Mail Order Bride - Westward Sunrise: Historical Cowboy Romance (Montana Mail Order Brides Book 9) (4 page)

              Mikey winked at Elliot and said, “Yeah, Mama, ain’t that what I just said?”

              “Michael, you know very well what I meant,” Tessa said.

              “How come you don’t make Pa repeat stuff correctly?” Mikey asked.

              “Because I’m afraid he’s a lost cause,” Tessa said.  “You are not.  Elliot, she sounds delightful and intelligent.  Tell me, do you realize that she is writing you in that manner on purpose?”

              “She is?  Are you sure?” Elliot asked.  “Both her letters were written the same way.  I think it might just be her style.”

              Tessa shook her head.  “I don’t think so.  There’s a certain pattern to it, but without seeing your letter, I can’t be sure.  Send her back an erratic letter and see what she does with it.  Let me know.”

              “Aunt Tessa’s name should have been ‘Nosey Rosie’,” Raven quipped, and quickly left the store.

              “Don’t you laugh!” Tessa said to Elliot.  “Nor you, Michael.”

              “Aw, Mama, that was funny,” Mikey said.  “You might be nosey, but I still love ya.  Hey!  Raven never told me what kind of candy he wants.  Oh, well, he gets what he gets.”

              Elliot bagged Mikey’s candy and rang up Tessa’s material.  He thanked her for her advice as she and the children left the store.

              The longer Elliot exchanged letters with Abby, the more intrigued he became about her.  By the time July came, he found that he was more than ready to meet her and had told her so in his last reply to her.  When he received her next letter, he was flabbergasted by her request for a reference, but after she outlined her reasons for wanting one, he had to admit that it was sensible. 

              After closing up the store that evening, he went over to the bar for a while.  By now it was common knowledge among his friends that he’d been writing Abby for some time and while Tessa was the only one he actually let read the letters, he divulged some information to his buddies.

              As he slid onto one of the barstools Seth Samuels, Dean’s brother, came over to get a beer.  “Did ya get another one yet?” Seth asked with curiosity in his blue eyes.  Next to Tessa, Seth was the nosiest person Elliot knew.

              Elliot grinned.  “Actually, I did.  Guess what now?”

              “She wants to know if you’re still on sale,” Seth said.  He thought her standard closing was funny.

              “Yeah, but that’s not what I’m talking about,” Elliot said.  “I told her I wanted to meet her, but she just asked me for a reference.  She wants someone else to write a letter to her vouching for me.”

              Jake had heard Elliot’s statement.  He and Seth looked at each other and started laughing.

              “Damn, that’s the funniest thing I’ve heard all week,” Seth said as he tried to regain control.  “I’ll write it for ya.”

              “No offense, Seth, but I need it to sound…” Elliot trailed off, as he was about to say “intelligent”.

              Seth arched a brow at Elliot.  “Sound what?”
              “Polished,” Elliot said instead.  “It needs a little polish to it, that’s all.”

              Seth considered that a moment.  “Yeah, that ain’t me.  You’re right.  Someone else better do it.  My letters are okay, but not polished by any means.  Maddie likes them, though.  Enough that she didn’t ask me for a reference.  Of course, she had Tessa to vouch for me.  Hey, get Tessa to write it.  She’s about as polished as it gets and with her being a woman, it’ll be even more in your favor.”

              “That’s a great idea.  Thanks.  You’re not as dumb as Jake looks,” Elliot said.

              Seth laughed and Jake said to Elliot, “You pay double tonight.”

              Elliot just smiled.

              Tessa was thrilled that Elliot asked her to write him a reference.  She told Elliot to go talk to the men while she wrote it right away.  She would give it to him before he left the ranch.  Apparently there was a card game in progress in the cookhouse so Elliot joined them there.  They teased him about needing a reference.

              “Tessa never asked me for a reference, but I was smart.  I had Marcus write my letters for me so I didn’t sound stupid,” Dean said with a smile.

              Seth said, “I had Tessa vouch for me, so that was even smarter than you relying on our little brother.”

              Luke said, “I was able to snag Jamie all by myself, which is smarter than either of you.”

              Owl said, “I have you all beat.”

              Dean said, “How do you figure that?  You didn’t write any letters at all.”

              “I know.  I didn’t have to.  As soon as we met, she fell for me.  Literally,” Owl said.  “I was her hero and her heart belonged to me right away.”

              He and his wife Hannah had met when he saved her from falling into the muddy street by breaking her fall so she landed on top of him.

              All of the guys groaned and threw their cards at the Lakota brave who laughed and put up an arm to ward off the cards.

Dear Ms. Porter,

              As I understand it, you have requested that Elliot provide you with a reference regarding his character and I am more than happy to comply.  As someone who has known Elliot for thirteen years, I can tell you that he is a fine man and would make any woman a wonderful husband.  His kind, loving, and fun disposition has made him many friends over the years and has endeared him to me. 

              Everyone admires him for the excellent care he took of his father, Edward, over the years.  Not everyone has the depth of compassion Elliot has for others.  This is evident in the way he runs his store.  He remembers many things that some of his customers use on a regular basis and orders extra to make sure they do not go out of stock.  My writing supplies are just one example of this.

              Elliot is wonderful with children and will make a good father.  He is very patient with ours when they come in the store no matter how long our one son, D.J., takes to pick out his candy. 

Although Elliot frequents our saloon, he is not an excessive drinker, nor does he have any other vices.  He stays very fit with all the hard work he does every day and is in fact a very fast runner.  Our mayor, who raises Thoroughbreds, believes that Elliot is faster than any other man around here, including the Lakota runners nearby to Dawson.  I am a writer and Elliot helps me with editing and when I am published, I know that it will be due in large part to him.

I first came to Dawson as a mail-order-bride so I understand why you may have doubts.  I was wild to get away from my former life, however, and setting out on such an adventure to meet a man such as my husband Dean was the very pinnacle of romance and I wasn’t wrong.  There a quite a few mail-order-brides here.  My friend Sammi jokes that we should start a mail-order-bride club.  While I cannot predict the future, I believe that you would be very happy with Elliot and living in Dawson.

I will think positive and say that I look forward to meeting you.

Sincerely,

Tessa Samuels

              Betty heard Abby fly down the stairs and knew that the girl was coming to tell her about whatever letter had come that day.  There was no way to tell if it was a positive thing or not because Abby ran around about everything.  Abby entered the room and came over to her chair to hold out a letter.

              “I’ll be back in five minutes so that I don’t disturb you until you’re done,” Abby said, and ran from the room with a little squeal.

              Betty chuckled and read Tessa’s reference.  By the time she was done, Betty was very impressed, especially because it was written by a woman of considerable intelligence.  It made her feel better about Abby picking up to move out west.  She sighed as she thought about how much she was going to miss Abby. 

              Abby walked around outside in the July heat and thought about Elliot.  She looked out across the Mississippi from the bluff not too far from the boarding house.  She inhaled the slightly cooler air blowing in from the water and closed her eyes.  Her decision was made and she would be leaving as soon as possible.  She’d checked and triple checked the costs of travelling and had enough money since she’d been saving for so long.  Elliot had been a gentleman and had wanted to send her the money, but she’d refused flat out.  Abby opened her eyes and smiled as excitement set her off towards the house again.

              The clock moved too slow and too fast for Elliot.  On one hand, he couldn’t wait to meet Abby and on the other he was petrified that she would be disappointed.  At noon, he left the store in Rachel’s capable hands to go meet the twelve-thirty stage coach.  He still had a little time to kill so he decided to stop by the Sheriff’s office, which wasn’t far from the depot.

              Mitch greeted him.  “So your girl’s gonna be here in just a few minutes.  Nervous?”

              “Terrified and excited.  Happy, too.  I think that about covers it,” Elliot said.  “Was that how you felt when Sammi came here?”

              “Yep, until I’d forgotten about her and she showed up here in the office,” Mitch said.

              “You forgot about her?”

              Mitch nodded.  “Yeah.  Travis had passed the day before she was due to arrive and it just plumb went right out of my mind.  She wasn’t mad about it at all, though.  Then the next thing I know she’s playin’ deputy while I was out taking care of something.  I don’t even remember what it was anymore.”

              “Oh, yeah, that was the day she rescued Jake,” Elliot said.

              “Damnedest thing I ever saw.  I was so mad at her,” Mitch said with a chuckle.  “She acted like she’d been doing it for years, too.  She couldn’t figure out why I was so angry at her.  I should have just hired her right then, huh?”

              Elliot nodded.  “Yeah, probably would have saved you a lot of trouble.  Any luck on finding her replacement?”

              “I’ve got a couple of prospects.  There’s one guy I like but I’m not sure if he’s exactly what I’m after,” Mitch said.

              “You’ll pick the right one, just like you picked the right woman.  I hope I have.  I think I have,” Elliot said, and blew out a breath.  “Well, I’d better go.  I don’t want to be late.”

              “Good luck, Elliot,” Mitch said.

              Abby was ready to jump out of her skin as the coach came into Dawson.  Not only was her excitement almost out of control, but she’d been riding in enforced stillness for much too long and she needed to stretch her legs.  As the coach pulled up to the depot, Abby saw a tall man with brown hair sitting on the bench that sat outside the building.  He stood up and Abby saw the glint of sun off his glasses and knew it was Elliot.

              She broke into a broad smile as she watched him walk closer.  He was even more handsome than she’d imagined and saw where the ad was right about his boyish good looks.  Bending down a moment to collect her reticule and fix her skirt, Abby gave herself a stern admonition to not act like a crazy woman right away. 

              She descended the coach steps as Elliot came forward to help her. 

              “Hello, Abby,” Elliot said as he smiled at her.  He’d never seen a woman with short hair before and couldn’t help looking closely at hers.

              “Hi, Elliot,” she said.  She saw him looking at her curly locks and smiled.  “So what do you think?”

              Elliot laughed and Abby was instantly drawn to the sound.  “Was I that obvious?” he asked.

              “Only a little.  Everyone looks at my hair.  It’s okay.  I don’t mind,” Abby said.

              Elliot said, “Sorry,” and bent to pick up one of her suitcases. 

              She put a hand on his chest to stop him.  “Oh no. You don’t get off that easy.  I asked you a question.”

              Elliot smiled back at her expectant expression and cleared his throat.  “Okay.  Let me look at you properly.  Just stand still.”

              “Elliot, you know I have trouble with that,” she said.

              “If you want my honest opinion, you’ll have to,” Elliot insisted.

              “Okay, okay,” she said, and giggled.

              Elliot stood back a little ways from her and said, “Close your eyes.”

              “Why?”

              “Do it, please,” Elliot said.

              Abby closed them and Elliot let his eyes settle on her hair.  The short, dark curls surrounded her nicely shaped head like a riotous halo and framed her fine-boned face perfectly.  He found the effect enchanting.  Elliot walked all around her, taking advantage of their game to do so and look the rest of her over. 

Her short hair showed off her slender neck and pretty shoulders and she had good posture.  As he circled her, Elliot noticed that she began jiggling and saw that one of her small feet tapped rapidly against the ground. 

Unnoticed, across the street Sammi and Jack watched Elliot and the woman they knew must be Abby and gave each other confused looks. 

“What’s he doin’?” Jack asked. 

“Looks like he’s lookin’ at a mare at an auction,” Sammi responded.

Jack laughed.  “Next think you know he’ll run his hands over her legs or something to see if she has clean lines.”
              “If only Joe could see this,” Sammi said.  “He’d appreciate it no end.”

              “Yeah, he sure would.  He’s gonna be so jealous that he wasn’t here to watch it,” Jack said.

              Elliot came back around in front of her as Abby said, “Can I open my eyes yet?”

              “Yeah.  Go ahead,” Elliot said, and felt like someone punched him in the stomach as her brilliant blue eyes focused on him.  They were mesmerizing.

              “So?” she asked with a smile.

              “You weren’t kidding when you said that the style was very becoming, but I’d think you were becoming no matter what style your hair was,” Elliot said.

              Abby laughed with relief and said, “What a sweet thing to say.  Okay, now you can get my suitcases.”

              “Yes, ma’am,” Elliot said.  “Is this all you have?”

              “Yes.  All of my other things are being shipped,” Abby told him.

              “Your other things?”

              Abby nodded and her curls bounced right along with the movement.  “My trunks with my winter clothing.  Minnesota is very cold and I don’t like to wear the same thing every day.  Winter clothing is bulkier than summer clothing, so it takes up more room.  That’s why two trunks.”

              “Makes sense,” Elliot said.  “Are you hungry?”

              “No, I’m too excited.  Are you?  I mean, we could go eat if you are.  I realize that it’s lunch time so you might be.  Where’s the Grady House from here?  Oh, that must be the clinic where your friends Marcus and Hannah work, right?  Can you see your store from here?  There’s the post office,” she said, and began walking.

              Elliot followed along with her and couldn’t find a space between her sentences to jump in.  He found it incredibly amusing and started laughing.

              Abby heard and looked up at him.  “Oh, boy.  I’m sorry.  You can’t say I didn’t warn you, though.”

              “That you did.  I’m not really hungry at the moment.  The Grady House is up the street that way and yes, those are the clinic and post office.  My store is around the corner to the left,” Elliot said. 

              “Right, and down beyond that is the feed mill going out of town.  That map you drew really helps.  Between that and everything you’ve told me about everyone, I feel like I’ve been here before,” Abby said.  “So that means the hotel is around the corner and to the right because you said it’s on the opposite side of town from you.”

              Elliot said, “You told me you memorized the map, but I didn’t think you’d remember all that.”

              “I can close my eyes and see it in my mind since I looked at it so much.  In the other direction, past the clinic and depot, you go out of town another way and the Lakota village is out that way.  I can’t wait to go see them,” Abby said.

              “You’ll like them,” Elliot said as they rounded the corner.  “Was the trip out as bad as you thought it was going to be?”

              “No, it was much, much worse,” she said.  She put a hand on his arm and said, “You have no idea how awful it is to sit still for hours on end without being able to stand.  I tried but hit my head on the top of the coach,” Abby said.

              Elliot laughed.  “I can just picture it,” he said.  He found that he enjoyed her touch and hoped she’d leave her hand where it was.  “Are you sure you didn’t jump up and down, too?  I mean, you’re not very tall so it’s hard for me to believe that your head would hit the roof without doing that.”

              “Well, I may not be very tall, but you’re built like a giraffe, so your head and shoulders would just burst right through the roof and then you’d look awful silly,” Abby said.  “And just think; you’d still have to travel all the way here and pay for the damage to the coach.”

              “I guess it’s good for me that I’m not going anywhere in a coach then, huh?” Elliot said with a smile as they approached the hotel. 

              “Yep.”

              Elliot couldn’t believe how at ease he was with Abby.  He thought it was because they had exchanged so many letters that it seemed as if they knew each other pretty well.  He’d expected to be a basket case around her, but he wasn’t.  Their letters had turned into a game where they’d write them in the most haphazard way so that the other recipient would have to organize the topics when they sent their reply.  They’d both come up with some very creative missives as a result.

              They entered the hotel lobby and Abby whispered, “Don’t tell me,” to Elliot.

              “Okay.”

              The woman behind the counter looked up as Elliot and Abby approached.  “Well, hello, Elliot.  Is this her?”

              “Yes, it is.”

              “Hi, Jolene,” Abby said.  “It’s nice to meet you.  Elliot’s told me a lot of nice things about you.”

              “Well, goodness, you know my name,” Jolene said.  “How nice of you to say, honey.”

              Abby smiled.  “Of course I remember the name of my new landlord.”

              Jolene chuckled and said, “Are you ready for the grand tour?”

              “Yes.”

              Abby was renting the small cottage in back of the hotel from Jolene.  They followed the hotel proprietor out the office door in the rear of the building and down the short pathway to a small structure that was overgrown with ivy.

              “It’s charming!” Abby said as they neared it.

              Jolene smiled as she led them through the doorway.  Abby looked around the small parlor, tiny kitchen and bedroom with approval.  It was very nicely kept and clean.  It was going to be strange to have a place all to herself after living with other people her whole life, but she was looking forward to it.

              Elliot sat her bags down and watched her roam around and then come back to them.  Her lively blue eyes fixed on him as she said, “It’s perfect,” to Jolene. 

              “I’m glad you like it,” the older woman said.

              Elliot smiled at her.  He couldn’t tell if she was really talking about the cottage or him.

              “Let me give you the rent,” Abby said, and took an envelope from her purse.  “There.  Now that’s taken care of.”

              “Thank you, honey.  You just let me know if you need anything,” Jolene said.

              Once they were alone, Elliot asked, “Did you want to lie down?  Are you tired?”

              Abby caught the twinkle in his eyes and laughed.  “You’re going to torture me about this, aren’t you?”

              “No.  Not me,” Elliot said.  “Do you want to unpack?”

              “Not right now.  Show me around town and let’s see how many people I can guess,” Abby said.

              “I don’t think I need to show you since you have that map in your head,” Elliot joked.

              “You know what I mean,” Abby said.

              Elliot opened the door and motioned her through it.  “All right.  Off we go then.”

              She had bet Elliot that she would be able name every person he’d described to her.  The amount of their wager was one penny; the one they’d passed back and forth the last couple of months.  Right now, Elliot had it, but if she guessed correctly, he had to give it to her.

              “Where to first?” he asked.

              “I don’t want to go to the Sheriff’s office yet because that will be too easy.  I have to meet them when they don’t have their badges on so it’ll be fair,” Abby said.

              “Ok, well I can’t guarantee that you won’t see them while we’re out and about.  They ride around town a lot,” Elliot said.

              “I know, but the odds of me guessing correctly will be a little less if they’re on horseback instead in the office,” Abby said.

              Elliot smiled.  “You’re very serious about this.”
              “It’s more fun if I have to work at it.  That’s why I liked your letters so much.  You made me work,” Abby said.  “And sometimes I had to work very hard, let me tell you.”

              “Good,” Elliot said.  “Same here.”
              She sighed.  “Everyone will be where they’re supposed to be right now, so there’s no use guessing at the moment.”

              “You’re right, but I have an idea.  I’ll show you the store and my house for now and then I’ll take you back to your new place so you can unpack.  I’ll bring dinner to you from the Grady House and then we can go to the Watering Hole tonight and you can guess then,” Elliot said.

              “Elliot, that’s a lot of trouble to go through just for a game,” Abby said.

              “No, it’s not.  I’m going to keep that penny, but I want to do it fair and square,” Elliot said.  “Do we have a deal?”

              “Are you sure?”

              “Yeah, I’m sure,” Elliot said as he looked into her eyes.  His heart skipped a beat as he did.

              “Okay.  We have a deal,” Abby said, and took his hand.

              Elliot’s hand automatically curled around hers and Abby smiled up at him.  Elliot was shocked when he didn’t blush.  If it had been any other woman, he would have, he knew.  Of course, there was no other woman around town who would hold his hand, either. 

They entered the store and Abby dropped Elliot’s hand as she began looking over everything.  She roamed around and Elliot gave her some space but stayed close in case she had a question about something.  Abby was amazed at the wide variety of merchandise Elliot carried.  Clothing, canned goods, hardware supplies, and toiletries were only a few of the offerings sold there.

“Elliot, it’s wonderful!” she exclaimed as they came back to the front of the store by the counter.  “You must be Rachel,” she said to the pretty brunette girl behind the counter.

“Yes, ma’am,” Rachel said.  “You must be Abby.  Nice to meet you.”

“You, too,” Abby said.  “Elliot says that you’re a big help to him.”