Chapter One
Albright Ranch, Riverton, Illinois
It was early in the evening when Neil noticed a small rider on a large horse slowly walking down the long road toward his ranch house.
He recognized his sister’s well-mannered draft horse instantly, and his heart began to race.
She was almost eight months pregnant, so what on earth was she doing here?
“Maeve!” he called as he quickly stepped back into the house. “We have a guest!”
“We do?” the portly, middle-aged, Irish housekeeper asked as she appeared in the doorway. “Who is it?”
“Maisie! Would you believe it?” Neil turned and walked back onto the porch as Maeve followed him with wide eyes.
She took off her bonnet and wiped her shiny forehead with it. “What? In her condition? Oh, my Lord!” Maeve called out with her hands in the air. Neil jumped off the porch and started walking toward their visitor.
Maisie seemingly saw him from far away and immediately began waving at them, smiling brightly. Then she tried to kick the flanks of her trusted old draft horse, but Neil was glad that the large animal didn’t listen and kept its relaxed pace.
“Maisie Albright-Grayson!” Neil called out to her as he walked in her direction. “What on earth has gotten into your head to ride all the way out here as pregnant as you are?” Neil exclaimed sternly. “And alone, I might add!”
Maisie just grinned from one ear to the other.
“Can’t I come to visit my brother when I want to?” she exclaimed as she held the large brim of her white hat down to shade her face. She had the same golden-colored eyes as Neil, only her hair was a tad lighter, looking almost dark blonde in the sun.
Since Maisie had married James Grayson, the modest farm girl who once preferred simple, practical dresses and boots now looked like she had stepped out of a fashion plate.
The big, fluffy, white dress she wore today was adorned with countless light blue bows and ribbons that waved in the mild breeze like a knight’s banners.
She looked like she was going to a fancy ball, not halfway across the territory on a day’s ride.
“Are you not happy to see me?” she said with a mischievous grin.
Neil stepped in front of the massive but docile horse to take the reins.
As much as he was worried about her doing something so irresponsible, he loved his younger sister very much.
His stern face immediately softened when he looked up at her beaming smile.
“I would be if I could, but I can barely see you past all that fluffy fabric and lace,” he teased her.
Maisie pouted, but it only lasted for a couple of seconds.
“What in the world possessed you to come all the way out here in your condition? Is everything all right with James and your ranch?” he asked, a little worried.
Maisie smiled warmly at him and nodded as he led the draft horse closer toward the house.
“I just wanted to see you,” she replied, “before the baby comes.”
“And James let you leave just like that?” Neil asked, making a questioning face. He knew his younger sister too well. Maisie had always been a strong-willed young girl, and by the looks of it, marriage hadn’t changed that.
“I left him a note not to worry and that I’ll be back before church on Sunday,” she announced with a huge smile, cheekily raising a single eyebrow. “He’ll be fine.”
Neil snorted loudly at that. “Of course, he’ll be fine!” Neil exclaimed. “He’s not the one who’s eight months pregnant with his first child, riding across dangerous terrain all by himself for a whole day!”
“I am not by myself!” Maisie countered, crossing her arms in front of her bosom. “I have Vinnie, and I have my child, so that makes three of us. We’re actually quite the gang if you ask me,” she declared, defiantly raising her chin.
“Vinnie,” Neil replied with a deadpan face. “That horse is almost thirty years old. I don’t think he could rush you to safety if he wanted to.” Maisie just shrugged and grinned at him again. Then she pulled out a Winchester rifle from its holster, which didn’t match the rest of her outfit at all.
“And I’ve got my Winnie with me at all times, too,” she declared proudly. “Just like my big brother always told me to do.”
Neil couldn’t help it. His heart melted, and he didn’t hide the smile that formed on his lips.
Although they’d stayed in contact through letters, the last time she’d been at his ranch to visit had been well over a year ago, and the last time he’d seen her was shortly after at her wedding, so this was a very nice surprise indeed.
He stopped the horse in front of the house, and while Maisie shoved the rifle back into its holster, Neil released a loud whistle to call one of his stable hands down from the barn to get the draft horse.
Barley, the twelve-year-old adopted son of his foreman, Paul, came running down the hill, fast as lightning.
Neil smiled at that. Barley—so named because he was found orphaned as a toddler amidst sacks of barley after an accident—was always so very eager to learn, and everybody on the ranch loved the kid.
Neil stepped to the side of the tall draft horse and almost had to stand on the tips of his toes to be able to reach his little sister, who unsurprisingly tried to dismount the horse by herself.
Neil just about managed to grab her underneath her arms before she could, half lifting, half sliding her down from the saddle.
“You’re tickling me!” she shrieked, then she burst out into a full belly laughter. She pulled Neil down to her height, slinging her arms around his neck in a fierce hug. “I’ve missed you so much, brother!”
“I’ve missed you, too, you rascal!” he said. He really had missed her. After their parents’ deaths, Neil had immediately taken on the role as her protector. At only fourteen years old, Neil had practically raised his ten-year-old sister, so the two of them shared a very special bond.
Neil wrapped his arms around her tiny body, although he was extra careful not to squeeze her too hard because of the baby. Then he made sure that she could safely walk to the porch and up the steps, supporting her with one arm around her waist and the other holding her hand.
“Maisie! What were you thinking?” Maeve stood in the doorway of the house and greeted her with a stern look that quickly melted into a warm smile.
“I was thinking about your world-famous baking,” Maisie replied with a beaming smile as she gave the older woman a big hug. “I’m eating for two now, so is there any chance of you making a blueberry pie this evening? I’ve been craving that since I left,” she said with a toothy smile.
Maeve laughed. “I’ll see what I can do,” she replied with a wink before turning to go back inside. “First, I’ll make you some tea.”
Maeve worked at the ranch part-time, whenever Neil needed an extra hand cooking or cleaning the house, and although the two women hadn’t seen each other often, Maisie and Maeve had become fast friends.
“Thank you, Maeve,” Maisie called after her. Then she groaned and put her hand to the curve of her lower back, bending backward a little. “Phew. Is there anywhere I can sit down? My back is killing me,” she asked, looking back at Neil.
“Anywhere you like. Have you already forgotten everything around here?” Neil said, pointing out a small group of rocking chairs sitting on the porch.
“No,” she said, stubbornly raising her chin again, “but I’m a married woman, and I have manners now.” Neil laughed at that, then he walked her over to one of the chairs and gently helped her to sit down.
“Are you all right?” he asked, when worry creeped into the forefront of his mind. After all, she had just ridden for almost twelve hours all the way from their ranch. “Do you need anything?”
Maisie leaned back with a relieved sigh and took off her large hat, which she put on the chair next to her. Then she smiled at him. Maeve came back outside with a small tray holding a cup of tea and a small plate with cookies.
“For the baby,” she said with another wink before she disappeared again.
Maisie smiled at that and looked at Neil. “I’m fine. It was just a long ride,” she said with a shrug. She took a sip of the tea and bit into one of the cookies. By the noise she made, they were clearly delicious.
“Do you wanna see my belly?” she asked then.
Neil’s eyebrows shot all the way underneath the brim of his Stetson. He took it off and combed his long fingers through his wavy brown hair, not really sure how to answer that.
“Here, I’ll show you,” she said, as she reached for his hand and pulled it down toward the big, fluffy pile of fabric layers covering her midriff. He kneeled in front of her, and when his hand touched her rounded belly, his eyes went wide at the unexpected size of it.
“Holy smokes! You really are pregnant!” he exclaimed, which made Maisie giggle. Then he felt something move inside of it, and his first instinct was to pull his hand away, but Maisie firmly held it in place with a grin.
“Isn’t this wonderful? I think my son is going to be very strong,” Maisie said affectionately.
Neil grinned at that. “How do you know it’s going to be a boy?” he asked when another strong kick pressed against the palm of his hand. Maisie just smiled at him.
“If this is a girl, she’ll give all the men in town a run for their money!” She snorted, and they both laughed. “I’m excited either way. This child is a blessing. It makes me feel whole,” Maisie said with a dreamy look on her face.
Neil saw an entirely new side of her. He had to admit she was glowing. This pregnancy had not only changed her but also his perspective of her. She wasn’t just his baby but a married young woman.
“Don’t you want to have a family one day?” she asked him, still smiling ever so sweetly. He looked at her with a deadpan face. They’d had this discussion a hundred times already, and she definitely knew his stance on that subject. She also knew why he wasn’t keen on getting married.
“It’s time for you to take a wife and have your own children, brother,” she pressed. Neil rolled his eyes at her.
“Please don’t start,” he said, exasperated. “Tell me about how you’re feeling and your ranch and how James is doing. I’m more interested in you and what’s going on in your world.” Unfortunately, Maisie being Maisie, she had her own idea of what she wanted to talk about.
“It’s been years, Neil. You’ve turned this ranch into a huge success,” she continued. “Don’t you think it’s time to forget about the past and build a new life so you can be happy, too?”
“I am happy, Maisie,” Neil said, blinking extra slowly to remind her that this was not his favorite topic. “I like being alone, and I value my independence. I don’t need anyone—”
“That’s not true!” Maisie exclaimed, pointing the finger at him. “What will you do without Maeve? Isn’t she leaving for Ireland soon?”
Neil ground his teeth. His sister was too smart for her own good.
“And you can’t live in the past forever, Neil!” Maisie added, raising her dainty eyebrows. “A wife might actually soften you up a bit. You seem to have turned into a grumpy old man already.” Maisie burst into another hearty belly laugh at her own joke. She was clearly goading him.
Neil struggled to keep a stern face. Her positive attitude was contagious.
“I’m not grumpy,” he said, fighting a grin. “And I’m certainly not old. I’ll have you know that I’m actually in my prime right now.”
“What a shame to let that go to waste,” Maisie replied helpfully, rolling her eyes at him. She stroked her round belly absentmindedly, but then she looked back up at him with a twinkle in her eye.
“I’m sorry I keep pestering you about it, Neil,” she said with a warm smile. “I love you. I’m just worried about you. I don’t want you to be all alone over here when I am a whole day’s ride away over there. And Maeve is leaving, too, so nobody is going to look after you when I can’t,” Maisie added.
The look on her face was genuine worry. “What will you do? You wrote to me that your horse breeding is growing into this huge, successful business and that you had to hire so many new people already. Are you going to cook food for all of them by yourself?”
“I’ve already taken measures,” Neil finally said after a longer pause. This seemed to shock his sister, because she suddenly sat up straight, tilting her head toward him as if she didn’t hear him correctly.
“You have?” she asked with wide eyes. A small smile lifted the corners of her mouth. “Taken measures? What does that even mean? Did you hire a new housekeeper? Who is she? Tell me!”
Neil closed his eyes and sighed heavily. He regretted bringing it up almost immediately. He had vowed not to let anybody know about it until things had settled and to keep it a secret until he knew that he had made the right decision.
But he also knew that there was no point in trying to hide it from his sister—not now that she was actually there, bringing all this up and asking questions.
“No, I have not,” he replied, thinking that he may as well tease her a little bit. Maisie stared at him with a perturbed expression on her face.
“Then what are these measures you’re talking about?” Maisie asked again. Neil could see that she was getting impatient, but he still waited a couple of seconds longer before answering.
“Speak!” she finally yelled.
“I’ve sent in the paperwork for a mail-order bride,” he said casually, and his sister’s jaw dropped almost to the floor. “Her name is Poppy Marwood, twenty-two-year-old woman from Springfield. She arrives on Friday.”