The Unlikely Wife

by Debra Ullrick

  “Yes.”

  “Think you’ll like living out here?”

  “I reckon I will well enough.”

  “Were you scared to move so far from home? To marry a complete stranger?”

  “Well, I never felt I was marryin’ a stranger. Me and Michael had written so much, I felt as iffen I knew him already.” She wouldn’t tell Leah that things had gotten messed up in that area. She’d keep that information to herself.

  “I’m thinking about placing an advertisement in some of the larger newspapers back east,” Leah said, keeping her eyes straight ahead.

  That shocked Selina. “Why would a purty gal like you need to place an ad?”

  “Same reason as you.” Leah smiled. “I’m looking for a nice man to marry. I’m not getting any younger.”

  “How old are ya?”

  “Twenty-three. I’ll be twenty-four in December. If you don’t mind me asking, how old are you, Selina?”

  “Just turned twenty-five.” She shifted in her seat. “I know it ain’t none a my business, but I was told there ain’t many women out here even with the comin’ of the train. So why would someone as purty and sweet as you have to place an ad? Ain’t none of the men here tickled your fancy?”

  “There’s a few good men who have ‘tickled my fancy,’ as you say. But, I don’t want to stay here. I want to move back to New York to live in the big city again. Years ago, when my father announced that he wanted to leave New York and move out west to the Idaho Territory, I asked Mother why. She said Father had an adventurous spirit. I can relate. I do, too. Just not for this place. The winters are just too long here and I really don’t like living on a ranch.” Leah sighed. “Even though I was young when we moved, I still remember wearing party dresses and going to balls. I know it sounds silly, but I want to do that again.”

  “Ain’t never been to a ball myself before.”

  “Oh, you would love it.” Leah brightened.

  Selina glanced down at her dust-covered and patched clothes.

  Leah’s eyes followed.

  “Don’t reckon I’d fit in at a ball.” Selina giggled. So did Leah.

  “No, probably not. But you sure fit in with our family. Everybody already loves you.”

  Everybody except my husband.

  “Are you sorry you came, Selina?”

  “No. Not really.”

  “I can’t wait to place an ad for a husband.” The young woman’s face brightened at the prospect of the dream.

  Hope things work out better for her than they have for me. “Does your family know how ya feel?”

  “No. I’ve been trying to figure out how to break it to them.” The dream drained from Leah’s eyes. Selina knew just exactly how the girl felt.

  “Well, make sure you pray about it first, Leah. Things don’t always turn out the way a person thinks they should.” Realizing what she said, she quickly looked away and added, “Sure are a lot of wheat fields out here.”

  Leah looked at her, then at the wheat fields. “There sure are. Selina, what did you mean when you said things don’t always turn out the way a person thinks they should?”

  Ah, puppy’s feet. She was hoping she’d leave that comment alone. Maybe she should tell Leah the truth so she wouldn’t make the same mistake she had.

  “Just make sure you meet the man you plan on marryin’ in person first. That you spend time with him and get to know him real good. A person can only learn so much about someone from letters. The real thing might be a huge shock and a disappointment. Can be mighty hurtful.”

  “Is Michael different than what you were expecting?”

  “No. I am.”

  Leah’s brows rose, then creased with worry. Questions lingered in her eyes, but thank the good Lord she didn’t ask them. How could she ever explain what she herself didn’t understand?

  Selina turned her face the other direction from Leah.

  They rode the rest of the short way in silence.

  When they pulled into town, people gawked at Selina, whispering behind their hands. She didn’t pay them any mind, though.

  Leah reined the horse in front of a large building with a sign. They hopped down and stepped onto the boardwalk.

  “Disgraceful. That’s what it is. Disgraceful.” A woman eyed Selina up and down, frowning.

  “Good morning, Ethel. I’d like to present to you my sister-in-law, Selina Bowen.”

  “This person is your sister-in-law?”

  Leah raised her chin. “Yes, ma’am. She is. This is Michael’s wife.”

  “Michael’s?” The woman turned pale. “This is Michael’s wife?”

  “Yes, ma’am, she is. Now, if you will excuse us, we’re here to get some material to make some new clothes for my new sister.”

  Ethel bobbed her head. Even though she’d said mean things about Selina, Selina looked for the beauty in her.

  “You sure have a nice smile, ma’am. And your dress is right purty, too.”

  “I—I,” she stuttered. “I do? It—it is?” The woman Leah called Ethel looked down at her dress.

  “Yes, ma’am.” Selina smiled at her and Ethel’s lips slowly curled upward.

  “Thank you.” She dropped her head and all but crawled away.

  Leah looped arms with Selina and leaned close. “That was nice of you to say such sweet things to Ethel. Whatever you do, don’t let what Ethel said bother you. She’s just embarrassed because she had gone around town telling everyone that her daughter, Marybeth, had won Michael’s affection and that it was only a matter of time before they got married.”

  “Did he want to marry her?”

  “No. She’s only fourteen.”

  “Fourteen?” Selina said loudly, then quickly glanced around, hoping no one heard her.

  Leah nodded and they both belted with laughter. When they finally stopped, they stepped inside the store. Selina knew her eyes were bulging, but she couldn’t help herself. She’d never seen such a large selection of stuff before in her life.

  Just looking at all the different colored bolts of fabrics alone had her mind swimming. She ran her fingers over each one, enjoying the feel of new material. It took her forever to decide on the colors she wanted.

  “Michael told me to make sure you got plenty,” Leah said beside her. “He figured you’d purchase barely enough to get by and he didn’t want you to do that. He said to tell you that he wanted you to have fun and not to think about the money. To get whatever you wanted in the entire store. Knowing my brother like I do, if you don’t come home with a bunch of stuff he’ll be disappointed.”

  Selina didn’t know how to feel about this whole thing. Didn’t quite know how to act, either. Finally, she chose a mixture of muslin and cotton materials in blue, pink and yellow. And enough blue, brown and black denim to make several pairs of trousers not only for herself but Michael, too. She also picked out matching thread and a package of needles.

  Leah looped arms with her and led her to the shoe section. She picked up a pair of black lace-up shoes with small heels. “How about these? These are darling.”

  Selina glanced down at her cowboy boots and then over at the shelf next to the women’s shoes. “I’d rather have a pair of those.” She picked up a brand-new pair of brown cowboy boots that looked to be her size. New leather filled the air. She looked around to make sure no one would see her. The lady at the counter was busy helping the only other customer in the store, so Selina slipped her boots off and tried the new ones on. They fit perfectly. Felt right nice, too. “I’ll take these.” She smiled at Leah.

  They laid all of her purchases on the counter where the other customer had been.

  “Hi, Mrs. Marcel.”

  “Good morning, Leah. How are you?”

  “I’m doing great. How about you?”

  “If I were any better, the Lord would have to take me home because I wouldn’t be able to handle so much joy.” She smiled and more lines filled her beautiful skin.

  The gray-haired woman looked
over at Selina. Selina waited for the usual look of disgust, but none came. Instead, the lady’s lips curled upward into a warm, welcoming smile as she extended her wrinkled hand toward Selina. “I’m Bertie. Bertie Marcel. And you are?”

  Selina took her hand and shook it gently. “Selina Bowen, ma’am.”

  “Bowen?” Her gray brows rose. She looked over at Leah then back at Selina.

  “This is my new sister-in-law, Mrs. Marcel. Michael’s wife.”

  “Well, I’ll be. That boy finally up and got married. About time. And to such a beauty, too. It’s a pleasure to meet you, Selina. And please call me Bertie.”

  “Thank you kindly, ma’am. It’s a pleasure to meet you, too.” Selina had to fight back the tears burning the back of her eyes. These people here were sure different. Folks who owned the mercantile back home wouldn’t even look at Selina, let alone be nice to her. The only thing they ever did was turn their noses down at her and ignore her as if she didn’t exist. Money sure had a way of making people act un-Christian-like.

  “Oh. Leah, some letters arrived for you yesterday. My, you sure have become popular lately.” She chuckled. “I’ll get them for you.” Bertie went to a room with metal bars.

  “Here, try this.” Leah handed her a square piece of something brown.

  “What is it?”

  “Just try it. You’ll love it.” Leah bit into a piece and chewed slowly.

  Selina turned the piece around in her hand and looked it over before taking a bite. Yum. Sweet and creamy. “What is this? It sure is mighty tasty.”

  “Chocolate.”

  “Ain’t never heard of it before.”

  Leah offered her some more, but Selina didn’t want to be greedy so she turned down the offer even though she sure did want another piece. She liked chocolate a whole lot.

  Bertie returned and handed Leah a stack of letters held together with a string. Seeing all those letters reminded her of Michael and the stack he’d read her at the train station. Letters that had changed both of their lives forever. And not in a good way, either. Poor Michael. Well, she didn’t want to think about that now. It was too depressing.

  Selina finished getting what she needed, and then they headed home, laughing and talking a sow’s ear off all the way back to the ranch.

  They arrived home shortly before noon. Selina set her purchases down on the sofa. She noticed Michael had already eaten again. She’d have to talk to him about why he hadn’t waited for her to fix him something. Until then, she had work to do. So she ate a biscuit with strawberry jam and a slice of ham on it, put on a pot of stew, then she got right to work sewing herself some new clothes.

  Hours later, she held the trousers and shirt she’d made against her body.

  “Where did you get those?”

  Selina whirled at the sound of Michael’s voice and the banging of the door. She’d been concentrating so hard, she hadn’t even heard his footsteps echo on the porch, or the door squeak. It was nice seeing his handsome face again, warmed her like sunshine. She held the new outfit up proudly. “I made them.” She smiled, knowing she had gotten all the money’s worth possible out of the cloth.

  But Michael didn’t smile back. Instead, he looked over at the material sitting in a basket next to the rocking chair by the fireplace. “Is that all you made?”

  She frowned. “For now. Ain’t had time to make nothing else yet.”

  “But you plan on making some dresses, right?”

  That was less of a question and more like an order. One she didn’t take kindly to. “Michael Bowen, I told you, I ain’t worn a dress since my ma died. A person can’t hunt or do chores properlike in a dress. Iffen you think a body can, then you put one on and see for yourself that they can’t.”

  He ran his hand over his face. Something he seemed to do a lot around her. “Selina, you know how I feel about you wearing pants. You’re a woman, not a man. When are you going to get that through your thick head?”

  She slammed her hands on her hips. “We’ve already been through this. Ain’t no man or no woman gonna tell me what I can and can’t wear. So when are you gonna get that through your thick skull? Just ’cause the good Lord made me a woman don’t mean I have to wear a dress.”

  “I don’t care what you say, woman. No wife of mine is going to wear pants in my house. It’s neither proper nor comely.”

  “Accordin’ to who?” She crossed her arms in front of her. “Besides, you forget. This is my house now, too. You told me that, and I aim to take you at your word.”

  Michael closed his eyes and dropped his head back, blowing out a long breath at the same time. Why me, Lord? “We’ll discuss this later. I’m famished. What’s for supper?”

  “Even iffen we discuss it later, my mind won’t be changin’.”

  With a shake of his head, he went to the sink and pumped the handle harder than he needed to, taking his frustration out on it. When the wash bowl in the sink was full to the brim, he washed his hands, face and neck. The grime from the day ran down the drain. If only he could wash his problems away that easily and watch them all disappear down the drain, too. He grabbed a towel and dried himself off.

  “I made stew for supper.” She looked over at him as she stirred the pot. “Oh. I just remembered somethin’. How come you left so early this mornin’ without lettin’ me fix you some vittles? Same with lunch.”

  “I’m sorry. I forgot to tell you that me, Jess, Haydon, Smokey and the hired hands were going to get an early start. We had lots to do. As for lunch, couldn’t wait till you got home. I was famished so I went ahead and ate. Oh, by the way. Thanks for taking care of the horses and chickens this morning and for cleaning out the stalls. That was a huge help.” For a man who didn’t want his wife doing chores, he had to admit he truly was grateful.

  “You’re welcome. Glad I could help.” Her face beamed under his praise, making her pretty features even prettier. If only she’d learn to control her tongue. “Now sit down while I put supper on.”

  He obeyed like a good husband and sat down at the kitchen table. Selina flew around rattling dishes and silverware and clinking glasses as she set the table. Grabbing a couple of the crocheted potholders his mother had made, she picked up the stew pot and set it on the table, along with a pan of biscuits and some butter and jam, then poured milk into the glasses. He’d never seen anyone set pans on a table before.

  His family always used serving dishes and put the biscuits in a covered basket. One more reminder of the huge gap in their lives to this point.

  She raised the lid off the kettle and the savory smell of rich beef gravy reached his nose. His stomach growled. “Smells good, Selina.”

  “Tastes mighty good, too.”

  “Been sampling supper already, huh?” He laughed.

  “Sure enough have. How else am I supposed to know iffen it tastes good?” A twinkle filled her eyes.

  “You got a point there.”

  She grabbed his bowl, put a large portion of stew into it and handed it to him. He watched as she scooped one small ladle into her own bowl.

  “Selina, do you remember what we talked about earlier?”

  She looked over at him with a frown. “Not sure what you’re referrin’ to.”

  Reaching over, he dipped a full ladle of stew and put it into her bowl.

  Surprise jumped to her face. “What did you do that for?”

  “Because you won’t.”

  She dropped her gaze and picked it back up, settling it on him. “Don’t know iffen I’ll ever get used to being able to take as much as I want.”

  His heart broke for her then. She might be a wildcat, but she was his wife. And for some reason God had brought them together, so he’d try his best to take care of her. Even if she didn’t want him to. And even if it killed him. And even if it was sure to drive him crazy. Which it just very well might.

  This time he was careful not to grab her hand for prayers, and in a strange way he kind of missed it. So he laid it there for her t
o take.

  She glanced down at his hand, then up at his face. He scooted his hand closer to her, offering it to her.

  She inched her hand toward his until she finally rested her small one in his. They bowed their heads.

  With prayers finished, he reached over and grabbed two biscuits, slathered them in butter, placed them on a small plate and set it in front of her. “Eat. That’s an order.”

  “I told you, no man will ever tell me what to—”

  Nonchalantly, he grabbed a buttery biscuit and shoved it into her mouth. “Hush up and eat.”

  Her eyes widened, then narrowed. She glared at him and bit down hard on the soft biscuit and chewed. He watched as she swallowed. “You think that’s gonna shut me up, well you—”

  Again, he shoved the biscuit into her mouth, leaving her no choice but to bite into it. “That’s better.” His chair moaned when he settled back into it.

  Her eyes bore into him the whole time she chewed. At least the woman was mannerly enough to not talk with her mouth full. He was grateful to God for that much, anyway.

  Crumbs stuck to her lips, but this time he wasn’t about to wipe them off. If he did, she’d probably bite his fingers. Those flames shooting from her big brown eyes as she chewed the massive chunk he’d shoved into her mouth sent him a warning. One he was going to heed.

  He scooped a spoonful of stew and put it into his mouth. While he chewed the best stew he’d ever tasted, he buttered several fresh-baked biscuits. The aroma of them reached his nose on the waves of steam. It was hard to enjoy it, though, with Selina staring him down while she ate. A keg of gunpowder ready to explode would have looked less dangerous. She tried to look mean, but she looked kind of cute, and he fought not to laugh.

  He picked up a biscuit and brought it to his lips.

  Quicker than a flash, Selina’s hand shot out, mashing the biscuit against his mouth. She sat back with a smug look on her face, acting as if nothing had happened.

  Michael wiped the butter from his face. “So you wanna play, huh?” He grabbed one of the biscuits and headed toward her face with it.

  Selina’s chair scraped across the wooden floor as she bolted upward and out the front door.