Mail Order Bride- Twenty-Two Brides Mega Boxed Set
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“Noah Jackson!” Tom called to him. “Did you come to welcome us?”
Lily laughed as if the man had made a great joke. She gave Noah a small nod, then turned her attention back to Tom. There was no mistaking a woman in love.
And she was more beautiful than ever.
“Noah!”
He turned to see the exuberant form of Matthew Howard leaping towards him.
“Good to see you,” he greeted the young man, holding out his hand.
Matthew pumped it and grinned. “Not as good as it is to see you! I can’t believe you’re still here. I thought you’d be long gone by now.”
There was a change in the young man that Noah couldn’t deny. He’d been solemn and serious throughout the time they’d traveled together, but now he was joyful. Was it just the arrival that had him in such high spirits, or did his father’s transformation have something to do with it? Noah suspected that it might be both.
“I, uh, needed to stay in the city and make some money,” he informed him. “All of us do. I’m old enough to make a claim of my own, but I need some startup funds.”
Matthew looked at him in surprise. “I don’t remember you saying anything like that, but I guess a lot can change in two weeks.”
A burst of laughter from a few feet away had them looking in the direction of Tom and Lily.
“That’s for sure,” Noah muttered.
Matthew smiled a little. “Captain Rutger is a good man. I’ll be happy to call him brother.”
“What?” He nearly choked on the word.
The younger man nodded. “Yep. We’re on our way to the church right now to get them married. The Morris brothers want to marry their sweethearts too. Makes sense to do that before heading the claims office, right?”
Noah spluttered a little, but he managed to get out some sort of agreement.
“Noah Jackson, good to see you.” Mr. Howard extended a hand, which he shook despite his shock. “Are you able to come along to the church with us? We have a lot of celebrating to do.”
“Uh, sorry, but I can’t be away from work. I just came over to say hello.”
It was a good excuse, mostly because it was true. Noah quickly greeted the others then jogged back to the ironworks, trying desperately to keep his composure.
“What happened?” Sam asked, his face registering surprise at seeing his friend back so soon.
Noah shook his head miserably and focused on the task at hand.
“Come on, Noah,” Sam continued persuasively. “Give me a little something.”
“There’s nothing to say,” he replied bluntly, his voice catching. “Nothing at all. Let’s get back to work.”
I hope you liked the preview of Claire Finds True Love. You can get the rest of the story on Amazon.
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Be sure to check out all of my books on Amazon.
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