A Mail-Order Christmas Bride Read online

  “No idea. Where did he go?”

  “Looking for his brother. The team and wagon came back, but Hector wasn’t on it. I don’t know whether I’m more worried about him or doing the chores. I already failed the test for gathering eggs so I have to do it again, and I don’t know how to milk a cow. Do you?”

  “Neither one, or unharnessing, but I think we need to be more worried about Hector. If Zeke lit out like that, Hector has to be in trouble.”

  Dinah hadn’t even met her intended yet, but she wished him well, and it didn’t take a genius to figure out that in this weather, a man on foot wouldn’t last long. Even were he on horseback, he could be in serious condition, what with the freezing temperature and the bitter wind.

  Stella still carried the egg basket. “I’ll go try to gather eggs again. Zeke said I should get a dozen. You can milk the cow.”

  “I can try to milk the cow.” Dinah put on her coat and scarf. “No guarantees.”

  “I’ll show you how he squatted by the cow and where he put the bucket. That’s all I know.”

  “I feel almost as sorry for the cow as for the Murdock brothers. But I’ll help you once I pass the egg test. You have to reach under the hen to fetch the eggs.”

  Dinah had hoped to ease into farm chores. She didn’t shy away from them, but then she liked to do things correctly. For a moment, all that she didn’t know overwhelmed her, but then she pulled back her shoulders and opened the door. “We better unhitch the team first. Come on, let’s go be farm wives.”

  On the way to the barn, Stella asked, “Are the four letters you showed me the only ones you received from Hector?”

  “Yes, and you?”

  “I received just the three. Even so, I’ve grown fond of him—or at least the idea of him and his brother and all the work they’ve done to build a ranch and farm operation out here.”

  Dinah had received the first letter from Hector a year before, and she hadn’t thought she’d built much of a fondness for him. But once they crossed into Owyhee County, she put her plans to own her own restaurant aside for the moment. Since her first husband and baby had died, she’d thrown all her energy into cooking, not giving a thought to loving ever again.

  Coming to Idaho as a mail-order bride was a chance to get her fare paid so she could do what she wanted to do—open her own restaurant. Hector knew that she wanted to own her own business and it hadn’t put him off at all. That was the difference between western men and eastern men.

  He seemed nice enough, although not overly romantic—more of a practical bent, actually. His practicality appealed to her since that was her nature, too. In fact, she’d been quite happy that she no longer had a desire for passion.

  But the second she had stepped into the farmhouse, her heart changed and she truly wanted Hector to love her, and to love him back.

  “Now that you’ve seen Zeke, do you think you can love him?”

  Stella glanced at her as they battled their way to the barn. “Zeke’s a bit brusque, but I think he has a tender heart. Yes, I think we can get along well together.” She hugged herself against the cold. “You and Hector?”

  “If we ever meet, I think I will grow to love him.” They entered the barn where the cow still stood contentedly in her stanchion. “I really hope so.”

  “Even if you can’t start your own restaurant?”

  “Seems to me that there’s plenty of cooking to be done around here, and diners who will appreciate the food.” Dinah studied the bucket, the cow, and the cow’s udder. “Now, exactly how do we get the milk from her and into the bucket?”

  Chapter 4

  Fred ran ahead, the cold not seeming to affect the longhaired dog at all. Zeke rode his horse and led Hec’s, which was saddled. He’d brought ropes and extra blankets, for he knew his brother was in big trouble. Hec could hold his own with the best of men. Hell, he was the best of men. And that scared Zeke to death, because his brother would never let the team and wagon loose—he must have been hurt somehow.

  No man could survive this blizzard for very long, especially if he was flat on his back somewhere in this hard country. Owyhee County, in the best of circumstances, made a man humble. An Owyhee blizzard would bring Hec to his knees. Or worse.

  Zeke’s racing heart was the only thing that kept him warm as the icy snow burrowed down his neck. He pulled up his bandana and hunkered down in the saddle. A ways from home, he let Hec’s horse loose and followed him and the dog. Horses generally had more sense than men, and the gelding had a better chance of finding Hec than Zeke did, but the dog was their best bet and Hec’s horse seemed to know it.

  They rode at least three miles, and by Zeke’s reckoning, he should be halfway or more to the stage station. His brother hadn’t told him where he’d gone, but he must have planned to pick up the ladies. Zeke worried even more, but kept a calm head.

  They’d always watched each other’s backs, but while Zeke had pulled Hec out of a few minor scrapes, Hec had saved his butt from a pack of coyotes, and also from a pack of juiced-up soldiers who’d taken a dislike to Zeke taking their woman. Hec had always led the way, being the older brother, and when they left home to start their own ranch, it was all Hec’s idea.

  Not that Zeke didn’t get his own way—he usually did—but Hec always seemed to have his eye on the next thing they should do. Such as marry two women from Cleveland.

  Stella. Zeke liked her shape and she had a pretty face. Any man would be proud to have her on his arm. But that mouth of hers, well, it embarrassed him to admit that she’d hurt his feelings. Anything he said wasn’t good enough. Then again, a man didn’t have to talk in bed, so that might be all right.

  She didn’t know a whole lot about chickens, though.

  Fred’s bark knocked him out of his reverie. “Did you find him?’

  The dog sniffed and wagged his tail. He’d done that a mile back when he’d found a dead rabbit, so Zeke couldn’t get his hopes up too high. Fred barked again, then stuck in nose in a lump in the snow.

  Zeke rode alongside the lump and dismounted. “Get on back, Fred. We’ll see what you found.” He dusted the snow away and there was his brother, still as death itself. Zeke prayed with all his heart and soul that Hec would be alive. He whistled for his brother’s gelding, who trotted over.

  “Hec, wake up!” He shook his brother. Then lifted him to a sitting position. “We have to get you home. Get some hot coffee in your gullet.” He shook Hec again and shouted, “Can you hear me?”

  “I’m frozen, not deaf.”

  Zeke hugged the stuffing out of his brother. “We’ve got to get you home. Can you stand?”

  Hec shook his head. “Tired.”

  “I’ll haul your tired, frozen ass up on the count of three. Ready?” At the count of three, Zeke had his brother upright, although he had to do most of the work, then hold Hec to keep him from falling back down. “I’m going to tie you onto the saddle and we’ll hightail it home as fast as the horses can get us there.”

  When Hec gave the briefest of nods, on the second try, Zeke hefted his big brother, a tall, strong man, onto the saddle and got him set square. It was a trial keeping Hec on the horse while Zeke wrapped his brother in blankets.

  Zeke didn’t want to waste any time but then he didn’t think Hec would stay seated for more than about ten seconds, so he took a few minutes to wrap a rope around Hec’s waist, which also served to keep the blanket in place, and tie his boots to the stirrups. Zeke’s fingers were so cold that it was hard to knot the ropes, but he got ’er done.

  Once he was satisfied that Hec wouldn’t fall off, Zeke mounted his own horse and took a flask out of his pocket. “Want a snort?” Without waiting for an answer he leaned over and gave his brother a drink. Hec coughed but it seemed to bring back a little color. “I’ll give you more when you act like you’re alive. You scared the pee-waddin’ out of me.”

  “Me, too.” Hec’s normally booming voice was barely a whisper.

  “When I get you warmed
up, I’m gonna beat the livin’ daylights out of you for putting me to all this trouble.” And for scaring him half to death.

  The tired gelding seemed to understand the urgency of getting home. Zeke gave the horse his head and Hec’s horse followed. Fred led them all, happy as a spring robin with a fat worm.

  ****

  Dinah tugged on the harness buckles. Not only was she half afraid of the horses, her hands ached from attempting to milk the poor cow, and after all that, she managed to get only a quart of milk. “I wonder when the men will come home.”

  “As cold as it is, we better have some coffee on and the stove burning hot.”

  “Maybe I should get some biscuit dough ready for the oven.”

  “I’ll find some big rocks. We can heat those up and use them to warm their beds and blankets.”

  By then, the harness was a thousand parts and pieces piled in the snow. “Which do you want to do,” she asked Stella, “haul the harness into the barn, or lead the horses to their stalls?”

  “Let’s do both together. I’m nervous around the horses—would rather deal with one than two.”

  Once they got that taken care of and the horses fed, she and Stella went back into the house. The storm had subsided but the biting cold still stung her cheeks. “It’s good that the blizzard’s over. Even though it’s so cold, it’ll be easier to find Hector.”

  “I try not to think about a man alone out in this country. I just don’t see how he could survive.”

  Neither did Dinah. She just hoped Idaho men were as tough as advertised. Both ladies busied themselves with chores—Dinah rearranged the kitchen and organized the foodstuffs, while Stella tidied up, swept, and mopped.

  After Dinah collapsed in a wooden rocker, she noticed that Stella had cleaned and cleaned what she’d cleaned. “After all that cleaning, are you going to bring those dirty rocks in the house?”

  Stella shrugged. “Have to do something.”

  After she rested, Dinah got up and set to pulling out bowls and ingredients. “We have plenty of flour, salt, and molasses, so I might as well start the Christmas baking. And anyway, it’ll warm up the cabin.”

  “Milk and eggs won’t be a problem once the men get back to do the chores properly.”

  “If we’re going to carry our weight around here, we have a lot to learn.”

  “Cleveland life was easier, even if not happier. Don’t you just love the wide open land? The blue sky—it’s so expansive.”

  “Isn’t blue today. I sure hope Zeke gets Hec back here in short order.”

  “I know. It’s worrisome.” Stella picked up a cloth and commenced to wiping the table, which hadn’t been used since the last two times she’d cleaned it. “I believe I’ll rearrange things so everyone has a place to keep our clothing.”

  “Looks like they generally keep their clothes on the floor.”

  Stella sighed. “I see that.” Dinah wondered if Stella could reform Zeke to suit her. And she also wondered what issues would come up between herself and Hector.

  Dinah heard stomping on the porch. She opened the door to see Zeke standing there, frost on his mustache and eyebrows, and a large man at least Zeke’s size tossed over his shoulder. Must be her groom.

  “Put him on the blankets in front of the stove,” she said. “I have coffee.”

  “You better leave, ma’am, because the first thing I have to do is get these clothes off of him.”

  “I came all the way from Cleveland to marry that man and I’m not leaving. I’m staying here to take care of him. Stella has warmed some blankets with rocks.” Fred barked. “And get that wet dog out of here.”

  Zeke settled his brother on the bed they’d made for him. “We wouldn’t have found Hec of it wasn’t for that wet dog. And his name is Fred.”

  Stella hurried toward the dog with a large rag, but she didn’t get there fast enough and Fred shook water all over her and her nice clean floor.

  Hector groaned.

  “Is he injured?”

  “Not that I know of, but it’s downright painful to warm up when you’re that bad off.”

  “Best you strip down and lie by your brother. We’ll dry off the dog and put him on the other side.

  “He’s cold now. Let Stella dry off the dog, and you lay on the other side. Snuggle up good—you’ve had plenty of time to get warm.”

  “I’m not taking off my clothes.”

  “Not even to save a man’s life?” He stripped off his own clothes and Stella stopped drying the dog. She turned and stared.

  Dinah had to stare, too. Long ago, she’d seen her husband’s naked chest, but Zeke’s was particularly intriguing—much more muscular and sprinkled with hair. Would Hector’s look as manly? The brothers were about the same size, so she figured his would. It had been a long time since she’d lain with a man. Truth be told, it had been a pleasurable experience—one that she had put out of her mind because she thought she would never have such pleasure again.

  “I’ll lie beside your brother just until the dog dries off,” she told Zeke. “But I didn’t come all this way for nothing. It’s not proper, of course—only because Hector’s in such dire condition.”

  “Yes, dire condition.” Stella cleared her throat. “In that case, um, I’ll tend to the biscuits in the oven.” She handed Zeke a mug of coffee. “Warm your hands on this.”

  Heat washed over Dinah as she watched Stella give the cup to Zeke, especially when she saw his gaze catch Stella’s. He might not like his grammar corrected, but Dinah could see that he definitely liked Stella’s looks. She hoped Hector would think the same about her, even though she wasn’t nearly as pretty or as slender as her future sister-in-law.

  “Thanks, but I need to get those wet clothes off my brother.” He took one sip and handed the cup back to Stella.

  When he removed Hector’s shirt, Dinah couldn’t stop staring, and she had the most ridiculous urge to run her hands over his strong chest. “Stella, fetch the heated blankets and spread them over the three of us.”

  She kneeled beside her husband-to-be. This wouldn’t be a sacrifice at all.

  Chapter 5

  Zeke got up—his brother had stopped shivering and slept, breathing well. Dinah snuggled beside him and she’d fallen asleep, too. They looked like they’d been sleeping together for five years. Both content, and holding one another. Maybe Hec had been right, after all. For him.

  But Stella was a whole other story. Her eyelids drooped and her movements were deliberate, as if she had to think on how to put one foot in front of the other. Since Hec and Dinah slept on the floor, Zeke would give Stella his own cot.

  He had two cots in his house, too, but he hadn’t been over there in a few weeks. No reason to, what with the scarcity of firewood. He and Hec got along fine in just the one house. But that was before two women came along.

  Stella and Dinah got on fine, but Zeke knew that two women in one kitchen would eventually mean all-out warfare. The late hour and the bitter cold prevented him from doing anything about it until morning, though.

  Maybe Stella would rather take the schoolmarm job over in Oreana. He’d heard the schoolboard was looking for one. She didn’t have much respect for him as far as he could see, so that might be more to her liking. If he met up with anyone on the range the next day, he’d ask in her behalf.

  “I have to check the livestock.” He pulled on some dry clothes, and grinned when Stella turned her head, but not after she got a good look.

  “At this late hour?”

  “Yearlings don’t have a lick of sense. There’s likely a dozen of them stuck in snowdrifts now.”

  Stella looked at the floor and wrung her hands. “I have something to tell you… about the cow.”

  “What about the cow?”

  “We didn’t know how to get the milk to come out, but we managed about a quart. I thought I should tell you.”

  “You don’t know how to milk a cow?” He thought anyone would know that. It wasn’t exactly complica
ted.

  “I’d never even seen one that close until today.”

  City women. They must not have any idea where their food came from. He noticed the dried blood on her hand. “How’d you get that cut on the back of your hand?”

  “Cheryl. Must have been the one you told me about—she pecked me hard. I didn’t get her egg.” She brightened, and said, “But I gathered all the others!”

  “Good job—you can make friends with Cheryl tomorrow. Where’d you leave the bucket and I’ll go finish milking.”

  Stella grabbed her coat. “I’ll go with you. You can give me a lesson.”

  Zeke took her coat and hung it back on the hook. “I’m a mite tired and so are you. Tomorrow’s soon enough.” He cocked his head toward his cot. “You sleep over there. I’ll be back in the morning.”

  “You’ll be gone all night? In this weather?”

  “Yep, I have the night watch all week, no matter what the weather’s doing.”

  “But you didn’t get any sleep.”

  “Imagine that.” He put on his gloves, hat, and scarf. “Get some rest.”

  As he battled the cold to the barn, his mood soured. It was a helluva thing to have a beautiful woman sleeping in his bed—without him. Luck sure hadn’t gone his way lately.

  ****

  Hec woke to a woman snuggled up against his side, who fit as if she’d been created just for him, with her arm draped over his belly. Dinah had been the one he’d picked, and if that was her, he was a happy man. He felt happy just to be alive, for not long before, he’d had his doubts about ever seeing his mail-order bride—or any future at all.

  All wasn’t glory, though, because not one square inch of him didn’t hurt. And his lower parts hurt real good, but he knew he couldn’t do a danged thing about it for several reasons.

  The sun shone through the window, so it had to be after eight o’clock. By then, he should’ve milked the cow and been headed out to the range to spell Zeke. He glanced over to his brother’s cot. A woman with light brown hair slept soundly. At least the brides were there, and Zeke hadn’t packed them up and taken them to Oreana. The brides were the first step in getting Zeke and himself settled down with families.