Brazos Bride

BRAZOS BRIDE, Chapter Eleve

Brazos Bride

Chapter Eleven

They rode in awkward silence for a while. Fatigue dogged her, so she attempted to distract herself by thinking about the invasion of his family. Where would she put everyone? How would the aunts really feel about her? Could they accept her and actually come to love her? Of course not, especially when they learned the real reason for her marriage.

Although she'd lived there all her life, she'd never traveled west of her own land. Too dangerous, her father had said. Nothing but Indians out there. Of course, he’d said whatever suited his purpose. Probably he just wanted her to stay home where she could serve him.

The low hills grew steeper and she recognized the small mountain ahead that she could see from her bedroom balcony. Taller than the peaks on her land, this one was the tallest in sight. Now that she saw it closer, the road winding up it looked treacherous. She wanted to ask if the mountain belonged to Micah, but curiosity about his aunts defeated her.

"What are these aunts like? What are their names?"

He smiled, as if even thinking of them cheered him. She returned his grin. Wouldn't it be magnificent to have family members like that? These were the women who might love her. The thought sent a warm tingle of happiness through her.

"They’re both tall, but Lizzie Mae Fraser is round as a barrel with little corkscrew curls that dance everywhere. She always looks on the bright side of everything. No matter how rotten a person is, she can find something nice to say about him. No matter how gloomy the situation, she can find some good. And cook? Lordy, that woman can cook anything."

He chuckled again, as if remembering a funny incident. "Maggie Jo Gamble is thin and more sparing with praise, but she would do anything for us boys. She's a bundle of energy, and buzzes around like she has to get everything in the world righted before dark."

"They sound nice. Are they married?"

"Were. Both are widows and lost their husbands in the War. They live together now."

"When do you think they will be here?"

"On the next stage from Weatherford. Zach wired them right after we were married. Remember I told you I spoke to Zach while you were getting ready for bed last night? That’s when Zach told me they’d sent a wire back yesterday evening before he left town."

He turned toward a small cabin near a large barn. She looked at her lapel watch. The time was about right for this to be his home. Compared to her large hacienda, this place was tiny.

The dogtrot cabin appeared built entirely of cedar logs, but she saw at least two windows with shutters. The house looked solid, though. A small covered porch with two benches and a chair jutted off the cabin by the front door.

The barn couldn’t have been completed long, because the lumber still had the new look of fresh cut wood. Large doors opened into a fenced paddock. She wondered how many horses Micah owned. Near the barn stood a smaller shed. The aged wood indicated that had served as the old barn.

At least his home would allow her to rest. Thank goodness, maybe she could lie down for a while. They’d arrived near noon and she hoped they'd eat soon. When she knew the food offered was safe, she became ravenous, but now she knew to curb her eating.

Micah pulled up the reins and stopped near the front door. His hands cupped his mouth and he called, "Cooooeeee!"

At first she thought men poured from the barn and corral but when she counted, there were only four. She recognized Micah's brothers but she didn't know the names of the other two.