Lessie: Bride of Utah (American Mail-Order Bride 45) (6 page)

See Lessie smile
remained at the top of his wish list. A close second:
kiss Lessie again.

She raised trembling fingertips to her lower lip, touched them as if she felt something in his kiss, something that moved her as much as it had him.

Good
.

He leaned near to whisper to his wife. “Hello, Mrs. Cannon.”

Lessie twisted the gold wedding ring on her finger as Richard drove the matched pair of bays through the city streets, her head too full of her own thoughts to notice much where they were headed.

Until the carriage stopped at one of the edifices in Ogden City she recognized too well. The clock tower cast a lengthening shadow across the grounds and crisscrossed donkey-drawn trolley cars.

The Union Pacific railway station.

Lessie glanced at her sister, in the back seat with her new husband.

Richard climbed down from the buggy and circled to offer her his hand.

She met his hazel eyes, somehow warmer now that she’d experienced the wonder of his kiss. Especially after he’d promised her things would be all right. Tender, new sprouts of trust had taken root. “Where are we going?”

The men exchanged a glance.

A surprise wedding trip, perhaps?

Maybe the men didn’t actually reside in Ogden City. Known as Junction City, Ogden was home to the largest railway hub in the area. For all she knew this rig was rented and their home was in another county altogether.

But Mr. Cannon didn’t answer. He released her hand once she found herself safely on the paving stones and steadily met her gaze.

He might struggle to find the words, but she saw the truth of it in his eyes.

They
all
weren’t going anywhere.

Panic tingled at the periphery, creeping back in. Who would leave? The men? Surely they wouldn’t send her and Josie away, would they?

Adam assisted Josie from the carriage and rested his hand at her back. “It’s regrettable, dear sister, but my wife and I must depart.”

Richard had promised things would be all right. But Adam— her sister’s husband— had made no such promises. He might possess charm in spades, but Adam lacked the most basic consideration for Josie’s feelings and comfort. He planned this railroad journey without asking Josie if it pleased her… to begin the same day she finally stepped off the swaying, clattering monstrosity. Had he paused to consider she might not want to leave?

“Where are you going?” She addressed her brother-in-law.

Adam’s smile lit his eyes as he focused on Josie. “Mrs. Taylor and I will make a wedding trip to New Mexico Territory.”

So far away.
“Why?”

“Forgive me if I combine business with the desire to show my wife the uncommon beauty of the desert. I want to spend time alone, just she and I.”

“Did you know of this, Mr. Cannon?” If he’d had foreknowledge and
still
promised everything would be all right…

His expression, together with a look swapped between the men, told the tale. Richard
had
known. He’d known things would not be all right and yet he’d
promised
. That either made him a fool or a liar. Perhaps both.

Or maybe she was the fool and he the liar.

She distinctly recalled her marriage vows. She’d promised to obey and honor and respect this man. In the moment, to do so seemed impossible.

Mr. Cannon sighed. As if
he
were the one inconvenienced. “This opportunity presented itself just yesterday. The Taylors will be away only a short while.”

A wedding trip through the desert all the way to New Mexico Territory didn’t seem short. But she was most unfamiliar with the West. All she knew was the state and territory boundaries were significantly larger than at home.

“How short a time?” She pressed Adam Taylor for an answer. “How long will you be away?”

“A matter of weeks. I hope to have the family together for the holidays.”

Anguish stole into her heart and chased away every scrap of anger and disappointment.

Nearly three
months
. How would she manage without Josie? Worse, how would tender-hearted Josie survive without her?

Chapter Five

“I will have your word of honor,” Richard’s new wife demand of Adam, “that you’ll look out for my sister. Josie has never been on her own. You must ensure she is comfortable, safe, protected.”

Thankfully, Adam had handed off his many trunks to a porter when they’d first arrived at the station before finding the women, and tipped the man generously. His belongings would be aboard the private Pullman. With or without him and his wife.

Saying goodbye was taking far longer than Richard could have expected. When he dropped Adam off at the station with his bags, they said goodbye and parted. A brief interaction of mere seconds.

But Adam seemed to understand how important this parting conversation was to Lessie. “I vow I will.”

Richard knew his cousin well, knew him to be a gentleman through and through.

Josie would be fine.

He might have spoken in defense of his cousin’s honor, but he
witnessed stark terror in Lessie’s expression. By contrast, Josie’s eyes had filled with tears. Probably just sadness.

But Lessie…

The enormity of the pain he’d caused his bride, in separating identical twins—
who’d never before been apart
— slammed into him.

He’d not known, hadn’t suspected separating his wife from her twin would hurt her.

Not like this.

He and Adam were as close as two men could be yet they went separate ways with ease and reunited easily, like no time had passed. They could spend three months in separate states without a pang of loneliness.

Not so for his bride and her twin. He was learning that truth the hard way and at her expense.

Richard winced at the panic in Lessie’s tone. Much to his surprise, tenderness swirled about his heart, warming him from the chest on out.

He risked touching her with a gentle palm to her back. “You’re right, my dear. We,
I—”
for he never shirked responsibility, “—hadn’t warned you adequately, and for that I apologize.”

Lessie’s expression calmed almost immediately, softened, and she gave him a sad smile. “Apology accepted. Thank you.”

He nodded, solemn. “Please, say goodbye to your sister. I promise she is in excellent hands with her
husband.” He ached to soothe her. “You may write daily, send wires almost as often.”

Hope sparked in her eyes. “You mean it?”

“I mean it.” Never had he meant anything more. If she needed daily correspondence in order to accept what must be he wouldn’t just allow it. He’d
encourage
it.

The greater the distance separating Lessie from her twin, the greater her desperation to learn
why
Adam and Josie went to New Mexico Territory while she and Richard stayed behind.

The second time she rephrased her question, seeking a plausible answer, Richard finally spoke.

“We’ll discuss it when we arrive home. Until then, I suggest you enjoy the scenery. This is a beautiful autumn day, and a shame to waste it.”

“I don’t care about scenery— I care about my sister.”

“Before long, we’ll have frost and snow. Last winter was particularly severe.”

She bit her tongue rather than respond in a fit of temper.

He navigated the buggy through the business district and into the tree-lined streets of a residential neighborhood. Here, saplings seemed spaced too perfectly. And so very few, as if they only grew where planted.

Hundreds of miles of train travel through the Great Plains had made her crave the beauty of New England with its luscious vegetation and dense forests. Here, so few trees lined the drive it was easy to see the houses set back from the wide, straight streets.

How odd… “Ogden City appears to be laid out on perfect parallel lines, each block a precise square. Why do none of your streets curve?”

“Mormons are a peculiar people.” He flicked the reins, urging the team to pick up the pace. “They like their streets straight, wide enough to turn a team around without the work of unhitching.”

“Compared to the crowded, narrow streets of Lawrence, this is…” She searched for the right word. Peculiar didn’t fit. “Nice.”

“Note the numbering system from 25th street, the heart of downtown. Moving south, 26th street, 27th street, and to the north the street numbers decrease.”

He tipped his head at the corner. “The avenues running north and south are named after Presidents. New this year, renamed by the first gentile mayor in Ogden City’s history.”

“Why?” The work of renaming avenues, and the expense of new signs, made no sense.

“Streets named after their church people don’t properly reflect a desire for statehood. Our newly elected gentile mayor is doing all he can to put Utah Territory on the path to statehood.” He waved a hand in greeting at a passing fellow on horseback.

Interesting. Her husband
would
speak, as long as the topic of conversation had nothing to do with Adam, Josie, or New Mexico.

But he had managed to stir her curiosity. “You referred twice to the mayor as
gentile.
His political party?”

“No. It’s the Mormons’ word for those who aren’t. Around here, people are Mormon or gentile.”

“You are gentile.”

“Yes.”

Good to know she’d been right when defending this man to her friends. “How do you know so much about them? The Mormons?”

“I’ve lived among them for two years. I read the newspaper. I associate with businessmen. And listen to the talk.”

“I see.” Questions about Josie and Adam swirled in her mind… but Richard
had
said they’d discuss it at home. “This is why your advertisement said no Mormons?”

He cut her a glance. “If we’d wanted Mormon wives, we could’ve found some around here.”

But he didn’t sound convinced. Maybe they already had their quota.