Mail Order Meddler (2 page)

He rushed back to the mercantile and gave George the sealed letter.  George was both the mercantile owner and the postmaster of
Nowhere.  He was also the mayor.  Of course, with a town the size of Nowhere, there just weren’t enough men around to do all the jobs that needed to be done.

Francis rushed back to Mattie and the two of them bought the goods they needed.  They were there for the same things every single week.  Bread, crackers, and beef jerky.  No one in the family had even attempted to cook since Ma had died, so they ate whatever they could find that didn’t need to be prepared.

“Fwansis, can I get a piece of stick candy?  Please?”

Francis smiled at his sister.  She’d been calling him
‘Fwansis’ since she was tiny and couldn’t say the ‘R’ sound.  Now it was just habit, but he liked it coming from her lips.  “Only if you promise not to tell the others.”  Most of the money he had on him had been sent to Massachusetts.  He was glad he’d thought to bring extra that morning.  “Just one piece.”

Mattie happily looked through the different kinds of candy and selected a peppermint stick.  They bought the other things they needed and started the long drive back to the ranch.  They lived a good hour’s drive
from town, and he knew it was a waste to make it every week and lose a half-day’s work, but they couldn’t really keep going without bread, and none of them even knew where to begin making it. 
Tracy will know.  She’ll fix everything.

*****

It was mid-May, and school would be out soon.  This was her last year, and Tracy knew that she had little time left at the orphanage.  She’d been there for a full eighteen years.  So many of the babies that came in got adopted, but the letter that had been attached to her basket kept her from being placed with a new family.  When she was young, she’d wondered if her mother ever thought about her and when she would come.  As she’d gotten older she’d forgotten to hope for her mother to come and done everything she could to be wanted and relied on there in the orphanage. 

She wanted to dawdle on her way home, but she knew that there was strawberry jam to be canned, and she was the oldest girl in the house, so it would be her responsibility to help.  She would do it without a
single complaint, because acting badly would only get her kicked out sooner.  She was on borrowed time already.

When she opened the kitchen door, the first thing she saw was Elizabeth sitting at the table, a sealed letter in front of her.  Tracy said nothing as she dove for the letter, picking it up and reading it immediately.  “Dear Tracy, You sound like you are the perfect wife for me, but more importantly, the perfect sister-in-law for my younger siblings.  I have enclosed a small amount of money to help you make the trip, and a train ticket.  I can’t wait to see you at the train station.  Yours, Andrew.”

Tracy’s smile lit up her entire face.  She was always a pretty girl, but when she smiled, she became truly beautiful.  She handed the money to Elizabeth not sure how much was hers for her services and how much was her own.  Elizabeth gave most of the money back to her.  “When do you leave?” she asked.

Tracy looked down at the ticket.  “It says May fourteenth.  Why, that’s tomorrow!”

Elizabeth smiled.  “Let’s go get you packed then!”

Tracy shook her head.  “I can’t.  It’s my job to help with the jam.”  She rushed to Mrs. Spivey’s side.  Over her shoulder she said, “I’ll do it later.  There’s not much to do.”

Elizabeth looked undecided for a moment before she smiled at Mrs. Spivey.  “Do you have an extra apron?”

Mrs. Spivey looked Elizabeth up and down before nodding to a peg on the wall.  “Hanging there.”

“Oh, you don’t have to help, Elizabeth!”

Elizabeth shrugged.  “I don’t mind.  When we’re done here, we can pack.  An extra pair of hands will certainly speed up the process.”

The work did go quickly with three of them, and when they had put the lid on the last jar, Elizabeth grabbed Tracy’s hand and dragged her up the stairs.  “Which room is yours?” she asked.

Tracy led Elizabeth into the girls’ room.  There were ten bed
s lined up against the walls.  Tracy went to her bed and pulled a carpet bag out from under it.  She quickly packed her things into the bag and stood up after snapping it shut.  “There.  Packing is done.”

Elizabeth raised an eyebrow.  “What are you taking?”

Tracy shrugged.  “Everything I own that I’m not wearing.  One extra dress for Sundays, an apron, and my Bible.”  She sat down on her perfectly made bed.  “Oh, and a nightgown, of course.”

Elizabeth sighed.  “You should take some fabric with you so you can make an extra dress once you get there.  It’s a different climate.  You’ll need some warm weather dresses.”

Tracy sighed.  “I don’t know how much I’ll be paying for food along my journey.  I don’t think I can afford to waste anything.”  She looked at the money that Andrew had sent.  “It’s not very much.”

Elizabeth looked at it and shook her head.  “No, it’s not.  I’ll buy you some fabric.”  She started toward the door.  “Come with me.  I can afford it.”

Tracy blushed.  She hated being anyone’s charity case, but even more, she hated the idea of showing up for her wedding with no extra clothes at all.  How would that work for her?  “All right.”

Tracy let Mrs. Spivey know where she was going, and the two of them headed for the mercantile.  They spent a few minutes looking around until Tracy spotted a fabric she really liked.  It was a mint green calico with tiny little flowers.  She’d never wanted anything so much in her life as she wanted a pretty dress with that calico.

Elizabeth picked it up and nodded.  “That’s perfect.”  She ordered three yards.  “If you have extra, you can always make another apron or a bonnet from it.”

Tracy nodded, impulsively hugging the other woman.  “Thank you.  I didn’t want to go to him a pauper.”

Elizabeth paid, and the two of them walked back toward the orphanage.  “What time does your train leave tomorrow?”

Tracy
pulled the ticket out of her drawstring purse.  “Ten in the morning.”

Elizabeth nodded.  “I’ll meet you at the train station at half past nine.”

“That’s all right.  I can see myself off.”

Elizabeth smiled.  “Let me be a friend and see you off.  I’ll be there at half past nine.”

Tracy shrugged.  She couldn’t control the other woman.  “I’ll be there.”

*****

Tracy arrived at the train station five minutes late the following morning, and her eyes scanned the crowd for Elizabeth.  No matter how much she’d protested the day before, she was glad she wasn’t going to have to get on the train with no one to see her off.  The morning had been difficult and chaotic, and she was glad for the change in her life.  Going to Texas would be good for her.

After a moment, she spotted Elizabeth and hurried through the small crowd to sit on the seat beside her.  “Good morning,” she said, waiting for Elizabeth to notice her there.

“Good morning,” Elizabeth said with a smile.  “Are you ready to go?”  She held up a package of brown paper tied with a string.  “I brought you some sandwiches to make your money stretch.”

Tracy took the sandwiches with a smile.  “Thank you.  I couldn’t take food away from the orphanage.  There’s not always enough as it is.”

Elizabeth nodded, understanding perfectly.  “We didn’t always have enough growing up either.”  She cleared her throat for a moment as if she was thinking about how to word what she wanted to say.  “I just want you to know that if anything goes wrong, all you have to do is contact me, and I’ll send you a train ticket, and you can come back and stay with me if necessary.”

“What do you mean
‘wrong?’” Tracy asked.  What exactly was Elizabeth offering?

“Some men are…not good to their wives,” Elizabeth began.

Tracy had heard a lot of stories from the other children living in the orphanage.  There was one boy there who had been put there when his father beat his mother to death and ended up in prison as a result.  “I know.  I’ve heard a lot of men beat their wives.”  Tracy shrugged.  “It’s a woman’s cross to bear.”

Elizabeth shook her head adamantly.  “No it’s not!  If someone hurts you, get out!  Never allow a man to hurt you.  Do you understand?”

Tracy nodded slowly.  She’d never heard of a woman leaving a man who hit her, but it did make sense.  “I’ll let you know if anything like that happens to me.”

Elizabeth looked relieved.  “Good.”  They both heard the call for the train then.  She got to her feet and hugged Tracy tightly.  “Write to me when you get there to let me know you made it safely.”

“I will.”  She leaned down to pick up her carpet bag and clutched her sandwiches in her other hand.  “Thank you for everything.”

Elizabeth smiled.  “I wish we’d met sooner.  I think we could have become good friends.”

Tracy smiled.  “I’ll write you, and we’ll still become good friends.”

“I’d like that.” 

Tracy rushed toward the train where the conductor was calling for them again.  She looked over her shoulder and waved before plunging into the train and finding her seat.

Chapter Two

Francis watched as his younger siblings went to bed, wringing his hands nervously.  Tracy was due to arrive in Nowhere the following day, and he hadn’t yet gotten up the courage to tell Andy that his wife was about to arrive.  As soon as Arthur went to bed, Francis turned to Andy.  “Do you remember when I told you I thought you should get a mail order bride?” he asked.

Andy shook his head.  “It was a stupid idea then, and it’s a stupid idea now. I’m too busy for a wife.”

Francis sighed.  He’d have to just tell his older brother what he’d done straight out.  “I sent off for a bride for you, before I even suggested it.  She’ll be here tomorrow around two.”

Andy blinked a few times staring at his brother in shock.  “You did what?”

“Andy, we need a woman around here.  We need someone who knows how to cook and clean.  We haven’t eaten a home cooked meal since Ma died.”

“You get married then.  I don’t have time for a bride.”

Francis shook his head.  “She’s expecting to marry you.  I sent for her in your name.”

“Why would you do that, Francis?  Why on God’s green earth would you think I would be okay with not only marrying a woman I’d never met, but one you chose for me?  No, I won’t marry her!”

“But, Andy, she’s an orphan.  She’s from Beckham, Massachusetts.  She’s been traveling for ten days to get here just to marry you.”

“An orphan?  Are you kidding me?  How old is she?  Twelve?”  Andy could just picture his brother sending away for another child for him to care for.

“She’s eighteen.  She has red hair and green eyes.  She likes to cook.  Please, Andy, just marry her.  You’ll have someone to help you with the nonsense we put you through.”

Andy sighed as he stared at his brother.  Why would he do something like that?  He had enough going on just trying to make sure everyone was fed and clothed.  A wife?  What was he supposed to do with a wife?  “I’ll meet her, but just to tell her I’m not going to marry her.  She can get right back on that train and go back East.  I don’t need any woman who doesn’t understand how hard ranch life is here.”

Francis sighed.  If Andy met her, he’d marry her.  He knew his big brother.  Many people had told him to dump all of his younger siblings at an orphanage.  “You don’t need to be responsible for them,” they’d told him.  Andy hadn’t listened.  He took his responsibilities seriously.  He’d feel obligated to marry Tracy, just like he felt obligated to keep all of his siblings. 

There would
be real food for dinner tomorrow night and every night thereafter.  Just in time, too.  If he had to eat any more beef jerky, he was going to start vomiting and never stop.

*****

Tracy tried to smooth her wrinkled skirt as she got off the train in Nowhere, Texas.  After traveling for ten days, she was rumpled and particularly out of sorts.  She was going to have to meet her future husband looking like someone who lived in the woods, not a young lady.  She was mortified, and hoped Andrew was forgiving.

She got off the train, the only person to get off there in
Nowhere, and looked around her.  The train pulled out before she spotted four people huddled together.  She walked toward them hoping they were the Harveys, because she didn’t know what she’d do otherwise.  She approached them and smiled into the face of the oldest of the four.  “I’m Tracy.  Are you Andrew?”

The man removed his cowboy hat and nodded
, his Adam’s apple bobbing as he swallowed. He had blond hair that was longer than it should be, but Tracy could easily take care of that with a pair of scissors. “Yes, I’m Andy.”  He looked her up and down, surprised by how pretty she was.  “These are my brothers, Francis and Arthur, and my sister, Matilda.”

Tracy smiled nodding to each of them.  “It’s nice to meet all of you.”

Andy tried to find the right words to get her to wait for the next train to come and take her back East.  Before he could speak, Mattie tugged on her dress.  “Will you teach me how to cook?  My brothers say that all women know how to cook, but I don’t know how, and I’m going to be a woman someday.”

Tracy ignored her aching body that had been on bumpy trains for altogether too long, and squatted down in front of the pretty little girl whose
blond hair hung limply.  It hadn’t been braided or even brushed and definitely needed to be washed.  “I would love to teach you to cook.”  She leaned forward and whispered into the girl’s ear,  “I’ll teach you how to fix your hair really pretty, too.”

Mattie threw her arms around Tracy and hugged her.  She turned to Andy and said, “Can we keep her, Andy
?  Please?”

Andy frowned down at his sister and then looked at the woman in front of him.  He sighed heavily, knowing he couldn’t disappoint Mattie.  “Yes, we’ll keep her.  Let’s go see the preacher.”

Mattie squealed and clapped her hands excitedly.  “Will you be my new mama?”

Tracy shook her head.  “I’ll be your sister-in-law, but you can call me Tracy.”

Mattie took Tracy’s hand in hers.  She looked at Andy expectantly.  “Let’s go find the preacher.  You said.”

Andy looked at Tracy, inexplicably angry with her for expecting him to marry her.  “Is that all you brought?” he asked, nodding at the bag at her feet. 
She certainly wasn’t trying to overwhelm them with her possessions.

She nodded, blushing slightly.  “Orphans don’t exactly have a lot of belongings.”  She wouldn’t apologize for not having parents.  He’d agreed to marry her knowing she was an orphan.

The five of them walked down the street toward the preacher’s house.  Tracy was surprised that she was holding hands with Mattie and not with Andrew, but she didn’t say anything about it.  What could she say?  She really didn’t have anywhere else to go, or she’d be there.  She felt a vague sense of disappointment at the way he had acted upon meeting her.  She’d hoped he would at least act like he was happy to meet her, but instead he looked as if he’d rather she was anywhere else in the world.

Of course, in her imagination, he’d taken one look at her and swept her into his arms, kissing her madly right there on the street.  She would blush, but be so happy to finally meet him she would just smile up at him sweetly.

Francis hurried to Tracy’s side, linking his arm through hers.  “So, after the wedding, I thought we could stop at the mercantile and stock up on food.  You
are
going to cook dinner tonight, right?”

Tracy looked at Francis in surprise.  “I guess I am.”  She squeezed Mattie’s hand.  “Do you want to help me cook?”

Mattie nodded solemnly.  “We’re women, so it’s our job to do the cooking.  I’ll even help you wash the dishes.”

Tracy smiled down at the girl.  “I’d like that a lot.  What do you like to cook?”

Mattie shrugged.  “I don’t know.  Ma didn’t have time to start teaching me to cook before she died, so I’ve never cooked anything.”

“I’ll start teaching you to cook tonight.  Would you like that?”

Mattie nodded with a smile.  “I’d like that a lot.  You’re going to be a good sister, aren’t you?”

“I’ll do my very best.  I’ve never been anyone’s sister.  It will be fun to have a family.”

“How come you don’t have a family?  I have three brothers.”

Tracy shrugged.  “When I was a baby, my mama couldn’t take care of me, so she left me on the doorsteps of an orphanage.  She left a note with me, so everyone would know my name was Tracy and said she’d come back for me, but I guess she never had time.”

Mattie clutched Tracy’s hand tighter.  “We’re your family now.”

Tracy smiled.  “I’m glad.”
  She was amazed at how much the little girl understood her need for family and welcomed her accordingly.

Andrew walked to the door of a house and knocked.  An elderly gentleman came to the door.  “Well, hello, Andy.” 

“Good afternoon, Pastor.  I was wondering if you could marry my fiancé, Tracy, and me today?”  He used his thumb to indicate Tracy who was standing behind him holding his sister’s hand.

The older man smiled, his eyes twinkling.  “I’d be happy to.”  He looked at Tracy.  “It’s nice to meet you.  I haven’t seen you at church.”

“Oh, I’m from Massachusetts.  I came here to marry Andrew.”  She said nothing more.  She wasn’t ashamed to be a mail order bride, but it wasn’t the normal way to marry either.

The pastor opened the door wide, inviting them all inside.  “Let me just get my wife, and we’ll get this started.” 

Tracy stood quietly in the parlor of the tiny house waiting for the other woman to arrive.  She wished she knew what to say to Andrew to make him warm up to her, but she had no idea how to talk to a man she’d marry in a few minutes. 

When the pastor came back, there was a plump woman with white hair and dancing blue eyes with him.  She rushed to Tracy and took her hand.  “It’s so nice to meet you.  Andy has needed a good woman for a long time.”

“I’ll do my best to be a good wife to him and a good sister to his siblings.”  Tracy felt as if she were making a formal vow as she said the words.

“I know you will.  It’s in your eyes.”  She patted Tracy’s arm. 

The pastor stood in the center of the room.  “Are we ready to start?”

Tracy took the hint and hurried over to stand beside Andrew.  Everyone had called him Andy, but she’d been thinking of him as Andrew for a month, and changing her thinking was going to be hard. 

She listened as the pastor talked softly about the responsibilities of a husband and wife.  He added some extra words for their situation.  “It will be your responsibility to see that your whole family is fed.  Marriage is hard enough without starting out with three extra people.  Are you sure you’re ready for the responsibility of raising Mattie and Arthur?”  He didn’t add Francis, because Francis was already mostly grown.

“Yes, sir.  I am.”  Tracy hoped she was telling the truth.  Honestly, she felt perfectly capable of cooking and cleaning and mothering, but making Andrew happy seemed like an insurmountable task.  The oldest brother hadn’t smiled yet.  She could understand him feeling like he had a huge burden on his shoulders, but he looked almost angry.

After her agreement he went into the typical marriage vows.  Once she’d agreed to take Andrew as her husband and he’d agreed to take her as wife, the preacher said he could kiss his bride.  Tracy blushed.  She’d never been kissed, and the first time would be here in front of all these people? 

Andy leaned down and brushed his lips across hers.  He may not want a wife, but she was pretty, and now that he had one, he’d make the most of her.  He kept this kiss brief, knowing the others were looking.  He didn’t want to have to explain to Mattie why he’d kissed his new wife for so long.
  Tracy was a pretty woman, and even if she was a terrible wife in every other way, she’d be a joy to bed.

Tracy felt tingling all the way to her toes when his lips brushed against hers.  She was so happy she’d answered his letter and that she would be his wife and not some other woman.  Now that they’d kissed, she knew that she had done the right thing.  He would be a good husband to her, and they would have a dozen children just like in one of her books.  She smiled up at him tentatively, hoping he would smile in return, but he was already facing the pastor.

She didn’t mind, though, because in her mind they were already living happily ever after with their children on his ranch.  He would carry her over the threshold and treat her like a princess.  He’d even hire someone to do the cleaning, so she could just cook and sew the tasks she enjoyed.

“Thank you, Pastor.”   Andy shook hands with the older man, wondering what had just happened.  Why had kissing Tracy made him feel so strongly?  He’d kissed a few other girls but had never felt anything like the jolt of electricity that had just gone through him.  He couldn’t let her have power over him.  He’d seen the power his mother had over his father, and it wasn’t pretty.  A man should never
let a woman control him.  “We’ll see you on Sunday.”

Andrew led the way out of the house with Tracy following behind again.  She wondered if he’d ever walk beside her.  Maybe he needed to be taught how to treat a wife.  She could work on that with him.

Mattie clung to Tracy’s hand all the way back to the wagon.  Tracy waited for Andrew to assist her into the seat, but when he didn’t, she climbed up herself.  Maybe no one had ever taught him any kind of manners?

Francis, Arthur, and Mattie climbed into the back of the wagon while she sat on the seat at the front with Andrew.  “How far is it to the ranch?” she asked.

“About an hour.”  Andy didn’t offer any more information.  He wasn’t going to become any closer to the woman beside him than absolutely necessary.  She was there to help him raise his younger siblings, not for him to fall in love with.

Tracy peppered him with questions as they drove, and he answered as concisely as possible.  They were halfway to the ranch when she said, “Wait!  Francis said we needed to buy supplies for me to cook tonight.”

Andrew sighed.  “I’ve already lost half a day’s work just by driving into town to get you.  I can’t afford to lose any more.  You’ll have to make do with what we have.”

Tracy didn’t try to speak again.  Instead she watched the trees go past as they drove.  She knew the nearest large city to
Nowhere was San Antonio, and she wished she was closer to Fort Worth.  It would have been nice to meet Susan, Elizabeth’s sister.  She already felt as if she were failing at marriage.  What had she done wrong?