Mail Order Calamity (Kansas Brides Series #4)

by Barbara Goss

  He stepped back a bit from her, and she looked up at him with the prettiest blue eyes and the cutest red nose. She gave him a trembling, half-smile, as if unsure of herself, and he melted inside. He bent slightly to touch his lips to hers and it felt good, but when she returned the kiss, he felt things he’d never felt before. He ended the kiss abruptly before she had him completely smitten. Kissing her had been a big mistake. Now he’d likely miss her when she left him. What he couldn’t figure out was, did he want her, or didn’t he? Sure, she couldn’t cook and do some of the chores, but she was beautiful, sweet, and she kissed heavenly. He let his arms, still around her, drop.

  “Let’s go eat,” he whispered.

  The kiss left Elaina wanting more, but she knew this man had nothing more to offer her. He wanted a cook, a gardener, an egg picker, and a maid, not a wife. It was a shame, because physically, she felt extremely attracted to him. His kiss had sent her over the moon, but it did nothing to solve their problem.

  They ate the stew in silence. They spoke very little while cleaning up and doing the dishes.

  “Are you going to church with me tomorrow?” he asked.

  “Yes, I’ll go,” she said.

  “Good.”

  “Tea in the sitting room?” she asked.

  “Sure.”

  When they were settled on the sofa, Elaina asked. “Will you go back to work Monday?”

  “Yes, I probably have a lot to catch up on.”

  “Is there a horse or buggy I can use if I need something from town?” she asked.

  “Yes, of course,” he said. “There are three horses in the barn. I usually ride Hurricane, the black one. Titan's the dark brown one I use to pull the buggy. You can have Lady, the light brown mare. Do you ride? If not, I can hook up the buggy before I leave for work each day.”

  “I ride, but if I want to buy something I should take the buggy. I know how to hitch it. I often hitched our buggy at home.” She sipped her tea. “Will you introduce me to Lady tomorrow?”

  “I will, of course,” he said, setting down his empty cup. “I’ll also be sure to milk the cows before I leave in the mornings, and if you want a chicken killed, just let me know.”

  “I’m going to turn in,” Elaina said, standing. “Goodnight, Pete.”

  Pete took her hand in both of his and patted it. “Goodnight, Elaina.”

  In the morning, she decided to make eggs the way he’d shown her. She sliced the bread and set it in the oven to toast, and made the coffee. The eggs turned out perfectly, but as she was setting the table, she smelled something burning‒the toast! Just then, Pete walked in.

  He ran to the stove before she could get there, yanked the oven open, grabbed a towel, took the blackened pan out, and threw it in the sink. He walked back outside, shaking his head.

  She felt like crying again, but she didn’t, because her anger was the stronger of her emotions this time. He was angry because she’d burnt the toast? This marriage was a disaster.

  She opened a window to let some of the smoke out and remade the toast. This time she didn’t do anything but watch the oven, and the toast turned out perfectly. She buttered it and set it on the table.

  She ate hers and then went up to dress for church. As she was climbing the stairs, she heard Pete come in. She hoped he'd eat and would be in a better mood for church.

  They didn’t speak much on their way to church. He hoped she hadn’t noticed how frustrated he’d become when she burnt the toast. He’d purposely went outside to cool off before coming back in.

  She looked lovely. She’d fixed her hair differently‒instead of the usual, tied back with a ribbon, she'd piled it up on her head with combs. He knew one thing: he’d never be ashamed to be seen with her. She was easy on the eyes‒that was for sure. He felt so confused. His body was saying he wanted her more than anything, but his brain was saying just the opposite.

  He parked the buggy and helped her to the ground, took her hand, and walked with her to the doors of the church. He introduced her to people as his wife—what else could he do, since they were living together? He noticed she was polite, but not very talkative. He led her to a bench near the front of the church, and hoped she’d enjoy the service.

  He prayed the sermon would be about marriage, but it wasn’t. It was about the subject he found the hardest to follow, letting God take the reins of your life.

  After church, they were silent as they trotted home. He wanted to take her to Rusty’s, but it was closed on Sunday, as were most of the businesses in town, with the exception of the saloons. He’d fix their dinner‒there was leftover stew and biscuits he could use to shoe the horses. He glanced quickly over at Elaina, feeling guilty for such an insulting thought, and here she was, sitting beside him, looking so beautiful.

  When they sat down to dinner over the leftover beef stew, he asked, “So what did you think of our church?”

  “It was pleasant. I enjoyed the sermon and the way the minister mixed real life stories into the sermon, which made it so much more interesting. I didn’t understand a lot of it, but he's a good speaker.”

  “I was thinking as you were saying that—did you know he does marriage counseling? I think he might be able to help us. I’d be willing to give it a try if you are,” he said.

  “I think you and I need to talk before we drag another person into it, don’t you?” she asked.

  He felt a lump in his throat. She looked serious. He had a feeling she was on her way out of his life. He couldn’t think of anything more he could do to keep her, and he wished he hadn’t reacted the way he had this morning over something as ridiculous as burnt toast.

  Chapter 7

  After they’d finished the dishes, mostly in silence, they sat in the sitting room with their tea. She looked over at Pete, who seemed tense. Well, he should be tense, as this was a serious manner. How to begin the subject? She took another swallow of tea and cleared her throat.

  “I think we both know that this situation isn’t working,” she began. “Amber told me I’d be welcome to stay with Edna Smith until the annulment is final. I may go back home then, if it’s safe there.”

  “You told Amber our problems?” he asked in disbelief.

  “I needed someone to talk to about it.”

  Pete didn’t say a word, but just sat there staring into his tea.

  “I’ll pay you back for the dresses and things you bought, and…what can I say? I wish you good fortune in your life. I hope you find someone who better fits your needs.”

  “What’s that supposed to mean?” he asked. “And I won’t take your money.”

  “Just what I said, and I’ll be leaving in the morning. Good night, Pete.” She set her cup down and stood. She walked to the stairs, half hoping he’d call her back, but he didn’t.

  In the morning, she waited until she was sure Pete had left for work before she came downstairs. She’d packed her meager belongings and set them by the front door. She washed up the cups from the night before and put them away. As she was wiping off the counter she saw a note. She picked it up and read it:

  Dear Elaina,

  This isn’t the outcome I’d hoped for, nor was it what I wanted. I was willing to keep trying and even get counseling, but evidently, ending our marriage is what you want and need. I wish you well in whatever you decide to do with your life.

  Fondly,

  Pete

  Before Pete went to the constable’s office that morning he stopped by to visit Mrs. Smith, who welcomed him warmly. She’d been a child minder for many of the children in Hunter’s Grove through the years, and everyone looked out for her.

  “I have it on good authority,” Pete said, “that my wife, Elaina, will be coming to stay with you, probably today. I’m sorry to say that things didn’t work out as well as I'd expected. The marriage hasn't been consummated and I believe she'll be getting an annulment.”

  “Oh, dear,” Edna said.

  “It isn’t what I want. I thought about this all night.
I wanted to try and work things out because, well…I think I’m in love with her, if that’s possible, after such a short acquaintance. However, I’m afraid it’s one-sided.

  “What I’d like from you is to take good care of her and make sure she doesn’t go into town unescorted. Once word gets out that we’ve separated, there’ll be a line at your front door.”

  “I’ll certainly take good care of her, Peter. I’m as sorry as I can be that things didn’t work out, though, I suppose it’s better to know now, rather than later,” she said.

  Pete stood, fingering his hat nervously. “If she allows someone to court her, will you make sure he’s decent and treats her well?”

  “Of course,” Edna said.

  “If you need me for any reason, you know where to find me,” he said, putting his hat back on. “So long, Edna.”

  Elaina drove the buggy to Amber’s house. Amber followed her in her own buggy back to Pete’s where Elaina had left his buggy. Amber had brought her to Edna Smith’s house, where she was introduced and given the blue bedroom that both Amber and Abigail had occupied.

  Between tea and delightful conversation with Edna, Elaina didn’t have much time to mull over the separation until she got into bed that first night. All she could think of was the hug and kiss she'd gotten from Pete that night. Her heart pounded whenever she thought about the kiss, especially. She'd felt his kiss down to her toes. She could have easily fallen in love with the man—if only he wanted a wife instead of a maid. She felt under her pillow for the note Pete had written her, and fell asleep holding it.

  Edna greeted Elaina warmly when she came to the breakfast table the next morning.

  “How’d you sleep, dear?” Edna asked.

  “I managed to get a few hours of sleep.”

  “I thought this separation from Peter was what you wanted.”

  “No, it wasn’t what I wanted, more like what I needed,” Elaina said, sipping her coffee. “Pete‒or Peter, as you call him‒is a wonderful, kind man, but he doesn’t want a wife‒he wants a live-in maid.”

  “He’ll always be Peter to me,” Edna said. “I attended his baptism, and my granddaughter, Flora, was his godmother, God rest her soul. I’ve known him all his life. He truly is a good man. I’m so sorry things didn’t work out for you two.”

  “Your granddaughter isn’t still alive?” Elaina asked.

  “No, about four years ago she was killed in a carriage accident along with her sister-in-law and her daughter.” Edna wiped a few stray tears away. “It was a very sad time because she left a four-year-old daughter and a husband behind.”

  “I’m so sorry, Edna.”

  “Let’s get back to you and Peter. Are you saying you don’t have any feelings for him at all?”

  “I’m not saying that,” Elaina said quickly. “I think we could have been good together, and I feel something for him when we’re together, but he can’t hide his disappointment in me.”

  “I don’t understand. What disappointment?”

  “I can’t cook. I can’t even touch a chicken. I can’t do anything right, Edna.”

  “I could teach you to cook and bake,” Edna offered.

  “That’s so sweet of you, but I’m afraid it’s too late.”

  “It’s never too late, even if it’s not for Peter, you’re bound to marry someone, eventually, and you'll need those skills,” Edna patted her hand. “Let me teach you.”

  “All right, but I warn you: I’m a hopeless student.”

  Elaina kept busy during the day being taught things by both Edna and her housekeeper, Mae. Even though Edna was eighty-one, she still did her own cooking but had help with the heavier housework. They both were patient with Elaina and she actually thought she was learning.

  At night is when things bothered her. She’d lie in bed wondering what it would have been like if they had consummated their marriage that Saturday night when they’d kissed. She would have gone right upstairs with him had he asked. She missed him more than she was willing to admit. She couldn’t erase that precious kiss from her mind. It had started out as a simple, sweet. and quick kiss. She was sure he'd meant it to perk her up, but once their lips had touched, it was like something had forced them together, like a magnet, and then he'd started to really kiss her. She’d never been kissed before, but her body had taken over, and she instinctively knew how to return the kiss. They'd ended up breathing rather heavily, and then, just as suddenly, Pete had broken it off as if it had been a mistake.

  Maybe it had been.

  Pete had a bad night. He hardly slept. He kept going over everything in his mind. She’d said: I hope you find someone who better fits your needs. What did that mean? What more could he have done that he hadn’t already? Where had he failed? How had he let this happen? How he wished he could meet her again at the station and start their relationship over. He relived their embrace and their kiss and he knew that he’d felt something powerful. He also knew that no matter how poor she was at housekeeping, she was the best companion, and he was going to miss her. The worst of his thoughts, the one that nearly drove him insane, was the one where he pictured her with someone else. That’s exactly what would happen next, he was sure of it. An attractive woman like Elaina wouldn’t last long on her own in Hunter’s Grove.

  Pete went for a few days without telling anyone that his new marriage was already over. It wasn’t that he worried what people would think, so much as what the men in town would do when they found out she was a free woman…or almost was.

  When Cole returned from his trip and stopped into the constable’s office to see him, the truth had to finally come out.

  “Hey, Pete! I heard you tied the knot!” Cole laughed. “I don’t see a ring through your nose yet.”

  “I don’t see your nose ring either, Cole,” Pete snapped back.

  “Hey, I was joking. What’s with you?”

  “I’m not married anymore, that's what.” Pete turned away abruptly and started hanging wanted posters.

  Cole was silent for several moments. Pete was sorry he’d snapped at his friend, but it was just so darned hard to cope with.

  “I’m sorry, Pete. You want to talk about it?” Cole sat down in a chair in front of the constable’s desk.

  “Not really,” Pete said, not turning around.

  “It’ll make you feel better,” Cole prompted.

  Pete turned around. “I doubt it.”

  “I take it the marriage wasn’t consummated then?” Cole asked.

  “You take right.”

  “If you two weren’t compatible, isn’t it best to find that out now?”

  “I suppose, but the thing is, I miss her.”

  “So leaving was her idea?”

  “Yep,” Pete said, sitting down behind his desk. “Her mother hadn’t taught her a doggone thing: she can’t cook, doesn’t want to touch chickens, and she’s not a housekeeper, either. Yet she’s a beautiful, friendly, sweet person. I really lov—liked her.”

  “Did she go back home?”

  “Nope. She’s staying with Mrs. Smith.”

  “Ha! You have help, then!” Cole exclaimed, slapping his lap. “Mrs. Smith is a romantic and she helped get Garrett and Amber together, as well as Abigail and myself. She’ll help you, but only if she feels it’s best for the woman. What’s her name, anyway?”

  “Elaina.”

  “Pretty name,” Cole said.

  “She’s so lovely, Cole, wait until you see her. I’m afraid once this gets out, every woman-hungry man in town will be after her.”

  “And you’re worried about her being able to cook?” Cole laughed. “Who cares?”

  “I couldn’t afford to eat every meal at the eating-house, Cole.”

  “Hell’s bells, hire a maid.”

  “They cost money,” Pete said.

  “You forget that I know exactly how much you make and you can afford a maid, trust me.”

  “How much does one cost?”

  “There are so many widowed wome
n around trying to feed their families, you could probably hire one very inexpensively,” Cole said. “I got one for Abigail. Garrett had to get a cook and a laundress for Amber. She lived in Virginia where they've had slaves for years and then they hired servants.”

  “Doggone, Cole. I wish you’d have been here. I'd be happily married now if I knew all that.”

  “Pete, there’s always an answer to every problem, you just have to apply yourself to solving it.”

  “It all happened so suddenly,” Pete said. “One day I’m single and the next, I'm married. I just assumed—”

  “That always gets you into trouble,” Cole said. “Maybe it’s not too late. Tell me, did you hug or kiss? Was there any affection there to fall back on?”

  “We did, once.” Pete gazed upward remembering it. “She made biscuits you could shoe a horse with, and I couldn’t help but grimace when I tried to bite into one. She ran into the sitting room in tears. I went in to calm her and she ended up clinging to me. I didn’t know whether she wanted comfort, or something more. I kissed her, and it felt amazing. I wanted to pull her up the stairs, but I didn’t, because she’d already mentioned she might not want to stay in the marriage, and there was no way I was going to consummate it and then be sorry. What if she wound up with child?

  “Then, wouldn’t you know it, at breakfast the next morning, she burnt the toast, almost set the house on fire. I knew I’d lose my temper, so I just left and went outside to cool off. I think that was sort of the flea that bit the dog.”

  “Hmm, she returned your kiss, you say?” Cole rubbed his chin. “I could be shooting blanks here, but if she returned your kiss, she must have some feelings for you. I wouldn’t give up on her.”