His Chosen Bride. Rhonda Gibson

woman invited. Her steely blue eyes twinkled up at Millie.

      How could she refuse such a kind offer? “Thank you.” Millie pulled out the chair beside the woman and sat.

      “My name is Mrs. Englebright. I believe your room is right next to mine.” She picked up her cup and took a sip. When she set it back down, Millie noted that the older woman had added either cream or milk to the coffee.

      “I’m Millie Hamilton.” She reached for the butter. Millie thought the woman already knew who she was, but she didn’t know what else to say.

      Beth smiled about the table. She nodded to the gentleman, who sat up a little taller in his seat.

      He cleared his throat and then announced, “Miss Hamilton, my name is Gerald Lupin. I work for the newspaper office. We will be printing our first issue one day next week.” He returned to his eggs.

      As Millie buttered her biscuit, she replied, “It’s nice to meet you all. I didn’t know Granite had a newspaper office, Mr. Lupin.” She picked up a napkin and placed it in her lap.

      He laid his fork down and then wiped his mouth before speaking. “We’ve been here about a month, but until recently didn’t have all the equipment we needed to print our paper.” Mr. Lupin tore his biscuit in half and reached for a small jar of honey.

      Millie wondered who “we” and “our” were but didn’t ask. She was afraid she might disturb Mr. Lupin with further questions. He seemed a little preoccupied with his meal. She looked down the table at Beth, who simply shrugged.

      “Sorry I’m late,” Levi Westland said as he entered the room. His hair was damp and he wore a crisp white shirt with dark trousers and black boots. “I wanted to finish Mrs. Lewis’s table before we went to church. You know she will be asking me about it this morning after services. It’ll be nice to tell her it’s done.” Levi continued on to the buffet and began filling his plate up with food.

      Millie thought she was going to choke on her bread. What was he doing here? Was he stalking her? Or did he normally eat his meals at Beth’s Boardinghouse? But Beth had told her the day before that the house wasn’t open to customers on Sunday, only residents.

      “You are fine,” Beth said as she wiped jelly off Mark’s mouth.

      Levi scooted into the spot across from Millie, between Mark and Mr. Lupin. “I take it introductions have been made.”

      It was Mark who answered around a mouthful of eggs. “Yep, they been talkin’ and talkin’. Miss Millie hasn’t even had her first bite of Ma’s wonderful biscuits yet.” The six-year-old grinned up at Levi.

      “Thank you, Mark, for that nice compliment but don’t talk with your mouth full.” Beth beamed.

      The little boy swallowed. “Yes, Ma.”

      Levi looked across at her. “You have to try them, Millie. They are very good.”

      Her hackles rose. There he went, telling her what to do again. Millie offered him a sweet smile and said, “All right, but do you think Beth’s rolls will be as tasty as Emily’s cinnamon buns?” She was rewarded with Levi’s sudden choking cough.

      * * *

      Levi sloshed coffee down his throat to wash down the suddenly dry biscuit. Millie took a dainty bite of hers, looking as innocent as the day she was born. Why did she have to bring up the mail-order bride?

      Mark asked, “Who’s Emily?”

      “She’s one of the mail-order brides we met last night.” Millie smiled sweetly at Gerald Lupin.

      Did she hope Gerald would think he had a front-page story and start asking questions? Wouldn’t that set the little town of Granite into a tizzy? He could see the headlines now: Mail-Order Brides Descend On Granite, Texas, Thanks to the Westland Family. Levi wiped his mouth off and proceeded to eat his breakfast.

      Mark asked, “What’s a mail-order bride?”

      Levi wanted to groan and crawl away at the same time.

      He was shocked when Gerald answered, “Mark, a mail-order bride is a woman who answers an advertisement in a newspaper, magazine or catalog. The ad is usually placed by a man who is looking for a wife or a bride. It’s a fairly common practice in some places.” As if speaking to himself he added, “I wonder if we should consider offering that kind of ad in our paper.”

      “Oh.” The little boy sounded as if he had more questions.

      Gerald placed his napkin on the table and stood. “If everyone will excuse me, I need to get ready for church.”

      Beth picked up her plate and Mark’s. “We need to finish getting ready, too, son.”

      Thankfully, Mark hurried after his mother with no further mention of mail-order brides. Levi sighed and tucked into his eggs.

      Mrs. Englebright pushed her almost-empty plate back. “How many brides were there?” She directed her gaze to Millie.

      Millie lowered her roll. “There were three.”

      “And they all came to marry our Levi?”

      Levi felt her gaze upon him but decided to ignore both Mrs. Englebright and the heat he felt burning in his ears.

      He heard the laughter in Millie’s voice. “They sure did. I think they are smitten with him.” She was really enjoying his discomfort. What could he do to stop her?

      The question filled his mind as Mrs. Englebright continued with questions of her own. “And what did you think of the young ladies, Millie?”

      Millie picked up her coffee and blew on it. “They seemed nice enough. I’m sure whichever one Levi chooses he’ll be happy with.”

      “You’re probably right. After the war, women from my hometown were answering those ads. I just couldn’t bring myself to do it. When Harvey didn’t come home and I heard he’d died in battle, I thought about it, but, well, I wasn’t ready.” She paused as if deep in thought and then turned a brilliant smile on the both of them. “But most of them gals that did get new husbands were happier than seasoned punch. I asked them to write me after they were married and they did. It was nice hearing about the lives they’d begun.”

      Levi decided to speak up and maybe turn the teasing card around to Millie. “They were all very nice, but I think I’ve set my cap on marrying Miss Millie. After all, she was the first mail-order bride to answer my advertisement. Isn’t that right, Millie?” He sat back and crossed his arms, daring her to deny it.

      “Yes, but as I’ve already told you, I’ve changed my mind.” Millie’s cheeks turned pink and her eyes studied the plate full of food in front of her.

      Mrs. Englebright chuckled as she pushed out of her chair. “I think I’ll go freshen up some before church, too.”

      Levi watched her leave. She was a sweet woman, and he was glad her kids had set her up here at the boardinghouse. He turned his gaze to Millie.

      She’d quietly left the table and taken her plate and Mrs. Englebright’s with her to the washtub.

      He stuffed the rest of his biscuit into his mouth and grabbed up the remaining dirty dishes on the table. It surprised him when she rolled up her sleeves to do the dishes.

      “You don’t have to do those. Beth usually gets to them when she does the lunch dishes.” Levi set the plates into the hot water.

      Millie offered him a smile that didn’t quite reach her eyes. “Why does Beth always have to do them?”

      She had a point. Levi rolled his sleeves up, too, and moved to the washtub. He could tell he’d pushed too far with his teasing. Millie released pent-up air that drifted across the hairs of his arms.

      “If you insist on helping, please let me wash and you dry. I have no idea where these go.” She handed him a tea towel.

      Levi