[2016] A Widow's Love

by Christian Michael

  With Emmett in the house all day, Trinity didn’t know if she would find the right moment. Although he spent most of his time plying with Maddie, they were both still around, which made it difficult to know when to place it.

  Maddie was close with her father, and spent every second she could following him around or sitting on his lap. She would bring all of her dolls out from her room and relentlessly pester Emmett until he gave in and played with her.

  “Daddy! Daddy! If you don’t have to work outside, can we play dolls? Can we? Pretty please?”

  Emmett laughed at his daughter as she tugged on his shirt, then he bent down and hoisted her up to look out the window with him. Maddie got bored with looking at the rain, and again pestered him to play with her. Finally, Emmett gave in and told her to go get her toys.

  Trinity wasn’t ever openly invited to play along with them. Deep down inside, she knew she would have been welcome to join in, but she also didn’t want to intrude. Maddie didn’t get to see her father a lot with all of the work that needed to be done, and since Trinity was inside the house to watch her, he spent much of his time outdoors, working on various activities.

  Trinity didn’t mind sitting back and watching the two of them play. She would often grab some mending that needed to be done, or occasionally a needlework, though it was rare for her to work on needlework projects. She felt she had spent enough of her life sewing, and she didn’t want to volunteer too much of her time working on projects that didn’t need doing.

  There were times, however, when Trinity did wish Maddie would entertain herself. Trinity didn’t get a lot of time with Emmett, either, and she felt she got even less time with him than Maddie got. Of course she knew Maddie was his daughter first and foremost, but she wanted to get to know her husband, and it was difficult when he spent all of this time indoors playing games with Maddie.

  I’m sure they spent a lot of time playing together when it was just the two of them, but I need to have him to myself sometimes, too. How am I supposed to get to know him if I can’t ever have a few minutes with him without Maddie interrupting?

  Of course, I don’t know how to bring this up to him, either. He adores her, as well he should, but I wasn’t prepared for this when I moved out here, and I’m not sure I’m prepared for it now.

  The more she thought about it, the less Trinity wanted to bring it up to him. It seemed to her like she would appear to be whining or complaining, and those were two things she certainly never did. She wasn’t about to start now… Trinity had gotten herself into this, she was going to get herself back out of it.

  “Daddy, I’m hungry… when are we going to have dinner?”

  Maddie suddenly asked in the middle of their game. Trinity involuntarily looked up at the clock that was on the mantle. It hadn’t been that long since breakfast, and Maddie had hardly touched hers.

  “Not for some time, Sweetheart, but you just had your breakfast. Why don’t you go play in your room for a while? I am going to see how the back fields are holding up to all of this rain.”

  Emmett groaned as he stood, and exclaimed that he was becoming too old to play dolls.

  Maddie stamped her foot on the floor and put her hands on her hips.

  “No! You will never get too old to play dolls with me. Never! Can I go with you?”

  Emmett laughed and looked out the window.

  “I don’t know, Darling, It’s pretty wet.”

  “Please? Please Daddy? Please Please Please?”

  “Oh, all right. I am going to walk the whole back way… are you sure you want to?”

  “Yes!”

  “All right then, we’ll only be gone an hour or two, Trinity. When we get back we can start dinner. What do you say?”

  Trinity looked up from the project she held in her hands and nodded. She wondered if Emmett even realized nobody had asked her if she wanted to join them. Maddie whooped and ran to get her things on, and Emmett pulled on his jacket. They both bid Trinity a good morning, and headed out the door.

  Trinity rose from her spot and walked over to the window, looking out to see if she could find them. Maddie was chasing after her father, jumping in the puddles as she did. Trinity laughed to herself. That little girl was awfully cute. Part of her wished she was out there with them, but that feeling that told her she didn’t belong crept back up.

  With a sigh, Trinity walked back to her room and grabbed the letter. She was going to leave it on the counter for them to find when they got back. By then, she would be well on her way to town, if not on the stage already. Trinity gathered her things, buttoned her coat, and made sure the note was where they would find it.

  Then, with one final look about the house, she took a long breath in and let it out again slowly, and she left.

  Chapter 8 – Coming Home

  The rain started again before Trinity made it to town. She hoped it wasn’t raining enough back at the house to make Emmett and Maddie come back early. Trinity wanted to get a good start before they got back. She didn’t have much to carry, Trinity only took a couple of dresses to begin with, and the only thing she really wanted to keep was the glass figure Emmett had purchased for her the day she had arrived.

  The stage was in and out of town often enough, Trinity knew it wouldn’t be hard to find a ride today. If she had gotten enough of a head start, she may even be to the next town before they found out where she had gone. It wasn’t that Trinity wanted to run away from them, but she didn’t’ want them to feel badly about her leaving.

  It really wasn’t anything they had done. It was the fact she didn’t feel she belonged anywhere, and that was something she explained right in the letter she had left. Trinity hoped they would understand, and that they wouldn’t blame themselves. She had even left her address in case they wanted to write to her when she got back.

  All in all, Trinity didn’t feel good about what she was doing, but she felt worse about staying. She wanted to be where she felt she belonged, and she didn’t here. At least back home in the church she felt like she had a place, even though it wasn’t a place she liked. A place was a place, and that was all that mattered to her.

  Trinity purchased a ticket for the next stage that was coming through. It was set to run through in an hour, so she had some time to wait. Trinity pulled her bag over to the side of the platform, and sat down. If they took their time on their walk, she should be getting on the stagecoach about the same time they were getting back inside. All in all, it would be perfect timing.

  When they got to town, she would be gone, and things would all go back to the way they had always been before. Trinity ignored that gnawing feeling inside of her that told her she was making a mistake, and with resolve in her posture, she sat tall, waiting for the stage to arrive.

  As she sat there, Trinity couldn’t help but notice the emptiness that filled her heart. She didn’t know why, but there was something that felt like it was missing. She had never noticed this feeling before, and wondered if she had always felt this way without even realizing it. It wasn’t really a pain, but more of a dullness that was in her chest.

  She sighed, hoping it would go away, but it didn’t.

  As the minutes passed, it got worse, and for the first time in a long time, Trinity thought she was going to miss them. She wondered if she was making a mistake, but shrugged off the feeling, telling herself she was just nervous for the journey.

  Suddenly, Trinity thought she heard something.

  It wasn’t the stagecoach.

  It was her name. Someone was calling her name.

  Trinity rose, and turned around. There, running up the road as quickly as she could, was little Maddie. Emmett wasn’t far behind. They both looked worried, and Trinity could see that Maddie had been crying.

  Maddie threw her arms around Trinity as soon as she reached her, sobbing into her shoulder.

  “Don’t go, Trinity! Please don’t!”

  Trinity held her, but stood up when Emmett reached her.

  �
��Emmett… what’s all this about? Didn’t you see my letter?”

  “I did, and I came as quickly as I could. Trinity… do you really think we don’t want you there?”

  Trinity didn’t know what to say. She had felt that way, but she didn’t know why. They hadn’t done anything to make her feel that way. She nodded, then shook her head.

  “It’s not that you did anything, Emmett… It’s just that I don’t belong. I have never had a family. I have never had a mother or a father, or any brothers or sisters. I don’t belong in one. You have each other, and it is wonderful, but you don’t need me.”

  There were tears in her eyes as she spoke, and Emmett reached out and pulled her close, with Maddie in between them.

  “Trinity. You have meant more to me than anyone has in years. And Maddie, too. You are the mother and the wife that I needed, and everything to Maddie. I know it can be hard, but I can’t just let you go. I need you. Maddie needs you. I love you, Trinity.”

  “I love you, too!”

  Maddie was still crying into Trinity’s dress, and at that moment, something came over her. She felt that wall that she held in her heart melt away. It was a new feeling… one she never experienced before. It felt as though a burden had been lifted, yet all of her emotions came out all at once.

  Trinity burst into tears, and let Emmett hold her.

  “You guys really want me to stay?”

  “More than anything!”

  Maddie chimed up in her shrill voice.

  “More than anything. Please stay.”

  Emmett whispered the words in her ear, and for the first time in her life, Trinity felt loved. She felt like she truly belonged here, and she felt she needed these two as much as they needed her.

  For the first time in her entire life, Trinity had found her family.

  THE END.

  Love Unexpected

  Mail Order Bride

  CHRISTIAN MICHAEL

  Chapter 1

  Belle Lane felt as if her hands were tied and, in a way they were. Her brother had practically sold her off as a bride to some wealthy man out West and now she was on a train headed West without one notion as to what to expect. How could John do this to her?

  The train was nearing its destination and she had run out of options. She’d tried in vain to think of a clever way out of the situation, even going so far as to consider getting off at one of the stops before she reached her destination, but then she hadn’t known what she would do. She had no money, no resources, and no real skill aside from caring for children and cooking.

  Besides, the stories she’d heard of the West were frightening. It did not sound conducive to a single woman living on her own.

  So here she was, still on the train and about to meet the man she would marry.

  Her hopes of one day falling in love and marrying a man who would care for her sunk lower in her stomach. Any man would willingly purchase a bride from their brother could not be on the up and up.

  Could she protest in town? Perhaps beg the sheriff to have mercy on her and find her a better situation. The notion had weight, but she wasn’t sure how she would even find the sheriff’s station with her husband-to-be finding her first. John had said Dennis Gaston would be waiting for her at the train depot and he had her photograph so he would recognize her.

  Wonderful, she thought. She wouldn’t know what he looked like until the moment she laid eyes on Denis, and she had a feeling he would be old, bald, and ugly.

  She bit her lip to keep from laughing.

  If her brother hadn’t spent every last ounce of their inheritance money this never would have happened. And yet Father had still insisted on naming him beneficiary despite the fact that Belle was older by a year. Hadn’t Father seen his coming? All of Mother’s pleadings hadn’t done any good either and here they were.

  The train slowed and she collected herself. She was a lady of poise and determination. She loved to read and she would pass her time as this man’s wife living out her days reading and caring for his house, even if she never cared for him. That was most likely.

  “Right this way, Miss,” the train attendant said. He directed her to the end of the car and held her elbow firmly until she stepped off onto the platform bustling with men and a few women walking to and fro.

  Her eyes rose and she searched the faces looking for passengers. Her eyes rested on an elderly looking man who held her gaze.

  I was right, she thought, and made her way toward him.

  “Hello,” she said with a bland but determination air. It was better to get this over with now so she could face up to her future. “I’m Miss Lane.”

  “Howdy,” the man said, his eyebrows rising and his eyes taking in every bit of her.

  She shuddered and swallowed past the lump in her throat.

  Just as she was going to say they might as well make their way to the church a voice behind her said, “Miss Lane?”

  Startled, she turned and her eyes collided with a tall man, his fair completion showing off ruddy cheeks and reddish hair that had been tamed at one point that day but now flew in all directions after being held captive by his hat.

  “I’m sorry, you are?”

  “Dennis Gaston. Your future husband.”

  Her eyes rounded and she looked back to the older man, amusement in his eyes. “I’d marry you in a second, darlin’ but I think this fellow has prior claim.” The man shuffled off and Belle admitted to herself that she was pleasantly surprised by Mr. Dennis Gaston.

  ***

  She’d thought she was marrying Otis? He wanted to laugh out loud but there wasn’t time for that. Instead he tilted his head in the direction of his wagon. “Shall we? The pastor is expecting us.”

  Her eyes narrowed.

  “You were informed we are to marry immediately, were you not?”

  She cringed and he realized he’d sounded more like a businessman and a fiancé. “That is, your brother told you?”

  “He did,” she admitted, “I suppose I just didn’t think right away meant the minute I stepped from the train.”

  “Well, it does,” he said. His tone was even, but his words had the desired effect.

  “By all means, lead the way.”

  Her sensed her sarcasm but didn’t acknowledge it. If she wanted to make snide comments he’d allow that, for now. It would appear neither of them were pleased about this union and yet here he was, marrying again. If it could have gone any other way…

  But no, his hands were tied. He was a slave to his company and, as far as his future business associate still knew, he was married. That persona needed to be upheld if he were to gain favorable ground.

  The silence between them stretched on and he wondered if he should say something. He ground his molars instead. This was going to be more difficult than he thought. Just looking at her made him think of Maddie…

  No, he couldn’t go there. Her death was over a year ago and they had moved on. They’d had to.

  Mercifully, the church came into view and he was distracted by the process of marrying the woman he’d paid an arm and a leg for. He cringed. When he thought of it like that it made him feel like a scoundrel. Some man who had to buy a bride. But then again, her brother had said she was happy to come be his wife.

  Looking down at her, her light brown hair framing an oval shaped face with ruby red lips and eyes downcast, she didn’t look happy.

  They said their vows in a quiet way that would almost be considered reverent but was more likely due to the fact that neither of them were very happy about this situation. It would have been almost comical if he hadn’t been the one living it out.

  Then, when they had signed the documents making everything legal they set out for his wagon out front.

  He helped her in, feeling a strange sensation as her hand rested light in his, and then he climbed in next to her.

  “Do you live far out of town?” Those were the first words she’d spoken to him aside from their vows in the past few hours. />
  “Not too far.”

  They rode on in silence until he turned down the long dirt road that led to his ranch.

  “Oh,” she said. He knew she was surprised at the grandeur of his house. He felt the prick of pride but squashed it down. None of this would matter if he didn’t sufficiently impress Thomas Sullivan.

  When he pulled up in front of the house a ranch hand came over immediately to take care of the wagon and he led Belle inside. She stood just inside the doorway and stared around at the large, lodge style entryway. It was meant to impress and he could see that it had sufficiently done its job. She was stunned.

  Then the sound of feet running his way drew his full attention. “There you are, Minnie-girl.” He swung is daughter up into his arms then turned to face Belle.

  The look of complete shock on her face struck him as odd. In the interest of full disclosure, he’d told her brother John all about his daughter. He assumed the man had relayed that information, but the look on her face said otherwise.

  “Let me guess, your brother also didn’t tell you about Minnie.”

  “No,” she said, shaking her head. Then, recovering quickly, she looked up at Minnie still in his arms, “Hello. My name is Belle.”

  “I’m Minnie. I’m six.” She grinned and he could see his daughter’s magic smile was already working wonders on Belle’s heart.

  “It’s nice to meet you.”

  “Remember how I told you that Belle would be coming to stay with us?”

  “Yes,” Minnie said.

  “Well, here she is.”

  He put Minnie down and turned to Belle. “We can discuss…logistics later. But for now I need to go check in with my men. Minnie and Cook can show you around.”

  Belle nodded but didn’t say anything so he turned and left, hearing her strike up conversation with his daughter.

  The familiar hurt entered his chest again, but he squelched it. Belle wasn’t Maddie and this wasn’t the past. He had to remember that.