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

by Zina Abbott

  “No.”

  “How does ten o’clock in the morning sound? After I take you back, I’ll talk to the pastor and make arrangements. If he has another wedding scheduled at ten, I’m sure they won’t mind if we sit and wait our turn.”

  “That sounds fine. I’ll be ready.”

  “I’ll see if I can rent the buggy again. Maybe the surrey would be better if it’s free. That way I can give my parents a ride too. They will want to be there, and I’ll ask my father to stand up for me. Either way, I’ll pick you up about nine-thirty. After they have the lottery at noon to decide which house we get, we’ll drive out there so you can see it. I know they’re supposed to provide the basic furniture, but maybe we can convince my folks to open up their store long enough so we can get whatever else we need.” He turned to her with a grin. “Being their son and all, my credit is good with them. In fact, we may not be the only new couple that needs to pick up a few things tomorrow.”

  “That sounds fine. But you don’t need to rent anything. It’s not that far and I don’t mind walking.”

  “I’d like to make the day special for you if I can. Thank you for saying yes. And, Andrea, don’t pay Aurelia any mind. You wear whatever you want to get married in. You look beautiful to me no matter what you are wearing.”

  ~o0o~

  As they rode back in companionable silence, Andrea’s stomach began to twist in knots? What had she done? She had followed Desi’s advice and listened to her heart, and where had it gotten her? Yes, she preferred to marry Aaron Brinks. If she planned to stay married, he was the man she wanted for her husband.

  However, she didn’t plan to stay married. She planned to claim the full month before she’d be expected to fulfill her wifely duties. During that time he could get his paperwork filed to own his house. But, how was she going to handle his disappointment once he found out she intended to seek an annulment and leave?

  Andrea realized she should have married Stanley Turner. She didn’t want to disappoint him either, but it would have been much easier on her to walk away from Stanley than it was going to be to walk away from Aaron Brinks.

  Why did she listen to her foolish heart?

  ~o0o~

  By the time she went to bed that night, Andrea felt like she had run the gauntlet. First, Stanley came by after supper, hat in hand, and asked to speak to her in the Howard’s guest parlor. He asked her to marry him. It was one of the most difficult things she had ever had to say to someone, but she declined.

  His nostrils had flared with suppressed anger. “You’re marrying Aaron Brinks, aren’t you?”

  Andrea had nodded and focused on the floor. “Yes. You’re a very nice man, Stanley, and I hope you find a really nice wife. I just don’t think we’re a good match.”

  Lizett must have been listening from the other room, because as soon as Andrea saw him to the door and closed it behind him, the woman marched over to her. “What do you mean you don’t think you and Stanley are a good match? According to my analysis of both your handwriting and his, he would be an excellent husband for you. And why Aaron Brinks, of all people?”

  Andrea couldn’t think of what to tell her other than the truth. “After listening to all you told me and getting to know Stanley, Aaron and some of the others, I decided to follow my heart. I chose Aaron.”

  Lizett flicked her hand in derision. “Pshaw! Do you have any idea how many foolish women have found themselves married to the wrong men—liars, womanizers, wife-beaters, drunks—because they followed their hearts? Why else do you think I go to all the trouble of using graphology to match up my clients? It increases the probability of couples making a happy, successful match. I just hope you aren’t sorry.” Lizett strode away without waiting for Andrea’s response.

  Fighting tears, Andrea had gone to her room she shared with Catherine. Both Catherine and Sunny were gone, probably still out with Harold. She slowly sat on the bed as she thought about what Lizett had said. Would she be sorry she chose Aaron? Was he one—or all—of those things Lizett mentioned? She didn’t really know him, not after only three days. Doubts plagued her the rest of the evening.

  The one bright spot that night had been when Aurelia entered her room while Andrea sat brushing out her hair. Aurelia carried a gorgeous pink silk dress trimmed in brown silk ruffles. “I hear congratulations are in order. So, you’re marrying Aaron Brinks?” At Andrea’s nod, she continued. “Andrea, I want to offer you this dress for tomorrow’s ceremony.”

  “What?” Andrea could hardly believe what she heard.

  Aurelia crossed into the room and held out the gown. “I remembered what you said about having only your Sunday-best dress. “I just cannot see you getting married in that gray linsey-woolsey dress of yours, especially not in the height of summer.”

  Andrea watched Aurelia wrinkle her nose at the mention of Andrea’s church dress.

  “Every bride deserves a special outfit, even if it’s borrowed.”

  “But…” Andrea glanced between the dress and Aurelia several times before she reached out a shaky hand. “It’s so pretty.”

  Aurelia held up the pale pink skirt with diagonal flounces edged in soft brown ruffles. “Actually, it’s a skirt with a matching jacket, but the style isn’t more than two years old. Papa commissioned it for our trip to--“ She sucked in a breath. “Never mind about that.”

  Andrea suspected something unpleasant had happened to Aurelia, and that was why she was here seeking a husband among the miners, men obviously from a different class of society from what she was used to. She began to empathize more with the woman. The drastic change from where she had come from, probably a happier time, must be difficult for her

  “May I?” Andrea held out both hands, staring at the garment.

  Aurelia passed over the jacket that was mostly brown with an inset of pink tucked fabric that angled from the shoulder to the waist and tapered almost to a point at the middle of the front hem.

  Andrea pressed the jacket to her chest and held out a sleeve along one arm. With scurrying steps, Andrea crossed the room and stood before the wood-framed mirror attached to the wall. She shook her head. “Oh, I can’t believe this.” She smiled as she touched the buttons running along the line between pink and brown fabrics. “I’ve never worn anything with so many fancy gewgaws.”

  Andrea turned to Aurelia to thank her and noticed her eyes had misted over. Aurelia walked over and held up the skirt to Andrea’s waist. She centered the column of tucked pink fabric that ran the length of the skirt front. “If the hem is too long, we can use a few safety pins so you won’t trip.”

  “Yes, I don’t want to drag the hem too much.” Andrea reached out a hand and clasped Aurelia’s. “Truly, I thank you from the bottom of my heart. This dress will make my day very special. I’ll take good care of it and get it back to you right away.”

  Aurelia cleared her suddenly clogged throat. “You are welcome, Andrea. Sometime later in the week will be fine. Sleep well.” She turned to leave, and then turned back. “I knew pink would be a good color on you. Good night.” She left, pulling the door shut behind her.

  Still holding the top to her chest and studying the skirt Aurelia had gently placed across the foot of her bed, Andrea shook her head in disbelief. She did not know what had prompted the change in Aurelia, but she felt grateful. She looked forward to the two of them becoming better friends.

  .

  .

  .

  .

  CHAPTER 11

  ~o0o~

  The next morning Andrea, dressed in the pink and brown confection Aurelia had loaned her to wear for her wedding, waited in the Howard’s guest parlor. The longer she waited, the more nervous she became. She now wished Aaron has said he would try to schedule their marriage for nine o’clock.

  Beside her, Catherine, dressed in her Sunday dress, fought back tears. When Andrea had asked her if she and Harold had scheduled their wedding, her friend had confided there were a few problems, and she and Harold ma
y not get married. However, Catherine had forced a grin and insisted. “But I’m thrilled you want me to be at your wedding and be your witness.”

  At the sound of a carriage, Andrea jumped to her feet and moved to the front window. Outside she saw Aaron step down from a brown surrey, a different style than the two Mr. Bainbridge had used to show them the town the day they arrived. Andrea recognized Aaron’s parents sitting in the back.

  Impatiently, Andrea waited for Aaron to knock on the door. It was Catherine who rushed over to open it. Thus it was that Aaron’s first sight of his future wife dressed in an elegant pink and brown ruffled silk gown took place as she stood barely inside framed by the doorjamb.

  Andrea watched Aaron stare at her for several seconds. She thought she saw him swallow. Finally, he smiled and held out his hand for her. “Andrea. You look beautiful. I’m not going to ask where you got that lovely dress, but I will say it looks perfect on you.”

  Andrea blushed as she took his hand. “Aurelia loaned it to me. I have to get it back to her later this week. It’s far too fancy for me for anything other than a wedding.”

  “Then let’s enjoy you being able to wear it for our wedding. I like you in pink. Maybe tomorrow, I want you to go to the store and see about getting a new dress in pink, something you would like to wear to church in the summer so you can save the gray dress for cooler weather. If Ma doesn’t have a ready-made that will do, maybe she can help find some fabric with pink in it you like and she can help you make a dress.”

  Andrea turned at Catherine’s laugh. “You two can talk about that later. Maybe we better go so you aren’t late to your own wedding.”

  After greeting the older Brinks couple, Aaron helped both Andrea and Catherine up in the front seat of the surrey. Fortunately, both women were slender, and Catherine had left Sunny back in their room. Aaron was built slim in his hips. They all fit. He flicked the leads and the horses began the journey the short distance to the Community Church.

  Andrea found it difficult to speak her vows. Her throat kept closing up on her. She felt like a hypocrite. This was a solemn occasion. She knew her Bible well enough to know God had said what he had joined together, no man should break apart. Yet, she planned to break apart this marriage as soon as Aaron got title to his house. Soon, Aaron’s ring slid on her finger.

  After Pastor Alwin announced Aaron could kiss his bride, she felt a surge of panic as Aaron gently turned her towards him. She froze stiff as one of the pews that filled the church as Aaron placed his hands on her upper arms and gently pulled her to him. A vision of Lloyd McCreary jerking her towards him flashed through her mind. Then she felt reaffirmed her decision to annul this marriage before things went too far was correct. Aaron deserved someone much better than a wife whose flashbacks brought up terrifying images of what she escaped when she ran away from home.

  Next Andrea felt Aaron’s lips on hers. They were soft and warm. She relaxed, the terror of her flashback being driven back to its hiding place in her mind. Lloyd liked to grab her and jerk her around, but had never tried to kiss her. She had no nightmares of that to haunt her. Andrea yielded to the kiss, the gentleness, the tenderness. After today, she could not allow Aaron to kiss her again. It would not be right to fill him with false expectations. But, how she wished she was worthy of being the wife of a good man like Aaron so she could with good conscience willingly welcome his kisses each day.

  Her dark thoughts were interrupted when the pastor presented them to the small wedding party as husband and wife. Andrea forced a smile on her lips. This was a joyous occasion, and she should enjoy it—while it lasted. Quickly she was enveloped in the embrace of Desi Brinks while Aaron’s father shook Aaron’s hand and congratulated her new husband. Next Catherine, tears in her eyes, hugged her. “I’m so happy for you, Andrea.”

  Simon Brinks hugged Andrea. He whispered into her ear. “Welcome to the family.”

  After the marriage was entered into the registry and everyone signed, the party stepped outside the clapboard church.

  Catherine spoke first. “I need to get back and check on Sunny. It’s not that far so I’ll walk. I need a few minutes to myself to think about a few things anyway.”

  Desi turned to Aaron. “I hate to desert you, Son, but I need to get back and finish the potato salad I’m preparing for the Independence Day celebration dinner. The steam from boiling all those potatoes should be gone from my kitchen by now and the potatoes cool enough to peel and cut.”

  Andrea turned to her new mother-in-law, her voice pleading. “May I come and help you? I’m used to working. Having all this free time feels funny.”

  Desi laughed. “No, dear. Not on your wedding day, and certainly not in that lovely gown. You enjoy this time with your new husband. Once you get into that house of yours, you’ll have plenty to keep you busy. We’ll see you at the park later.”

  Aaron started to open his mouth until his father held up his hand. “If you were planning to offer us a ride back home, I think your mother wants to walk. You and Andrea go for a drive until it’s time to turn the surrey back in. Just make sure you’re at the park when Mr. Bainbridge draws the numbers for the house assignments. If you need anything for your new place, stop by the store later, and we’ll get you what you need. In fact, even though it’s a holiday, I have a feeling I’ll be doing a brisk business before the day’s out.”

  Aaron turned to Andrea as his parents walked away arm in arm. He gallantly motioned one hand towards the surrey. “It’s paid for until noon, my beautiful bride. May I help you up so we may take a little drive around town for the next hour?”

  “All right, but I probably should change out of this dress. It’s Aurelia’s and I need to get it back to her.”

  “I’m sure she’ll expect you to wear it all day.” Aaron helped her up into the surrey before he climbed up and started the horses moving. “Where would you like to go?”

  I know we don’t know which house is ours yet, but could you show me where they are and where you work?”

  The two drove north past the park and the school until they crossed the bridge over the river and rode over the railroad tracks. With anticipation, Andrea studied the identical houses that stood in two rows before her. Soon Aaron drove between two houses to enter the married housing neighborhood, there being three on one side of the road and two on the other. He turned to the left and guided the surrey between the houses on either side of the narrow lane. Andrea soon figured out that there were five houses on either side of the lane facing each other. At the end, he stopped, allowing Andrea a chance to study the undeveloped land beyond the house lots.

  The dirt with its sparse vegetation that gradually rose up to hills that became studded with trees the higher the elevation fascinated Andrea. It was so different from the flat, grassy plains of her former Kansas home.

  As Aaron turned the surrey around, she tried to study the soil. She wondered if it would be as easy to grow a garden in Jubilee Springs as it had been in Kansas. The problem was not water. The river was nearby and Aaron had told her there was a pump next to the kitchen sink in the house. The higher elevation along with different soil might make gardening different than what she was used to. At least they were located in a river valley that tended to be more fertile than soil in the mountains.

  Then again, why was she thinking about planting a garden? She wouldn’t be here for the harvest. The thought saddened Andrea. She reconciled herself to the idea it was only fair to Aaron that she plant a garden while she was still here. After Lizett found him a real wife, perhaps the woman would appreciate having a winter garden already started for her.

  At the other end of the housing area, the close proximity of the mine became more evident. If the miners cut across the field to work, the houses on that end might mean less of a walk to work. However, Andrea hoped that they would get a house far away from the mine, preferable one where the back yard faced the open ground and mountains rather than the river and town. She was used to walking out her ba
ck door and seeing open fields and feeling the immensity of the land and sky. The mountains would close a lot of that off. Still, she would rather not have the constant reminder of how close she was to a town or the mine that was the biggest employer for Jubilee Springs residents.

  Aaron turned back to the road that would take them towards town. Before he got to the railroad tracks, he turned left on a graveled road. Soon she found herself in an area with wood shacks, rails, iron carts for hauling dirt and ore and a donkey pen in a far corner. Aaron pointed out the mining office, the assayer’s building and the shaft leading into the main tunnel of the mine. The entire area impressed Andrea as being dusty, rock-strewn and cluttered. She was glad she didn’t have to work there.

  “I have to get you back, sweetheart. I need to return the surrey and get to the park in time for the house lottery.”

  Sweetheart? They had only met a few days ago, but already Aaron had called her his sweetheart. Why was he making it so much harder for her to be able to tell him she would be ending the marriage as soon as he officially owned his house?

  The surrey returned, the pair walked to the park where Royce Bainbridge stood up in his surrey and called together his miners who qualified for the house drawing. Andrea noticed that Catherine and Harold were there, with Catherine holding the wicker hamper they used for Sunny, but the two stood several feet apart. Andrea had never seen her friend look so sad.

  Royce Bainbridge’s booming voice interrupted her observation. “How many marriages have taken place or are scheduled for today?” Aaron was among those who raised his hand, but Andrea noticed Harold didn’t raise his. She felt sadness descend upon her. If any couple was in love and deserved to be together, it was her friend and Harold. What had happened?

  Royce began to call names and pull numbered pieces of paper out of a hat. The next thing Andrea knew, Aaron stood next to her, a big grin on his face. “Sweetheart, we got house number two. It’s on the far side away from the mines with the front door facing the river and the back door facing the mountains. It’s not on the very end, but next to it. Do you feel up to walking there after we get something to eat?”