Christmas Miracles
Mega Mail Order Bride 20 Book Multi-Author Box Set
Jenny Creek Tanner
Indiana Wake
Belle Fiffer
Annie Boone
Lucille Chisum
Contents
Five Books by Jenny Creek Tanner
About Jenny Creek Tanner
Jenny Creek Tanner
Book 1 - A Christmas Bride for Cowboy Samuel
Jenny Creek Tanner
Book 2 - A Christmas Bride for Cowboy Andrew
Jenny Creek Tanner
Book 3 - A Christmas Bride for Cowboy Charlie
Jenny Creek Tanner
Book 4 - New Beginnings: Mail Order Brides of the Prairie
Jenny Creek Tanner
Book 5 - Music For His Heart: A Meant-To-Be Mail Order Brides Western Romance
Also By Jenny Creek Tanner
Five Books by Indiana Wake & Belle Fiffer
Introduction
Indiana Wake & Belle Fiffer
Book 1 - A Mail Order Bride for Christmas
Indiana Wake & Belle Fiffer
Book 2 - Christmas Mail Order Bride: A New Life for a New Year
Indiana Wake & Belle Fiffer
Book 3 - Christmas Mail Order Bride: A Christmas Gift for the Lonely Doctor
Indiana Wake & Belle Fiffer
Book 4- Mail Order Brides for a Town Called Hope: The Scarred and Rejected Bride
Indiana Wake
Book 5- Western Historical Romance: Mail Order Bride - Trust, Doubt, and a New Beginning
Also By Indiana Wake & Belle Fiffer
Five Books By Annie Boone
About Annie Boone
Annie Boone
Book 1 - Unexpected Love At Christmas
Annie Boone
Book 2 - Ready Made Family
Annie Boone
Book 3 - When God Closes a Door
Annie Boone
Book 4 - Cheyenne Christmas Miracles
Book 5 - A Christmas Family Revival
Also by Annie Boone
Five Books By Lucille Chisum
Lucille Chisum
Book 1 - The Mail Order Brides of Last Chance: First Christmas
Lucille Chisum
Book 2 - The Mail Order Bride Marries the Mayor on Christmas Day - Part 1
Lucille Chisum
Book 3 - The Mail Order Bride Marries the Mayor on Christmas Day - Part 2
Lucille Chisum
Book 4 - The Mail Order Bride and the Chocolatier (Book 4)*
Lucille Chisum
Book 5 - The Mail Order Bride and the Chocolatier (Book 5)*
Also by Lucille Chisum
Five Books by Jenny Creek Tanner
All works by Jenny Creek Tanner are © Copyright 2016 by Jenny Creek Tanner and Fire Up Your Goals LLC.
All Rights Reserved
About Jenny Creek Tanner
Jenny Creek Tanner is a bestselling Amazon author, and she's country girl at heart! She loves writing wholesome romantic stories about the American west of the 1800's. Her favorite stories are about the extraordinary women that became the mail-order brides to men living in the "wild" west, often with nothing more than a few letters on which to make a life-changing leap of faith!
Jenny's books are clean, wholesome romances that tell the stories of intriguing characters as they use their Christian faith and upbringing to overcome the struggles that the people living in the wild west faced on a daily basis. She loves playing the piano, and her love for music played a big role in her first book, "Music for His Heart".
You can sign up for Jenny's Clean Western Mail Order Bride Romance Starter Library here (http://jennycreektanner.com/sl1/index.html) and get four FREE books! You'll also be notified of her new releases and other goodies!
Be sure to visit her on Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/jennycreektanner) and on Twitter @JCTannerBooks, and you can also visit her website for the latest books and information at http://JennyCreekTanner.com!
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Book 1 - A Christmas Bride for Cowboy Samuel
From The Mail Order Brides of Haven, Arizona Series
Jenny Creek Tanner
Chapter 1
Haven, Arizona Territory | October 1864
The sun rose bright and sparkling on the light dusting of frost on the ground. Samuel Banks clicked his tongue and urged his horse forward. He sucked in a deep breath, relishing the freshness of the cold. It made him feel alive. There was nothing better than cool mornings in the Arizona territory.
The small town of Haven rose up in the distance and he flexed his fingers on the reins, working to warm them. He may have loved the cold for a short time, but the twenty-minute ride into town was enough to chill him through and through.
Up ahead he saw shapes moving back and forth across the street. He liked the early morning activity of the small town. He knew he was likely to see the baker who rose before the sun, the blacksmith who worked all hours of the night and day, and the sheriff who usually walked the town around this time. It was comfortable. Home.
His horse came to a halt outside the blacksmith’s shop and he jumped down, tying the animal to the hitching post out front.
“Morning Jeremiah,” he said, popping his head in the darkened interior of the shop.
“Morning, Samuel.”
“Brought my horse by like you’d asked. When will you have her shoes done?”
“Come round in an hour or two,” the smithy said, nodding once.
“Will do, thank you.” Samuel stepped outside again and walked across the street to the general store.
The minute he opened the door the smell of baking bread wafted toward him, encompassing him like a warm, yeasty blanket.
“Now that smells wonderful,” he said, walking toward the back of the store.
“Got Keith’s special sticky buns here. I’m guessing you’ll be wanting one, Sam?”
Samuel smiled at the shopkeeper, the man’s round belly extending out before him. “You guess right, Robert.”
“I’ll wrap it up.”
Samuel nodded then turned to the collection of tools on the far side of the shop. He found what he was looking for and had the man add it to his tab.
“So, how’s life out on the homestead?”
Samuel observed Robert and a smile spread across his lips. “It beats working in a stuffy bank any day.”
Robert laughed. “You can say that again.” The man laughed, a hand resting on his stomach as it jiggled up and down with the effort. “Though I bet there’s one thing you miss about the city.”
Samuel doubted there was anything, but he humored the man. “And what would that be?”
“The women,” Robert said, his laugh bellowing out even louder now.
Samuel felt his neck heat from he shook off his embarrassment. “Oh, I wouldn’t say that…”
“We’d all say that, son.” Robert shook his head, running a hand through his thinning grey hair. “Believe me, when my Bertha died I never would have considered remarrying but, as time goes on, life gets lonely. I can’t imagine living out there like you do without at least a woman by your side to keep you company.”
Samuel let out a breath. He had noticed the silence more these days. He’d lived on his land for a full year now, raising cattle and growing crops to support
himself. It had taken him the full year to get things just the way he wanted them, but now that the initial hard work was done, he started to notice the quiet more than the peace.
“Well,” he rubbed a hand along the back of his neck, “It’s a bit quiet out there.”
“That it is,” the shopkeeper said with another laugh. “Trust me, you’re missing a woman’s touch in your life.”
Samuel wanted to point out that Haven was lacking in the way of women, but he didn't want word to get out that he was looking for a wife. He was certain the few women that were in town, though most too young or too old to interest him, would make life more difficult for him if they knew.
“I’ll be all right.”
“Course you will,” Robert said, “But take my advice anyway. Check out the Mail Order Bride posts near the front door or consider taking out an ad yourself. There’s slim pickings here in town, but there’s a whole world of women out there just ready to move out west and start a new life.”
Samuel had no idea what Robert meant, but he didn’t intent to look into it. He was just fine and, if the Good Lord decided he should have a wife, He’d provide one.
Helen Nesbit sat in the warm kitchen sipping coffee next to Flora Gray. Her tears had dried, but replacements rested just beneath the surface, ready to flow at a moment’s notice. She had come to Haven to marry again and here she sat, crying over the loss of another man in her life. Why had the Lord allowed this to happen? How was that fair?
“Dear,” Flora said, patting her hand, “It’s all right to cry, but remember we don’t mourn as those who have no hope.”
Helen recognized her reference to a verse and forced a smile. She didn’t want the kind woman—a pastor’s wife nonetheless—to know that she had forsaken her faith when her beloved husband Alexander had died.
“I know that you’ll be tempted to doubt, to think that God’s plans aren’t good for you, but don’t allow that to happen either, my dear.” Flora gave her a kind smile the warmed her but didn’t reach quite deep enough.
“Thank you,” Helen said, her voice coming out in a raspy croak. “I can’t thank you and your husband enough for all that you’ve done for me.”
“Nonsense child,” Flora said, “We are happy to help you. You can stay here as long as you like. We have that spare bedroom that was begging to be used.”
Helen’s smile was genuine this time. “I am thankful for that as well.”
The back door opened sending a blast of cool air through the room.
“Lawrence,” Flora said, clutching her shawl more tightly about her shoulders, “Do keep that shut.”
“Sorry, my love,” Lawrence said, bustling into the room while removing his hat, gloves, and jacket. “I must come inside some way.”
Flora smiled, standing. “Let me get you a fresh cup of coffee. It will warm you from the inside out.”
“I couldn’t resist if I tried,” he said, winking at Helen then taking the chair next to her and near the fire. “And how are you, my dear? Feeling any better this morning?”
Helen tried to assess her thoughts but they remained a jumbled mess. She’d learned of her future husband Jack’s accident the night before at the small boarding house she’d stayed in. Lawrence himself had come to tell her the tragic news that he’d fallen from his horse and died soon after.
She’d been so distraught Flora had been summoned and the couple had insisted on bringing her into their home instead of leaving her by herself.
“I’m doing all right,” she admitted the half-truth.
“No, you aren’t,” he said, in his straightforward way, “But you will heal. You knew Jack how long?”
She counted back in her memory. “We began writing letters in March.”
“I see, then you came here from New York last week?”
“Yes,” she admitted, looking down at her hands. She’d answered Jack’s advertisement for a mail order bride only after realizing she couldn’t survive in New York on her own after the death of her husband.
“What, if I may ask, do you plan to do now? Can you go back to New York?”
She squirmed under the man’s intense gaze.
“I’m sorry dear,” he said quickly, “I don’t mean to pray nor do I mean to push you out of our house. You are welcomed here for as long as you like. I only wondered if you had given any thought to it?”
“No.” She shook her head, her eyes falling to her hands clenched in her lap. “I don’t know what to do.”
Pastor Lawrence’s aged hand covered hers and she met his gentle gaze. “It’s all right. The Lord cares for you and will guide you. He has a plan for you, Helen.”
He meant well, but the pastor’s words only soured in her heart. She didn’t believe God had a plan, and He certainly didn’t care about her. He’d made that clear last night when she’d heard of Jack’s death. Jack had been her last hope and now she was left with nothing, and with no one.
Chapter 2
Samuel sat at the kitchen table, hands clasped in front of him and the room silent around him. Too silent.
He shot to his feet and paced back and forth. With winter fast approaching he’d go crazy if he didn’t do something. Anything.
Robert’s words from the week before came back to him. Mail Order Bride…was that the answer? Certainly he couldn’t find someone to come out west before winter, but possibly just writing letters to someone would occupy his time and thoughts.
Stuffing his hat on his head, he burst out the front door and grabbed the reins of his horse. He’d made up his mind, and nothing—not even common sense—would stop him now.
The ride into town calmed some of his restlessness and he started to doubt whether he was doing the right thing. Did he really want to get married? Was he ready for a wife? Then again, what did being ready mean? He had land, a way to survive on the land, and a whole lot of free time coming up in the winter. He laughed out loud and a passerby glanced his way with a curios look on her face. It only made him laugh harder.
He had no idea what it would be like to be married, but he’d moved out west from the city and he could forge his way through marriage in the same bold way. All he needed was the bride.
Tying up his horse outside of the general store, Samuel jumped off and strode confidentially up the steps. He’d just opened the door when a young woman walked out, head down, and ran right into him.
“Hold on there, miss,” he said, steadying her before she toppled over.
She looked up, eyes wide in surprise and his breath caught. Pretty brown eyes matched her mahogany hair, accenting her creamy complexion. She was much shorter than him and he saw a hint of a blush on her cheeks, making them rosy. Beautiful.
“I-I’m sorry, sir,” she said, stepping back.
His hands reluctantly fell from her arms, but the minute she was out of his reach he wanted to feel the warmth of her again.
“It’s no problem,” he finally said, coming to his senses. “Ma’am.” He yanked off his hat wishing he’d paid more attention to his hair that morning.
She dipped her head politely, “Thank you.” Her eyes darted to the left then the right then she dipped her head once more saying, “I’ll be off then.”
Samuel watched her go, kicking himself for not saying something else—anything else—so that she would have stayed and talked with him. He watched her disappear down the street, letting out a sigh when she was out of sight.
Who was she?
Shaking his head from the stupor of the beautiful woman, Samuel pushed open the general store door and tried to remember why he’d come into town.
A wife.
His gut sank. She was likely the wife of someone new to town. She had to be, because women that beautiful had no business being in Haven unless they were married—or soon to be married.
He spotted Robert talking with Pastor Lawrence at the back of the store and made his way toward them.
“Howdy,” he said, and they exchanged pleasantries.
&nb
sp; “What brings you in to town today, son?” Robert asked.
“You mean after coming in last week?” Samuel said, laughing. “You got me thinking about being out there by myself…” he trailed off, feeling foolish.
“Told you it’s lonely, didn’t I?” Robert said.
“You did,” Samuel admitted.
“You’re quite a ways out of town aren’t you, Samuel?” Pastor Lawrence asked.
“Yes, it’s beautiful country. Just…quite.”
“The advertisement material is at the front by the door,” Robert said, giving Samuel a pointed look.
“Why are you in such an all-fire hurry to get me married?” Samuel laughed. “Why don’t you look for a wife for yourself?”
Robert threw his hands up. “I’m just looking out for you, my friend.”
“What are you two talking about?” Lawrence asked.
“Samuel here’s going to look for a mail order bride,” Robert explained.
Samuel felt a twinge of shame but pushed it aside. So what if he was interested in getting married. The pastor would no doubt support that.
“A Mail Order Bride,” Lawrence said, his eyes narrowing. “You can’t find a nice girl in town?”
Samuel’s mind immediately flew to the beautiful woman he’d just met, but then he remembered she was likely someone’s wife and he pushed the stray thoughts aside.
“Haven’s not teeming with possibilities.”
Christmas Miracles: Mega Mail Order Bride 20-Book Box Set: Multi-Author Box Set Page 1
