A Bride For Carter (The Proxy Brides Book 6) Read online

  “It should just be another half an hour or so.” Her new husband spoke up after a bit of silence had stretched between them.

  Ella smiled at him in thanks for the information but didn’t comment. There didn’t seem much to say to that. But he wasn’t finished, it would seem. He cleared his throat.

  “Do you cook?”

  Feeling heat creep into her cheeks, Ella looked at him to gauge his reaction to her words. “A little,” she answered.

  He didn’t say anything in response, merely nodding in acknowledgement.

  Ella was left wondering what that meant. She had anticipated that she would need to prepare the meals so she had asked Sybil’s cook to teach her as much as she could in the couple of days she was there after Horace had made it clear she was no longer welcome in their home. Right at that moment, everything the cook had taught her felt muddled up in her mind, but Ella was reasonably sure she would be able to manage at least some basic things.

  “Perhaps we can work on it together for a couple of days until you’re settled.” He finally responded. Ella wondered what he was really feeling. She hadn’t been watching him because she was too mortified and feeling insecure.

  She nodded, still unable to look him in the eye. “That would be helpful, thank you.”

  “One of the hands might’ve gotten lunch started anyway before we arrive, so that will make tonight easier. If not, we’ll just scrape something together as quickly as we can manage.”

  Again, Ella didn’t have anything to add to his words. What was there to say, really? She was entering his life and his routine. She would adjust as well as she could manage. Hopefully she would prove to be an asset to his life rather than a burden. She was working on cultivating an attitude of gratitude. It helped keep her mind off all her complaints.

  Turning her attention back to the scenery, Ella started her list for the day. I’m grateful to be off the train. I’m grateful to finally have food in my stomach. I’m grateful for the blue sky. Can you imagine if it was raining? That would have been dreadful. She dragged her straying attention back to the task at hand. I’m grateful that my husband has all his teeth and seems to be a reasonable, intelligent man. Even though Fred had assured her he was, she hadn’t known what to expect. I cannot say I’m grateful for how handsome he is, though. Although perhaps I should be grateful for that. It means, when we have children, they are far less likely to be teased for their appearance.

  Ella sighed. She had strayed from the topic once more. Well, at least she was grateful for a few things. She thought more about the conversation they had already shared. Since he had said that the arrival of winter was unpredictable in these parts, perhaps she should add to her list gratitude that it hadn’t yet arrived. She was grateful that the sun was still high in the sky and providing enough warmth that she didn’t have to shiver here next to the handsome stranger. That would have been the seal on her misery.

  Ella dragged her thoughts back into control. I’m a positive person, not a complainer, she reminded herself. I am not miserable. I am on an adventure. The sky is blue, the trees are green, the road isn’t nearly as bumpy as I would have expected. I’ll be able to walk around free of any encumbrance very soon. I will be safe, sound, and fed. What is there to complain about?

  She put on a wide smile and turned her focus back to the man at her side. “Do you have any pets?”

  “Pets?” He repeated the word as though he didn’t quite know what she meant.

  She blinked at him. “Yes, you know, like animals you have no intention of selling or eating? And that don’t need to work for you?”

  The man grinned. “You really are city folk, aren’t you?”

  Ella felt hot color flood her cheeks. She surmised it was a stupid question to ask. But she had always wanted a pet. Her mother hadn’t wanted animals in the house, and her father hadn’t gainsaid her. Her imaginary fantasies about her life always included a cat in her lap and a dog at her feet.

  “What kind of animal would you consider to be a pet?” he asked, sounding contrite, as though he hadn’t meant to laugh at her. She felt a little bit better at this and tried to answer his question.

  “Anything, really. Well, I guess it would have to be willing to be a pet, so probably a wild animal wouldn’t do. I was hoping for a dog or a cat.”

  It was as though he couldn’t help the guffaw that erupted from him because he looked immediately apologetic. “We have lots of cats. Every barn has cats. They keep the mouse population down.”

  “You have mice?”

  He laughed again. She was getting used to the heat in her cheeks.

  “I mentioned the food we have to keep in case it’s a bad winter, right?”

  She nodded.

  “The mice love that food.”

  Ella hoped she didn’t look too mortified at the thought of the mice. She knew they were a fact of life, but her mother had been obsessive about keeping every possible entry point sealed against the intrusion of any rodents. In Boston there were rats. She tried to imagine that mice weren’t nearly so bad as rats. They were smaller at least. She brightened. At least they provided food for the cats.

  “Do you think one of the cats would be interested in moving in with me?”

  Carter stared at her for a moment, as though he were struck by her words. Ella couldn’t imagine what there was to flummox him about her question.

  “It might be best if you wait until there’s a litter of kittens,” he finally answered. “The grown cats might not be so keen on a life indoors, but if you get one young enough, it would probably grow accustomed.”

  Ella felt her face fall. “You don’t think a cat would like to live indoors, do you?”

  Carter shrugged. “Probably a kitten would love it. We’ll see as soon as there’s a litter, I promise. Might not be until spring though.” There was another space of silence, and Ella tried not to be disappointed. At least he hadn’t said she couldn’t have a pet. He just hadn’t expected such a question. Well, just as there were bound to be a million things Ella would have to get used to about her new life here in Iowa, surely it was only fair for him to get used to a few things, too.

  “We do have dogs, but they work, so I don’t think you’d consider them pets.”

  Ella brightened immediately. “Do they bite?”

  “No,” he sounded offended by the question. “At least, not people. I’ve trained them better than that.”

  “Sorry, I didn’t mean the question to be offensive. I was just wondering if I could pet them.”

  “You could certainly try, if you want to. They can be awfully smelly sometimes.”

  Ella felt like singing. She was going to have pets. If she had to wait until spring for a kitten, that was fine by her. But there were dogs, and she was determined to make friends with them. This idea was looking better and better the further they got from the train. She took a deep, fortifying breath and decided she was going to make this situation work. The air was clean, the sky was blue, and the gossips of Boston were far behind her. It was going to be lovely; she just knew it. Just because she barely knew anything about anything useful wasn’t a reason to quibble.

  Chapter Five

  C arter was stunned by the sunny smile his wife was wearing. At least this time it appeared to be truly genuine. He wondered what was traipsing through her head. Who knew what other ideas she was going to come up with? Not that he really minded the thought of having a cat in the house, he supposed. It would keep any mice out of the larder, too, which couldn’t be a bad thing. And if she truly wanted one, what harm could it do? As long as she made sure it didn’t have fleas. That would be dreadful. He’d worry about it when there was a litter, as he promised her. He was certain none of the barn cats would take kindly to being domesticated.

  The drive home was beginning to wear on him. He wanted to get back home, get her settled in, and get back to his routine. While he was enjoying chatting with her far more than he would have expected, he was used to the silent conte
mplation the long drive usually afforded him. Now he found his head was filled with visions of his beautiful companion cuddling an armload of kittens, and while it was enchanting, he had no intention of being enchanted.

  He studiously diverted his attention away from the distracting woman by his side. He needed to make sure his foreman had the men ready to ride out to round up the herd in the furthest fields. Carter supposed he shouldn’t leave her alone right away, so he better not go until tomorrow. Make it the day after. He huffed a breath. Trying to think of something else didn’t last long.

  “Are you all right?” Her concerned question grated on his nerves.

  “Never better,” he replied with what he was sure was a fake looking smile. His tone didn’t help much either. He didn’t like the frown that was wiping out what seemed to be her perpetual smile.

  After examining him with eyes that seemed to have seen more than she should have at her young age, she turned away and seemed to be studying the passing scenery once more. She didn’t say anything more. Carter felt as though he had kicked one of the kittens she was determined to have. He sighed again. This was not the uncomplicated arrangement he had been hoping for. Already he was getting his feelings all tied up into the thing. That was the whole reason he had made such an arrangement. He didn’t want any feelings.

  Gritting his teeth when they hit a rut because he had allowed his attention to be diverted, Carter fixed his attention and his gaze back on the road ahead. The horses were picking up their pace. They could tell they were nearly home. He had never been happier to see the smoke emerging from behind the treeline that indicated the fire he had left banked in the kitchen was still burning. They were almost there.

  Carter realized he ought to be thinking of her as more than “she” even in his head and would need to address her as something. He cleared his throat once more.

  “Would you prefer I call you ma’am, Mrs. McLain, or Eleanor?”

  The expression on her face was comical. It was as though she couldn’t decide whether she was outraged or amused by his question.

  “Would you really call me ma’am regularly?” She must have decided on amusement as he could hear laughter lurking in her tone.

  “If that’s what you would prefer.”

  “If you’re giving me a choice, I would prefer none of those, thank you. My friends call me Ella.”

  “Really? Is there a reason?”

  “Eleanor is what my parents called me when I was in trouble as a child. It cultivated a powerful dislike in me, as I’m sure you can imagine. And I’m afraid if you tried to call me Mrs. McLain, it might take me a while to realize that you were speaking to me, as it still doesn’t feel real. Ella would be much more enjoyable for all of us.”

  “Then Ella it is,” he agreed promptly before thinking of another problem. “I might not want the hands being familiar with you, though, so if you don’t mind, I will direct them to call you Mrs. McLain or ma’am.”

  “If that’s what you think is best.”

  He was feeling ridiculously puffed up by her quick acquiescence. He shook his head. He was losing his mind already.

  To distract himself, he pointed out to her how close they were to their destination.

  “Do you see that smoke curling out over the trees yonder?”

  She followed his outstretched arm with her gaze, squinting in concentration.

  “It looks kind of like clouds drifting through the air. Is that what you mean?”

  “Yes, it isn’t clouds though. Clouds are a different color and texture. That’s the smoke from our chimney. We’re almost there.”

  She bounced in her seat like a three-year-old and turned to him with shining eyes and a wide smile. “That drive wasn’t nearly as bad as I thought it would be when you said it was a few hours. But I didn’t see the village. Did I blink and miss it?”

  He laughed. “No, we bypassed it. I was afraid you would want to stop, and I really wanted to get home before it got anywhere near dark.”

  She blinked, looking confused. Her lips parted as though she were going to comment, but she finally held her silence, merely nodding in acceptance of his statement. Her smile had dimmed, though, as she commented, “I’m glad we’re almost there.”

  Carter again felt as though he had hurt her feelings somehow, but he wasn’t sure what he had said wrong. He probably shouldn’t have admitted that he didn’t want to show her the village, but really, they had to get home, so what was he supposed to do? This having a wife business was far more complicated than he had expected.

  Nothing more was said as they finally pulled into the lane leading up to his house. His chest filled anew with pride as he surveyed all that was his. He had only sent for a wife when he felt confident that he had a home to share with a family. When the final nail was set in his proper house he had written to Fred. Now it felt to him as though it glistened in the sun as it awaited his new wife.

  Behind, and a little to the side of the new house, was the original shack he had erected on his property. It was where his ranch hands lived now — they were glad to be out of the hayloft of the barn. So everyone was happy. He glanced at the silent woman at his side. He was suitably satisfied by her wide eyes and gentle smile. She didn’t have anything to say, but he felt she was impressed with what he could provide for her.

  Carter hopped down from the wagon and hurried around to help his wife climb down. It was a good thing he was there as she was too busy looking around to pay close attention to what she was doing and she nearly fell out of the wagon.

  “Whoopsy!” she said with laughter. “I guess I wasn’t looking. Sorry ‘bout that. I’m not usually quite this clumsy.”

  He found her delightfully charming but tried to ignore the sensation as he set her on her feet.

  “I’ll show you around a little bit before I put away the wagon.”

  “Thank you, that would be lovely.”

  He pointed out the barn and the various outbuildings as they walked to the house. After she climbed the two stairs to the porch, he opened the door with a flourish and a bow, making her giggle again. She sure was a cheerful little thing, he thought as his stomach and teeth clenched simultaneously.

  The main floor was fairly simple, but he was proud of the large, spacious rooms. It was really not much more than one room, really, aside from the larder, but it was large, and it was his. The kitchen area took up the entire back half of the house with the larder on the side. The front door, being in the middle, separated the dining area from the sitting area in the front half of the house. It would be the perfect space for a large family or for hosting guests. Off to the side were the stairs leading up to four bedrooms. He was optimistic about the growth of his family.

  Carter was waiting for her to say something. He couldn’t tell what she was thinking from her face, as all he could see was her perpetually placed smile. Finally she met his gaze and gave her opinion.

  “It’s lovely and spacious. All the wood looks quite fresh, have you just built?”

  “That’s right. The house in the back where the hands live used to be my house.”

  “It seems you’ve been doing quite well for yourself, then,” she added with a nod.

  Carter was a little disappointed. There was less admiration in her tone than he would have liked to hear. Then he remembered that there were, of course, far grander homes in Boston, but surely she didn’t come from one of those if she was here with him. He shook his head and excused himself.

  “I’ll just go see to the horses. Look around and make yourself feel at home. I’ll bring your luggage in when I return.”

  “Thank you.” She answered simply without looking at him again.

  ~~~

  “I don’t know what to make of her, Brent.”

  Carter was rubbing down one horse while his foreman was looking after the other. The horses were busily eating their feed and flicking their ears around in appreciation of the gentle brush strokes they were receiving.

  “Wh
at do you mean, McLain?”

  “I thought I was ready and even eager to have a woman in my home, but now I’m getting all squeamish at the last minute.”

  “So then, you don’t know what to make of yourself, seems to me,” the other man offered with a chuckle.

  Carter laughed along with him. It was a reasonable observation.

  “All she does is smile, but half the time it doesn’t feel sincere. Even though I sent for her, I find myself wondering what kind of a woman would accept the arrangement I offered. She seems too well spoken and her clothes are too fancy for someone needing an arranged marriage.”

  “People fall on hard times all the time,” Brent remarked.

  “True.” Carter scratched his head, unconvinced.

  “You could just ask her,” Brent said with another laugh. “I have nothing useful to offer. I haven’t spoken to a woman in months. I couldn’t begin to tell you what goes on in their heads.”

  Carter finally found a smile. “You’re probably right. Getting myself all worked up about it isn’t going to do anyone any good. I’ll go into the village tomorrow and wire Fred for some information about her. I’d like to know where he found her at the very least. I should have done that from the beginning. When I wired him with my requirements and trusted him to fulfill them, I didn’t give thought to how very foolish I was to not ask him any questions when he wired back that everything was said and done. I was just relieved that I wasn’t going to have to return to Boston to make the arrangements myself.”

  Brent kept steadily brushing his horse but pondered the situation. “I still don’t understand why you were so averse to going there and finding her yourself.”

  “I don’t plan on ever going back to that dreadful place for the rest of my days, if I can help it.”

  “But I’m thinking arranging for a wife is a serious thing. Why did you want one from Boston if you’re so firm and determined not to go there? Don’t you think she might want to visit some time?”