“May I?” he whispered softly, as if he was asking permission. His breath brushed her lips with an exquisite softness that made her heart flop in her chest. He was such a gentleman, so nice to her, that she felt herself melt at the idea of him asking if a simple kiss was okay.
Herbert would have simply done it and asked for forgiveness if she got mad about it.
“Please,” she breathed.
The single word full of need.
She wanted him to kiss her, to cement this newness between them. Everything had been perfunctory up to this point and they would be stepping forward now as a team, as a couple, as man and wife. She wanted this so badly from him, and hadn’t realized just how much she craved this moment until it was here.
His lips brushed softly against hers, causing her to gasp at the sensation.
Even Chance froze for a second against her lips before giving in to the sensation.
She breathed in the scent of sandalwood from the soap she now knew he used to shave his face. Simple, soft, coaxing kisses deepened but were still infinitely tender between them. Kissing him was like the embodiment of what love felt like. What would being his wife in truth feel like, she wondered idly, and felt herself flush at the idea that suddenly hit her like a ton of bricks as their first kiss ended.
“Incredible,” Chance breathed softly against her lips, there in the firelight.
“Special,” she confirmed, meeting his eyes. “I’m sorry I was so mad when you walked in the door tonight. I was hurt and needed this. I needed us to talk.”
“I think we will do nicely together and we can talk through anything as a couple,” he breathed, his eyes full of desire as he leaned forward for a second kiss. Her heart hammered in her chest nervously and she felt a flutter in her lower abdomen that made her gasp at the sensation – the same time that Chance stood, pulling her to her feet against him.
He froze, looked down between them, and then met her eyes.
She saw the recognition and question in their depths.
“I’m sorry. I was afraid to tell you,” Melanie whispered in a hurry.
“You’re… pregnant?”
Chapter 10
Chance backed away from the slight firm bulge of her stomach that had pressed against him unexpectedly. He felt like he’d been punched in the chest! This was certainly not what he’d expected. He’d just opened himself up, confessing his fears and his regret at losing his wife during childbirth that it never occurred to her to speak up that she might be in the same condition that had killed his first wife, Beth?
“How are you pregnant?”
“Well, when a husband and a wife…”
“I know how it happens,” he snapped, pointing at the bedroom. “I’ve got a child too, remember?”
“Well please do me a favor and don’t wake Amelia up.”
“I’m not yelling,” he shouted.
“Neither am I,” Melanie cried out hotly, before lowering her voice as she crossed her arms over her chest. “You think I want to have Herbert’s baby? Actually – you know what? I do! It’s my child too and that’s the reason why I love it already. This is my child, my blood, and I can’t wait for her to get here.”
“You know how Beth died,” he retorted, stunned, pointing at her stomach. “Like that!”
“I also know that not every woman dies in childbirth. Most of us make it through somehow and have for thousands of years,” she said sarcastically, rolling her eyes.
“I know that.”
She crossed her arms and he realized that her gown was tight against her midsection. How had he not seen it or recognized the signs? The first moment he’d glimpsed her she was vomiting in an alleyway. She’d said it was motion sickness – but it was actually morning sickness! How pregnant was she?
“Then why are you mad at me?”
“Because…” Chance roared, turning around angrily to look at Melanie as the reasoning suddenly hit him. He liked Melanie more than he ever anticipated and she was wonderful with Amelia. The sudden idea of watching her body swell and change with a baby before his eyes hit him hard. “Because it’s not ours, that we made together…” he whispered painfully as the confession felt like it was wrung from his soul.
“What?” she whispered, looking up at him as if she couldn’t believe his words.
“I like children and used to want a large family before Beth died. I’m not an unfeeling monster and I knew you were married before,” he said hollowly, collapsing in his seat once again. “I just never thought that I would have to relive witnessing someone I am coming to care for, torturously laboring for hours on end so soon.”
“You care… for me?” she finished in a disbelieving squeak.
“How could I not? You are sweet, kind, loving, and gentle – except when you are mad at me. You can be a little scary then. I was quaking in my boots when I walked in the door tonight and saw you there glowering at me,” he confessed truthfully before cursing. He pulled her towards him, resting his cheek against her gown, as if he needed a hug and didn’t know how to ask for one.
“Chance?” her voice was thick with emotion and curiosity as she tentatively touched his head. He felt the gentle caress of her fingers through his hair and shivered slightly at it.
“Melanie, I’m afraid - and it makes me feel weak, like less of a man,” he admitted. “I don’t want anything to happen to you. I can’t marry again because I know that I might not be as lucky the next time around.”
Melanie didn’t even bother in trying to hide how his words made her feel; instead, she felt all the emotions, all the feelings pour out of her as she caressed the stranger that she’d wed less than a week ago. He didn’t have to be nice, or wonderful – but the fact that he was, was simply amazing and no less than a gift from God. She cradled his head against her stomach and felt the fluttering sensation once again, as if the baby knew somehow that her new stepfather was there, nearby.
“I didn’t know how to tell you and was scared you’d send me away,” Melanie said quietly, touching his hair.
“I’m a terrible husband and father,” he confessed. “I should have stayed here. I should have realized you have things that you need to heal from just as I do.”
“What kind of wife is glad that her husband is gone?” Melanie said with a grimace at his startled expression when he looked up at her. “Not you, Chance. Herbert. I was glad to be free of him and just wish things would have been so different.”
“Were you glad I left?” he asked painfully.
“No,” she admitted. “I missed you and missed getting a chance to get to know you better. I want us to be a couple.”
“I do too.”
“Then maybe we should just start over and try this all again.”
“I won’t bother you or try to get in the way,” he pledged, only to have Melanie shake her head in denial, her heart hammering in her chest.
“No. I won’t have a marriage in name only, but I am not ready for that aspect either. I want us to grow close, to become friends, and form a bond – and part of that is knowing I can put my cold feet on you at night or that you snore. I want a husband – not a companion,” Melanie said firmly, staring into his dark eyes that held hers. She saw his throat work as he swallowed before continuing.
“Amelia needs a father to love her and truthfully, I need a man who will be brave enough to support a growing family and talk about when he is scared or frightened.”
“I want to be all of that and I’m afraid I will let you down.”
“Then I want to be the person you turn to in the still of the night when you need to talk. I want to be there for you, Chance.”
He nodded, laying his cheek against her stomach once again.
“I will be there for you as well, Melanie. I promise.”
“That’s all I could ask for,” she whispered, smoothing his hair.
Chapter 11
Six months later…
“Chance? Honey, wake up…” Melanie said tightly as a co
ntraction hit her full force, wrapping around her waist painfully, causing her to gasp. It was pitch black in their bedroom and she knew it was in the middle of the night. Her back had ached before bed, but it wasn’t unusual in the slightest. The last few weeks everything ached, had stretch marks, or leaked on her body. A simple back ache felt like nothing at this point.
“Honey, wake up.”
“Was I snoring?” he said sleepily, rolling over.
“My water broke. The baby is coming.”
“What?” he yelped and Melanie winced, hearing Amelia call out from the bedroom next door. The child had begun waking up again at odd hours of the morning and she suspected that the little girl was teething from the massive amount of drool she was producing in the last week or two.
“I’ll get Amelia – you go get Rebecca and Sally.”
“I’m not leaving you.”
“Fine. Then I’ll waddle on over in the middle of the night and get them,” Melanie snapped, getting up awkwardly from the bed and throwing her shawl around her nightgown.
“No, you won’t,” Chance argued. “I’ll go, but I really prefer not to leave you.”
“Chance,” she said softly, walking over to him and reaching out past her stomach to lay a hand on his handsome jawline. “The longer you wait, the closer to delivery I will be. I want you here with me when our next child arrives. I don’t want to be alone.”
“You’ll be okay?” he asked nervously, and she felt his jaw flex several times under her fingers as he ground his teeth and swallowed. She knew he was reliving another delivery not long ago that brought her to him.
“I’ll be fine,” Melanie said through gritted teeth as another contraction rolled over her again, “but I wouldn’t mind you running as fast as you can go, if you get my meaning.”
“I’m on the way,” he blurted out, racing out of the room in just his long johns.
Melanie hoped Chance was sprinting, because the baby was coming fast!
An hour later, she was mindless with pain and trying to pace the bedroom as her friends continued to prattle on at what a good job she was doing. Every few moments, Melanie was shaking with effort and fluid was leaking down her legs everywhere. She kept her eyes pinched closed because she didn’t want to look at it to see if it was blood, urine, or fluid from the baby.
“Get Chance,” she bit out, clenching Rebecca’s hand painfully.
“You sure you want him in here?” Sally asked skeptically. Melanie knew the woman wasn’t a fan of her husband from their first meeting, but now wasn’t the time to discuss it.
“Get… Chance…” she puffed angrily, trying to make it to the bed. Her body was telling her to bear down and she was beyond thought.
“I’m already here, love.”
Chance’s voice broke through the haze of pain racing through her body. Melanie opened her eyes and felt herself start to buckle as she realized that she didn’t have to be strong anymore. He could help her get through this.
“Shhh… I’ve got you,” he whispered, wrapping his arms around her and guiding her to the bed. “Scream and curse me if you want, baby. I’ve got you and won’t let you go.”
She felt her fingernails dig into the wooden post of the bed with the next contraction, and let out a groan as her body protested the effort it was facing. Several sets of hands were pushing her towards the bed and she saw Chance was already there, sitting, and pulling her towards him. Melanie lay back against her husband as another contraction hit her… hard.
Screaming, she felt herself push as hard as she could, her legs shaking as ever muscle from her shoulders down seized in a concentrated effort to expel the child. Just like a wave, the pain slowed to an ebb and was starting back up already.
“You are doing beautifully,” Chance whispered in her ear.
“Hurts…” she bit out between clenched teeth.
“Squeeze my hand and push, love.”
“Pushing!” she shrieked before falling back as the feeling withdrew only seconds before it was crashing against her again. “Arrgghhh!” she cried desperately, her cheeks straining with effort and spots appearing before her eyes. She felt a burning pain and a slipping sensation as her child slid from her body finally. Collapsing back, she gasped in relief and couldn’t help the tears that burst forth from her as a cry split the evening air.
“It’s a girl!”
Melanie laughed softly and held out her hands to Sally, who was swaddling the baby for her. Rebecca entered the room with Amelia in her arms, a thumb hanging out of her mouth as she looked at them sleepily.
“Oh, my goodness,” Melanie breathed, staring at the face of her baby before looking up at Chance. His beloved face was streaming tears as he looked at her with such tenderness and love in his eyes.
“I love you, Chance.”
“I love you so much, Melanie,” he whispered softly, kissing her on the forehead. “I love you all so very much. She’s beautiful just like her momma. Our whole world is in this room, together.”
“Yes, it is,” Melanie said empathically, as she looked between her husband’s shining eyes, to her newborn daughter with a thick patch of hair on her head, to the baby in Rebecca’s arms who was sucking contentedly on her thumb as Amelia lay her head down on her shoulder.
Life sure had taken a turn for the better in the most unexpected way possible. There had been so many bumps, twists and turns, but at the end of her path… she’d ended up with the man of her dreams. A kind, gentle man that loved her like no other and was full of smiles for her and their growing family.
Afterword
Thank you for taking the time to read Mail Order Melanie. If you enjoyed it, please consider telling your friends or posting a short review. Doesn’t have to be much, just a simple rating and a few kind words work wonders. Your thoughts, opinions and feedback are much appreciated.
Sincerely,
Ginny
Also by Ginny Sterling
Mail Order Clara
Clara Winslow was about to be bartered off in a loveless marriage to her despicable neighbor. When she sees an ad for a mail-order bride that promises wide open skies, travel, and adventure-Clara jumps at the chance, omitting her promise to take care of her baby brother.
James ‘Mule’ Clanton was desperate for help. He knew he was stubborn, hard-headed, and old-fashioned, but a woman was just what he needed to help cook, clean, and mend while he worked. The outlaws have repeatedly threatened his ranch, but when he takes one look at his feisty new bride, it’s enough to make him turn tail and run!
Can love bloom under false pretenses? Will her prickly husband be more than she can handle in the Wild West?
A Bride for Daniel - Part of the Proxy Brides Series
Emma Butler is devastated to find her life spiraling out of her control. She is married by proxy at the moment war begins in her own home of Lexington, Massachusetts. The ‘shot heard round the world’ is volleyed directly in front of her, leaving her an orphan. To make matters even more tragic, her new husband never arrives to claim her. The ideas of life, liberty, and happiness seem so far away as she struggles to get by in a world she no longer recognizes. Just when things begin to settle down, she comes face to face with her missing groom, Daniel Knox.
Daniel Knox has had his life put forcibly on hold when he is pressed into service for the King’s Navy. Betrayed, alone, and with nowhere to go – he heads for the one spark of hope that he remembers from years ago, praying for a second chance at happiness with Emma, his Proxy Bride.
Hopefully Matched
Married at the brink of the Civil War, young Ava Buchannan dutifully bids farewell to her new husband as any proper southern woman would. The problem is she never dreamed that it would be the last time she ever saw him. In her heart, she knew she should wait for his return, yet her mind told her differently. In the seven years that have passed since her marriage, she’s seen other women move forward with their lives. Yet she is trapped maintaining the family business of undertaker for
the town of Maypearl, Texas. Seeing so much death, having no prospects of happiness, and a squeamish constitution were all taking their toll on her… until hope arrived in the form of a letter.
Desperate for a fresh start after the war, Jeremiah Ellington responded to an ad in the paper for a job. His home had been razed, his family gone, and he had only the items on his back to begin his life again. When he received a response to the ad for an assistant to the town’s undertaker, it seemed to be a perfect solution for a former surgeon in the army. One look at the lovely undertaker and his dead heart came alive. Jeremiah would do anything to have Ava in his life, including making her forget her long lost husband.
Can Ava let down her guard enough to begin to enjoy the life around her? Can Jeremiah find a way to break through the shell that is protecting her heart as they are suddenly hopefully matched together.
Copyright © 2020 by Ginny Sterling
All rights reserved.
No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without written permission from the author, except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.
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