Mail Order Bride: Western Love Stories THE COLLECTION (FOUR STANDALONE Mail Order Bride Stories)

by Megan West

  She was still thinking on this when she fell asleep sooner than she had expected.

  The next morning, Anton knocked on her door to wake her. She had a plan to keep Anton and herself safely here in this little town for at least one more day. There was no doubt that it would work.

  Getting out of her bed, she glanced in the vanity mirror to make sure that she looked the part that she was about to play. Satisfied that she could be convincing, she opened the door to find Anton standing on the other side fully dressed. Swaying a little as she leaned on the door, she smiled wanly at him.

  “Good grief, Sabra!” he exclaimed. “What on earth is wrong?”

  “I’m so sorry, Anton,” she said weakly. “I’m afraid that I’ve awakened with a terrible headache. I don’t have them often, but when I do, the only cure for them is to rest in a dimly lit room. There is no way that I will be able to travel today. I do apologize for the inconvenience.”

  “Oh Sabra, think nothing of it! Of course, we shall stay put and let you get rid of this malady,” he said solicitously. “Here, let me help you back to bed. I’ll have some honey tea and toast sent up to you.”

  It turned out to be quite simple after all.

  Even though she felt perfectly fine, Sabra spent the day in her room pretending to rest. About noon, it began to rain. Within an hour, the entire town was engulfed in a torrential downpour complete with strong winds. She realized that she and Anton would have been on the road for a few hours by the time the worst of it hit. Looking out of her windows, she watched the rain as it seemed to grow harder by the second.

  This is it! This is why Emmett appeared to her last night. He knew that there would be a storm and that it would be dangerous for her and Anton to be on the road during it. She felt less guilty now for deceiving Anton. Emmett may have possibly saved their lives.

  That point was confirmed for her later that night when a very bedraggled looking crew of men rolled into the town. They were telling everyone in the pub how they had only barely escaped death from the sudden flooding that had occurred on the roads. Their wagon had got bogged down in the mud and the horses had become somewhat frightened. The experience had been a harrowing one and they had been lucky to escape with their lives.

  When Anton was relating the tale to Sabra later, she shivered violently.

  “Oh my dear,” Anton was immediately contrite. “I have upset you! I should not have told you.”

  “Oh of course you should have,” Sabra said dismissively. “I was just thinking how fortunate it was that I woke up with a headache this morning or we might have gone through the same thing as those poor men.”

  “Yes, that is true,” he said somewhat reflectively. “By the way, are you feeling better?”

  “I am,” she nodded. “I knew it would be gone by tonight. I just needed to get some rest.”

  “That’s good to hear. In a way, your headache might have just saved our lives.”

  Sabra forced herself to laugh as if it meant nothing to her.

  “Yes, I suppose you could say that,” she said. “Do you know when we will be able to travel again?”

  “It will be at least a couple more days,” he replied. “But at least we are quite comfortable here. A lot of the people passing through or forced to stop in town had to sleep in their wagons or carriages because the Inn did not have any rooms left.”

  “Oh I had not even thought of that! Should we give up one of our rooms? After all, we are married and they could give that room to someone else.”

  “Would you be comfortable with that?” Anton asked. “Me in the same bedroom?”

  “Of course, I would be!” she exclaimed. “Don’t be silly!”

  He seemed thoughtful for a moment and then he stood.

  “Well, if you are sure that it will not bother you, I will go down now and tell the front desk that we won’t need my room any longer.”

  After he had gone, Sabra spent a moment analyzing her feelings over this new development and found that she really did not mind. Her new husband was not only well-off and intelligent, but he was heartbreakingly handsome and very considerate. She decided that she was perfectly fine with him sharing her room.

  That night, Anton offered to sleep on the sofa that was placed directly in front of the fireplace. Sabra objected as she knew that he was too tall to fit comfortably on it.

  “Look, Anton,” she said logically. “There is a perfectly good bed right over here. I am sure that it is big enough to hold both of us without disturbing each other. I trust you. After all, you are my husband. We are allowed to sleep in the same bed.”

  “Before I agree to that, Sabra,” he said seriously. “There is something that I must speak with you about.”

  “Certainly, Anton,” she agreed. “But it will not change my mind.”

  “Don’t be too sure about that,” he said. “Here, sit with me for a moment.”

  Leading her to the sofa that was in debate, they both sat together facing each other.

  “Sabra,” he began. “I’m not quite sure how to say this to you other than to just say it.”

  “Please go on,” she said.

  “I have been alone for longer than I care to remember. There are things that I thought I was accustomed to not having any more. Then I saw you for the first time. Suddenly, those things that I thought I had put behind me came roaring to the surface. You are so beautiful and kind and I cannot believe my good luck in having you as my wife. I never want to do anything that would upset you or hurt you in any way. Am I making any sense?”

  Slowly Sabra nodded. She suddenly knew exactly what he was talking about and the knowledge sent shivers through her body.

  “Yes, you are, Anton,” she said softly. “And you should know that I find you equally attractive. I know that women are not supposed to talk about such things or admit that they have certain…feelings. Of course, you have already noticed that I am not exactly like other women so I feel comfortable telling you these things. Now, I do not fear that you will attempt anything unseemly. You could not, as I am, after all, your wife. So please, let’s have no more talk of apologies or warnings. Who is to say that I would not welcome overtures from you at some point?”

  Anton studied her for a long moment.

  “Do you mean all of this?” he finally asked.

  “Yes, I do.”

  “Then there is something that I would very much like to do, as your husband.”

  Leaning toward her slowly, Anton stared directly into her eyes. Sabra’s breath caught in her throat.

  He’s going to kiss me!

  When his mouth met hers, she shuddered a little at the sensation of their mouths connecting. It had been a very long time for her as well. So long that she had nearly forgot how thrilling a kiss could be. Closing her eyes, she gave herself over to the wonder of this moment. A small sound escaped her as he increased the passion of the kiss.

  It turned out to be one of the more remarkable events in her life. Anton gathered her into his arms and crushed her to him. Her head swam and she never wanted this moment to end.

  However, just as she was becoming totally lost in their kiss, Anton pulled away. Putting his forehead to hers, he swallowed hard and took a breath.

  “Forgive me, Sabra,” he whispered raggedly. “I made a promise to you and I intend to keep it. I just wanted you to fully realize how serious I am about our marriage.”

  “There is nothing to forgive,” she whispered back to him, placing her hand on the side of his face. “I am also serious about our marriage.”

  Embracing her one last time, he released her and stood.

  “I am glad that we had this talk,” he said smiling. “Now I am going to see what I can do about a nightcap for us before we retire.”

  The night passed easier than Sabra would have expected. At one point, she awoke to find herself wrapped in Anton’s arm, her head resting on his chest. Listening to the steady beat of his heart, she was quickly lulled back to sleep.

  T
he next morning, Anton was not in the room she when awoke but there was a large silver tray sitting on the coffee table laden with breakfast food. Getting out of bed, she slipped into her robe and walked over to the table. There was also a note.

  Sabra,

  You were sleeping so peacefully that I did not have the heart to wake you. I have gone to make arrangements with our driver as I have been told that travel is once again safe. Enjoy your breakfast and we will leave as soon as you are ready.

  Your Husband,

  Anton

  She did like the way that sounded: Your Husband. Smiling, she sat down and proceeded to eat. By the time that Anton had returned, she was dressed and ready to depart. He looked at her in a way that made her heart skip a beat. It was such an intense and personal look that she had to drop her eyes. It was just too much for her at the moment.

  “I have had everything loaded into the carriage,” he said. “Are you ready?”

  “Yes, of course,” she replied. “The sooner that we get on the road the sooner I can reach my new home and begin our life together.”

  He offered her his arm and they walked out of the room.

  The weather was sunny and warm as they boarded the carriage and headed away from the little town that had dramatically changed things between them. Sabra and Anton spent the next part of their trip talking. It was a luxury that they had not had many chances to enjoy considering how they had come together.

  “Please tell me about your wife,” Sabra said at one point. “That is, if it does not bother you.”

  Anton smiled sadly.

  “No, it does not bother me,” he replied. “It has been such a long time now that, sometimes, I wonder if she ever existed at all. Caroline was a wonderful, beautiful woman. More than once I wondered why she had even looked at me let alone married me. But she did and we were happy together. We had talked about starting a family and we were very excited when she found out that we were going to have a child. She had gone into town one morning to select some things for the nursery that we were decorating. On the way home, there was a storm that seemed to come out of nowhere. It was just one of those things, I was told over and over again. No one could have foreseen it or prevented it. The rain and the wind were hard and strong. The driver could not control the carriage and it blew over and off the road. Eventually, it landed in a creek that, naturally, swelled with the rain added to it. Caroline and the driver did not survive.”

  “Oh Anton! I feel so terrible for you!”

  “Please, don’t distress yourself over it, Sabra,” he replied as he took her hand in his. “It took me a very long time to accept that she was gone and never coming back. Then, one day, I simply woke up and realized that she would not want me to be alone for the rest of my life. She was a loving woman and would want only good things for me. Much like your Emmett.”

  Sabra smiled and nodded at that. Yes, Emmett had been the same as Caroline in that he had been a good man who had loved her beyond anything else. Suddenly, she knew that she had to be honest with Anton.

  “I have something to tell you, Anton,” she began softly. “I should have told you before we were married so that you could have had the choice of simply walking away. But I didn’t and now I must risk you changing your mind about our marriage.”

  “What is it, Sabra?” he asked. “I cannot imagine that you would be harboring a secret that would be so terrible.”

  Taking a deep breath, she said “Anton, I have a sort of gift, I suppose you could call it. I…um…have visions.”

  “What do you mean by visions?” he asked, clearly puzzled.

  “Sometimes, I know things before they happen. I’m not sure exactly when they started, but I’ve had these visions for as long as I can remember. Christina knows about them and a very few others, but I have learned to keep them to myself for the most part. Emmett knew about them, too. You see, I knew that he was gone before they ever came and told me. He appeared to me the night before and I knew.”

  “I see,” Anton said thoughtfully. “So when you said that you had a headache and could not travel on the day of the storm, it was not actually a headache, was it?”

  “No,” Sabra said miserably as she shook her head. “Emmett had come to me in a vision the night before and told me that we could not travel the next day or we would be in terrible danger. I only lied to you because these visions are never wrong and I had to think of a way to get you to agree not to travel that day.”

  “In essence, your vision most likely saved our lives,” he stated.

  “I suppose it did,” she nodded.

  Anton remained lost in thought for what seemed like a very long time to Sabra. Then he took her hand in his once more and looked at her deeply in her eyes.

  “Sabra,” he began. “You never have a reason to lie to me about anything. Now, visions may be something very new to me and I may not completely understand them, but if you say that you have them; then I must believe you. Not only that, this vision kept us from being on the road in a very dangerous situation. That alone is enough to make me trust you. Never hide these things from me again, Sabra. There is no need. It only makes you even more incredibly special and more intriguing.”

  “Oh Anton,” she cried. “Thank you for understanding!”

  With that, she threw herself into his arms.

  One Year Later…..

  Sabra and Anton had built a wonderfully happy life for themselves in Virginia City, Montana. Sabra had won over the residents there and had become quite active in the community. She and Anton had found that they had quite a bit in common and were happier than either of them would have expected to be.

  Not only that, but they had been presented with a fantastic surprise with the birth of twins, a boy and a girl. On the night that they had been born, Emmett paid another visit to Sabra as she sat in bed holding each of them in her arms.

  “Sabra,” he said smiling at her in his halo of white light. “I cannot believe how beautiful you are at this moment. Anton is a good man. You have chosen well. He will continue to take care of you and now your children. I will always love you and will be here anytime you may need me. But just know that you will continue to be happy; just as happy as if I were still with you. Never feel guilty, my love, for the happiness that you now have. It is what I always wanted for you.”

  Suddenly, he vanished just as Anton entered the bedroom carrying hot tea for her.

  “What is it?” he asked.

  She smiled at him and he nodded as if comprehending something.

  “Was he here?”

  “Yes,” she replied softly. “He wanted to tell me that he is happy for me; for us, and that you are a good man.”

  “Ah, I see,” Anton replied. “I am glad that Emmett approves. I wish that I could thank him for you.”

  “He already knows,” Sabra said. “He already knows.”

  “Do you know how much I love you?” he asked as he pushed a stray hair from her eyes.

  “I think so,” she replied. “Our children are the proof of our love.”

  Leaning in, he gently kissed her.

  Yes, we are going to be very happy forever…..

  The End

  THANK YOU SO MUCH…

  For taking the time to read through my little story :) If you feel like you’ve enjoyed the story of Sabra & Anton; please feel free to share it with your friends and don’t be shy to leave a REVIEW - please do! I love interacting with ALL my readers :)

  UPDATE:

  Please visit my little blog to see more of my stories! Click this link below:

  http://meganwest.simplesite.com

  Thanks,

  Meg

 

 

 
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