by Jillian Hart
Ironically, over the years, her father had chased away what few suitors she’d had. He claimed the men were not interested in her but only in the store she’d inherit someday. He’d sooner part with her than his mercantile. As it turned out, he was right. When he died in the fire that both injured her and destroyed that store and their home above it, none of her old beaux came forward to ask how she was doing. A couple of them did send their condolences about the loss of the store, though.
Alone and homeless at thirty years of age, Annabelle didn’t know what to do. All of her father’s wealth had been inside the store so all that was left was a blackened square of land. A cousin said she could stay with him and his wife as long as she needed. They were almost as poor as she was, however, and, because of the way the burn scars on her arm had healed, she wouldn’t be able to do enough to carry her share of the load. She refused to be a burden to anyone.
She didn’t have to worry about that now, though, she told herself. She had a new life with a handsome, prosperous man who understood she couldn’t do any heavy lifting and still valued her. She smiled to herself. The best was coming soon. Christina had assured her she’d feel a shiver of something fluttery around her heart when she met her future husband. That, the other woman had said with a giggle, was when she’d know she was looking at her true love.
Annabelle stepped toward the children, half expecting Adam to slip around the station building and surprise her. She knew that men wanted a certain dignity in their wives so she tried to keep her steps small and her curiosity hidden. A mail-order bride had no reason to expect true love, she knew, but on the journey here she had begun to hope for more than an arrangement of convenience.
When she reached the children, they were both beaming up at her.
“Daniel.” She smiled at the boy first and then opened her arms to the girl.
The warmth of the children’s greetings gratified her. She heard the sound of the train pulling away from the station and glanced up to wave at Christina again. At least her friend had been able to see the boy and girl.
Annabelle turned slightly to look some more, but she still didn’t find Adam. The children were not alone, though. There was a giant of a man standing beside them. He had a thick black beard and his broad face looked fierce. With his abundance of muscles, she assumed he was a hired hand. Her husband-to-be would need help with a ranch as large as the one he described.
“Adam must have sent you,” she said to him with a nod.
The man didn’t deny it.
Now that she was steadier on her feet, Annabelle told herself Adam probably meant well by sending someone else to meet her. The train ride had been tiring. Maybe he thought she would want to shake some of the train soot out of her skirt before meeting him. Besides, she wouldn’t mind learning a few more things about her future husband before she stood next to him. They’d have more to converse about that way. Her cousin’s wife had reminded her before she left that Annabelle would not have to worry about her shyness if she remembered that men liked to talk about themselves.
She felt a tug on her dress.
“You wore your hat,” Eliza said as she gazed up at her intently, her small fist clutching at the material in Annabelle’s skirt.
She nodded. She’d never owned such an elaborate hat before. It had belonged to her cousin’s wife, but she had lent it to Annabelle to have her photograph taken for the matrimonial ad. When the response came from Adam so quickly and with such a nice compliment about the hat, the other woman decided to give it to her. The kindness of the gesture had been touching as they both knew neither of them had money for another hat like that.
“Excuse us, ma’am,” the man said, as he reached down and uncurled the girl’s hand from the material in her dress. He looked like he wanted to snatch both children back from her embrace.
Annabelle tried to summon a smile for him. She told herself she had nothing to fear. Adam would not send anyone dangerous to meet her. Although, she admitted, this man was so tall and strong that he looked uncivilized. His blue eyes were a little startling, too. She’d never met anyone like him back in Connecticut, except for her father. And even he had not been as imposing as this. She was certainly grateful she didn’t have to marry a man like him. She felt a flutter around her heart at the thought. Which surprised her until she realized it must be from the cold.
“I’m Gabe Stone, Adam’s older brother,” the man said then. She barely had time to notice that his voice had a nice lilt to it when he added in a more serious tone, “I’m afraid I have some disappointing news for you.”
“Oh.” Annabelle’s nerve faltered. Maybe the flutter meant something else altogether. Half of her might have known something would happen. “What’s wrong?”
She waited, but he didn’t say any more.
She had prayed many times on the train journey here, as much to calm her nerves as to prepare herself for meeting her husband for the first time. It had been hard for her to trust God to take care of her after the fire, but she tried. She thought her prayers had been answered when Adam proposed. He seemed to be the perfect mate for her since he understood how her injuries limited her ability to do heavy work. When he confessed he wasn’t a tall man, she’d also been grateful God had understood about her fears of large men.
“Maybe we should sit down somewhere,” the man in front of her finally muttered.
She looked around and didn’t see any benches on the platform. They were standing on boards of raw lumber and the wood frame depot beside them was new, too. She’d heard the railroad had just come to this town a year or so ago. People were standing around in clusters or moving their trunks away from the pile of luggage that had been carried off the train.
“Did something happen?” Annabelle whispered when she couldn’t wait any longer. She instinctively reached up to touch the golden locket around her neck. It had belonged to the mother she barely remembered and she was in the habit of wearing it even while she slept. It was the one thing that had survived the fire with her. “Is Adam hurt?”
The man stepped closer and held her elbow like he thought she might need steadying.
“No, Adam’s fine.”
“Oh, thanks be to God.” She glanced upward. “Has he—” She looked back down and then stopped. She wasn’t going to ask this man if Adam had changed his mind. Besides, it had to be something else. Surely Adam would not send a man like this to inform her if he decided not to marry her. A gentleman would explain something like that himself.
“Is he at his ranch?” she asked, suddenly remembering. “I understand if he needs to be there for the cattle.”
She did not intend to be a demanding wife. Not that she needed to explain herself.
Gabe looked a little stunned at her remarks. “Cattle?”
She nodded. “I know how much work a whole herd can be. I think he said he had a hundred of them. Beautiful, fat cattle. But I suppose you know all about them.”
The man was silent.
“You can wait with us for Pa,” Daniel spoke then, his words rushing out as though he wanted to get all of them finished before something stopped him. He ended with a nervous glance at Gabe that would ordinarily make Annabelle say something, but the little girl had taken a tiny step closer.
“It’s almost Christmas,” Eliza added in a whisper.
Annabelle knelt down to the two children. They both looked so solemn and wistful.
“Pa will be back soon,” Daniel said, his eyes pleading with her. “I know he will.”
She looked up at Gabe, trying to remember what Adam had said about him. She did recall him mentioning that they were staying with his brother for a few weeks in—what was it that he called it?
“I’d be happy to help you in your store,” Annabelle said as she remembered. It was some kind of a trading post Adam had said. A frontier store for soldiers and, before that, Indians. She straightened up. “I used to help my father in a general store he owned until it burned down.” She paused and then hurried on. “Ada
m told me you had an establishment outside of Miles City in a place called Dry Creek.”
A man as grim as this one probably desperately needed help in his business, she thought. He might not realize how unsettling he seemed when he had that dark look on his face. People would be afraid of him. Even her father, with all his temper in private, had learned to be cordial to strangers in hopes they’d become customers.
Gabe finally shook his head. “Well, I wouldn’t call it an establishment.”
He didn’t say anything more, but he had a hand on each of the children’s heads. It looked like he was comforting them. Then she noticed the snow was thicker than it had been. She looked at the railroad tracks and they were already white. No one would even know a train had stopped here.
Annabelle suddenly realized that, if she didn’t go with the children, she would need to take a room at a hotel. She remembered Adam saying the town did have one. She looked around, but couldn’t see the main part of the town from here. The railroad depot blocked her view. She had a little money, the amount she had received from selling the land that her father’s store had sat upon, but the only offer she’d had for the property had been very low. She’d spent some money for her silk dress and a few Christmas presents. Annabelle doubted she’d have money for more than a week in a hotel and no one had mentioned how long Adam would be gone.
“I would be happy to stay with you and wait for your father,” Annabelle said to the boy and then looked up at the man. “If that is all right with you, of course.”
The man looked around like he hoped to see someone appear, but then he turned back to her.
“I could pay for a night or two in the Grand,” Gabe said, the furrow in his forehead again.
His voice trailed off and he just looked at her.
“Adam can pay me back if that suits you better,” he added when she didn’t say anything.
She wondered what was best to do. The very name of the place sounded expensive. She didn’t relish the endless hours spent alone in a hotel with the storm outside, either. And, as generous as Adam promised to be in his letters, she hated to meet her fiancé with a bill in hand.
“Christmas is coming,” Eliza whispered. “You need to be with us at Christmas. Pa said.”
Everyone was silent at that.
“You’re right,” Annabelle finally said. “Since we’re to be family soon, I think it will be all right if I stay with you.”
Christina had told her that many mail-order brides married hours after they arrived at their destination because of the distance of some of the ranches from preachers. Annabelle wasn’t sure she would have been ready to say her marriage vows when she stepped off the train, but Adam obviously intended for her to wait with his brother and children. After all, he had sent them to meet her.
“I suppose you’re tired,” the man said then.
She nodded in relief. “And I’m sure there are things that need to be done to get ready for Christmas.” She looked down at the children and smiled. “Your father said he wanted this to be a special one for both of you. I’ve hosted many a holiday meal so I’ll do my best.”
The little girl let out a sigh and whispered, “Christmas.”
The man looked embarrassed. “We don’t have anything fancy for guests when it comes to sleeping or anything.”
“I can stay in the store if you have a cot,” she offered. She had to be flexible now that she was out in the territories. She wondered if the poor man even had a proper house. It was unlikely he had a home as nice as Adam’s. Her future husband had spent a whole paragraph in one of his letters telling her about the white linen curtains in the parlor of his ranch house.
“I couldn’t let you do that.” Gabe looked down and his face was grim.
She suddenly realized he wasn’t just being polite—that he was worried about something else—and she bristled. “I assure you that I’m honest.”
It was one thing for her to be hesitant about him, she thought, but surely he didn’t suspect her of criminal tendencies. She’d poured out her heart to his brother in the letters she sent and Adam would have never asked her to be his wife if she were some unsavory sort of person.
“I didn’t mean—” Gabe looked up in surprise and then reached up to brush the snow off his hair. “I’m sure you are honest. I meant I’ll sleep in the storeroom. There’s a strong lock on the door between the two if you’re nervous. Like I said, the living quarters aren’t much, but they’re warmer than the rest of the place.”
It wasn’t a cordial invitation, but he did nod toward the pile of luggage that had been loaded off the train. “Which one is yours?”
“The brown one,” she said and pointed to the well-worn valise. She didn’t have much in it and she half expected him to comment on that, but he just walked over and picked it up, swinging it over his shoulder like it was empty.
She lifted her head high. Adam had promised to buy her a few new dresses. He might be gone away on some kind of business, but he would be back soon. After all, his children were expecting him. And Christmas was coming.
That’s it, she thought to herself in relief. Adam must be away buying the children their Christmas presents. That’s why everything his brother said seemed so guarded. The bearded man didn’t look like he cared about Christmas secrets, but he must. And Adam was a thoughtful father for wanting his children to have a wonderful holiday.
She glanced sideways at the man who walked beside her. When she stood next to him, she realized he was taller and broader than her father had been. She knew it was unreasonable to believe that all large men were mean-spirited, but she still felt cautious.
Gabe seemed nice enough, but she hoped he didn’t plan to live with them once she and Adam were married. She would be happy to leave the man’s store and move out to the ranch. She didn’t know much about ranching, but from Adam’s descriptions she could almost picture the herd of cattle on the green prairie and the cozy ranch house with the rockers on the covered porch. It all sounded very peaceful. She decided Gabe must be jealous of his brother. That’s why he looked so uncomfortable when talking about Adam’s ranch. That trading post of his didn’t sound like much.
Well, it didn’t matter if Adam and Gabe didn’t get along. Brothers had had trouble since Cain and Abel. She wouldn’t let that spoil her anticipation. After Christmas, she thought to herself, she and Adam would get married and they could move out to his place. She’d do everything she could to see they were happy together. She’d remember to work as hard as she was able and keep in mind that men liked peacocks and not barn hens. If she used a few tricks, she could be prettier. Christina had shown her a new hairstyle on the train. And, she was grateful for the beautiful hat she wore. No one could accuse her of being drab when she was wearing that headpiece.
She glanced over at Adam’s brother again and wondered if he thought she was colorful enough. Not that it mattered, she thought, as she felt that odd flutter near her heart again. She pulled her shawl tighter around her shoulders. She’d never been affected by the cold like this before, but that must be what was causing that flutter. She hadn’t even met her handsome husband yet.
She looked at Gabe again. Yes, it was most unusual, she thought. There was nothing in the large man that resembled the picture she’d formed in her mind of her Adam. The brothers were not alike and she was grateful for that. She couldn’t wait to meet Adam.
Chapter Two
Gabe decided he was in more trouble than he’d been when he was waiting for the train to come. He didn’t want to disappoint Annabelle so he wasn’t going to tell her about the note—which meant he had to find his brother as soon as he could and make him come back to his bride. He could see by the look in Annabelle’s eyes that she was half in love with Adam already and love was not something to be sent away. His brother should know that.
Gabe adjusted the valise in his arms and motioned for the children to follow him as he began to walk to the edge of the platform. He’d do what he could to bring h
appiness to his brother.
“Ready?” Gabe turned to ask.
Three heads nodded.
When Gabe stepped off the platform, the gust hit him full force. The only reason there was no dust blowing was because the rain a month ago had packed down the roads. Specks of ice and snow flew in his face and he was grateful for the thick wool shirt he wore. He reached up and raised his collar to protect his neck. A horse nickered farther down the street and Gabe looked over to see a man urging his buggy into an alley. The street was empty except for that—unless he counted the three people wrapped in black cloaks who were bending in the wind as they slowly made their way toward the Broadwater, Bubble and Company Mercantile. They looked like crows since they all had their heads down and the sides of their cloaks billowed out like wings.
“Let me help,” Gabe said as he turned to the children. Annabelle had already gathered the little ones to her and they were standing on the edge of the platform swaying like weeds in a storm. They weren’t even in the full wind yet, though. Gabe reached up to help each one down and then stayed close. The children attached themselves to Annabelle again and he put his arm around her shoulders to steady everyone.
Gabe felt Annabelle stiffen and she glanced up at him as though to say something. He supposed that putting his arm around her was inappropriate from her point of view. Before she could speak though an even stronger blast of air hit and sent her frothy hat spinning upward.
“I’ll get it,” Gabe yelled as he stretched upward to grab the hat. If he’d been an inch shorter, he’d have missed it. He tried not to get tangled in the pink netting as he offered it back to her with one hand. When she took it, she nodded to him so he hoped that meant she understood the rules of politeness were different out West, especially in this kind of situation.
Gabe reached down and lifted Eliza up to his chest. His niece buried her head in the curve of his neck and he risked stepping close to Annabelle once again. Daniel was on the other side of her and the coat weighed him down enough so he was able to withstand the wind. When Gabe put his arm around Annabelle this time, she didn’t resist.
