His Substitute Mail-Order Bride

He hadn’t known Charlotte any more than he’d known Susannah. Given his current circumstances, Charlotte’s elopement had been a blessing in disguise. If he’d stayed in Philadelphia, he’d still be toiling in the basement of a crowded law firm as an underling. Out west, he’d thrived in his practice. As the years passed, he recognized that his pride had pained him more than his heart, but back then, he’d been too young to tell the difference.

Anna met his sidelong gaze. “Then you’re content living in Cowboy Creek?”

“I am.” Russ cleared his throat. “What are your plans? You’ve come all this way, after all.”

She caught her lower lip between her teeth. “If you want to read Susannah’s letter, I can drive the mule.”

The change of subject piqued his curiosity. Each time he asked a personal question, she turned the tables on him.

“Reading the letter won’t change anything,” Russ said. “Your explanation seemed clear enough.”

Two months before, Will had convinced him to send for a mail-order bride. The mayor had decided to run for the Senate and had convinced Russ to campaign for the local office in his place. Voters preferred the stability of a married man over a bachelor, and Russ was ready to settle down and start a family. After corresponding with Susannah Lowe, he’d finally sent for her. Their letters had been cordial. They’d both agreed to a marriage of mutual convenience. Russ had needed a wife to legitimize his political career, and Susannah had been looking for a husband.

For the second time, his fiancée had left him for another man. At least with Susannah, they’d never actually met in person. Charlotte’s betrayal had been more difficult to bear. Especially since he suspected that Charlotte had only been encouraging him to make another man jealous. A colleague had hinted at the rumors, but Russ had ignored the warning. His frustration at Charlotte’s behavior had been directed as much at Charlotte as at himself. He’d seen what he wanted to see. A fault that ran in his family.

Nine years before, a drought had struck his hometown of Big Bend, Missouri, and the ranchers had fallen upon hard times. A ruthless entrepreneur, Zane Ogden, had appeared with a charming smile and a friendly offer of assistance. With a seemingly endless supply of money, he made loans to various ranchers. The initial deals had seemed too good to be true. They were. The fine print required ruinous interest payments and stiff penalties, including the loss of the ranches put up as collateral.

Russ’s father, Gilbert, had been the unofficial leader of the local ranching community, and he’d warned people to stay away from Ogden. When several friends became entangled in Ogden’s web, his father had agreed to speak with the man and see if anything could be done. Those were the facts that Russ knew for certain. The subsequent events were filled with conjecture and guesswork, a mystery that had torn a rift between his two brothers, Seth and Adam.

As far as anyone knew, their father had gone to Ogden’s home late one evening and had never returned. To everyone’s shock, despite his advice to others, their father had taken out a loan. When he couldn’t repay the balance, he’d fled from his debts and his responsibilities. Russ had initially been skeptical, but Zane had produced paperwork containing a signature from their father, with the sheriff as the witness, showing that he’d taken out a substantial loan. Russ figured his father must have lied to his friends about borrowing the money because he was ashamed. Unable to pay back the loan, he’d abandoned his family.

Initially, Russ had struggled with the truth. The man he knew as his father was forthright and honorable. He’d never abandon his family. Over the years, Russ’s opinion had shifted. There were people in this world who could sell sand in the desert. There were people who could steal the pension from a widowed grandmother without blinking. There were people who made their living off the misfortunes of others. His father, like so many others before and after, had merely fallen prey to a charming swindler.

By working around the clock to squeeze out every cent of profit, his older brother, Seth, was able to pay off the loan in full, saving the family ranch from foreclosure.

Seth was convinced their father had never signed the paperwork and was killed, though the body had never been found. Russ believed their father had signed the paperwork and abandoned the family. The difference of opinion had driven a wedge between the brothers.

His father’s shame had compelled Russ in his law career to assist those being swindled or left out in the cold due to flaws in bureaucracy. He’d made a name for himself fighting for veterans’ rights after the Civil War, which put him in correspondence with various former soldiers, including the leaders of Cowboy Creek.

Eventually, Will Canfield invited him to come out and open a law practice in their booming town. Russ had accepted, and when he saw the endless opportunities in the area, he’d encouraged his mother and Seth to sell the ranch and buy land in Kansas. Though Russ had his own house and business in town, at least they’d all be closer. Last autumn, they’d taken him up on the offer.

He’d put the incident with Charlotte in the past, or so he’d thought. Apparently, the past had just caught up to him. Anna’s unexpected arrival along with Susannah’s defection had stirred up all the old feelings. He was as much embarrassed for the man he’d been as for what had happened. There was too much of his father in him. He’d run from Charlotte’s betrayal rather than face the humiliation.

There’d be no running this time.

“Did Susannah confide in you?” he asked.

Susannah’s letters tended to be unfocused and rambling. He might as well get to the heart of the matter rather than wade through a sea of frivolous words.

“Just what you already know,” Anna said. “Susannah wanted me to send her sincerest apologies. She didn’t mean to fall in love with someone else. It just, well, it just happened.”

“Just happened, huh?” Russ didn’t bother to disguise the bitterness in his voice. “I’ve heard that before.”

How could he fault his father for running from his mistakes when there were times when Russ wanted nothing more than to do the same himself? Cowboy Creek was a fresh start, but now he felt like the boy he’d been all those years ago, his pride wounded.

No matter his own feelings, Susannah’s change of mind didn’t explain Anna’s unexpected appearance. While Susannah’s letter might shed light on the matter, Russ wanted to hear what Anna had to say first.

This time, he wasn’t falling for a change of subject. “How do you know Susannah?”

“She’s a friend.” Anna twisted her hands in the material of her skirt. “More of an acquaintance, really.”

“And you hand-delivered a letter, traveling hundreds of miles across patches of hostile territory, from an acquaintance?”

“The social groups in Philadelphia overlap. Surely you remember how things were? When Susannah fell in love, she came to me for advice. Since you were once engaged to Charlotte, she thought I might be of help.”

“I see.”

He didn’t understand anything. Why compound the betrayal by introducing someone from his past?

“I borrowed Susannah’s ticket,” Anna said. “I hope you’ll excuse the imposition, but I’m unable to reimburse you for the fare right away. I promise I’ll pay you back as soon as I can.”

“A train ticket is the least of my worries.”

He wasn’t a struggling law clerk pinching every penny anymore. While his heart wasn’t involved, there were practical decisions to consider. How was he going to explain to his mother and brother that he’d been jilted yet again? Seth might have laughed at him before, but now that he had a family of his own, he was eager for his brother to follow suit. Adam, if he were here, would probably call him foolish for sending for someone he’d never met in the first place.

There was also his political career to consider. Married men were considered more attractive candidates to hold public office. He’d set his plan in motion to run for mayor, and single men didn’t win political races.

Anna glanced at him from beneath her eyelashes. “Susannah mentioned that you were quite successful in Cowboy Creek.”

A prickly sensation raised the hairs on the back of his neck. “Business is going well.”

“Considering our past connection, I was hoping to ask a small favor of you?”

His heart beat a strange, uneven rhythm. “Other than using my fiancée’s train ticket?”

Anna’s already pale complexion turned ashen. “It was nothing.”

“I’m sorry, Anna.” Russ scrubbed a hand down his face. All the tattered feelings had come rushing back. He’d been looking forward to starting a new life and raising a family and hadn’t yet adjusted to the disappointment. Having the sister of his former fiancée staring at him like a lost waif wasn’t helping matters. “For Charlotte’s sake, I’ll do whatever I can to help you.”

“You have every right to be angry with me.”

“I’m not angry, Anna. I’m frustrated. Have you ever been traveling along a path, only to find that nothing is turning out the way you expected?”

“I’ve had that sensation. Yes.”

A jolt spiked through him. That’s all he felt. Frustration. Not sadness or disappointment. Not heartbreak. If anything, he was annoyed. He and Susannah had struck a deal, and now she was changing the deal. He’d approached their relationship as though he was approaching a contract negotiation. They both wanted something the other had: Susannah had craved the security a husband could provide, and he’d wanted a family and children. While emotions were best left out of contract negotiations, they seeped into personal matters.

“I’m sorry,” he said. The weary note in Anna’s voice sent a pang of regret through him. “I shouldn’t have asked. You’re not in the middle of this any more than you were in the middle of what happened between Charlotte and me.”

“You don’t have to apologize.”

He’d been so young and naive with Charlotte. Anna had been even younger. They were a thousand days and a thousand miles from who’d they’d been all those years ago. He’d approached his relationship with Charlotte as an eager schoolboy, and he’d kept a level head with Susannah. Neither approach had saved him from disappointment.

Rehashing the past wasn’t doing either of them any good. “You said you needed a favor. How can I help?”

There was an exhausted slope to Anna’s shoulders that reminded him of the battle-hardened soldiers he’d met during the war. Her eyes spoke of a soul-deep sorrow, and his heart softened.

“I need a job.” She rushed ahead. “I’m a hard worker. I can cook and clean. I even assisted my late husband in his law office. I heard there’s a new hotel in town. Perhaps they need a maid? You must know people.”