The Convenient Mail Order Bride (7 page)

T
he
next morning, Abe tapped the top of the pitchfork. Things had been
just as awkward at breakfast as they had been the previous evening
at supper, and he didn’t know what to do about it. Had it not been
for Phoebe’s mother telling him about her son and his family, the
tension would have been unbearable. Something needed to change. He
just didn’t know what.

The horses neighed at him, so he turned his
attention back to the pile of hay in front of him. He dug his
pitchfork into it, gathered a good amount of hay, and set it in
their troughs. Content, they stopped neighing at him and began
eating. If only women were as easy to figure out as horses. His
mother had been a mystery to him. Now Phoebe would be one as
well.

Once he was finished with the horses, he
milked the cow. He retrieved the pail full of fresh milk and took
it to the house. Phoebe was washing dishes while her mother was
rocking in his mother’s favorite chair. It was strange to see
someone in his mother’s chair, but he figured someone might as well
get some use out of it.

He went over to Phoebe and showed her the
pail. “Where do you want it?”

“Um,” Phoebe glanced around her then pointed
to the worktable, “over there will be fine.”

He nodded and set it down.

“Abe,” her mother spoke up, sitting straight
up in the chair. “I was wondering, how often do you make a trip
into town to get supplies?”

He shrugged. “Once a month. Maybe once every
two months. It depends on the weather.” And if he had any business
to do in town. “Do you need to go there?”

“There are a couple things I wouldn’t mind
having. I get bored just sitting around doing nothing, and more
than that, I’d like to make myself useful. Got anything you need me
to mend or sew?”

“Oh, well…” It’d been a long time since he
last checked the clothes that needed mending. “I think there’s two
shirts and one pair of denims that are coming apart.”

“Good! I’ll be happy to make them as good as
new. Why don’t you and Phoebe run on to town and collect supplies
for me?”

Phoebe glanced up from the pan she’d been
washing. “You don’t want to come along?”

“No,” her mother said. “I’m not fully rested
from our trip.” She looked at Abe. “We packed light. You wouldn’t
mind it if she bought a couple items to pretty herself up, would
you?”

When Phoebe’s gaze went to him, he said,
“You’re welcome to get whatever you need.”

Of all the things people could say about
him, withholding things a woman needed wasn’t going to be one of
them. While Phoebe and her mother were there, he’d see to their
needs.

“We’ll leave in thirty minutes,” he added
then left the cabin to get the horses ready.

He suspected her mother had ulterior motives
for sending him and Phoebe into town. Most likely, Phoebe knew it,
too. He wasn’t exactly looking forward to sitting with Phoebe for
nearly an hour, but he figured it wouldn’t hurt to get some things
resolved. They would have to spend a couple weeks in the same house
until the next stagecoach came back. Surely, they could come to an
understanding that would allow them to live peaceably.

He got the horses hitched to the wagon
before the half hour was up, and he fully expected to wait for her
to come out, much like he’d have to wait for his mother, who
insisted on making sure she looked as beautiful as possible in case
they ran into his father while in town. Even now, Abe grimaced in
irritation. Why did she degrade herself that way? No wonder Carl
thought he could walk all over him. He’d watched his father do it
to Abe’s mother his entire life.

The door to the cabin opened, and Abe’s mind
returned to the present. Phoebe had put her hat on, and she was
sliding the ribbons of her drawstring purse up her arm. There was
no doubt she was a pretty thing. She almost seemed too good for
this place. A bigger house with far more land would have suited her
better. Why hadn’t any of the white men back in Ohio taken an
interest in her? Were men stupid over there?

Phoebe took a deep breath, squared her
shoulders back, and marched toward him, much as a man would do when
faced with a battle.

Despite the situation, a chuckle escaped
Abe’s throat. “I’m not going to hurt you. You have nothing to
fear.”

“That’s not what I’m thinking,” she said,
seeming surprised by his comment.

“Then why do you look as if you’re going to
die?”

Her eyebrows furrowed and her steps slowed
as she reached the wagon. “I don’t have any reason to think I’m
going to die.”

He went over to her. “Well, something’s on
your mind.” He held his hand out to her. “I’ll help you in.”

She bit her lower lip.

“If you want to get in yourself, you
certainly may,” he said, gesturing to the seat. “But that skirt’s
likely to give you some problems unless you lift it. Of course, if
you lift it, I’m likely to see something I shouldn’t.”

At that, her face went bright red, and she
thrust her hand out to him. He stared at her, not sure if he should
laugh or be concerned. Something was troubling her. She hadn’t been
afraid of him when she asked him if she could stay, nor was she
afraid when she brought the nails up to him while he was fixing the
roof. He thought over the things he’d said or done that might have
spooked her, but he couldn’t think of anything.

After a moment, he took her hand and helped
her into the wagon. When he made it to his side, he got in next to
her and glanced her way. Again, she refused to look at him. Perhaps
she worried about being alone on the trail with him. Maybe she
thought he’d take advantage of the situation.

He unlocked the brakes and snapped the
reins, encouraging the horses to move forward. She gasped and lost
her balance. Leaning toward her, he put his arm around her waist
and steadied her before she fell back.

“I thought you were familiar with wagons,”
he said.

“I-I am,” she stammered as she finally found
her balance. He released her, and she cleared her throat. “I just
didn’t expect the horses to go so fast, that’s all.”

She hadn’t expected the horses to go so
fast? He glanced at her to see if she was serious. Eric had brought
her out on his wagon, and those horses were moving faster than his
were.

Since her face was an even brighter shade of
red than it’d been before, he decided to let the observation pass.
Instead, he said, “There’s no reason you should be afraid of me.
I’m not going to do anything I shouldn’t.”

“I know,” she replied, the slight waver in
her voice betraying her.

“Phoebe, if we’re going to be living in the
same house until the stagecoach arrives, we can’t dodge the issue.
I don’t know what happened, but ever since you went up on the barn
roof to help me, you’ve been avoiding me. The next few weeks will
go a lot smoother if you just come out and tell me why.”

She took a deep breath. He thought for sure
she wasn’t going to say anything, and he was ready to give up when
she said, “Alright. There is something troubling me.”

Good. They were finally getting somewhere.
“What is it?”

“Do you wish me and my mother weren’t
white?”

“No. You and your mother can’t help being
white.”

“But if we were Indian, would we be
better?”

Surprised by the question, he thought over
his response before answering. “You and your mother are white, and
since there’s no changing it, I don’t wish you and your mother were
Indian. It just is what it is.” When she frowned, he added, “I
don’t hate white people. There are some nice ones. Eric Johnson is
one of them. There’s Travis Martin, too. Granted, Travis keeps to
himself, and because of that, he’s never caused any trouble. But
then you have the likes of Carl. Those types, unfortunately,
outnumber the good ones. Most white people, especially the men,
aren’t any good. You can’t trust them. If they’re being nice, it’s
because they want something, and when that happens, you better
watch your back.”

“It’s not fair of you to say that about all
white people.”

“I didn’t say all white people. I said most,
and I singled out the men, but some white women aren’t so nice,
either. Sure, they aren’t out grabbing land and stealing goods from
an Indian, but they act like anyone who isn’t white is out to rape,
murder, or steal from them. Watch the way the women act around me
when we’re in town. Then you’ll see what I’m talking about.”

“But you look white.”

“I’m a half-breed. As far as they’re
concerned, I’m full-blooded Indian.” He shook his head. “And more
than that, I’m a bastard. Are you telling me in Ohio, the fine
white people readily accept bastards?”

She shifted uncomfortably. “No. It’s
preferable if everyone is born in wedlock, even if there is a last
minute wedding before the baby is born.”

“Exactly. I have two things against me, and
those are two things too many. Now, I don’t blame you for any of
this. You and your mother seem like nice women. I’m not going to
hurt either one of you. All I want is to live my life in peace, and
I want what’s rightfully mine. There’s nothing wrong with that, is
there?”

“No.”

“Good. So maybe we can get along until it’s
time for you to leave on the next stagecoach.”

“I already said I’m not leaving on it.”

“By the time you see how things are in town,
you’ll change your mind.”

She shook her head, but he decided she’d
find out how right he was soon enough. Phoebe, he was quickly
learning, had a stubborn streak in her. Once she set her mind to
something, she did everything in her power to make it happen. But
even a strong-willed woman wouldn’t be able to stand against the
majority of people in town.

“If nothing else,” he continued, “it’d be
nice to get along while you and your mother are here. Since you two
are willing to stay with me, obviously you aren’t like other white
people. You don’t need to worry I’ve lumped you in with them. I
haven’t. So, what do you say? Can we be friends?”

“Yes, we can.”

“Thank you.”

That was a relief. Maybe next time he
offered to help her up in the wagon, she wouldn’t flinch. It was
bad enough he had to put up with the looks and whispers in town. He
didn’t need to get it with her, too. He turned his attention back
to the path in front of them, and they rode the rest of the way in
silence.

Chapter Seven

W
hen they got to town, Phoebe thought it was even smaller than
she’d remembered. The few people who were gathered outside had
decided it was far more interesting to stare at her and Abe than to
continue on in their conversations.

Ignoring them, she glanced
at Abe. Could he really accept her and her mother since they
weren’t more like him? If she’d had some Indian blood in her, she
suspected he would’ve accepted her right away. She
was
different from him,
and she didn’t know if he really could separate his feelings for
the people in town from her and her mother.

But he’d asked her to give him a chance, and
the least she could do was what he wanted. As he pulled the wagon
up to the general store, he turned to her. “Do you know what you
want, or are you going to look around?”

“My mother gave me a list of items she
needs,” she said, pulling it from the pocket of her skirt. “I
thought I’d take a look around and see if I need anything.” She
cleared her throat. “Is there any food you’d like me to get while
we’re here?”

“I don’t care as long as it’s not any of
Carl’s. Avoid anything with the Richie label.”

She nodded and waited for him to come over
to her side of the wagon before getting down. If he hadn’t made the
comment about her skirt, she would have gotten down herself, but
the last thing she needed to do was give any of the onlookers a
show.

“I’m going to the post office and then the
lumber store,” Abe told her. “Afterwards, I’ll come to the store to
pay for the items. That way, we don’t have to be in town any longer
than we need to.” He paused. “That is, unless you want me to go to
the store with you.”

“I’ve been to a store before,” she told him,
aware the people were still staring. “I know how to find things
there.”

“I didn’t mean to imply you didn’t. I just
thought being new here…” He sighed. “Never mind. I’m sure whatever
I say you’d only take it the wrong way.”

As he started to head off, she asked, “What
do you mean by that?”

With a glance around, he came back to her
and lowered his voice. “I thought you wanted my help in there,
that’s all. Some items are pretty high, and I could reach them for
you.”

“Oh. Is there a ladder or something to step
on to reach them?”

“Yes, but it’s not always available.”