Free Montana Bound: A Sweet Mail Order Bride Historical (Mail Order Bride Journeys Book 2) by Claire Holiday Page A

married to Constance and her, but forced herself to put the thought out of her head. It’s just not right to think like that!
    Though she knew that Constance had been eagerly awaiting Virgil's arrival, she admired the other woman’s self-discipline as she forced herself not to run to him, forcing him to make the move to approach her. She wished that she had the same level of self-discipline. Maybe things would not be getting this out of hand.
    Owen walked up to the steps leading to the porch, but held back, allowing Virgil to approach is sister alone. Grace could see what Constance saw in Virgil. He was about 10 years old than Owen, but every bit as handsome. He removed his hat as he looked into Constance's eyes and smiled, seemingly unaware of Grace’s presence beside her.
    “I am so happy to see you again, Mrs. Abel.” Virgil said as he took Constance’s hand and lifted it to his lips.
    “Mr. Thomas. I am glad you came. How was your trip?” The poise of the older woman impressed Grace, and she wanted to be so much like her.
    “Very uneventful. I am glad to finally be able to be here to see you again. In fact, I came straight here and haven’t even stopped in town yet to check in at the hotel to drop off my bag.” Virgil laughed.
    “This is Miss Grace Russell. She is a friend of ours that has recently moved to Montana and is staying here until she can get settled.” Constance said, gesturing to Grace standing next to her.
    “So pleased to meet you, Miss Russell.” Virgil said with a wide grin across his face.
    Grace took the Virgil’s outstretched hand and said, “I am pleased to meet you as well, Mr. Thomas.”
    “You are a brave one. There are not too many single women that would have the self-confidence to move to Montana alone, but at least you have friends here. How are you enjoying Montana so far?”
    “I love it! It is so beautiful and peaceful, not like life on the east coast.” Grace answered with a grin.
    Turning toward Owen, who had ascended the stairs and stood beside Virgil and facing Grace, Virgil said, “This one is not only beautiful, but she’s also got fortitude. How come you haven’t married her yet? If you don’t charm her now, you’ll soon have to ward off all the single men from these parts with a stick!”
    His comments to Owen brought laughter from everyone. Having heard so much about him already, Grace was not surprised to discover that Virgil was a very charming man. However, Grace found that she also felt just a bit uneasy about the fact that Virgil seemed to focus on her a bit too much, particularly since he had not seen Constance in such a long while. But she decided that he was probably just being polite since he had just met her.
    “You are absolutely right, Virgil. I don’t know how much longer we can keep the lid on the kind of prize that we have here. Before too long, we’ll have buggies lined up down the drive way as all the lonely men wait for their chance to introduce themselves to our lovely guest.” Owen spoke to Virgil, but his entire focus was on Grace.
    It was the first time that Owen had spoken openly of any attraction to her, and she tried to convince herself that he was just teasing her to follow up the compliment that Virgil had just given her. The look in his eyes as he spoke of her told another story though. And after hearing what Constance had told her earlier, she knew that he meant what he said.
    Grace felt a mix of excitement and fear as the she accepted the truth of the situation in her heart. She knew that Owen was interested in her, but she also knew that he loved another girl. She also knew that it wasn’t right, and that she shouldn’t be causing him this kind of confusion right now. It wasn’t fair to him, or to the other girl. And more likely than not, the result of the situation would be that her heart would be broken. She could not have that, and determined that she would begin the following day to look for a job in town so that she