Читать книгу His Chosen Bride - Rhonda Gibson - Страница 10

Chapter Two

Millie stared at Hannah Young. It had never occurred to her that she might run into someone in Granite from Cottonwood Springs. Granite was so far from Cottonwood Springs, New Mexico, she’d felt confident she was safe. What if her old schoolteacher knew that she’d burned down Mrs. Kelly’s house and business? Would she tell everyone that Millie was an arsonist? What about Seth Billings the U.S. marshal? Would Hannah let him know where to find her?

“Millie Hamilton? Is that really you?” Hannah leaned toward her and brushed the hair back off Millie’s forehead.

With that one action and two questions, Hannah made Millie feel as if she were a young student in Hannah’s classroom once more. “Yes, ma’am, it’s me.”

The squeal that issued from Hannah’s throat scared Millie so badly that she knocked over her tea. She watched in horror as it spilled into Levi’s lap. Before she could react, Hannah grabbed her in a tight hug about the shoulders, then pulled back and held her at arm’s length. “Millie, I can’t believe it is really you. I’m so glad to see you. I’ve missed Cottonwood Springs horribly. Oh, this is wonderful. I can’t wait to get caught up on all the news from home. Why don’t you come out to the ranch for supper tonight, too?” Hannah took a breath, released Millie, and then grabbed her husband’s arm. “Daniel, Millie is from back home.”

Daniel laughed. “I got that, honey.”

“Oh, Levi, I’m so sorry.” Millie handed him her napkin and watched as he dabbed at the tea on his pants. She realized she’d used his first name but at the moment she didn’t care. All she could think about was, how much did Hannah know?

He offered her a weak smile. “It’s all right, Millie. Hannah has a way of shocking people. I blame her.” Levi turned his grin on his sister-in-law.

“I’m sorry, too, Levi.” Hannah returned her attention back to Millie. “I still can’t believe it’s you.” She clapped her hands together like a kid who’d just been offered a pony ride.

Millie swallowed the lump in her throat. “It’s me.”

“What brought you here? Oh, don’t answer that. I want to be able to sit down and catch up on everything.”

“I think you are scaring her, Hannah.” Daniel chuckled and wrapped his free arm around his wife’s waist. “Besides, didn’t you just hear Levi say Millie is his mail-order bride? Ma’s going to be disappointed that Levi didn’t need her help luring a mail-order bride here.”

Hannah’s mouth worked as if she’d just swallowed a lemon drop whole.

Beth arrived at the table with the promised tea refills. “What can I get for you, Mr. and Mrs. Westland?” She grinned at Hannah.

“Oh, nothing for us. We just stopped by to invite Levi to supper out at the ranch,” Daniel answered. “And now that we’ve done so, we’ve got shopping to do before we head back out to the ranch.”

Beth refilled Levi’s and Millie’s glasses and then left the table.

Finally, Hannah said, “You have to come out with Levi, Millie. I can’t believe we’re going to be sisters-in-law.” Excitement rose in her voice once more.

Millie didn’t have time to respond. Daniel chuckled and turned his wife toward the door. “You can talk all about it tonight. We have to get Ma’s shopping done and then I need to get back to the ranch. I have work to attend to.”

Millie couldn’t let Hannah go without finding out what she knew. Panic threatened to choke her as she called out, “But, we just reconnected. Can’t you stay for lunch?”

Daniel seemed to ignore her and continued to guide his wife away.

“We’ll have dinner and catch up,” Hannah answered, smiling and waving goodbye over her shoulder.

What choice did Millie have? Of course she’d go out to their ranch. Millie needed to know what Hannah knew about the events that had taken place in Cottonwood Springs. She’d know if the U.S. marshal was looking for her. Surely, if he was, Hannah would have said something. Still, her stomach quivered in fear. Millie turned toward Levi. “Can I ride out with you?” she blurted.

He nodded. “Of course. I’ll have to clear up that we aren’t getting married.” Levi called to his brother’s retreating back. “We’ll be there around six.”

“Good. We’ll see you tonight.” Daniel waved as they left the restaurant.

Levi sighed. “Those two came in here like a whirlwind. I’m sorry, Millie. I hadn’t planned on letting them continue to think we’re getting married.”

A frown marred his handsome features, and for the first time Millie realized she wasn’t the only one with a new problem. Had Daniel said there were three other mail-order brides waiting for Levi out on the ranch? How did that happen? Levi looked downright nauseated. She felt the same way.

Hannah had looked as happy as a little girl with a new puppy. Millie realized she’d also have to tell her schoolteacher that they were not going to be sisters-in-law. What a mess this was turning out to be. “What did your brother mean by more mail-order brides waiting for you?”

“Didn’t you hear him?” Levi wiped at the moisture on his pant leg.

Millie tried to remember what else had been said but couldn’t. “I’m sorry, I didn’t. I was too surprised to see someone here from Cottonwood Springs,” she admitted.

“Do you remember me mentioning in my letters to you that last winter my ma started a contest between Daniel and I?”

Millie nodded. “Yes, if I understood it right the first brother to get married and have a grandchild would inherit the family ranch. Is that correct?”

“Yes.” Levi took a deep breath and then sighed. “After you didn’t show up, I received three more letters to the ad I’d placed. I didn’t want to answer any of them, but Ma insisted. She said that if I didn’t marry she’d sell the ranch before the year was out. At first I’d planned to go along with her, but then I realized that I could buy time by letting her believe I’d answered one of the letters.”

“But you didn’t,” Millie said.

“Well, I did, but then I changed my mind and wrote all three ladies and told them I’d decided not to get married at this time.” He paused and took a deep drink from his tea glass. “I would have written to you, as well, but I thought you’d changed your mind about coming and I didn’t see the need to.”

Her heart lurched in her chest. Millie quietly thanked the Lord he hadn’t written. If he had, her parents would know where she was now. When she’d been home it had been her job to collect the mail each day, but with her gone, Millie felt sure her mother was doing the collecting now.

She took a deep breath and pretended his last statement had had no effect on her whatsoever. “You didn’t tell your mother what you’d done?” Millie studied his face. She noted his ears had slowly begun to turn pink.

The more she learned about Levi’s mother, Bonnie Westland, the more she could see her own mother’s personality emerging from the other woman. It was nothing for Ma to manipulate things to her way of thinking.

“No, I didn’t tell her. I thought that by the time she figured it out, Daniel and Hannah would already be expecting their first child, and Ma would forget about her crazy scheme to get me married, too.”

“But isn’t that like lying?” Millie asked.

He set his glass down slowly. “I didn’t really think of it that way. I just figured I’d tell her later and explain again that I’m not ready to marry right now.”

Millie decided not to press the issue. She knew what it was like to have a mother who tried to control your every move. What Levi did or didn’t do was between him and his maker, not her. A smile teased her lips.

“You find my situation funny?” Levi asked. A new growl had entered his voice but not his soft green eyes.

She tried to control her facial muscles. “Well, not funny-ha-ha. But it does seem that your mother has found another way to get you to marry one of those ladies.” Millie pursed her lips together in an attempt not to laugh.

A grin began to part his mouth, and twin dimples twinkled in her direction. “Oh, go ahead and laugh. It wouldn’t be the first time my mother’s antics were laughable.”

Millie immediately sobered. Her own mother had caused her pain and embarrassment more times than she could count. “I’m sorry, Mr. Westland. It really isn’t funny.”

He leaned forward on his forearms. “What happened to calling me Levi?”

Millie looked down at the tablecloth. “I’m not sure it’s proper to call you by your first name.”

“Good thing we aren’t proper here in Granite. Please, call me Levi.” He laid his napkin on the table and stood. “I need to get to work. If you need anything, I’ll be at the furniture store. I have a little carpentry shop set up in the back.”

She nodded. “Thank you.”

As if he’d eaten persimmons, Levi said, “It will take us a while to get out to the ranch, and then Ma will want to introduce everyone. I’ll pick you up around three.” With those instructions, Levi turned and left the restaurant.

Millie stood also. Once more she felt as if Levi was taking matters into his own hands without waiting to see what she had to say. What if she’d changed her mind about going out to the ranch? Had he thought about that? No, he’d simply assumed he knew the best plan, told it to her and strolled away.

Beth stopped beside the table and asked, “Are you ready to see your room?”

Millie nodded and picked up her handbag. She noticed the money Levi had left on the table and scooped it up. “What do I owe for the meal?” she asked, looking to Beth.

“Nothing. When you work here, meals are free.” She smiled and headed toward the exit. “I don’t expect you to start work today, but we’ll need to hurry. The lunch crowd will be here shortly and I need to make up a few more sandwiches before they start coming in.”

Millie followed her hostess and now employer from the restaurant. “How much is the fee for the room?”

“Levi doesn’t charge us for room and meals when we work for him.” Beth led her up a staircase off to the right of the front door. She stopped in front of room four and looked at Millie. Beth gave her the key and then held the door open for Millie to enter.

Millie couldn’t get her legs to move. “I’m confused. I thought I would be working for you.”

“You are, but Levi is the owner of the boardinghouse and the restaurant so he does the paying, and I do the bossing.” She smiled to take any sting out of her words.

“I see.” Anger seeped through Millie. Why hadn’t he told her he owned the boardinghouse? So far, he’d manipulated her into staying at the boardinghouse, given her a job and was calling her by her first name. Was there no end to the man’s boldness?

* * *

Levi arrived a little before three o’clock. He’d met with his banker and then spent the rest of the afternoon in his workshop stewing over what to do about the mail-order brides out on the ranch.

Absorbed in his thoughts and the intricate carving on the chest he’d been working on, Levi was running late. Even as he walked up the sidewalk to Beth’s he couldn’t shake the question that had haunted him all afternoon. How had his mother known he had written to all three ladies explaining he wasn’t ready to marry? Or obtained their addresses for that matter?

He stepped into the boardinghouse and found Millie sitting on a small bench in the lobby. She’d freshened up and now wore a pretty blue day dress with a matching bonnet. Levi realized he should probably change his clothes and perhaps wash his face before they left.

The grandfather clock chimed the hour with three soft bells. He knew if they were to get out to the ranch at a reasonable time, they had to leave now. His mother wouldn’t take kindly to them arriving late. He’d have to forgo the cleanup and pray that he looked presentable.

She stood and wiped her hands over the front of her dress. Her skirt swished as she turned to pick up a covered pie plate. The scent of warm peaches filled the air between them. “I’m ready,” Millie announced in a tight voice.

Was that anger he detected? His gaze moved to the clock once more. He wasn’t late so why was she upset? Would he ever understand women? This one was turning out to be as rough as an unsanded board. “The buggy is right outside.”

Levi held the door open and then followed her to the buggy he’d rented earlier. Until today he’d had no use for one, but he realized that if Millie was going to ride out to the ranch with him she probably wouldn’t want to double up on his stallion, Snow. He took the pie and helped her up one-handed into the buggy.

“Thank you.” She took the pie and proceeded to stare straight ahead.

As he circled around the buggy, Levi tried once more to figure out what could have made her angry. He pulled himself up. Maybe she’d had time to rethink her desire to get married and didn’t like that three other women were now here to say I do.

He endured the stony silence until they were out of town and then gently pulled the team of horses to a stop. Levi set the brake and then turned to face her. “Millie, did I do or say something to anger you?”

She blew a blond curl off her forehead and sighed heavily. Without looking at him, Millie asked, “Seriously, you don’t have a clue why I might be upset right now?” Then she turned and her blue eyes flashed in his direction.

“No, I don’t. When I left you were fine.”

Millie studied his face. Her anger seemed to dissolve and confusion laced her pretty features. “Maybe manipulation comes to you naturally. Is it really possible you don’t know what you’ve done?” A frown marred her pretty forehead.

Levi didn’t know whether to be angry or laugh. He had no idea what she was talking about. How could he?

She took a deep breath. “Do you deny that you insisted we leave at three?”

“No, I don’t. We had to leave at three because it takes a couple of hours to get out to the ranch and Ma will expect us to socialize for at least thirty minutes to an hour with the other—” he paused “—guests before dinner.” He didn’t point out that they were wasting time discussing what time they left when they should be on their way.

“Do you own Beth’s Boardinghouse?”

So that was it. He picked up the reins and released the brake. She didn’t like that he owned the boardinghouse. What did it matter if he owned it?

A small ache began to seep up his neck and into his temple. The women in his life were going to drive him to madness. He realized she was still waiting for an answer. “Yes, I do.” Levi slapped the reins over the horses’ backs.

Millie grabbed the seat and held on as the big animals moved forward once more. “And you didn’t bother to tell me.” Her words came out harsh and ragged.

“Why would I tell you? We just met. I’m not in the habit of telling my business to people I’ve just met. I’m sorry if it makes you angry that I own the boardinghouse.”

Once more she sighed heavily. “Levi, you own the boardinghouse where I now work and live. You are controlling my every action—that’s what makes me angry. I don’t like people manipulating my every move.”

Didn’t he have enough to deal with, with facing his mother and the other three brides? Maybe he should turn the buggy around and head back to town. At least there he had some control over his life. With that thought, it dawned on him that Millie was feeling the same way he felt right now.

He pulled the horses to a stop once more and turned to face her. “I really am sorry, Millie. I didn’t see it that way. My reasoning was that you needed a place to stay and a job. I knew Beth could use the help, and with the job came the room and board. It never dawned on me you would take offense.”

Millie stared at him with big blue eyes. Her emotions warred on her heart shaped face. He could tell she wasn’t sure of his sincerity.

“Honest. And to prove it, I vow to never meddle in your life again.” He gave her what he hoped was a sincere grin. “Promise,” Levi added, praying she’d accept his apology.

She nodded. “All right. I’m sorry, too. I may have overreacted.” Millie twisted away from him.

He turned back to the horses and the business of riding out to the ranch. “No harm done. I’m glad we got that settled.”

“Me, too.”

His thoughts turned to the ranch and the women who were waiting for him. He still hadn’t decided what to do about them.

Her soft voice asked, “Levi, may I ask you a question?”

“You may ask whatever you want to, Millie.” He focused on the backs of the horses and the dirt path in front of them. She could ask, but he didn’t have to answer, he quietly thought.

“Why don’t you want to get married?”

That wasn’t the question he’d expected. Levi swallowed. Maybe he could distract her. “Why don’t you?”

A swift answer spewed from her lips. “I don’t want or need a man to boss me around.”

He couldn’t help but wonder what man had bossed her around in the past. Or was she thinking of her mother? She’d said the woman had been manipulative; maybe she’d been bossy, too. “It’s your turn to answer the question.” She grinned at him and raised a fine blond eyebrow.

Levi decided to be honest with her. “Women want love when they get married. Love is no longer in my future. I can’t promise love so I don’t want to marry anyone.”

She sobered. “I can understand that, but what about your mother?” Millie traced the pattern on her dress with her finger. “She seems pretty insistent that you marry, and soon.”

“Honestly, I’m not sure what to do about her. She’s invited these women to the ranch and expects me to pick one out like you would a nice piece of furniture.” Levi shook his head. “I’m not sure what to do about the mail-order brides, either.”

They rode along in silence. After several miles, Millie spoke again. “Levi, why do you have to do anything with them? Your mother invited them. Why don’t you let her figure out what to do with the ladies?” A mischievous gleam filled her pretty blue eyes.

Millie had a valid point. He shouldn’t be held accountable for the other three ladies. The only one he’d invited to Granite was Millie. Could he tell his mother they were her responsibility? And what would she say if he did?

He silently prayed, Lord, I mean no disrespect for Ma, but I don’t feel I should have to deal with these mail-order brides. Please be with me when I tell her just that.