Read Mail-Order Bride Ink: Dear Mr. Weaver for Free Online Page B

‘cause all the dishes he’s gonna hafta wash.”
    Ebba glanced around. “Doesn’t he have any help?”
    “Not right now. Folks ‘round here either can make more money workin’ the orchards, or they’re too young. Not much in between ‘round here at the moment.”
    She glanced around the room again and noticed more than one person staring back. She quickly looked down into her coffee cup, picked it up and took a sip. It felt good and took her mind off the curious stares.
    “I’m sure glad yer here,” he said.
    She raised her eyes to his and swore she got another tiny glimpse into his heart. This was a good man, she could tell. “So am I. It was a long journey.”
    “Ma got ya a room at the hotel. She and I’re staying with my Aunt Betsy at the mercantile. Her family owns it.”
    There was something strange about what he’d just said. Hadn’t Sheriff Hughes mentioned something about the mercantile? “I thought your cousin did.”
    “Harlan must’ve told ya that. Yeah, Matty will one day, but right now his ma and pa do, and he and his wife Charlotte work there.”
    “Oh yes, the sheriff did tell me that.”
    “Yeah, good old Harlan. Sure is good to see him – been a long time since he’s come to Nowhere.”
    “He mentioned coming to your farm. He plans to visit you and your family a lot while he’s here.”
    Daniel winked conspiratorially. “Sure he does, on account he’s kinda sweet on Ma.”
    “He is?” she said with a smile. “Does she feel the same way about him?”
    “Far as we can tell.”
    “Did you know he was coming?”
    “Oh yeah. Clayton, Harlan’s nephew, told us about a month ago, and Ma’s been fussin’ around the house ever since. She even wore her new favorite hat today.”
    Ebba giggled. “I think that’s wonderful. It will be fun to watch them.”
    “Yeah, speakin’ of that …” He leaned toward her. “I noticed quite a few folks are watchin’ ya kinda funny-like. I don’t understand why – they all knew I had a mail-order bride comin’. Heck, a lot of them have known for months.”
    She shrugged. She didn’t have an answer. “Are folks here normally like this?”
    “What do ya mean?”
    How was she going to put this? “Well … some of them don’t seem very friendly.”
    “People in Nowhere not friendly? That don’t make no sense. Folks around here are some of the friendliest ya’ll ever find. Everyone that comes here says so.” He glanced around the room again. “Now that ya mention it, I do notice a few looks that ain’t … well, normal.”
    “That’s what I mean. They seem to be looking at me rather oddly.”
    He studied her a moment. “Hey,” he said. “Ya got an accent! I just noticed!”
    “So do you,” she pointed out.
    “I do?” he asked in surprise.
    “Yes.”
    He cocked his head to one side. “An accent? Well, how ‘bout that? I never knew I had any kind of an accent. Folks ‘round here all sorta sound alike.”
    She laughed at that, then began to cough. He reached over and gently patted her back. “Thank you,” she said, then took another sip of coffee, hoping it would suppress her hacking. It wasn’t as hot as before, but did do the job.
    “Ya poor thing, did ya really do that half the trip like Harlan said?”
    She nodded. “And then some.”
    “Well, don’t ya worry none – Ma is really good at whippin’ up remedies. And if she cain’t, Doc Brown can.”
    Hank brought her stew and set it on the table. “You want any?” he asked her intended.
    “No, Hank, I’m fine. I’ll just sit here and watch my future bride enjoy hers.”
    Ebba blushed. She hadn’t thought about eating in front of him, let alone him watching her do it. Good heavens, what if she spilled something on herself? Having a coughing fit in front of him was bad enough.
    “Ya go ahead and eat that there stew, sweetie,” he said. “Ya look like ya need it.”
    Ebba half-smiled. He had no idea.
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    S he was lovely . Not beautiful like his