Worries and questions filled Zach’s mind. What if she didn’t respond? What if she found him to be unintelligent and unworthy of her time? What if she came to Pine Haven and didn’t like him after she met him? What if she didn’t accept Davey? What if she was an unbearable woman who was only posing as a distinguished young lady in her letters? What if she’d lied about herself in her letter? What if…? “Lord, I’m having a hard time with this,” he prayed. “If it’s Your will that I write this letter, would You please help me and give me the words to say? Without Your help, I don’t see how I’ll be able to write it.”
He sat in the stillness for a while longer before bending his head toward the paper and beginning to write:
October 28, 1881
Dear Miss Worthington,
Thank you for your correspondence. Please, call me Zach.
Have you ever been to the Montana Territory? Pine Haven is a lot different from Boston. We do have several business establishments for a population of 232. There is a church, a school, a telegraph office, a café, two saloons, a lumberyard, a millinery, a Chinese laundry, a one-page newspaper, a dressmaking shop, a blacksmith, a bank, and a dry goods store.
It is beautiful here. The good Lord has certainly outdone Himself with the mountains He created, which are within view of the house and are only a few miles away. There are also two rivers and many trees.
I own a ranch two miles from town. We have cattle, horses, chickens, pigs, and a dog named Duke. Besides my home, there is also a bunkhouse and another house. Sometimes, the work on the ranch is hard and seems never ending. Would this be a problem?
I look forward to further correspondence with you.
Sincerely,
Zach
When Zach had finished writing, he addressed the envelope before setting down the pencil. With rugged hands more used to driving cattle and planting crops that folding paper, he gently pressed on the folds of the paper once more before placing the letter into the envelope.
He would mail the letter when he went to town next week. Until then, Zach would do all he could to dismiss the anticipation in his heart at the thought of the woman who might be interested in becoming his wife.
The horses’ hooves clip-clopped on the cobblestone streets as the carriage took McKenzie and her friend, Helen, home from a tea party at the Kirkbride Estate. “That was so much fun!” exclaimed Helen.
McKenzie giggled. Helen thought every party and ball they attended was fun. Her exuberance was contagious, though never imitated, and, at times, McKenzie found herself wishing she possessed the same vivacious demeanor. Perhaps, then, she would be married by now instead of on the verge of becoming an old maid. As quickly as McKenzie allowed the thought to enter her mind, another thought competed with it. Still, McKenzie reminded herself, you won’t be an old maid for long if a man by the name of Zach Sawyer responds favorably to your letter.
“I’m going to have to take the long way to your house, Miss Helen,” said Lawrence, the Worthingtons’ driver. “It appears there’s an obstacle up ahead.”
“That’s fine, Lawrence. We’re having fun discussing the tea party, anyhow,” said Helen.
While Helen didn’t mind taking the long way to her home, McKenzie’s opinion was quite different. She felt a lump form in her throat at the thought of taking 18th Street instead of Clearmont Avenue to Helen’s house. Taking the alternate route would resurrect old memories that were better left laid to rest. Yes, memories of a broken heart and a friend’s betrayal were better left buried.
“McKenzie, are you all right?” Helen asked.
“Yes, I’m fine.”
Helen looked thoughtful for a moment. “Oh, McKenzie, I’m sorry. I forgot.” As fun-loving as Helen’s personality was, it was equally matched by heedlessness. “This is the way that takes us past Louis and Pearl’s house, isn’t it?” Helen reached over, put her arm around her friend, and gave her a quick hug. “Let’s just glance the other way when we pass. That way, you won’t be thinking at all about what might have been.”
McKenzie sighed. For all of her effort to make her feel better, Helen had failed miserably at the task. “I’m fine, Helen, really.” McKenzie patted her friend’s arm and squeezed her eyes shut tight. How many times had she taken pains to avoid this route? How hard had she tried to forget how Louis had broken her heart?
Lawrence turned the carriage onto Lupine Street from Clearmont Avenue, and McKenzie sucked in her breath. In a few short seconds, they would be passing the home that should have been hers.
“McKenzie, look this way,” Helen said, pointing in the opposite direction.
“Helen, it’s fine. It’ll be nice to see the home again.” McKenzie attempted to convince herself that it really didn’t matter to her as they passed by the stately, redbrick house. McKenzie gazed at the edifice as if she’d never seen it before—the two-story home with six stairs, edged by a wrought-iron railing, leading up to the front entrance. The grandeur of its fashionable curtains and splendid gardens made gazing at it all the more difficult. Lupine Street was in one of the wealthiest districts of Boston, and the surrounding homes did little to hide that fact. McKenzie imagined for a moment that Lawrence was delivering her to this home rather than the one she shared with her parents. She visualized walking up the six stairs, past the clay flower pots on the front porch, and through the front door, into the front hall with its winding staircase—and coming upon her husband, Dr. Louis Clarence III.
***
“I’m home, darling,” she announced as she handed her cloak to their butler.
“Oh, my darling McKenzie, I’ve missed you,” Louis said. He embraced her and kissed her firmly on the mouth.
“But I’ve been gone such a short while,” McKenzie teased. She gazed with admiration into the dark eyes of her husband of one year.
“Any moment without you is too long,” Louis said, taking her hands in his. “Tell me, how was the tea party?”
“Grand, as usual. The conversation was lively, and Matilda makes the best tea. How was your day at the office?”
“Busy. I have two surgeries scheduled for tomorrow. But, never mind my day. I have something for you, my sweet.”
“Louis, you didn’t have to—”
“I know I didn’t have to, but I wanted to. I am the luckiest man alive to be married to you, McKenzie. Now, close your eyes and hold out your hand.” Louis stepped away from her and reached for a velvet box on the nearby desk. He placed it in McKenzie’s open hand. “Open your eyes.”
McKenzie opened her eyes and beheld the velvet box. When she lifted the lid and looked inside, she saw a pearl necklace—the most ornate pearl necklace she’d ever seen. “Oh, Louis, it’s beautiful!”
“Just like you, my sweet. Now, let me help you put it on.” He turned her around and fixed the clasp around her neck….
***
“McKenzie? McKenzie?” Helen waved her short, stubby fingers in front of her friend’s face.
“Huh? Helen? Oh, sorry. I was just thinking about things.”
“Thinking about Louis, no doubt,” Helen said.
“You’re right,” she said, sighing bitterly. “Someday, I shall get over him.”
“Perhaps your idea to become a mail-order bride will cure your broken heart,” Helen suggested.
“Not likely, Helen, but thank you for always being so positive.”
“You never know—people have fallen in love under stranger circumstances.”
“But most high-society women who are merely searching for their sisters do not fall in love with ranchers in the Montana Territory,” McKenzie reminded her.
“What if he’s handsome and dashing, like Louis? What if he’s really a doctor or a banker and has a grand home right next to a creek—the grandest home in all of Pine Haven?”
McKenzie smirked at her. Obviously, she’d told Helen too much information about her plan. Although she knew that Helen would keep the plan a secret, McKenzie still wished she hadn’t divulged so much to her friend. “That’s not going to happen, Helen. Besides, falling in love with him would be disastrous, since, once I’ve retrieved Kaydie, I’m returning to Boston—without him.”
“Yes, yes, you’re right. And, if all goes according to your plan, you’ll then be the heartbreaker instead of the heartbreakee.” Helen tilted her head back and waved her hands about.
McKenzie giggled. “Thank you for cheering me up.”
“I just know, McKenzie, that, someday, you’ll find the man of your dreams. Why, never in my most wild imaginings would I have thought I would be marrying Holden, but I am. You’ll see. It will happen for you, too.”
McKenzie doubted her friend’s words, but it would be nice if somewhere in the city of Boston a man would make her his wife and love her forever. But she wasn’t sure she could ever trust her heart to a man again. And she’d never allow herself another best friend. She’d learned that lesson the hard way.
***
McKenzie trudged up the stairs to her bedroom. It had been a long afternoon, and she was eager to rest her head on her feather pillow. As she removed her hat and gloves, she heard a knock on her door. “Miss McKenzie?”
McKenzie opened the door to see Biddie, one of the Worthingtons’ maids. “Yes, Biddie?”
“This letter just arrived for you.”
“Thank you, Biddie.” McKenzie reached for the envelope. Upon quick examination, she saw that it was a letter from Zach Sawyer, and her heart leaped. It had seemed so long since she’d penned her letter to him that she hadn’t been sure he would respond. Yet, the proof lay in the form of the pale blue envelope in her hand.
Peeking out into the hallway, McKenzie glanced from left to right before ushering Biddie into her room. “Biddie, may I speak to you for a moment in private?”
“What is it, Miss McKenzie?”
McKenzie closed the door and lowered her voice. “Biddie, I’m going to be receiving many of these letters in the near future. Can you please take special care that you continue to deliver them to me personally? It’s critical that no one else knows of these letters.”
Biddie nodded. “Yes, miss. So, these letters are much like the letters you receive from Miss Kaydie, which are also to be kept secret?”
“Similar,” McKenzie assured her. “It’s very important that I am the only one who sees these letters after they arrive.”
“What shall I do if you’re not home when a letter arrives?”
“Carry it around in your apron until I come home. Whatever you do, please don’t leave one lying around the house for Mother or Father to see.”
“I won’t, miss,” Biddie said.
“Very well, Biddie. Thank you. I appreciate being able to count on you.”
“Thank you, Miss McKenzie,” Biddie said with a smile. “If there is anything else you need, please just let me know.”
McKenzie nodded. “I will. Thank you, Biddie.”
McKenzie hid her excitement until Biddie left the room, then slowly opened the envelope, pulled out the letter, and began to read. She would at least give Zach credit for selecting beautiful stationery. His writing wasn’t at all hideous, either, considering most men she knew had scripts that were scarcely legible. It gave her a strange feeling inside her stomach when she read the first line: “Please, call me Zach.” She reread it three times. The part where he described the work as never ending failed to bother her. She merely thought that his work seemed without end. Zach had described the town in which he lived, the animals, and even the local surroundings of Pine Haven. Although none of it thrilled her the way she was thrilled by rides through the streets of Boston, with its tall buildings and elegant homes, it still made her eager to know more of the place that would soon be her destination. It also helped her to know what to expect.
McKenzie picked up her pencil to respond to Zach’s letter. Although she was very tired and anticipated taking a nap before dinner, she knew she’d find sleep an impossibility due to all the thoughts in her mind. Besides, the sooner she was able to convince Zach that she should become his bride, the sooner she could rescue Kaydie. And that was all that mattered. She thought about what she would write, then began to form the words on the stationery:
November 12, 1881
Dear Zach,
Pine Haven sounds small but lovely. And, you are right, quite different from Boston.
No, I have never been west. However, I have traveled throughout Massachusetts, New York, Vermont, New Hampshire, Connecticut, and Pennsylvania. Have you lived in the Montana Territory your entire life? Do you have family nearby?
It sounds like you have many animals on your ranch. I have never ridden a horse before and would very much like to try.
No, your hard work on the ranch does not present a problem. Do you have any hotels in Pine Haven? Have you ever heard of a town called Canfield Falls? If so, do you know how far it is from Pine Haven?
Most sincerely,
McKenzie
McKenzie reread her letter before folding it and placing it in an envelope. Tomorrow, she would ask Biddie to mail it for her. Hopefully, Zach did live near a town known as Canfield Falls, as Kaydie had mentioned it in her last letter. Even if her matrimonial arrangement was only for Kaydie, McKenzie imagined she’d at least have some fun traveling to a place she’d never been before.
Zach was working in the barn when he looked up to see Jonah Dickenson, one of his hired hands, approaching. “I picked up some mail for you while I was in town,” Jonah said when he came inside.
“Thanks, Jonah.” Zach knew from the color of the envelope that it was a response from McKenzie, and he stifled a sigh of relief. Now that she had begun to correspond with him, he always anticipated her letters.
“I know it’s none of my business, Zach, but is it from the mail-order bride?” Jonah asked with a conspiratorial look in his eyes.
“You’re right, Jonah—it is none of your business,” Zach said, pretending to slug his friend in the arm. “But, yes, it is from the mail-order bride.”
“You know everyone is dying to know her name. You should see Lucille today. She’s beside herself wondering about the details, and I could hardly escape the post office with my life after she saw that purple envelope in my hand.”
“Poor Lucille. What would she do if there was no new news in Pine Haven?” Zach shook his head. “Her name is McKenzie. She’s from Boston.”