by Megan West
Western Love Stories THE COLLECTION
Message from Author Megan West: Hello and welcome to THE COLLECTION!
As a way to avoid selling singular novellas, I've decided to give this awesome offer of all FOUR of my new stories in one BIG BUNDLE!
These are STANDALONE novels - none of that cliffhanger stuff!
I’m super excited to have you on board! I hope you love the characters in the story - and please don't blame them for any errors you may encounter in the book! :(
This is THE COLLECTION.
Have fun!
Megan West
Emma and Simon
Emma Sullivan tried to quell the butterflies that were threatening to take over her stomach as she neared the end of her journey. It had been a long way from Savannah, Georgia to Denver, Colorado. Traveling by train was something that she had never done and it had been quite the experience for her.
Leaning her head against the back of the seat, she absently gazed out the window as the scenery raced by. For the first time since she had boarded the train back east, she allowed herself to think about what had led her to this point; to this part of the country so far from what she knew. Only three months ago, she had been living in the beautiful southern city of Savannah with her doting parents.
Emma had been told all of her life how beautiful and special she was. Suitors were always plentiful even though people continued to wonder about Emma because now, at the ripe old age of 21, she was still unmarried. The truth of the matter was that she had felt no urgency to marry. She had loved her life just the way it was. Her father had plenty of money which meant that they lived in a large home with all of the modern conveniences. In fact, her house was one of the first ones in the city with an indoor toilet that flushed.
Why would she have been in a hurry to give up a life of luxury for someone that she only liked? That is what it had all come down to in the end. None of the young men that had called on her had actually made her want to leave her parents’house. Besides, she got along wonderfully well with her parents and she knew just how unusual that was. They had not even protested when she had voiced her desire to get an education. Instead, they had arranged for a tutor to come to the house three days a week and school her in reading, fine penmanship, spelling, numbers, and art. The only thing she had to agree to was to allow her mother to educate her in the ways of running a home.
In the end, Emma was quite well schooled in a little bit of everything. She had hoped to study nursing in the future. Yes, everything was wonderful in Emma’s world.
Then, one night, it all changed in instant.
She had fallen asleep on the sofa in the library while reading. An odd smell had awakened her. As she came to, she was choking and realized quickly that it was smoke. Leaping up from the sofa, she raced out into the hallway of the bottom floor to find the stairs and the second floor of the house engulfed in flames.
Emma had screamed for her parents and made an attempt to climb the burning stairs but it was of no use. Yelling for help, she ran out into the night and managed to awaken her neighbors who summoned the firefighters. In the end, none of it mattered. Her home was destroyed and both of her parents were dead.
As if those things were not bad enough, she discovered that she was also penniless. Apparently, her father allowed them to leave well outside of their means. While she did not actually owe payments to anyone, neither did she have any money to live on.
Fortunately, Sam and Caroline Harrelson took her in for a while. Sam and Caroline had been close friends with Emma’s parents and were just as devastated over their deaths as Emma was. If it had not been for these two kind people, Emma was not sure what she would have done. They took her in, sheltered her, clothed her and fed her. She had been in such a fog during that time that she barely remembered her parents’funeral. Sam and Caroline had handled all of that as well.
Who knows how long it would have taken her to finally return to herself if she had not accidently overheard Sam and Carolina talking one afternoon. Emma had been about to go out for a walk, thinking that the air would help clear her head a little. As she reached the foot of the stairs, she heard her name coming from the parlor off of the hallway.
Now she had never been someone to eavesdrop but the fact that someone was talking about her naturally made her curious. She stopped in her tracks and listened carefully.
“That poor girl has been through more than anyone should have to endure at such a young age,”Caroline was saying.
“Yes, I agree that this has all been a horrible thing,”Sam replied.“But Caroline, when you were her age, we had been married for 4 years. She needs to get on with her life and we are not helping her do that by continuing to coddle her. Now, Nathanial Harrison has expressed a strong interest in marriage to Emma. That would be a good situation for her considering that she no longer has any money to speak of. She would have anything she could ever want.”
“Oh Sam,”Caroline all but wailed.“Nathanial is old enough to be her grandfather! It is just not right to force a young girl into a marriage like that. You and I happened to be in love with each other so it all worked. But Nathanial is not a good match for Emma.”
“I am willing to bet that Emma would be happy to have someone to take care of her. Besides, she has never expressed any real interest in any of the young men that tried to court her. Why don’t you have a talk with her and see what she says?”
“Oh I don’t know, Sam,”Caroline replied.“I can’t see putting her through something else when she has still not fully recovered from the death of her parents.”
“I know, Caroline. But we can’t just keep her here from now on and support her.”
Emma did not wait to hear the rest of the conversation. Instead, she had hurried out onto the sidewalk and began a brisk walk toward the shops. Faced with a possible marriage to Nathanial Harrison, she knew that she had to deal with her grief and somehow move on with her life. She actually could not imagine a fate worse than being married to Nathanial. He might be the bank president, but he was not someone whose company she enjoyed. In fact, just passing him on the street made her want to bathe.
No, she knew that she had to find another solution to her circumstances. Just as she was thinking that, she spotted the newspaper stand. Crossing the street, she paid the seller and received a copy of the latest edition. Then she carried it with her to the park where she settled on a wooden bench to read it.
Initially, Emma had planned to read the classified section to see if anyone needed a live-in housekeeper or nanny. She was highly qualified for either position and it would solve her homeless issue. However, just as she was scanning the wanted ads, something caught her eye.
Western ranch owner needs a wife to help run his home. Fit, healthy and able to take care of a family. Prefer ages 20 to 30 but will consider others on a case by case basis. Children ok. All interested parties should reply to Box 1099.
A mail order bride. Emma had heard about this practice but she never paid a lot of attention to it because of her comfortable situation in life. It was a different story now, though. The ad did not say what the man’s name was or even where he lived other than that it was in the West.
Emma sat lost in thought after reading and then re-reading the ad. By the time she walked back to Sam and Caroline’s house, she had made a decision. She immediately went up to the guest room that she had been staying in and wrote a response to Box 1099. Before she could change her mind, she went directly to the post off
ice and sent her letter on its’way.
In the meantime, while awaiting a reply to her letter, she had had a conversation with Caroline letting her know that she was now ready to begin re-entering life once more. Before Caroline got the chance to mention Nathanial Harrison’s offer of marriage, Emma told her that she had set some plans in motion and would apprise her of them as they became more certain. She was quite sure that Caroline would object strenuously to the idea of mail order brides, which is why she left her plans up in the air. After all, Emma was an adult and could not be forced into a marriage that she did not want.
In the end, Emma heard back from the man with Box 1099 much faster than she would have imagined. They exchanged letters for the next three weeks and the final letter included a proposal of marriage. She had never been more terrified in her life as she wrote the words of acceptance to his proposal, but she somehow felt that she had made the right decision. The following post from him had included a train ticket to take her to him in Idaho Springs, Colorado.
Emma had a few pieces of jewelry that had survived the fire mostly because she had been wearing it. Selling the jewelry had been one of the hardest things she ever had to do simply because it had been gifts from her parents. Finally, she decided to keep the locket that her mother had given to her. Inside of it was the only remaining photograph that she had left of her parents. A picture of herself was on the other side.
The money she received for the rest of the jewelry gave her enough to buy some new clothes to take with her. She made herself stick to sensible day dresses as well as casual shoes. After all, she was going to the Wild West and she would most likely have little need for the type of dresses that she had formerly worn. Some of those dresses were in black since she was still in mourning for her parents but she, most likely, would not wear only black for a full year. Her parents would not expect that of her. They would want her to be happy and regain her previous joyful personality.
The day that she was to board the train, Sam and Caroline both accompanied her to assist with her luggage and see her off safely. Caroline had tears in her eyes as she hugged Emma.
“I do wish you would reconsider and stay here,”she said in a choked voice.“Surely, you could meet some nice young man here.”
“Well, Caroline, have you seen any signs of all of my former beaus since I have become penniless? It’s alright, though, really it is. I wouldn’t have married any of them anyway.”
Emma smiled at Caroline to let her know that she was going to be fine.
“Now, I will write to you both as soon as I have arrived and tell you all about my new life! Thank you for everything that you have done for me. I wouldn’t have made it without the two of you.”
Sam did not look any happier than Caroline but he managed a smile and hugged Emma, too. They had all been astonished to find that Emma’s future husband had bought her a sleeper car ticket. Her long ride to the West was at least going to be somewhat comfortable.
She had boarded the train and found her seat. Waving to Sam and Caroline as the train pulled away from the station brought another sense of panic to her. After taking a few deep breaths, however, she managed to calm down. Soon the rhythm of the train moving along on the tracks lulled her into a sense of peace.
Now, after a long trip, it was finally almost over. The train would be pulling into Denver soon. From there, she would get a room at an inn for the night and board a stagecoach the next morning that would carry her to Idaho Springs. That is where she would be met by her husband to be.
Simon Callaghan.
Emma repeated it in her mind. It was a good strong name and, so far, he had been very kind to her. His letters had been quite interesting, filled with details about her new home. She noticed that he was rather educated with fine handwriting and excellent spelling. Yet, he had not told her very much about himself personally. He was 31 years old and had never been married. That was about all he had really said about himself. Most of his letters were filled with what she could expect in Idaho Springs as well as his ranch.
Well, she would find out about him soon enough.
So lost in thought had Emma been that she was startled to hear the announcement that the train was pulling into the Denver station. Gathering her things, she prepared to get off of the train.
It was nice to be able to stretch and walk around on ground that was not moving. However, she was a bit worried about how she would get to the inn but she need not have fretted. As soon as she stepped off of the train, a man approached her and asked her if her name was Emma Sullivan. When she replied in the affirmative, he introduced himself as Daniel and handed her a sealed envelope that bore her name.
Puzzled, Emma opened the envelope and found a note written by Simon.
Dear Emma, I apologize for not being able to meet you personally, but there was an emergency at my ranch. In my place, I have sent Daniel. He will make sure that you get settled in for the night and will then be driving you in my personal carriage to Idaho Springs. I will meet you there. I am looking forward to making your acquaintance.
Simon
Emma looked up and smiled at Daniel.
“Well, this is a surprise. I had not expected anyone to be meeting me here. But I must say that I am quite relieved and grateful,”Emma said.“Thank you.”
“It is my pleasure, Miss Emma,”Daniel replied, returning her smile.“I work for Simon. One of the horses was having some trouble giving birth and he didn’t want to leave her.”
“Oh, I totally understand! It is best for him to remain with his animal in her time of need.”
Daniel smiled and led her to a carriage that was parked at the side of the station.
The next morning found Emma feeling well rested after a homemade dinner last night and breakfast this morning as well as a true bath before getting into the carriage that was going to take her to her new life. She sat in a stagecoach-like carriage that was actually quite comfortable and watched the breathtaking scenery. She had known that there would be mountains. What she had not known is how lovely and majestic they looked. And how huge!
For the first time since she had left Savannah, she began to relax a little. Thus far, she had been holding herself together through sheer determination. Now, though, she felt as if she might just manage to make this work.
They stopped for lunch at a little inn about five hours into the trip where they had some very tasty beef and vegetable stew and iced tea. The second half of the trip found her quite drowsy after the wonderful meal and the rocking motion of the carriage.
Suddenly, Daniel opened the carriage door and was gently waking her.
“We’re here, Miss Emma,”he said softly.
Opening her eyes, she found that it was late evening.
“Oh my!”she exclaimed.“I never meant to sleep that long.”
“It’s understandable that you would be tired,”he said.“Here, let me help out.”
“Oh, thank you, Daniel,”she said as she took his hand and stepped down from the carriage.“I must look a terrible mess!”
“Actually, I think you look quite beautiful,”said a deep voice.
Whipping around, she found herself staring up---yes, he was quite tall---into the brilliant blue eyes of a man with dark hair that touched his shoulders.
“Forgive me for being so forward,”he said.“I’m Simon Callaghan. I guess you would call me your fiance.”
“OH! Simon, it is so wonderful to finally meet you!”
Emma held her hand out and he took it.
Feeling his large, calloused hand closing around her small, delicate one made her suddenly feel very safe. Smiling up at him, she was very happy that she had made this decision. He was certainly much better looking tha
n she had expected. However, she was a bit puzzled at the way he wore his hair forward on one side of his head so that it covered a portion of his face.
“You’ve had a long trip,”he said.“I’m sure you’re really tired by now.”
“It was a long trip, yes,”Emma answered.“But your generosity in getting me a sleeping car made it so much easier than it might have been. Thank you for that!”
“It was the least I could do after you had agreed to come all this way and be my wife.”
Ducking her head just a little, she smiled again, only this time it was a bit shyly. No man had ever had this effect on her. She was stunned to find herself a little nervous.
“For tonight, I’ve got a couple of rooms for us at the inn so that you could relax a bit after your trip. In the morning, we have an appointment with the pastor at the church. I took the liberty of making the arrangements for our marriage. I hope that’s alright with you.”
“Of course,”Emma replied although she was surprised to find that she was actually feeling something close to disappointment.
“Later on,”Simon continued,“you can organize a reception or something once you get to know some people here, if you like. I just thought it might be more appropriate if we were married when I take you to your new home.”
“Oh that is so thoughtful of you,”she replied.“Honestly, I had not even considered how it may look if we were to simply go straight to your ranch without benefit of marriage.”
Simon nodded.
“Now, let’s go get you settled and then we will have dinner with Daniel and his wife, Mary Beth.”
The inn was nicer than she had expected it to be and her room was very comfortable. She splashed water on her face and fixed her hair. Then she changed into one of her day dresses. This one was a beige cotton dress and trimmed in black. It was appropriate for her mourning but not so much that it would arouse questions. She had only told Simon of her situation and did not want to start her new life here with lots of uncomfortable questions. This dress was fine for tonight.