Robyn- A Christmas Bride
Page 15
“I’m the fastest.” Hedd strode for the door. “So I should drive.”
Robyn and Max beat him to the driver’s seat. They claimed it together and sat side-by-side. Hedd didn’t argue. Instead, he made a gallant show of assisting Agatha, much to the lady’s delight, into the back of the wagon—while Bryn and Griff helped Gus and Lark get in.
While they did, the crowd that had followed them outside and now stood on the walkway, called out their best wishes for their marriage and the season.
“Merry Christmas!” she whooped as she yanked off her feathered hat and threw it to them.
One of the few single ladies in town caught the hat. Felicity and the matchmaker named Genevieve immediately linked arms with the woman and guided her back toward the saloon.
“Don’t dawdle,” Genevieve called over her shoulder to the reverend who was climbing in the wagon.
“You never know, husband dearest,” Felicity added just before the trio disappeared through the door, “when someone else might demand to be married in Noelle’s saloon.”
Max lifted the reins. “I’ll knit you a new hat to replace the one you gave away.”
“If you wish, but I don’t need anything new.” She pulled his wool cap from her skirt pocket, donned it, and then grabbed his hand.
Griff snorted. “You can’t hold hands and drive at the same time.”
“Yeah,” Hedd agreed, fast as a bolt of lightning. “You gotta decide. Who’s driving this wagon?”
“We both are.” Max placed one of the reins in her free hand and kept the other in his. “Ready?”
Her blood raced in her veins, anticipating what came next. “Always.”
They both used their rein to turn the wagon onto the road. Then they snapped their wrists in unison and urged the horses into a trot.
Max shifted closer to her on the wagon seat so that from ankle to hip to shoulder they touched. He’d removed the last distance between them. “I’ll build you a house.”
She smiled at their clasped hands resting on their knees. “I’ll be there every day building it with you.”
Behind them, Griff asked in an unusually hushed tone, “Will you have room for family?”
“Of course,” Max and Robyn said at the same time.
“Then it’s only right if we help with your new house,” Hedd announced.
“You should build it beside Jack and Birdie’s,” Reverend Hammond added.
“Good idea.” The vigor in Griff’s voice had returned. As her youngest brother, he was used to being in the middle of things. He more than anyone would make sure the Peregrines and Llewellyns stayed together. “That way Busy Bee won’t have far to go when he leads the construction.”
“I’m also good at supervisin’,” Gus proclaimed.
Agatha huffed. “You can do more than that.”
“I can?”
Agatha’s sigh sounded more amused than weary. “Must I remind you of everything?”
Gus chuckled. “I think that’d be best.”
Robyn glanced over her shoulder so she could scan the dear souls who occupied the wagon bed and would soon attend her wedding. “Our plans are all set.”
Except for Bryn and Lark. They continued to say nothing as Bryn stared at Lark, and she stared into the dark surrounding the wagon. Because Lark’s songbird sisters were still out there. Somewhere. And she must soon continue her search for them.
And Robyn knew that Bryn wouldn’t want her to go alone, and that Lark wouldn’t want him to follow her and get hurt again. So Lark would probably leave Bryn again. In the dead of the night if need be. That eventuality made Robyn’s heart ache, for both of them.
“The next turn’s coming up,” Max murmured.
She faced forward and adjusted her rein in unison with his.
“We’ll figure something out.” Max’s voice rumbled with his familiar determination. “And while we’re doing that and building our new home, we’ll have room at the office for your brothers and their friends. Friends who might be lucky like us and become more than friends one day.”
With a bit of luck, and a lot of love, there might be many blessings in their future. “I’m sorry I didn’t get you a Christmas present this year.”
“But you have.” His smile raised hers as easily as a bird on a mountain wind. “You’ve given me your time and your hand in mine.”
“And so have you.” Her grin grew even wider. “Of all the gifts in Noelle these are the wisest.”
“Are you sure?” A teasing glint entered his eyes. “I think we’ve forgotten one.” The spark in him became a flame as his gaze locked on her lips. “One that usually comes after a wedding. But why wait?” He leaned toward her.
She met him halfway and added a first kiss to their gifts—with a promise of many more to come.
Thank you for reading Robyn: A Christmas Bride.
I hope you enjoyed Robyn and Max and, once again, Gus’ adventures in 1877. And Jack and Birdie’s continuing adventure as well. If you haven’t read their story, head to Amazon and spend another Christmas in Noelle—this time in 1876.
Or turn the page, to learn how to leave a review of Robyn and Max’s story, and how much it will be appreciated…
DEAR READER
I hope you enjoyed Robyn: A Christmas Bride, and Robyn and Max’s journey to find their home together in the town of Noelle.
If you did, please consider writing a review or say hello via the usual places including email. Every single review helps. No matter how long or short, they are a heartfelt gift that is sincerely appreciated. Hearing from readers makes my day and keeps me motivated to write my next book. Looking forward to hearing from you!
You can review on Amazon, Goodreads, or BookBub. Or even all three.
Click the links above to go directly to Robyn: A Christmas Bride’s REVIEW PAGE or click the links below to go to my AUTHOR PAGE and view all of my books there…
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STORY INSPIRATION
When I started pondering a plot for my Christmas story, my first question was, what should the theme be? Is there a classic Christmas tale with an uplifting theme that many people might recognize or at least relate to? The Gift of the Magi became my first inspiration when writing Robyn: A Christmas Bride.
The Gift of the Magi (written by O. Henry and published in 1905) features the themes of selfless gift giving and how the gift of love is priceless. In that story, a husband and wife each sell their most valuable possession, but they are items that can be grown again (hair) or can be bought back again (a watch). I wondered what if the thing you valued most was sustaining a way of life that you’d struggled a long time to create and that now defined your entire self-worth? Could you give that up if it meant ensuring the happiness of a loved one? That might be the ultimate selfless gift to give.
My next thought was having a heroine who was a trouser-wearing tomboy who loved driving wagons in a time, 1877, when society wasn’t very accommodating about women’s appearances and occupations that strayed from the norm. So…what if my heroine decided she needed to do something drastic to win the heart of the man she loved? Changing yourself to please another person (even if they haven’t asked you to) might be considered another selfless gift. So…what is a classic transformation story? My Fair Lady and its heroine Eliza Doolittle were my next inspiration.
My Fair Lady (released in 1964 as a movie starring Audrey Hepburn) focuses on speech lessons, but Eliza’s transform also includes her appearance—her clothing, hair, the way she carries herself, and more. It’s a life-changing transformation that is difficult for Eliza and takes hard work and sacrifice—for her own good (a chance at better job prospects) but also, as time goes on, to please her instructors.
So…selfless giving and self-sacrifice. Ready. Set. Go. Write a Christmas story.
I hope you enjoyed Robyn: A Christmas Bride as much as
I enjoyed not only writing the story but also giving Robyn Llewellyn and Max Peregrine their hard-won and well-deserved Christmas gifts.
~ Jacqui
DEDICATION
For Quinn and MaryAnn
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RESCUING RAVEN
Deadwood 1876...
In a gold rush storm, can an unlikely pair rescue each other?
Raven wants to save one person. Charlie wants to save the world. Their warring nations thrust them together but duty pulled them apart—until their paths crossed again in Deadwood for a fight for love.
Rescuing Raven is a standalone story but also part of the Lonesome Hearts series which can be read in any order.
EXCERPT ~ CHAPTER 1
August 1876, Dakota Territory
Fighting a growing impatience fueled by rage, Charlie Jennings drew his revolver and urged his horse through the trees flanking the Deadwood Trail. Below him, an Appaloosa with the strikingly similar color of his own horse—white covered from head to hock in chestnut spots—was rein-tied to the back of a buckboard. If the horse hadn’t caught his attention, he might not have given the transport a second look.
He might not have seen her.
The wagon rattled forward carrying one silent and seven grumbling passengers. When a bend in the trail cast the sun in the eyes of the guards, one riding behind and the other in front, he charged his spotted mare down onto the road.
Everyone in the wagon, except for the cowering raven-haired woman, screamed. The driver jerked on the reins. The horses skidded to a halt. The guards scrambled for their weapons.
The click of his revolver being cocked made them all freeze.
The silence that followed was as heated as the summer sun on his back. The guards glared at him through squinted eyes. He kept his focus on them as well—lined up in a neat row down the barrel of his Colt Peacemaker.
“Jennings,” growled the closest man, who went by the name Big Bill. “You shouldn’t be here.”
“Yeah,” hollered Bill’s partner, a stranger who resembled a beanpole.
Frontier trails and towns had a way of attracting similarly named men, including the Charlies like him. They also had a fondness for embellishment. The deck was stacked in favor of the rear guard being called Skinny Sam or Loudmouth Pete.
“We heard you were guidin’ a miner ’n his four kids, the ones who lost their ma, away from Deadwood.” At least Skinny hadn’t heard, and used, the double-barreled moniker Charlie had been saddled with since arriving in the Black Hills.
“But you,” he shot back, “didn’t hear that my job finished ahead of schedule.”
“Well,” Bill said on a long breath, “ain’t that a spot of bad luck.”
“Not for one of your passengers.” He didn’t look her way. He’d already seen enough: a ragtag assortment of women, one hunched with her dark head over her wrists tied to the wagon.
To read the rest or learn more about the story, visit my website www.JacquiNelson.com
THE CALLING BIRDS
The Fourth Day in the
Twelve Days of Christmas Mail-Order Brides series
A wanted woman's flight,
a man in pursuit of honesty, not stolen gold...
and only nine days left to save the town.
Many years have passed since Bernadette Bellamy fled the Cariboo Gold Rush and her reputation as the sister of a French-Canadian gang of thieves. Armed with only an honest talent for sewing and a willingness to lead a solitary life on the run, she stays one step ahead of everyone seeking her brothers’ last—and now lost—heist. Until a craving to settle down makes her reinvent herself as Birdie Bell, a dress shop owner. The arrival of an old foe combined with her desire to hold onto her treasure trove of fabrics has Birdie joining a wagonload of brides bound for a remote town.
After losing his leg and his wife, Jack Peregrine buries his pain under a mountain-high pile of work. He only agrees to sign up for a mail-order bride to save the town of Noelle, keep his freighting business, and care for his absentminded grandfather. But Jack’s request for a sturdy bride who won’t crumble under his burdens brings him a woman as tiny as she is troubled. Can two mismatched people band together to become the perfect match?
THE CALLING BIRDS ~ EXCERPT
Noelle, Colorado
December 24, 1876
A crowd of women filled La Maison’s front hall. One of them was Jack’s bride, Birdie Bell. A hard-working woman who’d started her own dressmaking business in Denver. A mature woman of thirty. A strong woman who wouldn’t break under life’s hardships.
Maybe his luck would change today. With time Miss Bell might come to respect or maybe even enjoy his company. He needed this marriage to last.
He should’ve looked for his grandfather first, but he couldn’t stop his gaze from scanning the women in search of his bride. Even wild-swept from the storm and huddled together shivering from the cold, the women were a fine-looking bunch. How had Mrs. Walters managed that?
A raven-haired, pale-skinned woman standing slightly apart from the rest snared his attention. Her beauty would’ve been enough to hold any man spellbound but her tiny size turned him rigid with concern. A woman so small wouldn’t last long in a town like Noelle.
His worry turned to anger. Whoever had asked her to come here should be horsewhipped!
A faint smile curved her mouth as if she was amused by the prospect of being housed in a location as scandalous as La Maison. He must be dreaming. She shouldn’t be here and she couldn’t be amused.
She surveyed the room, studying everything and everyone—until she saw him. Then she stared at him the way he felt he must be staring at her, as if mesmerized.
“I’ve come for a bride,” a voice proclaimed loudly, a familiar voice that made him cringe. “Which one of you is the future Mrs. Peregrine?”
The woman spun to face the speaker—his Grandpa Gus.
A wave of gasps and tittering laughter swept the crowd. Several of the women glanced at the tiny woman who’d captivated him. She was now staring at Gus with wide eyes.
Her gaze darted to him. When she caught him still staring at her, her expression turned blank and devoid of emotion. She straightened her shoulders, strode straight up to Gus, and said in a lyrical voice with a seductively foreign accent, “I am the bride you seek, Mr. Peregrine. My name is Birdie Bell.”
A surge of euphoria followed quickly by alarm made him stagger and lean heavily against the nearest wall. This tiny Frenchwoman couldn’t be Miss Bell. He’d asked for a strong woman. This one wouldn’t be able to hold up under his workload, the rough town, or the surrounding wilderness. She’d abandon Noelle and him.
Could he blame her if she did?
If she didn’t, she might die here.
“No!” His voice shot out louder than Gus’ a moment ago.
Complete silence descended around him. The chance to make a good impression was long gone. Everyone in the front hall stared at him including his tiny bride.
Read more on Amazon or on my website www.JacquiNelson.com
If you haven’t already, don’t forget to add The Calling Birds to your “want to read” shelf on Goodreads.
Also by Jacqui Nelson
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Lonesome Hearts Series
Between Heaven & Hell
Following Faith
Choosing Bravery
Rescuing Raven
Healing Hope (coming soon)
Until March 2020 Following Faith is only available in the Journey of the Heart anthology. For updates on the individual story release date, sign up for my newsletter on my website.
All of my stories can be read standalone, but in the Lonesome Hearts series: Between Heaven & Hell comes first chronologically in 1850, t
hen Following Faith in 1852, Choosing Bravery in 1868, Rescuing Raven in 1876, and Healing Hope in 1877.
12 Days of Christmas Mail-Order Brides Series
The Calling Birds: The Fourth Day
* set in 1876 with characters from Choosing Bravery *
And the sequel to The Calling Birds
Robyn: A Christmas Bride
* set in 1877 with characters from The Calling Birds *
Gambling Hearts Series
Between Love & Lies
Between Home & Heartbreak
Steam! Romance and Rails Series
Adella’s Enemy
MULTI-AUTHOR PROJECTS
Journey of the Heart
A collection of eight short stories revolving around modes of transportation in the Old West by Melissa Lynne Blue, Anne Carrole, Stacey Coverstone, Debora Dennis, Tanya Hanson, Karen J. Hasley, Linda LaRoque, and Jacqui Nelson.