Mail Order Menace (Brides of Beckham Book 21) Read online

  Ernie sighed. “I was afraid of that.” She sat down on the sofa, immediately reaching for Abigail. “Do you know she was mean enough to mention the foul rumors going around about me? The ones about me ‘entertaining’ all the men that stay here?”

  “Oh, that’s just wrong! Those rumors are nasty, and obviously untrue. Anyone can see that you and Cliff have a special connection. People like that…they make me want to spit! I know, I’ll hold her while you snatch her baldheaded!”

  Ernie laughed. “I’m really used to having people talk about me, but I’ve never experienced anyone making up such mean lies. I don’t know why they do it.”

  The pastor stepped into the house then, and spotted the two women sitting on the sofa. “Am I early?” he asked.

  Ernie got to her feet. “Of course not. I’ll have lunch on the table in five minutes.”

  She hurried into the kitchen to serve the potato and ham casserole she and Katie had prepared that morning before she’d left to talk to Mrs. Sims. She cut two full loaves of bread into slices and set them in the middle of the table, then put some butter out. She quickly set the table and the men all came in at once, laughing and joking with one another. As she watched them, Ernie couldn’t believe how many people believed the foul rumors. She’d come to town worried that people would discover she’d been called names for her childhood indiscretions. Now here she was, an adult who was only working hard, and she was being called much more vicious names for things she hadn’t even done.

  She hoped that the rumors would end soon, because she was going to have to have a talk with some of the women otherwise. It wasn’t something she was keen on doing, because she wasn’t sure she could make it through the talk without slapping at least one of the women for the lies they’d spread. Then what would people think of her?

  Chapter Nine

  Two weeks later, Ernie still hadn’t told Cliff about the baby. She wanted to tell him, but she didn’t want to have to shut down the boarding house. They needed the extra income…and the truth was, she enjoyed running it, though it was difficult with her fatigue.

  On Wednesday afternoon, she and Katie were taking a break after bringing in the last of the laundry and putting it away. “Have you told Cliff about the baby yet?” Katie asked.

  Ernie shook her head. “I know he’s going to know soon, and I want him to know, but I’m not ready to stop working.”

  Katie shook her head. “Ethan would be furious with me if I kept something so important from him for any length of time. When will you tell him?”

  “I don’t know yet! Soon, I’m sure.” She looked down at her slender stomach, glad that she wasn’t showing yet. She didn’t need a thickening of her middle to tell him what was going on before she did.

  “Ernie, you have to do it soon. I really think you’re making a mistake by not telling him.”

  “I’m sure I am.” Ernie sighed. “But if I tell him now, I already have to say that I’ve known for two weeks. He’s going to be angry regardless. Why not put it off for a little longer?” She looked up as she heard a throat clear, and her heart skipped a beat. Cliff was standing there at the doorway to the parlor, listening to everything she and Katie said.

  Katie followed her friend’s line of vision and jumped to her feet. “I think that’s my cue to take my baby and go home.”

  Ernie got to her feet, ignoring her friend as she faced her husband. She folded her hands together, trying her best not to fidget nervously. “You’re home,” she said with a bright smile.

  Cliff nodded, taking her hand and pulling her toward their bedroom. They wouldn’t be disturbed there, and they obviously needed to have a nice long talk. “Why didn’t you tell me? You’ve known you were pregnant for two weeks, and you never said a word?”

  “I’ve suspected for three,” Ernie said quietly. She’d never been good at lies or subterfuge, but she was great at confessions. Most people found it better if she confessed to her wrongdoing of her own accord.

  “Are you sure?”

  Ernie nodded. “I went and saw the midwife here in town. She’s not a very pleasant person, and she believes the lies about me. I think I want to try to find another midwife. Can we do that?”

  Cliff blinked at the change of subject. “Oh, no you don’t. We’re talking about the fact that you hid your pregnancy from me before we move on to talking about anything else. Whether it’s another midwife or getting another cat.”

  “You should have seen Sheba and Roscoe today. She waits on the back steps for him, and he goes over and stands there patiently while she jumps on his back. I don’t think that kitten’s paws have ever touched the ground. She’s absolutely rotten!”

  “Ernie. Why didn’t you just tell me as soon as you knew?”

  Ernie sighed. Her tactics were obviously not working, and it was time for her to face the music. “Well, I didn’t know how you’d react. You already told me we really need the extra money, so I thought it would be best if I just waited a little longer and saved as much money as I could. Katie has been making sure that I don’t do any heavy lifting or anything that could harm the baby.”

  “You know I don’t want you working so much now that you’re pregnant.”

  “I do, and I even understand why. But I wanted to make your life easier. You told me to wait six months to get pregnant, and while I knew you would have to know before then, I thought the longer that I worked the better it would be for you. So I waited.” She looked down at her hands for a moment, ashamed of not telling him, but still certain she’d make the same decision again. “I’m sorry.”

  “Are you really?” Cliff shook his head at her. She had to be the most stubborn, headstrong woman in all of Montana. No wonder she and the goat got along so well!

  She nodded. “I am. I just…well, I needed to help you out as much as I could by continuing to work. I did help you out, didn’t I?”

  He sighed. “You’re going to need to stop working now.”

  She frowned, looking down. “I can understand not being able to keep up the pace I’m going at now, but how about if I just cooked? And people let us know when they’d be joining us for a meal? Like the pastor does.” The pastor now ate three meals per day at the boarding house, along with all the other men. “I could make three meals a day without a problem, as long as I wasn’t doing as much cleaning and laundry. I think that would be fine, don’t you?”

  “Do you make enough from cooking to make it worthwhile?”

  She nodded emphatically. “I could do really well just acting like our kitchen table was a restaurant. I wouldn’t make as much as I do, but I’d be able to contribute enough that I wouldn’t feel guilty every time I wanted to buy yarn to knit a pair of booties for the baby. Or so I could buy fabric to make you a Christmas present.”

  He thought about it for a moment. “I suppose that would be all right. And then if you didn’t feel like you were getting enough rest, you could cut down to one or two meals a week.”

  “Or one or two per day!” She couldn’t imagine eating with just him. She didn’t think they’d ever had a private meal.

  “I think that’s fair.”

  “But where will the men go? It’s almost winter. There’s snow on the ground.”

  “They’ll find places to stay. I’m not nearly as worried about them as I am about you.” He smiled for the first time since he’d heard the news. “And I’m worried about my baby. My son or my daughter. I would teach a son how to make saddles, and you could teach our little girl to cook just like you. I hope she has the same hand in the kitchen. It would be so easy to marry off a girl with your cooking talents.”

  Ernie put her hands on her hips. “You are not going to marry off my unborn daughter, Clifford Solomon! I’m going to keep her small forever, and we’re going to buy her dolls and let her be best friends with little Abigail next door!”

  “We’re talking like we know the baby will be a girl. I’d be just as happy with a little boy.” He put his hands on her shoulders and
drew her to him, his lips brushing against hers. “I’m so happy you’re having a baby.”

  Ernie smiled, resting her head on his shoulder. “I am too. I can’t wait!”

  “I’ll tell the men at supper that they need to find new places to live by Friday of next week. That gives them a week and a half. Should be plenty of time to figure something out.”

  “All right. Make sure you let them know we’ll still be serving three meals per day. They just need to let me know when they’ll be here, and a place will be set for them.”

  “Will you open up to others in town?”

  She shrugged. “We always eat in the kitchen, but we have a dining room as well. I could conceivably handle twice as many men for meals. Do you want to do that?”

  He shook his head at her. “You’re a lot more business-minded than I’d realized. I might be willing to agree to that if you could take Katie on as a permanent partner.

  “I’ll talk to her about it tomorrow.” She frowned after a moment. “I don’t want it to get out about me having a baby yet. There are so many foul rumors about me. I hate it, but I don’t want any erroneous conclusions drawn about our baby before she’s even born.”

  “There you go saying ‘she’ again.”

  “Well, she’s either going to be best friends with little Abigail, or he’s going to marry her. No choice in the matter.”

  Cliff grinned. “I like the way you think.” He didn’t mention what the people were saying, but he didn’t forget about it either. He had a little plan in mind, and if he thought on it long enough, he’d find a way to make it work. She needed to live in a place where she was accepted and loved for the sweet, kind woman she was. No one needed to look down on her.

  *****

  Katie came over more than an hour early the next day. “What happened after I left?” she asked, setting the baby’s basket onto the floor and picking up a towel to dry the dishes Ernie was washing.

  “Oh, he wasn’t happy with me for hiding it from him, but he understood my reasoning. We’re going to compromise. I’m going to keep cooking for others, but we’re shutting down the boarding house. I’ll serve three meals a day to whomever wants to eat here, but they need to let me know in advance.” Ernie gave her friend a questioning look. “If you’re willing to become my partner in this, we’ll open up both the kitchen and the dining room, and we’ll be able to serve twice as many customers.”

  “Partner?”

  Ernie nodded. “We’d split the profits down the middle after paying for food. You’d help with cooking and cleanup, of course.”

  “Well, yes, of course. I wonder what Ethan would say if I was helping to serve three meals per day over here.”

  “Talk to him and let me know. I’m willing to do it without you, because my husband still needs me to make some extra money for us, but I’d rather do it with you. Many hands make light work, after all.”

  “I’ll talk to him. Maybe if I promise him that I’ll bring him home food every night he’d agree. He sure likes your cooking better than mine.” Katie wiped off another plate and set it on the stack she’d made.

  “Part of the deal would be that I’ll teach you to cook. That’ll get his attention!”

  Katie grinned. “It would get his attention for sure. I want to do it. Don’t make any big decisions without me.”

  “I won’t.”

  *****

  The men started moving out over the weekend. Some of them had claims outside of town, but they’d moved in because of the better food. “You’re still going to let us come for all meals, right?” Andrew asked as he carried his belongings down the stairs in a wooden crate. “I’m going to miss your cooking something fierce.”

  “You let me know what meals you’ll be here for, and I’ll be cooking for you.”

  “Every one of them!” he said, a grin on his face.

  Ernie laughed. For now, that answer pleased her. In a few months, when it was hard to tie her apron strings, that would be a little more difficult. “I’ll make a note of that.”

  “I wish you would still take in laundry, but I think that’s one of the reasons you’re kicking us all out. Too much housework, and too much laundry.”

  Ernie nodded. “Cliff wants me to take it easier now that the baby’s on its way.”

  “I can understand that. I’m sure going to miss living here, Mrs. Solomon.”

  Ernie stood on tiptoe and kissed Andrew’s cheek. “And you’ll be missed around here. No doubt about it.”

  Cliff chose that moment to walk into the hall, and he frowned for just a moment before he moved on. He didn’t like seeing her kiss another man, even on the cheek, but he knew his wife would never betray him. She was too honest for that.

  At bedtime on Saturday, they were down to only one extra man, and that was Jake. “I could handle it if Jake wanted to stay here indefinitely,” she said softly to Cliff. “You can decide, but I really wouldn’t mind.”

  Cliff shook his head. “No, he’s moving in with Andrew, and he’s going to help with some of the chores in exchange for his room. He’ll pay for meals here, and I think they’ll both bring milk and eggs in on occasion to help pay for their meals, but they’re not going to live here. We’re cutting down the amount of work you have. You can’t keep going as you have been.”

  Ernie nodded, knowing he was right. Her eyes had dark circles on them, and she looked thinner than she had when she’d first arrived. She still had no morning sickness, but she was working too hard for the condition she was in, and she knew it as well as everyone else did. “All right.”

  “Now you go on to bed. I’ll be in shortly.”

  Ernie pressed a kiss to his cheek and wandered off to wash her face before going to sleep. She was so tired. It would be good to be down to only cooking for others and not doing their wash and cleaning up after them. She knew the move was a good one, but she still felt a bit guilty about making the men move out. She knew it was for the best, though, and her son or daughter would be healthier for it.

  She climbed under the covers and immediately closed her eyes. Church started bright and early, and word was out about the baby. She could only imagine what people would be saying about her character now. Would anyone even believe the baby was Cliff’s?

  It bothered her that her name had been maligned so much since coming to town, but it would be even worse if Cliff’s and the baby’s names were added to the gossip. None of them had done anything to deserve that sort of treatment. If only there was a way to silence the old biddies who couldn’t find anything else to gossip about.

  Ernie closed her eyes, trying not to think about them, and instead concentrating on the life growing inside her. Soon there would be a baby in her arms, and she couldn’t wait. In the long run, family and love was what mattered, not gossipy old women with nothing better to do than make up stories about others and spread them around town.

  Chapter Ten

  Ernie walked into church the following morning with her head held high. She knew people were going to be talking about her, but she refused to care. She’d been talked about her entire life, after all.

  Sure enough, Mrs. Jenkins was whispering behind her hand as Ernie passed her. She continued on, clinging to Cliff’s arm, but then she stopped short. Turning, she walked over to Mrs. Jenkins, her eyes meeting those of the older woman, who looked more than a little shocked.

  Ernie had finally had enough. She wasn’t going to put up with the gossip any longer. She had as a child, because she’d deserved it. Now, though, she’d done nothing but work hard since she came to town. “Mrs. Jenkins,” she said, her voice loud and calm, “I would like it a great deal if you would stop making up lies about me. I came to town to marry Bert, but he died before I arrived. Somehow, you’ve made that my fault. Instead of turning tail and running back to Massachusetts, I used my skills and started a business, which has been very successful, I might add. As soon as I had guests in my boarding house, you accused me of having relations with one of those men.
It was untrue, but to stop the gossip, we married. I’m glad we did, because I love my husband very much, but still you talked about me.” Ernie took a step closer to the older woman, noting the panicked look on her face. “Then you started saying I was doing things that I can’t imagine how I’d have the energy for, but you accused me of them. Never to my face, of course. No—it’s your way to talk behind women’s backs and make them out to be monsters when they can’t defend themselves.”

  Mrs. Jenkins turned red, and she sputtered, “Well, I never!”

  “Oh yes you did, and that’s the whole problem. Now, I’m carrying my husband’s baby, and I see you gossiping again. I’m sure you’re saying that there’s no way to know who the real father of my child is, aren’t you? Your lies are as predictable as they are vile. You don’t know anything about me. You don’t know that I was raised on a farm back in Massachusetts. You don’t know that I can ride a horse bareback, but I’ve never ridden using a saddle. You don’t know that I cook better than most women around.” Ernie took a deep breath. “And you don’t know that the entire population of Beckham, Massachusetts, refers to my siblings and me as the demon horde. When I first came to town, I shuddered that anyone would hear what we’d been known as, but do you know something?”

  Mrs. Jenkins shook her head slowly. “No.”

  “I’m not ashamed of being in the demon horde. I’m going to tell you why. As a member of the demon horde, I’m not afraid to touch snakes or other reptiles. I’m not afraid to tie a woman into her own outhouse and tip the building over. And I know how to shoot a gun better than just about any man you put in front of me. You keep talking about me like you have been, Mrs. Jenkins, and you’ll need to start watching over your shoulder, because I’m sneaky, and I’m strong. You won’t know what hit you when I decide to get my revenge.”

  “Are you threatening me?” Mrs. Jenkins face was so red it was almost purple.

  “Yes, I am. I don’t lie, I don’t cheat, but I do get revenge. I’m warning you right now. You will stop talking about me or any person that I love. If it gets back to me again that you’re saying anything about me or who fathered my baby, you will feel my wrath. I don’t care how long you’ve been part of this town or how important you think you are to it. If I have to, I will bring every sibling I have here, and we’ll slowly turn your life into a living hell!” Ernie smiled sweetly at the older woman. “Have I made myself clear? Or do you need me to draw you a diagram?”