Mail Order Madness (6 page)

He came alone and jumped down from his buggy to help her up.  “You didn’t have to
wait outside.”

She laughed a little.  “I was hoping to catch a breeze if I sat on the porch, but
there wasn’t much breeze at all.”

“I know it’s hot.  You’ll be thankful come winter, though, because our winters are
very mild here.  We get snow only once or twice a year if that.”
  He walked around the buggy to get in beside her.  “We have running water in my house
as well, so you can take a cold bath during the day to cool down if you want to.”

She turned to stare at him.  “Running water? Really?”  Susan had never even seen running
water, let alon
e
used it.  At home they hauled the water from the well, and used the outhouse.  Running
water was a true luxury.

“I had it put in as a wedding gift to my wife.”

“What was her name?”
  She wanted him to feel like he could talk about his late wife to her anytime he
wanted, so she asked a question to let him know the subject was open.

“Caroline.”

“How did you manage newborn twins without a wife?”

He shrugged.  “I hired a round-the-clock nurse for them.”  He didn’t add that they’d
always used nurses for the boys.  He didn’t want her to marry him because of the
material
things he could provide.  He honestly wanted a woman who would be a good wife to
him.  He didn’t think she cared about his wealth because she’d agreed to marry his
brother who had come right out and told her she would have to live frugally for at
least the first few years of marriage, but he couldn’t be too careful.  Of course,
none of the women in the area would marry him even though they knew how rich he was.

He’d had a long talk with the boys before leaving the hous
e that evening telling them
they were to be on their best behavior while Susan was there
, and he would give them each a dollar
.  He told them how important it wa
s to him to get a new wife
and that they’d better no
t
mess things up.

“How far is it to the ranch?” she asked, feeling more nervous than she’d expected
to.  She was relatively certain she’d end up married to him, just because she was
in a situation that required her to make
quick
decisions.  She didn’t really want to be an instant mother, but if it was her only
choice, then she’d do it in a heartbeat. 

“It’s about five miles.  The drive takes right at thirty minutes.”

“That far?”  Somehow she’d expected him to live in the city like his brother, although
she realized that was ridiculous.  How could he be a rancher in the middle of the
city?

“Will you be upset to be away from the city?”

She shook her head.  “Not at all.  I wasn’t looking forward to living in the city. 
I’ve always lived on a farm, so that’s what’s familiar to me.”
  She really didn’t think she’d like city life.  Living in the country was something
she’d always enjoyed.

“Really?  A farm?  I didn’t realize.  I never read your letters to Jesse, so I don’t
know what you told him.”

Susan nodded.  “We had a few horses, some cows, and lots of chickens, but we were
mainly crop farmers.  I assume you raise beef cattle?”
  From what she’d read about Texas, beef was one of the primary exports.

“Yes.  I also have a side business where I train horses and sell them.  It’s not the
moneymaker the cattle are, but I enjoy it a lot more.”

“How did you get into that?”
  She wasn’t sure what to say to him, and she found asking questions about others
made for lively and interesting conversations.

He shrugged.  “I’ve actually been training horses since my parents were alive and
owned the ranch.  It was my own business that I used to make money.  After my parents
died, I
made it a part of the ranch.”  He looked over at her and smiled.  “The boys love the
horses.  I think Albert may end up following in my footsteps and being a horse trainer.”

She laughed.  “You can’t tell that much about their personalities at two.”
 

“Albert’s my eight year old.”

She turned to stare at him in shock.  “Eight year old?  I thought you had two year
old twins?”

“I do.  I have an eight year old, a six year old and two year old twins.”

She swallowed hard.  Four of them?  He’d only mentioned two!  “All boys?”

“All boys.”  He sighed.  “We were hoping for a girl the last time. 
Caroline really wanted a daughter.”

She wanted to insist he turn the buggy around and take her back to the boarding house
immediately.  She couldn’t do that, though.  She had nowhere to go really.  She sighed. 
“Four boys.”
  Could she deal with four boys?  Were they both wasting their time?

He gave her a surprised look.  “You don’t like boys?”

She shrugged.  “I don’t
not
like boys.  I was really hoping to not be an instant mother, though.  Four boys is
a lot to take on.”

He needed her to change her mind.  He needed a wife and a mother for his boys before
he went through ever
y
nanny in the state of Texas.  “Will you meet them before you make your decision?”

She nodded reluctantly.  She really didn’t feel like she had a choice in the matter. 
“I’ll meet them.”

He took her hand in his and squeezed it.  “I’ll make you a deal.  If you don’t want
to marry me, I’ll pay your train ticket home, no questions asked.”

She turned to him in surprised.  “You’d really do that?”
  She couldn’t fault his generosity.  He didn’t know her, and he didn’t have to agree
to do something like that for her. 

David nodded.  “But you have to agree to give my kids a chance.  They’re good boys.” 
Deep down somewhere, there’s good in them.
  No, I’m not being fair.  They
are
good.  They’re just a lot more active and rambunctious than most women like to see.

He pointed out his property line as they passed it, and she stared at the open expanse
of prairie land.  There were barbed wire fences that came up to the road, and she
could see a herd of cattle grazing in the field.  “Wow, so many of them.  And all
yours?”

He laughed.  “This is one small portion of the herd.  I keep them divided up into
ten sections for grazing.”

Her eyes opened wide in awe.  She’d gone to Texas to marry a struggling newspaperman,
and she was being offered the opportunity to be the wife of a rich rancher.  If money
meant anything to her, she would jump on the chance.  In fact, she knew a lot of girls
who would marry him just for his wealth, but she wasn’t one of them.  She would judge
him on his own merits.

It was a full five minutes before he pulled up in front of a large white
wooden
house and parked. 
The house was
as big as
any she’d ever seen.  Harriett Long’s house had certainly been more elegant, but
it
wasn’t any bigger than
David’s house.

He walked around the buggy and helped her down, handing the reins off to a man.  “Unhitch
it for me.  I’ll let you know when I’m ready to take her back to town.”

“Yes, sir.”  The young man was around her age and obviously was one of David’s employees. 
Her family farm was just that.  A family farm.  Every member of the family who was
old enough worked hard to keep it going.  David obviously employed people to keep
his ranch working for him. 

David slipped his hand beneath her elbow and led her up the three steps to the front
porch.  The porch was huge and went around the house.  There was a porch swing along
with several rocking chairs.  Her feet were mauled by three black and white puppies
as she stood there.  Giggling, she crouched down to stroke their heads.  “They’re
adorable.” 

“We’re just keeping one.  We’re looking for homes for two of the others.”

She stood up.  “I love dogs.  We’ve had several back home.”
  She wondered if any of them had been painted lavender since she’d left.

He opened the door and said a silent prayer that all would be well.  He’d left Mrs.
Hackenshleimer, the boys’ new nanny, in charge and she seemed to be a no-nonsense
type woman.  She’d raised five boys of her own and now was more than willing to take
on the task of other people’s children.

Mrs. Hackenshleimer had the boys sitting on the couch, all formally dressed and looking
out of place.  She walked to the door and held her hand out for Susan.  “I’m Ada Hackenshleimer,”
she said in her
thick
German accent. 

Susan smiled at the woman.  She was tall, and round, with dark hair and dancing brown
eyes.  “Are you the boys’ nanny?”  The woman nodded at her.  “I’m Susan.”

“It’
s nice to meet you, miss.”  She turned to David.  “Would you like me to stay this
evening?”

David thought about it for a moment, and decided to keep her there for the evening. 
She had a calming influence on the boys because she hadn’t been their nurse long enough
for them to find her weak points.  “Yes, please.  Will you have dinner with us?”

Mrs. Hackenshleimer shook her head.  “Absolutely not.  I’ll eat in the kitchen with
the rest of the staff.  I’ll be out as soon as you’re finished dining.”

David was afraid to argue with her pronouncement.  She intimidated him as much as
she did the boys.
  He wanted to say, “Yes, Ma’am” as she left, but that last time he’d done that, she’d
told him to stop being cheeky, so instead he watched her disappear into the kitchen. 
He could hear her tell Sadie the cook and housekeeper who had been with the family
since before he was born that the family was ready for dinner. 

David took Susan’s hand and introduced her to the boys.  “This is my oldest boy, Albert. 
He’s eight.  Next to him is
Lewis.  He’s six.  Then the twins are Thomas and Walter.  Thomas is the red head and
Walter is the blond.”  He pointed to each boy as he introduced them.

She smiled down at the four of them all looking up at her expectantly.  “It’s nice
to meet you all.  I’m sorry to hear about your uncle.”
  She hadn’t decided yet if she was more sorry for them or for herself, though.

Albert nodded solemnly obviously the spokesman for the four boys.  “We really miss
him.  He was our only relative other than Pa.  I sure hope you’ll decide to stay and
be our ma.”

“Well, I’m here to meet you and we’ll decide.”  She looked at the boys trying to memorize
their names quickly.  She noted that the two older boys both had dark brown hair like
their father, while the twins were lighter.  Albert and Lewis looked so much like
their father it was startling, while the twins had a totally different look. 
They must take after their mother
, she thought.

They all turned at the call of dinner from an older woman.  Susan watched her as she
placed the food on the table.  If she wasn’t a relative, then who was she?  Surely
he didn’t have two servants in the house!

David saw Susan’s
confused
look and introduced her.  “Sadie, this is Susan.  She’s the woman I told you about. 
Susan, this is Sadie.  She’s been with my family since before I was born.  She runs
this house, although she lets me think I do.”

Sadie put the platter of fried chicken on the table.  “Don’t you try to sweet talk
me now, David.  I already made your favorite dessert.  There’s nothing else you need
from me.”  She turned and went back into the kitchen. 

Susan could see that the table had already been set and they were just waiting for
her and David to arrive to put the food on so they could all eat.  Sadie
emerged from the kitchen again
with a huge bowl of mashed potatoes and another of gravy.  Then she went to the kitchen
to return with a bowl of green beans and some bread on a wooden board shaped like
a paddle.

Susan smiled at Sadie.  “That all looks delicious.  I’ve been eating train food for
over a week.  A home cooked meal will do me a world of good.”
  She truly was thankful to have food other than sandwiches to eat.

Sadie looked Susan up and down.  “You’re too thin.  You need to eat up.  If you come
live with us, I’ll do my best to fatten you up.”

Susan laughed.  “I don’t know that I need fattening, but I appreciate the gesture.” 
David held out a chair for her at the foot of the table and she took her seat, trying
to act as if she were seated by a man every day, but feeling very awkward.

The boys each sat two to a side. 
The twins had taken the seats beside their father who was obviously used to helping
them with their meals.  Albert and Lewis sat on either side of her, calmly waiting
for the prayer before they fixed their plates.  Susan was impressed.  Her brothers
would have fallen on the food like rabid dogs. 

David smiled at Susan.  “Let’s all hold hands as we thank God for the meal.”