His Mail Order Bride Was the Prettiest Woman He Ever Laid His Eyes On
Chapter 2
Thomas’s ranch lay four miles beyond the village.
The journey was quiet.
Eleanor sat beside him in the wagon.
She held her valise on her lap.
Thomas occasionally glanced at her.
She noticed.
“You’re staring.”
“I’m not.”
“You are.”
Thomas looked toward the road.
“I’m trying to make sure you’re comfortable.”
“I am.”
“Good.”
Silence.
Then Eleanor laughed softly.
Thomas looked at her.
“What?”
“You’re nervous.”
“I’ve never been nervous around a horse.”
“I’m not a horse.”
“I know.”
She smiled.
“You don’t know what to say to me.”
Thomas sighed.
“No.”
“Neither do I.”
That made him laugh.
The sound surprised both of them.
Thomas hadn’t laughed freely in years.
When they reached the ranch, Eleanor looked across the valley.
The land stretched farther than she had expected.
Open pasture.
A creek.
Fields of corn.
A small orchard.
A whitewashed house stood on a rise overlooking everything.
“This is yours?”
“Yes.”
“All of it?”
Thomas nodded.
“Most of it.”
Eleanor looked at him.
“You never mentioned how large the ranch was.”
“You never asked.”
She smiled.
“Perhaps I should have.”
Thomas helped her down.
Inside, the house was clean but plainly furnished.
A kitchen.
A sitting room.
Two bedrooms.
A dining table.
A fireplace.
Eleanor walked slowly from room to room.
Thomas watched.
Finally she stopped beside the kitchen.
“You cooked this morning?”
“Yes.”
“What did you eat?”
“Bread.”
“Only bread?”
“And coffee.”
She looked at him with disapproval.
Thomas frowned.
“What?”
“You expected a wife to come here and feed you.”
“No.”
“You did.”
“I didn’t.”
“You did.”
Thomas sighed.
“I suppose I did.”
Eleanor smiled.
“Then you’re fortunate.”
“Why?”
“I can cook.”
Thomas nodded.
“That is fortunate.”
She laughed.
“You really are terrible at compliments.”
He looked embarrassed.
“I’ve never had to give many.”
“Your letters were better.”
Thomas looked away.
“Letters are easier.”
“Why?”
“Because you can’t see the man writing them.”
Eleanor became quiet.
Then she stepped closer.
“I’ve seen him now.”
Thomas looked at her.
“And?”
She smiled.
“I haven’t decided.”
That night, Thomas gave her the bedroom overlooking the pasture.
He slept in the smaller room.
Before dawn, Eleanor woke to the sound of hoofbeats.
She looked through the window.
Three riders were standing near the barn.
One of them was the same man who had watched her at the inn.
