How Miss West Was Won Read Free

material, though, so she did not know what it felt like to have a man’s large hand on her breast. She couldn’t help but wonder that now.
    Cordelia mentally chastised herself for allowing her thoughts to wander. “Is there anything I should know as your wife?”
    “Such as?” He turned the wagon a little to the west. She wanted to ask him how much longer they had to travel, but she was afraid he would take it as a complaint, and she didn’t want to start their time together with that.
    “I know nothing about your family,” she said.
    “As a mail order bride, you wouldn’t,” he countered.
    “On the contrary, I believe we would have discussed family in great detail during the exchange of letters. But in any case, I’m asking now. Do you have family?”
    “He has me,” Stuart said from the back. “I have a sister, and my mother is still alive, although they live in Denver proper. We stayed with them last night, but we told mom we were here to get supplies, not to pick up Eli’s bride.”
    “I see.” Cordelia wondered why they’d kept the information from Stuart’s mother, but she wasn’t sure it would be polite to ask. “In any case, what about you, Eli? Will I meet your parents tonight?”
    “Not without going to heaven,” Stuart answered for his cousin.
    “I’m very sorry,” she said to Eli.
    He shrugged and shook the reins. “They’ve been gone a while. As have my three brothers.”
    Cordelia’s eyes widened. “You’re the only one left?”
    “I am.” He didn’t provide any more information, and she wasn’t sure it would be a good thing for her to ask. Maybe after a few days she could bring the subject up again, see if he would tell her more. She was sure there was a story behind their deaths. In an effort to change the subject, she asked how the household was run.
    “I have a housekeeper,” Eli said. “She cooks and cleans. She and her husband stay in a little house not too far from my house. You can help if you want, but I told her I expected her to stay in charge of everything until you’re settled in.”
    A smile touched Cordelia’s lips. “In other words, you don’t want me to take over, because I won’t be there that long.”
    He shrugged. “I think you’ll be here at least a year.” He sounded like it didn’t really matter to him. “I have no clue when the woman from England will arrive.”
    “Does she have a name?”
    He flicked the reins again, as if he were agitated. “Yeah, but I can’t remember it. I’ll look it up when we get to the house and get you settled.”
    Thinking about the woman from England once again brought the subject of Eli’s parents to the forefront. She wanted to ask him once again what had happened, but she kept her mouth shut. She wasn’t sure he would appreciate her being so nosy on her first day.
    They rode in silence for a while, and finally drove through the gates of the Four Fours. The grass was green, and there were tall trees and mountains in the background.
    “What sort of ranching do you do?” she asked.
    “Cattle,” he answered. “We also have a farming area where we grow potatoes.”
    “In this region?” She was shocked to hear this news.
    “Yup.” He steered the horses to the right. “We’re almost there. Mrs. Dunlap will be waiting, with food and all sorts of questions.”
    He stopped the wagon. Then he reached into his pocket and pulled out a gold band. “I hope it fits.”
    Cordelia hadn’t thought of a wedding band. It made things seem so real that she almost refused to take it. But in the eyes of everyone she was about to meet, things were real. She was Mrs. Eli Bannister. She would have to answer to that name, and remember to accept kisses and hugs from her husband.
    With a slightly shaky hand, she took the band from him and slipped it onto her left hand. It was a little snug, but she managed to get it all the way on her finger.
    “Nice to meet you, Mrs. Bannister,” Stuart said from the back. And then he