Annie's Chance (Mail-Order Brides Of Prairie Meadow 3)

by Maggie McCloud

  Jed looked over at Emily, hope shining in his eyes. “Do you really think I can change her mind about leaving?”

  “I can’t say for sure. She feels obliged to help her father, but I know she’s not happy about leaving here.”

  Emily smiled and said, “What do you have to lose Jed? At least this way she’ll know how you feel. Right now she doesn’t.”

  Jed got to his feet in a hurry. “You’re right Emily! I have to get to town and talk to her.”

  As he rushed towards the door, Emily stopped him. “Jed?”

  When he looked back she said, “Good luck. I’ll say a prayer for you.”

  Jed tipped his hat and wasted no time getting on his horse and galloping off towards town.

  All the way to Prairie Siding, Jed thought about what he wanted to say to Annie. He’d been slow to admit how deep his feelings were. But now he knew and he would do everything in his power to get her to stay.

  Since Emily had told him that Annie was spending the night with Mrs. Gregson, he went directly to the boarding house. He slowed his horse to a walk when he got close to town.

  “Sorry for pushing you so hard,” he whispered to the faithful animal.

  Before he lost his courage, he brushed himself off and knocked on the door. His heart was beating a mile a minute as he waited for Mrs. Gregson to answer.

  “Is Miss Sampson here, Mrs. Gregson? I have to talk to her,” he burst out before Mrs. Gregson had even fully opened the door.

  “Ah, Mr. Nickels. You’ve just missed her. She’s gone over to the train station to meet up with her father and sort out their tickets for tomorrow morning. She should be back before long if you’d like to come in and wait for her.”

  “No thank you Ma’am. I think I’ve waited too long as it is.”

  And with that he turned on his heel and hurried off in the direction of the train station.

  Jed burst into the station, looking for Annie. Not seeing her inside the small building, he went out the far door to the area where the baggage was sorted.

  He saw a few people milling around but no Annie. Frantic now, he rushed around to the other side of the station. She was sitting on a bench with her hands tightly clasped in her lap. Beside her on the bench was a man who Jed figured had to be her father.

  “Miss Sampson!” he called out. Seeing her looking so forlorn, he wanted nothing more than to gather her in his arms and take the hurt away.

  Startled, she looked over at him, tears overflowing. Before Jed could come closer, her daddy stood up and confronted him.

  “Who are you and what do ya want?” he demanded. Putting a hand on Annie’s shoulder, he ordered her to stay where she was.

  “My name is Jed Nickels. With all due respect sir, I need to talk to your daughter. You see; Annie came out here to be my bride. I messed things up pretty bad, but now I want to make amends.”

  “Well you’re too late. You had your chance. Now she’s coming home with me where she belongs!” her father stated, giving Jed a shove.

  It was all Jed could do to control his temper and not shove back.

  “I’m not leaving until I’ve said my piece to her whether you like it or not,” Jed said stubbornly.

  Before the two men could come to blows, Annie intervened.

  “Stop it; both of you!” she shouted. “Daddy, I made you a promise and I intend to keep that promise. But you have no right to interfere just yet. Today is still mine. And I will let Mr. Nickels say whatever he has come to say to me.”

  Tom wasn’t happy but there wasn’t much he could say. He stepped aside.

  “Don’t you be trying anything funny, boy,” he threatened and stalked off. Turning back he called out to Annie. “And I’ll see you at noon tomorrow.”

  Jed sat down on the bench beside Annie. Nervously, he turned his hat around and around in his hands. Finally he put the hat down beside him and carefully reached for Annie’s hands. She looked up, startled by what she saw in his eyes. He dropped her hands.

  “Please don’t go, Annie, I, I mean Miss Sampson. Oh darn, this is hard.”

  He closed his eyes and took a deep breath.

  “What I mean is that I don’t want you to go away.”

  When Annie started to say something, he put up a hand to stop her.

  “Please just let me say my piece.”

  He opened his eyes and looked at Annie. “I’m a stubborn man. Once I make my mind up about something, I don’t usually change it. When my parents died in that fire, I was sure that the only thing for me to do was to sell up and move away. But lately I’ve been wondering if that’s the right thing to do. My friends are here and everything I’ve ever known is right here, including my memories. Giving up the farm would be like giving up a part of my ma and pa. I’m not sure if I can do that anymore.”

  Annie smiled at him and said, “I’m glad you feel that way Mr. Nickels. Despite everything that’s happened, it is still your home.”

  “Well, that’s only part of it. A man on his own can’t really make a place a home. It needs a woman’s touch for that.”

  Once more he took Annie’s hands in his. “I want that woman to be you, Annie,” he said softly. “Will you do me the honor of becoming my wife?”

  Annie bursting into tears was not quite the response he was hoping for.

  “You know I can’t do that now Mr. Nickels. If only you had asked sooner!”

  “But I know you don’t want to go back to Philadelphia with your daddy.”

  “It’s the last thing I want to do,” Annie said desolately. “But I promised my daddy and I can’t let him down.”

  Annie proceeded to tell Jed about the situation her father was in.

  “So you see, if I don’t go back with him, Daddy will be killed. There’s no way out.”

  Jed stood up and paced back and forth. “I can’t let you do this. I’ll figure something out.”

  Sitting down beside Annie, he smiled and said, “I have only one question for you. Would you marry me if I can find a way out of this mess for your father?”

  Through her tears Annie looked at Jed and said, “Oh yes Jed, I would. But what are you going to do? We’re leaving tomorrow and I know Daddy won’t want to wait any longer.”

  “Leave it to me,” he said. “Now how about if I walk you back to Mrs. Gregson’s?”

  After leaving Annie with Mrs. Gregson, Jed went to look for her father. He found him propping up the bar in the saloon.

  “Mr. Sampson, can we talk?”

  Looking down at his almost empty mug of beer, Tom replied, “That depends. Talkin’s thirsty business.”

  Jed ordered Tom another mug of beer and then steered him to a table.

  “What do ya want anyway?” Tom slurred.

  “I want to ask for your daughter’s hand in marriage,” Jed replied calmly.

  Tom choked on a mouthful of beer and then stared at Jed.

  “Well I sure wasn’t expecting that. The answer’s no. She’s comin’ back home with me. Now stop wasting my time.”

  He started to get up from the table but Jed grabbed his arm and said, “How much?”

  “What do ya mean, how much?”

  “How much do you owe that fellow in Philadelphia? Am I right in thinking that he doesn’t care if you give him cash or your daughter to settle your debts?”

  Tom shrugged. “Long as he gets paid is all that matters.”

  Then he moved closer to Jed and said, “But I think I should be compensated for my time and trouble comin’ all the way out here.”

  Jed looked at Annie’s father with disgust. “Fine, there’ll be some extra for you, just as long as you promise to leave Annie alone from here on out.”

  Tom thought it over for a minute and said, “Deal. But I need that money before the train leaves tomorrow.”

  Jed stood and gritted his teeth. “You’ll have it. I’ll meet you at the station. But you’ll be sending that fellow a telegram to let him know you have his money. I’ll not have him bothering A
nnie over this.”

  Chapter 11

  From the platform, Annie watched the train pull away with her father aboard. She still couldn’t believe that Jed had been able to persuade her daddy to let her stay. She watched as Jed turned from the tracks and made his way over to her.

  With a big smile, he offered Annie his arm. She took it and they walked back to the bench where they’d talked the evening before.

  Turning to her, Jed took both of her hands in his and spoke softly, “First things first. Annie, will you marry me?”

  With tears of joy in her eyes, Annie answered simply, “Yes Jed, I will.”

  For a moment, they just smiled at each other. Then Jed leaned over and gently kissed her on the cheek.

  “Let’s go and talk to the preacher,” Jed said. “Maybe we can persuade him to come out to Henry and Emily’s place to do the honors. I’d like them to be our witnesses. What do you think, Annie?”

  “I’d like nothing better Jed. After all, if it wasn’t for their sneaky plan, we might never have gotten together,” she laughed.

  Then turning serious for a moment, Emily said, “Tell me how you persuaded my daddy to get on that train without me.”

  Jed squirmed uncomfortably. “Does it matter?”

  Annie looked at him and said carefully, “Jed Nickels, if we are going to get married then we can’t have secrets between us. Now tell me what you had to do to get my daddy to leave.”

  Reluctantly Jed nodded.

  “All right. I gave him the money he needed to pay off his gambling debt, plus I paid for his train ticket.”

  “And,” prompted Annie

  “And what?” asked Jed.

  “Where did you get the money to do that, Jed? I know you don’t have that kind of money sitting around.”

  “”I borrowed against the farm.”

  He heard Annie gasp.

  “And before you say anything Annie Sampson, I want you to know I’d do it again in a minute, if it meant not losing you.”

  “But Jed, the farm is all you had left.”

  “I didn’t lose the farm Annie. The loan will get paid off in time. With you beside me, I know we can make a go of things. Besides I needed some extra money to build us a place to live in.”

  He chuckled, “I can’t have my bride bunking in a tack room forever, now can I?”

  They decided to wait awhile longer to get married. In the meantime, Annie moved back in with Henry and Emily. The relative that had come to stay was relieved to be able to go back home. Emily was delighted to have Annie back.

  Harvest finally finished and it was a good one. Henry was starting to get back on his feet and was able to do some light chores around the place.

  Emily still had a few more months to go before her due date but Dr. Roberts gave her permission to be up and about, as long as she didn’t try to do too much. Annie was there to make sure she didn’t.

  As for Jed, he was determined to get a small place built before he married Annie. With the harvest over, the work was going faster. He and Annie spent hours together at Emily’s place, talking and making plans for their future.

  Finally the big day arrived. Henry and Emily invited a few of the neighbors, as well as Johnny and Mrs. Gregson, to celebrate. After the celebration wound down, Jed and Annie thanked Henry and Emily for all that they’d done and got ready to leave. They would be staying in their newly finished home for the first time. Jed had continued to live in the tack room so it would be a fresh start in all ways for both of them.

  As they walked hand in hand up to their front door, Jed said “I think it’s traditional for the groom to carry the bride over the threshold. May I Mrs. Nickels?”

  Smiling Annie said, “I think I’d like that very much, Mr. Nickels.”

  A Message From Maggie McCloud

  Thank you for downloading my book. I hope you enjoyed reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it. I have always been fascinated by the stories of women who traveled so far to become mail order brides. Their stories are the inspiration for my books.

  If you enjoyed this book, please tell your family and friends so they can enjoy it too. I would very much appreciate it if you could take the time to leave me a review on Amazon. Here is a link to the book on Amazon. (Please scroll down the page to leave a review.)

  I’d love to hear from you. Your thoughts and insights are invaluable to me and help me to create the clean sweet stories that are what Mail Order Bride romances are all about.

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  You can also email me directly at maggie@maggiemccloudbooks.com

  Please sign up for my mailing list so I can let you know whenever I publish a new book. Your information will never be shared and will only be used for new release announcements, special subscriber-only offers on books, and for exclusive previews and content.

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  Maggie

  Other Books By Maggie McCloud

  Kathleen’s Dream: Mail Order Brides Of Prairie Meadow – Book 1

  Betsy’s Hope: Mail Order Brides Of Prairie Meadow – Book 2

  Claire’s Escape: Mail Order Brides Of Prairie Meadow – Book 4

  Bonus Chapter – Claire’s Escape

  Claire’s Escape:

  Mail Order Brides Of Prairie Meadow – Book 4

  Chapter 1

  When Claire Adamson applied for the job in a café in King City Kansas, she had only planned to stay long enough to help support her family until her father could get back on his feet.

  John Adamson had suffered a serious accident at work and had a long recovery in front of him. On top of that he had lost his job. His boss was apologetic but he needed someone to do the job and if John couldn’t, he would have to let him go. And that’s exactly what had happened. The paltry sum that the company paid him as compensation for his accident was running out.

  Although Sarah, her mother, took in laundry and did some sewing for several well-to-do women, there was not enough money coming in to pay the rent and put food on the table for the three of them.

  So when Claire saw the ad in the local newspaper, she had written to apply. Her mother had misgivings about her daughter moving away to take the job, but Claire had searched high and low in their tiny town and there was nothing that would pay her nearly enough. The job promised room and board, and enough money to help out her parents.

  But now waiting for her train, with ticket in hand and her mother to see her off, she wondered if she was doing the right thing. If she was honest with herself, the idea of moving away from home, to work in a place where she knew no one, frightened her.

  As the train chugged into the station, mother and daughter exchanged tearful hugs.

  “Claire, you know you don’t have to do this. We can manage,” her mother said, clutching Claire’s hands tightly.

  “We’ve been through all this, Mama. We need the money and there is nothing for me around here,” Claire replied. “Please don’t worry. I’ll be fine.”

  At the sound of the conductor’s ‘All aboard,’ Claire gave her mother one last hug and hurried over to board the train.

  “I’ll write you as soon as I can,” she called, looking back before climbing aboard.

  As promised, the owner of the café, Randall Gorman, had met her at the station. In fact, there were four girls he was waiting for. Once they had all disembarked and collected their bags, he led them to a fine-looking carriage.

  “Hurry up and climb in,” he said abruptly. “That train was late and I don’t like being kept waiting.”

  “This must be a very big and prosperous café to hire four girls,” Claire whispered to one of the other girls.

  The girl just looked at Claire and smiled tightly. “Oh yes, it’s big and prosperous all right. But it ain’t no café we’re goin’ to be working in.”

  At Claire’s puzzled look, the girl turne
d her gaze to the window and said, “You’ll see soon enough.”

  Claire spent the ride from the station gazing around in open-mouthed awe. She had never been in a place quite so large. But when the carriage stopped in front of a saloon located on the outskirts of King City, Claire was dismayed.

  After climbing out of the carriage, she approached the man who had met the girls at the station.

  “Excuse me, Mr. Gorman. But there must be some mistake. I applied for a job in a café, not a saloon.”

  He stared down at her. “Well, well, are you going to be giving me trouble even before you start working off your train ticket?”

  Claire paled. “No sir, I’m just confused I guess.”

  “Well, we can’t have that, now can we Miss Adamson?” he said sarcastically. “The Golden Bell serves food, so you can consider it a café if that makes you feel better.”

  “But it says Golden Bell Saloon right there on the sign,” Claire replied.

  “Look Missy, did you really think I’d pay those kind of wages for someone to come and work in a café? The money comes from selling drink, and pretty girls encourage the guests to buy more of them. Serving food is just an extra. I expect you to do both and do it with a smile. If you don’t like it, pay me for your train ticket and go back where you came from.”

  “But, but I don’t have the money to do that,” Claire replied, tears brimming.

  ‘Well then I guess you don’t have much choice do you, Miss Adamson?” Gorman said in a quiet voice. “You owe me for a train ticket and you’ll work for me at least until that’s paid off.”

  He grabbed her arm and squeezed, “Do you understand, Miss Adamson?”

  Wincing, Claire nodded. Gorman looked at her a moment longer and finally let go.