Page 38 of Mail-Order Bride Substitute
He folded the letter and returned it to the envelope. But said nothing. She couldn’t endure the silence. The uncertainty.
“Would you have refused?” she asked.
9
Olivia’s question jerked Riley from his thoughts. What would he have done if he’d received this letter in time to respond? Rather than answer, he reached for the reins. Her hands were clenched so tightly that her knuckles were white marbles and he had to pry the leather straps free.
She squeezed her hands into tight balls in her lap and stared straight ahead. No doubt waiting for his answer. He needed to give her a reply even though he didn’t have one. The silence lengthened between them, and he forced words from his mouth.
“I don’t know.” He watched her out of the corner of his eyes to see what her response would be.
She nodded slowly, twisted her hands in her lap then pushed her shoulders back and turned to face him. “Have I not lived up to what you expected?”
“You have.”
“Then what’s the problem?”
“Harris Tate is your uncle?” Of course, he’d heard of the man. Anyone who could read a newspaper or had ever shipped goods had.
Her eyes flared. “What difference does that make?”
His thoughts refused to be corralled. Refused to be sorted. “I knew you were a rich girl, but Tate Shipping takes it to a whole new level. He must be about the richest man west of Philadelphia.”
River rocks couldn’t look any colder than her eyes did at that moment. “You reject me because my uncle has too much money. How is that fair? And yet you boldly state that people out west are judged by what they do.” She jerked forward, her lips in a tight line. “Why should I be measured by my uncle’s wealth?”
“I—well—” He could only sputter. “It proves that you’re used to living well.”
She gave a shout of laughter that startled him. Her eyes brimmed with amusement. “Who’s to say that I don’t live better here than I did in Kellom?”
Their gazes caught and tangled as he tried to think what she meant. “Do you?”
“I believe I do.”
He wanted to argue. Wanted to say it wasn’t possible, but he couldn’t tear his eyes from hers. His heart cracked, threatening to split wide open. He firmly closed it. He liked her. She’d proven to learn fast, but he wanted a wife who would find what he offered on the ranch to be as good as anything they’d had back home. He could never hope Olivia would feel like that.
She had a rich family she could return to any time life became challenging. And it would. They lived in the west where winters could be harsh. Where stores carried only the basics. Where it took days, even weeks, for anyone to visit.
As Nina had said, the West was barren and lonely for a woman. They’d both discovered too late how impossible it was for a city girl to adjust. Riley would regret the cost of his oversight as long as he lived.
He realized he’d pressed his palm over his heart. He lowered his hand and turned his attention forward. They’d gone a good distance along the trail. “We’re visiting a place my ma liked.” He hadn’t planned to go there but…
He had no explanation for why he was doing so.
Except to pass by as he took care of ranch business, Riley hadn’t been this way in a long time. They’d gone often when Ma was alive, but no one had wanted to return after her death. Now he couldn’t wait to show Olivia one of Ma’s favorite places. A place rife with sweet memory and yet tinged with sorrow at his ma’s death. He shook his head. How had he thought this was a good idea? And yet he didn’t turn the wagon off the trail and head in a different direction.
They traveled along the edge of the valley. “Shannon Valley,” he told her. “Pa named it.” No doubt the others had informed her already.
“Your pa seemed to be an interesting man.”
Riley chuckled. “I guess you could say that.”
She studied him. He would have ignored her examination of him, but his head turned toward her despite his reluctance.
“Would you say differently?” Her gentle question made his smile widen.
“Pa had big dreams and worked hard to achieve them. He expected us to do the same.”
Her study went on and on. He couldn’t look away.
