“Marriage?” I looked at him stunned.
He waved the newspaper ad, teasing me. “Well darling, isn’t that why you came here? I do think a long engagement would be ideal. We need a chance for a proper courtship. Ava, I started falling for you the day Maggie brought you to meet me. You were independent and determined. And you are lovely. I’m captivated by your beauty.” Then he dropped down to one knee. “Ava, will you marry me?”
“But… you know I’m barren. I can’t have children.” I stammered. In the back of my mind I was thinking that I couldn’t believe this was happening. I couldn’t believe he was saying these beautifully romantic things to me and I was wearing my tatty house robe.
“I do know that. But I don’t care. I intend to write a letter to that orphanage in New York so that we can legally adopt the twins as our own.” My head was spinning as I stared into his beautiful blue eyes. Was this really my life?
“Ava?”
“What?”
He took my hands in his. “You haven’t answered my question, darling.”
I felt the tears fall. This man was always making me cry, but this time they were happy tear that fell. “Yes! Yes, Vance Gifford, I will be your wife!”
We were married three months later. Pastor Brown presided over the ceremony and Maggie was my maid of honor. I had told the few friends I had in Sacramento the truth the afternoon that Vance proposed. Everyone was very accepting.
The children were beaming as we exchanged our vows and I felt like I owed Jonathan Sanders a special prayer for planting this seed in Daniel’s head. Without his playground story, the three of us wouldn’t be here right now.
“By the power vested in me by the great state of California, I now pronounce you husband and wife. Vance, you may kiss your bride.”
“Thank you, pastor.” Vance grinned conspiratorially and kissed me soundly like a groom should. As his lips met mine, my heart skipped a beat just as it did every time he kissed me. Our friends and Vance’s family applauded and cheered. It was the perfect wedding.
We had a small gathering at the restaurant where Maggie presented us with a gift. She handed the package to me and grinned as I opened the brown paper. There in my hands was the newspaper ad for Vance seeking his mail order bride. It was protected in a beautiful wooden frame.
Vance leaned over my shoulder to get a better look. “Is that what I think it is?”
“Yes. It’s the beginning of our love story.”
Epilogue
We were approaching our first anniversary when Vance came running through the door of our small house that he and his company had built. “Ava! Ava!”
“What?” I jumped up from the rocking chair in alarm.
“They’re ours! Ours! Finally!”
“Stop shouting and explain to me what you’re hollering about.”
“Oliver! Vivian! Get in here!”
The kids scrambled down from the attic where they were playing. They looked just as alarmed as I was. “I just came from the post office.” He panted, he was out of breath. He must have run home the whole way.
Vivian fetched him a glass of water and he glugged it down quickly. His face was beet red and he was making me very nervous. He finally was breathing a little more normally and his face was starting to lose some of the red color.
He started his story again. “I just got a letter. From Miss Lily in New York.”
I placed a protective hand over my stomach. “What did she say?” I was terrified to know.
“I’m holding in my hands your legal adoption papers! We’re a real family! You’re officially ours!” The kids started screaming and jumping for joy. I started crying and threw my arms around them. Finally we were a true family.
“I can’t believe it.” I said shaking my head at how perfect our lives had turned out.
Vance pulled me into a tight embrace. “Believe it!” Just then there was movement in my belly as the baby gave Vance a sharp kick. He laughed and got down on his knees to kiss my rounded stomach. “You hear that! You have a brother and sister waiting for you out here!”
I ran my fingers lovingly through his dark hair. He looked up at me, “Did you see Dr. Watson today?”
“Yes. He said I am the model expectant mother. Everything is going like clockwork and baby Gifford should be here next month.” Vance gave my belly another kiss then stood up.
When I first got pregnant I thought the doctor was wrong. But then he explained to me that I wasn’t barren at all. In fact, it was probably my ex-husband who was to blame for us going so long without children. “I can’t wait to hold our child.” Vance breathed as he brushed his lips against mine. “You know I really should thank that ex-husband of yours.”
“Phillip? Why on earth would you want to thank Phillip?” I screwed up my nose at the very thought. It seemed so absurd.
Vance gave me his familiar smile. “If he had an ounce of sense he would’ve never let you go. So, thankfully he didn’t have any sense at all.”
I laughed and rubbed my belly as I leaned my head on Vance’s shoulder and looked over at the twins.
It was a beautiful life and a beautiful family. And finally it all belonged to me.
Book 3 - When God Closes a Door
Annie Boone
Prologue
“Even as we lay him to rest in the Earth, Seth looks down on us. Grieve not for our brother. Though this day we have sustained a great loss, we know in our hearts that he is dancing with joy in the Kingdom of Heaven.” With these final words, Parson Gregory nodded towards the grave diggers.
The family and friends began clearing away. They were holding one another, carrying each other's burdens. A few speaking to the shaking shoulders of the sobbing mother with words meant to convey love and condolence.
While the others moved farther from Seth’s body, Celia took a step closer to him. She longed, sadly, to join him there where he lay, peacefully accepting the dirt being tossed onto the wood of his coffin. She took another step closer to the dark hole in the ground that was stealing her husband from her, then another step. Rain began to pour over her, soaking through her black gown. She moved forward until she could gaze down at the plain wood hiding the face of her husband.
She heard the drum of the rain accompanied by the steady thumps of dirt beginning to fill Seth’s grave. She listened to the sounds around her. She was accepting that he was gone, but maybe she was just numb. Tears rolled continuously from her eyes and mixed with the rain falling on her face. She knew she would hear these sounds until her own dying day – her Sam leaving her to face the world all alone. Without him at her side.
“Come now, come now. We can’t stand here in the rain, girl.” The slim figure of a rather austere looking woman presented itself through Celia’s blurred vision. The prematurely lined face surrounded pale blue eyes that were wise and caring. Those eyes peered into her own with pity. Then the woman sighed.
She was silent for a moment, apparently deep in thought. “You know it’ll do you no good to despair. He is with our Lord now.”
Celia gazed unseeingly into the pit before her, then started as her aunt’s hand grasped her own. An uncharacteristic look of sympathy crossed the woman’s face for a moment as she gave Celia’s hand a tight squeeze. “I know, child. I know.”
They looked at each other for another moment in silence beneath the rain. Finally, her aunt pulled Celia’s hand through the crook of her elbow and turned them both forcefully away from the grave.
Later that day, Celia was thankful to have had Aunt Mary with her. She might have gone mad and hurled herself into the open grave, too, if not for the wonderfully stern woman who took charge. She vaguely remembered being pulled along the uneven cobblestone street to their carriage.
Now out of the rain and away from the terrible cloak of grief, she worried about what would happen to her now. Now that she was a widow at only twenty-three years old.
Chapter 1
Celia held tight to the deep basin and ret
ched once more. Sweat was beading across her brow as she heaved in the early morning light. When her stomach had emptied itself entirely, she laid her head on her knees and sighed, closing her eyes. This really was going to take a toll on her. She had far too much going on at the moment. She didn’t have time to be ill. However, it did make sense. It had only been three weeks since Seth had died and her nerves were completely destroyed. She was exhausted. It’s no surprise that she’d been vulnerable a sickness.
Though Seth had been a hard worker, they had never had much. When Seth passed, Celia was left with a mountain of bills and no possible way to pay off their debts.
Although she thought she was finished at the basin, Celia still felt extremely nauseous. She rose and turned, intending to grab a cloth from the nightstand and found her mother staring at her stonily from the bedroom doorway. Celia jumped, startled at the unexpected presence.
“You’re with child,” though it was not a question, Celia shook her head in response.
“No, I certainly am not. I must have some sort of stomach ailment. I can’t be with, um, it can’t be that.”
But Celia’s voice trailed away, counting silently in her head. Then her eyes widened and her hands flew to her stomach. She stared at her mother’s haughty profile framed in the doorway and understood what would happen next. Her mother’s harsh, almost angry expression, she could easily tell that she would no longer be welcomed in her parents’ home.
“Mother, I, um, I’m in shock.”
“We’ll arrange for your confinement. It won’t do for you to be in the public eye any longer, you are an unmarried woman.” Her mother’s voice was cold and unsympathetic.
Celia stared at her in horror. This was a wonderful thing. In just a moment she realized that something she had wanted so much was happening. Seth’s child was growing inside her. Her mother was acting as though she had committed some sort of sin. He mind was a jumble of thoughts, happy, sad, poignant, and afraid.
“Mother, this is Seth’s baby.”
“I realize this. However, you cannot expect the rest of the world to see it that way. It would be much too easy to assume that the child has no respectable father.”
"But, I am a widow carrying my deceased husband’s baby. What normal person would think unkindly of this? It’s a blessing!"
“I will send messages to our relatives, you may inform your in-laws.” With that, Cordelia turned on her heels and marched out of the room.
Celia sat down on the side of the bed, staring down at her now flat stomach. She said a quick, quiet prayer for strength and then smiled. Despite her pitiful circumstances, she brimmed with happiness at the thought of having Seth’s child. This would be a daily reminder of the man she had loved so much.
“We’ll be all right,” she whispered. “I promise.”
A week later found Celia bumping along in a carriage seat that was causing her bottom to ache. She prayed the journey would end soon. She was cold, tired, and rather ill. The driver was hardly a chatty man, and he seemed rather formidable. Finally, the carriage tumbled to a stop in front of a cheerful apartment. Celia climbed from it with relief and gazed up at her aunt’s home. Laid with red brick and displaying a few pots of flowers staggered up the front steps, the effect was pleasant and welcoming. The same could not be said for the frowning doorman who greeted them. As the driver hauled Celia's bags from the carriage, Celia stood awkwardly awaiting a formal greeting.
“Hello,” she said hesitantly. “I’m Mrs. Celia Burke.”
“Yes, I surmised as much.” The doorman’s demeanor was not encouraging. “The Miss will greet you in the parlor,” he grumbled and stepped aside. Celia pulled off her bonnet as she stepped over the threshold and looked around. A thickly carpeted staircase sat on her left. Just past it the parlor doors lay open and Celia could see the corner of her Aunt’s skirt shifting as she waited to greet her niece upon a blue chaise lounge.
“Well, get in here, girl. Let me have a look at you.” Celia swallowed, slightly nervous to greet the aunt whom she had only met on two previous occasions. She straightened her shoulders and determinedly strode into the room.
“Hello again, Aunt Mary.” The woman’s eyes darted over Celia, resting for a fraction of a second longer on her stomach. Then she smiled widely.
“Hello, dear. Come sit down. I’m sure you’re exhausted.” Celia strode forward to kiss her aunt who stood to greet her. “You look well enough,” she stated as Celia took a seat in one of the plush chairs across from the chaise.
“I am. Quite well, thank you.”
Aunt Mary looked very much like she did on the day of Seth’s funeral. Stern and well put together, but with a hint of kindness peeking from beneath her gray eyes.
“Straight to the point then. I’m not one for small talk.” Celia smiled at the woman’s directness and nodded to show she understood. “I’m not at all amused with having you here, not at all.” Celia blanched. “But I am also highly unamused with my hoity-toity sister who is more concerned with her reputation than caring for her own daughter. You’ve done nothing wrong, it’s not your fault your husband left you in this mess.”
“Well, it’s not as though he did it on purpose,” Celia muttered dryly, in quiet defense of her late husband. “I’m not looking on this baby as a mess, either.”
“No, I don’t imagine he did. And you’re also right that a baby is a joy. At least most of the time.” Aunt Mary took her interruption without appearing insulted and continued, “That doesn’t change the facts.”
Celia sat numbly, staring at her feet and feeling her barely assuaged grief wash over her again in a fresh wave. Her eyes filled with tears. She thought she was done with the crying!
Aunt Mary gazed at her and leaned forward to catch her eye again. “I’m sorry for your loss,” she said.
Celia blinked back her tears and looked at her aunt. She sadly realized that this was the first time anyone had said that to her since Seth’s passing.
Chapter 2
Things at Aunt Mary’s were much different than when she was staying in her parents’ home for that brief spell after the funeral. Aunt Mary seemed pleased with the company, even though she complained of the inconvenience for several weeks.
They fell into a comfortable rhythm, and Celia tried her best to be more of a help than a hindrance to the woman. It soon transpired that, apart from their lack of husbands, they both had many things in common. While Aunt Mary was twenty years her senior, Celia still found herself liking the woman more and more as she spent time with her. And whatever Aunt Mary said to the contrary, Celia had the feeling that she felt the same way about her.
Meanwhile, Celia’s pregnancy was now very apparent. She was almost six months on and the baby was growing rapidly. She remembered the first time the baby had kicked. Celia gasped in unexpected surprise. She had been reading a book by the fire, awaiting Aunt Mary’s return from the shops. The sudden movement of her abdomen made her book jerk in her hands. She dropped it and allowed it to slide off her lap, holding her hands over the place she had felt the movement. She beamed and sent up a prayer of thanks for the tiny miracle she was experiencing.
Aunt Mary strode in the front door at that moment, grumbling of one thing or another. She hollered up the stairs for the housemaid, then proceeded to walk past where Celia was sitting to the kitchen.
“Auntie?” came Celia’s voice just before she was out of sight.
“There you are, girl. Goodness, you gave me a fright. Come help me with these parcels, won’t you?”
“It’s a boy,” she nearly whispered. “A boy. I know it.”
“What are you saying?”
“Quick, quick! Come here, he’s moving again.”
To Celia’s great surprise, her aunt didn’t wave her off and continue with her task. Aunt Mary stopped in the midst of her preoccupation and with the agility of a much younger woman. She dropped everything she was holding and launched herself across the room to her niece.
�
��Where? Show me where,” she stammered, her hands flying over Celia’s protruding stomach.
“Here.” Celia pressed her aunt’s fingers to the spot and watched her eyes widen.
“Oh my,” was all she said. They both sat there, feeling the little ticks and jumps of Celia’s baby until he apparently grew tired and settled down again.
“Isn’t it wonderful?” Celia asked. Her aunt nodded almost reverently.
Then Aunt Mary asked, “How do you know it’s a boy?” Celia shrugged, grinning at her aunt, who had knelt on her knees next to Celia.
“He kicks like a mule.” Celia laughed.
The late spring found Celia waddling from her room to the kitchen yet again to answer some unquantifiable craving she couldn’t seem to satisfy. Aunt Mary was perched at the kitchen table, peeling potatoes.
“Back again?”
"He won’t leave me alone.”
“You can’t possibly be certain it won’t be a girl.”
"Yes I can,” replied Celia, with a spoon of cream from the ice box sticking out of her mouth.
“My Lord, girl. Have you taken leave of your senses? Your manners are abhorrent.”
“Sorry, Auntie,” Celia grumbled. She bent down slightly to kiss Aunt Mary’s cheek, then prepared to exit the room in an encumbered fashion, rubbing the place where her baby’s foot seemed to be attempting to poke through her flesh. She stopped suddenly as a sharp pain made her cry out. Aunt Mary threw down her potato.
“It’s about time,” she said and she proceeded to yell for the housemaid to run for the midwife.
“Oh, great gosh, it hurts!” said Celia through clenched teeth.
“I know, dear, but we’ll get some help here soon,” said her aunt.
“I don’t think I can do this,” said Celia.
“You can, and you will. It’s the only way out. And the only way to meet your son. I promise it will all be fine.”
Christmas Miracles: Mega Mail Order Bride 20-Book Box Set: Multi-Author Box Set Page 46