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

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 turn 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 swing a little over three weeks after 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?”

Seth smiled at Dean’s shyness about the physical aspects of a romantic relationship. He’d always been that way. “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 start courting her.

Tessa was intensely attracted to Dean and was disappointed that he didn’t seem to be more interested in her. 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 ran to her room for a book and some paper. 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, someone like you would answer it and want to come here,” he said. He was intensely nervous, but forced himself to continue.

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.”

“I’m glad you like it here and all of them. What about me, Tessa? How do you feel about me?” Dean asked. He was anxious about what she might say, but he had to know.

Tessa’s eyes lowered for a moment and then she looked him square in the eye. “I think you are a wonderful man. You run a successful business, even though things have been difficult at times, and your children adore you. My only regret is that you seem to want to keep me at arm’s length. I want to know you better, but you have to let me in. How do you feel about me, Dean?”

Dean looked down into a face that he had grown eager to see every morning and he stroked her silky hair. It was softer than he’d imagined and he wanted to bury his hands in it. Instead of answering her with words, Dean gently pulled her closer and dipped his head so that he could press his lips to hers.

She tasted sweet and Dean wanted more. Male instinct took over and he kissed her harder. He’d been without female contact for so long that he felt like he’d been walking around in the desert for three years and, suddenly, a torrent of desire had started to fall on him, filling up the cracks in his lonely heart. Dean wanted to soak up all he could of her.

Joy surged through Tessa as they kissed and she couldn’t ever remember feeling like this. She’d been kissed before, but not with such hunger. Tessa’s hands encountered Dean’s hard chest as he fully closed the distance between their bodies. His strong hands settled on her lower back and Tessa very much enjoyed the way they felt. When the kiss ended, Dean smiled down at her as their breathing came a little rapidly.

“Well, that was nice,” he said.

Tessa cleared her throat. “Yes, it was.”

“Theresa O’Connor, may I court you?” Dean asked. “I know I should have asked before, um, well, that, but I just couldn’t help myself. My apologies.”

“Don’t you dare apologize for doing something I’ve wanted to do for a while now,” Tessa said. “The answer is yes, you may court me.”

Dean grinned down at her and Tessa responded in kind. “We better get looking at that horse or we’re going to be in trouble.”

Tessa laid a hand on Dean’s arm. “Well, then I suppose we should,” she said.