by Kit Morgan
“Sounds like a real mystery,” Morgan commented. “Is Eva all right?”
“Yes,” Luke said with a chuckle. “Even Mrs. Brock can’t dispute her daughter’s happiness now that she’s a Mullaney. She’s very happy being married to the Irishman, and we’re happy for her. Nice girl, that Eva.”
“I agree – she always was a nice girl, she just didn’t always get a chance to show it with her mother looming over her. Though I hear Mrs. Brock has turned over a new leaf.”
“She does seem much more amiable since she’s returned from Eva and Finn’s wedding. I hope it lasts.”
Morgan smiled. “I ought to let Mrs. Brock have a go at my aunt.”
Daisy sat at the table and smiled at the remark. “So who is Mrs. Brock?” If she was anything like Morgan’s aunt, then Daisy was going to make sure she steered well clear of her.
“The Brocks have lived here for years,” explained Pastor Luke. “Eva, their only daughter, was also a mail-order bride, just like you. Only she didn’t travel as far to get married – just to Oregon City.”
“What? That seems rather odd.”
“Not at all, when you consider Mahulda Brock was less than agreeable to live with at the time. She was trying to marry Eva off to anyone she could, including several different gentlemen of … shall we say, an advanced age?”
“Oh my,” Daisy said. “That doesn’t sound good.”
“It wouldn’t have been,” Pastor Luke affirmed.
“I had just returned from college when all this was brewing,” Morgan explained. “I remember Pastor Luke proposing to Winnie at the Fourth of July celebration. I think that’s what sent Mrs. Brock over the edge.”
Luke laughed. “I believe you’re right. Mahulda Brock had been angling Eva toward me, to which both Eva and I were oblivious. After Winnie and I married, that was when Mahulda started coming down hard on poor Eva. After a few months of that, Eva just up and disappeared one day. Little did we all know how, or to where.”
“At least I didn’t have any family to leave behind,” Daisy said quietly.
“But you’ll have family here,” Morgan said, his tone gentle.
She stared at him. Why would he say such a thing? She’d have to speak with him in private – he was carrying this too far. He shouldn’t be saying such things. For one, it made her wish his words were true.
Soon Winnie joined them with the coffee, and they enjoyed their dessert. Afterward, they retired to the parlor and regaled Daisy with tales about the town and its residents, including the Fourth of July celebration fiasco when Winnie first came to town. Daisy laughed and almost cried a few times, and realized she definitely wanted to stay here, more than anything. But she also thought of how lonely she’d be if she did. It was becoming harder to look Morgan in the eye each time he spoke to her, knowing she could never be his, and that he didn’t want to marry her or any other woman right now.
Right now …
But if not right now, she thought to herself, what about later? Was she willing to wait until Morgan was ready? For all she knew, that could be years! And what if in the meantime, someone else came along who’d make a fine husband? Garrett Vander seemed to be interested in her. Would he come swooping down on her as soon as this farce was over? And did she want him to? He was a handsome enough man in his own right – what woman wouldn’t want to be married to him?
But he wasn’t been the one she’d thought about on the long train ride to Salt Lake, nor during the subsequent days on a stagecoach to get here. He wasn’t the one she imagined walking down the aisle with, or kissing good night before bed, or cooking meals for, or having babies with …
“Daisy?” Morgan asked. “Did you hear what I said?”
Daisy started. “Oh heavens, I’m so sorry. What did you say?”
“I asked if you’d like to join me tomorrow and go see the Professor’s bookshop? We didn’t get a chance to do so yesterday.”
“No … no, we didn’t. Yes, that would be nice. What time?”
“My parents are feeling better, so I’m sure I could get the afternoon off. Say, after lunch?”
Pastor Luke looked at his wife. “Winnie? Would you be available to chaperone?”
“I don’t think a trip to the bookstore needs a chaperone, do you?” she asked. “Besides, Professor Hamilton is there, and he’s perfectly capable of doing so.”
Luke smiled. “That he is.” He looked at Morgan. “Do you plan on taking Miss Evers anywhere else tomorrow?”
“The bookshop is the only thing I’ve thought of so far. Do you have any suggestions?”
“Let’s see … a lovely trip to the bookshop, then perhaps a stroll through town? There’ll be plenty of people around.” The pastor didn’t add, and maybe it would dispel some of your aunt’s murmurings, but it was obviously implied.
“Quite true,” Morgan agreed, to the statement and its subtext. “Shall we meet at the bookshop around one o’clock?”
“Yes, that sounds lovely,” Daisy replied. The bookshop would be the perfect opportunity to speak with him. Maybe she could corner him someplace and tell him to stop being so, so … endearing!
“Wonderful. I look forward to it,” he said with a smile.
Oh drat, she thought to herself. “So will I.”
Thirteen
The next day after lunch, Daisy hurried up to her room to prepare for her meeting with Morgan. She changed her dress, combed and re-braided her hair, put it up, then caught herself as she was pinching her cheeks. “Good heavens,” she groaned aloud. “I can’t believe I’m primping!” All this fuss over meeting up with a man who wasn’t going to marry her anyway? Why did she even bother? More importantly, why did she even care?
But a part of her, that feminine part all women had, had somehow kicked in and taken over. “I suppose it doesn’t hurt to look decent. I will be out in public, after all …”
“Daisy?” Winnie called up the stairwell. “Are you ready to go?”
“Yes,” she called back, then took one last look at herself in the mirror. Her cheeks were flushed and hot, despite the cold November day. Maybe Winnie had built a fire in the fireplace downstairs? They couldn’t be that red from her pinching … oh, this is ridiculous! Daisy Evers, get a hold of yourself! She stared at her reflection and wagged a finger at it. “You will not start having feelings for this man, do you hear me? He has no interest in you other than business. He helps you get a job; you help him not get a wife.” She gave her reflection a curt nod, turned and left the room.
Downstairs, Winnie was putting on her gloves. “Are you coming, too?” Daisy asked.
“I’ll walk with you to Professor Hamilton’s bookshop, but then I’m going to the mercantile. I need a few things to start working on Christmas presents.”
Christmas … Daisy wondered where she’d be spending it, then pushed the thought aside. Having Thanksgiving to contend with was enough. She wondered if Morgan was going to hold her to cooking it for him, but thought better of that as well. He’d probably forgotten about the whole thing by now, being too preoccupied with avoiding a courtship with Bernice Caulder. “That sounds fine. Shall we go?”
Winnie smiled, wrapped her shawl around her shoulders, and together they left the house. The day was crisp and cold, but bright with sunshine. Fallen leaves decorated the churchyard and the street beyond, and continued to drift down on the light breeze. It was a lovely sight, and Daisy stopped for a moment to take it all in.
“What’s wrong?” Winnie asked. “Did you forget something?”
“No,” Daisy said as she gazed at the picturesque scene. “This is just so beautiful. I’ve never seen anything like it.”
Winnie glanced down at the orange, brown, and red carpet that had formed overnight. “It must’ve been really windy while we were sleeping.”
“I’ve never seen anything so wonderful,” Daisy said with a smile. She turned to Winnie. “Do you think it will snow?”
“I think it’s too early. If we’re lucky, we’
ll get snow around Christmas, but from what I hear it’s usually rain.”
“It hasn’t rained since I’ve been here,” Daisy said. “Does it rain a lot?”
“Oh yes,” Winnie said and started off again. “We’ve been unusually lucky since you’ve been here.”
They said nothing more until they reached the bookshop. “Well, here I go,” Daisy said.
“Now, don’t be nervous,” Winnie said. “Everything is going to work out fine, you’ll see. I’ll get what I need at the mercantile, then come back and join you. Maybe I can find a book for Luke for Christmas.”
Daisy smiled, and watched as Winnie turned and continued down the boardwalk. She then faced the door of the bookshop, took a deep breath and went inside.
A tiny bell rang to announce her arrival. “Good afternoon,” Professor Hamilton declared with a bow from behind the shop’s counter. “Why, if it isn’t Miss Evers come to grace my humble establishment! Please, do come in.”
“Good afternoon,” Daisy replied as she approached him. The shop was charming, with stacks of books everywhere, not just on the shelves. Even the counter was covered with them. She glanced around the shop and, for a moment thought she’d died and gone to heaven. She’d always loved books, loved everything about them … except for her inability to read one.
“Any sort of book you’re looking for?” asked Professor Hamilton.
“Oh no, I’m just here to …”
“I have an interesting book on the mating habits of kangaroos.”
“What?” she asked with a furrowed brow. Whatever was he talking about?
“Yes, if you go down this aisle and around the corner, you’ll find books on natural history,” he said with a wink.
Oh, so that’s what he was talking about … Morgan must have already arrived. “I see,” she said with a smile. “I’ll just go take a look then.”
“You do that,” he said and retook his seat.
Daisy headed in the direction he’d indicated. When she reached the end of the aisle and turned to her right, she bumped right into Morgan. “My goodness! I’m terribly sorry.”
He fumbled with the book in his hands and looked at her. “I’m all right,” he said. “My, but you look … nice.”
Daisy blushed from head to toe. “Thank you,” she said with a shy smile. She felt a tingle up her spine, and willed it to stop. “Find anything interesting?” she asked, indicating the book in his hand.
“This?” he said holding up the book. “It’s a book on exotic birds. I’ve always entertained the thought of traveling abroad.”
“Really? Where would you go?”
He put the book back on the shelf. “Well, if money wasn’t a factor, if I could go anywhere … I would love to see Africa.”
“Africa?” she said with a smile. “How fascinating! What part of Africa? Isn’t that a very large continent?”
“Incredibly so, which is part of what makes it so fascinating. But I’m afraid I’ll have to settle for reading about it in books and looking at drawings. I don’t see a trip anywhere in my near future – perhaps not in my lifetime.”
She reached up and touched his arm, unable to help herself. He started at the contact, and she was quick to withdraw her hand. “I don’t think you should give up on your dreams.”
He stared at the hand she now held to her chest, then looked at his arm. “Sometimes dreams are too big for us. I don’t think I’d ever be able to afford such a journey.”
“That might be true, but you never know what life holds.” she added hastily. “A month ago, I had no idea I’d be leaving New Orleans as a mail-order bride, and now here I am in this lovely little town, standing next to you in this wonderful shop.”
He chuckled. “You have me there. I guess if you can have an adventure, then I can have one too. Only mine would cost more than a train ticket and stage fare to Oregon. Not to mention the time it would take to go on such a journey …”
“Morgan,” she said and touched his arm again, not caring what he thought. He was being sincere about his dream, and she wanted to be just as sincere in regards to him going after it. “If you started to save now, think of how much you might have in ten years. You’re young, and would still be young when you took the trip.”
“Ten years seems like an awfully long time,” he said.
She could tell, however, that he was thinking about it. “Not if you started now and just kept putting it away. Besides, maybe you’ll have enough money saved in five years.”
“But,” he began and looked at her. “If I had a wife and children, how could I leave them to take such a trip?”
He had a point, she thought. Perhaps in five years or more he would decide to marry and start a family. “Well, if you save a little longer, you might be able to take your family with you.”
He smiled and chuckled again. “You’re persistent, aren’t you?”
“Always.”
“Perhaps I’ll look into it, and find out how much it would be for, say, a family of four …”
“That sounds reasonable enough,” she said with a smile. “Besides, even if you don’t make it to Africa, there are other places right here in this country that have exotic animals.”
He nodded in agreement. “You’re quite right, Miss Evers.”
She looked into his eyes. “Daisy.”
“Yes, of course,” he said as he met her gaze. “Daisy.”
His last word was spoken softly, and Daisy felt her knees grow weak. Oh no!
“Is there anything in particular you’d like to look at while were here?” he asked.
She shook her head. “There are so many books, I wouldn’t know where to begin.” And why bother – she could barely read them anyway. But she wasn’t about to let him know that.
“No? You mean you don’t want to look at any?”
“Well, I …” Think, Daisy, think! “… do they have any cookbooks?”
Morgan smiled devilishly. “Why? Do you need to look up a recipe for Thanksgiving?”
“Thanksgiving? Oh, Thanksgiving! Don’t tell me you remembered?”
“Of course. You’re still cooking, aren’t you?”
She sighed heavily. Now was as good a time as any to get it over with. “Mr. Tindle …”
“Morgan …”
“Morgan. I think we need to discuss the parameters of what we’re doing here. I don’t see any reason to involve Thanksgiving in this. Besides, what if your aunt is still here?”
“All the more reason to do it – then she’ll have to concede and realize she can’t go around picking out brides for me.”
“Such as your mother did?” Daisy asked sarcastically. She couldn’t help it – the more time she spent with him, the more his rejection of her as his mail-order bride rankled.
“That was different. For one, it was my mother. For another, my mother respects my decision in the matter.”
“And your aunt doesn’t?”
“Isn’t it obvious?”
Daisy sighed again. “Yes, I suppose the other day proved that.”
“Other day?”
She nodded. “Winnie and I went to the mercantile to fetch some cinnamon, and found Bernice working there. By the way, she didn’t even know where the cinnamon was kept.”
Morgan shook his head. “Yes, I’m sorry about that. You weren’t the only customers Bernice left a … shall we say, lasting impression on?”
Daisy bit her lip to keep from laughing. The poor girl really wasn’t cut out for the job. “When do you think I can start working?”
He stared at her, looking as if he’d drawn a blank. “It’s not going to be that easy for me to get rid of her. Though if she keeps doing what she’s doing, my father will take care of it. She can’t keep turning customers away.”
“What do you mean?”
“If Bernice can’t find something, she tells the customer we don’t have it.”
Daisy’s hand flew to her mouth and she burst into giggles. “That’s terrible!”
“Tell me about it. Every time I run into someone on the street, they complain. It happened three times just on my way here. Who knows what things will be like in a week? Can you hold out that long?”
“I believe so. Pastor Luke and Winnie aren’t charging me rent, but I can only live off their kindness so long – it wouldn’t be right. I need to find work, quickly.”
“I understand.” He took a step toward her. “I’ll see that you’re taken care of. Do you need some money right now?”
She tried to step back, but he grasped her by the elbow and held on. She looked at the hand on her arm, then at him. “I couldn’t do that, Morgan.”
“But I want to help you, take care of you …”
Tears stung Daisy’s eyes as she stared up at him, her mouth half-open. Take care of me? What was he talking about? She wanted it, with all her heart, but at the same time knew it was something she could never have with him. She tried to pull away, but he held her fast. “Please let go of me.”
“Daisy, what’s the matter? Don’t you want me to do things for you?”
“No! You can’t, it wouldn’t be right.”
He finally let go and turned away. “I don’t understand,” he said softly before facing her again. “Why won’t you let me take care of you?”
“What do you mean exactly, when you say you want to take care of me?” she asked. Maybe he was still trying to make up for that horrible day she arrived.
“I feel I owe you for, for what I’ve put you through.”
Yep, that was it. She relaxed and nodded. “I guess if I was you, I’d feel the same way.”
“Then let me start by taking you to dinner tonight,” he said.
“Dinner? Where?”
Morgan smiled, and his eyes twinkled. “I’ll pick you up at six. And don’t worry, we’ll be properly chaperoned.”
“I … I don’t know …”
“You’re not making dinner for Pastor Luke and Winnie tonight, are you?”
“No, but…”
“Then have dinner with me.”
“Will your aunt and parents know?”
