The Widower's Bride: A Golden Valley Story (The Brides of Birch Creek Book 3)

by Laura D. Bastian

  Contents

  Title Page

  Description

  Copyright

  Prologue

  CHAPTER ONE

  CHAPTER TWO

  CHAPTER THREE

  CHAPTER FOUR

  CHAPTER FIVE

  CHAPTER SIX

  CHAPTER SEVEN

  CHAPTER EIGHT

  CHAPTER NINE

  CHAPTER TEN

  CHAPTER ELEVEN

  CHAPTER TWELVE

  EPILOGUE

  Letter to Beatrice

  Dear Reader

  Also Available

  About the Author

  The Widower’s Bride

  Brides of Birch Creek Series

  Grace and Jed

  Laura D. Bastian

  Grace comes to Birch Creek for a new start, Jed isn't sure he's ready to let go of the past.

  Grace has loved caring for her brother's children, but when her brother remarries, Grace knows it's time to move on. With the invitation from a good friend to move out west and start a new life there, Grace knows it might be the only chance she would have to find a place where she'd fit in. She won't let her childhood injury keep her from fighting for what she wants, a home of her own.

  Jed is a widowed father of three young children with a growing farm and he knows he can't take care of it all on his own. When he meets Grace, he's reluctant to follow through with the suggestion from a friend to marry the girl. But if he doesn't do something, he'll either lose his farm or his children.

  When the two marry, they know it will be mutually beneficial, but when tragedy strikes, can the two of them pull together as a team and see that there is more to life than just survival?

  Copyright © 2019 by Laura D. Bastian.

  All rights reserved. This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are a product of the author’s imagination and used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events, locales, or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental. No part of this book can be reproduced in any form or by electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without the express written permission of the author.

  Cover Design by Lange House Press

  Dear Grace,

  You’ll never believe how things turned out for me. I came here thinking I’d be marrying the man who’d placed the advertisement, but I must have had some guardian angels watching over me because I was blessed to find Colten instead.

  He’s been so good to me. So patient and understanding and he isn’t bothered by the idea of me working and sewing. If you ever wanted to come to Birch Creek, you would have some options.

  We’re in need of more women here. And you could always work with me since I know you know how to sew. There is also the option of staying at Susan’s boarding house and either cooking and cleaning for her and the guests that come, or even finding employment here elsewhere. A school teacher is needed.

  If you and your brother and nephews were looking to start something new and get away from New York, keep Birch Creek in mind. It would be wonderful to see you again.

  With all my love,

  Annabelle Howard.

  CHAPTER ONE

  “I’m getting married.”

  Grace Burr looked up at her brother from where she sat in the rocking chair, mending one of her nephew’s stockings. Walter’s children had all been asleep for more than an hour before he returned home from his work at the textile mill.

  “That’s wonderful news.” Grace placed the mending on the table beside her and stood up to embrace her brother. Her bad leg ached fiercely after her long day of cooking, cleaning, and caring for the children, but Grace forced herself to ignore the pain. “Miss Martha has agreed?”

  “She has.” Walter stepped back and looked at Grace. “You like Martha, don’t you?”

  “Of course I do,” Grace said. “She will make a wonderful wife and mother for your kids. They will all be so excited.” As Grace considered what this news meant, she realized that perhaps it was time for her to move on herself. She loved her nieces and nephews, but she knew if she stayed here raising them, she might miss out on her opportunity for a husband and children of her own. That was if any man would have her. Too many potential suiters couldn’t get past the fact her broken leg as a teen had never healed right and she walked with a pronounced limp.

  “I hope so,” Walter said. “I truly hope I’m not making a mistake.”

  “How could it be a mistake?” Grace asked. “You haven’t stopped talking about or thinking of Martha since you were introduced months ago.”

  “I worry that the children won’t think of Martha as their mother and that they won’t love her as much as they love you.”

  “It will take a period of adjustment, but I’m sure they will come to love her even more.” She sat back down on the rocking chair and returned to her work of mending. “It also brings up a subject I’d like to share with you.”

  “What subject is that?” Walter asked.

  “Do you recall my friend Annabelle?”

  “I believe so. She moved out west, right?”

  Grace nodded. “Yes. She’s in a town called Birch Creek. She has started a sewing shop, and she could give me work there. There is also a need for a school teacher if I wanted to try that instead.”

  “You want to move out west?” Walter asked. “Why?”

  “I was thinking on it. There isn’t a lot of work here for me with this leg unless it’s in that factory close by, and you’ve heard of all the problems there. I don’t think it would be a good idea for me to stay here once you’re married. You shouldn’t have to take care of me as well. If I’m gone, it will make it easier for the children to adjust to Martha as their new mother.”

  “But how could you leave us? And moving across the country would mean we’d never see you again.”

  “We will write letters to keep in touch. We’ve had years together, and I owe you so much for caring for me when Mother and Father passed. But you need to focus on your new wife and family. This is something I can do for myself now. I already know two women out there. Susan and Annabelle have promised that I would be watched out for. And they are both aware of my leg and any limitations it might cause me.”

  “But where would you live?” Walter asked.

  “Susan has a boarding house. She needs a cook so she can run the rest of the house. I can do the meals and still have time to sew with Annabelle. I would make enough for room and board. I want to be independent and care for myself. I’ve relied on others for too long.”

  “I don’t know,” Walter said. “I worry you’re only leaving because I’m getting married.”

  “You don’t need me here anymore,” Grace said. “And you and Martha will need time to adjust to life together without having your sister here.”

  “Will you promise to return if things don’t work out well there?” Walter asked. “I would send you the money to get your train ticket back.”

  Grace smiled. She knew he wouldn’t have the funds to do that, especially with needing to provide for his family, but she nodded. “If things don’t work out, I’ll come back.”

  “I think you should send a letter to Miss Annabelle and make sure she can take you on as a seamstress and check with the boarding house on their rates before you buy your tickets. If things look legitimate, I’ll support you in this.”

  “Thank you, Walter,” Grace said, though she knew she didn’t need his permission, she wanted to be sure he wouldn’t worry about her too much. Gr
ace returned her attention back to the mending as Walter moved into the kitchen to find the meal she’d left for him. She wondered if she would ever tell him about the option of becoming a mail order bride. That was something she had left out about Annabelle’s and Susan’s reasons for moving out west.

  Grace had seen more than a few advertisements for a wife to help farm the land in dozens of territories and towns across the west. She would never be able bodied enough to work a farm, but she could run a house, or cook and clean. She was grateful her own circumstances weren’t nearly as dire as Annabelle’s had been. The poor girl had thought it a better option to go marry a man she’d never met. No, Grace wouldn’t have to be someone’s wife within the first few days of meeting them. As if some man would look past her lameness and want her as a wife anyway.

  Of course, if there were more men than women in those towns out west, her chances of finding a husband at her advanced age of twenty-seven, and her lack of dowry, bad leg, and plain face were better than here.

  Yes, moving to Birch Creek, Idaho sounded better and better. She mentally penned a letter to Annabelle to ask the questions she’d need answers to before she bought her ticket out west.

  She would stay in New York with Walter and his children until the wedding and then she would go start her own life.

  ***

  Jed Owens loaded his children into the wagon, knowing he couldn’t leave the five-year-old home alone with the three and one year-old. The drive into Birch Creek would take around an hour and he wasn’t sure how long it would take the blacksmith to fix his plow head. At least he’d be able to pick up the items needed at the mercantile while the blacksmith repaired his plow.

  As they drove down the dusty road toward town, Jed’s eyes strayed to the still raised mound of dirt and the small wooden cross. He was lost without her and didn’t know how he could manage to keep his children fed and cared for as well as run the farm. If he didn’t get the wheat planted soon, he might miss the growing season and not have time to harvest the crop.

  The house garden would provide enough for a while, but without a crop to sell, he wouldn’t have the funds needed to purchase what he couldn’t grow himself.

  Trying to push those fears out of his mind, he continued on down the road. The sweet chattering of his children helped keep him from sinking into despair. It was for them that he would continue on. Lizzie would want him to make sure the children grew up strong and happy.

  Close to an hour later, as they neared the outskirts of Birch Creek, he mentally prepared himself for the onslaught of well-meaning words, and the condolences of those who knew Lizzie. Of course, with a town this size, most everyone had known Lizzie. He just hoped he could stay strong for his children.

  He waved at a few people in passing, pleased none of them felt it important to wave him down or stop him. Jed made it to the blacksmith shop and told the children to stay inside the bed of the wagon until he’d had a chance to talk with Michael Clark. Missy, his oldest, nodded solemnly.

  “I’ll keep them here, Pa.”

  “Thank you, Missy. I won’t be long. And when we’re finished here, we’ll head over to the mercantile.”

  The eyes that looked so much like his late wife’s looked at him with excitement. Every other time they had come to the mercantile, Lizzie would let the children pick out a licorice or a peppermint stick. At least he could still do the same for them.

  Jed hefted the plow out of the wagon and moved it into the blacksmith’s shop.

  “Michael?” Jed asked as he walked in.

  “Good morning, Jed.” Michael said as he stepped away from the forge where he’d been heating some iron. “What can I do for you?”

  “I was hoping you’d know how to repair this. It got caught on a boulder hidden deep in my field that I’d somehow missed before.”

  Michael looked it over and nodded. “I think I could manage something. How soon do you need it done?”

  “I was hoping to finish plowing the field this week so I could plant. I’m already late with everything that’s happened.”

  Michael nodded in sympathy, but didn’t speak and Jed appreciated his restraint. “I’m almost done with this order of horse shoes, but I’ve sent Jessie to chop more wood. If you’re able to help work the billows, I could probably get this finished today.”

  “I appreciate that.” Jed looked out the front of the shop at his children still sitting patiently in the wagon. “I doubt those three will hold still long enough.”

  “You could take them to the boarding house.” Michael pulled the iron out of the coals and turned it this way and that, then put it back in as if it wasn’t quite ready. “Susan is there and would love to compare how big our Savannah is to your Milo. They’re about the same age. And your two older girls can try out the rope swing Susan had me hang from the tree.”

  “Are you sure?” Jed asked. “I’d feel as if I were taking advantage of the help.”

  “Wouldn’t have offered if we weren’t willing to help. Drive your rig over there, then by the time you’re back, I should be done with this shoe.”

  Jed hesitated for a moment. Michael stepped closer. “I can’t imagine your pain, Jed, but if you’re going to survive this and keep your children from suffering, you will need to accept help at times.”

  Jed nodded. “I know. It’s just hard to swallow.”

  Michael patted him on the shoulder. “Take ‘em to my place. Susan will love on them for sure and certain.”

  Jed stepped outside of the smithy and climbed onto the wagon bench. He turned to Missy. “What do you say we take you over to Miss Susan’s house? You can see the new swing they put in the tree, and Miss Susan can look after Milo while you and Lottie play for a bit.”

  “Yes!” Missy said and looked at Lottie. “I’ll push you on the swing, Lottie.”

  His daughter’s words tugged at Jed’s heart. She was too young to try to care for her siblings the way a mother should, but what else could he do? He couldn’t leave them with a neighbor every day either since he lived miles away from his closest and it would take too much of his daylight hours to get them to and from anyone’s house.

  Jed needed a wife to care for his children so he could grow the crops and care for the garden that would provide food and income for them. Yet, there wasn’t another woman in the area that he could marry. The last two marriages had been to women who’d moved to Birch Creek with the intent to marry the man who’d sent for them. And that wasn’t something Jed was ready to consider. Ordering a bride through the mail or sending an advertisement for a woman just felt odd.

  Once the wagon stopped completely, Jed tied the horse to the post and helped Lottie down first. He reached for Milo and held him on his hip. Missy lifted her foot over the edge of the wagon side and climbed down the wheel spokes. She took Lottie’s hand in hers and walked beside Jed until they reached the front steps.

  “Hello, Jed,” Susan Clark said when she opened the door. “It is good to see you. What brings you by?”

  “I’ve got a plow that’s bent too much to do me any good and I asked Michael about fixing it. He suggested the girls might play here and Milo can nap.”

  “Of course,” Susan said. “Come on in. I think I might have a treat or something in the kitchen.” She waved for the girls to enter and both rushed past him at the suggestion of a treat. Susan held her arms out to reach for Milo. “Come here, sweet boy. I have to see how heavy you are compared to my Savannah.”

  Jed handed him over and even though he knew it was only for a short time, the separation made him even more adamant that he would not send his children somewhere else to be raised.

  “Papa!” Missy ran back to the doorway where he stood. “Miss Grace told me I could have a cookie.”

  “Miss Grace?” Jed asked.

  “My new friend,” Missy said as if it was completely normal to become friends with someone immediately. “She’s in the kitchen. You should come meet her.”

  “Maybe later.” Jed
bent down and kissed his daughter’s forehead. “I need to go back to the smithy to make sure the plow gets fixed so we can plant our food.”

  “All right, Papa,” Missy said. “Don’t worry. I’ll watch after Lottie and Milo.”

  Jed looked his daughter in the eyes. “I’m not worried at all, Missy. But don’t forget to have some fun as well. Be polite and do as Miss Susan and Miss Grace tell you.”

  “I will.” Missy turned around and headed back to the kitchen. From where he stood, he could see a woman in there that he’d never seen before.

  “Grace Burr is renting a room. She just arrived from New York where she’d been helping raise her brother’s children after his wife passed.” Susan’s voice was matter-of-fact and to the point, but he was almost certain there was something more to her comment.

  “I should get back to help Michael. Thank you, Mrs. Clark.”

  “No problem at all, Jed.” Susan adjusted her hold on Milo and walked with Jed to the door to close it behind him. “Please plan to stay for supper.”

  “That’s kind of you. Thank you.” Jed knew that if he refused, Susan would just send him home with every bit of food she would have served them at the table. At least for tonight he wouldn’t have to worry about what to feed his children. His lack of cooking skills had left them with way too many burnt meals.

  And maybe if he was lucky, he could try some of the cookies Miss Grace had offered to his children.

  ***

  Grace smiled at the adorable girls who had descended on the room with unlimited energy. They were sweet and polite, and Grace thought them quite lovely.

  “Shall we put Milo down for a rest and we can all go outside to the swing?” Susan asked as she joined them.

  “Yes, please,” Missy said and Grace stood up and took her hand.