m short and stumpy. I could never model for a magazine.”

  Harmony sighed. “Neither could I. No one has ever said I was pretty.”

  Melody sighed. “That’s because you don’t let people see just how pretty you are.”

  “What does that mean?” Harmony stared into her sister’s eyes and tried to keep herself from crying. Their ages were so far apart that they hadn’t spent much time together growing up. Harmony had only seen Melody as a responsibility, never as a friend. Never as someone she could confide in. “How do I not let people see me as pretty?”

  Melody shook her head. “Well, for starters, you wear your hair so tightly up on your head. You never wear any makeup. You always wear such dark and unflattering clothes.”

  Harmony held up her head. “Enough.” She turned and looked at herself in the mirror. “Men don’t like me like they like you, Melody.”

  Melody wrapped her arms around Harmony and stared at her sister’s reflection. “And men don’t respect me the way that they do you.”

  Harmony placed a hand on Melody’s arm as she stared at herself in the mirror. She compared her features to those of her sisters. They were alike at this angle. Their wide gray eyes and oval faces were the same, but Melody had done something to her cheeks to highlight their height and give them more color. Her lips were painted red, like most women did. Melody’s pale brown hair was curled tightly today, framing her face. Short hair was in, but Harmony hadn’t liked the style too much. Short hair couldn’t be pulled back and away from her face. She liked being able to put her hair away. “I could never pull your look off, Melody. I’m not fashionable.”

  Melody smiled. “Sure you could.”

  Harmony shook her head. “No, and I would never wear such a red lipstick. It’s not me.”

  Melody nodded. “No, maybe not the red lipstick, but if you let me, I could transform you into the swan you were meant to be.”

  Harmony sighed. “It seems like such a lot of work.”

  “Rome wasn’t built in a day.”

  “That saying is so old.”

  “It still applies.”

  Harmony shook her head. “I don’t know if it’s worth the effort.”

  Melody pulled back and practically skipped to Harmony’s wardrobe that was on the other side of the room. “It will be. Trust me.”

  Harmony turned to face her. “What are you looking for?”

  Melody turned back to Harmony
with a frown. “Everything in here has to go.”

  Harmony’s eyes went wide. “What?”

  Melody nodded. “We’ll go to a tailor and have your clothes specially designed.”

  Harmony shook her head. “I’m not going to spend Andrew’s money on clothes.”

  Melody turned to look at Harmony. Her expression said, ‘Are you crazy?’ But she just said, “Don’t be silly, Harmony. You’re a rich man’s wife. You’re expected to dress the part.”

  Harmony shook her head. “You’re starting to sound like Andrew.”

  Melody nodded. “Good, because we’re going shopping.”

  “I don’t have time to shop. There are things to do around here.”

  “That’s another thing. No more cleaning. You’re hiring a maid.”

  Harmony narrowed her eyes. “Have you been conspiring with Andrew behind my back?”

  Melody shook her head. “No, I’ve been talking to Marie and she told me so.”

  Harmony sighed and looked her little sister over. “Maybe I should talk to Marie myself.”

  “Why?”

  Harmony shrugged. “She’d have more insight on these things.”

  “Like men?”

  “Perhaps.”

  Melody crossed her arms as she took a seat on the bed. “Have I ever had trouble getting a man to ask for my hand?”

  Harmony shook her head. “No, but you seem to have had plenty of trouble in getting Austin down the aisle. Tell me, how’d that work out for you?”

  Melody dropped her arms and looked at her hands. “You’re right.”

  Harmony went over and sat by her sister. She took Melody’s hand.

  Melody looked up. “I didn’t manage to get Austin to say ‘I do’, but that doesn’t mean that there weren’t a hundred of other men who wouldn’t have. I was just the fool that had to fall for Austin, the one man who seemed incapable of loving me.”

  Harmony sighed. “I’m sorry that I brought him up.”

  Melody shook her head, took a breath, and then straightened her small shoulders. “No, you were right about Austin.” She looked at Harmony. “I know we haven’t been here long, but already, I feel... free.”

  Harmony narrowed her eyes. “What do you mean?”