Mail Order Bride- Twenty-Two Brides Mega Boxed Set

by Emily Woods

  Tim reached and grabbed Paul’s hand. Tim shook it and nodded at his best friend.

  “You are a good fella, Paul,” Tim said. “You are a good Christian man, a good brother, and good son. I reckon it’s a hard decision to give up your life as a cowboy, and I want you to know that I have a lot of respect for you.”

  Paul turned to his best friend and embraced him. The two men had been friends for over twenty years, nearly all of their lives, and Paul was grateful for Tim’s encouragement as they stood under the hot sun in their stiff funeral suits.

  Three weeks later, Paul welcomed his first guests to the Pinecone Inn. A traveling minister and his wife arrived in the small town in the evening. Paul had cleaned the inn and prepared dinner for his guests, but as he opened the red door to invite them in, his heart was racing.

  “Dear Lord, please let me make my folks up there in Heaven proud,” Paul thought as he greeted the minister and his wife.

  The visit was a disaster. Paul burned every meal he prepared for the guests, and the minister’s wife had complained about the cleanliness of their room.

  “It’s simply filthy,” she had told Paul as his eyes widened in embarrassment.

  “Ma’am, I am real sorry,” Paul had apologized. “I ain’t got a lot of help around here. My folks always had each other to help tend to the place, and now, it’s just me. My father just passed on to be with our Lord nearly a month ago, and I am trying my best.”

  The minister’s wife had turned up her nose at Paul as she dangled a stained pillowcase in front of his face. The minister hastily interjected and reached for the pillowcase.

  “Forgive my wife,” he said as he smiled gently at Paul. “We didn’t know that your father had passed. We should be kind and gracious to all, especially those who are mourning! We will just take some clean pillowcases for our room and get on with our night.”

  Paul mustered a weak grin and rummaged through the cabinets for a set of clean pillowcases.

  “Here you are,” Paul said.

  The minister’s wife shrewdly examined the new pillowcases, nodded, and returned to their room upstairs. Her husband followed. Paul’s shoulders relaxed and he felt at ease, at least until the next morning when he discovered his guests had left without paying for their stay.

  “What am I gonna do? I can’t afford to hire help,” Paul lamented to Tim as the men shared dinner in the inn’s expansive dining room.

  Tim looked around.

  “This is a real nice place,” Tim said as he shoveled burnt meat into his mouth. “Paul!” Tim said. “This meat is real burnt! You are hopeless! You don’t need hired help, you need a wife.”

  Paul stared at his best friend. His mouth dropped open.

  “Tim!” Paul exclaimed. “That’s near the best idea you ever got! A wife!”

  Tim stared back at Paul.

  “I was only joking,” Tim explained as Paul’s dark eyes lit up. “You and I both know that there ain’t any good girls around here lookin’ for a husband. Miss Vera is lookin’ real good these days, but we both know she ain’t got a bit of sense in that pretty head of hers! No one else in Pinecone is single, Paul. You ain’t going to find a woman here.”

  Paul shook his head.

  “Tim, I know just what I can do. I’ll send word to the newspapers out east. It’s real cheap to do! I can place an advertisement for a wife!”

  Tim’s eyes filled with confusion.

  “Paul, you want a wife, not a cow! A marriage advertisement? What are you talking about?”

  Paul grinned excitedly.

  “My brother, Omar, met his wife that way! It’s more common these days than it used to be. You can write up some things that you want in a wife, and then send it to the newspapers. They will print it, and ladies can respond! Omar and his wife, Alice, met through a marriage advertisement he posted, and sure enough, they are both real happy together! They both say that God’s hands were in their marriage and that it was love at first sight when Alice arrived from Chicago.”

  Tim’s jaw dropped.

  “You are saying that I could have found a wife ages ago? Paul! Why didn’t you tell me about this?”

  Paul shrugged.

  “I had forgot about it until now. I always thought I would meet a girl out on the road doing cowboy work. Now that I’ll be in Pinecone more, this seems like a real good idea.”

  Tim nodded with enthusiasm and vigor.

  “I reckon it does seem like a real good idea, Paul. Now, let’s put our heads together and think of some things to put in your advertisement!”

  “Mama, it’s so hot in here!”

  Gerta sighed as Inge tugged on her bonnet. The two were only hours away from finally arriving in Pinecone, California, after nearly a month of travel, and Gerta was eager to get off of the train. Inge had been difficult to travel with. She was devastated to leave the city, and she had cried for nearly the first five full days of the journey. Now, as they sat in the cramped, smelly third-class compartment on the westward bound train, Gerta’s patience was quickly vanishing.

  “That is enough, Inge,” Gerta hissed as Inge’s blue eyes filled with tears. “You are a big girl now, Inge. Act like it!”

  The tears fell from Inge’s eyes, and Gerta felt herself rolling her own.

  “Inge, enough! We are very fortunate that Paul invited us to the West. He will be your new father, after all! We will be taken care of in California, and you had best be on your finest behavior when we arrive in Pinecone!”

  Inge wiped her nose and turned to the dirt-streaked window. She crossed her thin arms across her chest and pouted as Gerta adjusted her hat.

  “I expect nothing less than your best, Inge. Don’t forget that.”

  Gerta stretched her neck and glanced over her daughter’s head to catch a peek at her own reflection in the window. She grimaced as she saw the dirt on her face and the bags under her eyes. It had been impossible to stay clean aboard the train, and with limited stops along the journey, Gerta had not properly bathed in several weeks. She surreptitiously lifted an arm and sniffed, disheartened to find that she reeked. She hoped that Paul, her husband-to-be, would be as gracious in person as he seemed in his letters. She and her daughter would be arriving in his town looking like paupers, and Gerta’s heart sank as she imagined him being disappointed by the sight of his new wife and daughter.

  Her correspondence with Paul had begun three months ago. She had only been living in the boardinghouse for a few weeks when she had first seen the marriage advertisements listed in the back of the newspapers.

  “Marriage advertisements?” Gerta had asked aloud as she read.

  Without her family, and without the means to keep up with her former friends through teas and lunches, Gerta had grown bored. She had taken to walking long distances around the city in the morning, and one day, she purchased a newspaper on a whim. As she perused its pages in the room, she stumbled upon the many tiny columns from bachelors seeking brides.

  Business owner seeking Christian wife

  I am healthy and want a family

  I am seeking wife skilled in cooking, cleaning, and household chores

  Serious inquiries only

  Gerta’s eyes lit up when she saw that the man owned a business, and she hastily read the rest of the lines.

  “Gerta, wife of a business owner,” she whispered to herself as she imagined slipping back into a comfortable lifestyle.

  “This is my husband, he is a business owner,” Gerta giggled as she envisioned her future.

  She immediately wrote to the man who had posted the advertisement. She enclosed a small black and white picture of herself, and to her delight, the man wrote back to her within a month!

  Dear Miss Gerta,

  It was real good to get your letter; I am sorry to hear about your parents. I lost my father and mother recently, and I will keep you in my prayers.

  You said you are a Christian woman, and a widow. I am sorry to hear about your husband, too. I was happy to hear
that you have a daughter; I want a wife who is real keen on a family, and you seem like a good mother. You have had your own household before, and I trust that you will be real good at running mine, along with my business. I own and run an inn here in Pinecone, California, and I am looking for someone to help me with the inn.

  Gerta, the photograph you sent to me was beautiful. I think that we could get on real well; you believe in the Lord, you are a family woman, and you seemed nice and kind in your letter. I am near twenty-eight years old and would like my own family soon, and I would like to ask you to join me in Pinecone.

  I have enclosed enough money in this letter for you to buy a train ticket, and I have also sent the train schedule to you. There is a train leaving in the middle of September, and I hope you accept my proposal and take that train to California to be with me.

  I will be praying for you.

  Regards,

  Paul

  Gerta’s hands shook as she read Paul’s letter. He wanted her to come to Pinecone, California, so soon. The middle of September was only days away! Gerta packed the few belongings she had been able to salvage from the ruins of her house, told Inge about their journey, and purchased the train ticket that would shape the destinies of Paul, Gerta, and Inge.

  “She’s a beaut, Paul,” Tim said as he studied the black and white picture of his friend’s bride-to-be. “You done good.”

  Paul grinned. He was pleased with the outcome of his marriage advertisement. Gerta, the woman who had first responded, seemed like a nice, responsible woman, and Paul was eager to meet her. She had also sent a photograph of herself, and Paul’s heart beat faster each time he looked at the image of his future wife. She was beautiful. Her hair was long and blonde, and she had a demure look about her. Her teeth were straight, and her lips were in the shape of Cupid’s bow.

  “She’s a beauty, and her little girl is nearly nine. They’ll both be able to help around the inn, and it will be real nice to have some company in the place after so many quiet nights alone.”

  Tim beamed mischievously at Paul.

  “She’s been married before, Paul,” Tim began, his eyes flashing with naughtiness. “She’s an experienced woman! Do you think you can handle that?”

  Paul closed his eyes and shook his head.

  “Tim, she’s a sweet widow with a daughter, and she is alone in the world! She was married under God, and now, God has taken her husband. I will take care of her, and she will help me take care of the inn. There is no need to think about her past with her husband. She will be mine under the word of God, and we will get to know each other as husband and wife do.”

  Tim rolled his eyes.

  “You are no fun, Paul!”

  Paul crossed his arms across his muscled chest.

  “I want to be respectful of her, even when she is not here. My mother always taught us to respect the ladies.”

  Tim rolled his eyes once more.

  “What about the little girl? Are you sure you are prepared to raise another man’s daughter?”

  Paul looked at Tim in the eyes, a serious look on his face.

  “I have prayed about this, Tim. I know we talked about my needing help at the inn, and that is important, but I feel like God has set this up real nice. He has sent this woman to me, and I am going to honor His plan by taking care of Gerta and her girl.”

  Tim placed a hand on Paul’s shoulder.

  “You’re a good man, Paul,” Tim said in admiration of his friend. “You’ll be a good husband to that pretty little lady, and a good father to the girl.”

  Paul grinned.

  “Children have always taken to me,” he admittedly sheepishly. “Gerta seems like a real nice girl from her letter, and I can only imagine a girl that nice raised a real nice daughter!”

  “I do not want to get off of the train!” Inge screamed as Gerta glared.

  “Inge! This is the last of this nonsense! We are the last passengers left aboard, and it is time to go now!”

  Inge stuck out her lip in a melodramatic pout. Gerta grabbed her daughter’s hand and yanked the girl from her seat on the train.

  “I don’t like my hair, my dress is dirty, and I am tired and hungry!” Inge wailed as Gerta dragged her daughter out of the third-class compartment and into the corridor.

  Gerta turned to face her daughter.

  She knelt before Inge and stared at her. Inge was correct—she was dirty, and her little face did look tired and thinner from the journey. Gerta had made her best attempts to fashion Inge’s unwashed blonde hair into two braided knots on the sides of her head, but the grime and grease caking Inge’s locks stole the attention from the intricate hairdo.

  Inge was a bright, precocious little girl. She had always excelled in school, and her grandmother had taught her manners and etiquette in the parlor every evening after dinner. This poor behavior was new for the girl, and Gerta felt guilty at how quick she was to anger at her daughter’s naughtiness. The girl had been through so much, and Gerta swore to herself that she would be kinder.

  Gerta locked eyes with her daughter. The train was quiet, but Gerta could hear the chatter of passengers on the platform. She took Inge’s hands into hers.

  “Inge,” Gerta began, mustering every last ounce of patience she possessed as she tried to tame her unhappy daughter. “Inge, I know that the last few months have been difficult. Losing our home, Oma and Opa leaving for Heaven, and staying in the boardinghouse have been challenges. I am sorry that you have had so many terrible things happen, but, dear, we must be good now. Paul is a good man, Inge, and we will have a better life here in California than we would have on our own back home.”

  Inge’s lips fluttered, and then, her pout melted into a weak smile.

  “Mama? Will there be ponies in California? Opa always said that he would take me to the park and let me ride one of the ponies there on my tenth birthday!”

  Gerta’s shoulders relaxed, and she gathered her daughter into her arms.

  “Yes, sweetheart,” Gerta promised. “We’ll find a nice pony for you to ride in California. We’ll find all sorts of sweet surprises! God has brought us here, Inge, and He is always faithful to us. You know that!”

  Inge nodded solemnly.

  “Will we go to church in California? I miss our church from home.”

  Gerta kissed her daughter on the forehead.

  “We’ll find a way to praise God and worship, sweetheart, I promise. Now, let’s get off of this filthy train and go find your new father, Inge!”

  Gerta and Inge climbed down from the steps of the train and walked onto the platform in the crowded train station. People rushed to and from the platforms. Gerta had never seen such a collection of strange, interesting people in all of her life! She saw men in ten-gallon hats, boots, and spurs! She saw ladies without proper hats. Most of the women wore simple bonnets, or no head coverings at all. Gerta felt someone brush past her, and she looked up to see a man with dark skin and black hair braided down his back! Her eyes widened, and she pointed out the man to her daughter.

  “Inge! Look!” Gerta hissed to Inge as the man walked through the train station. “That must be a native man! I have never seen anyone like him before!”

  Inge and Gerta wandered through the station clutching their bags. With so many things to see and people to watch, Gerta felt overwhelmed, and she held Inge’s hand tightly.

  “Mama! You’re hurting me! Your hand is hurting me!” Inge whined.

  Gerta softened her grip and felt a tap on the shoulder. She turned around to find a short, white-haired man wearing a ten-gallon hat. The man looked to be about her father’s age, and he had a thick white mustache that curled at the ends. As Gerta turned around, he took off his hat respectfully and held it at his chest.

  “Howdy, miss! Y’all look real lost. Can I help y’all find what you’re lookin’ for?”

  Gerta nodded, relieved to find a kind soul amidst the chaos of the train station.

  “My daughter and I have just arriv
ed from Philadelphia. We are waiting for someone to meet us here. Is there a good place for us to wait?”

  The man nodded emphatically, smiling at Gerta and Inge.

  “Of course, miss! I’ll take y’all over to the waiting room. It’s a small little waiting room, but I reckon it’s better to wait there than in this heat. There ain’t a cloud in the sky today, and I reckon you’ll keel over from the heat if I leave you two outside!”

  The man gestured to Gerta, and she followed him through the train station. They arrived at the waiting room, and he bid them farewell.

  “Let’s settle here for a moment and catch our bearings, Inge,” Gerta murmured to her daughter as they sat on a wooden bench. “He should be here soon.”

  Inge nodded and rested her head against her mother’s shoulder. Within minutes, she was asleep, and Gerta found herself nodding off as well. It felt so nice to be sitting still rather than in choppy, bumpy motion on the arduous train trip, and Gerta could not resist the comfortable tug of slumber that soon consumed her.

  “Excuse me? Miss?”

  Gerta blinked open her eyes and looked up toward the deep voice that had released her from the binds of deep sleep. A tall, dark-eyed, dark-haired man was standing before her. At first, Gerta thought it was one of the native men, and her mouth dropped open in shock.

  “Hello?” Gerta said stiffly as she reached out a hand to greet the stranger.

  The man grinned at her, and he removed the ten-gallon hat from his head and tipped it politely before putting it back on his head.