The Trail Master's Bride Read Online Free

credit, his meals weren’t burned to a crisp and were thereby edible, though just barely. As far as her reciprocating and sharing some of his burdens, as many of the other women did, it wasn’t happening in Mina’s case. Mainly because she didn’t know how. Elliott’s minimal efforts to teach her had fallen short, turning most often into shouting matches between the pair, tipped off by his impatience and Mina’s quick temper.
    So, they pressed on with Elliott leading the team day in and day out, not letting them pull out of line, as she did. Or stop the train dead as she had when they got breachy—which she learned from one of the women meant unruly—much to the dismay of the family who had the misfortune to be in line behind them.
    Truly though, Elliott had no one except himself to blame for approaching her father and contracting marriage without so much as a ‘by your leave’ to her. She would have told him she had no idea how to go about being a pioneer wife. She should have felt sorry for the man, but she didn’t in the slightest, particularly when he called her names, like ninny hammer and cabbage head, questioning her intellect ceaselessly. This didn’t sit well with Mina and she returned his ire without hesitation, none of which went unnoticed by the other members of the wagon train and their leader.
    Mr. Carr had been easygoing and patient when the trip had begun. That had changed with the Hobarts going hammer and tongs at each other nightly. He watched with narrowed eyes as the pair carried on and it was clear to all, including Mina and Elliott, that his tolerance was wearing thin. Because of their ineptitude, he moved them up front in the train where he could better keep an eye on them, he said. That had been an extremely unpopular decision, especially when they held up the train time and again. They soon found themselves shuffled back in the long line of wagons, until eventually, they were bringing up the rear. This soothed their traveling companions immensely as they were for the most part out of earshot. It worried Mina though, especially when she heard Mr. Carr’s warning to Elliott—keep up or be left behind.
    One night, about three weeks into the trip, Mina got fed up with Elliott’s constant insults and criticisms. She was trying, really she was. And rather than succumbing to the tears of frustration that had lingered just beneath the surface ever since leaving Boston, she exploded in anger.
    “Sludge! Pure and simple. You are the worst wife who ever lived, Mina Franks!”
    Pushing to her feet, she spun and hurled the coffeepot beyond the circle of their campfire, into the darkness.
    “It’s Mina Hobart, you horse’s hind end, and I’ll remind you that I didn’t ask for this. This was your brilliant idea. So, don’t you dare complain one more time. What in the world made you think I could cook, wash clothes in a creek on a washboard, or drive a team of oxen?”
    “I believed you had a brain between your ears at the very least, not flotsam and a bunch of feathers! Besides, I needed your money to fund the trip.”
    That stopped Mina mid-rant.
    He laughed at her surprise. “Surely you didn’t think I proposed out of my undying love for you. Your stepmother promised to fund my trip if I’d marry you and take you off her hands. I can see why she was so anxious to see the last of you. You are hopelessly obtuse.”
    Vanessa. This was her doing. She should have known. Elliott also should have known to be wary of Vanessa Franks and the bill of goods she’d sold him along with an inept bride. Caveat emptor, her father always said about his business dealings, let the buyer beware. Unfortunately, in this case, it was his daughter who got the raw end of the deal.
    Elliott continued, heedless of her feelings. “The mill burned down and we were left in dire straits. As a third son, I had to do something else. So I really had little choice other than to marry and you seemed the best bet,