Pioneer Love: Damaged Hearts Head West: Mail Order Bride 5 Bundle (22 page)

Thomas dropped Jackson’s shirt collar, but the next instant, Mercy rushed at him and pounded his chest with her fists. “I’ll get you for this. I’ll get you for this if it’s the last thing I do. You’ll never marry Emma, not as long as I have anything to say about it. I’ll see you dragged out of town before you do.”

She turned on Emma next. “This is all your fault. I saw you making eyes at him at the train station. What were you thinking, trying to steal my sister’s husband? All this time, I thought you were my friend, when you were really...” Her word trailed off amidst her tears.

Grace laid her hand on her sister’s shoulder. “Don’t take on so, Mercy. I don’t want to marry a man who’s in love with another woman. If Emma wants to marry him, she can. She just has to get her parents’ permission first.”

“Jackson won’t be marrying Emma at all,” Thomas put in, “not in my church, anyway.”

Jackson stiffened. “You can’t do this.”

“I can, and I am,” Thomas replied. “I’ll decide who’s getting married and who isn’t. You made a promise to this woman. You’re not backing out on it now, not while I’m around.”

Jackson stiffened. “Now you listen here….”

Thomas drew himself up to his full height. His eyes blazed at his brother. “No, you listen to me. You created this situation. You can't expect these ladies to fall into your arms, just because you decided you're in love with one of them. And you can't put them to any greater convenience than you already have.”

“We're supposed to be getting married,” Jackson told him.

“You're supposed to be marrying Grace,” Thomas replied. “If you're not marrying her, you're not marrying anybody—not today, anyway. You're going to march over to the hotel and put all three of them up for at least a week.”

“Hey!” Jackson interrupted.

Thomas held up his hand. “And you're going to do it at your own expense. Maybe if you spend a day or two getting to know them better, you'll come to your senses.”

“I won't come to my senses,” Jackson growled.

“If you want to get married in this town,” Thomas told him, “you'll take them over to the hotel and make certain sure they're put up well. If I find out you didn't, you won't be getting married at all. Understand?”

Grace turned to Thomas. “You don't have to do this. We don't need to stay in the hotel. We can go on our way and put this terrible misunderstanding behind us.”

Thomas shook his head. “I insist. You only just arrived in Cheyenne. I would hate to see you run off by the childish shenanigans of this no-good brother of mine. Stay in the hotel, for a few days at least. Get to know the area before you decide what to do. You can see the town by yourselves, and Jackson and I will show you around the countryside.”

She softened to his suggestion. “All right. We're tired after our journey anyway. I'm sure none of us will be sorry to catch a few days' rest.”

He smiled at her. “Good. Go with Jackson for now, and I'll check in on you later to make sure you're comfortable.”

CHAPTER FIVE

Thomas

G
RACE
, M
ERCY
,
AND
Thomas turned the corner and stepped up onto the wooden sidewalk in front of the Cheyenne Post Office. “Thank you for taking us for that walk, Thomas,” Grace exclaimed. “That really is a beautiful park.”

“I have to admit I wasn't impressed with town when I first set eyes on it,” Mercy remarked. “But all those flowers with the fountain in the middle would win over the hardest heart.”

“That's my church right next door to it,” Thomas told them. “And that's my little house next door to the church.”

Grace smiled up at him. “No wonder people love to come to church. I would, too, if I lived in such a lovely place.”

“There's only one thing missing,” Thomas told her. “I wish I had someone to share it with. The nicest place in the world is no paradise when you're alone.”

Grace blushed and turned away. “I'm sure you'll find someone for yourself.”

They passed the Post Office. Mercy surveyed the street. “I guess we should go back to the hotel.”

At that moment, Emma and Jackson came around another corner. They crossed to the hotel, but they didn't see their friends observing them. Thomas growled through gritted teeth. “What are they doing together?”

“They must have gone for a walk, too,” Grace replied.

“They shouldn't be alone together,” Thomas replied. “They should have a chaperone.”

“Emma went out by herself this morning,” Grace told him. “She wanted to go to the General Store to get some sewing thread. She must have run into Jackson in town, and now he's walking her home.”

Thomas jumped down from the sidewalk into the dusty street. “He should know better than to be so forward with an unmarried lady. I'll go straighten him out.”

Mercy grabbed his sleeve and held him back. “Wait, Thomas. They're just walking together. Jackson's not doing any harm. Leave them alone.”

Thomas's eyes widened. “What? You're the one that wanted to string him up for switching from Grace to Emma. Now you're telling me to leave them alone.”

Mercy shrugged. “I didn't think I would ever forgive Emma or Jackson for what they did to Grace, but after the last few days, I started to change my mind. Jackson has been such a gentleman to all three of us. I'm sure he never intended to sneak off with Emma unsupervised. I know him well enough now to know he must have bumped into her in town and offered to do the chivalrous thing by walking her home. He wouldn't do anything else.”

“Emma never did anything to me,” Grace chimed in. “Jackson changed his mind about marrying me, but Emma had nothing to do with it. All she did was get off the train, and he fell in love with her at first sight. I didn't think that sort of thing happened, but I guess it does.”

“Just look at the two of them together,” Mercy told them. “Look at the way they smile at each other. They're so happy together. I've been friends with Emma all my life, and I've never seen her this happy. No one who really cared about her could interfere with that.”

“I won't say I'm happy about Jackson hurting you, Grace,” Thomas added, “but maybe it all worked out for the best. Maybe they really do belong together, and someone else will give you the happiness you deserve.”

Grace dropped her eyes. “Emma's going inside. We should go, too.”

Thomas took Grace's hand. “Would you join me for dinner tonight? There's a very good restaurant around the other side of the livery stable.”

“We went there last night,” Grace told him. “We found it on our walk. They make a fantastic plate of pork chops.”

Thomas smiled down into her face and shook his head. “You ladies are getting to know Cheyenne better than I do. Let me take you somewhere else, somewhere you haven't been before.”

“Is there anywhere else?” Mercy asked.

“Let me take you anywhere,” Thomas insisted. “I don't care if we eat in the restaurant of your hotel. Just let me take you to dinner tonight.”

Grace gazed up into his eyes. “Don't you think we're spending an awful lot of time together? You're worried about Jackson spending time with Emma, but you're a single man, too. Maybe we should take a step back from each other for a while.”

“Why should we do that?” Thomas asked. “You spend every day exploring the town on your own. We've only eaten dinner together once since we got here. I wanted us to get to know each other better. That won't happen if we don't spend time together.”

“I still don't understand why you wanted us to spend time together in the first place,” Grace told him. “I came to Cheyenne to be a mail order bride. I never planned to get to know my betrothed before I married him.”

“Maybe this whole mail order bride business is a bad idea,” Thomas replied. “If Jackson had gotten to know you first, he wouldn't have hurt your feelings by breaking off your engagement the way he did.”

“I think you've got it backwards,” Grace returned. “He should have spent some time with Emma, not me, before he proposed. That's the only thing that would have saved us all from this situation. He could have spent years with me and still hurt my feelings.”

“You might be right about that,” Thomas replied. “But under the circumstances, I still think we should all get to know each other a lot better before we go rushing off to the altar.”

Grace gazed across the street at the hotel. “From what I can see, no one is going to the altar except Emma and Jackson.”

“I wouldn't count on that if I was you,” Thomas murmured.

Grace moved away. “We better go.”

“What about having dinner with me?” Thomas asked.

“Maybe another time,” Grace replied.

Thomas stood on the sidewalk and watched Grace and Mercy cross the street before he strolled back toward his own home.

The sisters climbed the steps to the hotel. At the door, Mercy glanced back over her shoulder at Thomas. “Why did you turn him down?”

“We're single women,” Grace told her. “It isn't appropriate that we spend all our time with him and Jackson.”

“That's exactly why you should be spending every possible second with him,” Mercy told her. “He's a strong, handsome man, and he obviously thinks the world of you. He shares your godliness and your honest decency. He's a perfect match for you.”

“I'm not looking for a match,” Grace replied. “Thomas is a very nice man, and he's been incredibly attentive to us ever since we got here. But I'm not getting married to anyone any time soon. I won't even think about it until I establish myself in my own right.”

“You're making a big mistake, passing him by,” Mercy told her.

CHAPTER SIX

Broken Hearts and Broken Bones

T
HE
FOLLOWING
DAY
Grace sat on a bench outside the church, pondering the predicament she now found herself in. Thomas stepped from the door and took a seat beside her. Grace smiled at him and went back to watching the horses and people passing on the street. “Are you all right?”

“I’m fine,” Grace replied. “I really am happy for Emma. She has a good heart, and she never intended to interfere between me and Jackson. She deserves a good husband.”

“You’re a lot more forgiving than I would be,” Thomas murmured. “I don’t think I’ll ever forgive Jackson for this. I thought he knew better.”

“You two are really close, aren’t you?” Grace asked.

“We ought to be,” Thomas replied. “Our parents died when we were teenagers, and they left us the ranch. I raised Jackson myself after that, and I passed the ranch onto him when I went into the ministry.”

“That was very generous,” Grace remarked.

“He always loved farming and ranching,” Thomas told her. “He’s good at it, too. He works hard, and he has a knack for horses and livestock. I help him out on when he needs it, but I knew my place was elsewhere.”

“I’m sorry about all this,” she exclaimed. “I’m sorry I caused this strife between you two.”

Thomas’s eyes flew open. “What do you have to be sorry about? You’re the last person who should be sorry.”

“I should have known this was going to happen,” Grace replied. “It’s happened so many times before. I was a fool to think Jackson could see anything in me but a mass of scars. It was just a silly, romantic daydream”

Thomas shook his head. “That isn’t right. He saw your scars before he sent you the money to come out here. He’s the fool if he thinks he’ll be happier with Emma.”

“Anyone would be,” Grace replied. “Emma’s a beautiful woman.”

“She’s not as beautiful as you are,” Thomas told her.

Grace snorted. “You don’t have to say that. I know what I look like.”

“I’m not just saying it,” Thomas replied. “It’s true. You’re by far the most beautiful of the three of you.”

“Stop it,” Grace snapped.

“I mean it,” Thomas told her. “When Jackson told me he was getting a mail order bride, I thought I’d go along with it and see how it worked out for him. I thought if it worked for him, I might get a mail order bride of my own.”

Grace studied him, and her heart skipped a beat. He was twice the man Jackson was. Too bad he could never look twice at a woman like her. “You would do well with a mail order bride. You’re a handsome, single man. Any woman would be happy to get you for a husband.”

Thomas shook his head. “You don’t know what it’s like out here on the Frontier. There are hardly any women around, and the few respectable ones are already married or too young for me. I’m twenty-eight years old, and I’ve been so lonely these last few years I didn’t think I could stand it.”

Grace listened carefully to the words Thomas was speaking. She could hear the pain and loneliness behind them and without thinking gently reached across and placed her hand on his.

Thomas looked out across the street, surveying the place he called home. The place he was called to care for the souls of its occupants. Thomas saw each one of them as the sheep of his pasture. Wild sheep, some of them, yes, but his sheep nevertheless. All of his energies and attention over these past years had been in pursuit of other’s happiness and well-being, but right now he had his own happiness at the forefront of his thinking.

“I prayed to God to send me the right woman, and when I met you in the church that day,” Thomas turned to look Grace directly in the eye, “I knew you were the woman God intended to be my bride. You’re the answer to all my prayers. Maybe Jackson’s sudden infatuation with your friend was really meant to be. God does work in mysterious ways sometimes you know.”

Grace stared at him. “You can’t be serious.”

“I am serious.” Thomas put out his hand to take hers. “Jackson may have let you down, but I won’t. Marry me instead, Grace. I can give you a good life out here. We can have children and make each other happy.”

Grace pulled her hand out of his grasp. “It’s very kind of you to say all that, but I don’t need your pity. If Jackson won’t marry me, I can do just fine on my own. I’ll work as a schoolteacher and support myself. I’m happy as a single woman, and I’ll stay that way.”

“I’m not saying it out of pity,” Thomas told her. “I really want to marry you, not because of anything Jackson said or did, but for yourself. I love you, and....”

“How could you possibly love me?” Grace interrupted. “You don’t even know me.”

“I know everything I need to know about you just from looking into your eyes,” Thomas told her.

Grace started to stand up. “I don’t know why you’re saying this, and I don’t really want to know. I’m not marrying Jackson, and I’m not marrying you. I’m not marrying anybody.”

Thomas grabbed her hand. “Don’t turn away from me, Grace. You’re the first woman I’ve met in my life that I thought I could marry. I can’t lose you now.”

This time, Grace didn’t yank her hand away. She only looked down on him from a cold distance. “You’ve been very kind, but I’ve made up my mind. I’m sure God will send you another woman who will be your bride.”

She walked away to where Mercy and Emma waited next to Jackson’s wagon. They looked over her shoulder at Thomas. “What did he say?”

“Never mind.” Grace pressed her hands together. “We can’t stand out here in the street any longer. Let’s return to the hotel and refresh ourselves. We can’t do anything until I send a telegram to your parents. I’ll tell them where you are and ask their permission for Emma to marry Jackson.”

Mercy glanced at Emma, and Emma stiffened. “Do you really have to do that?”

Grace compressed her lips. “Neither of you should have left home without getting your parents’ permission, and now you want to get married to a man you just met a few days ago. I planned to wire your parents as soon as we got to Cheyenne anyway, but now I have no choice. I’m twenty-four, and you’re both nineteen. That makes me your legal guardian. I wouldn’t be doing my duty otherwise.”

Emma straightened up. “All right. If it means I can marry Jackson, then go ahead and wire them. But just so you know, I’m going out riding with him on his ranch tomorrow. You can’t stop me from doing that.”

Grace turned away toward the hotel. “I wouldn’t dream of it.”

The next morning right after breakfast, Jackson’s wagon appeared in front of the Majestic Hotel to pick up the three women. To their surprise, Thomas sat next to his brother in the driver’s seat. He lowered the tail gate and put a wooden crate on the ground. Then he offered the women his hand to help them into the wagon box. “I couldn’t let him run off alone with you ladies. He might take a fancy to Mercy next and decide he wanted to marry her instead.”

Jackson lowered his head, and his hat covered his face. “I deserve that.”

The women settled themselves on a pile of blankets. The wagon rattled out of town, and before long, it wound up into the mountains. Grace admired the scenery. “Isn’t it grand? It really gives you an idea of the glory of God and the wonder of creation. What kind of God would create a world so devastatingly beautiful?”

“Just wait until you get up to the ranch,” Thomas told her. “You wouldn’t believe any place on Earth could be so beautiful, and yet, almost no one has seen it besides Jackson and me. You ladies will be the first people to lay eyes on it since our parents died.”

They climbed up one mountain and down the other side, into a broad valley lined with black forests and crystal clear streams. Even the horse breathed easier in that mountain air. The women turned their faces to the sky, and for the first time in many years, the weight of care and shame lifted off Grace’s shoulders. The sun shone on her face, and she closed her eyes in pure happiness.

“Here we are,” Thomas exclaimed.

The women looked around and caught their breath at the sight. “But this is.....” Words failed them.

Thomas and Jackson shared a smile. “And there’s the cabin.”

In the distance, a tidy wooden house nestled into the trees. Birds swooped around it, and gay flowers nodded outside the door. Grace squeezed Emma’s hand. “It’s perfect for you.”

Jackson reined in the horse outside the door. “So, who’s going riding?”

“I am,” Emma cried.

“Me, too,” Mercy added.

Grace looked around. “I think I’ll take a walk.”

“I’ll come with you,” Thomas told her.

Grace shook her head. “I’ll go alone. Thank you, anyway.”

Thomas bowed his head. “All right. Take a walk down to the creek. It’s beautiful down there.”

Grace explored around the cabin, but she didn’t dare look inside. She couldn’t let herself think about the life that so narrowly slipped through her fingers. She had a good look into the barn, though, and patted the placid milk cow she found there. When she got back to the wagon, Jackson was just leading three saddled horses over to Mercy and Emma.

He helped Emma onto one horse and offered his hand to Mercy. “He’s the gentlest horse on the Frontier. You couldn’t be any safer than on his back.”

Mercy swung up into the saddle. “That’s okay. I’ve been riding all my life. I can handle a horse.”

“Good.” Jackson mounted his own horse and turned its head toward the mountains. “Let’s go then.”

Mercy touched her horse’s flanks with her heels, but at that moment, a shimmer of movement through the grass startled the horse and it shied backwards. She tightened the reins. “Whoa, boy.”

In a flash of lightning, a black whip leapt out of the grass and streaked toward the horse. Before anyone could say or do anything, the horse reared onto its back legs with a rattlesnake dangling from its ankle. Mercy sat deeper in her saddle, but the horse bucked and thrashed. She grabbed for its mane, but she didn’t move fast enough. She lost her balance and rolled backwards, out of the saddle and over the horse’s rump onto the ground.

Even from her place by the wagon, Grace heard the gut-wrenching snap of breaking bone. Jackson jumped off his horse in an instant and caught the stricken animal by the bridle. Grace ran to Mercy’s side and knelt down. Mercy’s leg stuck out from her body at a grotesque angle, and Grace reeled from the shock.

Thomas appeared at her side. “Quick! We have to get her into the wagon. We’ll drive her back to town and get her to the doctor.”

Grace surveyed the scene. “How are we going to get her into the wagon?”

Thomas didn’t answer. In one quick movement, he scooped up Mercy and carried her like a sleeping child to the wagon. He laid her on the bed of blankets and covered her with another. “Let’s go.”

Grace climbed into the wagon next to Mercy, and Emma joined her. Jackson held all three horses by their bridles. “You go ahead. I’ll put these horses away and catch up with you in town.”

Thomas sprang into the driver’s seat and grabbed the reins. No one looked at the scenery on the way back to town. Grace and Emma stared down at Mercy lying so still and broken in the wagon bed. Thomas stared straight in front of him and said not a word.