Mail Order Devastation (Montana Mail Order Brides, Book 4) by Julianna Blake Page B

deal of time in it.”
    It was spotless.  Mollie was sure his mother had cleaned it top to bottom before he moved in.  Heat emanated from the small woodstove along the back wall of the narrow kitchen.   Noah must have started a fire while he was here.  How thoughtful.
    “ It looks just fine.  Plenty of space along the cupboard for the dishes.”  Mollie frowned.  There were no dishes on the cupboard.  “Are there no dishes?”
    “ Mother wanted to buy a set, since she knew you wouldn’t be arriving with a trousseau of household goods of your own, but I told her I thought you’d like to pick them out.”
    Mollie wondered if Mrs. Jamison resented the fact that Mollie brought nothing into the marriage …not so much as a single wedding gift from her family. 
    They walked back through the dining nook and parlor, and stood in the doorway that led back to two bedrooms.
    “So….” Mollie faltered.  She wasn’t ready to enter the bedroom.  “It sounds like you usually spent most of your time at home with your mother, prior to this.”
    “ Well, we’re a very close family.  It was hard on her when Father died.  She needed me even more.  She enjoys fussing over me.  Nothing makes her happier.  I’ve always done what I could to make her happy, and keep her mind off of Father’s passing.”
    Mollie laid her arm on Noah ’s.  “It must have been very hard on both of you.”
    He inhaled at her touch, then let his breath out in a slow sigh.  “It was.  It’s been five years now.  I miss him still.  And I’m very sorry he didn’t get to meet you.”  Noah squeezed her hand.  “Or our children.”
    Images of Nell flashed through her mind, and she looked down to hide her pain from her husband.  “I’m sure I would have liked him.”
    He nodded.  “You would have.  Everyone loved Father.  Everyone likes Mother, as well, but she’s quite bold and opinionated, whereas Father was very lighthearted and merry.   He made for a good shopkeeper.  I try to be more like him, but I'm afraid I fail in that regard.”
    “ I see no failure in you, Noah Jamison.  None at all.”
    “ Don’t you?”  He stepped closer.
    His proximity caused her heart to race.  She shook her head as she looked up at him.  “I only see a fine man any woman would be proud to call her husband.”
    He pulled her to him, gently, bending his head to touch his lips to hers.  Heat flooded through her, and she reined herself in, not wanting to let her passions get the best of her, as they had once before.  But when his arms wrapped around her, she couldn ’t resist melting into him, enjoying the hint of vanilla that she tasted on his lips. 
    The kiss went on and on, until at last Noah broke away with a sigh.  “I suppose I should finish the tour, before I let myself get carried away.”
    Mollie smoothed out her velvet jacket, flushed with a mixture of excitement, apprehension, and embarrassment.  “Of course.”
    Noah stepped back, gesturing to a door behind him.  “This is the guest bedroom.” 
    Walking past him, she stepped into the tiny bedroom.  It stood empty, with the afternoon light filtering through lace curtains that the previous owner had probably left behind. 
    “It will make a fine nursery,” Noah murmured from the doorway. 
    She imagined a brass crib in the corner, with Nell standing inside, her chubby arms reaching out to be picked up.  In the other corner would sit a rocking chair, where she could rock her beloved Nell all night long, and smell her hair as she slept.  Mollie stepped back, blinking back tears.  “It will make a fine nursery, indeed.”
    “ And then there’s the bedroom…our room.”
    She turned and followed Noah to the larger bedroom glad his back was to her so she could wipe away any trace of tears. 
    “Mother said a brass bed would make a better investment.  She’s loaned us some quilts and other bedding, until we can purchase our own.”
    “ She’s very