The Wrangler's Mail Order Bride (15 page)

“
W
hat do
you think could be so important that we were asked to go to the Occidental tonight?” Clara asked Hank as he drove the buggy out the gate of Archer Ranch.

Hank shook his head as he held the reins in one hand and put his arm around Clara, sliding her closer to him on the bench seat.

“I’m not sure. Pa just got back from his business trip and asked if we’d join him. But it’ll be nice to be with everybody. Suzanne said she and the girls and James and Sadie would be there for dinner.”

“Oh, wonderful. We’ll get to see them all. We haven’t been out in so long.”

“How long has it been since we’ve seen anybody but Suzanne and the twins when they come to ride?”

Clara tapped her chin as she thought, her eyes narrowed. “Well, we’ve been married about two months now, and I think honestly I haven’t seen Tripp and Sadie but maybe once or twice since the wedding.”

“Good, then it’s high time we took a break from the business to have some fun.”

As they pulled up to the Occidental and Hank tied the buggy to the post out front, Clara smiled as Mr. Archer came out of the restaurant, reaching his hand up to help her out.

“Well, hello. It’s nice to see you.” Clara said as she stepped down to the porch.

“Yes, it’s nice to see you, too, Mrs. Archer.”

Clara’s heart tugged at his greeting. They hadn’t had a chance, really, to talk about much as he’d been on business trips for much of the time they’d been married. The ranching industry was changing, and everyone at the Archer Ranch was anxious to see how things might be different.

“Thank you, Mr. Archer.”

Hank’s father cleared his throat. “Clara, do you remember long ago, that I asked you to call me Beau?”

“Oh, yes, I suppose I do. But I—”

He held up his hands to stop her as Hank joined them.

“No buts, please. I insist.”

She tugged on her mother’s pearl earring as she looked at Hank, who smiled and nodded at her.

“Well, thank you, Beau. I appreciate that.”

“Thanks, Pa. It’s nice to have you back,” Hank said as he shook his father’s hand.

“Nice to be back, son. Thanks for agreeing to join me tonight. I hear beef stew’s on the menu.”

Beau held his arm out for Clara, and she took it, her eyebrows raised with a smile to Hank, who followed behind them as they entered the Occidental.

“Over here,” Sadie called as soon as they entered, gesturing to the small, private dining room where they’d had their wedding reception. Clara smiled as she remembered smearing Hank’s face with chocolate.

Hank took Clara’s wrap and bonnet as they walked into a party already in progress. James, the twins, Suzanne, Sadie and Tripp all laughed and talked. Clara’s stomach rumbled as she eyed the mouth-watering buffet of appetizers lining the far wall.

Tripp nodded to Hank, Clara and Beau and tapped his glass with his fork as he cleared his throat.

He held his hand out for Sadie to join him, and Clara wondered at the color or her cheeks—bright scarlet.

“Thank you for joining us today. It’s a special occasion and we wanted to share it with our family.”

He smiled at Sadie as he squeezed her hand. “You’ll notice soon enough, but Sadie and I—well, Sadie is with child. Maybe two,” he said as he glanced at the three sets of twins in the room and laughed.

Sadie poked her elbow into his side and looked at her shoes. “I hope not, but we’re very happy.”

Pepper, Lucy and Lily all squealed and joined the room in laughter as they ran to hug Sadie.

“Oh, my,” Suzanne said to Clara as she waited her turn to hug the mother-to-be. “And so it begins.”

“Clara, Hank, it’s so nice to see you. It’s been a long time,” Sadie said as she hugged Clara. “How is married life treating you?”

Clara thought her face would stay permanently pink at this rate. “Wonderful. I’m very happy.”

Hank put his arm around her and gave her a quick squeeze. “So am I.”

“Congratulations, Sadie, on the news. We’re so happy for you,” Clara said as Sadie beamed at Tripp.

“I told you you two were meant for each other,” Suzanne said as she hugged Clara, too. “I love when things work out like this.”

“Well, maybe you can help me, then.” Samuel Ford, the bartender, came through the door, his face ashen.

“Sam, what is it?” Sadie said as she rushed to him. “Here, sit down.” She pulled him to one of the chairs and sat him down.

“I…I just received a letter from my mother. She’s coming to visit. ” He looked down at the paper in his hands, folding it and re-opening it.

“Oh, that’s nice. She lives in New York, doesn’t she? I don’t think I’ve met her yet. How lovely of her to visit,” Sadie said, patting him on the shoulder as Tripp came up.

“Uh, your mother? The wealthy lady from back east? The reason you moved away?” His lips tugged up into a grin. “The one who wanted you to be a—”

“Yes, anything she deems successful. One and the same,” Sam said as he rubbed his forehead.

“You don’t seem happy about it,” Suzanne said, her eyebrows raised.

“You don’t understand. I…my mother had very firm plans for me. To be a doctor or a successful businessman, to be married with a family.”

Sadie reached out and put her hand on his shoulder. “I’m sure she’ll be very proud of you, Sam. There’s no shame in being a bartender.”

“Oh, I don’t think there is. I think I’m the best bartender around, and I love what I do,” Sam said. “But there’s a little problem.”

“Oh?” Suzanne asked.

Tripp’s grin turned into a laugh. “You didn’t.”

Sam shook his head slowly. “Yes, I did. I told her I was married and owned a business. I never thought she’d come this far west. She hates to be out of the city.”

Suzanne’s eyes twinkled as she said, “I’ll be right back.”

“How long do you have until she gets here?” James asked.

“Not too long, I don’t think. Oh, what a disaster.”

“I knew there was a reason I’d need this,” Suzanne said as she came back in the room waving a copy of the
Groom’s Gazette
. “Sadie and I are fresh out of friends, but look at this. We can advertise for a mail-order bride for you.”

Sam’s face had been ashen before, and now he turned completely white, the blood draining from his face. “I don’t think I can do that.”

“Sure you can,” Sadie said, flipping through the flyer. “We’ll figure it out tomorrow.”

“Boy, this is going to be interesting,” Hank said as he laughed and clapped his friend on the back.

“It’s not funny. You don’t know my mother,” Sam said.

“You’re right. It’s not funny.” Tripp folded his arms across his chest. “It’s absolutely hilarious.”

Sam shook his head, joining in the laughter surrounding him and his problem.

“Do you have one of those for husbands?” Beau asked, his eyes twinkling. “I’ve got a houseful of girls who are going to need one pretty soon.”

“I have a feeling they’re going to want to have quite a bit of say in that.” Clara reached out her hand to Hank.

“Yes, I’m sure they will. Especially now that…”

Beau pulled on his chin and looked down at his boots.

“Pa? You all right?” Hank asked as he looked toward Clara.

“Yes, son. There’s just something I’ve been meaning to say, and not sure of the right words.”

Hank put his arm around Clara and waited. Clara smoothed her skirts as she watched Beau gain his courage.

“I mostly just wanted to thank the two of you. You, Hank, for having the good luck to choose a special lady like Clara, here.”

Hank laughed and said, “Don’t I know it. Luckiest day of my life.”

Clara’s ears burned at the compliment.

“And to thank you, Clara, for everything you’ve done for me, Hank and the girls. I never realized until you came that we were all holding our breath, not grieving Katie and moving on.”

“Oh, Mr.—Beau,” Clara said as she placed her hand on his shoulder. “I don’t believe I did much, but I can’t tell you how happy I am that things are better…lighter around Archer Ranch.”

Beau tilted his head up toward her. “We’re all glad. And grateful. Maria, too. Says she doesn’t have to tiptoe around us anymore.”

Hank smiled. “I must say that’s a very nice change.”

“I have to agree with you, son. Everything’s changed. For the better, I might add,” Beau said as he lived his glass to Clara.

“Thank you for choosing me, Hank.” Clara smiled as she looked around the room. “I’m so grateful for my new family. All of them.”

Thanks so much for reading this story and I hope you enjoyed it. If you’d like to hear about new release discounts, sign up for my new release alerts at:

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T
he Wrangler’s Mail Order Bride
is the first book in the Wild West Frontier Brides series. If you’d like to read the first book, click on the cover below:

Coming up next:

This book has gone through numerous proofreaders, professional and otherwise. If you find any typos or grammatical errors, I’d love to hear about them. I want this to be the best it can be. Please let me know at:

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