Mail Order Bride: Westward Winds by - (book club books TXT) 📕

“There. Ready for the tour?” he asked.

Tessa had sensed the change in him and frowned a little. Then she chastised herself for being so silly. Of course he was not going to engage in anything physical in front of the children or Marcus. Besides, they didn’t know each other nearly well enough for anything like that.

She brightened. “Of course.”

As they moved through the house, the kids told her a lot of things about it. She found the interior of the house as charming as the exterior. The kitchen was clean and orderly. The cupboards were carved with intricate flowered patterns. Tessa ran her fingertips over them.

“Where did you ever get these beautiful doors?”

“Uncle Marcus made them,” Sadie explained.

Tessa turned to him. “You did these?”

Marcus nodded.

“You are an expert craftsman, Marcus. I have to say, I’ve never seen any finer work. In Pittsburgh, your services would by highly sought after,” she said.

Marcus was a little bashful, which wasn’t like him. “Really? Thank you.”

“He’s always doing something with wood. People around here get him to carve and whittle a lot of stuff,” Dean added.

“I can see why.”

They moved to the front parlor and Tessa fell in love with it. The light coming in the windows made it a bright, cheery room. Pretty white eyelet curtains dressed the windows. The furniture was of good quality. A large braided rug of browns and pinks covered much of the shiny wooden floor. Tessa saw a woman’s touch all over the room.

“Your wife was very talented in furnishing a home. It’s lovely. Did she make the curtains?” Tessa asked.

Dean nodded. “She could make almost anything that way. Clothes, quilts, baby blankets, curtains. You name it.” It made him feel good to see Tessa appreciating Sarah’s handiwork.

Tessa saw a picture on the mantel of the fireplace and crossed the room to it. It was of Dean, Sarah, and younger versions of Jack and Sadie. They were all dressed in their finest clothes and they were all smiling. Tessa focused on Sarah. She was a beautiful woman with brown eyes and light brown hair.

They all looked so happy. It was such a shame that her life had been cut short and that their baby had perished. Those thoughts brought tears to Tessa’s eyes. Dean saw her lips tremble and wondered at the cause.

“Are you okay?” he asked.

Tessa looked up at him and he saw that her eyes were bright with unshed tears. “I’m so sorry for your loss. She was a beautiful woman and I know that she will always be missed.”

Dean felt a lump form in his throat and he found it difficult to speak. “She was beautiful and Sadie looks just like her. It’s been hard.”

Tessa nodded. “How could it not be? As I said in my letters, I am not here to take her place, but to make my own in your lives. Please don’t feel that you cannot talk about her around me. I would like to know all about such a wonderful woman.”

“We have all kinds of stories to tell you about her,” Sadie said. “She was so much fun and made great cookies.”

“I’m sure she was. Do you have the recipe?” Tessa asked.

Sadie nodded.

“Maybe we could make them together sometime.”

“I would love that!” Sadie exclaimed.

“Me, too,” Jack piped up. “I really like cookies.”

Tessa laughed. “I have a feeling that you like almost any kind of food.”

“Yup,” the little boy said.

Dean was glad the children had lightened the moment. It gave him a chance to compose himself. “Well, why don’t I show you your room? Follow me.”

It went against societal norms for a single woman to stay in the same house as a single man, but there was no other place for her. Marcus’ house would not accommodate a guest and it was the same type of situation as at Dean’s house. Their close friends, the Bensons, also had no room and without a hotel present, Dean’s house was the only choice. Tessa had no qualms about it. She sensed that Dean was an honorable man and she didn’t fear for her virtue.

Tessa followed Dean up the staircase. The boards under her feet creaked a little, but they were sturdy and she had no fear that they would fall through. The stairs opened into a wide hallway. There were two doors on the right and one on the left. A window at the end of the hallway let in light. Dean opened the door on the left.

“This is the wash room.”

Tessa walked into the room. It was equipped with a large metal tub, and a wash stand with a porcelain basin and pitcher. The stand itself was elegantly crafted. “Marcus did this as well?”

“No. I made it for Sarah’s birthday five years ago. I wanted her to have a nice place to bathe. I know how important that kind of thing is to women,” Dean replied.

Tessa raised her eyebrows. “Craftsmanship seems to run in the family.”

“Our mother was really skilled at it. Her pa taught her,” Dean explained.

“Really? How unusual,” Tessa marveled.

Dean shook his head. “Tessa, you’re gonna find that, out here, women often work right along with the men, doing things like growing crops, carpentry, and taking care of the livestock. When the men are off on a cattle drive, it’s the women who are left to keep things going.”

“I never thought of that,” Tessa confessed.

Dean smiled at her. “I have a feeling we’re gonna learn a lot from each other.”

“Me, too.”

“Well, c’mon. I’ll show you your room,” Dean said.

She followed him again. He opened the first door on the right and motioned her through. Tessa saw a large four-poster bed standing sentinel in the room. A quilt done in bright greens and blues covered it. There was a dresser and a small chest at the foot of the bed. Tessa saw that there was no closet, but there was a long row of pegs on one wall.

“It’s probably not as big or pretty as yours back home, but it’s homey,” Dean said.

“Yes it is, and I’ll be quite comfortable here, I’m sure.”

“Sadie’s room is the other one up here. Jack’s room is downstairs. He likes the little one off the kitchen. Mine is the one beyond the parlor,” he told her.

“All right.”

Marcus arrived with a couple of Tessa’s bags then. “There’s only a couple more. You travel light for a woman,” he teased.

Tessa chuckled. “I’ll take that as a compliment.”

“I’ll just put them on the bed for now,” Marcus said.

“Thank you,” Tessa said.

The two men left her and retrieved her other bags. Dean was a very strong man, but by the time he reached the top of the stairs with one of them, he was huffing.

“What the hell is in that thing?” he asked. “Pardon the language.”

Tessa laughed. “A lady is allowed to have her little mysteries, gentlemen.”

Dean smiled back. “If you say so. Well, we’ll leave you to get settled in. We’ll get some supper going. I imagine you’re pretty hungry.”

“Yes, very. All of the fresh air has given me quite an appetite,” Tessa said.

They left and Tessa stood still for a few moments, getting her bearings. She looked around the unfamiliar room and felt a pang of homesickness. Tessa also felt guilty about leaving the way she had but knew that it had been the only way. Her father especially would have never allowed her to leave and would have had her watched to make sure she didn’t. It would have been out of love, but Tessa knew that, eventually, it would have made her bitter to be trapped in a life she didn’t want.

Then she brushed off the negative feelings and let all of the excitement return. She looked down at her clothing and decided to change. She was disheveled and it would feel good to be in fresh clothing and wash up a little.

She opened the valise that contained her new clothes and pulled out the necessary items. She was excited to wear a little less clothing, as the women in these parts did. All of the undergarments were binding and it was hotter here, so it would feel good to wear something cooler.

Tessa chose a pretty calico print dress, gathered her toiletries, and went next door to the wash room. She used the cool water in the bucket on the floor to wash up in and then put on her new clothes. Tessa checked her appearance and was pleased with the way she looked. It was a more relaxed fashion, yet still attractive. Her hair was still in the more formal style, so she took it down and brushed it out. She then French braided it. Again, Tessa was happy with the way it looked. She dabbed a little bit of rosewater behind her ears and her transformation was complete.

She hurriedly put away her