A Mail-Order Christmas Bride Read online

  Between the two brothers, they ought to have eight or ten kids running around raising hell just like he and Zeke did with his other brothers when they were all boys. All their brothers had been killed in the war, so it was up to Hec and Zeke to keep the Murdock family name alive.

  The Owyhee County ranch had showed a profit for the last two years, and even though they’d worked their fingers to the bone, Hec reckoned they had enough capital to expand, and maybe even hire a ranch hand or two. That would give them a little time to spend making those babies—a task Hec looked forward to with relish.

  But for now, he had to get his lazy, sore butt out of bed and get to work. That involved waking the woman who felt so good curled up at his side. He could get used to that in a hurry.

  He moved his arm a little to jostle her head. At first she moaned softly, but then her eyelids sprang open and she jerked her arm back. She grabbed the blanket and held it to her bosom as she pushed herself to sitting.

  “Oh, my! I’m so sorry we had to meet this way,” she said. Hec wasn’t sorry at all. “I’m Dinah Goode.”

  “Hector Murdock, at your service. Folks call me Hec. And I apologize for the mix up yesterday. I was at the station to meet you.”

  “And your brother didn’t know brides were coming at all.”

  “I might’ve not mentioned it, no.”

  Pink rose in her cheeks. “Uh, if you don’t mind, would you turn your head so I can get dressed?” She started talking faster and Hec knew she was nervous. “You were nearly frozen… and Zeke said… well, that I needed to lie beside you to warm you up.”

  Bless Zeke’s heart. “I can’t think of a better way to save a man’s life. I’ll just pull on my clothes and go out to the barn while you and Miss Clemmons do your morning ablutions.”

  “Good idea.” She was still blushing as she turned her head to look away from him as he dressed. “Bundle up well—it’s very cold and you might feel extra chilled today.”

  “By the way, we’ll be married the day after Christmas. It was the best I could do, on account of the station master is busy with all the comings and goings of folks this time of year.” He pulled on his shirt and britches, which were stiff but dry, then his socks and boots. “We’ll need to talk.” His coat had dried, too, and his sore shoulders protested when he shrugged it on.

  He didn’t want to leave the house, but did so the ladies could dress and such. There were so many things to discuss. And his belly wanted some food—a tasty breakfast, which meant that neither he nor Zeke cooked it. The two brothers hadn’t starved to death, but that was only because they choked down burnt offerings. When it wasn’t half raw. Neither of them could cook worth a damn.

  That was the first thing that caught his attention when he was looking for a bride. Miss Goode cooked at one of the fanciest restaurants in Cleveland, so she likely could rustle up some good vittles here. He looked forward to it.

  “We certainly do,” Dinah said.

  “We certainly do, what?” He’d been so lost in thought about food that he couldn’t remember what they’d been talking about.

  “Need to talk. About our future.”

  “I’ll get the outside chores done and Zeke should be back by then. Do you have enough milk to cook breakfast? I’ll milk first thing.”

  “Yes, but barely. I’m not good at milking and Zeke was out looking for you.”

  “Yeah, well, I’ll be back in half-an-hour or so, with milk.”

  Hec walked with a jaunt to the barn. Yesterday hadn’t been such a good day for him, but today couldn’t be better.

  ****

  Zeke felt like hell and likely looked worse by the time he got back to the ranch.

  “You should’ve been back an hour ago. I was fixing to go look for you once I got the milking done.”

  “You know how stupid yearlings can be, and last night was a hard one. We didn’t lose any cattle, though. Coyotes kept circling, but I kept them at bay. Saw a pronghorn and shot it—that’ll keep the coyotes busy for a few days.”

  “Good idea. If you see another pronghorn, you might bring it home for Christmas dinner.” Hec poured the milk through the strainer. “You better go wash up. Dinah wants to talk about our future and I’m sure Stella is just as curious.”

  “If you put it that way, I’m curious, too. What the hell were you thinking ordering a wife for me without me knowing it?” Zeke had been building up a good pile of mad ever since the ladies knocked on the door. This was Hec’s idea, so he could deal with it—Zeke wanted no part of it.

  “Damn it all, Zeke. You know we’re the last of the Murdocks and it’s time we started families. Every time I even mention it, you get all het up on account of that banker’s daughter who threw you over for a slimy lawyer. But all women ain’t like her, and it’s about time you come to terms with this whole woman business.”

  “Well that’s just it—it’s me that has to come to terms with it, not you, and I have come to terms. The sporting girls in Silver City are just fine with me.”

  “We’ll talk about it later, once I get the barn cleaned up.”

  Zeke headed for the house and a little snooze. He hadn’t slept more than two hours the last two days and he was ready for a good eight hours of sawing logs.

  But before he got there, his brother hollered, “By the way, the women are getting dressed, so you can’t go in there.”

  Well, if that just wasn’t a fine how do you do! He was grimy, bone tired, and hole-in-the-belly hungry—with only a cold, empty house for respite. He veered off toward his own place, which didn’t have a wash bucket or a stick of wood for the stove, but at least he had a cot and a mangy bear rug.

  And Fred.

  Chapter 6

  Stella had misgivings about this whole mail-order bride situation. Never in the months of correspondence, or even on the way to Idaho Territory had she given failure much of a thought. Sure, she’d given lip service to the disaster stories, but she hadn’t thought such a thing could happen to her.

  But when she looked through the window and saw the scowl on Zeke’s face as he tromped off, obviously in a bad mood even with a happy Fred bouncing along by his side, she had serious doubts. “Zeke’s back, but it looks as if he’s avoiding me.”

  “The way to a man’s heart is through his stomach.” Dinah handed Stella a spoon. “Stir the gravy while I check the biscuits.”

  “What if he doesn’t come in for breakfast?” Stella worried that she’d already put a nail in her own coffin when she’d corrected Zeke’s grammar. Still, she’d apologized. The next step was to be wed—respectable single women couldn’t live with bachelors, even if nothing untoward happened. Coming here to be married stretched her respectability already.

  “Then take it to him. Where is he? In the barn?”

  “No, he went to the other house. I was under the impression that his house was rather barren and unheated.” Or maybe he was fixing it up for her—but she knew he’d slept very little the last few days. “When did Hec say the weddings would be?”

  “The day after Christmas, so we have three days to plan it. I don’t know who he invited, if anyone, other than the stage station master and his wife.”

  “So the four of us, two guests, and the pastor?”

  Dinah nodded. “Won’t be too hard to whip up a dinner for seven and still have time to gussy ourselves up for the ceremony. We can do some baking ahead of time because we’re pretty well stocked with the staples—I just don’t know what we’ll have for meat.”

  Stella hadn’t thought about that. “Surely meat won’t be a problem on a ranch with all these cows around.” She spread up Zeke’s cot—where she’d fallen into a deep sleep and the smell of his pillow spurred all manner of scandalous dreams. It was heavenly. Still and all, it posed a problem. “Where are we going to sleep? We’ll have to move our things—or the men—to the other house until our wedding day. In fact, we shouldn’t even be staying at their ranch before we’ve said our vows.”

  She
felt so mixed up—she wanted to stay, she wanted him to love her and to love him, she wanted to get on with their lives and family—but if she and Dinah did leave, Zeke would be just as happy. Somehow, some way, she had to find a way to win Zeke’s heart. First thing—put herself to rights before breakfast.

  ****

  Dinah peeked out the window and saw Hector Murdock striding toward the house. She glanced around the cabin—Stella had cleaned and set the table with the linens Dinah had brought, while Dinah cooked. Heaps of bacon, fried potatoes, scrambled eggs, and biscuits, as well as a huge bowl of gravy covered the table. No one would go hungry today.

  After they’d prepared the meal, both ladies had combed their hair, cleaned their teeth, and put on nice day dresses. Hers was a rose gingham and Stella had a pink calico.

  Her heart went thumpety-thump when Hector walked in. He was a tall man, his head nearly brushing the top of the doorway, and his shoulders were so broad, she couldn’t imagine much of anything could get the better of him. Ever. She wanted him to enjoy their first meal together. And she wanted to enjoy a whole lot more than just a meal—not that she’d let on.

  “Have you washed up?” she asked. “Breakfast is ready.”

  “Yes’m, I washed up in the barn. That’s on account of smelling bacon and biscuits cooking. Ain’t nothing smells as good as bacon and biscuits.”

  “Sit down, then, and we’ll say grace as soon as Zeke gets here.”

  “Them biscuits will be cold long before that. I think he went to bed at his house.”

  “I thought Zeke ate here,” Stella said. “Maybe I should take some breakfast to him.”

  “Then again, maybe not.” Hector helped himself to three biscuits and reached for the butter. “I told him to stay out of the house until you were ready for us, and I think he got sour and went to bed.”

  Stella laid her fork on her plate quietly and folded her hands in her lap. “I don’t think Zeke wants me.”

  “Of course he does. He just don’t know it yet.”

  Dinah agreed, but she knew how Stella must feel. “You’ve known him less than a day. Give it time.” She turned to Hector, partly to talk to him but mainly because she enjoyed looking at him. “Stella and I are making plans for the wedding dinner. Do you have enough roast beef of one cut to serve seven people?”

  “Seven?” He took a slurp of coffee. “You invite someone?”

  “No, but there’s the four of us, then the stage station master and his wife, and the pastor. Seven.”

  “I swear, these are the best biscuits I ever ate.” He piled some scrambled eggs on his plate and poured gravy on them and took another biscuit. “The station master’s marrying us, so six.”

  Stella gasped and so did Dinah—she couldn’t believe it! “You’re telling us we’re not going to be legally wed?”

  “Legal enough for around here. You have to wait for the circuit preacher to come around, which don’t happen very often so most don’t wait. He’ll be back in Owyhee County come February. Ted’s married other couples, so don’t worry about it.”

  Don’t worry about it? Dinah stood, her ire rising. Looked like she’d be opening that restaurant after all, even though she’d hoped a marriage would work out. She didn’t realize how much she’d wanted a husband until she’d slept beside Hec—the security, the promise of passion—she wanted all that. But not without marriage. “Well, then, Stella and I will have to move to town. I think Oreana is the closest.”

  “Everything’s all right. Ain’t no need to be hasty. Ted can marry us just fine—I want you to stay here.”

  “Hasty? Hasty? Living with you unwed wouldn’t be proper at all! We came out here to be legally married. We’re not soiled doves, Hector Murdock. Take us to town, please. We’ll be packed in fifteen minutes.”

  “Can’t do it. Not with the bad roads and snow—too likely to get a horse’s leg broke. We’ll have to wait a few days for the roads to clear, and then it’ll be Christmas.”

  “Then you and Zeke can stay in his house. We’ll stay here. I’ll cook for you, but I’ll be charging money for it.”

  “Just take whatever you want out of the sugar jar.”

  Stella pushed her chair back and stood. “I’ll fix Zeke a plate and take it to him, and while there, I’ll let him know he’s off the hook—he won’t have to marry me.”

  ****

  Zeke, chilled to the bone, huddled under the blankets and was finally drifting off to sleep when Fred barked. He heard a dull thud on the door, then some muttering of a decidedly feminine tone. Danged women. The last thing he wanted to do was get out of bed, but he flung off his covers and forced himself to his feet.

  When he opened the door, Stella stood there holding a plate heaping with biscuits and eggs in one hand, a coffee mug hanging from her pinky finger, and in the other hand, the coffee pot. Fred’s sniffer perked right up, and so did Zeke’s.

  “I had to knock on the door with my elbow because my hands are full.”

  “Go on back to Hector’s house. It’s warm.”

  “Not until you get some food.” She jostled the dishes to dodge him and pass through the door, and it didn’t help that the cold wind blew in right behind her. The cabin wasn’t much warmer than outside, and he didn’t need wind, too.

  “Where should I put this?” she asked.

  He didn’t have a table. The cook stove served as a catchall—heaped with clothing, tools, and saddle supplies. And he had a bed. End of list.

  He stood there dressed only in his red longjohns. “I’ll help.” He took a plate heaped with food—probably cold from the walk across the yard—and she was able to set the coffee pot on the floor.

  “You don’t have much furniture.”

  “I expect you’ll buy some.”

  “Dinah and I are moving to Oreana as soon as the roads are clear. You won’t have to put up with me much longer.”

  “What brought that on?”

  “Hector thought we’d be satisfied to have a fake wedding with the station master officiating. Dinah and I insist on marriage by a proper minister.” She motioned for Zeke to sit on his bed, which he did, and she handed him a plate and a fork. “Besides, you don’t want to marry me anyway, and what kind of life would I have here as unwanted baggage?”

  A tear rolled down her cheek and it nearly tore Zeke’s guts out. But she hit the nail on the head—he didn’t need her, and she was too damned good-looking to be a ranch wife. She should marry a banker or a doctor.

  “Thanks for the food. I’ll bring the dishes back when I get up.” Unable to resist the urge, he put the plate beside him, stood, and wiped away her tear with his forefinger. “You will never be unwanted anywhere you go. Just so you know.”

  He had to turn away from her then. A woman like her could never be his, and they both knew it. She got the hint and practically ran out of the house. He followed her to the door and watched her run all the way to Hector’s house before he shut the door.

  His belly demanded food, and he ate. More like choked it down. Damn, the cabin was cold—much colder than before, and even though he’d eaten, he felt hollow inside. He tried to sleep, but something seemed amiss, even though the ladies would be leaving—and in a few days, life would be the same as always.

  Maybe that pinpointed his unrest—maybe life hadn’t been so good. Maybe something better lay ahead. And damn it all anyway, maybe he should go to sleep.

  Not ten minutes later, Hec stopped by with an armload of wood. “Thought I’d fire up the stove so you could sleep better.”

  “When are the women leaving?”

  “Stella told you, then.”

  “It’s for the best.”

  “It ain’t for the best, and once you sleep on it, you’ll see I’m right.”

  “They can’t milk, and their egg-gathering isn’t exactly good, either.”

  “They can learn. Besides, they tried. Not many city women would’ve.” Hec lit the fire. “Get some sleep—we’ll talk about this later.”
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  “You mean you’ll try to talk me into marrying her.”

  “Hell, it’s beyond that. You’re gonna have to court her. They plan to leave. We have to make them stay.”

  Hec left and Zeke tried to sleep. But damn, all he could think about was that one tear rolling down Stella’s pretty cheek.

  Chapter 7

  Dinah hoped they’d done the right thing. She and Stella had packed up all of the Murdock brothers’ things and had them ready for Hector to move to Zeke’s house when he came in for the noon meal. Only thing was, with every passing moment, she hoped more and more that a match would work out between herself and the older Murdock brother. By Stella’s hang-dog expression, she was thinking along the same lines.

  Maybe it would, but they simply couldn’t compromise when it came to a legal marriage—either it was, or it wasn’t.

  “I’ll take it over later today,” Hector said as he washed his face and hands in the water that Dinah had heated. “Zeke needs to sleep, and he won’t if I’m in there banging around. I already woke him up once when I started the fire in the stove.”

  Dinah folded her arms and set her jaw. “Long as you know you’re not staying here tonight.”

  Hector finger-combed his damp hair. “I’m clear on that, ma’am.” He didn’t look too enthusiastic about the idea; but then, she wasn’t too enthusiastic about sleeping with a man who wasn’t her legal husband—even if she did feel warm all over every time he came near.

  “Take a look around and see if there’s anything we forgot to pack, then,” she said. “You might as well get everything at once.”

  “We’ll make do. The roads should be halfway decent by the day after Christmas.”

  “So we’ll be spending Christmas here?”

  “Yes, ma’am. No help for it.”

  Stella ignored Hector altogether as she set plates and silverware on the table. Dinah had seen her tears earlier, but Stella hadn’t let on that she was disappointed. When asked, she’d said she’d stubbed her toe. Dinah thought she’d stubbed her heart.