“Oh?” Mary Ann raised her eyebrows.
Matt nodded. “Yes. So now I have the farmhouse that she owned because she left a will stating that it and all of her money would be mine if she should die.”
“Her father didn’t make the decisions then?”
“No, he was already deceased by that point. He died young.”
“So you were given the money and house even though you had not married her?”
“Yes.”
“Why didn’t you marry her after her father died?”
Matt pulled in a deep breath. “Well, he was…a cruel man. Vindictive and spiteful. He disapproved, and she disobeyed. She was lucky that he did not disown her. If he had known that she was going to give birth to our baby out of wedlock, he probably would have.”
“Even though it was his actions that caused you not to get married in the first place.” Mary Ann nodded, understanding. “But still, why did you not marry after he passed away?”
“He destroyed my reputation while he was alive. He spread false rumors about me. He said I was a violent and untrustworthy man.”
“Why would he say such things without a basis for them? There is no truth to that?” Mary Ann surprised herself by speaking so bluntly. She noticed that his face flushed again and regretted her decision to speak so forwardly. She was still unsure, though. She wouldn’t live her life with another man who treated her the way Andrew had. She would take her Annabelle and run. She would take Christina too, if Matt was cruel to her.
“No, please don’t believe the words of a dead man, Mary Ann. I never hurt Rose. I’ve never hurt Christina, and I will never hurt you.” He looked at her longingly. “You are a beautiful woman, Mary Ann. You look fragile and small. I would never be able to lift a hand to you. That’s not who I am.” He suspected she had been through that kind of marriage once already, though she had made no mention of it so far. He squeezed her hand again, let go and used his first two fingers to brush over the baby’s cheek and chin. “You will see. I will not hurt you. I will protect you and keep you safe. Both of you.”
“Violence isn’t always in the form of physical cruelty.” Her voice was almost too low for him to hear.
He shook his head. “I will not be cruel to you in any way. Please believe me, Mary Ann. I will not hurt you.”
Mary Ann didn’t reply. She prayed silently, keeping her eyes on her baby and hoping for the best.
Chapter Four
Teresa met them outside when they reached the farmhouse. It was as big as Matt had implied. She didn’t see neighbors anywhere near them. The garden was long, and it appeared that half of it was overgrown with weeds and old produce that had never been reaped.
“I wasn’t able to get it all done this season.” Matt looked embarrassed when they passed it pulling up to the front of the house. She nodded in response, her eyes on the woman standing there waiting, holding the hand of a little girl.
When Christina saw her daddy, her face lit up. Mary Ann could tell from that response that Matt was the kind of father and man he said he was, and her heart was comforted. The little girl jumped up and down as they got closer and clapped her hands excitedly. She could hear her calling out, “Daddy! Daddy!”
It warmed her heart, and she smiled at Matt.
When he saw it, he smiled back gratefully. He wanted her to be happy. He had a feeling she deserved happiness.
He took a moment to greet his daughter and sister before going back to the buggy to bring Mary Ann’s luggage to the house. Mary Ann stepped up on the porch and knelt down next to the little girl, who had recovered from her excitement of having her father return home. The little one looked at the even smaller baby, pressing her little lips together and squealing softly. “Baby!” she exclaimed. “A little baby!”
“Yes, her name is Annabelle.” Mary Ann said softly. “She’s going to be your new sister.”
Christina’s eyes opened wide. “Really? A new sister?”
Mary Ann looked up at Teresa. “Hello,” she said.
Teresa nodded at her. She was the spitting image of her brother. Mary Ann wondered if they were twins and her heart pounded at the thought, remembering that she herself had twins. “Hello. It’s good to have you here.” Although she said the words, Teresa didn’t look as pleased as Mary Ann would have liked. Her face did not give off the impression that she was impressed with her new future sister-in-law.
Mary Ann stood back up as Christina hopped down the steps to get to her father. She said “daddy” whenever she landed on a new step. Mary Ann grinned. Her daughter would be doing that soon too.
“Did you have a comfortable train ride?” Teresa asked.
“I did, thank you for asking. It wasn’t very long.”
“You must be hungry, though. Can I make you something to eat?”
Mary Ann looked relieved. “I would love a cup of coffee and some biscuits if you have any.”
“We have some fresh-baked cookies. And I made some small cakes yesterday. I will get you some if Matt hasn’t devoured them all.”
Both the women glanced down at Matt, who had set the luggage on the ground to pick up his daughter and give her another hug. He set her down and instructed her on how to help him carry the bags up the stairs. The little girl put in a lot of effort, lugging one of the smaller bags all by herself, letting it slam on the next step up as she dragged it. Matt looked up at Mary Ann to make sure she was not displeased with the way her luggage was being treated. Her look of amusement gave him a good feeling.
“Let’s get these inside,” he instructed. “And sit and talk for a while.”
Mary Ann nodded. “I’d like that.” She turned to follow Teresa into the house, standing back to prop the door open for Matt and Christina. He nodded his thanks as he passed her and she came in behind him. The door slammed and made her jump a little. She giggled nervously, and Matt smiled at her.
“It does that. Don’t worry, it’s just a broken spring.”
She nodded. “I wasn’t expecting it.”
“I’ve got a lot of repairs to do around the house.”
“I see.”
By the time the evening came and they were seated around the table eating a special roast and potatoes dinner that Teresa had prepared for the new family member, Mary Ann was feeling more at peace than she had in a very long time. She enjoyed listening to Matt talk. He always had a pleasant tone and a friendly look on his face. She hoped that wouldn’t change.
When the subject of her past came up, she took a deep breath. “Well,” she bit her bottom lip. “I suppose I might as well tell you now.”
Matt felt apprehension and the back of his neck tightened. He had managed to avoid the headache that had threatened him earlier, but Mary Ann’s words brought the feeling back with full force. He calmed himself and waited for her to continue.
“I…my husband, Andrew, was a cruel man. He…he didn’t want children. He was angry when I got pregnant with…when I got pregnant.”
“Oh no.” Teresa took her hand and looked at her sympathetically. “Was he violent with you?”
When Mary Ann nodded, Matt knew his suspicions had been correct. He sighed. “I’m so sorry, Mary Ann. I won’t do that to you. I won’t be mean to you.”
Mary Ann looked at Teresa when she added, “He really won’t be. He is my twin brother. I know him better than anyone. He has never been cruel to anyone in his life.”
Mary Ann looked from her to Matt. “You are twins?”
“Yes, can’t you tell?” Matt chuckled, framing his face with his hands briefly and then making a box in the air around his sister’s, though she was across the table from him. The motions made Mary Ann giggle.
“Yes, I had thought you might be. I…my little Annabelle here also was a twin.”
Both Matt and Teresa lost their smiles. “What happened?” Matt asked gently. “Did you lose her?”
Mary Ann nodded. Matt stood up and came over to put his arms around her. “I’m so sorry,” he whispe
red. Mary Ann looked down at Annabelle, who was lying peacefully in her basket, looking up at the ceiling and all around her, as quiet as always. She wondered if the baby knew that her sister was not with her and was looking for her.
“Not in the way you think,” she said, quietly. “When I had the babies, Andrew…came in and…he wanted to take them both to the orphanage in town.” She felt Matt’s arm tighten around her shoulders. He pulled away slightly and looked down at her. She looked up and saw traces of anger on his face. “When I wouldn’t let him, he told me to choose between the babies but I couldn’t. So he took Rebecca and left with her.”
“Oh no!” Teresa dropped her head into her hands.
“He was killed while he was gone. I don’t know where Rebecca is now.”
Matt knelt on one knee and looked up at her. “Oh, Mary Ann. That is terrible!”
“I will think about her forever. I will always wonder what happened to her.”
“Do you think he made it to the orphanage?” Matt asked.
Mary Ann shook her head and shrugged. “I don’t know. No one knew. She wasn’t with him when they found him.”
Matt stood up. He held out one hand to her, and she took it, standing. He wrapped his arms around her and held her close to him. She could hear his heartbeat when she laid her head against his chest. He was warm. His strong arms around her made her feel safe for the first time in her life.
When he whispered in her ear, she felt a chill run through her.
“I’m going to take care of you, Mary Ann. I will keep you and Annabelle safe. If you want to go back to find her, I will come, and we will search for her.”
Her body lit up with chills as the exciting prospect ran through her mind. She looked up at him. “You would do that?”
He gazed at her, lifting one hand to run through her dark hair. “I only want to take care of you, Mary Ann. You need someone to do that, don’t you?” He took one of her hands and lifted it to his lips. “Let me do that for you.”
Without responding, she wrapped her arms around him and hugged him tightly. He closed his eyes and pressed his face down on her soft hair.
The train ride back felt shorter than it had coming over. Before she knew it, Mary Ann was stepping out into a familiar atmosphere. Matt had wanted to waste no time and had purchased tickets for them only a week after she had arrived. He wanted Mary Ann to be reunited with her lost daughter before they committed their lives to each other. He had assured her that he wasn’t about to skip out on having a family of three daughters and a loving wife. Even if two of those daughters weren’t his.
She had quickly discovered that he was nothing like Andrew and thanked God for it. From the beginning, he had been kind and gentle with her, even to the point of changing Annabelle’s diaper in the middle of the night. Teresa told her Matt had taken care of Christina the same way when she was very small.
“Where do we go first, Mary?” Matt asked, taking her hand as they walked away from the train station. “Do you know where we might be able to get a horse? Unless you plan to walk all over the town, which may take some time.”
“I have no idea where we can get a horse.” Mary Ann shook her head. “But we need to go to the orphanage first. If he dropped her off there, perhaps she is still there. If she is, we can get her. If she isn’t, I don’t know what we will do. My nurse warned me not to go searching from door to door. Not everyone in town is nice, and she said that my…Andrew made a lot of enemies.”
“What Andrew did has nothing to do with us,” Matt said firmly, lifting her hand to kiss it, as he had taken to doing quite frequently. She loved it and smiled up at him. “We will knock on doors if that’s what it takes. But I’m sure there’s a stable around here somewhere so we can get a horse. I’ll ask someone.”
As soon as they got in town, he went into a shop, leaving her to stand on the walkway outside, shaded from the bright sun by a low-hanging roof. She stood, waiting, her eyes on the door of the establishment.
“Mary Ann?” She heard her name being called. She turned to see Nurse Green staring at her, her eyes wide open. “Oh my God! Mary Ann!” She came running and threw her arms around her young friend. “I can’t believe it’s you! I can’t believe it! You’ve only been gone for a week!”
“Yes, my new husband decided to come back and help me find Rebecca.” Mary Ann smiled wide and hugged her nurse tightly. “How have you been?”
Lila shook her head. “Never mind how I’ve been! I found Rebecca! Just a few days after you left! I was going to wait for you to write so that I would have your address and send you a letter! I found her!”
Mary Ann was covered in chills. “What? You found her? How?”
Lila was laughing excitedly just as Matt came out of the store. He stared at them both and then wondered why he would be surprised when this was Mary Ann’s original home. He smiled at Lila.
“Hello,” He said.
“You must be Matthias!” Lila nodded at him and shook his hand when he extended it. “I was just telling Mary Ann that I found her Rebecca! How wonderful of you to come and bring her here to look for her. I must take you there right now!”
Mary Ann looked up at Matt, her smile covering her face, making her eyes sparkle. He was overwhelmed with emotions, too and she could tell. The look on his face was pure happiness. It wasn’t even his child, and he looked just as overjoyed as she was.
“Mary Ann! That’s wonderful!” He grabbed her and gave her an excited kiss on the lips, surprising her. His lips were incredibly soft. She had never been kissed like that by Andrew. She responded by wrapping her arms around his neck, kissing him back and standing on her tip-toes to whisper in his ear.
“Thank you for bringing me back, Matt. Thank you for so much.”
He squeezed her to him. “I can’t help it, honey. I loved you the moment I saw you.”
*****
THE END
WESTERN BILLIONAIRE Romance - Gold in Texas
Three months and I was finally hitting my stride. I could feel my hands starting to grow tougher, and my legs were growing stronger. The best part of the whole thing was being able to ride a horse almost as much as I ever wanted.
“Hey Jennie,” Larry shouted from the barn, “Buck said it would be a good time to get the livestock into the barn. Said there’s a storm comin’ up, and he don’t wanna see nothin’ bad happen.”
“I’m on it,” I shouted back. It wasn’t hard, herding in the few animals they kept on the ranch. Just a couple milking cows, some chickens, and a few horses. I didn’t mind herding them in, either.
Larry already had the door open for all the animals as I shooed them in. Only took about fifteen minutes or so.
I could already see the storm off the plains, a crack of thunder lit the sky in the distance and the blackened clouds rolled slowly in our direction. I never liked storms where I grew up, but out here it was like watching a masterpiece unfold.
I can’t say I ever really believed in a greater power until I got the chance to look out along the horizon and view the perfect simplicity of the landscape.
“Jennie, you gonna to get inside? I bet Mike is already lookin’ for ya,” said Larry, peeking over my shoulder.
“Don’t know why he’d be lookin’ for me, not like I have any chores left for the day,” I said as I wheeled around toward the house.
It was a small house, barely two stories. The white walls displayed their age as though rings on a tree and the windows were still a bit dirtied from the harsh winds that swept up dust from all over.
I walked proudly toward the home while pulling off my work gloves. I flexed my hand and could feel the ache of a hard day’s work in them.
The screen door screeched open as I tugged on it, and walked inside with my boots clattering on the hard wood floor. The inside was much different from the outside, the wood flooring was clean, and most of it was covered in rugs. The furniture was in good repair and was some of the most comfortable I’d ever slept on. The kitche
n was a bit older, but nothing was broken, so there was no need to change it out.
“Mike, what you want now?” I asked, parading toward the kitchen.
Mike was sitting behind the round table in the corner, with papers sprawled out all over. He had a small pair of reading glasses perched on the tip of his nose. I would have laughed if I hadn’t known how much he hated being made fun of for his poor near-sightedness.
“Jennie, what’s this I hear about you gettin’ all riled up about the neighbors?” he asked calmly.
I pulled out a chair and plopped myself down in it.
“Listen, the Cobb’s keep on grazin’ their cattle on your land. I can’t help it if a shotgun goes off in my vicinity that scares them all off.”
Buck leaned against the door frame behind me, all six and a half feet of him. If I didn’t know him, then I would’ve made sure to steer clear of his path whenever possible. But, knowing that he was about as quick to anger as a rock was to flying, I always like having him around.
Mike stifled a laugh, but Buck uttered a raucous.
“Did you really scare the Cobb’s ‘stock off with a shotgun, Jennie?” Buck asked.
“All I know is a loud shot rang out from my vicinity, as I said. Nothin’ wrong with loud noises,” I followed up with calmly.
I kicked my boots up onto the table and leaned back in my chair. It didn’t look like Mike was having any of it tonight. He reached over and smacked my boots off the table.
“Geez, Jennie, didn’t yer ma raise ya right? Keep yer feet off the table,” he started. “Now look, Cobb says he’s getting’ sour milk now. Wants me to buy him a new cow, ya know how much money I have to afford something like that?”
I paused to think about it.
“You don’t have to think that hard, I got nothing, Jennie. Hell, I’m barely scraping by as it is with this. If I don’t get really lucky here soon enough, then I’m going to have to sell off the whole thing.”
I sighed.
“Listen, I’m sorry Mike. I won’t do nothin’ like that again. Maybe I can go over and ease things with the Cobb’s as well. That is, if you want me to.”
Romance: Teen Romance: Follow Your Dreams (A Nerd and a Bad Boy Romance) (New Adult High School Sports Romance) Page 18
