Big Bad Professor: An Alpha and a Virgin Romance

by Tia Siren

  When she still didn’t see anyone coming and could think of no reason to go inside the building other than to cool off a bit, she continued to walk in the direction of the steps. She was nearly there when she heard a man’s voice speaking in a tone that made her sure he was talking to a child. She stopped, curious to hear what he said, sure that it was Edward who was speaking. Who else could it be? He must have his son and baby with him.

  She listened, a smile growing on her small red lips.

  “Come on, son, we have to hurry, we’re already late! We don’t want to make the new lady wait too long out in this heat, do we?”

  “No, papa.” She heard the voice of a young boy.

  “You are going to be a good boy for her, aren’t you?”

  “Yes, papa!” The boy was excited but his voice sounded apprehensive. He was eager to please his father, that was obvious.

  She began to walk again, not wanting the man and children to round the corner when she was just standing there, listening.

  They met just at the corner. She stopped short and gazed at him. He did the same, looking up at her at the top of the steps.

  “Claire O’Reilly?” He said. She nodded, liking that he called her Claire instead of Gabby.

  “You are Edward Abbott?”

  He nodded at her, taking her in. She set her bags down. Her hair was indeed long and curly and she had only gathered some of it on top of her head, letting the rest fall free around her shoulders. She had no bonnet on, did not care to hide her hair under one of them. Her green eyes flashed at him and her freckled cheeks darkened. He was pleased with the way she looked and his heart fluttered for the first time.

  “It’s nice to meet you.” Gabby held out one hand and he took it. After shaking it up and down slightly, he kept his grip on her and helped her take the steps down. She leaned over and looked at the little boy. “Hello, Jonathan. How are you feeling?”

  “Good.” The boy was looking at her with a strange look. It was a mixture of wonder, resentment and excitement. He looked a lot like his father. He had the same blazing blue eyes and dark hair. He had long eyelashes for a boy, making his face very attractive. She looked up at Edward again. He was not as fair as his son and she assumed Jon got some of his looks from his mother, even though she felt he looked more like his father.

  She looked at the baby Edward was holding in his arms. She was small and pretty. She looked at Gabby and blinked before breaking into a tiny grin. Gabby’s heart melted. She held out her arms to see if the child would come to her. She didn’t move away from her papa, just laid against his chest.

  “You want to go to Claire, pretty flower?” Edward said and Claire looked at him with wide eyes. It wasn’t “little flower” but it was too much of a coincidence for her to miss it.

  ****

  Chapter Four

  In a week, Claire had successfully immersed herself into the lifestyle. Edward had taken her to the courthouse right away and she didn’t mind at all when they married in front of the judge.

  It was so very different from home, from New York, from the disdain and ridicule of her brothers, she felt like a new person. She was happy when she woke up in the morning, listening to the cries of a child she had not birthed but had come to love very quickly.

  She woke up early but not as early as her husband. She noticed that although she was up in the very early morning hours, he was gone by the crack of dawn. She wasn’t sure what he needed to do that early in the morning at the vicarage. Did the plants need to be watered that early and the lawn need to be cut that early in the morning?

  She had wondered it many times when she woke up during the night to attend to the baby, who was still not sleeping all the way through. She was a pleasant baby. The hardest challenge Claire faced was getting through to Jonathan. He had proven to be a stubborn little boy, insisting that he could care for the baby without her help but never being rude or disrespectful about it.

  She held the baby in her arms, cradling her and cooing at her. She was standing in the kitchen, looking out the window, waiting for Edward to come home for lunch. She had made him some ham sandwiches and roasted potatoes, which he expressed great delight with the last time she had made it.

  Up until the loss of Beth, they had been teaching Jon to read and write at home. When she passed, he started going to the little schoolhouse in town. He didn’t like it and came home early often, just leaving the school and walking.

  She watched to see if he would come home today. Edward would bring him from the vicarage, which was where Jon always walked, if he did. It had been a week and Claire had seen him come home twice in that time.

  She saw the dust trail Edward was leaving behind on his way to the house. He was indeed bringing Jon, the little boy riding in front of him on his horse. She smiled and looked down at Emilia.

  “Look, it’s daddy and Jonny. We are so lucky, aren’t we? We are two lucky, blessed ladies to have them, aren’t we?”

  They got closer, and she could see the brilliant smile Edward was giving her. It filled her heart. She smiled back and waited for them.

  “Hello there!” She called out, waving. She lifted Emilia’s hand and made the little one wave. “There they are. See?”

  The baby girl looked out at them as they approached. She squirmed a little and looked excited and happy, bouncing in Claire’s arm.

  “Look at those two beautiful girls, Jon!” Edward said as he got down from the horse and approached the house. Jonathan ran in front of him and held out his arms to take Emilia from Claire without saying anything.

  “Hello, Jonny. Do you want to hold your sister?”

  He just nodded, his arms still outstretched. Claire gently lowered the baby and he secured her in his arms before going inside. He was very protective. She just smiled and sighed as she watched him go in.

  “Hello, pretty lady.” Edward said as he came up on the porch. “How has your day been?”

  “I feel a lot better than I did before,” he said. “You have lunch for me?”

  “Of course.” She smiled up at him. He smiled back with a look that made her feel fluttery in her stomach. She was so blessed to have been placed here. “I do hope that Jonathan warms up to me, though. I really do.”

  “I know you do.” Edward nodded. “You just need to be patient and give him time.”

  “Do you think he will warm up to me?”

  Edward ran one large hand through her red hair, his eyes obviously admiring her beauty. “I don’t see how anyone could resist it, Claire.”

  She giggled when he put his arm around her shoulders and walked into the house with her. Jonathan had put Emilia in a little basket he used to carry her around and placed her next to his chair at the kitchen table. He already had a sandwich on a plate with two bites taken from it.

  “Papa, can I have some potatoes?”

  “You can,” Edward said. “Claire will give them to you. You should ask her.”

  Jonathan looked at Claire. “I don’t have to have any,” he said, turning back to his plate.

  Edward approached him and knelt next to his chair. “Jonny boy. I told you not to be rude, didn’t I?” His voice was soft. Jonathan looked at him with regretful eyes. “I know this is hard for you, son. But you have to trust that things are going to work out okay. I wouldn’t do anything to hurt you, would I? I won’t let anything happen to you? Claire isn’t going to hurt you, Jonny.”

  “I know.” The little boy’s voice was quiet. He lowered his head, ashamed.

  Claire moved to kneel at his other side, looking up at him. “It’s all right, Jon. I will give you some potatoes, okay? Everything is going to be all right.”

  Jonathan didn’t lift his head. “Okay.” He murmured.

  “What do you say, Jonny?” Edward prompted.

  “Thank you.”

  “Good boy.” He ruffled the boy’s hair and stood up straight.

  The next morning, Claire woke up when Edward did. She felt him move from the bed and wa
ited a bit until she heard the door close as he went out. She got up and went to the baby’s room to check on her. The child was fast asleep.

  In his room, Jonathan was also asleep. She cracked the doors to their room so that Jonathan would hear if Emilia woke up. She knew he was sensitive to the baby’s cries and had gotten up several times to check on her when Claire was already in there. She didn’t plan to be gone long. She just wanted to know why Edward always left so early and what he was doing. Her curiosity had taken over.

  She dressed quickly and went out the door. She rode quietly to the vicarage, behind her husband far enough so that he wouldn’t see her.

  When she reached the church, she dismounted and tied her horse up to a tree in the surrounding park. She moved slowly over the grass toward the cemetery behind the church and looked out over the grounds. She didn’t see him. She frowned and peered a little more closely, running her eyes around the tombstones to see if he was kneeling somewhere. He wasn’t. She circled the building but didn’t see him anywhere.

  He must be inside. She thought. She went to the doors and pushed one open quietly, sticking her head inside to look around. It was still very dark in the building. She saw a lamp lit at the altar and slipped inside, closing the door behind her.

  She walked slowly on silent feet toward the altar, looking at the pews, many of them with bibles set randomly around. She went into one of them and sat down, picking up the Bible.

  “Lord.” She heard Edward’s voice and her eyes slid to the lamp at the altar. Edward had knelt in front of it. Her heart almost stopped when she saw him. He was bent over, his hands clasped in front of his forehead. “You have blessed me. I thank you. I have been in despair and you heard me. You have provided me with a beautiful son, daughter and wife once again. I am so very grateful to you, Lord, and every morning I will tell you of my thanks and ask you to continue blessing me. I can’t do anything without your guidance. Thank you for providing it and for sending a wonderful woman to care for my children. As you know, I thought I would never love again. But I see now that what you have planned for me is good. You are always good. Thank you, God. I thank you with all that I have. I pray to you in the name of my Lord and Savior. Amen.”

  The words he was saying made Claire want to cry. She had prayed before but never with such intensity. He was praying from the heart.

  He lifted up from his position, blew out the lamp and went past the altar to a back room.

  In the dark now, Claire felt her way back to the front door and left. Her heart was pounding. She was terrified that he would see that she had followed him and be angry with her. She wouldn’t do it again. Her curiosity was satisfied.

  She got back to her horse, mounted as quickly as she could and rode back to the house.

  When she got there, she dismounted just as swiftly and ran up the steps and through the front door. She couldn’t hear any noise and went straight to the baby’s room. Emilia was awake. She was just lying there looking out at Claire with wide blue eyes. She smiled instantly and Claire picked her up.

  “Good morning, sweet one,” she whispered. “Hello there.”

  The baby made a cooing noise and giggled. Claire giggled with her. She moved to the window so they could watch the sun rise together. “Look at the beautiful sky, Emilia. Look how it shines bright when the sun peeks over the mountains. See all the pretty colors? Look how blessed we are.”

  She became quiet looking out at the sunrise. It was the most beautiful sunrise she had ever seen in her life. “Thank you, Lord.” She whispered, tears rising to her eyes. “Look what you’ve done for me. Look at the life you’ve given me. You are so good. Help me to be good for this little girl and for Jonathan. Help me to understand them and raise them right and be the mother they need.” She lowered her head and let a few tears roll down her cheeks. One dropped on Emilia’s little head and Claire softly wiped it off. “Sorry, sweetie,” she whispered. She looked back up through the window.

  “Please help me with Jonathan, Lord.” She said in a low voice. She knelt with the baby cradled in her arms and lowered her head again. “Please help him understand I’m not going to hurt him, that I don’t want him to forget his dear mama. Please let him know that I only want to protect him and help Edward raise him the right way. I know you will. And please…” She swallowed. “Please tell Beth that I will be good to her children. Tell her that they are safe. Let her know that everything here on earth will be okay.”

  She stopped praying, continuing in her mind.

  After a few moments, she felt a small hand touch her on her back. She looked up in surprise, into Jonathan’s eyes. He didn’t say anything. He just looked at her. She looked back. His face looked different. He was staring at her in silence.

  “Jonathan?” She asked softly.

  Without answering, the little boy wrapped his arms around her neck and squeezed her tightly. She wrapped her free arm around him and hugged him back.

  “It’s going to be all right, Jonny,” she whispered. “Everything is going to be all right.”

  *****

  THE END

  A Bride’s Hope – A Clean Western Romance

  Chapter One

  Minnie looked down at the telegraph with great fear in her heart. It was from the army. She hadn’t heard from Tom for almost two months but had been hoping and praying everything would turn out okay for him. That he would return home to her soon and she would hear him playing with their little boy, Billy, in the yard. It was what was supposed to happen.

  But it wasn’t what happened. The telegraph was gripped in her hands, the paper curling up around them. She sat in one of the porch chairs and stared down at it some more. He was gone. He really was gone. They had confirmed it, found his…body. She shivered.

  “Damn this war!” Her father was storming up and down the porch. “How could this happen? How can he not come home to his wife and baby?”

  “Papa, quiet down!” Her mother was soothing her father, trying to get him to calm down some. “You’re upsetting Minnie even more. You must calm down.”

  “I can’t be calm!” Her father thundered, making her cringe. She knew he was nearly as upset as she was but she didn’t think she could take it today. She got up and went in the house, making her way to her room on deadened feet. She could hear her father still storming outside, his emotions overwhelming him. He had cared for her husband, too. Even his wife’s tears didn’t calm him. She expected him to burst out in his own tears at any moment. When he quieted down, she assumed that’s what had happened.

  Minnie dropped herself on her bed face first. She was glad Billy was asleep in the cradle near her bed. She didn’t have the resolve to do anything for him right now. She pressed her face into the bed and let her tears come. She sobbed for many minutes, her marriage and love for her husband running through her mind over and over and over.

  She felt like she would never recover from this. Her dear husband, Tom, had been one of the men killed at the Battle of Averasboro, NC. He was shot by the enemy and left in the field like the rest of the men that had died there. It would be impossible to bring his body home. She didn’t know why. It’s what they told her. She didn’t think Averasboro was that far from her little town but she didn’t question their authority. They weren’t going to listen to her anyway.

  He’d died a hero and President Lincoln had even sent her a note expressing his dismay at his loss and that he had been a strong and courageous soldier.

  It didn’t ease her pain. The president couldn’t bring him back. No one could bring him back. Not even God. He didn’t do that kind of stuff anymore.

  Her emotions peaked, she sobbed for nearly an hour. She didn’t know when she would ever stop. Her tears would eventually dry up and she would have no more to shed. She had never felt such intense sorrow in all her 22 years. Where would she go? Who would she rely on? Her parents?

  The thought made her cry harder. She was a married woman who had lived for three years with a man who showed h
er what love was all about. Now he was gone, ripped from her life abruptly. Her tears were intense and her bed shook as her body did.

  “Lord!” She cried out. “How could this happen?”

  Minnie heard a shuffling behind her and realized she had probably woken Billy up. She used the sheet on the bed to dry her tears and pushed herself up. She was going to be strong for her little boy. Even if it meant she could not show her sorrow in front of him. He was a year and a half old and wouldn’t understand why she was in such despair. It might harm him to see her so upset. She composed herself and went to his cradle, where he was sitting up, rubbing his eyes.

  “Mama!” he called out to her. “Mama!”

  “I’m here, sweet one,” she said, reaching into the cradle and picking him up. He was getting so heavy. “You’re already wake? Did you get enough sleep?”

  “Mama cry.” He was staring into her eyes and she sat on the bed, resting him on her lap. His eyes were huge and blue, gazing at her intently. She brushed his blond hair back from his eyes and kissed his forehead.

  “I’ll be okay, little man. I will be. You don’t have to worry.”

  “No cry, mama!” Billy wrapped his arms around her neck and hugged her tight. “No cry!”

  “I won’t, my son.” She buried her face in his small neck and shoulder. “I won’t cry anymore.”

  But she knew she would.

  Minnie hadn’t gotten any sleep at all for almost four days. Since the telegraph arrived, all she could do was wallow in her misery. Her mother was still being encouraging and supportive but her father was still upset and sullen. His mood was dark and angry. “He was a good boy!” He kept exclaiming whenever the subject was broached. “He was always a good boy! Good shot, too! Took him hunting! He was the best at it, best young boy I’d taught.”

  There were many other things that had impressed him about Tom. He never failed to mention them. Minnie often wondered if he would ever stop talking about her late husband. It hurt every time she mentioned him. She wanted to avoid the subject and not think about it. She would never come out of mourning if he didn’t. The fact that she was now a widow with a fatherless boy was bad enough but to have it constantly ranted on about by her father was more unbearable than she could imagine.