The Suspect Groom

David’s jaw tightened. Ivan didn’t deserve a woman who was as sweet and sensitive as Trina. He wouldn’t appreciate her. He’d ordered up a bride with the casual disregard he might use in placing a catalog order. As long as she was approximately the right size and shape, he didn’t care about what was inside. If it weren’t for those letters, those damn letters...

Trina stepped lightly into the room. She’d changed from her travel clothes into a long, purple and white sweater and matching purple leggings. She wore a large silver locket at her throat. On her feet were beige suede boots that were very stylish, but unsuitable for going out in the snow. Her long mane of brown hair rippled past her shoulders, and her eyes danced with the same happy excitement David had seen when she left the airplane.

David rose to his feet and so did Ivan.

She moved toward them with a fetching shyness, so eager to please, and David hoped with all his heart that Ivan would be gentle with her.

“Trina Martin,” he said. “At last we meet.”

“At last.”

He took her hand, raised it to his lips and lightly kissed her fingertips. “What did you think of your bedroom, Trina?”

“It’s very...pink,” she said.

“Women like pink.”

“Well, yes. And I don’t mean to criticize. But I’m not a Barbie doll.”

“It’s Maybelle’s fault. She’s the housekeeper, and she ordered the bedspreads and curtains. Made David work overtime putting up that rosebud wallpaper.”

“The housekeeper?” Trina brightened. “This place comes with a housekeeper?”

“Maybelle Ballou,” he said. “But she’s leaving at the end of the month. Going south.” He regarded Trina with that hooded stare. “That won’t happen with you.”

“Why wouldn’t it?” she asked.

“You’ll be my wife. You can’t just up and quit because the winter’s too cold. Or you’re lonely.” He sneered. “A wife needs a home, and that’s what I’m giving you. A home and a lodge and a barn and several outbuildings. Not to mention the two thousand acres of land. That’s a pretty damn good bargain, Trina.”

“Yes, I suppose it is.” But she wasn’t sure if she believed that she’d just made the deal of the century. Ivan Stoddard wasn’t at all what she had expected. Though he was an attractive man, tall and lean, with sharp features, there was a harsh, intimidating light that emanated from his dark eyes. His short-cropped hair was iron gray. He was most definitely older than his letters suggested. Though Trina had subtracted ten years from her own résumé, she suspected Ivan was closer to sixty-five than forty-five.

“How many employees do you have?” she asked.

“Up to twelve when the lodge is full. Which isn’t often. In the wintertime, it’s usually just me and David and the housekeeper. When Maybelle leaves, that would be David, me and you.”

“Me? Then, am I expected to act as housekeeper?”

“Well, you wouldn’t want some other woman messing with your house.”

“I didn’t sign on to be an employee, Ivan. There’s more to being a wife than—”

“Sure, sure,” he interrupted as he returned to the chair behind his desk. He stared at her. “Turn around, Trina.”

“What?”

“I want to inspect you. I’m making an investment here.”

“To inspect me?” She felt her cheeks grow red with embarrassment and anger. This man was nothing like his letters. Ivan was crass and rude and...

“You heard me, honey. Turn around.”

Finally David spoke, “Come on, Ivan. Knock it off.”

“I have the right.”

“Well, why don’t you ask her to open her mouth so you can check out her teeth like a horse you might buy.” David stepped up beside her and squeezed her shoulders protectively. “He’s joking.”

“I’m not,” Ivan said. “Little Trina here claims to be twenty-five, but she looks a damn sight older.”

She cringed inside. Her lie! She’d already been caught in her lie!

“Does it matter?” David asked.

“Hell, yes. I want my wife to give me some legal heirs. Sons, of course.”

“I see,” Trina snapped. “And do we drown the daughters?”

“What?” A perplexed frown crossed Ivan’s face, then he said, “Don’t take me wrong, Trina. I’ve got nothing against women. I like women. Living up here, I’ve learned that a strong woman can do almost anything a man can do. But I’d prefer little boys. I’m an older man. I’d like a kid to play with, and I don’t much care for dollies and dress up.”

“Talk about your mixed messages,” she said under her breath. In one quick statement, Ivan had credited women and discredited them at the same time.

The telephone on Ivan’s desk rang and he snatched it up. As soon as he recognized the caller, his voice softened like butter in the sun. “And I’m real pleased to hear from you, too. You hold on for just a second, okay?”

He turned his gaze on Trina. His gaze scoped from the top of her head to the tips of her toes. “I guess you’ll do just fine. I’ll see you tomorrow at the wedding.”

“But—”

“That’s all, Trina.” Ivan nodded to David. “Get her some dinner and put her to bed.”

A dozen protests sputtered behind her lips, but she was too confused to speak, and David was turning her gently toward the door. She gazed up at him and saw a wellspring of sensitivity in his dark eyes. If only he had been the man she’d come to marry, everything would be wonderful. She could have forgotten the dead man in the field, could have been truly happy.

Had she expected too much? She touched the silver locket at her throat. Inside, folded tight, was a scrap of paper from one of his letters. One word was written upon it—love.

When she reached the door, Ivan called out. “Hey! Your backside looks just fine to me.”

What had she gotten herself into?

Chapter Two

Trina marched along beside David, not speaking. She kept her chin high. Her encounter with Ivan reminded her, more than anything, of those years in her childhood when her military father barked out orders and it was her job to obey without question. During that time, she’d learned self-control. Trina knew, from experience, that she could grit her teeth and stand anything—anything!—for a brief period of time. But this was marriage, and marriage should be for a long time. A lifetime.

David directed her through the entry and down a hallway. They passed an arch that led to the kitchen where they could hear the housekeeper, Maybelle, at work. From there, David took Trina down a few steps to another, narrower corridor.

She tripped on another small stair, recovered her poise and said, “This floor plan doesn’t make sense. Up a half flight, down a hall, up another. It’s like a house put together with children’s building blocks.”

“Makes sense when you consider the weather,” he said. “In the summer, it’s possible to build and add on. So the houses up here tend to expand in spurts. This addition was my special project three years ago.”

He opened a door to a spacious room, paneled entirely in faintly redolent cedar. The most striking features were a large moss rock fireplace and wide windows that showed a view of the barn. David opened a door on the right side of the fireplace. “In here is my office. The other closed door leads to my bedroom.”