Mail Order Devastation (Montana Mail Order Brides, Book 4) by Julianna Blake

really important.
    And that distraction had led to her downfall.
    Don’t let yourself be distracted from your mission, Mollie.  You’re here to find Nell.  And to make Noah a happy man, that’s true.  But your happiness can’t come until after you find her.  Until then, you must feel nothing! 
    But as the dinner wore on, she found herself meditating more and more on the amiable qualities of Noah Jamison.  He spoke fondly of his deceased father, and it sounded as if he and his mother had cooperative work habits at the store.  That boded well for her, since it hinted that perhaps Mrs. Jamison wouldn ’t be a controlling or intrusive mother-in-law.  She’d heard enough stories from her old schoolmates, once they married, that she knew the relationships with in-laws could be difficult.  She’d need as much autonomy as possible in order to find Nell quickly.
    Not only did he seem to have had a much more peaceful upbringing than Mollie had, but he also had made many friends in the ten years since he had come to Montana.  And Mrs. Porter had brought up the fact that, although Noah hadn ’t been a frequent attendee at Mass, he had often contributed to church-sponsored charity drives and helped out with community events, as his mother did.  He was embarrassed by Mrs. Porter’s boasting, and brushed it off, but that humility impressed Mollie all the more. 
    When they ’d finished dinner, Mrs. Porter excused herself.  “I promised Clay I’d use the hotel’s front desk telephone at six o’clock, to call over to the butcher shop’s telephone.  He’s going to update me on how the baby is doing, so I’ll know if we can stay long enough for dessert.  It’s almost six, and I don’t want to leave Clay sitting in the dark down in the shop, waiting for my call, while poor Herman is upstairs wrangling the children.”
    “ You don’t have a telephone line upstairs?” Mr. Jamison asked as he stood and walked around to pull Mrs. Porter’s chair back for her as she got up.
    “ No.  Most of the shop owners along the street only have a line in their shop.  Clay felt that running the wiring upstairs was just ostentatious—he said his legs work just fine, and he can walk downstairs to make a call in the evening, should one be urgent enough.  And why would anyone call us at night?  How embarrassing, to risk interrupting someone’s supper to ask a question about a side of beef!” she laughed.  “I’ll just be a minute.  If everything is fine with Chandler at home, we can order coffee or tea, and some dessert.”
    Mollie dabbed the linen napkin to her lips as Mr. Jamison sat down again.  She was glad to have a few minutes alone with him, but couldn ’t think of anything to say.
    “ Miss Quinn, do you think you’d want a telephone line installed at home, so that you could call me at the shop if there was an emergency?”
    The question brought a reality to their situation —if all went well, they truly would be a married couple, sharing a home.  Mollie felt the awkwardness that filled the air for a moment, and suspected that the weight of the topic had just hit him, as well.  She was touched that he was thinking of her well-being already.
    “ I think that would be very thoughtful of you—” she began, then froze.  If I could telephone him, then he could telephone me, too…and realize that I wasn’t at home .   “Uh…that is…” she swallowed “…at some point in the future, it would be something to consider.  But you just spoke of improvements you want to make—and that you don’t even have a line in your watch shop, yet.  Improvements cost money, and we’ll be buying a house.  So perhaps we should do all those things first, and worry about a second phone line at the house at a later date.”
    He frowned.  “It’s true that I don't have a phone line yet, but I just hadn’t considered it a necessary expense.  Until now, Mother and I have worked together almost every day, and I’ve