The Springtime Mail Order Bride Read Online Free PDF Page B

who waved mildly back. She sighed, and faced front as the wagon continued to rumble through town.  It didn’t take long for them to reach the other side, and begin the long, lonely road to her new home as Mrs. Arlan Weaver. She sighed again, and tried to enjoy the ride. 
     
    Meanwhile, back at the church …
    “Do n’t you think one of us should have at least warned her?” asked Mable as they sat down to tea.
    “No, let her find out for herself. No sense scaring the poor thing half to death,” Mrs. Quinn replied.
    “You two are cruel!  I give her two weeks!” the preacher cried as he spun on his heel and sat down hard upon his chair. “Make that one!”
    “Oh come now,” Mable admonished. “The Weavers can be boisterous, I admit, but they’re not that bad.” Her husband glared at her, one eyebrow raised in disagreement, as Mrs. Quinn took a diplomatic sip of her tea and kept quiet.
    “Those Weavers will have that girl running back to town in one week!  Mark my words, she’ll never last until Easter.”
    “Since when did you become such a pessimist?” his wife asked.  “Who knows why the good Lord brought that girl out here to marry Arlan?  I grant you she’s kinda scrawny and quiet, but if she’s got any gumption in her, she’ll hold her own on that farm.”
      The preacher folded his arms across his chest. “Daniel Weaver put dead toads in the punch at the Valentine’s dance last month, and back in October, the twins started a stampede when they tried to ride Mr. Miller’s cows as he was herding them through town. They’re an unruly bunch they are!”
    “My sister Mary does have her hands full. Maybe that’s why she took to making hats …” Mrs. Quinn replied to no one in particular.
    “Will you look at the three of us?” Mable chastised. “We should be praying for that girl instead of wagering on how long she’ll last with the Weavers.”
    Mrs. Quinn let go a heavy sigh. “You’re right, of course. But … I am curious.”
    “About what?” Mable asked.
    Mrs. Quinn glanced around the room as she chewed on her lip. “Uh … I give her two weeks.”
    Mable groaned and rolled her eyes.
    “Well?” her husband prompted.
    Mable’s eyes darted between them . “Oh, all right. I give her one and a half.”
    They glanced at one another, before they burst into laughter, quieted, then started to pray.
     
    * * *
     
    Samantha sat next to Arlan in silence for the first half hour of the journey and took in the landscape. The town of Nowhere was surrounded by various orchards, farms, and patches of dense forest.  She didn’t recognize the different types of trees and finally had to ask, “What is grown here?”
    “Apples mostly.  Some pear.”
    She sighed. It seemed her husband was a man of few words when he traveled.  “And what about the tall green ones over there?” she asked and pointed.
    He glanced in the direction she indicated. “They’re called fir trees. Looks like there’s some cedar mixed in with them.”
    She looked up at him.  He glanced sideways at her then quickly looked away. “You warm enough?”
    “Yes, very.  This is a nice coat.”
    “Good. You’re gonna need it.”
    She cringed at the sound of his voice.  There was a sort of finality in it that made her wonder what sort of things he expected of her.  What work awaited her at his farm? What was her life going to be like now?  She had a flicker of her new husband acting like Uncle Burr, and she flinched.
    “What’s wrong?” Arlan asked. “There’s no need to be jumpy. I’m right here.”
    She straightened on the seat and looked ahead. “Nothing, I’m fine.”
    He looked at her. “That means you’re not fine.”
    “I am so,” she said as she glanced up at him.  “I … I just ...”
    “You just what?”
    “I can’t explain it.”
    He pulled on the reins and brought them to a stop. She looked at him in a panic, unsure of what he was going to do.  She was jumpy, more than she thought,