Mail Order Bride: Westward Winds by - (book club books TXT) 📕

read them before they were sent off. It seemed like Marcus was doing a good job and that was good enough for Dean.

One day, during the middle of July, Marcus showed up waving a letter. Dean smiled because he knew it was another one from Theresa. He’d actually come to look forward to them.

“You’re going to love this one,” Marcus informed him.

Dean took it and opened it.

Dear Dean,

I will come right to the point. I have enjoyed our correspondence immensely and it seems you have as well. I think that it’s time we meet and would like to make the trip forthwith. Please reply to let me know if this is acceptable to you and if so, I will make the final plans.

In your earlier missives, you have told me that the closest railway would stop in North Dakota and that I would come by coach from there. You warned that it would be a long journey, but I am willing to undertake it. I have the means to hire a first rate guide and have no fear of the journey, which I think will be well worth any effort.

Yours,

Theresa

By the time Dean finished reading the letter, panic had begun to set in. When all this had started, he’d never expected it to go this far. Now, half a continent away, there was a woman who was ready to leave her life and come west to meet him.

“Breathe, Dean. It’ll be okay. Ain’t that something?” Marcus said. His delight brought Dean to anger.

“How do I explain this to the kids? Where is she going to stay? What am I supposed to do with her?” he asked enraged.

Marcus laughed at the fear and bewilderment on Dean’s face. “Well, I know it’s been a while, but it’s kind of like when you fall off a horse. You just get back on and it’ll all come back to you.”

Dean grabbed Marcus by his shirt collar. “It’s not funny, you idiot! I should have never done any of this. I shouldn’t have let you talk me into it!”

Marcus laughed all the more and Dean could have choked him.

“Dean! Knock it off! The fact is, you wanted to do it or you never would have told me to go ahead,” he said, yanking his shirt out of Dean’s fist.

“I didn’t say go ahead! I was joking! I didn’t know you’d take me seriously and put that ad in the paper,” Dean said.

Marcus nodded. “Yeah, but you told me to go ahead and send a letter back. You coulda just never answered, but you told me to write back.”

Dean stood very still as he recalled their conversation. “Shoot! You’re right.” Dean put a hand to his forehead. “What do I do now?”

Marcus crossed his arms over his chest and gave Dean a speculative look. “The question is, what do you want to do? I think you want to meet her but you’re scared to death. You never told me to stop writing to her or tell her it was off. That says to me that you’ve been seriously contemplating meeting her.”

Dean was cursing his stupidity. He felt bad about not stopping the letters and now didn’t know what he wanted to do. “You’re right. It’s not your fault. Let me think about it today and I’ll let you know tomorrow.”

“Okay. That’s fine. Dean, the worst that can happen is that things don’t work out and she goes back home,” Marcus said. “At least you would have given it a try.”

“I’ll think on it,” Dean agreed.

That night, Dean wrestled with the decision that lay ahead. Should he take a risk and have this woman come? What would he tell his children? He needed to talk to someone other than Marcus about this. He needed a woman’s point of view.

The next morning, Dean rode his stallion, Twister, over to the Benson’s place. At the sound of a horse’s hooves, Lydia Benson looked out from behind a sheet she was hanging on a wash line.

“There’s the woman I’m after,” he said with a smile as he climbed down off Twister.

Lydia chuckled. “Don’t let my husband hear that. He’s the jealous type.”

Her dark blonde hair blew around in the breeze and her brown eyes smiled up at him. She looked at Dean closely. She’d known him and his brothers for ten years now and could tell when something was on the man’s mind. His furrowed brow and the look in his eyes gave him away. Dean had become a little brother to her and she wondered what was bothering him.

She’d loved Sarah and had grieved right along with Dean when she’d died. Lydia still felt guilty about not being able to save Sarah and their baby. It had been another boy.

“Can we talk?” Dean asked.

“Sure, hon. C’mon into the kitchen. I could use some coffee, how about you?” she said.

“I can always use a cup of your coffee, Lydia,” Dean answered and followed her into their house.

The kitchen was large, as was the table. It had to be with four children and a couple of ranch hands to feed. Meals were lively at the Benson’s, and Dean and his kids had eaten many a meal with them. It had a homey feel to it and the surfaces of the wooden table and benches were worn to a smooth patina from so much use. Charlie had installed plenty of cupboards and bought Lydia a nice buffet to house all of their dishes and various cooking tools.

“Sit,” Lydia said and set about getting their coffee. When it was ready, she poured it and sat down at the table with Dean. “What’s going on?”

“I’m not sure where to start. Seems I’ve got myself into a pickle,” Dean said. “Back in May, Marcus decided to put an advertisement in a paper back East for a mail-order bride. He thinks I need a wife and he said this was the perfect way to find one.” His words started coming fast once he’d started. “I was joking when I said go ahead and put the ad in. Next thing I know, a letter comes from a woman. I read it and damned if I wasn’t interested. She’s educated and seems very nice and doesn’t mind that I have kids. She was really sorry to hear about Sarah and doesn’t want to try to take her place. We been writin’ back and forth and now she wants to come and meet us. I don’t know if I should or not. What do you think?”

Lydia laughed softly. “Oh, that Marcus. I think he did a good thing. It sounds to me like you like her, or at least her letters. You know, a lot of men are beginning to find wives that way. Nothing wrong with it. Do you think your heart is healed enough to entertain the idea of meeting another woman with the idea of proposing marriage?”

Dean felt his stomach drop at the idea. “I don’t know. I don’t know if I could ever go through that again. What if we get married and things are good and then she dies?”

Lydia laid a hand on his. “Dean, I know you’re scared, but what if she comes here and you get married and you die? You know as well as I that your work can be dangerous. You’re not the only one taking a risk.”

Dean looked at Lydia in surprise. He had been so busy thinking of his situation that he hadn’t considered what Theresa would face. She obviously had a lot of courage, maybe more than he did. She would be traveling a very long distance just to meet his family and him, without any guarantees. Shouldn’t he be just as willing to take that step and at least meet her?

Dean gulped down his coffee, then rose and kissed Lydia on the forehead. “You are the wisest person I know. Thanks.” He kissed her cheek and quickly left.

Lydia chuckled as she finished her coffee and then went back to hanging her laundry.