She delayed as much as she could, wishing Juliet would have a change of heart. Finally, the time had come and Susannah couldn’t stall any longer.
“You’re awfully quiet,” Susannah said, trying to lighten the mood as they stood outside the station. She had a few trunks with simple clothes and necessities. She didn’t need fancy clothes for life at the Pierce ranch. She did manage to save her mother’s pearl necklace. It was the only thing she didn’t sell. She could have used the extra bit of money it would have brought, but she couldn’t bear to part with the one last thing to remind her of her mother.
“Juliet, you have until the tenth to stay in the townhouse. Mr. Sanders is handling all the details. You’ll have enough money to cover you for a while. Hopefully you and George will be settled soon, and your part of the proceeds will give you a nice cushion.”
Juliet nodded, wishing Susannah knew the truth about George. Juliet couldn’t form the words on her lips. Out of embarrassment, out of pride, she couldn’t admit to her sister she had been right all along. Pushing George to marriage when he wasn’t over Harriet had indeed been a bad idea.
“You better write, Juliet,” Susannah cried, hugging her quickly. “I want to know how you’re doing and everything. I’m sorry I’m going to miss your wedding. Please tell me all about it when you’re married.”
Juliet nodded, staring at their feet, ashamed to show Susannah her tears. They fell heavy and her lips trembled.
“All right…I’ll be seeing you then?”
Juliet smiled faintly, Susannah now seeing her tears fully. Juliet never handled emotion very well.
Susannah kissed her forehead before vanishing onto the train. People all around passed Juliet, and she cried louder now, covering her face, standing alone in busy colored coats.
“Wait, Susannah,” she called.
Susannah heard her name from the window, and she opened it. Juliet ran to her.
“I’m coming with you,” Juliet said.
Susannah smiled so wide, it made her heart soar again. She met her at the entrance and together they laughed, hugging.
“What? I don’t understand,” Susannah said, bliss shinning on her face.
“Just help me get a ticket, huh?”
Susannah knew not to press her sister, and together, hand in hand, they boarded the majestic beast that would take them to the Pierce family in Cheyenne.
Chapter 13
The love and excitement Susannah felt towards Juliet for coming on this journey extinguished halfway to Iowa. Juliet began panicking, and the tension grew. That’s when the arguing started.
“Stop fidgeting,” Juliet begged.
The pinch mark left on Susannah proved evidence of her stirring heart, and Juliet’s annoyance with this whole ordeal. “You’re only making matters worse,” Juliet added.
“I’m sorry if I can’t help but be nervous meeting my future husband. Heaven forbid you’re ever in my shoes,” replied Susannah with authority.
“I don’t intend to be,” Juliet spat back with venom. “Marrying for convenience. I can’t believe you’re doing it. What was I thinking? I need to get off this train.”
“Thank you for being so cynical. You’re just still hurt over things with George. I know you wanted to be the one, but his heart wasn’t mended yet. He wasn’t ready for another…marriage,” Susannah coughed.
“Let’s just not talk about George, all right?”
“All right,” Susannah compromised.
She was too busy thinking about Drew, anyway. As delighted as she was Juliet decided to come with her at the last minute, she knew her sister would be a handful. She’d protest and complain as her way of dealing with leaving Boston behind for good.
“So what does this rancher look like anyway?” Juliet said, trying to keep her mind off what it meant to board this train.
“He’s tall,” Susannah admitted.
“That’s all he offered?”
“He has blonde hair and he’s tall. That’s all he said.”
“Too bad he didn’t send a portrait of himself like you did,” Juliet mumbled, making Susannah realize he had the advantage. He knew what she looked like, and from what he confessed, he was pleased with her appearance, but what if he was completely dreadful. Looks weren’t everything, but how bad could it be if he had to send for a mail order bride?
“We both know that if we don’t fall in love, it will be fine.”
“You’re fine not being in love with him?” Juliet scolded, staring at her with those intimidating eyes of hers.
“I don’t know, Juliet. I haven’t been a mail order bride before. I don’t know how all this is supposed to work. I’m dealing with this as it comes. I’ll just have to see how things go.”
Juliet turned away, trying to get a little sleep. The coach chugged along over the snow-covered fields. The conversation with Julie left Susannah more nervous than ever. She wouldn’t be at peace until she finally met Drew face to face.
The next morning, they connected with another train. It was a treat to get out and walk around on solid ground. The girls grew restless and their nerves resulted in more arguing and pettiness. Juliet begged her sister to move her feet all the way to Cheyenne.
“It is breathtaking, though, isn’t it?” Susannah said as they woke early dawn to see the sun rise over the hills.
“It’s no Boston,” she muttered, repositioning to fall asleep again.
“Exactly,” Susannah added, rolling her eyes at Juliet.
Chapter 14
The Pierce boys waited the arrival of Susannah and her sister. The excitement was felt by all the men. Drew paced the main house in his thick boots, as the brothers cleaned their rifles and prepared their saddles to meet the women in town.
“Lookey at Drew, boys,” Jack teased. “All ready to meet his future bride.”
“Don’t start, Jack,” Drew warned.
Jack raised his eyebrow and his wicked smile sent Drew over the edge. Before he had a chance to say something witty, Jack was held under by Drew in a tight grip.
“All right there, lover boy,” Jack said, giving in.
“He doesn’t want to mess up his hair. He finally combed it,” Pete added, agitating Drew even further. Drew cast his eyes Pete’s way, and Pete backed down quickly.
Drew licked his hand and ran it through his hair to make sure everything was still perfect to meet Susannah the first time.
“We best better ride out,” Drew said, as they headed toward the barn and mounted their horses.
“You think we should all go?” Ross said. “Won’t that overwhelmed them, you know, scare ‘em?”
“I don’t know, Ross” Drew admitted, thinking. He never thought about this kind of stuff before. “Just ride.”
He wasn’t sure taking his brothers with him was the right move, but they were a package deal. Susannah would be like their sister, so it made sense for her to meet them when she met him. He just hoped they didn’t do anything to embarrass him too much.
“For the last time, stop fidgeting,” Juliet said to Susannah as she tried sprucing her sister up before they arrived in town. The scene was definitely sparse compared to carriages, wagons, and the industry in Boston. No factories, buildings, or grandeur scaled Cheyenne, but the fields they saw as they were nearing town made up for the lack of excitement.
What she could see of the town so far, seemed like the necessities would at least be available. This was as she expected, but she also anticipated some fussing from her sister.
They stepped out on to the platform, breathing in the icy air. They thanked the conductor as they passed him and gathered their belongings. Juliet had nothing since she’d left everything behind with her spur of the moment decision to come along. Susannah had packed enough for both of them, so they could share for a while.
The porter brought their trunks to them and clunked them down on the platform beside the women. Susannah looked around hoping to find Drew waiting, but there was no one who seemed to be l
ooking for someone he didn’t know.
She stood next to Juliet and looked around her. Snowcapped mountains and chilly air covered Wyoming’s high lands. The girls knew cold weather, and bundled in their coats, waiting. She was trying to be patient, but she was already nervous and this uncertainty made it worse.
She felt an elbow jab into her side. Thankful she was wearing a thick coat to take some of the blow, she scowled at Juliet.
“That can’t be them,” Juliet said. “Oh, please no.”
She was looking at four men, striding across the platform. The look on her face said she was repelled by their gruff ruggedness. Susannah was not repelled. Not at all.
She watched as four tall men approached them. The oldest looking one had to be Drew with his hair flowing in the wind. He had dark eyes and beautiful blonde highlights over chestnut hair. He was indeed tall and impressively handsome. Susannah swallowed, trying to find her voice.
“Miss Susannah Brice?” he said, his figure towering over her tiny frame.
His eyes were deep and warm, and his glance looked her over.
“Drew?” she questioned, hoping this was her intended.
“Yes, I’m Drew. Ah, and behind me is the rest of the Pierce clan. The boys you hear laughing and coughing and basically acting like fools, sadly are my brothers. Here we have Pete, Jack, and Ross.” He pointed to each of his brothers as he said their names. Each of the brothers tipped their hats as they looked the sisters up and down.
“It’s nice to meet you all. And this is my sister, Juliet Brice.”
The men stared at the brunette beauty before them. She was taller than Susannah and much haughtier. She pressed her lips together and immediately made it known she wasn’t impressed with their rugged looks or their small-town ways.
Susannah looked at Drew with a weak smile. “I realize I didn’t tell you that Juliet would be joining me. Her, um, plans fell through at the last minute and she decided to come with me.”
She looked over at Juliet and wanted to smack her. The look on her sister’s face was anything but friendly and appreciative.
She hoped she sounded confident and not too weak. She wasn’t sure how he would react to having an additional woman to deal with. Dealing with that uncertainty and her sister’s bad attitude was almost too much.
Juliet turned up her nose, wincing. Her demeanor said she hoped this was a bad joke. These men did seem like ruffians compared to the men in Boston. Susannah hoped her sister’s mind would open eventually.
Susannah was happy about one part of this awkward first meeting. Drew seemed pleasant enough. His boots were filthy, his shirt half tucked in and half out, and his slight scruff was a bit off-putting. These were all things that could be fixed should he allow them to be. That part would remain a mystery for a while.
“Juliet, it’s nice to meet you. Welcome to Cheyenne. And of course, Susannah. I’m so happy to meet you in person. Come on, we’ll take you both back to the ranch.”
Susannah breathed a silent sigh of relief at his reaction to Juliet’s presence. Hopefully, she wouldn’t overstay her welcome.
Drew and his brothers started walking away. Juliet looked at her with round eyes and raised eyebrows and pointed to the trunks spread out a few feet away.
“Ah, wait a minute, please! We do have some baggage. There’s this trunk here, and this one too,” Susannah said embarrassed. “Um, actually, we have five rather large trunks. Did you bring a carriage? Or maybe a wagon?”
Chapter 15
Drew scratched his head and his brothers behind him began snickering and laughing. It should have crossed Drew’s mind Susannah would have more than a saddlebag full of her belongings. He just pictured throwing her on the back of his horse and taking her for a ride through the town and then back to the ranch. It would have helped if one of his good-for-nothing brothers had mentioned taking the wagon.
“We can come back for your trunks.”
He hoped this solution for dealing with this small dilemma would be acceptable. He was annoyed with himself for his lack of thinking ahead. Now that there was a woman in his life, he was going to have to think differently.
Susannah shrugged her shoulders. She scowled, but didn’t argue. Small mercies, thought Drew. Thank you, Lord, for the little things in life.
Juliet, on the other hand, was having none of this solution. “How do you expect us to sleep tonight? And how will we make ourselves presentable tomorrow? You’ll need to come back tonight. What if our belongings are stolen? What will we do then?”
“Juliet, I’m sure everything will be fine. We’ll figure things out and it’s just for one night. Now shush for now and let’s just go to the ranch.”
Susannah was whispering, but Drew heard every word. He looked at her and started to speak, but Juliet changed the subject before he had a chance to say anything about the baggage. Again, he was thankful.
“Who am I supposed to ride with?” Juliet asked as Drew awkwardly helped Susannah mount his horse.
“I’ve never done this before,” Susannah admitted. “I’m not feeling comfortable with this at all.”
Drew lifted her suddenly and up she went, side saddling. She stared into his eyes and suddenly he felt nervous. She was trusting him, but she didn’t really have a choice. The realization that he hadn’t earned her trust was something he knew he’d need to work hard to gain.
Drew climbed up behind her and the two were pulled in close together. He could see her discomfort, but there was nothing that could be done about it now. They’d make the most of it and be home soon. He berated himself again for being so short-sighted. He had so much to learn. At times like this, he wished his mother was there to help him know what to do.
Drew looked down at Juliet who was still standing in front of them with steam coming out her ears. He looked at Jack and nodded to the angry woman.
“Come here, darlin’,” Jack said to Juliet. “You can ride with me.”
He smiled a sly smile, his arm outstretched to her. Juliet rolled her eyes and positioned her foot in the stirrup.
“Easy there. Now hold on here, and pull yourself up.”
Juliet took a deep breath and blew it out. Then she was up behind Jack.
“You’re a natural,” he replied, his strong back against her.
“You don’t know the half of it,” she said, her hair blowing wildly behind her as they rode back to the vast ranch.
The comment got a loud hoot from brother Jack. Susannah only heard part of the conversation and Jack’s laugh. Drew wondered what was going on, but realized he had issues with Susannah to deal with first.
Drew dug his heels into the horse’s sides and they were off. He vowed not to ride so fast that she’d bounce around too much, but some of that couldn’t be avoided.
“Hold on, little lady. You’re not in Boston, anymore.”
“You can say that again,” she answered, but he couldn’t hear her over the hoof beats.
Chapter 16
“Their manners are disgusting,” Juliet whispered to Susannah when Jack helped her down from his mare.
She brushed her fingers through her hair, getting hay and such out of it and fussed with her dress. The ride home had been one experience neither girl would ever forget. Holding onto a rugged rancher each, they prayed the entire way from the station. Susannah hoped for something to make sense and for validation that what they ventured into was a good idea. At the moment, she had her doubts.
They were standing on the porch of the main house. Juliet reached out for her hand and Susannah took it and squeezed it tightly. All the tension between the sisters had melted away and they were united in their predicament. At least for now they weren’t bickering.
“Well, here we are,” said Drew. “Come on and let’s all go inside.”
Inside the Pierce ranch, the girls’ faces fell. Clutter, tools, horseshoes and, a washing bin with unwashed clothes were piled around everywhere. Didn’t they even tidy things up knowing Susannah was comin
g?
The state of the house was something neither sister was expecting. It was as if the boys lived in a barn. Susannah expected that if she took a trip out to the barn she wouldn’t be able to tell the difference between here and there.
“Welcome to home sweet home,” Drew said giving Susannah and Juliet a grand tour. The main area was big, but in great disrepair. Curtains, china, and all the touches that would make a house a home were missing. Didn’t their mother have anything to make this ranch house seem homey or polished?
“Um, Drew…can I have a word with you? Alone?” Susannah asked, curling up her nose at the smell coming from the kitchen. The brothers took a hint and they entertained themselves with the prideful Juliet, who glowered at the mess the brothers lived in.
Drew looked uncertain, but he motioned her to follow him.
“I can’t stay here,” she admitted in the dust filled dining room.
Simple walls and a decent sized table occupied the space. Susannah could do so much with a traditional farmhouse such as this, but she knew it wouldn’t do any good if the boys insisted in living like this.
“What do you mean? You don’t want to be here? To try what we agreed to?”
“I’m just saying I can’t stay in the main house with you and your brothers. Surely you have a place for me and Juliet? Did you think of any of this?”
“No, oh.” The concept of propriety seemed to dawn on him right at that moment. “Of course. We have a guest house on the property. It just may not be up to your kind of standards.”
“This house isn’t up to a cow’s standards. I can’t imagine a guest house could be much worse. I am quite stunned you live this way.”
“When we lost our mother… Well, I guess things have gotten a little away from us boys.”
“A little? I can’t believe the state of this place. I don’t mean to be harsh, I’m just surprised.”
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