“Elizabeth, you were wonderful today. You stayed calm and thought through events as no one else had.” He moved his hands to cup her cheeks. “You belong here. This station has become yours as much as it is mine. You were born to run a train station.” His thumb rubbed her cheek. “And you belong here with me. You make me laugh and think. You bring out a protective streak in me that I didn’t know I had. You make me want to be better. I can’t imagine my life without you.”
He wiped a tear that rolled down Elizabeth’s cheek.
“Elizabeth, my dearest, I love you and have since the moment you stepped off that train. I was immediately jealous of Nelson when you asked for him and amazed at how you marched across town to settle matters with him. You came back and I knew I couldn’t let you go. When it turned out you could operate a telegraph, I knew we were destined.”
Elizabeth’s hand went to her throat as William dropped down on one knee.
“Please say you’ll stay in town and be my wife.”
Elizabeth could hardly believe what she was hearing. She remembered back to seeing him on the platform and wishing he’d written that advertisement for a wife. Now here he was asking her to marry him. Around the huge lump that had taken up residence in her throat, Elizabeth squeezed out a single, faint whisper of a word, “Yes.”
CHAPTER TWELVE
Elizabeth walked down the stairs of the hotel on the arm of Sheriff Holt. The flowers in her hand matched the ones Sarah was squeezing and plucking petals from as the little girl bounced down the stairs in front of her. Like most of the town, Elizabeth adored the friendly little girl but Sarah held a special place in her heart as she was the one who brought Elizabeth and William together.
The sun shone through the prism covered windows as most of the town stood in the main room of the hotel. Rainbows danced on all the happy faces turned to see her enter the room.
Then all other faces disappeared as she saw her dear William standing by Pastor Lewis near the fireplace. She patted the watch in her pocket. She knew that Henry would be happy for her. With that thought, she looked to her future and placed her hand in William’s. She gazed into his eyes as the minister made them husband and wife.
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Preview the next story in the Sweet Historical Mail Order Brides of Lowell series. Sheriff’s Bride
Caleb Holt pushed away his empty dessert plate, relaxed back in the chair and sipped coffee as he prepared to listen to the tales of the widow back east read by his sister-in-law, Elizabeth.
In the last letter three weeks ago, it seemed Mrs. Suzanna Langley’s five year old son, Harry, had made friends with a skunk, and unknown to the women of the house, had brought it home as a pet. Caleb could picture the landlady’s shrieks upon finding Harry’s pet in the laundry basket. It reminded Caleb of the pet snake his mother had found in his room when he’d been Harry’s age.
The more he heard about Suzanna and Harry, the more he wanted to hear. Over the months, the letters had become more frequent and longer. Listening to what he referred to in his mind as The Tales of the Widow from Back East, had become the highlight of his week. Caleb felt like he knew Suzanna better than he knew himself, she was that open in her letters. And when little Harry rode a pony for the first time, he’d felt as proud as if he were Harry’s pa.
“I’ve heard from Suzanna,” Elizabeth said from her spot further down the table. “She wired me a telegram.”
An unease began to rub away at Caleb’s anticipation. Telegrams were expensive. Why was Suzanna sending a telegram?
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For more Historical Mail Order Bride stories and other historical romances by MaryAnn Burnett, visit –
http://www.MaryAnnBurnett.com
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
MaryAnn Burnett grew up reading historical and contemporary romance novels and never stopped. She loves history, particularly women’s history, and has tried her hand at many needlecrafts. (A hint from MaryAnn: If you ever want a good workout, make a quilt on a treadle sewing machine…)
MaryAnn wanders through life holding the hand of her best friend and husband. After almost ten years of marriage, strangers still ask them if they’re newlyweds.
MaryAnn and her husband live on a hillside near a small southern town where she writes from her sunroom overlooking the garden. Two cocker spaniels keep her feet warm as she writes and sneak-attack kisses occur if she gets too lost in a story.
A note from MaryAnn:
If you have a moment, please leave a review for this book on Amazon or GoodReads. It will help other readers find this book and it will let me know what you liked and didn’t like.
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Copyright © 2014 by MaryAnn Burnett
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed or transmitted in any form or by any means, without prior written permission.
MaryAnn Burnett/Spanielhill Publishing
Walkertown, NC
www.SpanielhillPublishing.com
Publisher’s Note: This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are a product of the author’s imagination. Locales and public names are sometimes used for atmospheric purposes. Any resemblance to actual people, living or dead, or to businesses, companies, events, institutions, or locales is completely coincidental.
Book Layout © 2014 BookDesignTemplates.com
Cover Design by AnnieMoril.com
Telegraph Bride/ MaryAnn Burnett. -- 1st ed.
CONTENTS
CHAPTER ONE
CHAPTER TWO
CHAPTER THREE
CHAPTER FOUR
CHAPTER FIVE
CHAPTER SIX
CHAPTER SEVEN
CHAPTER EIGHT
CHAPTER NINE
CHAPTER TEN
CHAPTER ELEVEN
CHAPTER TWELVE
Telegraph Bride: Sweet Historical Mail Order Brides of Lowell Page 3