by Etta Foster
That can’t be good. Gavin handed Harley his empty glass.
“I suppose I should go see what the old man wants. I know how much he hates to be kept waiting.”
Isaac was lying propped up in his bed, the older man currently having a coughing fit into the handkerchief he held in his hand. Gavin was the spitting image of his father - the two shared the same square-shaped face, azure blue eyes, and ash blond hair. Their skin was tanned from constantly working outside, but Isaac’s face was marred with far more wrinkles than his son.
Gavin also had far more laugh lines around his eyes and mouth, though there had been significantly less things for him to laugh about these days. That was half the reason why he sent for Jessica, in the small hope that she would be able to help breathe some life back into the otherwise melancholy life he was currently leading.
“Could you try not to look so damn downtrodden every time you enter my bedroom?” Isaac’s voice was somewhat gruff, but Gavin knew his father was merely jesting with him. “Aren’t you healthy young bucks supposed to help put the old and dying into a sense of ease before they pass away?”
“That’s easier said than done, Pop,” Gavin admitted gently, moving to pull up the small stool that sat beside his father’s bed. “It’s not every day that the young have to deal with the loss of their only father.”
“That will always be a hard cross to bear,” Isaac agreed, gently pushing himself into more of an upright sitting position. “Most folks never truly heal from that particular wound of the heart. It’s been about twelve years since my own old man passed on, God rest his soul, and I can’t say I’ve fully managed to get over losing him, either.”
“Not to mention what Mama will go through once you’re gone,” Gavin added softly, his hands clenching gently into fists on his thighs. “I know that’s gotta be tearing you up inside.”
Gavin heard his father inhale deeply, and when he glanced up, he was surprised to see the first tears he had ever seen his old man shed slowly sliding down his cheeks.
Though Isaac was merely in his mid-forties, he looked like he had lived sixty years. “It’s going to change everything, son. Even the ownership of the ranch will be up for debate once I’m no longer breathing, even though you’ve worked so hard to run it since I fell ill. I feel bad that I’m leaving your mama alone in her old age, and I need you to promise that you’ll take care of her once I’m gone,” his father finished simply, his hands falling limply in defeat at his sides.
“I know you feel jaded about love because of what happened with Claudia but trust me when I say that life is a lot harder to get through all alone. You need someone who can help support you, through good times and bad. I never truly appreciated your mama until now, when I’m close to the end of my life. Don’t make that same mistake.”
The memory of Claudia flashed through his mind. Gavin had been over the moon for her and had gone through hardship after hardship to try and expand the ranch so he could try to eke out a living on his own. Claudia had been a beautiful young girl who Gavin was determined to make his wife. When the time had come for them to tie the knot, Claudia had instead decided to elope with his older brother, Jude.
He hadn’t seen either of them since and he’d been left to care not only for the ranch but for his sick father as well. He had managed to keep the ranch going through his own sheer hard work, and now he had to worry about losing it to his brother, who'd done not a lick of work on the ranch in over five years.
“I don’t want to have to worry about you ending up a lonely old man or on the wrong end of a rope necktie, which is why I had Mr. Bernum rewrite my will for me. I had him include the marriage clause for you. So you would get yourself a wife and have the support of a partner when I'm dead and gone...”
“I want to guarantee that it won’t all just end up in your brother’s hands. I worry about what he would do to this place if the power of decisions were to fall solely into his hands. We’ve worked far too hard for that to be how the ranch could end, Gavin,” Isaac said sternly, covering his mouth with his handkerchief as another bout of coughing caused the man to convulse on the bed for a minute or two.
“I still wish you hadn’t done that without at least asking me how I felt about it,” Gavin replied with exasperation, rising to his feet and moving to get his father a glass of cold water to drink. “You’ll thank me for it one day, Son,” Isaac said, allowing Gavin to help him take a few grateful sips of water before laying back on the bed. “How is that wife-finding business of yours coming along, anyhow?”
“You’ll be happy to know that I found a future wife and already sent her a train ticket to bring her here. She should be arriving in the next couple of days, so you’ll get to meet her before long.” Gavin didn’t have the heart to tell his father that he had gone through a mail order ad to find his bride, nor did he inform his father of exactly what he had told Jessica about their arrangement.
He had been sure to be truthful about his emotional stagnation in his correspondence, and Jessica had agreed that theirs would be a marriage of convenience, which hadn’t seemed to bother her too much.
“So, who is the lucky lady?” Isaac asked, looking over at his son with a curious smile. “I don’t reckon it’s one of the ladies who live around here. None of them live far enough away they'd need a train ticket to get here. I’d have thought you might try shacking up with Winifred.”
“Just because they’re some of the only neighbors within five miles of us doesn't mean I would settle for Winnie. Besides, she was never my type. We were just the only neighbors of theirs who weren't always trying to cheat them. That’s why Winifred and I got along and why her parents allowed her to spend so much time over here growing up,” Gavin said dryly, humoring his father with a small smile. “Besides, I heard that she long since went East to become a mail order bride.”
“What about Barbara Mills over in Green Mountain Falls? You seemed to get along fine with her when we would go into town to get groceries,” Isaac prodded, trying to get as much information out of Gavin as he could.
“I've had my fill of women from Colorado, Pop. If you truly want to know, my new bride is from Boston. She’s the daughter of a businessman, so I’m sure she will be respectable. I told her I didn’t care about her dowry and would be more than willing to provide for her should she agree to come down. Please do me a favor and don’t mention anything about her family when she arrives. The death of her father still upsets her,” Gavin said, giving his father a stern look until the older man nodded in agreement.
“Alright, Son. I won’t say or do anything to upset your future wife, I promise. At least not intentionally, anyway,” Isaac said, coughing once more into his handkerchief. “You can’t control how others may take what is said about them.”
Gavin figured he would make himself content with that, rising from his chair and letting out a soft yawn. “Well, I’m going to go get cleaned up. Once that’s taken care of, I’ll see about having Mama wrangle up some grub for us to enjoy. Is there anything special you have a hankering for?”
Isaac waved his hand somewhat dismissively, slowly sliding back down into a reclining position and closing his eyes. “Tell her to make whatever she feels like eating. Lord knows I’ll eat it either way.”
Gavin laughed softly at that, leaving his father to nap while he made his way toward the back of the house where the rain barrel was located.
With a bar of soap and a sponge in hand, Gavin went about washing himself. He had a feeling that Jessica was going to be here in the next couple of days, and the last thing he wanted was to be embarrassed by a lack of good hygiene. Why am I so nervous about a mail order bride?
Chapter 3
After two and a half days of listening to the noisy rattling of the tracks and ear-splitting whistle of the train bringing her to Cripple Creek, Coralee silently promised herself it would be a very long time before she would ever travel by train again.
She’d barely managed to get any sleep these
last few days, always disturbed either by the whistling of the train or from other passengers making noise around her.
At least he put me in a car that has sleeping accommodations. I would no doubt be far more sore had I been forced to sleep upright in my seat for the past two days.
Flagging down the bored- looking porter as he made his rounds through the first-class car, she asked him if she might be able to get some sort of meal.
The young man, who couldn’t have been any older than his early twenties, seemed to have trouble making eye contact with her as he informed her that they were a mere three hours away from their destination.
Her response was short and came across as mildly impatient. “That is still three hours, and given that I haven’t taken any meals since last night, you will understand that I am quite eager to have some sustenance. Now please be so kind as to get me something before my mood sours even more.”
The tone in her voice soon had the porter scurrying out of the room toward the dining cart on the train. Coralee reclined back in her seat with a slightly smug smile.
Is this what it feels like to be one of the upper class? I think I kind of like it. I’ll try not to get used to it, though. I need to remember where I came from, even if I am going to pretend to be someone I’m not for a while.
When the train pulled into the station a few hours later, Coralee felt the familiar butterflies fluttering in her stomach once more. It had been one thing to talk about it, but now she was truly in Colorado.
After spending her entire life in Boston, she was now embarking on a journey into a brand-new world the likes of which she had only ever read about in dime novels.
Was this a good idea? Is it too late for me to turn back? I could always write him a letter and make some sort of excuse for why I couldn’t come. I could pretend to have fallen ill. It wouldn’t technically be lying since the real Jessica did fall ill, so the Lord wouldn’t have to punish me for being deceitful.
Glancing over at the nearby mirror, she shook her head deliberately. Come on, Coralee. I’ve worried over this a hundred times. There is nothing left for me back in Boston. In fact, I’m fairly certain Lucas has been searching all over for me, and if he’s dead, then it’s the law searching instead. This is my new life now, whether I like it or not.
When she disembarked from the train with the few possessions she owned, she was not surprised to find that the train station was relatively deserted.
With it being the day that Jessica had told Gavin she would be arriving, Coralee had expected a little bit more of a welcome. Clutching her suitcase close to her chest, she glanced around the station nervously. No one seemed to be paying her any attention, and that made her nervous. Had she exited the train at the wrong stop?
“Miss Caldwell?” The voice was so soft at first that Coralee didn’t hear it. When she heard the name again, this time spoken a little louder, she turned her head in the direction of the sound.
There was a handsome, slightly grizzled man with shockingly blue eyes who was currently making his way toward her. The intensity of his gaze made her blush, and Coralee found her throat suddenly dry. She jumped slightly when she heard him repeat his question, only slightly louder this time. “Excuse me, young miss. Are you Jessica Caldwell?”
“Who, may I ask, is inquiring?” Coralee found the words escaping her lips before she could stop herself, even though a small part of her already suspected she knew the identity of the man in front of her.
There was no way it could be anyone else, especially considering the confident aura radiating from him. Coralee blushed deeper as she realized that she was having a hard time looking away from him, her heart beating rapidly in her chest. Oh lord, he is so handsome. I wasn’t quite ready for that.
***
Gavin grinned widely at the spunkiness of the woman in front of him. He had thought Jessica was going to be some soft-spoken, timid girl from the city based on the impression he’d picked up from her letters, so this was an unexpected but pleasant development.
She looked exactly the way she’d described in her letters, with luxurious brown hair that fell in graceful curls down her shoulders and warm hazel eyes that were currently gazing into his own. “I take that to mean you are who I think you are?”
He watched as she seemed to recover from the initial shock of their introduction, a look of uncertainty briefly crossing her face before she nodded. “Yes,” she admitted finally. “I am Jessica Caldwell.”
“You are even more beautiful than your letters led me to believe,” he replied smoothly, enjoying the intense blush that quickly washed over her face. She was easy to please with compliments, but what woman wouldn’t be?
“Oh, thank you,” she replied hesitantly, an uneasy smile spreading across her lips. “Aren’t you a little lacking in manners, though? Isn’t it customary for a gentleman to give his own name before asking for a lady’s?”
She fluttered her eyelashes at him for good measure, hoping she was putting on enough charm to keep his defenses down.
“You got me there,” Gavin chuckled, his chest puffing out slightly in pride from her flirting. “Guess I got so caught up in the excitement of our first meeting that I’m forgetting my manners,” he added, holding his hand out for hers. “My name is Gavin Woodworth, but I’m sure you already knew that. I’m the man who will be your husband. I hope that your journey here was relatively comfortable.”
“It wasn’t nearly as bad as I thought it was going to be,” she replied, her free hand moving to play with her hair nervously. “The scenery as we got into Colorado was particularly lovely. I’ve never seen so much lush vegetation in one place.”
“If there is one thing we have plenty of out here, it’s scenery,” Gavin reached over to gently take her suitcase from her, his other hand moving to press gently against the center of her back as he began ushering her toward a horse and buggy that were waiting nearby. “Though none of the sprawling fields or babbling brooks could hold a candle to you.”
“I didn’t realize that you Colorado men were such sweet talkers, Mr. Woodworth,” Coralee replied, fanning herself with her hand and silently willing herself to calm down. Stop acting like you’ve never gotten a compliment before! This is only a marriage of convenience, remember?
“Do you talk to all the lady folk like this, or is that honor reserved only for me?”
“You are the first woman in a long time that I’ve complimented like this,” he answered evenly, helping her up onto the passenger’s side of the buggy and securing her luggage in the back. He took care to check the wheels of the buggy before climbing up next to her. Grabbing the reins in his hands, he guided the horse to a steady trot.
“It will take a few hours to get to my house from here, so feel free to doze off for a bit on the ride there. I’m sure you don’t feel like having me talk your ear off after having just met, and I’m not sure how much sleep you managed to get on the train.”
“I might just take you up on that offer,” she replied gratefully, her hand moving in front of her mouth to stifle a yawn. “I’m afraid I wasn’t able to get much rest on the train. The other inhabitants of my train car were surprisingly noisy, and the constant noise of the train as it rumbled over the tracks is not something I am used to having to hear when trying to sleep.”
“If it makes you feel any better, you can barely hear the train whistle out in my neck of the woods,” Gavin assured her. “I can only ever hear it clearly when I’m on the outskirts of my property, and only then if everything else is quiet.”
They chatted briefly about the ranch for the first fifteen minutes of the ride, Gavin doing his best not to bombard her with too much information at one time.
He kept finding himself casting lingering looks at her out of the corner of his eye when he thought she wasn’t looking, his heart beating quickly in his chest in a way that he hadn’t felt in a very long time.
When Claudia had run off with his brother Jude, it had come as a huge blow to both Gav
in’s heart and his pride. He’d promised himself during the aftermath that he wasn’t going to waste his time going through that with another woman. He’d since gone out of his way to avoid social gatherings that would increase the chances of some woman trying to get into his good graces.
She doesn’t seem like she’s that type of person, though. I know she said she was embroiled in family drama and her desire to be free of it was part of the reason she’d responded to my ad, but there has to be more to it than that. I’ll see if she’s willing to tell me more about her family situation once we’ve become more familiar with one another. For now, I’ll focus on showing her the ropes of ranch life and bringing her up to speed on all the expectations I have for her as my wife-to-be.
Coralee was grateful for the excuse not to speak, though she certainly wasn’t truly sleeping. There was too much excitement coursing through her for that.
Not only was she on her way to the Woodworth Ranch, but she was going to be the wife of one of the most handsome men she had ever seen. She’d seen plenty of attractive men back in Boston, but even the most handsome of them couldn’t compare with Gavin.
