Mail-Order Christmas Brides Boxed Set (21 page)

Once the cooking was done, Maeve found a mop and washed the plank flooring in the kitchen and the hall. Then she scrubbed the wood table where everyone ate.

Violet came out and decided to play doll with a long pillow she’d found in the parlor. She put Maeve’s black hat on the top of it and tied a red bandanna around its middle for a dress. She then got the mistletoe off the dresser and practiced giving her doll a Christmas kiss under it. Maeve just shook her head and laughed.

Finally, the girl went to take a nap and Maeve finished her work.

By that time, perspiration was dripping off her face. The fabric of her black dress stuck to her. She had her hair tied back and she had smudges on her white apron where she’d wiped her hands after rinsing out the mop.

When she heard the rap on the front door, she almost bolted to the bedroom. But then the person knocked again. She figured it was someone to see Noah and he hadn’t heard them come up to the house. Then she realized it might be someone who needed help. The storm had passed, but there was a lot of snow on the ground.

At the third knock, Maeve went to the door and opened it.

“Oh,” she breathed out in wonder.

The most beautiful woman she’d ever seen was standing there. Her jet-black hair was twisted into a perfect knot and a dove-colored hat swooped down over her delicate face. The brim of the hat was decorated with bright red ribbon. Her overcoat of pearl gray matched a silk dress of the same color underneath. The silk shimmered with every slight movement the woman made, and she was adjusting the coat on her shoulders so the silk was a constant change of color.

Maeve was speechless—which didn’t matter as the woman clearly intended to speak.

“I understand this is Noah Miller’s house,” she said, not even waiting for Maeve to nod before adding, “Tell him that his wife is here.”

“Oh,” Maeve repeated. This was the woman who had left Noah. And now she was back. Maeve was poised to make some remark about the sanctity of marriage when the woman spoke again.

“I see Noah finally decided I was right and that he needed some domestic help.” The woman paused to eye Maeve’s dress and apron with disapproval. “I assume you have some references so, if you work out, I will keep you on. I can’t imagine where else we would find a maid out here in this wilderness.”

Maeve could feel the pink rise on her cheeks. The woman had so much incorrect that Maeve almost didn’t know where to start.

“This is not a wilderness,” Maeve began her protest. “And, no, I don’t have references. But I don’t need them because—”

Just then, Maeve heard two sets of boots stomping through the house. She turned and there was Noah and Jimmy, the boy from the mercantile, charging down the hallway until they both stood behind her in the doorway.

“What are you doing here?” Noah demanded from her left side.

“I thought you might need some help celebrating Christmas,” the woman said with a flirtatious smile.

“You never bothered to do anything special for Christmas when we were married,” Noah said and Maeve could tell he’d crossed his arms because she felt one of them touch her back. “Why would you do anything now?”

“I’ve been lonely for you,” she said, summoning up a tear.

Maeve didn’t want to watch any more of the performance. She supposed she should be happy. Noah had his wife back and he could finally start living in his parlor. He’d clearly been waiting for the woman. But Maeve knew one thing for sure. She wasn’t going to work in this house for that woman.

Turning so she could leave, Maeve stepped back so that Noah and Jimmy were suddenly in front of her.

“I’m just here with the delivery,” Jimmy said then, obviously nervous to be that close to the conflict. He looked at Noah. “She called herself Alice Miller. She said she’s your wife. I knew she couldn’t be, but she insisted I give her a ride out here and I didn’t know what to do—”

So her name was Alice, was it? Maeve thought sourly. She’d always liked the name Alice until now.

Noah wasn’t paying any attention to Jimmy’s stuttered excuses. Instead, he was staring at the woman.

“He left you, didn’t he?” Noah demanded to know. “That man you said was a judge. The one you divorced me to marry? What was his name?”

Alice shrugged. “Judge Brandon Scott of Denver. No, he didn’t leave me. I’m the one who left him. I should have known he wouldn’t measure up to you. He didn’t even—” She leaned closer to Noah. “You know I’ve always liked a man who has assets.”

Noah looked at the woman with enough disgust to warm Maeve’s heart. She decided she would stay for a few minutes, after all.

“Don’t tell me you left him because he’s broke,” Noah said. “And I suppose you married him, too.”

Alice looked startled at that. “Of course I married him. I’d have no standing at all when he died if I didn’t. No one thought he’d lose his job.”

Noah shook his head.

“Don’t worry, though,” the woman assured him. “It’s not that hard to get a divorce. We did.”

“You’re going back on the wagon with Jimmy,” Noah said decisively.

“But I’m hungry,” Alice protested, clearly surprised that she’d been ordered to leave. She batted her eyelids and struck a pose that made her look helpless. “And I need to eat in my condition.”

“What condition is that?” Noah said impatiently.

Alice smiled. “Why I’m pregnant, of course.”

Maeve wished she’d had sense enough to leave sooner. She could see the battle on Noah’s face and she figured his resigned look meant what she thought it did. She was going back to the bedroom until the woman left.

* * *

“Come on in,” Noah said. “I’ll find you something to eat. You may as well sit down while Jimmy unloads the supplies anyway.”

Noah nodded to the boy and Jimmy walked back to the kitchen. He always parked the wagon by the back door so he could unload everything easier.

When he stepped into the kitchen, Noah wondered how he could have missed the smell. Maeve had made bread. The golden loaves sat on the table and he searched a drawer to find a knife to cut into one of them.

“You can sit here,” Noah said to the woman who had once been his wife. He used the knife to slice off a thick piece of bread. He knew how much work it was to make bread. And, he had seen that Maeve had made butter, too. He couldn’t help but notice that the kitchen was spotless, as well.

He hadn’t wanted Maeve to work today, but he liked to see that she had taken charge.

His ex-wife ate the bread quickly and held out her hand for more.

“Why’d you come back really?” Noah asked as he cut another slice of the bread. “If you’re carrying the judge’s baby, shouldn’t you be staying with him?”

“I can’t,” the woman said, her voice distressed. “I just can’t.”

For the first time since she’d started talking, Noah believed there was something genuine in her protest. As he was quiet for a moment, he could hear Jimmy unloading the supplies into the cabinets out in the small room off the kitchen.

“This judge—he doesn’t beat you or anything, does he?”

She shook her head. “He’s actually rather sweet.”

“Good, because I would report him to the sheriff if he was beating you.”

She looked surprised. “There was a time when you would have gone in person to persuade him.”

Noah shrugged. “I suppose there was.”

They were silent for a moment.

“I changed my name to Alice for you,” the woman said then. “I know you never liked Allison. You said it was out of place here in the territories. That it belonged in a big city like San Francisco.”

“I never meant you should change it. Your name is your name.”

Allison nodded. “I’ll be a better wife to you this time.”

Noah stood up. “I’m sure we’d do lots of things differently, but it’s not going to happen—getting back together. You’re someone else’s wife, bound and legal. I couldn’t face God if I took another man’s wife from him.”

“Oh, you always were too religious for your own good,” Allison said impatiently.

“You can wait in here,” Noah said as he started walking toward the door. “I’m going to help Jimmy get our supplies put in place.”

With that, he left the house.

* * *

In the bedroom, Maeve heard the back door slam and assumed everyone had left again. She needed to keep an eye on the stew and she wanted to make some sugar cookies for the ranch hands to take with them tomorrow if they had to ride out again. She thought she had all the ingredients and the stove needed to be hot for the stew anyway.

Maeve didn’t see the woman sitting at the table until she’d taken several steps into the kitchen. She could tell the woman hadn’t heard her coming in and Maeve was tempted to leave, but then she saw the way the woman’s shoulders were slumped down in despair. Maeve had felt that way not long ago and she couldn’t leave someone else as forgotten as she’d felt.

“Can I help you?” Maeve said softly as she walked over and sat down in a chair. “Alice, isn’t it?”

“Oh, what difference does my name make?” the woman said as she dabbed at the tears sliding down her face. “I changed it to Alice to please Noah, but he doesn’t care. My real name is Allison. I could be named Matilda and he wouldn’t care.”

It was only because Maeve could feel the woman’s distress that she reached over and patted her shoulder. “You must love Noah very much to do something like that.”

“Humph,” the woman said in disgust. “I wish I did.”

“Well, then why did you do it?” Maeve asked in surprise.

“I love my judge,” she said. “But I can’t live poor. We’ve always had a servant to help me. My judge doesn’t know I can’t cook. I can’t sew. I can’t clean. And I can’t bear to tell him. And my baby—what will I do for my baby?”

More tears rolled down Allison’s face. “I thought I could come back to Noah. He can always get one of the ranch hands to do the cooking. And no one cares about sewing here. The men all take care of their own buttons. My other husband can find a wife who knows how to do that kind of thing.”

Maeve felt a bubble of relief float up inside her. She almost started to laugh.

“You mean this is all about cooking?” Maeve asked, feeling considerably better than she had earlier. “And mending clothes?”

“A man puts a great deal of store on having a meal that’s properly prepared. And his shirt in good order.”

“I can teach you,” Maeve offered. “Cooking is not hard after you’ve had someone show you the way. And anyone can sew on a button.”

“You’d do that for me?” Allison asked as more tears flowed down her cheeks. “After I was so mean to you? I knew you were Noah’s new mail-order bride. I just didn’t want to admit he was replacing me with a woman he didn’t even know.” She stopped. “Oh, I didn’t mean that the way it sounded. I’m sure he loves you and is looking forward to living his life with you.”

Maeve blinked back tears of her own. “He doesn’t know if he wants to marry me. My daughter, Violet, and I are just staying until he can figure out what to do.”

Allison reached over and put her hand over Maeve’s.

“Don’t you worry,” she said. “I can help you with Noah if you help me learn to cook and sew. Just even a little would make me think I could do it.”

“We’ll need to ask Noah if you can stay a day or two,” Maeve said. “I haven’t been upstairs yet, but I’m sure there’s a spare bedroom up there.”

“Please, just don’t tell Noah I’m learning how to cook,” Allison asked.

Maeve shrugged. “I won’t, unless you say I can.”

“Thanks.” Allison smiled and stood up. “I’ll get Jimmy to bring my bag inside. Noah won’t turn me away when I tell him I need to stay for the baby.”

Maeve nodded, realizing she couldn’t tell Noah about her baby now. He might think she was copying Allison and trying to get the attention from him that the other woman was receiving. But it would be only a couple of days, she thought, as she watched Allison open the door to where the supplies were being unloaded.

All would work out well, though, Maeve assured herself as she stood. If Allison did know how to convince Noah to marry, it would be the answer to Maeve’s problem, too. In the meantime, she would go upstairs to see if she could find sheets for the bed she hoped was there for Allison.

Chapter Seven

T
hat night, Noah was sitting in a chair at the bunkhouse. The windows showed it was dark outside except for the faint light coming from the full moon that was overhead. Most of the ranch hands were there, too, still reminiscing about the supper they’d just had. He wished he’d been able to enjoy it as much as the others. He had been too taken aback by the request he’d gotten from both women to savor his meal. Why had the women asked for Allison to stay two days? He didn’t want to appear inhospitable in front of Maeve, but he didn’t trust Allison to leave when she was supposed to if he agreed she could stay.

He had nodded his agreement, though, and now wished he hadn’t. Christmas was coming and he wanted to spend every minute with Maeve and Violet that he could.

“I haven’t had butter like that since my mother was alive,” Bobby said for the fifth time. He was lying on his bunk and staring at the ceiling as though he could see a picture of the meal up there. “And that bread—has anyone ever had bread that good?”

Several of the men said they hadn’t. Between all of them, they’d eaten the full ten loaves.

“My mother couldn’t cook at all,” another ranch hand said. “But she tried. She never made anything like those cookies, though.”

Noah was getting restless. “Mothers will do anything for their children.”

The ranch hands nodded.

Maybe Maeve had agreed to Allison staying because of the baby, Noah decided. Women were like that. He was glad to find that Maeve was generous, but he didn’t think she knew that his decision would only encourage Allison to think he might marry her again. He would never do that no matter how many divorces she received.

“We’ve got an expectant mother in the house,” Noah mentioned then.

He hadn’t expected the eruption of cheers.

“So she finally told you, did she?” Dakota asked. “I know it’s a secret, but I had to tell the other guys. We’re all family anyway.”