Mail Order Surprise

Chapter 4 - Steve

Steve barely remembered the quick service. Words were said that sounded like they were whispered in a distance. He responded when prompted with what he assumed were the appropriate words. Then there was the moment for the kiss.

He pushed the thoughts aside as he helped his new wife up onto the front seat of the wagon. Steve was surprised at how easily she clambered up. Not a woman who needed him to do it all. That would be something new.

The Reverend and his housekeeper waved at them from the gate as he flicked the reins and clicked at the horses to get a move on. The woman next to him waved back until they turned the corner and made their way away from the town.

Silence descended between them until the town was out of sight. Steve's eyes slid over to Janice and watched as she looked over the land they passed.

A wife. Who would have thought this morning when he woke up before dawn that he would be bringing a wife home. It certainly wasn't him. Only the minister and his co-conspirator had any inkling.

Anger still simmered within him on how they had worked in his name to bring the innocent woman out west. They had had no right to do it. They had no right to make such decisions for him. Yet they had, and here he was with a wife by his side.

She wasn't bad looking. In fact, she was very attractive. Her hair had an unusual coloring to it that reflected the sun's rays, like the water did on the creek near the house. His eyes moved over the waves that flowed like the same water.

Silliness! He jerked his eyes back on the dirt road before him. He was not one to get weak over the fairer sex. Yes, they looked nice. They smelled nice. But they were just plain trouble.

There were her eyes though. The brilliant green kept drawing his attention during the wedding service. The dress only highlighted them, making them shine like gems.

He shook his head again. What was he doing? He had to keep his head clear and focus on the matter at hand. And that was how to deal with a wife that hadn't been in the picture an hour earlier.

Well, it was a good thing that the house was finished. That had been done the month earlier when the bed and stove had arrived. But he hadn't furnished with a wife in mind. Space was going to get tricky-

"How far do we have to go?" His new wife's words broke into his thoughts.

"We'll be there a little before sunset, in an hour and a half or so."

Silence settled again for a few moments.

"Do you go to town often?" she finally asked. He noticed her hands fidgeting with the coat around her.

Steve shrugged. "About once a week." Though this week he had been twice in two days.

She nodded and looked around her again. "Is winter setting in?"

"Yes." He glanced at the land around them; it had been green nearly two months earlier. Since then, it had slowly turned brown as the temperatures dropped. Trees had shed their leaves. It was quite barren at the moment. "A little later than usual, actually. Most years, we have some snow on the ground already."

"How much snow do you get?"

"Depends. Some winters are mild with a foot or two. Others are full of blizzards and several feet high." He noticed her wide eyes. "Have you been in snow?"

Her laugh was musical. "People think Kentucky is as far south as New Orleans. Yes, we have snow and it can get bad every now and again, though I don't think it will quite be as bad as it is here. There was one winter that had us snowed in for nearly a week. The snow was half way up the door, and we couldn't get out. We got a lot of needlework done during that time. All socks were darned and all holes were patched up."

Well, she wasn't lazy and seemed to be willing to work. That was a plus. He didn't have time to cater to a woman's whims.

"What part of Kentucky are you from?"

"A little town south of Louisville, closer to Tennessee than Indiana. My father worked in the mercantile store. Mama took in laundry. I helped with both of them and I worked in a house."

He noticed the catch in her voice when she talked about her parents. He knew how that felt. Whenever he thought of his own father, his throat tightened up.

He tried to distract her by asking, "What do you mean you worked in a house?" He had to admit his curiosity was piqued at the phrase.

The darkness on her features brightened slightly. "Oh, normally people kept slaves in their houses as servants. There was one prominent family who were abolitionists. They hired freed slaves and several white servants. I worked in their kitchen and helped with the housekeeping. The war took too much toil on all of us. Their sons all died, except for the youngest who came back without a leg. They couldn't afford the servants anymore." She shrugged. "That is when I knew I had to find someplace to make a living." Her voice cracked and she ducked her head.

He cleared his throat and changed the direction of the conversation. "At least you are used to work. There is a lot of it out here."

She turned and gave Steve a smile that make his chest tighten a bit. Strange.

"Oh, I bet there is. I'm looking forward to it." She turned away to observe the land.

Steve shifted in his seat. It was unusual for him to feel so nervous. He was a man who took the bull by the horns. That was why had been successful regarding the odds stacked against him. He had survived the power of nature. He had survived the Indian attacks. He had survived the death of his father. He had survived an attack by a mountain lion. He was a survivor, yet this slight woman next to him had him feeling like he wanted to run into the mountains and not return.

He didn't like that feeling. He didn't like that someone could make him feel... not in control.

They continued on in silence for several miles. The scenery began to slowly change. The town had been in a rather flat area, but now they had come to sloping hills. The grass was still slightly green in areas and trees grew tall to reach the sky and stood off to the side of the grassland. When they topped the last of the hills, a long valley spread out before them.

It spread on each side over hills that blocked the end of the grasslands from view. The bowl was wide with a small river, though it was little more than a very large creek. Beyond the edge of the hills were tall mountains that reached high into the sky and had already draped themselves in snow. Trees embraced the mountains, half of them covered in their evergreen dress and the others naked before the world.

"Oh, my!"

He glanced over at Janice. Her eyes were wide as she took in the scene. He couldn't help the feeling of pride swell up within him as she looked in awe.

"This is part of my ranch." His voice was strong as he looked out over what he and his father had worked so hard to tame.

She turned quickly to him. "Your ranch?"

He gave her a sincere smile. "Yes. Over three hundred acres so far. I plan on expanding within the next five years. There is a parcel on the far side of the western hills that a man owns. His kids left and he wants to get rid of it."

"Three hundred?" Her eyes widened even more, causing them to be a deeper green. She looked back over the scene as they rode down toward the fences that became visible the closer they drew near. "Where is your house?"

Steve gave the reins a flick which caused the horses to pick up the pace. "Just around that bend." He pointed in the direction where the dirt road disappeared behind a small hill. "This is the first section."