Read Online The Mail Order Midwife's Secret (Wanted: Wives In The West 2) by Trinity Ford - Free Book Online

Eleven
     
    Back in Kansas, Millie’s mother, Frances, had just set the table for dinner, as her husband, Raymond, required each day. Life felt so much lonelier now that Millie was gone, and it was even worse now that Raymond had befriended Henry in the process of trying to figure out where she’d gone.
    The bruise on her cheek had completely healed from the day Raymond backhanded her for lying to him about knowing of Millie’s plans to leave, but there was no way she would admit anything that would put her daughter’s safety at risk.
    He’d forbidden her to go to the post office anymore to gather the mail. He checked her belongings frequently to see if he could find a clue about Millie’s whereabouts. He frequently let Henry come over and drink with him, their voices roaring from the study as Frances listened to their plans to track down her daughter.
    “It’s been three months,” Henry seethed one night a week ago. “Your woman ain’t heard from her yet?”
    “Not that I can tell,” Raymond said. “Been going through every stitch to see if I could find a hint. Couldn’t even beat it out of her. Might not even know. Millie might have snuck off without telling her.”
    Frances listened to the conversation, her heart racing at their obsession, and cheering her daughter on for evading them and setting herself free.
    “Well, she couldn’t have gone far,” Henry said. “Her bag was in the closet with all her clothes and some money. Been holding out on me with money! That’s what makes me madder than a wet hen.”
    Frances knew that Millie hadn’t taken her belongings with her. Henry had come over that same day and thrown the bag at her feet, demanding to know what was going on. She’d played dumb, but both men knew she’d die before she gave them any information.
    She thought back to those first days, worrying and wondering if Millie had made it to Fort Worth okay. But instead of worrying about the worst of what could happen, she preferred to imagine Millie living a wonderful life—one filled with happiness and love.
    She stirred the pot for tonight’s dinner, thinking about how different life would have been if she’d not married Raymond, and chosen Isaac instead. But her parents had pressured her to marry for money instead of love, and she had broken Isaac’s heart and hoped she could find the same feelings with the suitor who could provide for her and the family she wanted to have.
    The door opened and shut, and Frances heard Raymond make his way to the dining room and sit down in his chair. She walked out with the hot plates of food and sat down in the chair at the other end of the table, facing him.
    “Set another place,” Raymond ordered.
    “Who’s coming?” she asked.
    “Don’t you worry about it,” he said. “Just do what I say.” Frances made her way to the kitchen and heard a knock on the door as Raymond got up to let the visitor in. She emerged from the kitchen with a plate in hand, only to find Henry sitting at the table. She put the plate down and sat back in her chair, refusing to acknowledge his presence.
    “Nice to see you, too,” Henry said, shaking his head at her belligerence toward him. “So what’d you need to see me about, Raymond?” He started scarfing down the meal Frances had put before him as if he hadn’t been fed in weeks. He was probably living off beans since Millie was no longer there to be his caretaker.
    Raymond grinned and slid his hand into the inside of his jacket. He pulled out an envelope and waved it back and forth slowly. “Guess who finally showed up?” Frances’ heart stopped and her breathing raced as she realized Raymond was holding a letter from her daughter. It was Millie’s handwriting. She leapt out of her chair and rushed toward Raymond to grab the letter and destroy it before he opened it, but he held her at arm’s length as he handed the letter over to Henry.
    The two men laughed as she fought to get to it before they read it. “She