Mail Order Madness (8 page)

He took her hand in his and held it for the rest of the drive to the boarding house. 
“Why don’t I pick you up around ten in the morning, and we’ll go to the courthouse
to speak our words?  I’ll get Sadie to cook up a nice wedding
lunch
for us, and I’ll have a few of the area ranchers and their wives over so you can get
to know a
some
people before you settle in.”

She leaned back against the seat and stretched a bit.  “That would be nice.  Just
not too many people.  I’m too tired to have to play hostess for a big party.  One
night’s sleep isn’t going to be enough after that long train ride.”

He pulled
up
in front of the boarding house and helped her down walking her to the front door. 
“I’ll keep it to five or six of my closest friends and their wives.”  He noticed Mrs.
Duckworth had been kind enough to leave a
lit
lantern on the front porch for Susan. 
He brushed his lips against hers and opened the door for her.  “I’ll be here at ten. 
Have your things packed and ready to go.”

“I’ll be waiting for you.”

She stifled a yawn as she went inside and closed the door behind her.  Mrs. Duckworth
went to the door to see who was there.  “Is that you, Susan?”

“Yes, ma’am.”

Susan had explained a little about her situation earlier in the day, and Mrs. Duckworth
was understandably curious.  She knew little of David Dailey, but she had thought
he was a kind enough man when he’d reserved the room for Susan the previous day. 
“So what did you decide?”

Susan blushed.  “He’s picking me up for the wedding at ten tomorrow morning.”

Mrs. Duckworth smiled.  “We’ll start getting you ready as soon as the breakfast dishes
are done, then.  I know you just had a bath today, but we’ll get you another, and
I’ll fix your hair for you if you’d like.”

“Oh, I don’t want to take you away from the other things you need to be doing.”

“I never had a girl.  Only boys.  I’d love to help a young lady get ready for her
wedding.  Will you let me play mother for a few hours tomorrow?”

Susan laughed softly and nodded.  “Thank you.  I’d like that very much.”

“Go and get a good night’s sleep.  With a husband and four boys to deal with, this
may very well be your last full night of sleep for a long while.”

Susan didn’t tell the woman how angelic her future step-sons were.  She didn’t want
to brag too much. 
“Good night.  And thank you.”

*****

While Susan bathed after breakfast the following morning, Mrs. Duckworth ironed the
dark green dress Susan had made for the wedding. 

By the time Susan was out of the tub and wearing her petticoats, Mrs. Duckworth had
her dress ready.  “Do you know how you want your hair for the wedding?”

Susan shook her head.  “I’ve worn it in braids and in a bun all of my life.  I’ve
never even looked at other hairstyles.  At home, it was all about what was the best
way to keep it up and away from your face so you could work.”

Mrs. Duckworth walked in a circle around Susan who was standing in the middle of the
room with her hair piled on top of her head to keep it from getting wet during her
bath.  “Take your hair down so I can see how long it is.”

Susan pulled the pins she’d put in it to keep it up, and her blond hair cascaded down
her back like a waterfall.  It went to the back of her knees.  She stood still as
the older woman eyed her.  “What do you think?”

Mrs. Duckworth smiled when she saw all the hair and gave a quick nod.  “I know just
what we’ll do.”  She waved to the straight back chair she’d brought up to the room
earlier.  “Sit.  We need to get started.”

Susan sat down and stared straight ahead as Mrs. Duckworth went to work on her hair. 
She brushed it out little by little, and once it sho
ne
, she began the elaborate up-do she had in mind.  While she worked Susan asked her
questions about her life to fill the silence.

“You said you only had boys.  How many did you have?”

“Only three.  I wanted an even dozen, but the good Lord
k
new I couldn’t possibly handle that many once my husband died.”  There was a note
of sadness in the older woman’s voice as she mentioned her husband.

“When did he die?”

“Well, let’s think.  I was twenty five when he died so it must have been thirty eight
years ago.  He died in the Texas War of Independence.  I didn’t want him to fight,
because I was pregnant with my third at the time, and had a six year old and a three
year old, but he was filled with pride for his homeland.  He couldn’t stand to let
Santa Anna’s troops take over, so he fought.”  The woman stopped and wiped a tear
from her eye before resuming her task of fixing Susan’s hair.

“I’m sorry.  It must have been really hard for you to raise three boys on your own.”

Mrs. Duckworth nodded.  “This house was all I had back then. 
I put the two older boys in a room together, and when the baby was born, he shared
with me.  I started taking in boarders.  Just two to start with, but then I realized
I could easily handle more.  Now I have up to six boarders at any given time.”

“Do your boys visit often?”

“Oh, they’re all right here in Fort Worth.  My oldest is a banker.  He keeps trying
to get me to close the house and move in with him, but I like my independence.  He
has two teenage sons.  Then the middle one owns a saloon.”  She shook her head.  “I
hate it that he works in The Acre, and I tell him every time I see him.  He never
married.”

“And the youngest?”

“He’s a preacher.  Married to the sweetest girl I’ve ever met, and they have four
little ones.  The oldest is twelve and the youngest is two.  I love having my grandchildren
near me.”  She paused as she stuck another pin in Susan’s hair.  “They come over for
Sunday dinner every single week.”

“That must be nice for you.  Do the older boys come for dinner?”

“Of course, just not so often.  I find I’m closer to my youngest.  Maybe because he
never knew his father at all.”

“I wish I was staying here long enough to meet them all.  It sounds like you have
a lovely family.”
 

Mrs. Duckworth stepped back and nodded.  “I wish you were too.  I’d love for you to
meet them.”  She made a slow circle
around Susan checking her work.  “It’s perfect.”  She picked up a hand mirror she’d
brought in and handed it to Susan.  “What do you think?”

Susan moved the mirror around looking at her hair from different angles.  “It’s wonderful. 
I love it.”  She jumped to her feet and hugged the older woman.  “Thank you so much!”

Mrs. Duckworth smiled.  “I’m happy to help.  Your mother can’t be here for your special
day, so someone has to stand in for her.”  She turned to the bed where she’d laid
Susan’s dress.  “Let’s get this dress on you.  You did a beautiful job on it.”

“Thank you.  My mother and I decided it made more sense to make a practical dress
for the wedding so I could wear it to church on Sunday as well.”

“Very smart.  I never saw the need of making a special dress you’d only wear once
in your life.  This will be a very serviceable church dress.”  Mrs. Duckworth helped
Susan put the dress on so it wouldn’t disturb her hair.  She walked around behind
her and buttoned her up to the top button.  “You look very beautiful.  The green really
brings out the color of your eyes.”

Susan wished there was a way to see her entire body in a mirror, but she had no way
to do that.  “Does it fit okay?”

“Absolutely.  It shows off your figure to its best advantage as well.  Your waist
looks tiny in that dress.”

Susan sighed.  She hated how tiny her waist looked in comparison to the rest of her
body.  Her waist was supposed to be small, but her breasts were so large, they made
her waist look like it wasn’t real.  “What time is it?”

“You have about fifteen minutes before he gets here.  I guess we need to pack up the
last of your things.”

At ten, she was waiting in the parlor with Mrs. Duckworth.  She tried not to stare
out the window, but it was hard.  Her new family would be there any minute to pick
her up.

When they pulled up, she stood and smoothed her dress down nervously.  She picked
up her bag and smiled at Mrs. Duckworth.  “Thanks for everything.  I couldn’t have
asked for a better mother to help me get ready.”

Mrs. Duckworth laughed.  “It was my pleasure.”

“Are you sure you won’t come for the wedding?”

“I really can’t.  I have to get lunch ready.  If I’d had more notice, I’d have called
in a friend to fix it for me, but twelve hours just wasn’t enough.”

“I understand.”  She went to the door and opened it.  “I’ll come visit you soon.”

“I look forward to it!”

David was on the front porch waiting and took her bag from her.  “I’ll put this in
the back of the buggy.”

She followed him down the steps and to the buggy.  The boys were sitting in the back
with Mrs. Hackenshleimer who had both twins on her lap.  David handed her up and they
made the short drive to the courthouse in silence. 

Once he had parked the buggy, he came around and helped her down.  “You look beautiful
today.”

Susan blushed.  “Thank you.”  She turned and took the twins one at a time from Mrs.
Hackenshleimer and set them on the ground.  As soon as Mrs. Hackenshleimer was down,
she took each of the twins by the hand and walked with them toward the courthouse.

Susan walked behind her with David, the older boys on either side of the couple. 
“Are you nervous?” he asked.

She nodded.  “I’ve never been married before.”

“Well, I have, and it’s nothing to be afraid of.  The ceremony will be simple, and
then we’ll head out to the ranch.”  He just hoped the boys could behave for long enough
to have her
legally
tied to him
before she realized they were hellions
.
  Mrs. Hackenshleimer had a firm grip on the twins’ hands and she’d watch over the
older two during the ceremony.  He was almost there.

They entered the courthouse and went to the judge who was waiting for them.  David
had sent a messenger in that morning that he’d be there at ten and needed a few minutes
of the judge’s time.  The ceremony was short and simple, and Susan was surprised when
the judge pronounced them husband and wife.  It was so short, it didn’t seem like
it could possibly be legal.

After he’d kissed her briefly, they all trooped back out onto the street.  Susan looked
at David.  “That was so fast.  It doesn’t feel like it could possibly be real.”

David smiled and stroked her cheek.  “It’s absolutely real.  You are now Mrs. David
Dailey.”

She once again found herself mesmerized by his brown eyes.  What was it about this
man that brought out strange urgings inside her?  She didn’t know, but she was glad
she had feelings for him.  It would make marriage so much easier.

Susan heard the howl of a cat, and turned to see one of the twins had a cat by the
tail.  The cat broke away and ran down the street.  Both twins tore free of Mrs. Hackenshleimer
and ran after the cat.  The older boys took off after the twins.

Within moments Susan watched the twins fall off the boardwalk and into a puddle of
mud created by a store owner dumping a bucket of mop water.  They stood up dripping
mud.  Their Sunday clothes were covered and they were howling with anger
because
the cat had gotten away.

The older boys were still running after the cat and dove toward it, bonking heads
on the way down.  The cat streaked away, but Albert and Lewis shouted at one another.

“I can’t believe you let her get away!” Albert yelled.

“It’s all
your
fault!  I had her!” Lewis pushed his brother.

Not ten minutes after her wedding, Susan watched her two youngest step-sons howling
in the street
dripping mud
while her older boys fought with their fists not twenty feet away. 

One of the shopkeepers came out of his store to see what the commotion was.   He sighed. 
“Oh, it’s just those rotten Dailey boys again.”
  He shook his head as he went back into the store.

Again?
  Susan’s heart sank.  She’d married a man who came with hellions. 
She glared at David.  “Again?”

David met her eyes and shrugged innocently.  “This may have happened once or twice
before.”

Susan marched to the buggy and climbed up with no help.  He could deal with his own
children.  She refused to deal with monsters
within an hour of her wedding
. 
When they arrived home
would be soon enough.

Chapter Four

Susan was silent while David and Mrs. Hackenshleimer rounded up the boys and for the
trip back to the ranch.  She couldn’t believe David had deceived her, but really,
what had she expected from a stranger?  Sure, he was a stranger she enjoyed kissing
whom she was now married to, but he was still a stranger.