Mail Order Ruse (Kansas Brides Series #3)

by Barbara Goss

  Graham passed her the egg platter, followed by some bacon and toast. She smiled at him and he gave her a reassuring wink.

  “How did you sleep, dear?” Olive asked as she poured her some coffee and sat down to eat with the family, which Grace thought odd. In all the books she’d read, the hired help never ate with the family. Even in the orphanage, the servants ate in the kitchen.

  Again, the seat opposite Graham remained vacant. Grace figured it had been his wife’s chair and he wanted it to stay empty, which gave her cause for worry. Perhaps Graham wasn’t ready to remarry and thus the reason for his stalling.

  “What’s on the agenda for today?” Chase asked his father.

  “I’m trading ten calves to Cole Johnson for his Brahma Bull, and Manny is going with me. I was hoping you could do me a massive favor,” Graham said.

  “What do you need?” Chase asked, wiping the egg from Chloe’s face. “I was going to work on the north fence”

  “I need you to drive Grace and Olive into town. I want to order a whole new wardrobe for Grace. Dora can stay with Chloe.”

  As he said this, Grace looked down at her dress, the same green one she’d worn yesterday. She had only one other and it needed pressing.

  “Oh, but that isn’t necessary,” Grace said. “If you could provide me with some material and sewing supplies—”

  “I won’t hear of it. I brought you here and I aim to take care of you,” Graham said.

  Chase didn’t answer right away, but he looked down at his plate, and then he looked up at his father with a curt nod. Grace could tell taking Olive and herself into town was the last thing he wanted to do, yet he didn’t argue with his father, and that spoke well for him.

  “I could pull a few steers behind the buggy and take them to the butcher while I’m going into town,” he said.

  “I’d rather you kept a close eye on the women. Hunter’s Grove isn’t entirely safe for a young, unmarried woman. Would you do that for me, Chase?”

  Again he nodded to his father, but gave Grace a sideways look that made her feel uncomfortable.

  “Really, it’s fine. I can go a few days without—”

  “Chase doesn’t mind,” Graham said, looking at him intently. “Do you son?”

  “No, I’d be delighted,” he said, looking at Grace with what everyone assumed was a smile, but Grace noticed it never reached his eyes.

  To her dismay, the family carriage was being repaired, so Chase had to take them in the buckboard. Olive helped her up first, so she ended up in the middle of the driver’s bench, next to Chase. Then Grace put her hand out to assist Olive as she boarded the wagon. When Chase finished hitching the team, he hopped up, and took up the reins to the wagon, and they rumbled down the dusty path, all the way to town. It was impossible to carry on a conversation owing to the noise of the running horses, so no one spoke save for Chase's occasional "haa" to prod the horses to a faster pace.

  Again, Grace couldn’t help but notice the size of Chase’s biceps as he controlled the team. She supposed the shirts with the sleeves clipped off kept him cool during the summer months. She wished she could do the same.

  Chase stopped the team in front of the J.P. Hazard Mercantile.

  “You ladies enjoy your shopping,” Chase said. “I’m going to the general store to buy a newspaper. I’ll be sitting out here reading it while you shop. Take your time.”

  Once inside and away from the intense sunlight, their eyes grew accustomed to the darkness, and they made their way to the area displaying two racks of ready-made dresses.

  Olive filed through the rack. “These are pretty plain and cheap, but you’ll need a few for working in the garden, playing in the yard with Chloe, or just hanging around the house in the daytime, and they look light and cool.”

  Grace noticed all the dresses were pretty much alike except for the colors and maybe a bit of decoration, like a laced collar or a different choice of buttons. She chose a pink one, a blue one and a green one. They continued to the rear of the store where Olive helped her pick out several pairs of footwear, before they moved on to another area for a supply of undergarments.

  They placed all of the items on the counter and the clerk came over to tally the prices.

  “We’ll need your seamstress to make a few custom gowns, Frank,” Olive said.

  “I’ll add this up and then I’ll call her out here,” he said.

  Olive instructed him to put the total of their purchases onto Graham’s account.

  When he was done, Frank disappeared into the back and a few minutes later, an elderly woman came out, wearing a measuring tape around her neck, scissors in her pocket, and a pincushion at her waist.

  She greeted Olive and then looked at Grace. “And you must be the lucky recipient of the dresses.”

  Olive introduced her as a soon-to-be member of their family, but she didn’t say she was Graham’s betrothed. Grace thought it odd, but she let it pass without comment. No one seemed to mention her imminent marriage to Graham, although everyone in the family knew why she’d come to Hunter’s Grove.

  From a brief introduction, Grace learned the seamstress’s name was Esther. Olive completely took over the ordering, telling Esther how many church dresses, and how many formal dresses to make.

  Finally, Grace found her opportunity to bring up the subject of her marriage. “What about my wedding dress?”

  Olive turned to look at her, speechless, but then she quickly laughed, saying, “We’ll order that when the time comes. It’ll give us time to think of a good color and style.”

  Something just didn’t seem right to Grace, even though she now had a new wardrobe and a new family. She really had no other choice but to roll with the flow—for now.

  As Grace was being measured and fitted for her new dresses, she talked casually to Olive.

  “What does little Chloe do all day while her father is working?”

  “She helps me some,” Olive said. “I let her dust—well, she thinks she’s dusting. I sometimes give her paper to draw on, and sometimes she just plays with the few toys she has. Why?”

  “She seems so…unhappy for a four-year-old.”

  “She hasn’t much to be happy about I suppose,” Olive answered.

  When they came out of the store, Chase was sprawled across the seat, with the newspaper open in front of him.

  Olive said, “We’re back,” and he jumped up.

  “That didn’t take long at all,” he said, picking up the reins.

  “Could you give us a hand up, please, Chase,” Olive said rather sternly.

  “Uh oh, sorry. I forgot.” He jumped down and came around to take Grace’s hand, and assisted her onto the seat, and then did the same for Olive. They both thanked him.

  Chase couldn’t figure women out. At the house they’d helped each other up onto the wagon seat while he'd hitched the horses and now, all of a sudden, they needed his help. Still, he felt embarrassed knowing he should have offered. It was what a gentleman should do, but he'd lived with a cloud around him since Mary had died. His father would have reprimanded him sharply for forgetting his manners.

  “I’m sorry I forgot to assist you onto the wagon, ladies. Please forgive me—I wasn’t paying attention. I was still focused on the last item I’d read in the paper,” he said.

  “What was the item about?” Olive asked as he started the wagon slowly out of town.

  “It was about the county fair. We haven’t had one yet. All the other counties in Kansas do, and they’d like to start one up. If they do, we’d like to bring some of our livestock in,” Chase said. “My mind was on which steers would show best.”

  As he pulled onto the road that took them out into the country he sped the team up. He was anxious to get home, for he had plenty to do. He also didn’t like sitting so close to his father’s intended. Why would his father want such a young bride anyway? Leave it to him to pick a woman who’d remind him of Mary. Mary had golden hair just like Grace’s, and blue eyes, but t
he similarity stopped there. Mary had been tall and fairly large-boned for a woman, not fat by any means, but solid. She was strong, and had even helped him brand cattle. She’d been raised on a ranch herself and knew all the duties as well as he did. He thought Grace was so thin, he was afraid if she stood sideways he might not see her at all.

  She was quiet, and that was a plus for him. He hated gabby women. Maybe she’d be good for his father after all. The thought that they might produce a brother or sister for him almost made him want to laugh out loud.

  He’d been shocked when his father had announced he’d sent for a mail order bride, especially since that’s how he’d met his mother. Chase missed them both, and Elizabeth too.

  Why did God allow good people to die? The question had always bothered him. Why would a loving God, the Father, take away a little girl’s mother? He felt his eyes sting with tears and he shook his head. Not even Reverend Flannery’s words had helped the hurt he carried inside. Even after three years, it still continued to hurt. He didn’t know how his father could have decided to remarry so suddenly. Chase still loved Mary and had no desire to replace her.

  They pulled into the yard and as soon as he stopped the team, he jumped down and assisted the ladies from the wagon. They went into the house while he took the wagon and team into the barn.

  Dora showed Grace the vegetable garden, the barn, the livestock, and finally, the family cemetery, off to the far side of their ranch not far from the main road.

  “My, are these all Eastons?” Grace asked.

  “No, not all. Just the ones here, on the north side,” Dora said. “There was a church over there, where the boulders are,” she pointed. “It was torn down twenty years ago before the Eastons bought the land. Most of the graves belong to church parishioners. We've claimed this whole corner, though.”

  As they drew closer, she was surprised to see Chase and Chloe sitting cross-legged on a grave, talking to it. Grace looked at Dora, bursting to question the scene, but not sure if she should ask it.

  Dora must have noticed her inquiring look, for she said, “They come here daily. Chase has had a hard time of it. I’m not sure this is the best thing for Chloe, but it’s none of my business, I guess.”

  “It’s been three years, right?” Grace said.

  “Almost three and a half,” Dora corrected. “It seems my father is ready to move on, but Chase? He’ll never be ready.”

  “It’s hard for me to judge,” Grace said. “I’ve never had a family member die. I’ve never had a family, period.”

  “Not even when you were small?” Dora asked.

  “No. I was left at an orphanage. The nuns named me ‘Grace,’ and when I asked, they said there were no records on me. I’ll always have to wonder who I am and where I come from.

  “I feel as if we’re intruding on them,” Grace said. “Perhaps we should leave.”

  “All right,” Dora said.

  When they got back to the house, Grace felt sad for little Chloe, not because she’d lost her mother, but because it seemed like she’d lost her father as well—to grief. Poor child.

  Chapter 4

  After a delicious dinner, Graham invited Grace for a walk. The evening was young—the sun hadn’t gone down yet, having only just turned a bright red in the Western skies.

  “There’s a lovely sunset tonight,” he said, as they walked toward the road.

  “I don’t recall sunsets this brilliant in Maryland, but I’m sure they have them. I just never noticed them,” Grace said.

  “Things are more open here,” Graham said, “so you can see them clearly.”

  “Are we walking anywhere special?” she asked, looking up at him.

  “No, I just thought it would be nice to get out away from everyone and talk. We have to get to know each other, somehow,” he said with a laugh.

  “Thank you for the new clothes.”

  “Did you get everything you wanted?” He slowed his pace so she could keep up.

  “And then some. Olive was very detailed and orderly. It wasn’t necessary, though.”

  “It was. It made me happy to do it, so it was worth it, and don’t forget: I’ll be the benefactor of the new clothes since I’ll be the one seeing you in them,” he said, smiling.

  “That’s very true.” She smiled back at him.

  “What else did you do today?”

  “Dora showed me all around the ranch. She really is a delightful young lady.”

  “She is. I’m proud of her.”

  “We went to the cemetery and saw Chase and Chloe there, which upset me a bit,” Grace said, deciding someone had to say something about it.

  “Upset? Why?”

  He looked genuinely concerned, which gave Grace the courage to continue.

  “I can understand Chase’s grieving, but Chloe’s a child. She should be playing and laughing, not sitting on a grave talking to a mother who can’t hear her.” Grace awaited his chastisement, but to her surprise, there was none.

  “I agree wholeheartedly.”

  “You do?”

  “Yes. We’ve tried everything to pull him out of his grieving. We’ve tried telling him it wasn’t good for Chloe, but he’s a stubborn man. I think he might take after me,” he said with a grin.

  “Would you mind if I tried to intervene?”

  “What do you have in mind?”

  “I’d like to do some fun things to do with Chloe, Maybe Dora will help me. I’m just afraid that Chase might object.”

  “Well, I think it's a good idea. You have my permission to give it a try. I love Chloe as if she were my own. I'll back you up if Chase gets angry. I’ll make sure Dora and Olive help, too.”

  “I think we’d better get back to the house,” Graham said, turning them around. “If we walk any further it’ll be pitch black before we get home. It gets very dark here at night”

  Grace wished he’d hold her hand or something, but he didn't show her any affection at all. There was such a thing as being too much of a gentleman.

  After they’d eaten breakfast, but before they all could go their separate ways, Grace cleared her throat.

  “Chase, do you mind if I play some games with Chloe today?”

  He looked at her as if she had two heads.

  “Games? What kind of games?”

  Before she could answer, Dora exclaimed, “Oh, what fun. May I join in?”

  “Of course, we’d love to have you,” she said, looking at Dora. Then she turned to Chase. “Children’s games that I played in the orphanage, like Hide and Seek, Tag, and Graces.”

  Chase looked unsure, but then he looked over at Chloe who was smiling and staring up at him with a pleading expression. He bent down to her level and said, "Would you like to play some games with Dora and Grace?"

  “Yes, Father, I do!” she said excitedly.

  Chase stood and turned to Grace. “All right. Check with Olive first, because she usually finds little jobs for her like dusting…and make sure she’s finished by three so I can take her to the cemetery.” He turned to go out the door, but Grace put her hand boldly out to touch his arm.

  “Wait,” she said, “may I have a word with you?” She looked around the room and added, “In private?”

  “I don’t see why not,” he said, and held the door wide for her to exit the house.

  He sat down on the steps. “What can I do for you?” he asked without looking at her.

  She sat down beside him. “I saw you in the cemetery yesterday. I’m so sorry for your loss. I wish I could say I know how you feel, but I’ve never had any family to lose. I imagine it’s painful.”

  Chase just nodded. “Mary was an orphan, too.”

  “I don’t think it’s good for Chloe to spend so much time in mourning and not in being a child,” she said softly.

  “You just said you don’t know what it’s like to lose family, so how do you know what’s good for my daughter?” he said, looking at her crossly. “I play with her at bedtime and I read her stories
.”

  “I’m sorry if I upset you, Chase, but she needs more than that. Aren’t there any children in the area that she can have over to play with?”

  “I’ll make the decisions for my own daughter,” he said, standing. “I’ve got work to do. Make sure she’s ready at three. I’ll stop back here to get her.” He turned and strolled to the barn.

  Grace sighed.

  Grace and Dora played games with Chloe all day. Chloe liked Hide and Seek the best and kept asking to play it again and again. Then Grace announced a new game she learned in the orphanage, where actual toys were scarce.

  “This game is called ‘Find the Object,’” she said. They were still outdoors, and Grace added, “This is an inside game, so we need to go inside to play it.”

  Chloe squealed with delight as she had with each new game they’d played. Grace could tell Dora was enjoying the fun, too.

  Chloe ran ahead of them to lead them into the house.

  Once they were in the sitting room, Grace removed her necklace, which was a simple chain with a heart hanging from it.

  “See this necklace? Whoever finds it first is the winner and gets to hide it next.”

  “Okay!” Chloe yelled, jumping up and down.

  “You and Dora must go into the next room while I hide it. I’ll call you when I’m ready.”

  Chloe and Dora scampered off to the dining room. Grace hid the necklace beneath a lamp with the heart sticking out a bit.

  “Okay, I’m ready!” she called.

  Dora and Chloe came into the room and dashed about trying to find it. Grace saw that Dora had spotted it and she winked at Grace.

  “Are you sure part of it is showing?” Dora asked.

  “Yes, I’m sure,” Grace answered.

  Chloe moved closer to the lamp and squealed with delight when she spotted it.

  “I win! I win! I win!” she said, jumping up and down again.

  Grace took the necklace and handed it to Chloe. Find the Object soon became Chloe’s favorite game.