Julia: Bride of New York (Amercan Mail-Order Bride 11) (12 page)

Although adamant about not wanting to watch Julia suffer and possibly die trying to bring his child into the world, attempting to resist her in the future would prove almost impossible. He wanted her too much, and although she was a virtuous young lady, he saw the underlying passion in her eyes when they’d kissed. As soon as they returned home, he would take care of buying what he needed to protect her.

Tugging on the halter, he led the horses to the carriage and hitched them up. Julia waited for him outside the hotel, and again he was struck by how she affected his senses. He tried distracting himself by concentrating on seeing Patty Ann and bringing her home. Unfortunately, lifting Julia into the carriage, feeling her warmth, and smelling her intoxicating scent brought all his desire for her back once again.

Once they arrived at the business part of town, Fletcher’s rumbling stomach reminded him they hadn’t had breakfast. Checking his timepiece, it showed only eight o’clock, too early to call at Catherine’s house anyway. He directed the horses toward a small restaurant next to the barber shop.

“We’ll have breakfast first.” He jumped from the carriage and wrapped the traces around the hitching post, then walked to the side of the buggy and swung Julia down.

The little restaurant was doing a brisk business. They took the last table available and read the chalkboard above the counter. A slender woman with hair tied back so severely he wondered how she didn’t have a headache poured coffee into the two cups sitting on their table. “What would you folks like?”

They both ordered bowls of oatmeal. “Will we be returning to Wickerton tonight?” Julia wanted to know.

“I hope so. I’m always uncomfortable when I leave the town in Ernest’s hands. He means well but always seems to make things worse, rather than better.”

“Who’s Ernest?”

“He’s the retired sheriff whose place I took. He was a bit too fond of his drink and fell off his horse one night after ‘checking’ the saloons, and broke his arm. It never worked right after that, and since it was his shooting arm, he decided to retire. The town gives him a little stipend each month, and I ask him to help out on occasion.”

The waitress placed two bowls of cereal and a small pitcher of cream on their table. She refilled their coffee cups and left them. Conversation ceased as they ate their breakfast.

“Tell me about Catherine. You said she’s a widow?”

“Yes. She’s Laura’s younger sister. She’s a nice person, and I’m glad she stepped in to take care of Patty Ann when she did, but I got the feeling the last couple of times I visited that she hoped to keep her permanently. I’m not allowing that.”

“No. She belongs with her father.” Julia wiped her mouth with a napkin and placed it alongside her bowl. “Are we ready to go?”

“Yes.” Fletcher threw a few coins on the table and rested his hand on Julia’s lower back as they left the restaurant.

The butterflies in Julia’s stomach did a tango as the buggy came to a rolling stop in front of the small house on Hudson Street. She’d not even gotten used to being married to Fletcher and already she was to be a mother to an seven-year-old girl who’d been living with her aunt for months. She wiped her sweaty palms on her coat and smiled as Fletcher helped her down from the carriage.

They walked hand-in-hand to the front door and waited patiently for someone to answer their knock. The door opened, and a slightly plump woman with spectacles and an apron around her middle smiled brightly. “Fletcher! You’re here so soon.”

He bent and gave her a quick kiss on the cheek. “Good morning, Catherine. Yes. I thought my wire mentioned I would be here right away.”

She backed up and allowed them to enter. “Yes, I believe it did. How long can you stay?”

“I’m afraid I can’t stay at all. I have a deputy in my place, and I need to get back.”

The woman’s shoulders slumped. “Oh. Well, you can at least spend the day and stay for dinner, can’t you?” She gave Julia a strange look, then waved them toward a room off the main door. “Take a seat in the parlor, and I’ll tell Patty Ann you’re here. She’s getting dressed. I hadn’t mentioned your visit to her since I thought you would at least stay a couple of days.” She cast him a reproachful glance

“Catherine, you do understand I’m here to bring Patty Ann home with me, don’t you? This is not just a visit.”

Ignoring his question, she led them into the parlor, a medium-sized room to the right of the front door. It was a comfortable space, with homey touches of rag rugs and embroidered pillows. Julia and Fletcher took a seat on the sofa near the fireplace.

“Catherine, I’d like you to meet my wife, Julia.”

“Wife?” The woman looked stunned, and, if Julia guessed correctly, not pleased. She sank into a chair across from them. “When did you get married?”

“Yesterday. It was a small wedding.”

Two bright-red spots appeared on Catherine’s cheeks as she tried very hard not to stare at Julia. “Oh. I thought she might be a babysitter you hired to take care of Patty Ann.”

When no one commented—since there was no question, so therefore no answer—she said, “Well, if you will excuse me, I’ll go get Patty Ann for you.”

Once she left the room, Fletcher turned to Julia. “That’s strange. Catherine is usually much friendlier and loves to sit and chat for a while.”

“When you sent the wire, you didn’t tell her you were married?”

He shrugged. “I thought I did. Maybe not. I was just anxious to let her know I was coming.”

Sometimes men could be so dense. If Catherine was not in love with Fletcher, she was very close to it. Her reaction to him having a wife was not just surprise, but unhappiness. Julia hated to be the cause of the woman’s distress, but there wasn’t anything to be done about it now. However, since Catherine was Laura’s sister, she and Fletcher must have known each other for quite some time. If nothing had developed between them before now, it wasn’t Julia’s fault.

At least that’s what she told herself to quell the guilt.

Fletcher hopped up and paced. Despite her nervousness, Julia sat very still on the sofa. One of them needed to appear calm, and it was apparent introducing his daughter to his new wife had Fletcher a bit jumpy.

“Papa!” A little girl with dark blond hair fastened in braids, the hazel eyes of her father, and a huge smile on her face, bounded into the room, throwing herself into Fletcher’s arms. She wrapped her arms and legs around his body, and he pulled her close. The look on his face as he hugged his daughter had Julia blinking back tears.

Catherine followed the girl into the room and took a seat near the fireplace, turned away from Julia, focusing on the reunion between father and daughter. Her look of longing convinced Julia she had been right. Catherine was in love with Fletcher and probably had hoped being a temporary mother to his daughter would turn into a permanent one.

Despite the fact that Catherine obviously disliked Julia, or at least her position as Fletcher’s wife, she couldn’t help but feel sorry for the woman. Julia knew only too well the sting of rejection.

“Honey, I want you to meet someone,” Fletcher said to Patty Ann as he dropped her to the ground. Putting his arm around her slender shoulders, he moved her toward Julia.

“This is your new mother. I married Julia yesterday, and we will all be a family now.”

The little girl leaned back against her papa. “I don’t want her to be my new mother.”

Speaking of rejection…

“Patty Ann, I don’t like that. That’s not a nice thing to say.”

Patty Ann crossed her arms over her chest. “I don’t understand why Aunt Catherine can’t be my new mother.”

All three adults sat in silence, casting uneasy glances at each other. Fletcher went down on one knee and took Patty Ann’s small hands in his large ones. “Let me explain it to you, honey. Aunt Catherine has done a very good job of taking care of you, and for that I am very grateful. I am fond of Aunt Catherine, but Julia is my wife and she will be your new mother.”

“Why can’t Aunt Catherine be your wife?”

Catherine made a strangled sound and fussed with the bun at her nape.

“No, sweetheart. It doesn’t work that way. Julia is my wife, and that’s just the way it is.”

Catherine hopped up, two bright-red dots on her cheeks, her hand grasping her collar. She hesitated for a moment, then said, “If you will excuse me, I’ll see to packing Patty Ann’s things.”

Not sure what she could do with herself but certain she no longer wanted to remain while Fletcher and Patty Ann worked this out, Julia walked to the window. She studied the last of the dried leaves drifting from the large maple tree outside the window, wishing she could cover her ears like she did when she was a child. No matter how hard she tried, she couldn’t block out the conversation between father and daughter.

“Patty Ann, you can’t decide who I marry. I’m fond of Aunt Catherine, but I don’t want to marry her.”

“Why not?”

“Because that decision is mine, not yours. There are many reasons why a man wants to marry one woman and not another. Adult reasons that children don’t need to know about. Now, I want you to go help Aunt Catherine finish packing. But before you do that, go tell Julia you’re sorry for embarrassing everybody.”

Julia groaned inwardly. All she wanted to do right now was leave this house and get on the train. But, instead, she turned to Patty Ann and smiled.

The little girl hung her head and spoke to her shoes. “I’m sorry for embarrassing you.”

Julia knelt and paced her hands on the girl’s shoulders, ducking her head so she could see the girl’s face. “I’m sure you’re scared at having a new mama, and I can understand you wanting Aunt Catherine, who you know and love very much. But I will try very hard to be a good mama to you.”

Patty Ann used the heels of her hand to wipe the tears from her eyes. “Do you like little girls?”

“I do. I have five younger sisters.”

“Five?” Patty Ann’s eyes widened, and she held up five fingers. “Do they live with you?”

Julia shook her head. “No. They live far away from me, and I miss them very much. I would really like to have a little girl to take care of. Maybe if you don’t want me for a mama, we can just be friends.”

“Julia—” Fletcher said.

Julia held up her hand to stop him. The best thing at this point was to get out as quickly as possible to allow Catherine time to regain her dignity. It was obvious to Julia that Fletcher had no idea whatsoever how Catherine felt about him and what she apparently had hoped for.

“Why don’t you go help your aunt finish packing? I think she would like to see you by yourself before we leave.”

Patty Ann tilted her head and furrowed her brows. “Maybe I will like you after all. But just not as a mama.”

Julia bit the inside of her cheek to keep from laughing. Patty Ann spun around and raced from the room, her braids flying.

“She’s a sweet little girl, Fletcher.”

Chapter Eleven

“She’s the devil’s spawn, this child.” Miss Ambrose grasped Patty Ann under her arm, the poor child dangling a few inches off the ground.

“I don’t think that’s a very kind thing to say about one of your students, Miss Ambrose.” Julia retrieved the child from the woman’s grip and pulled her to her side. “She is only seven years old.”

“I caught her fighting in the play yard with two boys. She blackened their eyes!”

Julia had to bite her lip to keep from smiling. Little Patty Ann was a bit of a challenge. After having lived with her aunt, who seemed to be very sedate and a true lady, it amazed Julia how rambunctious her stepdaughter was. It was almost as if the little girl had to make up for the months behaving herself with Catherine.

Miss Ambrose drew in a deep breath, her bosom heaving. “Mrs. Adams, if you would dress the girl appropriately perhaps she wouldn’t be so wild.”

Patty Ann looked up at Julia with those big hazel eyes that gripped her heart and made it so difficult to clamp down on the girl. She was really a minx, but an adorable one. From the time she’d arrived at their home, Patty Ann had balked at wearing a dress. Julia would select a freshly washed and ironed dress for her to wear to school, and unbeknownst to her, the little girl slipped trousers under her dress, rolled up above her half boots. Weeks had gone by before Julia had caught on to what she’d been doing.

“I understand your concern, Miss Ambrose. I promise she will try to do better.” She gave her stepdaughter a stern look. “Isn’t that right, Patty Ann?”

She cast Miss Ambrose a truly angelica look. “Yes. I will try.”

“And that look does not fool me one bit, girl,” the teacher groused.

Julia looked at Patty Ann’s slumped shoulders and lowered head. The poor girl had gone through a difficult year. She placed her palm under Patty Ann’s chin. “Patty Ann, go on into the kitchen. I have a glass of milk and two cookies on the table for you.”

Her bright smile warmed Julia’s heart. Once the little girl had entered the house, Julia turned to the teacher. “I can imagine how difficult it is for you to deal with Patty Ann, but she has had a hard time of it lately.”

“There is no excuse for behavior such as—”

“—her mother died only about seven months ago. My stepdaughter spent most of that time with her aunt in New Jersey. She’s just now home with her father and me, and it will take some time for her to adjust.”

The teacher sniffed. “It will do the child no good if you offer excuses for her behavior.”

“I’m not offering excuses, I assure you, but I do think she needs time to adapt to her new circumstances.”

“I think the sheriff should give her a good spanking. That would help her adapt.”

Anger flashed through her. She was beginning to lose her patience with this woman. Spanking a child when trying to make her feel wanted would defeat the purpose. She often thought the reason she couldn’t countenance spanking was the easy way her parents had raised her. Their home was a noisy, boisterous place where the children were much loved.

Hugs were plenty and spankings were few. Each child had responsibility for the next youngest. Except Julia who was the oldest, so she helped her mother oversee them all. What Patty Ann needed was a brother or sister.