Pioneer Love: Damaged Hearts Head West: Mail Order Bride 5 Bundle (13 page)

Epilogue

When they came out of the barn Anna was waiting. She ran to them. “Jo, I am so sorry. Please forgive me.”

“I do,” Jolene said but I need time to recover.

“I understand,” Anna said and she helped her friend back to the house. “I thought I was doing the right thing, if I had known I would never…”

“It’s all right,” Jolene said. “There is something else I want to tell you. I fell in love with Ryan… I don’t want you to think badly of me or to be angry with me but he asked me to marry him.”

Anna pulled her into a hug. “How could I be unhappy? Ryan is a wonderful man. He will love you and protect you and never hurt you. Oh I am so happy.”

“Then will you help me with my wedding?”

“I am honored,” Anna said and as she led Jolene away they made plans.

Later that night Jolene was out on the deck. The sun had gone down and the night was cool but not cold. Jo was looking out into the darkness and watching the stars. Somehow now that Jonathan had been here and gone it was as if a great pressure had been released from her shoulders. As she watched the sky a shooting start traced across the blackness. Closing her eyes she made a wish, for Ryan and children, as she opened then she heard footsteps behind her. Her pulse kicked up a little and she turned to see Ryan.

He put a shawl over her shoulders and took her hand. “How are you?” he asked.

Jolene stepped towards him and looked up into his handsome face. At one time she thought she would never find a man attractive again. Would never want a husband but looking at Ryan she knew she could not be without him. “I am fine,” she said. “In some ways now this has happened it is finally over. Before I had run away, but I hadn’t escaped because I knew one day I would have to see him again. But not now, now he is gone.”

“Yes he is my love and if he ever comes near you again, God help me but I would kill him,” Ryan said and he squeezed her fingers gently.

The contact sent sparks up her arm and filled her with love and something more. It filled her with hope.

“How are you and Anna? Can you ever forgive her?”

Jolene sighed. “I do forgive her for everything she did, for she did it because she thought it would help me. Maybe if I had told her then this would not have happened… but maybe if it never happened then I would not be here with you.”

“Yes you would my love,” Ryan whispered into her ear. “For I would never have let you leave without telling you my feelings. I knew there was something damaged about you and I wanted so much to help you… but I wanted to take my time.”

As he spoke the softness of his lips tickled against her ear and his breath sent shivers down her spine.

“I want to marry you and I would do so right now, but understand I will take as long as you need. I know you have been hurt and I will be tender and gentle with you until you are ready to give yourself to me. I love you, every bit of you and if you need time that will not change.”

“Thank you,” Jolene said and she leaned against his shoulder. The warmth and strength of him seeped into her. Somehow she did not think she would need him to wait long. This man was very different to Jonathan and she knew he would never hurt her.

After much negotiation with Anna the next morning the wedding was arranged for five days time. Anna wanted longer but Jolene wanted to be married, felt that once she was the very last bit of Jonathan would be gone from her life.

Every day they worked on her dress and every day she healed a little bit more. The nightmares had all but stopped and she no longer jumped at every noise. She had got her friendship back with Anna. They were even better friends than before but one thing had changed. Anna was strong now. Strong and confident and no one ever even mentioned her limp.

Ryan spent as much time as he could with her, fussing and helping and sending her smiles that set her pulse racing. As the day drew nearer she could not wait.

At last the day they were to be married arrived. Storm clouds rolled across the horizon as Anna came in to bring her breakfast.

“It looks like a storm is coming,” Anna said. “I hope that isn’t a bad omen.”

“No it isn’t,” Jolene replied. “Storms wash away all the detritus and they herald a new beginning. I think a storm is perfect.”

“Then it is a good day for us to become sisters,” Anna said and she pulled Jolene into a hug.

Ryan dressed early and rode out to the church so that she could prepare alone. It made them all laugh for the house was big enough for him to stay but it also made her feel special.

Anna helped her dress in the white lace gown that they had sown and she dressed up her red hair and piled it high on her head. Next came the veil. Once it was in place her nerves took over and she wondered if she would even be able to stand let alone speak.

“You look amazing,” Anna said. “Amazing.”

Anna helped her down the stairs and into the carriage, which was a turnaround as many times in the past it had been her helping Anna. They rode in the carriage alone. While Anna giggled and talked, Jolene tried to calm her racing heart. It was not fear that made it pound but anticipation. She was looking forward to this wedding so much.

Soon the carriage ride was over and Ian was helping them out. There were buggies and buckboards and horses all around the church and people stood waiting. A cheer went up as Jolene walked to the church. It was obvious how much Ryan meant to his community. Anna opened the church door and they walked in. The crowd all turned around to look but all Jolene could see was Ryan. It was as if the focus changed and all that was there was him. She felt pulled towards him as the music started. His eyes blazed his love across the distance.

Ian took her arm and led her down the aisle. Everyone she loved most was here. Anna, Ryan, and Ian were all she cared about. With her knees shaking she walked forward and then she was there. His smile seemed to melt away her nerves like the sun melts the frost.

Stood before them was a small preacher with a big smile on his face. “Dearly beloved,” he said, “We are gathered here today to join this man and woman in holy matrimony. Marriage is ordained for the procreation of children. For them to be brought up in the fear and nurture of the Lord, and to the praise of His holy Name.”

Ryan squeezed her fingers gently. Somehow that small gesture made her relax.

“I require and charge you both, as you will answer at the dreadful day of judgment,” the preacher continued, “when the secrets of all hearts shall be disclosed, that if either of you know any impediment, why you may not be lawfully joined together in Matrimony, you do now confess it. For be well assured, that so many as are coupled together otherwise than God's Word doth allow are not joined together by God; neither is their Matrimony lawful.”

The preacher stared around them at the congregation, to Jolene the seconds ticked by really slowly. Could something go wrong?

Once again Ryan squeezed her fingers. That small gesture said it is over, relax he is gone and she let out a breath.

The rest of the service was a blur. She knew that Ryan said I will and so did she and then Ryan was slipping a ring on her finger. Looking down at that ring filled her with such joy. She took a ring from Anna and tried to slip it onto Ryan’s hand. Her fingers would not work and she almost dropped it. With infinite patience Ryan steadied her hands and helped her slip on the ring. 

“I now pronounce you man and wife, you may kiss the bride.”

Ryan’s eyes held hers and his lips lowered slowly to her face. As he claimed her mouth she felt her heart flutter in her chest like a bird. It wanted to be set free and as his kiss deepened it loosened the bounds on her heart. She was free, like that bird her heart soared. She was married but she was free at last.

THE END.

Mail Order Bride

Pioneer Brides Mail Order Brides Agency

– Mary Book 3

By

Indiana Wake & Belle Fifer

Chapter 1

Stern eyes stared across the room, making the loneliness seem even more crippling. They never moved and never changed and for many years they had given her comfort. Yet now… Mary wanted to rip the faded daguerreotype down and never look at it again.

“Oh Jefferson,” Mary said. “I miss you so, but for the first time I feel I have been alone long enough. This very business mocks me. What should I do?”

The words hung in the empty office and the very silence was itself an answer. Jefferson Hawkins was twenty years dead and Mary could no longer rely on him to shape her life.

It had been three weeks since she had been to church, three weeks since she had prayed. It happened every year for a period of almost six weeks she developed such sadness and such loneliness that she could hardly bear it. Tomorrow was the anniversary of the day she received that letter. The letter that had changed her life and torn out her heart. It had robbed her of any happiness for many years and left her alone, without children and without hope, until she had the idea.

It was over nine years since she acted on the idea and started The Pioneer Brides Mail Order Bride Agency. For all those years, she had been matching husbands with wives and she was good at it. Somehow she had a knack for finding the genuine men and weeding out those who were rogues. Her questionnaire was carefully crafted to find the decency and goodness that we bury down deep inside of us. To discover a person’s real wants and needs so that she could match together the people who could fall in love.

  Turning over another potentials file she read the questions. The girl was named Molly and she knew instantly that she was not for this client. Yes, she would make a good wife but she needed a young man, strong and willing to give her lots of children. A sob escaped Mary and she wondered what her children would have been like. But it was not to be and mopping like this would not pay the ever increasing bills. Yes, she had been lonely, and sometimes a little afraid, but she loved her Jefferson and no one could ever replace him.

Catching her reflection in the window she wondered if Jefferson would still have found her attractive. As a woman in her early forties, she was a little worn with mostly brown curls flocking her head. Maybe she had let herself go after losing Jefferson but now she made herself as presentable as she could. The image staring back at her wasn't all that bad, although she wasn't a beauty by any standards. Looking back at the picture on the wall she saw a handsome man, a man much too young for her now. Would he still have loved her as she still loved him?

Sighing she looked down at her desk. This was a dangerous way to think and so with a heavy heart she went back to work. Discarding another potential bride she picked up the next form. Usually, she loved her work. Loved to delve into the minds of her clients and find the one true love that they were looking for. But at this time of year she somehow felt slighted. With a sigh, she turned over another form. This particular man had much to offer, but he was also a difficult match. She shook her head this was no time to be worrying about herself, her feelings of rejection would pass soon enough and then she'd be back to her smiling self. Scanning the questionnaire, a sense of excitement replaced her gloom. Maybe this one was right?

The sound of the door banging open startled her. With her hand on her chest, she looked up to see a mail delivery boy standing in the door, a letter in his grubby hand.

"Excuse Ma'am," the boy said. "This here be a letter for you. It be looking fancy too. You is Mrs. Hawkins, ain't you?"

Embarrassment and relief flooded her face and with a smile Mary extended her hand. "Yes dear, it is me,” she said. “Thank you for delivering this to me."

He handed it to her. "It be my pleasure, Ma'am. Good day," he said and then turned and pulled the door to behind him.

Mary looked down at the cream envelope, with four smudged fingerprints. The address was written in swirling print and the paper was rather expensive. Curious, she turned it over and opened it. Inside was an invitation. Anna Montgomery, a client she had seen just a few months ago, was getting married. This was an invitation to her wedding. It caused a smile to cross Mary’s face. Anna had been a little wounded dove, almost too afraid to come in the door. She had a pronounced limp but she was a beautiful girl and she deserved this happiness.

Mary got quite a few invitations from her clients, all very grateful to her, although she was only doing her job. She couldn't afford to go to every single wedding, so she had decided that she wouldn't attend any of her clients' weddings. She began putting the letter back in the envelope. It would be stored in a drawer full of invitations, when a smaller letter, written in petite handwriting, that Mary recognized as Anna's, fell out and tumbled to the floor.

Mary bent down, picking it up. She unfolded it and began to read.

Dear Miss Hawkins,

I do not know if sending you an invitation is an appropriate gesture and in all likelihood you will probably not come, but I felt like this was something I needed to do.

When I walked into your office that day, I was more afraid than I have ever been but you looked at me kindly, smiled, and told me it would all work out. I know this is your job but what you did for me by sending me to this place was something I can never thank you enough for.

I have an amazing, loving man in my life, something I never thought would ever be possible, and I have only you to thank for that. I know it might be too much to ask, but I would really be glad and overjoyed if you would come to my wedding.

I want to thank you in person and introduce you to my husband. He is impatient to meet you and thank you for all that you did for us. Please do me this honor and attend our wedding.

Best of Regards,

Anna Montgomery.

Reading the letter, Mary found tears forming in her eyes and a smile on her face. She remembered the timid little girl with the pronounced limp, who had walked into her office one day and how she had sworn to help her find the best man she could. She had even done something a little naughty. She had removed all mention of the limp from Anna’s form. At the time, she was surprised and even a little scared that she had stooped so low. But it just felt like the right thing to do. It was almost as if some force guided her hand, and it looked like that gamble had paid off as she had prayed it would.

Holding the letter in a shaking hand she read it again. It made Mary feel needed and that she was making a difference for the better in people's lives. She wanted to see if her timid little caterpillar had sprouted wings and learned how to fly.

As she sat there, the letter in her hands, she decided that she would, for once, break her own rule and go to a client's wedding. She would meet Anna and see with her own eyes how happy she was and if she really had made life easier in some tiny way for her.

Maybe it would take away this mind-numbing loneliness and take her mind off her long, lost love.