Contents
Widow Finds Love
Copyright
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Chapter 1 – An Ad in the Paper
Chapter 2 – Letters
Chapter 3 – The Move Out West
Chapter 4 – Toby Matthews
Chapter 5 – The Reality of Life
Chapter 6 – Conversation and Conflict
Chapter 7 – Could This Be Love?
Chapter 8 – A New Start
Bonus Notice
Cowboy For Christmas
Western Love
Desperate for Love
Finding My True Love
Hope For A Widow
Widowed and Pregnant
Runaway Love
Alone and Pregnant
Kidnapped Bride
Lost and Found
The Frontier Widow
A Widow’s Love
Lover’s Escape
Sisters Find Love for Christmas – Book 1
Sisters Find Love for Christmas – Book 2
The Christmas Cowboy
Butler Love
An Orphan Finds A Mother
The Christmas Orphan
Wandering Cowboy
About the Author
Widow Finds Love
Mail Order Bride
CHRISTIAN MICHAEL
Copyright 2016 by Purely Publishing - All rights reserved.
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Chapter 1 – An Ad in the Paper
The school bell rang loudly, releasing the children from their afternoon class. They came pouring out of the schoolhouse, pushing each other and laughing. There was a rush by the door as they all clamored past, each headed to their homes.
Jessie looked out the window, then shook her head as she turned back to the dough she was kneading.
It’s just habit. Soon enough you will stop checking for him.
This was the time of day John always came home. At least, it was the time of day he always had come home… before the accident. Jessie tried not to think of the void she felt ever since her husband had passed. But no matter what she did, there didn’t seem to be anything that could cheer her up.
Except for you, Little One.
She placed her flour covered hand on her apron over her stomach. Jessie was pregnant with her first child, which was the only thing that kept her sane in her grief. All she could think about day and night was John, and how awful it was she lost him.
There had been a fire. It had been silly, really. Some boys were playing with matches in the neighbor’s barn, and when the straw lit up, they panicked. Sure, John had gone in after them, but they were the ones that made it out, and he wasn’t.
Jessie had wrestled with her grief, spending days at a time feeling like she had nothing in this world, until she discovered she was pregnant.
John would have been so happy. So proud… but you will make me proud, won’t you?
Although Jessie spent most of her days as busy as she could be, she couldn’t shake the feeling that it wasn’t enough. She wanted this child to be happy, and the thought of raising a baby all on her own in this world terrified her. She had a lot of friends in this little Missouri town, but there wasn’t anyone here that could be a father to her child.
They had all known John. They had known how much she loved him, and how he had loved her. They were always together from the time he let the children out of school to when he had to return to teach class the next day.
No man in town would dare to ask me out… let alone marry me. They wouldn’t feel right about it, and neither would I. But what am I going to do? I can’t do this alone. You need a father, and I need to provide that for you.
Jessie formed the loaves and put them in their pans, then covered them with a damp towel to rise. She sat down in her chair with a sigh, and daydreamed as she looked out the window. There had to be a way to find a man to marry. A good man that would love both her and her child.
But the town she lived in was small, and the marriage potential was as slim as the chance of seeing a giraffe walking down the street.
If only I met a man off the stage coach like Lizbeth had. Or suppose the son of one of the old shopkeepers moved back here like Betty Sue’s husband did. If only my life was as easy as Mary Jo’s!
It was hard for Jessie to not feel jealous over her friends. She would often run into them as she was out in the town, usually with their husbands. They hadn’t done anything to acquire their husbands. Their husbands had all been practically gift wrapped for them.
Jessie scoffed as she saw at that moment Mary Jo and her husband walk by her window, hand in hand and chatting away.
A tear formed in her eye which she angrily brushed away. Then she suddenly sat up.
Wait a minute! Mary Jo’s husband! She met him through an ad in the paper! Look at them, she looked out the window as the two of them disappeared around the corner, happy as can be. Those two are the happiest couple I know, and they met through one of those mail order bride ads.
I could do that…
Without waiting to give it any more thought, Jessie hurriedly tied her bonnet on and threw a shawl over her shoulders. She was getting tired of wearing black, but she didn’t feel right putting on any of her cheerful colors. Not yet anyway.
She quickly closed the door behind her, and headed to the post office as quickly as she could.
Chapter 2 – Letters
Jessie Stokes bent eagerly over the piece of paper on the table. She held in her trembling hand a pen freshly dipped in ink, and next to the letter sat the ad she had clipped out of the paper.
She tried not to think too hard as she sat there, staring at the piece of paper on the table. She sighed and sat back, then picked up the ad to read it again.
It read:
Looking for a mail order bride.
My name is Toby Matthews, and I am looking for a bride to come live with me in my house. I live in California, and would be happy to pay for your trip out here if you don’t live close by.
I want a lady that knows how to act like a lady. A wife that can cook and clean, and have dinner ready on the table when I come in from the fields.
I will be good to you, and treat you with the respect a lady deserves. I look forward to hearing from you.
Jessie didn’t know what to say in reply. He seemed like the perfect man for her. Quiet, wanting a woman that could do exactly what she knew how to do, and respectful. She imagined herself going out west, and being met by a man that could sweep her off her feet.
A man that could understand her situation, and offer her the love and support she needed to make it through. A man that could raise her child as his own, and a man she and her child could be a family with.
Finally, Jessie put her pen to the paper, and just wrote. She didn’t want to try to sound too fancy, but she didn’t want to sound incapable, either. She wanted to convey to this man exactly the situation she was in, and the hopes she had for a future with him.
Jessie kept the note brief, and nervously skimmed over the words she had formed:
Dear Mr. Matthews,
Please allow me to introduce myself. My name is Jessie Stokes and I am a widow
. I am with child, but that fact won’t get in the way of what I want to do. I have only just found out, so I won’t have the baby for some months yet.
I would love to come out west and meet you, and perhaps have the honor of becoming your bride.
Thank you, and I look forward to hearing from you.
Cordially,
Jessie Stokes
Jessie rolled her eyes after she had finished reading her note, and stuffed it in an envelope. Feeling like a school girl with a crush, she found a small picture of herself she had kept in her bedroom, and placed that in the envelope as well.
I suppose he will want to know what I look like, she thought as she licked the envelope and sealed it. She then headed back to the post office. There were butterflies in her stomach as she watched the postmaster stamp the envelope and drop it in the bag of mail that was to go out on the stagecoach the next day.
“Can you tell me how long that will take to reach California territory?” She asked the man.
“Oh… let’s see here. If Ol’ Bill takes it right there it’ll be there inside of a week.” The postmaster raised his bushy eyebrows at her, looking at her inquisitively, “Is there something important out there?”
Jessie blushed and shook her head.
“I was just wonderin’ is all. Thank you.”
She smiled at him and hurried out of the post office. Once out on the street, she was met by Lizbeth Cloone.
“Hey you! I was looking for you,” she looped her arm through Jessie’s and fell into stride next to her. “I haven’t seen you in a while and I wanted to check up on you. You know Mark and I would love to have you over for dinner one of these days. Say… what are you doing out here anyway?”
Lizbeth always talked so quickly it was hard to get a word in when Jessie was with her, and she was caught off guard by her friend’s question. Jessie hesitated for a moment, not sure if she wanted to tell Lizbeth what she was doing there or not, but the moment passed as Lizbeth continued talking.
“Never mind that! Are you free Sunday? I was thinking I would make a basket lunch and we could go over to the pond and sit for a while. Doesn’t that sound delightful?”
Jessie smiled and opened her mouth to reply, but Lizbeth continued without waiting for an answer.
“It’s settled then. We will pick you up in the wagon Sunday after church. Like I’ve always said, there’s no better way to worship the Lord than in His creation!”
She suddenly let go of Jessie’s arm and hurried down the street, turning to waive at her before disappearing around the corner of the bank.
Jessie chuckled to herself. It felt good to smile. It had been so long since she felt anything at all besides her love for the baby, but today she felt good. That letter she put in the mail was going to lead to something good, she just knew it.
In the days to come Jessie tried to move on with her life, and not worry about what was happening in the mail. She didn’t say anything to her friends about replying to the ad in the paper. She knew what they would say.
“Are you sure you want to do this?”
“Have you given yourself enough time?”
“Is this a good idea?”
“It could be dangerous!”
Jessie didn’t want to hear these things. She knew what she was doing, and she was happy with her decision. There were a lot of women out there that were very happily married to men they met through a mail order ad. She wasn’t going to be any different.
Every day she stopped by the post office to check for a reply, and with each passing day she tried to act like she didn’t care when there wasn’t one. Every night she told herself it was going to turn around. Every morning she told herself not to give up.
It became her habit to make her stop by the office, and insist she was just checking in case there was a letter for her.
After 3 weeks passed, she had nearly given up, but told herself she would stop by just one more time. She reluctantly stopped in to the post office and once again inquired about a letter.
And that was the day there was.
Chapter 3 – The Move Out West
Jessie lifted her skirt and ran home as fast as she felt comfortable. With the passing weeks she was battling bouts of nausea off and on, and she found moving too quickly tended to make her dizzy.
She had been shocked when the postmaster handed her the letter marked from California, and could hardly contain her excitement as she hurried home. She didn’t even stop to chat with Lizbeth when she passed her on the street. Lizbeth called after her, but she yelled over her shoulder that she was busy and would see her later on in the week.
Jessie yanked her door open and ran to her bed. She would have jumped onto her bed belly first, but these days she was a lot more conscious about how she treated herself so she just sat on the edge of the bed.
She ripped open the top of the envelope, and pulled out the letter inside. When she unfolded the paper, a small photograph fell into her lap. She picked it up and her eyes fell upon a dashing cowboy. He had a thick mustache and dark eyebrows, but his eyes were kind.
Jessie gasped at the sight of him. She hadn’t even looked at another man since her husband passed, but with this photograph in her hands and the idea she could be his bride in her head, she couldn’t help but notice how attractive he was.
After a few moments she turned from the photo to read the letter he had sent. Her heart pounded in her chest as she skimmed the contents, and when she had finished, she fell back on the bed and stared at the ceiling.
It read:
My dear Jessie,
I hope you don’t mind my using your first name, but I feel you are the one I want to make my bride. You are beautiful, and your story has compelled me to invite you out here to California.
If you do, we shall be married within the day of your arrival, and I will take you to our home. I have purchased a ticket for you to ride the stagecoach if you accept, and I eagerly await to hear your answer.
Yours always,
Toby
Jessie just laid in silence for a while, then a smile broke across her lips. This was exactly what she had asked God for. It was more than she could have hoped for. A man that was so handsome, and spoke like a true gentleman! It seemed like a fairytale that she was lucky to be a part of, and the feeling was exhilarating.
After a few moments, Jessie sat up and looked around the room. If she was going to take the stage, she would have to pack lightly. It wasn’t as though there was a lot in the room for her to take with her anyway, but it was still hard to know what to take and what to leave.
I guess I’ll figure that out later. Right now I need to tell Toby he can expect me in on the next stage.
She scrawled a quick note on a piece of paper, and prepared to run back to the post office, when she suddenly felt faint. She swayed and sat down on the chair in the kitchen. Jessie breathed heavily, then put her hand no her tummy.
“I’m sorry Little One, I won’t move so fast this time. Just take it easy, ok? Your mama is going to get things ready for us to start out new lives together!”
The week went by in a blur for Jessie. After she had gone to the post office she strode straight to Lizbeth’s house to ask her for help. If there was anyone that would be able to tell her what she ought to take and what she ought to leave, it would be Lizbeth.
After Jessie calmed her friend down and let her get used to the idea, the two women spent the next few days getting things together.
“You know, I really am going to miss you Missy,” Lizbeth said the morning Jessie was to leave. There were tears in her eyes as she spoke, although it was clear she tried to hide it.
“I’m gonna miss you too Ma’am,” Jessie said, choking up on her own words. She was happy with her decision to leave, and she wanted to get on the road, but it was going to be really hard to leave her friends behind.
“Well now, we could sit here all day and cry about it, but you have a stage to catch.” Lizbeth sniffed and stood up, stra
ightening her skirts and holding her hand down to her friend.
“You know I’ll write. I’ll write you as soon as I get there, and every week after!”
“Oh Jessie, you’d forget your own head if it weren’t attached to your shoulders… how are you going to remember to write to me?” Jessie knew her friend was teasing her, but there was a pang in her heart when she heard the words.
“I’m not going to have any friends out there, of course I’ll write. I may just write you every day. You wait and see!”
“You better be careful, or I’ll hold you to that!” Lizbeth laughed as the two of them headed out the door to meet the stage.
As the stage pulled away, Jessie poked her head out of the window and looked back at her friend.
Lizbeth was crying unashamedly now, waiving her handkerchief and yelling all kinds of wishes to her friend. Jessie lifted her hand in return, waiving her tissue back to her friend. She kept her head out of the window until Lizbeth had disappeared out of sight.
Jessie then sat back in the coach, and closed her eyes. She didn’t know what lay ahead, but she was going to face whatever came with a smile on her face and a song in her heart.
Chapter 4 – Toby Matthews
Jessie would have preferred taking the train out west, but since she didn’t have to buy the ticket, she didn’t complain out loud. The problem with the stage was that it was crowded and bouncy with nothing soft to sit on. By the time they reached their first stop she was already sore and ready to be in California.
There were always other travelers in the stage with her, but Jessie tried not to talk too much. She had heard stories of robbers that tried to act like they were your friend on the stage, but as soon as you got off they robbed you of anything of value you had.
Jessie didn’t have a lot of money on her, but the thought of getting robbed for what she did have was enough to make her sit quietly and look out the window as much as she could.
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