Page 12 of Mail-Order Bride Substitute
She trailed a fingertip over the likeness of her mother. “Mama was always so glad to see Papa come home. She’d run to the door, and they’d hug and kiss.” She brushed the back of her hand to her eyes, hoping he wouldn’t notice that she wiped away a tear. “They liked to go for walks and hold hands. Sometimes I would be between them my hands in theirs.”
“How did they die if you don’t mind me asking?”
“I don’t mind.” In fact, his interest was good. They should learn about each other if they were to share their lives as she fully expected. “They got sick. We all did. I remember feeling so awful and wishing for Mama to comfort me, but the nurse said she was too ill. So was my papa. I cried for them, wanting to know when they’d get better so they could come.” Olivia shifted and rested her back on the trunk as sorrow washed through her. “I was well enough to sit up and feed myself when the nurse told me that they were both gone. They’d died and been buried while I was sick.” Her breath shuddered in and out as an old, familiar ache welled within her chest.
Riley sank to the floor beside her. He was so close she felt the warmth from his body. He likely didn’t mean for his presence to be a comfort to her, but it was.
“That sounds awful. You must have been so sad.”
“Sad. Scared.” She shrugged. “Confused too, I suppose.”
“What happened next?”
“A couple was hired to take me to my aunt and uncle. I didn’t even remember them. I wanted to stay in my room and cry, but they insisted I couldn’t. I clearly remember Aunt Mabel telling me to put on a happy face. She said if I pretended to be happy, I soon would be. Turns out she was right.”
“So, you’re saying you’re happy?”
“For the most part.” She smiled at him. His dark eyes were full of compassion that rattled the doors of her heart. Shaking her head, she returned her gaze to the picture. “What about you?” she asked.
“What about me?”
“Are you happy?”
He chuckled. “How could I not be? We have this ranch, the view, the horses, and our family.”
She wished he’d included her. “What happened to your parents?” In the letters, he’d simply said they were gone.
“Ma died nine years ago.”
“You’d have been nineteen at the time.”
“Yeah. I suppose I should have been old enough not to need her.”
She laughed softly and patted his hand. “Are we ever that old?” She held her breath hoping he wouldn’t be offended by her touch. His glance went to her hand. She forced herself not to withdraw. After all…
He looked past her without moving away and she eased the air from her lungs and kept her hand in place. His flesh was warm. Solid.
“Ma got sick suddenly. Or so it seemed to me. Maybe she only hid it so we wouldn’t worry about her.” He chuckled. “I do remember she often told Pa that worrying about her was a waste of time and energy.”
They sat in contemplative silence for a moment. Riley made no move toward leaving. It was calming to have him so close. To be reminded of what she’d hoped for when she came West. A kind man to protect her. A place where what she did was valued.
They both rearranged their positions providing a natural way for her to pull her hand back to her lap. She pressed her fingers together, his warmth clinging to her palm. A warmth that crept into her heart and made itself right at home.
She continued. “You wrote that your father died last year.”
“Yeah. Still feels unreal. Pa was such a strong, stubborn man that he shouldn’t have died.”
“You thought he’d live forever?”
He laughed. “I knew he couldn’t but still… Perhaps he knew he was failing because months before he fell ill, he insisted each of us build a house. Andy would get the bigger family home. He was clear about so many of the plans. The houses would all have three bedrooms.”
Such a specific number. She looked to him for an explanation. “Why three?”
Even though he didn’t smile, she noted soft crinkles around his eyes that suggested amusement. “Think about it.”
She did. “Oh. Children.”
“Lots of them. I think he hoped to see dozens of them running around.”
