This is the first chapter from Sweet Proposal, book one in this collection.
Chapter One - Travis
Spring crept up into the mountains, melting the snow and letting the earth breathe again. The fields were a light green with wildflowers popping up to celebrate the new season. The air was fresh, the mountains a beautiful purple in the distance, and the sky bluer than blue. By the start of March, the pass into town was open again, and the snow had melted enough to travel to town from the Davison Ranch. It was just in time, too. The brothers were running low on supplies and a trip to town was needed.
Travis Davison brought the horses out of the stable and hitched them up in front of the wagon. When he was ready, he whistled, and his brother Cole stepped out of the ranch house.
Cole looked up, pushing his hat right back.
“Weather is looking good,” he said. “A little more warmth and we can turn out the herd.”
Travis nodded. Winter was always harsh on the animals, with little food to counter the energy they spent to keep themselves warm. They made it through the tough season, losing none of the cows. It would be a good summer.
“Walk on,” Travis said, holding the reins while Cole hopped up on the seat next to him.
They rode two miles into town, walking the horses through the pass. Carson Valley lay at the foot of a stretch of mountains, a pioneer town with enough folk wanting to settle to make it a place to call home.
It was good to see people again. The winter snowed Travis and Cole into the mountain for three months, and it could be a lonely life up there. They rode the wagon along the hard dirt road and nodded at the townsfolk as they went along.
Cole and Travis stopped in front of Murray’s store and walked in with a list of things they needed. Wire to fix the fences where the weather took its toll, a new hammer after Travis misplaced his, extra feed for the herd to fatten them for the auction in the fall.
“Morning, boys,” Murray said when they were ready to pay. “Mighty fine weather we’ve been having. I half expected a bad start to the season after last month’s storm.”
“Oh,” Cole said, shrugging. “You ought to let mother nature do her thing and trust we’ll get out on the other end.”
Travis nodded, not joining in on the conversation. Sometimes mother nature took more than she gave back, and survival out west wasn’t always easy. It's a miracle they’d made it this far. Handling a ranch with just two brothers and a few helping hands was hard work, but Travis and Cole came out west to make a new life, and that's what they intended to do.
“You boys hear what the Reverend is up to?” Murray asked.
Travis glanced up at the man. He'd grown a beard since they’d seen him last and his belly seemed to have grown too. Cole shook his head.
“Well, you just go on and have a look at that notice board. He’s starting all sorts of madness here, talking about preventing a brothel in these parts. If you ask me, a little female companionship is nothing to be shy about.”
Travis chuckled.
“We’ll have a look,” he said. Cole paid for the supplies while Travis loaded them onto the wagon. A commotion drew his attention at the meeting house and he glanced over. Men huddled around the notice board. Travis fastened the load and leaned against the wagon, watching the men. They were pushing and tugging and talking, laughing now and then when someone cracked a joke. Reverend Shreve walked out of the meeting house wearing his black coat and a wide-brimmed hat.
“Now, gentlemen, let’s do this one at a time, please,” he said.
“Let’s go see what that’s all about,” Cole said when he came out of the shop. Travis shrugged and fell into step next to his younger brother. They approached the group of men.
“Travis, Cole,” Reverend Shreve called out. “So good to see you again!”
Some men turned and shook their hands.
“Look at this,” Gideon said, pointing at the notice board. “Women! All the way from the East. Reverend Shreve orders them for us like you order sugar.”
Cole chuckled. “I bet they’re just as sweet,” he said.
Travis nudged his brother. Women should be respected, not auctioned off like cattle.
Reverend Shreve walked toward the brothers.
“It’s not like that,” he said. “I don’t want the men looking for other ways to keep themselves busy. A brothel or a saloon in town is the last thing we need for a bunch of men with no women to keep their heads straight. A healthy marriage is just what we need.”
“Sounds like a lot of work,” Cole said with a grin.
Reverend Shreve shook his head. “Don’t tell me you don’t want a wife around the house,” he said. “I know how lonely it can get up at that ranch of yours.”
Travis looked at the notice again. Women from the East, it said. Order your bride today.
“I have direct contact with the agencies in various cities. Women sign up to come out West and marry strapping young lads with a will to work and create a new life with them. What do you boys think? Something that might tickle your fancy?”
It sounded like trouble to Travis. He hadn’t needed help to find a woman back in the day. That was before traveling West and all the heartache that came with it. Now, there just wasn’t any space in his old heart for another run.
“Maybe it’s something to consider,” he heard Cole saying, and he rolled his eyes. Imagine that, ordering a wife like you ordered sugar. The whole thing was ridiculous.
“What about you, Travis?” Reverend Shreve asked, and Travis snapped his eyes to the town’s holy man. “Don’t you want to settle down? Holy matrimony pleases the Lord and us men are just better with a woman behind us.
“No, thank you,” Travis said. He turned around and marched to the wagon. He got into the driver’s seat and waited for his brother, who stood with his thumbs hooked into his suspenders, talking to the Reverend. He couldn’t be considering this madness?
The nerve! And Shreve telling Travis he might need a wife… Who was the Reverend to tell him he needed to take a wife? If the Lord blessed marriage, why was Travis alone now? No. There was no reason for him to open his heart to someone again. Travis had experienced enough pain for one lifetime. The last thing he needed was more of the same.
