The Wrangler's Mail Order Bride (5 page)

A
fter the lunch
Beau had planned, Clara had gotten a brief tour of the unusual house and had learned that it was made of something called adobe, a clay mixture dried and used as blocks.

“This is what many people who are native to this climate use to build their homes, and Pa wanted to try it,” Hank explained as they walked past the thick, solid walls. “Makes it cooler in summer and warmer in winter, keeping out most of the cold drafts and heat.”

He’d been giving a running commentary—she wasn’t sure if it was due to nerves—since they’d begun their tour, telling her about the art, the furniture and where it had come from.

When they got to the kitchen, though, he walked straight through without a word. Clara glanced back at the glimmering pots and pans hanging from the ceiling and the stove that seemed to be big enough to feed a crowd of this size. He hadn’t seemed to want to stop there, so she held her tongue and finished the tour.

As they sat in the living room, she glanced out the windows to the back of the house. The vivid blue window frames of the smaller house she’d seen earlier caught her eye and she craned her neck, trying to see the garden from this vantage point.

She felt a tap on her elbow and turned quickly, almost bumping into the cups Hank held in his hands.

“Oh, I’m sorry,” she said with a laugh. “I wasn’t paying attention.” She accepted the cup he offered and took a sip, the tart taste of lemonade welcome on her tongue. The lunch they’d eaten had some spices in it that Clara hadn’t recognized. She’d like it very much, but it had left a slow burn in her mouth that she was unaccustomed to.

Hank smiled and looked past her to where she’d had her gaze. “Oh,” he said, glancing down at his cup of lemonade.

Clara frowned as his face clouded and he sighed.

“Oh?” she repeated, not entirely sure what he’d meant. It was clear to her that he wasn’t very enthusiastic about talking about what was bothering him, either here or in the kitchen, but if she was to marry this man, there could be no secrets, no matter what kind of relationship it was. A marriage was a marriage, and right was right.

He took Clara’s lemonade from her hand and set both his cup and hers on the table by the settee. Opening the door to the patio, he pulled her outside and shut it behind them. “Is that what you were curious about?” he said, pointing to the little white house with the blue shutters.

She turned to see what he was pointing at, nodding slowly. “Yes, it is. It has a garden that could use some tending, and—”

“Clara, I know this might be difficult to understand, but there are some things we just don’t talk about around here.”

Her heart leapt to her throat as she walked to the edge of the lovely brick patio, staring in the direction of the little house. She was in new territory—literally—and while she was used to speaking her mind, she had gotten a sense that this was a family that didn’t talk much to each other. She’d felt the weight of it as soon as she’d entered the property, and even more strongly when she’d entered the house.

People were kind enough, but very ill at ease. Tripp’s words about Katie, Hank and the girls’ mother and Beau’s wife, rang in her ears. She’d passed away, and not that long ago. She wondered if it was sorrow that still held them all in its grip.

She put her hands behind her and leaned against the wall as he slowly paced back and forth on the patio. The pillar holding up the patio roof squeaked as he leaned against it, looking over toward the small house.

“We don’t know each other all that well yet, Hank, but I’m not normally one to keep secrets—or tiptoe around things. I hope that won’t be a problem. I know some things are private, but if I’m going to be part of this family, even in name only, and be expected to live here, I need to be let in.”

Hank looked down at his feet, scuffing his boots on the floor. “Clara, I—”

“Pa says to come back in the house, Hank. It’s time,” Pepper said as she poked her head out the door.

He stood, his arms folded over his chest. “Time for what?”

“Just come on,” she said as she swung the door open wider and ran back into the house.

Hank held his arm out for Clara and said, “Can we talk later, Clara? This is all new to me, and I…”

She stopped, meeting his gaze as she turned to him. “Of course. And thank you for being willing.” She started to raise her hand to his cheek and her heart tugged as she drew her hand back, realizing that she barely knew this man. Grateful that he’d agreed to talk to her later, she followed him inside the house.

“There you two are,” Beau said as he opened his arms wide and gestured for them to sit on the settee in front of the fireplace. “Come warm up by the fire. It’s cold out there.”

Clara hadn’t noticed the cold. It was certainly nothing like the snow in Chicago, but she sat down by the fire anyway and Hank sat beside her.

“It’s time you met the rest of the family, Clara,” Beau said and he frowned in Hank’s direction as she heard him groan. “Your sisters are very happy for you, as am I, and they prepared something for you. Girls?”

Clara laughed with delight as six girls, stair-stepped in height but for the middle two who were clearly twins, walked out from the dining room in matching pinafores. The tallest one spoke first as she smiled at her brother and Clara.

The girls stood to her right and they introduced themselves in succession, each giving a small curtsy afterward.

“I’m Nutmeg, but people call me Meg. Pleased to meet you.”

“I’m Rosemary. Pleased to meet you.”

“I’m Sage and this is Saffron,” said one of the twins while her sister smiled and remained silent.

“I’m Tara, but really Tarragon,” the next said, blushing. “Very pleased to meet you.”

Clara stood and went down the line, shaking each girl’s hand as she passed by. She walked slowly, looking each girl in the eye to very different reactions from each of them. Rosemary smiled and nodded. Tara lowered her eyes and immediately looked to the floor. Pepper shook her hand vigorously and laughed. When she got to Meg, the eldest, she met a very guarded young lady, who smiled with obvious effort and did not blink.

“It’s nice to meet you all, as well,” Clara said as she sat back down beside Hank.

Meg cleared her throat and looked at her father. He nodded and all the rest of the girls looked to their big sister.

Clara’s hand flew to her chest as Meg hummed a single note and closed her eyes. With the voices of what Clara thought must be angels, Hank’s sisters sang one of her favorite hymns, the harmonies of the six sisters blending in a way which Clara had never before heard, not even in church on a Sunday. Enraptured, she held her breath as they finished, breaking into applause along with all the others in the room as they finished and took a bow.

She turned to Hank, and his wide smile and loving gaze warmed her heart. She looked then at Beau, chest full as he watched his daughters with soft eyes.

“Thank you, girls,” she said, jumping to her feet as the applause continued. She was met with shy grins from each girl as they hugged both their father and Hank. A pang of sadness stabbed Clara’s heart, the same one she’d noticed when she’d first arrived.

A knock on the door broke the spell, and Hank shook his head quickly before opening it.

“Hello, Pastor Williams,” Hank said as he shook the offered hand. “I didn’t know you were coming today. What—”

Beau strode forward, shaking the man’s hand and pulling him inside, ignoring the confused look on his face. “Come in, come in, Pastor. Thank you for coming.”

“I’d like to introduce my…um…Clara Martin.” His ears turned pink and he looked to Tripp, who was standing in the corner, watching.

The gathering had been very small, just Suzanne, Sadie and their families and the Archer family, so Clara’s eyebrows rose at the sight of a new guest and the new awkwardness in the room, but she smiled as she turned to the pastor.

He shook her hand, saying, “It is very nice to meet you on such an auspicious occasion.”

Hank shrugged his shoulders. “It’s just lunch, but you’re welcome to join us, and I’m glad you got to meet Clara before the wedding.”

“Yes, well, barely,” he said, laughing as he turned to Beau.

“Papa, can we start?” Pepper said, tugging at her father’s sleeve.

“Start what?” Hank asked, turning to his father.

“The wedding!” Pepper cried. She grabbed the pastor’s arm and pulled him forward, his face frozen as he looked from Hank to Beau.

“The what?” Hank said as he stood and took several steps toward his father.

Beau held his hands up and shook his head.

“Now, Hank, you know that the will has a timeline attached. I figured since we were in a hurry, and your intended has had the opportunity to meet the family, we’d just get on with it.”

Clara watched, wide-eyed, as Hank’s hands clenched into fists and unclenched again. She searched for Suzanne and Sadie, finding them as wide-eyed as she knew herself to be.

“Pa, this wasn’t how I wanted this to be. Clara just arrived yesterday, and she’s been gracious enough to consider my offer. I wanted to—“

Beau clapped his son on the back. “Son, son, son. There’s plenty of time for that stuff later. It’s getting colder, and that property will be very handy for you to use to get the cattle and the hands ready to head out on the trail next week.”

“Next week?” Hank’s hands had clenched permanently now and Clara stood slowly, Hank’s sisters all moving behind the settee.

Beau and Hank stared at one another, neither breaking their gaze as Tripp stepped between them. Clara remembered that Suzanne had mentioned that Tripp grew up with Beau and Hank, and guessed that made him family, as well.

“Gentleman, I think you’re forgetting something here.” He stood between them and gestured to Clara. “It would make sense to me if the lady who’d just come all the way from Chicago had a say in when her nuptials would be…or even
if
they would be after this display.”

All eyes turned to Clara, and her face flushed. She looked desperately toward Suzanne and Sadie, willing them to give her some advice and tell her what to do. Taking a deep breath and glancing out the window, she spotted the small, white house and remembered Hank’s promise that they’d talk. Later. But later might be too late, and she needed to know what she was getting herself into before it was something she could not undo.

Her brother and sister-in-law’s final words to her rushed into her head. “Clara, you’ve been taking care of yourself for a long time. Quite well, I might add, and I beg you to remember that you should do nothing that you don’t feel is right for you.” And her brother had pressed enough money into her hand for a train ticket to New York. “We will always be there for you.”

Her head spun as all of this happened so quickly. When she heard Sadie say her name, she blinked and realized that it wasn’t the first time she’d said it.

Feeling the heat of all eyes still on her, she turned to Hank and said, “I’m sorry, Hank. I can’t do this so soon. I’m just not ready.”

T
hey’d gathered
their things quickly and ridden home in silence after the scene between Hank and Beau—and Clara, too, she supposed. Clara’s heart tugged as she thought of the look on Hank’s sisters’ faces when she’d said she wasn’t ready to be married. And why wasn’t she? She’d known that this was the reason she’d come.

Tripp and James had excused themselves to the parlor when they arrived back home, but not before adding their opinions.

“That was pretty bold, even for Beau,” Tripp had said, shaking his head. “That tops just about everything else I’ve seen.”

James nodded as they headed out of the kitchen. “I don’t know him as well as Tripp does, but that was unusually bold for the man I know.”

Clara sat down on the chair next to her. “Does he do these things frequently? Totally disregard others’ opinions or feelings?”

Tripp sighed. “Beau is a very successful rancher, and has been since the beginning. He’s used to getting his way—and also used to getting things done. He and Katie butted heads quite a bit about things like that. She would want him to be patient, let people come to things on their own. He always wanted things to happen right then. To his mind, why not if the solution was obvious. Or at least to him, anyway.”

“That isn’t exactly what I’m used to. I wasn’t raised that way,” Clara said, thinking of the respect she had for her parents and brother and that they had for her. Any decisions had been made as a family, and when they did not agree, accommodations were made for each one to be happy.

“No, neither were we,” Sadie said. “Maybe why we were all such good friends.”

“Ah, that explains a lot,” Tripp said as he smiled at his wife. “Hard-headed, but respectful, too.” His smile turned to a laugh as she blushed and nudged him with her elbow.

“Is Hank like that, too? I know you were raised in that house and you don’t strike me that way.” Clara turned to Tripp as she rubbed her eyes.

“I don’t think Hank and I are that way. We always take into consideration how other people feel.” Tripp put his arm around Sadie as he spoke.

Sadie let out an exaggerated cough as her eyes grew wide and she looked at her husband. “Tripp Morgan, I had to practically beat you over the head with a copper pot to get your attention.”

“Oh, right.” Tripp looked down sheepishly. “Well, if Hank and I are alike in that way, then I can assure you that it is not malicious.”

“Dunderheaded, maybe, but not malicious,” Suzanne added as she glanced at James. “Either way, it appears that Clara needs a little more time to find out for herself.”

“There is nothing at all wrong with waiting a while, Clara. You have nothing to feel bad about. That was truly poor form, what Mr. Archer did.” Sadie poured boiling water into the teapot as they sat at her kitchen table.

“I agree, Clara. We will support whatever you decide, and you are welcome to stay here as long as you like,” James said as he ushered Tripp out the door.

“No question about it. And to not even tell Hank? Who could imagine?” Suzanne said as she came through the door after putting the twins to bed.

“Honestly, we all knew this was coming. And it appears that there’s a timeline on the inheritance.” Clara picked up the spoon on the table and turned it over and over in her hand.

“Well, it was thoughtless, at best. He should know any decent girl would want to at least have a say in her wedding. I mean, he has six daughters. If he doesn’t know that, he needs to.” Suzanne pushed herself away from the table, sending her chair scooting behind her. Pouring the tea into mugs, she set one down in front of Sadie and Clara.

Sadie poured some cream into her cup, gently taking the spoon from Clara and stirring her tea. “Clara, what is it that you want. This is your wedding. How do you want it to be?”

Clara propped her elbows on the table and rested her chin in her hands. She sighed, shaking her head, and said, “I don’t exactly know. But I just felt that it wasn’t right. Not for me. Not for Hank. I’ve felt since I met him, and even more so when I met his family, that there are some things that are unhappy at that house.”

Sadie blew on her tea and took a sip. “Do you mean bad things? Tripp and James think the world of the Archers. And I have known Hank to be very kind and cordial. And he obviously loves his sisters.”

“Yes, he does. He was rapt with attention during their song, and it was a nice gift. At least they thought it was a wedding gift.” Clara warmed her hands on her tea, wishing she had a clear answer to her dilemma.

Suzanne stood and put the cream back into the icebox, taking a piece of apple pie out and setting it on the table with three forks.

Sadie wiggled her eyebrows at her sister and took a bite of the pie. “This will make everything better,” she said, laughing.

“As always,” Suzanne said, sitting down and grabbing a fork. “So, Clara, we know that we think Hank is a nice man. Are you having second thoughts?”

Clara had lost her appetite and fiddled with the fork in her hands. “No, I don’t think so. I have to say, I think he’s very handsome. He seems to smile a lot—at least when he’s not around his dad— and I love his laugh lines. And those eyes…”

Sadie slapped her hand on the table. “I knew it. You like him,” she said as she and Suzanne both laughed and Clara’s cheeks flushed.

“So then what’s the problem?” Suzanne took another bite of the pie that was rapidly disappearing.

Clara breathed deeply and sighed. “I think I need to just be there a little more. Understand what is there that is unspoken. It’s something, and once I know what it is, I’ll know what to do.”

“Well, you always have been one to go with your instincts, Clara.” Sadie picked up the empty plate and set it next to the sink. She turned around and leaned against the counter, folding her arms. “So, how are you going to do this? To get to know better what’s going on?”

Suzanne snapped her fingers. “I know. We all left in such a hurry—and I’m sure glad we did—but you were already in the buggy when the twins said goodbye to Hank. He looked so upset, it was awful.”

“I know. With all the ruckus, I didn’t even get to say goodbye,” Clara said, rubbing her forehead. “That’s not what I wanted to happen.”

Suzanne reached over and patted Clara’s hand. “There is no way to have done things differently with that big surprise he pulled. But as I was saying, Hank told the girls that since everything went south today, they could come back tomorrow and take a short ride. I say you come with us.”

“Hey,” Sadie said. “Not fair. Tripp and I have to work tomorrow at the restaurant. We’ll miss all the good stuff.” Her bottom lip stuck out and she pulled an exaggerated frown.

Clara laughed. “I hope there’s not a lot that would be worth missing. At least not a big show.”

“Like today.” Suzanne folded the dishtowel and laid it on the counter.

“Yes, like today.” Clara stood and hugged Suzanne and then Sadie. “Thanks for helping me think this through. I can’t even imagine being in this situation without you two.”

Suzanne and Sadie squeezed her hands. “You don’t ever have to be without us again,” Sadie said. “We’ll figure this out together.”

Clara’s eyelids drooped and Suzanne took her by the elbow, turning her toward the door. “I think this has been a pretty big day for you, Clara. Why don’t you get some sleep and I’ll tell Tripp and James the plan?”

“Yes, we can explain. And we’ll make arrangements for you to go with the twins for a riding lesson tomorrow, too,” Sadie said as she followed them through the door.

“I think you’re right. It’s the only plan that makes any sense, and I am just exhausted.” Clara rubbed her eyes and for the second day in a row, exhaustion swept over her.

“Please, just get a good night’s sleep. We can talk more in the morning. And Clara, I’m sorry about today. I had no idea…”

Clara smiled at her friends as she started up the stairs. “I don’t think anybody did but Mr. Archer and the few people he did tell. It will be interesting to see what he does next.”