“If I may?” Amanda asked Jason.
He threw both hands up. “Have at it, lady.”
Amanda turned to the women. “As I understand it, one of you thinks the other stole your recipe.”
Polly jerked her head toward Gladys. “She stole my apple pie recipe.”
“And she’s after my roast chicken ingredients,” Gladys said.
“A woman works for years perfecting a recipe. She certainly doesn’t want another woman taking it, then passing it along for everyone to use.” Amanda turned to Jason. “Are you following this, Mr. Kruger?”
He threw her a sour look. “Hanging on every word.”
“Good,” Amanda said. “As I see it, there’s but one way to settle this issue. You ladies will exchange your pie and chicken recipes with each other. Only the two of you will have them. That way you can be assured neither recipe will be passed along to anyone else without fearing that your own recipe will then be passed on in retaliation. How does that sound?”
Gladys and Polly looked at each other, then finally nodded their agreement.
Duncan rushed forward and took Amanda’s hand. “Thank you, ma’am, thank you kindly. This here is surely a load off of my mind.”
He escorted the two women out of the office, then stuck his head back in. “Mr. Kruger, that little lady’s going to make you a fine wife. A real fine wife.”
The door closed, bringing a silence more uncomfortable than the shouting match that had gone on earlier. Jason stared at her, and Amanda found herself pulled into his gaze, held there against her will.
He was tall, with black hair and green eyes that unsettled her. He spent his days in the sunshine; it had deepened the color of his face and etched fine lines at his eyes. He worked hard, too. Thick muscles moved against the sleeves of his pale blue shirt. His shoulders were straight, his chest wide, his waist tight, and his—
Amanda pressed her lips together, containing the little gasp that threatened to fill the silent room. Her gaze collided with his and for a flash of a second he looked as naughty as she felt. Her cheeks warmed. What had he been thinking while staring at her?
Jason frowned. “Do you want to tell me just what the hell is going on here, Miss Pierce?”
“Ain’t you even going to invite the lady to sit down?” Shady snorted.
Amanda had forgotten he was in the room. Jason Kruger seemed to take up all the space, breathe up all the air.
Shady dragged a chair across the room and plunked it down in front of Jason’s desk. “Sit yourself down, ma’am.”
Amanda smiled gratefully as she settled into the chair. In the hours she’d spent in the freight wagon with Shady she’d gotten to know him well and decided she liked him. Gruff and hard-edged on the outside, he was a softy inside.
“Thank you, Shady.”
“Yes, ma’am.” Shady looked at Jason. “Miss Pierce here has had a long, rough trip up the mountain. And she’s only here ’cause you went and sent for her.”
Jason lowered himself into the chair behind his desk and pushed his hand through his hair.
“I haven’t been down off this mountain in months, Miss Pierce,” he said. “There’s no way in hell I could have asked you to marry me.”
“She’s got a letter,” Shady said. “A letter writ by you.”
“It’s a request, actually,” Amanda said, and pulled the letter from her handbag. “You see, Mr. Kruger, I’m here from the Becoming Brides Matrimonial Service.”
Shady chuckled. “Well, I’ll be damned—a catalog bride.”
Jason leaned back in his chair. “Are you saying I ordered you?”
“It’s all right here in your letter.”
He snatched it from her hand. His eyes darted back and forth across the page, then cut over to Shady.
“Go find Ethan.”
“Sure thing, boss.” Shady headed out the door.
Amanda watched Jason read the letter again, then level his gaze at her across the desk.
“Looks like you came a long way for nothing, Miss Pierce,” he said. “I didn’t write this letter.”
Amanda’s stomach squeezed into a knot. He hadn’t written the letter? She’d come all this way for nothing? Endured the hardships of the trip, spent her carefully budgeted money—for nothing?
Amanda shook her head. “Aren’t you Jason Kruger? Isn’t this the Kruger Brothers’ Lumber and Milling Company?”
“Yes. But I’m telling you, Miss Pierce, I didn’t write this letter. I never even heard of the Becoming Brides Matrimonial Service until just now.”
“But…” Amanda sank back in her chair.
The door opened and a man walked inside. Tall, with dark hair and the same green eyes as Jason, they could only be brothers.
Except that this brother was grinning from ear to ear.
He pulled off his hat and nodded politely to Amanda.
“Pleased to meet you, Miss Pierce. I’m Ethan Kruger,” he said. “Shady just told me he brought you up the mountain today.”
“Nice to meet you, Mr. Kruger.” Her manners were so deeply ingrained they sustained her even in this time of distress.
Ethan turned to Jason. “So, you sent off for a bride, huh? I should let you do the ordering all the time.”
Jason, unamused, pushed himself to his feet. “I didn’t order a bride.”
Ethan frowned and gestured to Jason’s shirt. “Eating at the trough with the pigs again, Jas?”
He looked down at the apple pie still stuck to his shirt and trousers, mumbled a curse, and headed for the washstand in the corner.
Ethan eased onto the corner of the desk. “Tell me, Miss Pierce, have you two set a date for the blessed event?”
“Just shut your mouth,” Jason said, pointing a dripping finger at his brother. “I’m not marrying her. This is all a mistake. Look at the letter.”
Ethan grinned at Amanda, then picked up the letter and looked it over. “This isn’t your handwriting.”
“I know that.” Jason wiped the last of the apple pie from his clothing and flung the rag into the basin.
“Can’t say that I recognize whose it is.” Ethan shook his head. “Must be some sort of a joke.”
“A joke?” Amanda came to her feet.
Ethan chuckled. “It is sort of funny.”
Funny? Amanda’s temper rose. She’d traveled miles and miles from the safety and security of home to come here—and she wasn’t exactly sure where here was—endured hardships, threats to her personal safety, bad manners and foul smells. And the Kruger brothers thought it was funny?
“Somebody made the whole thing up and forged my name,” Jason said to Ethan.
“Who’d do a thing like that?” Ethan asked.
“I don’t know, but I intend to find out.” Jason walked back to his desk.
Ethan shrugged. “Why don’t you just go ahead and marry her?”
Jason stopped short. “What the hell would I do with a wife?”
“If you have to ask that question, you have been up on this mountain too long,”