Mail Order Romance Bundle #1

by Lisa Page

  “Dawson Hill Ranch? You never told me your ranch had a name? I love it!”

  “Not much of a name. Just the hill that the Dawsons live on. It’s part of the brand that my father created.”

  Josie looked closer at the house as it came into view and smiled to herself at the sight of the porch swing. Just as she’d hoped for. Her new home was beautiful. She loved Texas and she loved her new home at Dawson Hill Ranch.The house wasn’t as large as the one she left behind in Pennsylvania, but it was a nice looking home. There was a short, plump, white haired man standing on the porch and smiling at them as they arrived. Josie recognized him right away as Murphy, his eyes twinkling just as how Sam had described them.

  He greeted her in his Irish brogue and invited them in for some vittles. She’d read stories and Irish fairy tales and Murphy seemed very much how she imagined a leprechaun to be. He exuded a magical happiness that made her break out into a smile. Even though she’d not exchanged letters with him, from Sam’s letters, she felt as if she knew him, too. He welcomed her to the ranch and helped Sam bring her trunks and bags inside.

  After a tour of the house, they sat down for a dinner of stew and cornbread. Though the ranch hands had their own, separate quarters and didn’t sleep in the house, they did take their meals there. Josie had forgotten about that in her vision of a quiet, romantic wedding dinner with her husband. The hands were eager to meet Sam’s new bride. As Josie sat at the table she felt a little bit uncomfortable with all eyes on her, but they were all very polite to her, calling her ma’am and taking off their hats at the table in a way that told her they weren’t used to doing so and only did so tonight for her benefit. There was Gus, Caleb and Henry, who was the youngest, even younger than Josie. Sam looked around and asked where Luke was. Gus answered that he was still in the barn but was on his way. And just after Sam asked about him, Luke appeared in the doorway.

  “There you are, Luke, we’re just ready to get started. Our first dinner with the new lady of the house. Why don’t you come over to meet her.”

  Josie wasn’t sure if she was to stand or not, but he came over to her. He looked a lot like Sam, with the same dark hair and nose and jaw. But he was a bit taller and instead of the green eyes that Sam had, Luke’s were dark brown, almost a black. He was an imposing figure and there was something about him that seemed familiar. For a second Josie didn’t know how that could be, until she realized what it was. It was the way he looked at her with those dark eyes. She knew that look. It was the same way George looked at her. She felt a chill go through her whole body, down her spine all the way to her toes. His eyes were hungry and he looked at her like she was a piece of meat. She looked down into her lap for a moment and then looked up again to find him still staring at her.

  Sam said grace and they started on the stew. Josie was shaken but tried to be rational about the situation. She was more sensitive to the looks that men gave her because of her previous experience. She shouldn’t assume yet that Luke would be the same.

  The other men were kind and full of good natured humor and banter. The conversation at the table was lively. They asked her about Pennsylvania and about her family and told their own stories of cattle drives and life on the ranch. Josie ate her stew and participated in the discussions, trying to avoid meeting the eyes of Luke, who, by chance, was seated directly across from her. Though she avoided looking at him directly, she could feel his stare and it made her heart sink. She looked at Sam to see if he had taken notice but he hadn’t, his eyes were on his new bride the whole time. He looked at her with loving pride that warmed her soul.

  After dinner she helped Murphy with the dishes and he expressed gratitude for her help, telling her it was good to have a woman around again. There hadn’t been a woman since Mrs. Dawson, Sam’s mother had first moved to the ranch but she hadn’t been there long before she passed on. Josie finished helping him while the men stretched their legs for a bit before moving on to evening chores. Though she was glad for their company, Josie was appreciative of the quiet once she left. Sam came back from checking on the stock and took her by the hand to sit out on the swing on the porch. He told her he’d had it put in just for her. They rocked together and he held her and for a blissful moment, she forgot about Luke and his piercing stare.

  They looked at the stars for a long time, Sam showing Josie the constellations she’d only read about in books. She could see so much more of the sky here, so many more stars. Eventually, she was hit by a wave of exhaustion, starting at first with a couple of yawns and ending with her falling asleep on Sam’s shoulder. She was barely cognizant of him picking her up and carrying her to their bedroom.

  She hadn’t had time to unpack everything yet, but he helped her find her nightgown with the light of the kerosene lamp and helped her change out of her dress and into her nightclothes.

  His touch was gentle and she loved the feel of his hands on her body, caressing as he helped put her arms into the sleeves. The Texas air was hot but their was a breeze coming through the window that felt refreshing on Josie’s skin. She laid next to her husband and put her head on his chest, feeling his heartbeat. She’d only just had her first kiss that night and was unsure of exactly what was a wedding night entailed, though she’d read enough books to at least have an idea. Luckily, her husband was a gentle and patient lover, making their first night together a special one.

  She woke up early the next morning in his arms. He kissed her hair, her forehead, her ears and her nose, rousing her playfully. She wasn’t used to getting up so early and was still tired. She wished she could have just stayed in bed with Sam all day long, but knew that wouldn’t be possible on a busy ranch.

  She got to the kitchen to help Murphy fry some eggs, bacon and potatoes for breakfast as the men came in to join them. After the night she spent with Sam, she felt so much more experienced and so mature, she was sure they could see it on her face. But thankfully they were more concerned with filling their bellies than to notice her rosy glow. Sam was chipper and happy and talked to the men about what needed to get done that day.

  Just as the night before, Luke was late again. She knew he’d be coming soon and was anxious about his arrival. She dreaded seeing him, worried that once again, he’d look at her with lust in his eyes. And after the night spent with Sam, she knew exactly what he wanted from her.

  She didn’t want to wait around for him. Promising Murphy she’d help him with the dishes when the men were gone, she went back upstairs to make her bed and take some time to unpack. If she was lucky, she could avoid Luke until it was time for dinner. She’d had much experience with hiding and avoiding when it came to living with George but never thought those skills would come to use in her new Texas home.

  It worked perfectly, though, by the time she finished and went back downstairs, all of the men were gone, leaving her and Murphy alone in the house.

  She began her first full day at the ranch taking care of what needed to be done. The ranch definitely needed a woman’s touch, not to mention there was a large stack of clothing that needed to be mended. Murphy told her that he enjoyed cooking and if she could do the sewing and cleaning and laundry, he’d be much obliged. She realized he was more than a cook, he’d been doing a lot of the ‘women’s work’ that went into a home, though it was obvious that his true gift was in the kitchen. She talked to him about how he came to work for the Dawsons.

  Murphy told her the story of how he came from Ireland as a young lad; his parents had left during the great potato famine and started a new life in America. He enlisted in the Union Army during the Civil War where he learned to cook. His life was saved by Sam’s father, Zachariah Dawson, and Murphy pledged to spend the rest of his life repaying him for it. He only had the most wonderful words about Sam’s father and told Josie that Sam was much like him. Then he leaned in, as if telling her a secret and said, “Sam’s a fine lad, they don’t make them better, but it’s the younger one I’m worried about. He has no control over hi
s impulses and he has a bad temper, that lad.”

  Josie looked at him and asked, “What has he done that’s given you reason to worry?” She feared what the answer may be. Murphy just shook his head and looked around as if her were being watched. He seemed frightened and that in turn frightened Josie, especially after her experience the night before. She had hoped it was just her imagination.

  Later in the day, Murphy sent Josie out to fetch some water. The well was quite a distance beyond the barns and Josie could understand why Murphy was so eager to have some help with this chore. In Pennsylvania, she’d taken for granted water from the pump in their own kitchen. Getting water on the ranch was another task, indeed. The full water buckets were heavy and Josie was concentrating hard on not spilling any out as she made her way past the barns back to the house.

  That was when she caught a glimpse of him in the barn. At first, she thought it was Sam, and she turned towards him, smiling. Then she realized in horror that it wasn’t Sam, it was Luke. He was walking towards her and she spilled some of the water out in her haste to hurry on to the back porch. She didn’t want to have any interaction with Luke, but it was too late. She couldn’t avoid him

  In an instant he was in front of her and then suddenly right outside the barn door in front of her. He was walking towards her; forcing her steps as she went backwards into the barn.

  “Howdy, there, Mrs. Dawson,” he said, his lip curled into a sinister smile. Josie nearly tripped over a haystack and spilled much of the water now, but she didn’t care. All she wanted to do was get out of there. Her heart was racing; she was afraid. But by the look on Luke’s face, he was relishing that fear, eating it up. It made him feel powerful and in control. He continued to walk forward, forcing her backwards until she fell. Then he chuckled and grabbed her by the arms to help her up.

  Holding her in his arms, he tried to pull her closer, but she fought it.

  “Josie, why are you trying to get away from me? You don’t have to be afraid of me. It’s as if you don’t even want to be with your own brother-in-law….that’s not how family should be treated now, is it?”

  He smiled at her, but not in a nice, friendly way. It was sinister, with a look that went right through her, as if he could see her naked. It reminded her of the way George had looked at her.

  He pulled Josie in, close to him. She froze in fear. He held her close and stroked her hair. “Mmmm…you sure do smell good!” Then he pulled her body in even closer than before. Josie felt his body right up against hers and shuddered at the feeling.

  “My brother and I, well…we like to share in this family,” he told her. “What’s his is mine. And you’re his, right? Sam won’t mind at all if you and I…if you and I ever need to spend some time together.”

  He leaned so close that she could feel and smell his hot, sour breath as he spoke. Her heart was racing even faster, she could feel it thumping in her chest and she didn’t know if she should try to fight back or to wait for a moment of escape.

  Her stomach churned as she felt him try to get closer, as if that were even possible, and she felt his lips graze her neck. Her breath caught in her throat.

  Silent tears fell down her cheek as he laughed callously. “You better get use to it. I’m being gentle with you now. But I don’t have to be gentle. You belong to the Dawsons and I’m a Dawson. You are our property and we can do with you as we please. If I want to be rough with you, I will. I will take you as my own. Soon…but for now, you need to quit blubbering. That won’t do at all.”

  His grip was still strong on her; he didn’t want to let her go. Josie was afraid of what he planned to do with her. She was shaking and finally had the presence of mind to realize she needed to fight back now. A noise from outside the barn distracted him long enough for her to seize her chance. She wriggled one arm free with a strength that surprised her and reached down for the bucket, which still had some water in it water, and swung as hard as she could at Luke’s head.

  He yelled and in a moment, she was free. He leered at her with hungry, evil eyes. “What the hell do you think you’re doing? Do you think this makes a difference? You can’t fight me off forever, Josie.”

  He said her name as if it were a disease, the plague. She stood her ground on the hay, in a fighting stance, ready to defend herself if need be.

  He began to laugh. A cruel, evil laugh. “You have no idea what’s in store for you. You are mine as much as you are Sam’s, so know that now. And if you try to say anything, I’ll tell him how you turned on the feminine charms and came on to me. That his own wife betrayed him. Who do you think he’ll believe? A woman he just met or his brother?”

  She didn’t hear anything more that Luke said because she was already out of the barn, running to the house. She left the buckets there, not caring that they were empty or that Murphy would be sending her back for more. She just ran. Ran up the back porch steps, crying, until she was inside. She ran to the stairs, wanting to go straight to her bedroom, but she tripped and fell when she got there.

  Murphy came running in from the kitchen to see what was going on. He found Josie collapsed in a heap at the bottom of the stairs.

  “What’s happened, Lass? What is it?” He looked her over to see if she’d been injured.

  “Nothing, it’s nothing, Murphy, I’m so sorry to worry you.” Josie tried to collect herself between sobs. “I’m sorry but I dropped my bucket by the barn, I just wasn’t feeling good. I need to go to my room. I feel I’m going to be sick.”

  Murphy looked at her with eyes full of compassion and wondered what the truth really was.

  “Don’t worry a thing about the water, I can fetch it myself. You just go upstairs and I can fetch Sam for you.”

  “No!” Josie interrupted him with such conviction that Murphy looked startled. “I mean, that’s not necessary, it’s nothing that a rest in my room won’t take care of and I don’t want to worry him or take him away from his work. I’m sorry I can’t help you with supper tonight. Please let Sam know I won’t be coming down to eat and give my apologies to the men. It must be all the excitement of traveling and everything. I’m sure I’ll be fine, don’t worry.”

  But she could see in Murphy’s eyes that he was worried. He helped her up and she made her way up the stairs, finally feeling safe once she was behind her closed bedroom door. Though it was a warm Texas day, she jumped in bed and pulled the covers over her, giving her the comforting feeling that she was safe there and she commenced to sobbing her heart out. After she’d cried out her tears, she got out of bed, her breath uneven from sobbing. She sat in a rocking chair that was in the corner of the room in front of a small window that overlooked the beautiful Texas prairie.

  What had just happened? She couldn’t believe that the very thing that drove her away from Pennsylvania to find a husband she herself faced with again in Texas. Only this time, it was worse. Out of the fire and into the frying pan. Luke instilled a fear in her that was much greater than she’d ever felt with George. How could this have happened to her again? She felt cursed. And alone. More alone than she’d ever felt in her life. She had to make a plan because there was no way she could stay there, though the thought of leaving Sam tore her heart to pieces. She loved him so much, she was sure that he was her soul mate.

  She wondered if perhaps she should sit down with Sam and explain what happened. She did know that he loved her. But the hope of that idea started to sink as she remembered telling her mother about George. That had not gone well and ended up with her mother taking George’s side. If her own mother, who loved her, dismissed Josie’s claims, then how could she possibly think that Sam, who she only met in person the previous day, would act any different. Especially when the man she was accusing was his own brother, and Luke had told her that he’d deny it. So the idea to tell Sam was put to rest.

  She had only just begun to unpack and now she’d have to pack everything back u
p. The best option, to Josie, seemed to be, to leave soon. The longer she stayed it would only get harder. Trying to avoid Luke would be stressful and she was afraid that the longer she stayed, the deeper in love she’d fall with Sam and the harder it would be to leave him.

  She had money with her that George and her mother had given her in case of emergency. Unfortunaely, she’d only been there a day and there was an emergency. She planned to pack up her bags and the next day have someone take her back to the train station and she’d purchase a ticket on the next train out. Wherever that train was going, that would be where she would make a fresh start. She had plenty of money to rent a room and could make a living as a seamstress if needed. She would not go back home, there was no way that was even an option for her. Although it was ironic that going home didn’t seem as bad as her present situation.

  She wondered how two brothers could be so different. Sam was kind and sweet, hard-working, honest, intelligent. Luke was lazy, cruel and had no loyalty to the brother who took him in. It was no wonder their parents had left the ranch in Sam’s capable hands.

  Josie packed in silence as she heard the men come in from their work to eat. The smells of dinner wafted upstairs, making Josie’s mouth water. Perhaps she could sneak downstairs later for some cornbread while the men were finishing the evening chores and she knew Luke wouldn’t be around.

  As she packed, she couldn’t believe how hard the thought of leaving was for her. Except for Luke, it felt like home to her already, she’d felt as if she belonged there. The other men were all so polite to her, she adored Murphy and Sam had been the perfect husband. In a fit of self-pity, her hands shook and her lip quivered as she wondered how life could be so unfair to her.

  Then she brushed that feeling aside and vowed to focus on what was in front of her. She could make her own choices and would carve out a life for herself without having to live in fear.