The temptation to march up to the diner and have a showdown with Helen was so strong she started to cross the road. The way she felt right now she would be tempted to ram Helen’s head against the nearest wall. If love could turn a sensible, solid man like Jacob into a weak, gibbering fool, she wanted no part of it.
Maybe this Rowan would be okay. Sheriff Bob seemed to think highly of him. And she certainly thought highly of the sheriff. She had once thought she might have asked him to step out with her, once he had met Lotte and been smitten, she had lost her chance.
Perhaps she ought to ride home and write the letter to this Rowan man. If he was in anyway decent, she didn’t want him to find someone else in the meantime. It would be a wrench leaving Twisted Creek after spending her whole life there. Living anywhere would be better than sharing the same roof as Helen. She would probably end up in prison for assaulting the woman.
Her temper started to rise again. A new ranch house would have been tolerable, because she could have stayed in the old one. Helen had the gall to suggest to Jacob he pull down the old house and use the timber for the new place. With the money they saved, they could buy nice furniture.
I’ll ride home, write the letter and post it in time for the morning mail coach. She never went to the diner now Helen worked there. The woman would probably poison her food to get rid of her permanently. They both detested each other and made no effort to hide it. The only honest thing about Helen, was her outward show of hatred to her soon to be sister-in-law.
She had turned Jacob against her by saying she was greedy and selfish and wanted the ranch all to herself, which was a lie. They had once been close, even though her brother was eight years older than her twenty-one years. Not anymore. Sadness weighed her down just thinking about what they had lost because of a selfish, upstart of a woman who drifted into town from goodness only knew where and sunk her hooks into Jacob.
Mounting Audrey, she kneed the mare into motion and left town, waving to a few of the locals as she did so. Fortunately, most of them had not listened to the lies Helen had spread about her being nasty, dishonest, lazy, and living off her brother.
She fumed as she rode along. Stop it, or you’ll end up having a nervous attack.
This Rowan sounded all right. He could prove to be a life saver if they were compatible. To get away from Helen, she would happily move to Mountview.
Chapter Three
A month after Aunt Gertie’s funeral Rowan received a letter from Miranda Kingston in Twisted Creek, with an enclosed note from Bob.
He sat down in his favorite armchair with a cup of coffee to read it. Hopefully, it would take his mind off his worries. Poor George had not been well, and it grieved him to think the old man was feeling so poorly.
Unfolding Bob’s letter, he read through it, brief and to point. His cousin had never believed in procrastinating.
As he opened Miranda Kingston’s letter, he was shocked to see a slight tremor to his hands.
Dear Rowan,
I might as well call you this and you can address me as Miranda, no point in wasting time. Sheriff Bob mentioned you were thinking about taking a bride.
It was a bit of an exaggeration, but he liked that Miranda was happy to disperse with useless niceties and get straight down to business.
I guess you would like to know what I look like?
You betcha I would. He might want a wife but was not desperate enough to be lumbered with some hag of a woman, no other man wanted. He did have his pride.
I am twenty-one years old. I have green eyes and dark brown hair. I am about five feet three inches in height. My brother used to say I was pretty, but not since he fell for a scheming woman who wants me off the ranch so she can have him all to herself.
I will be honest with you. I am looking for somewhere else to live as it would be impossible for me to share a house with her. I dislike her and the feeling is mutual. When Bob suggested my becoming a mail-order bride, I scoffed at it to begin with, now I think it might be a good idea. There are no men in Twisted Creek I would care to marry.
She was certainly honest. He was starting to warm to her already. He hated deception. Why paint a rosy picture if it wasn’t true?
I am a virtuous, God-fearing woman who doesn’t mind hard work. In fact, I am used to it. Ever since I can remember, I have helped out on the ranch, so there are very few chores I am unable to do. I can cook and keep house as my mother died when I was ten and I have been taking care of pa and my brother ever since.
If you are not interested in me, please say so. If you are interested, I would like to know more about you and the ranch where you live. Don’t feel obligated because Bob recommended me, as I am not destitute and would be capable of looking after myself if I had to.
Yours faithfully,
Miranda Kingston
He put the letter to one side while he took a thoughtful sip of his coffee. He liked the sound of this gal. She
