Montana Bound: A Sweet Mail Order Bride Historical (Mail Order Bride Journeys Book 2) by Claire Holiday

regardless of where you live, a woman has to keep up the home, and provide warm meals for the family. Life doesn’t amount to much more than that.”
    “That doesn’t sound like much to look forward to.” Owen said. “When I marry, my wife will be happier than that. She’ll be rewarded by a loving, loyal husband, for all of her labors. She would never go unappreciated.”
    “Awww. How romantic. Any woman would be lucky to have you for a husband.” Grace regretted speaking the words as soon as they came out of her mouth. She wasn’t normally so forward. Owen didn’t seem to notice though, much to Grace’s relief.
    A short time later, Owen turned his horse from the creek bed and began to head along a tree-line in the direction that Grace assumed would be toward the house.
    “Just ahead is a place I’d like to show you.” Owen said. As they circled around a large boulder, Owen pointed across a meadow toward a patch of trees. “We’ll stop right over there.”
    The horses seemed to recognize the spot also. They both let out a few snorts and picked up their pace a bit, until they had traveled across the meadow to the spot that Owen had pointed to. Once they arrived, Owen hopped off his horse and came around to help Grace down.
    “We’ll sit down in the shade to cool off and rest a bit.” Owen suggested as he approached Grace, still sitting in her saddle. “Put your arm around my shoulder and I’ll help you down.”
    Grace was happy to be out of the saddle, even though she was enjoying the ride. She was beginning to get stiff. The opportunity to walk around a bit and stretch her legs brought welcome relief. They led the horses to a small stream which flowed in the direction of the dry creek bed. Once the horses had their fill, Owen tied both off, with their leads loose enough that they were able to reach the ground to nibble on the grasses.
    Owen placed his hand onto the small of her back and began to lead her a short distance away from the horses. They arrived at the spot he had in mind, and Owen removed his hand, too soon in Grace’s opinion. Following his lead, Grace took a seat beside him on a fallen log.
    “What a beautiful spot!” Grace exclaimed as she looked out toward the mountains, partly obstructed by low clouds. Just peaking over them, far to the north, she could see snow-capped peaks that were not visible before. A small stand of apple trees, still heavy with their bright red fruit, stood in stark contrast against the green backdrop created by the pines that covered the foothills beyond.
    “Sometimes if you are lucky, and quiet enough, you can see deer and an occasional elk or moose, come along and eat fruit off the ground or the lower branches of the trees.” Owen said.
    “Maybe we can pick a few so I can bake a pie later. I imagine the apples must be delicious. I can smell them from here!” Grace said, breathing in the sweet fragrance of the apples.
    “By the way, I’ve been meaning to compliment you on that scent that you are wearing. I’ve been enjoying it the entire ride, at least every time that I happened to find myself downwind of you.” Then with a wink, he added, “Which I might have made sure to have been most of the ride.”
    Grace laughed. “Thank you. It was given to me by my mother.”
    “You must miss her. How did she feel about your traveling out here alone?” Owen asked.
    Grace shifted in her seat. After taking a deep breath, she answered, “I do miss her a lot. She would not have approved of my moving out here, but I didn’t have any choice. She died about a year ago.”
    “Oh, no. I am so sorry.” Owen said, his thoughts accusing him of speaking out of turn. “I shouldn’t have asked.”
    “It’s okay. You couldn’t have known.” Grace said, staring at her lap. “I don’t talk about her often. I guess it’s just easier to try not to think about her.”
    “What about your father?” Owen asked.
    “Never got to know him. I was raised by my mother