Again she nodded, not trusting her voice.
“Honey, you do know there is no such place as Beaver’s Dam? That Mrs. Peters made up the name when she suspected you had no sister to visit?”
Oh, dear God. The woman must have had a good laugh when Adelaide had said Beaver’s Dam was where her sister lived. Humiliation flooded her and the tears she tried so hard to hold back slid down her face, dropping like raindrops onto her dress. She hung her head in shame.
Miles climbed from the chair and circled the table, pulling Adelaide into his arms. “Come on sweetheart, let’s get a room where we can have some privacy.”
The small room Miles rented was on the second floor of the building, facing the street. He rested his hand on her lower back as they made their way up the stairs and into the room. Once the door was closed, he moved to the bed and drew her onto his lap. “Please tell me you’ve changed you mind.”
She curled her body against him and rested her head on his shoulder. “I’m so afraid.”
He placed his knuckle under her chin and lifted her head. “I’m afraid, too. Beth Ann is my daughter. The thought of losing her terrifies me. Or losing Lizzie.” He kissed her lightly on her lips. “Or you.” He held her face in both hands and looked her in the eye. “Yes, I’m very much afraid of losing you, but that doesn’t stop me from loving you.”
He loves me.
“I love you, too.” The whispered words felt right. She cleared her throat. “But I’m still afraid.”
“Can we be afraid together?” He brushed back the hair from her face. “Do you know what Mrs. Peters told me when I stopped to ask her where you’d gone? She said if I gave you lots of babies you wouldn’t have time to fret and fuss over one or the other.”
Adelaide laughed through her tears. “More babies? I’m terrified of losing one of the two we already have.”
“Life is full of risks, honey. If we try to avoid them, we would never leave our homes. If fear wins, we lose.”
She wiped the tears from her face. “My, you’ve become quite the philosopher.”
“No. I’m merely a man trying desperately to get my wife to come home with me.” He gave her that crooked smile that she so loved. “What do you say, Mrs. Ryan? Shall we hold hands and take a leap of faith?”
Following a full afternoon of lovemaking in the hotel room, Miles and Adelaide walked hand-in-hand to the stable to retrieve their horses. Miles had never felt so good in his life. He got his wife back, his daughter was recovering, and he was about to make a major change in his life. Something he’d wanted for a long time.
They took their time riding home, almost as if they didn’t want to break the spell they were under. As they rode up to the main house, Lizzie ran up to them. Beth Ann sat on the porch. “Where were you all day?”
Miles swung his leg over Devil and dropped to the ground. Moving to Adelaide’s side, he lifted her from her horse. “You have to eat more, Mrs. Ryan, you’re getting too thin.”
Beth Ann had joined them. “You were gone a long time.”
He tapped her on her pert little nose. “Yes, I know. I had important things to take care of.” He winked at Adelaide. “But now I want us all to go inside. I want to talk to my parents, and this concerns all of you.”
They trooped inside, and found his parents in the parlor. Ma had her sewing basket on her lap and Pa flipped through the newspaper. “Well, there you are. I thought you said you wouldn’t be long.” Ma put the basket down.
Miles waved to his family. “Sit down.” He clasped his hands behind his back and strolled to the fireplace where he turned and faced them all. “I hate farming.”
His mother made to speak, and he held up his hand. “No. You’re going to listen.” He took a deep breath. “I loved being a sheriff, and was sorry to leave that job, but the dream I tucked away my entire life, has been to own and operate a horse farm.
“I was saving money from my sheriff’s job to buy an operation I had my eye on. But when Eve died I used quite a bit of that money to move here.” He turned to his mother. “Because I was told you desperately needed help for the farm and couldn’t afford to hire hands.”
Ma shifted in her seat. “I thought it was the only way.”
“What I have to say to all of you is this. Tomorrow I’m headed back into town to hire enough hands to make it easy on Pa.”
His mother tilted her chin up, a touch of sorrow in her eyes. “You’re leaving, then?”
He shook his head. “No. I’m going to be looking for a few horses to start a horse farm. I can buy the back forty acres from you, if you’re willing to take payments. It will be slow going in the beginning since I have to chase wild horses and break them in, too. Then there’s the cost of corrals, barns, feed, things like that.”
Adelaide stood and pulled an envelope out of her pocket and handed it to Ma. “Here. This might cover the cost of the land, or a down payment if not.”
“No, Adelaide, that money goes back into the bank. I’ve talked to Sheriff Blaine in town and he says he needs a deputy once in a while to cover for him. I’ll be doing that for extra money.”
She rounded on him, stabbing him in the chest with her finger. “No. If we’re going to be a family, then we all must work together. I have no use for that money. But I want you to have your dream.”
He rested his hands on his hips and shook his head. “Adelaide—“
Leaving forward, her hands on her hips, she said, “Miles.”
At this point they were nose-to-nose when Lizzie jumped up. “Don’t fight! Take Ma’s money, Pa. I agree with her, you should have your dream.”
“Yeah, your dream, Pa.” Beth Ann chimed in.
Miles shook his head and grinned, pulling Adelaide to his side. “It appears I’m outnumbered.”
“Yay!” Both girls jumped up and down, then hugged their parents.
Miles looked over Adelaide’s head at his mother. “Well? Will you sell me the back forty?”
They all turned to look at her. His ma stared at the four of them. “As my son said, it appears I’m outnumbered.”
Pa sat on the edge of Ma’s chair and put his arm around her shoulders. “Good decision.”
Epilogue
Five years later
The Rockin’ Ryan Ranch
“Twins! Are you kidding me?” Miles stared at the midwife in horror. Two more girls? That made six girls. Lizzie, Beth Ann, Madeline, Margaret, and now two more girls to find names for. When Mrs. Peters told him years ago that a lot of babies would keep Adelaide from worrying too much about one or the other she must have placed a curse on him.
“Oh, stop fussing. Girls are fun.” Ma bustled into the room, a stack of diapers over her arm. She moved to the bed where Adelaide lay with a small pink bundle in each arm.
“Look at it this way, dear. We can keep using the girls’ clothes for the new babies.” Adelaide placed a kiss on one of the babies’ heads.
Miles moved around the bed and skillfully took one baby from her arms. He held the little girl up to his face. “What do you say? What name do you like?”
“I like Dorothy Louise and Caroline Esther.” Adelaide said.
He placed the baby in the crook of his arm. “You’ve been thinking about this, darlin’.”
“Well, given our record it only seemed practical to have several girl’s names ready.”
He sat alongside her and eased down the soft pink blanket from the baby she held. “Which is which?”
Adelaide kissed the baby she held. “This is Dorothy Louise.” She ran her finger over the downy red fuzz on the baby’s head that he held. “And this is Caroline Esther.”
His four older daughters came charging into the room. “I heard we have two more sisters.” Thirteen year old Lizzie climbed up on the bed. “I was really hoping for a brother this time.”
“Just be thankful they are healthy, that’s all that matters.” Adelaide said, a bit of sharpness in her voice.
He guessed she would never completely get over lo
sing Mary and almost losing Beth Ann. But most days she was cheerful, happy and very, very busy.
Every day he was grateful for the wagon train master who made him race into town to find a bride. He couldn’t imagine how his life would be if he hadn’t walked into the sheriff’s office that day and said, “I’ll take her.”
He pulled her into his arms, being careful not to squish the two babies between them. “I love you, wife. And thank you for these two new little girls.”
“And I love you, too, husband. And thank you, also, for our new daughters.” She looked around at the crowded room. “And to my wonderful girls. I love you all so much.”
Then she burst into tears and the girls all rolled their eyes.
Note From the Author
Adelaide is the first in the Prisoner of Love series.. Here is the information on the series:
In 1877, at the height of craziness in Dodge City, Kansas, four women sit in jail, awaiting their fate. The marshal has no idea what to do with them, and certainly can’t let them back out on the streets. Too dangerous.
He tells the women they have two choices. They can either join a wagon train headed to Santa Fe, New Mexico as mail order brides, or be sent to the state prison. When the women agree to his plan, he hires a brothel owner whose business just burned to the ground to chaperone the ladies on the wagon train.
A brothel owner as a chaperone? There’s bound to be trouble for Adelaide, Miranda, Cinnamon and Becky with Miss Nellie in charge.
The books:
Adelaide, #1
Cinnamon, #2, September, 2016
Becky, #3, December 2016
Miranda, #4, 2017
Nellie, #5, 2017
About the Author
Callie Hutton, USA Today bestselling author of The Elusive Wife, writes both Western Historical and Regency romance with “historic elements and sensory details” (The Romance Reviews). She also pens an occasional contemporary or two.
Callie lives in Oklahoma with several rescue dogs, two adult children, a daughter-in-law, twin grandsons and her top cheerleader husband (although thankfully not all in the same home!). Living in the Midwest provides plenty of opportunities for Callie to pursue her interests: researching American history, meeting readers, spending time with family and discovering new adventures.
Callie loves to hear from readers and welcomes the opportunity to become friends, both in person or virtually. Find her online: Facebook | Twitter | Callie’s Cohorts Street Team
Turn the page for the first chapter of Callie’s bestselling book, A Run For Love, the first book in her Oklahoma Lovers series.
Late March, 1889
Maple Grove, Kansas
Tori Henderson’s hand shook as she studied the official-looking envelope. She’d held out hope the letter would never arrive. But she’d only been fooling herself.
She took a deep breath to steady her nerves. Tears sprang to her eyes as she opened the envelope, slid out the paper. All laid out, very formal, very legal. She and her four nieces and nephews had fourteen days to leave their home, at which time the bank would take possession.
Homeless. Her insides shifted.
Her heart sped up as a newspaper with sweat dampened edges beckoned her from the chair near the fireplace. A large red circle, like a kiss, smack in the middle of the page. She’d used her teacher’s pencil one night when she couldn’t sleep. Her eyes moved away from the notice. No, she couldn’t go through with that plan. At best, a crazy idea. There had to be another way. The kids had already been through so much.
Yet, like a magnet, the newspaper drew her. She picked it up, read it once more, and slowly moved to the head of the stairs and shouted, “Michael, gather everyone together for a family meeting.”
She clutched the newspaper in one hand, the offensive letter in the other. Her mind made up, she moved to the parlor and lowered herself, then shifted, bringing her bottom into contact with a loose spring on the worn sofa.
Having the responsibility of four nieces and nephews weighed heavily on her shoulders. Now that she’d decided, she found herself too excited to sit. She hopped up and walked to the window. No buds appeared on trees yet, but it’d been a couple of weeks since they’d had real cold weather. Had it been almost a month since her brother Henry’s funeral? Since she’d become a parent?
I’m not going to fail these children. We’re a family, and families take care of their own.
Feet shuffled overhead, and the thud of a door slamming brought her out of her musings. She turned and greeted the children with a bright smile. How she wished she and her brother had been closer. The difference in their ages, and the mutual dislike between Henry and Aunt Martha, the woman who had raised her, had prevented that. If she had watched her nieces and nephews grow up, it would have been a huge help. Instead, she arrived on their doorstep the day of her brother’s funeral, barely knowing which face went with what name.
After spending the last few weeks here, she’d grown to love Henry’s children, and fully intended to do right by them.
Once they were all settled on the run-down couches and chairs, her glance shifted to the four faces watching her with various expressions. She forced her lips into a confident smile. “Listen to what was in the newspaper a few days ago.” She had to keep her voice calm.
“On March 3, 1889, President Harrison announced the government would open the 1.9 million-acre tract of Indian Territory for settlement precisely at noon on April 22. Anyone can join the race for the land.”
She glanced up. Silence greeted her. Not the eagerness she’d hoped for. Her smile faltered.
Rachel, fifteen, in a twenty-year-old’s body, hiked her chin in a stubborn manner. She would be a handful, that one. “I don’t want to move.”
Tori drew in a deep breath. “I realize that, but we have to face the fact that the money your papa left is almost gone, and I haven’t been able to find a job.”
Hunter squirmed. “Not even a teaching job?”
Oh how she’d tried. Even with her credentials and experience, she’d had no success. “No, honey. I’ve been told many times it’s too late in the school year for teaching jobs.”
Rachel rolled her eyes. “Well they sure won’t be hiring teachers this late in the year, in—where did you say—Indian Territory?”
Tori counted to ten to keep from snapping at the girl. “I’m sure I can find tutoring jobs until a proper school can be set up. Then there will be teaching jobs.” Based on the smirk Rachel threw her, counting to twenty might be better. “And, I’m a fair baker. I can sell some of my pies and cookies to keep us going in the beginning.”
“You could do that here.” Ellie, the eleven-year-old who'd been her papa's favorite, wiped the tears from her freckled cheeks, her voice trembling slightly.
Tori’s insides twisted. So easy to feel sorry for the little girl. “No, darling, we won’t have a place to live if we stay here. The letter came from the bank today. We have two weeks to move. I can’t pay the mortgage, and the bank has found a buyer for the house.” She tucked a curl behind the little girl’s ear. “The small amount left from your papa’s savings will be enough to just get us there.”
“Where will we live?” Hunter’s brows came together over deep brown eyes with long lashes, so like the mother Tori knew only from pictures. A year older than Ellie, he kept to himself, spending a great deal of time writing in his journal. The child remained a mystery to her.
Tori leaned down and used her soothing teacher voice. “We’ll live in a tent on the land we claim. Then, after a while, we’ll build a real house.”
A mutiny appeared on the horizon. How could a twenty-two-year-old teacher convince four children she barely knew to leave the only home they’d ever known? Another deep breath, and she forged on. She didn’t have a choice.
“Think about it, we’ll all be in on something brand new. Something exciting, that will go down in the history books.”
Why must I turn everything into a lesson?
> Rachel stood, hand on hip. “Can I go now?”
“When would we have to leave?” Almost a man at sixteen, Michael spoke slowly, a slight smile on his lips. His budding interest gave her some hope.
“As soon as possible. We can outfit your papa’s wagon, and pick up some supplies to get us through. We’ll need to go to Arkansas City, one of the starting points.”
Her gaze roamed the room. Be careful here. Her next words were dangerous territory.
“We can sell most of this stuff. The money will help, and it’s less to haul.”
Red faced, her eyes spitting fire, Rachel rounded on her. “You cannot sell my mother’s things.”
“You and Ellie can take two or three of your mother’s things, and Michael and Hunter,” she said, turning to them, “can take two or three things of your father’s. But I’m afraid there isn’t enough room to take everything.”
“Well, I suppose if it’s the only way, then we have to do it.” Michael, always the logical one, surveyed his brother and sisters. Hunter and Ellie nodded, while Rachel stomped from the room, up the stairs, then slammed her bedroom door.
Ignoring the queasiness in her stomach, Tori faced the remaining children. “Think how much fun this will be!”
****
Tori kicked the broken wagon wheel, sweat running down her face. “Dammit!” She glared at the wagon and flung her hands on her hips. Whatever made her think she could do this? The old wagon had barely gotten them here, and now she faced a split wheel. The rotted wooden spokes were practically crumbling before her eyes.
Michael studied her. “I’ll take the wheel over to the blacksmith to see if he can fix it.”
“I told you this whole idea was stupid.” Rachel scowled over her shoulder while she pulled out wet, sodden clothing from the tilted wagon.
Michael wiped his forehead with the sleeve of his shirt. “Rachel, cut it out, Tori needs our help.”
Prisoners of Love: Adelaide (Prisoners of Love - Mail Order Brides Book 1) Page 11
