Debra Ullrick - The Unlikely Wife

This whole thing was a nightmare come true.

Seeing no way out of it, Michael hopped down from the wagon and followed them. When he caught sight of the surprised look on the men’s faces and the horror on some of the women’s as their gazes traveled over her, anger surged through him. He didn’t like her appearance, either, but how dare they openly show disrespect for the woman who was, after all, his wife.

He strode to Selina’s side and placed his hand at the base of her back.

Selina looked up at him, at his arm and then back at his face, a question lingering in her untrusting wide brown eyes.

His gaze remained fixed on her, taking in her face, her high cheekbones and perfectly shaped lips. The woman was beautiful. Why did she hide it under that hat? Perhaps she didn’t know she was beautiful.

Leah and Abby rushed up to meet her.

“Selina, these are my sisters, Leah and Abigail.”

“Pleased to meet you.” Leah gave her a quick hug.

“It’s Abby, not Abigail. That sounds so stuffy. Just like you, Michael.” Abby wrinkled her nose at him and then turned her focus onto Selina. “I love your outfit.” His sixteen-year-old sister smiled, beaming as her gaze raked over Selina’s clothing.

Dear Lord, don’t let Abby start wanting to wear pants, too.

His sister-in-law Hannah looked up from wiping baby Rebecca’s mouth. She handed the baby to her oldest son, Thomas, who took her willingly. He’d make a fine father some day. Just like his father, Jesse.

“Selina!” Hannah rushed over and gave her a hug. “Welcome to the family. We’re so happy to have you here.”

“Selina, this is my sister-in-law, Hannah.”

“Pleasure to meet ya, ma’am,” Selina said.

“Mama, where’s my drink? I’m thirsty.” William, Michael’s five-year-old nephew and Hannah and Jesse’s middle child, tugged on his mother’s skirt.

Hannah rolled her eyes. “Sorry—I need to get my son something to drink. We’ll talk later. You must come and see me. I live over there.” She pointed to her and Jesse’s house, then swung William into her arms and like a whirlwind she was gone.

Michael’s mother scurried up to them. “Selina, I’m Katherine. Michael’s mother.”

“Pleased to meet you, ma’am.”

“Welcome to the family, Selina. You must come by the house tomorrow so we can get better acquainted.”

“That’s right neighborly of you.” Skepticism shrouded Selina’s face once again.

“Hi, son.” His mother barely glanced at him. “You don’t mind if I borrow your wife, do you? There’s someone I’d like her to meet.”

“Hi to you, too, Mother.” He smiled. “No, I don’t mind at all.”

“Good. Because even if you did, I was going to steal her anyway.” Mother reached up and kissed his cheek before she looped arms with Selina and scampered her over to the same group of ladies he’d seen scowling. He watched, waiting and ready in case Selina needed his intervention.

“She isn’t what you expected, is she?”

Michael turned toward his brother Jesse. With those seven words, Michael knew his acting hadn’t worked. Making sure no one was within hearing distance he said, “No, she sure isn’t. I’m so angry and confused, Jess, I don’t know what to do. I married the wrong woman.”

Jesse frowned. “What do you mean ‘the wrong woman’?”

With a shake of his head, Michael beat back the awful truth. “Selina didn’t write the letters—her friend Aimee did.”

“I don’t understand.”

There was no reason to hide the truth. Jesse had been with him through this whole thing from the beginning. In short detail, Michael explained everything to his brother. How the woman he fell in love with didn’t really exist. Or if she did, she existed in two different people. One of whom he married. The other of whom he might have actually loved.

Jesse’s concern was written all over his face. “Now that’s a tough one. But remember, you did pray about it.”

“I didn’t pray for this, Jess. You know what I prayed for. Why would God do this to me?”

“God didn’t do anything to you. He did it for you. He has a plan, Michael. We talked about this, remember?”

“A plan? What? To humiliate me? And how could you say God did it for me? What could God possibly have in mind? I mean, look at her, Jess. She’s…” He couldn’t even finish.

Jesse slid his gaze toward Selina. “She’s um…different, but she seems friendly enough and she’s very beautiful.”

“She’s different all right. She might be beautiful, too, but she’s nothing like what I had my heart set on marrying.”

“Look, I know you wanted someone like Rainee. But there’s only one Rainee and she’s married to our brother.”

“I know that. It’s just… Well, every time I prayed for a wife, I asked God to send me someone just like her.”

“Maybe He did.”

Michael’s brows spiked. “I don’t think so. I don’t mean to sound cruel, but look at the way she’s dressed. And the way she talks.” He rubbed the back of his neck. “I think the woman who wrote the letters comes closer to what I was wanting in a wife than Selina ever could.”

“You don’t know that. From what you told me, the person in the letters is a mixture of Selina and Aimee and a lot of things were exaggerated. So you have no idea what Aimee is really like except that she’s the kind of woman—”

Michael finished Jesse’s sentence. “Who would send her friend out West knowing she had lied, that she had deceived not only her, but also the man she had married. Leaving Selina to deal with the consequences.” That thought alone secured his compassion toward Selina.

Nobody deserved to be treated that way. Especially by a friend she trusted. Indignation roiled through his gut. If Aimee were here right now he’d tell her exactly what he thought of her.

“Why did I have to come up with that ridiculous plan to say my vows of marriage in front of Reverend James and sign the marriage certificate and send it to her so she could do the same in front of her minister? If I hadn’t, then neither one of us would be in this miserable situation.” He caught his brother’s gaze. “What am I going to do, Jess? I’m in love with a dream woman who doesn’t exist. And even worse… I don’t love my wife. She’s a complete stranger to me.”

All of a sudden, his stomach churned and he thought he might be sick as unbidden flashbacks of another loveless marriage came rushing in on him.

Unbeknownst to anyone, as a young boy Michael had witnessed time and again his brother Haydon’s first wife Melanie’s rage toward Haydon.

From afar Michael heard Melanie’s cruel and spiteful remarks about what a poor excuse of a man she thought Haydon was. How she resented him for bringing her to this desolate place. How she hated him and wished she had never married him. How she had never loved him and had only married him for his money and his position in society.

To this day the memory of the pain on Haydon’s face still haunted Michael. His brother’s unhappiness had crushed Michael’s young heart. His brother changed after Melanie. He was no longer his confident self until years after Melanie’s death when God had sent Rainee into Haydon’s life. Because of her, Michael now had his brother back, and Haydon was happier than Michael had ever seen him.

Michael wanted the special kind of love Haydon had found with Rainee. With all his heart, Michael believed he had—until a few hours ago. But it was fully clear to him now that his marriage to Selina was nothing but a farce and that his worst nightmare of being stuck in a loveless marriage had now come true. How had he let this happen?

Jesse squeezed his shoulder, yanking Michael from the cave of darkness his thoughts had taken him to.