Page 3 of The Bride's Desire

“Yes, ma’am, it is,” Stanley said with a bit of sarcasm and then hooted when his wife gave him a foul look.

The exchange between the two was fun to watch. It also made her wish her own marriage would be like this. Warm, loving, and last a long time.

“Well, Miss, we’re ready to head out if you are.”

“Oh, is there a restroom I can use to freshen up before we leave? It won’t take long at all.”

“I’ll show you, Honey. Follow me.”

Naomi followed the woman back into the building and turned left.

“There you go.”

“Thank you.” Naomi closed the door. She used the toilet first and washed her hands and then her face. She pulled out a brush and ran it through her long, dark brown hair. She added a little lip gloss and deodorant, then stood back and looked at herself. Besides some wrinkles in her shirt, she looked tired but fresh.

She walked out the back. “I’m ready.”

“So, you’re really Joe’s mail-order bride? Why, I didn’t realize they did that anymore?”

“Yes. I guess it happens more than I ever knew. We don’t get married right away. I stay in one of the cabins while we get to know one another and see if we want to go through with it.”

“What if you decide you wouldn’t like living out that far?”

“I know what isolation is, and I actually think I’d be happier on the ranch than anywhere else.”

“I sure hope so. By the way, my name is Martha.”

“Mine is Naomi.” Naomi held her hand out. She didn’t want to tell Martha her real name, but it would be strange to change her name after living there for a while.

“It was good meeting you.”

Naomi smiled. “You, too.”

“Go on, Stanley’s waiting in the jeep.”

“Thank you for your help.”

“We’re a small community, so we have to help each other.”

“That sounds nice.”

Stanley let her sit up in the front seat with him, but he drove on the other side of the vehicle, which took some getting used to. For the next few hours, he made her laugh and relaxed for the first time in a long time. The stiffness between her shoulder blades loosened, and the headache she always seemed to be plagued with lessened.

Chapter Three

“Here you go, Miss.”

Naomi looked down the long driveway he pointed at.

“It’s just a half-mile down the drive. I’d take you all the way there, but I’m already running behind. Do you mind?”

“Oh, no. I’ll be fine. I promise.” She grabbed her bag, got out, and came to his side. “Thank you again, Stanley. I really appreciate it.”

“No problem, Miss. I hope it all works out for the two of you.”

“I do, too.”

She watched him drive off and wave. She turned toward the house and looked around, scanning the area. The ranch was much bigger than she’d thought. The way he talked in his emails was that it was a family ranch that raised cattle. She could see hundreds, if not thousands, of cows from where she stood.

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