Historical Cowboy Romance Two Book Box Set - Mail Order Brides (6 page)

“I’m going to excuse myself. I think all of
the perfume has given me a headache. I should like to go to retire
early,” she said.

Maureen looked at her eldest with concern.
“Well, you do look a little peaked. Perhaps it’s best. Get a good
night’s rest and I’ll check on you in the morning.”

Tessa hugged her mother, hanging on a bit
longer than normal. “I love you, Mama. You are the most wonderful
mother anyone could ask for.”

Maureen hugged her back. “Thank you,
darling.”

Then Tessa turned to her father and steeled
herself. This would be the toughest goodbye to get through without
giving herself away. “Goodnight, Papa.”

Geoffrey kissed her cheek and gathered her
close. “Goodnight, daughter. Sleep well and feel better.”

Tessa struggled to hold tears back as she
hugged her father. She drew away and pretended to sneeze. She
pressed a handkerchief to her nose and made it seem as if the
perfume was having a severe effect on her sinuses.

“Pardon me. I fear that some people have been
extremely heavy with the perfume,” she said, as a reason for her
eyes being so bright with tears.

Geoffrey placed another kiss on her forehead.
“Go then before it gets worse. Good night.”

“Goodnight. I love you both so much. Have a
wonderful rest of the night and tell Maddie how sorry I was that I
had to leave the party early,” she said.

“Yes, we will,” said Maureen.

She and Geoff watched their daughter leave.
“She should have been an actress,” Geoff commented. “I almost
bought that she was feeling poorly.”

“She’s faking? I didn’t know. What does that
say about me as a mother?” Maureen said.

Geoff squeezed her hand. “You’re a wonderful
mother and you know it. She really does hate parties and just
wanted to leave this one, too. That’s all it is, Maureen.”

Maureen sighed. “I suppose you’re right.”

“However, we have another daughter who is
enjoying every second of it,” he said, with a gesture at Maddie,
who was out on the dance floor again.

They watched their graceful daughter float
around the room in the arms of a very good-looking boy.

Tessa watched her family from the doorway
leading to the main foyer as they enjoyed the special night. The
picture they made together would be forever etched in her mind.
With tears in her eyes, she forced herself to turn away and mount
the staircase to prepare for her journey.

“Mama! Mama!”

Maureen heard Claire calling her and it
sounded as if something was drastically wrong. Claire burst into
the dining room the morning after Maddie’s coming out party. She
was holding an envelope and papers in her hand.

“What is it, Claire?” Maureen asked.

“It’s Tessa! She’s gone,” Claire said and
thrust the papers at her mother.

“What?” Maureen took the papers and began
reading.

To My Dearest Family,

I know that when you find that I have gone,
you will be very distressed and try to find me. I beg you not to do
so. I will be in touch when I can. For years I’ve been trying to
tell you that this is not the life I want for myself, but my words
have fallen on deaf ears. You seemed to think that it was just a
phase and that I would grow out of it.

Most of my life has been spent primping and
preening and learning how to behave like a lady and be charming to
others. I never felt fully comfortable in this type of life.
Madelyn is much more proficient at it than I and she certainly
enjoys it. I find nothing wrong with that.

I felt compelled to leave because I know I
will never be allowed to live life on my own terms. I would have
liked to have had more opportunities to participate in serious
conversations concerning societal issues and many other matters,
but any time I attempted to do so, I was made to feel that I wasn’t
intelligent enough simply because I’m a woman.

There were scores of men who were pushed my
way in the hopes of me finding a suitor among them. No matter how
many men of our society I would meet, I know I would never find a
match with any of them. I would like a man of substance, someone
who knows about hard work and taking chances. I want someone like
you, Papa. I need a man who is strong, yet loving and has a sense
of what’s really important in life.

So I am setting out on my own life’s journey
and doing so in secret because I feel it is the only way I could
make it happen. By the time you read this, I will be long gone and
you will not find me. I am not doing this to hurt you, I am doing
this because I am of age to make my own decisions and live life on
my own terms.

I want to be appreciated for my true self
and not be forced into a box or told what I should want. I love you
all, but I am suffocating and need room to breathe and I think this
is the best course of action for us all. I know that it will take
you some time to see it, but I hope that one day you will.

Know that I love you all more than I could
ever tell you.

Yours always,

Tessa

Maureen reread the letter, disbelief and
terror filling her breast. She was first and foremost a wife and
mother and the fact that one of her children had set out alone to
only God knew where, filled her with dread. She didn’t want to
alarm Claire unduly, however, so she tried to keep her demeanor and
voice as calm as possible.

“Oh, dear. That Tessa. She has always been
somewhat dramatic. No doubt we’ll find her at one of her friends’
residences,” Maureen said. She smiled at her youngest. “All will be
well, Claire. I’ll go talk to your father about it. You eat your
breakfast.”

Maureen kissed Claire on the forehead and
left the room. Claire was old enough and smart enough to know when
her mother was truly concerned and she knew that Maureen was very
worried. She had no desire to eat, instead going out to their
garden to get some fresh air. She was deeply concerned about her
sister and prayed that wherever she was, she was safe.

Geoffrey finished reading the Tessa’s letter
and sat back in his office chair. Worry, anger, and shock all
warred within him. How could she do this to her family, especially
her parents? She had always been spirited and headstrong, but he
had never seen this coming. As her father, he felt that he should
have.

He looked at Maureen and rose to embrace her.
“Don’t worry, dear. I’ll find her. She couldn’t have gotten far and
someone has to know where she has gone.”

Maureen held Geoff close, taking comfort in
his assurances. “Yes. You’re right. Please bring her back to
us.”

“I will,” Geoff promised her. “No matter what
it takes.”

The trip westward was one Tessa would never
forget, not only because it was full of memorable sights and
events, but also because she was always writing. She strove to get
everything she could down on paper just as she saw it at that
particular moment. Her fingers became sore, but she kept on writing
anyway. One of her suitcases had held nothing but paper and
pencils. She hadn’t wanted to run out of writing materials before
reaching her destination.

To ensure that didn’t happen, Tessa also
bought more writing supplies whenever she could. She didn’t know
whether supplies would be available in Dawson County and she needed
to keep as much in stock as possible. After Dean had made her aware
of how remote his ranch and community were, Tessa realized that
there were things that would not be readily available as they had
been to her.

Another reason she wrote so much was to quiet
her nerves. She was leaving her home for the first time in her life
to head into the unknown. Although exciting, it was also scary.
Would she be welcomed? Was Dean as he seemed in his letters? What
would his children think of her? It was highly possible they would
be resentful or jealous of her and that would put a strain on any
possible relationship she and Dean might have.

She wanted him to like her and hoped she
would like him, too. Despite not finding anyone to marry in
Pittsburgh, she had always hoped to find a loving husband and raise
a happy family. Tessa felt that in going to Montana, she would have
the opportunity to meet someone and to have such a life.

“So, is she pretty?” Sadie asked. Her brown
eyes shone with excitement at the possibility of meeting a genteel
lady from a big city. She seemed more interested in that than the
fact that she might marry her father.

Dean smiled. “I’m sure she is. She sounds
like it. She’s tall and has blue eyes and dark hair and she’s, uh,
slender.”

“What’s ‘slender’, Pa?” Jack wanted to
know.

“It means not fat but not skinny. Just
right,” Sadie said.

Jack nodded. “That’s good, I guess.”

“I reckon it is. So what do you think about
her maybe marrying me someday?” Dean asked. He almost stumbled on
the word “marrying”. He still wasn’t comfortable with that idea,
but he was willing to give it a chance.

Sadie pondered that for a few moments. “I
guess if she likes me and Jack, it’s all right.”

Jack, ever practical, said, “If she can cook
and clean, fine with me. Oh, and sing. Can she sing, Pa?”

Dean laughed. “I don’t know if she can sing,
son. I never asked her and she never said.”

Jack shrugged. “It’s okay. We can see when
she gets here.”

“Okay. We’ll do that.”

“When is she getting here?” Sadie asked.

Dean mentally calculated the date of the
letter he’d received, telling him when she’d left North Dakota.
“She should be here in three days.”

Sadie clapped. “I can’t wait. I’m so
excited!”

“I can tell,” Dean said.

“Me, too,” Jack said. “Can I have a
snack?”

Dean ruffled Jack’s hair. “Yeah, you can have
a snack. Miss Lydia sent over some cookies.”

Jack ran off to the kitchen for the cookies.
He was far more worried about them than he was the prospect of a
strange woman entering their lives. Dean wished he had his son’s
outlook about it.

The stage coach pulled up in front of the
general store in Wolfe’s Point, which also served as a stage depot.
As she alighted from the coach, Tessa stretched, glad to be on
solid ground at least for a little while. The driver unloaded her
belongings and sat them on the porch of the store. Tessa thanked
him and gave him a tip, something she was used to doing in
Pittsburgh. The rough-looking driver looked at the money she was
handing him and then back at her as if to say, “Are you sure?”

Tessa smiled and said, “I can’t tell you how
much I appreciate all of your help in bringing me here.”

He smiled and took the money. “Thanks, miss.
You ever need to go anywhere again, let me know.”

“Of course,” Tessa said.

He mounted the coach, tipped his hat to her,
and then drove away. Tessa gathered her belongings into a more
orderly lineup and then entered the store. The elderly gent behind
the counter came out from behind it and looked at her. “Well, you
are a sight for sore eyes,” he said. “We don’t get many young
ladies around here that look like you.”

Tessa smiled. “Thank you. You’re much too
kind.”

“Nope. Just tellin’ the truth. So you’re that
blue blood gal from the East, huh?” he said.

“I suppose I am. I see you’ve heard about
me,” she said. She had expected that the people of the area would
be curious about her.

“Hell, everyone around here’s heard about ya.
It’s big doings, ya know. Besides which, Dean asked me to keep an
eye on you when you got here. Said he’d be here today, so I expect
him any time now. He keeps his word.”

Tessa was comforted by that fact. “I’m
Theresa O’Connor,” she said, holding out a hand.

The store owner took it and shook it the same
way a man’s hand would be shook. “Lance Long. Pleased to meet
you.”

Tessa shook his hand firmly, knowing, from
watching her father do the same thing over the years, it was
expected.

“Good shake. Can always tell a good person
from the way they shake hands,” Lance said. “Good lookin’ and ya
got good manners. If Dean doesn’t marry you, I will.”

Tessa laughed. “You’re such a flirt!” she
accused. She was no stranger to flirting and could hold her own
when it came to the oral dance between men and women.

“Flirt? Hell, I mean it!” Lance said. “Oh,
pardon my language, miss.”

“Please think nothing of it. I’ve heard much
worse,” Tessa said.

The sound of horses’ hooves and wagon wheels
interrupted further conversation.

The buckboard wagon rattled around the last
turn on the way to Long’s Mercantile. He and Marcus were running
late because the front axle on his buggy had broken. He didn’t
always use the buggy and didn’t realize that part of the axle had
weakened. They’d hit a bad rut and it had snapped it the rest of
the way.

Marcus and Dean had had to get the broken
vehicle off the road and take the horses back to the ranch to get
them hitched to the wagon. Dean had wanted to use the buggy because
it would be more comfortable for Theresa. He and the kids were used
to riding the buckboard but to someone who was used to riding along
smooth streets, the dirt roads could be awfully hard on the rear
end.

He was hoping that maybe the stage coach had
been late and that they’d still get there ahead of Theresa. Dean’s
hope for that died as they neared the store and saw a womanly
figure out on the porch of the store.

“Wow, Dean, she’s a looker,” Marcus said as
the wagon drew closer.

Dean didn’t need Marcus to tell him that. He
drove the wagon automatically, but his senses were honed in on the
beautiful woman watching them.
Her dark hair was stylishly done,
like something out of a magazine,
Dean thought. She looked
fresh, despite the lengthy journey. She was smiling and as they
pulled up, Dean could see her teeth were white and nicely
shaped.