The Sweetest Mail Order Bride (Sweet Creek Brides Book 1) (2 page)

Disappointment? No, that wasn’t the word. It was something deeper, something more hopeless. The cheerful little letters she received from Caleb and his girls had lit up her world, made it feel as if the sun could shine again. She hadn’t realized how hard she’d been holding onto that dream.

“No!” Gracie dropped the valise, lunging to grab one of Clementine’s hands. “Pa, uh, still wants you.”

“Yeah, he wants you a lot. More than anything.” Hope grabbed Clementine’s other hand.

She looked from one girl to the other, and the bad feeling behind her ribs grew until it hurt to breathe. Something was wrong. Very, very wrong.

“Girls?” A deep baritone broke into her thoughts. Heavy footsteps thudded on the boardwalk in her direction. A man who had to be Caleb Blake marched to a stop. His black Stetson shaded his eyes, casting shadows across his granite face. “Why aren’t you in school and who is this woman?”

Clementine opened her mouth but couldn’t figure out what to say and closed it again. This man should know who she was and why she was here. Why didn’t he?

“We, uh, had an errand, Pa.” Gracie’s chin went up.

“Yeah, we had to save Mrs. Clementine,” Hope added.

Clementine watched the doctor’s mouth twist down in confusion, giving him an even more imposing presence. But was it her imagination, or was that a flash of humor in his dark eyes?

“Why would this woman need saving?” he asked, staring directly at the girls.

“Well—” Gracie rolled her eyes upwards, as if thinking hard. “We couldn’t let her starve.”

“Yeah, we have lots of food at home. We can feed her and everything.”

“And why would we want to feed her?” Caleb asked, his voice firm, his granite features turning hard.

She could feel his scrutiny. “It’s pretty clear you don’t know who I am, Caleb.”

“No, I can’t say I do. You’re not from around here. I know everyone in these parts. I’ve treated them at one time or another. Did you just get off the train?” He gestured with his chin toward the depot behind her.

“Yes.” She smiled past the sinking feeling in her stomach.

“And you know my name how?” He arched an eyebrow, waiting for the answer.

“Because I came here to marry you.” She said the words as gently as she could to ease the shock. The poor man paled anyway. “You wrote me all kinds of letters.”

“Ma’am, I assure you. I did not.” He turned to pure stone—all imposing six feet of him. “What kind of swindle is this? And why do my daughters know you?”

The protective love in his eyes—the protective anger—only made her like him more. Anyone could see he was a good father to his girls.

“Do you want to tell him?” she asked the twins. “Or do you want me to?”

“Well—” Gracie hedged, rolling her eyes up to the sky as if hoping an answer would be written there.

“Uh—” Hope bit her bottom lip, worry crinkling her forehead.

“What did you girls do now?” Caleb turned his anger on them. He did not look happy. “Gracie, I want the truth.”

“Grandpa asked her to marry you and we helped.” Gracie flashed him her best doe-eyed look.

“What do you mean you helped?”

“We ain’t sorry we did it, Pa.” Hope spoke up, the worry on her button face turning to deviance. “We told you we needed a ma. You wouldn’t listen.”

“Yeah,” Gracie added. “We wanted the lady down the road with the cows, but you didn’t like her.”

“Or the lady that plays the piano in church,” Hope chimed in.

“Or the widow with the little baby girl we liked.”

Oh, those poor twins, wanting a mother so badly.
Clementine’s heart twisted. They stood there side by side in their matching calico dresses and identical sweetness. The same round faces, the same big blue eyes, the sloping noses, dimpled chins and Cupid bow mouths—exactly matching. Nothing could be cuter.

“They wrote me letters,” she explained to the glowering father. “They were such nice letters. Please don’t be mad at them.”

“Easy for you to say.” His big hands fisted like a man battling to hold onto every scrap of self-control. “You two have caused some trouble before—and I mean trouble—but this? This is reprehensible. Unforgivable.
You brought a woman all the way out here to marry me?”

“It was all Grandpa’s idea,” Gracie was quick to explain.

“Yeah, we’re innocent.”

“Girls, turn around and march straight back to school. If I see you so much as glance back over your shoulder, your punishment doubles. Got that?”

“Aw, Pa.” The two chorused together. Hope sighed, Gracie cast Clementine an apologetic look and the two turned in unison, walking down the street. They didn’t look back.

Clementine’s heart went with them. For one moment—one sweet moment—it had been wonderful being their almost-mother.

She felt his gaze on her as tangible as a touch. She blushed, wondering how she must seem to him. Desperate? She couldn’t deny it. Full of longing? She couldn’t deny that either. She read the anguish on his handsome face.

“I am sorry.” He had bronze flecks in his baby blue eyes. Crinkles made him look mature and gave his face character. He was more than handsome—he had a sense of honor that radiated as surely as the heat from the sun. “You came here expecting something that can’t happen.”

“I see that now.” She tried to keep the disappointment out of her voice. She wasn’t sure how successful she was.

“How far did you come?” He reached into his back pocket and pulled out his billfold.

Money. It was a sensitive subject. Especially after all she’d been through. How could she accept cash from him now that she knew the truth?

“It’s my problem, not yours,” she assured him. She had gotten used to handling problems on her own. “I’m the one who took the risk in coming. You are not responsible for this.”

“But my daughters are.”

“They only wanted a mother. There’s no faulting them for that.” She held up her hands, refusing the wad of greenbacks he held out to her. It wouldn’t be right. She rescued her valise from the boardwalk. “It was nice meeting you, Dr. Blake.”

“You can’t walk away from me like this.” He straightened his broad shoulders. “Not without accepting something for your trouble. The journey here had to be costly.”

The wind ruffled his dark hair, scattering it beneath the brim of his hat. A spark of awareness snapped within her—as sweet as comfort, as friendship. But it was best not to open that door to her heart. “I would appreciate advice on a reputable place to stay in town. Ideally, a place that might be hiring?”

Had he heard the waver in her words? His gaze swept hers with startling intimacy, as if he was looking deeper into her than she wanted him to go. There was a lot of disappointment she tried to hide from him. Not to mention her broken heart, in need of healing. She hoped he could not see that.

“Come with me.” He jammed the money into his pocket. “I think I know a place.”

“Thank you.” She accompanied him across the dusty street, spotting a boardinghouse sign swinging in the wind. If they needed help, then she could work for her room and board while she figured out what to do. Could she be that lucky?

“I’m sorry things didn’t work out the way you were expecting.” Caleb tipped his hat against the sun, the movement innately masculine. He looked more like a cowboy than a doctor, yet despite his brawn, there was a gentleness to him. “You know I can’t marry you.”

“Of course. You don’t need to explain.” She stepped into the shade of the covered boardwalk. They were at the boarding house. Her journey—for now—was at an end. “Don’t worry about me, Dr. Blake. Life never works out the way you expect. I learned that lesson long ago.”

“Yes, so have I.” Sadness glinted in his blue eyes. “Of course, this time things may have turned out better for you. You might not have been happy as my wife.”

“True, but I suppose I could have done worse.” She smiled at him as he opened the door for her.

Delicious scents from the dining room made her stomach growl. She flushed, hoping he hadn’t heard it. “Goodbye, Dr. Blake.”

“Goodbye, Miss—?” He waited, as if he wanted to know her last name.

“Parks.” She could have pointed out that she wasn’t a “miss” but didn’t. That was a long story, and she didn’t want to open the door on her sad past. Looking forward, that’s what she intended to do. “It was a pleasure meeting you and your wonderful girls.”

“They aren’t so wonderful,” he insisted, but the love warming his voice said otherwise.

He tipped his hat, nodded with respect and walked away, leaving her alone as the door drifted shut behind her. Shafts of golden sunlight seemed to frame him, following him as he disappeared from her sight.

Her heart sighed, as if it sensed that he could have been the one.

Caleb scowled. The hot day wasn’t putting him in a better mood. With every mile he drove on his afternoon rounds, he thought of what the girls had done. He’d left them at school, but he couldn’t get Miss Clementine Parks out of his head. He’d felt her sorrow—very much like his own—and once felt, he couldn’t forget. He couldn’t unfeel it.

“Good afternoon, Doc!” Evan McDowell waved from his fields.

“Howdy there, Evan.” Caleb tipped his hat as he drove by. The cornstalks waved in the wind as he drove along the road to town.

And his mind went right back to the woman. Miss Parks was incredibly pretty with blond ringlet curls and a delicate, oval face. She wouldn’t have trouble finding a husband for real this time—but that didn’t stop him from feeling guilty about what his girls had done.

“Hi, Caleb!” A passing driver called out from his wagon’s front seat.

“Good afternoon, Daniel.” He waved to his older brother. “Have you seen Pa lately?”

“No, our father wasn’t home when I stopped by.” Daniel kept driving. “I’ll be out of town for a few days.”

“See you when you get back.” He called over his shoulder.

Daniel waved, continuing on down the road and saying nothing more. Well, Daniel wasn’t the talkative sort.

The toll of the school bell carried on the wind. Caleb could see the steeple above the copse of cottonwoods along the road. The countryside gave way to the cluster of houses at the edge of town. His chest felt tight. He wasn’t looking forward to talking to his girls about what they’d done.

As he negotiated the streets, his thoughts returned to Miss Parks. Had she settled into her room? Had she found something to eat? He’d heard her stomach rumble. He’d read the need on her face.

“Doc! Good day to you.” Mrs. O’Hurley lifted a hand in greeting as she waited to cross on the street corner. “How are those girls of yours?”

“Trouble.” He reined to a stop.

“I knew that. They always are.” The jolly woman smiled. “I heard they got you into big trouble this time.”

“You mean Miss Parks, don’t you?”

“Yes, and how heartbreaking for her. That sweet, pretty woman expected to have herself a man and a family and start a new life.” Mrs. O’Hurley tisked at him. “The poor disappointed lady.”

He resisted the urge to roll his eyes. He could see right away what the boardinghouse owner was thinking. “You know I expect you to bill me for her room and board. I was late for my rounds, so I didn’t take the time to speak with you before.”

“Your father already talked to me. I heard about how sick little Tommy Buford is. Of course you had to go. He’s quite serious. I hope he’s doing better. But now that you’ve seen to him, what are you going to do about Clementine?”

Good question. He glanced down the road. The schoolhouse was just in sight and so were his twins. Newly released from the building, they charged down the street, running with a gang of same-age boys.

“Your girls could benefit from a mother’s influence.” There was nothing subtle about Mrs. O’Hurley. “Dear Clementine seems to like them, which is a miracle in itself! Maybe you ought to snatch her up before a wiser man does.”

“Are you saying I’m not a wise man?” He arched a brow, unable to resist lightening the moment and hopefully changing the course of the conversation.

“If you don’t do right by that woman, you’ll be the sorriest man I know. I might take my switch to you.” Mrs. O’Hurley winked before moving on. “Here come your girls.”

And clearly she wanted to be gone before the twins arrived.

It pained him, but he understood why. He wasn’t happy with them either.

“So,” Gracie hopped up onto the buckboard seat next to him. “Will you take us to see Mrs. Clementine?”

“Yeah, please, Pa?” Hope gave her best wide-eyed look as she settled down next to her sister. “We really wanna say we’re sorry.”

He didn’t believe that. Not for one minute.

“You two have done enough damage for the day.” He did his best to not sound too harsh. “Not another word from the two of you. Do you hear?”

“But, Pa, what about Mrs. Clementine?” Gracie’s enthusiasm dimmed. Her brightness faded.

“Yeah, Pa. I bet she’ll make a real good ma.”

“That’s enough.” He said it gently, because he knew how the girls felt about getting a mother. They’d been talking about it, wishing for it, trying to match him up with every unmarried woman in town—even the sixty-year-old spinster.

Gracie sighed.

Hope sighed.

Neither of them said another word. He snapped the reins, sending his horse, Ed down the road and around the parked buggies and wagons full of mothers picking up their children. It was hard to miss the wistful looks on the girls’ faces as they saw all those mothers.

He had to be practical. That was the best thing for the girls in the long run. They couldn’t keep setting their hearts on something that was never going to happen. Life wasn’t about daydreams, and love couldn’t be wished to life like in a fairy-tale. He’d protect them if he could, but life was hard. Love was even harder.

“One more thing. You know I’m not going to marry Miss Parks. You’re not to bother her again. Do you understand?”

Two little girls nodded. Two little girls joined hands, together in their misery.

They were hurting, he knew. He didn’t see another way around it. He was a confirmed widower—never to try the rocky road of marriage again. Once had been enough. His girls had to learn to be more realistic. He just didn’t know how to help them.