Just who did this sidewinder think he was, bossing her around like that? She stepped even closer, coming toe-to-toe with him. “And I’ll say it again. No man is ever gonna tell me what I can or can’t do.” Selina refused to be beholden to anybody. She’d seen the ugliness of that, too.
He closed the distance between them until they were almost nose-to-nose. “You’re not doing chores and that’s final.” With one more hard look he whirled and stomped up the stairs.
Well, she could stomp just as hard as he could and she did, too, until she met up with him. Then, she bolted past him and was out the door and in the buckboard before he even made it to the wagon.
He climbed aboard and glanced at her. “You’re incorrigible. You know that?” He snatched up the reins and slapped his horses on the behind. The wagon lurched forward.
She didn’t know what that word meant, but she had a feeling it wasn’t good.
Michael rounded the trees by the main ranch. Oh, no. He should have known his family would do something like this. Neighbors, family and friends filled the ranch yard, along with benches, tables loaded with food and two large signs.
One read: Congratulations Mr. & Mrs. Michael Bowen.
The other: Welcome to our family and community, Selina.
The first thought that struck him was his wife’s attire; the second was he hoped she wouldn’t open her mouth. He wanted to turn the horses around and head back home before anyone caught sight of them.
“Here they come,” his sister-in-law Rainee hollered. Rainee waddled toward them as fast as her pregnant belly would allow. Before he could think of a good way to get them out of there, she stepped up to Selina’s side of the wagon and offered her a big welcoming smile. “Selina. Welcome to the family.”
With no grace whatsoever, Selina hopped down. “Thank you kindly, ma’am.”
Immediately Michael detected suspicion in Selina’s voice. One look at her face confirmed it. He figured it stemmed from her earlier comments about rich folks. Well, she’d just have to put her prejudice aside and learn that not all folks who had wealth treated poor folks badly. Sure, he had turned his nose up at her when he first saw her, but she needed to understand it was the shock of seeing her dressed like a man and not a woman. Like a tomboy. An outlaw even.
The sad fact was, rich and poor alike would find her attire inappropriate. He knew many a poor woman and they didn’t dress like her, so wealth had nothing to do with people judging her. Her lack of propriety did.
Before he had a chance to introduce her, Rainee said, “I am Rainelle Victoria Bowen.” She curtsied. “But, please, call me, Rainee.” Rainee looped arms with Selina and led her to the crowd of people.
This whole thing was a nightmare come true.
Seeing no way out of it, Michael hopped down from the wagon and followed them. When he caught sight of the surprised look on the men’s faces and the horror on some of the women’s as their gazes traveled over her, anger surged through him. He didn’t like her appearance, either, but how dare they openly show disrespect for the woman who was, after all, his wife.
He strode to Selina’s side and placed his hand at the base of her back.
Selina looked up at him, at his arm and then back at his face, a question lingering in her untrusting wide brown eyes.
His gaze remained fixed on her, taking in her face, her high cheekbones and perfectly shaped lips. The woman was beautiful. Why did she hide it under that hat? Perhaps she didn’t know she was beautiful.
Leah and Abby rushed up to meet her.
“Selina, these are my sisters, Leah and Abigail.”
“Pleased to meet you.” Leah gave her a quick hug.
“It’s Abby, not Abigail. That sounds so stuffy. Just like you, Michael.” Abby wrinkled her nose at him and then turned her focus onto Selina. “I love your outfit.” His sixteen-year-old sister smiled, beaming as her gaze raked over Selina’s clothing.
Dear Lord, don’t let Abby start wanting to wear pants, too.
His sister-in-law Hannah looked up from wiping baby Rebecca’s mouth. She handed the baby to her oldest son, Thomas, who took her willingly. He’d make a fine father some day. Just like his father, Jesse.
“Selina!” Hannah rushed over and gave her a hug. “Welcome to the family. We’re so happy to have you here.”
“Selina, this is my sister-in-law, Hannah.”
“Pleasure to meet ya, ma’am,” Selina said.
“Mama, where’s my drink? I’m thirsty.” William, Michael’s five-year-old nephew and Hannah and Jesse’s middle child, tugged on his mother’s skirt.
Hannah rolled her eyes. “Sorry—I need to get my son something to drink. We’ll talk later. You must come and see me. I live over there.” She pointed to her and Jesse’s house, then swung William into her arms and like a whirlwind she was gone.
Michael’s mother scurried up to them. “Selina, I’m Katherine. Michael’s mother.”
“Pleased to meet you, ma’am.”
“Welcome to the family, Selina. You must come by the house tomorrow so we can get better acquainted.”
“That’s right neighborly of you.” Skepticism shrouded Selina’s face once again.
“Hi, son.” His mother barely glanced at him. “You don’t mind if I borrow your wife, do you? There’s someone I’d like her to meet.”
“Hi to you, too, Mother.” He smiled. “No, I don’t mind at all.”
“Good. Because even if you did, I was going to steal her anyway.” Mother reached up and kissed his cheek before she looped arms with Selina and scampered her over to the same group of ladies he’d seen scowling. He watched, waiting and ready in case Selina needed his intervention.
“She isn’t what you expected, is she?”
Michael turned toward his brother Jesse. With those seven words, Michael knew his acting hadn’t worked. Making sure no one was within hearing distance he said, “No, she sure isn’t. I’m so angry and confused, Jess, I don’t know what to do. I married the wrong woman.”
Jesse frowned. “What do you mean ‘the wrong woman’?”
With a shake of his head, Michael beat back the awful truth. “Selina didn’t write the letters—her friend Aimee did.”
“I don’t understand.”
There was no reason to hide the truth. Jesse had been with him through this whole thing from the beginning. In short detail, Michael explained everything to his brother. How the woman he fell in love with didn’t really exist. Or if she did, she existed in two different people. One of whom he married. The other of whom he might have actually loved.
Jesse’s concern was written all over his face. “Now that’s a tough one. But remember, you did pray about it.”
“I didn’t pray for this, Jess. You know what I prayed for. Why would God do this to me?”
“God didn’t do anything to you. He did it for you. He has a plan, Michael. We talked about this, remember?”
“A plan? What? To humiliate me? And how could you say God did it for me? What could God possibly have in mind? I mean, look at her, Jess. She’s…” He couldn’t even finish.
Jesse slid his gaze toward Selina. “She’s um…different, but she seems friendly enough and she’s very beautiful.”
“She’s different all right. She might be beautiful, too, but she’s nothing like what I had my heart set on marrying.”
“Look, I know you wanted someone like Rainee. But there’s only one Rainee and she’s married to our brother.”
“I know that. It’s just… Well, every time I prayed for a wife, I asked God to send me someone just like her.”
“Maybe He did.”
Michael’s brows spiked. “I don’t think so. I don’t mean to sound cruel, but look at the way she’s dressed. And the way she talks.” He rubbed the back of his neck. “I think the woman who wrote the letters comes closer to what I was wanting in a wife than Selina ever could.”
“You don’t know that. From what you told me, the person in the letters is a mixture of Selina and
Aimee and a lot of things were exaggerated. So you have no idea what Aimee is really like except that she’s the kind of woman—”
Michael finished Jesse’s sentence. “Who would send her friend out West knowing she had lied, that she had deceived not only her, but also the man she had married. Leaving Selina to deal with the consequences.” That thought alone secured his compassion toward Selina.
Nobody deserved to be treated that way. Especially by a friend she trusted. Indignation roiled through his gut. If Aimee were here right now he’d tell her exactly what he thought of her.
“Why did I have to come up with that ridiculous plan to say my vows of marriage in front of Reverend James and sign the marriage certificate and send it to her so she could do the same in front of her minister? If I hadn’t, then neither one of us would be in this miserable situation.” He caught his brother’s gaze. “What am I going to do, Jess? I’m in love with a dream woman who doesn’t exist. And even worse… I don’t love my wife. She’s a complete stranger to me.”
All of a sudden, his stomach churned and he thought he might be sick as unbidden flashbacks of another loveless marriage came rushing in on him.
Unbeknownst to anyone, as a young boy Michael had witnessed time and again his brother Haydon’s first wife Melanie’s rage toward Haydon.
From afar Michael heard Melanie’s cruel and spiteful remarks about what a poor excuse of a man she thought Haydon was. How she resented him for bringing her to this desolate place. How she hated him and wished she had never married him. How she had never loved him and had only married him for his money and his position in society.
To this day the memory of the pain on Haydon’s face still haunted Michael. His brother’s unhappiness had crushed Michael’s young heart. His brother changed after Melanie. He was no longer his confident self until years after Melanie’s death when God had sent Rainee into Haydon’s life. Because of her, Michael now had his brother back, and Haydon was happier than Michael had ever seen him.
Michael wanted the special kind of love Haydon had found with Rainee. With all his heart, Michael believed he had—until a few hours ago. But it was fully clear to him now that his marriage to Selina was nothing but a farce and that his worst nightmare of being stuck in a loveless marriage had now come true. How had he let this happen?
Jesse squeezed his shoulder, yanking Michael from the cave of darkness his thoughts had taken him to.
“I know this is hard, Michael.”
You have no idea how hard this thing is. No one does.
“But I have faith in you that you’ll do what’s right. Keep in mind that when Rainee first came, Haydon didn’t want anything to do with her, either. He didn’t believe God was in that whole situation, yet look how it turned out. They have two beautiful children and one on the way. Listen, I’ve got to run. Hannah is waving me down. If you need to talk, you know I’m here.”
“Thanks, Jess.” Michael pulled his brother into a quick hug then watched him head toward Hannah.
“Hey, buddy.” Michael stiffened. The town heckler, Jake Lure, stepped alongside him and slapped him on the back. “Well, I guess we know who wears the pants in your family.” Jake cackled and twitched his thick blond eyebrows in a mocking gesture.
Michael clenched his fists at his sides.
Jake looked around and then leaned closer to Michael. “You know, I think I’ve seen that beautiful face somewhere before. On one of the wanted posters at the jail.” He cackled again.
Even though the man was a few inches taller than Michael’s six-foot, broad-shouldered frame, Michael found himself wanting to punch Jake. But, he refused to stoop to this man’s lower-than-dirt level.
Yet, hadn’t he already done that by judging Selina’s outward appearance, too? He had even justified his actions by reminding himself that she was not what he was expecting and it was the shock of seeing her dressed in trousers that had made him act so unbecomingly.
Thinking about how despicable his ungodly thoughts had been, he repented immediately. In that second, he decided no man or woman was ever going to get away with talking about his wife like that again.
“I’ll thank you not to insult my wife ever again. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I need to find my bride.” Michael turned to leave.
“Just look for the lady in trousers.” Jake’s hooting laughter grated on Michael’s nerves, but he refused to give into the temptation to pummel the guy.
Instead, he pushed his shoulders back and headed toward Selina. “I will.” He tossed the words over his shoulder.
All the way to Selina, Michael fumed. Just who did Jake think he was, anyway? How dare he or anyone disrespect his wife like that? He may not like the way she dressed, either, but maybe that was all she could afford or had or grew up with. So who was he or anyone else to judge her?
He walked up next to Selina, standing amid a group of women who were laughing at something his wife had said. These were the very same people who when they had first laid eyes on her had shown disgust.
He slipped his arm around her shoulder. “Excuse me, ladies. You won’t mind if I steal my wife away, will you?”
“We do, but we’ll let you,” said Sadie Elder, who came out West four years before to marry Tom Elder, a widower with nine boys. She took Selina’s hands in hers. “You’re just what we needed around here, Selina. It’s a real pleasure meeting you. When you get settled, you must come by for a visit. Michael can show you where we live.” Sadie looked at Michael seeking his permission.
He nodded.
“Oh, yes, you must come by my house for a visit, too,” Mrs. Hawkins chimed in, and the other married ladies put in their requests, too.
Selina had obviously made a good impression on them. They not only seemed to accept her, outfit and all, but liked her well enough to invite her to their homes. That was a good sign. Wasn’t it?
“It’s right neighborly of y’all to invite me to y’alls homes. Iffen any of you need help, you let me know, and I’ll be there quicker than a frog snatchin’ a fly.”
They all laughed.
“Oh, Selina. You say the funniest things,” Sadie said through a chuckle.
Selina looked surprised by Sadie’s comment, then she wagged her finger at Sadie and said, “Don’t you go hurtin’ yourself liftin’ that cannin’ kettle. I’ll come by in a couple days and do it for you.” Selina glanced up at Michael and smiled. Her teeth were as white as freshly fallen snow and not a crooked one to be found. The woman really was beautiful. Judging from the way she was willing to help everyone, she must be beautiful on the inside, too. Only time would tell.
“And when that baby is ready to be birthed, I can help you. Iffen you want me to, that is. Like I told you, I helped birth many a baby.”
“Thank you so much, Selina. I feel better just knowing you’re here. I’ll see you soon then.” Sadie turned and waddled toward her husband.
Sadie, who was twenty years younger than her husband, was carrying Tom’s tenth child. Michael wondered if it would be another boy. For Sadie’s sake, he hoped it was a girl.
The loud ringing of the dinner bell jarred his attention.
“Everyone, it’s time to eat,” his mother hollered.
Each woman took a turn shaking Selina’s hand before they left in search of their husbands. Not one of them seemed to mind how heartily she returned their handshakes.
When the crowd quieted down, his mother turned her attention to him and Selina. “Michael and Selina, you get your plates first.”
Michael glanced down at his wife. “You ready?”
“Yes, sir. Ain’t had nothin’ to eat since last night. I’m so hungry I could eat a herd of lizards—skin and all.”
Lizards? The thought of eating lizards turned his stomach inside out. He hoped she was kidding. “Why haven’t you had anything to eat since last night?” He placed his hand on her back and led her toward the long food table.
“I ran outta money. Couldn’t afford none.”
Mich
ael instantly felt horrible. “I’m sorry, Selina. I thought I sent you plenty of money to take care of everything.”
“Oh, you did. You did. But I couldn’t sit by and watch that poor widow woman strugglin’ to feed her three youngins.”
“What poor widow woman?”
“Mrs. Morrow. Her husband died and she was comin’ out West to marry up with a Mr. Clemens. From the way she tells it, he has four youngins himself. His wife died two years ago and he couldn’t keep up with them and his chores, so he placed an ad and she answered it. Mr. Clemens sent her enough money for the trip, but some polecat stole it from her. Can you believe some snake would do such an evil thing? And to a widow woman with three youngins no less. Why, iffen I’d caught him, I would have put a load of buckshot into his sorry hide to make sure he never did it again. I’m just so glad you sent me plenty enough that I was able to help poor Mrs. Morrow.”
She stopped and looked at him. Concern dotted her eyes. “Don’t worry. I’ll find some way to repay you. But I ain’t sorry I did it. Ain’t no way I was gonna sit by and listen to them youngins beg their mama for somethin’ to eat when I had plenty.”
What an unselfish thing she had done. To go without food so that another woman, a complete stranger and her children, could eat.
Maybe getting to know her wouldn’t be such a bad thing after all.
Chapter Three
Back at the house, Selina picked up her bag to ready herself for bed. She had a good time meeting all her new neighbors. Some of them were friendly, too. But all that visiting had tuckered her out. All she wanted to do was find some place to curl up and go to sleep. She wasn’t sure where that place was, though. The barn would suit her just fine, but she knew if someone saw her there, Michael would be shamed and she didn’t want that for him.
She hoped to one day share her bed with Michael just like her mama and pa had. But that wasn’t likely to happen with the way things were. Still, she wouldn’t give up hope. Later on, during her evening prayers, she’d tell God’s ears that if there was any way for Michael to love her one day, she sure would appreciate it.
The Unlikely Wife Page 3
