Mail Order Madness Read online

  “What did she do?” She wasn’t sure if she’d be able to follow his rule and not use a switch on the boys if they did something that bad.

  He shrugged. “Told me to go talk to my father.”

  “What did he do?” She closed her eyes as she waited for the response. Please tell me his pa at least told him it was a bad thing to do and he should never do anything like that again?

  “He kind of patted me on the head and said, ‘Boys will be boys.’ Then he let me help him break a new mare he’d just gotten. Loved that horse. She’s the dam of most of the horses we have on the ranch today.” David grinned reminiscently as he finished the story.

  “Sounds to me like you were rewarded for your bad behavior.” No wonder he doesn’t have a big problem with most of the things his sons do. His father was even worse.

  “Well, I guess you could look at it that way.” David shrugged as if he didn’t really care to think about it too much.

  “No wonder the boys are so out of control. What kind of parent was Caroline?” Please tell me she was strict with them, and they’ve had some discipline in their lives. Otherwise my job is going to be so much harder than it would be.

  He watched Lewis miss the ball as he tried to bat. “Not as strict as you are, but she had the boys under control. Of course, Albert was only six when she died, and Lewis was only four. I don’t know how she would have been with the boys at the age they are now.”

  “You must really miss her.” She wondered then if she’d ever live up to his previous wife, but decided not to let it bother her. Caroline had given him four children and years of her life. He’d known her for less than a week.

  “Sometimes I miss her. She’s been gone for over two years, though, and the mourning period is certainly over.” He stretched his legs out in front of him. “She was a good wife to me, and I’m sorry she died, but it’s time for me to move on. Even if Jesse hadn’t died, I’d have sent off for a mail order bride of my own.”

  “What exactly happened with Jesse?” She hadn’t asked before, because even though she was curious about the exact details, it obviously hurt him to talk about it.

  “Jesse came to my house for dinner on the twentieth of July. He was talking about you and how you were going to come out here and marry him. He talked about his plans to buy a ranch in the area. I offered to give him half my ranch, which I’ve done a dozen times in the past. He refused, saying the spread shouldn’t be split, which he always did. Really, the ranch is huge and I wanted to split it with him when Pa died, but he said it needed to be kept together for my boys to inherit.” The look of sadness in his eyes made her want to reach out and hug him. “Jesse told me he had to go to The Acre to investigate a murder, and I told him to make sure someone went with him or to go during the day.” He took a deep breath. “Jesse had never gone to The Acre at night, but he’d had to go during the day several times to report on different things. He didn’t listen to me. Jesse always thought he was invincible. Anyway, he wasn’t the object of the gunfire, but he got in the middle of a shoot-out, and a stray bullet pierced his heart. He died right away.”

  “I’m so sorry.” She reached out her hand and squeezed his. She knew that even though he’d benefited in a way from his brother’s death, he would have given anything to still have a brother.

  David nodded. “So am I. He was my best friend as well as being my brother. I feel like it’s my fault, because he wanted me to go to The Acre with him that night, but another nanny had just quit on me, and I couldn’t leave the boys.”

  “Why did the nanny quit?” She was certain there had to be a reason. The boys probably gave her plenty of reasons to quit.

  David grinned sheepishly. “She got tired of the boys putting frogs in her bed.”

  Susan closed her eyes. “Frogs?” Susan silently vowed to start looking under the covers before she got into bed at night. She wasn’t afraid of frogs, but certainly didn’t enjoy their slimy feel against her skin.

  “Frogs.”

  “My brothers did that to me until I put a snake in their beds. They never did it again.” She shrugged as if she didn’t understand why they’d stopped, and gave him her best innocent look.

  David laughed. “I know you don’t see it, but you are the perfect mother for my boys. You don’t take any of their nonsense and you give as good as you get.”

  “I’m not sure that’s such a good thing.” Her brothers had loved calling her a tomboy and saying she wasn’t “girly” enough to find a husband.

  “With my boys it is! You have to be strong enough to fight back, or they’ll run all over you.”

  “Why did I marry you again?”

  “You couldn’t resist my good looks and charming personality.”

  She rolled her eyes. “That must be it.” Susan moved closer to David and rested her head against his shoulder. She’d gotten up earlier than usual and was getting tired. The heat of Texas was draining for her as well. She’d never felt heat like that. She was thankful they’d found a spot in the shade for their picnic.

  “You tired?”

  “Exhausted.” She was fighting to keep her eyes open.

  “Stretch out and go to sleep. There’s nothing you need to do right now. It’s the perfect opportunity.”

  She shook her head. “I haven’t napped since I was a small child.” How could she nap on the church lawn with a baseball game going on just a few feet away?

  “Sounds like you’ve had no time to nap. You do now.”

  “What about the boys?” Her eyes drifted back to the game both of the older boys were currently engaged in.

  “I’m here. I can watch them while you sleep.”

  “Are you sure?” She’d never been so tempted to take a nap in her life.

  “Absolutely.” He urged her to put her head in his lap and stretch out. The boys were on either side of her. She was asleep in minutes, and he sat staring down at her, amazed at how young she looked in her sleep. He knew she was only eighteen, but with the boys, she acted as if she’d been in charge of children forever. Of course, with her upbringing she’d been in charge of children since she was a child herself.

  He only hoped she’d continue on as she’d started. His boys were a handful, and he was grateful that she was doing so much with them, but more than anything, he was thrilled she was his wife. He’d needed her as much as, if not more than, the boys had. The years since Caroline had died had been extremely lonely. Susan was bringing everything back into focus for him, and he felt like there was now something to wake up for every morning.

  That evening the boys all went to bed right after they finished dinner at Susan’s insistence. Even Albert only gave a token protest. They were all exhausted after spending a long day outside playing hard.

  Susan sat in the family parlor with David reading. It was the first chance she’d had to just sit and relax since she’d been there other than the picnic. She’d done a lot of reading on the train, but she felt as if she spent her whole life looking for ways to sneak off and read on her own.

  On her way to bed she stopped to peek in on the boys. She was amazed how young Albert and Lewis looked as they slept. She dropped a kiss on each of their cheeks as she pulled the sheets more snuggly around them.

  When she was finished she turned and saw David watching her. She shrugged and walked to the twins’ room. “They look like angels when they’re asleep.”

  “If only they acted like them when they were awake,” he muttered under his breath.

  “They wouldn’t be boys if they did.” She tucked the sheets around the twins before tiptoeing out of their room.

  “Are you glad Mrs. Hackenshleimer’s weekend off is over?”

  She laughed softly. “I’m ready for her to be back. I can’t focus on the older boys as much as I need to when she’s not here with the twins.” She didn’t think she’d need a nanny forever, though. Yes, it was nice, but once the boys were under control, she wouldn’t have nearly enough to do.

  They w
ent to their room together and she undressed for bed. She was surprised she’d lost her self-consciousness around him so quickly, but she wasn’t complaining. Being embarrassed around him every night wasn’t something she wanted.

  She slipped between the sheets and lay on her side watching him undress. They hadn’t made love since their wedding night, because he’d said she needed time to heal. She wondered if he’d try to start something that night. She hadn’t seen him naked the one time they’d been together, so she watched with interest. He obviously didn’t feel modest as he dropped his pants and underwear to the floor.

  When he was standing naked beside the bed, he caught her stare and raised an eyebrow. “Get an eyeful?”

  “I did. I didn’t see you the other night when we…consummated.” Growing up on a farm you’d have thought she’d have seen an adult male nude at least once in her life, but she hadn’t. And she certainly hadn’t seen an aroused adult male, which was what she was looking at then.

  “And?”

  She had the grace to blush. “I like what I see,” she told him honestly.

  He walked around to his side of the bed and pulled her into his arms. “Does this mean you’re feeling ready to resume that part of our marriage?”

  “I’m not sore anymore if that’s what you’re asking.”

  He pressed a kiss to her lips and stroked a hand down her side. “Are you sure?”

  She nodded. “I’m positive. I feel good as new.”

  He slowly moved his hand around to her breast and over her hip. He kept his movements slow and steady to try to ease her into the newness of lovemaking.

  After a moment, she pushed against his shoulders until she’d reversed their positions and he was on his back. “You take things so slow!” She kissed him the way he’d taught her, her tongue entering his mouth to tangle with his. Her hands were all over him, stroking him from shoulder to thigh and back again.

  She wondered for a moment if he’d mind if she touched him there, but decided she didn’t care if he minded. She was curious, and she was going to touch him anywhere she wanted. Anything he’d done to her was fair game as far as she was concerned.

  Her hand moved down over his belly until she found the part of him she was looking for, wrapping her hand around it, and feeling it grow between her fingers. When he groaned, she jerked her hand away, her eyes going to his face by the light of the full moon shining through their open bedroom window.

  He caught her hand and brought it back to him, whispering, “No, don’t stop.”

  She spent a moment stroking him and learning the feel of him, before she rolled to her back again, grasping his shoulder to pull him along with her. “I’m not fragile. I won’t break.”

  He grinned as he followed her down, his hands squeezing her breasts and learning their feel. He was thrilled she was taking such an active part in their lovemaking, and rolled on top of her, spreading her legs with his thigh.

  When he entered her this time, she felt only pleasure. None of the pain from the previous time was there. Once he was fully inside her, he paused for a moment, looking down into her eyes in the pale light. “Are you okay?”

  “I was until you stopped.”

  She heard his chuckle as she wrapped her legs around his waist, moving her hips with his to urge him to go faster. She felt the same pressure building inside her as she had on her wedding night, but this time it didn’t stop. It kept going until she thought she would break, and then it happened. She felt like her world burst into a million pieces. She bit into his shoulder to keep from shouting and waking the boys.

  He groaned as he found his satisfaction and collapsed on top of her. “Are you okay?” he whispered.

  She laughed. “I’m more than okay. Can we do that every night?” She was out of breath and eager all at once.

  He grinned, brushing a kiss across her neck. “Sounds good to me.” He rolled off her and pulled her into his arms. “If we wake up before the boys, we can do it every morning, too.”

  “Mmm…going to sleep right now.” She felt like she belonged somewhere for the first time since she’d come to Texas. In his arms was where she should be.

  Chapter Eight

  After breakfast the following morning, Susan sat down with just Albert at the table. She’d let him slide on the absolute obedience rule as he’d gotten used to her, and she couldn’t let that happen any longer.

  Albert sat back in his chair and glared at her, letting her know he didn’t appreciate her presence in his house or her insistence they have another “little talk.”

  Susan cleared her throat before speaking. “I want you to know I’ve noticed you’re not being obedient the first time I tell you to do things. I’ve been here for long enough now that you know you need to obey. I will start using consequences if you don’t obey immediately the first time I tell you to do something. It doesn’t matter whether or not you like me. I’m your mother now and I’m here to stay.”

  “You don’t really expect me to do whatever you tell me to do, do you? I mean, you’re not my real mom. You’re just some girl my dad married.”

  Susan took a deep breath, mentally counting to ten before responding. “I’m the only mom you’ve got, and yes, I expect absolute obedience every time I say something. From now on, there will be consequences, and they will be swift. Is that understood?”

  “You can’t make me do anything I don’t want to do. I don’t care what you say!” He stood up quickly tipping his chair over in the process.

  “Pick your chair up.” There was no time like the present to assert her authority and make sure he knew he was going to obey.

  “No! You can’t make me!” He ran from the room and straight out the front door to the corral where he knew his father was spending the day working with the horses.

  Susan left the chair on its side and warned both Sadie and Mrs. Hackenshleimer not to fix it before she followed at a more sedate pace. She’d give Albert time to complain to David about her and tell her what a terrible step-mother she was before she made him do exactly what he’d been told to do.

  *****

  David looked up to see Albert running toward him, his face red with anger and his fists clenched. He probably had another run-in with Susan. When is he going to understand that she’s not going to give up, and he’s going to obey her or suffer her consequences?

  “I hate her, Pa. She’s so mean to me. Why did you marry her?” Albert had angry tears running down his face and his voice was shaking.

  “She’s mean to you? What has she done that’s mean?” David’s voice was calm. He wanted the boy to explain what Susan had done that was so terrible. He was certain she hadn’t been mean in any real way, but she did tend to threaten to use a switch on the boys more than he would like.

  Albert took a deep breath winded from his run from the house. “She said I have to do whatever she says whenever she says it. If I don’t, she’s going to punish me.”

  “She’s your mother now. She has the right to expect obedience from you.” David’s voice was matter-of-fact, trying to let his son know he would back up Susan if necessary.

  “But she doesn’t have the right to punish me!”

  “What kind of punishment are we talking about? She doesn’t have the right to spank you, but she has the right to do anything else necessary to get you to obey.” David folded his arms over his chest to see what Albert would say about that.

  “She said if I don’t obey the first time, I have to do what she told me to do ten times. That’s just stupid!”

  “Whether you think it’s stupid or not, it’s your job to do exactly what she says. Did she tell you to do something you didn’t do?”

  Albert kicked at a clump of dirt on the ground not meeting his father’s eyes. “Well, I knocked over my chair by mistake, and she told me to pick it up, but I ran out here to you instead.”

  David sighed. “Why didn’t you just pick it up? Wouldn’t that have made more sense? Especially if you knew you’d have
to pick it up ten times instead of one if you didn’t?”

  “I just don’t understand why I have to listen to her. She doesn’t want me to have any fun anymore.”

  “She doesn’t? Didn’t she let you have fun yesterday? Didn’t she even encourage you to have fun by fixing a picnic lunch? And she certainly didn’t stop you from joining the baseball game.”

  Albert shrugged. “I guess.”

  “I think she does want you to have fun. She just wants you to have fun in a way that doesn’t hurt others. She wants you to be well-behaved in your fun.” He knew at Albert’s age, he’d have fought Susan’s influence as hard as Albert was, but he needed his son to see she was there to help not hurt.

  “I like things the way they were before she came here! Can’t you send her back to Massachusetts?”

  David grinned despite all his efforts not to. “No, I can’t. I married her. You heard the judge. He said, ‘Til death do you part.’ That means I’ll be married to her until one of us dies. And if I kill her, I’ll just have to go to prison and never see you again,” he added quickly before Albert suggested it.

  “Well, I don’t want you to go to prison….”

  “Good. Because even for you, I wouldn’t kill my wife. I happen to like having her around.” He saw Susan walking toward them. Squeezing Albert’s shoulder, he said, “It’s time for you to face the music, son.”