Mail Order Mistake (18 page)

Beatrice gaped at her.  “Is that how you ended up out here?”

Malinda nodded.  “We were thankful to be able to become mail order brides.  We lived
with the marriage broker in our town, and when we got our letters, we left.  I still
write to her every week.”
  She felt a smile cross her lips as she talked about Harriett.

“Wow.  I had no idea, Malinda.  It would be hard enough to lose your father, but to
be left penniless as well.  No wonder you worry so much about money!”

“We don’t need any of the money I make to live on.  Wesley makes plenty.  If something
happens, though, we’ll need it.  We have nothing saved for a doctor’s appointment
or
anything else that could happen.
”
  Well, they hadn’t had anythin
g saved.  She looked at the jar
and felt some of the panic leave her.

“Not many people do.”

“I know, but it scares me.  I want to have enough that we’ll get by if something happens.”

“I think that’s smart.”  Beatrice checked the cake in the oven.  “I think it’s done.”

Malinda removed the first cake and put the second into the oven.  “I don’t have any
jobs lined up right now, so I’m going to take a day or two to rest.  I ended up working
through the night last night to get the miner’s shirts done.”

“You should have told me!  I’d have left as soon as he did, and we could have put
off baking for another day!”

Malinda shook her head.  “No, I enjoy your company.  I’m going to whip up a batch
of cornbread to
go
with the beans I fixed for lunch.  And then at dinner time, we’ll
be set.  That way I can nap for a bit before Wesley comes home.”

“Will he mind?”

“You know, I thought he would, but when he got home for lunch and I was sleeping,
he served himself and didn’t wake me up until it was time for him to leave to go back
to work.”  She smiled.  “He didn’t say a word about me sleeping through lunch.”
  She was married to a good man.

“Good.  It sounds like he really cares about you.”

“He does.  I haven’t been a very good wife to him, but I think I’m getting better.”

“Oh, I don’t believe that at all!”

Chapter Nine

Malinda pulled on Lady’s leash.  “Lady, stop that!”  Lady was once again sniffing
at
a man on the street.  She’d grown
a lot
in the month since she’d come to live with Malinda and Wesley. 
She was going to be a big dog.

Ellen grinned at her as she pushed Jonathan’s carriage.  “She’s a handful isn’t she?”

Malinda laughed.  “She is.”  She looked down at her nephew in the baby carriage. 
“I can’t believe you and Patrick adopted a baby.”
  She smiled at the sleeping baby boy.  She loved being an aunt.

Ellen shrugged.  “I couldn’t let him be sent from orphanage to orphanage.  Besides,
it gave Angela a place to live as well.”
  The smile on Ellen’s face told Malinda she was thrilled to have both of them, not
just Jonathan.

Malinda smiled.  She’d liked Angela when she’d done her hair for the wedding.  “She’s
a sweet girl.  I’m glad she’s not living in the orphanage anymore.”  She looked around. 
“Where is she today?  I just realized she wasn’t here.”  In the week since Ellen had
taken in Angela and Jonathan, Malinda hadn’t seen her without the two.

“She decided to stay and spend time with Alice.”

“That’s right!  She knew Alice before she was an orphan, right?”
  Malinda had heard the story, but wasn’t clear on the details.

Ellen nodded.  “They’
re very close.”  She eyed her sister.  “Are things better for you now?”

Malinda shrugged.  “In some ways.  We’ve stopped talking about the money I make, and
if I keep all the housework and cooking done up, he doesn’t care if I do it.”
  Of course they were both very careful not to mention her working.

“Have you finally explained why you’re so worried about money?”

Malinda nodded.  “Yeah, I told him after our last fight about it.”
  She wished she’d told him from the beginning.  Opening up about it made her feel
a lot better.

“Are you happy now?”

Malinda shrugged.  “I think so
.  I mean, I really love Wesley
and can’t imagine being married to anyone else.  He’s a good man.”  She kicked at
a rock as she pulled Lady back from the street.  “I just still spend a lot of time
worrying about money.”
  She’d never tell Wesley that, of course, but she had to be honest with her sister.

“I thought you’d saved up a good amount?”

Malinda shrugged.  “I’ve saved up some, but not nearly enough to get by if something
happens to Wesley.”
  And that was her biggest fear.  Something would happen to him, and she would be
left destitute.

“I don’t know why you can’t just trust that we’d take care of you if anything happened.”

“I don’t either!  I wish I didn’t spend all my waking hours afraid for tomorrow. 
I know I need to get over it, but I just can’t seem to get past the worry.  And I
wonder if I’ve made a mistake by marrying Wesley.  I don’t want to be married to anyone
else, because I
care about him
, but…..I’m still scared.”
  She watched as Lady relieved herself for the fifteenth time since they’d left home.

Ellen shook her head at her sister.  “You need to just let go of your fears.  If Wesley
ever realized just how worried you were about money, I think he’d be devastated. 
He’s not a pauper, and he works hard.”

“I know.”  Malinda sighed as she looked down at the dirt street.  “I just don’t know
how to
stop worrying.”

“Maybe you could start by trusting your husband?”

Malinda jerked around and saw Wesley standing behind her on the boardwalk beside the
dirt street.  She was mortified.   How long had he been there?  How much had he heard?

“I’ll see you at home.”  Wesley turned and walked toward the sheriff’s office without
saying anything else.

Malinda looked at Ellen.  “What have I done?”
  She wanted to cry, but it would do no good.  Crying only worked when you were three.

Ellen shook her head.  “Malinda, you’ve got to tell him you love him.  The money doesn’t
matter.  You would never have been happy with Patrick, despite the money, because
he’s not the man you love.  Wesley makes you happy.  He’s the only man who ever could.”

Malinda sighed.  “I know he is, but I keep messing up!  I worry about money, and then
he finds out, and then I’m in trouble again.  Why can’t I just keep my mouth shut?” 
She couldn’t believe she’d said that in front of Wesley.  What was wrong with her? 
She had to find a way to stop saying things like that and make him realize he made
her happy.  But how could she do that while she was still so worried about money?

“It’ll all work out.  You and Wesley belong together.”

“I think so.”  She spotted Beatrice walking toward them.  “Oh Ellen, have you met
my friend Beatrice?”
  Malinda had been so busy with sewing every spare moment she had, she hadn’t gotten
around to introducing two of her favorite people.

“I haven’t had that pleasure.”  Ellen smiled at the younger woman.

“Beatrice, this is my sister, Ellen, and my nephew, Jonathan.”  She kissed the other
woman’s cheek in greeting.

Beatrice smiled.  “It’s nice to meet you.”  She looked at Malinda, her eyes dancing. 
“I have something to tell you.   I was on my way to your house.”

Malinda looked at her friend.  “You’re expecting again!”
  She was thrilled for her friend.

Beatrice nodded all but bouncing up and down.  “I’m worried, but at least there’s
a doctor here in town.”

“I’m so happy for you!”
 

Ellen smiled.  “I have news too.”

Malinda looked at her sister.  “You’re not!”
  It was one thing to have her friend be pregnant.  She really couldn’t imagine Ellen
having a baby.

Ellen nodded happily.  “The doctor confirmed it yesterday.  That’s one of the reasons
I invited you to walk with me today.”

“Wow.  I’m going to be an aunt!”  Malinda hugged her sister.

Beatrice laughed.  “You’re already an aunt.”

“Yes, but I wasn’t expecting Jonathan!”

“Umm…I’m almost afraid to ask any questions.”  Beatrice looked perplexed.

Malinda laughed.  “Patrick and Ellen adopted Jonathan from the orphanage here in town.”

“Oh!” 
Beatrice smiled at Ellen.  “Congratulations.  It’s nice to know my son or daughter
will have a friend.”

Malinda watched her sister and her friend together thinking she should have introduced
them sooner.  Both of them were new to town.  They should all be friends.

“Why don’t we all go back to my house for some cookies?  You two should get better
acquainted.”
  Malinda was certain they’d like each other.

Ellen shook her head.  “I have to get home.  I’m supposed to be at the orphanage in
an hour and I need to eat lunch.”

“I have to go home
, too
.  The doctor wants me taking naps every afternoon, so I need to eat lunch so I can
do that.  Thank you, though.”  She gave Malinda a quick hug and hurried off to her
house.

“I guess it’s you and me, Lady.” 

Ellen laughed.  “You need to have the two of us over for tea and cookies soon.  I
think we’d both enjoy that.”  Ellen waved as she walked off in the direction of her
home, pushing Jonathan in his stroller.

Malinda smiled
,
watching her go.  She wondered if she’d be expecting soon, and then she remembered
the fight she’d just had with Wesley.  She didn’t need to bring a baby into a marriage
with that much fighting going on.  She and Wesley needed to settle things quickly.

*****

Wesley went to his office and slammed the door. 
How could she still be so worried about money?  We’ve been married for months and
not a penny of the money she’s made has disappeared from her jar.  We don’t need that
money.
 
He kicked the chair in his office for good measure.

He sat down behind his desk and looked at the paperwork in front of him, staring into
the face of Jim Madden.  Jim was wanted for murder in three states. 
The reward was the highest Wesley had ever seen.  Five hundred dollars was a lot of
money. 
Wesley tacked up the wanted poster on the wall of the jail as he did with all of them
that came through.  They were far enough from the railroad
that
he never saw any of them, but he studied all their faces just the same.
  He wasn’t sure why, other than it’s what a sheriff was supposed to do.

He sighed and sank back into his chair.  What was he going to do about his wife? 
How could he convince her that he’d take care of her no matter what?

*****

Malinda
heated up the leftover fried chicken and mashed potatoes from dinner the previous
evening.  She wasn’t looking forward to the fight she knew was brewing between her
and Wesley, but she knew they needed to talk things out.  He hated that she felt the
need to work, but didn’t mind if she did a little on the side
, so surely they could come up with a compromise
.

She eyed the jar on her work table.  She’d been working steadily for the
three months she and Wesley had been married.  She dumped the money out onto the table
wondering just how much was there.  She counted it quickly, dropping each coin back
into her jar when she was finished.  When she was finished, she sat down, stunned. 
She had fifty-three dollars saved!  It wasn’t a fortune by any means, but it would
pay the bills for a month or two if anything happened.

She carried the jar into the spare bedroom and put it on the dresser there.  By the
time she was back in the kitchen, Wesley was home and looking around.  She set the
table and hurriedly put the food out, planning out what she was going to say to him
in her mind.

Once she was seated, she looked up at him.  “I know you’re angry with me, and I’m
very sorry.  I’m going to stop taking in sewing.  It’s only right that I trust you
to provide for us.”  Even as she said it, she knew she wasn’t being completely honest
with him.  She
only trusted
him to provide for
them
because she had money saved.

Wesley looked at her
f
or a moment.  “Are you sure that’s what you want to do?”

She nodded.  “I enjoy doing the sewing, but if you don’t like it, then I’ll stop.”
  She hoped he didn’
t want her to stop
because she did like making money and having some saved, but if he didn’t like it,
she would stop immediately.