Mail Order Bride- Twenty-Two Brides Mega Boxed Set

by Emily Woods

  “Irina!”

  Irina squinted as she looked out of the window. Far down the dirt road, she saw John running toward the house. The rain fell on him as he ran, and Irina could see his clothes were soaked. She cocked her head to the side, confused at the sight and sound of her husband running home and yelling for her.

  “What is happening?” Irina murmured as she left the window and walked to the front door. She slowly turned the handle, and a frigid breeze burst in. Rain began to fall into the house, and Irina shielded her eyes with her hand. John was approaching, and in spite of herself, Irina dashed outside and began to run toward her husband.

  “Irina!” John called out as he ran back toward his house. His heart was abuzz was excitement and joy. The Lord has spoken to him through the words of his brother, and as John had wept on the floor of his childhood bedroom, he had finally let go of the resentment that had been curled deep within him since his youth. John’s heart was singing and his mind was racing. He had to get home to his wife and beg for her forgiveness. John’s final respects to his brother would be made through his life serving the Lord with Irina, his beautiful wife, and as John dashed toward his house screaming his wife’s name, he prayed that Irina would accept his apology and offer him grace.

  “Irina!” John shouted. He could see his house. The modest, one-bedroom cabin would soon be filled with love and laughter, and John smiled as he thought of the wonderful woman and sweet daughter that he would cherish for the rest of his life. He lifted his knees even higher, willing himself to run faster as he sprinted away from his immature, bitter past and toward his beautiful future.

  In the distance, he saw the door of his house open. The rain was heavy again, but John moved quickly despite the weight of his wet clothes. His boots were covered with mud, and he had lost his hat, but he moved toward his house as quickly as he could.

  “Irina!”

  Irina was standing in the doorway of the house, her white nightgown billowing as the wind hit her small frame.

  “John?” Irina replied. John was only a few hundred feet away from the house, but Irina began to run toward him. She moved gracefully. John could see she was barefoot, but she dodged the rocks and debris of the storm effortlessly.

  “Irina!”

  John’s green eyes widened as Irina ran to him. Fat drops of rain fell from the sky, and Irina’s white nightgown clung to her shapely legs and hugged every curve. John’s jaw dropped. His wife was drenched, but she was more beautiful than she had been on their wedding day. Her dark hair streamed behind her as she ran toward him, and her cheeks were pink. John could see that her face was wet—was she crying, or was it the rain?

  The married couple reached each other. They stared into each other’s eyes, both feeling their hearts pounding inside of their chests. After looking at each other, John and Irina spoke in unison.

  “Forgive me,” they said.

  John saw Irina’s face light up. Her thick, sensual lips turned upward into a soft smile, and her eyes sparkled as they stared into his. His gaze traveled from her eyes all the way down to her body. As his wife stood shaking in her soaking white nightdress, no part of her womanly body was hidden from her husband. John pulled Irina close to him, and the couple embraced, melting in each other’s arms.

  “I’m sorry, John,” Irina whispered as the rain fell on them. “I am sorry I ruined our sweet moment. You have been good to us, John! You agreed to marry me, a woman with a baby girl, and you have given us a safe, warm home and food for our table! You have provided for us, and you have taken on so much. I am sorry I said what I said earlier. It was a mistake. In that moment, I wanted you, John. I still want you.”

  John watched as Irina batted her dark eyelashes and cast her gaze at the ground. She bit her bottom lip and slowly twirled a loose lock of dark hair around her index finger. John looked down at his wife, and his body grew hot with desire as he watched Irina’s eyes slowly meet his again. He felt the curve of her waist under his left arm, and his right hand traveled from her low back to a place he had never before explored.

  “Irina,” John murmured, the rain falling in his eyes. “Forgive me, Irina. I ain’t been a good husband to you, or a father to the baby, but that is going to change. The Lord has spoken to me. I ain’t real sure about anything, Irina, but I am sure that I am going to be a good husband to you and a good father to our little daughter. Forgive me for my pride and my anger. The Lord has shown me His face and His mercy, and I hope you will give me your grace.”

  Irina stood on her tiptoes and tilted her chin up toward her husband. John removed his hands from Irina’s waist and backside, and he took her small face into his hands.

  “Kiss me,” Irina said softly, gazing up at John from her lowered eyelids as he held her face in his hands. “Kiss me.”

  John guided Irina’s mouth to his, still holding her face with both hands. Their mouths met, and their kiss was long and deep. Irina moaned, and John felt her weight shifting as she leaned into his body. Their chests were pressed against each other, and as they kissed, John could not tell the difference between their heavy, rapid heartbeats.

  “Irina,” John whispered, pulling away from his wife. The sun was rising on the horizon, and the sky was aglow with deep burnt oranges and the faintest, softest pinks. The rain had stopped, and Irina beamed up at her husband as he said her name.

  “John,” Irina replied.

  John scooped Irina into his arms and kissed her forehead.

  “Let’s go home,” he said, starting for the house. “Let’s go home.”

  Epilogue

  “Mama, why do you love Billy better?” Queralt whined, her dark hair loose upon her narrow shoulders.

  Irina first scowled at her eleven-year-old daughter, but seeing the hurt in Queralt’s eyes, she gestured to her daughter.

  “Queralt, nena, come sit with your mama,” Irina said gently. Queralt climbed into Irina’s lap and buried her face in Irina’s bosom. Irina tucked one hand around her daughter’s thin waist and used the other hand to brush through Irina’s thick locks.

  “Queralt, my nena. You are preciosa. You are smart and beautiful and darling, and you know that your mama loves you,” Irina cooed, holding her daughter tightly as Queralt’s little body began to shake.

  “But, Mama, you love Billy better! I can just tell that you do!” Queralt argued.

  Irina sighed.

  “Nena,” Irina murmured. “Billy is just a baby! Your papa and I love you both so much for different reasons. Do you know why I love you?”

  Queralt shook her head. Irina reached for her daughter’s little hands.

  “Queralt, you know the story of how you and I came to be in Pinecone,” Irina whispered to her daughter. “You were born far away, and when your first papa and your grandfather died, you and Mama traveled here together on a big train!”

  Queralt snuggled against her mother and wrapped her arms around Irina’s neck.

  “Was I brave, mama?” Queralt asked.

  Irina nodded emphatically, remembered that Queralt had only been an infant on the journey west but knowing that her words to her firstborn child were important.

  “You were the bravest little girl on the train,” Irina assured Queralt. “You didn’t cry for a second, and you seemed to even enjoy the journey! Not many ladies can say they enjoyed an entire month on a train, and you made it look easy, nena!”

  Queralt nodded, but Irina could see her daughter’s lip quivering.

  “What is this about, Queralt?” Irina asked quietly as the mother and daughter sat together on the small back porch of the house that overlooked the fields. “Did something happen, nena?”

  Queralt shook her head.

  “Queralt, I love you because you are my first baby,” Irina explained patiently. “You and I traveled here together. We journeyed across the country together, over the rivers, through the valleys, and atop the tall mountains! Queralt, you made me brave and strong, and I love you so very much.”

  Q
ueralt stuck her thumb in her mouth, her brow furrowed. Irina softly pulled her daughter’s fingers out of her mouth and held the thumb tightly.

  “You are too old for that, Queralt,” Irina kindly scolded.

  “But that baby does that!” Queralt replied.

  Irina unfolded her daughter from her lap and placed Queralt on the porch floor. The sun was beginning to set, and John would be home soon. It was time to begin preparing dinner for the family, and Irina did not want Queralt to spoil the evening for everyone. Her heart softened, however, when she recalled John’s stories about growing up with his brother.

  “No one made me feel special,” John had explained. “I was just the other one.”

  Irina dropped to her knees. It was difficult to get on the ground. Her belly was swollen, and she was due to give birth again in just a few months! She and John had only welcomed baby Billy into the world last year, and Irina was thankful that God had blessed her family with another child.

  With a hand on her growing stomach, Irina steadied herself as she stared into her daughter’s dark eyes.

  “She looks every bit of her Catalan heritage,” Irina thought proudly as she smiled at her daughter. Unlike the little fair-haired, light-eyed girls in town, Queralt had an exotic beauty, just like her mother. Her thick, black locks cascaded down her little back, and her pale face was the color of ivory. Queralt moved with the same natural grace as Irina, and Irina’s heart swelled as she watched her firstborn child grow into a loving, sweet girl.

  Today, however, Queralt was challenging her mother, and Irina wanted to ensure that Queralt never spent another moment questioning her worth or value. Irina truly loved her children equally, and she was eager to make Queralt feel affirmed.

  “Queralt, you are special to mama for many reasons: you have been places that no other little girl in town has been, you speak three languages just like your mama, and you love the Lord! You can recite more passages of scripture from memory than your pa can, and you are braver than anyone I know.”

  Queralt’s eyes widened.

  “Really, Mama?”

  Irina nodded.

  “Of course, mi reina,” Irina replied. She smoothed her skirts around her swollen belly and took her daughter’s hands once more. “No one will ever replace you. Baby Billy did not replace you, and the little baby girl in my belly will not replace you. You and mama had special time together before Mama even met your pa, Queralt, and I don’t ever want you to forget that.”

  Queralt’s eyes lit up with excitement. She softly stroked Irina’s belly.

  “It’s a girl, mama?” Queralt asked. Irina nodded.

  “The Lord has told me that it is a little girl! You will have a sister!” Irina declared.

  Queralt grinned.

  “Te quiero, mama,” Queralt said, hugging her mother’s belly. “Te quiero, bebe,” she said to the baby.

  “Where are my girls?” Irina heard John call from the house.

  “Pa! Estamos aqui,” Queralt replied to John. John appeared on the porch, a smile on his face.

  “How are my girls today?” John asked, leaning down to help Irina to her feet.

  Queralt jumped up and down excitedly.

  “Mama told me that the baby is a little girl!” Queralt said gleefully, her dark eyes sparkling. “A sister! A sister for me!”

  John nodded and pulled Queralt to his side. He picked her up and kissed her forehead.

  “You have been a mighty good sister to baby Billy, sweetheart,” John said sweetly to Queralt as she giggled in his arms. “You have been real good, and I know you is gonna be a real nice sister to the little girl in Mama’s belly.”

  John returned Queralt to the ground and gave her a playful swat on the bottom.

  “Big sister,” he said, a smile on his face. “Why don’t you go check on your little brother while I talk with your mama?”

  Queralt nodded obediently. Irina hoped that their conversation had assuaged Queralt’s concerns, and she settled herself into one of the wooden rocking chairs on the porch.

  “You look real pretty, Irina,” John said, his voice filled with tenderness as he surveyed his pregnant wife. Irina rolled her eyes at her husband, feigning insult.

  “I am the size of the house!” Irina complained in jest. John knelt beside her and placed his large hands on Irina’s round belly. He smiled up at his wife, and his heart filled with happiness.

  “Is Billy still asleep inside?” Irina asked as John closed his eyes.

  Billy. The name of his deceased brother, and the name of his own son. John had not considered any other name when the doctor had delivered a healthy baby boy, and as he thought of his son, thoughts of his past and the present collided. As John lightly stroked his wife’s stomach, running his fingers up and down the curve of her protruding belly, he thought back to her first days in Pinecone when she had been practically a stranger to him. John remembered the night the Lord had spoken to him through Billy’s letter, and Billy’s words still resonated with him.

  You have done so much for me, John, and I hope to someday make it all up to you. You have shouldered great burdens for me, and I promise you that one day, I will make things right. I love you very much, John, and I wish to help give you the world. You are my beloved brother, and I will work my entire life to ensure that you have everything you want.

  John blinked back tears as he remembered his kind, gentle brother. He strove every day to be a Godly man, husband, and father, and his brother’s words felt prophetic. Billy had given John everything John never even knew he wanted, and as John’s green eyes took in the sight of his radiant, glowing wife, he had never felt more at peace with the Lord’s plan for his life.

  “Thank you, Lord,” John thought as Irina leaned down to kiss his forehead. “Thank you, Billy.”

  A New Love

  A Family to Love, Book 6

  Prologue

  It began as innocently as all young love does. Between quick, bashful looks at church, and stolen moments together in the dusty Californian schoolyard, Danny and Evana fell into the sweet, pure love of childhood with every passing day. What began as two children holding hands as they walked home from school blossomed into deep, longing love that consumed both parties as they grew older, and eventually, after months of prayer and the blessings of his parents, it was time for their love to become permanent and lasting.

  Danny straightened his collar and ran a hand through his thick blonde hair as he walked down the familiar dirt path to the Pinecone Inn. He had wandered this road many times. The Pinecone Inn belonged to his parents’ best friends, and Danny and his brother, Timmy, had spent hundreds of evenings sharing meals and making memories at the inn. Now, at eighteen years old, Danny was ready to make the best memories yet at the Pinecone Inn. Dressed in his best Sunday suit, with a bouquet of wild sunflowers in hand, Danny was marching toward his destiny with vigor, and his blue eyes danced with excitement.

  As Danny strode toward the Pinecone Inn, he thought of Evana, his beloved. The pair had known each other since Danny, his brother, and mother had first arrived in town all those years ago, and Danny had been enamored of Evana since their first introduction in the Pinecone Inn. Evana had been an adorable little girl, and she had grown into a stunning young woman. With sparkling green eyes and long, wavy auburn hair, Evana’s beauty was known far and wide. Her parents, Jed and Anna, were constantly receiving letters of interest from potential suitors for both Evana and Gracie, her sister, and Danny was thankful that he had met her first and that Evana adored him as much as he treasured her.

  “Evana, today is our day,” Danny murmured to himself as he shielded his eyes from the bright sun. He tugged his hat down with his left hand to shade his eyes, and as he pulled his hand away, he imagined the ring that would soon adorn his finger when he and Evana were married at last.

  “Jed and Anna must say yes!” Danny thought, imagining the conversation he was going to have with Evana’s parents. He knew they would accept his marriage
proposal. Jed and Anna were like a second set of parents to Danny, and they knew he was a hard-working, God-fearing man. Danny would be a wonderful husband for their daughter, and he hoped that Jed and Anna wouldn’t give him too hard of a time when he formally asked them for their daughter’s hand.

  After what felt like the longest walk of his life, Danny reached the inn. He walked through the white picket fence and across the lawn, imagining the party that would be held on the grounds of the inn after his wedding ceremony. Danny sprang up the steps of the front porch, and after taking a long breath, he knocked on the familiar red door.

  “Jed? Anna? It’s me, Danny!” Danny called out as he knocked on the door.

  Danny could hear soft footsteps approaching, and the door opened slowly in front of him.

  “Danny,” he heard Anna whisper softly. She stepped out onto the front porch and closed the door behind her. “Let’s talk out here.”

  Danny could see that Anna’s eyes were red, and he cocked his head to the side in confusion. “What’s going on?” Danny asked, setting the flowers down on the railing of the porch before folding his arms across his chest. “Miss Anna? Is everything alright?”

  Anna said nothing, but Danny watched as her bottom lip quivered.

  “What can I do for you?” Anna asked tensely.

  Danny raised an eyebrow. “Miss Anna,” he said. “Didn’t my parents talk with you and Jed at church? Surely you know why I am here. Ma said you were expecting me this afternoon. I have a very important proposal for you and Jed…”

  A single tear escaped Anna’s eye, and she hurriedly wiped it away.

  “This is a real bad time,” Anna whispered. “Maybe you should just get on home now, Danny.”

  Danny shook his head. “What’s going on? Where is Evana? I know my folks spoke with you and Jed. You know why I am here! I want to sit down with you and Jed and ask for Evana’s hand. What’s going on, Anna?”