Mail Ordered Deception

Chapter 7

Chapter 7

Monica approached Prince’s pen cautiously as if afraid to scare him away, even though he had nowhere to go. When he caught wind of her growing closer, he threw his head in her direction and let out a nicker. Monica smiled as she lifted her feet onto the bottom rung of the fence surrounding him. Prince whinnied loudly before charging towards where she stood. She gripped the top rail and braced herself. When it seemed like he was going to slam into her, the horse suddenly stopped mere inches from her face. Monica did not move a muscle, staring him down. Prince was used to at least minimal human contact so when she reached out to stroke his neck, he flinched much less than she anticipated. She continued like this for a few minutes before climbing farther up the fence until she was able to swing her leg over the top.

This act spooked Prince however as he jerked away from Monica. She held completely still until he calmed back down then climbed the rest of the way over, her feet landing softly in the dirt. Prince kept a distance but looked at her as if unsure of what to make of her actions. She leaned back against the fence and rested there until curiosity got the better of the horse and he approached her again, slower this time than before. She reached out her arm and waited for him to come to her. Once he was close enough to touch again, she stroked his face slowly. He seemed to warm up to her quickly after that point and she kept him company for a long while.

After it seemed like the afternoon had passed, Monica watched from the pen as the sun began to set over the mountains in the distance. It was the most beautiful sight she had ever seen. Sunsets, she thought, proved to be more wonderful than sunrises. It was like the day was the page of a good book, and it was time to turn to the next one. It seemed as though in the brief time it took to come up with this thought, the last glimmers of that same sunset passed over the mountaintops and darkness began to spread over the land around her. With the darkness, came a cool breeze that chilled her skin and lifted her hair away from her neck.

Jackson’s Point of View

Jackson awoke that morning with his hangover passed and his coffee already at the door. It had cooled to room temperature by the time he got to it, but was still grateful for the rush of caffeine it gave him. After slipping on his robe, he went out onto his balcony and let the sun shine on his face. Looking over to his left, he saw the balcony to Monica’s room stood empty. This caused his mood to sour with disappointment as he realized he probably slept in too long and simply missed her coffee time. Thinking of Monica caused him to recollect the night before and his actions in her room. Jackson’s mouth gaped as the memories came to him.

He pushed past her into her room, still drunk from the day, and kissed her. Shame brought heat to his cheeks, almost wishing that the alcohol would wipe that evening from his mind. As it did not do that, he kept replaying the moment, remembering how it felt to kiss a woman again. It was different than what it was like to kiss Lilly, still, it was not at all unpleasant. Would it have felt that nice if it had been any other woman, he wondered? He recalled the way she took a moment to soften up to his touch and how once she did, she welcomed his kiss. He recalled the softness of her lips, and he smiled. No, it would not have been as nice were it someone else. Still, he felt the need to apologize for his actions and decided to go and find her.

After dressing in a simple suit, he made his way to her room. He knocked on the door, but no one answered. So he went downstairs to Bethany’s floor, and saw it empty as well. His eyebrow raised in curiosity, as he saw that no one seemed to be in the manor. Jackson continued on downstairs to the first floor, and saw the front door wide open. By the time he stepped outside, he was horrified to realize that he had slept in much later than he thought. The sun was already setting and the temperature had begun to drop. Looking around, he caught sight of Monica standing in Prince’s pen. His heart pounded worried for her safety, but when he saw Prince standing in front of her, allowing Monica to stroke his face, he calmed immediately. Jackson was unused to seeing that horse in a state of peace and there it was, in a beautiful display in front of him.

He watched her lean back against the rail as the sun finished setting and darkness began to envelope the ranch around them. Jackson decided it would be best to not disturb her, so he walked into one of the barns. The mares that were the closest to foaling stayed inside at night in case of a birth. He looked at them all with both pride and worry. These mares could foal any day now and they looked to be in good health. They were strong, well fed, and handled daily. And yet, with all of these positives, he feared that this batch of babies would suffer the same fate as the others. Jackson began to question why this was happening and reached over to pat the closest mare to him. She was a beautiful horse, with a shiny brown coat, and she welcomed his touch. He had too many horses to name, but he still felt a connection to all of them.

Jackson walked down the barn, stopping at each of the mothers to be, there were twenty in total, to give them a special pat and a prayer that their babies would be healthy. When he went to turn around, he saw Monica headed back to the manor, and decided to follow. Now was as good of a time as any to apologize. He picked up the pace in order to catch up with her, and came inside to find her hand in hand with Bethany, on their way to the dining hall again. It seemed as though they were enjoying eating together at the table. Jackson thought to himself it would look less shocking if he too joined them. So he lengthened his strides until he was right behind them, then scooped up Bethany in his arms.

Bethany let out a small shriek in surprise before seeing it was her father to pick her up. She threw her arms around his neck instantly. “Daddy, you’re up!” Monica giggled quietly at that comment, causing him to blush with shame again. “Daddy, your face is red,” Bethany sang, causing Monica to giggle again, this time a little louder.

Monica’s Point of View

Monica was ready to throw a punch at whoever took Bethany out of her hand, but when she saw it was Jackson, she let her hand fall back down to her waist. No one broke strides as they walked towards the dining room. She saw him smile and wondered what was the cause of his cheer. When she heard Bethany comment on his late sleeping and his red cheeks, she could not help but laugh at his expense. From the moment they met, he seemed so prideful, stubborn, and used to keeping a certain image, that the disheveled behavior of the previous night and this day were quite humorous. They reached the dining room, and Jackson set Bethany down.

“Go ahead and sit, Bethany,” Jackson said sweetly. “I’ll be right there.” Interesting, Monica thought. She did not realize he would be joining them this evening.

“Really?” Bethany asked, clearly surprised by his admission. It seemed as though Bethany was not accustomed to receiving extra attention from her father, and it warmed Monica’s heart to see him making an effort. She wondered, if perhaps she were partly the cause for this and that caused her own pride to swell.

“Absolutely, dear one. Now run along.” Bethany grinned as she practically ran to the table and took a seat. This left Monica and Jackson alone together again, and she noticed for the first time how close they were standing to each other. She attempted to take a step back but found there was no room left in the hall.

“Bethany did extremely well in her studies today,” Monica began, “She is quite bright for her young age. It might be soon that she will need the next set of readers and arithmetic books.” Jackson did not seem surprised by this news, and it was comforting to know that he kept up with what Bethany had been up to.

“That is nice to hear,” He said. Neither of them moved, and Monica sensed there was something on his mind by the way his mouth opened and closed but not another word came out.

“Just tell me what you want to say. I do not bite.” Monica smiled as she spoke, letting her hand touch his arm in a comforting way. He took a deep breath before beginning again.

“I wanted to apologize for last night. I was drunk, I entered your room without your permission, and I should not have kissed you in that way. It was wrong of me and I am sorry.” Monica let her hand drop and her smile faded slightly. So she had been right. The kiss meant nothing to him and he was sorry he did it. She did not understand why this news caused her chest to ache. Monica felt a lump in her throat and did not trust her voice so instead nodded and turned to go sit at the table.

Monica heard Jackson’s footsteps behind her and he took the chair across from her. Now they sat on either side of Bethany. The child was blissfully unaware of the shift in Monica’s mood and for that, she was grateful. The food arrived shortly, and it was a beautiful rack of lamb with roasted vegetables and potatoes. The dish smelled mouth watering and she served her plate hastily. Bethany did the same as she mimicked Monica in everything she did, including how she held her fork. Monica focused on her food and made herself smile so Bethany would still enjoy this meal with her father.

Halfway through the meal, Monica dared a glance at Jackson. He was staring at her, his eyes boring into hers. She blushed at being caught looking his way, but he did not break eye contact. Bethany filled the room with conversation, telling her father all about her day, and how he acknowledged her with a nod of his head and a smile, but still, did not look away. Monica grew uncomfortable by his gaze as heat spread up her neck. So she broke down and looked back down at her plate, finishing her supper.

When dessert came, Monica took the opportunity to excuse herself.

“Forgive me Bethany, Jackson, but tonight’s meal was filling and I am unable to eat another bite. I am going to retire to bed for the night.” She leaned down and kissed Bethany on the top of her head and the child wrapped her arms around Monica’s waist.

“Night night, mom….Monica”. She corrected herself so fast that Monica did not know what to say, except to hug her back. When they released each other, she nodded her head at Jackson as a gesture of leaving and she took her leave of the room.

Jackson’s Point of View

Jackson watched as Monica left the room seemingly in a hurry. He could not quite understand what happened at supper tonight. As soon as he apologized, Monica’s entire demeanor changed. Her smile no longer reached her eyes and she did not try to carry a conversation with him. He watched her through the meal, trying to catch a glimpse of what she must have been thinking. However, when she had caught his gaze, he held it, trying to ask with his eyes what was bothering her. When she blushed and looked away from him, he wanted to reach across the table and bring her eyes back to his. He wanted to ask out right what was bothering her, but did not want to and tension to the evening with Bethany. It was clear she so enjoyed Jackson spending supper with her, and he wondered why they had not done it in so long.

After dessert had been dealt with, he took Bethany to her floor and tucked her in for bed time. She hugged him tightly around the neck as he pulled the blankets under her chin. He wondered then how Bethany had warmed up to Monica so quickly. So much so that she called Monica, 'mom'.

"Bethany?" He asked, her eyes already drooping.

"Mhmm?"

"What do you think of Monica?" Her eyes opened slightly at hearing her name.

"She is nice. She plays with me, she listens to me, she makes you smile." She said the last part almost reverently, and he realized she had a point. In the two days that Monica had been here, he had smiled more than he he had in several months. He kept this thought to himself as he watched Bethany drift off to sleep. He stood and tip toed out onto the staircase. When he went to the top floor, he saw the light on in Monica's room again, though she had come up to retire an hour before. He thought of knocking again, to get to the bottom of what was troubling her before, but decided against it. She clearly wanted some time to herself, and Jackson would be respectful of that.

Monica's Point of View

She sat at the vanity in her room looking over the pile of letters on her right. It was almost overwhelming seeing how many of the employees needed aid for their homes. Monica picked up the first letter and began to read. This one was of one of the groomers. He had a family of a wife and three children and their house was desperately in need of a new roof. It leaked with every rain and gained a new hole with every snow.

The next letter was of a maid who lived on her own. She had her own house that was physically in decent shape, but kept getting overrun by mice no matter how many traps she set. The letters went on with broken porches, leaky roofs, doors falling apart, and mice. So many mice. When she finally put down the last letter, her eyes were sore from the reading and exhaustion crept over her limbs. She heard footsteps pass her door, thinking how Jackson was probably heading to bed himself.

This time she dressed in a light yellow night dress that hung loosely over her body with a floral pattern over the bodice. When she settled under the blankets, Monica felt at ease and sleep came easily.