Brides of Grasshopper Creek Page 4

  When October bloomed, so did everything inside me.

  "Dear Lord," I heard Aaron's voice say and I stopped short in the hallway outside of his office, "please be with Hannah as she continues along her journey of grief and healing. Stand beside her when she is strong and carry her when she is not. Guide her feet when she is lost and soothe them when she is weary so that she may find where she is meant to go. I thank you for bringing her here safely, Lord, and ask that you show me what place I have in her life so that I may be a servant for her in whatever way you have designed. Amen."

  I stumbled back slightly. Tears filled my eyes and I felt like I couldn't will my heart to beat. Suddenly I knew exactly why I had come to Bannack. Moving as quietly as I could, I rushed back up to my room before Aaron could find me there and know I had been listening to him.

  Chapter 18

  Dear Bradley,

  I no longer fear that you are upset at me because I can feel your joy all around me. I know now that you would want only for me to be safe and happy…and loved. I am so grateful for every moment that I had you in my life, and will always hold you within my heart. No love will ever replace you, my darling. Nothing will ever take away what we had. Perhaps, though, I can move forward now and live the way that you would have wanted me to live.

  I will never forget you, Bradley. Thank you for loving me and for surrounding me with your comfort. Continue to watch over me, but find relief knowing that you have safely handed me into the heart of a man who will take care of me until it is time that I see you once again.

  Goodbye, precious one.

  Love,

  Hannah

  Chapter 19

  "Aaron?"

  I stepped into his office the day after I had heard him praying and found it empty. Something on his desk caught my eye and I walked toward it. Picking it up, I realized that it was a clipping from the most recent newspaper. My heart constricted painfully and I felt myself start to tremble as I read the headline.

  "Bride Train to Arrive in Bannack."

  The brief article detailed the impending arrival of several dozen women set on marriage, and invited eligible men to meet the train and greet the women upon arrival.

  I was having difficulty breathing as I lowered the paper back to the desk. I had waited too long. His prayers had not been out of care for me, but truly out of consideration and hope that the Lord would guide me where I should be. I turned to leave and nearly walked in to Aaron.

  "Hannah?" he said, obviously surprised to see me, "What's wrong?"

  I hadn't realized I was crying until he said that. I reached up a hand to swipe a wayward tear from my cheek.

  "I just came to tell you that I have decided I need to make plans to leave Bannack and return home."

  I could see the expression on his face fall and he reached behind him to close the door to his office.

  "When did you decide that?" he asked.

  I struggled with how to respond to him. The last thing I wanted to do was lie to him again.

  "Right now," I finally admitted, letting my shoulders fall in defeat.

  "Why, Hannah? Are you not happy here?"

  "I thought I was."

  "What does that mean?"

  "I know that you are anticipating the arrival of the Bride Train in a few weeks and I don't want to be in your way. I will go stay at one of the other hotels until I can find my way back home."

  I started to walk around him toward the door, but Aaron took my wrist and stopped me.

  "This is your home, Hannah," he said softly.

  "It is?" I asked.

  I felt his hand slide down my wrist so that he could hold my hand. I relaxed at the feeling of his palm against mine.

  "Yes," he replied, and then raised his eyes to mine, "If you will have it."

  "What about the advertisement?" I asked.

  Aaron smiled and led me over to the desk. He picked up the piece of the newspaper and turned it over before handing it to me. I took it with my free hand and looked down at the opposite side of the page from the Bride Train advertisement. It was an announcement that an official Post Office would be established in the coming month.

  "Do you remember reading in my letters to Tessa that I waited at the post for her letters?"

  "Yes."

  "There was no Post Office here so they had to be brought here and I picked them up at the sheriff's office, which was as close as we had to our own post. Now there will be a Post Office, which means that Bannack is going to be officially a town."

  He looked thrilled, but I was still confused.

  "I don't understand."

  Aaron took both of my hands in his.

  "I have lived here since right after they found gold. I watched this place grow from nothing to home for more than 3000 people and yet it was never truly real. That's how I felt, too. I was here and I had my hotel, but I was never complete. It was like life couldn't get started because things weren't in place. Now you are here and it seems that everything has fallen into place. The town will be official and I hope that our life together will be as well."

  I waited for a moment to allow everything he had just said to sink in fully.

  "You realized that you want us to have a life together because there will be a Post Office?" I asked incredulously.

  Aaron looked at me briefly and I saw his mouth break into a smile.

  "Yes," he said and I laughed.

  "Then should I pretend that we haven’t met and write you letters from upstairs so that I can be a proper mail order bride?"

  He pulled me into his arms for an embrace that soothed all of my pain and seemed to bring me back to life.

  "There is no need for that," he said against my hair, "You are already mine."

  THE END

  Mail Order Bride Caroline

  Brides Of Grasshopper Creek

  Faith-Ann Smith

  Mail Order Bride Caroline

  Clemson, South Carolina – 1862

  Caroline's family begins to struggle soon after her beloved father leaves to fight in the Civil War. Not only is his absence a massive burden, but to add to their distress, months after he leaves, Caroline and her mother discover an unsettling truth about her father. After investing all of his savings in an unsuccessful business, the family is suddenly faced with even more obstacles to overcome as debt collectors come to take what’s due to them.

  Soon, Caroline begins to feel like a burden to her family due to her age and decides that it's time for her to attempt to flap her wings and fly away from the nest. Her decision will benefit her family tremendously because this frees up room for her wealthy grandmother to move in and help her struggling mother and siblings.

  The Lord guides Caroline to an ad in the newspaper from a gold miner in Bannack, Montana who is searching for a lovely woman to become his bride. Soon, she joins the wagon train and anxiously makes the journey out West to start her new life.

  When she arrives in Bannack, however, she discovers that the man she chose may not be the man she thought he was. She must decide where her loyalties lie—and if she can find it in herself to look beyond Bailey’s past and accept him for the man he is today.

  Chapter 1

  December, 1862

  Dear Diary,

  We are in the last days of the year, and I am not at all sad to see it go. This was one of the most difficult years I have ever experienced and there were times when I honestly did not know if I would live through it. It seems so strange for me to even admit that, but it is absolutely the truth. I have always loved life and been the optimistic one of the family, but this year seemed to take all of that from me.

  Papa has been fighting in the War since only six months after it began, but his absence became far more challenging when this year began. Suddenly, strange unknown men started appearing at the front door, meeting with Mama in the front parlor well into the evening and leaving her with a drawn and devastated look on her face. It was not until nearly March that she finally confided in m
e that these men were creditors that came to settle debts with Papa.

  We did not even know that he had borrowed so much money. The creditors showed notes to Mama and she realized that Papa had made a very large investment in a business and then donated even more to the war effort. Unfortunately, the business fell through nearly immediately after the war began, taking almost all of his and Mama's savings with it. He stopped making payments on the debts and then went into default when he went to the battlefield.

  Mama had to empty their bank account to pay off the debts, leaving us with little to live on. Though she started picking up work as a seamstress, it was not enough. I started working for several families as an occasional cook and nanny. Together, we managed to keep the family going as best we could. We agreed to do everything we could to not let my younger siblings know what was happening. They are already suffering so much from having Papa gone. They do not also need to know about our financial struggles.

  Though I knew that I was doing what I needed to do to help my family, it was deeply embarrassing to serve the families of girls that used to be my friends, and young men who had once asked my father to bring me out on Sunday afternoon strolls. I will never forget how they looked at me, dressed in the drab colors of the household uniforms, carrying their meals or tea on a silver tray and following the bidding of their parents. Some looked at me with disgust, others laughed at me. The worst by far were the ones who looked at me with pity.

  Gabriella Smith was the worst of all of them. She had once been a dear friend of mine, but as soon as my family began to have financial problems, she stopped associating with me. As I served her family a special afternoon tea in honor of her older sister's engagement to a young man who had avoided going to the battlefield by staying in the university, Gabriella kept giving me these little simpering looks like she was trying to sympathize with me.

  "I had wanted to invite you to the party, you know," she said to me when she wandered into the kitchen as I was refilling the teapot. "I just could not imagine why Mother told me that you would not be able to attend as a guest." Then she let out a big sigh and went on, "I suppose it was because she had already hired you. Such a pity. It is so lovely to see you, anyway. Oh, would you be a dear and make sure to bring me a few extra sugar cubes? This tea is just a touch bitter for my taste."

  Then, and I cannot even believe that this happened, Diary, she dipped her finger into the cream on one of the fruit tarts and put it in her mouth right there in front of me. I was so stunned I could not even think of anything to say to her. I cannot believe the nerve that some people have. Her family is supposed to be the elite of society, and she behaved that way. I know that it is not the way that I should think, but it made me angry that people who behave the way Gabriella does are the ones who are still doing well and whose families are thriving despite the War, while families like mine—decent, polite, and respectful people—have been made to suffer so.

  Perhaps God chose our paths this way because He knows that we are the ones who are strong enough to handle the struggles. Gabriella and her family are soft and their bonds tenuous. If they had to face the types of things that we have had to face in the past year, I believe that their family would fracture. The only thing that seems to keep them together is their affluence, and without it, they would have no reason to stay together.

  My family is different. In the face of our adversity, we only drew closer together. It was my commitment to preserving the happiness and wellbeing of my little brothers and sisters that made me continue working as hard as I have in order to give them the best life possible, even while we struggled. I never allowed them to see my tears. I always waited until well after they had fallen asleep to confide in my mother about my pain and my worries.

  I cherish those little ones so deeply and I would do anything to protect them. Christmas, just two days ago, was the peak of my pain. Though it is meant as a joyful season, and I truly tried to turn my heart to the meaning of the season and the pure happiness meant to come along with celebration, I was preoccupied with creating the magic my siblings expected. Like any little children, they dreamed of treats, carols, sumptuous meals, and piles of lovely gifts under a beautifully decorated tree. It is such a sweet and innocent dream, and I was determined to make it come true for them.

  Though it was not as spectacular as Christmases were when Papa was around, and there was an obvious dark cloud hanging over both my mother and me; the children did not seem to notice. The girls are all cuddled into bed with new dolls, and the boys have a wooden truck or train or a teddy bear each. We were able to give them a few gifts of clothing, a book, and some hard candy, nuts, and an orange each.

  Though they had a joyful holiday and still seem to be blissfully unaware of how life has changed, I am more aware of it now than ever. I feel the pressures of the world closing in on me, and for the first time realize how far into adulthood I have truly stepped. Many of the young women my age have already married or are engaged, and I know of at least two of my old schoolmates who have a baby or two of their own.

  All of this makes me feel like I am a burden to my mother. I work as hard as I can, but I do not think that brings in enough money to justify the costs of me continuing to live in the home. I know that if I married and became the responsibility of my husband, I will no longer be a strain on my mother. Rather than worrying about supporting me and struggling with the propriety of my work, she can concentrate on raising the little ones. I have heard her have harsh whispered conversations with my grandmother about the old woman selling her sizable assets and estate and coming to live with my mother to help her, but there are no empty bedrooms.

  Perhaps if I am no longer in the home, she will be willing to accept the generous offer that could truly make a difference in the quality of life of my mother and my younger siblings.

  I suppose all of this has built me up to telling you, Diary, that I have decided the best I can do for my family is to marry so that I am no longer a burden to her. Though it will be the hardest thing I have ever had to do, I will leave them behind so that they have a chance of a better life. I am planning on telling Mama about my plan tomorrow. I know that she will not respond well to it. Though I am well within marriageable age, she still says that she thinks I am too young and that I should concentrate on myself for a little longer before I choose a husband.

  I have tried to tell her how romantic that thought is, but that circumstances have necessitated a change in my approach to marriage. No longer can I dream of attending school or enjoy strolls, dates, and evenings at the cotillions. I cannot wait for callers and be selective. I must take action, and I have decided that that action will be to respond to one of the advertisements that the men of the Frontier put in the newspapers looking for a wife. It may mean that I never know the love my mother and father have for one another, but I am willing to sacrifice that for my family.

  I can only hope that I choose a man who I can learn to tolerate and even respect.

  Caroline

  Chapter 2

  I paced around the kitchen nervously after making sure that all of the little ones had eaten breakfast and were off to their lessons or playing in their rooms. Mama's routine was so consistent that I knew she would go to her room after breakfast, spend half an hour at prayer, write a letter to my father and another to her mother, and then come to the kitchen to have a cup of tea before starting lunch so that it would be ready when afternoon came. Waiting in the kitchen would ensure I could have a few minutes alone with her to tell her of my decision.

  My eyes burned from exhaustion and I felt my heart pounding in my throat. Though I was completely confident in my decision—and no longer thought of it as a plan because that seemed too tenuous, but rather a set determination for my future—I was nervous about sharing it with my mother. I did not want to hurt her, or put any more strain and stress on her than she was already experiencing. I could only hope that she would understand why I needed to do this, and how it would help her.

/>   I was staring out of the window, lost in the thoughts that were melting in the late December snow, when Mama walked into the kitchen.

  "Are you alright, Caroline?" she asked immediately upon entering the room.

  It saddened me that she had gone through so much in the last year that it was her first inclination when seeing someone to assume that there was something wrong and that yet another tragedy was about to occur. I turned to her and tried to give her as reassuring a smile as I could create.

  "I just need to talk to you," I told her.

  I gestured toward the teapot already sitting on the stove warming and the tray I had begun to set up for us. She nodded, looking worried, and settled into one of the chairs at the small kitchen table tucked into the corner of the room.

  Once the teapot started steaming, I pulled it from the stove and transferred the boiling water into the porcelain server of the tea set that my parents received as a gift from my grandparents on their wedding day. For most of my life, the beautiful set had stayed locked away in the hutch, but when my father left to serve in the cavalry, he told her that she should take the set out and use the pieces.

  "It will remind you of me and of our wedding day every time that you use it, Margaret," he had said to her the morning that he took it out of the hutch and placed it in the middle of the kitchen table.

  He had looked so handsome dressed in his uniform with the brave, strong expression on his face. I knew that he was hurting just as much as Mama was, though, and it made him feel better to know that she would be thinking of him each time she took a sip of tea. Of course, I knew by the look on her face that she would be thinking of him far more than just when she drank her tea. They had already spent most of their lives together, and it would be more difficult on her than on anyone else to have him so far away.