Annie's Chance (Mail-Order Brides Of Prairie Meadow 3)

by Maggie McCloud

  Annie’s Chance

  (Mail Order Brides of Prairie Meadow - Book 3)

  By: Maggie McCloud

  Copyright © 2015 Maggie McCloud

  ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. Except for review quotes, this book may not be reproduced, in whole or in part, without the written consent of the author.

  This story is a work of fiction. Any resemblance to real persons whether living or dead, or to actual events is purely coincidental. Names, characters, places, businesses, events, etc. are strictly a product of the author’s imagination.

  If you love reading about Mail Order Brides, you will enjoy the sweet, clean, inspirational romances of Maggie McCloud.

  And they are always FREE on Kindle Unlimited!

  ~~~~~~

  Other Books In This Series

  Kathleen’s Dream: Mail Order Brides Of Prairie Meadow – Book 1

  Betsy’s Hope: Mail Order Brides Of Prairie Meadow – Book 2

  Claire’s Escape: Mail Order Brides Of Prairie Meadow – Book 4

  ~~~~~~

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  Table of Contents

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 11

  A Message From Maggie McCloud

  Other Books By Maggie McCloud

  Bonus Chapter – Claire’s Escape

  Chapter 1

  Footsteps pounded behind Annie as she hurried down the stairs and hid under the stairwell. Her father, drunk as always, stumbled down the stairs behind her. “Where are you girl?” he slurred. “You better not be planning on leaving. I got things for you to do.”

  Even though Annie had hidden the letter proposing marriage that she’d received from the farmer out west, her father had unexpectedly discovered it stuffed under the mattress in her bedroom. He’d been searching her room for money. After that he’d torn her room apart and waited for her to come home. She knew she had to get out before he caught her, or she would be sorry.

  He had it all lined up for her to marry old Mr. Wagner. In exchange, Wagner was going to pay him a good amount of money plus forgive his gambling debt. Her father tripped as he neared the bottom of the stairs and landed in a heap on the floor. Annie saw her chance to escape and took it. He reached out to try to grab her ankle as she ran by, but she managed to shake him off and get out the door.

  “Darn you Annie, get back here!” her daddy yelled. Annie ran as if the devil was on her heels and maybe he was. She’d gotten out with just the clothes on her back. Fortunately she had stuffed some money and the train ticket the farmer had sent, into the pocket of her coat before she left for work that morning. It would have to do. She couldn’t possibly go back and try to get anymore of her things. She knew her daddy would be waiting for her.

  She hadn’t been scheduled to leave for another two weeks. So it was lucky that she’d been able to exchange her ticket for the train leaving this very night. Now all she had to do was get through the next few hours until the train left the depot. She was holding her breath hoping her father wouldn’t think to go and check there. Since he didn’t know when she was planning to leave, she figured he would probably just be waiting for her to come back home.

  Her only regret was that she would not be able to say goodbye to her best friend, Margie. She was worried that her daddy might be lying in wait for her there too, so she didn't want to take the chance. A letter would have to do when she arrived at her destination.

  Oh, if only Margie had decided to become a mail order bride at the same time that she had, then they would be going together. But by the time Margie started to write to her farmer, she didn’t feel that she knew him well enough to leave home just yet. Annie couldn’t blame her. It was a big step and a lot to give up, especially since Margie’s family was so nice. Annie sighed.

  Daddy had always been a handful, but Mama had always been able to control him easily when she was around. She wasn’t one to put up with any nonsense and daddy had towed the line, not daring to come home with the smell of liquor on his breath. The card playing too had come to an end when they got married.

  But things had changed for the worse when Mama passed away a couple of years ago. Daddy had fallen apart and hit the bottle hard, something he wouldn't have dared do when Mama had been alive. He eventually got fired from his factory job, and when the money ran out, he sold practically everything of value that they owned, and lost the rest in card games.

  The last straw had been when Daddy told her he’d arranged for her to marry old Mr. Wagner so he could pay off his gambling debts. She had been so stunned she hadn’t known what to say, but once Daddy got something in his mind there was no swaying him from his decision. Annie knew she had to do something quick, and had heard about mail order brides, so she’d stopped at an agency and filled out an application right away.

  A couple of months of exchanging letters with one fellow had led to a proposal of marriage and a train ticket. Anything was better than what her daddy had planned. Now if she could only get away before he found her.

  Annie had left a few things at Margie's house including a new dress to get married in and her mama's Bible. But with her narrow escape, she couldn’t chance going back to retrieve them.

  As Annie sat on the bench at the train station waiting for her train, she heard her name being called. Looking back over her shoulder, she saw her friend Margie waving and running in her direction.

  “ Yoo-hoo, yoo-hoo, Annie is that you?” Margie ran up puffing and out of breath.

  Bless her, thought Annie. She had Annie’s carpetbag and Mama’s Bible in her hands.

  The girls embraced, then Annie pulled back and asked, “What are you doing here Margie?”

  “Annie, I had to come tell you. Your daddy came looking for you at my house earlier. I think I threw him off the trail though,” she giggled. “I told him we had plans to go to the church social tomorrow evening and that you were going to meet me there. So I think he’s planning on going there to find you if you don’t come home first.”

  “Margie, that’s wonderful news. Thank you so much. And you’ve brought Mama’s Bible and my dress to me,” Annie said with tears in her eyes.

  Well, a girl needs a new dress to get married in doesn’t she?” said Margie. “And I know how much your mama’s Bible meant to you, so I had to bring them to you. Plus I couldn’t let you leave without saying goodbye.”

  “Margie, what am I going to do without you?” Annie asked sadly. “We were supposed to have this big adventure together.”

  “Well,” said Margie brightly, “You’ll just have to write me every last detail about everything that happens. It’ll be almost like being right there with you that way.”

  “Oh yes I will, I promise,” said Annie. “And you must promise to write me too, so I don’t get too homesick.”

  The girls chattered on until it was time for Annie to board her train. Annie found a seat by the window and as the train pulled out of the station, Margie waved and called out, “Be sure to write me as soon as you get there. I’ll miss you!

  Chapter 2

  Jed Nickels was in town to mail a letter to the woman he had hoped would be his wife. He had put an ad for a mail order bride in The Matrimonial Times about six months ago, and sin
ce then he and Annie had exchanged a few letters. She sounded like just the kind of woman he was looking for. Even his mama, who was not the easiest person in the world to please, had liked the sounds of her from her letters. Both she and Pa had given their stamp of approval when he told them his plans.

  With their encouragement, he had mailed off a train ticket and asked Annie to come to Prairie Siding in Kansas to be his wife. She had written with the details of her arrival and from the date she had indicated, there was still time to write her and tell her not to come.

  Jed’s life had changed in the time it took for a fire to burn the farmhouse to the ground before his parents could escape. Now with them dead and the house gone, there was no real reason for him to stay around here.

  The farm was barely big enough to eke out a living for one family. It had always been a struggle. But he and his pa had finally saved up enough to buy more land. They planned to buy another hundred acres, which butted onto their property. With that done, Jed could support a wife. But that money had gone up in smoke too.

  There weren’t a lot of single women in Prairie Siding, which was why he had run an ad for a mail order bride. But with his parents dead, the dream was empty.

  Jed had had a tough time growing up. As an only child, he was a quiet solitary boy who didn’t make friends easily. Learning was hard too, so he went through more than his share of teasing at the little one-room school. As soon as he’d learned to read and write a little, and knew enough math to do sums and figure out the things he needed for life on a farm, he quit school.

  Until the day they died, his ma and pa had been his closest friends and his biggest supporters. He wasn’t sure how he was going to go on without their love and support. He was sad and lonely, but didn’t know if he had it in him to open his heart to a woman. That was why he had made the decision to write and tell Annie he’d changed his mind. He was sure he would never hear from her again, except maybe a final letter to tell him off.

  With fall approaching, he was going to stay put until spring before moving on. He planned to use the time to figure out where he wanted to go and to find a buyer for his parents’ farm. Until then he still had to bring in the crops. There was no point letting them go to waste and he knew his pa would be proud of him for carrying on without him.

  After mailing off the letter to Annie, he picked up a few supplies at the general store and went back home. With the house gone, he was living in the tack room in the barn, with only his horses for company. After feeding and watering them and eating a quick supper, he rolled himself into his bedroll and tried to go to sleep.

  As it did every night, the scene of the devastation that had met his eyes when he got back to the farm the morning after the fire, played itself out over and over in his mind. If only he’d been home instead of away. But he had gone to Aurora, a town located about a day’s ride away, to pick up supplies that they couldn’t get in Prairie Siding.

  When he arrived home that morning, his nearest neighbors, Henry and Emily Parker, along with a couple of their farmhands were there. They’d smelled smoke and come as quickly as possible, but it had been too late to put out the fire or save his parents. They’d managed to keep the fire from spreading to the barn and saved the horses. But that was small consolation.

  Chapter 3

  Annie Sampson looked out the window of the train anxious to see what her new home looked like. The conductor had come by a few minutes ago and told her that the next stop was going to be Prairie Siding. Her heart was thumping in her chest so hard she was finding it hard to catch her breath. Calm down she told herself. Everything is going to be all right.

  She’d been desperate to get away from Pittsburg and her daddy. He was a mean drunk at the best of times, but what really scared her was his scheme to marry her off to old Mr. Wagner. Becoming a mail order bride seemed the best way to escape to a better situation. She just hoped she would be far enough away to be out of her daddy’s reach.

  The biggest problem now that she was nearly in Prairie Siding was that she was going to be on her own for the time being. There had been no way to contact her husband-to-be Jed Nickels and let him know that she would be arriving two weeks early. Since he’d told her he only came into town a couple of times a month, she couldn’t even send him a telegram.

  So she didn’t expect Jed to meet her. All she knew was that he lived a couple of hours outside of town. She would have to figure out a way to get a message to him to let him know that she had reached Prairie Siding early. It wouldn’t do for her to go out to his farm on her own since they weren’t married yet.

  The conductor’s call of Prairie Siding jarred her out of her thoughts. He helped her down the steps and wished her a good day.

  “You’ll find your trunk at the end of the platform, miss,” he said tipping his cap.

  Annie wanted to tell him that she had no trunk, only the clothes on her back and the carpetbag she was carrying, but there didn’t seem to be any point. As the train left the tiny station, she took a look around. There was a general store, a dry goods shop, a church that must double as a school, because she saw children playing out back, a livery stable and a few other small places. Her gaze stopped at the boarding house. At least she would have a place to stay until she could get word to Jed.

  Picking up her bag, she squared her shoulders and walked across the dirt road towards the boarding house. She was met with a few nods and curious glances from townspeople who were hurrying about doing errands. Following the directive on the front door of the boarding house, to knock and then enter, Annie knocked first and then hesitantly pushed the door open and walked inside.

  “Hello,” she called out.

  She could hear footsteps in the distance and a woman’s voice saying, “Be right there.”

  While waiting, Annie took a look around. The foyer was small and on one side led into what appeared to be a common room with a fireplace, several comfortable chairs and a few end tables scattered throughout. The other side of the foyer led into the dining room. There was a large table with at least a dozen chairs gathered around it. Straight ahead was a long hallway. Walking towards her was the woman who had called out to her.

  “Sorry to keep you waiting. How can I assist you?” the woman asked.

  “I just got off the train and I noticed your sign. I will need a place to stay for a few days until uh,” stammered Annie. “I do hope you have a room available.”

  “You have come to the right place,” the woman said, smiling. “I’m Mrs. Gregson. Welcome to Prairie Siding and to my boarding house.”

  “Thank you, “said Annie. “I’m Annie Sampson.”

  “Come on in and sit down, Miss Sampson. I’m going to go and make us a nice cup of tea and then we can get you settled.”

  After bringing back some tea and a plate of biscuits, Mrs. Gregson asked curiously, “Do you have a trunk or some other bags that need fetching from the train station? I can ask Johnny to fetch them for you. He does odd jobs for me around here.”

  Annie took a sip of tea before shaking her head, “No I just have this bag here,” she said looking down. “I uh, I had to leave home in kind of a hurry,” she added quietly.

  Mrs. Gregson looked over at Annie sympathetically. She knew there was much more to this story.

  “What brings you to Prairie Siding, if you don’t mind my asking?” asked Mrs. Gregson.

  Annie wondered how much she should say, then realized that Mrs. Gregson was just being kind. And she did need help.

  “I have been writing to Mr. Jeb Nickels. He has asked me to come out here so that we can be married.”

  When Mrs. Gregson looked surprised, Annie hastily added, “But I have arrived two weeks earlier than I had originally planned to get here. There was no way for me to let Mr. Nickels know about my change of plans, which is why I will need a place to stay until I can contact him.”

  “Oh, I see,” replied Mrs. Gregson.

  “Do you know Mr. Nickels?” asked Annie.

&nb
sp; “Oh yes, but I had no idea he was getting married. He tends to keep to himself. But that’s wonderful news, especially with what happened so recently.”

  Seeing the puzzled look on Annie’s face, Mrs. Gregson said, “Ah, so you are not aware that Mr. Nickels lost his parents in a fire a month or so ago.”

  Annie was speechless. Either Jed hadn’t written with the news, or she’d missed his letter.

  “No, I had no idea that had happened,” Annie replied. “How awful for him.”

  “Perhaps I have spoken out of turn,” said Mrs. Gregson. “But I thought you should know before you speak to Mr. Nickels.”

  “Yes, I appreciate that, Mrs. Gregson.”

  Annie thought for a moment and then said, “Mrs. Gregson, you know Mr. Nickels better than I do, certainly. Do you think I should try to contact him right away, or should I just wait until the week after next when he thinks I’m arriving?”

  “It’s difficult to say. As I told you, Mr. Nickels has always kept to himself.”

  Mrs. Gregson poured more tea before adding, “Perhaps I can arrange for Johnny to take a ride out to the Nickel’s farm tomorrow to let him know that you have arrived. If you like, I’ll tell Johnny to let Mr. Nickels know that you are settled in at the boarding house and you are happy to stay here for a few days if he has things to finish up before he comes to town.”

  Annie was relieved to hear Mrs. Gregson’s plan.

  “That sounds like a wonderful idea, Mrs. Gregson. Thank you.”

  “Let me show you to your room now, Miss Sampson. By the way, dinner is served at 6:00.”

  After leaving Annie to get settled in, Mrs. Gregson went to find Johnny and make the arrangements for him to go to the Nickels’ farm the next day. Although she hadn’t said anything to Annie, she was troubled. The news that Jed was going to sell the farm and move away in the spring was common knowledge in the small town. But she hadn’t heard even a whisper about Jed sending for a mail order bride.