Christmas Miracles: Mega Mail Order Bride 20-Book Box Set: Multi-Author Box Set

by Jenny Creek Tanner

  “No, no. Quite the contrary. Your picture doesn’t seem to have done you justice.”

  Celia blushed all the way to the roots of her blonde hair. “I was just thinking the same of you.” Joshua beamed in response, then he offered her his arm. Celia took it and they walked forward to find his carriage.

  Joshua paid for Celia and Seth to stay in the hotel in town that first night. They were to be wed the following day. He also invited them to have dinner with him in the Hotel’s dining room. Celia accepted and they agreed to meet at six o’clock in the hotel entrance. Seth seemed agitated, he didn’t want to eat the snack she provided him and wouldn’t lay down in the hotel bed to take a nap.

  “Scratchy,” he kept saying of the bedding, “Itchy.” Finally, Celia lay down a quilt that Aunt Mary had made for Seth when he was born. He curled up on it and cried himself into an exhausted sleep. At that point, Celia had already snuggled her body around his and shed a few tears of her own.

  Chapter 6

  They awoke a few hours later, just before six, and proceeded to make their way down to the hotel entrance. Interesting smells were wafting from the dining hall, but Celia was so hungry she was ready to try anything. Joshua met them in the entrance and they wandered towards the dining room, not talking. Celia hoped her eyes weren’t puffy, she didn’t want him to think that she had been upset.

  The dinner consisted of a bland meat of some sort with vegetables and potatoes, but they spent an enjoyable time with Joshua. Celia found he was easy to talk to and had an amusing sense of humor. She kept catching herself staring at him. Watching him interact with Seth was like a balm on her frayed nerves. Though Seth seemed to be in a much better mood after his nap, he still looked exhausted and didn’t react extremely well to Joshua’s coaxing.

  “I’m sorry,” said Celia. “He really hasn’t spent much time in a man’s company. We had a doorman who worked for my aunt for a time, but he was never very friendly, especially not to Seth.”

  “What a grouch, he sounds repulsive.”

  Celia laughed at Joshua’s too true statement. “So, Joshua, please tell me about your business. I know you’ve already told me a good bit, but tell me the things that weren’t so easy to write about.”

  He looked at her thoughtfully. “That’s a big question, I suppose. Getting started in a new town wasn’t so easy. When I came here, Derby was small. Not many folks needed my services. Soon, though, the town started growing and things changed. I’m not sorry I came here.”

  “I imagine it was difficult to move here on your own. Especially with the idea of a business and having to do all that in a new place.”

  “I suppose it was,” he replied. “All that seems to have faded in my memory now that things are going well. The move for you is more difficult, I’d imagine. Across the country to new territory and new people.”

  She nodded her agreement, but was unwilling to go into that difficulty at the moment. She was enjoying herself. She enjoyed listening to him speak. The more he had talked about his business, the calmer Celia became about the situation. She found herself relaxing bit by bit.

  They were laughing at a story about one of Joshua’s more peculiar clients when Seth’s fork fell from his hand with a clatter. Celia bent down to retrieve it at the same moment Joshua did and their hands came down on top of each other. There was instant heat in that small touch, and Celia pulled her hand away as though she had been burned, blushing furiously. Joshua cleared his throat uncomfortably and Celia found herself staring at his hands.

  She was trying not to think about where those hands would touch her after they were married. When she made eye contact with him, she turned an even deeper scarlet. She felt panic rise in her chest even though she was trying to calm herself. Joshua seemed to have noticed her reaction. He cleared his throat once more.

  “I understand how difficult this must be for you.”

  Celia nodded in acknowledgement of Joshua’s observation. She appreciated it that he was trying to be understanding. It was only her first day in Derby, after all. “What good would it be to pretend that I’m completely at ease? I think you’d see through that right away. Anyway, I don’t want to start off on the wrong foot by being dishonest.”

  “I wish that I knew how to make it easier for you,” he said, sincerity ringing through in his voice.

  She smiled at his words. “I intend to be a good wife to you, Joshua.” She was looking down into her hands as she spoke. They were twisting upon the table in front of her.

  Slowly, so as not to startle her again, Joshua reached across the table and covered both her hands with one of his own. It was slightly rough, calluses caused harsh ridges all over the palm. Celia found herself wishing she could pull away, and this made her uneasy.

  “I intend to be a good husband to you, too, Celia,” he replied.

  His eyes were gentle. They were a deep, warm brown. As Celia looked into them, she felt tears spring unexpectedly into her eyes. She pulled her hands from beneath his and looked away from him. Her gaze fell upon Seth, who looked so like his father. A hollow ache for her previous husband – her previous life - overwhelmed her then, and she had to dab at her eyes.

  Joshua was a completely different man than Seth’s father had been. Celia was slightly ashamed of herself. She was well aware that she’d been hoping to see something of Seth Burke in her future husband. Perhaps feel the same sort of spark she had always felt with him. Though she was sure Joshua was kind, and that he was a man she could easily grow to love, she longed for the depth of connection she had lost when her husband had died.

  You must not compare Joshua to Seth, she thought. They are different men. You will love them differently. At this, determination seemed to take root inside her and she quit crying. She looked up, met Joshua’s eyes and smiled.

  "I'm terribly sorry, this is more difficult than I thought it would be. Please forgive me.” Joshua was sitting across from her, looking concerned.

  “There’s nothing to forgive. I understand,” he said. He started to pull his hand back from where it had rested upon the table and Celia took hold of it.

  “Please,” she said. “Tell me more of your work, I want to learn, I want to help.” Joshua’s responding smile filled the space between them with warmth. He looked relieved and his thumb began making tiny circles on the back of her hand. To Celia’s surprise, she enjoyed this casual touch. It made her feel a bit more confident. Seth spoke at that moment, he’d been so quiet, Celia had quite thought he may be drifting to sleep in his chair.

  “Mama?” His tiny fingers came down on their joined hands, “Can I have some more?” Celia looked down at her barely touched meal and realized Seth’s plate was empty.

  “Of course, dear.” She took her hand from Joshua’s with another smile and proceeded to cut up pieces of the meat and vegetable concoction left on her plate. Joshua grinned patiently while she scooped food down in front of Seth and they resumed chatting. They spoke for so long that the dining room started to empty around them. If Seth hadn’t begun to snore quietly, with his head leaned back on his chair, they may have talked all night and into the morning.

  “I suppose it’s getting rather late,” said Celia with a nod towards the sleeping little boy. Joshua finished the last of his coffee and stood up.

  “May I?” He indicated Seth.

  “Of course.” Joshua bent and scooped Seth into his strong arms.

  “He’s heavier than he looks,” he grinned.

  She gave a nod and laughed. “That’s so true,” she said as she led the way from the dining room.

  He took the stairs behind her to take the boy to his bed so Celia wouldn’t have to carry him.

  When Seth had been gently laid on the bed, Joshua turned to Celia.

  “This was a wonderful evening,” said Joshua. He reached for her hand and then raised it to his lips. His sweet kiss on the back of her hand wasn’t so intimate, but it felt that way to her. An unexpected shiver went up her spine. She was quite s
urprised at her reaction to such a simple gesture.

  “It was. Yes, very nice, indeed. I had a lovely time,” she agreed, blushing once again as her heart skipped a beat at the contact of his lips on her skin.

  “So, um, I’ll come to gather you both at ten in the morning?” He seemed nervous suddenly, and Celia felt a pang of nervousness envelop her, as well.

  She couldn’t think of anything to make his nervousness ease since she couldn’t stop her own pulse from getting out of control. She remembered soberly that in the morning, she would cease to be Celia Burke. After the simple ceremony she would be Celia Maxwell.

  “We’ll wait for you on the front steps,” Celia assured him.

  They bid one another a good night, and Joshua stepped into the hallway to leave his soon-to-be family alone for what was left of the evening.

  Chapter 7

  The morning dawned bright and cheerful over Derby, Kansas with the ringing of church bells. Celia took it to be a positive thing as she got Seth up and ready for breakfast. The day would start out as just like any other day for them, but soon things would change. For the better, she hopped.

  After breakfast, she quickly gave her son a wipe down with a damp cloth. She put his fresh Sunday best clothes on him and stood back admiring what a handsome lad he was.

  “Sit quietly and look at this book, please, Seth,” she said to him. “Mama’s got to get ready for today.”

  “Why? What’s today?” he asked.

  “Your mama is going to get married today. To Mr. Joshua. Won’t that be nice?” she asked sweetly. They’d talked about this, she just felt the need to reinforce it since today was the day.

  “Yes, ma’am. I think I remember.” He smiled and turned the first page of his book as his attention left her and moved to the characters in the book.

  She bathed in the basin and added toilette water to her rinse. This was a luxury she normally didn’t indulge in, but today was special. She was going to treat today as a new beginning for herself and her son.

  She pulled her hair up off her shoulders and added some fresh flowers from the bouquet in her room. Hopefully, this would add a little bit of charm to her wedding ensemble.

  Aunt Mary had presented her with a thoughtful gift the day before she left Boston. The beautifully wrapped package contained a new dress of pale pink silk with a slightly darker pink jacket. She felt posh and stylish in the outfit that suited her perfectly.

  One last look in the mirror told her she looked presentable. It was time to meet her husband-to-be. She held out a hand to Seth and he got up to come with her. She took a deep breath as she left her room to meet Joshua downstairs.

  A few men poked their heads out of their shop windows to witness a young couple striding from the church doors, arm in arm. A small child rushed to keep up holding the woman’s hand. Passers-by congratulated the couple, who nodded politely as they climbed into their carriage.

  Celia sat down next to Joshua, holding Seth in her lap. Joshua glanced at her nervous smile and clicked his tongue to the chestnut horse pulling the carriage. With a jerk, they started for home.

  Home. The word sounded foreign in Celia’s mind. She’d only been here about a day and everything in her life had changed. Her home was a new place that she’d have to get used to. Seth would have to do the same. She tried hard to push memories of her home with little Seth’s father out of her mind, but that was impossible. She was determined to move forward, though. So, the memories were there, but she chose to focus on the present. Today and the future. Not the past.

  Celia hadn’t seen Joshua’s home when they first arrived in town. There hadn’t been time to drive by here on her first day in town.

  She felt an intoxicating sense of excitement as they pulled to a halt in front of a small brick building in the middle of town. The house was easily twice the size of Aunt Mary’s apartment back in Boston. The building was bordered by similarly sized shops on either side, and the entrance was framed by a pleasant porch, lined with wood hand rails. It looked very masculine, but Celia could already picture a porch swing and flower pots to soften it up a bit.

  She felt jittery after the short journey and desperately wanted to see the inside of the dwelling. Painted on the glass pane of the front window were the words “J. Maxwell - Tailoring and Shoe Repair.”

  Inside the window was a messy display of clothing and shoes. Celia’s immediate thought was that she should organize the display as soon as possible. A more professional appearance might help.

  “Here we are,” said Joshua proudly. He held out a hand to help Celia down from the buggy and then lifted a protesting Seth from it as well. Seth squeaked as he was sat down on his feet and quickly hid behind his mother’s skirts again.

  "It's wonderful," said Celia, eagerly taking hold of some of her luggage.

  "I'll just take the horse around back, you head inside and have a look around.”

  Celia nodded, taking Seth’s hand and climbing the front steps.

  Celia’s first thought was one of trepidation as she stepped over the threshold. She had expected, from Joshua’s appearance, to be greeted by the neat and tidy front room of a tailor shop. But no, the shop itself could only be described as a mass of complete chaos. Stacks of parchment, cloth and leather lay higgledy-piggledy on nearly every surface. Piles of half torn shoes, bottles of ink, and sewing supplies were crammed into corners.

  Celia was so shocked she nearly turned right around and walked back out, assuming she’d entered the wrong place. Her eyes darted over the mess and she held tight to Seth’s hand as she tried to steady her breathing. Joshua had gone to put away the horse. She had a moment. Tears swam in her eyes. She looked down at Seth, who pointed at the ground.

  “Mama, bug.”

  Celia took a deep breath. “Yes, dear. That’s definitely a bug,” she said, and began to navigate her way through the chaos to find the living quarters. Hopefully, things were more orderly there.

  She prayed for what she thought she would need. A miracle.

  Chapter 8

  Things in the house weren’t as bad as she’d first thought. Thank you, Lord, she thought as she got further into her self-guided tour. The floors were clean and free of dust. Celia stepped on the spider that Seth had found as she crossed the floor. She put her bags down and looked around. Although the place was relatively clean, it looked like it had been hit by a tornado. It seemed to be completely devoid of any sense of organization.

  The front room was the store front devoted to Joshua’s business. It contained a sewing machine, work bench, and various tools Celia assumed were used in shoe repair. There was a set of double doors to her right, which swung inward as she opened them. This room was nearly as dysfunctional as the first, but it seemed quite cozy. It was a sitting area surrounded by books in shelves on two walls and comfortable chairs. There was a fireplace in a corner and another set of windows that exposed the rather dusty surfaces.

  Celia glanced up the stairs as she and Seth passed them. She wondered what rooms were on the second floor. She would know soon enough, she imagined. For now, she continued to explore the first floor.

  Beyond the staircase was another door. Celia turned the handle slowly and found something that made her smile. A small bed and nightstand with a vase of flowers on it. At the end of the bed sat a smaller bed that would be perfect for Seth. It was nearly the size of his one at Aunt Mary’s. Celia returned to the workshop and grabbed hold of her bags. She’d found the room Joshua had set aside for her and Seth.

  A thumping noise from the back of the house announced Joshua’s return. Celia sat down on the bed and pulled Seth onto her lap. Joshua clumped around the corner in his large boots.

  “Good, you found it. I hope it will be comfortable for the two of you for a while. I know we’ll be sort of courting for a while. All I want for now is for you to be comfortable and happy. Well, um, until you’re ready for everything else.” His voice trailed off at the end of his sentence. He looked so awkward s
tanding in the doorway with his hands in his pockets trying to speak about eventually sharing a bed with her.

  “It’s a very nice room, thank you,” Celia said. She wished her cheeks weren’t turning pink, but she couldn’t help it that she still felt reserved with him.

  Joshua smiled. “It used to be the one I slept in. There's another bedroom bigger than this one upstairs that I never really used. It’s next to my bedroom. I would have set that one up for you, except I thought you might be more comfortable on the first floor. At least for now.” Celia smiled at his thoughtfulness. She was extremely thankful for lodging on the ground floor for now.

  "This is perfect, thank you. The flowers are lovely.”

  Joshua nodded uncomfortably. “I forgot to ask what kind was your favorite when we were writing.”

  "That's okay, I like daffodils very much.” They fell into an embarrassed silence.

  “Well, would you like to see the rest of the house?” he asked.

  Celia stood and took Seth’s hand again. It was unusual for her son to be this silent. He was normally quite the chatterbox.

  “Yes, we’d like that.”

  Joshua took them through the rest of the house. The upper floor consisted of his bedroom, the other bedroom he’d mentioned, a small kitchen, another sitting room, and a bathroom. That floor was in the same general state of disarray. Joshua didn’t seem to realize that he kept a very messy house.

  “I hope you will make yourselves at home. After all, this is your home now,” he said.

  Celia nodded. “Thank you for your thoughtfulness, Joshua. It means more to me than I can express that you’ve thought of my feelings and our comfort.”