MAIL ORDER BRIDE: Bought By The Cowboy, Read online

  BOUGHT BY THE COWBOY

  BY

  BRITTANY DREAMS

  All characters in this book or publication are fictitious. Any resemblance to real persons is coincidental.

  Copyright 2015 by Brittany Dreams

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  Introduction

  Finn is a rancher in South Texas, with a large and prosperous business. It is the early 1870s and he finally decides to find a mail order bride for himself, so that the ranch has a mistress.

  Irene is big, curvy and beautiful, and she arrives at his doorstep full of dreams of a new start. She is impressed by her rich and handsome groom, but he is aloof and cold and Irene can’t understand how to win Finn’s heart.

  The marriage has an ugly start as egos clash and misunderstandings drive them apart. Only, an unfortunate disaster is at the horizon, and it will bring the new couple together as they work together and fight for their home as a team.

  Will the ruthless business man find love in his heart for his wife, or is there nothing left there for Irene to win?

  Chapter 1

  Finn was a man with many burdens. He had been born to riches, as his father had owned one of the largest tracts of land in the southern part of Texas. About 3,000 acres in his name, his father had built the ranch out of nothing. Surviving the Indian raids and harsh life that the men at the new frontier chose, he had built a fortune and had taught his son to handle that fortune, equally well.

  It was 1871, and Finn was finally finding footing again, the civil war was over, and the unrest and loss of men had left all ranches floundering. His father had been a just man, who saw the start of the civil war with his head held high. He had always treated the men of color that worked for them with humanity, and his ranch had seen almost no upsets in those trying times. But, Finn was almost glad he wasn’t there to see the ranch now, he felt he had failed his father, the man who had single handedly brought him and the ranch up. Finn had tried his entire adult life to fill his father’s shoes, but the times were hard, and his livestock numbers had dwindled a little. There weren’t enough good men to help in the ranch’s duties, and he was on his way back from New Orleans having brought about 400 head of livestock and some good strong ranch hands. He was happy with the way the business had gone, he had gotten the livestock at a good price and the three men he had brought with him might have been a little green behind the ears, but they were men willing to put the work in.

  Finn prided himself in his judgment of men, he had always been rewarded with loyalty and respect from the men he chose to do business with, and he found that was equally due to his character and his choosing his dealings well. But right now it wasn’t the ranch hands that were on his mind. Finn had been reprimanded by his aunt in New Orleans about the lack of a feminine presence in the ranch. He had been forced to reflect upon this, and found credit in her admonishments.

  After his mother’s passing when he was young, his maid had kept the house together. She had passed a few years back, and the home’s operations were also now on his shoulders. He made do with the servants he had, but the house did need a mistress. There had been no time for love in Finn’s life, he had too many things to think about and adding the inexplicable whims of a woman had seemed too much. There had been a short engagement when he was younger, but it had ended unhappily. She had promised her hand to him, but had chosen to marry another. His courtship had proved lackluster in comparison to the flamboyant sheriff’s son. But Finn hadn’t even been very bothered, he had chosen Emily because she had been pretty and demure, and it was his time to court and marry. After the engagement broke, Finn’s father never brought up the prospect of marriage again, and Finn never felt the need to look for a woman.

  But he was closing 28 years old now, and people were always surprised to hear that he hadn’t been married even once. He was rich and successful, so people assume there would have been a lot of interest, but Finn never entertained any such ideas, and after a while people had just let him be. The thought of finding and courting a woman though was tiring to even contemplate. He hadn’t found any women that he felt were desirable, and he didn’t plan on going through the motions of courtship again.

  Aunt Elise had brought to him an interesting proposition, and it was that idea that Finn was grappling with. She had asked him why he didn’t just send for a mail order bride. All he had to do was put in an advertisement in the matrimonial news and then he could correspond with prospective parties and decide if something seemed fruitful. He liked the idea because it sounded like business, he would be able to choose the woman who represented the qualities he wanted, and after that the risk was just what you would expect in every business decision. Finn put out an ad that talked about the considerable size of his finances, and the need for a woman who knew how to handle a household in a ranch.

  He received a lot of responses almost immediately, his wealth and relative youth, had many interested parties sending him glowing recommendations of girls with great qualities. He rode his horse out on his land and thought about all the recent letters. He wouldn’t consider the ones that spoke too highly of the woman, sure of misrepresentation and overcompensation. The war widows were considered with the lack of offspring being favored. But there had been a particular letter that had him intrigued. He rode his horse, Black traveler through his land, stopping to give instructions to his men and looking over his livestock. The woman he was contemplating, was Irene, she had been described as having a healthy glow and pleasantly plump body. He knew what they meant, and he couldn’t help but picture a warm feminine body to envelop himself in. She had been described as shy and demure, 21 years of age, and he knew her size most likely was the reason for her unmarried status. He rather enjoyed women with curves, the fullness of the bosom and the hips. The wealthy match would also make her feel grateful and that would make for a loyal and hard working wife.

  He wrote back to Irene’s father, showing his interest and promising her marital bliss. He was worried about the intrusion this would bring in his life, but the thought of a full figured woman to warm his bed made him less resistant to the idea. He told himself, he would clear things up from the start, resist all ridiculous romantic notions, ask her to fulfill her womanly duties and she would get a free run of the houses affairs if she proved herself worthy. He would give her children and a home to care for, and in return the ranch house would be a home again. The bargain seemed good to him and after further correspondence the match was finalized.

  Chapter 2

  Finn had been waiting for Irene’s train to arrive for an hour. There had been a delay and Finn was left with his day dreams about how his new wife would look, her plump thighs wrapped around his back. How he would make sure he didn’t let her feminine wiles strip him of his self sufficiency, of his privacy and his freedom. He imagined best case scenarios and worst case scenarios, hoping to find love, lust, freedom and satisfaction.

  Irene on the other hand was looking out of her window wistfully. She knew she wasn’t going to miss her old life too much. She had lived a hard life, her farm back home was enough to keep bellies fed, but the romance and society that the well off enjoyed, had been out of reach for her. To make matters worse, her body seemed to have ballooned since she was a child, without the abuse of food. She loved eating, the tastes and aromas sang out to her. But there was never an excess, she was just built that way.

  “More woman to love.” One of her scarce suitors had exclaimed when they had a
fleeting moment unsupervised. Irene blushed at the thought. There had been some love in her life, but mostly she felt the men who courted her would either be deterred or spurred on by her weight and she didn’t want to feel like just a body, so love had never quite touched her heart.

  She had finally given up, and let her father look for a match in the matrimonial news after her last courtship had ended in heart ache. She wanted to go away from her disapproving mother, who watched hawk like at every morsel she put to her mouth. She wanted to run away from all her married friends and relatives who talked about her in hushed whispers. The longing for a life that was her own had made her accept this proposal. Her would be groom was going to be rich and she would have the entire house to herself. She would be the mistress now, and her world would finally be her own.

  There was the fear of meeting a tyrannical husband, as some of her friends had. But her heart was mostly full of hope. Finn knew how she looked; she had made sure her father wrote about it. He had been single like her, and hoped for companionship and a woman for his home. She was sure she would be able to give him that, a home that fulfilled his needs.

  “Every need.” She thought to herself, blushing. Her friends and cousins had all teased her as they had come to say their goodbyes.

  “Now you will really know what a man wants from a woman. A wife’s duties aren’t just about the household, you know.”

  She knew very well, her body had developed early, and her mind had always been keen. She had pieced together the sensual truths about life at an early age. But her house had been forever filled with people, and there really had been no time for those thoughts to bear any fruit. It seemed like this train ride was the first time in her life she had truly been alone with her thoughts.

  She had a small suitcase with her, carrying her few belongings. Some dresses, that her mother and sisters had stitched, a picture of her family, that they had taken to give her as a remembrance, at great cost and some money, stitched into the lining of her bag. She marveled at how little she had left of her old life, now that she was going to start a new one and as the train screeched to a halt, she picked up her luggage and smoothed down her dress, preparing for a fresh start.

  She stepped off the train, her bonnet slightly skewed to one side, her wide skirt blowing in the breeze and her bodice hugging her tight. She stood at the station, waiting for someone to come looking for her, eyeing the crowd for her prospective husband. There were about two dozen people there, and soon Finn was standing in front of her.

  “Miss Irene?” He inquired, staring at her intently. He was wearing a plain black shirt and grey trousers, suspenders peeking from underneath his grey coat. It was too warm to be dressed like that, but his outfit had been obviously cleaned and prepared for the occasion. She blushed, noticing his rugged good looks and piercing blue eyes. She hadn’t been expecting someone this good looking and it had unnerved her a little.

  “Mr. Edwards?” She asked politely.

  “Finn, my lady, I have never been one for formalities.” He looked behind him, and a young boy hurried forward to pick up her luggage, greeting her with a tip of his hat.

  Finn offered her his arm and she placed her hand on it. It all seemed so strange to her now, after protecting her honor her entire life, her parents had now sent her to go to a stranger’s house to bed and marry him. She hadn’t even thought about the awkwardness of meeting someone for the first time, a stranger she knew nothing about. Suddenly, she was nervous and she couldn’t say one word to him.

  Finn was quiet too; he had watched her get off the train, with a beautiful but uncertain smile on her face. She wasn’t as heavy as he had imagined her to be. Her waist still tapered pleasantly, her belly and her arms covered yet betraying their fullness. Her face was round and pleasant, her cheeks flushed, her lips full and her liquid brown eyes searching. Her skin was flawless, gleaming in the sun as he seeked her out. But right after he had introduced himself to her, she seemed to have gotten a little lost.

  He imagined, she had been unimpressed or upset by something and tried to figure out what that could be. All his uncertainties came rushing back, as he thought about the fancies that she could have had, that he had been unable to fulfill.

  “We have a quiet life at the ranch, Miss Irene. One that I hope you will come to cherish.”

  “I have been longing to get out of the bustle. My household had ten members.” Irene had suddenly found her tongue, jumping at the chance to speak.

  They travelled by his buggy to the ranch, with Finn riding his beautiful stallion alongside. He wanted to ask a lot of questions, but his aunt had written to him fearful of his rough demeanor. She had instructed him to not frighten the poor girl with too much information on the first day. He needed to let her get settled in first. The priest was coming over the next day itself. He didn’t want to share his house with Irene with any uncertainty remaining in the match. They were going to be wed the very next day and after that he would slowly but surely explain all that was required of her.

  As they pulled into the ranch home, they saw all of Finn’s servants and workers collected outside to see their new mistress. His manservant Eddie had a bouquet that he presented to her with a blush. Irene heard all the introductions that Finn made, nodding and smiling at everyone.

  He showed her the house, the kitchen was handled by the servants and the dining area was right next to it, but seldom used. Finn had gotten used to eating alone, when he wanted to, in his room or the study as he worked. He showed him his father’s room, which was kept unused after his death and then he took her to his room.

  “This is my room. It’s not very well kept, but it’s served a single man well.”

  Irene stood silently at the door blushing and Finn took her to her room and asked her to take as much time as she wanted to freshen up.

  “Tomorrow, the preacher will be here. We shall be wed in the morning; I hope you will be prepared.” He turned and left.

  Irene sat on her bed and felt her head spin. It had been too much to take in, Finn was handsome, but quiet and closed off and she still had no idea how to talk to him. But, they were to be wed the very next day, so there would be no time to get to know each other. The house was big but it did sorely need a woman’s touch. There had been an effort to clean up, but there was dust everywhere. Finn’s room had been almost bare, with its bed and racks full of papers. She was going to live in that room with him, and share that bed and these thoughts were slowly making her dizzy.

  She undressed and got into bed. She needed to rest for a while, let her sleeping mind process all the information that was troubling her. She would wake up in an hour or so and then she would be able to think.

  Chapter 3

  Irene woke up when it was already dark inside. She had slept for four hours straight, the dark outside her windows unnerved her and she bolted up, dressing hurriedly. She put her hair up, soft curls framing her face and washed up. When she climbed down the stairs, she found the house mostly empty. After a lifetime of a bustling household, the emptiness made her nervous. She walked into the kitchen and found the servants preparing for supper.

  They told her Finn was out riding, taking stock of the livestock, and he would be back shortly. Sally, a young maid with an unfortunate scar on her face shyly asked Irene if she could be her personal maid. The happy bustle of the servants had put Irene at ease. The cook was an old man with a jolly red face and Sally felt a little more comfortable. Sally was fussing over her, and Irene agreed to let her be her personal maid if Finn agreed. Irene felt like the mistress for the first time, a woman who would be in charge of a household. She couldn’t have ever imagined having a personal servant to help her with her with dressing up and other trivial things and it suddenly made her feel very grown up.

  She oversaw the cooking, asking about Finn’s tastes and adding some of her own cooking skills to their simple supper. She asked them to lay the table and found that the dinnerware had not been used for a long time. It was a ri
ch household that didn’t live like it at all.

  When Finn came back, he went straight to the study and Irene had to go to him.

  “I thought we could have supper together, in an hour?” She looked at him questioningly.

  “I have work to do and I should have told you, I dine alone, after I’m done with work. And, don’t you have a lot to prepare for tomorrow? You have already wasted all day sleeping; I think you should concentrate on the wedding, leave my affairs be, for today.” He went back to looking at his papers.

  Irene felt tears start to sting her eyes, so she turned back and left without a word. She missed the warmth of her family, Finn seemed distant and cold on the very first day they had met, and now they were supposed to get married the next day.

  She had no idea how to handle him, and wished she had someone to turn to for advice. She went to her room and started unpacking. Her wedding dress was a simple cream colored dress, with lace on the neckline, and a wide skirt with an accentuated back. She hung the dress and started to undress to try it on, making sure she needed to make no alterations. She took off her dress, looking at herself in the full length mirror. She didn’t have one at home, and she stood in front of it, her corset making her breasts spill out in two magnificent mounds, but she hated her arms and her thick legs that she could see under the skeleton of her under skirt.

  Suddenly, the door burst open, Finn was standing at the door, she let out a little yelp and turned around, her back towards him.

  “Sorry.” She wasn’t sure whether he had left or was standing behind her. Tomorrow was going to their wedding night, and part of her wanted to turn around to check, but she couldn’t even get herself to turn her head.

  “I was going to ask if you had taken your supper. We could dine together.”

  “I’ll be out in a minute; I was just trying my wedding dress.” She heard her voice choke with embarrassment.