Mail Order Mistletoe (Brides of Beckham Book 17) Read Online Free Page B

SunSet and we'll meet the preacher there."
    "How far are we from SunSet?" Meg asked as he took her two carpet bags and carried them toward a wagon. 
    "It's about an hour drive, and then we'll drive another two hours to get to my house."
    "I see."  She really would be stuck in the middle of nowhere with no one but him for companionship.  She wondered idly if he had a pet she could talk to during the day.  All the way there, she'd been worried about the kind of man Lars was. She got there, and she worried about loneliness.  Would she be able to stand being alone so much?
    He put her carpet bags in the back of the old farm wagon, before helping her up onto the seat.  He ran around the wagon and took his spot beside her.  "After I sent the letter, I worried that you would get it too late to be on that train," he said, looking for something to talk with her about.
    "I had less than twenty-four hours to get ready, but the timing was really good.  My last day of my job was the day before I left."
    He looked at her from the corner of his eyes, sitting so primly with her hands folded in her lap.  She'd been on a train for seven days, and she still looked fresh.  How on earth had she managed that?
    "Was your journey pleasant?"
    "It was good, and I was dreading it.  I met a woman old enough to be my grandmother at the train station in Beckham before I left, and we sat together.  She told me stories, and I told her about my students and about coming out here to marry you.  We're going to be pen friends."
    "Do you like writing letters?"
    She shrugged.  "I do.  I have several people I'll be corresponding with regularly.  It brings my friends to me from far away."
    He considered that for a moment.  "I should probably spend more time writing to my family back in Norway.  They would enjoy hearing from me, but I work long hard hours.  It's hard to have energy at the end of the day."
    "Well, some of the things you've been doing for yourself, I'll be able to do instead.  It will be a bit easier, I think."
    "Maybe."  He drove on in silence, not really knowing what to say.  He didn't really want to get to know her well.  She was going to be a very small part of his life.
    Meg tried to come up with something to say, but nothing came to her mind.  Lars seemed to be a man of few words.  She didn't know if she liked that or not.  Instead of talking, she stared out at the endless prairie.  There were few houses, and none together.  There weren't really very many trees.  It was beautiful, but very different than Massachusetts.  She missed the ocean already.
    Finally, after a long period of silence, she saw a few houses clumped together.  "That's SunSet," he said.  Nothing else, just the name of the town as he drove toward it.
    Meg wondered if she was crazy to go through with this wedding.  Maybe she should run once they reached town, but he'd spent a lot of money to get her there. And really?  He was a good looking man with impeccable manners.  They didn't have much to say to each other, but they were strangers.  Why would they?
    Lars stopped the wagon in front of the small church where he'd attended services a few times with his wife, Olga.  He shook his head, banning her from his mind again.  The preacher, Pastor Green, was expecting them, and they needed to get a move on.
    He walked around the wagon and helped her down, feeling how tiny her hand was in his.  She was a tall woman, but he was a very large man.  Taller and broader than most, and even though he'd lost weight, he still weighed at least half again what she did. 
    "Pastor Green is expecting us."
    Meg took a deep breath, trying to still her nerves.  What was she thinking marrying this stranger?  "All right."  She forced a smile, wishing he were at least a bit more personable.  The few words they'd exchanged told her nothing about him.
    He led her into the church, and she saw the preacher standing at the front talking to an empty room.  Practicing