Mail-Order Bride Ink: Dear Mr. Turner (9 page)

“What’s that?” Harrison asked.

Eli, too nervous to bluff his way through it, settled for ignoring him.

Harrison’s mouth dropped open, and he quickly turned to his wife. “He brought something for her and didn’t tell us!”

Sadie smiled and shook her head. “Really, Harrison, do mind your own business. Whatever it is, he didn’t bring it for
you
.”

“But he didn’t tell us!”

“So?” She got up from the table. “Help me with these dishes so we can have dessert.”

“But they’ve gone out onto the porch, dear wife. You know what that means.”

“I can’t say that I do.” She began to clear away the plates.

“Where is your sense of snoopery?” he asked indignantly.

“Snoopery? What kind of word is that?”

“I just made it up. If you will excuse me …” He moved to leave the room.

Sadie set down the stack of plates in her hands and followed him into the parlor. She watched as he quickly opened the front window, the one that looked out over the porch. Eli and Miss Comfort’s voices drifted into the room. “Harrison Cooke!” she hissed. “Get away from that window!”

He went to her and took her hands in his. “It’s our duty, dear wife, to chaperone. Now what kind of chaperones would we be if we left them alone out there, unwatched and unlistened to?”

“Oh for Heaven’s sake.” Sadie yanked her hands from his. “You are the nosiest man I have ever met!”

“On the contrary,” he said in a low voice. “I’m doing what’s right by Miss Comfort and our young friend Mr. Turner.”

Sadie put her hands on her hips. “You just want to see what’s in the box.”

“A nice side benefit,” he admitted, waving a finger at her. “But making sure it is nothing untoward, of course.”

Sadie rolled her eyes. “Harrison, you’ve gone plumb loco.” She left to deal with the dirty dishes.

“That woman has no sense of romance,” he muttered. Harrison turned, rubbed his hands together in anticipation, then firmly planted himself in the chair next to the open window.

“
I
brought ya somethin
’.” Eli handed her a box.

“Why, Mr. Turner,” Pleasant said with a smile. “A gift? For me?”

“I hope ya like it,” he said nervously.

What she liked was the way the tips of his ears turned pink. It was an odd thing to notice and even odder to be attracted to, but there it was. She took the box from him and stared at it. It was a little larger than a shoebox, wrapped in brown paper and string. “You really didn’t have to get me anything.”

“I wanted to.” He gazed into her eyes. “Besides, they’re real practical. Stuff ya’d be needin’ anyways.”

“How very thoughtful.” She tugged on the string, untied it, pulled the paper away and opened the box. “Oh my … what is all this?”

“That li’l box there.” Eli pointed at it. “It’s got somethin’ else in it.”

“Indeed?” She felt herself blush. For a man who’d just shot several outlaws the day before, he was acting incredibly nervous, boyish and innocent at the same time. What a startling contrast – how could a man be so manly and tough, yet tender and charming? Pleasant found she liked the combination. She liked it a lot. “What’s this?” she asked, picking up an object wrapped in white linen. “It’s heavy …”

“Careful, now,” he warned. “I’ll hafta teach ya how to use it.”

She pulled the linen away and … “Merciful heavens!” she gasped, a hand to her chest. It was a pearl-handled revolver!

“Ya’ll need some lessons. I’ll teach ya how to load it first. Then ya can try yer hand at shootin’ it.”

She examined the weapon and almost dropped it from her shaking hands. “But I’ve … I’ve never shot a gun in my life!”

“If’n yer married to me, yer gonna hafta learn,” he said, his voice stern. “I don’t mean for it to scare ya, I’m just tryin’ to make sure yer safe.”

She knew the gun couldn’t possibly be loaded … could it? Gingerly she set it in her lap. “Protect me? By having
me
shoot someone?”

“Only if ya gotta.” He took the gun from her and aimed it at the barn. “Mr. Dunnigan – ya know, Wilfred? He just got it in – says it’s a perfect sidearm for a lady, nice and light. And it’s real purty, don’t ya think?”

“Yes, it’s … quite beautiful. I’ve never seen anything like it.” As a child near the end of the War, when Sherman’s army came stomping through Savannah, she remembered a few ladies carrying firearms. But those were tiny things, little two-shot pistols you could fit in your reticule. This six-shooter was a whole other animal!

“Wilfred thought ya’d like this, and I agreed. It might seem a little heavy at first, but you’ll get used to it.”

She nodded and swallowed hard. Right now it was pretty, with its pearl handle and shiny steel. But what would it be like to actually fire the thing? She didn’t ask and instead picked up the small box inside the larger one. “What about this?”

“Open it and find out,” he said with a smile.

She was almost afraid to after the gun – did this contain the bullets? But she pressed on … and was glad she did. “Mr. Turner, are these truffles?”

“Yes, ma’am,” he said with obvious pride. “Came all the way from Oregon City.”

“How delightful!” The rich fungi brought back memories of her debutante ball, where her father – who was still spending money like he had it – had served truffles shipped all the way from France. It was one of her last completely fond recollections of home …

“There’s somethin’ else in there if’n ya look for it,” Eli said, still smiling.

She smiled back, feeling positively giddy. She looked again into the box and saw a small piece of cloth folded into a square. She picked it up and felt something inside.

“Go ahead,” he urged. “Open it.”

She did and pulled out a lovely silver necklace. “Oh, Mr. Turner! You shouldn’t have.” She looked at the truffles and the gun. “I can see where the gun will come in handy, but these other things are great extravagances, are they not?” Good heavens, did she actually say that? Back home, such things would be expected from a suitor. But out here, days from the nearest city, such luxuries were just that – luxuries.

“Shucks, Miss Comfort. I know ya’ll need the gun. But what woman doesn’t like tasty treats? And the necklace’ll look mighty purty on ya.”

She almost sobbed in happiness. She’d had men in Savannah flirt with her before and offer such trinkets, even try to steal a kiss from her when her brothers weren’t around. (Pity the poor fellow once they found out, of course.) But never had any man caught her eye as this one was doing now. A good thing, too, considering she was supposed to marry him. “Thank you. Thank you so much. Though I will admit that this one token does fret me something awful.” She carefully tapped the butt of the gun with a finger.

“Ya mean that li’l thing?” He picked up the gun again. “It won’t be so scary once ya know how to use it. In fact, it’ll be downright comfortin’, I bet.” He grinned. “Comfort. If’n ya don’t mind my sayin’ so, that’s quite a name. I’ve never heard it before.”

She sighed. They were bound to get around to this. “Oh, it’s much worse than that.”

“I never said it was bad.”

“No, but you will when you hear the rest of it.”

His eyebrows rose at that. “So … yer full name is?”

“Pleasant. Anne. Comfort.”

“P-P-Pleasant? Your name is
Pleasant
?” He laughed and slapped his leg with a hand. “Well, I’ll be! If that ain’t the purtiest name I ever did hear!”

She looked at him in shock. “Pretty? You think it’s
pretty
?”

“Yes, ma’am, I do. As purty as the girl wearin’ it.”

Pleasant felt herself blush as she put the necklace back in the box. “I don’t know what to say. I’ve always been ashamed of my name.”

“Ashamed? Why? I think it’s beautiful.”

“After I marry you, I won’t be wearing it anymore – or at least, not part of it. I’ll be Pleasant Turner. Thankfully, there’s not much one can do with that.”

“What do ya mean?” he asked, confused.

She sighed. “What I mean is that children can be very cruel and were, when I grew up. Of course, some of my brothers dealt with even worse than I did.”

“Why, what are their names?”

“My oldest brother’s name is Major.”

She watched as Eli closed his eyes a moment. “Major Comfort?”

“Mm-hmm. And my twin brother, a few minutes older than I am, is named Peaceful.”

Eli’s eyes sprang open in horror. “Now ‘round here, if’n someone’s daddy named ‘em somethin’ like that, they’d get a talkin’ to!”

She nodded. “Mother could be … eccentric about such things. As I said, Peaceful had a much harder time of it than I ever did. He still does – that’s why we’ll call him Matt. From Matthias, his middle name.”

“What about your older brother, Major?” Eli asked, shaking his head.

“We call him Quince for short. His middle name is Quincy.”

“Quincy sounds kinda … well, sissy to me. If’n ya don’t mind my sayin’,” he added defensively.

“Well, I warn you that if you ever meet him, don’t tell him that. He
would
mind your saying, trust me.”

He nodded. “I’ll take yer word for it.” He put the gun back in the box and reached for her hand. “May I?”

She looked at him in confusion. “May you what?”

He smiled as he took the necklace from her. “Put this on ya?”

“Oh yes, of course.” She turned on the swing to make it easier for him. He drew closer as he brought the necklace up and over her head, then pinned it at the back of her neck brushing a few wisps of hair away in the process. She shuddered at his touch and quickly turned back to him. “How does it look?”

He smiled. “Beautiful.” His eyes drifted up to meet hers. “‘Course, I think anythin’ would look purty on you, Pleasant. Ya don’t mind if I use yer first name, do ya?”

“Well, it’s a little soon … but we are going to be married, aren’t we?”

“We sure ‘nough are.” He drew closer.

Pleasant’s eyes darted to his lips. Good heavens, was she thinking of kissing him? How scandalous would that be? But this wasn’t Savannah – would it actually be a scandal here? And he did have nice lips …

“Here you are!” Harrison stomped out onto the porch, making them both jump. “Oh, I’m terribly sorry – I didn’t mean to startle you. I was just bringing dessert.”

Eli let out the breath he’d been holding. “Much obliged,” he said sourly.

Harrison gave them a toothy grin and set a tray on a small table near the swing. “Coffee, and pie baked by our own Miss Comfort.”

Eli’s face lit up. “Ya baked a pie?”

“I went through the motions. Belle told me what to do, step-by-step.”

“But it was still yer hands that made it.”

“He’s right, you know,” Harrison tossed in. “Take credit for your achievement, Miss Comfort.” His eyes fixed on the box in her lap. “Oh, what have we here?”

“Mr. Turner was kind enough to bestow upon me a few gifts,” she said.

He eyed the gun. “How … practical of him.” He turned to Eli. “You’d better be sure you have Doc Drake with you when you teach her how to use it.”

Eli looked taken aback. “I ain’t gonna let her get hurt, Harrison! She won’t need Doc!”

“I wasn’t talking about
her
getting hurt.” He spun on his heel and headed back into the house.

Pleasant put a hand over her mouth to stifle a giggle.

“What’s so funny?” Eli asked.

“Nothing,” she said with a shake of her head. “Except that I think he’s right.”

“About what?”

“About having the doctor present when you teach me how to use that. I’m liable to shoot your foot off.”

His eyes widened. “Ya
are
?”

“I’m afraid so. I’ve never shot a pistol, but I have used a bow and arrow. And I have terrible aim.”

He looked away, swallowed hard, then met her gaze once more. “Okay, I’ll ask Doc Drake what he’s up to this week.” He smiled. “Now let’s see how this pie tastes, shall we?”

Pleasant laughed, nodded, then realized how much fun she was having.

She sighed as Eli took his first bite. He chewed slowly, his eyes wandering. When he finally turned back to her, Pleasant’s chest swelled with pride at the look of pleasure on his face. “Do you like it?”

“Darlin’, if’n this is yer very first pie, I can’t imagine what the hundredth is gonna be like. Maybe I should marry ya tomorrow.”

Pleasant blushed. She was inclined to agree.

* * *

P
leasant awoke
the next morning with renewed hope. This mail-order bride business might work out after all. She liked Eli Turner and was looking forward to getting to know him better.

Unfortunately, she didn’t get to see much of him over the next few days because of his job. But how often did the town jail hold a passel of outlaws awaiting the circuit judge? Not very, according to Sadie. Still, the town had seen its share of things since she’d married Harrison all those years ago, so this wouldn’t be the last time. Pleasant would have to get used to being the wife of a lawman.

She wanted to meet Eli’s brother, the sheriff, and his wife. If anyone would know what it was like being married to one, it would be Rose Turner. She and Tom, Colin informed her, had married six years ago, when Tom was deputy in a town called (believe it or not)
Nowhere
, up in Washington Territory. They had two children and did fine, according to Colin and Harrison.

But the lifestyle of a small-town sheriff was far from the only thing she’d have to get used to. Common housework was another – cooking, cleaning, sewing, laundry. And feeding animals – did Eli have any besides his horse? She certainly hoped he didn’t keep pigs. What if he had some beasts she was allergic to? Did he have a cat? She certainly hoped so. She hated mice and rats – they scared her to death. But she hadn’t noticed any vermin at the Triple-C so far, and that was a good sign. Though she hadn’t seen a cat there - maybe the Cookes kept one in the barn …

What she most wanted to see wasn’t a cat, though – it was Eli. Belle informed her that this was his day off, and the timing was perfect – she and Sadie were going to town for some sort of sewing circle, and planned to visit Mr. Turner at his home. At last she would see where she would live. She envisioned a pretty little two-story house with flower boxes and a garden …

The words
one-room cabin
flashed in her mind, dispelling the fantasy. She’d forgotten about the description. Still, she could hardly wait to see what it was like. It might be a
nice
one-room cabin, after all.

“Are you ladies ready yet?” Colin asked as Sadie, Belle and Pleasant came downstairs. “We’ve got the wagon all hitched up.”

“Yes, we’re ready,” Belle said.

He kissed her on the cheek. “Are you ready, Miss Comfort? After all, this is going to be a big day for you.”

She glanced at each in turn. “How so? I am looking forward to seeing Mr. Turner’s home, but …”

Belle cleared her throat as Colin began to study the ceiling. Sadie glared at both of them, then turned to her. “He’s talking about the ladies’ sewing circle. You’ll get to meet quite a few of the women in town.”

“Oh?” Pleasant said. “My, I had no idea so many attended.”

“It’s not saying much,” Belle said. “Clear Creek isn’t that big.”