An Angel in the Mail (18 page)

The committee for the Independence Day celebration had set aside a large grassy area outside the main part of town. Big and small wagons, and buggies, were parked helter-skelter, with everyone anxious to begin the day’s festivities. As Nate pulled the wagon to a halt, the boys all scrambled out, barely able to contain their excitement.

“Papa, can we go find the best place to watch the parade?” Matt asked.

“Yes.” Nate reached for Angel’s hand to help her out of the wagon. She hugged Julia-Rose close to her body as she stepped down.

“I want all of you to stay together. Matt, make sure your brothers don’t run into the street. There will be a lot of activity going on. Angel and I will try to find you, but if we don’t, meet us back here at the wagon when the parade’s over.” He didn’t even get the last word out before the boys took off toward the crowd gathered along Main Street.

Angel handed Julia-Rose to Nate to retrieve the jar of pickles from the wagon. “I’ll bring this to the food tables.”

“We’ll take the walk with you.” Nate moved Julia-Rose from one arm to the other and clasped Angel’s hand.

His warm hand comforted hers. They might have had a rocky start, but Nate’s patience with her shortcomings had helped build her confidence. As the warmth from his touch edged up her arm, her breath caught and her stomach fluttered in memory of their nights together. With more of a routine, she wasn’t quite so tired at night, and eagerly anticipated the times when Nate turned to her after he blew out the lamp on his side of the bed. Once or twice, she’d been the one to turn to him.

They reached the area where long tables, decorated in red, white and blue, were lined up. She let go of Nate’s hand and approached a woman behind one of the tables. After handing over the jar, and chatting for a bit, she turned to see a woman with fiery red hair, dressed in a green silk dress with a matching bonnet and parasol, hurry down the aisle between the tables.

The woman screeched, “Nate!” and threw her arms around Nate and the baby.

Angel drifted toward them, her eyebrows raised.

“Lucy!” Nate stepped back, his eyes wide.

The woman continued to cling to his arm, chattering on. “I only returned last night, and I knew with all those children, you would be here.” She put her arm through Nate’s, and tugged him in the direction of the parade.

“I can’t wait to tell you all about my trip to Europe. I’m so glad to be home with that nasty war back east.”

Nate stopped, and glanced back at Angel, who stood with a slight smile, but the young woman didn’t seem to notice his grimace.

Well now, what’s this all about?
Angel moved to stand beside her husband. The young woman remained completely oblivious to her presence and continued to prattle on. Eventually, she glanced in her direction, smiled politely, and then returned her attention to Nate. She tried unsuccessfully to pull him toward the parade grounds, but he didn’t budge.

“Don’t you want to see the parade?” Before he could answer, she continued. “Where are the boys? I can’t wait to see them. I’ll bet they got so big.” She smiled at Julia-Rose. “Why, this little darling is twice as big as when I left six months ago.” As she reached out to pat her, Julia-Rose pulled back, and whimpered.

Finally apparently sensing the tension in the air, she stopped talking and looked at Angel. Bestowing a bright smile, she turned. “Is there something I can help you with, dear?”

“Ah, Lucy,” Nate stumbled, “this is Angel.”

“Oh, how clever of you to hire a nanny!” Lucy gushed. “I told you months ago to engage one. I’m sure your life is so much easier with—Angel? Is that right, dear?” She waved her finger at him. “You had no free time at all to socialize, so things must be better for you now. We will definitely have to arrange a dinner party soon to re-introduce you to society.”

Lucy tapped her lips. “Now we have to find you a housekeeper, and that will take care of everything.”

She glared at Angel, her smile strained. “Why don’t you take this precious little one off Nate’s hands and find the boys? We’ll join you later.” She turned back to Nate, and her smile faltered when he glanced between the two women and cleared his throat.

“Um, Lucy. Angel isn’t a nanny. She’s my wife.” He reached for Angel’s hand and squeezed. “Honey, this is an old friend, Lucy Benson.”

Children shouted, dogs barked, and the sound of the Town Band practicing their marches reverberated in the air. Crowds formed along the streets, everyone laughing and jockeying to get the best spot. But the silence surrounding the three people standing like wax statutes next to the picnic tables was louder than all of it put together.

“I’m sorry, Nate, I could swear you said
this woman
is your wife.” Lucy pulled her arm away from Nate as if burned. Her mouth opened and closed, her eyes snapped and her smile faded. Slowly, the pale white face turned red, as anger swept up her throat, enveloping her until her skin matched the red of her hair.

“When did you get married?” Her high-pitched voice trembled with anger.

“March twenty-eight.” Angel smiled as she took a fussing Julia-Rose from Nate’s arms.

The baby sighed, “Mama,” laid her head on Angel’s chest, and slid her fingers in her mouth.

“I see.” Lucy sniffed. Slowly, she backed up and turned as if to leave, but spun around, walked up to Nate and slapped him in the face. Then she strode away, her parasol twirling furiously as she walked.

Angel made a move to go after the woman, but Nate stopped her. “Let it go.”

“But that spoiled brat slapped you!” She hissed.

Confused, and apparently sensing anger in the adults, Julia-Rose let out a wail. Nate took Angel’s arm and moved them in the direction of the parade. “We’ll talk later. The baby’s getting upset.”

Angel seethed with anger at the red mark on Nate’s face. The nerve of that woman to strike her husband! She had to draw on all her training as a lady to keep from rushing after her and snatching every strand of red hair out by its roots.

The crowd grew louder as they approached the street. Brightly colored signs from various businesses had been attached to wagons, advertising the goods they offered. Much to the children’s delight, riders on the wagon from the mercantile handed out peppermint sticks as they rode by. Clowns did somersaults and carried horns they blew every once in a while, causing small children to cry and hide under their mother’s skirts.

A group of older gentlemen had formed the official town band, and played loudly, if not in tune, while everyone cheered and encouraged them. Nate put Julia-Rose on his shoulders to give the little girl a better view. From her perch, she clapped and laughed at the antics of the clowns.

When they came closer to her, however, she reached for Angel. “Mama.”

As she soothed the baby, her glance strayed to Lucy, who scowled at her from across the street. Glaring right back, she made a note to talk to Nate about the brat the first time they were alone. She took a deep breath, dismissing her for now, and pointed to something in the parade to distract Julia-Rose’s attention from the clowns.

“Papa, wasn’t that the best parade, ever?” John almost barreled into his father as he raced ahead of his brothers.

“It was sure a fine one, son,” Nate said as the boys surrounded him.

Matt studied the tables loaded with food. “Is it time to eat yet?”

Nate looked from one face to the other. “It appears the ladies are unwrapping the food. I want you all to mind your manners. No pushing or shoving when you get in line.”

Dancing around, anxious to leave, the boys listened to their father’s instructions, and then hurried off to the lengthening group snaking around the picnic area.

“I think I’d like to wait until the queue lessens a bit.” Angel strolled to a large birch tree. She handed Julia-Rose to Nate while she spread out their blanket, then sat and tucked her skirts underneath her legs. Once settled, he passed her the baby, and eased himself down, one long leg stretched out, the other bent, his forearm resting on his knee.

Her gaze skimmed the crowd lightly. “Do you want to tell me about her?”

Nate sighed. “I guess it would be downright stupid for me to ask you who.”

Angel laid Julia-Rose on the blanket and rubbed circles on her back. “Yes, it would.”

Nate grinned. “Lucy is the only daughter of Eli Benson, who owns a good part of this town. Lucy’s mother died in childbirth, so she’s had all her father’s attention and use of his money for years. He’s powerful and rich, and it frustrates a lot of the single women in town that he never sought to replace his dead wife.”

He shifted and stretched out both legs. “I’ve known Lucy since she was a young girl. For some reason, she got it in her head after Amy died that she would make me a suitable wife.”

“I seem to remember you saying there were no candidates for the next Mrs. Hale.”

“She’s a spoiled little girl, and the last person I’d want to marry and raise my children.” He shook his head. “Several months ago, when Eli offered her a trip to Europe, I encouraged her to go.”

Angel drew her knees up, and wrapped her arms around her legs. She fixed her gaze on Nate. “And while she was safely out of the way, you sent for a mail order bride so you were beyond her reach when she returned?” She smirked. “You must have done something to encourage her. She was quite surprised to find you’d married.”

“I never considered her wife material. I sent for a mail order bride because there wasn’t anyone in town I thought would suit. You may have noticed the men outnumber the women here.”

“So you preferred a complete stranger, instead?”

Nate gave her a lopsided grin. “Come here.” He pulled her into his arms, so her back rested on his chest. “And darned lucky with how that turned out.”

She glanced at him over her shoulder. “Oh, yes. Think of all the wonderful meals I’ve prepared, and let’s not forget my prize winning cake sitting in the garbage pail at home.”

He placed his hands on her shoulders and turned her to face him. “You’re terrific with the kids, discovered Mark’s reading problem, try hard to learn, and best of all,” he raised one eyebrow, and bent to whisper in her ear, “you keep me entertained at night.”

Heat started in her stomach and rose to her face. The familiar, bone-melting fire in his eyes and deepening of his voice, caused her to wiggle and squirm. She wiped her forehead with the back of her hand. “Sun’s gotten a lot stronger.”

Lucy Benson watched the exchange between the couple under the birch tree. She was so angry, her hands shook as she grasped her parasol. Never in her life had she been denied something she’d wanted, until now. For as long as she could remember, she’d had her eye on Nathan Hale. Handsome, tall, blond, strong, easygoing, he represented everything she wanted in a husband. She’d always resented that mealy-mouthed Amy he’d married.

She’d bided her time, and when Amy finally died last summer, Lucy made her move. She cried daintily into her lace handkerchief at the woman’s funeral, patted Nate’s arm, and consoled him. During the gathering at the Hale house following the funeral, she’d stood by his side the whole time, seeing to the guests, and acting as hostess. She’d even forced herself to deal with his little brats.

After giving him a reasonable time to grieve, she hinted about him re-marrying. In the beginning she stopped by his house, but the noise and chaos unsettled her. Instead, she visited his shop, managing to arrive at mid-day, oftentimes carrying a basket with food Cook had prepared.

Nate always treated her with respect and friendliness, but no matter how hard she tried, he never picked up on her suggestions that he find a new mama for his children. Not a role she relished, but once they were married, she’d find a way to get them out from underfoot.

Desperate to have him act, she told him of her papa’s plan to send her to Europe, hoping he would ask her not to go. Instead, to her chagrin, he encouraged the trip. Since Nate was a true gentleman, she assumed—wrongly, it seemed—he intended to wait the full year of mourning before he took another wife.

Content with that thought, she’d gladly accepted her Papa’s offer, imagining all the fine dresses she could have made in Paris. It thrilled her to know the other girls in town would be positively green with envy. Then, finely dressed, she would return to Oregon City and become Nathan Hale’s wife.

She narrowed her eyes as she continued to observe them.
He’s the man I want, and I will have him.

Torches provided flickering light around the makeshift dance floor. David Parker, lone fiddle player and barber store owner, had kept up the lively music for over an hour. As the last note of “Camptown Races” rang out, he wiped his forehead with a bandana.

After a gulp from the tall glass of beer sitting next to him, he shouted to the crowd. “Okay, ladies, it’s your turn. Pick the gentleman of your choice. I’m gonna play a nice slow one.”

Young ladies tittered as they eyed the menfolk lounging on the grass surrounding the dance floor. Several of them hopped up, anticipating an invitation to dance. David played, “Jeanie With the Light Brown Hair” as Angel stood next to Nate, slowly rocking back and forth, Julia-Rose asleep in her arms. She glanced at him, smiling. “You’re my choice.”

“I certainly hope so.” He placed his hand on her lower back to lead her to the dance floor, but before they took a step, Lucy walked up. She grabbed his arm possessively and tugged. “Ladies choice, Nate.” She smirked at an open-mouthed Angel and pulled him onto the dance floor.