RNWMP: Bride for Preston (Mail Order Mounties Book 6)

by Kay P. Dawson

  As her eyes scanned the room, she suddenly remembered what had happened. The cold was no longer gripping her, and she was lying in her bed in their cabin. She'd been covered with every blanket they had and as she turned her head slightly, she saw a dark head bowed down.

  He'd pulled a chair right up beside the bed and he leaned forward on his elbows as he looked down at the ground.

  "Preston?" Her voice barely croaked out over the dryness of her throat. But he'd heard her and whipped his head up as she spoke.

  "Maryanne. Are you all right? Do you need anything? Let me get you some water." He jumped up from his chair and ran over to the bucket of fresh water they had for drinking, pouring some into one of the metal cups that sat beside it.

  He raced back and sat on the edge of the bed, helping her to sit up. He held her shoulder as he lifted the cup to her mouth.

  She took a sip and let the cool liquid coat her throat. Lifting her eyes to his, she could see the pain and worry that showed on his face.

  "I'm sorry. I guess I shouldn't have run off into the woods by myself in the middle of winter."

  Preston's eyes widened and he brought his eyebrows together. "No, you shouldn't have done that. And remind me to make sure I scold you about it later. But for now, I'm the one who needs to be apologizing. Not you."

  She closed her eyes slowly, not wanting to bring all the painful memories of Lizzy and Preston back into her mind. Right now, she just wanted to pretend that everything was all right and her heart hadn't been broken into a million pieces.

  "Maryanne, nothing Lizzy said to you is true. I know what you must be thinking, but I promise, you're the only woman I want to be married to."

  She couldn't look at him, knowing she'd be lost in his eyes and be pulled into believing his words even if he didn't truly mean them.

  "Please, look at me. I need you to see the truth in my eyes. I love you, Maryanne, and I can't imagine my life with anyone else. There's no one in the world who can make me feel what you do."

  Her eyes flew open. Had he just said he loved her?

  "I was engaged to Lizzy, months ago. But she didn't want to marry a man of mixed blood, and as soon as she found out, she ran as fast as her feet would take her."

  "So that's why you didn't want to tell me about your Indian blood."

  He thrust his hands through his hair in frustration. "I'd been hurt once, so I didn't want to risk it again."

  "If you'd been so heartbroken, why did you bother to get married in the first place? Did you even care what kind of woman you got for a wife, or were you just willing to be married to anyone you ended up with?"

  She was scared to hear the answers, but she knew she had to find out.

  His dark eyes pinned hers to the spot as he reached out and took her hand in his. "I agreed to get married because I thought it would help me earn the trust of the Indian people in the village. And because I'd given up on believing anyone could love me, I honestly didn't care what happened. I never dreamed I'd end up falling hopelessly in love with the woman who came."

  His words were choked out as he struggled to make her believe him. She wanted to, but the years of insecurities kept pushing their way into her mind.

  "But I'm nowhere near as beautiful as Lizzy." She hated saying the words out loud, which came out barely above a whisper.

  His eyes pulled together in pain as he shook his head. "You foolish girl, how can you say that? Maryanne, I've never seen a woman more beautiful than you."

  "So why do you have so many pictures you've drawn of Lizzy? I didn't find any of me." She was embarrassed to be speaking about her self-doubt. She felt like a child.

  He reached out and gently wiped at the tears that she hadn't even known had escaped. His thumb was rough against the softness of her skin, as he smiled sadly down at her. "Oh, Maryanne, if only you knew how much you have my heart. You didn't find any pictures of you because I carry them all right here, with me all the time." He reached up with his other hand and patted the pocket over his chest. "You have no idea how many times I've looked at these when I'm away from you."

  He pulled some papers from the pocket which had been folded so many times, they had permanent creases. He opened them and turned them to show her. "I've never really let many people know I like to draw. It's not really something a big, tough Mountie is supposed to do."

  As she looked at the pages in front of her, she saw pictures of her sleeping, sitting in the chair crocheting her blankets, and one of her as she sat looking out the window. She'd never realized all those times he was drawing her.

  "You made me look beautiful."

  She quietly breathed the words out as she stared at the pictures in her hands.

  His fingers reached out and went around hers as he took the pages and set them on the bed beside her. Lifting her eyes to his, she struggled to breathe as she found herself lost in the darkness of his gaze.

  His other hand came up and started caressing her cheek once more.

  "Maryanne, you are beautiful. I wish you could see what I see when I look at you. You take my breath away. You've got the biggest heart of anyone I know, and you always put others before yourself. You don't judge a man by the blood in his veins and you appreciate everything you have. You're kind to everyone you meet, including wild animals who shouldn't be kept in a house but who you believe need to be cared for."

  Her eyes widened in shock. "You mean Oscar?" She hoped that's what he was talking about. The rabbit was lying on the bed beside her happily munching on some cabbage leaves.

  But Preston lifted an eyebrow and shook his head. "No, I don't mean Oscar, although that is another thing I think we need to talk about."

  Swallowing hard, she wasn't sure what to say.

  "I kept a close eye on things to make sure you didn't get hurt, and I hoped you'd do the right thing. I knew you'd finally set it free."

  She hadn't technically set Clara free herself, but she didn't think she better mention the fact that Isabelle had taken a turn with the cougar too.

  Preston slid closer to her on the bed, letting go of the hand she held and put it around her back to pull her to him.

  "Maryanne, no matter what you might believe otherwise, you're the most wonderful, beautiful, amazing woman, and I'm thankful every day that you came to me. You've made me the happiest man in the world, and I know I don't deserve you. But I love you more than anything, and I promise to do my best to make you happy every day for the rest of your life, if you'll let me."

  With tears freely streaming down her face now, she reached out and put her palm to his cheek. He leaned his head into her hand.

  "I love you too, Preston. And you've already made me the happiest woman alive."

  His head moved toward hers and he covered her lips with his. As his fingers wound their way around her neck, tenderly stroking her skin before moving up to tangle in her hair, her heart soared.

  This man had somehow managed to help her get over her grief and the insecurities she'd held onto her whole life.

  For the first time she could remember, she knew without a doubt, she truly was beautiful.

  Epilogue

  She walked down the street with Lisa, holding the basket she would fill with the items she needed to make their dinner. The spring air kissed her cheeks as she smiled at the people who waved at her. She'd grown to love the little village of Moose Lick, and all the people who lived here. She'd even started to learn to speak some of the language, and was learning the traditions of the people in the area.

  The Indian women had been bringing her so many things for her baby. She was only a few months along, but she already had warm fur blankets, some clothing, and even little booties to keep the baby's feet warm next winter.

  "I wonder if Miss Hazel will ever come back up to visit. I'd sure like to thank her for somehow knowing exactly who we needed to be with. I've written her letters to let her know how things have worked out, but I'd like to give her a hug too."

  Lisa laughed and nodded.
"Yes, I'd love to see her. She saw something in us that we couldn't even see ourselves. And somehow I think she knew we needed each other too. You helped me to get over my own insecurities, and now here I am, about to become a godmother to a sweet little baby! I'm making him his own special blanket. I've already started working on it."

  Maryanne raised her eyebrow. "What makes you so sure it's going to be a boy?"

  Lisa shrugged. "I just know. And besides, one of the Indian women from the village told me."

  "How does she know?"

  Lisa looked at her and grinned. "They know everything. And they are never wrong. So, I hope you're ready for a little black-haired boy running around your house in a few years."

  Somehow, Maryanne knew it would be a boy. The elders did always seem to know.

  Her heart skipped a beat as she saw Preston standing beside his horse at the end of the street talking to Wesley. She held her breath as he noticed her, then started to walk her way. He still made her knees weak when she saw him, and she was sure she grew to love him even more every single day.

  "Hello, beautiful. Do you really think you should be out walking around when the snow is melting like this? There could be slippery spots."

  She rolled her eyes as he reached his hand out to hold her arm. "Preston, I'm having a baby. I'm not made of glass."

  Wesley was standing beside them, frowning down at Lisa. "No, for once, I actually agree with Preston. The ground is very slippery when it starts to thaw. You ladies shouldn't be out walking around in this."

  "Wesley, I don't know how many times I need to tell you, I can manage just fine. I'm having a good day, and honestly, I think Maryanne and I are quite capable of knowing what we can and can't do."

  Maryanne laughed quietly to herself as Lisa scolded her husband.

  "A letter came for you today." Preston smiled at her as he handed her an envelope.

  "You got one too." Wesley held his out to Lisa.

  The women looked at each other in confusion before turning back to open their letters.

  Tears started to form in her eyes as she read the words on the paper written in her mother's handwriting.

  Dearest Maryanne

  I was so glad to receive your letter, telling me how happy you are in your new home. I always knew you'd find someone who would love you as much as you deserved.

  We had a hard time after losing Eliza, then you moving so far away, but it forced us to do something we should have done years before. We realized just how much we'd let you take onto your shoulders, and it wasn't fair to you. You were trying to care for your sister, which was never your responsibility, while also making sure our store continued to run. We know how hard you had things, and for that, we will humbly ask for your forgiveness.

  In our pain and worry for Eliza's future, we somehow lost track of what else should have been important.

  We have worked on bringing our business back into shape, but we feared it would be too huge a task for us to undertake. We had no money to make the much needed repairs, and with new stores opening around us that had more to offer than we could ever hope, we were almost ready to give up.

  Imagine our surprise when we received an anonymous donation of a large sum of money, more than enough to bring our store up to the best standards and also fill our shelves with new products. Miss Hazel has been bringing all her friends over to shop here and we've suddenly found ourselves with more business than we could have ever dreamed.

  We will miss Eliza deeply, as we miss you. But we hope that someday soon we can make the trip to visit you and our new little grand baby.

  We love you, Maryanne, and wish you nothing but joy and happiness.

  All our love always,

  Mama and Papa

  Her eyes lifted to her husband's who was standing there waiting to see who the letter was from.

  "You gave money to help my parent's store?"

  He brought his eyebrows together in shock. "What makes you think it was me?"

  She tipped her head to the side and squinted slightly as she watched him closely. "Because I know the kind of man you are. And because I also know you've given money to your mom, as well as toward making sure all the people of the village here have warm homes and many other necessities. I'm sure you've been giving your grandfather's money to anyone you thought needed a hand."

  He just shrugged. "You can't prove it was me."

  But he smiled and reached out to hold her hand.

  Maryanne turned her head to see Lisa still reading her own letter. Tears were streaming down her face, and she brought her hand up to cover her mouth as a sob escaped. Moving closer to her friend, Maryanne put her arm around her shoulders.

  "Is everything all right, Lisa?"

  But Lisa just lifted her head and looked at Preston, not paying any attention to Maryanne.

  "You did this?" her voice choked out.

  Preston was looking strangely uncomfortable now as Lisa looked at him. He lifted his shoulder slightly and nodded. Lisa launched herself over to hug him, then pulled back and looked at Maryanne excitedly.

  "What's going on, Lisa?"

  "I'm holding a formal letter stating the newly formed Lisa Allen Cerebral Palsy Foundation has been registered as an official charity of the Yukon Territory. With the amount of money already donated, they will be able to help many people who are suffering from the same disability as myself to have access to the best treatments and be provided the means to help them live a better life."

  Maryanne turned to look at her husband in complete shock. He'd never once mentioned what he was doing with the rest of his grandfather's money.

  She leaned down to set the basket on the ground, then moved into Preston's arms. Putting her own around his shoulders, she smiled up into the face she loved. His eyes were dark as he met her stare.

  "Have I mentioned how much I love you, Preston Hawking?"

  He grinned and shrugged slightly. "Not in the past couple of hours, you haven't."

  "Why didn't you tell me what you were going to do with the money?"

  He lifted his eyes and looked over at Lisa, then smiled back down at her. "Because I wanted it to be a surprise. And I know how you ladies can't keep secrets from each other."

  She pretended to slap his shoulder.

  "You women both came up here not knowing just how strong you really were. And you've never ceased to amaze me at how well you manage. I wanted to do something for the woman who I know means so much to my wife. I know how hard it was for me growing up, not feeling like I fitted in. I want to do what I can for other kids who might be going through the same feelings I had because of their disability. Maybe the money I never wanted from my grandfather can actually work to make a difference for other little kids."

  Pulling his head toward her, she forgot about everyone else around them. All she could see were the eyes of a man whose heart was bigger than all of the Yukon Territory, and she couldn't believe she was the one who had won it.

  "I hope our little boy is exactly like his father."

  He grinned at her. "What makes you so sure it's a boy?"

  She moved her lips toward his and smiled. "I just know."

  And as she kissed this man in the middle of the street in the small village of Moose Lick, with people stopping what they were doing to clap and cheer, she knew her heart had never been more full.

  I hope that you enjoyed RNWMP: Bride for Preston!

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  WOULD YOU LIKE TO READ AN EXCERPT FROM RNWMP: BRIDE FOR DERMOT by Cassie Hayes?

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  About the Author

  Kay P. Dawson is a mom of two girls, who always dreamed of being a writer. After a breast cancer diagnosis in 2011, she decided it was time to follow her dream.

  Years of reading historical romance, combined with her love for all history related to the old west and pioneer times, she knew that writing in the western historical genre was her calling.

  She writes sweet romance, believing a good love story doesn’t need to give all of the juicy details - a true love story shows so much more.

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