Nathaniel looked down at her, as her eyes met his. She just smiled gently and shook her head.
“I know you’re right. I think Margaret just has so much hate and pain inside her, that she doesn’t know how else to deal with it, other than by inflicting it on others.”
Nathaniel stood, still holding her hand as he pulled her up. “Ready to go back to town?”
Adelia nodded, determination set in her eyes.
Chapter 32
As Adelia made her way back into town, Nathaniel close beside her, she felt silly for letting Margaret still, after all these years, affect her so. She knew she was happy here, and she knew her worth.
It had just taken her some time to realize it.
As Adelia passed the post office, she noticed Margaret was sitting on the step, her husband beside her. Pausing, she looked at Nathaniel, who gave her an inquiring look.
“I have something I need to do.”
He nodded. “Do you want me to come?”
“No, I’ll be all right. I’ll meet you at the café in a couple of minutes.”
Adelia waited until he had begun walking away, before she made her way over to Margaret.
“I just wanted to wish you safe travels.” Adelia stood in front of her now, as Margaret glanced up at her from under her scowl.
“Why?”
“I know we’ve had our differences, Margaret, but if we part in a friendly way, we can both live the rest of our lives, knowing we’ve made up.”
“You’re the one who got me thrown out of the café, why would I want to make up with you?”
Adelia shrugged, shaking her head. “Well, I forgive you for the hurt you’ve caused me, and I hope someday you’ll be able to forgive me too. Living without anger is a much better way to live, and I hope you find that someday.”
Adelia glanced at Margaret’s husband and smiled. “Good day to you both.”
Turning around, Adelia began the walk back to the café and felt like a huge weight had been removed from her shoulders. She felt free, and better than she had for years.
She truly hoped Margaret would someday be able to feel this too, but Adelia also knew she could only do so much. She knew firsthand that if someone wanted to live in anger, there wasn’t anything someone else could do to get them out. It took becoming aware of it for yourself, and realizing you deserve better.
Chapter 33
“It’s sure going to be different without you here,” Timothy said, glancing up from his spot by the fire.
Adelia frowned, meeting his shadowed eyes. “It will be back to what you had before I came along.”
“You coming along has been a wonderful change for me, Adelia. I’m so glad we’ve been able to reconnect. I know we still have a way to go yet, but you’re my little sister and I’m so proud of who you’ve become.”
Adelia felt the tears burning in the back of her eyes as she shook her head. She couldn’t remember a time she had cried as often as she had these past couple of weeks. But every day she was met with such kindness by the people in this community, and it overwhelmed her every time.
“I’m happy I’ve been able to come here too, Timothy. I know I wasn’t pleasant to be around in the beginning, and I know I said I only came to get away from the orphanage and make my own way. While that was partly true, I think I also deep down wanted to see if there was any chance I could be close with you as we once were before we were separated.”
“Will you be happy with Mr. Anderson?”
“Yes, I think I will be very happy. You should come over for supper sometime after we’re married. I think you and Nathaniel would be good friends.”
Timothy smiled, looking back to the fire. “I’d like that very much.”
Adelia leaned her elbows back on to the table and took in a long breath. Her stomach felt like it was tying itself in knots, and her hands had been shaking constantly for the entire day. She was nervous to get married tomorrow because all eyes would be on her, and Nathaniel. And she’d be leaving the little home with her brother that she had come to love since arriving in Burchcreek.
She knew, though, that marrying Nathaniel was exactly what she wanted to do, and there were no doubts surrounding that aspect of her life. She didn’t know what their future would hold, but she was happy to be able to meet the future as it came, with Nathaniel, and the three children who had wormed their way into her heart so quickly.
“How’s Henry doing?” Adelia asked, wanting to talk about something to distract herself from the nerves she felt everywhere. She also now knew the horse that had injured itself while Timothy had been in Oakensville was called Henry and the other one was Clyde.
“Good. His cut has almost healed completely. He’ll just likely always have a mark there from it.”
“Scars aren’t a bad thing.” Adelia slowly ran her finger across the raised mark on the side above her eyebrow.
Timothy nodded, looking to where she was touching her face. “No. No they’re not. They show what you’ve been strong enough to live through.”
Adelia knew he was right. That scars, both inside and out, were just a reminder of how far you’ve come, and a promise for how far you have yet to go.
As Adelia walked out of the church with Nathaniel close beside her, she grinned and kept looking around at the people who had all come to watch this special day for them.
Kate held on to her hand that wasn’t linked in Nathaniel’s arm, and George and Isabella were following close behind them down the church steps and into the area where they would now have lunch with everyone, and enjoy some lemonade on this hot summer day.
Adelia sat down at a table which had been provided by Mrs. Tiller, and Nathaniel took the seat next to her.
“Have I mentioned how beautiful you look?” Nathaniel leaned over and said softly as he rested his hand atop hers.
“Only a hundred times.” She smiled, kissing his cheek.
Adelia turned to look at Anna, who had helped her with her hair this morning. “Congratulations again to you both. You look so lovely, Adelia.”
“Thank you, Anna.”
She smiled and stepped to the side slightly. “I’ll catch up with you again in a bit. I’m going to get something to drink. It’s so hot out today.”
Adelia watched after her friend briefly, before smiling down at Isabella who now sat in the chair on her other side. “How are you doing?”
“I’m good! Since you’re going to be living with us now, will you be able to show me how to do that thing with my hair?”
Adelia nodded. “Of course. I’ll show you how to do all kinds of things with it. Your hair will look beautiful done up.”
“And maybe you’ll be better at helping me with my homework than Pa is,” Isabella teased, and Adelia looked at Nathaniel to see if he’d heard.
He was shaking his head at Isabella, and chuckling. “Hey! I’m the smartest person ever, Isabella. You will never be able to replace me with homework help.”
Isabella rolled her eyes. “Anyone would be better than you.”
“Well, I’ll try to be helpful but I can’t promise anything.”
“Trust me.” Isabella rested her hand on top of her arm. “You’re smarter than him. He has had me spell so many words wrong, that it’s a miracle I’m even able to write.”
“Oh dear, perhaps your pa should go to school with you.” Adelia shook her head, looking at Nathaniel again.
He just smiled, reaching for the glass of lemonade someone had set in front of him. “Don’t give her any ideas.”
Adelia looked around at all the people passing out sandwiches, and pouring glasses of lemonade, and couldn’t believe how many people had come. This town was her home. She had been searching so long for a place where people accepted her, and Adelia felt that she had finally found that special place.
Her past was still with her, but she now looked at it as what had led her here. Without it, she would’ve never found Burchcreek and the happiness that had come along with it. Perh
aps she could be happy somewhere else too, but she didn’t believe this would be possible. There was something almost magical about coming in to Burchcreek. She hoped she would never have to leave the place and people that had taught her so much about herself, and about life.
Epilogue
Nathaniel sat at the table, as Adelia reached over to take his empty plate from him. The children had just run out the door as they did most mornings when they were running late for school, and now the house had a strange quiet to it that it almost never did.
He had been married to Adelia for almost a week now, and every day it still amazed him that she was here, and that it was real.
“It was a delicious breakfast. Thank you.” He slid the paper over as he heard the splash of the plate going into the basin.
“I’m glad you liked it.”
Taking a sip of his coffee, he opened the paper to the first page. “You’ll have to show me sometime how to cook the bacon without burning it.”
“You just take it out before it turns black.”
“You make it sound so simple, yet, I can’t manage it.”
Her long, brown hair hung down to the middle of her back and moved slightly as she shook her head. “Some people just aren’t meant to be in the kitchen. That’s all.”
“I think I’m one of those people.”
She looked over her shoulder, her bright blue eyes meeting his. “Oh definitely. I’ll try to show you, but I don’t know if it would help you any.”
Nathaniel laughed as he took another sip of coffee.
“What time are you going into the sawmill today?”
“I’ll go in for nine. I’ll come back here for lunch today if that’s okay?”
“Of course.” She set a dripping dish on the counter.
Nathaniel downed the final contents of the cup, and stood, reaching to set it in the basin for her. “I’ll head out now. Get the team ready to go into town. I’ll be here by twelve.”
“All right, have a good day.”
Nathaniel smiled, wrapping his arms around her, resting his chin on her shoulder. “You too.”
Kissing her cheek, he let go and removed his hat from the hook by the door, and made his way outside, leaving Adelia to finish the dishes.
It was a warm morning, and the clouds were big and puffy in the sky as he crossed to the barn. He looked back to the house and stopped to appreciate the life he’d built here. He had a good home, and family, and to him there was nothing else he could dream of wanting.
When he had come home from Isabella’s funeral many years ago and stood looking at the house from this very same spot, he had been in such a different place.
He’d been angry and wondering how he had lost everything so quickly. As time had gone on, he realized he hadn’t lost everything. He had lost an important person in his life, yes, but there were still things and people to live for.
And he deserved to be happy. Sometimes he wondered how he deserved these things because he knew he wasn’t a perfect man. He knew he didn’t deserve Adelia, but yet she stood in his house right now, and was his wife. He didn’t deserve his three wonderful children either, but yet he had them as well.
When he had stood here, a broken shell of a man, unsure about how to raise three young children who’d just lost their ma, he’d been overwhelmed. He’d promised himself he would never love anyone again because it was too painful and left him so vulnerable.
Despite this promise, he had been given another chance to love, and even though it had been, and still was a scary thing, it also made him the happiest man in the world, and for that, he would be forever grateful.
I hope you enjoyed A Chance to Love, the third and final book in my Life’s a Chance series. If you could take a few moments to go back to Amazon and leave a review, it would be greatly appreciated :)
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About the Author
Morgan Dawson is a seventeen-year old author of historical western romance.
She has always loved to read, saying someday she would write a book of her own. She wrote her first book, The Wagon, when she was just thirteen years old.
To find out more about Morgan and the books she has written, you can find her at
https://morgandawsonauthor.wixsite.com/morgandawson
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Copyright © 2020 by Morgan Dawson
All rights reserved.
Cover design by Erin-Cameron Hill
Edited by Meg Amor
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