Page 43 of The Rancher's Wedding

There was no point in wasting time. The longer the envelope sat unopened, the longer it would nag at her, causing her to worry that her life on the ranch was threatened.

Estelle –

I’ve tired of your childish games and demand you come home at once. Ethan and I would come to you if our business concerns weren’t so taxing and necessary, currently. Ethan is a wonderful man who will provide you with a fulfilled life of opulence.

This may be difficult for you to understand, but you must listen to me. Right now, perhaps, you’re enjoying your life because you’re young, but it won’t always be that way. One cold winter or especially dry summer can ruin the life of a rancher. Old money, however, provides security in even the worst of times.

Will Michael still care for you when you’re older? Or when he’s older and can no longer perform his duties on the ranch? How much longer will you be able to continue? I assure you, it is much more difficult to push a wheelbarrow or milk a cow when you’re eight months pregnant.

I am willing to reason with you. If you want a horse, I will happily purchase you a horse. If you would like a garden to tend, that can be arranged. However, you’ll need to return to Philadelphia first.

If you are not here by May the fifteenth, I will be forced to take matters into my own hands and fetch you myself.

Please let me know if you need funds to purchase a train ticket and expedite your return.

Your father,

Richard Williams

May fifteenth was only three weeks away. Certainly, she could be home by then if she so desired, but there was nothing she wanted less. The things she wanted weren’t things that her father could bribe her with. Yes, of course she wanted a horse, but that wasn’t all she wanted. She enjoyed tending to the vegetables, though a garden couldn’t scratch that itch.

The truth was that she likedherselfout in Utah. And bringing Estelle back to Philadelphia would leave that version of her behind. The life of a rich girl who was constantly spoiled with whatever she wanted struck her as dull. She no longer wanted to be spoiled. She wanted to earn everything she got instead of just having it handed to her.

She grabbed a sheet of parchment paper and a pen, dipping it in ink, and began writing before she even considered what she was going to say.

Dearest Father,

I do not wish to disappoint you, but I cannot return home. I would be miserable trapped inside the house again, married to a man whom I detest, especially after experiencing what I can be out here. Perhaps city life is what you would prefer, but it is not for me.

I do hope you will visit me here, but not to take me away. Instead, I could introduce you to Michael and all of the animals and show you the wonderful things that I do here on a daily basis.

I’ve been riding horses and feeding hogs and growing my own vegetables, then cooking them. Meals taste so much better when I’ve made them myself. I can prepare them exactly to my liking and feel proud for having made them.

I beg of you to respect that I am happy here and wish to stay. And I ask for you to please understand that this is what I want. I know you want what is best for me, but I must make my own choices and, if they turn out to be mistakes, then they’re mine and mine alone.

Please accept that I am married to Michael. Until you do, I’m afraid there will be more than just physical distance between us.

Sincerely,

Your daughter, Estelle Holden

Estelle folded up the letter and placed it in an envelope before giving herself the chance to read it over. She refused to cry. Her father may continue to deny reality, but she refused. Estelle was a married woman, and her marriage was no less real just because it was one of convenience. Indeed, many would consider their marriages to be far from “convenient,” particularly those who were forced to wed someone they actively despised.

The first step to accepting reality was letting Michael in on her past and admitting that she had lied to him. Estelle needed to come clean and let him know everything to make sure that he was still on her side. And, if he wasn’t, it at least gave her time to get away from the address her father knew and head further west, maybe even make it all the way to the coast.

She decided there wasn’t time to wait. It had to be now. Estelle left her room and went downstairs, rehearsing in her head along the way what she would say and how she would say it. It had to be presented in a matter-of-fact way, and she had to let him figure out how he felt about it without trying to push him one way or another. His reaction would tell her everything she needed to know before he even said anything.

But Michael wasn’t downstairs, where Estelle had expected to find him. She left the house and looked around outside, thinking that perhaps he was performing ranch work. He wasn’t.

Instead, he was up at Jacob’s cabin, talking to him through the doorway and, from the sounds of things, getting quite upset.

“It was years ago at this point, Jacob,” Michael said, stern-voiced and loud, though still not shouting. “During that time, I’ve done all the ranch work, tended to all the animals, and supported you. You’re not the only one who lost their parents that day. They were my ma and pa, too. Are you listening to me?”

There was no audible response from Jacob. It didn’t take a genius to know that this was a difficult subject for the two of them, but Estelle saw that Michael wasn’t maintaining the essential level of calm in order to have a real discussion. She climbed the path toward the house.

“I know you’re in there, Jacob. You can’t just hide from the world forever, tip-toeing out every couple of weeks or so until things start to look serious again.”

Estelle went up to Michael. “What are you doing?” she said, her voice sotto, but quick.

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