The Bartender’s Mail Order Bride(4)

The garden surrounding it was bursting with flowers they’d planted when Clara arrived, and she smiled as Clara turned toward the garden and said, “Look at what a little love and effort can do.”

“Yes. You and Hank have been happy there, haven’t you?” Meg said quietly, watching the garden as they passed.

“Oh, yes, very.” Clara patted Meg’s hand as she pulled the buggy up in front of the house.

“Were you nervous when you came from Chicago, after Sadie asked you to marry Hank? You two had never even met.”

Clara laughed as Ben, the stable hand, reached up to help her down out of the buggy. “Yes, you would think so, wouldn’t you. But honestly, I was quite anxious to see and learn about something new. I didn’t even know what a wrangler was before I arrived. Now, it seems, I’m married to the best one in the state.”

Meg smiled at the thought of how well things had turned out for Clara and Hank. “I’m very happy for you two,” she said, quite sincerely. She was happy for them.

Clara removed her bonnet and ran her hand quickly through her hair. As Meg took off her own bonnet, Clara looked at her, her head cocked to one side.

“You know, Meg, before you know it, you’ll be thinking about getting married. In fact, you’re old enough to be married now, and I’m a bit surprised you haven’t welcomed suitors yet.”

Meg frowned and looked down at her dress as her hand flew to her hair, again curling a stray lock around her finger.

“I’m not pretty like you are, Clara. I know I’m old enough to be married—maybe even time I should be— but I didn’t learn much from Mama about being…knowing…well, how to be beautiful, like you.”

Clara’s eyes grew wide and she reached out for Meg’s hand and laughed. “Oh, goodness. You are old enough. In fact, we’re close to the same age, so it’s about time you start thinking about it.

“Like I said, I don’t really know much about girl things.” She took another look at the dirt on the shoes she wore every day, suddenly embarrassed that she’d gone out in the same shoes she wore to do her ranch chores. What had she been thinking? No wonder Sam never noticed her.

As they stood on the porch and watched Ben lead the horses and the buggy back toward the stables, Clara reached out and took a bit of Meg’s hair in her hand.

“You know, I have some time before supper. Would you like me to show you a few things to do with your hair? Easy things?”

Meg’s eyes brightened as her heart fluttered. “Oh, would you? That would be so kind. I know that I just work here on the ranch, but I’d be very grateful if you’d teach me a thing or two. Just in case the need ever arises,” she said, heat creeping into her cheeks.

Clara laughed and wrapped her arm around Meg’s shoulders, turning her toward the house.

“Go wait for me in your room and start brushing your hair out. I’ll run down to the casita and grab some combs and pins,” Clara said over her shoulder as she headed down the drive.

“All right,” Meg said with trepidation as she closed the door behind her.

She sat down at the vanity in her room and took a good look at herself in the mirror. Her brows furrowed as she moved closer to the mirror and searched her eyes as she reached for a brush.

By the time Clara knocked on her door, she’d removed all the pins in her hair and had counted at least a hundred brush strokes. Her hair glistened and she went to the door and smiled as Clara bustled through, her arms full of ribbons and boxes of combs.

“You should pick up your chin up off the floor,” Clara said, laughing as she set her treasures down on the bed.

Meg smiled as she realized that she hadn’t seen any of these kinds of things since her mother had died a few years before. With seven children and a ranch to run, there had never been much time to learn to do things like this, and although Meg remembered her mother as always being beautiful and very well put together, there hadn’t been time for her to learn the same.

Clara smiled and brushed her hands together as she finished laying things out on Meg’s bed. Turning to her sister-in-law, she said, “Are you ready?”

Meg’s heart skipped a beat, and she smiled gratefully at Clara. “Yes, I think so.” She let Clara guide her back to the vanity, urging her to sit on the bench so they could both see in the mirror.

As Meg sat down, her hands clutched together in her lap, she caught Clara’s eye in the mirror.

With a gentle smile, Clara said, “Meg, you are a beautiful young woman. Yes, woman. I know you might not think of yourself that way, but you’re almost my age. It’s time we do away with pig-tails.”