Montana Bound: A Sweet Mail Order Bride Historical (Mail Order Bride Journeys Book 2) (7 page)

“I’m so sorry. Maybe I should find a job in town so that I can move out. I should never have stayed here this long, it’s just that I like it here so much.” Grace was overcome with grief as she spoke, but held back her tears.

“You can do that if you feel it is best, but you are more than welcome to stay here longer. We’ve really enjoyed having you here to. You’ve become like a sister to me.”

The two women embraced in a hug briefly. “I appreciate it, but I think I should start looking for a job tomorrow. I do have strong feelings for your brother, but I don’t want to be the cause of his relationship with her falling apart. If that happened on its own simply because their feelings for each other have changed, without my putting undue influence on him, then I would welcome any interest that he might have in me. But I would never want to marry a man that might later come to regret his decision and wish that he was with the other woman.”

“I understand. And I’ll support your decision completely.” Constance said.

“Please promise me you won’t tell him the reason that I am planning to move out, or that we have talked.” Grace asked.

“I promise. We girls have to look out for each other, and you are making your decision for the right reasons.” Constance hugged her again, and then both women turned the attention back to the housework.

CHAPTER 8

Later that afternoon, Grace heard the sound of a wagon pulling up to the property. Constance heard it too and quickly retrieved her brush and mirror to make some quick touch-ups to her hair.

Grace could hear the two men greeting each other. Owen had been outside working in the barn ever since walking out of the house earlier in the morning, and it was the first time she had heard his voice since then. She felt the familiar flutter in her heart at the sound of his voice, but quickly squelched it.

Constance, satisfied that she had done her best with her hair, rose and started for the door but stopped. Turning toward Grace, “Come. I’d like to introduce you to my beau.”

Grace rose and walked out onto the porch with Constance. There the two women stood and waited as the men approached. Grace imagined how that this is how it would be if the two men were married to Constance and her, but forced herself to put the thought out of her head.
It’s just not right to think like that!

Though she knew that Constance had been eagerly awaiting Virgil's arrival, she admired the other woman’s self-discipline as she forced herself not to run to him, forcing him to make the move to approach her. She wished that she had the same level of self-discipline.
Maybe things would not be getting this out of hand.

Owen walked up to the steps leading to the porch, but held back, allowing Virgil to approach is sister alone. Grace could see what Constance saw in Virgil. He was about 10 years old than Owen, but every bit as handsome. He removed his hat as he looked into Constance's eyes and smiled, seemingly unaware of Grace’s presence beside her.

“I am so happy to see you again, Mrs. Abel.” Virgil said as he took Constance’s hand and lifted it to his lips.

“Mr. Thomas. I am glad you came. How was your trip?” The poise of the older woman impressed Grace, and she wanted to be so much like her.

“Very uneventful. I am glad to finally be able to be here to see you again. In fact, I came straight here and haven’t even stopped in town yet to check in at the hotel to drop off my bag.” Virgil laughed.

“This is Miss Grace Russell. She is a friend of ours that has recently moved to Montana and is staying here until she can get settled.” Constance said, gesturing to Grace standing next to her.

“So pleased to meet you, Miss Russell.” Virgil said with a wide grin across his face.

Grace took the Virgil’s outstretched hand and said, “I am pleased to meet you as well, Mr. Thomas.”

“You are a brave one. There are not too many single women that would have the self-confidence to move to Montana alone, but at least you have friends here. How are you enjoying Montana so far?”

“I love it! It is so beautiful and peaceful, not like life on the east coast.” Grace answered with a grin.

Turning toward Owen, who had ascended the stairs and stood beside Virgil and facing Grace, Virgil said, “This one is not only beautiful, but she’s also got fortitude. How come you haven’t married her yet? If you don’t charm her now, you’ll soon have to ward off all the single men from these parts with a stick!”

His comments to Owen brought laughter from everyone. Having heard so much about him already, Grace was not surprised to discover that Virgil was a very charming man. However, Grace found that she also felt just a bit uneasy about the fact that Virgil seemed to focus on her a bit too much, particularly since he had not seen Constance in such a long while. But she decided that he was probably just being polite since he had just met her.

“You are absolutely right, Virgil. I don’t know how much longer we can keep the lid on the kind of prize that we have here. Before too long, we’ll have buggies lined up down the drive way as all the lonely men wait for their chance to introduce themselves to our lovely guest.” Owen spoke to Virgil, but his entire focus was on Grace.

It was the first time that Owen had spoken openly of any attraction to her, and she tried to convince herself that he was just teasing her to follow up the compliment that Virgil had just given her. The look in his eyes as he spoke of her told another story though. And after hearing what Constance had told her earlier, she knew that he meant what he said.

Grace felt a mix of excitement and fear as the she accepted the truth of the situation in her heart. She knew that Owen was interested in her, but she also knew that he loved another girl. She also knew that it wasn’t right, and that she shouldn’t be causing him this kind of confusion right now. It wasn’t fair to him, or to the other girl. And more likely than not, the result of the situation would be that her heart would be broken. She could not have that, and determined that she would begin the following day to look for a job in town so that she could move out.

Her thoughts were interrupted as Constance spoke, inviting everyone inside to catch up over cookies and milk. Virgil took Constance’s hand and the two of them walked inside first. Owen gestured with his hand, indicating that he would follow Grace in to the house, and as she turned to walk back in, she felt his hand briefly settle onto the small of her back. She felt her herself swoon.
Yes, this is much too dangerous for me. I need to find somewhere else to live as soon as possible.
She thought to herself.

***

November 3, 1896

The next morning Owen rose from bed early and walked out to the barn to collect some fresh milk for breakfast. Virgil hadn’t stayed too late because he still had not checked into his room, but promised to return in time for breakfast. He had invited Virgil to go fishing with him at his favorite fishing hole, which was located a short distance past the opposite side of the town from where he lived. Grace, hearing the conversation, had asked if they could drop her off in town. What he found troubling though, was the fact that she told them that her purpose for going to town was to look for a job.

He had not slept well that night, feeling uneasy and confused. He thought that Grace was integrating herself as a solid member of the family and that she was happy staying with them. Perhaps she was just thinking of the future, and desirous of allowing his sister and Virgil to have their privacy, should they soon marry as all expected they would.

Still, he couldn’t shake the heavy feeling that had descended upon him. He didn’t want her to leave. He didn’t want to be apart from her. He knew that he shouldn’t have those feelings, it wasn’t fair to his girlfriend, whom he had never had any doubt he would return for… until now.

As he walked to the barn, he paused to take a bale of hay from the stack just outside the door. He gave a few leaves to the horses before entering the stall that Millie, his jersey cow, was kept in. He gave her the balance of the hay, and gave her a few gentle strokes of his hand across her back before setting up his stool and bucket to milk her.

He felt guilty. What kind of man would allow himself to be in the place to develop feelings for another woman in the absence of the girl that he loved? He had never even entertained a doubt that he would marry his girlfriend before. He had always taken pride about how jealously he guarded his heart and worked to preserve his love for her. Then this beautiful woman walked into his life out of the blue, and from the first day he could not get her out of his mind.
Am I really that shallow of a man?

Owen was snapped out of his thoughts when he heard a horse whinny in the distance. Sure enough, seconds later he could see a buggy come around the corner toward the house, and knew that it was Virgil coming to pick them up.

He headed to the house to alert Grace that Virgil was almost there, when suddenly she emerged with a small basket in hand.

“I was just on my way to tell you that Virgil is almost here.” Owen said.

“Yes, I was watching from the front window and saw that he was approaching, so I came outside.”

“If you’ve just been sitting there staring out the window, why didn’t you come out and join me. I thought you were asleep.”

“You looked like you were lost in thought, so I didn’t want to disturb you. But I wasn’t just staring out the window… I also packed some biscuits and jelly to take along with us. Figured you hadn’t eaten breakfast and you’d be starved.”

Always looking out for me
. Owen thought to himself. He was in fact quite hungry, but hadn’t realized it until then. “Thanks, I am hungry. I guess I forgot to eat this morning.”

“I noticed.” Grace said with a sly smile.

“Miss Russell? Can I ask you something?” Owen asked, but then was grateful when Virgil had pulled up and hollered out his greetings, distracting them from their conversation.

“Hello Virgil! Let me grab my stuff.” Owen called back, and then hurried to retrieve his makeshift poles. There were two of them, homemade contraptions. They weren’t pretty to look at, basically made from long, thin tree branches that were strong enough, yet flexible enough to fight a decent fish into the shore. The end of each stick had a length of twine attached that Owen had made himself. The hooks were the only part that he had purchased.

After placing his items in the back of the buggy, Owen turned to help Grace onto the seat. The buckboard wagon was wide enough that three adults could sit together on the one seat that had been built onto the buggy, but it was tight.

Grace took her place in the middle of the seat, and then Owen hopped up beside her. He was close enough to her that he could detect the subtle hint of her perfume.

He quietly took in a couple of deep breaths, soaking in her aroma. He loved the way she smelled. She was not like most of the women from those parts, who if they wore any scent at all, seemed to bathe themselves in it. She knew to use just enough to capture a man’s attention to herself without overwhelming his senses.

Virgil had picked up on the scent also. “You smell quite lovely this morning, Miss Russell. I don’t recognize the scent though.”

“Thank you, Virgil. It is actually made with Rose oil. I brought it with me when I came out here.”

“Well, it is a very lovely scent, for a very lovely woman.” Virgil smiled and tipped his hat as he spoke.

Owen felt a bit of jealousy shoot through him, but reminded himself that Virgil was courting his sister and that he wasn’t flirting with Grace. He hadn’t ever seen Virgil around women other than his sister, but he could only imagine that Virgil must turn on the charm with ladies whenever he was around them.

“You are not going to drive away without saying hello to me are you?” Constance called out to Virgil from the porch. Virgil immediately hopped down and quickly crossed the distance to where she stood and embraced her.

“I am so happy to see you! I assumed at this early hour that you’d still be asleep.” He said as he hugged her close and softly kissed her on the forehead. “But now it is going to be so difficult to tear myself away from you.”

“Well you are going to have to,” Owen called out to him, “we are going to miss out on the best fishing if we don’t head out right away.”

After a few more moments, Virgil said his goodbyes to Constance and promised that he’d visit more after they returned later in the day. Then he hopped back into the buggy, and gave the horses a couple clucks, and they began to slowly pull the wagon away.

The ride to town was slow. Some storms had passed through the area in the weeks before, and the dirt road that they traveled had developed some ruts from the running water.

Owen was grateful for the extra time he had to spend with Grace, but he was a bit put off by how much of the trip was taken up by Virgil engaging her in conversation. The two did share a similar sense of humor, and it seemed that she enjoyed his company quite a bit.

Owen tried to interject himself in the conversation, and he normally would not be at a loss for words. However, this time the only thing he could think to talk about, was the one thing that he was avoiding bringing up. More than anything else he wanted to convince Grace not to take a job and move out, but he knew that he was being selfish. It was not fair to her, or to his girlfriend, for him to want to spend so much time with her.

At Owen’s request, Virgil pulled up in front of the small diner that one of Owen’s childhood friends had opened up.

“Now ask for Elias, and mention to him that I recommended that you see him. He and his wife are good friends of mine, and I happen to know that their cook quit not long ago after her baby was born. Tell him that I can vouch for your outstanding skills in the kitchen.”

Owen gave her a wink as he spoke the last words. He meant every word of it too. Not that his sister was a bad cook by any stretch of the imagination, but she didn’t hold a candle to Grace as far as he was concerned.

“Okay, I will. And thanks for the compliment, and the referral.”

“If he has already hired for the position, there is a seamstress shop and a small inn, both located down the street a ways,” Owen said while nodding his head in the direction of them, “I’m sure either of them could use your skills.”

“Thank you Mr. Miller.” Grace replied, and then turning to Virgil, “And thank you for the lift. I will wait outside the post office for you to pick me up after you finish fishing.”

“Absolutely, Miss Russell. And thank you for the wonderful conversation. I can’t remember the last time I’ve shared so many laughs with someone.” Virgil said with a tip of his hat.