Mail Order Love (Sweet Mail Order Bride Historical Romance Novel) (Oregon Mail Order Brides)

by Blakelear, Amy

  Any plants she did not know she looked up in the old agricultural manual in the front room. She made a point of learning to identify the seeds, leaves, and fruits of every plant in the garden and she memorized how best to raise them.

  Even though her stay at the Ford household was still temporary, she dug and hoed and worked on that stretch of soil for all she was worth. She planned a bountiful garden that would serve Jared’s family well for years to come. She poured her gratitude into the soil, not noticing how roughened and tanned her skin was becoming in the process.

  Many new and delicious morsels found their way into the Ford family meals. Today she had discovered a juicy crop of sweet, dark-red wild strawberries nestled behind spiky leaves. She had gone back to the front room, stewed the tiny berries in honey, and scattered them throughout a fluffy cake-like bread made with buttermilk.

  Ellie liked to have something delicious waiting for Jared when he came back around four o’clock for a quick refreshment before heading out again to make use of the rest of the daylight. Whereas before he would scarf down a cold mug of tea and some leftover biscuits, now he came back to a full spread.

  Today a red and white checked table cloth covered the large oak table. In the center Ellie had set a jug of fresh prairie wildflowers she had gathered that morning. Pots of hot aromatic coffee and tea steamed, and there was cold creamy milk in a jug. Her newest strawberry bread creation sat temptingly in front of the flowers, with cold golden butter, a juicy blueberry jam, and thick cream to serve with it.

  Grammy and Ellie were both seated when Jared wound his way back to the front room sniffing the air hungrily. Once Jared had sat down, Grammy poured tea for them all and they polished off the first slice of bread in no time.

  “It’s a good way to grow me a big fine gut.” Jared leaned back and rubbed his slim stomach with both hands before eagerly accepting a second slice of the flaky steaming loaf.

  Grammy helped herself to another slice, served Ellie, and passed Jared the cream.

  “You have the height to hold it, young man, and you expend enough vigor out on those fields to burn the food of five men. But don’t worry, I’ll announce to the world if you turn stout.”

  “We don’t want to scare the ladies with a jelly belly now.” Grammy added quietly to Ellie, who smothered a giggle.

  Jared looked up from his snack.

  “Ellie, what’s that you have in the oven there? You’re cooking up something else too?”

  “I made up a new recipe. I wanted to use what’s growing in the garden to make a spring dessert pie.”

  Grammy’s eyes lit up.

  “Give us a taste, you know we love your creations.”

  “I’ll be happy to, though I’m not sure about it. I hope it’ll be all right.” Ellie whipped the freshly baked golden pie out of the oven and it wafted scents of tartness and sweetness at them. She served Grammy, Jared and herself a piece of the pie and poured cream over each slice.

  Jared and Grammy dug in happily while Ellie ate more slowly, watching for their reactions.

  Jared was the first to speak.

  “It’s, uh, interesting Ellie.” He chewed some more and picked out a small green orb from the pie with his fingers. “Is this a pea right here? … And can I taste mint in this pie?”

  “That’s right.”

  “Ooof.”

  “It’s a cranberry, apple, pea and mint pie. I was picking the tiniest new green peas this morning, and I thought they are sweet, they could be good in a pie. So I didn’t cook them but popped them in tender and raw so they didn’t break down. I put in some mint to complement the tartness of the cranberry, and … do you think it works?”

  Jared paused.

  “Eric? Fairy? You hungry boys?” Jared ducked as Grammy flicked a kitchen cloth at his head.

  “It’s interesting, that’s for sure.” Jared acquiesced. “I’m not going to turn down a good helping of food, and I sure do enjoy trying out your recipes, Ellie.”

  Ellie glowed. That was good enough for her.

  While Grammy had her nap, Ellie cleared the plates and washed them before getting back to the laundry. She sung as she washed and scrubbed the sheets in hot water, boiled them to kill any critters and rinsed them out. She prepared an indigo blue dip as Grammy had taught her. It would offset any dingy color from the lye and make the sheets sparkle with freshness.

  Later they all ate supper together. After Ellie had cleared up, the others went to bed. Ellie continued on working late into the night. Finally, Ellie climbed up to her room after midnight, as late as she did every night. It had become her habit to work every hour she possibly could. She expressed her happiness and gratitude that way.

  She had one daily indulgence: a deep steamy bath with fresh crushed rosemary and lavender to scent it. She knew it was more normal to bathe just once a week out here in the country. In fact, people considered themselves lucky if they got a bath once a week. Still, Jared had said to her she could bathe as often as she liked. That she was to please herself completely in that respect, as they had ample water and firewood.

  Ellie loved to bathe, so she allowed herself this nightly treat. She would soak in the hottest water she could stand until every last ache and pain had melted away. She felt at her most peaceful during this quiet solitary ritual.

  That night, Ellie angled the bath tub toward the open curtainless window and lay there watching the moon rise over the prairie. She sank back into the water and sighed with bliss.

  And as she watched the steam rising through her half closed eyes, just sometimes a tall, dark-hatted, green-eyed cowboy would ride on his horse into her sleepy thoughts.

  Chapter 21

  A few days later, Jared rode back to the house after a hard morning’s ranching. The sun was hot on his back and he squinted his eyes up against the dust and the light.

  The hills and trees in the distance showed the vibrant green of spring on their leaves. In a month or so, this entire landscape would be flourishing and those trees would grow in size as their leaves reached to heaven.

  He could remember how he had felt when the trees had last looked like that, a year ago. Kind of contented but numb.

  At that time, he had been going through the motions of living. Working as hard as he could so he didn’t have to think too much. That was his pattern.

  This year he felt somehow different. He felt lighter. More hopeful.

  “You feeling hopeful, lads?” Eric and Fairy looked up from pacing alongside him. Fairy woofed.

  “I’ll take that as a yes, lads.”

  As Jared neared the stalls he swung down from his horse at the water pump. He pulled off his hat and sluiced his face and hands with cold water, rubbing his face clean. He shook himself like a dog, wiped his face dry with his neckerchief and slicked back his hair with his hands.

  Jared carried on walking, leading Jessie. It was good to know there would be food waiting on the table for him. He had to admit, things had changed for the better since Ellie had arrived. It had only been three weeks and the place was already looking better.

  Everywhere he looked around the house, things were beginning to brighten up. Every day a little more dust disappeared, a little more shine was revealed. The sheets on his bed got changed as if by magic, neatly pressed and tucked in. The quilts were fluffed up daily, ready for him to dive into each night.

  He could get more done without having to worry about keeping the house going or concerning himself with what Grammy might be getting up to.

  Ploughing and planting time was coming up. Jared was relieved he could keep his attention fixed on getting that done. He had to think about hiring more work hands, getting the tools up to scratch, and getting the potatoes and alfalfa ready for the soil. He certainly didn’t have time to think about cooking or washing. He was made to do men’s work.

  Ellie sure has a stupid amount of energy though.

  Jared could see now he had underestimated her. She had demonstrated it to him many times ove
r. She might be tiny, but Lord the force within her was so strong she seemed to power through every task she set herself. Even with all that falling over and smashing things. She had original ways of doing things, that was for sure.

  Jared mused about Ellie. She wasn’t like any other woman he’d met. He figured she must have a bright head on her to pick up the homesteading skills this fast. She had even come up with new ways of doing things in the three weeks she’d been here.

  She had set up a schedule for the feeding of the animals, the cleaning, and the laundry. She was even setting about mending some old tools that had been rusting away in the barn. Maybe women’s work was not so simple after all. Jared chuckled to himself and Eric glanced up at him with a knowing look.

  Jared led his horse to rest in the stall. It was funny, but there was something reassuring about coming back to the sound of laughter in the front room. He could hear it even before he got into the house. Those two girls sure did get on well. Always joking with each other about something, just like old friends.

  Grammy reminded him more of the Grammy he used to know when he was a boy, before the accident. Funny how life gives you happier times again when you least expect it.

  Grammy and Ellie were preparing dinner. They would always make it around midday. Delicious smells of herb-infused sausages came from the stove where Ellie was working. Jared reckoned he could smell thyme. He spotted steaming hot cornbread on the sideboard next to mashed up black beans and thick dark gravy.

  “Jared, sit down for your dinner dear, did you wash your hands and face?” Grammy still treated him like a boy sometimes without realizing it.

  “Hello Girls. Yes Grams, always. Dogs washed their paws too.” Jared took off his hat, put down his Colt .45 and swung into the chair. He was just about ready for a good meal.

  Jared watched Ellie as she spun round the front room. With the full bright sunlight streaming in, he could see golden lights bouncing off her thick, shiny brown hair. It must have lightened up in this prairie sun or something.

  Ellie wore her hair as a braid that was twisted up. She had pinned tiny purple violets in the braid to go with her pale purple and white checked poplin dress. She wore a fresh white apron on top.

  Grammy eyed Jared as she sliced up the cornbread. “A lot on your mind, sonny boy?”

  “Just planning those plants I’ll be getting out in the fields before long, Grammy dear.”

  Jared threw out his long legs, leaned back in his chair, shoved his hands in his armpits and relaxed. It felt good to do nothing for a while. Dogs at his feet, ladies preparing his food. His eyes lazily followed Ellie around the room. She couldn’t see him watching when she had her back to him in any case.

  There was a resounding crash as Ellie dropped the clay jug of fresh water she was carrying.

  Jared hooted with laughter.

  “That was a big one there, near scared me out of my boots. This is a defective housekeeper we have here, right enough. Need to teach you a lesson this time for sure.”

  “Ha! Then I’ll feed your food to Eric and Fairy, they’ll gladly eat it.” Ellie’s cheeks colored up a little as she cleared the broken pottery.

  Ellie never took it the wrong way when they ragged on her. The truth was she did so much work around here the price of a few pots was nothing. They had made Ellie understand that it mattered not a jot.

  She could take as many jugs or pieces of crockery as she wanted from the outbuilding and was welcome to smash each one as it pleased her. They had a whole store of them built up over the years. What was the use of making a fuss over a bit of china?

  The front room glowed in the hazy spring light and an atmosphere of happiness hung over the trio. The sunlight traveled through the window on a golden white beam, picking up motes along the way. It landed on a jug of wild prairie flowers.

  Ellie had arranged Oregon sunshine flowers with their deep orange centers of pollen set off by powdered butter yellow petals. Alongside were pink prairie smoke flowers, their weighty heads hanging down like pink bonbons as the dusky petals curved up in little arcs.

  Jared would not admit it to anyone, but it felt good being surrounded by such feminine things.

  A plate of sausages, cornbread, beans and gravy came into his view and was plonked on the table before him. Dreamy mouthwatering mists rose up and hit his face with bliss.

  “I sure am a lucky man.” Jared briefly said grace and the three of them began to devour the food. Jared had made it clear that Ellie should always eat with him and Grammy. They were not formal people. If she was good enough to do their work, she was good enough to eat with them at the same table. And so she did, and the three of them enjoyed their time together as if they were family.

  Chapter 22

  Jared strode back out into the midday sun with a full belly. A meal like that really filled a man up, set him ready for tackling an afternoon’s work. Jared thought back with satisfaction on the dinner he had just eaten.

  Those sausages, what other herb was in there, as well as the thyme? Tasted like sage. Ellie had an uncanny ability to judge the exact right balance of flavors. Jared decided he would ask her sometime what she had used.

  No doubt about it, it feels good having more womenfolk around the house. This whole set-up, well it kind of works for me right now.

  It made Jared feel cared for. It was the little things like the surprise of having his boots cleaned up for him and warmed by the fire. Things were taken care of without his having to ask. Worn-out curtains had been replaced with fresh new ones. Jugs of flowers appeared. There was something about a woman’s touch around the house that made it into a real home.

  Grammy did as much as she could of course, but it was a big house and it was a lot to manage as she got older. She had the dogs and her sewing to deal with too. Now she could impart her methods and ideas to Ellie and let Ellie take on the bulk of the physical work.

  Jared had reckoned he didn’t really need a housekeeper before Ellie had arrived, but now she was here, it brightened up the place all right. Things were going so well he was thinking of making it a contract and having her stay on. That is, if she were willing and wanting to stay too.

  It seemed like she was satisfied in her work. Jared knew she didn’t have a soul on earth to call family, so perhaps a long term position here would suit her.

  Jared went to get some of the farming tools from the storage shed. He brought out the trusty plough with its sharp blade and the harrow for breaking up lumpy soil. He knelt down in the dusty yard with the tools and started to check them over for rust and good working condition in preparation for the spring season.

  He could see there were some rusty patches on the blade he would need to file and use oil on, and the harrow needed fixing where some spikes were coming loose. Jared decided he would fetch what he needed from the outbuilding. He was just about to get up when Eric and Fairy bounded into view, always wanting to help.

  Fairy, who had a tendency to get cuddly with Jared, wanted to climb up on his lap. It was a ludicrous sight. The big gangly dog was three times the size of Jared’s lap. He curled up and tried to settle with his head and rear end falling off to either side. Fairy looked up at Jared with beseeching eyes and switched to lying on his back with his paws up in the air.

  Jared snatched Fairy up and jumped to his feet, cradling the massive dog in his arms.

  “Who’s my baby then, who’s my little baby?” Jared hopped from one foot to the other.

  The gray dog looked giant even in Jared’s strong arms as Jared hopped, all six foot three of him. Fairy contentedly hung his head backwards to look at the world upside down as Jared danced with him.

  Jared heard a smothered giggle come from outside the front of the house. Ellie was there scattering feed and a few table scraps for the chickens. She lifted her apron to her cheeks and ducked to go back inside.

  “Hey, Ellie, hey! You want my baby?”

  Ellie jumped and looked back over her shoulder with her mouth open.


  “You want to cuddle my baby? He’s a big hairy bundle of joy. Come on now.”

  Ellie grinned at him. “I don’t want your baby, get your doggy child away from me.”

  “Aw, but he wants you to cuddle him.”

  Ellie took a few steps toward Jared. “Why did you call him Fairy? Kind of a fancy name for a dog.”

  “Well now, when he came out he was especially leggy compared to the other pups. Then he was so graceful bounding around he looked like a fairy dancing so we called him Fairy. He always wanted to be a ballet dancer see, but we could not afford the ballet school fees.”

  Ellie looked at Jared and started giggling again. “You great chump.”

  “Who you calling a chump? Here, catch, he really wants a cuddle you know.” Jared started motioning to throw the heavy dog over for her to catch in her arms.

  Ellie let out a little scream as she picked up the front of her dress and ran laughing, breathless into the house.

  Up in her room, Grammy was sewing in her rocking chair by the sunny open window. She lifted her head and paused as she heard Jared’s deep laugh and Ellie’s peals of giggles. She nodded and smiled to herself and continued on sewing.

  Chapter 23

  It was another pristine sunny morning some days later. Ellie was ensconced in the tall leafy vegetable garden happily grubbing about for beetroot. She chose the best looking roots by checking the maturity of the magenta stems and assessing the size and health of the leaves sprouting upwards.

  She wiped the soil off each prize beetroot with her hands and checked it for firmness and good weight. She marveled at the quality of the vegetables. They were better than anything she had seen in the Boston food markets.

  Ellie wore one of Grammy’s collection of dresses, a dress the color of sunshine and new leaves. It was made of cotton with stripes of green and yellow, and it had green satin ribbon edging the bottom of the skirt.