Mail Order Love (Sweet Mail Order Bride Historical Romance Novel) (Oregon Mail Order Brides) (9 page)

“Dry your tears my girl. You have made me laugh, and I like you. That’s all there is to it. I’ll show you the homesteading skills you need, and here’s an idea. Let us surprise Jared with a tremendous breakfast tomorrow. Jared eats breakfast right after waking up as he rides a long way off on the ranch each day. We’ll practice this afternoon until you’re perfect and we’ll both be there tomorrow morning to greet him with it. I have an old recipe book passed through the womenfolk in our family. I’ll let you use it and give you some tips. You can cook to your heart’s content my dear. You’ll improve.”

Ellie smiled and looked through her tears into Grammy’s dark kindly eyes. Grammy didn’t realize it, but the words she had just uttered were like manna from heaven for Ellie.

Grammy handed her a handkerchief and at that moment they both knew they would be friends.

They went down to the front room together and Ellie opened the book of recipes for the first time. Within the flimsy brown pages were recipes stretching back through the years. The womenfolk in Jared’s family had written their most sacred, well-loved recipes and their cleverest tricks in the kitchen. These were family secrets that were usually kept close to their chests and not disclosed to a soul outside the Ford clan.

For Ellie, the book was like a box of treasures. It contained the secrets of producing delicious meals. Meals that Jared and Grammy would both love.

“Grammy, I don’t know what to say. This book is my dream come true. You really don’t mind my cooking at your house?”

“You are welcome to. I’m not one to cook up fancy meals, but I sure love to eat them my dear. It would suit us very well if you would take on the cooking. We’ve got piles of food for you to practice with, so don’t worry about that. Come on, let me show where everything is.”

Grammy took Ellie outside and showed her around the garden, pointing out various fruits, vegetables and herbs. Grammy explained how best to cook with them and how the flavors complemented each other. They went back into the house and Grammy gave a tour of the cold store which contained eggs, meats, cheeses, and row upon row of preserved foods.

When the old lady’s legs got too tired to carry on she sat at the big front room table and Ellie made her another sweet milky coffee. Sipping her coffee, Grammy instructed Ellie on how best to cook a breakfast, reading out from the recipe book where necessary.

Grammy watched as Ellie whipped up a batch of biscuits made to the Ford family tried-and-tested recipe this time. “You’ve not had a chance to cook before now, Ellie?”

“No, I … I wanted to, but the woman I worked for in Boston, she felt I would be bad at it.” Ellie looked down, uncertain of how much to say.

Grammy was intuitive about these things. “Didn’t treat you well, eh? I thought there must be a reason for your sudden flight. Well, there are reasons for everything, my pet! You are here now. Now, let’s make a breakfast to end all breakfasts.”

Chapter 17

The next day Jared awoke with a start. He felt he had forgotten something important.

That’s right. We’ve got a new housekeeper. Fat lot of good it will do us.

Jared huffed as he rolled onto his stomach in bed. He propped himself up on his elbows, palms over his eyes. He was going to have to face her again today. And they were stuck with her for a whole month.

Yesterday had not been a good day. That breakfast took the prize as the most terrible breakfast he had eaten in his life. He had only managed to eat half of it. Still it had rolled around in his stomach all morning like a leaden cannonball.

He wouldn’t even feed that tripe to Eric and Fairy. They would probably turn up their noses at it in any case. They weren’t burdened by manners, those dogs, and all the better for it.

Jared had stayed out all day yesterday, going into town for midday and taking his meal at the saloon. He had come back to work on the ranch for the rest of the day. After the sun went down he had stayed out in the barns working until late at night. He had polished off some of Grammy’s stew for supper.

If he was honest with himself, he had to admit he was avoiding their new housekeeper. He had got used to it being just him and Grammy in the house. The fact that this housekeeper was originally intended to be his wife made him all the more uncomfortable.

Just stick it out for a month. Then she’ll go and things can get back to normal.

Jared readied himself to go downstairs again. He could hear the sparrows calling outside his bedroom window and the wind rustling the trees surrounding the garden. It was a beautiful spring day and he wanted to get out in it.

Just one hurdle to get over. Eating another of those stomach-turning breakfasts. Or maybe he could skip it completely this time.

Jared hopped down the stairs three at a time, followed by his two dogs. He knew he should speak up and complain about the poor quality of the grub. Just tell Ellie straight. The problem was he couldn’t bring himself to do it. She looked delicate. A mite sickly. Earnest about wanting to please. He was afraid she might cry if he told her the food tasted like muck.

“Morning, Grams, morning, Ellie.”

It looked as if the two of them had been up for a while, even though it was only just dawn. Jared resolved to avoid breakfast altogether today.

“I’ll have one of your wonderful coffees, Ellie, then I’ll be off out. Got a lot to do today.”

Grammy looked as if she had been waiting for him to say that.

“Oh no, Jared, I’m not having that. You are to sit down and eat your breakfast properly. You’ll catch a sickness if you go out to work on an empty stomach.”

She looked fiercely at him.

He looked up to the heavens for help. “Grams, I really don’t -”

“No. I won’t hear another word. You are to eat your breakfast. Ellie, if you don’t mind, could you serve it now, please.”

Jared sat down with a sigh. There was no arguing with Grammy when she got like this. Had to have her way.

Grammy looked like she was suppressing a laugh. “So Jared, good breakfast yesterday? Our Ellie worked hard to cook that up for us.”

Jared looked at Ellie, busy at the stove dishing out his meal, then looked appealingly at Grammy.

“Well, I … yes, good, it was a very good breakfast.”

“Really?” Grammy raised her voice. “You hear that Ellie? He thought yesterday’s breakfast was a very good breakfast.”

“Thank you Jared, I am glad you were pleased by it.” Ellie flashed him a slightly mischievous smile.

Grammy had a sip from the large, sweet, milky coffee she had each morning. “So my dear, is that how you’d like your breakfast every day? About right for you was it?”

If Jared wasn’t imagining things, Grammy was smothering a snort of laughter behind her over-sized coffee mug.

“Hum, ah yes, I guess so.”

Jared did a double take as Ellie slid a breakfast fit for a king under his nose. Perfectly browned and crispy streaky bacon, fluffy hash browns steaming a tempting aroma, cornbread done to perfection, curly sausages fried up in the pan, and two immaculately done fried eggs with their yolks still runny. There was even a sauce of deep red tomato cooked with onion and parsley, served hot in a small jug.

Jared eyes grew as big as saucers. He looked at Grammy and Ellie, who were looking away from him now. He turned back to his food and lost no time in attacking that delectable plate. He couldn’t suppress his groans of delight through his mouthfuls.

“Dang! This is … mighty good! How did you do this, was this you Ellie?”

Ellie turned to look at him, pleasure all over her face. “Yes. I practiced a little yesterday. Is it better this time?”

“Yes! I mean … it’s mighty tasty Ellie. Do this every day from now on, will you?”

Grammy was giggling at him. “But I thought you said you liked yesterday’s breakfast best, Jared, didn’t you?”

Jared grinned at her briefly before stuffing his mouth again. “All right, Grams, I get it. I should have said the food was bad yesterday. Sorry Ellie, but it was kinda awful.” He smiled sheepishly at her. “But this makes up for it all right.”

Ellie started giggling in her happiness.

Grammy piped up. “You see Jared, you are too polite for your own good. If you don’t watch out, she’ll think you like rubber eggs and make ‘em every day for you. Lucky I stepped in and told her straight. Spent all day yesterday practicing, so she did.”

Jared looked at Ellie with appreciation. “Thank you, Ellie. What a woman. Appreciate it all the more when you start me off with a rotten breakfast.”

They all collapsed into laughter at that, peals ringing around the front room. Eric and Fairy happily wolfed down the remains of yesterday’s practice breakfasts. Everyone had done well out of Ellie’s first day disaster.

Chapter 18

Grammy finished up the last of her coffee.

“Today I have a task for you, Jared. I know you’re busy but I need this done.”

“What’s that Gram? Anything for the breakfast sheriff.”

“I need you to show Ellie how to drive a buggy. We’ve got two of them, and sometimes I might need Ellie to drive me to town when you are not around.”

Jared had not planned to spend much time with Ellie today, or at all. He had things to do on the ranch. He was warming up to her though. She was relaxed about her terrible cooking and had a fighting spirit to fix it. He had to admit he was starting to like her.

“All right Grams, no problem.” He finished up his breakfast, wiping the plate clean with cornbread. “You ready to go now, Ellie?”

Ellie put on her bonnet and Jared his hat, and they left the house together.

The prairie was ablaze with new wildflowers popping up against the grass in pink, yellow, purple, orange and cream. There was a smell of damp earth in the air and the wind gently caressed their cheeks.

“Here, let’s go to the horses first.” Jared showed Ellie to the stalls.

“This one here is Ginger, and the other’s called Treacleface.” He patted a whiskery white and orange horse and pointed to a fat sleek brown horse with a black face. “These crooners are so old they won’t give you an ounce of trouble. Docile as lambs they are.”

They took the horses out from their stalls and led them round to the buggy standing outside one of the barns. Eric and Fairy came along with them. The dogs danced around, competing for pats from Ellie. They had singled her out as the one they wanted attention from.

Jared snorted out a laugh. “They’re getting lovesick over you. Ignoring me now, aren’t you boys?” He grinned at Ellie. “Sure you didn’t have animals, back at your place in Boston?”

Ellie glowed, flattered by the attention from the dogs. “No, but I love animals.”

“They can tell it too. I know they look like they could swallow a bear whole. But they are the gentlest creatures around people they care for. You can give them a hug if you don’t mind, they love that.”

Ellie squatted down with the giant hairy dogs and put an arm around each. She giggled as Fairy licked her face.

“That tickles! Ooh, that tickles, doggie!”

Jared watched with the pride of a father. “See, they don’t step over the line, they know how to be civilized and not knock people over.”

He watched her, fascinated. She was unaffected and laughed so naturally. He had never met a girl quite like her.

He pulled himself together. “Watch how I harness up Ginger, then you can do the same for Treacleface.” He lifted the leather and metal contraption from a hook on the barn wall and showed her step by step what to do.

“Then you just lift that hoop up over the horse’s head, make sure the straps are tightened just right, and he’s hitched. See? Now you try.”

He watched Ellie do the same, as she followed his instructions as best she could. She had pluck that girl. Small though she was, she was managing it fine without his help. Jared wondered what kind of situation she came from, what kind of family she had. “So Ellie, what’s your family back in Boston?”

She replied without facing him, speaking clearly as she fastened the straps onto Treacleface. “I don’t have family. I lost my family to typhoid, so there is just me left.” She turned to face him, her face normal as if she had just told him the time. “How about you?”

Jared understood. It was not uncommon to lose family, and it was not done to show the pain to strangers.

“I have two brothers and two sisters. All scattered out, making their own livelihoods. Lost both my parents in an accident. Grandpa died a few years ago.”

Ellie nodded, listening carefully to each word. There was a pause.

Though it had been a brief exchange, the swapping of histories had brought them a step closer together. Jared dared to ask a little more. “What are your plans for the future then, Ellie? You working from now on?”

“Yes, I am a worker. I want a chance to improve my abilities and do a good job. I am grateful to be here, Jared.”

Jared regarded her, feeling guilty for his intention to have her leave at the end of the month. Maybe she wasn’t so bad after all.

“Good. Come on then, let’s get this buggy going. Hop up!” As before, Jared let Ellie get herself up into the buggy. “We flick the reins like this, and we’re off. Come on, let’s ride a circle, see how fast we can go!”