Jeremiah, the owner of the mercantile, threw a hand up at him in greeting as he passed the store. He’d have to stop in on the way home to pick up a few staples to hold them over until his new wife—
She’s not your wife yet. He blew out a breath. He needed to find the preacher and talk to him about performing the ceremony.
Why? She may not even stay.
He’d been hoping since the day he got her letter, that once Diana got here, she’d decide this wasn’t what she wanted. The stipulation they both agreed on was that if she was unhappy, they’d void the contract no questions asked. Now that he’d met her…
Marrying her—and making it legal—was all he’d been thinking about since she stepped off the stagecoach. As nosey as some folks were, they’d gossip like magpies if he and Diana weren’t married soon. Her staying in his house would have tongues wagging. Even though his mother was there, people still speculated when they should mind their own business so he hoped no one brought it up.
For once, the livery stable was empty except for Willie. The man grinned when he stepped into the building. “How’d it go?”
“About as awkward as I thought it was going to be.”
Willie laughed. “It’s going to get more awkward, my friend.”
Didn’t he know it? He grabbed a shovel from the wall where most of their tools hung and headed to the stall next to Willie. The old hay on the floor lay in trampled clumps and stunk to high heaven and shoveling it all out took his mind off of Diana for a while.
He added clean straw to the floor before closing the gate and heading to the next one.
“What’d she look like?”
Willie’s words stopped him in his tracks. He could picture her face again and a small shiver raced down his back. She was the prettiest woman he’d seen in longer than he could remember. He opened the stall’s gate and walked inside before answering. “She’s short.”
“Short?” He grinned at the look on Willie’s face. “Thought you said she was tall.”
“Well, her letter said she was but she doesn't come up to about here.” He raised a hand, palm facing down, and laid it low on his chest. “Unless everyone in Charleston is on the short side, then I’m not sure why the letter said she was because she isn’t.”
“Well, that’s no hardship.” Willie raised an eyebrow at him. “She pretty?”
His pulse jumped at Willie’s question. He nodded, a tiny smile tugging at the corner of his mouth. “Yeah, she’s pretty. Too pretty.”
“Too pretty?”
“For a mail-order bride, she is.”
“I don’t know. The men who’ve sent off for brides so far have fared well enough. I’ve not seen one of those ladies I’d kick off my porch if she came calling.” He hooted with laughter and went back to shoveling manure from the stall he was working on.
They worked in silence long enough for Caleb’s mind to wander back to Diana. His life had been wearing him down ever since Ruth died. Writing that letter and sending away for a bride had been done under duress and at the time he hadn’t cared who showed up to marry him. Now that he’d seen Diana, he realized he was about the luckiest man in the entire territory.
The sun was sinking behind the mountain and his muscles were aching by the time Willie told him to head home. He stopped by the mercantile and picked up the things they were low on and was bone tired when he reached the house, disappointment making something in his chest clench tight when he didn’t smell food cooking. His mother had nodded off and was asleep in her chair. He glanced down the hall and saw Amanda peeking into the bedroom.
He shut the front door harder than he should have. Amanda jumped and swung around, her eyes widening before she hurried to his side. She gave him one of those wide smiles she always had for him and if he had to describe the look in her eyes, he’d have to say it was pure joy.
“What were you doing?”
“Peeking at her.”
He grinned. “I could see that.”
“I can’t help it, Pa. I’ve waited so long on her, I’m afraid she’s gonna disappear.”
He hung his coat and glanced down the hall. “Well, it's not nice to spy on people. You know that.”
“I know but she’s still sleepin’. I didn’t figure it would hurt none since she didn’t know I was spying to begin with.”
“She’s still asleep?”
Amanda nodded. “She’s all sprawled out on the bed with her mouth hanging wide open.” She giggled. “Never seen anyone sleep like that but you. She must be dog tired.”
“I'm sure she is. She traveled a long way to get here.” At least he knew why there was no supper waiting on him. He’d be lying if he said he hadn’t been anticipating it.
He washed up and headed to the stove. Amanda helped him make a simple meal and set it out before waking his mother. He debated on waking Diana too but hated to disturb her. He’d been on enough stagecoaches over the years to know how uncomfortable they were. With Diana coming all the way across the country, it wasn’t hard to imagine she’d be worn out and needed the sleep. He set her a plate aside in case she woke later and wanted something but for now, he let his future wife sleep and knew tomorrow would be the start of a brand new life, for all of them.
Chapter 4
Muted gray light shined around the curtains covering the window. Rebecca yawned and sat up. Dark shadows lingered in every corner of the room and she didn’t hear a sound. “How long have I been asleep?”
Swinging her legs off the side of the bed she stretched, lifting her arms over her head and yawning again. Her body was stiff. Little wonder after all the traveling she’d done. But that was over now. She smiled. This was her new home.
She’d wondered most of the trip about what she’d find when she got to wherever it was Diana had been traveling. Not that she was worried. She was a fighter and knew even if it turned out Diana was a mail-order bride she’d handle it like she did everything else life threw at her.
The other girls from the train saying they were going to ‘try their luck’ made more sense now. They didn’t have a groom waiting for them and were traveling on faith that they’d find a husband. Hazel had been excited about meeting her groom and if he was even half as handsome as Caleb was, she could understand why.
Of all the men she’d pictured over the long days bumping across rutted roads in the stagecoach, she hadn’t pictured anyone like Caleb. A man hunting a bride from an advertisement did so because no other woman would have them, or so she assumed. She didn’t think that was the case with Caleb and was surprised women hadn't formed a line outside his door while wearing their fanciest dress and fluttering their eyelashes at him.
She snorted a laugh. If this had been Charleston, that’s exactly what would happen.
Her trunk was at the foot of the bed. She crossed to it and lifted the lid. The dress she was wearing was so wrinkled, she wouldn't be surprised if the material stayed like that permanently. It also smelled of road grime and sweat and she imagined she didn't smell much better.
Spotting the pitcher and bowl by the wall, she selected a simple day dress and stripped, washing in water so cold it took her breath. Cleaned and smelling of the perfumed soap Diana had hidden in the bottom of her truck, she headed for the door and peeked out into the hall.