Adventure For A Bride: A clean historical mail order bride romance (Montana Passion Book 3) (13 page)

Millie stayed holed up in the MacAteers’ home for the next two days. She moved through their house silently, being a help wherever she could in her gratitude for taking her in. Pryor had returned with her belongings, and Wyatt had carried them there himself as promised. When he asked for her to come outside and speak to him, she only shook her head and returned to the children’s room where they’d put her up. Moira and Pryor apologized, but refused to go against her wishes at that point.

Of course, he’d returned the following day, and the day after that as well. Corrine was nowhere to be seen, but that didn’t stop Wyatt from coming to call and waiting outside all day long. Both days, he sat on the porch, hoping for her to come out long enough for him to apologize, but to no avail.

Finally, the morning of the third day dawned and there was no sign of him. Millie had spent two days moving in the shadows so he wouldn’t see her, and it was discomforting to not have to watch out the windows to see where he lurked. She didn’t know where he might be, and that was more bothersome than seeing him plain.

“Is he not here?” she asked Moira in a whisper as she helped prepare breakfast. Moira shook her head, avoiding Millie’s gaze. “Good. Perhaps he’s finally given up and will let me move on in peace.”

Moira pressed her lips together until they were barely a thin white line. She wanted so badly to tell Millie to run after him, to listen to what he had to say, but she knew it wasn’t her place. She hadn’t been so badly treated by her own husband, and therefore knew not what the woman had endured in coming to Montana to find that nothing was as it should have been.

“Do you think his wife will be good to the children?” Millie asked, looking up. “I mean, I really do only ask for their sakes. They’re my only concern now.”

“I’m afeared I don’t know Miss Ellison, so I could naw say either way. I can promise you this, though, we’ll keep an eye on them as best we can from here. We won’t let any ill tidings befall them, if that gives you any peace of mind.”

“It does, Moira. Thank you. Really, it will pain me less to know they have good, decent people like you and Mr. MacAteer to look in on them from time to time. I only hope Miss Ellison loves children, but surely she’ll be a good mother to them seeing as how they were her own sister’s babies.”

She finished her chores in silence, betrayed by the occasional tear that slipped down her cheek. She quickly wiped them away whenever she had to in order to keep Moira from knowing just how broken her spirit really was. When it came time to help Matthew and little Bridget, she did her best to put on a smile for their sakes but even that proved too hard a task to bear. Their happy expressions and bright eyes were too much like looking into the faces of the children who had almost been her own.

Around mid-day, Pryor came in from his work and stepped gingerly into the house, keenly feeling his failure as a friend. He’d sought to force Wyatt to act like a man for once and do the right thing, but his friend only continued to offer excuses. His claim that nothing had happened between him and Corrine had fallen on Pryor’s deaf ears. No man should have ever allowed even the hint of impropriety to take place in his home, yet that’s exactly what Wyatt had done.

“Thank you for letting me stay, Mr. MacAteer. I know it’s been difficult to have another person underfoot, especially one you’re not related to,” Millie said gratefully as she served the dinner. She smiled weakly as she finally took her seat and began to stir her food around on her plate.

“Nonsense, we’re grateful that you’ve accepted our hospitality. And I feel like it’s the only way I can make amends,” he answered without looking up.

“Amends? What have you done to have to account for? You and your wife have been nothing but helpful and kind since I arrived,” she exclaimed, her emotions swirling in her mind at the thought that they should apologize to her.

“I pushed Mr. Flynn into writing off for you, and I should have left well enough alone. I was only thinking of more practical things, like farm and family, and not of how he was feeling. He did try to tell me he wasn’t ready to think about a wife yet, but I made him see reason. If I’d only not interfered, you would never have stepped foot on that coach in the first place.”

“I see why you must feel that way, Mr. MacAteer, so please let me set your mind at ease. I don’t wish to speak ill of Mr. Flynn, but he made all of his own choices. Unless you held his hand to a flame to compel him to write to me, he did this on his own. You may have inspired him, but he’s the one who saw it through. He’s also the one who promised me only a matter of days ago that he wanted to be married, and then no sooner had he spoken those words, his real love arrived and forced me out. He made his own choices, Mr. MacAteer, and you’ve nothing to apologize for.”

Millie set her fork down beside her plate and stared at her dinner for a long time. She finally eased back from the table and carried her plate with her.

“I’m sorry, but I’m suddenly not feeling up to dinner or company. If you’ll excuse me, I’d like to retire to the room and lie down.”

They nodded sympathetically and watched her turn to go, but she froze when she caught sight of the window. Out in front of the cabin a procession of wagons was arriving, their heavy wooden wheels rolling to a slow stop in front of the house. One wagon in the front was particularly ornate, or at least appeared so at first glance. When she leaned closer, she saw that it was actually festooned with ribbons and wildflowers, and that Wyatt and Corrine sat on the wagon seat, the children in the wagon box behind them wearing their finest clothes.

“Oh, God,” Millie whispered before pressing a hand to her mouth.

“What is it, dear?” Moira asked, racing to her side. She looked out the window where Millie was staring and couldn’t believe her eyes. “What is he doing here? It can naw be…”

“What’s got you two so petrified?” Pryor asked, coming around the table to look for himself. He, too, stood in shock at the sight in front of him. “Did he…”

“I’m afeared ‘tis so,” Moira whispered. “Surely he knew Miss Carter is still here with us. What would possess such a man to come here after marrying Miss Ellison? As if she’d want to celebrate such a morbid occasion?”

“I’ll kill him myself,” Pryor hissed, stomping to the door and throwing it wide open. He was met with cheers from the guests and a wave from Wyatt, but he was in no mood for festivities. He crossed over to the wagon and hauled Wyatt down in one swift jerk at the lapels of his jacket. “What the hell do you think you’re doing?”

Wyatt could only smile as he saw Millie framed in the open doorway, her hand supporting her against the frame to keep from falling.

“It’s my wedding day!” he answered feebly. “I thought you of all people would be happy for me. This is what you wanted, isn’t it?”

“What I wanted? Have you taken to the drink, Flynn? I wanted you to marry Miss Carter, and to be done with that weeks ago. Instead, you’ve gone behind her back and invited some other woman to take her place, and left her without so much as a word of explanation! If there weren’t so many witnesses, I’d shoot you myself for what you’ve done! They can bury you on your wedding day, for all I care, as I’m done with you. Now get off my land and take this group of false friends with you.”

Pryor realized Wyatt with a shove and turned to head back inside when he caught sight of Kieran and Gretchen in their wagon, looks of disbelief on their faces. He glared at them hatefully, unaware that they had it in them to stoop to taking part in this. Kieran’s expression finally melted into laughter, which his wife shared in quietly when he leaned down and spoke in her ear.

“Mac! ‘Tis not what you think,” Kieran shouted from his seat. He passed the reins to his wife and climbed down, then picked up Wyatt on his way past and brushed him off. He hauled Wyatt under the arm in one hand and grasped Pryor’s elbow firmly in his other hand, and half carried them both to the porch before shoving them both rather unceremoniously into the rockers.

“Tell ‘em, Flynn,” Kieran instructed before leaning back against the porch rail to wait. Wyatt turned to Pryor and cleared his throat.

“It’s my wedding day—”

“Aye, you’ve already mentioned that part, boy. Get on with the real explanation so Mac here doesn’t take your head off while I pretend to look the other way. Remember, I’m still plenty sore at you for the way you’ve cocked up this whole mess.”

“Sure,” Wyatt said, eyeing Kieran nervously before turning back to Pryor to explain. “I meant, today’s the day I aim to marry Miss Carter.”

“Miss Carter? I don’t understand, I thought you’d married Miss Busybody over there, the one sitting next to you in the dress, remember?” Pryor demanded angrily, not ready to let Wyatt off the hook just yet. “And after the way you’ve behaved, it’s a wonder Miss Carter hasn’t already marched out here to slap your face, let alone marry you.”

“I know, and she had every right to be sore at me. But she didn’t understand the whole explanation. Miss Ellison didn’t spend the night in my cabin—she slept in the barn. She only came inside when it was time for me to get to the chores, seeing as how it wasn’t fitting for me to be alone in the barn with a lady who wasn’t fully dressed. We both stepped in the mud and had to leave our shoes on the back porch, but I was never in a compromising way with Miss Ellison.”

“That’s a mighty convenient story you’ve concocted,” Pryor argued skeptically. “How’s she to believe you after the way this woman just shows up and starts causing problems?”

“That’s just it! Miss Ellison didn’t even know her sister had passed away, she only came so far because she worried that she was taken ill and needed someone to care for the children… just the way you’ve been telling me I needed. When she got off the train and learned from the shopkeeper that Anna Mae was gone, her own grief took over. It took all of the couple hours’ ride to my farm for her to get good and worked up and decided the only way she could stay in Montana and help me with my young’uns is if we made it official. By the time she got to my farm, she’d already resigned herself to having to marry me, but then she spied Miss Carter, whom I wasn’t married to, of course, and got good and mad at the both of us. That’s all there is to it, I swear! And I wrote every bit of it in the letter for Miss Carter.”

“What letter?” Pryor asked, looking back at the cabin to see if his wife or his guest could come out and provide some explanation.

“I left it on top of her things in her trunk so she’d find it. I explained everything, and told her that if she was still willing to give me a chance, I’d be by here today to make her my wife.” Wyatt’s expression of hope and happiness broke down little by little until he was nearly stoic. “She never read my letter, did she?”

“I’d have to say not, judging by the way she’s been moping around my place for two days like a woman who’s already half-dead!” Pryor said harshly. He blanched slightly when he realized what he’d just said to a man whose own wife had only been put in the last autumn. “Besides, what kind of man puts this kind of thing in a letter? You should have been brave enough to tell her like a real man, face to face!”

“I tried, and she wouldn’t come outside!” Wyatt cried urgently. “Heck, I tried before she ever got on my horse and came over here! She wouldn’t talk to me!”

“And can you say you blame her? It’s been one thing after another with you, and quite frankly, I’m surprised she stayed on as long as she did. Then you surprise her with this. You’re lucky she’s as strong as she is.”

“I know! Believe me, I know exactly how lucky I am to have her in my life, and that’s why I tried so hard to explain. I don’t want to lose her. I can’t… I can’t lose her, too,” Wyatt said, his voice dropping to an agonized whisper as he explained.

They both jumped when the door opened and Millie stepped outside, her eyes focused on Wyatt. She held in her hand several folded sheets of paper, the letter which she’d obviously just retrieved from her trunk and read. She held it in the air and pierced Wyatt with her steely eyes.

“Is this true? All of it?” she whispered, ignoring the prying eyes of the guests from town who still waited some distance away.

“Every word,” Wyatt answered, standing up and coming across the porch to speak. “I promise, every bit of it’s true.”

“I’ve had letters from you before, Mr. Flynn. Those letters weren’t entirely honest. Why should I believe you now?” she asked, tears pooling in her eyes even as she stared at him. “Please. Give me some reason to believe you, and I promise I will.”

“I don’t have any reason, other than this: Millie, I love you. I fought so hard against you even being here because I loved you the minute you arrived and it felt wrong. I had to do anything I could to push you away, and the only way I knew how to do that was to be rude at a time when I should have been grateful. You’ve cared for me, for my family, and for my farm like it was your own, knowing the whole time that it may only be temporary. I didn’t deserve you, and I was wrong for it.”

Wyatt stepped closer and reached for her hands, relieved when she didn’t pull away from him. She simply stood there unmoving, no emotion but pain registering on her face, but at least she didn’t run from him this time.

“If you’ll have me, I’ll spend the rest of my life making it up to you. I won’t ask you to believe me, because I’ve done nothing to earn your trust. Instead, I will spend each and every day proving to you just how much I love you, and how much you mean to me. Please say that you’ll marry me, and give me the chance to make you feel more loved than any other woman in the territory.”

Millie looked away, the intensity on his face too overwhelming to take in. She saw the expectant faces of the guests he’d brought with him, and her eyes finally came to rest on his sister-in-law. Miss Ellison smiled at her, genuinely this time, and nodded eagerly to convey her own acceptance.

The last faces she saw belonged to Micah, Luke, and Rose, and the sight of them nearly broke her resolve. She could have expected the boys to sit up and take notice of the situation, but it was the sight of baby Rose looking at her with an expression of hope, a look that clearly begged Millie to say yes and become a part of their family, that cemented her fate. She turned back to Wyatt and nodded.

“Yes. I’ll marry you. But I do hope this is the last time I ever have to accept an apology from you.”

“I will live the rest of my life to never need to apologize again. You’ve already endured far too many insults and pleas, enough to last a lifetime. Millie, you can’t know how thankful I am, and how happy you’ve made me.”

She nodded again, and stepped closer to whisper in his ear, “And I love you, too.” He threw his arms around her waist and held her close as the tears she’d been unable to shed finally fell.

*****

The wedding went forward that very day, just as Wyatt had planned when he wrote his letter to Millie. Pryor decided Wyatt needed to be married more than he needed a good horse whipping, and gladly agreed to have the wedding right there on his farm. He didn’t need to say it aloud, but he was more concerned with getting the wedding signed and witnessed before he let Wyatt out of his sight again.

Millie had time enough to get ready inside the cabin while the ladies who’d come set to work in Moira’s kitchen. The men took the doors off their hinges and set them across hay bales in the yard to serve as tables, and everywhere they looked, food appeared from baskets in the different wagons and from Moira’s pantry.

Gretchen and Corrine went inside and ducked into the small bedroom to help Millie dress, but not before Corrine had the chance to speak her mind, one that was filled with repentance.

“Miss Carter…. Millie… I hope you’ll forgive me, too, though what I did was far more grievous than Wyatt. I purposely led you on and was so rude to you, and I’m sorry for it. It’s as Wyatt said, though, I was so overcome with grief for my sister and worry for her family whom she loved so dearly. I let all those feelings turn into anger, and the only one I could really rail against is God Himself. You just happened to be closer, and I took it out on you.”

“When I woke up the next morning, it struck me that I wasn’t tied to Wyatt. As wonderful as he is, I didn’t relish the idea of marrying my sister’s husband, even if it was the right thing to do. I had also seen that you are a kind-hearted woman who’d displayed her ladylike character by living apart all this time. I was just so relieved at how everything had turned out that I smiled when I first saw you in the morning. I know you must have thought it was the triumphant smile of a woman who’d usurped your place, but no. I was just so happy for all of us. Please, Millie, please tell me you can ever forgive me.”

Millie looked down for a moment to where Corrine held both her hands tightly in hers, then pulled Corrine into a sisterly embrace.

“Of course I forgive you! You’re the children’s aunt, which makes you my family, too. It was all a frightening misunderstanding, and I daresay the day will come when it’s a funny tale we tell the children. But I hope you’ll do me a favor in return.”

“Absolutely, Millie! You’ve only but to ask, and I’ll say yes!” Corrine cried, beaming joyfully at her new sister’s acceptance of her.

“Please tell me you’ll stay on with us for a while. There’s no need to hurry home, and I know the children would love to know you better. I would love to know you better, too. And Wyatt could do with a visit from home, as you two have known each other since you were Micah and Luke’s ages.”

“I’d like that so much, Millie. It feels wonderful to be welcomed in your home, especially since Anna Mae is no longer with us. The children were the whole reason I came all this way. It’s as if I knew in my bones that something was wrong, but I couldn’t let myself think the worst. I just kept seeing their motherless faces, their tiny spirits broken by grief. I had to come, for them.”

When it was time, Pryor escorted Millie outside of the house to where Wyatt waited in the yard before taking his seat beside his wife. The bride wore a new gingham dress that Moira had only just finished stitching, the one she’d made for herself to replace the dress she’d buried Anna Mae in. The symbolism was not lost on Moira.

“I put one dress on Wyatt’s wife to say goodbye,” she whispered to her husband through her elated tears. “And now this one goes with his new wife to say welcome. ‘Tis only fitting, I’d say.”

“I agree, but whatever shall you wear? We can’t have you going about New Hope in only your dressing gown. Kieran would lock you in the jailhouse,” Pryor teased in a whisper as Jorgenson stood by to begin the ceremony as the town’s notary public.

“Aye, ‘tis a wonder I’ll ever have a dress of me own if this life we’ve chosen doesn’t hold still for a moment, long enough for me to work my needle!”

After their brief words of promise were spoken and their names signed together in Jorgenson’s ledger, the feast they’d all hastily thrown together began. Wyatt’s children ate their fill of sweets and cakes, and marveled that their father had not decided to marry sooner if it meant desserts such as these.

Their party carried on into the evening, long past the point when Pryor slipped off to see to his animals and returned with his arms loaded with firewood. He and several of the men carried over a number of logs and built up a fire, its flames reaching high into the blackness of the night sky. The guests sat on bales around the fire and sang songs along with Nathaniel’s guitar, dancing under the stars and making merry until long past the time that the children fell asleep in the different wagons.

When it was time to head back to their farms, Wyatt pulled Pryor close to him and hugged him, whispering his thanks for helping him find happiness again even though he’d fought against it as hard as he could.

“You’re quite welcome, Flynn, but remember, I’m not done standing up for that one just because she’s your wife. You made quite a few promises today, easy promises to keep, actually. But I’m going to hold you to them just as much as Mrs. Flynn will.”

“I understand,” Wyatt answered with a grin. “And I thank you for it. But your help won’t be needed, I can assure you. One look at the smile on my wife’s face is all it will take to remind me that I’m the luckiest man alive.”

Millie approached and slipped her hand into his. “We should get the children to bed, and we’ve a long ride home,” she said quietly.

“Whatever you say, Mrs. Flynn,” he said, looking around to be sure no one was watching before pressing his lips gently to hers. She didn’t move away, but instead leaned closer so she could wrap her arms behind his neck.

“Then I say it’s time we head home.” She beamed contentedly at Wyatt, gesturing for him to lead the way.

THE END

Thank you for reading and supporting my book and I hope you enjoyed it.
Please will you do me a favor and leave me a review. It would be very much appreciated, thank you.

To browse my most current list of books available for Amazon USA, 
CLICK HERE
.
To browse my most current list of books available for Amazon UK, 
CLICK HERE
.