[2016] The Precious Amish Baby

by Faith Crawford

  They were handsome too. When they returned to the real world, they would break many girls’ hearts, Adrianna thought and then said it to them.

  “I won’t be breaking any hearts,” Benito said wryly.

  “Why is that?” Adrianna asked.

  “I want to study to be a priest. Father Stefano found a scholarship for me to study in Rome,” he explained his eyes twinkling.

  The news delighted and saddened Adrianna. His becoming a priest meant that he would never know or experience the love of a woman.

  “Are you sure Benito?” Adrianna ventured. “Shouldn’t you go out into the world for a little while? You don’t know what you’re missing.”

  “I keep telling him so,” Dante quipped.

  Benito smiled at both of them as though he knew something that they did not.

  “I love the Lord and I want to spend the rest of my life being devoted to Him,” Benito said.

  It hit Adrianna then. Benito had that something that she herself lacked to enable her to be a nun. Bitterness swirled in her mouth. Why couldn't she have been born with it too and she would never have experienced heartbreak?

  “I understand Benito and I’ll support you all the way,” Adrianna said.

  She turned to Dante, “What about you bro?”

  “I’m going to France. I want to study to be a chef,” he said, his eyes moist.

  “Just like Papa,” Adrianna whispered.

  Dante nodded and looked away.

  “Papa and Mamma would be so proud of both of you,” Adrianna said and dabbed at her eyes.

  “What about you Adrianna, what will you do when the war ends?” Dante asked.

  Adrianna forced some cheer into her voice. “I’m not sure yet but the world is open to me right now and I feel as free as a bird,” her brothers grinned at her and she grinned back.

  Leaving the monastery later, Adrianna felt exhausted by the effort of appearing cheerful. She thought of what she had told the boys. She felt the very opposite of free. Adrianna felt as though she was locked up in a cage, with no way out. She went to the kitchen, where the cook, a jolly woman by the name of Beatrice, was happy to have an extra pair of hands.

  The night was long and she tossed and turned in bed. She felt aware of Sidney’s nearness. At some point, she felt like going to him and begging him to love her. It was a foolish notion but in the dead of the night, when all one could hear were a few coughs and snores, it seemed like a way out of her misery. She was glad when dawn broke through. She wanted to get as far away from Sidney as possible. Adrianna made sure to avoid the hospital and after breakfast, she returned to the dormitories to pack up her few belongings. She smiled sadly at the poster of Frank Sinatra. It seemed so long ago when it had hung on her bedroom wall.

  A lifetime ago. What a different person she was now. She wished she could turn back the time and be the innocent seventeen-year-old girl living with her parents and never knowing the pain of loving a man who did not love her back. When she was ready, she left her bag on the bed and went to say goodbye to the head nun. She felt a little emotional as they embraced.

  “No need for tears Adrianna, you’re only going to the village,” she said, dabbing at her eyes.

  “Thank you Mother Superior, you’ve been wonderful.”

  Every step took Adrianna away from Sidney. Finally, she shut the main gate and trudged down the hill. To Adrianna's surprise, she had reached the village in forty minutes. To her joy, she saw people she had known walking down the streets. She waved hello and some did not recognize her. Had she changed that much?

  Chapter Ten

  Sidney read the official letter with excitement, followed by panic. He was leaving for the State in a few days. He was going back home! The war had been declared officially over two weeks earlier. He had known that he would get the letter any day, but holding it in his hands brought out a mixture of feelings. He thought of Adrianna.

  He longed to run his fingers through her hair one more time. He was alone in the room, with most soldiers back on their feet and outside enjoying the spring sun. Soft footsteps padded into the room and he looked up to find the Mother Superior.

  “So you’re leaving us then?” she asked with a smile.

  “Yes. I owe you a lot of gratitude for everything you’ve done for me and the other soldiers.”

  “All for the glory of the Lord,” she answered.

  He nodded.

  “Are you leaving without her then?”

  Sidney was confused for a moment but when he looked into her eyes, he knew that she spoke of Adrianna.

  “I have to. She’s too young for me,” Sidney said, his voice hoarse with emotion.

  “I have never heard such foolishness in my entire life,” she exclaimed. “Go to her. Don’t lose your chance of happiness all because of some misguided beliefs about age. When God brings two souls together such things don’t matter.”

  The words seemed to penetrate his brain and his thoughts shifted. Was it possible for two people to love each other forever despite their age differences? The silence was broken when voices wafted in as the soldiers returned.

  “Go on, go to her,” the Mother Superior urged one more time before she retreated.

  Sidney swallowed hard. He recalled Adrianna’s eyes which had smoldered with passion as she tried to tell him her feelings. How wonderful it was to be young, he thought. One could easily share their feelings without fear of the repercussions. If only he could toss away his fears and go to her as the Mother Superior had advised.

  What was stopping him? The thought formed clearly in his mind as though he had spoken aloud. Sidney searched himself. He found the source of his fear. He worried that Adrianna would soon tire of him and go for a younger man. That would kill him! He stood up and paced. He could feel the other soldier’s eyes on him but none dared to speak.

  How sure was he that she would leave him, Sidney asked himself? He considered himself a logical thinker and he tried to think of the problem as if it were a mathematical issue. Then he threw his hands in the air. There were no guarantees in life, he decided. Immediately, joy surged through him. He would go to her and if it took him a year to win back her love, he would do it.

  Without a word to anyone, Sidney hurried out of the hospital and convent. He took large, sure steps as he walked down the hill, pushing the overgrown bushes away from his face. He reached the village and asked for directions to the orphanage. Nobody stared at him, they were used to seeing foreign soldiers. Some waved at him and others said ‘Thank you.’

  Sidney waved and hurried on. He was now desperate to see Adrianna. The orphanage was located a little way from the main street, in what had been a school. He took a left and walked down a dusty road. The closer he got, the faster his heart beat against his chest. He slowed down when he reached the green climbing plants that fenced in the school. He stopped and peered between the spaces.

  He saw her standing in a group of ten or so children. Sidney stood there and reveled in watching her. Her hair was held in the same ponytail she favored but her dress was new. Or rather, he had never seen her in it. It was light blue and it brought out the color of her eyes. He could feel himself panting and it was not from walking.

  Sidney had not prepared himself for what he would say and his mind went blank. She was so beautiful! He could have kicked himself for rejecting her. There was no one to blame if someone else had already captured her heart. The thought propelled him forward and he went through a small gate, stooping to avoid getting his head hit by the metal rod that ran across the width of the gate.

  Adrianna noticed that she had lost the children’s attention and he stood and watched as she spun round. Her mouth formed into an ‘O’. He took a few steps forward. She did the same, taking tentative steps towards him. The world faded and all Sidney was aware of was the two of them.

  “Adrianna,” he said softly.

  She walked to him then and he saw that she had arranged her features impassively so that he could
not read her feelings. She had learned from the best, Sidney thought, looking at her pleasantly arranged features.

  “How have you been?” he said when she stopped a few steps from him.

  She nodded. “Good, how about yourself?”

  “I’ve been good too,” Sidney said.

  This was going all wrong. They seemed like two acquaintances meeting after a separation. This was not what he had had in mind. He looked at her lips, pink and slightly open and he wanted to take her into his arms and kiss her.

  “I got my papers to return to the U.S.,” Sidney blurted out and then cursed himself.

  He saw her face close and he knew with his careless announcement that he had wounded her feelings. Her hurt reflected his own and he felt his chest muscles tighten.

  “That’s great. I imagine you’re looking forward to going back home,” she said politely.

  Sidney groaned out aloud and covered his forehead. He had thought of this moment as he walked to the orphanage and it was not going as he had envisioned.

  “Oh Adrianna!” he cried out in unconcealed anguish. “That’s not why I’m here.”

  He looked at her and then without warning he took her hand and pulled her to him. He bent his head, searching for her mouth and when his lips made contact with her soft ones, he kissed her. It was gentle at first, and he felt her hesitation but finally she yielded. She threw her arms around him and he encircled her waist.

  “Oh Sidney, I missed you so much,” she cried.

  “Sweetheart, you have no idea how much I ached for you.”

  “Why, Sidney, why?” she said to him.

  Sidney tore himself from the kiss and held her sweet face in his hands.

  “I was foolish Adrianna. I thought you were too young for me. I realized, with a little help, how little age matters. You’re much wiser than your years, my love.”

  “Now you don’t think I’m too young?”

  “No, my love. I love you so much, Adrianna. I’ve been in love with you for a long time and I allowed my fears to control me. Forgive me Adrianna. I’ve caused us so much pain. Please tell me you love me too.”

  She looked at him, her eyes shining with unshed tears. "How I've longed to hear those words, Sidney. I love you too."

  Her face formed into a frown. “You’re going back to the States?”

  “Yes my darling, but not without you,” Sidney said and then dropped to his knees.

  He could hear the children giggling in the background but he did not mind the audience.

  “Adrianna Capello, will you do me the honor of becoming my wife?”

  She touched his face. “Yes, I will.”

  Moments later, she broke out into a squeal. She turned to the children, gaping at them from the playground. “I’m getting married!”

  The children laughed and clapped.

  “I’m sorry I don’t have a ring, but I’ll get you one as soon as I can,” Sidney told her and got to his feet.

  “I don’t care for a ring, I just want your love,” she replied.

  He encircled her waist again. “You have it my darling. Forever and ever.”

  They kissed and then he pulled her into a hug. He inhaled her scent and kissed her head. He never wanted to let go of his Adrianna. His mind quickly made plans. He would ask Father Stefano to marry them and after that, they would enjoy a honeymoon here in Italy before Adrianna’s papers were processed.

  The prospect of going home now excited him fully. He could not wait to show off his beautiful wife to his family. He breathed in her scent again.

  "I love you, Adrianna."

  He heard her muted reply and he sighed with utter and complete satisfaction.

  *****

  THE END

  Bonus Book 7: The Billionaire Widow's Bride

  By: Faith Crawford

  Description

  A mail order bride ditched at the station, a billionaire widow who is bitter with life and his three young daughters who are craving motherly love.

  Fiona Brown is giddy with joy as she waits for her beloved to pick her up at Peak's Point train depot. Their new home awaits; a small farm that she and Donald Newton have bought together.

  But the hours crawl by and with each hour that passes her dreams slip further away. Fiona has been conned, not just out of her money but out of the family life she had envisioned.

  Help comes in the form of a position at the Burk estate. Derek Burk is a moody and frightening man. His daughters, though, are a joy and Fiona grows close to them.

  Then, unexpectedly and slowly, she starts seeing another side of Derek Burk, a gentle side. Fiona starts falling in love with him. But he is the master of the house and she just a housekeeper... Will he love her back?

  Chapter One

  Fiona Brown pressed her nose against the window. The gigantic mountains sprung from the plains, forming a pattern on the landscape. They were covered in green grass, which looked like a thick carpet from a distance. She could not get enough of the majestic grandeur of the countryside. The inside of the train stank of stale sweat and the breath of too many people stuck in a small space. Fiona could have easily bought herself a sleeper ticket, but she had learned from an early age to be careful with money. Besides, the discomfort of seven days was worth every penny saved.

  She was on her last leg of the journey that would take her to Peak’s Point in Colorado. Surrounding her were moans of complaint about the length of the journey and the discomfort of sitting on the hard benches that were the train’s seats for days. Fiona had no such complaints. Finally, she was about to realize the only dream she had held as a young girl growing up in a poorhouse. She was about to get married and have her own home and family.

  In a few hours, she would be Fiona Newton. Donald Newton had told her in his correspondence that as soon as she arrived they would get married in the only church on Peak’s Point. She thought back to the events that had led to this moment. Fiona was one of the unfortunate children in the poorhouse who had no single memory of her parents. She had been placed on the steps of the convent, warmly bundled in layers of blankets so that the winter cold would not affect her before one of the nuns discovered her.

  Fiona held on to that memory, knowing that whoever her mother had been, she had loved her. Circumstances had probably forced her to abandon her newborn, and sometimes when Fiona thought about it deeply, her chest hurt at the pain her mother must have gone through in making the decision to give up her child.

  While the nuns at the poorhouse had provided everything the children required, the one thing they had not showered the hapless children with was affection. Thus, Fiona grew up admiring the families she saw in town—children holding hands tightly with their mothers and fathers, smiling at the occasional kiss on the forehead. Fiona would have given anything to have that kind of love showered on her.

  When she turned eighteen, Fiona had left the poorhouse and gone to work in the garment factory in town. She had lived in a boarding house and worked hard, saving every penny she earned after paying for her board. Thus it was that in three years she found that she had accumulated quite a sum of money, and she treasured the feeling of security it gave her.

  One day, while at the factory, Fiona had come across a discarded newspaper. Fiona, always drawn to any reading material, had fallen on it and devoured it in one sitting. She loved to read, for it gave her a peek into how real families lived. Then she had seen a whole page devoted to adverts from gentlemen in the West seeking brides. Her eyes had grown wide at the thought that one could travel across the country to get married. She thought it was the most romantic thing she had ever heard.

  On Sunday, the one free day she had from work, Fiona had gone into the library in Wenchester Street and read up all she could about the West. What she learned fascinated her and she decided there and then that her destiny was in the New Frontier. It was an opportunity for people like her to begin life afresh and to have what they could never have in New York. She could have her very own home, a
nd land to grow vegetables and whatever else caught her fancy.

  She had been drawn to Donald Newton’s advert. It had stuck out from the rest for he spoke of love and companionship, making Fiona’s heart beat wildly. She had written to him a letter of introduction and he had immediately written her a warm letter, so full of love that her breath had caught. He had also sent a silhouette of himself, and though his features were not visible she liked the shape of his face and the fact that he had gone to so much trouble.

  Their romance, as Fiona thought of it, had proceeded quickly. Sometimes she had to pinch herself to believe it was happening to her. Donald had written love poems for her and she had reciprocated by penning a few of her own. She also liked that he was a practical man with his eye firmly on their future. He had confided in her his plans to buy a farm that was for sale. He had described the house for her and she had fallen in love with it just from his description.

  It was medium sized, with three bedrooms, but Donald had written to her that its front was the best feature. From the porch you had a view of the Rocky Mountains and felt as if you could touch them if you stretched out your hand far enough. She thought of evenings spent there, watching the sun go down with her husband by her side.

  Donald had three-quarters of the money saved and he only needed to work as a ranch hand for the next two years before his dream could be realized. To Fiona, two years sounded like a lifetime to wait when they could be living their dream. So she had offered to send him the money he needed to complete the purchase. Fiona chuckled now when she remembered his horrified reaction at her suggestion. It had taken two letters to convince him that it was the right thing for them to begin their lives in their new home.

  He had finally relented, only after her agreement that it would be a loan which he would pay her back. Fiona had no intention of accepting the money back, but for the sake of peace she had consented. She could not wait to see their new house and already she had planned the kitchen garden. Having been in charge of the one at the poorhouse, she knew exactly what she wanted to plant.