Pioneer Love: Damaged Hearts Head West: Mail Order Bride 5 Bundle

by Indiana Wake

  Nao put his breakfast on the table and went back for hers. Once both plates were there, she sat and they bowed their heads to give thanks for the meal.

  “Amen,” he said.

  “Amen,” she added, but her prayers had become jaded. All this time she had asked for a child, but God did not seem to be listening and her heart ached with emptiness. After her accident she had been happy to be alive, even if she was disabled. It had taken time to come to terms with her useless arm. All though it Chance had been her rock, helping and hugging her when she needed it. Just being there at other times, but she wondered if she would ever come to terms with being barren. When the house was empty it was a burden that was hard to bear. Yet bear it she did and with a smile on her face, because Chance deserved that.

  “I will come back for lunch, especially if we have some of that chicken broth left.” Chance raised his eyebrow in inquiry.

  Nao felt herself melt as he looked at her. It was wrong to be sad. Instead she should be thankful and ask how could she have been so lucky to be married to such a good man? Not only was he handsome, and intelligent, but he was also so brave. “I think I can scrape up a portion or two for the right person.”

  Chance laughed, I guess I better keep on your good side then ma’am.”

  “Yes, you’d better, so don’t be late.”

  Together they ate their breakfast and talked about the day. It was only a month and a half to Christmas and Nao was hoping to invite all her family. The only problem was the family was getting bigger and she wondered if they would have room.

  “We can make room,” Chance said. “The kids can all sit in the kitchen; it will be an adventure for them. They can all laugh and make as much noise as they want to. That way the dining room should get everyone in.” Chance noticed the sadness in his wife’s eyes. “Don’t you worry love, we will make it work” Then he understood her sadness was not from the worry about the house. It was the children. She loved them so much and every time they were mentioned she got this sad, wistful look and it broke his heart. Nao couldn’t have children following a bad accident before they married. It left her barren and with only on working arm. He had known that when he asked her to marry him, and he still loved her every bit as much today as he had then. If not a little bit more, but sometimes he wished he could take away her heartache. That he could ease the hole inside her that longed for a child, he pushed those thoughts away. They had a good life and a great marriage but if she could just have children it would make their life perfect.

  “That sounds like a great solution,” she said and her smile was back.

  “Good, this is going to be the best Christmas ever. I promise,” he said just as the door opened.

  “Morning Sheriff, Ma’am,” Ted said as he stomped snow off his boots and took off his hat. “Am I early again?”

  Chance looked at his deputy and shook his head. “Pull up a seat and have a coffee with us.”

  “Don’t mind if I do,” Ted said.

  Nao stood and poured two coffees. Chance could see Ted worrying about her, about how she could cope, but he knew better than to offer to help. One thing Nao prided herself on was being a good wife, and to do that she had to do almost everything herself. At first it had been hard. Even the simplest of things were difficult with only one arm. But Chance could not believe how strong willed and determined his new wife could be. Soon she was making new clothes that were easier for her to put on. Arranging the kitchen and getting him to make blocks. That way she could wedge pots and pans against the new blocks so that she could then manage with just one hand. Every day he was inspired and impressed by her tenacity and courage and his love grew stronger. There had been tears, of course, but they were brief and soon she was smiling again and making him feel inadequate with how well she coped.

  “Sheriff,” Ted said.

  “Sorry Ted, what did you say?” Chance turned his eyes back to his young deputy.

  “I was just wondering if the train would be coming in this week, you know due to the weather.”

  Chance shook his head. “I guess we’ll just have to wait and see. How are supplies in town if it don’t come?”

  Ted shook his head. “I’m not sure.”

  “Ben says he can manage on staples for at least a couple of months,” Nao said.

  Both men looked at her and laughed. As her sister’s husband owned the biggest mercantile in the town of course, she knew more than they did.

  “In that case there’s no need to worry,” Chance said. “Now come on son we have work to do.” Chance pushed back his plate and winked at Nao. Watching the color rise on her pretty cheeks brought a smile to his face. So he walked around the table and kissed her lips real quick before she could stop him. “I’ll be back for lunch honey.”

  That morning Nao sat sewing by the fire. As the wind whipped the snow against the window, she pulled a blanket around her shoulders and picked up the doll she was making. On a table in front of her was a sewing bird. The device was a Godsend. The little bird held her material making it much easier to sew with just one hand. Nao smiled and felt filled with love as she remembered Chance bringing it home for her. Perhaps her sisters and Ben had also been involved but it had made things so much easier. The little metal bird was hinged on one end and had a bright red pin cushion on top. Gently she pulled the material and it moved in the bird just enough and as she let go, it was held tight again.

  Nao looked down at her pile of dolls and toys. Once this one was finished, she would have enough presents for all the children. Just looking at the toys brought a tear to her eyes, but she blinked it away and thought about the joy her gifts would bring. Next she wanted to make something for each of her sisters, their husbands and she was hoping to make some mittens and a jumper for Ted. The young deputy was always helping her out and had become almost part of the family.

  The fire was burning low, so she put down her sewing and added a few logs. Carefully she stoked the fire and then went to the window. Sometimes it was lonely in the house without Chance. Sadness enveloped her as she thought of all her sisters and their children. She shook it away, for that was selfish, and she stared out at the snow. It was very pretty from behind the window, but her thoughts went to Chance. Was he warm and safe in his office? Or would he be out and about helping people and keeping the peace? Somehow she imagined the latter and she sent a prayer that he was kept safe. Soon it would be lunch time and maybe she should put the broth on to warm. As she started to turn a team of two horses came into view. They were pulling an uncovered buckboard. Nao shivered, it was not the weather for such transport. As it passed the windows, Nao watched the wind pick up and thrash against the trees. “Please Lord, keep Chance safe,” she whispered just as a loud crack brought her attention back to the glass.

  The horses were gone from her view but for some reason she knew they were in trouble. Running to the other window she peered into the snow. It was falling thicker now and swirling around with the wind. What she saw stopped her heart. A tree had blown over and landed on the buckboard. Nao let out a scream of anguish as another accident came back to haunt her. Sweat ran down her back and she was transported back to the summer. Bandits were firing their rifles and then her carriage was tipping over. Next there was an agonizing pain in her arm and abdomen. Nao shook away her old pain and headed for the door. On the hook was her sister Rena’s favorite coat. It had been a gift and every time she wore it she thought of Rena and felt stronger. As her hand touched it, she froze. What should she do? With only one arm, how would she be able to help and just the thought of the broken buckboard brought back her memories. A cold sweat had settled on her back and there was a slimy, greasy feeling in her stomach. Maybe her breakfast wanted to come back. As her hand hesitated on the door, she heard a cry for help. It was just a whisper on the wind but it called to her. Was it a woman? That galvanized her into action. Grabbing the coat, she pulled it on to her bad arm first and then put her good one into it. Once that was on she forgot her fear an
d headed into the cold, white world.

  Snow hit her face and the wind tugged at her coat. It was so cold that it froze her breath and the wind found its way beneath her coat like some determined animal. She couldn’t see anything, but she knew the direction of the cry so she made her way up the path fighting against the wind.

  Half walking and half sliding she made it out towards the road. Even though there were tracks in the snow where the horses and wheels had passed, the wind and snow had started to cover them already. Within a few minutes, any trace of them could be gone. Pulling her coat tight around her neck with her one good arm she headed into the wind. What from the window was a picture of beauty and seasonal cheer became a nightmare of ravaging winds and sleet cold snow. It tried to push her back to the house and for a second she wondered about going back.

  To the fire, the warmth and the safety of her home.

  Then she remembered that cry and she pushed forward. It was hard with only one arm, for the wind tried to knock her down and her balance was not as good as it could have been. As the snow-battered her face and blinded her eyes, she stumbled forward, praying silently. Then out of the white she saw the tree. It had fallen over the buckboard, covering the back part of it completely. The wind settled for a moment and showed her the monster tree, with its ethereal branches reaching out like skeletal fingers. The horses were gone and for that she was grateful. They must have been separated and ran away into the snow. With luck someone would see them and send help.

  Nao looked at the skeletal branches of the tree and she was afraid. Almost terrified of what she would find and she stopped. But then she saw a tatter of red amongst the brown and white and fear sent her forward. Was someone bleeding? Bleeding like her. Lying broken and damaged amidst this wreckage? She had to help.

  Skirting around the tree she found a place where the branches were thinnest and worked her way towards that red. It was like a siren, pulling her forward and all she could think about was getting to it. When she got there, she did not know what she would do, but that didn’t matter. The cold was forgotten, as was the wind as she picked her way through the branches. Over one she would climb and then beneath another. Sometimes her useless left arm would get caught or wedged between a branch and she would almost cry out her frustration. Instead, she used her right to work it free and kept on praying. For God would see her through, He was here with her and would guide her to where she was needed. “Hold on,” she called. “Help is on the way.”

  Just ahead lay the woman. It looked as if one of the branches had come down across her body but as Nao approached her eyes opened. As their eyes met, Nao immediately flashed back to her own accident. It was just like this, her mind tried to say. No, she shook her head. This was not the time for reminiscing. But the feeling of utter terror was back, as she felt her own carriage tumble over, smashing her against the side and then landing her on the ceiling. Battered, bruised and with a piece of wood through her stomach. Nao’s hand went to her stomach and for a second she felt blood. Then she realized she was wet from the snow and she shook herself to clear her mind. This was a time for helping and she must be strong. “I’m almost there,” she said and dropped to her knees to get through the branches.

  As she crawled over and under, all the time hampered with only one working arm, she took her old pain with her. The intense pain she had felt in her abdomen as she was impaled, the pain in her arm and then nothing. The arm had just gone numb. It was as if she were back in that accident, so strong was her flashback and as she fought through the branches, she fought through her old fear and despair.

  She found herself fighting for breath and began to take short gasps, unable to move. But her eyes could see the young woman, so close, yet just out of touch.

  “My baby,” the woman said.

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  Bonus Chapter – Emma’s Escape

  Read the next book in the Grace & Mercy Find Peace on the Prairie Series

  EMMA’S ESCAPE

  CHAPTER 1

  Benjamin Silks

  Emma reread the letter again for the hundredth time. Then she heard her mother fussing out in the hall. She kissed the letter, and her tears smudged the signature. She’d kissed it so many times she couldn’t read it anymore. She folded the letter and tucked it into her bodice, right next to her heart.

  Nancy Johnson bustled into the room. Emma watched her through the reflection in her dresser mirror, but she didn’t turn around. “That minister is late again. The Church Commission really should get rid of him. This community deserves a professional man, not some Senator’s son.”

  Emma stared down at her fingernails.

  Nancy stopped in mid-stride and glanced at her daughter. “Are you ready, dear? I’ll put your veil on.”

  Emma still didn’t answer. Nancy came up behind her and draped a square of gossamer lace over her head. It covered her face and blocked out the view of the bride in the mirror. Emma didn’t mind. She never was that bride in the first place.

  Nancy fixed the veil to her hair with an ivory comb. Then she lifted the veil from the front of her face and arranged it over the back of her head. “There. That’s perfect. Your father is so proud of you.”

  Emma dropped her eyes again so she wouldn’t see herself. The veil stabbed her heart and drove the last nail into the lid of her coffin.

  Nancy regarded her daughter in the mirror. “You’re very quiet today. Cheer up. This is the beginning of the happiest days of your life.”

  A tear rolled down Emma’s cheek, but she couldn’t summon the energy to sob. Nothing remained in her heart but black despair.

  “Now you stop that this instant,” Nancy snapped. “You’ve done nothing but cry ever since we brought you back from Cheyenne, and I won’t stand for it today. Your father and I have gone to a lot of trouble to find a suitable husband for you. Benjamin Silks is the only heir to a wealthiest shipping family in Boston, and he’s a rising lawyer in his own right with a very promising career. You should be delighted with your future prospects. You’re not going to ruin your wedding day by crying all the way through it.”

  “I’ll cry through my wedding day if I want to,” Emma grumbled. “I never wanted to have anything to do with Benjamin Silks. You've kept me locked in the house for months ever since we got back from Wyoming. You never let me have any visitors, not even my best friend Mercy Oakes. And now you want to marry me off to a man I don’t love. How am I supposed to be happy about that?”

  “You don’t need to see Mercy,” Nancy told her. “She’s the one who dragged you across the country to God knows where and almost got herself killed in the process. She’s a bad influence on you, and she would only interfere with your marriage now. You’d do better to stay away from her.”

  “I don’t even know if she recovered from her illness and her broken leg,” Emma pointed out. “You could at least let me see her to set my mind at ease.”

  “You can take my word that she’s fully recovered,” Nancy replied. “If your husband decides to let you take up your friendship with Mercy, that’s his business. But I explained the whole situation to Benjamin and he agrees with me. Mercy is a bad influence and you should stay away from her. If it wasn’t for her, you never would have met that low-down cur Jackson Pikes. You wouldn’t be mooning over him the way you have all these months.”

  Emma narrowed her eyes at her mother. “Don’t you dare talk about Jackson that way. The month I spent with him in Cheyenne was the happiest month in my life, and I’ll never forgive you and Papa for separating me from the love of my life.”

  “The love of your life!” Nancy snorted. “That’s a laugh. How could he be the love of your life? He hasn’t got two pennies to rub together, and you know you wouldn’t be happy slaving away on the Frontier for the rest of your days. You would cry the first time you had to chop the firewood by yourself.
Have you forgotten he was supposed to marry Grace Oakes, but rejected her under the most cruel and inappropriate circumstances? You had a childish crush on Jackson Pikes, but that’s all over now. It’s time for all the little children to grow up and put away their toys and behave like responsible adults.”

  “I would have suffered any privation to spend my life with Jackson,” Emma returned. “You had no right to refuse his marriage proposal. He’s got as many prospects as Benjamin. He owns his own ranch and a thousand head of livestock. That’s a lot more than Benjamin has.”

  “Listen to you,” Nancy shot back. “A thousand head of livestock! Just imagine all the dirt and manure and grime. Who’s going to clean the house every day? You? I don’t think so. Is Mr. Jackson Pikes going to hire a maid for you at that ranch of yours? Of course not. Anyway, you can forget about him. Your father took care of him, and he won’t be coming to your rescue any time soon.”

  Emma froze. “What does that mean?”

  “It means,” Nancy replied, “I found that letter of his. You know the one I mean. You wrote to him that you were a prisoner in your own home, and that you still loved him and would always love him and all that romantic nonsense. You know what you wrote. He sent you some money to save toward returning to Cheyenne to be with him. He wrote that he was coming to Boston to ask again for your hand, and if we refused, that you should elope with him. I read the whole thing.”

  Emma whirled around and faced her mother. “How dare you stick your nose into my private business! You had no right!”

  “Anything having to do with you and your future is my business,” Nancy replied. “Anyway, I showed the letter to your father, and he took drastic action. He sent Jackson an invitation to your wedding. He knows you’re marrying someone else. He won’t be riding in on a white horse to rescue you, my dear, so you can put that idea out of your mind.”