Mail Order Mix Up (7 page)

“It’s nice to meet you, Alice.  Do you need help with breakfast?”
  Ellen loved the idea of helping the cook out.  She wanted to be able to do something
with herself for the week she was here before any decisions were made.

Alice shook her head.  “Of course not.  You’re a guest!  Are you hungry?”
  She pointed to the table in the kitchen letting Ellen know she wouldn’t mind the
company while she worked.

Ellen nodded.  “I woke up famished.  Dinner was wonderful last night, by the way. 
I really enjoyed it.”

“Do you cook?”

“Oh, yes.  I’ve kept house for my father since I was twelve and my mother died.” 
She sank into one of the chairs at the table.  “I can’t imagine what I’ll do with
my time rattling around this big house during the day while Patrick works.
”  She looked down at her hands which she was wringing together nervously.
 
“
To be honest, I’m much more suited to being a sheriff’s wife.”

Alice smiled.  “I think you’re just what Mr. Patrick needs in his life.”

Ellen smiled at the compliment.  She didn’t need the approval of Patrick’s cook, but
it was nice to have it. 
“How long have you worked for him?”

“Ever since my husband died, so three years?  That sounds right.”

“I’m sorry about your husband.  Did you know Patrick before his death?”
  Ellen enjoyed knowing the history of the people around her.

“Mr. Patrick was the banker who held the deed on our
farm
.  After my husband’s death, I had doctor bills to pay, and what little we had went
to pay the bills.  I knew I was going to lose the home, and it broke my heart.  When
I talked to Mr. Patrick about it, he said I should come and work for him.  He offered
to let me stay here, or I could keep on in my house and he would consider the hours
I worked as paying for the rent as well as giving me a wage.  I chose to just live
here.  There were too many memories there. 
Mr. Patrick’s
a good man.”

The words confirmed Ellen’s suspicions about Patrick.  He’d told her he didn’t evict
people, but she could see now that he’d told her the truth.  “Thanks for telling me
all that.”
  She loved the idea of the tall, handsome man doing such a kind thing for an elderly
woman.  She was so happy to see that her instincts about him had been right.

“You could already see the good in him.  I wouldn’t have told you otherwise.”
  She grinned at Ellen.  “If you can’t see the good in others, then he’s too good
for you.”

Malinda walked into the kitchen then, rubbing her eyes.  “G’morning,” she mumbled
to Ellen.
  She sank into the chair across from Ellen, obviously still sleepy.

“Malinda, this is Alice.  She’s the one who made our delicious dinner last night. 
Alice, this is my younger sister, Malinda.”
  Malinda’s dark hair was pulled back in the braid she’d slept on.  Ellen knew she’d
fix it after breakfast, but was amused that she was willing to come down to breakfast
looking like she did when either man could show up at any time.

Malinda nodded politely.  “It’s nice to meet you.”

Alice watched Malinda for a moment as if taking her measure.  “
And you.  I hear you may marry Mr. Wesley.”

Malinda tilted her head to the side as she studied her sister.  “That hasn’t been
decided yet.”

Once they were finished with breakfast, Ellen invited Malinda to go for a walk with
her.  She couldn’t stand the idea of sitting around all day when she could be doing
something.  “Have you thought more about the idea of marrying Wesley?” Ellen asked.

Malinda sighed.  “I don’t want you to push me.  I need to do what I think is right
for me.”
  She was obviously annoyed with Ellen for even bringing up the subject. 

“I’m not trying to push you.  I just know that I could never be as happy with Wesley
as I would be with Patrick.  I could love Patrick.  Wesley would be someone I would
have to force myself to marry.”
  Surely she could convince her sister to make a decision within the next few days. 
Ellen hated the idea of waiting a full week.  The men deserved to at least know who
they would spend the rest of their lives with, and so did she!

“I feel the same way about Wesley as you do about Patrick, but I don’t want to be
poor.  Wesley doesn’t make the kind of money Patrick does, and I don’t want to have
to spend the rest of my life working as hard as our mother always did.  She died way
too young, because she didn’t have a doctor when it was time to have the baby.  I
don’t want to go through that!”
  Malinda’s voice rose as she said the words, determined to make her sister understand
what she was saying.

Ellen shook her head sadly.  “I hate putting the men off so much.  I like the idea
of marrying as soon as we can.  They expected to marry us today, not in a week.” 
She kicked at a pebble in the road.  “I think I would go home before I’d marry Wesley. 
I know I couldn’t be happy married to him.”

“You were ready to marry him with no questions asked!  Now all of a sudden you can
only marry Patrick.  Why are you being so difficult about this?”

“I’m not trying to be difficult.  I’d never been attracted to a man before.  I look
at Patrick, and all I can think about is how much I want to be with him forever. 
Has Wesley kissed you?”
  She knew it was no business of hers, but she knew she could use the information
as leverage.

Malinda blushed.  “Yes, he has.”

“Did you enjoy it?”
Ellen asked, determinedly pushing on.

Malinda nodded.  “He made my toes curl.”

Ellen laughed.  “That’s how Patrick makes me feel.  I get this fluttering in my tummy
that almost makes me feel sick.  When he touches me, just touches my hand, I’m lost. 
I want to get closer and closer to him.  I want to spend all day kissing him and not
car
ing
about anyone else in the world.”

“I know, but what if I can’t handle being poor?  What if the housework is too much
for me?  You’ve always done most of the work.”

“You’ve been poor all your life.  You can handle it as well as anyone.  And you know
how to do housework as well as I do.  You don’t like it, but to be honest with you,
other than sewing and cooking, I don’t much like it either.  I don’t think there’s
a woman out there who enjoys getting down on her knees and scrubbing floors.  It’s
just not something anyone would like.”  Ellen was getting exasperated with her sister. 
She knew Malinda wasn’t as selfish as she sounded when she talked, but
she needed to think of others for a change.

“I’ll think about it.”

Ellen realized her sister had given in as much as she would for the day.  Hopefully
when she thought about it, she would draw the same conclusions Ellen had. 
“Patrick is going to take us all to a restaurant tonight.  He said there’s dancing
on a terrace outside and an orchestra.”

Malinda smiled.  “That sounds like a lot of fun.  I can’t wait to dance with Wesley.”
  Malinda’s eyes danced as she thought about dancing with the sheriff.

“Well, maybe we’ll have to switch partners for a dance or two and see how it is with
the other men.”
  Ellen watched her sister carefully to see the response to her suggestion.

Malinda wrinkled her nose.  “Do we have to?”

The words brought a smile to Ellen’s face.  Whether her sister knew it or not, she
was going to marry Wesley.  Ellen wanted to shout in relief. 

*****

When the men arrived that evening to take them to the restaurant, Ellen made certain
they both had their shawls laid out and ready to go.  It was too chilly at night to
go without them. 
They were wearing identical dresses because they’d used the same pattern for them
both.  Ellen’s dress was green and Malinda’s dress was blue.

Patrick kissed Ellen’s cheek and put the shawl over her shoulders.  “Are you ready?”
  He was wearing a perfectly tailored black suit.  Ellen thought he looked even more
handsome than he had the day before.  She hoped she didn’t make a fool of herself
staring at him too much.

Ellen smiled.  “I’ve been ready all day.  I haven’t been able to think about anything
else.”
  She knew most women would be coy about their feelings, but she saw no point in that. 
When you cared for someone, you should let them know.

“What did you do today?”

Ellen made a face.  “Well, I got up early and talked to Alice while she cooked breakfast. 
I tried to talk her into letting me help, but she wouldn’t.  Then when Malinda got
up, we went for a long walk.  And then we came back here for lunch, and in the afternoon
we both read books.  I’m going to need to find something to do if this continues as
we are.”
  She sighed.  “I hate sitting idle.”

Patrick smiled and slipped his arm around her waist.  “After the children come, you’ll
have more to do.”
  The look he gave her sent a tingle down her spine.

Ellen felt her face soften at the idea of having his children.  “I’ll love that. 
Do you want a boy first or a girl?”
  She couldn’t wait to hold his baby in her arms whether it was a girl or a boy.

“Definitely a boy.  If we have any girls that look like you, I’ll need help holding
the boys off until she’s old enough for courting.”

Ellen laughed.  “So you want eleven boys and one girl with the girl coming last?”
  She’d heard that many men felt that way about the birth order of their children,
but she’d never considered she may marry a man who felt that way.

“You understand me already!”

They laughed as they walked, unaware of the couple walking a few steps behind them. 
The more time Ellen spent with Patrick, the more she realized she couldn’t marry Wesley. 
What was she going to do if Malinda decided she couldn’t marry Wesley?

The restaurant was beautiful.  Ellen had never been in one, so she was in awe of the
elegant
surroundings.  The beautiful chandeliers and the pristine table clothes had her feeling
nervous that she would do something wrong.  Once the maître d handed her the menu,
she flipped it open and glanced down the list.  So many things on the menu were foods
she’d never heard of.  After a minute, she peeked over the menu and saw that Malinda
was in a similar state of confusion.  She had no idea what to get either.

Ellen closed her menu and looked at Patrick who was watching her with a smile.  “Would
you order for me please?”
 

Patrick nodded.  “I’d be happy to.”

When the food came, it was fantastic.  He ordered her a filet mignon with a salad
and a baked potato covered in butter.  She took one bite of the small bacon wrapped
steak and her eyes widened with pleasure.  “This is delicious!”

Patrick’s hand grasped hers.  “I’m glad you like it.”

Malinda was poking at her food, something that Ellen didn’t quite recognize.  She
started to ask what it was, but wasn’t sure if Malinda herself knew and didn’t want
to embarrass her.

Once they were finished eating, Patrick stood and pulled back Ellen’s chair, taking
her hand, and leading her to the patio with the dancing.  He moved her into his arms,
and the slow dance they did was nothing like she’d imagined dancing would be.  In
her mind, dancing involved counting steps and being careful not to step on your partner’s
toes.  With Patrick, it was more just staring into his eyes and moving when he did. 
It felt so perfect being in his arms.

At the end of the dance, she whispered, “I’d like to change partners.  I want Malinda
to see that you’re not right for her and Wesley is.  I can’t imagine a better way
to drive that home to her.”

He nodded skeptically.  “I don’t want you to fall for my brother.”

She laughed.  “There’s not a chance of that happening.”
  She squeezed his hand to reassure him as they walked back toward the table.

Back in
the dining room, Patrick invited Malinda to dance.  Wesley looked surprised, but
he took Ellen’s hand and led her to the
dance
floor. 
He stepped on her toe almost immediately.  She didn’t say anything, but she knew the
grimace on her face let him know he’d hurt her.  “How was work today?” she asked politely.

He shrugged.  “It was work.  There was little for me to do.  My job doesn’t involve
a lot of criminals or gun fights.  It’s more just making my presence known so everyone
knows there’s a sheriff in town.  Just that scares most of the criminals off.”

“What’s the most exciting thing you’ve ever done at work?”  It was so hard to talk
to him, and so easy to talk to Patrick.  She glanced over at her sister, and saw both
of them looked as uncomfortable as she felt.

“Well, there was a claim jumper once who thought it was his right to take over someone
else’s claim just because the other man had left to go get food.  The man took a couple
of shots at me, but he was so drunk, he just shot the tree branch above my head.” 
Wesley laughed as he talked about it.  “The man was wearing his long johns at the
time, so he looked a real sight.”