have to put her prejudice aside and learn that not all folks who had wealth treated poor folks badly. Sure, he had turned his nose up at her when he first saw her, but she needed to understand it was the shock of seeing her dressed like a man and not a woman. Like a tomboy. An outlaw even.
The sad fact was, rich and poor alike would find her attire inappropriate. He knew many a poor woman and they didn’t dress like her, so wealth had nothing to do with people judging her. Her lack of propriety did.
Before he had a chance to introduce her, Rainee said, “I am Rainelle Victoria Bowen.” She curtsied. “But, please, call me, Rainee.” Rainee looped arms with Selina and led her to the crowd of people.
This whole thing was a nightmare come true.
Seeing no way out of it, Michael hopped down from the wagon and followed them. When he caught sight of the surprised look on the men’s faces and the horror on some of the women’s as their gazes traveled over her, anger surged through him. He didn’t like her appearance, either, but how dare they openly show disrespect for the woman who was, after all, his wife.
He strode to Selina’s side and placed his hand at the base of her back.
Selina looked up at him, at his arm and then back at his face, a question lingering in her untrusting wide brown eyes.
His gaze remained fixed on her, taking in her face, her high cheekbones and perfectly shaped lips. The woman was beautiful. Why did she hide it under that hat? Perhaps she didn’t know she was beautiful.
Leah and Abby rushed up to meet her.
“Selina, these are my sisters, Leah and Abigail.”
“Pleased to meet you.” Leah gave her a quick hug.
“It’s Abby, not Abigail. That sounds so stuffy. Just like you, Michael.” Abby wrinkled her nose at him and then turned her focus onto Selina. “I love your outfit.” His sixteen-year-old sister smiled, beaming as her gaze raked over Selina’s clothing.
Dear Lord, don’t let Abby start wanting to wear pants, too.
His sister-in-law Hannah looked up from wiping baby Rebecca’s mouth. She handed the baby to her oldest son, Thomas, who took her willingly. He’d make a fine father some day. Just like his father, Jesse.
“Selina!” Hannah rushed over and gave her a hug. “Welcome to the family. We’re so happy to have you here.”
“Selina, this is my sister-in-law, Hannah.”
“Pleasure to meet ya, ma’am,” Selina said.
“Mama, where’s my drink? I’m thirsty.” William, Michael’s five-year-old nephew and Hannah and Jesse’s middle child, tugged on his mother’s skirt.
Hannah rolled her eyes. “Sorry—I need to get my son something to drink. We’ll talk later. You must come and see me. I live over there.” She pointed to her and Jesse’s house, then swung William into her arms and like a whirlwind she was gone.
Michael’s mother scurried up to them. “Selina, I’m Katherine. Michael’s mother.”
“Pleased to meet you, ma’am.”
“Welcome to the family, Selina. You must come by the house tomorrow so we can get better acquainted.”
“That’s right neighborly of you.” Skepticism shrouded Selina’s face once again.
“Hi, son.” His mother barely glanced at him. “You don’t mind if I borrow your wife, do you? There’s someone I’d like her to meet.”
“Hi to you, too, Mother.” He smiled. “No, I don’t mind at all.”
“Good. Because even if you did, I was going to steal her anyway.” Mother reached up and kissed his cheek before she looped arms with Selina and scampered her over to the same group of ladies he’d seen scowling. He watched, waiting and ready in case Selina needed his intervention.
“She isn’t what you expected, is she?”
Michael turned toward his brother Jesse. With those seven words, Michael knew his acting hadn’t worked. Making sure no one was within hearing distance he said, “No, she sure isn’t. I’m so angry and confused, Jess, I don’t know what to do. I married the wrong woman.”
Jesse frowned. “What do you mean ‘the wrong woman’?”
With a shake of his head, Michael beat back the awful truth. “Selina didn’t write the letters—her friend Aimee did.”
“I don’t understand.”
There was no reason to hide the truth. Jesse had been with him through this whole thing from the beginning. In short detail, Michael explained everything to his brother. How the woman he fell in love with didn’t really exist. Or if she did, she existed in two different people. One of whom he married. The other of whom he might have actually loved.
Jesse’s concern was written all over his face. “Now that’s a tough one. But remember, you did pray about it.”
“I didn’t pray for this, Jess. You know what I prayed for. Why would God do this to me?”
“God didn’t do anything to you. He did it for you. He has a plan, Michael. We talked about this, remember?”
“A plan? What? To humiliate me? And how could you say God did it for me? What could God possibly have in mind? I mean, look at her, Jess. She’s…” He couldn’t even finish.
Jesse slid his gaze toward Selina. “She’s um…different, but she seems friendly enough and she’s very beautiful.”
“She’s different all right. She might be beautiful, too, but she’s nothing like what I had my heart set on marrying.”
“Look, I know you wanted someone like Rainee. But there’s only one Rainee and she’s married to our brother.”
“I know that. It’s just… Well, every time I prayed for a wife, I asked God to send me someone just like her.”
“Maybe He did.”
Michael’s brows spiked. “I don’t think so. I don’t mean to sound cruel, but look at the way she’s dressed. And the way she talks.” He rubbed the back of his neck. “I think the woman who wrote the letters comes closer to what I was wanting in a wife than Selina ever could.”
“You don’t know that. From what you told me, the person in the letters is a mixture of Selina and Aimee and a lot of things were exaggerated. So you have no idea what Aimee is really like except that she’s the kind of woman—”
Michael finished Jesse’s sentence. “Who would send her friend out West knowing she had lied, that she had deceived not only her, but also the man she had married. Leaving Selina to deal with the consequences.” That thought alone secured his compassion toward Selina.
Nobody deserved to be treated that way. Especially by a friend she trusted. Indignation roiled through his gut. If Aimee were here right now he’d tell her exactly what he thought
