The Rancher's Mail Order Bride (Dalton Brides Book 1) Read online

  Bonnie walked in with something wrapped in brown paper in her arms and tied with a string. "For you."

  Gwen stared at it in surprise. "It's not my birthday."

  Bonnie laughed. "No, it's not. Open it."

  Gwen sat at the table and opened the package. It was her cornflower blue dress, and it was just as beautiful as Gwen had dreamed it would be. "Oh, Bonnie! It's perfect. When did you find the time? We're working morning to night."

  Bonnie shrugged. "I've been doing it in the evenings after supper. I can always find a little time."

  Gwen's time after supper was taken up by dishes and Walt. If he was around, she was doing something with him. "Thank you so much. I'm going to run and put it on right now." She rushed into the bedroom to change.

  Walt opened the door from his long day. Bart had gone off again, drifting around the area, and they'd had to work harder to make up for him not being there. He was exhausted.

  The first thing he saw when he opened the door was Bonnie standing at the stove, stirring something. He sighed. Wasn't Gwen doing her share now? He'd thought she was working harder. He hung his hat on its peg and hung his coat. "Where's Gwen?"

  "Oh, she's changing for supper. She'll be right out."

  "You didn't have to cook for us, Bonnie." Walt felt as if he needed to apologize for his wife's laziness. Didn't she know it was her job to cook for them?

  "I didn't! Gwen cooked. I just supervised. She invited me to stay for supper because Bart is on his business trip."

  Walt raised an eyebrow at the mention of a business trip. Did Bonnie really think that's where he was, or was she just saving face?

  Gwen stepped out of the bedroom, wearing a pretty new dress. "Look what Bonnie made for me. She left my favorite dress behind, and she made another almost exactly like it to make up for it."

  Walt smiled. "It looks good on you." He walked across the room and kissed her cheek. You look beautiful." He turned to Bonnie. "You'll need to teach her to sew soon as well."

  Bonnie smiled. "She's done some small things. She'll work up to dresses." She automatically started to serve their supper, but Gwen shooed her.

  "No, you're our guest this evening. You sit down, and I'll serve us all." Gwen put her apron on and set the soup on the table. "It's the first time I've made this, so I hope it's good." Had Walt been complaining about her lack of work? She hoped not. She'd ask him about it later.

  Bonnie stayed after supper, helping Gwen wash the dishes. Gwen told her not to, but Bonnie insisted on helping. "You fixed dinner. It's the least I can do."

  When they were finished, Walt stood. "I'll walk you home." He knew it wasn't far, but he couldn't let a lady walk alone in the dark.

  Bonnie looked for a moment like she was going to argue, but she nodded. "I'd appreciate that."

  When he returned, Gwen was already in her nightgown brushing out her hair. He walked up behind her and pressed his lips to the side of her neck.

  "Were you worried that I wasn't doing my share?" she asked quietly, not wanting to forget to have the conversation.

  Walt felt bad for doubting her but knew he needed to answer honestly. "Only a little. You've been doing so well, and I was worried you were going back to your old ways."

  "What were my old ways?" Gwen carefully kept her voice even. Did he realize how selfish she used to be?

  How could he answer that without hurting her feelings? "Well, it's pretty obvious that before you came here you'd never worked a day in your life. Bonnie's obviously a very hard worker, so I assume it was just you and not her."

  Gwen nodded. "Yes, but I explained that."

  He shrugged. "If you'd wanted to work, no one would have stopped you. People don't stop others from working hard. It just doesn't happen."

  Gwen felt like crying. He was right, but she didn't want him to know that about her. "I suppose."

  Walt took her face in his hands, looking deep into her eyes. "I care for you, Gwen. You are one of the most beautiful women I've ever met, and you're a good wife to me. Please don't think I'm criticizing you."

  Gwen sighed. "I don't. I just...well, I know I wasn't as good as I should have been. I was too selfish." She leaned forward to softly kiss his lips. "I hope you know that I've changed."

  He nodded. "I do know that. I've watched you grow in the time you've been here, and I'm very proud of the woman you're becoming. Now you're not only beautiful, but you're a hard worker and a loving wife."

  Was he saying he loved her? Or that he knew she loved him? Either way, he deserved to hear the words from her. "I love you, Walton Dalton. Thank you for bringing me here and making me your wife."

  Walt swept her into his arms and carried her to his bed. There he proceeded to make sweet love to her. He must have done something right to deserve this special woman in his life.

  *****

  While she was working with her sisters the following afternoon, learning to sew this time, there was a noise outside, and all three sisters dropped the curtains they were making for Bonnie's cabin and rushed to the tiny windows. There was a woman in a fancy carriage, who looked to be swollen with child.

  Gwen opened the door and stepped outside. Walt had told her to open the door for no one, but it was a pregnant woman. How could she hurt her? "May I help you?" Her sisters flanked her as she faced the older woman.

  "I'm here to see Walton Dalton." The woman, obviously a woman of ill-repute in her low-cut dress that had her breasts toppling out of it, stared down at Gwen with amusement in her eyes. It was as if she found Gwen to be unworthy of her time.

  "I'm Gwen Dalton. How may I help you?" Gwen felt each of her sisters take one of her hands, as if they knew what was about to come.

  "I'm Lela Mason. I'm here to see Walton about our baby." Lela patted her huge belly with a smug smile.

  Gwen took a deep breath. How did one handle a situation such as this? She'd never imagined she would have to deal with a former mistress. "I'll let Walt know you came by. Where are you staying?"

  Lela frowned, obviously annoyed she hadn't gotten more of a reaction. "I'm staying here, of course. With the father of my child."

  "That's where I put my foot down, Miss Mason. You can stay in town at the hotel, or you can camp on the prairie. I don't care where you go or what you do, but you're not stepping foot under my roof." Gwen folded her arms across her chest and glared at the woman in front of her. She wasn't going to run off crying. She would stand her ground. At least until Walt got home, and then there was no telling what she'd do.

  "You're going to refuse to give your husband's child shelter?" Lela looked at her as if she knew Gwen would back down.

  "Of course not. As soon as that child is out of your body, I will shelter it with no problem. I'm refusing to give you shelter, Miss Mason." Gwen spun on her heel and walked into the house.

  When she got inside she clenched her fists and walked into her bedroom, shielded from her sisters by the curtain that hung from the ceiling at least for a moment. Why would Walt send for a wife if he already had a woman who was pregnant with his child? Shouldn't he just have married her? Did he want her to mother his illegitimate child? She wished he was there at that moment so she could throw something at his head.

  When she walked back into the main room, she sat down at the table and picked up the curtain she'd been hemming as if nothing was happening. "I'll be staying at your house tonight after I've had a little talk with my husband, Bonnie."

  Bonnie nodded. "Don't you think you should give him a chance to explain?"

  "Absolutely not. Her swollen belly explained everything as far as I'm concerned. How he could be interested in that...that tart, I don't know. Did he want me as a wife just so he could have a mother for his bastard?"

  Libby gasped. "Watch your language, Gwen!"

  Gwen glared at Libby. "When your husband's former lover shows up pregnant with his child, you will have every right to chastise me if you behave better than I am now. Until then? You may keep your opinions to your
self."

  Bonnie caught Libby's eye and shook her head at her. "We'll support any decision you make, Gwenny. We know this must be hard on you."

  Gwen took gulping breaths, trying to calm her temper. She had supper on the stove for Walt. It was just a beef stew, but she happened to know it was one of his favorite meals. "I'll be at your house as soon as I've finished the supper dishes, Bonnie. I won't be sleeping with the man until this is settled."

  Bonnie nodded. "All right."

  Chapter Eight

  Gwen's sisters cleared out an hour before the men were due home. There was no doubt in her mind why they'd left earlier than usual. They didn't want to be there to witness their sister's bad behavior. She didn't blame them. There would be bad behavior.

  When Walt came in she smiled at him sweetly. "Did you have a good day?" she asked, getting up to serve his dinner.

  "It was good. We're missing Bart's hands, but it's going well." He washed his hands and took his seat at the table. "Dinner smells good."

  She put a bowl of stew on the table in front of him. "Would you like water or milk with dinner tonight?" She carefully kept her voice soft and sweet, not letting a bit of her anger show through.

  "Milk sounds good." He leaned in and sniffed deeply. "Your cooking gets better every day."

  She was hoping he'd say that. She filled a glass with milk and walked to the table, dumping the entire glass over his head. She moved away from him, not certain how he'd react.

  Walt jumped up sputtering. "What's gotten into you?" He wiped the milk from his face with the napkin she'd placed on the table for him.

  "Into me? Why, not a thing." She folded her arms across her chest, glaring at him. "Your mistress was here today. She's expecting. Did you know?"

  Walt stared at her in surprise. "My mistress? I don't have a mistress." While Walt had taken women to his bed over the years, there had never been one he'd kept for any period of time.

  Gwen nodded, absolutely furious with him for pretending not to know who she was talking about. "Lela Mason. You do remember Lela, don't you, dear?"

  Walt frowned for a moment as he thought about it. There'd been a Lela in a saloon in St. Louis, but he hadn't seen her in ages, and he'd never had relations with her. "Sure, I remember Lela, but she's not expecting my baby."

  Gwen picked up the object closest to her which happened to be the wooden spoon she'd used for stirring the stew. It went flying at him, missing his ear by inches, but only because he'd ducked quickly. "Don't lie to me, Walton Dalton!"

  Walt strode toward her, getting angrier by the second. She was taking the word of a whore over his? "I'm not lying to you. You need to settle down, Gertie."

  Gwen froze. Whether he was lying to her or not, she was in love with a man who didn't even know her first name. What was wrong with her? Very softly, she said, "My name is Gwen." She walked into the bedroom and picked up the carpet bag she'd packed and walked to the door. "I'll be staying at Bonnie's for a while."

  Walt stood and watched her leave, kicking his chair. "Gwen. Why can't I ever remember that her name is Gwen?" What was he going to do? His wife had just left him. He sat down and calmly ate his stew, his mind working the whole while. He'd have to find Lela and force her to tell Gertie, er Gwen, the truth. How could his marriage have gone from nearly perfect to awful in less than twenty-four hours?

  *****

  Gwen rapped softly on Bonnie's door, waiting patiently until her sister opened the door.

  As soon as Bonnie opened the door, Gwen walked in, calmly set her things on her sisters table, and threw herself into her sister's arms.

  Bonnie held Gwen tightly. "It's going to be all right."

  Gwen pulled away, wiping her nose inelegantly. "He doesn't deny knowing her. He says the baby isn't his, though." Why would he admit to only part of it if it wasn't the truth?

  "Do you believe him?"

  Gwen shrugged. "I think so. I'm not sure. If he was going to lie to me, wouldn't he have lied about knowing her as well?"

  Bonnie nodded. "Probably. Why did you leave then?"

  "He called me Gertie!" Gwen still couldn't believe she was in love with a man who didn't even know her name. How could he not know her name after a whole week of marriage? And of all names to call her, Gertie was the biggest insult he could have come up with.

  Bonnie sighed. "He still doesn't know your name?" She shook her head. "Do you think leaving him will teach him your name?"

  "Well, I didn't really leave him. I'm just taking a break from living with him. I'll go over and fix his breakfast in the morning." Gwen had thought it all out. She'd cook his meals, but she wouldn't make herself available to him sexually until everything was settled.

  "I'm not sure you're doing the best thing, Gwenny. You need to give him another chance."

  "Another chance to learn my name? He'll get a chance, but he needs to get everything squared away with Miss Mason and figure my name out first. I'm not messing around anymore." Gwen looked around at Bonnie's house. "Can I sleep with you?"

  "Of course. Bart's gone, so it only makes sense you share my bed. I'm not sure if you can stay after he gets back, though." Bonnie bit her lip, unsure of how to handle things.

  "That's fine. I'm sure Walt will get everything settled within a day or two." At least Gwen hoped he would. She didn't want to be without him any more than he wanted to be without her.

  "If you say so." Bonnie fussed over her sister helping her get settled in for the night.

  "I bet you never thought we'd be living together again." Gwen changed into her nightgown and took out her brush. Her waist-length hair took time to brush every night. "While I'm here, how would you like me to help you find a more flattering hairstyle?"

  Bonnie looked at her with surprise. "What's wrong with my hairstyle?"

  "Nothing. I just thought you'd like something different. I'm sure that Bart would like to see your hair done differently from time to time."

  "I'll think on it."

  *****

  True to her word, Gwen was up before dawn, hurrying to her own cabin in the cold morning air. She was shivering as she squatted before the stove, starting the fire. She went down to the cellar and selected a ham to cut into pieces and fry up for breakfast to go with the pancakes she was fixing.

  Walt was startled to see Gwen at the stove when he got up to milk the cows. Between the three brothers, they had three cows. They took turns milking them, and today was his day. He would divide the milk three ways and deliver the other two pails to his brothers' homes.

  "Good morning, Gwen." Walt made sure he spoke her name clearly, so she'd know he'd learned his lesson about her name.

  "Good morning. Breakfast will be ready soon. You'd best hurry with the milking."

  Walt sighed. Her voice had been colder than a winter morning. He'd make it up to her, though. He walked to the barn that housed their cows, going straight to the milking stool. The steady sounds of the milk hitting the pail always soothed him. The sounds reminded him of his childhood, when he and his brothers had been responsible for milking the cows every morning. It had been no easy task to milk every cow on the family's dairy farm, but now he missed it.

  When he was finished, he delivered the buckets to Libby and then to Bonnie. When the latter answered her door, he asked, "What should I do? How can I win her back?"

  Bonnie sighed. "You need to go talk with Miss Mason and have her tell Gwen the truth. She believes you. She's mainly angry that you didn't know her name now."

  Walt looked down. "I should have shown her that I value her more than I have. Why on earth didn't I know my own wife's name?"

  "I have no idea. You do now, though? That's what really matters."

  Walt nodded. "I do. I'm going to try to talk to her over breakfast."

  Bonnie bit her lip for a moment, as if she was debating what to say to Walt. Finally, she said, "With Gwen you need to give her time to get over her mad. Act like nothing happened. Don't bring her flowers. Don't apologize. She'll ju
st make you grovel. Instead, treat her like you always have. If she turns away from you, then so be it. She needs Miss Mason to tell her the truth, though. That's the only thing you can do."

  "Thank you."

  Bonnie's gaze turned cold and hard, setting the hairs on the back of his neck on end. "Don't hurt her again," was all she said, but Walt wasn't stupid. He knew there was an 'or else' hidden in her message. It was silly to be afraid of such a tiny woman, but in that moment, he felt real fear.

  *****

  Walt left immediately after breakfast. "I won't be on the ranch today. I need to go into town. Do you need anything?"

  Gwen shook her head. "We have all the supplies we need." She kept her back to him as she washed up the breakfast dishes. She knew her sisters would be there any moment, and she was glad. She needed to talk to them.

  Once the three of them were sitting together working on the curtains for Bonnie's house once again, Gwen asked, "Do you think I'm being too harsh? I don't want to be unreasonable, but he thought my name was Gertie!"

  Bonnie shrugged. "I don't think you're being harsh exactly, but I think if you want to have a happy marriage, you need to forgive him. He knows your name now, doesn't he?"

  Gwen nodded, a frown on her face. "Shouldn't he have known my name all along, though? I mean, I know his name!"

  "Yes, he should have known it," Libby said. "But he's human. He still calls me Lizzy. I think he just has trouble with names."

  "It's a strange thing to have trouble with!" Gwen protested, but she remembered that she had wished she could find a flaw in her mostly-perfect husband. Maybe this was his biggest flaw. If so, was it really so bad?

  Libby shrugged. "Everyone has their quirks."

  "So you think I should forgive him? Both of you?"

  Bonnie nodded. "I do. I think you care for him, and I know he cares for you. There's no reason to hold a grudge."