Kathleen's Dream (Mail-Order Brides Of Prairie Meadow 1)

by Maggie McCloud

  This was her family and seeing them gathered around made her realize how very much they meant to her.

  Being as quiet as possible, Kathleen carefully got out of bed and made her way to the kitchen, where she proceeded to stoke up the fire in the stove and get started making breakfast. She moved slowly and had to stop when dizziness threatened to overtake her, but she was determined to do this.

  It wasn’t long before the smells of bacon cooking woke up the rest of the family. Michael and Melissa rushed over to her and threw their arms around her waist, almost knocking her over. She felt her way over to a chair, sat down and gathered both of them into a hug.

  Daniel was right behind them and urged them to be careful, reminding them that Kathleen was still very sore from her fall.

  “What exactly do you think you’re doing anyway, Kathleen? You should be in bed. I know my cooking is bad but I could have handled one more day,” said Daniel smiling.

  “I woke up and felt better this morning. I figured the least I could do would be to make breakfast after lying around all day yesterday.”

  “I’m not sure I agree. I was about to go and fetch the doctor to take a look at you. I might do that anyway. Look at you, you’re white as a sheet.”

  He had barely gotten the words out when Kathleen pitched forward in her chair. Daniel reached out just in time and caught her before she hit the floor. With Melissa and Michael hovering around, he picked her up and carried her back to bed.

  After tucking the blankets in around her, he went to get a cool cloth to put on her forehead. All three of them were shaken up at the sight of Kathleen lying so still in the bed. The kids were in tears and were hugging their pa tightly. Daniel had just about decided to ride into town and get the doctor when Kathleen stirred.

  She looked over at them and asked, “What happened? Why are you all crying?”

  The youngsters rushed over and carefully climbed up onto the bed to snuggle up to Kathleen. Their tears slowed as she put her arms around them.

  Daniel swiped at his eyes and said, “I wasn’t crying.”

  Smiling she asked, “Something in your eyes then?”

  Darned if his eyes weren’t watering. Okay he might as well admit it – he was crying. Daniel quickly rubbed the tears away and smiled right back at her.

  “You sure do know how to keep things interesting around here. There never seems to be a dull moment since you came on the scene.”

  Walking over to her and taking her hand, he added, “And I wouldn’t change it for the world, Mrs. McCann.”

  In time, Kathleen made a full recovery. Her heart was full too. She knew that at last she was part of a real family. She thanked God every day for making her dream come true.

  As Melissa and Michael realized that Kathleen wasn’t going anywhere, they became happier and calmer. The panic they experienced during storms slowly lessened. It would probably never disappear completely, but at least now they could be comforted. As time went on, Melissa’s nightmares became few and far between, and Michael’s stutter all but disappeared, except on rare occasions.

  Patsy would never be forgotten. But in Kathleen, Daniel had found a woman to share his life with and he thanked God for that every day. Long lonely evenings and nights were a thing of the past. And soon, their family would be growing, as Kathleen was expecting their first child in the near future.

  A Message From Maggie McCloud

  Thank you for downloading my book. I hope you enjoyed reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it. I have always been fascinated by the stories of women who traveled so far to become mail order brides. Their stories are the inspiration for my books.

  If you enjoyed this book, please tell your family and friends so they can enjoy it too. I would very much appreciate it if you could take the time to leave me a review on Amazon. Here is a link to the book on Amazon. (Please scroll down the page to leave a review.)

  I’d love to hear from you. Your thoughts and insights are invaluable to me and help me to create the clean sweet stories that are what Mail Order Bride romances are all about.

  You can connect with me on Facebook. Whenever I release a new book, I will always announce it on my Facebook page. (Please LIKE my Facebook page.)

  You can also email me directly at maggie@maggiemccloudbooks.com

  Please sign up for my mailing list so I can let you know whenever I publish a new book. Your information will never be shared and will only be used for new release announcements, special subscriber-only offers on books, and for exclusive previews and content.

  I look forward to hearing from you!

  Maggie

  P.S. You can read a bonus chapter of Betsy’s Hope at the end of this book.

  Other Books By Maggie McCloud

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

  Annie’s Chance: Mail Order Brides Of Prairie Meadow – Book 3

  Bonus Chapter – Betsy’s Hope

  Betsy’s Hope:

  Mail Order Brides Of Prairie Meadow – Book 2

  Chapter 1

  Betsy McIntyre was up to her elbows in dishwater, again. The promise of a job in the swanky downtown restaurant was not at all living up to her expectations. She had gone against her parents’ wishes by taking this job. Her father had told her that if she left, she need not come back.

  “ You’re disgracing your family Betsy, you are. An unmarried woman does not go off from her family to live on her own. So, don’t think you can just come back home if this doesn’t work out. We won’t be having you back this time.”

  But of course being her usual impulsive self, she had not thought things through properly and had exchanged cross words with her father. Now there was no going back, especially since this wasn’t the first time she’d had a disagreement like this with him. This time she had truly burned her bridges, as far as her parents were concerned.

  She blew some stray hair out of her eyes, sweating in the hot airless kitchen. When she’d asked Mr. Jamison, her boss, when she would be able to start waiting tables, he’d just laughed in her face and said, “ The chances of you ever doing that are slim to none, until you can prove your worth with a sink full of dirty dishes.”

  “But, I was promised a job working in the main dining room,” she protested.

  “Yes and you will notice Betsy, that the person who made that promise is no longer employed here.”

  Her heart sank. Yes, she had noticed that. But she had thought that being put to work as a dishwasher was a mistake that would quickly be corrected when she pointed it out to Mr. Jamison.

  “Them dishes ain’t gonna wash themselves, Betsy,” growled Mr. Abbott, her slave driver of a kitchen boss. “Get a move on or I’ll find somebody who will.”

  “Sorry, Mr. Abbott,” said Betsy washing the dishes with renewed vigor with Mr. Abbott breathing down her neck. As much as she hated this job, she could not afford to lose it. If she got fired she would have to move out of the staff quarters and she didn’t know where she would go if that happened.

  She breathed a sigh of relief when Mr. Abbott finally moved away. Her friend Martha, who was responsible for drying the dishes that Betsy washed, shot her a sympathetic look and after looking around, whispered, “Don’t let him get to you Betsy.”

  If it weren’t for Martha she didn’t know how she would get through these days. And after the day’s work was done, the two were as close as two peas in a pod.

  In fact it was just a week or so ago that she and Martha had been sitting on a bench close to the restaurant, talking. There was no getting around the fact that they were both fed up and discouraged. Martha too had been hired under false pretenses and she was no closer to becoming a waitress than Betsy was.

  Both girls had hoped that working in what they thought of, as a glamorous job, would help them to meet the man of their dreams. But there was no chance of that happening, stuck in the kitchen as they were.

  As they chatted, Betsy picked up a newspaper that had been left on
the bench and started to idly turn the pages. An advertisement for Mail Order Brides caught her attention.

  Excited, she showed Martha, “Look at this Martha. The Western Marriage Agency is searching for women who are looking for husbands.”

  “That sounds like us, Betsy! What else does it say?”

  “Have you ever heard of mail order brides, Martha? That’s what they are calling the program.” Betsy kept reading. “If we’re interested, we are to go to the office. They have letters on file from men who live out west and are looking for women who would be willing to move out there and marry them.”

  “Oh, I can’t wait to go and see what they have to say. I’m glad we both have the day after tomorrow off. Let’s go then,” said Martha.

  And so it was that Betsy and Martha found themselves at the Western Marriage Agency on their day off. They had put on their best clothes so as to make a good impression. Mrs. Simpson, the owner, was happy they had made the effort, but she didn’t believe in sugar coating things. She thought that if a woman was going to be happy becoming a mail order bride, she should know the real story.

  After interviewing each young woman, she filled them in on the challenges and hardships involved, not the least of which was leaving the surroundings they were used to, as well as family and friends. Betsy was not deterred with what she heard, but Martha was definitely not as thrilled with the whole idea.

  “You two girls go home and think over what I have told you. It is a huge change. If you still think you’d be interested, then come back and see me and we’ll talk again.”

  Before she even left the premises, Betsy had made up her mind that she was going to do it; she was going to become a mail order bride. On their way back to the staff quarters, Betsy told Martha her decision, “I’ll miss you Martha, but there is really nothing else holding me here.”

  Martha confessed that she had changed her mind about becoming a mail order bride. She felt badly that she wouldn’t be joining her friend in the adventure. “It’s not like I thought it would be, I guess, Betsy. I think I’m going to stick around here at the restaurant for a while longer and see if Mr. Jamison will put me in the dining room. But if he doesn’t, then once you leave, I will probably just go home and move back in with my mother.”

  Over the course of the next week, Betsy thought long and hard about becoming a mail order bride. The more she thought about it, the more excited she became at the prospect. On her next day off, she returned to the Agency. Mrs. Simpson was delighted. “I thought you would probably come back, but I’m not surprised that your friend changed her mind. I’m a pretty good judge of character.”

  After sitting down together, she said, “There are two potential husbands I think you might find interesting. John Masterson has a farm in Prairie Meadow, Kansas. Michael Cassidy lives on a ranch in Wyoming.”

  “But, how can I possibly know which one might be best for me?”

  Mrs. Simpson smiled, “That’s where I come in. From what you have told me about yourself and your family, I think Mr. Masterson might be the better match for you. But take a look at the information I have put together and read the letter each has written. Then you can decide if you would like to write to either of them. Since meeting them at this stage is not possible, letter writing is the best way to learn more about a person.”

  Mrs. Simpson stood up. “Do you have any questions about any of this? If not, then I shall leave you to read. Let me know what you decide.”

  Betsy carefully read both letters over. Although the idea of living on a ranch appealed to her, she decided against Michael Cassidy. She knew that Wyoming had very long, frigid winters and she hated being cold. She shivered just thinking about it. Kansas and John Masterson sounded like a much better option. If he had a farm of his own, surely he would have a cozy house to go along with it.

  “Mrs. Simpson, you were right in thinking that I would prefer Mr. Masterson. I would like to write him a letter if I may.”

  “That’s just fine, Betsy. Since mail delivery is quite slow, be sure to provide as many details about yourself as possible. If he is satisfied with what you have to say, he may be eager to send for you right away. Would that be satisfactory or do you wish to correspond with him longer?”

  Betsey thought for a moment and made a quick decision. “I think Mr. Masterson sounds like the right man for me. I would be happy to move out there as soon as it can be arranged, if he is in agreement.”

  “In that case,” said Mrs. Simpson, “once he is in touch, I will arrange for him to send you a train ticket and some extra money to cover your travel expenses.”

  Betsy was so excited once she left the office that she decided to splurge a little. She wanted to start on her letter right away and she knew just the spot to do that.

  The waitress seated Betsy in a quiet corner booth and took her order for coffee and a piece of cherry pie with ice cream. Over the course of the next two hours, Betsy carefully worded her letter to John Masterson.

  She wanted to be honest with him, but at the same time she wanted to make a good impression. So she stretched the truth when it came to her background and her family, just as she’d done with Mrs. Simpson.

  He didn’t really need to know that her family had servants and that she had never so much as baked a loaf of bread or washed her own clothes before, did he? After all, she was resourceful, so if she wasn’t able to do everything a farmer’s wife could right from the start; she figured she could learn in short order.

  CONTINUE READING ……