RNWMP: Kendall (Mail Order Mounties Book 1)

by Kirsten Osbourne

  JoAnn shrugged. “He does have a lovely voice. I am definitely not in love with him, though. I barely know the man.”

  “I can’t imagine being married to a stranger. It would seem so odd sharing a bed…”

  “Oh, I made Kendall sleep on the floor! I told him I haven’t known him long enough for those types of shenanigans.”

  Jess burst out laughing. “I’m sure that went over well.”

  JoAnn bit her lip. “I probably shouldn’t have said anything about that to you. Please don’t tell anyone!”

  “Oh, you know I will guard your secrets with my life. Remember when we were little girls and I’d write you a note when I was supposed to be doing my arithmetic? And I spelled secret S-E-E-K-R-I-T? I think that’s when I told you that I was in love with Theodore, and I’d grow up and marry him.”

  JoAnn grinned at the recollection. “And you did grow up and marry him.”

  “Thanks to my meddling mother-in-law.” Jess finished scrubbing the window she was working on and went on to the next. “I think we should go over to the mercantile and choose some fabric for curtains. When I made curtains, it made our little cabin so much homier.”

  JoAnn sighed. “A grand piano would make this place so much nicer, don’t you think?”

  Jess laughed. “Where would you put it? You’d have to take out the table.”

  “Then we could eat every meal at your house and I’d never have to cook again. I like this plan.”

  “We’ll go to the mercantile after lunch.”

  “I suppose we will.”

  When Kendall got home late that afternoon, he opened the door, saying a little prayer that his wife had asked for help with supper. Her pancakes had been superb, but he’d rather eat sand than her chicken and dumplings.

  She was standing at the stove, carefully stirring something that he hoped was gravy. Something smelled wonderful. “What are you cooking? It smells delicious!”

  JoAnn looked at him with a smile. “I’m attempting gravy by myself for the first time ever, so you might want to try just a little to see if it’s edible. I did my best, but that may not count for much.”

  “What else did you make?” He was skeptical about her gravy, but something did smell very good.

  “Pork roast, potatoes, carrots, and fresh bread.”

  “Sounds good.” Kendall removed his Mountie jacket and hat, hanging them on hooks by the door. “How much longer until it’s ready?”

  “Just a minute or two. As soon as the gravy thickens properly, I’ll set the table. If the gravy thickens properly.” JoAnn frowned down at the pan she was mixing the gravy in. “Maybe I didn’t add enough flour.”

  Kendall left her to sort the gravy out and picked up his guitar, strumming it automatically and playing an old love song from Scotland. His father had often played it for his mother, and his mother had always swooned. He sure wished JoAnn would swoon over his playing. It would make his night so much better. She didn’t seem to be a swooner, though.

  JoAnn felt the music wash over her, listening to the words Kendall sang as he strummed his guitar. His voice had gone all Scottish again, which surprised her. Usually there was no accent to his words, because Canadians didn’t have accents, but when he sang specific songs, it was as if he was transported to the highlands of his ancestors.

  She finally got the gravy thick enough—she hoped—so she pulled the roast out of the oven and put it on a plate, put the carrots and potatoes into a bowl together, and served it all. She set the table and put glasses of water on for each of them, congratulating herself that she’d remembered drinks before she sat down. Putting salt and pepper in the middle of the table, she sat down, proud of how everything looked.

  Kendall finished the song and set the guitar down, meandering over to the table. “Everything looks good!” He took a piece of the bread and buttered it. After taking a bite, he smiled at her. “Bread is wonderful. Did Jess help?”

  She shook her head. “Not with the bread.”

  “Well, I’m impressed then. You’re not as bad a cook as I thought you were.” As soon as he realized what he’d said, he frowned. “I didn’t mean it like that.”

  JoAnn sighed. “Yes, you did. I promise I’m not completely useless. I just never learned to cook. My mother never expected me to come to the West and marry a Mountie.”

  He served himself some meat and potatoes, unsure of the gravy. He decided to wait until she’d tried it before he attempted it. Taking a bite of the meat, he nodded. “Very good!” As he mashed his potatoes with his fork, he asked, “What did your parents think about you coming here?”

  She shrugged. “My mother thought I’d lost my mind, but my father said that it’s good I want to be out on my own. He believes that we make our own dreams, and it was time for me to set out to figure out what my dreams were.”

  “You never wanted to be a professional musician?”

  “I wanted it for a while, but my mother was mortified. She thinks that women of good breeding don’t belong on any kind of stage. So I gave up that dream to be a teacher. I taught for a few years, but I was about to only do music lessons this year. I gave up my teaching post. I prefer to teach music anyway.”

  “Which do you prefer to teach? Piano, violin, or guitar?”

  “My favorite thing to teach is music theory. I like to show a student how to transpose into a new key and how to make sense of music.”

  He looked at her for a moment with a confused look. “I don’t know much about any of that. I play by ear.” He was almost embarrassed to admit it after what she’d just said.

  “You don’t read music? Really? Usually, I can tell, but you’re very good! Would you like me to teach you?”

  “I’m not sure. I’ll think on it.”

  She frowned, her fork halfway to her mouth. “You love music. You can’t read music. But you don’t know if you want to learn? What would stop you?”

  “It would just seem weird learning from my wife.”

  “If I needed to learn something from you, would that be strange?”

  If he’d looked up to see the look on her face then, he’d have been warned, but he was too busy toying with his foot. “Well, no, because you’re my wife. You’re supposed to learn things from me.”

  She stared at him for a moment, her mouth agape. “Did you really just say that? So you can teach me things, but I can’t teach you things because I’m a woman? What is the difference?”

  “Well, a woman is meant to learn from man. He’s meant to guide her in all things.”

  She blinked for a moment. “I see.”

  When he looked at her then, her face was slightly red. “Are you feeling all right? Your face is…darker than it was.”

  “I’m working hard to control my anger. Do you really think that because you have a penis, you can teach me things…but I can’t teach you anything, because I don’t have one?”

  “I didn’t say that!” She was twisting his words all up, and he wasn’t having it.

  “What did you say then?”

  “I said that the man teaches the woman. It’s the natural order of things.”

  It took every ounce of discipline JoAnn had not to dump the potatoes over his head. She envisioned herself doing it though, and it made things easier for her. She looked at him and saw a big chunk of potato mixed in with one of the curls in his dark hair, and she felt slightly better.

  “I’m not sure if we should be married,” she finally said. “We don’t have the same outlook on things.”

  “No, maybe not, but we can both compromise.”

  “I’m not sure if I have the ability to compromise quite that much.” She frowned at his plate. “You didn’t even try the gravy.”

  “Neither did you!”

  “I made it for you, not for me.”

  Kendall frowned. “If I try the gravy, will you forgive me for saying stupid things?”

  “Do you admit they were stupid?”

  “I’m not sure. Do I have to admit t
hey’re stupid if I eat the gravy?”

  JoAnn stood up from the table, and took the gravy to the sink. She pumped some water into the bowl and carried it to the slop bucket, where she poured it out. He didn’t deserve her nasty gravy. He deserved nothing from her.

  He stared at her, wondering what he’d said wrong. “I guess eating the gravy isn’t going to get me out of trouble, then.”

  She frowned at him. “You have a very bad attitude, Kendall. I’m not sure I even want to be around you anymore tonight.”

  “Why not?”

  “Because you’re making me crazy! Trying to get me to forgive you by eating my gravy. It’s like you’re comparing eating my cooking to torture!”

  Kendall stared at her, confused. “That’s not what I meant!”

  JoAnn spun on her heel, trying to keep the tears at bay. She was angry, not sad, and she had no intention of letting him see her tears. She hated when she cried when she was angry. “What did you mean, then?”

  “I—I don’t know!”

  JoAnn counted to ten, and then she counted backward down to one, taking deep breaths the whole while. “Why would you move your mouth without knowing what you meant to say?”

  “I—” He frowned. She was right. “I’m very sorry for saying bad things about your gravy before I ever tried it. I’m sorry that I said I wasn’t sure if I could learn from you. Of course, I can learn from you. I’d be happy to learn from you. Will you please teach me?” He had to make her happy after being an idiot. One of the few pieces of advice he’d gotten from his father about marriage rang in his ears.

  His father had once said, “Son, it doesn’t matter if you think you’re wrong. It doesn’t matter if you know you’re right. Apologize and beg your wife’s forgiveness. It’s the only way to make your marriage work.”

  JoAnn frowned at him for a moment. “You really want me to teach you?”

  He nodded eagerly. “Maybe you could teach me after church tomorrow? We could go for a walk after lunch, and you could teach me how to read music when we got back. I’d sure love to be able to write down some of the—” He stopped there, knowing he’d already said too much. The songs he’d “written” were for him and no one else.

  She eyed him for a moment. “Do you write music?”

  He felt trapped for a moment, but he didn’t want to lie to her. He closed his eyes and nodded, wondering what she’d think of him. “A little. I have the words written down, and I know what notes I play, but I don’t know what the notes look like, so I haven’t written the music.”

  “But you’d like to write the music?”

  “I guess so.”

  She cleared the table and poured the water she’d heated into the sink to wash the dishes. “All right. We’ll start tomorrow.”

  Kendall stood for a moment uncertainly, watching her wash the dishes. Was she still angry with him? “Would you like me to dry the dishes for you?”

  She looked over her shoulder at him, and considered letting him do the work, knowing he was only doing it to get back into her good graces. “No, you worked all day. I’ll do the dishes.” Though, she’d worked all day too. He should be able to see that, shouldn’t he?

  He walked over and picked up his guitar, uncertain of what else to do to get on her good side. He played a popular love song, singing along with it, hoping it would mellow her mood. He’d been told many times that he sounded better than the original musician who recorded it. Thank God he had a Victrola, or he’d be completely lost with contemporary music.

  As she did the dishes, she heard him start singing a familiar song. It had been the most popular song a few years back, and it was one she loved. As she listened, she sang along with him, loving that he’d chosen “In the Shade of the Old Apple Tree.”

  By the time the song was done, she had walked to him, wiping her hands on her apron as she went. They finished the song looking into each other’s eyes, and she reached out, resting her hand on his arm.

  He didn’t take a moment to think before he leaned forward and brushed his lips against hers.

  When he’d pulled away, she studied him for a moment. “You make me absolutely crazy—but when you kiss me, my toes curl, and I want it to go on forever.”

  Kendall grinned. “I’m going to take that as a compliment.”

  “Oh, you definitely should. Except the making me crazy part. I wish you’d stop that nonsense.”

  “I’ll do my very best. I never want to make you crazy. I guess I’m just good at it.”

  She sighed. “That you are. I’ve known you for two days, and already you’ve made me crazier than anyone else in this world…except maybe my brothers. They both made trying to make me lose my mind a favorite avocation.”

  “I have to admit that I was the same with my sisters. It was fun.” He shrugged at her. “Go finish the dishes, and I’ll sing for my supper.”

  She leaned close to him and pressed a kiss to his cheek. “I’ll play with you after the dishes.”

  “I was hoping you’d say that.” As he watched her head back to the sink, he strummed the first few notes of another Highland love song. Hopefully by the end of the month, she’d know as many as he did. He loved sharing his culture with her in the form of music.

  JoAnn had a slight smile on her face as she finished the dishes, pleased that he’d apologized in the most spectacular way he knew how…through music. He was a good man from what she could see, but he wasn’t very well trained in being a husband. Her mother had told her just before she left Ottawa that a man didn’t come to a woman knowing how to be a good spouse. He had to be taught by his new wife.

  Thankfully, she knew herself to be a very good teacher. She’d have him whipped into shape in no time. How could she not? She had the language of teachers and the language of love. If he didn’t understand one, she knew he understood the other.

  5

  JoAnn enjoyed church the following day. Miss Hazel sat between her and Jess, insisting that they shouldn’t be near enough to one another to whisper through the sermon. JoAnn frowned at the older woman. “We haven’t whispered through church in months!”

  “Only because you haven’t been in the same church for months!” Miss Hazel responded.

  Jess smiled at JoAnn. “Don’t worry. She has to go home sometime!”

  Miss Hazel shook her head, looking over at Theodore. “Teddy, you’re going to have to do your best to keep these young ladies under control when I’m gone!”

  Theodore shook his head. “I’m only responsible for one of them. Talk to Kendall about the other.”

  Miss Hazel leaned around JoAnn to see Kendall. “You will see to your wife, I presume?”

  Kendall was tongue-tied around Miss Hazel, as usual. After a moment, he managed to say, “I don’t think there’s any point in trying to see to my wife, ma’am. She has a mind of her own, and I’m mighty fond of her that way.”

  JoAnn looked at Kendall for a moment, absolutely beaming. It was the nicest thing anyone had ever said to her. “Do you really feel that way?”

  He nodded, almost frightened. Had he given her license to be one of those women’s libbers that he kept hearing about? He wanted to tell her not to take the compliment too much to heart, but he was afraid to take it back now. He didn’t know if she’d hit him over the head with her violin.

  “You couldn’t have said anything that would have made me happier,” she said with a grin. “Thank you, Kendall.”

  Thankfully, Pastor Wilson called the congregation to order then. “This morning we’re going to start with ‘What a Friend We Have in Jesus.’ Please rise to your feet while we sing.”

  JoAnn slid her hand into Kendall’s and wove her fingers through his. Neither of them needed a song book for such a common hymn, so they sang together, their voices rising and falling perfectly together. It wasn’t until the last note faded away that JoAnn realized everyone else had stopped singing and were watching her and Kendall. She leaned to Kendall and whispered, “Were we too loud?”
<
br />   “No, I think we were so good they forgot to sing while they listened!”

  JoAnn felt funny, but she hadn’t done anything wrong, so she simply sat down when the pastor asked them to. She leaned into Kendall, liking his feeling of strength against her.

  After the prayer, the sermon was on marriage and working at getting along with your life mate. Very appropriate considering all of the new marriages there in Squirrel Ridge Junction.

  Once the service was over, JoAnn spent a moment talking to Rose, the only girl with a similar background to hers. “How’s marriage?”

  Rose shrugged. “I won’t speak against my husband, which means I probably shouldn’t answer that question.”

  JoAnn bit her lip against a laugh. “I think we probably would have interesting stories were we to sit down to tea together. Don’t you?”

  “Has it been hard for you as well?”

  “Of course it has. I married a total stranger, just as you did.” JoAnn sighed. “It seemed like a good idea at the time, didn’t it?”

  “Would you go back to Ottawa and forget him if you could?”

  JoAnn looked over to where Kendall was talking to Joel. “No, I don’t think I would. I mean, I’d think about it, but Kendall and I are obviously meant to be with one another. The way our voices blend together tells me that.”

  “You can’t think you belong together just because of how you sound. That’s silly.”

  JoAnn shrugged. “It is how I feel. He’s a good match for me. What about you? What do you think of Elijah?”

  “He needs a haircut.” Rose crossed her arms over her chest and looked across the church at Elijah, where he was talking to the pastor. “He makes me just a little bit angry sometimes.”

  “I’m sure he does. That’s what husbands are meant to do, isn’t it?”

  Rose grinned a little. “Well, maybe.”

  “Where’s Tilly? I’m surprised she’s not here.” JoAnn looked around the small congregation once more, just to be sure she hadn’t missed the other girl.

  “Oh, she’s with Mr. MacGruder. He was shot when the mercantile was robbed, and she’s cooking for him and making sure he’s comfortable.” Rose laughed softly. “She probably refused to let him come to church.”