Almost a Bride (The Bride Ships Book 4)
Page 22
“After you left me your sketches, I knew they were something special. So I sent the book to Mr. Peabody’s brother-in-law, Mr. Routledge, in London. He’s been raving about your work ever since.”
Kate paged through the book again, and her heart expanded with gratefulness and love and joy. Zeke had done all this for her, even when she’d walked away from him? Even when he’d had nothing to gain from it?
“What do you think?” Worry laced his voice.
She closed the book and handed it back to him. “I won’t accept it.”
“You won’t?” His eyes widened, highlighting his thick lashes, making him even more handsome. “But I thought you’d be happy.”
“I won’t be happy,” she inched nearer, “unless your name is on the cover with mine. After all, you’re the one who wrote the story.”
He searched her face, and then a slow grin emerged. “I’ve got an even better proposal.” He placed the book down and closed the distance between them so she could almost feel the heat of his body.
“What could be better?”
When his hands cupped her hips, pleasure slid down her legs, making her weak. When he drew her against him, the pleasure rippled up her torso, twisting and curling so she could only react by circling her arms around his neck.
“What would be better is having our names joined together on the cover.” His voice dropped to a whisper. “Kate and Zeke Hart. What do you say to that?”
She lifted on her toes and tightened her hold around his neck, her face almost touching his. “I like it.”
His lips brushed against hers in the tease of a kiss. But the touch was enough to make her gasp out her desire. In an instant, his mouth captured hers decisively, as though he was staking a claim on her and didn’t intend to let her get away ever again.
She responded with all the longing that had built within her over the months of separation, maybe even the longing from all the years she’d adored him from afar. All she knew was that she was his and his alone. And she always would be.
He swept her away, the kiss taking them to a place where only the two of them existed.
Until a rapping on the door brought her back to reality. She withdrew, even as he tried to kiss her again. “Someone’s at the door.” She leaned away, but the angle only gave him access to her neck, and he left a trail of soft kisses down to her shoulder blade.
The knocking became louder and more insistent. “Please come out and finish the christening,” came Zoe’s muted voice. “You can kiss later, after you’re married.”
“I like that idea,” Zeke whispered between kisses against her chin and cheek. “Can we get married today? After the christening?”
At his eagerness, she laughed lightly. “No, let’s not steal the day from baby Kate or Zoe and Abe.”
“Then when?”
She needed time to explain to Fred Donaldson she was in love with Zeke and always had been. She owed Fred that much. “Tomorrow?”
“Really?” Zeke’s grin was broad and his eyes alight with happiness.
“Really.” Even as she said the word, a small part in her quavered with a familiar hesitation.
Zeke bent in and captured her lips, this time with a kiss as sweet and tender and moving as the grandest sunset. She couldn’t breathe for the beauty of it.
When he broke the kiss a moment later, he didn’t release her but held her tightly.
“I love you, Zeke.” She hoped the words would take away that quavering and assure her everything would be all right.
Zeke sighed, the sound contented, almost blissful. “I’ll always love you, Kate. And I don’t ever want us to be apart again.”
“Me either.”
She buried her face in his chest and prayed for the strength to go through with her wedding.
TWENTY-SEVEN
KATE TWIRLED A ringlet of hair around her finger, admiring in the mirror all the curls Zoe had helped her arrange. Zoe had also lent her a fashionable fuchsia gown that had once belonged to the previous mistress of the house. The gown had already been tailored to fit Zoe and now flowed around Kate, making her feel like a princess. She swished the skirt, and it swayed back and forth like a bell.
Laughter wafted up from the lower level. Happy laughter. Excited laughter.
Everyone was assembled in the parlor for the wedding. The guests consisted of the orphans, servants, and friends she’d made during her stay in Yale. And Abe was performing the ceremony. Apparently Zoe had recently prompted Abe to send a letter to Zeke alerting him to Fred Donaldson’s interest. But with the unreliable nature of the mail, Zeke hadn’t received it before leaving.
Of course, Mr. Peabody had been busy in Zoe’s kitchen all morning preparing a feast, and the tantalizing aromas from his baking filled the air.
Once she and Zeke were married, they planned to stay a couple more days in Yale before returning to Williamsville where they could finally start their new life together.
Even with all the plans working out just the way she’d wanted, her stomach pinched, and she pressed her fist against it to make the pain go away. The problem was that it wouldn’t leave. In fact, since agreeing to marry Zeke yesterday, the ache had only cramped tighter so that at times she couldn’t breathe.
At a soft tap on the door, she smoothed her hands over the skirt.
“Are you ready, Kate?” Zoe asked.
“I’ll be ready in a few minutes.”
“That’s what you said the last three times I’ve knocked.” Zoe’s voice contained a hint of worry.
“I just need a little more time. That’s all.”
Zoe’s silence stretched out, filled by the baby’s tiny grunting noises. “Zeke’s a changed man, Kate. He won’t be perfect. No one is. But together, you’ll work through any problems God’s way.”
“You’re right.” Why was taking this next step still so hard for her? She’d used the months living in Yale to learn to forgive her father and place her fears in God’s hands. She’d even burned the old ribbon one night, releasing the grip her father’s rejection had on her.
“Please, come down and marry him, Kate.”
Kate leaned against the mirror and closed her eyes. “I will. I’m not quite done here.”
Again, Zoe was quiet. After a few more minutes, her footsteps receded.
Kate tried whispering a prayer for courage and strength, but her thoughts stuck in her head and didn’t go anywhere but in crazy circles. She paced across the room to the bed and then back to the mirror.
Another knock sounded, this one more distinct. Before she could say anything, the door opened to reveal Zeke. As he walked in and closed the door behind him, she took a rapid step back.
He stood absolutely still, as though he might spook her with the slightest movement.
She was being silly to be so frightened. “I’m almost ready.” She tried to relax her shoulders. Maybe if she focused on how handsome and dashing he looked in his dark suit, she could forget about the fear holding her captive.
“I know something that might help,” he said softly.
Her mind spun back to the day in the mine when she’d run to him, panicked about marrying him. He’d said almost the same thing before kissing her and making her forget her worries. Was that what he had in mind again?
“I’d like to pray with you.”
The words took her by surprise.
He stretched out a hand but didn’t step any closer. “Will you let me?”
She looked at his hand, then up at his sincere eyes before she accepted his offer.
“Let’s kneel here together.” He lowered himself and gently assisted her down. When he bowed his head, she followed his example. And when he began praying about them, their marriage, and the future, she could sense God’s presence between them and His blessing upon their union. By the time he spoke an amen, tears of gratitude pricked her eyes.
“Thank you,” she said as he helped her back to her feet. “That was exactly what I needed—what we needed to
start our marriage.”
“I agree.” He still watched her as if he might yet scare her away.
She reached for his hand and squeezed it. He couldn’t be everything she needed, but he’d shown her that together, they’d rely upon God to be everything they needed. “I’m alright now.”
He dug in his pocket and pulled out something. “I was planning to give you this later, but I think now’s the perfect time.”
“What?”
He opened his hand to reveal a ribbon. Long and silky and unblemished, it was almost the same shade of pink as her gown. “Once upon a time, a man gave you a ribbon, left you, and broke your heart. Today, you deserve a new ribbon, the most beautiful one I could find.”
Tears welled in Kate’s eyes. “Oh, Zeke.”
His expression was serious as he lifted her hair, wrapped the ribbon around it, and brought it to the top where he tied a bow. When he finished, he met her gaze. “With God’s help, I promise to stay with you and cherish your heart forever.”
Gratefulness swelled with such force that she captured Zeke’s cheeks and guided his head down to hers. As her lips touched his, she let her kiss tell him how much she loved him and how she would stay with him and cherish his heart forever too.
When she tugged away a moment later, she wrapped her hands around his. “I’m ready.”
“Are you sure?” He bent and stole another tender kiss.
“Very sure.” She threw open the door and pulled him into the hallway and toward the stairs.
As they descended side by side, she lifted a prayer heavenward. Their voyages hadn’t been easy, but God had been directing them all along and had brought them to this point. They might still encounter rough seas ahead, but she was learning His presence was enough to calm her fears and guide her safely through the storms.
At the bottom of the steps, Zeke paused and raised a brow, as if to ask whether she was okay.
She tucked her hand into the crook of his arm and smiled up at him. “I love you, Zeke, and I’m ready to be a bride. Your bride. Forever.”
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Jody Hedlund is the bestselling author of over twenty historical novels for both adults and teens and is the winner of numerous awards including the Christy, Carol, and Christian Book Awards. Jody lives in Michigan with her husband, five busy teens, and five spoiled cats. Visit her at jodyhedlund.com.
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THE BRIDE SHIPS FROM JODY HEDLUND
Living in London’s poorest slum, Mercy Wilkins has little hope of a better life. When she’s offered an opportunity to join a bride ship sailing to British Columbia, she agrees. After witnessing so much painful heartache and loss in the slums, the bride ship is her only prospect to escape a bleak future, not only for herself but, she hopes, someday for her sister.
A Reluctant Bride
THE BRIDE SHIPS #1
Wealthy Arabella Lawrence flees to British Columbia on a bride ship still wearing the scars of past mistakes. One of the few single women in the boomtown, she immediately has suitors, but she is determined not to find herself trapped again by a poor choice.
Vying for her hand are two very different men. Lieutenant Richard Drummond is a gentleman in the Navy and is held in high esteem. Peter Kelly is the town’s baker and has worked hard to build a thriving business.
The Runaway Bride
THE BRIDE SHIPS #2
Unemployed mill worker Zoe Hart jumps at the opportunity to emigrate to British Columbia in 1863 to find a better life and be reunited with her brother, who fled from home after being accused of a crime.
Pastor to miners in the mountains, Abe Merivale discovers an abandoned baby during a routine visit to Victoria and joins efforts with Zoe, one of the newly arrived bride-ship women, to care for the infant.
A Bride of Convenience
THE BRIDE SHIPS #3
Table of Contents
Scripture
One
Two
Three
Four
Five
Six
Seven
Eight
Nine
Ten
Eleven
Twelve
Thirteen
Fourteen
Fifteen
Sixteen
Seventeen
Eighteen
Nineteen
Twenty
Twenty-One
Twenty-Two
Twenty-Three
Twenty-Four
Twenty-Five
Twenty-Six
Twenty-Seven
About the Author
The Bride Ships from Jody Hedlund