by Vivi Holt
“You love me? Do you truly mean it?”
“Yes.”
He stepped closer, and reached for her cheek, cupping it with one hand. His thumb rubbed her skin lightly. His face changed, and a happy smile pushed the anger away.
“Oh, my darling. How I’ve longed to hear you say those words. I love you too. I don’t care that you’re pregnant – so much the better. We’ll have a child to share our happiness with. Only, promise me that you’ll never keep anything from me again.”
Katie laughed for joy, a bubble of laughter that buried her sobs and brought a smile to Kristoff’s face.
“I promise. Yes, I promise to share everything with you.”
He knelt down on one knee, and took her left hand in his.
“Katie Pearson, my sweet Katie, will you do the honor of being my wife?”
“Oh, yes dearest Kristoff – I will.”
Kristoff swept Katie into his arms, lifting her feet from the ground and kissing her on the mouth with a hot intensity that took her breath away. Lowering her down again, he said, “Well then, shall we?”
He offered her his arm, which she took with a smile, and they walked back to the chapel each thanking God for bringing them together, even through all of the misunderstandings and turmoil.
Chapter Twenty
Kristoff gazed down at the sweet face that beamed up at him through the redness and tears. He grinned at her as the minister read out the vows, which they each repeated after him in turn. He had finally learned her secret, and the veil of secrecy that had been guarding her heart and keeping her from him had dropped. He looked into her face and saw her standing before him – vulnerable and full of joy. She had shared herself with him, the way that he’d been hoping she would from the first moment she’d walked into his store. His soul was full to overflowing with delight.
He scanned the crowd of friends for a moment, and his eyes landed on Mr. and Mrs. Hutchins, who were grinning from ear to ear at the happy couple. Mrs. Hutchins eyes sparkled with tears, and she dabbed at them with a handkerchief.
Kristoff returned his gaze to his bride, and listened intently as she completed her vows. Then it was his turn to promise to spend his life with her, to protect her and provide for her. To be faithful to her always, and to stand by her side through sickness and health.
“I now pronounce you husband and wife. You may kiss the bride,” finished the minister, smiling warmly at them both.
Kristoff drew Katie close to him. His eyes found hers, and they sparkled with pleasure. Slowly, he dropped his face to hers, his eyes never breaking the connection. Their lips met, and he felt a jolt of rapture pass through him. His heart felt as though it might burst with contentment. Ending the kiss, he took her face between his hands and kissed the tip of her nose.
“So, Mrs. Petersen. Are you ready to go home?” he whispered.
She nodded, her eyes full of love.
“Well then, let’s go.”
The couple faced the audience, fingers woven together, and received a great cheer in response. They moved through the crowd, accepting congratulations and shaking hands as they made their way down the aisle. Children threw a colorful, and sweet smelling mixture of flower petals and rice at them. Strangers hugged Katie’s neck. And as they strode through the door, the brilliant sunshine glanced off their golden heads. They turned to face each other with a smile, and holding tightly to the other’s hand they stepped forward into their new life.
August 1871
Epilogue
The trotting movements of the horse beneath Katie made her catch her breath as they bounded across an open field. She caught her bottom lip between her teeth, and held it there. They were going so fast, the ground was flying by beneath Merry’s trotting black hooves, and Katie didn’t know if she could stay balanced for much longer. Widening her eyes, she felt her body drifting to one side – further and further with each bounce.
Just as she was about to slide right off, Kristoff came riding up beside her with a wide grin lighting up his tanned face.
“Everything all right there, Mrs. Petersen?”
Katie flashed him a nervous smile. “I think I’m falling!”
Kristoff leaned toward her and pushed her back up into the saddle with one, strong hand.
“Better?”
Katie nodded, and took a firmer hold of the reins, pulling them tighter with both hands.
“Try moving your body with the horse. Push down into the saddle, and rock your pelvis like this.” Kristoff’s muscular physique swayed with the motion of the horse, his rear never leaving the seat of the saddle.
Poking the tip of her tongue out one side of her mouth in concentration, Katie tried to mimic him but it was hard to do while riding side-saddle, and she found herself bouncing even harder on poor Merry’s back. Kristoff laughed with delight at her, a full bodied, contagious laugh that almost made Katie smile.
“I can’t do it,” she cried, pouting.
“Keep trying, my darling. In a few years we’ll be teaching little Nicky how to ride, and you’ll need to be able to keep up with us. We won’t want to leave you behind.”
Katie felt her heart warm at his words. Every time he spoke of their child, it still gave her a thrill. Less than a year ago, she’d been so anxious about her and her baby’s future. But now, everything was so very different. Nicky had been born without complication at their home, with the help of Mrs. Hutchins and a local midwife two months earlier. He was a beautiful, well-settled baby, and Katie found herself falling more and more in love with him every day. And as for Kristoff – their love had blossomed, and grown, until she could no longer imagine her life without him. Since their wedding, eight months earlier, he had courted and wooed her in every way a man could. Katie found herself trusting and leaning on him like she had never been able to do with anyone before. He was her rock, her signpost, and her true love. She would never forget her first love – Nicholas – but with Kristoff’s help the wounds in her heart had been healed, and she had opened it up to welcome Kristoff in without reservation.
“I know that I promised I’d take you riding on the night of our engagement party,” called Kristoff as King took off at a gallop, soon separating the two of them, “but it’s better late than never!”
Katie laughed at her wild husband, and leaned forward in her saddle, urging Merry to go faster. Merry took up the challenge and leapt forward into a gallop, her ears back and her legs flying as she followed in King’s shadow. Pushing into the saddle, Katie willed her body to move with the horse. All of a sudden, everything smoothed out and Katie’s world stopped jolting.
“I’m doing it! I’m doing it!” she cried.
Kristoff peered back at her over his shoulder, and beamed. “I knew you’d get it,” he called.
Katie’s hair came out of its braid, and drifted out behind her in a wave. She stayed low and snug over Merry’s neck, her hands gripping the reins and a smile fixed to her features. She watched as ducks, geese and other waterfowl rose up in fright from the waters of Kristoff’s lake as their horses thundered past. The blacks, whites, greys and browns of their feathery plumage highlighted against the dark green of the fir trees, then the lighter colors of the Sierra Nevada rising up at the edge of the valley like a troop of sentinels keeping watch over them. Kristoff pulled King to a stop at the lake’s edge, pushing his hat back and lifting his face to absorb the afternoon sunshine. Katie leaned back in her saddle, and tugged gently on the reins, bringing Merry to a halt beside him.
“It’s beautiful,” said Katie, turning about in her saddle to admire the length of the lush, green valley.
“As are you, my darling wife,” said Kristoff, a twinkle in his eyes. “Any regrets, dear?”
Katie shook her head and urged Merry closer to King’s side. Standing in her stirrups, she leaned into Kristoff and kissed his full lips, her eyes wide open and meeting his with love.
“None,” she replied. “And you?”
He scratched his hea
d thoughtfully, and twisted his mouth into a wry smile. “My only regret is not getting a bigger bed. I mean how much space can one tiny woman take up? Really? You sleep like you’re attached to a spinning wheel or something. I get kicked all night long up and down my side, it’s most aggravating.”
Kristoff laughed heartily and Katie pummeled him on the arm with her small fists.
“I’m teasing. No regrets at all. I’m happier than a man has any right to be.”
He lifted his arms and wrapped them around Katie’s shoulders, pulling her closer for an intimate embrace. Tilting her chin toward him with one finger, he looked deep into her eyes, then kissed her gently. A short, sweet kiss, followed by a longer, more passionate one that closed Katie’s eyes and filled her body with a heat that flowed from her lips to her toes. She soaked it all in – the beauty of the landscape surrounding her, the husband who loved her, and the healthy baby boy who brought her daily joy and thanked God for his bountiful provision.
Ready for the next book in the series?
Mail Order Bride: Holly is coming soon!
FREE Book! Sign up for my newsletter
and get an exclusive Mail Order Bride short story free
OTHER BOOKS BY VIVI HOLT
Orphan Brides Go West series
Mail Order Bride: Christy
Mail Order Bride: Ramona
Mail Order Bride: Katie
DEAR READER
If you want to stay updated about my latest book releases, freebies and giveaways, join my VIP list! Sign up here, and you’ll be the first to know when the next book is released. If you enjoyed Katie, please consider leaving a review. Your reviews encourage other readers to give a book a chance, which in turn persuades me to write more books! Reviews are vitally important for authors and for sharing the word about their work. Each review is personally read and appreciated, and need not be more than a few words long.
Amazon USA
Amazon UK
Love, Vivi xo
p.s. Also, don’t forget to say hello. I’d love to meet you personally.
FOLLOW VIVI HOLT
Website
Facebook
Twitter
Amazon author page
HISTORICAL NOTE
and Author’s Remarks
This book was inspired by some time I spent in California during my years living in the United States. It’s a wonderful state with such a wide variety of landscapes and wildlife, from the Mojave Desert in the south, to the redwood forests of the north. From the Sierra Nevada mountain range in the east, to the Pacific coast which forms the state’s western boundary. California also has as a very interesting history. Ruled separately by first the Native Americans, then by Spain and Mexico, it was finally admitted into the United States of America in 1850 after the Mexican-American war.
In the early 1800s California was considered by those on the more refined east coast to be a wild and untamed country. It wasn’t heavily populated by European settlers until the Gold Rush which began in 1848, and then it grew at an enormous pace over a very short period of time as California embraced its statehood. This book, set in 1870, comes along after a series of tumultuous events in the state’s dramatic history. Sacramento was coming into its own as a city. The Gold Rush was over, the city’s problems with flooding had been dealt with, and business was booming. It really was the land of opportunity, and many fortunes were made there during that time period.
I hope you’ve enjoyed following the journey of Katie and Kristoff as they learned to embrace love and their bright future together in a story that spans the country, from Boston to Sacramento.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Vivi Holt was born in Australia. She grew up in the country, where she spent her youth riding horses at Pony Club, and adventuring through the fields and rivers around the farm. Her father was a builder, turned saddler, and her mother a nurse, who stayed home to raise their four children.
After graduating from a degree in International Relations, Vivi moved to Atlanta, Georgia to work for a year. It was there that she met her husband, and they were married three years later. Vivi also studied for a Bachelor of Information Technology, and has worked in the field ever since. She spent seven years living in Atlanta and travelled to various parts of the United States during that time, falling in love with the beauty of that immense country and the American people.
She now lives in Brisbane, Australia with her husband and three small children. Married to a Baptist pastor, she is very active in her local church, and continues to work part-time as a Knowledge and Information Manager. Whatever spare time she has left after all of that goes into writing – something she has only recently discovered, but now loves to do.
