RNWMP: Bride for George

by Kirsten Osbourne

  “Need? Aren’t you jumping the gun? You’ve never even met him!”

  “No, but I know that he’s the first man you’ve been interested in since Dad died. That’s sixteen years. I want you to be happy and not spend your life alone.”

  “He wants to live on a mountain by a stream . . . in Northwest Territories.”

  Teddy frowned. “Can you convince him to live on a mountain by a stream in British Columbia? Where your son and grandson are?”

  “And my Jess! You can’t forget her!”

  He grinned. “I would never forget your Jess. I want you to be close. It feels odd thinking that you might sell the house in Ottawa, but maybe it’s time. You’ve lived there since you married. That’s a very long time.”

  “It is. I would be selling a lot of memories, but I think I’ve decided that I’m selling regardless of whether or not I marry George. I don’t need that huge house, and I’m done matchmaking. I’m going to be a romance writer.”

  To his credit, Teddy kept the shock from his face. “Really, Mom? A romance writer?”

  “Yes. I’m going to bring people together on paper the same way I’ve been bringing them together in real life. I think I’m going to be very good at it. Whenever I read over what I’ve written, I giggle a lot.”

  “Are you supposed to giggle at a romance? Aren’t you supposed to cry and feel moved in your soul or something like that?”

  “Maybe I’m starting a new genre. I’m going to call it romantic comedy, and I’m going to love writing every word.”

  “And George?”

  She looked at him carefully. “You really don’t mind if I decide to marry him?”

  “I really think you need to do whatever makes you happy, and if that’s George, then you should marry him. Does he have children?”

  Miss Hazel shook her head. “He never married. He never thought he’d want to, but here we are, thinking we might make it happen.”

  “I really can’t wait to meet this man. He must be something else.”

  “Oh, trust me, he is.” Miss Hazel got up to remove the bread she had baking from the oven. “Now, do we wake Jess to eat or let her sleep?”

  “She’s eaten almost nothing for days. We need to feed her. She’s not going to be able to keep feeding the baby otherwise.”

  Through the following weeks, Miss Hazel nursed Jess back to health, spent hours just holding her grandbaby and looking at him, and thought about George. So far, she hadn’t received a single letter from him, and she wasn’t sure if that’s because he never bothered to write her and forgot about her as soon as she got on the train or if the mail was just being slow as usual.

  She took many long walks around the small lake outside of Squirrel Ridge Junction, thinking about what she should do. He should have already retired, and she had no answer for him.

  She knew she was in love with him. That much was clear. She thought about him constantly, and she missed him so much she ached with it at times. But something was holding her back and making her feel as if she wasn’t quite ready to marry him, though she had no idea what it could be.

  Working on her novel one afternoon while Jess made supper and the baby slept, she finally realized what it was that was bothering her. She felt deep down inside her that there was one person who was meant for another person. By marrying again, would she be saying that Stanley hadn’t been the man she should have spent her entire life with?

  She shook her head because she knew the answer. She had been meant to spend the morning of her life with Stanley, the afternoon alone, but now it was the evening of her life, and she was meant to spend it with George. If he ever came after her or wrote her a letter, that was.

  Perhaps George’s feelings hadn’t been as strong as he’d thought they were. She should have married him before leaving Flying Squirrel, but how could she? Teddy needed to meet him first, and she’d needed to talk to her son about him.

  Jess turned from the stove, where she was stirring the stew she’d made. “Thinking about George again?”

  Miss Hazel smiled ruefully. “Is it so obvious?”

  “It is. I’m so glad you’ve found someone you think is worth spending time with, Miss Hazel. I don’t think you have any idea just how happy that makes me.”

  “Almost as happy as it makes me, I hope?”

  “Happier. You deserve to be in love and surrounded by people who care about you.”

  “I’m glad you think so. I just wish I knew if he still felt the same. I haven’t received a single letter since I left Flying Squirrel, and I’ve about convinced myself that he has no desire to ever see me again, let alone marry me.”

  Jess grinned. “I remember when I was tormented about Teddy’s feelings for me, but it all worked out in the end like you said it would. Take your own advice, Miss Hazel. This will all work out in the end. I bet he’s going to be stepping off that train any day now, and you’re going to be able to marry him immediately.”

  “Only if the pastor is here . . .”

  “I don’t think anything could stop Teddy from going after him!”

  10

  George felt his heart thumping hard in his chest when he got off the train in Squirrel Ridge Junction. He hadn’t received a single letter from Miss Hazel, but he was glad because that meant she hadn’t been able to tell him not to come. He was determined to convince her to marry him, but he wasn’t sure how to go about doing it.

  After collecting his luggage, he spotted the Mountie office and headed there first. It was his first time to travel without the uniform on in many years, and he felt almost naked without it. Miss Hazel had never seen him without his uniform either. Hopefully she’d recognize him without it.

  He opened the door to the station and looked at the young man sitting at the desk. “You wouldn’t happen to be Teddy, would you?”

  “I prefer Theodore. Only my mother and my wife call me Teddy.”

  George took a deep breath and held out his hand for the younger man to shake. “I’m George Jacobs. I’m here to ask for your mother’s hand in marriage.”

  Theodore threw back his head and laughed. “You have no idea how glad I am to see you. My mother has been wandering around town like a lovesick cow. She’s making me absolutely crazy.”

  George chuckled as the other man gripped his hand tightly. “A lovesick cow? I’m not sure how my Miss Hazel would feel about you calling her that.”

  “She’ll find it funny,” Theodore said with a grin. “She has a sense of humor that almost frightens the rest of us at times.”

  “So does this mean you’re going to let me marry her?”

  “I’ve never let my mother do anything. She chooses what she wants to do and when she wants to do it. She’s the most stubborn, independent woman I have ever met. If you’re up for marrying her after I said that, then go for it.”

  “Thank you. Would you mind telling me where I might find the love of my life?”

  “My wife and son are usually napping at this time of day, so she’s probably walking around the lake. She likes to start her afternoon with a walk, and then she sits down and writes her romance novel. Are you the one who encouraged her to write? I don’t mind her having a hobby, but romance novels?”

  George shook his head. “You can’t blame that one on me! She chose it all on her own, and I was hoping she’d move on past it, but I guess not.” He looked at Theodore for a moment, adjusting the name in his head. “Would you be willing to point me in the direction of the lake? I think I want to go talk to your mother.”

  “No doubt in my mind. I’ve arranged for you to stay in the jail while you’re here. As a Mountie, I didn’t think you’d mind.”

  “Not at all.” George waited as Theodore gave him simple directions to the lake, and then he went in search of the woman he loved, praying she would give him the answer he so desperately needed.

  Miss Hazel sat on a bench on the shore of the small lake that was on the outskirts of Squirrel Ridge Junction. She stared out at the wat
er, convinced that her Mountie would never come for her. It had been four weeks since she’d left Flying Squirrel, and if he wasn’t there yet, he wasn’t coming. It was time for her to go back to Ottawa, sell her house, and find a place to live that was closer to her son and his family.

  As she stood to walk back to the cabin and work on her novel, a figure in the distance caught her eye. It wasn’t so much how he looked but his stride that was familiar to her. All at once, she knew her George was there, and she started running toward him.

  George ran toward her when he saw that Miss Hazel was running. When he finally reached her, he dropped his travel bag and pulled her into his arms, giving her a kiss that he hoped she’d never forget. “I’ve missed you,” he said as he pulled away.

  “No letters. No visits. I was sure you’d given up on me and you weren’t coming after all!”

  “I’m here. Where else would I be? I sent letters every day, but I’m not surprised I beat them here! I had to do my paperwork that meant I was leaving the force, and then I had to sell my little plot of real estate. I need to live wherever my future wife lives, and I got the impression that would not be atop a mountain in Northwest Territories.”

  “Too cold for me, but I’ll take British Columbia any day. Are there any mountains here that suit your fancy?”

  “I thought maybe we could look together.” He kissed her once more, a smile on his face. “Does this mean what I think it means, Miss Hazel?”

  “That I’m going to marry you? Bet your sweet cheeks I’m going to marry you, George Jacobs! I thought we could take a wedding trip to Ottawa to sell my house, and then we’ll come out here and find just the perfect place to live.”

  “Sounds good to me. I will be happy as long as we’re married and together.”

  “I need to introduce you to my family!” Miss Hazel couldn’t believe she was planning to marry a man who hadn’t met her family yet. She really had lost her mind.

  “I met Teddy at the Mountie office. He told me how to find you. Now I just need to meet Jess and Jack. And I need to find out where the preacher is because I don’t want to wait another day before I marry you. I plan to have you in my bed every night, keeping me nice and warm.”

  Miss Hazel laughed. “Let’s go meet Jess then, and I’ll send someone after the preacher. It might be a day or two before we can get him back here, but I know it can be done.”

  “Are you joking? A day or two?” He groaned. “Do you have any idea how long I’ve waited to have the right to hold you in my arms all night?”

  “As long as I’ve waited for you, I’m sure. We’re just going to have to wait, unless you want to ride with whomever goes after the preacher.”

  “I would!”

  She grinned at him, slipping her hand into his. “You know how to make me feel really good about myself, George. I guess that’s why I love you so darn much.”

  George stopped walking and pulled her into his arms again. Cupping her face in his hands, he said, “Say that again, would you?”

  “You know how to make me feel good about myself?”

  “No, silly, the other part.”

  “I love you, George. I should have told you before I left you, but I wanted to be one hundred percent certain that it was my heart talking and not my libido.”

  He kissed her again, holding her close. “Miss Hazel, those words have made me the happiest man alive. I don’t know how I have lived so long without you. Will you marry me?”

  She laughed. “I already told you, but yes, I will marry you. Today, tomorrow, or next week. I will marry you!”

  George smiled. “Will people be disappointed that you stopped your bride service?”

  “I don’t think so. I started it because I needed to fill my days. Now they’ll be filled with you and my grandbaby. Oh, and Jess and Teddy, but you and Jack make me happiest!”

  He laughed. “I’ll remember to tell Theodore that when I see him again.”

  As they walked toward town her hand held tightly in his, she said, “You do that. He won’t even be surprised. He knows me.”

  A Note to Our Readers

  Dear Readers:

  Thank you for joining us on this journey into the world of Canada in 1910-1911. We have loved every moment of writing this series for you, and we appreciate all the support.

  We have decided to end the series with Miss Hazel’s story, bringing you full circle and helping you to see into the mind of the crazy old woman who started it all.

  Again, thanks for the support! We love you all!

  Kirsten, Kay, Cassie, and Amelia

  About the Author

  kirstenandmorganna.com

  Also by Kirsten Osbourne

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  For a complete list of Kirsten’s works head to her website wwww.kirstenOsbourne.com

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