The Stepmother: An Everland Ever After Tale Read Free Page A

future…and his advertisement had been more than enough to woo her halfway across the country to Everland.
    She should give the man a chance, if nothing else. A chance to prove that his appearance—his handsome, dangerous appearance—wasn’t all there was to him. To prove that he really was the kind of man who’d write beautiful advertisements searching for his “help mate”.
    ...And she would’ve, by Jiminy, if he hadn’t just slammed the door in her face ! Meri’s irritation rose again, and she straightened her shoulders. In only a few minutes she’d gone from shocked at his appearance to accepting that he might be gentler than he looked to realizing that the man was horrifically rude. She didn’t know if she could have her opinion changed yet again, but she was going to try.
    Besides, it was really cold out here.
    She raised her hand to knock again, and then hesitated. He’d sent her the stagecoach fare to come way out here, but hadn’t the decency to meet her…hadn’t the decency to invite her in? Well, this was going to be her house, and she could darn well march in and make it her house.
    So, screwing up her courage, she took a deep breath and pushed the door open.
    Jack Carpenter’s home was…what was the opposite of cozy? Stark? It wasn’t empty, but there wasn’t much there that made it a home. A small table beside the counter and basins. Opposite that was the hearth and a chair with worn cushions, beside a footstool and a small table with the lamp. It was a tiny little room, and right now, very, very devoid of its owner. Meri let out a small breath she hadn’t realized she’d been holding.
    There were faint murmurs coming from behind the door along the left wall, and she assumed that’s where the house’s bedroom was. She was going to have to wait to give Doctor Carpenter a piece of her mind. She wrapped her arms around her stomach and forced herself to hold onto her anger; anger at Bernard, for showing her what she didn’t want in a husband; at herself, for allowing Lettie to convince her that becoming a mail-order bride was a viable solution; and most especially at Doctor-who-lacks-basic-manners-Jack-Carpenter. Oh yes, she was going to hold onto her anger at him.
    Because no matter how irritated she was, she could see herself here. In his second advertisement, he’d lovingly described his home, and she could imagine it with all the homey touches he’d written about; curtains she’d sewn, the smell of her bread baking, her books stacked above the mantel. That was the most galling part of this whole mess—she actually wanted to be married to him. Wanted to marry a man who wanted to build a better life, and wrote eloquently about his daughter and her future. She wanted to become little Zelle’s mother, to help him raise her up to be the good and decent woman he’d written about. Wanted to provide medical service to the women on the frontier, like she’d told him in her letters. Wanted to help him make this house a real home, and Everland a real town.
    Wanted to be Mrs. Jack Carpenter.
    …that is, until she’d met him.
    The bedroom door opened, and he backed out. She could see Zelle—who was at least two years old—sprawled on the bed on top of the covers, and Meri’s chest tightened. She’d seen the way he’d cradled his daughter at the door, and watched him tiptoe out of the room after lovingly putting the little one to sleep. He might look like a rough and dangerous man, but he had a soft spot for his daughter, at least.
    That realization made her loosen her grip on herself a bit, and relax slightly as he crossed towards her. She watched him run his hand through his hair in something close to exasperation, muttering something about walking in like she owns the place . He stopped to turn up the wick on the lamp and then turned towards her, his hands on his hips. She tried not to notice how dangerously handsome—handsomely dangerous?—he looked.
    “Alright, lady. I don’t