Read Tabitha: Bride of Missouri (American Mail-Order Bride 24) for Free Online

fool of myself, don’t you?”
    “No, not at all. I’m just trying to make this letter a little more personal.”
    “Oh, all right. If you insist.” He picked up the pen with his left hand and attempted a scribble at the bottom. “I hope she knows that’s my attempt at a signature and that I didn’t drop the pen across the paper.”
    “I can tell that’s your name,” Tabitha said.
    She took Ivy’s address, then placed a stamp in the upper right corner. “I believe we’re all set to go,” she said after tucking the letter into the outgoing mail pile. “Is there anything else you need, Mr. Scott?”
    “No, I believe that’s all. For today, at least.” He ran a finger under the edge of his cast, and Tabitha wondered if it was bothering him. “The doctor says I can’t use this hand for a while. Do you mind if I come back? You’ve been so kind, I hate to intrude, but you’re the only one I can ask for help. Hoss would never understand.”
    “And who’s Hoss?” Tabitha asked, although from the name alone, she could make some guesses as to the man’s appearance and character.
    “He’s my closest friend at the lumber bill. He’s a good fellow, but he’d never let up teasing me if I asked for his help with something like this.”
    “Then yes, I’d be glad to help.” Tabitha paused, toying with the end of the pen. “I’m curious, though. You say you haven’t heard from her for a while, but you’d like help to write her again. You’ll write her even if she doesn’t respond?”
    Mr. Scott lifted a shoulder. “I just want her to know I’m thinking of her, even if she doesn’t have time to think of me.”
    Tabitha’s heart couldn’t take much more of this. She’d never heard anything so sweet. “Well, I guess I’ll see you in a few days, then,” she replied, making a show of gathering up some papers to be organized. In truth, they were all blank, but he didn’t need to know that.
    “Thanks again, Miss Phillips,” he said with a touch of his cap, and then he was gone.
    Tabitha leaned against the counter and watched him walk down the street, stepping out of the way to avoid colliding with a woman pushing a baby carriage. He gave her a slight bow before continuing on his way, and Tabitha sighed.
    Then she straightened and shook her head. She was behaving in a ridiculous fashion. She was far too old for this kind of girlish swooning, and he was engaged besides. Thomas Scott was a postal customer, and that was all.

Chapter Four
     
    Thomas pulled the post office door closed behind him and let his smile drop as he stepped down the street. His hand was aching more than he cared to admit, but he didn’t want to give any sign of it to the pretty postal worker. Not that he’d actually noticed how pretty she was—after all, he was engaged, and sending a letter to his fiancée—but he didn’t need to burden her with his troubles any more than he had.
    He stepped to the side so as not to run into a woman pushing her child in a carriage, then proceeded down the street. The problem was, he didn’t have a clear destination in mind. He wouldn’t be expected at the mill until his hand healed, and without work, he felt like a ship without a rudder. A growl in his stomach reminded him that he hadn’t eaten since the pancakes at the doctor’s house some hours before. There wasn’t much in his small kitchen, so he veered left and entered the restaurant attached to the town’s hotel.
    “Hello there, Thomas,” the owner greeted him. She was a round woman with a soft voice and white hair piled up into a cap high on her head. “Haven’t seen you for a while.”
    “I’m trying to learn to eat my own cooking, Mrs. Davis,” Thomas said with a chuckle. “It’s not going so well as of late. I’m burning more food than I’m eating.”
    “It’s no wonder, with that hand!” She tsked and shook her head. “You young men can’t be left alone for a minute. What happened?”
    “I’m sorry to say,