Mail Order Becca (Brides 0f Sweet Creek Book 2)

by Sarah Banks

Casey’s eyes filled with tears again, except this time it wasn’t from pain. When she was finally able to speak, she whispered, “Then God finally answered my prayers.”

  Chapter Twenty

  Alex leaned against the doorway and watched Becca as she sat at Casey’s bedside. She was beautiful, he thought. And not only was she beautiful, but his wife was kind, honest, hardworking, everything he had wanted but more than he ever expected when he had advertised for a bride. He loved falling asleep listening to her soft breathing at night, waking up next to her in the morning and the intimacy they had shared. He loved hearing her talk and laugh at mealtimes and during their wagon rides, and how excited she had been each time she returned home from her quilting bees. He loved going to church with her, singing and praying by her side. He loved everything about her. She was sweet and caring and genuine with everyone she met, especially with him, Casey and Billy. He had fallen in love with his wife, Alex realized with a smile. He couldn’t help but love her.

  It had been four days since Casey’s accident. Thankfully she was on the mend. Not much worse for wear except for her ankle which would take several weeks to heal. Whether she would have a permanent limp or not, well, they would just have to wait and see.

  Casey slept most of the first two days, probably in part due to the pain medicine as the doctor had warned him she might. The third day, although a bit tired, she seemed almost back to her normal self. By the fourth day she was begging to get out of bed. Billy spent the day fashioning a pair of crutches for her and after supper Casey had hobbled around the bedroom for a few minutes with a pleased smile before tiring.

  Becca never left Casey’s side for more than a few minutes at a time, even when Casey was sleeping. The first two nights she had refused to leave Casey’s side altogether but the following evening he had finally convinced Becca to get a few hours’ sleep in their bed with the promise that Billy would stay by Casey’s side until she returned.

  She had fallen asleep still fully dressed including her boots, on top of the unmade bed. He removed her boots and then his own before laying down next to her and pulling her into his arms. He managed to pull a blanket over them and held her while she slept, eventually sleeping himself. When he awoke a few hours later, she was gone, her pillow cool to the touch.

  The next night, after checking on the animals one last time before bed he went to Casey’s room to see if he could again convince his wife to get some sleep in their bed while Billy watched over Casey. But Billy was already there, losing a hand of poker to Casey, and neither of them knew where Becca had gone.

  Alex went in search of his wife. He checked upstairs before he went back outside. He finally found her at the side of the house standing at the edge of the slope that led down to the main road and just beyond where the town’s namesake, Sweet Creek, glittered in the moonlight.

  He wrapped his arms around her, holding her against him. She leaned her head back against his chest and sighed softly.

  “It’s so beautiful and peaceful here. I never imagined anywhere in the world like this ever existed,” she said quietly. “And we’re so lucky because it’s our home.”

  He rested his chin on top of her head and tightened his arms around her.

  “She’s going to be okay, isn’t she?” Becca said in amazement.

  He squeezed her and nodded. “Yes she is.”

  “I’m so happy.”

  “So am I.” He turned her in his arms and cradled her head. She instinctively leaned into his hand, a small smile on her lips and closed her eyes. He brushed his thumb lightly across her cheek and when she opened her eyes again, he said simply, “I love you too.”

  Becca’s lips parted in surprise and tears sprang to her eyes. Her mouth opened to respond but he lightly pressed a finger against her lips and continued.

  “I knew there was something missing in my life and I went searching for it. When I met you, I realized it wasn’t something I was missing, it was someone,” he said softly. “It was you Becca. My life was missing you.”

  She reached up, pulling his head down to hers as she went on her tiptoes, bringing their lips together, she kissed him. She wrapped her arms around his neck, hugging him tightly. When their lips finally parted, he lifted her off her feet and swung her around. He had never been happier than he was at that very moment, his laughter joining hers.

  Chapter Twenty-One

  A Few Weeks Later

  Becca awoke early but not as early as her husband, she realized, stretching out her hand and only encountering empty bed. She stretched languidly and thought about the past few weeks.

  Casey was still using crutches and would be for several more weeks but Doc Hilliard seemed positive on her prognosis. Even if she did have a slight limp, both she and Casey agreed she was lucky to be alive. They decided to count their blessings.

  She turned and looked at the indent in her husband’s pillow. She scooted onto his side of the bed and pressed her face against the cotton pillowcase, inhaling his scent. At least once a week, he would sleep late with her but today wasn’t that day.

  Becca smiled, brushing her hand over her still-flat stomach. She had her suspicions that she was expecting. She had already missed her courses, shortly followed by morning sickness, which for some reason seemed to plague her not only in the mornings, but most of the day. So far only Casey had noticed and she had promised to keep quiet until Becca knew for sure. She had plans to stop in and see Doc Hilliard before their quilting bee next week. That is, if the weather continued to cooperate so they could make one of the final trips of the year into town. Then she would tell Alex. She knew he would be overjoyed.

  He loved her, she thought with a smile. Becca still couldn’t believe it. She had told him she loved him the night of Casey’s accident, a profound reminder of how precious life and loved ones were. He hadn’t said it back right then, but then again, she hadn’t really given him a chance. Casey’s health had consumed her thoughts and those first few days passed in a blur. Once she was sure Casey was on the mend, Becca had finally stopped to breathe. She had gone outside to thank God. Shortly afterward Alex had found her and told her that he loved her, and again every night since. Her life was nearly perfect. She couldn’t ask for a better man to call her husband, to love her and to love in return. Plus she had a roof over her head, plenty of food, Casey and Billy, wonderful new friends, a beautiful place to live and now she was expecting her first child. She was truly blessed.

  Becca knew her stomach wouldn’t feel any better until she had a biscuit or two and a strong cup of coffee so she slipped out of bed to get ready for the day. She washed at the washstand Alex purchased just last week, along with a fourth chair for the kitchen table.

  Downstairs she greeted Casey who was already awake and sitting at the kitchen table, reading a book Billy had bought for her when he went to town last. Becca immediately started breakfast for Alex and Billy, knowing they had been hard at work for hours now and soon would be coming inside accompanied by their ravenous appetites.

  It wasn’t long until they came inside from the cold and she was relieved to see they weren’t yet stomping snow from their boots. She really hoped it didn’t start snowing until after the quilting bee and her visit to the doctor next week. Especially since Alex had said if it was anything like last year, once it started they could be snowed in for months.

  After breakfast, Becca began clearing the table. Alex followed her to the sink with a stack of dishes.

  “You don’t have to do that,” she told him, taking the dishes from his hands.

  “I have an ulterior motive,” he said softly, wrapping his arms around her from behind and brushing a light kiss against her neck that made her shiver. “See you at lunch.”

  She breathlessly turned to watch him walk away. He gave Casey an affectionate tug on one of her braids before putting on his hat, jacket and gloves. With a parting smile and a wink at Becca that made her heart flipflop, he followed Billy outside.

  How had she ever g
otten so lucky? Becca thought, tears coming to her eyes.

  “You wash, I’ll dry?” Casey asked, coming over on her crutches.

  “Deal,” she agreed, quickly turning to the hearth before Casey saw her tears. Becca had been noticeably weepier lately. She cried when she was happy, she cried when she was sad. Yesterday she cried when a lace on her boot broke. Becca took hot water from the hearth for the dishes, adding more for the laundry she planned to do today.

  The dishes were nearly done when they both heard a wagon coming up the drive. Becca’s brow furrowed. They didn’t often have visitors this far outside of town and she wasn’t expecting anyone. Perhaps it was the doctor coming again to check on Casey, even though he had been here just two days past. Casey put away the last dry dish while Becca dried her hands, smoothed her skirt and ran her hands over her hair before going outside to see who had come calling.

  She was surprised to see Lucy at the reins and a bit curious at the solemn looking girl of about twelve seated in the back of the wagon. On the girl’s lap sat a squirming little boy, not much past infancy.

  Becca smiled and waved from the porch. “Good morning,” she greeted her friend as the wagon rolled to a halt.

  “Good morning Becca, Casey” Lucy replied, setting the brake. She hopped down from the wagon and went around the back. She reached up and took the baby, then offered her free hand to the girl helping her jump down.

  “I hope we’re not interrupting anything. I know you weren’t expecting us,” Lucy said, walking toward the porch with the baby settled against her hip. His fingers were buried in his mouth, his eyes shifting back and forth between Becca and Casey.

  “Not at all. You’re welcome anytime, no invitation needed. We just finished the breakfast dishes and I haven’t started on the laundry yet. Please come inside. It’s freezing out here.”

  Lucy grabbed a tin from the back of the wagon. “I brought cookies. Don’t worry, I didn’t make them,” she teased. “Molly did. She told me to say hello by the way. I thought we could sit down with some coffee and milk and sample a few. How does that sound Claire?” Lucy asked the girl over her shoulder. “No one has to know we’re eating cookies before noon.” She winked.

  “Fine ma’am,” Claire responded in a soft, serious tone.

  Lucy bounced the baby against her hip. “What about you Ben? Do you want some cookies?” She asked him, caressing his chubby cheek. The boy shyly laid his head against her shoulder, pushing his fingers deeper into his mouth, his gaze still fixed on them.

  Curious to learn who the children belonged to, Becca knew the sooner she got everyone inside and settled, the sooner she would find out. She took the tin of cookies from Lucy and ushered them all inside.

  After coffee, cookies and milk and chit chat, Lucy asked, “Casey, I was wondering if you might hold Ben for me while I speak with Becca outside for a moment?”

  “Sure,” Casey said, reaching up to take Ben onto her lap. She took another cookie from the tin and put it in Ben’s chubby fist and then tried to draw the quiet Claire into a conversation while Becca followed Lucy onto the porch.

  “Is everything okay?” Becca asked her friend with concern noticing Lucy’s drawn expression.

  “Yes of course. It’s just that I haven’t been back here since I was married. It’s bringing back a lot of memories,” she said sadly, running her fingers lightly over the porch post.

  Over the initials carved into the wood there Becca realized. She had asked Alex about them one day and that’s when she learned this house used to belong to Lucy and her husband. She knew he died shortly into their marriage but not much else. Lucy didn’t talk about it and Becca would never ask.

  “I’m sorry,” Lucy said, waving her hand. “Sometimes I think that the pain of losing him has begun to lessen and then all of the sudden,” she snapped her fingers, “it feels like it just happened.”

  “Please, don’t be sorry,” Becca replied, reaching out and squeezing her friend’s arm.

  Lucy tried to smile, her eyes running over the house. She took a deep breath. “I’m glad to see that you’ve finished the addition,” she said.

  “Oh yes, Alex and Billy did a wonderful job on it. Now Casey has her own room. I haven’t been able to get Billy in from the barn yet, but I’m working on it,” she added with a smile. “But it’ll just stay empty for now.”

  “About that,” Lucy began. “I remember you saying how much you missed the orphanage and your work there. Well, the children, Claire and Ben, only came into my care just last night. It’s a very sad story really. They lost their mother over a year ago when Ben was born and their father died just yesterday in an accident on their homestead. They were all by themselves when it happened and Claire carried Ben all the way to town to the church. I still don’t know how she did it.”

  “That’s awful,” Becca exclaimed, looking over her shoulder. Through the window she could see Casey, Claire and Ben sitting at the table. No wonder the girl looked so sad. Thankfully the boy was still too young to understand what was going on but poor Claire, she thought. She was only twelve and had already gone through so much.

  “They do have an uncle living in Sweet Creek but he’s out of town on business so I was wondering, if you were interested in taking care of them until he returns? He’ll be back—”

  “Yes, I’ll take them,” Becca said earnestly. “Of course I will.”

  “Are you sure? I don’t want you to feel like you have to say yes but you were the first one that Molly and I thought of. She would take them of course, she adores children, but Pastor Brown is a bit under the weather and we didn’t want to take the chance of exposing the children to his bug. And I learned last night my hotel suite isn’t really suited to taking care of children,” she explained with a laugh. “I know you’ll want to check with Alex first.”

  “Of course we can take them,” Alex said from behind Becca.

  Becca spun at her husband’s voice. His eyes on hers, her heart leaped when she saw him. She loved him so much. And there was such a telling look in his eyes. Alex knew how she longed to take care of others. And she knew that he was offering their home for her. She gave him a grateful smile.

  Billy came up behind them. “I smell cookies. Hiya Lucy,” he said, passing by them to go into the house.

  Alex rolled his eyes. Lucy and Becca laughed.

  “We’ve already sent word to their uncle. His name is Ethan Morgan. He’s a well-respected member of the community. He often travels for business. He owns a furniture store in town,” she told Becca. “I’m sure Alex knows him.”

  Alex nodded. “We just recently made some purchases from his store. He’s a good man.”

  Lucy agreed. “I’m sure he’ll return quickly once he hears the news so you shouldn’t have them for more than a few days,” Lucy assured them.

  “We’re happy to take care of them as long as they need us,” Becca said, feeling Alex’s solid presence behind her, his hand on her shoulder. She looked up at him and he smiled.

  Chapter Twenty-Two

  The following week Becca drove the wagon into town for the quilting bee with Casey, Claire and Ben in tow. It was her first time driving on her own after Alex declared her ready when she drove them home from church the prior Sunday. Although she was a little nervous without Alex beside her, the horses were well-trained and she made it into town without any trouble at all. Casey watched the children while Becca ducked into Doc Hilliard’s office, where he confirmed she was indeed expecting. She left his office with a smile on her face and a bounce in her step. She couldn’t wait to tell Alex.

  That evening Ben was a bit fussier than usual. Not wanting to keep the girls up, she bid them goodnight and took Ben into the living room and sat on the sofa, settling him on her lap. She began to quietly read aloud to him from a book Casey had left on the end table. It wasn’t long before either the sound of her voice or the warmth of the hearth, or perhaps both, lulled him into slumber. She held him against her, nuzzling his head, ca
pped with silky blond hair and slowly rubbing his back. She smiled. She loved holding him. She thought of the news she received in town today. Soon she would be holding her own child.

  She looked up when Alex came inside and smiled.

  “Finally got him to sleep?” He asked quietly, hanging his jacket and hat. A few snowflakes clung to the shoulders of his jacket.

  She nodded.

  “It’s starting to snow,” he told her, sitting next to her on the sofa.

  Becca smiled. “I see that,” she said, reaching up and touching a snowflake in the hair brushing his nape. It melted against her fingertips. The distant mountain peaks had been white for weeks and now the snow had finally made it to the lower elevations. She couldn’t wait to see what the valley looked like in the early morning light, all dusted with snow.

  “I know Ethan’s supposed to be here in the next day or two, but it’s possible this weather might delay him a little while longer,” Alex informed her.

  “That’s okay. I enjoy taking care of them,” she said, running a light fingertip over Ben’s furrowed brow and pursed lips. She wondered what he was dreaming of.

  “But you’ll be sad when it’s time for them to go, won’t you?” He asked, pressing a kiss to her temple.

  She leaned her head against his shoulder and he put his arm around her.

  “A little. But I knew it was temporary. I’m just glad we were able to help.”

  “Me too,” he said, squeezing her shoulder.

  “Besides, I know eventually we’ll have children of our own,” she continued. She looked up at him, catching his intense gaze. She knew that he was already thinking about later that evening. She looked away blushing.

  “Maybe sooner than later,” she added, staring into the fire. She took another peek at his face.

  Alex tilted his head, looking down at her curiously.

  Her lips broke into a smile.

  His eyes widened.