by Penny Zeller
McKenzie sighed. For all of her effort to make her feel better, Helen had failed miserably at the task. “I’m fine, Helen, really.” McKenzie patted her friend’s arm and squeezed her eyes shut tight. How many times had she taken pains to avoid this route? How hard had she tried to forget how Louis had broken her heart?
Lawrence turned the carriage onto Lupine Street from Clearmont Avenue, and McKenzie sucked in her breath. In a few short seconds, they would be passing the home that should have been hers.
“McKenzie, look this way,” Helen said, pointing in the opposite direction.
“Helen, it’s fine. It’ll be nice to see the home again.” McKenzie attempted to convince herself that it really didn’t matter to her as they passed by the stately, redbrick house. McKenzie gazed at the edifice as if she’d never seen it before—the two-story home with six stairs, edged by a wrought-iron railing, leading up to the front entrance. The grandeur of its fashionable curtains and splendid gardens made gazing at it all the more difficult. Lupine Street was in one of the wealthiest districts of Boston, and the surrounding homes did little to hide that fact. McKenzie imagined for a moment that Lawrence was delivering her to this home rather than the one she shared with her parents. She visualized walking up the six stairs, past the clay flower pots on the front porch, and through the front door, into the front hall with its winding staircase—and coming upon her husband, Dr. Louis Clarence III.
***
“I’m home, darling,” she announced as she handed her cloak to their butler.
“Oh, my darling McKenzie, I’ve missed you,” Louis said. He embraced her and kissed her firmly on the mouth.
“But I’ve been gone such a short while,” McKenzie teased. She gazed with admiration into the dark eyes of her husband of one year.
“Any moment without you is too long,” Louis said, taking her hands in his. “Tell me, how was the tea party?”
“Grand, as usual. The conversation was lively, and Matilda makes the best tea. How was your day at the office?”
“Busy. I have two surgeries scheduled for tomorrow. But, never mind my day. I have something for you, my sweet.”
“Louis, you didn’t have to—”
“I know I didn’t have to, but I wanted to. I am the luckiest man alive to be married to you, McKenzie. Now, close your eyes and hold out your hand.” Louis stepped away from her and reached for a velvet box on the nearby desk. He placed it in McKenzie’s open hand. “Open your eyes.”
McKenzie opened her eyes and beheld the velvet box. When she lifted the lid and looked inside, she saw a pearl necklace—the most ornate pearl necklace she’d ever seen. “Oh, Louis, it’s beautiful!”
“Just like you, my sweet. Now, let me help you put it on.” He turned her around and fixed the clasp around her neck….
***
“McKenzie? McKenzie?” Helen waved her short, stubby fingers in front of her friend’s face.
“Huh? Helen? Oh, sorry. I was just thinking about things.”
“Thinking about Louis, no doubt,” Helen said.
“You’re right,” she said, sighing bitterly. “Someday, I shall get over him.”
“Perhaps your idea to become a mail-order bride will cure your broken heart,” Helen suggested.
“Not likely, Helen, but thank you for always being so positive.”
“You never know—people have fallen in love under stranger circumstances.”
“But most high-society women who are merely searching for their sisters do not fall in love with ranchers in the Montana Territory,” McKenzie reminded her.
“What if he’s handsome and dashing, like Louis? What if he’s really a doctor or a banker and has a grand home right next to a creek—the grandest home in all of Pine Haven?”
McKenzie smirked at her. Obviously, she’d told Helen too much information about her plan. Although she knew that Helen would keep the plan a secret, McKenzie still wished she hadn’t divulged so much to her friend. “That’s not going to happen, Helen. Besides, falling in love with him would be disastrous, since, once I’ve retrieved Kaydie, I’m returning to Boston—without him.”
“Yes, yes, you’re right. And, if all goes according to your plan, you’ll then be the heartbreaker instead of the heartbreakee.” Helen tilted her head back and waved her hands about.
McKenzie giggled. “Thank you for cheering me up.”
“I just know, McKenzie, that, someday, you’ll find the man of your dreams. Why, never in my most wild imaginings would I have thought I would be marrying Holden, but I am. You’ll see. It will happen for you, too.”
McKenzie doubted her friend’s words, but it would be nice if somewhere in the city of Boston a man would make her his wife and love her forever. But she wasn’t sure she could ever trust her heart to a man again. And she’d never allow herself another best friend. She’d learned that lesson the hard way.
***
McKenzie trudged up the stairs to her bedroom. It had been a long afternoon, and she was eager to rest her head on her feather pillow. As she removed her hat and gloves, she heard a knock on her door. “Miss McKenzie?”
McKenzie opened the door to see Biddie, one of the Worthingtons’ maids. “Yes, Biddie?”
“This letter just arrived for you.”
“Thank you, Biddie.” McKenzie reached for the envelope. Upon quick examination, she saw that it was a letter from Zach Sawyer, and her heart leaped. It had seemed so long since she’d penned her letter to him that she hadn’t been sure he would respond. Yet, the proof lay in the form of the pale blue envelope in her hand.
Peeking out into the hallway, McKenzie glanced from left to right before ushering Biddie into her room. “Biddie, may I speak to you for a moment in private?”
“What is it, Miss McKenzie?”
McKenzie closed the door and lowered her voice. “Biddie, I’m going to be receiving many of these letters in the near future. Can you please take special care that you continue to deliver them to me personally? It’s critical that no one else knows of these letters.”
Biddie nodded. “Yes, miss. So, these letters are much like the letters you receive from Miss Kaydie, which are also to be kept secret?”
“Similar,” McKenzie assured her. “It’s very important that I am the only one who sees these letters after they arrive.”
“What shall I do if you’re not home when a letter arrives?”
“Carry it around in your apron until I come home. Whatever you do, please don’t leave one lying around the house for Mother or Father to see.”
“I won’t, miss,” Biddie said.
“Very well, Biddie. Thank you. I appreciate being able to count on you.”
“Thank you, Miss McKenzie,” Biddie said with a smile. “If there is anything else you need, please just let me know.”
McKenzie nodded. “I will. Thank you, Biddie.”
McKenzie hid her excitement until Biddie left the room, then slowly opened the envelope, pulled out the letter, and began to read. She would at least give Zach credit for selecting beautiful stationery. His writing wasn’t at all hideous, either, considering most men she knew had scripts that were scarcely legible. It gave her a strange feeling inside her stomach when she read the first line: “Please, call me Zach.” She reread it three times. The part where he described the work as never ending failed to bother her. She merely thought that his work seemed without end. Zach had described the town in which he lived, the animals, and even the local surroundings of Pine Haven. Although none of it thrilled her the way she was thrilled by rides through the streets of Boston, with its tall buildings and elegant homes, it still made her eager to know more of the place that would soon be her destination. It also helped her to know what to expect.
McKenzie picked up her pencil to respond to Zach’s letter. Although she was very tired and anticipated taking a nap before dinner, she knew she’d find sleep an impossibility due to all the thoughts in her mind. Besides, the sooner she was able to convince Zach
that she should become his bride, the sooner she could rescue Kaydie. And that was all that mattered. She thought about what she would write, then began to form the words on the stationery:
November 12, 1881
Dear Zach,
Pine Haven sounds small but lovely. And, you are right, quite different from Boston.
No, I have never been west. However, I have traveled throughout Massachusetts, New York, Vermont, New Hampshire, Connecticut, and Pennsylvania. Have you lived in the Montana Territory your entire life? Do you have family nearby?
It sounds like you have many animals on your ranch. I have never ridden a horse before and would very much like to try.
No, your hard work on the ranch does not present a problem. Do you have any hotels in Pine Haven? Have you ever heard of a town called Canfield Falls? If so, do you know how far it is from Pine Haven?
Most sincerely,
McKenzie
McKenzie reread her letter before folding it and placing it in an envelope. Tomorrow, she would ask Biddie to mail it for her. Hopefully, Zach did live near a town known as Canfield Falls, as Kaydie had mentioned it in her last letter. Even if her matrimonial arrangement was only for Kaydie, McKenzie imagined she’d at least have some fun traveling to a place she’d never been before.
CHAPTER TEN
Zach was working in the barn when he looked up to see Jonah Dickenson, one of his hired hands, approaching. “I picked up some mail for you while I was in town,” Jonah said when he came inside.
“Thanks, Jonah.” Zach knew from the color of the envelope that it was a response from McKenzie, and he stifled a sigh of relief. Now that she had begun to correspond with him, he always anticipated her letters.
“I know it’s none of my business, Zach, but is it from the mail-order bride?” Jonah asked with a conspiratorial look in his eyes.
“You’re right, Jonah—it is none of your business,” Zach said, pretending to slug his friend in the arm. “But, yes, it is from the mail-order bride.”
“You know everyone is dying to know her name. You should see Lucille today. She’s beside herself wondering about the details, and I could hardly escape the post office with my life after she saw that purple envelope in my hand.”
“Poor Lucille. What would she do if there was no new news in Pine Haven?” Zach shook his head. “Her name is McKenzie. She’s from Boston.”
“McKenzie?” Jonah asked. “Isn’t that a man’s name?”
Zach shrugged. “She says it’s her name. I’m going to trust that she’s telling me the truth.”
Jonah laughed. “I didn’t mean that, Zach. It’s just that I’ve never heard of a woman with that name, unless it was a surname. So, when is she coming to Pine Haven?”
“We’re just corresponding for now. What is it that Lucille called it? Oh, yes, that I was courting her through the mail system.”
“That sounds like something Lucille would say. I’m surprised she became a mercantile owner instead of a writer of love stories, with that imagination of hers,” said Jonah.
“I agree.” Zach’s eyes lingered on the initials M.L.W. and the return address on the envelope. At this point, it still seemed like he might never meet her.
“You know, Zach, I can’t imagine ever finding a bride this way—or any way, for that matter.”
“I wasn’t sure I should do it at first. I’m still not sure. I have to admit, though, that it’s been an interesting way to meet a woman.”
“Were any of the other letters you received any good?”
“No. This was the only one. You’re welcome to respond to some of the other letters. Be warned, however, that unless you’re wealthy and of high standing in society, you probably won’t get a response.”
“I reckon I’ll pass,” Jonah said. “But I am happy for you, Zach. I know how much you’ve been in prayer about this whole thing, and I hope it works out for you.”
“Me, too. You know, when I promised Will that I would take Davey as my own son, I never imagined at the time that he would need a mother. I mean, he’s got me, and Rosemary is a good mother figure in his life. After his fourth birthday, I realized that I wasn’t really holding up my end of the bargain in adopting him. I want him to have two parents. I know what it’s like to be an orphan, and I wish someone had adopted me. I made out all right, by the grace of God, but it still would have been nice to have people to call Ma and Pa.”
“You have to want to marry her for you, too, not just for Davey,” Jonah pointed out.
“I know. I talked awhile to Asa about that. I would like to get married for my own sake. I see Asa and Rosemary and the strong marriage they have, and I remember the loving marriage my parents had before they died. And even Fred and Lucille love each other, despite Lucille’s sometimes difficult personality. So, yes, it’s for me, too, and I hope she will want to be married to me because she loves me, not because she’s able to tolerate me for the sake of a marriage of convenience.”
Jonah shrugged. “Marriage isn’t for me; that’s one thing I’m sure of. But, I know that’s not the case with most folks. Since you’ve prayed about it, God knows your heart, and your desire is true.”
“Thanks, Jonah,” Zach said.
“I best be getting back to work. Besides, I’m probably keeping you from opening that very important letter,” Jonah said with a wink.
Zach chuckled. “You’re right about that.”
After Jonah left, Zach tore open the letter. His eyes traveled down the words that had been so precisely penned on the page. “McKenzie Worthington, I can’t wait to meet you,” he said out loud, surprising himself.
That night, Zach wrote yet another letter, as if responding quickly would ensure receiving a quicker response from McKenzie.
November 26, 1881
Dear McKenzie,
No, I have not lived in the Montana Territory my whole life. I was born and raised in Chicago, and I have no siblings. My parents died when I was twelve, and I was placed in an orphanage near Chicago because I had no other known living relatives.
Two years later, I left the orphanage to strike out on my own. A photograph I once saw of the Montana Territory prompted me to ask questions about the land. I had always wanted to own my own ranch, as did my Pa, so after much prayer, I traveled to Montana. I worked for several ranches in various different towns to get experience. When I was nineteen, my best friend, Will Mitchell, and I decided to purchase some land together near Pine Haven and set up a ranch. The Lord blessed us beyond what we could ever imagine. Although Will and his wife, Bess, died of the fever three years ago, I continue to run the ranch with the help of some hired hands.
There are no hotels in Pine Haven. The nearest hotel is fifty miles north, in Windsor. Yes, I have heard of Canfield Falls. I once worked for a ranch in that area. It is about twenty-five miles west of Pine Haven. The closest town, Oak Winds, is fifteen miles away.
What are some of your hobbies? Does your family live in Boston? Have you ever been married? What made you decide to answer my advertisement?
Sincerely,
Zach
Zach stared at his completed letter. He felt tempted to erase the last sentence, but he really did want to know why she had responded to his ad—why she had chosen him. Hoping the question wouldn’t deter her from responding again, he folded the letter and placed it in the envelope.
***
Zach and McKenzie continued to correspond throughout the following months, each writing a response the same day they received a letter, and almost always the moment after reading it.
December 13, 1881
Dear Zach,
I’m sorry to hear about the death of your parents and the deaths of your best friend and his wife. Both of my parents are still living, as are my sisters, so although I cannot truly understand your loss, I can and do sympathize.
Some of my hobbies are social activities, knitting, taking care of Mother’s flower garden, and dancing. I attend many balls and tea parties in the city durin
g the year. What are your hobbies?
Yes, my family lives in Boston; I’ve lived here my entire life. I reside with my parents, Arthur and Florence. My older sister lives in Boston with her husband, Maxwell, and their son, Maxwell Jr., whom we call Nate. (His middle name is Nathaniel.) My other sister moved away from Boston about three years ago.
No, I have never been married. I decided to answer your advertisement because I have long found the West to be intriguing. I am also matrimony-minded, and your advertisement was among the ones I found to be of interest. What made you decide to advertise for a mail-order bride? I’m sure you received many responses. I am curious about your decision to choose mine.
What are some of the social activities in Pine Haven? Do you travel to Canfield Falls often?
Most sincerely,
McKenzie
***
McKenzie sat in the chair in her room and thumbed through the letters she had received from Zach. She had lost count of the times she had read each letter. Thoughts of the man she would someday meet filled her mind, and she found herself thinking about him more often than she cared to admit. Did he think of her often? Was he eager to meet her? Would he help her find Kaydie? Yes, Kaydie, thought McKenzie, the very reason I find myself preparing to make such a carefully planned trip to a place thousands of miles away. Not to get married, but to rescue Kaydie. McKenzie sighed. It would still be some time before the weather was conducive to travel, and she was growing more and more concerned about Kaydie’s safety and well-being.
McKenzie reached for the decorated, wooden box on her desk. She opened the lid and carefully placed Zach’s letters inside. She then knelt down on the floor and slid the box under her bed until it was pressed flush against the wall. No one would ever think to look there.
So far, it had been somewhat easy to keep her correspondence with Zach Sawyer a secret. Biddie had kept her promise of hand-delivering any letters to McKenzie as soon as they arrived, and McKenzie made sure that her parents never knew about the envelopes she received from the Montana Territory.
