The Tycoon's Sister

by Jenna Brandt

  “Why’s that?” Elizabeth probed further, still confused. “Is she sick?”

  “I think it’s because I might be getting a great niece or nephew much sooner than I thought,” Aunt Gerty observed. “Is Willa expecting, Harrison?”

  “Expecting what?” Arthur asking, coming into the room.

  “A baby,” Elizabeth mumbled in disbelief. “I’m going to be an aunt.”

  “Wait, if you’re going to be an aunt, that means I’m going to be an uncle. How great is that!”

  “Wait, I didn’t confirm anything,” Harrison stated adamantly. “Willa is going to kill me if she thinks I let everyone know without her present.”

  “You didn’t say anything,” Aunt Gerty said in a comforting tone. “I guessed it.”

  “Guessed what?” Willa asked, coming back into the room, as she brushed the back of her hand across her lips.

  “That you’re with child,” Elizabeth exclaimed, her eyes darting to her sister-in-law and examining her for any physical sign, other than being sick, that she was indeed pregnant. Was there a visible bump? Had she been tired more recently? The answer was yes to both, but Elizabeth had simply thought it was due to helping her plan the wedding.

  “You told them, Harrison,” Willa accused with anger. “We were supposed to tell everyone together, after the wedding so we didn’t take away from Elizabeth and George’s special day.”

  “You aren’t taking away from it. I couldn’t be happier,” Elizabeth confirmed with a giant smile. “I’ve always wanted to be an aunt.”

  “You’re going to love it,” Aunt Gerty promised. “It’s all of the fun of having a child, without any of the headache. Well, unless you end up with a niece like I did,” she added with a wink. “Though I wouldn’t trade you for a hundred easy-to-handle girls, mind you.”

  “For the record, I didn’t tell them,” Harrison defended. “They guessed at the truth because you got sick, and the way you reacted to Aunt Gerty mentioning children.”

  “He’s right, dear. I’m just very wise. It comes with age, you know.”

  “Wait until Papa and Grandma hear about this,” Arthur announced with excitement. “I can’t wait to tell them.”

  “Don’t you dare, Arthur! I want to be the one to share the good news,” Willa cried out in frustration.

  “You won’t do that, will you, Arthur?” Harrison said, giving his little brother-in-law a scowl with a shake of his head. “You wouldn’t want to upset your pregnant sister like that, would you?”

  Arthur shook his head. “No, of course not. I’ll stay quiet about the baby until you tell Papa and Grandma first.”

  “Thank you, Arthur, I appreciate that,” Willa said with a grateful smile. “You’re already proving to be a terrific uncle.” Then tilting her head as her brows came together in a furrow, she inquired, “Why are you in here to begin with, Arthur?”

  “The pastor says it’s time to begin and sent me to let all of you know.”

  “It’s time to get married, Elizabeth,” Aunt Gerty declared, hugging her one more time before leaving with Arthur right behind her.

  The remaining three made their way outside, around the church, and up the steps.

  Willa reached out and squeezed Elizabeth’s hands. “I’ll see you at the end of the aisle.”

  She opened the left door just wide enough to enter, then disappeared inside.

  Harrison turned to his sister and extended his arm. “You ready for this?”

  She nodded. “I can’t wait to marry George.”

  Her brother pulled both doors open, revealing them to the waiting guests inside. There were several gasps of appreciation as they slowly glided down the aisle that was adorned with flowers and tulle. The onlookers stood to their feet as they passed by. They reached the end where her soon-to-be husband was waiting with a giant grin on his face.

  George reached out his hands to her, pulling her towards him. “You look beautiful,” he whispered. “I’ve never seen a more gorgeous sight.”

  “Thank you,” she whispered. “You look pretty handsome yourself in that suit.”

  The ceremony passed quickly, with Pastor James starting out with talking about love and the commitment of marriage, followed by the vows, and finally the exchanging of rings. Within a matter of moments, Pastor James was announcing them as husband and wife, and giving George permission to kiss his bride.

  He didn’t need a second prompting and leaned forward and placed a kiss upon her lips. The crowd clapped and cheered with excitement as they turned to face their assembled guests. They rushed down the aisle and out of the church, ready to go celebrate with their friends and family.

  The reception at the Holt residence was as beautiful as the wedding. Elizabeth and Willa did a phenomenal job planning the entire event.

  Once their pictures were finished outside, they came in and joined their guests in the ballroom. They took to the floor for the first dance, with all eyes on them. Even though they weren’t alone, that didn’t keep them from focusing on each other.

  “I can’t believe we’re finally married,” George said, looking down into Elizabeth’s eyes. “I feel like the luckiest man in the world.”

  “I know, I couldn’t wait to finally be able to call you my husband.”

  “How does it feel?”

  “Wonderful.”

  George spun her around the dance floor, dipping her and placing a kiss on her lips, which caused their friends and family to clap and cheer. Each time George did it, it caused a bigger reaction from the crowd. By the end of the song, Elizabeth was dizzy with the countless swirls and dips she had sustained.

  “That was immensely enjoyable, but I think I need a break after all those twists and turns,” Elizabeth declared with a laugh. “Can we grab a glass of punch while I recover?”

  “Of course,” George said, guiding his wife over to the refreshment table. He poured them each a cup full, then handed one to Elizabeth.

  They weren’t alone long; though, before guests were coming over to them and congratulating them. Across the room, George saw someone he wanted to introduce Elizabeth to. “I see my family. I can’t wait for you to meet them.”

  His sister, Rebecca, looked just as pretty as the last time he saw her. She was wearing a pretty blue dress, which matched her eyes. Her blonde hair was piled on top of her head with a couple of ringlets cascading down her neck. Standing next to her was her husband, Jake. Their three children were with them, the two oldest girls taking after their father with dark hair and green eyes, and the littlest one had blonde hair like his mother, though he also had green eyes.

  “There’s my favorite kids in the world,” George said, climbing down onto one knee so all three of them could rush into his arms. They nearly knocked him over from the sheer force. “Have you grown since I was back in Rockwood Springs?”

  “Don’t be silly. We’re always growing, Uncle,” his eldest niece, Sally said, with a smile.

  “Well, you need to stop it, right now,” he said with a fake-stern face. “I can’t have all of you growing up on me like that.”

  The children giggled, then started prattling off questions about his time in Silverpines, when he was coming home, and various other questions he couldn’t keep track of.

  “That’s enough children,” Jake said, stepping forward. “Go and play with the other kids over by the refreshment table.”

  They did as they were told, leaving the adults alone.

  Rebecca came forward and pulled her brother into an embrace. “I’ve missed you. Rockwood Springs isn’t the same without you there.”

  “I’ve missed you too,” he said, hugging her in return. “I wish I could be in two places at once, but my life is here now. Speaking of which, I want to introduce you both to my wife, Elizabeth.”

  First Rebecca, then Jake, held out their hands to her. She shook them in turn, giving each of them a kind smile.

  “Where’s Lydia and Pa?”

  “I think Lydia is around somewher
e taking notes for her own wedding,” Rebecca said with a chuckle. “She refuses to get married until everything is perfect.”

  “That sounds about right,” George said with a sigh. “Leave it to Lydia to make it all about the wedding rather than the actual marriage.”

  “Excuse me, I heard that,” his younger sister, who looked a lot like Rebecca other than being shorter and a little heavier-set, rebuked with a frown. “I came all this way from Texas to have you criticize me.”

  “No, I’m not doing that,” George said, reaching out and pulling her into a hug. “I’m just explaining to my wife that you’ve always wanted things a certain way and get mad if something doesn’t go as you planned.”

  “That’s called being an adult, you might want to try it sometime.”

  “Speaking of being an adult, why don’t the two of you quit fighting like you’re still toddlers,” Rebecca gently chastised.

  “Listen to your sister,” their father said as he came up to the group. “Rebecca doesn’t want to have to separate the two of you like she used to.”

  The elderly gray-haired man bypassed George and went right towards Elizabeth. “I saw my son every day for twenty-two years, I’d rather get a good look at my new daughter.” He scanned both sides of her face then nodded with approval. “You did well, Georgie.”

  “Georgie?” Elizabeth inquired with a smirk. “You never told me you had a nickname.”

  “That’s because I don’t, not anymore,” George stated firmly. “I’ve asked all of them repeatedly not to call me that ever since I could grow facial hair. I guess even getting married can’t keep them from doing it.”

  “Oh, hogwash, you’re my son and I can call you whatever I want,” his father said with a grin. “But since it’s your wedding day, I’ll do my best not to do it for the rest of it.”

  The Caldwell family spent the next several minutes talking about Lydia’s upcoming nuptials. George and Elizabeth agreed to visit Rockwood Springs to attend the wedding.

  “Besides Elizabeth’s family, what is keeping you here in Silverpines? You could always come back home and take over the livery,” his father suggested.

  “Dad, Elizabeth likes living close to her brother, especially now that they’re going to have a baby. I’m not going to ask her to move for me.”

  “So, you’re just expected to spend the rest of your life working at someone else’s livery, never being able to provide more for your wife than a trivial income?”

  “I don’t mind,” Elizabeth said with a smile. “I like how hard George works at the livery. Besides, I have more than enough money for the both of us.”

  “I don’t want you to think you have to use a penny of it on me,” George stated firmly. Realizing they weren’t alone, he pulled her aside to state, “I appreciate your generosity, but I don’t want to be a charity case.”

  “I don’t think of you that way, we’re husband and wife now. What’s mine is yours, and the opposite is also true, which is why I need you to know, I bought the Suffox place on the outskirts of town. With a little work, it could be a lovely home for us.”

  “Why would you do that?” George asked in confusion. “What on earth would we do with that big of a property?”

  “So that we have a place to put the horses, of course,” she said with a teasing smile. “After all, if we’re going to run a horse ranch together, we need land and horses, so I decided to buy both.”

  “You did what?” George asked with incredulousness.

  “Consider it a wedding gift. When I found out that Max and Laura Winters were selling off their stock of horses because they wanted to focus on cattle, I knew it was too good of an opportunity to pass up.”

  “I can’t believe you did all of that for us, for me,” George said with gratitude.

  “You’re my husband and I have the means to make your dreams come true. It was as simple as that.”

  “Do you have any idea how much I love you?” he asked, leaning forward to kiss her.

  “Just as much as I love you,” she whispered.

  “Thank you for agreeing to be my wife and making me the happiest man in the world.”

  “I wouldn’t have it any other way,” Elizabeth declared, allowing George to lead her back onto the dance floor where they spent the rest of the night in each other’s arms, knowing that it was the perfect beginning to the rest of their lives together.

  A Note from the Author

  I hope you have enjoyed my book, The Tycoon’s Sister, and plan to read the previous book, Wanted: Tycoon, if you already haven’t had a chance. If you enjoyed this story, you’ll want to check out my other series, The Lawkeepers, in which my historical books center around the town of Rockwood Springs. I brought George Caldwell, the brother of the main character in my first book, over to Silverpines and they are in the final chapter of this one. If you want to know more about George as a child as well as his older sister, Rebecca, you’ll want to grab your copy of Lawfully Loved. Lawfully Wanted and Lawfully Forgiven.

  Your opinion and support matters, so I would greatly appreciate you taking the time to leave a review. If you would like more info, please join my Newsletter and get a free novella just for signing up. I’d also love for you to check out My Reader’s Group!

  Happy Reading!

  Also by Jenna Brandt

  Most Books are Free in Kindle Unlimited too!

  Silverpines Series-centered around the fictional town of Silverpines, Oregon, during the turn of the 20th century. When a disaster takes most of the men, the women are left to save the town by placing mail-order groom advertisements. Get to know the various lovable characters and their stories from some of todays bestselling historical authors.

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