Montana Bound: A Sweet Mail Order Bride Historical (Mail Order Bride Journeys Book 2) Read Online Free PDF

near beside him. Every jostle of the wagon on the rocky road, would cause the two of them to bump into each other lightly.
    “I don’t think I could ever get used to it.” Grace said, snapping Owen from his blissful thoughts.
    “Get used to what?” Owen asked, curious.
    “The view of the mountains. They make me feel so peaceful.” Owen looked up at Grace, and thought to himself that she had the look of perfect serenity, as she spoke.
    Arriving in town, Owen dropped Grace off at the store and headed over to the mill to buy the lumber that he needed to fix the fence. It didn’t take long for the lumber to be loaded into the back of the wagon by the operator and his assistant, so when Owen arrived back at the general store and joined Grace, she had only finished ordering the food items and had only begun to go through the fabric.
    “Oh good, you’re back.” Grace said as she saw Owen approaching. She then turned and quickly retrieved a very nice printed fabric and draped it over herself. “Your sister asked me to pick out a fabric so she could make herself a dress that she could wear on special occasions. I think this one would look good on her. How do you think it looks?”
    Owen looked at the fabric, which had conformed itself to every curve of Grace’s body. He was breathless, and could not find the words, as he continued to run his eyes over the fabric, taking it all in.
    “I, um—it’s”, Owen managed to say, as he tried, but failed to look away.
    “You don’t like it then?” Grace asked, sounding disappointed.
    “No. No, not at all.” Owen answered, still looking at the fabric. “I think—, I think it’s perfect.”
    Owen was not at all convinced that he was talking about the fabric, and hoped that Grace would not suspect what had been on his mind. He finally succeeded in forcing his eyes away, and a wave of guilt came over him for having such thoughts of her. He felt ashamed of himself, ashamed that he didn’t have enough self-control to keep his thoughts from taking off. But you are only a man, and she is such a beautiful woman. The thought was not as consoling as he had hoped.
    “Great! Then I think we are finished here.” Grace said, folding the fabric back up. “I hope that your sister will like it as much as we do.”
    Owen was certain that Constance would approve of Grace’s choice of fabric. It certainly was nicer than anything that Constance had ever picked out before.
    Grace hadn’t seemed to notice anything, and was her normal, cheerful self for the trip home. Owen admired her. A butterfly landed on her skirt and sitting there for a few moments, causing a delighted squeal to erupt from Grace. She took such pleasure from the simple things of life. He was growing fonder of her by the day, which excited him, and also frightened him. At that moment though, he put the thought out of his mind, preferring instead to simply enjoy the rest of the ride home with her.
     
    ***
     
    October 2, 1896
     
    “I’ve volunteered to help set up the stands for the Pumpkin Festival tomorrow. Mrs. Metzger cornered me.” Owen laughed.
    “Oh, it’ll do you some good to help out. You know what it says in the good book—‘And let us not grow weary of doing good, for in due season we will reap.’ Besides, you’ll have fun.” Constance answered.
    “What is the Pumpkin Festival?” Grace asked, intrigued. “It sounds like fun.”
    “Actually it is a lot of fun.” Owen offered. “We do it every for the children every fall. There are tons of activities, but the one the children love the best is the pumpkin painting.”
    “Yes. They love that.” Constance agreed. “They get to paint the pumpkins however they want, and then they take them home to decorate for All Hallows Eve.”
    “That does sound like fun. Is there anything that I can do to help?” Grace asked.
    “Funny that you should ask.” Owen said with a mischievous grin. “I told Mrs. Metzger that you would be thrilled to help out