The Accidental Mail Order Bride Read online

  He chuckled.

  “Maybe I can be scary,” she continued. “But I had to be if I wanted to protect my portion of the meal.”

  “You didn’t use the ladle, did you?” he asked.

  “A few times. Once was when one of my brothers was talking to me while the other was reaching for my fried chicken. So I gave them both a good whack on the head.”

  Still appearing skeptical, he shook his head.

  “You might not believe it,” she said, “but after that, they had the nicknames ‘bumpy’ and ‘lumpy’.”

  Travis laughed out loud, and she found herself laughing right along with him. “And you wonder why I hide,” he replied.

  “You have nothing to worry about. I wouldn’t hit you with a ladle.”

  “Then what would you do?”

  Catching the gleam in his eyes, she rubbed the edge of her fork with her thumb. “You know, I’m not sure. I can’t imagine you ever doing something like that. But, if you did,” she glanced around the building, “I suppose if I had to do something to punish you because you took something off my plate, I would have you come in here and make me something.”

  “Is there anything you need?” he softly asked.

  Was he making conversation with her, or was he looking for things to do? Either way, she supposed it didn’t hurt to answer him. “Well, there is something I’d like. It’s not something I need, but I think it would be nice to have.”

  “What is it?”

  “Now that the inside of the cottage is done, I’m working on the flowerbed. You know, pulling the weeds so the flowers have room to grow. It’d be nice to have two chairs on the shady part of the lawn by the cottage door. I think it would be nice to sit outside when the weather’s nice. One of my favorite memories of the day in Tennessee was sitting outside in the evenings. After helping my mother with my brothers, I got a chance to sit on the porch and enjoy a quiet moment outside. With the flowers in bloom, the air would smell especially sweet when a breeze passed by.”

  After a moment, he said, “When I moved here, the flowerbed was in good shape. The place looked a lot better back then. I didn’t realize I’d let things get so bad until I started seeing everything you were doing to the place.”

  She took a bite of her omelet and swallowed. “The cottage, barn, and this building are in good condition. You just have overgrown weeds and vines, that’s all.”

  “Yes, but it would look better if these things were trimmed.” He paused. “I should help you get the outside in shape before I make the chair.”

  “Chairs. I’d like two. One for you and one for me. It’d be nice to sit outside together, don’t you think?”

  He glanced at the uneaten food on his plate then turned his gaze back to her. “I’m not good at talking.”

  “You don’t have to talk. We can sit in silence, or I can do the talking for both of us. I could even tell you how I got the nickname ‘hawk’.”

  His eyebrows furrowed. “Your nickname was ‘hawk’ while you were growing up?”

  She nodded. “One of my brothers came up with it.”

  “How?”

  With a playful grin, she shook her head. “Oh no, you don’t. I’m not telling you until we’re sitting by the flowerbed together in those chairs you’ll make for us.”

  He seemed as if he was going to protest but said, “That’s fair.”

  “I’m glad you agree.” And hopefully, he would be so overcome with curiosity, he’d be making those chairs sooner rather than later.

  He finally picked up his fork and started eating his breakfast. Offering him a smile, she continued eating hers, content to spend the rest of the meal telling him more about her brothers.

  Chapter Fifteen

  “Ida said you and Travis brought her home yesterday,” Caroline told Allie later that day.

  She and Allie were having a cup of coffee in the kitchen while Caleb was visiting Travis in the building.

  “Ida was lost on Carl’s land when Travis found her,” Allie replied after she swallowed a sip of her drink.

  “That’s what she said. She also said being out here gave her a new perspective on things, and she apologized to me for spreading rumors about me shortly after I came here.” Caroline put her cup down and studied Allie. “Exactly what brought about the drastic change in her?”

  “To be honest, I’m not sure. I think Travis being nice to her had something to do with it, but all I really got out of our conversations was that she’s been trying to figure out the difference between needless gossip and what people need to know.”

  “Yes, she said something about that to me, too. Apparently, the things she said about me fell into the needless gossip part. Which,” she quickly amended, “is true.”

  “It does make for an interesting discussion, doesn’t it? We all have times when we need to speak up. On my way here, I saw posters for wanted men. If I happened to see one of those outlaws, then it’d be my duty to say something.”

  Caroline nodded. “I hadn’t thought about it that way, but it makes sense. Just like the whole thing with Lydia’s murder. If someone knew something that could help my husband, then he could finally put the matter to rest. As it is, the killer is free to do whatever he wants.”

  “Are there any suspects?”

  “Eric has it narrowed down to four people.”

  “Is Carl one of them?”

  “No. There are a few people in town who are convinced Carl did it. I mean, it’s no secret he hated Lydia, and he’s not the most likable person in town. But Eric doesn’t think he did it. I’m inclined to agree with him. If he thinks Carl is innocent, then I do, too.”

  Allie leaned back in her chair and crossed her arms. “I met Carl, and I don’t think he’s a bad man. I know Phoebe and Abe don’t like him, but I think there’s more to things than we know.”

  “Whatever started the rivalry between Abe and Carl, it had to do with their father. They don’t share the same mother, and I’m sure that created a lot of the bad feelings between them. Then their father left Carl the stream in the will with the stipulation that he have a legitimate child by the time he turns thirty. He’ll be twenty-nine in December. If he doesn’t have a child, then the stream and twenty acres will go to Abe. Killing Lydia was the last thing Carl wanted to do. He can’t have a legitimate child without a wife. That’s why Eric believes Carl is innocent.”

  “That makes sense.”

  “Anyway,” Caroline said after she took a sip of her coffee, “I didn’t come out here to talk about Carl. I was wondering how things are between you and Travis.”

  Noting the worried expression on her face, Allie offered her friend a reassuring smile. “I’m glad I’m with him. You don’t have to keep feeling guilty for marrying Eric.”

  “You’re not just saying that to make me feel better?”

  “No. I’m telling you it because it’s true. Travis is a very shy person. Given how things are in town, I can’t blame him. It’s definitely taking a lot of work to make him feel comfortable with me, but it’s worth it.”

  Caroline breathed an audible sigh of relief. “You have no idea how good that is to hear.”

  “Oh, I have a pretty good idea of how you feel. You look as if you’re afraid you ruined my life whenever you ask about my marriage.”

  “Do I?”

  “You do.” With a chuckle, Allie teased, “You are absolved from guilt.”

  Caroline joined her in laughing. “Well, if Caleb’s willing to spend time with Travis, then Travis is a good person.”

  “Caleb’s right. He is. Travis is going to help me make the outside of the cottage look nice. I’m looking forward to seeing those pretty flowers bloom without the weeds trying to choke them out.”

  “You’re getting Travis to come outside the workshop?”

  Allie nodded, amused at the woman’s surprised expression. “And when we sit outside together, I promised I would let him know why one of my brothers nicknamed me ‘hawk’ when we were growing
up.”

  “Why did your brother give you such an odd nickname?”

  “Well, I suppose it’s safe to tell you since you won’t tell him.” She leaned forward. “Growing up, I could tell whenever my brothers were doing things they shouldn’t. If the lid on the cookie jar wasn’t secure, I knew one had eaten a cookie before mealtime. If the floor was sticky, I could tell what someone had been eating or drinking. If someone didn’t like what was on their plate, I could tell who was feeding the dog under the table.” She gave an amused shrug. “I was as sharp as a hawk in figuring these things out.”

  Caroline grinned. “That must have frightened your brothers.”

  “It did. I’d let our mother know, and this aggravated them all the more. But they weren’t the ones doing all the cooking and cleaning, so it didn’t bother them if Mother and I had to do it.”

  “Good for you. They should have behaved more like gentlemen.”

  Allie nodded in agreement. “It was their own fault for misbehaving.”

  “You have my deep admiration, Allison Martin.”

  Allie took a moment to let her new last name sink in. Allison Martin. Allie Martin. Mrs. Travis Martin. She rolled the name around in her mind and smiled. It fit. It fit very well indeed.

  ***

  “Sheriff, Ida’s at it again.”

  Eric was in the middle of settling a dispute between Hank and Wilber over tree branches that were hanging over Hank’s property when he heard the person call out to him. “Excuse me,” he told the two men. He turned to face a very irate Jerry. “What’s this about Ida?”

  “She came by my house again to tell my wife that I’m having an affair,” Jerry snapped. “I thought you put a stop to this nonsense.”

  With a glance at Hank and Wilber, he said, “I’ll be back to talk about the tree.” Urging Jerry to walk down a secluded path with him, he told him, “I put Ida in jail for an entire week.”

  “Maybe you should put her away for good.”

  “Come now, Jerry. You know I can’t do that. Besides, the judge has already talked to me about putting her in jail in the first place. I can’t do that again.”

  “Well, you need to do something. She’s ruining my reputation. I’m the school superintendent. Do you know how bad this makes me look?”

  “We all know Ida makes up stories about people. You remember what she did to my wife, don’t you? Some of the townsfolk still believe those things Ida said about Caroline.”

  Jerry stopped and turned to face him. “That’s the problem. There are some who believe Ida. Now every time I go somewhere, I can see they’re wondering if I’m running off to spend time with another woman.”

  Well, that would cause a problem. Eric rubbed the back of his neck as he thought over the things he could do. So far, everything he had tried just hadn’t worked. Ida was surprisingly resistant to learning anything. Who knew a woman could be so set in her ways?

  “If you don’t stop Ida, I will,” Jerry added.

  “I’m open to ideas if you got them,” Eric replied.

  “If you won’t put her in jail, then send her to another town.”

  “I don’t know if I can ask Mike to do that. He’s got a good business here, and it’s not easy to move ten children.”

  Jerry’s jaw clenched. “You know what your problem is? You’re weak. You’re the sheriff. You need to make things happen. People around here obeyed the last sheriff. If you did more of the things he did, I bet that would put Ida in her place.”

  “The last sheriff wasn’t a fair man,” Eric argued. “He took bribes and let people get away with lawless behavior. This place wasn’t safe when he was here.”

  “You think this place is safe? Abe Thomas would have gotten shot if he hadn’t taken measures to protect himself, Ida won’t stop spreading lies about people, and Carl got away with killing his wife.”

  “First of all, I’m not convinced Carl did it. Second, this place is safer than it was before I took over. There used to be duels right in the middle of the streets. Men would get drunk and harass the women in town without paying the consequences for it. People had to carry a gun wherever they went or risk getting robbed.” He paused, then added, “And this all happened in broad daylight.”

  “Well, I demand you take care of things with Ida, or I’ll find a reason to get a new sheriff in this town. Unlike you, I grew up with these people. My word carries more weight than yours does.”

  Eric sighed as he watched Jerry storm off. That didn’t go well. No matter how he handled it, it probably wouldn’t have gone well. How was he supposed to make Ida stop gossiping? He might as well be asked to make the sky turn dark in the middle of the day.

  “I can’t work miracles,” he muttered.

  With a shake of his head, he went back to Hank and Wilber, thankful that their senseless debate was much easier than handling a woman bent on gossiping.

  And he didn’t feel like tackling the issue today. Up to now, all his lectures hadn’t made a difference. And it wasn’t like Ida hadn’t already been telling people Jerry was having an affair. Not that anyone believed her. Everyone knew she couldn’t be trusted. So really, Jerry was worried over nothing.

  No, he would wait until tomorrow after he had time to think over what he might say that would finally make Ida understand why spreading rumors was bad.

  Chapter Sixteen

  Allie glanced at the bed that evening and then picked up her pocket watch. It was almost ten o’clock, and she had yet to get into her nightclothes. After she and Travis had shared breakfast and supper together, was he really going to spend another night in the building?

  Well, if she had to go out there to eat with him, then maybe she had to go out there to sleep with him, too. This was getting to be silly, after all. They were husband and wife, and it was time they acted like it.

  Steeling her resolve, she lifted the kerosene lamp and left the cottage. The sun had already set, and she cursed herself for waiting so long. The distance from the cottage to the building had seemed like a short one during the day. Now, with the trees hovering over most of the cottage and the vines creeping up the building, the moonlight cast ominous shadows everywhere.

  No wonder she had trouble sleeping at night. Even if Travis was a normal man, this place had a spooky feel to it.

  With a shiver, she hurried to the building, grasping the kerosene lamp tighter lest she drop it by mistake. This time, she didn’t bother knocking on the door. She flung the door open and ran inside, relieved when she shut the door behind her. Good. She’d made it unscathed.

  “Is something wrong?” Travis called out.

  She turned in time to see him bolting up in his makeshift bed and throwing his hat on.

  “No. I got spooked, that’s all,” she assured him.

  “Spooked? By what?” He headed over to one of the guns lining the wall.

  “Nothing. It was just my imagination. It was silly.” With a chuckle, she added, “I saw things in the shadows that weren’t really there. It’s my brothers’ fault. They used to tell me scary stories. I enjoyed them at the time, but once in a while, I’ll remember one of them and get spooked.”

  He relaxed and turned his back on the guns. “Why are you here? Do you need something?”

  “Well,” she took a deep breath, “now that you mention it, I do. I’d like for you to come to bed with me.”

  His jaw dropped. “What?”

  “We ate our meals together. I thought we should sleep together, too.”

  “But, but…” After a moment, he gestured to his bed. “That’s too small to fit both of us.”

  “We can sleep in the cottage. That bed fits us just fine.”

  He didn’t make a move to the door, so she remained in her spot, not willing to budge from this any more than she’d been willing to eat alone. Her ploy had worked very well for the meals. Though he hadn’t said much, she sensed they were drawing closer. And maybe it was best to do this all at once. If they had one full day to be a normal, ma
rried couple, then it might be like removing a thorn from the flesh. Difficult at first but healing faster.

  “Well,” he glanced at the door, “I don’t know.”

  “We don’t have to do anything,” she said. “We can just sleep like we did when Ida was here.”

  “I didn’t get any sleep that night,” he whispered as he turned away from her.

  It took her a moment to understand what he meant. Her mother had warned her about being proper at all times around men while she was on her way to this territory.

  “Once a man gets a certain thought in his mind, he’s likely to go through with it,” her mother had warned as she helped Allie pack. “The best thing you can do is not be caught alone with one at any time. Make sure you stay in public until you marry Eric Johnson. He’s the only one who’ll have the right to be alone with you.”

  Had Travis entertained thoughts of an intimate nature while they had shared the bed together? And if so, why hadn’t he acted on it? She wouldn’t have refused him. He was her husband. He had every right to be with her that way.

  The answer, of course, was obvious. He hadn’t acted on his thoughts because he was too shy. It was hard enough to get him to share a meal with her, let alone consummate their marriage.

  Never in a million years did Allie think she’d have to be the one to initiate that part of their marriage, but by the way he ran over to the kitchen table and grabbed a brush and paint, she realized if they were ever going to move onto the next stage in their marriage, she was going to have to take the lead.

  “Travis, this is silly,” she said. “You can’t mean to work all night. I’m your wife. I’m more than happy to do whatever you want in the bed.”

  ***

  Travis paused, but only for a second. She was a virgin. She didn’t know what she was saying. She had no idea what he wanted to do.

  He took an uneasy breath, noting the way his hands shook as he removed the lid to the paint. It was all he had to do to the table and then he’d be finished with it. After this, he could work on the chairs she wanted for outside. He dipped the brush into the paint.