“I did, all the while worried sick that you’d think I’d treated you like that other man had.”
Moriah studied her hands for she didn’t want him to know that’s exactly what she’d thought.
“Now if there’s anyone left at the dance,” he said, “I want to go in and officially announce our engagement—that is, if you’ll still have me.”
Her heart filled with love. “Help me down.” She stood.
He leapt off the wagon, then reach up and grasped her by the waist. “Is that a ‘yes’?”
“Yes and I promise not to doubt you again.”
“I’m all yours. I’ll love you always.” He kissed her, long and sweet.
Epilogue
Moriah’s friend Lucy had come through and Oreana hired a new schoolteacher, who agreed to take over in January.
The wedding was held in the schoolhouse right after the Christmas program. Judge Glover from Silver City had come to perform the marriage ceremony, with children dressed as shepherds, sheep, and even a donkey in attendance. Arthur had insisted on being one of the Wise Men bearing geese, which he said sounded enough like gifts to make it right. Moriah didn’t argue and neither did Wilbur, who proudly strutted about the schoolhouse.
The whole town whistled and applauded when Tex and Moriah were pronounced husband and wife.
“Do you believe in fairytales now, Miss Jensen?” Arthur said.
“You can call me mama now, Arthur.” She kissed him on the cheek, then gazed at her handsome husband. “Yes, indeed I do.”
The Happy Ending
Thanks for reading Idaho Fairytale Bride. Please leave a review! Reviews are so important for both placement and advertising, and authors are grateful for each and every one.
Don’t miss the next book in the series, Montana Bride by Diane Darcy. You can read the first chapter in that book at the bottom of this one.
Books By Jacquie Rogers
Honey Beaulieu – Man Hunter series
#1 Hot Work in Fry Pan Gulch
#2 Sidetracked in Silver City
She’s Bold – She’s Brash – She’s Got Brass!
Hearts of Owyhee series
Set in the sweeping high mountain desert of Owyhee County, Idaho Territory, these western historical romance novels are lively, sensual, and humorous.
#1 Much Ado About Madams
Six whores and a suffragist are at cross purposes with rancher Reese McAdams.
#2 Much Ado About Marshals
Cole’s dilemma: Tell the truth and hang, or live a lie and end up married? Daisy’s determined to marry the new marshal, but he’s wanted for bank robbery!
#3 Much Ado About Miners
Hired gun Kade comes to Silver City and a lady banker accidentally shoots him in the head. Then he learns that the men she shoots tend to be the next groom in town!
#4 Much Ado About Mavericks
Roped, tied, and... A beautiful ranch foreman and a handsome Boston lawyer thrown together by an impossible will.
#5 Much Ado About Mustangs
Secret lives, hidden dreams, and forbidden sex in the Old West—what’s a woman of nobility to do when a handsome rancher tears through her world like an Owyhee dust devil?
Connected to Hearts of Owyhee:
Mercy: Bride of Idaho (American Mail-Order Brides series, #43)
One woman bent on saving her family. One rancher determined to save his own heart. Is her love enough to save them all?
Sleight of Heart
Lexie, a buttoned-up spinster and Burke, a fun-loving gambler team up to find his long lost brother—who happened to ruin her sister. But Lexie’s playing for a full house and Burke’s gambling with his heart.
Mail-Order Tangle
(a duet with Caroline Clemmons)
Two Dickerson sisters, two Johanssen cousins, two great stories!
Mail-Order Promise by Caroline Clemmons
Mail-Order Ruckus by Jacquie Rogers
Novellas and Short Stories
For over a dozen fun novellas, go to Jacquie’s novella page!
Dear Reader
I hope you had a great time reading about Tex and Moriah and their journey to everlasting love. Poor Tex had his work cut out for him to reel in the woman he loved.
Daisy Richards is a fun character, too. Remember her? She’s having a baby! You can read about Daisy’s rocky road to romance with Cole Richards in Much Ado About Marshals (Hearts of Owyhee #2)
Oreana is an actual place in Owyhee County, Idaho; however, my fictional Oreana is quite a lot more populated than the real one ever was, even in her boom days. For that matter, Owyhee County is a real place—it’s where I grew up. Owyhee is the original anglicized spelling of ‘Hawaii’ used by Captain Cook (who met his demise in Hawaii) and was named after some fur trappers who were lost in the area in 1819. It’s pronounced oh-WYE-hee and is where all five books in my Hearts of Owyhee series is set.
Gardners’ Mercantile is based on a real building in Oreana, likely built in 1882. Oreana founder Michael Hyde hired the best masons in the territory, John Pierson and Jim Kelly, to build his general store. The building still stands, restored and repurposed as Our Lady, Queen of Heaven Catholic Church by the local citizens and the Nampa diocese. Services are held there once a month.
As for Wilbur, there really are guard geese. Browse the internet and you’ll see several articles with people extolling their prowess. Geese are aggressive and can defend against small predators. Many people use them to protect their chicken flocks. Of course they’re no match for large predators, but they’re noisy enough to either scare the animal off, or to alert the owners.
Goose eggs are good to eat—but they’re large. One goose egg equals about three chicken eggs. They’re also higher in fat. On the other hand, they’re richer tasting and make wonderful puddings and custards.
Wild horses still roam the Owyhees, although their numbers have dwindled. The Hard Trigger herd was done in by the Soda Fire a few years ago, and the rest were rounded up. My dad and my grandpa both caught and tamed mustangs from the Owyhees—Dad named his Rocky and Grandpa’s was Maverick. Neither of them were appropriate for a novice or mediocre rider but they were excellent horses—surefooted and strong.
Acknowledgments
First and foremost, thank you to Elizabeth Flynn, the fastest (and best) editor in the West. North, East, and South, too. The final throes of publication can be somewhat hectic. Idaho Fairytale Bride was way beyond that. Elizabeth’s turnaround on this book was utterly phenomenal. Chocolate is on its way!
Thanks to readers Diane Garland, Judith Laik, Mercedes Christesen, and Moriah McCormick. I appreciate your input!
Special thanks to my husband, who cooked and did laundry so I could write, and is proofreading the book as I write this.
And finally, thanks to Amelia Adams for coming up with the concept for this unique series. It has truly been a pleasure working with her and the other five authors.
Rocky Mountain Romances series
Welcome to Rocky Mountain Romances, seven sweet historical romances brought together by the majestic and beautiful Rocky Mountains. Be sure not to miss any of the installments by clicking on the links below.
Utah Sunrise by Amelia C. Adams
Idaho Fairytale Bride by Jacquie Rogers
Montana Gold by Diane Darcy
Ride for a Bride in Wyoming by Charlene Raddon
Hazel of Heber Valley by Annette Lyon
New Mexico Enchantment by Savanna Sage
Colorado Dreams by Heather Horrocks
Montana Gold
by Diane Darcy
New York, 1890
Lucy Rickman’s mouth hung open long enough that the beautiful brunette seated across from her started to look concerned.
“Are you all right?”
The words snapped Lucy out of the trance she was in, and her gaze darted around her family’s well-appointed and beautiful parlor as if seeing it for the first time.
Beautiful fu
rniture, velvets, brocade’s, and long drapes. Her entire world had been turned upside down, and she was noticing the material of the new drapes that her grandmother had recently chosen?
“I realize this must come as a shock to you.”
Lucy was sitting ramrod straight, as she’d been trained.
Her hands were folded politely in her lap, and she glanced at the tea tray sitting between the two of them, and a wave of inappropriate laughter threatened to bubble up her throat at the thought of offering the other woman tea.
Outwardly, she might be calm, but inside she was finally coming to grips with the fact that her life was about to irrevocably change forever.
“Miss Smith?”
The other woman, and she was the other woman, had the grace to blush. No doubt the name was as phony as Lucy’s life had just been revealed to be. When she’d been informed she had a guest in the parlor, Lucy had had no idea that her world was about to come crashing down. “Miss Smith. To restate, just to make sure that I haven’t mistaken your meaning, you are expecting a child, and my fiancé is the father. Is that correct?”
Her grandmother would be proud of the cool tone, though Lucy could take no pride in it as her heart pounded in her chest. The other woman nodded.
“And you are revealing this information to me, because?”
Again, the woman had the grace to blush, though Lucy was starting to suspect it was an affectation rather than sincere.
“Well, as one lady to another —”
Lucy’s brows rose.
The woman lifted her chin. “As one lady to another, I felt that it was my duty to inform you of a fact that will surely impact your future a great deal.”
“Did Mr. Hargraves send you to inform me of this fact?”
The other woman’s gaze dropped.
“So, he did not.”
“Like I said, I felt you had the right to know.”
Lucy thought about the fact that both their fathers wanted this marriage to happen. She certainly wasn’t the only one that would be disappointed.
Lucy stood. “And now I know. If you’ll excuse me, I’m sure that Lee will show you out.”
Leaving the woman in the capable hands of her butler, Lucy exited the room with perhaps more haste than grace.
In a daze, she walked out into the hall. She glanced around, then worried the other woman might come up behind her, hurried up the stairs. When she was out of sight, she leaned back against the wall, pressed both fists to her chest, and closed her eyes.
What was she going to do?
She blinked back tears.
She couldn’t imagine the disappointment this would cause within both their families.
She was filled with a sudden surge of jealousy toward the other woman, and it wasn’t over her fiancé, Charles. It was over the fact that Miss Smith was carrying a child.
At age twenty-four she longed to have a babe of her own. And that a child had been so close within her grasp, only to be taken away and given to another woman, about killed her.
She heard movement down the hall, and levered herself off the wall to turn toward her bedroom.
“Lucille? Is that you?”
Dread pressed in on her, but she didn’t dare disobey that imperious voice. Taking a deep breath, she tried to compose her expression and she turned. “Hello, Grandmamma.”
Her grandmother’s expression turned to one of alarm as she studied her. “What’s the matter with you, girl?”
That was all it took for the floodgates to open. Against her will, tears flooded Lucy’s eyes, and a sob rose in her throat.
“Come with me,” her grandmother barked the words as she hurried to her room, confident Lucy would follow.
Horrified that she might be overheard, especially if that woman was still downstairs, Lucy pressed a hand to her mouth and quickly followed her grandmother who waited in her bedroom. The moment Lucy crossed the threshold, Grandmamma shut the door.
More sobs escaped.
“Follow me.”
Her grandmother walked through the sitting room to the two chairs seated in front of the fireplace. “Sit down.”
Lucy, feeling slightly hysterical, sank into one of the overstuffed chairs, and continued to cry.
A handkerchief was quickly thrust into her hand, and as she sobbed, she waited for the reprimand that was sure to follow.
Minutes passed until Lucy finally started to calm.
“Are you feeling better?”
Her grandmother’s voice was as imperious as ever, but Lucy could detect a note of concern.
Lucy shuddered a few more times, slower now, and she caught her breath, and dried her eyes. “I am.”
“Now then, tell me what has occurred. And no more of your crying now, do you hear?”
Again, Lucy nodded. “A woman came by the house. She claims she is expecting Charles’s child.”
Her grandmother held the head of her cane with both hands, her grip tight, her rose-colored gown lit by the sunshine flooding in from one window. “I see.” She nodded once, thick gray hair piled high and unmoving. “Indeed.” The older woman looked into the embers of the fireplace, her expression revealing nothing.
“What am I to do?”
“What do you want to do?”
Lucy was at a loss for a moment. Her grandmother was very outspoken, and she simply expected the older woman would tell her what she was to do. “I don’t know.”
“I should say your choices are obvious. This news cannot be a surprise to Charles, so obviously, if he were planning to tell you, he’d have done so by now. Which means he is perfectly content to let the marriage proceed.”
Feelings of revulsion washed through Lucy, and she grimaced and flinched back into the chair.
“I take it that is a no?” Her grandmother said dryly.
Lucy thought about Charles and the fact that she’d been so close to getting what she wanted. A home and family of her own.
But with a philanderer? She wasn’t senseless enough to invite such heartache into her life.
Still, feelings of loss stabbed through her. Though Mr. Hargraves had not confessed any undying love for her, he had been gentlemanly, sweet, and excited about joining her family.
She’d hoped for an eventual love match.
She shook her head. “No. I will not be marrying the man.”
Grandma thumped her cane twice. “Good girl!”
Startled, Lucy’s gaze flew to her grandmother. The elderly woman was notorious for keeping the family in line, making sure they did things properly, and avoiding scandal.
“There will be talk.” Lucy felt compelled to point out.
Her grandmother laughed. “So there will. It’s a good thing Hargraves is not part of our family, isn’t it? As for myself, I never did like the man. He’s a little too smooth, in my opinion. I wanted more for you.”
“More?”
“More. Someone like my William. Now, there was a man!”
Lucy couldn’t help but stare at her grandmother, surprised by her comments and the open way she spoke. “He was?”
“Of course he was. He built all of this.” She waved a hand in the air to indicate the mansion they were situated in. “Built his steel business in a very competitive world. He was an impressive man and I was glad he was mine.”
Lucy’s eyes widened during this speech. “Grandmamma, I’ve never heard you talk about him this way.”
Her grandmother waved a hand in the air. “I will say that our son is nothing like him. Your father was born to be a politician.” Her tone was unflattering. “Back to the subject at hand. You’re young yet, —”
“I’m twenty-four, Grandmamma.”
“Don’t interrupt. There is plenty of time for you to find a man like your grandfather. There’s no reason you shouldn’t have an exciting life.”
“What do you mean?”
“What I mean is that if I was twenty-four, and suffering from a…ah… slightly broken heart, I’d want to go on an advent
ure. Why don’t you put that teaching certificate you earned to use?”
“What do you mean?”
Her grandmother made an impatient noise. “Go West! Get on the train and go look for a real man.”
“A real man?”
Her grandmother stood and crossed the room and pulled something out of a drawer. She turned back and handed a paper to Lucy. “I saw this three weeks ago. At the time I thought it would be perfect for you, were you not engaged. Well, you’re not engaged anymore. So why not?”
Lucy quickly read the circled ad in the paper. She looked up at her grandmother. “Go to Montana? To be a schoolteacher?”
Grandmother looked at her approvingly. “I can see that the idea excites you.”
Did it? Lucy drew in a breath and looked at the ad once more. Maybe it did. She’d love to get away from New York. Leave Hargraves and all the gossip behind. “What if the job is no longer available?”
“Don’t worry. I will contact the superintendent myself. Lucy, I believe that you were meant for better things. And in a situation such as this, I believe it will do you good to get away.”
She thought of the humiliation she was sure to suffer when word spread of her broken engagement, and the reasons behind it.
But still, to just up and leave. Here and now she knew what was expected of her. If she left and started a new life elsewhere…
And then there were her parents.
But with her grandmother’s support it could work.
“My parents….”
Her grandmother smiled. “Leave your parents to me.”
~~~
Read more!
Montana Gold
by Diane Darcy
About Jacquie Rogers
Jacquie Rogers has worn many hats before taking up the pen: a former software designer, campaign manager, deli clerk, and cow milker. Besides both traditional and non-traditional westerns, she writes romance in three sub-genres: western historical, fantasy, and contemporary western.
Idaho Fairytale Bride (Rocky Mountain Romances Book 2) Page 12
