Annie: A Bride For The Farmhand - A Clean Historical Western Romance (Stewart House Brides Book 3)

by Charity Phillips

  A blush colored her cheeks as she continued to smile at him. “You didn’t have to stop. I’m just passing by,” she told him kindly. “But it’s very considerate of you.”

  “I’m not in the habit of startling passers-by,” the blacksmith told her, still smiling back at her. “Especially not ones as lovely as you. I haven’t seen you around these parts before.”

  Millie’s blush deepened. “I’m not from around here. My train stopped in yesterday, and I’m afraid that I’m stuck here ‘til my next scheduled train can continue onward…”

  The handsome blacksmith whistled softly. “So, you really are just passing by,” he said. “I’m Clyde Roberts. I was like you once. I suspect most people here were, unless they’re children.”

  “It’s a pleasure to make your acquaintance,” Millie replied. “My name is Millie Saxton.”

  She realized that she was now standing on the sidewalk, engaged in conversation with a tradesman that she knew she wasn’t going to do business with. She was enjoying herself, though, so why stop? As long as he continued to enjoy himself as well, of course.

  “Millie,” Clyde said, as if he was testing out the name and had never heard it before. “Is that short for anything?”

  She reddened anew, but there was some embarrassment to it now. “Millicent,” she said. “But no one ever calls me that. I think my mother thought it looked good on paper.”

  Clyde chuckled at that. “It’s pretty. But I will call you Millie. Or Miss Saxton, if you prefer.”

  Millie smiled bashfully at him. “Please call me Millie. Miss Saxton makes me feel far more important than I actually am.”

  The blacksmith stood up from his chair and removed the black apron that he wore to protect his pants from sparks and grime. He placed it into the chair he’d been sitting in, leaving the metal project he’d been working on. “What brings you to Ogden?” he asked her. “And is there anything I can help you with?”

  Millie held the coat tightly around herself, though she didn’t feel cold. “I wanted a change,” she told him honestly.

  “Don’t we all?” he replied with another kind and handsome smile. “Well, don’t let me disrupt your shopping. I hope that we run into each other again sometime.”

  She beamed happily back at him and nodded a little. “I’d like that, too,” she said. “I’ll see you around.”

  Clyde gave her a wave and then strolled down the street towards one of the saloons. Millie realized that it must have been time for lunch. She hadn’t realized how late it had gotten until now. Continuing on in her exploration, she went into the clothing store that she had first spied on the street, but she only stayed inside it for a few moments.

  She couldn’t think of anything other than the handsome new friend she had made.

  Chapter 5

  Once she had returned to the inn, Millie went back upstairs to her room. She didn’t feel like talking to anyone else in town until she wrote to her betrothed in California. The conversation with Clyde had got her thinking and she found that she was unable to stop thinking about things that he had said to her. What brings me here? She thought. A change. Now that she was stopped in Ogden – unplanned – for a number of days, she knew that she must let Mr. O’Neill know. She wasn’t going to be able to achieve her goal of change for herself until she continued on to Coloma.

  Poor Mr. O’Neill must be worried sick about me! Here I’ve been, making the best of a bad situation, and I haven’t even given him any notice of my whereabouts or my delay.

  The more she thought on this subject, the more wretched she felt. As soon as she sat down at her vanity in her bedroom, she got out some paper and a pen and set to writing to him.

  My darling James,

  It grieves me to have to write this to you, but I feel as though silence is not the answer. You must be dreadfully worried about me, so I want you to know first off that I’m okay. I’m actually not so very far away from you now. I’m in Ogden in the Utah Territory, where a winter storm has forced me to remain until the trains can make safe passage through the town’s station. As soon as possible, I shall be on my way to you again, and I am looking ever so forward to making Coloma my home and you my husband!

  I pray that you are well and that you aren’t cross with me for being so long in my writing to you.

  All my love and devotion,

  Millie Saxton

  She read it over and felt a growing worry in the pit of her stomach. What if James read this note from her and really was peeved at her delay, both in travels and in writing to him? She felt like such a ninny for thinking that she should be friendly and carry on as if everything was fine and dandy for her. She’d thought once of writing to him, but didn’t want to be rude and keep her hosts waiting. Well, wasn’t it also rude to keep my beloved waiting? I wrote that I was devoted to him, but am I truly?

  Millie sat back in her chair, looked down at the letter on the desk and continued to feel sorry for herself. She hadn’t planned any of this. She hadn’t wanted to be delayed. But she also didn’t want to feel guilty about it now that she was at the inn, surrounded by such nice people.

  James wouldn’t want her to be miserable where she was staying. He’d want her to come to him as soon as possible, but he wouldn’t want her travels to be stressful or unpleasant. “This is all okay,” she told herself, placing the letter into an envelope and carefully inscribing his address upon its front. He would be so happy to hear from her that he likely wouldn’t be at all miffed about her slight delay in writing to him. Besides, the mail service had been rather slow between New York and California, so he’d probably be relieved to receive this letter faster due to her closer proximity to him now.

  Millie bit her bottom lip and then licked the envelope closed. Worrying myself into a tizzy won’t do, she thought. I’ll just have someone here send this off for me and then I shall see what James makes of it.

  At least now Millie had a few key friends in town. She knew that she could rely on Glenn to give her a ride into town if she needed it, and then there was that blacksmith…

  She chuckled a bit. “What need do I have for a blacksmith? He’s more a friend to me than a tradesman that I will require.”

  Suddenly, there was a light knock on the door that made Millie jump and drop her letter onto the floor. It landed softly on the blue rug at her feet. The door then opened and Hattie’s face peeked in. “Sorry to bother you, Miss Saxton, but would you like some lunch or tea in your room this afternoon?”

  Millie leaned down and scooped up her letter. She smiled a somewhat embarrassed smile at Hattie. “Yes please, and it’s no intrusion. I was just about to go down and try and find you.” She stood up from her chair and walked towards the door, outstretching the letter towards the assistant innkeeper. “I have a letter that must be mailed at once, to Coloma.”

  Hattie gave a nod and took the letter. “I shall see to it that this goes out at once. And I will find you downstairs for your luncheon?”

  Millie smiled and nodded. “Yes, thank you.”

  She went down the stairs a few moments later, feeling a bit sheepish for hiding out in her room after her outing. The living room was busier than it was in the morning. Several people were sitting around, eating their varied luncheons. Millie took up residence at a small wooden table near the fire.

  When Hattie returned with a tray of sandwiches and tea, she set it down on the table and then passed some generous helpings of each to Millie. “Did you enjoy your visit to town this morning?” she asked pleasantly.

  “Yes,” Millie replied. “The weather wasn’t too bad, either. It’s definitely cold, but I’m hoping that the trains will be working again soon. I believe I’m feeling a bit restless. And that’s not to say that I don’t appreciate you and Mrs. Pratt for all of your hospitality.”

  At that, Hattie gave her a sympathetic look, letting her usually-smiling mouth turn into more of a straight line. “I can understand being restless. Here you were, trying to start a new adventur
e, and now you’re stuck in a small town, miles away from where you’re supposed to be headed. I think anyone would feel restless if they were in your shoes.”

  Millie shrugged and sighed a bit. “My trip to town wasn’t completely full of regret, though. I met a nice gentleman who works at the blacksmiths…”

  Hattie’s eyes lit up. “Mr. Roberts? Oh, he’s such a sweet man.”

  “I thought so, too,” Millie replied. “He offered to help me with anything I need, even though nothing I shall need requires a metalworker.”

  The two ladies giggled together.

  This feels extremely nice, Millie thought to herself. It feels as though I finally have friends with which I may gossip and giggle about handsome men. Almost as if I’m a girl again.

  Her delay in leaving Ogden began to concern her less and less and at the moment, that didn’t bother her at all.

  Chapter 6

  Though she had sent off a letter to James O’Neill in California, Millie didn’t expect to receive a response from him. The times were unusual, because she was stuck in limbo between where she’d come from and where she was intended to go. It was more than likely that as soon as a letter arrived for her at the inn, she would be on the train to him. She thought that he would save the paper and save the time spent worrying over it.

  What she also wasn’t expecting was a visitor at the inn.

  Right as she was setting down her drained teacup, there was a knock on the front door of the house. Diana Pratt rushed to it from seemingly nowhere. She opened it up and there stood Mr. Clyde Roberts. He grinned at her and tipped his hat – a brown, ten-gallon hat that Millie thought gave him a slightly comical look which somehow worked with his otherwise attractive appearance. It endeared him to Millie even more.

  “Good afternoon, ma’am,” Clyde said. “Do you happen to know if Miss Millie Saxton is in?”

  He looked from Diana to Millie and winked.

  Millie’s face went pink. She smiled, baffled about why he could possibly be there to see her but touched just the same. She’d never received a gentleman caller before in her life.

  Diana turned her head to cast a quick look at Millie. Finding her looking so happy, she turned back to Clyde and nodded. “Yes, she is right inside. I’ll bring you to her.” She opened the front door and let him pass through. She then led him over to Millie sitting at the fireplace, though she didn’t really need to for Clyde strode over to her unaided. Diana looked from Millie to Clyde once they were together at the table. “Please let me know if you need anything,” she said.

  “Another cup of tea, Mrs. Pratt?” Millie asked, not taking her eyes off of Clyde. She didn’t want to be rude to her visitor.

  Diana nodded curtly and left them alone. Clyde sat in the chair across the small table from Millie. “You’re probably wondering why I came to see you,” he said. “So, I’ll start out by explaining that. It’s much too cold and snowy for me to expect to find you outdoors on Main Street again. You said that you were only here temporarily, so I figured, well, the inn is probably the place where I could find you. And here you are.”

  Millie blushed another pretty shade of pink. “I thank you for coming to visit me. But that doesn’t explain why you wanted to see me…”

  Diana returned and placed a cup of tea on the table in front of Clyde, as they continued to talk as if they were the only two people in the room. “Isn’t it obvious?” he asked Millie with a smile. “I haven’t been able to keep you from my mind ever since I saw you earlier. As soon as I closed up my shop for the day, I knew where I needed to go.”

  “But… Why?” Millie asked him. She felt that she knew the reason why, but she refused to believe it. It just seemed so silly and too good to be true. Anyway, it wasn’t as if anything would come of this. “You only talked with me for a few moments today.”

  “Ah, but that was enough,” Clyde said. “Besides, I knew from that brief encounter that I wanted to speak with you more. Because you captivated me, plain and simple.”

  Millie really wanted to ask ‘why’ again, but didn’t want to keep going around in circles. “You flatter me, sir.”

  Finally, Clyde paid attention to his tea. He picked up the small cup and brought it to his lips, sipping quietly and slowly so he wouldn’t burn his tongue. He then set the teacup back down carefully and gazed into her eyes. His brown eyes were so gentle and warm; Millie couldn’t help but have faith in him that he was genuine in what he said. He wasn’t putting her on or anything like that. But even if his intentions were as pure as the snow outside, there was one small problem that they had to consider.

  “I’m engaged, sir,” she told him honestly. “I cannot in good conscience allow your interest in me to go any further. I would’ve mentioned this to you sooner, but then I didn’t think that it was a necessary conversation topic for two strangers passing on the street.”

  Clyde fixed her with a look that didn’t appear to be disheartened so much as surprised. “Do you know this gentleman?” he asked her. “Why has he made you travel to him by yourself?”

  She felt uncomfortable about the answer to his question. Though she had written to Mr. O’Neill for several months, could she really honestly say that she knew him? The letters had been ways for them to get to know each other, to break the ice as it were, but that was as far as they had gotten… “We met via the newspaper service,” she admitted. “I haven’t met him in person. Oh, but I will. That’s the plan. He arranged for me to travel west and be his bride.”

  Clyde downed the remainder of his tea. He frowned a bit, looking thoughtful. “Plans can change,” he said. “After all, it wasn’t in your plan that you would stay here, was it?”

  “No, but…”

  “I’m not asking you to make any big decision about it right now,” he said, standing. “I just want you to think about it… I know I can’t offer you much. I’m a lowly blacksmith, and this gentleman of yours is probably raking in gold every day. I just think that you and I can be so good for one another, if we’re given the chance to get to know each other better… in person. No letters.”

  Millie felt a lump in her throat. He made a good point, but she didn’t necessarily like that. “But I’ve promised myself to Mr. O’Neill…”

  “As I said,” Clyde replied, gesturing a hand for emphasis, as if he was laying what he said out for her. “I don’t expect you to make this decision today or even tomorrow. Though I do think it’s rather telling that you refer to this fiancé of yours as Mr. O’Neill. And now I must bid you good evening, Millie.”

  With that, he bowed politely and left her sitting there to ponder what he had said and the position that she was faced with. He left the inn all together, and Millie was shocked to find that she felt much more alone than she had felt before. She was alone with her problems in a way that no one else who lived in Ogden could really understand. What had seemed like an adventure before now felt slightly like a trap.

  Chapter 7

  While Millie was asleep, the snow and wind outside picked up considerably. She slept fitfully the entire night because of the conversation she’d had with Clyde. He’d certainly made her think about things. He had a good point, a few good points, but she felt so torn. She didn’t want to go back on her promise that she’d made to Mr. O’Neill – James. If there was one thing that she prided herself on, it was that she kept her promises.

  But, as Clyde had said, things happened… Plans could change.

  She had terrible nightmares all night, tossing and turning, and always imagining James’ sad face looking at her. She was breaking his heart by tarrying; that was all that she kept dwelling on.

  When Millie awoke and looked out her window to discover the enormous amount of snow that blanketed the ground outside, she let out a low moan. “Just my luck, even fewer chances to go outside.”

  She threw off her blankets and dressed herself in a white dress with yellow daisies on it. She tied up her light brown hair with a ribbon and some pins, allowing for a bun and s
ome loose tendrils of hair. Regarding herself in the mirror on the vanity, Millie thought that she looked pretty, not that it really mattered what she looked like. She was even more trapped in this town than she had been yesterday.

  Clearly God is trying to punish one of us, James, she thought. Probably me. You can keep on living your life whereas I’m in Limbo.

  She went down the staircase to see if there were any others paying attention to the state of the snow. Sure enough, many of the other inn guests were sitting, faces practically pressed against the glass of the windows. Millie shamed herself for being so cynical. Snow was nothing new to a girl from New York, but apparently it was magical to some people… She just wished it wasn’t such a hindrance for her!

  “How long has the snow been falling?” she asked Hattie when she caught her coming into the room from the desk in the back. “It wasn’t this heavy when I went to sleep last night.”

  Hattie looked towards the windows and smirked almost apologetically. “It always seems to get worse before it goes away,” she said. “I hate to tell you this, Miss Saxton, but you very well may be waiting ‘til spring to leave Ogden.”

  Millie hung her head. Clyde’s words to her yesterday were beginning to feel more and more accurate. She must be stuck there for a reason. Plans can change. She looked back at Hattie. “Please be ready for me to send out another letter,” she said. “My… I have someone who will want to know that I’ve been delayed once again.”

  “The mail likely won’t make its way out in these conditions,” Hattie replied.