Aaron’s Annulment Bride (Sweethearts of Jubilee Springs #3)

by Zina Abbott

  Aaron’s Annulment

  Bride

  Sweethearts of Jubilee Springs

  Book 3

  ZINA ABBOTT

  Copyright © 2017 Robyn Echols writing as Zina Abbott

  All rights reserved.

  DEDICATION

  This book is dedicated to

  The hard-working authors of the Sweet Americana Sweethearts blog who provide the world with sweet/clean historical romances about North Americans between 1820 and 1929.

  ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

  This book is part of a multi-author series sponsored by the authors who write for the Sweet Americana Sweethearts blog. My appreciation and thanks go to those other authors who helped develop the fictional mining town of

  Jubilee Springs along the Arkansas River in the Rocky Mountains of Colorado.

  I also wish to thank my editor, Rosemary Smith, for helping to make this manuscript as accurate as possible.

  DISCLAIMER

  The town of Jubilee Springs, and all the characters described in this story are fictional. They are not based on any real persons, past or present. Any resemblance to real persons, living or dead, is coincidental and unintended.

  FOREWARD

  Welcome to Jubilee Springs

  This town of friendly folks in the Arkansas Valley of central Colorado sprang up right after silver was discovered in the nearby hills a decade or so ago. The western horizon is filled with vistas of the Rocky Mountains. Mount Shavano at 14,000 feet in elevation towers over other peaks. In the spring, melting snows reveal a shape that some call “The Angel of Shavano.” If looking south, the Sangre de Cristo Mountains can be seen. The Arkansas River that runs through the valley provides plenty of irrigation for ranching and crops.

  About three years ago, brothers Clive and Royce Bainbridge took ownership of the Prosperity Mine where silver is mined using labor-intensive methods. Raised by a father who owned a coal mine in England, they know the value of a loyal employee. When grumblings about Jubilee Springs not having enough women were heard, the Bainbridges took action and contacted the Colorado Bridal Agency in Denver.

  The brothers have built three-room row cabins which are available to the first ten men who marry. Arrangements have been made for Missus Lizett Millard to bring brides to the mining town for the Fourth of July weekend in 1881. Community events are planned to provide opportunities for the women and miners to get acquainted. Hopefully, each bride will make a selection and the lucky couples will marry on Monday, July 4th.

  .

  .

  .

  .

  Outside ellsworth, kansas – Early june 1881

  Chapter 1

  ~o0o~

  Andrea Dalton clutched her stomach with one hand to put pressure on the nervous cramp as she kept a firm grip on the pail of milk she carried to the house. The situation with Lloyd McCreary, her father’s ranch foreman, was getting out of hand, but she didn’t know how to stop it. He kept catching her alone when her father and his ranch hands were gone from the home place. It had been a week since the last time Lloyd had come after her and caught her working in the garden in the middle of the day. No matter how much she had protested him touching her the past three months, he had once again forced his attentions on her.

  After the third time within a month’s time he had shown up out of nowhere, she had begged through tears to know why. She could tell he didn’t have romantic feelings towards here. In response, the man had laughed. So sure of his success, he had boasted as he shared with her his plan. Lloyd had started with a statement they both knew to be true. “Now, you know your pa’s not willing for you to be courted and married. So, there’s no point in me asking him for permission.”

  Andrea had been well aware for years her father did not want her to marry. He repeatedly insisted that taking care of the ranch was all she needed in life. Besides, she was so shy and quiet, what man would want her? It was best she keep the ranch house, do his laundry, raise the garden, can, and cook for his ranch hands. He had repeatedly warned her she had better never encourage any young man at the church she attended to pay attention to her, or he would forbid her from ever going to church again.

  Lloyd had boldly laid out his plan of how he would force Andrea’s father to let him marry her. Andrea shuddered at the thought of being married to Lloyd McCreary. The man was pushing forty; he was way too old for her. With dark hair and eyes, he wasn’t much smaller than Andrea’s father who was of medium build, but he had an undeniable strength in his wiry limbs, a strength Andrea unsuccessfully fought against. It wasn’t his appearance she found so unappealing, although she certainly did not consider him a handsome man. It was the calculating look in his eyes each time he studied her when he thought no one else was looking. He was the last man in the world she would be willing to marry.

  Lloyd had warned her of what would happen if she told her father he came to see her alone; he would kill her. More than once when her father was around, she had glanced his way long enough to witness a look of warning that pierced her like a bullet.

  Andrea said nothing. Ever since her mother had died when she was twelve, her father had focused on the ranch. He didn’t have time to listen to her—even if she was inclined to speak. Shy since she had been a child, and always fretful that if she spoke she would trip over her words, she avoided conversations. She avoided social situations whenever she would be expected to talk to people, especially those she didn’t know well.

  If her father went into town, he usually went by himself and stayed late, leaving Andrea home to take care of evening chores with the chickens and barn animals. Usually she was fine with being left behind. She made it into town often enough to shop for food for the ranch and to buy material for a new dress when she needed it and could talk her father into it.

  The only socializing Andrea enjoyed was at church on Sunday, and that was because it mostly involved listening to the preacher. At least she sat in the same room with people she considered her friends, even if she rarely spoke with them. Unfortunately, she never could stay after the meetings longer than a few minutes, mostly to listen to conversations rather than to take part in them. Most Sundays she waved good-by to the others and hurried towards home. Even when she baked a dessert the night before and left a chicken or a roast stewing in a pot over a good bed of coals in the stove before she left, her pa complained if his Sunday dinner complete with baked biscuits was not ready on time. He saw no reason for her to neglect her duties to the ranch in order to waste time several hours each Sunday at church.

  Andrea carried the milk down to the root cellar to put it in the milk can to separate. As much as there was yet to do, if she wished to get to church this day, she needed to hurry.

  Andrea desperately felt the need to go to church that morning. She knew she must hurry to put breakfast on the table before her pa and his crew came in to eat, plus she had to be dressed and out of the house before they came, or her pa might order her to stay home as he often did. And this was one Sunday she must go. Even if she never said a word to anyone about her problem with Lloyd, she needed the peace and comfort that came from being in the little prairie church. Even if most of the people she attended with didn’t really know her or seldom spoke to her except to nod and greet her, she regarded them as her friends. She needed to know she was not facing her challenge in life alone, even if not one soul there knew of her problem.

  With fried ham, fresh biscuits, scrambled eggs and hash browns on the warming shelf of the stove, and plates and an assortment of jams on the table, Andrea hurried out the door wearing her best dress, which wasn’t saying much
for the dress. She had already hitched the horse she used to the pony cart before she milked the cow, so she pulled on her gloves and straightened her out-dated straw hat before she climbed in to leave. She saw the faint cloud of dust in the distance coming from the north range. She was getting away just in time.

  .

  .

  .

  .

  CHAPTER 2

  ~o0o~

  As the service ended, Andrea realized she did not feel the peace she had hoped for when she left home that morning. It was as if something else was required of her. But, what? Surely God did not intend for her to end up as Lloyd McCreary’s wife.

  Andrea could not bring herself to leave for home yet. She had a few minutes before she needed to get the biscuits baked to go with the pork loin and potatoes in gravy meal she had simmering on the stove. She looked around to see if there was a friend her age, or a group of young women she could join so she could quietly stand close enough to listen to their friendly chatter. Maybe that would help her feel better.

  Unfortunately, most young women her age were already married and had a baby or two. They tended to socialize with other young families. It was harder to find single women close to her twenty-two years she could approach. Then she saw Catherine Everett, who was known as “Cat” to her friends. She wiped tears from her eyes as she spoke to two young women, both married, who also were sharing tears of sorrow.

  Not wanting to intrude on something personal, Andrea approached with tentative steps. As soon as one of the women next to Catherine saw her, she surprised Andrea by addressing her. “Andrea, have you heard? Our Cat is leaving us.”

  Surprised, Andrea’s mouth dropped open for a few seconds before she regained her composure. “No, I didn’t know. Where are you going?”

  Catherine turned to Andrea and wiped her eyes with her hankie. “I’m going to Colorado, to a mining town named Jubilee Springs.”

  “Colorado? Whatever for?”

  Catherine sniffed. “Well, you know, after my folks passed, my sister and I came to live with my Aunt Sophia. And, I don’t know if you knew, but Auntie passed a little over a month ago.”

  Embarrassed, Andrea dropped her eyes to her scuffed boots. “Yes, I heard, Cat. I tried to get away to come to the funeral, but my pa said with spring round-up, we were too busy for me to go, and…” Andrea shrugged her shoulders and finished weakly. “I wanted to bring you a pie or something, but once again my pa…well, I’m so sorry for your loss, Cat. I know you loved her dearly.”

  Cat studied Andrea’s rounded shoulders and expression of regret, then wrapped her arms around her. “Don’t fret about it, Andrea. I know your pa keeps you busy, and it makes me happy to know you thought of me. I’m just glad Auntie could see my sister married before she left us.”

  One of the women reached over and patted Catherine’s shoulder. “Our husbands are looking for us, Cat, and I can hear my little one fussing. You have a good trip if we don’t see you before you leave.”

  Catherine straightened and waved farewell to the two women.

  Confused, Andrea looked at Catherine. “I know that leaves you alone now, Cat, but why are you moving to Colorado? You still have friends here.”

  “I know. Unfortunately, my cousin, Auntie’s son, inherited the house. He doesn’t want to live here anymore, and he wasn’t willing to rent it to me because, as he correctly pointed out, it is unlikely I can find a job where I earn enough to cover the rent. Besides, he wants the money.” Tears welled up in the woman’s eyes once more. “I have to be out by the end of the month, Andrea. A new family is moving in.”

  “That’s terrible.”

  “I’ll be all right. I signed up with a bridal agency. The lady who runs it is searching for prospective wives for ten men in the town of Jubilee Springs. From what her letter of introduction said, I guess the local mine owners felt their workforce would be more stable if some of their men were married with families. They are providing houses and paying part of the train fare for the agency to bring in brides for ten of the miners. So, you see? I’m going to be all right. As much as I will miss everyone here, I’m going to be married soon. I’ll have my own house to live in and I’ll be able to raise and care for my own family.”

  Her eyes wide with awe, Andrea stepped back and studied her friend. Catherine had found a way to escape her problem of having nowhere to live and no way to provide for herself. Could this be the solution for her?

  In desperation, Andrea grabbed Catherine’s forearm. “Cat, please, I need to get away. Does this woman in Colorado need more brides for those miners? Is there any way I can get signed up so I can go with you? I…I have some money tucked away. I don’t know if it would be enough for a train ticket, but I really want to go.”

  Catherine blinked as shook her head. “You don’t need to pay the train fare, Andrea. The groom…or in this case, I suppose, the mine owners… pay for everything once you’re signed up. What Mrs. Millard, the owner of the Colorado Bridal Agency, said in her advertisement was that you need to submit a letter of application in your own handwriting telling about you, what you are good at, what you enjoy doing and what you hope to gain from a marriage. From there, she uses graphology, a science of the study of handwriting, to match you up with one to three men suitable for you to correspond with. I have been writing to two men she matched me up with, and think I know which one I prefer. All it will cost you is postage for the letter.”

  Andrea’s shoulders slumped with defeat. “I guess I can’t do this after all, Cat. There is no way I dare receive mail. If Pa were to find out what I was up to, he’s lock me away and never let me come to church again for sure. Besides, I don’t have any money with me for the postage.”

  Catherine thought for a moment. She broke into a smile and her eyes sparked with excitement. “I have an idea. Let’s go see if the pastor has some paper. You write your letter before you leave and give it to me. I’ll send it to Lizett Millard with my letter I’m going to send so you won’t need to worry about postage.” Catherine didn’t tell Andrea it was only because her friend needed to send an application she decided to send a letter herself. “I’ll tell Mrs. Millard at the agency you will be ready to go this month if she has men available. I’ll ask her to send your ticket with mine since we’ll be traveling together. It will be so fun to have a friend from home up there with me.”

  This time it was Andrea’s turn to tear up. “You would really do that for me? You would help me get away from the ranch so I can marry and have a family?”

  “Yes. What are friends for?” Then, giving Andrea a quick hug, Catherine looked her in the eye. “I know how your pa is, Andrea. And, I don’t want to alarm you, but when you’ve come to town, I’ve noticed how that ranch foreman your pa has looks at you. It’s only a matter of time before he wants to court you, and he’s way too old and uncouth for you. I’d hate to see you end up with someone like him. Let’s go talk to the pastor and see if he has some paper and a pen or pencil in his office.”

  Andrea clamped her lips shut. She felt too humiliated to tell her friend it was already too late as far as Lloyd McCreary paying attention to her and conducting his brand of “courting.” Instead she nodded in agreement and the pair walked over to the pastor. She was going to be late getting home and getting dinner on the table. Her pa would no doubt be angry. It might be another week or two before he would allow her to get away and attend church again. However, if Catherine could help her escape by the end of the month, it would all be worth it.

  The following two Sundays Lewis Dalton watched his daughter like a hawk. He refused to allow her to go to church, and threatened her with dire punishment should she sneak out to go. Andrea didn’t say much. What her father didn’t know was there was nothing he would do to her that could be as bad as being alone with his ranch foreman. By the last weekend in June, her pa was busy enough he relented. Andrea attended Sunday worship service. She felt ashamed that she looked forward to talking to Catherine to find out if she had he
ard from the bridal agency more than listening to the sermon.

  After church, Catherine sought Andrea out, a big grin plastered on her face. She grabbed Andrea’s arm and pulled her off to the side so they would not be overheard. “I don’t care how you do it, Andrea, but you get yourself and whatever you want to bring with you to town first thing in the morning. You can leave the horse and pony cart at the livery and let your pa worry about it. Lizett Millard from the bridal agency said she has you matched up with at least two possible men to consider for husbands and she wants you there as part of the first group of brides to arrive in Jubilee Springs.”

  Andrea nearly collapsed with relief. She was going to get away from Lloyd McCreary. She was going to be free of being her pa’s unpaid servant who had to beg for the privilege to go to church a few times a month.

  Catherine’s next words snapped Andrea’s attention back to the plans for her future. “She sent your ticket with mine. Our train that will take us to Denver leaves at nine o’clock. Make sure you’re there in plenty of time.”

  .

  .

  .

  .

  jubilee springs, Colorado – june 1881

  CHAPTER 3

  ~o0o~

  “Aaron Brinks, didn’t you forget something?”

  Aaron stopped in his tracks and retraced his steps back up the top three stairs to his parents’ home above the mercantile. His hands on his hips, he stood next to his mother who was cooking an egg over easy for this father. He leaned over to look in her face. “I don’t want to be late at the mine, Ma. What do you think I forgot?”