by Faye Sonja
Ray said, “You really know how to throw a party.”
Orlando chuckled. “The women put it together.”
June, Orlando’s wife said, “Your assistant is a real gem. We couldn’t have pulled it off without her.”
Ray nodded. “Well, I know you’ll be a success tonight. I could hardly recognize most of the women from the factory without their headscarves and oiled faces.”
Melody laughed. Standing at just above five feet, the woman was the shortest one in the circle. “I helped a few of the girls get ready, making sure they looked their best for tonight and gave them some tips that they could use at home.”
Lydia said, “You’re brilliant with colors. I read your book.” She then turned to June. “And this party is amazing and I was talking to some of the women and they’d talked me into doing another get together.”
Both June’s and Melody’s eyes went wide. Soon, the women were lost in their own discussion that began to be carried into the house. No doubt, whatever happened would cost Ray money, but he was fine with it, so long as Lydia was happy.
Orlando said, “Are you happy?”
Ray smiled. “I am.”
Orlando nodded. “I knew you would be.” Then he held his hand out towards Austin.
Austin sighed, pulled out his wallet, and put a bill in Orlando’s hand. “Never dare against Cupid,” Austin warned.
Ray laughed. “I don’t think I would.” He knew Orlando’s track record and had a feeling that by the end of the night, Ray would not be the only person at the party in love. No doubt this night would lead to a few marriages.
Orlando folded the bill and dropped it into a nearby box that would go for feeding the families who needed assistance in the city. “I’m happy everything has worked out for you.”
“As am I,” Ray said.
“I hope one day we’re able to do business together again.”
Ray laughed. “So do I. Thank you for your help.”
Orlando waved him off. “All in the name of love and family.”
Family, yes, but love had snuck up on Ray when he’d least expected it. There were moments when Ray wondered what he’d been doing with his life before he’d fallen in love. He’d been so afraid of turning out like his old man and even his younger brother that he’d run from anything that seemed permanent with a woman. He’d never wanted the headache and had never wanted to cause anyone any heartbreak, but when he looked at Lydia, he knew that he never would. He’d be a better man than she ever imagined he could be. For Lydia, he’d fight the world.
A few photographers came over and took pictures of the three men and when the women returned even more pictures were snapped.
As Ray leaned over, he whispered in Lydia’s ear. “Dorothy.”
Lydia looked at him and Ray hoped to have moments like this for the rest of his life. Her hand came to rest on his chest. “What?”
“If I am the Tin man, then you are my Dorothy. The Tin man didn’t have a heart, but needed oil to survive. But, all I need is your love, Lydia, and I know I can survive anything. Just you and Pauline, that’s all I need.”
Lydia wrapped her arms around him. “And you and Pauline are all the love I need.”
Ray was aware of the cameras that flashed as they hugged, but lost count of the flashes that came when his lips touched Lydia’s. The war overseas still raged on, but the war that Ray had been fighting since the day he’d met the woman in his arms was now at peace. And no weapon was strong enough to break their bond.
* * *
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Here’s a sneak peek at Book 1 of May’s story :
The Bride’s Lost Baby & The Miner . . .
“Come on, May, just one more really good push.”
May’s lower muscles squeezed tightly while she wrapped her fingers around her mother’s, holding her in a vice like grip. Her breathing grew heavy; she cut her eyes to the world and felt her stomach muscles throb as she let out a loud scream, sure that the sound had escaped through the paper walls of their tiny apartment and into the next.
“Good, May. Now, just one more time.”
She groaned.
She didn’t have any ‘one more times’ in her left.
She was tired. Every bone in her eighteen-year-old body ached. Her aunt Jane, a midwife had arrived only a half hour ago, but May had been in the greatest pain of her life for hours. What had started out as a simple throb had blossomed into mind-blowing shots of agony, to the point that May believed she would die.
The possibility of death wasn’t far-fetched. Women died in childbirth all the time. She’d been warned by a few women of the possibility, and her fear of it had turned her blood cool. But after hours of pain, May was ready to let go. She was just so tired.
Annie, her mother, reached out and yanked her chin, giving her a pair of hard pale blue eyes. Eyes that matched her own, but now held faint tired lines that came with a life of hard work and struggling to survive. At thirty-five, she was still a gorgeous woman. “Push, May. Push,” she commanded. And whatever Annie wanted, Annie got.
May sucked her lungs full of air and then tightened every muscle in her body and screamed. She screamed until her throat burned with irritation. She screamed until she heard the cries of another. This one, small in both strength and volume, but powerful and the sweetest thing that May had ever heard.
“It’s a boy.” Jane took the baby, cleaned the blood and fluid from his tiny body, and then laid the babe on May’s chest.
May felt drained, but found the strength to lift her hands and caress the face of her child. His eyes were closed, his face was pink, and a bed of blond hair lay on his head. So light, the strands were almost transparent and she moved the weightless golden wisps through her fingers. She counted his toes and fingers, finding them all intact and spotting a birthmark that resembled a heart on the back of his right leg. She smiled, thinking the heart her very own. For the little boy sure did have it. “He’s so small.”
Jane smiled. “Most of them are,” she whispered before beginning to massage May’s stomach.
May sighed with relief and happiness. “Hello, Jack.” She’d picked out names months ago. If it had been a girl, she would have named her after her mother and the boy after her father. The child’s father had wanted nothing to do with May once he found out that she was pregnant, so May had decided she’d go motherhood alone with the aid of her family. No one had any money, but as May looked down into the boy’s face, she was determined to make it work. For him. Her life would be about him now and they would face the world together.
* * *
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Also By Faye Sonja
Frontier Love 5 BOOK Boxed set
LINK: FRONTIER LOVE 5 BOOK BOXSET
Pioneer Love 4 BOOK Boxed set
LINK: PIONEER LOVE 4 BOOK BOXSET
Archer Sisters of Goldrush 4 BOOK Boxed set
LINK: ARCHER SISTERS OF GOLDRUSH BOXSET
Love of Change 5 BOOK Boxed Set
LINK: LOVE OF CHANGE BOXSET
Mail Order Brides Head West 5 BOOK Boxed Set
LINK: MAIL ORDER BRIDES HEAD WEST BOXSET
This book is copyright © 2016 by FAYE SONJA.
The characters and events portrayed in this book are fictitious. Any similarity to real persons, living or deceased, is coincidental and not intended by the author.
All rights reserved.
No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted
in any form by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without express written permission of the author.
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Cover Designed by Kevin Farnell.
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Manufactured in the United States of America
