Mail Order Bride- Twenty-Two Brides Mega Boxed Set

by Emily Woods

  “I don’t know. I’m just starting it, but I’m not sure it will bear good news. Hattie seems…off.”

  “In what way?” he asked, sitting next to her.

  “Let me read and then I’ll tell you.”

  “All right,” he said, leaning back against the seat back. He extended his arm behind her and waited for her to read the letter.

  At her gasp, he drew close, resting his hand on her back. “What is it?”

  She read the last few paragraphs quickly then turned toward him. “It’s Edmond,” she said, feeling tears fill her eyes. “He’s left Hattie without an excuse and gotten engaged to someone else.”

  “What?” He leaned forward.

  “She’s distraught. So much so that Blanche had to finish the letter because Hattie was crying too much. My poor sister.” Ruby pressed her hand to her lips, a few tears escaping. “I must do something.”

  He frowned. “What’s with this fellow? Blanche didn't seem to like him much, did she?”

  “No,” Ruby agreed. “She didn't say why though. Now I feel as if we should have listened to her. What other knowledge did she have?” Ruby sighed and wiped her eyes. She felt heartbroken for her sister, but helpless as well.

  “What’s going on?”

  Both Adam and Ruby looked up to see Will standing with Simon in his arms, a concerned look on his face.

  Adam looked at Ruby then back at his brother. “Ruby’s had news from Hattie. It appears she’s been jilted.”

  “What?” Will looked as concerned as Adam and Ruby felt a rush of pride fill her chest. Her husband and his brother were good men. They were nothing like Edmond and his foolishness.

  She sniffed and tried to explain what had happened, but she felt sorely lacking in information. She hated feeling helpless when it came to her sisters. Without much information, she didn’t know how to help them.

  “Ruby?” Adam said, drawing her attention. “What’s wrong?”

  Her thoughts had obviously shown on her face. “I just… I feel helpless, Adam.” She looked between Will and her husband. They didn’t seem to understand, but she wasn't sure how to explain it to them. “My sisters and I have always been close. But now that I am here in the west, it’s hard to keep that closeness. Blanche won’t write—she’s never enjoyed letter writing—and Hattie has been so tightlipped in her recent letters that I just don’t know much about what is going on. Edmond has obviously treated her poorly, but I don’t know how she’s doing…not really. Her letters can’t convey the deeper parts of how she’s feeling. I know her too well. You have to pry these things from Hattie because she doesn’t want to burden anyone with her own feelings.”

  “I’m sorry,” Adam said. The concern showed through and he looked between her and Will for a moment before speaking up again. “I think you should go.”

  “What?” she said, leaning toward him.

  “Go to her. Go visit your family. It’s obvious that you need to be there for Hattie. Besides, your mother hasn’t been well either. You should be with them.”

  Her heart leapt, but then she wondered if she should go or not. Adam needed her help at the ranch and Will needed her to take care of Simon and…

  “Stop,” he said, leaning forward and pulling her toward him. “You’re thinking of all the things you have to do here, but I assure you we can fulfill your duties well enough. Not that I won’t miss you,” he said, sneaking a kiss onto her cheek, “but it’s more important for you to be with your family now.”

  Ruby felt the tears again but this time, they were from happiness and relief. “Truly?”

  “Yes, love, you should go.”

  Swallowing past the lump of emotion in her throat, she allowed a small smile. “If you say so…”

  “I do,” he said with finality. “We’ll get along as best we can without you. But you must promise me one thing.”

  The twinkle in his eye told her he was getting ready to tease her. “Yes?”

  “You must come back.”

  She laughed and cupped his cheek. “You couldn’t keep me away.”

  Adam walked back toward the house. It was the day that Ruby would leave for the east to spend time with her mother and sisters. He didn’t want her to go, but he didn’t want to keep her there either. He understood the importance of her family and wanted to support her in that, even if that meant he would be without her for what could possibly be several months.

  She had been acting strangely for the last week, though. Despite the fact that she was preparing to go, she had seemed different to him. He wanted to ask her what was going on, but then he reasoned that preparing for a large trip like this, and leaving the ranch, could hold its own weight on her. It was possible she was feeling the stress of it all and he didn't want to add to that.

  Now, as he climbed the steps to the house, the door flew open and Ruby rushed out toward him, nearly toppling into his arms.

  “Ruby,” he said, laughing as she clutched at him. “What’s wrong? Are you well?” His smile turned serious as he hoped she wasn’t suffering ill effects of sickness.

  “I am,” she said, but he could tell that she had something on her mind.

  “What is it? What aren’t you telling me?”

  She clutched his arms like they were a lifeline and looked at him for a long time before she spoke again. “I think…” She swallowed. “I think I'm pregnant again.”

  His world stopped. He felt like they had finally worked themselves back into a healthy place. He had even felt his anger subsiding toward the Lord at the fact that He had allowed his bride to experience such heartache and pain, but this was too much.

  “What?”

  “I…I’m not certain, but over the last few days I have felt the same as I did…before.” Her voice hitched on the last words. “But I'm afraid, Adam. What if it happens again?”

  His brain cycled through the multitude of possibilities. What if she wasn’t really pregnant? What if she was? What if she went home to her family and ended up staying there because of the availability of better doctors in the east? What if she lost the baby on the way back east? What if—

  “Adam,” she said, drawing his attention to her with hands on both sides of his face. “Talk to me.”

  “I… You’re not sure?”

  She shook her head, lips pressed together.

  “But…” He wasn’t sure what to say.

  “I don’t think I should go.”

  Her admission made him happier than he wanted to admit. “If you think that’s best.”

  She nodded. “I do. Though I’ll admit I’m worried it will be for nothing. What if I find out that it was all just…a mistake?”

  “Then we’ll buy you another ticket. Don’t worry, my love.” She fell against him, giving in to tears “Why are you crying?” he whispered into her hair.

  She laughed, pushing back and wiping her eyes. “I’m not sure.”

  He shook his head and drew her into a hug. “Then we’ll wait and be careful. And we’ll pray.”

  “Yes,” she said, looking up at him with complete trust and love. “We’ll pray.”

  15

  Six months later

  The autumn air wrapped around Ruby like a chilly blanket. She clutched her shawl more tightly about her, her hand going to rest on her swollen abdomen. A contented smile slipped onto her lips as she watched yellow and orange leaves swirl to the ground in the breeze.

  She had made it this far. She was pregnant with a child—another miracle child—and she could hardly believe it. Breathing in deeply, she sent up another prayer of thanks to the Lord.

  By Viola’s calculations, their new son or daughter would arrive in the New Year, bringing with him cold weather and happiness. To think—a baby to call their own. It was almost too much to bear, but every time she wanted to doubt that it was real, she just rubbed her stomach and smiled.

  Then there was Adam. Her smile grew. He was already so attached to the baby it was almost comical. He would talk to her
stomach and tell stories of what it would be like if she bore him a son or a daughter. Either great exploits out on the ranch or taking his daughter on picnics. He would make a wonderful father, despite what he had originally feared about parenthood.

  She eased down onto one of the chairs on the porch and propped her feet up on the small table. Everything ached and she was tired more often than she felt like she had energy, but that hadn’t stopped her completely. At first, she had been hesitant to do anything—worrying that the same thing that happened before would take the child from her this time. But she was comforted with the truth that God was still in charge, no matter what.

  That realization helped, and the fact that Viola was a constant support for her. Ruby still took things easier than she had before, but she also wasn’t afraid to take short walks and help with the chores where she could.

  “There’s my beautiful wife and child,” Adam said, coming up onto the porch.

  “Adam,” she said, turning toward him. “What are you doing home so early?” She hadn’t expected him until suppertime.

  “I came to have dinner with you. As a surprise.”

  She smiled, loving the additional time he seemed to want to spend with her now. It wasn’t that he hadn’t done that before, but the fact that they had gone through the loss of their first child together had cemented something between them.

  “That’s lovely. Did you forget about the picnic tomorrow, though?”

  He frowned, rubbing the back of his neck. “Picnic?”

  “After church,” she reminded him.

  He frowned. “About that…”

  “We are going to church.” Her tone was harsher than she’d intended, but they’d had this conversation too many times recently. Adam seemed to think that she needed to stay at home all the time, where she still felt the motivation to go out and do things. When it got closer to her time she would agree with him, but this was just too much.

  “Now hold on, love,” he began.

  “No,” she said, pushing herself to standing. He reached out to help her but she held up a hand to stay him. “I am perfectly capable of going to a church picnic. I am not in the habit of skipping church and I don’t think that, just because you are worried, I should be forced to stay here and—”

  “Will you let me explain?”

  She stopped, huffing out a breath. “Yes.”

  He stepped forward and rubbed his hands along her upper arms, the warmth feeling good. “I appreciate the fact that you want to go to the fall picnic. I'm not trying to keep you from it, but I don’t think it’s a good idea.”

  She couldn’t take it any longer. “If Mary, the mother of Jesus, could ride a donkey before she gave birth to our Savoir, I think that I can attend a short picnic with my brothers and sisters in Christ. Don’t you agree?”

  Her hard gaze challenged him to disagree with her and he shook his head. “No, I don’t.”

  Adam admired his wife’s ferocity when it came to church, but there were so many other factors going into his decision to keep her home. He didn’t want to ruin the surprise, but he also didn’t want her to remain angry with him.

  He looked at her, the color in her cheeks rising to match the red dots on her gingham dress. “Sweetie,” he said, hoping to calm her some, “I’m not trying to be a monster.”

  She humphed.

  “Fine,” he said, tossing up his hands. “I was going to surprise you, but…”

  “Surprise me?” She frowned, leaning forward. “What are you talking about?”

  “Your sister is coming to stay with you. She’ll be here tomorrow and I wanted you here to greet her when she came in. She will be arriving during the picnic so I thought it best to stay.”

  “My…my sister?” Her eyes immediately filled with tears. At least it didn’t seem the surprise had completely ruined the result he’d hoped for.

  “Hattie. She’s coming on the noon train tomorrow.”

  “Oh, Adam,” Ruby said, rushing forward and flinging her arms around him. “I can’t believe it.”

  “She’s staying until the baby is born. It thought you would enjoy the company and I assumed she would enjoy being away from…well, Edmond.”

  “You are a brilliant man,” she said, kissing him soundly.

  He laughed. “Now you love me again?”

  “I never stopped loving you,” she said, her expression turning serious. “I was just a little angry.”

  He sighed, knowing her emotions had been varied during this pregnancy. He was glad that she was placated now, though.

  “I must go and prepare everything!” Ruby said, tossing her hands up.

  He sighed and shook his head. “Let Viola help you, please, my love.”

  “I will,” she said as she bustled into the house. He watched her go, wary of what this would do to her. He hadn’t wanted to tell her to avoid this very thing—her overactive sensibility that would focus on getting everything ready for her sister and doing too much. She would be worn out by the end of the day, he was sure of it.

  The next day came quickly and soon Hattie was rushing into the arms of his wife, both women crying and carrying on. For the life of him, he’d never understand how much women cried, but he was thankful that they seemed to be happy tears that ended in laughter.

  The women fell into chatter almost the very next second and he bowed out to let them gush over all that had happened.

  With a spring in his step that came from seeing his wife so happy, he walked to the barn where Will was saddling his horse.

  “Hattie’s here,” Adam said, leaning against a rough support beam.

  “I saw you both come back from the train station.” Will kept his gaze on the cinch he was tightening.

  “Why didn’t you come and say hello?”

  Will shrugged. “I’ll see her tonight.” He looked up. “Why’d you bring her out here?”

  Adam was taken aback by his brother’s harsh tone. “What do you mean?”

  “I mean why did you invite her? Here?”

  Adam was confused. His brother looked angry, but there was no cause for his anger. “Are you mad at me?”

  “The truth?” Will said, coming to the other side of the horse to stand in front of Adam. “I am.”

  “Why?”

  “Because…I think what you’re doing is foolish.”

  Adam swallowed. What he was doing? What did Will think he was doing? “I’ll admit…I’m worried about Ruby and about this pregnancy. I suppose I brought Hattie here to ease my conscience.”

  Will frowned. “You did?”

  “Yes.” Adam dropped his gaze and fiddled with a stray currycomb. “I know I need to trust the Lord with my wife’s health and the health of our child, and I do believe that He is in control, but I'm still worried. Worried that Ruby will do too much, she is so stubborn sometimes. I wrote to Hattie and explained the situation. I knew that she would probably want to get away from whatever happened with that foolish young man, and I thought that she could be a voice of reason to Ruby when she won’t listen to me.”

  “Oh,” Will said, his whole demeanor changing.

  “Why did you think I brought her out here?”

  To Adam’s trained eye, his brother’s discomfort spoke volumes. “I thought you were trying to cause something to happen…between us.”

  Adam sputtered a laugh into a cough. “You thought me a matchmaker, brother?” This time he laughed out right, not bothering to hide it.

  Will cracked a smile too. “I suppose I jumped to conclusions.”

  “That you did,” Adam admitted, though his mind trailed off, considering the option. They would make a good pair—but that wasn’t something that Will could hear at this juncture.

  “I'm sorry.” Will took a step back, grabbing the reins of his horse. “Forget I said anything. But—” He drilled his gaze into Adam. “Let the worry go. God will take care of Ruby.”

  “He will.” Adam nodded in agreement. “And He’ll also play matchmaker much be
tter than I ever could.”

  16

  “Happy Christmas Eve, my love,” Adam said, coming into the cozy room with its blazing fire. His wife sat near the blaze with a blanket over her lap and a tangle of yarn spilling over onto the floor.

  “Same to you, husband.” She tipped her head up to accept his kiss.

  When he pulled back, he saw a flicker of something pass over her face. “What is it?”

  “It’s nothing,” she said, forcing a smile. Her hand absentmindedly rubbed her abdomen. “Just a few pains. Viola says they are natural at this time in my pregnancy.”

  A fist of worry clenched in his heart. “Are you certain?”

  “Can we be certain of anything?” She smiled and grasped his hand, clenching tightly. “We cannot give in to worry. It will not help us one bit.”

  He perched on the arm of her chair and looked down at his beautiful wife. Pregnancy had filled out her face, making soft curves where there had once been sharp planes, but she only looked more beautiful to him. And she was right. His worry wouldn’t add anything to their circumstance, but it was as hard habit to avoid.

  “I know, you’re right, it’s just…not easy.”

  “No, it’s not.”

  They stared into the fire for a few minutes, the scents of pine and cinnamon permeating the space.

  “Adam,” she said, looking back up at him a few moments later, “I’ve been thinking.”

  “About what?”

  “Our child. I just...” She sighed. “I can’t help but remember what a miracle they are. I mean, I shouldn’t have been able to have a child at all and yet here I am, going to give birth soon, and it’s all because of the Lord.”

  He felt the warming sensation of the truth she spoke sink into his chest. It was true. There was no logical explanation for the fact that she had gotten pregnant.