Mail Order Misfortune (5 page)

She stared at him in shock.  Had he really just offered to marry her?  They'd only met once before.  "I...I don't know how to even answer that, Mr. Hoover.  You're a stranger to me."  A stranger that she enjoyed kissing.

"I'm not asking you to share my bed.  It would be a business arrangement.  I'm not ready for a real wife, but I do need someone who can cook and clean for me, and I need help with Ernie.  You'd do everything a wife does except share a room with me.  The house is big.  There are plenty of bedrooms.  You'd just pick one and it would be yours."

"So you're asking me to be your housekeeper, and help you raise your son, but with the cloak of marriage to protect my reputation?"  It truly wasn't a bad idea if they could keep from killing one another...and keep their hands off each other, of course.

He nodded.  "Yeah, that's pretty much it."

She thought about it for a moment.  It's pretty much what she'd thought she'd be getting with Tom, but she wouldn't have to share his bed.  "What happens if one of us falls in love with someone else?"

He shrugged.  "I have no idea what we'd do then.  I really don't.  We'll both have to try not to let that happen, and if it does, we'll cross that bridge when we come to it."
  He knew he wasn't endearing himself to her with his answer, but he didn't know what else to tell her.

She sighed.  She wanted to know she'd have security, but this sounded like the best offer she'd get.  Being a wife without the bedroom duties sounded wonderful to her.  She stepped toward him and held out her right hand to shake.  "I'll do it."

He grinned, happy with her agreement.  He didn't realize he'd been holding his breath until she agreed.  His hand swallowed hers as he shook it.  He felt a rush of electricity shoot through him as soon as he touched her, but he ignored it.  He didn't have feelings like that for women any longer.  He'd married Deborah, and he'd promised to be true to her.  He would still be true to her.  "I guess we could get married next Saturday?" he suggested.

She frowned.  "I have to have everything clea
red out of the house where I live today.  I've not only lost my job, but I've lost my home."

He shrugged.  "Well, let's hope the preacher is around to marry us then."  He strode toward the house, planning on finding Ernie and heading into town.  It was the only right thing to do after all. 

Chapter Four

Anna
followed along behind Mr. Hoover, not certain where he was going, but refusing to go into the house with him, because it wouldn't be proper with them both being unmarried and no chaperone around.  She stayed on the front porch, sitting in a porch swing that was there.  She knew it must be from the previous owners because Mr. Hoover didn't seem like the porch swing type to her at all. 

A porch swing was more of a finishing touch on a house than something a man would do. 
It was comfortable though, and she liked the idea of doing some mending on the porch when it was cool outside.  It was October, and she still found the weather much too hot for her tastes.  Didn't it ever cool off in Texas?

She frowned.  She still didn't know the man's first name.  He'd kissed her, and she was about to marry him, but she didn't know his name?  What was wrong with her?

He came out of the house a moment later with Ernie in tow.  Ernie glared at her.  "You're not my mother!"

She stood up, looking at the boy.  "I never said I was, but I will do my best to feed you and make sure you wear proper clothes and act right."
  What else could she say?  She knew he didn't want a new mother, but she was stepping into that role, and he was going to respect her.

Ernie was obviously
upset at the prospect of her marrying his father, but he said nothing more, just looking down at his feet.

Mr. Hoover looked at her.  "You ready?  Let's get this over with."
  He gestured to the swing.  "Wait here while I hitch up the horses."

Jesse strode off to the stable, wondering if he could possibly be doing the right thing.  He needed to get some help with his son, but was marrying the right way to do it?  And he was attracted to her, whether he wanted to be or not.  He didn't need her to constantly be around.
  What was he thinking marrying again anyway?  And her?  She was the last woman he should marry.

He took a deep breath to calm himself, realizing Ernie was standing there looking at him.  "Son, I'm not marrying her because I love her.  I made her lose her job.  I'm giving her another one."
  He wasn't certain if the words were for her benefit, his, or Ernie's.

Ernie nodded solemnly.  "But, you still only love Ma, right?"

Jesse nodded emphatically.  "I still only love your ma."  He made quick work of hitching up the team and drove to the house. 

He drove what was obviously his farm wagon, but she didn't ask if he had a buggy.  She needed t
his marriage to be respectable but still have a place to live and work to do.  She knew better than to antagonize him at that point.  She climbed into the wagon without help, because he didn't offer any, and sat as far from him on the seat as the buckboard allowed. 

They didn't speak as they drove into town, stopping in front of a small house.  The three of them went to the door, and it was answered by a short middle-aged man with silver streaking his brown hair and dancing blue eyes.  He smiled at Anna.  "Miss Simmons!  I wasn't aware you were acquainted with Mr. Hoover."
 

Anna bit back the 'unfortunately' that danced on the tip of her tongue.
She was surprised to know that Mr. Hoover had taken the time to get to introduce himself to the preacher.  He didn't seem the type to care much about his spiritual health. "Yes, we want to be married."

The preacher nodded solemnly.  "Of course."  He took their wanting to marry in stride.  "Come right in."

Anna followed him into the house, knowing the other two would follow quickly behind.  "Thank you for taking your time to see us today."  She didn't expect Mr. Hoover to be polite, so she thought she should be to make up for him.

The pastor turned around in the center of the room and looked at them both.  "I'm afraid you're both new enough in town that I only know your last names."  He looked at Anna.  "Your Christian name is?"

"Anna," she whispered.  She wished he would hurry and just get it over with.  As a child she'd dreamed of what her wedding would be like, as most girls did, and this was not it.  She wanted it over and done with so she could get away from people and just cry.

"I'm Jesse," Mr. Hoover said, his voice deep and strong.

The pastor nodded.  "All right.  If you will join hands."

Anna froze for a moment before offering her hand to Jesse.  She had to learn to think of him as Jesse and not Mr. Hoover. 
He would be her husband; she couldn't refer to him formally forever.

The ceremony was short and sweet.  When
he pronounced them man and wife and told Jesse to kiss his bride, Anna felt a moment of panic.  She turned to him, raising her lips to his, her eyes searching his face.  He leaned down and brushed a quick soft kiss just beside her lips, not touching hers with his own.  What was wrong with him?  She was fine to kiss when she was some random stranger in the schoolhouse, but when she was his wife, he couldn't kiss her?  What kind of man had she married?

Jesse straightened up, nodding his thanks to the reverend.  "Thank you, Pastor.  We appreciate your time."  He took Ernie's hand and headed for the door, leaving Anna to trail behind them in his wake.

Anna looked at the preacher for a moment, befuddled, before she half-ran after the Hoovers.  "We have to stop at the Hansons' house to get my things," she reminded him.  Mr. Hoover was the type to burn all her things if she hadn't picked them up by the time he'd specified.

"You'll have to tell me where that is.  I'm afraid I know where the church is, the mercantile, and the pastor's house.  Everything else I need directions to."
  He hated to admit not knowing where something was, but he was new enough in town that he figured she'd understand.  In another month, the excuse wouldn't be good enough, and he'd have to know how to do everything.

She directed him the short distance down the street to Mr. Hanson's house, before jumping down.  "I'll be right back."  She was surprised when Jesse jumped down as well. 

"I'll get your things for you."  He followed behind her, leaving Ernie in the wagon as they stepped inside the house. 

"Mrs. Hanson?" she called.  "I'm here to get my things."
  She didn't want the older woman to be frightened if she was home alone.  She genuinely liked Mrs. Hanson and wished she knew how to get her out of her marriage, but Mrs. Hanson seemed happy enough.

Mr. Hanson came out of his study and glared at her and Jesse.  "So is this the man you were whoring with in the schoolhouse?" he asked.
  His face was flushed with his anger, and he stood with his hands on his hips as if daring her to deny it.

Anna blushed, rushing to her room and ignoring him.  She was so thankful not to have to live under the odious old man's roof any longer.  She heard.  "Well?  Are you the one she was kissing?"  The word kissing sounded like a cardinal sin coming out of Mr. Hanson's mouth.

"Yes, I am.  She's a beautiful girl.  You can't blame me for kissing her."  Jesse looked Mr. Hanson up and down.  "I'm sure you've kissed at least one pretty girl in your life."  He wasn't about to let the man insult his wife, whether he had feelings for her or not. 

"I can and I will.  I can't believe you had the gall to try and kiss her right there in the schoolhouse."

"I can't believe you'd fire a woman and turn her out into the street before hearing the entire story.  I kissed
her
in the schoolhouse.  She had nothing to do with it."  Jesse wasn't worried about the half truth, because he knew Anna would never have initiated the kiss.  She hadn't fought him off, though.  He knew for a fact she'd enjoyed it just as much as he had.  He forced his mind to stop thinking about that kiss.  Now that she was his wife, it seemed to be all he could think about.  How soft she'd been in his arms when he'd held her.  How sweet her lips had been beneath his own.

"She should have had the morals to slap your face and walk away.  Instead, she let you kiss her.  She has no right to be a moral guide for the children in our community."

Jesse snorted.  "You're an old bigot.  I'm glad she's got somewhere better to go now."  He'd never met anyone he'd disliked on first meeting quite as much as he did Mr. Hanson.  Burying a fist in his face seemed like a wonderful idea just then, but he didn't want to upset Anna more than this visit already would.

"Did you marry the jezebel?"

"Yes, I did, and if I ever hear you talk about my wife that way again, I will personally hunt you down like the weasel you are."  He strode off in the direction Anna had disappeared to and stuck his head in the only open door.  "You ready, sweetheart?"

Anna's eyes danced as they met his.  "Sweetheart?" she mouthed.  At his shrug, she pointed to her trunk and picked up her carpet bag.  "It's right there, darling."
  She'd heard the entire exchange between the two men and couldn't believe Jesse had come so readily to her defense. 

He raised an eyebrow but said nothing as he hefted her trunk over one shoulder and led the way out of the house
, hoping she'd follow closely behind him and not say anything else to that odious man. 

Anna stopped at the door. "I hope you find a new teacher quickly."

Mr. Hanson stood sputtering for a moment before yelling after her, "I will.  And her last name won't be Simmons!"

Anna ignored him as Jesse put his hands at her waist, and gently lifted her into the wagon, carefully tucking her skirts around her like he was infatuated with her.  As soon as they were away from the house, she looked at him.  "Thank you for standing up for me."

He nodded.  "I may not be in love with you, but you're still my wife, and no man needs to be talking badly about you."  He gave her a funny look.  "What did he mean by the next teacher not being named 'Simmons?'"

She laughed softly.  "This is a crazy story, but the woman who came out here to teach and ended up married to my fiancé had the same last name as me.  That's how the confusion happened."

He shook his head.  "That's crazy."

She smiled as she looked out the other side of the wagon.  He may not know it yet, but he was going to make her a very good husband.

They drove home in silence, and when they reached the ranch, he carried her trunk inside, leaving her to get down herself.  "I'll be back at five for supper.  Have it waiting for me."  He walked off without looking back even once.  So that was how it was going to be.  He'd do his job, and she'd do hers, and they would have as little contact as possible.  She could handle that.

Anna watched him go, her stomach growling loudly to remind her she hadn't even had lunch yet. She looked down at Ernie who didn't look at all pleased to have her in his home.  "Did you eat lunch?  I'm hungry!"

Ernie shook his head.  "No.  You came around lunch time." He eyed her warily, as if he wasn't certain what to think of her being in his house.

"I did, didn't I?"  She walked toward the large kitchen at the back of the big ranch house.  "Let's see what we can find to eat that doesn't need to be cooked for hours."

She ended up making them each a bacon sandwich on toast, while she cleaned the kitchen, which looked as if it hadn't been cleaned in the two weeks the Hoovers had been in Texas.  Once she was done, she located a pork roast in the cellar, which she put into the oven and she peeled carrots and potatoes to go with it.  Ernie sat at the table the whole time, eating his sandwich and watching her, as if he were worried she'd do something wrong.  She had no doubt that he would run to his father if she did something that he didn't think was right.

When she had dinner in the oven, she turned to the table and shooed Ernie off so she could give it a good cleaning.  She then grabbed a broom and swept the
floors before getting down on her hands and knees and scrubbing them.  She had woken up that morning a single teacher with no prospects, and here she was now, cleaning her kitchen, a wife and a mother.  Life was odd in how it threw things at her.

When Jesse got home at the end of his day, he stopped at the well to splash water over his hands and face, something he hadn't done after work since his wife died.  He'd always cleaned up for her before going into supper, and he felt he should afford his new wife the same courtesy, whether he wanted to or not.
  As his wife she deserved his respect, even though he'd never be able to love her.

When he stepped in the back door, the smell of the meat roasting brought a smile to his face.  His stomach let out a loud growl, reminding him that he'd skipped lunch again.  He walked into the kitchen and stopped in surprise.  Everything was sparkling.  It looked like even the stove had been blacked.  How on earth had that tiny woman done so much work so quickly?

The table was set, and she was standing at the stove stirring something.  "I'm just finishing up the gravy.  Go ahead and sit down and serve yourself, and by the time you're done, I'll have the gravy on the table."

Jesse collapsed into the chair at the head of the table and sniffed appreciatively.  "Dinner smells good."

Anna turned from the counter and smiled.  "It should taste good, too.  I'm a good cook."  She poured the gravy into a bowl and set it on the table.  "Let me call Ernie, and then we'll be ready to eat."  Her cooking was one thing she had a great deal of confidence in, and she was happy to be able to say she did it well.