Historical Cowboy Romance Two Book Box Set - Mail Order Brides (9 page)

The second one revealed an autographed copy
of Dickenson’s
A Tale of Two Cities.
He looked at Tessa
sharply. “How? Why?”

“I was privileged several years ago to be
able to meet him and have him sign this book. I’ve gotten much joy
from it and would like to pass it on to you because as another avid
reader, I know that you would draw as much enjoyment from it as I,”
Tessa explained. Before Marcus objected, she said, “I shall be
extremely offended if you do not accept it.”

Dean was enjoying watching her get the best
of his little brother. Usually, it was Marcus getting his own way
about something. It was nice to see the tables turned.

Marcus smiled, realizing she’d beaten him.
“Very well, milady. As you wish.”

Tessa clapped and then handed Seth a package.
Seth frowned a little but took it when she raised her eyebrows at
him. He opened it and found a fine dress shirt and silk tie.

She laughed at his confused look. “As I
understand it, you are a bit of a scoundrel. No lady will be able
to resist you in those. Trust me.”

Seth laughed. “I’m not sure what to think of
you.”

“Good. I enjoy keeping people guessing,”
Tessa responded. Then she turned to Dean. “And for you.”

Dean looked uncomfortable but took the gift
she offered recognizing that he couldn’t refuse any more than his
brothers had been able. He unwrapped a fine pair of work gloves
that were soft yet highly durable. He looked at Tessa in surprise.
How had she known he had needed a pair? In fact, all of her gifts
were very thoughtful and appropriate to each person.

“Thank you, Tessa,” he said. “These will be
useful, that’s for sure.”

“I’m glad.”

“I’m sorry, but I don’t have anything for
you. We weren’t expecting gifts,” Dean said.

Tessa sought to soothe his pride. “Yes, you
have. You’ve opened up your home to me and allowed me to meet your
family. Not only that, but I want you to teach me some things. So
although the presents may not be purchased, think of them as
education. Lydia, will you please show me how to make chicken like
that and some other things?”

“Yes, of course.”

“Marcus, I’d be very grateful if you were to
show me how to whittle something?”

“Sure,” he said with a smile.

“Seth, I would enjoy it if you were to tell
me what a real cattle drive is like so I can write about it.”

“Okay, but that doesn’t seem like much of a
present,” Seth replied.

“To someone like me, it is,” Tessa assured
him.

“And Dean, please show me how to cut a calf
from the herd?” Tessa leaned toward him, her eyes pleading with
him. “You said that when the men are gone, the women have to carry
on, so I see no reason why I shouldn’t be allowed to learn
something like that. What if one becomes sick and needs tending? I
might need to separate it so it can be treated.” She heard a
snicker behind her and frowned at Marcus.

“Sorry, but you’re awful cute when you’re
determined,” he said.

Dean tried not to, but he couldn’t prevent
the laugh that started in his chest. “Not you, too!” she said in
dismay.

“I’m sorry. Marcus is right. You’re very
pretty with your eyes all bright and your pink cheeks. Are you sure
you really want to learn that? It’s dangerous.”

Tessa crossed her arms over her chest. “Are
you implying that I’m a weak woman and can’t handle it?”

Lydia heard the steel under Tessa’s cultured
voice and sat back to watch the show.

“Uh, no, not exactly,” Dean said.

“Mr. Samuels, I should like you to explain to
me in exact words, then, what your concerns are so that I may put
them to rest,” she said.

Dean frowned at her formal tone. “All right.
Have you ever ridden a cow horse?”

“No, but I have ridden a lot of horses,
including rather difficult ones,” she said.

“Okay. Have you ever been around cattle, I
mean, up close?” Dean said.

“Does being able to milk a bad-tempered cow
count? Or being unafraid to pet a bull?”

Dean nodded. “I guess so. How fast do you
ride?”

Tessa gave a snort. “I think you mean race
and jump, sir.”

Marcus and Seth exchanged surprised
looks.

“What kind of saddle are we talking? Side
saddle?”

“Yes, but I also ride astride,” Tessa said.
“I know! If you teach this to me, I’ll teach you how to jump
sidesaddle.”

Everyone laughed, even Dean. Marcus had tears
in his eyes, he laughed so hard. He couldn’t get the picture of
Dean in a dress, riding some pretty mare sidesaddle, out of his
head.

When the laughter died, Dean said, “All
right. You’re on.”

“Thank you,” Tessa said.

Lydia stood and said, “Well, I’d better get
this cleaned up. It’s starting to get late.”

Tessa stood with her. “Please let me help.
I’ve never washed dishes and I’d like to learn.”

“No time like the present then,” Lydia
agreed.

An hour later, she and Lydia had finished and
Lydia set about getting the children ready for bed. Tessa decided
to leave her to it, figuring she would be learning that soon
enough. She also had to remind herself that although she was eager
to learn, she didn’t want to overstep and offend. She went into the
parlor and found a lantern and matches. She lit it and sat in the
rocking chair. It was very comfortable. Tessa thought about the day
and knew that before she went to bed, she would have to write as
much down as possible. Her eyes closed as she rocked gently and
soon, she drifted off.

Dean found her that way. He and his brothers
had gone to the barn to make sure things were secure and feed the
stock while Lydia and Tessa had cleaned up the kitchen. The kitchen
was empty when he came in. Seth had retired to his bunkhouse and
Marcus had headed on home. He saw the light coming from the parlor
and went in.

Tessa sat in Sarah’s chair, her head tilted
to one side. Her eyes were closed and her chest rose and fell
slowly. Dean experienced a hollow feeling in his stomach. She was
so different in both appearance and personality, but she was a
woman and no other woman but Lydia had sat in that chair since
Sarah had died. It was both unsettling and nice.

Tessa was a fetching woman and the male part
of him responded. Any man would be lucky to have her. Dean wondered
why a woman of her age wasn’t married, especially one who obviously
came from money and had all of the positive attributes Tessa
had.

Tessa stirred and opened her eyes. Their
gazes locked and that unnamed something passed between them. Tessa
smiled, her soft lips curving and her eyes shining softly in the
lantern light.

“Hello. You caught me nodding off, I’m
afraid,” she said.

Dean smiled. “You looked comfortable.”

“Very. This is a wonderful chair,” she
said.

“I bought the set of chairs when Sarah was
expecting Sadie. I traded a heifer for them. Her feet would swell
and her back would hurt when she was farther along,” he said.

“She was a lucky woman to have such a
thoughtful husband and I know you were all lucky to have her,”
Tessa said.

Dean nodded. “Isn’t it strange for you to
come here with the possibility of marriage and be talking about my
late wife?” He sat down in the other chair.

“Did you expect me to be jealous?” Tessa
asked.

“Something like that. I reckon that a lot of
women wouldn’t want to talk about her, that they wouldn’t want to
be compared or something.”

“Yes, I’ve known women like that. They
somehow felt as if they were walking in the shadow of the first
wife,” Tessa agreed. “I think that’s unreasonable, especially when
that family had such a happy life together. Of course, they’re not
just going to forget all about her and I don’t expect any of you do
that with Sarah. Dean, I knew what I was getting into when I
answered that advertisement. Do you know why I chose yours?”

Dean laughed. “I have no idea.”

“Because though it was brief, it was full of
heart and honesty. There have been a lot of marriages that have had
neither of those. Marriages in my circles have been built for
purely business reasons and the need to produce heirs. I didn’t
want that kind of life.”

“Is that the way it is with your parents?” he
asked.

Tessa’s smile lit up her face. “Oh, no. They
are an exception. My father is Irish, hence the O’Connor name. My
mother is of English decent. He’s hot-tempered, humorous, and
ruthless in business and sometimes in personal relationships. She’s
sweeter tempered, but cold as ice when she’s angry. They’re fire
and ice and completely in love.”

Dean smiled. “My parents were the opposite.
Two peas in a pod. If they ever fought, I never knew it. They had a
great marriage.”

“That’s what I’m after. I know this will take
time, but I’m confident so far,” Tessa said.

Dean smiled and said, “I’m going to turn in.
Do you need anything?”

Tessa rose. “Yes. I should do the same. I’m
fine. Good night, Dean.”

“’Night, Tessa.”

He watched as she left the room and listened
as she walked up the stairs. Dean felt bad that he hadn’t been able
return her sentiment, but it was best he was honest. As he went to
bed, Dean tried to not think about the fact that a very attractive,
available woman who had come there to possibly marry him was now
sleeping above him. He failed.

Dean was in a panic. Things with Tessa were
going very well. She was curious about everything and tried to
learn and when she failed, she tried again. It was obvious she was
never going to be as good of a cook as Lydia, but they wouldn’t
starve and she wasn’t going to give up working on it. There were a
lot of other things at which she excelled, however.

Dean had been skeptical at first, thinking
that it wouldn’t be long before her real colors showed. He didn’t
want to admit it, but he had a tiny bit of prejudice when it came
to the upper classes and figured that she would grow bored when she
saw how hard life was there and end up going home. He was chagrined
to find out that wasn’t the case.

The children loved her. She coaxed Jack into
doing math by daring him that he couldn’t do it. It seemed that she
understood that men were predisposed to not being able to turning
down a dare and little boys were no different. Sadie was a willing
pupil, however, and had no problem with studying. Tessa wasn’t
above playing hide and seek with them or cleaning a stall.

Dean had come running from the barn one day
when he heard a woman shrieking in the vicinity of the house.
Expecting to see some catastrophe, he couldn’t reconcile what he
found at first. Tessa was tied to a tree and Jack was running
around it whooping like an Indian. Every time he showed her his
tomahawk, Tessa would scream and they would laugh. Dean smiled at
their playacting and went back to the barn.

Lydia liked Tessa, too. The two women seemed
to enjoy their time together as Lydia taught her about manually
running a home and Tessa regaled her with stories of her family and
Pittsburgh’s social life. His brothers also seemed to be under
Tessa’s spell. Dean liked her and felt that there might be
something between them, but he couldn’t truly let himself explore
it.

He sat out on the porch a little over three
weeks since Tessa had arrived, stewing about things. It was just
after dusk and the night was muggy. It would most likely storm at
some point. Seth appeared out of the dark and sat down beside
him.

“What?” Seth said.

Dean looked over at him. “I didn’t say
anything.”

“No, but I heard you thinking from over
here,” Seth answered. “What’s the problem?”

“What am I going to do about Tessa?” Dean
said. “She’s one hell of a woman, but she’s not going to stay here
forever and wait for me to make up my mind.”

“You’re right on both counts. Do you like
her?” Seth asked.

“Heck yeah. Everyone likes her.”

“Dean, you know what I’m talking about. Do
you wanna grab her and kiss her and-“

“Hey! I know what you’re saying. Look at her,
who wouldn’t?”

“Exactly, so don’t wait too long. You pining
for Sarah could cost you a lot of happiness.” Seth got up and
walked off to his bunkhouse then.

Dean thought about Seth’s remarks over the
next couple of days and decided his older brother was right. He
watched Tessa in a new light and separated his feelings for Sarah
from what he felt about Tessa. He found her engaging and desirable.
It was time to court her.

Tessa was intensely attracted to Dean and was
disappointed that he didn’t seem to be more interested. She told
herself that she was silly to think he would be like the men back
home, in that they were rather bold about what they wanted and she
didn’t have to guess at what they thought of her. Dean was a
different breed and Tessa could tell she was going to have to work
harder to figure him out.

That’s why she was surprised one night after
dinner when Dean said to the children, “You practice your lessons
for a while. I want to show Tessa the horse she’s going to ride
tomorrow.”

“Okay, Pa,” Sadie said. She pulled out some
paper and a book. Jack reluctantly sat at the table with his
sister.

Tessa followed Dean out to the barn. She was
further surprised when he took her hand and brought it to his
mouth. His lips were soft and warm on her skin and her breath
quickened at the contact. She looked at him with questions in her
eyes. Dean leaned close to her and ran a thumb over her cheek. It
was smooth to the touch.

“Tessa, I can’t tell you how much I’ve
enjoyed having you here. I never dreamed that when that ad was put
in the paper, that someone like you would answer it and want to
come here,” he said.

She smiled and Dean’s eyes followed the
motion of her lips. “I never imagined all of this would come from
my answering it, either. It’s been wonderful. You have a beautiful
family, Dean. Your children are adorable and Sadie is going to be a
beautiful young woman. Jack is all you. And I can’t even begin to
really tell you how much I value Lydia’s friendship. And your
brothers, too.”