A BRIDE FOR CHRISTMAS
SPINSTER MAIL-ORDER BRIDES
(BOOK 2)
By
Cheryl Wright
Contents
Copyright
Thanks
About the Author
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Epilogue
From the Author
A Bride for Christmas
(Spinster Mail-Order Brides – Book Two)
Copyright ©2019 by Cheryl Wright
Cover Artist: Black Widow Books
All rights reserved. Without limiting the rights under copyright reserved above, no part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in or introduced into a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form, or by any means (electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise) without the prior written permission of the copyright owner of this book
Thanks
Thanks to my very dear friends (and authors), Margaret Tanner and Susan Horsnell for their enduring encouragement.
Thanks also to Alan, my husband of over 44 years, who has been a relentless supporter of my writing for many years.
And last, but by no means least, I must thank all my wonderful readers who encourage me to continue writing these stories. It is such a joy to me, knowing so many of you enjoy reading my stories. I love writing them as much as you love reading them.
About the Author
Multi-published, best-selling and award-winning author, Cheryl Wright, former secretary, debt collector, account manager, writing coach, and shopping tour hostess, loves reading.
She writes both historical and contemporary western romance, as well as contemporary romance and romantic suspense.
She lives in Melbourne, Australia, and is married with two adult children and has six grandchildren.
When she’s not writing, she can be found in her craft room making greeting cards.
Check out Cheryl’s Amazon page for a full list of her other books.
Other Links:
http://cheryl-wright.com
https://www.facebook.com/cherylwrightauthor
Join my newsletter here!
Chapter One
Westlake, Wyoming 1879
Melody Harken started her day at 5.30am.
The temperature was brisk, it was coming on for winter, and she pulled her robe up around herself for protection against the cold.
She was always the first up, and it therefore it lay upon her to get the fire going, as well as the wood stove.
She didn’t begrudge her father a little extra lay-in. He was a hard-worker and did a lot for the community.
She snatched up the lantern and it lighted her path toward the kitchen where she started the fire on the stove in preparation for her father’s morning coffee.
Filling the kettle with water, Melody startled at a noise behind her. She put her hands to her chest and turned.
“Oooh, you startled me, Father,” she said, almost breathless. “You’re up early. I haven’t even got to the main fire yet.”
He waved her concerns aside. “I can do it,” he said. “Something woke me, and I couldn’t get back to sleep.”
She stared at him. “You look a little pale, Father. Are you alright?”
He slapped at his cheeks. “Just a little tired. I feel fine.” He went to light the fire in the front room.
Melody set out the cups and prepared to make her father’s breakfast. Bacon and eggs today. They were blessed with twelve fine chickens, which not only supplied their own daily needs, but provided enough eggs to allow them to make a small stipend on the side.
By the time breakfast was served, the kettle had boiled and the coffee was ready.
“Fire’s done,” Jonas Harken announced as he re-entered the kitchen. “This looks wonderful, Melody,” he said, breathing in the aromas of the freshly-cooked meal. “A good breakfast is a great start.”
Melody rolled her eyes. As the only doctor in town, her father was forever spouting the benefits of a good breakfast to start the day. Sometimes it grated on her.
She often wondered if her mother had felt this way. Her dear mother had left this earth when Melody was only a teenager, leaving her to fill the void.
At twenty-seven, the expectation was she’d be married by now, but it wasn’t to be. Her father told her he needed her here. Who else would look after the house and make the meals?
She was also needed in his busy medical practice. Although not formally trained, Melody acted as his nurse. Assisting where necessary, checking stocks, and billing patients.
She was an integral part of his business, and he had told her time and again he couldn’t run his practice without her.
That wasn’t quite true – he could employ a trained nurse, but then he’d have to pay her.
Doctor Harken checked his pocket-watch, the one his father had given him when he’d earned his medical certificate. “My first patient is due in ten minutes. Is the surgery ready?”
It was Melody’s responsibility to ensure everything was in its place before each patient arrived. She led a very busy life looking after her father, and sometimes it got her down. “Yes, Father. I always prepare the room the evening before.”
She looked at him quizzically. He knew that – she’d always worked that way. It took time to prepare the room, and she was generally too busy in the mornings to set it all up for the day.
“Good. Good,” he muttered.
“Are you sure you’re alright, Father? Your skin is almost white.”
He waved her away, wiping the perspiration from his forehead. “Unlock the surgery door, and don’t concern yourself about me,” he said impatiently. “My first patient will be here any moment now.”
She did as she was told, concern for her father at the back of her mind, and it wasn’t long before the first patient arrived.
Just once, it would be nice to be able to sit down and have a leisurely cup of coffee. Or have some time to knit, or even do nothing.
The thought left her the moment it entered her head. Melody’s father had been more than generous, allowing her to stay here with him.
She received free food and lodgings in return for helping him out. What more could she ask for?
“You’ve broken your arm,” Doctor Harken said abruptly. “What possessed you to climb on the roof?”
Melody was shocked at his tone. It was unlike her father to chastise a patient like this.
Charles Jenkins stared at him. “The roof was leaking, Doc! I had to fix it.”
“Then hire a younger man to do it. You’re far too old to be undertaking such a lark.” He turned to his daughter. “Get me a splint and some bandages, Melody. And I’ll need your help.”
“Hold this,” he barked, indicating the splint, as he began the bandaging.
He was more than half way through when he quietly told her to finish the job. Not that she wasn’t capable, but it was unlike her father to want her to do the bandaging. He preferred to do it because he was much better at it.
She finished the job and helped Mr Jenkins down, and was about to send him on his way when she noticed her father.
He was sitting behind his enormous desk, clutching his chest. He was even more pale than he had been earlier, if that were possible.
“Father?” she asked frantically. “Are you alright?”
Charles Jenkins leaned in. “I don’t think he is.”
“F
ather?” Melody said again, now near hysterical. “What can I do to help you?”
She ran around to the other side of the desk and held her father, who was now slumped over the desk.
Mr Jenkins came to stand next to her and leaned in. “I think it’s too late,” he said softly. “I believe he’s gone.”
Melody sat opposite Miss Bethany Wilde of the Mail Order Bride Agency in Westlake, Wyoming.
After her father’s demise, she was on the brink of homelessness.
The new doctor had arrived with his wife, and since the house came with the surgery, she had to move out. She’d always known it was a possibility but hadn’t thought of the consequences if her father suddenly passed as he had.
Even the furniture was part of the package.
She’d thought for sure she’d be married with a family of her own by then. But it wasn’t too be.
Doctor Flint had been lovely and had offered her time to sort her life out. She wasn’t sure a month would be long enough, especially since much of that time would be spent teaching his wife the processes.
He’d offered her a small fee for her time. At first she refused, not being used to being paid, but he’d insisted.
She finally realized she may need money, as she had none she could call her own. As it turned out, her father had little, putting most of it back into the business.
“I have a couple of eligible young men looking for wives,” Miss Bethany said. “Miss Harken… Melody? Are you listening?”
It had been a difficult time. The funeral had gone as well as could be expected, and all their friends and family had attended. But she’d not seen any of them since. Not only was she an orphan now, she felt totally abandoned by everyone she knew. People she thought she could rely on.
“I’m sorry – I was thinking about my father.” She wiped a stray tear from her cheek.
Miss Bethany came around to her side of the desk and hugged her. “My dear, I’m very sorry for your loss. But the sooner we find you a husband, the better. Yes?”
Melody nodded, then sniffed, putting her handkerchief to her nose. “Yes, you’re right,” she said, stiffening her back. “But…” she sniffed again. “How many men would be willing to take an old spinster like me?”
Miss Bethany stared at her. “You’re not that old!”
“I most certainly am! I am twenty-seven years old. I’ve not so much as been to coffee and cake with a man.”
Miss Bethany’s eyes opened wide in astonishment, but she quickly refrained herself. “Then we shall fix that, eh?”
She smiled, but Melody didn’t think it was a genuine reaction. Over the years she’d learned to read people. When someone smiled or laughed meaningfully, tiny wrinkles appeared around their eyes. Miss Bethany’s eyes didn’t change.
Despite that, she did think the older woman had genuine intentions.
“Do you have any idea where you’d like to go, my dear?” She said returning to her desk. She shuffled some letters around in her hands. “I have several letters here that might be of interest.”
“I don’t want to go anywhere; I want to stay here – with my father.”
She could see the pity in the other woman’s eyes. “Unfortunately that isn’t an option, my dear. But I do have some letters here.” She pulled one to the top. “This young man is from a fairly new town called Dayton Falls. It’s in Montana.”
She handed the letter across to Melody. Her eyes scanned the well-formed words.
I am a thirty-two year old man. I am terribly lonely and need a wife.
Dayton Falls has mostly single men. The only women are married.
I probably should tell you I own the Post Office here. Apart from companionship, I need help with household chores and meals.
Kindest regards,
Peter Williams
Melody read the letter again, then glanced up at Miss Bethany. “I’ll take this one. He sounds nice.”
The older woman frowned. “He didn’t send a photo, so I have no idea what he looks like.” She reached for two more letters. “Read these two before making your decision.”
But Melody didn’t want to read any more. Peter Williams sounded nice. He didn’t want her to work in the business, and she only had to attend to the household chores and meals. That suited her fine.
“No, I want this one.”
Miss Bethany sighed.
Melody stared at her. “Did I do something wrong?”
“No, this is not unusual. I’ve found that once a young lady has made up her mind, she doesn’t want to see more.” She smiled grimly. “It’s your choice, my dear. I just like to offer variety.”
Melody nodded. She was happy with her choice. “So what happens now?”
“You write to him and, he’ll write back. See if you are compatible, and if so, you make your way to Dayton Falls.”
Clutching the letter, she stood and thanked Miss Bethany, then made her way out of the office.
She would write to Peter Williams tonight, and get things moving.
Chapter Two
To: Post Master, Dayton Falls
Dear Mr Williams,
I am Melody Harken. I’m twenty-seven years old and have never been married. My father recently died, and since the new doctor has taken over, I have to leave. I’ve been left homeless and destitute and am in desperate need of a husband to support me.
I can do all the housework and I’m a very good cook. I would be happy to become your wife.
Kindest regards,
Melody Harken
Pete Williams read the letter over again. She sounded perfect.
When the letter had arrived this morning, his heart rate accelerated. He stared down at the envelope for the longest time before opening it. It was addressed with the most perfect cursive he’d ever seen. She was obviously well-educated.
The slightest fragrance lingered on the paper, and he wondered if it was the essence of his betrothed.
His hands shaking, he’d ripped the envelope open. Could this be his new wife?
Now that he’d read the letter, he was almost certain she was.
He’d written to the mail order bride agency on a whim. He’d seen an advertisement in a newspaper that had arrived from Wyoming.
Dayton Falls didn’t have their own newspaper office yet, and he wasn’t convinced they ever would. The town was far too small to make it worthwhile. Perhaps in the future?
He rubbed his hands together. He was so close to securing a wife, and it was exciting.
Out of nowhere, an unwanted memory popped into his head.
Dayton Falls was to be a fresh start for Pete and his wife. Little did they know when they started on their exciting adventure a little over two years earlier, that Priscilla was pregnant. Complications set in, and not only did she lose the baby, but she also lost her life. The only doctor on the wagon train was unable to stop the bleeding, and his darling Prissy had slipped away in front of his eyes.
He’d begun to write back to Miss Melody Harken, to tell her to come to Dayton Falls. He would even include a train ticket for her and some money to buy meals along the way. It was a long trip from Wyoming, and he wouldn’t expect her to fund it herself.
Unexpectedly, his eyes began to leak. Pete wiped a hand across them and pushed the paper aside.
With renewed thoughts of his darling Prissy, he couldn’t do it. He wouldn’t betray her memory. He loved her too much for that.
“But you said I had another two weeks.” Melody was distraught.
She’d taught the doctor’s wife everything she needed to know, and now they were tossing her out like a piece of garbage.
Doctor Flint turned away. “I’m sorry,” he said, with no sign of emotion or apology whatsoever in his voice. “Things have changed.”
It wasn’t true. Melody knew it and so did Doctor Flint. “You’re nothing but a liar,” Melody said, moments before her hands flew to her mouth. She had never been so disrespectful in her life.
Then again, she�
��d never had anyone blatantly lie to her face before.
He glared at her. “Get your belongings together and leave. I want you gone tonight.”
“Tonight? Where am I going to go at this late notice?” Tears streamed down her face. If only her father hadn’t died like that. He hadn’t even left a will, which meant the small amount of money in his bank account was untouchable. “I barely have enough money for a train ride.” She sobbed.
Mrs Flint walked in, and Melody glared at her. “I supposed you know about this? It was probably your plan all along?”
The woman looked genuinely surprised. And confused. “What is going on?”
Before her husband could answer with some cock and bull story, Melody told her. “He’s kicking me out. I have to leave by tonight.”
“Is that true, Robert? You’re throwing her out on the street?”
He glared at his wife, willing her to take his side. “It was always going to happen.”
“Only not right now!” she screeched at him. “The poor girl has lost her father. She’s taught me everything she knows, and you repay her like this?”
She went to Melody and hugged her. The woman seemed genuine, which was more than she could say for her vile husband.
“We’ll sort this out,” she whispered, then led Melody to her room. “Pack your things and I’ll do what I can,” she said, then left Melody to her get her belongings together. She didn’t have a lot of clothes, she’d never needed much, but managed to fill a small trunk.
When she’d removed her father’s belongings from his room after the funeral, she’d found her mother’s wedding gown. It was so beautiful, and Melody had always dreamed of wearing it for her own wedding. But it had never eventuated.
She carefully folded it and added it to the trunk.
She cleared out her drawers and grabbed up the sole photograph of the family of three from her dresser. She gathered up what little jewelry she had, which included two necklaces that had belonged to her mother, as well as Mother’s rings. She held them close to her heart.
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