Chapter One

Miss Hazel Hughes hoped she wasn’t sinning. She was going to church with the intention of finding just the right brides for the four Mounties who served with her son out West. Finding the woman for the youngest of the men should be relatively easy. She already had someone in mind for him—it was the other three she was searching for mates for.

As she thought about it, she realized she couldn’t possibly be sinning. God wanted the men to be happy, after all. They were serving Canada, and surely God wanted the Canadian Mounties to be happy. If Canada wasn’t His favorite country, why was it the most beautiful place on earth?

As soon as Miss Hazel stepped into the church, her eyes locked onto her first victim—err, bridal candidate.

JoAnn Watson. She made a beeline for the young lady, determined to convince her that going to British Columbia to marry a man she’d never met was the best idea she’d ever had.

*****

JoAnn saw Miss Hazel rushing toward her, and she briefly considered hiding behind her friend, Lisa. It would be of no use, however, because everyone knew that once Miss Hazel had made up her mind to do something, there was no stopping her. Instead, she put on her bravest face and smiled as the woman bore down on her.

“Good morning, Miss Hazel. Have you heard anything from Theodore or Jess? We’re not happy with you for taking her away from us, you know!” JoAnn glared at the older woman, determined that she know how JoAnn felt about Miss Hazel taking the third of their trio away from them to marry her son out West.

“I know, dear, I know. I want to talk to you about that actually. Do you have a moment?” Miss Hazel asked.

JoAnn looked at the watched pinned to the bodice of her dress. It was the watch she’d been given by her parents when she’d started teaching four years before. She loved being a teacher—most of the time. “I think we have a few minutes before the service starts. What can I help you with?”

Miss Hazel seemed to debate something for a moment as her gaze shifted to Lisa, who was standing behind her. Finally, she said, “I want you to marry a Mountie as well. One of the men that’s stationed with Teddy is a musician, and he needs a wife. You’re the one I want to send out to him.”

JoAnn frowned. She was no longer teaching a regular class, because her music lessons had really taken over. She taught piano, violin, and guitar. She preferred the violin, but so many mothers wanted her to teach piano. “Why me?”

Miss Hazel shrugged. “More of a feeling than anything else. I believe that Kendall is the right man for you, but more importantly, that you’re the right woman to marry Kendall. Think about it. I’m going to start some classes for the four women who I will send out to the Mounties there. I’d like for you to be one of those students.”

“But…when would you start classes?” JoAnn’s mind was spinning. She wanted to marry, but more importantly, she loved the idea of living close to Jess again. She missed her friend more than she could express.

“A week from Monday. I’d like the five of us to be headed West on the first of October.”

“That’s soon. I—I’ll have to think about it!” JoAnn looked over her shoulder at Lisa, who would be the last of their trio left if she went to British Columbia. “How do you feel?”

Lisa looked sad, but she shrugged. “If you would be happy there, you should go. I’ll be fine. Just remember that you and Jess have to write at least once per week.”

JoAnn patted her friend’s hand. “We will.” And in that moment, her mind was made up. She was going to marry a Mountie. Never in her life had she made a decision so quickly or confidently. It felt right.

*****

Just over a week later, JoAnn took all of her belongings to Miss Hazel’s house and waited in the parlor for the other three girls. She sure hoped they were women she liked, because she couldn’t imagine living as closely as they would need to live, if the women couldn’t be bosom buddies of hers.

The first girl, Evelyn, hurried in looking ready to take on the world. JoAnn knew her from church, but it was a casual acquaintance. They’d never spent any real time together. Evelyn sat beside her, and JoAnn smiled. “I’ve seen you around church. I’m JoAnn.”

“I’m Evelyn. I’m going out West to marry a Mountie!”

JoAnn couldn’t help but smile. “I am too. My Mountie is musical, and that’s all I really know about him. I hope he’s a good man.”

Evelyn waved her concerns away. “He’s a Mountie. Of course, he’s a good man. Mounties can fight off bears with one hand tied behind their backs. Of course, no man would have to do that for me. I’d do it myself.”

“I don’t know a lot about fighting off bears, to be totally honest with you. I’m more of a scholar than a fighter.”

“Oh, well, I’ll defend us both then.”

JoAnn shrugged. “If you can do it, I’ll let you. If not, I’ll throw a book at the bear!”

Evelyn laughed. “I think I’m going to like you, JoAnn. Why didn’t we ever get to know each other before?”

“Because I’m too shy to talk to strangers, probably. I’ve been friends with Jess and Lisa since we were small, and we always stuck together.”

The door opened and another girl JoAnn knew from church stepped in. Well, fell in was a bit more accurate. Rose was known for being a bit less than graceful. “Rose, who are you going to marry?” JoAnn asked. She knew a bit about each of the men because Jess had written to her about all of them. She’d decided not to write Jess that she was coming. She’d rather surprise her.

Miss Hazel walked into the room then. “Where’s our last girl? She’s late?” She stuck her head out into the hallway as if that would make the mystery girl suddenly appear, but then she shook her head. “No matter. We’re going to get to work anyway. The reason I brought you all here is because I want to make sure you know how to cook and clean properly before you go off to be a Mountie’s wife in the West. You won’t have a housekeeper out there.” At that Miss Hazel pinned JoAnn with her eyes.

It was well known in Ottawa that her parents were the most well-off in town. They were odd in that they always expected their children to work for a living, though. Her two brothers were currently working their way up through their parents’ furniture factory, which meant they were learning to make the furniture themselves. Both of them knew that they would end up running the company together some day, but their father needed them to know every level of the business…from the bottom up.

JoAnn tossed her long hair back over her shoulder with a hand. “I’m perfectly ready to work and work hard.”

Miss Hazel nodded, acknowledging her. “Well, then let’s get going. I’ll show you to your rooms. This will probably be your last opportunity to have your own bedroom your entire lives, so I gave you each a different one. Follow me.”

Evelyn frowned. “Aren’t we waiting for one more?”

“Yes, we are, but that one more needs to learn that life waits for no woman. She’ll be here soon, or she will lose out on this opportunity.” Miss Hazel led the way up the stairs, her voluminous skirts rustling about her legs. She still wore the full skirts that were in fashion ten years ago, which JoAnn found odd. Everyone knew she had enough money for whatever wardrobe she wanted, so maybe she just liked their comfort.

JoAnn stepped into the bedroom that she was to have for the next two weeks, and she walked over to the bed, sitting on the edge of it. “This will do nicely. Will it be a problem if I practice my violin late?”

Miss Hazel shook her head. “As long as you don’t get to rowdy with it, I have a feeling it will help us all to sleep.” She started to close the door, but stopped short. “Be downstairs in twenty minutes, ready to work. I’ll teach you how to bake fresh bread today.”

JoAnn smiled, setting her things down and placing her violin on the dresser—in a place of honor. She loved her instrument. More than she loved most of the people she knew, if the truth were told. Her instrument never let her down, not like humans did. She sighed, glad the door was closed for a minute to leave her to her maudlin thoughts.

She changed her clothes, putting on an apron that covered her linen dress. Her mother wanted her to wear silk at all times, but why would someone wear silk if they were about to play in flour? Bread was made with flour, wasn’t it? Truthfully she wasn’t terribly concerned about learning to cook. If she had trouble, Jess would help her. She couldn’t wait to see her friend!

Hurrying downstairs, a short while later, she saw that the other girl had arrived. She was a stranger to JoAnn, who studied her closely. She had red, flowing hair, and she wore a blue dress with puffed sleeves. She wasn’t wearing an apron, but Miss Hazel handed her one. JoAnn couldn’t help but wonder why the girl had been so late.

Miss Hazel demonstrated making bread, and taught the girls how to knead it. She promised to send them with exact recipes of all the different things she’d teach them to cook, and at that point, JoAnn quit listening. She was a perfectly competent reader, after all. She could follow simple directions.

While the bread was rising, Miss Hazel taught them to make a simple stew, and then they all helped to clean the kitchen. JoAnn didn’t particularly enjoy touching the raw meat. It was disgusting to her, and she knew her mother had never touched raw meat. No, that was something for the cook to do, not the lady of the house.

JoAnn cringed at the thought. Soon, she would be not only the lady of the house, but the cook and the maid as well. There was so much for her to learn. Why couldn’t she just skip over this time and move to British Columbia to marry her Kendall. Already she thought of him possessively.

When she finally fell into bed that night, it was from utter exhaustion. She’d thought she’d have time to play for a bit before bed, but the day had been filled with baking, cooking, cleaning, eating, manners, and finally conversational ideas. JoAnn had some of the things—like manners and conversation—down better than the others, but she was sorely lacking in cooking and cleaning. Rose offered to help her get better, and she could tell the other girl was going to be a good friend to her.

As she drifted off to sleep, she pictured a man in a Mountie uniform, strumming a guitar while she stood with her violin tucked under her chin in perfect playing position. They would wow all the people in the West with their skills. How could they not?

She yawned, a smile on her face as she slept. Soon she would be in British Columbia with her new husband, ready to start their lives together.

*****

Miss Hazel woke JoAnn up the following morning with a knock on her door. She slipped into the room and sat on the edge of JoAnn’s bed. “I know this is a lot for you to learn all at once.”

JoAnn struggled to wake up. She was never at her best first thing in the morning. “It is,” she said as she sat up, her back against the headboard and the covers tucked under her arms. “I can do it, though. I just have to put my mind to it.”

“I think you can do it, but yesterday, you didn’t seem to care to put you mind to it. You seemed very distracted. Do you want to tell me what that was all about?”

JoAnn shrugged. “I’ll try harder today. Everything you taught me yesterday…well, I just kept thinking that it didn’t matter if I learned now, because Jess would happily teach me again when I got out West. And then we’d have more time that we’d be able to spend together.”

Miss Hazel shook her head. “I can’t send you out there unless you know how to bake bread and make a simple meal. I know you want to spend a lot of time with Jess when you get there, and you’ll be able to, but you have to be able to stand on your own two feet first. I want to know that when Jess is big with my first grandbaby that there will be a friend who can help her out.”

“I’ll do better. I promise.” JoAnn felt ashamed of herself. Sure, Jess could help her, and Jess would be happy to do it, because they were friends. But she shouldn’t have to.

When she got downstairs half an hour later, it was with a much better attitude. She’d learn anything Miss Hazel was willing to teach her, and it appeared that this morning, she was going to learn to fry bacon and make pancakes.

As the other girls watched, JoAnn followed the recipe carefully, only needing to be prodded a few times. The first pancake was a mess, because she didn’t flip it quite right, but after Miss Hazel showed her once, JoAnn made the rest perfectly.

She served breakfast to her friends, along with a hot cup of coffee for each of them. When they didn’t make faces, she was proud of herself. JoAnn’s eyes met Miss Hazel’s. “Thank you for helping me.”

Miss Hazel nodded, her face filled with humor. “I’m glad you were willing to learn. It’s amazing what a person can do when they set their mind to it.”

After breakfast, JoAnn did the dishes with Evelyn. “You did a good job with the pancakes this morning. I was pretty impressed. I’ve been making pancakes for years, and yours were better than mine. I think it was the vanilla. Who’d have thought to put vanilla in pancakes?”

JoAnn shrugged. “I thought they turned out pretty well. Do you know that was the first meal I’ve ever made?”

“Seriously? Who cooked at home? Your mom didn’t make you help her in the kitchen?”

JoAnn laughed. “I’d be surprised if my mother knew how to find the kitchen. We always had cooks and maids. No one cared if I knew how to cook or clean or do anything. I taught school for a couple of years, but only because I wasn’t ready to look for a husband, and my mother gave me the choice of actively looking for a husband or getting a job. So I taught.”

“I’ve heard you play the piano at church. You’re really good. Did you have a lot of time to practice? I guess you did if you had maids and a cook.”

“I probably spent as much time practicing different instruments as you spent cooking and cleaning. It was my favorite thing, so it’s what I did.”

Evelyn studied her for a moment. “I’ve always wanted to learn to play an instrument. Or sing. Maybe you’d have time to teach me after we get out West.”

JoAnn shrugged. “Maybe. I have no idea what life will be like once we get there.”

“Isn’t your friend Jess the one who married Miss Hazel’s Teddy? Doesn’t she tell you about what it’s like?”

JoAnn laughed softly. “Jess is so in love with Theodore—and has been since she was a little girl—that she hasn’t mentioned anything other than how much she loves being married in her letters. She doesn’t talk about her day-to-day life at all.”

“Do you find that odd?” Evelyn asked.

“Not at all. If you knew Jess, you’d understand. She’s been in a little cloud where only she and Theodore were important for a whole lot of years. I’m glad she’s finally married to him, because she’ll start seeing his faults. I hope she will, at least. No one can be half as perfect as she has always thought Theodore was.”

Evelyn smiled. “I think it would be nice to be married to a man I thought was perfect. I hope the Mountie I marry lives up to the expectations I have in my head for a man. Although, I’m really not sure how he could. When I think of a Mountie, I think of a giant of a man who can do anything.”

JoAnn smiled. “And I picture my Mountie as a man with a guitar on his lap, singing to me while he plays.”

“Do you know if that’s true?”

“Yes, my Mountie does play the guitar and sing. Jess says he’s wonderful, but she thinks frogs make beautiful music. The girl can’t tell the difference between a instrument played in tune or out of tune. I think that’s one of the things I love most about her.”

“I bet you’re really excited to get to see her.”

“I am.” JoAnn shook her head. “I don’t think the two of us have spent this much time apart since we met the first day of school. I don’t know what Lisa will do without us.”

“Lisa? Is she the brunette girl you and Jess are always around? Is there something wrong with her arm?”

“Yes. She has cerebral palsy. Her arm works well somedays and not others. She says she’s fortunate to not be in a wheelchair.”

Evelyn frowned. “I guess that’s why she doesn’t get to go out to marry a Mountie like we do.”

JoAnn shook her head. “I don’t think that’s it at all. I think she could be a better wife than I could. Miss Hazel is just trying to match the personalities up.”

“I guess.” Evelyn finished drying the dishes without another word. Her mind was obviously lost on something, and JoAnn wasn’t sure if it was her friend, Lisa, or on her future.