Not Quite A Mail Order Bride (Mail Order Brides)

by Susan Leigh Carlton

  Hetty showed the girls to a room much the same as the boys. Then, “Miss Martha, your room is across the hall.” She opened the door to a room with yet another fireplace. There was a double bed with a feather bed mattress. It had a white comforter with colorful, embroidered flowers. There was a pitcher, a wash basin, soap and towels on the vanity. It was a beautiful room, a little older than her room at Jed and Sarah’s, but just as tastefully done.

  He stopped in front of the room Hetty had made for Martha and knocked lightly on the door. Martha answered, and he asked, “Is everything all right? Do you need anything? If so, just let Hetty know.”

  “Everything is fine,” she said. Impulsively, she stood on her tiptoes and kissed him on the cheek. “Thank you. This is very kind and thoughtful to take all of us in.”

  “You’ll find this is the way we do things in Wyoming. We look out for each other. Kind of a “love thy neighbor” thing.”

  “It was still nice of you,” she said.

  “Hetty tells me dinner will be in about an hour. Come on back to the living room whenever you want.” As he walked away, he rubbed the spot on his cheek where her soft lips had touched. He thought it still felt warm.

  After a dinner of shepherd’s pie, cold milk topped with a dessert of apple pie, the children had gone with Hetty while she made pallets for them. Luke and Martha were sitting in the living room in old but comfortable chairs covered in red velveteen. “How is your class going?”

  “Well, I find their degree of learning is all over the place. Some are much more advanced than others, but that is to be expected, depending on their parents. Clayton Vintner has really impressed me. He is a quick learner and works hard at it. I was surprised at his eagerness to learn.”

  “That is surprising when you consider Jake,” said Luke. “I guess that isn’t very Christian of me, but we’ve never really taken a shine to each other.”

  Martha said, “Jake is okay. I think he covers his lack of material things with a bluster and swagger. He was very polite when he asked me to let Clayton join the class. I think I may have taken him aback when I told him my grandfather had been killed by the Rebels at Gettysburg and the war was long over and time to let it end was passed,”

  Luke asked, “Was he? Your grandfather killed at Gettysburg?”

  “Yes, he was,” Martha said softly. She looked at Luke, at the reflection of the fire in his eyes. “This is a troubled man,” she thought to herself. “I think I’ll go to my room. I saw a book there I’d like to read, if you don’t mind.”

  “No, help yourself,” he said. She turned and started out of the room.

  “Martha,” he called. She turned… right into his arms. He tilted his head and kissed her, full on the lips, feeling the searing heat from them burn his/ She kissed him back. Her lips moving against his lips, roughened from many days in the sun and wind.

  “I’d better go to my room,” she said, her voice throaty and low.

  “Martha, I’m…”

  “Luke Hastings, if you apologize for that I will hit you. Hard.” She left the room.

  Luke stood there wondering at the tenderness of the kiss. It had hit him hard. He didn’t realize he was kissing her until he felt her lips. “Well, don’t that just beat all,” he said aloud.

  * * *

  It was still dark when Martha awakened. She ran her fingers through her bed hair. Yawning, she walked to the window and looked out. Snow covered the ground like a downy white comforter. The trees had been decorated with puffy white balls of snow. There was a full moon and it lent an almost ethereal look to the pristine unmarked snow. It was as pretty a picture as she had ever seen. She washed her face in what was now cold water, and dried it on one of the soft towels. She brushed her teeth with her finger. Remembering the kiss from the evening before, she felt her nipples become nubby. She laughed. It was probably the cold air in the room that was causing it. Still, the kiss had been as nice as it had been unexpected and welcome. Dressed, she went across the hall to check on the girls who had also been forced to stay overnight by the storm. They were all still asleep, so she left them and went downstairs.

  Hetty was in the kitchen with Jimmy, Luke’s youngest. “Good morning, Hetty. Did you recover from your full evening? What can I help you do this morning. I’m handy in the kitchen.”

  “If you don’t mind, would you make the coffee? Mr Luke likes a cup of steaming coffee as soon as he comes down, which should be any minute. You’ll find the makings in the cabinet.”

  She started the coffee brewing and sat in one of the kitchen after asking if there was anything else she could do. Jimmy came over and held out his arms, asking to be picked up. Martha obliged and was sitting there rocking him back and forth and Jimmy had fallen asleep in her arms.

  “Would you look at that?” Luke said as he strode into the room after doing some chores in the barn. “He seems to have taken a shine to you.”

  Martha said, “He’s a nice little boy, You have two fine boys, Luke.”

  “Ah, I see the coffee is ready. Thank you, Hetty,” Luke said.

  “Thank Miss Martha. She made the coffee,” Hetty replied.

  “Well, thank you Martha for the coffee,” said a smiling Luke.

  “I looked outside. It looks as if we had nearly a foot of snow last night. Will the road be passable this morning?” she asked.

  “It should be. I don’t know that I’ve ever seen it where you couldn’t get through. I’ll check it out before you give it a try though.” He said.

  Martha asked Hetty. “Are you about ready for the children?”

  “I will be by the time they get in here,” she said. She had several pans on the stove, with eggs, potatoes and slabs of bacon cooking.

  “I’ll go get them stirring”. She stood, and asked, “Where should I deposit Jimmy?”

  “Here, I’ll take him,” Luke said. He stood and moved to slide his hands under the sleeping little boy. His hands brushed across the fabric covering her breasts. “I’m sorry,” he said.

  “What is it with you that you feel a necessity to apologize for everything,?” Martha asked.

  He had no answer for her.

  As the children finished, the first of their parents arrived to take them home. Jake Vintner was one of the last to arrive. “I thankee for taking care of my boy yesterday. I surely do appreciate it. Hidee do, Miss Martha. Clayton’s been telling me how much he likes your teaching.”

  “Why thank you, Mr Vintner. He’s doing really well in class.” Jake Vintner beamed. “Come on, boy. Let’s get on home. We have to see to the stock.”

  “Well done, he can be a real pain sometimes,” said Luke.

  “He just wants the best for his son and so do I, so we have common ground. I think his wife must have passed away,” Martha said.

  “Life out here is hard for a woman. If a husband is to make a go at ranching, his wife has to run the household, do the garden and help out with some of the other chores,” Luke replied. “ I like this woman,” he thought to himself. “If it weren’t for Clara…”

  “Sarah and Jed make it work,” she said.

  “Clara and I made it work until she was killed. Since we were able to hire help for the house and kids, and hands to help with the ranching, life is easier. Most of the smaller ranchers don’t have that resource, so they have to do all the work by themselves.”

  “I agree with you on the resource bit, but if the man and woman love and care for each other, that makes all of the hard work worthwhile. The hard part comes trying to find the right person. Both you and Jed were lucky enough to find the right person on your first try. I hope I am so lucky,” she said wistfully.

  A knock at the door interrupted the conversation. It was the parent of the last child to be picked up. Luke talked with them while Martha fetched the little girl.

  After the girl and her parents left, Martha said, “It seems as if the trails are okay. I’m going to go on home. Since tomorrow is Saturday, I’ll be ready for class on Monday
. I’ll get my things.” She turned to leave.

  “Martha?” Luke said.

  “Yes?”

  “I’ll hitch up your buggy. You have gloves and a cap I guess? If not, there are some here you can use,” he said.

  “That’s okay, but I’m good. Thank you for the offer. It was thoughtful of you,” she answered.

  After getting her things together, she went through the kitchen door. Luke had the buggy waiting for her. It was cold and her breath was visible as she exhaled. Fortunately, there was no wind. Luke put his hand on her elbow to help her into the buggy. “Don’t take any chances, Martha. If the trail is drifted over, don’t try to go through it. Come back and wait until the sun has been out for a while and melts it down.”

  “I will, and thank you again. The hospitality was appreciated.” She flicked the reins, the buggy jerked and she was on her way.

  * * *

  When she arrived home, she unhitched the buggy, rubbed the horse down and put him in a stall. She gave him water and fresh hay, gathered her things and went into the house. There was no one in the kitchen so she went on into her room. While she was putting things away, Sarah came into the room. “Well, how did you like your first taste of a Wyoming winter?”

  “It was an adventure,” Martha replied. “The wind was blowing so hard it was almost a white-out. Luke took all of us to his house, fed us and put us up for the night. The children enjoyed it. Luke tried to get me to stay, but you know stubborn me, I started home, but it was so bad, I decided I had better not try and so I joined the refugees.”

  “Did you and Luke have a chance to talk?” Sarah asked.

  “After the children went to bed, we sat and talked about the classes, Jake Vintner and such.”

  Sarah asked, “Did anything happen?”

  “He is the most frustrating man I’ve seen. Every time he touches my shoulder or hand or whatever, he apologizes. When I started to go to my room, he kissed me. It really surprised me. He immediately started to apologize, but I told him if he did, I was going to hit him. I realize he and Clara had something very special, but she has been gone over six months. He hasn’t moved any of her things. It’s as if he thinks she is coming back. He’s really close to his boys. Will is a special little boy, polite and quite intelligent. I just adore Jimmy. He climbed into my lap at the breakfast table this morning. He was still there when Luke came in from his chores in the bar..

  I wasn’t going to say anything to you yet, but I put an ad in The Matrimonial News. When we picked up the mail the other day, I had my first response, Based on the description, it wasn’t somebody I would consider.”

  “I had several letters after my ad, but Jed’s letter just appealed to me,” Sarah said. “The thoughtfulness he showed touched me. I knew he was the right one.”

  CHAPTER ELEVEN LUKE GETS UNSETTLING NEWS

  Jed was in the barn mending some worn harnesses when Luke rode up. “Morning neighbor. What brings you out this cold morning?” he asked.

  “I was getting cabin fever and needed to get out,” Luke answered. “I spent the morning mending harness, and my horse needed the exercise. What’s going on over here?”

  “I had some rust on a harrow, and some plows that need sharpening. Just odds and ends that you save for when you have nothing else to do. Martha was telling me about all of your guests the other night. It must have been a noisy evening.”

  “Actually, they were quite well behaved. Hetty took good care of them and Will and Jimmy enjoyed having the company.”

  “We appreciate you taking Martha in,” Jed said. “We were concerned about her trying to make it home.”

  “By the time she started, it was really howling, staying was the smart thing to do,” Luke replied.

  “Did you know she has placed an ad in The Matrimonial News?”

  Luke was surprised. “No, she never mentioned it, but then I guess I wouldn’t have expected her to tell me about it.”

  “This is embarrassing. I wonder what do she would think if I asked her if I could court her?” Luke asked.

  “Why is it embarrassing. Both of you have lost a spouse,” Jed said. She wants a husband, you need a wife and your boys could use a mother. I’m sure they love Hetty, but it isn’t the same. Hetty has her own family.”

  “I’m probably too old for her,” Luke thought aloud.

  “Do you think you are? There’s six, maybe seven years in your ages. Do you think that’s too big a difference? I don’t, but you are the only one that can decide. You know her sister, you’ve met her parents. You knew nothing about Clara when you met her.” Jed saw Luke’s face change when he mentioned Clara’s name. “Luke, Clara has been gone over six months. Do you think she would want or expect you to stay unmarried? The Clara I knew would not.

  Martha’s husband has been gone about a month longer than Clara. She has her sister as a post to lean on. You don’t have anyone. I’ll tell you one thing, if you don’t ask her someone else will and you will lose a fine woman. To paraphrase the Bible, if you don’t ask, you won’t receive. You’ve heard enough of my lectures for today. Why don’t you come in for a cup of coffee?” Jed led the way into the kitchen, where Sarah was working on dinner. She poured them a cup of coffee, they exchanged pleasantries and he and Jed went into the living room. Martha was sitting in the chair by the window, using the bright light from the nice day outside. She laid the book and the papers in her hands on the table beside her.

  “Hello, Luke. Have a seat. I was just finishing up some lessons for next week. Quite a difference in the weather today compared to yesterday, huh?” she asked

  “It certainly is,” he said. “That one caught us by surprise. The first storm of the season doesn’t usually come along for another month. I hope it isn’t an omen of things to come.”

  She said, “I do too. I usually don’t mind winter, but I like to have enough time to get prepared. It seemed like we had warnings of what was to come back in New York, but I guess that’s just a matter of being in a familiar place.”

  Jed stood and said, “I’m going to try to sniff out what we’re having for dinner. Martha, can I get you anything? Luke, more coffee?” Both shook their heads and he left the room.

  “Would you mind… I mean would you like… Look at me. I’m acting like one of your students,” he said.

  “What is it, Luke,” she asked softly, looking him directly in the eye.

  Luke was stuck for a minute. He looked into her dark brown eyes, and felt as if he could lose himself in them. With her long, shiny brown hair framing her face, he became very aware, this was a beautiful woman sitting here. “Martha, the Laramie Cattlemen’s Association is having its annual dance next Saturday. Would you like to go with me?” A relieved look crossed his face now that he said it.

  “Why, I would love to,” she said, her eyes sparkling. Her smile lit the room. “I can’t even remember the last time I went dancing. I think it will be fun and thank you so much for asking me.”

  “I look forward to it, then,” he said. “I guess I’d better be getting home. I didn’t tell anyone where I was going and the boys get anxious.”

  She also stood and moved over and kissed him on the cheek. “Thank you,” she said simply.

  They went into the kitchen together. “I’ve got to be going,” Luke told Sarah, thanks for the coffee.”

  “Anytime, you know you’re always welcome here.” He pulled on his coat, and pulled the door closed behind him.

  Sarah turned to her sister, who had a pleased look on her face. “Well, don’t you look like the cat who just ate the canary. Come on, tell me all about it.”

  Martha smiled and told her sister, “He asked me to the Cattlemen’s Association dance next Saturday.”

  “Yes,” said Sarah enthusiastically. “I thought for sure I was going to have to do something.” Jed was sitting at the table watching the sisters. He had a smug look on his face, but no one noticed.

  He took his wife by the hand and asked, “Would you do me
the honor of allowing me to escort you to the dance, milady?”

  “I thought you would never ask,” his lovely wife said. “Why don’t we all plan to stay the night at the hotel? Mattie will be fine with John Lucas and Sarah Catherine.

  Should we tell Luke our plans? He might want to do the same, then we could all go to church Sunday morning.”

  That sounds like a plan to me. I’ll get word to Luke. It will be nice to stay in the new hotel, I hear they have water in very room. I just hope space isn’t a problem. We’ll need two rooms and Luke would need one.”

  Luke agreed the idea of staying in Laramie overnight following the dance was best, however, he decided to leave his boys at the ranch with Hetty.