To be a mayor in Waterhole, Texas a man had to be married.
***
Seth sat behind the old wooden desk in the jail house and looked around. It wasn’t a typical jail. This one was painted inside, and decorated with a feminine quality. The last four sheriffs the town had before him were all women; sisters in fact. Each of them had served a term, fallen in love and given up their job. The last sister had stepped down two years ago, then Sheriff Les had also stepped down a year later. That was when Seth had come to town to fill the position.
Seth didn’t mind the décor, although it made him yearn for a wife seeing all of the girlish touches to the room. However, after Anne left him, he’d never even looked for one. Anne had been a wild, untamed girl when they met, but he loved her. They’d married when Seth was only nineteen and she only seventeen. For two glorious years, they’d been together until the baby came.
A boy they named James, after Seth’s father. A strong, healthy boy who needed attention, feeding, cleaning. All the things Anne didn’t want to do. She’d always been restless, but having a baby made the urge more powerful.
One day, she’d gone away. No note, no explanation, but she didn’t need to tell Seth why. He’d seen it in her eyes. Unable to stop her, Anne had left him alone with a one-year old son to care for and a town to watch over.
Seth didn’t try to follow her. There was no use. He knew her spirit had to be free. A year later, he received a small notice from a Doctor in Wyoming telling him Anne was dead. He didn’t know how or why, just that she was gone forever. And so, he’d trudged on, raising James with help from the town’s folk. Never even considering remarrying.
Then, four months later, came the small outbreak of yellow fever that lasted for a month, but took the lives of ten people in town, including James. After that, Seth had handed over his badge to Ron Strider and allowed him to uphold the justice in town while Seth did his grieving. The man had done a fine job for six months, until he was killed by a stray bullet shot out of the saloon door.
Since then, Seth had returned to work with a new vengeance and a plan: to rid Waterhole of the saloon. He just needed to find a wife. The women in Waterhole were all married, except for the saloon girls, and they were not the type of woman he wanted. The oldest single girl in town was barely fifteen, so Seth had searched his mind, wondering if an extended to trip to Fort Worth was in order, but after hearing about how men could place an ad for a mail order bride in big city newspapers, he’d finally decided to send an advertisement to some papers further east and see if he could find a wife.
Mail Order Bride Wanted: Waterhole, Texas. Seth Miller aged twenty-three. Tall, blue eyes, blond hair; seeks single, moral woman to help civilize the town.
Seth laughed at the futileness of the ad. For two weeks he’d heard nothing, but then, one lonely letter arrived, written in lovely script:
I would love to be your mail order bride. I will be eighteen next month. I have brown hair and brown eyes. I am educated and would like to help civilize your town. I have no money, and need to move quickly. - Ruby Dawson
Seth had sent back a reply, telling her a bit more about the town and his hopes. He didn’t want any woman showing up in Waterhole, seeing how small the town was and what little it had to offer a woman from the city. He wanted her to know up front all there was to know. If a woman would still come to town, with all that information, perhaps she’d actually be able to handle the lifestyle required.
She’d written once more confirming her desire to help him, and assured him she hadn’t been frightened off at the sounds of the small town.
Seth carried the letter around for two more weeks, hoping to get a few other replies, but finally, out of desperation, he bought a train ticket and sent it with enough money for the two stage coaches she’d have to take to get to town.
That was several weeks ago. He’d heard nothing since then and wondered if he’d been taken for a fool. The girl, if she were even real, could have cashed in the train ticket and spent the money he sent. There was nothing he could do about it but learn a lesson.
I’ll have to take that trip to Fort Worth after all, he determined. But not until right before winter. For now, I’ll just keep trying to clean up the town by arresting the drunks and running the saloon girls out of town.
That was the one thing which bothered him the most. As long as there were saloon girls to entertain the men, he was going to have a hard time closing the saloon.
Seth set his head down on his folded arms and sighed. The future loomed ahead of him barren and dark, however, maybe it was better that the girl hadn’t come to town. This place was no place for a decent woman. Seth wasn’t sure he could actually go through with a marriage again; especially if there were any chance of ever having a child.
He’d buried his pride and joy; James. He could never love a child again.
***
Seth heard the stage as the horses slowed in front of the trading post. He stood and glanced out
