by Carré White
“Then he has to be someone else!”
Matt shook his head. “Nope. There’s only one Jason Hatch of Denver City. What did it say he did for a livin’?”
Hannah scanned the correspondence. “He’s…a carpenter.”
“That’d be him. He helped build the church and the school.”
“How many children does he have?” I sat on the sofa, but I was on the edge, ready to jump to my feet again in indignation.
“Five, I believe.”
“No!” Hannah and I uttered that word together.
“He got ‘em from his sister. Three girls and two boys.”
Silence filled the room, but it was shattered by the sound of something crashing upstairs. “Oh, goodness. What’s happened now?”
Annie raced down the steps. “They’ve gone and done it, Ma.”
“What did you stinkers do?” asked Matt. “That was pretty darn loud.”
“They broke the mirror.”
I sighed. “Well, they’ll be put in a quiet corner for a bit then.” My shoulders sagged. It was going to be a long day.
Matt got to his feet. “I’ll deal with it.” He touched my face, smiling kindly. “You should go lie down, honey. You’re lookin’ tired.”
“Poor Fanny. She’s being tricked into marrying someone who needs his children looked after.”
Matt chuckled near my ear. “How’s that different than what happened to you and me?”
I glanced at him. “I knew what I was getting myself into. She hasn’t a clue.”
“It’s gonna be fine. Quit your worrying. When she gets to town, you’ll just tell her what you know.”
“That’s true. I can do that. That way she can make an educated decision, without being duped into something.”
“That might not be possible,” said Hannah.
“Why not?”
“He’s supposedly meeting her in…” she glanced at the letter…“in Fort Laramie. There’s always a preacher on a wagon train.”
Matt laughed, “Looks like he covered his butt pretty darn good.”
“What a horrible, lying man!”
Hannah seemed resigned. “Oh, dear. The deed will have been done long before she arrives in Denver City.”
“Poor Fanny.”
Matt continued to chuckle, and I gave him the evil eye, which only increased his amusement. There would be no way to rescue my sister from the cruel hands of fate.
Coming Soon
Look for future books in The Colorado Brides Series, chronicling the lives of the Hoffman sisters and their adventures in finding love out west.
An Unexpected Widow
An Unexpected Bride
An Unexpected Annulment
An Unexpected Mother
A new series, The Arizona Brides Series, will be available in the fall of 2013.
Join Carré White’s Mail List
http://carrewhite.wordpress.com/
http://twitter.com/CarreWhite
Other works by Carré White
Sonoran Nights
The Colorado Brides Series
***
An Unexpected Widow
An Unexpected Bride
An Unexpected Annulment
An Unexpected Mother
Table of Contents
Prologue
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Chapter Nine
Chapter Ten
Chapter Eleven
Chapter Twelve
Chapter Thirteen
Epilogue