Mail Order Mayhem (7 page)

Chapter Twelve

For hours they practiced shooting at a target until Maude’s hands were shaking too badly to hold the gun steady any longer. “Let’s go into town this evening and check on Anne. Her time is close, and I want to talk to Al, anyway.”

Maude was surprised, but nodded her agreement. She gathered a loaf of the fresh bread she’d made that morning and the cake she’d made for dessert. She knew that whatever Anne was serving for dinner would be more than enough with those two additions.

They arrived as Anne was putting dinner on the table. She immediately invited them to sit down. “Eat with us!”

“I brought bread and strawberry shortcake to supplement,” Maude offered.
She didn’t feel as guilty about invading during their dinner time when she had food to share.

“Thank you. Sit down.” Anne guided Maude toward the table as she went to get more dishes for her unexpected guests. When she came back, she smiled at Maude. “Did you see your father? He came by today asking about you.”

Maude’s eyes met John’s. “My father? An overweight man with dark hair around forty? Red face who spits when he talks?”

“That’s him! He said he missed you and he came all this way to visit. I’m surprised he didn’t come into town with you.”
Anne seemed genuinely happy her friend’s father had come into town unexpectedly.

“Did you give him directions out to our place?” John asked with a mild voice.

“Yes, of course. I knew Maude would be excited to see him.”

“That wasn’t her father. That man is the reason Maude left her town and married me. He was trying to force her to marry him. He came to the farm today and threatened her.” His eyes met Al’s. “I need her to stay with you while I go see the sheriff.”

Al nodded quickly. “Of course.”

Maude looked at Al in surprise. She’d never heard the man speak before.
After a moment she turned to John.
“I don’t want you going alone! He’s angry with you, too!”

Al tipped his head to the side looking at Anne. After a moment Anne spoke. “I’m a crack shot. Al can go with John, and Maude can stay here with me.”

Maude’s eyes widened. “You can shoot, Anne? You seem so ladylike.”

Anne blushed looking down at her food. “I grew up with brothers. They had no respect for me because I couldn’t outdo them at anything physical. So, I learned to shoot. I never miss.”

Al nodded agreeing with Anne.
“I’ve seen her. I’ve never seen another man or woman who can shoot as straight as my Annie.”
His voice was filled with pride as he talked about her achievements.

John looked from Al to Anne. “Are you serious?”
He couldn’t believe he’d known Anne for three years, but had never known that about her.

Anne nodded. “It’s not exactly something I want to be known for, though, so let’s not talk about it anymore. You two go, and Maude will stay here with me. We’ll be safe without you.”

Immediately after dinner, the men rode off to
speak with the sheriff. “Be careful while we’re gone,” John told Maude. “You ladies need to keep the door shut and keep your guns at the ready at all times.” He turned to his brother who was admonishing Anne in the same way. “You ready?”

Maude and Anne went into the kitchen to do the dishes. Once they were finished, they sat sewing on a quilt Anne was making for the baby. “I hope the men hurry back,” Anne finally said after several minutes of silence.

Maude nodded. “I don’t like them being out alone at night knowing he’s around here somewhere just waiting.”
She shivered slightly as she thought about what could happen to the men.

“I’m glad you didn’t marry him and came out here instead. I can’t imagine John being nearly as happy with anyone else.”

“Being married to Horace would have been no life at all. I did the right thing by leaving, but I just hope he doesn’t take it out on my parents. My father’s worked for him since before I was born.”

Anne looked at Maude intently. “Why would you be worried about them when they sold you for all intents and purposes?”

Maude shrugged and looked down at the block she was quilting. “I guess because they’re my parents, and in their own way, they love me.”

“If you say so.” She looked at the clock again. “They should be back any minute.” Anne heard a sound from outside and ran to the door throwing it open.
She immediately tried to slam it shut again, but was too late.

Horace pushed her to the floor, his eyes roaming the room for Maude, who was still sitting on the couch, with the quilt covering her lap. “There you are. What are you going to do now that your husband isn’t here to protect you?”

Maude ignored Horace, knowing she couldn’t go for her gun with his
own pistol
pointed at her. “Anne, are you okay?”

“I think so. What kind of man knocks down a pregnant woman? What is wrong with him?”

*****

John and Al rode quickly through the small town with the sheriff, Tom Bennigan, between them. They stopped in front of Al’s house, and saw the door standing open. Immediately all three men went on alert.

The sheriff, without speaking, motioned John to go around the back one way, and for Al to go the other. He carefully walked toward the house with his gun drawn, aimed at the intruder. “I’m the sheriff and I’m going to need you to drop your gun, mister. Put it on the floor slowly, and keep your hands where I can see them.”

Horace spun in the direction of the sheriff, his gun still raised, and aimed for Tom’s chest.

The sheriff didn’t hesitate as he pulled the trigger, his bullet sinking into Horace and killing him instantly. He ran into the house to make sure he was dead, before calling to the other men all was clear. John and Al burst through the back door, and each man ran to his wife.

Al dropped to his knees beside Anne. “Are you okay? Did he hurt you?”

Anne was shaking as she answered
. “He just knocked me down. I don’t think I’m hurt
;
I just didn’t want to move with that gun in his hand. He seemed a little too trigger happy for my tastes.”
She kept her eyes fixed on her husband’s face so she wouldn’t have to look at the man lying dead on her living room floor.

The sheriff dropped down next to Maude on the couch. “I need you to tell me everything, Mrs. Powers. I need to know what happened back in Massachusetts and what’s happened here.”

John knelt on the floor in front of Maude, holding her hand in his as she explained everything she knew about the situation to the sheriff. Finally, the sheriff nodded and got to his feet. “Would you men mind helping me get him out of here? We’ll need to give him a decent burial, whether he deserves it or not.” He looked at Maude. “Do you need to telegraph your parents about the situation so his affairs can be seen to?”

Maude nodded. “I probably do.” She clung to John’s hand, not wanting to let go. “Where is the telegraph office?”

“It’s next to the general store. Why don’t you just write out what you want to say, and I’ll see to it in the morning?” Tom waited as John and Al got to their feet. “It’s going to take all three of us to get him out of here. Let’s take him to the doc so he can get him ready to go in the ground.”

Maude and Anne sat staring at one another while the men carried him out the door. Maude stared at the pool of blood on the hardwood floor of her friend’s home. “Let me get that clean for you. You need to sit and rest.” She helped Anne up off the floor and went to the kitchen to get a rag to clean up the mess.

*****

It was much later that Maude and John were able to go home in their wagon. Maude had taken care of Anne until the men returned, but as soon as John was with her again, she started shaking.

Once they were home, they readied for bed, Maude still in shock over the events of the evening. “I’m so sorry I brought this out here with me,” she whispered softly to John once they were lying in bed together.

“You didn’t cause this. The only person to blame here is Horace, and maybe your parents to a lesser extent.” He stroked his hand over her hair over and over. “
Are you okay?”

She nodded. “In a way I’m glad it happened. I’d have spent my whole life looking over my shoulder for him. He was crazy.”

“He was. I lost ten years of my life when I saw the door standing open with him pointing a gun at you.” He hugged her closer. “What would I have done if I’d lost you? I love you, Maude.”

She smiled against his shoulder. “I love you, too. I’ve wanted to tell you for days, but I just wasn’t sure how.”

“The simplest way is just to open up your mouth and say the words.”

She propped herself up on her elbow and looked down at him in the darkness. “I love you.”

He gathered her close once more, kissing her cheek. “I’m so glad you picked my letter.”

“Me too. Who’d have ever thought I’d be a mail order bride?”

*****

A month later a large crate arrived for Maude. She had picked it up when she went into town for their supplies. She waited until John was in from the fields for the evening, and asked him if he’d bring it in for her. She was certain it must be from her parents.

John carried the crate in and set it on the floor next to the table, carefully opening it with his hammer. Maude stood next to him peering inside. She’d yet to hear from her parents, and hoped to find a letter in among whatever else her parents had sent.

On top of all of her clothes was a letter in her mother’s hand. Maude took it to the table and opened it immediately. “My dear Maude, I’m so sorry about trying to force you to marry Mr. Templeton. He approached your father with the idea of marrying you when you were only fourteen. Your father kept putting him off, but he made it clear your father would be fired if he didn’t give in. Finally, we couldn’t put him off any longer without your father losing his job. Please forgive us. We’ve sent your things on to you and are thrilled you’ve found a good man. Please write often. Your loving mother.”

Maude had tears in her eyes as she lifted them to John’s. “He was forcing them to
make me marry him. They do love me.”

John took the seat next to Maude’s and hugged her tightly. “Of course, they do. How could anyone help but love you?”

Continue reading for a quick excerpt of Mail Order Mama, the next story, a full length novel, in the Brides of Beckham series.

Chapter One

Minnesota, August 1883

Benjamin carefully pulled weeds out of the ground surrounding his wife’s grave. “I miss you every day. The girls miss you, and are starting to make noise about wanting a new mom.” He traced her name on the tombstone. “Anna, the world was a good place when you were by my side, but now I feel like I’m surrounded by darkness. How could I ever find someone to be a new mom for our precious girls?”

He looked up at the sky, still angry with God for taking away his beautiful wife. “I think I’m going to send for a mail order bride. There’s an agency out East that will send a woman out to me. I have to pay them, but I don’t care. I don’t really want a wife, but I do need a new mama for the girls. Abbie starts school in just a year, and she’s already telling me that she needs more grown up dresses. I don’t know how to dress a little girl.
Mor
helps, but she doesn’t live with us, and I couldn’t pull her away from
Far
. I need a woman who will live with us to be a mother to the children. I guess I don’t really need a bride. I need a mail order mama to take care of our girls.”

He knew he was rambling and anyone walking past the small cemetery would think he was crazy. “I feel like I’m betraying you by even considering finding a new wife, but the girls need someone.” He couldn’t lie to Anna, even after she was dead. “I need someone to keep me warm at night, but I won’t fall in love with her, Anna. I promise you.”

He laid the flowers he and the girls had picked on her grave, and walked the short distance back to the home he shared with his daughters above the mercantile he owned.

He’d gone out after work, but before he’d started supper. Abbie did a good job of watching Georgie while he worked, but she was only six, and he couldn’t make himself leave them any longer, even though he could see their home from the cemetery. He had to worry twice as much now that Anna couldn’t share the worries with him.

He went to the table and called the girls to him. Once they were there, he told them about his decision. “I’ve decided to send away for a mail order bride, so you girls can have a mama again.”

Georgie hugged her father, and Abbie just nodded solemnly. Both girls resembled their parents a great deal. Benjamin and Anna were both children of Norwegian immigrants, and had the typical Norwegian build and coloring. Both had the same blond hair and blue eyes of their parents and their parents before them. Everyone had stopped and stared as he and Anna had walked along the street together. Now the girls both reminded him a great deal of his Anna. Every time he looked at them, she was on his mind.

“May we help you write the letter, Papa?” The girls didn’t use the Norwegian words for mother and father,
Mor
and
Far
, like he and Anna had. They knew only a few words in the old language, and that suited Benjamin fine. He’d had to learn to speak English when he’d started school, and it had been hard for him. He wanted his girls to speak the language of their new country. They would know the Norwegian words they needed to keep his mother happy, but no more. Now his parents used English more than Norwegian at home anyway.

Benjamin nodded. “After supper, we’ll write the best letter a bride has ever seen.” He stood up to go into the kitchen, wondering what he’d do for supper. His mother had brought over some fresh bread just that morning. Maybe he could make some sandwiches. The girls hated them, but he knew very little about cooking and even less about cleaning. If
Mor
didn’t clean his house every week and do his family’s laundry, he didn’t know how he’d manage.

He quickly sliced the bread and fried some bacon, one of the few things he knew how to cook. He carried the bread and bacon to the table on plates along with some of his
Mor
’s fresh butter. The girls came in to see what he’d set out to eat. “Bacon sandwiches again?” Georgie asked.

Abbie shook her head at her sister. “Remember, he’s getting us a mama to cook for us,” she whispered.

Georgie sat down at the table and buttered her bread, adding the bacon. “Thanks for cooking, Papa.” The words were said begrudgingly, but they were polite, and Benjamin couldn’t ask for more. He was getting tired of bacon sandwiches himself.

Abbie took her seat and made her sandwich, and then they all bowed their heads to pray. Once Benjamin was finished, Abbie started telling him all she wanted him to put in the letter. “Tell her she needs to love little girls and know how to sew a dress.”

Georgie looked up at that. “Tell her she needs to like to bake and cook things other than bacon sandwiches.”

“And reading stories out loud. She needs to read us stories.” Abbie loved stories and couldn’t wait to learn to read them for herself.

“She needs to like picnics and walking in the woods.”

Benjamin laughed softly. “Why don’t you girls save your ideas, and we’ll write the letter just as soon as I finish up the supper dishes.” He was happy the girls were so excited to have a new mama. It would help them to adjust to having a woman around.