“My Ma’s name was Esmeralda,” Max said as he guided Caroline toward the door of the tent. Inside, rows of easels filled the space. “But that’s a lot of name to live up to. Maybe a short name is better.”
“What about Maxwell if it’s a boy?”
“I never liked being called Junior when I was little.”
“Mmmmm. How about Helsing?” Caroline teased. Max’s taste for fiction had taken a turn for the fantastic—she’d just finished reading him an outlandish novel by a gentleman named Stoker, about an enigmatic count who drank the blood of young women. Max had been intrigued by the character of Abraham Van Helsing. “And if it’s twins, we can name the other one Harker.”
“If the twins are girls, Mina and Lucy.” He grinned, going along with the joke. “Oh, look, there’s Bart and Juliet.”
Juliet jumped up and down and waved her arms. But why was she crying? Bart stood beside her, seemingly unconcerned with his sister’s near-hysterics.
“Better go see what she’s on about,” Max suggested, pulling her in that direction.
As Caroline reached Juliet, the girl clapped both hands over her mouth, as if to keep herself from screaming a secret.
Bart pulled her aside, so that Juliet was no longer blocking the painting she’d been standing in front of.
Caroline’s painting. The one she’d done of the south pasture months ago, a mixture of grandmother’s minimalist style and the impressionism she’d been experimenting with at the time.
There was a blue ribbon hanging next to it.
Juliet let out a shriek and hugged Caroline so hard she dropped her popcorn. “You won! You won! You won!”
What was—? How did—? Caroline gently disentangled herself from Juliet and turned to Max “You entered my painting?”
He was grinning so hard, it was a wonder his face didn’t fall off. “Juliet filled out the entry form. Bart packed it up and mailed it.”
Bart tipped his hat at Caroline. “Congratulations, Mrs. Kaspar.”
Caroline reached out to touch the blue ribbon, the gold-embossed satin silky beneath her fingertips. It didn’t disintegrate into nothing. It didn’t disappear when she blinked. No matter how long she stared at it, it stayed there.
Beneath the framed painting hung a little card with a neatly-typed paragraph on it.
Mrs. Caroline Kaspar began her artistic career painting toys for the Sewell factory in New York City. Influenced by the ink paintings of her grandmother, Akiko Murasaka Holt, Mrs. Kaspar’s work melds Eastern and Western sensibilities in a unique impressionistic style.
“My artistic career,” she said aloud, unable to believe what she was seeing.
“Well, you can’t quit now, you’re a prize-winning artist,” Max said.
A prize-winning artist. Caroline thought of Grandmother, propped up in her bed by the window, watching Caroline struggle to paint a landscape she knew only from Grandmother’s stories.
If Grandmother were alive today, she would be proud. Not just that Caroline had won, but that Caroline had not forgotten who she was.
Promise me you’ll never be ashamed of who you are. Sarah’s words echoed in Caroline’s head.
Grandmother had loved Caroline for who she was. Her friends loved her for who she was. And now, Max loved her for who she was.
How could she be ashamed?
Max gathered her in his arms as she wiped away the tears that stung her eyes. “Hey now, those are happy tears, aren’t they?”
She nodded, her own voice croaking as she struggled to speak past the lump in her throat.
“How did I get so lucky, finding you, Max?”
“It has nothing to do with you, woman.” He pulled her closer, kissed her sweetly. “I’m the lucky one.”
Dear Reader,
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Faith
The Valentine Mail-Order Bride Series
Bonus: An Excerpt from Eva’s Vision by Jackie Marie Stephens (Book 6 of the Valentine Mail-Order Bride Series)
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The Mail-Order Brides of Salvation series
Winning the Deputy’s Heart
Winning the Rancher’s Heart
Winning the Doctor’s Heart
Winning the Bounty Hunter’s Heart
Winning the Blacksmith’s Heart
The Mail-Order Brides of Resurrection series
Seven Brides for Seven Lawmen
Samuel’s Secret
The Mail-Order Brides of Laramie County series
All Is Bright: Bridget’s Christmas Miracle
Anthologies and Box Sets
Never Too Soon (a Mail-Order Brides of Salvation story, in 19 Brides for 19 Cowboys)
Caroline's Promise (Valentine Mail Order Bride 5) Page 6