Nathan’s Montana Bride (Sweet Historical Mail Order Bride Romance) (Montana Ranchers Brides series) (4 page)

Abby felt a rush of panic rise up inside her. She opened her mouth, intent upon raising an objection, but she saw that there was no point.

Everyone left the room quietly.

Once the couple were alone there descended upon the room a heavy silence. Abby fixed her gaze firmly on the fireplace. The sound of the clock seemed unnaturally loud.
 

She didn't want to look into Nathan's eyes. She knew any resistance she might have would begin to crumble if she did that.

After a few minutes Nathan coughed slightly. "There is no sense in delaying anything any longer," he said.

His voice was rich and firm and had a strangely disquieting effect on Abby. She nodded but still kept her gaze away from him.

"I have already obtained the consent of your father to ask for your hand in marriage," he said plainly and simply. "And he has agreed that you may come with me to Montana, where we will marry, and you can finally become my wife."

CHAPTER FIVE

Abby felt the room start to spin. Nathan came to her and held Abby's shoulders, steadying her.
 

"What do you mean?" she said pulling away from him.

Nathan released her. Abby turned and looked into eyes. She saw a fierce determination there, the same steady gaze she had seen earlier at the hotel. Abby felt her lower lip drop open as she looked at Nathan. His eyes were fixed on her as if pleading for an answer.

Abby realized she still had a choice in the matter of marriage to Nathan Grantly. It wasn't already decided, after all. She thought of the terrible truth that she was concealing from him. This was surely the moment when she must tell him. He had a right to know.

Abby turned from Nathan. She felt his hand on her shoulder.

"Abby. What's wrong?"

Abby shook her head. "It's so difficult, Nathan. I don't know what answer I can give you."

Nathan came around to stand in front of her. He ran a hand through his dark hair. His eyes peered into her own, searching for understanding. She glanced away lest he see into her and read the truth.

"Give me the answer that lies in your heart. You wanted to marry me before. Why not now?"

Abby steadfastly kept her eyes on the window. The light of the day was fading. The sounds of the passing carriages seemed almost reassuring. Did she want to stay in this city? Did she want to find a city husband, one of the many unsuitable men to whom she had been presented these past years. That was one of the things which had driven her to seek a way out of Boston. The desire to be away from all the pretence, the falseness, the social pressure. She had such a strong desire to seek out a better life in Montana, where people were down to earth and in touch with real life. That was what Nathan Grantly had offered her before. That was what she had agreed to, until the dire news, the terrible fact she could not bring herself to share with him.

"Abigail?"
 

His voice was quiet, yet it had a firmness to it that drew her attention to him. It was almost like a command which she could not resist.

"Yes, Nathan?"

"I am waiting for your answer."

Abby breathed out softly. "I know I have been unfair to you. You shouldn't have come all the way here. Especially bringing Emma with you," she said.

"I needed to come to you. I needed to try one last time to convince you. I could not understand why you suddenly stopped writing to me. What changed?"

Abby sighed. "I can't tell you Nathan. Life seems to have a way of interfering in our most ardent desires," she said and sighed.

"But life out in Montana is not like it is here in Boston," he said. "The place and the people are so different. You will get to love it. You'll never want to leave."

Abby smiled. He was so persuasive, she was almost beginning to believe it might just be possible. But then again that voice came to her. If she were to tell him why she had stopped writing, he might withdraw his offer entirely. She didn't know how he would react.

"Is this conversation disturbing you Abby? I can leave if you wish," he said.

Abby reached over and placed a hand on his elbow. As she did that his eyes locked on her. The gesture seemed to have taken him by surprise. Abby immediately withdrew her hand, bringing it up to her throat, which had suddenly become very tight.

Nathan came closer to her. He did not touch her, but he was so close that Abby could breath in the scent of him. As it had done earlier, the uniqueness of his scent caught her attention and made her sway slightly.

"Are you well," Nathan said, and this time he took her by the arm. It felt suddenly good to be held by him. Abby looked up into his eyes. His gaze was unflinching and determined.
 

Abby smiled gently. "I am fine Nathan," she whispered.

Abby saw Nathan's nostrils flare slightly. The closeness seemed somehow inappropriate at a moment which called for a calm head and clear thinking. But Abby realized that wasn't going to be possible. Nathan's presence was so compelling. Abby had never felt sensations like this in her life. Was this what she would feel like in Montana? Would life be this intense?

Nathan's face was filled with eager anticipation. Abby knew she had to end his misery. And quickly.

Abby raised a hand up to Nathan's cheek and brushed it with the back of her fingers. Nathan seemed taken by surprise. But he smiled. Abby noticed the attractive lines at the corners of his mouth when he smiled.

"Yes?" Nathan asked. "What is your answer?"

Abby felt a peace settle inside her. She had already decided. In fact she had decided a long time before. It had just taken her so long to come to the point where she could tell him.

"Nathan Grantly. I shall be happy to become your wife and go and live with you and Emma in Montana," she said in a clear voice that sounded suddenly happy.

Nathan's face lit up and his head shot back.
 
He gazed up at the ceiling for few moments, obviously trying to contain himself. Then he took in a huge breath, and let out a cry. "Yes!"

Abby smiled and tried to maintain an air of propriety. Her parents, her sister and Nathan's daughter were in a nearby room. It wouldn't do for them to hear unseemly sounds coming from the parlor.

Nathan started to speak rapidly, his eyes flashing around the room. He was suddenly filled with an energy that he was having difficulty containing. "We have so much to do to prepare for leaving. You must decide what you need to bring. Your parents can send your things on, off course. I've already arranged for a minister to marry us when we get to Montana. Just in case you said yes."

Nathan paused and looked at her. "But I knew you would anyway. There was never any doubt in my mind. You know that don't you?"

Abby laughed at his enthusiasm. It was as if a dam had been opened up.

"I gathered that. I don't think you would have come all this way if you'd had any doubts," she said.

Nathan came closer to her and took her hands in his own. "I want to say this to you Abigail," he said. He lowered his head for a moment as if recalling words he had prepared earlier. "I will do whatever I have to do to make you happy. I will move heaven and earth to provide for you and make sure you are safe. I will be the best husband I can be. I know I'm not perfect but I hope you will forgive my faults. I will devote myself to making sure that every day of the rest of your life is happy and joyful."

Abby squeezed Nathan's hands in appreciation for the most beautiful words that anyone had ever spoken to her. She felt her heart quicken and she felt heat rise to her cheeks.

There was a knock at the door and her mother edged her head into the room. "May we come in?"

Abby gestured to her mother. "Of course mama," she said.

Elizabeth came in, followed by Lucius, Florence and Emma. They all stood for a moment and peered expectantly at Nathan and Abby.

"Well?" Elizabeth said.

Abby looked at Nathan. "Nathan and I have agreed to marry," she announced with a broad smile.

Florence and Emma squealed in unison, Elizabeth came to Abby and hugged her. Lucius shook Nathan's hand.

Happiness had filled the parlor.
 

CHAPTER SIX

"What do you think?" Nathan asked Abby, wrapping a firm arm around her.

"It's beautiful, Nathan. Really beautiful," Abby answered leaning closer into him.

They sat on a buckboard on the crest of a hill overlooking a wide, flat plain, bordered in the distance by forests and a range of high mountains.
 

Down in the valley was the ranch. Nathan's ranch. There was a beautiful large, white panelled house, surrounded by corrals, a large barn, and a variety of buildings. Fencing lined the area stretching off in different directions. In the distance she saw men on horseback guiding cattle. The whole thing was a hive of activity under the late afternoon sun.

"Papa. Mama. We're home," cried Emma.

Abby started for a moment at Emma's use of the word. She was indeed Emma's mother now.
 

Since the wedding, only hours before.

What a day it had been! She was now a married woman.

The preparations for the trip west had been completed at a rapid pace. After Abby's acceptance of his proposal everything seemed to have moved at lightning speed. The selection of what Abby would bring with her and what would be sent on had taken an eternity.

 
Abby just couldn't decide what she would bring and what she would leave. She had no idea about life on a ranch; no inkling of what lay in store for her. Nathan gave her some advice but, being a man, he finally admitted in amused exasperation that the only person who really knew what to bring was Abby.

 
Nathan had been eager to leave Boston and the day had finally come. Abby's parents had been sad at the station as they had waved their goodbyes. Seeing them waving goodbye on the platform as the train slid away had made Abby's heart almost stop. Nathan spent a long time consoling her as the train sped across the Massachusetts countryside.

The trip west filled Abby with real excitement and she busied herself keeping Emma occupied. She was starting to really get to know the little girl. She was such a bundle of energy and it took all of Abby's stamina to keep up with Emma's enthusiasm. Finally when the little girl ran out of energy Abby savored the quiet moments holding Emma close to her and gazing out the window at the passing countryside.
 

Often she caught Nathan looking at them both. There had been a glow of pleasure in his eyes at the sight of Abby and Emma seated together, almost like mother and daughter.

Abby hadn't traveled much and was fascinated at the sights that drifted past the window. She was embarking on a new life, a fresh adventure. It felt thrilling and filled her with a new sense of being alive.

Finally the train entered Montana. Nathan seemed to know when they had moved from North Dakota into Montana proper.

"We're in Montana now," he'd told her. She had gazed out the window in wonder. This was the place which was to be her new home. It was a wondrous landscape, unlike anything she had seen before. Rolling hills, sharp, distant peaks, dense forests and raging rivers. She took it all in with a true sense of elation.

They finally arrived at the town of Billings. The town was still growing, but she could tell it was a hub of activity for everything around.
 

Nathan wasted no time getting their bags and one large trunk off the train. His ranch was a long buckboard ride to the north of Billings. Abby wondered what it would be like to ride into what, for her, looked like a wilderness. Nathan reassured her everything would be fine. Abby had come to trust him already.

He'd arranged for two of his ranch employees to collect their belongings and take them ahead to the ranch.

As they stood watching the buckboard head off down the main drag of Billings Nathan turned to Abby.

"We got ourself a wedding to conduct," he said in a matter of fact voice.

Abby had felt a lump rise in her throat.

They'd made their way to a nearby church. Before she knew what was happening she was standing at the altar, speaking her vows, with an excited Emma watching on. Emma cried and Abby took her in her arms and consoled the little girl.

Abby was amazed at how forceful Nathan could be. It seemed that when he wanted something he just went and did it, without hesitation. No wonder he had done so well as a rancher. And it was no surprise that he had overcome any objections of her father to the whole idea of his daughter coming out west and becoming a rancher's wife.

Then they were back outside, under the warm sun on the Montana sky and Abby was now officially Mrs. Abigail Grantly. It felt strange when she thought of it like that. It had been nothing like the wedding she'd imagined for herself. But, she had to admit that the whole proceedings had been fine and entirely appropriate for the setting. She imagined fast marriages took place here all the time.

They went to the buckboard and headed out of town.
 

And now here they were, on this hillside looking down on her husband's land and property. She had a stake in all of this now. That thought took her by surprise, but it was also an appealing notion.
 

Abby looked down into the valley. This was where she was to settle and live her life. If anyone had asked her what she felt in that moment she would hardly have been able to describe her feelings.
 

But one thing dominated her thoughts. She was now a wife and mother. That thought alone made her sigh with satisfaction.

Nathan looked at her. "You like it?" he asked.

She smiled at him. "I like it Nathan. It's the most wonderful place I've ever seen."

Nathan grinned. "I'm happy that you like it," he said quietly. He looked like he wanted to lean in and kiss her, but he glanced over at Emma. This wasn't the time or the place.

The proper time and place would be later, at the ranch. Then she realized that tonight would be her wedding night. What that meant made something curl in her middle. What would she do? How would things be when they were alone later that night, in the quiet privacy of their marriage bed. Would she have to explain to him why things may have to be different when it came to their physical intimacy? Would he understand?