Mail Order Market (Alaskan Brides #5 | Brides of Beckham #71)

Chapter One

Myrtle looked around nervously as she disembarked the steamboat in Skagway, Alaska. She knew Aaron Fielding was waiting for her somewhere, but she had a surprise for him that she wasn’t certain he’d be happy about.

She and Aaron had corresponded for a bit, and she’d agreed to be his mail-order bride with the help of Elizabeth Tandy, a marriage broker in Beckham, Massachusetts, where she’d lived for several years while working at the hotel in town.

“Is he here?” Josephine—whom they all called Josie—asked.

“I don’t know!” Myrtle said. “How do I know which man he is?”

“Good question,” Lula said. “Are you sure he’s not going to be upset that you brought us along?”

“I have no idea at all. It seemed like a brilliant idea at the time...” Myrtle bit her bottom lip, worried that Aaron would be upset with her before they even married. But before he could be upset, she had to find him.

Slowly, a tall man with dark hair and a closely shaven beard walked toward the four girls who were huddled together. “Is one of you Myrtle Banks?”

“I am,” Myrtle said. Now that she was face-to-face with Aaron, she knew she’d made a mistake. She shouldn’t have brought her friends without his permission. What was she thinking?

He smiled. “I’m Aaron Fielding.”

“It’s so good to finally meet you!” Myrtle said. “I want to introduce my friends. Josie, Ella, and Lula. They are all planning to marry men from Yeti, so they came along with me. That way, only one of you needs to miss work. Wasn’t that smart?”

Aaron frowned. “I only brought food for two.”

“Each of us brought extra food in our carpet bags,” Myrtle said.

“Sally wrote how her husband only brought jerky and hardtack on the journey. So, we each packed some, and she also said we could restock once we reached Lake Bennett. She said it would be costly, so we have as much money as we could save up for the food.”

“Sounds like you thought of everything then, doesn’t it?” Aaron was annoyed, but he tried not to show it. How was he supposed to watch over four women on the long journey from Skagway to Yeti? Why hadn’t Myrtle at least consulted him about the change in plans?

“We’re strong, and we will make the load lighter,” Josie said softly. “I know we’re a surprise to you, but we can pick berries to supplement our food supply.”

Aaron forced a smile. “Let’s go have a wedding then.”

He walked toward the pastor, letting the four women trail behind him.

He couldn’t help but wonder which of the men he worked with each woman would marry.

At that moment, he didn’t want to marry any of them, but he knew it would be better to go along with the women’s plan.

It wasn’t like he could leave them there.

After a quick ceremony, he kissed Myrtle on the cheek. “Let’s head out. We have a long way to go before winter.”

The women all nodded, smiling cheerfully. He knew their good spirits couldn’t last the entire trip, and he dreaded having to take them all with him.

“I have a mule to carry bags, but she won’t be able to carry them all. We’re going to need to keep our eyes open for another. I don’t care if we get a jack or a molly, but you ladies will not be able to carry your packs up the steep trail.”

“What’s your mule’s name?” Myrtle asked, hoping to break the ice with the man who seemed very annoyed with her, though it was obvious he was trying not to let it show.

When Aaron stopped walking, all four of the women stopped as well. He talked to a man who had two leads in his hand. “Are you selling your mules?” he asked.

The man nodded, naming a price. Aaron winced, but he dug the money from his pocket. “Thanks.”

“I could sell one of the women for ye too. If you don’t need all four that is.” The man spit into the dirt.

Myrtle flinched as if she’d been struck. “We’re not for sale.”

Aaron nodded emphatically. “All of these women are spoken for and under my protection.” As annoyed as he was with the situation, he couldn’t imagine leaving a woman with the man in front of him.

“Thank you for the mule,” Aaron said as he led the women away. He would protect all four of the ladies with his life. The burden may not be his choice, but he knew his duty, and his co-workers would surely pay him back for any extra expenses when they saw he’d brought their brides.

Once they were out of earshot of the man, he turned to the four women. “Stay close to me. There will be others like him, wanting to buy one of you. We need to be careful when we’re in busy areas, but thankfully, that will only happen twice on our journey.

Myrtle nodded, not having realized exactly how wild this area would be. The men frightened her a bit, and she was glad her friends were beside her. “We’ll be careful.”

“Good. Follow me.” He set off again, and they followed as if he was a mother duck, and they were all ducklings.

As soon as the image sprang to her mind, Myrtle couldn’t help but giggle.

The other ladies all looked at her, and she whispered her thought, not wanting Aaron to hear her.

She had no idea if he would share her silly sense of humor.

“He’s the mama duck, and we’re the ducklings, waddling along behind him. ”

The others all laughed softly—all except Josie, who was closer to Myrtle than any of the others. Josie laughed loudly. “Myrtle, you need to keep those comments to yourself until we’re out of this town.”

Calling Skagway a town was a bit of a stretch of the imagination. Yes, it was an area with people, and it bustled, but from what Myrtle had seen, the buildings seemed to be saloons and brothels. Could an area with only saloons and brothels be called a town? She didn’t know.

Aaron glared at all of them over his shoulder. “Do not call attention to yourselves.”

Myrtle hung her head in a show of false humility. She would obey the man, as he was her husband, but she would only do so in public. When they were alone, she would let him know what she thought of his orders.

Soon, they were out of Skagway and on their way on a dirt trail away from civilization.

Myrtle wondered for a moment if she would ever be able to return to Massachusetts for a visit, but the thought made her sad, and she blocked it out of her mind.

She had to look to the future that the man in front of her represented. There was no real choice.

By the time they stopped that evening, Myrtle felt as if her feet would never be able to move so swiftly again. Aaron showed them no mercy as he set the pace that they all must follow.

He made a small campfire and looked around at the women. “I only brought two blankets.”

“We all brought our own,” Ella said. She’d been mostly quiet through the day. Myrtle had never heard her say much, but when Myrtle had needed help with anything, Ella had been there to support her. She was that way with all the waitresses and maids who lived at the hotel.

“Good,” Aaron said as he quickly tied the mules to a tree and removed their burdens from them.

“There’s a river a short distance that way.

Make sure at least two of you go together if you’re going to leave camp.

” He held up the pack of food he’d brought.

“This is my food supply. One of you will need to distribute a small amount of jerky and hardtack to everyone in the mornings and again in the evenings. If we make good time every day, we’ll stop for lunch. ”

None of the women argued with him, knowing he controlled their fates—at least until they all reached Yeti. “Can we get water from the river?” Myrtle asked.

Aaron nodded. “But we need to boil it before we drink it. Cholera isn’t pretty, and it’s the only known way to prevent it.”

Aaron finally sat down beside the fire, where all four women were rubbing their feet. “Today was difficult, but there won’t be any easy days on this journey.”

All four women nodded. Josie was the only one to respond. “We’ve all read letters from our friends who went before us. The journey sounds like torture, but Yeti...Yeti seems like a land with streets made of gold and food lying on the ground, just waiting for us to pick it up.”

He laughed at that. “Yeti is a frontier town, much like all the others. You’ll be expected to work hard for every meal. I understand the women who have already arrived have found a way to divide the chores among them, so no one is doing everything, but you will not be ladies with maids.”

“We’re used to being the maids. It will be nice to do work we can benefit from,” Myrtle said.

“Why were all of you laughing while we were still in town?” he asked.

Myrtle bit her lip for a moment and then admitted, “It was my fault. I have a rather vivid imagination, and I mentioned something I was imagining, and everyone laughed. I will do better.”

Aaron narrowed his eyes. “What did you say?”

Myrtle thought for a moment about not answering, but that wouldn’t have been right. “I said that you were like a mother duck, and we were all your ducklings waddling behind you.”

For a moment, Aaron looked offended, but then he laughed, a low grumble that started in his belly and soon immersed them all. “Is that the sort of thing I can expect for the rest of my life?” he asked as his laughter—and the women’s—finally subsided.

Myrtle nodded emphatically. “And so much worse, I’m afraid. Not only do I have an extremely vivid imagination, but I seem to be missing something most people have between their minds and their tongues. I blurt out whatever I think. It’s not a favorable trait.”

“At least I will always know where I stand,” he said.

He stood up and held his hand out to Myrtle.

“We’re going for a short walk. We need to get to know one another better.

” He found he was suddenly less angry with her for bringing along her friends.

He wanted them to get along, but he knew he needed to let her know what she’d done was unacceptable.

Myrtle took his hand and rose to her feet, casting a quick look over her shoulder where Josie was making a face at her. Oh dear. Bringing her friends had been a terrible idea!

As soon as they were out of earshot of camp, Aaron stopped walking and turned to her. “I wish you’d told me you were thinking of bringing your friends. I thought this would be a time for us to get to know one another and grow close. Instead, I’m escorting four women on a steep, difficult trail.”

Myrtle looked down at her hands, which were fidgeting with her apron.

“When it was time to leave, I was...very nervous about meeting you. I told Josie, and the idea grew from there. I know I should have talked to you about it, but it didn’t occur to me you might not be happy about it until we got off the ship.

It seemed like such a brilliant idea back in Massachusetts. ”

He sighed. “I guess I can understand that, but in the future, I’d like you to talk to me before you make decisions like that.”

She looked up at him and nodded. “I truly am sorry.”

“I forgive you. We’ll both do better at communicating in the future.”

“It was hard only being able to write to you.” She smiled up at him. “It feels odd to be standing in front of you, to be honest.”

“It feels strange to me as well.” He put his hands at her waist and drew her to him. “I didn’t feel comfortable kissing you for the first time in front of your friends. Would you mind if I kiss you now?”

She shook her head. “Of course not. You’re my husband!”

“I like the sound of that.” He softly kissed her lips, not trying for anything truly intimate with her friends so close.

As soon as their lips touched, he knew he’d made the right decision to marry her. He wasn’t happy about waiting for his wedding night for a month or more, but he’d make it work.

When he lifted his head, he cupped her cheek for just a moment. “You’re sure all of your friends are marrying men from Yeti?”

She nodded. “Yes, I am. I don’t remember who they’re marrying at the moment. Mostly when we talk about who we are planning to marry, we call him ‘my future husband’. Names would be good, but we got into a bad habit of never using them.”

“I can understand that. I have several friends I work with, and we only referred to who we were writing as ‘my bride.’ There are going to be some very shocked men when I show up with four brides.”

She laughed softly. “You’re right about that. I’m so sorry I didn’t write you about it.”

“All is forgiven. It’s what we do from here that matters.”

“Tell me about your home.”

“I have a small cabin. I have a stove on order, and I have a feeling it will be put together before we arrive home. All I use now is a fireplace. I rarely cook for myself. I buy what the women in town bake when I can.” He shook his head.

“It’s what we all do. We were all happy just eating jerky and hardtack until you women started coming to town and making us hungry for sweets. ”

She smiled. “Do you have any animals?”

“No.”

“Have you always lived in Alaska?” Myrtle knew he’d written about these things, but she wanted to hear his voice give her the answers.

“No. I grew up in Wisconsin. Actually, the cabin I grew up in is about the same size I’m in now. My father was a lumberman in Wisconsin. My mother died when I was small. I have a brother who is three years younger than me. Ma died in childbirth with him.”

“Were you raised going to church?” She’d always enjoyed church, and she hoped he would want to go as often as she did.

“I was. There’s no real church in Yeti. A group of us get together for a Bible study on Sunday mornings. Mr. Johnson—who runs the store with his wife—leads the Bible study. He went to seminary school but decided to open a store instead.”

“I’ve heard really good things about Mrs. Johnson.” All of her friends had written letters about the woman who tended the store.

“You’ve heard good things because there’s nothing bad that you can say about her. She’s a kind woman who goes out of her way to help others.” He draped an arm over her shoulders as he guided her back to camp. “Do you plan to join your friends in their business ventures?”

Myrtle shrugged. “I’m not sure yet. I would love it if I could bake.

My favorite thing to bake is pies, but I’m not sure what ingredients would be available.

I could knit or sew. I’ve never had a green thumb.

I’m probably not thinking of everything, but the women already settled probably know what they want me to do. ”

“Oh, I’m sure they do. It doesn’t seem to take any of the ladies long before they start working with the others. It’s almost like everyone arranged this before they even boarded the train to come here.”

“It’s Belle,” Myrtle said. “There’s no doubt in my mind she’s the mastermind behind everything.”

“You’re probably right. She’s the one who married our boss.”

“Well, I hope to join the business endeavors if someone has a task for me.”

He nodded. “I don’t mind either way. Though I would never say no to more money coming in.”

Myrtle smiled. “Then I will definitely join them. They just need to find me a task.”