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

by Faye Sonja

  The man beside her opened his newspaper to take a read, and down the dock a little girl squealed and ran off with her brother in tow. There was the childhood merriment she longed for. Innocence without a care in the world. Why did she ever grow up?

  As the thought passed through her mind she glanced at the paper the man read, looking at an ad that caught her eye. It was quite poetic leaving her smiling as she read the notice of a soul in the distance calling for another. Instantly she smiled and excused herself from the bench. It sounded like an ad created for her and she would waste no time. Not wanting to bother the man who sat beside her, she went to buy her own paper. The ending of the ad said she should send a telegram should she be interested and a response would be sent back immediately.

  She ignored the curios gazes of the inquisitive eyes around her as she told the post master what was her business, and minutes later a telegram was sent. She went back to the docks to find the seat she had sat in to be unoccupied, and once again she took a seat to enjoy the view.

  She waited, with the patience of a butterfly.

  She offered up a prayer or two while she did and in less than an hour, as the first rain drop sent tiny ripples across the ocean, a delivery boy came swaggering down the street calling her name.

  “Are you Alex Shearer,” he asked stepping down off the driver’s perch and taking his hat of in respect. She instantly felt happy he had not forgotten his manners.

  “I am,” she said eagerly. When he handed her the telegram addressed to her he didn’t wait for her to open it before heading back in the direction he had come. He simply rode off leaving her to the news that lay in the folded sheet of paper.

  She had always been excited when receiving notes of any kind. It was a reminder she had been remembered, but in this moment she was nervous and hopeful that she had not been rejected.

  Dear Alex,

  I am pleased to make your acquaintance and would be honored if you would find the time to make the trip to Texas, so we can speak in person.

  I will pay back all monies you spend on your trip here and will have someone waiting at the station to pick you up three weeks from today.

  Please respond by the same medium so all measures can be put in place for you arrival, and I look forward to seeing you in the South.

  She would have jumped up and clicked her heels in pure joy, but that was not lady like behavior and so she settled for simply smiling her way back to the post to inform the man who had placed the strange ad that she would be delighted.

  She did worry the smallest bit that she was agreeing to something she did not quite understand. His ad was not the usual ad a man would place when seeking a bride. It spoke of pain and adversity. She only hoped she wasn’t leaving home to find herself in a spot that would bring her more duress than joy was to be had.

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  2

  Chapter TWO

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  “… something she did not quite

  understand. His ad was not the usual ad

  a man would place when seeking a bride.”

  .

  Nathan could not contain his joy. He went searching for Kate as soon as he got news that Alex had accepted his offer. She danced around with him like they used to do when they were children.

  “When does she arrive?” Kate asked him.

  He laid down beside her beneath the oak tree in the yard and stretched his legs out in languid peace. “She should get here in three weeks from today. What do you think she will be like?”

  “She shall be as a princess, all wrapped up just for you,” Kate teased, knowing full well such a package would never intrigue him.

  “I would much prefer if she came in rags. I would know she was not putting on a show.”

  They bantered back and forth about what his prospective wife was like, and that evening they caused Aunt May grief with the way he had gone about getting himself a wife, and the fact that Kate was still husbandless.

  “As one walks the aisle so should the other,” she jabbed at them across the dinner table. “I intend to meet my grandbabies before I die of old age.”

  “There isn’t an old bone in your body,” Kate protested to the woman who could barely make it up the stairs without help. For that reason they had recently moved her room down to the ground floor.

  Aunt May glared at her. “I will see you married young lady, and that will happen before I die!”

  They laughed at her admonishment, far too happy with Nathan’s latest development to be bothered by Aunt May and her wishes. The following day the preparations for a new mistress of the house began in earnest. The barns and landscaping was done and the horses were moved to a fresher field to give their grazing area time to be made fresh. The old paint on the farm house was stripped away and a fresh coating added, and the drab artistry of what had become his mansion was given a new look. Windows that had not be open for months and even years swung open, and sunlight lifted the veil of dust to reveal the possibility of happiness beneath it all.

  The house was ready for a new arrival and three weeks later, Alex was brought riding up the pathway by little John who had just won the job of coach driver. When she stepped from the coach, he lost his ability to speak. He took one look at her rosy lips and calm demeanour, dressed humbly in what he assumed was her best wear for the occasion. Her presence struck a chord in his soul and the flutter people often spoke of feeling in their stomach, was well evident in his.

  “Keep it together Casanova,” Kate teased by his side as she took his hand and walked him down the stairs. Once again she was his strength and it was a role she willingly played. He would be very interested to see how Alex would respond to her disability.

  “Hello,” the woman said in greeting upon her arrival. This warmed his heart. He was by no means looking for a submissive woman, he found them to be quite boring. He wanted a woman with fire in her soul to burn through the pain in his, but a show of respect was appreciated and he returned it.

  Taking her hand in his he kissed it and looked deep into her eyes. “You can call me Nathan.”

  She smiled at him and turned to Kate. She waited for the shock and momentary hesitation that always came when someone looked into her blind eye for the first time but none of that came. What flashed across her face was compassion, and a nod and a smile of respect soon followed.

  “You must be Kate,” Alex said extending her hand. “Little John here has gone on and on about how you have been such good friends to one another.”

  Nathan noticed Kate was for once speechless and he couldn’t help but chuckle. Yes, this woman will fit in just fine here.

  “He has been quite the good lad too,” Kate finally responded taking her hand. “Let me show you to your room while the gentlemen gather your things. You must be tired from such a long journey. There will be time to meet and greet, later.”

  Nathan knew Kate just wanted time to vet Alex before he had a chance to speak to her. She would want to know that she was all she should be for him. Ever the protective friend she would do just fine. He watched as she draped Alex’s hand over her own and they walked up the stairs like two old friends, catching up on all the years they had missed out on together. It was a warming sight, and atop the long stairway leading from the foyer he saw Aunt May, standing there smiling.

  “You like this one?” he asked the old woman.

  She pinched his cheek. “She has a touch of something about her. Something I find brings peace to this troubled place.”

  He was not too sure what she meant by that but he was sure he would find out in time. For now he was just happy she had arrived and he was looking forward to getting to know her. Somehow he felt she was the one worth waiting for all these years.

  “I like her,” Little John said as he put her last case down in the foyer. “She is much nicer than all the others.”

  He looked down at t
he young teenager who was not far enough along in years to know much about women, but he had learned that the council of children were not to be ignored.

  “Do you think she is the one?” he asked him playfully.

  Little John chuckled. “I think she very well might be.”

  * * *

  Alex felt like she had just met her long lost kindred spirit. She liked Kate in an instant. She had the warm welcoming personality of the older sister she never had, and it was clear that she loved Nathan beyond words. She thought she was being subtle but the truth was that Alex could tell she was interrogating her on his behalf from the moment she walked her up the stairs to the mansion. She had been busy peeking out the window of the coach as Little John had sped through the town to get her there. Seems like all the people this side of the world cared only about status and about how big their houses were. This particular one didn’t exactly give her the feeling of coming home as she had entered, but the people had done just that.

  “I have prepared supper, and we will be eating out on the patio,” the kitchen maid who reminded her of Susan said to her as she came down from the long soak she had just taken. “The evening air is quite pleasant this time of year and Nathan just loves it.”

  The woman kept her eyes down as she spoke and Alex was not quite sure if she was showing some timid form of respect or if she was genuinely afraid to look at her. If things worked out for her then she would make sure to discern which it was and remedy the situation.

  “I was beginning to think you might have fallen asleep,” Nathan said, standing as she took her seat at the table.

  The maid was right; the breeze was quite pleasant, and not at all like the cold and frigid air of the north. “I almost had, but then I thought, surely a woman who falls asleep without conversing with her husband to be on the day they meet, is a woman one should certainly worry about.”

  He chuckled. “I would have understood had you chosen to rest. If you wish to then we can retire early tonight and speak in the morning.”

  “No, I am used to long hours, and besides, I would rather stay up late and talk through the night. I am so excited to be here and to meet you all.”

  He smiled and reached across the table for her hand. “Alex, I think you are the most refreshing woman I have met in a long time.”

  “Must be that the northern air travelled here with me,” she said sipping her tea.

  He burst out laughing louder than she was sure he had intended. “Must be. We welcome you and it.”

  She was pleased to hear that. They fell into a comfortable silence while they ate and for the first time she noticed the tiny scars running up his forearm. He saw her looking at them and quickly pulled the sleeve back down that had ridden up, revealing them. She lowered her eyes to her plate to avert her gaze, knowing that whatever it was would either embarrass him or have him thinking she was inquisitive.

  “Your ad was quite strange,” she broke the silence a while later.

  His hesitant response told her he had something to say that he was not too proud of before he even opened his mouth. “Well you might come to find that I am a strange man,” he said finally.

  She was intrigued. “I believe we all have a bit of strange in us. After all, to survive this crazy world we must all be a little odd.”

  His smile was one of utter peace. “I believe so, too.”

  “Will you tell me, what has made you this strange, or do you want to leave it up to time?”

  “I find that a man’s mouth can speak any words he so desires, but a man’s actions are the very definition of his character.”

  She smiled. “So you are saying you would rather show me who you are than tell me?”

  “Exactly!” he said. “And I hope once you have gotten to know me that you will decide to stay.”

  “Is that how this works?” she asked. Being raised on principle, she had no intention on staying in a house with a man she was not married to.

  “Yes,” he said. “We shall be married in the morning for the sake of observing principle and respect. You will then have your own quarters as they are now, until we have gotten to know each other a bit more and you can decide whether to stay and be my wife or you would rather have the marriage annulled.”

  She liked him already. It was as if he could read her mind. “I like that arrangement. And what of Kate?”

  He looked at her surprised. “What about her?”

  “Is she okay with all this?”

  Nathan’s brows lowered in reassurance. “Kate is the sister I never had and my oldest friend. She is just as happy and excited as I am to have you here. Do you not fee that coming from her?”

  “I do,” she responded looking at him. “I just wanted to ensure that my assumptions were correct.

  They passed the next hour speaking about the north and what had prompted her to leave, and he apologized for her misfortune and told her about the south and why she should choose to stay. For the entire time he spoke she looked into his eyes as they caught fire with the joy of what he spoke of. The deep green glowed in the haze of the lantern on the table between them, and the fireflies that danced around his long black hair, lifting softly in the wind, was enough to woo her with thoughts of what she could have with him.

  She liked this man, not for what he offered, but for the soul he had that showed in is words. She had seen the scars too, and she hoped beyond words that he would see it fit to tell her about them someday. With daylight they were wedded in a small wedding ceremony in his study, and the maid made them a cake in celebration while Kate popped bottles of aged wine on their behalf. It was not the big grand wedding she had always dreamed of as a child, but it was perfect for the occasion. That night she wrote to Jane who was also in Texas, but lived seven hours away. She told her of the good fortune that had befallen her and promised to visit as soon as she was settled. She told her of all the hopes and dreams she had, and went to bed thanking the Lord for the opportunity and the welcomed change.

  Little did she know, fate would play her a wild hand of cards in only a matter of days.

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  3

  Chapter THREE

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  “… something she did not quite

  understand. His ad was not the usual ad

  a man would place when seeking a bride.”

  .

  Three days later Nathan bolted awake in his bed, hearing the voice that had long since tormented both his waking hours and his sleep. At first he thought that surely he must have been dreaming, but then he heard him again.

  “Tell that ingrate I am here to see him and I will not leave until I have!”

  It had been fifteen years since he had last heard that voice and all the memories came rushing back. Cold sweat broke in beads on his forehead and he pulled his knees to his chest and sat up in bed, shaking, trying to rock the demon away.

  “Nathan,” Kate said as she slowly opened his door. She took one look at him and he knew she understood what was happening to him. “I will get rid of him, just breathe.”

  He tried to, but his lungs had forgotten how to work. How had his father found him here?

  “Where is he?!” the man shouted and a clambering of feet was heard as men rushed in from outside.

  He heard someone try to calm his father down and ask him to leave, just as a loud bang was heard and someone hollered in pain. It sounded like a female scream, and thinking it must have been one of the women he so adored it broke him out of his fear and he ran through the door.

  “Oh there you are boy,” his father leered up at him, as menacing as he remembered him as a child. “Grown into a strong young man haven’t you?”

  Nathan looked to the woman lying on the ground, a puddle of blood now forming where the gunshot had torn through her leg. It was Aunt May, whimpering in pain. Nathan saw nothing but red and as he rushed down the stairs to he
r his father swung the butt of the gun towards his head. He ducked just in time and managed to shove his father back and down on his rump.

  “Get her to the doctor!” he ordered the men who rushed to his aid and he stood facing his father who had caused him so much pain as a child. In this man he had found no love. From the day he could carry a load he had been worked like a mule. Such was the price of his birth and his father never failed to remind him about it.

  “I have come to collect my share of the profits of this place,” his father said standing to his feet. “And I will easily go through any of you to get it.”

  Looking behind him he saw a scared Alex at the foot of the stairs wrapped in a robe, the fright on her face was enough to tell him he had to get rid of his father and this time for good. He had shot Aunt May, so that alone would get him in trouble with the law. And his father was certainly no stranger to the law.

  “Nothing in this house is yours to claim,” he glowered at the man who had scarred his entire body with heartless whippings for not stealing enough. He had run away from home as soon as he could and it was here in Texas that he had found god fortune, people who loved him and from there he had built his life from scratch, not knowing his father would soon follow.