Mail Order Misfortune

by Kirsten Osbourne

  "What do you hope to get out of this marriage?" Jesse asked suddenly, watching her face.

  She blinked a few times. "What do you mean?"

  "Well, most women want children from marriage, but you won't get them from ours. Some want security. I don't think you'll feel that from this marriage. What exactly do you think you're going to get from it?" He knew his words were cold, but he needed to be certain she had no expectations other than what he was willing to offer her.

  Anna shrugged, looking down at her plate. "When I came out here as a mail order bride, I was more than happy to marry the man waiting for me. I planned to be a good cook, and clean to the best of my ability. I feel like I'm very qualified to keep a home and do everything that's entailed with being a housekeeper, even with taking care of children. The only thing I was really worried about was the marriage bed." Her eyes met his. "You've made it clear that you don't expect that from me, so to me, it sounds like the perfect marriage. It sounds like exactly what I want and need from you." She was very happy with the situation, even though it was an odd one.

  He fixed himself another plate of food as he thought over her answer. "You really don't want that part of marriage? You don't want children?"

  She shrugged. "Of course, I'd like children of my own, but it doesn't hurt me not to have them. I'm going to be a step-mother to Ernie, so my maternal feelings will have an outlet of sorts. I'm glad I don't have to share your bed to fulfill that."

  He was surprised by her answer. "My first wife wanted nothing more than to have babies. She loved the marriage bed."

  Anna blushed. "I don't think you should be telling me that, do you?" She stood up and started clearing the table, taking the water she'd started heating earlier and pouring it into the basin. She started to take away the platter with what was left of the roast on it, so she could store it away, and they could eat it for lunch the following day, but he caught her wrist.

  "Leave it. I'll eat most of it before I'm done. I burn a lot of energy during the day, and I missed lunch today." He watched her work while he finished eating, and most of the roast was gone before he was done. He polished off all the potatoes and most of the carrots as well.

  She sighed when she saw what little was left. He was going to take a lot of energy for her to feed. There went her planned lunch for the following day.

  Once the dishes were done and the small amount of food left was put away, she climbed the stairs to get ready for bed. Ernie was sitting at the top of the stairs waiting for her. "I don't want to live with my teacher."

  She sat down beside him on the top step, thinking hard about the best way to respond to him. "You know I'm not your teacher anymore, right? There is no teacher at the school for a while. They're looking for another one." She didn't want to come right out and tell him she'd been fired, but she needed him to understand she would no longer be teaching him.

  "No teacher?" He perked up at her words. "I don't have to go to school?"

  "Not until they find a new one, I guess. Do you think while you have a break from school, you can try to get used to me? I'd really like to see you act like the good boy I know you are inside, instead of showing me the kid that everyone sees. You know which one I mean. The one who's always trying to get attention and acting out in school. That boy isn't who I'm looking for. I'm looking for the boy inside you who obeys his father and does his chores when he's asked. Can you show him to me?"

  Ernie shrugged, acting as if he didn't know what she was talking about, but she thought she may have gotten through to him. She stood up and walked to her room, closing the door with a snap behind her. She carefully unpacked her clothes, and hung them in the wardrobe before making up her bed with the sheets that had been thrown at the foot of it for her use. She would get everything cleaned upstairs soon, she promised herself. It was filthy, and no one should have to live that way.

  As she closed her eyes for the night, she said a silent prayer of thanks that things had worked out how they did. Jesse could be an overbearing donkey, but she was certain she would settle in nicely. She fell asleep with a smile on her lips. Life would be good in the Hoover household. She was certain of it.

  Chapter Five

  Anna felt uncomfortable as she walked into church the following morning, knowing rumors of her getting fired must be flying around the small town. She sat with her new family, Ernie between her and Jesse, and paid rapt attention to the sermon.

  As soon as the service was over, Julia rushed over and grabbed Anna's arm. "We have got to talk!"

  Anna followed Julia to a corner of the church and all but cried on her friends shoulder. "I guess you heard?"

  "I heard you were fired! How many teachers is this town going to go through in a year?" Julia shook her head, obviously not blaming Anna for what had happened.

  Anna shrugged. "I hated Mr. Hanson the day I met him and he was so rude to you. He seems a hundred times worse to me now."

  "So what happened? Why did he fire you, and why are you sitting with the new family?"

  Anna took a deep breath. "Ernie was a new student two weeks ago. He was a monster. At the end of his first week at school, I sent a letter asking his father to meet me after school on Monday so we could discuss his behavior. He met me, and we fought. He actually allowed Ernie to stick his tongue out at me in front of him, and never said a word to stop him." She knew Julia would feel the same way about Ernie's disrespectful behavior that she did.

  Julia's eyes widened. "How rude!"

  "Yes, and then he grabbed me and kissed me."

  Julia blinked a few times as if she hadn't understood what her friend had said. "He grabbed you and kissed you? Just right there in the schoolhouse? In front of Ernie?"

  "I sent Ernie out to play on the playground as soon as Mr. Hoover got there. Yes, he just grabbed me and kissed me. At first, I tried to push him away, but..." She trailed off, looking around to see if anyone was listening to her. "I liked it." She was embarrassed to admit it, but if anyone could understand enjoying kissing a stranger, then it was Julia.

  Julia covered her hand with her mouth, and at first Anna thought she was shocked, but then she realized her friend was trying not to laugh. "It's not funny! I guess it's kind of what happened with you and Tom, isn't it?"

  "Well, except Tom was kissing me in the middle of the street, and he thought I was his fiancé. You and Mr. Hoover were just standing in the middle of the schoolroom kissing." Julia frowned. "So how did you end up fired?"

  Anna sighed. "Susie saw us kissing, and she told her father. Her father assumed that Mr. Hanson would have a talk with me, so no more unsuspecting students would walk in on their teacher kissing a man in the schoolhouse." She shook her head. "You know Mr. Hanson as well as I do. He didn't just talk to me. He fired me on the spot and told me that I had to be out of his house by nightfall."

  "You could have come to me, you know."

  "Oh, I know, but you're a newlywed. I didn't want to interrupt your honeymoon again. So I went to the mercantile and asked if there were any jobs for women around. Mr. Stemmons knew of someone looking for a housekeeper, and he gave me directions. I walked out to the house he told me to go to, and it was the Hoover Ranch."

  Julia gasped, putting her hand over her mouth. "You're not working for him now, are you? Your reputation will be ruined if you're living with a widower and his son!"

  Anna shook her head. "No, he offered me a job, but I refused, because I couldn't do it. I told him he was the reason I was fired, so he offered to marry me, but..." She leaned really close to make certain no one would hear. She knew it wasn't proper to talk about some things, especially in church, but she had to talk to her friend and get her opinion. "We're not sharing a marriage bed. I have a room of my own."

  Julia made a face. "But you kissed in the schoolhouse, and you both liked it?"

  Anna blushed. "Well, I liked it, but I don't know if he did."

  Julia frowned. "I'm certain he did. It's not going to last."

  "The marria
ge? I hope it does, because I don't want to be without a place to go again anytime soon."

  "No, the not sharing a marriage bed. You'll both break down." Julia sounded certain, but how could she know?

  Anna shook her head. "That's the only part I was afraid of when I came out here to marry Tom. I'm glad it's this way."

  Julia laughed. "You're glad now, but that won't last either. You two will both want things to be different soon. You can't live together and not touch each other. It's just not natural."

  Anna shrugged. "It's what we both want."

  "Can I ask you something?" Julia asked.

  Anna eyed her skeptically, half afraid of what was on her friend's mind. "What's that?"

  "Why did you let him kiss you when you don't seem to like him?"

  Anna bit her lip, wondering just how much she should admit. "Well, he...he was angry with me, and he grabbed me and kissed me. I really didn't have a choice in the matter."

  "He kissed you in anger?" Julia frowned. "Tom's never kissed me in anger. That must have been odd."

  Anna shrugged. "I don't know. It's the only time I've ever been kissed except the wedding kiss, and that kiss wasn't even on my lips."

  Julia sighed. "Well, you'll understand what I mean soon then." She shrugged. "Bright side of it all is that we live less than a mile apart now. We can meet in the middle and have picnics. Or better yet, you can come over for tea or coffee, or I can go to your house for tea or coffee."

  Anna smiled at the idea. "I like that thought. Of course, I need to do a lot of cleaning before I can have anyone over for any reason. I don't know how they could have made such a big mess in just two weeks of living there. The place looks like it hasn't been really scrubbed in years." It was a good thing she didn't mind hard work.

  "It's a possibility. I know that Mrs. Kyle was older, and she'd had a stroke. She may not have been able to clean at all their last couple of years there. That's why they went back East. Their daughter lives out there, and they need help."

  Anna nodded, understanding finally. "I see. Well, I can whip it into shape in no time. It's just going to take some hard work."

  "Would you like me to come over and help you one day this week? I've got plenty of time now that I'm not teaching."

  Anna thought about it and finally nodded. "I don't necessarily want the help, but I'd love the company. Why don't you come out Tuesday after lunch, and we'll have tea, and I may put you to work."

  "You will put me to work, you mean?"

  Anna grinned, hugging her friend tightly. "I may put you to work. I can't wait to see you then. Do you know how to get to the ranch?"

  Julia nodded. "Of course, I do. I'll be by after I finish up the lunch dishes."

  *****

  Anna spent the afternoon washing the clothes and hanging them out to dry. The bedding needed a good washing as well, but there just weren't enough clotheslines to do everything in one day. She'd do the rest on Monday.

  She made up a pie for dessert from the blackberries she'd spotted on the side of the road on her way home from church. She and Ernie had taken tin pails and rushed out to pick them as soon as the clothes were on the line. Ernie had been reluctant at first, but when she told him she wanted the berries to make a couple of pies for supper, he'd been more than willing.

  They'd talked while they picked the berries. He'd complained again that she would never be his mother, and she'd told him she had no desire to take his mother's place. "My mother died when I was just a few weeks old. I don't even know when my birthday is. I know what month, but that's all."

  "You don't know your birthday?" His voice sounded shocked.

  She shook her head. "No, because my pa died before I was even born, and my ma died too soon to tell me when my birthday was."

  "That's sad."

  She shrugged. "So I understand not wanting a new ma. You already had one, and she sounds like she was a pretty wonderful lady. I'm not going to take her place. Instead, I'm going to be someone who helps around the house, and helps guide you the right way, without being a ma. Will that work for you?"

  Ernie nodded. "I guess. Can you do that?"

  "Of course, I can." They walked home from the berry patch with a new understanding of each other, and he had a new respect for her.

  By the time Jesse came home for supper, there was a huge pot of beans with cornbread and the pies for dessert. He walked into the kitchen as if in a trance. "I haven't had food this good since my mother died."

  Ernie looked at his father with surprise. "You mean my mother right?"

  Jesse's eyes widened, but he nodded. Over the top of his head, Jesse mouthed to Anna, "No, I mean my mother."

  Anna stifled a laugh as she put big bowls of beans on the table, along with a plate of cornbread. After the prayer, Jesse talked a bit about his day. "When we moved in here, the fences were in terrible shape. We were always having cows escape. I was able to patch up the worst of the holes quickly, but now I'm going back around to patch the smaller holes. I can't spare my men to work on them, so right now, it's just me. I need to hire on about twice as many men as I currently have as well. I don't know how Kyle was able to make this ranch pay for as long as it did."

  "So are you disappointed you bought it from him?" she asked, not knowing much about how ranches worked.

  He shook his head, taking a big swallow of water, and pouring himself more from the pitcher on the table. "Really, I'm not upset at all. I've always wanted to be a rancher, and now I am one. This place is a dream come true for me. It's going to be hard work for a lot of years to come, but I'm young. I've got a lot of work left in me."

  She looked at him for a moment, and blinked, realizing that she didn't even know how old her husband was. "How old are you?"

  He looked at her for a minute, before laughing. "I guess that's something a wife has a right to know about her husband, doesn't she? I'm twenty-eight. I married at nineteen, and we had Ernie when I was twenty. She was seventeen when we married." He eyed her for a moment before asking, "How old are you?"

  "I'm twenty. I taught for two years back East and swore I'd never do it again before I moved out here to be a bride."

  "I saw you talking to a woman for a while at the back of the church after service this morning. Who was she?"

  "That's Julia. She's the one who married Tom, the man I was supposed to marry." Anna knew it sounded strange even as she said the words.

  "Are you two friends now?"

  Anna nodded emphatically. "She's the best friend I've ever had. I know it's odd, but it's just worked out for us. When I was standing in the middle of town looking around for Tom, who I thought would be waiting for me, she saw me, stopped, and offered me a place to stay until I figured out what I wanted to do."

  "Oh, I had no idea she'd helped you so much. No wonder you're friends."

  "I stayed with her and Tom for a weekend, and then I moved into the Hansons' house and started teaching."

  "Well, you can't hold that against her."

  "She's going to come over on Tuesday afternoon after lunch. She thinks she's going to help me finish cleaning the house, but I'm hoping to have it mostly done by then. I might have her help me with some of the mending." She nodded to his shirt. "That shirt has a huge hole in the back of it, and I noticed that you have a seam ripped out of your church shirt as well. I'd like to get those fixed this week."

  "That's a lot to do." Mrs. Jenkins had constantly complained about how hard on clothes he was, and she'd rarely been willing to take the time to mend anything.

  "It is, but it's all work I enjoy. I want to measure Ernie tomorrow morning and then go into town to get some fabric to start on some new clothes for him. I thought two sets of school clothes and one outfit for church would be good to start with."

  Ernie frowned. "I hate new clothes. I hate standing still to be measured."

  Anna looked at him with wide eyes. "You do? I know how to make it take just half the time!"

  "Really? How?"

  "I
f you stand still the first time, then I won't have to keep redoing it, and it will save a lot of time!"

  Ernie made a face. "You like to trick me, don't you?"

  Anna smiled. "Not as much as I like for you to do what you're told and stand still." She stood up and walked over to the work table where she had the pies cooling. She picked up one of them and took it to the table, setting it right in the middle. She cut three large slices and put them on saucers, handing them around.

  Jesse looked down at the pie with a look of sheer delight. "What kind of pie is this?"

  "Blackberry. I saw some on the side of the road on the way home, and Ernie and I picked them. I thought you might like some pie this evening." She watched him to see if he was pleased with her surprise.

  "I love pie. You're already spoiling me. I'm not sure that's such a good idea. Next thing you know, I'm going to expect pie for supper every night." Jesse grinned as he took another big bite.

  Ernie looked back and forth between them. "Don't start liking each other. It's better when you fight."

  Anna looked at Ernie. "You don't want us to get along? You'd rather we fought all the time?"

  Ernie seemed to think about that for a moment. "Well, I don't want you to fight so much that you stop cooking good, but I don't want you to like each other too much."

  Anna's eyes met Jesse's and she saw that his were twinkling. "He's your son."

  Jesse reached out and ruffled Ernie's hair. "Yes, he is."

  After supper that evening, she sat on the porch swing with her mending and worked on fixing some of the worst holes in his shirts. They both needed new clothes badly, and she would get on that just as soon as she had time. She knew she could get the house finished by Monday evening, even with having to go into town for supplies the next day, and she would start the real sewing on Tuesday. When Julia came over on Tuesday, they could sit and talk while they sewed, which was something she'd always wanted to do.