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She nodded. “This is a perfect spot. The boys can play under the tree while I get lunch set out.” Bella pulled a picnic basket out from under the seat.
The boys continued to sleep as she dug out sandwiches, pickles and a jug of apple cider. Philip walked about, swinging his arms and stretching his muscles. Sitting on a wagon all day wasn’t something he was accustomed to. Now, riding a horse all day, that was a different story. He grinned. In a few days he’d be back in the saddle, riding for the Pony Express.
His gaze moved to Bella as she worked. Would they be married before he had another run? He walked to the tailgate of the wagon, where she had set out the food on a blanket.
“We should tell the boys we’re getting married, before we get to your folks’ house.” Bella handed him a sandwich.
He looked to the two lumps under the blankets. “I suppose you’re right.” Although he thought they probably already knew, since they’d talked openly about it with John and Cara Turnstone.
She grinned at him and motioned for him to watch the blankets that covered the boys. Bella raised her voice slightly. “Would you like a cookie after you finish your sandwich, Philip?”
Two blond heads popped out from under the covers.
“I want a cookie,” Mark exclaimed, shoving the blankets away and pushing his way toward the back of the wagon, where Bella and Philip were.
Philip brushed the hair on the little boy’s head with his hand. “Sandwich first, cookies last.”
“Aw, why do we have to eat the icky food first?” Mark protested, frowning down at the bread and meat Bella had just thrust into his small hand.
Caleb sat down beside his brother and yawned out the answer. “Because the icky food is the best for your body.” He grinned at Bella when he took the sandwich she offered. “But Aunt Bella’s food is never icky.”
Philip laughed. “Already a charmer, aren’t you, Caleb?”
He smiled at Philip but didn’t answer. Pretty smart little boy, Philip thought. The sandwich was good but a little dry. That was what one could expect from trail food.
“Boys, I have something I want to tell you.”
Wariness filled the children’s eyes at Bella’s words. Both lowered their half-eaten sandwiches.
Bella smiled at them. “This is good news, not bad.”
Philip half expected the boys to relax but was disappointed. Mark’s eyes began to fill with mist. He rubbed them in an attempt to fight off the tears.
Philip laid his hand on the little boy’s shoulder. In a gentle voice he said, “Buck up, little man. You might like what she has to say.” He nodded to Bella to continue.
She pushed a strand of hair from her face. “Philip has asked me to marry him and I’ve agreed.”
They continued to look at her, waiting. He grinned. “That means you get to live with me at the relay station.”
Caleb frowned. “We know that. Is that the news?”
Bella chuckled. “Well, yes. I thought you’d be surprised.”
Both boys gave her another look of exasperation and then continued eating.
With disbelief filling her voice, Bella asked, “You really aren’t surprised?”
“Nope, you told us we were coming out here so you could marry Philip. So since we found him and haven’t moved on, we figured you two were getting married.” Caleb stared at her as if she’d grown two heads.
“Plus, we heard you talking to John and Cara about it.” Mark shook his head. “We aren’t babies, Aunt Bella.” Then he finished off his sandwich. With the last morsel still in his mouth, he asked, “Can I have my cookie now?”
Philip laughed. The boys were proving to be very smart. Bella would need to stay on her toes with these two. He wiped the last crumb from his own mouth and said, “Yeah, can we?”
She shook her head and handed over the cookies. Her fingers brushed his and Bella looked up at him. Had she felt a small spark, too? Or just been surprised at his touch? He’d never expected to feel anything for her, so what was this attraction? Perhaps it was nothing. Perhaps it was static electricity in the air. Or perhaps... No, Philip refused to even think that it could be more than just a small spark of electricity.
* * *
After riding for over fourteen hours, Philip pulled the wagon into the Young family farm’s front yard. The sound of cows lowing and chickens settling in for the night were a comfort to his tired mind.
Andrew was the first to greet them. “Better move that wagon next to the porch. I have a rider coming in any minute now.”
Philip nodded and grinned. “Nice to see you, too, big brother.” He did as Andrew said and guided the horse to the porch, where his mother and her close friend, Fay, sat rocking.
His mother, Rebecca, stood and pulled her shawl closer. A smile graced her face. “’Bout time you got home, son. We’ve been waiting for days.”
He set the brake on the wagon, then jumped down and hurried up the porch steps. Philip picked up his adoptive mother and swung her around. Her squeal was the reward he’d been looking for.
“Put me down.” She playfully slapped his shoulder.
Philip hugged her close and then did as she ordered. He stepped back and grinned. “You’ll never believe this, Ma, but I’m getting married.” Not the most graceful way to announce his future plans, but no one had ever claimed he was graceful.
She looked at him with an open mouth. Her big blue eyes had grown even bigger. “You’re what?”
“Getting married.”
Rebecca looked to the wagon, where Andrew was talking to Bella. The little boys stood behind her in the bed of the wagon looking about. “I see.”
Fay stepped up beside Rebecca. She grinned at Philip. “Why don’t you all come inside? I’ll put a fresh pot of coffee on and get those young’uns a glass of milk.” She turned and entered the house before he had a chance to answer or respond.
He was grateful that Fay was taking the matter into her own hands. She had entered their lives at the same time that Seth had. Her husband had recently passed away and her landlord had kicked her out of her home. Rebecca, seeing a need, had invited her out to the farm. Fay was a part of their family now and Philip was grateful for her kind ways.
He hurried back to the wagon. First Philip helped Bella down, then he turned to swing both boys to the ground also. Then he led them up the stairs, where Rebecca still stood. He understood his mother’s shock. How many times in the past had he sworn he wasn’t the marrying kind? “Ma, I’d like you to meet Bella, Caleb and Mark.”
Rebecca nodded. “Please call me Rebecca.” She opened the screen door. “Come on in.”
Bella smiled. “Thank you. I know this is probably a shock to you. But I hope we can be friends as well as in-laws.” She entered the house. “Come along, boys,” Bella called over her shoulder.
Caleb and Mark both grinned up at Rebecca. “Are you going to be our new grandma?” Mark asked.
Rebecca kneeled down in front of him. She wiped the blond hair from his eyes. “It looks that way.” She stood and then asked, “Do you young men like cookies?”
“I do!” Mark grabbed Rebecca’s hand and began pulling her into the house.
Philip caught the door and watched in amusement as Mark chattered. “My favorite kind of cookie is oatmeal. Caleb likes sugar. I’ll eat them both. What kind do you have?”
Rebecca laughed. “I’m not sure. We’ll have to ask my daughter, Joy. She’s the one who bakes the cookies.”
Bella frowned at the little boy. “Mark, stop pulling on Rebecca,” she ordered.
He dropped Rebecca’s hand. “Sorry.” Mark bowed his head.
Rebecca looked at Bella. “Maybe we should have our snack in the kitchen. Is that all right with you?”
Philip watched as the two women walked to the kitchen with the boys between them. He wondered how long it would be before Rebecca started asking questions.
The sound of horse’s hooves pounding the ground drew his attention back to the yard. His brother Noah practically jumped from the horse. He tossed the mailbag to another of his brothers, Clayton, with a grin. Clayton was already in the saddle and halfway down the trail when Noah turned toward the house at something Andrew had said.
Noah was the smaller of the boys. Only thirteen years old, the boy could outfish, outhunt and outride all of them. He was darker-skinned and quieter than most of them. Noah raised a hand and waved.
Philip waved back as he watched the younger boy head to the bunkhouse. A yawn escaped Philip. He turned to the kitchen, knowing he’d not be allowed to stand in the doorway much longer.
Rebecca stuck her head through the kitchen door. “Come on, you have some explaining to do.”
Yep, he’d been right. His ma wasn’t going to wait much longer to find out what had happened in the last few days to change his mind on marriage. As he walked the short distance to the kitchen, Philip wondered if he should tell his family this marriage was a marriage of convenience.
He entered to find Caleb and Mark sitting at the table with a plate of cookies in front of them. Joy ran to meet him.
“I’ve missed you,” she practically whispered. Joy loved to talk to family members but was always shy around strangers.
He grabbed his little sister up into a bear hug. “I missed you, too.”
She pulled back and put her hands on both sides of his face. “Are you really getting married?”
“I am.”
“Why?” She lowered her hands to his shoulders.
“Joy!” Rebecca scolded.
Philip laughed. “It’s an honest question, Ma.” He lowered Joy to the ground, grabbed her hand and then joined the others at the kitchen table. Philip sat down and pulled Joy up onto his lap. “We’re getting married because Thomas sent for me a mail-order bride.”
Rebecca frowned. “I thought he wrote all those girls and told them that you’d changed your mind.”
“How could I change my mind? I didn’t even know I’d advertised for a bride until Bella showed up.” Philip reached for one of the cookies. So, Rebecca had known about the ad and made Thomas respond to the letters that had arrived. He bit into the gingersnap cookie and smiled. Served Thomas right for placing the ad in the first place. He could just imagine his brother having to answer each and every letter.
Rebecca asked, “Bella, would you like to take a quick walk with me?” She pushed her chair back and waited for an answer.
Philip held his breath. What would the two women talk about? What would his adoptive mother say? Would she try to talk Bella out of the marriage? If so, how would Philip feel? He’d already made peace with the idea of getting married. He looked to the two little boys, who were playing with his little brother Benjamin. What would become of them if Bella changed her mind?
Chapter Six (#uf26b063b-65f3-57d8-808f-7581143f8c29)
Bella slipped into her tan coat. What did Philip’s mother want to talk to her about? Had she guessed their intentions of making this a marriage in name only? Would Rebecca try to talk her out of marrying Philip? She followed the other woman out into the cool evening air.
Rebecca stepped out onto the porch. “I thought maybe we could walk to the river and back.” She waited for Bella to catch up with her.
“All right,” Bella agreed.
When they were several yards from the house, Rebecca spoke again. “Bella, tell me about yourself.”
Bella glanced sideways at her future mother-in-law. “What would you like to know?”
“Anything, everything. I want to get to know you. Find out who my son is marrying.” Rebecca pulled her cloak tighter about her tiny waist.
Bella nodded. The best place to start would be close to the beginning. “I grew up in the city of Douglas City, California. My parents only had two children who lived to adulthood. Myself and my sister. My sister married and moved to Denver, Colorado. Both our parents caught a fever last winter and died. I chose to stay in California. When my sister died, I was working at a bakery and planning on opening my own shop someday. But now my goal is to raise her boys.” Bella stopped talking. She wasn’t sure exactly what Rebecca wanted to hear, but she felt that should pacify the woman.
They walked on for a few minutes. Finally, Rebecca said, “I’m sorry for your losses.”
Bella swallowed. “Thank you.”
“So you have no other family?”
“No, it’s just me and the boys now.” Bella had heard the water long before she saw it. It rushed over the rocky river bottom at a fast pace.
Rebecca stopped and sat down on a large boulder. “Are you sure you want to marry Philip?” She tucked her hands deep into the cloak.
The best answer was a truthful answer. Bella sat down beside her. “No, but I have no other choice.”
“There are always other choices,” Rebecca said, searching Bella’s face.
She shook her head. “Not for me. My sister and brother-in-law left their children nothing. I quit my job unaware that my sister had lied about their wealth. If things had been as she’d indicated, I would have had the finances to raise the boys and used my savings to invest in a bakery of my own. As it turned out, I had to use most of my savings to get here.” Her voice caught in her throat. Bella fought back the tears of frustration at the turn her life had taken. She would do it all again for the love of her nephews, but she didn’t have to like it.
“What about love?” Rebecca asked.
Bella shook her head. “I thought someone loved me once, but it turned out he didn’t love me enough. I doubt any man can truly love a woman the way she deserves. So I don’t expect Philip to love me.” She looked out at the rushing water. Darkness began to cut the beauty of the running water off from her view, much like her ex-fiancé had done with love.
Rebecca’s soft voice penetrated Bella’s thoughts. “Don’t you think Philip deserves love?”
She stood. “Rebecca, we’ve talked about this. He is in no rush to fall in love any more than I am.”
“Everyone wants to fall in love, Bella.” Rebecca stood also. She dusted the back of her skirt before retracing their steps.
Bella felt a harsh laugh bubble up as she fell into step beside her future mother-in-law. “Only those who have never tasted love or who have gotten away unscathed by its cruelty.”
Rebecca stopped and turned to face Bella. “It’s obvious you’ve been hurt, but as far as I know, Philip has never been in love. He’s never been hurt by it. Will you be the first by not returning his love, should he fall in love with you someday? I only want what is best for my son, so please just think about it before you actually get married.” She searched Bella’s eyes, then turned away.
Bella fell behind her. Was it possible Philip would fall in love with her? If he did, would her not returning his affections hurt him? He’d been the one to suggest a marriage of convenience. Was she doing the wrong thing by marrying him?
* * *
The next morning, Bella still didn’t have any answers. She knew she had to consider Caleb and Mark, but she also worried that she’d be doing Philip an injustice by marrying him.
All day, she worried about what to do. Rebecca had said there were always choices, but Bella couldn’t see them.
She felt Philip watching her and looked up. He studied her face as if he was trying to read her mind across the kitchen table. The Young and Armstrong families were eating dinner. They were a noisy bunch and none of them seemed to be paying attention to Bella and Philip.
They’d said less than ten words to each other during the day. Bella had been busy with the women, cooking, cleaning and planning their wedding. Philip had been with his brothers and his stepfather, Seth.
This wasn’t the first time she’d felt his eyes upon her after her talk with Rebecca. Had he known what his mother was going to say to her? Did he read the doubt on her face regarding their upcoming wedding?
