by Kit Morgan
“It's not that simple,” Garrett pointed out. “For one, I wasn't expecting to get married this week.”
“So what if it wasn't on your calendar,” countered Julian. “I'm sure you can rearrange your life a bit and get married now.”
“Oh?” said Garrett with a raised brow. “Then you marry her.”
“She didn't come to Independence to marry me,” said Julian. “She is here to marry you.”
“Garrett rolled his eyes and shook his head. “That's the other mystery.”
“Mystery?” said Julian.
“You mean you don't know?”
“Know what?” he asked.
“I don't even know who sent for her!”
Julian raised a single eyebrow at him, then glanced at Morgan, who could only shrug. “Really? Hmmm, maybe I’ll take a look at her after all.”
Five
The next day Ammy awoke with a start. She sat up in bed, and it took her a moment to remember where she was. When she did, she let out a moan and fell against the pillows. “Oh, good Lord…” she muttered. “I'm still here.” She blew a wisp of hair out of her face and stared at the ceiling. It had to be late morning, and she silently chided herself for sleeping so late. Yet she hadn’t realized how exhausted she was until now. She looked at the small clock on the dresser. “Nine o’clock already?” She moaned again and pushed the covers back. Her father had probably been up for hours. Why had he not come to wake her?
Ammy got out of bed, gave herself a quick wash, dressed, then did her best to fix her hair. She'd lost several pins yesterday and didn't have any to spare. She did what she could to style her long locks loosely on top of her head. She then left her room and went across the hall to her father's. She knocked, but as she suspected, there was no answer. With a heavy sigh, she went downstairs.
Ammy had never stayed in a boarding house before, and wished she'd paid closer attention when Garrett escorted them into the house and procured their accommodations. But, she’d been too busy staring at him, or rather, not staring at him. If Garrett Vander was anything, he was a distraction. No man had a right to be that handsome and not want to marry her. It was like adding salt to an already gaping wound.
“Good morning, Miss Winters.”
Ammy turned toward the dining room and smiled as Mrs. Hayes joined her at the bottom of the stairs. “I'm afraid everyone's already eaten their breakfast and gone about their day. But I did save some biscuits and bacon in the kitchen. Come along now.”
“Thank you, you’re most kind.” Ammy followed the woman through the dining room and into the kitchen. The boarding house was huge, with ten rooms. There was a large parlor, dining room, ample kitchen, and from what Ammy could see, a small water closet and six guestrooms. According to Mrs. Hayes, she and her father were very lucky to get their rooms at all.
“Here we go,” said Mrs. Hayes as she took a plate of biscuits out of the warming oven. She set them on the table and went to pour Ammy a cup of coffee. She then took a plate of bacon out of the oven and set it on the table as well. “I'm sorry there isn't more, but I've several good eaters staying here at the moment.”
“Good eaters?” Ammy asked with a smile.
“Big, brawny men, they can eat like a horse. Loggers.”
“Loggers? Is there a sawmill nearby?”
“Yes, a new one not far outside of town. They’ve hired some of the local townsfolk, but a few men have come from great distances to work in it. They're the ones staying here now.”
“I've never met a logger before.”
“Well, you will come supper time. But I gather you won't be here long, now will you?”
Ammy tried not to grimace. “No, I suppose not.”
“Have you got your dress?”
Ammy sat straighter in her chair, and suddenly realized she hadn’t mentioned she was Garrett Vander's bride. “My … dress?”
“Your wedding dress. You can't expect to get married in that old thing,” Mrs. Hayes said and pointed at her frock.
Ammy felt like crawling under the table. The dress she wore was dirty, wrinkled, and had seen better days. “No, I won't be getting married in this.” It was also the better of her two dresses. What was she going to do? “Is there a dressmaker in town?” She knew her father had probably gone to speak with Garrett Vander about getting her properly attired for her big day. However, she didn't feel right letting her future husband purchase a dress for her. Wasn't that the bride's responsibility to have a dress?”
“Of course there is,” said Mrs. Hayes. “Mrs. Simpson is a very fine seamstress, and if she's too busy, then Daisy Tindle is pretty handy with a needle and thread.”
“Tindle? You mean at the mercantile?”
“That's the one, Morgan Tindle’s wife. So I take it you don't have a wedding dress?”
“No, I don't.”
“You've come to the right place then. I'm not so bad a seamstress myself. We could whip you up a gown in no time.”
“Really?”
“Sure,” said Mrs. Hayes with a wave of her hand. “A bride's dress is one of the highlights of the whole affair. Don't worry, the ladies of this town will see that you’re beautiful for your husband to be.”
Ammy smiled. For the first time she felt a twinge of excitement at the prospect of getting married. Feeling brave, she decided to take a chance. “Have you… seen any sign of my intended this morning?” If the woman knew she was getting married, she probably knew to whom as well.
“Young Garrett? No, but Mayor Vander was here earlier and left with your father.”
“Oh, I see.” She certainly hoped her father wasn't getting them any deeper into the hole they were already in. It was bad enough the two men had turned her wedding into some sort of business deal, on top of the fact that Garrett had no interest in her. She still wasn't sure what to do about that, if anything at all.
“Will you be seeing your young gentleman today?” asked Mrs. Hayes.
“I don't know.” And she didn't. She had no idea if she'd see Garrett that day, or the next for that matter. If she were in his shoes, she wouldn't want to see her!
“Well I'm sure he'll come around soon enough. In the meantime, would you like to freshen up a bit more? I hear you had a long journey and you must want a bath something awful.
Ammy sank in her chair. “Mrs. Hayes that would be wonderful!”
“I thought as much,” she said with a wink. “You finish your breakfast and I’ll get some water heated. Between the two of us we’ll have that tub filled in no time.”
“Where is it?” asked Ammy.
“In the back room, off the kitchen. The men had their baths last night. I usually take mine early in the morning before everyone's up. No one's around right now so it's the perfect time for you to use it.”
“Thank you,” said Ammy. A hot bath was just what she needed. After all, on the slim chance she did see Garrett Vander that day, she wanted to at least look nice. Maybe then he'd think twice about rejecting her. Again.
* * *
No sooner had Ammy taken her bath, dressed and re-pinned her hair after washing it, Garrett Vander showed up! She gasped as he entered the parlor where she’d been admiring some of Mrs. Hayes’ embroidery work. “Mr. Vander!”
“Miss Winters,” he said as he studied her. “I trust you slept well?”
She nodded, unable to take her eyes off of him. She had to blink a few times before she could look away. “Very well, thank you. To what do I owe the pleasure?”
“I have… I've come to see about getting you a dress for our…” He gulped. “Wedding.”
So, he still didn't want to marry her. “Oh, I see. You spoke with my father then?”
“No, I spoke with mine.”
“With yours?”
“Actually, your father spoke with my father and I was apprised of your situation. I'm here to remedy that. Shall we go?”
“Go where?”
“To the dressmaker’s shop. I intend to purchase you a weddi
ng dress.”
Ammy sat in stunned silence. It was really happening! They were going to be married! But could she? He obviously had no interest in her…
“It’s cold outside,” he said. “Do you have a coat or shawl?”
“I… I have a shawl. It's upstairs, I'll go get it.” She got up from her chair and hurried past him toward the stairs. She felt a hot blush creep into her cheeks as she went to her room to retrieve her shawl. One that wasn't in much better shape than the dress she had on. Was it clean? For the most part, yes, but it was also tattered and torn in places. It had been a rough journey west from New Orleans.
She wrapped it around her shoulders and went downstairs. Garrett stood next to the front door putting on a pair of gloves. “I'm ready,” she told him.
He looked her up and down. “Is that all you have? No hat? No gloves?”
Ammy swallowed hard. “I'm afraid I didn't bring any of those with me.”
“Did you lose some of your belongings on your journey?”
“No, Mr. Vander, I just didn't think to bring them with me from New Orleans.” How could she tell him they’d had to flee for their lives in the middle of the night and left Boston with next to nothing?
“Ladies don't wear gloves in New Orleans?”
“Oh, we do but… of a different variety. Not the sort to lady needs here in this cold weather.”
“Yes, of course. The weather is much different there. I shall remedy that as well.” He took a step toward her as if to say something more, but spun on his heel and opened the door instead. Once they stepped onto the porch, he offered her his arm as he stared straight ahead.
She slowly took it, and once he had her arm securely wrapped around his, they set off. “I'm afraid you didn't have much of a chance to see Independence yesterday,” he told her as they stepped onto the boardwalk of Main Street.
“No, I didn't. I was too preoccupied with… other things.”
“As was I,” he said pointedly and looked at her.
Ammy felt like shrinking down to nothing. At least he didn't seem annoyed. “We both had a shock.”
“That's the understatement of the year.”
Ammy's back stiffened as she walked. “Mr. Vander, I am well aware of your feelings toward me, or in this case, the lack of. If I had a choice, I wouldn't marry you either.”
He stopped and stared down at her. “You wouldn't?”
“No, I wouldn't. I thought about it last night. If our situations were reversed and you showed up to marry me and I didn't know about it, I wouldn't want to go through with it.”
“Oh, I see. Well then…”
“Be that as it may, Mr. Vander. Why are you marrying me? Our fathers may have come up with some sort of… arrangement. But I would think that you, as a man, have much more say in the matter?”
He bowed his head and nodded. “I suppose I do have some say. But then, the more I think about it, the more it kind of makes sense.”
“Makes sense? Mr. Vander, yesterday you made no sense of it at all.”
“I've been consulting with friends on the matter.”
“Oh? And what did they suggest?”
“They suggested I marry you.”
“Are you?”
“We are going to the dressmaker’s shop, aren’t we?”
“Mr. Vander, are you marrying me because you have to, or because you want to?”
He gaped at her. Her boldness must've startled him. “I'm marrying you because it's the practical thing to do.”
“But I thought you didn't want to wife.”
“I'm not sure I do.”
That stung. She took a deep breath. “Then why marry me?”
He studied her from head to toe. She'd never felt such scrutiny before. “Because if I don't, Julian will. For some reason that rankles me.”
“Julian? Who is Julian?” The name was familiar but she was too flabbergasted at the moment to remember where she'd heard it.
“He's one of my best friends.”
“So you didn't want to marry me, but now that one of your friends seems interested, you suddenly do?” Oh my heavens! Really? Ammy bit her lip to keep from crying out. She was beginning to feel like a horse being passed off from one owner to another.
“Miss Winters, I've my own reasons. But I can tell you this; I’ll not marry you until I get to know you better. As I didn’t know you were coming, I think it's only fair, don't you?”
“Mr. Vander, at this point I'm not sure why you're marrying me at all. Yesterday you didn’t want to, today it’s only to keep your friend from doing so. I…” Her lower lip trembled and she couldn't speak.
“Miss Winters, I'm terribly sorry. I've hurt you, haven't I?”
She looked him right in the eye. “Yes, Mr. Vander,” she stammered as a tear escaped. “You have! Now what are you going to do about it?”
He took a deep breath and let it out slowly. “I'm going to take you to the mercantile first and buy you whatever you need. Then we’re going to dressmaker’s shop to order a wedding gown.”
* * *
Garrett felt like a heel. Or in this case, an auctioneer on an auctioneer's block, and Miss Winters had just come up for bid. The question was, who was going to be the highest bidder, him or Julian? If he were smart, he'd let Julian have her. But the thought gave him an odd feeling in his gut. Not because it was a bad idea, Julian was a good man and would take care of her. It was because of—dare he say, possessiveness? Yes, that was it, possessiveness. Miss. Winters came to Independence as his mail-order bride, not Julian's.
They entered the mercantile and Garrett led Miss Winters straight to the counter. Daisy Tindle turned to face him, a feather duster in her hand. “Good morning, Mr. Vander,” she said then looked at Miss Winters and smiled.
Garrett fought the urge to roll his eyes. Daisy had taken to calling him and Julian by their first names not a week ago. Now she was being formal, which meant Morgan had told her everything! “Good morning, Daisy,” he said with a smirk. “May I present Miss Ambrosia Winters?”
Daisy's face lit up. “It's so nice to meet you. I'm looking forward to getting to know you better.”
“Thank you,” said Miss Winters.
“I’m afraid Miss Winters is lacking a few necessities. Would you mind helping her gather what she needs?” asked Garrett.
“Come now, if you're going to be married, you might as well use her first name,” admonished Daisy.
“How did you know?” Garrett asked flatly. “Your mother-in-law or your husband?”
“Both,” said Daisy with a smile. She looked at Miss Winters. “News travels fast around here. Usually my mother-in-law is the deliverer of good tidings.”
“Or bad,” tossed in Garrett.
“Yes, I'll have to agree. But as my husband Morgan is best friends with your future groom here,” she said and sent Garrett a dagger of a glare, “we have things firsthand in this particular matter.”
“How very interesting,” said Miss Winters as she eyed him as well.
Daisy held her hand out over the counter. “I’m Daisy Tindle.”
“Ambrosia, but my friends call me Ammy.”
They shook hands. “Ammy,” said Daisy. “I like it. It's very pretty, isn't it Garrett?”
Garrett scratched his head as his eyes darted around the mercantile. “Yes.” He cleared his throat. “Very.”
“What sort of things do you need, Ammy?” Daisy asked.
Ammy sent Garrett a questioning look. “Oh, yes,” he began. “She needs a few things, but I'm not sure what.” He sent the same questioning look back to Miss Winters—correction—Ambrosia. No, he liked Ammy better. “Tell her what you need and don't worry about the cost.”
Ammy swallowed hard. “That's very kind of you, Mr. Vander.”
He let out a long sigh. “Garrett. Call me Garrett.”
She swallowed again. “All right, Garrett. I'll get only what I absolutely need.”
He gazed down at her and tightened his hol
d on her arm. They were still locked on to each other and he realized he'd not wanted to let her go. “Like I told you before, Ammy,” he said, emphasizing her name just to see how it sounded. “Get whatever it is you need. Money is no object.”
“You make it sound as if you've coin to spare,” she said.
“Not necessarily. There are necessities and then there are wants. For instance, you don't just want a new comb, you need one because you haven't a comb at all. So get what you need. It's not going to break me.”
She blushed, whether from embarrassment of her lack of possessions, or his simple logic of the situation, he didn't know. What he did know is he wanted to see her taken care of. In fact, he felt downright protective in that moment. “Daisy?”
“Yes?”
“The first thing Ammy is going to need is a good coat.”
Six
Ammy wanted to argue with him, but the man was right, she did need a coat. She might as well resign herself to the fact she was marrying this man, and the sooner the better. But it bothered her that the only reason he wanted to marry her was because of some business arrangement between their fathers. Being a mail-order bride was also a business arrangement of sorts, but one she arranged, not her father.
“I have several coats that might suit you,” said Daisy as she came around the counter. “They're right over here.” Garrett unwrapped Ammy’s arm from his and gave her a gentle shove toward Daisy. A chill went up her spine at the contact, followed by an odd warmth. She tried to ignore it as she crossed to the other side of the mercantile. Daisy had already pulled several coats off a rack. “Try these on, and tell me which one you like best.”
Ammy looked the coats over as Daisy held them up. One was a beautiful green, another blue, and the third was a simple ivory. She pointed at it. “Let me try on that one.”
“Certainly,” said Daisy.
“Here, let me,” said Garrett as he took the coat from her and held it up so Ammy could slip it on. She turned, their eyes met, and he gave her a warm smile. “You'll need a good coat out here. We can have some mighty cold winters at times.”
