by Linda Ford
A protest pressed against her teeth. True, she had defended herself, but... “It doesn’t mean I don’t need anyone.”
“It doesn’t?” He pulled her closer and trailed a finger along her cheek.
Wrought wordless by his touch, she could only shake her head.
“I’m looking to the future more and more now,” he said.
She nodded. When had she ever been struck speechless before? And now, when she wanted so badly to say the things filling her heart, her tongue refused to work.
Wade’s smile was gentle. “Which is not to say I might not make mistakes in the future. I might fail those I love.”
A protest escaped her frozen tongue. “But not on purpose.”
“Never on purpose.” He continued his distracting way of stroking her face, when all she wanted was to hear him confess he loved her. “So you’re not set on going to secretarial school?”
She grabbed him by his upper arms, momentarily sidetracked by the strength beneath her palms. If she got her way, she’d get plenty of opportunity to admire his muscles in the future.
“Wade Snyder, I love you. Why would I want to go to secretarial school?”
His eyes widened, then a slow, bright-as-the-sun, sweet-as-the-moon smile lit his features. “What did you say?”
She gave him a bold look. “You heard me. Now what are you going to do about it?” Never in her life had she been so forward. Nor so sure of herself.
He tipped his head back and laughed. Then, still grinning, he pulled her to his chest. “This is what I’m going to do about it.” He kissed her.
With all her heart and soul, she wanted to respond. But there was one thing she wanted even more, and she broke off the kiss.
“What’s wrong?” he asked, his gaze lingering on her mouth.
“Haven’t you forgotten something?”
“I don’t think so. The woman I love has just said she loves me. What else is there to remember?”
Her heart overflowing, she chuckled. “You forgot to tell me you love me.”
For a moment he looked confused. “Why, so I did. Missy Porter, I love you to the moon and back. I love you deeper, wider, farther than I thought was possible.” He fell to one knee and took her hand. “Will you do me the favor of becoming my wife?”
“Let me think about it a moment.” She pretended to give it serious contemplation while he waited on his knee. But she couldn’t contain her joy. “Yes, I’ll marry you. A thousand times over.” She pulled him to his feet, threw her arms around him and lifted her face for a kiss.
The look he gave her made her glow inside, and then she forgot everything as he kissed her. She’d come home. Back to love and belonging. She vowed she would do her best to provide the same for those in her home.
* * *
Wade could never have guessed at the whoops and hollers, the flurry of activity and the heap of comments that would ensue after his announcement that he and Missy meant to marry.
“We have decided to get married right away,” he said when things quieted down. “There’s the children to consider. They need a settled home.”
“But Missy deserves a church wedding,” Louise said. “It’s what her parents would have wanted.”
As soon as she said that, Wade knew he had lost any argument he might have before he launched it. “How long does it take to do a church wedding?” He foresaw months of preparation to perfect a thousand things he knew in the back of his mind must be done. “There isn’t even a preacher here.” And barely a church. The outside was done, the pews made, but he wasn’t even sure what else needed doing.
Eddie held up his hand. “Constable Allen is able to perform marriages and he’s in town for a day or two.”
“How long would it take to find a suitable dress for Missy?” Wade pressed.
“I have something that will do, I believe,” Linette said. “Unless she’s got her heart set on something fancy. In that case we have to order yard goods and make the dress. That would take, oh, probably most of the winter, unless we can persuade Petey to make a special trip for us.”
Wade sensed she was teasing but he wasn’t certain.
Missy shook her head vigorously. “I don’t want a fancy dress. I just want to get married.” She sat next to Wade, gripping his hand hard enough to make his fingers tingle. Or was that simply from the knowledge they would soon be married? His heart picked up its pace at the thought. He could hardly wait to share the rest of his life with Missy and the children. Perhaps many more children if God saw fit to allow it.
Eddie slapped his knee. “Then what’s wrong with Saturday?”
Wade could not stop a grin from spreading clear across his face. “Saturday sounds ideal.” Missy agreed before the words were out of his mouth.
The next day was a flurry of activity as the women baked up a storm in the kitchen, then disappeared upstairs to fit a dress for Missy.
Eddie took Wade to town to help prepare the church and speak to Constable Allen.
Cassie kindly offered to take care of the children for the day.
It wasn’t until evening that Wade got a chance to speak to Missy alone. “Are we going to survive this?”
She laughed. “We certainly are, and we’ll look back on our wedding day as a celebration shared by our friends.” She grew pensive. “I only wish Mama and Papa could be here.”
“And I wish my sister and her husband could be, too.” He considered that for a moment. “But I suppose if they were here, we might never have met.” It was a strange thought.
“Things have worked out in surprising ways,” Missy concurred. “Perhaps if it wasn’t for Vic, Louise and I might still be back in Montana. And I might still think I was a bother to everyone.”
Wade pulled her into the circle of his arms. “I hope you never think that again. You are dearer than life to me. I expect as we spend our years together, our love will continue to grow, though at the moment, it hardly seems it could get any bigger.”
She hugged him. “I might need to be reminded from time to time.”
He smiled down at her in the moonlight. “I will spend the rest of my life looking for ways to remind you. But for now, will this do?” And he claimed her lips.
Epilogue
The children had stayed with Linette for two days after the wedding, allowing Missy and Wade time to be alone in the house in town. She would carry the memory of those two days with her the rest of her life. Wade had said their love would grow and grow with time. She hadn’t seen how that was possible when he said it, but the past two days had proved it. She loved him so much she wondered how she could contain it. But she’d discovered a little secret. The best way to deal with the overflow of her heart was to pour it into loving acts and words to Wade. And once the children returned, she’d share it with them.
She stood at the window, watching for Wade to arrive with them. He’d left a while ago to fetch them home. Home. She hugged herself. Home sweet home. That gave her an idea. One of the first projects she’d tackle would be to embroider a wall hanging with those words.
Though she wasn’t sure which home she’d hang it in.
A few days ago Wade had sent a messenger to tell his friend that they would journey to the ranch in a few weeks.
“We’ll take one step at a time,” he’d told her then. “But if you and the children like the ranch, I’ll accept Stuart’s offer and become his partner.”
She’d assured him she would be quite happy living in Edendale or on the ranch or wherever suited him, but she knew he needed to be able to ride his horse and herd his cows. “Ranch living will suit me just fine, and I know it will suit the children, too. All that matters to them is that we’re together.”
Right on cue, the wagon approached the house. She had the door open and was running to greet th
e children before the wheels stopped turning.
They raced from the wagon and straight into her arms.
“I’ve missed you two,” she said as she hugged them and breathed in their familiar scent.
“We missed you, too,” Annie assured her, and Joey hugged Missy about the neck.
The four of them entered the house together and let out a collective sigh of satisfaction.
Annie spoke for all of them. “This is better than twelve days of Christmas.”
Missy pulled Wade to her side and gathered the children to them. “This is better than anything I ever dreamed.” She kissed the tops of Annie’s and Joey’s heads, then turned to receive Wade’s adoring kiss.
Her heart had found what it wanted and she couldn’t be happier.
* * * * *
Keep reading for an excerpt from THE HOLIDAY COURTSHIP by Winnie Griggs.
Dear Reader,
I loved writing this story of children finding a forever home at Christmas. I pray it will provide a healing touch to my readers.
Christmas is a special time for families, and ours is no different. Like many of you, I have struggled to balance the consumerism all about me and turn the focus to the true meaning of Jesus coming. Every year, I try and tell the Christmas story in some way to my family, and now especially to my grandchildren. I do the same at Easter and was encouraged when the little grandchildren remembered the Christmas story we had done and understood that Christmas baby was the same person who died on the cross. Without the Christmas baby there would be no Easter. Without Easter the Christmas story would have no meaning.
May God dwell richly in your hearts this season.
I love to hear from my readers. You can contact me at www.lindaford.org, where you’ll find my email address and where you can find out more about me and my books.
Blessings,
We hope you enjoyed this Harlequin Love Inspired Historical title.
You find illumination in days gone by. Love Inspired Historical stories lift the spirit as heroines tackle the challenges of life in another era with hope, faith and a focus on family.
Enjoy four new stories from Love Inspired Historical every month!
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The Holiday Courtship
by Winnie Griggs
Chapter One
Turnabout, Texas
November 1897
Hank Chandler hefted the two carpetbags he carried as he tried to usher his niece and nephew down the aisle of the train toward the exit. He needed a shave. And a good night’s sleep. And a cup of coffee that didn’t taste like tar.
But most of all he needed for Enid, his sister, not to be dead.
Chloe paused a moment, as if confused. “Alex, keep a tight hold on your sister’s hand, please.” It seemed wrong to put an eight-year-old in charge of his ten-year-old sister, but for now that was how it had to be. His niece didn’t want anything to do with him at the moment.
Here he was, returning home to Turnabout, with two scared orphans. With a cat in tow. Why couldn’t they have a sensible pet, like a dog?
Even with Aunt Rowena’s help, how would he be able to care for all of them?
Especially Chloe.
He glanced down at his niece. With her straight brown hair, slightly pointed chin and expressive green eyes, she looked so much like Enid at that age that it hurt. He knew the girl’s angry, defiant demeanor was just a front she’d put on to deal with all she’d lost. But how was he ever going to get through to her if they couldn’t even communicate properly?
He still had difficulty coming to terms with the fact that his life had changed so drastically in such a short span of time. A month ago—it seemed a lifetime ago now—he’d been a bachelor with a very orderly, uncomplicated life. A life he’d been quite content with. Then he’d received that telegram that had sent him hightailing off to Colorado.
And his life had been irrevocably changed.
But he couldn’t waste time feeling sorry for himself. What had happened was over and done with, and there was nothing to do but move on. Besides, his niece and nephew were facing much bigger, more traumatic changes to their own lives. He had to do what he could to help them feel at home here.
The weight of that responsibility pressed down on him again. The one thing he could do for them in the short term was provide a sense of order and routine to their lives. To make them feel safe again.
They reached the exit and Hank maneuvered around to step out on the platform first. He set down the bags and turned up his collar. Turnabout’s weather had turned blustery and colder than it had been when he left. Of course, that had been late October and it was now late November.
Hank helped Alex down first, swinging his slightly built nephew out of the train and onto the platform easily. Then he turned to Chloe. The girl stared at him defiantly as she hugged her cat tighter, as if daring him to try to swing her down the way he had Alex.
His heart went out to her but he didn’t know how to make things better for her. With a smothered sigh, Hank offered her his hand. She took it and stiffly stepped down. As soon as her feet touched the platform, she released his hand and took Alex’s.
Would Chloe ever learn to accept him? Like it or not, both kids were in his care now. And they were not happy about it. Not that he blamed them. He’d torn them away from everything they found familiar—their town, their home, their friends—to bring them here, to a town they’d never set foot in before, to live among strangers. And at a time when they most needed the comfort of the familiar. But he hadn’t had much choice.
Thank goodness Aunt Rowena had agreed to help him out, at least for the next couple of weeks, until he could make a more permanent arrangement.
He’d think about just what that more permanent arrangement meant later.
Aunt Rowena should already be at his house, getting the rooms ready and preparing a nice hot meal to welcome them home. That ought to make this first day in Turnabout easier for all of them.
Hank raked a hand through his hair as he looked around. He’d asked his aunt to have a wagon waiting for them, but there was no sign of any such vehicle. Normally he’d just walk, regardless of the weather—after all, it was just a little over a mile away. But this homecoming was anything but normal.
He hoped that Aunt Rowena hadn’t encountered problems. Regardless, there was no point in keeping the kids out in this weather while they waited.
Hank touched Chloe’s shoulder. When she looked up, he very slowly and deliberately explained. “Let’s go inside the depot.” He used hand gestures to make his intentions clear.
“Yes, sir,” Alex responded. He gave his sister’s hand a little tug and started moving in that direction. Hank picked up the bags and followed.
With two kids, especially two tired, travel-weary kids, the sooner he got everyone home, the better. He hoped Aunt Rowena had had time to get the children’s rooms ready.
But the lack of waiting transport had him wondering what else might have gone wrong today.
When they reached the door, he stepped forward and pulled it open quickly, ushering the children inside and out of the wind. From the corner of his eye he noticed someone sitting on one of the benches that lined the far wall of the depot. The woman seemed to be reading a book, and a closer look revealed it was Janell Whitman, one of the town’s two schoolteachers.
Her presence reminded him, that was one more thing to add to his list of tasks—getting the kids enrolled in school.
The woman l
ooked up just then and he tipped his hat in greeting. He wondered for a moment if she was going on a trip. Then he turned back to the counter and dismissed her from his thoughts.
The stationmaster gave him a smile of greeting. “Hi, Hank. Welcome back.”
Hank nodded as he ushered the kids up to the counter. “Thanks, Lionel.” He gave the man a mock grimace. “You sure could have ordered up some better weather to welcome us home.”
“This damp chill just rolled in yesterday. It was downright pleasant two days ago for the Thanksgiving festival, though. Too bad you missed it.”
They’d been on the train Thanksgiving Day. Not that he regretted missing the festival. Neither he nor the children had been in the mood for any sort of celebration.
Lionel smiled at the children. “I see you brought some friends back with you.”
“This is my niece and nephew, Chloe and Alex.”
“Welcome to Turnabout.” Then Lionel’s expression sobered. “I’m right sorry about your ma and pa.”
Alex shifted closer to Chloe’s side, but neither kid said anything.
Then Lionel held out a slip of paper. “By the way, a telegram came for you this morning.”
Hank reached for the telegram, unable to repress a sense of dread. The only telegrams he’d ever received had contained bad news. The last one had brought him word of his sister’s and brother-in-law’s deaths.
He slowly unfolded the paper and read the missive.
Tom Parson taken ill. No other driver available to transport me to Turnabout. Will likely be Monday before I arrive.
Rowena Collins
Today was Saturday, so that meant he was on his own for at least two days. And there would be no warm, clean house or hot meal to greet them. This wasn’t the homecoming he’d expected at all.
Hank resisted the urge to crumple the telegram and toss it away. Instead he focused on figuring out how to deal with this new setback.
One thing at a time. The immediate concern was that there was no wagon on its way to transport them.