Mail Order Bride: 9 Book Boxed set : 9 Brides for 9 Cowboys: CLEAN Western Historical Romance Series Bundle

by Faye Sonja

Chapter SEVEN

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  “ It was so sad, how life could

  sometimes destroy your dreams …”

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  As the wedding carried on Jane was oblivious to the eyes that frequently checked to see how she was doing. She was completely caught up in the proceedings, taking in every detail so she would be ready for her big day, and as the wedding came to an end an hour later she had tears in her eyes at how wonderful it all was.

  “Here it comes,” Carey teased her as the tears spilled down her face. Carey tried hard to hide her laughter and Jane playfully shoved her.

  “Weddings are so sweet,” Jane said in her own defense, giggling with her friend.

  They followed the crowd out to the large oak tree, beneath which the reception was to be held and her mother beckoned to her to come help with the food. She and Carey willingly took their places serving food, and to her surprise Alan came to stand beside her.

  “Hello,” he said and she lost the ability to speak for a second.

  His brunette hair that he had cut into a cute boyish crop framed his skinny face and highlighted his eyes and she could she a hint of doubt flash there. Behind her Carey nudged her and the words came out.

  “Hello Alan, how are you today, sir?” She immediately repeated the words in her head and gave herself a mental slap. What kind of introduction was that, but Alan didn’t seem to mind too much.

  “Nice wedding,” he took the plate she handed him and placed some food on it mindlessly.

  “I was wondering if you would like to go out with me some time,” Alan asked and Jane froze again.

  She had no idea why his question surprised her because she had expected it after all the talking Carey had done. She felt like a complete klutz, all the confidence she had just went out the window. Thank God Carey was there, and as Carey nudged her again she found her words, but she waited.

  “So will you?” Alan prodded her again while her friend was out of earshot.

  “Ok,” Jane smiled back at him and to her surprise a smile spread across his face. She didn’t think she had ever seen him smile before but she thought his smile was a beautiful one.

  Then she saw him look past her and his expression changed. Following his line of sight she saw Byron staring at them and she was not sure what to think of the look he gave. Seeing them looking his way, the master of the ranch turned and walked away just as Alan’s parents were fast approaching. Jane watched as Alan’s shoulders tensed and he seemed to become a whole other person.

  “Hello Jane,” his mother smiled pleasantly at her and his father inclined his head to say hello. “Carey!” the woman continued, cheerfully reaching across the table to give Carey a hug. Jane did not feel offended by the difference in greetings, Carey was always the forward bubbly one and everyone knew her for the hugs she always gave. Jane had been raised to be more conservative in her actions towards others, but that did not make her impersonal.

  “Father,” Alan spoke up looking his father in the eye. “I will be coming home late today; Jane and I are going to meet after the reception.”

  His father looked between the two young people and then gave his nod of approval. Jane looked on wondering why a grown man would have to be so detailed with his parents and found the fact a bit unattractive. But then again he was the son of a preacher so maybe they did things differently. It made her wonder what she would be signing up for if she actually went out with him and later got involved. As soon as it was clear that his parents were not going to be coming back she saw Alan relax and the smile he had given her earlier, returned to his face.

  She hoped Carey had seen it too, and that when she mentioned it later she would not seem like she had up and gone crazy, imagining things that were not there. It made her wonder what might have been going on with Alan.

  I guess I will find out, she thought to herself as they served the last of the folks, made their plates and headed toward their tables. Alan stopped short as there was no space for him there.

  “Mama!” Jemma rushed up to her beaming with joy. “Byron has promised to take me riding in the morning. I am going to be the best rider on the ranch!”

  “I am sure you are,” she said with a laugh and looked to where Byron stood not too far away with a smile on his face. Maybe there was hope that the two of them would get along after all.

  “We can sit under the Almond tree,” Alan said directing her to it and Jemma skipped along with them. She was happy to see her daughter this happy and it made her sad to admit that it was a possibility that they might have to leave the ranch they had gotten so comfortable living on. If she was going to have to leave, for her daughter’s sake she would do so soon.

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  8

  Chapter EIGHT

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  "“ It was so sad, how life could

  sometimes destroy your dreams …”

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  As the sun dipped low in the sky, Jane watched Alan wash himself up at the water pipe on the outside of the common area, and patted his face dry with his handkerchief. She could see that he was a bit nervous about this courtship, and so she gave him a smile that said it would be okay. It was a kind and gentle smile, but a host of expectations wavered below it.

  He couldn’t blame her. After all he was the preacher’s son. The real question was whether or not she would be disappointed after she had met them. He hoped not.

  He offered her his hand and she hopped down from the table she had been perched on, in deep conversation with her friend, Carey.

  “See you tomorrow,” she said, then she gave Carey a kiss on the cheek before they made their way to the edge of the river close by. There were still quite a few others around with the same idea, but she knew that Alan felt he didn’t quite fit in with the general populace. Mostly because they would all go silent the minute he would walk up. By virtue of his parentage he had always been the outcast, Carey had explained to her. The last person you wanted to be hanging out with was the son of the revered preacher. Lord only knows which of your secrets would be shared at the dinner table. It was a fact that had clearly followed him into adulthood.

  “So Alan, how come I never see you hanging out with anybody but Jason?” Jane asked him. He wasn’t sure if he should give her the long or the short explanation so he just answered her briefly.

  “Growing up, all the other kids got silent as soon as I stepped into a room. It’s like they felt everything they would say I would take it back to my father, so I learned to grow up alone.”

  “You are the son of a preacher who will one day be the preacher, your friends will not want to speak about or do the things they want to do at that age when you are around.”

  “But I won’t say anything,” he had said, dejected and feeling like he was on the outside looking in at all the fun.

  His mother had smiled at him and given him a kiss. “I know but they don’t and it is just one of those things you have to live with.”

  Jane chuckled a little at that and Alan found he like the sound of it. It wasn’t like the loud laugh his sisters would give. It was a soft and feminine sound, full of composure. He found himself wondering if she ever just let go and just had fun sometimes.

  “But what about your siblings? Sometimes I wished I hadn’t been an only child.”

  As she said that they reached the edge of the river and she took her shoes off to lower her legs into the water. The grassy banks provided cushiony seats and he followed her lead. Around them in the clearing, conversations carried on around them, and they could hear the groups of boys talking about all forms of madness that intrigued them.

  “Be happy that you are an only child,” he said to her splashing the water with his feet. “You get all your parents attention and love and none of the fussin
g and fighting with your siblings for every little thing. And my younger brothers would probably tell you that you didn’t have to wear hand-me-down clothes.”

  Jane laughed and agreed. “But then the big disadvantage of being an only child is that all your parents’ hopes and dreams are invested in you and you dare not disappoint.”

  “That also happens if you are the first born, so maybe what you should wish for is to be born second in a family of two children. That would be the perfect place.”

  They mumbled their agreements and the conversation flowed effortlessly from there. Alan listened to every word coming out of Jane’s mouth. They talked about food, the summer and the life she had left behind in Minnesota. She knew Alex would enjoy the next letter she would send home to her. He listened, all the while becoming more engrossed in the beautiful woman who sat beside him. He could tell she would make the perfect wife.

  “So are you looking forward to becoming a preacher,” she asked him about an hour into their conversation.

  He didn’t want to answer that the first time they hung out because he really did not want to scare her off. But avoiding the question would just make her suspicious and so he decided to answer, once again with the same diplomatic approach he had chosen before.

  “I haven’t decided if I want to be a preacher or just a regular boring old man,” he said with a smile but the look on her face told him that she had not missed the sadness in his voice.

  He also knew Jane was smart enough to read between the lines.

  “It sounds like you have already decided,” she said to him.

  He looked back at her and knew his answer was clearly written all over his face, and a little bit of joy was showing on hers.

  “I just know there are so many more things I would be good at. Many more active and fulfilling things. As a preacher I would be bound to know only one life, and do you see how alienated my father is? People hold him in such high regard that they forget he is also human. I don’t want to live like that.”

  He looked at the shocked look on Jane’s face, unsure if his mini-rant had pushed her away from him. But then she smiled and he knew she wasn’t about to hang him in the town square by his thumbs.

  “Just try talking to them about it. There have been exceptions in the past, maybe one can be made for you.”

  Alan didn’t bother telling her he had already tried that. He left the conversation there as he walked her home for the night. It wasn’t that he didn’t trust her with his thoughts and his situation; it’s just that he didn’t want to pile it on too heavy.

  “Hang out on Sunday?” he asked. She nodded as he waited until she was safely inside and then walked away. He had finally taken the plunge and now he was sure that she was exactly the kind of woman he needed in his life. Hopefully his father would see that he could be just as good a contribution to the community without being its preacher.

  Even as he walked away she knew that something about him did not make him the perfect fit for her.

  “Did you have fun with him?” Byron asked from the shadows of the hallway. He stood before her carrying Jemma, who was fast asleep in his arms.

  “She fell asleep with you?” she asked a little too loudly.

  “Shhhh!” he hushed her with a smile. “Yes, while you were busy courting another I was deep in conversation with her. Turns out we have more in common than we thought.”

  She giggled as he walked up the stairs and to her bedroom, gently resting the child on her bed and placing a kiss on her forehead.

  “She is a good child,” he said to her before turning to leave.

  “Thank you,” she whispered behind him. “Byron, do you have a problem with me seeing Alan?”

  He turned to her and she could see the glint of worry in his eyes.

  “Truth is Jane,” he began with a sigh. “I don’t want to lose you, but I cannot tell you what to do. I can only say that I think I made a mistake and I would like the opportunity to fix it. If you find in the meantime that another is more suited for you then I will come to understand.”

  She was too shocked to reply to him. Of all the things she had thought he would say, that was not one of them. But he didn’t give her time to respond. He said his piece and walked out of her room.

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  9

  Chapter NINE

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  “ It was so sad, how life could

  sometimes destroy your dreams …”

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  Jane was in a pensive mood the following day as she headed to the orchard. She came out a bit later that day, not in any particular mood to avoid Byron who had slept in a little late. Gretchen had seen her thoughtful scowl and had questioned what was wrong but she was not too sure.

  “Jane! Over here!” Carey called to her. Carey was never late for anything including chores and Jane admired that about her. But today she was not alone. Her younger sister who was a bit of a talker was helping Carey pick apples. It would be the last day of the harvest of the first fruits from the trees, and the orchard was a bit scanty.

  “How did it go?” Carey asked her excitedly. Jane was sure that if Carey bubbled over with any more excitement, she would bubble herself right off the step ladder and break her neck.

  “How did what go, Jane?” Carey’s sister asked as she approached. The young girl was but fourteen and Jane didn’t think the conversation would be appropriate for her age, so she only smiled.

  “I had a fun time with a friend,” Jane said, and glanced knowingly at Carey who took the point well and sent her sister to the barn with the basket of apples she had already picked.

  Carey climbed down from the ladder and looked at Jane with concern. “So how did it go?”

  “I am not sure,” Jane replied honestly. Carey hugged her and they sat in the grass with the cool morning breeze blowing all around them.

  “Tell me,” Carey urged.

  “Well, when we were at the wedding I saw how his persona changed every time his father came close and I was wondering if it was just me or if there was something else going on there.”

  Carey handed her an apple and she took a bite, pondering on the things she was about to tell her while she chewed.

  Jane smiled inwardly having learned that Carey’s big family who lived a few houses down the road was tapped into all forms of gossip happening around the community. Carey wasn’t much like her other sisters. She kept pretty much to herself, but living in a house like that was sure to keep you up to date on all that was happening in the community, so she knew there was every bit of truth to the comment.

  “Well, turns out he doesn’t want to be a preacher so there might be a bit of a conflict there.”

  “Oh, that’s not a bit of conflict,” Carey said sadly, “that’s a lot of conflict. What is he going to do?”

  Jane shrugged her shoulder hoping he could resolve it with his family. She had not had much interaction with the preacher’s family because as Alan had already said, they were treated differently in the community. They were held high on a pedestal and if you fell from grace then you fell hard. But she was happy that it was not a case where Alan had wanted to leave the community. She would have been deeply saddened by that.

  The rest of the day passed by quickly with them thinking up possible situations to get Alan out of his bind.

  “You could elope to the next town just up the road,” Carey suggested and they laughed.

  “We aren’t children,” she admonished Carey as they returned to picking apples. “Besides, I think he might choose to move away or go ahead and become a preacher. Neither are things I am very excited about.”

  “Oh yes, well it’s settled. Poor Alan must become a preacher.”

  Jane appreciated Carey’s ability to make her feel better, and though they were not making light of the situation, she didn’t know what else to think.

  “How are things wit
h my mule headed cousin, Byron?” Carey asked her rolling her eyes.

  Jane couldn’t help herself from blushing with the thought of him and the night before, but she didn’t tell Carey. She paused to pull the glove from her scarred hand and give it a rub.

  “Are you blushing, Jane?” Carey teased her with a laugh.

  “Ah shut up and pick your apples,” she said playfully to the friend she was happy to have here.

  An hour later they had moved to the barn and their conversation had changed to more mundane matters. She lifted her head form the slicing of apples; the assigned task for the day, to see Byron heading towards her. When he saw her he immediately froze in his tracks and turned back.

  Carey sighed beside her, ever the observant one. “I think you need to fix that one before it gets any worse.”

  Jane knew she was right but the events of the night past told her that only time would change or fix what needed to be changed or fixed. There was very little she could do in that regard. Instead she looked back to her task and thought of the fact that Jemma was happy to be learning how to ride and Gretchen and Carey made life a little easier for her here. Byron was complicated and she would have to give him time to come to her without all the walls and barriers. She did know for sure though, that as long as there was a possibility with him, she would not be getting involved with the equally confused Alan.

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  The weeks slipped by slowly for Alan. He figured it was probably because he was looking forward to spending time with Jane again. He had caught only glimpses of her throughout the week, and his chores for that week had been about making house visits with his father and working the stables.