Mail Order Mix Up (8 page)

Ellen sighed.  This was the man she’d been certain she needed to marry?  What had
she been thinking?
  She was so glad they hadn’t married as soon as they stepped off the train.  She’d
never have known how wrong he was for her then.

After the dance, she took Malinda into the ladies’ room to freshen up.  “What do you
think of Patrick now that you’ve danced with him?”

Malinda shrugged.  “He’s boring.  I don’t understand what you find so interesting
about him.”
  She shook her head, eyeing her sister skeptically.  “Talking to him is about as
interesting as talking to a rock.”

Ellen smiled.  “That’s the same thing I thought about Wesley.”
  She could have danced a small dance right there in celebration of her sister thinking
Patrick was boring.

“I’m not making any decisions tonight.”
  Malinda crossed her arms over her chest and leaned against the wall.

“I know.  I’m not trying to force you to.  I just want to get to know them both. 
What if I’m the one making a mistake?”

They made their way back to the table, and after a few more dances, walked home together. 
Malinda and Wesley went to the parlor, while Ellen and Patrick went out to the back
porch.  She hadn’t been out there yet, and as soon as she saw the porch swing, she
smiled. 

“I’ve always wanted a porch swing!”  She sat down on one end of it, making sure she
left room for him.

He took the spot she’d left vacant, and set the swing into motion with his foot. 
“Marry me, and it’s all yours.”

She smiled, leaning her head against his shoulder, amazed at how comfortable she felt
touching him.  “I’d rather share it with you.  It wouldn’t be fun to sit in all by
myself.”

He used his forefinger to tilt her chin up for his kiss.  His other hand moved around
to the nape of her neck, softly moving his fingers across her skin.  “I’
ll
share everything I own with you.”

She had to force herself not to climb into his lap and stay where she was.  She hadn’t
been raised to be a wanton woman, but every minute she spent with him brought her
closer and closer to it.  After a minute, she tore her mouth away.  “I don’t think
it’s a good idea for us to be alone together.  I feel too much when you touch me.”

He chuckled softly.  “That’s exactly what every man wants to hear.”  He dipped his
head for one more kiss, and then settled back against the swing with her head against
his shoulder again.  “Did you get a chance to talk to Malinda today?  What does she
seem to be thinking?”

“Oh, she’s going to drag her feet.  She’ll take the entire week to make her decision,
I have no doubt.”
  She paused staring up at the stars.  “In fact, I’ll be surprised if she makes the
decision before a month is out.  She’s going to hold us all hostage for as long as
she can.”

“Really?”

Ellen nodded. 
“Yes.  She has strong feelings for Wesley, but the idea of being poor frightens her.”

“Maybe I’ll give Wesley some money and tell him to tell her he’s had it all along
and was just waiting for the right woman to come along to spend it on.”

She laughed.  “That’s a great idea.  I don’t think she’d fall for it, but it’s a great
idea.”
  There had to be some way to force her into a decision, though.  Something would
give.

“Wesley would never agree to it.  He’s too honest for that, which is a good thing.”
  He sighed.  “I just don’t want to have to wait.”

She snuggled closer to his side.  “
It is.  I just wish we could find a way to speed up her decision.”

“I’ll do my best to be obnoxious and unlovable tomorrow.”

She giggled.  “Are you able to do that?”

“Don’t see why not!  I’ve scared women off before.  I can scare her.”

*****

No amount of talking did any good the following day.  Malinda refused to make a decision. 
By the time the men arrived, Ellen was frustrated beyond belief.  She wanted the whole
thing over with.  It would be so much easier if she could just get married and get
on with her life.  She enjoyed being courted, but she felt as if her life were in
a sort of limbo as she waited for Malinda to agree with how they wanted to do things.

They had dinner at Patrick’s house.  Ellen had begged
Alice
to take the day off, and had spent the day in the kitchen cooking.  She’d made a
pot roast with mashed potatoes and gravy and carrots.  To go along with it, she’d
made a dozen biscuits and for dessert, she’d talked Malinda into baking a cake.  Malinda
had a way with baking that always surprised Ellen, because she put so little effort
into it.
  They could follow the exact same recipe, and Ellen’s dessert always tasted better
when they were done.

When they were finished with dessert, Ellen went with Wesley into the parlor and watched
as Malinda followed Patrick outside to
the porch swing
.  She hated the idea of her sister going off with the man she had feelings for, but
she didn’t know how to stop them.

Malinda sat down on the sofa and gave Wesley a tentative smile.  He sat beside her
on the couch, and took her hand in his
, but she moved it to her lap, putting it out of his reach
.  She knew he was trying to be affectionate, but just having his hand in hers made
her skin crawl.  “So tell me about
gold mining,” she said, trying to get him to talk about anything she could think of. 
She had nothing to say to the man.

“Well, we’d heard about all the gold that was here in the Rockies, so we decided to
come out here and see for ourselves.  We followed a wagon train that was heading for
California, but we stopped off here.”  He shrugged.  “It was hard, but Patrick and
I shared a wagon and took turns driving the oxen.  By the time we got here, I was
ready to give up, but Patrick kept pushing.  We each found a claim. He gave me first
choice, because that’s just how he is.  I picked wrong, and he
got the right one
.  As soon as he struck gold, he offered to share the claim with me, but I was certain
mine would have more gold in the long run.  So I asked him to pay me an hourly wage,
and I worked for him until his claim was played out, and then we moved onto mine.

“In over six months, we never saw a speck of gold on
my claim
.  Finally, I agreed we could stop, and he opened his bank.  He was worried about
outlaws, but knew the area needed a bank with all the gold miners around, so he asked
if I’d run for sheriff.  There was no competition, so I won.”  Wesley grinned.  “It
was the easiest contest ever.  I guess it helps having a lawman here with the bank
around, but Patrick is really the one who pays my wages.  He offered me a job in the
bank, but it would have felt like charity.  I can’t live off my brother forever.”

Ellen nodded.  The more he told her, the more she knew that Patrick was the man she
wanted to marry.  “I’m glad you’re happy being the sheriff.  I’m sure you get to meet
some interesting people.”

Wesley shrugged.  “I do enjoy it, but wish I had struck it rich when Patrick did. 
I would enjoy having the kind of money my brother does, if only so I could give Malinda
the world
she deserves to have
.”

“You have strong feelings for my sister, don’t you?”
  Ellen could see that he did, but she wanted him to confirm her suspicions. 

He nodded.  “I do.  I wish she’d end all this and just agree to marry me.  I know
she doesn’t think I realize that she’s afraid to be poor, but I do.”  He looked down
at his hands and sighed.  “You didn’t seem to mind, though.”

“I didn’t want to be married to a banker because of what happened to us when our father
died.”
  She shrugged.  “I’ve always been poor, so the idea of staying poor doesn’t bother
me a bit.  I’m actually more afraid I’ll go out of my mind with nothing to do, but
I care enough for Patrick it doesn’t matter to me.”

He gave her a confused look.  “What happened?  Malinda hasn’t told me anything.”

She briefly explained about the banker coming out to their house and how afraid of
being poor Malinda was.  “That’s why she wanted to marry Patrick.”

“That makes a lot of sense.”  He gave her a questioning look.  “You’re set on marrying
him now, aren’t you?”

“I can tell he’d never be that way.  I have such strong feelings for Patrick and have
since I first saw him.  It’s strange.  At first I was convinced that he must be you,
and everything seemed right with the world.  My heart dropped into my stomach when
I realized I had feelings for the wrong brother.”

Wesley smiled.  “Are you sure you couldn’t have feelings for me?”
  He leaned toward her as if he was going to kiss her, but she quickly turned her
face away.

“Absolutely certain.  There’s no way I could feel this way about two men.  When he
does something as simple as takes my hand, I want to lean into him and spend the rest
of my life with him.  You took my hand, and all I wanted to do was put it back on
my own lap and away from you.”

He laughed.  “Well, I guess that about sums it up.  I wish it was different, honestly. 
I do think you’d make a better wife for me than you would for my brother, but if there’s
no….attraction is I guess the best word, there’s no point.”

“I’m so glad you agree with me.”
  She grinned at the man who she hoped would soon be her brother in law.

“Oh, I do.  I just wish we could get
Malinda to agree.”

The parlor door opened then and Malinda walked in with an irritated look.  She sat
down between Ellen and Wesley on the sofa and leaned into Wesley.  “I don’t like your
brother as much as I like you.”

Wesley smiled, stroking her arm.  Ellen tried not to watch, but she was fascinated
with how her sister reacted to him when she felt nothing at all.  “Does that mean
you want to marry me now?”

Malinda sighed.  “It means I’m a lot closer to making a decision than I was an hour
ago.”
  Malinda sounded disgusted.  What could Patrick have done to make her so angry?

Ellen stood up and walked out to the porch and saw Patrick leaning up against a post. 
“What did you do to my sister?”

Patrick turned to her and she could see his grin by the light of the full moon.  “I
just tried to hold her hand and told her that she has the most beautiful sister in
the world.”

Ellen laughed aloud.  “That was obnoxious!”

“I tried.  I don’t want to be downright rude, though, because even if I don’t marry
the woman, she’s still going to be my sister-in-law and a big part of my life.  I
need to be able to get along with her.”

She walked over and took his hand, pulling him along with her to the porch swing. 
“What would you do if you didn’t care if you got along with her for the rest of your
life?”

He shrugged, his eyes dancing as they gazed into hers.  “I’d probably tell her that
I like to have spitting contests with all the miners that come into the bank and give
them better rates if they can spit further than me.”

“That would certainly not endear my sister to you.”
  She grinned thinking about Patrick saying that.  She knew him well enough to know
he would never actually do it, but her sister certainly didn’t.

“How about you?  Would you mind if I had spitting contests with the miners?”

She laughed snuggling into his side.  “Why would I mind?  As long as you didn’t let
them spit on you and expect me to clean your clothes, I wouldn’t care. 
Do
you have spitting contests with the miners?”

“Never have.  The thought had never crossed my mind.  Maybe I should…”

“If you decide to do it, let me know.  I’d like to hire a photographer to come and
take some pictures of it.  We could use them to advertise your banking services. 
‘A banker who spits with his customers will always do what’s best for them’ could
be your slogan.”

He grinned down at her.  “Do you know what I like best about you?”

She shook her head.  “No, what?”

“I like that you put up with my crazy sense of humor.”

She smiled.  “Malinda told me you’re boring.  I don’t see it, but whatever she thinks. 
She can say you’re boring every day of the year as long as she marries your brother.”
 

“Just so you know, whatever she decides, I’m not marrying her.  I’m not at all interested
in your sister.  I’m marrying you.”

She kissed the shoulder her head was resting against.  “She’s not going to decide
to marry you.  She’d make too many people unhappy by doing that and she knows it.”

“When do you think she’ll make a decision?”

She shrugged.  “I’m going to work on her all day tomorrow.  I think she already knows
what her decision is going to be, but she’s just dragging her feet because she likes
living here and having people do for her.”  She paused for a moment looking out to
the garden.  “We stayed with the woman who owns the
mail order bride business
for six weeks before we came here.”