Copyright © 2022 by Eliza Ester

  All rights reserved.

  No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed or transmitted in any form or by any means, without prior written permission.

  * * *

  This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are a product of the author’s imagination. Locales and public names are sometimes used for atmospheric purposes. Any resemblance to actual people, living or dead, or to businesses, companies, events, institutions, or locales is completely coincidental.

  Created with Vellum

  Contents

  1. Travis

  2. Caroline

  3. Travis

  4. Caroline

  5. Travis

  6. Caroline

  7. Travis

  8. Caroline

  9. Travis

  10. Caroline

  About the Author

  One

  Travis

  Spring crept up into the mountains, melting the snow and letting the earth breathe again. The fields were a light green with wildflowers popping up to celebrate the new season. The air was fresh, the mountains a beautiful purple in the distance, and the sky bluer than blue. By the start of March, the pass into town was open again, and the snow had melted enough to travel to town from the Davison Ranch. It was just in time, too. The brothers were running low on supplies and a trip to town was needed.

  Travis Davison brought the horses out of the stable and hitched them up in front of the wagon. When he was ready, he whistled, and his brother Cole stepped out of the ranch house.

  Cole looked up, pushing his hat right back.

  “Weather is looking good,” he said. “A little more warmth and we can turn out the herd.”

  Travis nodded. Winter was always harsh on the animals, with little food to counter the energy they spent to keep themselves warm. They made it through the tough season, losing none of the cows. It would be a good summer.

  “Walk on,” Travis said, holding the reins while Cole hopped up on the seat next to him.

  They rode two miles into town, walking the horses through the pass. Carson Valley lay at the foot of a stretch of mountains, a pioneer town with enough folk wanting to settle to make it a place to call home.

  It was good to see people again. The winter snowed Travis and Cole into the mountain for three months, and it could be a lonely life up there. They rode the wagon along the hard dirt road and nodded at the townsfolk as they went along.

  Cole and Travis stopped in front of Murray’s store and walked in with a list of things they needed. Wire to fix the fences where the weather took its toll, a new hammer after Travis misplaced his, extra feed for the herd to fatten them for the auction in the fall.

  “Morning, boys,” Murray said when they were ready to pay. “Mighty fine weather we’ve been having. I half expected a bad start to the season after last month’s storm.”

  “Oh,” Cole said, shrugging. “You ought to let mother nature do her thing and trust we’ll get out on the other end.”

  Travis nodded, not joining in on the conversation. Sometimes mother nature took more than she gave back, and survival out west wasn’t always easy. It's a miracle they’d made it this far. Handling a ranch with just two brothers and a few helping hands was hard work, but Travis and Cole came out west to make a new life, and that's what they intended to do.

  “You boys hear what the Reverend is up to?” Murray asked.

  Travis glanced up at the man. He'd grown a beard since they’d seen him last and his belly seemed to have grown too. Cole shook his head.

  “Well, you just go on and have a look at that notice board. He’s starting all sorts of madness here, talking about preventing a brothel in these parts. If you ask me, a little female companionship is nothing to be shy about.”

  Travis chuckled.

  “We’ll have a look,” he said. Cole paid for the supplies while Travis loaded them onto the wagon. A commotion drew his attention at the meeting house and he glanced over. Men huddled around the notice board. Travis fastened the load and leaned against the wagon, watching the men. They were pushing and tugging and talking, laughing now and then when someone cracked a joke. Reverend Shreve walked out of the meeting house wearing his black coat and a wide-brimmed hat.

  “Now, gentlemen, let’s do this one at a time, please,” he said.

  “Let’s go see what that’s all about,” Cole said when he came out of the shop. Travis shrugged and fell into step next to his younger brother. They approached the group of men.

  “Travis, Cole,” Reverend Shreve called out. “So good to see you again!”

  Some men turned and shook their hands.

  “Look at this,” Gideon said, pointing at the notice board. “Women! All the way from the East. Reverend Shreve orders them for us like you order sugar.”

  Cole chuckled. “I bet they’re just as sweet,” he said.

  Travis nudged his brother. Women should be respected, not auctioned off like cattle.

  Reverend Shreve walked toward the brothers.

  “It’s not like that,” he said. “I don’t want the men looking for other ways to keep themselves busy. A brothel or a saloon in town is the last thing we need for a bunch of men with no women to keep their heads straight. A healthy marriage is just what we need.”

  “Sounds like a lot of work,” Cole said with a grin.

  Reverend Shreve shook his head. “Don’t tell me you don’t want a wife around the house,” he said. “I know how lonely it can get up at that ranch of yours.”

  Travis looked at the notice again. Women from the East, it said. Order your bride today.

  “I have direct contact with the agencies in various cities. Women sign up to come out West and marry strapping young lads with a will to work and create a new life with them. What do you boys think? Something that might tickle your fancy?”

  It sounded like trouble to Travis. He hadn’t needed help to find a woman back in the day. That was before traveling West and all the heartache that came with it. Now, there just wasn’t any space in his old heart for another run.

  “Maybe it’s something to consider,” he heard Cole saying, and he rolled his eyes. Imagine that, ordering a wife like you ordered sugar. The whole thing was ridiculous.

  “What about you, Travis?” Reverend Shreve asked, and Travis snapped his eyes to the town’s holy man. “Don’t you want to settle down? Holy matrimony pleases the Lord and us men are just better with a woman behind us.

  “No, thank you,” Travis said. He turned around and marched to the wagon. He got into the driver’s seat and waited for his brother, who stood with his thumbs hooked into his suspenders, talking to the Reverend. He couldn’t be considering this madness?

  The nerve! And Shreve telling Travis he might need a wife… Who was the Reverend to tell him he needed to take a wife? If the Lord blessed marriage, why was Travis alone now? No. There was no reason for him to open his heart to someone again. Travis had experienced enough pain for one lifetime. The last thing he needed was more of the same.

  Two

  Caroline

  June brought warm weather and high spirits. The city of Richmond seemed to come alive when the weather was good, and everything was better than usual. Caroline left all that behind. Richmond, Virginia had nothing to offer her anymore. The only way forward was to find a new life somewhere else, a place that wouldn’t remind her of how much she’d lost.

  Caroline hadn’t planned to be a mail-order bride from the start. After things had taken a turn for the worst, she’d considered picking up the pieces and seeing what she could salvage of a life that was once perfect. It wasn’t until she’d seen the advert for mail-order brides that she’d considered starting over.

  Caroline had never been married. Finding a husband hadn’t been on her list of things to do, what with her needing to sort out her father’s gambling debts and all the other nasty businesses he’d left behind. Dealing with the loss was one thing. Realizing that the one person you’d always trusted had been a liar and a cheat was an eye-opener that had come all too soon.

  Traveling West had become the answer to all her problems. Carson Valley, Wyoming would be the start of a new life for her. She’d heard about the West, about how they were colonizing it and building towns and cities just as spectacular as what they had created in the East.

  Caroline had left Richmond more than a month ago. Traveling across the new terrain had been all but smooth sailing. At night, they stopped to stay over at inns beside the road only to repeat the process the next day. At every stop, folk got off to be replaced by other folk.

  They had traveled more than a thousand miles and Caroline was just about sick of traveling when the driver announced the final stop. When they pulled into the small town of Merit, two more people stepped off and a woman joined Caroline. She sat opposite, and she fussed with the bag on her lap.

  “I don’t enjoy the coach,” she said. “Not one bit. All this jostling!”

  Caroline nodded. “I’ve had a month of jostling,” she said. “It gets to be too much.”

  “A month? Bless me, I would never survive a trip like that. Mind you, when I came out West with my Eustace, we had ox wagons and cut our own way through the underbrush. That’s a sight more than jostling I can tell you that.”

  “I can imagine,” Caroline said.

  “Where are you headed then, dearie?” the woman asked.

  “Carson Valley. I’m to marry a Mr. Davison.”

  The woman’s eyes widened.

  “You mean to marry one of the Davison brothers? Well, that’s something! I didn’t know either of them was in the market for a wife. Mind you, I’ve been away for two months now, visiting my sister in Merit. Men can change their minds, just wake up one day and say, I’m in want of a wife. I’m headed back to Carson Valley right now. You and I will be neighbors, then!”

  “I can’t tell you how good it is to have at last one familiar face,” Caroline said. “Mrs…”

  “Martha. Call me Martha. Tell me all about yourself. Where did you come from and how did you find yourself to be married to one of the Davison brothers?”

  Caroline looked out the small window at the ever-changing landscape.

  “I’ve been sent here as a bride,” she said. “Ordered by mail by a Reverend Shreve.”

  “So!” Martha exclaimed. “The Reverend has mentioned his plans of starting up a service like that. I didn’t believe the man would succeed. This is great news. Our town needs good women.”

  Caroline smiled. Her stomach tightened in knots thinking about the step she took. Offering yourself to be a bride to a stranger was getting popular these days, but that didn’t make it any less scary. To be carted across the country and married in a town you have never heard of, to a man you’ve never seen, was crazy.

  “You’re brave,” Martha said, still talking. “I can imagine how difficult a journey like this must be. To leave everything you know behind and come out here alone…when we traveled West, it was in a group. We knew each other and no matter what hardship we faced, we were in it together.”

  Caroline nodded and smiled, letting the older woman talk.

  “You’ll like the Davison brothers, I think,” Martha carried on. “Although they both can be very difficult. They live on the ranch next to mine, but it’s a mile or two apart, these homesteads. A lot of lonely days.”

  Martha was quiet for a while, leaving Caroline alone with her thoughts. She tried to imagine what it would be like to live alone with a man she didn’t know, to run a ranch when she knew nothing of ranching, where everything would be so different.

  “Are you sure it’s the Davison brothers you’re referring to?” Martha asked. “You don’t mean Mr. Davies?”

  Caroline shook her head. “It’s definitely Davison.” The letter was in her pocket, crinkling whenever she moved so she couldn’t forget about it. The Reverend Shreve communicated with her directly.

  “I’m just asking because it looks very unlikely that it might be them. Stranger things have happened, right?” She laughed. Caroline forced a smile. She worried now. What did she mean when she said it seemed unlikely?

  The coach arrived, pulling up to a platform. The coachman opened the door and Caroline let Martha step out first before following her. When her feet were on the ground, she looked around.

  Carson Valley was a small town with a few wooden buildings lining up along the main road that stretched from the platform. The rest of the country was wild, overgrown bush with mountains in the distance and rolling hills.

  “Miss Dupree?” someone called and Caroline turned around to the voice that must belong to the person expecting her. A man walked toward her. He wore pants with leather chaps over them, a checkered shirt and a brown hat against the sun. Dark hair curled around his ears, brushing his collar, and a pair of dark eyes captivated her.

  “I’m Cole Davison,” he said, taking the bag the coachman unloaded from the roof of the stage coach. “I’m here to collect you.”

  “Call me Caroline,” she said. “If we are to be married, we might as well start off on the right foot.”

  Cole shook his head. “Oh, no. I’m not… I mean, you’re for…” he sighed, trying to find his words. “My brother Travis is the man you’ll marry.”

  Caroline looked around. Why had Cole come to pick her up if he would not marry her? Maybe Travis was busy.

  “I am here to receive you and take you back to our ranch,” he said. “My brother has a lot to do today and couldn’t get time off to come into town.”

  Caroline nodded. Martha marched up to her, her own bags in hand.

  “I’ll see you around, dearie,” she said. “You don’t be scared to shout when you need something, now.” She looked at Cole. “Mr. Davison,” she said and turned to walk away.

  “You’ve met our neighbor,” Cole said, smiling. “Making friends already. It’s a great start.”

  Cole gestured toward a wagon with two horses and Caroline walked toward it, taking the hand he offered to help her up. Cole clicked his tongue and flicked the reins, turning the horses around. With a jolt, they were off.

  The ranch was beautiful. They drove through a great deal of landscape before reaching the wooden ranch house. Cole helped Caroline down from the wagon and fetched her bag from the back.

  “This way,” he said, leading the way to the porch in front of the house.

  The door opened, and a man stepped out so similar in looks to Cole that he had to be Travis, the other Davison brother.

  His dark eyes fell on Caroline and he frowned.

  “Who is this?” he asked Cole.

  Caroline stepped forward, holding out her hand.

  “I’m Caroline,” she said. “Your bride.”

  Travis looked at Cole. He didn’t look excited or even nervous. He looked surprised. Shocked, in fact.

  “Travis…” Cole started. Travis shook his head and glared at Caroline one more time before storming off.

  Three

  Travis

  “Travis,” Cole called, running after him. Travis didn’t stop. He didn’t want to hear what Cole had to say.

  “Stop, don’t you walk away from me. Come on, just give it a chance.”

  “How dare you!” Travis cried, spinning around and coming face to face with his brother. He wanted to crack him on the jaw. He wanted to grab the man and strangle him for what he’d done. “I told you I didn’t want a wife. After Lily…damn you! You can’t just replace someone like that.”

  Cole shook his head.

  “I knew you would be angry, but just give her a chance. I see how you’re just going through the motions day in and day out. I want you to live again.”

  “So you ordered me a wife, like that would make everything better?”

  He looked over Cole’s shoulder. Caroline stood on the porch, clutching onto her bag like it could keep her afloat when she was in way over her head. She heard the whole conversation, he knew. He didn’t care. Cole messed up, he could fix it.

  “Just give her a chance,” Cole pleaded.

  Travis grabbed Cole’s shirt and yanked him closer.

  “Listen to me,” he said. “I’m not interested. I don’t want a wife. Make sure this is fixed before sunset or else you and I will have problems.”

  He let go of the shirt and stormed off, leaving Cole behind, cursing.

  Travis was out the whole day. He didn’t want to go back to the ranch house if Caroline would be there. He couldn’t bear to look at her.

  The sun was setting over the ranch, the sun low, touching the world with fingers of gold. Travis didn’t notice the beauty. He mulled over the woman Cole brought home. The more he thought about it, the angrier he became.

  The nerve! His younger brother sent for a wife without his consent and now she was here, expecting Travis to wife her. Well, she might have wanted a husband, but he didn’t want a wife. If Cole wanted to be so daring, he could marry her himself. Travis had no intention of taking a wife again.

  Travis did all his chores around the ranch, and then some. He rode around on his horse, inspecting the fences even though he’d done that a week ago. He barely saw anything his eyes landed on, though. He had a bitter taste at the back of his throat and he couldn’t seem to shake the anger he carried around like a cloak.

  He would not marry that woman. Cole couldn’t force him to do anything. Having her here meant nothing, he was under no obligation. Travis would not get attached again. Loving someone only meant more pain when they were ripped away.

 

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