Free Chevonne: Bride of Oklahoma (American Mail-Order Bride 46) by Leighann Dobbs Page B

happen to a woman alone out here in Oklahoma. It’s just safer to have someone accompany you.”
    “I suppose you’re right,” she conceded.
    The swaying motion of the buggy combined with the warm afternoon sun gave the day a lazy feeling. They traveled for a few minutes in companionable silence. Trey didn’t feel uneasy about the silence. It seemed both of them were perfectly content to ride alongside each other in the buggy and not say a word.
    There’d been no rain for over week so the road was incredibly dusty. Puffs of dust kicked up from the horse’s hooves, making Trey glad he’d purchased the upscale buggy that curled over in front to protect them from the dust. Still, tiny specks of it hung in the air around them.
    “You’d think they could come up with something to make the roads less dusty,” Chevonne said.
    A trill of excitement ran through inventor Trey. He’d had that same exact thought many times. “I’ve been thinking about that very thing. He tested her with, “What if they put something down to pack in the dirt? Like crushed stones?”
    “They did that on some streets in Lawrence, but I was talking about something more like a substance that coated it.” Chevonne’s cheeks were flushed. Her eyes sparkled and she was practically bouncing with excitement at the idea. “But it would have to be something that didn’t get all over the wheels or the horses.”
    “Like a permanent coating, kind of like the mortar we use in between bricks?” Trey caught Chevonne’s excitement, a wide smile cracking his face.
    “Yes, exactly!” Chevonne lifted up the hem of her dress which was ringed with dirt. “The dirt roads are a real problem. The dust coats everything. Look at how dirty my hem is from going into town with Celia earlier. That makes for a lot of washing. Improving the roads would help improve the quality of life.”
    Trey sprung on her what he knew was a fact, “There are streets in Washington covered in natural asphalt that was melted into sheets. And a man in New York has a patent on an easier way of doing that. You’ll see, within a decade roads will be covered with it across the whole nation. Maybe they should make washing easier, too,” he teasingly suggested.
    Chevonne laughed and settled back in the seat. “Where I worked they had the most fantastical steam powered washing machines with rollers built onto them. They could wash thousands of bolts of fabric every day. Imagine having that in every home, smaller of course.”
    “We have all the latest gadgets in our wash house. Not steam powered, but real time and effort saving devices. You should go see them.”
    “I will. Listen to us. If only we could make things that really improve people’s lives.”
    Trey’s heart surged. He couldn’t believe that she loved talking about innovative ideas as much as he did. Chevonne complemented him in a lot of ways. Were they meant to be together? Maybe they could be just working partners and invent something together.
    As the buggy approached Main Street, Trey glanced sideways at Chevonne. For one quick second, he had an irresistible urge to tell her everything about his secret project. Before he could open his mouth, he was distracted by the sight of Phinneas Gulch hawking his potions on the sidewalk. Maybe it was better to wait until he was absolutely sure of her.
    “You can drop me at the mercantile for the fabric, while you go pick up those roller blinds for the house. We can get the gelatin together, after.”
    “Huh?” Trey’s attention turned away from Gulch. “Oh, sure.”
    He stopped the buggy before the mercantile store. Chevonne climbed down. The moment to tell her about his project had passed, but Trey felt oddly close to her now. Something had happened on the ride to town. It was as if a door had opened between them and all he had to do was step through it.
    Did she feel it, too?
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    C hevonne said a silent prayer of thanks that the post office was just beyond the