Mail Order Miscreant Read online

  Abel laughed. “Well, I think you’re all doing a good job making it work for you.” His eyes drifted over to Charlie, who was sitting with no child on her lap, but she was carefully helping Addie with her baby’s dress.

  Then and there, Abel decided he was going to take Charlie home with him as his wife. He wasn’t sure if she would be agreeable, but he’d find some way to convince her.

  Two

  Charlie baked bread for supper, wishing she’d taken more time with her appearance that day. She was wearing an old work dress, and her hair was pinned atop her head. She wouldn’t be surprised if she had flour on her face. She wasn’t used to seeing anyone but Merry and her immediate family during the middle of the week. Clyde even kept the men who worked on the ranch away from the house, afraid they’d disrupt his well-run home.

  After taking the two loaves out of the oven, she set the table, well aware that Clyde, Merry, and Abel had taken their discussions into the parlor, where they would be more comfortable. The three children played on the floor at their feet.

  When everything was ready on the table and the cobbler she’d made for dessert was in the oven, they all gathered in the dining room to eat. Charlie had added a chair at the table for Abel, and she’d made sure to put it beside her chair. Oh how she wanted to capture the attention of the merchant there at the table. Why he had struck her in a way no other man in town had, she didn’t know, but she wasn’t about to argue with herself.

  Clyde said a brief blessing over the meal, and Charlie carefully cut the bread into slices. She hoped that Abel loved her cooking enough to propose on the spot. When she let out a little giggle at the idea, everyone looked at her, and she blushed. “Sorry. Lost in thought.”

  “I like your laugh,” Abel said softly.

  She smiled at him, her mind going to what sort of trick she could play on him to get him to stay longer. Obviously, he’d have to stay through the storm, but she could sneak out during the night and paint the windows white . . . that would make everyone think the snow was over the house. She shook her head at her silliness and took a sip of her milk.

  While they ate, Addie told them about everything she’d done with her dolls that day, as if they hadn’t all been with her. Joey said he’d had fun driving his trains. Every year for Christmas, Joey got more cars to add to his train and Addie got more toys to go with her dolls. She adored her playmates, and they tried to keep them with things to do during the long winters there in Montana.

  “How long do you think the storm will last?” Charlie asked Clyde. Clyde always had a sixth sense about the storms that plagued the area.

  “I’m thinking three days this time. I probably won’t be able to get out and help the bison until Saturday or so.” Clyde was a bison rancher, believing that the only native cattle to the continent would have a better chance to provide the meat needed.

  “Three days?” Abel asked, shaking his head. “Do you really think we’ll be stuck for that long?”

  “You’re welcome to stay with us as long as you need to. The sofa in the parlor isn’t particularly good for sleeping on, but it’s yours as long as you need it.” Clyde sighed. “I hate these storms so much. They keep me from doing my work, and I always get a little cabin fever. I’d rather be outside working in the cold than in here, wishing I could be out. I have a little paperwork I can always do, but I spend most of my time staring out the window, praying for spring.”

  “I appreciate your hospitality. I’m not sure what I’d do otherwise.” Abel looked over at Charlie. “And you’ve provided a beautiful woman for me to gaze at while I’m here.”

  Charlie smiled. “She’ll even converse with you, if you’d like.”

  Merry looked at Charlie with a startled expression. Charlie understood immediately. She’d never really been interested in any of the men in the area, and Merry would have a hard time if she left. “We’ll all talk.”

  Abel shook his head. “You need to keep working if you can. With being stuck in the house, I would think you’d like to fill your time up with something productive, since the rest of us can’t.” He hadn’t planned to leave his store closed for more than a week, but he could see it was going to be a necessity. He wished he’d listened to the butcher, who had a shop next door to his. He had been talking about this storm for a week. He said he could always tell because his knee bothered him before a storm.

  When they’d all finished eating, Charlie got to her feet. “I have an apple cobbler in the oven. Let me get it out, and we can eat it hot.”

  Abel patted his stomach. “I haven’t had anyone feed me a good dessert in a very long time.”

  Clyde smiled. “We love our dessert around here, and Charlie is a magnificent cook. Merry’s cooking is wonderful as well, but she doesn’t have as much time to bake. That’s why we’re so thankful for Charlie.”

  Charlie made a mental note to herself to send a letter to her sister, Elizabeth, right away. One of her younger sisters who was no longer part of the demon horde could easily take her place and help Merry with the kids, the house, and her new baby.

  Charlie dished up a small plate of cobbler for everyone, making certain to set Joey’s far from him on the table while it cooled. He was not known for waiting for anything when there were sweets involved.

  She poured all of the adults another cup of coffee to go with the dessert and sat down again beside Abel. “I hope you like my cobbler. I dried a bunch of apples in the fall so I could use them for things like this.”

  Abel took a bite of the cobbler and closed his eyes to allow the flavors to explode on his tongue. “Your use of cinnamon is wonderful. Not too much, but enough.” He took one more bite, nodding with pleasure. “Delicious.”

  Charlie smiled. “Thank you. I’m glad you like it.”

  “Love is a better word. I’m about to ask this cobbler to marry me.”

  Addie giggled. “You can’t marry cobbler! You have to marry a girl. I’m too young, though. Don’t look at me.”

  Laughter from the whole table followed that statement. Even from little Isabelle, who obviously had no idea what was funny, but she laughed anyway. She didn’t want to be left out.

  Abel looked over at Addie with a smile. “I promise I will not ask you to marry me. I won’t even ask the cobbler, but I want to!”

  “You should ask Aunt Charlie. She’s not married, and she’s a girl. She might be too old to marry, though. I’m not sure.” Addie continued eating calmly, unaware that her words had Charlie blushing and Abel grinning at the woman in question.

  “Well, I might do that. She doesn’t look too old to me. Do you still have all your teeth, Charlie?”

  “I do!” Charlie said, determined to go along with the game, no matter how embarrassed she was. “And I have yet to find a gray hair. I’m aging gracefully.”

  Abel shook his head. “I’m glad to hear it. I will have to talk to Addie a little more about what I should look for in a wife.”

  Addie shrugged. “You don’t want one who yells. She needs to be able to cook. And she can’t be so ugly that you can’t kiss her with your eyes open.”

  “I see. I’m so glad you’ve explained all that to me. I’ll watch Charlie and make sure she fits what I’m looking for. It would help me a lot if you pointed out her good qualities while I’m here.”

  “She has lots of them, so be ready.” Addie ate the last bite of her cobbler and pushed it away. “She makes the best cobbler of anyone in the whole wide world.” She looked at the man across from her. “Aren’t you going to write this down?”

  Addie didn’t understand why everyone at the table laughed at that, but Abel did his best to treat what she said seriously. “I’ll remember it and write it down just as soon as I get to my pencil and paper.”

  “Good. You don’t want to forget any of her good qualities. That would be a crying shame.”

  “It would!” Abel winked at Charlie. “No crying shames around here. I’m going to be mindful of all your good qualities.”

/>   Charlie shook her head. “You’ll run out soon enough.” She got up to clear the table, aware that Merry was right behind her, helping her. When they got to the kitchen, Charlie looked at her friend. “That was the most embarrassing meal I have ever sat through.”

  Merry chuckled. “I think you have feelings for him already. Charlie, don’t let us hold you back. We can make it without you.”

  Charlie blushed, but nodded. “I am going to ask Elizabeth to send one of my sisters to help you. Don’t worry. I’ll make sure she’s not in the demon horde.”

  “That is a worry,” Merry said, referring to the name her younger siblings had been called by since she was a girl. “A former demon horde member is exactly what I need, though. Look how working with you turned out.”

  Charlie smiled as she went back for more dishes. “I don’t know how we went to the same school all our lives and were never friends. I’ve never had a better friend than you, Merry.”

  “I know why. I was afraid of the entire demon horde, especially their idea girl. My friend Charlie doesn’t seem to have anything in common with the demon horde, though.”

  Together the women cleared the table and did the dishes. Then they went through their usual bedtime routine with the children. Finally, all of the children were tucked into bed, and the two of them joined the men in the parlor. They were talking about finances and money, but the discussion changed when the girls joined them.

  Merry sat on the sofa with Clyde, leaning against him, her belly almost hidden in the folds of her dress.

  Charlie sat in one of the chairs in the parlor, facing Abel. “The children are in bed, and the dishes are done.”

  Abel smiled. “You made short work of those things. Are you always so efficient?”

  “Yes, I really am. I love to read, you see, and I get through my work as quickly as I can, so I will have some time to read.”

  “Really? I didn’t immediately see you as a reader. What is your favorite book?”

  “I love Little Women. I like all of Charles Dickens’ work. I’m a particular fan of Alice in Wonderland. Oh, I could never choose a real favorite, because I love them all.” Charlie’s entire face became animated as she talked about the books she loved.

  Abel smiled. “What is your favorite thing about reading?”

  “I love that I can open a book and be transported to a far away place and learn new things about different cultures. When my real life seems too mundane, I disappear into a book and feel my whole world change around me.”

  “Well, that sounds like a good reason to read to me.” He enjoyed reading himself, and he’d never heard anyone explain why quite so clearly.

  “Are you a reader, Abel?” Charlie felt daring using his given name, but everyone else was, so why wouldn’t she?

  “I am. I love to lose myself in a book. I’m a particular fan of Jules Verne. I like the way he creates a world that makes no sense to us but plays out perfectly within his pages.”

  Her face lit up at the idea of him being a book lover. He seemed more and more perfect for her by the minute. “That’s wonderful. I haven’t read his works yet, but I’ve been told they’re very good. I really want to read Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea.”

  “That’s my favorite of his books, though I love them all.”

  Merry looked at Clyde with a huge grin on her face. Charlie knew exactly what she was thinking, and she just hoped her friend didn’t try to interfere.

  Merry yawned dramatically. “The baby has been weighing heavily on me all day. I think I need to call it a night.”

  Clyde frowned at his wife. “Do you need me?”

  “I could really use the help up the stairs.”

  Clyde got to his feet and carefully helped his wife off the sofa. “We’ll bid you goodnight, then.”

  Merry smiled at Charlie. “Goodnight, my friend.”

  “Goodnight, Merry.”

  After she knew the other couple was out of earshot, Charlie moved to the sofa. “I’ll be able to hear you better from here.”

  He moved to sit beside her. “And now, even though the wind is howling, neither of us will have to raise our voices to hear one another.” He reached out and tucked a stray tendril of her dark hair out of her face. “There. Now you can hear me better.”

  She smiled. “I’m so glad you weren’t outside when the storm hit.”

  “So am I. Thank you for being the dashing heroine who saved the day in the little story of my life.”

  Charlie shook her head, laughing softly. “Heroine is a word that has never been used to describe me. Though I’ve heard miscreant more than a dozen times.” She decided that she needed to tell him about the girl she used to be so he could make an informed decision about her. “I grew up with fourteen brothers and sisters. I was actually one of the older siblings and the oldest to receive the name ‘Demon Horde.’ My younger siblings and I were truly creative in the ways we tormented everyone we came across and really our entire community.”

  He grinned. “I have a brother, and we were well known for getting up to hijinks as well.”

  “Really?” Charlie found him so much easier to talk to as soon as he admitted to that. “We never had a teacher for more than a semester because of the reptiles we hid in her desk. And the shoes we tied together so she’d trip. And maybe it was the tipping over of the outhouse that happened at least once per semester . . .”

  He laughed. “We did all those things at different times. Kane and I were real monsters.”

  “Wait . . . your parents named you Kane and Abel? What were they thinking?”

  “Well, they spelled his name with a k. My father was a college professor, and he thought the stories in the Bible were myths, so he . . . he looked at things differently. He was actually pleased with the trouble my brother and I got up to, because he thought it showed that we knew how to think outside the box.”

  “Your father sounds like he was awfully special.”

  “He was. He was killed when I was twenty, so I took my inheritance and came west, determined to bring a little culture to this area. That’s why I opened my shop. It started as an art gallery, but I find I like it more as just a store where people can buy the works of local artists.”

  “Did you ever think about going into writing?” she asked. “I’ve thought about it dozens of times because of my love for reading, but then I wasn’t sure if I could ever get good enough, so I gave up that idea.”

  “I thought about it briefly. I find I’m more of an entrepreneur than a writer.” He stroked her cheek with the back of one finger. “Ever since I first saw you today, I’ve been thinking about kissing you. Would you mind?”

  She smiled. She’d never been kissed, but she’d read him right. He wanted to kiss her, and she wanted that kiss . . . more than she could express. “Yes, please.”

  He smiled at her response. Women usually nodded demurely in answer to that question, trying to act like they were modest. Charlie’s enthusiastic response made him happy. He cupped her face in his hands and lowered his head to hers, kissing her softly. When her lips immediately responded, and her mouth opened a bit, he deepened the kiss, wrapping his arms around her and pulling her closer.

  Charlie loved the feel of his lips on hers. It ignited a spark deep inside her in a place she’d never even been aware of. Moving even closer to him, she found herself on his lap, kissing him with everything inside her.

  Abel let out a groan and lifted his head. “You are some woman, Charlie.”

  “You can call me Charlotte if you prefer.”

  He shook his head adamantly. “No, I like Charlie. It suits you nicely. No one ever expects a Charlie to wear a skirt.”

  She chuckled. “I’ve found that to be very true in my years as a Charlie. My older sister, Susan, called me Charlie from the day I was born, and everyone else took the nickname on as well.” She blushed, realizing she was still on his lap, and she moved to sit beside him instead.

  Abel sighed. “I liked it better
when you were on my lap, but I suppose I’m going to have to get used to you sitting beside me.”

  Charlie smiled. “I hope it’s something you’re around long enough to have to get used to.”

  He laughed. “Well, I’m taking you with me when I leave. Whether you know it yet or not, Charlie Miller, you’re going to be my wife. The only question is whether you’ll be a virgin bride or not . . .”

  “I would like to be,” she said softly.

  “Then I suggest you go to bed right now. I have lots of ideas for what I could do with you floating through my head. I’m not ready to stop here.”

  Charlie grinned, getting up, hurrying toward the stairs, and heading to her room and her bed. As she fell asleep, she dreamed about ways he could touch her. She knew those were things she shouldn’t even be thinking about, but how could she stop her mind?

  Three

  Charlie took extra care with her appearance the next morning. She wanted to look like a Charlotte, for a change, and not a Charlie. When she was dressed in her Sunday best and her hair was as perfect as she could make it, she went into Addie’s room to check on the girl, as she did every morning.

  Addie was sitting on her bed, playing with Carole and Baby Big Nose. “Are you ready to help me make breakfast?”

  Addie nodded. “I want to pour the milk today!”

  “Sounds good to me.” Charlie knew she meant she wanted to pour the milk for herself and her brother and sister. Charlie would do everything else. And she was going to make pancakes, because she made very good pancakes. And bacon. Who didn’t love some crisp bacon with their breakfast?

  When they got downstairs, everything was quiet, so Charlie built up the fire in the stove and mixed up the pancake batter. They would use the maple syrup she’d made from tapping the maple trees the previous spring. They still had enough for a few more meals, and she wanted to show off all she knew how to do for Abel.