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

suit was cut well, and of good quality, yet practical, fabric.  His medium brown hair was trimmed very close at the sides and back, but longer on top and swept back with just a trace of hair oil.  He wore no mustache or beard, which Mollie had often observed was fashionable among storekeepers.  But she was glad—she was not fond of facial hair on such a young man. 
    It had not escaped her notice that his shoes were well-shined and his tie in a neat knot at his throat.  He would have seemed fastidious, had she not observed a lock of hair slightly out of place, and that his tie was imperceptibly off-center.  She liked that about him —she saw his attention to neatness, but noticed no sense of rigidity in him.  She imagined that as a shop owner, he must need to keep up a good appearance in public.
    Then what will he think of you, when he finds out you ’re a fallen woman, with a child? the thought intruded, and the goblet of water jittered in her hand as she set it on the white tablecloth, nearly spilling.
    She tried to keep the smile pasted on her face as Mr. Jamison told her about his watch shop, and how much he loved working with his customers.  His business —which he’d inherited from his father when he passed away—was obviously very important to him. 
    “ H-how did your father learn the watch business, Mr. Jamison?”  Mollie could only hope her smile didn’t look as tight and put-on to him as it felt to her. 
    “ His father taught him…and his grandfather before him was a watchmaker, as well.  Father and I haven’t focused as much on watchmaking, since it seems most people want a known brand of watch these days.  But we do a lot of repair work.”
    “ It must require great attention to detail,” Mrs. Porter added.
    “ It does.  But I find it rather relaxing.  It’s my favorite part of the job.  Mother enjoys the selling aspects—especially the pocket watches.  I enjoy it as well, but mostly when I’m helping a real timepiece aficionado—then I could spend all day with the customer, and love every minute of it.”
    “ How long have you been in Helena?” Mrs. Porter asked.  “I know it was long before I arrived.”
    “ Ten years.  My father had a watch shop in Cincinnati, Ohio before that.  I helped him run the shop ever since we made the move here, when I was sixteen.  I worked in the shop in Ohio, of course, but mostly as an apprentice.  When we moved here, Father felt I was ready to become a partner, and that’s when he changed the name from Jamison’s Watch and Clock Repair to Jamison and Son.  And of course, I’ve been running the business since he passed.”
    “ How long has it been since he passed?” Mollie asked. 
    He appreciated her sympathetic tone as she asked the question. 
    “It’s been…uh…three years.”  He cleared his throat.  “It’s been hard on Mother.  She doted on him.  She was devastated when he passed.  His heart…it was quite unexpected.  He hung on for a few days though, so at least she was able to say goodbye.  But she hasn’t been the same since.  That’s when I started asking her to help out mornings in the shop. She always helped out here and there throughout the years, but I knew she needed me after Father died, and she needed something to keep her busy.”
    Mollie listened to Mr. Jamison ’s words, but had difficulty concentrating on them.  Though she was eager to learn more about the man who would be her husband, she couldn’t keep her thoughts from returning to the idea that a shopkeeper must need to keep up public appearances.
    What have I done? she thought.  I wasn’t thinking clearly when I chose this man.  He’s wonderful—so very wonderful—but what a selfish wretch I’ve been!   When she’d chosen from the selection of available Helena bachelors that Mrs. Gardner had presented her, she had been so consumed with worry for Nell, she didn’t think about the men’s occupations, or how her secret might