The rolls were not quite done so Virginia popped them back into the oven and straightened. Calloused fingers swept away her braid. Her husband’s warm lips nestled into the curve of her neck just before his arms came around her waist.
She leaned back into his embrace. “You’re getting very good at climbing down that ladder and sneaking up on me.”
“If this is the result, I promise I’ll get even better.”
Virginia closed her eyes, enjoying the feel of his strong arms and his warm breath tickling her nape.
“Mmmmm…coffee, baking bread and jasmine. My favorite morning scents.”
Virginia giggled. “That doesn’t sound like the best of combinations to me.”
“Oh, it is. Trust me, it is.”
“Well, if this is the result, I’ll make sure you have it every morning.” She spun in his arms and pressed her lips to his, hoping he felt the sincerity in her words.
The noise of the boys scrambling down the ladder forced them to break apart.
“You guys are always kissin’ now. I can’t decide if it’s a good thing or a bad.” Seth walked up to the washbasin and reached for the water pitcher.
“It’s a good thing.” Ben pushed the younger boy away and splashed cold water on his face first.
Seth nudged his way back to the washstand, a grin on his face as he successfully shoved his brother away from the towel.
They made so much noise, it wasn't long before the girls came out of the bedroom, tying their pinafores and asking Virginia to braid their hair. Mr. Lawson followed on the crutch Levi had fashioned for him. Seth hopped up from the table to pull out the overturned bucket and pillow they were using to prop the older man’s foot. Once Mr. Lawson was comfortably settled at the table, Levi said grace.
“Lord, on this blessed day we thank you for the bounty you have given us, a warm home and good food, but most of all, Lord, this loving family. Amen.”
Mr. Lawson’s amen was the loudest.
When Levi looked up, he fixed his gaze on Virginia seated beside him, and held it for a long while.
“For cryin’ out loud. Just kiss her again and get it over with.” Seth’s comment made the girl’s giggle.
Levi fixed a warning glare on his brother. “I think that’s an excellent idea.”
With that, he leaned over and kissed his wife long and hard, until the girls laughed out loud. When they parted, Virginia noted that Seth was laughing, too.
“All right, that’s enough of that. I want to open those gifts on the hearth.” As Ben spoke, a smile tickled his mouth.
Nellie clapped her hands. “Yes, please!”
Levi tweaked her braid. “Finish that roll Virginia slaved to create and we’ll get started.”
Nellie turned to Trudy. The girls threw their arms around each other and hugged. Trudy stuffed the last of her roll into her mouth and downed her milk. Nellie was right behind her. They placed their tin plates in the washbowl and rushed to the fireplace. The boys hopped up quickly but Seth caught himself and returned to the table to help Mr. Lawson turn his chair around and place the upturned bucket beneath his foot at a comfortable angle.
Levi raised his eyebrows in mock frustration, and wiped a cloth across his mouth before rising to his feet. “Well, I guess I’m done, too.”
Virginia settled into her rocker by the fire, clasping her hands in anticipation.
Levi stood before the fireplace. “Now, before we start unwrapping these presents Virginia worked on for so long, I’m going to share my good news. I have big plans for us. You know, I’m done with mining. The good Lord willing, I’ll never have to go back into that dark hole. I think I was meant to be a farmer. We own the land down below. It’s good, solid farm soil. I think I can make a profit selling vegetables to the folks in town. I’ll also be planting corn and hay for our livestock.” He turned to Ben. “I’ll be counting on you, Ben, for help with the animals. I know that’s where your heart lies and you’ll be good with them.”
Ben nodded. “I’d like that Seth. Like it a lot.”
“Eventually, I’m hoping we can sell enough cattle to invest in some good horses to breed. Seth, you’ll be working with the horses.”
The young boy’s face lit with pleasure.
“Mr. Lawson, I’d like to ask for your advice on purchasing some good horse stock. Plow horses too.”
“Glad to help, Levi.”
The men shook hands and Levi faced his family again. “This land is wide open. Soon settlers will be coming from every direction. They’ll need food, meat and good horses. The Harper family will provide them. That’s my plan and I know it’s a good one.”
Levi reached for Virginia’s hand. Hesitantly, she slipped her fingers into his. He pulled her to her feet and wrapped an arm around her waist. “A few months ago, I wasn’t sure I could do this but with you beside me, I know I can. God sent me an equal partner, a woman as beautiful, and as strong as the untamed land around us.”
She started to protest but he pressed a finger to her lips. “I know you think you’re not brave, but I’ll tell you flat out, Virginia Harper, not many men would have had the courage to get on the train to travel out west, let alone a young woman who knew she was coming to care for some ornery children.”
“Not many men ever dared to face me down. That took real gumption.” For the first time Mr. Lawson spoke about the event in his livery barn. Virginia had been hoping the fever had pushed it right out of his mind. Apparently not…and Levi’s nod told her the two men had already discussed her unexpected outburst.
The embarrassing memory made heat rush into her cheeks and she ducked her head.
Levi lifted her chin with one finger. “When you married me, our life here in Wyoming rolled out in front of me like a life-sized painting. I saw what God had planned for us. Fields of hay. Cattle and horses dotting the hills. Babies in the yard.”
“Babies!” Seth exclaimed from behind them. “Where they gonna sleep?”
Laughing, Levi turned to face his brother but kept his arms around his wife’s waist. “We’re going to add a second story. Soon you’ll have a bedroom of your own. In the meantime, you and Ben will stay in the rafters while the girls move into your room.”
Levi stopped short of saying he and Virginia would share the other bedroom. But when he turned around, they stared into each other’s eyes and both knew that’s exactly what he meant.
They would have a real marriage. Not just in name, but partners in all ways, good times…and in bad. Every year at Christmas they’d have an Evergreen Wreath to remind them how God protects, heals and gives hope in bad times. With God’s everlasting help, Virginia had faith that she and Levi would have a marriage full of love, laughter…and babies.
She couldn’t wait.
“Awwww, go on,” Seth said, swiping his hand in a disgusted gesture. “Kiss her so we can open those presents.”
That’s just what Levi did.
Dear Readers:
I hope you enjoyed reading The Evergreen Wreath. An Advent Wreath is one of our family’s favorite Christmas traditions. I loved reading about the history and what all the plants and colors symbolized. It made our tradition even more meaningful. I hope you think so too.
Blessings,
Tanya Stowe
A HOME FOR CHRISTMAS
Mail Order Angels
By Patty Smith Hall
Copyright 2015 by Patty Smith Hall. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means — electronic, electrical, chemical, mechanical, optical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise — without the prior written permission of the copyright owner. This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are either products of the author’s imagination or used fictitiously. Any similarity to actual people, organizations, and/or events is purely coincidental.
Chapter One
Angel Vale, Wyoming
October, 1877
Avery glanced over at her. Tiny little thing, barely tall enough to come up to his chin. He couldn’t make out her face, the straw bonnet she wore covering everything but the tip of a perk nose. Strands of honeyed blond hair escaped from its moorings and fell down her back to the indention of her waist.
Winslow must have sent off for one of the mail order brides Jake Patterson had arranged from his father’s hometown in Melville, Maine. Knowing Otis, he probably hoped to get his new wife with child, an heir to pass on his newly found fortune.
A bride he now seemed determined to return.
“She’s a liar, Jake, hiding the truth of her situation so she could hoodwink one of us into marrying her,” Winslow bit out, not seeming to care who in the mercantile heard him. “But one glimpse at her and I knew she was trouble.”
Several men turned to gawk as well as some of the ladies the woman had traveled with from the train station, staring as if they’d never seen her before today. Odd, but then he didn’t know everyone in town either, not with so many men moving to Angel Vale hoping to cash in on the gold rush. Still, the mail order ‘angels’ he’d seen so far traveled in groups of two or three while some had broken off from the herd to go with their intended.
Only this woman stood alone.
“You can just send her back, Jake. I won’t be chaining myself to her.”
Avery gritted his teeth. Poor woman. Someone ought to take Winslow out back and horsewhip him for his behavior.
Jake must have thought the same. “Otis, remember your manners. There are ladies present.”
“I won’t spend the rest of my life staring across the breakfast table at. . .her,” the man snarled, pointing an accusing finger at the woman. “She’s marked by the devil himself.”
What nonsense! Avery couldn’t stand it any longer. Hands clinched into fists, he stomped through the crowd until he stood nose to nose with Otis. “Get out before I throw you out into the street myself.”
Winslow leered at him. “I’d like to see you try it, Waldwin.”
“Gentlemen,” Jake stepped between them. “No need for violence.” He turned to Otis. “If you don’t want to marry Miss Cobb, fine. I’m sure she’ll have plenty of other suitors calling on her.”
Avery was certain she would. Women were a scarcity in Angel Vale, which was why Jake and Matthew Thomas had arranged for the ‘angels’ to come in the first place. Most had exchanged letters, some had even settled on marriage before the women had boarded the train that took them from the security and comfort of their homes to the wilds of Wyoming. He had wanted one of the brides for himself but money had been tight these last few years, what with buying the farm and having to pay Missy Sanders to care for his four-year-old daughter, Rose. He’d finally saved up enough for a wife of his own.
And here stood a bride without a groom.
“What about my money?” Winslow asked.
A gasp escaped the woman, and Avery detected a slight tremble in her frame, yet she didn’t cry. Probably didn’t want to give Otis the satisfaction. Another reason he liked the woman.
“Your money?” Jake asked.
“Seems I’m due a refund since I’m not marrying the woman.”
Avery gritted his teeth. Why hadn’t he thrown the old cuss out into the street when he had the chance.
“Otis, it’s not that cut and dry,” Jake answered. “Miss Cobb only came here because you agreed to marry her.”
“I did no such thing! I only agreed to consider it.” The man turned and eyed Miss Clark. “And after seeing her, I’ve decided against it.”
“But Otis. . .” Jake started.
“The man is right, Mr. Patterson,” the woman said, her dainty chin raised a notch. “It would be best for all concerned if Mr. Winslow and I didn’t marry. As for the money, I have some but not enough to cover my fare. If Mr. Winslow would give me some time, I’m sure I can find a job and repay him.”
It sounded more than fair to Avery, though if Otis were any kind of gentleman, he’d offer Miss Cobb train fare home. Not that Avery wanted her to go. If the woman wanted marriage, there was any number of eligible men who’d be beating down her door, including him.
“I have a solution.” Otis snared, his eyes narrowing into thin slits. “You can come to work for me. Cook and clean, and when I feel your debt has been paid in full, you’ll be free to leave.”
Enough was enough! The man wanted a slave, not a wife! Avery stepped toward Winslow. “Miss Cobb’s reputation would be ruined!”
His bark of laughter made Avery cringe. “Ain’t anyone going to want her anyway.”
“I do!” The words were out before Avery had time to stop them, not that he wanted to. Isn’t this what had been in the back of his thoughts ever since walking into the mercantile, since Otis had begun his tantrum? Well, Winslow’s loss was his gain. His and Rose’s. “I have the money to reimburse you.”
“Are you sure about this, Avery?” Jake asked, his tone somber yet without judgment. “You’ve dealt with a lot these last few years.”
Avery shook off his questions, instead stealing a quick glance at Miss Cobb. Though she hadn’t said a word, the slight tremble he’d noted earlier was back. Something twisted in his gut. He hadn’t been much better than Otis, talking about the woman as though she wasn’t even there. “Could I have a moment alone with Miss Cobb?”
Jake turned to the woman. “Ma’am, is that all right with you?”
Avery sucked in a breath, waiting for her response. After this morning, he wouldn’t blame her if she turned tail and ran.
She didn’t make him wait long. “Yes. I’ll listen to the gentleman’s proposal.”
Listen, but not accept. Well, he could understand that after dealing with Otis Winslow. Avery had to convince her marriage to him would be a good choice for them both. For Rose. Avery glanced at the shopkeeper. “Could we borrow your office for a moment?”
“Certainly.” Jake moved toward the open door in the far corner that lead to his office.
“Just a minute there,” Winslow barked. “What about my money?”
Jake turned and jabbed a finger in the old cuss’s direction. “Not another word, Otis, or I’ll toss you out of here.”
The man clamped his mouth shut, something he should have thought of much earlier. “I’ll wait.”
Jake showed them to his office, then shut the door partially, leaving a respectable opening. Avery turned to the woman, and was relieved to find her bonneted head bow as if in prayer. Another believer? Thank you, Jesus! He took a step toward her then stopped, not wanting to startle her. “Miss Cobb, I’m so sorry. I know I’m not what you expected.”
She dropped her chin to her chest almost as if she were ashamed. “I guess I should have told Mr. Winslow about my particular . . .situation.”
Situation? “You’re not running from the law, are you?”
Her soft laughter surprised him. “No. Not unless it’s against the law to travel across the country and marry a man I’ve never met.”
He chuckled. “If that were the case, almost every man in town would be sitting in jail right now.”
Blue eyes met his, and Avery forgot to breathe. “You mean, almost every man but you. Why is that, Mr.. .?”
Lord help him, he hadn’t even introduced himself to the woman he hoped to marry. “Avery Waldwin, ma’am.”
“Margaret Cobb.” She held out her hand to him. “Nice to meet you.”
Avery took her hand in his, surprised at the small calluses that marred her delicate fingers. He’d just assumed the woman had lived a life of relative ease but her hands spoke of years of hard labor. Just the kind of woman he’d need to make his house a home. “I just wished it had been under different circumstances.”
&nbs
p; She drew her hand back. “Better now than after I’d taken my vows with Mr. Winslow, wouldn’t you say?”
Otis was a fool. This woman was lovely, smart and with a sharp sense of humor that would keep a man on his toes. Life with her would always be interesting. If he could convince her to marry him after that old coot’s actions today. “To answer your question, I’d just bought a place outside of town when Jake and Matthew came up with the idea of sending back east for brides so I didn’t have the funds for a train ticket.”
“And now?”
He gave her a slight smile. “I’ve been saving up.”
Margaret nodded, her eyes unfocused as if she were thinking. “And do you have a means of supporting yourself?”
The questions caused the hair on the back of his neck to prickle. Katie had asked him the same thing when he’d come a calling. But this woman wasn’t Katie. “I’m an assayer.”
Her face brightened. “I know what that is. I read some books on gold rushes throughout history once I’d decided to come here. I thought it would be good to know a little bit about what I’d be walking into.”
Avery nodded. Maybe Margaret wasn’t like Katie, so consumed with possessions and money, she’d put their child, put herself at risk. Her death, after another night of caterwauling, had only been made bearable by his daughter’s birth. He’d do anything for his child, even marry again. “The truth is I need a wife and my daughter needs a mother. And I’d like for that woman to be you.”
Something softened in her expression as if he’d said exactly what she’d needed to hear, then just as quickly, dissipated. “You may change your mind once you’ve seen me.”
See her? What was Margaret talking about? He’d been watching her since the first second she’d walked into the mercantile with Winslow. Noticed the pale blond hair that had escaped from her bonnet and hung in waves down her back, the deep blue in her eyes, her perk nose. She was lovely, far better than a farmer like him deserved.
By this time tomorrow, she could be his wife.
Christmas Mail Order Angels: The complete 11 Volume Set Page 45
