When the town of Las Cruces has disappeared behind them, Ronan stopped the wagon.
“What are you doing?” Elise asked, feeling confused.
“I am giving my wife a proper kiss.” Ronan smiled softly, his voice low and full of emotion.
Elise felt the heat blooming in her cheeks.
“I–” She wasn’t able to finish her words before Ronan’s mouth was on hers, and she was overwhelmed with a hundred different feelings all at once. This was Ronan, her husband, and she’d found love, something that was worth all the trouble it had taken to find.
Six weeks later
“Are you excited? We are finally almost there!” Ronan reached over and squeezed Elise’s hand.
“I am excited; I guess I am also nervous. What if she really isn’t happy to see me?”
“Why wouldn’t she be? Anyone who isn’t happy to see you would be absolutely crazy.” Ronan’s eyes were full of mischief.
“Thank you for saying that, but you know, I haven’t spoken to her or anything for so many years. I don’t know what it is going to be like.”
Ronan pulled the wagon to a stop.
“What are you doing? We are in the middle of the road.” Elise looked around, trying to make sure there weren’t other people or wagons coming down the road.
Ronan reached over and took both of her hands into his. He stared into her eyes while he did so. “Elise, your aunt is family. Family is special. Now, whatever happens, it was important for us to come here, for your father, and for a lot of other reasons, which I am sure you know.”
Elise nodded. He was right.
“So, we are going to live with my aunt if she wants us to?” Elise asked. “Are you sure you want to do that?”
“Yes, I am very sure.” Ronan grinned.
“All right.” Elise watched ahead of the wagon until the small ranch came into view. There was a medium-sized cabin, a barn, a chicken coop, and even a garden. The place looked a little run down and in need of repair. They were finally there, at her aunt’s home. They’d gone through so much and come so far to get there that the feeling felt unreal.
“Come on; let’s go knock on the door.” Ronan nearly pulled Elise out of the wagon, and they went up to the door of the cabin.
Ronan reached out and knocked loudly and firmly before Elise could stop him. They waited, and Elise tried to stop the nervous thudding of her heart. The door creaked open and the woman standing there looked just like Elise’s father, just older, and a woman.
Elise smiled warmly. “Aunt Lena?”
“Elise?” Her aunt’s face lit up with joy.
Elise felt relief wash over her. This felt right. They were wanted, and that felt wonderful. She was right where she belonged, and she knew that if her father were still alive, he would have been proud. They were alive and well. God had brought them to the end of their journey and had completed his perfect plan for their lives.
THE END
Can't get enough of Elise and Ronan? Then make sure to check out the Extended Epilogue to find out…
What’s the addition to Elise and Ronan’s family that will ultimately complete their lives?
How will Mrs. Winters fill the void in Elise’s heart after a hurtful loss?
How will Elise feel about traveling to see her beloved friends? Will the trip go as planned?
Click the link or enter it into your browser
http://loreleibrogan.com/elise
(After reading the Extended Epilogue, turn the page to read the first chapters from “Taking A Leap of Faith”, my Amazon Best-Selling novel!)
Taking A Leap of Faith
Introduction
Kate Ross’s life has been unbearable since she inherited her mother’s gambling debts. Tired of living in fear of the man her mother owed money to, she decides to take charge of her own life. She responds to an ad for a mail-order bride from Arizona, and heads off to be with the man she desperately hopes will be her one true love. When he turns out to be distant and hard to get to know, Kate fears she may have been too hasty in making such a life-altering decision. The revelation of a tragic secret from his past, though, results in Kate seeing him in an entirely new light…. Will she end up being the one to nurse his shattered heart back to health, while also making her deepest dreams come true?
Clint Campbell has been struggling to keep his ranch operating after the heartbreaking loss of his beloved brother. Without his brother’s help and on the brink of financial ruin, it will take patience and faith to get back on his feet. Clinton hopes that having a wife and children will help fill the void, but when he meets Kate old wounds resurface. Finding it hard to let her in, he keeps her out of his plan to seek revenge for his brother’s death. When Kate’s determined ways begin to slowly melt his frozen heart though, the magnitude of what he feels scares him... Will he ever manage to open up his heart to love and fully devote himself to Kate?
Kate and Clinton feel a precious connection between them forming and growing stronger, while past hurts bring them closer than ever. With trouble brewing in town, however, their fragile hearts are not prepared for the storm that’s about to hit them. As life tests their resolve, will the power of their blossoming love be enough to hold them together? With unexpected forces seeming determined to tear them apart forever, will hard-fought love win out in the end?
Chapter 1
April 1881
Katherine Ross furtively checked the street behind her. It was late afternoon, and the Boston sidewalks were beginning to fill with people wending their way home. In all that foot traffic, it was difficult to see if she had lost the man following her in the crowd.
She couldn’t be certain if she’d given Uncle George’s goon the slip unless she waited here in the street for him to either catch up or not. If she did that, she would miss her chance. It was a quick visit to the agency today. She would pop in and see if it had come. It would only take a few minutes and so the goon only needed be lost for a short time.
With a hand that trembled slightly, she pushed the door open to the tinkle of bells and stepped inside. The name in gold lettering on the door read, Happily Ever After: Let us find your true love.
Inside she found the owner Mr. Kinder, a large manwith greying hair and small dark eyes magnified by thick-rimmed spectacles, sitting behind his desk. He looked up from some paperwork.
“Ah, welcome back Miss Ross,” he said. Indicating one of the chairs in front of his desk, he invited her to sit. “Something came for you in the post only yesterday. I was going to send a boy around to you this afternoon if you didn’t come in. I know how challenging it is for you to come here.”
Kate smiled, taking the seat as she folded her hands in her lap to hide excited tremors. Was this the letter she’d been waiting for?
“I’ll get it for you,” Mr. Kinder said.
“Thank you,” Kate nodded, shifting to stop herself from fidgeting with impatience.
It could only be a letter from Clinton Campbell in Arizona, the man she’d been exchanging letters with for the last seven months. It had been chance, her finding Clinton’s advertisement in Mr. Kinder’s window. She’d been walking by on her way home from the laundry she worked at part time, and she’d stumbled over a piece of uneven paving.
Grabbing the window for balance she’d put her hand right next to his advertisement. Before she knew what she was doing, she’d found herself reading the page. The man asking for a woman willing to be his wife had intrigued her and she’d entered the agency, mostly out of curiosity.
What had followed was a chain of events she still found hard to believe. Mr. Kinder had been kind and let her fill out an application in spite of her needing to pay him his fee in installments. Then he’d told her to pen a letter to Clinton and see if he responded favorably. Well, he had, and the rest was history.
At least, she hoped it was. She had been writing consistently to Clinton and she couldn’t wait for his replies. Especially this one. Things had been going well between them
and Mr. Kinder said he had a good feeling about her and Clinton. She did too. In fact, she had a feeling that he was about to propose.
Mr. Kinder seemed to be having trouble finding her letter. He lifted papers and put them down, opened and rummaged in his desk drawers and even began to pat his waistcoat pockets. Not that Kate could imagine he’d put her letter there.
“It is here somewhere,” Mr. Kinder said with an exasperated sigh.
“I’m certain it’ll turn up,” Kate replied, trying hard to hide the note of impatience in her voice. If this took too long, she’d need a valid excuse to be here that wasn’t trying to find a husband. Her thoughts turned frantically to excuses she could use.
“Perhaps I should just find it and send it with a boy,” Mr. Kinder said, now up at one of the filing cabinets against the wall, pulling the drawers open one by one to search. “I can see this is causing you distress. Was one of Uncle George’s men following you?”
“They’re always following me,” Kate said a little harshly.
Mr. Kinder turned to her, his expression one of deep sympathy. “I’m so sorry your mother did this to you,” he said, and his tone was so sad that Kate almost burst into tears. “She had no right to transfer her debt to you.”
“Well, we can’t change the past,” Kate said abruptly. It was the mantra she was currently living by. If she stopped and began to dwell in how unfair and horrible her life had become four months ago when her mother died and her debt transferred to Kate, she would fall into a deep, dark hole and never be able to drag herself back up.
Mr. Kinder seemed unaware of how this topic affected Kate and he continued. “Are you making your regular payments to Uncle George?”
Kate nodded. “I pay him every second week.”
“Well, not for much longer,” Mr. Kinder said. He’d given up on the filing cabinets and was on his way back to his desk. Still, he had no letter for her.
Kate began to fidget. Her right leg started bouncing up and down on her toe as she chewed the inside of her cheek. This was taking too long. The goon was bound to catch up to her now. They’d caught her here before and she’d scrambled for an excuse. Luckily, Mr. Kinder had been on the ball that day and said he’d hired her to help him sort his filing.
The large shop window was to her right and Kate found her eyes darting there, waiting to see the goon peering in. So far, all she’d seen was people passing by on their way home, not even looking at the advertisements in the window. Perhaps she was alright for a couple more minutes.
Mr. Kinder was back at his desk and this time searching more methodically. He picked things up and piled them on one side of his desk, clearing a small space here and there.
Mr. Kinder was still searching.
Katherine waited impatiently, knowing that each second that passed was one she couldn’t afford to lose. Her eyes darted to the window again and this time she saw a man stop and peer in.
She froze and the hairs on her arms stood on end. Who was it? Was it one of Uncle George’s men? She couldn’t be certain. The spaces between the advertisements of people out west looking for their true loves were stuck close together. Still, she got the feeling that she was being scrutinized.
Turning away quickly, she hoped the man hadn’t seen her face. And if he had? She didn’t know what she would do. Come up with a story to cover for herself. Kate had never been a good liar, not until now. If only Mr. Kinder would hurry up and find her letter. She could leave and perhaps she wouldn’t be in trouble.
She risked a look at the window again. The man’s eye was at the gap between pictures. He seemed quite interested in the interior of Happily Ever After. Darn!
“Any luck?” Kate asked. The jiggle was back in her right leg. She put her hands on her knee to stop it.
Mr. Kinder regarded her. “I’m certain it’s in this pile.”
“Perhaps, you’ll have to send it to me,” she said, getting ready to leave but not wanting to. She wanted that letter so badly. Perhaps she could wait a moment or two more. To hold it and know that Clint had written to her would make her day.
“Oh dear,” he said. “I am sorry about this.
Kate rose reluctantly.
In apparent exasperation Mr. Kinder picked up a folder on his desk and shook it vigorously. Something fell out from between the pages. “Ah, here it is,” he said, holding the envelope up victoriously. “I really need to do some filing.”
Kate sank back into the chair, her eyes glued to the envelope as though some sort of magic had been performed on her so she could see nothing else.
“It would appear I could use your organizational skills in here again my dear Miss Ross,” he said. “Before you disappear into the great beyond.”
Kateblinked; the spell of the envelope broken.
“Pardon?” she asked.
“I asked if you would help me out with the filing again? I seem to be messing it up,” Mr. Kinder asked.
A smile spread on Kate’s lips. “Sure. I’d be delighted. Although perhaps I should show you how to do it this time, so you can keep it going when I’m gone?”
“You think that little of my administration skills?” he asked, with what she hoped wasn’t real hurt on his face.
“Well, the evidence is stacked against you,” she said with an apologetic grin.
He sighed. “You’re right. Okay, let’s call this time you teaching me. How about that?”
“That sounds good. How about I come back on Saturday after my shift at Mrs. Kepler’s haberdashery?” Kate asked,feeling a wave of relief crash over her. Her alibi was ready. She was getting work.
He smiled and held the envelope out to her. “I thought you worked at the laundry?”
“And the haberdashery,” Kate said.
“My word!” Mr. Kinder declared. “Then I’d be delighted to have you work for me too. Now here you go.”
Kate accepted the letter in slightly sweaty hands. It carried an Arizona postmark, and she was powerless to stop her excited sharp inhale. Soon, she would be reading Clint’s words and it would be like he was here with her. She couldn’t wait.
Tucking a loose strand of her brown hair behind her ear, Kate gently put the envelope in her bag and stood. “Well, thank you again. I’ll see you on Saturday.”
“Indeed, you will,” he said. Then,seeming to have an idea pop into his head, he added, “Would you like to read it here? I can step out for a moment. In case there is an answer you need to pen.” His dark eyes, magnified to being owlishly large by his spectacles, seemed to glint with excitement. “If it’s the letter we’ve been waiting for…”
It was worth consideration. Reading Clint’s letter here would save having to come back. As it was, she was pushing her luck. All Uncle George would need was one whiff of her plans and he could derail the entire enterprise.
Kate shuddered. She could almost feel his clammy hand closing around her neck and giving a good squeeze.
Yet, reading something as personal as this letter while sitting in Mr. Kinder’s office felt wrong, like hanging one’s bloomers in the window to dry. It just wasn’t done. And letters that came from Arizona, from the potential love of her life, should be read at home in private where she could smile and laugh and cry with blissful abandon.
“I think I’ll take it home,” she said. “If needs be, I’ll come by tomorrow. You have a job for me, so that’s a legitimate reason.”
Mr. Kinder smiled. “The sooner we get you away from your uncle, the better.” He took her hands in his and gave them a friendly squeeze. “The alternative is just too awful…it makes my skin crawl.” He shuddered. “But we won’t speak of that horror. We will only think of the wonderful tidings I am certain are in your letter. Hurry home and read it. And then be sure to come by and tell me, won’t you?”
A Long Way to Love: A Historical Western Romance Book Page 28
